Friday of the Second Week of Lent

It should be noted that where our Codices, translated from the Hebrew source, say Adam lived for one hundred and thirty years and begot Seth, the ancient translation has, instead of one hundred and thirty, two hundred and thirty; where our Codices continue, "And the days of Adam after he begot Seth were eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters," that one has seven hundred instead of eight hundred. And where it concludes, "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died," it places the same total, and such a distinction of numbers is preserved in all generations up to the flood between the two editions, so that before the birth of a son each one in the Septuagint is said to have had one hundred years more, and after the birth one hundred years less than in the Hebrew truth. But in the conclusion, both editions place an equal number; except only in the sixth generation; where in both Codices, Jared is found to have begotten Enoch at one hundred and sixty-two years, and after his birth to have lived eight hundred years: and in the ninth, where, according to the Hebrew truth, Lamech begot Noah when he was one hundred and eighty years old, and after he was born, he is found to have survived for five hundred and ninety-five years. However, in the Septuagint, the years before Noah was born are found to be one hundred and eighty-eight, and after he was born, five hundred sixty-five; thus it happens that Lamech is found to have lived twenty-four years longer in Hebrew than in the Septuagint Codices: by which difference of interpretations, it is made that the lifetime of Methuselah seems to extend fourteen years beyond the flood, and so the years before the flood according to the Hebrews are one thousand five hundred and fifty-six; according to the Septuagint, which the chronographers follow, two thousand two hundred and forty-two: although the most learned Augustine professes that even in the Septuagint translation, Methuselah is found in fewer but more accurate Codices to have died six years before the flood: who, when he most diligently investigated the cause of the aforementioned discord in interpretations, and did not wish to derogate from the faith of the Septuagint translators, whom the apostles and evangelists are proven to have followed in many places; and he himself believed they used more a prophetic gift than the office of interpretation in translating the Scriptures; he concluded in this way, saying: "Therefore it is more credible for someone to say that when these first began to be copied from the library of Ptolemy; at that time, something like this could have happened in one Codex, but first copied from there, from which it spread more widely, where indeed the error of the scribe could have happened. However, it is not absurd to suspect this in that question about the life of Methuselah." And after some: "I would not doubt at all that it is rightly done, he says, when something different is found in both Codices, since both cannot be according to the faith of the transactions, that the truth be believed rather to the language from which it is translated into another by interpreters." Therefore, according to Hebrew truth, Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and begot Seth. Seth lived one hundred and five years and begot Enos. Enos lived ninety years and begot Cainan. Cainan lived eighty years and begot Mahalalel. Mahalalel lived sixty-five years and begot Jared. Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years and begot Enoch.

Noah indeed, when he was five hundred years old, begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Therefore, Noah was born in the tenth generation, because he both represented and led the lives of those who are perfect in the observance of the Decalogue. He begot three sons, so that his service to the Lord in the faith of the Holy Trinity and the produce of spiritual virtues would also be signified by the fruit of his physical offspring; although, according to history, it was appropriate for him to have begotten three sons, in whom the seed of the world perishing was to be left to a future generation, so that through the offspring of the three sons, indeed, the three parts of the world would be filled. For the sons of Shem especially possessed Asia, the offspring of Ham Africa, and the descendants of Japheth Europe.

After recounting the ten generations from Adam to Noah, Moses said, "Noah was five hundred years old and begot Shem and Ham and Japheth." During this entire time Noah was an example to his sons by his virtue, for he had preserved virginity for five hundred years among those of whom it was said, "All flesh corrupted its path."

And when men began to multiply on the earth and had daughters, the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. "Men" means the offspring of Cain, who, turned away from the view of divine will, subjected their mind solely to human affairs: "sons of God", however, refers to those who were born from the lineage of Seth, who, following the example of their father's devotion, preserved with an inviolate mind the service they owed to God. By this distinction, the Lord in the Gospel also separated His disciples from the rest, saying, "Whom do men say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13). And having received their answer, He said, "But who do you say that I am?" evidently wanting them to be understood as superior to men and to be counted among those of whom He Himself said: "I have said, You are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High" (Psalm 82:6). Some manuscripts have "angels of God" instead of "sons of God," which is obviously taken in the same sense. For the angels of God are rightly called righteous men, who according to the measure of their capacity strive to live an angelic life on earth: to such the Apostle says, "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). And again: "For our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). Therefore, it seems that the generation of the lineage of Seth, as long as it was not mingled with the offspring of Cain, preserved the norm of its chastity untainted; but after it fell into concupiscence and joined the cursed offspring of wicked women, it also began to share in the curse with the corrupted decency of its sober mind. Hence, in the law it is diligently and carefully commanded to the sons of Israel, not to intermarry with foreigners, because, it says, "his daughter will seduce your son to follow their gods" (Deuteronomy 7:4).

And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.

And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven...

And He answered and said to me, and I heard His voice: 'Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man and scribe of righteousness: approach hither and hear my voice. And go, say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent thee to intercede for them: "You should intercede" for men, and not men for you: Wherefore have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and begotten giants (as your) sons? And though ye were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and have begotten (children) with the blood of flesh, and, as the children of men, have lusted after flesh and blood as those also do who die and perish. Therefore have I given them wives also that they might impregnate them, and beget children by them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on earth. But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling. And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them...

From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement -thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated, over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated." And now as to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, (say to them): "You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth." Say to them therefore: " You have no peace."'

And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants. And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth -all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth had wrought all manner of evil before His eyes. And He said that He would destroy man and all flesh upon the face of the earth, which He had created. But Noah found grace before the eyes of the Lord. And against the angels whom He had sent upon the earth, He was exceedingly wroth, and He gave commandment to root them out of all their dominion, and He bade us to bind them in the depths of the earth, and behold they are bound in the midst of them, and are (kept) separate. And against their sons went forth a command from before His face that they should be smitten with the sword, and be removed from under heaven. And He said 'My spirit shall not always abide on man; for they also are flesh and their days shall be one hundred and twenty years'. And He sent His sword into their midst that each should slay his neighbour, and they began to slay each other till they all fell by the sword and were destroyed from the earth. And their fathers were witnesses (of their destruction), and after this they were bound in the depths of the earth for ever, until the day of the great condemnation, when judgment is executed on all those who have corrupted their ways and their works before the Lord. And He destroyed all from their places, and there was not left one of them whom He judged not according to all their wickedness.

The mind is led astray by pleasure, and the virgin center of the mind, if not disciplined by the Word, degenerates into licentiousness and reaps disintegration as reward for its transgressions. An example of this for you is the angels who forsook the beauty of God for perishable beauty and fell as far as heaven is from the earth.

[Moses] called the sons of Seth "sons of God," those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called "the righteous people of God." The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said "they took to wife such of them as they chose," because when "they took" them, they acted very haughtily over those whom they chose. A poor one would exalt himself over the wife of a rich man, and an old man would sin with one who was young. The ugliest of all would act arrogantly over the most beautiful.

But when they did nothing of this kind, but tried to make supplication to the evil daemons by a foul and licentious life and unseemly words, and by feeding on raw flesh, and rending victims asunder, and by human sacrifices, how was it even possible that doing such deeds, and pursuing practices pleasing to the wicked, they should be received as friends by the Supreme God, or by the divine Powers subject to Him, or by any good beings at all?

But in fact it is manifest to all that he who practises the things that are dear to the wicked can never be a friend of the good. So then it was not to gods, nor yet to good daemons, but only to the wicked, that those of whom I have spoken paid worship.

And this argument is still further confirmed by Plutarch, in the passage where he says that the mythical narratives told as concerning gods are certain tales about daemons, and the deeds of Giants and Titans celebrated in song among the Greeks are also stories about daemons, intended to suggest a new phase of thought.

Of this kind then perhaps were the statements in the Sacred Scripture concerning the giants before the flood, and those concerning their progenitors, of whom it is said, 'And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, they took unto them wives of all that they chose,' and of these were born 'the giants the men of renown which were of old.'

For one might say that these daemons are those giants, and that their spirits have been deified by the subsequent generations of men, and that their battles, and their quarrels among themselves, and their wars are the subjects of these legends that are told as of gods.

And for a very long while wickedness extended and spread, and reached and laid hold upon the whole race of mankind, until a very small seed of righteousness remained among them: and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind; and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants. And the angels brought as presents to their wives teachings of wickedness, in that they brought them the virtues of roots and herbs, dyeing in colours and cosmetics, the discovery of rare substances, love-potions, aversions, amours, concupiscence, constraints of love, spells of bewitchment, and all sorcery and idolatry hateful to God; by the entry of which things into the world evil extended and spread, while righteousness was diminished and enfeebled. Until judgment came upon the world from God by means of a flood, in the tenth generation from the first-formed (man); Noah alone being found righteous.

Since the Son of God is always one and the same, He gives to those who believe on Him a well of water [springing up] to eternal life, but He causes the unfruitful fig-tree immediately to dry up; and in the days of Noah He justly brought on the deluge for the purpose of extinguishing that most infamous race of men then existent, who could not bring forth fruit to God, since the angels that sinned had commingled with them, and [acted as He did] in order that He might put a check upon the sins of these men, but [that at the same time] He might preserve the archetype, the formation of Adam. And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from heaven, in the days of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, "an example of the righteous judgment of God," that all may know, "that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire."

As long then as there continued that separation of the lines between them, the seed of Seth, as it sprang from an excellent root, was by reason of its sanctity termed "angels of God," or as some copies have it "sons of God;" and on the contrary the others by reason of their own and their fathers' wickedness and their earthly deeds were termed "children of men." Though then there was up to this time that holy and salutary separation between them, yet after this the sons of Seth who were the sons of God saw the daughters of those who were born of the line of Cain, and inflamed with the desire for their beauty took to themselves from them wives who taught their husbands the wickedness of their fathers, and at once led them astray from their innate holiness and the single-mindedness of their forefathers...From these sons of Seth then and daughters of Cain, as we have said, there were I born still worse children who became mighty hunters, violent and most fierce men who were termed giants by reason of the size of their bodies and their cruelty and wickedness. For these first began to harass their neighbours and to practise pillaging among men, getting their living rather by rapine than by being contented with the sweat and labour of toil, and their wickedness increased to such a pitch that the world could only be purified by the flood and deluge.

For many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants. But Noah was very uneasy at what they did; and being displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to change their dispositions and their acts for the better: but seeing they did not yield to him, but were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was afraid they would kill him, together with his wife and children, and those they had married; so he departed out of that land.

When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men. In some copies I found "the sons of God." What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Saviour Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God. But if it is thought that these refer to angels, we must take them to be those who deal with magic and jugglery, who taught the women the motions of the stars and the knowledge of things celestial, by whose power they conceived the giants as their children, by whom wickedness came to its height on the earth, until God decreed that the whole race of the living should perish in their impiety by the deluge.

God, when He had made the whole world, and subjected things earthly to man, and arranged the heavenly elements for the increase of fruits and rotation of the seasons, and appointed this divine law-for these things also He evidently made for man-committed the care of men and of all things under heaven to angels whom He appointed over them. But the angels transgressed this appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begat children who are those that are called demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to themselves, partly by magical writings, and partly by fears and the punishments they occasioned, and partly by teaching them to offer sacrifices, and incense, and libations, of which things they stood in need after they were enslaved by lustful passions; and among men they sowed murders, wars, adulteries, intemperate deeds, and all wickedness. Whence also the poets and mythologists, not knowing that it was the angels and those demons who had been begotten by them that did these things to men, and women, and cities, and nations, which they related, ascribed them to god himself, and to those who were accounted to be his very offspring, and to the offspring of those who were called his brother), Neptune and Pluto, and to the children again of these their offspring. For whatever name each of the angels had given to himself and his children, by that name they called them.

Of the incorporeal beings, only angels fell away, and not all of them, but some only, that inclined to things below and set their desire on things of earth, withdrawing themselves from their relations with things above, even from God.

"And it came to pass when there began to be many men upon the earth, that daughters also were born to Them." [Genesis 6:1] I think it here worth while to raise the question why, after the birth of Noah and his sons, our race increased to a degree of great populousness. But, perhaps, it is not difficult to explain the cause of this; for it always happens if anything appears to be rare that its contrary is found exceedingly numerous. (2) Therefore, the good disposition of one displays the evil disposition of myriads, and the fact of those things which are done in accordance with art, and science, and virtue, and beauty, being few, shows how incalculable a number of things devoid of art, and of science, and of justice, and, in short, utterly worthless, lie concealed beneath. (3) Do you not see that in the universe, also, the sun, being one body, by his shining forth dissipates the thick and dense darkness which is shed over earth and sea? With great propriety, therefore, the generation of the just Noah and his sons is represented as bringing into existence a great number of unjust persons; for it is by the contrary that it is especially the nature of contraries to be known. (4) And no unjust man at any time implants a masculine generation in the soul, but such, being unmanly, and broken, and effeminate in their minds, do naturally become the parents of female children; having planted no tree of virtue, the fruit of which must of necessity have been beautiful and salutary, but only trees of wickedness and of the passions, the shoots of which are womanlike. (5) On account of which fact these men are said to have become the fathers of daughters, and that no one of them is said to have begotten a son; for since the just Noah had male children, as being a man who followed reason, perfect, and upright, and masculine, so by this very fact the injustice of the multitude is proved to be altogether the parent of female children. For it is impossible that the same things should be born of opposite parents; but they must necessarily have an opposite offspring.

In the third book of this work we made a passing reference to this question, but did not decide whether angels, inasmuch as they are spirits, could have bodily intercourse with women. For it is written, "Who makes His angels spirits," that is, He makes those who are by nature spirits His angels by appointing them to the duty of bearing His messages. For the Greek word ἄγγελος, which in Latin appears as "angelus," means a messenger. But whether the Psalmist speaks of their bodies when he adds, "and His ministers a flaming fire," or means that God's ministers ought to blaze with love as with a spiritual fire, is doubtful. However, the same trustworthy Scripture testifies that angels have appeared to men in such bodies as could not only be seen, but also touched. There is, too, a very general rumor, which many have verified by their own experience, or which trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others corroborate, that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called "incubi," had often made wicked assaults upon women, and satisfied their lust upon them; and that certain devils, called Duses by the Gauls, are constantly attempting and effecting this impurity is so generally affirmed, that it were impudent to deny it. From these assertions, indeed, I dare not determine whether there be some spirits embodied in an aerial substance (for this element, even when agitated by a fan, is sensibly felt by the body), and who are capable of lust and of mingling sensibly with women; but certainly I could by no means believe that God's holy angels could at that time have so fallen, nor can I think that it is of them the Apostle Peter said, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." [2 Peter 2:4] I think he rather speaks of these who first apostatized from God, along with their chief the devil, who enviously deceived the first man under the form of a serpent. But the same holy Scripture affords the most ample testimony that even godly men have been called angels; for of John it is written: "Behold, I send my messenger (angel) before Your face, who shall prepare Your way." [Mark 1:2] And the prophet Malachi, by a peculiar grace specially communicated to him, was called an angel. [Malachi 2:7]

But some are moved by the fact that we have read that the fruit of the connection between those who are called angels of God and the women they loved were not men like our own breed, but giants; just as if there were not born even in our own time (as I have mentioned above) men of much greater size than the ordinary stature. Was there not at Rome a few years ago, when the destruction of the city now accomplished by the Goths was drawing near, a woman, with her father and mother, who by her gigantic size over-topped all others? Surprising crowds from all quarters came to see her, and that which struck them most was the circumstance that neither of her parents were quite up to the tallest ordinary stature. Giants therefore might well be born, even before the sons of God, who are also called angels of God, formed a connection with the daughters of men, or of those living according to men, that is to say, before the sons of Seth formed a connection with the daughters of Cain. For thus speaks even the canonical Scripture itself in the book in which we read of this; its words are: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair [good]; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became the giants, men of renown." These words of the divine book sufficiently indicate that already there were giants in the earth in those days, in which the sons of God took wives of the children of men, when they loved them because they were good, that is, fair. For it is the custom of this Scripture to call those who are beautiful in appearance "good." But after this connection had been formed, then too were giants born. For the words are: "There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men." Therefore there were giants both before, "in those days," and "also after that." And the words, "they bare children to them," show plainly enough that before the sons of God fell in this fashion they begot children to God, not to themselves — that is to say, not moved by the lust of sexual intercourse, but discharging the duty of propagation, intending to produce not a family to gratify their own pride, but citizens to people the city of God; and to these they as God's angels would bear the message, that they should place their hope in God, like him who was born of Seth, the son of resurrection, and who hoped to call on the name of the Lord God, in which hope they and their offspring would be co-heirs of eternal blessings, and brethren in the family of which God is the Father.

But that those angels were not angels in the sense of not being men, as some suppose, Scripture itself decides, which unambiguously declares that they were men. For when it had first been stated that "the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose," it was immediately added, "And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall not always strive with these men, for that they also are flesh." For by the Spirit of God they had been made angels of God, and sons of God; but declining towards lower things, they are called men, a name of nature, not of grace; and they are called flesh, as deserters of the Spirit, and by their desertion deserted [by Him]. The Septuagint indeed calls them both angels of God and sons of God, though all the copies do not show this, some having only the name sons of God. And Aquila, whom the Jews prefer to the other interpreters, has translated neither angels of God nor sons of God, but sons of gods. But both are correct. For they were both sons of God, and thus brothers of their own fathers, who were children of the same God; and they were sons of gods, because begotten by gods, together with whom they themselves also were gods, according to that expression of the psalm: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High." For the Septuagint translators are justly believed to have received the Spirit of prophecy; so that, if they made any alterations under His authority, and did not adhere to a strict translation, we could not doubt that this was divinely dictated. However, the Hebrew word may be said to be ambiguous, and to be susceptible of either translation, "sons of God," or "sons of gods."

Let us omit, then, the fables of those scriptures which are called apocryphal, because their obscure origin was unknown to the fathers from whom the authority of the true Scriptures has been transmitted to us by a most certain and well-ascertained succession. For though there is some truth in these apocryphal writings, yet they contain so many false statements, that they have no canonical authority. We cannot deny that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, left some divine writings, for this is asserted by the Apostle Jude in his canonical epistle. But it is not without reason that these writings have no place in that canon of Scripture which was preserved in the temple of the Hebrew people by the diligence of successive priests; for their antiquity brought them under suspicion, and it was impossible to ascertain whether these were his genuine writings, and they were not brought forward as genuine by the persons who were found to have carefully preserved the canonical books by a successive transmission. So that the writings which are produced under his name, and which contain these fables about the giants, saying that their fathers were not men, are properly judged by prudent men to be not genuine; just as many writings are produced by heretics under the names both of other prophets, and more recently, under the names of the apostles, all of which, after careful examination, have been set apart from canonical authority under the title of Apocrypha. There is therefore no doubt that, according to the Hebrew and Christian canonical Scriptures, there were many giants before the deluge, and that these were citizens of the earthly society of men, and that the sons of God, who were according to the flesh the sons of Seth, sunk into this community when they forsook righteousness. Nor need we wonder that giants should be born even from these. For all of their children were not giants; but there were more then than in the remaining periods since the deluge. And it pleased the Creator to produce them, that it might thus be demonstrated that neither beauty, nor yet size and strength, are of much moment to the wise man, whose blessedness lies in spiritual and immortal blessings, in far better and more enduring gifts, in the good things that are the peculiar property of the good, and are not shared by good and bad alike. It is this which another prophet confirms when he says, "These were the giants, famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave He the way of knowledge unto them; but they were destroyed because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness."

The first mystery is that of the creation of beings, and there the Antichrist is represented by Lamech who was the first to introduce bigamy and was a transgressor of the natural law and given to extreme lust. Then "the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives for themselves, as many as they wished." Because of this came the Flood. And hence it is possible to surmise what the Antichrist will be like: he is the filthiest one. And his symbolic meaning is shown in this, that he would kill the one to whom a token had been given, that is, the Jews represented by Cain. Wherefore Lamech "shall be avenged seventy times sevenfold," for his sin will be greater than the sin of the Jews.

To which also we shall add, that the angels who had obtained the superior rank, having sunk into pleasures, told to the women the secrets which had come to their knowledge; while the rest of the angels concealed them, or rather, kept them against the coming of the Lord.

That we rightly understand this passage is also very much confirmed by the interpretation of the other translators. Aquila says: 'When the sons of the gods saw the daughters of men'. On the other hand, instead of 'sons of the gods', Symmachus rendered the expression as 'sons of the rulers'. They called the descendants of Seth and of Enosh sons of the gods, or better, sons of the rulers, because of the piety and godliness which was in them, and because they could defeat all adversaries: while God, I suppose, in all likelihood came to their aid, and made known all around this pious and holy generation, which was not mixed with that other one, that is to say, with the descendants from Cain and, what is more, from Lamech.

He called the sons of Seth sons of God, those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called "the righteous people of God." The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to the eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said, they took them wives of all which they chose.

(Chapter VI - Verse 2) But the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. The Hebrew word Elohim (), is of common gender: and both God and gods are called by this name. Hence, Aquila, in the plural number, dared to call them Sons of gods, understanding them to mean the Holy Ones or Angels. For God stands in the assembly of gods: but in the midst of them He judgeth gods. (Alternate reading: judgeth). (Psalm LXXXI, 1). Therefore, Symmachus, following a similar interpretation, says: The sons of the powerful saw the daughters of men, and so on.

"Now, when the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, they took wives for themselves from them all just as they were inclined." Let us study each expression of this statement closely so that nothing of what is hidden below the surface may pass us by. You see, there is need to make a careful study of this passage and confute the fanciful interpretations of those people whose every remark is made rashly - firstly, to repeat what they presume to say, and by demonstrating the absurdity of what is said by them to teach your good selves the true sense of Scripture so that you will not lend your ears idly to people uttering those blasphemies and presuming to speak in a way that brings their own persons into jeopardy. I mean, they claim that this remark is made not about human being but about angels; these (they say) he called sons of God. Let them demonstrate firstly where angels are called sons of God; they would not, however, be able to show this anywhere. While human beings are called sons of God, angels are nowhere so called. On the contrary, it speaks about angels in these terms: "He makes the winds his angels, fire and flame his ministers," whereas about human beings, "I said, You are gods," and again, "Sons have I begotten and raised," and again, "Israel my firstborn son" - but an angel is nowhere called son, or son of God. What in fact do they claim? To be sure, they really were angels, but because they fell into this lawless way, they lost their status...

Is it not a particular hallmark of folly to claim that angels descended to have intercourse with women, and that incorporeal nature of theirs was reduced to association with corporeal creatures? Or do you not hear the words of Christ about the being of angels, "At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God"? After all, it is not for that kind of incorporeal creature to ever feel the onset of desire. In response to these people we have to reach the same conclusion, that to admit this notion into one's mind is the height of absurdity.

We made the point before in teaching you that it is customary with Scripture to call human beings sons of God. So since these people took their origin from Seth and from his son named Enosh (the text, remember, saying, "He it was who hoped to invoke the name of the Lord God"), those descended from him in the future were called sons of God by Sacred Scripture for the reason of their imitation of the virtue of their ancestors up to his time. On the other hand, he gave the name sons of men to those born after Seth, the descendants of Cain and those taking their descent from him.

Not only man, but also the "sons of God, seeing the daughters of men that they are fair, took for themselves wives of all whom they chose," and consistently all those who left "their own dwelling" and did not preserve their own principality—and by "principality" I mean not in reference to power but to the beginning and foundation; just as for man, the beginning was to be in paradise, but the end perhaps due to transgression in Hades below or some such place, so also for each of the fallen ones a particular beginning is given.

II. (6) "And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, they took unto themselves wives of all of them whom they Chose." [Genesis 6:2] Those beings, whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels; and they are souls hovering in the air. (7) And let no one suppose, that what is here stated is a fable, for it is necessarily true that the universe must be filled with living things in all its parts, since every one of its primary and elementary portions contains its appropriate animals and such as are consistent with its nature; --the earth containing terrestrial animals, the sea and the rivers containing aquatic animals, and the fire such as are born in the fire (but it is said, that such as these last are found chiefly in Macedonia), and the heaven containing the stars: (8) for these also are entire souls pervading the universe, being unadulterated and divine, inasmuch as they move in a circle, which is the kind of motion most akin to the mind, for every one of them is the parent mind. It is therefore necessary that the air also should be full of living beings. And these beings are invisible to us, inasmuch as the air itself is not visible to mortal sight. (9) But it does not follow, because our sight is incapable of perceiving the forms of souls, that for that reason there are no souls in the air; but it follows of necessity that they must be comprehended by the mind, in order that like may be contemplated by like. (10) Since what shall we say? Must we not say that these animals which are terrestrial or aquatic live in air and spirit? What? Are not pestilential afflictions accustomed to exist when the air is tainted or corrupted, as if that were the cause of all such assuming vitality? Again, when the air is free from all taint and innocent, such as it is especially wont to be when the north wind prevails, does not the imbibing of a purer air tend to a more vigorous and more lasting duration of life? (11) It is then natural that that medium by which all other animals, whether aquatic of terrestrial, are vivified should itself be empty and destitute of souls? On the contrary, even if all other animals were barren, the air by itself would be bound to be productive of life, having received from the great Creator the seeds of vitality by his especial favour.

III. (12) Some souls, therefore, have descended into bodies, and others have not thought worthy to approach any one of the portions of the earth; and these, when hallowed and surrounded by the ministrations of the father, the Creator has been accustomed to employ, as hand-maidens and servants in the administration of mortal affairs. (13) And they having descended into the body as into a river, at one time are carried away and swallowed up by the voracity of a most violent whirlpool; and, at another time, striving with all their power to resist its impetuosity, they at first swim on the top of it, and afterwards fly back to the place from which they started. (14) These, then, are the souls of those who have been taught some kind of sublime philosophy, meditating, from beginning to end, on dying as to the life of the body, in order to obtain an inheritance of the incorporeal and imperishable life, which is to be enjoyed in the presence of the uncreate and everlasting God. (15) But those, which are swallowed up in the whirlpool, are the souls of those other men who have disregarded wisdom, giving themselves up to the pursuit of unstable things regulated by fortune alone, not one of which is referred to the most excellent portion of us, the soul or the mind; but all rather to the dead corpse connected with us, that is to the body, or to things which are even more lifeless than that, such as glory, and money, and offices, and honours, and all other things which, by those who do not keep their eyes fixed on what is really beautiful, are fashioned and endowed with apparent vitality by the deceit of vain opinion.

IV. (16) If, therefore, you consider that souls, and demons, and angels are things differing indeed in name, but not identical in reality, you will then be able to discard that most heavy burden, superstition. But as men in general speak of good and evil demons, and in like manner of good and evil souls, so also do they speak of angels, looking upon some as worthy of a good appellation, and calling them ambassadors of man to God, and of God to man, and sacred and holy on account of this blameless and most excellent office; others, again, you will not err if you look upon as unholy and unworthy of any address. (17) And the expression used by the writer of the psalm, in the following verse, testifies to the truth of my assertion, for he says, "He sent upon them the fury of His wrath, anger, and rage, and affliction, and he sent evil angels among Them." [Ps 77:49] These are the wicked who, assuming the name of angels, not being acquainted with the daughters of right reason, that is with the sciences and the virtues, but which pursue the mortal descendants of mortal men, that is the pleasures, which can confer no genuine beauty, which is perceived by the intellect alone, but only a bastard sort of elegance of form, by means of which the outward sense is beguiled; (18) and they do not all take all the daughters in marriage, but some of them have selected some of that innumerable company to be their wives; some choosing them by the sight, and others by the ear, others again being influenced by the sense of taste, or by the belly, and some even by the pleasures below the belly; many also have laid hold of those the abode of which is fixed at a great distance, putting in action various desires among one another. For, of necessity, the choices of all the various pleasures are various, since different pleasures are established in different places.

Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. And in its train the children of Seth also came to fornication, so that they were rejected from the household of God thereby. For the lust of the belly is the captain of the host of the left side, and to it are fettered all the hosts of sin; and as captains of hosts go forth to war at the head of their companies against the enemy, even so also doth it, as the captain of the host of all wickedness, go forth to war against that which is good.

For they, withal, who instituted them are assigned, under condemnation, to the penalty of death — those angels, to wit, who rushed from heaven on the daughters of men; so that this ignominy also attaches to woman. For when to an age much more ignorant (than ours) they had disclosed certain well-concealed material substances, and several not well-revealed scientific arts — if it is true that they had laid bare the operations of metallurgy, and had divulged the natural properties of herbs, and had promulgated the powers of enchantments, and had traced out every curious art, even to the interpretation of the stars — they conferred properly and as it were peculiarly upon women that instrumental mean of womanly ostentation, the radiances of jewels wherewith necklaces are variegated, and the circlets of gold wherewith the arms are compressed, and the medicaments of orchil with which wools are colored, and that black powder itself wherewith the eyelids and eyelashes are made prominent. What is the quality of these things may be declared meantime, even at this point, from the quality and condition of their teachers: in that sinners could never have either shown or supplied anything conducive to integrity, unlawful lovers anything conducive to chastity, renegade spirits anything conducive to the fear of God. If (these things) are to be called teachings, ill masters must of necessity have taught ill; if as wages of lust, there is nothing base of which the wages are honourable. But why was it of so much importance to show these things as well as to confer them? Was it that women, without material causes of splendour, and without ingenious contrivances of grace, could not please men, who, while still unadorned, and uncouth and — so to say — crude and rude, had moved (the mind of) angels? Or was it that the lovers would appear sordid and — through gratuitous use — contumelious, if they had conferred no (compensating) gift on the women who had been enticed into connubial connection with them? But these questions admit of no calculation. Women who possessed angels (as husbands) could desire nothing more; they had, forsooth, made a grand match! Assuredly they who, of course, did sometimes think whence they had fallen, and, after the heated impulses of their lusts, looked up toward heaven, thus requited that very excellence of women, natural beauty, as (having proved) a cause of evil, in order that their good fortune might profit them nothing; but that, being turned from simplicity and sincerity, they, together with (the angels) themselves, might become offensive to God. Sure they were that all ostentation, and ambition, and love of pleasing by carnal means, was displeasing to God. And these are the angels whom we are destined to judge: these are the angels whom in baptism we renounce: these, of course, are the reasons why they have deserved to be judged by man. What business, then, have their things with their judges? What commerce have they who are to condemn with them who are to be condemned? The same, I take it, as Christ has with Belial. With what consistency do we mount that (future) judgment-seat to pronounce sentence against those whose gifts we (now) seek after? For you too, (women as you are,) have the self-same angelic nature promised as your reward, the self-same sex as men: the self-same advancement to the dignity of judging, does (the Lord) promise you. Unless, then, we begin even here to pre-judge, by pre-condemning their things, which we are hereafter to condemn in themselves, they will rather judge and condemn us.

What is "every woman, but woman of every age, of every rank, of every condition? By saying" every" he excepts nought of womanhood, just as he excepts nought of manhood either from not being covered; for just so he says, "Every man." As, then, in the masculine sex, under the name of" man" even the" youth" is forbidden to be veiled; so, too, in the feminine, under the name of "woman," even the "virgin" is bidden to be veiled. Equally in each sex let the younger age follow the discipline of the elder; or else let the male "virgins," too, be veiled, if the female virgins withal are not veiled, because they are not mentioned by name. Let "man" and "youth" be different, if "woman" and "virgin" are different. For indeed it is "on account of the angels" that he saith women must be veiled, because on account of "the daughters of men" angels revolted from God.

By the justice of God the whole human race was delivered into the power of the devil, the sin of the first man passing originally into all persons of both sexes, who were born through conjugal union, the debt of our first parents binding all their posterity. This delivering was first indicated in Genesis, where, when it was said to the serpent, "Earth shall you eat," it was said to the man, "Earth you are, and into earth shall you return." The death of the body was foretold by "into earth shall you return," because he would not have experienced it if he had remained upright as he had been created. But what he says to the living man, "earth you are," shows that the whole man has been changed into something worse, for "earth you are" is just the same as saying "My spirit shall not remain in those men, because they are flesh." Hence God showed that he had then delivered man to the devil, to whom he had said, "Earth shall you eat."

And God said, "My Spirit shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh; and his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." Saint Jerome, explaining these verses, says, "It is written in Hebrew: My Spirit shall not judge these men forever, because they are flesh; that is, because human nature is fragile, I will not condemn them to eternal torment; but here I will render to them what they deserve. Therefore, it denotes not the severity, as it is read in our texts, but the clemency of God, while a sinner is punished here for his crime: hence also an angry God speaks to some: I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery (Hos. IV). And in another place: I will punish their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes; nevertheless, I will not take my mercy away from them (Ps. LXXXIX)." Moreover, lest He seem to be cruel in not giving sinners a place for repentance, He added: "And his days shall be one hundred and twenty years" (Gen. VI), that is, they will have one hundred and twenty years to repent; but because they despised repentance, God did not want to wait for the appointed time, but cutting short the span of twenty years, He brought the flood in the hundredth year appointed for repentance.

This generation will not live nine hundred years like the previous generations, for it is flesh and its days are filled with the deeds of flesh. Therefore, their days will be one hundred and twenty years. If they repent during this time, they will be saved from the wrath that is about to come upon them. But if they do not repent, by their deeds they will call down wrath upon themselves. Grace granted one hundred and twenty years for repentance to a generation that, according to justice, was not worthy of repentance.

[Daniel 9:2] "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Jeremiah, that seventy years would be accomplished for the desolation of Jerusalem." Jeremiah had predicted seventy years for the desolation of the Temple (Jeremiah 29:1-10), at the end of which the people would again return to Judaea and build the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. But this fact did not render Daniel careless, but rather encouraged him to pray that God might through his supplications fulfil that which He had graciously promised. Thus he avoided the danger that carelessness might result in pride, and pride cause offense to the Lord. Accordingly we read in Genesis that prior to the Deluge one hundred and twenty years were appointed for men to come to repentance (Genesis 6:3); and inasmuch as they refused to repent even within so long an interval of time as a hundred years, God did not wait for the remaining twenty years to be fulfilled, but brought on the punishment earlier which He had threatened for a later time. So also Jeremiah is told, on account of the hardness of the heart of the Jewish people: "Pray not for this people, for I will not hearken unto thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Samuel also was told: "How long wilt thou mourn over Saul? I also have rejected him" (1 Samuel 16:1). And so it was with sackcloth and ashes that Daniel besought the Lord to fulfil what He had promised, not that Daniel lacked faith concerning the future, but rather he would avoid the danger that a feeling of security might produce carelessness, and carelessness produce an offense to God.

Furthermore, lest [God] may seem to be cruel in that he had not given to sinners a place for repentance, he added, "But their days will be 120 years," that is, they will have 120 years to do repentance. It is not therefore that human life was contracted to 120 years, as many wrongly assert, but that 120 years were given to that generation for repentance, since indeed we find that after the flood Abraham lived 175 years and others more than 200 and 300 years. Since indeed they despised to do repentance, God was unwilling for his decree to await its time, but cutting off the space of twenty years he brought on the flood in the one hundredth year that had been destined for doing repentance.

(Version 3.) And the Lord God said: My spirit will not dwell in these men forever, because they are flesh. In Hebrew, it is written, My spirit will not judge these men forever, because they are flesh: that is, because the condition of man is fragile, I will not subject them to eternal torment; but here I will restore to them what they deserve. Therefore, it signifies not severity, as it is read in our codices, but rather the mercy of God, while the sinner is visited here for his crime. And an angry God speaks to some: I will not visit their daughters, when they have fornicated, and their wives, when they have committed adultery (Hosea IV, 14). And in another place: I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with scourges: nevertheless, I will not take away my mercy from them (Ps. LXXXVIII, 33). Furthermore, so that it does not appear cruel on His part for not giving a place of repentance to sinners, He added: But their days shall be one hundred and twenty years. This is, they will have 120 years to do penance. Therefore, human life, as many err, is not condensed into 120 years: but to that generation, 120 years were given for penance. For we find that after the flood, Abraham lived for 175 years, and others for over 200 and 300 years. But because they refused to do penance, God did not want to wait for the appointed time: but with 20 years cut off, He brought about the flood in the 100th year designated for doing penance.

V. (19) And, in all such matters, it is impossible for the spirit of God to remain and to pass all its time, as the law-giver himself shows. "For," says Moses, "the Lord said, My spirit shall not remain among men for ever, because they are Flesh." [Genesis 6:3] (20) For, at times, it does remain; but it does not remain for ever and ever among the greater part of us; for who is so destitute of reason or so lifeless as never, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to conceive a notion of the all good God. For, very often, even over the most polluted and accursed beings, there hovers a sudden appearance of the good, but they are unable to take firm hold of it and to keep it among them; (21) for, almost immediately, it quits its former place and departs, rejecting those inhabitants who come over to it, and who live in defiance of law and justice, to whom it never would have come if it had not been for the sake of convicting those who choose what is disgraceful instead of what is good. (22) But the spirit of God is spoken of in one manner as being air flowing upon the earth, bringing a third element in addition to water. In reference to which, Moses says, in his account of the creation of the world, "The spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters." [Genesis 1:2] Since the air, as it is very light, is raised and borne aloft, having water, as it were, for its foundation; and, in another manner, unalloyed knowledge is said to be so, which every wise man naturally partakes of. (23) And Moses shows us this, when speaking of the creator and maker of the holy work of the creation, in these words: "And God summoned Bezaleel, and filled him with his Holy Spirit, and with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to be able to devise every Work." [Ex 31:1] So that, what the spirit of God is, is very definitively described in these words.

VI. (24) Such also is the spirit of Moses, which came upon the seventy elders, for the sake of making them differ from, and be superior to the rest of the Israelites, who could not possibly be elders in real truth, unless they had partaken of that allwise spirit. For it is said, "I will take of my spirit which is upon thee, and I will pour it upon the seventy Elders." [Num 11:17] (25) But think not that thus this taking away, could be by means of cutting off or separation; but it is here, as is the case in an operation effected by fire, which can light ten thousand torches, without itself being diminished the least atom, or ceasing to remain as it was before. Something like this also is the nature of knowledge. For though it has made all its pupils, and all who have become acquainted with it, learned, still it is in no degree diminished itself, but very often it even becomes improved, just as, they say, that fountains sometimes are by being drained dry; for, it is said, that they sometimes become sweeter by such a process. (26) For continual association with others, engendering diligence and practice, gradually works out entire perfection. If, then, the individual spirit of Moses, or of any other creature, was about to be distributed to so great a multitude of pupils, then, if it were divided into such a number of small portions, it would be diminished. (27) But now, the spirit which is upon him is the wise, the divine, the indivisible, the undistributable, the good spirit, the spirit which is everywhere diffused, so as to fill the universe, which, while it benefits others, it not injured by having a participation in it given to another, and if added to something else, either as to its understanding, or its knowledge, or its wisdom.

VII. (28) On which account, it is possible that the spirit of God may remain in the soul, but that it should remain for ever is impossible, as we have said. And why need we wonder? since there is no other thing whatever, the possession of which, is stable and lasting; but mortal affairs are continually wavering in the scale, and inclining first to one side, and then to the other, and liable at different times to different changes. (29) And the greatest cause of our ignorance is the flesh, and our inseparable connection with the flesh. And this, Moses represents God as admitting, where he says that, "Because they are flesh," the spirit of God cannot abide in them. And yet marriage and the rearing of children, and the furnishing of necessary things, and ingloriousness conjoined with a want of money and business, both private and public, and a countless number of other things cause wisdom to waste away, before it begins to flourish vigorously. (30) But there is nothing which is so great a hindrance to its growth as the fleshly nature. For that, as if it were the principal and most solid foundation of folly and ignorance, is laid down firmly, and then each of the aforenamed evils is built up upon it. (31) For those souls which are devoid of flesh and of the body, remaining undisturbed in the theatre of the universe, occupied in seeing and hearing divine things, of which an insatiable desire has seized them, enjoy a pleasure to which no one offers any interruption. But those which bear the heavy burden of the flesh, being weighed down and oppressed by it, are unable to look upwards to the revolutions of the heaven, but being dragged downwards, have their necks forcibly pressed to the ground like so many quadrupeds.

VIII. (32) In reference to which fact, the lawgiver having determined to put an end to all illegal and illegitimate associations and unions, begins his denunciations in the following manner: "Man shall not come near to any one who is akin to his own flesh, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord." [Lev 18:6] How could any one more forcibly exhort man to despise the flesh and what is akin to the flesh than in this way? (33) And indeed he does not only exhort us to abandon such things, but he shows positively that he who is really a man will never come of his own accord to those pleasures which are dear to and connected with the body, but will always be meditating to alienate himself from them entirely. (34) For the saying, "Man, man," not once but twice, is a sign that what is here meant is not the man composed of body and soul, but him only who is possessed of virtue. For such an one is really a true man, whom some one of the ancient philosophers having lighted a lantern at midday, went in search of, and told those who asked him that he was seeking a man. And as for the prohibition against every man coming near to any one who is akin to his own flesh, this is induced by necessary reasons. For there are some things which we should admit, such for instance as those useful things, by the employment of which we may be able to live in freedom from disease and in good health; and there are other things which should be rejected, by which, when the appetites become inflamed, they burn up all goodness in one vast conflagration. (35) Let not then our appetites rush eagerly in pursuit of all the things that are pleasant to the flesh, for the pleasures are often untameable, when like dogs they fawn upon us, and all of a sudden, change and bite us, inflicting incurable sounds. So that by cleaving to frugality, which is a friend to virtue, in preference to the pleasures akin to the body, we shall defeat the numerous and infinite multitude of irreconcilable enemies. And if any occasion should seek to compel us to take more than what is moderate or sufficient, let us not yield; for the scripture saith, "He shall come near to him to uncover his nakedness."

IX. (36) And what is meant by this, it is worth while to explain. It has often happened, that some who have not been themselves providers of wealth, have nevertheless had unlimited abundance. And others, who have not been eager in the pursuit of glory have been thought worthy of public praises and honours. Others again, who have not expected to acquire even a little strength, have arrived at the greatest vigour and activity. (37) Now, let all these men learn not to cleave in their minds to any one of these qualities; that is to say, not to admire them and grasp at them in an immoderate degree, looking upon them all, that is to say on riches, on glory, and on bodily strength, not only not as intrinsically good, but as the greatest of evils. For to misers, the pursuit of money is appropriate, and the pursuit of glory is so to ambitious men, and the acquisition of bodily strength is so to men fond of athletic and of gymnastic exercises. For that which is the better part of them, namely, the soul, they have abandoned as a slave to those things which are inferior to themselves, namely, to inanimate things. (38) But as many as are masters of themselves show that all that brilliant prosperity, which is an object of so much contention, is in subordination to the mind, which is the principal part of them, receiving it when it comes, so as to make a good use of it, but not pursuing it if it keeps aloof, as being able to be happy even without it. (39) But he who pursues it eagerly and follows upon its track, fills philosophy with base opinions; on which account he is said to uncover its nakedness, for how can there be any concealment or ignorance of the reproaches to which those men are justly exposed, who profess indeed to be wise men, but who make a traffic of wisdom, and bargain for the sale of it, as they say men do in the market, who put up their wares for sale, sometimes for a slight gain, sometimes for sweet and caressing speeches, and sometimes for insecure hopes, founded on no sure ground, and sometimes even for promises which are in no respect better than dreams.

X. (40) And the sentence which follows, "I am the Lord," is uttered with great beauty and with most excessive propriety, "for," says the Lord, "oppose, my good man, the good of the flesh to that of the soul, and of the whole man;" therefore the pleasure of the flesh is irrational, but the pleasure of the soul and of the whole man is the mind of the universe, namely God; (41) and the comparison is an admirable one, and one difficult to be instituted, so as for any one to be deceived by the close similitude, unless any one will say that living things are in reality the same as lifeless things, rational things the same as irrational things; well adapted the same as those ill adapted; odd numbers identical with even ones; light with darkness, and day with night; and in short every thing that is contrary the same as its contrary. (42) And yet even although these things have some kind of union and connection together by reason of their being created, still God is not in any respect like the very best of created beings, inasmuch as these have been born, and are liable to suffering; but he is uncreated, and always acting not suffering. (43) Now it is well not to desert the ranks of God, in which it follows inevitably that all who are arrayed must be most excellent, and it would be shameful to quit those ranks, to fly to unmanly and effeminate pleasure, which injures its friends and benefits its enemies, for its nature is a very singular one; for all those to whom it chooses to give a share of its special advantages, it at once chastises and injures; and those whom it thinks fit to deprive of its good things, it benefits in the greatest possible degree, for it injures them when it gives, but it benefits them when it takes away. (44) If therefore, O my soul, any one of the temptations of pleasure invites you, turn yourself away, and directing your views towards another point, look at the genuine beauty of virtue, and having surveyed it, remain, until a desire for it has sunk into you, and draws you to it, like a magnet, and immediately leads you and attaches you to that which has become the object of your desire.

XI. (45) And the expression, "I am the Lord," must be listened to, not only as if it were equivalent to, "I am the perfect, and incorruptible, and true good," with which if any one is surrounded he will reject all that is imperfect, and corruptible, and attached to the flesh; but also as equivalent to, "I am the ruler, and the king, and the master." (46) And it is not safe for subjects to do wrong in the presence of their rulers, nor for slaves to err before their masters; for when the punishers are near, those whose nature is not quick at submitting to admonitions are held in restraint and order by fear; (47) for God, having filled everything with himself, is near at hand, so that he is looking over everything and standing by, we being filled with a great and holy reverence, or if not with that, at all events, having a prudent fear of the might of his authority, and of the fearful nature of his punishment, which cannot be avoided, whenever he determines to exert his punishing power, shall desist from doing wrong. In order that the divine spirit of wisdom may not be inclined to quit our neighbourhood and depart, but that it may remain a very long time with us, as it did also with the wise Moses; (48) for Moses is a being of the most tranquil habits, either standing still or sitting still, and not at all disposed by nature to subject himself to turns and changes; for the scripture says, "Moses and the ark did not Move," [Num 14:44.} inasmuch as the wise man cannot depart from virtue, or inasmuch as virtue is not liable to move, nor is the virtuous man inclined to changes, but each of these things is established on the sure foundation of right reason. (49) And again, the scripture saith in another passage, "But stand thou here with Me." [Deut 5:31] For this is an oracle of God, which was given to the prophet, and his station was to be one of unmoved tranquillity by God, who always stands immovably; for it is indispensable, that all things which are placed by the side of him must be kept straight by such an undeviating rule. (50) On this account it is, as it seems to me, that excessive pride, named Jethro, marvelling at his unvarying and always equal choice of what was wise, a choice which always looked at the same things in the same way, was perplexed, and put a question to him in this form, "Why dost thou sit by Thyself?" [Exodus 18:14] (51) For any one who considers the continual war raging among men in the middle of peace, and existing, not merely among nations, and countries, and cities, but also among private houses, or I might rather say, between every individual man and the inexpressible and heavy storms which agitate the souls of men, which, by their evident impetuosity, throw into confusion all the affairs of life, may very naturally wonder, if in such a storm, any one can enjoy tranquillity, and can feel a calm in such a billowy state of the stormy sea. (52) You see that even the high priest, that is to say, reason, who might at all times remain and reside in the holy dwelling of God, has not free permission to approach them at all times, but only once in each year; for whatever is associated with reason by utterance is not firm, because it is of a twofold nature. But the safest conduct is to contemplate the living God by the soul alone, without utterance of any voice, because he exists according to the indivisible unit.

XII. (53) As, therefore, among men in general, that is to say, among those who propose to themselves many objects in life, the divine spirit does not remain, even though it may abide among them for a very short time, but it remains among one species of men alone, namely, among those who, having put off all the things of creation, and the inmost veil and covering of false opinion, come to God in their unconcealed and naked minds. (54) Thus also Moses, having fixed his tent outside of the tabernacle and outside of all the corporeal army, [Ex 33:7] that is to say, having established his mind so that it should not move, begins to worship God, and having entered into the darkness, that invisible country, remains there, performing the most sacred mysteries; and he becomes, not merely an initiated man, but also an hierophant of mysteries and a teacher of divine things, which he will explain to those whose ears are purified; (55) therefore the divine spirit is always standing by him, conducting him in every right way: but from other men, as I have said before, it very soon separates itself, and completes their life in the number of a hundred and twenty years. For God says, "their days shall be an hundred and twenty Years;" [Deut 24:7] (56) but Moses, when he had arrived at that number of years, departed from mortal life to another. How, then, can it be natural for men who are guilty to live an equal length of time with the all-wise prophet? for the present, it will be sufficient to say this, that things which bear the same name are not in all cases alike, but very often they are distinct in their whole genus; and also that which is bad may have equal numbers and times with what is good, since they are represented as twofold, but still they have their respective powers, distinct from one another, and as remote and different as possible. (57) And we shall hereafter institute a more exact discussion of this period of a hundred and twenty years, which we will however postpone, till we come to an examination of the whole life of the prophet, when we have become fit to be initiated in it, but at present we will discuss what comes next in order.

But there were giants in the earth in those days. The author of divine Scripture does not want those giants to be regarded as the children of the earth in the manner of poets, but asserts that they were generated from angels and women, whom he calls with this name, desiring to express their bodily magnitude. And let us consider, lest perhaps the giants are like humans who devote themselves to the worship of their flesh, but have no care for their souls: just like those who, according to poetic fable, are said to have had contempt for the gods because of the size of their bodies. Those who despise being valued differently, since they consist of both soul and body, and reject the strength of the mind which the soul holds as more precious, and present themselves as imitators of this flesh as heirs of maternal stupidity? Therefore, they labour in vain, arrogantly claiming heaven through their proud desires, and devoting themselves to earthly works, who, by choosing the lower and despising the higher communion, are condemned by a more severe punishment, as if they willingly subject themselves to more serious sins.

The author of divine Scripture does not wish these giants to be understood, according to the custom of poets, as children of the earth, but rather it asserts that they were begotten of angels and women, and calls them by this name to express the size of their bodies.

All that we indubitably know, from the authentic Scripture in the Hebrew and Christian traditions, is the fact that in the period before the flood there were many giants, all of whom belonged to the earthly city in human society, and that there were sons of God descended from Seth who abandoned their holiness and sank down into this city of men. There is nothing surprising in the fact that giants could be born from men like that. In any case, they were not all giants, even though there were more giants before the flood than in all subsequent ages. They served a divine purpose in that they reveal to anyone who is wise that mere bodily magnitude and might have no more value than bodily beauty.

Strength of arm, swiftness of foot and comeliness of body—the spoils of sickness and the plunder of time—also awaken pride in man, unaware as he is that "All flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the field. The grass is withered and the flower is fallen." Such was the arrogance of the giants because of their strength. Such also was the God-defying pride of the witless Goliath.

There were giants on the earth in those days. Giants are called men with immense bodies and excessive power, of which there were also many after the flood, that is, in the times of Moses or David, who have the name in Greek because, according to the poets' fables, the earth bore them. They seem, however, to have been begotten when the descendants of Seth chose wives from the lineage of Cain because of their beauty against the law of their dignity. For it follows:

After the sons of God entered the daughters of men, and they bore children, these were the mighty men of old, men of renown. It should be noted that in this place, for giants, the Hebrew reads 'fallen ones', that is, 'annasilim'; and the sense is easy and clear because they were 'fallen' men on the earth in those days, that is, adhering to earthly desires, having lost the state of uprightness devoted to God. The giants, however, are properly named 'Rafaim' in their language. But sometimes a giant is taken in a good sense, as it is said of the Lord: 'He rejoiced as a giant to run his course' (Psalm 19:5); but this is for the unique power by which He transcends the rest of humanity, and accomplished the mystery of the Incarnation with wondrous power, just as a lion sometimes signifies the Lord, sometimes the devil; but the devil for pride and ferocity, the Lord for power: although in the Hebrew truth, the aforementioned verse of the psalm is written thus: 'He rejoiced as a strong man to run his course.'

The house of Cain, because the earth had been cursed so as not to give them its strength, produced small harvests, deprived of its strength, just as it is today that some seeds, fruits and grasses give strength and some do not. Because at that time they were cursed and sons of the cursed and were dwelling in the land of curses, they would gather and eat produce that lacked nutrition, and those who ate these were without strength just like the food that they ate. As for the Sethites, on the other hand, because they were the descendants of the blessed [Seth] and were dwelling in the land along the boundary of the fence of paradise, their produce was abundant and full of strength. So too were the bodies of those who ate that produce strong and powerful.

(Version 4.) Now there were giants upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown. For falling ones, or giants, Symmachus interpreted them as violent ones. And it is fitting for the name of falling ones to apply to angels and the children of the saints.

XIII. (58) "And there were giants on the earth in those Days." [Genesis 6:4] Perhaps some one may here think, that the lawgiver is speaking enigmatically and alluding to the fables handed down by the poets about giants, though he is a man as far removed as possible from any invention of fables, and one who thinks fit only to walk in the paths of truth itself; (59) in consequence of which principle, he has banished from the constitution, which he has established, those celebrated and beautiful arts of statuary and painting, because they, falsely imitating the nature of the truth, contrive deceits and snares, in order, through the medium of the eyes, to beguile the souls which are liable to be easily won over. (60) Therefore he utters no fable whatever respecting the giants; but he wishes to set this fact before your eyes, that some men are born of the earth, and some are born of heaven, and some are born of God: those are born of the earth, who are hunters after the pleasures of the body, devoting themselves to the enjoyment and fruition of them, and being eager to provide themselves with all things that tend to each of them. Those again are born of heaven who are men of skill and science and devoted to learning; for the heavenly portion of us is our mind, and the mind of every one of those persons who are born of heaven studies the encyclical branches of education and every other art of every description, sharpening, and exercising, and practising itself, and rendering itself acute in all those matters which are the objects of intellect. (61) Lastly, those who are born of God are priests and prophets, who have not thought fit to mix themselves up in the constitutions of this world, and to become cosmopolites, but who having raised themselves above all the objects of the mere outward senses, have departed and fixed their views on that world which is perceptible only by the intellect, and have settled there, being inscribed in the state of incorruptible incorporeal ideas.

XIV. (62) Accordingly, Abraham, as long as he was abiding in the land of the Chaldaeans, that is to say, in opinion, before he received his new name, and while he was still called Abram, was a man born of heaven, investigating the sublime nature of things on high, and all that took place in these regions, and the causes of them, and studying everything of that kind in the true spirit of philosophy; on which account he received an appellation corresponding to the pursuits to which he devoted himself: for the name Abram, being interpreted, signifies the sublime father, and is a name very fitting for the paternal mind, which in every direction contemplates sublime and heavenly things: for the mind is the father of our composite being, reaching as high as the sky and even farther. (63) But when he became improved, and was about to have his name changed, he then became a man born of God, according to the oracle which was delivered to him, "I am thy God, take care that thou art approved before me, and be thou Blameless." [Gen 17:1] (64) But if the God of the world, being the only God, is also by especial favour the peculiar God of this individual man, then of necessity the man must also be a man of God; for the name Abraham, being interpreted, signifies, "the elect father of sound," the reason of the good man: for he is chosen out of all, and purified, and the father of the voice by which we speak; and being such a character as this, he is assigned to the one only God, whose minister he becomes, and so makes the path of his whole life straight, using in real truth the royal road, the road of the only king who governs all things, turning aside and deviating neither to the left hand nor to the right.

XV. (65) But the sons of earth removing their minds from contemplation, and becoming deserters so as to fly to the lifeless and immovable nature of the flesh, "for they two became one Flesh," [Gen 2:24] as the lawgiver says, adulterated the excellent coinage, and abandoned the better rank which had been allotted to them as their own, and deserted to the worse rank, which was contrary to their original nature, Nimrod being the first to set the example of this desertion; (66) for the lawgiver says, "that this man began to be a giant upon the Earth:" [Gen 10:29] is the passage supposed to be alluded to; but as translated in the Bible it only says "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord."} and the name Nimrod, being interpreted, means, desertion; for it was not enough for the thoroughly miserable soul to stand on neither side, but having gone over to its enemies, it took up arms against its friends, and resisted them, and made open war upon them; in reference to which fact it is that, Moses calls the seat of Nimrod's kingdom Babylon, and the interpretation of the word Babylon is "change;" a thing nearly akin to desertion, the name, too, being akin to the name, and the one action to the other; for the first step of every deserter is a change and alteration of mind, (67) and it would be consistent in the truth to say that, according to the most holy Moses, the bad man, as being one destitute of a home and of a city, without any settled habitation, and a fugitive, is naturally a deserter also; but the good man is the firmest of allies. Having said thus much at present, and dwelt sufficiently on the subject of the giants, we will now proceed to what comes next in our subject, which is this.

(91) Why it is said that the days of man shall be a hundred and twenty years? (#Ge 6:4). God appears here to fix the limit of human life by this number, indicating by it the manifold prerogative of honour; for in the first place this number proceeds from the units, according to combination, from the number fifteen; but the principle of the number fifteen is that of a more transparent appearance, since it is on the fifteenth day that the moon is rendered full of light, borrowing its light of the sun at the approach of evening, and restoring it to him again in the morning; so that during the night of the full moon the darkness is scarcely visible, but it is all light. In the second place, the number a hundred and twenty is a triangular number, and is the fifteenth number consisting of triangles. Thirdly, it is so because it consists of a combination of odd and even numbers, being contained by the power of the faculty of the concurring numbers, sixty-four and fifty-six; for the equal number of sixty-four is compounded of the uniting of these eight odd numbers, one, three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, fifteen; the reduction of which, by their parts into squares, makes a sum total of sixty-four, and that is a cube, and at the same time a square number. But again from the seven double units there arises the unequal number of fifty-six, being compounded of seven double pairs, which generate other productions of them, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen; the sum total of which is fifty-six. In the fourth place, it is compounded of four numbers, of one triangle, namely fifteen; and of another square, namely twenty-five; and of a third quinquangular figure, thirty-five; and of a fourth a sexangular figure forty-five, by the same analogy: for the fifth is always received according to each appearance; for from the unity of the triangles the fifth number becomes fifteen; again the fifth of the quadrangular number from the unit makes twenty-five; and the fifth of the quinquangular number from the unit makes thirty-five; and the fifth of the sexangular number from the unit makes forty-five. But every one of these numbers is a divine and sacred number, consisting of fifteens as has been already shown; and the number twenty-five belongs to the tribe of Levi.{10}{see #Nu 8:24.} And the number thirty-five comes from the double diagram of arithmetic, geometry, and harmony; but sixteen, and eighteen, and nineteen, and twenty-one, the combination of which numbers amounts to seventy-four, is that according to which seven months' children are born. And forty-five consists of a triple diagram; but to this number, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-two, and twenty-eight, belong: the combination of which makes eighty-five, according to which nine months' children are produced. Fifthly, this diagram has fifteen parts, and a twofold composition, peculiarly belonging to itself; forsooth when divided by two it gives sixty, the measure of the age of all mankind; when divided by three it gives forty, the idea of prophecy; when divided by four it gives thirty, a nation; when divided by five, it makes twenty-four, the measure of day and night; when divided by six, it gives twenty, a beginning; when divided by eight, we have fifteen, the moon in the fulness of brilliancy; when divided by ten, it makes twelve, the zodiac embellished with living animals; when divided by twelve, it makes ten, holy; when divided by fifteen, it gives eight, the first ark; when divided by twenty, it leaves six, the number of creation; when divided by twenty-four, it makes five, the emblem of the outward sense; when divided by thirty it makes four, the beginning of solid measure; when divided by forty, it gives three, the symbol of fulness, the beginning, the middle, and the end; when divided by sixty, it makes two, which is woman; and when divided by the whole number of a hundred and twenty, the product is one, or man. And every one of all these numbers is more natural, as is proved in each of them, but the composition of them is twofold, for the product is two hundred and forty, which is a sign that it is worthy of a twofold life; for as the number of years is doubled, so also we may imagine that the life is doubled too; one being in connection with the body, the other being detached from the body, according to which every holy and perfect man may receive the gift of prophecy. Sixthly, because the fifth and sixth figures arise, the three numbers being multiplied together, three times four times five, since three times four times five make sixty; so in like manner the next following numbers four times five times six make a hundred and twenty, for four times five times six make a hundred and twenty. Seventhly, when the number twenty has been taken in, which is the beginning of the reduction of mankind, I mean twenty, and being added to itself two or three times, so as to make twenty, forty, and sixty, these added together make a hundred and twenty. But perhaps the number a hundred and twenty is not the general term of human life, but only of the life of those men who existed at that time, and who were to perish by the deluge after an interval of so many years, which their kind Benefactor prolonged, giving them space for repentance; when, after the aforesaid term, they lived a longer time in the subsequent ages.

(92) On what principle it was that giants were born of angels and women? (#Ge 6:4). The poets call those men who were born out of the earth giants, that is to say, sons of the Earth.{11}{the Greek name Gigas is said to be derived from geµ and gennaoµ, "to bring forth."} But Moses here uses this appellation improperly, and he uses it too very often merely to denote the vast personal size of the principal men, equal to that of Hajk{12}{hajk is an addition of the Armenian translator; it is the name of a fabulous patriarch of the Armenian nation.} or Hercules. But he relates that these giants were sprung from a combined procreation of two natures, namely, from angels and mortal women; for the substance of angels is spiritual; but it occurs every now and then that on emergencies occurring they have imitated the appearance of men, and transformed themselves so as to assume the human shape; as they did on this occasion, when forming connexions with women for the production of giants. But if the children turn out imitators of the wickedness of their mothers, departing from the virtue of their fathers, let them depart, according to the determination of the will of a depraved race, and because of their proud contempt for the supreme Deity, and so be condemned as guilty of voluntary and deliberate wickedness. But sometimes Moses styles the angels the sons of God, inasmuch as they were not produced by any mortal, but are incorporeal, as being spirits destitute of any body; or rather that exhorter and teacher of virtue, namely Moses, calls those men who are very excellent and endowed with great virtue the sons of God; and the wicked and depraved men he calls bodies, or flesh.

But God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that every thought of their hearts was only evil continually, regretted that He had made man on the earth. He is said to have regretted, not because God, like man, truly regrets any of His actions, whose judgment on all things is as fixed as His foreknowledge is certain; but Scripture uses such words in order to insinuate itself to us more familiarly, we who are accustomed to change anything we undertake and transfer it into something else only by repenting: even though divine providence, for those perceiving with a serene mind, appears to administer all things with the most certain order. Nevertheless, Scripture fits and adapts itself to the humble understanding of the slower minds, of whom the far greater number is, so that it says as if by the repentance of God, those things taken away which begin to exist, and do not continue as long as they were hoped to last: similar to which is what follows.

And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven. And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'

Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may, not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.' And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth' shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.

And then shall all the righteous escape, And shall live till they beget thousands of children And all the days of their youth and their old age Shall they complete in peace.

And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be planted with trees and be full of blessing. And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil. And cleanse thou the earth from all oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth destroy from off the earth. And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and for ever.

And in those days I will open the store chambers of blessing which are in the heaven, so as to send them down upon the earth over the work and labour of the children of men. And truth and peace shall be associated together throughout all the days of the world and throughout all the generations of men.'

After Moses spoke about the mighty men who were born into the tribe of Cain, whose women, even though beautiful, were nevertheless smaller than the sons of Seth, he then said, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always evil," for in the years given to them for repentance they had increased their sins. "The wickedness of mankind was great in the earth," that is, evil extended and spread throughout both those tribes. "The inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was always evil," for their sins were not committed only occasionally, but their sins were incessant. Night and day they would not desist from their wicked thoughts.

'I will wipe from the face of the Earth,' He said, 'man, beasts, crawling creatures, and birds of the sky' (Gen. VI, 7). What harm had the irrational creatures done? But because these things had been done for the sake of humanity, once humanity was destroyed, the logical consequence was that these things should also be destroyed, since there was no one to make use of them. However, on a deeper level, this is revealed as the mind of man, which is capable of reason; for man is defined as a living, mortal, rational animal. Therefore, with the principal extinguished, all senses are extinguished as well; because nothing remains for salvation when the foundation of virtue has failed.

God's "anger" implies no perturbation of the divine mind. It is simply the divine judgment passing sentence on sin. And when God "thinks and then has second thoughts," this merely means that changeable realities come into relation with his immutable reason. For God cannot "repent," as human beings repent, of what he has done, since in regard to everything his judgment is as fixed as his foreknowledge is clear. But it is only by the use of such human expressions that Scripture can make its many kinds of readers whom it wants to help to feel, as it were, at home. Only thus can Scripture frighten the proud and arouse the slothful, provoke inquiries and provide food for the convinced. This is possible only when Scripture gets right down to the level of the lowliest readers.

Scripture doesn't take the slightest pains to guard the doctrine of Divine Impassibility. We are constantly represented as exciting the Divine wrath or pity—even as "grieving" God. I know this language is analogical. But when we say that, we must not smuggle in the idea that we can throw the analogy away and, as it were, get in behind it to a purely literal truth. By itself, the abstraction "impassible" can get us nowhere. It might even suggest something far more misleading than the most naïf Old Testament picture of a stormily emotional Jehovah.

Let us consider how both the solicitude and severity of the Lord are shown equally in all these words. First, he said, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great." Second, he said, "He was touched inwardly with sorrow of heart." Third, "I will destroy man whom I have created." In the first statement, wherein it is said that God sees all things, his providential care is shown. In the statement that he has sorrow is shown his solicitude amid the dread of his wrath. The statement about his punishment shows his severity as a judge. Holy Scripture says, "God repented that he had made man on earth." This does not mean that God is affected by emotion or is subject to any passion. Rather, the Divine Word, to impart more fully to us a true understanding of the Scriptures, speaks "as if" in terms of human emotions. By using the term "repentant God," it shows the force of God's rejection. God's anger is simply the punishment of the sinner.

When God announces the death of all animals on the earth and in the air, the intention is to declare the magnitude of the coming disaster. There is no question here of punishing with death irrational animals as though they were guilty of sin.

And touched by inner sorrow of the heart, He said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth, from man to animals, from creeping things to the birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them." For God is said to grieve in a human manner when He considers that the men whom He created cling to a malicious enemy through sin rather than to Him by living piously, according to Solomon's statement: "A foolish son is a grief to his father" (Prov. 19:13). And again: "A foolish son is the anger of his father, and the grief of the mother who bore him" (Prov. 17:25). But that He also announces the destruction of all earthly and flying creatures expresses the magnitude of the coming disaster: for He threatens destruction to the irrational creatures as if they, too, had sinned.

(94) Why God, after having threatened to destroy mankind, says that he will also destroy all the beasts likewise; using the expression, "from man to beast, and from creeping things to flying creatures;" for how could irrational animals have committed sin? (#Ge 6:7). This is the literal statement of the holy scripture, and it informs us that animals were not necessarily and in their primary cause created for their own sake, but for the sake of mankind and to act as the servants of men; and when the men were destroyed, it followed necessarily and naturally that they also should be destroyed with them, as soon as the men, for whose sake they had been made, had ceased to exist. But as to the hidden meaning conveyed by the statement, since man is a symbol for the intellect which exists in us, and animals for the outward sense, when the chief creature has first been depraved and corrupted by wickedness, all the outward sense also perishes with him, because he had no relics whatever of virtue, which is the cause of salvation.

The Scriptures have shown us the gravity of human wickedness and the severity of the punishment that had to be inflicted on it. They then point out to us the one who amid such a multitude had been able to keep a sincere virtue. Virtue in fact is admirable even for itself. If someone cultivates virtue among those who refuse it, he makes it much more worthy of admiration. Therefore the Scriptures, as though in admiration of this just man, point out the contrast: that only one man who was living among those who soon would experience the wrath of God, this Noah, "found favor in the eyes of the Lord God." He "found favor," but "in the eyes of God"; not simply "he found favor" but "in the eyes of the Lord God." This is said in order to show us that he had a single purpose, that is, to be praised by that eye that never sleeps or rests. He had no care for human glory or scorn or irreverence.

Do you see how the Lord created our nature to enjoy free will? I mean, how did it happen, tell me, that while those people showed enthusiasm for wickedness and rendered themselves liable to punishment, this man opted for virtue, shunned association with them and thus felt no effect of punishment? Is it not crystal clear that each person chose wickedness or virtue of his own volition? You see, if that were not the case and freedom did not have its roots in our nature, those people would not have been punished, nor would others receive reward for their virtue. Since, however, everything has been allowed to remain with our choice owing to grace from on high, punishment duly awaits the sinners, and reward and recompense those who practice virtue.

Therefore, in praise of Noah, Scripture not merely called him "blameless" but added "among the men of his day" to make it clear that he was so at that time when the obstacles to virtue were many. Besides, other men were illustrious after him, yet he will have no less praise than they. For he was blameless in his own time.

Preserve, my son, the precepts of your father, etc. Now under the guise of the adulterous woman, he forbids listening to heresy.

Bind them in your heart forever, etc. And keep the precepts of the Lord fixed in your mind, and safeguard your speech with their sweetness on all sides, lest you fall into sin in your speech.

When you walk, let them guide you, etc. Let your meditation of the Lord's law be so constant that when you are working while awake, you recall this with diligent mind; when you wish to sleep, you will rest in this memory; when you wake up, first recall this to your mind; for in this way you will neither err while awake, nor be harmed by the fear of the night. Another interpretation: When you walk in the progress of righteousness, let the commandments of God be with you to instruct you; when you sleep in death, let them guard your soul, so that the enemy does not seize it; when you awaken in the resurrection, speak with them in seeking the rewards which they promised you if you kept them.

Scripture enlightens a priori by means of directive precepts. It is fitting to have light before oneself. For the bidding is a lamp, and the teaching a light; and this leads to heaven. Hence, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." And to the commandments are added the counsels. And this is what Scripture teaches us everywhere.

Solomon also writes that "the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light." This sensible light that is in the world, by falling on our bodily eyes, dispels the darkness. So also the law of God, when admitted into the mind and heart of people, illuminates it thoroughly and does not allow it to fall against the stumbling blocks of ignorance or be caught in the thickets of sin.

Do not be captured by her glances. This applies to the adulteress. But even if heretics seem to live and act well, be careful not to be deceived by their doctrines.

For the price of a harlot is hardly a loaf of bread. Remember that the pleasure of fornication is brief and the punishment for the fornicator is perpetual. Just as one loaf of bread only dispels hunger for a day, and nevertheless he who has been satisfied by the eaten bread will hunger afterward, so he who goes into a harlot may indeed dispel his lust for a moment, but afterwards returns with greater fervor.

Just as by following the glorious Virgin we become precious and holy, so by following Eve we become wicked and worthless. Whence in Proverbs: "The price of a harlot is scarcely one loaf of bread; but a woman captures the precious soul of a man." O foolish Eve, for the eating of one fruit you sold yourself and your husband and all of us! O son of Eve! Beware, lest you be an imitator of Eve; but for whatever pleasure you give your soul, you are an imitator of Eve.

"The price of a loose woman is scarcely a loaf of bread; but if she is married, she is a trap for your life." Notice how great sin is, that on account of the space of one hour, in which an unhappy soul is joined to a prostitute, he renders himself alien to eternal life and makes himself liable to punishment by eternal fire. Even if that unfortunate delight of pleasure should stretch out over the space of a hundred years, it would not be right, and the unhappy soul would suffer eternal punishments in return for the pleasure of a hundred years.

Solomon warns us against familiarity with such people when he says, "Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn? Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" And again: "The price of a harlot is scarce the half of one loaf: but the woman catches the precious soul of a man." Oh, how great is the wickedness and how deplorable the perversity, when a dissolute man for the sake of momentary lustful pleasure sells to the devil the soul which Christ redeemed with his blood! Truly lamentable and miserable is the condition whereby what brings delight passes away at once, while what causes torture endures without end. The assault of passion disappears in a moment, but the shame of the unfortunate soul abides.

We read in Proverbs, "The eyes of the harlot, the snare of the sinner." "Anyone who even looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery in his heart." There are as many snares as there are sins; as many hunters as there are snares.

We must notice the apostle's prudence. He did not say, it is good not to have a wife, but it is good not to touch a woman: as though there were danger even in the touch, as though he who touched her would not escape from her who "hunts for the precious life" and causes the young man's understanding to fly away. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? As then he who touches fire is instantly burned, so by the mere touch the peculiar nature of man and woman is perceived, and the difference of sex is understood.

Can a man hide fire in his bosom, etc.? It is permitted only to him who is solidified in the Catholic faith, such that he cannot be separated from it by the sweetness of words or cunning, to read the books of heretics.

She is a net to those who lust and consent. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: "On account of the beauty of a woman many have perished." It is difficult "to carry fire in one's bosom without one's garments being burned."

That thou mayest not say, What harm is there in the eyes, when there is no necessity that he should be perverted who looks? he shows thee that desire is a fire, and the flesh is like a garment. The latter is an easy prey, and the former is a tyrant. And when anything harmful is not only taken within, but also held fast, it will not go forth again until it has made an exit for itself. For he who looks upon a woman, even though he escape the temptation, does not come away pure of all lust. And why should one have trouble, if he can be chaste and free of trouble? See what Job says: "I made a covenant with mine eyes, that I should not think of another's wife." Thus well does he know the power of abuse. And Paul for this reason kept "under his body, and brought it into subjection." And, figuratively speaking, he keeps a fire in his breast who permits an impure thought to dwell in his heart. And he walks upon coals who, by sinning in act, destroys his own soul.

Do not voluntarily make trial of your mind with lewd reflections which tempt you, because in this way wise men have been darkened and made fools. Do not store a flame in your bosom.Without harsh tribulations of the flesh it is difficult for untrained youth to be held under the yoke of sanctification. The beginning of the intellect's darkening (once a sign of it is visible in the soul) is to be seen, first of all, in slothfulness with regard to the services and prayer. For except the soul first fall away from these, she cannot be led in the way of error; but as soon as she is deprived of God's help, she easily falls into the hands of her adversaries. And again, whenever the soul becomes heedless of virtue's labours, she is inevitably drawn to what is opposed to them.

When different sexes are placed together, they derive pleasure from those instincts with which they were born, and the natural flame is lighted by unnatural contact if it touches something inflammable. Who can ever take fire to his bosom and not be burned? Fire and tow are as objects naturally opposite, but when brought together, they nourish flames. The sex of a man and of a woman is different, but, if they are brought together, the result will be what is provoked by the law of nature.

The fault is not great when someone has been found stealing, etc. Theft is not considered a great fault by its own estimation, but by comparison with a greater sin, that is, adultery; as it is said to Jerusalem who sinned more grievously, Sodomy is justified in comparison to you; not because Sodomy had none or few sins, but because Jerusalem sinned more.

Not every sin brings the same penalty, but those which are easiest to be amended bring upon us the greatest punishment. Solomon indeed intimated this when he said, "It is not wonderful if anyone be taken while stealing, for he steals that he may satisfy his soul that is hungry, but the adulterer by lack of understanding destroys his own soul." But what he means is to this effect. The thief is a grievous offender, but not so grievous a one as the adulterer. For the former, though he has a sorry reason for his conduct, yet at the same time has to plead the necessity arising from indigence. But the latter, when no necessity compels him, by his mere madness rushes into the abyss of iniquity.

First then, slaves, if they are thieves, are usually forced into robbery by need, since even though the customary allowances are furnished them, these conform better to custom than to sufficiency and so fulfill the canon without satisfying the needs of those who receive them. Their necessity makes the fault itself less blameworthy, since a convicted thief who seems compelled to robbery against his will deserves pardon. The Scripture itself seems to palliate the wrongdoing of needy men when it says: "Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry." He steals to satisfy his soul; it is for this reason that we think we cannot accuse strongly enough those who are pardoned by the Divine Word.

Not every sin brings the same penalty, but those which are easiest to be amended bring upon us the greatest punishment. Solomon indeed intimated this when he said, "It is not wonderful if anyone be taken while stealing, for he steals that he may satisfy his soul that is hungry, but the adulterer by lack of understanding destroys his own soul." But what he means is to this effect. The thief is a grievous offender, but not so grievous a one as the adulterer. For the former, though he has a sorry reason for his conduct, yet at the same time has to plead the necessity arising from indigence. But the latter, when no necessity compels him, by his mere madness rushes into the abyss of iniquity.

For jealousy and the fury of a husband will not spare in the day of vengeance, etc. And this is to be understood of the Lord, because He who now spares reprobates will not spare on the day of death; nor will He acquiesce to the prayers of those who call to Him too late; nor will He accept gifts, for there is neither time nor facility for them there. For He is jealous if anyone presumes to corrupt His bride, that is, the Church, or any faithful soul.

My son, keep my words, etc. And this section is the same as previously explained more fully under the person of the harlot.

If they seemed to have the eyes of the soul and a human mind, they were still nonetheless blind to the deceit of idolatry. But what then happened to them provides the basis for Isaiah's message. For the former blind and deaf were gathered together into the church of God even as the rulers of the nations opposed the people of God. The prophet is amazed and tries to make sense of the prophecy that he is speaking, and so he calls out, saying, "Who can announce these things?"

(Verses 8-9) Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among you will declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' LXX: Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' Let them bring their witnesses, and let them be justified, and let them hear and speak the truth. And what follows: Educate the blind people, who have eyes; the deaf, who have ears; many people think that it is said about the Gentile people, who began to hear and see through the teaching of the Apostles. But we should also understand this about the dispersed Israel, who was called by the Apostles and believed first; to whom Paul also speaks: It was necessary for the word of God to be preached to you first (Acts 13:46). And the Lord Himself in the Gospel: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Finally, it follows: all the nations are gathered together, and the tribes are assembled, that is, with the people who believed from the Jews, so that there may be a dual calling, of circumcision and of uncircumcision. But what is said, 'Bring forth, O Lord, the word is spoken to the Son.' Or, according to the Septuagint, the Father speaks to the Son, that He may bring forth His blind and deaf people, and join them to the nations, and make many leaders of the Church from them. And the prophet marvels that no one among the nations could have known these things in advance, nor could they have known the plans of God; but only His people who have received the Law and had prophets: For God is known in Judea, His name is great in Israel (Ps. LXX, 1).

All the nations. Here he excludes the sharing of divinity. And first, he shows the falsehood of other gods by the manner of a judgment, setting out the consensus of the nations in idolatry: assembled together, in one error: they are all gone aside (Ps 14:3); seeking a sign of divinity: who among you, that is, which of your gods; or this is said to the idols; and he seeks testimony: let them bring forth their witnesses, let them be justified, that is, let them justly be called gods; and let the witnesses hear, future things from them, and say, testimony for you, above: there is none that shows, nor that foretells (Isa 41:26).

Second, he shows the truth of his own divinity, and first, as to knowledge, second, as to power: you are my witnesses (Isa 43:12).

If Christ is Son, Christ is certainly after God. But after God there is nothing comparable to him. Christ is therefore not comparable to God; or if he is not after God, certainly he is with God; for in no way can he be before God; therefore he is consubstantial (homoousion) … substance as substance, especially if it is a homogeneous substance that is realized in two or more individuals, which is said to be identical substance, not similar.

(Verses 10-11) You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I am, I am the Lord, and there is no savior without me. LXX: Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe and understand that I am: Before me there was no other God and after me there will be none. I am God, and there is no Savior besides me. Whether he himself is the witness of his own words, both the doer and the boy and servant whom he has chosen. There is no doubt that it signifies Christ, to whom he also says above: It is great for you to be called my servant. And all these things will happen, so that the truth may be preached to the world, and they may know, and believe, and understand, whose minds were previously brutish and insensible, that besides one God, there is no other God, neither before nor after. For the creator of times never has a beginning, since time itself sometimes exists. And how did He speak: I am a witness, says the Lord God; and the boy whom I have chosen, saying this very thing to the Lord in the Gospel: The testimony of two men is true. I am the one who testifies about myself, and the one who sent me is the Father (John 8:17-18). Thus, we must understand the divinity of Him, that there is no God except Himself who speaks, and His chosen boy. Besides God the Father, there is no other God: because Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1), who speaks in the Gospel: I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me (John 14:11). For just as the one Lord Christ does not take away from the Father so that he may not be Lord, so the one God the Father does not take away from the Son so that he may not be God: who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: this was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). And what follows: And there is no Savior without me, shows that the Son saves all things in the Father. Concerning whom the same prophet testifies: And the Lord will send them a Savior, who will make them safe (Isaiah 9). For indeed, God is wise and strong, and His wisdom and virtue cannot exist without Him.

Still I would like to ask of our opponents what the words mean that were once uttered by the prophet, "Before me there was no God, and after me there is none." If the Son is younger than the Father, how can the Father say, "after me there shall be none"? You will not, therefore, also deprive the Only Begotten himself of his substance, will you? Indeed, you must dare to do this or else to accept the one Godhead with the distinct persons of the Father and the Son.

"I have glorified you in the world." By this glory Christ has led the blind people into the light. For the sun of righteousness does not allow us to be children of the night and shadows but rather of day, as the divine apostle says. When Paul says, "They have been gathered," this in fact has not yet taken place, and he is obviously speaking prophetically, meaning "they will be gathered." For speaking of things to come as if they had happened is customary in the Scriptures; another example of such is "I have given my back to the rod" and "they divided my clothing among them."

He gives testimony, assigning men to give testimony: you are my witnesses, my servant, the people of Jacob, or Christ: you shall be witnesses (Acts 1:8); setting out the manner of knowing: that you may know, as to those things which can be known about God by natural reason, and believe, as to those things which are above reason, and thus, understand, for unless you believe, you will not understand, above (Isa 7:9), according to another reading; and setting out what is said by the witnesses, that he alone is God: that I, alone, am, God; there was no God who forms, or formed, namely, no idol: see that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me (Deut 32:39).

It has been sufficiently demonstrated that God exists and that his essence is incomprehensible. Furthermore, those who believe in sacred Scripture have no doubt that he is one and not several. For the Lord says at the beginning of his lawgiving, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall not have strange gods before me." And again: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord." And through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: "I am," he says, "the first God, and I am the last, and there is no God besides me. Before me there was no God, and after me there shall be none, and beside me there is none." And the Lord speaks thus to his Father in the holy Gospels: "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God." With those who do not believe in sacred Scripture we shall reason as follows. The Divinity is perfect and without deficiency in goodness or wisdom or power. He is without beginning, without end, eternal, uncircumscribed; to put it simply, he is perfect in all things. Now, if we say that there are several gods, there must be some difference to be found among them. For if there is no difference at all among them, then there is one God rather than several. But if there is some difference, then where is the perfection? For if one should come short of perfection in goodness, or power, or wisdom, or time or place, then he would not be God. The identity of God in all things shows him to be one and not several.

If you want to have me as a witness to your verdict, then be the first to render witness to my truth. In this case, I will not be alone in bearing witness, but there is also my chosen servant. Now it is neither Moses nor another of the prophets who is referred to here, but Christ our Master. And he calls him a [servant], not as God but as a human being; for it is as a human being that he has named him "chosen." … We likewise find in the holy Gospels this number of two witnesses. In the course of a conversation with the Jews our Master Christ in effect declared, "It is written in your law that the testimony of two persons is true. I bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness." … "I am, I am your God, and there is no other savior besides me." Again these words proclaim the one divinity. For our Master Christ is called "savior" throughout the holy Scriptures, as I think even the followers of Arius and Eunomius would concede. Now if apart from God there is no savior and if Christ is called "Savior," it is clear that he participates in the [divine] nature. If Christ does not, as the blasphemers allege, then he is not Savior.… But if he is Savior, then he shares the same essence to which alone belongs the faculty of saving.

And that he alone is Lord: I am, singularly, I am, preeminently: neither is there salvation in any other (Acts 4:12).

(Verses 12-13) I have declared and saved; I have made known, and there was no strange one among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God, and from the beginning I am myself, and there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I will work, and who can turn it aside? LXX: I have declared and saved: I have rebuked and there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God from the beginning, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand. I will do it, and who will turn it away? So when I foretell these things from the beginning, there will be no one who rejects my will: indeed, what I have done, they could make void. These things are indeed said to Jacob and Israel, but they refer to the apostolic choir and all who want to believe in Christ and be saved from the Jewish people.

I not only made the predictions; I have also brought them to their conclusion. "I reproached, and then there was no strange god among you." The three interpreters have rendered the word "I have reproached" by the verb "I have made to understand," which comes back to saying, I have born witness. The verb "I have made reproaches" also has the same sense: it is because they do not cease to sin that they suffer reproaches. Moreover, he then makes the following declaration: At the time when I gave the law, no strange god was present: "You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God." Know clearly, he is saying, that no one else is concerned for you, but that you alone have benefited by my providence.

Second, he gives a sign of his divinity: I have declared, there was no strange one among you, by which you could know: O Israel, if you will hearken to me, there shall be no new god in you: neither shall you adore a strange god (Ps 81:8–9).

Here he shows the truth of his divinity as to power. And first, he gives the testimony: you are my witnesses: I am the beginning (John 8:25).

"I will act, and who will hinder it?" For I have accomplished the calling of the nations, he says, that is, I have saved those who were led astray. And who can alter this, or who could change things so that they did not happen? The Savior himself assures us that no one can snatch those who are being saved from the hand of God. "For my sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me, and I give them eternal life."

He gives a sign of his power in punishing: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand, as in Deuteronomy 32:39 and Job 10:7; and in working: I will work, above: the Lord of hosts has decreed, and who can disannul it? (Isa 14:27).

"I have brought down all the runaways and the Chaldeans," that is, "For your sake I will send you to Babylon" and will make the Medes rise, in order to deliver you from captivity. And when the Babylonians fly from you in every manner, through the land and the sea, they will be captured in "their ships" and be imprisoned. He calls "runaways" the Medes because of their previous weakness.

(Verse 14.) Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their bars, and the Chaldeans glorying in their ships. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your king. LXX: Thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, your redeemer: For your sakes I will send to Babylon, and will bring down all their fugitives, and the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, who have shown your king, Israel. According to the Hebrew, the prophetic speech is still directed to Israel, to whom their redeemer, the Lord and Holy One of Israel, spoke these words: 'Because of you who preach the Gospel with me, to whom I said above: Do not be afraid, for I am with you, you who are the witnesses of my will, and you announce my other Son to the unbelieving world, I have sent my Son into Babylon and the confusion of this age. And I have removed all its bars, which are called Barihim in Hebrew (or Barichim, as interpreted by Theodotion).' And, he said, the Chaldeans are implied, I have removed those who boasted in their ships: in these, namely, who floated like ships among idols. No one doubts about the Chaldeans that they sound like demons. I, the Lord, have foretold these things, who am your Creator and the king of Israel. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the meaning is quite different: I, the Lord, who have delivered you from dangers, and the holy one of Israel: because of you, I will send the king of the Medes and Persians to Babylon, and I will make its inhabitants flee, and the Chaldeans who captured you will be bound and transferred across the Caspian Sea to other nations. I, the Lord, have determined these future events, which will reveal that the King of Israel will be the one who believes.

[Isaiah] predicts the defeat of the Babylonians and the enslavement of the Chaldeans. They will suffer these misfortunes because of you, he says, since they were unwilling to recognize that their victory depended on my good will and that you were made prisoners because I rejected you.

Thus says the Lord. Here he sets out the sign of his love, that he destroyed for them the Babylonians, who gloried in their ships because of the multitude of their waters: I sent, namely, my wrath: the Lord has both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon (Jer 51:12).

To say that God remembers is to say that he acts. Conversely, to say that he forgets is to say that he does not act: not because there is forgetfulness in God (given that he never changes) or remembrance (given that he never forgets). For those, then, who did not know what they were doing, "I have become like a man without support," when I was "free among the dead." And for those who did not know what they were doing, I have become "like the slain who sleep in the grave. And they are cast away from your hand." That is, when they reduced me to such a condition, "they were cast away from your hand." They thought I was a man without support; rather, it was they who were without the support of your hand. In fact, as it says in another psalm, "they dug a ditch before me, but they fell in it themselves." I think that the words "and I have been cast away from your hand" are best interpreted in this way, rather than referring to those who sleep in the grave, whom God does not remember. In fact, there are some righteous people among these latter, of whom it is true that he has not remembered them yet, so as to raise them. Nevertheless, of these it is also said, "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God." That is, they enjoy the support of the Most High, and they dwell in the protection of the God of heaven. As for the others, however, they were cast away from the hand of God, since they thought that the Lord Jesus Christ was rejected by his hand, so much so that they could number him among the evildoers and kill him.

Where do we think these saints are? In a place where they are doing well. What more do you want? You do not know the place, but consider what it truly is. Wherever they are, they are with God. "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God; no torment will touch them." They passed through torments to reach the place without torment. Through narrowness and constriction they reached the place of freedom. Therefore, those who are heading toward such a homeland should not be dismayed if the way is difficult.

In the first part, on the side of the retribution of the just, there is touched upon first their liberation from evil: second, their reward in good: The just shall shine, etc. In the first, there is touched upon first their liberation from the evil of eternal damnation: second, from the evil of temporal death, at: They seemed in the eyes, etc.; third, from the evil of present vexation or tribulation: And if before men they suffered torments.

(Verse 1). But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, etc. Rabanus continues thus: "In the preceding chapter the sentence of the wicked was expressed, which they brought forth against Christ: now they are condemned for foolishness, because they think the Saints perish, whom they slaughter for his confession." But it can be continued in this way: I rightly said that those "who are on his side" "imitate" the devil. But, standing for "however"; the souls of the just, etc., "that is, of the Martyrs," according to the Gloss: which is also true of other just persons, but Martyrs are called especially just, because "just is he who disregards loss for the sake of a friend," as is found in Proverbs 12: and this the Martyrs do especially, because for Christ they disregard the loss of possessions and of carnal friends and even of their own bodies, as is clear from Hebrews 11. The souls, I say, of the just: he does not say bodies, because "the earth," that is, the body made from earth, "is given into the hands of the wicked," Job 9. He does not say temporal goods: Job 1: "Behold, all that he has is in your hand," etc. But the souls are in the hand of God, that is, in his protection, and therefore they are secure; Psalm: "He who dwells in the aid of the Most High," etc.; John 10: "No one shall snatch them from my hand." And the torment of death shall not touch them, namely "eternal" death, as the Gloss says: whence Job 5: "In six tribulations he will deliver you, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you," that is, the torment of Gehenna. This torment is described in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat"; likewise in a Psalm: "He shall rain snares upon sinners, fire," etc. By the name of death, taken in its general sense, is understood here eternal death, because that is true death: but temporal death is as it were the shadow of death: for it is a certain passage to life, according to that saying in John 5: "He does not come into judgment," namely of condemnation, "but has passed from death to life."

"My life is always in your hands, but I do not forget your law." Because the soul of the righteous is persecuted by the wickedness of thieves, who want to seduce it with various traps, it very wisely says that it is placed "in the hands" of God. No violence of its adversaries can reach there, as it says, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no fatal torment will touch them." And also, "My sheep listen to my voice," and a little later, "No one will steal them from my hand." He added "ever," so that it would be understood that at no time is the soul left to the mercy of its foes. When it then says "in the hands," it means that God acts with power, since he keeps safe those who show themselves to have acted according to his judgments. Why then does he say that his soul is placed "in the hands" of the Lord? Because his law is not taught to someone who forgets. Therefore, we are under his protection if we do not stray in anything from the saving precepts. This is what is asked of us at all times and what we are commanded in particular here: to return to the law, and not to stray from the law. - "Explanation of the Psalms 118.109"

"My life is always in your hands, but I do not forget your law." Because the soul of the righteous is persecuted by the wickedness of thieves, who want to seduce it with various traps, it very wisely says that it is placed "in the hands" of God. No violence of its adversaries can reach there, as it says, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no fatal torment will touch them." And also, "My sheep listen to my voice," and a little later, "No one will steal them from my hand." He added "ever," so that it would be understood that at no time is the soul left to the mercy of its foes. When it then says "in the hands," it means that God acts with power, since he keeps safe those who show themselves to have acted according to his judgments. Why then does he say that his soul is placed "in the hands" of the Lord? Because his law is not taught to someone who forgets. Therefore, we are under his protection if we do not stray in anything from the saving precepts. This is what is asked of us at all times and what we are commanded in particular here: to return to the law, and not to stray from the law.

The good God, showing his great and varied providence, not only ordained all of creation, unfolded the heavens, spread the seas, enkindled the sun, caused the moon to shine, gave the earth to be inhabited and offered all the resources of the earth for food and for the sustenance of our bodies, but he also gave us the relics of the holy martyrs. After taking their souls ("The souls of the righteous," it says, "are in the hand of God"), he left us their bodies in the meantime as an exhortation and a comfort, so that, drawing near to the graves of these saints, we might be moved to zeal and to imitation and that seeing them we might keep the memory of their good works and of the rewards associated with them.

The Word of God, who out of mercy condescended to become her son, serves with his sovereign hands this most holy and most divine woman as is fitting toward a mother and receives her holy soul. What a good legislator! Not being subject to the law, he keeps the law that he decreed. It is he, in fact, who established the duty of children toward their parents. "Honor," he says, "your father and your mother." I believe this is a truth that is obvious to anyone who is at least a little familiar with the divine revelation of sacred Scripture. If, as sacred Scripture says, "the souls of the righteous are in the hands of the Lord," how much more should she not entrust her soul to her Son and her God?

"The sufferings of the present time cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us." But it remains hidden until it is revealed. And precisely because it is hidden, "in the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died." But, by the fact that it is concealed, does it thus also remain hidden to God, before whom it is precious? "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints." Consequently, in the face of this hidden mystery we need eyes of faith, so as to believe what we do not see and to suffer courageously, resolutely accepting unjust evils.

"In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their end was thought to be a punishment." "Malice," in Latin, does not ordinarily have the same meaning that it has in the language used in sacred Scripture. In fact, in Latin one usually calls "malice" that which makes human beings wicked. In the language of the Scripture, however, by "malice" is also meant the evil suffered by human beings. In this passage, therefore, the term should be understood in the sense of "punishment."

"The Lord abandoned the evil he intended to inflict on his people." God wanted it to be understood that this evil was a punishment, as is said, "Their end was thought to be an evil." Similarly, it is said that good and evil come from God, but not according to the evil by which human beings are evil. God in fact is not evil, but he gives bad things to evil people, because he is just.

(Vers. 2.). They seemed to the eyes etc. It should be noted that the wicked and unbelieving regard the death of the Saints as death in the separation of the conjunction of soul to body, affliction in the pain of the conjoined, destruction in the perdition of the soul, which they regard as perishing with the body; the way of destruction with regard to the subsequent incineration of the body. According to this it is read thus: They seemed, that is the just, in the eyes of the foolish to die, namely by eternal death, when nevertheless they pass over to a better life. Whence Augustine: "God bestowed so great a grace upon the Christian faith that death, which is known to be contrary to life, became an instrument through which one might pass over to life." In the eyes, he says, of the foolish, who "set their eyes to decline toward the earth," that is, who consider only present things and not future things: and therefore to such people they seem utterly to die, but in the eyes of the wise they seem to be born, on account of which the death of the Saints is called a birthday, according to that passage in Job 11: "When you think yourself consumed, you shall rise as the morning star." And it was accounted, namely by the impious, as affliction, namely alone without any benefit, their departure, from the body, when nevertheless it is for them a consolation, according to that passage in Philippians 1: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Bernard: "The Saints hold death in desire, life in patience." But for the reprobate, there is affliction of departure in their death, and this because, as the same Bernard says, "for them there is pain in departure, horror in passage, shame in the sight of God."

(Vers. 3.). And from the just path, that is from the way of justice, they went away into destruction: the Gloss: "That is, in the estimation of the wicked," because "they regard the palm of martyrdom as affliction and destruction," that is, a retreat into nothingness as regards the soul, which they think is reduced to nothing: and repeat: the just went away, in the estimation of the impious, into the way of destruction, that is incineration, as regards the body; which destruction or way of destruction is from us, that is from our first parents: Romans 5: "Through one man death entered the world." Or: destruction he calls temporal death, because it excludes from the present life: way however of destruction he calls eternal death, because it excludes from eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld." And with this, there one passes or goes from deadly punishment to deadly punishment, according to that passage in Job 24: "From the waters of snow he shall pass to excessive heat." Such people err in thinking thus: whence below in chapter 5: "We fools accounted their life madness and their end without honor." But they are in peace; the Gloss: "Of perpetual rest, now in hope, at last in reality"; Apocalypse 14: "From henceforth now, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." For the end of the just is peace: whence Isaiah 32: "The work of justice shall be peace."

But someone will ask, "Why do we see that the good die along with the bad?" The former do not perish but escape, because they are freed from commerce with the wicked and from persecution, and they are brought to rest. The others die and truly perish, because what awaits them when they depart from this world is the torment and punishment of a terrible judgment. The good are called before their time, so that the perverse will torment them no more. The wicked and godless are taken away so that they would no longer persecute the good. The righteous are called from difficulties, tribulations and anguish into rest. The godless are dragged from luxury, abundance and pleasures to punishment. The former go to judge, the latter to be judged. The former, to receive their due, the latter to receive their punishment, as it is written, "The righteous, even if he dies prematurely, will find rest." And also, "Because he lived among sinners, he was taken away." And also, "His soul was pleasing to the Lord. Therefore God took him quickly from the wickedness around him." And still, "They go to death together with the godless, but they are in peace." You see therefore that this disintegration of the body is rest, not punishment, for the righteous and for those who worship God. In decay, rather than perishing, they are freed. Thus the faithful do not fear decay, nor are they overawed by it, but they desire and long for its coming. They understand that through it they will arrive at rest, not punishment. The perverse, the godless and those who are conscious of their crimes rightly fear decay, because of a natural disposition by which they cannot fail to judge themselves. Consequently, having received and understood this explanation, we must not sin at all, especially because we are not unaware that there is a judgment of sinners in this world, which remains in the future one.

And if before men etc. Here is touched upon the deliverance from the evil of present vexation, and first the deliverance in hope: second in reality, at: Afflicted in few things etc.; third the cause of both, at: For God tested them etc.

(Verses 4, 5). It is said therefore: And if, that is, although, before men: the Gloss: "Because before God is the crown of glory"; they suffered torments, namely various and grievous ones, as is evident in the Martyrs, concerning whom Hebrews eleven says: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc. Their hope, namely of the just, according to that saying of Proverbs fourteen: "The just man hopes in his death": is full of immortality, an immortality, I say, not such as was the immortality of the first parents, namely with the possibility of dying; not such as that of the damned in hell, namely with the perpetual desire of dying: Revelation nine: "They shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them"; not such as that of little children in limbo, namely with the lack of the glorious life, but such as that of the Blessed in heaven: Romans five: "We glory in the hope of the glory of the children of God".

And rightly they hope, because, afflicted in few things, the Gloss: "Bodily"; in many things they shall be well disposed: Matthew twenty-five: "Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things"; Luke twenty-two: "I dispose to you a kingdom" etc. But what those many things are, is said in Isaiah sixty-four: "Eye has not seen, O God, apart from you, what you have prepared for those who wait for you".

But there is a doubt about what it says: Afflicted in few things etc., because it is said in Hebrews eleven: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder" etc.

It must be said that their torments were many in themselves, but few by comparison: first, by comparison with their own estimation, according to that saying of Genesis twenty-nine: "The days seemed to him," namely to Jacob, "few because of the greatness of his love." Second, by comparison with the Passion of Christ: Lamentations one: "O all you who pass by the way"; likewise in the Psalm: "They were swallowed up, joined to the rock," namely to Christ, "their judges," that is, the Apostles themselves and other Martyrs. Third, by comparison with the future reward: Romans eight: "The sufferings are not worthy" etc.; likewise, Second Corinthians four: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." Fourth, by comparison with eternal affliction: Job six: "He who fears the frost, upon him shall the snow rush." Fifth, by comparison with the debt and the obligation, that is, the punishment owed on account of things omitted and the obligation on account of things committed: the Psalm: "What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that he has rendered to me"?

For God tested them etc. Here the cause of the aforesaid is touched upon, and first, their chastisement: second, their purification, there: As gold in the furnace etc.; third, the future recompense, there: And in the time there will be etc.

I rightly said that they will be well disposed in many things, for God tested them: Gloss: "That is, He chastised them with various tribulations"; 2 Corinthians 6: "As chastised and not put to death."

But to the contrary: "God tempts no one," as is found in James 1.

It must be said that He does not test in order to learn, as a man does: Daniel 1: "Test us, I beseech you" etc.; nor in order to deceive, as the devil does; Matthew 4: "The tempter, approaching, said to Him" etc.; likewise 1 Corinthians 7: "Lest Satan tempt you"; but in order to instruct, as a master instructs a disciple; Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and test me" etc.

And He found them worthy of Himself, namely "of the participation of His blessedness," which is acquired through tribulations: whence Acts 14: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of heaven"; likewise Tobit 3: "If he shall have been in trial, he shall be crowned."

How great is the constancy of the martyrs! How excellent is the faith of the saints who willingly accepted many torments for the name of Christ and who, nevertheless, despising these torments, defeated the devil who was in their persecutors! Indeed, Solomon said of them, "Even if to human eyes they suffer punishments, their hope is full of immortality." Therefore the saints had a great hope, because they believed that, enduring a temporary passion, they would receive in the resurrection what they hoped for. And what did they hope for in suffering these things? It is easier to speak of what they suffered, because who can speak of what they hoped for? Listen to the apostle Paul: "The sufferings of the present moment cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us."

There are two kinds of persecutors: those who insult and those who flatter. The tongue of the flatterer does more damage than the hand of the murderer, and Scripture calls such a tongue a furnace. Speaking of persecution, it says, "He tried them like gold in the crucible" (referring to the martyrs who had been killed), "and they pleased him like a sacrifice." Listen how the tongue of the flatterer is no different: "Fire puts gold and silver to the test, and a person is tested by the mouth that praises him." Both the one and the other are fire. You must emerge unscathed from both. The one who insults you breaks you to pieces, and you are shattered in the furnace like a clay vase. The word of God formed you; then came the test of suffering. Indeed, it is necessary that what has been formed also be baked. If the vase was well formed, fire is welcome! It will serve to harden it.

The nations "did for their gods what is abominable to the Lord and what he detests. They even burned their sons and daughters in the fire, in homage to their gods." In what other way can it be more clearly shown than with these testimonies of sacred Scripture (and I have omitted others that are similar) that God, who gave these Scriptures to the human race, was not only not pleased but indeed detested sacrifices in which human beings were immolated? God loves and rewards fully those sacrifices in which a righteous person who suffers iniquity fights for the truth even to the point of death or is killed by enemies that he has offended for the sake of justice, repaying them good for evil, love for hatred. The Lord calls this righteous blood, from the blood of Abel until the blood of Zechariah. And especially, because he poured out his blood for us and offered himself in sacrifice to God. This surely was an offering, as much as it was also his being killed by his enemies for the sake of justice. Imitating him, the army of the martyrs fought until death for the truth and was immolated by ruthless enemies. Scripture says of the martyrs, "He tried them like gold in the crucible, and he was pleased with them as with a holocaust." Thus the apostle says, "Indeed, I am already being sacrificed."

(Verse 6.) As gold in the furnace He tested them, namely on the part of the soul, purifying them through the fire of tribulations but not consuming them: Gloss: "Just as gold in the furnace is not burned up but is tested, so the Martyrs do not fail but are prepared for glory"; Sirach 2: "Gold and silver are tested in fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation," which, namely, comes through present tribulations: Job 23: "He tested me as gold that passes through fire." And as a victim of holocaust, which is entirely consumed in the sacrifice of the Lord's body: He received them, namely on the part of the body, by approving or accepting their devotion: Romans 12: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God." And in the time, namely of retribution: Gloss: "The death of the Saints is not perpetual, but in the day of judgment there is abundant recompense"; there will be regard for them, that is, they will be regarded by God, namely with the eye of mercy, which the Psalmist sought, saying: "Look upon me and have mercy on me." Regard, I say, for them, that is, of the just, who now seem to be abandoned by God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me?"; likewise, to be despised, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Why do You turn Your face away?"

God removes evil from us in two ways, by "wind" and by "fire." If we are good and obedient to his teachings and allow ourselves to be instructed by his Word, the "wind" sweeps away our evils, according to what is written, "If by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you will live." But if the Spirit has not taken away our evils, there is need of purification by fire. Observe closely, however, each combination of terms. The first is "wind" and "cloud," the second "fire" and "light," the third "electrum" and "splendor." Each of these, as though it were sad, is paired with something more cheerful. Indeed, if the wind dies down, immediately a cloud appears. If fire appears, there is light. If one speaks of electrum, there is brightness all around. We must, "like gold in the furnace" and electrum, be fused by an extremely hot fire. You will find, in the prophet we are commenting on, the Lord who sits in the middle of Jerusalem, fanning those who are a heap of silver, tin, iron and lead. With laments, he reproaches those who bear within themselves the dross of more base material. He says, "You have become the dross of silver, silver that is no longer pure like the grape." When we superimpose on God's creature, which at the beginning is good, the vices and passions that come from our wrongs, then we mix iron, tin and lead with gold and silver. To be purified, fire is necessary. As early as possible, then, we must act in such a way so as, when we arrive at this fire, to pass through it peacefully, like gold and silver and precious stones, which have no blemish of adultery. Not that we would be defeated by the fire, but that we might emerge from it approved.

The Father tests us, the Son tests us, the Holy Spirit tests us. He says of the Father to the Thessalonians, "Thus we preach, not seeking to please human beings but God, who tests our hearts." Solomon says of the Son, "He tried them like gold in the crucible and found them worthy of himself." Of the Holy Spirit, Solomon says, "He who tests hearts is the Spirit of the Lord," and he will wipe out the wicked from the earth.

The just shall shine etc. After he has treated of deliverance from evil, here he adds concerning reward in good, first, as regards the stole of the body: second, as regards the honor of judicial power, there: They shall judge the nations etc.; third, as regards the glory of divine fruition, there: Those who trust in Him etc.

(Vers. 7.). I said well that there will be in time a regard for them, because the just shall shine, namely by the endowment of clarity in the judgment as regards the substance of the body, according to that passage of Matthew thirteen: "Then the just shall shine as the sun"; but the sun shall shine sevenfold more than it does now: whence Isaiah thirty: "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold." And they shall run about like sparks, that is, they shall be apt for running about through the endowment of agility, and this as regards the operation or motion of the body, according to that passage of Isaiah forty: "They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles"; Augustine: "Where the spirit wills, there immediately shall the body also be." Like sparks, I say, in a bed of reeds, which they set ablaze and consume. A bed of reeds here signifies the assembly of the reprobate, because it is outwardly splendid through pretense, inwardly void of truth, laden with no fruit of good works, continually watered by the swamp of carnal concupiscence, agitated by the wind of pride, fit for eternal burning. In this bed of reeds the Saints are said to run about, trampling them underfoot; Malachi, last chapter: "You shall tread down the wicked." In the spark, moreover, the four endowments of the body can be noted, namely on account of its fiery clarity, subtlety, agility, and active power, through which impassibility can be understood.

"Like the moon, eternally perfect and a faithful witness in the sky." First he spoke of the sun, and we said that this referred to the soul of the righteous. Now he speaks of the moon, which is here appropriately compared with the human body, because it waxes and wanes with time. But he adds that it is "perfect" so that, by referring to that spiritual body, you would understand that he is not speaking of something temporal but only of that eternity that will never fail. Our very body, in fact, will be filled with light "forever," like "the perfect moon." And this moon, that is, the structure of our body, will be a "faithful witness," because in it the promises will have been fulfilled. And see that he has placed it "in the heavens," that is, in a holy person. The bodies of those whose souls shine with divine light will shine in the same way, as Solomon says, "The righteous will shine forth and, like sparks in the stubble, run here and there." - "Explanation of the Psalms 88.37"

God said earlier that those who sincerely repent will be saved and that after they have received the remedy of forgiveness, we must think of them as stars. Indeed, those who have merited to be numbered among the saints shine like the nighttime stars of this creation. But as much as it might seem to us that there are many, many of these in the church, God has counted every one of those who will have the joy of participating in his kingdom. The fact that we can think of the stars as holy people is attested to in the passage of Genesis that says, "I will make your descendents as numerous as the stars of heaven." And Solomon says, "The righteous will shine like the stars of heaven."

"Like the moon, eternally perfect and a faithful witness in the sky." First he spoke of the sun, and we said that this referred to the soul of the righteous. Now he speaks of the moon, which is here appropriately compared with the human body, because it waxes and wanes with time. But he adds that it is "perfect" so that, by referring to that spiritual body, you would understand that he is not speaking of something temporal but only of that eternity that will never fail. Our very body, in fact, will be filled with light "forever," like "the perfect moon." And this moon, that is, the structure of our body, will be a "faithful witness," because in it the promises will have been fulfilled. And see that he has placed it "in the heavens," that is, in a holy person. The bodies of those whose souls shine with divine light will shine in the same way, as Solomon says, "The righteous will shine forth and, like sparks in the stubble, run here and there."

Will it perhaps be that one who is cold must clothe himself, there where it will not even be necessary to cover the body, in the presence of that cold of which the prophet says, "Who can withstand his cold?" Or, where the one who has lost his wedding garment will be naked forever? Where the wicked person with a stained conscience will be clothed with darkness, and the good person with a mantle of immortality and blessedness. Where our merits will be our dress, as the Lord says, "The righteous will shine like the sun." And the prophet, "Your priests are clothed with righteousness," or, "The queen is at your right hand, in a gown of spun gold." Where an eternal light will shine that will replace the tunics of holy bodies. Where a garment that will never be removed will be changed into a body. Where the garment will be the prize and the angelic clothing will no longer be a covering or a garment but nature?

As fellow citizens of the saints and members of God's family and as heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, let us examine, to the extent possible, the renowned happiness of our city. Let us say with the prophet, "Oh, wonderful things are said of you, city of God, the home of all who rejoice in you!" You are the sum of all the joys of earth. In you there is no old age or the misery of old age. In you there are no cripples, or lame, or hunchbacks or deformed, but all "arrive at the stature of the perfect person, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ." What can be more beautiful than this life in which there is no fear of poverty or the sadness of disability; where no one is hurt or angry or envious; where no concupiscence flares up, nor is there desire for food, and where we are not agitated by ambition for honor or power? There is no fear of the devil there or of the snares of demons, and the fear of hell is long gone. There is death neither of the body nor of the soul but a life made joyous by the gift of immortality. There will be no more discord; rather, everything will be harmonious, of one heart, because there will be one unanimity among all the saints. Everything will be peaceful and joyful, calm and serene. There will be a perpetual splendor, not the one we see now but a greater brightness to match the greater happiness. Therefore, as we read, that "city will have no need of the light of the sun," but the almighty Lord will enlighten it, "and its lamp is the Lamb," where the saints will shine like stars forever, and those who teach many, like the splendor of the firmament. Thus, there will never be night or any darkness. Clouds will not gather, nor will there be cold or heat or bitterness. Rather, everything will be such that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man," except those found worthy to enjoy it, "whose names are written in the book of life."

"If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." But, when we have arrived at life, what need is there for me to add "eternal"? And why add "happy"? Life, plain and simple, because that which is both eternal and happy is life. When we have arrived at life, we will have the certainty that we will live in it forever. In fact, if we find ourselves there and do not have the certainty of remaining there forever, even there we would be in fear. And if there is fear, there would be suffering, not of the body but of the soul, which is worse. But what kind of happiness is it where there is suffering? Thus, we will have the assurance of always being in that life, unable to see its end, because we will be in the kingdom of him about whom it was said, "And his kingdom will have no end." The book of Wisdom, making known to us the glory of God's saints, whose death is precious in his sight, says, as you heard at the end of the reading, "And the Lord will reign over them forever." We will therefore be in that great kingdom that endures forever, precisely because it is just, great and eternal.

(Vers. 8.). They shall judge nations. This is said specially of the perfect Saints, who shall judge and shall not be judged. For there shall be four orders in the judgment, as the Gloss says on that verse of the Psalm: "The wicked shall not rise in the judgment."

But how shall the Saints judge, since it is written in John five: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son"?

It must be said that there is a judgment of authority, by which the whole Trinity shall judge: of judicial examination, by which Christ alone as man shall judge: of assessorial dignity, by which only the more perfect Saints shall judge: of approbation, by which all the good shall judge: of comparison, by which the good, that is, the less wicked, shall judge: Matthew twelve: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it."

And they shall have dominion over peoples, namely after the judgment: Revelation five: "We shall reign upon the earth," that is, over the earthly. Or: they shall have dominion over peoples, after death: Matthew fifteen: "The little dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters," that is, we of the benefits of the Blessed. And He shall reign, with them, or in them, their Lord, namely Christ: Revelation nineteen: "King of kings," etc.: forever: Luke one: "Of His kingdom there shall be no end"; Psalm: "Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages."

Who trust in him. Here he touches upon the glory of fruition: and he touches upon this in three respects, namely in the knowledge of truth, in the adherence to goodness, there: And the faithful in love: in the perfection of comprehension, there: For gift and peace is etc.

(Vers. 9.). He says therefore: Who trust etc., as if to say, not only will they judge, but also those who trust in him, namely God, in the present, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion"; shall understand the truth, by open vision: First John 3: "We shall see him as he is": Gloss: "According to true confidence, the understanding of truth is given." And the faithful in love, that is, those loving him faithfully and inseparably, as the Apostle, who said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ" etc., Romans 8: Ecclesiasticus 6: "To a faithful friend there is no comparison"; shall rest in him: Gloss: "Because in the future they will not be able to be torn from his fellowship, whom here they already held by faith and hope." Therefore rest in God through love will succeed the understanding of faith. For gift: Gloss: "Of eternal satisfaction"; Psalm: "I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear"; likewise: "They shall be inebriated with the abundance of your house." And peace, "eternal," according to the Gloss: Isaiah 32: "My people shall sit in the beauty of peace": likewise Philippians 4: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding": is for his elect, the Saints, whom God chose from this world: John 15: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you from the world." - This can also be expounded concerning present merit, which consists in the knowledge of truth through faith, in the conformity of human and divine will through love, so that gift is referred to the knowledge of faith, and peace to the tranquility of love.

If long and healthful life: there is sound eternity and eternal soundness, because the just shall live forever, and: The salvation of the just is from the Lord. If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear. If inebriation: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the house of God.

Third, concerning the retribution of the just and the reprobate, in two ways.

But the just forever. Here he sets forth the fitting retribution of the just and the reprobate, and first, the reward of the just; second, the punishment of the reprobate: And he shall take up armor.

He touches upon a twofold reward of the just: first, for the doing of good; and second, for the victory over evil: Therefore they shall receive etc.

(Verse 16). But the just etc., as if to say: such is the life and death of the impious: but, that is, "however." The just, on the contrary, shall live forever: The Gloss: "They shall live with eternal life," of which John 17: "This is eternal life" etc. And with the Lord, that is, in the Lord himself through hope, according to the Gloss: in the Psalm: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," namely through charity, "it is good to place my hope in the Lord God"; is their reward: The Gloss: "The recompense of labor": for he himself is the reward of the Saints: Genesis 15: "I am your protector and your reward exceedingly great": likewise Numbers 18: "I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel." And their thought etc., as if to say: and deservedly with the Lord is their reward, because their thought, that is, their whole solicitude and intention through faith, is with the Most High, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Cast your thought upon the Lord" etc. Or: thought, that is, the knowledge of their understanding, is with the Most High alone: for the just think only about God, or about those things which contribute to possessing him, according to that passage of 1 Corinthians 7: "The unmarried woman thinks about the things of the Lord."

If wisdom is pleasant in the knowledge of created things, how much more pleasant will be the Wisdom that created all things from nothing? If a great abundance of pleasures are found in pleasant things, what, and how great, will the pleasure be in him who made pleasant things? O, for the one who will enjoy this good! What will he have, and what won't he have? He will surely have everything he will want and nothing that he won't want. In that place there will truly be the goods of body and soul, "those things that eye has not seen or ear heard, nor have they even entered the human heart." Poor person, why then do you wander here and there seeking what is good for your body and soul? Love the one good in which all good things are, and that is enough. Desire that simple good that is every good, and that is enough. What do you love, my flesh? What do you desire, my soul? Everything that you love is there. Everything you desire is there. If beauty delights you, "The righteous will shine like the sun." If it is swiftness, strength or a freedom of the body that nothing can hinder, "They will be like the angels of God," since "a natural body is sown, and a spiritual body is raised"—by his power, of course, and not by nature. A long, healthy life is already an object of delight. There, there will be an eternity without evils, and eternal health, since "the righteous will live forever" and "the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord." If one speaks of fullness, they will be filled when the glory of the Lord appears. If of intoxication, "They will be filled with the abundance of the Lord's house." If of melody, up there the choirs of angels sing endlessly to God in unison. If of any kind of pure desire, the Lord will give them to drink of the stream of the delights of his divinity. If of wisdom, "They will all be taught by God" in such a way that wisdom itself will teach them. If of friendship, they will love God more than themselves and one another as themselves. And God will love them more than they love themselves, since they will love him, loving themselves and one another in him, and he will love them in himself. If one speaks of harmony, they will all have a single will, because they will have only the will of God. If of power, they will enter into the power of the Lord, and their wills will be almighty, like that of God.

(Verse 17). And because they are such in the present, therefore they shall receive the kingdom of glory, that is, a glorious kingdom with respect to the golden crown or the essential reward; Matthew 5: "Blessed are the poor" etc. And the crown of beauty, that is, a beautiful one: The Gloss: "The enemy having been conquered"—and this with respect to the aureole or with respect to the accidental reward: 2 Timothy 4: "There is laid up for me a crown of justice." Concerning both, Exodus 25. From the hand of God, or of the Lord; The Gloss: "That is, from Christ, who is called the hand and arm and right hand of God the Father." For he is the hand by working: "For all things were made through him," John 1: the arm by protecting, according to that passage of the Psalm: "My arm shall strengthen him"; the right hand by rewarding: Matthew 25: "He shall set the sheep on his right hand." For his right hand shall cover them: The Gloss: "Here and in the future," from the wrath of the supreme Judge: Isaiah 49: "In the shadow of his hand he protected me": Sirach 34: "A shelter from the heat and a shade from the noonday." And with his holy arm, that is, of his holy power, he shall defend them, namely from every attack of the adversary, according to that passage of the Psalm: "The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"

And he shall take armor etc. Here he touches upon the punishment of the reprobate under the metaphor of a king taking up arms against his adversaries. And first he describes the king's purpose: second, his equipment: He shall put on etc.: third, the battle: They shall go forth directly: fourth, the effect of the battle: And he shall bring to desolation: fifth, the remedy for the battle: Better is wisdom.

(Verse 18). And he shall take armor, namely against adversaries, his zeal: Proverbs six: "The zeal and fury of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance." "His arms, however, are truth, justice, and judgment," according to the Gloss. And he will arm the creature, namely as his army, according to that passage below in chapter sixteen: "The creature serving you its Maker burns against the unjust"; for the vengeance upon enemies: Psalm: "God of vengeances" etc.

He shall put on justice for a breastplate: justice is compared to a coat of mail or breastplate, because, just as a coat of mail protects the whole body, so justice protects the soul on every side: whence Second Corinthians six: "By the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left"; Isaiah fifty-nine: "He put on justice as a breastplate." And he shall take sure judgment for a helmet, or certain: right judgment, that is, discernment, and it is compared to a helmet, which is the defense of the head, that is, of reason: Proverbs sixteen: "Divination is on the lips of the king; in judgment his mouth shall not err."

He shall take equity for an invincible shield: to a shield, which defends the coat of mail, equity is compared, because it renders justice irreproachable: Isaiah eleven: "He shall reprove in equity for the meek of the earth."

Since justice necessarily requires that the human being, who merited or demerited not in soul alone nor in body alone, but in soul and body together, be punished or rewarded in both; the reformation of grace also requires that the whole body be conformed to Christ the Head, whose dead body necessarily had to rise, since it was inseparably united to the Divinity; and the completion of nature requires that the human being consist simultaneously of body and soul as of matter and form, which have a mutual appetite and mutual inclination: it is necessary that the resurrection be future, since the constitution of nature, the infusion of grace, and the retribution of justice demand this, according to which the whole universe is governed. And therefore from these three all things cry out that the human being must be raised, so that every excuse may be taken away from those who are deaf to this truth of faith, and deservedly against such people the whole world fights.

And he shall sharpen his fierce wrath; he says fierce to distinguish it from the light wrath with which he is now angry; for a spear: the wrath of God is compared to a spear, because it will reach even whatever is remote and will penetrate: Ezekiel twenty-one: "The sword is sharpened" etc.; likewise Exodus fifteen: "You sent forth your wrath, which devoured them as stubble." And the whole world shall fight with him against the senseless: Gregory: "When the Creator is offended, every creature is offended"; the Gloss: "The Creator through the creature subject to him corrects the offenders." That battle shall be terrible, concerning which Job forty: "Remember the battle, and speak no more."

He therefore who is not illumined by such great splendors of created things is blind; he who is not awakened by such great cries is deaf; he who does not praise God on account of all these effects is mute; he who from such great signs does not advert to the first principle is a fool. Open therefore your eyes, bring near your spiritual ears, loose your lips, and apply your heart, that in all creatures you may see, hear, praise, love, and worship, magnify and honor your God, lest perchance the whole world rise up against you. For on this account the whole world shall fight against the senseless, and conversely for the wise it shall be matter of glory, who according to the Prophet can say: Thou hast given me delight, O Lord, in thy making, and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice. How great are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom, the earth is filled with thy possession.

They shall go directly etc. Here he describes the last battle according to the diverse battle lines of creatures. And first he introduces fire warring against and conquering the impious; second, the air: And from the stony: third, water: And it shall grow white-hot: fourth, wind or whirlwind proceeding from the earth: Against them shall stand the spirit of power.

(Verse 22). They shall go, therefore, namely against them, directly the bolts of lightning: Gloss: "At will, that is, according to the will of the commander": Ecclesiasticus 43: "He hastens to send forth the flashings of his judgment"; likewise in the Psalm: "Flash forth lightning, and you shall scatter them." And as from a well-curved bow of the clouds, that is, as the curved lines of the rainbow, when the sun comes upon them, the impious shall be destroyed: as if to say: just as quickly and easily the heavenly bow is dissolved, so the impious shall quickly and easily be destroyed, that is, they shall be placed outside the boundaries of present and eternal life: Baruch 3: "They were destroyed and descended to the netherworld"; in the Psalm: "He has bent his bow" etc. And they shall leap to a certain place, namely against the wicked only, so that they shall not touch the good: chapter 3 above: "The torment of death shall not touch them." To a certain place: Gloss: "Wherever it may be necessary; for that which divine wisdom has ordered cannot be confused": whence Exodus 9: "In Egypt the land of Goshen suffered no evil from the plagues inflicted upon Egypt."

(Verse 23). And from stony wrath: stony is said of that wrath on account of its effect, because it will manifest itself through rocks, or because it is unbreakable and hard like rock, or because it will be inflicted by Christ, who is called the rock in 1 Corinthians 10: "And the rock was Christ." Full hailstones shall be sent, that is, thick and great; or: fully, that is, completely or abundantly: Psalm: "Fire, hail, snow, ice" etc.; Job 38: "Have you entered the storehouses of snow?" Revelation 16: "Great hail like a talent in weight descended from heaven upon men." But the Greeks have it thus: And as from a well-curved bow of clouds they shall leap to a sure mark, and from a hurled stone, full wrath. This reading is clearer and seems truer, since this book appears to have been compiled in Greek. And it shall grow hot, that is, it shall boil, upon them, that is, against them, the water of the sea: for it shall become boiling, turbid, and foaming: Luke 21: "On earth, distress of nations from the confusion of the sound of the sea and the waves." For it shall be one of the fifteen signs, according to Jerome, that the sea shall raise itself above the height of the mountains. And rivers, that is, of fresh waters, shall rush together harshly, that is, forcefully: Exodus 15: "They sank like lead in mighty waters." Or: The water of the sea, that is, the bitterness of hell, shall grow hot against them, that is, it shall hiss and boil like water by the casting in of hot iron: Isaiah 14: "Hell beneath is disturbed." And rivers, namely of anguish, shall rush together harshly, because there shall be grief over goods lost, shame over evils committed, fear over present punishments.

(Verse 24). Against them shall stand the spirit of power, that is, a strong wind, according to that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew" etc., proceeding from the caverns of the earth, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Who brings forth winds from his storehouses"; likewise in the Psalm: "With a vehement wind you shall shatter the ships of Tarshish"; likewise Job 1: "A vehement wind rushed from the region of the desert." This is the "spirit of storms," of which the Psalm speaks. And as: as is expressive of truth, not a mark of similitude: a whirlwind, that is, a blast composed of contrary winds mixed with dust, shall divide them etc. Or: spirit can be called the sentence of the judge, according to that passage of Isaiah 11: "With the spirit of his mouth he shall slay the wicked." And then the term as is a mark of similitude, not expressive of truth, when it is said: And as a whirlwind shall divide them, namely from the good: Job 27: "A burning wind shall take him up, and as a whirlwind shall snatch him from his place"; the last chapter of Isaiah: "Behold, the Lord shall come in fire, and his chariots as a whirlwind." And to a wasteland, that is, a horrible and barren place, lacking every good: concerning such a place, Deuteronomy 32: "In a place of horror and vast solitude."

All the earth, that is, earthly ones, their iniquity will lead them through, that is, their own iniquity, not another's, will be the cause why they are led there, according to that passage of Isaiah 50: "Walk in the flames which you have kindled for yourselves." Or according to another reading: he says the land of their iniquity, because according to the Psalm: "Fire shall go before the judge himself," which will burn the surface of the earth on which their iniquities were committed and render it dry. And malice, which they practiced, which connotes something worse, will overthrow, that is, will be the cause of overthrowing, the thrones of the powerful, that is, kingdoms, cities and strongholds, towers and tribunals: Sirach 10: "God has destroyed the thrones of proud rulers." The Gloss expounds the preceding differently, namely, concerning the present overthrow of the impious, the unfaithful, and heretics by Christ and the Church: by the flashing of miracles, by the hail of rebukes, by the cleansing of tribulations, by the whirlwind of persecutions, by the subversion and removal of possessions, by the casting down of the powerful.

That there will be only one divine judgment through Christ, the apostle Paul explicitly states when he says, "God will judge people's secrets through our Lord Jesus Christ." Moreover, the same apostle tells us that the Spirit will also judge the antichrist, saying specifically of this figure, "The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the Spirit of his mouth." If the antichrist will be destroyed by the Spirit of the mouth of the Lord, then every created being will also be judged by the Spirit, something of which Solomon also speaks, saying, "The Spirit of power will break out against them, and a mighty wind will scatter them."

The Lord taught in the Gospel that the Holy Spirit is judge and can convict the entire world regarding sin, righteousness and judgment. It says, in fact, "The Holy Spirit, when he comes, will convict the world about sin, about righteousness and about judgment." And Isaiah says, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion." And in Solomon it is said, "The Spirit of God will break out against them and will scatter them like a whirlwind." Again Isaiah says, "See that in my Spirit I carry out judgment, says the Lord." Why then do you deny that people may ask pardon for their sins from their judge, so as to be more cleansed and more purified of sins, if they are successful in asking? And having done so, if they were to fall again into the evil of sin through rash words, that they could ask the Holy Spirit, directly and without difficulty, to grant them pardon and remission of their sins—to him, that is, who intercedes for us with the Father with inexpressible groanings? Since you accuse us of sacrilege for asserting, in confessing the Trinity, that the Holy Spirit is God and Lord, watch that you yourselves do not become more worthy of this charge. Indeed, you refuse to confess that Holy Spirit whom the Lord wanted the apostles to proclaim, without distinction, together with the Father and the Son, "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." If, regarding the essence of the divinity, the Holy Spirit were not equal to the Father and the Son, how is it possible that in the sacrament of baptism nothing happens without him?

Wisdom is better etc., as if to say: since the powerful who lack understanding are treated in this way, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, "always rightly governs the soul"; than the strength of the body, which often casts one headlong into sins: Ecclesiastes 9: "I said that wisdom is better than strength." And a prudent man, in human affairs, according to the Gloss, not only in eloquence: more than a strong man: Gloss: "In body." Whence one ought not to glory in such strength, according to that saying from Jeremiah 9: "Let not the strong man glory in his strength."

Hear therefore, etc., as if to say: since wisdom is so useful, hear therefore, with the outward hearing, O kings: Gloss: "Prelates"; and understand, with the inward hearing: Proverbs 1: "A wise man hearing shall be yet wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governance": Matthew 13: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth, that is, of distinct lands or provinces. Kings are called prelates by directing toward the good; judges, by discerning between good and evil. Learn, I say, wisdom, because it is necessary for judges: whence Deuteronomy 1: "Give from among you wise and knowledgeable men."

Give ear, namely both the outward and inward ear, you who restrain, by holding back from evil, the multitudes of peoples committed to your care: Proverbs 14: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." And you delight in yourselves among the throngs of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies: against which Gregory says in the Pastoral Rule: "As often as a prelate delights in ruling over men, so often does he fall into the crime of apostasy."

And you ought to listen, because power was given to you by the Lord: whence Romans thirteen: "There is no power except from God": power: Gloss: "Judiciary on earth," namely as regards the definition of the sentence: John nineteen: "You would have no power against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above." And strength: Gloss: "Of punishing," as regards the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil cases, strength in criminal cases. From the Most High, namely God established above us: Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who will examine: Gloss: "In judgment"; Luke sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Your works, namely exterior ones: Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "All things that are done, God will bring into judgment," etc. For he did not so give power that he would not demand an account; therefore Sirach eighteen: "Before judgment examine yourself, and before God you will find propitiation." And he will search out thoughts, that is, interior works: Gloss: "As one about to judge concerning all things"; above, chapter one: "There will be an inquisition into the thoughts of the ungodly." He will search out: Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps"; nor will he only search out, but he will also make manifest: whence First Corinthians four: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts."

It should be noted, moreover, that a threefold examination will be made of the prelate: first, how he entered: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you enter here," etc. Second, how he lived: Isaiah twenty-two: "What are you doing here? Or as who are you here?" Third, how he ruled and guarded the flock entrusted to him: Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your glorious cattle?"

The Father reigns, the Son reigns, the Holy Spirit reigns. Of the Father the Gospel says, "If one is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Of the Son it is said, "Say to the peoples, 'The Lord reigned from the wood.' " In Solomon it is said of the Holy Spirit, "Your sovereignty comes from the Holy Spirit." And then, "Though you are ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly."

(Chapter VII, Verses 1, 2) And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah: Rezin King of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. And they reported to the house of David, saying: Syria has joined forces with Ephraim, and his heart is troubled, as the trees of the forest are moved by the wind. Uzziah, also known as Azariah, reigned as king of Judah in Jerusalem for fifty-two years (2 Kings 15). At the end of his time, Isaiah saw what he had already prophesied. When he died, and Jotham his son reigned in his place, a just king, the prophet immediately saw the Lord Savior reigning in his majesty, and announcing the blindness of the Jewish people, and the destruction of Jerusalem, and the other cities under Vespasian and Adrian. He also saw how the remnants would be saved through the Apostles. The third king, son of Jotham, succeeded him - Ahaz, the most impious king - who closed the doors of the temple, worshipped Baalim in the valley of Benbannom, and consecrated his son to idols. So he took away the bronze altar that Solomon had made and put it in the temple of the gods of Damascus, which he had taken from Damascus. Thus he was abandoned by the Lord, and Rasin, king of Syria, that is, Aram, and Phacee, son of Romelias, king of Israel in Samaria, rose up against him and came to Jerusalem to attack it (Same source). We read in the Book of Chronicles that after defeating Achaz, Rasin, king of Damascus, brought many people from Judah to Damascus, and Phacee, son of Romelias, king of the ten tribes called Israel, struck down in one day one hundred twenty thousand warriors from Judah and took captive two hundred thousand women, children, and girls along with a great amount of plunder to Samaria. About this battle, the prophet is now silent, but according to the account, a battle took place when they, having the test of their strength and victory, and invited by the magnitude of the spoils, came again to Judea, and desired to wage war against Jerusalem, but they could not, because the Lord helped him, so that under the occasion of mercy, by which he freed the besieged people, he announced that his son would be born of a Virgin. When the house of David, that is, the royal house, heard this, Syria and Ephraim, namely Rasin and Phacee, came together with their army, and they were terrified and feared, and both the king and the people trembled so much that you would think the leaves of the trees were being blown by the blasts of the wind. According to the anagoge, the easy interpretation is this: during the reign of the wicked King Ahaz, the king of Aram, who is interpreted as lofty and sublime, signifies the arrogance of worldly wisdom. And Pekah, son of Remaliah, who also, according to the prophet Hosea, was from the tribe of Ephraim, from which Jeroboam son of Nebat had set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan (3 Kings 32), and had separated the people of God from David, is referred to the heretics who are agreeing with him to attack the Church. And when the house of David hears this, the good shepherd whom we read about in Ezekiel (Ezek. XXXIV) being raised up, and his people believing simply in the Lord, they will tremble. And they will tremble because they are compared not to fruitful trees, but to a barren cliff. However, there is no doubt that heretics and pagans fight against the house of David with the swords of arguments and the art of dialectic, so that those who disagree among themselves may unite in attacking the Church, just as Herod and Pilate, who were at odds with each other, joined together in the passion of the Lord.

And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joathan. Here the threat against the enemies of the two tribes is set out. And it is divided into two parts: in the first, the threat against the persecutors of the people is set out; in the second, the threat against those who are contemptuous of the prophecies of the prophets: woe to the crown of pride (ch. 28). The first of these is divided into two: in the first, the overthrow of each enemy in particular; in the second, of all of them in general: behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth (ch. 24). The first of these is divided into three: in the first, against enemies who persecute them bodily; in the second, against enemies who furnish power: the burden of Damascus (ch. 17); in the third, against enemies who oppress them in things: the burden of the desert of the sea (ch. 21). The first of these is divided into two: in the first, against persecutors of the same nation; in the second, against foreign persecutors: woe to them that make wicked laws (ch. 10). The first of these is divided into two: in the first, he threatens the frustration of the impious through the liberation of the two tribes; in the second, their destruction: and the Lord said to me (ch. 8). The first part, which is contained in this chapter, is divided into three: in the first, the imminent danger is described; in the second, the benefit of liberation is promised: and the Lord said to Isaiah (Isa 7:3); in the third, the sign of liberation is conferred, where it says, and the Lord spoke again to Achaz (Isa 7:10).

To understand the first part, it should be known that Achaz was impious and an idolater, as we read in 2 Kings 16:2–4 and 2 Chronicles 27; and therefore, the Lord gave him into the hand of the kings of Syria and Samaria, who first came against him and, besieging Jerusalem and finally conquering it, captured the greater part of his army and the chief of his army. Confident from that victory, they came again to deprive him of the kingdom entirely, and substitute another in his place. And in this second coming, Isaiah consoled him.

Three things, therefore, are set out in the first part. First, the gathering of the enemies is described; hence he says: and it came to pass in the days of Achaz. And he takes the genealogy back to Ozias, perhaps because it was when Ozias was struck with leprosy by the Lord (2 Chr 26:19–23), though he had once been just, that they received the daring to invade as though disdaining divine help. Came up, this is said because of the position of the land, for Judah is in the mountains; Phacee, who killed Phaceia king of Israel, whose chief of military he was, and reigned in his place; but they could not prevail over it, the first time, although they conquered the king in the battlefield. Or this is said by anticipation, as to the second time they came up.

Second, he sets out the declaration of this: and they, his scouts, told the house of David, that is, the royal house, saying: Syria has rested upon Ephraim, that is, the king of Syria with the king of the ten tribes, which are called Ephraim, because of their first king, who belonged to the tribe of Ephraim (1 Kings 13) or because of honor; they were joined in friendship although they were formerly enemies, as is read in 1 Kings 22. And he says, Syria has rested upon Ephraim, that it be noted that the kingdom of Syria held the first place in the alliance, because it was stronger.

Third, the effect of the declaration is set out, namely disturbance of the king and his people: and his, namely, the king's, heart was moved, and the heart of his people: so also a fearful heart in the thought of a fool (Sir 22:23); and dread to them that work iniquity (Prov 21:15); and king Herod hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matt 2:3).

(Verse 3, 4 and following) And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-Jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field. And say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying: Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over it, the son of Tabeel. Thus says the Lord God, this will not stand, and this will not be, but the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and yet sixty-five years, and Ephraim will cease to be a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Romelia. If you do not believe, you will not endure. Jasub, the son of Isaiah, who is interpreted as the remnant and turning back, in the likeness of the people of Judah, who was to be saved from the hands of the two kings, is commanded to go out with his parent and meet Ahaz, the king of Judah, by the upper pool of the aqueduct, on the road of the fuller's field, where later we will read, in the time of King Hezekiah, Rabshakeh stood to blaspheme the people of God by order of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. The place they went out to was the one where the leaders of the city, sent by Hezekiah, were mentioned in the book of Kings. And it is commanded to Ahaz (2 Kings 18), even though he is a wicked king, by the mercy of the Lord, to be silent and not be terrified or afraid in his heart, thinking that he will suffer similar things that he had suffered before. However, he calls the two tails of burning wood, that is, the smoke towers, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Samaria, because the kingdom of Syria, that is, Damascus, and the kingdom of Samaria, that is, the ten tribes, which were called Ephraim by another name, end in them. For it is written (2 Kings 16) that Theglathphalassar, king of the Assyrians, ascended to Damascus under King Ahaz and laid it waste, and carried away its inhabitants to Cyrene, and killed Rasin, and that he plotted against Pekah son of Remaliah, and killed him, and reigned in Israel for nine years in his place, and that Salmanasar, king of Assyria, came and besieged Samaria, which is now called Sebaste, for three years, and in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea he captured it, and he imprisoned Hoshea and carried Israel away to the Assyrians, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the River Gozan and in the cities of Media, or as the Septuagint translated, in the mountains of Media (2 Kings 17). For although the wicked kings have devised a plan today to ascend to Judah, whose region is situated in the mountains, and to rouse him from his rest, and in a way, to subdue him to their authority; and to set over him the son of Tabeel, who is interpreted as 'good God', in order to show either a man with this name, or an idol. Nevertheless, thus says the Lord God: This plan shall not stand, but for the time being the head of Syria's cities shall be Damascus, and in that very metropolis, Rasin shall reign. Furthermore, in Ephraim because of Jeroboam the son of Nabath, who was the first ruler of Ephraim, there will be the head of Samaria, that is, the royal house in the city of Samaria, and the head of Samaria will be the son of Romelia, that is, Phacee: however, the kingdom of the ten tribes, that is, the people of Ephraim, will cease to exist after sixty-five years. If we do not pay closer attention, it will not be able to stand. For in the twelfth year of Achaz the son of Joatham in the tribe of Judah, Hoshia ruled over Samaria, and in the ninth year, he was captured by the Assyrian empire (2 Kings 17). However, Achaz reigned over Judah for sixteen years (2 Kings 16), after whose death in the seventh year of his reign, Hoshea was captured and Samaria was destroyed, and the entire people were transported to Media. Thus, if we were to add sixteen years for Achaz and seven for Hoshea, there would be a total of twenty-three years, or at most, twenty-four. So where are the sixty-five years in which the kingdom of Israel is said to be ended? Therefore, the Hebrews explained this passage as follows: Amos, who began prophesying during the reign of Uzziah, also known as Azariah, and Isaiah, who began his prophecy, was the first to prophesy against Israel, saying: But Israel shall be taken captive out of his own land (Amos 7:11, 17). The title of his prophecy against Samaria is: And he began to prophesy in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, two years before the earthquake, which is said to have occurred at the time when Uzziah entered the temple of God and usurped the priesthood for himself, and the earth shook, and the ashes of the altar were poured out, and the king himself was struck with leprosy (II Chronicles 26). But Ozias wanted there to be twenty-five years when these things happened, of which there remain twenty-seven more years. For Ozias reigned for fifty-two years (2 Kings 15), after him his son Joatham reigned for sixteen years, and his son Achaz for another sixteen years. After him reigned Ezechias, and in the sixth year of his reign, Samaria was captured, making a total of sixty-five years (2 Kings 16). This, the Lord predicting through the prophet, Achaz and the people did not believe the future. Hence it is added: If you do not believe, you will not remain, as Symmachus translated, that is, you will not remain in your kingdom, but you will be led into captivity, enduring the punishment of those whose faithlessness you imitated. Or certainly according to the Septuagint, you will not understand. And the meaning is: because you do not believe what the Lord says will happen, you will not have understanding. These things we have spoken according to history. However, according to the intended symbolism, it should be considered that the prophet Isaiah is commanded to meet the impious king, going out from his place, not at the beginning of the aqueduct, but at the farthest ends of the upper pool, which was in the field of the clothiers, where impurities and stains were cleansed. Although Ahaz reigned over Judah, because he was impious, he dwelled at the farthest ends of the upper pool. Therefore, God does not have such pity on a king whom he regarded as unworthy of salvation as he has for his own people. However, the two tails of smoking torches, as we have previously mentioned, are called secular wisdom and heretical discourse, the end of which is destruction. Those who foolishly devised a plan to rise up against Judah, in order to capture him as if he were careless and asleep, and to associate him with their own errors, and to place the son of Tabeel, that is, a false god, on him. For both adversaries consider the truth to be with themselves, and they estimate that their own doctrine is the best. In the end, the heretic Marcion believes that Christ is the son of the good God, that is, of another, and not of the just one whose prophets he is. He calls him bloody, cruel, and a judge. While they are saying these things, the Lord threatens that their plan will not stand, but for the time being, as long as this world stands, and as long as the things of this world rule in their boundaries and cities. But when the time of the consummation comes, that is, sixty-five years, and both the things of the world that were made in six days, and all that pertains to the five senses, come to an end, then everything will be dissolved, which the gentiles and heretics do not believe will happen, and because of their disbelief, they do not understand what is being said.

And the Lord said to Isaiah. Here liberation is promised. And first, the manner of the promise is set out; second, the promise itself: and you shall say to him (Isa 7:4). And the manner is set out first, as to the person announcing it: the Lord said to Isaiah, inspiring him inwardly, or speaking through a subordinate creature: go forth to meet Achaz, who perhaps because of fear of the enemy had gone to prepare himself to resist.

Second, as to the witness: and Jasub your son that is left, to you, the other brother, namely, Rabsaces, who was born from a more noble mother, having fled to the king of the Assyrians, because he was not received well by Achaz: about whom, see below (Isa 36:2); in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand (Deut 19:15).

Third, as to the place, to the end. To understand this, it should be known that because Jerusalem is in the mountains, it does not abound in flowing waters, and therefore, they had water in pools, collected either from the rain or from remote springs via aqueducts. Now there were three pools in Jerusalem: one which was for the use of the priests and sacrifices, which was called the Probatica pool, about which, see John 5:2; the second was lower in the city and was kept clean for the general use of the city; the third was outside the city and had unclean water; in it fullers would wash wool, and it was for this kind of use: and from that pool is named the whole fuller's field. And thus is made clear what is said in the text.

And you shall say to him. Here he sets out the promise: and first, he sets out strengthening; second, the reason for strengthening: of the two tails of these firebrands; third, the condemnation of the unbelieving, where it says, if you will not believe, you shall not continue (Isa 7:9).

And he strengthens them, prohibiting the sign of fear: see you be quiet, that is, beware lest you outwardly reveal the fear of your heart, below: in silence and in hope shall your strength be (Isa 30:15), and in the same place: and the work of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness, and security for ever (Isa 32:17). And he also shows the passage of fear: fear not, the evils to come, and let not your heart be afraid, because of the memory of the evils which you have suffered, below: fear not, for I am with you: I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west (Isa 43:5).

Of the two tails. Here he sets out the reason for strengthening. And first, he shows the vanity of the proposers, who propose great things, though they can sustain nothing or very little: the two tails, because the kingdom was ended in them. For Rasin was killed by Theglathphalasar (2 Kings 16:9), and led his people into captivity; but Phacee was made subject, and afterwards was killed by an enemy, who a little later was captured by Salmanasar, and the ten tribes were taken captive (2 Kings 17:3–6). Smoking: for they were then near to being extinguished.

Rouse it up, like someone resting in sleep, and draw it away, that is, let us draw it into our power. The son of Tabeel, literally, a certain man, or an idol of our god; Tabeel means "God is good."

Second, as to the frustration of the proposal: thus says the Lord, who can do all things, this shall not be, because it will not be carried into effect, and it shall not stand, because they will not last long in such a proposal, with greater evils rushing in upon them, below: take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: speak a word, and it shall not be done: because God is with us (Isa 8:10).

Third, as to the destruction of the enemies; and first, as to the Assyrians: but the head of Syria, as if to say: but in the meantime, and before they are destroyed, the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rasin, as if to say: the Damascenes and their king will be contained in their borders. And within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall cease to be a people, because they will be taken captive. These years should not be computed from the time of this prophecy, but from the time when Ozias was struck with leprosy, because it was then that they received the daring to invade, in the twenty-sixth year of his reign. And from that time Joathan his son reigned twenty-seven years, while his father still lived, and afterwards sixteen years; then Achaz reigned sixteen years, and then Ezechias, in the sixth year of whose reign, the people were taken captive (2 Kings 17:5). And these taken together are sixty-five years.

"Unless you believe, you shall not understand," showing that as righteousness is by faith, understanding comes by wisdom. Accordingly, in the case of those who eagerly demand evident truth, we must not condemn the desire but regulate it, so that beginning with faith it may proceed to the desired end through good works.

If you are not able to understand, believe, that you may understand. Faith goes before; understanding follows after; since the prophet says, "Unless you believe, you shall not understand.

The mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God first seek for believing people, that they may make them understanding. For faith is understanding's step, and understanding faith's attainment. This the prophet expressly says to all who prematurely and in undue order look for understanding and neglect faith.

So, then, in some points that bear on the doctrine of salvation, which we are not yet able to grasp by reason—but we shall be able to sometime—let faith precede reason, and let the heart be cleansed by faith so as to receive and bear the great light of reason; this is indeed reasonable. Therefore the prophet said with reason: "If you will not believe, you will not understand"; thereby he undoubtedly made a distinction between these two things and advised us to believe first so as to be able to understand whatever we believe. It is, then, a reasonable requirement that faith precede reason, for, if this requirement is not reasonable, then it is contrary to reason, which God forbid. But, if it is reasonable that faith precede a certain great reason that cannot yet be grasped, there is no doubt that, however slight the reason which proves this, it does precede faith.

Certainly one must have faith in the Scriptures as containing the divine mind, and thus one must proceed to the understanding of what is written in them. For one must go beyond the types and thus apprehend the truth of what has been shown to us. First one must believe in the Scriptures with the simple faith that they are "inspired by God and useful" and then go on to examine subtly and enquiringly the meaning contained in them.

Isaiah according to the Septuagint translation says: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." And Augustine says: "Unless a man captivates his understanding and follows through faith what he hears, he is not disposed to the gift of understanding." A man is disposed to receive worthily the gift of understanding through the captivation of the intelligence. He who wishes to search sacred Scripture according to the light of his own intelligence thinks the most false errors. In this life we are little ones, and "the learner must believe." For it is necessary to believe God, and especially in sublime matters that transcend our understanding. The first Angel erred because he presumed upon himself.

There is no salvation except through wisdom. But wisdom is neither disclosed nor obtained except through faith. Hence: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." For you should not "be more wise than it behooveth to be wise,... according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith." For faith is not had except through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

It is essential to notice that the statement means that those who read it do not only need understanding but also faith; and not only faith but also understanding. Those of the circumcision who do not believe in the Christ of God, though even now they hear these words, do not have understanding of the subject of this prophecy because they do not hear with the mind. The only reason for their lack of understanding is their lack of faith, as the prophecy clearly reveals both about them and to them.

"And Ahaz said, 'I will not ask and I will not tempt the Lord.' " It is not from humility but from pride that he does not wish to ask for a sign from the Lord. For although it is written in Deuteronomy, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God," and the Savior would use this as testimony against the devil, when Ahaz was told to ask for a sign he should have fulfilled the commandment in obedience, especially since both Gideon and Manoah sought and received signs. Although it was according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew expression ulo enasse adonai that everyone translated this as "I will not tempt the Lord," it can also be read as "I will not exalt the Lord." For the impious king knew that if he had asked for a sign, he would have received one, and the Lord would have been glorified. Like a worshiper of idols, therefore, who sets up altars on all the street corners and on mountains and in forests, he also was a fanatic for capriciousness. He did not want to ask for a sign because he was commanded to do so.

And the head of Ephraim, as above.

If you will not believe. Here he places the condemnation of the unbelieving. If you will not believe, namely in the promises of the Lord, you too shall not continue in your land, but you will be taken captive: behold, he that is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in himself (Hab 2:4). And he says this because Achaz, not believing the prophecy, called upon the support of the king of Assyrians, Theglathphalasar, that he might help him; Theglathphalasar came at his petition and destroyed Damascus and killed its king; and though he had given him tribute, nevertheless it profited him nothing, as is said in 2 Chronicles 28:21.

That the way to understand, therefore, may be open to you, you do rightly first of all, in professing that you believe; for no one embarks upon the sea and trusts himself to the deep and liquid element unless he first believes it possible that he will have a safe voyage. Neither does the husbandman commit his seed to the furrows and scatter his grain on the earth, but in the belief that the showers will come, together with the sun's warmth, through whose fostering influence, aided by favoring winds, the earth will produce and multiply and ripen its fruits. Nothing in life can be transacted if there be not first a readiness to believe. What wonder then, if, coming to God, we first of all profess that we believe, seeing that, without this, not even common life can be lived.

For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin. To this effect they testify, [saying,] that before Joseph had come together with Mary, while she therefore remained in virginity, "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost;" [Matthew 1:18] and that the angel Gabriel said unto her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God;" [Luke 1:35] and that the angel said to Joseph in a dream, "Now this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, Behold, a virgin shall be with child." [Matthew 1:23] But the elders have thus interpreted what Esaias said: "And the Lord, moreover, said unto Ahaz, Ask for thyself a sign from the Lord thy God out of the depth below, or from the height above. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. And he said, It is not a small thing for you to weary men; and how does the Lord weary them? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son; and ye shall call His name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat: before He knows or chooses out things that are evil, He shall exchange them for what is good; for before the child knows good or evil, He shall not consent to evil, that He may choose that which is good." [Isaiah 7:10-17] Carefully, then, has the Holy Ghost pointed out, by what has been said, His birth from a virgin, and His essence, that He is God (for the name Emmanuel indicates this). And He shows that He is a man, when He says, "Butter and honey shall He eat;" and in that He terms Him a child also, [in saying,] "before He knows good and evil;" for these are all the tokens of a human infant. But that He "will not consent to evil, that He may choose that which is good,"— this is proper to God; that by the fact, that He shall eat butter and honey, we should not understand that He is a mere man only, nor, on the other hand, from the name Emmanuel, should suspect Him to be God without flesh.

(Verse 10, 11.) And the Lord added, speaking to Achaz, saying: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depths of hell, or in the highest above. He had previously spoken to Achaz through the prophet, saying: Behold, be silent, do not fear, and so on. Since Achaz did not believe, and therefore did not understand, the Lord himself speaks to Achaz, so that at least, frightened by the authority of the Lord, he may accept what is said. For, he says to him, it seems difficult to you that the most powerful kingdoms are to be ended in a short time, and that you will be delivered from great danger along with your people; ask for yourself a sign, not from idols, by whose error you are held captive, but from the Lord your God who promises you help, and that sign is the basis of your request, whether from the depths or from on high. But while only the Seventy interpreted it as 'from the depth of hell,' the others translated it more significantly according to the Hebrew, 'from the depth of the underworld.' Therefore, just as 'the depths of hell' signifies a profound abyss, so we should understand 'the heights above the heavens' as an exalted state. So when you hear a sign about either the underworld or the exalted, believe in the future things that I have mentioned. Do you want, he says, the earth to be split open and the great chasms of the underworld to be revealed, which are said to exist in the heart of the earth, or for the heavens to be opened? Both pertain to the mystery of the death and ascension of the Lord: For he who descended is the one who also ascended (Ephesians 4:10). And in the Apostle we read: 'Don't say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down)' or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)' (Romans 10:6-7). And in another place, speaking about Christ, it says: 'That you may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge' (Ephesians 3:18). As far as mystical understanding is concerned, Moses also received signs from the earth, which we read about in the Psalms: He sent signs and wonders among you, O Egypt (Ps. CXXXIV, 9), such as frogs, locusts, gnats, and flies; from heaven, he sent hail, fire, and three days of darkness. We also have the example of Hezekiah, when the sun went back ten lines, receiving a sign from heaven (IV Kings XX); and Joshua, the son of Nun, in Gibeon and Aijalon, when the sun and moon stood still (Joshua X). Most people think that Saul received a sign from the earth and the depths of hell when he saw Samuel raised through enchantments and magic arts (1 Samuel 28). But even the prophet Jonah, who was liberated from the abyss, the depths, and the jaws of death, gave and received a sign of the underworld (Jonah 2). I have read in a certain Commentary that this passage is interpreted allegorically, understanding the deep and high as perceptible and intelligible things, which we can call sensible and intelligible, with the former referring to the senses and the latter to the mind and reason. Also, the virgin is interpreted as the soul, which is not corrupted by any consciousness of sin, and can give birth to Emmanuel, God with us, that is, the present word of God. But we do not eat the flesh of the lamb, but roast it, and we must dry up all the humors of pleasures in us, so that we do not neglect the sacrament of our faith, while we understand more than it is necessary to understand.

And the Lord spoke again to Achaz. Here the sign of liberation is set out. And first, the liberty to choose a sign is given; second, the sign for believing is conferred: therefore the Lord himself shall give (Isa 7:14). Concerning the first, three things are set out.

But what Isaiah said, "From the height above, or from the depth beneath," was meant to indicate, that "He who descended was the same also who ascended." But in this that he said, "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign," he declared an unlooked-for thing with regard to His generation, which could have been accomplished in no other way than by God the Lord of all, God Himself giving a sign in the house of David. For what great thing or what sign should have been in this, that a young woman conceiving by a man should bring forth,-a thing which happens to all women that produce offspring? But since an unlooked-for salvation was to be provided for men through the help of God, so also was the unlooked-for birth from a virgin accomplished; God giving this sign, but man not working it out.

First, the liberty of choosing a sign is conceded: and the Lord said to Achaz—because he disdained the prophets, the Lord himself spoke: because it seems hard that such powerful kings would be destroyed so quickly—ask you a sign, that you might believe, of the Lord your God. From this it seems that these may be the words of the prophet; and to this is to be said that it is a custom of Hebrew speech to use a noun for a pronoun: hence, of the Lord your God, that is, "of me." Or they are the words of the Lord through inspiration, and of the prophet through declaration, below: should not the prophet seek of his God? (Isa 8:19). Unto the depth of hell, that the earth be opened and hell be exposed, as in the destruction of Dathan and Abiron (Num 16:31–33); or by hell is meant the lower elements, as Moses brought forth locusts and gnats from the earth (Exod 8:16–19, 10:1–20); or unto the height above, as Joshua, when the sun stood still (Josh 10:1–15): for the Jews seek signs (1 Cor 1:22).

(Verse 12.) And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. This is not humility, but pride, that he does not want to ask for a sign from the Lord. Although it is written in Deuteronomy: You shall not test the Lord your God (Deut. 6:16), and the Savior used this against the devil as a testimony (Matt. 4): nevertheless, being commanded to ask, he should have fulfilled the command in obedience, especially since both Gideon and Manoah asked for and received a sign (Judges 6 and 13). However, according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, in which it is written 'Ulo Enasse Adonai' (), and all similarly translated it, I will not attempt the Lord, that it may be read, I will not exalt the Lord. For the impious king knew that if he sought a sign, he would receive it, and the Lord would be glorified. Therefore, like a worshipper of idols, who had set up altars in every corner of the streets and on the mountains and in shady groves, and considered fanatics to be Levites, he does not want to seek a sign as commanded.

Second, the refusal of the offer: and Achaz said: I will not ask, either because he was trusting in idols or in the king of the Assyrians, or because he was jealous of the glory of God, or because, being placed in distress, he feared to offend God, below: Lord, they have sought after you in distress (Isa 26:16). Hence he says, I will not tempt, for he relied on what is said in Deuteronomy 6:16: you shall not tempt the Lord your God. But he understood badly, for by the authority of the Lord he was allowed to seek a sign, as Gideon with the fleece (Judg 6:36–40).

And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," [Isaiah 7:13] He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David. For on this account also, He promised that the King should be "of the fruit of his belly," which was the appropriate [term to use with respect] to a virgin conceiving, and not "of the fruit of his loins," nor "of the fruit of his reins," which expression is appropriate to a generating man, and a woman conceiving by a man. In this promise, therefore, the Scripture excluded all virile influence; yet it certainly is not mentioned that He who was born was not from the will of man. But it has fixed and established "the fruit of the belly," that it might declare the generation of Him who should be [born] from the Virgin, as Elisabeth testified when filled with the Holy Ghost, saying to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy belly;" [Luke 1:42] the Holy Ghost pointing out to those willing to hear, that the promise which God had made, of raising up a King from the fruit of [David's] belly, was fulfilled in the birth from the Virgin, that is, from Mary. Let those, therefore, who alter the passage of Isaiah thus, "Behold, a young woman shall conceive," and who will have Him to be Joseph's son, also alter the form of the promise which was given to David, when God promised him to raise up, from the fruit of his belly, the horn of Christ the King. But they did not understand, otherwise they would have presumed to alter even this passage also.

(Verse 13.) And he said, hear therefore, house of David: Is it not enough for you to be troublesome to men, that you are also troublesome to my God? Who is this that said, hear therefore, house of David? Not God who had said above to Ahaz: Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; but a Prophet, as is proven from what follows: For you are troublesome to my God. And the meaning is: because you not only persecute the prophets and despise their words; but you also contradict the present and commanding judgment of God; so that you bring upon yourself the labor, as he says in another place: I have labored, enduring (Isaiah 1:14), therefore the Lord will do what follows. Regarding the labor and trouble that Aquila and Symmachus have translated, LXX and Theodotius have interpreted it as a struggle and contest, because the contentious ones do not submit their necks to the Lord's service, but with Him willing to heal their wounds, they reject healing. And it should be noted that when the impious King Ahaz did not want to seek a sign, the prophetic message should be directed to the house of David, that is, to the royal tribe mentioned above: And they reported these things to the house of David, saying: Syria and Ephraim have joined forces.

Third, the rebuke of the one who refuses is set out: and he, namely, Isaiah, said: therefore, since you are so rebellious, hear you therefore, O house of David, because of its consent in the malice of the king, or because the promised Christ is given as a sign to David: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne (Ps 131[132]:11). Is it a small thing for you, to merit divine wrath, to be grievous to men, whom you plunder, or to the prophets, in whom you do not believe; that you are grievous, through rebellion, to my God, not yours, whom you did not obey: why is this a burden to you? for I will cast you away, says the Lord (Jer 23:33).

But what does this passage mean, if not that God has come in the flesh?

Christ was born a visible man of a human virgin mother, but he was a hidden God because God was his Father. So the prophet had foretold: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son; and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us." To prove that he was God, Christ worked many miracles, some of which—as many as seemed necessary to establish his claim—are recorded in the Gospels. Of these miracles the very first was the marvelous manner of his birth; the very last, his ascension into heaven in his body risen from the dead.

But who shall say that Christ and Christians have no connection with Israel, seeing that Israel was the grandson of Abraham, to whom first, as afterwards to his son Isaac, and then to his grandson Israel himself, that promise was given, which I have already mentioned, namely: "In your seed shall all nations be blessed"? That prediction we see now in its fulfillment in Christ. For it was of this line that the Virgin was born, concerning whom a prophet of the people of Israel and of the God of Israel sang in these terms: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son; and they shall call his name Emmanuel." For by interpretation, Emmanuel means "God with us." This God of Israel … has forbidden the worship of other gods, … has forbidden the making of idols, … has commanded their destruction, … has by his prophet predicted that the Gentiles from the ends of the earth would say, "Surely our fathers have worshiped lying idols, in which there is no profit." This same God is he who, by the name of Christ and by the faith of Christians, has ordered, promised and exhibited the overthrow of all these superstitions.

You must appreciate, brothers and sisters, what a tremendous desire possessed the saints of old to see the Christ. They knew he was going to come, and all those who were living devout and blameless lives would say, "Oh, if only that birth may find me still here! Oh, if only I may see with my own eyes what I believe from God's Scriptures!" The saints who knew from the holy Scripture that a virgin was going to give birth as you heard when Isaiah was read: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb and shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." What Emmanuel means the Gospel declares to us, saying, "which is interpreted, God with us." So do not let it surprise you, unbelieving soul, whoever you are, do not let it strike you as impossible that a virgin should give birth, and in giving birth remain a virgin. Realize that it was God who was born, and you will not be surprised at a virgin giving birth. So then, to prove to you how the saints and just men and women of old longed to see what was granted to this old man Simeon, our Lord Jesus Christ said, when speaking to his disciples, "Many just men and prophets have wished to see what you see and have not seen it; and to hear what you hear and have not heard it."

Do you hesitate or refuse to believe his birth of a virgin, when you ought rather to believe that thus it was fitting for God to be born man? Learn that this, too, was foretold by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us." You will not doubt, therefore, the motherhood of a virgin if you want to believe the nativity of a God who does not relinquish the government of the universe and comes in flesh among human beings; who bestows fecundity on his mother yet does not diminish her integrity.

The Savior's name, because of which he is called "God with us" by the prophet, signifies both natures of his one person. For he who, born before time from the Father, is God himself in the fullness of time, became Emmanuel (that is, "God with us") in his mother's womb, because he deigned to take the weakness of our nature into the unity of his person when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." In a wonderful manner he began to be what we are, while not ceasing to be what he had been, assuming our nature in such a way that he himself would not lose what he had been.

Where shall that price be found? Certainly nowhere except in the womb of the glorious Virgin. Whence Isaiah: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Emmanuel is interpreted "God with us." It was not fitting for the Virgin to have a son unless he were God, nor for God to have a mother unless she were a Virgin. That price could not be found except in the Virgin. It is "from afar and from the uttermost boundaries," because in him the highest is joined with the lowest, and the first with the last. That price is "from afar," by which the entire human race is redeemed: because what is redeemed is the lowest, therefore it is the highest; because what is redeemed is the last, therefore it is the first. Man among creatures was created last.

The full accord of the witnesses is found in the words of Scriptures. Isaiah says: The virgin shall be with child; and Luke: Thou shalt conceive. One says: Christ shall be slain; and the Evangelist: Put Him to death. Whatever, then, had been foretold by the prophets was fulfilled through Christ.

The blessed Hezekiah then, who was King of the Jews, and a very pious and virtuous man and an object of God's especial care, entertained the idea that the blessed David had spoken of him prophetically in many of the Psalms, such as the nineteenth, the twentieth, and many others besides, and having moreover applied to himself the prophecy which had once been made in his father's time by Isaiah: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, he was uplifted in mind by the workings of human passion, and imagined himself to be the Christ who had been predicted. He was in consequence at first unwilling to take a part in the common offices of life, through the existence of another opinion among the Jews, that Christ when He comes, never dies, but abides for ever, as they also said in the Gospel: We have heard out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever. So Hezekiah being of this opinion abstained from taking a wife and providing for the succession of his line by having children, being under the belief that he would live always

House of David, from this time on when you encounter your enemies, call upon the one who is named Immanuel. The meaning of the title, which is "God with us," reveals the power of the Word. Believe this sign, be courageous, and do not call upon the gods of Damascus. Do not enlist those who have no assistance to offer. Rather, call upon Immanuel, the God who will "be with" people at the appropriate time. Take heart with confidence, trusting in the power of the title.… If the prophet had said, "They will call his name Immanuel," he would have been speaking only of a future time. This would have caused doubt for some, because when the Savior was born of the virgin his name was not Immanuel but Jesus, as the angel had instructed Joseph, saying, "Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." If the prophecy was "they will call his name Immanuel," then how would the Savior had fulfilled it, when his name was Jesus and not Immanuel? But this is not how it was written, because not everyone would call him by this title. The prophetic word says accurately, "You shall call." … Some scribes, because they did not understand this, wrote, "they will call" rather than "you shall call" in the Gospel of Matthew, even though the prophecy does not read this way. The Hebrew word translated in the passage is "you shall call," as is used by all the translations. Some translators translate the word for "virgin" as "young woman." There is no reason to think that the virgin was not also a young woman; in fact it is likely that the virgin who conceived the Savior was not fully grown but a young maiden.

Humanity was blended with God, and he was one. The more powerful predominated in order that I might become god just as he became human. Although he was already begotten, he was born of a woman, who was a virgin. Because his birth was from a woman, it was human. Because she was a virgin, it was divine. He had neither a human father nor a divine mother.

By no means will God speak in many and various ways, according to the apostle Paul, nor according to another prophet will he be represented through the hands of the prophets, but he who previously spoke through others will himself say "Here I am." The bride in the Song of Songs also asked in this regard: "O that you would kiss me with the kisses of your mouth!" For "the Lord of hosts is himself the King of glory." He will descend to a virginal womb and will enter and exit through the eastern gate that always remains closed, concerning which Gabriel said to the virgin: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the one who will be born to you is holy and will be called the Son of God." And Proverbs writes, "Wisdom built itself a home." Thus when it is said, "The Lord himself will give you a sign," this should refer to something new and marvelous.

Isaiah tells of the mystery of our faith and hope: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." I know that the Jews are accustomed to meet us with the objection that in Hebrew the word almah does not mean a virgin but "a young woman." And, to speak truth, a virgin is properly called bethulah, but a young woman, or a girl, is not almah but naarah! What then is the meaning of almah? A hidden virgin, that is, not merely virgin, but a virgin and something more, because not every virgin is hidden, shut off from the occasional sight of men.

(Verse 14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel. In no way does God speak in various ways according to the Apostle Paul (Hebrews 1), nor according to any other prophet (Hosea 12), nor is He likened to the hands of prophets, but He who formerly spoke through others will say Himself, 'I am present' (Isaiah 58). This is the One whom the Bride was asking for in the Song of Solomon: 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth' (Song of Solomon 1:2). For the Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory (Ps. 23:10): He himself shall descend into the virgin's womb, and shall enter and depart from the Eastern gate, which is always closed (Ezek. 44); of which Gabriel says to the Virgin: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore the holy one who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). And in Proverbs: Wisdom has built herself a house (Prov. 9:1). But when it is said, 'The Lord himself will give you a sign,' it must be new and marvelous. But if a young woman, as the Jews want, and not a virgin, were to give birth, what sign could it be called, since this name refers to age, not integrity? And indeed, so that we may compare our understanding with that of the Jews and not offer them the mockery of our ignorance, the Hebrew word for 'virgin' is 'Bethula' (), which is not written here in the present passage: instead, the word used is 'Alma' (), which all except the Septuagint translated as 'young woman.' Furthermore, the word 'alma' is ambiguous among them: for it is said both 'adolescentula' (young girl) and 'abscondita' (hidden), that is, 'ἀπόκρυφος' (secret).... Hence, in the title of the ninth psalm, where it is written in Hebrew as 'Alamoth' (), other translators have rendered it as 'adolescence', which the LXX interpreted as 'absconditis' (hidden things). And in Genesis we read: when Rebecca is said to be 'alma' (Gen. XXIV), Aquila did not translate it as 'adolescentula' or 'puella', but as 'abscondita' (hidden). Moreover, the Shunammite woman, having lost her son, fell at the feet of Elisha, and Jezi forbade her, but she heard from the Prophet: Let her go, for she is in pain, and the Lord hides from me (2 Kings 4:27). Because in Latin it is said 'hides from me', in Hebrew it is written 'Eelim Memmenni'. Therefore, a chaste woman, not only a girl or a virgin, but with great care is said to be hidden and secret, which has never been exposed to the gaze of men; but she has been guarded with great diligence by her parents. The Punic language, which is said to originate (or derive) from Hebrew sources, is properly called alma virgo. And to make the Jews laugh, alma is also called sancta in our language. And the Hebrews use the words of almost all languages: as in the Song of Songs (Song 3:9) where the Greek word φορεῖον, meaning litter, is used and it is also found in Hebrew. The Hebrews also use the words nugas (trifles) and mensuram (measure) in the same way and with the same meanings. And as far as my memory serves me, I never think I have read of a married woman having nourished men. but of a woman who is a virgin: not only a virgin, but a virgin of youthful age, and in the years of adolescence. For it is possible that an old woman may be a virgin, but this woman was a virgin in her girlhood. Or certainly a virgin, not a little girl, and one who could not yet know a man: but already marriageable. Finally, in Deuteronomy (Deut. XXII, 25 et seqq.) a virgin is understood under the name of a girl and a young girl. If, he said, a man finds a betrothed girl in the field and forces her, and lies with her, you shall kill only the man who lay with her, and the girl shall not be put to death. For just as when someone rises up against his neighbor in ambush and kills him, so this matter happened. In the field he found her: the betrothed girl cried out, and there was no one to save her. And in the volume of Kings (3 Kings 1), we read that they sought a virgin girl named Abishag, and they brought her to the king, who slept with her, and she cared for him, and the girl was very beautiful, and she served him, and the king did not know her. And what follows: And you shall call his name Emmanuel, and the seventy and three likewise translated it, for which it is written in Matthew, they shall call: which is not found in Hebrew. Therefore, this child who will be born of a Virgin, O house of David, shall now be called Emmanuel, which means, God with us, because you will prove to have God present by the very fact that you are freed from two enemy kings: and he who will be called Jesus afterwards, which means, Savior, because he will save the entire human race, shall now be called by you the name of Emmanuel. The Word of God, which all the interpreters have translated, you can understand and name: which is namely that the Virgin herself who will conceive and give birth, shall be called by this name, Christ. In many testimonies that the Evangelists or Apostles took from the ancient books, it should be carefully observed that they did not follow the order of the words, but the meaning. Hence, in the present passage, Matthew used 'in utero habebit' instead of 'concipiet in utero' (Matthew 1:13) and 'vocabunt' instead of 'vocabis'. The Hebrews believe that this is prophesied about the son of Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, that Samaria will be captured during his reign, which cannot be proven at all. Indeed, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, reigned over Judah and Jerusalem for sixteen years (2 Kings 16): and his son Hezekiah succeeded him as king, being twenty-five years old, and reigned over Judah and Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. So, how is it that in the first year of Ahaz, this prophecy about Hezekiah's conception and birth is said to have been given to him, when at that time when Ahaz began to reign, Hezekiah was already nine years old, unless perhaps they say that his infancy, not his age, is being referred to in the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, when Samaria was captured? That it is forced and violent is evident even to fools. Some of us argue that the prophet Isaiah had two sons, Jasub and Emmanuel, and that Emmanuel was generated from his prophetess wife, as a symbol of the Lord Savior, so that the first son Jasub, which means abandoned or converted, signifies the Jewish people who were abandoned and will later return. And the second son, that is, Emmanuel, meaning God with us, signifies the calling of the Gentiles after the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

You have heard, therefore, that the Father is called Lord. Come now, and let me show you that the Son is called God. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means, 'God is with us.' " Did you see how both the name Lord is given to the Father and the name God is given to the Son? In the psalm, the sacred writer said, "Let them know that Lord is your name." Here Isaiah says, "They shall call his name Immanuel."

To prevent you from thinking that his coming to earth was an accommodation, as those others were, and to give you solid grounds for truly believing that his was real flesh, he was conceived, born and nurtured. That his birth might be made manifest and become common knowledge, he was laid in a manger, not in some small room but in a lodging place before a throng of people. This was the reason for the swaddling clothes and also for the prophecies spoken long before. The prophecies showed not only that he was going to be a man but also that he would be conceived, born and nurtured as any child would be. Isaiah proclaimed this when he said, "Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel." He eats butter and honey. And again, the same prophet said, "A child is born to us, a son is given to us." Do you see how these prophecies foretold his infancy?

What precedes this passage also gives us its meaning. He does not simply say, "Behold, the virgin will conceive." First he said, "Behold, the Lord will give you a sign," and then he adds to it, "Behold, the virgin will conceive." If the one who was to give birth was not a virgin but the conception occurred in the natural manner, then what sort of sign would this be? A sign must be extraordinary and strange, or how else could it be a sign?

Were she not to be a virgin, the birth would not have been a sign. A sign is something that differs from the normal way things happen, that is outside the natural manner. A sign is so unusual and unexpected that someone who sees it or hears of it sees that it is out of the ordinary. It is called a "sign" because it is significant. Were the birth to be like normal births, it would not have been significant. If the prophecy is about a woman giving birth in the normal manner, like what happens every day, then why call it a sign?

And hear again how Isaiah in express words foretold that He should be born of a virgin; for he spoke thus: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bring forth a son, and they shall say for His name, `God with us.'" For things which were incredible and seemed impossible with men, these God predicted by the Spirit of prophecy as about to come to pass, in order that, when they came to pass, there might be no unbelief, but faith, because of their prediction. But lest some, not understanding the prophecy now cited, should charge us with the very things we have been laying to the charge of the poets who say that Jupiter went in to women through lust, let us try to explain the words. This, then, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive," signifies that a virgin should conceive without intercourse. For if she had had intercourse with any one whatever, she was no longer a virgin; but the power of God having come upon the virgin, overshadowed her, and caused her while yet a virgin to conceive. And the angel of God who was sent to the same virgin at that time brought her good news, saying, "Behold, thou shalt conceive of the Holy Ghost, and shalt bear a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the Highest, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins,"--as they who have recorded all that concerns our Saviour Jesus Christ have taught, whom we believed, since by Isaiah also, whom we have now adduced, the Spirit of prophecy declared that He should be born as we intimated before. It is wrong, therefore, to understand the Spirit and the power of God as anything else than the Word, who is also the first-born of God, as the foresaid prophet Moses declared; and it was this which, when it came upon the virgin and overshadowed her, caused her to conceive, not by intercourse, but by power. And the name Jesus in the Hebrew language means Saviour in the Greek tongue. Wherefore, too, the angel said to the virgin, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." And that the prophets are inspired by no other than the Divine Word, even you, as I fancy, will grant.

Moreover, the prophecy, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son," was uttered respecting Him. For if He to whom Isaiah referred was not to be begotten of a virgin, of whom did the Holy Spirit declare, "Behold, the Lord Himself shall give us a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son?" For if He also were to be begotten of sexual intercourse, like all other first-born sons, why did God say that He would give a sign which is not common to all the first-born sons? But that which is truly a sign, and which was to be made trustworthy to mankind,--namely, that the first-begotten of all creation should become incarnate by the Virgin's womb, and be a child,--this he anticipated by the Spirit of prophecy, and predicted it, as I have repeated to you, in various ways.

He [God] was with us on the earth, when he assumed flesh; and he was no less God in man, and man in God. That he was both God and man was declared before by the prophets.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. [Isaiah 7:14]

The manner of his birth proves the truth about the Lord: a virgin conceived without knowing a man; her belly was filled, having been touched by no embrace; and her chaste womb received the Holy Spirit, whom her pure members preserved and her unsullied body carried. Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord! She is a virgin when she conceives, a virgin when she brings forth, a virgin after birth. What glorious virginity! What splendid fruitfulness! The world's goodness is born, and there is no pain of childbirth. The womb is emptied, a child is brought forth, and still virginity is not violated. For it was fitting that when God was born, the value of chastity should increase, and that one who was untouched should not be violated by his coming—he who came to heal what was injured—and that bodily purity should not be harmed by him who bestows virginity on those who have been baptized and had formerly been unchaste. The child who has been born, then, is placed in a crib. This is God's first dwelling place, and the ruler of heaven does not disdain these straitened circumstances—he whose home was the virginal womb. Clearly Mary was a fit habitation for Christ not because of the nature of her body but because of the grace of her virginity.

What is the sign? "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." In fact, a virgin did conceive and gave birth to "Emmanuel, God with us." This is the new birth: a man born from God. God was born in the man, taking the flesh of the old human race without the help of the old human seed. God took the flesh in order to reform the old human race with a new seed. In other words, he spiritually cleansed the old human race by removing its old stains.

Therefore. Here the sign for belief is given. And first, the sign of liberation is conferred; second, he threatens the unbelieving with the punishment of destruction: the Lord shall bring upon you (Isa 7:17).

Now this is the sign of the Incarnation of Christ. But the Jews object against this in many ways.

First, that the Lord was giving a sign of the liberation of the Jews at that time, with which the Incarnation of Christ agrees in nothing.

To which is to be said that the Incarnation of Christ signifies that liberation by an argument from the greater: for if God will give his son for the salvation of the whole world, much more can he save you from these enemies? He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all (Rom 8:32); or as a motive cause, for this moves the Lord, as it were, since many good things are conceded to this people, however unjust they were, because he had provided for his Son to be made incarnate from them.

Likewise they object that the sign that follows is given to those who are present, but the Incarnation did not happen in their time, and so it would appear that no sign was given.

To which is to be said that, although the Incarnation did not happen in the presence of those men, it nevertheless did happen in the presence of the abiding house of David: hence he says, hear, O house of David (Isa 7:13), but not, "hear, Achaz."

Likewise they object that a sign ought to precede the thing signified; but the Incarnation happened long after this liberation; therefore it was not a sign of it.

To which is to be said that sometimes a sign follows the thing signified, as Deuteronomy 18:22: you shall have this sign: whatsoever that same prophet foretells in the name of the Lord, and it comes not to pass: that thing the Lord has not spoken; sometimes it occurs at the same time: when you shall hear the sound of one going in the tops of the pear trees, then shall you join battle (2 Sam 5:24); sometimes the sign precedes the thing signified, as with Gideon in Judges 7:5–7, when the sign was given that he ought to conquer with those who had lapped up water with their hands. And it is necessary that this sign should follow the thing signified, even as they themselves explain: for if it preceded it, then the child was born before the death of Phacee, who reigned twenty years; in the seventeenth year of his reign, Achaz began to reign, and Achaz reigned sixteen years; therefore, Achaz reigned thirteen years after the death of Phacee. And in the twelfth year of Achaz, Osee began to reign. In the ninth year of his reign, Samaria was captured, which was six years after the death of Achaz. Therefore, at the capture of Samaria, the child would have been at least nineteen years old; and thus what is said below in 8:4, that the child did not know to call his father and mother, would be false.

Likewise they object that in Hebrew it does not say virgin, but alma, which, according to them, signifies a marriageable young girl, as is found in Genesis 24:16 concerning Rebecca; where we have an exceeding comely maid, they also have alma. And even if it said bethula, which, according to them, signifies a virgin, this does not necessarily mean that she conceives while remaining a virgin, because it may be that she who was a virgin at the time of the prophecy, should conceive afterwards, having been corrupted by the seed of a man.

To which is to be said that it would be no sign at all if a young woman should conceive, and even a corrupted virgin. The Lord, however, wished to signify something great, when he said: unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above (Isa 7:11). Therefore, according to us, alma is used rather than young girl, because alma signifies a virgin, according to the origin of the word, and still more, it means one who is protected, about whom there can be no suspicion of evil. But bethula signifies virgin according to a later manner of speaking.

The Jews, however, explain this verse in two ways. Some say it concerns Ezechias; some say it concerns the son of Isaiah, whom they imagine to have been called Emmanuel.

But that the first cannot stand is thus shown, because Ezechias was twenty-five years old when he began to reign (2 Kgs 18:2), and Achaz reigned sixteen years (2 Kgs 16:2); therefore Ezechias was ten years old when his father began to reign; and thus he could not be promised to be born here. Moreover, how would he not know to call his father and mother, when, in the sixth year of his reign, Samaria was captured?

Likewise, that the second cannot stand is shown because this would be no sign at all. And moreover the son of Isaiah was not Lord of Judea, and yet, in Isaiah 8:8, the land of Judea is spoken of as a possession of Emmanuel. And therefore it is necessary to understand this to be speaking of the son of God.

Following this, therefore, he does three things. First, he promises the sign: therefore, because you do not wish to ask, the Lord himself shall give you a sign, of your liberation. This sign is also given to the shepherds in Luke 2:12: and this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Second, the sign itself is set out, behold a virgin. And first, the miraculous conception is set out: behold a virgin, remaining a virgin, shall conceive, in giving birth, bear a son.

Second, the naming of the miraculously begotten child; and first, as to his divinity: shall call, namely, the virgin shall call, or you yourself, Judah, shall call, in danger; his name Emmanuel, which is translated: "God with us." You shall call his name Emmanuel (Matt 1:23). And this entire occurrence has nothing like it elsewhere, for it is a new thing: the Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: a woman—or a female—shall compass a man (Jer 31:22); hence, a man perfect in conception itself, although not according to perfection of quantity, as Augustine says on John 2:20: six and forty years was this temple in building; and therefore, it is above man, for there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:10). Hence there cannot be found another event that corresponds to this prophecy besides this story: behold you shall conceive and shall bring forth a son (Luke 1:31). This is signified in Ezekiel 44:2: this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel has entered in by it.

It is to be noted on the words, his name shall be called Emmanuel, that is, "God with us," that Christ is with us in many ways. First, as a brother, through fellowship of nature: who shall give you to me for my brother, sucking the breasts of my mother, that I may find you without, and kiss you? (Song 8:1). Second, as a bridegroom, through the bond of love: if any one love me, he will keep my word (John 14:23). Third, as a shepherd, through the solace of inner consolation: behold, I stand at the gate and knock. If any man shall hear my voice and open to me the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him (Rev 3:20). Fourth, as a savior, through the help of defense: therefore fear you not, my servant Jacob, says the Lord, neither be dismayed, O Israel: for behold, I will save you from a country afar off (Jer 30:10). Fifth, as a leader, through the example of his work: the Lord alone was his leader (Deut 32:12).

It is to be noted on the words, behold a virgin, that behold is said because of her singular eminence: first, because she is above women because of her virginity: hence he says, behold a virgin; second, she is above virgins because of her fruitfulness: hence he says, she shall conceive; third, she is above all angels because of the worthiness of her fruit: hence he says, she shall bear a son: never doth he take hold of the angels: but of the seed of Abraham he takes hold (Heb 2:16).