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the aforementioned powers will obey the commanding Master, but also, having been gathered together to the same place, they stand to hear his words. This, indeed, is what the word indicated also at the beginning of the book, saying: “Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.” And through these things he shames those who hear: for if the divine powers show such obedience with reverence toward the Master of all, how will you, being human, not much more assume the divine fear? But instead of: who announced these things to them? Symmachus has rendered it, who declared these things to them, whom the Lord loved, who will do his will. But that the heavenly powers also obey when called and are led to hear the counsel of God, from where was this known to humans? If you desire to know, learn that the Lord himself declared and made this manifest to you because he loves you, but according to Aquila it is said in this way: who among men declared these things, the Lord loved him, similarly to what Symmachus said: who declared these things to them, whom the Lord loved. This one, therefore, whom the Lord loved, made these things heard by men; and this same one, whom the Lord loved, will work “the will of the Father,” bringing the things foretold previously against Babylon, and calling back his own people from the enemy land, and leading him back to his own and guiding his way. Therefore, these things I will do at the future time, but you, having learned these things beforehand, not spoken in secret but announced to you with boldness, come to me hastening. For when the Father was planning these things, I was with him, and now I myself, being Lord, the God over all, and his spirit of holiness sent me to accomplish the things once determined by him. Hear, therefore, O Israel, what the Lord who redeemed you teaches you; and remember in the midst of every word, how I am your God, “and there is no other;” for I show you all these things so that you may find “a way of salvation.” If, at least, you had been obedient to me from the beginning, you would never have been handed over to your enemies; and such “an abundance of peace” would have been kept for you that the great “abundance” of “peace” flowing to you from me would have been like the current of a river, and your righteousness would have been famous, resounding in the ears of all like a wave of the sea. But observe in these things how he compares “the abundance of peace” to a river and the righteousness of the people to a wave of the sea, or to waves of the sea according to the other interpreters, so that if it should ever happen to be said. and concerning others it might not altogether fall upon the obvious interpretation, so as to think such things are said about a physical sea and rivers, but also your seed, he says, would have been multiplied to an innumerable multitude, so as to be compared to the sand, and the offspring of your womb likened to the dust of the earth for multitude, if you had been a keeper of my commandments. But instead of: as the dust of the earth, as the millet-grains thereof, the other interpreters have said. If, then, one were to interpret these things more physically, as addressed to the Jews who are carnal and more physical, one would say the promise was spoken glorying in the great multitude of children, because of conceiving nothing solemn or befitting God. But if you should look to the promise of God, the dignity of the one speaking, understand for me that seed from Israel and the one indicated previously in: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom,” through which was indicated the apostolic choir and all who became disciples of our savior from the Jews. the fathers were established of the churches of the world and of the multitude of those in them reborn according to God, “who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” But these things, he says, would have happened concerning you, if you had listened to the commandments

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δεσπότῃ προστάττοντι ὑπακούσουσιν αἱ προλεχθεῖσαι δυνάμεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ συναχθεῖσαι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἑστᾶσιν ἀκουσόμεναι τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων. τοῦτό τοι ἐδήλου καὶ ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς βίβλου φάσκων ὁ λόγος· «Ἄκουε, οὐρανέ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου, γῆ, ὅτι κύριος ἐλάλησεν». δυσωπεῖ δὲ διὰ τούτων τοὺς ἀκούοντας· εἰ γὰρ αἱ θεῖαι δυνάμεις τοιαύτην ἐνδείκνυνται σὺν εὐλαβείᾳ ὡς πρὸς δεσπότην τῶν ὅλων ὑπακοήν, ὑμεῖς ἄνθρωποι ὄντες, πῶς οὐ μᾶλλον τὸν θεῖον ἀναλήψεσθε φόβον; ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τίς αὐτοῖς ἀνήγγειλε ταῦτα; ὁ Σύμμαχος τίς αὐτοῖς ἀπήγγειλε ταῦτα, ὃν ὁ κύριος ἠγάπησεν, ὃς ποιήσει τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ἐξέδωκεν. ὅτι δὲ καὶ αἱ οὐράνιαι δυνάμεις ὑπακούουσι καλούμεναι καὶ ἄγονται ἀκουσόμεναι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ βουλῆς, πόθεν ἐγνώσθη ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο; εἰ γνῶναι ποθεῖς μάνθανε, ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἀπήγγειλε καὶ σοὶ τοῦτο φανερὸν ἐποίησε διὰ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν σε, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν τοῦτον εἴρηται τὸν τρόπον· τίς ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀπήγγειλε ταῦτα, κύριος ἠγάπησεν αὐτόν, ὁμοίως τῷ Συμμάχῳ φήσαντι· τίς αὐτοῖς ἀπήγγειλε ταῦτα, ὃν ὁ κύριος ἠγάπησεν. αὐτὸς οὖν οὗτος, ὃν ὁ κύριος ἠγάπησεν, ἀκουστὰ ἐποίησε ταῦτα ἀνθρώποις· ὁ δ' αὐτὸς οὗτος, ὃν ἠγάπησε κύριος, «τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς» ἐνεργήσει τὰ προλεχθέντα διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν κατὰ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἐπάξων καὶ ἀνακαλεσάμενος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πολεμίας γῆς, ἐπανάξων τε αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν καὶ ὁδηγήσων τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν κατὰ καιρὸν τὸν μέλλοντα ποιήσω, ὑμεῖς δὲ ταῦτα προμεμαθηκότες οὐκ ἐν κρυφῇ λαλούμενα, ἀλλὰ μετὰ παρρησίας ὑμῖν ἀπαγγελλόμενα, ἥκετε πρός με σπεύδοντες. καὶ γὰρ ὅτε ἐβουλεύετο ταῦτα ὁ πατήρ, παρ' αὐτῷ ἤμην, καὶ νῦν αὐτὸς κύριος ὢν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἁγιωσύνης αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλέ με τὰ ἅπαξ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ὡρισμένα διαπράξασθαι. Ἄκουε τοίνυν, ὦ Ἰσραήλ, ἅπερ διδάσκει σε ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε κύριος· μέμνησο δὲ μεταξὺ παντὸς λόγου, πῶς ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεός σου, «καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἕτερος»· ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα δείκνυμί σοι ὑπὲρ τοῦ εὑρεῖν σε «ὁδὸν σωτηρίας». εἰ γοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπήκοός μοι ἐγεγόνεις, οὐκ ἄν ποτε τοῖς ἐχθροῖς παρεδόθης· τοσοῦτο δὲ «πλῆθος εἰρήνης» ἐφυλάττετό σοι ὡς ποταμοῦ ῥεύματι ἐοικέναι τὸ πολὺ «πλῆθος» τῆς ἐπιρρεούσης σοι ἐξ ἐμοῦ «εἰρήνης», διαβόητος δ' ἂν ἐγένετό σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη ὥσπερ τι κῦμα θαλάσσης εἰς τὰς πάντων ἐξήχουν ἀκοάς. τήρει δὲ ἐν τούτοις, ὅπως ποταμῷ ἀπεικάζει «τὸ πλῆθος τῆς εἰρήνης» καὶ κύματι θαλάσσης, ἢ κύμασι θαλάσσης κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς, τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ δικαιοσύνην, ἵν' εἴ ποτε συμβαίη λέγεσθαι. καὶ ἐπὶ ἑτέρων μὴ πάντως ἐπὶ τὸ πρόχειρον ἐκπίπτοι μὲν ὡς νομίζειν περὶ θαλάσσης καὶ ποταμῶν σωματικῶν τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σού φησιν ἐπληθύνθη ἂν εἰς ἀνήριθμον πλῆθος ὡς τῇ ἄμμῳ παραβάλλεσθαι αὐτὸ καὶ τῆς κοιλίας σου τὰ γεννήματα τῷ χοῒ τῆς γῆς ἀπεικάζεσθαι πλήθους ἕνεκα, εἰ ἐγεγόνεις φύλαξ τῶν ἐμῶν ἐντολῶν. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· ὡς ὁ χοῦς τῆς γῆς, ὡς αἱ κέγχροι αὐτῆς, οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ εἰρήκασιν. εἰ μὲν οὖν σωματικώτερον ταῦτά τις ἐκδέχοιτο ὡς πρὸς Ἰουδαίους σαρκίνους ὄντας καὶ σωματικωτέρους, εἴποι ἂν εἰρῆσθαι τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν σεμνυνομένως ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν παίδων πολυπληθείᾳ διὰ τὸ μηδὲν σεμνὸν μηδὲ θεοπρεπὲς ἐννοεῖν. εἰ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ ἀξίωμα τοῦ λέγοντος ἀπίδοις, νόει μοι σπέρμα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐκεῖνο καὶ τὸ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν δεδηλωμένον ἐν τῷ· «εἰ μὴ κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν», δι' οὗ ἐδηλοῦτο ὁ ἀποστολικὸς χορὸς καὶ πάντες οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐξ Ἰουδαίων γενόμενοι μαθηταί. οἱ πατέρες κατέστησαν τῶν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἐν αὐταῖς κατὰ θεὸν ἀναγεννημένων, «οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν». ἀλλὰ ταῦτά φησιν ἐγένετο ἂν περὶ σέ, εἰ ἤκουσας τῶν ἐντολῶν