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is contained; wherefore it is not even found among the other interpreters and otherwise from the context of the thought it is shown to be superfluous. But otherwise, he says, it is still time: gather produce year upon year, you will eat. For after the things that will happen, he will no longer permit you to gather produce so as to be nourished in security and peace; for I will afflict Ariel, that is, Jerusalem. But instead of: And her strength and her wealth shall be mine, Symmachus says: and she will be mournful and grieving and she will be to me as Ariel, and Aquila similarly: and she will be, he says, sorrowful and grieving Ariel. But since in the prophecy concerning Moab a certain city of the Moabites was called Ariel, about which it was said: "and I will take away the seed of Moab and Ariel," it is fitting that he also says concerning Jerusalem, that she will be to me like that Ariel of the foreigners. Then it is added: and I will encamp against you like David; for just as David once encircled you, Jerusalem, with an encampment, when you were a city of foreigners, so I, the Lord who says these things, will now encircle you. just as David then, and I will cast up a palisade against you; for now also you have become a dwelling place of foreigners, having been filled with evil rulers and "the crown of pride." These things were fulfilled after what was dared by the inhabitants of Jerusalem against our Savior, in accordance with which the Savior himself is recorded to have once lamented over Jerusalem, saying: "If you had known, even you, the things that make for your peace, that days will come upon you, and your enemies will cast a palisade against you and will encircle you," "and you will be dashed to the ground." To which he adds: and the wealth of the ungodly in it, he says, will be like dust from a wheel and like chaff carried away, and all these things will be "in a moment of time," and it will be like a moment, at once, from the Lord of Sabaoth; for not from men, he says, but from God himself will be the visitation against them with thunder and earthquake and a great voice, a rushing tempest and a flame of devouring fire. by which he hinted that indeed "the city will be burned with fire" from above, from God, with thunder and earthquake and tempest brought against it. These things, then, are about Jerusalem. The discourse, having discussed those who besieged her, next prophesies: and the wealth of those who warred against Mount Zion will be like one who dreams in his sleep. By which he hinted at the enjoyment of the luxury of the Roman rulers in this life; for these were the ones who brought the final siege against Jerusalem. For it was necessary for us to learn something also about them and to be taught what their end would be. He says, therefore, that their wealth and luxury, which exists for the duration of the present life, resembles those who dream in their sleep and seem to possess those things which they imagine; for such is the illusion of present wealth. For after the present life, the dream and the end of the luxury they thought they enjoyed will be found vain for them. 1.96 Instead of: Be faint and be astonished and what follows, Symmachus translated thus: Be exceedingly amazed and be amazed, be deluded and be drunk without wine, be moved without intoxication; for the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of stupor and has shut your eyes, and has covered your prophets and your rulers who see. The discourse, having completed the prophecy concerning "the crown of pride," and that concerning the siege of Jerusalem, the matters set forth, goes on to prophesy concerning those who seemed to preside over the people of the circumcision after these things, that they will indeed recite the prophetic writings, but not understand them; for they differ in no way from things sealed with seals, so that none of the Jewish people can read what is written; thus the prophetic words will be unknown to them, whether they recite them from memory, or whether they are ignorant of them. But as he is about to prophesy these things, the word cries out to them: if

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περιέχεται· διὸ οὐδὲ παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἑρμηνευταῖς φέρεται καὶ ἄλλως ἐκ τῆς συμφράσεως τῆς διανοίας περιττὸν δείκνυται. πλὴν ἄλλως ἔτι καιρός ἐστί φησι· συναγάγετε γενήματα ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπ' ἐνιαυτόν, φάγεσθε. Μετὰ γὰρ τὰ συμβησόμενα οὐκέθ' ὑμῖν ἐπιτρέψει συναγαγεῖν γενήματα ὡς ἐπ' ἀδείας καὶ εἰρήνης τρέφεσθαι· ἐκθλίψω γὰρ Ἀριὴλ δηλαδὴ τὴν Ἰερουσαλήμ. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἔσται αὐτῆς ἡ ἰσχὺς καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος ἐμοί, ὁ Σύμμαχος· καὶ ἔσται φησὶ κατώδυνος καὶ ὀδυνωμένη καὶ ἔσται μοι ὡς ὁ Ἀριήλ, καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ὁμοίως· καὶ ἔσται φησὶ λυπηρὰ καὶ λυπουμένη Ἀριήλ. ἀλλ' ἐπειδήπερ ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ τῇ περὶ τῆς Μωὰβ ἐλέγετό τις πόλις τῶν Μωαβιτῶν Ἀριήλ, περὶ ἧς εἴρητο· «καὶ ἀρῶ τὸ σπέρμα Μωὰβ καὶ Ἀριήλ», εἰκότως καὶ περὶ τῆς Ἰερουσαλήμ φησιν, ὅτι ἔσται μοι ὁμοία ἐκείνῃ τῇ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων Ἀριήλ. Εἶθ' ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγεται· καὶ κυκλώσω ὡς ∆αυὶδ ἐπὶ σέ· ὥσπερ γάρ ποτε ∆αυὶδ παρεμβολὴν περὶ σὲ τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐκύκλωσεν, ὅτε ἀλλοφύλων οὖσαν πόλιν, οὕτως κἀγὼ ὁ ταῦτα λέγων κύριος νῦν σε κυκλώσω. ὥσπερ τότε ὁ ∆αυίδ, καὶ βαλῶ περὶ σὲ χάρακα· ἀλλοφύλων γὰρ καὶ νῦν οἰκητήριον γέγονας πληρωθεῖσα κακῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ «τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς ὕβρεως». ἅπερ ἐπληροῦτο μετὰ τὰ τολμηθέντα τοῖς τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ οἰκοῦσι κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀκολούθως, οἷς καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ ἀποκλαυσάμενός ποτε τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναγέγραπται εἰρηκώς· «Εἰ ἔγνως καὶ σύ γε τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην σου, ὅτι ἥξουσιν ἡμέραι ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ παρεμβαλοῦσιν ἐπὶ σὲ οἱ ἐχθροί σου χάρακα καὶ κυκλώσουσί σε», «καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐδαφισθήσῃ». Οἷς ἐπιλέγει· καὶ ἔσονταί φησιν ὡς κονιορτὸς ἀπὸ τροχοῦ ὁ πλοῦτος τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ὡς χνοῦς φερόμενος, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἔσται «ἐν στιγμῇ χρόνου», καὶ ἔσται ὡς στιγμὴ παραχρῆμα παρὰ κυρίου σαβαώθ· οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων φησίν, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἔσται κατ' αὐτῶν ἡ ἐπισκοπὴ μετὰ βροντῆς καὶ σεισμοῦ καὶ φωνῆς μεγάλης, καταιγὶς φερομένη καὶ φλὸξ πυρὸς κατεσθίουσα. δι' ὧν ᾐνίξατο ὡς ἄρα καὶ «πυρίκαυστος γενήσεται ἡ πόλις» ἄνωθεν ἐκ θεοῦ βροντῆς καὶ σεισμοῦ καὶ καταιγίδος κατ' αὐτῆς ἐνεχθείσης. ταῦτα δὲ περὶ τῆς Ἰερουσαλήμ. ∆ιελθὼν ὁ λόγος περὶ τῶν πολιορκησάντων αὐτὴν ἑξῆς θεσπίζει· καὶ ἔσται ὡς ὁ ἐνυπνιαζόμενος καθ' ὕπνους ὁ πλοῦτος τῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος Σιὼν στρατευσαμένων. δι' ὧν ᾐνίξατο τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῆς ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ τρυφῆς τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν ἀρχόντων· οὗτοι γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ τὴν ἐσχάτην πολιορκίαν ἐπαγαγόντες τῇ Ἰερουσαλήμ. ἐχρῆν γὰρ ἡμᾶς καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν τι μαθεῖν καὶ ὁποῖον ἔσται καὶ τὸ αὐτῶν τέλος διδαχθῆναι. φησὶν οὖν τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν τρυφὴν αὐτῶν μέχρι τῆς ἐνεστώσης ζωῆς ὑπάρχουσαν ἐοικέναι τοῖς κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὀνειρώττουσι καὶ μέχρι τοῦ δοκεῖν διακατέχειν ταῦτα ἅπερ νομίζουσι· τοιαύτην γὰρ εἶναι τὴν τοῦ παρόντος πλούτου φαντασίαν. μετὰ γὰρ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα βίον μάταιον αὐτοῖς εὑρεθήσεται τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ τὸ τέλος, ἧς ἐνόμιζον ἀπολαύειν τρυφῆς. 1.96 Ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἐκλύθητε καὶ ἔκστητε καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς, ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν· ὑπερθαυμάσατε καὶ θαυμάσατε, ἀπατᾶσθε καὶ μεθύσθητε ἄνευ οἴνου, κινεῖσθε δίχα μεθύσματος· ἐκέρασε γὰρ καθ' ὑμῶν κύριος πνεῦμα καρώσεως καὶ ἐκράτυνε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς προφήτας καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας ὑμῶν τοὺς ὁρῶντας ἐκάλυψεν. συντελέσας ὁ λόγος τὴν περὶ «τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς ὕβρεως», τήν τε περὶ τῆς πολιορκίας τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ προφητείαν τὰ προκείμενα, περὶ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα προεστάναι δοκούντων τοῦ ἐκ περιτομῆς λαοῦ διεξέρχεται θεσπίζων, ὡς ἔσονται μὲν ἀπαγγέλλοντες τὰς προφητικὰς γραφάς, οὐ μὴν καὶ συνιέντες αὐτάς· μηδὲν γὰρ διαφέρειν τῶν κατεσφραγισμένων σφραγῖσιν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ δύνασθαί τινα τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ τὰ ἐγγεγραμμένα διαγινώσκειν· οὕτως αὐτοῖς ἀγνώστους ἔσεσθαι τοὺς προφητικοὺς λόγους, κἄν τε ἀπαγγέλλωσιν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ στόματος, κἄν τε ἄπειροι ὦσιν αὐτῶν. μέλλων δὲ ταῦτα θεσπίζειν ἐκφωνεῖ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ λόγος· εἰ