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is prophesied; for it is written, And now thus says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be a servant to himself, to gather Jacob and Israel to him; and again he said to me: It is a great thing for you to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to restore the diaspora of Israel. But also the saying, "Behold, I have set you as a light to the nations, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth," reveals the one of whom the word is spoken to be someone paradoxical and wonderful; and who could this be but our Lord Jesus Christ, who has also already before, in the passages above, been named Jacob and Israel through the saying, "Jacob my servant, I will take hold of him; Israel my chosen one, my soul has received him"? For this is the only one who in truth sees God the Father, being named Israel, which is interpreted "one who sees God," according to the concept of his divinity; and Jacob, which is "supplanter," in that having become man he fought against all the opposing powers. But see if the passages do not 209 agree with each other, both the one at hand and the one in which was said, "Jacob my servant," referring to Christ. For just as there "Jacob my servant" is said, so here "it is a great thing for you to be called my servant"; and as there "Israel my chosen one" has been said, so here "that the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen you." Again, on the one hand, there it is said, "I have given you for a covenant of the people, for a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from their bonds, and those who sit in darkness from the prison house"; while on the other hand, in the one at hand, "Behold, I have set you as a light to the nations, to establish the earth, and to inherit a desolate heritage, saying to those in bonds, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be revealed.'" That the things in the aforementioned prophecies therefore apply to no one else but only to our Savior, will be clear to those who pay attention to the multitude of the nations who have hoped in him and through him in the God of all, to whom he was set as a light by the Father; and he says, "to establish the earth," that is, to bring the soul, which was long in turmoil and disorder, to its natural stability and composure; but also "to inherit a desolate heritage," indicating the church from the nations; which, being desolate before his coming, he received as an inheritance from the one who said to him, "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." And he, according to the prophecy concerning him, has told those in bonds to come out; readily, as in the case of Lazarus, whom, though bound with grave-clothes and being in the tomb 210 for four days, he, saying, "Lazarus, come forth," allowed to go free; and in part of the mind, in the case of the daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, whom also, having freed from her infirmity, he sent away whole; and generally, when he provided forgiveness of former sins to all who were bound by the chains of their own sins, as one who alone has authority to forgive sins; whom even now through his teaching he exhorts to come out of their former bonds, saying to each one, "Behold, you have become well; sin no more." In addition to these things, even now he commands those still buried in ignorance and wickedness to be revealed, since he is the Word of God, who tests hearts and minds, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And that we may run through as concisely as possible, applying also the things before these to the things said about Christ, taking up the subject from the beginning we will set forth our interpretation of these things. Having clearly conversed in many places with the people of the circumcision, when he also calls Jacob or Israel by name, in the present instance he does not make the prophecy to them, but he summons islands and nations to the hearing of what is to be said; and here there is the promise of the Lord, spoken concerning the calling of the nations that were formerly entirely unbelieving and alien to the worship of God, of whom are understood in part also the so-called islands, as many souls as were formerly before

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προφητεύεται· γέγραπται γὰρ, καὶ νῦν οὕτως λέγει Κύριος ὁ πλάσας με ἐκ κοιλίας δοῦλον ἑαυτῷ τοῦ συναγαγεῖν τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς αὐτόν· καὶ πάλιν εἶπέν μοι· μέγα σοι ἐστὶν τὸ κληθῆναί σε παῖδά μου, τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὰς διασπορὰς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπιστρέψαι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ, ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς, παράδοξόν τινα καὶ θαυμαστὸν ὑποφαίνει τὸν περὶ οὗ ὁ λόγος· τίς δ' ἂν οὗτος εἴη ἢ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, ὁ καὶ ἤδη πρότερον ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω Ἰακὼβ χρηματίσας καὶ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τοῦ, Ἰακὼβ ὁπαῖς μου ἀντιλήψομαι αὐτοῦ, Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου· προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου; Οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ μόνος κατ' ἀλήθειαν ὁρῶν Θεὸν τὸν Πατέρα, Ἰσραὴλ μὲν ὀνομαζόμενος, ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύεται ὁρῶν τὸν Θεὸν, κατ' ἐπίνοιαν αὐτοῦ τῆς θεότητος· Ἰακὼβ δὲ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ πτερνιστὴς, καθ' ὃ ἐνανθρωπήσας κατηγωνίσατο πάσας τὰς ἀντικειμένας δυνάμεις. Ὅρα δὲ εἰ μὴ 209 συνᾴδουσιν ἀλλήλαις αἱ περικοπαὶ, ἥ τε μετὰ χεῖρας, καὶ ἐν ᾗ ἐλέγετο τὸ, Ἰακὼβ ὁ παῖς μου, εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν ἀναφερόμενον· ὡς γάρ τοι ἐκεῖ τὸ Ἰακὼβ ὁ παῖς μου εἴρηται, οὕτως ἐνθάδε τὸ μέγα σοι ἐστὶ τοῦ κληθῆναί σε παῖδά μου· καὶ ὡς ἐκεῖ τὸ, Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου λέλεκται, οὕτως ἐνθάδε τὸ, ὅτι πιστός ἐστιν ὁ ἅγιος Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐξελεξάμην σε. Πάλιν τε αὖ ἐκεῖ μὲν εἴρηται, ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν, ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν δεδεμένους, καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς καθημένους ἐν σκότει· ἐν δὲ τῇ μετὰ χεῖρας, ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν, καὶ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίαν ἐρήμου, λέγοντα τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς ἐξέλθατε, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκότει ἀνακαλύφθητε. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ ἢ μόνῳ τῷ Σωτῆρι ἡμῶν ἁρμόζει τὰ ἐν ταῖς προκειμέναις προφητείαις, δῆλον ἔσται τοῖς ἐπιστήσασιν τῷ πλήθει τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν ἠλπικότων ἐθνῶν, οἷς ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐτέθη εἰς φῶς· φησὶν δὲ, τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὴν ἐν θορύβοις καὶ ἀκαταστασίαις πάλαι τυγχάνουσαν ψυχὴν εἰς τὴν κατὰ φύσιν εὐστάθειαν καὶ καταστολὴν ἀγαγεῖν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίαν ἐρήμου, τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν δηλῶν· ἣν πρὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας ἔρημον τυγχάνουσαν, κληρονομίαν εἴληφε παρὰ τοῦ εἰπόντος αὐτῷ, αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου. Οὗτος δὲ κατὰ τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ προφητείαν τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς εἴρηκεν ἐξελθεῖν· προχείρως μὲν ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Λαζάρου, ὃν κειρίαις καταδεδεμένον καὶ ἐν μνή 210 ματι τεταρταῖον τυγχάνοντα, εἰπὼν, Λάζαρε δεῦρο ἔξω, ἐλεύθερον ἀφῆκεν ὑπάγειν· καὶ ἐν μέρει δὲ διανοίας ἐπὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς Ἁβραὰμ, ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ Σατανᾶς δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτεσιν, ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν τῆς ἀσθενείας ἀπαλλάξας, σώαν ἀπέλυσεν· καθόλου δὲ, ὁπηνίκα πᾶσιν τοῖς σειραῖς τῶν ἰδίων ἁμαρτιῶν ἐσφιγμένοις ἄφεσιν τῶν προτέρων ἁμαρτημάτων παρέσχετο, οἷα δὴ μόνος ἔχων ἐξουσίαν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας· οἷς ἔτι καὶ νῦν διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας παρακελεύεται τῶν προτέρων δεσμῶν ἐξελθεῖν, λέγων ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τὸ, ἴδε ὑγιὴς γέγονας, μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε. Ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔτι καὶ νῦν τοῖς εἰσέτι ἀγνοίας τε καὶ πονηρίας κατορωρυγμένοις ἀνακαλυφθῆναι προστάττει, ἅτε Λόγος ὑπάρχων Θεοῦ, καρδίας τε ἐτάζων καὶ νεφροὺς, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας. Ἵνα δὲ ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα συντόμως διαδράμωμεν, καὶ τὰ πρὸ τούτων ἐφαρμόζοντες τοῖς περὶ Χριστοῦ λεγομένοις, ἀναλαβόντες ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς καὶ τὴν τούτων ὑπόνοιαν ἡμῶν ἐκθησόμεθα. Ἐν πολλοῖς δὴ σαφῶς τῷ ἐκ περιτομῆς λαῷ προσομιλήσας, ὅτε καὶ ἐξ ὀνόματος, ἤτοι τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἤτοι τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἀνακαλεῖται, ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος οὐ πρὸς ἐκείνους ποιεῖται τὴν προφητείαν, ἀλλὰ γὰρ νήσους καὶ ἔθνη ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν τῶν λεχθησομένων παρακαλεῖ· καὶ ἔστιν γε ἐνταῦθα ἡ ὑπόσχεσις τοῦ Κυρίου λεγομένη περὶ τῆς κλήσεως τῶν προτέρον ἀπίστων πάντη καὶ ἀλλοτρίων τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐθνῶν, ὧν ἐν μέρει νοοῦνται καὶ αἱ λεγόμεναι νῆσοι, ψυχαὶ ὅσαι τὸ πάλαι πρότερον