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to the people of the circumcision through the preceding words he addresses, exhorting them to weep and beat their breasts and lament, as having "fallen from the grace of God" on account of their unbelief in God; and denouncing the unmanliness of their soul and their effeminacy, he calls them women. He says that their synagogues are indicated by the prophecy which says: rich women, arise; or according to the other interpreters: prosperous women; for indeed they were truly long ago "rich toward God" and prosperous. Unless perhaps he calls them rich and prosperous because they seemed to abound and revel in bodily wealth, the word therefore exhorts them not to attend to what is said supinely nor carelessly, but with arousal and attention. Wherefore he says: arise and hear my voice. And does he not also command them to rise up as if they had fallen? But instead of: daughters in hope, the other interpreters have said in agreement: confident daughters; for being rich and prosperous they seemed even then to be proud and to trust in their wealth. You might say that the first women signify the assemblies among the Jews in ancient times and the crowds gathered in them, and the daughters the synagogues of the same that would arise in later times. And indeed the word commands both of the aforementioned groups to listen intently and with attention to what follows, through which he teaches that it is fitting for them to make mention of the days of a certain year, and to do this with pain, while also outlining for themselves a good hope. The prophetic word teaches that the "year" is the time of the evangelical preaching, during which our Savior and Lord, being with men, preached. And this is clear from what is said next from the person of Christ: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord." He wishes, therefore, the aforementioned to make mention of this year and to do this with pain, being pricked in their hearts for what they have dared, but also to do this with good hope because of the hope promised to those who repent for what they have done. When, therefore, "the vineyard of the Lord was the house of Israel, and the man of Judah his beloved plant," the vintage among them was great; I mean when the temple and the altar stood, and from the whole nation as from a vineyard the gifts and the sacrifices according to the law were offered. But now, he says, the vintage has been consumed and has ceased. And if at another time this vintage, having ceased during the captivity in Babylon, was taken up again when the place was renewed, yet now learn that it shall come no more; for it has been consumed and ceased once for all, but according to Symmachus: he says, the vintage is finished, it was proclaimed that it should not come. What then must you, who were mentioned before, do about this? he adds, saying: be astounded, be grieved, you who are confident. Let "godly grief," he says, take hold of you, and be astounded from your former unbelief, giving yourselves over "to repentance;" "for godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret." Wherefore, show "fruits of repentance" in your deeds, having stripped off the cloak of wealth, and having bared yourselves of luxury and prosperity, and having girded your loins in manly fashion, lament the desolation that has overtaken your once "desirable vineyard." And what the field has suffered and what the fruitful vine, he next says: upon the land of the people thorns and grass will grow up. And this he indicated through the previous words, saying: "and I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns." And interpreting these he added, saying: "I waited for it to produce justice, but it produced lawlessness, and not righteousness but a cry." For these things, therefore, lament

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περιτομῆς λαῷ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων προσφωνεῖ παρακελευόμενος ἀποκλάεσθαι καὶ κόπτεσθαι καὶ θρηνεῖν ὡς ἂν «ἐκπεσόντι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χάριτος» διὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν θεὸν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν· διαβάλλων δὲ τὸ ἄνανδρον τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ τεθηλυμμένον γυναῖκας αὐτοὺς ἀποκαλεῖ. φησὶ δὲ τὰς συναγωγὰς αὐτῶν δηλοῦσθαι διὰ τῆς φασκούσης προφητείας· γυναῖκες πλούσιαι, ἀνάστητε, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· γυναῖκες εὐθηνοῦσαι· καὶ γὰρ ἦσαν ὡς ἀληθῶς πάλαι ποτὲ «κατὰ θεὸν πλουτοῦσαι» καὶ εὐθηνοῦσαι. εἰ μὴ ἄρα πλουσίας αὐτὰς λέγει καὶ εὐθηνούσας διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν ἐν σωματικῷ πλούτῳ περιττεύειν καὶ τρυφᾶν, παρακελεύεται τοίνυν αὐταῖς ὁ λόγος μὴ ὑπτίως μηδὲ παρέργως προσέχειν τοῖς λεγομένοις, διεγηγερμένως δὲ καὶ συντεταγμένως. διό φησιν· ἀνάστητε καὶ ἀκούσατε τῆς φωνῆς μου. μήτι δὲ καὶ ὡς πεσούσαις προστάττει διαναστῆναι; ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· θυγατέρες ἐν ἐλπίδι, οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ συμφώνως θυγατέρες πεποιθυῖαι εἰρήκασιν· ἐδόκουν γὰρ εἰσέτι τότε ὡς ἂν πλούσιαι τυγχάνουσαι καὶ εὐθηνοῦσαι μέγα φρονεῖν καὶ πεποιθέναι ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ. εἴποις δ' ἂν τὰς μὲν πρώτας γυναῖκας σημαίνειν τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν παλαιῶν χρόνων παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις συνόδους καὶ τὰ πλήθη τὰ ἐν αὐταῖς συναγόμενα, τὰς δὲ θυγατέρας τὰς ἐν τοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις ὑποστησομένας τῶν αὐτῶν συναγωγάς. Καὶ δὴ προστάττει ὁ λόγος ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς εἰρημένοις τάγμασι συντεταμένως καὶ μετὰ προσοχῆς ἀκοῦσαι τῶν ἐπιφερομένων, δι' ὧν διδάσκει προσήκειν αὐταῖς μνείαν ποιήσασθαι ἐνιαυτοῦ τινος ἡμερῶν καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι μετὰ ὀδύνης πρὸς τῷ καὶ ἐλπίδα ὑπογράψαι ἑαυταῖς ἀγαθήν. ἐνιαυτὸν δὲ ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος τὸν χρόνον τοῦ κηρύγματος τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ, καθ' ὃν ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν συνὼν ἀνθρώποις ἐκήρυττε, διδάσκει. καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑξῆς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγεσθαι· «πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με· εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέ με, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτόν». τούτου δὴ οὖν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ μνείαν ποιήσασθαι βούλεται τὰς εἰρημένας καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι μετὰ ὀδύνης κατανυττομένας ἐφ' οἷς τετολμήκασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ ἐλπίδος ἀγαθῆς τοῦτο ποιεῖν διὰ τὴν τοῖς μεταμελομένοις ἐφ' οἷς ἔπραξαν ἐπηγγελμένην ἐλπίδα. ὅτε μὲν οὖν ὑπῆρχεν «ἀμπελὼν κυρίου ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Ἰούδα νεόφυτον ἠγαπημένον», πολὺς ἦν ὁ παρ' αὐτοῖς τρυγητός, λέγω δὲ ὅτε συνειστήκει ὁ νεὼς καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ἐξ ἅπαντός τε τοῦ ἔθνους ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀμπελῶνος τὰ δῶρα καὶ αἱ κατὰ νόμον θυσίαι προσεφέροντο. νυνὶ δέ φησιν· ἀνήλωται ὁ τρυγητὸς καὶ πέπαυται. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοτέ ποτε παυσάμενος οὗτος ὁ τρυγητὸς κατὰ τὴν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίαν αὖθις ἀνελήφθη ἀνανεωθέντος τοῦ τόπου, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν μανθάνετε, ὅτι οὐκέτι μὴ ἔλθῃ· ἅπαξ γὰρ ἀνήλωται καὶ πέπαυται, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· συνετελέσθη φησὶ τρυγητός, ἐκηρύχθη ἵνα μὴ ἔλθῃ. Τί οὖν χρὴ ἐπὶ τούτῳ πράττειν ὑμᾶς τὰς προλεχθείσας, ἐπιφέρει λέγων· ἔκστητε, λυπήθητε, αἱ πεποιθυῖαι. ἁψάσθω φησὶν ὑμῶν «ἡ κατὰ θεὸν λύπη», καὶ τῆς προτέρας ἀπιστίας ἔκστητε ἐπιδοῦσαι ἑαυτὰς «εἰς μετάνοιαν»· «ἡ γὰρ κατὰ θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται». διὸ «καρποὺς μετανοίας» τοῖς ἔργοις ἐνδείξασθε ἀποδυσάμεναι τὴν τοῦ πλούτου περιβολήν, τῆς τε τρυφῆς καὶ τῆς εὐθηνίας ἑαυτὰς ἀπογυμνώσασαι, ἀνδρικῷ δὲ σχήματι περιζωσάμεναι τὰς ὀσφὺς κόπτεσθε τὴν καταλαβοῦσαν ἐρημίαν τὸν πάλαι ὑμῶν «ἐπιθυμητὸν ἀμπελῶνα». τί δὲ πέπονθεν ὁ ἀγρὸς καὶ τί ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ πολυφόρος, ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· ἡ γῆ τοῦ λαοῦ ἄκανθα καὶ χόρτος ἀναβήσεται. τοῦτο δὲ ἐδήλου διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἰπών· «καὶ ἔμεινα ἵνα ποιήσῃ σταφυλήν, ἐποίησε δὲ ἀκάνθας». καὶ ταύτας διερμηνεύων ἐπῆγε λέγων· «ἔμεινα ἵνα ποιήσῃ κρίσιν, ἐποίησε δὲ ἀνομίαν καὶ οὐ δικαιοσύνην ἀλλὰ κραυγήν». ἐπὶ τούτοις τοιγαροῦν κόπτεσθαι