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In the preceding Scripture the word says, this is our God, no other shall be accounted of in comparison with him. And who is this, but he who ascended into heaven and descended? For to the question, "who has ascended into heaven?", is given the answer, "this is our God, no other shall be accounted of in comparison with him." This is more clearly shown by what is said next, that is, "after this he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men." It is clear, therefore, that in comparison with this one, the Word of God, no other of those who have acquired the appellation of God shall be accounted of. "After this," he says, "he was seen upon earth." It is clear that this was after he had given the whole way of the promise through the law and the prophets. For, it says, "he found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved." Then "after this he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men."

144 Ps. From Ezekiel. 40. Instead of this, thus says the Lord: Behold, I judge between the strong sheep and the weak sheep. You thrust with side and with shoulder, and push with your horns; you have afflicted every weak one. And I will save my sheep, and they shall no longer be a prey, and I will judge between ram and ram. And I will raise up for them another shepherd; and you shall shepherd them, my servant David, and he shall be their shepherd, and I will be their God, and David a ruler in their midst; I the Lord have spoken. And I will make with David a new covenant, a covenant of peace. Since in other places as well we interpret the prophesied David to be none other than our Savior who was born of the seed of David, for this reason we have also marked this passage here. For who else would be the one to shepherd the Lord's sheep after they have been judged by him, than the only good shepherd, who did not overlook the rational sheep of his own flock being thrust about and destroyed by the opposing powers, but laid down his own life for their salvation, for whom God his Father promises to appoint a ruler after the time of judgment, making with him a covenant of peace, when, after his enemies have been subjected to him, the last of all, death itself, which is now opposed to the word and wisdom and life, will be destroyed?

145 Ps. Of the same. 41. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am taking all the house of Israel from the midst of the nations, where they have gone, and I will gather them into the land of Israel, and I will make them into nations in my land, and in the mountains of Israel. And one ruler shall be theirs, and they shall no longer be two nations; nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms, that they may no longer be defiled with their idols. And I will deliver them from all their iniquities, in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them from all their sins, in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them, and they shall be my people, and I the Lord will be their God. And my servant David, a ruler in their midst, shall be one shepherd of all, for they shall walk in my commandments, and they shall keep my judgments and do them, and they shall dwell upon the land which I have given to my servant Jacob, where their fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell upon it. And David my servant shall be their ruler forever. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set my holy things in their midst forever, and my tabernacle shall be in them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, when my holy things are in their midst forever. After the gathering of the diaspora of the spiritual and true Israel, and after the finding of the lost sheep of the house of 146 Israel, when the fullness of the nations has come in, then the Lord himself will be God to his future people, and will place his servant David as ruler in their midst,

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προκειμένῃ γραφῇ ὁ λόγος φησὶν, οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν· Τίς δὲ οὗτος, ἢ ὁ ἀναβὰς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ καταβάς; Τῷ γὰρ τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐρωτηματικῶς εἰρημένῳ ἀποδέδοται τὸ, οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν· σαφέστερον τοῦτο δηλοῖ τὸ ἑξῆς εἰρημένον, τὸ, μετὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη. Πρὸς τοῦτον οὖν δῆλον ὅτι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος τῶν ἐπικτητὴν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ προσηγορίαν ἐσχηκότων· μετὰ τοῦτο δέ φησιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη· δῆλον ὅτι μετὰ τὸ διὰ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν τὴν πᾶσαν ὁδὸν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας δεδωκέναι· ἐξεῦρεν γὰρ, φησὶ, πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἐπιστήμης, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν Ἰακὼβ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Ἰσραὴλ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ· εἶτα μετὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη, καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη. 144 Ψ. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰεζεκιήλ. Μʹ. Ἀντὶ τούτου τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἰδοὺ, ἐγὼ κρίνω ἀναμέσον προβάτου ἰσχυροῦ καὶ ἀναμέσον προβάτου ἀσθενοῦς. Ἐπὶ ταῖς πλευραῖς καὶ τοῖς ὤμοις διωθεῖσθε, καὶ τοῖς κέρασιν ὑμῶν ἐκερατίζετε· πᾶν τὸ ἐκλεῖπον ἐξεθλίψατε. Καὶ σώσω τὰ πρόβατά μου, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὦσιν ἔτι εἰς προνομὴν, καὶ κρινῶ ἀναμέσον κριοῦ πρὸς κριόν· Καὶ ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς ποιμένα ἕτερον· καὶ ποιμανεῖς αὐτοὺς, τὸν δοῦλόν μου ∆αυὶδ, καὶ ἔσται αὐτῶν ποιμὴν, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεὸν, καὶ ∆αυὶδ ἄρχων ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν· ἐγὼ Κύριος λελάληκα. Καὶ διαθήσομαι τῷ ∆αυὶδ διαθήκην καινὴν, διαθήκην εἰρήνης. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις τὸν προφητευόμενον ∆αυὶδ οὐκ ἄλλον ἀποδίδομεν τοῦ ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυὶδ γεγενημένου Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, τούτου δὴ χάριν καὶ ἐνθάδε τὴν περικοπὴν ἐπεσημηνάμεθα· τίς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλος εἴη ὁ ποιμαίνειν μέλλων τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου πρόβατα μετὰ τὸ κριθῆναι αὐτὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ἢ ὁ μόνος καλὸς ποιμὴν, ὁ μὴ ὑπεριδὼν διωθούμενα καὶ διολλύμενα ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων τὰ λογικὰ τῆς ἰδίας αὐτοῦ ποίμνης πρόβατα, ἀλλὰ θεὶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς αὐτῶν σωτηρίας, ὧν ἄρχοντα ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καταστήσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται μετὰ τὸν κρίσεως καιρὸν, διαθησόμενος αὐτῷ διαθήκην εἰρήνης, ὅτε, ὑποταγέντων αὐτῷ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἔσχατος πάντων καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ νῦν ἀντικείμενος τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῇ ζωῇ θάνατος καταργηθήσεται; 145 Ψ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. ΜΑʹ. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος, Ἰδοὺ, ἐγὼ λαμβάνω πάντα οἶκον Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ μέσου τῶν ἐθνῶν, οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῖ, καὶ συνάξω αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ δώσω αὐτοὺς εἰς ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γῇ μου, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἄρχων εἷς ἔσται αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔσονται οὐκέτι εἰς δύο ἔθνη· οὐδ' οὐ μὴ διαιρεθῶσιν εἰς δύο βασιλείας, ἵνα μὴ μιαίνωνται ἔτι ἐν τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν· καὶ ῥύσομαι αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτῶν, ὧν ἥμαρτον ἐν αὐταῖς, καὶ καθαριῶ αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν, ὧν ἥμαρτον ἐν αὐταῖς, καὶ καθαριῶ αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαὸν, καὶ ἐγὼ Κύριος ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεόν. Καὶ ὁ δοῦλός μου ∆αυὶδ ἄρχων ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν ἔσται ποιμὴν εἷς πάντων, ὅτι ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασί μου πορεύσονται, καὶ τὰ κρίματά μου φυλάξουσιν καὶ ποιήσουσιν αὐτὰ, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἣν ἐγὼ δέδωκα τῷ δούλῳ μου Ἰακὼβ, οὗ κατώκησαν ἐκεῖ οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐπ' αὐτῆς αὐτοί· καὶ ∆αυὶδ ὁ δοῦλός μου ἄρχων αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Καὶ διαθήσομαι αὐτοῖς διαθήκην εἰρήνης, καὶ διαθήκη αἰώνιος ἔσται μετ' αὐτῶν· καὶ θήσω τὰ ἅγιά μου ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ ἔσται ἡ κατασκήνωσίς μου ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαὸν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεόν. Καὶ γνώσονται τὰ ἔθνη ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ ἁγιάζων αὐτοὺς, ἐν τῷ εἶναι τὰ ἅγιά μου ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Μετὰ τὴν τῆς διασπορᾶς τοῦ πνευματικοῦ καὶ ἀληθινοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπισυναγωγὴν, καὶ μετὰ τὴν εὕρεσιν τῶν ἀπολωλότων προβάτων οἴκου 146 Ἰσραὴλ, τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν ἐθνῶν προεισεληλυθότος, τηνικαῦτα ὁ Κύριος αὐτὸς μὲν ἔσεσθαι εἰς Θεὸν τῷ ἐσομένῳ αὐτοῦ λαῷ, τὸν δὲ δοῦλον αὐτοῦ ∆αυὶδ ἄρχοντα θήσειν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν,