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they will hold every tree, and there at leisure and without fear they will rest with all freedom from care. Accordingly, after the prediction of these things, he decrees the overthrow of the rule of the Assyrians and Chaldeans through the preceding words. For the Assyrians, ruling Asia, all of Egypt and Libya and the greatest parts of the whole, extended their reign for somewhere around one thousand three hundred whole years. And their dynasty was great and unconquerable, and it was not overthrown and stopped before “besieging” Jerusalem and “burning” the temple of God, and carrying off the holy vessels and all the offerings in the temple to Babylon and dedicating them to their own idols; for when these things were done, not long after, the Medes overthrew the Assyrian rule. And Cyrus was the first king of the Persians, who also granted freedom to the captives of the Jews, and allowed those of them who wished to make a return to the land of the Jews and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, who also returned the offerings and the priestly vessels that were taken long ago and ordered them to be dedicated in the temple that was being built. But since these things were thus accomplished in the times that followed, the prophetic spirit through Isaiah, anticipating what was to come, decrees the foreknowledge through the words at hand, of what will happen to the Assyrian rule after the attack, which the aforementioned bees will make, coming from their own country upon the land of the Jews. Wherefore he says: in that day the Lord will shave with the great and hired razor of the king of the Assyrians, not only the head that was formerly long-haired, when the Assyrians ruled the world, but also the hair of the feet, that is, the manly form, and the beard, that is, the ornament naturally fitting for men. And the prophetic word called a certain strong race of enemies a razor hired by the Lord, through which he said God would shave the king of the Assyrians, that is, their entire kingdom and dynasty, so that it would be shown to be humble and unmanly and unadorned and unseemly. And this very thing reached its end by the will and judgment of God when the Medes attacked and overthrew the Assyrian rule and the Persians took over the dominion of all of Asia. 1.47 Through these things the word hints at excessive poverty and destitution, but also a lack and scarcity of food from grain; for for a man to possess not herds of cattle, but only one heifer, and not flocks of sheep, but to raise only two sheep, would be a symbol of the utmost want, but also for everyone left on the land to be fed with butter and honey indicates a famine of bread. This the word makes clearer by connecting what follows and saying: and it shall be in that day that every place where there are a thousand vines for a thousand shekels shall be for wasteland and for thorns, and again: because all the land shall be wasteland and thorns; therefore, because the land is wasteland and full of thorns, it will have no grain; nor will the one who is left behind be nourished with the food natural to humans, nor will he use wine, but milk and butter and honey; and these gathered not from a multitude of a herd of cattle, nor from flocks of sheep, but from lowly and pitiable animals. For one man would make these things from one heifer, and another from two sheep. ... through these things to decree by way of repetition the things that happened during the Babylonian captivity, for at that time when the entire nation was resettled, a few ... had been left in the place, the history presents, saying: “and from the poor of the land the chief cook left some for vinedressers and for the land of Benjamin.” and after a little ... “and the people who were left in Judea, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon left behind, and he appointed Gedaliah over them.” and it adds: “and Gedaliah swore to the men who were with him and

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πᾶν ξύλον καθέξουσιν, ἐνταῦθά τε ἐπὶ σχολῆς καὶ ἀφόβως σὺν ἀμεριμνίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ ἀναπαύσονται. ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὴν τούτων πρόρρησιν τῆς Ἀσσυρίων καὶ Χαλδαίων ἀρχῆς τὴν καθαίρεσιν διὰ τῶν προκειμένων φωνῶν θεσπίζει. παρέτειναν μὲν γὰρ Ἀσσύριοι κρατοῦντες τῆς Ἀσίας, πάσης Αἰγύπτου τε καὶ Λιβύης καὶ τῶν πλειστῶν μερῶν τοῦ παντὸς ἐφ' ὅλοις ἔτεσιν χιλίοις που καὶ τριακοσίοις. μεγάλη τε ἦν καὶ ἄμαχος ἡ τούτων δυναστεία, οὐ πρότερόν τε αὕτη πέπαυτο καταλυθεῖσα ἢ «πολιορκῆσαι» τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ νεὼν «ἐμπρῆσαι», τά τε ἅγια σκεύη καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἀναθήματα ἀπαγαγεῖν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ἀναθεῖναι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν εἰδώλοις· τούτων γὰρ πραχθέντων οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν Μῆδοι μὲν τὴν Ἀσσυρίων καθαιροῦσιν ἀρχήν. Περσῶν δὲ πρῶτος βασιλεύει Κῦρος, ὁ καὶ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐλευθερίαν χαρισάμενος, συγχωρήσας τε τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν αὐτῶν ἐπάνοδον ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίων γῆν ποιήσασθαι καὶ τὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις νεὼν ἀνοικοδομεῖν, ὁ καὶ τὰ ἀναθήματα καὶ τὰ ἱερατικὰ σκεύη τὰ πάλαι ληφθέντα ἀποδοὺς καὶ ἀνατεθῆναι κελεύσας ἐν τῷ κατασκευαζομένῳ ἱερῷ. ἀλλὰ τούτων οὕτως ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνοις ἀποτελεσθέντων τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα διὰ Ἠσαΐου προλαμβάνον τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι τὴν πρόγνωσιν θεσπίζει διὰ τῶν μετὰ χεῖρας, τί συμβήσεται τῇ Ἀσσυρίων ἀρχῇ μετὰ τὴν ἔφοδον, ἣν ποιήσονται αἱ προλεχθεῖσαι μέλισσαι ἐκ τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας ἐπιβᾶσαι τῇ Ἰουδαίων γῇ. διό φησιν· ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ξυρήσει κύριος τῷ ξυρῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ μεμισθωμένῳ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων, οὐ τὴν κεφαλὴν μόνον τὴν πάλαι κομῶσαν, ὅτε τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκράτουν Ἀσσύριοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τρίχας τῶν ποδῶν, δηλαδὴ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον σχῆμα, καὶ τὸν πώγωνα, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὸν κατὰ φύσιν ἀνθρώποις πρέποντα κόσμον. ξυρὸν δὲ μεμισθωμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ὁ προφητικὸς ἀπεκάλεσε λόγος στερρόν τι πολεμίων γένος, δι' οὗ τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, δηλαδὴ τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτῶν βασιλείαν τε καὶ δυναστείαν ξυρήσειν ἔφη θεόν, ὡς ταπεινὴν αὐτὴν καὶ ἄνανδρον καὶ ἄκοσμον καὶ ἀσχήμονα ἀποδειχθῆναι. ὃ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸ τέλους τετύχηκεν νεύματι θεοῦ καὶ κρίσει Μήδων ἐπελθόντων καὶ τὴν Ἀσσυρίων καταλυσάντων ἀρχὴν καὶ διαλαβόντων Περσῶν τὴν καθ' ὅλης τῆς Ἀσίας κράτησιν. 1.47 Πτωχείαν καὶ πενίαν ὑπερβάλλουσαν αἰνίττεται διὰ τούτων ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔνδειαν καὶ σπάνιν τῆς ἀπὸ σίτου τροφῆς· τὸ γὰρ μὴ βοῶν ἀγέλας, μίαν δὲ μόνην δάμαλιν κεκτῆσθαι ἄνθρωπον, καὶ τὸ μὴ ποίμνια προβάτων, δύο δὲ μόνα πρόβατα τρέφειν, τῆς ἐσχάτης ἂν γένοιτο ἀπορίας σύμβολον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ βουτύρῳ τρέφεσθαι καὶ μέλιτι πάντα τὸν καταλειφθέντα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς λιμὸν ἄρτου παρίστησιν. ὃ δὴ σαφέστερον ὁ λόγος δηλοῖ συνάπτων ἑξῆς καὶ λέγων· καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ πᾶς τόπος, οὗ ἐὰν ὦσι χίλιοι ἄμπελοι χιλίων σίκλων, εἰς χέρσον ἔσονται καὶ εἰς ἄκανθαν, καὶ αὖθις· ὅτι χέρσος καὶ ἄκανθα ἔσται πᾶσα ἡ γῆ· οὐκοῦν διὰ τὸ χέρσον εἶναι τὴν γῆν καὶ ἀκάνθαις πλήρη, σῖτον μὲν οὐχ ἕξει· οὐδὲ τραφήσεται τῇ κατὰ φύσιν ἀνθρώποις τροφῇ ὁ περιλειφθείς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἴνῳ χρήσεται, γάλακτι δὲ καὶ βουτύρῳ καὶ μέλιτι· καὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἀπὸ πλήθους ἀγέλης βοῶν, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ ποιμνίων προβάτων συναγομένοις, ἀλλ' ἐξ εὐτελῶν καὶ οἰκτρῶν ζῴων. ὁ μὲν γάρ τις ἀπὸ μιᾶς δαμάλεως, ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ δύο προβάτων ποιήσαιτο ταῦτα. ... διὰ τούτων τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίων αἰχμαλωσίας συμβεβηκότα κατὰ ἐπανάληψιν θεσπίζειν τὸ τηνικαῦτα γὰρ τὸ παντὸς ἔθνους μετοικισθέντος βραχεῖ ... λελεῖφθαι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἡ ἱστορία παρίστησιν λέγουσα· «καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πτωχῶν τῆς γῆς ὑπέλιπεν ὁ ἀρχιμάγειρος εἰς ἀμπελουργοὺς καὶ εἰς γῆν Βενιαμίν». καὶ μετὰ βραχέα ... «καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὁ καταλειφθεὶς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ, οὓς κατέλιπεν Ναβουχοδονόσορ ὁ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ κατέστησεν ἐπ' αὐτῶν τὸν Γοδολίαν». καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ ὤμοσεν Γοδολίας τοῖς ἀνδράσιν τοῖς μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ