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having considered this, set beside it the introduction of the prophecy, through which it is said: “the word that came from the Lord to Isaiah son of Amoz for Judea and for Jerusalem,” seeing that the things brought upon them happen to be rather against them than for them, unless some hidden meaning is contained in these words. 2.3.76 For how, when he was about to take away “from Judea and from Jerusalem the mighty man and the mighty woman, the strength of bread and the strength of water,” and all the things that once excelled among them, did he foretell that the things prophesied would be “for Judea and for Jerusalem”? And how is it for them, for what follows to be said again: “Jerusalem is forsaken, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues are with lawlessness, disobeying the Lord”? 2.3.77 But at such a time, in which “the mountain of the Lord” must be preached to all the 2.3.77 nations, and the house of God on the mountain, to which all the nations coming together say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob,” the word, having used such accusations against the Jewish nation and having threatened them with the worst, adds to all these the words set forth before us, teaching that, when the whole Jewish nation is about to fall away from piety toward God, some will be left among them not sharing with all in the evils. But on the contrary, as having been saved from the wicked and lawless, and having shown the proven and sincere character of their piety, they will be deemed worthy of the writing that is with God and “will be called holy,” the servants of God. 2.3.78 And by these things he reveals the apostles and disciples and evangelists of our Savior and all the rest of those in the circumcision who believed in him at the time of the falling away of their entire nation. 2.3.79 The word hints at these things, saying “in that day” in which it is clear that all the things foretold concerning the calling of the nations and concerning the falling away of the Jews will happen, “God will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel; and the remnant in Zion and the remnant in Jerusalem will be, they shall be called holy, all who are written for life in Jerusalem;” for whose sake, having come forth from Jerusalem and from Judea, it is also reasonable that the preface declared the prophecy to be spoken “for Judea and for Jerusalem,” or also on account of the true Jerusalem and the Judea that is contemplated intellectually analogous to it; concerning which we shall learn in due course. 2.3.80 And who of the apostles of our Savior and of the evangelists, perceiving the divine power, by which “their sound went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world,” and all the churches of Christ from that time until now have their words on their lips and as teachings, and the laws of Christ of the new covenant preached through them, would not bear witness to the truth of the prophecy, which stated clearly that “in counsel and with glory over all the earth God would exalt and glorify ‘the remnant of Israel’,” and that “the remnant in Zion and the remnant in Jerusalem shall be called holy, all who are written for life.” But instead of what is said by the Seventy, “in counsel with glory,” Aquila and Theodotion in agreement translated “for power and glory,” representing the power given by God to the apostles and the glory with God for this, according to “the Lord will give a word to those who preach the good news with great power” and the very thing that has happened. 2.3.81 38. “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and turn, and I would heal them. And I said, ‘How long, O Lord?’ And he said, ‘Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and
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ἐπιστήσας, παράθες τὰ προλεγόμενα τῆς προφητείας, δι' ὧν εἴρηται· «ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος παρὰ κυρίου πρὸς Ἡσαΐαν υἱὸν Ἀμὼς ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἰουδαίαςκαὶ ὑπὲρ Ἱερουσαλήμ», ὡς μᾶλλον κατ' αὐτῶν ἢ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τὰ ἐπενηνεγμένα τυγχάνει, εἰ μή τις ἄρα ἐν τούτοις λανθάνων περιέχεται νοῦς. 2.3.76 πῶς γὰρ μέλλων ἀφαιρεῖν «ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἰσχύοντα καὶ ἰσχύουσαν, ἰσχὺν ἄρτου καὶ ἰσχὺν ὕδατος», καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς πάλαι διαπρέποντα, «ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ ὑπὲρ Ἱερουσαλὴμ» ἔσεσθαι τὰ θεσπιζόμενα προύλεγε; πῶς δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἔστι· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς αὖθις λέγεσθαι· «ἀνεῖται Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἡ Ἰουδαία συμπέπτωκε, καὶ αἱ γλῶσσαι αὐτῶν μετὰ ἀνομίας, τὰ πρὸς κύριον ἀπειθοῦντες»; 2.3.77 Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐν τοιῷδε καιρῷ, ἐν ᾧ «τὸ ὄρος κυρίου» πᾶσι τοῖς 2.3.77 ἔθνεσιν ἀνάγκη κηρύττεσθαι, ὅ τε ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐφ' ὃν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη συνιόντα φασίν· «δεῦτε καὶ ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος κυρίου καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακώβ», τοιαύταις ὁ λόγος χρησάμενος κατηγορίαις τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους, ἀπειλήσας τε αὐτοῖς τὰ ἔσχατα, ἐπισυνάπτει τούτοις πᾶσι τὰς προεκτεθείσας ἡμῖν λέξεις, διδάσκων ὅτι, τοῦ παντὸς Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους μέλλοντος ἀποπεσεῖσθαι τῆς κατὰ τὸν θεὸν εὐσεβείας, περιλειφθήσονταί τινες ἐν αὐτοῖς οὐ συναπολαύσαντες τοῖς πᾶσι τῶν κακῶν. ἔμπαλιν δὲ ὡς ἂν ἐκ μοχθηρῶν καὶ παρανόμων διασεσωσμένοι, καὶ τὸ δοκίμιον καὶ τὸ εἰλικρινὲς τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπιδεδειγμένοι, τῆς παρὰ τῷ θεῷ γραφῆς καταξιωθήσονται καὶ «ἅγιοι κληθήσονται» τοῦ θεοῦ δοῦλοι. 2.3.78 δηλοῖ δὲ διὰ τούτων τοὺς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀποστόλους καὶ μαθητὰς καὶ εὐαγγελιστὰς καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἅπαντας τοὺς ἐν περιτομῇ εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότας κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἀποπτώσεως τοῦ παντὸς αὐτῶν ἔθνους. 2.3.79 ταῦτα δὲ αἰνίττεται φάσκων ὁ λόγος «ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ» ἐν ᾗ δῆλον ὅτι τὰ προηγορευμένα πάντα περὶ τῆς κλήσεως τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀποπτώσεως γενήσεται «ἐπιλάμψει ὁ θεὸς ἐν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τοῦ ὑψῶσαι καὶ δοξάσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὑπολειφθὲν ἐν Σιὼν καὶ τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἅγιοι κληθήσονται πάντες οἱ γραφέντες εἰς ζωὴν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ»· δι' οὓς καὶ εἰκότως, ἀπὸ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας προελθόντας, «ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ ὑπὲρ Ἱερουσαλὴμ» τὴν προφητείαν ἐδήλου λέγεσθαι τὸ προοίμιον, ἢ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀληθῆ Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ τὴν ἀναλόγως αὐτῇ κατὰ διάνοιαν θεωρουμένην Ἰουδαίαν· περὶ οὗ κατὰ καιρὸν εἰσόμεθα. 2.3.80 Καὶ τίς γε τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν τὴν ἔνθεον συνορῶν δύναμιν, καθ' ἣν «εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν», πᾶσαί τε ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰς δεῦρο αἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκκλησίαι τοὺς λόγους αὐτῶν ἀνὰ στόμα καὶ μαθήματα ἔχουσιν, καὶ τὰς τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης δι' αὐτῶν κηρυχθείσας τοῦ Χριστοῦ νομοθεσίας, οὐκ ἂν ἀλήθειαν τῇ προφητείᾳ ἐπιμαρτυρήσαι, φησάσῃ ἐμφανῶς «ἐν βουλῇ καὶ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ὑψώσειν τὸν θεὸν καὶ δοξάσειν «τὸ καταλειφθὲν Ἰσραήλ», καὶ ὡς ἄρα «τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Σιὼν καὶ τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἅγιοι κληθήσονται πάντες οἱ γραφέντες εἰς ζωήν». ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ λεγομένου παρὰ τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα «ἐν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης» ὁ Ἀκύλας καὶ Θεοδοτίων συμφώνως «εἰς δύναμιν καὶ δόξαν» ἡρμήνευσαν, τὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δοθεῖσαν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις δύναμιν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ δόξαν παριστῶντες κατὰ τὸ «κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμει πολλῇ» καὶ αὐτό γε τὸ γεγενημένον. 2.3.81 ληʹ. «Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶ βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μή ποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν, καὶ ἐπιστρέψουσι, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς. καὶ εἶπα, ἕως πότε, κύριε; καὶ εἶπεν, ἕως ἂν ἐρημωθῶσι πόλεις παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι, καὶ