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a saw without one pulling it? Likewise if someone takes a rod or a piece of wood. Does the axe cut wood without human hands, or does the saw divide it into two and three and four parts, or can a rod or a piece of wood strike when no one is acting? How then are you proud, as if you overcame the defeated nations without my counsel? And he rightly compared him to inanimate things, as one suffering from insensibility and extreme irrationality. And not so. I will not let you, he says, remain in this folly, but through punishment you will learn who is the ruler of all. 16But the Lord Sabaoth will send dishonor upon your honor, and upon your glory a burning fire will be kindled. For having campaigned with great glory, he fled with greater disgrace. 17And the light of Israel will become a fire, and it will sanctify him in a burning flame, and it will burn and devour the woodland as if it were grass. He called piety the light of Israel; for the Psalm says, “In the light of your face they will walk.” This light will supply illuminating power to Israel, but will use its burning power against you and will consume all your army like some kind of grass. In that day 18the mountains and the hills and the forests will be extinguished, and it will devour from soul to flesh. He calls the king and the satraps after him mountains, the rulers serving under them hills, and the rest of the fruitless multitude forests. And the one who flees will be as one fleeing from a burning fire; 19and those who are left of them will be a number, |115 b| and a little child will write them down. When their pursuers are not visible, they will try to escape with great haste, as if imitating those surrounded by flame and trying to escape it. And so those who escape the punishment will be so few in number that it will be easy even for a chance child to write down their number. And these things happened when, through one angel, the one hundred and eighty-five thousand were destroyed. 20And it will be in that day that the remnant of Israel will no longer be added, and those of Jacob who are saved will no longer <μὴ> be trusting in those who wronged them. King Ahaz, being warred against by Pekah and Rezin, called the king of Assyria for an alliance. The prophetic word therefore foretells that, having enjoyed divine providence, they will despise human aid and will hold fast to hope in God. For this it shows through what follows: But they will be trusting in God, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21And the remnant of Jacob will turn to the mighty God. The fourth book of Kings also testifies to this piety of the people, which King Hezekiah taught them. And those from the ten tribes who were able to escape Shalmaneser and Sennacherib joined Jerusalem, and having been delivered from error, they followed the piety of Hezekiah. 22And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will be saved. Since he delivered the ten tribes to the kings of the Assyrians and overlooked the other cities of Judah being besieged, he teaches the reason for this: that he does not look to multitude but seeks piety. For this will also happen after these things, when most of the Jews speak against the savior after the incarnation, while those who desire salvation eagerly receive the preaching of the apostles. Then he also teaches the conciseness of the preaching and the manner of the new covenant: For a word completing and cutting short in righteousness, 23because God will make a shortened word in the whole world. The divine apostle also mentioned this testimony. And the word teaches us: what the law, using many commandments and sacrifices and punishments, was not able to accomplish, this the evangelical word accomplished, offering a concise medicine of salvation, the all-holy baptism. For through faith salvation has been given to men. This is the shortened word, a co-worker of righteousness, which not only to Jews but also

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πρίων ἄνευ τοῦ ἕλκον τος αὐτόν; Ὡσαύτως ἐάν τις λάβῃ ῥάβδον ἢ ξύλον. Μὴ δίχα χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἡ ἀξίνη κόπτει ξύλα ἢ ὁ πρίων ταῦτα διχῇ καὶ τριχῇ καὶ τετραχῇ διαιρεῖ ἢ ῥάβδος ἢ ξύλον πλῆξαι δύναται μηδενὸς ἐνεργοῦντος; Πῶς οὖν σὺ μέγα φρονεῖς ὡς δίχα τῆς ἐμῆς βουλῆς περιγενόμενος τῶν ἡττη θέντων ἐθνῶν; Εἰκότως δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τοῖς ἀψύχοις ἀπείκασεν ὡς ἀναισθησίαν νοσοῦντα καὶ ἀλογίαν ἐσχάτην. Καὶ οὐχ οὕτως. Οὐκ ἐάσω σέ φησιν ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ τῆς ἀνοίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς τιμωρίας μαθήσῃ τὸν πρύτανιν τοῦ παντός. 16Ἀλλ' ἀποστελεῖ κύριος Σαβαὼθ εἰς τὴν σὴν τιμὴν ἀτιμίαν, καὶ εἰς τὴν σὴν δόξαν πῦρ καιόμενον καυθήσεται. Μετὰ πολλῆς γὰρ δόξης ἐπιστρατεύσας μετὰ πλείονος ἔφυγεν ἀδοξίας. 17Καὶ ἔσται τὸ φῶς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ εἰς πῦρ, καὶ ἁγιάσει αὐτὸν ἐν φλογὶ καιομένῃ, καὶ φλέξει καὶ φά γεται ὡσεὶ χόρτον τὴν ὕλην. Φῶς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἐκάλεσεν· «Ἐν τῷ φωτὶ» γὰρ ὁ Ψαλμός φησι «τοῦ προσώπου σου πορεύσονται.» Τοῦτο τὸ φῶς τῷ μὲν Ἰσραὴλ τὴν φωτιστικὴν ἐνέργειαν χορηγήσει, τῇ δὲ καυστικῇ κατὰ σοῦ χρήσεται καὶ οἷόν τινα χόρτον πᾶςάν σου τὴν στρατιὰν δαπανήσει. Τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ 18ἀποσβεσθήσεται τὰ ὄρη καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ οἱ δρυμοί, καὶ καταφάγεται ἀπὸ ψυχῆς ἕως σαρκῶν. Ὄρη τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς μετ' ἐκεῖνον ὑπάρχους καλεῖ, βουνοὺς δὲ τοὺς ὑπὸ τούτους τελοῦντας ἄρχοντας, δρυμοὺς δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν πλῆθος τὸ ἄκαρπον. Καὶ ἔσται ὁ φεύγων ὡς ὁ φεύγων ἀπὸ πυρὸς καιομένου· 19καὶ οἱ καταλειφθέντες ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἔσονται ἀριθμός, |115 b| καὶ παιδίον μικρὸν γράψει αὐτούς. Οὐ φαινομένων τῶν διωκόντων μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς ἀποδρᾶσαι πειράσονται ὡς ὑπὸ φλογὸς κυκλου μένους καὶ ταύτην διαφυγεῖν πειρωμένους μιμούμενοι. Οὕτω δὲ ἔσονται οἱ τὴν τιμωρίαν διαφυγόντες εὐαρίθμητοι ὡς ῥᾷστον εἶναι καὶ τῷ τυχόντι παιδίῳ τὸν τούτων ἀριθμὸν ἀναγράψαι. Ταῦτα δὲ γεγένηται, ἡνίκα δι' ἑνὸς ἀγγέλου αἱ πέντε καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα πρὸς ταῖς ἑκατὸν διεφθάρησαν χιλιάδες. 20Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ οὐκέτι προστεθήσεται τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ οἱ διασωθέντες τοῦ Ἰακὼβ οὐκέτι <μὴ> πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀδικήσαντας αὐτούς. Ἄχαζ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ Φακεὲ καὶ τοῦ Ῥασὶν πολεμούμενος τὸν Ἀσσύριον εἰς συμμαχίαν ἐκάλεσε βασιλέα. Προλέγει τοίνυν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος ὡς τῆς θείας ἀπο λαύσαντες προμηθείας καταφρονήσουσι μὲν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπικουρίας, τῆς δὲ εἰς τὸν θεὸν ἐλπίδος ἀνθέξονται. Τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς· Ἀλλ' ἔσονται πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. 21Καὶ ἀναστρέψει τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἐπὶ θεὸν ἰσχύοντα. Ταύτην τοῦ λαοῦ τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ἣν Ἐζεκίας ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτοὺς ἐξεπαί δευσε, καὶ ἡ τετάρτη τῶν Βασιλειῶν μαρτυρεῖ. Συνήφθησαν δὲ τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐκ τῶν δέκα φυλῶν ὅσοι τὸν Σαλμα νάσαρ καὶ τὸν Σεναχηρὶμ διαφυγεῖν ἠδυνήθησαν, καὶ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγέντες τῇ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου ἠκολούθησαν εὐσεβείᾳ. 22Καὶ ἐὰν γένηται ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ κατάλειμμα αὐτῶν σωθήσεται. Ἐπειδὴ τὰς δέκα φυλὰς τοῖς Ἀσσυρίων παρέδωκε βασιλεῦσι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τοῦ Ἰούδα πόλεις πολιορκουμένας παρεῖδε, τὴν αἰτίαν τούτου διδάσκει ὅτι οὐκ εἰς πλῆθος ἀφορῶν ἀλλ' εὐσέβειαν ζητῶν. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα γενήσεται τῶν μὲν πλείστων Ἰουδαίων μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀντιλεγόντων, τῶν δὲ τῆς σωτηρίας ἐφιεμένων προθύμως δεχομένων τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸ κήρυγμα. Εἶτα διδάσκει καὶ τοῦ κηρύγματος τὸ σύντομον καὶ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης τὸν τρόπον· Λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, 23ὅτι λόγον συντετμημένον ποιήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ. Ταύτης καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος ἐμνήσθη τῆς μαρτυρίας. ∆ιδάσκει δὲ ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος· ἅπερ ὁ νόμος πολλαῖς ἐντολαῖς καὶ θυσίαις καὶ τιμωρίαις χρώμενος οὐκ ἴσχυσε κατορθῶσαι, ταῦτα ὁ εὐαγγελικὸς κατώρθωσε λόγος σύντομον προσφέρων φάρ μακον σωτηρίας τὸ πανάγιον βάπτισμα. ∆ιὰ γὰρ πίστεως τοῖς ἀνθρώποις σωτηρία δεδώρηται. Οὗτος ὁ συντετμημένος λόγος τῆς δικαιοσύνης συνεργός, ὃν οὐ μόνον Ἰουδαίοις ἀλλὰ καὶ