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Where were they? Symmachus has interpreted "she who is shut up" as "captive"; and they are accustomed to confine and guard captives. He calls the privation of the kingdom "widowhood," and the desolation of the other multitude "childlessness." 22Thus |163 a| says the Lord: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and I will lift up my standard to the islands, and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters they shall carry on their shoulders; 23and kings shall be your foster-fathers, and their princesses your nursing mothers. These things in no way fit those who returned from Babylon; for neither their kings nor their rulers became foster-fathers and nursing mothers. Therefore, the prophetic word has added to what had already been decreed the things that happened after the incarnation of our Savior. For through the holy apostles, both those who inhabit the islands and those who inhabit the continents received the message of salvation. And he calls the sign of the saving cross his standard; for having preached this everywhere, the divine apostles brought to the Lord not only believers from the gentiles but also from the Jews. And all, even to this day, flock together to Jerusalem, desiring to see the much-longed-for places of the cross and of the resurrection and of the ascension. Of this church, therefore, gathered from every land and sea, kings became foster-fathers and rulers nursing mothers, some offering first-fruits and others tithes. And these very kings also assigned a grain-allowance to those consecrated to the God of all. And what follows also teaches these things more clearly: They shall bow down to you with their face to the ground, and lick the dust of your feet; and you shall know that I am the Lord, and those who wait for me shall not be ashamed. We see these things happening every day; for in all the churches, by bringing their foreheads near the ground and their lips to the thresholds, they declare the honor which they have for God. And it is possible to see the prophecy being fulfilled especially in Jerusalem, where they also seize the dust as a heavenly gift and lick it all over and consider it a medicine for soul and body. Then he teaches how he imparted salvation to those who have believed and how, having freed them from the slavery of the devil, he deemed them worthy of freedom: 24Shall one take spoils from a giant? And if one takes captives unjustly, shall he be saved? He calls the devil a giant as a tyrant. This one, having enslaved us, has wrought his own panoply; for he wages war against us through our own members. And he has taken us captive unjustly, alleging no injustice. 25Thus says the Lord: If one takes a giant captive, he shall take spoils; but taking from a strong one, shall he be saved? But I will judge your judgment, and I will deliver your sons. The one who has overcome the giant, he says, is able to despoil him and strip him of his panoply. But it is not easy for everyone to do this; but I alone will easily destroy him and save those unjustly held by him. These things the Lord also said in the divine gospels: "Unless one enters the house of the strong man and binds the strong man, how will he plunder the strong man's goods?" 26And those who oppress you shall eat their own flesh, and they shall drink their own blood as new wine and be drunk. For having fallen from their former power, the demons, no longer being able to harm men in the same way, devour themselves as if having fallen from tyranny out of madness. For having nailed the Savior to the cross, they were destroyed by the weapons that had been fashioned by them. And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord who delivers you and the one who lays hold of your strength, O Jacob. And when this has happened, my providence will be clear to all men, and all will learn of my dominion. And the phrase, 'the one who lays hold of your strength, O Jacob,' Symmachus has interpreted thus: "And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord who saves you and the one who redeems you, the mighty one of Jacob"; and likewise also Theodotion and Aquila. Therefore, he does not say these things to those from |163 b| Jacob, but to the nations gathered from foreigners, whom

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ποῦ ἦσαν; Τὸ ἐκκεκλεισμένη «αἰχμάλωτος» ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήν ευ σεν· εἰώθασι δὲ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους καθείργειν καὶ φρουρεῖν. Χηρείαν δὲ καλεῖ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν στέρησιν, ἀτεκνίαν δὲ τοῦ ἄλλου πλήθους τὴν ἐρημίαν. 22Οὕτως |163 a| λέγει κύριος· Ἰδοὺ ἀρῶ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη τὴν χεῖρά μου καὶ εἰς τὰς νήσους ἀρῶ σύσσημόν μου, καὶ ἄξουσι τοὺς υἱούς σου ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰς δὲ θυγατέρας σου ἐπ' ὤμων ἀροῦσιν· 23καὶ ἔσονται βασιλεῖς τιθηνοί σου, αἱ δὲ ἄρχουσαι αὐτῶν τροφοί σου. Ταῦτα οὐδαμῶς ἁρμόττει τοῖς ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος ἐπανελθοῦσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ βασιλεῖς ἐκείνων καὶ ἄρχοντες ἐγένοντο τιθηνοὶ καὶ τροφοί. Προστέθεικε τοίνυν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος τοῖς ἤδη τεθεσπισμένοις τὰ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐνανθρώπησιν γεγενημένα. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ οἱ τὰς νήσους καὶ οἱ τὰς ἠπείρους οἰκοῦντες τὸ σωτήριον ἐδέξαντο κήρυγμα. Σύσσημον δὲ αὐτοῦ καλεῖ τοῦ σωτηρίου σταυροῦ τὸ σημεῖον· τοῦτο γὰρ πανταχοῦ κηρύξαντες οἱ θεῖοι ἀπόστολοι οὐ μόνο ν τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐξ Ἰουδαίων πιστεύοντας τῷ δεσπότῃ προσέφερον. Καὶ πάντες μέχρι καὶ τήμερον εἰς τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ συντρέχουσι, τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς ἀναλήψεως τοὺς τριποθήτους τόπους ἰδεῖν ἱμειρό μενοι. Ταύτης τοίνυν τῆς ἐκ πάσης γῆς καὶ θαλάττης συνειλεγμένης ἐκκλησίας ἐγένοντο βασιλεῖς τιθηνοὶ καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες τροφοί, οἱ μὲν ἀπαρχὰς οἱ δὲ δεκάτας προσφέροντες. Αὐτοὶ δὲ οὗτοι οἱ βασιλεῖς καὶ σιτηρέσιον ἀπένειμαν τοῖς ἀφιερωμένοις τῷ τῶν ὅλων θεῷ. Καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δὲ σαφέστερον ταῦτα διδάσκει· Ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς προσκυνήσουσί ςοι καὶ τὸν χοῦν τῶν ποδῶν σου λείξουσι, καὶ γνώσῃ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται οἱ ὑπομένοντές με. Ταῦτα καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὁρῶμεν γιγνόμενα· ἐν γὰρ ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τὰ μέτωπα τῷ ἐδάφει πελάζοντες καὶ τὰ χείλη τοῖς προθύροις προσφέ ροντες δηλοῦσιν, ἣν περὶ τὸν θεὸν ἔχουσι τιμήν . ∆ιαφε ρόντως δὲ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν πληρουμένην τὴν προφητείαν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις, ἔνθα καὶ τὸν χοῦν ὡ ς οὐ ράνιον ἁρπάζουσι δῶρον καὶ τοῦτον περιλιχμῶνται καὶ φάρμακον ψυχῆς ἡγοῦνται καὶ σώ ματος . Εἶτα διδάσκει πῶς τοῖς πεπιστευκόσι τῆς σωτηρίας μετέδωκε καὶ ὅπως αὐτοὺς τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου δ ου λείας ἀπαλλάξας τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἠξίωσεν· 24Μὴ λήψεταί τις παρὰ γίγαντος σκῦλα; Καὶ ἐὰν αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ τις ἀδίκως, εἰ σωθήσεται; Γίγαντα καλεῖ τὸν διάβολον ὡς τύραννον. Οὗτος ἡμᾶς δουλωσάμενος παν οπλίαν οἰκείαν εἰργάσατο· διὰ γὰρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἡμῖν πολεμεῖ μελῶν. Ἀδίκως δὲ ἡμᾶς ᾐχμαλώτευσεν οὐ δεμίαν ἐγκαλῶν ἀδικίαν. 25Οὕτως λέγει κύριος· Ἐάν τις αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ γίγαντα, λήψεται σκῦλα· λαμβάνων δὲ παρ' ἰσχύοντος, εἰ σωθήσεται; Ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν κρίσιν σου κρινῶ καὶ ἐγὼ τοὺς υἱούς σου ῥύσομαι. Ὁ περι γενόμενός φησι τοῦ γίγαντος δύναται αὐτὸν σκυλεῦσαι καὶ τῆς πανοπλίας γυμνῶσαι. Οὐ παντὶ δὲ τοῦτο ῥᾴδιον δρᾶσαι· ἐγὼ δὲ μόνος αὐτὸν εὐπετῶς καταλύσω καὶ τοὺς ἀδίκως ὑπ' αὐτ οῦ κατεχομέν ους σώσ ω. Ταῦτα καὶ ἐν τοῖς θείοις εὐαγγελίοις ὁ κύριος ἔφη· «Ἐὰν μή τις εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ καὶ δήσῃ τὸν ἰσχυρόν, πῶς τὰ σκεύη τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ διαρπάσει;» 26Καὶ φάγονται οἱ θλίβοντές σε τὰς σάρκας αὐτῶν καὶ πίονται ὡς οἶνον νέον τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν καὶ μεθυσθήσονται. Ἐκπεσόντες γὰρ τῆς προτέρας δυναστείας οἱ δαίμονες καὶ βλάψαι μηκέτι τοὺς ἀν θρώπους ὁμοίως δυνάμενοι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς κατεσθίουσιν ὡς ἐξ ἀνοίας ἐκπεσόντες τῆς τυ ραν νίδος . Τὸν γὰρ σωτῆρα τῷ σταυρῷ προσηλώσαντες τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτῶν κατασκευασθεῖσιν ἀνῃρέθ ησαν ὅ πλοις. Καὶ γνώσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε καὶ ἀντιλαμβανόμενος ἰσχύος σῆς Ἰακώβ. Τούτου δὲ γενομένου δήλη πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἡ ἐμὴ γενήσεται πρό νοια, καὶ πάντες τὴν ἐμὴν δεσποτείαν μαθήσονται. Τὸ δέ· ἀντιλαμβανόμενος ἰσχύος σῆς Ἰακώβ, οὕτως ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν· «Καὶ γνώσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος σῴζων σε καὶ ὁ λυ τρούμενός σε δυνάστης Ἰακώβ»· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας. Οὐ τοίνυν πρὸς τοὺς ἐξ |163 b| Ἰακὼβ ταῦτ α λέγει, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἐξ ἀλλοφύλων συνειλεγμένους ἐθνῶν, οὓς