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"wrath" would overtake them, if they did not receive the "light of the Lord." And in the same way he prophesies that there will be a destruction of the idolatry among men, and that the Lord alone would be exalted among all, every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God being humbled. I think the prophet, being dismayed because of what he had prophesied before concerning the foreigners who were about to inhabit the land of the Jewish nation, and to occupy Jerusalem itself, and as in a prayer having besought God and said, "do not forgive them," was accordingly deemed worthy of "the righteous judgment of God," the Lord showing him "the day of vengeance" which will pursue all the impious, which, having foreseen it, he from this point now advises to beware of "the coming wrath" that will go against all the impious. Therefore, as if addressing those very people who are about to inhabit the land, he says to enter into the rocks and to hide in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he rises to shatter the earth. For the eyes of the Lord are lofty, but man is humble; and the height of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For I think these things are said concerning the day of judgment, therefore the discourse does not prophesy these present things concerning the Jews alone, but universally concerning all such men. Therefore he says next: For the day of the Lord of Sabaoth is upon every insolent and proud person, and upon everyone high and exalted, and they shall be humbled. For through these things he clearly introduces a universal judgment against all the impious. For this reason neither the Hebrew reading nor the other interpreters have said "and now," which is found in our reading, according to which it is said: "And now enter into the rocks and hide," since he did not prophesy these things concerning the present time, but concerning the universal judgment of God. Then, since in what came before he mentioned those possessing "chariots and horses," and who have gathered wealth and treasures "of gold and silver," accordingly he alludes to the judgment through a figurative allegory, naming cedars of Lebanon and oaks and high mountains and hills and high towers and walls and ships, of all of which he prophesies there will be a destruction "in the expected day of the Lord," in this way alluding covertly to "the rulers of this age" and the heights and dignities, "both the principalities and the powers and the world-rulers in life" "who have not known God." These things the Holy Spirit showed to the prophet who had prayed and said, "do not forgive them," healing the pain of his soul over his own people. Then, since he mentioned in what came before, how "the land was filled with the abominations of the works of their hands, and they worshiped what their fingers had made; and man bowed down, and a male was humbled," accordingly in the following he prophesies, saying: And they will hide the handmade things, bringing them into the caves and into the clefts of the rocks and into the holes of the earth, and again: In that day a man will cast out his silver and gold abominations, which he made to worship them. For at that time, when the day of God has arrived, their opinions, which they formerly held in their soul concerning the polytheistic error, they will hide in their shattered minds, but they will also cast out and reject from their own reasoning every false notion about their own idols. And this they will do from the face of the fear of the Lord, but yet also at the first coming of our Savior these things began in part to be fulfilled after the evangelical word was preached to all the nations. Now at any rate in our time the error of the gods formerly held by the nations has been refuted by their not even to themselves

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αὐτοὺς καταλήψεσθαι «ὀργήν», εἰ μὴ παραδέξοιντο «φῶς κυρίου». κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ θεσπίζει καθαίρεσιν ἔσεσθαι τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις εἰδωλολατρίας, μόνον δὲ παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑψοῦσθαι τὸν κύριον παντὸς ὑψώματος ἐπαιρομένου κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ταπεινουμένου. Ἡγοῦμαι τὸν προφήτην διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἀποδυσπετοῦντα ἐφ' οἷς ἐθέσπισεν περὶ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων τῶν μελλόντων οἰκεῖν τὴν χώραν τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους, αὐτήν τε τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ κατέχειν καὶ ὡς ἐν εὐχῇ δεηθέντα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰρηκότος· «μὴ ἀνῇς αὐτοῖς», ἀκολούθως κατηξιῶσθαι «τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίας» δεικνύντος αὐτῷ τοῦ κυρίου «τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἐκδικήσεως» τῆς πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς μετελευσομένης, ἣν προθεωρήσας παραινεῖ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη φυλάττεσθαι «τὴν μέλλουσαν» ἐπιέναι πᾶσιν τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν «ὀργήν». διὸ ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους τοὺς μέλλοντας οἰκήσειν τὴν χώραν ἀποτεινόμενός φησιν εἰσέρχεσθαι εἰς τὰς πέτρας καὶ κρύπτεσθαι εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν. οἱ γὰρ ὀφθαλμοὶ κυρίου ὑψηλοί, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ταπεινός· καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται τὸ ὕψος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ὑψωθήσεται κύριος μόνος ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ· ταῦτα γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι περὶ τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς κρίσεως λέγεσθαι, διὸ οὐ περὶ μόνον Ἰουδαίων ὁ λόγος τὰ παρόντα θεσπίζει, καθολικῶς δὲ περὶ πάντων τῶν τοιῶνδε ἀνθρώπων. ἐπιλέγει δ' οὖν ἑξῆς· ἡμέρα γὰρ κυρίου σαβαὼθ ἐπὶ πάντα ὑβριστὴν καὶ ὑπερήφανον καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα ὑψηλὸν καὶ μετέωρον, καὶ ταπεινωθήσονται· σαφῶς γὰρ διὰ τούτων καθολικὴν εἰσάγει κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἀσεβῶν κρίσιν. διόπερ οὔτε ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ ἀνάγνωσις οὔτε οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ τὸ καὶ νῦν εἰρήκασιν, ὅπερ ἐν τῇ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀναγνώσει φέρεται, καθ' ἣν εἴρηται· καὶ νῦν εἰσέρχεσθε εἰς τὰς πέτρας καὶ κρύπτεσθε, ἐπεὶ μὴ περὶ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος καιροῦ ταῦτα ἐθέσπισεν, περὶ δὲ τῆς καθολικῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως. Εἶτ' ἐπειδὴ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἐμνημόνευσεν τῶν «τὰ ἅρματα καὶ τοὺς ἵππους» κεκτημένων, «χρυσοῦ τε καὶ ἀργύρου» πλοῦτον καὶ θησαυροὺς συνηγηοχότων, ἀκολούθως τὴν κρίσιν αἰνίττεται διὰ τροπικῆς ἀλληγορίας κέδρους Λιβάνου καὶ δένδρα βαλάνου καὶ ὄρη ὑψηλὰ καὶ βουνοὺς καὶ πύργους ὑψηλοὺς καὶ τείχη καὶ πλοῖα ὀνομάζων, ὧν ἁπάντων ἀπώλειαν ἔσεσθαι προφητεύει «κατὰ τὴν προσδοκωμένην τοῦ κυρίου ἡμέραν», ὧδέ πως αἰνιξάμενος ἐπικεκαλυμμένως «τοὺς κρατοῦντας τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου» καὶ τὰ ὕψη καὶ τὰ ἀξιώματα, «τάς τε ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῷ βίῳ κοσμοκράτορας» «τοὺς τὸν θεὸν μὴ ἐπεγνωκότας» ταῦτα εὐξαμένῳ τῷ προφήτῃ καὶ φήσαντι· «μὴ ἀνῇς αὐτοῖς» ἔδειξε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον θεραπεῦον αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀλγηδόνα. Εἶτ' ἐπειδήπερ ἐμνημόνευσεν διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, ὅπως «ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ γῆ βδελυγμάτων τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ προσεκύνησαν οἷς ἐποίησαν οἱ δάκτυλοι αὐτῶν· καὶ ἔκυψεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἐταπεινώθη ἀνήρ», ἀκολούθως διὰ τῶν μετὰ χεῖρας θεσπίζει λέγων· καὶ τὰ χειροποίητα κατακρύψουσιν εἰσενέγκαντες εἰς τὰ σπήλαια καὶ εἰς τὰς σχισμὰς τῶν πετρῶν καὶ εἰς τὰς τρώγλας τῆς γῆς, καὶ πάλιν· τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐκβαλεῖ ἄνθρωπος τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χρυσᾶ, ἃ ἐποίησεν προσκυνεῖν αὐτοῖς· τηνικαῦτα γὰρ ἐπιστάσης τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμέρας τὰς δόξας αὐτῶν, ἃς εἶχον πρότερον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτῶν περὶ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης, κατακρύψουσιν ἐν ταῖς διερρωγυίαις αὐτῶν διανοίαις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκβαλοῦσιν καὶ ἀπορρίψουσιν τοῦ ἑαυτῶν λογισμοῦ πᾶσαν τὴν ψευδῆ περὶ τῶν εἰδώλων ἑαυτῶν ὑπόληψιν. καὶ τοῦτο πράξουσιν ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου κυρίου, πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν παρουσίας ἐκ μέρους ταῦτα συντελεῖσθαι ἤρξατο μετὰ τὸν κηρυχθέντα πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελικὸν λόγον. ἤδη γοῦν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐλήλεκται τῶν πάλαι νομιζομένων τοῖς ἔθνεσι θεῶν ἡ πλάνη τῷ μὴ καὶ ἑαυτοῖς