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chaff is threshed, but according to Symmachus: and we will thresh, he says, Moab as the threshing of chaff into clay. Who are they that trample him and thresh him he next presents adding: "and the feet of the meek shall trample him and the steps of the poor and humble." I think that here Moab is said to be the evil demon and the opposing power formerly honored as a god among the Moabites, who since she was proud, rising up against the God of Israel. and afflicting the nation under her, so as to dare such things even against Moses himself, so as to make the people fornicate and "be initiated to Baal-peor;" this was the idol of the Moabites; for this reason the preceding things are prophesied concerning her as concerning some terrible and god-fighting power. And in the vision concerning Moab, concerning the same demon it was said to Moab herself: "because your alliance was lifted, and the ruler perished, trampling on the earth." Since, therefore, this wicked demon was considered fearsome by the people of the Jews, the present prophecy teaches the end that will succeed it at the time of the universal judgment of God in saying: And Moab will be trampled, and he will let go his hands; for in the way that he says he humbled others to destroy them, so also will he himself suffer similar things. But Symmachus: and we will thresh, he says, Moab under her as the threshing of chaff into clay; and he will spread his hands, being threshed and trampled, as a bather unfolds to swim, and his pride will be humbled along with the cataracts of his hands; and the fortress of the height of your walls will bend and be stuck to the earth. And his wall and fortress were his powers, with which he was fortified, which the word says will also themselves be cast down, and through the one wicked demon that once ruled the Moabites he also teaches what will happen to the rest of the so-called gods, leaving for us from one example to understand also the things that will come upon the other opposing powers. For it was necessary for us, having learned beforehand what the end of death and of the other opposing powers will be at the time of judgment, not to be ignorant of the destruction, after which, our Savior having received his kingdom on the heavenly mountain, those worthy of the promises will sing on that day the heavenly song "having come to be in the heavenly Jerusalem," which for the present the word has named Judea, corresponding to the land of the earthly Jerusalem; for in this way it also offered to the children of the Jewish people who were listening a certain delight and exhortation to hope for the things set forth. At the same time it also presented the true Judea, the land "of the heavenly Jerusalem," signifying its great breadth in some such way, that the place might be understood as Judea, but the devout commonwealth within it of the divine and evangelical spirits as "the city of God;" where, having come to be on that day, they will sing the song which is added. But what song will they sing who are indicated by the prophecy, from this point on the Holy Spirit through the prophet delivers, speaking in their own person and saying: Behold, a strong city is our salvation; for the city below on the earth was not strong, having often been captured by enemies, but this is truly a strong city of God, and this is our salvation. But according to Symmachus, those who sing the song will say: We have a strong city, but according to Aquila: a city of strength is our salvation, and the Hebrew word, instead of salvation and instead of savior, plainly contains thus the name of Jesus, with the same letters with which our Savior is written in Hebrew; therefore he himself, our Savior, will be the city of the blessed, he himself both their wall and rampart. And he himself will be all things to them, and with "the heavenly Jerusalem" being understood, it is consistent to understand also her gates the

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ἀλοᾶται ἄχυρα, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· καὶ ἀλοήσομέν φησι τὴν Μωὰβ ὡς ἀλοητὸν ἀχύρου εἰς πηλόν. τίνες δέ εἰσιν οἱ καταπατοῦντες αὐτὸν καὶ ἀλοῶντες ἑξῆς παρίστησιν ἐπιφέρων· «καὶ πατήσουσιν αὐτὸν πόδες πραέων καὶ ταπεινῶν βήματα πενήτων». οἶμαι δ' ἐνταῦθα Μωὰβ λέγεσθαι τὸν πονηρὸν δαίμονα καὶ τὴν ἀντικειμένην δύναμιν τὴν πάλαι παρὰ τοῖς Μωαβίταις ὡς θεὸν τιμωμένην, ἥτις ἐπειδὴ μέγα ἐφρόνει κατεπαιρομένη τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰσραήλ. καὶ τὸ ὑφ' ἑαυτὴν ἔθνος ἐπιτρίβουσα, ὡς καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ Μωσέως τοιαῦτα τολμῆσαι, ὡς ἐκπορνεῦσαι τὸν λαὸν καὶ «τελεσθῆναι τῷ Βεελφεγώρ»· τοῦτο δ' ἦν τὸ τῶν Μωαβιτῶν εἴδωλον· τούτου χάριν τὰ προκείμενα περὶ αὐτῆς ὡς περὶ δεινῆς τινος καὶ θεομάχου δυνάμεως προφητεύεται. καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁράσει δὲ τῇ περὶ τῆς Μωὰβ περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δαίμονος πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐλέγετο τὴν Μωάβ· «ὅτι ἤρθη ἡ συμμαχία σου, καὶ ὁ ἄρχων ἀπώλετο καταπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς». ἐπειδὴ οὖν φοβερός τις ἐνομίζετο τῷ Ἰουδαίων λαῷ ὁ πονηρὸς οὗτος δαίμων, τὸ διαδεξόμενον αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς καθολικῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως τέλος ἡ παροῦσα προφητεία διδάσκει ἐν τῷ λέγειν· καὶ καταπατηθήσεται ὁ Μωάβ, καὶ ἀνήσει τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ· ὃν τρόπον γὰρ αὐτός φησιν ἐταπείνωσεν ἑτέρους τοῦ ἀπολέσαι, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ ὅμοια πείσεται. ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· καὶ ἀλοήσομέν φησι τὴν Μωὰβ ὑποκάτω αὐτῆς ὡς ἀλοητὸν ἀχύρου εἰς πηλόν· καὶ ἐξαπλώσει τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἀλοώμενος καὶ καταπατούμενος καθὼς ἀναπλώσῃ ὁ λουόμενος εἰς τὸ κολυμβῆσαι, καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ὑπερηφανία αὐτοῦ σὺν τοῖς καταρράγμασι τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ· καὶ τὸ ὀχύρωμα τοῦ ὕψους τῶν τοίχων σου κύψει καὶ κολληθήσεται εἰς γῆν. τεῖχος δὲ καὶ ὀχύρωμα αὐτοῦ αἱ δυνάμεις ἦσαν αὐτοῦ, αἷς ὠχύρωτο, ἃς καὶ αὐτὰς καθαιρεθήσεσθαί φησιν ὁ λόγος, δι' ἑνὸς δὲ τοῦ πάλαι τῶν Μωαβιτῶν κρατήσαντος πονηροῦ δαίμονος καὶ τὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῖς δὴ νομισθεῖσι θεοῖς συμβήσομαι διδάσκει ἐξ ἑνὸς παραδείγματος ἡμῖν καταλείπων νοεῖν καὶ τὰ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἀντικειμέναις δυνάμεσιν ἐπελευσόμενα. Ἔδει γὰρ ἡμᾶς προμαθόντας, ὁποῖον ἔσται τοῦ θανάτου τὸ τέλος κατὰ τὸν τῆς κρίσεως καιρὸν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων, μὴ ἀγνοῆσαι τὴν ἀπώλειαν, μεθ' ἣν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὴν αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν ἀπειληφότος ἐν τῷ ἐπουρανίῳ ὄρει οἱ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ἄξιοι ᾄσονται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τὸ ἐπουράνιον ᾆσμα «ἐν τῇ ἐπουρανίῳ γενόμενοι Ἰερουσαλήμ», ἣν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος Ἰουδαίαν ὠνόμασεν ὁ λόγος, ἀκολούθως τῇ χώρᾳ τῆς ἐπιγείου Ἰερουσαλήμ· οὕτως γὰρ ὁμοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις τοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ παισὶ θυμηδίαν τινὰ καὶ προτροπὴν εἰς τὴν τῶν προκειμένων ἐλπίδα παρεῖχεν. ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀληθινὴν παρίστη Ἰουδαίαν «τῆς ἐπουρανίου Ἰερουσαλὴμ» τὴν χώραν καὶ τὸ μέγα πλάτος ὧδέ πη σημαίνων, ἵν' ὁ μὲν τόπος νοῆται Ἰουδαία, τὸ δ' ἐν αὐτῇ θεοσεβὲς πολίτευμα τῶν θείων καὶ εὐαγγελικῶν πνευμάτων «ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ πόλις»· ἔνθα γενόμενοι τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ᾄσονται τὸ ᾆσμα τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον. ποῖον δὲ ᾆσμα ᾄσονται οἱ διὰ τῆς προφητείας δηλούμενοι, ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου παραδίδωσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων προσώπου θεσπίζον καὶ λέγον· Ἰδοὺ πόλις ὀχυρὰ τὸ σωτήριον ἡμῶν· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἡ κάτω ἐπὶ γῆς πόλις ὀχυρὰ πολλάκις ὑπὸ πολεμίων ἁλοῦσα, αὕτη δὲ ἀληθῶς ὀχυρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τυγχάνει πόλις, καὶ τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ σωτήριον ἡμῶν. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον ἐροῦσιν οἱ ᾄδοντες τὸ ᾆσμα· Πόλιν ἰσχυρὰν ἔχομεν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· πόλις κράτους ἡμῖν σωτήριον, ἡ δὲ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις ἀντὶ τοῦ σωτηρίαν καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ σωτήριον τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ λευκῶς οὕτως περιέχει, αὐτοῖς γράμμασιν οἷς ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν Ἑβραϊκῶς γράφεται· αὐτὸς οὖν ἔσται ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν ἡ τῶν μακαρίων πόλις, αὐτὸς καὶ τεῖχος αὐτῶν καὶ περίτειχος. Καὶ πάντα αὐτοῖς αὐτὸς ἔσται, νοουμένης δὲ «Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίου» ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι νοεῖν καὶ πύλας αὐτῆς τὰς