98

of the prophet upon Moab, as a lyre it will sound, producing a musical 2120 rhythm from the skill of the one playing it. And he says 'belly', which David called the inward parts, saying, 'Bless, my soul, the Lord, and all that is within me, his holy name,' signifying the good thoughts, which are productive of every virtue; for from those things which we accomplish within, we bless the Lord. Such was Isaiah, having his inward parts as a wall which God dedicated, fortifying him with grace, so as not to allow penetration by worse thoughts, which besiege us like enemies. For this reason, he says, you have granted me strong thoughts, so that you put to shame those who do not turn to you, through the force of the reproofs brought against them; for the phrase 'to be put to shame' lacks the 'them' which should be supplied from outside. And he is put to shame by God who turns his back on the one who rightly conquers, not skirmishing at all against truth and virtue. And through what follows, he indicates the final destruction of idolatry through the epiphany of the Word, and sets a time for the punishment of Moab, which he calls 'three years of a hireling'. And the Savior disparages the hireling, as not being a shepherd, and by his flight betraying the sheep to the wolves. And a sojourner, a hireling of a priest, shall not eat of the holy things, as Moses legislates; Moab therefore hired himself out, and became a hireling, not loving God, but doing everything for the fantasy of a wage and in the hope of bodily things, like one who gives alms in order to be glorified by men. For he does not do it out of pity, but by hunting after vain glory. Such also is he who is temperate not from a desire for virtue, but only wishing to seem so. Such people, therefore, are dishonored before God, having the dishonor of a hireling, as not acting from disposition, but having the work of virtue as a counterfeit; and as much as they are rich here in the vain wealth of appearance, so much will the wage of shame be paid after our hidden things are revealed; and he who gathers much fruitlessness with his hands will have more material for dishonor. And he who works treasures with a lying tongue, pursues vain things, and will come into the snares of death, and will be left few, and not honored, by the benefaction of those who are organized for evil. CHAPTER 17. THE ORACLE AGAINST DAMASCUS. aiaʹ. 9Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruin, left forever, for a resting place for flocks and for repose. And there will be no one to pursue. And there shall no longer be a stronghold for Ephraim to flee to there9, etc. Indeed, above, through the preceding words, he presented the ruler of the Assyrians saying, 'And I took Ara 2121 bia, and Damascus, and Samaria,' which is also shown through the Scripture in Kings which says: "And the king of the Assyrians went up to Damascus, and captured it, and carried its people away." But now the word speaks of another future capture, which the king of Babylon made, when he came again to Jerusalem, and having taken this city, completely destroyed it from its foundations. Which Jeremiah, indicating, says: "Damascus is undone; she has turned to flight." And after other things, "Therefore the young men shall fall in your streets, and all your men of war shall fall in that day, says the Lord of hosts; And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of the son of Hadad." Now, according to the Septuagint alone, 'forever' is added to 'left'; which is superfluous. For the fall by the Assyrians was temporary, not perpetual, when they also conquered Jerusalem. For just as this city was settled by the released captives, so too, when Damascus was rebuilt, a kingdom was established in it again; which also lasted until the apostolic times. Paul at any rate says, 'in Damascus the ethnarch of Aretas the king of the Damascenes was guarding the city to seize me.' Therefore, we will refer the first parts of the prophecy to the times of the Assyrians, in which a twofold siege of Damascus occurred. And it is likely, they say, that it suffered other things again in both the Persian and Macedonian times, which are also indicated by the phrase: Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from being a city. And the phrase, 'there shall not be a stronghold for Ephraim to flee to',

98

προφήτου ἐπὶ Μωὰβ, ὡς κιθάρα ἠχήσει, μουσικὴν 2120 εὐρυθμίαν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ κρούοντος ἐπιστήμης ἀποτελοῦσα. Λέγει δὲ κοιλίαν, ἅπερ ἐντὸς ἐκάλεσεν ὁ ∆αβὶδ, Εὐλόγει, λέγων, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ, τοὺς λογισμοὺς σημαίνων τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς, τοὺς ἑκάστης γεννητικοὺς ἀρετῆς· ἐξ ὧν γὰρ ἕνδον κατορθοῦμεν εὐλογοῦμεν τὸν Κύριον. Οἷος ἦν Ἡσαΐας τὰ ἐντὸς ἔχων ὡς τεῖχος ὃ ἐνεκαίνισεν ὁ Θεὸς χάριτι περιτειχίζων αὐτὸν, ὡς μὴ διδόναι παρείσδυσιν τοῖς χείροσι λογισμοῖς, δίκην πολεμίων περικαθεζομένοις ἡμᾶς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ, φησὶ, τοὺς ἰσχυροὺς ἐχαρίσω μοι λογισμοὺς, ὡς ἐντραπῆναί σε τοὺς οὐκ ἐπιστρέφοντας ἐπὶ σὲ, διὰ τῆς τῶν προσαγομένων ἐλέγχων αὐτοῖς εὐτονίας· λείπει γὰρ τῷ ἐντραπῆναι, τὸ αὐτοὺς ἔξωθεν ὀφεῖλον παραλαμβάνεσθαι. Ἐντρέπεται δὲ Θεὸν ὁ καλῶς νικῶντι νῶτα διδοὺς, μηδὲν ἁψιμαχῶν πρὸς ἀλήθειάν τε καὶ ἀρετήν. ∆ιὰ δὲ τῶν ἑξῆς, τὸν ἐπὶ τέλει δηλοῖ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἀφανισμὸν διὰ τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ λόγου, καὶ τῆς Μωὰβ τιμωρίας ὥριες χρόνον, ὃν ἔτη τρία καλεῖ μισθωτοῦ. ∆ιαβάλλει δὲ τὸν μισθωτὸν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὡς μὴ ὄντα ποιμένα, καὶ τῇ φυγῇ τοῖς λύκοις προδιδόντα τὰ πρόβατα. Καὶ πάροικος δὲ μισθωτὸς ἱερέως οὐκ ἔδεται ἅγια, καθὰ νομοθετεῖ Μωσῆς· ἐξεμίσθωσεν οὖν ἑαυτὸν ὁ Μωὰβ, καὶ γέγονεν μισθωτὸς οὐκ ἀγαπήσας τὸν Θεὸν, φαντασίᾳ δὲ μισθοῦ, καὶ σωματικῶν ἐλπίδι πάντα ποιῶν, ὡς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην εἰς τὸ δοξασθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἐλεῶν γὰρ οὐ ποιεῖ, μάτην δὲ δόξαν θηρώμενος. Τοιοῦτος καὶ ὁ μὴ πόθῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς σωφρονῶν, δοκεῖν δὲ μόνον βουλόμενος. Ἄτιμοι τοίνυν οἱ τοιοῦτοι παρὰ Θεῷ, ἀτιμίαν ἔχοντες μισθωτοῦ, ὡς οὐκ ἐκ διαθέσεως, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργον ἐπίπλαστον ἔχοντες· καὶ ὅσον ἐνταῦθα πλουτοῦσι τὸ δοκεῖν πλοῦτον τὸν μάταιον, τοσοῦτον μετὰ τὸ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἡμῶν τὰ κρυπτὰ ἀποδοθήσεται τῆς αἰσχύνης ὁ μισθός· καὶ ὁ πολλὴν συνάγων ταῖς χερσὶν ἀκαρπίαν, πλείονα τὴν ὕλην ἕξει τῆς ἀτιμίας. Καὶ ὁ ἐνεργῶν θησαυρίσματα γλώσσῃ ψευδεῖ, μάταια διώκει, καὶ ἐλεύσεται ἐπὶ παγίδας θανάτου, καὶ καταλειφθήσεται ὀλιγοστὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἔντιμος, εὐεργεσίᾳ τῶν ἐπὶ κακίαν συγκεκροτημένων. ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΖʹ. ΤΟ ΡΗΜΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑ ∆ΑΜΑΣΚΟΝ. αιαʹ. 9Ἰδοὺ ∆αμασκὸς ἀρθήσεται ἀπὸ πόλεων, καὶ ἔσται εἰς πτῶσιν, καταλελειμμένη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, εἰς κοίτην ποιμνίων καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν. Καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ διώκων. Καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται ὀχυρὰ τοῦ καταφυγεῖν ἐκεῖ τὸν Ἐφραῒμ9, κ.τ.λ. Ἄνω δὴ μὲν διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τὸν τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἄρχοντα παρέστησεν λέγοντα, Καὶ ἔλαβον Ἀρα 2121 βίαν, καὶ ∆αμασκὸν, καὶ Σαμάρειαν, ὃ καὶ δηλοῦται διὰ τῆς ἐν Βασιλείαις Γραφῆς λεγούσης. "Καὶ ἀνέβη βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων εἰς ∆αμασκὸν, καὶ συνέλαβεν αὐτὴν, καὶ ἀπῴκισεν αὐτήν." Νῦν δέ φησιν ὁ λόγος περὶ μελλούσης ἑτέρας ἁλώσεως, ἣν ὁ Βαβυλώνιος πεποίηται βασιλεὺς, ὅτε τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐπῆλθεν αὖθις, καὶ ταύτην ἑλὼν, ἐκ βάθρων τε πᾶσαν ἠφανικώς. Ἣν δηλῶν Ἱερεμίας φησίν· "Ἐξελύθη ∆αμασκός· ἀπεστράφη εἰς φυγήν." Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα, "∆ιατοῦτο πεσοῦνται νεανίσκοι ἐν πλατείαις σου, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ πολεμισταί σου πεσοῦνται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, φησὶ Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων· Καὶ καύσω πῦρ ἐν τείχει ∆αμασκοῦ, καὶ καταφάγεται ἄμφοδα υἱοῦ Ἄδερ." Πρόσκειται δὲ νῦν κατὰ μόνους τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα τῷ καταλελειμμένη τὸ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· ὅπερ ἐστὶ περιττόν. Χρονικὴ γὰρ, ἀλλ' οὐ διηνεκὴς ἡ πτῶσις ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἐγένετο, ὅτε καὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐχειρώσαντο. Ὡς γὰρ αὕτη ὑπὸ τῶν ἀφεθέντων αἰχμαλώτων ᾠκίσθη, οὕτως ἀνοικοδομηθείσης ∆αμασκοῦ βασίλειον ἐν αὐτῇ συνέστη πάλιν· ὃ καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διήρκεσε χρόνων. Φησὶ γοῦν ὁ Παῦλος ἐν ∆αμασκῷ ὁ ἐθνάρχης Ἀρέτα τοῦ βασιλέως ∆αμασκηνῶν ἐφρούρει τὴν πόλιν πιάσαι με. Τὰ οὖν πρῶτα τῆς προφητείας ἐπὶ τοὺς τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἀνοίσομεν χρόνους, καθ' οὓς συνέβη ∆αμασκῷ πολιορκία διττή. Εἰκὸς δέ φασι, κἀν τοῖς Περσικοῖς τε καὶ Μακεδονικοῖς ἕτερα πάλιν παθεῖν, ἃ καὶ δηλοῦσθαι διὰ τοῦ· Ἰδοὺ ∆αμασκὸς ἀρθήσεται ἀπὸ πόλεων. Τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἔσται ὀχυρὰ τοῦ καταφυγεῖν Ἐφραὶμ,