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to him; surely the New Testament, which he preached to all the nations throughout the whole world, having provided the Gospel instead of the testament from Moses, which he promised to make trustworthy and to confirm. And I will make his seed to be forever and ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 23.1105 if they profane my statutes, and keep not my commandments; I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities with scourges. But my mercy I will not utterly take from him, nor will I do injustice in my truth. Neither will I profane my covenant, and the things that go out of my lips I will not reject. The things said about the horn have been fulfilled through the foregoing. And it was shown to be a horn not alien to Christ who was born according to the flesh from the seed of David. Therefore, of this one, following the things divinely decreed concerning him, he presents his succession through the preceding words, what it is, saying: Not simply for one present age only, but also for the subsequent age of the age I will establish the seed of the declared horn; and his throne I will not keep for a few days, nor for short periods of years, but I will cause it to be extended along with the days of heaven. And Symmachus also interpreted it thus, saying: And I will make his seed perpetual, and his throne as long as the days of heaven. What should one understand the seed of Christ to be other than the Churches established by him throughout the whole world, and the peoples in all nations who have been reborn to him? and his throne is that which is established according to his Church throughout the whole world through the presidents from him by succession; which throne he says remains as the days of heaven; not like the royal throne of the Jews, which, having lasted for a short time, was extinguished, having been preserved for nearly four hundred years only, from David until the captivity in Babylon. But this present throne, which is divinely decreed through the preceding words of the presidents of the Church, will remain and will be preserved like the days of heaven. But if it should ever happen that the people and the sons of the one prophesied—I mean his successors—should sin, he says that they will be tested for repentance through persecutions, but that they will never fall from their thrones, nor be deprived of the mercy of God. For if his sons—clearly, of Christ—do such and such things, he says these things will happen to them: I will visit their transgressions with a rod, that is, of the sons, and their iniquities with scourges; but my mercy I will not utterly take from him. And pay attention, that it is not said, from them, but, from him, clearly of the one prophesied, although the preceding was said in the plural, according to, I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities with scourges. Whose 'their'? But clearly, of the sons of the horn. But in the phrase, my mercy I will not utterly take from him, it is spoken concerning one, either of the throne or of the horn that is prophesied. And he adds next: Neither will I profane my covenant, clearly the new and recent one, concerning which he said above, And my covenant will be faithful with him. And again he seals the truth of the word, saying: Nor will I do injustice in my truth, neither will I reject the things that go out of my lips; but I will make the promises faithful and true, he says, adding deeds to the words through the results themselves. 23.1108 And such are the promises to David concerning the horn and his throne, and concerning those who will be born from him and his New Testament. But since it was necessary not to think that such promises were brought forth by some simple and bare word, he again takes up and repeats the word, sealing with an oath the

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αὐτῷ· πάντως που τὴν Καινὴν ∆ιαθήκην, ἣν πᾶσι τοῖς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνεσιν ἐκήρυξεν, ἀντὶ τῆς παρὰ Μωσεῖ διαθήκης τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον παρασχὼν, ὅπερ πιστώσεσθαι καὶ βεβαιώσειν ἐπηγγείλατο. Καὶ θήσομαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ ὡς τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Ἐὰν ἐγκαταλίπωσιν οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον μου, καὶ τοῖς κρίμασί μου μὴ πορευ 23.1105 θῶσι, καὶ τὰ δικαιώματά μου βεβηλώσωσι, καὶ τὰς ἐντολάς μου μὴ φυλάξωσιν, ἐπισκέψομαι ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐν μάστιξι τὰς ἀδικίας αὐτῶν. Τὸ δὲ ἔλεός μου οὐ μὴ διασκεδάσω ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ μὴ ἀδικήσω ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μου. Οὐδὲ μὴ βεβηλώσω τὴν διαθήκην μου, καὶ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα διὰ τῶν χειλέων μου οὐ μὴ ἀθετήσω. Τὰ μὲν εἰρημένα περὶ τοῦ κέρως διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν πεπλήρωται. Ἐδείκνυτο δὲ κέρας οὐκ ἀλλότριον τοῦ ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυῒδ κατὰ σάρκα γενηθέντος Χριστοῦ. Τούτου δ' οὖν, ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ τεθεσπισμένα, τὴν διαδοχὴν διὰ τῶν προκειμένων, ὁποία τίς ἐστι, παρίστησι φάσκων· Οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἰς ἕνα μόνον τὸν παρόντα αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸν μετέπειτα αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος τὸ σπέρμα δηλωθέντος κέρως θήσομαι· καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ οὐ πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας, οὐδὲ εἰς ἐτῶν περιόδους βραχείας φυλάξω, ἀλλὰ ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ συμπαρεκτείνεσθαι ποιήσω. Καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος δὲ οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν εἰπών· Καὶ ποιήσω διηνεκὲς τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ὅσον αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Σπέρμα δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τί χρὴ νοεῖν ἢ τὰς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης συνεστώσας ἐξ αὐτοῦ Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τοὺς ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀναγεννηθέντας αὐτῷ λαούς; θρόνος δὲ αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει ὁ κατὰ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης διὰ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ διαδοχὴν προέδρων ἱδρυμένος· ὅντινα θρόνον διαμένειν φησὶν ὡς τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· οὐχ ὁμοίως τῷ Ἰουδαίων βασιλικῷ θρόνῳ, ὃς ἐπ' ὀλίγῳ διαρκέσας, ἀπεσβέσθη, ἐγγύς που φυλαχθεὶς τετρακοσίοις μόνοις ἔτεσι, τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίαν. Οὗτος δὲ ὁ παρὼν θρόνος, ὁ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων θεσπιζόμενος τῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προέδρων, διαμενεῖ καὶ φυλαχθήσεται ὁμοίως ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Εἰ δὲ συμβαίη ποτὲ πλημμελεῖν τὸν λαὸν καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ προφητευομένου, λέγω δὲ τοὺς διαδόχους αὐτοῦ, πειραθήσεσθαι μὲν αὐτοὺς ἐπιστροφῆς τῆς διὰ τῶν διωγμῶν φησι, μὴ μὴν ἐκπεσεῖσθαί ποτε τῶν θρόνων, μηδὲ στερηθήσεσθαι τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐὰν γὰρ τάδε καὶ τάδε πράξωσιν οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ, δῆλον δ' ὅτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τάδε ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖς φησιν· Ἐπισκέψομαι ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν, δηλαδὴ τῶν υἱῶν, καὶ ἐν μάστιξι τὰς ἀδικίας αὐτῶν· τὸ δὲ ἔλεός μου οὐ μὴ διασκεδάσω ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Καὶ πρόσχες, ὅτι μὴ εἴρηται, ἀπ' αὐτῶν, ἀλλ', ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, δῆλον ὅτι τοῦ προφητευομένου, καίτοι τῶν ἀνωτέρω πληθυντικῶς εἰρημένων, κατὰ τὸ, Ἐπισκέψομαι ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐν μάστιξι τὰς ἀδικίας αὐτῶν. Τίνων δὲ αὐτῶν, ἢ δηλονότι τῶν τοῦ κέρως υἱῶν; Ἐν δὲ τῷ, τὸ ἔλεός μου οὐ μὴ διασκεδάσω ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, περὶ ἑνὸς λέλεκται, ἤτοι τοῦ θρόνου ἢ τοῦ κέρως τοῦ προφητευομένου. Καὶ ἐπιλέγει ἑξῆς· Οὐδὲ μὴ βεβηλώσω τὴν διαθήκην μου, δῆλον ὅτι τὴν νέαν καὶ καινὴν, περὶ ἧς ἀνωτέρω ἔφησε τὸ, Καὶ ἡ διαθήκη μου πιστὴ αὐτῷ. Καὶ πάλιν ἐπισφραγίζεται τοῦ λόγου τὴν ἀλήθειαν εἰπών· Οὐδὲ μὴ ἀδικήσω ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μου, οὐδὲ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα διὰ τῶν χειλέων μου οὐ μὴ ἀθετήσω· ἀλλὰ πιστὰ καὶ ἀληθῆ, φησὶ, ποιήσω τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα, ἐπιθεὶς τοῖς λόγοις ἔργα δι' αὐτῶν τῶν ἀποτελεσμάτων. 23.1108 Καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐπαγγελιῶν τῶν περὶ τοῦ κέρως καὶ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ, περί τε τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ γενησομένων καὶ τῆς Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης αὐτοῦ τοσαῦτα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐχρῆν τὰς τοιαύτας ἐπαγγελίας μὴ ἁπλῷ τινι καὶ ψιλῷ λόγῳ προενηνοχέναι νομίζειν, αὖθις ἐπαναλαμβάνει καὶ ἐπιδευτεροῖ τὸν λόγον, ὅρκῳ ἐπισφραγιζόμενος τὰ