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for help, those who trust in horses and chariots; for there will be many chariots and horsemen, very great in number; and they did not trust in the Holy One of Israel, and they did not seek the Lord. They supposed, he says, that the horse was stronger than his help, since they learned that the Egyptians used many horses and chariots. 2And he himself, being wise, brought evils upon them, and his word |139 a| shall not be set aside. He threatened them, he says, with punishment, and the prediction will surely come to pass; for the decree of truth is without falsehood. And he will rise up against the houses of wicked men and against their vain hope. For he will punish not only them but also the Egyptians in whom they trusted. For he added this: 3An Egyptian is a man and not God, their horses are flesh and there is no help. When they ought to have believed in God, they trusted in the Egyptians and in the strength of horses. But the Lord will bring his sword upon them, and those who help will grow weary, and those who are helped will fall, and all will perish together. He calls the Babylonians a sword; for these, having campaigned against the Egyptians, destroyed both them and the Jews who had fled to them. For this reason the prophetic word also said that those who help—that is, the Egyptians—will grow weary, and those who are helped—that is, the Jews—will fall. Then through a certain parable he shows them his own power; for just as, when a lion roars in the mountains, he says, the animals below cower, so by the manifestation of my power the multitude of the enemies will be destroyed. 4For thus, he says, the Lord of Sabaoth will come down to campaign upon Mount Zion and upon its hills. Then he also adds another parable: 5As flying birds. For just as birds fight for their own nestlings, so will I care for this city. He took this image, however, not with respect to power but with respect to affection; for birds wish to defend their nestlings, but are not able, but God both wishes and is able. For what follows also teaches this: Thus will the Lord of Sabaoth defend, and he will defend Jerusalem, and he will be propitious and he will preserve and he will pass over and he will save her. Through "he will defend" he showed fatherly affection, through "he will be propitious" great love for mankind, through "he will preserve" care, through "he will pass over" victory over the enemies, through "he will save" unspeakable power. 6Return, O you who devise a deep and lawless counsel, sons of Israel. Knowing these things, therefore, abstain from your lawless reasonings. 7For in that day men will cast away their handmade things of silver and of gold which their hands made for a sin. He foretells the piety that is to be, stirring them up also to the imitation of their descendants. 8And Assur will fall, not by the sword of a man, nor will the sword of a man devour him, and he will flee, not from the face of a sword; and his young men will be for defeat. For I will use neither men nor ministering weapons against him, but I will bring an invisible plague upon him. 9For he will be encompassed by a rock as by a palisade, and he who flees will be captured. He calls the faith of Hezekiah a rock; for he encompassed him with inescapable evils. And his princes will be defeated in flight, says the Lord who has a fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem, and he who flees will be captured. The God of all things pronounced this sentence against him, who also in Zion ... since from there also he kindles the punishment against him, like a furnace, because he hoped to overcome it. From here he transfers the discourse to another practical prophecy and foretells the appearance of our Savior in the flesh: Blessed is he who has seed in Zion and kinsmen in Jerusalem. 321For behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will rule with judgment; he blesses those who inhabit Zion and beget children there, and he makes an accusation against those who have fled to Egypt. And he foretells also of the king and

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ἐπὶ βοήθειαν, οἱ ἐφ' ἵπποις πεποιθότες καὶ ἅρμα σιν· ἔσται γὰρ πολλὰ ἅρματα καὶ ἔφιπποι εἰς πλῆθος σφόδρα· καὶ οὐκ ἦσαν πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τὸν κύριον οὐκ ἐξεζήτησαν. Ἰσχυροτέραν φησὶ τῆς τοῦ βοηθείας τὴν ἵππον ὑπέλαβον, ἐπειδὴ πολλοὺς ἔμαθον παρ' Αἰγυπτίοις ἵπποις καὶ ἅρμασι κεχρημένους. 2Καὶ αὐτὸς σοφὸς ἦγεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς κακά, καὶ ὁ λόγος |139 a| αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἀθετηθῇ. Ἠπείλησεν αὐτοῖς φησι τιμωρίαν, καὶ ἔσται πάντως ἡ πρόρρησις· ἀψευδὴς γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἡ ψῆφος. Καὶ ἐπαναστήσεται ἐπ' οἴκους ἀνθρώπων πονηρῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐλπίδα αὐτῶν τὴν ματαίαν. Κολάσει γὰρ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὺς ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους εἰς οὓς ἐπεποίθεσαν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγεν· 3Αἰγύπτιον ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὐ θεόν, ἵππων σάρκες καὶ οὐκ ἔστι βοήθεια. ∆έον πιστεύειν θεῷ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ἐθάρρησαν καὶ τῇ ῥώμῃ τῶν ἵππων. Ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐπάξει τὴν μάχαιραν αὐτοῦ ἐπ' αὐτούς, καὶ κοπιάσουσιν οἱ βοηθοῦντες, καὶ πεσοῦνται οἱ βοηθούμενοι, καὶ ἅμα πάντες ἀπολοῦνται. Μάχαιραν τοὺς Βαβυλωνίους καλεῖ· οὗτοι γὰρ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπιστρατεύσαντες καὶ αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς πρὸς αὐτοὺς κατα πεφευγότας διέφθειραν Ἰουδαίους. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ προφη τικὸς ἔφη λόγος κοπιάσειν μὲν τοὺς βοηθοῦντας- τουτέστι τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους-, πεσεῖσθαι δὲ τοὺς βοηθουμένους- τουτέστι τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. Εἶτα διά τινος παραβολῆς τὴν οἰκείαν αὐτοῖς ἐπιδείκνυσι δύναμιν· καθάπερ γὰρ λέοντος ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι βρυχωμένου πτήσσει φησὶ τὰ ὑποκείμενα ζῷα, οὕτως τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπιφαι νομένης δυνάμεως καταλυθήσεται τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμίων. 4Οὕτως γάρ φησι καταβήσεται κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐπιστρατεῦσαι ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος Σιὼν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη αὐτῆς. Εἶτα καὶ ἑτέραν ἐπάγει παραβολήν· 5Ὡς ὄρνεα πετόμενα. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὰ ὄρνεα τῶν οἰκείων ὑπερμαχεῖ νεοττῶν, οὕτως ἐγὼ τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως φροντιῶ. Ταύτην μέντοι τὴν εἰκόνα οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς δυνάμεως ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς φιλοστοργίας ἔλαβεν· τὰ γὰρ πτηνὰ βούλεται μὲν ἐπαμῦναι τοῖς νεοττοῖς, οὐ δύναται δέ, ὁ δὲ θεὸς καὶ βούλεται καὶ δύναται. Τοῦτο γὰρ διδάσκει καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· Οὕτως ὑπερασπιεῖ κύριος Σαβαὼθ καὶ ὑπὲρ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὑπερασπιεῖ καὶ ἐξιλάσεται καὶ περιποιήσεται καὶ ὑπερβήσεται καὶ σώσει αὐτήν. Ἔδειξε διὰ μὲν τοῦ ὑπερασπιεῖ τὴν πατρικὴν φιλοστοργίαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἐξιλάσεται τὴν πολλὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ περιποιήςεται τὴν κηδεμονίαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ὑπερβήσεται τὴν κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων νίκην, διὰ δὲ τοῦ σώσει τὴν ἄρρητον δύναμιν. 6Ἐπιστράφητε οἱ τὴν βαθεῖαν βουλὴν βουλευόμενοι καὶ ἄνομον υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ. Ταῦτα τοίνυν εἰδότες τῶν παρα νόμων ὑμῶν ἀπόστητε λογισμῶν. 7Ὅτι τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀφαι ροῦνται οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῶν τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χρυσᾶ ἃ ἐποίησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὐτῶν ἁμαρτίαν. Προλέ γει τὴν ἐσομένην εὐσέβειαν, εἰς τὴν τ ῶν ἐκγόνων μίμησιν καὶ αὐτοὺς διεγείρων. 8Καὶ πεσεῖται Ἀσ<σ>οὺρ οὐ μαχαίρᾳ ἀνδρός, οὐδὲ μάχαιρα ἀνθρώπου καταφάγεται αὐτόν, καὶ φεύξεται οὐκ ἀπὸ προσώπου μαχαίρας· καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι αὐτοῦ ἔσονται εἰς ἥττημα. Οὔτε γὰρ ἀνθρώποις οὔτε ὅπλοις ὑπουργοῖς χρήσομαι κατ' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἀόρατον αὐτῷ ἐπάξω τὴν πληγήν. 9Πέτρᾳ γὰρ περιληφθήσεται ὡς χάρακι, ὁ δὲ φεύγων ἁλώσεται. Πέτραν καλεῖ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου τὴν πίστιν· ἐκεῖνος γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀφύκτοις κακοῖς περιέλαβεν. Καὶ ἡττη θήσονται φυγῇ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτοῦ, λέγει κύριος ὁ ἔχων πῦρ ἐν Σιὼν καὶ κλίβανος αὐτῷ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὁ δὲ φεύγων ἁλώσεται. Ταύτην δὲ αὐτῷ τὴν ἀπόφασιν ἐξήνεγκεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεός, ὃς καὶ ἐν τῇ Σιὼν ·χο..ότι καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἐξάπτει κατ' αὐτοῦ οἷόν τινα κλίβανον τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἐπειδήπερ ταύτης ἤλπισε περιέσεσθαι. Ἐντεῦθεν εἰς ἑτέραν πρα γματικὴν προφητείαν μεταφέρει τὸν λόγον καὶ προθεσπίζει τὴν κατὰ σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιφάνειαν· Μακάριος ὃς ἔχει ἐν Σιὼν σπέρμα καὶ οἰκείους ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. 321Ἰδοὺ γὰρ βασιλεὺς δίκαιος βασιλεύσει, καὶ ἄρχοντες μετὰ κρίσεως ἄρξουσιν· μακα ρίζει τοὺς τὴν Σιὼν οἰκοῦντας καὶ αὐτόθι παιδοποιοῦν τας, ποιεῖται δὲ κατη γορίαν τῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον πεφευγότων. Προλέγει δὲ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ