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the stars will give their light to the impious who are to be handed over to punishment and retribution, and the luminaries, having changed from their own service, will come to another, better end, as if attaining a certain rebirth and no longer serving the futility of bodies, but “being set free from the slavery of corruption” according to the apostolic word. So that they may obtain a certain super-celestial and super-mundane rest and the highest glory, and when the luminaries have withdrawn, the impious, having been handed over to darkness, will suffer the things prophesied, to whom it is also said: And I will command evils for the whole world and for the impious their sins. All these things, therefore, have been said universally about the judgment that will happen against the impious at the consummation of the world, which is why in all these things the word mentions the world, but not Babylon, so that our observation is accurate, according to which we have divided the meaning of the prophecy into both a general discourse concerning the universal judgment and a specific one concerning Babylon. This is why the aforesaid things made mention of the world in different ways, at one time saying: “the Lord and his warriors to destroy the whole world,” and at another: “for behold, the day of the Lord comes, incurable with wrath and anger, to make the world desolate,” and again: and I will command evils for the whole world, in which the prophecy did not mention Babylon even once, but it makes a universal teaching about “the righteous judgment of God,” concerning which it also adds the following, saying: and I will destroy the insolence of the lawless and I will humble the insolence of the proud. Why indeed does it mention only the Babylonians, as if singling them out harshly, and not also other nations, such as the demigod Galatians or the Spaniards? Because, it says, no others at that time were troubling the nation of the Jews than those who were listed, continually rising up against them; sometimes sacking Jerusalem, and sometimes ravaging their land. Therefore, the word necessarily taught the besieged what would happen to those besieging Him. 1.66 Having gone through the aforementioned things about the universal judgment of God, the word adds these things also, teaching what will happen to the impious throughout the whole world and the things that will come upon those of the nations who have ruled godlessly and tyrannically. And these were certain proud and arrogant ones who at various times and seasons held power on earth, about whom it says: And I will destroy the insolence of the lawless and I will humble the insolence of the proud. But instead of: and those who are left behind will be honorable, Symmachus says: I will make a man more precious than gold, and a human being than the stone of Ophir; for he says that the one found among them worthy of the name of man will be rare. But not even one who preserves the naturally rational human being will be found among them; for they were a certain bestial people and savage in their ways, so that heaven itself was moved against them, I mean the heavenly powers or even the very creation of God, as if indignant along with God at the folly and arrogance and godlessness of those indicated. Therefore it is written: For the heaven will be angered and the earth will be shaken from its foundations because of the wrath of the anger of the Lord. And I think it signifies the consummation by saying that the earth will be shaken from its foundations. And if some among them, it says, should try to procure their safety by flight, these too will be easily captured, not resembling full-grown gazelles that leap away, making their course light and swift, but a little gazelle; which is why, according to the other interpreters, it has been called a little gazelle. And they will be like a sheep that is wandering and is neither sought nor gathered by anyone; for those who flee will pray to find someone friendly and to find refuge with one of their acquaintances, but they will not find it; for there will be no one to gather them. Therefore some of them will be defeated, or according to the other interpreters: they will be pierced through.

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οἱ ἀστέρες τοῖς κολάσει καὶ τιμωρίᾳ παραδοθησομένοις ἀσεβέσι τὸ ἑαυτῶν φῶς δώσουσι, μεταβαλόντες δὲ καὶ οἱ φωστῆρες ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ὑπηρεσίας ἐπὶ ἑτέραν ἥξουσι κρείττονα λῆξιν, ὥσπερ τινὸς παλιγγενεσίας τευξόμενοι καὶ μηκέτι μὲν τῇ τῶν σωμάτων δουλεύοντες ματαιότητι, «ἐλευθερούμενοι» δὲ «ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς» κατὰ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν λόγον. Ἵν' ὑπερουρανίου καὶ ὑπερκοσμίου τινὸς ἀναπαύσεως δόξης τε τῆς ἀνωτάτω τύχωσιν, ὑποχωρησάντων δὲ τῶν φωστήρων σκότῳ παραδοθέντες οἱ ἀσεβεῖς πείσονται τὰ προφητευόμενα, οἷς ἐπιλέγεται· καὶ ἐντελοῦμαι τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ κακὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πάντα καθολικῶς περὶ τῆς ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τοῦ κόσμου κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν γενησομένης κρίσεως εἴρηται, διὸ ἐν ὅλοις τούτοις τῆς οἰκουμένης μέμνηται ὁ λόγος, οὐ μὴν τῆς Βαβυλῶνος, ὥστ' εἶναι ἀκριβῆ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπιτήρησιν, καθ' ἣν διείλομεν τὴν διάνοιαν τῆς προφητείας εἴς τε γενικὸν λόγον τὸν περὶ τῆς καθολικῆς κρίσεως καὶ εἰς εἰδικὸν τὸν περὶ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος. διὸ τὰ προλεχθέντα τῆς οἰκουμένης μνήμην ἐποιεῖτο διαφόρως ἐν τῷ ποτὲ μὲν λέγειν· «κύριος καὶ οἱ ὁπλομάχοι αὐτοῦ καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην», ποτὲ δέ· «ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡμέρα κυρίου ἔρχεται ἀνίατος θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔρημον», καὶ αὖθις· καὶ ἐντελοῦμαι τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ κακά, ἐν οἷς οὐδὲ ἅπαξ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἐμνημόνευσε ἡ προφητεία, καθολικὴν δὲ ποιεῖται διδασκαλίαν περὶ «τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίας», περὶ ἧς καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρει λέγων· καὶ ἀπολῶ ὕβριν ἀνόμων καὶ ὕβριν ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσω. τί δήποτε Βαβυλωνίων μόνων ὥσπερ ἀποσκληρωτικῶς μέμνηται, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ἑτέρων ἐθνῶν, οἷον Γαλατῶν ἡμιθέων ἢ Σπάνων; ὅτι φησὶν οὐδένες ἄλλοι κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ παρηνώχλουν τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος ἢ οἱ καταλεχθέντες συνεχῶς αὐτοῖς ἐπανιστάμενοι· καὶ ποτὲ μὲν τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ πορθοῦντες, ποτὲ δὲ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν δῃοῦντες. διόπερ ὁ λόγος τοὺς πολιορκουμένους ἀναγκαίως ἐδίδασκε τὰ συμβησόμενα τοῖς αὐτὸν πολιορκοῦσιν. 1.66 Τὰ προλεχθέντα περὶ τῆς καθολικῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως διελθὼν ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα προστίθησιν ὁ λόγος τὰ συμβησόμενα τοῖς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀσεβέσι διδάσκων καὶ τὰ ἐπελευσόμενα τοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀθέως καὶ τυραννικῶς ἄρξασιν. ἦσαν δὲ οὗτοι ὑπερήφανοι καὶ ἐπηρμένοι τινὲς οἱ κατὰ καιροὺς καὶ χρόνους τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κρατήσαντες, περὶ ὧν φησι· καὶ ἀπολῶ ὕβριν ἀνόμων καὶ ὕβριν ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσω. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελειμμένοι ἔντιμοι, ὁ Σύμμαχος· τιμιώσω ἄνδρα φησὶν ὑπὲρ τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ τὸν λίθον τὸν ἐκ Σουφείρ· σπάνιον γάρ φησιν ἔσεσθαι τὸν εὑρεθησόμενον ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἄξιον τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς προσηγορίας. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὁ σῴζων τὸν κατὰ φύσιν λογικὸν ἄνθρωπον παρ' αὐτοῖς εὑρεθήσεται· θηριώδεις γάρ τινες ἦσαν οὗτοι καὶ ἀπηγριωμένοι τοὺς τρόπους, ὡς καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν κατ' αὐτῶν κινεῖσθαι, λέγω δὲ τὰς οὐρανίους δυνάμεις ἢ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν κτίσιν τοῦ θεοῦ ὥσπερ συναγανακτοῦσαν τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπονοίᾳ καὶ ἀλαζονείᾳ καὶ ἀθεότητι τῶν δηλουμένων. διὸ γέγραπται· ὁ γὰρ οὐρανὸς θυμωθήσεται καὶ ἡ γῆ σεισθήσεται ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων αὐτῆς διὰ θυμὸν ὀργῆς κυρίου. τὴν συντέλειαν δὲ οἶμαι σημαίνειν διὰ τοῦ λέγειν σεισθήσεσθαι τὴν γῆν ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων αὐτῆς. Εἰ δέ τινες ἐν αὐτοῖς πειραθεῖέν φησι φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν πορίσασθαι, καὶ οὗτοι εὐάλωτοι γενήσονται, οὐ δορκάσι τελείαις ἀποπηδῶσι κοῦφόν τε καὶ ταχὺ ποιουμέναις τὸν δρόμον ἐοικότες, ἀλλὰ δορκαδίῳ· διὸ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς δορκάδιον ὠνόμασται. καὶ προβάτῳ δὲ πλανωμένῳ καὶ μηδὲ ζητουμένῳ μηδὲ συναγομένῳ πρός τινος ἔσονται ὅμοιοι· εὔξονται μὲν γὰρ οἱ φεύγοντες δεξιοῦ τινος τυχεῖν καὶ καταφυγὴν εὕρασθαι παρά τινι τῶν γνωρίμων οὐ μὴν εὑρήσουσιν· οὐκ ἔσται γὰρ ὁ συνάγων αὐτούς. διὸ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν ἡττηθήσονται, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· ἐκκεντηθήσονται.