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in peace were received by God. and his burial was taken from their midst. But one might say that these things could apply both to the Savior and to his disciples who were plotted against by the nation of the Jews, but he says that the oracle also alludes to the resurrection of our Savior; his death being indicated by his burial, and his resurrection by the fact that his burial was taken from their midst. But this one was taken from the midst of iniquity and was in peace, and his burial disappeared from their midst because he did not remain in the place of burial; whence "the angel standing by the women said": "Whom do you seek? Jesus? He is not here; come, see his place." But you who dared similar things also of old by the prophets of God, who are truly "blinded and mute and shameless dogs," draw near here, or approach here according to the other interpreters, lawless sons and seed of adulterers and of a harlot; for it is not right to call you "children of Abraham and Sarah"; "for if you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." The Word knows to call adulterers those who practiced idolatry of old, concerning whom it is said: "and they committed adultery with wood and stone," and a harlot Jerusalem, as the present prophet indicated through the things before when he said: "How the faithful city Zion has become a harlot"; whence according to Symmachus it is said, seed of adulterers and of one who fornicated, so that even if at present the children of the Jews do not practice idolatry, yet they are at least the seed of adulterers and of a harlot. Therefore the Word says to them: seed of adulterers and of a harlot, draw near here and having come near, say: in what have you delighted? or according to Symmachus: against whom have you delighted and against whom have you widened your mouth, and stuck out your tongue? For he especially accuses their tongue and their mouth because of the cries against the Savior and the blasphemies they still even now make against him. Therefore he says: against whom have you opened your mouth and against whom have you let loose your tongue? Are you not children of destruction? For he was taken from the midst of iniquity and was in peace, and his burial was taken from the midst; but you were then the children of destruction and the lawless seed. You who call upon idols under shady trees, slaying your children in the valleys among the rocks. That is your portion, this is your lot, and to those you poured out libations and to these you offered up sacrifices, or according to Symmachus: under every leafy tree, slaying your offspring in the valleys under the ledges of the rocks; for he says you were worthy of these things, wherefore that is your portion and this is your lot. Through these things it is clearly shown that the present prophecy applies to the idolaters in the time of Isaiah the prophet, whose transgressions having recounted, it adds: Is it not then right to let loose anger against you for these things, especially since on a high and lofty mountain, there is your bed, and there you brought up a sacrifice and behind the posts of the door you have set your memorials. And these things, he says, you did, acting impiously not in secret, but openly; in such a way as to perform the demonic sacrifices even on the highest mountains. And now also behind your doors, as a kind of phylactery, setting up the memorials of your own idolatry, that is the lifeless statues, and you did these things as if you would find something more from my withdrawal. These things were directed to "the" aforementioned "blind watchmen" and "the mute dogs," but what follows he adds as directed to Jerusalem herself and the synagogue of the Jewish people, saying: You loved those who sleep with you, but according to Symmachus and the other interpreters: you loved their bed, and whose bed if not that "of your watchmen" aforementioned and "of the shameless dogs"? And you multiplied your fornication with them; for which reason it was said concerning

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εἰρήνῃ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ παρελαμβάνοντο. καὶ ἡ ταφὴ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἦρτο ἐκ τοῦ μέσου. εἴποι δ' ἄν τις δύνασθαι ταῦτα ἁρμόττειν καὶ τῷ σωτῆρι καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ τοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ἐπιβεβουλευμένοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν αἰνίττεσθαι τὸ λόγιόν φησι· τοῦ μὲν θανάτου διὰ τῆς ταφῆς αὐτοῦ δηλουμένου, τῆς δὲ ἀναστάσεως διὰ τοῦ ἦρθαι ἐκ τοῦ μέσου τὴν ταφὴν αὐτοῦ. ἀλλ' οὗτος μὲν ἐκ μέσου ἀδικίας ἤρθη καὶ γέγονεν ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἡ ταφὴ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ μέσου ἀφανὴς γέγονε διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀπομεῖναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ τῆς ταφῆς τόπῳ· ὅθεν «ὁ ἄγγελος ἐπιστὰς ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἔλεγε»· «Τίνα ζητεῖτε; Ἰησοῦν; οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε· δεῦτε ἴδετε τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ». Ὑμεῖς δὲ οἱ τὰ ὅμοια καὶ πάλαι πρότερον ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν τοῦ θεοῦ τετολμηκότες οἱ ἀληθῶς «τετυφλωμένοι καὶ κύνες ἐνεοὶ καὶ ἀναιδεῖς», προσαγάγετε ὧδε, ἢ ἐγγίσατε ὧδε κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς, υἱοὶ ἄνομοι καὶ σπέρμα μοιχῶν καὶ πόρνης· οὐ γὰρ ἄξιον «τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῆς Σάρρας τέκνα» ὑμᾶς καλεῖν· «εἰ γὰρ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἦτε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἐποιεῖτε ἄν». μοιχοὺς δὲ οἶδεν ὁ λόγος καλεῖν τοὺς πάλαι εἰδωλολατροῦντας, περὶ ὧν εἴρηται· «καὶ ἐμοίχευσαν τὸ ξύλον καὶ τὸν λίθον», πόρνην δὲ τὴν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ὡς ἐδήλου διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ὁ παρὼν προφήτης εἰπών· «Πῶς ἐγένετο πόρνη πόλις πιστὴ Σιών»· ὅθεν κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον σπέρμα μοιχῶν εἴρηται καὶ πορνευσάσης, ὥστε εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰδωλολατροῦσιν Ἰουδαίων παῖδες, ἀλλὰ σπέρμα γοῦν εἰσι μοιχῶν καὶ πόρνης. διό φησι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ λόγος· σπέρμα μοιχῶν καὶ πόρνης, προσαγάγετε ὧδε καὶ πλησίον γενόμενοι εἴπατε· ἐν τίνι ἐνετρυφήσατε; ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· τίνος κατετρυφήσατε καὶ κατὰ τίνος ἐπλατύνατε τὸ στόμα, ἐμηκύνατε γλῶσσαν; μάλιστα γὰρ αὐτῶν τὴν γλῶσσαν καὶ τὸ στόμα καταιτιᾶται διὰ τὰς κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος φωνὰς καὶ ἃς εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν κατ' αὐτοῦ ποιοῦνται βλασφημίας. διό φησιν· ἐπὶ τίνα ἠνοίξατε τὸ στόμα ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τίνα ἐχαλάσατε τὴν γλῶσσαν ὑμῶν; οὐχ ὑμεῖς ἐστε τέκνα ἀπωλείας; ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἦρται ἐκ μέσου ἀδικίας καὶ ἐν εἰρήνῃ γέγονεν, ἥ τε ταφὴ αὐτοῦ ἦρται ἐκ τοῦ μέσου· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἄρα ἦτε τέκνα τῆς ἀπωλείας καὶ τὸ σπέρμα τὸ ἄνομον. Ὑμεῖς οἱ παρακαλοῦντες ἐπὶ τὰ εἴδωλα ὑπὸ δένδρα δασέα, σφάζοντες τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς φάραγξιν ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν πετρῶν. ἐκείνη σου ἡ μερίς, οὗτός σου ὁ κλῆρος, καὶ ἐκείνοις ἐξέχεας σπονδὰς καὶ τούτοις ἀνήνεγκας θυσίας, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου εὐθαλοῦς σφάζοντες τὰ γεννήματα ἐν ταῖς φάραγξιν ὑπὸ τὰς ἐξοχὰς τῶν πετρῶν· τούτων γὰρ ἄξιοί φησιν ἦτε, διὸ ἐκείνη σου ἡ μερὶς καὶ οὗτος ὁ κλῆρός σου. σαφῶς δὴ διὰ τούτων δείκνυται ἡ παροῦσα προφητεία τοῖς κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου εἰδωλολάτραις ἁρμόζουσα, ὧν καταλέξασα τὰς παρανομίας ἐπιφέρει· ἄρ' οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἄξιον καθ' ὑμῶν ἐπαφεῖναι τὴν ὀργήν, μάλισθ' ὅτι ἐπ' ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ μετέωρον, ἐκεῖ ἡ κοίτη σου, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἀνεβίβασας θυσίαν καὶ ὀπίσω τῶν σταθμῶν τῆς θύρας ἔθηκας μνημόσυνά σου. καὶ ταῦτά φησιν ἔπραττες οὐδὲ κεκρυμμένως ἀσεβῶν, ἀλλὰ πεπαρρησιασμένως· οὕτως ὡς καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῶν τῶν ὑψηλοτάτων ὀρῶν ἐπιτελεῖν τὰς δαιμονικὰς θυσίας. ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὀπίσω τῶν θυρῶν σου ὥσπερ ἀντὶ φυλακτηρίου τὰ μνημόσυνα τῆς σαυτοῦ εἰδωλολατρίας, δηλαδὴ τὰ ἄψυχα ἀγάλματα ἐπιτιθεὶς καὶ ταῦτ' ἔπραττες ὡς ἂν εὑρήσων τι πλέον ἐκ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀναχωρήσεως. ταῦτα μὲν ὡς πρὸς «τοὺς» εἰρημένους «σκοποὺς τοὺς τυφλοὺς» καὶ «τοὺς κύνας τοὺς ἐνεούς», τὰ δ' ἑξῆς ὡς πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ τὴν συναγωγὴν τοῦ Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ ἐπιφέρει λέγων· ἠγάπησας τοὺς κοιμωμένους μετὰ σοῦ, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· ἠγάπησας τὴν κοίτην αὐτῶν, τίνων δὲ αὐτῶν ἢ «τῶν σκοπῶν σου» τῶν προειρημένων καὶ «τῶν κυνῶν τῶν ἀναιδῶν»; Καὶ ἐπλήθυνας τὴν πορνείαν σου μετ' αὐτῶν· διὸ ἐλέγετο περὶ