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for this reason is this also added? From what follows you will know clearly. And a brazier of fire was before him; a fire of coals, it says, because it was cold. Do you see how nothing is omitted by the divine Scripture? And a fire of coals was before him; and the satraps stood around; the book was brought, full of countless good things for the prophecy of evils was the abolition of evils, and it was being read. Remember for me, I beg you, the promise. And when he had read three leaves, he took the knife, cut it, and cast it into the brazier of fire, until the whole book was consumed. Do you see how they do not spare even the books? how they do not abstain even from the divine writings? Since it contained the captivity of Jerusalem, he cut it up; and not finding the prophet, he vented his anger on the writings. He, then, who warred thus with inanimate things, if he had found the one with a soul, what would he not have done? For just as the fierce wild beasts, when they seize those who fight them, and then those men escape, leaving in the mouths of the beasts the skins they wear, they then chew these up, assuaging their anger; so indeed did the king do. He did not find the one who had the book, and he cut up the book itself; and not only did he cut it up, but he also cast it into the brazier of fire, so that not even a remnant of those writings would remain. But you do not yet know all his madness; but you will know clearly, if you pay close attention to the narrative. For it does not say that after reading the whole book, he then burned it; but, "When he had read three or four leaves, he cut it out." He did not even wait for the end of the reading, but was immediately enraged from the very beginning. For these reasons it was not safe for the prophets to tell the Jews with clarity all the terrible things that were to come. For if he could not bear to hear of a temporary captivity, how would he have endured to learn of the everlasting one? And not even at this did the king stop; but he sent, it says, to seek the prophet everywhere, but did not find him; for God hid him. He hid that one in a place at that time, but the other prophets by the obscurity of their sayings. 6. But it will be clear to us not from these things only, that it was a bold thing among the Jews and one of a soul that risks danger, to speak of the honor and glory that would come to the Gentiles, and the dishonor that would succeed them, but also from the words of Paul. For he, seeing a certain prophet opening up a little of this prophecy, and speaking more clearly than the others, both of our good things and their evil things, was amazed and marveled at his boldness, saying thus: But Isaiah is very bold, and says: "I was found by those who did not seek me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me." I said, "Behold, I am here," to a nation that did not call upon my name. And yet, if danger did not follow from the prophecy, for what reason did Paul say, "But Isaiah is very bold, and says: 'I was found by those who did not seek me'"? Truly a very great accusation of the Jews. Those not seeking found, and those seeking failed; those not hearing believed, and those hearing crucified. For these reasons he called Isaiah bold. For it was indeed of the greatest boldness, standing in the midst of those being accused, to make the accusations unsparingly, and to manifestly cast them out from the honor through the prophecy, while bringing others into the glory owed to them. The tribunal of the hearers had all as accusers. And who can escape danger among hostile judges? For this reason, he says, "He is very bold and says." But I wish to show this to you yet more clearly. For this reason it is spoken of obscurely in the Scriptures concerning the Jews and us, so that the Jews might not understand what was being said before the time. And of this I bring as a witness the most loud-voiced Paul, the one speaking from above, the trumpet of the heavens, the chosen vessel, the bridegroom's attendant

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ἕνεκεν καὶ τοῦτο πρόσκειται; Ἐκ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα εἴσῃ σαφῶς. Καὶ ἐσχάρα πυρὸς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ· ἀνθρακιὰ, φησὶ, διότι ψῦχος ἦν. Ὁρᾶτε πῶς οὐδὲν παραλιμπάνεται τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ; Καὶ ἀνθρακιὰ πυρὸς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ· καὶ περιεστήκεισαν οἱ σατράπαι· ἐκομίσθη τὸ βιβλίον μυρίων γέμον καλῶν ἡ γὰρ τῶν κακῶν προφητεία κακῶν ἀναίρεσις ἦν, καὶ ἀνεγινώσκετο. Μνημονεύετέ μοι, παρακαλῶ, τῆς ὑποσχέσεως. Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀναγινώσκειν αὐτὸν τρεῖς σελίδας, λαβὼν τὴν σμίλην ἔκοψεν, καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν ἐσχάραν τοῦ πυρὸς, ἕως ἐξέλιπε τὸ βιβλίον ἅπαν. Εἶδες πῶς οὐ φείδονται οὐδὲ τῶν βιβλίων; πῶς οὐδὲ τῶν γραμμάτων τῶν θείων ἀπέχονται; Ἐπειδὴ αἰχμαλωσίαν εἶχε τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, κατέκοψε· καὶ οὐχ εὑρὼν τὸν προφήτην, εἰς τὰ γράμματα τὴν ὀργὴν ἀφῆκεν. Ὁ τοίνυν τοῖς ἀψύχοις οὕτω πολεμῶν, εἰ τὸν ψυχὴν ἔχοντα εὗρε, τί οὐκ ἂν εἰργάσατο; Καθάπερ γὰρ τὰ χαλεπὰ τῶν θηρίων, ἐπειδὰν ἐπιλάβωνται τῶν πυκτευόντων αὐτοῖς, εἶτα ἐκεῖνοι διαφύγωσι καταλιπόντες ἐν τῷ στόματι τῶν θηρίων ἃ περίκεινται δέρματα, λοιπὸν αὐτὰ περιτρώγουσι παραμυθούμενα τὸν θυμόν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐποίησεν. Οὐχ εὗρε τὸν ἔχοντα τὸ βιβλίον, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ βιβλίον κατέκοψε· καὶ οὐ κατέκοψε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν ἐσχάραν τοῦ πυρὸς, ἵνα μηδὲ λείψανον μείνῃ τῶν γραμμάτων ἐκείνων. Ἀλλ' οὐδέπω πᾶσαν ἔγνωτε αὐτοῦ τὴν μανίαν· εἴσεσθε δὲ σαφῶς, ἐὰν μετὰ ἀκριβείας τῷ διηγήματι προσέχητε. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἀναγνοὺς τὸ βιβλίον ἅπαν, οὕτως ἔκαυσεν· ἀλλ' Ἐν τῷ ἀναγινώσκειν αὐτὸν τρεῖς σελίδας ἢ τέσσαρας, ἐξέτεμεν αὐτό. Οὐκ ἀνέμεινεν οὐδὲ τὸ τέλος τῆς ἀναγνώσεως, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν προοιμίων εὐθέως ἐξηγριώθη. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἦν ἀσφαλὲς τοῖς προφήταις Ἰουδαίοις λέγειν μετὰ σαφηνείας πάντα τὰ ἐσόμενα δεινά. Εἰ γὰρ πρόσκαιρον οὐκ ἤνεγκεν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἀκοῦσαι, τὴν διηνεκῆ πῶς ἂν ὑπέμεινε μαθεῖν; Καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτου ἔστη ὁ βασιλεύς· ἀλλ' ἔπεμψε, φησὶ, ζητεῖν πανταχοῦ τὸν προφήτην, ἀλλ' οὐχ εὗρεν αὐτόν· ἔκρυψε γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός. Ἐκεῖνον μὲν τόπῳ τότε ἔκρυψε, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους προφήτας τῇ ἀσαφείᾳ τῶν λεγομένων. ςʹ. Οὐκ ἀπὸ τούτων δὲ μόνον ἡμῖν ἔσται φανερὸν, ὅτι τολμηρὸν ἦν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις καὶ ψυχῆς ῥιψοκινδύνου, τὴν ἐσομένην τοῖς ἔθνεσι τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν, καὶ τὴν διαδεξομένην ἐκείνους ἀτιμίαν λέγειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν Παύλου ῥημάτων. Οὗτος γοῦν ἰδών τινα προφήτην μικρὸν παρανοίξαντά τι τῆς προῤῥήσεως ταύτης, καὶ σαφέστερον τῶν ἄλλων εἰπόντα, καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα 56.173 ἀγαθὰ, καὶ τὰ ἐκείνων κακὰ, ἐξεπλάγη καὶ ἐθαύμασε τῆς τόλμης αὐτὸν, οὕτως εἰπών· Ἡσαΐας δὲ ἀποτολμᾷ, καὶ λέγει· Εὑρέθην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν. Εἶπον, Ἰδού εἰμι, τῷ ἔθνει, οἳ οὐκ ἐκάλεσαν τὸ ὄνομά μου. Καίτοι, εἰ μὴ κίνδυνος ἐκ τῆς προῤῥήσεως ἠκολούθει, τίνος ἕνεκεν εἶπε Παῦλος, Ἡσαΐας δὲ ἀποτολμᾷ, καὶ λέγει· Εὑρέθην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν; Μεγίστη ὄντως κατηγορία Ἰουδαίων. Οἱ μὴ ζητοῦντες εὗρον, καὶ οἱ ζητοῦντες ἀπέτυχον· οἱ μὴ ἀκούσαντες ἐπίστευσαν, καὶ οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐσταύρωσαν. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα τολμητὴν ἐκάλεσε τὸν Ἡσαΐαν. Καὶ γὰρ ὄντως μεγίστης τόλμης ἦν, ἐν μέσῳ τῶν κατηγορουμένων ἑστῶτα, ἀφειδῶς ποιεῖσθαι τὰς κατηγορίας, καὶ ἐκείνους μὲν τῆς τιμῆς φανερῶς ἐκβάλλειν διὰ τῆς προφητείας, ἑτέρους δὲ εἰσάγειν εἰς τὴν ὀφειλομένην ἐκείνοις δόξαν. Τὸ δικαστήριον τῶν ἀκουόντων κατηγόρους εἶχε πάντας. Τίς δὲ ἐν δικασταῖς ἐχθροῖς διαφεύγειν δύναται κίνδυνον; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, φησὶν, Ἀποτολμᾷ καὶ λέγει. Ἀλλ' ἔτι τοῦτο ὑμῖν σαφέστερον ἀποδεῖξαι βούλομαι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο περὶ Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἡμῶν ἀσαφῶς ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς εἴρηται, ἵνα μὴ πρὸ καιροῦ συνῶσι τῶν λεγομένων Ἰουδαῖοι. Καὶ τούτου παράγω μάρτυρα τὸν μεγαλοφωνότατον Παῦλον, τὸν ἄνωθεν φθεγγόμενον, τὴν σάλπιγγα τῶν οὐρανῶν, τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς, τὸν νυμφαγωγὸν