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Instead of 'tassels,' Aquila translated 'bands' and instead of 'the crescents,' Symmachus: 'necklaces,' the 'pendant,' Aquila: 'woven with thread,' Symmachus: 'the hanging things,' and again 'the bracelets,' Symmachus: 'the knotted garments.' Since the prophecy seemed through the previous things to have said everything concerning men, and it was likely that the women would think nothing had been said to them, of necessity he also sets down the threat against them, describing their former condition as 'living in luxury and wantonness' in wealth; and in great abundance they made no remembrance of God, wherefore he also threatens to 'strip' them of those things in which they luxuriated. Instead of their former luxury, he signifies for them the change to worse things, through which he adds: there shall be dust instead of a sweet smell, and instead of a girdle you shall be girded with a rope, and instead of the adornment of the head you shall have a bald spot for your works, and instead of the tunic with the purple stripe you shall gird yourself with sackcloth. But these things can be said not only concerning women, but also concerning dissolute and effeminate souls. And it was likely that these things also were fulfilled for the people of the circumcision after their contradiction against our savior and lord; for abounding in wealth, those who then still inhabited Zion, and their daughters, were 'wanton,' being insensitive to the evils surrounding them. Reasonably, therefore, the prophecy also made threats against them, saying that they would be handed over to the sword of the enemy, and hinting at the Roman invasion by saying: and your most beautiful son, whom you love, shall fall by the sword, and your mighty ones shall fall by the sword. Instead of which Symmachus published it in this manner: and instead of beauty, the beautiful of your number shall fall by the sword and your mighty ones in war, when the city also will be emptied and will mourn. To it, at any rate, was said according to the Seventy: and you shall be left alone and shall be dashed to the ground. The utmost desolation of the place being signified through these things, and next to these, since men have failed and are no more because of being slain by the sword, he says seven women will take hold of one man, needing him for nothing more than to give them his name, for they are not in need, except for his name and for him to seem to preside over them, so that they might not be desolate and reproached for having no one to preside. Wherefore, as if finding this one as someone rare, since all the others have perished, they say to him: only let your name be called upon us, take away our reproach. This is the meaning of the text, but others said that the first man is the savior, and the seven women are the seven powers of the holy spirit, which were about the first man because they find no other one who is able to contain them, and these are 'a spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and godliness' and over all 'a spirit of the fear of God'. 1.32 In that day God will shine forth. He teaches that both the first things and the things set forth will be at one and the same time, but those were grim, while the present ones are better. How then was it possible for the things of the good promise also to be fulfilled for the same people at one time? For the phrase 'in that day' happens to signify the same Christ, in whom the aforementioned things also will come to pass, God will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth. Instead of which Symmachus has rendered: the rising of the Lord shall be for the power and glory of the earth and for preeminence. But if he had in order applied the good promises to the whole people, the account would have seemed to contain contradictions, but now it is promised not to the whole nation, but only to the remnant left from it: God will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth to exalt and glorify the remnant left in Jerusalem, and the remnant left in Jerusalem shall be called holy. And these were they, who through the former prophecy were indicated through the 'seed' that was left, concerning which it was said: 'And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us
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Ἀντὶ τῶν κοσύμβων ὁ Ἀκύλας τελαμῶνας ἡρμήνευσεν καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ· τοὺς μηνίσκους, ὁ Σύμμαχος· μανιάκας, τὸ κάθεμα ὁ Ἀκύλας· κροκυφάντους, ὁ Σύμμαχος· τὰ χαλαστά, καὶ πάλιν τοὺς χλιδῶνας ὁ Σύμμαχος· τὰ ἐνκομβώματα. ἐπειδὴ περὶ ἀνδρῶν ἔδοξεν ἡ προφητεία διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν πάντα εἰρηκέναι, εἰκὸς δὲ ἦν τὰς γυναῖκας μηδὲν πρὸς αὐτὰς λελέχθαι νομίζειν ἀναγκαίως καὶ τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν ἀπειλὴν τίθησιν, τὴν παλαιὰν αὐτῶν κατάστασιν ὑπογράφων ὡς «ἐντρυφῶσαι καὶ κατασπαταλῶσαι» ἐν πλούτῳ· καὶ πολλῇ περιουσίᾳ θεοῦ μνήμην οὐδεμίαν ἐποιοῦντο, διὸ καὶ «γυμνώσειν» αὐτὰς ἐκείνων ἐν οἷς ἐτρύφων ἀπειλεῖ. Ἀντὶ δὲ τῆς προτέρας τρυφῆς τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω μεταβολὴν αὐταῖς σημαίνει, δι' ὧν ἐπιλέγει· ἔσται ἀντὶ ὀσμῆς ἡδείας κονιορτός, καὶ ἀντὶ ζώνης σχοινίῳ ζώσῃ καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῆς κεφαλῆς φαλάκρωμα ἕξεις διὰ τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ χιτῶνος τοῦ μεσοπορφύρου περιζώσῃ σάκκον. δύναται δὲ ταῦτα μὴ περὶ μόνων γυναικῶν λέγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ψυχῶν χαύνων καὶ τεθηλυμένων. εἰκὸς δ' ἦν καὶ ταῦτα μετὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν ἀντιλογίαν τῷ ἐκ περιτομῆς ἐπιτελεῖσθαι λαῷ· πλούτῳ γὰρ περιρρεόμενοι οἱ τὴν Σιὼν ἔτι τότε οἰκοῦντες, αἵ τε τούτων θυγατέρες «κατεσπατάλων» ἀναισθήτως ἔχουσαι τῶν περιεχόντων αὐτὰς κακῶν. Εἰκότως οὖν καὶ τὰς κατ' αὐτῶν ἀπειλὰς πεποίηται ἡ προφητεία τῇ τῶν πολεμίων μαχαίρᾳ παραδοθήσεσθαι αὐτὰς εἰπὼν καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἔφοδον αἰνιξάμενος διὰ τοῦ φάναι· καὶ ὁ υἱός σου ὁ κάλλιστος, ὃν ἀγαπᾷς, μαχαίρᾳ πεσεῖται, καὶ οἱ ἰσχύοντες ὑμῶν μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται. ἀνθ' ὧν ὁ Σύμμαχος τοῦτον ἐξέδωκεν τὸν τρόπον· ἀντὶ δὲ κάλλους οἱ καλοὶ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ σου μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται καὶ οἱ δυνατοί σου ἐν πολέμῳ, ὅτε καὶ κενωθήσεται καὶ πενθήσει ἡ πόλις. πρὸς αὐτὴν γοῦν εἴρηται κατὰ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα τό· καὶ καταλειφθήσῃ μόνη καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐδαφισθήσῃ. Τῆς ἐσχάτης ἐρημίας τοῦ τόπου διὰ τούτων σημαινομένης τούτοις δ' ἑξῆς ὡς ἐκλελοιπότων ἀνδρῶν καὶ μηκέτ' ὄντων διὰ τὸ ἀνῃρῆσθαι μαχαίρᾳ ἑπτά φησιν γυναῖκας ἐπιλήψεσθαι ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς δεομένας ὥστε χρηματίσαι αὐταῖς οὐδὲν πλέον μηδὲ γὰρ ἐνδεεῖσθαι αὐταῖς, εἰ μὴ τὸ αὐτοῦ ὄνομα καὶ δοκεῖν αὐτῶν προεστάναι, ὡς ἂν μὴ εἶεν ἔρημοι καὶ ἐπονείδιστοι τῷ μηδένα ἔχειν τὸν προεστῶτα. διὸ ὥσπερ σπάνιόν τινα εὑροῦσαι τοῦτον τῶν πάντων ἀπολωλότων φασὶν πρὸς αὐτόν· πλὴν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ σὸν κεκλήσθω ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, ἄφελε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν. ταῦτα μὲν ἡ τῆς λέξεως διάνοια, ἕτεροι δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν πρῶτον ἔφασαν εἶναι τὸν σωτῆρα, ἑπτὰ δὲ γυναῖκας τὰς ἑπτὰ δυνάμεις τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, αἳ περὶ τὸν πρῶτον γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωπον διὰ τὸ μηδένα εὑρίσκειν ἕτερον τὸν οἷόν τε αὐτὰς χωρεῖν, εἶναι δὲ ταύτας «πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας» καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν «πνεῦμα φόβου θεοῦ». 1.32 Τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπιλάμψει ὁ θεός. ὑφ' ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ἔσεσθαι καὶ τὰ προκείμενα διδάσκει, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα μὲν ἦν σκυθρωπά, τὰ δὲ παρόντα χρηστότερα. πῶς οὖν οἷόν τε ἦν καὶ τὰ τῆς χρηστῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ὑφ' ἕνα χρόνον εἰς τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀποπληροῦσθαι; τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Χριστοῦ τυγχάνει σημαντικόν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ προλεχθέντα γενήσεται, ἐπιλάμψει ὁ θεὸς ἐν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος πεποίηκεν· ἔσται ἀνατολὴ κύριος εἰς δύναμιν καὶ δόξαν τῆς γῆς καὶ ὑπεροχή. ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν ἑξῆς ἐπῆγεν τῷ παντὶ λαῷ τὰς χρηστὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἔδοξεν ἐναντιώματα περιέχειν ὁ λόγος, νυνὶ δὲ οὐ παντὶ τῷ ἔθνει, ἀλλὰ μόνῳ τῷ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καταλειφθέντι ἐπάγγελται· ἐπιλάμψει ὁ θεὸς ἐν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τοῦ ἀνυψῶσαι καὶ δοξάσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὑπολειφθὲν ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἅγιοι κληθήσονται. οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν αὐτοί, οἳ διὰ τῆς προτέρας προφητείας δεδηλωμένοι διὰ τοῦ «σπέρματος» τοῦ καταλειφθέντος, περὶ οὗ ἐλέγετο· «καὶ εἰ μὴ κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν