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he numbers the destruction not only until the return, but also up to the construction of the temple. What I am saying is this. Before the seventy years he brought them up, and he reckoned the time of their return as part of the captivity. For where there was no temple, nor priest, nor altar, nor sacrifice, how did it differ from living in captivity? and this too is of his loving-kindness. For this reason, in the time of Darius, he says, after the return when so much time had passed, he says, How long, Lord, will you overlook Jerusalem? This is the seventieth year, then the seventy are fulfilled. And he does this also in punishment, saying: The life of men will be one hundred twenty years, and they live one hundred years. And he did this also in the case of the resurrection; for having said, that Three days, and three nights, on the third day he rises. But that was reasonably of loving-kindness, but this, of what loving-kindness? For what reason then did he make it three days? So that it might be believed that he had died; for many things happen for this reason. For what reason then did he not fulfill it, having said, that he will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, or was it so that the body might not see corruption? For what, was he not able to preserve it? He was able, but he wanted nature to be believed as having enjoyed nothing foreign. Some say it was because of the disciples, so as to sustain their weakness; for this very reason he did not wait to appear to them himself, but he holds out the good news beforehand, and relaxes their mind; Go, he says, tell my brothers; and yet he was able by appearing immediately to rather confirm what was said; but it was so that their hearing might be prepared beforehand. For they did not know that it was necessary for him to rise from the dead. Or it is possible to say this, that Jonas also did in the belly of the whale; for corruption begins in the body after one day; so that this is sufficient testimony of his having died. And when he threatens evils, he shortens the time and acts wisely; but when he promises good things, he extends it; for he did not give defined good things, or rather, not even clear ones. Nowhere does he set a limit to the good things, except the choice of each person, but to the evils, everywhere; I have given you the land from age to age, he says. You see no limit; but when he sends them into captivity, he set a limit, and behold: the first, 400, the second, 30, and the third is three and 70 years. But this one in the time of Christ is perpetual; Daniel remembers these years. And when it was fulfilled. He foretells a punishment for the Babylonians, so that you may learn that not even now did they do these things by their own strength. *And when seventy years are fulfilled, I will also take vengeance on the king of Babylon, and what follows. The seventy years of captivity are numbered from the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, who reigned after Jehoahaz who was appointed by the Egyptian. *Take the cup of unmixed wine from my hand, and you will make all the nations drink from it, to which I will send you to them. Of unmixed wine, the Hebrew has, of bitterness; but he sees the vision for the comfort of the people. For since they were falling into reasonings, seeing the Babylonian was stronger, that perhaps there was no benefit to them from their worship of God, the prophet, or rather God through the prophet, shows that they endure these things because of sin, and he makes the prophecy against the nations, and all the seventy-seven kings. And he speaks of Idumea, now called Batanaea, which those of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh formerly held; and going on he says: *And these, just as those who tread the winepress, will respond to all those who sit upon the earth. The word, these, is not well placed in the Greek; for Dad ought to be there. Dad is an exclamation of those treading the winepress responding to those who are counting. Just as therefore, he says, saying this exclamation they eagerly tread the grape, so the Babylonian will tread you down, like a winepress treader, all the nations.

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καθαίρεσιν ἀριθμεῖ μόνον ἕως τῆς ἐπανόδου, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρι τῆς κατασκευῆς τοῦ ναοῦ. Ὃ δὲ λέγω, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι. Πρὸ τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα ἐτῶν ἀνήγαγεν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐλογίσατο, καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀνόδου εἰς τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν. Ὅπου γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ναὸς, οὐδὲ ἱερεὺς, οὐδὲ θυσιαστήριον, οὐδὲ θυσία, τί διενήνοχε τῶν ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ ζώντων; καὶ τοῦτο δὲ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ ∆αρείου, φησὶ, μετὰ τὴν ἄνοδον τοσούτων παρελθόντων καιρῶν λέγει, Ἕως πότε ὑπερεῖδες, Κύριε, τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ; τοῦτο ἑβδομηκοστὸν ἔτος, τότε πληροῦσθαι τὰ ἑβδομήκοντα. Ποιεῖ δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν κολάσει, λέγων· Ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν ἐτῶν ἔσται ἡ ζωὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἑκατὸν ἔτη ζῶσιν. Ἐποίησε δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως· εἰπὼν γὰρ, ὅτι Τρεῖς ἡμέρας, καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀνίσταται. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο μὲν φιλανθρωπίας ἦν εἰκότως, τοῦτο δὲ ποίας φιλανθρωπίας; τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν καὶ τὸ τριήμερον ἐποίησεν; ὥστε πιστευθῆναι, ὅτι τετελεύτηκεν· πολλὰ γὰρ γίνεται διὰ τοῦτο. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἐπλήρωσεν αὐτὸ, εἰπὼν, ὅτι ἔσται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, ἢ ὥστε τὸ σῶμα μὴ διαφθαρῆναι; Τί γὰρ, οὐκ ἠδύνατο συγκρατῆσαι αὐτό; ἠδύνατο, ἀλλ' ἐβούλετο πιστευθῆναι τὴν φύσιν ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀπήλαυε ξένου. Τινές φασι διὰ τοὺς μαθητὰς, ὥστε διακρατῆσαι αὐτῶν τὴν ἀσθένειαν· διὰ γάρ τοι τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἀνέμενεν αὐτὸς φανῆναι αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις προδισχεῖ, καὶ ἀνίησιν αὐτῶν τὴν διάνοιαν· Ἄπελθε, φησὶν, εἰπὲ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου· καὶ μὴν ἠδύνατο εὐθέως φανεὶς μᾶλλον τὸ 64.956 ῥητὸν πιστώσασθαι· ἀλλ' ὥστε προπαρασκευασθῆναι αὐτῶν τὴν ἀκοήν. Οὐ γὰρ ᾔδεσαν, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῆναι. Ἢ τοῦτο ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι καὶ Ἰωνᾶς ἐποίησεν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κύτους· ἡ γὰρ φθορὰ κατὰ μίαν ἡμέραν ἄρχεται τοῦ σώματος· ὥστε ἀρκοῦσα μαρτυρία τοῦ τετελευτηκέναι αὐτὸν αὕτη. Καὶ ὅταν μὲν κακὰ ἀπειλῇ, συστέλλει τὸν χρόνον καὶ σοφίζεται· ὅταν δὲ ἀγαθὰ, ἐκτείνει αὐτόν· οὐ γὰρ ὡρισμένα ἔδωκεν ἀγαθὰ, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ δῆλα. Οὐδαμοῦ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ὅρον τίθησιν, ἀλλ' ἢ τὴν ἑκάστου προαίρεσιν, τοῖς δὲ κακοῖς πανταχοῦ· Ἔδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ αἰῶνος ἕως αἰῶνος, φησίν. Ὁρᾷς οὐδένα ὅρον· ὅταν δὲ πέμπῃ εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν, ὥρισε, καὶ ὅρα· ἡ μὲν πρώτη, υʹ, ἡ δὲ δευτέρα, λʹ, ἡ δὲ τρίτη, τρία καὶ οʹ ἔστι ἔτη. Αὕτη δὲ διηνεκὴς ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· τούτων μέμνηται τῶν ἐτῶν ὁ ∆ανιήλ. Καὶ ἐν τῷ πληρωθῆναι. Προλέγει τιμωρίαν τοῖς Βαβυλωνίοις, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐδὲ νῦν οἰκείᾳ ἰσχύϊ ταῦτα ἐποίησαν. *Καὶ ἐν τῷ πληρωθῆναι ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη, καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τὰ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀριθμεῖται ἀπὸ τοῦ τρίτου ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας Ἰωακεὶμ, ὃς μετὰ τὸν Ἰωάχαζ τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου κατασταθέντα ἐβασίλευσε. *Λάβε τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ ἀκράτου, τοῦ ἐκ χειρός μου, καὶ ποτιεῖς αὐτὸ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, πρὸς ἃ ἐγώ σε ἐξαποστελῶ πρὸς αὐτά. Τοῦ ἀκράτου, ὁ Ἑβραῖος τῆς πικρίας, ἔχει· βλέπει δὲ τὴν ὀπτασίαν πρὸς παραμυθίαν τοῦ λαοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰς λογισμοὺς ἐνέπιπτον κρείττονα ὁρῶντες τὸν Βαβυλώνιον, ὡς οὐδὲν ὄφελος αὐτοῖς τάχα τῆς εἰς Θεὸν θεραπείας, δεικνὺς ὁ προφήτης μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτίαν ταῦτα ὑπομένουσι, τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν ποιεῖται προφητείαν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς βασιλεῖς τοὺς ἑβδομήκοντα ἑπτά. Λέγει δὲ τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν τὴν νῦν Βαταναίαν καλουμένην, ἣν εἶχον πρότερον οἱ περὶ τὸν Ῥουβὴμ, καὶ τὸ ἥμισυ φυλῆς Μανασσῆ· προϊὼν δὲ λέγει· *Καὶ οἵδε ὥσπερ οἱ ληνοβατοῦντες ἀποκριθήσονται πρὸς πάντας τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Τὸ, οἵδε, οὐ καλῶς κεῖται παρὰ τῷ Ἑλληνικῷ· ἡ ∆ὰδ γὰρ ἐχρῆν κεῖσθαι. ∆ὰδ δέ ἐστιν ἐπίῤῥημα τῶν ληνοβατούντων ἀποκρινομένων πρὸς τοὺς καταλέγοντας. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν, φησὶ, τὸ ἐπίῤῥημα τοῦτο λέγοντες προθύμως πατοῦσι τὴν σταφυλὴν, οὕτως ὑμᾶς καταπατήσει, ὡς ληνοβάτης ὁ Βαβυλώνιος ἅπαντα τὰ ἔθνη.