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And especially the things that will be said will cause you exhaustion and ecstasy of soul, nevertheless it will be said wherefore you may be exhausted and stand aside; if you wish but if also otherwise deceiving yourselves, you might pervert the meaning of the things said and thus you were deceived and you deceive yourselves, if this is dear to you. But instead of: be dissipated, all the other interpreters have said, be drunk, without wine and be moved without strong drink; for there is also a drunkenness from deceit worse than that from wine, so that if you rejoice in deceiving yourselves and being drunk so as to see one thing instead of another in the divine oracles and to misinterpret them yourselves, you would know. For the Lord himself has given you over to a spirit of slumber, or of stupor according to Symmachus. Then he adds: and he will shut their eyes and of their prophets and of their rulers. Since, when the Lord was present with them as a man, "hearing him with their ears, they did not understand, and seeing him with their eyes" with the sight of the soul "they did not see, but they shut their eyes so as not to see and made their ears heavy so as not to hear." If therefore they first shut their own eyes, for this reason the Lord himself will also do these things to them and to their prophets, that is, to the teachers, and to their rulers, who professed to see hidden things and alone to discern and interpret the ineffable meaning hidden in the holy scriptures. And so he will restrain "their eyes from seeing," so that the words, and not only of the other divine scriptures, but also of the book at hand of the same prophecy of Isaiah, resemble a sealed book, and not permitting what is written to be known, neither to one skilled in letters nor to one unskilled. For the one who is skilled in reading, because the book is sealed, will not be able to discern what is in it, but the other, because he is completely unskilled, is unable, even if the book were not sealed. But that the prophetic meaning would be such not to all men, but only to them to whom these things were prophesied. For pay careful attention to how it is said: and these words will be to you; for he says "to you," to those present and seeing and hearing. But the word was to the Jews, to whom he says the meaning of the prophecy will be unknown, but to whom it will be known he will teach coming down below. through which he adds: "and in that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind will see, and they will rejoice." Therefore the word through the preceding ... of the Jewish people to learn the laws ... accurat... bearing by mouth the remembrance of the divine readings and declares that those who are not such will be in ignorance of the meaning of the prophetic oracles. But God says that these things will happen to them while also adding the cause. For since they pretended to honor God with their mouth and lips, but their mind miscalculated the promise, pretending to worship him, but preferring to his words certain teachings and "traditions of men," which they, priding themselves on holding certain secondary traditions of the "elders," acquire. For this reason, he says, "the mind of the comprehension of the divine scriptures" will be shut off from them. And he says their entire people will be transferred from the honor with me, so that they are no longer "the Lord's portion" nor "Israel the allotment of his inheritance." And since they put forward the wisdom of men, turning away from my wisdom and my word, but certain other "traditions of the elders among them," as though holding to certain wise men; for this reason they will not understand my scriptures. But I myself will destroy the wisdom of their wise men and I will set aside the understanding of the understanding ones among them. Then, since professing to worship God with their lips, in secret they were committing the worst things, being involved in sorceries and impurities and countless other unlawful deeds; to all these

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καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἔκλυσιν ὑμῖν παρέξει τὰ λεχθησόμενα καὶ ψυχῆς ἔκστασιν, ὅμως λεχθήσεται διόπερ ἐκλύθητε καὶ ἔκστητε· εἰ βούλεσθε εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ἑαυτοὺς ἀπατῶντες, διαστρέφοι τε τὸν νοῦν τῶν λεγομένων καὶ οὕτως ἐξαπατήθητε καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἐξαπατᾶτε, εἰ τοῦτο φίλον ὑμῖν. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· κραιπαλήσατε, οἱ λοιποὶ πάντες ἑρμηνευταὶ μεθύσθητε εἰρήκασιν, ἄνευ οἴνου καὶ κινεῖσθε δίχα μεθύσματος· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἐξ ἀπάτης μέθη χείρων τῆς δι' οἴνου, ὥστε εἰ χαίρετε ἑαυτοὺς ἀπατῶντες καὶ μεθύοντες ὡς ἕτερα ἀνθ' ἑτέρων εἰς τὰ θεῖα λόγια θεωρεῖν καὶ παρερμηνεύειν αὐτὰ αὐτοί, ἂν εἰδείητε. παρέδωκε γὰρ ὑμᾶς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος πνεύματι κατανύξεως, ἢ καρώσεως κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον. εἶτ' ἐπιλέγει· καὶ καμμύσει τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτῶν. ἐπειδήπερ, ὅτε παρῆν αὐτοῖς ἐνανθρωπῶν ὁ κύριος, «ἀκοῇ ἀκούοντες αὐτοῦ, οὐ συνίεσαν καὶ βλέποντες αὐτὸν ὀφθαλμοῖς» τῇ ὁράσει τῆς ψυχῆς «οὐχ ἑώρων, ἀλλ' ἐκάμμυσαν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν καὶ τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν ἐβάρυναν τοῦ μὴ ἀκούσεσθαι». εἰ τοίνυν αὐτοὶ πρῶτοι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν ὀφθαλμούς, τούτου χάριν καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς ταῦτα ποιήσει ὁ κύριος καὶ τοῖς προφήταις αὐτῶν ἀντὶ τοῦ τοῖς διδασκάλοις καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν αὐτῶν, οἳ ἐπηγγέλλοντο τὰ κρυπτὰ θεωρεῖν καὶ τὸν ἀπόρρητον νοῦν ἐγκεκρυμμένον τοῖς ἱεροῖς γράμμασι μόνοι διορᾶν καὶ διερμηνεύειν. οὕτω δὲ «αὐτῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς» ἐφέξει «τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν», ὡς ἐοικέναι τοὺς λόγους καὶ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων θείων γραφῶν οὐ μήν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς μετὰ χεῖρας βίβλου τῆς αὐτῆς τοῦ Ἠσαΐου προφητείας κατεσφραγισμένῳ βιβλίῳ καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέποντι τὰ ἐγγεγραμμένα γινώσκειν, μήτε ἐμπείρῳ γραμμάτων μήτε ἀπείρῳ. ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀναγνώσεως ἐπιστήμων διὰ τὸ ἐσφραγίσθαι τὴν βίβλον οὐ δυνήσεται τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ διαγνῶναι, ὁ δὲ διὰ τὸ πάντῃ ἄπειρος εἶναι ἀδυνάτως ἔχειν, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐσφράγιστο ἡ βίβλος. τοιοῦτον δὲ ἔσεσθαι τὸν προφητικὸν νοῦν οὐ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ μόνοις αὐτοῖς, πρὸς οὓς ταῦτα ἐθεσπίζετο. πρόσσχες γὰρ ἐπιμελῶς ὅπως εἴρηται· καὶ ἔσται ὑμῖν τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα· ὑμῖν γάρ φησι τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ ὁρῶσι καὶ ἀκούουσιν. ὁ δὲ λόγος ἦν πρὸς Ἰουδαίους, οἷς τὸν νοῦν τῆς προφητείας ἄγνωστον ἔσεσθαί φησι, τίσι δὲ ἔσεσθαι γνωστὸν ὑποκαταβὰς διδάξει. δι' ὧν ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ ἀκούσονται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ κωφοὶ λόγους βιβλίου, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν ὄψονται, καὶ ἀγαλλιάσονται». οὐκοῦν ὁ λόγος διὰ τῶν προκειμένων τοῦ Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ τοὺς νόμους μαθεῖν ... ἀκριβ... διὰ στόματος τὴν μνείαν ... φέροντας τῶν θείων ἀναγνωσμάτων καὶ τοὺς μὴ τοιούτους ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ ἔσεσθαι τῆς διανοίας τῶν προφητικῶν λογίων θεσπίζει. Ταῦτα δὲ περὶ αὐτοὺς ἔσεσθαί φησιν ὁ θεὸς μετὰ τοῦ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιλέγειν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μέχρι στόματος καὶ χειλέων τιμᾶν τὸν θεὸν προσεποιοῦντο, ἡ δὲ διάνοια αὐτῶν παρελογίζετο τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, σέβειν μὲν αὐτὸν προσποιουμένων, προτιμώντων δὲ τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων διδασκαλίας τινὰς καὶ «παραδόσεις ἀνθρώπων», ἃς περιποιοῦσι δευτερώσεις «πρεσβυτέρων» τινῶν κατέχειν σεμνυνόμενοι. τούτου χάριν φησὶν ἀποκλεισθήσεσθαι αὐτοῖς «τὸν νοῦν τῆς τῶν θειῶν γραφῶν» καταλήψεως. καὶ ὁ πᾶς δὲ αὐτῶν λαὸς μετατεθήσεταί φησι τῆς παρ' ἐμοὶ τιμῆς, ὡς μηκέτι εἶναι αὐτοὺς «μερίδα κυρίου» μηδὲ «σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ἰσραήλ». καὶ ἐπειδήπερ σοφίαν ἀνθρώπων προβάλλονται τὴν ἐμὴν μὲν ἀποστρέφοντες σοφίαν καὶ τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον, ἑτέρας δέ τινας «παραδόσεις τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς πρεσβυτέρων», ὥσπερ τινῶν σοφῶν κατέχοντες· τούτου χάριν τὰς μὲν ἐμὰς γραφὰς οὐ συνήσουσιν. ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸς τῶν σοφῶν αὐτῶν τὴν σοφίαν ἀπολῶ καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς συνετῶν ἀθετήσω. Εἶτ' ἐπειδήπερ θεοσεβεῖν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι τοῖς χείλεσιν, ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τὰ χείριστα διεπράττοντο, φαρμακείαις καὶ ἀκαθαρσίαις καὶ ἄλλαις μυρίαις ἀθεμίτοις πράξεσιν ἐμφυρόμενοι· πᾶσι τούτοις