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in his days righteousness and abundance of peace.” And he had come for this very purpose, to preach “peace to those who are near and to those who are far,” and to those who received him he says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” which peace the nations throughout the whole world who believed in him received. But the people of the circumcision, not believing in him, did not know the things that make for their peace. Therefore he adds, “But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you.” So then, the things that were going to overtake them a little later in the siege against them, because they did not accept the peace that was proclaimed to them beforehand, were hidden from their eyes. They, therefore, did not foresee the things that would happen to them after this, but he himself prophesied them most clearly through the prediction, signifying beforehand the siege by the Romans that would overtake them: “For days will come upon you,” because you did not know the things that make for your peace. For this reason “days will come upon you, and your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you,” describing through these words the manner of the war that would be waged against them. And how these things were brought to fulfillment, one can gather from the writing of Josephus, who, being a Jew and born of the Jewish tribe among them, one of the notable and distinguished men in the nation, recorded each of the events during the times of the siege, presenting the results in accordance with the aforementioned prophecies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . through the preceding words he gives signs of the time of the complete desolation of the place, which indeed he presents, saying, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.” For let no one, he says, expect after the coming siege and the desolation of the place that will result from it that there will be another renewal for it, as happened in the times of Cyrus the king of the Persians and after that under Antiochus Epiphanes and again under Pompey. For although the place had already endured siege many times, it was deemed worthy of greater honor after these things. But now, know that the final desolation of the city and its complete destruction will come upon it, whenever “you see it being besieged by armies.” And he calls the desolation of Jerusalem the destruction of the temple and the abolition of the things formerly performed in it according to the law of Moses. For do not think that the desolation of the city itself is indicated by these words, as if no one would ever live in it again. So he adds next that the city will be inhabited, not however by Jews, but by Gentiles, saying something like this, “and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles.” Therefore, he knows that it will be inhabited by Gentiles. But he calls its desolation the fact that it will no longer be constituted by its own people nor according to the lawful worship. And as to how these things too were fulfilled, there is no need for many words. For it is possible to see with our own eyes the Jews scattered into all the nations, and foreigners and strangers inhabiting what was formerly Jerusalem, but is now renamed Aelia from its besieger Aelius Hadrian. So the paradox of the oracle would be this, that concerning the Jews he says, “they will be led captive among all the nations,” but concerning the Gentiles, “and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles.” And the result is astonishing, if indeed the Jews, filling the whole inhabited world of men, so as to reach even as far as the Ethiopians and Scythians and the very ends of the earth, are not able to set foot in their own city alone and in the place formerly worshiped by them. And if the city were completely desolate and uninhabited, one might have supposed this to be the reason. But now, since the place is inhabited by foreign and alien nations, it happens to be inaccessible to them alone, so that

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ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης». ἐληλύθει δὲ εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο κηρύξαι «εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγὺς καὶ τοῖς μακράν», τοῖς τε παραδεχομένοις αὐτόν φησιν, «εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν», ἥντινα εἰρήνην τὰ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύσαντα ἔθνη παρεδέξατο. ὁ δὲ ἐκ περιτομῆς λαὸς μὴ πιστεύσας εἰς αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην ἑαυτοῦ. διὸ ἐπιλέγει, «νῦν δὲ ἐκρύβη ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, ὅτι ἥξουσιν ἡμέραι ἐπί σε καὶ περιβαλοῦσί σε οἱ ἐχθροί σου». τὰ γοῦν μέλλοντα αὐτοὺς καταλήψεσθαι μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐν τῇ κατ' αὐτῶν πολιορκίᾳ, διὰ τὸ μὴ προσδέξασθαι αὐτοὺς τὴν προκαταγγελθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς εἰρήνην, ἐκρύβη ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτοῖς συμβησόμενα οὐ προεῖδον, αὐτὸς δὲ αὐτὰ διὰ τῆς προρρήσεως θεσπίζει σαφέστατα τὴν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων πολιορκίαν καταλαβοῦσαν αὐτοὺς προσημάνας· «ἥξουσι γὰρ ἡμέραι ἐπί σε», ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνως τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην σοι. διὰ ταύτην γὰρ τὴν αἰτίαν «ἥξουσιν ἡμέραι ἐπί σε καὶ περιβαλοῦσιν οἱ ἐχθροί σου καὶ περικυκλώσουσί σε καὶ συνέξουσί σε παντόθεν καὶ ἐδαφιοῦσί σε καὶ τὰ τέκνα σου ἔν σοι,» ὑπογράψας δὲ διὰ τούτων τὸν τρόπον τοῦ κατ' αὐτῶν γενησομένου πολέμου. ὅπως δὲ ἐπὶ πέρας ἤχθη ταῦτα, πάρεστιν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰωσήπου γραφῆς ἀναλέξασθαι, ὃς δὴ Ἰουδαῖος ὢν καὶ τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς Ἰουδαϊκῆς φυλῆς γεγονὼς τῶν τε ἐπισήμων καὶ ἐπιφανῶν ἐν τῷ ἔθνει, κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς πολιορκίας ἕκαστα τῶν πεπραγμένων ἱστόρησε σύμφωνα ταῖς προκειμέναις προρρήσεσι τὰ ἀποτελέσματα παραστήσας. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . διὰ τῶν προκειμένων σημεῖα δίδωσι τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς παντελοῦς ἐρημίας τοῦ τόπου, ἃ δὴ παρίστησι λέγων, «ὅταν δὲ ἴδητε κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἱερουσαλήμ, τότε γνῶτε ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς». μηδεὶς γάρ, φησί, προσδοκάτω μετὰ τὴν ἐσομένην πολιορκίαν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ γενησομένην ἐρημίαν τοῦ τόπου ἑτέραν αὐτῆς ἔσεσθαι ἀνανέωσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν χρόνων Κύρου τοῦ Περσῶν βασιλέως γέγονε καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπ' Ἀντιόχου τοῦ Ἐπιφανοῦς καὶ πάλιν ἐπὶ Πομπηΐου. πολλάκις γὰρ ἤδη πολιορκίαν ὑπομείνας ὁ τόπος, μείζονος ἠξιώθη μετὰ ταῦτα τιμῆς. ἀλλὰ νῦν τὴν ἐσχάτην τῆς πόλεως ἐρημίαν καὶ τὸν παντελῆ ἀφανισμὸν ἐπελεύσεσθαι αὐτῇ γινώσκετε, ἐπειδὰν «ἴδητε αὐτὴν ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων πολιορκουμένην». ἐρήμωσιν δὲ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὀνομάζει τοῦ ἱεροῦ τὸν ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ πάλαι πρότερον κατὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον ἐπιτελουμένων τὴν καθαίρεσιν. μὴ γὰρ δὴ τῆς πόλεως αὐτῆς ἐρημίαν νόμιζε δηλοῦσθαι διὰ τούτων ὡς μηδενὸς ἐν αὐτῇ μηκέτι κατοικήσοντος. ἐπιλέγει δ' οὖν ἑξῆς ὅτι κατοικηθήσεται ἡ πόλις, οὐ μὴν ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν ὧδέ πη λέγων, «καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔσται πατουμένη ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν». τοιγαροῦν οἶδεν ὅτι κατοικηθήσεται ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν. ἐρήμωσιν δὲ αὐτῆς ἀποκαλεῖ τὸ μηκέτι ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων μηδὲ κατὰ τὴν νόμιμον λατρείαν συστήσεσθαι αὐτήν. ὅπως δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐπληροῦτο, οὐδὲν δεῖ πολλῶν λόγων. πάρεστι γὰρ ὑπ' ὄψεσιν ὁρᾶν Ἰουδαίους μὲν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διεσκεδασμένους, ἀλλοφύλους δὲ καὶ ἀλλογενεῖς οἰκήτορας τῆς πάλαι μὲν Ἱερουσαλήμ, νῦν δ' ἀπὸ τοῦ πολιορκητοῦ Αἰλίου Ἀδριανοῦ Αἰλίας μετωνομασμένης. τὸ γοῦν παράδοξον τοῦ θεσπίσματος τοῦτ' ἂν εἴη, ὅτι περὶ Ἰουδαίων μέν φησιν, «αἰχμαλωτισθήσονται εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη», περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐθνῶν «καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔσται πατουμένη ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν». ἐκπληκτικὸν δὲ τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα, εἴγε Ἰουδαῖοι πληροῦντες τὴν σύμπασαν ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένην, ὥς τε καὶ μέχρις Αἰθιόπων χωρῆσαι καὶ Σκυθῶν καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς, ἐν μόνῃ τῇ αὐτῶν πόλει καὶ τῷ πάλαι θρησκευομένῳ παρ' αὐτοῖς τόπῳ οὐχ οἷοί τέ εἰσιν ἐπιβαίνειν. καὶ εἰ μὲν ἦν παντελῶς ἔρημος ἡ πόλις καὶ ἀοίκητος, κἂν ὑπενόησέ τις τοῦτο εἶναι τὸ αἴτιον. νῦν δὲ ὑπὸ ἀλλογενῶν καὶ ἀλλοφύλων ἐθνῶν τοῦ τόπου κατοικουμένου μόνοις αὐτοῖς ἄβατος τυγχάνει, ὡς