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seed above. That is: for the longest time I will preserve their race. 32For out of Jerusalem shall be they that have been left behind and they that are saved from mount Zion. But Theodotion translated this thus: "For out of Jerusalem shall be a remnant and salvation from mount Zion." For there flourished the salvation of the world and their remnant, that is: the divine apostles converted the world to the knowledge of God. And the cause of all these things is the God of all: The zeal of the Lord of Sabaoth will do these things. For being zealous both because of the reproach of Jerusalem and because of the blasphemy against him, he will provide salvation. Then he promises Hezekiah that the enemy will not come within the walls, nor will he set up ramparts, nor will he bring up shields, but he will return in shame. 35For I will defend this city, he says, |146 a| to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant. These things are a refutation of those who inhabit the city; for he said, for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant I will take care of the city, on account of my goodness and on account of his memory; for he was the founder of the city and my genuine servant. But it must be investigated why he mentioned not Hezekiah but David; and I think that, restraining his pride, he has attributed the cause of the salvation not to him but to David. For if, even when these things were said thus, the history of Chronicles says that after these things the heart of king Hezekiah was lifted up, what would he not have suffered if he had been named the cause of the salvation? For this reason, he did not even call Isaiah, although he was a prophet and a most distinguished prophet, a worthy ally of the city, but leaving aside the living he remembered the one who had died, both repressing pride and exhorting to virtue by the memory of those who had passed, and teaching how the memory of the just flourishes with him perpetually. In addition to these things, the prophetic word taught that an angel sent from God slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians; some, however, escaped, not having overcome the angelic right hand, but so that they might become credible heralds of the events and proclaim the power of the God of the Hebrews. For this very reason, the impious king himself also escaped and took Nineveh—for this was a royal city—but there he paid the penalty for what he had dared, and, since he himself had stretched out his tongue against the creator, he receives slaughter from his sons, being exacted the most just punishment for what he had dared. And not even the falsely named god worshipped by him helped him as he was being slaughtered, but during the very act of worship he received the slaughter. It must be known, however, that the accurate copies have not *patarchon* but *patechron*, that is, the idol; for thus also the Three translated: "worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god." And they indeed escaped to Armenia, but Nahordan his son succeeded to the kingdom; but not long after, Merodach, having deposed him, transferred the kingdom to Babylon. But Hezekiah at this time fell into a sickness and is taught through the prophet to set the affairs of his house in order, as death was approaching. For since he had become greatly proud, having obtained an unexpected salvation—for the history of Chronicles also reveals this: "His heart was lifted up," it says, "and Hezekiah was exalted in the eyes of all the nations, and many brought gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem and presents to Hezekiah the king"—the best physician of our souls heals the soul by the sickness of the body. And divine David prophesied this pride of his in the 29th Psalm, and he forms the speech as if from him: "I said in my prosperity: I shall never be moved." Having nevertheless received the message of death, he was prevented from rising by the sickness, but turning to the wall he offered supplication to God, recounting the zeal he had against the error of idols and appeasing God with tears. But immediately the benevolent God revoked the sentence of death and the prophet

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σπέρμα ἄνω. Τουτέστιν· ἐπὶ πλεῖστον αὐτῶν φυλάξω τὸ γένος. 32Ὅτι ἐξ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελειμμένοι καὶ οἱ σῳζόμενοι ἐξ ὄρους Σιών. Ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων οὕτω τοῦτο ἡρμήνευσεν· «Ὅτι ἐξ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔσονται ὑπόλειμμα καὶ σωτηρία ἐξ ὄρους Σιών.» Ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἡ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἤνθησε σωτηρία καὶ τὸ ἐκείνων κατάλειμμα, τουτέστιν· οἱ θεῖοι ἀπόστολοι τὴν οἰκουμένην εἰς θεογνωσίαν ἐπέστρεψαν. Τούτων δὲ ἁπάντων αἴτιος ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεός· Ὁ ζῆλος κυρίου Σαβαὼθ ποιήσει ταῦτα. Ζηλώσας γὰρ διά τε τὸ ὄνειδος τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ διὰ τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ βλασφημίαν, παρέξει τὴν σωτηρίαν. Εἶτα ὑπισχνεῖται τῷ Ἐζεκίᾳ ὅτι οὐκ εἰ σελεύσεται ὁ πολέμιος εἴσω τῶν περιβόλων ἀλλὰ οὐδὲ χαρακώματα ἐπιστήσει οὐδὲ θυρεοὺς προσείσει ἀλλ' ἀναστρέψει κατῃ σχυμμένος. 35Ὑπερασπιῶ γάρ φησιν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης |146 a| τοῦ σῶσαι αὐτὴν δι' ἐμὲ καὶ διὰ ∆αυὶδ τὸν παῖδά μου. Ἔλεγχος ταῦτα τῶν τὴν πόλιν οἰκούντων· ∆ι' ἐμὲ γὰρ ἔφη καὶ διὰ ∆αυὶδ τὸν παῖδά μου τῆς πόλεως φροντιῶ, διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀγαθότητα καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου μνήμην· οἰκιστὴς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος τῆς πόλεως καὶ γνήσιος θεράπων ἐμός. Ζητητέον δὲ τί δήποτε οὐ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου ἀλλὰ τοῦ ∆αυὶδ ἐμνημόνευσεν· ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι ὅτι τὸ φρόνημα κωλύων οὐκ αὐτῷ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς σωτηρίας ἀλλὰ τῷ ∆αυὶδ ἀνατέθεικεν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τούτων οὕτως εἰρημένων ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἱστορία φησὶν ὅτι μετὰ ταῦτα ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία βασιλέως Ἐζεκίου, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔπαθεν αὐτὸς αἴτιος τῆς σωτηρίας ὀνομασθείς; Τούτου χάριν οὐδὲ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν, καίτοι προφήτην ὄντα καὶ προφήτην ἐπισημότατον, ἀξιόχρεων ἐκάλεσε τῆς πόλεως σύμμαχον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ζῶντας καταλιπὼν τοῦ τετελευτηκότος ἐμνήσθη, καὶ τὸ φρόνημα καταστέλλων καὶ προτρέπων εἰς ἀρετὴν τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν παρελθόντων καὶ διδάσκων ὡς ἀνθεῖ παρ' αὐτῷ διηνεκῶς τῶν δικαίων ἡ μνήμη. Πρὸς τούτοις ἐδίδαξεν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος ὡς θεόθεν ἀποσταλεὶς ἄγγελος πέντε καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκα τὸν χιλιάδας τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἀνεῖλεν· τινὲς δὲ ὅμως διέφυγον οὐ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς περιγενόμενοι δεξιᾶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα τῶν συμβεβηκότων κήρυκες ἀξιόχρεοι γένωνται καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν Ἑβραίων τὸ κράτος κηρύξωσιν. Τούτου δὴ χάριν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ δυσσεβὴς διέφυγε βασιλεὺς καὶ τὴν Νινευὴ κατέλαβε-πόλις γὰρ ἦν αὕτη βασιλική-, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖ δέδωκεν ὧν ἐτόλμησε δίκας καί, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς κατὰ τοῦ ποιητοῦ τὴν γλῶτταν ἐξέτεινεν, ὑπὸ τῶν υἱέων αὐτοῦ δέχεται τὴν σφαγὴν εἰσπραχθεὶς ὧν ἐτόλμησε δικαιοτάτην ποινήν. Καὶ οὐδὲ ὁ προσκυνούμενος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ψευδώνυμος θεὸς ἐπήρκεσεν αὐτῷ σφαττομένῳ, ἀλλὰ παρ' αὐτὴν τὴν λατρείαν ἐδέξατο τὴν σφαγήν. Εἰδέναι μέντοι δεῖ ὡς τὰ ἀκριβῆ τῶν ἀντιγράφων οὐ πάταρχον ἔχει ἀλλὰ πάτεχρον, τουτέστι τὸ εἴδωλον· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ οἱ Τρεῖς ἡρμήνευσαν· «προσκυνοῦντος ἐν οἴκῳ Νεσερὲχ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ.» Καὶ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν εἰς τὴν Ἀρμενίαν διέφυγον, διεδέξατο δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν Ναχορδὰν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτον οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν καταλύσας Μαρόδαχος εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα μετέθηκε τὰ βασίλεια. Ὁ δὲ Ἐζεκίας κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν περιέπεσεν ἀρρωστίᾳ καὶ διδάσκεται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου τὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν διατεθῆναι ὡς τοῦ θανάτου πελάζοντος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μέγα ἐφρόνησε παραδόξου τετυχηκὼς σωτηρίας-τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ ἱστορία δηλοῖ· «Ὑψώθη» γάρ φησιν «ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑπερήρθη Ἐζεκίας κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ πολλοὶ ἔφερον δῶρα τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ δόματα Ἐζεκίᾳ τῷ βασιλεῖ»-, ὁ ἄριστος τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ἰατρὸς τῇ νόσῳ τοῦ σώματος τὴν ψυχὴν θεραπεύει. Ταύτην δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑψηλο φροσύνην καὶ ὁ θεῖος ∆αυὶδ προεθέσπισε τῷ κθʹ Ψαλμῷ, σχηματίζει δὲ τὸν λόγον ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ· «Ἐγὼ εἶπα ἐν τῇ εὐθηνίᾳ μου· Οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.» ∆εξάμενος δὲ ὅμως τοῦ θανάτου τὴν ἀγγελίαν ἀναστῆναι μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς νόσου διεκωλύετο, πρὸς δὲ τὸν τοῖχον στραφεὶς ἱκετείαν προσήνεγκε τῷ θεῷ, ὃν ἔσχε κατὰ τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων π λάνης ζῆλον διεξιὼν καὶ μετὰ δακρύων τὸν θεὸν ἱλεούμε νος. Ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ὁ φιλάνθρωπος θεὸς ἀνεκαλέσατο τοῦ θα νάτου τὴν ψῆ φον καὶ τὸν προφήτην