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my bowels are upon him, and I will have mercy on him, said the Lord. For this reason I visited him, that is, out of my disposition towards him I could not bear to see him in misfortunes. Have you seen how great a change he has wrought? The one on earth, the abominable one, the hostile one, the enemy, a beloved child, so that the matter is not of nature alone, and a free child, and noble. Set up for yourself Sionim watchtowers. Sionim is interpreted as signs. He says, therefore, Mark the way as if setting up watchtowers within yourself, for through this you will return. *But make for her a punishment. It is stated obscurely in the Greek. For the Hebrew has it thus: Set up signs for yourself, instead of, punishment; perhaps according to the Greek this is the meaning, that you Present the purpose, that is, the sign from where you passed, having been punished, so that upon returning you may know the greatness of the action. But one must know that in the Hebrew the word, punishment, is not found. *Give your heart to your shoulders, the road on which you traveled. That is, consider in your heart this road on which you travel toiling. *Turn back to your cities mourning. The Hebrew, Return to these your cities. For instead of, mourning, it has, these; and here too the name caused the change of interpretation. For *alah* signifies mourning, but *eleh*, this one. And the Greek should be understood thus: Return to your cities, you who mourn, that is, she who now departs with mourning will return with joy. *Until when will you turn away, O dishonored daughter? The Hebrew has it thus: Until when do you wander, 64.980 O sinning daughter, or ever turning away, that is, if you repent, God will most quickly bring you back from captivity. *For a new planting, in salvation men will go about. That is, God will work you into a new planting. For, new, instead of, young. When therefore will he do this? In the return, when he will provide you salvation. Not as before, so as to rest again, all those things are silenced; there is no longer any mention of them. And inhabitants. Everywhere the good things, even to the neighbors; but a righteous and holy mountain; not as the stones receiving the virtue, but those inhabiting it. For the fame of the inhabitants is accustomed to be shared with the places. See the change. *And he will be raised up in a flock. That is, he will be gathered as a flock. A great good, not when we enjoy good things, but when it is according to the mind of God, when this also gladdens him. *Therefore I was awakened, and I saw, and my sleep became sweet to me. These things, he says, were revealed to me while sleeping, and while having a sweet sleep. And it will be just as. With how much zeal I did those things, and these things, he says, which are more proper to me; let no one therefore disbelieve. For he who is so vehement toward punishment, a thing alien to me, is much more roused toward what is proper. In the days. Ezekiel also says this. For did it ever happen before, and did a matter so full of injustice occur, tell me? and of fathers, when they sinned, another was punished? and where are these things tolerable, tell me, And after a little; Let us attend to what is being said. They shall not say; he said, he did not say, It shall not be, showing that it did not happen before this either. For if he had said: In those days this shall no longer happen, you would have said well, that it happened before this. But if he says, They shall no longer say, it is a judgment of their corrupt vote. But rather each will die in his own sin. It is a certain and clear prophecy, which Paul also once mentioned, writing to the Hebrews; But where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer an offering for sin. There will be a time; and he does not say what kind, and when, and after how much time. For he wished them to be overshadowed. According to the covenant. Tell me, why do you not give such a covenant? Did he condemn it? it had imperfection. Therefore it should not have been given from the beginning; men make laws, and wish them to be valid forever, but you no longer. 64.981 Because they did not

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σπλάχνα μου ἐπ' αὐτὸν, καὶ οἰκτηρήσω αὐτὸν, εἶπε Κύριος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπεσκεψάμην αὐτὸν, τουτέστιν, ἐκ τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν διαθέσεως οὐκ ἤνεγκα αὐτὸν ἐν συμφοραῖς ἰδεῖν. Εἶδες πόσην μεταβολὴν εἰργάσατο; Τὸν ἐν γῇ, τὸν μυσαρὸν, τὸν πολέμιον, τὸν ἐχθρὸν, παιδίον ἀγαπητὸν, ὥστε μὴ τῆς φύσεως εἶναι τὸ πρᾶγμα μόνον, καὶ παιδίον ἐλεύθερον, καὶ εὐγενές. Στῆσον σεαυτῇ Σιώνιμ σκοπούς. Σιώνιμ σημεῖα ἑρμηνεύεται. Λέγει τοίνυν, ὅτι Σημείωσαι τὴν ὁδὸν ὥσπερ σκοποὺς θεὶς ἐν ἑαυτῇ, διὰ γὰρ ταύτης ἐπανελεύσει. *Ποίησον δὲ αὐτῇ τιμωρίαν. Ἀσαφῶς κεῖται παρὰ τῷ Ἑλληνικῷ. Ὁ γὰρ Ἑβραῖος οὕτως ἔχει· Στῆσον σεαυτῇ σημεῖα, ἀντὶ τοῦ, τιμωρίαν· ἴσως δὲ κατὰ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν αὕτη κεῖται ἡ ἔννοια, ὅτι Παράστησον τὸν σκοπὸν, τουτέστι, τὸ σημεῖον ὅθεν παρῆλθες τιμωρηθεῖσα, ἵνα ἐπανιοῦσα γνῷς τῆς ἐνεργείας τὸ μέγεθος. Εἰδέναι δὲ δεῖ, ὅτι παρὰ τῷ Ἑβραίῳ τὸ, τιμωρία, οὐ κεῖται. *∆ὸς τὴν καρδίαν σου εἰς τοὺς ὤμους σου, ὁδὸν ἣν ἐπορεύθης. Τουτέστιν, ἐννόησαι τὴν καρδίαν σου τὴν ὁδὸν ταύτην ἣν πορεύῃ μοχθοῦσα. *∆ιάστρεψον εἰς τὰς πόλεις σου πενθοῦσα. Ὁ Ἑβραῖος, Ἀνάστρεψον εἰς τὰς πόλεις σου ταύτας. Ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ, πενθοῦσα, ταύτας ἔχει· κἀνταῦθα δὲ ἡ ἐπωνυμία τὴν ἐναλλαγὴν τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἐποίησε. Τὸ γὰρ ἀλὰ, πένθος μηνύει, τὸ δὲ ἐλὲ, αὕτη. Οὕτω δὲ νοητέον τὸ Ἑλληνικόν· Ἀνάστρεψον εἰς τὰς πόλεις σου, ἡ πενθοῦσα, τουτέστιν, ἡ νῦν μετὰ πένθους ἀπιοῦσα, ἀναστρέψει μετὰ χαρᾶς. *Ἕως πότε ἐπιστρέψεις, θυγάτηρ ἠτιμωμένη; Ὁ Ἑβραῖος οὕτως ἔχει· Ἕως πότε διασύρεις, 64.980 θυγάτηρ ἁμαρτάνουσα, ἢ ἀεὶ διαστρεφομένη, τουτέστιν, ἐὰν μεταγνῷς, τάχιστά σε τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐπανάξει Θεός. *Εἰς καταφύτευσιν καινὴν, ἐν τῇ σωτηρίᾳ περιελεύσονται ἄνθρωποι. Τουτέστιν, εἰς νέαν φυτείαν ἐργάσεταί σε Θεός. Τὸ γὰρ, καινὴν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, νεαράν. Πότε τοίνυν τοῦτο ποιήσει; ἐν τῇ ἐπανόδῳ, ὅτε σοι τὴν σωτηρίαν παρέξει. Οὐ καθάπερ πρότερον, ὥστε ἀναπαυθῆναι πάλιν, πάντα ἐκεῖνα σεσίγηται· οὐκέτι λόγος αὐτῶν οὐδείς. Καὶ ἐνοικοῦντες. Πανταχοῦ τὰ ἀγαθὰ, καὶ μέχρι τῶν γειτόνων· δίκαιον δὲ ὄρος καὶ ἅγιον· οὐχ ὡς τῶν λίθων δεχομένων τὴν ἀρετὴν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐνοικούντων. Εἴωθε γὰρ κοινωνεῖν τοῖς τόποις ἡ φήμη τῶν κατοικούντων. Ὅρα μεταβολήν. *Καὶ ἀρθήσεται ἐν ποιμνίῳ. Τουτέστι, συναχθήσεται ὡς ποίμνιον. Μέγα ἀγαθὸν, οὐχ ὅταν ἀπολαύωμεν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλ' ὅταν κατὰ γνώμην Θεοῦ, ὅταν καὶ αὐτὸν τοῦτο εὐφραίνῃ. *∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐξηγέρθην, καὶ εἶδον, καὶ ὁ ὕπνος μου ἡδύς μοι ἐγενήθη. Ταῦτα, φησὶν, ἀπεκαλύφθη μοι καθεύδοντι, καὶ ἡδὺν τὸν ὕπνον ἔχοντι. Καὶ ἔσται ὥσπερ. Μεθ' ὅσης σπουδῆς κἀκεῖνα ἐποίησα, καὶ ταῦτα, φησὶν, ὅσα μοι οἰκειότερά ἐστι· μηδεὶς οὖν ἀπιστείτω. Ὁ γὰρ οὕτω σφοδρὸς πρὸς τιμωρίαν, πρᾶγμα ἀλλότριον ἐμοὶ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον διεγείρομαι πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον. Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις. Τοῦτο καὶ Ἰεζεκιήλ φησιν. Ὅλως γὰρ ἐγένετο πρότερον, καὶ συνέβαινε πρᾶγμα τοσαύτης ἀδικίας γέμον, εἰπέ μοι; καὶ πατέρων, ἁμαρτανόντων ἕτερος ἐκολάζετο; καὶ ποῦ ταῦτα ἀνεκτὰ, εἰπέ μοι, Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Προσχῶμεν τοῖς λεγομένοις. Οὐ μὴ εἴπωσιν· εἶπεν, οὐκ εἶπεν, Οὐ μὴ γένηται, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐδὲ πρὸ τούτου ἐγένετο. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ εἶπεν· Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ γένηται τοῦτο, καλῶς ἂν εἶπες, ὅτι πρὸ τούτου ἐγένετο. Εἰ δὲ λέγει, Οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ εἴπωσι, τῆς διεφθαρμένης αὐτῶν ψήφου κρίσις ἐστίν. Ἀλλ' ἢ ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθανεῖται. Προφητεία τίς ἐστι καὶ σαφὴς, περὶ ἧς καὶ Παῦλος ἐπεμνήσθη ποτὲ, ἐπιστέλλων Ἑβραίοις· Ὅπου δὲ ἄφεσις ἁμαρτημάτων, οὐκέτι προσφορὰ περὶ ἁμαρτίας ἔσται καιρός· καὶ οὐ λέγει ποῖος, καὶ πότε, καὶ μετὰ πόσον χρόνον. Ἐβούλετο γὰρ αὐτὰ συνεσκιάσθαι. Κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην. Εἰπὲ, διατί οὐ τοιαύτην διαθήκην δίδως; Κατέγνω αὐτῆς; ἀτελὲς εἶχεν. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν δοθῆναι ἔδει· ἄνθρωποι νόμους τιθέασι, καὶ βούλονται διὰ παντὸς εἶναι κυρίους, σὺ δὲ οὐκέτι. 64.981 Ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ