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but those caught will be gathered together and having made themselves as it were into a mass, they will fall under the sword of the wrath of God. And the avenging angels coming upon them will not do these things only to the aforementioned proud men, but they will also dash their children before their eyes and plunder their houses and possess their wives; for just as with the men being punished, they will subject their wives also, who have become godless and impious, to equal punishments, as indeed also their impious children, whose souls were appropriated by and assimilated to the depravity of their characters. So then, he threatens that all the impious and the lawless and the proud will suffer these things at the time of the universal judgment of God. But he specifically foretells next the things that will happen to Babylon and the Babylonians, and to the king of the Chaldeans, from this point making a particular and partial prophecy, for which reason he also directs his word to the Babylonians in person. It should be known that up to this point went the fifteenth volume of Origen's exegetical works on the prophet. 1.67 To the word that says: ‘Behold, I raise up for you the Medes,’ the outcome of history bears witness, being recorded among those Greeks who wrote on Chaldean and Assyrian matters, and those who recorded Median history, from whom we also have gathered very many testimonies in the chronological writings we composed. So then, the Medes appear to have overthrown the rule of the Assyrians; and Cyrus, who first ruled the Persians, subdued them, he who also released the Jews from captivity and gave authority to those of them who wished to return to their own land and to rebuild the temple of God. Therefore the prophecy, mentioning these things literally, now says: ‘Behold, I raise up for you the Medes,’ and in what follows it also makes mention of ‘Cyrus’ by name. And it adds concerning Babylon, saying: ‘And Babylon, which is called glorious, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah; it shall not be inhabited for eternal time.’ Which it is also necessary to observe how it is verified by the facts; uninhabited. For Babylon is seen to be completely desolate even now, and witnesses of these things are those who arrive to us from those places. But neither will Arabs pass through it, he says, by which are meant, I think, those among us called Saracens, who, while conducting their business, used to pitch their tents in Babylon itself in ancient times. And it is thus to be shunned both by its neighbors and by those who travel around it from a distant nation, so that not even shepherds from the Arabs pasture any of their own flocks in it, because it is completely desolate. It should be known that he calls Arabs the nations of the Saracens extending as far as the land of the Assyrians and those inhabiting the innermost desert; for they have the land of Arabia as a neighbor. Therefore according to Symmachus it is said: ‘Nor will an Arab pitch a tent there.’ And there is also another, called Arabia Felix, lying beside the country of the Persians, so that the oracle could also refer to those from it. And since shepherds graze in many desert places, making folds for their flocks in them, he foretells that Babylon will not be useful for this, saying: ‘nor will shepherds rest in it.’ So then, he prophesies that nothing will inhabit Babylon, which has become completely bereft of tame and rational animals. But he says that certain obscure and unknown wild beasts, and demons and certain harsh and untamed spirits will be in it. Therefore instead of ‘wild beasts,’ the other translators have rendered it *siyim*; and instead of ‘sirens,’ they have said ostriches; and instead of ‘onocentaurs,’ they have written *iyim*, using the Hebrew word itself because of the obscurity of the translation. But also instead of hedgehogs, the three translators likewise have translated sirens, perhaps because of the deceptive nature of

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ἁλόντες οἱ δὲ ὁμοῦ συναχθέντες καὶ ὡσανεὶ σύστρεμμα ἑαυτοὺς ποιησάμενοι ὑποπεσοῦνται τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ. Οὐ μόνους δὲ τοὺς εἰρημένους ὑπερηφάνους ταῦτα διαθήσουσιν οἱ ἐπελευσόμενοι αὐτοῖς τιμωροὶ ἄγγελοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐνράξουσιν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς οἰκίας αὐτῶν προνομεύσουσι καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας αὐτῶν ἕξουσιν· ὁμοίως γὰρ τοῖς κολαζομένοις ἀνδράσι καὶ τὰς τούτων γυναῖκας ἀθέους καὶ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ αὐτὰς γενομένας ταῖς ἴσαις ὑποβαλοῦσι τιμωρίαις, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν τὰ ἀσεβῆ τὰς οἰκείας καὶ τῇ τῶν τρόπων αὐτῶν μοχθηρίᾳ ἐξοικειωθείσας καὶ παρομοιωθείσας ψυχάς. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἀπειλεῖ πείσεσθαι τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἅπαντας καὶ τοὺς ἀνόμους καὶ τοὺς ὑπερηφάνους ἐν καιρῷ τῆς καθολικῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως. ἀφωρισμένως δὲ τὰ συμβησόμενα τῇ Βαβυλῶνι καὶ τοῖς Βαβυλωνίοις, τῷ τε βασιλεῖ τῶν Χαλδαίων ἑξῆς προαναφωνεῖ ἐντεῦθεν ἰδιάζουσαν προφητείαν καὶ μερικὴν ποιούμενος, διὸ καὶ εἰς πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ἀποτείνεται τῶν Βαβυλωνίων τὸν λόγον. ἰστέον δ' ὡς μέχρι τούτων Ὠριγένει προῆλθεν ὁ πεντεκαιδέκατος τῶν εἰς τὸν προφήτην ἐξηγητικῶν τόμος. 1.67 Τῷ φάσκοντι λόγῳ· ἰδοὺ ἐπεγείρω ὑμῖν τοὺς Μήδους, μαρτυρεῖ ἡ τῆς ἱστορίας ἔκβασις ἀνάγραπτος οὖσα παρὰ τοῖς Ἑλλήνων τὰ Χαλδαϊκὰ καὶ τὰ Ἀσσύρια συγγραψαμένοις, τοῖς τε τὰ Μηδικὰ ἱστορήσασιν, ὧν καὶ ἡμεῖς πλείστας ἀναλελέγμεθα μαρτυρίας ἐν τοῖς πονηθεῖσιν ἡμῖν χρονικοῖς συγγράμμασι. φαίνονται τοίνυν Μῆδοι τὴν Ἀσσυρίων καθελόντες ἀρχήν· τούτους τε Κῦρος ὑποτάξας ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεύσας πρῶτος, ὁ καὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀνεὶς καὶ δοὺς ἐξουσίαν τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπανιέναι χώραν καὶ ἀνεγείρειν τὸν νεὼν τοῦ θεοῦ. διὸ τούτων πρὸς λέξιν ἡ προφητεία μνημονεύουσα νῦν μὲν φάσκει· ἰδοὺ ἐπεγείρω ὑμῖν τοὺς Μήδους, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἑξῆς καὶ «τοῦ Κύρου» μνήμην ὀνομαστὶ ποιεῖται. Ἐπιφέρει δὲ περὶ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος λέγουσα· καὶ ἔσται Βαβυλών, ἣ καλεῖται ἔνδοξος, ὃν τρόπον κατέστρεψεν ὁ θεὸς Σόδομα καὶ Γόμορρα· οὐ κατοικηθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον. ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ἀναγκαῖον τηρῆσαι ὡς ἐπαληθεύει τοῖς ἔργοις· ἀοίκητος. γοῦν καὶ παντελῶς ἔρημος εἰσέτι νῦν ὁρᾶται ἡ Βαβυλών, μάρτυρες δὲ τούτων οἱ ἐκ τῶν τόπων ὡς ἡμᾶς ἀφικνούμενοι. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ διελεύσονταί φησιν αὐτὴν Ἄραβες, οὕτω δηλουμένων, ὡς οἶμαι, τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν καλουμένων Σαρακηνῶν, οἳ τὰς πραγματείας ποιούμενοι καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῆς Βαβυλῶνος τὸ παλαιὸν ἐσκηνοποιοῦντο. φευκτὴ δὲ οὕτως καὶ τοῖς ὁμόροις καὶ ὡς ἐξ ἔθνους μακροῦ περινοστοῦσιν αὐτήν, ὡς μηδὲ ποιμένας τοὺς ἐξ Ἀράβων κατανεμῆσαί τι τῶν ἰδίων θρεμμάτων ἐν αὐτῇ διά τοι τὸ ἠρημῶσθαι παντελῶς. ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι τὰ Σαρακηνῶν ἔθνη καὶ μέχρις αὐτῆς διήκοντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων καὶ τὴν ἐσωτάτω νεμομένους ἔρημον Ἄραβας ὀνομάζει· γείτονα γὰρ ἔχουσι τὴν Ἀράβων χώραν. διὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· οὐδὲ σκηνοποιήσει ἐκεῖ Ἄραψ. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλη τις ἡ καλουμένη ἡ εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία τῇ Περσῶν παρακειμένη χώρᾳ, ὡς καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς δύνασθαι δηλοῦν τὸ λόγιον. ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλὰ τῶν ἐρήμων τόπων ἐπινέμονται ποιμένες μάνδρας τοῖς ἑαυτῶν θρέμμασιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ποριζόμενοι, οὐδεὶς τοῦτο ἔσεσθαι χρήσιμον τὴν Βαβυλῶνα προλέγει φάσκον· οὐδὲ ποιμένες ἀναπαύσονται ἐν αὐτῇ. Τῶν μὲν οὖν ἡμέρων καὶ λογικῶν ζῴων ἔρημον παντελῶς καταστᾶσαν τὴν Βαβυλῶνα οὐδὲν οἰκήσειν θεσπίζει. θηρία δὲ ἡμῖν τινα ἄδηλα καὶ ἄγνωστα, δαίμονάς τε καὶ πνεύματά τινα ἀπηνῆ καὶ ἀνήμερα ἐν αὐτῇ ἔσεσθαί φησι. διὸ ἀντὶ τοῦ· θηρία, σιεὶμ οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ ἐκδεδώκασι, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ· σειρῆνες, στρουθοκαμήλους εἰρήκασι, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ· ὀνοκένταυροι, ἰὶμ ἀνέγραψαν αὐτῇ χρησάμενοι τῇ Ἑβραϊκῇ φωνῇ διὰ τὸ ἄδηλον τῆς ἑρμηνείας. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντὶ ἐχίνων ὁμοίως οἱ τρεῖς ἑρμηνευταὶ σειρῆνας ἡρμήνευσαν, τάχα που διὰ τὸ ἀπατηλὸν τῶν