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by distancing herself from the light she has become vulnerable to the enemies, so as to come to an utter fall by not even having a wall surrounding and guarding her. For she was destroyed by the one who said: “I will take away its hedge, and it will be for plundering, and I will tear down its wall, and it will be for trampling.” Nevertheless, even if she has suffered these things, with a disposition towards them the prophet continues in order, saying: Who will set me to guard stubble in a field? For even if “instead of grapes it brought forth thorns” and became “uncultivated land,” so as to have nothing more than stubble, nevertheless he loved to guard her even being in such a state. But according to Symmachus it is said: Who will give me uncultivated and abandoned land in war? and it has the same meaning with them too. "Therefore," he says, "I wished to be a guard of the aforementioned field or of the indicated vineyard or of the once-fortified city. But having become hostile to me, she made me reject her, and so much so as even to hand her over to fire after the siege. Therefore the prophecy reasonably adds: I am burned up, the inhabitants in her will cry out. For the fire of God's judgment will compel them to confess even if they are unwilling, but they, having become enemies of God, had such an end, but we, being of another order, as if having been disciplined by what they have suffered, let us make peace with him. But the prophetic word says these things to his own people and those who happen to be of his portion, addressing them, counseling and exhorting. Therefore, he says, let us make peace with him, all who are coming. And who these are, he presents through the following words, saying: Children of Jacob, Israel will sprout and blossom, and the world will be filled with his fruit, clearly alluding to the apostolic choir. For the apostles became children of Jacob, since they came forth from the nation of the Jews and have sprouted from "Israel according to the flesh," and they blossomed a good sprout and a fragrant flower, so as to fill the whole world with their fragrance. Next to these things it is said: Will he be struck in the same way he himself struck? And in the way he himself killed, will he thus be killed? The meaning of the saying is this: Did they who preached peace to them render evil for evil to the gentiles? For the one group persecuted, striking them and inflicting blows upon them, but the other group proclaimed the most beautiful tidings of peace to them. Therefore did those from the gentiles who wronged the heralds of peace suffer the same things? For they were striking, but they were not struck in return, and they were killing, but they were not killed in return. And fighting and reviling they persecuted them and sent them away, but they did not retreat from peace and from proclaiming good news to them. Wherefore, as to the unbelievers among the gentiles, the word says next: Were you not the one meditating with a harsh spirit to destroy them with a spirit of wrath? For the unbelievers from the gentiles were meditating these things against the apostles of our Savior, being possessed by a harsh spirit and thinking of nothing else than how they might destroy them with the spirit of wrath in them. But since, suffering such things, those who sprouted from Jacob and blossomed from Israel bore all things nobly for Christ's sake. For this reason he adds: The iniquity of Jacob will be taken away, and this is his blessing, when they take away his sin. For he says these things will become causes of the forgiveness of the sins of Jacob, and for these reasons the blessing will come upon him as his sin is taken away from him. For if “she will be saved through childbearing, if they remain in faith and love and holiness with self-control,” according to the Apostle, it is consistent that Jacob, having sprouted children and having blossomed such a fruit, should share in their blessing through their virtue. But the word signifies that many will be saved through the apostolic grace and of those who are near to them according to the flesh. But he says these things will especially be, when the aforementioned children

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τὸ ἑαυτὴν μακρύναι τοῦ φωτὸς εὐάλωτος γεγένηται τοῖς πολεμίοις, ὡς καὶ εἰς ἐσχάτην ἐλθεῖν πτῶσιν τῷ μηδὲ τεῖχος ἔχειν τὸ περιφράττον καὶ φυλάττον αὐτήν. καθῄρητο γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ φήσαντος· «καθελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς διαρπαγήν, καὶ καθελῶ τὸν τοῖχον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα». Ὅμως δ' οὖν, εἰ καὶ ταῦτα πέπονθε, διαθέσει τῇ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ προφήτης ἑξῆς ἐπάγει λέγων· τίς με θήσει φυλάσσειν καλάμην ἐν ἀγρῷ; εἰ γὰρ καὶ «ἀντὶ σταφυλῆς ἀκάνθας ἤνεγκε» καὶ γέγονε «χέρσος», ὡς μηδὲν πλέον ἔχειν καλάμης, ὅμως δ' οὖν ἠγάπα καὶ οὕτως ἔχουσαν αὐτὴν φυλάττειν. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· τίς δώσει με χέρσον καὶ ἀφειμένον ἐν πολέμῳ; ἰσοδυναμεῖ δὲ καὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς· ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν φησιν ἐβουλόμην φύλαξ εἶναι τοῦ προλεχθέντος ἀγροῦ ἢ τοῦ δηλωθέντος ἀμπελῶνος ἢ τῆς ποτε ὀχυρᾶς πόλεως. ἡ δὲ πολεμία μοι γενομένη ἐποίησέ με ἀθετῆσαι αὐτήν, καὶ τοσοῦτον ὡς καὶ πυρὶ παραδοῦναι αὐτὴν μετὰ τὴν πολιορκίαν. Εἰκότως οὖν ἐπιλέγει ἡ προφητεία· κατακέκαυμαι, βοήσονται οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ· τὸ γὰρ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κρίσεως πῦρ καὶ μὴ βουλομένους αὐτοὺς ἐξομολογήσασθαι καταναγκάσει, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν πολέμιοι τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενοι τοιοῦτον ἔσχον τὸ τέλος, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἑτέρου τάγματος ὄντες ὡς ἂν σωφρονισθέντες, ἀφ' ὧν ἐκεῖνοι πεπόνθασιν, εἰρήνην ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ. ταῦτα δὲ ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος τοῖς οἰκείοις καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ μερίδος τυγχάνουσιν προσφωνεῖ συμβουλεύων καὶ παραινῶν· διόπερ εἰρήνην ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ φησι, πάντες οἱ ἐρχόμενοι. τίνες δέ εἰσιν οὗτοι, διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς παρίστησι φάσκων· τέκνα Ἰακώβ, βλαστήσει καὶ ἐξανθήσει Ἰσραήλ, καὶ πλησθήσεται ἡ οἰκουμένη τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ, σαφῶς τὸν χορὸν τὸν ἀποστολικὸν αἰνιττόμενος. ἐγενήθησαν γοῦν οἱ ἀπόστολοι τέκνα Ἰακώβ, ἅτε δὴ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους προελθόντες καὶ ἐκ τοῦ «κατὰ σάρκα Ἰσραὴλ» βεβλαστηκότες, καὶ ἐξήνθησαν βλαστὸν ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἄνθος εὐωδές, ὡς τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν τῆς αὐτῶν εὐωδίας ἀποπληρῶσαι· Τούτοις ἑξῆς εἴρηται· μὴ ὡς αὐτὸς ἐπάταξε, καὶ αὐτὸς οὕτως πληγήσεται; καὶ ὡς αὐτὸς ἀνεῖλεν, οὕτως ἀναιρεθήσεται; ὁ δὲ νοῦς τοῦ λόγου οὕτως ἐστί· μή τι κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπεδίδοσαν οἱ κηρύττοντες αὐτοῖς εἰρήνην; οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐδίωκον τύπτοντες αὐτοὺς καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιτιθέντες αὐτοῖς, οἱ δὲ τὰ κάλλιστα αὐτοῖς τὴν εἰρήνην εὐηγγελίζοντο. μήτι οὖν τὰ ἴσα ἔπασχον οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἀδικοῦντες τοὺς τῆς εἰρήνης κήρυκας; ἔτυπτον μὲν γάρ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀντετύπτοντο, καὶ ἀνῄρουν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀντανῃροῦντο· καὶ μαχόμενοι δὲ καὶ ὀνειδίζοντες ἐδίωκον αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐξαπέστελλον, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἀνεχώρουν τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τοῦ τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῖς εὐαγγελίζεσθαι. διὸ ὥσπερ τοὺς ἀπίστους τῶν ἐθνῶν ἑξῆς ὁ λόγος φησίν· οὐ σὺ ἦσθα ὁ μελετῶν τῷ πνεύματι τῷ σκληρῷ ἀνελεῖν αὐτοὺς πνεύματι θυμοῦ; ταῦτα γὰρ ἐμελέτων οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἄπιστοι κατὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πνεύματι σκληρῷ κατεχόμενοι καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον διανοούμενοι, ἢ ὅπως ἀνέλωσιν αὐτοὺς τῷ ἐν αὐτοῖς πνεύματι τοῦ θυμοῦ. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τοιαῦτα πάσχοντες οἱ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ βλαστήσαντες καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐξανθήσαντες ἔφερον πάντα γενναίως διὰ τὸν Χριστόν. τούτου χάριν ἐπιλέγει· ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἡ ἀνομία Ἰακώβ, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ εὐλογία αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀφέλωσι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα γάρ φησιν αἴτια γενήσεται τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν Ἰακὼβ καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἥξει ἡ εὐλογία ἀφαιρουμένης αὐτῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· εἰ γὰρ «σωθήσεται διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας, ἐὰν μείνωσιν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης» κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι καὶ τὸν Ἰακὼβ τέκνα βλαστήσαντα καὶ τὸν τοιοῦτον καρπὸν ἐξανθήσαντα διὰ τῆς τούτων ἀρετῆς κοινωνῆσαι τῇ αὐτῶν εὐλογίᾳ. σημαίνει δὲ ὁ λόγος πολλοὺς διὰ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς χάριτος καὶ τῶν κατὰ σάρκα γειτνιώντων αὐτοῖς σωθήσεσθαι. μάλιστα δὲ ταῦτα ἔσεσθαί φησιν, ὅταν τὰ προλεχθέντα τέκνα