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those who hate you and those who detest you, for this reason, patiently enduring the hatred and the insults against you in this present life, say to those who hate you, our brothers, and "love your enemies and do good to those who hate you." And the prophetic word seems to say these things in the person of the apostles of our Savior, as if they were about to be persecuted by the Jews and especially by those who inhabit Jerusalem. And the things of the promise were fulfilled for the apostles throughout the whole world through them, as the churches of God were being established, but the wrath of God pursued without delay those who hated and detested them so that all those in the city itself uttered cries of mourning, and those who attended the temple uttered other cries as the enemies surrounded them and God brought retribution upon them. Wherefore it is said: a voice of crying from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord rendering recompense to his adversaries. But these things for them, but the godly commonwealth and the new Zion, that is, the church of God to be established through you, will so suddenly give birth to a multitude of peoples, that he who hears will be amazed. For as some pregnant woman carrying in her womb might suddenly give birth without any labor pains coming upon her, and this a male child, in the same way the new Zion will bear a new people and a whole nation at once, suddenly; so that the whole thing is most paradoxical, such as has never been heard. For the nation of the Jews and Israel itself did not come into being suddenly, but first was their forefather, and of him were born "twelve sons." Then from each one, sons and daughters, and sons' sons, and descendants and posterity came to be. And so, according to the succession of parents, in long periods of time and in different generations, their whole nation was established. And in the same way one might find the other nations also to have increased to a multitude over time; but the people of the church of God suddenly, at one time and as if in one day, filled most parts of the inhabited world. Which indeed is a strange matter and beyond all wonder, "which eye has never seen nor ear heard." And I, the Lord, says he, am the cause of these things, the maker of paradoxical works, who from this time have already given you this expectation, having foretold what was to be through my prophecy, so that when the outcome of events arrives, you may have sure faith in my words. And I, for your salvation, foretold all these things, but you, the people to whom I speak these things, did not remember me, nor did you believe when seeing with your eyes. But the phrase: you did not remember me, says the Lord, is not found in the other interpreters. But according to Symmachus it is stated in this way: Shall I who cause to come to the point of birth not cause to bring forth? says the Lord. Or shall I who cause to bring forth also shut the womb? says your God. For how, he says, will a nation be born on the earth, if not by my power? For I am the one who brings those conceiving in the womb to the point of birth, and I am the cause for them of bringing a human being to light and bringing "into being" what did not exist before. Shall I then, who do these things in physical birth, not cause her who is about to give birth to the whole nation, at once and suddenly, to bring forth, so that this divine offspring may come forth directly, unharmed and without pain, but shall I, the Lord, who am accustomed to bring forth what has been begotten, shut up the birth so that the embryo is destroyed? And how is it possible for me to do these things, who by divine and saving power sustain all those who through carnal generation come "into being from non-being"? For not individuals, but rather, besides these things, what remains but for all the hearers of these things to rejoice and be filled with gladness with that new Jerusalem, which it is no longer fitting to understand as made of lifeless stones, but as established from holy souls, with which it is fitting to rejoice together and to celebrate a festival together

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μισοῦντας ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς βδελυσσομένους, τούτου χάριν τὰ μίση καὶ τὰς καθ' ὑμῶν ὕβρεις ἀνεξικάκως φέροντες κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον εἴπατε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοὶ ἡμῶν, καὶ «ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς». καὶ δοκεῖ ταῦτα ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος εἰς πρόσωπον τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν λέγειν, ὡσανεὶ μελλόντων ἐλαύνεσθαι ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων καὶ μάλιστα τῶν τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ οἰκούντων. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας εἰς τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐπληροῦτο καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης δι' αὐτῶν ἐκκλησιῶν θεοῦ συνισταμένων, ἡ δ' ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ τοὺς μισοῦντας αὐτοὺς καὶ βδελυσσομένους ἀνυπερθέτως μετῄει ὡς πάντας τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει φωνὰς πένθους ἀφιέναι καὶ τοὺς τῷ ναῷ προσεδρεύοντας ἑτέρας βοὰς τῶν πολεμίων αὐτοὺς περιστάντων καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπάγοντος. διὸ λέλεκται· φωνὴ κραυγῆς ἐκ πόλεως, φωνὴ ἐκ ναοῦ, φωνὴ κυρίου ἀνταποδιδόντος ἀνταπόδοσιν τοῖς ἀντικειμένοις αὐτῷ. Ἀλλ' ἐκείνοις μὲν ταῦτα, τὸ δὲ θεοσεβὲς πολίτευμα καὶ ἡ καινὴ καὶ νέα Σιών, δηλαδὴ ἡ ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ δι' ὑμῶν συστησομένη, τοσοῦτον ἀθρόως γεννήσει πλῆθος λαῶν, ὡς ἐκπλαγῆναι τὸν ἀκούοντα. οἷα γάρ τις ἐγκύμων γυνὴ κατὰ γαστρὸς ἔχουσα μηδεμιᾶς ὠδῖνος προσγενομένης αἰφνίδιον γεννήσειεν καὶ τοῦτο ἄρσεν, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἡ νέα Σιὼν λαὸν καινὸν καὶ ὅλον ἔθνος εἰς ἅπαξ ἀθρόως τέξεται· ὡς εἶναι τὸ πᾶν παραδοξότατον, οἷον οὐδὲ πώποτε ἠκούσθη. τὸ μὲν γὰρ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ οὐκ ἀθρόως ὑπέστη, ἀλλὰ πρῶτος μὲν ἦν αὐτῶν ὁ προπάτωρ, τούτου δὲ γεγόνασι «παῖδες δώδεκα». εἶτ' ἐξ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου υἱοί τε καὶ θυγατέρες, υἱῶν υἱοί τε καὶ ἔκγονοι καὶ ἀπόγονοι ὑπέστησαν. οὕτως τε κατὰ τὴν τῶν γονέων διαδοχὴν ἐν πλείοσι χρόνοις καὶ ἐν διαφόροις γενεαῖς συνέστη τὸ πᾶν αὐτῶν ἔθνος. κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον εὕροι ἄν τις καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἔθνη χρόνοις εἰς πλῆθος ἐπιδεδωκότα· ὁ δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ λαὸς ἀθρόως ὑφ' ἕνα καιρὸν καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπὸ μίαν ἡμέραν ἐπλήρου τὰ πλεῖστα μέρη τῆς οἰκουμένης. ὃ δὴ ξενίζον πρᾶγμα καὶ θαύματος παντὸς ἐπέκεινα ὑπάρχον «οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς ἑώρακε πώποτε οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσε». τούτων δὲ αἴτιος ἐγὼ κύριός φησιν, ὁ τῶν παραδόξων ἔργων ποιητής, ὃς ἐντεῦθέν σοι ἤδη τὴν προσδοκίαν ταύτην ἔδωκα, προαπαγγείλας τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαι διὰ τῆς ἐμῆς προφητείας, ἵν' ἐπειδὰν ἡ ἔκβασις ἐπιστῇ τῶν πραγμάτων ἔχοις τὴν πίστιν ἀσφαλῆ τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων. κἀγὼ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῆς σῆς σωτηρίας προηγόρευσα ταῦτα πάντα, σὺ δὲ ᾧ ταῦτα προσδιαλέγομαι λαῷ, οὐκ ἐμνήσθης μου οὐδ' ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρῶν ἐπίστευσας. τὸ δέ· σὺ οὐκ ἐμνήσθης μου, εἶπε κύριος, οὐ κεῖται παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἑρμηνευταῖς. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον τοῦτον εἴρηται τὸν τρόπον· μήτι ἐγὼ ὁ καθίζων ἐπὶ τὸ τεκεῖν καὶ οὐκ ἐκτοκίζω; εἶπε κύριος, ἢ ἐγὼ ὁ συνεκτοκίζων καὶ συνέξων; εἶπεν ὁ θεός σου. πῶς γάρ φησιν ἔθνος τεχθήσεται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῆς ἐμῆς δυνάμεως; ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ τὰς κατὰ γαστρὸς κυούσας καθίζων ἐπὶ τὸ τεκεῖν καὶ αἴτιος αὐταῖς γινόμενος τοῦ προάγειν ἄνθρωπον εἰς φῶς καὶ τὸν μὴ πρότερον ὄντα «εἰς τὸ εἶναι» παράγειν. μήτι οὖν ἐγὼ ὁ ἐπὶ τῇ σωματικῇ γενέσει ταῦτα πράττων τὴν μέλλουσαν τὸ καθ' ὅλου ἔθνος, ὑφ' ἓν καὶ ἀθρόως γεννᾶν οὐκ ἐκτοκιῶ πρὸς τὸ κατ' εὐθὺ ἀβλαβῶς καὶ ἀλύπως προελθεῖν τὸ θεῖον τοῦτο γέννημα, ἀλλὰ μήτι ἐγὼ κύριος εἰωθὼς ἐκτοκίζειν τὰ γεγενημένα συνέξω τὸν τόκον ὡς ἀφανισθῆναι τὸ κύημα; Καὶ πῶς οἷόν τε ταῦτα ἐμὲ ποιεῖν τὸν πάντας τοὺς διὰ γενέσεως σαρκινῆς «εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος» ἐρχομένους δυνάμει θεϊκῇ καὶ σωτηρίῳ ὑφιστάμενον; οὐ γὰρ τοὺς κατὰ μέρος, ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τούτοις τί λείπεται ἢ πάντας τοὺς τούτων ἀκροατὰς χαίρειν καὶ εὐφροσύνης πληροῦσθαι μετὰ τῆς καινῆς ἐκείνης Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἣν οὐκέτι ἐξ ἀψύχων λίθων προσήκει νοεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ ψυχῶν ἁγίων συστησομένην, ᾗ συνευφραίνεσθαι καὶ συμπανηγυρίζειν προσήκει ἑορτὴν