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Both accuse the blasphemies of Rabshakeh, and they prophesy also the destruction that has come upon the impious. For this reason, it also has the inscription of a chorus, which those who have obtained salvation certainly made, and hymning God. And "for the end" is added because the prophecy received its end later in time. [This is the meaning that the present psalm also has through its inscription. And hear what the Prophet says:] βʹ. "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God." For not only against the so-called gods, but also against Him who truly is did he move his tongue, saying, "Were the gods of the nations able to deliver their own land from my hand?" [It is clear that those were not able; for how could they be able, being nothing themselves?] that the Lord will deliver Jerusalem? [See, O lawless one, to what a height you have tossed up the tongue of your speech. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.] Where is the god of Hamath, and where is the god of Arpad? and where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? [And those who are called gods by the foolish a little later brought their verdict against the avenger.] "They are corrupt and have become abominable in their iniquities." The cause, he says, of impiety is a lawless life. For doing anything whatever without fear, they are not willing to take into their mind God who watches over them, but they have persuaded themselves that no one is at the helm of creation. "There is none that does good." All, he says, of the Assyrians loved wickedness, [And as many as worship their ways, are foolish; in whatever places or dignities or ranks they may be; not considering that] 80.1261 γʹ. "God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that did understand, or that did seek God." But nevertheless the God disbelieved by them, who dwells in the heights and looks upon the humble things, wished to make an examination of the things being done. δʹ. "They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy;" [all who hold to the same opinion;] "there is none that does good, no, not one." He found, he says, all turned aside from the straight path, and embracing every form of wickedness. εʹ. "Shall not all the workers of iniquity know?" [What shall they know? That God the Lord will avenge; and who are these? Through the following words he said:] "Who eat up my people as they eat bread?" [the unbelievers, clearly; and he reveals their disease more clearly by saying:] ʹ. "They have not called upon God." But indeed through experience they will learn the penalty for injustice, they who try to consume my people like some bread, and who despise God their guardian. "There they will fear a fear, where no fear was." For I will make them tremble and be distressed, with the things terrifying them not being visible, but with the punishment being inflicted invisibly. And through these words he signifies the plague brought upon them by the angel. "For God has scattered the bones of men-pleasers; they were put to shame, because God has despised them." Aquila and Symmachus interpreted "scattered the bones of men-pleasers" thus: For God has scattered the bones of those encamped around you. [For their sentence of death and utter destruction came upon them, and wiped them all out in the short turning of a moment; for this is what he says, They were put to shame because God has despised them.] For this reason, he says, they will fear a fear where no fear was, since God, who was blasphemed by them, seeing them unjustly encamped beside his city, gave them over to destruction, setting them forth as food for birds and beasts, and scattered their bones. And one would not err in also calling Rabshakeh a men-pleaser, who, being born of the Hebrews, sharpened blasphemous words against the God of all, 80.1264 thinking thereby to serve the Assyrians. [As also some who forsook God were abandoned by him; I mean those under Julian the Apostate who was ruling at that time.] ζʹ. "Who will give the salvation of Israel out of Zion?" He who has granted us this pleasure, he says, this one also to those who have already become captives

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Ῥαψάκου βλασφημίας κατηγοροῦσιν ἀμφότεροι, προθεσπίζουσι δὲ καὶ τὸν γεγενημένον τῶν δυσσεβῶν ὄλεθρον. Οὗ δὴ χάριν, καὶ χορείας ἔσχηκεν ἐπιγραφὴν, ἣν ἐποιήσαντο πάντως οἱ τῆς σωτηρίας τετυχηκότες. καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνοῦντες. Καὶ εἰς τὸ τέλος δὲ πρόσκειται διὰ τὸ χρόνῳ ὕστερον εἰληφέναι τὴν προφητείαν τὸ τέλος. [Ταύτην ἔχει τὴν ἔννοιαν διὰ τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς καὶ ὁ παρὼν ψαλμός. Καὶ ἀκούσατε τί φησιν ὁ Προφήτης·] βʹ. "Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὑτοῦ, Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός." Οὐ γὰρ μόνον κατὰ τῶν καλουμένων θεῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τοῦ ἀληθῶς ὄντος τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκί νησε λέγων, "Μὴ ἠδυνήθησαν οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ῥύσασθαι τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν ἐκ χειρός μου;" [ἐκεῖ νοι μὲν δῆλον ὅτι οὐκ ἠδύναντο· πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἠδύ ναντο αὐτοὶ μηδὲν ὑπάρχοντες;] ὅτι ῥύσεται Κύριος τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ; [Βλέπε, παράνομε, πρὸς πηλίκον ὕψος ἀνεσφαίρισας τὴν τοῦ λόγου σου γλῶτταν. Σκλη ρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν.] Ποῦ ὁ θεὸς Ἐμὰθ, καὶ ποῦ ὁ θεὸς Ἀρφάδ; καὶ ποῦ ὁ θεὸς τῆς πόλεως Σεφαρείμ; [Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν οἱ καλούμενοι παρὰ τῶν ἀφρόνων θεοὶ μικρὰν ὕστερον τῷ ἀλάστορι ἀπηνέγκαντο ψῆφον.] "∆ιεφθάρησαν καὶ ἐβδελύχθησαν ἐν ἀνο μίαις." Αἴτιος, φησὶ, τῆς ἀσεβείας ὁ παράνομος βίος. Ἀδεῶς γὰρ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν δρῶντες, εἰς νοῦν λα βεῖν οὐκ ἐθέλουσι. τὸν ἐφορῶντα Θεὸν, ἀλλὰ πεπεί κασι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς, μηδένα τοῖς τῆς κτίσεως οἴαξιν ἐφεστάναι. "Οὐκ ἔστι ποιῶν ἀγαθόν." Ἅπαντες, φησὶ, τῶν Ἀσσυρίων τὴν πονηρίαν ἠγάπησαν, [Καὶ ὅσοι τὰ ἐκείνων θρησκεύουσιν, ἀφρονοῦσιν· ἐν οἷς ἂν ὦσι τόπων ἢ ἀξιώμασιν ἢ βαθμῶν· μὴ ἐπιλογιζόμενοι, ὅτι] 80.1261 γʹ. "Ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διέκυψεν ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· τοῦ ἰδεῖν, εἰ ἔστι συνιὼν, ἢ ἐκζητῶν τὸν Θεόν." Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὁ ἀπιστούμενος παρ' αὐτῶν Θεὸς, ὁ ἐν ὑψηλοῖς κατοικῶν, καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ ἐφορῶν, ἐξέτασιν ἠβουλήθη τῶν δρω μένων ποιήσασθαι. δʹ. "Πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἅμα ἠχρειώθησαν·" [πάν τες οἱ τῆς ἴσης ἀντεχόμενοι γνώμης·] "οὐκ ἔστι ποιῶν ἀγαθὸν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός." Εὗρε, φησὶν, ἅπαντας τῆς εὐθείας ἐκτραπέντας πορείας, πᾶν δὲ κακίας εἶδος ἀσπασαμένους. εʹ. "Οὐχὶ γνώσονται πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν." [Τί γνώσονται; ὅτι Θεὸς ἐκδικήσει Κύριος· καὶ τίνες οὗτοι; ∆ιὰ τῶν ἑξῆς ἔφησεν·] "Οἱ κατεσθίοντες τὸν λαόν μου ἐν βρώσει ἄρτου;" [οἱ ἄπιστοι δηλονότι· καὶ τὴν νόσον αὐτῶν σαφέ στερον φανεροῖ, διὰ τοῦ εἰπεῖν·] ʹ. "Τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἐπεκαλέσαντο." Ἀλλὰ μὴν διὰ τῆς πείρας μαθήσονται τῆς ἀδικίας τὸ ἐπιζήμιον, οἱ καθάπερ ἄρτον τινὰ τὸν ἐμὸν λαὸν ἀναλίσκειν πει ρώμενοι, καὶ τοῦ κηδεμόνος καταφρονοῦντες Θεοῦ. "Ἐκεῖ φοβηθήσονται φόβον, οὗ οὐκ ἦν φόβος." Πεφρικέναι γὰρ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀδημονεῖν ποιήσω, τῶν δεδιττομένων οὐ φαινομένων, ἀλλ' ἀφανῶς ἐπιφερομένης τῆς τιμωρίας. Σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τού των, τὴν διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῖς ἐπενεχθεῖσαν πληγήν. "Ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς διεσκόρπισεν ὀστᾶ ἀνθρωπ αρέσκων· κατῃσχύνθησαν, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἐξουδένωσεν αὐτούς." Ὁ Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος τὸ, ∆ιεσκόρπισεν ὀστᾶ ἀνθρωπαρέσκων, οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν· Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς διεσκόρπισεν ὀστᾶ παρεμβαλόν των περὶ σέ. [Ἐπέστη γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡ θανατικὴ καὶ πανωλέθριος ψῆφος, καὶ ἅπαντας ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ ἐξηφάνισεν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὃ λέγει, Κατῃσχύνθησαν ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἐξουδένωσεν αὐτούς.] ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γὰρ, φησὶ, φοβηθήσονται φόβον οὗ οὐκ ἦν φόβος, ἐπειδὴ ὁ βλασφημηθεὶς ὑπὸ αὐτῶν Θεὸς ἀδί κως αὐτοὺς παρεμβεβληκότας παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ πόλιν ἰδὼν, ὀλέθρῳ παρέδωκεν, οἰωνοῖς τε καὶ θηρίοις αὐ τοὺς προθήσας βορὰν, καὶ τὰ τούτων ὀστᾶ δι εσκόρπισεν. Οὐκ ἂν δέ τις ἁμάρτοι καὶ τὸν Ῥαψάκην ἀνθρωπάρεσκον ὀνομάσας, ὃς ἐξ Ἑβραίων φὺς, βλασφήμους λόγους κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἠκόν 80.1264 τισε, ταύτῃ τοὺς Ἀσσυρίους θεραπεύειν οἰόμενος. [ ̔Ως καί τινες ἀφέντες τὸν Θεὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐγκατ ελείφθησαν· οἱ κατὰ Ἰουλιανὸν, φημὶ, τὸν Παραβά την τὸν τηνικαῦτα βασιλεύσαντα.] ζʹ. "Τίς δώσει ἐκ Σιὼν τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Ἰσ ραήλ;" Ὁ ταύτην ἡμῖν, φησὶ, τὴν ἡδονὴν χαρι σάμενος, οὗτος καὶ τοῖς ἤδη γεγενημένοις αἰχμ αλώτοις