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to strengthen, but it also urges addressing those who were formerly faint-hearted: be strong, do not be afraid. For even if some persecute you, threatening and instilling fears, inflicting tortures and torments, yet you, he says, who were once faint-hearted, having partaken of strength and power, do not be afraid, having your God with you always. Therefore according to Symmachus: do not be afraid; behold, your God will come with vengeance, with recompense; the Lord himself will come and save you. Therefore, having been taught these things, you who were once faint-hearted, be strong, do not be afraid. Having prophesied these things and clearly announced the presence of God, the Word brings forward signs and marks of his achievements, saying next: then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall be clear. And these things were clearly fulfilled at the coming of our savior Jesus Christ, during which each of the things said was accomplished, as he healed every disease and every infirmity of bodies by the power of divine authority, and not only of bodies, but also healed the passions of souls by the word of his teaching. Indeed, even now throughout the whole world, in all the nations, those who formerly on account of the soul's crippling and blindness marveled at lifeless and immovable wooden images as gods, now having the eye of their soul illuminated by his light, see again so as to despise the superstition handed down from their fathers, and to know only one true God. And those who were formerly deaf and did not hear the divine words, now through his grace have become knowledgeable in hearing the divinely inspired oracles, but also those who were paralyzed in the foundations of their soul have leaped up like "deer," being made like their teachers, whom the prophecy a little before called "deer." And the tongue of the mute, which "Satan had bound" from theologizing the true God, has learned to speak clearly and articulately. And you would not err in calling mute those who "among the wise of this age" with difficulty ever dared to think and speak something correct about God. In addition to all these things, at the prophesied theophany, he says that water also broke forth in the formerly desolate place; a life-giving spring having appeared in it, a ravine was found, and, according to Symmachus, torrents and streams in a thirsty land. Now, the water itself was that of the Jordan, about which it was said a little before: "the deserts of the Jordan shall rejoice," through which was signified "the bath of regeneration" and the mystery of the new covenant, while the streams signified the evangelical words of the savior. Furthermore, in addition to these things, there came to be in the indicated desert the joy of birds and a fold for flocks, that is, of winged and soaring souls, and of other tame and gentle ones governed by a good shepherd, so as to be able to say: "the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Now, above in the desert of Zion, it was said that "ibises and hedgehogs and ravens and onocentaurs" and "demons" would "dwell," but in the desert at hand, the Word announces such good tidings. And that one was said to be filled "with pitch and sulfur and fire," but this one with a spring of water and streams and torrents. But also, he says, there will be here a clean way, and it shall be called a holy way. This would be the one leading to the thrice-blessed end "of the heavenly city of God," which the savior indicated when he said: "I am the way." Therefore the saving Word, who guides by the hand those journeying through him to the Father and restores them to the kingdom of heaven, is prophesied to be given to the desert in addition to the other good things, and it is manifest that no one unclean passes through this way; but the dispersed, he says, will travel on it. And who are these, but those who were formerly scattered from God and had wandered far from the truth? For these, having returned and the straight and

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παρακρατύνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πάλαι ὀλιγοψύχοις προσφωνεῖν παρακελεύεται τό· ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε· κἂν γὰρ διώκωσί τινες ἀπειλοῦντες καὶ φόβους ἐμποιοῦντες, αἰκίας τε καὶ βασάνους ἐπάγοντες, ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς φησιν οἵ ποτε ὀλιγόψυχοι ἰσχύος καὶ δυνάμεως μεταλαβόντες μὴ φοβεῖσθε ἔχοντες τὸν ὑμέτερον διὰ παντὸς ὑμῖν συνόντα θεόν. διὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· μὴ φοβεῖσθε· ἰδοὺ ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ἐκδίκησις ἐλεύσεται ἀνταποδόσεως, κύριος αὐτὸς ἐλεύσεται καὶ σώσει ὑμᾶς. ταῦτα τοίνυν παιδευθέντες ὑμεῖς οἵ ποτε ὀλιγόψυχοι ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. Ταῦτα θεσπίσας ὁ λόγος καὶ σαφῶς θεοῦ παρουσίαν εὐαγγελισάμενος σημεῖα καὶ γνωρίσματα ἐπάγει τῶν αὐτοῦ κατορθωμάτων λέγων ἑξῆς· τότε ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν, καὶ ὦτα κωφῶν ἀκούσονται. τότε ἁλεῖται ὡς ἔλαφος χωλός, καὶ τρανὴ ἔσται γλῶσσα μογιλάλων. ἐπληροῦτο δὲ ταῦτα ἐναργῶς κατὰ τὴν γενομένην τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν, καθ' ἣν ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων τέλους ἐτύγχανε πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν σωμάτων δυνάμει θεϊκῆς ἐξουσίας ἰωμένου αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ σωμάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψυχῶν τὰ πάθη τῷ τῆς διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ λόγῳ θεραπεύοντος. εἰσέτι γοῦν καὶ νῦν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οἱ πάλαι διὰ πήρωσιν ψυχῆς καὶ ἀβλεψίαν ἄψυχα καὶ ἀκίνητα ξόανα οἷα θεοὺς τεθηπότες τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὄμμα τῷ αὐτοῦ φωτὶ καταυγασθέντες ἀναβλέπουσιν ὡς καταπτύειν μὲν τῆς πατροπαραδότου δεισιδαιμονίας, γνωρίζειν δὲ καὶ μόνον ἕνα ἀληθῆ θεόν. καὶ οἱ κωφοὶ δὲ καὶ ἀνήκοοι θείων λόγων πρότερον, νῦν διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ χάριτος ἐπιστήμονες γεγόνασι τῆς τῶν θεοπνεύστων λογίων ἀκοῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ παρειμένοι τὰς βάσεις τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνεπήδησαν «ἐλάφων» δίκην τοῖς αὐτῶν ἐξομοιωθέντες διδασκάλοις, οὓς μικρῷ πρόσθεν «ἐλάφους» ὠνόμαζεν ἡ προφητεία. καὶ ἡ τῶν μογιλάλων δὲ γλῶσσα, ἣν «συνέδησεν ὁ σατανᾶς» τοῦ μὴ θεολογεῖν τὸν ἀληθῆ θεόν, τρανὰ φθέγγεσθαι καὶ διηρθρωμένα μεμάθηκε. μογιλάλους δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις εἰπὼν τοὺς «παρὰ τοῖς σοφοῖς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου» μόγις ποτὲ τολμήσαντας ὀρθόν τι φρονῆσαι καὶ εἰπεῖν περὶ θεοῦ. πρὸς τούτοις ἅπασιν ἐπὶ τῇ θεσπιζομένῃ θεοφανείᾳ καὶ ὕδωρ φησὶν ἐν τῇ πάλαι ἐρήμῳ ἐρράγη πηγῆς ἐν αὐτῇ ζωοποιοῦ φανείσης φάραγξ εὕρηται, καὶ χείμαρροι κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον καὶ ῥεῖθρα ἐν γῇ διψώσῃ. τὸ μὲν οὖν ὕδωρ αὐτὸ ἦν ἐκεῖνο τὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, περὶ οὗ ἐλέγετο μικρῷ πρόσθεν τό· «ἀγαλλιάσεται τὰ ἔρημα τοῦ Ἰορδάνου», δι' οὗ ᾐνίττετο «τὸ λουτρὸν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας» καὶ τὸ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης μυστήριον, τὰ δὲ ῥεῖθρα τοὺς εὐαγγελικοὺς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐδήλου λόγους. Ἔτι δὲ πρὸς τούτοις γέγονεν ἐν τῇ δηλωθείσῃ ἐρήμῳ εὐφροσύνη ὀρνέων καὶ ἔπαυλις ποιμνίων, ψυχῶν ἐπτερωμένων δηλαδὴ καὶ μετεωροπόρων καὶ ἄλλων ἡμέρων καὶ πράων ὑπὸ καλῷ ποιμένι διοικουμένων ὡς δύνασθαι λέγειν· «κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει». ἀνωτέρω μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Σιὼν «οἰκήσειν» ἐλέγοντο «ἴβεις καὶ ἐχῖνοι καὶ κόρακες καὶ ὀνοκένταυροι» καὶ «δαιμόνια», τῇ δὲ μετὰ χεῖρας ἐρήμῳ τοσαῦτα εὐαγγελίζεται ὁ λόγος. κἀκείνη μὲν πληρωθήσεσθαι «πίσσης καὶ θείου καὶ πυρὸς» ἐλέγετο, αὕτη δὲ πηγῆς ὕδατος καὶ ῥείθρων καὶ χειμάρρων. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔσται φησὶν ἐνταῦθα ὁδὸς καθαρά, καὶ ὁδὸς ἁγία κληθήσεται. αὕτη δὲ εἴη ἂν ἡ ἀπάγουσα ἐπὶ τὸ τρισμακάριον τέλος «τῆς ἐπουρανίου τοῦ θεοῦ πόλεως», ἣν παριστὰς ὁ σωτὴρ ἔλεγεν· «ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός». ὁ λόγος τοίνυν ὁ σωτήριος ὁ τοὺς δι' αὐτοῦ ὁδεύοντας χειραγωγῶν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν ἀποκαθιστὰς τῇ ἐρήμῳ δοθήσεσθαι πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγαθοῖς προφητεύεται, πρόδηλον δὲ ὡς οὐδεὶς διὰ ταύτης τῆς ὁδοῦ παρέρχεται ἀκάθαρτος· οἱ δὲ διεσπαρμένοι φησὶ πορεύσονται ἐπ' αὐτῆς. τίνες δὲ οὗτοι, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ πάλαι διεσκεδασμένοι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ μακρὰν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀποπλανηθέντες; οὗτοι γὰρ παλινδρομήσαντες καὶ τὴν εὐθεῖαν καὶ