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preaching to foreign men. Therefore Ahaz is commanded to ask for a sign, through which he and the people with him were to be saved. And God gives him the power of choosing the sign, whether he might ask for it to be given him from the depth, from no other depth than that of Hades; or from the height, even of the heavenly bodies above. But when he heard, he refuses, being impious and not obeying God's command, nor wishing to make a trial of God's wonder-working power. Wherefore he says: I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. Then the prophet, indignant at the man's folly, from his own person adds the following, saying: Hear then, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord? And above he called the house of David those who traced their lineage from the succession of David, in which he said: "And it was reported to the house of David, that Aram had made an alliance with Ephraim," therefore he says the present words to the same house of David, no longer deeming Ahaz worthy of the speech. And what are the things he replies to the house of David? Is it a small thing, he says, to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord? Instead of which Aquila translated it in this manner: Hear then, O house of David; is it a small thing to weary men, that you weary my God also? And Symmachus: Hear then, O house of David; is it not enough for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? And Theodotion: And he said: Hear then, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? And the meaning of what is before us is this: Will you never cease giving troubles and toils and struggles for your salvation to the men of God, I mean to the prophets of God, but indeed you also weary my own God, whom you do not know, giving annoyances and struggles by not being willing to believe in his promises. For he, as God, through an excess of love for mankind, commands you to ask a sign of salvation from him, through which you are to be saved and to be delivered from the distress of the two kings who have marched against you. But you, persisting in your own wickedness, give him struggle and toils, treating his prophets and himself in like manner, against whom you, being unbelieving, have often contrived plots. Yet even if you are such, still he, again as God, being true to himself, does not allow you to perish, but will provide the sign of salvation even to you who do not wish it. And what is this? There will one day be a paradoxical wonder among men and a sign never heard of from all eternity: for a virgin will conceive without intercourse with a man and will give birth to God, the savior of the human race. Therefore, God now from this point provides to you this very one, who is to have such a birth, as a saving sign. which indeed will extend both into the depth and into the height: into the depth, because of the descent he will make even to Hades, and into the height, because of his return to the heavens. You therefore, O house of David, from now on, at the time of the engagement with the present enemies, call upon him, naming him Emmanuel, which by interpretation indicates the power of the word; for the name means "God with us." Believing then in the sign, take courage and no longer call upon the gods of Damascus, nor inscribe for yourself helpers who are not, but call upon Emmanuel, as God who will one day be with men, taking courage with perfect confidence, believing in the power of the name. Here indeed it is fitting to take note how precisely the prophecy commands the house of David to call him who would be born of the virgin Emmanuel, saying: and you will call his name Emmanuel; for you yourself, O house of David, who are now present with the prophet and hearing these words, will call the one prophesied Emmanuel, as if it said more clearly: call upon as a helper

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ἀλλοφύλοις ἀνδράσιν κηρύττων. κελεύεται τοίνυν ὁ Ἄχαζ σημεῖον αἰτῆσαι, δι' οὗ σωθήσεσθαι ἔμελλεν αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ λαός. ἐξουσίαν τε αὐτῷ δίδωσιν ὁ θεὸς αἱρέσεως τοῦ σημείου, εἴτ' ἐκ βάθους αἰτήσειεν αὐτῷ δοθῆναι τοῦτο, ἐκ βάθους οὐχ ἑτέρου ἢ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ᾅδην· εἴτ' ἐξ ὕψους, καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν ἄνω μετεώρων. ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἀναίνεται, ἅτε δὴ ἀσεβὴς ὢν καὶ μὴ πειθαρχῶν τῷ θεῷ κελεύοντι μηδὲ θέλων ἀπόπειραν λαβεῖν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ παραδοξοποιοῦ δυνάμεως. διό φησιν· Οὐ μὴ αἰτήσω οὐδ' οὐ μὴ πειράσω κύριον. εἶθ' ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀπονοίᾳ σχετλιάσας ἐξ οἰκείου προσώπου τὰ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει φάσκων· Ἀκούσατε δή, οἶκος ∆αυίδ· μὴ μικρὸν ὑμῖν ἀγῶνα παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις; καὶ πῶς κυρίῳ παρέχετε ἀγῶνα; ἐκάλει δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρῳ οἶκον ∆αυὶδ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς διαδοχῆς ∆αυὶδ κατάγοντας τὸ γένος, ἐν οἷς ἔλεγεν· «καὶ ἀνηγγέλη εἰς τὸν οἶκον ∆αυίδ, ὅτι συνεφώνησεν Ἀρὰμ πρὸς τὸν Ἐφραίμ», πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν τοίνυν οἶκον ∆αυὶδ τὰ προκείμενα φάσκει μηκέτι τοῦ λόγου καταξιῶν τὸν Ἄχαζ. τίνα δέ ἐστιν ἃ πρὸς τὸν οἶκον ∆αυὶδ ἀποκρίνεται; μὴ μικρόν φησίν ἐστιν τὸ παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις ἀγῶνα; καὶ πῶς κυρίῳ παρέχετε ἀγῶνα; ἀνθ' ὧν ὁ Ἀκύλας τοῦτον ἡρμήνευσεν τὸν τρόπον· ἀκούσατε δή, οἶκος ∆αυίδ· μήτι ὀλίγον μοχθοῦν ἄνδρας, ὅτι μοχθοῦτε καίγε τὸν θεόν μου; ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· ἀκούσατε δή, οἶκος ∆αυίδ· μὴ οὐκ αὔταρκες ὑμῖν κοποῦν ἀνθρώπους, ὅτι κοποῦτε ἔτι καὶ τὸν θεόν μου; ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων· καὶ εἶπεν· ἀκούσατε δή, οἶκος ∆αυίδ· μὴ μικρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἀγῶνα παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις, ὅτι ἀγῶνα παρέχετε καίγε τῷ θεῷ μου; ἔστι δὲ ὁ νοῦς τῶν προκειμένων τοιοῦτος· οὐ παύσεσθέ ποτε τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ ἀνθρώποις, λέγω δὲ τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ προφήταις, κόπους καὶ μόχθους καὶ ἀγῶνας τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμετέρας σωτηρίας παρέχοντες, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἐμὸν θεόν, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἀγνοεῖτε, κοποῦτε σκυλμοὺς καὶ ἀγῶνας παρέχοντες τῷ μὴ βούλεσθαι πιστεύειν αὐτοῦ ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις. ὁ μὲν γὰρ οἷα θεὸς δι' ὑπερβολὴν φιλανθρωπίας σωτήριον σημεῖον αἰτεῖν παρ' αὐτοῦ προστάττει, δι' οὗ μέλλετε σωθήσεσθαι καὶ τῆς τῶν δύο βασιλέων τῶν ἐπιστρατευσάντων ὑμῖν ἀγωνίας ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐπιμένοντες τῇ ἑαυτῶν μοχθηρίᾳ ἀγῶνα παρέχετε αὐτῷ καὶ κόπους ὁμοίως τοῖς αὐτοῦ προφήταις καὶ αὐτῷ χρώμενοι οἷς ἀπιστοῦντες ἐπιβουλὰς ἐμηχανήσασθε κατ' αὐτῶν πολλάκις. Πλὴν εἰ καὶ ὑμεῖς τοιοῦτοι, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς πάλιν οἷα θεὸς μιμούμενος ἑαυτὸν οὐ παρίησιν ὑμᾶς ἀπολλυμένους, τὸ δὲ σωτήριον σημεῖον καὶ μὴ βουλομένοις ὑμῖν παρέξει. τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν; παράδοξόν τι θαῦμα ἔσται ποτὲ ἐν ἀνθρώποις καὶ σημεῖον μηδέποτε ἀκουσθὲν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος· παρθένος γὰρ κυήσει δίχα τῆς πρὸς ἄνδρα κοινωνίας καὶ θεὸν γεννήσει, σωτῆρα τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένους. τοῦτον οὖν αὐτὸν τὸν μέλλοντα τοιαύτης λαγχάνειν γενέσεως θεὸν σημεῖον ὑμῖν σωτήριον ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ὁ θεὸς παρέχει. ὃ δὴ καὶ εἰς βάθος ἐκταθήσεται καὶ εἰς ὕψος· εἰς βάθος μὲν δι' ἣν ποιήσεται μέχρις ᾅδου κατάβασιν, εἰς ὕψος δὲ διὰ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἐπάνοδον. σὺ τοιγαροῦν, ὁ οἶκος ∆αυίδ, ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας πολεμίους συμβολῆς ἀνακαλοῦ τοῦτον Ἐμμανουὴλ ἐπονομάζων, ὅπερ ἐκ τῆς ἑρμηνείας τὴν τοῦ λόγου παρίστησι δύναμιν· μεθ' ἡμῶν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς δηλοῖ τοὔνομα. πιστεύων δῆτα τῷ σημείῳ θάρσει καὶ μηκέτι μὲν θεοὺς ἀνακαλοῦ ∆αμασκοῦ μηδὲ τοὺς μὴ ὄντας βοηθοὺς ἐπιγράφου σαυτῷ, τὸν δὲ Ἐμμανουήλ, ὡς ἂν θεὸν ἀνθρώποις συνεσόμενόν ποτε, κάλει, θαρσῶν σὺν πεποιθήσει τελείᾳ, πιστεύων τῇ τῆς προσηγορίας δυνάμει. ἔνθα δὴ γενομένους ἐπιστῆσαι προσήκει ὡς ἀκριβῶς ἡ προφητεία τῷ οἴκῳ ∆αυὶδ προστάττει τὸν ἐκ τῆς παρθένου γενησόμενον Ἐμμανουὴλ καλεῖν λέγουσα· καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ· σὺ γὰρ αὐτός, ὁ οἶκος ∆αυίδ, ὁ νῦν τῷ προφήτῃ παρὼν καὶ τούτων ἀκροώμενος τῶν λόγων τὸν θεσπιζόμενον καλέσεις Ἐμμανουήλ, ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἔλεγεν· ἐπικαλοῦ βοηθὸν