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reveals the mystery of the ineffable birth of Emmanuel, and how “the virgin shall conceive in her womb and bear a son.” Which the Lord himself, clarifying, says: And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived in her womb and bore a son. But so that these things might not reach the ears of everyone at that time, but might be kept in a secret writing, he commands the prophet to take a new and large scroll, or a book or parchment or a chapter roll according to others, and to write in it with a man's pen, that is, with the common and known writing of men; for there is another writing of God, not written with a man's pen, but by the power of the Word of God “enrolling” the worthy “in the book of the living,” but now he commands the prophet to write with a man's pen in it concerning the swift plundering of spoils. For it was he who long ago "bound the strong" devil "and plundered his goods." For through the power of Emmanuel the time was already drawing near and at hand, in which the aforementioned “two kings,” both of Damascus and of Samaria, would be plundered, when the king of the Assyrians attacked them because of the secret name of Emmanuel. And he commands the prophet to inscribe on the new and large scroll the things that are to be said and to do this before two male witnesses, one a priest, the other a prophet. The history mentions Uriah the priest as ministering to God during the times of Isaiah the prophet, and it also mentions Zechariah who lived during the time of Hezekiah the king; for the writing of Chronicles says: “And Hezekiah was seeking the Lord in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the fear of the Lord.” “Therefore,” he says, “make these two men my witnesses, taking the new scroll and intending to write in it with a man's pen, while the witnesses who bear witness in me are present.” Thenceforth, now write these words in the said scroll: And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived in her womb and bore a son. And the Lord who speaks oracles says these things; for one must pay careful attention to the wording of all scripture: And the Lord said to me, connecting from his very own person the phrase: And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived in her womb and bore a son. Which things indeed the one speaking the oracle commanded the prophet to inscribe in the new scroll, for since it was said above: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb and bear a son” and what follows, now necessarily in the present context, the Lord himself clarifies how this would happen, saying: And I went to the prophetess, instead of: I myself will go to the prophetess. And he calls “the virgin” a prophetess because she partook of the Holy Spirit, according to him who said to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This, therefore, “the power of the Most High,” speaking through prophecy: And I went to the prophetess, relates future events as if they had already happened, according to a certain prophetic custom. I myself will go to the prophetess, O prophet, and thus conceiving in her womb she will bear a son. And you, O prophet, from now on name him thus: Make haste to spoil, hasten to the prey, since even before his birth in the flesh he will work complete destruction on these two kingdoms that are now attacking the house of David; for he will take the power of Damascus and will plunder the spoils of Samaria. And he will do this through the king of the Assyrians, and speak these things only in the presence of the declared witnesses and hand over the writing, so that it may be preserved for future times, since the new covenant is also to contain the fulfillments of what has been prophesied. 1.49 And still these things are prophesied about the same subject, for which reason it is said: And the Lord spoke to me again; for in addition to what has been said before, he says these things also to the prophet, but not to all the people

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μυστήριον ἀνακαλύπτει τῆς ἀπορρήτου γενέσεως τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ, καί πως «ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται καὶ τέξεται υἱόν». ὃ δὴ διασαφῶν αὐτὸς ὁ κύριός φησιν· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν. ἵνα δὲ ταῦτα μὴ εἰς τὰς πάντων ἀκοὰς τῶν τότε χωρήσῃ, φυλαχθείη δὲ ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ γραφῇ, παρακελεύεται τῷ προφήτῃ λαβεῖν τόμον καινὸν καὶ μέγαν, ἢ τεῦχος ἢ διφθέρωμα ἢ κεφαλίδα κατὰ τοὺς λοιπούς, γράψαι τε ἐν αὐτῷ γραφίδι ἀνθρώπου, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τῇ συνήθει καὶ γνωριζομένῃ ἀνθρώποις γραφῇ· εἶναι γὰρ ἄλλην θεοῦ γραφήν, οὐ γραφίδι ἀνθρώπου γραφομένην, ἀλλὰ δυνάμει τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου τοὺς ἀξίους «ἀπογραφομένου ἐν βίβλῳ ζώντων», νυνὶ δὲ γραφίδι ἀνθρώπου τῷ προφήτῃ προστάττει γράψαι ἐν αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀξέως προνομὴν ποιῆσαι σκύλων. αὐτὸς γοῦν ἦν ὁ καὶ πάλαι «ἰσχυρὸν» τὸν διάβολον «καταδήσας καὶ τὰ σκῦλα αὐτοῦ διαρπάσας». διὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ δυνάμεως ἤδη γὰρ πλησίον ἐγγίζειν καὶ παρεῖναι τὸν καιρόν, ἐν ᾧ σκυλευθήσονται οἱ προλεχθέντες «δύο βασιλεῖς», ὅ τε τῆς ∆αμασκοῦ καὶ ὁ τῆς Σαμαρείας ἐπιθεμένου αὐτοῖς τοῦ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλέως διὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ ἀπορρήτου προσηγορίας. ἐγγράψαι δὲ τῷ προφήτῃ κελεύει ἐπὶ τοῦ τόμου τοῦ καινοῦ καὶ μεγάλου τὰ μέλλοντα ῥηθήσεσθαι καὶ τοῦτο πράξαι ἐπὶ μαρτύρων δύο ἀνδρῶν, ἑνὸς μὲν ἱερέως, θατέρου δὲ προφήτου. μέμνηται δὲ τοῦ ἱερέως Οὐρίου ἡ ἱστορία ὡς κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου ἱερωμένου τῷ θεῷ, μέμνηται δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ζαχαρίου ἐπὶ Ἑζεκίου τοῦ βασιλέως γενομένου· λέγει γοῦν ἡ γραφὴ τῶν Παραλειπομένων· «καὶ ἦν Ἑζεκίας ἐκζητῶν τὸν κύριον ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ζαχαρίου τοῦ συνιέντος ἐν φόβῳ κυρίου». τούτους τοιγαροῦν τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας μάρτυράς μοί φησι ποίησον λαβὼν τὸν καινὸν τόμον καὶ μέλλων εἰς αὐτὸν γράφειν γραφίδι ἀνθρώπου, παρόντων δὲ τῶν μαρτύρων τῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ μαρτυρούντων. ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη γράφε ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ἐν τῷ λεχθέντι τόμῳ· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν. λέγει δὲ ταῦτα ὁ χρηματίζων κύριος· ἐπιμελῶς γὰρ προσεκτέον τῇ λέξει τῆς γραφῆς πάσης· καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἐξ αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ προσώπου συναπτούσῃ τό· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν. ἃ δὴ τῷ καινῷ τόμῳ ἐγγράψαι τῷ προφήτῃ ὁ χρηματίζων προσέταττεν, ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἴρητο ἀνωτέρῳ τό· «ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, νῦν ἀναγκαίως ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος, πῶς ἂν γένοιτο τοῦτο διασαφεῖ λέγων αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ· αὐτὸς ἐγὼ προσελεύσομαι τῇ προφήτιδι. προφῆτιν δὲ ὀνομάζει «τὴν παρθένον» διὰ τὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου μετασχεῖν κατὰ τὸν φήσαντα πρὸς αὐτήν· «πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ, καὶ δύναμις ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι». αὕτη τοίνυν «ἡ δύναμις τοῦ ὑψίστου» ἡ διὰ τῆς προφητείας λέγουσα· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, τὰ μέλλοντα ὡς ἤδη γεγονότα διεξέρχεται κατά τινα προφητικὴν συνήθειαν. ἐγὼ αὐτὸς προσελεύσομαι τῇ προφήτιδι, ὦ προφῆτα, καὶ οὕτως ἐν γαστρὶ λαβοῦσα τέξεται υἱόν. τοῦτον δὲ αὐτὸν σύ, ὦ προφῆτα, ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ὀνόμαζε· Ταχέως σκύλευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον, ἐπεὶ καὶ πρὸ τῆς κατὰ σάρκα αὐτοῦ γενέσεως παντελῆ καθαίρεσιν ἐργάσεται ταῖς δυσὶ βασιλείαις ταύταις ταῖς νῦν ἐπικειμέναις τῷ οἴκῳ ∆αυίδ· λήψεται γὰρ δύναμιν ∆αμασκοῦ καὶ τὰ σκῦλα Σαμαρείας σκυλεύσει. καὶ τοῦτο πράξει διὰ τοῦ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλέως, ταῦτα δὲ ἐπὶ μόνων τῶν δηλωθέντων λέγε τε μαρτύρων καὶ γραφὴν παραδίδου, ὡς ἂν φυλάττοιτο καὶ εἰς τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνους, ἐπειδὴ μέλλει καὶ ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη τὰ τῶν προφητευομένων ἀποτελέσματα περιέξειν. 1.49 Ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως προφητεύεται, διὸ εἴρηται· καὶ προσέθετο κύριος λαλῆσαί μοι ἔτι· πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς προλεχθεῖσιν ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα τῷ προφήτῃ, ἀλλ' οὐ τῷ παντὶ λαῷ λέγει