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he will be wounded, being struck by blasphemous words, and this will be the work of our sins; since he was also afflicted because of our sins, so that we, after he had taken upon himself our transgressions and the wounds of our wickedness, might be healed by his bruise. And these were the causes of what the sinless one would suffer at the hands of men. But overlooking nothing of the Jews who conspired for his death, the wonderful prophet openly refutes, and bewailing this very thing and saying; “from the iniquities of my people he was led to death.” 3.2.59 Then, since immediately and not long after the outrage against Christ, utter destruction came upon them when they were besieged by the Romans, not overlooking this either, he adds: “And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death.” 3.2.60 It would have been sufficient, then, to conclude the prophecy with these things, if he had foreseen nothing more to happen after the death of Christ; but since he was about to return and live again almost immediately after his death or after his burial, he also adds these things about him, saying next: “And the Lord is willing to cleanse him of the stripe; if you give for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord is willing to take away from the travail of his soul, to show him light.” 3.2.61 Having said above, “a man in stripes and knowing how to bear affliction,” now after his death and burial, “the Lord,” he says, “is willing to cleanse him of the stripe;” and how will it be? “If you give,” he says, “for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed.” 3.2.62 For it is not permitted for all to see the long-lived seed of Christ but only for those who have confessed and bring the gifts for sins to God. For of these alone “the soul shall see the long-lived seed” of Christ, that is, his eternal life after death, or his word sown throughout the whole world, which will be long-lived and will endure forever. 3.2.63 Again, having said above, “and we considered him to be in travail,” now after his slaughter and his death he says: “And the Lord is willing to take away from the travail of his soul, to show him light.” Since, therefore, the Lord the God of all has willed “to cleanse him of the stripe and to show him light,” he would surely, having willed it, do what he willed. 3.2.64 For there is nothing of what he wills that does not come to pass; and he willed “to cleanse him” and “to show him light.” He therefore did these things, and having cleansed him, he showed him light. And since he willed, and having willed he took away the travail of his soul, and showed him light, the prophet reasonably adds, saying: “Therefore he shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoils of the strong.” 3.2.65 Here, then, he also now mentions the inheritance of Christ in agreement with the second psalm, through which the word, having prophesied by name about the plot contrived against him in “the kings of the earth stood by, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ,” adds next: “The Lord said to me, You are my Son, today I have begotten you; ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.” 3.2.66 These nations, then, the prophet also alluded to, saying: “Therefore he shall inherit many,” and he adds: “and shall divide the spoils of the strong.” For of the opposing powers, which formerly ruled the nations, having rescued the souls under their hand, he distributed them as certain spoils to his own disciples. 3.2.67 Wherefore Isaiah says concerning them: “and they shall rejoice before you in the same way as those who divide spoils.” And the psalmist: “The Lord will give a word to those who preach the gospel with great power. The king of the powers of the beloved, to divide spoils with the beauty of the house.” 3.2.68 Reasonably, therefore, here also he says concerning Christ: “Therefore he shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoils of the strong.” For what reason

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τραυματισθήσεται λόγοις βλασφήμοις βαλλόμενος, καὶ τοῦτ' ἔργον ἔσται τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτιῶν· ἐπεὶ καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ὅπως ἡμεῖς, ἀνειληφότος αὐτοῦ τὰ ἡμέτερα ἀμπλακήματα καὶ τὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας κακίας τραύματα, τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἰαθῶμεν. καὶ τὰ μὲν αἴτια, ὧν παρ' ἀνθρώποις πείσεται ὁ ἀναμάρτητος, ταῦτα ἦν. Ἰουδαίων δὲ τῶν τὸν θάνατον αὐτῷ συσκευασαμένων οὐδὲν ὑπεριδόμενος, ὁ θαυμάσιος προφήτης διαρρήδην ἀπελέγχει, καὶ τοῦτο ἄντικρυς σχετλιάζων καὶ λέγων· «ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνομιῶν τοῦ λαοῦ μου ἤχθη εἰς θάνατον». 3.2.59 εἶτ' ἐπεὶ παραχρῆμα καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν μετὰ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τόλμαν ὁ παντελὴς αὐτοὺς μετῆλθεν ὄλεθρος πολιορκηθέντας ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων, οὐδὲ τοῦτο παριδὼν ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ δώσω τοὺς πονηροὺς ἀντὶ τῆς ταφῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους ἀντὶ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ». 3.2.60 Ἤρκει μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις περιγράψαι τὴν προφητείαν, εἰ μηδέν τι πλέον ἔσεσθαι μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τελευτὴν ἑώρα· ἐπεὶ δὲ ὅσον οὔπω ἔμελλε μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἢ μετὰ τὴν ταφὴν παλινοστεῖν καὶ ἀναβιοῦν, ἔτι περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ταῦτα προστίθησιν, ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγων· «καὶ κύριος βούλεται καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν τῆς πληγῆς· ἐὰν δῶτε περὶ ἁμαρτίας, ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον. καὶ βούλεται κύριος ἀφελεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς». 3.2.61 ἀνώτερον εἰπὼν «ἄνθρωπος ἐν πληγῇ ὢν καὶ εἰδὼς φέρειν μαλακίαν», νῦν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ταφήν, «κύριος», φησίν, «βούλεται καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν τῆς πληγῆς»· καὶ πῶς ἔσται; «ἐὰν δῶτε», φησίν, «περὶ ἁμαρτίας, ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον». 3.2.62 οὐ πᾶσι γὰρ ἐφεῖται τὸ μακρόβιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ σπέρμα συνιδεῖν ἢ μόνοις τοῖς ἐξομολογησαμένοις καὶ τὰ δῶρα τὰ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν προσάγουσι τῷ θεῷ. μόνων γὰρ τούτων «ἡ ψυχὴ ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον» τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἤτοι τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον, ἢ τὸν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐπισπαρέντα αὐτοῦ λόγον μακρόβιον ἐσόμενον καὶ εἰς τὸ ἀεὶ διαρκέσοντα. 3.2.63 πάλιν ἀνώτερον εἰπών «καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐλογισάμεθα αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν πόνῳ», νῦν μετὰ τὴν σφαγὴν καὶ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ φησιν· «καὶ βούλεται κύριος ἀφελεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς». ἐπεὶ τοίνυν βεβούλευται κύριος ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς «καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν τῆς πληγῆς καὶ δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς», πάντως που βουληθεὶς πράξειεν ἂν ὃ ἐβουλήθη. 3.2.64 οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν ὃ μὴ γίνεται ὧν βούλεται· ἐβουλήθη δὲ «καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν» καὶ «δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς». ἐποίησεν ἄρα ταῦτα, καὶ καθαρίσας αὐτὸν ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ φῶς. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐβουλήθη, καὶ βουληθεὶς ἀφεῖλε τὸν πόνον τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ φῶς, εἰκότως ὁ προφήτης ἐπισυνάπτει λέγων· «διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα». 3.2.65 Ἔνθα λοιπὸν ἤδη καὶ τῆς κληρονομίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ μέμνηται τῷ δευτέρῳ συμφώνως ψαλμῷ, δι' οὗ περὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς κατ' αὐτοῦ συσκευασθείσης ὀνομαστὶ θεσπίσας ὁ λόγος ἐν τῷ «παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ», ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· «κύριος εἶπεν πρός με, υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε· αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου, καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς». 3.2.66 ταῦτα δ' οὖν τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ὁ προφήτης ᾐνίξατο εἰπών· «διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλούς», καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα». τῶν γὰρ δυνάμεων τῶν ἀντικειμένων, αἳ πάλαι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἦρχον, τὰς ὑποχειρίους ῥυσάμενος ψυχάς, οἷα δή τινα σκῦλα τοῖς οἰκείοις διένειμεν μαθηταῖς. 3.2.67 διό φησιν ὁ Ἡσαΐας περὶ αὐτῶν· «καὶ εὐφρανθήσονται ἐνώπιόν σου ὃν τρόπον οἱ διαιρούμενοι σκῦλα». καὶ ὁ ψαλμῳδός· «κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμει πολλῇ. ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν δυνάμεων τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ, τῇ ὡραιότητι τοῦ οἴκου διελέσθαι σκῦλα». 3.2.68 εἰκότως τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἐνταῦθα περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ φησιν· «διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλούς, καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα». διὰ ποῖον