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Symmachus. He says, the one numbering those who are nourished, the shameless people. you will not see a people heavy in lips, so as not to hear the dialect of a tongue. He says, therefore, you pervert the shameless people, nourishing them with flattery and deceit, O you scribe of the law. And do you not see with your sight my people, the one heavy in their lips? But neither will you hear, being without understanding, the dialect of a tongue, about which it was said above: "and the stammering tongues will quickly learn to speak peace." But you will not hear these tongues, nor will you understand the deep-voiced people. For how was it possible for them to understand these things, being without understanding, so that it is said of them: a depraved people, and for the hearer there is no understanding. 2.6 Instead of: behold Sion the city, Aquila has, Sion the small city was envisioned, but Symmachus and Theodotion have said, see Sion the city of our saints, the word addressing Sion and exhorting her to behold the city called our salvation or to behold the city of our saints. And again in succession: your eyes will see Jerusalem, as Jerusalem is about to be known and as your eyes will see another city, that of the festivals. But by these things the word signifies salvation as the Christ of God, and the city of festivals as the church of God, which is a rich city, and tents which shall not be shaken, nor shall the stakes of its tent be moved for all time, nor shall its cords be broken. For of the Judaic Jerusalem the tents were often shaken, as it was besieged in various ways and brought down to the ground by those who made war on it at different times, but of this new city he says the stakes will be immovable. For even if it is thought at times to be driven and besieged in persecutions, yet standing "on the rock" it remains unfallen for ever; for "truthful" was the one who said: "on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it," and again: "the rains descended, the rivers came, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not fall; for it had been founded on the rock." For this reason he says its cords will not be broken. And he adds the reason, saying: that the name of the lord is great to us; there will be for us a place, rivers and channels wide and spacious. The very name of the lord, he says, will be a place for this new city, the unshakable and unfallen; therefore, as it is built upon the lord who is its place, it remains unshakable. But according to Symmachus: there, he says, the mighty lord is for us a place of rivers, spacious channels, where no oared ship will travel nor will the command of a mighty one cross it, and according to Aquila: there, he says, the exceedingly great lord is for us a place of rivers, streams wide with hands, a ship of oar shall not travel in it and an exceedingly large trireme shall not cross it. And Theodotion has published similar things. Through which the word says that the lord of the aforementioned city will be a place of rivers having streams and wide channels so as to say: "the streams of the river make glad the city of God," and again: "the river of God was filled with waters." And so these "rivers" "that make glad the city of God" are in safety, so that an oared ship cannot travel through them, nor an exceedingly large trireme, because the lord himself is their place. From where the rivers, which encircle and wall the aforesaid city of God instead of a rampart, happen to be unassailable to enemies and foes, so as to be uncrossable for all foreigners; since the lord, being its place, is great; for he himself was the rock on which it was built. And the same, he says, is also our judge, he is also our ruler, he is also our king and our savior. The lord being all these things for us, the city is reasonably unbesieged, and the rivers which encircle it for all enemies

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τὸν Σύμμαχον· ὁ ἀριθμῶν φησι τοὺς ἐκτεθραμμένους, τὸν λαὸν τὸν ἀναιδῆ. οὐκ ὄψει λαὸν βαρὺν χείλεσιν, ὥστε μὴ ἀκοῦσαι διάλεκτον γλώσσης· τὸν μὲν οὖν ἀναιδῆ λαόν φησι διαστρέφεις τρέφων κολακείᾳ καὶ ἀπάτῃ, ὦ σὺ γραμματεῦ τοῦ νόμου. οὐχ ὁρᾷς δὲ ὄψει τὸν ἐμὸν λαὸν τὸν βαρὺν τοῖς χείλεσιν; ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀκούσῃ ἀσύνετος ὢν διαλέκτου γλώσσης, περὶ ἧς ἀνωτέρω ἐλέγετο· «καὶ αἱ γλῶσσαι αἱ ψελλίζουσαι ταχὺ μαθήσονται λαλεῖν εἰρήνην». ἀλλὰ σὺ ταύτας τὰς γλώσσας οὐκ ἀκούσεις οὐδὲ τὸν βαθύφωνον λαὸν νοήσεις· πῶς γὰρ καὶ οἷόν τε ἦν αὐτοὺς ταῦτα νοεῖν ἀσυνέτους ὄντας ὥστε λέγεσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν· λαὸς πεφαυλισμένος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τῷ ἀκούοντι σύνεσις. 2.6 Ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἰδοὺ Σιὼν ἡ πόλις ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας ὡραματίσθη Σιὼν πολίχνη, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων ἴδε Σιὼν τὴν πόλιν τῶν ἁγίων ἡμῶν εἰρήκασι, τοῦ λόγου προσφωνοῦντος τῇ Σιὼν καὶ παρακελευομένου αὐτῇ θεάσασθαι τὴν πόλιν τὴν καλουμένην τὸ σωτήριον ἡμῶν ἢ θεάσασθαι τὴν πόλιν τῶν ἁγίων ἡμῶν. καὶ πάλιν ἑξῆς· οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται Ἰερουσαλήμ, ὡς μελλούσης τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ γινώσκεσθαι καὶ ὡς οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται ἑτέραν πόλιν τὴν τῶν ἑορτῶν. σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τούτων ὁ λόγος σωτήριον μὲν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, πόλιν δὲ ἑορτῶν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἥτις ἐστὶ πόλις πλουσία, καὶ σκηναὶ αἳ οὐ μὴ σεισθῶσιν, οὐδὲ μὴ κινηθῶσιν οἱ πάσσαλοι τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτῆς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, οὐδὲ τὰ σχοινία αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ διαρραγῶσιν· τῆς μὲν γὰρ Ἰουδαϊκῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ πολλάκις ἐσείσθησαν αἱ σκηναὶ πολιορκηθείσης διαφόρως καὶ εἰς ἔδαφος κατενεχθείσης ὑπὸ τῶν κατὰ χρόνους πολεμησάντων αὐτήν, τῆς δὲ καινῆς ταύτης πόλεως ἀκινήτους φησὶν ἔσεσθαι τοὺς πασσάλους. κἂν γὰρ νομίζηταί ποτε ἐν διωγμοῖς ἐλαύνεσθαι καὶ πολιορκεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' «ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν» ἑστῶσα μένει δι' αἰῶνος ἄπτωτος· «ἀψευδὴς» γὰρ ἦν ὁ εἰπών· «ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν ταύτην οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς», καὶ πάλιν· «κατέβησαν οἱ ὑετοί, ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοί, ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι καὶ προσέρρηξαν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσε· τεθεμελίωτο γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν». διὰ τοῦτο τὰ σχοινία αὐτῆς φησιν οὐ μὴ διαρραγῶσι. Καὶ τὸ αἴτιον ἐπιλέγει φάσκων· ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου μέγα ἐστὶν ἡμῖν· τόπος ἡμῖν ἔσται, ποταμοὶ καὶ διώρυγες πλατεῖς καὶ εὐρύχωροι. αὐτὸ τὸ ὄνομά φησι κυρίου τόπος ἔσται ταύτῃ τῇ καινῇ πόλει τῇ ἀσείστῳ καὶ ἀπτώτῳ· διόπερ ὡς ἂν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον τόπον ὄντα αὐτῆς ᾠκοδομημένη ἄσειστος μένει. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἐκεῖ φησι κραταιὸς ἡμῖν κύριος τόπος ποταμῶν, διώρυγες εὐρύχωροι, ὅπου μὴ πορευθῇ πλοῖον κωπηλάτου οὐδὲ ἐντολὴ κραταιοῦ διαπεράσει αὐτό, καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· ἐκεῖ φησιν ὑπερμεγέθης κύριος ἡμῖν τόπος ποταμῶν, ῥεῖθρα πλατέα χερσίν, οὐ μὴ πορευθῇ ἐν αὐτῷ ναῦς κώπης καὶ τριήρης ὑπερμεγέθης οὐ διαβήσεται αὐτό. τὰ παραπλήσια δὲ καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων ἐξέδωκεν. δι' ὧν ὁ λόγος τῆς προλεχθείσης πόλεως τὸν κύριόν φησιν ἔσεσθαι τόπον ποταμῶν ῥεῖθρα ἐχόντων καὶ διώρυγας πλατεῖς ὥστε λέγειν· «τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὁρμήματα εὐφραίνουσι τὴν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ», καὶ πάλιν· «ὁ ποταμὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπληρώθη ὑδάτων». οὕτω δὲ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ τυγχάνουσιν «οἱ ποταμοὶ» οὗτοι «οἱ τὴν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ εὐφραίνοντες» ὡς μὴ δύνασθαι δι' αὐτῶν πορεύεσθαι πλοῖον κωπηλάτου μηδὲ τριήρη ὑπερμεγέθη διὰ τὸ αὐτὸν τὸν κύριον εἶναι τὸν τόπον αὐτῶν. ὅθεν ἐχθροῖς καὶ πολεμίοις ἀνεπίβατοι τυγχάνουσιν οἱ ποταμοὶ οἱ τὴν προλεχθεῖσαν τοῦ θεοῦ πόλιν ἀντὶ περιβόλου κυκλοῦντες καὶ περιτειχίζοντες ὡς πᾶσιν ἀλλοτρίοις ἀδιαβάτους εἶναι· ἐπειδὴ ὁ κύριος τόπος ὢν αὐτῆς μέγας ἐστίν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἦν ἡ πέτρα, ἐφ' ἣν ᾠκοδομήθη. ὁ αὐτὸς δέ φησι καὶ κριτὴς ἡμῶν ἐστιν, αὐτὸς καὶ ἄρχων ἡμῶν ἐστιν, αὐτὸς καὶ βασιλεὺς καὶ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν. πάντα ταῦτα τοῦ κυρίου ὄντος ἡμῖν εἰκότως ἀπολιόρκητος τυγχάνει ἡ πόλις, καὶ οἱ ποταμοὶ οἱ κυκλοῦντες αὐτὴν ἐχθροῖς ἅπασιν