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Then, therefore, kings will see him, and rulers will rise up and worship him, “when he comes in the glory of his Father with his angels and sits on the throne of his glory,” “judging the living and the dead.” For then all will worship him for the sake of the Lord his Father, because faithful is the Holy One of Israel, who chose him. But instead of: and I chose you, Symmachus has said who chose you. These things, then, are delivered to the nations, but what follows is prophesied in the person of the Savior himself; to whom the prophetic spirit also says from the person of the Savior: In an acceptable time I heard you and on a day of salvation I helped you; and I formed you and gave you as a covenant of the nations. And it is very wonderfully said, In an acceptable time I heard you, and this was the time of his resurrection; for at the time of the passion the Savior “cried out,” saying: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But he also prays, saying this: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” Then, when he saw the Father refusing, he added: “Father, if it is not possible for it to pass, your will be done.” Therefore, the Father, receiving this prayer at an acceptable time after the passion and after the descent into Hades, showing the time of his resurrection, says to him: In an acceptable time I heard you and on a day of salvation I helped you. And instead of: and I formed you, the other interpreters have said and I preserved you. Through which, having hinted at his resurrection, he adds: and I gave you as a covenant of the nations, mentioning the new covenant at the right time. Then he clarifies, saying: to establish the earth and to inherit desolate heritages. Long ago, then, before the passion and before those of the circumcision laid hands on him, it was said: to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the diaspora of Israel. But since they did not accept the grace, they are no longer mentioned, but here he speaks concerning the nations: and I gave you as a covenant of the nations to establish the earth and to inherit desolate heritages, or according to Symmachus: to raise up the earth and to give as an inheritance legacies that have disappeared. Such were the souls of the godless and polytheists, desolate of God and truly completely vanished. But also to say, he says, to those in bonds, Come out; and these were “bound fast by the cords of their own sins,” to whom, having preached forgiveness and delivered the manner of regeneration to them, he said in deeds to those in bonds, Come out, and to those in darkness, Be revealed. For “we were all children of wrath” and “we were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord.” Then he proclaims the good news to those freed from their former bonds and former darkness, saying: they will be fed on all the ways, and on all the paths will be their pasture. And the ways and paths, which the men of God of old traversed, are the divinely-inspired scriptures, in which those who have received the promise, being fed, enjoy divine and rational delight, having found this good pasture, so as to say: “The Lord shepherds me, and I shall lack nothing. In a place of green pasture, there he has made me dwell; he has nourished me by the water of rest.” Thus indeed, being rationally nourished, they will not hunger nor will they thirst, nor will the burning heat nor the sun strike them. And he calls the burning heat and the sun the flame of mortal life and the temporary enjoyment of what is considered light among men. But neither will these things, he says, touch them, but he who has mercy on them will comfort them and will lead them by springs of water; and many are the “springs of Israel” and “springs of salvation,” some of the old covenant, others of the new. And I will make, he says, every mountain a way, so that nothing may be uphill for them, nor impassable and rough, but he also promises to make every path again a pasture for them. It has already been said by us before that it is fitting to understand in three ways

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γοῦν τότε βασιλεῖς ὄψονται αὐτόν, καὶ ἀναστήσονται ἄρχοντες καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ, «ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ καὶ καθίσῃ ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ», «κρίνων ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς». τότε γὰρ πάντες προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ ἕνεκεν κυρίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι πιστός ἐστιν ὁ ἅγιος Ἰσραήλ, ὁ ἐκλεξάμενος αὐτόν. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἐξελεξάμην σε, ὁ Σύμμαχος ὃς ἐξελέξατό σε εἴρηκε. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἔθνεσι παραδέδοται, τὰ δὲ ἐπιλεγόμενα εἰς αὐτοῦ πρόσωπον τοῦ σωτῆρος θεσπίζεται· ᾧ καί φησι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ προφητικὸν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σωτῆρος· Καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σωτηρίας ἐβοήθησά σοι καὶ ἔπλασά σε καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην ἐθνῶν. σφόδρα δὲ θαυμαστῶς εἴρηται τό· Καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου, οὗτος δὲ ἦν ὁ τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ χρόνος· κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ πάθους «ἀνεβόησεν» ὁ σωτὴρ εἰπών· «ἠλὶ ἠλὶ λεμὰ σαβαχθάνι; τοῦτ' ἔστι· θεέ μου θεέ μου, ἱνατί με ἐγκατέλιπες»; ἀλλὰ καὶ προσεύχεται λέγων τό· «πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν, παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο». εἶθ' ὡς ἀνανεύοντα τὸν πατέρα ἑώρα, ἐπήγαγε· «πάτερ, εἰ μὴ δυνατὸν παρελθεῖν αὐτό, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου». ταύτην οὖν τὴν εὐχὴν εἰς καιρὸν δεχόμενος ὁ πατὴρ μετὰ τὸ πάθος καὶ μετὰ τὴν εἰς ᾅδου κάθοδον καιρὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ δεικνύς φησι πρὸς αὐτόν· Καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σωτηρίας ἐβοήθησά σοι. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἔπλασά σε, καὶ διετήρησά σε οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ εἰρήκασι. δι' ὧν αἰνιξάμενος αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐπιφέρει· καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην ἐθνῶν, τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης κατὰ καιρὸν μνημονεύσας. εἶτα διασαφεῖ λέγων· τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίας ἐρήμους. πάλαι μὲν οὖν πρὸ τοῦ πάθους καὶ πρὶν χεῖρας ἐπιβαλεῖν αὐτῷ τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς ἐλέγετο· τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὰς διασπορὰς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπιστρέψαι. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ μὴ κατεδέξαντο τὴν χάριν, οὐκέτι μὲν ἐκείνων μέμνηνται, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐνταῦθά φησι· καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην ἐθνῶν τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίας ἐρήμους, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἀνεγεῖραι τὴν γῆν καὶ κληροδοτῆσαι κληροδοσίας ἠφανισμένας. τοιαῦται δὲ ἦσαν αἱ τῶν ἀθέων καὶ πολυθέων ψυχαὶ ἔρημοι θεοῦ καὶ ἀληθῶς παντελῶς ἠφανισμέναι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸ εἰπεῖν φησι τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς Ἐξέλθετε· ἦσαν δὲ οὗτοι «σειραῖς ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίαις κατεσφιγμένοι», οἷς τὴν ἄφεσιν κηρύξας καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀναγεννήσεως τρόπον παραδοὺς αὐτοῖς ἔργοις εἶπε τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς Ἐξέλθετε, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκότει ἀνακαλυφθῆναι· «ἦμεν» γὰρ «πάντες τέκνα ὀργῆς» καὶ «ἦμέν ποτε σκότος, νῦν δὲ φῶς ἐν κυρίῳ». εἶτ' εὐαγγελίζεται τοὺς τῶν προτέρων δεσμῶν καὶ τοῦ προτέρου σκότους ἠλευθερωμένους λέγων· ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς βοσκηθήσονται, καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς τρίβοις ἡ νομὴ αὐτῶν. ὁδοὶ δὲ καὶ τρίβοι, ἃς διώδευσαν οἱ πάλαι τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνδρες, αἱ θεόπνευστοί εἰσι γραφαί, ἐν αἷς βοσκόμενοι οἱ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τυχόντες τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ λογικῆς τρυφῆς ἀπολαύουσιν ἀγαθὴν νομὴν ταύτην εὑρόμενοι, ὥστε λέγειν· «κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει. εἰς τόπον χλόης, ἐκεῖ με κατεσκήνωσεν, ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως ἐξέθρεψέ με». Οὕτω δὴ λογικῶς τρεφόμενοι οὐ πεινάσουσιν οὐδὲ διψήσουσιν, οὐδὲ πατάξει αὐτοὺς καύσων οὐδὲ ὁ ἥλιος. καύσωνα δὲ καὶ ἥλιον τὸν φλογμὸν τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου ἀποκαλεῖ καὶ τοῦ νομιζομένου ἐν ἀνθρώποις φωτὸς τὴν πρόσκαιρον ἀπόλαυσιν. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ταῦτά φησι καθάψονται αὐτῶν, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐλεῶν αὐτοὺς παρακαλέσει καὶ διὰ πηγῶν ὑδάτων ἄξει αὐτούς· πολλαὶ δὲ «πηγαὶ Ἰσραὴλ» καὶ «πηγαὶ σωτηρίου», αἱ μὲν τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης, αἱ δὲ τῆς καινῆς. Καὶ θήσω δέ φησι πᾶν ὄρος εἰς ὁδόν, ἵνα μηδὲν αὐτοῖς ἄναντες ᾖ μηδὲ δύσβατον καὶ τραχύ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσαν τρίβον πάλιν εἰς βόσκημα θήσειν αὐτοῖς ἐπαγγέλλεται. ἤδη καὶ πρότερον ἡμῖν εἴρηται ὡς κατὰ τρόπους τρεῖς προσήκει νοεῖν