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to understand from the words contained in them, in which it is said: “Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and all its statues and its handmade things were shattered”; for these things are said explicitly about Babylon. And the discourse, proceeding again, says: Upon me are the Elamites, and ambassadors of the Persians come upon me, instead of which Symmachus translated: Arise, Elam, besiege, O Medes. And the Hebrew voice and the other translators have mentioned the Medes in these passages; these are the ones who overthrew the rule of the Babylonians, as the prophecy about Babylon made clear through the preceding passages, through which it was said: “behold, I am stirring up the Medes against you.” The Persians, then, succeeding the Medes not long after, overthrew the remnants of Babylon; therefore, I believe the preceding words were rightly spoken about Babylon. But what does the word mean when it says: the vision of the desert? From this point, it already calls Babylon a desert because of the oracles concerning its desolation. Therefore, the vision of the desert sea signifies the desolated sea of Babylon. But if someone should ask what is the meaning of the discourse about Babylon being placed here out of season, since the prophecy about Babylon has already been fully delivered in the preceding passages, we will say that because “the king of the Assyrians was” just now said “to lead away” “the captivity of Egypt and the captivity of the Ethiopians, young men and old, naked and barefoot,” the discourse necessarily indicates what sort of things are about to happen to the Assyrians themselves; for just as God pursued the Egyptians with a just judgment through the assault of the Assyrians, so also, by handing the Assyrians over to the Medes, he purged them of their boasting, and again he subjected the Medes to the Persians, and again, in turn, he chastened these through others; thus, indeed, the connection of the preceding passages would be preserved. After the inscription, indeed, which contains the vision of the desolated sea, the discourse adds: As a tempest might pass through a desert, coming from a desert land, a fearful and harsh vision was announced to me. I think these things are said from the person of Babylon herself, as if she had received a report of the evils about to come upon her, and was praying for the report to pass by and for the expected things not to happen. Therefore it says: a fearful and harsh vision was announced to me, as a tempest might pass through a desert; for may it, it says, pass through and go by, like a tempest coming out of a desert; for if even the mere report of the vision, having been made known to me, happens to be both harsh and dreadful, of what sort, then, will it be, if it should come like a tempest coming from a desert, but may it pass through and run by and not, having come against me, be established. For I learn that the one who despises, despises, and the one who is lawless, is lawless, and I have heard by name from those who reported to me, that the Elamites and the Medes are coming against me, these being forerunners of the Persians; wherefore one would not err in saying they are ambassadors of the Persians. What, then, should I do, as their tempest is about to come upon me, but, as it seems, I will now groan, which I did not do before, being haughty and exalting myself over the other nations so as to cause groans in others. But now I myself, Babylon, and the people in me, will groan and comfort myself through groaning. Since the message concerning the things that were said has taken hold of me, for which reason my loin, formerly girded tight and youthful, was filled with faintness, and pangs and pains seized me, so that I, Babylon, who was formerly fearsome to others, am no different from a woman in labor. And these things have happened to me, because I confess that I have done wrong, when I listened to none of those who advised me and when I was eager to see nothing aright. Therefore it says, now confessing, I say: I did wrong in not hearing, I was eager not to see. My heart wanders, and my lawlessness overwhelms me, my heart is set upon fear. instead of which Symmachus rendered: my soul has wandered, my heart was troubled, it was agitated

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λαμβάνειν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐμπεριεχομένων ἐν αὐτοῖς λόγων, ἐν οἷς εἴρηται· «Πέπτωκε πέπτωκε Βαβυλών, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἀγάλματα αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῆς συνετρίβη»· ἄντικρυς γὰρ ταῦτα περὶ Βαβυλῶνος εἴρηται. καὶ προϊὼν αὖθις ὁ λόγος φησίν· ἐπ' ἐμὲ οἱ Ἐλαμῖται, καὶ πρέσβεις τῶν Περσῶν ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἔρχονται, ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν· ἀνάστηθι Ἐλάμ, πολιορκεῖτε Μῆδοι. καὶ ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ δὲ φωνὴ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ Μήδων ἐν τούτοις ἐμνημόνευσαν· οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ τὴν Βαβυλωνίων καθελόντες ἀρχήν, ὡς ἐδήλου διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἡ περὶ Βαβυλῶνος προφητεία, δι' ἧς ἐλέγετο· «ἰδοὺ ἐπεγείρω ὑμῖν τοὺς Μήδους». Πέρσαι γοῦν Μήδους οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν διαδεξάμενοι τὰ λείψανα τῆς Βαβυλῶνος καθεῖλον· εἰκότως γοῦν περὶ Βαβυλῶνος τὰ προκείμενα εἰρῆσθαι ἡγοῦμαι. τί δὲ βούλεται ὁ λόγος φάσκων· τὸ ὅραμα τῆς ἐρήμου; ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη Βαβυλῶνα ἔρημον ὀνομάζει διὰ τὰ θεσπισθέντα περὶ τῆς ἐρημίας αὐτῆς. τὸ ὅραμα τοίνυν τῆς ἐρήμου θαλάσσης τὴν Βαβυλῶνος ἐρημωθεῖσαν θάλασσαν σημαίνει. εἰ δέ τις ἔροιτο, τί βούλεται ἐνταῦθα κείμενος ἀκαίρως ὁ περὶ Βαβυλῶνος λόγος ἅπαξ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῆς περὶ Βαβυλῶνος προφητείας πεπληρωμένως ἀποδοθείσης, ἐροῦμεν ὅτι ἐπειδὴ «ὁ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλεὺς τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Αἰγύπτου καὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Αἰθιόπων, νεανίσκους καὶ πρεσβύτας, γυμνοὺς καὶ ἀνυποδέτους» «ἀπάξειν» ἐλέγετο ἀρτίως, ἀναγκαίως ὁ λόγος ὁποῖα καὶ αὐτοῖς ὅσον οὐδέπω συμβήσεται τοῖς Ἀσσυρίοις σημαίνει· ὥσπερ γὰρ Αἰγυπτίους ὁ θεὸς μετήρχετο δικαίᾳ κρίσει διὰ τῆς ἐφόδου τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, οὕτως καὶ τοὺς Ἀσσυρίους Μήδοις παραδιδοὺς καθῄρει τῆς μεγαλαυχίας καὶ Μήδους αὖθις ὑπέταττε Πέρσαις καὶ αὖ πάλιν τούτους δι' ἑτέρων ἐσωφρόνιζεν· οὕτω δὴ σῴζοιτ' ἂν ὁ εἱρμὸς τῶν προκειμένων. μετά γε μὴν τὴν προγραφὴν τὸ ὅραμα τῆς ἐρημωθείσης θαλάσσης περιέχουσαν ἐπάγει ὁ λόγος· Ὡς καταιγὶς δι' ἐρήμου διέλθοι ἐξ ἐρήμου ἐρχομένη ἐκ γῆς, φοβερὸν τὸ ὅραμα καὶ σκληρὸν ἀνηγγέλη μοι. ἐκ προσώπου τῆς Βαβυλῶνος αὐτῆς οἶμαι ταῦτα λέγεσθαι, ὡσπερεὶ ἀκοὴν παραδεξαμένης τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιέναι αὐτῇ κακῶν, εὐχομένης τε παρελθεῖν τὴν ἀκοὴν καὶ μὴ γενέσθαι τὰ προσδοκώμενα. διό φησι· φοβερὸν τὸ ὅραμα καὶ σκληρὸν ἀνηγγέλη μοι, ὥσπερ καταιγὶς δι' ἐρήμου διέλθοι· γένοιτο γὰρ αὐτό φησι διελθεῖν καὶ ἀντιπαρελθεῖν καταιγίδι ἐξ ἐρήμου ἐρχομένῃ ἐοικός· εἰ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὴ μόνη τοῦ ὁράματος ἡ ἀκοὴ γνωσθεῖσά μοι σκληρά τέ τις καὶ ἐπίφοβος τυγχάνει, ποταπὴ ἄρα ἔσται αὐτή, εἰ ἐπέλθοι δίκην καταιγίδος ἐξ ἐρήμου ἐρχομένης, ἀλλὰ διέλθοι γε αὐτὴ καὶ παραδράμοι μηδὲ ἐπελθοῦσα κατ' ἐμοῦ στηριχθείη. μανθάνω γὰρ ὅτι ὁ ἀθετῶν ἀθετεῖ καὶ ὁ ἀνομῶν ἀνομεῖ, καὶ ἐπ' ὀνόματος δὲ ἤκουσα παρὰ τῶν ἀπαγγειλάντων μοι, ὡς ἄρα οἱ Ἐλαμῖται καὶ οἱ Μῆδοι ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἔρχονται πρόδρομοι ὄντες οὗτοι Περσῶν· διὸ οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι εἰπὼν πρέσβεις εἶναι Περσῶν. τί οὖν πράξαιμι τῆς τούτων καταιγίδος ἐπιβαίνειν μοι μελλούσης, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἔοικε νῦν στενάξω, ὅπερ πρότερον οὐκ ἔπραττον, ὑπερήφανος οὖσα καὶ κατεπαιρομένη τῶν λοιπῶν ἐθνῶν ὡς ἑτέροις ἐμποιεῖν στεναγμούς. νῦν δὲ αὐτὴ ἐγὼ ἡ Βαβυλὼν καὶ ὁ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαὸς στενάξω καὶ παρακαλέσω ἐμαυτὴν διὰ τοῦ στεναγμοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ καθήψατό μου ἡ περὶ τῶν λεχθέντων ἀγγελία, ἧς ἕνεκα ἐπλήσθη ἡ ὀσφύς μου ἐκλύσεως πάλαι κατεσφιγμένη καὶ νεανιευομένη, ὀδύνη τε καὶ πόνοι κατέσχον με ὡς μηδὲν διαφέρειν ἐμὲ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα τὴν πάλαι ἑτέροις οὖσαν φοβερὰν γυναικὸς τικτούσης. ταῦτα δέ μοι συμβέβηκεν, ἐπειδήπερ ὁμολογῶ ἠδικηκέναι, ὅτε μηδενὸς ἤκουον τῶν παραινούντων μοι καὶ ὅτε σπουδὴν ἐποιούμην μηδὲν ὀρθὸν βλέπειν. διό φησι, νῦν ἐξομολογουμένη φημί· ἠδίκησα τὸ μὴ ἀκοῦσαι, ἐσπούδασα τὸ μὴ βλέπειν. πλανᾶται ἡ καρδία μου, καὶ ἡ ἀνομία μου βαπτίζει με, ἡ καρδία μου ἐφέστηκεν εἰς φόβον. ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐποίησεν· ἐπλανήθη ἡ ψυχή μου, ἡ καρδία μου ἐταράχθη, ἐθορύβησέ