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having set free, he took away every tear from every face; and the reproach of his people he took away from all the earth; and the reproach of the people from the nations was the idolatry that had mastered them; which reproach God took away, and the tear over this from those who, out of philanthropy, lamented the destruction of so many souls. These things, then, are according to the interpretation of the Seventy; but according to the others, the text presents a different meaning, which Symmachus published more clearly, speaking in this manner: and he will submerge in this mountain the face of the ruler who rules over all the nations, and the anointing which has been anointed over all the nations will cause death to be swallowed up forever. And the Lord God will wipe away from every face every tear, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. Equivalent to these are also the things from the other interpreters, whose meaning seems to me to be as follows: at the indicated time, when on the appointed mountain, having made the banquet for all the nations, the Lord deems them worthy to partake of the wine and the myrrh and of his ineffable mysteries, then he will cause to be swallowed up and to disappear the face of the ruler who has ruled over all the nations, that is, of death, and thus the Lord who reigns on the aforementioned mountain will submerge it, so that he no longer appears anywhere, I mean death, which the prophecy here named ruler, but the Apostle did not hesitate to also call king, saying: “death reigned from Adam until Moses,” since, therefore, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Rightly, then, the text here says that the face of the ruler will be destroyed. But instead of: the face of the ruler, Aquila and Theodotion have published: the face of darkness. And what was the darkness, if not the lightless and darkness-filled place of death? Then, therefore, when “the saints will reign with” the Son of God, death itself, which formerly swallowed everyone, will be swallowed up. And the cause of this will be the anointing which has been anointed unto all the nations; for having been anointed with the chrism, they will no longer be subject to death, but having partaken of immortality and eternal life, they will render death inoperative and as if dead. Therefore it has been said: the anointing which has been anointed over all the nations will cause death to be swallowed up forever. And indeed, with death having been removed, the Lord God is said to wipe away every tear from every face and to take away the reproach of his people; for it was no small reproach for “men made in the image of God” to fall from eternal life and be subjected to death. But the reproach will be lifted, “death having been destroyed” and darkness having disappeared, while the kingdom of Christ shines forth in eternal life, those from all the nations will enjoy it, having been freed from their former evils. and will be deemed worthy of the promises of God. 1.86 When death is swallowed up at the time of the resurrection, the sons of the new age will sing a song of thanksgiving on that day, seeing their own savior in glory, and they will say: Behold our God, in whom we hoped; for formerly we had him in our hopes, believing the divine teachings about him, but now we also see him with our eyes, for which reason we formerly endured the grievous things that came upon us. And they will say these things, and he will give them rest on the aforementioned mountain of his kingdom. And these will enjoy the promised goods, but Moabitis, or in the Hebrew language, Moab, will suffer punishment for his own godlessness; for he will be trodden down in the manner of a threshing floor by wagons, so that his hands grow weak and fail from exhaustion. Therefore Aquila says: and Moab will be threshed under him as

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ἐλευθερώσας ἀφεῖλε πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου· καὶ τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀφεῖλεν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς· ὄνειδος δὲ ἦν τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἡ κρατήσασα αὐτῶν εἰδωλολατρία· ὅπερ ὄνειδος ἀφεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ δάκρυον τῶν διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν τὴν τῶν τοσούτων ψυχῶν ἀποκλαομένων ἀπώλειαν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα ἑρμηνείαν· κατὰ δὲ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑτέραν παρίστησι διάνοιαν ὁ λόγος, ἣν ὁ Σύμμαχος σαφέστερον ἐξέδωκε τοῦτον εἰπὼν τὸν τρόπον· καὶ καταποντιεῖ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐξουσιαστοῦ τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἡ χρίσις ἡ κεχρισμένη κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν καταποθῆναι ποιήσει τὸν θάνατον εἰς τέλος. καὶ ἐξαλείψει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πᾶν δάκρυον καὶ τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ περιελεῖ ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς, ὅτι κύριος ἐλάλησεν. ἰσοδυναμεῖ δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἑρμηνευταῖς, ὧν ὁ νοῦς τοιοῦτος εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ· κατὰ τὸν δηλωθέντα χρόνον ἐπειδὰν ἐν τῷ ἀποδοθέντι ὄρει πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὸ συμπόσιον ποιήσας ὁ κύριος καταξιώσῃ μετασχεῖν τοῦ οἴνου καὶ τοῦ μύρου καὶ τῶν ἀρρήτων αὐτοῦ μυστηρίων τὸ τηνικαῦτα καταποθῆναι ποιήσει καὶ ἀφανὲς γενέσθαι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐξουσιαστοῦ τοῦ ἐξουσιάσαντος πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, τοῦτ' ἔστι τοῦ θανάτου, οὕτως δὲ αὐτὸ καταποντιεῖ ὁ ἐν τῷ προλεχθέντι ὄρει βασιλεύων κύριος, ὡς μηκέτι φαίνεσθαί που αὐτόν, λέγω δὲ τὸν θάνατον, ὃν ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἡ προφητεία ἐξουσιαστὴν ὠνόμασεν, ὁ δ' Ἀπόστολος οὐκ ὤκνησε καὶ βασιλέα προσειπεῖν φήσας· «ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωσέως», ἐπεὶ τοίνυν «ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος». εἰκότως ἐνταῦθά φησιν ὁ λόγος ἀπολεῖσθαι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐξουσιαστοῦ. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐξουσιαστοῦ, τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς σκοτίας ὁ Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων ἐκδεδώκασι. τίς δ' ἦν ἡ σκοτία, ἢ ὁ ἀφεγγὴς καὶ σκότου πλήρης τοῦ θανάτου χῶρος; τότε τοίνυν, ὅτε τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ «ἅγιοι συμβασιλεύσουσιν», αὐτὸς ὁ θάνατος ὁ πάλαι καταπίνων τοὺς πάντας καταποθήσεται. αἴτιον δὲ τούτου ἔσται ἡ χρῖσις ἡ κεχρισμένη εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· χρισθέντες γὰρ τῷ χρίσματι οὐκέτ' ὑποχείριοι γενήσονται θανάτῳ, ἀθανασίας δὲ καὶ ζωῆς αἰωνίου μετασχόντες τὸν θάνατον ἀνενέργητον καὶ ὥσπερ νεκρὸν καταστήσουσι. διὸ λέλεκται· ἡ χρῖσις ἡ κεχρισμένη κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν καταποθῆναι ποιήσει τὸν θάνατον εἰς τέλος. καὶ δὴ τοῦ θανάτου ἐκποδὼν γενομένου ἐξαλείψειν κύριος ὁ θεὸς λέγεται πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου καὶ τὸν ὄνειδον τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ περιελεῖν· ὄνειδος γὰρ ἦν οὐ μικρὸν «τοῖς κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ πεποιημένοις ἀνθρώποις» τὸ ἐκπεσεῖν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς καὶ θανάτῳ ὑποβληθῆναι. ἀλλ' ἀρθήσεται τὸ ὄνειδος «τοῦ μὲν θανάτου καταργηθέντος» καὶ τοῦ σκότους ἀφανισθέντος, τῆς δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ βασιλείας ἐν αἰωνίῳ ζωῇ διαλαμπούσης ἀπολαύσουσιν οἱ ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν μὲν προτέρων ἠλευθερωμένοι κακῶν. τῶν δ' ἐπαγγελιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ καταξιωθησόμενοι. 1.86 Καταποθέντος τοῦ θανάτου κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως καιρὸν οἱ τοῦ νέου αἰῶνος υἱοὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ εὐχαριστήριον ᾄσουσιν ᾠδήν, ὁρῶντες ἐν δόξῃ τὸν ἑαυτῶν σωτῆρα, καὶ ἐροῦσιν Ἰδοὺ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἐφ' ᾧ ἠλπίζομεν· πάλαι μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐν ἐλπίσιν εἴχομεν πιστεύοντες ταῖς θείαις περὶ αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαις, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρῶμεν αὐτόν, διὸ ὑπεμείναμεν πάλαι τὰ ἐπιόντα ἡμῖν λυπηρά. καὶ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα ἐροῦσιν, ὁ δὲ ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτοῖς δώσει ἐν τῷ προλεχθέντι τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ὄρει. καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσουσιν, ἡ δὲ Μωαβῖτις, κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑβραϊκὴν φωνὴν Μωάβ, τιμωρίαν ὑφέξει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀθεότητος· καταπατηθήσεται γὰρ τρόπον ἅλωνος ἐν ἁμάξαις, ὥστ' ἀσθενῆσαι καὶ ἐξατονῆσαι τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ ἐκλύσεως. διό φησιν ὁ Ἀκύλας· καὶ ἀλοηθήσεται ἡ Μωὰβ ὑποκάτω αὐτοῦ ὡς