Front Matter

The Proof of the Gospel

Demonstratio Evangelica

Eusebius

APPIAN WAY PRESS

THE PROOF OF THE GOSPEL DEMONSTRATIO EVANGELICA

Copyright 2025 by Rick Brannan. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

License details: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Cover Design by Eli Evans

Published by Appian Way Press

Web: https://AppianWayPress.com

Email: info@AppianWayPress.com

About This Translation

This translation was created on 2024-12-30 using the model gpt-4o-mini from OpenAI. To ensure the translation is communicating the same meaning as the original, a sentence-level semantic similarity check was performed between the source text and translation using bowphs/SPhilBerta, available from HuggingFace. In addition to the sentence-level semantic similarity check, the text-to-translation length ratio was evaluated for each verse to locate and review possible hallucination.

Disclaimer

Please note, as indicated above, that this translation is a machine-generated translation. There are several older works, like Eusebius's Demonstratio Evangelica, that are either not available in English or only available in old and difficult to read translations. This translation is an attempt to provide a readable and fairly literal modern English translation of the source text. The process that created this translation has done its best to mitigate hallucinations, but there may still be translation issues.

About the Source

Translated from: Eusebius, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera. Teubner:Leipzig, 1867.

The source edition of Demonstratio Evangelica was retrieved from the Github repository First1KGreek.

For more information: First1KGreek. The Greek edition this translation uses as its source text is available as well.

Book One.

Introduction

Behold, truly, a divine matter for the overseers, Theodote, a holy man of God. Together with God and with him, our Savior, through the word of God, after the first preparation of the Gospel, in all fifteen writings, it has been greatly worked out for us. Therefore, accept, dear friend, the request, and with our prayers, may the Gospel Proof now be presented from the ancient prophecies that have been laid down among the Hebrews.

² How then and in what way? Those beloved of God, you surely know, the ones who cried out among the men, I mean Moses and those who shone with him, the divinely honored ones, and the blessed prophets and priests, using their testimonies. They were chosen to show the things that would later come to light in long ages, and through the proof of the Gospel of the Savior, the things concerning us are still being completed now before our eyes, having been taken up by the divine spirit, as if the things that are not present and those that do not yet exist are clearly seen as being present. And not only this, but also those who come later have foretold through writing the things that will someday happen, so that even others from among them can know and understand the future, waiting for the outcomes of the words.

³ What are these things? There would be countless ones, and many different kinds concerning everything, both common and specific, about each man and about the whole. Specifically, there are matters concerning the Hebrews, and again about the nations outside, such as the rise of cities, changes in times, and shifts in events, the coming of good things, and the attacks of opposites, the enslavement of nations, the sieges of cities, the changes and conditions of entire kingdoms, and many other things that were foretold about what will happen in the distant future.

⁴ But this present time requires us to present the proof, while many things will be added later. From the truth that will be laid out, the proof will quietly be established from the things that have been kept silent.

Book 1, Section 1

So then, what would be a good time for us to connect the prophetic predictions to the proof of the Gospel?

² They said that Christ is named and is both God and the Word of God, and that an angel of great counsel will one day appear to people. He will be a teacher of true knowledge of God for all the nations, both Greek and barbarian, throughout the whole world, and he will establish piety toward the Creator of all. This will be contained in the Gospel message. And this same one will be a child and will be called the son of man, coming from a certain lineage, and he will be born in a strange way from a virgin. What is most surprising is that not all people from the ends of the earth today hurry to see the place of his birth in Bethlehem, but they have passed by in silence. Yet, they have called him by white names, just as they have also proclaimed the times of his appearance, during which he lived on earth, as those who have come before have established through their actions.

³ It is possible for you, after taking up the effort, to see with your own eyes all the prophetic predictions that are clearly shown, containing together all the wonderful miracles of our Savior Jesus Christ, as testified by the divine evangelists, and his teachings about true piety that are full of grace.

⁴ And why should we be amazed, when even the young way of piety toward him is openly proclaimed to all people, along with the calling of his disciples and the teaching of the new covenant?

⁵ Yes, indeed, in addition to these, there are also the unbelief and arguments of the Jews against him, the rebellions of the rulers, the jealousy of the teachers, the betrayal by one disciple, the slanders of enemies, the accusations of false witnesses, the judgments of judges, the shameful insults, the cruel beatings, the disgraceful mockeries, and above all, the most disgraceful death. Yet, in all of this, his silence is amazing, along with his gentleness and patience, and the incredible endurance and forgiveness he showed.

⁶ All these things will clearly happen in the future when one comes, and such things will be experienced by people, through which the ancient words of the Hebrews are presented. They testify to the resurrection from the dead of the one who is being revealed, the appearance to his disciples, the giving of the divine spirit to them, his ascent to heaven, the establishment of the kingdom of the Father, and the glorious return of his presence at the end of life.

⁷ In all these things, you will hear the wailing and mourning of each of the prophets, who are lamenting differently about how the Jewish nation was to suffer because of their declared impiety. Their kingdom will completely fall after the boldness they showed against Christ. Their ancestral laws will be abolished, their old religion will be taken away, and they will lose the freedom that came from their ancestors. Instead of being free, they will become slaves to their enemies. Their royal capital will become a burning ruin, and their holy and pure temple will face destruction and complete desolation. Instead of the old inhabitants, their city will be settled by foreign nations. They will be scattered among all the nations throughout the whole world. They will no longer have rest from their troubles, nor will there be any relief from their misfortunes. Even now, they say, the sight of their words is shown by their actions, from the very first day when they raised their hands against Christ, bringing the beginning of their troubles upon themselves.

⁸ It was not fitting for those divine men to stand with sad faces about the prophecies, nor to focus on the painful foreknowledge. Instead, they changed to a joyful message, proclaiming good news to all people at the coming of Christ. Instead of the downfall of one nation, they announced that every nation and kind of people would receive the knowledge of God. They spoke of escaping demons, being freed from ignorance and deception, shining light and piety. The disciples of Christ will fill the whole world with his teachings, so that their gospel will be preached to all people in a new and surprising way that contains piety. The churches of Christ will be established among all nations, and the people of Christians will be named throughout the whole world. The uprisings of rulers and kings against the church of Christ will not succeed in destroying it, as it will be strengthened by God.

⁹ With so many things revealed by the theologians among the Hebrews and made clear to all, who would not be amazed by these divine men? And who would not agree that their teachings and doctrines about piety and philosophy are true and important? They provide proof not in fancy words or clever arguments, but in simple and straightforward teaching. This genuine and sincere truth shows the virtue and knowledge of God that those divine men possess.

¹⁰ So, those who have seen the light after long ages and have been able to look into it with a divine spirit, how could they not be worthy of teaching their students to believe in these doctrines? I know well that it is important for all who truly accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, as the true Christ of God, to first be convinced that they have believed in him according to the prophetic testimonies about him. Then, this same truth should be presented to everyone they speak to, and it should not be easy to doubt the evidence provided.

¹¹ Therefore, I must necessarily proceed to present the complete proof of the Gospel based on those theologians among the Hebrews, with God's help. The writing is not, as some might say, merely about the Jews; rather, it is much more than that. If they are grateful, it shows that the teachings of Christians are supported by the ancient prophecies, while those of the Jews are fulfilled through the effectiveness of their own prophecies.

¹² It would also fit the Greek children, if they were grateful, to recognize the surprising knowledge of future events and the outcomes of things according to the prophecies. This would show both the divine and true nature of our truth and also silence the tongues of false teachers through stronger proof, which the accusers cannot claim to have any part in. Indeed, they are very much focused on our discussions with great power. They say that they cannot provide proof, but they only expect those who come to us to have faith.

¹³ Therefore, this current work would not be unreasonable for us against such slander. Indeed, it would also refute the false beliefs and blasphemies of the atheistic sects against the divine prophets by showing the agreement between the new and the old teachings.

¹⁴ Now, the longer and more detailed explanation of the prophetic voices will be presented, leaving it to those who wish to examine these things. They might say how it should be done, but using the guidance of a divine teacher who says, "summarize many things in a few words," they will strive to follow this. This will provide only the starting points for the study of the topics and the urgent need for a clear explanation of what is being discussed.

¹⁵ Enough of the introductions; now I will begin with the proofs. Since there was a great crowd of slanderers against us, claiming that they cannot provide clear evidence of the truth, they demand that those who come to us rely only on faith. They persuade these people to follow them without examining what we say, just like they would follow wild animals. It is reasonable to address the slanders against us in the preparation of the entire argument. First, I will discuss the accusations from the many gods of the nations, who claim that we have turned away from our ancestral gods, saying that we have greatly honored the barbarian beliefs of the Greeks while embracing the teachings of the Hebrews.

¹⁶ Next, I will address the accusation from the Jews, through which they believe they can rightly blame us, saying that we use their scriptures but do not measure our way of life by the same standard as theirs.

¹⁷ Having clarified these points, we responded to the first accusation as best as we could through the Evangelical Preparation. The Greeks admitted that they were once influenced by other nations and were enslaved by the many gods of their ancestors. However, they did not follow blindly or without examination; instead, they changed their beliefs through careful reasoning and sound judgment. They also presented to us the teachings about the Hebrews with seriousness and respect.

¹⁸ Now, it is time to address the second accusation and to consider the remaining issue. This was directed at those from the circumcision, who have not yet been examined, but at some point will be addressed in the study of the Evangelical Proof.

¹⁹ Therefore, let us first call upon the God of all Jews and Greeks through our Savior, and let us examine how they practice their own piety. At the same time, we will also address all the questions that we seek answers to.

Book 1, Section 2

It has already been said before in the preparation that Christianity is neither a form of Hellenism nor Judaism; rather, it carries a certain character of piety that is not new or foreign, but very ancient and well-known, having been witnessed by those who were devoted to God before the time of Moses in matters of piety and justice. However, now let us examine what Hellenism and Judaism really are, and whether the men who were devoted to God before Moses can be found to be similar to those who were devoted to God during the time of Moses and were known for their piety.

² One might rightly call Judaism the way of life organized according to the law of Moses, centered on the one God above all. On the other hand, Hellenism, as mentioned in the introduction, is the superstition of all nations regarding many gods, based on their ancestral customs.

³ So what can we say about the men who were devoted to God before Moses and before Judaism, whom Moses mentioned, such as Enoch, of whom it is said, "Enoch pleased God," and about Noah, of whom it is said, "Noah was a righteous man in his generation," and about Shem and Japheth, concerning whom it is written, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem," and "May God enlarge Japheth"?

⁴ And also, in addition to these, what about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom it is reasonable to include Job, and if there are any others whose lives are similar to these? Should they be called Jews or Greeks? For it would not be right to call them Jews, since the law of Moses had not yet been introduced into their lives.

⁵ For if Judaism was nothing other than the worship according to Moses, and Moses revealed this long after the mentioned ones, it is clear that those before his time could not be called Jews, as they were known for their piety. But neither should they be considered Greeks, unless they were caught up in the superstition of many gods.

⁶ For Abraham is said to have completely left his father's house and his family, and to have devoted himself to the one God, whom he also acknowledges by saying, "I will pray earnestly to the Most High God, who created the heaven and the earth."

⁷ And Jacob is written about by Moses, saying to his household and all his people, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and arise, let us go up to Bethel, and we will make there an altar to the Lord who answered me in the day of my distress, and who was with me on the way that I went." And they gave to Jacob the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the earrings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak that was in Shechem, and he destroyed them until this day.

⁸ If indeed those who are outside of idolatry have established themselves, and those who have become outside of Judaism have been shown, still neither Greeks nor Jews are testified to have been beloved by God, nor are they considered just and pious. If there are some others, it is time to think of a way of worshiping God, through which they might succeed.

⁹ So consider whether this is not the same thing as the third group established between Judaism and Hellenism, which is the oldest and the most ancient of all, but recently announced to all nations through our Savior.

¹⁰ And this would be Christianity, which is neither Hellenism nor Judaism, but the ancient way of worship that is between them, and the oldest philosophy. However, it has recently been established for all people throughout the world. So, one who moves from Hellenism to Christianity does not fall into Judaism, nor does one who leaves Judaism immediately become a Greek. But one from each group, coming from both Hellenism and Judaism, can enter into the middle way, following the law and life of the ancient beloved and just men, which our Savior and Lord has renewed after a long time, according to the teachings of Moses and the other prophets about these things.

¹¹ In the oracles concerning Abraham, Moses himself writes, stating that in later times, it will not be the descendants of Abraham, nor the Jews from his seed, but all the tribes of the earth and all nations will be deemed worthy of the same blessing of worshiping God that Abraham received.

¹² And it is written like this: "The Lord said to Abraham, 'Leave your land and your relatives, and your father's house, and come to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.'" And again God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him."

¹³ How could all the nations and all the families of the earth be blessed through Abraham if they had no connection to him, neither in spirit nor in physical kinship? For what kind of relationship did the Scythians, for example, have with Abraham, or the Egyptians, or the Ethiopians, or the Indians, or the Britons, or the Spaniards? And how could these nations, and others like them, who are far removed from Abraham by blood, be blessed because of him?

¹⁴ But it was not likely that all the nations would share in the spiritual blessing of Abraham. For how could they, when some of them practiced marriages with their mothers and daughters, while others engaged in immoral relationships between men? Some worshiped through human sacrifices and the sacrifice of irrational animals, and others built shrines from lifeless materials and offered prayers to wandering spirits. Some thought it was good and pious to burn the living, while others believed it was right to hand over their dearest ones, and some even thought it was noble and pious to feast on the dead?

¹⁵ How then could those who lived such a beastly life share in the blessing of the beloved of God, unless they somehow changed from their savage ways to the similar way of Abraham's piety? For he, being a foreigner and an outsider, is said to have turned to piety, having changed from his father's superstitions, leaving behind his home, family, and ancestral customs, and the way of life in which he was born and raised, and he followed God, who also gave him the written oracles.

¹⁶ If then Moses, after Abraham, established a certain way of life for the Jewish people through the law given by him, and if he set laws like those that were established for the beloved of God before him, and if it was possible for all nations to follow them, it could be said that through Moses' law, those from all nations who became pious and were zealous for Judaism would be blessed with the blessing of Abraham. We should also keep the commandments given by Moses. But since the way of life according to Moses was not suitable for other nations, but only for the Jews, and even for them not all, but only for those living in the land of Judea, it was necessary for another way to be established apart from Moses' law, by which all the nations of the world would share in the same blessing as Abraham.

Book 1, Section 3

That the law according to Moses was for the Jews, as I said, and not for all of them, for it did not apply to those in dispersion, but only to those living in Palestine, will be clear to you as you think about it. Moses says somewhere, "Three times a year every male shall appear before the Lord your God." And even more clearly, where it is required that everyone must appear three times a year, he states that every male shall appear before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord chooses.

² You see that he does not command everyone to appear in every city or wherever they happen to be, but in the place that the Lord your God chooses. There, he legislates that everyone must gather three times a year at the same time, and he sets the times when they must appear in that place, where the worship according to him was performed. This is for Passover, the second for the feast called Pentecost, which is fifty days later, and the third on the seventh month after Passover, on the Day of Atonement, when even now all Jews observe the fast. Those who do not follow the laws are punished.

³ So, those who were to appear three times a year in Jerusalem and fulfill the laws would certainly have to live not far from Judea. But there are people living around the borders. If it was impossible for Jews living farthest from Palestine to carry out the prescribed laws, it would be even more so for all the nations and those in the farthest parts of the earth.

⁴ Listen to how the same lawgiver commands a woman who has given birth to offer sacrifices to God, saying this: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, a woman who gives birth to a male child will be unclean for seven days.'"

⁵ Then, after saying something in between, he adds, "And when the days of her purification are fulfilled for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a year-old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering, to the door of the tent of meeting to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and he shall cleanse her from the flow of her blood. This is the law for a woman who gives birth to a male or female child."

⁶ Moreover, the same lawgiver commands that one who has come into contact with the dead or a corpse should not be cleansed in any other way than with some ashes of a red heifer, for all seven days of the usual separation.

⁷ He says, "And it shall be to the sons of Israel and to the strangers who dwell among them a lasting law. Anyone who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days. He shall be cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day he shall be clean."

⁸ But if he is not cleansed on the third day and on the seventh day, he shall not be clean. Anyone who touches the dead body of a person, if he dies and is not cleansed, has defiled the tent of meeting of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He is unclean; his uncleanness shall remain on him.

⁹ And this law is: if a person dies in a house, everyone who enters the house and all things in the house shall be unclean for seven days. And every open vessel that is not sealed shall be unclean. Anyone who touches the surface of a slain person, or a dead body, or a human bone, or a grave shall be unclean for seven days. And the unclean person shall take from the ashes of the burnt offering for purification, and shall pour it into a vessel, and a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in, and shall sprinkle it on the house and on the vessels and on the souls of all who are there, and on the place of the human bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave.

¹⁰ And the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day, and he shall wash his clothes and wash his body with water, and he shall be unclean until evening. And if a person becomes unclean and is not cleansed, that person shall be cut off from the community, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. And this shall be a lasting law for you.

¹¹ Moses, having established these laws, teaches the way of the water of purification, commanding that a red heifer without blemish be burned completely, and from its ashes, the water shall be mixed, which is to be used to cleanse those who are defiled by contact with the dead.

¹² Where it is necessary to burn the heifer, where to bring the sacrifices in the tent, and where to complete the other laws, it is clear that it should not be done carelessly in any place, but only in the one that he himself designates. This is evident from what he commands, saying, "And the place which the Lord your God chooses, there you shall call upon his name, and there you shall bring all that I command you today."

¹³ And it is commanded next, saying, "Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings wherever you see fit, but only to the place which the Lord your God chooses in one of your cities. There you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you today."

¹⁴ And it adds, saying, "You shall not be able to eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, the firstborn of your cattle and your sheep, and all your vows that you make, and your freewill offerings, and the first fruits of your hands, except in the presence of the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God chooses for himself. You, your sons, your daughter, your servant, your maidservant, and the foreigner who is in your cities shall eat there."

¹⁵ And further, it emphasizes the statement where it says, "But your holy things, if they come to you, and your vows, you shall bring to the place which the Lord your God chooses for himself."

¹⁶ And again, "You shall set apart a tenth of all the produce of your seed each year. And you shall eat it in the presence of the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God chooses to have his name called there."

¹⁷ Then, considering what one should do if the place that is shown to him is far away, and the harvest of the produce is large, how should one bring the yearly offerings from home to the place of God? About this, he sets this law.

¹⁸ But if the road is too long for you, and you cannot carry them because the place which the Lord your God chooses to have his name called there is far from you, then the Lord your God will bless you, and you shall exchange them for silver. You shall take the silver in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. You may spend the silver on anything your heart desires: on cattle, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or anything else your heart wishes, and you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God.

¹⁹ And again, the place is confirmed in this way: 'Every firstborn that is born among your cattle and among your sheep, you shall set apart for the Lord your God. You shall not work with your firstborn ox, and you shall not shear the firstborn of your sheep. You shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord your God chooses, you and your household.'

²⁰ After this, it again commands how to celebrate the festivals, saying that you should celebrate only in the specific place that is shown. It says, 'Keep the month of the new moon, and you shall make the Passover for the Lord your God, with sheep and cattle in the place which the Lord your God chooses.'

²¹ And again, it reminds you, saying, 'You cannot sacrifice the Passover in any of your cities that the Lord your God gives you, but in the place which the Lord your God chooses, there you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time when you came out of the land of Egypt, and you shall cook it and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses.'

²² The law for the festival of Passover is this: and what does it say about the festival of Pentecost? Listen, 'Count seven complete weeks for yourself, from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain, and you shall celebrate the festival of weeks for the Lord your God, as much as your hand is able, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you.'

²³ And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your servant and your maid, and the Levite who is in your cities, and the foreigner, and the orphan, and the widow who are among you, in the place which the Lord your God chooses to make his name dwell there.

²⁴ And for the third festival, it commands you to celebrate: 'You shall make for yourself booths for seven days, when you gather in from your threshing floor and from your winepress, and you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter, your servant and your maid, and the widow, in the place which the Lord your God chooses for himself.'

²⁵ Therefore, marking the place so many times, saying it so many times to all people and families, how would it fit with those of Judea and those who are a little distant, not to mention with all the nations of the world? Especially when there is no mercy given to those who break the set rules, but a curse comes upon all who do not keep everything written in this law to do them.

²⁶ Consider also the impossible things for all people in the law of Moses. He distinguishes between voluntary and serious sins, and he places punishments for each of those deserving the greatest penalties. He establishes laws by which he turns those who sin in different ways, even those who sin unintentionally.

²⁷ Of these, it is said: 'If a person sins unintentionally from among the people of the land by doing one of all the commandments of the Lord that should not be done, and they become aware of their sin that they have committed, they shall bring as their offering a female goat without blemish for the sin they have committed, to the place where they will slaughter the burnt offerings, and the priest shall take from the blood.'

²⁸ And see how here too, the one who has sinned unintentionally must meet at the place where they slaughter the burnt offerings; this is the place that has already been mentioned many times, saying, 'Whichever one the Lord your God chooses.'

²⁹ This, that it is not possible for all people on earth to carry out, the lawgiver himself, seeing this clearly, pointed out. He did not bring the law forward without distinction for everyone, but said, 'If a person sins unintentionally from among the people of the land.'

³⁰ And he sets a second law like this: 'If a person hears the voice of an oath, and this person is a witness, either having seen or knowing, if they do not report it, they will bear the sin.' So what must this person do but hurry to the priest with their hands to the purifications? Where again, but at the place where they slaughter the burnt offerings?

³¹ And a third law again says, 'If a person touches anything unclean, or any of the unclean animals, and takes from it, and they themselves become unclean, or if they touch the uncleanness of a person, from any uncleanness they touch, they will become unclean, and if they did not realize it, but later they know and become guilty.'

³² What then should the person who has become unclean do but go again to the place, and bring an offering for their sin, which they committed, a female from the sheep, or a lamb, or a goat from the goats, for their sin?

³³ And the same law applies to a person who swears, commanding with their lips to do evil or to do good, according to everything that a person may command with an oath and forget it, and if this person realizes and becomes guilty of something from these, and they confess the sin concerning which they have sinned, then indeed, it says, let them take the same offering and hurry to the place, and the priest will make atonement for them concerning their sin, and their sin will be forgiven.

³⁴ And another law besides the ones mentioned states this: 'If a person forgets and sins unintentionally against the holy things of the lord, they will bring a ram for their guilt to the lord. And they will bring it again to the high priest at the place, that is, to the chosen one.'

³⁵ And a sixth law is added to these, saying: 'If a person sins and does one of all the commandments that should not be done, and they do not know it, and they become guilty, and they realize their sin, they will bring again a ram to the high priest, and the priest will make atonement for them concerning their ignorance, which they did not know, and it will be forgiven to them.'

³⁶ And now the seventh law says: 'If a person sins and disregards the commandments of the lord, and lies to their neighbor about a deposit, or about theft, or wrongs their neighbor in some way, or finds something lost and lies about it, and swears falsely about any of all the things that a person may do, so that they sin in these, and whenever they sin and become guilty, they will return what they stole, or the wrong they did, or the deposit that was entrusted to them, or the loss they found, from everything about which they swore falsely, and they will repay the principal and the additional amount.'

³⁷ It is necessary that after confessing the sin and after repaying, they hurry to return everything that was taken to the place that the lord god chooses, and to bring an unblemished ram for the wrongdoing, and the priest will make atonement for them before the lord, and it will be forgiven to them.

³⁸ These things and about these, the wonderful Moses explained in detail about those who sin unintentionally and about those who sin out of ignorance, far from those sins that come from choice, for which he also sets necessary punishments for those involved.

³⁹ For the one who sins unintentionally, without first seeking forgiveness or confessing the sin, and then, as if receiving a small punishment through the required sacrifice, is making the sinner pay, by going to the holy place with care and respect for those who have chosen to worship God, how could they not hold back their impulses much more than those who act willingly? So what is there to think about these things, when, as it has been said, Moses sums everything up, saying, 'Cursed is anyone who does not remain in all the things written in the law to do them.'

⁴⁰ For those coming from the ends of the earth, according to Moses, to worship God, so that they might escape the curse and receive the promised blessing to Abraham, they must do all these things. They should meet in Jerusalem three times a year, and the women chosen from all the nations who worship God, having just stopped their childbirth and pains, should make such a journey, so that they can bring the required sacrifice set by Moses for each of the newborns, or for those who have touched a dead body, or for those who have sworn falsely, or for those who have unintentionally committed a sin. They should come from the ends of the earth, running and hurrying to the appointed purification, so that they might escape the burden of the curse.

⁴¹ But you see that for those living around Jerusalem and only in Judea, life according to Moses was hard to follow, and it was not possible for the other nations to achieve it. From this, it is fitting that our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Son of God, after rising from the dead, said to his disciples, 'Make disciples of all nations,' and he added, 'Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.'

⁴² For he did not command all nations to teach the laws of Moses, but only what he himself commanded. These are the things found in his gospels. Therefore, both his disciples and the apostles agree in their discussions about the nations that the laws of Moses cannot be applied to the nations, since neither they nor their ancestors have been able to follow them. Peter says in the Acts, 'Now why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?'

⁴³ It is fitting that Moses himself said that a different prophet would arise, and he would be a lawgiver for all the nations, speaking of Christ in hints. He encourages them to listen to him, saying, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers like me. You shall listen to him in all that he tells you.' And it will be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed from among the people.

⁴⁴ And this prophet, clearly Christ, will come from the Jews and will again call all the nations to himself, saying, 'How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel, like shady groves, and like a paradise by a river, like tents that the Lord has set up.' A man will come from his descendants, and he will rule over many nations, and his kingdom will be lifted high.

⁴⁵ But also from which tribe, since there are twelve tribes among the Hebrews, it is clear that the Christ, the lawgiver of the nations, will come from Judah. And about what times, since after the end of the succession of the Jewish people, it is shown by saying, 'The ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor the leader from his descendants, until what is reserved for him comes, and he is the expectation of the nations.'

⁴⁶ But what expectation was there other than the promise made to Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him? Therefore, Moses himself, knowing well that the law given to him would weaken in order to apply to all the nations, showed that another prophet was needed to fulfill the promises made to Abraham.

⁴⁷ This one, then, was to come from the tribe of Judah and would rule over many nations, as he was being announced beforehand.

Book 1, Section 4

Therefore, since these things contain the decrees about us, the nations, from the sacred books of the Hebrews, which are also our own, we have chosen and accepted them, especially since not only did Moses speak beforehand about the lawgiver who would come after him for the nations, but also all the prophets after him proclaimed similar things. Just as David said, 'Establish, Lord, a lawgiver over them, let the nations know that they are mere humans.'

² See how this one also mentions the lawgiver of the nations. Therefore, in another place, he calls the nations to sing not the old Mosaic song, but a new one, saying, 'Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth; declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Bring to the Lord, O families of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor.'

³ And again, 'Say among the nations that the Lord reigns; for he has established the world, which shall not be moved.'

⁴ And again, 'Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. The Lord has made his salvation known. He has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.'

⁵ And see how this new song is not for the nation of the Jews only, but it shines for all nations. This new song belongs to the new covenant, which Jeremiah, another prophet of the Hebrews, calls out, saying, 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with Israel, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'

⁶ Do you see how he is setting forth two covenants, calling one old and the other new? And he says that the new one will not be like the old one that he made with their fathers. For the old one was for the Jews who fell away from the piety of their ancestors, who desired the Egyptian way of life and were led astray by the many gods and the superstitions around the idols of the nations. It was given as a law to raise up and restore those who had fallen down with suitable teachings. 'For the law,' he says, 'is not laid down for the righteous, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, and for those similar to them.'

⁷ But the new one leads those who have been raised up by the grace and gift of our Savior to walk and hurry toward the promised kingdom of God, calling all people equally to share in the same good things. This new covenant is again called a new law by Isaiah, another prophet of the Hebrews, saying, 'For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations, and all the nations shall come, and all the peoples shall gather and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob."'

⁸ What could the law that has come from Zion be, different from the one given in the desert through Moses on Mount Sinai? Is it not the gospel message that has come through our Savior Jesus Christ and his apostles from Zion, and has gone to all the nations? For it is clear that from Jerusalem and the nearby Mount Zion, where our Savior and Lord has spent most of his time teaching and sharing, the new law of his new covenant has shone forth to all people. Following his commands, he said to his disciples, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.'

⁹ What else could these be but the teachings and lessons of the new covenant? Since it has been shown that these things are so, it is now time to see the way of the new covenant and the newly proclaimed song and law.

Book 1, Section 5

The old covenant and the law given through Moses were suitable only for the Jewish people living in their own land. They were not meant for other nations across the whole world or for Jews living in foreign lands. But the way of the new covenant should be beneficial for all nations, so that no one who wishes to live by it is held back by their land, their ancestry, their place, or any other group.

² Such is the law and life established by our Savior Jesus Christ, renewing the ancient and respected piety of Moses, in which the God-loving Abraham and his ancestors are shown to have lived.

³ If you wish to examine both the life of Christians and the piety that has been given by Christ to all nations, you should look at the way of those around Abraham, who are known for their piety and justice, so that you may find the same.

⁴ For they, having turned away from the many gods and rejected the superstition about idols, looked up and saw all of creation, and did not make gods out of the sun, the moon, or any part of the universe, but instead raised themselves up to the one highest God, the creator of heaven and earth.

⁵ Moses himself also shows in the histories of ancient times that Abraham stretched out his hand to the highest God, who created heaven and earth.

⁶ And before this, he introduces Melchizedek, who he says became a priest of the highest God, blessing Abraham in this way: 'Blessed be Abraham by the highest God, who created heaven and earth.'

⁷ You would also find Enoch and Noah justified and pleasing to God in the same way as Abraham. But also Job, a truly righteous man, blameless and God-fearing, who stayed away from all evil. He is a witness before the times of Moses. He showed great piety towards the God of all by giving up his possessions and left a great example of piety for those after him. That wise man even said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has happened. Blessed be the name of the Lord.'

⁸ And he, honoring the Lord of all, rejected these voices, which he himself explains by saying, 'For he is wise in mind, strong and great, who shakes the earth from its foundations, and its pillars tremble. He who says to the sun, and it does not rise, and seals up the stars, he alone stretches out the heavens.'

⁹ If indeed the word of Christ has commanded all the nations to worship that same God, who was loved by those of old and before Moses, it has made clear that we have become partners in the same piety as they. And by sharing in this piety, it is evident that we will also share in the blessing.

¹⁰ But those who recognized the word of God, whom we call Christ as a friend, also bore witness in the same way; they were indeed deemed worthy of his visible presence and revelation in a much different manner.

¹¹ Listen then, how Moses himself, who appeared to the God-loving ones and often spoke to them, sometimes called him God and Lord, and sometimes an angel of God, clearly showed that this was not the God over all, but rather another being. He was called God and Lord of the God-loving men, but an angel of the highest Father.

¹² And he said to them, 'And Jacob went to Haran, and he came to a place and slept there; for the sun had set. And he took from the stones of that place and put them under his head, and he slept in that place and dreamed. And behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on it.'

¹³ But the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. Do not be afraid; the land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants, and your descendants will be like the dust of the earth.'

¹⁴ Then Jacob rose early in the morning; and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar.

¹⁵ Then he went on and called the God who had appeared to him the Lord. Jacob said, 'The angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, "Jacob." And I said, "What is it?"'

¹⁶ And he said, 'I have seen everything that you will do for me. I am the God who appeared to you in the place where you anointed the pillar, and there I will make a vow to me.' This same God, who also appeared to Abraham, is called Lord, teaching the beloved about the authority of the father, and he teaches something as if about another god, which we will examine in due time.

¹⁸ But it is not right to say that Job was the only one who spoke with self-sufficiency after his training. For before, God, the creator of all, appeared to him through storms and clouds, presenting himself. Now he shows himself again, so that Job can say, 'Listen to me, Lord, so that I may speak. I heard your voice before, but now my eyes have seen you.'

¹⁹ But if one does not think that the invisible, uncreated, and all-powerful God can be seen by mortals, who then could be the one being shown, except for the one who speaks to us, the Lord of the divine word with the Father? And what more needs to be gathered about this? It is enough to take from the sacred books their teachings, which we will examine later, to prove that there is no one other than the word of God that has been seen by the beloved ancestors.

²⁰ "Therefore, after the teachings about the creator of all things and those about Christ have been handed down to us and to them, you would indeed find that those beloved of God before Moses, just like us Christians, are called Christians. And listen to this as it is said about them in the Psalms: 'When they were few in number, small and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another. He did not allow anyone to harm them and he rebuked kings for their sake, saying, "Do not touch my anointed ones and do not harm my prophets."'"

²¹ For all these things are shown in the words about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thus, they also shared in the title of Christ in the same way.

Book 1, Section 6

But the life of virtue and the way of true worship have been preached to all nations through the teaching of Christ, separate from the commands of Moses. In the same way, the same way of piety was established among those ancient people.

² Therefore, they did not care about the circumcision of the body, just as we do not. They did not care about the eating of certain animals, just as we do not. Right away, Moses introduces Melchizedek as a priest of the Most High God, not one who is circumcised in body, not one anointed with oil according to Moses, not observing the Sabbath, nor anything at all that was commanded to the whole Jewish nation through Moses. Instead, they lived according to the gospel of Christ.

³ However, Moses says that he became a priest of the Most High God and greater than Abraham. Indeed, he blessed Abraham. Such a person was Noah, a righteous man in his generation, whom God preserved as a remnant for the human race during the destruction of all those on earth in the flood.

⁴ Therefore, this man knew nothing of the Jewish customs, neither about the circumcision of the body nor about the other things commanded by Moses. Yet, he was righteous, even if he was someone else.

⁵ Before him, there was Enoch, who is said to have pleased God and was taken away so that he would not see death. This man, like him, was neither circumcised in body nor followed the law of Moses. Instead, he lived in a Christian way, not a Jewish one. Abraham himself, being younger than those mentioned before him in time, was older in age, and because of those who would come from him, he first bore the sign of circumcision in his body, a mark of his lineage, passing this sign on to those who would be born from him according to the flesh.

⁶ Before childbirth and before circumcision, he himself, through turning away from idols and confessing the one God above all, showed that he lived a Christian life, not a Jewish one, by his virtuous way of living.

⁷ Indeed, the commandments and the laws, the rights and the regulations of God were kept before the command of Moses. And God said to Isaac, 'I will give all this land to your descendants, and through your offspring, all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham, your father, obeyed my voice and kept my commandments, my laws, and my rights.'

⁸ For there were also other commandments of God before the law of Moses, and rights that were not the same as those given by Moses, along with other laws and commands of Christ, through which they were justified. And that these were not the same as those clearly established by Moses, he presents when he says to the people, 'Hear, O Israel, the rights and the judgments that I speak in your ears today, and you will learn them and keep them to do them. The Lord your God made a covenant with you at Horeb; the Lord did not make this covenant with your fathers, but with you.'

⁹ And see how precisely he speaks of this covenant, since it was not the same as that made with their fathers. If he said that the covenant was not given to their fathers, then the word given to Abraham and to Noah would be false, as the sacred writings testify. For this reason, Moses, with an addition, does not say that this was given to their fathers, hinting at another greater and different covenant, through which even the God-loving were decided.

¹⁰ Immediately, it is testified that Abraham, through faith in the God of all, achieved righteousness, as Moses says, 'And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.'

¹¹ But after the achievement of righteousness and after the testimony of piety, the sign of circumcision was received, which contributed nothing to his justification. The word clearly shows this. You would also find Joseph before the time of Moses in the kingdoms of Egypt, unprotected, but not burdened by Jewish law.

¹² But if you want, you would also know the chief lawgiver of the Jewish nation, Moses, who was raised from a young age by the daughter of the Egyptian king, having partaken of Egyptian nourishment without any notice.

¹³ What should we say about the three times blessed Job, that true man, the blameless one, the righteous one, the God-fearing one? What was the reason for his extreme piety and righteousness? Was it perhaps the commandments of Moses? Certainly not. But was it the observance of the Sabbath or some other Jewish religious practice? Where did this come from, since it was before the time of Moses and his law? For Moses is the seventh from Abraham, while this man is the fifth, coming before Moses by two generations.

¹⁴ Look at the life of this man. It has nothing to do with the law of Moses, but it is not foreign to the teaching of our Savior. He himself says in his defense to his companions, 'For I rescued the poor from the hand of the mighty, and I helped the orphan who had no helper. The mouth of the widow blessed me, and I put on righteousness. I was like eyes to the blind and feet to the lame; I was a father to the weak.'

¹⁵ These things are clearly taught to all of us through the gospel teaching. But also, as one who knows well how to weep with those who weep, and that blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; and that 'if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it,' all these lessons of the gospel show a compassionate heart toward those who are troubled in life. He says, 'I wept for every weak person; I sighed when I saw a man in need.'

¹⁶ Then again, the gospel teaching forbids the shameless laughter. The blessed one says, 'If I had been walking with jokers, and if my foot had stumbled into a trap, I stand in a just balance; the Lord knows my innocence.'

¹⁷ Since the law from Moses says, 'You shall not commit adultery,' and it commands death for adulterers, the gospel teaching strengthens the law and says to the ancients, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, do not even desire the beginning of it.

¹⁸ Consider well the matter that the word speaks about now, which looks at the life of Christ and warns against looking with desire in a more immoral way. For it is said, 'If my heart has followed with the eye a woman who belongs to another man.'

¹⁹ And he gives an account of the thought that leads to anger, for a man's uncontrolled anger is to take another man's wife. For it is a fire that burns over all parts, and wherever it enters, it destroys from the roots.

²⁰ But it also presents the way of not being greedy like this: 'If I have touched gifts with my hands, then others will eat them, and I would be rootless upon the earth.'

²¹ As it was also offered to the family to learn from what he teaches, saying, 'If I have judged my servant or maid, while they are being judged by me.'

²² And again, he gives an account of his thoughts: 'What will I do if God makes my fate? Am I not as I have become in the flesh, just as they have become? For we have been born from the same womb.'

²³ To these, he adds: 'I did not turn away from the widow's eye. And if I ate my bread alone and did not share with the orphan, and if I saw the naked person perishing and did not clothe them.'

²⁴ And again, he goes on to say: 'If I trusted in a precious stone, and if I rejoiced in having much wealth, and if I raised my hand against countless people.'

²⁵ And he again adds to his thoughts: 'Do we not see the sun shining and then setting, and the moon waning?'

²⁶ "Then again, the teaching of the Gospel says, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, 'Love your enemies.' The wonderful teacher, anticipating this teaching, filled the work with it. Therefore, he says, 'If I was glad at the downfall of my enemy, and my heart said, "Aha, I will hear my curse against him."'"

²⁷ "And he adds, 'But a stranger did not camp outside, and my door was open to everyone who came, since I was not a foreigner to the one who said, "I was a stranger, and you took me in."'"

²⁸ And he speaks about his unintentional wrongdoings, saying, 'If I have hidden my sin unintentionally, for I was not turned away by the crowd, so that I would not confess before them. And if I allowed it to be impossible to go out through my door empty-handed, but the hand of the Lord did not fail me, and the writing that I had against someone, I did not break it but returned it, taking nothing from the debtor.'

²⁹ These were the things and such things of the God-loving men before Moses, for from one man, the life of the others can be judged; the glorious rewards of piety, through which they were honored as friends of God and prophets.

³⁰ With such men, what need was there for the commands given by Moses to worthless and wicked men? Therefore, through all these things, the ancient way of piety of the ancestors has been clearly shown by the word of Christ to all nations, as being the new covenant, not different from that ancient pious way from the time of Moses, so that it is both old and new; the oldest because of what has been proven, and new again because, after a long time, it has come back to life among people through the teaching of our Savior.

³¹ This time in between was such that it was hidden from people, and just as if the way of the new covenant was at rest, the law of Moses entered in like a guardian or steward for childish and immature souls, or even like a doctor for a terrible and Egyptian disease that had afflicted all the Jewish nation, to those descendants of Abraham, who were not able to achieve the same things as their ancestors, and he delivered to them a life that was incomplete and imperfect.

³² For when these people were in Egypt, after the death of their God-loving ancestors, they were led away into the many gods, as I said, and fell into superstition, so that they seemed to have nothing of the Egyptians left, but had become completely like them, both in the deception of idols and in other practices. Just as if he were pulling them up from the depths of evils, Moses turned them away from the godless polytheism and raised them up to the creator God of all, first showing them that level of piety as if it were an introduction and a doorway to the more complete teachings.

³³ Then it was not allowed to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness, not to desire men with men, not to mix with mothers, not with sisters, not with daughters, nor to do any such things that were once done without fear.

³⁴ Taking them from a wild and beastly life, he first established a more rational and lawful way of living on earth through writing, when there was still no clear way for all people, nor anything like it.

³⁵ Then, after speaking of the incomplete nature of idolatry, he urged them to serve the one God with sacrifices and some physical acts. He established a way of worship that was more secret and personal, which he saw as wonderful through the divine spirit. He did not allow it to be spread endlessly, but defined it in one place, saying that the laws concerning him should not be carried out elsewhere, except in that one place, which was in Jerusalem, and not beyond it.

³⁶ From this, it was not allowed for the children of the Hebrews to offer sacrifices anywhere outside their appointed city, nor to raise a temple or altar, nor to anoint priests or kings, nor to celebrate the festivals and holy days according to Moses, nor to be cleansed from impurity, nor to be freed from offenses, nor to bring gifts to God, nor to seek mercy according to the established laws.

³⁷ Therefore, they are rightly accused of a curse against Moses, trying to keep some parts of the law while breaking the rest. Moses clearly stated that anyone who does not follow all the things written in the law to do them is cursed.

³⁸ All of these things have happened because Moses, inspired by the divine spirit, said that with the new covenant through Christ being renewed and announced to all nations, there would be a special law concerning him. He rightly limited it to one place so that if they were ever deprived of their own freedom, they would no longer be allowed to carry out the laws concerning him in foreign lands. Thus, it must be accepted that the second covenant announced through Christ has come about out of necessity.

³⁹ Therefore, since Moses had foretold this, Christ came to life and the teaching of the new covenant was presented to all nations. Immediately, the Romans, having taken the city under siege, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple there. All of Moses' commands were immediately set free, and the rules of the old covenant were removed. Those who acted against the time of Moses were forced to follow the laws. At the same time, the laws of the new and complete teaching were also introduced.

⁴⁰ Therefore, it is rightly said that the savior and lord told those who thought they should worship God only in Jerusalem or on certain mountains or places, 'The hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. For God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'

⁴¹ And after he said these things, immediately and not long after, Jerusalem was besieged. The holy place there and the altar for sacrifices, along with the worship according to Moses' commands, were removed. The true worship of God-loving men before Moses appeared to all people and shone brightly. This was the blessing promised to all nations through it, moving from the first stage and from the first foundation of worship according to Moses, leading those who approached it to a greater and more perfect life.

⁴² Indeed, I speak of those blessed and God-loving people around Abraham, who did not worship in a specific place, nor through symbols and types, but as our savior and lord says, 'in spirit and truth.' This existed for all nations through the appearance of our savior. The ancient prophets saw this, and thus Zephaniah says, 'The lord will appear against them and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and each will worship him from their own place.'

⁴³ But Malachi also speaks to those of the circumcision and proclaims these things about the nations, saying, 'There is no desire of mine,' says the lord almighty, 'and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands, because from the east to the west my name is honored among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, along with a pure sacrifice.'

⁴⁴ For the incense and sacrifice offered to God in every place means that it is not only in Jerusalem, nor limited to this specific place. In every land and among all nations, the incense offered through prayers and the sacrifice that is not through blood, but through good deeds, is called a pure offering to the one who is above all.

⁴⁵ And Isaiah cries out loudly, saying at the same time, 'There will be an altar to the lord in the land of Egypt, and the lord will be known to the Egyptians. He will send them a man who will save them, and the Egyptians will know the lord on that day. They will make sacrifices and offer prayers to the lord, and they will repay him, and they will turn back to the lord, and he will listen to them and heal them.'

⁴⁶ Do we seem to you to speak the truth by changing the law of Moses, or rather by saying that there is a pause and release through the prophetic voices?

⁴⁷ Moses indeed established an altar and sacrifices not in any other land but only in Judea, and he set it up in one city. But the prophecy says that an altar will be established to the lord in the land of Egypt, and the Egyptians themselves will offer sacrifices to the lord of the prophets. They will no longer offer sacrifices to their ancestral gods, and the knowledge of God will not come from Moses or any other of the prophets, but from a new and different man sent from God.

⁴⁸ If the altar is moved away from what seems to be established by Moses, then it is necessary for all things and the law of Moses to change. Then the Egyptians, offering sacrifices to the God above all, will be worthy of priesthood. The things concerning the Levites and those arranged by Aaron through Moses would no longer be useful to the Egyptians.

⁴⁹ It is indeed time for a new law to be established for the things that are being revealed. But why? Are these things said without reason? Or is there a purpose behind the words? Consider, then, if today, I say, we see not only Egyptians with our own eyes, but also every kind of people who were once idol-worshippers, whom the prophecy was addressing through the Egyptians. They have been freed from the confusion of many gods and demons, and they are calling upon the God of the prophets.

⁵⁰ And they pray no longer to many lords, but to the one Lord according to the sacred word. To him, an altar of unbloody and rational sacrifices is established according to the new mysteries of the new covenant. This altar has been raised up in all the inhabited world of humanity, both in Egypt and among the other nations, in the way that they worship according to their superstitious confusion.

⁵¹ Now, among us, the knowledge of the God of all shines brightly, confirming the unwavering faith of those who were appointed. These things are seen being accomplished through actions, no longer awaited by mere hearing. The time has come from which the beginning of events has been taken, and you will find nothing else but the appearance of salvation.

⁵² Surely, this is the one whom the prophecy revealed, saying that the God and Lord of all would send a man to the Egyptians, who would save them. This is the same man that the words of Moses showed, in which he said, 'A man will come from his seed, and he will rule over many nations.' Among those nations, the Egyptians would certainly be counted.

⁵³ But about these things, a long discussion would be needed, which will be given later in its own time. For let it be noted that the things mentioned before were fulfilled only after the appearance of Jesus our Savior.

⁵⁴ For from that time, even until now, among the Egyptians and among the Persians, Syrians, and Armenians, and among the barbarians who live at the ends of the earth, even among those nations that were previously the most ignorant and savage, yes, even among those who inhabit the islands, the prophecy has deemed it worthy to remember these things. That same way of life according to Abraham and the very ancient and most ancient way of worship is being pursued.

⁵⁵ And who would not be amazed at the strange nature of this matter, if indeed they honor with reverence stones and wood and demons, man-eating beasts, and poisonous reptiles, and all kinds of animals, and disgusting creatures, fire and earth, and the lifeless elements of the universe, while they call upon the Most High God, the creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of the prophets, the God of Abraham and his ancestors, only after the coming of our Savior?

⁵⁶ And those who were previously accused of small marriages and incest, of mutual destruction and all kinds of murders, who did not differ at all from wild beasts, now, changed by the divine power of our Savior, and becoming like others, are learning words of virtue and self-control, joining in common teachings. They are learning the highest philosophy, which does not even allow the unrestrained eye to gaze upon it, nor does it disregard common matters, encouraging not only men but also women, both the poor and the rich, the educated and the uneducated, even children and slaves, to learn in their city and countryside gatherings the true way in which to honor and serve the God who is above all, according to the prophecy that says each person will worship him from their own place.

⁵⁷ Therefore, every barbarian and Greek will worship the God who is above all, not by running to Jerusalem, nor by dedicating blood and sacrifices, but remaining at home and within themselves, giving him a pure and unblemished worship in spirit and truth.

⁵⁸ And this was the new covenant, not according to the old one. Do not think that the old refers to the God-loving men before Moses, but rather to the law given by Moses himself to the Jewish people.

⁵⁹ The word clearly explains what the old covenant was, teaching that it is not similar to the new one. It says, 'I will make a new covenant, not according to the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.'

⁶⁰ It does not say that the covenant given by Moses was this one, for it was given to the Jews at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Therefore, it would seem to introduce the new covenant in opposition to the way of worship of those God-loving people around Abraham, unless it clearly pointed out by saying, 'not according to the covenant that I made with their ancestors at that time when I led them out of the land of Egypt.'

⁶¹ Therefore, the new covenant will not be based on the one given by Moses at the time of the Exodus and during the wandering in the desert, but rather on that earlier way of life, through which those who lived before Moses were successful.

⁶² Therefore, I confidently divide the choices of those who worship God not into two, but into three groups: the first is that of completely idolatrous people, who follow the many gods; the second is that of those who, through circumcision by Moses, have reached the first level of piety; and the third is that of those who have advanced through the teaching of the Gospel. This means that those who leave Judaism should not fall into Hellenism, nor should those coming from the Greeks be forced to become Jews. Instead, by choosing the third path, you will find a higher place, like someone who has climbed to the highest peak, while the others are left behind below.

⁶³ For the Greeks escape from godless and wandering superstitions and from the empty beliefs and disorderly practices. Likewise, the Jews abandon the incomplete and childish religion that was suitable for the weak, as given by Moses. But the true law is not only for the Jews, but also for Greeks, barbarians, and all nations under the sun. Look at what it says:

⁶⁴ O man, and all the mortal race, the law of Moses began with one group of people, starting with the Jews, for the sake of their beloved ancestors' promise. It was called forth for the knowledge of the one God, freeing those who obeyed from the bitter slavery of demons. But I proclaim to all people and to the nations throughout the world the renewed knowledge of God and piety, urging them to live according to the ways of Abraham and those even older than him, in which many from foreign nations are remembered for their piety.

⁶⁵ And again: the law of Moses urged those who chose to be pious to hurry to a certain place on earth. But I, giving freedom to all, do not seek the God above all in a corner of the earth, nor in mountains, or in handmade temples. Instead, I teach each person to honor and worship him from their own home.

⁶⁶ And again: the old law commanded to worship the God above all with sacrifices of animals, incense, fire, and other similar purifications of the body. But I, giving over the rites of the soul with a pure mind and clear thought, in moderation and a life of virtue, instruct to honor the divine with correct and pious teachings.

⁶⁷ And again: Moses advised those who were murderers at that time not to kill. But I, to those who have been educated in this way and have fulfilled the first command, legislate the more perfect one, ordering not to be controlled by anger. And again: Moses commanded me not to commit adultery, nor to engage in homosexual acts, nor to pursue pleasures against nature, bringing death as punishment for those who break these laws. But I do not even want to look at a woman with lustful desire.

⁶⁸ And again: he said, 'You shall not bear false oaths, but you shall give to God your vows.' But I say to you, do not swear at all, but let your word be 'yes, yes' or 'no, no'; anything beyond this comes from evil.

⁶⁹ And again: he used to advise those who do wrong to defend themselves and to retaliate, saying, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist the evil person; but if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁷⁰ And to the one who wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

⁷¹ And again: he used to advise to love your friend and to hate your enemies. But I say to you, with great love and patience, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become children of your Father who is in heaven, who makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

⁷² And in this, he was fitting in with the harshness of the many and was arranging things to please the passionate. Having changed and fallen away from the old way of devotion, I call everyone back to the pious and god-loving life of the ancient holy men.

⁷³ And on all things, he promised the earth flowing with milk and honey, like to children. But I offer the kingdom of heaven to those who are worthy to enter.

⁷⁴ These and such things, the word of the new covenant announced through the teaching of Christ to all the nations. And these were the things that Christ of God urged his disciples to proclaim to all the nations, saying, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.'

⁷⁵ Which he clearly handed down for all people, both Greeks and non-Greeks, to keep, explaining what Christianity is, who we are, and what kind of teacher of such words and teachings is our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ of God, who established this new and most excellent way of life throughout the whole world, so that both men and women, rich and poor, and slaves along with their masters could learn and think in such ways.

⁷⁶ And indeed, the introducer of this new law has entered into everything according to the law of Moses. And it is worthy of wonder that, as the future lawgiver of a new way of life according to his gospel, he did not reject the laws of Moses as hostile and contrary. For if he had thought that the enemies were to be governed by Moses, he would have also provided the greatest basis for slander against the law of Moses and the prophets to the godless sects, and a reasonable cause for those from circumcision. They indeed conspired against him as a violator and rebel of the law, plotting against him to death.

Book 1, Section 7

But now, having established everything according to the law of Moses, he has appointed his apostles as ministers of his new law. He taught that the laws of Moses should not be seen as foreign or hostile to true worship. At the same time, he became both the master and introducer of new and saving laws for all people, so that it would not seem that he was breaking the law of Moses at all. Instead, he aimed to fulfill it completely, and thus the authority of the law according to the gospel has been established. And it should be heard when he said, 'I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.'

² For if he had been a violator of the law of Moses, it would have been reasonable to think that he was breaking it and acting unlawfully. But Christ, being of a low and lawless nature, could not be believed to be so. If he were breaking the laws of Moses, how could he be the one announced by Moses and the prophets? And how could he have the credibility of a new law? It would seem that he came to introduce something new in order to escape punishment for his lawbreaking.

³ But now, having not loosened anything from the law, he became the complete and perfect fulfillment of it, as one might say, according to Moses. Since it was no longer possible for the other nations to follow the laws of Moses for the reasons that have been made clear, it was necessary for the great kindness of the all-good God to save all people and bring them to the knowledge of the truth. He established what was suitable and fitting for everyone. He would not have been envious and withheld the laws of Moses from all people through his apostles, unless it was impossible to do so. As the apostle teaches, 'For what was impossible in the law, in which it was weak, God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and so on.'

⁴ It is indeed impossible for all the nations to come to Jerusalem three times a year according to the law of Moses, and for a woman from the ends of the earth to hurry there to perform her purification, and many other things that one could list if they had the time.

⁵ Since it was not possible for the nations settled in Judea to do any of these things even if they wanted to, it was reasonable for our savior and lord, who became the complete fulfillment of the law, to not loosen any of these things for himself. He provided faith to those who see, so that he is indeed the Christ of God, as was testified by the prophets who were long ago among the Jews. After this, he proclaimed suitable commandments to all the nations through his own disciples.

⁶ Therefore, we avoid being Jewish, since it is not given to us to follow the law or to apply it to the nations. But we gladly accept the prophecies from the Jews, as they contain predictions about us. Our savior and teacher is also the complete fulfillment of the law of Moses and the prophets who came after him.

⁷ For since the established things left out the results of the conclusions and the outcomes of the words, it was necessary for him to be the complete fulfillment of these as well. For example, the prophecy from Moses says, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me; you shall listen to him in all that he says to you.'

⁸ This missing part was filled in by a second lawgiver who appeared with Moses, a man of true piety toward the God of all. For it does not simply say that Moses will raise up a prophet, but adds the detail that 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me; you shall listen to him.' What does this show other than that someone was to be given to Moses as a companion?

⁹ Moses was a lawgiver of piety toward the God of all. Therefore, it was fitting to say that the one who was to be prophesied, who would be like Moses, would also be a lawgiver similar to him.

¹⁰ After many prophets arose with Moses, no one is said to be like Moses. For all the listeners pointed to him. The scripture testifies that no prophet like Moses has arisen, neither Jeremiah nor Isaiah nor any other of the prophets could be like him, since not even one of them is shown to be a lawgiver.

¹¹ Therefore, this Jesus Christ of God was present as the prophet and lawgiver who was to arise according to Moses, teaching all the nations and dealing with matters beyond the law.

¹² For it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you, do not even desire. And it was said to the ancients, 'You shall not murder'; but I say to you, do not even be angry." And it is no longer in Jerusalem, but in every place to worship. And it was said, 'Do not offer incense and sacrifices, but worship in spirit and truth'; and all such things in his teaching show him to be a wise and perfect lawgiver.

¹³ Therefore, those who were listening were amazed, as the divine scripture says, because he taught them as one having authority, and not like their scribes and Pharisees. And this remaining part fulfilled the prophecy of Moses, just as the other prophecies about him and about the calling of the nations were established.

¹⁴ Therefore, he became the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, establishing the earlier law about himself, and appearing as the leader of the new covenant law that was announced to all nations. This law and its beginning became the cause of the two foundations, I mean Judaism and Christianity. It is also worthy of wonder, as the divine proclamation says, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chosen stone, a cornerstone, precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.'

¹⁵ Who could be the cornerstone of both buildings except this living and precious stone, supported by his teaching? For he established the law of Moses up to himself, and from the other side, he joined our building according to the gospel.

¹⁶ Therefore, it is rightly called the cornerstone. And in the psalms, it is said, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This came from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.'

¹⁷ Here, the saying clearly explains the plot against him from the Jewish nation, which the one being appointed suffered. He was rejected by those building the old wall, by certain scribes and Pharisees, chief priests, and all the rulers among the Jews. But after their dishonor and rejection, it was appointed that he would become the head of the corner, becoming the leader of the new covenant, according to the teachings given.

¹⁸ Therefore, we who have turned away from Hellenism have not fallen into Judaism, nor do we accept the law of Moses and the prophets of the Hebrews, while not living in a Jewish way, but according to the way of the God-loving men before Moses. We would be at fault.

¹⁹ For in this way, we show that Moses and the prophets after him are telling the truth, by accepting the Christ proclaimed by them, and by following his laws. We walk in the path of his teaching, placing our prayers to him, and in this way, we do what is dear to Moses.

²⁰ He said that the Lord God will raise up a prophet like him, and 'every soul that does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed from the people.' Immediately, the Jews, not accepting the prophet and not listening to his holy words, faced the final destruction, suffering just as was foretold.

²¹ For they did not accept the law of Christ from the new covenant, nor could they keep the commandments of Moses without breaking the law. Therefore, they are cursed by Moses, since it is not possible for them to follow the laws given by Moses, with their city taken away and the only place allowed for practicing the Mosaic religion being closed off.

²² But we, accepting what was announced by Moses and the other prophets, would be fulfilling the command of Moses by obeying him through prayer. For he said, 'You will listen to him.' And 'every soul that does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed from among the people.'

²³ What did the prophet command that we must listen to? A little before, we heard the wise, complete, and heavenly teachings. These were not written on stone tablets like those of Moses, nor did he think it worthy to set them down with ink and paper, but for purified souls and those who have a spiritual essence among his followers. In them, he wrote the laws of the new covenant, fulfilling what was said through the prophecy of Jeremiah: 'I will make a new covenant, not like the covenant I made with their ancestors.' For this covenant I will make with the house of Israel, giving my laws in their minds and writing them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'

Book 1, Section 8

But one wrote the perfect commandments of the new covenant on lifeless tablets, while the other wrote them in living minds. His disciples, following the teacher's guidance, adapted the teachings to the understanding of the many. Those who had already advanced toward the perfect teacher received what was commanded, while those still struggling with their souls and needing healing were thought to need simpler teachings. They kept some things in writing and others in unwritten traditions, so that even in the church of Christ, two ways of living were established: one that is extraordinary and goes beyond common human life, not accepting marriage, childbearing, possessions, or wealth, but completely transformed by the common and usual way of all people, and changed only by the care of God, through an extraordinary love.

² Those who think that the way of mortal life is to die, and who carry only the body on earth, while their minds have been lifted to heaven, are like some heavenly beings. They look upon the life of humans, offering themselves to the God above all, not through sacrifices of cattle and blood, nor through offerings and incense, nor through smoke and the destruction of fire and bodies. Instead, they follow the true teachings of genuine piety, with their souls purified, and in addition, they perform works and words according to virtue, by which they seek to appease the divine for themselves and for their kindred.

³ Thus, the complete way of life according to Christianity has been established. The more human way, which includes marriage and childbearing, takes care of household management and suggests practical actions for those striving for justice. It also involves farming, trade, and other civic activities, while caring for those who are devoted to God. For these, times for exercises, learning, and listening to divine teachings have been set apart.

⁴ To these, a second degree of piety has been given, providing a benefit suitable for such a life, so that no one is deprived of the salvation that shines forth. All kinds of people, both Greeks and non-Greeks, enjoy the teachings of the Gospel.

Book 1, Section 9

Since these things are held, one might reasonably ask whether, according to those from ancient times and before Moses, it would be right to consider the teachings of the Gospel as pious. We say that there is one piety for us and for them, and the same knowledge of God. Why then do some put great effort into marriage and childbearing, while we neglect this part?

² And again, some have written that by offering sacrifices through animals, they appease God. But for us, even this is considered something unholy to do. For these two things would seem to contradict what we have said, as they do not follow the old way of piety that saves.

³ And so, it is possible to find a solution from the writings of the Hebrews. They bear witness to piety before Moses, when life was just beginning and taking shape. They are remembered, while the things concerning us lead to an end.

⁴ Therefore, some are eager to increase the population of their descendants, growing during that time and reaching the peak of humanity. But for us, this does not matter much, as we are already moving toward the end of things that are fading away and coming to an end. We are clearly heading toward the completion of life, as taught in the Gospel, which speaks of renewal and the rebirth of another age that has not yet come.

⁵ This is one explanation. A second might be like this: For the ancients, there was nothing to stop them from living freely and raising families at home. They could worship the divine without distraction, with their wives and children, and not be pulled away by those outside their better intentions. But for us, there are countless distractions pulling us away and drawing us into other concerns, which keeps us from focusing on what is pleasing to the divine.

⁶ Indeed, the teaching of the Gospel shows the reason for the decrease in marriages, saying this: brothers, the time is short. Therefore, those who have wives should be as if they do not have them, and those who weep should be as if they do not weep, and those who rejoice should be as if they do not rejoice, and those who buy should be as if they do not own anything, and those who use this world should be as if they do not use it. For the form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from worries. The unmarried person cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married person cares about the things of the world, how to please his wife, and he is divided.

⁷ And the unmarried woman and the virgin care about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman cares about the things of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your benefit, not to put a burden on you, but to promote what is proper and to serve the Lord without distraction.

⁸ Therefore, these words clearly show the reason for the decline of marriage, blaming the distractions of the times and outside matters, which did not affect the ancients at all. And a third reason could be that in the past, those who were beloved by God put great effort into having children.

⁹ Of the remaining people, some have fallen into a bad way of life, living in a wild, inhuman, and beastly manner. They have completely turned away from godliness and atheism, and they are very few in number, remaining from what was said before about the lives of many, and from the common interactions with other people.

¹⁰ Separated from the other nations and living alone, they established a foreign way of life that was philosophical and truly godly, and it was pure and unmixed with other people.

¹¹ Therefore, they hoped that a spark of their own godliness would be kept alive for those who came after them, and that it would not fade away or be lost with the death of the men. They naturally provided for having and raising children, so that they could become teachers and guides for their own children, believing it was important to leave behind heirs of godliness and their own virtue for future generations.

¹² From this, countless prophets and righteous men, along with our savior and lord, and his disciples and apostles, have risen up from their teachings.

¹³ But if some bad people have come from them, like weeds growing alongside good grain, we should not blame those who planted them or those who raised them. For we know that even some of the savior's disciples have strayed due to their own choices.

¹⁴ Therefore, the reason for the childbearing of the ancient godly men has been explained, which we no longer need to discuss, since with God, through the savior's gospel teaching, countless nations and peoples are now visible to us, rushing together in cities and lands and fields, striving for the same thing, and hurrying towards the godly learning of the gospel teaching. For them, it is enough to have teachers and preachers of the word of piety, freed from all the bonds of life and from many worries.

¹⁵ Especially, therefore, it is necessary for these people to focus on the importance of marriage, since they are busy with divine and spiritual childbearing, not just one or two children, but a large number of children, and the godly education, while also taking care of the other aspects of life.

¹⁶ Concerning all these things, if someone were to examine closely the lives of the ancients, about which we are speaking, they would find them engaged in childbearing in the early years of life, but soon after, they would stop and rest. For it is written that Enoch pleased God after he had fathered Methuselah; exactly so, after the birth of the child, it is recorded that he pleased God, and there is no further mention of him having more children.

¹⁷ And Noah, a righteous man, after the birth of his children, was saved alone with his family from the destruction of all on the earth, living many years after that, and there is no mention of him having more children. It is also said that Isaac, from one wife, became a father of twins, and until then, he had relations with his wife. And Joseph, who lived among the Egyptians, became a father of no more than two children, taking one mother for them.

¹⁸ And Moses, along with his brother Aaron, is said to have had children before the appearance of God, but after the divine revelations, they no longer had any children.

¹⁹ What should one say about Melchizedek? Of him, there is no mention of a child, no lineage, no succession, nor of Jesus, the successor of Moses, or of many other prophets.

²⁰ When discussing the childbearing of Abraham and Jacob, we have given a more detailed account in other writings, where we talked about the polygamy and many children of the ancient God-fearing men. We still refer to those who love knowledge, emphasizing that even according to the laws of the New Testament, childbearing is not completely forbidden, but similar practices are allowed for the ancient God-fearing ones. For the text says that a bishop should be the husband of one wife.

²¹ However, for those who are dedicated to the service of God, it is fitting for them to avoid marriage. But for those who are not worthy of such sacred duties, the text clearly states to all that 'marriage is honorable and the marriage bed is undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.' Let these things be said as our first statement.

Book Two

Regarding not sacrificing to the God above all, this is what the ancient God-fearing men, whom we mention as examples of piety, have done. This is what our text would affirm. It is not as among the Greeks or in the sacred writings of the Hebrews, where the same ideas about the service of the ancient and first men to the divine are thought to exist.

² They said that the ancients did not sacrifice any animals or offer incense to the gods, but instead, they would burn grass and leaves and roots, which they gathered by hand, for the sun and the stars in the sky. They believed that those who did otherwise, by shedding blood of animals at altars, were committing a crime and an injustice, and that such sacrifices were not pleasing to God. For nothing should differ between the rational soul of humans and the irrational soul of animals. Therefore, they claimed that those who sacrifice animals deserve to be punished for the same reason, as the soul exists in both humans and animals.

³ But the writings of the Greeks about the ancients were like this, while the Hebrew scriptures were not like that. For they tell of the first humans, who came into being at the very beginning of life, honoring the divine with sacrifices from animals.

⁴ It says, 'And after some days, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruits of the ground. And Abel also brought from the firstborn of his flock. And God looked upon Abel and his gifts, but He did not look upon Cain and his offerings.'

⁵ Here it is clear that the one who sacrifices animals is more accepted than the one who brought an offering from the ground to God. And Noah, right away, offered whole burnt offerings from all the clean animals and all the clean birds on the altar, and the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma. But also, Abraham is recorded as having sacrificed, so according to the testimony of the divine scriptures, the first of all sacrifices through animals is said to have been made by those ancient friends of God.

⁶ I believe that this reasoning is not random or moved by human thought, but is inspired by divine breath. For when they saw that those who are pious and close to God are enlightened by the divine spirit, they thought that great care was needed for the cleansing of human faults, and that a ransom for their salvation should be owed to the one who provides life and soul.

⁷ Then, having nothing better or more precious than their own soul, they offered sacrifices through irrational animals instead of their own souls, bringing as substitutes the lives of those animals. They did not think they were doing anything wrong or unjust, because they were taught that the soul of animals is similar to the rational and thinking power of humans, and they learned that it was nothing other than their blood, and the life force in the blood, which also provides life for them, just as they were offering life for life to God.

⁸ Moses clearly explains this, saying, 'The blood of every living creature is its life, and I have given you the blood on the altar to make atonement for your sins; for the blood is given in place of the life.' That is why I said to the children of Israel, 'No one among you may eat blood.'

⁹ Pay careful attention to what is said: 'I have given you the blood on the altar to make atonement for your lives; for the blood is given in place of the life.' It clearly states that the blood of the animals being sacrificed atones for the human soul. This is also what the law about sacrifices suggests to those who think deeply about it.

¹⁰ Indeed, it commands that anyone who offers a sacrifice should lay their hands on the head of the animal being sacrificed. They should bring the animal to the priest while holding it by the head, as if offering it on behalf of their own head. It then says for each one, 'He shall bring it before the Lord, and he shall lay his hands on the head of the offering.'

¹¹ And so, for each sacrifice, it is kept in this way, with no other kind of offering being presented. This shows that the animals being sacrificed were indeed offered as substitutes for their own souls. The one who teaches that the blood of irrational animals is their soul does not at all suggest that they share the same reasoning and understanding as humans. He presents them as having a nature made of matter and bodies, similar to the plants and growths that come from the earth.

¹² In one word, Moses again says that God said, 'Let the earth produce plants and grass, sowing seed and fruit-bearing trees.' And again similarly, 'Let the earth bring forth four-footed animals, creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each according to its kind.'

¹³ Therefore, it is thought that the irrational animals that come from the earth are similar in nature and kind to plants and growths. For this reason, those who sacrifice animals do not make any mistake. It has also been said to Noah that meat is to be treated like the vegetables of the field.

¹⁴ Until then, there was no greater, larger, more precious, or divine sacrifice available to humans. It was necessary to offer the lives of animals as a ransom for their own lives and as substitutes for their own nature to God. This is what the ancient priests would do, having been inspired by the divine spirit, to bring about the purification of the whole world. They were also prophets, fulfilling the symbols of the future. But when the perfect sacrifice came, the earlier practices ceased, and the first offerings were set aside because of the greater and true priesthood.

¹⁵ This was Christ of God, who would come to humans from ancient times and was foretold to be sacrificed like a lamb for all of humanity. About him, the prophet Isaiah says, 'Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent.'

¹⁶ And it is said, 'He bears our sins and suffers for us; we thought he was punished, wounded, and troubled. But he was wounded for our sins and crushed for our wrongdoings. The punishment that brings us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. The Lord gave him up for our sins. For he did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.'

¹⁷ Similar to this, Jeremiah, another Hebrew prophet, cries out about Christ, saying, 'I am like a harmless lamb being led to the slaughter.' John the Baptist confirms these prophecies at the appearance of our Savior. For when he saw him and showed him to those present as the one being prophesied, he shouted, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'

¹⁸ When, therefore, according to the testimonies of the prophets, the great and precious ransom was found for both Jews and Greeks, the cleansing of the whole world, the life of all people, the pure priesthood free from all stain and sin, the Lamb of God, the beloved and pure sheep, the prophesied lamb, through whose divine and mysterious teaching we all from the nations have found the forgiveness of our past sins, for this reason, the Jews who hoped in him are freed from the curse of Moses. It is fitting that we remember his body and blood every day, and we are honored more than by the old sacrifices and priestly services. We no longer consider it holy to fall back on the weak and basic elements, symbols and images, which do not contain the truth itself.

¹⁹ It is fitting that the Jews who have fled to Christ of God no longer turn back to the commands of Moses, living according to the new covenant, for they would be outside the curse set by Moses. For the Lamb of God not only takes away the sin of the world but also carries the curse from breaking the commands of Moses upon himself. Therefore, the Lamb of God has become both sin and curse: sin for the sinners of the world, and curse for those who do not remain faithful to all that is written in the law of Moses.

²⁰ Therefore, the apostle says, 'Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us,' and 'he who did not know sin became sin for us.'

²¹ For what else could be the cleansing of the world, the ransom for sinners, than he who was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb being brought to be sacrificed, all of this for us and on our behalf? Therefore, the ancient and God-fearing men rightly offered lesser sacrifices in the absence of the greater ones, as our Savior teaches, saying, 'Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.'

²² But we, having received the truths and the original forms of the images through the mysterious plan of Christ, will no longer ask for the old things.

²³ But he alone, being the Word of God, pre-existing and high priest of all rational and intelligent creation, who became like us, as a sheep and a lamb, separating himself from the flock of humans, took upon himself all our sins, and also the curse that was placed upon him in the law of Moses, since Moses said, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.' He suffered this as a curse for us; and indeed, he became sin for us.

²⁴ Since he who knew no sin became sin for us, he took upon himself all the punishments that were due to us, including bonds, dishonor, insults, whips, and wounds, and he bore the sign of the curse in all things.

²⁵ After all this, he offered a wonderful and special sacrifice to the Father, as a high priest, for the salvation of all of us, giving us a reminder to continually offer it to God instead of sacrifices.

²⁶ This is what the wonderful David, a prophet, foretold by the divine spirit, saying, 'I waited patiently for the Lord, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of misery and from the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock and made my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God.'

²⁷ And what does the new song mean? It says next, 'You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. You did not take pleasure in burnt offerings or offerings for sin.' Then I said, 'Look, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written about me. I desire to do your will, O God.' And he adds, 'I proclaimed righteousness in the great assembly.'

²⁸ Instead of the old sacrifices and burnt offerings, the presence of Christ in the flesh and the body prepared for him are offered to God, teaching this. This is also proclaimed to his church as a great mystery, foretold in the prophetic voice in the scroll of the book. Indeed, regarding this sacrifice, we have received his body and saving blood according to the rules of the new covenant. Again, we are taught by the prophet David to say, 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows like the best wine.'

²⁹ Clearly, in these things, the anointing signifies the mystery, and the sacred sacrifices of Christ's table, through which we offer to him our unbloody and rational sacrifices throughout all of life, we have been taught to offer to God through our highest priest.

³⁰ This very thing the great prophet Isaiah wonderfully foresaw and proclaimed by the divine spirit. He says here, 'Lord my God, I will glorify you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things.'

³¹ And what are these truly wonderful things he explains next? He says, 'The Lord of hosts will do this for all the nations. They will drink joy, they will drink wine, they will be anointed with oil. This is given to all the nations; for this plan is for all the nations.'

³² Such were also the wonderful things of Isaiah, announcing good fragrance and the anointing of oil not just to Israel, but to all the nations. From this, the anointing of oil and the Christians received their names. But he also establishes joy from wine for the nations, hinting at the mystery of the new covenant of Christ, which is clearly fulfilled for all the nations in the present time.

³³ But again, the prophetic words proclaim these spiritual and mental sacrifices, saying, 'Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.'

³⁴ And again, 'The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice,' and also, 'A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit.'

³⁵ Therefore, all these things have been established from ancient times through the gospel teaching of our Savior and are fulfilled in the present time for all the nations, with the truth confirming the prophetic voice. Through this, God, having set aside the sacrifices according to Moses, proclaims what will happen to us, saying, 'Therefore, from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is glorified among the nations.' And in every place, a pure offering is presented to my name.

³⁶ Therefore, we offer to the God above all a sacrifice of praise; we offer a divine, solemn, and holy offering; we offer a new pure sacrifice according to the new covenant. And a sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. 'Surely, God will not despise a broken and humble heart.'

³⁷ And indeed, we also offer the prophetic incense, bringing to him in every place the fragrant fruit of the most excellent theology, through the teachings of the prophet, who said, 'Let my prayer be like incense before you.'

³⁸ Therefore, we both offer and incense; sometimes we celebrate the memory of the great sacrifice according to the mysteries handed down to us, and we bring our thanks for our salvation to God through pious hymns and prayers. At other times, we dedicate ourselves entirely to him, and by the word of our high priest, we strive to keep ourselves pure, bringing to him a mind cleansed from all passion and every stain of evil, with thoughts that are unchanging and a simple disposition, and we honor him with teachings of truth. For these things are more pleasing to him than a multitude of sacrifices made with blood, smoke, and odors.

Introduction

In the teaching of the Gospel, all people are shown the true way of piety and the life in Christ. Having presented this in the previous writing, I believe I have convinced you that it was not possible for any of the nations to live according to the Jewish laws, even if they wanted to. Now, returning to the topic, I will refer again to the testimonies from the prophetic voices, making a more abundant response to our accusers from among the circumcised. They claimed that we have no share in the promises written by them; for they say that the prophets belong to them, and that Christ, whom they call their beloved savior and redeemer, is preached to them, and that they expect the written promises to be fulfilled. But we are considered outsiders to these things, as we are of a different race, for whom the worst things are foretold in all the prophecies.

² Therefore, let us bring forth a response to them from their own prophetic books. They proclaim that Christ of God has been promised to them, and that his coming brings redemption to Israel. Even if we were to deny this, it is clearly stated throughout all their scriptures. However, they cannot exclude the nations from the good things expected through Christ, as if these promises were only for Israel and not also for the nations. It is no longer just for them to claim this, as the divine writings testify against it.

Book 2, Section 1

First, since they are used to quoting the favorable voices about themselves and remembering these through their mouths, let us present to them the proofs from their own prophecies concerning the nations. We will show that many prophecies promised good and salvation to all the nations, and that they stated that the promised things would not be fulfilled for the nations in any other way than through the coming of Christ.

² Now, if we set forth the argument here, we would show that it is necessary for them as much as for us to hope in Christ of God. We will demonstrate that the hope of the promised things is equally valid for both Jews and Greeks. Therefore, nothing will be lacking for those from the nations who will be saved through Christ, as we will prove from the next part. The divine words clearly announce that at the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations, there will be a complete removal and rejection of the entire Jewish nation. They will only have a few remaining, and the better things will be promised to them. It also shows that their holy city will be captured, and all the sacred things will be destroyed, as has been made clear by their own actions.

³ How, then, do the sacred words proclaim both the redemption of Israel from evils and the enjoyment of good things at the coming of Christ, while also stating a loss of good things and a rejection of godliness? We will clarify this according to the appropriate time. But first, let us briefly present some evidence from many prophecies we have mentioned.

⁴ "Since they are used to presenting the better prophecies about themselves, as if only they were promised the things that were foretold, it is time for us to counter them and present the promises about the nations, which are also found in their own prophets.

From Genesis: 'The nations of the earth will be blessed in the same way as Abraham was called.'"

⁵ And the Lord said, 'I will not hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do. Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him.' The prophecy says that the mystery will not be hidden from many, but will be revealed to those who love God. This was about the blessing of all the nations, which was long hidden because during Abraham's time, all the nations were held captive by superstitions. But now it has been revealed to us, as through the teaching of our Savior, those who honor God share the same blessing as Abraham.

⁶ Since it was not possible for all the nations to live according to the law of Moses, we have already explained this in the previous writing, so that no one might think that the word applies to the proselytes among the Jews.

⁷ In the same way, we have established that the blessing concerning all the nations, which was promised to Abraham, would apply only to those from all the nations who come through Christ. We will now send this message to those who love knowledge. 'All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of the coming one from the line of Isaac.'

⁸ And the Lord, speaking to Isaac, says this among other things: 'I will establish my oath to Abraham, your father, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven. I will give your descendants all this land, and through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.'

⁹ Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who is from the line of Isaac according to the flesh, is the one through whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. Through him, we learn about the God of all, and he teaches again how to bless those who love God. Therefore, those who are blessed by them will also be blessed in return, just as God said to Abraham: 'Those who bless you will be blessed.' Regarding many nations and gatherings of nations that come from Jacob, even though only the Jewish nation has come from him.

¹⁰ And God said to him, clearly to Jacob, "I am the Lord your God. I will make you grow and multiply into nations, and gatherings of nations will come from you."

¹¹ According to what is clear, only one nation, the Jews, came from Jacob. So how could the prophecy be true if it speaks of many? But since Christ, who is from the line of Jacob, has gathered many groups of nations through his gospel teachings, it is fitting that he has already fulfilled the end of the prophecy, and even more will be fulfilled through him.

From Deuteronomy.

A declaration of the joy of the nations according to God.

¹² "Rejoice, O heavens, along with him, and let all the sons of God worship him. Rejoice, O nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God strengthen them." Instead of "rejoice, O nations, with his people," Achillas says, "make a joyful noise, O nations, his people." And Theodotion says, "rejoice, O nations, his people."

From the Psalm.

From the ends of the earth and all the nations, there will be a return to God, and the generation that comes will receive his righteousness.

¹³ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before him. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he rules over the nations.

¹⁴ "And next it says, 'A coming generation will be announced to the Lord, and they will declare his righteousness to the people who will be born, whom the Lord has made.' This is clear and does not need explanation.

From the Psalm.

A message of piety and self-control to the nations, and the kingdom of God over the nations.

¹⁵ All the nations clap your hands, shout to God with a voice of joy; for the Lord is most high, awesome, a great king over all the earth.

¹⁶ "And next it says, 'For God is king over all the earth, sing wisely. God has ruled over the nations, God sits on his holy throne. The rulers of the peoples have gathered with the God of Abraham.' This is clear and does not need explanation.

From the 45th Psalm.

A declaration of piety for the nations.

¹⁷ "There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, and there is nothing like your works. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They will glorify your name, for you are great and do wonderful things; you alone are God." This is also clear.

From the 86th Psalm.

A declaration of the piety of all the nations and a new song, and the establishment of God's kingdom, and the ordering of the world.

¹⁸ Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name, tell of his salvation day by day; declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

¹⁹ "And say, 'Bring to the Lord, you families of the nations; bring to the Lord glory and honor.' And next, 'Say to the nations, the Lord has reigned. For he has established the world.'

From all the nations, and from the most superstitious Egyptians, the one true God and the knowledge of spiritual worship and celebration according to divine law."

²⁰ And it will be that whoever is left from all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year by year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of booths. And it will be that whoever does not go up from all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, they will be punished.

²¹ But if the tribe of Egypt does not go up and does not come, then there will be the plague that the Lord will strike on all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of booths. This will be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of booths.

²² "Clearly, this also includes the calling of all the nations, according to the understanding of those who consider the things about Jerusalem and the feast of booths, which will also find interpretation in due time.

1. From the declaration of the choice of the apostles and the calling of the nations."

²³ "First, drink this, and do it quickly. Land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, and the others across the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people sitting in darkness, see a great light; those living in the land and shadow of death, a light will shine upon you."

1. From the declaration of the calling of the nations.

²⁴ Hear me, islands, and pay attention, nations. For a long time, it will be established, says the lord. Next, he speaks together about the nations and about the Christ: behold, I have given you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, to be your salvation to the ends of the earth.

²⁵ You would find many scattered throughout all the prophets in the promises to the nations, which at the present time are neither to be read nor explained, except that it is enough to present what has been set forth.

²⁶ This was a great thing for those of the circumcision, boasting and being proud, as if god had chosen them alone from the other nations and made them worthy of the divine promises, to show that nothing better has been promised to them than to all the others in the divine promises. Therefore, when it was shown that the nations were made worthy of the divine promises, let us now also see through whom it is said that the nations will receive the calling of god and the divine promises; for it is good to understand the reason that is said to bring good things to the nations.

²⁷ What could this presence of Christ be, through whom those of the circumcision also confess that they will have redemption? It must be shown that the hope of the calling of the nations was none other than Christ himself, who will appear as a savior not only to the Jews but also to all the nations. I will use the simple testimonies of the prophets without any interpretation, planning to explain each one in detail later, when, with god's help, I gather together all the prophecies about the nations and explain them all at once.

Book 2, Section 2

Psalm 2. This shows the plot against Christ, and he is called the Son of God, receiving the nations as his inheritance from the Father. "Why did the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." And the following: "The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'"

² "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession." Psalm 110. This shows the kingdom of Christ and the calling of the nations and all the tribes of the earth as a blessing.

³ Give your judgment to the king, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son, to judge your people." And the following: "He will rule from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth." And again, "All the nations will serve him.

⁴ "And again, 'All the families of the earth will be blessed in him; all the nations will praise him.' And at the end of the psalm, 'The whole earth will be filled with his glory. Amen, amen.'" Psalm 114. This shows a new song, and the arm of God, and his salvation revealed to all the nations; the name of the son is shown in Hebrew.

⁵ Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things. His right hand and his holy arm have saved him. The Lord has made his salvation known; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy to Jacob and his truth to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth.

⁶ "And let the sea and all that fills it roar; let the world and all who dwell in it rejoice. Rivers will clap their hands, and the mountains will sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with fairness." From the time after the fall of the kingdom of the Jews, Christ himself will be the hope of the nations.

⁷ "There will not be a ruler from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, until he comes to whom it belongs, and he will be the hope of the nations." This shows the coming of Christ and the end of idol worship, and the nations turning to the true God.

⁸ "The Lord will appear to them and will destroy all the gods of the nations, and each will worship him from their own place, all the islands of the nations." This shows the day of Christ's resurrection, the gathering of the nations, the knowledge of God for all people, and one way of worship, and like the Ethiopians, they will bring sacrifices to him.

⁹ "Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord, until the day of my resurrection as a witness. For my judgment is for the gatherings of the nations, to bring kings to pour out my anger upon them, all the fury of my wrath. For the whole earth will be consumed in the fire of my zeal. At that time, I will change the language of the peoples to a pure language, so that all may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one accord. From the farthest rivers of Ethiopia, they will bring sacrifices to me." This shows the coming of Christ, and many nations will seek refuge in him, and the peoples will be gathered to the Lord from the nations.

¹⁰ "Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations will seek refuge in the Lord on that day, and they will be his people. And they will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." This shows the birth of Christ from the root of Jesse, and the calling of all the nations through him.

¹¹ "There will come forth a shoot from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his roots, and the Spirit of God will rest upon him, and so on, as it is said, 'And in that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the nations; the nations will seek him.'" This shows the coming of Christ and the blessings that will come to all nations through him.

¹² Behold, my servant, I will uphold him; my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise his voice, nor will his voice be heard outside. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish; he will bring forth justice in truth. He will not be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth; and in his name, the nations will hope.

¹³ "And further, he says, 'I am the Lord, your God; I have called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand and strengthen you. I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to carved images. The former things have come to pass; behold, I declare new things, and before they spring forth, I tell you of them.'" This shows the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations.

¹⁴ Hear me, islands, and pay attention, nations; for a long time, the Lord says, 'From the womb of my mother, he called my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, and he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me like a polished arrow, and in his quiver, he hid me away.'

¹⁵ "And he says, 'Behold, I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to be your salvation to the ends of the earth.'" This shows the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations.

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord, who has rescued you, Israel: 'Honor the one who is despised, the one who is hated by the nations, the servants of rulers; kings will see him, and princes will rise up, and they will bow down to him.'

¹⁷ To whom he says, 'In a time of favor, I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation, I have helped you. I have given you as a covenant to the nations, to establish the earth and to give as a heritage the desolate places, saying to those in chains, "Come out," and to those in darkness, "Be revealed." They will be fed in all the paths, and in all the roads, their pasture will be. They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the heat or sun strike them, for the one who has mercy will guide them, and he will lead them by springs of water. I will make every mountain a road and every hill a pasture for them.'

¹⁸ Behold, these will come from far away, these from the north and the sea, and others from the land of the Persians. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. Let the mountains break forth in joy, for the Lord has had mercy on his people and has comforted the humble among his people.

¹⁹ Pay attention to your ears and follow my ways. Listen to me, and your soul will live in good things, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful promises of David. Behold, I have given him as a witness to the nations, a leader and commander for the nations. Nations that do not know you will call on you, and people who do not know you will flee to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

²⁰ And so, having learned these things, we see that the coming of Christ was prepared not only for the Jews but also to be a savior for all nations. Let us also show the third point, that during the times of his appearance, not only were good things prophesied for the nations, but also the opposite for those of the circumcision.

²¹ Therefore, it is clearly foretold that there will be a rejection and loss of the Jewish nation because of their unbelief in Christ, so that they will no longer be equal to us, but we will be shown to be greater than them from the chosen people. And now I will use the plain statements of the prophets without any interpretation, both because they are clear and because they will make their examination more complete in due time. From Jeremiah. A declaration of the rejection of the Jewish nation and the inclusion of the nations in their place.

Book Three

Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths of the Lord, and see what is the good way and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' I set watchmen over you; listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore, the nations have heard, and those who shepherd the flocks among them. From the same. A declaration of the piety of the nations and a charge against the impiety of the Jewish nation. This is a prediction of those who will turn away from evil after the coming of Christ.

² Lord, my strength and my help in the day of trouble. To you, nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, 'Our fathers inherited false gods, and there is no benefit in them. If a man makes gods for himself, these are not gods.'

³ Therefore, behold, I will show them at this time my hand and my power; and they will know that my name is Lord. The sin of Judah is written with a diamond point on the tablet of their hearts. Whenever they remember their groves on tall trees, and on high hills, and on mountains in the countryside. I will give your strength and your treasures as plunder, and your highest places because of your sins in all your borders. And you will be left alone, and you will be humbled from the inheritance that I gave you.

⁴ "And I will make you a horror to your enemies in the land you do not know; for fire is kindled in my anger, and it will burn forever." From Amos: The things about the scattering of the Jewish nation among all the nations, and about the renewal of Christ's coming and kingdom, and the calling of all the nations that has happened because of it.

⁵ Behold, I am commanding, and I will shake the house of Israel among the nations, like one shakes with a sieve, and not a grain will fall to the ground. By the sword, all the sinners of my people will die, who say, 'Evil will not overtake us or come upon us.' On that day, I will raise up the fallen tent of David, and I will rebuild its ruins.

⁶ And I will raise up its fallen places, and I will rebuild it, as in the days of old, so that the remnant of mankind may seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, says the Lord who does all these things." From Micah: The accusation against the leaders of the Jewish nation, and the declaration about their metropolis, the appearance of Christ, and the house of God, which is his church, the word and the law, and the declaration concerning all the nations. "Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel, who hate justice and twist everything that is right, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrongdoing. Its leaders judge for a bribe, and its priests teach for a price, and its prophets practice divination for money, yet they lean on the Lord, saying, 'Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.'

⁸ "Therefore, for you, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be like a fruit garden, and the mountain of the house will become a wooded hill. And it will be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, ready on the tops of the mountains; and it will be lifted up above the hills, and many peoples will rush to it, and many nations will say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths, for the law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'" From Zechariah: A declaration about the presence of Christ, and the destruction of the military preparations of the Jews, and peace for the nations, and the kingdom of the Lord until the ends of the earth.

⁹ Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you, righteous and saving, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will destroy the chariots from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations, and his rule will extend from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

¹⁰ "From Malachi: A rejection of the Jewish nation, and a denial of their physical worship according to the law of Moses, which has been replaced by spiritual worship given to all nations through Christ. 'I do not want your offerings, says the Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands. For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is honored among the nations, and in every place, incense is offered in my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty, but you profane it.'

From Isaiah: The rejection of the word of God by the Jewish nation, and the revelation of a new law, and the declaration of piety among all the nations."

¹¹ The daughter of Zion will be left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege." And then it continues, "How has the faithful city, Zion, become a prostitute? In her, justice used to rest, but now there are murderers?

¹² And on these things, 'For their leaves will be like those of a terebinth, and like a garden without water. And their strength will be like a dry stalk, and their works will be like sparks of fire, and the lawless will be burned up, and the sinners together, and no one will quench them.'

¹³ "On all these things, it says, 'In the last days, the mountain of the Lord will be made clear, and the house of God will be on the tops of the mountains. And it will be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations will come to it. And many nations will go and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For the law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge between the nations.'

This is the same. The removal of the glory of the Jewish people, and the turning of the nations away from idolatry to the God of all, and concerning the desolation of the Jewish cities, and concerning their unbelief in God."

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord of Hosts, 'And it will be like this: if someone gathers grain in a strong valley, and a stalk is left in it, or like two or three olives on the top of a tree, or four or five on its branches are left.'

¹⁵ Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: 'On that day, a person will trust in the one who made him, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And they will not trust in the altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers made. And they will not look at the trees, nor at their idols on that day. Your cities will be left behind, just as the Amorites and the Hivites left before the children of Israel.'

¹⁶ "And they will be desolate, because you have forsaken the God who saves you, and you have not remembered the Lord your God. Therefore, you will plant a faithless seed; and on the day you plant it, you will be led astray."

This is the same. A declaration of the destruction of the Jewish cities and the joy of the nations according to God.

¹⁷ Lord my God, I will glorify you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, a plan from long ago, true. Let it be, Lord, for you have made cities into rubble, strong cities whose foundations have fallen. The city of the wicked will never be built again. Therefore, the poor people will bless you, and the cities of the oppressed will praise you. For you have been a helper to every humble city, and a shelter to those who are discouraged because of need.

¹⁸ And the Lord of Hosts will make all the nations on this mountain feast with joy, they will drink wine, they will anoint with oil on this mountain. Give all these things to the nations, for this plan is for all the nations; death has swallowed up its power, and God will wipe away every tear from every face, he will take away the disgrace of his people from all the earth. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.

This is the same. A good promise to the long-desolate assembly of the nations, the rejection of the Jewish people, and the correction of their sins and the calling of all the nations.

¹⁹ Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the things of old. For behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs up, and you will know it. I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. And the beasts of the field will honor me, the jackals and the birds of the air; for I have given water in the wilderness to drink for my chosen people, the people I have formed; they will declare my praises.

²⁰ I did not call you, Jacob, for nothing, nor did I make you weary, Israel. You have not brought me sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored me with your sacrifices. You have not served me with gifts, nor have you made me weary with incense. You have not bought me sweet cane with your money, nor have you satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and have wearied me with your wrongdoings.

²¹ And in the following, it says, 'Turn to me, and you will be saved, you who are at the ends of the earth. I am, and there is no other; by myself I swear, my words will not be turned back. For to me every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess the true God, saying, "Righteousness and glory will come to him," and all who have opposed the Lord will be ashamed.' This is a declaration of the coming of Christ to people and a rebuke of the Jewish nation, and a promise of good things to all nations.

²² Thus says the Lord, 'What is this book of your mother's divorce that I sent her? Or to whom have I sold you? Behold, you have been sold because of your sins, and I sent your mother away because of your wrongdoings. For I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was no one to answer.'

²³ To those he chooses, 'Those who walk in darkness and have no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on your God. Behold, all of you are burning with fire and are strong in your flame. Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame you have set. Because of me, these things have happened to you; you will lie down in sorrow.'

²⁴ To those he chooses, 'Listen to me, listen to me, my people, and you kings, pay attention, for a law will go out from me, and my judgment will be a light for the nations. My righteousness is coming quickly, and my salvation will shine like light, and nations will hope in my arm.' This is a rebuke of the wickedness of the Jewish nation and a rejection of their piety, but it is a declaration of the calling of all nations.

²⁵ Is the hand of the Lord not strong enough to save, or is his ear too heavy to hear? But your sins have separated you from your God, and because of your sins, he has turned his face away from you so that he does not listen. For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers are in sin.

²⁶ But your lips have spoken wickedness, and your tongue plans injustice. No one speaks justly, and there is no true judgment. They trust in empty things and speak lies, for they conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness.

²⁷ They have broken the eggs of vipers and weave the web of spiders. The one who eats their eggs will die, and if one is crushed, a snake will be found in it. Their web will not become a garment, nor will they cover themselves with their works. For their works are works of wickedness, and their feet run to evil. They are quick to shed blood, and their thoughts are thoughts of foolishness. Destruction and misery are in their paths; their roads are crooked, and they do not know peace.

²⁸ Therefore, justice has turned away from them, and righteousness will not catch up with them. They waited for light, but darkness came to them; they hoped for brightness, but walked in gloom. They will feel their way like the blind along a wall, and like those who have no eyes, they will feel their way. They will fall at noon as if it were midnight. They will groan like dying people; they will go about like bears and doves together.

²⁹ To whom he chooses, 'And they will fear the name of the Lord from the west, and those from the rising sun will fear the glorious name.' But indeed, for most of those who are involved in the same subject of prophecies, we will be satisfied with the testimonies provided, and at the right time, we will take them up again and clarify them. We believe that the words and the testimonies from them have sufficiently shown that the Jews have no more than the other nations.

³⁰ For they say that only those who are descendants of the beloved Abraham share in the blessing because they come from him. But it has been promised that not only will the nations be blessed equally with Abraham, but also with Isaac and Jacob. It has been declared that all nations will be blessed in the same way, and they are called to rejoice together with the blessed and beloved ones, according to the saying, 'Rejoice, you nations, with his people.'

³¹ And 'the rulers of the nations have gathered with the God of Abraham.' Whether for the kingdom of God, as if they have become his inheritance, they are shouting. But God is also declared to rule over all the other nations, for it is said, 'Say among the nations, the Lord has reigned.'

³² And again, 'God has reigned over all the nations.' Whether they are chosen to serve and worship God, it is shown that the same message has been promised to the nations about healing, saying, 'Bring to the Lord, you nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor. Truly, bring offerings, and enter into his courts.'

³³ To these, you will also connect the saying from Isaiah, 'There will be an altar to the Lord in the land of Egypt... and the Egyptians will know the Lord. They will make sacrifices and offer prayers to the Lord and will repay him.' There it is also prophesied that outside of Jerusalem, an altar will be set up for the Lord, and the Egyptians will sacrifice there and offer prayers, and they will repay the Lord.

³⁴ Not only in Egypt, but also in the true Jerusalem, which is understood to be this one, all the nations, and indeed the Egyptians, who are the most superstitious of all, are called to celebrate the festival of the tent as seen in the prophecy.

³⁵ If indeed, long ago it was said, 'Jacob became the portion of the Lord, the share of the inheritance of Israel,' later it was also said that all the nations will be given as a lot to the Lord, as the father said, 'Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance.' For it is prophesied that he will rule not just over Judah, but from sea to sea and from the ends of the earth. 'All the nations will serve him, and all the families of the earth will be blessed in him.'

³⁶ The reason for this was to make known the salvation of God before all the nations. It has already been pointed out to us that the name Jesus is understood as the salvation that comes from the Hebrews, meaning that there is no other salvation of God than the name of our savior, Jesus Christ.

³⁷ Simeon also bears witness to this in the Gospel, who, taking the child, that is, Jesus, blessed God and said, 'Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all the nations, a light for revelation to the nations.' This salvation is also shown by the psalmist, saying, 'The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.'

³⁸ And according to Isaiah, all people will see this same salvation and will worship the God of all, who has freely given his salvation to everyone. They will worship him not in the lower Jerusalem in Palestine, but each from their own place, and all those in the islands of the nations. When this saying is fulfilled, people will no longer call on their ancestral gods, nor on idols and demons, but on the name of the Lord, and they will serve him with one yoke. From the farthest rivers of Ethiopia, they will bring him their rational and bloodless sacrifices through the new covenant of Christ, not in the lower Jerusalem, nor at this altar, but in the declared borders of Ethiopia.

³⁹ And if it is a great thing to be a people and to be called the people of God, and indeed this is one of the greatest divine promises, it is said by him about those worthy of it, 'I will be their God, and they will be my people.' Before, Israel was honored as the only people of God, but now the Lord promises to grant this good thing to the nations, saying, 'Behold, I am coming and will dwell among you, and many nations will seek refuge in the Lord, and they will be to him a people.'

⁴⁰ About these things, it will also be said, 'And I will say to those who are not my people, "You are my people." And he will say, "You are my God."' If this Christ, who comes from the root of Jesse, is indeed the only one, and this has been proclaimed to the Hebrews, then no one should dispute this. Look, he will rise not to rule over Israel, but he has been called to rule over the nations. The nations will hope in him, but Israel is not mentioned, since he was the hope of the nations.

⁴¹ Therefore, it is said that he will bring judgment to the nations and will be a light for the nations. And again, the nations will hope in his name, and salvation will be given not only to the Jews, but also to all people up to the very end of the earth.

⁴² Therefore, it has been said to him by the Father who sent him, 'I have given you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, to establish the earth and to inherit the desolate lands.' And he says that it is a testimony to the nations, so that all the nations that have never learned anything about Christ, knowing the plan concerning him and what power was in him, will call on him, and the people who did not know him before will seek refuge in him.

⁴³ And why should I prolong the word, being present with those prophetic sayings, which I have set forth and which I will mention in detail in the divine scriptures? To whom it is dear to explain the prophetic voices, it is clear that Eusebius silences those who from the circumcision claim that the promises of God have been given only to them, while we, who are from the nations, are considered outsiders to the divine promises. For it has been shown that all the nations will enjoy the presence of Christ, while the multitude of the Jews will fall away from the promise made to their ancestors because of their unbelief in Christ, with few of them believing in our Savior and Lord, and for this reason, they will receive the promised spiritual redemption through him.

⁴⁴ About this, the wonderful apostle teaches somewhere, saying, 'Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, if the sons of Israel are like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved; for the Lord will carry out his word fully and decisively in righteousness, because the Lord will make a shortened word upon the earth.' And as Isaiah said before, if the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah.'

⁴⁵ To whom he adds, saying, 'Has God rejected his people? For I am also an Israelite, from the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.' God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

⁴⁶ Or do you not know what the scripture says in Elijah, how he appeals to God, saying about Israel, 'Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it'? But what does the divine response say? 'I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So, too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

⁴⁷ For this reason, the apostle clearly shows that he himself and those apostles and evangelists who are like him, all of whom still believe in Christ from the Jews, are the seed mentioned by the prophet, according to the saying, 'If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed.' This is also the remnant indicated in the other prophecies, which he says has been preserved by grace.

⁴⁸ About this remnant, let us again explain what the prophets say, so that it may be shown through many examples that God did not promise salvation through the presence of Christ to all the Jewish nation without distinction, but to a few and rare ones who believe in our Savior and Lord, just as the work has followed the prophecies. From Isaiah: 'For it is not for every Jewish nation, but it is for a few of them that the divine promises are directed.'

⁴⁹ The land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers eat your land before you, and it is made desolate, destroyed by foreign peoples. The daughter of Zion will be left like a tent in a vineyard and like a shelter in a cucumber field, like a city under siege. And if the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah.

⁵⁰ The great and wonderful prophet begins by teaching that the whole purpose of prophecy contains a vision and revelation against Judah and against Jerusalem. Then he rebukes the entire nation of the Jews, first saying, 'The ox knows its owner and the donkey knows its master's manger; but Israel does not know, and my people do not understand.'

⁵¹ Then he continues to trouble the whole nation, saying, 'Woe to the sinful nation, a people full of sins, a wicked offspring, children who are lawless.'

⁵² At the beginning of the book, using these accusations against them, and having taught the reasons for the coming judgments against them, he then begins by saying, 'Your land is desolate,' not desolate in the way he had prophesied for years. 'Your cities are burned with fire;' and even before this happened, strangers did not eat their land. And yet he says, 'Strangers are eating your land before you,' and he continues from there.

⁵³ If then you were to come to the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ and to those from him and to the present times, you would find everything that has been said coming true. For the daughter of Zion, (this was the worship taking place on the mountain called Zion), has been left behind since the presence of Jesus our Savior, like a hut in a vineyard and like a watchman's shelter in a cucumber field, and even more desolate than these. Their land is eaten by strangers before them, sometimes collecting taxes and tributes from them, and sometimes making their own possession the land of the Jews that once was. But even the beautiful temple of their city is being destroyed by foreign peoples, and their cities have truly become burned with fire, and Jerusalem has indeed become a besieged city.

⁵⁴ But since these things have happened to them, the group of apostles, those who believed in Christ from the Hebrews, were preserved like a fruitful seed from those people. They went through the whole world and to every kind of people, filling every city and place with the local and Israelite seed, so that from them, like ears of grain, churches were established in the name of our Savior. It is fitting that the divine prophet mentions the threats that had been declared against them, saying, 'If the Lord of Hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah.'

⁵⁵ What he gathers together and explains clearly in his letter to the Romans is this: 'Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, if the number of the sons of Israel is like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his word on the earth, finishing it and cutting it short.' And as Isaiah had said before, 'If the Lord of Hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah.'

⁵⁶ To this he adds, saying, 'God has not rejected his people, has he? May it never be! For I am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.' Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the story of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel, saying, 'Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away'? But what does the divine response say to him? 'I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

⁵⁷ That the prophecy does not point to another time, but to the time of the appearance of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is clear. The statement follows after saying, 'If the Lord of Hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah.' It names all the Jewish people as the people of Gomorrah, and their leaders as the rulers of Sodom. It brings a rejection of the religion according to Moses and the way of the covenant announced to all people through our Savior. I mean the one through the washing of regeneration, and the new word and law that has come in the prophecy about such things.

⁵⁸ Therefore, it says, 'Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; pay attention to the law of God, you people of Gomorrah. What do I care about the multitude of your sacrifices?' And the following words, which are related to the law according to Moses, introduce another way of forgiveness of sins, the one through the washing of salvation and the life that is preached along with it, saying, 'Wash yourselves, be clean, remove the evil from your souls.' And the rest follows.

⁵⁹ And the rulers of Sodom, and the people of Gomorrah, for what reason he named them, he immediately presented, saying, 'For your hands are full of blood.'

⁶⁰ And again, going down, he says, 'Their wickedness has been announced like that of Sodom and has been revealed. Woe to their souls, for they have planned an evil plan against themselves, saying that they will bind the righteous, because he is troublesome to us.'

⁶¹ Clearly remembering the blood of someone and of one righteous, whose plot could it be but that of our savior Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom all the things that were foretold have come to them.

⁶² On that day, God will shine in counsel with glory upon the earth, to lift up and to glorify the remnant of Israel. And the remnant of Israel will be in Zion, and the remnant in Jerusalem; all who are written for life will be called holy in Jerusalem.

⁶³ And what will happen to the remnant of Israel? The prophet himself has declared, saying that all who are written in Jerusalem and those called holy. So what is this day, in which God will glorify and lift up the remnant of Israel and those who will be called holy and written for life? When you run through the whole story of the passage, it will be clear.

⁶⁴ In the beginning, therefore, of the whole book, the prophet saw a vision against Judah and against Jerusalem. And after listing many of the wickednesses of all the Jewish nation, he threatened and spoke about their destruction and the complete desolation of Jerusalem. He concludes his vision against them, saying, 'For they will be like a terebinth with its leaves fallen, and like a paradise without water. And their strength will be like a stalk of flax, and their works will be like sparks of fire, and the lawless and the sinners will be burned together, and there will be no one to quench them.'

⁶⁵ Having described here the prophecy against them, he uses a different beginning. And from another starting point, he touches on a second subject, and the word that came to Isaiah, son of Amos, the prophet about Judah and about Jerusalem, or, as the Ally explained, concerning Judah and concerning Jerusalem. Perhaps someone will think about those gloomy things and will change to speak about the better things.

⁶⁶ But the following account would not allow for this to be said, for concerning the Jewish nation or concerning what is called Israel, there is nothing good at all. Nor is there anything good concerning Judah or concerning Jerusalem. On the contrary, there are countless accusations and complaints against Israel, and gloomy threats against Jerusalem. And it establishes a call for salvation and knowledge of the God above all, and in addition to these, it presents a new appearance and a different house of God besides the one in Jerusalem.

⁶⁷ Therefore, after speaking about Judah and about Jerusalem, he says that in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, and the house of God will be on the tops of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations will come to it. Many nations will go and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob.'

⁶⁸ And concerning all the nations, he proclaims such things; but concerning the Jews, he says this: 'For he has raised up his people, the house of the God of Jacob, because their land has been filled, just like that of the foreigners, and many children of foreigners have been born to them.'

⁶⁹ For their land has been filled with silver and gold, and there was no number to their treasures. And concerning these things that are more, it is said: 'And they worshiped what their own fingers made, and a man bowed down and was humbled, and he will not lift them up. And now enter into the rocks, and hide in the ground from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the face of his glory when he rises to shake the earth.'

⁷⁰ Through these things, he clearly teaches that there will be a certain rising of the Lord, in which all the land of the Jewish nation will be broken.

⁷¹ For concerning them, the whole word was, just as follows: 'For the day of the Lord of Hosts will be upon every proud and arrogant person, and upon every high and lofty thing,' and the things that follow these. Therefore, on that day of the rising of the Lord, he proclaims concerning those who are lifted up against the knowledge of God, saying on that day: 'The Lord will be exalted on that day, and all the things made by hands will be hidden, brought into the caves.'

⁷² Clearly, he shows the turning away from idols, which both the Jews and all other people turned away from after the appearance of our Savior, having rejected all superstition. 'On that day,' he says, 'a man will throw away his gold and silver idols, which he made to worship the worthless.'

⁷³ Throughout, as is likely, and concerning every person, he proclaims these things because of the calling that will happen for the nations.

⁷⁴ Specifically, again about the nation of the Jews, he speaks with one understanding, saying, 'Behold, the Lord God of Hosts will remove from Judah and from Jerusalem the strong support, the strength of bread, and the strength of water. The mighty man and the warrior, the man of judgment, the prophet, the wise man, the elder, the captain of fifty, the counselor, the skilled architect, and the clever listener;' and the things that follow these.

⁷⁵ Then, having pointed out the things said before in the prophecy, concerning which it was said, 'The word that came from the Lord to Isaiah son of Amoz, about Judah and about Jerusalem,' it seems to be more about them than for them, unless someone, perhaps, is mistakenly holding a different understanding.

⁷⁶ For how will he take away from Judah and from Jerusalem the strong support, the strength of bread, and the strength of water, and everything that has long been important to them? How will the things being foretold be for Judah and for Jerusalem, and how are the things said afterwards also about them, 'Jerusalem will be lifted up, and Judah, and their language with lawlessness, disobeying the Lord'?

⁷⁷ But in this time, when the mountain of the Lord must be proclaimed to all nations, and the house of God on the mountain, where all the nations say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob,' such words serve as accusations against the nation of the Jews. Having threatened them with the end, he connects all the previously mentioned words, teaching that among all the Jews, some will fall away from true godliness, while others will remain, not sharing in all the evils. On the contrary, as if saved from hard work and wrongdoing, they will show the proof and sincerity of their piety, and they will be deemed worthy of the writings from God and will be called holy servants of God.

⁷⁸ This shows that all the apostles, disciples, evangelists, and all the others who believed in him from the circumcision, during the time of the fall of their whole nation, are included.

⁷⁹ This is hinted at when the word says, 'On that day, when all the things foretold about the calling of the nations and the fall of the Jews will happen, God will shine with glory upon the earth, to lift up and honor what is left of Israel. And what is left in Zion and what is left in Jerusalem will all be called to life in Jerusalem.' Because of these, it is fitting to say that those who come from Jerusalem and from Judea will speak the prophecy on behalf of Judea and on behalf of Jerusalem, or even for the true Jerusalem and the Judea that is seen in a similar way in thought; about which we will enter in due time.

⁸⁰ And which of the apostles of our Savior and the evangelists sees the divine power, by which their voice went out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world? All the churches of Christ, both from then and now, have their teachings and words in their mouths. And the laws of Christ from the new covenant, preached through them, would not clearly support the truth of the prophecy, saying that God will lift up and honor what is left of Israel in a plan and with glory upon all the earth. And how will what is left in Zion and what is left in Jerusalem be called holy, those written for life? Instead of what is said by the Seventy, in a plan and with glory, Aquila and Theodotion interpreted it as power and glory, showing the power given by God to the apostles and presenting glory to God in this, as the Lord will give a word to those preaching with great power.

⁸¹ And this saying goes, 'You will hear but not understand; you will see but not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and they have hardly heard with their ears, and they have closed their eyes, so that they may not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.' And I said, 'How long, Lord?' And he said, 'Until cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, and houses are left without people, and the land is utterly desolate. And after this, God will remove the people far away, and the forsaken ones will be many in the land.'

⁸² Now, what way will those who are left behind again on the earth, when the rest of it becomes completely desolate, be said to increase? And indeed, these disciples of our Savior, coming from the Hebrews, will go out to all people, and like seeds left behind, they will bring forth much fruit, the churches of the nations throughout the whole world. And behold, as it is said, these will be the only ones left from the fall of the Jews, and they will be completely desolate.

⁸³ For of them, it is said, there will be a desolation. This was also said to them earlier by the same prophet, 'Your land will be desolate, your cities will be burned with fire, and strangers will eat your land in front of you.'

⁸⁴ But when did these things happen, or from the time of our Savior? For until then, they had not yet dared to commit such great impieties, their land was not desolate, nor were their cities burned with fire, nor did strangers eat their land. But from that divine voice, by which the Savior and our Lord foretold what would happen to them, saying, 'Your house is left desolate,' from that time on, not long after the prophecy, they were besieged by the Romans and became desolate.

⁸⁵ "And the prophetic word clearly shows the reason for their desolation, explaining the cause of their downfall. For when our Savior was teaching them, they did not listen with their minds, nor did they understand who he was. Seeing him with their physical eyes, they did not see with the eyes of their souls, and they hardened their hearts. They closed the eyes of their understanding and made their ears heavy," as the prophecy says. Because of this, it says their cities will be desolate due to not being inhabited, and the land will become desolate. Yet some of them will be left behind, like a remnant of fruitful and living seed, who will go out to all people and are said to increase on the earth.

⁸⁶ But after the departure of these, that is, the apostles of our Savior, it is said that a tenth will still remain in that land of Judea, and after this, they will again be like a terebinth and like an acorn when it falls from its shell. The word suggests, as I think, that after the first siege, which is said to have happened during the time of the apostles and under the Roman Emperor Vespasian, they were again completely removed from the land during the second siege under Hadrian, so that they were not even allowed to step on the soil of Jerusalem. This is hinted at when it says, 'And again it will be like a terebinth and an acorn when it falls from its shell.'

⁸⁷ And in that day, a man will raise a young cow and two sheep. And there will be enough to make plenty of milk, and everyone who is left on the earth will eat butter and honey.

⁸⁸ Here, if you seek the mentioned day, you would find the time of our Savior's appearance. For the prophet said, 'Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son,' and he speaks most about the events of that same day, that is, around the time of our Savior's appearance.

⁸⁹ For invisible powers and certain enemies and foes, called by the laws of allegory 'flies' and 'bees,' will invade the land of the Jews, it says. And the Lord will shave off the head and the hair of the feet and the beard of the great body of the Jewish nation, and to say it all together, he will shave their entire world.

⁹⁰ When these things happen on the foretold day of the one born from the virgin, the remaining man from the destruction of the whole nation, that is, all who have believed in Christ of God, will raise a young cow and two sheep. This is prophesied to make plenty of milk, to eat butter and honey. And you will understand these things also in a mystical way, completed in the apostles of our Savior.

⁹¹ Each one in the churches he has established with the power of Christ, two sheep, that is, two groups like sheep coming to the flock of Christ, one still being formed and the other already enlightened through baptism. And over these, he raised one young cow, nurturing the leadership of the church with divine and rational food, bringing forth from them the fruitful milk and honey of the good food prepared for him.

⁹² Therefore, there is no need to say anything about how the divine word usually compares the less perfect crowds to sheep, since all scripture teaches this. But the holy apostle introduces the one who tends the church as a farmer, comparing him to the farmer of the cattle, saying...

⁹³ Does God care about the cattle, or does he say this for our sake? Because the farmer plows in hope, and the one who threshes does so in hope of sharing.

⁹⁴ But if someone objects to such changes, let him not consider the so-called mice, or bees, or the razor, or the beard, or the hairs on the feet in a literal sense, for he falls into strange and confused myths. But if it is necessary to accept these things only in a single way of thinking, it is clear that the following will also be similar.

⁹⁵ On that day, the mountains will be extinguished, and the hills, and the forests will be consumed from souls to bodies; and the one fleeing will be like one fleeing from a burning fire, and those left behind will be few, and a small child will write them down. And on that day, the remnant of Israel will no longer be added, and the survivors of Jacob will no longer trust in those who have wronged them, but they will trust in the holy God of Israel in truth, and the remnant of Israel will turn to the mighty God.

⁹⁶ And if the number of the sons of Israel becomes like the sand of the sea, the remnant of them will be saved. For the word is completing and cutting off in righteousness, because God will make a shortened word in all the world.

⁹⁷ And here pay attention, for in the threat of the gloomy ones, it says, the one fleeing will be like one fleeing from a burning fire; and those left behind will be few, and a small child will write them down. Because of this, the few who flee will show the destruction of the people from the circumcision, and the burning of Jerusalem. These who are left behind, it says, will be few.

⁹⁸ This means that they will be few in number, being so short and few in count. Therefore, as in comparison to the whole multitude of the Jewish nation, those who have believed in the Savior and our Lord have become few, and they have been deemed worthy of the writing from him, as the word shows, 'and a small child will write them down,' teaching what the child was when it said, 'Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son; and before the child knows to call father or mother.'

⁹⁹ And since here it says a child will write them down, it is fitting that it was said before that what is left in Zion and what is left in Jerusalem will all be called holy, those written for life. Just as in those cases the ones left behind were named, so those written for life were the same, thus here too, those left behind will always be few in number, and a small child will write them down.

¹⁰⁰ But those left from Israel, and the ones saved from Jacob, will no longer be on those who have wronged them, but they will be trusting in the holy God of Israel.

¹⁰¹ And see if it is not by this trust that those from the Jewish nation have come forward, the disciples and apostles left from the fall of Israel, not paying any attention to the rulers of this age or the rulers of the circumcised people who had long been wronging them, but they went out to all the nations proclaiming the message of Christ, with trust in God.

¹⁰² Since they were trusting in the holy God of Israel according to the prophecy, truly, not secretly or with pretense, but with truth, they all committed themselves in hope, not only did they come out from their own land, but they also accomplished what was set before them.

¹⁰³ This very remnant has become like the seed of the fall of Jacob, trusting in the powerful God. And this remnant, which has come from all their nation, has become like the sand of the sea, but not like the stars of heaven; it has been worthy of salvation from God. Just as the apostle testified, saying, 'Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, if the number of the sons of Israel is like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.'

¹⁰⁴ For two promises were given through the oracle to Abraham about those who would come from him, that they would be like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea. The beloved of God will shine like the heavenly lights, just as the prophets of old and our Savior's apostles did, of whom it was testified, saying, 'You are the light of the world.' But those born of the earth and lowly are compared to the dust of the ground.

¹⁰⁵ It is fitting in these things that the prophetic word, when the whole multitude of the sons of Israel falls from honor and the greatness of virtue and becomes entirely lowly like the sand of the sea, then only their remnant will be saved. About this remnant, many things have been written for us.

¹⁰⁶ These things he says will happen when the Lord himself, cutting off and completing the word throughout the whole world, clearly presents the gospel message. In this, when all the practices according to Moses, including rituals and physical worship, have been removed, the brief word of the gospel will be given to all people, confirming the truth of the prophecy.

¹⁰⁷ And it will be on that day that the root of Jesse will stand to rule the nations; in him the nations will hope, and his resting place will be glorious. And it will be on that day that the Lord will add to show his hand, to seek and search for the remnant of his people, which will be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from the east, and from the islands of the sea. And he will raise a sign for the nations and will gather the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

¹⁰⁸ Many things are said to happen on a notable day, that is, in a time of appearance, gathering together the reasoning of what is being shown about the presence of God. In this time, when the whole nation of the Jews has fallen away, a few will be saved, those who will be left from them, as the divine words indicate.

¹⁰⁹ This indeed presents clearly the words with hands and the day and the time indicated by this, along with the events that happen because of it. For it proclaims the coming birth of Christ from the seed of David together with the falling away of the Jews; it says this.

¹¹⁰ "Behold, the Lord God of Hosts will shake the glorious ones with strength, and the lofty will be humbled, and the high will fall by the sword, and Lebanon will fall with the lofty." Here, Lebanon is hinted to mean Jerusalem, as we have shown in other places, which the word threatens to fall along with all the honorable and glorious things in it. And after mentioning these things, it continues to say, "And a rod will come out from the root of Jesse, and a flower will rise from that root," and the following things.

¹¹¹ Clearly, from the root of Jesse, who was the father of David, it presents the birth of Christ, announcing first the calling of the nations in a prophetic way through a riddle. For the saying, 'The wolf will graze with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat,' and similar things show nothing other than the wild and fierce nature of animals, and it reveals the change of the nations to a pious, peaceful, and communal way.

¹¹² This itself teaches more clearly later, saying, 'The whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.'

¹¹³ And still, the prophetic word explains itself, saying, 'In that day, the root of Jesse will stand to lead the nations; the nations will hope in him, and his resting place will be glorious.'

¹¹⁴ Since, therefore, above, it hinted at the fall of the Jewish nation in a hidden way, and after that, the calling of the nations sometimes in a hidden way and sometimes openly, it rightly repeats the word about those from the circumcision who believe in Christ, for the purpose of not completely shutting off their hope in Christ. 'For he will stand to lead the nations,' it says.

¹¹⁵ "Who is the one that will stand to lead but the root of Jesse, who clearly says he will lead the nations, not Israel? Since, therefore, it has taught about the turning of the nations back to the one who has grown and blossomed from the root of Jesse, and it has said nothing good about those from the circumcision, it rightly points out the incompleteness of the prophecy by saying, 'And it will be in that day.' That is, in the time of the appearance of the one who has grown from the root of Jesse, the Lord will add to show his hand, to seek and to gather the remaining part of the people, whatever is left from these and those enemies." In place of this, Aquila has made it say, "And it will be in that day, the Lord will add a second time his hand, to gather the remnant of his people, which will be left from the Assyrians," and from those that follow.

¹¹⁶ You will also understand these things, that there are some enemies of the people of God, both visible and spiritual, either wicked demons or powers that oppose the word. These are the ones that, long ago, were secretly attacking the souls of Israel, surrounding them with various passions, and both whispering and capturing them into a life similar to that of the Gentiles.

¹¹⁷ Therefore, when we say almost all of this about the people being taken captive in soul by those mentioned, the ones who are kept safe and left unharmed will find what was promised in the prophecy. They will see the hand of the Lord and become his possession, according to the saying, 'The Lord will add to show his hand, to seek the remaining part of the people.'

¹¹⁸ What will the Lord add? For to those whom he once showed his hand long ago, through the prophets, the hand of the Lord was revealed. And to these, as they are saved from the fall of the whole people, he will add what is left from the earlier ones. These are the mysteries of the new covenant, shown by the hand of the Lord to those who remain from the people. 'But also to seek the remaining part of the people,' he says.

¹¹⁹ In place of this, Aquila and Theodotion agree, 'to possess the remnant of his people, whatever he leaves from the Assyrians and from the other enemy nations.' And this remnant of the people, he says, will be a sign to the nations.

¹²⁰ Clearly, the Lord is showing his sign among all the nations, and he will gather the lost ones of Israel and the scattered ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth to Christ of God, through the preaching of his apostles. He says that those gathered will be from the old settlements and separated ones from the Israel and Judah according to the mind.

¹²¹ But the way of such souls shows the true Israel of God, as the weak and wicked condition makes the Israel according to the flesh resemble the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah.

¹²² Therefore, the remnant chosen by grace, and what is said in the prophecy about the remaining part of the people, has proclaimed the sign of the Lord to all the nations. And it has drawn together such souls from the nations, leading them from destruction to the knowledge of the Lord, forming a people united with God, still being gathered from the four corners of the earth by the power of Christ.

¹²³ These are the disciples and apostles of our Savior who were saved from the lost ones of the Jewish nation. They come from different tribes, but they are made worthy of one calling, one grace, and one holy spirit. They will reject all the zeal that the tribes of the Hebrew nation once had against them, as the prophecy says.

¹²⁴ Being united in the same mind and the same purpose, they went through not only the mainland but also the islands of the nations. They were caring for and capturing all the souls of people, bringing them under the authority of Christ. This follows the prophecy that says, 'And they will be carried in ships of foreigners, while they take care of the sea and those from the rising of the sun.'

¹²⁵ And you should also carefully examine the rest of the prophecy, considering each word for yourself. Focus on everything that is unstable and humble, while understanding the meaning of the spirit, as the spirit of God reveals it to you. For the time does not allow us to linger in these places any longer; we must urgently pursue the main topic at hand.

¹²⁶ And I command all the world to do evil, and to the wicked their sins, and I will destroy the arrogance of the lawless, and I will humble the pride of the proud. And those who are left behind will be more honored than pure gold, and a respected person will be more valued than the stone from Sufer.

¹²⁷ And next, it says, 'And those who are left behind will be fleeing, like a wandering sheep.'

¹²⁸ And because of this, the rarity of those who will be saved during the time of the wicked's destruction is clearly shown, so that one should not think that all those from the circumcision and all the Jewish nation will simply receive the promises of God.

¹²⁹ And in that day, there will be a loss of glory for Jacob, and his fatness will shake. And it will be like when someone gathers standing grain, and removes the grain from the ears; and it will be like when someone gathers ears of grain in a strong valley, and one stalk is left in it; or like two or three olives on the top of a tree, or four or five on its branches. This says the Lord, the God of Israel: In that day, a man will trust in his maker, whose eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel, and he will not trust in the altars, nor in the works of his hands, which his fingers made.

¹³⁰ And because of this, the glory of Israel is clearly established, and all their fatness will be brought low. But a few will again be taken, as olives in a tree are left behind. These will be those who have trusted in our Lord. Following this, after what has been said about all of mankind turning away from the deception of idols, it is prophesied that they will come to know the God of Israel.

¹³¹ Hear, O islands, you who are forsaken and powerless. Listen to what I heard from the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, who has announced to us.

¹³² Look at how here not all those of the circumcision are called to the listening of the abandoned, but only those who are named as forsaken and in pain. They were like those who, according to the apostle, were groaning and crying over the evil of human life.

¹³³ "The high ones of the earth mourned, and the land was made empty because of its inhabitants. For the poor will be those who dwell on the earth, and few people will be left." And in this, he rebukes those who have broken the law and the covenant of God with the people of the circumcision, threatening them with what is written. He prophesies that few men will be left among them. And these would be the remnant named by the apostle, chosen by grace.

¹³⁴ "Cities will be left desolate, and houses that are abandoned will be destroyed. All these things will be in the land in the midst of the nations, just as if someone were to glean an olive tree, so they will glean them. And if the harvest stops, they will not call out, but those who are left on the earth will rejoice together with the glory of the Lord." And here, it is said that only those who are left will rejoice, while all the rest will be given over to what is foretold.

¹³⁵ The crown of pride will be trampled down, those hired by Ephraim. And the flower that has fallen from the hope of glory will be on the top of the high mountain, like the first ripe fig. The one who sees it, before he takes it in his hand, will want to crush it. On that day, the Lord will be the crown of hope, the glorious diadem for the remnant of his people; for they will be left in a spirit of judgment.

¹³⁶ And here, to the remnant of the people, not to all their nation, but only to those marked by the remnant, it is prophesied that the Lord will be a crown of hope and glory. The others, besides the remnant of the people, are called a crown of pride and hired men of Ephraim.

¹³⁷ And those who are left in Judah will take root downward and bear fruit upward, for the remnant will be from Jerusalem and those who are saved from the mountains of Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

¹³⁸ It is prophesied that those chosen by grace from the nation of the Jews will take root downward and bear fruit upward, clearly referring to the choice of the apostles and disciples of our Savior. For these, having been left from the circumcision, will plant the roots of their teaching deep in the earth, so that their teaching may spread and take root throughout the whole world, and above, the seed and the fruit will be carried to the heavenly promises.

¹³⁹ And these, who are left from the nation of the Jews, are called the only ones being saved, while the rest are perishing. All these things were done by the zeal of the Lord, for to provoke the ungodly of the circumcision, the zeal of the Lord chose these and made them jealous, just as it is said by Moses: 'They made me jealous with what is not God, and I will provoke them to jealousy with a non-nation; with a foolish nation I will anger them.'

¹⁴⁰ Thus says the Lord: 'As the vine is found in the vineyard, they will say, "Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing of the Lord in it." For the sake of my servant, I will not destroy all of them, and I will bring out the seed from Jacob and from Judah, and they will inherit my holy mountain.'

¹⁴¹ And my chosen ones and my servants will inherit, and they will live there. And there will be a dwelling place for the flocks in the forest, and the Valley of Achor will be a resting place for my people who have sought me. But you who have forsaken me and forgotten my holy mountain, and who prepare a table for fortune and fill a drink offering for the demon, I will hand you over to the sword.

¹⁴² You will all fall by the sword, because I called you, and you did not listen, and you did evil in my sight, and chose what I did not want.

¹⁴³ The word briefly says that a seed will come from Jacob of the promised ones, and those who live in the forest will be chosen ones. Thus, it names the calling of the nations, where the chosen ones of the Lord and the seed of Jacob are. The apostles and disciples of our Savior would be like this, while all the others are under the threats that are made clear by these. It does not say that the promises of God will reach all the people of Israel, but only the named seed and those called chosen by God, since many are called, but few are chosen.

¹⁴⁴ Now the word establishes that a new name will be given to these, saying to the wicked, 'Your name will be left for my chosen ones to be a curse, but the Lord will kill you. To those who serve me, a new name will be called.' So, what is this new name, which was not known to the old ones, but is the blessed name of Christians from our Savior Jesus Christ?

¹⁴⁵ And it will be that from the remnant of this people, Jacob will be gathered together with all. I will receive the leftovers of Israel; I will set their turning away against them.

¹⁴⁶ According to what has been said before from Isaiah, Micah does not simply receive all people from God, but names only the leftovers. Just as in Isaiah, the remnant was called a seed, so now he calls the saved ones from them a drop.

¹⁴⁷ It is also shown through these that the group of the apostles is like a drop and a seed of the Jewish nation, from which all who have known Christ throughout the whole world, and have received his teaching, have been made worthy of the appointed gathering, having found the redemption from their enemies.

¹⁴⁸ And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are small among the thousands of Judah. From you will come a leader for me, to be a ruler over Israel, and his origins are from ancient times, from days long ago. Therefore, he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor gives birth; then the rest of his brothers will return.

¹⁴⁹ And after a little while, the remnant of Jacob will be chosen among many peoples, like dew from the Lord falling, and like rain on the grass, so that no one may gather it, nor be supported by the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, and like a young lion among flocks of sheep; when it passes through, it will tear and carry away, and no one can rescue. The hand of the Lord will be lifted against your oppressors, and all your enemies will be destroyed.

¹⁵⁰ None of these things could be clearer, according to the same way and the birth in Bethlehem of the Savior being proclaimed, and his existence before the ages, and the birth of the virgin, and the calling of his apostles and disciples, and the preaching about Christ throughout the whole world that has been announced through them.

¹⁵¹ For this reason, the one being made clear, the word shows that the paths are from the days of eternity, coming from Bethlehem, and from the holy virgin giving birth to him. It does not say that all from circumcision will be saved, but only those who remain will be saved, who will also become a remnant of Jacob, and like dew will be given to all the nations. For it says, 'the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, like dew from the Lord falling, and like rain on the grass.'

¹⁵² Instead of 'and like droplets on the grass,' Aquila has, and Theodotion has 'and like snow on the grass.' And again, instead of 'so that no one may gather it, nor be supported by the sons of men, nor be rescued by a son of man,' Theodotion says, 'who will not wait for a man, and will not hope in a son of man,' and Aquila says, 'who will not endure a man and will not care about the sons of men.'

¹⁵³ Through these things, all the hope of our Savior's apostles is not in a man, but in their Savior and Lord, who was the one of God.

¹⁵⁴ "Of these, it is said that the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest and like a young lion among flocks of sheep; when it passes through, it tears and carries away, and there is no one to rescue." Through these things, I think it shows the boldness and fearlessness of the apostolic message.

¹⁵⁵ Like a lion and a young lion in the forest of the nations, and among the flocks of human sheep, they invade and separate the worthy from the unworthy, and they submit to the word of Christ; to whom it is called out, 'Your hand was lifted up against those who oppress you, and all your enemies will be destroyed.' This is also something to be taken in with the eyes. For of the countless ones who have oppressed the word of Christ and still fight against it now, he has been raised up and has become greater than all.

¹⁵⁶ But the hand of Christ has also been lifted up against all those who oppress him; all his enemies, who at times rise up against him, are said to be destroyed by the church.

¹⁵⁷ For then I will turn to the peoples to call on the name of the Lord, to serve him with one shoulder. From the farthest rivers of Ethiopia, I will welcome those who seek me. The sons of the scattered will bring offerings to me. On that day, you will not be ashamed of all your practices, in which you have sinned against me. For then I will remove from you the shame of your pride, and you will no longer be able to boast on my holy mountain, and I will leave in you a humble and lowly people.

¹⁵⁸ And the remnant of Israel will fear the name of the Lord, and they will not do wrong, and they will not speak lies. And no deceitful tongue will be found in their mouths, for they will graze and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

¹⁵⁹ And in these things, the Lord has promised to leave for himself a humble and lowly people, not another but those who have believed in Christ from the circumcision. And again, the remnant of Israel alone will be saved along with the calling of the other nations, which was indicated in the early part of the prophecy.

¹⁶⁰ Behold, the day is coming for you, and your possessions are in you. And I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle, and the city will be captured, and the houses will be plundered, and the women will be raped, and half of the city will go out into captivity, but the remnant of my people will not be cut off from the city.

¹⁶¹ This agrees with what has been said about the destruction of the whole nation of the Jews, who will be filled after the coming of Christ. Therefore, after the return from Babylon, Zechariah prophesies these things, declaring the last siege of the people by the Romans, during which he says that only the remnant of the people will be saved, while the whole nation of the Jews will be under the control of their enemies, as shown by the apostles of our Savior.

¹⁶² Return, you sons who have turned away, says the Lord, for I will take control of you, and I will take you from the city and two from the family. And I will bring you to Zion, and I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they will care for you with knowledge. And it will be, when you have increased and grown, says the Lord, in those days they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord of Israel will not come to mind, nor will it be remembered, nor will it be made anymore.'

¹⁶³ Together with these, it also establishes the return of Israel that will happen at the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, during which one will be taken from the city and two from the family. And he will choose very few, a small number of shepherds from the nations that have believed in him, and they will increase on the earth in the calling that will come to them.

¹⁶⁴ They will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' For they will no longer run to the physical practices of Moses, since a new covenant will be given to them.

¹⁶⁵ They have increased their wickedness, and they have become strong in their turning away. What will I do with these? Your sons have left me, and they swore by gods that are not there. I fed them, and they committed adultery, and they spent the night in the houses of prostitutes. They became like horses, each one neighing after the wife of his neighbor. Should I not look upon these? says the Lord, or should my soul not take revenge on such a nation? Go up to her watchmen and kill them; do not finish them off. Leave the supports of her, for they are the Lord's.

¹⁶⁶ And in these things, the accusation of all their nation is shown, and the siege that has come upon them is revealed. And again, the remnant, which is called the support of the Lord, is mentioned. This was strengthened and made firm through the faith in God that leads to Christ, so that even the like things would not remain, for which the whole nation of theirs has mourned.

¹⁶⁷ And wounds will fall in the midst of you, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I save some of you from the sword among the nations, and when I scatter you in the lands. And those who are saved from you among the nations will remember me, those who were captured there.

¹⁶⁸ It seems to me that here it agrees with the other prophecies. For the saved ones, whom you might call the remnant named in other places, and the drop and dew of that people; through these, the gathering of the apostles of our Savior was shown. These indeed, saved from their whole nation and in their scattering, remembered God, as it is said about them in the writings.

¹⁶⁹ Thus says the Lord Adonai, that I will scatter them among the nations, and I will disperse them into all the nations, and I will scatter them over all the earth, and I will be to them a small sanctuary in the lands where they go.

¹⁷⁰ And here he has called them by another name, saying a small sanctuary for those who will be saved and left from them.

¹⁷¹ And I will scatter all those who take hold of them to every wind, and I will pour out a sword behind them, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations, and I will disperse them in the lands; and I will leave men from them in number, from the sword, and from hunger, and from death, so that they may tell all their wickedness among the nations where they go; and they will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁷² Upon all this people, I will leave for myself a few in number, not others than those mentioned before. Thus says the Lord Adonai: even if I take vengeance on their wickedness with sword, hunger, and evil beasts, and death, I will send them against Jerusalem, to destroy from it man and beast; and behold, those left in it are the ones who have escaped.

¹⁷³ Nothing at all would differ from those mentioned before.

¹⁷⁴ Thus I will judge you, says the Lord, and I will bring you under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of my covenant, and I will choose from you those who are forgiven and those who are unfaithful, because I will take them out of their dwelling, and they will not enter the land of Israel.

¹⁷⁵ Clearly, among these, a small number under 25 will be made to serve the rod of God, while the rest of Israel will be cast away from the promises, as it is witnessed. For it has been shown that not all from the Jewish nation are simply unworthy and unfaithful, and that the divine words promised good things not to all of them indiscriminately. But only to a few of them, either to those who have believed in our Savior and Lord, or to those who were justified before his coming. I believe it is clear that the divine promises were not fulfilled indiscriminately to all Jews, and that the words of the prophets apply no more to them than to those from the nations who have accepted Christ of God. But what was the purpose of the divine promises, I will present in due time.

¹⁷⁶ These things are necessarily gathered for me to challenge those of the circumcision who boast foolishly that Christ will come only for themselves, and not for all people, while they are being arrogant. This is also to provide proof of our own words about those things with careful consideration.

¹⁷⁷ I have also established for myself through this previous writing the reason for not being Jewish, and these things are joyful in their prophetic writings. But also, I have discussed the kind of life that has been proclaimed through Christ to all nations, as well as the ancient nature of the way of the Gospel, as it was possible to do so.

¹⁷⁸ Since we have already discussed these things, it is now time to touch on more secret words about the mystery of God's plan concerning our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We will learn why his appearance was made known to all people now, and not before, and what the reason was for not calling him sooner, especially after the long age of the nations began. We will also consider other matters related to this hidden theology, including those about his becoming human, which we will first address from another perspective, as we call upon the Word of God as our helper.

Introduction

Since I have already prepared myself well for the gospel proof, and since the way of our Savior's gospel teaching has been shown, I will explain the reasons for why we have avoided the teachings of the Jews about their way of life. Additionally, I will show how their prophetic writings anticipated the future call we received through Christ. Therefore, we will focus on our own matters, not on those that are foreign to us. It is now time to begin discussing the promised things.

² What were these things but those about the economy of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? They include the teachings of the prophets among the Hebrews about his theology, as well as the predictions about his appearance to humanity. We will clearly show how these apply only to him based on the clear results. First, we must consider how the prophets remembered the gospel concerning Christ.

Book 3, Section 1

The witness that has been made clear is from Isaiah, who cried out in the presence of Christ: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind.' This prophecy was once read by our Savior in the synagogue before the crowd of Jews, and after rolling up the scroll, he said, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'

² And so, starting from here, he preached his own teaching to the poor, proclaiming the blessings he had for them, saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' He also announced freedom to those troubled by evil spirits, to those who had long been held captive by demons. He called everyone to freedom and release from the bonds of wickedness, saying, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'

³ And he also gave sight to the blind, granting the ability to see to those whose physical sight was damaged. He provided the light of true piety to those who had long been seeking the truth. Therefore, the prophecy presented shows that Christ would be the first master and leader of the gospel message. After him, his disciples would serve in the same role, as the prophet says, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace.'

⁴ There, it was said that the feet of those bringing the good news of Christ would be very beautiful. For how could they not be beautiful, when in a short time they would run throughout the whole world and fill every place with the godly teaching about the Savior of the world? And since they did not rely on human words to persuade those who listened, but the power of God was working with them in their gospel preaching, another prophet proclaims, 'The Lord will give a word to those who bring good news with great power.'

⁵ And again, Isaiah says, 'Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God! Here comes the Lord with power, and his arm rules for him. Look, his reward is with him, and his work is before him. Like a shepherd, he will tend his flock; he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them close to his heart."'

⁶ Now, what kind of thoughts guide us as we enter the gospel teaching? Indeed, the gospel and the name of the gospel have been clearly testified through prophetic voices. You have clear and evident proofs about where the gospel will begin, that it will indeed start from Christ, through whom it will be preached, that is, through his apostles. And also, with what power it will prevail, for it will not be by human means; this is also shown by the saying, 'The Lord will give a word to those who bring good news with great power.'

⁷ What then is left to say about these things, except to mention a few of the many prophecies made by the Hebrews about Christ from ancient times? So that you may know what the gospel will be like in later times, it is proclaimed together with the prophets, the wonder of their foreknowledge about what is to come, and the results of their predictions, so that it may be fulfilled in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Book 3, Section 2

The first of the prophets, Moses, proclaims that another prophet like himself will arise. For the law given through him was meant only for the Jewish people, and it was focused on the land of Judea or around it, not for those living far away among other nations. Therefore, it was necessary for the God who is not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles to provide benefits for all nations, leading them to his knowledge and piety in their lives. It is reasonable that another prophet, not lacking anything in his role, would be raised up from the Jewish nation by divine decree, as God himself has said.

² I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them everything I command him. And the person who does not listen to the words he speaks in my name, I will hold accountable.

³ Moses himself, speaking to the people and interpreting the word of God, says, "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet from among your brothers like me; you shall listen to him in everything I ask of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly."

⁴ So, did the prophets after Moses, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel, or any of the other twelve, establish laws similar to Moses? Not at all. But did they carry out anything like Moses? It cannot be said. Each of them, from the first to the last, pointed the listeners back to Moses, and they brought charges against the people for breaking the law of Moses, urging nothing else but to follow the laws given by Moses.

⁵ None of them is like him. But Moses clearly speaks about one specific person. So, who does the prophecy say will be a prophet like Moses, or is it only our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ? It is necessary to examine this carefully.

⁶ Moses was the first leader of the Jewish nation. He found them caught up in the many gods of the Egyptians and was the first to turn them away from that, forbidding them to worship idols with necessary punishments. He was also the first to teach them about the idea of a monarchy, commanding them to worship the one creator and maker of all. He was the first lawgiver to set out a way of living that is pleasing to God, showing them how to live a godly life. But Jesus Christ, like Moses and even more greatly, was the first to teach the other nations about godliness. He was the first to bring about the end of idolatry throughout the whole world. He was also the first to present the knowledge and worship of the one true God to all people, and he is shown to be the first introducer and lawgiver of a new way of life and a godly society.

⁷ Moses was the first to teach the Jewish nation about the creation of the world, the immortality of the soul, and other philosophical ideas. Jesus Christ, through his disciples, proclaimed these things even more divinely to the other nations. Therefore, it is fitting to call Moses the first and only lawgiver of the Jews, while Jesus Christ is the lawgiver for all the nations, according to the prophecy that says, "Establish, Lord, a lawgiver over them; let the nations know that they are human."

⁸ Moses confirmed the piety that was reported about him through wonderful works and amazing deeds. In the same way, Christ used his written miracles to inspire faith in those who saw them, establishing the new teachings of his gospel.

⁹ Moses brought the Jewish nation from the bitter slavery of the Egyptians to freedom. Likewise, Jesus Christ called all of humanity to freedom from the wicked demons and the Egyptian idolatry.

¹⁰ Moses promised a blessed life in the holy and beloved land to those who keep the laws. In the same way, Jesus Christ said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," meaning a much better land that is truly holy and beloved, not the one in Judea, which has nothing compared to the rest. Instead, it refers to the heavenly land that belongs to the souls that love God, promising them the life that has been announced to them. This is why he also declared a kingdom of heaven to those who are blessed by him.

¹¹ And you would find other deeds by our Savior that are greater than those done by Moses, but similar to those that Moses accomplished.

¹² For example, Moses fasted for forty days, as the scripture testifies, saying, "And he was there; Moses was before the Lord for forty days and forty nights. He ate no bread and drank no water."

¹³ In the same way, Christ also fasted. It is written, "And he was led into the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil, and he ate nothing during those days." And again, Moses provided food for the people in the wilderness. The scripture says, "Behold, I give you bread from heaven."

¹⁴ And after a little, "When the dew had gone up around the camp, behold, on the face of the wilderness there was a fine, white substance, like frost on the ground." And our Savior and Lord says to his disciples, "Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many small baskets you took up?"

¹⁵ Again, Moses went through the middle of the sea and led the people. The scripture says, "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went through the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and a wall on their left."

¹⁶ In the same way, and even more wonderfully, Jesus Christ of God walked on the sea and made Peter walk on it too. It is written, "In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. And when they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled."

¹⁷ And after a little while, "Peter answered him and said, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' And he said, 'Come.' And Peter got down from the boat and walked on the water."

¹⁸ Again, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea with a strong south wind. And the scripture says, "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong south wind. And it says, 'The waves were piled up in the middle of the sea.'"

¹⁹ In the same way, and even more wonderfully, our Savior commanded the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. Again, when Moses came down from the mountain, his face was full of glory. And it is written, "As Moses was coming down from the mountain, he did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And Aaron and all the elders of the sons of Israel saw Moses, and the skin of his face was shining."

²⁰ In the same way, but in a very different manner, our Savior took his disciples up a very high mountain, and he was transformed before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white like light. Again, Moses cleansed a leper. And it is written, "And behold, a leprous man came to him like snow."

²¹ And after a little while, "And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, 'O God, I ask you to heal her.'"

²² In the same way, but with greater power, Christ, when a leper came to him and said, "If you want, you can make me clean," answered, "I want, be clean." And the leprosy was cleansed from him. Again, Moses said that the law was written by the finger of God. And it is written, "And he gave to Moses, when he stopped speaking to him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets written by the finger of God."

²³ And in the Exodus, "Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.'" Likewise, Jesus Christ of God said to the Pharisees, "But if I cast out demons by the finger of God."

²⁴ In all these things, Moses named Joshua as his successor, and likewise, the Savior named Simon Peter. Again, Moses appointed seventy leaders for the people. The scripture says, "Gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them." And he gathered seventy men. Likewise, the Savior chose seventy of his disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him. Again, Moses sent twelve men to explore the land; likewise, our Savior sent twelve apostles to visit all the nations. Again, Moses made laws saying, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness."

²⁶ But our Savior, emphasizing the law, does not only forbid murder, but also prohibits being angry. Instead of saying not to commit adultery, he advises not to even look at a woman with lustful desire. Instead of saying not to steal, he commands to give to those in need. He also goes beyond and makes a law against swearing oaths or making false promises.

²⁷ And I must extend the discussion to show how similar Moses and Jesus, our Savior and Lord, are to each other. Who would be a friend to take the time to talk about these things? For they say that no one knows the death of Moses, nor his burial, just as no one knows the change of our Savior into divinity after his resurrection.

²⁸ If then, among so many, no one else but our Savior stands as similar to Moses, it is fitting to speak only of him and not mention anyone else in the prophecy from Moses. Through this prophecy, God promised to raise up a prophet like him, saying, "I will raise up a prophet from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them whatever I command him. And the person who does not listen to the words he speaks in my name, I will hold accountable."

²⁹ Moses, speaking to the people and interpreting the voice of God, said, "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet from among your brothers; you shall listen to him in all that I ask of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly."

³⁰ The old scripture clearly teaches that no prophet arose after Moses who was like our Savior, saying, "And no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face in all the signs and wonders."

³¹ Therefore, it is shown that the divine spirit spoke through Moses about our Savior, if indeed he alone is like Moses and no one else is similar to him. Consider also another prophecy that is written down.

³² For since our Savior and Lord became a man according to the flesh from the seed of Israel, many nations call him Lord, giving thanks for his divine power. And again, seeing this, Moses, through his writing, called him in this way: "A man will come from his seed." He says of Israel, "And he will rule over nations, and his kingdom will be lifted up."

³³ If indeed no one else among the rulers and kings from the circumcision has ever established himself as lord over many nations (for no history shows this), the truth cries out and shouts only for our Savior, that he is indeed lord, not just in name but in reality. Many people from all nations truly acknowledge him. What then could possibly prevent him from being the one who was prophesied? That Moses does not speak these things without limits, nor does he refer to an endless and indefinite time, but he clearly describes the outcome of the prophecies within set times. Listen to what he also proclaims: "A ruler will not be lacking from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, until the one comes to whom it belongs, and he is the expectation of nations."

³⁴ Therefore, it is shown that there will not be a lack of leaders and rulers from the Jewish nation until the coming of the expected one. And when those rulers pass away, the one who is prophesied will be present.

³⁵ Now, he does not name Judah as just a tribe, but since at a certain time, after these events, the whole Jewish nation was called by the name of the royal tribe of Judah, even to this day they are called Jews. It is very wonderful and prophetic that the entire nation of Jews is named this way, just as we also call ourselves Jews.

³⁶ Then he says that rulers and leaders will not cease from their nation before the coming of the one who is prophesied. When he arrives, the leadership of the Jews will immediately be destroyed, and he will no longer be of the Jews, but will be the hope of the nations. This cannot apply to the prophets, but only to our Savior and Lord.

³⁷ For at the same time that he was among people, the kingdom of the Jews was taken away. Immediately, the ruler from their ancestors was gone, along with the one who was their leader according to their own laws, when Augustus was the first to rule over the Romans, and when Herod became king over them from foreign nations.

³⁸ And those who were left behind, the hope of all the nations of the world has been revealed according to divine prophecy, so that even now all those from every nation who have believed in him place their hope in him for their expectation from God.

³⁹ And Moses speaks so much, and many other things about Christ are preached to us by everyone; but Isaiah, in a special way, prophesies about one who will rise from the seed and line of King David. He says, "A rod will come forth from the root of Jesse, and from his root a branch will grow, and the spirit of God will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding," and the rest.

⁴⁰ Then, he prophesies in a prophetic way about the change that will come to the barbarian nations and the Greeks, the wildest and most brutal of men, through the teaching of Christ, becoming peaceful and gentle. He says, "The wolf will lie down with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the young lion will be together."

⁴¹ And similar things, which he explains clearly at the feet, he says, "And the one who rises will rule over the nations; in him the nations will hope."

⁴² For clearly, the wild animals and the savage beasts are not different from the nations, because of their brutal ways. He says that the one who rises from the seed of Jesse will rule over these nations, from whom our Savior and Lord is descended. In him, the nations that believe in him still hope, agreeing with the prophecy, "And the one who rises will rule over the nations; in him the nations will hope."

⁴³ This, then, you should set alongside what is said by those who are brought forth by Moses, connecting "And the one who rises will rule over the nations" with "A man will come from his seed, and he will rule over many nations," and "In him the nations will hope" with "And he will be the hope of the nations."

⁴⁴ For what is the difference between saying "In him the nations will hope" and "He will be the hope of the nations"? Again, the same Isaiah prophesies about the Christ, saying, "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. He will bring justice to the nations." And he will bring justice to the earth until he places it, and in his name the nations will hope.

⁴⁵ Already for the second time in these things, the prophet places the nations hoping in the Christ, having previously said, "In him the nations will hope," and here, "And in his name the nations will hope." It is also said by David that someone will rise from the fruit of his body, about whom God says, "He will call me, 'You are my Father'; and I will make him the firstborn."

⁴⁶ And about this, it is again said, "And he will rule from the sea to the rivers and to the ends of the earth." And again, "All the nations will serve him, and all the families of the earth will be blessed in you." And there is also a place set apart for the prophesied birth by Micah, saying, "And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are small among the thousands of Judah. From you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. And his origins are from old, from ancient days."

⁴⁷ It is acknowledged by all that Jesus the Christ was born in Bethlehem, as a cave is shown there to the locals and to those coming from foreign lands.

⁴⁸ And this place, where he was to be born, was foretold; but the wonder of his birth is sometimes presented through riddles, and sometimes more clearly by Isaiah. Through riddles, when he says, "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We announced him before him as a child, as a root in a dry land."

⁴⁹ Instead, Aquila translated it this way: "And he will be announced as one being set before him, and as a root from a barren land." But Theodotion translated it as "And he will rise." Nourishing before him, and as a root in a dry land.

⁵⁰ For because of these things, the prophet, remembering the arm of the Lord, which was the word of God, says before him, "We announced him as a nursing child and one being set before him, and as a root from a barren land." Therefore, the child who is being set before him and nursing clearly shows the birth of the Christ, while the barren and thirsty land that gave birth to him is the virgin, on whom no man has ever stepped. From her, although she was barren, the blessed root came forth, along with the child who is being set before him and nursing.

⁵¹ But these things were hinted at in a shadowy way; the same prophet explains the meaning more clearly when he says, "Behold, the virgin will conceive in her womb, and she will bear a son, and they will call his name 'God with us.'" For this explains the name Emmanuel.

⁵² Such things about the birth of Christ among humans were studied long ago by the Hebrews. So, is it possible that they are referring to some powerful ruler, or a tyrant, or someone else who is great in life? It cannot be said that such a person ever appeared.

⁵³ But as he appeared in life, so they also prophesied he would be, not at all lacking in truth. And Isaiah said, "We announced before him a child, like a root in a thirsty land." He continues saying, "There is no form or beauty in him, and we saw him, and he had no form or attractiveness. His appearance was despised and rejected by people. He was a man of sorrows and knew how to suffer, and he was treated with contempt, and he was not valued."

⁵⁴ What then is left to say about these things? For if he foretold his lineage and race, and the manner of his birth, and the miracle of the virgin, and the way of life, it would follow that he should not remain silent about his end. So what does Isaiah prophesy about this?

⁵⁵ A man, he says, being in pain and knowing how to bear weakness, was despised and not valued. He carries our sins and suffers for us. And we thought of him as being in pain and wounded and afflicted; but he was wounded for our sins, and he was crushed for our wrongdoings. The punishment that brings us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

⁵⁶ All of us have gone astray like sheep, and the lord gave him up to our sins. And he did not open his mouth because he was oppressed. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Who can tell about his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.

⁵⁷ This means that Christ, being free from all wrongdoing, will take upon himself the sins of people. Therefore, he will bear the pain of those who have sinned and suffer for us, but not for himself.

⁵⁸ And if he is hurt by blasphemous words, this will be the work of our sins. For he was weakened because of our sins, so that we, being freed from our mistakes and the wounds of our wrongdoing, may be healed by his stripes. And the reasons for which the sinless one will suffer among people were these: but when the Jews plotted his death, the wonderful prophet did not defend himself at all, and boldly said, 'He was led to death because of the sins of my people.'

⁵⁹ Then, immediately and not long after the bold act against Christ, complete destruction came upon them, being besieged by the Romans. Not ignoring this, he also says, 'And I will give the wicked in place of his burial and the rich in place of his death.'

⁶⁰ "It was enough to write the prophecy about these things, if nothing more was to happen after the end of Christ. But since it was not yet time for him to return to life after his death or burial, he adds even more about him, saying next, 'And the Lord wishes to cleanse him from the wound; if you give for sin, your soul will see a long-lasting offspring.

⁶¹ Earlier he said, 'A man in pain and knowing how to bear weakness, now after his death and burial, the Lord says, wishes to cleanse him from the wound.' And how will this be? 'If you give for sin,' he says, 'your soul will see a long-lasting offspring.'

⁶² For not everyone will see the long-lasting offspring of Christ, but only those who have confessed and bring gifts for sins to God. For only these will the soul see the long-lasting offspring of Christ, either his eternal life after death, or the word of him that will spread throughout the whole world and last forever.

⁶³ Again, earlier he said, and we thought him to be in pain, now after his slaughter and death, he says, 'And the Lord wishes to take away from the pain of his soul and show him light.' Since then, the Lord, the God of all, has decided to cleanse him from the wound and show him light, surely he would do whatever he wished.

⁶⁴ For there is nothing that does not happen according to what he wishes; he wished to show him light. Therefore, he did these things, and having cleansed him, he showed him light. And since he wished, and having wished, he took away the pain of his soul and showed him light. It is fitting that the prophet adds, saying, 'For this reason, he himself will inherit many and divide the spoils of the strong.'

⁶⁵ Therefore, now he also remembers the inheritance of Christ in the second psalm, in which the word has named the plot against him, saying, 'The kings of the earth stood, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.' Next, the Lord says, 'You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession.'

⁶⁶ Therefore, the prophet has opened up these nations, saying, 'For this reason, he himself will inherit many' and adds that he will divide the spoils of the strong. For the powers that oppose him, the ancient nations ruled, taking captive the souls of the weak, just as we distribute some spoils to our own disciples.

⁶⁷ Therefore, Isaiah speaks about them, saying, 'And they will rejoice before you as those who divide the spoils.' And the psalmist says, 'The Lord will give a word to those who proclaim good news with great power. The king of the forces of the beloved, at the beauty of the house, will divide the spoils.'

⁶⁸ It is fitting, therefore, that here also it says about Christ, 'For this reason, he himself will inherit many. And he will divide the spoils of the strong.' But why does it teach this again, saying, 'Because his soul was given over to death, and he was counted among the lawless, and he himself bore the sins of many, and he was given over for their sins'?

⁶⁹ For instead of these things, the Father, in return for his obedience and patience, has given him the things that are laid up; for he became obedient to the Father even to death. Therefore, he will inherit many, and not before, but after his soul was given over to death and was counted among the lawless, it is established. For this reason, it has been said that he will inherit many and will divide the spoils of the strong.

⁷⁰ I believe without a doubt that the resurrection from the dead, which is prophesied, stands for these things. For how could he, having been burdened and given over to death because of the sins of the Jewish people, and counted among the lawless, and given over to burial, then be cleansed by the Lord, and see light from him, and inherit many, and divide the spoils among his own? And in another way, concerning his revival after death, David prophesies about Christ, saying, 'You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you let your holy one see decay.'

⁷¹ And again, 'Lord, you brought my soul up from Hades; you saved me from those going down to the pit.' And again, 'He who lifts me up from the gates of death, so that I may declare all your praises.'

⁷² I do not think that anyone can oppose all these things, not even those who are very ignorant. However, the conclusion of Isaiah's prophecy announces the long-desolate and empty soul of God, or rather the church from the nations, following the understanding of the things mentioned.

⁷³ "For since Christ endured everything for her, it is fitting that after the prophecies about him, he adds, saying, 'Rejoice, barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry out, you who are not in labor, for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband. For the Lord said, "Enlarge the place of your tent and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes; for you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations."'"

⁷⁴ These things announce the church from the nations, spread out over the whole world, extending from the rising of the sun to the setting. The word clearly shows this through 'for your offspring will possess the nations.'

⁷⁵ Since more work is needed in this area, let us focus on what is present for now. You could also spend a lot of time discussing the topic at hand, and this current work on the Evangelical Proof will be presented and explained in due time.

⁷⁶ For now, regarding the prophecies of our Savior, both the predictions and the foreknowledge of the prophets, what has been said is sufficient. It announces the arrival of a certain prophet and the piety of the lawgiver Moses, including his lineage, tribe, and the place from which he will come, the time when he is prophesied to arrive, as well as his birth, revival, and the beginning among all nations, which indeed presents everything.

⁷⁷ And even more will be presented next about our Savior and Lord, completed.

⁷⁸ But these things are presented from the sacred writings to those who believe in them. To those who do not obey the prophetic scriptures, we will respond specifically, as we examine the common man and others similarly, so that whenever the help of all those from ages past appears among men, it will be much greater, incomparable in excellence, and different. We will take note of the nature of this man in due time, presenting clear proofs that the power concerning him was not of human nature. Following this, we will also discuss the theology about him, as it is possible for us to observe. Since most of the unbelievers call him a sorcerer and deceiver, and blaspheme him with many other accusations, let us also respond to them from our own perspective, not with nothing, but by using their own words and the teachings he has passed down.

Book 3, Section 3

Let them consider if ever another deceiver like this has been recorded, a teacher of gentleness and kindness, of self-control and other virtues, becoming the cause for those who are deceived. And if it is right to call him by names who did not even look with desire at unchaste women, and if he is a deceiver who leads students to share in the existing needs and values hard work highly, and if he is a deceiver who stirs up the crowd, noisy and chaotic, teaching only to embrace the study of divine matters.

² But he, turning away from all falsehood, advises to honor the truth above all, so that there is no need to swear oaths, for 'let your yes be yes, and your no be no.' How could a deceiver justly be named? And what more is there for me to say now, since from what has been said before, who could ever know the way of life that he lived, which was not in any way deceptive, but rather divine, truly pious and respectful? Would not anyone who loves truth agree that he is not a teacher of common and popular philosophy?

³ Indeed, the life of the ancient God-loving Hebrews has somehow been renewed by one man, not in a short and limited way, but has spread throughout the whole world, as shown by the first writing of this present argument. Through this, it is possible for people across the entire world to see the many followers of those God-loving ones around Abraham, not only from the Greeks but also from the non-Greeks, proving their pious way of life.

⁴ But the more moral parts of his teaching are like this: come, let us consider whether the deceiver ever dealt with the most important beliefs.

⁵ Is it not true that only to the all-sovereign God, who is the creator of heaven, earth, and the entire universe, both himself standing above and bringing the students to him, are the words of his teaching written? And still, they lift every Greek and non-Greek mind up to the highest God, surpassing all visible nature?

⁶ Is it not true that this was the deceiver, or that he allows many to worship gods other than the highest and only true theology, the one that truly deceives? But this is not a newer or more familiar teaching to him; it is dear to those ancient God-loving Hebrews, as has been shown through the Preparation. From them, even the young philosophers have greatly benefited from the doctrine. Indeed, the most learned among the Greeks honor the oracles of their own gods and somehow remember the Hebrews, while the Chaldeans have gained wisdom, and the Hebrews honor the self-born ruler, worshiping God purely.

⁷ The Chaldeans were named after Abraham, since he was of Chaldean descent, as is recorded. If indeed the ancient children of the Hebrews, who were especially known for their wisdom regarding oracles, lifted their worship only to the creator God of all, then why should the deceiver not acknowledge this wonderful teacher? He brought forth teachings that were known only to the God-loving Hebrews and spread them to all people with unseen and divine power, so that no longer would only a few brief and numbered correct beliefs about God be held, but countless multitudes of non-Greeks, who were once the most savage, as well as learned Greeks, who learned to worship in the same way as the ancient prophets and righteous men, through his power alone.

⁸ But let us consider the third point, whether this was the reason why they say he deceived him, that he did not command to honor the divine with sacrifices of cattle or the blood of irrational animals, or with fire, or with things that arise from the earth. He thought these things were lowly and earthly, not at all fitting for the immortal nature. Instead, he judged that the most pleasing and delightful sacrifice to God was the fulfillment of the commands given to them, through which they, being purified in body and soul, and adorned with clear minds and pious teachings, were taught to imitate the likeness of God, clearly stating, 'You shall be perfect, as your Father is perfect.'

⁹ If indeed someone among the Greeks blames these things, let them know that they are not friendly to their own teachers, who, as is likely, have benefited from us, since they have come to be with us in time. I mean after the teaching that was clearly given to us by our savior, as they indeed acknowledged in writing. Listen. From Porphyry about the separation of living beings.

¹⁰ "To God, above all, as a wise man said, we should not offer anything from the things we can sense, whether sacrifices or names. For nothing material is clean unless it is directly pure to the divine. Therefore, no spoken word is fitting for him, nor is the inner thought when the soul is polluted by suffering. But through pure silence and pure thoughts about him, we will worship him. Thus, we must bring our own way of life, united and made similar to him, as a sacred sacrifice to God, which is also a hymn and our salvation. This sacrifice is performed in the apathy of the soul, and through the vision of God." From the theology of Apollonius of Tyana.

¹¹ Therefore, one should take great care in approaching the divine, and they should be gracious and kind to him, whoever among humans he may be. If it is to God, whom we say is one and separate from all, it is necessary for others to know him. They should not offer any sacrifice at the beginning, nor light a fire, nor call upon any of the material things. For he needs nothing from those who are greater than us, nor is there anything that the earth produces, whether a plant or an animal, or air, that is not tainted. Instead, one should always use the better word towards him, which means not speaking with the mouth. From the most beautiful of beings, through the most beautiful within us, let us ask for good things. This mind is an organ that does not need anything.

¹² If indeed these things are agreed upon by the prominent philosophers and theologians among the Greeks, how could someone be deceived who not only speaks words but also carries out the actions of those words much earlier for the students? Through these actions, they would be able to serve the divine according to the right way. Just as the ancient Hebrews are mentioned to have offered sacrifices with certain words, we will rely on them in the first writing of the current discussion.

¹³ Since we have learned from Christ that the world is created, and that the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars are works of God, and that we should not worship these things but rather the creator of them, we must consider whether we have been deceived. We should think in the way we have been taught by him.

¹⁴ And indeed, this was also the teaching of the Hebrews, and the most clear philosophers agreed with them, stating that the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars, as well as the entire world, are created by the creator of all. But they also taught that there will be an end and a change towards something better than this whole creation, following the writings of the Hebrews.

¹⁵ What then? Did not Plato also know about the nature of the created and perishable, including the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the other stars? Even if he says that these things will not be destroyed, does he not want to consider the one who created them?

¹⁶ If then it were desired to have such a nature, and if we have an immortal soul that is in no way similar to irrational animals, but rather carries images of the powers of God, would it not be barbaric and ignorant to think and act in such a way? Are not those who think the same throughout the whole world made wiser than those who merely scratch the surface? Those who claimed that there is no real difference in essence between the soul of a human and that of a fly, a mosquito, a bear, a leopard, or a pig, as far as the nature and essence are concerned, are they not changing even their own most philosophical soul?

¹⁷ And by constantly reminding them of God's justification and the coming judgment, writing down punishments and penalties that are unavoidable for the wicked, and promises of eternal life and the kingdom of heaven for the righteous, would it not rather encourage them to hurry towards virtue for the sake of the rewards expected by the righteous? And would it not turn them away from all evil because of the punishments that are attached to the wicked?

¹⁸ In the teachings of his words, we have accepted that there are certain powers after the highest God, which are incorporeal in nature and intellectual, both rational and most excellent, serving the all-sovereign one. Many of these have been sent to humans by the will of the Father for various acts of salvation. We have been taught to recognize and honor them according to their worth, giving the highest honor only to the all-sovereign God.

¹⁹ Furthermore, we have learned from him about certain enemies and battles of the human race that are fought in the air around the earth, and that the wicked powers of demons and evil spirits, along with their rulers, are to be avoided with all our strength. Even though they steal the titles and honors of the gods for themselves, we should be even more turned away from this battle against God and this enmity towards God, as we have established through many proofs in our preparation. Such things are also found in the teachings of our Savior, referring to the pious teachings of the ancient beloved men and prophets of the Hebrews.

²⁰ If these things are indeed serious, if they are beneficial, if they are philosophical, if they are full of virtue, what name would the teacher of these things reasonably give to the deceiver? But let these be examined first in relation to the common nature of humanity, as they are examples of his serious and useful teaching. Now let us also consider the more divine matters.

Book 3, Section 4

²¹ And let us consider how, along with humans, the poet of strange works has made his practices. At times, he cleanses lepers' bodies with divine power, at other times, he drives out the demons among humans by the command of his word, and at other times again, he generously gives healing to those who are suffering and overwhelmed by all kinds of illnesses.

²² And once he said to a paralytic, 'Get up, take your bed, and walk,' and the man did what he was commanded.

²³ And at another time, he gave sight to the blind. And once, there was a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for many years. When she saw countless crowds surrounding him, and since she was not allowed to approach him on her knees to ask for relief from her suffering, she thought to just touch the edge of his cloak. And as she reached out to touch it, she was immediately healed, receiving a great sign of the divine power of our savior.

²⁴ And another man, a royal official, came to Jesus, and immediately he received his son back safe. And again, another man, who was a leader of the Jews, had a daughter who was already dead.

²⁵ What more can be said about how a fourth man was raised from the dead by the power of Jesus? Or how, on the sea, just like on the road of the land, he made the journey while his disciples were with him? And when a storm arose, he rebuked the sea, the waves, and the winds, and everything became calm immediately, as if the voice of a master had been heard?

²⁶ And five thousand men were fed, along with countless other women and children. He filled the number of loaves from five, so that there were even more leftovers than enough to fill twelve baskets. Who would not be amazed by this? And it is only right to seek the hidden power behind him. But let me not stretch this story out too long; let his death be the focus, for it was not like the deaths of other people.

²⁷ For he was not destroyed by sickness, nor by hunger or fire, nor was he punished like other criminals, having his legs broken on the cross. He did not suffer a violent death like others, but willingly gave his body to those who plotted against him. He was lifted up from the ground immediately, and then, calling out loudly from the cross, he committed his spirit to the Father, saying to them, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' Thus, he left his body freely and without restraint.

²⁸ Then, after his body was taken and given to those who knew him for burial, he again received it on the third day, he who had willingly departed before.

²⁹ And he shows himself again in a physical body, the same as before, to his close disciples, with whom he spoke for a short time and shared some time together. Then he ascends from where he was and is present before their eyes, going up into the heavens. To them, he also gave instructions about what to do, handing over teachers for all the nations, revealing the highest worship of God.

³⁰ Such are the many praises of our Savior's virtues; these are the signs of the divinity in him. We have also admired these with a wise mind, having accepted them after being tested and examined by judgment.

³¹ These things have been examined by us and tested, revealing everything through clear evidence. Our Lord still shows some small signs of his power to those he judges, but we are used to a more logical method, which we tend to present to those who do not accept what has been said before. They completely disbelieve these things and claim that nothing like this has happened with him, or if it has happened, they say it was done by magic, misleading those who saw it, as if by a deceiver. If we need to briefly address those who have been mentioned, we will not lack effort; otherwise, we will find a way to respond to them. If they say that our Savior has done nothing wonderful or paradoxical, as those who are known have testified, let us consider whether their argument is convincing, not giving a reason for it, for which the disciples and the teacher have spoken. For the teacher promises some lesson, and the students, knowing the lessons, bring themselves to the teacher.

³³ What then can we say about the reason for the disciples of Jesus being with him, and what is the necessity of their study about him, and who wrote down the teachings of the teacher? Is this not clear? For surely those who learned from him brought it to others. His teachings were about a philosophical life, which he wrote for them, saying, 'Do not acquire gold or silver for your belts, do not take a bag for the journey,' and such things. He encouraged them to trust in the care that provides for them, not to worry about their needs, and he also advised them to think better than the Jews, as commanded by Moses.

³⁴ For example, the lawgiver commands not to commit murder, and likewise not to commit adultery, as with the most lustful and shameful acts. Again, he commands not to steal, as with the most servile actions. They should consider that these laws do not apply to them, but rather they should value the purity of the soul highly. From deep within their minds, they should cut off the roots of wickedness, like removing the shoots of evil. They should strive to control their anger and all shameful desires, and especially not to become angry with a calm soul, nor to look at a woman with lustful desire. On the contrary, they should give to those in need rather than steal from their own. They should not take pride in not depriving one another, but rather in being the ones who do not deprive themselves of what is good.

³⁵ And what need is there for me to gather together all that he taught and that they learned? He encouraged them to hold the truth in such a way that they should not even need to swear oaths. It is much better to avoid swearing, and they should prepare their way to seem more trustworthy than any oath, by sticking to the truth in their words, saying only yes or no.

³⁶ Therefore, one should inquire what kind of reasoning those listeners might have, and also consider that they have become teachers of the same subjects, shaped by their studies. They should reflect on what actions the teacher has testified to.

³⁷ But what is convincing about believing that all would lie, with twelve being the chosen ones and seventy being the others, who are said to be sent two by two before him to every place where he was about to come? Yet no one chooses to doubt such a large number of men who have embraced a pious and honorable life, while many of their own have been disregarded, instead of the dearest ones, meaning women and children and all kinds of people, choosing the most unworthy way, and the testimony about the teacher being consistent as if it came from one mouth to all people.

³⁸ Therefore, the Lord and the first and true word would be this: let us also consider the opposite. For let the teacher be one, and the students be many. Then, as in a hypothetical argument, let the teacher not teach what has been said before, but rather the opposite to them, which would mean to act unlawfully, to be impious, to do wrong, to be greedy, to take away, and if anything else bad is mentioned, to be unaware of all these things while striving for them, and to hide a very bad character under the guise of serious teaching and a new promise of piety. And let those who pursue these things also engage in even worse actions, due to the previous nature of their wickedness and its self-taught nature. And when the teacher is praised with grand false words, let no one hold back from lying. And let everything strange and miraculous be falsely attributed to him, so that both they and others may marvel and call him blessed, as if they have become such students.

³⁹ Come then, let us see if it was possible for such people to come together in this way. They say that evil cannot befriend evil, nor can it befriend good. So from where does such agreement on evil come among so many men? From where is there a unanimous testimony about the same things among all of them, a unity that lasts until death? To a man who teaches such things and makes such promises, who would trust his mind? You might say that other sorcerers have nothing to do with the teacher. Did these men not see the end of the teacher and what kind of death he faced? So what then, after that most shameful end of his, did they remain, calling upon the dead, or what were they longing for, to suffer the same things? And who would ever willingly choose such a fate for any reason?

⁴⁰ And indeed, let him be honored while still being with them and spending time with them, and deceiving them, as someone might say, leading them astray. So then, after his death, and much more so then than before, why do they hold him in such high regard? Since he is said to have remained among men and to have been abandoned and denied at times, when plots were being made against him, after he became human, did they choose to die rather than stand apart from the good testimony about him?

⁴¹ If then they recognized nothing good in the teacher, neither his life, nor his teachings, nor his actions, nor any work worthy of praise, nor did they benefit in any way from him, or from the wickedness and deception of men, how did they willingly die while bearing witness to the serious and glorious things about him, living peacefully in their own homes, and leading a safe life with their dearest ones?

⁴² But how could deceitful men and swindlers consider the death of another to be precious, which they all knew very well was not due to any good, as someone might say, but rather the cause of all evil? For a man who shares in reason and virtue might reasonably endure a glorious death for a good achievement, but a wicked man, being passionate and pleasure-seeking, would never choose death over life, especially not for the sake of revenge for his loved ones, unless it was for something condemned as worthless.

⁴³ How then did the disciples of the one being shown, if he was indeed a deceiver and a sorcerer, not only know him to be such, but also allow their souls to be shaped by a worse kind of wickedness, enduring all kinds of insults and every form of punishment from their fellow countrymen for the sake of his testimony? Is this not something that belongs to the nature of the worthless?

⁴⁴ Moreover, consider this: if they were indeed deceivers and swindlers, add to that that they were also uneducated and completely ordinary people, and even more so, that they were barbarians, not knowing the language of the Syrians, how did they manage to go out into the whole world? Or with what kind of thought did they dare to attempt this? And with what power did they succeed in their undertaking?

⁴⁵ Let there be men, indeed, who are simple country folk, wandering on their own land, and not being disturbed by quietness. But to proclaim the name of Jesus to everyone, and to teach his marvelous deeds both in the countryside and in the cities, and some of them to share the rule of the Romans and the most royal city, while others share with the Persians, some with the Armenians, others with the Parthians, and again others with the Scythians, and some already coming to the ends of the earth, reaching even to the land of the Indians, and others crossing beyond the Ocean to the islands called British, I do not think this could be done by mere humans, much less by simple and ordinary people, but certainly by deceivers and sorcerers.

⁴⁶ Now, those who were experienced in teaching and in deceit, and who had seen the outcome of this man's end, what words did they use with each other to agree on a story about him? For from one mouth, they all testified about healings of lepers, casting out demons, raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind, and countless other cures for the sick, and above all, they were the first to see his resurrection after death.

⁴⁷ For these things did not happen, nor were they even heard of during their time. How could they all testify from one mouth, believing the confession even to death? Or did they perhaps come together and make a conspiracy, agreeing to create a story and lie about things that did not happen?

⁴⁸ And what words could they possibly use to agree on their plans? Or did they ever say to each other, 'Friends, yesterday and before, we saw the deceiver and teacher of lies face punishment before all of us, someone we know very well, like initiates of his hidden teachings? He seemed serious to many, and he appeared to have something more than most, but nothing great was said about the resurrection, unless someone speaks of the deceitful and cunning way, and teaches us the twisted path through deception'?

⁴⁹ Instead, let us, having given each other a handshake, all agree to bring forth a story about him to all people, saying that we saw him giving sight to the blind, which none of us ever witnessed; and giving hearing to the deaf, which none of us ever heard; and cleansing lepers and raising the dead. And let us say altogether things that neither we have seen done by him nor heard said, as if they truly happened.

⁵⁰ But since his final end was so well-known and clear, that it could not be hidden, we must boldly declare that indeed, after he rose from the dead, he shared meals and food with all of us. Let us all keep in mind the shamelessness and the unchangeable nature of this, and let the state of being astonished remain with us. For what is strange about anyone dying? And what is there to grieve over when no one of importance suffers beatings and tortures to the body? If there is a need to try prisons, and to suffer insults and abuses for nothing true, let this already be our concern.

Book 3, Section 5

⁵² Let us all agree together and say, 'And let us make up stories for no benefit to anyone, neither to ourselves nor to those who have been deceived, nor even to him who is being falsely praised among us.'

⁵³ Let us stretch the falsehood not only to our fellow countrymen, but also to all people, and let us fill the whole world with the stories made about him. And from here on, let us legislate for all nations against the beliefs they have held for ages about the ancestral gods.

⁵⁴ Let us command the Romans first of all not to honor those whom their ancestors considered gods, and let us also go against the Greeks, and let us oppose their wise men, and let us not spare the Egyptians, but let us fight against their gods, not raising up the things that came before Moses against them.

⁵⁵ Let us oppose the death of our teacher like a fearsome thing to them, and let us not let the ancient rumors about the gods that have come to all people be silenced by words and speeches, but let us destroy them by the power of the crucified teacher. Let us also go against the other barbarian lands, and let us overturn what is held by all. And let no one of us hold back in eagerness.

⁵⁶ For the challenge of those who dare is not small, since the rewards that may come to us will not be given lightly, but rather the punishments from the laws of each place, such as chains, tortures, and prisons, as well as fire and iron, and crosses, and wild beasts. Therefore, we must be especially eager and set an example for the wicked, having obtained a teacher.

⁵⁷ For what could be better than to stand against enemies, both gods and humans, without any reason, and never to enjoy anything sweet, neither to dream of the dearest things, nor to gain wealth, nor to have any hope of good, but to wander aimlessly and in vain? For this was what was beneficial, to act in opposition to all the nations, and to fight against the gods who have been agreed upon by all since ancient times, while having our own teacher as a god before our eyes, and to proclaim him as the son of a god, for whom we are ready to die, having learned nothing true or useful from him.

⁵⁸ Therefore, we should honor him even more, if we do not do everything to glorify his name, and we should endure all insults and punishments, and we should accept every kind of death for nothing true. For perhaps truth is a bad thing, while falsehood has the opposite of what is bad.

⁵⁹ Therefore, let us say that he raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, drove out demons, and performed many other amazing works, while recognizing nothing like this about him, but making up everything for themselves, and leading others astray as much as they can. But if someone does not believe, they themselves are drawn to the results of the deception they have created.

⁶⁰ Do you find these things convincing, or do they seem to be based on true words? And could someone persuade themselves that such simple men and common people made up and arranged these things against the Roman authority, or that human nature, having a love for life, could willingly endure death for nothing? Or how could our Savior's disciples be so astonished that they saw nothing strange done by him, while they all together made up everything like this, and then were ready to die for false statements made about him? But what do you say? Should we not expect them to suffer something terrible from the testimony about Jesus, and therefore go boldly to preach about him? But it was not reasonable to expect that everything would happen to him, while the Romans, Greeks, and barbarians together were introducing the downfall of the gods.

⁶¹ But the story about them clearly shows that after the teacher's death, some conspirators first handed them over to prison, and then released them, ordering them not to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus. But after this, they saw them publicly speaking about him to the crowd, and they seized them and punished them, criticizing them for their teaching.

⁶² When Peter answered them again, he said, 'We must obey God rather than men.' After this, Stephen was stoned, having spoken boldly to the crowd of Jews, and the persecution did not come by chance against those who were proclaiming the name of Jesus.

⁶³ And again, at another time, Herod, the king of the Jews, killed James, the brother of John, with a sword, and he himself put Peter in chains, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles. After these things happened, the other disciples, still holding on to Jesus, continued to proclaim both him and his wonders even more to everyone.

⁶⁴ At this time, James, the brother of the Lord, who was called the Just by those living in Jerusalem because of his great goodness, when asked by the high priests and teachers of the Jewish nation what he thought about Christ, answered that he was the Son of God, and then he was also stoned by them.

⁶⁵ And Peter was crucified in Rome, head down, and Paul was beheaded, and John was handed over to an island. After these things happened to them, none of the others lost their courage. They prayed and also aimed for the same things as those mentioned before, hoping to gain even more in their devotion to God and to testify boldly about Jesus and his amazing works.

⁶⁶ And if there were indeed lies made up by agreement among them, it is amazing how such a large number kept their agreement about these lies and held on to it even unto death. None of them ever turned away from the company of the others, nor did anyone reveal the truth to others, bringing to light what had been arranged. But even the one who dared to betray the living one brought upon himself the punishment immediately by his own hand.

⁶⁷ And how is it not full of amazement that uneducated men and common people, who neither spoke nor heard their native language well, not only dared to go out to all the nations, but also succeeded in their mission? Consider how there was no one who could bring up any disagreement about the actions of Jesus.

⁶⁸ For if in all matters that are uncertain, both in legal courts and in public disputes, the agreement of witnesses confirms what is in doubt, as it is said, 'Every matter is established by the testimony of two or three witnesses,' how could the truth not be established with twelve apostles, seventy disciples, and a countless multitude of others, all showing an amazing agreement and testifying to the things done by Jesus? They did this without fear, enduring torture, all kinds of abuse, and death, and in all things they were witnessed by God, who still upholds their proclaimed message now and forever.

⁶⁹ Therefore, let these strange beginnings be laid bare, since it is absurd to take the opposite view of the writings and to say that Jesus was a teacher of foolish words, full of injustice, greed, and all kinds of immorality. It is also ridiculous to claim that his disciples were taught such things and became the most wicked of all people. This is as absurd as if someone were to slander Moses, who said in the laws, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness,' and to claim ironically that he said these things while pretending otherwise.

⁷⁰ For they want those under their authority to murder, commit adultery, and do the opposite of what they legislate, while pretending to live a serious life. For in this way, someone could also slander the teachings of the philosophers among the Greeks, claiming that they live a strong life and that all their words are contrary to what is written, while pretending to choose a philosophical life through hypocrisy.

⁷¹ In this way, someone could also simply slander all the histories of the ancients, rejecting the truth in them and expecting the opposite of what is shown.

⁷² But just as no one would hesitate to reject someone who raves against those who think well, so also with the words and teachings of the savior, if someone tries to twist the truth and surround him with the opposite of what he taught.

⁷³ However, this was also given as a suggestion, so that both from abundance and in a strange way, the unshakable might be shown through the opposite argument.

⁷⁴ Since this has been established, let us run back to the truth of the sacred writings and observe the character of the disciples of Jesus. From this, anyone who thinks well would surely judge them worthy of all acceptance, as they were clearly humble men and ordinary speakers, but they were caught up in a pious and philosophical teaching that inspired love. They lived a hard and enduring life, through fasting, abstaining from wine and meat, and many other forms of bodily humility, through prayers and supplications to God, and much earlier, they achieved great self-control and purity of both body and soul.

⁷⁵ Who would not be amazed by them for their extraordinary philosophy and their marriages that followed the law, and not being pulled down by natural pleasures, nor being enslaved by the desire for children and descendants, since they did not long for mortal offspring, but for immortals?

⁷⁶ How could anyone not be astonished by their lack of greed? This is proven by the fact that they did not flee but rather took on a teacher who forbade the possession of gold and silver, and who taught not to increase one's wealth even to the second cloak. If someone were to hear this heavy command, they might refuse it, but these men showed it through their actions. For example, when someone once asked Peter about a lame man, Peter, who was among those who shared food in times of great need, said he had nothing to give. He declared that he cleansed himself of all gold and silver, saying, 'I have no silver or gold, but what I have, I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.'

⁷⁷ But when the teacher was telling them serious things, they paid attention to what he said: 'In the world, you will have trouble,' and again, 'You will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice.' How could they not see that some were indeed strong and deep, not fleeing from the struggles of the soul, nor chasing after pleasure? The teacher, not trying to deceive them or offering them familiar comforts, spoke freely and truthfully about what would happen to them, laying out the nature of their way of life. He told them that such things would happen to them because of his name, saying that they would be burdened with leadership, that they would reach even kings, and that they would endure all kinds of punishments, not for any wrongdoing or for any other easy reason, but all of this for his name.

⁷⁸ This is why, when they see it happening now, they are amazed by the prophecy. For the confession of the name of Jesus is known to ignite the anger of the rulers.

⁷⁹ For even if someone has done nothing wrong by confessing Christ, they are still punished and mistreated because of his name, as if they were the worst of wrongdoers. But if someone were to deny being a disciple of Christ, they would be immediately set free, even if they were guilty of countless offenses.

⁸⁰ And why should I gather many examples to write about the character of the apostles of our Savior? The ones already mentioned are enough to prove the point. If I add these things, I will move on to the other group of slanderers.

⁸¹ Matthew the apostle did not come from a noble way of life, but from those who were busy with tax collecting and greed. None of the evangelists made this clear, not his fellow apostle John, nor Luke, nor Mark. Matthew himself, while criticizing his own life, became his own accuser.

⁸² Listen then to how he clearly remembers his name in the gospel he wrote about him, saying this: 'And Jesus passed by and saw a man sitting at the tax booth, named Matthew, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And it happened that while he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples.' And again, as he goes on, counting the list of the disciples, he adds the name of the tax collector for himself.

⁸³ Now he says, 'The names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector.'

⁸⁴ Thus, Matthew, showing great kindness, called himself a tax collector, not hiding his former life, and he listed himself as the second.

⁸⁵ Therefore, Peter is paired with Thomas, and Andrew with him, and James with John, and Philip with Bartholomew. He places Thomas before himself, choosing to honor his fellow apostle, while the other evangelists do the opposite. So listen, Luke, how Matthew, mentioning him, does not call him a tax collector, nor does he place him before Thomas, but knowing him to be greater, he lists him first and brings in Thomas second.

⁸⁶ Just as Mark has done; he has these words: 'And when the day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve from them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas.'

⁸⁷ Thus, Luke honored Matthew, according to what the eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed down to him from the beginning. And you would find John similar to Matthew.

⁸⁸ In his letters, he does not even mention his own name, nor does he call himself elder, and he never calls himself apostle or evangelist. But in the gospel, he is marked as the one whom Jesus loved, yet he does not name himself. However, Peter did not even sit down to write the gospel out of great respect.

⁸⁹ Mark, who was known and a student of Peter, is said to have recorded the sayings of Peter about the actions of Jesus. When he came to the part of the story where Jesus asked what people say about him, and what his own disciples thought of him, he wrote that Peter, speaking about Christ, did not record anything that Jesus answered or said to him, but that he warned them not to say anything about him.

⁹⁰ For Mark was not present at what Jesus said, nor did Peter defend himself or what was said about him to Jesus with personal testimony. But Matthew shows what was said to him: 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'

⁹¹ After these things were said to Peter by Jesus, Mark did not mention any of them, since it is likely that Peter did not teach these things in his teachings. Look at what he says when Jesus asked: 'Peter answered and said, "You are the one," and he warned them not to say anything about him.'

⁹² Therefore, Peter thought it was reasonable to remain silent about these things. That is why Mark left them out. But he proclaimed to everyone the things about his denial, since he also wept bitterly over it.

⁹³ "You will find Mark telling about him these things: 'And while Peter was in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came to him. And seeing him warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth." But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying." And he went out into the entryway, and a rooster crowed. Again, the servant girl saw him and began to say to those standing by, "This man is one of them."'"

⁹⁴ But he denied it again. And after a little while, those standing by said to Peter, 'Truly, you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.' But he began to call down curses and swore, 'I do not know this man you are talking about.' And immediately, the rooster crowed a second time.

⁹⁵ Mark writes these things, but Peter testifies about himself. For all the sayings of Peter in Mark are said to be memories. Therefore, those who try to bring a good reputation for themselves, while writing down their own slanders for an everlasting age, and the accusations against them for their wrongdoings, which no one would have known after these things unless they learned through their own voice, how could they not rightly agree that they are free from all selfishness and falsehood, while providing clear and evident proof of a truthful disposition?

⁹⁶ But those who think they have been formed and deceived in such a way, and who try to blaspheme like deceivers, how could they not become a laughingstock? Friends of envy and jealousy, but enemies of the truth, those who show such cunning and unformed character through their own words, they suggest that some clever and dangerous sophists have created what does not exist, and that they have graciously presented things not done by their own teacher. It seems to me that one should believe everything from the disciples of Jesus, or not. And if one should doubt only these men, how could one trust all others, who at some time among the Greeks or among the barbarians wrote lives, sayings, and memories of those who helped in good deeds over time?

⁹⁷ And how is envy not obvious? What about those who lie about the teacher and write down things that did not happen? Did they also deny his sufferings? The betrayal by one disciple, the accusations from the slanderers, the mockery and disgrace from the judges, the insults and the blows to the face, the whips on the back, and the crown of thorns placed on him in shame, and the scarlet robe wrapped around him in the form of a cloak, and finally, the very trophy of the cross being carried by him, while being nailed and having his hands and feet pierced, being given vinegar to drink, and being mocked by those who saw?

⁹⁸ But indeed, these things, and whatever else is similar to them, should be formed according to his own disciples. Either in these things, one should believe them as the most truthful, or in the more famous and serious matters, one should doubt.

⁹⁹ And from where will the opposing doctrine about them be established? For to claim that the same people are truthful and at the same time to say they lie is nothing but to speak contradictions about the same things.

¹⁰⁰ What then is their proof? For if their goal was to create falsehoods and to adorn the teacher with lies, they would never have recorded the things mentioned before, nor would they have shown to the people afterward that he was indeed troubled and distressed and deeply shaken in spirit, because they had left him and gone away, or that Peter, the chosen apostle and disciple of all, denied him three times under threat of torture and authority. For even if others were saying these things, they would certainly need to deny that they were doing anything other than granting the more serious matters to the teacher.

¹⁰¹ But if they seem truthful in the sad stories about him, they would be even more so in the more glorious ones. For those who have once lied about the painful things should rather escape by silence or by denying those things, rather than being able to be challenged by later generations about what has been kept silent.

¹⁰² Why did they not lie, and say that Judas, who betrayed him, immediately turned to stone after daring to show the sign of betrayal with a kiss, while the one who struck him would instantly lose his right hand? And what about the high priest Caiaphas, would he not be struck blind as he rushed to join those who were accusing him?

¹⁰³ Why did not all of them lie, saying that nothing truly sad happened to him, but that the hidden one laughed at their court, while those plotting against him, led astray by a divine vision, thought they could act against him when he was not present? And why not? Would it not have been more serious to create that he was the subject of such strange works by a poet, writing that nothing human or mortal happened to him, but that he established everything with divine power and made the ascent to heaven with greater glory? For those who believed their other stories would not have doubted these.

¹⁰⁴ Those who have twisted nothing of the truth in their sad stories, how could they not also be worthy in the other things, in which they testified to him about the strange events, standing outside of any suspicion? Therefore, the testimony about our savior is indeed self-sufficient. And there is nothing like using the testimony of Joseph from the Hebrews, who in the eighteenth book of his Jewish Antiquities remembers the events during the time of Pilate concerning our savior.

¹⁰⁵ At that time, there was Jesus, a wise man, if one should call him a man. For he was a doer of strange works, a teacher of people who respected the truth. And he attracted many from the Jewish community and many from the Greek community. This Christ was he; and when he was shown by our rulers to be condemned to the cross by Pilate, those who had first loved him did not stop.

¹⁰⁶ For he appeared to them alive on the third day, as the divine prophets had said these things and many other wonders about him. Therefore, even now, the race of Christians has not ceased from this.

¹⁰⁷ If then, according to historical testimony, not only the twelve apostles or the seventy disciples are mentioned, but also many from the Jewish community and many from the Greek community are being called, it would be clear that he has something extraordinary compared to other people.

¹⁰⁸ For how else would many from the Jewish and Greek communities be drawn to him, if he did not use wonderful and strange works and a surprising teaching? The writing of the Acts of the Apostles also testifies that there were many thousands of Jewish men convinced that he was the Christ of God, who was announced by the prophets. And history shows that there was even a very large church of Christ in Jerusalem made up of Jews until the time of the siege under Hadrian.

¹⁰⁹ It is said that the first bishops who succeeded him there were Jews, and their names are still remembered by the local people. From these, all the slander against his disciples was removed, when many thousands of Jews and Greeks themselves testified about Jesus Christ of God, who performed extraordinary works.

¹¹⁰ But after saying this about them, let us also stand with the second group of unbelievers. This group consisted of those who confessed that Jesus performed extraordinary works, while others were led astray by the illusions of those who saw him, thinking he was a miracle worker or some kind of magician, amazing those present.

Book 3, Section 6

And indeed, we must first ask what they say about the things that have been said before. Is it possible to imagine a man who is a teacher of serious and excellent conduct, with healthy and true beliefs, as we have seen, becoming a magician? But if he was indeed a magician and sorcerer, a deceiver and trickster, how could he be the cause of such teachings for all nations, as we see with our own eyes and hear with our ears? And who would choose to gather the unconnected? For a magician, truly, is wicked and foul in his ways, dealing with the impure and unholy, doing everything for the sake of shameful and filthy gain.

² Is it possible that our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, was guilty of such things? How could he, who testified to his own disciples, saying 'Do not acquire gold or silver for your belts, do not take a bag for the journey, nor sandals'? If they were convinced by him and thought it worthy to pass these things down in written records, would they see the teacher as being involved in money-making while teaching the opposite to others?

³ Long ago, they would have laughed at him and dismissed his words, leaving the teaching for no good reason, if they saw him as someone who seriously made laws like this, but did not follow his own words in any way.

⁴ On the other hand, the magician, truly a deceiver, gives himself over to those who are inexperienced and unholy for the sake of unholy and unlawful pleasures, so much so that he already brings down and drags some women into his own wickedness through his magic. But our Savior and Lord is not even to be said to have turned away from self-control, since again his disciples testify that he urged not to look at a woman with lustful desire, saying to the ancients, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

⁵ And once, when he was necessarily speaking with a Samaritan woman for the benefit and salvation of many, those who saw him were amazed because he was talking with a woman, which was unusual. Thus, the words of our Savior show the seriousness and strictness of his manner. That teaching was a great example of his self-control, through which he taught to cut off the passionate desires from the depths of the mind, saying, 'There are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.'

⁶ Again, the magician, truly a deceiver of the people, tries and does everything, seeking glory and imagining great things, boasting more than most people know or have. But our Savior and Lord, because he was not seeking glory, arrogant, or fanciful, advised that no one should speak of him or reveal him to many, so that he might remain hidden from the public and avoid harmful gatherings in the cities, pursuing his time in the mountains and his retreats.

⁷ If, therefore, neither for the sake of glory, nor money, nor pleasure is the teaching influenced, who is left to suspect that he is a deceiver and magician? Consider this again: when a magician shares the evils with others, what kind of men does he create? Are they not all magicians, deceivers, and sorcerers, similar in every way? So, who has ever caught the whole Christian community practicing magic or sorcery from that teaching?

⁸ But it cannot be said, rather let us share wise words, as it has been shown. Therefore, who could justly consider him the first and greatest teacher of philosophers and pious men, who has become the cause of a serious and self-controlled life for others? For if anyone teaching is truly a philosopher and genuinely pious, it must be acknowledged that he is far from being a deceiver and magician, as our Savior and Lord would agree.

⁹ If indeed someone like this existed, how could he perform miracles in any way other than through divine and hidden power, and through the highest piety toward the God of all? It seems that those who first became his disciples and those who later followed their teachings have established very far-fetched and wicked suspicions, so that even those who are sick do not turn to him, like many who try to do various things, whether using inscriptions on petals and charms, or paying attention to those who promise to cast spells, or using incense from roots and herbs, or other such methods to find cures for their ailments.

¹⁰ Indeed, all these things have been removed from the teaching of Christ. There is never a Christian who uses charms, or incantations, or inscriptions on certain petals, or other things that most people consider to be of no importance.

¹¹ Who then thinks that such a teacher of magic and deception has students? And indeed, the gathering of those who study under him is a great proof against anyone who makes such promises.

¹² Indeed, skilled and knowledgeable men clearly show that the cause of their knowledge is much greater than themselves. Just as doctors would be witnesses to the success of their teacher's lessons, and geometers would write about someone other than a geometer as their leader, and mathematicians would speak of the mathematician, so too would the students of a great magician be witnesses, as they themselves participate in similar things as their teacher.

¹³ But no one has ever been shown to be a student of Jesus for so many years of magic, even though through the tortures of trials by various governors and kings, a careful examination of the matters concerning us has been made.

¹⁴ Thus, no one has ever been freed from the danger of magic, except for the one who is forced to sacrifice to them. And if no one among us, nor any of those ancient students of Jesus, was caught in magic, then the teacher was not such a person. But let us not rely on unwritten words; let us accept the evidence from written history.

¹⁵ The first disciples of Jesus are recorded in the book of their own Acts, telling how people from the nations came to their teaching. Many of those who had previously been slandered for magic changed their ways so much that they dared to bring the forbidden books into the middle and to hand them over to the fire in front of everyone.

¹⁶ Listen to how the writing contains enough of those who had done strange things. They brought the books and burned them in front of everyone, and they counted their value, finding it to be five myriads of silver.

¹⁷ Such were the disciples of our Savior, bringing forth such power of words in their conversations with the listeners, that they reached the depths of their souls. They touched and wounded each person's conscience, so that they could no longer hide their secrets, but brought the hidden things into the open, and made them confront their own faults and their previous wickedness.

¹⁸ Such were those who learned from them, pure and genuine in their intentions, so that nothing hidden could escape them. They would speak boldly and openly about the changes from the worse to the better.

¹⁹ Therefore, those who handed over the magical books to the fire and declared their complete destruction, how could it not be clear to everyone that they would have no more interest in magic from then on? And they were pure from all suspicion about this. So when the disciples of our Savior became such, how much more so the teacher?

²⁰ But if you want to know what kind of leader he was overall, you still have countless disciples of Jesus today. Many of these men have gathered together to enjoy the natural pleasures of the body, but they also keep their minds safe from any shameful passions. They have lived their whole lives in self-control and have shown bright evidence of the nourishment from his words.

²¹ Not only men follow this way of thinking with him, but there are also countless women throughout the whole world. Some of them are priestesses of the one true God, who have embraced the highest wisdom and have been filled with a love for heavenly wisdom. They have given up the pleasures of the flesh and have devoted all their care to their souls. They have dedicated their bodies and souls to the all-powerful King and God of all, practicing complete purity and virginity.

²² Some young Greeks leave their own land under the pretense of philosophy, wandering here and there. This is what Democritus did. And one among them, Crates, is admired for leaving behind his wealth and boasting that he himself is now free, while he gives his possessions to the citizens.

²³ There are countless followers of the words of Jesus, not just one or two. They have given up their possessions and have shared with the poor and needy. We ourselves witness such people, not just by their words but also by their actions, seeing the achievements of their discipleship to Jesus.

²⁴ What should we say about how many countless thousands, not just Greeks but also barbarians, have testified that from the words of Jesus, they have completely turned away from the many gods and recognized only the Father and Creator of everything as the true God? Long ago, one philosopher, Plato, knowing this, dared not to speak openly about it, saying that it is impossible to find and declare the Father and Creator of all.

²⁵ But for him, it seemed that finding such a thing was truly the greatest task, and it was impossible for him to say to everyone that he did not have such a power of piety as the disciples of Jesus. Through the cooperation of their teacher, it became easy for them to find and know the Father and Creator of all. They are able to reveal, fulfill, and proclaim this knowledge to every kind of people. Even now, in this present time, among all the nations on earth, there are countless crowds, not only of men but also of women and children, both slaves and common people, who are so convinced by the teachings of Jesus that they know and honor only the one true God, the Creator of everything, and only through Christ do they speak of God. These were the achievements of the new and unique teacher, such were the charms of the supposed deceiver, and such are the disciples of Jesus, from whom we must understand what kind of teacher he is.

²⁶ Come now, let us examine this matter further. You call him a magician, but also a powerful sorcerer and a deceiver. So, was he the first and only discoverer of this matter, which surely must point to teachers for its causes? For if he became the first and only discoverer of this undertaking without anyone teaching him, having learned nothing from others, nor gathering from the ancients, how could he not be acknowledged as having a divine nature? How could he, being self-taught and discovering such things without books, words, or teachers, reveal them? Moreover, neither the art of craftsmanship nor the knowledge of logic, nor even the learning of the first principles can be taken up without some guide or teacher, unless it is not the common nature that has emerged.

²⁷ Indeed, no one among us has ever passed as a self-taught teacher of grammar, nor as a rhetorician without having learned, nor as a natural-born doctor, nor as a craftsman, nor as a creator of any other art. And yet, these are small and human things. But to say that the true teacher of human piety performed such miracles during his lifetime and created such strange wonders, which we have just discussed, to have come about by chance without having learned from the ancients or being helped by new teachers who did similar things before him, what else could this be but a testimony that he is truly a divine being, surpassing all human nature?

²⁸ But you say that he has been influenced by teachers who are deceivers, and that he has not escaped learning the wise and secret things of the Egyptians and those ancient teachings. From whom did such a man gather knowledge, as the story suggests? So, who then, or what other greater teachers have been revealed before him, whether in Egypt or wherever else?

²⁹ Why then has the reputation of those before him not reached all people, or why is it not still sung about in a similar way as ours? And who among the sorcerers of all time, whether barbarian or Greek, has ever been a teacher of such students and a master of such laws and teachings, like the power shown by our savior? Who has performed such healings and strange acts of kindness, as our own is remembered for? Who has ever done such things that are recorded in history?

³⁰ Who among those we know and who have witnessed events through trials of fire and iron has confirmed the truth of what they testified, just as our savior's disciples did? They endured all kinds of mistreatment, they withstood all forms of torture, and in the end, by their own blood, they believed in what was testified about him.

³¹ Furthermore, let the one who stands against us say who among the sorcerers has ever thought of forming a new nation under their own name. And not only to think of this, but to actually achieve what they wanted—how could that not cover the whole nature of humanity? And who has ever thought of establishing laws against idolatry, based on the decrees of kings and the ancient laws of philosophers, poets, and theologians, and to maintain these laws unchallenged and undefeated for a long time? But our savior and lord did not think of this, nor did he dare to attempt it; he did not even try or succeed.

³² And in a single statement and with one voice, he said to his disciples, 'Go and make disciples of all nations in my name, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.' By this word, he set in motion an action, and immediately all kinds of Greeks and barbarians were being taught. Laws were spread to all nations against the old superstitions, laws opposing demons and enemies of all forms of polytheistic deception, laws of the Scythians and Persians and other barbarians that promote moderation, turning away from all wild and beastly ways of life. These laws were overturning the customs of the Greeks that had existed for ages, and they were proclaiming a new and true piety.

³³ What then, among the ancient sorcerers before the times of Jesus, or even after that, has anyone dared to do something like this or similar, as if it were reasonable to say that he benefited from the magic of others? If no one can claim that anything like this happened to him, for there was no one who was the cause of such great virtue for him, it is time to acknowledge that he possessed a certain foreign and divine nature in his life, by which alone and first, what had never been mentioned among humans was accomplished. But let this be the end of these matters.

³⁴ Again, let us return to the opposite side, whether he ever saw with his eyes or heard with his ears sorcerers and magicians performing their magic without offerings and prayers, calling upon demons for their enchantments and presence. So, does anyone have the audacity to bring such accusations against our savior, or against his words, or against those who still envy his life? Is it not clear, even to a blind person, that we who think of Jesus practice the complete opposite? We would rather face death with our souls than offer sacrifices to demons, and we would rather stand apart from life than be enslaved by wicked demons.

³⁵ Who does not know that with the name of Jesus and with pure prayers, it is dear to us to drive away all the works of demons? This word of Jesus and his teaching has made us all much stronger than this invisible power, against both enemies and demons, but not against friends or familiar ones; it has prepared us to be much more obedient and submissive.

³⁶ How could he, who has led us in such a way, become a servant of demons? How could he have offered sacrifices to wicked spirits? Or how could he have called upon demons as helpers in his wonders, when every demon and every unclean spirit trembles at the name of Jesus and withdraws and gives way because of the power of that name?

³⁷ Just as in the past, when he lived among us, others cried out from different places, 'What do we have to do with you, Jesus, son of God? Did you come here to torment us?' And a man who was completely focused on magic, and who was certainly dealing with very strange matters, would not be clearly seen as wicked, filthy, shameful, godless, unjust, and impious. How could such a person teach others about piety, or about self-control, or about knowledge of God, or about the justice and judgment of the one true God? Wouldn't all these things oppose him, acting in line with his own wickedness? He would deny God, deny God's care and judgment, and mock those who speak about virtue and the immortality of the soul.

³⁸ If there were such things to see about our Savior and Lord, there would be nothing to say. But if in every matter and word he calls upon the creator and father of all, and prepares such students, and if he himself is wise and a teacher of wise words, and if he is a poet and a herald of justice, truth, kindness, all virtue, and a guide to the worship of the all-powerful God, how could he not be seen as someone who does not lead by magic in the strange things he has done, but rather truly agrees with divine power?

³⁹ But you drive yourself to such a point that you do not pay attention to wise reasoning and the flow of words, nor are you convinced by the likely evidence, perhaps suspecting those who speak about us. But you, even among your own demons, those very gods of oracles, listen to our Savior not as you would to magic, but to piety and wisdom, and to those who testify of a path to heaven. Who would be more trustworthy to you than the writings of our enemy, which he wrote about 'Philosophy from Reason' in the third book, thus recording history in this way?

Book Four

It may seem strange to some what we are about to say. For the gods declared Christ to be the most pious and immortal, and they speak well of him." And he adds, "When they asked about Christ, if Hecate is a god, she says, 'You know that an immortal soul goes on with the body, but wisdom is always scattered; that soul is the most pious of a man.' Therefore, she said that he and his soul are the most pious, just like the others, to be made immortal after death, which the Christians do not understand to honor. When they asked why he was punished, she replied, 'The body is always exposed to heavy trials; but the soul of the pious rests in the heavenly realm.'

² And after the oracle, he adds, 'Therefore, he himself is pious and goes to heaven, just like the pious do, having departed. So you will not blaspheme him, but you will have compassion for the ignorance of people.'

³ These things Porphyry says even now. Is this man then a deceiver? Even if your own words make you uncomfortable. Therefore, you have our Savior Jesus, Christ of God, and he is not a magician or sorcerer, but the most pious, just, wise, and a resident of heavenly realms.

⁴ How could such a person perform extraordinary deeds except by divine power, which the sacred words also testify to him? The word of God and the power of God dwell in the highest form and shape of a human, even more so in his flesh and body, and they witness that he fulfills all that is needed among humans.

⁵ And you too would learn about the divine power concerning him, if you considered who he was. He took on the nature of a humble man, made from clay, and he used these lowly servants to accomplish everything that fulfills the purpose.

⁶ For he thought that no one could ever spread their own laws and foreign teachings to all nations, and that he could declare himself a teacher of piety for all kinds of people, the one who is above all gods. He chose to use the most unrefined and humble people as his servants, which seems quite unreasonable to think he would do.

⁷ For how could those who are unable to speak even gather as teachers of one person, not to mention a group of men? And how could they be chosen from a crowd, being completely outside of any education? But this was indeed the sign of the divine purpose and the active divine power working in them. He called them first, saying, 'Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'

⁸ But when he had gathered them as followers, inspiring them with divine power, filling them with courage and strength, he, being truly the word of God and God himself, the creator of such wonders, made them hunters of rational and intelligent souls. He gave them the task with the voice saying, 'Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' He formed them into workers and teachers of piety, already prepared to be sent to all nations, raising them up as heralds of his teaching.

⁹ And who would not be amazed and doubt the strange nature of this miracle, when no one among humans ever thought of such a thing? Not a king, not a lawmaker, not a philosopher, not a Greek, not a barbarian, could even imagine something like this, nor could they even dream of something similar. For it is dear to each person to establish their own profession, even if only in their own land, and to maintain good laws within their own nation. But he, having thought of nothing mortal or human, truly spoke with the voice of God, saying to those very humble disciples of his, 'Go, make disciples of all nations.'

¹⁰ And how, the disciples might have said to the teacher, could this be possible for us? For how will we preach to the Romans? And how will we speak to the Egyptians? And what language will we use to talk to the Greeks, men who have been raised only in their own language?

¹¹ And what about the Persians, Armenians, Chaldeans, Scythians, and Indians, or any other nations of barbarians? How will we persuade them to turn away from their ancestral gods, so that they may worship the creator of all? With what ability to speak will we boldly approach this? And what hope do we have of succeeding against the laws that have been established for ages by all these nations regarding their own gods? What strength will we have for such a daring task?

¹² When the disciples of Jesus might have said or thought these things, the teacher gave them an answer to their confusion, saying, "You will succeed in my name." For he did not simply command them to teach all nations without any clear direction, but he added the necessary condition of doing it in his name.

¹³ For the power of his name was such that the apostle said, "God has given him a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth." It is fitting that many are unaware of the power in his name, showing his greatness. He said to his disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations in my name."

¹⁴ Then he also very precisely foretells the future, saying, "This gospel must be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations." At that time, the word was spoken in a corner of the earth, and only those present heard it. How could he be believed when saying this, unless they had experienced the truth of his words through the works he had done? For they had to agree with him, thinking about what he said.

¹⁵ For when he commanded, no one was disobedient, but they obeyed him and taught every kind of people according to what was commanded. They sent the nations from their own land to everywhere, and it was a short time to see the works of the words. Indeed, the gospel was preached in a brief time throughout the whole world as a witness to the nations, and both barbarians and Greeks received the writings about Jesus in their own characters and in their own language.

¹⁶ And yet, who would not reasonably wonder what the way of teaching was for the disciples of Jesus? Did they go into the city, then stand in the marketplace, using a loud voice to call out to those passing by, and then speak publicly? And what was their speech in public that was likely to convince those who listened? How could untrained men speak so well? They had no experience and were completely without education.

¹⁷ But indeed, they did not speak to the crowd as a whole; instead, they spoke to those who happened to be nearby. So what kind of words did they use to persuade those who were listening, since their struggle was not small, especially when they did not deny the shameful death of the one being proclaimed?

¹⁸ For if they had hidden this and not confessed to everyone what had happened to him by the Jews, but only brought forward the honorable and glorious things (I mean his miracles and his extraordinary teachings), then their words would not have been easy to persuade those who were listening, especially since they were hearing new statements from men who were not credible in their testimony. Instead, it seemed more likely that what was said would be accepted.

¹⁹ Now, at one time, the one who was representing God took on a human body, and his nature was nothing other than the word of God. That is why he performed such great powers like a god. But at another time, he endured insults and dishonors from these people, and finally, he suffered the most shameful punishment, which was tied to the most wicked actions of all men, through crucifixion. Who would not rightly spit in contempt at such opposing statements?

²⁰ Who was so foolish as to easily believe that someone had come back to life after death, when he could not even help himself while he was alive? And who among those common and lowly people would ever be convinced to disregard the ancestral gods and recognize the foolishness of all those from ancient times, while only believing in themselves and in the teachings given by the one who was crucified? For he is said to be the only beloved and only-begotten son of the one true God.

²¹ As I examine the word honestly within myself, I find no persuasive power in it, nothing serious, nothing trustworthy, and I do not even see anything likely that could convince any of the foolish people.

²² But again, looking at the power of the word, I see that countless crowds have been convinced, and that many churches have been established by those very lowly and unrefined disciples of Jesus, not in hidden or obscure places, but in the most prominent cities, I mean in the Roman Empire, as well as in Alexandria and Antioch, throughout all of Egypt and Libya, Europe and Asia, in villages and regions and among all kinds of peoples. I am forced to return to the search for the reason behind this, and I must agree that they have gained control of this boldness only through divine power and the help of the one who told them, "Make disciples of all nations in my name."

²³ After saying this, he made a promise, by which they would be encouraged and willingly give themselves to the tasks given to them. He says to them, "Look, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age." It is also said that he inspired them with a divine spirit and gave them a powerful and extraordinary ability. At times he said, "Receive the Holy Spirit," and at other times, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; you received without payment, give without payment."

²⁴ So you can see how the word has prevailed through them, since their book of Acts also agrees and testifies to this. There, they themselves are shown to perform extraordinary acts in the name of Jesus, causing amazement among those present and those who witness it.

²⁵ For they amazed those who were watching, as was to be expected, through their works. Then, they became eager to find out who this person was, by whose power and name the miracle had happened. After that, while teaching, they discovered through faith that they were reaching the teachings from them.

²⁶ For they were not convinced by words, but were easily led by the works to accept the message in the words. Indeed, some already spoke of sacrifices and offerings, as if they were already gods, to be dedicated to Jesus. Some of them called him Hermes, while others named him Zeus, so much did the display of extraordinary works amaze their minds.

²⁷ And so, while they were in this state, they thought that everything they reported about Jesus was true and reasonable. After his death, they did not testify with simple or unproven words, but they convinced others by showing the power of his works while he was alive.

²⁸ If they reported that he was both a god and the son of God before he came to humans, how could they not add to this? They thought it was unreasonable and impossible to believe otherwise, reasoning that the works done could not be the actions of a mortal, but must be of a god, even if no one said so.

²⁹ This was indeed the only thing that was sought, how the disciples of Jesus had gained power over those who listened in the beginning. They convinced both Greeks and non-Greeks to think about him as if he were a god. They taught that in the middle of cities and throughout the lands, people should gather to learn about the worship of the one god who is above all.

³⁰ And yet, who would not be amazed when thinking to themselves and reflecting that it was not human for most of the nations of the world to come together under one Roman rule, but it happened from the time of Jesus?

³¹ For at the same time as his strange arrival among humans, the power of the Romans was rising. This was the first time that Augustus ruled over most nations, during which Cleopatra was defeated and the rule of the Ptolemies in Egypt was ended. From that time until now, the kingdom of Egypt, which was part of the first human history, was taken down.

³² From that time, the nation of the Jews became a slave to the Romans, and so did the Syrians, as well as the Cappadocians, Macedonians, Bithynians, and Greeks. In short, all the others were under Roman rule.

³³ Now, who would not agree that this is not to be dismissed, considering the teaching about our savior? It was not easy for his disciples to travel among the different nations, which were separated from each other, and there was no mixing among them because of the many different nations. With those nations set apart, they were already free and able to carry out their mission, guided by the one true God, and calming the fears of the superstitious people in the cities because of the greater authority.

³⁴ For if there had been nothing to stop those afraid of the many gods from fighting against the teaching of Christ, you would have seen long ago civil wars in the cities and the countryside, along with persecutions and wars that were not random, if indeed the superstitious people had power over them.

³⁵ But now this was also the work of the one true God, to bring the enemies of the true word under control through the greater fear of the highest authority. For he wants to advance every day and grow among all people.

³⁶ Again, so that it would not be thought that the powerful would last through agreement, if anyone among them, caught by wickedness, intended to fight against the word of Christ, this would show the courage of the faithful. At the same time, it would make it clear to everyone that it was not from human plans, but from the power of God that the message was established.

³⁷ Who would not be amazed at what is happening in such times? For the faithful athletes of piety were once clear and outstanding among all people, honored with rewards from God. But the enemies of piety were extending their trials, driven by divine punishments and destroying their whole bodies with terrible and painful sufferings, so that they were even reaching a confession of their impiety against Christ.

³⁸ But all the others, honored with the divine title and boasting to think like Christ, having been briefly tested by trials, showed the true and sincere nature of their thoughts. They again received their own freedom, shining more and more each day through the saving message, even while they were among the enemies who were holding them down.

³⁹ Not only were they rising up against visible enemies, but also against invisible ones, if there were indeed wicked demons and rulers of darkness in the air around the earth. These true disciples of Christ, by living a pure life and through their prayers to God, were driving them away with the divine title. They were showing signs of the strange wonders that had been told about them long ago, and in this way, they were demonstrating the evidence of his divine virtue to those who could see.

⁴⁰ But indeed, for those who have been trained in due time, it is now the time to touch on the deeper theology about him and to consider the word of God, which once the man who performed miracles was able to see.

Book 4, Section 1

Since the things related to the incarnation of our Savior have been sufficiently covered in the previous writing, which is the third of the Gospel Proofs, it is now time to touch on the more secretive words about the deeper theology concerning him.

² The one who is about the first and eternal, the only uncreated and the cause of all things, is the common word of God for all people. But the word about Christ is both special and common to the Hebrews and to us. Some still confess him according to the same scriptures we follow, while others fall far away, not seeing his divinity, not knowing the reasons for his coming, and not understanding the times in which he was said to come to humanity.

³ Some still expect him to come again, but we already show that he has come once, and we hope to see his second coming with divine glory, believing the prophecies and teachings of the God-bearing prophets. The word about him is twofold: the newer one refers to his coming to humanity yesterday and before, while the older one is from all time and all ages.

⁴ For God, wishing to share his goodness as the only good one and the source of all good, decided to bring forth many from his treasures. He was about to show all rational beings, including some incorporeal divine powers, angels and archangels, and all pure spirits. He also intended to create free and unbound human souls, which would have the nature to choose between good and evil. He planned to give them bodies suitable for various ways of life and to assign them their own places and regions. The better ones would remain with the good, while the lesser ones would be assigned to the opposite. Anticipating the future, as God does, and seeing all these things before they happened, he thought it necessary to appoint the ruler and king of all creation as the head of this great body, which would also reveal the divine mysteries according to the teachings of the Hebrew theologians and prophets.

⁵ From these, we can learn that there is one source of all things, which is higher than any beginning, older than the first, more original than any unity, and greater than any name. It is unspeakable, unexplainable, beyond understanding, good, the cause of everything, creative, beneficial, wise, and saving. This one and only God is from whom all things come, through whom all things exist; for in him we live, move, and are.

⁶ Whatever he wants, that is surely the cause of the existence and being of all created things. For it is his will, and he wants it because he is good by nature. And nothing is more natural for a good being than to want good things.

⁷ Wishing to do so, he is also able to do so. Therefore, he wants and is able to bring together everything that is beautiful and beneficial, both in what is seen and what is hidden, for himself. He has set up a kind of matter and essence for the creation and arrangement of all things, showing his will and power, so that it no longer makes sense to say that something can come from nothing. For nothing could be if it came from non-being. How could what is not be a cause for something that is? Everything that exists comes from the one true being, who said, "I am the one who is," and has existence.

⁸ For he alone is and always is, and he is the cause of existence for all things that have come from him, through his will and power. He has generously and freely given being, essence, powers, and forms to all things.

Book 4, Section 2

And indeed, of all beings, he first establishes his offspring, the firstborn wisdom, which is whole, intellectual, logical, and all-wise. More than that, it is self-same, self-reasoning, and self-wise. If there is anything that is self-beautiful and self-good to be thought of among created things, this is first set as the foundation for what will come after, the perfect creation of the perfect, the wise architect of the wise, the good offspring of a good father. For what else is there but that which receives being through him, having him as its guardian and caretaker, savior and healer, and the pilot of the creation of all things, running its course?

² Therefore, it is fitting that the oracles, speaking of God, declare him to be the generated one, as he carries the image of the incomprehensible and unnameable divinity. For this reason, he is called God, and it is said that he is like the first, and through this, they say he is good, serving as a helper to the father. Just as through one wise and living instrument, both technical and scientific, everything is directed to him—both bodies and non-bodies, living and non-living, rational and irrational, mortal and immortal. And if anything else is woven together and combined with these, it is as if all things are united in one power, under a living and rational law and word, so that everything that exists and comes to be is harmonized by one all-wise bond, namely, the word and law of God, being gathered and joined together.

Book 4, Section 3

But there must be one being, the father, and one son, and not many, and only one perfect generated God from God, and not more. For in many there will be otherness and difference, and the introduction of something lesser. Therefore, there is one God, the father of one perfect and only son, and not the father of many gods or sons.

² Since there is one essence of light, it is necessary to have one perfect being generated from it.

³ For what other offspring of light could be thought of, except for the one ray that fills and shines upon everything? For anything that is separate from this would be darkness and not light. Therefore, from the highest father of all, who is the incomprehensible light, nothing could be offered to him as a comparison, except for this alone, which is said to be like the son; for he is a reflection of the eternal light, and a flawless mirror of the activity of God, and an image of his goodness.

⁴ That is why it is said, "who being the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his being." But the light of the visible world is inseparable from its brightness, while the son exists uniquely beside the father in his own way. The brightness holds a place of activity, but the son is something different in terms of action, existing in his own essence.

⁵ And again, the brightness exists together with the light, being a kind of completion of it; for without brightness, light could not exist. The father and the son are united together, but the father existed before the son and his generation, as he alone was ungenerated.

⁶ And the father is perfect and first in himself, as the father, and he is the cause of the son's existence, receiving nothing from the son to complete his own divinity. But the son, as one who has come from a cause, is second; he has received both his being and this kind of being from the father.

⁷ And again, the brightness does not shine according to the choice of the light, but it is inseparable in nature. The son, however, exists as an image of the father according to thought and choice. For the god willed to become a father of the son, and he established a second light that is fully like himself.

⁸ Since there is one ungenerated and eternal light, how could there be another like an image? Is not brightness also light, preserving all that is similar to the original? And how could there be an image of that one, if it were not one and the same? This way, it would not only bring about a similarity in the essence of the first but also in the quantity of number, so that the perfect light of the eternal one is one, and not different and many, as the first and only-begotten offspring. That is indeed what we call the perfect good, which is first after the unoriginated and ungenerated essence.

⁹ It is necessary that the son be one with the father. For just as a single fragrance comes from a certain underlying essence, it gives one and the same pleasant scent to all, but it would not be right to say there are different and many fragrances. Indeed, from the first and only good, which is the all-sovereign god, there is one divine and life-giving fragrance that is received by the mind and thought, and it is this one, not many.

¹⁰ For what could be different in any way from the father if it is fully similar to him, unless something lesser has come in? That should not be included in our theology of the son. For he is a breath of the power of god and a pure outflow of the glory of the all-powerful one.

¹¹ For from the fragrant body, a certain sweet breath comes from some kind of perfume or from the blooming flowers and scents of the earth, and it flows out from the first underlying essence into all that is outside. It fills even the air as it spreads out, without any loss, reduction, cutting, or division of the underlying essence.

¹² For while this essence remains in its own place and preserves its identity with itself, producing the fragrant power, nothing of the earlier essence is lesser, and the fragrant thing that is produced has its own existence, as it is most similar to the nature of the one that produced it through its own essence. However, these things are still earthly, mortal, and parts of the lower, corrupting, and earthly nature.

¹³ Now, regarding our theology, which goes beyond any example of being, nothing like what comes from bodies is brought forth. But in a sharper mind, a son is imagined as generated, not existing at some times and later coming into being, but existing before eternal times and having always been with the father as a son, and not ungenerated, but generated from an ungenerated father, being the only-begotten, a word and god from god, not projected by division, cutting, or separation from the essence of the father. And it is beyond words and beyond thought for us, from eternity, even more so before all ages, teaching from the incomprehensible and ineffable will and power of the father. "For who can declare his generation?" it says, "And just as no one has known the father except the son, so also no one has known the son except the father who generated him alone."

Book 4, Section 4

But it seemed right to the all-good father that there should be one only-begotten and beloved son, to precede the creation of all beings, since there would be one world, just as one great body made up of many and different parts and members, which was not yet to be revealed. It would not oversee it from above, as if it were a greater head removed from the divinity of the father, for the father is the head of Christ; but it would lead and exist before all that comes after, and it would also continue on into the command of the father and into the creation that follows.

² Therefore, we also say that he was the first of all, as something like a single form of all essence and nature, an animated and living instrument, even more divine, life-giving, and all-wise, a source of good things, a giver of light, a creator of heaven, a builder of the world, a maker of angels, a ruler of spirits, a saving instrument for souls, a growth-giver for bodies, a provider for all, a governor, a healer, a king, a judge, and a messenger of the father's piety.

Book 4, Section 5

Therefore, in all of creation, there should be one divine power to be admired, but not many. For there is one power that creates the whole world, and one word that is the creator of all things, which was with god at the beginning. "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god."

² Whom it is truly necessary not to ignore, but to revere and honor properly, because indeed, everything was made through him, not only in the beginning was all created, but also it has come to be and continues to be forever, and without him nothing came into being.

³ For if there is any life in beings, what has come to be in him was life. For from him and through him is the life and soul of all things. Whether it is rhythm, beauty, harmony, order, mixture, essence, quality, or size, all are held together and arranged by one word that connects all things, and one divine power that creates the world leads everything.

⁴ Just as in our body there is much variety and difference among the parts, but one power is the creator of the whole, for the nature of the head does not come from one divine power, and the eyes from another, and the ears from another, and the feet from yet another; so too, in the whole universe, there is one divine power that oversees everything, whether it is the heavens and stars, or the living beings in the air, land, and sea, or the elements as a whole and in part, and also the various natures, both general and specific, of all creations.

⁵ And there is not a different creative power for fire, another for water, another for earth, and yet another for air; but there is one and the same wise skill of all things, and this creator of the universe, whom we call the divine word, is the creator of everything.

⁶ The friendship among the elements testifies to this, as their mixture shows a connection and kinship, like the work of one master builder that proves the nature of all things. For the earth, being the heavy element, rests on the waters and is not pulled down by the solid nature below; instead, it is always lifted up and does not sink, as it bears witness to the divine word, the will, and the power of the divine.

⁷ The wet substances, in their relationship with the dry, show no decay and do not gather together as a whole; instead, they are held in place by the silent command of the divine, so that they again present the same divine word.

⁸ But what about fire? Although it has a burning and destructive nature, it is mixed with wood and the bodies of all kinds of living things. It is combined with earth, water, and air, and then it provides what is needed to all, according to how much each can benefit. Do you not think it serves the divine word and power, having forgotten its own strength? Observing the changes of day and night, the seasons, sometimes growing and sometimes shrinking, the cycles of years and periods of time, the movements of stars, the paths of the sun, and the phases of the moon, along with the sympathies and antipathies of everything, and the harmony that comes from all these, do you think it is reasonable to say that the irrational and random are the causes of everything, or to recognize the true word of the divine, the wisdom of the divine, and the power of the divine, and to praise this as one, not many?

⁹ Since in a person there is one soul and one rational power, it could create many things together. The same power can learn to farm, build ships, navigate, and construct, and it could also take in countless pieces of knowledge. It could understand geometry and astronomy, and it could learn the rules of grammar and medicine, applying these skills in practical ways. Yet, no one has ever thought that there are many souls in one body, nor have many been amazed at the abilities of a person because of the many subjects they can learn.

¹⁰ If someone finds shapeless clay and then uses their hands to shape it into the form of a living creature, giving it a head in one shape, arms and legs in another, eyes in yet another way, and cheeks similarly, along with ears, mouth, and nose, and shaping the chest and shoulders with the art of sculpting, should we then think that because many shapes and parts have been created in one body, there are many creators? Or should we praise the one master craftsman who has made everything with one thought and one power?

¹¹ So why, then, should we propose many creative powers and name many gods when there is one whole being made up of many parts? Should we not agree that there is one true power of a god and one wisdom of a god, which sustains and gives life to everything with one power and one virtue, providing a variety of support to all? Just as the sun has one and the same light that shines on the air, brightens the eyes, warms with touch, nourishes the earth, helps plants grow, marks time, leads the stars, moves through the sky, and brightens the world, this clearly shows the power of a god present in everything, and all these things work together with one force of nature.

¹² The nature of fire purifies gold and melts lead; it dissolves wax, dries clay, and burns matter, all through one burning power that accomplishes so much. In the same way, the heavenly word of god, which is creative for the sun, the sky, and the whole universe, acts with a powerful force, present in everything and coming through all. It pours light from its own eternal power onto the sun, the moon, and the stars, while supporting the sky with the greatest image of its own size, maintaining it forever. It fills the powers beyond the sky and the universe, such as angels and spirits, both intelligent and rational beings, with life, light, wisdom, and all virtues, and all that is good and beautiful from its treasures, all through one and the same creative art. It never fails to provide the basic elements of existence, mixing and blending, creating various kinds, shapes, and forms, with countless qualities in living beings, plants, souls, and bodies, both rational and irrational, changing them in different ways. It supplies everything together with one power, giving understanding to all humans as a gift of its wisdom, standing before everyone and clearly showing the work of one word that creates the universe.

¹³ Thus, the highest god and creator, who is the father of all, has generated such a master craftsman, his only son, and the creator of everything. Through him and in him, he establishes the creative words for what is to come, and he lays down the seeds for the structure and management of all things within him.

¹⁴ Do you not see with your eyes the whole universe, which is contained within one sky, with countless dances around it and the orbits of stars? Again, there is one sun, not many, which covers all the shining lights with its brightness.

¹⁵ So indeed, it is necessary for there to be one father and also one son. If someone were to accuse that there are many, it would be like saying there are many suns, moons, worlds, and countless other things, while trying to twist the true and good nature of things.

Book 4, Section 6

In this way, just as one sun shines on the entire visible world, so too does one perfect word of god illuminate the countless immortal and incorporeal powers, which are mental and rational beings, like stars and lights. For it is necessary to have one law that governs everything, and that the word of god comes to all and through all, so that in this way the image may be preserved in the father and saved in every way, according to virtue, power, and essence, as well as according to the number of unity and oneness, while also being diverse and manifold in the substances that will be generated.

² With countless and varied changes, due to a particular weakness, and with the highest power of the father being beyond expression and left behind by the nature that is infinitely great, while the ungenerated and uncontainable divinity is unable to act, it is necessary for the generated being to participate and look up to the shining rays of the eternal light. Therefore, it is fitting to acknowledge the all-good father and savior of all.

³ So that the nature of those who are about to be generated does not completely lack the sharing of the greatest goods, it is necessary to place a certain middle being, the divine and firstborn power that is unique, all-helpful, and all-good. This being is very closely related to the father, perhaps enjoying some of the unspeakable goods of the father, gently accompanying and forming itself with those who are left behind by the highest power. Because of their weakness, they need the gentle and peaceful rays of the sun, which quietly accompany us, just as they alone can enjoy the pure power of light due to the weakness of the body.

⁴ If indeed, as in a hypothetical situation, the all-shining sun were to dwell among humans on earth, no one on earth would remain uncorrupted. All living and non-living things would be destroyed together by the sheer brightness of the light.

⁵ Indeed, it would be quicker to blind the eyes of those who see than to bring benefit to all, causing much more harm and destruction. This would not be because of the nature of the sun itself, but because those who are weak would suffer from the overwhelming brightness, becoming such a being that enjoys this light.

⁶ So why are you amazed at the similarities you see about god, of whom the sun and the whole sky and universe are works? If indeed no being shares in the unspeakable and inexpressible power and essence except for one alone, which the father arranged before all others, so that the nature of those who are generated does not completely fall away due to their own weakness and inability, being separated from the ungenerated and unchangeable essence of the father, but remains, grows, and is nourished by the middle being that enjoys the gifts, which the only-begotten word of god never fully provides to all, but moves everywhere and through all, caring equally for the salvation of all, both rational and irrational, mortal and immortal, heavenly and earthly, divine and unseen powers. To put it simply, all that exists through him is much more different from the rational and logical nature, for which even the human race does not surpass, but honors and delights in the grace of the word, for the sake of closeness and continuity, in which it is said to be formed in the sacred thoughts according to his image.

⁷ But the one who is the image, as the word of god, establishes all rational and logical beings at the beginning of the creation of everything. Because of this, he sets up humanity as the first and royal among all living creatures on earth, giving them freedom and self-determination, allowing them to choose either the good or the opposite.

⁸ But the one who does not use his free will well, turning away from the right path, is driven toward the opposite, neither considering god nor lord, nor even thinking of the holy and pious things, but acting like a beast, engaging in all sorts of mindless and reckless actions.

⁹ Indeed, the all-good and all-king, the most high and god of all, made humanity like himself, so that they would not be like mindless and uncontrolled animals on earth. He appointed them leaders and caretakers, just as some herdsmen and shepherds, and set divine angels over them, placing his only-begotten and firstborn word in charge of all and over everyone.

¹⁰ To this one, he gave a special lot, angels and archangels, and divine powers, both heavenly and spiritual beings, yes, and also the beloved souls of humans on earth, calling them by the names Jacob and Israel from the Hebrews.

Book 4, Section 7

This is the greatest of mysteries, which the first theologian Moses revealed to the ancient Hebrews in secret, saying, "Ask your father, and he will tell you; your elders will inform you. When the most high divided the nations, as he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. And the portion of the Lord became his people Jacob, the share of his inheritance Israel."

² For these reasons, the most high is called the God above all, and the Lord is called the word of this one, who is also spoken of as the Lord after the God of all. But indeed, to the invisible rulers of the nations, that is, to the angels, all the nations and the sons of humans, called the sons of Adam, are said to be distributed by the judgment of the most high God and by unspoken words. But to the highest ruler and king of all, that is, to Christ, as the only-begotten son, the people among humans, Jacob and Israel, are to be given, which means that all the insightful and God-fearing descendants are to be entrusted.

³ The ascetic, who is well-known for his struggle for virtue, is still among the athletes and wrestlers in the training grounds of piety, called Jacob by the Hebrews. But the one who has already been honored with victory and the prizes from God is called Israel, just as he was the one who cried out for the whole nation of the Hebrews, the ancestor of all. His true children and descendants, as well as the ancestors, are all prophets and God-loving men. For do not think that the multitude of Jews is meant here, but only those who were perfected long ago in virtue and piety.

⁴ Therefore, taking these ones, the leader and ruler of all, the word of God, called upon the worship of the only Father, that is, the most high, above all that can be seen, beyond the heavens and all created beings. He gently and peacefully calls those who obey, and he teaches them to worship the unbegotten God, the most high, who is the creator of all.

Book 4, Section 8

Indeed, the leaders of the other nations are angels and shepherds who are not able to see the invisible, nor can they rise up because of their own weakness. They are thought to pay attention only to what can be seen in the heavens, like the sun, the moon, and the stars.

² These things, which indeed stand out in the visible nature of all, are called upon as being closest to the entrance of the all-powerful king. They call to mind the sights of those who see, showing the greatness and beauty of the visible creations, reflecting the view of the creator of all. "For his invisible things," as the apostle says, "are clearly seen through the things that are made, even his eternal power and divine nature."

³ And again, the great Moses teaches this mystery. For he urges that the lot of the Lord should be seen clearly by the mind and by the soul that is cleansed from the intelligible and incorporeal things. He prevents the shock of the visible things in the heavens, saying that indeed the Lord your God has given these to all the nations. And he said it was necessary to see why they were distributed.

⁴ With the many wandering spirits around us in the air above the earth, coming from a dark and demonic essence, which is unknown and indistinct to humans, and with the good spirits and powers, as well as the divine angels, standing against the worse things, it was not otherwise well for those who fall away from the highest piety of the all-powerful king than to choose the best things that are visible in the heavens.

⁵ For fear was not random, lest those seeking God and busy with the invisible things be turned by the confusion of the hidden and unclear into opposing powers and demonic forces. Therefore, all the visible things, which are the remarkable creations of God, have been handed down to those who do not seek what is better, as if from here, through some kind of mirror, they are shown.

Book 4, Section 9

And some things were like this, while others were of the power of the fallen and opposing spirits, whether demons or other evil spirits, mostly being drawn away into wickedness. Also, there was a certain terrible great demon who was the ruler of all these, and they were the first to shake the piety toward the divine and fell from their own place. Out of envy for the salvation of humans, they pulled against it with all kinds of wicked tricks, harming all the nations and even plotting against the good things of the Lord's people.

² Therefore, the prophetic spirit in Isaiah rebukes the godless and impious thoughts of the great demon, saying: "He said, 'In my strength, I will act, and by the wisdom of my understanding, I will remove the borders of nations, and I will take their power for myself, and I will shake the inhabited cities. And I will seize the whole world with my hand like a nest, and like abandoned eggs, I will lift them up, and there will be no one who can escape me or answer back to me.'"

³ These are the voices of the god-fighting, boasting in wicked power, threatening to seize and confuse the boundaries of the nations that have been given to the angels by the Most High. They plan to take over the world and to scatter all of humanity, disrupting the previous order that was established.

⁴ As he thought such things about himself, listen again to the same prophecy speaking about him: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Morning Star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, you who laid low the nations. But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of heaven, I will set my throne. I will ascend above the clouds; I will be like the Most High.' Yet now you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the earth."

⁵ Indeed, the word clearly shows the madness of the one who is being described, the fall from the greater to the lesser, the end of the downfall. He has threatened terrible things against all the nations and found people ready to be caught in his traps, eager and willing to fall into evil by their own free choice.

⁶ He would shake the cities from the position of the greater, and with the lures of pleasure, he would lead the many wicked souls into all kinds of evil. He left no way of escape, using shameful myths about the gods and indecent stories to entice those caught up in pleasure through the tricks of clever demons.

⁷ In this way, he seized the whole world and held it under his control, and he erased the borders of the nations, which he threatened to do, saying, "I will take the borders of the nations, and I will take their power, and I will shake the inhabited cities, and I will seize the whole world with my hand like a disease."

⁸ From then on, he ruled over all people with deception, and wicked demons were placed in every place, city, and land under their own ruler. And indeed, the whole life of humanity was enslaved to evil spirits instead of the earlier servants of the god, as all people eagerly and carelessly gave themselves to the lures of pleasure. So much so that they began to surpass the limits of nature, sometimes destroying one another, and at other times committing unspeakable acts, doing things that are not even right to think about, and not only doing these things but also putting them forward in the beliefs about their own gods, and even more so, they sought to do the most shameful things with greater ease.

⁹ From then on, according to the holy apostle, they did not even stand before the bright creations of god in heaven. "They became foolish in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they changed the glory of the incorruptible god into the likeness of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed animals, and of creeping things."

¹⁰ That in ancient times, only those on earth turned to the heavenly lights, not knowing any idol, nor being caught up in the deception of demons, would be enough proof of the testimony of those who are foreign to our speech. This was clearly shown in the first part of the Preparation before the present work, proving that the earliest humans did not serve lifeless statues made from inanimate materials, nor did they serve invisible demons, but only these, who are also testified to in the divine scriptures among the nations.

¹¹ It is now time to also show what voices I have laid out in those things, to agree that a newer and foreign superstition of idols has been introduced to them, different from the worship of the ancients, along with the curiosity about invisible spirits. This whole thing was working against all those on earth by the declared enemy of god. And all the kind of unclean demons joined with him. He, the leader of evil, was doing these things, filling threats against all humans with a madness of mind, and raising the voice that "I will be like the Most High," using the services of unclean and wicked demons for oracles and healing, and such things, taking the lead over the enchantments of humans.

Book 4, Section 10

In such a heavy burden of evil, nothing could defend the angels who had been set before the nations under their control. Instead, they were busy with the rest of creation, overseeing the parts of the world, and serving the will of the creator god. But they did not intervene in the fall of mortals because of the free choices of humans to do evil. A long and incurable disease took hold of all those on earth, as different nations were driven by wicked spirits and fell into an unhealable depth of evil.

² Indeed, some thought it was good to eat the flesh of savage and man-eating beasts, and to mix with mothers, sisters, and daughters openly. They would wrap the aged in a noose and throw the dead to dogs and birds of prey.

³ What would I remember for you about those so-called gods, those worthless demons, the cruel and unnatural human sacrifices, for which the human race was led astray?

⁴ And indeed, I had prepared these things in the previous discussion about the following topic. But because of so many evils caused by worthless and wicked spirits, and because the tyrant among them was displayed throughout the whole world, and none of the angels present could help the wicked, it was fitting that the divine word, the savior of all, with a good nod of the father's kindness, should shine forth with some brief and faint rays of his own light through the prophet Moses and the god-loving men before and after him, showing the healing of the evils among humans in the sacred laws.

⁵ And so the word itself says directly to the nation of the Hebrews through Moses, "Do not do according to the customs of the land of Egypt, where you lived, and do not do according to the customs of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their laws, but you shall keep my judgments and my commandments. I am the Lord your God."

⁶ Then, after forbidding all unlawful marriages and every shameful act, both women with women and men with men, he adds, "Do not defile yourselves with any of these things. For in all these things, the nations that I am sending away from you have become defiled. And the land has become defiled, and I have punished it for its wickedness, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants."

⁷ And again he says, "When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or daughter in fire, or who practices divination, or tells fortunes, or interprets omens, or is a sorcerer, or a medium, or a necromancer. For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God."

⁸ Such things, along with many other teachings and commandments, God gave to them through Moses, as he previously established laws, providing them with elements for a life of piety. This was done through symbols and some shadowy and physical worship, including the practice of circumcision and other similar customs carried out on the earth.

⁹ As time went on, no one, not even the prophets after him, was strong enough to heal the evils of life because of the great wickedness. The power of demonic forces grew stronger every day, so much so that the Hebrew nation itself was being destroyed by the atheists. Then the Savior and healer of all came down to people, and he sent angels to help with the salvation of humanity, as promised by the Father. Just as he teaches in the Psalms, saying, "The Lord said to me, 'You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession.'"

¹⁰ Now, not only the righteous and perceptive Israel, nor just the chosen people, but all the nations on earth, which were previously given to many angels and were covered in all kinds of wickedness, he brought under his own authority. He was present to all, offering knowledge and friendship with his Father, promising release and forgiveness for the sins and wrongs that had been ignored before.

¹¹ He clearly proclaimed, saying, "Those who are strong do not need a doctor, but those who are sick do." I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

¹² And indeed, he was present with the angels who were close to him, watching over those nations that had been before. They immediately recognized their helper and lord very well, and they joyfully approached him and served him, just as the sacred writing of the Gospel teaches, saying, "And the angels came and served him." At that time, a multitude of heavenly armies praising God said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."

¹³ He took these angels as his own, asking for their help. But those who had long been around human activities, both secretly and openly, were the wicked demons who ruled over the earth, and the wild and cruel spirits. He seized the chief of these evils, that terrible and relentless one, with great and divine power. They seemed to say, "What do we have to do with you, son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

¹⁴ And through these things, he acted and taught strongly, healing all of humanity with gentle and friendly words, his calm and encouraging teachings. He freed people from all kinds of sickness and suffering, both of bodies and souls. He removed old superstitions and fears from the many gods, and he changed those who came to him from a life of immorality to a life of self-control, from ungodliness to piety, and from injustice to righteousness. Yes, even from the harsh rule of bitter demons to the divine grasp of true piety. He opened the gates of heavenly life and the teachings of piety to all the nations of the world. He came so far as to not let those who were weak and suffering lose hope for salvation. He even freed those half-dead from the gates of death, or completely lost souls who had long been trapped in the bonds of death.

¹⁵ For this reason, he asked for power, so that he might rule not only over the living but also over the dead. When he is with the Father and governs all things with divine power, he oversees the heavens and the earth, along with all the beings within them, including the divine and incorporeal essences beyond the heavens. The word of God, the wisdom of God, and the power of God watch over and care for everything, being the ruler, leader, and king. He is also God and Lord in the divine realm, praised and shining light on the incorporeal and intelligent beings.

¹⁶ The sun of righteousness and true light has been revealed, serving and working together with the commands of the Father. He is the helper of the Father and the creator, and he alone knows how to serve God properly. He stands as the mediator between the unbegotten God and those who are begotten after him. He takes care of everything and is a priest for all who are under him, dedicated to the Father. He alone provides kindness and mercy to everyone, being the eternal high priest and indeed called Christ of the Father. Thus, the Hebrews have long called him Christ, fulfilling the image of the first through symbols.

¹⁷ When he leads the angels of the archangels, he is called the angel of great counsel, and as the commander of the heavenly armies, he is the chief general of the Lord's power. Now, coming down to our own rational nature, he takes on the likeness of his own image and shows the love of the Father. As he is like a leader of children and a shepherd of flocks, he is called the shepherd of sheep. As he promises healing for suffering souls, he could rightly be called the savior and physician.

¹⁸ This, indeed, is what the name Jesus means among the Hebrews. Since he once appeared in a human body, he showed himself to people and taught them the true word of the Father's knowledge and piety. He does not deny this way. By taking on our nature, he presents a great miracle to all, showing that he is God through a human. He is not only invisible and bodiless, but he also can be seen with human eyes. He performs miracles for people and gives them the ability to see, and he also teaches through the ears of the body, using tongue and voice to share his teachings. He is truly a divine and wonderful thing, unlike anything else that has ever been mentioned, showing himself to be both a savior and a benefactor to everyone.

¹⁹ Thus, indeed, the Word of God was called the Son of Man, and he was named Jesus, for the sake of healing and restoring human souls. Therefore, the name Jesus is interpreted as savior among the Hebrews, and he endured common experiences with us, while at the same time remaining God, keeping the divine nature within the man.

²⁰ Therefore, right from the first creation of humans, God showed the divine greatness of our birth. He was born to us in the same way, taking on the form of a mortal man. But he was not just a man; he was God, born from a pure and ever-virgin maiden, not from mixing or decay, establishing the reality of his appearance.

Book 4, Section 11

And throughout his entire life, he continued in this way, sometimes sharing in our human experiences, and at other times revealing the Word of God, performing great and surprising deeds as God. He also foretold the things that would happen in the future, making prophecies, and he showed the invisible Word of God through his actions. He was like and similar to the beginnings and ends of our release from humanity.

Book 4, Section 12

And even until death, the laws of his love for humanity called him, as if he could also summon the souls of those who had died long ago.

² For indeed, from all ages, he cared for our salvation, and how through death he would destroy the one who had power over death. The divine words teach this, and then again he would mix in the plan, as a man allowing his body to be buried in the usual way, but as God, he would depart from it.

³ Having called out loudly, "Father, I commit my spirit," he freely left his body, not waiting for death to be near him. As if he were hesitating, he instead moved away from it, escaping like someone trying to run away. He pursued behind, breaking the ancient gates of the dark depths, and for the dead there, who were bound by the chains of death, he made a way back to life.

⁴ In this way, the dead were raised up, and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep stood up, joining him as they entered the holy city, truly like a heavenly city. Death, having been made strong, swallowed them up in the divine voices, and again God took away every tear from every face.

⁵ And he, the Savior and Lord of all, Christ of God, called victorious, is brought to death in the prophetic sayings. He releases the souls that were bound there, for which the victory hymn is sung, saying, "I will rescue them from the hand of Hades, and I will redeem their souls from death." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

⁶ Such was the plan for him even to death, which has not just one reason, but many that someone could find if they wanted to seek. First, the word teaches that he would rule over both the dead and the living; second, that he would take away our sins, being offered for us and becoming a curse for us.

⁷ Third, that he might be offered as a priest of God and a great sacrifice for the whole world to the God above all; fourth, that he might remove the influence of the many wandering and demonic powers with clear words of purification.

⁸ Fifth, that he might show his friends and disciples the hope of life after death with God, not through words or speeches, but by presenting it to them through actions. By giving them the promise through their own eyes, he would make them bold and eager, and he would send them to proclaim the true and pious way of life to all Greeks and non-Greeks alike.

⁹ Immediately then, he chose these friends and followers, whom he himself had appointed as his apostles and disciples. He filled them with his divine power to teach all people about the knowledge of God that came from him. This way, he would set a path of piety for all Greeks and non-Greeks, leading them away from demons and the confusion of many gods. He would proclaim the true knowledge of the one God above all, offering a solution to their past mistakes, as long as they did not turn back to them. He promised them a single hope of salvation through a wise and excellent way of life.

Book 4, Section 13

So, since they have these things, the mind should not be disturbed by the body, its nature, passions, or death when hearing about the immaterial and incorporeal word of God. Just as the rays of sunlight do not suffer any harm while filling everything, even touching dead and impure bodies, much more so does the power of the incorporeal God neither suffer any harm nor become worse than itself when it touches a body.

² For what? Is it not true that the word of God, which became human, always comes through all the elements and even through the very matter of bodies? As a creator, this word reveals the wisdom within itself, giving life to the lifeless and impressing form on the formless. It also leaves behind beauty and the incorporeal ideas in the qualities of bodies. By moving the lifeless and immobile things—earth, water, air, and fire—it acts according to its own nature.

³ It is a most wise and perfect movement that orders everything from chaos, causing growth and completion. This movement, with its divine and rational power, touches everything and is present in all places without bringing harm or being polluted by its own nature. In this way, it also became present among humans, sometimes appearing briefly and in limited numbers, only to those who were righteous and prophetic. At other times, it showed itself differently to all, both the lowly and the wicked, to Jews and Greeks alike. Through the overflowing goodness and kindness of the all-good Father, it offered itself as a benefactor and savior, clearly proclaiming, "Those who are strong do not need a doctor, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

⁴ The savior of all called out, saying, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He called and healed abundantly through the human means he had chosen, like a musician showing wisdom through the lyre. He treated the souls that were sick in bodies, like the best of doctors healing people with the right help. He himself provided an example of a wise, virtuous, and pious life, teaching the truth not from others but from himself and from the Father, the ancient teachings given long ago to those who loved God and to the Hebrews before Moses.

⁵ He took care of bodies just as much as souls, preparing what he did through the flesh for human eyes to see. He also taught through the tongue and the sounds of the flesh, making everything complete through which humans could sense his divinity, but only those who were able to perceive it in this way.

⁶ Therefore, all these things were served by the all-loving word of God for our benefit and usefulness, while he himself remained immaterial and incorporeal, just as he was before with the Father. He did not change his essence, nor did he lose his own nature, nor was he bound by the chains of the flesh, nor did he fall away from his divinity. He did not give up the power of the word, nor was he limited to the human body he was using at that time. Instead, while living among humans, he filled everything, was with the Father, and was in himself. He took care of all things, both in heaven and on earth, without being shut off from his presence everywhere. He did not usually neglect to do divine things, but he shared some things from himself with humans, while not taking on anything from the mortal side. He provided the divine power to the mortal, but he did not take on the nature of the mortal.

⁷ So, the incorporeal one was not stained by being born from the body, nor did the impassible one suffer from the mortal. Just as it is not likely for the player of a lyre to suffer if the lyre is cut or its strings are broken, it would not make sense to say that a wise man's wisdom is harmed if the body he is in is hurt or burned. In the same way, it is unreasonable to think that the nature or power of the word could be harmed by the sufferings of the body. Just as light does not get damaged by the rays of the sun reaching the earth and touching clay, dirt, or any kind of filth.

⁸ It would not be wrong to say that these things are illuminated by the rays of light. However, it is not possible for the sun to be stained by the mixing with bodies or to be made dirty. Indeed, these things do not belong to the nature of bodies.

⁹ The incorporeal and immaterial word of God, being life itself and light itself, and everything else that has been chosen, must live and exist with a rational light wherever it touches with its divine and immaterial power. Therefore, wherever it comes into contact with a body, that body is immediately made holy and illuminated, and every disease and sickness and everything that is harmful is removed.

¹⁰ The lack of fullness from it is what takes hold. In this way, even the dead, when touched by a small part of the power of the word, were raised to life, and death fled from life, and darkness was driven away by the light. The perishable was clothed in immortality, and the mortal was given immortality.

Book 4, Section 14

And what else is there but that every person was overwhelmed by divinity? And again, the word of God was God, just as he was before becoming human. And he took the human as the first fruits of our hope, and he made him worthy of the eternal life that is with him and of the sharing in divinity and blessedness. This also gives us all the greatest proof of the immortality and kingship that is with him.

Book 4, Section 15

This was the purpose of the coming to humans: to bring back the one who had long been lost from the knowledge of the Father to his own home, and to allow the one who was related and dear to enjoy the life that belongs to him, and to declare him a friend and relative of the Father. It was through this one that the word of God himself chose to become human.

² So indeed, to say it briefly, the teaching about our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ has a different purpose than what is presented in the prophetic words among the Hebrews. Just as a little later the testimonies from them will show, those who believe in the old writings will confirm the new ones, and the testimonies of the gospels will seal the prophecies. But since these things are present, it is time to discuss his name, by which Jesus and Christ are proclaimed, through which the prophecies were named and announced.

³ First, let us consider what the name of Christ wants to show, before starting the gathering of the prophetic words about the topic at hand. I think it is fitting to first explain the name of Christ, and to clarify its meaning, so that nothing will escape our understanding regarding what we are seeking in this context.

⁴ Another person, starting from our own context, would say that Moses first commanded that those who are consecrated to God should be anointed with a fragrant oil, thinking that the bodies should smell good and give off a pleasant scent. For everything that is foul is considered friendly to unclean and impure forces, just as the fragrant is pleasing to those who love what is good.

⁵ Therefore, it was commanded that every day the priests should use a mixture of incense that is extremely fragrant in the temple, so that as the air is blended and the foul smell is removed, a divine aroma may be mixed in with those who are praying.

⁶ For this reason, it was also arranged to create the most fragrant anointing oil through the art of perfumery, so that those who were to serve in public would be anointed with it. And Moses first gave the name of Christ to those who were anointed. This anointing oil was not only given to the high priests, but also to the prophets and kings who were allowed to be anointed with this oil alone.

⁷ These things would indeed be more readily accepted, far from the divine and great mind of the prophet.

⁸ For that wonderful and great one, as a true hierophant, knew that all earthly and bodily existence is distinguished only by its qualities. He did not prefer one over another in any way, knowing that all things are born from a single substance that never stands still, and that nothing is stable in nature, but always flows and rushes toward its own destruction. Therefore, he did not choose the pleasure of bodies, nor would he have considered as good what comes from the senses. For when pleasure falls to the ground and onto bodies, this would be the suffering of the soul.

⁹ Indeed, countless people who are wrapped in bodies, passionate and uncontrolled, use the pleasures of perfumes and various scents, bringing upon their souls all kinds of shameful and foul odors. On the other hand, those who are dear to the gods, inspired by virtue, seek the much better fragrance that comes from wisdom, justice, and all piety, and they do not compare it to the smell of material bodies in any way.

¹⁰ Therefore, having understood these things well, the prophet did not give any attention to perfumes or incense. Instead, he focused on the divine images that are more powerful, as it was possible to learn the divine only through bodies in this way and not in any other way.

¹¹ Indeed, this is also written in the divine oracle, saying, "You will do everything according to the place shown to you on the mountain." Therefore, symbols of others, which are usually called types, establish the law through the anointing with the perfume.

¹² He, indeed, was high and shown in hidden words, as one could say, had such a mindset: the only good and truly sweet and honorable thing, which is the cause of all life. Together with being and the gift of being good, this is what the word among the Hebrews first understood as the cause of all things, namely, the highest and all-ruling creator god of all.

¹³ Therefore, this divine spirit, which is the all-helpful, all-good, and source of all beauty, is called the oil of god, related and fitting to the highest and most noble divinity. For this reason, it also calls Christ the anointed one, sharing in this.

¹⁴ But do not listen to the oil of mourning in these things, nor the sorrow for those who suffer, but rather what the fruit of the plant provides: a pure liquid of all kinds, a light that promotes growth, a healing for pains, a relief from sickness, brightening those who are anointed, shining like light with its brightness, clear and bright, giving a beautiful appearance to those who use it, as the divine scripture says, "the face in oil."

¹⁵ Therefore, the word connects to the power of the highest and all-ruling god, calling the first and only one anointed in all this, and having shared in the divine and the fragrant essence of the father, born only from him, the divine word, sharing in the one who gave birth to him, the noble and first and greatest god from god, called Christ and the anointed one. For this reason, in the psalms, it cries out about him, the one anointed by the father, saying this: "Your throne, O god, is forever and ever; the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore, god, your god, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

¹⁶ But indeed, one nature is that of the oil, while the nature of the perfume signifies many things coming together. In this way, both the first and uncreated power of the all-ruling god is thought of as simple and uncomposed, pure from all other substances, compared to the simple term of oil. On the other hand, it gathers many thoughts in one, such as creative or royal, thoughtful and critical, loving and saving, and many other countless ideas. Thus, the power that includes many good things is rightly compared to perfume, which the divine words teach to be used by the true and only high priest of god.

¹⁷ First of all, Moses himself was deemed worthy to gaze upon the divine in mysteries, and he established the rituals concerning the first and only anointed high priest of god during his divine appearances. He ordered images to be set up on earth and symbols to be established of those things understood in the divine visions, so that they might have a chance to prepare for the symbols, those who were deemed worthy to reach the true vision.

¹⁸ He, having set apart the man chosen to serve as a priest to god on earth from among humans, first named him Christ, in reference to the understanding of the things in the mind. He declared him to be superior to other men because of a certain fragrant anointing, openly and clearly proclaiming that indeed the nature of the one born is entirely different, and much more so, humanity is left behind by the uncreated power, needing the fragrance from the superior one.

¹⁹ But it is not lawful for anyone to reach the highest and first one; for this honor belongs only to the only-begotten and firstborn. For those after him, it was possible to partake only through the single sharing of the good things. Therefore, the symbol given by Moses was a spirit of god.

²⁰ "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit," he thought that priests, prophets, and kings should strive to share in this spirit, not just for themselves alone, but also for the whole nation dedicated to god.

²¹ That the symbols given by Moses were more divine, and that it was possible to call those who hold the divine spirit "Christ" even without earthly oil, let us examine this more closely and accurately.

²² David, in the 34th Psalm, recounts the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those beloved ancestors, and calls them "Christ" because they shared in the influence of the divine spirit.

²³ He tells how they were attacked by foreigners and how they received help from the Savior of God, as shown by what is written by Moses. He calls them both prophets and "Christ" even before Moses was among people, and before the oil for anointing was established. Listen to what the Psalm says: "Do not forget the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments from his mouth; descendants of Abraham, his servants, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones."

²⁴ The Lord our God, throughout all the earth, has made his judgments known. He remembered his covenant forever, the word he commanded for a thousand generations, which he made with Abraham and his oath to Isaac. He established it with Jacob as a decree and with Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, "I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance." They went from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another. He did not allow anyone to harm them, and he rebuked kings for their sake, saying, "Do not touch my anointed ones, and do not harm my prophets."

²⁵ This is what David said. But Moses tells how he rebuked kings, saying, "The Lord also struck Pharaoh with great plagues, and his house because of Sarah, the wife of Abraham."

²⁶ And again, about the king of Gerar, it is written, "And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night and said, 'Look, you are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is the wife of Abraham.'"

²⁷ About this, it continues, "Now return the woman to the man, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you."

²⁸ Do you see how through these things, David spoke of the ancient God-loving prophets, especially the divine spirit that spoke through him, not anointed with earthly oil? For how could Moses, who arranged things in later times, say this? Listen also to Isaiah, who clearly prophesied about the Christ, as one sent by God to people as a redeemer and savior, to proclaim freedom to those held captive and sight to the blind.

²⁹ For this one, the prophet teaches that Christ was not anointed with earthly oil, but with the spiritual and divine essence of the Father, born not from humans, but anointed by the Father.

³⁰ He says from his own mouth, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom to the captives, to heal the brokenhearted, and to give sight to the blind."

³¹ Let this first be kept in mind, as Isaiah said similarly to David, that one would come to people to proclaim freedom to the captives and sight to the blind, not anointed with earthly oil, but declaring that Christ was born from the pure and all-good power of the Father. According to a certain prophetic custom, the prophet speaks about the future as if it has already happened and shows that he is speaking about himself as the prophet.

³² Therefore, we have come to know those who are called Christ, as anointed by God, not by humans, and with a divine spirit, not with earthly oil, according to the true word.

³³ It is important to see that the true Christ of God is understood to have a divine power greater than human nature, as the word among the Hebrews teaches. Listen again to David, who speaks of a certain eternal priest of God, calling him his Lord, and acknowledging him as sitting at the right hand of the Most High God in the 110th Psalm, where it says, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' The Lord will send the rod of your strength from Zion, and you will rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will be willing on the day of your power, in the beauty of your holiness. From the womb before the morning star, I have begotten you. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.'" And so, David, being the king of all the Hebrew nation and adorned with divine spirit for his kingship, saw someone great and wonderfully amazing being revealed to him, and he recognized him in spirit as his Lord. "For he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord.'"

³⁵ But he also knew him to be an eternal high priest, a priest of the Most High God, and a partner of the God above all, and his offspring. Without anointing, it was impossible for the Hebrews to serve as priests to God, which is why they were happy to call all of them Christ. Therefore, the one mentioned in the Psalm could also be a priest.

³⁶ For how could he be testified to be a priest if he was not first made Christ? But he is also said to serve as a priest forever. This does not fit with human nature anymore. For it is not human to endure forever, since our race is mortal and temporary.

³⁷ Therefore, the one being shown is a priest of God who is greater than a human, having a lasting and endless priesthood confirmed by an oath from God. "For the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

³⁸ For since Moses tells of Melchizedek being a priest of God Most High, he was not anointed with oil, but was a priest of God Most High long before the law was given to him, and he was much greater in virtue than the blessed Abraham.

³⁹ (He says, "And Melchizedek of Salem, priest of God Most High, blessed Abraham. And without any argument, the lesser is blessed by the greater," says the apostle.) Therefore, since Melchizedek, whoever he was, came in this way, not anointed with oil, but serving the Most High God, it is fitting that the one prophesied through David, according to the order of Melchizedek, is said to be great and surpasses all in nature, as he is a priest of God above all and a companion of the eternal power, the Lord who is both prophet and king, and he is not just a priest, but an eternal priest of the Father.

⁴⁰ The divine apostle also says, examining the matters at hand, "In which God, wanting to show more clearly to the heirs the unchangeable nature of his purpose, intervened with an oath. This is for two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, so we have a strong encouragement." And again, "There are priests who became so without an oath, but he became a priest with an oath, when the Lord said to him, 'The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' Many have become priests because they are prevented by death from continuing, but he, because he remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, he is also able to save completely those who come to God through him, always living to intercede for them."

⁴¹ Through these things, there exists a certain divine power that is present and established in the spiritual realm, which is dedicated to God of all, according to the Hebrew writings. It is not an earthly or human anointing, but it is fitting and divine in virtue and power to be established as a priest to the God above all.

⁴² The one prophesied through the Psalm stands as an eternal priest and son of the Most High God, as he was born from the Most High God and is a fellow ruler in his kingdom.

⁴³ It has been shown that Christ, through Isaiah, was not made by humans, but was anointed by the Father himself and through the divine spirit, sent as a redeemer to free people from their captivity.

⁴⁴ Moses, having seen this with the divine spirit, set up images and symbols as if among his people. He anointed the high priest with a special oil instead of the divine spirit, calling him Christ and anointed for the purpose of true worship.

⁴⁵ That these things are so, who could be a more worthy witness than Moses? For in his writings, he clearly teaches that God and Lord commanded him to set up a worship on earth that reflects the heavenly and spiritual vision shown to him, creating a physical representation of the invisible and bodiless. It is said that he made a pattern of the order of the angels and divine powers in heaven, as the oracle told him, "You shall make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain."

⁴⁶ So, just as with the others, he also appointed the high priest, anointing him with a special oil, and made a shadowy and symbolic figure, but not the true Christ and high priest, working against the heavenly Christ and high priest.

⁴⁷ But that the true Christ was not a man, but a son of God, honored by the right hand of the Father's divinity, and much greater not only than the mortal and human nature, but also than all the spiritual beings among created things, I clearly believe has been shown.

⁴⁸ But that the same David, as mentioned before, in the 45th Psalm, used a prophecy about "the beloved and those who will be changed," calls God and king and Christ one and the same, writing this way: "My heart has poured out a good word; I say my works to the king. My tongue is the pen of a skilled writer, beautiful in appearance beyond the sons of men."

⁴⁹ To which he continues, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

⁵⁰ So, consider more carefully how, according to the prophecy of the Psalm, the word is introduced about "the beloved," while also urging the listener to understand what will be said. It also points out the reason for the purpose of the word, saying, "to the end for those who will be changed, for the understanding about the beloved."

⁵¹ Who else could you say are the ones who will be changed, for whom the Psalm has been spoken, or those who will change from their former life and way? They will be transformed and changed by what is prophesied. This one was the beloved of God, for whom the Psalm is introducing the prophecy to us. If you wonder who this beloved one is, about whom it was prophesied in the Psalm, the word will present itself to you, starting right away and saying, "My heart has poured out a good word." And if someone were to say that he is referring to that one, the Word who was with God at the beginning, the great evangelist John presents him, saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

⁵² The phrase "My heart has poured out a good word," if it were to be said from the presence of the Father and God of all, would indicate the only-begotten Word of God, as if he were a Son standing from the Father. However, this is not in a way of projection, division, cutting, reduction, or in any way understood in terms of physical bodies. For these ideas are impious and completely removed from the indescribable generation.

⁵³ According to what has been previously thought by us, we must understand these things, just as it was said to be born from the womb of God and before the morning star. When we hear such things, we should accept them in a figurative way, and according to the only understanding in the realm of the mind, we should receive the similar idea. And in the phrase "My heart has poured out a good word," we should consider only the thought of the divine spirit, which leads us to what is fitting to say about each of the things being discussed regarding him, and that pious saying, "Who will declare his generation?" Even when mortal and human voices speak, the divine scriptures usually mention the birth and take up the name of the womb.

⁵⁴ These things are held only by the understanding of the mind, not in any other way than as laws of allegory. Just as the phrase "My heart has poured out a good word" could be said about the creation and essence of the first Word, since no one can understand the heart in the way we think of it and in relation to the God of all. However, someone might say that this is the Word mentioned in the Psalm, which is rightly called a good word, as if it were a birth from the all-good Father.

⁵⁵ But we, having gone a little further in the Psalm, find the one who is prophesied, indeed this beloved of God, anointed not in this way as by Moses, nor as by any of the humans, but by the highest God and Father of all. It says next, "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions."

⁵⁶ So then, how could anyone call the one who is anointed by the highest God anything other than Christ? Therefore, we already have two names for the one being foretold: Christ and beloved, both referring to the same one who is the cause of the anointing. That is why it is said that the one being mentioned is anointed with the oil of gladness. The reason for this will become clear to you if you take a moment to think about the full meaning of the words.

⁵⁷ So then, the Psalm speaks to the one being prophesied, Christ and beloved of God, mentioning a little earlier, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions."

⁵⁸ So then, consider whether these words were spoken directly to God. For it says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom." And since you, yourself, O God, have loved righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, your God, has anointed you and established you as Christ above all others." Moreover, the Hebrew text presents this more clearly, which Aquila translated accurately, saying, "Your throne, O God, is forever, and also the scepter of uprightness, the scepter of your kingdom."

⁵⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; because of this, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. Instead of "God, your God," the Hebrew phrase says, "O God, your God," so that it reads, "You have loved, O God, righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore, because of this, you, O God, the highest and greater, who is also your God, have anointed you." This shows that both the anointed one and the one who anoints are both God, but they are different from each other.

⁶⁰ This would also be clear in the Hebrew language itself. For in the first title, where Aquila translated "Your throne, O God," he clearly used "God" instead of "O God," which contains the Hebrew word "elohim." And here, similarly, in "therefore God has anointed you," the word "elohim" is included, which shows the calling "O God" in the vocative case.

⁶¹ Instead of the correct and straightforward name, as it is said, "therefore God has anointed you," the Hebrew word "eloach" is used very precisely, so that "elohim" is in the vocative case, showing "O God," while "eloach" means "your God" in the nominative case. Thus, the translation should accurately read, "therefore, God has anointed you, O God, your God."

⁶² Certainly, the text clearly states that he has been anointed by God with the oil of gladness above all those who have ever shared the same titles with him.

⁶³ Therefore, you have clearly in these words God anointing Christ, not with a mixture of perfume made by humans, nor coming to this through people, nor similar to other humans.

⁶⁴ This same one was both beloved of God and his offspring, and he is a priest forever and proclaimed as a companion of the Father. Who could this be but the firstborn Word of God, who was in the beginning with God, being God, and who is spoken of throughout all the inspired writings, as the Word will show more clearly in the following sections.

⁶⁵ Now that we have considered these things about the essence and title of Christ, let us take up the proposed topic and see through the prophetic predictions by which Christ was named and proclaimed.

Book 4, Section 16

From the beginning, through which writings was Christ named by kings and rulers, and by nations and peoples, being plotted against, born of God, and called the Son of Man, receiving a share from the Father among nations and the ends of the earth? "Why did the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ."

² As it is said next: "But I have been made king by him on his holy mountain, Zion, proclaiming the command of the Lord. The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession.'"

³ Clearly, through these things, the divine spirit calls Christ and names him the Son of God according to what was foretold. It also indicates that there will be some plotting against him and announces the calling of the nations through him. This has been clearly shown by the works of our Savior, Jesus Christ, as the outcome of events. Even now, nations and peoples, kings and rulers, do not stop their plotting against him and against his teaching.

⁴ But if in the future they were to bring these things up, they would again confess that the Christ they expect from the circumcision will be plotted against. According to the current saying, it is stated, "The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." They would not think that a great ruler and eternal king, their redeemer, would come as the expected Christ.

⁵ For if he, coming, suffers the same things as the one who has come, why should one believe or disbelieve him more than the other? But if from here they refer to David or to any of the kings from him of the Jewish nation, and show that neither David nor anyone else ever mentioned among the Hebrews is called the Son of God or was born of God, according to what is stated in the Psalm, nor was he plotted against by all the nations and kings, rulers and peoples; if none of those is shown, but all these things are established by their works, and he has long endured, and even now, today, he is still being fought against by kings and rulers of nations and peoples, what prevents him from being the one prophesied? For it was said, "The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." Only he alone fits the words of the Psalm, where it is said, "He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession.'"

⁶ And indeed, this also clearly shows that he alone has fulfilled the prophecy, when the message of his disciples went out into all the earth and to the ends of the world.

⁷ The word clearly names the Christ, as if teaching that he is the Son of God, through the saying, "The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'" You will also find in Proverbs, mentioned in a similar way, "Before the mountains were established, before all the hills, I was brought forth." And in the 110th Psalm, it is addressed to the Father, according to the saying, "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you."

⁸ But you should believe that the same Christ is being plotted against by men as the Son of God, and that he will take the nations as his inheritance and rule over the ends of the earth, as the holy scriptures declare. These two points show his relationship to humanity: through his own suffering and through the submission of the nations under him.

Let's go to the Psalm. The Christ is believed to receive all requests from the Father.

⁹ "May the Lord fulfill all your requests. Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ; he will hear him from his holy heaven." Since it is now necessary to present all the things by which the Christ is named in the prophecies, I will rightly set these forth clearly, proclaiming the Christ.

¹⁰ The whole Psalm sends up a prayer from the holy men to the face of the Christ. For since he took on all insults for us and on our behalf by becoming human, we are taught to pray to him and ask the Father for us, just as he defends us in our battles, whether visible or invisible. That is why we say to him from the Psalm: "May the Lord hear you in your day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from his holy place and support you from Zion."

¹¹ Then, since it is fitting for him, being a great high priest, to perform spiritual services in praise and theology on our behalf, and since he himself, as a priest, offers both himself and the man he has taken from the earth as a whole burnt offering to God the Father, for this reason we say to him, "May he remember all your sacrifices, and may your whole burnt offering be accepted."

¹² And since everything he plans is for salvation and is helpful in the world, it is fitting that we call out to him, "May the Lord give you according to your heart," saying, "And may he fulfill all your plans."

¹³ As we confess the resurrection of him from the dead, we say, "Let us rejoice in your salvation." For what else could be understood as the salvation of Christ, if not his resurrection from the dead, by which he raises up all those who had fallen before? Therefore, we say, "And in the name of our God we will be magnified, and may the Lord fulfill all your requests."

¹⁴ In all these things, we are taught to say, "Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ," not knowing this before, except when we understood the power of his salvation through his resurrection. Christ is called the Lord of the Father and has become our defender. "The Lord is the strength of his people and the defender of the salvation of his Christ."

¹⁵ And the Psalm that follows is directed to Christ, containing a prayer of his, which he offered at the time of his suffering. Therefore, at the beginning of the Psalm, it says, "To you, Lord, I have cried out; my God, do not be silent to me, or I will be like those who go down into the pit."

¹⁶ At the end, about his resurrection from the dead, it says, "Blessed is the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my prayer. The Lord is my helper and my defender; my heart trusted in him, and I was helped. My flesh has revived, and I will give thanks to him for his goodness." On these, the divine and prophetic spirit declares, "The Lord is the strength of his people and the defender of the salvation of his Christ."

¹⁷ We are taught that all things in the holy scriptures are wonderful signs of Christ, made for the salvation of people, whether they are teachings or writings, or the mysteries now called about his resurrection from the dead. By the will and power of the Father, all these strange and saving words and deeds defend Christ himself.

Psalm 53. Christ is called the God who watches over us, and one day is the day of his resurrection, and his church is in the house of God.

¹⁸ Look, God, our defender, and pay attention to the face of your Christ. For one day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of the wicked.

¹⁹ Those who know Christ to be the Word of God, wisdom, true light, and life, after understanding his becoming human, were amazed by the strange will. So they said, 'We saw him, and he had no form or beauty, but his appearance was dishonored, and he was rejected by the sons of men. He was a man in pain and knew how to suffer, for he turned his face away and was dishonored.'

²⁰ "It is right to ask God to look upon the face of Christ, which has been dishonored and insulted for us, so that he may be merciful to us, since he has taken on our sins and suffers for us." They plead for this, longing to see the face of the glory of Christ and to witness the day of his light. This day is the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say is the only true Lord's Day, greater than countless other days that are commonly understood, or those established by Moses in festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths, which are shadows of days, but not the day that the divine apostle teaches. This one day, the Lord's Day of our Savior, does not shine everywhere, but is spoken of only in the courts of the Lord.

²¹ "Let these churches of Christ, which are found throughout the whole world, be like the courts of one house of God, where he loves and chooses to be. It is much better to stay in these than in the tents of sinners. If one does not reject Christ, the Word of God, or the synagogues of the Jews, or the gatherings of the godless and other unbelieving nations, he shows that the churches of Christ are far better than all these."

Psalm 69: Christ is named as being despised and suffering the worst things, and his people are mocked by their enemies. 'But you have rejected and despised, you have raised up your Christ, you have destroyed the covenant of your servant. You have made his holy place a ruin, and so on. To whom he says, "Remember, remember, Lord, the shame of your servants, which I promised in my heart to many nations. Your enemies did not mock, Lord, where they mocked the exchange of your Christ."'

²² Clearly, in these things, Christ is named and the suffering predicted about him is mentioned. When we examine the whole Psalm, we will show that it applies not to anyone else but only to our Savior and Lord.

²³ "But also, when Christ is named a second time, does it refer to anyone other than the same one, whose exchange, clearly the church, has been mocked and is still being mocked now by those who are called the enemies of Christ? Indeed, the sufferings of our Savior, which he endured for us, especially his death and the cross, are often used by every enemy of Christ to shame us."

Psalm 132: Christ is named as rising from the seed of David, called the horn of David, renewing the holy place of the Father against the shame of the Jews. The Lord swore to David in truth, and he will not break it: 'From the fruit of your body, I will place upon your throne.'

²⁴ Then he says, 'There, there I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but upon him my holiness will shine.'

²⁵ And here the Lord swears about the seed of David, which he calls both seed and horn. And again, naming Christ, he says that a lamp has been prepared for him, the prophetic word, as is fitting, which has gone before concerning Christ, who alone has risen like the sun for all people throughout the whole world.

²⁶ And David himself has prepared a lamp for Christ, holding the place of the sun and the perfect light. 'There,' he says, 'I will raise up a horn,' indicating the place where Christ is to be born.

²⁷ For when David prayed to see by the Spirit the place of Christ's birth, he said, 'If I go into the tent of my house, if I go up on the bed of my couch, if I give sleep to my eyes and slumber to my eyelids and rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob,' the divine Spirit reveals the place in Bethlehem. Therefore, he adds, saying...

²⁸ 'Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrathah (this is Bethlehem); we found it in the fields of the forest. We will go into his tents, we will worship at the place where his feet have stood.' Therefore, after this revelation, he rightly adds, 'There I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ.'

²⁹ Perhaps also the body taken up in Bethlehem signifies something else for Christ, since the divine power dwelt in it like a fragile vessel, shining forth like a lamp the rays of the divine and rational light to all people. From Amos. Christ is proclaimed by God, known to all people, but rejected by the nation of the Jews.

³⁰ Prepare to call upon the God of Israel, for behold, there is a strong thunder and a creating spirit, announcing to people his Christ, making dawn and mist and upon high places of the earth. The Lord God, the Almighty, is his name. Listen to the word of the Lord, which I receive concerning you, a lament. The house of Israel has fallen; it will no longer rise again. The virgin of Israel has stumbled on this earth; there is no one to raise her up.

³¹ Already for the seventh time, God proclaims Christ to people, saying that there is a strong thunder and a creating spirit, which is the thunder of the gospel message, known to all people. Likewise, it shows the spirit of Christ inspiring the apostles; he has clearly filled the presence of our Savior, for which God will establish dawn and mist together. For those who receive the saving light at dawn, but for those who disobey him, it will be the opposite.

³² To those who also proclaim the final decision, the word announces a lament for the nation of the Jews, who have quickly turned away after the wickedness against our Savior, Jesus Christ.

³³ For from that point, the house of Israel has truly fallen, and a vision from God has been revealed about their fallen house in Jerusalem. And in every way of their structure, it will not rise again, nor will there be anyone to raise them up. Indeed, he says, there is no one to raise her.

³⁴ For when they did not welcome the Christ of God who had come, he left them and turned to all the nations. Teaching the reason for their change, he wept and spoke only this: 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! I have often wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.' From Habakkuk. Christ is named by the Lord of the Father, saving and saving his own Christs. 'You went out for the salvation of your people, to save your Christs; you put death upon the heads of the wicked.'

³⁵ Aquila said, 'You went out for the salvation of your people, with your Christ.' Since Aquila used the singular instead of the plural, saying 'with Christ,' he made it clear that the salvation of the people is done by the God of all. Therefore, we clearly present the wording in relation to the issue.

³⁶ Let it be that according to the translation of the Seventy, there are many who are called Christs from him and through him. About whom it is said, 'Do not touch my Christs, and do not harm my prophets.' Both those who have believed in him and those who have been made worthy of the holy anointing of regeneration in Christ, and those who can say similarly to the holy apostle, 'We have become partakers of Christ.' From the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Christ is named by the Jews as plotting against him and recognized by the nations. 'The spirit of our face, Christ the Lord, was taken in their corruptions, of whom we said in his shadow, we shall live among the nations.'

³⁷ Those divine prophets of God, seeing the future with the divine spirit, said that they would live themselves and their words as if they would act among the nations, but not in Israel. They named Christ again, as if he were indeed the Christ from whom the prophetic spirit had been given to them, saying that he would be taken in their corruptions.

³⁸ Whose? Or is it clear that they are plotting against him from among those of the circumcision? But pay attention here to how the word foretells that Christ will be taken, which would not apply to the second coming of Christ, which will be glorious and is proclaimed with a divine kingdom by the prophetic words. Therefore, it is likely that those of the circumcision will be excluded from the things about his second appearance, thinking it to be like the first arrival, and the word does not allow this at all.

³⁹ Since it is not possible to present him as both glorious and dishonorable at the same time, and as honorable and a king, and again as having no appearance or beauty, but being dishonored by the sons of men; and again as a savior and redeemer of Israel, and once more being plotted against by them, and being led like a sheep to slaughter, being handed over to death because of their sins.

⁴⁰ It is good for us, as the appearance of things shows, to divide the prophecies about Christ into two ways: the more human and sorrowful ones are said to be fulfilled at his first arrival, while the more glorious and divine ones are still expected at his second coming.

⁴¹ The proof of the first is clear, as it has brought knowledge of God from all the nations through him, which many prophetic voices declare in different ways. Just as it is said now, 'where we said, we will live in his shadow among the nations.' From the first book of Kings. Christ is named by the Lord the Father who is exalted. 'The Lord has ascended into heaven, and he has looked down; he himself will judge the ends of the earth, and he will give strength to our kings, and he will lift up the horn of his Christ.'

⁴² The restoration to heaven is again named as Christ, or it is thought of as the Word of God, along with the loud thunder of his teaching for all, and the divine scripture establishes the judgment that will come after this. Furthermore, it is said that the Lord will give strength to our kings. These would be the apostles of Christ, about whom you have in Psalm 67 the words, 'the Lord will give a word to those who proclaim the good news with great power.'

⁴³ And in this, Christ is named, who is understood as our Savior according to the human way, whose horn it is said will be lifted up, showing the invisible power in him and his kingdom. It is indeed a custom in scripture to call the kingdom a horn. It is also found in Psalm 20 the words, 'and in my name the horn will be lifted up.' From the first book of Kings. Christ is named as a faithful house, receiving his church from the Father, and a faithful priest always genuinely leading his church. 'Behold, the days are coming,' he says, 'and I will destroy your offspring and the offspring of your father's house; and there will not be an old man in your house.'

⁴⁴ These things the oracle says to Eli, adding other words, 'and I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do all that is in my heart and in my soul, and I will build for him a faithful house, and he will serve before my Christ all the days.'

⁴⁵ After threatening with a change and removal, the divine word promises to establish a priest from another kind for those who do not serve in the right way, who will also be said to serve before his Christ, or to walk in the presence of his anointed one, as Aquila has explained, or as the Symmachus says, to turn before his Christ.

⁴⁶ Who could this be? Everyone who approaches the service of Christ the God with reverence, to whom the house of the church, like a wise architect and builder, the very God of all promises to build, not another house but the church named after Christ that is established throughout the whole world, where everyone who is ordained through Christ the God will perform the spiritual services and will do what is pleasing to God for the soul, and will be said to replace the sacrifices of bulls and goats that were performed according to the old law, as confirmed by the prophecy of Isaiah.

⁴⁷ These things are proclaimed about Christ by name; however, since through most of them the sufferings of Christ are connected to his title, it is necessary to repeat what has been said about his divinity, which we have presented in the 45th Psalm titled 'For the Beloved,' where the word first reminds us of him as a king and then speaks about the divinity of Christ: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.'

⁴⁸ For clearly in these words, as we have already presented before, he who is called God is said to be one, loving righteousness and hating wickedness. And for this reason, he is anointed by another greater God and his Father with a better and different oil than that which is called the oil of gladness.

⁴⁹ But the one anointed with such oil is not by men, nor through men, but by the highest God himself. What else could he be called but Christ? Therefore, the same one is shown to be God, just as he has already been presented in his own places. And again, it must be noted from Isaiah, who said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.'

⁵⁰ We have shown also in these words how those from among men, long ago, approached the divine healing and were anointed by priests with prepared oil. But he, who is revealed through prophecy, is said to be anointed with divine power.

⁵¹ This whole thing was applied to our Savior, Jesus, the only true Christ of God, who once, in the synagogue of the Jews, took the prophecy and, after reading the passage that was presented, taught that it was fulfilled in himself.

⁵² For it is written that, after reading and rolling up the book and giving it back to the attendant, he sat down; and all the eyes of those in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to say to them that 'today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'

⁵³ On all these matters, we must also mention Moses, who, according to the pattern shown to him, appointed his own brother Aaron as high priest. Following what was said to him in the prophecy, 'you shall make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain,' it is clear that, with the eyes of the mind and the divine spirit, he saw the great high priest of all, the true Christ of God, whose image he recorded along with the other physical and typical worship.

⁵⁴ And the divine apostle also presents this, saying about the laws of Moses that 'some still serve with a pattern and shadow of the heavenly things.' For the law has a shadow of the good things to come." And again, 'let no one judge you in food, or in drink, or regarding a festival, or a new moon, or sabbaths, which are a shadow of the things to come.'

⁵⁵ For if the things about the indifference to foods and the laws about festivals and the sabbath are established as shadowy, preserving a pattern of other true and mystical things, you would not wrongly say that the high priest is a symbol of another high priest, and that Christ himself is named after another, the only true Christ. So much is left behind of the true one, as the true Christ hears from the God of all, 'sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' And 'rule in the midst of your enemies.'

⁵⁶ And 'from the womb before the morning star, I have begotten you.' And 'the Lord has sworn, and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' Through these, it is clear that the offspring and son of God, existing before the morning star and before all creation, has been revealed as the eternal high priest.

⁵⁷ But the Christ of Moses, like a character in a play, is briefly portrayed in time, considered among mortals, giving the truth to another, while he himself is the only true one. And the true Christ, not needing the anointing according to Moses, nor the oil of a vessel or earthly material, still filled the world with his virtue and his name, establishing the Christian race among all nations.

⁵⁸ But the name of Moses was clear among men only because of the writings of Moses. And he, after the exodus from Egypt, was purified with certain sprinklings and sacrifices of blood, and was anointed with oil by Moses.

⁵⁹ But the archetypal and true Christ, from the beginning and into endless eternity, is completely the same in all respects, never changing in any way. He was always there, even before his presence among men, and after it, in the same way, not for a man or through earthly material, but anointed by the God who is above all, with his uncreated divinity.

⁶⁰ And since the meaning of his name is examined by us, it would be a confirmation of all that has been said, according to the wise saying of Solomon, which is found in the Song of Songs: 'Your name is like a poured-out perfume.'

⁶¹ And he, having been granted divine wisdom and deemed worthy of deeper insights about Christ and his church, remembers the one as the heavenly bridegroom and the other as his bride. Seeking to know what name to call the bridegroom, he exclaims to him, saying, 'Your name, O bridegroom, is like perfume, and not just any perfume, but one that is poured out.'

⁶² What name could be more fitting for the poured-out perfume than the name of Christ? For neither could Christ be named in any other way nor would he be called anything other than the perfume that is poured out. Such is the perfume by which the one being referred to as Christ is revealed, as has been explained to us before. After discussing so much about the name of Christ, let us also consider the name of Jesus.

Fifth Book

First, Moses, using a different name for his successor, named him Jesus. For it is written, 'These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to explore the land, and Moses named Joshua, the son of Nun, Jesus, and he sent them out.'

² See then how the prophet understood the nature of names in a significant way, and how he thought deeply about the divine men who are named after him and the reasons for their names. He introduces Abraham as one who receives a reward for virtue, having a complete title as the father of Abraham before God, which is something that is not easy to explain at this time.

³ Thus, he also named Sarah as Sarra, and he called laughter Isaac before his birth, and he raised Jacob as the prize of wrestling through the name of Israel. He understood many other names with divine power and nature, more than human wisdom and knowledge. No one before him, from ancient times, had been called by the name of Jesus. He himself, inspired by the divine spirit, named his future successor of the people with a different name. He changed it to Jesus, thinking that the name given to him by his ancestors was not enough, for those who gave birth to him called him Joshua.

⁴ But the prophet of God, having changed the name from birth, calls the man Jesus according to the divine spirit. He does not lead anyone else but only Jesus Christ of God after his own end, when the law given to him will one day be changed and will still hold its end. And in a similar way, when Moses came to his end, no one else would lead the people but only Jesus Christ, who would be better than before.

⁵ Thus, Moses, the most wonderful of all prophets, understood the names of our Savior Jesus Christ through the divine spirit. He honored those who were the best among all the rulers under him with royal titles. He recognized two leaders of the people: the high priest and his own successor. He praised Christ and Jesus according to their worth, giving the title of Christ to Aaron and naming Jesus for the one who would succeed him.

⁶ Thus, the writing of Moses is adorned with the titles of our Savior Jesus Christ. From the Exodus: As Jesus, the successor of Moses, is called an angel and is about to lead the people, it is said that he will bear the name of the anointed one. 'Look, I am sending my angel before you to guard you on the way, so that he may bring you to the land that I have prepared for you. Take care of yourself and listen to him; do not be disobedient to him, for he will not forgive your rebellion. My name is in him.'

⁷ The Lord himself says, 'My name is written on the one who will bring the people into the land of the promise.' If this one is Jesus, it is clear that his name is being given to him.

⁸ It is not surprising that he calls him an angel, since it is said about John, 'Look, I am sending my angel before you, who will prepare your way before you.' From Zechariah. Just as Jesus, the high priest of Joshua, brought a likeness and a type of our Savior, returning to God the long-captured souls of humans.

⁹ And the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord; and the devil was standing at his right side to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil, 'The Lord rebuke you, devil, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?' Now Jesus was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel of the Lord. And he answered and said to those standing before him, 'Take away the filthy garments from him, and clothe him with clean robes, and put a clean turban on his head.' And they clothed him with garments.

¹⁰ And further, he chooses, 'Listen now, Jesus the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are men of wonder, because I am bringing my servant the Branch.'

¹¹ And after a short time, he adds, saying, 'And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Take the silver and gold from the captives, from the rulers and from the prophets, and from those who know her, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, who has come from Babylon on that day, and take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the head of Jesus the son of Jehozadak the high priest. And you shall say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, the man whose name is the Branch, for he shall grow up from his place and build the house of the Lord. It is he who shall receive glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And the priest shall be beside him, and there shall be a peaceful council between them both.'

¹² And the great prophet and high priest, Jesus, who is being proclaimed, seems to me to save our Savior Jesus Christ, honored by his name and leading the return of the people from the captivity of Babylon.

¹³ For our Savior Jesus Christ is said to have come to free through the prophet Isaiah, 'to proclaim sight to the blind and to comfort all who mourn, and to give to those who mourn in Zion a crown instead of ashes, the oil of gladness.' Therefore, you already have two great high priests: the one from Moses, Christ, and the one with hands, Jesus, symbols of the truth about our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ But the one with Aaron, the Christ from Moses, who freed the people from slavery to the Egyptians, leading them to freedom and healing on their journey from Egypt, would save the image of the true Lord, who has redeemed all of us from the idol worship of the Egyptians.

¹⁵ But the one in the prophet Jesus, the great priest, who leads the return from Babylon to Jerusalem, brings a sign and is himself Jesus our Savior, whom we have as a great priest who has passed through the heavens. Through him, we too, just as from Babylon, have been redeemed from the confusion and captivity of this present life to the heavenly city, the true Jerusalem, we have been taught to hurry.

¹⁶ But it is fitting that Jesus, who brings the image of the truth, is clothed in filthy garments, and the devil stands at his right side, opposing him. For the true Savior and Lord Jesus has come down to our level and has taken away the captivity of our sins, and he has wiped away the human filth, enduring the shame of our suffering because of his love for us.

¹⁷ Therefore, Isaiah says, 'This one bears our sins and suffers for us, and we thought he was in pain and wounded and troubled. But he was wounded for our sins and crushed for our wrongdoings.' And John the Baptist, seeing the Lord, said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.'

¹⁸ And Paul, writing similarly about him, says, 'The one who did not know sin became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.' And 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us.' Therefore, the prophecy clearly shows all these things by saying, 'And Jesus was clothed in filthy garments.'

¹⁹ But after laying these aside, he ascended to the heavens and returned from our captivity to his own, crowned with the glory of the Father's divinity, and he put on the brightest robe of the Father's light. He is adorned with divine beauty and is decorated with other priestly garments. It is not difficult to give back what belongs to the devil, who even now stands against the teaching of Christ and the church established by him throughout the whole world. He has opposed our Savior and previously waged war against him when he rescued us from the captivity under him.

²⁰ Indeed, he tempted him both before and again, when he plotted against him according to his passion.

²¹ On these things, he defeated the devil and all his invisible enemies and opponents, making us, his captives, his own. He established the house of God and the community of piety from us, as if from living stones, so that it is fitting to apply to him the saying, 'Behold, a man, whose name is the Branch. And he will spring up from below, and he will build the house of the Lord. And he himself will receive glory, and he will be established, and he will sit on his throne.'

²² Therefore, pay careful attention to how he speaks spiritually about the ancient Jesus, who bears the image of the true one, saying, 'Behold, a man, whose name is the Branch.' And stepping down slightly as if he were speaking about another branch, it is said of Jesus, who was present at that time, 'Listen, Jesus, the great priest, you and your neighbors, because they are men who perform wonders. Behold, I bring my servant, the Branch.' If the word was indeed about the future Branch that would come, then that Branch was an image of the future one, as in the image not only of Jesus but also of the Branch being named, as it was said regarding him, 'Behold, a man, whose name is the Branch.'

²³ Therefore, it is fitting that he also deserved this name of the Savior because, just like the Branch, the saving voice of God came to Greece. For among the Hebrews, salvation is called 'Savior,' and the son of Nun is named Joshua among them. Joshua means 'Yahweh is salvation,' which is God's salvation. It is fitting that if anywhere God's salvation is named in Greek writings, it is nothing other than Jesus, as it is shown in the Hebrew language.

²⁴ Having said so much about the name of our Savior, we will now take up the discussion again from the beginning and move on to the prophetic proofs concerning him.

Introduction

Since there are two ways concerning our Savior, Jesus Christ, that have been shown in the previous writing of the Gospel Proof, one is extraordinary and beyond; by which we define him to be the only-begotten Son of God, or the essential Word of God, the second cause of all things, or the intellectual essence, and the admirable nature of God, the divine and most admirable power before all created beings, or the intellectual image of the uncreated nature. The other way is related to us and more familiar, by which we again define him as the Word of God, in the human form of the piety of the Father, by which he had previously revealed himself in the form of a man to those around Abraham, indeed that one who was calling out to the beloved of God.

² Again, he will be revealed among men through human birth, and with a body similar to ours. It was foretold that he would suffer the worst. The word will proceed to present the prophetic testimonies about him, if indeed we first examine the promises made and confirm the theology about him in the Gospels from the old and prophetic testimony. It is necessary to look at what the way of the prophets' theology was among the Hebrews, from whom we have also been previously educated in the foretold things.

³ Everywhere on earth, both Greeks and non-Greeks remember that oracles and divinations exist. They say that these are shown by the care of the creator for the use and benefit of humans, as there is nothing different between the oracles of the Hebrew prophets and those of other nations. Just as the Hebrews received guidance through such prophets, so too did other nations through local oracles, to invoke the god above all and to suggest what is beneficial.

⁴ God is not only for the Jews, but for all people everywhere. He cares for them all equally, just as he gives the sun freely to everyone, not just to the Hebrews. He provides the yearly necessities for all, and he has made the bodies of all alike, giving one way of being and one nature of rational soul to everyone.

⁵ Thus, the knowledge of what is to come is freely given to all people, some through the prophets, some through oracles, some through bird flights, or through sacrifices, or through dreams, or through signs, or through other symbols. They say that all these are gifts from the care of God, so that the Hebrew prophets do not have anything more than this.

⁶ Such is the argument from those people; but our response will be somewhat different. If someone claims that there are truly gods, or divine powers, or good spirits connected to the mentioned oracles, or to the signs, or to the other things named, then I would grant them a place among those mentioned, as these are given by the God above all for the benefit of those who use them. But if, based on clear evidence and the agreements of the Greeks themselves, they are already acknowledged to be demons and not good, and the cause of all harm and wickedness, how could they be prophets of God? The argument shows them to be worthless through the Evangelical Preparation, from the long-standing practice of human sacrifices in every place, city, and region associated with them, from which those who ask about the future are misled, and from which they deceive many, sometimes through obvious means, and sometimes through the uncertainty of the oracles, by which many refugees have often been surrounded by evils.

⁷ And since their race was shown to be foul and unclean from the shameful and immoral songs and hymns said about them, and from the indecent and harmful stories, which they confirmed as true and accepted on their own, they were trapped.

⁸ And in the end, the proof of their inactive nature was that they were extinguished and no longer used in the same way; and they were extinguished not at any other time but from the time of the appearance of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

⁹ For from the time his message of the Gospel spread to all nations, it also left behind the oracles, and the deaths of demons are mentioned. Therefore, all these things and many others like them were proof that the wicked demons, about whom the message was spoken, were exposed in the Evangelical Preparation.

¹⁰ If indeed there are such people, who would choose to believe that the oracles of demons are to be considered as the prophecy of the God above all, or to compare them with the prophets of God? And what about their predictions, which, when they seemed to be present, they made for those who asked? Were they not about shameful, lowly, and worthless men, or some such people, whom they commanded to honor with sacrifices? And what were the beliefs about human sacrifice? For this is indeed the main point of what has been said.

¹¹ Is there really such a great absurdity left behind, if indeed the saviors of humans, both gods and good demons, are said to slaughter their own beloved refugees and pious supplicants, just like some other creatures? They seem to thirst for human blood more than any wild beast, and they are nothing but bloodthirsty and murderous friends of destruction, exposing themselves. Or let the one who wishes to speak say whether they can show something worthy of respect and virtue from what has been stated, or if they stretch prophecies and predictions to all kinds of people, or if they declare laws and political arrangements by which all humans should live, or if they present the teachings and doctrines of philosophy to those who love philosophy.

¹² But no one could ever say that such a thing existed in life from the famous oracles. For if these were true, people would not have used different laws and fought under laws made by the gods.

¹³ For if the gods are good, how could they not have used the same laws? And why not their wise and just laws? So, what need was there for the laws of Solon, or Draco, or those of other humans, both Greeks and non-Greeks, when the gods were present and arranging what was necessary through the oracles?

¹⁴ But if someone says that there are no other lawgivers for each nation of people, then what kind of god is that, who has arranged for the Scythians to eat humans, or who has made laws for mixing with mothers and daughters, or who has allowed dogs to mate with those who are old, as if it were good, or who permits brothers to marry sisters and males to mix with males? And why should I list the shameful sayings of the Greeks and non-Greeks, to prove that the gods did not exist, but that there are wicked and deceitful demons, who have led the miserable human race into unnatural acts?

¹⁵ Whenever I see that among the Greeks, the gods and seers do not show anything useful or beneficial for the souls of those who use them, what should I think?

¹⁶ For what reason did the Greek men leave their own benefit and go to the barbarian land to trade for knowledge from outside, instead of using the teachings of the gods? For when good gods or even good demons provide guidance, sometimes showing their own power through prophecy and other wonders, and sometimes revealing true wisdom through the unchanging truth of knowledge, why was it that the children of philosophers did not learn from these, but instead sought ideas from different teachings, leading to various beliefs from long disagreements? But if many people did not pay attention to them, then surely those who are pious and devoted to the gods should have sought the unchanging benefit from the gods.

¹⁷ Who are these people? For whoever you mention, they are shown to be misled by those who oppose them. But indeed, it seems that there was a prophecy from demons, up to the point of stealing or losing something, or something else like that, which was not far from them while they were spending time in the air around the earth. It is not fitting for a wise and good person to accept any sayings of philosophers, not based on good laws or proper reasoning. Rather, if we must speak freely, we should consider all of them to be the worst of the worst, especially those who engage in adultery, mixing of males, marriages with mothers, and the shameful unions of brothers, along with many other acts against the gods, and conflicts and wars between gods and humans. No one among them ever spoke about these things, as if they were suitable for those who live without restraint or for those who do not think wisely. It seems they are angry.

¹⁸ And why should I go on, when I see the cruel and inhuman example of one of the greatest things, which is truly disgusting among the things being shown? I am talking about human sacrifice.

¹⁹ For it is not only the slaughter of irrational animals that brings joy, but also the destruction of humans. What kind of extreme cruelty does this not surpass? For these things, as I said, have been witnessed through the Preparatory works of the Greek philosophers and writers, from which even the demons, being wicked and crafty, show themselves to be involved in various schemes, sometimes through prophecies, sometimes through omens, signs, or sacrifices, twisting the human race.

²⁰ Therefore, we should declare that their oracles are not from the God who is above all. Surely, it would not be right to compare them to the prophets of the Hebrews, of whom the first was Moses, the sacred teacher and theologian. He was responsible for many good things in life. First, he delivered true and gospel teachings about the creator and maker of all things, and about the second cause of the rational and spiritual beings that follow him. He also wrote a sacred account of the creation of the world and the creation of humans, and he recorded the histories of the ancient God-loving Hebrews, illustrating some virtues to inspire the followers of good men. He began the divine laws suitable for those living at that time, and he introduced a pious religion. He also proclaimed prophecies about what would happen in the distant future, which will be remembered shortly after.

²¹ And such was he. Likewise, the prophets who came after him sought to do the same. They would answer questions about daily matters, and they would predict those things to those who asked. But the main point of their prophecies was focused on great matters.

²² For they did not seek to predict daily matters or small and humble things. Instead, the greatest shining of the divine spirit within them contained a foundation concerning all of humanity. They did not make prophecies about a sick person's body or about this temporary and suffering life, nor about something that was lost, or anything else trivial and indifferent, which neither improves the present soul nor causes harm or damage when absent. But when they did make such predictions, as I said, it was not according to the earlier reasoning, but according to the understanding of those who were greater. The original causes of their prophecies held a greater foundation than what has been mentioned.

²³ If someone were to carefully examine the entire scope of Moses' writings and those that followed him, they would find encouragement and teaching of piety directed toward the God who is the creator of all things. They would also find knowledge and theology about the highest second cause, and a warning against all forms of polytheistic error. Then, they would remember the ancient God-loving men who first practiced this mentioned piety, along with their prophecies and declarations that would be lived out in later times. This would happen through the appearance and presence of God among people, specifically the second Lord and God, alongside the highest Father, who is also the teacher of the same piety. And the Savior would be revealed in the life of humanity, through whom all nations, both Greeks and non-Greeks, would be told that the way of piety of the ancient God-loving Hebrews would be passed down.

²⁴ These things Moses spoke, and so did the other prophets, who all proclaimed from one mouth. This was the reason for the outpouring of the divine spirit upon people: to teach humanity about God and the highest theology concerning the Father and the Son, to train them in true piety, to remember those who had succeeded in the past, and those who had fallen away from the piety of their ancestors. It was also to express the correction through long discourses, to establish the coming of the Savior and teacher of all humanity, and to proclaim through him the passing down of the ancient piety of the Hebrews to all nations.

²⁵ These were the pillars and sacred books of the prophets, proclaimed together from ancient times. These same things, which we can still see with our own eyes even after a long time, were declared by all of them with one voice, as they were filled with the divine spirit. They proclaimed the light of true piety to all people, purity of soul and body, and complete cleansing of the mind. They had practiced these things before and encouraged their followers to do the same, keeping them away from all immoral actions. They taught them not to imitate the strange practices of polytheism and to flee from all demonic actions, as well as from those ancient and serious human sacrifices, and the shameful and false stories about the gods. They advised that only to the creator God of all should one turn, who is like a judge over human actions, and not to be ignorant of the coming of Christ, the Savior of all humanity, who established true piety for both Greeks and non-Greeks.

²⁶ There was such a difference between those who were filled with the divine spirit and those who pretended to prophesy under demonic influence. The evil demon, like one belonging to darkness, surrounds the soul with darkness and mist through its presence. The person influenced by it becomes like a dead person, losing their natural reasoning and not following what is said or done through it. They become completely insensible and mad, and this kind of prophecy is often thought to be a kind of madness.

²⁷ But the truly divine spirit, which is light-like and even more like light itself, when it comes upon a soul, immediately creates a new and brightest day of light within it. It makes the soul much clearer and more capable of seeing than it was before, so that it can be sober and alert, and especially able to see and compare all that is being prophesied.

²⁸ For this reason, we seem to rightly and truly call such people prophets, because the divine spirit within them reveals not only present things but also true and accurate knowledge of future things.

²⁹ Consider whether this word is not much better and more true, claiming that a divine spirit comes upon souls that are pure and prepared with a clear and rational mind to receive the divine. Or is it the case that the spirit of those in lifeless matter and dark corners comes upon women and men with impure souls, and even upon crows, hawks, and other birds, as well as goats and other animals, yes, even upon water creatures, in liver readings, and in the blood of filthy and horrible creatures, and in the bodies of poisonous reptiles, like dragons and owls, through which they claim to reveal the knowledge of future things about the god above all?

³⁰ If men do not see the nature of god, nor understand the power of the divine spirit, it certainly does not come upon lifeless or irrational animals, nor does it come upon all rational beings, unless perhaps it is only upon pure souls and those that are truly alive. This is what our word just now wrote about the prophets of the Hebrews, whom we say were deemed worthy of the divine spirit for the sake of great matters concerning the improvement of all humanity.

³¹ But if at any time they follow shadows, knowing the present things and indifferent matters, and predicting unknown things to those who ask, then this too was necessarily provided to those who were close to them long ago, so that they would not seem like lamps that reasonably stray from the predictions of their own prophets to the foreign nations' oracles.

³² But let this be the end of the discussion about the divine power present in the prophets of the Hebrews. It is now time for them, as those who are inspired and wise, not merely human, to teach us to be persuaded by the divine spirit, to learn their teachings and their pious and unchanging theologies, no longer having doubt that they do not bring in anything foreign to virtue and truth. Therefore, let us now take up the word from the beginning about the theology of our savior Jesus Christ in the gospels, based on prophetic testimony.

³³ Therefore, the gospel testimony speaks of Christ like this: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that has been made.' It also calls him the light of reason and calls him Lord, just as it calls him God.

³⁴ And the divine Paul, being a disciple and apostle of Christ, agrees with this theology, explaining that he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, because all things were created in him, both in the heavens and on the earth, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers. All things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." He is also called the power of God and the wisdom of God. Therefore, these things are now set forth to be drawn out from the writings of the Hebrews, so that through the agreement found in each part, the proof of the truth may be shown.

³⁵ It is necessary not to be unaware that the divine oracles contain much that is extraordinary in both wording and meaning in the Hebrew language, which is different from the Greek translation. Therefore, seventy men, all Hebrews, have gathered together to translate them, and we should pay special attention to them, as they are especially dear to the church of Christ.

³⁶ But if there is ever a need, we will not reject the versions of the later interpreters, which the Jews still like to use today. This way, we may have a stronger presentation of the proof from everywhere. Having prepared these things for us, we will now touch on the divine voices.

Book 5, Section 1

I, wisdom, have made my dwelling in counsel, and I have called for knowledge and understanding. The fear of the Lord hates wrongdoing, pride, and the paths of the wicked. I hate crooked ways of evil. My counsel and safety, my understanding, and my strength. Through me, kings reign, and rulers write justice. Through me, great ones become great, and tyrants hold the earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find grace. Wealth and honor are with me, and lasting riches and justice.

² It is better to gain me than gold and much precious stone; my fruits are better than chosen silver. I walk in the paths of righteousness and turn in the ways of justice. I give wealth to those who love me, and I fill their treasuries with good things. If I announce to you the things happening each day, I will remember the things from eternity. The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works; before the ages, he established me, before he made the earth and before he created the depths.

³ Before the springs of the waters came forth, before the mountains were settled, before all the hills, he gave birth to me. The Lord made uninhabited places and the heights that are under heaven; when he was preparing the heavens, I was with him, and when he set his throne upon the winds. When he made strong the upper clouds and established the springs under heaven, when he set the sea in its place, the waters would not pass his command. When he made strong the foundations of the earth, I was beside him, shaping things; I was his delight every day, rejoicing before him at all times, rejoicing in the inhabited world and delighting in the children of men.

⁴ Before the created beings, divine and most excellent essence, the intellectual and firstborn image of the uncreated nature, the true and only son of the God of all, known by many names and spoken of in many ways, is honored in this present position and title of wisdom. He is called the word of God, light, life, and truth, and we have learned to call Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

⁵ Now, he himself speaks about himself, as the living wisdom of God that exists in itself, going through the most wise Solomon: 'I, wisdom, have made my home in counsel, and I have called for knowledge and understanding,' and saying the things that follow.

⁶ "But also, as the one who has taken on the management and care of all things, through me kings rule, and rulers write justice. Through me, great ones become great." Then, having said this, he brings to mind the things from eternity, saying: "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works; before the ages, he established me," through which he shows himself to be both generated and not generated, teaching not the same being as the uncreated, existing before all ages, set as the foundation of all created beings.

⁷ Therefore, it is fitting that the divine apostle speaks about him, who is the image of the invisible, the firstborn of all creation, because in him all things were created, the things in heaven and the things on earth. For he is called the firstborn of all creation according to the saying, 'The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works.' It should be understood that he is rightly seen as the image of God, as if he is a product of the uncreated nature.

⁸ This, then, he openly acknowledges in what follows, saying, 'Before the mountains were settled, and before all the hills, he gave birth to me.' From this, we call him the only-begotten and firstborn Word of God, the same being as the wisdom that is revealed. And as we say he is a product of God, it would require special examination, since it is not by projection, nor by division, or separation, or reduction, or cutting, or in any way like what happens in mortal generation, that we think of his hidden origin.

⁹ For it is not right to compare his hidden and unnameable origin and essence to any of those that are generated, nor to put forward any image from the recent and mortal. Since, even in our examples of animal generation, the essence does not come from essence through passion or division, nor is it separated from the source, we say that the Son is holy.

¹⁰ For the divine is indivisible and simple, not cut, not divided, not extended, not reduced, not contracted, not greater, not lesser, not better than itself, having nothing else within itself; it is one and this is its nature.

¹¹ For everything that exists in something, either as an accident, like whiteness in a body, or as another thing in another, like what is carried in the womb, or as a part in the whole, like a hand or foot or finger in a body, if any part is cut off or divided, it becomes incomplete and lacking, as if the whole is mutilated by the loss of a part.

¹² But it would be most impious to use such an image and comparison for the ungenerated nature of the whole god, and for the generation of his only-begotten and first-born.

¹³ Therefore, the son is not ungenerated as a part within the father from infinite and unoriginated ages, which, if changed and separated from him, would become something else. For this is already a change of nature. And if there were two ungenerated beings, the one projected and the one projected upon. And what would be the better condition? Is it not the state before the change in the projection? Therefore, as a part or member that is ungenerated and always united before, then later separated and made apart from the whole, one could think of the son as coming from the father.

¹⁴ For these things are unspeakably and directly impious, being related to the nature of bodies, but foreign to the nature that is incorporeal and immaterial. Therefore, at the right time, one might rightly ask here, 'Who will tell of his generation?'

¹⁵ Since it is not safe to come to the opposite conclusion, one could simply say that the son is generated from non-existence just like other generated beings. For the generation of the son is different from the creation through the son.

¹⁶ But just as the divine scripture sometimes calls the son the firstborn of all creation from his own person, saying, 'The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways,' at other times it says he is a product of the part according to 'Before all the mountains, he gives birth to me.'

¹⁷ It would be healthy for us to follow this, and to acknowledge that the one who is the Word of God, existing before all ages, is with the Father, and that he is the only-begotten son of the God of all, born to assist and work together with the Father in the essence and arrangement of all things.

¹⁸ For if there is anything else that is unspeakable and incomprehensible to us in the nature of all things, and there are many such things, like those promised to the God-loving, 'What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man,' according to the holy apostle, far beyond all understanding, it would be unspeakable and unnameable, and beyond thought, concerning the first generation of the only-begotten of God. We would have nothing more to say or think about him, except who can tell of his generation? But if someone dares to go further and compare the utterly incomprehensible with visible and bodily examples, perhaps they would say that the son, from the unbegotten nature of the Father and the ineffable essence, is like a fragrance and the light of dawn, existing from endless ages, even more so before all ages, being and always being related to the Father like the sweet-smelling myrrh and the light to the dawn, but not in every way like the examples, as has already been said before.

¹⁹ For inanimate bodies possess their qualities by chance. For light, being naturally joined to the nature of light and essentially existing with it, cannot exist apart from that in which it is. But the Word of God exists in itself, and is essential, and does not exist without the Father, but as the only-begotten son, born from the Father before all ages. The fragrance, being a physical outflow of the substance, does not exist on its own outside of the first cause, yet it is still physical.

²⁰ Therefore, we will not understand the things about the first essence of our Savior in this way. For he is not made from the essence of the unbegotten by any passion or division, nor is he without beginning joined to the Father, since one is unbegotten and the other is begotten, and one is the Father and the other is the Son. Anyone who would agree must acknowledge that the Father exists before the Son.

²¹ Let it be that there is also an image of God, which is beyond words and beyond thought for us, existing as a living being, immaterial and incorporeal, completely free from everything opposite. But it is not like the image we have, which has one essence as its foundation and another for its form, while being a whole form itself, and being essentially similar to the Father. Thus, the most vital fragrance of the Father is also beyond words and beyond thought for us.

²² Since everything about him that is true would be beyond words for human voices and beyond thought for mortal minds according to precise reasoning. But just as it is dear for us to hear, so also these words teach.

²³ Did not the holy apostle himself speak of the fragrance of Christ, because of the participation in the spirit of Christ? The heavenly bridegroom is proclaimed as the perfume poured out in the songs. Therefore, because of his outpouring, everything visible and invisible, both bodies and non-bodies, rational and irrational beings, are unproportionally deemed worthy of sharing, and he has taken part in the communion of the divine word.

²⁴ The whole world gives recognition of this divine breath to those who are not filled with rational senses, as the earthly and perishable bodies breathe out the sweet fragrance of the incorrupt and spiritual scent, coming from above from the God of all, who, being the father of his only-begotten word, would truly be the first, the lord, and the only good. He is the source of goodness, and as the son is supplied from the first and leading essence, he alone is said to be the fragrance of the fatherly essence. This fragrance teaches us about him, that indeed he is a mist of the power of God, a genuine outflow of the glory of the Almighty, a shining light of eternal brightness, and a spotless mirror of the divine energy and an image of his goodness.

²⁵ But wherever someone wants to place these things, let them do so. For us, it is enough to repeat that true and pious saying, through which we will also provide the answer to those who seek it, having often already said, 'Who will tell the generation of him?' For it is truly unutterable, and not only to humans but also to all powers beyond existence, the birth of the only-begotten of God is. Just as our Savior and Lord teaches his own disciples these mysteries, saying, 'No one knows the Father except the Son.'

²⁶ To him, it is also said, 'And no one knows the Son except the Father.' Therefore, the knowledge of both the Father and the Son's theology is unknown to all except them, just as in the hidden sayings of Solomon, where Wisdom is heard saying, 'Before the mountains were settled and the earth was formed, before all the hills, I was born.'

²⁷ Moreover, it says that I was present with the Father while he was making the heavens: 'Whenever he was preparing the heavens, I was there with him.' And it shows the eternal dwelling with the Father from endless ages, where it adds, 'I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him at all times.'

²⁸ And the abyss and the springs of waters, mountains and hills, and all other things named in common words, which show the arrangement of the world in part, should be heard, or more appropriately, should be understood as referring to spiritual essences and divine powers. Among all these, the firstborn Wisdom and the only-begotten Word of God existed before them, whom we call Christ, learning from the apostle who says, 'Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.' Here, it is rightly called by the name of Wisdom, as the only wise Father has the most wise and knowledgeable views of all things.

Book 5, Section 2

In the second royal scepter, he is honored, and in the third, it shows his perfection in virtue. Then, it teaches that this God and King is anointed by the highest God, and that he has become Christ. For who could name someone who is not anointed by humans, but by the God who is above all? Therefore, it says, 'O God, (addressing the anointed one) you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore, God, your God, has anointed you.'

² As if he said, the God above all has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. So, this anointing was neither common nor earthly, nor was it like that which was established by Moses and made from corruptible material, which the ancient Hebrew priests and kings were fond of being anointed with.

³ From this, it is fitting that both God and Christ are proclaimed together, as if he is alone, not through humans, nor from humans, but by the creator of all, anointed with a divine joy and gladness, with a spiritual and fitting anointing.

⁴ Therefore, it is just that Christ would be proclaimed alone, without fault, and truly above those called his companions. But who would those companions be, or how could one say, 'for we have become companions of Christ'? About whom it has been said, 'do not touch my anointed ones, and do not harm my prophets.'

⁵ And now, with this clearly shown about Christ, beloved of God and king, it is time for you to ask how he is said to have enemies, and who they are and for what reason, since he has aimed his arrows and his sword at them, not because of military force, but for the sake of truth, gentleness, and justice, he has brought countless people under himself.

⁶ Seeking to understand these things well, one would rightly refer them to our savior and lord Jesus Christ of God, looking back at what has been said about his coming to humanity, during which he has turned against the enemies and invisible powers of wicked and harmful demons, as well as evil and unclean spirits, bringing countless people from all nations under himself. He is the one who could truly be called Christ of God, not with a common olive oil that has long been used for anointing, nor is anything like that recorded about him, but with a greater and divine anointing, as it is said through Isaiah, 'the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he has anointed me.'

⁷ Therefore, more than all those who have ever been anointed physically among the Hebrews, Christ alone has been proclaimed throughout the whole world, and he has filled the entire world with the name of Christians from him. Now, as we say that he has been anointed, what is the anointing and what is the way of the anointing, we have already explained sufficiently in the previous writing.

⁸ In his words and in his teaching, such grace was poured out that in a short time it filled every place with the proclaimed piety toward him, so that now among all nations, those who share in his teaching, following the prophecy with hands laid on them, have been clothed with the glory of king and God, and Christ is proclaimed among all people.

⁹ Clearly, both the enemies who have been against him and those who always fight against his word, whether in humans or in invisible powers, are always being brought down by an unseen and hidden force, making all kinds of people from all nations subject to him.

¹⁰ Next, in the Psalm, 'myrrh and aloes and cassia from your garments,' these things are shown as related to a queen and a daughter leaving her father's house, and being united with the revealed Christ, king and God, calling him her bridegroom. This refers to the church from the nations, which has turned away from the ancestral and demonic deception, being cleansed and made pure through the sharing in the divine word. This could be explained in a careful interpretation.

Book 5, Section 3

The lord said to my lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' The lord will send the rod of your power from Zion, and you will rule in the midst of your enemies. Your rule will be on the day of your power, in the splendor of your holy ones. From the womb before the dawn, I have begotten you. The lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.'

² The lord at your right hand. Our savior and lord, the firstborn of all creation, the word of God, the wisdom before the ages, the beginning of the ways of God, the firstborn and only-begotten of the father, honored by the name of Christ, and the previous Psalm calls him lord, teaching that he is a co-ruler and son of the one who is above all, God and lord of all, and an eternal priest of the father.

³ First, therefore, believe that this is already called the second offspring of God. And since it is believed that the spirit of God speaks to us through prophecy, see if this very spirit in the prophet calls the holy one his second lord after the one who is above all. 'For he said,' the lord said to my lord, 'Sit at my right hand.' The first lord is called the master of all, as the Hebrews named him with an unspoken title through the four elements; but the second is not called in the same way, but is named lord in a special way.

⁴ It is therefore fitting that our savior and lord, Jesus Christ of God, once asked the Pharisees, 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?' When they said 'the son of David,' he replied, 'How then does David in the spirit call him lord, saying, the lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand?"' Not only interpreting the words, he shows that not only does David call him lord, but also the spirit in the prophet.

⁵ But if the prophetic spirit, which we believe to be the holy spirit, declares that this one is lord, it teaches that he is a co-ruler with the father. And not only that, but also that he is lord in his own right. Much more could be said about this by the rational powers that follow the holy spirit, both the entire creation seen in bodies and in non-bodies, of which it would rightly be shown that the only lord, who is a co-ruler with the father, is the one through whom all things were made. For according to the marvelous apostle, 'in him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, whether visible or invisible.'

⁶ It is therefore fitting that he alone has the authority of the likeness of the father, as he is also shown to be the only co-ruler with the father. It is clear that none of the created beings has the right to share in the all-powerful authority and kingdom, unless it is in the one who is uniquely spoken of in various ways in theology.

⁷ Therefore, believe that the highest and lord over all gives the command, 'Sit at my right hand,' and 'I have begotten you before the morning star.' With an oath of assurance, he gives to him the honor of an everlasting priesthood, saying, 'The lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever.'

⁸ Who could think that he is not a mortal man, nor even of angelic nature, born of God, but ordained as a priest forever? Or is he the only one who said before, 'The lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works; before the ages, he established me, at the beginning, before the mountains were formed?' And pay careful attention to the present Psalm and to the voices presented before this.

⁹ For in this, the highest God establishes the second and our lord as his companion, saying, 'Sit at my right hand.' But before this, the word said that the throne will remain forever and ever, declaring him to be God, for it says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.'

¹⁰ Again, in the one after the hands, it says, 'The lord will send you a rod of power from Zion.' But in that one, 'The rod of your kingdom is the rod of uprightness.' And again, the former says, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet, and you will rule in the midst of your enemies.' The latter speaks of your arrows being sharpened, mighty one, in the hearts of the king's enemies.' Therefore, what is said about the enemies agrees in both.

¹¹ Who then, seeing with his own eyes in the midst of the cities, both in towns and regions throughout the whole world, the churches of our savior flourishing, and the peoples being ruled by him, and countless crowds of those dedicated to him from everywhere, would not be amazed by the present prophecy spoken about the one being appointed, the 'You will rule in the midst of your enemies'?

¹² And since before it says, 'You have been anointed with the oil of gladness beyond your companions,' it was customary for the Hebrews to be anointed with oil, it is fitting that the one after the hands already calls him a priest whiter, adding more teaching about him, through which alone he is trained to be an eternal priest among the forever, something that no human nature can achieve.

¹³ He says that he will be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, in contrast to the order of the priesthood according to Moses, either that of Aaron or any of those from him, each of whom was not a priest before but later was anointed by some human means. In a way, Christ was a shadowy and symbolic figure, and being mortal, he did not remain a priest for long, nor did he give up the priesthood for long. Among the Jews, he was a priest only for that people, but not for the other nations. Moreover, he did not enter into the ministry with an oath from God, but was honored by the judgment of men, as it was once found unworthy among them of the service of God, like Eli is written.

¹⁴ Moreover, that old priest according to the order of Moses was judged only from the line of Levi. He had to come from the whole lineage of Aaron's descendants, offering sacrifices of irrational animals and serving the divine through physical worship. But Melchizedek, whose name means 'king of righteousness,' was also called 'king of Salem,' which means 'king of peace.' He is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having no beginning of days or end of life, but he does not share anything in common with the way of Aaron's priesthood.

¹⁵ For he was not chosen by men, nor anointed with oil, nor from any known lineage. And the most surprising thing of all is that he was not even circumcised in the flesh, yet he blesses Abraham, as one who is much greater than him. He did not serve the Most High God with sacrifices and offerings, nor did he perform the ministry in the temple in Jerusalem.

¹⁶ For how can he be a priest when he does not even exist? Therefore, it is reasonable that nothing similar would happen with our Savior, Christ, for he was never a priest like Aaron. He was not made a priest later, but he is a priest already. For it is said, 'You are a priest forever.' It does not mean that you were not before, but you are not now, rather, according to the one who said, 'I am the one who is,' you are and you remain a priest forever.

¹⁷ Since Christ did not begin his priesthood from time or from the tribe of the priests, nor was he anointed with oil made from physical ingredients, nor was he meant to have an end to his priesthood, and not just for the Jews, but also for all nations, for all these reasons, it is reasonable that he is removed from the priestly service according to the order of Aaron, but he is said to be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹⁸ And indeed, the result of the prophecy is amazing, seeing how our Savior Jesus Christ of God continues even now to perform the priestly duties among humans in the manner of Melchizedek through his own healers.

¹⁹ For just as that priest, being a priest of the nations, does not appear to be anointed with physical sacrifices, but blesses Abraham only with wine and bread, in the same way, first, our Savior and Lord, and then all the priests from him, perform the spiritual service among all nations according to the church's traditions. They celebrate the mysteries with the wine and bread of his body and saving blood, as Melchizedek foresaw these things through divine spirit, and as for the things to come, they were prepared for the future, as the writing of Moses bears witness, saying, 'And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abraham.'

²⁰ Therefore, it is fitting that with an oath, only the one being shown is taken, 'The Lord God has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.'

²¹ But listen to what the apostle says about these things: 'In which, wanting to show more clearly to the heirs of the kingdom the unchangeable nature of his purpose, God intervened with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge may have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.'

²² And he adds, saying, 'And the former priests were many because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest was fitting for us, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and higher than the heavens.'

²³ And he concludes, saying, 'Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the holy places and in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.' This is what the apostle says.

²⁴ But the Psalm, coming forward, secretly reveals the suffering of the one being prophesied, saying, 'He drinks from a brook along the way; therefore, he will lift up his head.'

²⁵ And another Psalm shows the time of trials, saying, 'Our soul passed through a brook; therefore, our soul passed through the water that has no substance.' In the brook, then, he drinks, it says, the cup that was hinted at during the time of suffering, saying, 'Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me.'

²⁶ And again, 'If it is not possible for this to pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.' Therefore, after drinking the cup, he lifted up his head, and according to the apostle, 'Since he became obedient to the Father even to death, and death on a cross, for this reason, God has highly exalted him, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand, above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he put everything under his feet,' as promised to him, which the Psalm presents, saying, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Rule in the midst of your enemies.' It is clear to everyone that even now the power of our Savior and the word of his teaching rules among all his enemies and opponents who believe in him.

Book 5, Section 4

I am the Lord who made the earth and man upon it; I have stretched out the heavens with my hand, and I commanded all the stars. I raised up a king with justice, and all his ways are straight. He will build my city and restore the captivity of my people, not for money or gifts, says the Lord of Hosts.

² At first, the God who created all things is speaking about a king and savior who will build the government of piety and free the people from the captivity that has come upon them due to demonic deception, through the prophet. Next, the prophetic spirit hints at the submission of foreign nations, which will submit to the one being prophesied, and how they will worship him as a god, submitting to him, and how they will pray to him, because a greater god will dwell in him, namely, the highest Father and God of all.

³ Thus says the Lord: 'Egypt has labored, and the trade of Ethiopia, and the men of Seba will cross over to you, and they will be your servants. They will follow you, bound in chains, and young men will worship you, and they will pray to you, for in you is God, and there is no other god besides you. For you are God, and we did not know it, the God of Israel, the Savior. All who oppose him will be ashamed and disgraced, and they will go in shame.' This is the prophecy. I do not think anyone can deny it, even if they are very ignorant, since it clearly and openly presents the God of Israel as Savior and another god in him. 'The righteous will worship you,' it says, 'and they will pray to you, for in you is God, and there is no other god besides you. For you are the only God, and we did not know it, the God of Israel, the Savior.'

⁵ But the phrase 'we did not know' is said from the perspective of those who did not recognize him before, while the Hebrew text has it differently, as stated only by the Seventy. Aquila, having translated it, says, 'God is indeed a powerful one who is hidden, the God of Israel, saving.'

⁶ But Theodotion says, 'For this reason, a powerful hidden God, saving.' He wonderfully calls Christ a hidden God and clearly teaches the reason why he alone is called God among created beings, after the first and uncreated one, showing the dwelling of the Father in him. 'For in him,' according to the divine apostle, 'all the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell.'

⁷ This clearly shows that in you is God and there is no other god besides you. Instead of 'besides you,' Theodotion has made it 'besides him,' meaning 'there is no god besides him,' that is, the God in you, by whom you also happen to be God. According to Aquila, it goes like this: 'besides you is a powerful one, and there is no other god beside you, indeed a powerful and hidden God, saving.' According to Symmachus, it says, 'only in you is God, and there is no other god that exists or is present, truly you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, saving.'

⁸ Through these things, the reason for Christ being God is clearly presented by the word.

⁹ For since, he says, in you is God, for this reason you are a powerful and hidden God. Therefore, because of these things, the true and only God would be one, truly holding the title; but the second is worthy of sharing in the truth of the community, neither being by himself, nor existing apart from the God-creating Father, nor being called God without the Father, but being and living wholly through the Father in him, being united with the Father and made God from him and through him, both being and being God not from himself, but having this from the Father.

¹⁰ Therefore, after the Father, we have been taught to honor him as God because of the God dwelling in him, just as the prophecies that are held with hands. For just as an image of a king is honored because it carries the features and likeness of the king, when the image is honored, the king himself would also be one who is honored and not two; for there are not two kings, the first and true one and the one impressed on the image, but one who is in both, not only being thought of, but also being named and honored. In the same way, the only-begotten Son, being the only image of the invisible God, is rightly called the likeness of the invisible God because he carries the likeness, and he is made God in relation to the Father. Thus, he has his essence, naturally from the very beginning, not acquiring the image of the Father, but having it from himself.

¹¹ Therefore, being by nature God, the only-begotten Son is indeed so, not being made God from outside, but having the title of God's name by nature. However, even though he is by nature the only-begotten Son and our God, he is not the first God; rather, the only-begotten Son is the first of God, and for this reason, he is God.

¹² And the whole reason for this would be that he is also God, being the only-begotten Son of God by nature and being unique. It is also for the sake of saving the living and rational image of the only God, which is in every way similar to the Father, carrying the likeness of his divinity.

¹³ Therefore, he is called the only Son and the only image of God, being clothed with the powers of the unbegotten and unoriginated essence of the Father, according to the example of likeness. The divine words rightly call him God, as he has been honored with this title from the Father along with the others, having received it, but not possessing it as his own.

¹⁴ For one gives, and the other receives; so, there is truly one God, being alone and by nature, not receiving from another. The second one is honored to be God, having received from the Father, as an image of God, both being considered as one according to the example of divinity. There is one God who is unoriginated and unbegotten in himself, and through the Son, as if viewed through a mirror and image.

¹⁵ This also teaches that the spiritual word does not say that the one being shown is a God to be worshiped, except through the Father who dwells in him. 'For in you,' it says, 'they will pray, because God is in you, and you yourself, being God, are the Savior of Israel. And for this reason, you are a strong and hidden God, since God is in you, and there is no other besides him.'

¹⁶ Instead of 'Egypt labored for the Hebrew,' all the other interpreters have given 'the labor of Egypt,' in which the saying goes like this: 'They will worship you, and the labor of Egypt will be your servants, and the trade of the Ethiopians, and the Seba people.' Through these, I think, some barbaric and unknown nations are shown, and all that has already been long ago covered by demonic superstition.

¹⁷ Since the Egyptians were considered the most superstitious of all nations and were the first to start the error of idol worship, it is fitting that they are placed first to be subjected to Christ, and through them, the things about the other idol worshipers are made clear.

¹⁸ And these things are fulfilled in our Savior and Lord, to whom countless multitudes of nations throughout the world worship and serve.

¹⁹ "And the Ethiopians and the Seba people are prophesied here to worship Christ, and I believe this is shown through the words of the Psalm, which says, 'The Ethiopians will fall down before him, and the kings of Arabia and Seba will bring gifts and worship him.' It is clear from the context that they will also worship the prophesied Christ among them.

In Psalm 68, David knows the Creator of all things as the true word of God, sent by the Father. The same prophet testifies that he was sent for the healing of people by the Father, and he proclaims that in a short time, his teaching will fill the whole earth."

Book 5, Section 5

By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made strong, and by the breath of his mouth, all their power. And in the Psalm, it is said, 'He sent his word and healed them and rescued them from their destruction.' And again in Psalm 147, 'He who sends his word to the earth, his word runs swiftly.'

² But indeed, the Psalm that says, 'By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made strong,' agrees with the holy Gospel, which clearly states, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made.' The Gospel rightly calls him God, since this same Word, who is now being spoken of as God, is also wisdom, the offspring of God, a priest, Christ, king, lord, and the image of God.

³ And that being different from the Father, he was his minister, so that when the greater commanded him to create, he next chooses the Psalm that says, 'Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all who dwell in the world tremble before him, for he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.'

⁴ For it is clear that the one who speaks is different from the one who commands; he gives orders to another besides himself. Clearly, at the incarnation of our Savior, many people from all over the earth, that is, from all the nations on the earth, were gathered, no longer fearing the demons, but they feared the Lord Jesus himself.

⁵ All those who dwell in the world were shaken by the name of Christ, following the saying, 'Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all who dwell in the world tremble before him.'

⁶ These things are from the second and the 150th Psalm. In agreement with these, you can also find in the 148th Psalm, which teaches not only about the earth but also about the heavens and all of creation, made by the command of the God of all. It says, 'Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the highest. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. For he spoke, and they came to be; he commanded, and they were created.'

⁷ For if he commanded, who was so great as to accept such a command? Or is it the word of God, which is spoken of in many ways through the present teaching we have, and is called the word of God for no reason? For indeed, the Creator and Maker of all has placed in him the creative and artistic words, giving him the authority to govern and direct all things with order and purpose.

⁸ Let no one suppose that the word of God is like the speech of humans, which is made up of sounds, names, and phrases, and is expressed in a spoken and articulate way. For indeed, the word among us has its essence in voices and syllables, and in what is signified by them, produced through the tongue and the throat and the mouth. But the word of the eternal and incorporeal nature is completely different from all this and does not have any human qualities, using only the same name as human speech.

⁹ For neither the sound that comes from the air, nor words, nor syllables, nor tongue, nor mouth, nor anything at all that is human and mortal can be accepted in relation to the God of all. For this word would be like a soul, and it cannot exist on its own without a soul or be supported by one. Such is the word among humans, being without substance and not having any real existence, but rather being a movement and activity of thought.

¹⁰ But the word of God is not like this; it has its own divine and intellectual substance, existing independently and actively. It is immaterial and incorporeal, and in every way it is similar to the nature of the first, uncreated, and only God. It carries within itself the words of all created things and the immaterial and invisible ideas of the things that are seen. Therefore, the divine oracles call it wisdom and the word of God.

Book 5, Section 6

Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I have called. I am the first, and I am forever. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand strengthened the heavens. I will call them, and they will stand together, and all will be gathered, and they will hear who has announced these things to them. The Lord, who loves you, has made your will concerning Babylon, to destroy the seed of the Chaldeans. I have spoken, and I have called. I brought him, and I made his path successful. Come to me, and listen to these things. I did not speak in secret from the beginning. When it happened, I was there. And now the Lord, the Lord has sent me and his Spirit.

² See now how the one who said, 'I am the first, and I am forever, the one who established the earth and the heavens,' clearly shows that he was sent by the Lord. Thus, he commonly calls the Father Lord twice, so that you may have this undeniable testimony of what is being sought.

³ First, he says that he is to be considered among created beings as pious, giving the Father the nature that is without beginning and ungenerated, which is above the first being. For the first is the leader of a greater number, placed in honor and order; this would not fit with the Father.

⁴ For the God who is above all is not the first of created beings, since there is no beginning that can be thought of for him. He would be beyond and higher than the first, since he himself both generated the first and supports it, being the only divine word that speaks of all created beings as first.

⁵ Now, as we seek according to the saying, 'He said, and they came to be; he commanded, and they were created,' it is clearly shown to whom the creation of the beings is entrusted. It is to the one who said, 'My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens.' He also admits that he was sent by the greater one, saying, 'Now the Lord, the Lord has sent me, and his Spirit.'

⁶ Then the divine word might also say, 'Since by the word of the Lord the heavens were made,' according to the reference from the Psalm. However, even if the word of God is called 'Lord,' he still very piously calls his higher and greater Father and Lord twice 'Lord,' using a different name for him.

⁷ And now he says, 'The Lord, the Lord has sent me,' as if the one who is truly the first and above all God, and truly his Lord, the only-begotten word, is speaking. And among all the beings that came after him, the word of God, having received the lordship and authority from the Father, as a true and only-begotten son, would rightly also call himself 'Lord' with respect. From Genesis. Just as the greatest servant of God, Moses, in the creation of the world, knew the Father and God of all, who is spoken of differently in the creation of man; we have learned that this divine word is.

Book 5, Section 7

And God said, 'Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness.' And again, 'And God said, it is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.'

² And if someone thinks that these things are said about angels, it immediately shows that the one commanded is not an angel of God, saying, 'And God made man; in the image of God he made him.' From the same source. Just as the same Moses clearly speaks of two Lords without hesitation.

Book 5, Section 8

The sun rose upon the earth, and Lot entered into Zoar, and the Lord rained down sulfur and fire upon Sodom from the Lord.

² Clearly, he speaks a second time, teaching that punishment should be carried out against the wicked, given to him by the greater one. But if we acknowledge two Lords without hesitation, we do not use the same theology for both; rather, in a respectful order, we recognize the higher one as the Father, God, and Lord, and we have been taught that the second is also a Lord and God. The second Lord is the Word of God, who is the master of those under him, but not in the same way as the greater one.

³ For the Lord is not the Father, nor is the God the Father, the Word of God; rather, he is the image, Word, wisdom, and power of that one. The one after him is the master, Lord, and God. The Father is both the Father of the Son and the Lord and God. Therefore, it is rightly said that we return to one source and to one God, which is the foundation of our respectful theology. From the same source. As he who serves the Word of God shows a second God and Lord, he appeared in the form and shape of a man and spoke to the ancients.

Book 5, Section 9

And the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him, 'I will give this land to your offspring.' And again, 'Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him, 'I am God. Walk before me and be blameless, and I will establish my covenant between you and me, and I will greatly multiply you.'

² And again, 'God appeared to him by the oak of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and saw; and behold, three men were standing before him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of the tent and bowed down.

³ And after the vision, the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him.'

⁴ And again, he said about another, 'For I have known that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken to him.'

⁵ These things are written by the one who speaks to Abraham, the Lord, acknowledging another Lord, namely his own father and creator of all. But Abraham, as a prophet, having a clear understanding of the one who speaks, boldly says to him, 'Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? And will the righteous be like the wicked? If there are fifty righteous people in the city, will you destroy them? Will you not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous are like the wicked. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is right?'

⁶ Indeed, it is said that these things are spoken to angels or to some of the servants of God, but I do not think it is fitting for them to judge all the earth. For even an angel would not be appointed to do this, but someone greater than an angel, God and Lord, is speaking to the tree that is written about; he was seen in the form of a man with two angels.

⁷ Again, it should not be thought that the God who is above all is shown through these things. For it is not proper to change the divine and to take on the form and appearance of a man. It remains for the word of God, which has been previously explained, to be acknowledged. Therefore, even now, in the nearby places, the place is regarded as divine in honor of those who appeared to Abraham, and the terebinth tree is indeed seen here remaining.

⁸ For those who were sent to Abraham, as recorded in scripture, there are two on either side, and the one in the middle is greater in honor. This one is the Lord revealed to us, our Savior, whom even the ignorant worship, believing the divine words. Therefore, he himself, having taken on the form and appearance of a man, sows the seeds of piety among people, revealing himself to the beloved ancestor Abraham, and he delivered the will of his father. From the same, as the same prophet shows more clearly the Lord being revealed to Jacob, whom he calls both God and angel, speaking of the God who is above all.

Book 5, Section 10

And he traveled to Haran, and he came to a place, and he slept there; for the sun had set. And he took some stones and put them under his head, and he slept in that place, and he dreamed. And behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. Do not be afraid; the land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your descendants.'

² And your descendants will be like the sand of the sea, and they will spread out to the sea and to the east and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed in you and in your descendants. And behold, I am with you, keeping you safe on all the journeys you take, and I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done everything I promised you.

³ And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.' And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' And Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar, and he poured oil on the top of it. And Jacob called the name of that place Bethel.

⁴ Here, the one who speaks to you is the Lord and the angel of God. Jacob himself says to the women, 'And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it?' And he continues, saying, I have seen everything that God has done for you. I am the God who appeared to you in that place where you set up the pillar and made a vow to me.

⁵ Then the one above said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac,' to whom the beloved one sets up a pillar. He was indeed God and Lord; for he must be believed when he speaks. Not the one who is over all, but the second one, serving and proclaiming the things of the father to people.

⁶ Therefore, Jacob calls him an angel, saying, 'The angel of God spoke to me in a dream, I am the God who appeared to you in that place.' So, the same angel is clearly called Lord, God, and Master through these words. And in Isaiah, the prophet speaks of a great plan, where the angel is also called God, ruler, and authority, establishing his birth among people, saying, 'For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government will be on his shoulder, and his name will be called the angel of the great plan, ruler of peace, mighty God, authority, father of the coming age.'

Book 5, Section 11

Then, that night, he got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children. He crossed the ford of Jabbok and took them, and he sent everything that was his across. But Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn. When he saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip, so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.' Jacob asked him, 'Please tell me your name.' But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?' Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.' The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

² To Moses it was said, 'No one shall see my face and live.' Yet Jacob saw God not just in any way, but face to face; and being saved, he was honored not in body, but in the soul with the name Israel, which means 'he who sees God.' Therefore, he did not see the God who is over all; for this God is invisible and unchangeable, and could never become a man, being the highest essence. Thus, there was no time for the curious to reveal to Jacob the name of this God.

³ If someone thinks that an angel or one of the divine spirits in heaven is the one who delivers messages to the saints, they are clearly mistaken; this is because the one being referred to is both called God and Lord in the holy scripture. The scripture honors him with a special sign related to the four elements according to the Hebrews, which they usually use in reference to the unspoken and unspeakable name of God. This also clearly distinguishes him from angels, since when the word wants to call angels, it does not consider them worthy of the presence of God, as it says that the Lord left when he stopped speaking to Abraham, and then two angels went to Sodom in the evening.

⁴ And to Jacob, 'the angels of God met him; and seeing them, he said, this is the camp of God.' And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

⁵ Thus, the one who loves God clearly distinguished the visions, so now he calls the name of the place 'Mahanaim,' from the sight of the angelic camps. But when he speaks with God, he calls the name of the place 'Face of God,' saying, 'for I have seen God face to face.' And when an angel appears to Moses, the holy scripture means the same thing, saying, 'the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the bush.' But when it refers to the master, that is, to God and Lord, it no longer calls him an angel.

⁶ Similarly, at the Red Sea, it clearly distinguishes between the angel and the Lord, as it says, 'And the angel of God, who was in front of the camp of the children of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them.'

⁷ Just as before, the Lord spoke in a form to the ancients, so here also through the cloud. It is said next, 'And it happened in the morning watch, and the Lord looked at the camp of the Egyptians in the pillar of fire and cloud.' And throughout all the desert, God spoke to Moses through the cloud.

⁸ Therefore, when the word wants to show the nature of an angel, it does not mention God or the Lord, but simply calls him an angel. But when it knows the Lord and God who appears, it clearly uses the same terms. It has shown that the words of the divine scripture do not clearly indicate the cause when they refer to the angel of God, but they name the Lord and God who was named over Jacob.

⁹ Therefore, there is someone who is God and Lord among those who exist, along with the all-ruling and all-powerful God. This word of God, who is before all ages, would be greater than any angelic nature, but lesser than the first cause.

Book 5, Section 12

And God said to Jacob, 'Go to the place Bethel, and live there, and make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from the face of your brother Esau.' Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to the Lord, who answered me in the day of my distress, and who was with me on the way I went.'

² Here, God himself, the God of all, the only uncreated and highest of all, was not seen, but he spoke to Jacob invisibly, and by his hidden power he stirred him up, making the word about another clear. Indeed, God said to him, 'Make an altar to God who appeared to you.' And who was it that appeared to him? We have shown that it is the word of God. From the Exodus: As God over all, he himself, who spoke to Moses through an angel, was seen by the ancestors no longer through an angel, but now teaches through the Son.

Book 5, Section 13

And Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law, and he came to the mountain of God at Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from a bush." And when he turned to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, saying, 'Moses, Moses, do not come near here. Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.' And after a little while, the Lord said to him, 'I am the one who is.'

² And again the Lord spoke to Moses, and said to him, 'I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, being their God, but I did not make my name known to them, and I established my covenant with them.'

³ As with the prophets among people, let us say of Isaiah and Jeremiah and those like them, there was a man who was seen, but God was the one speaking through the visible form, as if through an instrument, sometimes revealing the face of Christ, sometimes the Holy Spirit, and at other times God over all was speaking through the prophet. So now, the highest God, who is above all, is establishing what is to come through the appearing angel to Moses.

⁴ May the mind become such as this: to you, the prophet, as I am being introduced and not allowing anything more than an angelic vision, I wished to be seen by my angel, and I make my name known to you alone, teaching that I am the one who is, and that my name is Lord. But to your ancestors, I did not reveal this alone, but I gave them even greater gifts; for I was seen by them. Who was the one seen by the ancestors, and that it was not God over all, has been shown when we demonstrated that God and the Lord are called the angel of God.

⁵ How then does the one who is above all, being the only God over all, say that he was seen by the ancestors, if someone were to ask? The question would be resolved if we understood the precision of the divine scripture. As it is said by the Seventy, 'And I was seen by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, being their God,' Aquila says, 'And I was seen by Abraham and by Isaac and by Jacob in a sufficient God.'

⁶ Through these things, it is clearly shown that the one who is above all, being the only God, was not seen by himself, but just as to Moses, so also to the ancestors, he was seen through an angel, or through a bush, or through fire, but he is speaking as a sufficient God. Therefore, through the Son, the Father is seen by the ancestors, according to what is said in the gospels to him—'The one who has seen me has seen the Father.' For in him and through him, the knowledge of the Father was revealed.

⁷ But when the Savior of mankind was revealed, he was seen through the human form of the Son, offering salvation to those who love God, present for all, as a promise from him beforehand. But when he was about to be a punisher and a judge of the wicked Egyptians, he was no longer seen as a sufficient God, but as an angel who carries out punishment, and in the form of fire, showing how he would soon consume them with the punishment of wild and thorny wood. Therefore, they say that the bush represents the wild, harsh, and cruel wickedness of the Egyptians, while the fire represents the punishing and judging power that would consume them.

Book 5, Section 14

And the Lord said to Moses, 'Look, I am coming to you in a pillar of cloud, so that the people may hear me speaking to you, and so that they may believe in you.' And then God led them, during the day in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and at night in a pillar of fire, to give them light." And "the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud.

² And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the entrance of the tent, and God would speak to Moses. And all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. And all the people would stand and worship, each at the entrance of their own tent.

³ So the people saw the pillar of cloud, and God spoke to Moses. Who spoke? It is clear that the pillar of cloud was the same as the one that had appeared to their ancestors in the form of a man. It has been shown that this was not the God who is above all, but another, whom we call Christ, the Word of God. He was seen at that time by Moses and the people in the pillar of cloud, because they could not see him in the same way as their ancestors had seen him in the form of a man.

⁴ For it was fitting that he could foresee the future appearance of himself in human form. Since the whole people were not able to bear this at that time, sometimes he appeared to them in fire out of fear and awe, and sometimes in a cloud, so that he could look upon them as if they were being overshadowed and covered. The same was true for Moses as well.

Book 5, Section 15

The Lord said, 'Look, I am sending my angel before you to guard you on the way, so that he may bring you to the land that I have prepared for you. Take care of yourself and listen to him, and do not be rebellious against him. For he will not forgive your wrongdoing, for my name is in him.' And in another place, he said to Moses, 'Go and lead the people to the place that I have told you; look, my angel goes before you.' And again he said to Moses, 'Go and rise up from here, you and the people.'

² And next, 'And I will send my angel before you.' These words show that it is not just an angel, but the voice of God himself that is clear to everyone. Which God is this? It is the one who was seen by the ancestors, whom Jacob clearly called the angel of God. This was the Word of God for us, as he is both the Son of God and also called God and Lord.

Book 5, Section 16

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods besides me." And next, "For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God.

² "And you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain." And here the Lord teaches about another Lord. Saying, 'I am the Lord your God,' he chooses, 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God,' about the Father and God of all, the second Lord who serves the initiates.

³ You will also find many other similar things throughout all the holy scriptures, through which God speaks as about another god, and the Lord himself speaks as about another lord.

Book 5, Section 17

And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will do this word that you have spoken. For you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.' And Moses said, 'Show me your glory.' And he said, 'I will pass before you with my glory, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.' And with other words, he said, 'And he came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and he called out in the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by in front of him and called out, 'Lord, Lord, the God who is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in kindness, and true, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but he will not clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.' And Moses hurried and bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

² See how now the Lord himself, who came down, called out in a cloud, and standing before Moses in the name of the Lord, refers to another lord besides himself. He usually calls upon the Lord twice, as if he is speaking of both himself and all others, calling his own father the master. And it is not Moses, as someone might think, but the Lord himself calls another lord, the father. The one who speaks to Moses says, 'I will pass before you with my glory, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord.'

³ After this has been said, the scripture continues narratively: 'And the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and called out in the name of the Lord.' Therefore, the Lord himself fulfills his promise and, as the word says, goes before Moses.

⁴ And the Lord himself calls out, saying, 'Lord, the God who is compassionate and merciful,' and the following words clearly show that the Lord is revealing himself and the knowledge of the greater Lord. This will show you where, praying for the people before the Lord, he remembers to say these things, but not about himself, in which he says, 'And now let your hand be lifted up, Lord, as you said, the Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy and true, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but he will not clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.'

⁵ The Lord himself keeps in mind how he speaks of the father as slow to anger and abundant in mercy, adding that he is also true, agreeing with the saying, 'I know you, the only true God,' in the gospels spoken by our one and the same Savior. Therefore, he calls the father the only true God with great reverence, giving honor to the divine nature, of which he is said to be the image and offspring, as the divine words teach. From the Book of Numbers: As the divine scripture teaches that God is seen by Israel, hinting at the word of God.

Book 5, Section 18

In the Book of Numbers, Moses, while praying, says, 'For you are the Lord in this people, who sees eye to eye, you Lord.' In contrast, Aquila translated it as, 'For you are the Lord in the midst of this people, who sees eye to eye, you Lord.' And Symmachus says, 'For you are the Lord.'

² And in Exodus it is said, 'And Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the place where the God of Israel was.' In contrast, Aquila translated it as, 'and (he says) the God of Israel,' while Symmachus translated it as, 'and they saw a vision of the God of Israel.'

³ Because of the saying 'God was seen at any time,' someone might think that the present wording suggests that the invisible nature is made visible. But even if these things are taken in relation to the word of God, which was shown in many ways to the fathers, just as it has been revealed to us, one would no longer think it falls into contradictions. Here, it teaches that the God of Israel is seen, whom Jacob also saw when he wrestled with a man, who first changed his name from Jacob to Israel, saying, 'For I have seen God face to face, and my soul was saved.' There is no other existence of the word of God according to its own time. From the book of Joshua the son of Nun. Just as the word of God, who spoke to Moses, was also seen by the ancient ancestors in the form of a man, so it appeared to Joshua, the successor of Moses.

Book 5, Section 19

And it happened that when Jesus was in Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him, with a drawn sword in his hand. And Jesus went up to him and said, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?' And he said to him, 'I am the commander of the army of the Lord; now I have come.' And Jesus fell on his face to the ground and said to him, 'What does my Lord say to his servant?' And the commander of the Lord's army said to Jesus, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'

² "These things were also said to Moses, the beginner of the vision at the bush, by the Lord, as the scripture shows: 'When the Lord saw that he was coming to look, the Lord called to him from the middle of the bush, saying, "Moses, Moses, do not come near here; take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."'"

³ Therefore, the same God who spoke to both is shown by the command. But now, through the commander of his army, and to Moses through the appearing angel of the heavenly hosts and unseen powers, and divine angels and archangels serving the all-sovereign and universal God, as it is said by Daniel, 'Thousands served him, and myriads stood before him.' Who could be higher than the Word of God and the firstborn wisdom of the divine offspring? Thus, the commander of the Lord's army is rightly mentioned here, just as the angel of great counsel is in other places, and he is a companion of the Father, eternal and great high priest.

⁴ It is shown that the Lord and God are the same, and Christ is anointed by the Father with the oil of joy. To Abraham, he appeared by the oak in the form of a calm and peaceful man, hinting at his saving presence for humanity. To Jacob, he wrestled as a fighter and a contender against enemies, like a man. But to Moses and the people, he led in the form of a cloud and fire, presenting himself as both fearsome and overshadowing.

⁵ When the successor of Moses, Jesus, was about to lead against the enemies, the former inhabitants of the land of the Philistines, foreign nations and the most wicked, it is fitting that he is shown with a drawn sword, ready against the enemies. He was revealing that he himself would use an invisible sword with divine power to defeat the wicked, while joining and fighting alongside his own people. Therefore, in due time, he proclaimed himself as the commander of the Lord. From Job. Just as the creator of all, the Word of God, spoke to the fathers and is said to have been seen by their eyes.

Book 5, Section 20

And the Lord said to Job out of the storm and clouds, 'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you understand, who set its measurements, if you know?' And he continues, 'When the stars were created, all my angels praised me with a loud voice; I also set the sea with gates.'

² And then he says, 'Or have I set the morning light upon you? Has the morning star looked upon its order?'

³ And again, 'Did you take clay from the earth and shape a speaking creature to place upon the earth? Did you remove the light from the wicked and crush the arm of the proud? Did you go to the source of the sea and walk in the tracks of the deep? The gates of death open to you in fear, and the keepers of Hades, seeing you, trembled?'

⁴ And at the end of the whole oracle, Job answers the Lord saying, 'Listen to me, Lord, and I will speak; I will ask you, and you teach me. I had heard of you with my ears, but now my eye has seen you; therefore I despise myself and repent, considering myself dust and ashes.'

⁵ Therefore, the voices that belong to the Lord, the Creator, are not only from what has been said before, but it is also easy to understand them from what is shown to you. As for 'Did you come to the source of the sea and walk in the tracks of the deep?' and 'The gates of death open to you in fear, and the keepers of Hades, seeing you, trembled,' we will show the meaning of Hades according to the proper time of our Savior, emphasizing now that it is more fitting to speak of God's word than to present all things to God in their place.

⁶ Indeed, Job, next, similarly to his ancestors, testifies that he has seen the Lord with his own eyes, who speaks to him through the storm and clouds, saying, 'Listen to me, Lord, and I will speak; I will ask you, and you teach me. I had heard of you with my ears, but now my eye has seen you; therefore I despise myself and repent, considering myself dust and ashes.'

⁷ How could the highest God, beyond all things, the unchanging and uncreated essence, be seen by a soul clothed in flesh and mortal eyes, unless we clearly say that the divine word, which shows itself in different ways, is present? It is also possible to learn from those oracles, through which the Lord again speaks to Job about the devil as if he were a dragon, asking, 'Are you not prepared for me?'

⁸ For which lord should we think of the dragon, or should it be the divine word and our Savior? He who long ago defeated the ruler of this world, bringing down the race of humans, and releasing them from the pains of death, he also presents himself, saying, 'You have come to the source of the sea and walked in the tracks of the deep; the gates of death open to you in fear, and the keepers of Hades, seeing you, trembled.'

As the preceding Psalm knows two lords. ⁹ These things are fitting for Job after the great trial he endured, teaching him that he has struggled beyond measure, in a greater and stronger battle that is reserved for him by the Lord at the time of his coming to death.

Book 5, Section 21

For you, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge. No evil will come near you, and no plague will come close to your tent. For he commands his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

² With these words, the devil has used the Psalm against our Savior in his temptation. So see how the Psalm speaks to the Lord, saying, 'For you, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge.' For it says, 'You yourself, my Lord, are my hope, greater than your own God, the Most High, and the refuge of all and of your Father; because of him, no evil will come near you, nor will any plague come close to your tent.'

³ For even if wicked men try to strike you after you have become human and even hand you over to death, yet no plague from God will come near your tent, that is, to your body, which he clearly took on for us. Following this, you will apply what is shown throughout the whole Psalm, which we will also examine in its proper time. From Hosea. About the Word of God and the Father as concerning the Lord.

Book 5, Section 22

I will not leave Jacob to be erased, for I am God, and not a man in you, holy, and I will not enter a city; I will walk behind the Lord." Because of this, the Word of God, having become human, speaks to man as holy, but does not confess to be God, saying, 'I am God, and not a man in you, holy.'

² Then, calling himself God, he shows that he is the Lord and God and Father of all, saying, 'I will walk behind the Lord.' But the phrase 'I will not enter a city' would deny the common and public life of men, which he also warns his own disciples about, saying, 'Do not go on the road of the Gentiles and do not enter the city of Samaritans.' From Amos. The son of Amos. About our Savior as concerning the Lord, and the Father as concerning God, and the destruction of the nation of the Jews.

Book 5, Section 23

"I destroyed you as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and you became like a stick pulled out of the fire. And even so, you did not return to me, says the Lord." Here, the Lord speaks of someone who has caused the destruction of Sodom, being different from the one being shown to him.

² And in the destruction of Sodom, two Lords are present, when the Lord rained fire from the Lord upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, he says, because of their wickedness, Sodom endured destruction, so you too, O these, will suffer, and even so, you did not return to me. It is common in scripture to show the future as if it has already happened. So, the present should also be understood in the same way: instead of 'I will destroy' in the future, it is said 'I have destroyed,' and instead of 'you will return,' it is said 'you have not returned.'

³ "These things are directed toward the Jewish nation, which were fulfilled only after the plot against our Savior. Their holy place, which was once sacred, has now become like the destruction of Sodom. However, even though they have suffered according to the prophecy, they still have not turned to Christ, the Son of God, through whom they have suffered these things. As it is fitting, this is also said by the prophecy that is in hand, saying, 'And even so, you did not return to me,' says the Lord." From Obadiah. About the two Lords, the Father and the calling of the nations.

Book 5, Section 24

"Vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord to Edom: I heard a report from the Lord, and he sent a message to the nations. The Lord God heard a report from the Lord. And this was about the calling of the nations." From Zechariah. As the word of God, being the Lord, is sent to the greater one, he acknowledges the Lord.

Book 5, Section 25

Thus says the Lord Almighty: I have been sent behind glory to the nations that have plundered you." Then he adds briefly, saying, "And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me." If the one who sends is the Almighty Lord, and the one who is sent speaks in the same way, then there are two. Clearly, the one who is sent, the Lord Almighty, says, "He has sent me to the nations.

Book 5, Section 26

Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations will seek refuge in the Lord on that day, and they will be his people, and I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you and the rest. To these he adds, 'And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in his name they will boast,' says the Lord.

² And these things are similar to those before, the coming of Christ to people, and the salvation of the nations through him calling out. I myself, the Lord, will come, he says, and at my coming there will no longer be the old Israel, nor will there be a single nation on earth, but many nations will seek refuge in the greater and mighty Lord, my God and the God of all, for whom the nations seeking refuge will receive such blessings, that they will be called and become a people of God, and will dwell in the midst of the beloved daughter of Zion. Thus, the church of God on earth, like a daughter of the heavenly one, is called beloved in the holy writings.

³ And when this is proclaimed, it says, 'Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming and will dwell in your midst.' For we have believed that God dwells in the midst of the church. As it has been promised, saying, 'Behold, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age.'

⁴ And 'wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.' But when I, the Lord, come and dwell in your midst, then you will have a greater understanding of God, the Almighty. I will explain the reason for my sending to people, as I was sent by my Father.

⁵ And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And next, concerning another Lord and God, the Lord himself says, 'And I will strengthen them in their Lord God, and in his name they will boast,' says the Lord. But who are those who boast in the Lord?

Book 5, Section 27

And the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And the devil was standing at his right side to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil, 'The Lord rebuke you, devil, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.'

² Again, here the Lord says that another Lord will rebuke the devil, not the Lord himself who is being called Lord, but remembering another Lord. For this reason, I believe it is clear to present the matter of the two Lords, the Father and God of all, and the one with the Father, the Lord and Master over all created things, as proof. From Malachi. As an angel of the covenant, Christ is also called the same Lord by the Almighty God.

Book 5, Section 28

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord Almighty, and who will be able to stand on the day of his coming?

² These things are similar to the previous ones. For the Lord, the Almighty God, says that he will come to his temple as Lord, speaking of another. This clearly indicates the Word of God. After this, he also names the messenger of the covenant, whom the Almighty Lord teaches to send before himself, saying, 'Behold, I am sending my messenger before me.'

³ This same one, whom he called my messenger, again is named Lord, saying, 'And suddenly the Lord will come,' and 'the messenger of the covenant.' To also mention the same one, he adds, 'Behold, he is coming,' and 'who will be able to stand on the day of his coming?' This indicates his second and glorious appearance. The one who establishes all these things is the Almighty Lord, the God of all.

Book 5, Section 29

And the sun of righteousness will rise for those who fear me, and healing will be in its wings." This often-named Lord and God, and messenger and chief captain, also Christ and priest, and Word and wisdom of God, and image, is now called the sun of righteousness. Therefore, the Father who begot him promises to rise for those who fear his name, giving them the honor of the light of the sun of righteousness. This God, the Word, who said, 'I am the light of the world,' is the one who was the light that gives light to every person coming into the world.

² This one, then, not the visible sun that everyone can see, whether rational or irrational, but the divine and spiritual one, the cause of all virtue and righteousness, the God says that he will rise only for those who fear him, hiding him from the unworthy. About this, it is said elsewhere, 'And the sun will set upon the false prophets who lead my people astray.' From Jeremiah. As the Word of God, being Lord, sends a prayer to the Father, establishing the return of the nations.

Book Six

Lord, you are my strength and my help and my refuge in the day of trouble. Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and they will say that our fathers have inherited false idols, and there is no benefit in them. If a person makes gods for himself, and they are not gods, therefore, behold, I will show them my hand at this time, and I will make my power known to them, and they will know that I am Lord.

² The Lord prays to the Lord, that is, to the Father and God of all, starting with 'Lord, you are my strength' and what follows. Clearly, he establishes the change of the nations from their many wandering idolatries to true worship of God. And this prophecy is shown most clearly fulfilled after the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to people.

³ But indeed, through all thirty prophetic chapters, we learn that there is a second God, after the highest, and that he is the Savior and Lord of us, the Word of God. We will move on to another topic regarding his economy, and it is necessary for this same God to come to people, as established in the sacred books of the Hebrews.

Introduction

Clearly, in the fifth writing of the Gospel Proof, it is defined about the Father and the Son that there is one God, acknowledged as the one above all, and a second substance is shown after him, leading all created beings. This is the wisdom of God, the only-begotten Son, and God from God, the great counselor, the angel of the great council, the ruler of the heavenly armies, and the servant of the Father, yes indeed, and the Lord of all, and the Word of God and the unity of God. The divine words foretold that if the prophetic testimonies were to be revealed, God would come to people. It is necessary to refer to this, especially through the earlier appearances in human form and shape, where God, the Word, revealed visions to people in the name of a dog and God, beloved by Abraham.

² Come then, let us see how the Lord will come down to people as God and again ascend clearly, as it has been foretold in the words of the Hebrews, and also the reasons for his coming down. It will be noted that some things are said in riddles, while others are clearer.

³ I think that some things are hidden because of the circumcision, and they are given in a covered way due to the gloomy things that will be said about them. It was likely that they would hide the writing if it indicated their final downfall. Indeed, the same reasoning holds for the prophets, who were also held back by words that were used to accuse them.

⁴ The clear prophecies contain the calling of the nations very clearly, announcing the good things about piety not only to the Jewish nation but to all people throughout the whole world. Since this is the case, the time has come for the divine messages to be fulfilled.

Book 6, Section 1

From Psalm 17. It shows the coming of God to people and the calling of the nations. 'And he bent the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet, and he rode on cherubim, and he flew, he flew on the wings of the wind, and he made darkness his hiding place; his tent was all around him.'

² I think that because of these things, the descent of God from heaven is being shown. For after saying many things about God, he chooses what is written. To say that he bent the heavens and came down means the taking away of the divine glory, which the divine apostle shows when he says, 'who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God something to hold on to, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.' And the phrase 'and he rode on cherubim and flew' seems to me to hint at the restoration of God's glory, which is supported by angelic and divine powers. This is also shown to me by the phrase 'he flew on the wings of the wind.'

³ But the darkness being set as his hiding place and the gloom under his feet could be seen as a symbol of the hidden and secret plan, through which all these things were done for him. And to say 'his tent was all around him' should be understood as referring to either his holy and universal church, whether on earth or in heaven.

⁴ Next, in the same Psalm, the word ends by predicting both the rejection of the former people and the calling of the nations, as it says, 'You will rescue me from the arguments of the people; you will make me the head of the nations. A people I did not know served me; as soon as they heard, they obeyed me. Foreign sons lied to me; foreign sons grew weak and fell away from their paths.' These things will be examined according to the appropriate time.

Book 6, Section 2

All you nations, clap your hands; shout to God with a voice of joy, for the Lord is the Most High, awesome, a great king over all the earth. He has subdued peoples under us and nations under our feet. He chose for us our inheritance, the beauty of Jacob, whom he loved. God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing to our God, sing; sing to our king, sing, for God is the king of all the earth; sing with understanding. God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. The rulers of the peoples have gathered with the God of Abraham, for the mighty ones of the earth have greatly risen.

² And what else could the ascent of the Lord God mean, as shown by these things, except his descent before the ascent, during which the calling of all the nations is established? Signs of joy and gladness are proclaimed for the coming knowledge of God to all the nations, when the Lord himself, the Most High, the only God and king of all the earth, is acknowledged to subdue peoples under us.

³ But what about us? It is clear that those who prophesy these things are speaking of what is clearly fulfilled, when all the nations that believe in Christ are subjected to the words of the prophets. These things could also be said by the apostles of our Savior, who would say, 'He has chosen for us our inheritance.'

⁴ And what should we understand as his inheritance, except the calling of all the nations, which Christ himself presented, saying, 'The Lord said to me, you are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession.'

⁵ Therefore, this inheritance given to him by the Father he subjected to his apostles and prophets, so that those who believe in him would be subject to the words of these, according to the established laws. And having accomplished all these things during his presence among people, the Word of God, about whom we have spoken much, 'ascended with a shout.'

⁶ "But explaining this, the apostle says, what does 'he ascended' mean, if not that he also first descended to the lowest parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended above the heavens." And he says that he ascended with a shout because of the theology about him from the angels who were going up with him, who said, 'Lift up your heads, O you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.' And the voice would not fail to proclaim the gospel, as it was declared throughout the whole world.

⁷ For of all musical instruments, the trumpet is the loudest. The example is fitting for the announcement of the teaching about Christ, which has been proclaimed to all people more powerfully and loudly than anything else throughout the ages. Just as through a trumpet, the Holy Spirit cries out and shouts the following from the Psalm, which says, 'Sing to our God, sing, sing to our King, sing.' For the King is no longer just of the Jewish nation, but God is King of all the earth; sing wisely.

⁸ For I say that no longer are there demons, he says, nor deceitful spirits, but God himself has reigned over all nations, the same God who sits on his holy throne. And before this, the Word of God commanded the Father to sit on the throne, saying, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' Through this previous writing, we have presented.

⁹ "But the rulers of the nations gathered with God Abraham" shows even more clearly that the leaders from the nations have been transferred to the lot of the ancient prophets who were beloved by God. These leaders of the Church of Christ, strengthened by the power of our Savior, have been greatly lifted up, unable to be brought down or humbled by any human, because they have been raised up and empowered by the right hand of God. And these things will be explained in detail later.

Book 6, Section 3

God of gods, the Lord has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting; from Zion is the beauty of his splendor. God will come clearly, our God, and he will not be silent. And with other things, he says, 'Hear, my people, and I will speak to you, Israel, and I will testify against you. I am God, your God. I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are always before me.'

² I will not accept bulls from your house or goats from your flocks, for all the wild animals of the forest are mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and the beauty of the field is with me. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and everything in it. Would I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. And call on me in the day of trouble.

³ And here the divine prophecy clearly states that God will come visibly, revealing the word of God. It also clearly presents the reason for his coming, again indicating the call of the nations throughout the whole world. 'He has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.' And very importantly, after his appearance and after the calling of the nations, it teaches the rejection of the physical worship according to the law of Moses, which also reached its purpose with the appearance of the word of God to all people.

⁴ For from that time, all people from all over the world are called, and all nations from the east to the west. The religion according to the Jews is also set aside, according to the new covenant of the gospel message, but not according to the law of Moses, which commanded people to be pious. These things would also refer to the second and glorious appearance of the Savior.

Book 6, Section 4

God of gods will be seen in Zion. God of hosts, listen to my prayer; O God of Jacob, give attention. Our defender is God, and look upon the face of your Christ.

² The one who prays speaks of the God of gods being seen, asking for his appearance to come quickly. He teaches how he will be seen by saying, 'look upon the face of your Christ;' it is as if he says more clearly, 'appear through the face of your Christ.' For whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father who sent him, so it is fitting to promise that the God of gods, who dwells in Christ, will be revealed through the face of Christ.

Book 6, Section 5

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples, for the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all.

² And again, bring to the Lord the families of the nations." And again, say among the nations, "The Lord reigns.

³ And upon all, it is said, 'Then all the trees of the forest will rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.'

⁴ And here again, coming to people, the Lord prophesies, and a new song will be sung at his coming, the new covenant, not just for the nation of the Jews, but for all the earth. It will no longer be about Israel, but all the nations, because he says that a king, the coming Lord, will be among them.

⁵ Who is this, or the word of God? He who is about to judge the world with righteousness and humanity with truth, will treat all people on earth equally according to his calling and has made them worthy of salvation from God.

Book 6, Section 6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of all the nations. And again, 'All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth!' And upon all the mountains, they will rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with fairness.

² The presence of the Lord is prophesied to come to many good things for the nations, which is shown through the appearance of our Savior at the end. For from that time, the new song of the new covenant is sung to all people, and his wonders are made known and famous to everyone through the writings of the Gospels. Moreover, his salvation, which comes from the resurrection of the dead, has been revealed to all the nations, and true righteousness has been clearly shown, proving that God is not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.

³ "For since there is one God," as the holy apostle says, "who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith." This means that he is coming to judge the earth, which would indicate his second coming. From Psalm 76.

Book 6, Section 7

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron in two. He rescued them from their sinful ways. They were brought low because of their sins; their souls hated all food. They drew near to the gates of death, and they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.

² And let them praise him in the assembly of the people and in the council of the elders. He turned rivers into a desert and springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into salty waste because of the wickedness of those who lived in it. He turned the desert into pools of water and the dry land into springs of water. And there he settled the hungry, and they built cities to live in.

³ And these things clearly name the coming of the word of God from heaven, announcing both his presence and his deeds. 'He sent his word, and he healed them.' We clearly say that this is the Savior sent by God to all people, whom we have been taught to speak about through the holy gospels.

⁴ And he is also hinted at in his journey to death for those who have been born to this. He presents the reason for his arrival, showing the redemption of those who will be saved through him. For he alone saved those who were near the gates of death; he also rescued them, healing them from their destruction. And he accomplished this by breaking the so-called bronze gates of death and shattering the iron bars.

⁵ And indeed after this, he prophesies about the desolation of those who did not come to receive him. For he says, 'He turned rivers into a desert and streams of water into thirst, a fruitful land into salty waste because of the wickedness of those who lived in it.' You will understand this if you run back to the long-suffering Jerusalem of the Jewish nation, and see the glory and the fruitfulness in God, which the holy and God-loving men living there are now lacking.

⁶ For after the coming of Christ, it truly became fruitless, dry, and completely desolate, and as the prophecy says, 'a salty waste because of the wickedness of those who lived there.' He then connects this with a prophetic hint about the ancient desert and thirst, either referring to the soul of every human being, or to the change of the church from the nations towards godliness, and the fruitfulness in divine words.

⁷ These things are clearly hinted at when it says, 'He made a desert into lakes of water,' and the following lines. Only a wise person, who is with God, could understand this, as it says at the end of the Psalm, 'Who is wise, and will keep these things?' and the rest.

Book 6, Section 8

'Praise the Lord, all you nations; let all the peoples praise him, for his mercy has been strong toward us.' And the following lines say, 'O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has given us light.'

² And the sacred writing of the gospel remembers this when our Savior and Lord Christ entered into Jerusalem. A great crowd of men and children went ahead of him, joyfully shouting, 'Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' Instead of 'O Lord, save us,' which is found in the Psalm, they shouted 'Hosanna,' which means 'save us, please.'

³ And the phrase 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' explains the following saying, 'The Lord is God, and he has given us light.' Therefore, the one who appeared to us, the Lord God, is the same, the Word of God, who is blessed because he made his presence among people in the name of the Lord who sent him, the Father. He was indeed telling those who did not believe in him from the circumcision, 'I came in my Father's name, and you do not accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.' So, it is fitting that the Holy Spirit is no longer given to the Jewish people, but to all the nations, as it calls out in the beginning of the Psalm.

Book 6, Section 9

'Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? Lord, bend the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.' And descending, he chooses, 'God, I will sing a new song to you.' I believe these things are related to the subject at hand. For the Word of God, amazed by the knowledge of humanity, is overwhelmed by the kindness through which, lowering himself from his divine nature and great size, he made himself worthy of knowing the human race.

² Here, he prays, saying, 'Lord, Lord, bend the heavens and come down.' And in the seventeenth Psalm, it is said, 'And he bent the heavens, and came down, and darkness was under his feet.' And he rode on cherubim and flew; he flew on the wings of the wind.

³ Through these things, he establishes the way up, which he made from the earth to the heavens. But when we think of the descent and ascent of the Word of God, it is not about a change in location; rather, it is about the way he manages these things, as the scripture reveals, and we will give our own explanation.

⁴ It was necessary to remember also the new covenant, which the coming of Christ would bring to people. This is the new covenant given by Christ to all nations after the old one. Therefore, it says in the scripture, 'God, I will sing a new song to you.'

⁵ The phrase "to touch the mountains and they will smoke" hints at the burning and destruction of all idolatry, which was especially common among the ancient people in the mountains. So, even the Jews are being rebuked for worshiping idols on every high mountain, following the example of the foreign nations.

Book 6, Section 10

"Jerusalem, praise the Lord; praise your God, Zion." Then it says, "the one who sends his word to the earth, his word runs swiftly." It is clear that the one who sends is different from the one who is sent. Therefore, you have here the sender, who is God over all, and the one being sent, who is the Word. This Word has many names: sometimes he is called wisdom, sometimes word, at other times God, and again Lord, as revealed through the divine messages.

² In a short time, the word of his teaching filled the whole world. I know well that the result is a wonder of the prophecy that says, "his word runs swiftly."

Book 6, Section 11

And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song. Then he said, 'He bent the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind, and he made darkness his hiding place.'

² And at the end of this, he says, 'Rescue me from the arguments of the people. You will make me the head of the nations. A people I did not know served me; as soon as they heard, they obeyed me. Foreign sons will be rejected.'

³ The one who bent the heavens and came down, God, who rode on the one taken by man, whom now the word calls a cherub, flew with him on the way made with the divine spirits that carry him, on the wings of the wind and those who speak. These things are said to happen in darkness and in a hidden way, referring to certain secret and hidden words, saying, 'And he made darkness his hiding place.' The following explains the argument made against him by the people of the Jews at the incarnation of Christ and the obedience of the nations to the teaching of Christ. With these words, you would also find similar ones in the seventeenth Psalm, where the revealed things are mentioned.

Book 6, Section 12

And now, Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you spoke to your servant David, my father. For if God truly dwells with men on earth, if the heavens and the highest heaven are not enough for you.

² These things are found in the Chronicles. Therefore, God promised David that he would raise up a king from his womb, of whom God says he will be his father, so that the one born from the seed of David will be called the Son of God and will have an eternal throne of kingship.

³ These things were spoken to David by Nathan the prophet in the second book of Kings in this way: 'And it will be, when your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will be from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will set up his throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me.'

⁴ The same things are also said in the Chronicles. In the eighty-eighth Psalm, it is written: 'He will call me, "You are my father, my God, and the helper of my salvation." And I will make him the firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for him forever, and my covenant will be faithful to him. I will establish his offspring forever, and his throne as long as the days of heaven.'

⁵ And again, 'I swore to David my servant, I will prepare your offspring forever, and I will build your throne for all generations.'

⁶ And again, 'Once I swore by my holiness, I will not lie to David. His offspring will remain forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon, established forever.'

⁷ Of these things, the hundredth thirty-first Psalm mentions what is shown about Christ. So listen to this: 'O Lord, remember David and all his gentleness; how he swore to the Lord, and vowed to the God of Jacob.' After this, it adds, 'The Lord swore to David the truth, and he will not change it: from the fruit of your body, I will place on your throne.'

⁸ And going down, he names the one who will rise from the fruit of David's body, saying, 'There I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ. I will clothe his enemies with shame; but on him, my holiness will shine.'

⁹ Therefore, Solomon, the wisest, understanding what was said to his father, saw that it was not small but greater than human nature, and more fitting for God than for himself. And although he was the son of David, he understood the firstborn named before God and the clearly prophesied Son of God. He was filled with joy at the promises and prayed that the words of the prophecy would be believed, and he called the one being prophesied the firstborn and Son of God. That is why he says, 'And now, may the God of Israel truly confirm your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father. For if God truly dwells with men on earth, if the heavens and the highest heaven cannot contain you.'

Book 6, Section 13

Listen, all you people, and pay attention, O earth, and all who are in it. And the Lord our God will be a witness, the Lord from his holy house. For behold, the Lord, the Lord is coming out from his place, and he will come down upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will shake beneath him, and the valleys will be split like wax before a fire, and like water poured down a slope. It is because of the wickedness of Jacob that all these things will happen, and because of the sin of the house of Israel.

² And now, the Lord God is coming down from heaven, coming out from his place, and he is being proclaimed through the things that are about to happen. May the word of God be, which alone exists as God and Lord after the highest and above all. His place should not be said to be the kingdom in the heavens, nor the glorious throne of his divinity, which the prophet sang, saying, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.' On which the Father commanded his only Son to sit, saying, 'Sit at my right hand.'

³ For these things were clearly stated before, that we present our Savior, the Word of God. Therefore, this very one, the present word, proclaims that he will come out from his place and will come down upon the heights of the earth.

⁴ But what would these things be? Clearly, the mountains of Israel and the hills about which many prophecies are proclaimed, as well as Jerusalem and Mount Zion, where our Savior and Lord spent most of his time. It is foretold that there will be destruction and loss of these places at the coming of Christ. And it is evident that after the coming of our Savior, all the things that have been said about him will be surrounded and will have come to complete desolation.

⁵ Indeed, the rulers of the Jewish nation, along with their former established kingdom, priesthood, and leadership of teachers, are said to be shaken at the coming of the Lord from the heavens. And who would not agree that after the times of our Savior, Jesus Christ, seeing all those things, not only have they been shaken but have also been removed? The valleys that now exist instead of Jerusalem and Mount Zion would be like gatherings of their people in every city, mourning and weeping, and like wax melting before a fire, because of the great sorrow and grief for their desolation and for the long and many years of slavery.

⁶ And in another way, the coming of the divine Word is not in chasms and hollows, nor in low and humble thoughts, but it is in raised and elevated minds. Therefore, it is said that the Lord himself will come down upon the heights of the earth.

⁷ And the mountains that were shaken beneath him were indeed those where he was taken by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, 'when the devil took him to a very high mountain, and he was with the wild animals.'

⁸ And if there were mountains, again, the idolatry that was previously practiced in the mountains is more extreme, and the invisible and ruling powers that acted there, which the teaching of our Savior has greatly shaken and moved. For his divine Word, along with its miraculous and wondrous power, secretly brings down the long-standing and ancient rule over humans.

⁹ Likewise, the valleys melting like wax from the face of fire would be demons from the earth and the surrounding area, through which the burning fire of their wickedness was sent forth, saying, 'I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish if it is already kindled?' Being burned by that fire, and not being able to bear the torments brought by the invisible flame, they withdrew from human bodies, and the force that held them and drove them cried out, 'Leave, what do you have to do with us, son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? We know who you are, the holy one of God.'

¹⁰ But especially he was being mocked, and he brought down the rulers over these things, because they were not satisfied with the corruption of the other nations, through which all had fallen into the many-headed deception, and against the people of God, who were indeed from circumcision, they had plotted, and having turned away from God, they surrounded him with all kinds of impiety. Therefore, the Lord made the descent from heaven especially.

¹¹ From this, he says, 'Because of the impiety of Jacob, all these things and because of the sin of the house of Israel.' And still, in addition to these, he explains the reason for the descent of the word from heaven, counting the impieties of the people from circumcision, and the destruction that came upon them because of these. He also announces the calling of the nations throughout the whole world. For this reason, the word of God came down from heaven to earth.

¹² And listen to the words: 'Because of the impiety of the house of Jacob, all these things and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What is the impiety of the house of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? And I will make Samaria a storehouse for a field and a place for a vineyard, and I will turn its stones into chaos, and I will uncover its foundations.'

¹³ And he adds, 'The sound of weapons and horsemen came down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem.'

¹⁴ And again, 'The glory of the daughter of Jerusalem, strip yourself and shave your head for your delicate children. Widen your widowhood like an eagle, for they have been taken captive from you.' On Zion, it will be like a field that is plowed, and Jerusalem will be like a storehouse for fruit, and the mountain of the house will be like a forest of trees.

¹⁵ But Zion and Jerusalem and the mountain called the house, these were the things that were previously declared through, 'And the mountains will shake beneath him, and the valleys will be made like wax from the face of fire because of the impiety of Jacob. For because of the wickedness done against him, immediately and not for long, both the mountains and those who live in them were besieged; fire and complete desolation the mountain of Zion endured, and the mountain of the house of God became like a forest of trees.'

¹⁶ Therefore, these things will happen at the coming of the Lord from heaven concerning them, and the present prophecy indicates this, which also clearly takes in the outcome after the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

¹⁷ If indeed our own history can say anything, we have seen the long-suffering Zion being plowed by Roman men, and Jerusalem, as the saying goes, left like a watchtower abandoned, completely laid waste; which happened to them for no other reason than their wickedness, for which the heavenly word came forth from its own place.

¹⁸ And for another reason, it was already said that the word of God came down from heaven and stood upon the heights of the earth, so that the mountains, which were once lifted up and exalted against the knowledge of God, would be shaken beneath him. The powers, namely the opposing ones, which before his coming were enslaved to the wickedness and idolatry of men and the Jewish nation, and the evil demons, calling upon the depths because they dwell in dark chasms and the hollows of bodies, would melt away like wax before fire, and by the power of the divine word would escape from men. And there would be another reason besides this, not the one that happens with the coming of the Lord from heaven, which the word points out, so that all the nations on earth, with the demons driven out and the ruling spirits shaken, would breathe again after their long, harsh, and unmovable tyranny, and gain the knowledge of the God who is above all.

¹⁹ And in this way, the voices of the same prophecy continue and proclaim together: 'And in those days, the mountain of the Lord will be made clear, ready upon the tops of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and peoples will rush to it, and many nations will go and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will show us his way, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge among the nations.'

²⁰ Such things are also said about the calling of the nations, and what kind of understanding it holds, so that after the coming of our Savior, one might learn in peace. Following this, the word of prophecy begins, as it concerns the salvation not only of the Jewish nation but also of all the nations, when the Lord comes down to humanity. It calls out to the peoples and to all those on the earth, saying, 'Hear, all you peoples, and let the earth pay attention, and all who are in it.'

²¹ And a testimony of the suffering of the Lord was hinted at, saying, 'And the Lord will be your God as a testimony.' Then the same prophet, having already prepared the things about the existence of the word of God and his coming down from heaven, and having spoken of the reasons for his presence among people, next teaches about his future birth among humans, and indeed he teaches where he was to be born, saying, 'And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are small to be among the thousands of Judah; out of you will come a leader for me, to be a ruler in Israel, and his origins are from old, from ancient days.'

²² Carefully consider how the prophecy about Bethlehem, which is a small place in Judah, speaks of the origins that have been established from old and from ancient times, showing the divine pre-existence and essence of the ruler who will come from Bethlehem. If someone wants to refer this prophecy to another, let them show who that is. But if there is no other than our Savior, Jesus Christ, who alone, after this prophecy, has come forth, then what is stopping anyone from agreeing with the truth of the prophecy, since it is fulfilled only in him? Indeed, he alone is the one who has appeared, born from the previously mentioned place of Bethlehem, and after the times of the prophecy, he took on human form, and with his coming, the things that were foretold were fulfilled.

²³ Indeed, not long after, each of the things that were prophesied met the Jewish nation with sadness, while to the other nations, the following things came according to the prophecies. This Savior and our Lord, having come from Bethlehem, was revealed as the one who was sent by the divine mind, thus speaking to all the insightful and God-fearing people. And it is indeed said how his origins have the divine pre-existence from the beginning and from ancient days, which would not fit with human nature.

²⁴ Next, the prophetic word, stepping back a little, again points out the description and removal of the old legal religion, speaking on behalf of the people: 'In what should I take hold of the Lord? How will I grasp my God, the Most High? Should I take hold of him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Should I give my firstborn for my sin, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?'

²⁵ And from the perspective of God, he gives them this answer: 'Has it been told to you, O man, what is good? And what does the Lord seek from you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to be ready to walk humbly with your God?'

²⁶ "Therefore, you have here in the prophecy of the Lord coming from heaven to humans, many things that are signified: the downfall of the Jews, the rebukes of their wickedness, the removal of their royal city, and the rejection of the worship that had long been practiced by them according to Moses. But on the other hand, there are good promises for the nations, knowledge of God, a new way of piety, a new law, and a message that will come from the land of the Jews and will be spread to all the nations. What kind of end and what outcome these words will have after the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I leave to you to consider."

From Habakkuk.

Book 6, Section 14

And the Lord answered me and said, 'Write the vision clearly on a tablet, so that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; it will speak at the end and will not lie. If it seems to delay, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be late. But if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith.'

² And here it clearly proclaims that the one who is prophesied will come. Who is this but the one mentioned above in the saying, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; God is the Lord, and he has appeared to us'? This one is said to be like a light rising at the end, at the completion of the ages. Zacharias also agrees, saying, 'Behold, a man, his name is the Rising Sun, and he will rise beneath him.'

³ And marking the time, he also chooses to say, 'There will be light toward evening. If it seems to delay, wait for him.' Instead, Aquila has made it say, 'If he is about to come, wait for him, because the one coming will surely come and will not be late.' This is also remembered in the letter to the Hebrews, where it says, 'Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not delay. But the righteous shall live by his faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.'

⁴ And see how the prophetic words, which were unclear because they were spoken in a lofty way, have been made clearer by the letter.

⁵ For the word of prophecy says, 'The one who is coming will come and will not delay.' And it adds, 'If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him,' which seems to connect with the one who is coming and not delaying, which is strange. For how can it be said that God does not take pleasure in him? But the arrangement of the words has changed the meaning and saved the thought.

⁶ For after a little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay," it then connects with "but the righteous shall live by his faith." Then it placed the first part of the prophecy second in the phrase, "and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." For once the word declared through the prophecy that indeed the light promised to all nations will rise at the coming of Christ, it will not be denied.

⁷ For instead of 'and will not be in vain,' Aquila translated it. Then, because the coming of the one being prophesied will be late and in the evening, it encourages patience with 'if he shrinks back, wait for him,' or 'if he delays, expect him, for the one who is coming will come and will not delay.' It urges the listener to have faith in the prophecy, saying that the one who believes in this will be shown to be righteous through his own faith and will live a life according to God, while the one who does not believe, if he shrinks back and does not have courage, nor trusts in what has been said, my soul has no pleasure in him.

⁸ Therefore, they also, by switching the first part to the end and placing the last part at the beginning, will preserve the meaning of the words by connecting 'for the one who is coming will come and will not delay' with 'but my righteous one shall live by faith' in an unusual way.

⁹ And by adding 'if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him,' Aquila also says, 'if he delays, expect him, for the one who is coming will come and will not be slow.' Look, when he is being lazy, my soul is not pleased with him, and the righteous will live by his own faith.

Book 6, Section 15

Lord, I have heard your message, and I was afraid. I was amazed. Lord, I have considered your works, and I was astonished. In the midst of two lives, you will be known; when the years come near, you will be recognized; when the time is present, you will be revealed; when my soul is troubled in anger, you will remember mercy. God will come from Teman, and the Holy One will come from the mountain of the shadow, of the thick forest. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness will be like light; he has horns in his hands, and he placed strong love in his power. A message will go before him, and it will come out into the plains.

² When he was inspired by himself, and even more by the divine spirit that was breathing and revealing in him, the holy prophet spoke about the one who was to come, saying, 'the one who is coming will come, and will not delay, but the righteous will live by my faith.' Believing this as a righteous person, he says with his hands, 'Lord, I have heard your message, and I was afraid,' and the following words clearly announce that God will come to people. Who could this be, the one known long ago, later recognized when the years come near, and revealed at the prophesied time? Or is he the same one, the second Lord of all, who was proclaimed in the prophecy to be announced to all people at the end of the ages? Therefore, these written works in the holy gospels show the birth from a virgin, clearly indicating where he took on human form, and 'though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal to God something to hold on to, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.' He performed wonders for people and anticipated the boldness of the Jews with the eyes of their souls, knowing the things that would happen in the future, having learned from the divine spirit that taught him. The prophet was astonished at what he heard and was afraid, saying, 'Lord, I have heard your message, and I was afraid; Lord, I have considered your works, and I was astonished.'

³ But this Savior and Lord of ours, the Word of God, was 'known in the midst of two lives.' Here, the plural form is used, and it is emphasized that there are many lives, instead of just the singular name of life.

⁴ For it is not said sharply about the lives from another source of life, but rather it speaks of lives in the plural, as the lives are many. Therefore, it says, 'he will be known in the midst of two lives.' For there is one life according to God, and another according to man, one mortal and the other immortal. The Lord is said to have come to be known in the midst of these two lives through experience, according to the interpretation of the one who explains it. For according to Akylas, it is not said this way, but rather, 'when the years come near, I will live.'

⁵ What does this mean, or what is your interpretation? And Theodotion says, 'when the years come near, I will live,' and Symmachus has, 'within the years, I will bring him to life.' Therefore, all say 'I will bring him to life,' clearly indicating that the word is not about some irrational or rational animals.

⁶ Therefore, regarding the saying 'he will be known in the midst of two lives,' we have not taken it according to those before us, but we have said that it shows two lives of the one being prophesied: one divine and the other human.

⁷ Here the prophet adds, 'when my soul is troubled in anger, you will remember mercy,' teaching that, seeing the time of the suffering of the one being prophesied, his spirit was disturbed. However, he says that at this time, when my soul was troubled, there was never another time when anger against humans was stirred because of the wickedness done against the Lord. Instead, the most compassionate Lord remembered mercy instead of anger, as a son of a good father would.

⁸ Indeed, his suffering became the cause of salvation and mercy from God for the whole world. To this, it is added, 'God will come from Teman.' The word Teman is translated into Greek as 'the end,' meaning it does not differ if it is clearly said, 'God will come at the end.' For at the end of the age and in these last days, the goodness of God for all through our Savior has appeared to us.

⁹ Perhaps he also proclaims his second and glorious coming in these words, so that it can be read from another beginning: 'God will come from Teman,' meaning that at the end of the age, he will come from the southern parts of heaven; for Teman is translated as 'the south.'

¹⁰ Therefore, Theodotion interprets this way: 'God will come from the south.' The next part says, 'and the holy one will come from the shadowy, thick mountains.' You will understand this by referring to the words in Zechariah, where I saw at night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the mountains that were shadowy.

¹¹ I believe that the one riding on the red horse and standing among the shadowy mountains is the one mentioned in the prophecy, which says that the holy one will come from the thick, shadowy mountain. Each of these mountains is called shadowy, and I think it refers to the paradise of God, which he planted in Eden toward the east, or even to the heavenly Jerusalem. 'For there are mountains all around it, and the Lord is all around his people.'

¹² These things are called shadowy because they are full of divine powers and holy spirits, as if they are naturally and abundantly shadowy. But in Zechariah, a man riding on a red horse is clearly seen, thus showing the incarnation of our savior and the flesh he took on. Here, God and the holy one are named.

¹³ For as he has made his arrival from God to humans, and as if he has come from the more divine places, it is said, 'God will come from Teman, and the holy one from the thick, shadowy mountain.' Then it continues, 'His glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise, and his brightness will be like light.'

¹⁴ Through these, both his glorious kingdom in the heavens stands, and the praise of his teachings that will come to all the earth. The phrase 'horns in his hands' shows the symbols of his kingdom, by which he drives away and pushes back the unseen and opposing powers. Following this, it says, 'And he set a strong love of his power.'

¹⁵ And indeed, the greatest proof of his powerful disposition and love for humans was the saying, 'A word will go before his face,' clearly referring to the saving and good news that will run into the fields, so that in a short time it will fill the whole world with the salvation he has brought to all people, as the prophecy says, 'A word will go before his face, and it will come out into the fields.' In his second coming, his word will set a limit on both the things mentioned and those that will follow, which is not the time to examine now. From Zechariah.

Book 6, Section 16

Thus says the Lord Almighty, 'I have been sent behind the glory to the nations that have plundered you; for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. For behold, I will lift my hand against them, and they will become plunder for those who served them, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.'

² The Lord himself, the Almighty, says that he has sent himself, and he teaches who the one who sent him is, saying, 'And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.' Therefore, here you clearly have two using the same name, both the one who sends, the Lord Almighty, and the one being sent, who shares the same name as the sender.

³ Who else could you call the one being sent except the word of God, which was foretold to us by many, agreeing that he was sent from the Father, clearly saying, 'I have been sent behind the glory'? This shows that he existed in the glory with the Father before being sent to the nations that plundered you. For the word of God was sent against the earlier enemies and foes of the people of God, leading them to plunder through his own disciples, who were part of the people of the circumcision, whom the nations had long oppressed by their own idolatry.

⁴ Therefore, he says that the nations will be forced to do what he has arranged. Just as the people of God were made to serve their own demons by being taken away from their ancestral piety, so too will they be plundered by the idolatry of their ancestors, which they had long served. They will be placed under the burden of the Jewish piety. This, the Lord says, will happen through himself in this way when he is sent to the Father.

⁵ If someone were to say that there are certain invisible and spiritual powers that now call the nations those who have plundered and captured the souls of humans, the loving word of God cares for those souls as if they were the pupil of his own eye. And this shows how he takes care of humanity, not even allowing himself to be withdrawn, being the word of God and existing in glory with the Father, while also revealing his presence and management among people.

Book 6, Section 17

Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for look, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations will seek refuge in the Lord on that day, and they will be his people, and I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

² Since it is now necessary to show the second reason from the prophets that people will gather on earth, I think this current prophecy serves as a clear example, as it does not need further explanation. And you will see that it also indicates the reason for his coming when it says, 'Many nations will seek refuge in the Lord on that day, and they will be his people.'

³ These things the word proclaims to the daughter of Zion, thus calling the church of God, because it seems to be the daughter of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is one of the saints, according to the holy apostle.

⁴ Or in another way, the church of Christ could also be called the daughter of Zion, as it has come from the earlier assembly of those from the circumcision through the apostles and evangelists. They were the offspring of the mother who was rejected because of her own wickedness and became a widow for sending away her husband. The prophets also accused her, saying, 'Did you not call me husband and father and leader of your virginity?' He also speaks of those born from her, saying, 'What is this book of the divorce of your mother, which I sent her away with?' And again, 'You will be judged against your mother; you will be judged, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband.'

⁵ It is fitting that the current prophecy proclaims the presence of the Lord, as those who have rejected the mother of the Lord have also rejected her daughter. This church from the nations would be considered in the land of the daughter of the earlier assembly, through the apostles of our Savior.

Book 6, Section 18

Behold, the days are coming of the Lord, and your possessions will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle, and the city will be captured, and the houses will be plundered, and the women will be violated. Half of the city will go out into captivity, but the rest of my people will not be destroyed. The Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as on the day of battle.

² And his feet will stand on that day on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, half toward the east and half toward the sea, a great and mighty chaos. The half of the mountain will lean toward the north and the other half toward the south. The valley of my mountains will be filled, and the gorge of the mountains will reach to Azal. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. And it will be on that day, there will be no light, but cold and frost will be one day.

³ And that day will be known to the Lord, not day and not night, but toward evening there will be light. And on that day, living water will flow out from Jerusalem. Half of it toward the first sea and half of it toward the last sea. It will be in summer and in spring like this. And the Lord will be king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one, and his name one, circling all the earth and the wilderness.

⁴ After the first siege of Jerusalem and its complete destruction and desolation by the Babylonians, and after the return from the war-torn land to their own home, which happened under Cyrus, king of the Persians, now that Jerusalem has been rebuilt and the sanctuary and its altar have been renewed under Darius the Persian, the present prophet indicates the second siege of Jerusalem that will come after this, which was suffered by the Romans, not at any other time than after the events concerning our Savior, Jesus Christ, against its inhabitants.

⁵ Therefore, it is very clear here that the presence of our Savior, the Word of God, and the events that happened at this time are shown. These things were happening together with the time of his suffering, and the siege that soon came upon the Jewish nation, and the capture of Jerusalem, and the calling of the nations to the one and only God for the knowledge of all people.

⁶ The Spirit-filled prophet, mourning more deeply for his own people, has made the beginning of the prophecy from their cry. Therefore, the day of the Lord, as it is called in other places and here, signifies the time of Christ's presence among people, clearly showing that the Lord himself, as the true light, will one day become the creator of days, shining upon all people on earth. When all the nations are illuminated, according to 'I have set you as a light for the nations, as a covenant for the people,' the Jewish nation will fall into great troubles because of their unbelief in him.

⁷ For this is what it means: 'Behold, the days are coming of the Lord, and your goods will be divided within you, and I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle, and the city will be captured, and the houses will be plundered, and the women will be raped, and half of the city will go into captivity.'

⁸ After the siege of Jerusalem and the subsequent captivity of the Jewish nation, he promises good things to all, saying, 'The Lord will be king over all the earth.' And again, 'The Lord will be one, and his name will be one, circling all the earth and the wilderness.'

⁹ But indeed, the Jewish nation will suffer such things in the days of the Lord, as foretold. Who would not be amazed at the outcome of the prophecy? For at the same time, Jesus, our Savior and Lord, was present, and those of the circumcision were impious toward him. All the things that were foretold happened together after five hundred years from the end of the prophecy, from Pilate and until the siege under Nero, Titus, and Vespasian, with them not being spared from various and repeated disasters, as can be gathered from the history written by Flavius Josephus.

¹⁰ Then it is likely that half of the city was lost in the siege, as the prophecy says. Not long after, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, there was again a Jewish uprising, and the remaining half of the city was besieged again, so that from then on the place became completely inaccessible to them.

¹¹ But if someone were to say that these things were fulfilled during Antiochus Epiphanes, let them consider whether it is possible to explain the rest of the prophecy concerning the times of Antiochus. For example, how the people suffered captivity, and how the Lord's feet stood on the Mount of Olives, and whether the Lord became king over all the earth on that day, and whether the name of the Lord surrounded all the earth and the wilderness when Antiochus ruled over Syria. And how can anyone explain the rest of the prophecy regarding the end of Antiochus's reign?

¹² According to us, these things are both stated in words and understood in another way. For after the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, their city, this Jerusalem, and the entire system and practice of the religion according to the law of Moses was destroyed. Immediately, they suffered a spiritual captivity along with their physical one, not accepting the Savior and Redeemer of human souls, who came to proclaim freedom to those held captive by evil demons and sight to those who were blind in their minds.

¹³ These things happened to those people because of their unbelief. But those who recognized their Redeemer became his own, becoming disciples, apostles, and evangelists, along with many others from the circumcision who believed in him. About them, the apostle says, 'So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace.'

¹⁴ And the saying, 'If the Lord of hosts had not left us a remnant, we would have become like Sodom and would have been made like Gomorrah,' shows that not only were we saved from the spiritual siege, but also from the literal destruction. The apostles and disciples of our Savior, as well as all the Jews who believed in him, became far from the land of Judea and spread to the other nations, and then they were able to carry out the destruction against those who were living in the city.

¹⁵ And this prophecy also anticipated and established that 'the remnant of my people will not be destroyed.' Then it continues, 'And the Lord will go out and will stand among those nations, just as on the day of battle.'

¹⁶ And in which nations will the Lord stand, or will it be among those who are besieging Jerusalem? The word shows that the Lord will fight alongside those who are besieging, being among them and standing with them, just like a general and protector leading them against Jerusalem.

¹⁷ For the word does not say that the Lord will stand against the nations. But against whom and for what reason? Against Jerusalem and its inhabitants, about whom the word was. And the phrase 'and his feet will stand on that day on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem, from the east' indicates nothing other than the Lord God, that is, the word of God, his presence and support for his church, which is called the Mount of Olives in a figurative way.

¹⁸ For just as a vineyard was made for the beloved, and the house of Israel was the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts in a figurative way, and the vine of Judah was a beloved young vine, so according to the same idea, one could say that the church from the nations became a olive tree for the Lord, which he once planted as a wild olive tree, grafting it onto the apostolic roots of the cultivated olive after cutting off the previous branches. Just as the apostle teaches, 'And the Lord planted it for himself,' saying through the prophecy, 'The Lord called your name, O olive tree, beautiful and shady.'

¹⁹ For when the first vineyard was supposed to produce grapes, it produced thorns instead, and not righteousness, but a cry. Therefore, as if the Lord removed its fence and wall, he gave it up to the enemies for plunder and destruction, according to the prophecy of Isaiah. He established another field for himself, which is called the present olive grove, having received mercy from God, and planted it with evergreens, that is, holy souls and nourishing light, such as he says, 'But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God.'

²⁰ This mountain of olives is said to be opposite Jerusalem, because instead of the old earthly Jerusalem and the worship in it, a new one was established for God after the destruction of Jerusalem. Indeed, the word above speaks about Jerusalem, 'The city will be captured, and the hostile and warring nations will gather against it, and its spoils will be divided.' Therefore, it is rightly said that the Lord's feet will not stand on Jerusalem.

²¹ For how could it be, once it was destroyed? But after it was removed, it was taught that the mountain called Olives would stand opposite Jerusalem. This is also what the prophet Ezekiel saw beforehand by the divine spirit.

²² Therefore, it says, 'And the cherubim raised their wings, and the wheels were beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord rose up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that was opposite the city.'

²³ This is also seen today in another way, with all those who believe in Christ gathering from everywhere on earth, not as before for the glory of the old Jerusalem, nor to worship at the holy place that once stood in Jerusalem. Instead, they gather to remember the prophecy of the fall and desolation of Jerusalem, and to worship on the Mount of Olives opposite Jerusalem, where the glory of the Lord moved away from the former city. Indeed, it is truly said that the feet of our Lord and Savior, the Word of God, stood on the Mount of Olives, near the cave shown there, where he prayed and taught his disciples about the mysteries of the end times on the bare mountain of Olives. From there, he ascended into heaven, as Luke teaches in the Acts of the Apostles, saying that while he was on the Mount of Olives, the apostles were watching him as he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

²⁴ And while they were gazing into heaven as he was going, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'

²⁵ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is opposite Jerusalem.

²⁶ There is indeed a mountain opposite Jerusalem, which is called the Mount of Olives. But in a deeper sense, the holy Church of Christ, and the mountain on which it is built, is what the Savior teaches when he says, 'A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.' Instead of the fallen and not risen Jerusalem, it has been raised up, and it has been made worthy of the feet of the Lord. It is not only opposite Jerusalem, but also from the east of it, receiving the rays of the light of godliness, and it became much earlier than Jerusalem, drawing near to the sun of righteousness, about which it is said, 'The sun of righteousness shall rise upon those who fear me.'

²⁷ If it says next that 'the Mount of Olives will be split in two, half toward the east and half toward the sea, a great chaos, and half of it will incline toward the north, and half of it toward the south,' it can mean the spreading of the Church throughout the whole world of humanity, since it has filled the eastern lands, both the dawn and the eastern nations. It also extends to the western sea and the islands in it; indeed, it has reached both the south and the midday, as well as the north and the north pole.

²⁸ For everywhere and in every way, the Church of the Lord is planted like olive trees. But it can also mean, in a deeper sense, the divisions and heresies that have arisen in the Church of Christ and are still happening now. It speaks of the mountain being split, half toward the east and half toward the sea, a great chaos, and half of the mountain inclining toward the north and half toward the south, as if it were divided into four parts: two being the more honorable and better, and two being the opposite.

²⁹ And see that perhaps these two, toward the east and toward the south, signify the two groups of those who are growing in God. One group is made up of those who are being perfected in knowledge and speech and the other gifts of the divine Spirit. The other group consists of those who are achieving through their lives, spending time in selections.

³⁰ The other two parts, divided from the first ones, would be the one toward the sea and the one toward the north, both signifying evil. 'For from the face of the north,' it says, 'evil will be burned upon all those who dwell on the earth.' It is also said that the dragon makes his dwelling in the sea.

³¹ So it is reasonable that here again two ways are shown for those falling away from the Church: one that sins according to character and the other that strays from healthy and correct knowledge. These are like the dimensions of the olive tree mountain hinted at by the prophecy.

³² Next, it is said, 'And the valley of my mountains will be closed, and the gorge of the mountains will be blocked until Asahel.' And it will be closed in the same way that it was blocked because of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.' Now, what could the valley of the mountains of God be but the physical and Jewish religion that was long ago completed in Jerusalem according to the law of Moses, which will be shut off just as the previous word states, saying, 'And the valley of my mountains will be closed, and the gorge of the mountains will be blocked until Asahel, and it will be closed?'

³³ In place of this, the Ally has made it clear, 'And the gorge of my mountains will be blocked, and the gorge of the mountains will approach what is nearby, and it will be closed?' By this, he presents the reason for the blocked gorge. But what could this be other than to draw near to it and come close to what is next to it? This was the mountain of the Lord called the Mount of Olives, which is named Asahel by the Seventy.

³⁴ This shows, according to the Hebrew language, the work of God. Thus, he says, the old gorge, coming close to the mountain and to the Church of Christ, will be blocked and shut off by the work of God, just as it was blocked because of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.

³⁵ But while I was searching for myself and going through the divine scriptures, to see if at any time during the days of Uzziah the gorge mentioned here was blocked because of the earthquake, I found nothing in the histories of the Kings. For there was no physical earthquake during his time, nor is anything like that written about a gorge in them.

³⁶ It is indeed told that Uzziah was righteous in the beginning, but then he was slandered as being lifted up in his mind, and he dared to offer sacrifices to God by himself, for which reason leprosy broke out on his forehead. This is what the book of Kings presents. But Josephus and the external Jewish writings, being a Hebrew from Hebrews, accurately report what happened during his time, saying that when the priests urged Uzziah to leave the temple and not to act unlawfully toward God, he became angry and threatened them with death if they did not keep quiet.

³⁷ Then an earthquake shook the ground, and a bright light shone from the temple, and it fell upon the face of the king, so that immediately leprosy rushed upon him. Before the city, near the place called Ergo, half of the mountain broke off toward the west and rolled four stadia to stand on the eastern mountain, so that both the passages were blocked and the royal buildings nearby.

³⁸ Let these things be taken from the writings of Josephus' Jewish Antiquities. And in the prophet Amos, I found at the beginning of his prophecy that he started prophesying in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, two years before the earthquake. But he does not clearly mention which earthquake.

³⁹ I think that the same prophet is referring to the earthquake when he says that he saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said, 'Strike the altar, and the thresholds will shake, and cut off the heads of all, and I will kill the rest with the sword.'

⁴⁰ Because of these things, I believe the earthquake was foretold, and the downfall of the once honored Jewish nation and their worship in Jerusalem. The destruction that followed after the coming of our Savior, when they rejected Christ, the true high priest, caused leprosy to spread among their souls. Just as it happened in the days of Uzziah, when the Lord himself stood by their altar and gave authority to the one striking it, saying, 'Strike the altar.'

⁴¹ Indeed, this is shown by the saying, 'Your house is left to you desolate.' Right after his suffering, 'the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom,' just as Josephus records happened in the days of Uzziah. First, the thresholds shook when the earth shook at the time of his suffering. Not long after, it also suffered a final collapse, and the one striking it took authority and cut off the heads of all.

⁴² At this time, the valley of God's mountains was blocked, just as it happened in the days of Uzziah. This is clear in the account of the Roman siege, during which I believe such things occurred. It also relates to the idea that the physical and humbler worship of Moses' law was closed off so that it could no longer be practiced because of the earthquake that came prophetically upon the Jewish nation, along with the other things that have been written. After this, the message more clearly announces the presence of the Lord, saying, 'And the Lord my God will be present, and all the holy ones will be with him.'

⁴³ Whether he calls his apostles and disciples his holy ones, or some invisible powers and ministering spirits, about which it is said that angels came and served him." Then, concerning the presence of the Lord, he says, "There will be a day, and there will be no light, and cold and ice will be one day.

⁴⁴ Instead of this, the Symmachus explained, 'And on that day there will be no light, but cold and ice will be one day, which will be known to the Lord, not day or night, but there will be light toward evening.' And see if this does not clearly show the brightest day of our Savior's suffering, on which day 'there will be no light' was fulfilled, when from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour, and 'but cold and ice' refers to when, according to Luke, 'they took Jesus and led him to the house of the high priest. But Peter followed at a distance.'

⁴⁵ But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, according to Mark, he sat down with the others, warming himself. And John mentioned the cold, saying that the servants and the attendants had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.

⁴⁶ And he says, 'This day was known to the Lord, and it was neither day nor night.' It was not day because it was said 'there will be no light,' which was fulfilled when from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. And it was not night because it was said 'there will be light toward evening,' which also happened when after the ninth hour the usual light returned to the day.

⁴⁷ And in understanding, these things were fulfilled, especially for the Jewish people, after the bold darkness and cold and chill that came against Christ, their minds were darkened so that they could not see the light of the gospel in their hearts. And the love for God grew cold, but again toward evening the light of the knowledge of Christ arose, so that those who had long sat in darkness and the shadow of death could see a great light, according to the words of Isaiah.

⁴⁸ On this very day of the Lord, he says, living water will flow from Jerusalem. This was the spiritual and life-giving drink of the teaching of Christ, about which he himself said in the Gospel of John while teaching the Samaritan woman, 'If you knew who it is that says to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.' So, this saving drink came forth from Jerusalem itself.

⁴⁹ From here, the gospel began, and its preachers filled the whole world. This is shown by the saying that living water will flow to the first sea and to the last sea, which indicates the ends of the whole earth, both the first sea called the eastern ocean and the sea toward the setting sun. This living water filled the teaching of salvation and the gospel, about which he taught again, saying, 'Whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst again.' And again, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his belly.'

⁵⁰ And again, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.' After the drought from Jerusalem, salvation and spiritual water came to all kinds of people. This is made clearer in another saying: 'For the law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge among the nations.' He will be king, says the Lord.

⁵¹ There will not be in Jerusalem, nor among the Jewish nation, but 'over all the earth on that day.' And the Lord will be one, and his name will be one, circling all the earth." These things also agree with what is said in the Psalms, where it is said, 'God reigns over the nations.' And again, 'Say among the nations, the Lord has reigned.' All these things are prophesied to happen together on the days of the Lord.

⁵² In the beginning of the whole prophecy, 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and these things will happen.' What are these things but the siege of Jerusalem and the Lord's change to the Mount of Olives, as the Lord is present? And the events around the day of his suffering, and the living water that flows over all the earth, and over all these things, the Lord's kingdom will rule over all the nations, and his name will be one, filling all the earth." What end has this reached, as we have summarized?

⁵³ "It is clear how the name of Christians, from Christ the God, has filled the whole earth. This is also shown by the saying, 'And his name will be one, filling all the earth and the wilderness.' And you will also have the opportunity to consider each word that has troubled you, to understand the meanings."

From Baruch.

Book 6, Section 19

Who has gone up to heaven and taken wisdom down from the clouds? Who has crossed the sea and found her and will bring her back, chosen gold? No one knows her way, nor remembers her path, but the one who knows all things understands her and found her through his wisdom. The one who made the earth forever filled it with four-footed animals. The one who sends light and it goes; he called it, and it obeyed him with fear. The stars shone in their watchtowers, and they rejoiced; he called them, and they said, 'Here we are.'

² "They shone with joy to the one who made them. This God of ours will not be counted as another beside him; he found every path of knowledge and gave it to Jacob, his child, and to Israel, his beloved. After this, he appeared on earth and lived among people." Nothing should be added to the divine voices that are clearly present in the matter.

From Isaiah.

Book 6, Section 20

"Vision of Egypt. Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud and will come to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt will shake before him, and their hearts will melt within them. The Egyptians will rise against Egyptians, and one man will fight against his brother, and one man against his neighbor. City will rise against city and law against law. The spirit of the Egyptians will be troubled within them, and I will confuse their plans. They will consult their gods and their idols, and those who speak from the ground, and the mediums. I will hand Egypt over to harsh rulers, and cruel kings will rule over them." And the rest of these things.

² And now, the second one, along with the God and Lord of all, that is, the Word of God, this prophecy means that he will come to Egypt, and he will not come secretly, nor invisibly, nor without some physical form, but riding on a light cloud, rather on a light thickness; for this is how they say in the Hebrew language.

³ Let the children of the Hebrews say, when did the Lord come to the Egyptians after the times of Isaiah, and which Lord? For there is one God over all. And how is it said that he rides on a light thickness and locally comes down to a certain part of the earth?

⁴ Let them also explain what the light thickness is, and why it is said that the Lord is present in Egypt without this.

⁵ When and how are the things mentioned in the prophecy said to have happened, like the shaking of the handmade idols of Egypt, and the Egyptians fighting against the Egyptians because of the Lord's presence among humans? And their gods, that is, the demons, who were once powerful, no longer have strength or can answer those who ask because of the fear of the Lord. Into the hands of what harsh lords and what kings was Egypt delivered after the prophesied presence of the Lord, and why is it given to harsh rulers when the Lord is present? And let anyone who wishes explain the rest in a similar way.

⁶ For we say that these things are established only through the appearance of our Savior, Jesus Christ, among humans. For he is the word of God and the power of God, having come to the land of the Egyptians in a light cloud, fulfilling what was foretold. The light cloud is metaphorically named for the presence he took on from a virgin through the holy spirit. Just as the Hebrew scripture and Aquila more clearly explained, saying, 'Behold, the Lord rides on a light thickness and comes to Egypt,' the light thickness refers to the body that came from the holy spirit.

⁷ And this part of the prophecy was fulfilled when an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you.'

⁸ Then indeed, the Lord, the word of God, coming to the age of the child, and in his body made from the holy virgin, was heavy in substance because of the physical material, but light again because it was greater or better than us. And it is called a light cloud because it was not made from corruptible pleasure, but was formed from the holy spirit, and he dwelled in the land of the Egyptians.

⁹ And the reason for his presence there has this explanation. For it is first mentioned that he came to end the deception of idolatry, as all people were thought to be the most superstitious, and they were enemies and opponents of the people of God, mostly separated from the prophets. Therefore, it was fitting that the power of God should first be upon them.

¹⁰ Therefore, the word of his gospel had more power among the Egyptians than among all people. From this, the present prophecy declares that the Lord will dwell among them, but it does not say that the Egyptians will come into the land of the Jews, nor will they worship him in Jerusalem, nor will they convert to Judaism according to what Moses commanded, nor will they offer sacrifices at the altar in Jerusalem. But it says that nothing of these things will happen, yet the Lord himself will dwell among the Egyptians and will make the men worthy of his presence, and he will be the cause of great good for them.

¹¹ Indeed, he will accomplish his presence among them, which is also shown by the works that are fulfilled with the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ. What shall we see? The demons that were before dwelling in Egypt were wicked and evil, lurking around the idols for a long time and enslaving the souls of the Egyptians with all kinds of superstition. But when they sensed a foreign and divine power among them, they immediately began to shake and tremble within themselves, feeling that their hearts and minds were defeated inside, retreating and being overcome by an invisible force that burned like fire, driving them away.

¹² But then, the demons were suffering invisibly during the bodily presence of our Savior Jesus Christ in Egypt. After this, the gospel about him was preached openly to the Egyptians, just as it was to other nations. His invisible power was present with his apostles, working alongside them, helping them, and proclaiming through them his pious teaching, urging them to worship the one true God, while turning away the demons that had long led them astray.

¹³ Then, among the Egyptians, just like among other nations, there was strife and civil war. Some were withdrawing from the many gods and turning to the word of Christ, while others were fighting against them and being stirred up by their own demons. Brothers were divided against each other, and even close friends were clashing because of the teaching of Christ. The prophecy says, 'And the Egyptians will rise up against the Egyptians, and a man will fight against his brother and a man against his neighbor.'

¹⁴ The prophetic saying is confirmed by our Savior himself, who states in the gospels, 'Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise up against their parents and put them to death.'

¹⁵ And again, do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I tell you, but rather division. For from now on, there will be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

¹⁶ For what would the prophetic voice say about the Lord's coming to Egypt, that Egyptians will rise up against Egyptians and a man will fight against his own brother? And the law of the new covenant of Christ was raised against the law of many gods' superstition, when the law of the idol-worshiping nations fought against the teaching of Christ. The city and the community of the church in Christ stood against the practices of the unbelieving nations.

¹⁷ Therefore, it is said, "city against city and law against law." And among these are all the Egyptians, the idol-worshipers, who are troubled by the spirit of idolatry within them, still disturbed even now. Many are planning against the teaching of Christ, hoping to extinguish it and make it disappear from among people. But they are being scattered by God, as it is said in the prophecy, "And the spirit of the Egyptians will be troubled within them, and I will confuse their plans."

¹⁸ And as many as are asking and inquiring of us about the oracles and divinations of their gods, and the demons that dwell in their idols, and those who have long been powerful among them as ventriloquists, they have nothing more from them.

¹⁹ Therefore, the word says, "They will ask their gods and their idols and the ventriloquists." But they will find no help from them, for they are fleeing to those who seem to be their gods in error. At that time, especially, they will be handed over to harsh rulers and kings, when they are being persuaded by their demons and acting under their influence to stir up persecutions against the church of God.

²⁰ There, you will understand how Egypt, until the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, was ruled by its own kings and lived in autonomy and freedom. But their power has been long and great, since the time of the first Roman Augustus, during whom our Lord was born. After Egypt was taken over, and the last of the Ptolemies, Cleopatra, was defeated, it came under Roman authority, losing its previous autonomy and freedom. This also fulfills the prophetic saying about the rulers sent to the regions and the leaders, saying, "And I will hand Egypt over to harsh human masters," and about those who govern the whole region from then on.

²¹ In place of this, Aquila says, "And a king will rule over them with great power." But the Ally says, "And a strong king will have authority over them." Thus, I believe that the kingdom of the Romans is called, under which not only the most superstitious Egyptians are bound like with a bridle and chains, but also all other people are unable to dare to speak against the church of our Savior.

²² After this, it is prophesied that there will be darker and more mysterious things that require a longer and deeper explanation. These will be discussed in detail at the appropriate time, when, with God's help, we will give an account of the promises.

Book 6, Section 21

Rejoice, you dry land that is thirsty; let the wilderness be glad and bloom like a lily. It will blossom and rejoice in the wasteland of the Jordan. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, and the honor of Carmel, and my people will see the glory of the Lord and the height of our God. Strengthen weak hands and steady trembling knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not be afraid; here is our God who will bring judgment and will save us.' Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, when water breaks forth in the wilderness and streams in the dry land. The dry land will become a marsh, and there will be a spring of water in the desert.

² And here, the arrival of God is clearly proclaimed as a saving event and the cause of many good things. There will be healing for the deaf and sight for the blind. It is also prophesied that there will be healing for the lame and those who cannot speak. These things have indeed happened through the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ, by whom the eyes of the blind were opened and the deaf received their hearing.

³ What more can be said about those who, through his disciples, received natural healings, both the deaf and the lame? Many others, suffering from various diseases and weaknesses, sought healing and salvation from him, according to the divine prophecy and the most truthful testimony of the holy gospels?

⁴ In this, the word hints at the church from the nations, which was once a desolate place of God. It is now being proclaimed through those who are in the land. And the word also says that to the other desolate places, the glory of Lebanon will be given.

⁵ Lebanon is often called Jerusalem in an allegorical way, as we will show later through the proofs from the divine scripture. Therefore, in the presence of God among people, which is revealed in the desolate place, I say that to the church from the nations, the glory of Lebanon will be given, as the prophecy teaches. Instead of 'and the honor of Carmel,' Aquila says 'the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord.'

⁶ Symmachus says 'the beauty of Carmel and the plain; they will see the glory of the Lord.' And Theodotion says 'the charm of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord.' For these reasons, I believe the prophecy is not about Jerusalem or Judea, but that the land of the nations will be made worthy of the divine knowledge. Indeed, Carmel and the place called Sharon were lands of the foreign nations.

⁷ These things are said in words; and in thought, even today, those who have hardened their souls, like wood and stones and other lifeless matter, worship demons and evil spirits instead of God. They are deaf to the ears of their minds, and they are confused and distracted, living their whole lives in this way, along with all their other passions and sicknesses. Through the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ, they are still being freed, which is much better than just physical healing and benefit. They show the clear power of God's word among people, which is divine and greater than human.

Book 6, Section 22

'Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call; I am the first, and I am the last, and my hand laid the foundation of the earth, my right hand spread out the heavens.' And he adds, saying, 'And now the Lord, the Lord has sent me and his Spirit.' Here you have the Lord who is sent and the one who sends, namely the Father and God of all, often called the Lord twice.

Book 6, Section 23

Thus says the Lord, what is this book of your mother's divorce that I sent her away with? Or what debt did I make you pay? Look, you have sold yourselves because of your sins, and because of your lawlessness I sent your mother away. For I came, and there was no one; I called, and there was no one to answer. Is my hand not strong enough to save? Or am I not powerful enough to deliver?

² Then, regarding the same prophecy, he says, 'I do not resist, nor do I argue. I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who slapped me; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting.'

³ The Lord himself, clearly confessing his presence among men, rebukes the Jewish people, saying that they did not receive him when he came, nor did they listen when he called. And he teaches that this is the reason for their rejection: 'For I came,' he says, 'and there was no one among you; I called, and there was no one to answer.' Therefore, he says, you have sold yourselves because of your sins, since you have turned away from my call. But I did not give you a book of divorce.

⁴ Clearly, these things are directed toward the people of the circumcision, and he shows them the things about his suffering, saying, 'I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who slapped me,' and so on. And these will be explained in detail later.

Book 6, Section 24

'These things says the Lord: Because of you, my name is blasphemed among the nations. Therefore, my people will know on that day that I am the one speaking. I am here like a messenger on the mountains, like the feet of one bringing good news, proclaiming peace, announcing good things, saying, "Your God reigns, O Zion." The voice of those who watch over you will be lifted up, and together they will rejoice, for eyes will see eye to eye when the Lord shows mercy to Zion. Let joy break forth together with the desolate places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has had mercy on her and has redeemed Jerusalem. He will reveal his holy arm before all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.'

² Next, the prophecy about the suffering of Christ is connected with the same theme, which I will explain later. The same Lord, who spoke in the previous passage to the Jewish people, says, 'Because of your sins, you were sold, and because of your iniquities, I sent away your mother. For I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was no one to answer.' He says through those in his hands, 'Because of you, my name is blasphemed among the nations.'

³ Then, as if he has another people besides them, he adds, 'Therefore, my people will know my name.' He teaches that it is not another, but the same Lord who spoke through the prophets, who will one day come to life, saying, 'I am the one speaking; I am here.' The phrase 'like a messenger on the mountains, like the feet of one bringing good news, proclaiming peace, announcing good things, saying, "Your God reigns, O Zion,"' is explained more clearly by others who have given interpretations.

⁴ Aquila says, 'Why are the feet of the one bringing good news beautiful on the mountains, proclaiming peace, announcing good things, and saying to Zion, "Your God reigns?"' And the Symmachus says, 'Why are the feet of the one bringing good news beautiful on the mountains, making peace heard, announcing good things, and saying to Zion, "Your God reigns?"' Instead of 'the voice of those who watch over you will be lifted up, and together they will rejoice, for eyes will see eye to eye,' the Symmachus interprets it as 'the voice of your watchmen has been raised, and they will praise together; for they will see clearly.'

⁵ It could be said that in these things, the watchmen are our holy apostles of the Savior, who, having seen the one prophesied, raised their voices to all the world, proclaiming. The apostle knows that Zion and Jerusalem, which is being preached in the places, is heavenly, as he says, 'But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother.'

⁶ And 'Come to the mountain of Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the festival of thousands of angels.' It could be said that Zion is the church gathered everywhere on earth through Christ, just as Jerusalem is the whole godly community, which, in the past, was turned into a desert because of their wickedness among the Jews alone, but then again received a renewal for the better through the appearance of our Savior.

⁷ Therefore, it says, 'Let joy break forth together with the desolate places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has had mercy on her and has rescued Jerusalem.' Nor would it be wrong to call the soul of every holy and God-loving person Zion, as it is lifted up by life, having its citizenship in heaven, looking toward the heavenly things, since it is called Zion (for it is interpreted as a place of vision); but as it is established in peace and calmness of feelings, I call it Jerusalem, for the name means a vision of peace.

⁸ Following this, the calling of the nations to the piety of God is clearly shown by the Lord God revealing his holy arm before all the nations. And all the ends of the earth will see the salvation from our God. The arm of God is none other than the Word and Wisdom and the Lord himself, who is Christ, the Son of God.

⁹ This is indeed easy to show from many examples. You also have in Exodus the Israelites being rescued by the arm of God from slavery under the Egyptians. That very arm of God, the revealed Savior of the ancient people, will be made known to all the nations, just as the previously hidden one is now revealed in prophecy. The salvation, which it says all the ends of the earth will see, and which was mentioned earlier when it said, 'I will make your salvation heard,' is to be called by the name of Jesus in the Hebrew language.

Book Seven

Behold, the Lord will come like fire and like a storm with his weapons. And then the Lord said, 'I will gather all the nations and their languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will leave a sign among them, and I will send some of them who are saved to the nations, to Tarshish, and Put, and Lud, and Mosoch, and Tubal, and to Greece, and to the islands far away, who have not heard my name nor seen my glory, and they will declare my works among the nations.'

² Right here, the presence of the Lord among people is shown. And since it has been said that he will come like fire, our Savior rightly says, 'I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish if it is already kindled?' His weapons are the holy angels who serve him and the holy apostles and disciples, whom the Word of God, with divine and unseen power, has sent throughout the whole world.

³ It could also be said in another way that fire and weapons are announced along with his presence because of the siege that took Jerusalem after our Savior's arrival. After this, the temple itself was burned, and it remained desolate in the end, while the city was surrounded by weapons and military camps. With this, everything concerning all the nations came to an end, as was foretold in prophecy.

⁴ Who would not be amazed hearing the Lord through the prophet saying, 'I come to gather all the nations and their languages'? Seeing throughout the whole earth of humanity, through the presence and calling of our Savior Jesus Christ, the gatherings of the nations being formed in the name of Christ, and the languages of all the nations calling upon the one God and Lord in various dialects? And for all these things, who, seeing the saving sign that marks all those who believe in Christ, would not be rightly astonished hearing before the Lord said, 'And they will come and see my glory, and I will leave a sign upon them'?

⁵ In part, therefore, from here we already see the results of the divine oracles during the earlier appearance of our Savior to people with their eyes. But may these things also be complete during his second and glorious coming, when all the nations will see his glory, coming from the heavens with power and great glory. It would be fitting to return to that time and the other things mentioned in the prophecy, as we will arrange according to our own understanding. With so many things gathered by us about the coming presence of God among people, it would be appropriate to connect how his earlier coming was foretold to happen in human life.

Introduction

God will come to people and live among them on earth, and these two things will be the greatest signs of his presence: the calling to receive true knowledge of God among the nations of the world, and the rejection and desolation caused by the disbelief of the Jewish nation. In this previous writing, we have learned through prophetic voices, and we will examine how the foretold events came to pass. Next, in this seventh writing of the Gospel Proof, we will try to explore the way in which he made his coming to people.

² "Therefore, let us now consider how the coming of God to people was foretold, and where on earth it was announced that he would be born, and from what lineage it was proclaimed he would come."

From Isaiah.

Book 7, Section 1

The prophecy of the disbelief of the Jewish nation in Christ and the sign given to them by the Lord was this: a virgin will give birth to God. At his birth, a complete removal of the Jewish nation was foretold, and that foreigners and enemies would take over their land, and that the former wilderness would become fruitful with agriculture.

² While the way of the church from the nations is being shown, just as the marvelous evangelist John proclaims the Savior and our Lord with a voice greater than human, he presents the Word of God. Beginning with his sacred scripture, he brings together theology and the fact that he became flesh among people. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him,' he says. Then he adds, 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.'

³ "In the same way, the prophetic seer foretells that God will be born from a virgin and anticipates his glorious vision. He writes this theology: 'I saw the Lord of hosts sitting on a high and lifted throne, and the house was full of his glory, and Seraphim stood around him. Each had six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."'"

⁴ "And then he continues, 'And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?" And I said, "Here I am, send me." And he said to me, "Go, and say to this people, 'You will hear, but you will not understand; you will see, but you will not perceive.' For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they barely hear, and they have closed their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." And I said, "How long, Lord?" And he said, "Until cities lie waste without inhabitants, and houses without people."'"

⁵ What is fitting to say about the prophet having seen the Lord, or that he appeared and spoke to those around the ancestor Abraham, as we have shown before? For we have learned that this one is both God and Lord, and indeed an angel and the commander of the Lord's forces. Therefore, the present word is about to establish his divine kingdom among people, through which he says he has seen him sitting on a high and lifted throne.

⁶ This would be his throne, the same one that is shown in the beloved Psalm, according to which it says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.' On this throne, the highest of all, the creator God, and his Father, as if he were to sit with his only-begotten and beloved one, commanded him, saying, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'

⁷ John the Evangelist presents our interpretation of these places, who, by quoting the words of Isaiah, said, 'For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they barely hear, and they have closed their eyes.' He adds about Christ, saying, 'These things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and testified about him.'

⁸ Seeing then the establishment of our Savior on the father's throne of divine glory and kingship, the prophet, inspired by the holy spirit, also foretells his coming to humanity and his birth from a virgin. He testifies about the knowledge and glory that will come to all the earth, bringing in the Seraphim who surround him and say, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.'

⁹ What might the Seraphim be, who surround Christ of God? Perhaps they are choirs of angels and divine powers, or even of prophets and apostles? For the Seraphim is interpreted as 'the beginning of their mouth.'

¹⁰ Such are the prophets and apostles, through whose mouths the first fruits of the message of salvation have come. Therefore, they received this title, just as the powers of the holy spirit are called wings. They conceal the first and last parts of the knowledge of God's word, as they are ineffable and incomprehensible in nature. But they reveal the middle part of the economy concerning him, showing that these things are known only to human nature, while those beyond and those after these remain unspoken and silent.

¹¹ And divine and heavenly powers might also be shown through the Seraphim, as the Seraphim is interpreted as 'burning ones.' Therefore, it is said, 'He who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.'

¹² And these ones cry out and call to each other according to their own power, presenting the holiness of the one being spoken of. And indeed, they declare the most wonderful thing, that not only heaven and everything in heaven is filled with his glory, but also all the earth shares in this power because of the descent established from heaven to humans. This is what the word prophesies, announcing the birth from a virgin and the glory of him spreading over all the earth through this.

¹³ The Lord of Hosts is interpreted as the Lord of the powers. He would be the chief commander of the Lord's forces, who is also called Lord of Hosts in Psalm 24. The divine powers again call him this, establishing his ascent from earth to heaven. They say, 'Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.' Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, he is the King of glory.' Indeed, in Hebrew, he is again called Lord of Hosts.

¹⁴ And since he is the King of glory, through his presence, all the earth was to be filled with his glory. This is rightly said to be what will happen, both in the prophet and in the Psalm. In the prophet, it is said, 'The whole earth will be full of his glory.' In the Psalm, it is said at the beginning, 'The Lord is the earth and its fullness, the world, and all who dwell in it.'

¹⁵ With these things established, the prophet then testifies that even if all the earth will be full of his glory, the Jewish nation will not pay attention to him. For he says, and the Lord (that is, the Lord of Hosts who has been revealed) asks, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?' And I said, 'Here I am, send me.' And he said, 'Go, and say to this people, You will hear, but you will not understand; and seeing, you will look, but you will not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heavily heard, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

¹⁶ Through this, he clearly states the coming argument of the Jewish people against him. And although they will see him, they will not pay attention to who he is, for while he speaks and teaches among them, they will hear but not understand, and they will not know who it is that speaks to them or what new teachings he will share with them.

¹⁷ The evangelist John testifies about our Savior, saying, 'Although he performed so many signs in front of them, they did not believe in him, so that the word of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, which he said, "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason, they could not believe, as Isaiah said again, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they may not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." Isaiah said this when he saw his glory and spoke about him.'

¹⁸ Therefore, the evangelist clearly points to Christ in the theophany in Isaiah, and he shows that the Jewish people do not accept the Lord who was seen by the prophet, according to the prophecy about him. The prophecy says that the prophet, having seen the Lord of Hosts, tells the Jewish nation that they will one day see him, but they will not understand who he is. They will hear him speaking and teaching among them, but they will not comprehend, because their hearts have been hardened.

¹⁹ Therefore, Isaiah, through the words we have presented, prophesies in a historical account about the attack of enemies against Ahaz, who was then in charge of the kingdom of the Jewish people. He writes about the immediate defeat of the visible enemies and indicates that it will not take long. But he also brings up symbols of invisible and unseen enemies, some demons and hidden powers. We have discussed that not only the Jewish nation but all of humanity faces every kind of evil, including the godless idolatry that has taken hold. He shows that the defeat will come not in any other way but through the coming of the divine word to people, taking on human form from a virgin. But who was in need of him, if the time were to be understood?

²⁰ Since death entered the world through a man, the apostle says, it was necessary for the same man to win the victory over death, and for the body of death to be transformed into a body of life. He also says that the power of sin, which was active in the mortal body, would be destroyed, so that sin would no longer have power, but righteousness would prevail.

²¹ And since the fall happened to all people long ago because of the sins of the flesh, it is fitting that again, through one who is without sin and completely pure, the trophies against the enemies would be raised.

²² Of which enemies, or of those who long ago brought down the human race through the pleasures of the flesh? And it was also necessary for people to speak with the word of God, which would teach the truths of piety through the senses of the flesh, showing the power of God clearly to the eyes of people, not in any other way than through our usual means. For it was no longer possible for human eyes to see anything of bodies, nor to hear any sound coming through the tongue.

²³ Therefore, through the senses of bodies, let us grasp the thoughts of both the spiritual and the bodiless. The Word of God himself took on our related and familiar speech, and through him, all the saving things were shown to those who were closely connected and eyewitnesses of his divine words and works.

²⁴ And he did these things without being bound by the needs of the body, not enduring anything worse or greater than his divinity. He was not like a human soul that is trapped in the body, unable to act in divine ways, nor was he absent anywhere, being the Word of God, filling everything and coming through all things.

²⁵ But he did not carry any stain, decay, or pollution from which he took on flesh, because being bodiless and immaterial, like the Word of God, he came to us with divine power and unspoken words, sharing everything that belonged to him, but not taking anything that was foreign.

²⁶ Therefore, there is no need to fear the incarnation, since the pure one was not polluted, nor did the spotless one become tainted by the nature of the flesh. The impassible Word of God was not affected by the body, just as the rays of the sun are not harmed by touching dead or various bodies. Instead, the divine Word transformed the corruptible into something holy and immortal, as it was his will to do so. Yes, he also served through the divine will and actions of the Spirit. Thus, all of this was carried out by the most loving God and the Word of God for the healing and salvation of all people, following the voices of the prophets, which foretold his wonderful birth from a virgin from ancient times. The prophet strongly emphasizes the virgin birth of Christ, calling out directly to those who listen to him, saying that if you do not believe, you will not understand.

²⁷ To him, it is said next, 'If you do not believe, you will not understand.' And the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 'Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God, whether in the depths or in the heights.' And Ahaz said, 'I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord.' And he said, 'Hear now, house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel. He will eat butter and honey before he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows good and evil, he will refuse the evil and choose the good. And the land that you fear will be forsaken by the two kings.'

²⁸ And this is how the prophecy was. It is important to point out to those who encounter it that 'if they do not believe, they will not understand.' And it is necessary to emphasize that it shows that not only understanding is needed, but also faith for those who come to it, and not just faith, but also understanding. Therefore, those from the circumcision who do not believe in the Christ of God, even now, while listening to these things, have not yet come to recognize the one who was foretold, so that they might be the first to fulfill the prophecy.

²⁹ For they hear the prophecies about Christ every day, but their ears do not truly listen. The cause of their ignorance is nothing other than the disbelief they have, and this is what the prophecy has truthfully said about them and to them. For it says, 'If you do not believe, you will not understand.'

³⁰ But if they say that it is not a virgin, but a young woman mentioned in the scripture (for this is how they claim it is), what kind of sign from God would that be, if a young woman were to give birth in the usual way, taking a man into her womb? And how could the one born from her be God? And not just God, but God with us? For that is what the name 'Immanuel' means, which they say should be the name of the one born. Behold, the virgin will conceive in her womb, and she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us.'

³¹ But what struggle is there for God, or what effort and labor would it be for a woman to give birth in the usual way? For in our own writings by seventy men, the Hebrew lineage is mentioned above, and in the precise tradition of our ancestors, it is translated like this: 'Is it not a small struggle for you, O men? And how do you provide a struggle for the Lord? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.'

³² Behold, the virgin will conceive in her womb, and she will bear a son, who will be called 'God with us.' (For this, as I said, is what the name 'Immanuel' means.) And in their own Jewish writings, according to the translation of Aquila (who was a convert, not a natural Jew), it is still said in this way: 'Listen, O house of David, do not think it a small thing for you, O men who are struggling, that you struggle with the Lord my God. Therefore, he will give you a sign. Behold, the young woman will conceive in her womb, and she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel.'

³³ But in the Symmachus, it is written like this (and Symmachus is said to be an Ebionite; this is a group of Jews who are said to believe in Christ, of which Symmachus was one, and it is written like this in his work): 'Listen, O house of David, do you not think it a burden for you, O men who are struggling, that you struggle with my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the young woman will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel.'

³⁴ "For since the Jewish nation is stubborn in its ways and hard to turn toward piety, it does not provide the sweat and labor of struggle that the beloved prophets of old had. For this reason, he says, do you not think it a burden for you that the prophets of God struggle, and that you provide a struggle for men? But now you even struggle with my God, and you provide a struggle for my God?" Thus, Theodotion has also given this version.

³⁵ The prophet indeed speaks of his own God, but not only to those to whom the message is directed, to the one who is struggling and preparing for the fight. He would not say 'my God' if he were speaking of the God above all gods among the Jews, among whom the reverence for the Creator of all has been kept since their ancestors.

³⁶ What would the struggle and labor or the effort of the prophesied God be, to come into the human race? According to us and the translation of the Seventy, he is born from a virgin; but according to what is now said among the Jews, he is born from a young woman. You would also find in Moses the virgin called a young woman, who is indeed engaged to another man, but is said to be forced by another to this name.

³⁷ But the Emmanuel who will be born from the one who is revealed has a power greater than that of an ordinary man, chosen for good before knowing evil, and refusing the wickedness of choosing the good. And this is not in the age of a man, but in the age of a child.

³⁸ Therefore it is said, 'Before knowing the child to be good or bad, he refuses the wickedness of choosing the good,' through which the complete absence of evil in the one who is revealed is shown. But the God who exists with us brings a name greater than that of a man.

³⁹ Therefore, the sign about him was said to contain depth and height; depth because of his descent to humans, or even his presence until death, and height because of the divine restoration from the depth, or because of the theology of his divine existence.

⁴⁰ Who then would the God who is with us be, or the God who was shown before, the Lord who was seen by Abraham only in the form of a man? And if they were to refer to Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, claiming that he was the one pointed out to his father, neither was the God who is with us Hezekiah, nor was there any divine sign accomplished on him. Nor was there any struggle or effort by God concerning his birth. And in another way, Hezekiah is shown to be excluded from the times of prophecy.

⁴¹ For while he was king, his father Ahaz was prophesying about future events; but Hezekiah is established as born before Ahaz became king. And if the prophecy in question were not directed at him, it would have to refer to another among the events that happened among the Jews after the times of prophecy, especially regarding the true Emmanuel, that is, the God who has come to be with us, and concerning the coming of our Savior, the Word of God, to dwell among humans.

⁴² For when the two kings were removed, the land of the Jews was left desolate, just as the prophecy says, 'The land will be left from the presence of the two kings.' This could be clearly and literally understood. For during the reign of Ahaz and the prophet Isaiah, the king of Syria in Damascus and the king of Israel in Samaria, not the one in Jerusalem, but the one from the multitude of Jews who had turned away from the divine law, were making agreements with one another, those who were ruled by the successors of David.

⁴³ Therefore, the prophecy concerning both of them declares that the Jews and the foreigners of that time, who had made agreements against the people of God, would soon be completely scattered and would withdraw from the war. It says that their kingdom and succession would be utterly destroyed and extinguished at the coming of the God who is prophesied to be with us.

⁴⁴ Therefore, consider when the kingdom of the Damascenes and the Jews was destroyed, and during what times the land of the Jews was left without a king. And this land, which was once very powerful, was ruled by a great hand of all Syria in the past.

⁴⁵ For at the time of their destruction, Emmanuel was certainly to be born, and the one who is prophesied was to come. If, therefore, one could see the kingdoms that were mentioned, there would be no need to seek anything further, but only to raise hopes for the future. But if the destruction of those mentioned is clear in action, then neither in Damascus nor in Judah would a king appear for us. It is evident that the saying came true: 'The land will be left from the presence of the two kings, whom you fear, from their presence, the kings instead of the kingdoms that were named.'

⁴⁶ Indeed, the ally says, 'The land, from which you are distressed, will be left from the presence of its two kings.' And Aquila says, 'The earth, which you despise, will be left from the presence of its two kings.'

⁴⁷ And Theodotion also interpreted it this way: 'The land, which you loathe, will be left from the presence of its two kings.'

⁴⁸ Do you see how it is foretold that the land will be left without a king? Which land? Is it the land of the Damascenes and that of Israel? For those were the two kings about whom the word speaks. Ahaz loathed the land, either being weary or distressed by it. When did this happen? For when these two were gathered, all necessity and the mentioned part of the prophecy had to be fulfilled; and this was that the virgin would bear the god who is with us.

⁴⁹ And indeed, it is clear to those who examine the histories that until the time of the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Damascus was established by hereditary succession. The holy apostle mentions Areta, the king of the Damascenes, and the kingdom of the Jews was still disordered and not according to the law at that time; for Herod did not carry on the succession from his ancestors, nor did those who came after him during the time of our Savior.

⁵⁰ After his appearance, the gospel is immediately left to all people from the message of the child born of the virgin, and the land is removed from the presence of the two kings. For from that time, with the Roman rule over the nations, all local leadership and city rule were released, and finally, along with the others, the prophecies concerning those on land were fulfilled.

⁵¹ These things are clear: the message of the prophecy signifies the stable, peaceful, and calm state of all souls regarding the one who was born God, namely Emmanuel. For there is one Christ, and the word that was proclaimed about him rules over the souls of people. Those who have fled from this are enemies, following two paths of impiety: one that promotes idolatry and the other that introduces various false teachings to people, while also causing a distortion in morals.

⁵² Therefore, these things were carried by the physical kings of old, showing the symbols: one was the king of the Damascenes, who was an image of the nations' error regarding idols, and the other was from those who had fallen away from Jerusalem, namely those who had fallen from the worship of God according to the law.

⁵³ That these things should be understood in a figurative way is something one should learn from what is said next. It is stated that on the day of Emmanuel, certain bees and wasps will come to the Jewish nation, and the word establishes this: some from Egypt and others from the Assyrians. It will shave the head, the feet, and the beard, while raising a man, an ox, and two sheep. And other things will happen at the same time that are not to be understood literally, but should be seen only in a figurative sense.

⁵⁴ These things are so. But how the scripture foretold the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ will be shown in this way by the evangelist. The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: when his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, planned to put her away secretly. While he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.'

⁵⁵ For he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'

⁵⁶ Thus, according to us, the things of divine foreknowledge are trusted based on the outcome of events; otherwise, the true prophecy would not be revealed. Next, we will see what is said to happen on that day, and it is clear that during the time of the appearance of Emmanuel, let us consider this.

⁵⁷ The Lord says, 'He will sweep away the flies that rule over part of the river of Egypt, and the bees that are in the land of the Assyrians. They will come and rest in the valleys of the land, and in the cracks of the rocks, and into the caves, and into every hole, and in every piece of wood. On that day, the Lord will shave with a great razor, hired from beyond the river, the head and the hair of the feet, and he will take away the beard.'

⁵⁸ And it will be on that day, a man will raise a young cow and two sheep, and there will be enough to make plenty of milk. He will eat butter, because everyone who is left on the earth will eat butter and honey.

⁵⁹ And it will be on that day, every place where there are a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will become a wasteland and a thornbush. They will enter there with arrows and bows, because all the land will be wasteland and thornbush, and every mountain that is farmed will be farmed over. Fear will not come there. For from the wasteland and thornbush, there will be pasture for sheep and a place for cattle to tread.

⁶⁰ Such things will happen on the day of Emmanuel; this current prophecy contains. As for the kind of visions that are to be seen, they will cut through the mind. 'The Lord says,' he will sweep away the flies that rule over part of the river of Egypt, and the bees that are in the land of the Assyrians.

⁶¹ First, the souls of idol-worshiping men or even their powers, as I think, are called unclean and disgusting flies, and Egyptian flies, rejoicing in the sacrifices and blood of idols. But to the living bee, which is brought forth, it knows how to rule and be ruled, and to fight, knowing how to defend itself and wound those who oppose it.

⁶² Therefore, when these come together, some from the land of idol-worshipers and others from the land of those who guide, for the Assyrians are called the guides, they will command and, like the whisper of the Lord and God of all, they will prevail over all of Judah because of their unbelief in Christ on the day of Emmanuel. This means that foreign nations and soldiers will inhabit Jerusalem and the land of Judah.

⁶³ Which our Savior also foretold with clearer names, saying, 'And Jerusalem will be trampled by the nations.' This came to pass not long after, when the voices of our Savior's Romans took the city, and foreign men settled there and established themselves in that place.

⁶⁴ Again, the same Lord is said to cut with the sword of the king of the Assyrians, or rather with the punishing power of the ruler of this age, the head, the feet, and the beard of no one else but again of the Jewish nation. This means to take away their world and their glory through the rule of those who are in power.

⁶⁵ These are hinted to be Romans. For because of the name of the Assyrians, I believe it signifies the kingdom of the nations that rules at each time, since 'guiding' is translated from the Hebrew language as referring to the Assyrians. Therefore, those who are now guiding are Romans.

⁶⁶ Since truly by the sword of the Romans, or rather by their political and military power, all the glory of the Jewish nation, in which they had previously flourished, and all their bravery, shown by their beards and the hair on their feet, was taken away by the God of all.

⁶⁷ Nor at any other time before or after the birth of our Savior, that is, of Emmanuel, did God take away all the world from them through the rule of the Romans. Instead of 'the king of the Assyrians,' Aquila translated it as 'the king of the Assyrians,' and Theodotion as 'in the king of the Assyrians,' while Symmachus also made it clear that the saying does not threaten to shave the head of the king of the Assyrians, but rather to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Jewish nation in the same shaving and in the same king of the Assyrians.

⁶⁸ Therefore, the outcome also supports these words. If someone were to take their time and look closely, they would find many other things mentioned in the prophecies about the Assyrians, which could in no way apply to the Assyrians themselves, but rather to the ruling kingdom of the nations over time.

⁶⁹ Indeed, we also find the Persians referred to as Assyrians by the Hebrews; for this reason, we have now taken to hinting at the rule of the Romans. For we see it being directed and guided by God after the coming of our Savior.

⁷⁰ Let no one think that when we speak about the Assyrians in the sacred writings, we are referring to the Romans; for this would be foolish and disrespectful. Instead, there are some prophetic voices that are intertwined with the testimonies about Christ, which we say hint at the Romans through the name of the Assyrians, always connected to the ruling kingdom of the nations over time, as we will show at the appropriate time.

⁷¹ And as I examine the reasoning of this same conclusion for myself, I think that there is no other reason to mention the prophetic words except because the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ, will shine forth to all people during the reign of the Romans. And the prophetic writings will be made public in both the Roman city and among all the nations under Roman rule.

⁷² Therefore, let there be no offense to those in power from the clear writing about them. The message is hidden through riddles in many other places, but also in the visions of Daniel. Just as in the prophecy that follows, where he names them as Assyrians while guiding them.

⁷³ Therefore, it is foretold that the entire world of the Jewish nation will vanish after the birth of Emmanuel.

⁷⁴ Moreover, on the day that is made clear, which is the day of Emmanuel, that is, the appearance of Christ, it says, 'A man will feed a cow and two sheep. And from the most, he will make milk, butter, and honey will be eaten by everyone who is left on the earth.'

⁷⁵ Because of this, one might say that there will be a famine and great poverty among the people of the circumcision, who will not have enough food from the earth, nor will they plow, sow, or harvest, and they will not have flocks of sheep or herds of cattle, but will only have two sheep and one cow, from which they will get milk. Or, in another way, one might say that the one who is left on the earth refers to the apostles and evangelists who believe in the Savior and our Lord, of whom each is 'a remnant chosen by grace.' And for this reason, 'the one who is left on the earth is said to feed a cow and two sheep,' three groups for each church: one for the leaders and two for those who have come down, as the people of the Church of Christ are divided into two groups, one for the faithful and the other for those who have not yet been made worthy through the bath of rebirth, to whom the divine apostle says, 'I gave you milk, not solid food.' But those who are already in a more perfect state will rightly be called a cow, since they are the fruits of more perfect cattle, just as the apostle himself was, speaking about himself and those who were similarly laboring, 'Does God care about the cattle? Or is he speaking entirely for us?'

⁷⁶ Also, the whole group of the leaders of the church would be like a cow, taking care of and cultivating the souls of people. This cow is called a cow of cattle, receiving the fruits of apostolic ways and teachings, which are said to have such virtue that from their great number, they produce so much nourishing and reasonable milk in their introductory teachings, that many others are fed from them.

⁷⁷ About those who will be left on the earth, something else will happen on that day, and it is clear that it will be during the time of the presence of Emmanuel. What does this mean? 'Every place,' it says, 'of the people of the circumcision, where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels, will become a wasteland and thornbush. For they will enter there with arrows and bows, and it is clear that the enemies will see that all the land will be a wasteland and thornbush.'

⁷⁸ And behold, on the day of Emmanuel, I mean during the time of the rising of the logical light of our Savior shining upon all people, the word establishes that there will be concerning the Jewish nation; unclean and warlike powers that have long been active among the nations, both in Egypt and in the land of the Assyrians, will be drawn together by the Lord, as if he is urging and commanding them to come into their land, because they have become worthy of such things.

⁷⁹ And it says that the mentioned powers will rest in ravines and in the cracks of rocks, both in caves and in every crevice of theirs. In their minds, they will be in their souls and in the senses of their bodies, in their thoughts and their broken minds. And according to the common speech, throughout all their land, who would not be amazed, seeing with their eyes that their enemies have taken every place in Judea, and that the foreign and idol-worshipping people are resting in all their cities and lands? The word says that these things will not only be promised to them, but also that the head of their king of the Assyrians will be shaved, along with the hair of their feet and their beard, indeed everything that has long been their adornment will be shaved away.

⁸⁰ And on that same day and at that same time, it threatens that they will be brought to the utmost poverty of the wealth that comes from God, so that they will not have enough bread to eat, nor solid and spiritual food, but will be nourished like infants with milk and a simple teaching. Moreover, their vineyards will also become a wasteland.

⁸¹ For, as the same prophet says, the farmer has waited to make grapes from the vineyard, but he has produced thorns instead, and not justice, but a cry. Therefore, he will remove its fence and tear down its wall, making the vineyard a wasteland, and he will hand it over to his enemies, who will enter there with arrows and bows. He says that those who have received power from God will not be given it carelessly, but very justly, because indeed all the land has become a wasteland and thorns.

⁸² Therefore, since they have made themselves a wasteland and thorns, they will enter there, he says, with arrows and bows, those who have received power over them. Do not be surprised if these things are also given in a hidden way and through riddles.

⁸³ The reason for such a way of speaking has already been mentioned before, wanting to hide the final destruction of the Jewish nation, so that the scripture might protect for them a betterment and benefit for us, the nations.

⁸⁴ If indeed the prophecies openly declared destruction for them and good things for the nations, no one from the circumcision would have cared about them, but as if they were enemies and hostile to themselves, they would have destroyed them, and there would no longer have been for us, the nations, any use of the testimonies of the prophets about our savior and about ourselves.

⁸⁵ "But indeed, on the day of Emmanuel, it is said that there will be very few left from the Jewish nation according to another interpretation, about whom the apostle says, 'a remnant has come to be by the election of grace.' This remnant will raise a heifer and two sheep, and from the most, they will make butter and eat honey." Thus, it has been shown to us that all the apostolic choir of our savior, Jesus Christ, is according to the second giving.

⁸⁶ Just as this remnant is prophesied to be, so too is it foretold that the entire land of the Jewish nation, their vineyard, will be turned into wasteland and thornbush, and because of this, it will be handed over to enemies. Again, from the other side, every mountain is prophesied to be cultivated. I believe that the church of our savior, Jesus Christ, is hinted at in this way, about which he himself says, 'a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.' For I think that the elevated and lofty mountain of the church's community is being proclaimed because of these things.

⁸⁷ This, then, he says, the mountain that is cultivated will be cultivated, so that fear does not come there, but it will change so much from its former wasteland and thornbush, that it will be suitable for grazing sheep and a place for cattle to tread.

⁸⁸ And it is certainly worth considering how the church of Christ, which was once wasteland and thornbush, has changed so much through his grace that it now produces grass and plants suitable for the logical harvest, so that even the simplest and most innocent can enjoy it. Those who are more advanced can cultivate and farm it, calling it cattle, just as the divine apostle teaches us when he says, 'Does God care about oxen? Or does he say this for our sake? For it was written that the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should do so in hope of sharing.'

⁸⁹ Thus, the once desolate and barren land has changed after the coming of Christ, so that it now has suitable farming for those who are so inclined. Consider how, under one and the same understanding, a birth from a virgin is prophesied, and in the same way, the word says that the formerly fruitful land, which was worth a thousand shekels, will become wasteland and thornbush. All their land will be handed over to those coming with arrows and bows because it has become thornbush and wasteland. On the other hand, every mountain will be made to yield, changing from its former wasteland and thornbush into 'grazing land and a place for cattle to tread,' so that it will be cultivated and will not have fear come there.

⁹⁰ Through these things, I clearly believe that the birth of our Savior from a virgin is signified, and that what happened afterward occurred together and in a crowd for both the Jews and the other nations. The prophecy presents a change for each of the groups: for the Jewish nation, a decline from the better to the worse; for the church from the nations, a rise from the former desolation to a fruitful harvest according to God. This was prophesied to happen at the same time as the appearance of Emmanuel. The fulfillment of these prophecies is shown to take place only after the coming of our Savior, both through the clearly stated events concerning the Jews and through the church from the nations.

⁹¹ For if, after the coming of our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the rule of the Damascenes and the Jews did not cease, and if the land is not now seen abandoned by them, and if it has not become wasteland and thornbush under the foreign nations and idol worshipers, then all their once most sacred temple has indeed become desolate. And if unclean idolaters, who are their enemies, have come with arrows and bows, driven by the Lord, and have taken possession of all their places and cities; and again, if the former wasteland and thornbush has not changed through the teaching of our Savior, so that all the nations that believed in him have produced a godly and reasonable harvest; and on top of this, if they did not believe after seeing Christ with their own eyes, and if they did not listen to his teaching, and if the rest of the prophecy did not clearly show its fulfillment from the time of Jesus our Savior, then he would not be the one who was prophesied.

⁹² But if even a blind person can clearly see the results of the words, which have been fulfilled only since the time of his appearance, why should there still be doubt about his birth from a virgin? Shouldn't we rather trust in a wise understanding of what is still seen today and believe in the beginning of things? And what can we see today except the disbelief of the Jews toward him, which is clearly fulfilling the prophecy that says, 'You will hear but not understand, and you will see but not perceive'?

⁹³ "For the heart of this people has grown dull," and the siege of Jerusalem, and the complete desolation of their former holy place, and the settlement of foreign nations in their land with harsh commands, enslaving them (for this is shown by the examples of the mice and the bees), and in all things, the change from the earlier wasteland to a godly cultivation by the nations?

⁹⁴ Seeing these things with our own eyes, who would not be amazed? And who would not truly confess the divine prophecy, hearing these things written in books for over a thousand years and studied, brought to completion only after the coming of our Savior? If the prophecy is indeed wonderful, and even more wonderful is the outcome of the prophecy, why should we doubt, even if the first coming of the one prophesied is strange and beyond all human nature? The foundation of his birth is remarkable, and the clear sight of the other wonders is no less than his birth, and we should accept the testimony of the other things done by him. But indeed, after the shepherding of sheep and the trampling of cattle, there is a second prophecy connected to the first, beginning from "And the Lord said to me, 'Take for yourself a scroll,'" which we should also examine closely.

⁹⁵ And the Lord said to me, 'Take for yourself a large new scroll, and write on it with a man's pen that the sharpness of dogs will be made. For it is near; and make faithful witnesses for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Barachiah.' And I went to the prophet, and she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, 'Call his name Quick to Plunder, Swift to Spoil, for before the child knows to call father or mother, the power of Damascus will be taken, and the spoils of Samaria will be before the king of the Assyrians.'

⁹⁶ The present prophecy is connected to the earlier one, for the virgin there, who is said to bear God with us, is named a prophetess in the present. And since we are asking how a woman who has never known a man will conceive, this is what the word teaches now: "And I went," saying, "to the prophet, and she conceived and bore a son."

⁹⁷ These things should be heard as coming from the Holy Spirit, by whom the prophet was inspired. This very Spirit that has come confirms to the prophetess; and it is clearly fulfilled at the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, when the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house and lineage of David. And he said, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women."

⁹⁸ And again, do not be afraid; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus." And Mary said, "How will this be, since I do not know a man?" The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one to be born will be called the Son of God."

⁹⁹ In the earlier prophecy about the birth of Emmanuel, before the child knows good or evil, it was said that the land would be left by those who besiege it, by two kings, one from Samaria and the other from Damascus. And in the present time, before the child knows to call a father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria; and before this, the kings will be overthrown at the birth of Emmanuel.

¹⁰⁰ In the days of King Ahaz of Judah, and during the time of the prophet Isaiah, two kings were besieging those who were ruled by the descendants of David, as has already been declared before. One was the king of the idol-worshiping nations from Damascus, and the other was from the large number of Jews in the city of Samaria, which is called Sebaste by us in Palestine. About these, God said through the prophet to Ahaz, "Do not be afraid, nor let your heart be weak because of these two stumps, these smoking firebrands."

¹⁰¹ And he said that the destruction of the men would happen quickly and not take long. He then prophesied that at the birth of the God who will be with us, the kingdom of both would completely be extinguished and overthrown.

¹⁰² We show from history that until the time of our Savior Jesus Christ's coming, the kingdoms of the Jews and the Damascenes remained. But after his appearance to all people, they were left behind according to the prophecy, with the Roman rule taking over along with the preaching of our Savior.

¹⁰³ And these things, having been established in words, moved on to the understanding and the overall spiritual meanings in interpretations. It pointed out two groups of unseen enemies and wicked demons, who are always fighting against all of humanity. One group is those who work through idol worship and false beliefs, while the other is those who cause the corruption of souls through bad habits. It showed that the ruler of Damascus carries the image of idol worship, while the one from Samaria is a type of a wise and healthy life. It says that the land will not be freed from these until the God Emmanuel appears on earth. When he shines and rules, no one will be left of those who have long held control over the soul.

¹⁰⁴ So indeed, here too, about the same things, it is said that "the power of Damascus will be taken and the spoils of Samaria," as the power of our Savior Jesus Christ will completely remove all our unseen enemies, who in the past surrounded all people with their mentioned godless and harmful actions.

¹⁰⁵ And again, in words, you would see together with the coming and appearance of our Savior, the power of Damascus removed and the spoils of Samaria hung up, meaning their kingdoms, which have lasted from that time until now, have been left behind according to the divine prophecies.

¹⁰⁶ Some say that those who came from the east, the Magi, who worshiped the child Christ, are the power of Damascus. But you could say more generally that all those who have turned away from godless and polytheistic idol worship and have been enslaved by the word of Christ, especially if they are strong in the wisdom and knowledge of this age, are the ones called the power of Damascus.

¹⁰⁷ In the same way, you will understand the spoils of Samaria as the disciples and apostles of our Savior from the Jewish nation, who, like spoils taken from enemies who fought against him, were armed by him against the king of the Assyrians. Thus, it is again shown in a figurative way about the ruler of this age.

¹⁰⁸ Since Aquila translated "against the king of the Assyrians" more clearly as "in the presence of the king of the Assyrians," be careful not to think that this also refers to the rule of the Romans, if indeed the Assyrians are understood as those who are directed or being directed according to what has been explained earlier. Therefore, since the king of the Assyrians is now connected to the prophecy about our Savior, it is reasonable that here the rule of the Romans is included, because it is directed by God toward the subjugation of the nations.

¹⁰⁹ Therefore, the child that is being born will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria, and it is foretold that he will present them in the presence of the Assyrians and in the sight of those who are directed by God. He will do this at the same time as his birth, with an unspoken and divine power, even while he is still in a tiny human body.

¹¹⁰ All these things, the prophet commands to be handed down in a new and great writing, showing the way of this person and the new covenant. He also takes witnesses from what has been said, a priest and a prophet, teaching the word that he will need in the proofs about Christ, to receive the testimonies from the rituals in the law and from the prophets that come after. He wants those who will witness the birth of the child being revealed to also be trustworthy witnesses, so that they can understand the prophecies.

¹¹¹ "For if you do not believe, you will not understand," it was said above, and the one who has the light of God (for this is what Uriah means) carries within himself the memory of God's blessing as a son. This is also shown by Zechariah, the son of Barachiah. Therefore, we have been placed in these places.

¹¹² But if anyone from the circumcision wants to say that these things are not so, it is time for us to show him who ever was born among them as Emmanuel, and how the prophet approached the prophetess, and who she was, and how she immediately conceived, and who the son born from the prophetess is, to whom the Lord himself gives the name "Quickly plunder, swiftly take away," and what is the reason for such a name given to the one born.

¹¹³ They should also show that before knowing the child, one calls a father or mother, having received power from Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of the Assyrians. For we demonstrate that these things, both in wording and in meaning, are fulfilled in the birth of our Savior, sometimes presenting them clearly according to the immediate thought, and at other times showing them in a figurative way in relation to the prophecies.

¹¹⁴ Immediately after, it is said in the previously mentioned voices through riddles, "And the Lord added to speak to me again, because this people does not want the water of Shiloah that flows quietly, but wants to have Rezin and the son of Remaliah. Therefore, behold, the Lord brings up against you the water of the strong and great river, the king of the Assyrians, and his glory; and it will rise over all your valleys, and will walk upon all your walls, and will take away from Judah a man who can lift a head or be able to accomplish anything. And his encampment will be such as to fill the breadth of your land. God is with us. Know, O nations, and be defeated; listen until the end of the earth."

¹¹⁵ Clearly, these things are saved only through the understanding of the single change in thought. It shows, indeed, through the water of Shiloah that flows quietly the good news of the teaching of salvation; for Shiloah is interpreted as "sent."

¹¹⁶ This one would be the Word of God sent to us from the Father, about whom Moses says, "A ruler will not cease from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, until he comes to whom it belongs, and he will be the hope of the nations." For instead of "to whom it belongs," the Hebrew contains Shiloah, which here refers to the Shiloah, that is, the one who is sent, and this shows the Word.

¹¹⁷ But Rezin was again the king of the idol-worshiping nations in Damascus, as was the son of Remaliah, who had turned away from the ancestral religion of the Jewish people in Samaria.

¹¹⁸ Therefore, God threatens those who do not accept Shiloah, that is, the one sent, Emmanuel, and the son born from the prophetess, who received both the honorable and fruitful Word. But while they reject him, even though he comes gently and quietly, they choose either the ruler of the idol-worshiping nations or the leader of the people who have turned away from God. They will bring upon themselves the strong and mighty waters of the river, which the Word of the prophecy explains, saying it is the king of the Assyrians. Thus, again, either by intention they signify the ruler of this age or the current ruling power of the Romans, to whom the waters of Shiloah, flowing quietly, have been rejected, while they have submitted themselves to the opposing and hostile doctrines of the true Word.

¹¹⁹ Indeed, soon and not long after they rejected the Gospel of our Savior, and having turned away from the quiet flowing water of Shiloah, the army of the Romans, directed by God, came upon all their valleys and walked upon all their walls. They took away from Judah a man who could lift a head or accomplish something, and the camp of the enemy became so great that it filled the entire width of Judah.

¹²⁰ And this indeed has been fulfilled in those words; for what reason, if you want to know, listen. God is with us, Emmanuel, who was born from the virgin, but he was not with them. If they had him, they would not have suffered these things. Therefore, the Word now calls out to the nations, saying, "God is with us; know, nations, and be defeated."

¹²¹ And these things are explained to us to show that sometimes they should be taken literally, and sometimes the majority of the prophecies should be understood through riddles.

¹²² From there, it is fitting to also examine the rest of the prophecy on land in the same way.

¹²³ But if even now it is said that these things will happen at some future time, they claim that they will only be received literally regarding the promised Christ. They should be asked how the future one will take power over Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of the Assyrians, since Samaria has already been destroyed in the present time and no longer exists, and since the so-called power of Damascus does not exist at all, nor does the rule of the Assyrians, which the Medes and Persians long ago took away. At this present time, there is not even the beginning of these powers. How is it possible to expect their downfall in the future? Moreover, it is not possible to say that the prophesied events have ever happened before.

¹²⁴ No one among the Hebrews has ever been born from a prophetic mother and the prophet Isaiah, who has fought against the king of the Assyrians for the spoils of Samaria and the power of Damascus, as is clearly stated.

¹²⁵ So, it is agreed that they are fulfilled only according to the intended meaning given, not at any other time except during the actual presence of Jesus our Savior, through whom we have shown that the foretold events have been completed.

¹²⁶ It was written according to the prophecy, and this book during his presence contains the birth of the son of the prophetess, who also mentions the royal power of Damascus and all of Syria, as well as the spoils of Samaria that have been explained to us. With divine power, he placed them in the hands of the Roman kingdom, not only in meaning but also in reality. He prepared his disciples from Judah as if they were his own soldiers, surrounding them with spiritual and rational weapons, and set them before the declared king of the Assyrians.

¹²⁷ Those who have rejected the fruitful and life-giving water of his teaching, which flows quietly, and have chosen the warlike and hostile things against God, he has delivered to the king of the Assyrians, to whom they are still enslaved even now.

¹²⁸ This man went up against all their valleys and against all their walls, and he removed from Judah every ruler and king, called the head, and he made it impossible for anyone to be powerful. So, from that time until now, neither have they had a leader nor any power among the divine, like the man who once stood out among them, whether he was a prophet or another just and God-loving man.

¹²⁹ It is clear that all their land is still under the control of their enemies and foes, and that all these things have been fulfilled at the coming of Emmanuel. Thus, the writings of the Hebrews contain this, signifying only Emmanuel, who was disbelieved by the Jews and is the cause of so many disasters for them, but for us, who believe among the nations, he is shown to be the reason for salvation and knowledge of God.

¹³⁰ Therefore, it is said, "God is with us; know, O nations, and be defeated." We, who are from the nations and have truly believed in him, are defeated by the truth and by the power of God who has come to be with us. We have all been defeated and have obeyed him together, even those who live until the end of the earth, according to the prophecy that says, "Listen until the end of the earth."

¹³¹ But we are both defeated and have obeyed the one who calls us. To those who still disbelieve among the nations, it is said next, "You strong ones, be defeated. For if you become strong again, you will be defeated again. And whatever plan you decide, it will not remain with you, because God is with us." Thus says the Lord to those who disobey with a strong hand.

¹³² For this reason, the word clearly states that those who oppose the teaching of Christ and disobey his powerful hand are told that they will not be strong enough to fight against God who is with us. And whatever plans they make against us will not last, because Emmanuel is with us. With this conclusion, it is easy to see the threats against us and the rebellions of the rulers over time, and how they are always made useless because of the God who is with us, bringing an end to their threats. From the same source.

¹³³ This first, drink, quickly do, land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, and the rest who live by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and for those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, a light has risen for them and the following things:

¹³⁴ To whom he chooses, 'For they will put on every gathered garment with deceit, and they will take off the robe with reconciliation, and they will wish, if they have become burnt up, because a child is born to us and a son is given to us, whose authority is on his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. For he will bring peace to the rulers and health to him; great is his authority, and there is no limit to his peace, to establish it on the throne of David and his kingdom and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.'

¹³⁵ This third, already the child is prophesied, his various signs being shown. Since now it is necessary for us to show the way of God's presence among people, let us consider how he stands and in what ways. First, he is called Emmanuel, God born of a virgin; second, the child from the prophetess and the Holy Spirit is none other than the one foretold; third, he is with hands, being one and the same as the previous ones, and indeed he is said to have the name according to the Seventy 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'

¹³⁶ But according to the Hebrew, as Aquila says, 'For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the government will be on his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty, Powerful, Father, also Prince of Peace, and there is no end to his peace.'

¹³⁷ But as Symmachus says, 'For a young man is given to us, a son is given to us. And his education will be on his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty, Powerful, Father of the age, Prince of Peace, and there is no end to his peace.'

¹³⁸ Therefore, he is not simply an angel according to the Seventy, but 'the angel of the great counsel, and Wonderful Counselor, and Mighty God, and Ruler, and Prince of Peace, and Father of the coming age will be born,' and he is to be a child because of these things. And you have in the earlier texts the word of God called God and Lord in different ways, but also the same angel named of the Father, and commander of the Lord's forces.

¹³⁹ What then would happen according to Aquila and the testimonies still brought forth by the Hebrews? 'Being born among men, and becoming a child, Wonderful Counselor and Mighty, Powerful, and Father, also Prince of Peace, of which peace he says there will never be an end.' But according to Symmachus, 'Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty, Powerful, Father of the age, Prince of Peace, and of this peace there is no limit and no end.' And according to Theodotion, 'Wonderfully counseling, Mighty, Ruler, Father, Prince of Peace, to increase the education, of which peace there is no end.'

¹⁴⁰ And I leave to you the following to consider, as it is clearly stated, that this one called the Father of the age and Prince of Peace, the angel of the great counsel, will be born and will be a child. It is prophesied that at his coming into the world, he will cause those who are being destroyed by the salvation of the nations through him to be burned with fire, whether they are wicked demons or ungodly men, about whom it is said, 'They will cast off every garment gathered by deceit and a robe with reconciliation.'

¹⁴¹ "Who then were these, or about whom it is said elsewhere that they divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing?" Those who are partakers of such wickedness, who will also wish to see their own judgment later, if they were burned with fire before their ungodliness, before the angel of the great counsel was made ungodly against them.

¹⁴² And you should also consider whether it does not surpass all human nature to say that his peace has no end and to call him the Father of the age. And it is not simply to call him an angel, but the angel of the great counsel and a mighty god, along with all that is included with these. Moreover, it says that through him the kingdom of David will be established, which you will also understand in this way.

¹⁴³ Many promises have been made to David, in which it is said, 'And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers; he will call me, "You are my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation," and I will make him the firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for him forever, and my covenant will be faithful to him, and I will establish his offspring and his throne forever, as long as the days of heaven.'

¹⁴⁴ And again, 'Once I have sworn by my holiness, if I lie to David, his offspring will remain forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon established forever.' So many things are promised to David in the psalms of God, but the opposite has happened to the promises because of the wickedness of his successors.

¹⁴⁵ Indeed, the kingdom from the seed of David lasted until Jeconiah and the siege of the temple by the Babylonians, so that from that point on, neither the throne of David nor any of his descendants ruled over the nation of the Jews.

¹⁴⁶ And this fall of the promise made to David is described in the previously mentioned psalm, where the divine spirit says this: 'But you have rejected and despised, you have thrown down your anointed one; you have destroyed the covenant of your servant, you have defiled his holy place on the earth, you have knocked down all his defenses.'

¹⁴⁷ "And after a little while, you have shattered his throne on the earth, you have shortened his days, you have covered him with shame," which clearly began to happen from the time of the people's captivity to Babylon, until the reign of the Romans and Tiberius was examined. No one from the line of David appears to have sat on the throne of the Jewish nation during those intervening times until the coming of Christ.

¹⁴⁸ But when the Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, who is from the seed of David, was proclaimed king over all the world, that throne of David, renewed from the earth and from its fall, is restored through the divine kingdom of our Savior, and it will remain forever. It will shine like the sun before God, illuminating the whole world with the rays of his teaching. This follows both the testimony from the psalm and the words of the prophet, about the child to be born, saying 'upon the throne of David,' that is, the eternal and lasting throne, which was promised to David, 'he will sit upon his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it in justice and righteousness from now on and forever.'

¹⁴⁹ And as these things were being fulfilled, the angel Gabriel, a worthy teacher, said to the virgin in the announcement, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'

¹⁵⁰ In this previously mentioned psalm, the prophet is expecting the birth of Christ, seeing both its greatness and delay as the reason for the fall of the throne of David. He speaks, saying, 'But you have cast off and rejected, you have raised up your Christ.'

¹⁵¹ And he prays, as if looking for the divine, that the promises may be fulfilled quickly, saying, 'Where are your ancient mercies, Lord, which you swore to David in your truth?' These things will surely be fulfilled at the birth of the angel of the great counsel. He says, 'As they will desire, those who were given beforehand, if they were made like fire, because a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, the angel of the great counsel.'

¹⁵² What is for us or for those who believe in him, those in Galilee of the nations, for whom he has become the cause of light and joy, and the new drink of the new covenant mystery? According to the prophecy that says, 'First drink this, quickly do it. Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, and the others who dwell by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations: the people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, a light has risen for them.' Surely among these are shown both those from the nations who have believed in Christ of God and our Savior's disciples and apostles, whom he called from the land of Zebulun and Naphtali to be preachers of the gospel.

¹⁵³ To these, then, the angel of the great counsel was given as a son, the cause of salvation, but to those who believe in him, as fire and burning. And he says that the foundation of all this arrangement is the zeal of the Lord, saying, 'The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.' But what zeal? Or of which Moses remembers, saying, 'They have provoked me to jealousy with what is not God; they have angered me with their idols. And I will provoke them to jealousy with those who are not a people; with a foolish nation I will anger them.'

¹⁵⁴ "But since with God the matters concerning the coming of the one prophesied to humans are not only shown, but also the manner of his appearance is proven through prophetic testimonies, it would be the right time to see where on earth he will be born and from which lineage he will come, from which tribe of the Hebrews it was proclaimed. Let us also investigate these things."

From Micah.

Book 7, Section 2

And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are small to be among the thousands of Judah. From you will come a leader, to be a ruler in Israel, and his origins are from ancient days, from the days of eternity. Therefore, he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor gives birth; and the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel. And he will stand, and he will see, and he will shepherd his flock with strength; the Lord, and in the glory of the name of their God they will be. For now he will be great to the ends of the earth, and this will be peace.

² Emmanuel, translated, means 'God with us,' born from the virgin, and becoming a child, the angel of the great counsel, was clearly shown through the things mentioned before. But it was also necessary to mark the place of his birth. It is prophesied that from Bethlehem a ruler will come in Israel, having origins from ancient days, from the days of eternity. This would not fit the nature of a human, except for Emmanuel and the angel of the great counsel.

³ For who could have existed from eternity except for God alone? Therefore, Bethlehem is a small place in Judah, not far from Jerusalem, and it is said that someone will come from eternity. But we find no one here except David, who was a notable figure, and after him, the other savior, Jesus the Christ of God. There is no other besides these.

⁴ But David, having lived during the times of the prophecy, died many years before the prophecy was made; and this one did not accomplish his origins from eternity. Therefore, it remains for the one who was born from Bethlehem, the true Emmanuel, the God who existed before all creation, called 'God with us,' to fulfill what was written, since his birth in Bethlehem clearly showed the presence of God through the wonders surrounding it.

⁵ Luke writes about this in this way: 'In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This registration was the first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to be registered, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son.'

⁶ And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds in the same region, living out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of God shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

⁷ And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'

⁸ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.' And it happened, when the angels went away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'

⁹ And they came quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them about this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

¹⁰ These things are told by Luke. And Matthew, telling about the birth of our Savior, writes this way: 'When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.'

¹¹ And gathering all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Ephrathah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."' Then Herod secretly called the wise men and ascertained from them the time of the appearing star.

¹² And sending them to Bethlehem, he said, 'Go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.' And they, having heard the king, went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy.

¹³ And when they had come into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

¹⁴ All these things I have set forth as a presentation of the events at the birth of our Savior in Bethlehem, providing clear evidence that he is the one indicated by the prophecy.

¹⁵ And here, those who live in the place, as passed down from their ancestors, testify to the truth of the word, believing in the history of the places as they arrive in Bethlehem. They show the cave where the virgin gave birth to the child, concerning which the prophecy says, 'For them, until the time of giving birth, she will bear, and the rest of her brothers will return.'

¹⁶ Next, it shows that the virgin mentioned in the earlier prophecies gave birth here, and she is the prophetess who announced Emmanuel and the angel of the great council. For until her time and the one born from her, the matters of the former people were established, given a time limit 'until the time of giving birth.' That is, until the extraordinary birth from the virgin, after which their kingdom was lifted, and the rest of their brothers would be those who believed in Christ, the apostles, disciples, and evangelists of our Savior. It is said that upon their return, the Lord himself would shepherd them, not as before through angels or through human servants, but himself, so that they would be glorified even to the ends of the earth. For they were glorified when 'their voice went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'

¹⁷ It is clear what a great flock of rational and human sheep the Lord has gathered throughout the whole earth through his apostles. He himself, being both the shepherd and the Lord of the flock, will watch over and care for them with strength. It is said that with a mighty hand and a high arm, the Lord will protect the sheep, so that they will not suffer anything terrible from the wild and fierce beasts that threaten them.

¹⁸ And the things about Bethlehem and the coming of the proclaimed God have this meaning. The arrival of the Lord and shepherd from heaven to humans has already been shown through the hands of the prophet, who said, 'Listen, all you people, and let the earth pay attention, and all who dwell in it, and the Lord will be a witness for you, the Lord from his holy house. For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place, and he will come down, and what follows...'

¹⁹ "To those he chose, he said, 'Because of the wickedness of Jacob, all these things, and because of the sin of the house of Israel.' It is clear from the following words of the same prophet that the Lord made his descent from heaven not only because of the wickedness of the Jewish nation but also for the salvation and calling of all nations. Therefore, he continues, 'And in the last days, the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, and many peoples will hurry to it, and many nations will go, and they will say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord."'"

²⁰ Therefore, after this, he proclaimed that he would come from Bethlehem before the ages, not only for Israel alone but for all people, even to the ends of the earth. He says, 'And he will stand, and the Lord will shepherd his flock with strength, and in the glory of the name of their God they will exist. For now, they will be made great to the ends of the earth, and this will be peace.'

²¹ To whom will this peace be, except to the earth, where the things of the Lord will be made great? And what is the end of this, after the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is clear to everyone.

²² For there was much rule before this, with many nations being either ruled by tyrants or governed by democracy, so that people had no mixing with each other. Especially, one might say, the Egyptians were ruled by their own leaders, and the Arabs likewise, and the Idumeans, Phoenicians, Syrians, and other nations were rising up against each other, with nations against nations and cities against cities, with countless sieges and captivities happening everywhere. But when the Savior and Lord was present, along with his coming to humanity, before the Romans, Augustus, became the ruler of the nations, the greatest rule was loosened, and peace covered the whole earth. Following this, it will clearly be said about the disciples of Christ, 'For now, they will be made great to the ends of the earth, and this will be peace.'

²³ To whom agrees the saying in the psalms about Christ, 'Righteousness will rise in his days and a multitude of peace.' Therefore, it seems to me that the ruler of peace is named in this prophecy. Consider how the prophet, speaking of the one who will come, said that the Lord will come down from heaven, but he will not shepherd the people until the one being foretold is born in Bethlehem.

²⁴ But as these things were being lifted up to our Savior and Lord, the evangelist testified through the voices I have previously mentioned. Christ is said to be the shepherd and leader of Israel, often referred to in the holy scriptures as the true 'Israel,' meaning all who live rightly and see clearly. This is in contrast to those from the circumcision who sin, like the Canaanites and the descendants of Canaan, and not the Jews, as well as the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah, who are clearly shown to be acting in a bad way.

²⁵ Otherwise, the whole life of our Savior happened among the Jewish nation, and many of those from Israel believed in him, as many as recognized him and had faith in him from the circumcision.

²⁶ And the outcome of the prophecy that has been presented is this: 'When the Assyrian comes upon your land, and when he attacks your country, seven shepherds will rise up against him, and eight leaders of men.' The following things are related to this, and it is not the time to explain the meaning of these words.

²⁷ If someone were to say that after the Assyrian invasion into Judea, during which the Jewish nation was taken, so many rebellions happened against them, these are clearly shown by the seven shepherds and the eight leaders. Those who have written about the Assyrians can know these things, which happened in the end with the prophecy from Bethlehem, along with the seven shepherds and the eight leaders that occurred later during their attack on Judea. These matters require much investigation, and it is not the time to be busy with them now.

²⁸ Remember, Lord, David and all his gentleness; how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the God of Jacob: 'If I go into the tent of my house, if I go up to my bed, if I give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my eyelids, and rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob.' Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of the forest. We will go into his tents; we will worship at the place where his feet stood.

²⁹ Then it continues: 'For the sake of David your servant, do not turn away the face of your Christ.' The Lord swore to David the truth, and he will not reject him. 'From the fruit of your body, I will set upon your throne.'

³⁰ And he adds, saying: 'There I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but upon him my holiness will shine.'

³¹ The present prophecy agrees with this, indicating that the God who is proclaimed will come from Bethlehem. This is what David, not knowing before, prays to God to reveal, and then, after praying, he is taught.

³² For when he received the prophecy that said in the psalm, 'From the fruit of your body, I will set upon your throne,' and again, 'There I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ,' it is fitting that he falls down before God. And falling to the ground, he prays, and he continues in prayer, swearing to God that he will not enter the dwelling of his house, nor give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eyelids, nor go up to the bed of his couch, but he will lie down on the ground, worshiping and honoring, until he finds a place for the Lord and a dwelling for the God of Jacob, that is, until he learns from the Lord revealing to him the birth of the Christ.

³³ And after praying, and longing to know such things, he soon sees by the divine spirit what is about to happen, while God is still speaking to his own people.

³⁴ And indeed, after listening, he is deemed worthy of the prophecy calling out Bethlehem to him, as if here the place of the Lord and the dwelling of the God of Jacob is being established. Therefore, having been appointed by the divine spirit within him, he himself, having listened, chooses, 'Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrathah.'

³⁵ Ephrathah is the same as Bethlehem, as is clearly shown in Genesis, where it is said about Rachel that they buried her in the horse racing track of Ephrathah; this is Bethlehem.

³⁶ And before this, there was a prophecy: 'And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah. Behold, he says, we have heard of it.' It is clear that this refers to the birth of Christ and the dwelling of the God of Jacob. What would the dwelling of the God of Jacob be, or the body of Christ born in the place of Bethlehem, in which, as in a dwelling, the divinity of the only-begotten took up residence? It is not simply called the dwelling of God, but with the addition of the God of Jacob, because it is not another who dwelled in it but the God who appeared in human form and shape to Jacob, for whom the name was also given to Israel, for this is what the name means, being called. We have presented the God of the Word who appeared to Jacob in the first part of the discussion.

³⁷ Therefore, it was shown to David, who prayed and longed for the Lord and the God of Jacob, the place and the dwelling, which is the place of Bethlehem. For this reason, saying 'Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrathah,' he adds, saying, 'Let us worship at the place where his feet stood.'

³⁸ Clearly, therefore, even in these things, in Ephrathah, which is Bethlehem, the Lord and God of Jacob prophesied that a place and a dwelling would be established for himself. This agrees with the prophecy of Micah, which says, 'And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, from you will come forth a ruler for me, and his origins are from ancient days.' We have just examined this and shown that it refers only to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ of God, who was born in Bethlehem according to these prophecies.

³⁹ Indeed, no one else could be shown to have come forth gloriously after the times of this prophecy; for neither a king nor a prophet, nor anyone else among the God-loving Hebrews, but only our Savior and Lord Christ of God, who is both from the seed of David and was born there, is proven.

⁴⁰ Therefore, it is time to acknowledge him and not another as the one prophesied in these things, since clearly in the following psalm, he specifically names Christ, presenting this when he says, 'For the sake of David your servant, do not turn away the face of your Christ.' And again, 'There I will raise up a horn for David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but upon him my holiness will shine.'

⁴¹ But where does he say, 'There I will raise up a horn for David' or 'in Bethlehem of Ephrathah'? From here, indeed, the Christ, who is of David according to the flesh, has risen as a great light. There, the lamp of Christ was prepared by God of all.

⁴² And if his lamp is like the light of understanding, the human body is like a fragile vessel, through which, like a lamp, the rays of his own light shine upon all those who are in ignorance of God and deeply pressed in darkness.

⁴³ But indeed, I believe that in these things it is clearly shown that God of Jacob will dwell among people from the beginning and throughout the ages, and he will be born not in another place on earth, but in the region of Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, which is still shown today. There, no one else has appeared after the times of the prophets, and to all people, only Jesus Christ is known, following the local voices of the Gospel.

⁴⁴ Bethlehem is interpreted as the house of bread, being named after our Savior, the Word of God, who came from it, nourishing rational souls. He himself presents this, saying, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.'

⁴⁵ But since this is also the homeland of David, it is fitting that the one who was born according to the flesh as the son of David came from it, following the prophetic statements. Therefore, it is not unclear why Bethlehem was written as his homeland.

⁴⁶ But he is also said to have been raised in Nazareth, and again he will be called a Nazarene. Therefore, it should be known that the name Nazarene is Hebrew, relating to the anointing of their Christ. This ruler was a shadow and a type of the great and truly high priest, Christ the God, bringing forth a certain shadowy and typical Christ.

⁴⁷ In these things, it is indeed said according to the Seventy about the high priest, 'and he will not defile the anointed of his God, for the holy oil is the Christ of his God.' The Hebrew says, 'for a Nazarite contains oil,' and Aquila says, 'for a separation, the oil of his God's anointing is upon him;' but Symmachus says, 'for the untouched oil of his God's anointing is upon him;' and Theodotion says, 'for a Nazarite is the Christ from his God upon him.'

⁴⁸ Therefore, the term Nazarite means, according to the Seventy, holy; according to Aquila, a separation; and according to Symmachus, untouched. Thus, the name Nazarite signifies either the holy one, or the separated one, or the untouched one. But the priests of old, by using the oil from the vessel called Nazarite by Moses, were anointed and were called Nazarites as a result.

⁴⁹ But our Savior and Lord, having by nature the holy, the untouched, and the separated, did not need human anointing. Nevertheless, he was called a Nazarite by people, not because he became a Nazarite from the oil called Nazarite, but being such by nature, he was called Nazarite by people from Nazareth, where he was raised by his earthly parents.

⁵⁰ Therefore, it is said by Matthew, 'And being warned in a dream, Joseph clearly went to the regions of Galilee, and coming, he settled in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he will be called a Nazarene.'

⁵¹ For he had to be, by nature and truth, a Nazarite, that is, holy, untouched, and separated, and to be called by this name by people. But since he did not receive this name from the oil of the Nazarite, nor did he need human anointing, he obtained it from the place of Nazareth.

⁵² Since these things have been clearly shown, it is time to look into the lineage and from which tribe of the Hebrews our Savior of souls, Christ of God, was to come. First, I will present the Gospel words about this, and then I will add the prophetic testimonies like harmonious seals. Therefore, Matthew begins the genealogy of Christ according to the flesh: 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah,' and so on.

⁵³ And the apostle agrees with him, saying, 'Set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.' May these things be in harmony with the prophecies that are thus stated. From the second book of Chronicles.

Book Eight

The Lord establishes these things to David through the prophet Nathan in the second book of Chronicles: 'And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, that I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall be from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son.'

² And in the eighth and eighty-second psalm, concerning the same, as about David, it is said: 'He will call me, "You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation." And I will make him the firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth. Forever I will keep my mercy for him, and my covenant will be faithful to him.'

³ And again: 'I swore to David my servant, that I will prepare your offspring forever, and I will build your throne for all generations.'

⁴ And again: 'Once I swore by my holiness, if I lie to David, his offspring will last forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon, established forever.'

⁵ And again: 'I will establish his offspring forever.' Similar to these are the things said: 'The Lord swore to David the truth, and he will not change it: from the fruit of your body, I will set him on your throne.'

⁶ Solomon, being the son of David and the heir to the kingdom, is clearly shown. He was the first to build a temple to God in Jerusalem, and it is reasonable to think that those from the circumcision would consider him to be the one prophesied. It would be good for them to bring the prophecy about Solomon, saying 'And I will establish his throne forever,' and again, with an oath, God has sworn in his holiness, 'As surely as the throne of the one prophesied will be, like the sun, and the days of heaven.'

⁷ For if someone examines the years of Solomon's reign, they will find forty years, not more. And if they also count his successors, they would not find all of them adding up to even five hundred years.

⁸ But let it be thought that the same ones would last until the final siege of the Jewish nation by the Romans. What then does this have to do with the prophecy that 'his throne will endure forever, like the sun, and like the days of heaven'? And how would 'I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me' fit with Solomon, when the history about him clearly shows something different and teaches about the establishment of God concerning him?

⁹ "Listen then to what accusation is made against him: 'And Solomon was fond of foreign women, and he took many foreign wives, including the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite women, Ammonite women, Edomite women, Sidonian women, and Hittite women, from the nations that the Lord God had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not enter into them."'"

¹⁰ And it adds to these, 'And his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father was. And Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Sidonians, and after Molech, the idol of the children of Ammon. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord.'

¹¹ And again it goes on, 'And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite.' Now, who would dare to claim that such a person, so accused and of such character, could be called the father of God, and that the God above all would call him his firstborn son? How is it that sometimes it is said about David, and other times about his offspring? But it would not even fit David, as will be made clear to you.

¹² Therefore, another one must be sought to be raised up from the seed of David. But no one else has come from him, as is recorded, except for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who alone is called the son of David throughout the whole world, according to his human birth. And his kingdom will remain and endure forever, extending into endless ages, even though many have plotted against it. Yet, by divine power and beyond human strength, the prophecy about him is clearly shown to be true.

¹³ If you hear God swearing by his holy one, listen as a father swears by the word of God, who is the first of all ages, holy and only-begotten, his own child. About him, the voices that have been presented before us have spoken in various ways, by whom God and his Father swears, as to the beloved, to glorify the one from the seed of David for endless ages. This happened when the word became flesh and took up the one from the seed of David and made him divine. Therefore, he also calls him his son, saying, 'I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son.'

¹⁴ And again, 'And I will make him my firstborn.' Clearly, from these words, the Son of God, the firstborn from the seed of David, is mentioned, so that the son of David and the son of God are one and the same. Because of this, it was clearly prophesied that he would be born as the first man.

¹⁵ And this saying is confirmed by the writing of the gospel, where it says that the angel Gabriel appeared to the holy virgin about our Savior. 'He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.'

¹⁶ And shortly after, in the same gospel, Zechariah, the father of John, proclaims these things about Christ: 'Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and made redemption for his people, and he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times.'

¹⁷ But that the Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has taken the eternal throne promised to David, and no other man has taken it, is clearly proven by the testimonies already presented, both that of Gabriel and that of Zechariah, through which it is shown that he was born from the seed of David according to the flesh.

¹⁸ "But why do the holy evangelists trace the genealogy of Joseph, even though our Savior is not from him, but from the Holy Spirit and the holy virgin? This shows that the mother of the Lord is also proven to be from the lineage and seed of David. In the first of the inquiries and solutions about the genealogy of our Savior, we send those who love knowledge to those matters, while we are pressed for another topic in this present time.

From Psalm 72: 'Give your judgment to the king, O God, and your righteousness to the son of the king.'"

¹⁹ And further, it says, 'He will remain with the sun, and before the moon, from generation to generation. He will come down like rain upon the grass, and like drops that fall upon the earth. Righteousness will rise in his days, and there will be a multitude of peace, until the moon is taken away, and he will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.'

²⁰ And after a little while, it says, 'His fruit will be greater than the Lebanon. His name will be blessed forever; before the sun, his name will endure, and all the families of the earth will be blessed in him; all nations will call him blessed.'

²¹ Since the Psalm is written to Solomon, the first line of the Psalm refers to him, but all the following lines refer to the son of Solomon, not to Rehoboam, who ruled Israel after him, but to the one born from his seed according to the flesh, the Christ of God.

²² For it is not possible to refer the things in the Psalm to Solomon or to his successor, as anyone who is not ignorant of the divine writings will agree. But how can one take the things mentioned throughout the whole Psalm as applying to Solomon or to his son Rehoboam? For example, the statement about ruling from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, and the part that says 'he will remain with the generations, before the moon, from generation to generation,' and all other similar things mentioned.

²³ Therefore, it would be unreasonable to say that the beginning of the statement 'O God, give your judgment to the king' refers to Solomon; but the part that says 'and your righteousness to the son of the king' refers to the son of Solomon, not to that firstborn who became his successor to the kingdom (for he ruled poorly for only seventeen years over the nation of Judah). Nor does it refer to any other of those who took the throne after Rehoboam, but only to the one from the seed of David, thus also to the son of Solomon as well as to David.

²⁴ This one was our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. For only he, and no other, will have the throne of the divine kingdom endure with the sun. And this one, and no other man, existed before the moon and before the creation of the world, being the Word of God. He alone has poured down like dew from heaven upon all the earth; he is said to have been sent to all people according to what has been given to us earlier, and his righteousness will remain until the end of life, which is called the passing away of the moon.

²⁵ Clearly, the power of our Savior rules and reigns from the rising of the sea to the setting sun, beginning to act from the river, that is, from the bath of the mystery, or from when he first appeared at the Jordan to start his good works among people.

²⁶ Indeed, from that time, his kingdom among people has spread throughout the whole world. As for Lebanon, which is associated with Jerusalem, this is shown by many prophecies, because in it there has long been a holy place and an altar. The offerings made there, like incense to God, are said to be the fruit of Christ, the church from the nations, which is to rise above Lebanon.

²⁷ If a lover of learning were to study the Psalm carefully, he would surely confess that only our Lord deserves what is in it, and not the old Solomon or any other of the kings who came after him from the one nation of the Jews, and not for many years, nor for any land other than just Judah.

²⁸ And a rod will come out from the root of Jesse, and a flower will rise from its root, and the Spirit of God will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness. He will fill him with the Spirit of the fear of God. He will not judge by appearances, nor will he decide by what he hears, but he will judge with righteousness for the humble, and he will reprove the meek of the earth.

²⁹ And he will be dressed in righteousness around his waist, and he will wear truth as a belt. The wolf will graze with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them. The root of Jesse will stand to rule the nations; the nations will hope in him, and his resting place will be glorious.

³⁰ The one mentioned here, Jesse, was the father of David. Just as it was said in the prophecies before this, that a shoot would come from the fruit and seed of David, and again from the seed of Solomon, in the same way here, many years later, not only from the line of David but also from the end of Solomon, it is clear that someone will arise from the root of Jesse.

³¹ But the present word will resolve the doubt that the Jews have about Solomon. After a long time since the end of Solomon, Isaiah prophesies about someone else, who will come from the root of Jesse and from the seed of David.

³² That the things mentioned do not refer to anyone else but to our Savior, Christ of God, who comes from the root of David and Jesse, I do not think anyone doubts, since it is clear from the promise of the prophecy that says, 'And the root of Jesse will stand to rule the nations; the nations will hope in him,' and from the results shown in our Savior.

³³ This one, after the resurrection from the dead, for which I think he is called to rise, did not begin to rule only over the people of the Jews, but over all the nations. This is clearly shown by the established meaning, so that it includes with the others the part that says, 'the nations will hope in him.'

³⁴ The things said about tame animals and wild beasts, and the wild nature that is untamed, could be interpreted as symbols during the coming of the one prophesied. They suggest that the harsh and wild ways of men will be changed through the teachings of Christ, moving away from their irrational and beastly behavior.

³⁵ These things could be clearly interpreted in this way, if someone also explains the root of Jesse mentioned in the prophecy, and the rod, and the flower. They might think of how, in righteousness, the sides are girded, while in truth, the waist is taken.

³⁶ For it is not possible to interpret these things in any other way than through a purely allegorical explanation. In the same way, it is necessary to understand the things said about the animals named in the places. This is from Jeremiah.

³⁷ Behold, days are coming, says the lord, and I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and a king will reign, and he will understand, and he will do justice and righteousness on the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely, and this is the name by which the lord will call him: The Lord is our righteousness. In those days, says the lord, I will break the yoke from their neck, and I will tear off their bonds, and they will no longer serve other gods, but they will serve the lord their God, and I will raise up David their king for them.

³⁸ After a long time from the death of David, and also from the time of Solomon, Jeremiah proclaims that a king will arise from the seed of David in the future. He first calls him a branch, and not just any branch, but a righteous one, as if he will be established from the sun of righteousness. We have discussed this in the proofs about the second cause, in which we showed that the Word of God has been called by many names, and that he is called the sun of righteousness. We also refer to the prophecy that says, 'For those who fear me, the sun of righteousness will rise.'

³⁹ Just as the sun of righteousness, so also the Word prophesies that a righteous branch will be raised up for David in the present. It also foretells the same king who will understand and do justice and righteousness on the earth. Then, it calls him by the same name as the long-dead David.

⁴⁰ For he carefully adds that he will raise up a righteous branch for David, and at the end he says, 'And I will raise up David their king for them.' To whom does he refer, to him or to David? For he said that he will raise up the righteous branch for this one.

⁴¹ And Zechariah, prophesying about him, also calls him a branch, saying, 'Behold, a man, his name is the branch, and under him righteousness will rise.' And again, 'I will call my servant the branch.' But no one arose after the times of Jeremiah, nor after those of Zechariah, such as to be called a righteous branch, who would be an understanding king and do justice and righteousness on the earth.

⁴² But if someone says that this refers to Jesus, the son of Jehoiada, it must be said that the statement does not apply to him. For he was neither from the lineage of David nor did he reign as a king.

⁴³ But how can the phrase 'I will raise up David their king for them' apply to him, since he was from the tribe of Levi, of the priestly order, and from a different lineage than David, and there is no record of him being a king? Therefore, if no one else is found to be such, it is time to acknowledge that the one being prophesied is only our savior and lord, who is also called the light of the world and the light of the nations in other texts.

⁴⁴ Therefore, he would indeed be the one being prophesied here, and the prophecy has been confirmed as true. For he alone, from the lineage of David, is called by name, since he is interpreted as a powerful hand. He proclaimed justice and righteousness to all on earth through his teaching, and he alone has ruled not just over a part of the world, but over all the earth. He alone has brought forth righteousness, as also mentioned in the Psalm about him: 'In his days righteousness will rise and there will be an abundance of peace.'

⁴⁵ But Judah will be saved, and Israel in his days. All those who have come to worship God through him are from the people of the circumcision, including his apostles, disciples, and evangelists. They are all those who see the hidden Jew and the true Israel, who understand God and are being saved.

⁴⁶ For the one who is a Jew is not the one who is outwardly (says the apostle), nor is the circumcision that is outward in the flesh, but the one who is a Jew inwardly, and the circumcision of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter. His praise is not from men, but from God. Therefore, through the calling of Christ, those who carry the hidden Jew and the true Israel will be called by another name, not by the name of Jew or Israel, but by some other name.

⁴⁷ For this is the name that the Lord will call them: Josedech, which is interpreted as 'the righteous of God.' But I suggest that this name is not made from Joshua Josedech, which is what the disciples of Jesus are called by God. Among men, they are called more Greek-like from the name of Christ, but according to the Hebrew language and among the prophets, they are called from Jesus, as those who are saved through him, Josedech.

⁴⁸ Therefore, it is said, 'And this is the name that the Lord will call them: Josedech in the prophets.' So, he says, the people who are prophesied, being called Judah and Israel in thought, will be named from Joshua Josedech. And indeed, he says, they will be called by this name not by men, but by God himself, and by his prophets.

⁴⁹ Pay careful attention to the word that says, 'And this is the name that the Lord will call them: Josedech in the prophets.' And as I said, the name is translated into the Greek language as 'the righteous of God.'

⁵⁰ Of those who will be saved in this way, God promises to break the old and heavy yoke of bitter demons and to shatter the chains of ungodliness that held them before, so that they will no longer serve foreign gods, but will bear fruit only for him, pleasingly.

⁵¹ Also, add to these the saying in the second psalm about the coming of Christ and the calling of the nations: 'Let us break their chains, and let us throw off their yoke from us.' I think this is related to what the Lord said on that day: 'I will break the yoke from their neck, and I will shatter their chains, and they will no longer work for foreign gods, but they will work for the Lord their God.'

⁵² But it is said that Christ will be born from the fruit of David's womb, from the seed of Solomon, and from the root of Jesse, which has indeed happened. The divine words call him by many other names, and they should be believed as true. And since it is also said that he will come from the tribe of Judah, it should not be questioned that he is from the same tribe as David. If it were to be shown from the abundance of this, the saying from Moses would support this, having this meaning: 'From the beginning.'

⁵³ Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hands will be on the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion; you have risen up, my son, from the prey. You lie down and sleep like a lion, and like a young lion. Who will wake him? The ruler will not depart from Judah, nor the leader from his descendants, until he comes to whom it belongs; and he will be the hope of the nations.

⁵⁴ There are twelve tribes among the Hebrews, through which the whole nation is established. Judah became one of their ancestors and chief of the tribe, to whom the previous things are related, indicating that Christ will come from him. If you gather these together and compare them with the prophecies that have been set before, you would find a common sign being proclaimed.

⁵⁵ One says about the one who will rise from the root of Jesse, 'And he will be the one to rule over the nations; in him the nations will hope.' The other speaks about the son of Solomon, 'He will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, and all the nations will be blessed in him.' The one after this similarly says, 'Until he comes to whom it belongs, and he will be the hope of the nations.'

⁵⁶ If the prophecies about the nations agree, and they show the glory of our Savior before these things, there would be no obstacle to seeing the same thing in the present, especially if they are confirmed by each other. This is most true when, up to the time of our Savior's appearance, the leaders and guides of the Jewish nation have been established by a line of ancestors, and at the same time, with his presence, they have been left behind. Together, the hope of the nations brought about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jacob.

⁵⁷ Therefore, here Christ is being shown, and no one else, to come from the tribe of Judah. And when it was made clear that he would come from David and Solomon, and from the root of Jesse, it was shown that he was from the same tribe.

⁵⁸ For David was the son of Jesse, and Solomon was the son of David, both coming from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, our Savior and Lord would also be from this tribe, just as the wonderful evangelist Matthew shows in his genealogy, saying, 'The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah,' and so on. But indeed, the proof of these things has been made clear in the right time, and we can see the fulfillment of what was foretold.

Introduction

Having shown through what the word of God was to come to people, from where and how it would be seen by those on earth in the prophetic voices among the Hebrews, it was proclaimed that he was the one, and no one else, the preordained son of God of the ages. We have learned that he is both God and Lord, and the chief captain, and the angel of God, and the high priest of the great council. Following this, we will again confirm the times of his appearance from those prophetic sayings, starting from here.

² The sacred scriptures proclaim that there will be signs of the times of Christ's presence. Three important offices among the Hebrews, by which the nation was united, will be revealed: one of the royal, another of the prophetic, and in addition to these, the high priestly. The end and complete removal of these will be signs of the presence of Christ.

³ Signs of the same times will also include a description of the religion according to Moses, the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple, and the slavery of all the Jewish nation under enemies and foes. Other signs of the same times will be a great peace, the removal of nations from ancient times by tribe and city, and the end of many rulers. There will be a turning away from polytheistic and demonic idolatry, and a knowledge of piety toward the one creator God above all.

⁴ Therefore, all these things, which did not exist in the times of the prophets, will come to be at the presence of Christ, as the divine oracles foretold. These will follow the prophecies and will come to completion when the time has not yet arrived.

⁵ The reason for this is not earlier, but now in the last times, after the long and great age, that Christ has appeared in life. It has already been said before, but now it will be stated briefly.

⁶ Long ago, there was a darkness over the souls of people because of their foolishness and impiety. A terrible atheism held power over all human life, as if there were no difference between wild and untamed beasts. Neither cities, nor governments, nor laws, nor anything honorable and useful were known. They did not even consider knowledge and skills related to virtue and philosophy. Instead, they lived only in deserted places, in mountains, caves, and villages, acting more like robbers toward those nearby, getting what they needed to live not from anywhere else but from the oppression of those weaker than themselves.

⁷ But they did not even know the god who is over all, nor did they have a true way of piety. They were stirred by natural ideas, believing that there was some divine power and that god could be named as a savior and benefactor. They agreed with teachings that seemed to come from themselves, but they were not able to think of anything other than what is beyond all visible existence.

⁸ Therefore, some of them worshiped and served the creation instead of the creator, while others became foolish in their own thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible god for an image resembling corruptible man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. These men, who were powerful or tyrants in the past, made images of themselves and gave them divine honor, claiming that their actions, which were immoral and reckless, were the achievements of gods.

⁹ How then can those who find themselves in such a state of life fit the wise and virtuous teachings of Christ, which proclaim philosophy to the highest degree, to those who are so deep in wickedness? Therefore, divine justice, which oversees all, cuts them off like the most savage and harmful material, sometimes with floods, sometimes with fires, and at other times, she delivered them to mutual wars, murders, and sieges. They were driven against each other by the very demons they called gods, leading to a life among humans that was unapproachable, pure, and untouched by others. And indeed, their lives were short and limited in number.

¹⁰ Of these, the words found among the Hebrews, which are beloved by god, spoke of them, and through oracles and divine appearances, she spoke to them, receiving the men and healing them with the laws introduced by Moses, which are useful for life.

¹¹ But when, from this established law and from the prophetic teachings that followed, the thoughts of many were already softened like sweet fragrances poured out upon all people, various nations established governments and laws, and the name of virtue and philosophy was proclaimed by many. As the old savagery ceased and the wild and harsh way of life changed back to a gentler one, at the right time, the perfect and heavenly teacher of the complete and divine doctrines and teachings, the godly word, revealed himself during the time of his incarnation. He announced the love of the Father to all nations, both Greeks and non-Greeks, urging all people toward salvation in God, and proclaiming the truth and light of true piety, the kingdom of heaven, and the promise of eternal life to everyone.

¹² Let these things be said about the times, for which reason now, but not long ago, Christ of God shone forth to all people. Now, let us return to the time of his arrival and examine the signs in part, first noting the gospel accounts about his birth.

¹³ Now, Matthew tells the time of his incarnation like this, saying that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod. And after a little, he says, 'But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea, instead of his father Herod.'

¹⁴ Luke presents the time of his teaching and revelation, saying, 'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.' Therefore, it is good to set forth the prophecy of Moses concerning Jacob, which has this meaning: About the times of his appearance to people.

Book 8, Section 1

"From Genesis. 'And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the last days. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen, Israel, your father."'"

² Then, after this, he reproached some of the earlier sons for their faults, saying that because of their misdeeds they were unworthy to be chosen for the future prophecy. To the fourth son, as his life was shown to be better than the other brothers, he declared these things: 'Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father will bow down to you. Judah is a lion's cub; you have risen up, my son, from the prey. He crouches and lies down like a lion, and like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the nations will obey him.'

³ Look first at what he says will belong to him, and see if these were not the things that God declared concerning the calling of the nations to the ancestors around Abraham. It is written that God said to Abraham, 'And you will be blessed, and I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed in you.'

⁴ And again, 'Abraham will become a great and numerous nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him.' The same kind of prophecy is spoken to Isaac: 'And I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in your offspring.' Furthermore, to Jacob, it is said: 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; do not be afraid.' And it continues, 'And all the families of the earth will be blessed in you.'

⁵ And at another time, God said to him, 'I am your God; be fruitful and multiply. Nations and groups of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your descendants.'

⁶ Jacob, having learned so many prophecies from God about the calling of the nations, gathered all his twelve sons at the end of his life. He looked to see from which of them the fulfillment of God's prophecies would come. Then, he rebuked the first three of his sons for their wrongdoings, teaching that the results of the prophecies would not be fulfilled because of their actions.

⁷ And when he came to the fourth son, Judah, he spoke to him the prophecy, 'Kings will come from his descendants; through this line, the end will be fulfilled.' For it is clear that the royal line came from the tribe of Judah. He also presents the promises of God and the promises to the nations, showing how they will be established over time. From him, he teaches that the future cause will be established for all nations and all the tribes of the earth, similar to the blessings given to Abraham.

⁸ Therefore, all these things were set aside for Judah, namely, the ancient prophecies about the nations, and the saying, 'Kings will come from your descendants.' For this reason, he was chosen over his other brothers as the royal tribe and was deemed more distinguished than the rest.

⁹ "Immediately, God commanded that this be the order for all the people during the time of Moses. For it is written, 'And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "Let the men of each tribe come forward, according to their banners, by the houses of their fathers, and let the sons of Israel camp in front of the Lord, around the tent of meeting, and those who are to camp first will be on the east side, the camp of the sons of Judah, with their forces."'"

¹⁰ And from then on, as they were bringing gifts for the dedication of the tent, the Lord said to Moses, 'One leader each day will bring their gifts.' And the one who brought his gift on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, the leader of the tribe of Judah.

¹¹ And in the book of Joshua, when the land of the promise was divided by lot among the other tribes, the tribe of Judah received its own portion of the land first.

¹² But after the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel asked the Lord, saying, 'Who will go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?' And the Lord said, 'Judah shall go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.' Therefore, God commands that the tribe of Judah lead all of Israel, and it is written next, 'And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into his hand.'

¹³ And again, the sons of Judah fought in Jerusalem, and they took it, and the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites." And again, "Judah went with his brother Simeon." And next, "The Lord was with Judah, and he took the hill country." And after this, "The sons of Joseph went up, and they also were in Bethel, and Judah was with them.

¹⁴ And in the book of Judges, at different times when leaders arose over the people, even though the judges seemed to come from different tribes, the tribe of Judah always led the whole nation. This was especially true during the times of David and his successors, who came from the tribe of Judah. Until the time of the Babylonian captivity, when they carried the kingdom away, after which, when those from the captivity returned to their own land, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel from the tribe of Judah, led them and rebuilt the temple.

¹⁵ From this, the book of Chronicles begins the genealogy of the twelve tribes of Israel from Judah. Therefore, it follows that in the times after this, the same tribe continued to lead the others, even though at times different leaders arose over the people. We cannot clearly trace the families of those leaders, as there is no divine book that carries on from that time until the time of the Savior.

¹⁶ However, it is said that the tribe of Judah lasted so long as the whole nation enjoyed freedom and self-government under their own leaders and rulers. This was true for them from the beginning and continued until the times of Augustus, during which the whole nation became subject to the Romans when Jesus, our Savior, appeared among men. Instead of their ancestral leaders and according to the laws, the first to rule over them was Herod, a foreigner, while Augustus was the emperor.

¹⁷ Until then, there was no ruler from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, during the times when the prophecies were recorded about the leaders of the nation. Thus, Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who ruled over Judah.

¹⁸ Similarly, Hosea prophesied. Amos prophesied during the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, and Zephaniah during the days of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah. Jeremiah also prophesied in the same way. But when there was no longer a ruler from Judah or a leader from his descendants, the hope for the nations that was prophesied through Christ began to shine in life, and there were no longer kings ruling Judah, nor leaders of Israel.

¹⁹ Following these prophecies, during the appointed times, the first was Augustus, and the second was Tiberius. Along with them, kings were proclaimed over the Jewish nation, including governors and tetrarchs of Judah. However, there was also Herod, as I mentioned before, who was not of Jewish descent, and he himself received authority over the Jews from the Romans.

²⁰ At this time, it is already called to connect with the prophecy, 'Judah, your brothers will praise you.' Judah was the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob, as we have already mentioned, and he himself was the chief of the Hebrew nation.

²¹ But since he did not see that man, it would be clear to those who understand the words of the divine scripture what was said by the father about him. First, Jacob called his sons and said, 'Gather together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the last days. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.'

²² For it clearly prophesies to them what will happen to them in the distant future, and as he says, 'in the last days.' In another way, the things said about Judah would not fit well with that first man.

²³ For the brothers did not praise that Judah. For what achievement of his would they have done this? Nor did the sons of the father worship him. Rather, the words would fit better if they were said about Joseph, since Judah himself seems to have worshiped him along with the other brothers. But before the words of the prophecy, there is nothing like this about Joseph, or even about Judah, that history presents.

²⁴ And the phrase 'he crouched like a lion and like a young lion' would need a greater explanation than what is seen in Judah. But also the part that says, 'the ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor the leader from his descendants, until what is reserved for him comes, and he himself is the expectation of nations,' seems to hint at the times of the coming of the one being prophesied. For it says that this will not happen until that occurs.

²⁵ For the rulers and leaders of the Jewish nation will not cease before the expectation of the nations comes and what is reserved for the one being prophesied. These things are similarly explained by the Seventy and Theodotion. But Aquila translated it this way: 'the scepter shall not depart from Judah,' and being precise, he added 'from between his feet,' until the one comes who will gather the nations.

²⁶ Here, when it says 'the ruler shall not depart from Judah,' it again does not refer to Judah himself, but rather to that first man. Just as it was not said that 'your brothers will praise you, Judah,' and the following words were directed at him. For many times, rulers and leaders of the Jewish nation arose, not from the succession of that man.

²⁷ First, Moses himself led the people, not from Judah, but from Levi. Then Joshua came from the tribe of Ephraim, after whom Deborah led them, also from the tribe of Ephraim, and Barak from the tribe of Naphtali. After them, Gideon came from the tribe of Manasseh, then the son of Gideon, and after him Tola from the same tribe. Next was Jephthah from Bethlehem, and after him Elon from the tribe of Zebulun. Then Abdon from the tribe of Ephraim, and again Samson from the tribe of Dan. After that, when there was no leader, Eli the priest led them, from the tribe of Levi.

²⁸ All these judges judged Israel, not from the succession of Judah, but from different tribes, each coming from somewhere else. And the first of them to reign as king was Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin.

²⁹ How then does it say 'the ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants'? (As if someone might think) that the rulers and leaders from the tribe of Judah will be brought forth, when it is clear that from the time of Jacob's death, for almost a thousand years, they were not only chosen from the tribe of Judah, but at different times from other tribes, until the time of David. And if after so many years, those who reigned from David's line were from the tribe of Judah, you should know that they did not rule over the whole nation for all five hundred years, but only from three tribes, and not all of them, since others were part of the larger nation and ruled over all nine tribes.

³⁰ For after the death of Solomon, the whole nation was divided, and the successors of David, as I said, did not rule over all the tribes in Jerusalem, but only from three tribes, until the captivity in Babylon.

³¹ According to them, in the city called Samaria, those who led the nine tribes were not from Judah, but from other tribes. The first of these was Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim, and there were others after him. So, even during the time from David until the Babylonian captivity, those from the tribe of Judah did not lead the whole nation.

³² What should we say about the fact that after the return from Babylon, for more than five hundred years until the birth of Christ, they lived under an aristocratic government, with high priests leading the nation, and none from the tribe of Judah? So, from all these, it does not stand to reason to refer back to that first man from Judah, nor to his successors, when the saying goes, 'a ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants,' unless we consider these things in light of what was previously given to us about the whole tribe.

³³ This, indeed, from the very beginning, from the times of Moses, led the whole nation. According to its power, it was meant to be led from the start by God's choice. Even now, the land is still called Judah, and the whole system of them is referred to as Jews. So, we should understand the saying as if it were clearer: the tribe of Judah will not cease to lead the whole nation.

³⁴ The Septuagint says, "the authority of Judah will not be taken away," referring to the ruling and leading position of the tribe of Judah that will come later. It states that neither the scepter, as Aquila says, which was a symbol of royal authority, nor the power will be taken away according to the Septuagint, until the one comes to whom it belongs, and he will be the hope of the nations.

³⁵ What hope is this, or the one that was promised long ago to Abraham and his ancestors? First of all, it is worth marveling that among the twelve tribes of the Hebrews, none other than the tribe of Judah is still called the name of the nation. This is not for any other reason but because the prophecy has given the leading position to the tribe of Judah.

³⁶ But there is also a reason why their homeland is called Judah. For why was the nation not named after the first of the twelve, I mean after Reuben, even though the divine law honors the firstborn? And why not after Levi, who was honored at the same time and for his priestly role, instead of Judah? Why was it not more likely that the whole nation and the land would be named after Joseph, since he was the one who raised the power not only of all Egypt but also of his own people? Later, many from his line led most of the nine tribes of the nation. For these reasons, it would have made more sense for the whole nation and the land to be named after the ancestor. And who would not agree that they could have taken their name from Benjamin, since his tribe had the famous royal capital and the most sacred temple of God? Yet, still, neither from these nor from any other tribe but only from Judah did the name of the land and the whole nation follow the prophecy.

³⁷ So indeed, the saying "a ruler will not cease from Judah" has been truly fulfilled for our tribe. From the time of Moses onward, some rulers have come from different tribes, as I mentioned, but overall, the tribe of Judah has always been in charge of the whole nation.

³⁸ As an example, consider what has been said. For during the Roman rule, the governors and leaders, as well as the prefects and military commanders, were not all from the city of Rome or from the lineage of Romulus. Instead, they came from many different nations. Yet all the kings and their leaders were called by the name of Romans, and the power was named after the Romans. The same should be understood for the Hebrews: the tribe of Judah is honored over the whole nation, while leaders and kings from different tribes are recognized, but they are all under the name of Judah. Therefore, let it be said that the prophet declared, "Judah, your brothers will praise you."

³⁹ For it is known that this tribe, being honored above the other tribes, led in battles and was the only one to guide the whole nation in its confrontations with enemies. Therefore, it is fitting that it is said of them, "Your hands will be on the necks of your enemies." Furthermore, because of its leadership and royal status, it is called "the cub of a lion."

⁴⁰ And the ancestor, who is also a prophet, honors the rank of the tribe by adding, "You have risen from the lineage, my son."

⁴¹ The phrase "You lie down and sleep like a lion and like a cub of a lion" shows both boldness and courage, and it presents a fearless and unshaken nature towards those who come from outside, as well as a disregard for enemies. Being such a person, or rather, the tribe being such, who, he asks, will rise up? It will be something great and wonderful, rare and hard to see, the one who will rise to the throne and change the established rank of the tribe, hinting at this.

⁴² And who, then, is this one who will stand over us, teaching that there will be hope for the nations? He will not appear among people before he is taken away, and he will change both the ruler and the leader, and the tribe of Judah will rise again to power, as prophesied.

⁴³ And who is this, but our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ? At his birth, according to the prophecy given, the rulers and leaders of the Jews left their positions, while the tribe of Judah was removed from all ancient and royal authority. They are now ruled by the Romans, along with the other nations, and the Jewish people have been oppressed by them. Herod, the first king from a foreign race, was appointed by Augustus and the council of the Romans, specifically over their nation.

⁴⁴ Herod was indeed the son of Antipater, and Antipater was from Ascalon. He was related to some of the temple servants of Apollo, who brought a woman named Cyprian, from the people of Arabia, to marry Herod.

⁴⁵ This man, then, was the first from such a family to rise up, and he considered Hyrcanus to be the last of the high priests in the line of succession. He took away the authority of the Jewish nation, and he became the first king of the Jews from a foreign race, as I said. When Jesus Christ was born, the position of the tribe of Judah was taken away, and the authority and kingship of the Jews were also removed. The prophecy was fulfilled that says, "A ruler will not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, until what is promised comes to him," which indicates that he will not be born from the Jewish nation, but will be the hope of the nations.

⁴⁶ Since the hope of the calling of the nations was promised to Abraham long ago, and as the rulers and leaders from the Jewish nation were gone, and the authority had shifted to the Romans with Herod, who was declared to be from the nations, it is fitting that the evangelist Luke notes the time of the end of the Jewish rulers. He tells us that the beginning of Christ's teaching happened in the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Matthew also hints at this same thing.

⁴⁷ Having written about the birth of our Lord and Savior, he says, "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?'" Through this, he clearly shows the authority of the foreign rulers over them, and the calling from God of the foreign nations from the east.

⁴⁸ For both Jews and foreigners held power, and the long-prophesied Christ of God was known and worshiped by foreigners who came from the east. Therefore, through these events, the prophecy of Jacob is clearly shown to have an end, made at the last formation of the Jewish nation. Just as he himself commanded his people, saying, "Gather together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the last days," we understand that the last days refer to the end of the formation of the Jewish nation.

⁴⁹ What then were they about to answer? The end of the rule of Judah, and the complete downfall of their entire nation, the stopping and ending of their leaders, and the destruction of their royal and chief authority. But the beginning and kingdom of Christ would not be of Israel, but would rule over all the nations, according to the expectation of the nations themselves.

⁵⁰ Who would not see these things clearly fulfilled at the appearance of our Savior? When, long before the birth of Christ, the local rulers and leaders, along with the wise listeners of the divine readings, were ruling over their own people, and the tribe of Judah itself was a royal tribe, dominating over enemies and foes, and leading all the nations? Those among them who had long been prominent were now under Roman rule. For Christ of God has clearly appeared, and from that time, the so-called expectation of the nations has been proclaimed to all nations.

⁵¹ Or let someone say that, except for the appearance of Jesus our Savior, the things among the Jews were honorable, and their mother city, along with the temple and the sacred worship happening there, along with their local leaders and rulers, had been left behind. But from that time, the hopes and expectations of the nations throughout the whole world have been revealed, when what was set aside has come to the Lord.

⁵² But who are those that are praised by your hands upon the back of your enemies, O Judah? "You are a young lion, Judah. You have risen from the offspring of my son. You have fallen asleep like a lion and like a young lion. Who will wake him?" For these things have different meanings for him, which we should also consider. First, let us note that the divine oracles are accustomed to call Christ by various names. Sometimes he is called Jacob, "Jacob my servant, I will help him. My chosen one, my soul has accepted him. He will bring justice to the nations," and so on.

⁵³ To whom it is said, "Until he places judgment on the earth, and the nations hope in his name." Sometimes they call him Solomon and David. They call him Solomon as in the psalm that is titled for Solomon, clearly containing things about Christ.

⁵⁴ "For he will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, and all the nations will serve him." And all that follows in the psalm fits only with Christ.

⁵⁵ David again proclaims Christ in the psalm, since what is said in it would only fit him and not David alone. For example, "He will call me, 'You are my father,' and I will make him the firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth. I will keep my mercy for him forever."

⁵⁶ "And again, 'His offspring will remain forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon, established forever.'" Thus, there are countless other names for Christ, which the divine words indicate. And similarly, it can be shown that he came from the tribe of Judah.

⁵⁷ For it is clear, according to the apostle, that our Savior and Lord has risen from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, what was prophesied was meant for Judah.

⁵⁸ But what were these things? First, to be praised by his brothers; second, to have his hands laid upon him by his enemies; third, to be worshiped by the sons of his father. All this happened when he performed amazing powers and great miracles, and he was admired, praised, and worshiped by his own disciples and apostles, whom he did not hesitate to call brothers. For in the psalm, he says, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the church, I will praise you." And to those around Mary, he commanded them to announce to them as brothers, "Go and tell my brothers that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

⁵⁹ Thus, his brothers at first praised him only as a wonderful man because of his amazing deeds, thinking he was one of the prophets. But as they saw his marvelous wonders and how he defeated both enemies and the ruler of death in this world, along with the other unseen and hostile powers, they came to believe that he was indeed God and worshiped him.

⁶⁰ Indeed, the hands of our Savior were against the backs of his enemies when he performed all his works, both his powers and wonders, to cast out demons and evil spirits. But when he stretched out his hands on the cross, his hands became the reason for the enemies to flee and give their backs to him. This happened even more when he gave up his spirit to the Father, being bodiless and naked, and descended into the realm of his enemies. He was life itself, overcoming death and the powers that rose against him, which at first seemed to many to be just a common man. They surrounded him and attacked him as they pleased. But when they recognized that he was greater than a mere human and had a divine nature, they turned their backs to him. Thus, it is said, "Your hands are against the backs of your enemies."

⁶¹ And even now, countless enemies of our Savior try to attack his church at times. But even these are changed by an unseen hand and divine power, so that it can be said about them, "Your hands are against the backs of your enemies."

⁶² Since the victories against the enemies have already been taken, then it is fulfilled that "the sons of your Father will worship you." Indeed, all the angels in heaven, the ministering spirits, and the divine powers, as well as the apostles and evangelists on earth, along with all those from the nations who call upon the one true God, acknowledge that they worship Christ, the Word of God, as God.

⁶³ But since it was necessary to include both the mysteries of his birth and the mysteries of his death in the prophecy about him, it is fitting that Jacob, after what has been said, proclaims, "A cub of a lion is Judah; from your lineage, my son, you have risen; you have fallen asleep like a lion and like a cub. Who will awaken him?" He calls him a cub of a lion because he comes from a royal lineage.

⁶⁴ He was indeed from the seed of David according to the flesh. "From your lineage, my son," he says, since he sprang from the seed and root of Jacob, who spoke these things beforehand. First, he was the Word of God, but then he became a son of man through the arrangement he made for us.

⁶⁵ It could also be a sign of his death that "you have fallen asleep like a lion and like a cub," according to the custom of the scripture, which often views death as a kind of sleep, calling it that in many other cases.

⁶⁶ The phrase "who will awaken him?" is said in wonder about his rising from the dead. The one who speaks knows clearly that he will be raised, asking "who will awaken him?" He wonders who will do this and raise him up, urging us to seek who it could be that will raise our Lord, who took on death for us, from the dead.

⁶⁷ Who else could it be but the God and Father of his Son, to whom alone we should commit the resurrection of our Savior, according to the scripture that says, "whom the Father raised from the dead?" Instead of "the cub of the lion of Judah, you have risen, having fallen asleep," Aquila says, "the pup of the lion of Judah, you have risen from captivity, having bent down, you have fallen asleep."

⁶⁸ But Symmachus says, "the cub of the lion of Judah, you have risen from captivity, having been caught, you have been delighted." Through this, the resurrection from the dead and the escape from Hades clearly stand out, just like escaping from some kind of captivity, which is our gift from the giver.

⁶⁹ The act of being caught and delighted, but not falling down, shows that death was overcome through being caught, and not being dragged down is similar for the souls of other people through being delighted. All these things were prepared for Christ, but until then, the Jewish nation had not yet reached its end, and among them were rulers and leaders who carefully examined the divine prophecies about Christ.

⁷⁰ But when what was set aside for Judah had come, the one prophesied from the seed and branch appeared on earth, having fallen down and slept, or being caught according to Symmachus, he was delighted and rose up. He laid his hands against the backs of the unseen and spiritual enemies, and his brothers and disciples, who had praised and admired him before, later acknowledged him as a god and worshiped him as a god. At that time, what was set aside for him was fulfilled, so that it might be taken away until what was set aside for him came.

⁷¹ For from that time until now, when what was set aside for him has come to an end, the rulers and leaders of the Jewish nation have been left behind. They established rulers over themselves from the nations, but the nations, recognizing Christ as the Son of God, called him Savior and Hope.

⁷² After all these things, it is said, "Binding the colt to the vine and the donkey's foal, he will wash his robe in wine and his cloak in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be red with wine, and his teeth white like milk."

⁷³ I believe that by these things, the colt refers to the chorus of the apostles and disciples of our Savior. The vine, to which the colt was tied, represents his divine and unseen power, which he himself presented, saying, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." The twist of the vine that was given would be the teaching of the Word of God, in which he bound the young people from the nations, who are the offspring of his apostles.

⁷⁴ But someone might also say that these things have come to an end, when according to Matthew, the Lord said to his disciples, "Go to the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me."

⁷⁵ And indeed, it is true that the word has made one wonder at the prophecy of the prophet, who was inspired by the divine spirit, that the one being prophesied would not come as a famous king riding on chariots and horses, but on a donkey and a colt, like an ordinary and poor man among many.

⁷⁶ For this is also what another prophet admired, saying, "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Behold, your king comes to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the young donkey." And think about the phrase "he will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of grapes." Consider that it might hint at the secret suffering of his, in which he washed his robe and cloak in a bath, through which it is shown that those who believe in him will be cleansed from their old filth.

⁷⁷ For through the wine, which is a symbol of his blood, he cleanses those who are baptized into his death and who believe in his blood from their past sins, washing away and removing their old robe and cloak. So they are freed by the precious blood of the divine and spiritual grape, and from the wine of the vine that has been redeemed, they can put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of the creator.

⁷⁸ And the phrase "his eyes are red with wine" and "his teeth are white like milk" again seem to contain the mysteries of the new covenant of our savior. The joy from the mysterious wine, which he gave to his disciples when he said, "Take, drink; this is my blood which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me," seems to mean that "his eyes are red with wine" and "his teeth are white like milk," referring to the brightness and purity of the mysterious food.

⁷⁹ For he himself gave the symbols of the divine plan to his own disciples, urging them to make the image of his own body.

⁸⁰ Since he no longer accepted sacrifices through blood, nor those prescribed by Moses with various animal sacrifices, he gave them to use bread as a symbol of his own body. He clearly hinted at the brightness and purity of the food, saying, "his teeth are white like milk." Another prophet also mentioned this, saying, "You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me."

⁸¹ But these things require more suffering and a longer explanation if someone were to examine them closely. Since the present time demands so much to present alongside the others, and the times of our savior's presence have been clearly revealed by the ancient prophets in the divine writings.

From Daniel.

Book 8, Section 2

While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and pouring out my plea before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came to me, flying, and touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice. He gave me understanding and spoke with me, saying, 'Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight.'

² At the beginning of your prayer, the word went out, and I have come to tell you that you are a man of desires. Understand the message and consider the vision, that you are a man of desires.

³ Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression and to put an end to sin, and to atone for wickedness, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

⁴ And you will know and understand from the issuing of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until the anointed one, a leader, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a wall, but in troubled times. After the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will be cut off and will have nothing, and the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed along with the coming leader. The end will come like a flood, and until the end of the war, desolations are determined. He will confirm a covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week, sacrifice and offering will cease, and on the temple will be the abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolate.

⁵ At the end of the seventy years of captivity of the Jewish nation in Babylon, while Daniel was praying, Gabriel, the archangel, appeared to him. He announced the renewal of Jerusalem right then and said it would not be far off. He also set a number of years for the time after its renewal and predicted that after the set time, it would be destroyed again. He said that after the second siege and capture, it would no longer receive oversight from God, but would remain desolate, as the worship according to the law of Moses would be removed, and in its place, a new covenant would be introduced for the life of the people.

⁶ And Gabriel admits that he reveals these things to the prophet as if they were hidden in prophecies.

⁷ Then Gabriel says to Daniel, 'I have come out to give you understanding. At the beginning of your prayer, the word went out, and I have come to tell you that you are a man of desires. Pay attention to the message and understand the vision.' He clearly stirs him up for a deeper understanding of what is being said. He calls it a vision because it requires a deeper thought and is not just a casual understanding.

⁸ Therefore, they also called upon him who gives understanding to people, praying that he would enlighten the eyes of their minds. Let us be encouraged by the vision concerning the places. 'Seventy weeks have been cut off for your people and for your holy city, to finish sin and to seal up sins, and to wipe away lawlessness, and to atone for wrongdoing, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.'

⁹ Because the time of the seventy weeks, when broken down into years, adds up to ninety along with the four hundred, it is clear. Therefore, this is the amount of time that has been cut off for your people, marking the complete conclusion for the Jewish nation.

¹⁰ And no longer does he call them the people of God, but he says to Daniel, 'your people.' For just as God no longer called his people when they had sinned and worshiped idols in the wilderness, but said to Moses, 'Go down, for your people have sinned,' in the same way, here the reason for the set time concerning them is taught. This was the time when they were no longer worthy to be called the people of God.

¹¹ He also says, 'and upon the holy city,' which means your city, as we all hear together, as if he were saying, 'upon your people and upon your holy city,' as if he were referring to the holy city that is assigned to you. In fact, the Hebrew and other translators agree that it refers not only to the people but also to the city that belongs to you. For example, Aquila says, 'upon your people and upon your holy city,' while Symmachus says, 'against your people and the holy city.'

¹² Therefore, in the more precise copies of the seventy, 'your' is placed with an asterisk for reference.

¹³ For when Daniel prayed in his supplications, he often called the people of God 'your people' and the place of the city 'the holy place of God.' But the one who speaks in response does not agree that either the city is the holy city of God or the people are the people of God. Instead, he says, 'your'—referring to the one praying—and he speaks such things about the people, the place, and the city. Daniel's words are as follows: 'Let your anger be turned away, and your wrath from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain.'

¹⁴ And 'your people have become a reproach among all those around us.' And again, 'let your face shine upon your desolate sanctuary.' And once more, 'look at the destruction of your city, which is called by your name.' And it follows that 'your name has been called upon your city and upon your people.'

¹⁵ While praying like this, he chooses to say, 'And while I was speaking and praying, behold, Gabriel, whom I had seen in my vision, came to me and touched me.' And he said the things that were written. Therefore, it is clear that the prophet did not simply call the city 'city,' but called it 'the city of God,' and the sanctuary of God and the people of God as 'the people,' according to his arrangement concerning the people.

¹⁶ Indeed, Gabriel does not call the things in the same way as him, but instead he says, 'and upon your people,' and 'upon your holy city,' showing that both the city and the people and the sanctuary are unworthy of being called by God's name.

¹⁷ Therefore, it was determined for such a long time first concerning the people and then concerning the city, and this is shown from the renewal of Jerusalem, which happened during the reign of Darius, the king of the Persians, until the time of Augustus, when the Romans were in power, and also during Herod, the king of the Jews, who was of a different race, as the story of our savior will later show.

¹⁸ Next, he chooses to say 'to finish sin and to seal sins and to wipe away lawlessness, and to atone for injustices, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.' Instead of 'to finish sin and to seal sins,' Aquila has 'to complete the lawlessness and to perfect sin.'

¹⁹ For the saying 'fill up the measure of your fathers' is mentioned by our Lord to those of the circumcision, and through this, I think, they are being brought in. For because of the boldness shown against the Jewish nation, their sin and their ungodliness toward God, according to Aquila, has finally reached its limit.

²⁰ For a long time, indeed, the patience of God bore with them, many sins before the coming of our Savior, as is shown by the prophetic words. But just as it was said to Abraham about the foreigners living in the land of promise, 'for the sins of the Amorites have not yet been completed,' and if their sins had not yet been filled up, the Amorites were not driven out of the ancestral land. But when their sins were completed, then all were destroyed in the days of Jesus, the successor of Moses. So also with the earlier people; for as long as their sins were not filled up, the patience and long-suffering of God brought them back, always calling them through the prophets. But when they filled up the measure of their fathers, then all things gathered together according to the same measure brought upon them destruction. Therefore, our Lord teaches again, saying, 'All the blood shed from the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel the righteous to the blood of Zechariah, will come upon this generation.'

²¹ For indeed, they dared to lay their hands on the Son of God, 'they completed their ungodliness and they perfected their own sin,' according to Aquila's interpretation. But according to the Seventy, 'their sin was bound and sealed.'

²² But since he has come not only for the fall but also for the rising of many in Israel, as it is said about him, 'Behold, this one is set for the fall and the rising of many in Israel,' it is fitting that Daniel later adds, 'and to wipe away sins and to atone for wrongdoing.'

²³ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. But all of humanity needs a living and true atonement, which was represented by the mercy seat made by Moses. This one was our Savior and Lord, the Lamb of God, about whom it is said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'

²⁴ And again, 'He is the atonement for our sins, not only for ours but also for the whole world,' being himself the redemption, as Paul says, 'who became wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.' It is fitting that his presence teaches both the fulfillment and completion of sin for those who have sinned against him, and also the removal and cleansing of sins, and the atonement for wrongdoing for those who have believed in him.

²⁵ And Aquila also says, 'To fulfill the law and to complete sin, he brought forth the atonement for wrongdoing,' stating that he is the atonement for all wrongdoing that was done in ignorance long ago. After this, it is said, 'To bring about eternal righteousness.'

²⁶ Therefore, he is the eternal righteousness of God, who became wisdom for us from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, according to the apostle. But along with his presence, he offered righteousness to all people, showing by his works that 'God is not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.'

²⁷ Therefore, Peter, amazed by those around Cornelius who were made worthy of the Holy Spirit, truly says, 'I know that God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does righteousness is acceptable to him.'

²⁸ And Paul also says that the gospel is righteousness, stating, 'For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed.' And in the Psalms, it is said about Christ, 'Righteousness will rise in his days and a multitude of peace.'

²⁹ And his work truly showed the righteousness of God, making all people equally worthy of the calling from God. But such things were not the case through Moses, as they were given only to the nation of the Jews; therefore, they passed away in due time. But the righteousness announced through our Savior, which remains forever, is rightly called eternal righteousness, as Gabriel said, 'to bring eternal righteousness.'

³⁰ Instead of this, I think Aquila has made it more important by saying, 'and to complete the vision and the prophet.' The Savior and our Lord has not only sealed the prophetic visions but has also made them clear. He has gone around what was once unclear and sealed, like seals placed on things, and he opened and explained to his disciples the understanding of the divine writings.

³¹ Therefore, behold, 'he says, the lion from the tribe of Judah has conquered, and he opened the seals that were on the book,' according to the Revelation of John. What seals are these, or the unclear things of the prophets? Isaiah also said very well, knowing this exactly, 'and these words will be like the words of the sealed book.'

³² Therefore, Christ of God has not come to seal the vision and the prophet, but rather to unfold and bring them to light. For this reason, I think Aquila rightly said, 'to complete the vision and the prophet.'

³³ This agrees with 'I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them,' as said by the Savior himself. 'For Christ is the end of the law, and all the prophecies about him remained unfulfilled and incomplete until he himself came and brought fulfillment to all the things that had been spoken beforehand about him.'

³⁴ According to the interpretation of the Seventy, the phrase 'to seal the vision and the prophet' can also mean this, since the law and the prophets lasted until John. After him, those who were inspired among the Jewish people have ceased, and they proclaimed the prophecies about Christ. Those who were observing the visions in the sacred writings have also stopped, as they were cut off from that divine grace and left behind as if sealed. Therefore, it follows that from that time on, no prophet has been active or seen giving messages, as all these things have been left behind until us.

³⁵ To these, it adds 'to anoint the holy of holies.' And this is also clear, as until the time of our Savior, the holy of holies was anointed by the high priests among the Hebrews, according to the holiness performed according to the law of Moses. Since then, they have also ceased in accordance with the prophecy.

³⁶ The call of Jacob to Judah shows the removal of the leaders and rulers of the Jewish people, as was foretold.

³⁷ Since the protection of the people by the prophets and priests had long been suspended, the word foretold the removal of the leaders and rulers of the Jewish people at the coming of Christ. Through the previously mentioned prophecy, it declares the end of the prophets and priests who had once been prominent among them, as these too would cease at the appearance of Christ, which was confirmed by the works of our Savior.

³⁸ When Aquila translated 'to anoint the holy of holies,' some might think that it refers to the high priest among the Jews, since many holy priests were called by this title. However, it is only the high priest of the holy of holies who is above all, because this is clearly understood.

³⁹ For until the times of our Savior, the high priests who came before held the same position as the leaders of the whole people, and they continually performed the services of God according to the law given by Moses. But from the times of our Savior, this order was first disrupted, and shortly after, it completely faded away.

⁴⁰ But I have found nowhere in the divine scriptures the title 'holy of holies' given to the high priest among the Jews. I believe that in these cases, it refers only to the only-begotten word of God, which truly and rightly deserves this title. For those who are from among men have been made holy and have shared in the attainable virtues, and they were once called holy, with the sharing of the saying, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy,' says the Lord.

⁴¹ But who could be called the holy of holies, except for the beloved son of the holy one, just as the king of kings and lord of lords? In the same way, the holy of holies is proclaimed as such. For he alone, being different from those anointed with oil by Moses in the past, is said, 'You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.'

⁴² To him, having been anointed from his own person, he himself says in Isaiah, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me.' For our Savior alone is testified to have been anointed with a spiritual, and even more divine, anointing, unlike anyone before him. Therefore, it is rightly said that he is the holy of holies, as one might say, the high priest of high priests, and he is called the one who is sanctified among the sanctified, according to the prophecy of Gabriel.

⁴³ All these things were fulfilled at the end of the seventy weeks, not at any other time but during the days of our Savior's appearance. Therefore, since it was to be this way, the revealed angel clearly announced to the prophet. He again repeats the message about the seventy weeks, teaching each part precisely from where one should begin counting the time and which times will be encountered according to the stated periods.

⁴⁴ It says, 'And you will know and understand from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, and it will be rebuilt with streets and a wall.' In this, it seems good to me not to hide the vision of what is before us regarding the places, but to present it as familiar to those who will meet. Indeed, what is said about friends is well said.

⁴⁵ And since it is fitting to give thanks to those who have been well spoken of by others, I will not deprive the fathers of their descendants, nor the first ones who produced their own seeds, but I will present his words.

⁴⁶ These things are found in the fifth book of the Chronicles of Africa, having this kind of style: 'This section, therefore, has many strange and significant things. Now, we will make a statement about what is needed regarding the times and what relates to them.'

⁴⁷ That is, it is clear that these things are said about the coming of Christ after seventy weeks. For at the time of the Savior, or from this point, both the old offenses are renewed and the sins are completed. Because of forgiveness, the lawless acts are atoned for, and the injustices are wiped away; eternal justice is proclaimed according to the law, and visions and prophecies continue until John. For before the coming of our Savior, these things were not expected.

⁴⁸ To begin with the numbers, that is, the seventy weeks, which are four hundred ninety years, the angel is appointed from the word of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. These things happened in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes of the Persians. For Nehemiah, who was his cupbearer, prayed for a response and was able to rebuild Jerusalem, and a command went out ordering this. For until that time, the city was desolate.

⁴⁹ For Cyrus, after the seventy years of captivity, sent back each of those who wanted to go willingly. Those who went down with Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel, along with those with them, faced obstacles at first in rebuilding the temple and surrounding the city with a wall, as there was no command for this.

⁵⁰ Therefore, it remained until the time of Nehemiah and the reign of Artaxerxes, the fifteenth year of the Persian rule; from the fall of Jerusalem, one hundred eighty-five years passed. And then King Artaxerxes commanded that the city be rebuilt. Nehemiah was sent to oversee the work, and the city was built with a wide area and a surrounding wall, as had been prophesied. From there, they count seventy weeks leading up to Christ.

⁵¹ For if we start counting from somewhere else and not from here, neither will the time add up, and many strange things will happen. For if we take the beginning of the counting of the weeks from Cyrus and the first return, it will be over one hundred years, and even more time if we count from the days when the angel prophesied to Daniel, much more if we start from the beginning of the captivity.

⁵² For we find that the Persian kingdom lasted for two hundred thirty years, and the Macedonian kingdom lasted for three hundred seventy years; and from there to the sixteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, it adds up to sixty years.

⁵³ From Artaxerxes, seventy weeks lead up to the time that ends with Christ, according to the Jewish calculations. For from Nehemiah, who was sent by Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem, in the fifteenth year and the hundredth year of the Persian kingdom, and in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, and in the third year of the eighty-second Olympiad, at that time, which was the second year of the two hundredth Olympiad, and the eleventh year of Tiberius Caesar's rule, it adds up to four hundred seventy years, which is four hundred ninety in Hebrew. According to the lunar calendar, counting those years, it is easy to say that there are three hundred fifty-four days, while the solar cycle has three hundred sixty-five days and a quarter. For the lunar year differs by eleven and a quarter days.

⁵⁴ For this reason, Greeks and Jews add three intercalary months every eight years. For eight times eleven and a quarter makes a three-month period. Therefore, four hundred seventy-five years become fifty-nine leap years and three months. As the intercalary month occurs in the eighth year, it results in fifteen years plus a few days. These add up to the four hundred seventy-five years.

⁵⁵ These things are from the African. But if we need to bring our own explanation into the discussion, I say that it is not in vain nor is it by chance that the division of the seventy weeks has been made. For dividing them into the first seven, then into another sixty-two, and after many others being chosen in between, adding one, this is how the number of the seventy weeks has been defined.

⁵⁶ It says, therefore, that you will understand from the beginning of the word, that from the time to respond and to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, there are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." Then, adding something else in between, it says, "And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week.

⁵⁷ These things are not in vain, nor have they been planned without divine inspiration. Therefore, I believe that all who pay attention to these words as if they are from God will agree.

⁵⁸ Therefore, it seemed good to us to point out first that we should leave to those who encounter it the precise answer to the question asked. But if we must not hide our own thoughts, I say that in another way, the Christ mentioned in the text at hand is understood according to the words from the beginning, that from the time to respond and to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, there is no other than the list of those who, after the prophecy and the return from Babylon, led the people, whom the scriptures are accustomed to call anointed ones.

⁵⁹ For these alone have led the nation, starting from Jesus the son of Josedek, the high priest, after the return from Babylon, and we have continued until the time of the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

⁶⁰ I think that the time of their leadership, during which they led, is shown by the phrase 'from the word of the beginning, to respond and to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one,' which is seven weeks and sixty-two weeks of years — the weeks adding up to four hundred eighty-three years from the kingdom of Cyrus until the beginning of the Roman rule, during which Pompey, the Roman general, came to Jerusalem, besieged the city, and made the whole nation subject to the Romans, so that they had to pay tribute and obey the commands of the Romans.

⁶¹ During this time, the number of four hundred eighty-three years is defined, during which those who followed the law of Moses took over the leadership of the nation and the priesthood, whom I suppose to be called the anointed one in the current text.

⁶² If it is necessary to also present the list of the succession of the high priests who lived during the mentioned time, no one should be jealous to make this known as the truth of those mentioned. Therefore, first, after the prophecy of Daniel, during the reign of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, after the return from Babylon, Jesus, the son of Josedek, the high priest, along with Zerubbabel, came back from captivity and laid the foundations of the temple. But the work was delayed by the surrounding people, and the first seven weeks of years are shown by the prophet, during which the work of building the temple remained unfinished.

⁶³ Therefore, the divine word separates the first seven weeks from the rest of the weeks, saying 'seven weeks,' and then afterwards, with a pause, adds 'and sixty-two weeks.' So, there are seven weeks from Cyrus until the completion of the temple's building.

⁶⁴ From this, the Jews said to our Savior, 'This temple was built in forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?' But they claimed that the temple had been built in forty-six years. For this is from the first year of King Cyrus, who first allowed the Jews who wanted to return from Babylon to go back to their own land. In the sixth year of the reign of Darius, the whole work of the building was completed.

⁶⁵ Josephus, who is from the Hebrews, said that it took three more years to complete the work outside the temple. Therefore, it is reasonable that the first seven weeks are counted as forty-nine years according to the prophecy. The remaining sixty-two years are counted from the reign of Darius. During this time, Jesus, the son of Josedek, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, both continued their lives and led the renewal of the temple, along with the prophets Zechariah and Ezra, and Nehemiah, who also came up from Babylon. They built the wall around the city while the high priest was Jehoiakim. This Jehoiakim was the son of Jesus, the son of Josedek, after whom the high priesthood passed to Eliashib, then to Jehoiada, and then to Jonathan, and then to Jaddua.

⁶⁶ This is also mentioned in the writing of Ezra, saying, 'And Jesus fathered Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim fathered Eliashib, and Eliashib fathered Jehoiada, and Jehoiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.'

⁶⁷ During the time of Jaddua, the Macedonian Alexander built Alexandria, as Josephus tells, and he came to Jerusalem to worship God.

⁶⁸ Alexander ended his life at the beginning of the one hundred thirty-fourth Olympiad, after two hundred thirty-six years from Cyrus, who ruled the Persians in the first year of the fifty-fifth Olympiad.

⁶⁹ After the death of Alexander the Macedonian and after the appointed high priest Onias, he leads the nation, himself also honored as a high priest. In the twelfth year after Alexander's death, Seleucus, having taken Babylon, puts on the crown of Asia, during which time the total years from Cyrus amounts to two hundred forty-eight.

⁷⁰ From here, the history of the Maccabees begins to count the kingdom of the Greeks. After Onias, the high priest Eleazar leads the Jews, during whose time the seventy translated the sacred writings and entrusted them to the libraries in Alexandria.

⁷¹ After him, another Onias, who is succeeded by Simon, during whom Jesus, known as the son of Sirach, composed the work called 'The Wisdom of Sirach.' After him, another man with the same name leads, during whose time Antiochus besieged the Jews and forced them to adopt Greek ways.

⁷² After him, Judas, called Maccabeus, took charge of the affairs and cleared the land of the wicked; he is succeeded by his brother Jonathan. And again, Simon, who is counted in the last year of the seventy and the hundredth year from the beginning of the rule in Syria, is mentioned in the first book called 'The Maccabees,' which covers this period of history.

⁷³ So, from the first year of Cyrus and the reign of the Persians until the end of the writings of the Maccabees and the death of Simon the high priest, there are four hundred and twenty-five years. After this, Jonathan takes over the high priesthood, as Josephus says, for twenty-nine years. After him, Aristobulus leads for one year, who is the first to wear a royal crown along with the high priesthood after the return from Babylon.

⁷⁴ Alexander, who is both king and high priest, succeeds him, ruling for twenty-seven years in addition to the previous years. In his time, everything is counted from the first year of Cyrus's reign and the return of the Jewish nation from Babylon, making a total of four hundred and eighty-two years. The high priests who came before him are considered to be called 'the anointed one' by the prophecy.

⁷⁵ After the death of the last high priest Alexander, the affairs of the Jewish nation are left without leadership and in chaos, so that a woman comes to rule over them. When the two sons of Aristobulus, Hyrcanus and his brother, fight against each other, Pompey, a Roman general, comes to Jerusalem. He captures the city by siege and defiles the holy places, even entering the innermost parts of the temple.

⁷⁶ And this happens in the first year of the one hundred seventy-ninth Olympiad, after four hundred ninety-five years of Cyrus's reign, which began in the fifty-fifth Olympiad.

⁷⁷ Then Pompey, having taken Jerusalem by force, sends the previously mentioned Aristobulus as a prisoner to Rome and gives the high priesthood to his brother Hyrcanus. Thus, the whole nation becomes subject to the Romans.

⁷⁸ After him, Herod, the son of Antipater, takes over the kingdom of the Jews, given to him by the Roman Senate. He is the first to rule over the nation from a foreign lineage, destroying the order of the high priests according to the law of Moses.

⁷⁹ For the divine law commands that the highest priest be appointed to serve God for life. But Herod did not give the priestly office to those of the proper lineage or to those who were supposed to have it. Instead, he gave it to some outsiders, and not even to them for long, but for a short and limited time, sometimes giving the honor to different people. Thus, the first seven weeks were from Cyrus to Darius, and the remaining sixty-two weeks were from Darius to Pompey, the Roman general.

⁸⁰ And in the third account, you would find the times of the seven and sixty-two weeks counted differently, which add up to four hundred eighty-three years. This leads to Augustus and to Herod, the first to rule from a foreign lineage, during whose time the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is recorded. If you start from Darius and consider the completion of the temple, you can calculate the clear number mentioned.

⁸¹ For in the second year of Darius, the prophet Zechariah shows that the seventy-year period of the desolation of Jerusalem has come to an end. He says in the fourth and twelfth month, which is the eleventh month, that on the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Barachiah.

⁸² Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, 'O Lord Almighty, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which you have been angry with for seventy years?' Therefore, Daniel, seeing this time by the divine spirit, noted it, saying, 'I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of the years that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, to fulfill the desolation of Jerusalem, seventy years. And I set my face toward the Lord my God to seek prayer and supplication.'

⁸³ Then after the prayer, the angel appeared to him and explained the matter of the seventy weeks, and he indicated the time from which to begin counting, saying, 'You will know and understand from the issuing of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until the anointed one, the leader.' Therefore, the first decree was from Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem, but it did not proceed to work because of the opposition from the neighbors.

⁸⁴ After Darius commanded and the building of the temple was completed, the prophecy of Daniel began to take shape, which says, 'from the issuing of the word to restore and build Jerusalem.' And through this, it is said, 'I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of the years that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, to fulfill the desolation of Jerusalem, seventy years.'

⁸⁵ In the second year of Darius, the completion of the seventy years is shown to have been fulfilled, so we must begin counting the seventy weeks from the sixtieth and sixth Olympiad and from the second year of Darius, in which the building is completed.

⁸⁶ From here, if you count the following years, you will find that during this time, Herod was the ruler and Augustus was the Roman leader, when the birth of our Savior took place. This is four hundred eighty-three years, which is seven and sixty-two weeks, according to the prophecy of Daniel.

⁸⁷ For from the sixtieth and sixth Olympiad to the one hundred eighty-sixth, there are five Olympiads, which is four hundred eighty-four years, during the four-year period of the Olympiad. In this time, Augustus was the Roman king, holding the fifteenth year of his reign, ruling Egypt and the rest of the world, under whom the first foreign Herod took over the kingdom of the Jews. Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ was born, at the same time as the completion of the seven and sixty-two weeks mentioned by Daniel. After these, with a long gap and many events prophesied in between, all the rest mentioned in the prophecy is fulfilled. It also has this way: 'After the seven and sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off, and there will be no judgment in him. And the city and the holy place will be destroyed along with the coming leader, and they will be cut off in a flood, and until the end of the war, destruction will be complete.'

⁸⁸ And these things clearly show the outcome concerning Augustus and Herod, to whom we say the previously mentioned seven weeks are summed up. In the way and order of the high priesthood, lasting until the times of Herod and Augustus, and of the succession of the former high priests described up to Alexander, the father of Hyrcanus, it is said that Herod, having taken over Hyrcanus, no longer allowed those of the ancestral line to perform the priestly duties, but instead gave them to certain unknown and obscure men.

⁸⁹ And this is what the prophecy anticipated, saying, 'And after the seven and sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off, and there will be no judgment in him.'

⁹⁰ What the other interpreters have clearly stated is this: Aquila says, 'And after the seven and sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will be cut off, and there will be no judgment in him.' But Symmachus says, 'And after the seven weeks and sixty-two, the Christ will be cut off, and he will not exist.' From this, it seems to me that the Christ is meant to be understood according to our interpretation.

⁹¹ After the completion of the mentioned weeks, it says, 'the Christ will be cut off.' Who is this, or the leader who comes from the priestly lineage of the nation? This one remained until the time when the weeks were not yet fulfilled. But when the end was reached, according to the prophecy, the leader from the lineage of the nation was cut off. This one was Hyrcanus, whom Herod himself removed from the kingship over the nation, taking away everything from him, and he is considered the first foreign leader.

⁹² Not only was Hyrcanus the Christ and the last of the former high priests cut off, but also the succession from the ancestors, coming down from the ancient high priests, was no longer anointing according to the law, but was happening randomly and confusedly, not according to what was established by Moses. Everything was happening together according to the prophecy that says, 'the anointed one will be cut off, and there will be no judgment in him.'

⁹³ A reliable witness to these things is Josephus, one of the Hebrews, who writes in his 'Antiquities of the Jews' about the times in the eighteenth year: 'Herod, having been entrusted with the kingship by the Romans, no longer appointed those from the Hasmonean lineage, who were called the Maccabees, as high priests, but appointed certain unknown men, who were only Hebrews, except for one Aristobulus, whom he made high priest, being the son of Hyrcanus, and he lived with his sister Mariamne, seeking the goodwill of the people because of the memory of Hyrcanus.'

⁹⁴ Then, fearing that everyone would turn against Aristobulus, he killed him in Jericho, having arranged for him to drown while swimming, as we have already shown. After this, he no longer entrusted the high priesthood to the descendants of the Hasmoneans. He did the same thing as Herod regarding the appointment of high priests: his son Archelaus, and after him, the Romans took over the kingship of the Jews.

⁹⁵ Again, in other writings, he says about them: 'Herod, having ruled, built this heavy palace in a suitable place, calling it Antonia, and he took the high priestly robe, keeping the one that was laid aside, believing that he would not change anything for the people through it.' Archelaus, his son, who was appointed after him, did the same as Herod. The Romans, having taken over the rule, kept the high priest's robe stored in a stone house sealed with a seal.

⁹⁶ Because of these things, I think the result has clearly come about as the prophecy says: 'And after the seven weeks and sixty-two, the anointed one will be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him.'

⁹⁷ Moreover, you will see how it is said that 'there is no judgment in him,' noticing the unclear situation of the high priests after Herod and during the times of our Savior.

⁹⁸ For according to the divine law, the high priest is commanded to carry out the service for the whole time of his life, being succeeded by a legitimate son. During the times that were examined, after the anointing was destroyed according to the prophecy, first Herod, and then the Romans after him, appointed high priests without regard and not according to the law, choosing those whom they liked, giving honor to certain common men and unworthy individuals, and they would sell and trade the position, giving it as a yearly gift to different people.

⁹⁹ Therefore, it seems to me that the holy evangelist Luke notes the time of our Savior's preaching by saying, 'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod and Philip and Lysanias were tetrarchs, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.'

¹⁰⁰ For how could these two be high priests according to the same law, if the law about the high priests was abolished? Indeed, Josephus also confirms this, writing, 'Valerius Gratus, the Roman governor, removed Annas from being high priest and appointed his son-in-law Caiaphas as high priest. After a little while, he also removed him and gave the high priesthood to Simon, son of Camithus. And no longer did the time pass for him who held the honor, and Josephus, who was also Caiaphas, was with him.'

¹⁰¹ I necessarily presented these things because 'the anointing will be destroyed, and there is no judgment in him,' which I believe has an undeniable proof. Next, the prophecy says, 'And he will destroy both the city and the holy place along with the leader who is coming.' There, again, I understand that Herod and those who ruled after him are shown to be from a foreign race.

¹⁰² For just as above he called the high priests 'leaders of the anointed ones,' saying 'until the leader who is the anointed one,' in the same way, after them, there is no other leader coming but the one revealed to be from a foreign race, along with the others who subsequently led the nation. With them, as if using them as partners, the hateful destroyer of good things is said to destroy both the city and the holy place.

¹⁰³ For he truly destroyed the whole nation, sometimes leading the priestly order into lawlessness, and at other times misleading the entire people, and calling the city (thus referred to metaphorically by the citizens) to impiety. Our interpretation is supported by Aquila, who translated it this way: 'And the people will destroy both the city and the holy place when a leader is coming.'

¹⁰⁴ For not only did the coming leader, who was revealed to us according to what was given, destroy the city and the holy place, but also his people. Someone might say that it is not without reason that the Roman governor is shown through the events, and that this people refers to the Roman army leaders, who, having taken control of the nation, also destroyed the city itself, Jerusalem, and the once revered and holy temple within it.

¹⁰⁵ Indeed, by these things they were cut off as if in a flood, and they reached destruction at the end of a war that was shortened by annihilation, so that according to the prophecy they had to endure complete desolation after the attack against our savior, after which they also endured the final siege. You also have these details accurately in the writings of Josephus.

¹⁰⁶ About these events that happened to the Jewish nation during the time between the seventy-two weeks that were prophesied, the announcement of the new covenant proclaimed by our savior is established.

¹⁰⁷ Therefore, during and between the seventy-two weeks mentioned, it is said, 'And he will strengthen a covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week, sacrifice and offering will be removed, and on the temple will be the abomination of desolation, and until the end of time, destruction will be given upon the desolation.'

¹⁰⁸ Let us consider how these things were fulfilled. It is told that the whole time of our savior's teaching and wonders lasted three and a half years, which is half of a week. In this way, John the Evangelist clearly points this out in his Gospel. Therefore, the whole time of being with his apostles could be one week of years, both before his suffering and after his resurrection from the dead.

¹⁰⁹ For before his suffering, he spent three and a half years offering himself to all, both to his disciples and to others. During this time, he showed his powers through wonderful teachings and healings of his divinity to all, both Greeks and Jews.

¹¹⁰ After his resurrection from the dead, he spent the same amount of time, as one would expect, with his disciples and apostles for forty days, appearing to them and sharing meals, and speaking about the kingdom of God, as the Acts of the Apostles tell us. This is the time mentioned in the prophecy of the weeks, during which he strengthened a covenant with many, that is, the new covenant of the Gospel message.

¹¹¹ To whom did he strengthen this covenant, or more clearly, to his own disciples and apostles and to all those from the Hebrews who believed in him? Except for this one week, during which he strengthened the revealed covenant with many, in the middle of which 'the sacrifice and offering were taken away, and the abomination of desolation began.'

¹¹² Since in the middle of this week, after the three and a half years of his teaching, during which he suffered, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom; from that time, the offering and the sacrifice were taken away, and the abomination of desolation was set up in the holy place, leaving them desolate from that time onward, as power looked upon and watched over that place.

¹¹³ Until the saving suffering, there should be some power of God watching over the temple and the holy of holies. For he himself would not have been present with the many, celebrating the feasts according to the law, if the place was no longer standing and worthy of God.

¹¹⁴ Therefore, there were some in the temple prophesying at that time, like Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, and Simeon, who took him in his arms while he was still a baby; they were also prophesying the things that were written.

¹¹⁵ Nor would our lord have said to the leper, 'Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded as a testimony to them,' if he did not still think that the things according to the law should be done there, as in a holy and worthy place of God. Nor would he have said to those buying and selling, 'It is written that my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers,' and again, 'Do not make my father's house a house of trade,' if he did not clearly believe that the place was still worthy.

¹¹⁶ But when their final impiety was drawing near, he declared all these things, saying, 'Behold, your house is left to you desolate,' which was also fulfilled when, after his suffering, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The sacrifice and offering that was pleasing to God according to the law was also taken away from that place, and when it was removed, the abomination of desolation, according to the prophecy in hand, followed the place.

¹¹⁷ But even if it seemed good to remain for a time in the service of the place, these things were no longer pleasing to God, as they were being done carelessly and not according to the law.

¹¹⁸ For just as long ago, after the anointing was destroyed and the lawful high priests ceased with the end of Hyrcanus, those who came after acted recklessly and unlawfully. They seemed to do something, but they did not follow the proper customs, for which the prophecy said, 'The anointing will be destroyed, and there is no judgment in it,' pointing out their careless and unlawful actions. Thus, it also happened with the sacrifice and offering, which were rightly and lawfully performed before the suffering of the Savior, because at that time the power of the holy places was still present. But immediately after his completion and the God-pleasing sacrifice, which he offered himself for our sins, being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, this sacrifice was given to all people according to the new mysteries of the new covenant, while the old was taken away.

¹¹⁹ For when the word was fulfilled and the covenant was strengthened for many, one week of the old covenant was taken away. But when was the new covenant strengthened? It was when our Savior and Lord was about to complete the great mystery of his passing into death, on the night he was handed over. He gave the symbols of the new covenant to his disciples. For at the same time, the old covenant according to Moses was taken away, which was shown by the curtain of the temple being torn at that same time.

¹²⁰ Therefore, after that sacrifice and offering were taken away in power and truth, the sacrifices that were thought to be performed there afterward were without offerings and unholy, taking place in a defiled place and by unholy and unworthy people.

¹²¹ Also, accept the testimonies of Josephus about these things: 'On the night of Pentecost, the priests, as was their custom, went into the temple for the services. First, they said they felt a movement and a noise, and after that, a loud voice said, "Let us move from here."' These things he records as having happened after the suffering of our Savior.

¹²² And again, he says, 'Pilate, the governor (that same one who was in charge during the time of our Savior), brought the images of Caesar into the temple at night, which was not allowed. This caused a great disturbance and uproar among the Jews.'

¹²³ These same things are also confirmed by Philo, who says that Pilate set up the royal standards in the temple at night, which led to a series of disturbances and disasters among the Jews.

¹²⁴ Therefore, from that time on, the whole nation and their capital faced all kinds of evils and rebellions until the very end of their war and the final siege, during which various forms of destruction came upon them, such as famine, plague, and slaughter. All those who did not join with our Savior were cut off. At that time, the abomination of desolation stood in the holy place, which still remains today, leading to even greater desolation.

¹²⁵ It is also likely that it will continue until the end of life, according to the limit set by the prophecy, which says, 'And until the end of time, a completion will be given concerning the desolation.'

¹²⁶ Which voice he spoke, saying, 'But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then know that the desolation is near.'

¹²⁷ But if those of the circumcision disbelieve these things, they should not only boldly oppose the truths that stand clear, but also call the prophecies false, as far as they are concerned. For if the seventy weeks of years set the whole time limit, and they declare what will happen in between, yet almost a thousand years have already passed since the prophecy, and nothing written has happened, even though their anointing has been destroyed according to the divine prophecy, and their holiness, and those who lived before them have been corrupted and cut off in a flood of war, shortened by destruction, and even now the most strange thing is seen there, I say indeed of the abomination of desolation standing here in the holy place, about which our Savior and Lord has given clear voices.

¹²⁸ Of these things, clearly seen by our eyes even now, it is amazing that those of the circumcision do not look boldly at the clear truths, but rather are blind and their minds are darkened so that they do not see the very clear and evident results of the divine writings.

¹²⁹ They have suffered this according to the fulfillment that came upon them from the voice of Isaiah, through which he declared to them, 'You will hear but not understand, and you will see but not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heavily heard, and they have closed their eyes, so that they may not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.'

¹³⁰ But since it was said long ago about the nations that have believed in Christ of God, 'To those to whom it was not announced, they will see, and those who have not heard will understand,' by the grace of this one and of the Father who sent him, we have spoken as much as we can about what has been revealed in these places, and we have presented the things that were honored by those before us in Africa, holding on to these with accuracy, so that they may also use them well.

Book 8, Section 3

Hear, all you peoples, and pay attention, O earth, and all who are in it. For the Lord is a witness against you, the Lord from his holy house. For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and he will come down and tread upon the heights of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire and like water poured down a slope. Because of the wickedness of Jacob, all these things, and for the sin of the house of Israel.

² Then he adds many other things, saying, 'Listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob and you remnant of the house of Israel, you who hate justice and twist everything that is right, you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with injustice.'

³ The leaders of it judged for gifts, and the priests of it answered for pay, and the prophets of it prophesied for silver, and they leaned on the Lord, saying, 'Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.' Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be like a garden of fruits, and the mountain of the house will be like a wooded hill.

⁴ And it will be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord will be seen, ready on the tops of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and many peoples will hurry to it, and many nations will go, and they will say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will show us the way, and we will walk in his paths. For the law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge among many nations, and he will correct strong nations even to far-off lands.'

⁵ And they will beat their swords into plows and their spears into sickles, and nation will no longer lift up sword against nation, and they will not learn to fight anymore. And each one will rest under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and there will be no one to frighten them, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken these things.

⁶ Already before, these things have been seen by us in the places. It has been shown that never before, except from the time of our Savior Jesus Christ, have the ancient honors of the Jews been revealed to people, the mountains of Zion being called and Jerusalem, and the buildings on them, namely the temple and the holy of holies and the altar and all the other things there dedicated to the honor of God, have been shaken from the midst, according to the word saying, 'Behold, the Lord, the Lord goes out from his place, and he will come down upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will shake beneath him.'

⁷ When those from the circumcision are shaken, the souls are called valleys because of their lowly state compared to the ancient heights. They are trying to escape the destruction mentioned before, as wax melts before fire, and like water poured down a slope, because of the many who fall from the stronger to the weaker every day.

⁸ But all these things he says will happen because of the ungodliness of the house of Jacob and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What was the ungodliness and the sin? He goes on to name those who hate justice and twist everything that is right, those who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrongdoing, in which blood was the cause of the last evils that came upon them, because they called upon themselves the ungodly voice saying, 'Let his blood be upon us and upon our children.'

⁹ For he says that these things will be, 'Like a field, Zion will be plowed, and Jerusalem will be like a fruit garden,' which has never happened before except after the true events done against our Savior.

¹⁰ For from that time until now, when the land has fallen into the greatest desolation, the once famous mountain of Zion, instead of being a place for the study and practice of prophetic and divine words, where the children of the earlier Hebrews and beloved prophets, priests, and teachers of the whole nation used to work hard, is now farmed by Roman men, not differing at all from the rest of the land. It is as if we ourselves were to see the place being plowed and sown by cattle; and Jerusalem itself has become like a fruit garden that has lost its old fruit, rather turning into a stony place, according to the Hebrew reading.

¹¹ For indeed, Aquila says, 'For this reason, the land of Zion will be plowed, and Jerusalem will be made into stones,' for it has been settled by foreign men and even today it is being turned into stones. All those living in the city, since its downfall, are taking the stones for their own private and public buildings.

¹² And it is a sad sight to see, that the stones from the very temple and the ancient holy places are being cut up for idols and for the buildings of all kinds of spectacles. Of these things, which are so clearly seen by everyone, the new law and the words of the new covenant of our Savior Jesus Christ would certainly be evident coming from there.

¹³ On this account, countless crowds of people, from all kinds of nations that have turned away from their ancestral gods and the old superstitions, call upon the one true God.

¹⁴ Therefore, he has been deemed worthy of the deepest peace, so that there will no longer be many rulers or kingdoms in different places, nor will nation rise against nation with a sword, as before, nor will there be wars among each other. Instead, each farmer will rest under his own vine and fig tree, with no one making them afraid, according to the prophecy.

¹⁵ Of these things, I believe that the proof has been received at this time, without doubt, since the time of the Romans' rule, from the time of the appearance of our Savior, and until now, concerning the coming of the Lord's presence among people. From Zechariah.

Book 8, Section 4

Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for look, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations will seek refuge in the Lord on that day, and they will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.

² And among many other things, it is chosen: 'Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you, righteous and saving, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will destroy the chariots from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem, and the bow for battle will be cut off. He will bring peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.'

³ These things concerning the presence of our Savior have been declared, and now the word speaks, along with other things about the final desolation of Jerusalem. Sometimes it speaks in riddles and sometimes openly cries out. In riddles, it says, 'Open your gates, O Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, for the mighty ones have been greatly troubled. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the forest has been destroyed. There is the sound of mourning shepherds, for their glory has been troubled. There is the sound of roaring lions, for the roar of the Jordan has been troubled.'

⁴ These things are said in riddles. But the same prophet openly gives their meaning, saying, 'Look, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples around it, and it will be a burden for Judah. And in that day, I will make Jerusalem a stone that all the nations of the earth will try to lift. Everyone who tries to lift it will be hurt, and all the nations of the earth will gather against it.'

⁵ And after a little while, they will look at me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning for Hadad-Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land will mourn by families: the family of the house of David by itself, and their women by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their women by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their women by themselves; the family of the house of Simeon by itself, and their women by themselves; all the remaining families, each by itself, and their women by themselves.

⁶ And again, he clearly announces the last siege of Jerusalem, saying, 'Look, the days are coming, says the lord, when your possessions will be divided in you, and I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses will be plundered, and the women will be raped. Half of the city will go into captivity, but the rest of my people will not be cut off from the city. And the lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on the day of battle, and his feet will stand on that day on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem.'

⁷ Then he says something else: 'And the lord will be one, and his name will be one, when all the earth and the desert are surrounded.'

⁸ And again, he writes in the book of prophecy about the calling of the nations: 'And it will be that whoever is left from all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up year by year to worship the king, the lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of booths. And it will be that whoever does not go up from all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the king, the lord of hosts, will be added to them. If the family of Egypt does not go up and does not come there, then there will be the plague that the lord will strike on all the nations of the earth, whoever does not go up to celebrate the feast of booths. This will be the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the feast of booths.'

⁹ These things, Zechariah prophesies after the return from Babylon, when Darius was king of the Persians, about Jerusalem, which had just then been rebuilt from the previous desolation caused by the Babylonians. The whole time from the reign of Darius the Persian, during which Zechariah prophesies, goes up to Augustus, the Roman king, in a total of seventy-two years, as mentioned in Daniel, which makes four hundred eighty-three years, as we have shown in the earlier brief explanations.

¹⁰ Neither during the time of the Macedonians, from Alexander until Augustus, is there anything that is shown to be fulfilled according to the words of the prophet.

¹¹ For when during those times, when the Lord was being spoken of by the prophets, did many nations come to know him and acknowledge him as the only God, fleeing to him and becoming his people? Or when during the times of the Persians or Macedonians did the prophesied king come, riding on a donkey and a young colt? Did he come and destroy the royal army of the Jews, which was calling for chariots and horses? For this is what the saying shows: 'Behold, your king comes to you, righteous and saving, humble and riding on a donkey and a young colt, and the bow of war will be destroyed.'

¹² For these things were being declared about the removal of the royal power of the Jewish nation, on which again the peace of the nations is chosen according to what was given before, through 'and a multitude of peace from the nations.'

¹³ In place of which, Aquila and the other interpreters have given 'and he will speak peace to the nations,' which is especially established from the reign of Augustus and is fulfilled in its wording, with all the many powers being abolished from that time, while peace has spread to most of the nations of the world.

¹⁴ But who before the Roman times, during the Persian or Macedonian periods, was such a king of the Jews, as to rule from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth? This is what the other interpreters have indeed shown. Aquila says, 'and he will speak peace to the nations, and his authority will be from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth.'

¹⁵ This also agrees with what is said in the first Psalm of the seventieth about the Christ who will come from the seed of Solomon, where it is written, 'Righteousness will rise in his days and a multitude of peace, until the moon is taken away, and he will rule from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth.' For these things were said about the son of Solomon, leaving nothing out of what was mentioned in the prophet.

¹⁶ When then did these things happen, and how, or during what times did they occur? Let the one who wishes to interpret say, or when did Jerusalem endure a second burning after the siege by the Babylonians, and the temple that was in it was destroyed?

¹⁷ This also has a great wonder, as the prophet hinted when he said, 'Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let fire consume your cedars.' For in this, Lebanon usually refers to the temple itself, since it has been shown by other prophecies that the temple is called Lebanon.

¹⁸ This, too, the children of the Jews still confess, since Isaiah also said something similar to the prophet with hands raised, 'Behold, the Lord of Hosts shakes the mighty with strength, and the proud will be crushed. And Lebanon will fall with the lofty, and a rod will come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower will rise from its root, and the spirit of God will rest upon him.' To these he adds, 'And the root of Jesse will be, and he will rule the nations; nations will seek him.'

¹⁹ And here, the birth of Christ from the seed of Jesse and David is connected with the destruction of Lebanon and the calling of the nations. Ezekiel clearly signifies Jerusalem by saying, 'the great eagle, the one with large wings, who has the power to enter Lebanon, and he cut down the tender parts of the cedar.'

²⁰ Indeed, the same one explains further, saying, 'When Nebuchadnezzar comes against Jerusalem, he will take its rulers,' and so on. But Ezekiel speaks about the first siege, after which Zechariah prophesies about the second. So, when after the time of Zechariah did the temple endure burning under the rule of the Macedonians? But it cannot be said.

²¹ For after the burning by the Babylonians, there was no other time that the temple endured destruction by fire except during the time of Titus and Vespasian, the Roman emperors. At that time, again through a riddle, the ancient rulers of the nation are called to mourning and lamentation, saying, 'Let the pine cry out, for the cedar has fallen, because the great leaders have suffered greatly. Let the oaks of Bashan cry out, for the forest that was together has been torn down; the voice of the mourning shepherds, for their greatness has suffered.'

²² Then indeed, Jerusalem became like a door that shakes for all the people around it, and it became a region in Judah. The place that was once considered holy and sacred is still today a stone trampled by all the nations, and everyone who tramples it, mocking it, will be mocked in turn, according to the prophecy.

²³ But instead of what they had danced for, the Lord who established these things has not left them without weeping, lamentation, and mourning. Indeed, never at any other time, except after the coming of our Savior and in our time, have all the tribes of the Jewish nation suffered worthy of mourning and weeping because they were struck by a blow from God. By this blow, their mother city was handed over to foreign nations, and the temple was destroyed, and they were driven from their own land, serving as slaves to enemies in war. For this reason, all their households and every soul of theirs are still today filled with cries of sorrow.

²⁴ Therefore, the prophecy says, 'And one tribe will mourn against another tribe, the tribe of the house of David against itself, and their women against themselves, and those who follow them.' What days have come after the times of Zechariah, when the spoils of Jerusalem were divided and all the nations gathered against it for war? The city was captured, and its houses were plundered, and the women were defiled and taken into captivity. Did the Lord not join with the nations that were waging war against Jerusalem? Or when did he set his feet on the Mount of Olives? Or when did the Lord become king over all the earth, he alone being Lord over all people, and his name being one, circling the whole earth and the wilderness? For no one can show any other time before this or during the times of the Romans, when the temple endured a second burning after the one by the Babylonians. The city, from then until now, has been settled by foreign nations.

²⁵ When our Lord Jesus Christ of God was spending time on the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem, the words were being fulfilled, and his feet would stand on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem. This is the holy community of all people being rebuilt. All the nations, according to the previous plan, celebrate the feast of the Tabernacles in every place, praising the God of the prophets. The Egyptians, knowing the God of all, set up their tents in each city and land. These would be the local churches of Christ.

²⁶ For the power of our Savior Jesus Christ is much greater than the tents of Moses. It has been set up throughout the whole world for all people and all nations to celebrate the feast of the Tabernacles to the God who is above all.

²⁷ When we see the outcome of these things, which were foretold long ago to the nations, we notice the threats of mourning and weeping declared to the Jewish people, as well as the burning of the temple and their ultimate desolation. Even today, these prophecies are clearly visible to our eyes. What remains for us to say about this, except to acknowledge that the prophesied king, Christ of God, has come, and that the signs of his presence are evident in each of the mentioned outcomes?

Book Nine

Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud and will come to Egypt. The handmade idols of Egypt will shake before him, and their hearts will be weakened within them. The Egyptians will rise against Egyptians, and one man will fight against his brother, and one man against his neighbor. City will rise against city, and law against law, and the spirit of the Egyptians will be troubled within them. I will confuse their plans, and they will consult their gods and their idols, and the mediums and those who speak from the ground.

² And from then on, with many riddles spoken, it is said: 'On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the land of Egypt and a pillar at its border to the Lord. It will be a sign for the Lord forever in the land of Egypt, because they will cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, and the Lord will send them a man who will save them. He will judge and save them, and the Lord will be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord their God on that day, and they will make sacrifices and offer vows to the Lord, and they will fulfill them.'

³ And having anticipated these things, we have explained them in part. If the Egyptians do not abandon their ancestral gods and instead call upon the God of the prophets, if an altar is not built to the God worshiped only by the Hebrews in every place, city, and land of Egypt, if the handmade idols of Egypt are not shaken, if the demonic power surrounding them is not removed, and if the old superstition is not lifted from the souls of the Egyptians, and if civil war does not arise in every city and every household among the Egyptians—some accepting the Lord and the reverence of the God of the prophets and turning away from the ancient polytheistic deception, while others, because of their attachment to their ancestral evils, fight against those who accept the Lord—if they do not still attempt to consult their own gods and their idols and those who speak from the ground and the mediums, making their refuge in these things ineffective and fruitless, because they can no longer act like before with the demons, unless all these things show that their works have come to an end, let it not be thought that the prophetic word has been fulfilled, nor that the Lord who is being foretold has come to the life of men.

⁴ But if the people living in Egypt see clearer works than words, some knowing the God of the prophets and leaving behind their ancestral gods, while others are in conflict with them, and some still call upon their own gods and their idols and those who speak from the ground, who are unable to do anything, while others set up an altar to the Lord of the prophets in every church throughout all the land of Egypt, and in their troubles and persecutions, they no longer consider the frogs, or the creeping things of the earth as gods, nor the wild beasts and the irrational animals like their ancestors did, but instead call upon the God above all, and only Him, having His fear in their minds, praying to Him and not to the demons, and fulfilling the divine promises—how can it not follow that they agree and that the things before the results have already been accomplished? For these things will be the presence of the Lord in Egypt, not without a body, but through a light cloud, or even more through a thin layer; for thus it hints at the Hebrew, referring to His bodily presence.

⁵ This is why the word went on to call a man a savior, saying, 'And the Lord will send them a man who will save them.' Again, the Hebrew says, 'And the Lord will send them a savior who will save them.' From these clear proofs, I believe the times have become clear, during which the presence of the Lord among men was established.

⁶ All these things about the times of the Lord's appearance among men are connected. If someone were to study more, they would find even more writings. But we will be satisfied with what has been said and move on to the other prophecies. Therefore, we will examine what has been arranged among men according to the divine predictions.

Introduction

What remains to be done except to follow the promises and discuss what has been arranged about the incarnation of the Word of God? About this, we have already examined the previous eight writings, sometimes exploring theology about him, and at other times looking into his descent from heaven, as well as the manner, title, and time of his arrival. With these things established, it is now time to see what has been said about his appearance, and to show how each of these was foretold by the Hebrews.

² The result of the prophecies will be confirmed through the testimony of the holy evangelists and the account of the events they recorded. First of all, since the matters about his lineage, tribe, and descent have been established, let us consider the unusual and surprising appearance at his birth, since this was foretold long ago by Moses from ancient times.

Book 9, Section 1

From the Book of Numbers. Moses says in Numbers about the star that appeared at the birth of our Savior: 'Balaam, the son of Beor, says, the man who truly sees, who hears the words of God, who knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of God, with his eyes uncovered in a dream. I will show him, and not now; I bless, and he does not draw near. A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall rise out of Israel, and he shall crush the leaders of Moab, and he shall destroy all the sons of Seth. And Edom shall be a possession, and Esau, his enemy, shall be a possession, and Israel has acted with strength, and he shall rise up out of Jacob, and he shall destroy the survivors from the city.'

² Regarding this prophecy, it is said that the successors of Balaam were moved (for it was likely that they would be saved by it) when they saw in the sky something unusual among the usual stars, as if someone might say, set high, and positioned vertically over Judea. They made haste to arrive in the land of the Philistines, for the sake of the history of the king signaled by the appearing star.

³ Matthew the evangelist bears witness to this, saying, 'When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.' And when they were sent to Bethlehem, they went on their way, and behold, the same star that they had seen in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy. And entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him.

⁴ This is indeed the holy gospel. But the words of the prophecy regarding the rising of the star and the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, say that there will be a breaking of the leaders of Moab, and a possession of the sons of Seth, and the remaining enemies of the Jewish nation will be inherited. These were Edom and Esau.

⁵ What does this mean regarding the leaders? It refers to the removal of the unseen rulers of Moab, those demons that were long worshiped by the Moabites. But it does not mention others, because of the idolatry of Israel that happened in the wilderness, when the people were dedicated to Baal of Peor. This demon was honored as a god by Balak, the king of Moab.

⁶ Since Israel has been victorious at this time against the unseen rulers of Moab, I say this regarding the gods worshiped by the Moabites: they indeed worshiped and bowed down to the idols, as the scripture says, 'and they dedicated themselves to Baal of Peor.' This demon was among the Moabites when they also suffered against the Moabite women. Therefore, it is fitting that the future will also bring a change in the situation, as Balaam prophesies, saying, 'A star will rise out of Jacob, and a man will arise from Israel, and he will break the leaders of Moab.'

⁷ He was saying more clearly about the boastful demons of the Moabites against Israel, that they would one day suffer defeat and fall. When they are broken, the sons of Seth and Esau and the other nations will be freed, which I believe means that those who were long enslaved by demonic deception will change from their superstitions to the faith of the one who is to come. 'For it will be,' he says, 'Edom will be a possession, and Esau will be his enemy's possession.'

⁸ For they will become the inheritance of the one who is to come, who was long an enemy of God and Israel. For it was said to him by God and his father, 'Ask of me, and I will give you nations as your inheritance.' Therefore, he prophesies that those who have changed to the lot of the holy ones will be opposite to Israel.

⁹ He says, 'And Israel acted with strength.' But he acted with strength to commit the greatest wickedness of all. Therefore, he will rise up against them and will be established.

¹⁰ Who is this, or what is the word of God that also destroyed the one being saved from the city? I think it is referring to Jerusalem, from which every saved person was lost, or even the whole government of their nation. And what end did these things come to? Together with the coming of our Savior, the former idol-worshiping nations will change to their own lot, while the Jewish nation and their city will suffer things that have never happened before. I believe there is no need for many words.

¹¹ But let the end of the agreement of the prophetic word and the conclusion of the gospel be like this. What was the reason for the shining of the star that appeared is worth seeing. Moses says it is for signs and for times that all stars are set in the firmament by God. But there is a star that is foreign and unusual, not one of the many and well-known stars, but a new and different star that appeared in life as a sign of a foreign light shining upon the whole world, which was Christ of God, a great and new star, whose image was symbolically brought to the Magi at that time.

¹² Since throughout all the sacred and God-inspired writings, the earlier purpose of the mind wants to teach more mysteriously and divinely, along with saving the immediate understanding in the context of historical events, it is fitting that the prophecy about the star that was mentioned earlier was fulfilled in the words concerning the birth of our Savior.

¹³ Indeed, there are also shining stars that appear for other famous and notable men, like those called comets, or those that seem like stars with tails, or some others similar to these, which appear in connection with great events as a matter of custom.

¹⁴ But what could be greater or more significant for the whole world than the appearance of a visible light of salvation, which brings true understanding of piety and knowledge of God to rational souls? For this reason, the great sign, the shining star, clearly showed Christ of God, a great and new light shining upon the whole world, hinting at this.

¹⁵ In the same way, the prophecy speaks of a man and a star together, saying, 'A man will rise from Jacob, and a man will arise from Israel.' The heavenly light is the divine word, while it also calls the same one a man. It differently calls him both a rising star and a sun of righteousness, as we have shown in the earlier parts.

¹⁶ Then, regarding the one coming into the world, it was announced with the saying from the east, 'A star will rise from Jacob.' And concerning the man, it prophesies that he will rise as if he had fallen, due to the suffering that happened to him, just as Isaiah says about him, 'And the root of Jesse will be, and the one who will rule the nations; the nations will hope in him.' And it is clear how the light of our Savior rose from Jacob, meaning from the people of the circumcision, for all the nations, but not from Jacob himself, from where he shone forth.

¹⁷ This can also be understood from many other prophecies, as they speak about Christ, saying, 'Behold, I have set you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations.' Indeed, also from the people, as a light for the nations, for it says, 'A man will come from his offspring, and he will rule over many nations.'

¹⁸ Whose offspring is this from Israel, as the connection shows? And indeed, our Savior's word will rule over the nations, just as the prophecy says. He has cast down the ancient, unseen, and wicked powers that ruled before, along with the spiritual forces of evil, and the demonic host, the leaders of Moab, and Seth, and Edom, and Esau, which are named among those in his hands.

¹⁹ But the text is unclear among the Seventy, saying, 'I will show him, and not now, I bless and do not draw near.' Akylas translated it more clearly as, 'I will see him, and not now, I look at him, but he is not near.' The Symmachus version is even clearer, saying, 'I see him, but he is not near.'

²⁰ These things could be said by Balaam as they will be fulfilled in the distant future. Indeed, after two thousand years from the prophecy, these things were completed during our Savior's coming to people.

Book 9, Section 2

"Behold, the lord sits on a light cloud and will come to Egypt, and the handmade things of Egypt will shake before him, and their hearts will be defeated within them." The reason for the lord coming to Egypt seems to me to be this: the Egyptians are said to be the first to start the many gods and demonic deception, and they are the cause of superstition for all other people, but they are especially occupied with demonic activities and curiosities.

² These people are also testified to be enemies of the people of God from the beginning, and their ancient king is written as confessing that he did not know the lord, when he said, 'I do not know the lord, and I will not send Israel away.' Therefore, the word aims to present the great miracle of the power of Christ, declaring the lord's arrival in Egypt, regarding which it prophesies that there will be a change for the Egyptians, saying next, 'And the Egyptians will know the lord, who before did not know him, and they will pray to the lord with prayers,' and similar things.

³ Above, in the previous chapter, the inheritance of Edom and Esau was mentioned, as those who are foreign to Israel. But here, Egypt and the people of Egypt are no longer associated with idols, but are instead connected to the lord, as spoken of by the Jews.

⁴ If it is not seen happening, it cannot be said that the promised arrival of the lord in Egypt has taken place. But if the truth testifies to the facts beyond all words, and clearly shows the Egyptians as having turned away from the superstitions passed down from their ancestors, and having become familiar with the god of those prophets who spoke these things, and honoring only him, while embracing every death for the sake of their piety towards him, it is time to agree that these things have happened only because the lord has come to Egypt, according to the prophecy that was given.

⁵ Indeed, there is also another way to interpret the word, hinting at the whole world, in which the word prophesies that the lord will come on a light cloud, thus hinting at the man who was taken from a virgin and the holy spirit. It is also said that the handmade idols of Egypt will shake, along with the demons within them, as the Egyptians will be defeated again, all those who were once terrified by idolatry.

⁶ However, when our savior was physically brought into the land of the Egyptians, it was when Joseph, having risen according to the prophecy, took Mary and the child and went to Egypt. It is likely that the evil powers that had previously lived there were greatly disturbed, especially when, through his later teachings, countless crowds living in Egypt turned away from the deception of demons, and even now they confess that there is only one true god. The things that follow, being more puzzling and needing more explanation, we will interpret in our own time. From the book of Numbers.

Book 9, Section 3

Balaam, son of Beor, says: the man who truly sees says, hearing the words of the strong one. He saw a vision of God in a dream, with his eyes uncovered. How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel, like valleys that stretch out, and like gardens by the rivers, and like tents that the lord has set up, like cedars beside the waters. A man will come from his descendants, and he will rule over many nations, and the kingdom of Gog will be lifted up, and his kingdom will grow. God has led him out of Egypt, like the glory of a unicorn to him. He will crush the nations that are his enemies, and he will strike down the fat ones, and with his arrows he will shoot at his foes. He lies down and rests like a lion, and like a young lion; who will wake him up? Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.

² Earlier, through the stated prophecy, the oracle made clear that the lord would come to Egypt, showing the journey of our savior, Jesus Christ, who would be taken there with his parents. In these things, it also establishes the return that follows, and then the coming out of Egypt, which he made with his parents to the land of Israel, saying, "God has led him out of Egypt."

³ But the only savior and lord of us, Jesus Christ, the son of God, is the one who came from the descendants of Israel and the Jewish nation. He has ruled over many nations, so it is clearly acknowledged that he has an end point, and the present prophecy openly declares that indeed, a man will come from the Jewish nation and will rule over many nations.

⁴ Let the one who wishes to say whether there has ever been another among the many glorious nations ruled by the Hebrews; but no one could say that there has been. As for our savior, even if we do not speak, the truth itself will shout out and cry out loudly, standing right before us, showing how his divine power, through the one taken from the descendants of Israel, the man according to the flesh, has ruled, and even now rules over many nations.

⁵ This one is indeed the one whom the prophecy foretold, and no one else, by whom the power of the king, Christ, was raised up. They say that he is hinted at here in the way the Roman kingdom is described by the Hebrews, where the teaching of Christ also flourished.

⁶ The prophet Ezekiel also remembers Gog, calling him "the ruler of Ros and Tobel." By Ros, he seems to hint at the city of the Romans, since both the beginning and the head are indicated by Ros in the Hebrew language. By Mosoch, he refers to the region of Mysia and the surrounding nations, which are now under Roman control. By Tobel, Josephus indicates Iberia, claiming that the Iberians came from Tobel. He says that Gog will be raised up as the ruler over all these, at the time of the coming of the prophesied Christ, whom God led out of Egypt. When Herod was plotting against him as a child, Joseph was warned in a dream and took the child and his mother, returning to the land of Israel. Glory belongs to Christ, because in him all the fullness of divinity was pleased to dwell, according to the holy apostle.

⁷ Therefore, as a horn, he is called the one horned god and father of all, and he is named in other writings as well. The same word of God drives away the enemy and adversary, the devil, with his spiritual and rational arrows, along with all the invisible and evil powers around him, through a greater and unconquerable strength. Even now, he rules over many nations, making the proud and the desires of the flesh thin and ready for the narrow path of eternal life.

⁸ But this man from Israel, who has conquered many nations, also rested, as it says, like a lion, showing the plan he chose. Just like a royal and brave beast, he rested, with no one able to change his rule and kingdom. All those who bless Christ, honoring his virtue in word and life, share in the blessings from God, growing and increasing every day, according to the saying, "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth," more truly and fittingly than the divine voice that is being fulfilled. Just as those who plotted against him from the beginning still gather in their own councils, they have brought upon themselves the curse from God, and even now they have drawn it upon themselves.

⁹ Therefore, they do not stop seeing the last ruin and destruction, not only of the kingdom but also of their once most holy sanctuary. It is worth noting the prophecy concerning Judah, the son of Jacob, which we have clearly shown applies to our Savior, and to see the agreement in both.

¹⁰ For it is said here, "a man will come from his seed" (clearly from Jacob), and there it is said, "from the branch, my son, you have risen," spoken by Jacob about the one who is prophesied.

¹¹ And as it is said about the one to come, "he will rule over many nations," so also it is said there, "he himself will be the hope of the nations." And again, here it says, "he will bind the nations of his enemies, and with his arrows he will strike down his foes." Likewise, it is said there, "your hand will be upon the necks of your enemies."

¹² And the "young lion of Judah" and the "he lay down and slept like a lion and like a young lion, who will awaken him," I do not think that what is said there differs at all from the phrase that says, "having been laid down, he rested like a lion and like a young lion, who will raise him up?" We can rightly bring these together, as if from the mouths of two witnesses, for the agreement in the prophecies about our Savior gives stronger proof.

¹³ So then, everything that has been seen in the prophecy of Jacob would also fit with that of Balaam, because of the similarity of what is said. If those things have been fulfilled in our Savior through much evidence, it would also be appropriate to agree with the present ones.

From Hosea.

Book 9, Section 4

And destruction will rise up among your people, and all your fortified places will be taken away, like the ruler of Shalmaneser from the house of Jeroboam, in war mothers will crush their children. Thus I will do to you, house of Israel, because of your wrongdoings. The king of Israel was swept away in the morning, because Israel is a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my children.

² Aquila translated, 'Out of Egypt I called my son.' I must point this out, since Matthew also places this prophecy when Jesus was taken to Egypt and then returned to the land of Israel. If someone complains about our Savior's retreat to Egypt, let them know it happened according to the word.

³ For it was not fitting for Herod to hold back from his own wickedness, nor was it right for the Savior of wonders to begin and show his divine power while still being an infant. If Herod had unexpectedly plotted against him, he would not have waited at all for the retreat to Egypt along with his parents.

⁴ But it was fitting for a greater plan at the right time to begin the wonders of divinity, which throughout his life has been shown to be good and patient. He was active in good deeds and common benefits, but he did not defend himself against those who did not listen, not even when he was led to slaughter like a lamb before the one shearing him, silent.

⁵ How then was it likely that such a one, as a child, would not retreat from the wickedness of Herod, when it has been shown that even as a man he would withdraw and avoid the evil ones? Should he not also hide and escape from the praise of those who make strange claims? Indeed, he advised those caring for his son not to say anything to anyone.

⁶ But if someone brings a prophecy about the people, saying that it will be about the descendants of Israel, let him follow the words closely. He will say that after speaking to Jerusalem itself, 'Destruction will rise up among your people, and all your fortified places will be laid waste.'

⁷ And he says that this ruler has suffered in the war that came upon him, in which mothers were mourning for their children. I will do similar things to you because of your wickedness. But to whom, or to those called Israelites, who have been cast out along with the king, are you hinting about Herod?

⁸ And you have all suffered these things because 'Israel is my son,' he says, 'and I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.' How can you accuse the same people and then praise them again? But the true meaning holds this understanding. For Christ is Israel, and he has been proclaimed in other prophecies, just as he is in the present.

⁹ Since this one, he says, has become obedient to me and has taken on the form of a servant, and has become a beloved child to me, having fulfilled all my purpose, for this reason he came from Egypt, where he became human, showing the place of survival, or even from the very beginning, as I called him a genuine and beloved son. But you, to whom the word is directed, along with your kingdom, will face destruction and loss.

¹⁰ This is the prophecy. It is clear that from the time of our Savior, when Jerusalem was besieged, it was destroyed and completely cast away the autonomy and rule of the Jewish nation that had existed until then.

¹¹ But thirdly, it has already been prophesied about Egypt and his arrival there. If someone does not apply this to our Savior, but rather takes from the account of Matthew the testimony from Moses that we just discussed, which includes 'out of Egypt,' since even the evangelist himself said that he received this saying from the prophecy of Hosea, it is possible to search for its origin and find it written, from where it is likely that the evangelist made his explanation.

Book 9, Section 5

'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become smooth. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God, for the Lord has spoken.'

² It was necessary for this prophecy to come during the time of our Savior. Therefore, according to the evangelist Luke, 'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and the others were listed with him, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness; and he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.' With this, the evangelist confirms by saying as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord,' and what follows.

³ What then did the voice crying in the wilderness through John say, or to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, as they were like snakes in the wilderness? It was fitting for them to hear, 'You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?' Again, he was saying, changing the crooked souls into straight ones and the rough into smooth paths, 'Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.'

⁴ And all this was happening while John was preparing those who were about to see the glory of the Lord and the salvation of God, which is none other than Christ. As he testified, saying, 'I baptize you with water, but one who is stronger than I is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'

⁵ And when he saw Jesus coming, he shouted, 'Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, "A man comes after me who has surpassed me."' Simeon also testified that the same one is the salvation of God. He took the baby Jesus in his arms and said, 'Now you can let your servant go in peace, Master, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.'

⁶ To them the prophet also agrees, and all flesh will see the salvation of God; for it has been said that all flesh is for all nations.

⁷ But when these things happened, and the nations recognized Christ as God from afar, there is no need for many words. The prophecies were being fulfilled in this way; but what was the reason that he was not preaching in cities, nor even in Jerusalem itself, but in the wilderness? Some might say that this was done to fulfill the prophecy.

⁸ But the careful one will examine this closely; what then does this prophecy mean about the wilderness and what is related to it? We will say that this was also a sign of the destruction of Jerusalem and its altar, and of the worship according to the Law of Moses, when they could no longer receive forgiveness of sins through the lawful sacrifices, but through the cleansing bath for the long-thirsty and desolate, I mean the church of the nations. In this, the prophetic voice commands to prepare the way of the Lord, that the souls lying in the depths of wickedness, like those in a ravine, may be lifted up, and that the high places of Jerusalem and its rulers and kings, called mountains and hills, may be brought low.

⁹ When these things are fulfilled, it says, 'all flesh will see the salvation of God.' It is clear that every soul in the flesh on earth, both Greeks and barbarians, and all the nations together, is shown to come to an end as the prophecy follows.

¹⁰ But I am wondering to myself what caused so many people to be amazed at John, as he preached a baptism of repentance and they believed in him. They all left their homes and rushed to the wilderness, especially when his words tell of no deeds he performed. For it is not written that he raised the dead or did other miracles. So what was it that amazed everyone? Was it perhaps his foreign and different way of life? For he came from the wilderness dressed in strange clothing, avoiding all common human activities, not going into a village or a city or joining a gathering of men, and he did not even share in common food.

¹¹ It is written that from his childhood, 'he was in the wilderness until the day of his showing to Israel.' But also, his clothing was made of camel's hair, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

¹² Therefore, when they saw a man, with the hair of a Nazarite of God, a divine face shining, dressed in strange clothing, suddenly appearing from the hidden wilderness, and after his preaching retreating back into the wilderness and into the unknown, living without drink, without food, and not sharing with the many, it is no wonder they were amazed, not even suspecting that he was a man. For how could he not be in need of food? That is why they thought he might be an angel, the one mentioned by the prophet when it says, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.' This is indeed referenced in the writing of Mark the Evangelist.

¹³ "And the Savior also bears witness, saying, 'John came to you neither eating nor drinking, and you say, "He has a demon."'"

¹⁴ For those who do not believe, it was likely difficult and hard to accept the truth because of the mentioned life of John, so they blasphemed against him, thinking that those who recognized his virtue would see him as an angel. Therefore, I believe that those who saw John would be amazed by him; that is why people were rushing from everywhere to hear the cleansing of the soul preached by him.

¹⁵ Josephus remembers in the eighteenth book of his Jewish Antiquities, writing about this, 'Some of the Jews thought that the Jewish army was destroyed by God, and this was very justly because of the punishment of John, called the Baptist. For Herod killed this good man, and he was urging the Jews to practice virtue and to live justly with each other and to worship God with piety through baptism. Thus, it seemed that baptism was given to him.'

Book 9, Section 6

Rejoice, you wilderness that thirsts! Let the desert be glad and bloom like a lily. It will blossom and rejoice, and the wastelands of the Jordan will be glad, and the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, and the honor of Carmel. My people will see the glory of the Lord.

² You who are weak, strengthen your hands that are hanging down and your knees that are weak. Encourage those with little courage in their minds; be strong, do not be afraid. Look, our God will bring justice and will repay. He will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing. For water will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the dry land.

³ And all these things were fulfilled through the amazing works of our Savior after the preaching of John. So look how the wilderness is being announced as good news, not just any wilderness, but that one set apart and alone by the Jordan River.

⁴ Since John was baptizing there, as the scripture testifies, saying John came in the wilderness baptizing, all the land of Judea went out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan.

⁵ I think that the wilderness, which has long been empty of all good things from God, represents the church from the nations. And the river that flows through the wilderness, cleansing all those who are washed in it, is seen as a kind of purification. This is what the scriptures speak about, saying 'the streams of the river make glad the city of...'

⁶ This means the constant influence of the divine spirit flowing down from above and watering the city of God, which is called the divine community. This river of God has reached even to the wilderness, that is, to the church from the nations, and it still provides life-giving waters to those in it. Furthermore, the prophecy says that in the revealed wilderness, the glory of Lebanon and the honor of Carmel will be given.

⁷ What is the glory of Lebanon, or the worship performed through sacrifices according to the law of Moses? God rejected this, as the prophecy says, 'Why do you bring me incense from Sheba?' and 'What do I care about the multitude of your sacrifices?' The glory of Jerusalem has been transferred to the wilderness of the Jordan, which has begun from the time of John, not to Jerusalem, but to the wilderness.

⁸ Likewise, the honor of the law given to those who are more physical has been given to the wilderness of the Jordan because of the reason that those seeking healing no longer went to Jerusalem, but to the wilderness called by this name, where the forgiveness of sins is preached.

⁹ I think that our Savior's presence at the baptism is shown by the words, 'And my people shall see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of God.' For then the glory of our Savior was revealed when he was baptized and came up from the water, and the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on him. At that time, a voice was heard from the heavens saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' But also, everyone who truly approaches the bath of baptism, receiving the teaching about Christ, will see his glory, as Paul says, 'Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, now we no longer know him that way.' From Psalm V.

Book 9, Section 7

The one who dwells in the help of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the God of heaven. He will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust,' for he will deliver me from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive word. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find hope.

² His truth will surround you like a shield; you will not be afraid of the night's fear, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the thing that moves in darkness, nor of the destruction and demon at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Only with your eyes will you see and witness the punishment of the wicked. For you, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge. No evil will come near you, and no plague will come near your tent.

³ For he commands his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.

⁴ Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ of God, who became human, is said to dwell in the help of the Most High, taking shelter in the God and Father. He alone has made the Father his refuge, and in the time of temptation from the devil, he was rescued from the traps of opposing powers, now called hunters, when a common man was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He was in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, being tempted by Satan, and, as the evangelist testifies, he was with the wild animals.

⁵ Of which things or those that the Psalm mentions, saying to the one who dwells in the help of the Most High, 'You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.' Not only will he be rescued from these, but also from a troubling word, it says.

⁶ Who would this be or whom the tempter presented to him according to the holy gospel?

⁷ It is worth examining the reason for our Savior being tempted in this way. He was about to drive out all sickness and weakness from people, as well as the troubling spirits and unclean demons, who had long held power over everyone on earth through their many superstitions. He did not come from the unseen, as if hiding from what was said, but he confronted the invisible rulers who had taken hold of humanity. He passed through the devil and all the demonic forces, and he treads on the lion and the serpent, and long before that, he brought down thousands and myriads of the ruling enemies, both those on the right and those on the left who were waging war, including the authorities and powers, and also the so-called world rulers of this darkness, and all the spiritual forces of wickedness. Thus, he proved that none of these had any power, and finally, he drove away the chief of evils, the devil, with the word of his mouth. He passed through and walked among all opposing forces, offering himself to those who wanted to approach and tempt him, while no one was able to stand against him. In this way, he came for the salvation of humanity. Therefore, the demons, seeing him, recognized him from his clear presence during his time in the wilderness, saying to him, 'What do we have to do with you, Jesus, son of God?'

⁸ These things are about these matters. But what follows from the Psalm calls out to Christ, saying, 'He will overshadow you with his wings,' meaning that the Most High will protect you, 'his truth will surround you like a shield.' And since he was tempted for forty days and nights, it is said about those who come at night, 'You will not be afraid of the terror of the night,' and about those who come during the day, 'From the arrow that flies by day.'

⁹ And again, about those who come at night, it says, 'From the matter that moves in darkness;' and about those who come during the day, it speaks of a sudden disaster and a midday demon.

¹⁰ Then, since evil forces surrounded him while he was being tempted, it is said that a thousand fell at his side and ten thousand at his right hand, but it will not come near you. The right side is mentioned instead of the left, and the left is left unspoken, showing that nothing evil or left-handed is found in him. And since a thousand and ten thousand are said to fall from his right side, it is fitting that it is said next, 'But you will only see it with your eyes, and you will see the punishment of the wicked.'

¹¹ And it will be, he says, about you, Christ of God, 'Since you yourself, O Lord, who are my hope, have made the Most High your refuge.'

¹² There the prophet also shows how he speaks to his Lord, saying, 'You, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge,' clearly distinguishing between another lord and the Most High God, the father of this one.

¹³ Therefore, since Christ is set as a refuge for himself as a father and the Most High God, it is said to him, 'No evil will come near you, and no plague will come near your dwelling, because he commands his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'

¹⁴ And carefully it is noted how in the phrase 'You, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge,' the word 'Lord' is brought in through the four-letter name in Hebrew, which is said to be unpronounceable, as the children of the Hebrews are accustomed to receive it only for God. But we have shown in many writings about the divinity of the Word, just as in the Psalm that says to his face, 'You, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your refuge,' not only saying that you yourself, O Lord, who are my hope while I prophesy these things, know that the Most High God is greater than yourself; make him your refuge.

¹⁵ "Therefore, in the beginning of the Psalm, it is said about the same one, 'He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."'"

¹⁶ Since you, Lord, have made the Most High your refuge, for this reason 'the Most High himself' says, 'He will rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the deadly plague, and he will cover you with his feathers.' Therefore, having such a fatherly help from the Most High, you will not be afraid of the terror of the night nor of anything that comes during the day, nor of the things that come from outside.

¹⁷ "For since you, Lord, have made the Most High your refuge, therefore no evil will come near you, and no plague will come near your dwelling." The plagues are the works of demons, which are also named in the Gospels, and you would find that they do not even dare to approach the dwelling of Christ, that is, his body, for they are said to be powerful.

¹⁸ For how could he drive them away from people with just a word? About this dwelling, David once swore to the Lord and prayed to the God of Jacob, saying, 'If I go up to the bed of my couch, if I give sleep to my eyes, and drowsiness to my eyelids, and rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob.'

¹⁹ And for this reason, about this dwelling, it was said, 'You will not be afraid of the terror of the night;' and 'He himself will rescue you from the snare of hunters and from the deadly word;' and 'No evil will come near you, and no plague will come near your dwelling.' And all that is said about it in a more human way, like how 'he commands his angels concerning you to guard you,' and 'they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'

²⁰ For these things would not fit to be said about God, but about his dwelling, which he took on for us, when the word 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' And it seems good to me to have a precise confirmation of what has been said and to present the voices of the other interpreters. Among them, Aquila said this: 'For you, Lord, are my hope; you have made the Most High your dwelling place.'

²¹ No evil will come near you, and no harm will come near your shelter; for he commands his angels to guard you in all your ways." And the Symmachus said, "For you, Lord, are my safety; you have made the Most High your dwelling.

²² No evil will overpower you, and no harm will come near your tent; for he commands his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Therefore, because of these things, it is said to the Lord as if about someone greater: "He commands his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

²³ The devil also used these words in the temptation of our Savior when "he took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written that he commands his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" To this, our Lord replied, "It is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

²⁴ Then, when he was tempted with the wild animals, as the evangelist says, it is not written what kind they were. This is made clearer by the prophecy of the Psalm, which hints at the types of wild animals, saying, "You will tread on the lion and the adder; you will trample the young lion and the serpent."

²⁵ He himself will trample the most powerful of the wild animals, the lion and the serpent, the shield and the adder, meaning the devil and the wicked powers that are with him. To those who have the same virtue as his disciples and apostles, he gives the authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, not allowing them to be tempted beyond what they can bear. For he himself has the divine power to overthrow the ruler and tyrant of this age. From Isaiah.

Book 9, Section 8

This first, drink quickly, land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, and you others who live by the sea, and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and those who live in the land and shadow of death, light will shine upon you. The greatest part of the people you have brought down in your joy, and they will rejoice before you, like those who rejoice in harvest, and like those who divide the spoils. For the yoke that was upon them and the rod on their necks will be taken away. For the Lord has shattered the rod of those who oppressed them, as on the day of Midian, for every boot that marched in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned, as fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

² To all the others, this was fulfilled about our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When he heard that John had been handed over, he withdrew to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was said by the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land and shadow of death, light has dawned upon them." From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

³ As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

⁴ They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. He called them, and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

⁵ And Jesus went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and pains, those who were possessed by demons, those who were epileptic, and those who were paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds followed him from Galilee.

⁶ All these things are explained because of the prophecy that a great light would come to Galilee, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which is not part of Galilee of the nations. Why did he spend most of his time in Galilee of the nations? He was laying the groundwork for the calling of all the nations, and from there he called his disciples to him.

⁷ Therefore, shortly after the good news, you will find Matthew called from Galilee, and again in another place, Levi. Philip was also from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, and this was in Galilee. But also, at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, the Lord surprisingly turned water into wine. This was the first of his signs, and he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

⁸ But if this is indeed the first miracle of our Savior that happened in Cana of Galilee, the present message shows that it fulfills the beginning of the prophecy, saying, "This is the first, drink quickly, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Galilee of the nations."

⁹ If it was a sign of a mysterious mixture, changed from the physical to the spiritual joy of the new covenant, let us see if this also refers to those mentioned about Galilee. It suggests that those living in Zebulun and Naphtali will be the first to receive during the coming of Christ, but not those in Judea and Jerusalem, who will be moved by the message of the good news.

¹⁰ He says that the cause of their joy is the shining of the great light. Those who sat in darkness in the land and shadow of death lived there. They will rejoice in this saving light, just as those who are joyful in a harvest, and in the same way as those who divide the spoils.

¹¹ And these things were fulfilled in action when our Savior and Lord called the apostles from Galilee and showed them the wonders of his works and his teaching.

¹² They will rejoice before him, as the prophecy states, like those who are joyful in a harvest. And what he taught them was, "Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are already white for harvest." By this, he made clear the gathering of the nations. It was also said about them that "they will rejoice just as those who divide the spoils."

¹³ So, the disciples and evangelists of our Savior, going among each other into the lands of the nations and all under the sun, gathered countless people, taking away the rulers of this age who had previously held power over the nations. But he also says another reason for their joy is that they have been freed from the heavy burden of the law, which had long been placed upon them, a burden that neither they nor their fathers could bear.

¹⁴ Not only has the burden been taken away from them, but also the rod of those who demanded from them, which had previously been laid upon their necks. He makes clear who the demanders are by saying, "My people, your agents are oppressing you and those who demand from you are ruling over you."

¹⁵ But these, having seen the great light from Zebulun and Naphtali, will rejoice because of what was said before. Those who had long been demanding from them will be completely destroyed, down to the last penny, and every garment and every piece of clothing they had will be burned in the time of their destruction.

¹⁶ And all these things he says will happen because a child was born to us, a son was given to us, the angel of the great council. What is it to us or to those who have believed in him, and indeed to all Galilee of the nations, to whom the great light has shone? What else could this be but the born child and the son given by God, the angel of the great council, and the ruler of peace, and the powerful God, and the father of the coming age? These things we have already shown, calling him our Savior and Lord at the proper time.

Book 9, Section 9

Your ways, O God, were seen, the ways of my God, the king, who is in the holy place. The rulers came first, singing, in the midst of young women playing drums. In the churches, bless the Lord God from the springs of Israel. There was Benjamin, the youngest, in the lead, the rulers of Judah, their leaders, the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.

² And here, I think the rulers of Naphtali are none other than the apostles. For from here, our Savior and Lord is chosen according to the account of Matthew. The scripture, which establishes the journey to humanity and the physical presence of the Word of God, says, 'Your ways, O God, were seen,' and the following.

³ And at this appearance, as if they were forerunners, the beloved prophets of old, through psalms and choirs and all kinds of spiritual instruments, proclaimed and sang, coming first in the midst of young women playing drums.

⁴ For certainly, the divine prophets, coming from the gatherings of the circumcision, proclaimed the arrival of Christ. And they spoke to the apostles of our Savior with the divine spirit, saying, 'In the churches, bless the Lord God from the springs of Israel.' The springs of Israel would be the words handed down to Israel. For they were the first to believe the words of God, from which we too will draw and water the churches of Christ.

⁵ "And the young women and the drummers, living more bodily according to the law of Moses, were hinted at. This was because of the younger and less mature mindset of the young women, and because the drummers were called that due to their physical worship."

From Isaiah.

Book 9, Section 10

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call out the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance.

² And the Lord our God himself confirms that this prophecy is fulfilled in him. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been raised, he entered, as was his custom, on the Sabbath day into the synagogue. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling the scroll, he read what was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'

³ And he rolled up the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And all the eyes of those in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to say to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'

⁴ Therefore, our Savior and Lord clearly shows through this scripture that he is different and greater than the priests of old, who were anointed with oil made by humans. Instead, he is anointed with the divine spirit of God, his Father. He, being God and Lord, shares in the divine nature and is proclaimed in the sacred writings.

⁵ "Then, following the prophecy about bringing good news to the poor, it is recorded by Matthew that 'seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."'"

⁶ And he gave sight to the blind, as it is written by many. For he did not only grant the ability to see to those whose physical sight was lost, but he also became the cause of understanding and knowledge of God, the creator of all, for those who were previously blind in their souls.

⁷ "And in another way, he proclaimed freedom and rest to those who are in bondage and held captive by the unseen and demonic power, and who are bound by chains of evil. If they believed his message, they could run to him as their redeemer and savior, and obey his commands. The rest of the teachings will be examined in due time regarding the promises."

From Deuteronomy.

Book 9, Section 11

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me; you shall listen to him in all that he tells you. This is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let us not hear again the voice of the Lord our God, nor see this great fire anymore, lest we die.' And the Lord said to me, 'They have spoken well. I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.'

² Believe that no one among the Hebrews has arisen as a prophet like Moses, that is, a lawgiver and a teacher of piety for the people. Only our savior, Christ of God, is unique. Indeed, at the end of Deuteronomy, it is said, 'No prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses.' And yet, many prophets have come after him, but none like him.

³ But all of this is promised by God, to raise up one, not many, who will be like him. This refers to a lawgiver and a teacher of piety for the people, such as our savior and Lord Jesus Christ, and no other has been shown to be such, being both a lawgiver and a prophet, having become the servant of God and his Father.

⁴ But Moses led only one nation, and he was shown to be a lawgiver only for that nation, not for others. But Christ of God, having received a promise from the Father, 'Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,' is not only for the Jews, but also a new lawgiver of piety for all humanity. He has been appointed to establish a powerful and fitting law for all nations.

⁵ Indeed, with greater power than Moses, he established his holy laws for the whole world through his evangelists. He taught with more authority than any human lawgiver, saying, 'You have heard that it was said to the ancients, you shall not kill; but I say to you, do not even be angry without reason.' And the teachings that follow in his writings show this, as the evangelist testifies that everyone was amazed at his teaching. For he taught them as one having authority, and not like their scribes.

⁶ Now, having examined the way of our Savior's teaching and law in the beginnings of this present situation, when we bring to light what Christianity truly is, we will refer those who encounter it to these things. It is worth noting the word by which the Lord promises to raise up a prophet for them.

⁷ For he commanded Moses to make the whole people clean for three days, so that they might become both spectators and listeners of the divine appearance. But they were frightened by the grace of God; therefore, at the beginning of the vision, they begged Moses, saying, 'You speak to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die.' Because of this, the Lord accepts them with reverence, saying, 'All that I have spoken, I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you.'

⁸ Therefore, he also taught the reason for the prophet's coming to people; this was a weakness and a rejection of the greater vision.

⁹ You have, therefore, the reason for the incarnation of the foretold prophet. So, while waiting for him, those from the circumcision asked about the Baptist John, saying, 'Are you the prophet?' And he said, 'No.' But John, honestly confessing, denied being a prophet, for he was not, but he was the very prophet that was declared by Moses; that he was sent to prepare the way before that prophet.

¹⁰ And since the word indeed foretold to those from the circumcision that the prophet would arise, it is fitting that our Savior and Lord, being the one who was proclaimed, said, 'I did not come except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' And he advised his apostles, saying, 'Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

¹¹ Clearly teaching that they were sent to them according to prophecy before. Since they did not accept the grace, he rebukes them in another way, saying, 'For I came, and there was no one to call, and there was no one to obey.' He says to them, 'The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits.'

¹² And to his own disciples, after their rejection, he commands, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations in my name.' Thus, we indeed know the nations as the prophet who was previously announced and sent to the Father, having become a lawgiver for all people in the worship of the God of all, through the saving and gospel teaching. We have recognized and accepted him, fulfilling according to the same and other prophecies, by which it was said, 'Establish, Lord, a lawgiver for them, let the nations know that they are human.'

¹³ But the nation of the Jews, not accepting the prophesied justice, paid the price worthy according to the divine prophecy that says, 'And the person who does not listen to all the things that the prophet speaks in my name, I will hold accountable.'

¹⁴ Indeed, they will be held accountable for all the blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, and even for all the blood of Christ. They do not seek the blood for themselves, and still now they suffer the punishment for their boldness in wickedness against their own children.

Book 9, Section 12

'The one who speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and who seals the stars, the one who alone stretches out the heavens, and walks on the sea as if on dry land.'

² And these things belong only to our Savior and Lord, as he is the creator of all things by the word of God. Indeed, he alone, during the time of his becoming human, took on a human body and form. It is said that he walked on the sea when he forced his disciples to get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side, until he dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone; but the boat was already in the middle of the sea. When they saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying that it was a ghost, and from fear, they cried out. Immediately, he spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.'

³ Otherwise, it would not be possible for a worthy theology to seem to exist, if someone takes the word concerning the highest God and Father of all.

⁴ For what is serious and worthy about saying that the God of all walks on the sea? How could there be a path on the sea for the one who contains everything, filling both heaven and earth, and who says, 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet?' And 'I fill heaven and earth,' says the Lord? Yet our Savior and Lord, emptying himself and taking the form of a servant, being found in appearance as a man, shows a sign of his hidden divine power to many. He walks on the waves of the sea and commands the storm and the winds. It is written that when those who saw him were amazed, saying, 'What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?' This was also a sign of something greater, referring to another sea where it is said that a dragon is made to be played with by the angels of God. On this sea, our Savior and Lord walked, crushing the head of that dragon and the other dragons that had fallen. It is said, 'You crushed the heads of the dragons in the waters, and you crushed the head of the dragon.' This clearly refers to another sea, about which he again says in a psalm, 'I have come to the depths of the sea.'

⁵ And to Job, after discussing his own matters, you came to the spring of the sea, and you walked in the footprints of the abyss? And the gates of death open to you in fear, and the keepers of Hades, seeing you, trembled? Therefore, it is fitting that even in our life, having stepped onto the sea and commanding the winds and the waves, you fulfill the signs of the most hidden things.

Book 9, Section 13

Be strong, you hands that are weak, and you knees that are trembling. Encourage the faint-hearted in spirit. Be strong, do not be afraid; behold, our God will bring judgment and will repay. He himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing.

² And in the Gospels, you have the results of these things. This is when they brought a paralyzed man on a bed to our Savior and Lord, whom he made healthy with a word. And this is when many blind and demon-possessed people, still suffering from various diseases and weaknesses, were freed by his saving power from their afflictions.

³ Indeed, even now throughout the whole world, countless crowds are bound by many kinds of evils, filled with ignorance of God above all. He wonderfully heals and cures them with the remedies of his teaching. However, God is also proclaimed in these things at the right time, as he acts in such ways, having already been shown to us in the testimonies about his divinity.

⁴ And it is indeed fitting now, as at other times, to confess him as God, when he showed works of divine and truly godly power. For only God could strengthen those who are weak, give life to the dead, provide salvation to the sick, open the eyes of the blind, heal the deaf, raise the lame, and restore the speech of the mute. All these things have been done by our Savior, Jesus Christ, as by God, and they have been testified by many who preached him throughout the whole world.

⁵ Of these, the unchangeable and true testimony is proven through trials and the resistance even unto death, which was shown against kings, rulers, and all nations, bearing witness to the truth to those who were preached to by them.

⁶ To these, I think we should call upon the evangelists and apostles, saying the prophetic spirit: 'Strengthen your weak hands and your feeble knees.' For these have encouraged the hands and practical powers, urging them to rise from the long period of worship according to the law of Moses, stirring them toward the way of life according to the gospel, saying, 'Strengthen your weak hands and your feeble knees,' in preparation for the way of the gospel.

⁷ Be strong and also encourage others and urge them to hold on to the gospel's salvation. You know that before you were faint-hearted, and let no one take you away with fear of those outside who oppose the gospel message. But also be strong against them, and do not be afraid.

⁸ For he was God and the word of God, but he was not like Moses, nor was he similar to the prophets. He was not only a maker of wonderful things, but also the cause of your own strength.

⁹ For faith would become most clear about the divine power of our prophesied savior, through which he truly healed the lame, the blind, the lepers, and those who were present, by his word according to the writings about him. This power is still active now, showing the goodness of his divinity throughout all of humanity. It shows what he was like through his works, and how he remains constant and unbeatable over the ages, as the true word of God is proven. He surpasses all those who have taught from the beginning until now, preparing to fight against his teachings. He draws countless people from all over the world to himself, freeing them from all sin and the sufferings and diseases of the soul. He calls every kind of Greek and barbarian to his pious teaching, bringing many to the knowledge of the one true God and to a healthy and wise life, which would indeed be fitting for the promise of worship to the God above all.

¹⁰ "But this same God of ours, being the word of God, says that he gives and will give 'judgment,' and he himself will come and save us." For according to the Psalm, it is said, "O God, give your judgment to the king," and according to the gospel teaching, it is said, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." Having received the authority to judge from the Father, he judges with justice. He has given the proper judgment to the people of the circumcision, who have dared to approach him and his prophets, but he has saved all people who come to him equally and justly. He opened the ears of their minds and their eyes.

¹¹ Therefore, the divine word calls the time of his coming a time of repayment, saying in another place, 'To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of repayment.'

¹² This was the time of repayment during which all blood shed from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, and even the precious blood of Jesus, has been required from that generation of those who have sinned against him, so that from that time they would suffer destruction and the final siege.

¹³ And the judgment against them made such a repayment that the prophecy says, 'Behold, behold, our God gives and will give judgment.' But the one about those who will be saved through him is shown by the words, 'He himself will come and save us; then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear,' and so on.

¹⁴ This saving judgment is also promised by another prophecy that speaks of Christ, saying, 'Behold, my servant, I will take hold of him; my chosen one, my soul has accepted him; he will bring judgment to the nations.'

¹⁵ Therefore, concerning the word of the new covenant, it is said, 'For out of Zion will go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge among the nations.' For with divine judgment and with words that are unchangeable, it is fitting for us to turn to him who calls us. But also, teaching us divine judgment and training us to act in all things with care, it is said that he will bring judgment to the nations.

Book 9, Section 14

Then those who are sealing the law of not learning will be made clear. And he will say, 'I will trust in God, who has turned his face away from the house of Jacob.' Behold, here am I, and the children whom God has given me. And there will be signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who dwells on the mountain of Zion. And if they say to you, 'Seek out the mediums and those who speak from the earth, those who talk from the belly,' is not a nation supposed to seek its God? Why do they seek the dead for the living? For he has given a law for help.

² In the letter to the Hebrews, the apostle presents the saying, 'Behold, here am I, and the children whom God has given me,' and he works on the subject of Christ, saying, 'Since the children have shared in blood and flesh, he himself also shared in the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death.'

³ But he calls his children the apostles, on whom the Lord of Hosts will perform signs and wonders in the house of Israel, he who dwells on the mountain of Zion. He teaches that they will be clearly seen among us, marked with the seal of Christ, no longer learning the law of Moses, no longer being joined to it, and that the one called Jacob has been left behind by God.

⁴ But the Seventy have said it unclearly, 'Then the ones being sealed will be made clear, the law of not learning, and he will say, I will trust in God, who has turned his face away from the house of Jacob, and I will be confident in him.' The Helper has given a clearer statement, saying, 'Bind the testimony, seal the law with my commandments. And I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will expect him.'

⁵ And Aquila also gave this way, 'Bind the testimony, seal the law with my teachings. And I will receive God, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will wait for him.' Therefore, these things are what the apostles of our Savior are taught to do. Next, he chooses, 'Behold, here am I and the children whom God has given me. And there will be signs and wonders in Israel by the Lord of Hosts, who dwells on the mountain of Zion.'

⁶ And the Lord of Hosts, the Word of God, who took on human form, and having made his dwelling on the mountain of Zion, performing signs and wonders, commands his disciples and all who believe in him not to be afraid in any way of the superstitious deception. But even if the idol-worshipers from the nations should lead them astray or force them to seek out the soothsayers and the divinations of demons as marvelous and lacking nothing compared to the prophetic life of the holy and beloved men of God, they must respond and say, 'Why do you seek the dead among the living? For a law has been given for help, along with what follows it. For those who have once received the law and the saving commands for the help and healing of their own lives should not be busy with divination through the demonic deception.'

Book 9, Section 15

'Jacob is my servant, I will help him; Israel, my chosen one, my soul has accepted him. I will bring judgment to the nations; he will not cry out, nor lift up his voice, nor let it be heard outside. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish, but he will bring forth judgment in truth. He will shine and not be broken until he has set judgment on the earth, and the nations will hope in his name. Thus says the Lord God, who made the heavens and stretched them out, who established the earth and what is in it, and who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord your God; I have called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand, and I will strengthen you, and I have given you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the house of confinement.'

² And the evangelist mentions this saying, when the Pharisees went out and took counsel against our Savior to destroy him, because he was healing those who were suffering on the Sabbath. For at that time, as he says, Jesus, knowing their plan, withdrew from there, and many crowds followed him, and he healed all of them, and he warned them not to make him known.

³ To whom he refers, saying 'all these things have happened,' that is, his withdrawing and avoiding those who were pressing him, and his trying to remain hidden in the things he did that were strange, and his instructing those being healed not to make him known, 'so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, behold my servant, in whom I am well pleased, my beloved, in whom my soul has found joy. I will put my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim judgment to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish, until he brings forth victory in judgment, and the nations will hope in his name.'

⁴ But Matthew carefully notes how he said, 'behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is pleased,' without mentioning Jacob or Israel. For he did not say 'Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one,' but he presented it without distinction, saying 'behold my servant and my beloved.'

⁵ Therefore, since neither in the Hebrew text of the prophecy is it found, in the Septuagint the name of Jacob and the name of Israel are omitted, and among the other interpreters it is also kept silent, since it is not even found in the Hebrew.

⁶ From this, it is rightly said that neither in the evangelist's account, which is in Hebrew, nor in the Hebrew scriptures is the prophecy explained. Therefore, it does not fit the thoughts of the people of the circumcision, but only to Christ of God, who is testified by the clarity and the outcome of events. For he alone proclaimed the coming judgment to the nations, having lived quietly among people, and established judgment on the earth. And he not only did not break a bruised reed, but, if it can be said, he healed it, raising up and strengthening the weak and those with broken hearts.

⁷ Just as he did not overlook the weak and the broken, who were asking for his healing, nor did he crush those who were repenting, so he also did not extinguish those who persisted in evil and were blinded by their passions, preventing them from acting against their own choice. Nor did he punish any of them out of season, placing their deserved punishment in the overall judgment until the proper time.

⁸ Therefore, it is said, 'And a bruised reed he will not break.' On the other hand, it has taken up the saying, 'And in his name the nations will hope.' Indeed, only in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ have the nations of Christians hoped, taking his name as a title of the piety they have received.

⁹ For it has been proclaimed that light is given not to others but to the nations. Through him, the prophecy has been fulfilled: the eyes of the blind, who had long been hardened in their understanding, will see. And not only them, but also those whose bodies had been destroyed, and those bound by the chains of sins, who were in darkness and ignorance of true piety, will be released from their sins through him, and they will be worthy of the light of knowledge and the freedom that comes from God.

¹⁰ And you, too, while studying, will find that by carefully examining the words, you will discover that each one is fully fulfilled in the Lord and Savior of us all. From the same source.

Book 9, Section 16

'The Lord was sitting on a high and lifted throne, and Seraphim stood around him.' Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?' And I said, 'Here I am, send me.' And he said, 'Go, and say to this people: You will hear but not understand, and you will see but not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they barely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.'

² You also have the result of this regarding our Savior. According to John, he said, 'Although he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him, so that the word of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 'Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' For this reason, they could not believe. For Isaiah said again, 'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.'

³ Isaiah said this when he saw his glory and spoke about him. According to Matthew, 'When the disciples came to him, they said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"' He answered, 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them it has not been given.' For this reason, I speak to them in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear, lest they should turn, and I would heal them.

⁴ Then the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in them, which says, 'Go to this people and say, "You will hear but never understand, and you will see but never perceive."' And the rest follows. John also shows how this is said, saying, 'Isaiah said this when he saw his glory and spoke about him,' as he saw the Christ and the glory of Christ in the vision where he said, 'I saw the Lord of hosts sitting on a high and lifted throne, and the rest.'

⁵ Who would not be amazed by the clear prophecy, seeing even now the unbelief in Christ among those of the circumcision? For in the past, even when they saw him becoming human and doing wonders among them, they did not perceive him with the eyes of their soul and mind. No one among them had a clear understanding to realize who he was, the one who performed so many and such great miracles among them.

⁶ But even with these sounds, they were not worthy to receive words of eternal life, and though they were listening to the voice of divine wisdom, they did not hear with the ears of their minds, so that they might bring themselves to the clear end of the prophecy.

⁷ And here, too, the divine power of Christ, by which all kinds of people turned away from their ancestral superstitions and were led to true worship of God, is clearly shown. Yet, seeing this, they do not pay attention with their minds, nor do they consider that neither Moses nor the prophets after him achieved this alone. This means not to worship idols or to pay attention to many gods. This divine virtue of our Savior has been established among all nations.

⁸ Then, encountering the prophetic testimonies about him, they hear with their ears, but do not understand. Even now, the prophecy in their hands is being fulfilled among them. From Zechariah.

Book 9, Section 17

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you; he is righteous and saving, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a young colt. He will destroy the chariots from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem, and the bow used in battle will be broken. He will bring peace to the nations, and his rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

² After the return from Babylon, when Zechariah spoke in the last of the prophets, no king is recorded among the Jews during the time of prophecy, except for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ of God. This is the one to whom the prophecy pointed, when he said to his disciples, 'Go to the village ahead of you; there you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.'

³ "And if anyone says to you, 'What are you doing?' say to him, 'The Lord needs them.' And those who went went and did as he had commanded them." So, the things of the prophecy and the conclusion have this meaning.

⁴ But what did his riding on a donkey mean except for his humble and lowly appearance, by which he made his first arrival? For there will be a second glorious arrival, about which Daniel spoke more openly, saying that he saw until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat. Thousands upon thousands served him, and myriads upon myriads stood before him. And behold, coming with the clouds of heaven, like a son of man.

⁵ And until the Ancient of Days came, authority, honor, and kingdom were given to him, and all peoples, nations, and languages served him. His authority is an everlasting authority that will not pass away, and his kingdom will not be destroyed.

⁶ The things of the first arrival, which was more human and humble, along with the others, have a great sign and proof: to be called gentle and peaceful, coming riding on a donkey, was prophesied. For this would be a sign of common and human life. But the things of the second arrival, which are divine and very glorious, are shown by the coming on the clouds of heaven and the everlasting kingdom of all nations.

⁷ And it was good to present both to those of the circumcision, and to ask them how they could reconcile the prophecies, expecting one arrival of Christ. For each of the presented prophecies also admits that they see Christ. Now is the time to speak and to answer those who ask us, how it is possible for one and the same person to come at the same time, both on the clouds of heaven and riding on a donkey and a young colt. For these two things are very different from each other.

⁸ Therefore, gathering countless prophecies about Christ, and presenting and comparing the different meanings, you will clearly see some referring to his first coming, fulfilled at his first appearance, and others referring to his second and glorious arrival.

⁹ For the divine power of our Savior has secretly destroyed chariots and horses and all weapons of war at his first coming from the more physical Jerusalem and from the people called Ephraim. Therefore, from that time until now, their kingdom has not stood, nor their former strength in wars, along with their military preparations and power.

¹⁰ But in these things, he called the whole people of the Jews Ephraim, and not Israel or Judah, so that he would not offend the more serious titles.

¹¹ You would also find in the other prophecies that the whole nation is called Ephraim, with much slander and accusation, just as it is now. After the return from Babylon, the people were no longer divided as before. Who was likely to be shown through Ephraim or those living in Jerusalem? Their military and fighting power lasted until the Roman times, but the presence of our Savior, with divine and unstoppable power, brought it down just as the prophecy said.

¹² The word proclaims these things to the church from the nations, not just to greet her, but to urge her to rejoice greatly because of the presence of the word of God with her. It also calls her the daughter of the heavenly Zion or even of the earlier assembly, because all of us from the nations who believe in Christ of God are called offspring and children of Christ and his apostles, just as those who came from the mother of the Jewish assembly.

¹³ And what follows was fulfilled at the presence of our Savior.

¹⁴ Indeed, peace has come from the nations since the time of his arrival like never before. No longer do cities fight against cities as they did before, nor do nations clash with nations. Life for people is no longer chaotic as it once was. Athenians no longer march against Spartans, Syrians against Phoenicians, Arabs against Palestinians, and Egyptians against their neighbors.

¹⁵ Everything is united from that time with God, and truly, a great number of peace from the nations has come from that time and continues to this day, according to the prophecy. Only Jesus and the message of the good news preached through him began from sea to sea, from the east to the west, and from rivers to the ends of the earth, following what was foretold by the prophet.

¹⁶ Just as Aquila interpreted it this way, saying that he will speak peace to the nations, and his authority will be from sea to sea, and from rivers to the ends of the earth. These things are compared to those in the Psalms, which are written about the son of the king, that is, the one coming from the seed of Solomon, about whom the Psalm says, 'and he will rule from sea to sea, and from rivers to the ends of the inhabited world.'

¹⁷ The same Psalm also means the peace mentioned here, saying, 'Righteousness will rise in his days and a multitude of peace!' And Isaiah agrees with this, saying, 'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into sickles, and nation will not take up sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to fight.'

¹⁸ You will also find Micah and many other prophets agreeing with this. And as I said, in those times, it is possible to see how, from the time of Augustus and the coming of our Savior, the Roman rule that took over caused the divisions and many rulers of the nations to break apart. And in this way, the prophesied peace began to happen.

¹⁹ But now it has begun; there will be a time when the prophecy will be completely fulfilled, when the fullness of the nations will enter into the holy place, as declared by the apostle.

Book Ten

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, save us, O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has given us light.

² When our Savior Jesus Christ entered into Jerusalem, the crowds, as foretold by the prophecy in Zechariah, were fulfilling it. According to the divine evangelist, the crowds went before him and followed him, shouting, 'Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'

³ When he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, 'Who is this?' And the crowds said, 'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.'

⁴ Since it has been said from the preceding Psalm, 'Hosanna,' which means 'save now,' and the Hebrew 'Hosanna Adonai' means 'save now,' and also 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,' since this too is taken from the same Psalm, these things are clearly directed toward Christ of God. It is fitting that we have taken the rest of the prophecy as well.

⁵ For he is blessed, and he is also called by another prophet 'the one who is coming,' as it says, 'a little while longer, and the one who is coming will come, and will not delay.' He has come in the name of the Lord his God and Father. He himself is also God, the Lord who has appeared to us. Indeed, he declares that he has come in the name of his Father, saying to the Jews, 'I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.'

⁶ Therefore, this one who has appeared to us is God, the Lord, the blessed one, who has come in the name of the Lord. He is also the stone that was rejected by those who were once building, the people of the circumcision, through the teaching of Moses. This stone, rejected by them, has become the head of the corner of the church made up of the nations. This church is not seen by everyone, but the word says it is wonderful in the eyes of the prophets, and it is indeed wonderful in our eyes.

⁷ But again, he calls his appearance 'the day which the Lord has made,' since he was the true light and the sun of righteousness, and the day of God, in which we can say, 'This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.' And with these things summarized, it is time to move on to the prophecies about his passion.

Introduction

After the given prophecies about the arrival of the proclaimed God to humans, it is indeed time to discuss the matters concerning the release from his human life, and to see again what will happen to him according to the times set by the prophets.

² First, I will discuss the matters concerning the plots against his death, which is a significant part of the topic at hand. But before this discussion, we must remember what has often been said about the arrangement concerning him, that indeed some things relate to his divinity, while others relate to his becoming human.

³ For there is introduced a word that is the power and wisdom of God, an angel of great counsel, a great and eternal high priest for the essence and salvation of all beings. And he is the one who pleads with the Father; but the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, is led like a sheep to slaughter. This was the human body, which, like a lamb and a sheep from our flock, a high priest took up and offered as the first fruits of humanity to the Father, through whom he also spoke with the nature of humans, which could not otherwise become a body and a mind without being united, nor could anything greater than flesh and bodies be thought of through the eyes of flesh.

⁴ Therefore, whatever may seem to be more humble in the discussions about him, these things suggest the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the human body. For he was the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, according to the Baptist John, who said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' He was also the one being led to slaughter, as the saying from Isaiah states, 'Like a sheep he was led to slaughter, and like a lamb he was silent before the shearer.'

⁵ About the same thing, it was said that 'he was led to death for the sins of my people.' For the Lamb of God had to be taken up by the great high priest, above the other lambs and for all of humanity, to be offered as a sacrifice to God.

⁶ For through one man came death, and through one man comes the resurrection from the dead," says the apostle. "And just as through one wrongdoing came judgment for all people, so also through one act of righteousness comes life for all people.

⁷ From this, he taught his own disciples that he himself is life, light, and truth, and he instructed them on the other ideas of theology about him. But to those who were untrained in the hidden things about him, he said, 'Why do you seek to kill a man who has told you the truth?' Just as the unique aspects of theology have been explained before, in the same way here, the Lamb will be presented with human feelings, while he was in the midst of his suffering, combining both what is divine and what is human.

⁸ Now that we have suitably prepared these things, we will also touch on their sayings about Judas the betrayer and the plot against Christ that happened with him, as well as the events that took place around the time of his suffering.

Book 10, Section 1

From Psalm 41: 'Blessed is the one who considers the poor and needy; on a day of trouble, the Lord will rescue him. The Lord will protect him, and keep him alive, and bless him in the land, and not give him over to the hands of his enemies. The Lord will help him on his sickbed; you have turned all his bed in his illness. I said, 'Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.' My enemies say bad things about me, 'When will he die, and his name perish?' And if he comes to see me, he speaks in vain; his heart gathers wickedness for himself. He goes out, and speaks the same things.'

² All my enemies whispered against me; they plotted evil against me. They laid a wicked word against me, saying, 'Will the one who is sleeping not rise again?' Even my close friend, in whom I hoped, who ate my bread, has grown great against me. But you, Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up, and I will repay them. In this, I knew that you wanted me, that my enemy would not rejoice over me. But you upheld me because of my innocence, and you established me before you forever.

³ Since some have taken the book of Psalms to contain only hymns to God and theological songs, they do not notice that it also has prophecies about the future. This should first be observed, as many things are established through them, which could take a long time to gather about the present. But it is enough to use two Psalms as a witness to the word, which are titled of Asaph, but were spoken during the times of David.

⁴ For at that time, Asaph, one of the temple singers, as it is mentioned in the book of Chronicles, spoke the Psalms that are titled with his name by divine inspiration.

⁵ What then do the Psalms contain? Predictions about the siege of the royal city of the Jewish nation, which happened about five hundred years after the prophecy.

⁶ Therefore, the seventy-third Psalm, titled 'A Psalm of Asaph,' says: 'Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you have purchased from the beginning; you have redeemed the tribe of your inheritance. This is Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. Lift your hands against their pride to the end. How much has the enemy plotted against your holy ones, and those who hate you have boasted in the midst of your feast.'

⁷ "They set up their signs as signs, and they did not know that it was above the entrance. As in a forest, they chopped down its doors with axes; with a pick and a hammer, they broke it down. They burned your sanctuary with fire; they defiled the dwelling place of your name to the ground." This is the seventy-third Psalm.

⁸ And the eighty-third Psalm of Asaph also contains these words: 'God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple. They have made Jerusalem like a fruit garden. They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the sky, the flesh of your holy ones to the beasts of the earth.'

⁹ Of these, the first, I mean those from the seventy-third Psalm, was said while David was still king, before the temple was built by Solomon. But the end came not at another time than first during the Babylonian siege, and second during the Roman war against the Jews.

¹⁰ For each of the mentioned events was fulfilled during both the first and second destruction of the temple, foretold and proclaimed in the Psalms by Asaph. The second events from the eighty-third Psalm were fulfilled during the time of Antiochus, called Epiphanes, who, ruling over Syria, went to Jerusalem, defiled the temple, and destroyed the altar. Then he forced many of the Jews, both men and women, to adopt Greek customs, putting to death those who remained faithful to their own law and ancestral piety, punishing them in various ways.

¹¹ Therefore, at that time and in the events that followed, Asaph proclaims the words from the eighty-third Psalm. The writing of those called the Maccabees bears witness to this, having the following account: 'And a gathering of scribes was called together to Iacchus and Bacchides, seeking justice.'

¹² And next, it says, 'And he swore to them, saying, we will not seek harm against you or your friends. And they trusted him. And he captured sixty men from them and killed them all in one day, according to the words of Asaph that he wrote: 'They gave the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the sky, the flesh of your holy ones to the beasts of the earth; their blood they poured all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.'

¹³ Since these things have been foretold and fulfilled, it is not surprising if in the same way the words from the forty-second Psalm also point to what will happen during the time of our Savior's plotting. For not all people understand, how the Word of God, wisdom, life, and true light, having all the wealth of good things, became poor for us by taking on flesh. He became like mortal and poor humans, taking the form of a servant and a beggar, especially at the time when he fulfilled the prophecy from the Psalm. It is fitting that at the beginning of the Psalm, the one who understands these things about him is blessed, receiving the promise that is written. Then, from the face of the poor and beggar, that is, the Savior who became poor for us, it is chosen: 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me.' And that the things in the Psalm are established from the face of the Savior, the evangelist John serves as a sufficient witness.

¹⁴ For it is told that 'Jesus took a towel and wrapped it around himself, and after washing the feet of his disciples, he said, I know whom I have chosen. But so that the scripture may be fulfilled, the one who eats bread with me has lifted his heel against me.'

¹⁵ For what scripture is being fulfilled in these things, except for the one from the Psalm that follows? In it, it is said, 'For even the man of my peace, in whom I hoped, the one who eats my bread, has lifted his heel against me.' Therefore, he begins by saying, 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you,' and throughout the whole Psalm.

¹⁶ Clearly, the Helper has shown this way, saying, 'Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.' And if my enemies said evil things about me, 'When will he die, and his name perish?' And entering to see, his heart spoke in vain; he gathered injustice for himself. But going outside, he left. All those who hate me whispered together against me, thinking evil things about me.

¹⁷ A lawless word was poured out inside them, and having fallen, it will not rise again. But even the man who was at peace with me, whom I trusted, eating my bread, has greatly harmed me. But you, Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up, so that I may repay them. For this reason, I will know that you will want, if my enemy does not speak evil against me. But for my simplicity, hold fast, and you will set me before you forever.

¹⁸ It is equivalent to the words of the Helper and those of Akylos. First, then, about the seeming to show from the face of our Savior the saying, 'Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you,' you will keep what is said by the Helper not in this way, but 'Heal my soul, and if I have sinned against you.' And in this way, he says this, since he makes our sins common to himself.

¹⁹ Therefore it is said, 'And the Lord delivered him to our sins' and 'He himself bears our sins.'

²⁰ Indeed, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, has become a curse for us. He who did not know sin, God made sin for us, offering himself as a substitute for all of us, 'so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.' But since he became like us in the likeness of sinful flesh, he condemned sin in the flesh, rightly declaring what is set forth.

²¹ That he makes our sins his own because of his love and kindness towards us, he says this, and then, going down in that Psalm, he adds, 'But for my innocence, you took hold of me,' clearly showing the boundless evil of God. But how does he make our sins his own, and how is it said that he bears our iniquities, or how are we said to be his body, as the apostle says, 'But you are the body of Christ and parts of it?'

²² And just as when one member suffers, all the members suffer together, so when many members are suffering and sinning, he himself, according to the words of compassion, (since the Word of God chose to take the form of a servant and to be joined to our common body) takes upon himself the pains of those who are suffering, makes our diseases his own, and he deeply feels and suffers for all of us according to the laws of kindness.

²³ Not only did the Lamb of God do this, but he was also punished for us and took on the punishment that he did not owe, but we owed because of our many sins. He became the cause of our forgiveness of sins, since he took on death for us, transferring to himself the whips, insults, and dishonors that were meant for us, and pulling the curse that was meant for us onto himself, becoming a curse for us. And what else could it be but a life for a life? Therefore, the saying from our lips goes, 'By his wounds we are healed, and the Lord gave him up for our sins,' so that rightly he unites himself with us and takes on our sufferings, saying, 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.'

²⁴ Seeing that those who plot against him are not only human beings but also powers that exceed his divine strength and name, through which, shortly after, he filled the whole world with Christians, they think they can extinguish him if they conspire against him to the point of death.

²⁵ This indeed proves that he says, 'My enemies said evil things about me, when will he die and his name be destroyed?' And since they were pretending, they came to him, trying to trap him, as the divine scripture testifies, telling stories of different excuses and accusations against him. For this reason, it is chosen, 'And if he went in to see, his heart spoke in vain; he gathered lawlessness for himself, he went out and spoke against me.'

²⁶ From here on, it clearly shows that he, the most wicked traitor, since it happened that he made agreements with the rulers of the Jews about the betrayal of the teacher, no longer usually meets him for the divine teachings, nor does he go to him as a teacher, nor does he compare himself with the others in the Savior's company, but instead, he is watching and waiting for the right moment to betray him.

²⁷ This is what he is accused of doing by the holy evangelists. Matthew says, 'Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests and said to them, "What will you give me if I hand him over to you?" They gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, he looked for an opportunity to betray him.' And Mark says, 'And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him to them.'

²⁸ They were glad when they heard this, and they promised to give him money. And he looked for a way to betray him at the right time." Luke writes, saying, "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve. He went away and spoke with the chief priests and the scribes, and the leaders of the temple, about how to betray him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. He looked for an opportunity to hand him over to them without the crowd.

²⁹ Therefore, the prophecy that is being declared says, 'And if he was going in to see, his heart was speaking in vain; he gathered lawlessness for himself. He went outside and spoke the same thing. All my enemies whispered against me.'

³⁰ Therefore, the ally, entering, says, 'To observe, his heart was speaking in vain; he was gathering injustice for himself. But going outside, he spoke again. All those who hate me whispered together against me.' So, as if he were known and a student near the teacher, he entered and watched and learned, hiding his plot in his own heart.

³¹ Going out with many, he spoke the same thing together, betraying the Savior to the enemies, and secretly arranging with the leaders of the Jews about other matters, but also about the money, for which he promised to hand him over, about which he whispered with them. Therefore, he says, 'He went outside and spoke the same thing. All my enemies whispered against me; they plotted evil against me.'

³² "They laid down a lawless charge against me." It seems that the arrangement about the silver is called a lawless charge through the prophecy, or that they were thinking of things that were impious and unlawful against him, as if he would be extinguished and destroyed after death, and would no longer be examined while alive.

³³ For it is such that the one who is asleep will not add to the rising, which the Ally made clearer by saying, 'And having fallen, he will no longer rise.' But Aquila says, 'And whoever sleeps will not add to the rising.' And these things have also been said generally about all those who have plotted against him during the time of suffering, especially again about the traitor, as if he were being taught, he continues to say, 'For the man of my peace, in whom I hoped, the one who ate my bread, has made great plans against me.'

³⁴ In place of whom again the Ally says, 'And the man who was at peace with me, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has become great against me.' For truly, the worst of all and most hateful is the one who, after sharing a common table and receiving the teacher's words as nourishment, turns to the worse and repays the benefactor with harm.

³⁵ But since the enemies who were plotting said, 'When will he die and his name be destroyed?' thinking that he who has died will no longer rise, for this reason, the Savior and our Lord, praying against them, desires that the father may attain the resurrection without hindrance. He says, 'But you, Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up, and I will repay them.' In this, I knew that you wanted me not to let my enemy rejoice over me.

³⁶ And it is clear how, after his rising from the dead, the repayment came quickly and not after a long time to those who plotted against him, so that death, while he was alive, was put to shame, causing his enemies to say, 'Where is your sting, O death? Where is your victory, O death?' And someone who encounters the accounts written by Joseph after the resurrection of our Savior will know the misfortunes that came upon the nation of the Jews and their leaders, which they justly fell into because of the actions they took against him.

³⁷ And all these things were fulfilled for them according to the prophecy; but the resurrection of our Savior from the dead showed everyone how the Father was pleased in him. He himself teaches, saying, 'Have mercy on me and raise me up, and I will repay them.' In this, I knew that you wanted me, so that my enemy would not rejoice over me." To these, he adds, "But for me, because of my innocence, you helped.

³⁸ And he keeps a certain way of sending up his prayer to God and his Father with such boldness that he testifies to his own innocence. He keeps saying above, 'Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.'

³⁹ But as for my sin against you, we have understood what kind of thoughts it holds. And the Helper has made it clearer by saying, 'Heal my soul, and if I have sinned against you,' which he would also say about our own sins, which our Savior and Lord took upon himself.

⁴⁰ But 'because of my innocence, you helped me' shows the complete purity of his nature, for which he teaches about the firm and unshakeable nature of life and the salvation after his resurrection, saying that you have made me secure before you forever; or 'and you will place me before you for eternity,' according to the Helper.

Book 10, Section 2

God, you have heard my prayer, and do not ignore my plea; listen to me and hear me. I was troubled by my weakness, and I was shaken by the voice of the enemy and by the distress of the sinner. For they have turned wickedness against me, and in anger they attacked me. My heart was troubled within me, and the fear of death fell upon me. Fear and terror came upon me, and darkness covered me and what followed.

² Lord, drown them and destroy their tongues, for they have seen wickedness and conflict in the city. Day and night, it circles around her on her walls, and there is wickedness and trouble in her midst, and injustice, and deceit has not left her streets. For if an enemy had insulted me, I could have borne it; and if one who hates me had raised himself against me, I would have hidden from him. But you, a man of equal soul, my leader and my friend, who shared sweet meals with me, we walked together in the house of God in harmony.

³ The part that says, 'if an enemy had insulted me, I could have borne it; and if one who hates me had raised himself against me, I would have hidden from him,' is similar to the line, 'for the man of my peace, in whom I hoped, who ate my bread, has greatly raised himself against me,' about Judas in the prophecy before this.

⁴ Just as in that case, a man of peace was shown to be, when he was being taught by the Savior and became one of the number of the apostles, so in this case, he is called a man of equal soul, a leader, and a friend.

⁵ And again, as it was said about him, 'the one who ate my bread has greatly raised himself against me,' in the same way, it is said about him in this case, 'who shared sweet meals with me.' For he was also one of those honored, sharing in the secret conversations and spiritual nourishment with the disciples of our Savior.

⁶ For he spoke in parables to the crowds outside, but to his own disciples, among whom Judas was being examined, he explained everything. That is why it is said, 'the one who ate my bread has greatly raised himself against me,' and 'who shared sweet meals with me.'

⁷ Which was expressed more clearly by Aquila, saying, 'we who shared sweet meals together,' and by Symmachus, 'those with whom we shared sweet conversations.' Instead of saying, 'you, man of equal soul, my leader and my friend,' Symmachus says, 'you, man who is like me, my leader and my friend.' Since he was honored as a friend among those closest to the Savior, it is rightly said about him that if an enemy had insulted me, I would have endured it and the rest.

⁸ These things about Judas, having foretold the salvation from death and his own escape, he says, 'I cried out to God, and the Lord saved me.' In the evening and in the morning; I will tell and proclaim, and he will hear my voice; he will rescue my soul in peace.'

⁹ As in a prayer, he indicates the time before death, during which Judas also prepared the things for his betrayal.

¹⁰ Then our Savior and Lord, as if for the destruction and ruin of a familiar friend, and even more for the downfall of the whole Jewish nation, just like someone mourning for their loved ones and feeling deep sympathy, he calls all his conversations and teachings with them useless, saying, 'I was troubled by my uselessness, and I was disturbed by the voice of the enemy, and by the distress of a sinner, because they have turned against me with wrongdoing and have laid traps for me in anger.'

¹¹ Which can refer both to the rulers of those from the circumcision, who are hostile and plotting against him, and also to the unseen powers attacking him from outside and working through people.

¹² These seem to agree with what is said by him in the gospel, at the time of his suffering, when he tells his disciples, 'My soul is very troubled, even to death; stay here and watch with me.' And again, 'Now my soul is troubled.' These are similar to what is said in the Psalm, where it is mentioned, 'My heart is troubled within me, and the dread of death has fallen upon me; fear and trembling have come upon me, and darkness has covered me,' through which he indicates the attacks of the opposing powers against him.

¹³ For example, in the prophecies, there is a spirit of fornication, as in 'they were led astray by a spirit of fornication,' and another spirit of deception in the wilderness. In the same way, there could be a spirit of death that causes dread, just as there is a spirit of strength and power and courage that works according to God.

¹⁴ Thus, there could be a spirit of fear and trembling, and again, another spirit of fear and confusion. These are often seen to attack all those who face death for their piety, but even more so, they attack the one who endures death for all.

¹⁵ But whether it is a spirit of dread and death, or of fear and trembling, or if any other such power has attacked him, it did not overcome him. For like a brave athlete, he cast aside the dread of death with the confidence of life, for he himself is life, having shaken it off from a distance. Likewise, the spirit of fear or trembling that came upon him was pushed away by a spirit of courage, strength, and power.

¹⁶ For according to Isaiah, 'a spirit of counsel and strength rested upon him with the other spirits.' In the same way, the spirit of darkness was scattered by the power of his own light, for 'the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.' You would also find similar things in the first verse of the 20th Psalm, where it says, 'many bulls have surrounded me, fat bulls have enclosed me. They opened their mouths against me, like a lion that is tearing and roaring.'

¹⁷ And again, 'for many dogs have surrounded me, a gathering of evil ones has enclosed me.' And again, 'rescue my soul from the sword, and my only one from the hand of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the wild oxen, my humiliation.'

¹⁸ For clearly in these, he calls the evil powers bulls, calves, lions, dogs, and wild oxen, which surrounded and encircled him at the time of his suffering, but they were not able to do anything against him.

¹⁹ And these things, if they are applied to our Savior and Lord, are parts of the Psalm; but if not to him, but to another person, they will be interpreted as smoothed out according to the context. However, also concerning the mother city of the Jews, that is, Jerusalem, after the warning against those who plotted against him, he next sees lawlessness and contradiction in the city, and the things that follow, which also hold what kind of thoughts are not for me to explain now. From the Psalm, a saying.

Book 10, Section 3

God, do not be silent about my praise, for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me. They spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, and with hateful words they surrounded me, and they fought against me without cause. Instead of loving me, they accused me, but I was like a man of mourning. And they set evil against me instead of good, and hatred instead of my love. Set a sinner over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him go out condemned, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office.

² And the apostle Peter is a trustworthy witness regarding the traitor Judas. After the ascension of our Savior, when all the apostles were gathered together with many other brothers, he stood up in the middle and said, 'Brothers, it was necessary for the Scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he was numbered among us and received a share in this ministry.'

³ This man therefore acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. It became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own language Akeldama, which means 'Field of Blood.' For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it,' and 'Let another take his office.'

⁴ Therefore, Peter said that another must be chosen in place of Judas to complete the number of the twelve apostles, so that the prophecy might be fulfilled. When the lot was cast, the lot fell on Matthias, and he was counted with the twelve apostles. With these things accomplished, it would follow that the Psalm speaks of no other leader than our Savior, who, having received the prayer sent to him by the Father at the time of his passion, was deemed worthy to foresee what would happen concerning him through the writing of the Holy Spirit.

⁵ Therefore, he says, 'God, do not keep silent about my praise,' asking that the teaching given by him to his own disciples and the praise of the new covenant not be silenced, but also remain for all future ages in life.

⁶ But the mouth of a sinner and a deceitful mouth would rightly be that of Judas, who went to the chief priests and said to them, 'What will you give me, and I will hand him over to you?' And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time, he sought an opportunity to betray him.

⁷ Therefore, having arranged such things against him, he was one of those reclining with him at the Passover meal, when our Savior himself was reclining with the twelve. While they were eating, he said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.'

⁸ And being very sad, they began to say to him, each one, 'Is it I, Lord?' Among them was Judas, who, opening his deceitful mouth full of all trickery and irony, answered and said, 'Is it I, Rabbi?' Truly a deceitful mouth, through which the sign for those wanting to betray our Savior was revealed, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, he is the one; seize him.'

⁹ And having said this, he completely filled the deceit with action, when approaching Jesus, he said to him, 'Greetings, Rabbi,' and kissed him. But Jesus said to him, 'Friend, why have you come?' And again, 'Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?' For this reason, having anticipated through the Psalm, he says, 'For the mouth of a sinner and a deceitful mouth was opened against me; they spoke against me with a deceitful tongue and surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without cause.' There, he remembers Judas and the others who plotted against him.

¹⁰ And so the Gospel says that while our Savior was still speaking to his disciples, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

¹¹ And the Lord said to them, 'Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has happened so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.' He also says in the Psalm, 'Instead of loving me, they accused me, but I was praying.'

¹² Then it happened that while our Savior was praying in the garden called Gethsemane with the eleven apostles, after a little while of them withdrawing and falling down to the Father, praying a second and a third time, Judas, along with the leaders of the Jews, was preparing the plot against him, gathering and arranging the crowd with swords and clubs to capture him. 'But they set evil against him instead of good, and hatred instead of his love,' when they plotted against the Savior, the benefactor, and teacher, who had provided them with countless healings, teachings, and all kinds of benefits.

¹³ Because they set evil against him instead of good and hatred instead of his love, it is rightly said, 'Let a sinner be appointed over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him go out condemned, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office.'

¹⁴ What kind of end he had, the holy apostle Peter foresaw and declared about the traitor, applying the scripture. And it is also possible for you to see, if a sinner is not appointed as a ruler and leader over the Jewish nation, to whom, after their bold actions against our Savior, they were handed over, instead of their former beloved and godly rulers, being forced to serve foreign and idol-worshiping masters.

¹⁵ Who would not be amazed at the outcome of the prophecy? For when the words said, 'Let his days be few,' it is clear how short the time was after their plot against our Savior, during which they thought they would remain. After which, they endured the final siege and complete destruction, at which point another took their office, the people gathered through Christ.

¹⁶ And you will understand the rest of the Psalm appropriately concerning these things. The following words, which speak about certain sons of Judah, in 'Let his sons be orphans,' and similar phrases, could also refer first to Judah himself, and then to all those like him who betray the Savior. You will also understand appropriately about his wife, and the sins of his fathers and of his so-called mother, the assembly of the Jewish nation. For I believe that the phrase 'and let the sin of his mother not be wiped away' is said about her.

¹⁷ But just as in the previous prophecy the Savior and our Lord was called poor and needy, as we showed in 'Blessed is the one who considers the poor and needy,' in the same way in the present Psalm he is also called by these names.

¹⁸ For these things and these things let it happen to Judah and to those who are like him because of the bold actions he has taken. And what does he mean by saying, 'Instead of remembering to show mercy, he pursued a man who was poor and needy and crushed in heart to death, and he loved a curse, and it will come upon him, and he did not want a blessing, and it will be far from him'?

¹⁹ To whom he again calls himself poor and needy, saying, 'And you, Lord, Lord, have mercy on me for the sake of your name, for your mercy is good. Save me, for I am poor and needy.' To whom he adds, 'My knees are weak from fasting, and my flesh has grown thin from oil, and I have become a disgrace to them.'

²⁰ They saw me, and they shook their heads." This also happened when those passing by blasphemed him, shaking their heads and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself." But now, those from the circumcision, holding onto the curse of their fathers, are used to cursing the Savior and our Lord and all who have believed in him with blasphemous and impious words. For this reason, he adds, "They will curse, but you will bless.

²¹ Let those who rise up against me be ashamed, but your servant will be glad. Let those who slander me be clothed with shame, and let them wear their own disgrace like a double garment. But I will give thanks to the Lord very much with my mouth, and in the midst of many, I will praise him, for he stood at the right hand of the poor to save my soul from those who are chasing me.

²² And indeed, as many as are still now making curses against him in their own gatherings are fighting with old evils from the same times, and they are not able to nod at all. But he himself is preparing praise to the Father in the midst of many nations through his new covenant, having the Father as a helper and seated at his right hand. Therefore, he says, 'In the midst of many, I will praise him, for he stood at the right hand of the poor.'

²³ And he teaches about the salvation after his death, saying, 'to save my soul from those who are chasing me.'

²⁴ Therefore, having said above that 'a man chased the poor and needy one, and he was crushed in heart to kill him,' and clearly stating his own death while describing the prophecy, he opened up the salvation after his death by saying, 'for he stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from those who are chasing me.' From Zechariah.

Book 10, Section 4

And I will take for myself two staffs; one I will call Beauty, and the other I will call Bond. And I will shepherd my sheep, and I will remove the three shepherds in one month, and my soul will be heavy over them. For their souls were troubled against me, and I said, 'I will not shepherd you; let the dying die, and let the disappearing disappear, and let the rest eat each other's flesh.' And I will take the good staff and throw it away to break my covenant that I made with all the peoples. And it will be broken on that day, and the Canaanites will know the sheep that are kept for me, that it is the word of the Lord. And I will say to them, 'If it is good in your sight, give me my wages, or keep them.' And they set my wages at thirty silver coins. And the Lord said to me, 'Throw them into the treasury, and see if it is good, the way I was tested for them.' And I took the thirty silver coins and threw them into the house of the Lord, into the treasury, and I threw away the second staff, the Bond, to break the covenant between Judah and Israel.

² And these things happened when, according to Luke, 'Judas went away and met with the chief priests and scribes and the officers of the temple, so that he might betray him to them; and they were glad and agreed to give him silver.' But according to Mark, 'Judas went to the chief priests to betray him. And they were glad and promised to give him silver.'

³ But in these cases, the silver is simply named, while in Matthew, the amount is mentioned, agreeing with the account from Zechariah.

⁴ Then Matthew says, 'Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said to them, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" And they set thirty pieces of silver for him.' Therefore, this agrees with the 'and they set my wages at thirty silver coins' mentioned in the prophecy spoken by the Lord.

⁵ Instead of this, Symmachus made and set my wages at thirty silver coins; but Aquila said, 'And they set my wages at thirty silver coins.' To these is added, 'And the Lord said to me, "Sit them in the furnace and see if they are worthy, in the same way I was tested for them."'

⁶ Instead, Aquila says, 'And the Lord said to me, "Sit them in the furnace, throw them to the maker; the price for which I was valued is very great. And pay attention to how the Lord himself acknowledges the thirty silver coins have been given."'

⁷ It seems that the meaning of the words shows a certain understanding. I, the Lord, from the very beginning of the day, did not stop showing you, who are from the circumcision, examples of my goodness, and countless ways I have helped you, not only through the prophets from long ago, but also through my own presence in both encouraging teachings and logical lessons, in signs and wonders, and in other amazing acts, in healings and cures. But you, who have been given such great kindness, either give me my wages or refuse, asking them, as is fitting, for the fruits of piety and proof of faith in him.

⁸ But they, as it was said in the previous statement, 'Instead of loving me, they slandered me, and they set evil against me instead of good, and hatred instead of my love,' having set up thirty silver coins, just as fire tests something being sold, rightly command to sit them in the furnace, choosing, 'In the same way I was tested for them.'

⁹ The furnace here seems to be called the house of the Lord. When the Lord said according to the seventy, 'Sit them in the furnace,' it adds, 'And they threw them into the house of the Lord, into the furnace.'

¹⁰ But according to Aquila, when the Lord said 'to the creator,' it adds, 'And they cast it in the house of the Lord to the creator.'

¹¹ But according to Symmachus, when the Lord said, 'Throw it into the furnace,' it adds, saying, 'And I threw it into the house of the Lord, into the furnace.' Perhaps this was fulfilled when Judas, who betrayed the Lord, 'seeing that he was condemned, regretted and returned the silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said to him, "What is that to us? You see to it." And throwing the silver into the temple, he went away, and after going, he hanged himself.'

¹² But the chief priests took the silver and said, 'It is not lawful to put it into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.' And they took counsel and bought with it the potter's field for a burial place for strangers. Therefore, that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying, 'And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.'

¹³ Here also are the notes, since these things are not found in the prophecy of Jeremiah, whether it is necessary to suppose that they were removed from it by some trick, or that there was a mistake in the writing, made by those who copied the sacred gospels carelessly. Instead of Zechariah, Jeremiah was placed, as it should have been written, 'Then what was spoken by Zechariah the prophet was fulfilled,' instead of 'and they threw them into the house of the Lord, into the furnace,' wrongly made as 'and they gave them for the potter's field.'

¹⁴ For it is clearly said in the prophecy that the silver was thrown into the temple of the Lord, and in this gospel as well, into the temple: 'Indeed, Judas threw the silver into the temple and went away.'

¹⁵ And it is likely that the temple has become desolate because of that silver, and that the saying 'Behold, your house is left to you desolate' is fulfilled. And see, the house of the Lord is called a furnace for this reason, since it is like a furnace where souls are transformed from the burning of divine words in the house of God, or otherwise they are rejected as unclean, like those in a furnace being tested and refined.

¹⁶ Therefore, Aquila says 'I threw the silver into the house of the Lord for the potter,' clearly teaching that the divine word dwells in the house of the Lord like a potter, shaping and renewing the souls of those who come. But since the honor of the one honored has changed, it has made the house desolate. Immediately, he says, 'And I took my second staff, called Unity, to break the covenant between Judah and Israel.'

¹⁷ For from that, the multitude of the nation was cast off, having long before been under the oversight of God. And I think the second staff represents the whole gathered nation of the Jews here. And he calls it 'Unity,' saying that he called the first 'Beauty' and the second 'Unity.' And he clearly states about the second, saying, 'And I took my second staff, called Unity, to break the covenant between Judah and Israel.'

¹⁸ For these were the Unity and the second staff. The first was called 'Beauty,' and it could not be anything else but Jerusalem itself and the worship according to Moses, and all of the old covenant.

¹⁹ And this is shown by the prophecy saying, 'And I will take my beautiful staff and throw it away, to break my covenant.' You see that he said the first staff is his own covenant, and the second staff is Unity. However, he threatens to throw away both staffs, having said before, 'And I will take for myself two staffs, one I called Beauty and the second I called Unity.'

²⁰ In place of which, Aquila says, 'I called the one Beauty and the other Unity;' but Symmachus says, 'I called the one Beauty and the other Unity.' Therefore, the beauty and elegance of the whole nation named the divine law and the covenant contained in it rightly.

²¹ For both the sacred things of Jerusalem and the things of the high priestly service, and all that was done in them according to the divine laws and the old covenant, there was a beautiful order for those who were governed by these. The multitude of the nation is called Unity, as it is said by Moses, 'It became a part of the Lord's people, Jacob, a cord of his inheritance, Israel.'

²² But indeed, it is foretold that there will be a sudden change of these two staffs during the specified times, as well as the old covenant that was in them, and the beauty that will be lost in them, and the Unity and the whole nation will be scattered, when they will dishonor the honored thirty pieces of silver for their wickedness, promising the shame that is due.

²³ Therefore, he says, 'I will take my beautiful staff and throw it away, to break my covenant.' And again, I threw away the second staff, Unity.' On these things, when the prophecy says, 'And I will remove the three shepherds in one month,' I believe it hints at the three leaders of the people of God from long ago: the king, the high priest, and the prophet, since through these three shepherds everything was arranged in the past.

²⁴ But since there is a distortion, these three shepherds have suffered at one time during our Savior's time. For the king led them unlawfully, being a foreigner and not a member of the nation. The high priest, coming from the Romans for the service, did not follow the succession of his lineage or the lawful customs for his honor. The prophet, until John, no longer acted among them, and instead, a wicked false prophet misled the people. It is fitting that the three gifts, which once adorned the whole nation beautifully, will be taken away in one time, saying, 'And I will remove the three shepherds in one month, and my soul will be burdened over them.'

²⁵ Instead, Aquila says, 'And my soul was cut off in them.' But Symmachus says, 'And I became faint-hearted in them.' Theodotion also says, 'And my soul became faint over them.' And the reason for this faint-heartedness teaches by choosing, 'For their souls were troubled over me.' Instead, again Aquila says, 'And their souls burned in me.'

²⁶ But Symmachus says, 'And their soul flourished in me.' Similar to this, 'For their souls were troubled over me,' as it is said in the Septuagint. It is mentioned in Jeremiah, from the Lord's perspective, 'I have left my house, I have forsaken my inheritance, I have given my beloved soul into the hands of its enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest; it has raised its voice against me. Is my inheritance a hyena's den to me?'

²⁷ Therefore, it is fitting that he continues to say, 'And I said, I will not shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the fading fade, and let the leftovers eat each other's flesh.' After this, he chooses, 'And I will take my good staff and throw it away.'

²⁸ In place of this, Aquila says, 'And I took my staff, my beauty, and I cut it off,' meaning the service according to Moses. Therefore, the first staff, which is mentioned at the beginning of the word, is said to be the first to be broken and thrown away.

²⁹ When the honor of the honored one and the silver given to the traitor was thrown into the Lord's house like into a melting pot, then also what is said about the second staff, that is, of the whole nation, is prophesied, 'And I threw away the second staff, the cord to break the covenant between Judah and Israel.'

³⁰ And since the word clearly announced their rejection because of these things, it says that they will no longer know the power of the things being prophesied, but the Canaanites, saying, 'And the Canaanites will know the sheep that are kept for me, because it is the word of the Lord.'

³¹ "And who are the Canaanites but us, the former foreigners and sheep kept for Christ from all the ancient unbelieving and wicked nations? We have been changed by his grace, and we have received true knowledge of the word of the Lord by joining together what has been established. We, the Canaanites, have understood and grasped what is being shown; but those who boast about Israel and lift themselves up on the seed of Abraham did not understand or grasp it."

From Jeremiah.

Book 10, Section 5

The sin of Judah is written with a metal pen, with a diamond point, engraved on the heart of his chest, and on the horns of our altars. When their sons remember their altars and their sacred groves on tall trees and on high hills, I will give your strength and all your treasures as a gift, and your high places in sin in all your borders. And you will be removed and humbled from the inheritance that I gave you, and I will bring you up among your enemies, in a land you do not know, for fire is kindled in my anger, and it will burn forever.

² If these things are not found among those, yet indeed in the Hebrew writings and in the editions of the other interpreters, we must necessarily present them with the addition of asterisks and in the more accurate copies from the seventy translators, since they clearly indicate the traitor Judah by name and teach that his committed sin is unerasable. For this seems to me to be hinted at: 'The sin of Judah is written with a metal pen, with a diamond point.'

³ "Even if it were to be said about all the nation of the Jews, to whom, following their unerasable wickedness, the last destruction threatens, it is not the right time to interpret this word by word. But indeed, concerning the future betrayal of our Savior and Lord, and those who have otherwise plotted against him, it is the time to see and to prophesy what will happen regarding his suffering."

From Amos.

Book 10, Section 6

The Lord swears by the pride of Jacob, if he will forget all your works for victory, and because of this the earth will not be disturbed, and all who live in it will mourn, and the end will rise like a river, complete, and will come down like the river of Egypt. And it will be on that day, says the Lord, the sun will set at noon, and it will darken the light on the earth in the daytime.

² And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring sackcloth upon every waist and baldness upon every head. And I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and those with him will mourn like the day of great sorrow. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will send a famine upon the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. And the waters will be shaken from sea to sea, and from the north to the east they will run about seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.

³ The current prophecy declares the insult and pride against our Savior, which those of the circumcision have raised against him. It swears by the Lord, saying that there will be no forgetting of the bold actions taken against him, and that their land will suffer worthy of mourning, along with its inhabitants. And it will not be as before, for after a short punishment they will not be restored again, but the end will come upon them. 'Indeed,' it says, 'the end will rise like a river,' the anger that will come upon them, unlike any time before, during the reign of the Romans, a river rising against them, as if they were on high, hinting at their fate.

⁴ And indeed, after the anger from God has been revealed against them, it says again, 'like a river, it will come down from Egypt.' Therefore, I think it is shown that the former high and honored things of the Jewish nation, which were like lofty advantages, will be made like the flowing and just actions of the unbelieving nations, and will be turned from high to low.

⁵ Then, next, it clearly shows the events around the time of the saving passion, saying, 'On that day,' says the Lord, 'the sun will set at noon, and it will be dark on the earth during the day.' This also clearly refers to the moment when our Savior was lifted up, as the evangelist recorded, 'From the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.' And around the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?'

⁶ And when these things have been fulfilled, it then says, 'And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. And I will bring sackcloth upon every waist and baldness upon every head. And I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.' Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will send a famine upon the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord and the things that follow.

⁷ All these things, because of their pride against Christ, have been prophesied to happen. The clear outcome of the prophecy has been shown after their plot against our Savior.

⁸ Not before, but from that time until now, God has turned their feasts into mourning and their songs into lamentation, taking away from them the glorious city and removing the holy place during the rule of the Roman emperors Titus and Vespasian, so that they could not even come to celebrate their lawful feasts and festivals there. What should we say, that the famine of hearing the word of the Lord has come upon all of them, instead of which they drove away the word of God from themselves, unanimously denying it and being denied by Him? From Zechariah.

Book 10, Section 7

And the Lord my God will be present, and all the holy ones will be with him. On that day there will be no light, and it will be cold and icy for one day. And that day will be known to the Lord, and there will be no day and no night, but there will be light toward evening. And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the first sea and half of it toward the last sea. It will be so in summer and in spring. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one, and his name will be one, surrounding all the earth and the wilderness.

² And these things were fulfilled at the coming of our Savior, which he made, either with his holy apostles and disciples, or with his saints, certain divine powers and incorporeal spirits, both angels and his ministers, about whom it is said in the holy gospels that 'angels came to him and served him.'

³ But on that day, thus it is called in the holy scripture all the time of his stay among people, it was fulfilled along with the other prophecies and the things established on land, when at the time of his suffering 'from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.' Therefore, the prophecy says that on that day there will be no light. And again, 'there will be no day and no night, but there will be light toward evening.'

⁴ Because of this, I consider the condition of the time to be very clear, in which, when the Savior was lifted up and it was daytime, darkness came from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. After that, when the darkness passed, there was day and light, after which night again usually took over. This is what the word of the prophecy hinted at, saying, 'And that day will be known to the Lord, and there will be no day and no night, but there will be light toward evening.'

⁵ For it was not day because of the midday darkness; and again, it was not night because of the day that had taken over, which was pointed out by saying, 'there will be light toward evening.' Who would not be amazed by the memory of the winter hour? This was also established by the word, saying, 'there will be cold and ice.' This is also shown by the testimony when Peter, following Jesus, warmed himself by the fire in the courtyard of Caiaphas, along with the others.

⁶ Indeed, John also mentioned the cold, saying, 'There stood those servants and attendants, having made a fire, because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.'

⁷ And concerning the words, the earlier statements were true, but in understanding, the whole nation of the Jews, when the light of salvation shone upon them, chose darkness rather than light. This is what they chose for themselves, as the light left them and the night without brightness took over, darkening their minds so that they could not see the light of the gospel in their hearts, and also cooling their love for God. The symbols of this were fittingly fulfilled, and the prophecies were completed. According to this kind of day of salvation, a stream of living water came out from Jerusalem, going to all nations, as the fruitful and life-giving word of the gospel teaching spread, starting from Judea and from Jerusalem itself, and then reaching all the earth and all the ends of the world.

⁸ Concerning this water, our Savior and Lord also mentions it, saying to the Samaritan woman, 'If you knew who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.' And how much benefit there is for those who have tasted the living and rational stream! It teaches that those who drink from it will deny the many evil demons that once ruled over them, and they will confess the one Lord and King of themselves. And as the Lord, who was previously known only to the Jews, will become King of all the nations that believe in him from all over the earth, his name will be one, spreading over all the earth and the wilderness.

⁹ Who would not be amazed at this? For from the name of Christ (he himself was the Christ, the Lord), the name of Christians surrounded every place, city, and country, even the nations living in the wilderness and the farthest parts of the earth, according to the prophecies that were established. This is from Psalm 68.

Book 10, Section 8

God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from my salvation, from the words of my sins? My God, I cry out to you by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, you who dwell in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you; they trusted, and you rescued them. They cried to you and were saved; they trusted in you and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, a disgrace to men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they shake their heads, saying, 'He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him.'

² For you are the one who took me from the womb; my hope is from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon you from the womb; from my mother's belly, you are my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

³ Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They opened their mouths against me like a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it melts within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a company of evildoers has encircled me.

⁴ They have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. But you, Lord, do not be far off; you are my help; come quickly to my aid. Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the wild oxen, you have rescued me.

⁵ I will tell your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him; all you offspring of Jacob, glorify him. Let all the offspring of Israel fear him, for he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the poor; he has not hidden his face from me, but when I cried to him, he heard me. From you comes my praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.

⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord will praise him.

⁷ Their hearts will live forever. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth have eaten and worshiped; before him will bow all who go down to the dust. My soul lives for him, and my offspring will serve him. A future generation will be told about the Lord, and they will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet to be born, whom the Lord has made.

⁸ "My God, why have you forsaken me?" This is said in the beginning of the Psalm according to Matthew, by our Savior at the time of his suffering. It is written: "At the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" The Hebrew phrase is taken from the prophecy in the Scriptures.

⁹ Indeed, the phrase "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" is found at the beginning of the Psalm, which Aquila translated as "My strength, my strength, why have you forsaken me?" This means that for those who were spoken to by our Savior during his time of suffering, it is equivalent to anyone who would confess this.

¹⁰ Therefore, it is clear that the Psalm refers only to this one instance, since the contents fit only him and no one else. Indeed, it shows that other parts are fulfilled in him, especially the part that says in the Psalm, "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing, they cast lots."

¹¹ And the piercing of the hands and feet on the cross clearly shows this, saying, "They pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones." And the rest can only apply to him, as the word will show. If anyone wants to apply it to someone else, whether a king, a prophet, or any of the beloved of God among the Jews, let them show if it fits what is written.

¹² For which of those ever born had so much virtue and power, that with a steady mind and an undisturbed soul, they could take up the knowledge of God and place all their hope in God? So that they could say, "You are the one who pulled me out of my mother's womb; my hope is from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon you from the womb; from my mother's belly, you are my God."

¹³ Who has been so cared for by God that they have become a disgrace to men and a scorn of the people? By whom and with what kind of calves and bulls should we think this one is surrounded? What did the one being shown suffer, that he was poured out like water? How were his bones scattered? How was he brought down to death, and after being buried in the dust of death, how does he still speak, live, and cry out? Who are the dogs that surround him, different from those bulls and calves mentioned before? What kind of assembly of the wicked not only dug through his hands but also his feet, stripping him of some of his clothes, while others cast lots for them? What is the sword, the dog, and the lion? Who are the so-called unicorns that surround the one being shown? After such a struggle, after being buried in the dust of death, how does he promise to tell the name of his father, not to all, but only to his own brothers? Who are these brothers, and what is the church about which the one who suffered such things says, "In the midst of the church, I will praise you"? To whom he also adds, "For surely the nation of the Jews is not one, but all the ends of the earth will feel, and they will turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before him"? And you, after examining each line of the Psalm, see if it is possible to apply the prophecies to the one who happens to be.

¹⁴ But you will not find that these things apply to anyone else except our Savior, who would be the most faithful and true of all. He took the voice from the Psalm upon himself, as the evangelists testified. Matthew, through the words we have presented, and Mark, who also tells it in this way, saying, "And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,' which is translated, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' And some of those who heard it said, 'He is calling Elijah.'"

¹⁵ Come then, let us see how the things stated in the Psalm will be applied to him. First, let us consider the heading that says, "To the end," or according to the Acylian, "To the victor," or according to the Symmachus, "A victory song for the one who helps."

¹⁶ These things are presented to us, that the saving suffering, as the words of the evangelists show, "Darkness came from the sixth hour until the ninth hour," was completed around the ninth hour, when he also let out the loud voice mentioned before, so that his suffering is clearly acknowledged to have happened as evening approached with the night coming on.

¹⁷ And concerning the resurrection from the dead, which was the help of the Father receiving him and drawing him from the places of death, this happened around dawn, as again is shown by the testimony of the evangelists.

¹⁸ Luke says, "On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared," clearly meaning the women and some others with them. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they went in, they did not find the body, because the Savior had already risen from the dead.

¹⁹ Mark also makes this clear, saying, "On the first day of the week, very early, while the sun had not yet risen, they came to the tomb and said to themselves, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?' For it was very large." They came and found it rolled away. He had already risen. You also have the same testimony from John, who says, "On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."

²⁰ Matthew also says, even though he mentioned "after the Sabbath," he adds, "On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake."

²¹ "For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, approached, and rolled away the stone from the entrance of the tomb." I have necessarily included this to show the fulfillment of what was prophesied in the Psalm about the morning reception.

²² For what is said about the suffering of our Savior means that the plan concerning him did not end with his suffering. The end of the suffering was the resurrection from the dead and the morning reception. Therefore, the account rightly places the conclusion of the writing at this surprising end, because of the whole purpose and the events that happened before the end, which were the resurrection from the dead and the morning reception.

²³ So, the Savior and our Lord said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and then he went on to say, "But I am a worm and not a man, a disgrace to men and despised by the people." He also added, "Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me," and clearly foretold his own death with the words, "You have brought me to the dust of death, for dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet." He also pointed out the things that happened to him during his suffering with the line, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."

²⁴ After saying these things and similar ones, he did not stop there, but he adds, "You who fear the Lord, praise him, for he has not despised nor been angry at the plea of the poor, nor has he turned his face away from me; and when I cried out to him, he listened to me."

²⁵ How could he say that he was heard, if he had not completely received all the prayers and things he had asked for before, when he said, "You have brought me to the dust of death. Save my soul from the sword, and my only one from the hand of the dog?"

²⁶ For after praying and asking to be saved and rescued from these things, he clearly states what he received, saying, "He has not despised nor been angry at the plea of the poor, nor has he turned his face away from me; and when I cried out to him, he listened to me," clearly showing his resurrection after death, which happened according to the morning help he received, as the Psalm goes on to say, "But you, Lord, do not be far from me; come quickly to help me." What kind of help is this, except the one hinted at in the title of the Psalm?

²⁷ But let these things be said by us regarding the title of the Psalm. As for "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," it was spoken by our Savior using Hebrew names about the time of his suffering, and it is also found in the Psalm. See if there is a deeper meaning among the Hebrews; for God is called "Elohim."

²⁸ And you would find this throughout almost all of scripture, since it is still called by the Hebrews in this way among the Seventy. Indeed, they also have other divine names and expressions, such as Shaddai, and Yahweh, and El, and others similar to these.

²⁹ Therefore, the Psalm with the hands "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" contains the words that our Lord used, but not from "Elohim."

³⁰ Indeed, Aquila, knowing the difference in the divine names used by the Hebrews from "Elohim," did not consider the current meaning in "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" to be the same as the others. Instead, he translated it as "My strength, my strength," so that according to his understanding, the Lamb of God, our Savior, speaks to the Father saying, "My strength, my strength, why have you forsaken me?"

³¹ And perhaps since his strength left him, he was crucified for this reason, as the apostle says, "For he was crucified out of weakness, but lives by the power of God," as if he would not have been crucified if his strength had not abandoned him.

³² And see if it was not necessary for the Lamb of God, who was led like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb silent before the one shearing it, to place his own strength before God and to have nothing of his own to consider except the Father. That is why he also calls the Father his strength, just as in the seventeenth psalm, he names the Father as his strength, stronghold, refuge, and deliverer, saying, "I will love you, Lord, my strength; the Lord is my stronghold, my refuge, and my deliverer."

³³ My God, my helper, and I hope in him, my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my supporter." Therefore, his strength left him, wanting him to go "to death and to death on a cross, and to be shown as a ransom and a substitute for the whole world, and to become the cleansing of the life of those who believe in him.

³⁴ But he, immediately feeling the divine and paternal will, and knowing if there was any other reason for being left behind by the Father, humbled himself even more, and willingly took on the death for us. "And the all-holy and blessed one became a curse for us, and the one who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him."

³⁵ And besides this, taking on our sins, he was crucified, which was necessary for us, who were once ungodly, to suffer, becoming a substitute for us and a ransom, so that we might rightly say the prophetic words, "He himself bears our sins, and he suffers for us, and he was wounded for our sins, and he was crushed for our iniquities, so that by his wounds we might be healed. For the Lord gave him up to our sins."

³⁶ Therefore, as he was handed over by the Father and made weak, taking on our iniquities, he was led like a sheep to the slaughter. The apostle also agrees with this, saying that he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.

³⁷ As we move on to seek the reason why the Father left him behind, it is said, "Why did you leave him?" The reason was the redemption of all humanity, being bought back with precious blood from the former harsh slavery, which they were under the unseen masters, unclean and evil demons, and rulers and spirits.

³⁸ And in another way, the Father left him so that the disposition of Christ for humanity could be shown. Therefore, since no one had power over his soul, he willingly laid it down for people, just as he teaches, saying, "No one takes my soul from me; I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it back again."

³⁹ Next, he says, "My words of sin are far from my salvation." Instead, Aquila translated it as, "My roaring words have kept me far from my salvation," while Symmachus translated it as, "The words of my cries have kept me far from my salvation." Another fifth translation says, "My words of prayers are far from my salvation."

⁴⁰ See then that in none of these is it said, "of my sins." It happens sometimes in written texts to have such changes. From the majority of translations, it should be understood, unless someone here is familiar with our own sins and would say that he has mentioned these.

⁴¹ Next, he says, "My God, I cry out to you in the day, and you do not listen; and at night, and there is no rest for me." Instead, Symmachus translates it as, "My God, I will shout in the day, and you do not listen; and at night, and there is no silence." So, it is amazing in these words that the Father does not listen to him, as if he were some stranger and not behaving as usual; but he kept his hearing for the right time to be heard.

⁴² This was the time of the morning prayer and the resurrection from the dead, during which, if to anyone else, it could rightly be said to him, "At the right time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

⁴³ These things could also be said differently by our Savior, as it is usual and always to be heard by the Father. But now, he would be heard because he believes, as if he were saying more clearly, "O Father, is it possible that your only-begotten and beloved Son is not heard, while crying out and shouting to you, my own Father?" Indeed, this teaches us in the Gospel according to John about Lazarus, when he said, "Take away the stone from the tomb," he lifted his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I knew that you always hear me."

⁴⁴ If, then, he is always heard by him, without doubt, but knowing exactly that he will be heard now as well, since it is impossible for him not to be heard, he asks, "My God, I cry out in the day, and will you not listen?" While we understand in the "will you not listen" that the opposite is implied in his cry.

⁴⁵ This indeed teaches us a little later, going on in the Psalm, saying, "He did not despise or turn away from the plea of the poor, nor did he hide his face from me, and when I cried out to him, he heard me." How then could he say, "My God, I cry out in the day, and will you not listen," if it were not according to the understanding given to us? I think he is hinting at this himself, saying, "My God, I cry out in the day, and will you not listen? And at night, and there is no rest for me."

⁴⁶ For it is not said to me in vain that he will listen. For I know how I say this, being convinced that you are not only concerned with me, but also with all your saints. For you always dwell among your saints, and you are the praise of every man who loves God, called Israel.

⁴⁷ For through you, every person surrounding you does not receive praise by chance, and our fathers hoped in you, and hoping to be saved from their troubles, they cried out to you, and they were saved. They hoped in you, and they were not ashamed.

⁴⁸ Since all the saints have cried out to you and were heard and were not ashamed, how much more will you listen to me, your beloved child, when I cry out more than all? And if I say this in amazement, will I cry out and not be heard? But my words are not said in vain. I know that I offer my prayer, not being proud or boasting, but as one who is humble.

⁴⁹ For I am gentle and humble in heart, and I speak humbly about myself because of my own gentleness, so I even call myself a worm. For what could be more humble than a worm? Therefore, I would not even call myself a human, having come down to such a low state that I seem no different from a worm, since both will face death and the decay of the body. For where else could a worm come from but from the decay of bodies? In which I, having come down, rightly call myself a worm and not a human.

⁵⁰ Therefore, I have become a reproach to people and a scorn of the crowd. I would not have become either a reproach to people or a scorn if I had not reached the point of being like a worm because of my suffering. At that time, those who saw me hanging on the cross mocked me and spoke with their lips, shaking their heads and saying, "He hoped in the Lord; let him rescue him; let him save him, for he delights in him."

⁵¹ All these things were clearly foretold in the Psalm about what would happen in the future after a long time. And it happened that, according to Matthew, when he was crucified, two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left of the Savior. Those who passed by mocked him, shaking their heads and saying, "Woe to the one who destroys the temple and builds it in three days! Save yourself, if you are the Son of God; come down from the cross."

⁵² Likewise, the chief priests, mocking him with the elders and scribes, said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. If he trusts in God, let God rescue him now if he wants him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And according to Luke, the crowd stood watching, and the rulers mocked him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen one of God."

⁵³ According to Mark, those who passed by blasphemed him, shaking their heads and saying, "Woe to the one who destroys the temple and builds it in three days! Save yourself, and come down from the cross." Likewise, the chief priests, mocking each other with the scribes, said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross so that we may see and believe in him."

⁵⁴ For what difference is there from what was said before in the Psalm, "But I am a worm and not a man, a disgrace to men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads, saying, 'He trusted in the Lord; let him rescue him; let him save him, for he delights in him.'"

⁵⁵ And do not be amazed if these things are said about the suffering of our Savior, as they were both spoken and fulfilled, while still here among men who have not yet accepted faith in him, he is considered a disgrace to men. For what could be more shameful and worse than being crucified? But he is also a disgrace to the people of the circumcision, as all of that nation still today is used to mocking, despising, and spitting on him. Therefore, it is fitting that the apostle says, "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."

⁵⁶ And the following things said in the Psalm can still be found among many people talking about the same thing. These things were prayed for at that time when he was being taken. Knowing that there was nothing worse than the misfortune of death, he first took on flesh and was born from a woman and a virgin. At the right time, he remembers his birth in relation to death, saying to those, "For you are the one who took me from the womb; my hope is from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon you from the womb, from the belly of my mother, you are my God."

⁵⁷ Of these things, it is fitting to remember as comfort for the release of those present. For, as he says, when I became a helper, taking on a human body, you, my God and Father, yourself took me from the womb of the one who was carrying me, just as a midwife prepares the flesh made for me from the Holy Spirit. You stretched out your own power, so that no trap or plot from opposing forces and evil spirits would harm my passage into humanity. For at the time of my first conception, you again overshadowed the womb, so that the conception from the Holy Spirit of the holy virgin would escape the notice of the rulers of this age.

⁵⁸ This is the great mystery that your archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary, saying, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Just as your power at that time overshadowed her while she was conceiving, and then took me from my mother's womb, so this brings me much comfort, that you will also lift me up much more from death.

⁵⁹ And hoping for this, I have trusted in you, my God and Lord and Father. I have not just started hoping in you now, but even when I was taking my infant food from my mother's breasts, I thought I was like the other human babies, weak and without reason. For I was not such, even though my body was similar to humans. I was not like them in power or essence, but was free and unbound, like a lamb of yours, O God. And from that age, I was nourished, I mean, from my mother's breasts.

⁶⁰ And no one will think this is great if they learn that even earlier, I was thrown upon you from the womb, and that you are my God from my mother's belly. For even while I was still in the hidden place of the one carrying me, I saw you, my God, remaining unconfused and clear in such a close connection with flesh. I was more like a bodiless being then, and free from all bonds. Thus, I was thrown upon you from the womb, and from my mother's belly, you were my God, so that I could sense my own power still being carried toward the holy virgin, my forerunner John, and him being carried in the womb of Elizabeth, so that, moved by my divinity, he leaped for joy and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁶¹ Therefore, remembering all these things, and always placing my God and Father before my eyes, it is fitting, according to the current time of my suffering, when I became obedient to you, my Father, willingly and of my own choice, "I have become a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people." And now, when all those looking at my body nailed to the cross think they see something shameful, they have poured out such mockery and scorn upon me that they not only think and ponder evil things about me, but also speak boldly and openly say, "He hoped in the Lord; let him rescue him."

⁶² And now, when such things surround me, I call upon you, my Father, who brought me out from my mother's womb, upon whom I was thrown from the womb, in whom I have hoped since my nursing, who has been known to me from my mother's belly, and who is recognized as God. I beg and plead that you do not turn away from me, for trouble is near.

⁶³ For, he says, as long as it is not yet present and is already approaching, the final cloud of my overwhelming suffering is near. For I do not yet call this suffering that surrounds me now, nor the cross, nor the insults from men, nor the mockery, nor the things that happened to me before the cross, the whips, the insults, and all the other things the sons of men have brought upon me. But I see the release from the body through death itself, and the descent into Hades drawing near, and the rising up of the opposing and hostile powers against God. Therefore, I say that trouble is near, for there is no one to help.

⁶⁴ For how could this suffering, which is the greatest and overwhelming, be without anyone to help? For he was coming for the salvation of the souls in Hades, waiting for a long time for his arrival, and he would break down the bronze doors, and shatter the iron bars, and set free those who were previously bound in Hades. And it happened that many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep rose up and entered into the truly holy city of God.

⁶⁵ But the powers opposing the evils of men were waging war against him, causing him great sorrow and suffering, as he was overwhelmed by their goodness. For in some way, all these things are said to be from his face, as he was conceived in the womb and born from the belly of his mother, whom we say is the Lamb of God.

⁶⁶ For this reason, the things about the passion are connected with those of the incarnation. For what is born dies; and what is dying does not experience death in any other way than by first going through birth.

⁶⁷ Thus, our Savior and Lord goes through these things, not as one who exists without a body or spirit, nor as the divine Word and God is thought of, but as he was able to say in his prayer to the Father: "For you are the one who took me from the womb; my hope is from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon you from the womb; from the belly of my mother, you are my God."

⁶⁸ This one, then, having come to the passion, prays about the things that are before him to the Father, and he says that many opposing forces will surround him, including unclean demons and evil spirits, and especially the worst of all, the ruler of this age, whom it is fitting to call the wicked hunter. He will face wild bulls, calves, lions, and dogs, and he will stand against all of them, and nothing good will be done for them, since they do not accept any of my good things due to their extreme wickedness. They will not find help or cooperation from any of those mentioned for the contest on behalf of the souls in Hades. How could I not rightly say that trouble is near, that there is no one to help? It is not surprising that the evil and opposing powers do not cooperate with him or help him for his good. But the greatest part of the suffering that is pressing upon him is that none of the blessed and righteous angels, nor even the divine powers, dare to approach the realms of death or to help the souls there.

⁶⁹ For it was only to him that this was certain, since the gates of death were opened only for him, and only he was seen by the gatekeepers of Hades, and he, who holds the power of death, stepped away from the thrones of the kingdoms, knowing that he alone was his own Lord. He spoke to him with soft pleading and supplication, as is shown in the book of Job about these matters.

⁷⁰ But seeing the wicked power of the tyrant so strong, that no one else dares to come to him in the heavenly places and help with the salvation of the souls there, it is rightly said, "trouble is near, there is no one to help," with only one person able to help him being left behind, so that the bright and exceptional choice of his own victory might be proclaimed to all.

⁷¹ And since there was no one able to help him at that time, he rightly began to say, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" For when the holy virgin was pregnant and about to give birth, the fatherly power was with her, when the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. The Father was present at the birth, as the word showed, pulling him from the womb. But as the time of his suffering came, there was no longer any helper present for him.

⁷² I believe this is true for him, for he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" as he was mentioned on the cross, and it was prophetically declared by the psalm, "trouble is near, there is no one to help." What else could this show but that he was like a great athlete facing so many opponents, while the one who judges and rewards was watching over everything from God? Therefore, he called upon the Father and the one sitting beside him, asking for a right-hand helper to be with him, especially at a time when there was no other helper but the one who was the prizewinner of all that was happening.

⁷³ So he says in prayer, "Do not turn away from me, for trouble is near, there is no one to help." And seeing with his inner eyes that his body was still hanging on the cross, he noticed the invisible, spirit-like forces around him, like vultures and wild beasts circling him. He realized that his body was not yet dead, while the powers and authorities of the air were gathering from all sides, the spirit that is now at work in the children of disobedience, and also the demons flying around the earth, throughout the whole world of humans. It is likely that even the underworld creatures and the fierce, terrifying beasts in Tartarus were there, about which Isaiah spoke to the fallen one from heaven, saying, "Hell below is stirred up to meet you; all the giants have gathered to you." Seeing all this from outside, he felt his body, which was nailed to the cross, being surrounded and prepared against him, and he described their plan, saying, "Many bulls have surrounded me; fat bulls have encircled me. They opened their mouths against me like a lion that tears and roars."

⁷⁴ For the soul, as is likely, is human and similar to many others, and they did not think that the soul of Jesus, which was dwelling in the body, was anything special. They opened their mouths, as mentioned before, to swallow it just like they would with the souls of other humans. That is why he says, "They opened their mouths against me like a lion that tears and roars."

⁷⁵ To these he adds, "I am poured out like water." This could be understood sensibly and according to the story, as someone might say, when one of the soldiers, according to the evangelist John, "pierced the side of the Lamb of God with a spear, and immediately water and blood came out."

⁷⁶ But it seems that he also shows the complete death of the spiritual nature when he says, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are scattered. My heart has become like wax melting in the middle of my belly. My strength is dried up like a piece of pottery, and my tongue sticks to my throat."

⁷⁷ For what else could all these things mean but the state of a dead body? He immediately adds, saying, "And you have brought me down to the dust of death." These things had not yet happened, but he spoke as if they were already near and surrounding him.

⁷⁸ Again, recalling what has already happened, he speaks of what will happen in the future, as if he were being attacked, saying, "For many dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil ones has encircled me." By this, he likely refers to both the soldiers and those from the Jewish leaders who rose up against him. For the soldiers of Pilate took Jesus to the governor's palace, and they gathered the whole battalion around him. They stripped him of his scarlet cloak and put it on him, and they wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and they put a reed in his hand, and kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

⁷⁹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of his cloak and put his own clothes back on him, and they led him away to crucify him, fulfilling not only the words, "For many dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil ones has encircled me," but also the words, "They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have counted all my bones." And still the words, "They stared and looked closely at me," and "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots," were fulfilled again when they nailed his hands and feet to the cross, and when they took his clothes and divided them among themselves.

⁸⁰ John tells the story, saying, "So the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, one for each soldier. But the tunic was seamless, woven from the top in one piece. They said to each other, 'Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it,' so that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, 'They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.'" So the soldiers did these things.

⁸¹ And Matthew also testifies about what happened, saying, "And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes, casting lots for them, so that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled: 'They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.' And sitting down, they kept watch over him."

⁸² But there were dogs circling around him and a gathering of evil ones, the rulers of the Jews from the circumcision, the scribes, the chief priests, and the Pharisees. And they all stirred up the crowd to ask for his blood upon themselves and upon their own children.

⁸³ Clearly, Isaiah calls these dogs, saying, "All dogs are greedy, they cannot bark." For they should have, even if they were not like shepherds, at least acted like good dogs, guarding the logical flock of the Lord and the sheep of the house of Israel. They should have barked, knowing their own master and chief shepherd, and keeping watch over the flock entrusted to them. They should have barked against those attacking the flock from outside. But like dogs, they were truly silent and brought their barking to the sheep, scaring them, so it is fitting for them to say, "Many dogs have surrounded me; a gathering of evil ones has enclosed me."

⁸⁴ And all those who act in the same way as they did, blaspheming and barking against the Christ of God, would not be considered strangers to them. But even they, by crucifying the Son of God like those wicked soldiers of that time and setting an example, would not be far from their attitude.

⁸⁵ So even now, all those who are the body of Christ, that is, the church, are being mistreated. They are handling his hands and feet and even his bones. For all of us are "one body in Christ, and each one is a member of one another." And the head would not say to the feet, "I have no need of you," just as the eyes would not say to the hands, "I have no need of you."

⁸⁶ During the times of persecution, if anyone acted against the members of Christ toward the enemies and opponents, they could also say about him, "They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have counted all my bones. They stared and looked at me."

⁸⁷ Then they divide his garments among themselves and cast lots for his clothing. When the world of the word, that is, the words of the divine scriptures, is being twisted by each person in different ways, and when they take the teachings about him and distort them, which is what heretics usually do, in all these things, he raises his prayer to his God, Lord, and Father, saying, "But you, Lord, do not be far from my help."

⁸⁸ As he is left for a short time to show the struggle, and alone without help facing death, knowing well that the help from the Father will come only through the resurrection from the dead, he rightly prays to escape from the opposing forces. Therefore, he says, "But you, Lord, do not be far from my help; come quickly to my aid."

⁸⁹ For through your help, my rescue will come, for which the whole psalm is rightly written about the morning rescue. Therefore, come quickly to my aid, providing me with the help that has not yet come at dawn from the resurrection from the dead, which I hope to receive, when you do not delay. "Save my soul from the sword, and my only one from the hand of the dog; when you save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the wild ox, my humiliation."

⁹⁰ For this reason, I think that the powers of the underworld are being hinted at, which could not be separated and distinguished by appearance among us. One of them, being a sword, was raised against the soul of our Savior, while another, being a dog, was showing its deadly hand to grasp him.

⁹¹ That is why he says, "Save my soul from the sword, and my only one from the hand of the dog." Another evil power, leading the beasts from there, called a lion, opened the wide and vast mouth of death, and with others going down to Hades, it rushed to swallow his soul. Just as death had once before swallowed the strong, it was not different from the lion here that opened its mouth against our Savior. From this, he also calls on the Father, saying, "Save me from the mouth of the lion."

⁹² There might also be other evil and god-fighting powers opposing the one-horned of God and trying to lead him away. From these, the one-horned of God, our Lord, having only the Father as his horn, considers it worthy to be saved from his own humiliation, saying, "And from the horns of the unicorn, save my humiliation."

⁹³ What kind of humiliation is this, in which "though he existed in the form of God, he humbled himself and emptied himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross?" For he went down to such a point, and reached this, I say, up to the sword in Hades and the hand of the dog said to be there. From this, it is likely that some Greek children heard of a dog of death, and they might depict it as three-headed. And having come even to the throats of the previously mentioned lion, he laid down his humiliation before his opponents and god-fighting one-horned powers. And for this reason, he set up the whole plan of his own emptying and humiliation, and then, having prayed, he hoped to receive help and support from the Father, saying, "But you, Lord, do not delay my help; come to my aid."

⁹⁴ And having said this, he soon receives help from the Father, not having been delayed at all, nor even for the shortest time. While he was still speaking, he said, "Look, I am here." And realizing this, he received the help from the Father, just as he had prayed. From there, he begins the song of victory, making the Psalm for the morning help, in which he says, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the church, I will praise you."

⁹⁵ First of all, he announces to his own disciples and apostles the good news of joy and gladness that will come upon them, calling them his brothers.

⁹⁶ Then Matthew also teaches what follows, saying, "And behold, Jesus met them, meaning those around Mary Magdalene, saying, 'Rejoice.' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'"

⁹⁷ John, after the resurrection from the dead, also introduces Jesus, saying to Mary, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

⁹⁸ First, he says that he will tell the name of the Father to his apostles, whom he calls his own brothers. After them, he promises to teach the church that will be gathered in his name throughout the whole world the hymn of the Father.

⁹⁹ Just as if someone were to speak wise words in the midst of the disciples, a teacher would have those listening to him pay attention, in the same way, he says in the church, "I will praise you," for those who have learned from him and listened to him, in the proper way, no longer as before to the demons, but to praise only the one God of all through the one who has announced him.

¹⁰⁰ Promising to do these things, he strongly commands the church and his brothers to praise the Father. Therefore, he says, "You who fear the Lord, praise him; all the descendants of Jacob, glorify him."

¹⁰¹ And let all the descendants of Israel fear him, for he has not despised or ignored the plea of the poor, nor has he turned his face away from me; and when I cried out to him, he heard me." Because of this, he clearly showed the release from the mentioned evils.

¹⁰² For if he heard him when he cried out to him, he prayed to be rescued from the sword for his soul, from the dog for his only son, and also from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorn for his humiliation, it follows that the one who created him found a way to escape from these things, "because God did not ignore his plea, nor turn his face away from him, but when he cried out, he heard him."

¹⁰³ Therefore, he also had the chance to spend time with his own disciples and brothers after being rescued from so much and escaping death, and to praise the Father in the middle of the church. He again calls himself poor, in agreement with the earlier prophecies, because he was called needy and poor.

¹⁰⁴ But when he presented his resurrection through these things, he again turns to the Father, saying, "My praise is in a great church from you," remembering the church that he established in his name from the nations throughout the whole world, where the praise of our Savior is sung forever, by the will of his Father and with his help.

¹⁰⁵ Therefore, he says, "My praise is in a great church from you." For this church is truly great, made up of people from every kind of background. It cannot be compared to the Jews or the synagogue of those who are circumcised because of the seriousness and greatness of life and the size of its teachings, which are worthy of all wealth in speech, life, and thought, and of the other glory about God that has been diminished.

¹⁰⁶ Then he says, "I will pay my vows to the Lord in front of all those who fear him," calling those who fear him the great church mentioned before, to whom he said, "Praise him, you who fear the Lord." But what vows does he say he will pay, or what has he promised? What has he promised, or those for which he said, "I will tell your name to my brothers; in the middle of the church I will praise you"? For these are the vows that are the promises, which he assured he would give in the middle of the church.

¹⁰⁷ After this, he says, "The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord will praise him; their hearts will live forever." All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, because the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

¹⁰⁸ For this reason, he loudly proclaims the achievements after his resurrection, which are fulfilled through the calling of all the nations, and through the selection of people from the ends of the earth. The outcomes of these events would be seen by all, as described in the Psalm.

¹⁰⁹ But we, the poor, whom the saving word nourishes with the spiritual and rational bread, provide eternal life for our souls. That is why the Psalm says, "The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord will praise him; their hearts will live forever."

¹¹⁰ And the conclusion of the whole prophecy says, "The coming generation will proclaim to the Lord, and they will declare his righteousness to a people yet to be born, whom the Lord has made." This speaks of a people chosen from the nations, and the generation that will be gathered on earth through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

¹¹¹ For who could be the people that will be born after this, called by God, who did not exist before and were not among humans, but later came to be? And what about the generation that was not then, but is said to come, if not this church gathered through our Savior, which is present throughout the world, and the new people from the nations? About them, the Holy Spirit wonderfully spoke through Hesiod, saying, "Who has heard such things, and who has seen them like this? Has the earth given birth in one day, or has a nation been born all at once?"

¹¹² So we have briefly gone through these things while the time was moving on. But for whoever is concerned about the call of our Savior, as he said, "Search the scriptures in which you think you have eternal life," and these are the ones that testify about me. By deeply understanding each line of the Psalm, you would catch the true meaning of the truths mentioned.