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Daniel, who spoke beforehand not about one city, nor about a small nation, but about the greatest kingdoms, Chaldean, Per sian, Macedonian, Roman, and of the things that happened in part under them, to deprive of the prophetic title, and to say that he is alien to spiritual grace. And indeed, you who are very ungrateful ought to have respected Nebuchadnezzar, the 81.1264 impious, the beastly, the barbarian, the uninitiated in divine things, shouting concerning Daniel and saying: "That the holy Spirit of God is in him." For it was truly the work of the divine Spirit, both to tell the dream, which another saw and had forgotten, and to declare its interpretation accurately and truly. But not even this persuades you to put an end to your madness against the prophet, but through the prophet you make war against the prophet's Master. But the prophet will in no way be harmed by your contrivances; for the divine scriptures show him to be a prophet, and the fulfillment of the prophecy confirms the foreknowledge. But now, seeing the events, we understand those ancient decrees, and being guided by the events themselves, we easily grasp the understanding of the events; but you show your own drunken violence even through these things. But for now we have made in summary the refutations of your shamelessness; but the interpretation in detail will more clearly expose your folly. Come then, having sufficiently made both the defense on our own behalf and the accusation of the Jews, let us first make clear the subject of the prophecy, and then let us take up the word-for-word interpretation. After Josiah (and he was a pious king) Jehoahaz, his son, reigned over Judea for three whole months and a few days; and he had two names; for in Kings, and in Chronicles, he is named Jehoahaz; but the blessed prophet Jeremiah calls him Shallum. Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, taking him captive, led him as a prisoner into Egypt; and in his place he appointed Eliakim his brother as king, and named him Jehoiakim. And he reigned for eleven years and a few months. In the third year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, having marched against him, took not a few captives from among those distinguished for their noble birth; and he also took some of the sacred vessels dedicated to the divine liturgies; and having imposed a certain tribute on Jehoiakim, he departed to Babylon. Then, when he was unwilling to pay the appointed tribute, he again marched against Jerusalem, and having taken the city, and having slain him, he appointed in his place his son, named Jehoiakim by the Jews, but renamed again 81.1265 Eliakim. And the blessed prophet Jeremiah calls him Jeconiah. "For I live, he says, says the Lord, if Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were to become a signet ring on my right hand, from there I will tear you off, and I will deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life, of whom you are afraid before their face, into the hands of the Chaldeans." And so when he had presided over the kingdom for three months and a few days, then again Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, sending an army and a general, led him away as a captive to Babylon, and entrusted the kingdom to Zedekiah, who was his paternal uncle; and when he had reigned for eleven years, and then had not given the imposed tribute, the king of the Babylonians marches against Jerusalem with a great force, then having besieged it, and using famine as an ally against them, and bringing siege engines against the walls, he breaches the wall, kills most of them, and enslaving the rest leads them away as captives, having given over both the city and the temple to fire. But the God of all, who to suffer these things

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∆ανιὴλ οὐ περὶ πόλεως μιᾶς, οὐδὲ περὶ ἔθνους βραχέος, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν μεγίστων βασιλειῶν προειρηκότα, Χαλδαϊκῆς, Περ σικῆς, Μακεδονικῆς, Ῥωμαϊκῆς, καὶ τῶν κατὰ μέ ρος ὑπὸ τούτων γεγενημένων, τῆς προφητικῆς προσ ηγορίας ἀποστερεῖν, καὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς χάριτος ἀλλότριον εἶναι λέγειν. Καὶ μὴν ἔδει καὶ λίαν ὑμᾶς ὄντας ἀγνώμονας τὸν Ναβουχοδονόσορ αἰδεσθῆναι τὸν 81.1264 δυσσεβῆ, τὸν θηριώδη, τὸν βάρβαρον, τὸν τῶν θείων ἀμύητον, βοῶντα περὶ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ, καὶ λέγοντα· "Ὅτι Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἅγιόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτῷ." Καὶ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἔργον ἦν, καὶ τὸ ἐν ύπνιον εἰπεῖν, ὃ ἕτερος θεασάμενος ἐπελήσθη, καὶ τούτου δηλῶσαι τὴν ἑρμηνείαν ἀκριβῶς τε καὶ ἀλη θῶς. Ὑμᾶς δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο πείθει τὴν κατὰ τοῦ προ φήτου καταλῦσαι μανίαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου τῷ τοῦ προφήτου πολεμεῖτε ∆εσπότῃ. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν προ φήτης οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν ὑμετέρων βλαβήσεται τεχνασμά των· προφήτην γὰρ αὐτὸν δείκνυσι τὰ θεῖα συγγράμ ματα, βεβαιοῖ δὲ τὴν πρόγνωσιν καὶ τὸ τῆς προῤῥή σεως τέλος. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ νῦν ὁρῶντες τὰ πράγματα νοοῦμεν ἐκεῖνα τὰ παλαιὰ θεσπίσματα, καὶ ὑπ' αὐ τῶν ποδηγούμενοι τῶν πραγμάτων ῥᾳδίως λαμβάνο μεν τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων κατάληψιν· ὑμεῖς δὲ τὴν οἰκείαν παροινίαν καὶ διὰ τούτων δηλοῦτε. Ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀναιδείας τοὺς ἐλέγχους ἐποιησάμεθα· ἡ δὲ κατὰ μέρος ἑρμηνεία ἐναργέστερον ὑμῶν ἐλέγξει τὴν ἄνοιαν. Φέρε τοί νυν, τήν τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἀπολογίαν, καὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίων κατηγορίαν ἀποχρώντως ποιησάμενοι, τὴν τῆς προφητείας ὑπόθεσιν δήλην πρότερον καταστή σωμεν, εἶθ' οὕτως τῆς κατὰ λέξιν ἑρμηνείας ἁψώ μεθα. Μετὰ τὸν Ἰωσίαν (εὐσεβὴς δὲ οὗτος γεγένη ται βασιλεὺς) ἐβασίλευσε τῆς Ἰουδαίας Ἰωάχαζ, ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, τρεῖς μῆνας ὅλους καὶ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας· διώνυμος δὲ οὗτος ἦν· ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς Βασιλείαις, καὶ τοῖς Παραλειπομένοις, Ἰωάχαζ ὀνομάζεται· ὁ δὲ μακάριος Ἱερεμίας αὐτὸν ὁ προφήτης Σελεὶμ προσαγορεύει. Τοῦτον δορυάλωτον ὁ τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς Φαραὼ Νεχαὼ λαβὼν, αἰχμάλωτον εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἀπήγαγεν· ἐχειροτόνησε δὲ ἀντ' αὐτοῦ βασιλέα Ἐλιακεὶμ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ Ἰωακεὶμ αὐτὸν προσηγόρευσεν. Ἐβασίλευσε δὲ οὗτος ἓν καὶ δέκα ἔτη πρὸς ὀλίγοις μησίν. Ἐν δὲ τῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει τῆς τούτου βασιλείας ἐπιστρατεύσας Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ὁ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων βασιλεὺς, ἔλαβε μὲν οὐκ ὀλίγους δορυαλώτους τῶν ἐπ' εὐγενείᾳ λαμπρυνομένων· ἔλαβε δὲ καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἱερῶν σκευῶν τῶν ταῖς θείαις λει τουργίαις ἀφιερωμένων· δασμὸν δέ τινα ἐπιθεὶς τῷ Ἰωακεὶμ ἀπῆρεν εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. Εἶτα, τού του τὸν ὁρισθέντα φόρον ἐκτῖσαι μὴ βουλομένου, πάλιν ἐπεστράτευσε τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἑλὼν, καὶ τοῦτον ἀνελὼν, καθίστησιν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ βασιλέα τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, Ἰωακεὶμ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὀνομασθέντα, Ἐλιακεὶμ δὲ πάλιν 81.1265 μετονομασθέντα. Καὶ τοῦτον δὲ ὁ μακάριος Ἱερε μίας ὁ προφήτης Ἰεχονίαν ὀνομάζει. "Ζῶ γὰρ, φησὶ, λέγει Κύριος, ἐὰν γενόμενος γένηται Ἰεχονίας, υἱὸς Ἰωακεὶμ βασιλέως Ἰούδα, ἀποσφράγισμα ἐπὶ τῆς χειρός μου τῆς δεξιᾶς, ἐκεῖθεν ἐκσπάσω σε, καὶ παραδώσω σε εἰς χεῖρας ζητούντων τὴν ψυχήν σου, ὧν σὺ εὐλαβῇ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν, εἰς χεῖρας τῶν Χαλδαίων." Καὶ τούτου τοίνυν τρεῖς μῆνας πρὸς ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις τὴν βασιλείαν πρυτανεύσαντος, τότε πάλιν ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ὁ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων βασιλεὺς, στρατιὰν ἀποστείλας καὶ στρατηγὸν, τοῦτον μὲν αἰχμάλωτον ἀπήγαγεν εἰς τὴν Βαβυ λῶνα, τῷ δὲ Σεδεκίᾳ θείῳ πρὸς πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ὄντι τὴν βασιλείαν ἐνεχείρισε· καὶ τούτου δὲ ἐνιαυ τὸν ἕνα πρὸς τοῖς δέκα βασιλεύσαντος, εἶτα τὸν ἐγ κείμενον οὐ δεδωκότος φόρον, μετὰ πολλῆς μὲν δυνάμεως ἐπιστρατεύει τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις τῶν Βαβυ λωνίων ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἔπειτα πολιορκήσας, καὶ τῷ λιμῷ κατ' αὐτῶν συμμάχῳ χρησάμενος, καὶ μηχανή ματα τοῖς περιβόλοις προσενεγκὼν, ῥήγνυσι μὲν τὸ τεῖχος, ἀναιρεῖ δὲ τοὺς πλείστους, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἐξανδραποδίσας ἀπάγει δορυαλώτους, πυρὶ τήν τε πόλιν καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν παραδούς. Ἀλλ' ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, ὁ ταῦτα παθεῖν