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I permit and allow persecutions of my church to happen for the testing of my athletes. For it is I who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar, but again when I wish, everything is calmed and at peace. But when the sea is stirred up and its waves are rising, I will put my words in your mouth and I will cover you under the shadow of my hand. So that you may not suffer anything from your enemies, and so that you may become more courageous and calm and unfallen, learn that in my hand, in which I set the heaven and founded the earth and brought the whole world "from non-being into being," in this very hand I promise to cover you. Why then should you be anxious or fear a human fear, when you ought to run under my shadow and not depart from it, but also always to bear my words in your mouth? But this: I will put my words in your mouth, would be similar to what was said by our Savior to his disciples: "But when they bring you to the courts, do not be anxious how or what you will speak; for it will be given to you in that hour what you will speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of my Father who speaks in you." For this reason I revealed to men my hand, by which I set the heaven and founded the earth, so that I might say to Zion, that is, to my people, to be of good courage and no longer be anxious or afraid of a mortal man. Wherefore according to Symmachus it is said: and in the shadow of my hand I will cover you, in which I planted the heaven and founded the earth; and to say to Zion, You are my People, and according to Aquila: and of saying to Zion, You are my People. Therefore, all the people of God would reasonably be called Zion, and Zion will be nothing other than the people of God. And throughout this present discourse, these things have been addressed to the people from the Gentiles, as has been shown by what came before. 2.40 After having prophesied the calling of the Gentiles through what preceded, in which it was said: "Hearken to me, hearken to me, my people, and you kings, give ear to me; for a law will go forth from me and my judgment as a light to the nations," through the present text it moves on to another subject and addresses the fallen Jerusalem, which it exhorts to rise from its fall. And it seems to signify through these things her final fall, which she suffered after the daring deeds committed in her against our Savior, for which she also experienced the wrath of God. But the Word, being good and philanthropic and "not willing" "the death of the sinner as much as his repentance," exhorts her to hasten to repentance, outlining good hopes, if she should repent. Therefore he says: Awake, awake, arise, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath; therefore it is Jerusalem that has drunk the cup of wrath. And there is another Jerusalem, about which prophecies are especially given, wherefore one must not concede nor think that they are spoken about the same thing nor are they contrary; for one is in heaven, over which God is said to reign, which neither wrath nor anger touches; for "pain and grief and groaning have fled" from it, but the other is the city of God established on earth, by which we have shown to be signified the pious polity among men; and there is another besides these, which has experienced the wrath of God because of the transgressions of its inhabitants. And instead of: the cup of falling, the goblet of my wrath, Symmachus has, the cup of his wrath, the bowl of rending she drank and drained, and there is no one to comfort her, he rendered. And one drinks the cup of wrath and falling and having drunk it, drains it, when he endures all the punishments and retributions inflicted for the wicked deeds he has done. And just as the disciples of physicians bring bitter antidotes to the sick in order to cleanse the pre-existing affliction in the body, so also it has been said concerning God: "a cup in the hand

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ἐκκλησίας τῆς ἐμῆς διωγμοὺς εἰς δοκιμὴν τῶν ἐμῶν ἀθλητῶν ἀφίημι καὶ συγχωρῶ γίνεσθαι. ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ ταράσσων τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἠχῶν τὰ κύματα αὐτῆς, ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἐμοῦ θελήσαντος καταστέλλεται καὶ εἰρηνεύει τὰ πάντα. πλὴν ταρασσομένης τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς ἐπαιρομένων ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμαυτοῦ λόγους εἰς τὸ στόμα σου θήσω καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν σκιὰν τῆς χειρός μου σκεπάσω σε. ὡς ἂν μή τι πάθοις ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμούντων, ἵνα δὲ ἐπὶ μᾶλλον θαρσαλέος γένῃ καὶ ἀτρεμὴς καὶ ἄπτωτος, μάνθανε ὡς ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί, ἐν ᾗ ἔστησα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐθεμελίωσα τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον «ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι» παρήγαγον, ἐν αὐτῇ ταύτῃ σκεπάσειν σε ἐπαγγέλλομαι. τί οὖν χρὴ ἀγωνιᾶν ἢ φοβεῖσθαι φόβον ἀνθρώπινον, δέον ὑποτρέχειν τὴν ἐμὴν σκιὰν μηδὲ ἀναχωρεῖν αὐτῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς λόγους μου πάντοτε φέρειν διὰ στόματος; τὸ δέ· θήσω τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου, ὅμοιον γένοιτ' ἂν τῷ ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν λελεγμένῳ πρὸς τοὺς αὐτοῦ μαθητάς· «ὅταν δὲ ἄγωσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς δικαστήρια, μὴ μεριμνήσητε πῶς ἢ τί λαλήσητε· δοθήσεται γὰρ ὑμῖν λόγος ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ τί λαλήσετε· οὐ γὰρ ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ λαλοῦντες, ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρός μου τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν ὑμῖν». διὰ τοῦτο δὲ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ χεῖρα, δι' ἧς ἔστησα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐθεμελίωσα τὴν γῆν, ἐξέφηνα ἀνθρώποις ἐπὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν με τῇ Σιών, τοῦτ' ἔστι τῷ ἐμῷ λαῷ, θαρσεῖν καὶ μὴ ἀγωνιᾶν ἔτι μηδὲ φοβεῖσθαι ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου θνητοῦ. διὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· καὶ ἐν σκιᾷ τῆς χειρός μου σκεπάσω σε, ἐν ᾗ ἐφύτευσα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐθεμελίωσα τὴν γῆν· καὶ εἰς τὸ εἰπεῖν τῇ Σιών Λαός μου εἶ σύ, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· καὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν τῇ Σιών Λαός μου εἶ σύ. πᾶς τοίνυν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λαὸς χρηματίζει ἂν εὐλόγως Σιών, καὶ ἡ Σιὼν οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἔσται ἢ ὁ λαὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. δι' ὅλου δὲ τοῦ παρόντος λόγου τῷ ἐξ ἐθνῶν λαῷ ταῦτα προσπεφώνηται ὡς ἀποδέδεικται διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν. 2.40 Τὴν κλῆσιν τῶν ἐθνῶν θεσπίσας ὁ λόγος διὰ τῶν πρὸ τούτου ἐν οἷς ἐλέγετο· «ἀκούσατέ μου ἀκούσατέ μου, λαός μου, καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς, πρός με ἐνωτίσασθε· ὅτι νόμος παρ' ἐμοῦ ἐξελεύσεται καὶ ἡ κρίσις μου εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν», διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἐπὶ ἑτέραν ὑπόθεσιν μεταβαίνει καὶ προσφωνεῖ τῇ πεσούσῃ Ἰερουσαλήμ, ᾗ διαναστῆναι τοῦ πτώματος παραινεῖ. ἔοικε δὲ σημαίνειν διὰ τούτων τὴν ἐσχάτην αὐτῆς πτῶσιν, ἣν πέπονθε μετὰ τὰ τολμηθέντα ἐν αὐτῇ κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, δι' ἃ καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπειράθη. χρηστὸς δὲ ὢν ὁ λόγος καὶ φιλάνθρωπος καὶ «μὴ βουλόμενος» «τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ὡς τὴν μετάνοιαν αὐτοῦ» παραινεῖ αὐτὴν σπεύδειν εἰς μετάνοιαν ὑπογράφων ἐλπίδας ἀγαθάς, εἰ μετανοήσειε. διό φησιν· Ἐξεγείρου ἐξεγείρου ἀνάστηθι, Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἡ πιοῦσα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ· οὐκοῦν Ἰερουσαλήμ ἐστιν ἡ πιοῦσα τὸ ποτήριον τῆς ὀργῆς. καὶ ἔστιν ἑτέρα Ἰερουσαλήμ, περὶ ἧς τὰ μάλιστα θεσπίζεται, διόπερ οὐ χρὴ συγχωρεῖσθαι οὐδὲ νομίζειν περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς λέγεσθαι οὐδὲ ἐναντία· ἡ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐν οὐρανῷ, ἧς καὶ βασιλεύειν λέγεται ὁ θεός, ἧς οὔτε ὀργὴ οὔτε θυμὸς ἅπτεται· «ἀπέδρα» γὰρ «ὀδύνη καὶ λύπη καὶ στεναγμὸς» ἐξ αὐτῆς, ἡ δέ ἐστι συνεστῶσα ἐπὶ γῆς τοῦ θεοῦ πόλις, δι' ἧς ἀπεδείκνυμεν σημαίνεσθαι τὸ θεοσεβὲς ἐν ἀνθρώποις πολίτευμα· ἑτέρα δὲ παρὰ ταύτας ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ πεπειραμένη διὰ τὰς τῶν οἰκητόρων παρανομίας. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· τὸ ποτήριον τῆς πτώσεως, τὸ κόνδυ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου, ὁ Σύμμαχος τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, τὸν κρατῆρα τοῦ σπαραγμοῦ ἔπιε καὶ ἐξεστράγγισε, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ παρηγορῶν αὐτὴν ἐξέδωκε. πίνει δέ τις τὸ ποτήριον θυμοῦ καὶ πτώσεως καὶ πιὼν ἐκστραγγίζει, ὅτε πάσας ὑφίσταται τὰς τιμωρίας καὶ τὰς κολάσεις τὰς ἐπαγομένας, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔπραξεν ἀτοπημάτων. ὡς δὲ ἰατρῶν παῖδες τοῖς καχεκτοῦσι πικρὰς προσάγουσιν ἀντιδότους ὑπὲρ τοῦ καθᾶραι τὴν ἐν τῷ σώματι προϋποκειμένην κάκωσιν, οὕτω καὶ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ λέλεκται· «ποτήριον ἐν χειρὶ