Chapter CXXX.—He returns to the conversion of the Gentiles, and shows that it was foretold.

And when all had given assent, I said: “I would now adduce some passages which I had not recounted before. They are recorded by the faithful servant Moses in parable, and are as follows: ‘Rejoice, O ye heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him;’ ”511    Deut. xxxii. 43. and I added what follows of the passage: “ ‘Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people, and let all the angels of God be strengthened in Him: for the blood of His sons He avenges, and will avenge, and will recompense His enemies with vengeance, and will recompense those that hate Him; and the Lord will purify the land of His people.’ And by these words He declares that we, the nations, rejoice with His people, —to wit, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and, in short, all of that people who are well-pleasing to God, according to what has been already agreed on between us. But we will not receive it of all your nation; since we know from Isaiah512    Isa. lxvi. 24. that the members of those who have transgressed shall be consumed by the worm and unquenchable fire, remaining immortal; so that they become a spectacle to all flesh. But in addition to these, I wish, sirs,” said I, “to add some other passages from the very words of Moses, from which you may understand that God has from of old dispersed all men according to their kindreds and tongues; and out of all kindreds has taken to Himself your kindred, a useless, disobedient, and faithless generation; and has shown that those who were selected out of every nation have obeyed His will through Christ,—whom He calls also Jacob, and names Israel, —and these, then, as I mentioned fully previously, must be Jacob and Israel. For when He says, ‘Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people,’ He allots the same inheritance to them, and does not call them by the same name;513    The reading is, “and calls them by the same name.” But the whole argument shows that the Jews and Gentiles are distinguished by name. [But that Gentiles are also called (Israel) by the same name is the point here.] but when He says that they as Gentiles rejoice with His people, He calls them Gentiles to reproach you. For even as you provoked Him to anger by your idolatry, so also He has deemed those who were idolaters worthy of knowing His will, and of inheriting His inheritance.

[130] Καὶ συντιθεμένων πάντων εἶπον: Καὶ λόγους δέ τινας, οὓς μὴ ἀπεμνημόνευσα πρότερον, εἴποιμ' ἂν ἄρτι: εἰσὶ δὲ εἰρημένοι ὑπὸ τοῦ πιστοῦ θεράποντος Μωυσέως ἐπικεκαλυμμένως. εἴρηται δὲ οὕτως: Εὐφράνθητε οὐρανοὶ ἅμα αὐτῷ, καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ: καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς τοῦ λόγου ἐπέφερον ταῦτα: Εὐφράνθητε ἔθνη μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνισχυσάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄγγελοι θεοῦ, ὅτι τὸ αἷμα τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ ἐκδικεῖται, καὶ ἐκδικήσει, καὶ ἀνταποδώσει δίκην τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, καὶ τοῖς μισοῦσιν αὐτὸν ἀνταποδώσει, καὶ ἐκκαθαριεῖ κύριος τὴν γῆν τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ. καὶ εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἡμᾶς τὰ ἔθνη λέγει εὐφραίνεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, λέγω Ἀβραὰμ παὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ τοὺς προφήτας καὶ ἁπλῶς τοὺς ἀπ' ἐκείνου τοῦ λαοῦ πάντας εὐαρεστοῦντας τῷ θεῷ, κατὰ τὰ προωμολογημένα ἡμῖν: ἀλλ' οὐ πάντας τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ γένους ὑμῶν ἀκουσόμεθα, ἐπειδὴ ἔγνωμεν καὶ διὰ Ἠσαίου τὰ κῶλα τῶν παραβεβηκότων ὑπὸ σκώληκος καὶ ἀπαύστου πυρὸς διαβιβρώσκεσθαι μέλλειν, ἀθάνατα μένοντα, ὥστε καὶ εἶναι εἰς ὅρασιν πάσης σαρκός. ἐπειπεῖν δὲ ὑμῖν βούλομαι καὶ πρὸς τούτοις, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἔφην, καὶ ἄλλους τινὰς λόγους ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν Μωυσέως λόγων, ἐξ ὧν καὶ νοῆσαι δύνασθε ὅτι ἄνωθεν μὲν πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὁ θεὸς διεσκόρπισε καὶ τὰ γένη καὶ γλῶσσας: ἐκ πάντων δὲ τῶν γενῶν γένος ἑαυτῷ λαβὼν τὸ ὑμέτερον, γένος ἄχρηστον καὶ ἀπειθὲς καὶ ἄπιστον, δείξας τοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς γένους αἱρουμένους πεπεῖσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ βουλῇ διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃν καὶ Ἰακὼβ καλεῖ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ ὀνομάζει, τούτους καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραήλ, ὡς προέφην ἐν πολλοῖς, εἶναι δεῖ. Εὐφράνθητε γὰρ ἔθνη μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰπών, τὴν μὲν ὁμοίαν αὐτοῖς ἀπονέμει κληρονομίαν, καὶ τὴν ὁμοίαν ὀνομάσιαν δίδωσιν: ἔθνη δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ εὐφραινομένους μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ λέγων, εἰς ὄνειδος τὸ ὑμέτερον λέγει ἔθνος. ὃν γὰρ καὶ ὑμεῖς τρόπον παρωργίσατε εἰδωλολατρήσαντες, οὕτω καὶ αὐτοὺς εἰδωλολάτρας ὄντας κατηξίωσε γνῶναι τὴν βουλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ κληρονομῆσαι τὴν κληρονομίαν τὴν παρ' αὐτῷ.