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went up." Not as that of Sodom; for it was not completely destroyed; but the cry of its lamentation. "And its great ones sent their young men for water." The priestly thrones sent to inquire from God the things that are expedient. He called them younger, because they were held fast by worldly and youthful desires. "They came to the wells, and found no water." This would never have happened, except by divine wrath. 93.660 Otherwise; For they did not find the living water given from God. "The farmers." Those who ought to work. "And they forsook, because there was no grass." For there were none who listened. For the food of the saints is their disciples. "Wild asses stood upon wooded valleys." They groaned over those who were perishing. Wild asses. Those free from worldly affairs. "Why have you become as a sojourner upon the earth." Why, he says, do you not care for us as a Master, but overlook us as a sojourner? "Turning aside to a lodging place." He who hurries to reach a lodging place, even if he sees some in any way needing help, overlooks and runs past. "They loved to move their feet." To be moved disorderly, to run to evil things. "Behold their prophets prophesy." As defending the people the prophet says, that the false prophets deceive them; and from this he accomplishes two things; he transfers the wrath onto the prophets, and urges God to say, that I did not send them. "They will die a sickly death." In a prolonged sickness, as a quick death happens to be more preferable. "And they shall be cast out in the crossroads of Jerusalem." Crossroads are the most shameful roads. "Do not reject." A prayer of the prophet to God, and a confession on behalf of the people, and God's answer to him. "And has your soul departed from Zion?" Just as the Scripture humanly forms God who is without form, so also as for a man, Your soul is dead. Or prophetically, that God the Word was about to become man for our sake. "And if the heaven will give its fill, is it not you yourself?" Not even the heavenly powers, he says, are able to supply good things without your permission. "And we will wait for you, Lord, for you have done all these things." You are, he says, and not some other, the one who supplies both the perceptible and the spiritual rain to us. CHAPTER 15. "And the Lord said to me, If Moses stood, and Samuel." Moses who says, If you forgive their sin, forgive; otherwise, blot me also out of this your book, which you have written; and Samuel who also mourns the sin of Saul. "Send them away, and let them go forth." It is not God who casts out, but our sins separate, between us and him. "The sword for slaughter, and the dogs." After [or: after the perceptible] the perceptible, an intelligible sword, falsely named knowledge. And dogs concerning whom the Apostle said: Beware of the dogs, beware of the 93.661 evil workers. And beasts of the earth, those who sow earthly thoughts in us; and birds of the heaven those who sow high things in us along with the knowledge of God. "Because of Manasseh." He persuaded the Jews to practice idolatry in an extraordinary way. It is also said that he himself sawed the prophet Isaiah in two. "Or who will turn back to you for peace?" Who has to be afraid to harm you? instead of, No one. Or who, he says, is going to be at peace with you, when I am at war with you? "And I will destroy you, and I will no longer spare them." The, 'you', and, 'them', refers to the same thing; he means Jerusalem, and those being threatened. "In the gates of my people they have been bereaved of children." The populous cities have become desolate. "Above the sand of the sea." The speech is hyperbolic. "Misery at noonday." Of Chrysostom [or: Olympiodorus]. See how he brought on the punishment, so that these should not be thought to be the usual ones, but truly some sent by God. "I have cast upon her a sudden terror." Unexpectedly. "She was emptied. The sun set upon her, while it was still midday." Because of the multitude of the enemies; or because, being suddenly overtaken by disasters, they do not even see the sun because of the confusion. "Woe is me, for what sort of man, mother, did you bear me

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ἀνέβη." Οὐχ ὡς ἡ Σοδόμων· οὐ γὰρ τελείως ἠφανίσθη· ἀλλὰ τοῦ ὀδυρμοῦ αὐτῆς ἡ κραυγή. "Καὶ οἱ μεγιστᾶνες αὐτῆς ἀπέστειλαν τοὺς νεωτέρους αὐτῶν ἐφ' ὕδωρ." Οἱ θρόνοι οἱ ἱερατικοὶ ἔπεμψαν ἐπερωτῆσαι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ τὰ συμφέροντα. Νεωτέρους δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐκάλεσε, διὰ τὸ κοσμικαῖς καὶ νεωτερικαῖς αὐτοὺς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐνέχεσθαι. "Ἤλθοσαν ἐπὶ τὰ φρέατα, καὶ οὐχ εὕρησαν ὕδωρ." Τοῦτο εἰ μὴ ἐκ θείας ὀργῆς, οὐκ ἄν ποτε συνέβη. 93.660 Ἄλλως· Οὐ γὰρ εὗρον τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ διδόμενον. "Οἱ γεωργοί." Οἱ ὀφείλοντες ἐργάζεσθαι. "Καὶ ἐγκατέλιπον, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν βοτάνη." Οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ ἀκούοντες. Τροφὴ γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων οἱ αὐτῶν μαθηταί. "Ὄναγροι ἔστησαν ἐπὶ νάπας." Ἐστέναξαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις. Ὄναγροι. Οἱ τῶν κοσμικῶν πραγμάτων ἐλεύθεροι. "Ἵνα τί ἐγενήθης ὡσεὶ πάροικος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς." Ἵνα τί, φησὶν, οὐ κήδῃ ἡμῶν ὡς ∆εσπότης, ἀλλὰ παρορᾷς ὡσεὶ πάροικος; "Ἐκκλίνων εἰς κατάλυμα." Ὁ ἐπειγόμενος εἰς κατάλυμα φθάσαι, κἂν ἴδῃ τινὰς ὁπωσοῦν χρῄζοντας βοηθείας, παρορᾷ, καὶ παρατρέχει. "Ἠγάπησαν κινεῖν πόδας αὐτῶν." Ἀτάκτως κινεῖσθαι, τρέχειν εἰς τὰ κακά. "Ἰδοὺ οἱ προφῆται αὐτῶν προφητεύουσι." Ὡς ὑπεραπολογούμενος τοῦ λαοῦ ὁ προφήτης φησὶν, ὅτι Οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται αὐτοὺς ἀπατῶσι· καὶ δύο ἐντεῦθεν πραγματεύεται· μετάγει τὴν ὀργὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ προτρέπει λέγειν Θεὸν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἐγὼ αὐτοὺς ἀπέστειλα. "Ἐν θανάτῳ νοσερῷ ἀποθανοῦνται." Ἐν παρατεταμένῃ νόσῳ, ὡς τοῦ συντόμου θανάτου αἱρετωτέρου τυγχάνοντος. "Καὶ ἔσονται ἐῤῥιμμένοι ἐν ταῖς διόδοις Ἱερουσαλήμ." ∆ίοδοί εἰσιν αἱ αἴσχιστοι ὁδοί. "Μὴ ἀποδοκιμάζων." ∆έησις τοῦ προφήτου πρὸς Θεὸν, καὶ ἐξομολόγησις ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ Θεοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπόκρισις. "Καὶ ἀπὸ Σιὼν ἀπέστη ἡ ψυχή σου;" Ὥσπερ ἀνθρωπίνως διαμορφοῖ τὸν Θεὸν ἡ Γραφὴ τὸν ἀσχημάτιστον, οὕτως καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου, Ἡ ψυχή σου τέθνηκεν. Ἢ προφητικῶς, ὅτι ἔμελλεν ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος δι' ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπος γίγνεσθαι. "Καὶ εἰ ὁ οὐρανὸς δώσει πλησμονὴν αὐτοῦ, οὐχὶ σὺ αὐτός;" Οὐδὲ αἱ οὐράνιαι, φησὶ, δυνάμεις δίχα τῆς σῆς ἐπιτροπῆς δύνανται χορηγεῖν ἀγαθά. "Καὶ ὑπομενοῦμέν σε, Κύριε, ὅτι σὺ ἐποίησας πάντα ταῦτα." Σὺ εἶ, φησὶ, καὶ οὐχ ἕτερός τις ὁ καὶ τὸν αἰσθητὸν ἡμῖν καὶ τὸν πνευματικὸν χορηγῶν ὑετόν. ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΕʹ. "Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρός με, Ἐὰν στῇ Μωυσῆς, καὶ Σαμουήλ." Μωυσῆς ὁ λέγων, Εἰ μὲν ἀφῇς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἄφες· ἐπεὶ κἀμὲ ἐξάλειψον ἐκ τῆς βίβλου σου ταύτης, ἧς ἔγραψας· καὶ Σαμουὴλ ὁ καὶ τὴν τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἁμαρτίαν πενθῶν. "Ἐξαπόστειλον αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐξελθέτωσαν." Οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ἐκβάλλει, ἀλλ' αἱ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαι διιστῶσιν, ἀναμέσον ἡμῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ. "Μάχαιραν εἰς σφαγὴν, καὶ τοὺς κύνας." Μετὰ [ἀλ. μετὰ τὸ αἰσθητόν] τὴν αἰσθητὴν, μάχαιραν νοητὴν, ψευδώνυμον γνῶσιν. Κύνας δὲ περὶ ὧν εἶπεν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Βλέπετε τοὺς κύνας, βλέπετε τοὺς 93.661 κακοὺς ἐργάτας. Θηρία δὲ γῆς, τοὺς τὰ γήϊνα φρονήματα ἡμῖν ἐνσπείροντας· πετεινὰ δὲ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τοὺς τὰ ὑψώματα ἡμῖν ἐπισπείροντας μετὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. "∆ιὰ Μανασσήν." Οὖτος ἔπεισεν ἐκτόπως εἰδωλολατρεῖν τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. Λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὸν προφήτην Ἡσαΐαν αὐτὸς πρῖσαι. "Ἢ τίς ἀνακάμψει εἰς εἰρήνην σοι;" Τίς ἔχει φοβηθῆναι εἰς τὸ κακῶσαί σε; ἀντὶ τοῦ, Οὐδείς. Ἢ τίς, φησὶ, μέλλει σοι εἰρηνεύειν, ἐμοῦ σοι πολεμοῦντος; "Καὶ διαφθερῶ σε, καὶ οὐκέτι ἀνήσω αὐτούς." Τὸ, σέ, καὶ, αὐτούς, κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ κεῖται· φησὶ δὲ τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τοὺς ἀπειλουμένους. "Ἐν πύλαις λαοῦ μου ἠτεκνώθησαν." Αἱ πολυοχλοῦσαι πόλεις ἔρημοι γεγόνασιν. "Ὑπὲρ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης." Ὑπερβολικὸς ὁ λόγος. "Ταλαιπωρίαν ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ." Τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου [ἄλ. Ὀλυμπιοδώρου]. Ὅρα πῶς τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐπήγαγεν, ὥστε μὴ νομισθῆναι ταύτας εἶναι τὰς συνήθεις, ἀλλ' ὄντως θεηλάτους τινάς. "Ἀπέῤῥιψα ἐπ' αὐτὴν ἐξαίφνης τρόμον." Ἀπροσδοκήτως. "Ἐκενώθη. Ἐπέδυ ὁ ἤλιος ἐπ' αὐτῇ, ἔτι μεσούσης τῆς ἡμέρας." Ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν πολεμίων· ᾒ ὅτι αἰφνιδίως συμφοραῖς καταλαμβανόμενοι, οὐδὲ τὸν ἥλιον ὑπὸ τῆς ταραχῆς βλέπουσιν. "Οἵμοι ἐγὼ, ὡς τίνα, μῆτερ, μὲ ἔτεκες ἄνδρα