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For praise is from the many. But fame is from the good. And honor is sometimes from the common people. But a prize is the reward of virtue. Then he added to these, that the God who of old enlightened His own people and sanctified them will become a fire to you, the proud one. For instead of, 'and He will sanctify him with burning fire,' Symmachus rendered: 'and his Holy One into flames.' And instead of, 'he shall consume the wood as grass,' 'he shall consume his stored things and his guarded things in one day.' And the glory of his forest and of his Carmel? It shall be consumed from soul to fruit. And he shall be as a wounded man fleeing. But the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few in number, and a child shall write them down. By forest 2029 he means the multitudes with him; and by Carmel, his wealth and luxury; which he says are consumed by the chastising power of the aforementioned fire. When these things happen to him, he will take to flight and flee with those with him; and those who are left will be so few that even a child can record their number in writing. And the dominion of the Assyrians was immediately overthrown according to what had been prophesied. But some say that 'He will sanctify him' means He will show Israel to be dedicated to God; for such also is the meaning of, 'Sanctify to me every firstborn that opens the womb, the males for the Lord,' instead of, 'Dedicate.' For 'to be sanctified' is not always to partake of sanctification, but also to be dedicated to God. For if He did not consider them His own people, He would not have kindled the fire against their adversaries. By hills and mountains and forests, he represents the multitude of the Assyrians with their leaders, who will be extinguished, though formerly fierce and ardent; for their death will consume almost both souls and bodies, when what is left is small. Some think that the present punishment happened in the time of Rabshakeh, with whom those left behind reported the number to the king of the Assyrians. And since the action of the fire is twofold, he distributed the illuminating part to Israel, but the burning part to the Assyrians, because of the pride of a great mind as things move to an opposite order. The fire sanctifies, they say, when it has consumed the material as grass. Since, therefore, God is a consuming fire, the passions that come from matter will be spent, and then the mountains will cease from being burned. But the fire of these rational mountains and hills and forest, beginning from souls, will come down even to their flesh. Scripture, they say, calls mountains those who are in some preeminence, inasmuch as they have been made for this purpose; but forests, those who are fruitless and do not have the cultivation of the true farmer. However, the fire touches all, beginning from the soul's passions in the mind; if the evil should stop at this point, it would consume only the matter there. But if these things should also proceed to the action of the flesh, it will come down even to their flesh. For example, if adultery stops at the soul, the fire also stops. For he only looked at a woman to lust after her, but did not destroy the temple of God, making the members of Christ members of a harlot. But if it should proceed to the body, to that extent it goes into the fire, and he is, it says, the one fleeing, as one who flees from a burning flame. Perhaps the one fleeing from the conflagration, by conversion and repentance, flees the punishing flame. But those who are left will be a number, not only because they are easy to count, but also because they are worthy to be taken up into the divine number, according to those numbered in the book of Numbers. "For rejoice," says the Savior, "that your names are written in heaven." And the child who writes this 2032 registration is the one about whom it was said that a child was born to us, a son, whom the Magi worshipped, who went down to Egypt and came again into the land of Israel, who writes down those who through repentance return to God. 23. 9And it shall be in that day, that the remnant of Israel shall no more be added. And the saved of Jacob shall no longer trust in those who wronged them; but they shall trust in God, the Holy One of Israel, in truth9, etc. When, he says,

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Τὴν μὲν γὰρ εἶναι τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ἔπαινον. Τὸ δὲ κλέος τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Καὶ τιμὴ μὲν ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν τυχόντων ἔσθ' ὅτε. Τὸ δὲ γέρας ἆθλόν ἐστιν ἀρετῆς. Εἶτα τούτοις ἐπήνεγκεν, ὡς ὁ πάλαι φωτίζων τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν καὶ ἁγιάζων αὐτὸν Θεὸς, σοὶ τῷ ὑπερηφάνῳ γενήσεται πῦρ. Ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ, καὶ ἁγιάσει αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πυρὶ καιομένῳ, ἐξέδωκε Σύμμαχος· καὶ ὁ ἅγιος αὐτοῦ εἰς φλόγας. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, καταφάγεται ὡσεὶ χόρτον τὴν ὕλην· καταφάγεται τὰ ἀποκείμενα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ πεφυλαγμένα αὐτοῦ, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ. Καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ δρυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦ Καρμήλου αὐτοῦ; ἀπὸ ψυχῆς ἕως καρπὸς ἀναλωθήσεται. Καὶ ἔσται ὡς τετμημένος φεύγων. Τὰ δὲ ἐπίλοιπα τῶν ξύλων τοῦ δρυμοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀριθμῷ ἔσονται, καὶ παιδίον γράψει αὐτά. ∆ρυμὸν μὲν 2029 λέγων τὰ πλήθη τὰ σὺν αὐτῷ· Κάρμηλον δὲ, αὐτοῦ τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν τρυφήν· ἅπερ ἀναλωθῆναί φησιν ὑπὸ τῆς κολαστικῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ προλεχθέντος πυρός. Ὧν αὐτῷ συμβάντων δρασμῷ χρησάμενος φεύξεται σὺν τοῖς μετ' αὐτοῦ· οἱ δὲ περιλειφθέντες οὕτως ἔσονται βραχεῖς ὡς καὶ παιδίον αὐτῶν γραφῇ παραδοῦναι τὸν ἀριθμόν. Καθῃρέθη δὲ παραχρῆμα κατὰ τὰ προθεσπισθέντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἡ δυναστεία. Τινὲς δὲ, τὸ ἁγιάσει αὐτὸν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἀνακείμενον τῷ Θεῷ δείξει τὸν Ἰσραήλ· τοιοῦτον γὰρ καὶ τὸ, Ἁγίασόν μοι πᾶν πρωτότοκον διανοῖγον μήτραν, τὰ ἀῤῥενικὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἀνάθες. Ἁγιάσεσθαι γὰρ οὐ πάντως τὸ μετέχειν ἁγιασμοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ Θεῷ ἀνακεῖσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἴδιον ἡγεῖτο λαὸν, οὐκ ἂν ἐξέκαυσε κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ πῦρ. Βουνοῖς δὲ καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ δρυμοῖς, τὴν τῶν Ἀσσυρίων μετὰ τῶν ἡγουμένων ἀπεικάζει πληθὺν, οἵπερ ἀποσβεσθήσονται πάλαι ὄντες δεινοὶ καὶ θερμοί· θανάτο γὰρ αὐτῶν καταφάγεται μόνον οὐχὶ ψυχάς τε καὶ σώματα, ὅτε καὶ βραχὺ τὸ λειπόμενον. Τὴν δὲ παροῦσαν τινὲς τιμωρίαν ἐπὶ Ῥαψάκου γεγονέναι νοοῦσιν, μεθ' οὗ δὲ καλειφθέντες τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῷ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἀπήγγειλαν βασιλεῖ. ∆ιττῆς δὲ οὔσης τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς ἐνεργείας, διένειμε τὴν μὲν φωτιστικὴν Ἰσραήλ· τὴν καυστικὴν δὲ, τοῖς Ἀσσυρίοις, διὰ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν μεγάλου νοῦ πρὸς ἐναντίαν τάξιν τῶν πραγμάτων μεταχωρούντων. Ἁγιάζει δὲ, φασὶ, τὸ πῦρ, ἐπειδὰν φάγῃ ὡς χόρτον τὴν ὕλην. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πῦρ καταναλίσκον ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς, τὰ ἐξ ὕλης ἐλθόντα δαπανήσεται πάθη, καὶ τότε τὰ ὅρη τοῦ καίεσθαι παύσεται. Τὸ δὲ πῦρ τῶν λογικῶν τούτων ὀρῶν τε καὶ βουνῶν καὶ δρυμοῦ, ἀπὸ ψυχῶν ἀρξάμενον, εἰς σάρκας αὐτὰς καταντήσεται. Καλεῖ δὲ, φασὶν, ἡ Γραφὴ ὄρη μὲν, τοὺς ἐν προτερήμασί τισιν, ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ κατασκευῇ γεγονότας· δρυμοὺς δὲ, τοὺς ἀκάρπους καὶ μὴ φοιτείαν ἔχοντας τὴν τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ γεωργοῦ. Πάντων μέντοι τὸ πῦρ ἅπτεται ἀρξάμενον ἀπὸ ψυχῆς τῶν ἐν τῷ νῷ παθημάτων· εἰ μέχρι τούτων σταίη τὸ κακὸν, τὴν ἐνταῦθα μόνον ἀναλώσειεν ὕλην. Εἰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς πρᾶξιν ταῦτα χωρήσειε τὴν σαρκὸς, καὶ εἰς τὰς σάρκας αὐτὰς καταντήσεται. Οἷον εἰ σταίη μοιχεία μέχρι ψυχῆς, ἵσταται καὶ τὸ πῦρ. Ἐνέβλεψε γὰρ μόνον γυναικὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔφθειρε τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ποιήσας τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ, πόρνης μέλη. Εἰ δὲ προέλθοι πρὸς σῶμα, μέχρι τούτου χωρεῖ εἰς τὸ πῦρ, καὶ ἔστι, φησὶν, ὁ φεύγων, ὡς ὁ φεύγων ἀπὸ φλογὸς καιομένης. Τάχα ὁ φεύγων ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐμπρησμοῦ, ἐπιστροφῇ, καὶ μετανοίᾳ, φεύγει τὴν κολάζουσαν φλόγα. Οἱ δὲ καταλειφθέντες ἔσονται ἀριθμὸς, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ εὐαρίθμητον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἄξιοι πρὸς ἀριθμὸν ἀναλαμβάνεσθαι θεῖον, κατὰ τοὺς ἀριθμηθέντας ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ἀριθμῶν. "Χαίρετε γὰρ, φησὶν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς." Παιδίον δὲ τὸ γράφον ταύ 2032 την τὴν ἐγγραφὴν, περὶ οὗπερ ἐλέχθη, ὅτι παιδίον ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν υἱὸς, ᾧ προσεκύνησαν Μάγοι, ὃ κατῆλθεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ πάλιν ἦλθεν εἰς γῆν Ἰσραὴλ, ὅπερ γράφει τοὺς διὰ μετανοίας εἰς Θεὸν ἐπιστρέφοντας. κκγʹ. 9Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνη, οὐκέτι προστεθήσεται καταλειφθὲν Ἰσραήλ. Καὶ οἱ σωθέντες τοῦ Ἰακὼβ οὐκέτι μὴ πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀδικήσαντας αὐτούς· ἀλλὰ ἔσονται πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ9, κ.τ.λ. Ὅτε, φησὶ,