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And having opened the gates, raise your voice to them, urging those who are called to hurry. For I am the one who marshals and leads them. But who these are, he next presents, clarifying and saying: giants are coming to fulfill my wrath, rejoicing and at the same time being insolent. And Theodotion translated in agreement with the Seventy, saying: And I have called my giants, but Aquila and Symmachus, instead of 'giants,' translated 'mighty ones.' And thus he calls the punishing powers, through whom the things of his wrath against the impious are fulfilled. And these so-called giants, being somewhat malicious, as if doing things according to their wishes, rejoice in being insolent to and punishing the impious, since indeed they have no bowels of compassion nor kindness nor philanthropy, but are cruel-minded and inhuman. Indeed, it was necessary to groan over those who were perishing, but they, while being insolent, rejoiced. So much then for these things, but he adds the following concerning the nations that will be judged: a voice of many nations on the mountains like that of many nations, a voice of kings and of nations gathered together; for those who are about to be handed over to punishment will utter nothing other than voices, confessing their own evils, and at the same time and in the same way all the nations and their kings will give one and the same voice, lamenting their own misfortunes. Then he teaches the reason for the voice of the nations and the kings, saying: The Lord Sabaoth, or the Lord of powers, or the Lord of hosts, has commanded a nation of warriors to come from a land far away, from the uttermost foundation of heaven, the Lord and his warriors, to destroy the whole world. And those named giants above he here calls warriors, being long ago far away and as if shut up in the foundations of heaven, whom when the time calls, the judge of all things commands to come for the purpose of destroying the whole world of evil men after the separation of the righteous. Since also in the Gospels 'the Son of Man sitting on the throne of his glory' first calls those 'on the right' to 'the kingdom prepared' for them 'before the foundation of the world'; and when they have been received and brought into the promise, the threat 'of fire' has been brought forth against the remaining nations which will be found on the left. Having taught these things which are to be on the day of judgment, the word summons to repentance those who have not yet reached it but are still in this life, advising that there is still time to turn back and to weep and wail for their own evils. Wherefore he says: Wail, you carved images; for the day of the Lord is near, and destruction will come from God; for he says that the threatened things have not yet come, but are about to do so presently. Therefore, anticipate and atone for your own evils with weeping and lamentation and wailing; for the aforesaid day of God's wrath is about to come, in which every hand will be weakened, and every soul of man will be cowardly; and the ambassadors will be troubled, and pangs will seize them as a woman in labor; and they will confer with one another and be amazed and their faces will change like a flame. And here he calls ambassadors those who are in charge of the arguments of godlessness and those who act as envoys for the idolatrous error, and the teachers of atheist and impious doctrines, whom all the things that have been enumerated will pursue. It is characteristic of those who are turned about and have fallen into unexpected calamities to change the color of the face. To which he adds: For behold, the day of the Lord is coming, a day of wrath, anger, and rage, to make the whole world desolate and to destroy the sinners from it. And at that time, he says, the stars of heaven and Orion and all the adornment of heaven will not give their light, and they will be darkened at the rising of the sun; for at the time of the consummation neither the sun nor the moon nor

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ἀνοίξαντες δὲ τὰς θύρας, ὑψώσατε τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῖς, προτρέποντες σπεύδειν τοὺς καλουμένους. ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ συντάσσων καὶ ἄγων αὐτούς. τίνες δέ εἰσιν οὗτοι, ἑξῆς παρίστησι διασαφῶν καὶ λέγων· γίγαντες ἔρχονται πληρῶσαι τὸν θυμόν μου χαίροντες ἅμα καὶ ὑβρίζοντες συμφώνως δὲ τοῖς Ἑβδομήκοντα ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ Θεοδοτίων εἰπών· καίγε ἐκάλεσα τοὺς γίγαντάς μου, ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἀντὶ τοῦ· γίγαντας, δυνατοὺς ἡρμήνευσαν. οὕτως δὲ καλεῖ τὰς τιμωρητικὰς δυνάμεις, δι' ὧν τὰ τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὀργῆς πληροῦται. ἐπιχαιρεσίκακοι δέ τινες ὄντες οὗτοι οἱ λεγόμενοι γίγαντες ὥσπερ τὰ κατ' εὐχὰς πράττοντες· χαίρουσιν ἐπὶ τῷ ὑβρίζειν καὶ κολάζειν τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, ἅτε δὴ μὴ ἔχοντες σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ μηδὲ χρηστότητα μηδὲ φιλανθρωπίαν, ἀλλ' ὠμόθυμοι καὶ ἀπάνθρωποι τυγχάνοντες. δέον γοῦν στένειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, οἱ δὲ ἅμα ὑβρίζοντες ἔχαιρον. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τούτων, τὰ δ' ἑξῆς περὶ τῶν κριθησομένων ἐθνῶν ἐπιλέγει· φωνὴ ἐθνῶν πολλῶν ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων ὁμοία ἐθνῶν πολλῶν, φωνὴ βασιλέων καὶ ἐθνῶν συνηγμένων· οἱ γὰρ μέλλοντες τῇ τιμωρίᾳ παραδίδοσθαι οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ φωνὰς ἀφήσουσι τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἐξομολογούμενοι κακά, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ τὰ ἔθνη πάντα καὶ οἱ τούτων βασιλεῖς μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀποδώσουσι φωνήν, ὀλοφυρόμενοι τὰς ἑαυτῶν συμφοράς. εἶτα τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῶν βασιλέων φωνῆς διδάσκει λέγων· κύριος σαβαώθ, ἢ κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων ἢ κύριος τῶν στρατιῶν, ἐντέταλται ἔθνει ὁπλομάχῳ ἔρχεσθαι ἐκ γῆς πόρρωθεν ἀπ' ἄκρου θεμελίου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, κύριος καὶ οἱ ὁπλομάχοι αὐτοῦ, καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην. τοὺς δ' ἀνωτέρω γίγαντας ὀνομασθέντας ὁπλομάχους ἐνταῦθα καλεῖ, μακρὰν ὄντας πάλαι καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν θεμελίοις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀποκεκλεισμένους, οὓς ὅτε καιρὸς καλεῖ προστάττει ἔρχεσθαι ὁ τῶν ὅλων κριτὴς ἐπὶ τῷ καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν τὴν τῶν κακῶν οἰκουμένην μετὰ τὸν ἀφορισμὸν τῶν δικαίων. ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις «ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καθήμενος ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ» τοὺς «ἐκ δεξιῶν» πρώτους ἐπὶ «τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην» αὐτοῖς «βασιλείαν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου» καλεῖ· ὧν παραληφθέντων καὶ εἰσαχθέντων εἰς τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἐπὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς εὑρεθησόμενα ἡ ἀπειλὴ «τοῦ πυρὸς» ἐξενήνεκται. Ταῦτα διδάξας ὁ λόγος μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως τοὺς μηδέπω εἰς αὐτὴν ἐφθακότας ἔτι δὲ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ τυγχάνοντας ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν προκαλεῖται, ὡς ἔτι καιρός ἐστιν ἐπιστρέφειν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν κακοῖς ἀποκλάεσθαι καὶ ὀλολύζειν παραινῶν. διό φησιν· ὀλολύξατε, τὰ γλυπτά· ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἡμέρα κυρίου, καὶ συντριβὴ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἥξει· οὔπω γάρ φησιν ἐπέστη τὰ ἠπειλημένα, μέλλει δὲ ὅσον οὔπω. διὸ προλαβόντες κλαυθμῷ καὶ θρήνῳ καὶ ὀλολυγῇ ἐξιλάσασθε τὰ ἑαυτῶν κακά· μέλλει γὰρ ἡ προλεχθεῖσα ἡμέρα τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐφίστασθαι, ἐν ᾗ πᾶσα χεὶρ ἐκλυθήσεται, καὶ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἀνθρώπου δειλιάσει· καὶ ταραχθήσονται οἱ πρέσβεις, καὶ ὠδῖνες αὐτοὺς ἕξουσιν ὡς γυναικὸς τικτούσης· καὶ συμφοράσουσιν ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον καὶ ἐκστήσονται καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ὡς φλὸξ μεταβαλοῦσι. πρέσβεις δὲ ἐνταῦθα καλεῖ τοὺς προϊσταμένους τῶν τῆς ἀθεότητος λόγων καὶ τοὺς πρεσβεύοντας ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰδωλολάτρου πλάνης, τούς τε διδασκάλους τῶν ἀθέων καὶ ἀσεβῶν δογμάτων, οὓς μετελεύσεται τὰ κατηριθμημένα πάντα. ἴδιον τῶν διατρεπομένων καὶ ἀπροσδοκήτων δεινῶν περιπεσόντων τὸ μεταβάλλειν τὸ χρῶμα τοῦ προσώπου. Οἷς ἐπιλέγει· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡμέρα κυρίου ἔρχεται μήνιδος θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην ἔρημον καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀπολέσαι ἐξ αὐτῆς. κατ' ἐκεῖνο δὲ καιροῦ φησιν οἱ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ Ὠρίων καὶ πᾶς ὁ κόσμος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸ φῶς οὐ δώσουσι, καὶ σκοτισθήσονται τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνατέλλοντος· κατὰ γὰρ τὸν τῆς συντελείας καιρὸν οὔθ' ὁ ἥλιος οὔθ' ἡ σελήνη οὔθ'