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and let him go up. Having written these things for everyone, he clearly decreed a common return for all Jews who wished it. It is therefore clear that when the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah was fulfilled in the first year of Cyrus according to the divine scripture, the 70th year of the captivity was completed. And as we count back from the first year of Cyrus himself to the fourth year of Jehoiakim, we find the 70 years beginning thus: Cyrus, year 1. Darius Astyages, 17 years. Neriglissar, also called Belshazzar, 3 years. Evil-merodach, 5 years. Nebuchadnezzar, 24 years. Zedekiah, 11 years. of the two Jeconiahs, year 1. Jehoiakim, 8 years. Altogether it becomes 70 years from the third year of Jehoiakim until the first year of Cyrus. For when the third year of Jehoiakim was ending and the fourth beginning, the reign of Nebuchadnezzar began, and the prophecy came to Jeremiah against all the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, reminding them, how from the 13th year of Josiah until this 23rd year they had disobeyed God who was sparing them and sending out the prophets for the correction of their idolatry, and they did not pay attention to them. at which time also the sentence of desolation was given and the seventy-year period was decreed through the mouth of Jeremiah, and the desolation of the Chaldeans happened in the same year as the recall of the Jews, at the beginning of the reign of Cyrus, who was the first to rule the Persians. The wording of the prophecy has these things: the word that came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim. For this reason, thus says the Lord. Because you have not believed my words, behold, I will send and take the family of the north and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all the nations that are around it. And I will utterly desolate them and I will give them over to destruction and to an everlasting hissing, and I will destroy from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice 280 of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the smell of ointment and the light of a lamp. And all the land shall be for destruction, and they will serve among the nations for 70 years. And when the 70 years are completed, I will punish that nation, says the Lord, and I will make them an everlasting destruction. It is indeed clear to those who wish to understand correctly that the divine sentence of 70 years against the house of Judah and Jerusalem was brought forth from the 4th year of Jehoiakim, and from this time they served the nations. For in the same year Nebuchadnezzar, having defeated Pharaoh Necho, who had established Jehoiakim to rule Jerusalem after deposing Jehoahaz son of Josiah and removing him to Egypt, went up against Jehoiakim, and he became his servant for 3 years. And when he rebelled, he took him captive along with the leaders of the people and the mightiest warriors, and the craftsmen and all the remaining chosen sacred ones, as it is written there, so that this was properly a captivity, apart from the burning of the house of the Lord and of the city. From the time, therefore, that they served the nations, that is, the Chaldeans, and the divine sentence was brought forth against them in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, until the 1st year of Cyrus, the years counted amount to exactly 70 without any force and without any subtraction or addition of years whatsoever. But all the other ways of calculating these same 70 years are by nature forced. And let no one suppose this to be outside the truth, that we reckon the 1st year of the captivity 20 years before the final captivity. For the divine oracle concerning the promises to Abraham also shows this having happened; for he said that his seed would be in bondage for 400 years in a foreign land before Isaac and Jacob and the patriarchs were born. But all count the number of these same 400 years from the divine decree. It is not strange, therefore, here also to count the period of the 70 years of the sojourn in Babylon and of the servitude in Judea from the divine decree spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, which, as has often been said, was brought forth in the 4th year of Jehoiakim. And this same fourth year of Jehoiakim, the first

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καὶ ἀναβήτω. Ταῦτα κατὰ παντὸς γράψας δηλονότι κοινῇ τὴν ἐπάνοδον πᾶσιν Ἰουδαίοις ἐθέσπισε τοῖς βουλομένοις. πρόδηλον ἄρα ὅτι πληρωθέντος ῥήματος κυρίου τοῦ λαληθέντος ἐν στόματι Ἱερεμίου τῷ αʹ ἔτει Κύρου κατὰ τὴν θείαν γραφὴν τὸ οʹ ἔτος τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας πεπλήρωται. ἀνατρέ χουσι δὲ ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ αʹ ἔτους Κύρου καὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ δʹ ἔτος Ἰωακεὶμ τὸ οʹ ἔτος εὑρίσκομεν ἀρχόμενον οὕτως· Κύρου ἔτος αʹ. ∆αρείου Ἀστυάγους ἔτη ιζʹ. Νιριγλησάρου τοῦ καὶ Βαλτάσαρ ἔτη γʹ. Εὐειλὰδ ἔτη εʹ. Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ἔτη κδʹ. Σεδεκίου ἔτη ιαʹ. τῶν βʹ Ἰεχονίων ἔτος αʹ. Ἰωακεὶμ ἔτη ηʹ. ὁμοῦ γίνονται ἔτη οʹ ἀπὸ τοῦ γʹ ἔτους Ἰωακεὶμ ἕως τοῦ αʹ ἔτους Κύρου. Πληρουμένου γὰρ τοῦ γʹ ἔτους Ἰωακεὶμ καὶ ἀρχομένου τοῦ δʹ ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς βασιλείας Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ἐγένετο καὶ ἡ πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν ἐπὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν Ἰούδα πρόρρησις καὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀναμιμνήσκουσα αὐτούς, ὅπως ἀπὸ τοῦ ιγʹ ἔτους Ἰωσίου ἕως τοῦδε ἔτους κγʹ παρήκουον τοῦ θεοῦ φειδομένου αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξαποστέλλοντος τοὺς προφήτας εἰς διόρθωσιν τῆς εἰδωλομανίας αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐ προσεῖχον αὐτοῖς. ἡνίκα καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐρημώσεως ἀπόφασις δέδοται καὶ ὁ ἑβδομηκον ταετὴς χρόνος διὰ στόματος Ἱερεμίου ὡρίσθη, καὶ ἡ τῶν Χαλδαίων ἐρήμωσις γέγονε τῷ αὐτῷ τῆς ἀνακλήσεως ἔτει τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἀρχο μένης τῆς Κύρου βασιλείας τοῦ πρώτου Περσῶν βασιλεύσαντος. Ἔχει δὲ ἡ τῆς προφητείας λέξις ταῦτα· ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν ἐν ἔτει δʹ τῆς βασιλείας Ἰωακείμ. διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος. ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε τοῖς λόγοις μου, ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστελῶ καὶ λήψομαι τὴν πατριὰν τοῦ βορρᾶ καὶ ἄξω αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ταύτην καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας αὐτὴν καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὰ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς. καὶ ἐξερη μώσω αὐτοὺς καὶ δώσω αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ εἰς συρισμὸν αἰώνιον, καὶ ἀπολῶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν φωνὴν χαρᾶς καὶ φωνὴν εὐφροσύνης, φωνὴν 280 νυμφίου καὶ φωνὴν νύμφης, ὀσμὴν μύρου καὶ φῶς λύχνου. καὶ ἔσται πᾶσα ἡ γῆ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ δουλεύσουσιν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οʹ ἔτη. καὶ ἐν τῷ συμπληρωθῆναι τὰ οʹ ἔτη ἐκδικήσω τὸ ἔθνος ἐκεῖνο, φησὶ κύριος, καὶ θήσομαι αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀφανισμὸν αἰώνιον. Πρόδηλον δὴ τοῖς βουλομένοις ὀρθῶς νοεῖν ὅτι ἡ τῶν οʹ ἐτῶν ἀπόφασις θεία κατὰ τοῦ οἴκου Ἰούδα καὶ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀπὸ δʹ ἔτους Ἰωακεὶμἐξηνέχθη καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου ἐδούλευσαν τοῖς ἔθνεσι. Τῷ γὰρ αὐτῷ ἔτει Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ἀνελὼν τὸν Φαραῶ Νεχαῶ, ὃς ἦν καθεστακὼς τὸν Ἰωακεὶμ βασιλεύειν τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἀποστήσας τὸν Ἰωάχαζ υἱὸν Ἰωσίου καὶ μεταστήσας εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰωακείμ, καὶ ἐγεννήθη αὐτῷ δοῦλος ἔτη γʹ. καὶ ἀποστάντα ᾐχμαλώτευσε σὺν τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τῶν πολεμιστῶν τοῖς ἀλκιμωτέροις, τέκτοσί τε καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς ἅπασιν ἱεροῖς καὶ ὡς ἐκεῖ γέγραπται, ὡς εἶναι ταύτην κυρίως αἰχμαλωσίαν χωρὶς τοῦ ἐμπρησμοῦ οἴκου κυρίου καὶ τῆς πόλεως. ἀφ' οὗ οὖν χρόνου ἐδούλευσαν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἤγουν τοῖς Χαλδαίοις καὶ ἡ θεία κατ' αὐτῶν ἐξηνέχθη ἀπόφασις τῷ δʹ ἔτει Ἰωακείμ, ἕως τοῦ αʹ ἔτους Κύρου ἀριθμούμενα ἔτη συνάγεται ἀκριβῶς οʹ ἄνευ πάσης βίας καὶ ὑφαιρέσεως τῆς οἱασοῦν ἢ προσθήκης ἐτῶν. οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ πάντες τρόποι τῆς συναριθμήσεως τῶν αὐτῶν οʹ ἐτῶν ἠναγκασμένοι πεφύκασι. καὶ μηδεὶς ὑπολάβοι τοῦτο τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκτὸς πρὸ τῆς τελείας αἰχμαλωσίας ἔτεσιν κʹ λογιζομένους ἡμᾶς τὸ αʹ ἔτος τῆς αἰχμα λωσίας. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ θεῖος δείκνυσι χρησμὸς γεγονώς· υʹ γὰρ ἔτη δουλεύειν ἔφη τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ πρὸ τοῦ τεχθῆναι τὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ τοὺς πατριάρχας. ἀλλὰ πάντες τῶν αὐτῶν υʹ ἐτῶν τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀπὸ τῆς θείας ἀποφά σεως ἀριθμοῦσιν. οὐκ ἄτοπον οὖν ἄρα κἀνταῦθα ἀπὸ τῆς διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λεχθείσης Ἱερεμίου θείας ἀποφάσεως, ἥτις, ὡς πολλάκις εἴρηται, τῷ δʹ ἔτει Ἰωακεὶμ ἐξενήνεκται, τὸν τῶν οʹ ἐτῶν ἀριθμεῖν χρόνον τῆς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι παροικίας καὶ τῆς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ δουλείας. τὸ δ' αὐτὸ τέταρτον ἔτος Ἰωακεὶμ πρῶτον