Jerome

"It won't return to the land of Egypt, and Assur himself" (The Vulgate adds "is") "its king, because they refused to convert. The sword has begun in its cities, and will consume its chosen ones: it will eat their heads, and my people will hang in my return. But a yoke will be imposed on them together, which will not be removed." LXX: "Ephraim will dwell in Egypt, and Assur himself will be its king: because he did not want to convert. And the sword grew weak in its cities, and rested in his hands, and they will eat of his thoughts: and his people is suspended from their sojourn, and God is angry with its treasures, and will not exalt him." When it says: "it won't return to the land of Egypt," it shows that it wants to return, but can't go. But Israel wanted to go back seeking help from the Egyptians; but he was captured by Assyria, who took him, and ruled him with the right of the victor, and he suffered this because he did not want to turn back, nor to repent. Or let us certainly say that he returned to the land of Egypt, when he worshiped the gods of Egypt in the holy land, or it is to be understood in that sense, as has been said above: "They called upon Egypt, they went to the Assyrians." Therefore, the sword began in its cities, whether "it will fall," as Aquila interpreted, or "it will wound," as Symmachus translated. And see how great a weight of miseries it is, so that not only fields or possessions and countryside are devastated; but the enemy enters the very heart of the cities and consumes their chosen ones, or "his arms," as Symmachus interpreted, which in Hebrew is called Baddau. And when the sword has consumed the chosen and the leaders, or the strength of the army, and has devoured either their heads or their counsels, so that they cannot find any aid, then the miserable people who did not want to return to me will wait for my return to them. And he who sows will repent, with enemies laying waste to everything. Therefore, because great sins are to be punished by great punishments, they will impose on those who have been abandoned by their people (with their king and Assyrian princes cut down by the sword) the heaviest yoke of slavery, and they will also impose what will not be taken away according to the letter, unless it is taken away spiritually in Christ. According to the Seventy, Ephraim will dwell in Egypt, saying that he has the holy land and the Church of the Lord Savior; but he has always stayed in Egypt because of vices, sins, and faithlessness. Therefore, as he dwelt in Egypt, his understanding will be great as an Assyrian king: for he will not return to the Church, and having lost his strength, that is, Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God, he was always in weakness, and was subject to all demons and disturbances: for this reason the sword, that is, spiritual knowledge, or the word of the Ecclesiastic man, will always be present in his cities, which he impiously built against the Lord, and the sword will rest in his hands, so that being slain by another, he cannot kill another, nor raise his hand against his adversary. Finally, they receive and consume according to their own plans. But the unhappy people and the uneducated crowd will long for their ancient homeland, and they will realize that they have been captured, and whether they hang in their own dwelling, not knowing what to do and where to turn. But God, above their valuable possessions, namely the gold and silver they received from Him, of which we have often spoken, will be angry, and will by no means free him who fell due to his own fault. This is according to the Septuagint; however, we will adapt the same meaning to the Hebrew.

"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city." LXX: "What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? shall I protect thee, Israel? what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goes away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goes forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." In the place where we and the seventy were interpreters, is it written in Hebrew "Shall I protect you, Israel?" which Aquila rendered into Greek as, "I will surround you with a shield." When we thought that this might be understood in a favorable sense and might indicate protection, the opposite meaning is suggested by the edition of Symmachus, which has, "I will surrender you." The translation of Theodotion is also unfavorable, but unfavorable in a different way: "I will strip you," he says, "and take away your weapon," that is, "the shield" with which I had previously protected you; and this meaning is more in keeping with the Lord's threatening. Therefore what he says is this: because they did not want to repent, and Assur became their king, the sword will devour cities, princes, and the people, and a yoke will be imposed upon them which will not be taken from them. And because the sentence seemed harsh, leaving them no place for repentance, God, as a concerned parent, now speaks to Israel: "What shall I do for thee, Ephraim?" How shall I strip thee by my help? What shall I do for thee? By what means shall I correct thee? By what remedy can I heal you? Like Admah and Zeboiim I will make you, which are two of the five cities, just as we read in Genesis: 'Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim and Bela, which is called Segor,' and in the Syrian language 'Zoar.' Therefore, I will make you and turn you into a desert, and I will wipe you out until you become ashes and dust, just as I wiped out Admah and Zeboiim. And when a harsh, indeed cruel, sentence had been pronounced, the father is again overcome by his affection for his child, and with his kindness he moderates the severity of his judgement. For he says, "My heart is turned within me; all my sorrow is stirred up." As soon as I spoke, there was something in my heart that moved me to mercy; I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath; I will not destroy Ephraim again: for I am God, and not man; and I will not consume them in my indignation: but I will instruct them, by opening their eyes to their iniquity. My cruelty is the opportunity for penance and piety: "I am God, not a man." Man punishes in order to destroy, God corrects in order to improve. "I am holy in your midst and will not enter the city," meaning, I am not one of those who dwell in cities, who live by human laws, who consider cruelty to be justice, for whom the highest law is the greatest malice; but my law, and my justice, is to save those who are corrected. We can also say: because first Cain, a parricide, built a city in the name of his son Enoch, the Lord does not enter such a city, which is made of wickedness, blood, and parricide. However, if we want to read, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel?", it should be understood: What shall I do with you? Are you worthy of protection, for you have done so much? Note also that when it is said against Judah, that is, the people of God, it is not Admah and Zeboiim that are mentioned but Sodom and Gomorrah. For we read in Isaiah: "Hear the law of God, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the word of the Lord, you people of Gomorrah" (Isai. I, 10). Likewise, in the Gospel, the city that did not receive the apostles, when they shook the dust from their feet, is said to be worse off on the day of judgment than the land of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. X). And the prophetic word is also directed at Jerusalem: "Sodom has been justified by your example" (Ezek. XVI). Therefore, suspicion is given to us that Sodom and Gomorrah were leaders in sin, and Adama and Seboim followed their examples, that the powerful suffer powerful torments: and that servant who knows the will of his Lord, and does not do it, shall be beaten with many [stripes]. Hence even the learned men of Ecclesiasticus, if they are involved in the same crimes as heretics, will be subject not to the punishments of Adama and Seboim, which are inferior but to those of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are said to be greater crimes. To heretics also and those deceived by them, the Lord speaks to the people, that unless they repent, they will be put like Adama and Seboim, so that they have no hope of salvation. Again, as a most merciful father, he says he will change his own decision and repent of having spoken such things, so that he may also provoke them to conversion and penance. 'I will not make,' he said, 'in my fury, I will not destroy Ephraim. As much as it is in me, as much as I desire, if he corrects error with truth, if he loves me more than the leaders of heresy, for 'I am God and not man,' I will extend my hand to the fallen, and call the wandering towards salvation. And because I am holy, I will not enter a city, that is, the assemblies and cities of heretics. I willingly receive those who leave their cities, but I will not enter their cities. What he said, "I will not enter the city," and, according to the LXX, is followed by, "I will walk after the Lord," some have interpreted as meaning that the people responded to the Lord, and that the sense is: Because your heart has turned to you, and you have not made us according to our sins; but you imitate your clemency, and do not punish our sins, and you promise to be holy and merciful and to dwell among us; therefore, I will not enter the city of evil men: nor will I be among the number of sinners; but I will walk after the Lord my God. But the Hebrews, from the person of God, have thus spoken: I will not abandon you, I will not go to another people, nor enter another city.

"After the Lord they shall walk: He shall roar like a lion: for He shall roar, and the children of the sea shall fear, and shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of the Assyrians: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord." LXX: "After the Lord I will walk; he will roar like a lion, because he will roar, and the sons of water will be afraid and fly like birds from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of the Assyrians, and I will place them in their houses, says the Lord." With the Lord promising success, the people will turn to Him: and they shall walk after the Lord, for the Lord shall roar like a lion. Of which also the prophet Amos recalls: 'The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He shall give His voice' (Amos 1:2). And He will roar when He says: 'I will make you like Sodom.' And when He roars, then the sons of the sea, or of the waters, will tremble, as the LXX translated. For the word Maim, which is written with three letters Mem, Yod, Mem: if it is read Maim, it means 'waters'; if Mejam, it is understood as 'from the sea.' The Hebrews refer these things to the coming of Christ, whom they hope will come. "We have now become convinced that from Egypt and Assyria, that is, from the East and the West, and from the North and the South, those who recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have come, and come daily (Matthew 8). However, we can call the sons of the sea or the waters those who have been caught in the Lord's dragnet and taken from the sea of this world (Matthew 13:47). And when they have been taken from death to life, they will be placed in their own houses, which the Gospel calls granaries, in which selected and separated wheat is stored." (Matthew 13) It is said that it is the nature of lions that when they roar and roar, all animals tremble, and they cannot move with fixed steps: such is the terror and so great the fear. And so, when the Lord roars like a lion, and thunders, and gives his voice, all the birds and all flying things will tremble: and they will go to their nests, that is, to their homes where the Lord will dwell with them. Let us also say this differently: When a true lion roars, the false lion, who is our adversary according to the Apostle Peter, will immediately be silent, and he will not be able to open his perverse mouth to any doctrine: and those who were previously captured by him, loosened by the roar of the lion and terrible threats, will follow their Lord God. Then the sons of the sea or waters will fear, who were born in bitterness and salty waters of heretics; and having taken wings, they will fly like birds from Egypt and like doves from Assyrian land, and will say: "Who will give me wings like doves, and I will fly and rest"(Ps. LIV, 7)? So those who had labored among the heretics may rest in the Church and dwell in their homes from which they were seduced by error. Egypt, that is, we know as "trouble" and "distress"; likewise, concerning Assyrians, we recognize as "leaders" or, as we think better, "accusers." Therefore, heretics will be freed from them when they start living in their own homes and say to their wicked parents, "Your house will be left empty to you" (Matt. 23).

"Ephraim surrounded me with his falsehood, and the house of Israel and Judah with his deceitfulness. But now God has perceived them, and they will be called people of God's sanctuary." The Hebrews tell a story of this kind: In the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, when on one side there was a mountain, on the other the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's army surrounded them, and the trapped people were held, the other tribes despairing of salvation and either wishing to return to Egypt or wanting to fight, only Judah faithfully entered the sea. Hence, he deserved to receive the kingdom and this is what is now called "Juda testis sermonum Dei," and an approver and defender he descended with God into the sea, and among the saints he was the most faithful, that he might believe the words of God's command. They say this to him. Let us follow the order of the explanation undertaken, which surrounded Ephraim, the royal tribe, and the house of Israel, the people who served the royal tribes, and surrounded him in denial or falsehood, while they denied the Lord and confessed idols. But Judah, that is, the two tribes which had the Temple, the Law, the Prophets, and kept the legal precepts, were witnesses, and walked faithfully with God and with the holy ones. We can say the saints or the angels, the patriarchs and prophets, and others who served God's command. For in comparison to that time when these things were being said, Ephraim had completely gone astray and Israel had been deceived into the worship of idols; only Judah remained, who was engaged in the worship of God and his testimonies, and was able to go down with him, or be strong with strength: for "root" signifies both descent and strength, for which reason Aquila translated the term as "dominion." Heretics surround the Lord with falsehood, even with denial, according to their deduction. Whatever they say, it is a denial, rather a lie: and they surround Him in deceit or in the impiety of the house of Israel; while all things they pretend, they compose with an artful speech and speak impiety against the Lord. But Judas, that is, the ecclesiastical man, does not boast, he is not inflated with heretical pride, but he humbles himself with God, and with the faithful and strong choir of the saints he builds his house upon a rock which is shaken by no storm. (Matt.) They translated the Septuagint much differently: Ephraim and the house of Israel and Judah had surrounded God with lies and impiety, and God's mercy is so great that he does not cut off hope of salvation from them. But he recognizes them and is prepared to call the holy people and the people of God, who are now corrupted by impiety. Similarly, God desires heretics to be saved, and sinners in the church, and that all may be called by his name. "But he who is truly holy, does not surround God with a lie, but with truth, as the psalmist says: 'You are powerful, Lord, and your truth surrounds you'" (Psalm 88:9).

"Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows after the east wind: all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he made a covenant with the Assyrians and brought oil into Egypt." LXX: "But Ephraim is a spirit of wickedness, following the heat: all the day long he hath multiplied lies and vanities, and he hath made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil he carried into Egypt." The sacred story tells that Manahen, king of Israel, after making peace with the Assyrians, sought aid from the Egyptians (2 Kings 15), and this is what is now said, that Ephraim feeds the winds, that is, deceives himself with vain hope, follows the oppressive heat, that is, "summer," and goes to the South, and does nothing else all day but deceive himself. And while he runs here and there, he prepares destruction and devastation for his cities. Is it not destruction and deceit to make a covenant with the Assyrians and to carry oil into Egypt? By connivance, indeed, the whole thing was arranged, to send gifts to the Egyptians. Although some believe that oil is not produced in Egypt at all; but it was sent as a precious gift from Ephraim, whose land of Samaria is very fruitful in oil. Moreover, according to tropology, all heretics are held by the worst spirit of demons, about which it is written in the Apostle: "Against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephes. VI, 10). "And when an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26) Therefore, the worst spirit is followed by a desert wind, that is, a "scorching wind" or "burning wind," which destroys everything that is flowering and germinating. It pursues emptiness and vanity throughout the entire day, is not content with its own error but multiplies many disciples, indeed companions of its own emptiness and error. He also makes a covenant with Assyrians, whose prince is great sense, that whatever he may have devised, he might appear to have devised it wisely, that wisdom which was destroyed by God, which even the Apostle commands to be avoided, saying: "Beware lest any man shall cheat you by philosophy and vain seduction, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world" (Col. II, 8). But he also brings oil to Egypt, or he trades in the wisdom of Egypt, desiring to mix with ecclesiastical dogmas the oil of anointing with which prophets and priests were anointed, with which even kings were anointed. They have this oil too, who are called saints, of whom it is said: "Your sons are like new olive trees around your table" (Ps. 127: 4). And the good olive tree in which our olive branch is inserted. Although heretics try to mix lies with the truth, oil cannot be coupled with waters and other moist and liquid substances. The truth is always above, and the lie is below. All other forms, that is, heresies, which do not have, as we have said, the oil of truth, can be mixed with themselves, and numerous ones can be made into one body. But the oil that is brought into Egypt, and descends from the holy land to Pharaoh's realms, is detested by the prophet, saying: "The oil of the sinner will not anoint my head" (Ps. 140:5).

The judgment therefore of the Lord with Judah: and a visitation upon Jacob. He will render to him according to his ways, and according to his inventions he will recompense him. In the womb he supplanted his brother: and in his strength he had success with the angel, and he prevailed over the angel, and was strengthened: he wept and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us. And the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial, therefore turn to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and hope in thy God always. And the judgment of the Lord with Judah, that he may revenge Jacob, and his ways according to his inventions will render unto him. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his strength he had success with God, and he had power with the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with him. And the Lord of hosts will be his memorial, and thou Israel shalt be turned to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and approach thy God always. Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily multiplieth lies and desolation: and they have made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. Now all their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their practices I will cast them forth out of my house: I will love them no more, all their princes are revolters. However, he calls visitation scourges and punishments, so that he who has restored Ephraim, what he deserved, may also restore Judah, who is also of the seed of Jacob, according to its ways and inventions, who has not only been deceived by chance error, and fell by human frailty; but he sought and found in what he should sin and fall. However, he tells how much good Judah, that is, Jacob, has received, and the son is named in the father, and the ancient history is remembered, so that the mercy of God towards Jacob and his hardness against the Lord may also be known. While he was still in Rebecca's womb, he supplanted his brother Esau (Gen. 25), not by his own strength, which he could not feel, but by the mercy of God, who knows and loves those whom he has predestined. And he did not only supplant his brother in the womb; but he also wrestled with an angel in his strength, when he fought against the angel all night by the stream (Gen. 32). And because he wrestled with the angel, he received the name Isar, which in Hebrew means "directed" or "straightest". And he prevailed," he said, "against the angel; and by his blessing, whom he had conquered, he was strengthened. He also wept, and asked him, that is, the angel, saying: "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." And when he fled to Mesopotamia by the counsel of his father and mother, the same angel found him in Bethel, who spoke to him, spoke with us, that is, spoke in the father and with the sons, and loved Jacob and Judas: from that time until the present, his name, which was given to him by the angel and by God, endures in memory. When things are this way, and you, O Judas, imitate your parent, mourn and plead with the Lord of hosts, and turn to Him. Keep both mercy and judgment, and when you have done this, always hope in your God, making progress by good deeds. On account of what is in Hebrew, "he wept and begged him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us," we read in the Vulgate edition: "they wept and begged me, being in" a "house they found me, and there it was" said "to them;" "a" is interpreted as "pain." So, if anyone weeps, and does penance, and implores the Lord, they will find him in the pain of their heart, and when they call upon him, they will hear him respond to them. We can understand the Ecclesiastical (Jewish) man who is rebuked by the Lord because he does not remember his previous benefits but rather sins daily, and he reveals what those benefits are: "When you were born in the faith, the Church gave birth to you and you supplanted your Jewish or Gentile brother and received his birthright, and in your strength you were directed with the angel, either conquering opposing strengths or strengthened by the blessings of the angel who is God, and you prevailed in the image against an angel so that you could prevail against men, and you were strengthened". And when you had achieved victory, you wept, and you begged the angel of the Lord, and remembering the sins of old, you found him in Bethel, that is, in the house of God, which is the Church, or in his own house, of pain and tears and penitence. And we know who this Judas was, there, he said, he spoke with us, that is, with us Christians, and from that time until the present day, we are known by the name of Christ and are corrected by him. So, Ecclesiastical man, who is called Judas, and confesses, turn daily through penance to your Lord, and if by chance you have sinned, imitate the prophet saying: "I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears" (Ps. 6:7). Let it be enough to have said this, but keep the commandments of God, show mercy to others, so that you may also obtain mercy. Judge with true judgment, so that in whatever you judge, you may be judged. And always hope in your God, whether you draw near to your God constantly, so that at every time, making progress in virtue, you draw near to your God.

"Canaan in his hand deceitful balance, he loved calumny, and Ephraim said: Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol, all my labors will not find me the iniquity which I have sinned." LXX: "Canaan in his hand is the weight of iniquity, he loved to oppress through power, and Ephraim said: But I have become rich, I have found rest for myself, all his labors will not find him, for the iniquities in which he sinned." Judah had been warned to turn to the Lord his God, to keep mercy and judgment, and to hope in the Lord always, whether he approached him constantly. Now the discourse is turned to Ephraim, that is, to the ten tribes, which he calls Canaan, according to what Daniel speaks to the elder who was certainly of the seed of Judah: 'The seed of Canaan and not of Judah has deceived thee.' And in Ezekiel we read that it is said to Jerusalem: 'Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hethite.' And in Isaiah it is said to the tribe of Judah: 'Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.' In the last verse of Zechariah we read: "And there shall be no more Canaanite in the house of the Lord" ((or "in the city")) (Zech. XIV, 21). But the Scripture says that Canaan, that is Ephraim, holds a deceitful or unjust balance in his hand, commanding, "Thou shalt have Just balances" (Leviticus XIX); not only does he have an unjust and deceitful balance, but he loves calumny and oppresses men by his power. And in case we might think Canaan referred to someone else, the Scripture more clearly shows who this Canaan is. Ephraim said: "Nevertheless, I have become rich;" and the meaning is: It does not matter where I possess, as long as I possess. Many suffer from this disease, about which it is written: "Wealth gathered unjustly will be vomited up again" (Job 20:15) "For the ransom of a life is costly, no payment is ever enough" (Proverbs 13:8). Hence we are commanded to make friends for ourselves with wicked mammon, who can receive us into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). But Ephraim, who boasts and says, "Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol," or, "useless," that is, Aven, which will not profit the possessor, has sweated in vain labor. But just as the gluttonous and luxurious belly is a god, so the greedy person worships the idol of gold, and says in his heart: 'I have found what I was looking for' but he will hear: 'You fool, this night your soul will be required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' (Luke 12:20). And when his eyes have once been blinded - not to speak of a brightness, but a blindness - by the wealth, he says: 'All my work will not find my iniquity, in which I have sinned.' And the sense is: whatever I may have sinned, if I have had wealth from those who need my help, it cannot be imputed to me, according to what is written: 'And he who behaves badly is blessed' (Ps. IX): For there are many friends of the rich. Therefore, this also refers to heretics themselves. "Canaan" can in fact be interpreted as "those who move." And note that he said, "as if moving" ((Al. "moving")), not "moving." They are moving, those whom they have deceived, as if moving, those whom they have tempted. But because they are founded on the rock (Matth. VII), they cannot be shaken by any storm, nor can they change the course of their feet. In the hand of this kind of Canaan, that is, in his works, the deceitful and unjust balance is; for whatever the heretic speaks, he does not have the justice of God, and is full of deceit and fraud; therefore, they love slander when they depress the innocent or oppress them by force. The poor cleric is overwhelmed by verbosity and clever arguments of heretics, who having deceived some people, often say: 'We have become rich, we have a large following; a crowd of disciples follows us; we have found an idol or a source of refreshment for ourselves.' For this reason, especially, heresies are formed, to consume the homes of widows who are always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of truth (2 Timothy 3). And fittingly, he says, 'I have found an idol for myself.' For all the inventions of heretics are nothing but idols and images of the heathen: and they differ little in impiety, though seeming to differ in name. And they are accustomed to say that whatever I do, whatever I accomplish, cannot be imputed to me: for I have my riches, the teachings of the philosophers; I have the multitude of the people, who whoever looks upon me will not consider me to be at fault.

"And I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the feast. And I spoke to the prophets, and I multiplied visions, and by the hand of the prophets I was likened." LXX: "But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will still make you dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of solemnity, and I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hands of the prophets I am likened." You have indeed sinned so greatly, that you rejoiced in wickedness, and thought a multitude of sins to be riches, and said: I have become rich, I have found an idol for myself: all my labors will not be able to find my sins. But I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt (Exod. V), when thou didst serve Pharaoh and was making cities of clay and palaces, yet I give you a place of penitence and by the greatness of my promises I urge you to return to me, and yet I will cause you to dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the festival. The day of the festival is called 'Scenopegia,' the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. As, he said, at that time I freed you from Egypt and you lived in tabernacles on your way to the holy land and hastened to go to the place of the temple, so also now I will lead you out of tribulation and distress and impending captivity, if you do what I have commanded. For I am the one who, through all the prophets and various forms of visions, has been likened to human beings, and I have challenged you to repent. Is it not of a human likeness when Moses, lifting his hands on high, prays for Jesus to vanquish Amalec (Exod. XVII), and the sacraments of the cross are shown in him? Isn't God likened to the hands of the prophets, since Jonah is in the depths for three days and nights to signify the Lord's resurrection from the underworld on the third day? However, we read multiplied visions in all the prophets, when Ezekiel sees the Lord sitting as a charioteer above the Cherubim (Ezek. 17). And Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne and elevated, and two Seraphim around him crying out to each other holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Sabaoth" (Isai. 6:1,2). And Habakkuk stood upon his watch-tower (or "cell"), and behold he beheld Christ's horns in his hands, wherein his strength lay hidden (Hab 3). Hence the Psalmist cries out: "I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me" (Ps 84:9). But in order that we may know that every prophecy in Holy Writ is called a vision, "And all the people saw the voice of the Lord" (Ex 20:18): wherefore also the prophets were called seers. To those also who have been led astray by heretics, it is said that they should return to the Lord, who prefers the repentance of a sinner to their death (Ezekiel 18); for it is he who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that is, out of the darkness and error of the Gentiles. And that they may not be slow to return, mindful of their sins: "I will still cause you to dwell in tabernacles," he says, "as in the days of the festival"; that what baptism effects, penance may effect also, and they may dwell in the tabernacles of the Saviour, that is, in the churches, of which it is said: "Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God" (Ps. xcii. 14). And lest the heresiarchs and leaders of error should be able to say that God did not speak through them, he said: 'I am the one who spoke to the prophets, not to your teachers, and I have multiplied visions and have been portrayed by my prophets who are established in the Church.'

"If Galahad was an idol, then they were sacrificing their cattle in vain at Galgal; for even their altars were like heaps on the furrows of the field." LXX: "If it is not Galahad, then the princes sacrificing at Galgala were false, and their altars were like tortoises on the desert of the field." Because we have translated "bobus," which is called Surim in Hebrew, the LXX translated it as "princes," which are called Sarim, being deceived by the similarity and ambiguity of the word. Again when we placed ourselves, 'acervos,' which in Hebrew are called Gallim and properly signify 'θῖνας,' that is, tumps gathered from sand, which are mostly increased or decreased in the desert and on the shores where the wind blows, the 70 translators translated to "testudines" (turtles): for which Symmachus interpreted "piles of stones": Theodotio "hills." And truly if you look at θῖνας, they have a similarity to the great tortoises in a desert field, or on the banks and shores slightly prominent from the ground. Therefore, what He says, "if in Gilead," about which it is written, "Gilead is a city of idolaters, overturned with blood," false gods and perverse religion, and it is across the Jordan where two tribes live, Reuben and Gad, and half a tribe of Manasseh, therefore even Galgal of which we read in this same prophet: "All their malice is in Galgal, which is behind Bethaven;" whoever worships idols does not sacrifice to gods but offers sacrifices to cattle, imitating the error of Samaria. For at the time when these things were prophesied, Galaad was in the kingdom of the ten tribes; and Galgal, under the rule of the two tribes which were called Juda. Therefore, both the ten tribes and the two, deceived by equal idolatrous error, and their altars gathered from stones, or from sands, like heaps and hills. And when both of them have been brought into captivity, the former altars of theirs will have the similarity of tortoise shells or hills without cultivators. Because truly "Galaad" is interpreted as "a translation of testimony," and "Galgal, of rolling things," we can say this, that the leaders of the heretics transfer the testimonies of truth into lies, and whatever they worship is an idol, and their sacrifices are similar to heaps of stones or turtles. For just as θίνες and heaps are gathered from stones and sand here and there, so too heretics compose idols from worldly wisdom and the cleverness of men, with fraud and lies. And when they have done this, they move slowly in one place and cannot occupy the whole world. The slow and burdened tortoise, crushed by its own weight, not so much walks as it moves, signifying the most serious sins of heretics who sacrifice themselves in the mire and mud of their errors, worshipping the works of their hands and working hard for earthly fruits like oxen.

Jacob fled into the region of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife. In the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. The seventy interpreters [translators] say: And Jacob went into the plain of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife, and in the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. It seems that arbitrarily and without order or reason the narrative of Genesis concerning Jacob was inserted here after the idol of Gilead and Galgal and the altars similar to heaps of stones, but this is immediately solved by the one who remembers having read about Jacob previously: "He supplanted his brother in the womb, and he was upright with his angel in his strength, and was able with the angel he struggled with and was strengthened, he wept and implored him, he found him in Bethel and spoke with us." This Jacob, therefore, was comforted by an angel not in vain, but because he wrestled all night and conquered his adversary, so he learned not to fear his brother, from whom he fled to Syria to his uncle Laban (Genesis 27), and he served for Rachel his wife seven years, and preserved his father-in-law Laban's sheep for the same amount of years. And since once Jacob named Israel, he has united father and his sons, and remembers the following history, when the Lord led Israel out of Egypt through the prophet Moses, and the twelve tribes which have come from Israel were saved. He will not be mistaken who says that the supplanter of Jacob and Israel, who sees God, prefigures the Lord, and that Rachel, at first barren and whom Jacob loved very much, signifies the Church; Leah, however, with bleary eyes and fruitful, shows the mysteries of the Synagogue, and that he himself has led the people of believers out of the darkness of this age, and that he has come to the sweetest waters of the Jordan, that is, the streams of baptism.

"Ephraim has provoked me to anger with his bitter words; his blood will be on him, and his Lord will repay him for his contempt." Likewise Septuagint. Therefore when I had so helped Ephraim that I had led the naked, the exiled and the lonely to a rich and a masterful Lord, and had made him the parent of many sons, Ephraim deserted me, indeed provoked me to anger: and with his bitterness made bitter what was sweet. Whence his blood will come upon him, that is, he will be the cause of his own death, according to what David says to him who reported to him the death of Saul, and remembered that he had killed the king of Israel: "Your blood be upon your own head" (2 Kings 1:16). Not my opinion, but the blood of Saul (i.e. "Al" for Saul) will be spilled because of your blood. And what follows: "And the Lord will restore his reproach to him," is consistent with the meaning spoken by Nathan to David: "Because you have blasphemed the enemies of the Lord's name, because of this" (1 Kings 12), that is, because of this sin in which you killed Uriah, the blasphemy and reproach itself, by which the Lord was blasphemed, will be turned on your head. Always heretics provoke the merciful Lord to anger, and they who prefer the repentance of the sinner to death, force to punish the hardness of their own hearts, and their blood, with which they have shed both their own and that of many, will come upon their heads, and the reproaches with which they blasphemed the Lord, their Lord will restore to them, not because He is their Lord, but because He was once their Lord.

"While Ephraim was speaking, horror invaded Israel, and he sinned in Baal and died, and now they have added more sins. They made an idol for themselves from their silver, resembling the idols made by craftsmen. They say of them, “Let them sacrifice humans and adore calves.”" LXX: "According to the word, Ephraim received justification in Israel, and placed it by Baal, and he died, and now he has appointed himself to sin, and they have made for themselves a molten image of gold and silver, according to the likeness of idols, the work of craftsmen complete; they say to them, 'Offer men, for the calves have failed.'" Because the seventy [translators] interpreted "Slay ye men, for the calves are failing," and we render [it], "Slay ye men that worship calves"; and Symmachus has interpreted [it], "Slay ye, men, [those] who worship calves"; so that the sense is, "Slay, that is, sacrifice to the idols, and thus let the distinction follow: rational animals, [namely] men, worship calves; mute animals [worship calves]." Therefore, when Ephraim spoke, that is, Jeroboam son of Nabat from the tribe of Ephraim, horror invaded Israel, that is, the ten tribes. For "horror," which is said in Hebrew Rathath, which Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as "tremor"; while wishing for something, they translated δικαιώματα, that is, "justifications," in the LXX. And so great a horror invaded Israel, that he sinned and offended God in Baal and died, losing him who said, "I am the life" (John XIV, 6). For every soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18). And the Apostle said: "But she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, let her trust in God, and continue in supplications and prayers night and day. For she that liveth in pleasures is dead while she is living" (I Timothy 5:5-6). And not only was he dead in Baal, but he also added sins to sins, so that from the silver which the Lord had given, idols were made, the work of men's hands. To which they themselves say, that is, the priests and princes who ought to have taught the people good things: "Slay men, worshipping calves"; which is also said in the Psalms: "They sacrificed their sons and daughters to devils" (Psalm 106:37). Because we translate it according to Symmachus and Theodotion, as "adoring;" but Aquila interpreted it as καταφιλοῦντες, that is, "kissing." For those who adore, they are accustomed to kiss their own hand; which Job denies having done, saying: "If I have kissed my hand with my mouth and my right hand the envious man hath deserved it" (Job 31:27-28). But, as some believe, if demons speak to the people saying, "Sacrifice men, for the calves have failed," then their appetite is revealed of those who are nourished by the blood of the victims and the smoke of the holocausts because as the victims run short, they desire to have men sacrificed to them, not only with their death but also with their blood. But, as the heretics spoke, rather the leaders of the heretics, that is, Ephraim, horror and trembling invaded the unhappy people; and they fell into idols, which they fashioned from their own hearts, and died with the people they seduced. And it is not enough to have fallen, but they also turn the tongue that they received to sing to God into images of idols, and compose dogma with eloquent words similar to truth, which is nothing else but an invention of human wickedness. And they command their disciples, that they themselves also sacrifice men, that is, are furious against the Church of God, and lead them to heretics, and kill those whom they have deceived; And what follows, "The calves have failed," has this meaning: Do not seek those whom you have deceived from the Gentiles, who are called brute animals; but seize them, sacrifice them, who are established in the Church, are considered in the name of Christ, and are called men.

Therefore they will be like morning clouds, and like morning dew that passes away, like dust swept up by a whirlwind, and like smoke from a chimney.” (Vulgate "passing by"). And similarly in the Septuagint: “changing only the final image, ‘and like the vapor from locusts’ or ‘from tears,’ since we find it rendered as either ‘locusts’ or ‘tears’ in most manuscripts. For, he says, they sacrificed to calves as though slaughtering men; therefore they will be like morning clouds, and like the morning dew that passes, like dust swept up by a whirlwind, and like smoke from a chimney.” "All things seem to exist for a time and then quickly pass away, in keeping with the saying, 'He caused his king of Samaria to pass like foam on the surface of water,' and again, 'The king of Israel passes away like a morning shadow.' Everyone knows that clouds, dew, dust from the ground, and smoke from the hearth, all quickly vanish, in accordance with the scripture that says, 'As smoke is driven away, so let them be driven away.'" (Psalm 68:2) However, why have the LXX rendered "fumario" as "locustas," which Theodotion translates as καπνοδόχην (the editions read καπνοδόχον)? Among the Hebrews, locust and fumarium are written with the same letters, Aleph, Res, Beth, He. If it is read as Arbe, it means "locust"; if Orobba ((Al. "arobba")), it means "fumarium": for which Aquila interprets καταράκτην and Symmachus interprets "foramen." Cataractam, however, properly signifies the hole made in the wall through which smoke comes out. But if anyone is contentious and unwilling to receive the truth of Hebrew (Scripture), let him seek after the sense of locusts; let him hear Ephraim compared to "vapour" or "air" and "wind," which is so fine and thin that it cannot be perceived coming forth from the mouth of the locust. And if he objects to this, then why did Ephraim liken himself to anything that is even smaller, such as a flea, which has all of its members, a head, eyes, feet, belly, and all the rest, which, although we do not see with our eyes, we still understand through our senses; for we feel the bites of its mouth, even though we do not see its mouth and teeth. It must be answered that the glory of the dying is compared to the vapor of the locust or the thinnest air because the locust is harmful and so hostile to humans that it causes famine and devastates cultivated crops, to the extent that it even strips trees and vines of their bark, which we read more fully in the Prophet Joel (Joel I and II). And this locust is compared to the morning cloud, dew, and heretic dust, about which it is also said in the Catholic Epistle: "These are clouds without water" (Judae XII). For they have the appearance of prophets, and of apostolic clouds, to which the truth of God has come: but they do not have water, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the Lord saying in the Gospel: "He who believes in me, (as the Scripture says) rivers of living water will flow out of his belly. But this," he said, "refers to the spirit which " "those who believe in him would receive" (John 7:38-39). But as for tears, which have some resemblance in the Greek language to locusts, δακρύων καὶ ἀκρίδων, it is a clear mistake, with some thinking they mean "tears" in place of "locusts".

"But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: and thou shalt know no God but me, and there is no saviour beside me. I knew thee in the desert, in the land of drought. According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full: and they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me." LXX: "But I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: thou shalt not know any god but me, and there is no savior beside me. I fed thee in the wilderness, in a land of drought. According to their pasture, they were filled, and were made full, and their heart was exalted: and therefore they have forgotten me." He who above had said, "Jacob fled into the land of Syria, and served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. Now what hath God rendered to them? I am thy Lord God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, which commanded thee through Moses. Take heed lest thou eat and be satisfied, and forget thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; for there is no God but me, and none other can save." I am the founder of all things, I knew that whether you were fed in the desert and in uninhabitable land, where there was a shortage of everything, where there were no waters: I gave you manna from Heaven and produced fountains of water from the hardest rock. As it is also written elsewhere: "He waxed fat, and kicked, and forgot the God which he had made him" (Deut. XXXII, 15): now they also have eaten and are filled, and their heart has been lifted up, and they have forgotten Him, who they should have been mindful of His benefits. For through so great a waste of desert, where not only does no corn or trees or vines grow, but not even grass, and no waters mitigate the burning heat of the sun, the people of Israel could not have reached the land of the Jordan in forty years, unless the Lord had provided all things. The Lord also brought forth heretics from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and from the iron furnace, who had previously served the king Pharaoh and his leaders: and He commanded them in the Church not to know any other God except Him who is the creator of all things, and who knows how to save those who He created. He himself knew them and was afraid in a land of solitude; so that they may say: "The Lord feeds me and nothing will be lacking to me: he has placed me in a place of pasture: he has led me over the water of refreshment" (Ps. 22, 1-2). And he gave them the bread of angels, manna from heaven, which they had never eaten in Egypt, and water from a rock that followed them. And that rock, according to the Apostle, was Christ (1 Cor. 10): those who ate and were satisfied, and did not endure the food of the Lord. The same Apostle speaks to them: "Now ye are full, now ye are become rich: ye reign without us, and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you" (I Corinthians 4:8). For they ate the bread that descended from heaven in Holy Scripture, and as David said: "You have revealed to me the uncertain and secret things of your wisdom" (Psalm 50:8). They were filled and satiated and lifted up their heart against the Creator, and fashioned themselves another god, attributing to their own merits whatever they drank or ate, and not to the mercy of God. Therefore they have forgotten God, who commanded them to bind the words of the Law on their eyes, and in their hands, and in the fringes of their garments, lest they would ever forget their God.

"And I will be to them like a lioness, like a leopard on the road to Assyria; I will confront them like a bear that has lost its cubs, and I will tear open their chests; there I will devour them like a lion - the wild animals will tear them apart." They were filled and satisfied; they lifted up their hearts and forgot me. But I, he said, will be to them like a lioness, or a panther, of which we have spoken more fully above: and like a leopard on the way of the Assyrians, when they are led captive by the Assyrians: and I will meet them like a bear robbed of its cubs, or an animal in need of food: and I will tear apart all their vital organs. Those who have written about the nature of wild beasts say that among all animals there is nothing more savage than a bear when it has lost its cubs or needs food; and he not only threatens the ferocity of panthers, leopards, bears, lions, and all wild beasts that are born in the forests, but he says that he will direct all of this towards them when they go to the Assyrians: lest they attribute their miseries not to the power and indignation of the Lord, but to the strength of their enemies, when they have suffered hard things there. And at the same time, let us consider what he who speakes in the Gospel to those who believe: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you; for my yoke is sweet and my burden light" (Matt. XI, 28, 29), now through the prophet he becomes a panther, pardus, bear and lion to the unbelievers and those who refuse to do penance: not only to the Israelites, because they were set up for idolatry in the cities or mountains of the Medes; but also to heretics because, due to the pride of their minds and the vanity of their false teachings, they have forgotten their God, have fashioned idols and have followed strange gods.

"Your destruction, Israel, only your help is with me. Where is your king? May he save you now in all your cities; and your judges, of whom you said: Give me a king and princes: I will give you a king in my fury, and take away in my indignation." LXX: "Who will help you in your corruption, O Israel? Where is your king? May he save you in all your cities and judge you as you said: 'Give me a king and prince.' I gave you a king and prince in my anger and took away in my fury." Because the seventy interpreted it as "I have had," everyone translated "I took away." Unhappy is Israel and worthy of eternal curse, who has descended into such profound impiety that he can be saved only by the mercy of God. Yet this may be read in Hebrew and understood in this sense: "May you perish, Israel, because there is nothing left for you except that you be preserved by my mercy alone." But the meaning in the LXX is different: "To your corruption, Israel, who will give assistance?" that is, who will be able to provide help for your captivity and ultimate servitude, those whom you esteemed as your princes? Where is your king, whom you said to Samuel: 'Establish a king over us, to judge us, just as the other nations have'? (2 Kings 8:5). And when he objected, you replied: 'No, but we will have a king, and we will be like all the other nations, and our king will judge us, and he will go out before us and fight for us.' Therefore, where is the promise you made that he would wage your wars, that now he may come to your aid in this time of need, and liberate all your cities from servitude? Where are your judges? Where are your kings? For you have said: "Give me a king and princes"; therefore I gave you Saul as king in my anger, so much so that in the days of the harvest I brought rain contrary to the nature of the province of Judah. "I have removed," he says, "the king in my indignation," that is to say, Zedekiah, "whom I gave in anger, and whom I took away in indignation." Others believe that Jeroboam the son of Nabat was given as king in anger, and the last king of the ten tribes, Hoshea, was taken away in indignation. What we have explained, I gave you a king and took away a king in my indignation, the Hebrews report for future times. At that time, when you said, "Give me a king and princes," I would respond to you through Samuel that I would give it to you in my fury and take it away in my indignation. Every heretic is lost and handed over to corruption; for he who corrupts the temple of God, the Lord will corrupt him: he has no aid in any other way except in the mercy of God, which he attains through penitence. This king and judges are the devil and demons, or all the princes of perverse dogmas, who could not free them in times of necessity and distress, who were given in fury, and taken away in indignation: not that the Lord wanted to have such kings: otherwise he would not take away those whom he had given willingly, but because he left them to their own wills: so that they, eating and fattening up their flesh, would become nauseous, and vomit through their noses, and begin to hate those whom they had so eagerly followed.

"The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his hidden sin is enfolded. Pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for now he does not present himself at the opening of the womb." LXX: "The congregation of iniquity of Ephraim; his sin is concealed. Labor pains shall come upon him as of a woman giving birth. This is your wise son, for he will not now be able to stand the test of the sons' contrition." Just as something that is bound in the world is preserved and does not perish for the one to whom it is bound, so every iniquity by which Ephraim sinned against God is bound to him and hidden as if reserved in a pouch. Finally, when the day of vengeance arrives, and the ultimate captivity, pains like those of a woman in labor will come to him, whether they seize him. A woman in labor, long before giving birth, from the time she conceives, knows that she is going to give birth, and she expects daily that extreme torments and pains will come. So also Ephraim, the foolish son of whom we have said above, "Ephraim is a foolish dove without a heart in contrition" of "his children and his people," when the day of delivery and captivity arrives, will not be able to stand or suffer. For the 'Foolish Son,' it is read ironically in the LXX: 'This is the wise son,' that is, whom you thought wise, so that on the contrary, he may be understood as foolish. But for all heretics, iniquity is gathered, which they spoke on high; and their sin is hidden when they think they are hiding the poison of their hearts and having secrets, which, when the day of delivery comes, will be exposed by pain and effort. This foolish son is Ephraim, because he abandoned the wisdom of God, of whom it is written in Jeremiah: 'His last shall be foolish,' and he will not be able to withstand the wrath of God, in the overthrow of his sons whom he has slain and killed.