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which is still even now borne in their 168 prophecies, and philosophizing on countless other secret matters through riddles and parables, and delivering moral and doctrinal teaching to the people in the Hebrew language, and in addition to these things, showing a life suitable to their words, and speaking to all without flattery, and refuting the impious to their face, so as even to be plotted against by them even to death, standing by the true word with a powerful and noble bearing. If someone considers these things with a well-disposed mind, how would he not confess that all these things truly happened to them by divine inspiration? Therefore it was likely that they were admired then by the prudent, and that their words were kept in writing by the sacred scribes, and that even now they are believed by the whole nation to have been prophets of God; which our own conception concerning Christ also most clearly shows, according to which we demonstrate that the whole economy concerning him has come to pass, both the things concerning his teaching, and the calling of all nations through him, were accurately foreknown and foretold countless years before by those divine men; whose sacred books the Jews would be more trustworthy than us in handling and bringing forward with all reverent honor. These things having been usefully presupposed by us, we must proceed to the subject. 169 Ps. From Isaiah. 1. The word that came to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judea, and concerning Jerusalem. That in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and the house of God on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall come to it. And many nations shall go, and shall say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will declare to us his way, and we will walk in it; for out of Zion shall go forth a law, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and he shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall no longer learn to war. Let those who boast in the circumcision show us, what and what sort of law, and to whom to be given is the one prophesied to come out of Zion; for out of Zion, he says, a law shall go forth, being clearly different from the law given in the desert through Moses; and what is the word of the Lord, no longer, according to the prophecy, remaining in Jerusalem, but from Zion itself, and transferring to all the nations, and being about to judge between them, and to rebuke many people, when a most profound peace will come to the nations who are to be judged by the word of the Lord, those deemed worthy of peace, transforming their former instruments of war, will turn their mind to the cultivation of their own soul. To them, therefore, 170 I do not know if there is any argument for these things; but for us who have rightly believed in Jesus the Christ of God it is easy to smooth out the whole prophecy, and to show it to be truly divine and extraordinary, in believing that the things prophesied have reached their fulfillment, and in not falling away from the truth, by postponing the results of the prophecies to endless times. For we say that at the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ he has also bodily come forth out of Zion, and from there has been proclaimed to all nations the law of the new covenant, that according to the gospel, when also the saving Word himself, being called the Word of the Lord, having come forth from Jerusalem, where he taught while spending time, according to, behold, your house is left to you desolate; poured out his grace upon all the nations; which, being judged by him and rebuked for their former sins, coming to awareness and repentance, have ceased from being occupied with wars according to the passions, and live in most profound peace of soul, taking care of their own mind,

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εἰς ἔτι νῦν ἐν ταῖς προφητείαις 168 αὐτῶν φερομένην, μυρία τε ἄλλα δι' αἰνιγμάτων καὶ παραβολῶν ἀπόρρητα φιλοσοφοῦντας, ἠθικήν τε καὶ δογματικὴν τῇ Ἑβραίων φωνῇ διδασκαλίαν τῷ λαῷ παραδιδόντας, καὶ πρὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν βίον τοῖς λόγοις αὐτῶν κατάλληλον ἐνδεικνυμένους, καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀκολακεύτως ὁμιλοῦντας, εἰς πρόσωπόν τε τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς διελέγχοντας, ὡς καὶ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι πρὸς αὐτῶν μέχρι θάνατον, ῥωμαλέῳ καὶ γεννικῷ παραστήματι τῷ ἀληθεῖ λόγῳ παρισταμένους. Ταῦτά τις εἰς νοῦν εὐγνωμόνως θέμενος, πῶς οὐκ ἂν ὁμολογήσειεν κατὰ θείαν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐπίπνοιαν ταῦτα πάντα περὶ αὐτοὺς γεγονέναι; ∆ιὸ καὶ τότε θαυμάζεσθαι αὐτοὺς εἰκὸς ἦν παρὰ τοῖς ἔμφροσιν, καὶ τοὺς λόγους αὐτῶν ἀναγράπτους παρὰ τοῖς ἱερογραμματεῦσι φυλάττεσθαι, εἰς ἔτι τε νῦν παρ' ὅλῳ τῷ ἔθνει προφήτας γεγονέναι τοῦ Θεοῦ πιστεύεσθαι· ὃ καὶ ἐναργέστατα μάλιστα παρίστησιν ἡ ἡμετέρα περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διάληψις, καθ' ἣν ἀποδείκνυμεν πᾶσαν τὴν κατ' αὐτὸν οἰκονομίαν γεγενημένην, τά τε περὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῆς ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐθνῶν γενομένης δι' αὐτοῦ κλήσεως ἀκριβῶς προεγνῶσθαί τε καὶ πρὸ μυρίων ὅσων ἐτῶν τοῖς θεσπεσίοις ἐκείνοις ἀνδράσι προειρῆσθαι· ὧν τὰς ἱερὰς βίβλους Ἰουδαῖοι μᾶλλον ἂν ἡμῶν εἶεν ἀξιοπιστότεροι μετὰ πάσης σεβασμίου τιμῆς περιέποντές τε καὶ προφέροντες. Τούτων ἡμῖν χρησίμως προδιαληφθέντων ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ὁδευτέον. 169 Ψ. Ἐκ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. Αʹ. Ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος πρὸς Ἡσαΐαν υἱὸν Ἀμὼς περὶτῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ περὶ Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ὅτι ἔσται ἐν ταῖςἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐμφανὲς τὸ ὄρος Κυρίου, καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπ' ἄκρων τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὑπεράνω τῶν βουνῶν, καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐπ' αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Καὶ πορεύσονται ἔθνη πολλὰ, καὶ ἐρούσιν, ∆εῦτε καὶ ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ, καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πορευσόμεθα ἐν αὐτῇ· ἐκ γὰρ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐξ Ἱερουσαλήμ· καὶ κρινεῖ ἀναμέσον τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἐλέγξει λαὸν πολύν· καὶ συγκόψουσιν τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα· καὶ οὐ λήψεται ἔθνος ἐπ' ἔθνος μάχαιραν, καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἔτι πολεμεῖν. ∆εικνύτωσαν ἡμῖν οἱ τὴν περιτομὴν αὐχοῦντες, τίς ὁ νόμος καὶ ποταπὸς, καὶ τίσι δοθησόμενος ὁ ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεσθαι προφητευόμενος· ἐκ γὰρ Σιὼν, φησὶν, ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, ἕτερος ὢν δῆλον ὅτι τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διὰ Μωσέως νόμου δεδομένου· τίς δὲ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Κυρίου λόγος, μηκέτι μὲν, κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν, μένων ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἀλλ' ἐκ Σιὼν αὐτῆς, καὶ μεθιστάμενος ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, μέλλων τε κρίνειν ἀνὰ μέσον τούτων, καὶ λαὸν ἐλέγχει ξει πολὺν, ὅτε καὶ εἰρήνης βαθυτάτης ἐγγενομένης τοῖς πρὸς τοῦ λόγου τοῦ Κυρίου κριθησομένοις ἔθνεσι, μεταβαλλόντες οἱ τῆς εἰρήνης ἠξιωμένοι τὰ πρότερον αὐτῶν πολεμικὰ σκεύη τῇ ἑαυτῶν κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν γεωργίᾳ προσέξουσι τὸν νοῦν. Ἐκείνοις μὲν οὖν 170 οὐκ οἶδ' εἴ τίς ἐστιν πρὸς ταῦτα λόγος· ἡμῖν γε μὴν ὑγιῶς εἰς Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ πεπιστευκόσι ῥᾳδίως ἔνεστιν πᾶσαν ἐξομαλίσαι τὴν προφητείαν, θείαν τε ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ παράδοξον αὐτὴν ἐπιδεικνύναι, τῷ καὶ τέλος ἐσχηκέναι τὰ προφητευθέντα πιστεύειν, καὶ μὴ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκπίπτειν, εἰς ἀτερματίστους ὑπερτιθεμένους χρόνους τῶν προφητειῶν τὰ ἀποτελέσματα. Φαμὲν γὰρ δὴ ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίᾳ καὶ σωματικῶς ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξεληλυθέναι, κἀκεῖθεν πᾶσιν ἀνακεκηρύχθαι τοῖς ἔθνεσι, τὸν νόμον τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης, τὸν κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ὅτε καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτήριος Λόγος, Λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου χρηματίζων, ἐκ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ προελθὼν, ἔνθα διατρίβων ἐδίδασκεν, κατὰ τὸ, ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος· ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐξέχεε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χάριν· ἃ καὶ κρινόμενα πρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλεγχόμενα ἐπί τε ταῖς προτέραις ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίαις, εἰς συναίσθησιν καὶ μετάνοιαν ἐρχόμενα, πέπαυται μὲν τοῦ πολέμοις τοῖς κατὰ τὰ πάθη σχολάζειν, ἐν εἰρήνῃ δὲ ψυχῆς διάγει βαθυτάτῃ τῆς σφῶν αὐτῶν διανοίας ἐπιμελούμενα,