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For he has shown this, having said: Nor will your name perish before me; for his name is to be called the people of God. Then imperatively: 20Depart from Babylon, fleeing from the Chaldeans. Then he foretells the cheerfulness that will come from this: Announce a voice of gladness, and let this be heard, announce it to the end of the earth, say that the Lord has delivered his servant Jacob 21and did not let him thirst, leading him through the desert, he will bring forth water for them from a rock, a rock will be split and water will flow, and my people will drink. He reminds them of their former freedom and how, having been delivered from the Egyptians and journeying through the desert, they enjoyed strange and wondrous streams. For in the return from Babylon we have learned of no such thing happening. And the Three Translators have likewise set this down as something that has already happened; for they say, "You channeled water for them from a rock, and broke a solid rock, and waters flowed." And according to the Seventy, the word alludes to the prophetic grace, which they enjoyed even in Babylon, drinking the divine streams through the holy prophets Daniel and Ezekiel, and that as in a desert of the Babylonians' impiety, they had prophecy as a kind of rock, offering them the saving |161 a| drink. And indeed, after the return, Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi offered these streams to them, and the wonderful Zerubbabel and Jesus the son of Jozadak, the high priest, being adorned with piety, set before them the divine teaching like water for the thirsty. 22There is no rejoicing for the wicked, says the Lord. Knowing these things, therefore, flee the company of the wicked. Here, having concluded this prophecy, he foretells salvation to the gentiles through what follows: 491 Hear, you islands, and pay attention, you nations, after a long time. The phrase, after a long time, Symmachus said: "Hearken, you nations from afar." The word calls islanders and continent-dwellers and those who inhabit the uttermost parts to the hearing of the oracles. And according to the Seventy, the phrase after a long time should be understood thus: The Lord of all promised Abraham that in his seed all the nations would be blessed; and he gave this promise to Isaac and to Jacob, and Jacob gave this blessing to Judah: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and he is the expectation of the nations," but a very great number of years had passed from the promise given to Abraham until the calling of the nations; for this reason the prophetic word says: Pay attention, you nations, after a long time. Then he adds: It shall stand, says the Lord, that is, the word of the promise; for the divine promise is true. He called me from the womb, and from my mother's belly he called my name. These things are spoken from the person of the Lord Christ, who is the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, through whom the nations received the promise. And he teaches that he received his name before his birth; for the holy Gabriel brought it from above and said to the virgin: "You shall bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 2And he made my mouth like a sharp sword, and under the shadow of his hand he hid me. For such is the discerning word brought forth by him to all men, and so he himself said: "I have not come to bring peace on the earth, but a sword, to divide a man from his neighbor, a son from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law." And indeed the divine apostle also says: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." He made me like a chosen arrow, and in his quiver he hid me. Likewise he has called these things figuratively, an arrow, as he who wounds the souls that love him, each of whom cries out: "I am wounded by love"; and a quiver the

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Τοῦτο γὰρ δεδήλωκεν εἰρηκώς· Οὐδὲ ἀπολεῖται τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ· ὄνομα γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ λαὸς θεοῦ χρηματίζειν. Εἶτα προστακτικῶς· 20Ἔξελθε ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος φεύγων ἀπὸ τῶν Χαλδαίων. Ἔπειτα τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐσομένην προλέγει ε ὐθυ μίαν· Φωνὴν εὐφροσύνης ἀναγγείλατε, καὶ ἀκουστὸν γενέσθω τοῦτο, ἀναγγείλατε ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς, λέγετε ὅτι ἐρρύσατο κύριος τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ Ἰακὼβ 21καὶ οὐκ εἴασεν αὐτὸν διψῆςαι δι' ἐρήμου ἀγαγὼν αὐτόν, ὕδωρ ἐκ πέτρας ἐξάξει αὐτοῖς, σχισθήσεται πέτρα καὶ ῥυήσεται ὕδωρ, καὶ πίεται ὁ λαός μου. Ἀναμιμνῄσκει αὐτοὺς τῆς προτέρας ἐλευθερίας καὶ ὅπως τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀπαλλα γέντες καὶ τὴν ἔρημον διοδεύοντες ξένων καὶ παραδόξων ναμάτων ἀπήλαυσαν. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος ἐπανόδῳ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον γεγενημένον ἐμάθομεν. Καὶ οἱ Τρεῖς δὲ ὁμοίως Ἑρμηνευταὶ ὡς ἤδη γεγενημένον τοῦτο τεθείκασιν· «Ὕδωρ» γάρ φασιν « ἐκ πέτρ ας ὠχέτευσας αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔρρηξε πέτραν στερεάν, καὶ ἔρρευσεν ὕδατα.» Καὶ κατὰ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα δὲ τὴν προφητικὴν ὁ λόγος αἰνίττεται χάριν, ἧς κἀν τῇ Βαβυλῶνι ἀπήλαυον τὰ θεῖα πίνοντες ῥεῖθρα διὰ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ∆ανιὴλ καὶ Ἰεζεκιήλ, καὶ ὅτι ὡς ἐν ἐρήμῳ τῇ τῶν Βαβυ λωνί ων δυσσεβείᾳ οἷόν τινα πέτραν ἔσχον τὴν προφητείαν ὀρέγουσαν αὐτοῖς τὸ σωτήριον |161 a| πόμα. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον Ἀγγαῖος καὶ Ζαχαρίας καὶ Μαλαχίας ταῦτα αὐτοῖς τὰ ῥ εῖθρα προσέφερον, καὶ ὁ θαυμάσιος δὲ Ζοροβάβελ καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ἰωσεδέκ, ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας, εὐσεβείᾳ κοσμούμενοι τὴν θείαν αὐτοῖς διδασκαλίαν καθάπερ ὕδωρ διψῶσι προὐτίθεσαν. 22Οὐκ ἔ<σ>τι χαίρειν τοῖς ἀσεβέσι, λέγει κύριος. Ταῦτα τοίνυν εἰδότες τὴν τῶν ἀσεβῶν φύγετε κοινωνίαν. Ἐνταῦθ α ταύτην συμπεράνας τὴν προφητείαν τοῖς ἔθνεσι διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς προαγορεύει τὴν σωτηρίαν· 491 Ἀκούσατε αἱ νῆσοι καὶ προσέχετε ἔθνη διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ. Τό· διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ, ὁ μὲν Σύμμαχος ἔφη· «Ἀκροᾶσθε ἔθνη μακρόθεν.» Καλεῖ δὲ ὁ λόγος καὶ νησιώτας καὶ ἠπειρώτας καὶ αὐτοὺς τὰς ἐσχατιὰς οἰκοῦντας εἰς τὴν τῶν θεσπιζομένων ἀκρόασιν. Καὶ κατὰ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα δὲ οὕτω νοητέον τὸ διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ· Τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὑπέσχετο τῶν ὅλων ὁ κύριος ἐν τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εὐλογήσειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· ταύτην δὲ καὶ τῷ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῷ Ἰακὼβ ἔδωκε τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ταύτην καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ τῷ Ἰούδᾳ δέδωκεν εὐλογίαν· «Οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται, καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν», πλεῖστος δὲ διεληλύθει ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸς ἐκ τῆς δοθείσης τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἐπαγγελίας μέχρι τῆς κλήσεως τῶν ἐθνῶν· διὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος· Προσέχετε ἔθνη διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ. Εἶτα ἐπάγει· Στήσεται, λέγει κύριος, τουτέστι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὁ λόγος· ἀψευδὴς γὰρ ἡ θεία ὑπόσχεσις. Ἐκ γαστρὸς ἐκάλεσέ με καὶ ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομά μου. Ταῦτα ἐκ προσώπου εἴρηται τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστι σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ κατὰ σάρκα, δι' οὗ τὰ ἔθνη τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀπέλαβεν. Καὶ διδάσκει ὡς πρὸ τοῦ τόκου τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐδέξατο· ὁ γὰρ ἅγιος Γαβριὴλ ταύτην ἐκόμισεν ἄνωθεν καὶ τῇ παρθένῳ ἔφη· «Τέξῃ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, ὅτι αὐτὸς σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτοῦ.» 2Καὶ ἔθηκε τὸ στόμα μου ὡς μάχαιραν ὀξεῖαν καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ἔκρυψέ με. Τοιοῦτος γὰρ ὁ διακριτικὸς λόγος ὁ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις προσε νεχθείς, οὕτω δὲ καὶ αὐτ ὸς ἔφη· «Οὐκ ἦλθον βαλεῖν εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν διχάσαι ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, υἱὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, θυγατέρα ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ νύμφην ἀπὸ τῆς πενθερᾶς αὐτῆς.» Καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολός φησιν· «Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διικνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας.» Ἔθηκέ με ὡς βέλος ἐκλεκτὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ φαρέτρᾳ αὐτοῦ ἔκρυψέ με. Ὁμοίως καὶ ταῦτα τροπικῶς κέκληκε, βέλος μὲν αὐτὸν τὸν τιτρώσκοντα τὰς ἐρώσας αὐτοῦ ψυχάς, ὧν ἑκάστη βοᾷ· «Τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ»· φαρέτραν δὲ τὸ