163

he was not begging off death nor asking for years of life; knowing that God is the judge of the thoughts of his mind, entrusting the end of his prayer to His will, he added also a great weeping, upon which it is worthy to fix the mind. Why ever did the God-fearing man use this, when he ought to have entertained good hopes for after death, especially when he was calling God himself as a witness, with a good conscience, that he had lived pleasingly to Him with truth and in a true heart. He himself will later teach the reason for the weeping, but for now the prophet, as soon as the king had prayed to God, was sent a second time from God: Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, he said. And God called David his father, giving him the highest testimony that he was worthy to be named after the God-beloved father on account of the similarity of his ways. Wherefore also in the histories he was remembered as "having done that which was right in all things like David." Wherefore God says through the prophet: I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. Since both the words of the prayer, not consisting "in much speaking," were worthy of God's hearing, and the work of tears, happening at the right time, reasonably and necessarily, drew toward him the eyes of God's oversight, inclining His benevolence. Wherefore He also grants him an addition of life, showing by deed that death is appointed for men neither by a disordered nature nor by an inexorable necessity. And not only does He promise him years of life, but out of His abundance, as is fitting for God, also a good life in a stable and peaceful existence, promising to save both him and the people with him and the city from the hand of the enemies, and He provided a sign for him for faith in what was said, through another wonder. Wherefore he says: And this shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that God will do this thing: behold, I am turning back the shadow of the steps, which the sun has gone down, the ten steps of the house of your father; I will turn back the sun the ten steps, and according to Symmachus: behold, he says, I will make the shadow of the steps, which the sun has gone down on the sundial of Ahaz your father, run back ten steps backwards. But how it was the house of Hezekiah's father, I mean of Ahaz, an idolatrous man, the house still shown now in Jerusalem being around the precinct of the temple which they still now call Hezekiah's, I myself cannot say. Wherefore, having necessarily applied my mind to the interpretation of Symmachus, I found the place was not named the house of Ahaz, but the sundial of Ahaz, and perhaps the construction of the steps in that place had been made into a sundial by Ahaz, who was accustomed to mark the hours of the day from the rays of the sun upon them. And according to Aquila, it is said "by the steps of Ahaz," and according to Theodotion, "on the steps of Ahaz," but according to none of the interpreters was the place testified to be the house of Ahaz, but either a sundial or a staircase, perhaps Ahaz used this entrance to the precinct, where the sun, having advanced according to the revolution of the heaven, and miraculously having gone backwards from west to east, ran a second course through the same hours. It was, then, a wonderful sign that Hezekiah also, from the setting of his sun, would return to a second life. And the time of that day received a double length of hours, and since the king, having obtained the wonder of God's promise, composes a thanksgiving discourse. Wherefore it is written according to Aquila: A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick. and had recovered from his sickness. And according to Theodotion it is called a writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, but by none is it called a prayer. Wherefore it is fitting to call the present writing a thanksgiving discourse, in which he says: I said: In the height of my days I will go to the gates of Hades, or: I said in the fullness of days

163

παραίτησιν τοῦ θανάτου οὐδὲ χρόνους ζωῆς ἐξῃτεῖτο· εἰδὼς τὸν θεὸν τῶν κατὰ διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ λογισμῶν ὄντα ἐπιγνώμονα τῷ νεύματι τὸ τῆς εὐχῆς ἐπιτρέπων τέλος προσετίθει καὶ κλαυθμὸν μέγαν, ἐφ' ᾧ τὸν νοῦν ἐπιστῆσαι ἄξιον. τί δή ποτε τούτῳ κέχρητο ὁ θεοσεβὴς ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὰς αὐτῷ δέον τὰς μετὰ θάνατον ὑπογράφειν ἐλπίδας, ὅτε μάλιστα αὐτὸν ἀνεκαλεῖτο μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἀγαθῇ συνειδήσει τοῦ μετὰ ἀληθείας καὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀληθινῇ εὐαρέστως αὐτῷ βεβιωκέναι. Τὸ μὲν οὖν αἴτιον τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ προϊὼν αὐτὸς διδάξει, τέως δὲ ὁ προφήτης ἅμα τῷ δεηθῆναι τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν βασιλέα δεύτερον ἀποσταλεὶς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ· Τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ∆αυὶδ τοῦ πατρός σου ἔλεγε. πατέρα δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸν ∆αυὶδ ὁ θεὸς ἐκάλει τὴν ἀνωτάτω μαρτυρίαν αὐτῷ παρέχων ὡς ἀξίῳ τὸν θεοφιλῆ πατέρα ἐπιγράφεσθαι τῆς τῶν τρόπων ὁμοιότητος χάριν. διὸ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ἐμνημονεύετο «πεποιηκὼς τὸ εὐθὲς κατὰ πάντα ὡς ∆αυίδ». διὸ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου φησὶν ὁ θεός· Ἤκουσα τῆς προσευχῆς σου καὶ εἶδον τὰ δάκρυά σου. ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ λόγοι τῆς προσευχῆς οὐκ «ἐν πολυλογίᾳ» περιεχόμενοι ἄξιοι τῶν ἀκοῶν ἦσαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ τῶν δακρύων ἔργον κατὰ καιρὸν εὐλόγως καὶ ἀναγκαίως γενόμενον τοὺς τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς τοῦ θεοῦ εἷλκε πρὸς αὐτὸν ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπικλῶν αὐτοῦ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον. διὸ καὶ ἐπινεύει αὐτῷ ζωῆς προσθήκην ἔργῳ παριστάς, ὡς οὔτε φύσει ἀτάκτῳ θάνατος ἀνθρώποις ὥρισται οὔτε ἀνάγκῃ ἀπαραιτήτῳ. οὐ μόνον δὲ χρόνους αὐτῷ ζωῆς, ἀλλ' ἐκ περιουσίας οἷα θεὸς καὶ εὐζωΐαν αὐτῷ τὴν ἐν εὐσταθεῖ καὶ εἰρηναίῳ βίῳ ἐπαγγέλλεται, αὐτόν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ λαὸν καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐκ τῆς τῶν πολεμίων χειρὸς διασώσειν ὑπισχνούμενος, σημεῖόν τε αὐτῷ παρεῖχε τῆς τῶν εἰρημένων πίστεως δι' ἑτέρου παραδόξου. διό φησι· τοῦτο δέ σοι τὸ σημεῖον παρὰ κυρίου ὅτι ποιήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ στρέφω τὴν σκιὰν τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν, οὓς κατέβη ὁ ἥλιος, τοὺς δέκα ἀναβαθμοὺς τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, ἀποστρέψω τὸν ἥλιον τοὺς δέκα ἀναβαθμούς, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἰδού φησιν ἐγὼ παλινδρομήσω τὴν σκιὰν τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν, οὓς κατέβη ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῷ ὡρολογίῳ Ἄχαζ τοῦ πατρός σου ὀπισθίως δέκα ἀναβάσεις. πῶς δὲ οἶκος ἦν τοῦ πατρὸς Ἑζεκίου, λέγω δὴ τοῦ Ἄχαζ ἀνδρὸς εἰδωλολάτρου, ὁ εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν δεικνύμενος ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις οἶκος ἀμφὶ τὸν περίβολον τοῦ ἱεροῦ τυγχάνων ὃν εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν Ἑζεκίου καλοῦσιν, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν αὐτός. διόπερ ἀναγκαίως τῇ τοῦ Συμμάχου ἑρμηνείᾳ τὸν νοῦν ἐπιστήσας οὐκ οἶκον τοῦ Ἄχαζ ὀνομαζόμενον εὗρον τὸν τόπον, ἀλλ' ὡρολόγιον τοῦ Ἄχαζ καὶ μήποτε ἡ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ κατασκευὴ τῶν βαθμῶν εἰς ὡρολόγιον πεποίητο τοῦ Ἄχαζ ἐκ τῶν ἐν αὐταῖς ἡλίου βολῶν τὰς ὥρας τῆς ἡμέρας ἐπισημαίνεσθαι εἰωθότος. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· ταῖς ἀναβάσεσιν Ἄχαζ εἴρηται, καὶ κατὰ τὸν Θεοδοτίωνα· ἐν τοῖς ἀναβαθμοῖς Ἄχαζ, κατ' οὐδένα δὲ τῶν ἑρμηνευτῶν οἶκος τοῦ Ἄχαζ ἐμαρτυρήθη εἶναι ὁ τόπος, ἀλλ' ἤτοι ὡρολόγιον ἢ ἀνάβασις, τάχα που τοῦ Ἄχαζ ταύτῃ χρωμένου τῇ εἰς τὸν περίβολον εἰσόδῳ ἔνθα προποδίσαντος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ περιφορὰν τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ εἰς τοὐπίσω παραδόξως ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ἐπ' ἀνατολὰς ἐλθόντος καὶ δεύτερον δρόμον κατὰ τῶν αὐτῶν ὡρῶν διιππεύσαντος. σημεῖον μὲν ὑπῆρχε τὸ θαυμαστὸν καὶ τὸν Ἑζεκίαν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν τοῦ ἡλίου ἐπὶ δευτέραν παλινδρομῆσαι ζωήν. ∆ιπλοῦν δ' ἀπελάμβανε μῆκος ὡρῶν ὁ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης χρόνος, ἐπεὶ δὲ τῷ θαύματι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπαγγελίας τυχὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς εὐχαριστήριον συντάττει λόγον. διὸ γέγραπται κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· γραφὴ Ἑζεκίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα ἐν τῷ ἀρρωστῆσαι αὐτόν. καὶ ἔζησεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατὰ τὸν Θεοδοτίωνα γραφὴ Ἑζεκίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα εἴρηται, παρ' οὐδενὶ δὲ προσευχή. ∆ιὸ λόγον εὐχαριστήριον προσήκει λέγειν τὴν παροῦσαν γραφήν, ἐν ᾗ φησιν· Ἐγὼ εἶπα Ἐν τῷ ὕψει τῶν ἡμερῶν μου πορεύσομαι ἐν πύλαις ᾅδου, ἤ· ἐγὼ εἶπα ἐν τῇ πληρώσει τῶν ἡμερῶν