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Josedech, during whose time the temple was renewed, when Haggai and Zechariah were then prophesying, after whom Ezra, having returned from Babylonia, and after him likewise Nehemiah, accomplished great things for the completion of the city, after whom both the city and the temple in it remained unbesieged for many years. The Word therefore proclaims these very things through the present words, saying: and again God will remain to pity you and for this reason God will be exalted to have mercy on you. And he adds, saying next: For the Lord God is a judge; for being a righteous judge, he handed over the worthy to captivity, but those whom it was right to pity, he saved; whence it is blessed to abide in him, or according to Symmachus to wait for him. As a righteous judge therefore and as good he will again have pity, so that Zion and Jerusalem will be built a second time and a people will again dwell in it. He calls God, the Savior of all, the glory of Israel. But since it is written: For a holy people will dwell in Zion, one must not be ignorant that neither the Hebrew text nor the other interpreters named the holy, but according to Symmachus: he says, a people will dwell in Zion; which also happened, but the whole people who afterwards dwelt in Jerusalem was not entirely holy. He says with weeping he did not weep, Have mercy on me; for thus the Hebrew text has it. Wherefore according to Symmachus it is said: In Jerusalem you will not weep with weeping, and likewise according to Theodotion it is said: In Jerusalem it will not be wept with weeping. For it was no longer a time for weeping for those who, through the mercy of God, had received their ancestral land and were rejoicing and exulting in this according to what was said: "they shall come with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them." And the reason for this for them was to have obtained the mercy of God. But instead of: the voice of your cry, when he saw it, he hearkened to you, Symmachus says: at the voice of your cry, as soon as it is heard, he will hear you. And this is similar to: "according to your faith be it done to you," which was customarily said by the Savior. For now, he says, he did not weep, but at another time he does this. However, the Word exhorts her to cry out to God always; for he says God will answer you at your voice. But according to the Seventy it is said: And Jerusalem wept with weeping, Have mercy on me; for in power the very land cried out to God because of the wickedness of its inhabitants, but also the powerful wept for the powerless and the better for the worse. Wherefore it is added next: the voice of your cry, when he saw it, he hearkened to you. And for the time being, he says, for the present, the Lord will give you the bread of affliction and scant water. But after this it is added next: the bread of the produce of your land will be abundant and rich, and: then there will be rain for the seed of your land. And he teaches through these things that at the beginning of the return, those who returned from the enemy land shared in much affliction, with the neighbors oppressing them, so that they even halted the work of the building of the temple; this, at least, the history in the book of Ezra also teaches. Wherefore it is said, that the Lord will give you the bread of affliction and scant water; and no longer, he says, will those who lead you astray approach you; because your eyes will see those who lead you astray. Wherefore they will no longer lead you astray; for even if some should attempt to do this, yet your eyes will see them. And having seen them and understood, they will not be led astray. And again if others should attempt with deceitful words to speak perversions to you, your ears will not accept their words; even if deceiving they should say: This is the way, let us walk in it either to the right or to the left; for you will not be persuaded by them saying these things, but "you will go by the king's highway" traveling the middle way and "not turning aside either to the right or to the left." Therefore, as no longer being led astray, you will defile the idols, that is, you will consider them defiled and unclean, turning away as from some foul-smelling dung and dishonorable filth. And when you do these things, then still bread

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Ἰωσεδέκ, καθ' οὓς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀνενεώθη προφητευόντων τότε Ἁγγαίου καὶ Ζαχαρίου, μεθ' οὓς Ἔσδρας ἀπὸ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἐπανελθὼν καὶ μετ' αὐτὸν ὁμοίως Νεεμίας τὰ μεγάλα συνέπραξαν τῇ τῆς πόλεως τελειώσει, μεθ' οὓς διέμεινε πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ἀπολιόρκητος ἥ τε πόλις καὶ ὁ ἐν αὐτῇ νεώς. ταῦτα οὖν αὐτὰ διὰ τῶν παρόντων προαναφωνεῖ φάσκων ὁ λόγος· καὶ πάλιν μενεῖ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οἰκτειρῆσαι ὑμᾶς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὑψωθήσεται ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ἐλεῆσαι ὑμᾶς. καὶ ἐπάγει λέγων ἑξῆς· διότι κριτὴς κύριος ὁ θεός· δίκαιος γὰρ κριτὴς ὢν τοὺς μὲν ἀξίους αἰχμαλωσίᾳ παρεδίδου, οὓς δὲ δίκαιον ἐλεεῖν, ἔσῳζεν· ὅθεν μακάριόν ἐστι τὸ ἐμμένειν ἐπ' αὐτῷ, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον τὸ ὑπομένειν αὐτόν· ὡς δίκαιος τοιγαροῦν κριτὴς καὶ ὡς ἀγαθὸς πάλιν οἰκτειρήσει ὡς τὴν Σιὼν καὶ τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ δεύτερον οἰκοδομηθῆναι καὶ αὖθις ἐν αὐτῇ κατοικῆσαι λαόν. δόξαν δὲ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὸν τῶν ὅλων σωτῆρα λέγει θεόν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ γέγραπται· διότι λαὸς ἅγιος ἐν Σιὼν οἰκήσει, χρὴ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, ὡς οὔτε ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις οὔτε οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ τὸ ἅγιον ὠνόμασαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· λαός φησιν ἐν Σιὼν οἰκήσει· ὅπερ καὶ γέγονεν, οὐ πάντως δὲ ἅγιος ἦν ὁ πᾶς λαὸς ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα κατοικήσας τὴν Ἰερουσαλήμ. κλαυθμῷ φησιν οὐκ ἔκλαυσεν Ἐλέησόν με· οὕτως γὰρ περιέχει ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις. διὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ κλαυθμῷ οὐ κλαύσεις, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν Θεοδοτίωνα εἴρηται· ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ κλαυθμῷ οὐ κλαυθήσεται. οὐκέτι γὰρ ἦν καιρὸς κλαυθμοῦ τοῖς διὰ τὸν ἔλεον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπολαβοῦσι τὸ πατρῷον ἔδαφος καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ χαίρουσι καὶ εὐφραινομένοις κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· «ἐρχόμενοι ἥξουσιν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει αἴροντες τὰ δράγματα αὐτῶν». τοῦτο δὲ αὐτοῖς αἴτιον ἦν τὸ τυχεῖν τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τὴν φωνὴν τῆς κραυγῆς σου ἡνίκα εἶδεν, ἐπήκουσέ σου, ὁ Σύμμαχός φησι· πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν τῆς βοῆς σου, καθὼς ἂν ἀκουσθῇ, ἀκούσει σου. ὅμοιον δέ ἐστι τοῦτο τῷ· «κατὰ τὴν πίστιν σου γενηθήτω σοι», εἰωθότι λέγεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος. νῦν μὲν γάρ φησιν οὐκ ἔκλαυσε, καθ' ἕτερον δὲ καιρὸν τοῦτο ποιεῖ. πλὴν ὁ λόγος παραινεῖ αὐτῇ βοᾶν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν πάντοτε· πρὸς τὴν φωνήν σου γάρ φησιν ἀποκριθήσεταί σοι ὁ θεός. κατὰ δὲ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα εἴρηται· καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ κλαυθμῷ ἔκλαυσεν Ἐλέησόν με· δυνάμει γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἔδαφος ἐβόα πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν οἰκητόρων κακίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ δυνατοὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδυνάτων καὶ οἱ κρείττους ὑπὲρ τῶν χειρόνων ἀπεκλάοντο. διὸ ἐπιλέγεται ἑξῆς· τὴν φωνὴν τῆς κραυγῆς σου ἡνίκα εἶδεν, ἐπήκουσέ σου. Καὶ τέως μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος δώσει ὑμῖν φησι κύριος ἄρτον θλίψεως καὶ ὕδωρ στενόν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγεται· ὁ ἄρτος τοῦ γενήματος τῆς γῆς σου ἔσται πλησμονὴ καὶ λιπαρός, καί· τότε ἔσται ὁ ὑετὸς τῷ σπέρματι τῆς γῆς σου. διδάσκει δὲ διὰ τούτων ὡς ἐν μὲν τῇ ἀρχῇ τῆς ἐπανόδου πολλῆς θλίψεως μετέσχον οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς πολεμίας ἐπανελθόντες τῶν περιχώρων θλιβόντων αὐτούς, ὡς καὶ τὸ ἔργον ἐπισχεῖν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τοῦ ἱεροῦ· τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ἡ ἱστορία ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τοῦ Ἔσδρα διδάσκει. διὸ εἴρηται, ὅτι δώσει ὑμῖν κύριος ἄρτον θλίψεως καὶ ὕδωρ στενόν· καὶ οὐκέτι φησὶ μὴ ἐγγίσουσιν οἱ πλανῶντές σε· ὅτι οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται τοὺς πλανῶντάς σε. διὸ οὐκέτι πλανήσουσί σε· εἰ γὰρ καὶ πειραθεῖεν τοῦτο πρᾶξαί τινες, ἀλλ' οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται αὐτούς. ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ νοήσαντες, οὐ πλανηθήσονται. καὶ πάλιν εἰ πειραθεῖεν ἕτεροι λόγοις ἀπατηλοῖς διαστροφὰς πρὸς ὑμᾶς λαλεῖν, καὶ τούτων τὰ ῥήματα οὐ παραδέξεται τὰ ὦτά σου· κἂν ἀπατῶντες λέγοιεν· Αὕτη ἡ ὁδός, πορευθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ εἴτε δεξιὰ εἴτε ἀριστερά· οὐ πεισθήσῃ γὰρ λέγουσιν αὐτοῖς ταῦτα, ἀλλ' «ὁδῷ βασιλικῇ πορεύσῃ» τὴν μέσην ὁδεύων καὶ «μὴ ἐκκλίνων μήτε δεξιὰ μήτε ἀριστερά». διόπερ ὡς μηκέτι πλανώμενος μιανεῖς τὰ εἴδωλα, τοῦτ' ἔστι μιαρὰ ἡγήσῃ καὶ ἀκάθαρτα ὥσπερ τινὰ δυσώδη κόπρον καὶ ἄτιμον ἀκαθαρσίαν ἀποστρεφόμενος. ἐπειδὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσῃς, τότε ἔτι ἄρτον