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making clear. And now Mount Sion has been called the evangelical word, upon which "the new creation" was established, not by some man but by the Lord himself who also said: "upon this rock I will build my church," whose surroundings, he says, a cloud will overshadow, and as a fire of light burning by night; it will be covered with all glory. We will understand this by running back to the history from Moses, in which it is said that Christ "by day went before them in a pillar of cloud," "and by night in a pillar of fire" so as to give them light; for in such a way the present prophet decrees it will also be for the church of God, saying that by day a cloud will overshadow it, so that it might not be burned by the heat, and by night a light and a glow of fire, so that it might not be darkened, and at the same time he says that the glory of God will overshadow all this, so that it is not harmed by anything, neither by the heat of day nor by the harshness of the daytime rains, by which the word teaches that the right hand of God will overshadow his church, always, so that it is harmed by nothing, neither in prosperity and peaceful conditions nor in times of persecution, and that it remains forever unfallen and unshaken and overshadowed by the glory of God, so that it is neither burned in the day and in the heat, nor harmed by the harshness and rains and winter winds. Therefore it is said: it will be covered with all glory; and it will be for a shadow from the heat and in a shelter and in a hiding place from harshness and from rain. 1.33 Furthermore, the prophetic spirit adds to what has been said before and these things themselves †ειπ of it happen to be part of "the vision," "which Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judea and concerning Jerusalem." And it goes through the things set forth from the person of the Holy Spirit, saying: Let me sing now to my beloved a song of my dear one. But instead of: for my vineyard, the Hebrew word and the other interpreters have rendered it "for his vineyard;" for he says, "to the beloved I will sing a song," not mine nor made by me, but by the beloved himself who sang to his vineyard a song full of lamentation and weeping. Whence Aquila interpreted it in this way: I will sing now to my dear friend a song of my father's brother for his vineyard, and Symmachus: I will sing now to my beloved a song of my dear one for his vineyard, and Theodotion: I will sing now to my beloved a song of my dear one for his vineyard; for it is not mine, he says, but the song happens to be of my beloved; for he himself composed it upon his vineyard or for his vineyard, having made a song of lamentation. And he was beloved and dear, beloved indeed by God his father, and dear to the Holy Spirit; for the prophetic spirit presents this, saying: I will sing now to the beloved a song of my dear one for my vineyard. And through the song he enumerates his benefactions to the vineyard and reproves the wickedness of the vineyard, and at the same time he prophesies the things that are about to happen to it. This beloved of God, therefore, having acquired the first people from the circumcision as an inheritance and a portion, laments its destruction through an excess of love for humanity; for he says: A vineyard was planted for the beloved on a horn in a fertile place, or according to Symmachus: on a horn in a place of olives, or according to Aquila: on a horn, a son of oil. And they say that the land of Judea is thus signified because it is fertile and very rich, and it is said to be on a horn because a royal metropolis was established in it, in Jerusalem; for scripture is accustomed to call kingdoms horns. And he placed a hedge around the vineyard, that is, around the whole people, doubtless hedging it about with angels, and he fenced it, supporting it with prophets and holy men, but he also planted it with a Sorek vine. And what was this but doubtless the divinely inspired scripture and the word of godliness delivered to the whole nation? For the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel

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δηλοῦντες. καὶ νῦν δὲ ὄρος Σιὼν ὁ εὐαγγελικὸς ὠνόμασται λόγος, ἐφ' ὃν «ἡ καινὴ» κατεσκευάσθη «κτίσις», οὐχ ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπου τινὸς ἀλλ' ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ καὶ φήσαντος· «ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν», ἧς τὰ περικύκλῳ φησὶ σκιάσειν νεφέλην καὶ ὡς πυρὸς φωτὸς καιομένου νυκτός· πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ σκεπασθήσεται. νοήσομεν δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τὴν παρὰ Μωσεῖ ἀναδραμόντες ἱστορίαν, ἐν ᾗ λέλεκται «ἡμέρας μὲν ἐν στύλῳ νεφέλης προπορεύεσθαι αὐτῶν» τὸν Χριστόν, «νυκτὸς δὲ ἐν στύλῳ πυρὸς» ὥστε φαίνειν αὐτοῖς· τοιουτότροπον γὰρ καὶ περὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἔσεσθαι ὁ παρὼν θεσπίζει προφήτης, ἡμέρᾳ μὲν εἰπὼν νεφέλην ἐπισκιάσειν αὐτῇ, ἵνα μὴ καίοιτο ὑπὸ φλογμοῦ, νυκτὸς δὲ φῶς καὶ πυρὸς φέγγος, ἵνα μὴ σκοτίζοιτο, ὁμοῦ δὲ πᾶσαν ταύτην σκιάσειν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ φησιν, ὡς μηδὲν αὐτὴν καταβλάπτεσθαι μηθ' ὑπὸ καύματος ἡμερινοῦ μηθ' ὑπὸ σκληρότητος ἡμερινῶν ὑετῶν, δι' ὧν ὁ λόγος διδάσκει θεοῦ δεξιὰν ἐπισκιάσειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ, διὰ παντὸς πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν αὐτὴν καταβλάπτεσθαι μήτε ἐν ταῖς εὐπραγίαις καὶ εἰρηνικαῖς καταστάσεσιν μήτε ἐν τοῖς τῶν διωγμῶν καιροῖς, μένειν τε αὐτὴν εἰς ἀεὶ ἄπτωτον καὶ ἀδιάτρεπτον καὶ σκιαζομένην ὑπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς μήτε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἐν καύματι φλέγεσθαι μήτ' ἀπὸ σκληρότητός τε καὶ ὑετῶν τε καὶ χειμερινῶν ἀνέμων ἀδικεῖσθαι. διὸ λέλεκται· πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ σκεπασθήσεται· καὶ ἔσται εἰς σκιὰν ἀπὸ καύματος καὶ ἐν σκέπῃ καὶ ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ ἀπὸ σκληρότητος καὶ ὑετοῦ. 1.33 Ἔτι τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα τοῖς προλεχθεῖσιν ἐπισυνάπτει καὶ αὐτὰ †ειπ αὐτῆς μέρος τυγχάνει «τῆς ὁράσεως», «ἣν εἶδεν Ἠσαΐας υἱὸς Ἀμὼς κατὰ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ κατὰ τῆς Ἰερουσαλήμ». διεξέρχεται δὲ τὰ προκείμενα ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος φάσκον τό· Ἄισω δὴ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου, ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ ἐκδεκώκασι· τῷ γὰρ ἠγαπημένῳ φησὶν ᾄσω ᾆσμα οὐκ ἐμὸν οὐδ' ὑπ' ἐμοῦ πεποιημένον, ἀλλ' ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ ᾄσαντος τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ ᾆσμα θρήνου καὶ κλαυθμοῦ ἔμπλεων. ὅθεν ὁ Ἀκύλας τοῦτον ἡρμήνευσε τὸν τρόπον· ᾄσω δὴ τῷ προσφιλεῖ μου ᾠδὴν πατραδέλφου μου τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· ᾄσω δὴ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ μου ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων· ᾄσω δὴ τῷ ἀγαπητῷ μου ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ· οὐ γὰρ ἐμόν φησιν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου τυγχάνει τὸ ᾆσμα· αὐτὸς γὰρ συνέθηκεν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ ἢ εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ ᾠδὴν θρήνου πεποιηκώς. ἠγαπημένος δὲ ἦν καὶ ἀγαπητός, ἠγαπημένος μὲν τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, ἀγαπητὸς δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος· τοῦτο γὰρ παρίστησιν τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα φῆσαν· Ἄισω δὴ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. διὰ δὲ τῆς ᾠδῆς τὰς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα εὐεργεσίας αὐτοῦ ἀπαριθμεῖται καὶ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τὴν μοχθηρίαν ἐλέγχει, θεσπίζει τε κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ τὰ μέλλοντα αὐτῷ συμβήσεσθαι. οὗτος τοιγαροῦν ὁ ἀγαπητὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν πρῶτον λαὸν τὸν ἐκ περιτομῆς κλῆρον καὶ μερίδα κτησάμενος ἀποθρηνεῖ τὴν ἀπώλειαν αὐτοῦ δι' ὑπερβολὴν φιλανθρωπίας· φησὶ γάρ· ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ἐν κέρατι ἐν τόπῳ πίονι, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἐν κέρατι ἐν τόπῳ ἐλαιῶνι, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· ἐν κέρατι υἱῷ ἐλαίου. φασὶ δὲ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν χώραν οὕτω δηλοῦσθαι διὰ τὸ πίονα εἶναι καὶ λιπαρωτάτην, λέγεσθαι δὲ ἐν κέρατι διὰ τὸ συστῆναι βασιλικὴν μητρόπολιν ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ἰερουσαλήμ· εἴωθεν γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ κέρατα τὰς βασιλείας ὀνομάζειν. Φραγμὸν δὲ περιέθηκε τῷ ἀμπελῶνι, δηλαδὴ τῷ παντὶ λαῷ, πάντως που ἀγγέλοις αὐτὸν περιφράξας, ἐχαράκωσε δὲ αὐτὸν προφήταις καὶ ἁγίοις ἀνδράσιν ὑποστηρίσας, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατεφύτευσεν αὐτὸν ἄμπελον σωρήκ. τίς δὲ ἦν αὕτη ἢ πάντως που ἡ θεόπνευστος γραφὴ καὶ ὁ τῆς θεοσεβείας λόγος ὁ τῷ παντὶ παραδοθεὶς ἔθνει; ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀμπελὼν κυρίου οἶκος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ