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of the seraphim, and in his hand he had a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar 7and he touched my mouth and |106 b| said. Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away your iniquity and will thoroughly cleanse your sins. And this signifies the offense of silence; for the seraph brought the coal not to any other part of the body but to the mouth. And what happened also convicts the transgression of Uzziah; for he very shamelessly dared to approach the altar, but the seraph, both bearing the name of fire and deemed worthy of divine ministry, took the coal not with a bare hand but with the tongs and placing it on the mouth of the prophet announced to him the release from sin. And through these things the participation in our good things is prefigured and pre-typified, the release from sins through the Master's body and blood. 8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? The Master says these things not being ignorant of whom it is fitting to send, but urging the prophet to ministry. And the following also makes this clear: And I said: Behold, here I am, send me. The prophet apologizes for his former silence and, having been unwilling to convict one, he undertakes the conviction of the whole people. For he does not run, self-appointed, seizing the honor, but apologizing for his former silence and undertaking the dangers from the people. 9And he said: Go and say to this people: Hearing you will hear, and you will not understand; and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive. He foretells the contradiction that will come to the Jews at the time of the Master's appearance; for indeed having heard the divine oracles they did not hear, and seeing the countless miracles they did not wish to understand. For this reason indeed the Lord foretold in the holy gospels: "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." For those who were blind in body saw him with the eyes of the soul, while those who had healthy eyes of the body had the faculty of understanding blind. And not only did they have their eyes closed, but also their ears stopped. For this reason the Lord said: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." However the prophet, or rather the God of the prophet, teaches through the following that these sufferings happened to them according to their own will. For he adds: 10For the heart of this people has grown fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I should heal them. Not nature but their will wrought these sufferings; for they were not blind by nature, but they themselves closed their eyes and heard the divine oracles heavily, as if warring against themselves and thrusting away the salvation that comes through sight and through hearing and the repentance that springs from them. And Symmachus has said this more clearly: "This people made their ears heavy and closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and their heart understand not and turn back and be healed." But all these things signify not a natural weakness of the parts but unbelief of the will; for he says they willingly are both blind and deaf and move every resource, so that they might not obtain salvation. 11And I said: How long, O Lord? And I asked, desiring to learn the time of their disobedience. And he said: Until cities are laid waste from not being inhabited, and houses from there being no people, and the land shall be left desolate. He says they will persist in wickedness until the end, and not even the punishment |107 a| will work any change in them; for neither the sacking of the cities, nor the destruction of the houses, nor the desolation of the whole land will work in them any perception and knowledge of their transgression. And through these things he alludes to the evils brought upon them by the Romans. And indeed the divine apostle says the same things as the prophet: "The election obtained it, and the rest were hardened, as

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τῶν σεραφίμ, καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ εἶχεν ἄνθρακα ὃν τῇ λαβίδι ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσια στηρίου 7καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου καὶ |106 b| εἶπεν. Ἰδοὺ ἥψατο τοῦτο τῶν χειλέων σου καὶ ἀφελεῖ τὸ ἀνόμιμ όν σου καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας περικαθαριεῖ. Καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῖ τῆς σιωπῆς τὸ πλημμέλημα· οὐκ ἄλλῳ γάρ τινι μορίῳ τοῦ σώματος ἀλλὰ τῷ στόματι τὸν ἄνθρακα τὸ σεραφὶμ προσ ενήνοχεν. Ἐλέγχει δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ὀζίου παρανομίαν τὸ γεγονός· ὁ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λίαν ἀναιδῶς κατε τόλμησεν, τὸ δὲ σεραφὶμ καὶ πυρὸς ἔχον προσηγορίαν καὶ θείας λειτουργίας ἠξιωμένον οὐ γυμνῇ τῇ χερὶ τῇ δὲ λαβίδι τὸν ἄνθρακα ἔλαβε καὶ τοῦτον ἐπιθὲν τῷ τοῦ προφήτου στόματι ἐμήνυσεν αὐτῷ τὴν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπαλλαγήν. Προδιαγράφεται δὲ καὶ προδιατυποῦται διὰ τούτων ἡ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀγαθῶν μετουσία, ἡ διὰ τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ σώματός τε καὶ αἵματος τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπαλλαγή. 8Καὶ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου λέγοντος· Τίνα ἀποστείλω, καὶ τίς πορεύσεται πρὸς τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον; Οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ὃν ἀποστεῖλαι προσήκει ταῦτά φησιν ὁ δεσπότης ἀλλὰ τὸν προφήτην εἰς διακονίαν προτρέπων. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· Καὶ εἶπον· Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, ἀπόστειλόν με. Ὑπὲρ τῆς προτέρας ὁ προφήτης ἀπολογεῖται σιγῆς καὶ ἕνα ἐλέγξαι μὴ βουληθεὶς παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ τὸν ἔλεγχον ἀναδέχεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν τιμὴν ἁρπάζων αὐτοχειροτόνητος τρέχει ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῆς προτέρας ἀπολογούμενος σιωπῆς καὶ τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ λαοῦ κινδύνους ἀναδεχόμενος. 9Καὶ εἶπε· Πορεύθητι καὶ εἶπον τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσητε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. Τὴν ἐσομένην Ἰουδαίοις ἐπὶ τῆς δεσποτικῆς ἐπιφανείας ἀντιλογίαν προαγορεύει· καὶ γὰρ ἀκούσαντες τῶν θείων λογίων οὐκ ἤκουσαν καὶ τὰ μυρία θαύματα θεωροῦντες συνιδεῖν οὐκ ἠθέλησαν. Οὗ δὴ χάριν ὁ κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς εὐαγγελίοις προέλεγεν· «Εἰς κρίμα ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον, ἵνα οἱ μὴ βλέποντες βλέπωσι καὶ οἱ βλέποντες τυφλοὶ γένωνται.» Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὸ σῶμα τυφλώττοντες ἑώρων αὐτὸν τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοῖς, οἱ δὲ ὑγιεῖς ἔχοντες τοὺς τοῦ σώματος ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλὸν εἶχον τῆς διανοίας τὸ ὀπτικόν. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς μεμυκότας εἶχον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς βεβυσμένας. Τούτου χάριν ὁ κύριος ἔλεγεν· «Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.» Ὁ μέντοι προφήτης, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ τοῦ προφήτου θεός, διδάσκει διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς, ὡς κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς προσγέγονε ταῦτα τὰ πάθη. Ἐπάγει γάρ· 10Ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶ βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσι καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσι καὶ ἐπισ τρέψωσι, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς. Οὐχ ἡ φύσις ἀλλ' ἡ γνώμη τὰ πάθη ταῦτα εἰργάσατο· οὐ γὰρ τυφλοὶ κατὰ φύσιν ἦσαν, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκάμμυσαν καὶ βαρέως τῶν θείων λογίων ἤκουσαν ὥσπερ ἑαυτοῖς πολεμοῦντες καὶ τὴν διὰ τῆς θέας καὶ τὴν διὰ τῆς ἀκροάσεως καὶ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν φυομένης μεταμελείας ἀπωθούμενοι σωτηρίαν. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ὁ Σύμμαχος σαφέστερον εἴρηκεν· «Ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τὰ ὦτα ἐβάρυνε καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ ἔμυσε, μήπως ἴδῃ ἐν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσῃ καὶ ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ συνῇ καὶ ἐπιστραφῇ καὶ ἰαθῇ.» Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα οὐ φυσικὴν τῶν μορίων ἀσθένειαν ἀλλὰ τὴν γνωμικὴν ἀπιστίαν σημαίνει· ἑκόντες γάρ φησι καὶ τυφλώττουσι καὶ κωφεύουσι καὶ πάντα πόρον κινοῦσιν, ἵνα μὴ τύχωσι σωτηρίας. 11Καὶ εἶπον· Ἕως πότε κύριε; Ἠρόμην δὲ ἐγὼ τῆς ἀπειθείας τὸν χρόνον μαθεῖν ποθῶν. Καὶ εἶπεν· Ἕως ἂν ἐρημωθῶσι πόλεις παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι καὶ οἶκοι παρὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἡ γῆ καταλειφθήσεται ἔρημος. Μέχρι τέλους φησὶν ἐπιμενοῦσι τῇ πονηρίᾳ, καὶ οὐδὲ ἡ τιμωρία |107 a| μεταβολὴν αὐτοῖς τινα πραγμα τεύσεται· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ τῶν πόλεων πόρθησις οὔτε ἡ τῶν οἰκιῶν κατάλυσις οὔτε τῆς γῆς ἁπάσης ἡ ἐρημία αἴσθησιν αὐτοῖς τινα καὶ τῆς παρανομίας πραγματεύσεται γνῶσιν. Αἰνίττεται δὲ διὰ τούτων τὰ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοῖς ἐπενεχθέντα κακά. Καὶ ὁ θεῖος δέ γε ἀπόστολος τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ προφήτῃ φησίν· «Ἡ ἐκλογὴ ἐπέτυχεν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐπωρώθησαν, καθὼς