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3They have come to me from a faraway land, from Babylon, again the prophet asked: 4What did they see in your house? And when he said that they had seen everything, both the visible and the hidden, the prophet said: 5Hear the word of the Lord Sabaoth: 6Behold, days are coming, and they shall take everything in your house, and all that your fathers have gathered until this day will come to Babylon, and nothing at all shall be left behind; and God said 7that also from your children who come forth from you, whom you will beget, they will take and make them attendants in the house of the king of the Babylonians. And by these things he shows that no one will be able to take away piety and righteousness and discipline, but wealth is not a permanent good; for it has a transient nature and now it makes this one brilliant, now that one. Since, therefore, you have shown these things and not my providence and care, know well that these things will come under their dominion; and in addition to these, even from your descendants will some be led away as captives and will serve the king of the Babylonians. By attendants he means the eunuchs. 8And Hezekiah said to Isaiah: Good is the word of the Lord which he has spoken; let there be peace and righteousness in my days. He says that all things spoken by the God of all are good and beneficial; for I have sufficient good cheer that these.............. |147 b| ...s I might not see; wherefore I ask to obtain peace throughout all my life, and not only peace but also righteousness; for peace separated from righteousness is useless. Praiseworthy, then, is the king for asking for righteousness with peace, but the request is nonetheless not kingly; for it is fitting for the guardian of the subjects to exercise all care for them; therefore, he ought to have offered supplication to the benevolent master also on behalf of his descendants, upon whom those grim things were about to be. It is fitting for us <however> not to be proud either in wealth or in strength or in any other human thing, but even when having wealth and wisdom and power, to trust in God alone, who is the giver of these things, and to await the turning of the scale from him; to whom is due glory and magnificence for ever and ever. Amen.

12 VOLUME 12 401Comfort, comfort my people, says God. 2Priests, speak

to the heart of Jerusalem. In the preceding interpretations he foretold the coming captivity by the Babylonians. But King Hezekiah did not offer supplication to the Lord God, nor did he entreat that the threat be loosed, but took thought for his own salvation alone, having said: “Let there be peace and righteousness in my days.” For this reason, the God of all, leaving the king aside, commands the priests to console Jerusalem, as the threatened punishment had already come upon her. For what follows shows this: Comfort her, because her humiliation has been fulfilled. The things of the threat have received a good end. Her sin is absolved, because she has received from the hand of the Lord double for her sins. It is worthy here to marvel at the benevolence of the Master; for being good and an abyss of goodness, and inflicting a punishment much less than the sin, through his great benevolence he calls the small punishment double the sin. But that the punishment was much less than the sin, the same prophet is a witness, crying out: “In a little affliction is your chastisement to us.” But nevertheless, mixing justice with much mercy, what those being punished called a small chastisement, the judge named double. Then he teaches those who are comforting the manner of consolation: 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight through the impassable the paths of our God. The true comfort and consolation <and> the release of human things

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3ἐκ γῆς πόρρωθεν ἥκασι πρός με, ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος, πάλιν ὁ προφήτης ἤρετο· 4Τί εἶδον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου; Ἐκείνου δὲ εἰρηκότος πάντα αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ δῆλα καὶ τὰ κεκρυμμένα ἰδεῖν, εἶπεν ὁ προφήτης· 5Ἄκουσον τὸν λόγον κυρίου Σαβαώθ· 6Ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, καὶ λήψονται πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου, καὶ ὅσα συνήγαγον οἱ πατέρες σου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἥξει, καὶ οὐδὲν οὐ μὴ καταλειφθῇ· εἶπε δὲ ὁ θεὸς 7ὅτι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων σου τῶν ἐξερχομένων ἀπό σου ὧν γεννήσεις λήψονται καὶ ποιήσουσι σπάδοντας ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Βαβυλωνίων. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ διὰ τούτων ὡς εὐσέβειαν μὲν καὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ παιδείαν οὐδεὶς ἀφελέσθαι δυνήσεται, ὁ δὲ πλοῦτος οὐκ ἔστι μόνιμον ἀγαθόν· μεταβατικὴν γὰρ ἔχει τὴν φύσιν καὶ νῦν μὲν τοῦτον νῦν δὲ ἐκεῖνον λαμπρύνει. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ταῦτα ὑπέδειξας καὶ οὐ τὴν ἐμὴν προμήθειάν τε καὶ κηδεμονίαν, εὖ ἴσθι ὡς ταῦτα ὑπὸ τὴν ἐκείνων γενήσεται δεσποτείαν· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἐκ τῶν σῶν ἀπογόνων ἀπαχθήσονται δορυάλωτοι καὶ τῷ Βαβυλωνίων δουλεύσουσι βασιλεῖ. Σπάδοντας δὲ τοὺς εὐνούχους λέγει. 8Καὶ εἶπεν Ἐζεκίας πρὸς Ἡσαΐαν· Ἀγαθὸς ὁ λόγοςκυρίου ὃν ἐλάληςεν· γενέσθω δὴ εἰρήνη καὶ δικαιοσύνη ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις μου. Πάντα φησὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων εἰρη μένα ἀγαθά τε καὶ ὀνησιφόρα· ἔχω γὰρ θυμηδίαν ἀρκοῦσαν ὡς τα.............. |147 b| ...ροὺ ς μὴ θεῶμ αι · διὸ αἰτῶ εἰρήνης τυχεῖν παρὰ πᾶσάν μου τὴν ζωήν, οὐ μόνον δὲ εἰρήνης ἀλ λὰ καὶ δικαιοσύνης· ἀνωφελὴς γὰρ εἰρήνη δικαιοσύνης κεχωρισμένη. Ἐπαινετὸς μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὴν δικαιοσύνην μετὰ τῆς εἰρήνης αἰτήσας, οὐ βασιλικὴ δὲ ὅμως ἡ αἴτησις· τὸν γὰρ τῶν ὑπηκόων κηδεμόνα πᾶσαν ἐκείνων προσήκει ποιεῖσθαι κηδεμονίαν· ἔδει τοίνυν αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐγγόνων, ἐ φ' ὧν ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι ἐκεῖνα τὰ σκυθρωπά, προσενεγκεῖν ἱκετείαν τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ δεσπότῃ. Ἡμᾶς <δὲ> προσήκει μήτε ἐπὶ πλούτῳ μήτε ἐπὶ ῥώμῃ μήτε ἐπ' ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων μέγα φρονεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ πλοῦτον ἔχοντα καὶ σοφίαν καὶ δύναμιν τῷ θεῷ μόνῳ θαρρεῖν τῷ καὶ τούτων δοτῆρι καὶ τὴν παρ' αὐ τοῦ προσμέ νειν ῥοπήν· ᾧ πρέπει δόξα καὶ μεγαλοπρέπεια εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

12 ΤΟΜΟΣ ΙΒʹ 401Παρακαλεῖτε παρακαλεῖτε τὸν λαόν μου, λέγει ὁ θεός. 2Ἱερεῖς λαλήσατε

εἰς τὴν καρδίαν Ἱερουσαλήμ. Προηγόρευσεν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἡρμηνευμένοις τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων ἐσομένην αἰχμαλωσίαν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ἐζεκίας οὐ προσήνεγκεν ἱκετηρίαν τῷ δεσπότῃ θεῷ οὐδὲ ἠν τι βόλ ησ ε λυθῆναι τὴν ἀπειλὴν ἀλλὰ τῆς οἰκείας σωτηρίας ἐφρόντισε μόνης εἰρηκώς· «Γενέσθω δὴ εἰρήνη καὶ δικαιοσύνη ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις μου.» Τούτου δὴ χάριν ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς τὸν βασιλέα καταλιπὼν τοῖς ἱ ερεῦσι παρακελεύεται παραμυθεῖσθαι τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὡς ἤδη τῆς ἀπειληθείσης τιμωρίας καταλα β ούσης. Τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξῆς· Παρακαλέσατε αὐτήν, ὅτι ἐπλήσθη ἡ ταπεί νωσις αὐτῆς. Πέρας καλὸ ν ἔλαβε τὰ τῆς ἀπειλῆς. Λέλυται αὐτῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὅτι ἐδέξατο ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου διπλᾶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῆς. Ἄξιον ἐνταῦθα θαυμάσαι τὴν τοῦ δεσπότου φιλανθρωπίαν· ἀγαθὸς γὰρ ὢν καὶ ἀγαθότητος ἄβυσσος καὶ σφόδρα ἐλάττονα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τιμωρίαν ἐπάγων τὴν σμικρὰν τιμωρίαν διὰ πολλὴν φιλανθρωπίαν διπλασίονα τῆς ἁμαρτίας καλεῖ. Ὅτι δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας σφόδρα ἐλάττων ἦν ἡ τιμωρία, μάρτυς ὁ αὐτὸς προφήτης βοῶν· «Ἐν θλίψει μικρᾷ ἡ παιδεία σου ἡμῖν.» Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐλέῳ πλείστῳ τὸ δίκαιον κεραννύς, ἣν οἱ τιμωρούμενοι σμικρὰν ἐκάλουν παιδείαν διπλασίονα ὠνόμασεν ὁ κριτής. Εἶτα διδάσκει τοὺς παρακαλοῦντας τῆς ψυχαγωγίας τὸν τρόπον· 3Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε διὰ τῆς ἀβάτου τὰς τρίβους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν. Ἡ ἀληθὴς παράκλησις καὶ παραψυχὴ <καὶ> τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων λύσις