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to be indicated and that Kition is a city in it, through which those sailing from Tyre used to sail past. The reason why the customary trading of the Tyrians no longer happens, he next presents, saying: she has been led captive, and it is clear that this is Tyre. But instead of: To whom have they become like?, Aquila has "be silent," and Symmachus has "be quiet, you inhabitants of the island." For there was a time in which they boasted, being insolent and exalting themselves and using arrogant words, but the oracle commands them, having been humbled, to be silent. These same people were once the merchants of Phoenicia, heaping up great wealth so that the amount of their merchandise was comparable to a harvest, but now that they have been suddenly deprived of everything and stripped of what were considered their goods, it is fitting for shame to be poured over not them alone, but also the Sidonians who live as their neighbors, with the sea itself, so to speak, also uttering a voice and lamenting them because it no longer has the young men and maidens whom it might nourish. because in the old days, being, as it were, offspring of the sea, they were nourished by it, when the affairs of the Tyrians flourished; but now that it is no more, the sea rightly bemoans them and its strength laments, wailing as over lost children. But also Egypt, which, he says, lies nearby, will be in anguish, worrying and anxious about itself, lest it somehow suffer the same things as Tyre. When these things have happened thus, if you are able, he says, you who have been left behind in Tyre after those who have perished, cross over, fleeing to your colonists, those who inhabit Carthage. and remaining there, bewail your own fatherland, blaming not others for what you have suffered, but your own arrogance and hubris, with which you tried to envelop all men. But the things that have happened to you, O Tyrians, do not ascribe to the necessity of fate, but ask among yourselves, who has planned these things, who judged that your fatherland should suffer these things; for in seeking you will find that these things have happened to it by the righteous judgment of God; for the Lord Sabaoth, who is spoken of as God among the Hebrews alone, brought forth this decree, humbling the hubris and arrogance not only of Tyre, but also of the other godless and impious nations. Wherefore also he threatened similar things "to Babylon" through the preceding passages, and "to Moab" and "to Damascus" and to the others previously named; for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore, be not exalted any longer, O you who greatly boasted in the wealth provided to you from the sea, but having been humbled, occupy yourself with your own land, tilling the soil and being nourished from the fruits of the earth; for your profits from the sea have ceased. For even when enjoying these things, you did not bear your own prosperity, but you acted insolently, provoking all the neighboring kings. However, it will no longer be possible for you to do these things, neither against others nor against your neighbor Sidon, which you also attempted to wrong. But even if you should go to Kition, the city of the Cypriots mentioned above, as to an acquaintance and an old intimate and friend, not even there will there be rest for you from him who drives you from every side and shuts you out. And if you should wish to desert to the land of the Chaldeans, know that their royal city, Babylon, will also be desolate on account of the impious and arrogant men who inhabited it, whence also its wall has fallen, I mean the royal power, by which it was formerly fortified. What other refuge, then, will you have or from where will you provide for yourself a hope of salvation? Wherefore it is reasonable for your colonists to lament, I mean the Carthaginians, you, Tyre, who were once their stronghold, but the things prophesied against Tyre will all be fulfilled in a few years, in as many years as the city dedicated to God, Jerusalem, became desolate. For God judged the time of one man's life, I mean seventy years,
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δηλοῦσθαι καὶ Κίτιον εἶναι πόλιν ἐν αὐτῇ, δι' ἧς παρέπλεον οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Τύρου ναυτιλλόμενοι. τὸ δ' αἴτιον τοῦ μηκέτι τὰς συνήθεις ἐμπορίας τῶν Τυρίων γίγνεσθαι ἑξῆς παρίστησι λέγων· ἦκται αἰχμάλωτος, δῆλον δ' ὅτι ἡ Τύρος. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τίνι ὅμοιοι γεγόνασιν; ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας σιωπήσατε, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος σιγήσατε οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν νῆσον εἰρήκασιν. ἦν γάρ τις καιρός, ἐν ᾧ ἐμεγαλαύχουν φρυαττόμενοι καὶ ἐπαιρόμενοι καὶ λόγοις ἀλαζονικοῖς χρώμενοι, ἀλλὰ σιωπᾶν αὐτοὺς ταπεινωθέντας ὁ λόγος παρακελεύεται. οἱ δ' αὐτοὶ ἦσάν ποτε μεταβόλοι Φοινίκης, πλοῦτον πολὺν σωρεύοντες ὡς ἀμήτῳ παραβάλλεσθαι αὐτῶν τὸ πλῆθος τῆς πραγματείας, νῦν δὲ πάντων ἀθρόως ἀφῃρημένους καὶ τῶν νομιζομένων αὐτοῖς ἀγαθῶν στερηθέντας, αἰσχύνην καταχέεσθαι προσήκει μὴ μόνους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐκ γειτόνων αὐτοῖς οἰκοῦντας Σιδωνίους, μονονουχὶ καὶ τῆς θαλάσσης αὐτῆς φωνὴν ἀφιείσης καὶ ἀποθρηνούσης αὐτοὺς διὰ τὸ μηκέτ' ἔχειν οὓς θρέψειε νεανίσκους καὶ παρθένους. ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν ὥσπερ θαλάσσης ὄντες γεννήματα ὑπ' αὐτῆς ἐτρέφοντο, ὅτε ἤνθει τὰ Τυρίων πράγματα, νῦν δ' ὅτε μηκέτι ἐστίν, εἰκότως ἀποκλάεται αὐτοὺς ἡ θάλασσα καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῶν ἀποθρηνεῖ ὡς ἐπὶ τέκνοις ἀπολωλόσιν ὀλοφυρομένη. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ Αἴγυπτος ἐκ γειτόνων φησὶ παρακειμένη ἐν ὀδύνῃ καταστήσεται φροντίζουσα καὶ ἀγωνιῶσα περὶ ἑαυτῆς, μή πη τὰ ὅμοια πάθοι τῇ Τύρῳ. ὧν οὕτω γενομένων, εἰ δύνασθέ φησιν οἱ μετὰ τοὺς ἀπολωλότας ὑπολειφθέντες ἐν τῇ Τύρῳ, διάβητε φεύγοντες ἐπὶ τοὺς ὑμετέρους ἀποίκους τοὺς τὴν Καρχηδόνα οἰκοῦντας. κἀκεῖσε ἀπομείναντες ἀποκλαύσασθε τὴν ἑαυτῶν πατρίδα καταμεμφόμενοι μὴ ἑτέρους ἐφ' οἷς πεπόνθατε, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν ὕβριν, ᾗ πάντας ἀνθρώπους περιβάλλειν ἐπειρᾶσθε. Τὰ δὲ συμβεβηκότα ὑμῖν, ὦ Τύριοι, μὴ εἱμαρμένης ἐπιγράφετε ἀνάγκῃ, ἀλλὰ ζητήσατε παρ' ἑαυτοῖς, τίς ταῦτα ἐβουλεύσατο, τίς ἔκρινε ταῦτα παθεῖν τὴν ὑμετέραν πατρίδα· ζητοῦντες γὰρ εὑρήσετε θεοῦ δικαίᾳ κρίσει ταῦτα αὐτῇ συμβεβηκέναι· κύριος γὰρ σαβαὼθ ὁ παρὰ μόνοις Ἑβραίοις θεολογούμενος τοῦτον ἐξήνεγκε τὸν ὅρον, οὐ μόνης τῆς Τύρου τὴν ὕβριν καὶ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν ταπεινῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀθέων καὶ ἀσεβῶν ἐθνῶν. διὸ καὶ «τῇ Βαβυλῶνι» τὰ ὅμοια διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἠπείλει καὶ «τῇ Μωὰβ» καὶ «τῇ ∆αμασκῷ» καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῖς προωνομασμένοις· «θεὸς» γάρ «ἐστιν ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτασσόμενος, ταπεινοῖς δὲ διδοὺς χάριν». Μηκέτι τοίνυν ἐπαίρου, ὦ αὕτη μεγαλαυχουμένη ἐπὶ τῷ ἐκ θαλάσσης ποριζομένῳ σοι πλούτῳ, ταπεινωθεῖσα δὲ περὶ τὴν σεαυτῆς ἀσχολοῦ γῆν γεωπονοῦσα καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀπὸ γῆς καρπῶν τρεφομένη· πέπαυται γάρ σοι τὰ ἀπὸ θαλάττης κέρδη. καὶ γὰρ τούτων ἀπολαύουσα οὐκ ἔφερες σαυτῆς τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν, ἀλλ' ἐξύβριζες παροξύνουσα βασιλεῖς πάντας τοὺς πλησιοχώρους. πλὴν οὐκέτι σοι πράττειν ταῦτ' ἐξέσται οὔτε καθ' ἑτέρων οὔτε κατὰ τῆς πλησίον σου Σιδῶνος, ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν ἀδικεῖν ἐπεχείρεις. Ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰ ἀπέλθοις εἰς Κίτιον, τὴν ἀνωτέρω λεχθεῖσαν Κυπρίων πόλιν, ὡς πρὸς γνώριμον καὶ ἐκ παλαιοῦ συνήθη καὶ φίλην, οὐδ' ἐκεῖ ἀνάπαυσις ἔσται σοι τοῦ πανταχόθεν ἐλαύνοντος καὶ ἀποκλείοντός σε. εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν Χαλδαίων γῆν αὐτομολῆσαι θελήσειας, ἴσθι ὅτι καὶ ἡ τούτων βασιλικὴ πόλις ἡ Βαβυλὼν ἔρημος ἔσται διὰ τοὺς οἰκήσαντας αὐτὴν ἀσεβεῖς καὶ ὑπερηφάνους ἄνδρας, ὅθεν καὶ ὁ τοῖχος αὐτῆς πέπτωκεν, λέγω δὲ ἡ δύναμις ἡ βασιλική, δι' ἧς τὸ παλαιὸν ὠχύρωτο. Ποίαν τοίνυν ἄλλην καταφυγὴν ἕξεις ἢ ὁπόθεν ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας σεαυτῇ ποριεῖς; διὸ θρηνεῖν εὔλογον τοὺς ἀποίκους τοὺς ὑμετέρους, λέγω δὲ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους, σὲ τὴν Τύρου ὀχύρωμα αὐτῶν ποτε γενομένην, τὰ δὲ προφητευόμενα κατὰ τῆς Τύρον πάντα ἐν ὀλίγοις ἔτεσιν συντελεσθήσεται, ἐν ὅσοις καὶ ἡ τῷ θεῷ ἀφιερωμένη πόλις Ἰερουσαλὴμ κατέστη ἔρημος. ἔκρινε γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἀνθρώπου ἑνὸς ζωῆς χρόνον, λέγω δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη,