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we did not know, he says we will understand the prophetic writings, that is, and the lives presented by the divine teaching, and that he will make the darkness into light for us and the crooked things into a straight way; For the ignorance of God that long prevailed in our souls will be changed into the light of knowledge, and the oracles of God that we formerly considered crooked and unclear, he promises to make these smooth as well. and he adds: These words I will do for them, and very precisely he promises not to speak the words to them, but to do them; for long ago these things were spoken by the prophets, but he promises to accomplish them through works, and he says, I will not forsake them. Then, having said these things about those who were formerly blind, he again turns his discourse to those who were once near God, but have turned backward, alluding to those of the circumcision, about whom he says: But they have turned backward. Then, as if showing them the change of the nations, and from what error they have been changed, having come into the light from darkness, he reproachfully says to those idolaters: Be utterly ashamed, you who trust in graven images, who say to molten images, You are our gods. For truly, since the formerly idolatrous nations changed to the worship of God, the nation of the Jews was put to shame; wherefore, during the times when these things were prophesied, they gave themselves to idolatry, but now they have ceased, being ashamed because of the change of the nations. Hence this was prophetically declared in the saying: They will be utterly ashamed; for he says, when they see those who were formerly blind changed to the light, then they themselves will also be ashamed and will cease saying to the molten images, You are our gods. Having said these things, the discourse, as if letting out a shout into the ears of the deaf, cries out: You deaf, hear, and you blind, look up to see. And lest anyone should think these things are said about the nations that were formerly blind and deaf, he necessarily clarifies and interprets the meaning by adding next: And who is blind but my servants, and deaf but those who rule over them? Then according to Symmachus is added: Who is blind as the perfect one? And he interprets the discourse still further, saying: And the servants of God were blinded, but according to Symmachus: he says, You blind, look up, and you deaf, hear; Who is blind, if not my servant, and deaf as my messenger, whom I sent? Who is blind as the perfect one and deaf as my servant? And what is found in the other interpreters is equivalent. And whom does he call his servant but the people of the circumcision, and he calls the same one also messenger and perfect one and servant of the Lord for his condemnation. saying these things: For I wished to have this people as my servant and perfect one and messenger, but they were blinded. But how they became blind and deaf, he relates, saying: You saw often, and did not observe; your ears were open, and you did not hear. And such were the things said before in: "Hearing you will hear and not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull." But according to Symmachus: He says, you saw many things, and you will not keep them; his ears are open, and you will not hear. The Lord willed to justify him, to magnify the law and make it wonderful. But he is a people plundered and despoiled. You see that all these things have been said about the people of the circumcision. But the Lord willed that he might justify him and that he might magnify praise; but they were handed over to those who war against their souls and they became a people plundered and despoiled; For the snare is within, in the chambers of their souls and in their houses at the same time. For in those very thoughts, which they concealed while plotting against Christ, in those very things was the snare against them, and there was no one to take them out, nor one to deliver, nor one to say, Restore. Then, since he was speaking as if to the deaf, being at a loss for hearers among them, he says: Who among you, who

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οὐκ ᾔδειμεν, τὰς προφητικὰς δηλαδὴ γραφὰς καὶ τοὺς βίους τοὺς ὑπὸ τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας ὑποβαλλομένους συνήσεσθαι ἡμᾶς φησι καὶ τὸ σκότος δὲ ποιήσειν ἡμῖν εἰς φῶς καὶ τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν· τὴν γὰρ ἄγνοιαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν πάλαι ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐπιπολάζουσαν εἰς φῶς γνώσεως μεταβαλεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ πάλαι δὲ σκολιὰ ἡμῖν καὶ ἀσαφῆ νομιζόμενα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγια, καὶ ταῦτα ὁμαλὰ ποιήσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται. καὶ ἐπιφέρει· ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ποιήσω αὐτοῖς, σφόδρα δὲ ἀπηκριβωμένως οὐχὶ λαλήσειν αὐτοῖς τὰ ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ ποιήσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται· πάλαι μὲν γὰρ παρὰ τοῖς προφήταις ἐλαλεῖτο ταῦτα, δι' ἔργων δὲ αὐτὰ ἐπιτελέσειν ὑπισχνεῖται, καὶ οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψω αὐτούς φησιν. εἶτα ταῦτα εἰπὼν περὶ τῶν πάλαι τυφλῶν αὖθις ἐπιστρέφει τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τοὺς πάλαι μὲν ὄντας πλησίον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀποστραφέντας δὲ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς αἰνιττόμενος, περὶ ὧν φησιν· αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀπεστράφησαν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. εἶθ' ὥσπερ ἐπιδεικνὺς αὐτοῖς τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν μεταβολήν, καὶ ἐξ οἵας πλάνης μεταβεβλήκασιν εἰς φῶς ἐλθόντες ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους, ὀνειδιστικῶς πρὸς ἐκείνους εἰδωλολατροῦντας ἐπιλέγει· αἰσχύνθητε αἰσχύνην, οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς οἱ λέγοντες τοῖς χωνευτοῖς Ὑμεῖς ἐστε θεοὶ ἡμῶν. καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς τῶν πάλαι εἰδωλολατρῶν ἐθνῶν μεταβεβληκότων εἰς θεοσέβειαν τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος ᾐσχύνθη· διὸ καθ' οὓς μὲν προεφητεύετο ταῦτα χρόνους εἰδωλολατρίαις προσεῖχον, ἐπαύσαντο δὲ νῦν αἰσχυνόμενοι διὰ τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν μεταβολήν. ὅθεν προφητικῶς τοῦτ' ἐδηλοῦτο ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι· αἰσχυνθήσονται αἰσχύνην· ἐπειδὰν γάρ φησιν ἴδωσι τοὺς πάλαι τυφλοὺς μεταβαλόντας εἰς φῶς τὸ τηνικαῦτα καὶ αὐτοὶ αἰσχυνθήσονται καὶ παύσονται τοῦ λέγειν τοῖς χωνευτοῖς Ὑμεῖς θεοὶ ἡμῶν. Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ λόγος ὡς εἰς κωφῶν ὦτα κραυγὴν ἀφιεὶς ἐπιβοᾷ· Οἱ κωφοί, ἀκούσατε, καὶ οἱ τυφλοί, ἀναβλέψατε ἰδεῖν. καὶ ἵνα μή τις ταῦτα νομίσειε περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν λέγεσθαι τῶν πάλαι τυφλῶν καὶ κωφῶν, ἀναγκαίως διασαφεῖ καὶ ἑρμηνεύει τὴν διάνοιαν ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγων· καὶ τίς τυφλὸς ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ παῖδές μου καὶ κωφοὶ ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ κυριεύοντες αὐτῶν; εἶτα κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον πρόσκειται· τίς τυφλὸς ὡς ὁ τέλειος; καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον διερμηνεύει τὸν λόγον φάσκων· καὶ ἐτυφλώθησαν οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· οἱ τυφλοί φησιν, ἀναβλέψατε, καὶ οἱ κωφοί, ἀκούσατε· τίς τυφλὸς εἰ μὴ ἂν ὁ δοῦλός μου καὶ κωφὸς ὡς ὁ ἄγγελός μου, ὃν ἀπέστειλα; τίς τυφλὸς ὡς ὁ τέλειος καὶ κωφὸς ὡς ὁ δοῦλός μου; ἰσοδυναμεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἑρμηνευταῖς. δοῦλον δὲ αὐτοῦ τίνα λέγει ἢ τὸν ἐκ περιτομῆς λαὸν τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ καὶ ἄγγελον ὀνομάζει καὶ τέλειον καὶ δοῦλον κυρίου εἰς κατάκρισιν αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα λέγων ἐγὼ γὰρ καὶ δοῦλον καὶ τέλειον καὶ ἄγγελον ἐμαυτοῦ τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον ἐβουλήθην ἔχειν, οἱ δὲ ἐτυφλώθησαν. Πῶς δὲ τυφλοὶ καὶ κωφοὶ γεγόνασι, διεξέρχεται λέγων· εἴδετε πλεονάκις, καὶ οὐκ ἐφυλάξασθε· ἠνεῳγμένα τὰ ὦτα, καὶ οὐκ ἠκούσατε. τοιαῦτα δὲ ἦν καὶ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένα ἐν τῷ· «Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε· ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου». κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· εἶδές φησι πολλά, καὶ οὐ μὴ φυλάξεις· ἀνεῳγμένα τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀκούσεις. κύριος ἠθέλησεν ἵνα δικαιώσῃ αὐτὸν μεγαλῦναι νόμον καὶ θαυμάσαι. αὐτὸς δὲ λαὸς διηρπασμένος καὶ προνενομευμένος. ὁρᾷς ὅτι πάντα ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ εἴρηται τοῦ ἐκ περιτομῆς. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν κύριος ἐβούλετο ἵνα δικαιώσῃ αὐτὸν καὶ ἵνα μεγαλύνῃ αἴνεσιν· οἱ δὲ ἐξεδόθησαν τοῖς τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν πολεμοῦσι καὶ γεγόνασι λαὸς διηρπασμένος καὶ προνενομευμένος· ἡ γὰρ παγὶς ἔνδον ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις αὐτῶν ἅμα. ἐν γὰρ αὐτοῖς τοῖς λογισμοῖς, οὓς ἔκρυπτον τὰ κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ βουλευόμενοι ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις ἦν ἡ κατ' αὐτῶν παγίς, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐξαιρούμενος οὐδὲ ὁ ῥυόμενος οὐδὲ ὁ λέγων Ἀπόδος. Εἶτ' ἐπειδήπερ ὡς κωφοῖς ἐλάλει, ἀπορῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀκροατῶν φησι· Τίς ἐν ὑμῖν, ὃς