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What is the benefit for others from our interpretations of the prophets, the judge of this is God and the conscience of those who, leaving rhetorical exercises, and applause and grace of presentation, want to know what in their speech 54 is described as the past, or denounced as the present, or predicted as the future. For us, the benefit is that by doing this and not being occupied with anything else, we, as it were, secretly begin to interpret and compensate for the hardships of the day with night activities: the spirit is nourished and forgets about the disasters of the age, which, being already at the very end, groans and suffers until the one who holds it is taken from the environment (2 Thess. 2:7) and the feet are broken due to the fragility of the clay fingers statues that were once iron. The world is about to fall, but the straightened neck does not bend. Riches perish, but greed does not stop. They are in a hurry to collect what will again pass into the possession of others. The tears dried up and all piety disappeared. Many who demand, little who give. And we are not ashamed, preferring poverty in rags, to own the riches of Croesus and take care of our treasures, so that others would starve and perish, like that rich man dressed in purple who did nothing else - for Scripture does not speak of his thefts and iniquities (Luke 16:19), - and therefore there was no measure for his steadfastness and arrogance; He did not order Lazarus, who lay in front of the doors and half-dead, to give even what was thrown out to the dogs. How many Lazarus lie now and how many are there, dressed in purple and multi-colored clothes, who do not even themselves use what they protect and what must perish? This, the virgin of Christ Eustochia, out of the abundance of the heart, the lips expressed, and we expressed it with somewhat more freedom than befits our humility. But this will be the introduction to the eighth book of Ezekiel, which contains a threat to the children of Ammon and other nations and a foreshadowing of the future. Eze.XXV:1–7. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man! turn (or set) your face against the children of Ammon, and you will prophesy about them and you will say to the children of Ammon: Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken about My sanctuary: Aha! yeah! (or: because you rejoiced in My sanctuary, because it was desecrated, and in the land of Israel, because it was desolate, and in the house of Judah, because they were carried into captivity: therefore I will give you as an inheritance to the children of the East (or Kedhem), and they will build their sheepfolds with you and pitch their tents with you: they will eat their fruit and drink their milk (in some lists it is added: yours), and I will make Gabbath is a habitat for camels (or: the city of Ammon is a pasture for camels), and the children of Ammon are a den for flocks, and you will know that I am the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: Because you clapped your hand and stamped your foot and rejoiced with all your soul (or: rejoiced in your soul) for the land of Israel: therefore (in the Vulgate it is added: behold) I will stretch out My hand against you, and I will give you to the nations to plunder, and I will destroy you from [the] peoples, and I will destroy you from [the midst of] the lands and I will crush you, and you will know, that I am the Lord. After the capture or siege of Jerusalem, when someone who could escape came to Babylon and announced that the city was about to be taken or destroyed along with the church, the prophetic speech, according to the custom of all prophets, was addressed to all the surrounding nations, who rejoiced due to the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the church, and above all, against the sons of Ammon, whose main city was Rabbath, now called Philadelphia after the name of the Egyptian king. Ptolemy, called Philadelphus, who ruled Arabia and Judea. Son of man! turn, he says, or establish your face against the sons of Ammon, who came from the tribe of Lot, and say to them: thus says the Lord God (for these are the words not of a prophet, but of the Lord. We spoke about establishing your face in the interpretation of this same prophet): because you said: aha! yeah! or they rejoiced and rejoiced, because My church and sanctuary were desecrated due to the invasion of enemies, and about the land of Israel, because it was desolate, and in particular about the house of Judah, that is, about the two tribes that are now led into captivity: for this reason I will give you to the children of Kedem (or Eden), which we translated: East. No one doubts that the Midianites and the entire vast desert are adjacent to the land of Arabia, and that they have herds of camels and many sheep and goats and have food from these riches. This also happened with the land of Israel, as the story is told in the book of Judges (Judges 6:5), when the Midianites came and devastated all their land through the pastures as far as Gaza. Thus, through the Midianites, Scripture metaphorically (μεταφορικῶς) refers to the Ishmaelites and Hagarites, who are now called Saracens, falsely appropriating the name of Sarah, of course, in order to seem descended from a free [woman] and mistress. And it is said about the king of Babylon and all his army that he will come and take the city of Rabbaf, which is called either by its own name or by size, because Rabbaf means very large. And so that we do not doubt that Nebuchadnezzar devastated all of Arabia after taking Jerusalem, Scripture testifies to this above: and you, son of man, imagine two roads, to Ammon and Jerusalem, and the sword of the king of Babylon will come. And one more thing: at the beginning of the road to the city you will guess, and you will imagine the path so that a sword would go to Rabbath of the sons of Ammon and to Judah in Jerusalem, very fortified. And again: Thus says the Lord God to the children of Ammon and to their reproach (Ezek. 21:19–20, 28). So the children of Kedem will come and set up their sheepfolds like shepherds and pitch their tents. They will lay waste your fruits and drink milk and everything that the earth has produced in abundance (ubertatem), when the herds of camels are mixed with all sorts of nations, so that the children of Ammon serve as a den for livestock and from severe disasters they will understand that He is the Lord, who both foretold what was to happen and commanded that it should come to pass. But for the sons of Ammon it was not enough to rejoice and say aha! yeah! about the church and sanctuary of the Lord, because it was desecrated through the invasion of various nations; but there was such unbridled rejoicing that all the people beat together with their hands and feet, and uttered a loud cry with all their hearts and souls, because the land of Israel was desolate. Therefore, not through angels and not through other servants, but the Lord himself, having stretched out His hand for punishment, will give her 55 to be plundered, not by camels and herds of sheep, but, obviously, by the nations, in order to completely eradicate her from among the nations, and so that she will perish and be brought to destruction; but after her contrition she will understand that He is the Lord, who carries out His judgment over everything and rules over all lands. In a figurative sense, by the sons of Ammon, who came from the seed of Lot in a cave and were born in a state of intoxication and incest, we can understand all the heretics about whom the Scripture and the Apostle John says: from us came forth, but was not made mad from us. Even if they had been from us, they would have remained with us (1 John 2:19). For they came from evasion, since this means Lot in our language: all of them deviated, and together they were not the keys; do not do goodness, not even one (Ps. 13:3). The face of the prophet turns or is established on them in order to crush them with his severity, and he says to them: since you rejoiced over My church during the persecution because my sanctuary was desecrated through various vices either of those who served Me, or through the cruelty of the enemies who persecuted Me, and because the land of Israel, [that is,] the senses that see God, was deprived of the host of virtues and that the sons of the house of Judah, that is those who confess God, in whom faith and right confession are found, were taken into captivity and ceased to serve the Lord: therefore, all of you, who rejoice, will be betrayed to the sons of the East, who came from the true light, and will be given as an inheritance, so that you too will learn to confess the Lord. And in an allegorical sense it is said that the sons of the East will build their sheepfolds on them, and pitch tents and drink milk and eat fruits; and the city, which was once haughty, will become a habitation of camels, which can, after laying down the burden of sins, pass through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24), and a den for sheep, which are governed by the good Shepherd (John 10:11), so that, having done this, mingling and being given over to the shepherds of the East, they understand that He is the Lord. And again he reproaches them for the fact that they rejoiced excessively at the ruin of the people of God and considered the land of Israel completely desolate, for which they deservedly suffered vengeance at the hand of God; so that those who have exceeded the measure of rejoicing and joy are not given over to the sons of the East, but become objects of plunder for all nations, and are destroyed from [the number of] nations, and perish and are crushed, and must be recognized as having come not from the tribe of Abraham, but from all nations, and then from the severity of the disasters and their contrition and destruction of the people they will know that He is the Lord. What we generally attributed to the church can be understood in relation to each of the saints, at whose fall the people of the century and the opposing forces rejoice, if many lose their integrity, since vicious [people] consider it a relief for their atrocities if they have many accomplices in crimes, and no one would have done this if there had not been a son of Ammon, that is, a son of a people who came from deviance. Eze.XXV:8–11. Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir said: “Behold, the house of Judah, like all nations,” therefore I will open the shoulder of Moab, - I speak about its cities, and about its borders, - the glory of the land, Beth-Jesimoth, and Beelmeon and Cariathaim for the children of the East along with the children of Ammon, and I will give it as an inheritance [to them], so that the children of Ammon will not be mentioned any more among the nations, and I will execute judgment on Moab and they will know that I am the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord Adonai: because Moab and Seir said: “Behold the house of Judah, like all nations,” therefore I will make weak the shoulder of Moab, [starting] from the cities on the promontories (promontoriorum) of it, the chosen land, the house of Beth-jasimuth, above the source of the seaside city, the children of the East above the children of Ammon have I given him as an inheritance, so that the children of Ammon will no longer be mentioned among the nations, and I will take vengeance on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord. Translated by us; and Seir is not in the LXX, but this was added from Theodotion’s edition. The Jews tell a strange fable regarding this place. After the city was opened, and the church was unlocked, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and Seir entered the church and saw the cherubim covering the purification, and said: “As all nations honor idols, so Judah has idols of his religion”; for this, they say, the Lord was angry and sent them into captivity. But we will say that they also rejoiced over the house of Judah when it was taken by the Chaldeans, thinking that there was no help from God there, like other nations, and therefore the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, having lost the protection of God, became accessible to the power of the Babylonians. Therefore, not after a long time, but now the Lord threatens to weaken or open the shoulder, that is, the strength and fortress of Moab, [starting] from the cities, so that the Babylonian conqueror would also come to them and the city of Moab would cease to exist and its glorious cities would be destroyed at the ends and borders. From them he cites the names of Beth-Jesimoth, Beelmeon and Kariathaim, instead of which LXX, I don’t know why, was translated: the house of Beth-Jassimuth, whereas this word means a deserted city; there is also still a very large village of Veelmeon, which they translated: above the source, and Kariathaim: seaside city. She, too, together with the sons of Ammon, is given to the sons of the East, that is, to the Babylonians, in accordance with the understanding that we set forth in the interpretation regarding the sons of Ammon. And I will give, he says, Moab as an inheritance, so that vengeance and judgment may be carried out on Moab, just as the sons of Ammon are no longer mentioned among the nations, so that they will know that He is the Lord who delivered Judah for sin, and I will be an avenger in relation to the sons of Ammon and Moab. Moab, which means from the father, and Seir, meaning hairy and shaggy, hitherto looks with disdain and despises the house of Judah, in which the true confession is located, and thinks that it can be destroyed just as easily as the fortifications of other cities are destroyed. Therefore, the Lord threatens to reveal or weaken all the strength of the Moabites, so that the cities cease to exist and do not rely on dialectical art; but all its borders, which due to the blows of the waves are called capes, will be devastated, and all the glorious and chosen lands will perish - Beth-Jesimoth, meaning: house of the desert and desolate, and Beelmeon, meaning: having a source or above the source, and Kariathaim, which LXX translated as a seaside city. For, although they have the strength of warriors, and go to war [according to the rules] of the famous military art, and go on all sides, fenced and fortified; however, their glorious land serves not as a home for habitation, but as a house of desert. Although they consider themselves to have a source of knowledge and a seaside city that can withstand all the storms of the age, attributing to themselves endurance and strength; however, it will end with the fact that they too will be betrayed to the sons of the East, the true light in Christ; just as the sons of Ammon were betrayed, relying on themselves among a crowd of heretics. We should also pay attention to the beneficial consequence and to the goodness of God, [manifested] in the threat itself - to the fact that, together with the sons of Ammon, the sons of the East are given over as an inheritance, and there will be no mention of any heresy among the nations, but after the execution of judgment and vengeance on Moab for its arrogance, they will know from the outcome of affairs that He is the Lord who rules over everything. In confirmation of the fact that Moab in this place refers to the pride of the philosophers, about whom it is said: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent (1 Cor. 1:19), it is necessary to give several examples from the prophets. Amos says: This says the Lord: For three wickednesses of Moab, and for four I will not turn away from him, until I have burned the bones of the king of Edom to ashes ( Amos 2:1 ). For, truly, everything that is in the world of false teachings, everything that relates to earthly knowledge and is considered strong, all this is destroyed by dialectical art and decomposes, as if through fire, into dust and ashes, so that the insignificance of what was recognized as the most powerful is revealed. But Isaiah denounces the pride of Moab, saying: when I heard the reproach of Moab, the reproacher was great, I took away (his) pride (Is. 16:6). Also, Jeremiah, prophesying against all nations, speaks directly to Moab: because you had hope in your walls (Jer. 48:7). And after a little: she did not trust in her glory (Jer. 48:11). And again: how do you say: “Mighty are you” (Jer. 48:14)? And then: the day of Moab is near, and its evil will quickly come (Jer. 48:16). And more clearly: shout: how is the rod of strength broken, the mace of glory (Jer. 48:17)? And again: the horn of Moab is broken (Jer. 48:25). What is being expressed here under the image of Moab is that the insane arrogance that exalts itself to heaven will be crushed. Eze.XXV:12–14. Thus says the Lord God: because Edomia took vengeance to avenge itself on the sons of Judah, and sinned by acting criminally (delinquens), and sought vengeance on them: therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out My hand against Idumea and destroy its people and cattle, and will make it a desolation from the south, and those who are not (Vulgate: who are) in Dedans, they will fall by the sword. And I will exact My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and I will act in Edom according to My anger and My wrath, and they will know My indignation, says the Lord GOD. LXX: Thus says the Lord Adonai: because of what Edom has done, in avenging the house of Judah with vengeance, and remembering the evil and taking revenge with vengeance: therefore, thus says the Lord Adonai: I will stretch out My hand against Idumea, and I will destroy from it people and cattle, and I will turn it into a wilderness, and those who flee from Teman will fall by the sword. And I will take vengeance on Edomite by the hand of My people Israel, and they will act in Edomite according to My anger and My wrath, and they will know My vengeance, says the Lord Adonai. Above, two [nations] are put on the topic, which are called Moab and Seir, but then, keeping silent about Seir, he spoke only about Moab; now he returns to the topic posed at the beginning: what did Seir, that is, Idumea, do? And that one people is called Esau, and Seir, and Edom, and Edom, and Duma, no one who knows the Scriptures will doubt this. And, not to mention the other prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, who prophesied against Edom and Duma and Edom, the prophet Obadiah directed a whole prophecy against this people, which we once interpreted as best we could. So, Seir is exposed, who, as being shaggy, received the name hairy, and Edom the bloody (sanguinarius), who for the brew of red lentils lost his birthright and received the name from the food (Gen. 25:30); Esau also means what has been done. Also, you need to know that in Hebrew it is never written Idumea, but always Edom, which in the Greek translation is expressed through Idumea. Thus, Edom (Idumea) did not speak like Moab, but took vengeance on the sons of Judah, and sinned or remembered the previous grief in order to take revenge on those from whom he was stumbling in the womb. Therefore, not through angels or through anyone else, but the Lord himself, stretching out his hand on Idumea, destroyed people and cattle in it and turned its cities into a desert, that is, Teman, which we transferred through the south: from here and from another city, Dedan, those destroyed will fall by the sword. Since they avenged themselves on Judah, I will take vengeance on the Edomites through the hand or hand of My people Israel, so that they will be destroyed by those on whom they took vengeance. They will deal with Edom or with Edom according to My wrath and wrath, to fulfill My wrath, and so that through the hands of My people Israel, the wrath of My wrath may be revealed against the hostile people, and so that they may know that this was righteous retribution for the unjust vengeance of Edom, says the Lord Adonai. The allegorical meaning here, in my opinion, is as follows. Idumea is called earthly and carnal, which rebels against the spirit so that we do not do what is characteristic of the spirit, and hastens to win over the soul that is within, and wants to take revenge on those to whom it was previously subordinate, the sons of Judah, and remembers the previous grief, because it did not have its own power, and therefore tried to take revenge on those who, having abandoned the flesh, followed the spirit. Therefore, the Lord himself, being the avenger of the sons of Judah, extends his hand to Idumea and destroys people and cattle in it - everything that seems to have reason or simple faith - in order to turn it into a desert. And from Teman, meaning deficient (deficiens), and from Dedan, also meaning affinity, he destroyed everyone with the sword, which He put into the hands of His people Israel, in order to destroy Edom and so that he would experience the wrath and wrath of God and know that vengeance on him was aimed at serving the house of Judah. This also means what the apostle says when he writes: I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau (Rom. 9:13). He loves Jacob because he tramples and conquers carnal and earthly things and deserves to receive His blessings. For first we live according to the flesh, and then according to the Spirit. First vices, then virtues, by which vices are destroyed, for from youth the human heart is inclined to evil (Gen. 8:21) and the errors of youth are condemned in adulthood. Therefore, David says: do not remember the sin of my youth and my ignorance (Ps. 24:7). And, however, you need to know that Jacob received the first blessing, and Esau the second. As for what was said about him at the end: you have served your brother (Gen. 27:40), this means that the flesh, having submitted to the spirit and united with it, ceases to be flesh and Idumea passes into Judea. Eze.XXV:15–17. Thus says the Lord God: because the Palestinians acted with vengeance and took revenge with all their hearts, destroying [them] and satisfying their previous enmity; Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Palestinians and destroy the destroyers, and destroy the remnant in the coastal country, and I will take great vengeance on them, punishing them with wrath, and they will know that I am the Lord when I have taken My vengeance on them. LXX: Therefore thus saith the Lord Adonai: because the foreigners took vengeance and stirred up vengeance, rejoicing from the soul, to destroy [them] forever; Therefore, this is what the Lord Adonai says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the foreigners, and I will destroy or destroy the Cretans, and I will destroy the remnant on the seashore, and I will take great vengeance on them with fierce punishment, and they will know that I am Adonai the Lord when I have taken My vengeance on them. After the sons of Ammon, Moab and Seir, who were also Edomites and through Lot and Moab are related to the people of Israel and the house of Judah, he goes to the Philistines, whom the LXX translated ἀλλοφύλους, that is, foreigners, not the general name of all peoples not belonging to the family of the Jews, but private [in the name of] his people, which is now called Palestine, with the change, according to Greek custom, of the letter phi in pi, just as we say Easter instead of the Hebrew phase in Greek and Latin. The Philistines mean falling from the cup - they themselves were drunk from the golden cup of Babylon, and they rage and rejoice with all their souls, remembering the old enmity towards Israel, as a result of which they separated from the people of God. And although the Lord says: Vengeance is mine and I will repay (Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19), but they themselves take revenge, destroying [them] and actually carrying out their enmity. For this they will experience the hand of the Lord stretched out on them, which will destroy the destroyers, instead of which LXX, I don’t know why, transferred the Cretans, although Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion put the very word of the Hebrew chorethim - or destroyers or extermination, not only in the present place, but also in Zephaniah, where the following is said against the Palestinians: Gaza will be plundered, and Ascalon will be destroyed, and Azoth and Akkaron will be eradicated. Woe to those who live on food, O strangers of Crete: the word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, the land of foreigners, and I will destroy you from your home. And Crete will be a pasture for flocks and a fence for sheep (Zeph. 2:4–6). For here too the LXX translated Crete, while other translators translated ὄλεθρον (or κάῤῥον), that is, destruction or destruction. We spoke about this in the above-mentioned prophet, with the help of God, as we considered necessary. Therefore, of the two armies of David, one of which was called phelethi and the other cerethi (2 Samuel 15), the latter received the name chorethim (or cherethim), that is, destroyers, because it destroyed and killed. And the Lord will destroy all the remnant in the seaside country, subject to the blows of the salt waves, and will take not small, but great vengeance with wrath, so that His wrath will put an end to mercy, and when He takes vengeance, punishing with rage, then the Palestinians will know that He is the Lord. Eze.XXVI:1–6. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month: the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man! for what Tire (or Sor) said about Jerusalem: aha! the gates of the nations (or nations) are broken down; he turned to me; I will be filled; it is desolate (or the one that was full is desolate): therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Tire (or Sor), and I will raise up many nations against you, as the troubled sea rises. And they will break the walls of Tyre and destroy its towers, and I will sweep out of it (or scatter to the wind) its ashes and make it completely smooth (or bare) rock. It will be a place for drying nets in the midst of the sea, for I have said [this], says the Lord God, and it will be a plunder for the nations. Also, his daughters who are in the field (or on the plain) will be killed with the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord. The prophet's speech follows a strictly sequential order. He spoke against the sons of Ammon, and Moab and Seir, who also serve as Edomites, and the Philistines, who are on the coast and occupy the same borders in the coastal country (funiculo). For after Palestine comes the country of the Phoenicians, whose chief city is Tire, called Sor in Hebrew and Syriac. And since after the capture of Jerusalem he also rejoiced and rejoiced and said: the gates of the nations have been broken down, I have a completely safe haven, and after its destruction, the entire numerous population over which he ruled turned to me, and since it was devastated, I will be filled, or: the previously full one will turn into a desert. So, since you said this and rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the decree of God for its sins, then not through messengers and not through anyone else, but I myself will be against you, Tyre, and like the waves of the sea I will raise up against you the Babylonians with very many nations, through whose attack your walls and towers will be destroyed, so that they will fall to the ground and its ashes will be swept away or scattered in different directions, and it will be so humiliated that it will like a bare rock, and such will be the desolation in the city, which was formerly very populous, that fishermen’s nets will be spread and dried among it. For [this] I, the Lord, have spoken, whose words cannot fail to be fulfilled, and I will give it over to be plundered by the nations. Also, his daughters, who are in the field or on the plain, that is, on the Phoenician coast, cities and towns, villages and fortresses will be destroyed by the sword: since he metaphorically called them daughters, he speaks of destruction by the sword, so that from the outcome of things they would know that He is the Lord who commanded this to happen. Since the Hebrew word sor means crowdedness, in an allegorical sense, Sor can be called every soul overwhelmed by confusion, which, having seen that for its vices and sins, according to God’s definition, Jerusalem, in which there was a church and a vision of the world, is being destroyed, rejoices and thinks that the power of the city that was once glorious will pass to it. This can also be understood in relation to the opposite teachings and people of the century, when they see a holy man fallen through negligence and rejoice and rejoice, as if the fall of others serves as their uprising. Therefore, the Lord threatens that He himself will fight against this kind of people and will raise against them, like the waves of the sea, very many nations that will destroy everything that is considered the most fortified and durable among them, and will so overthrow all their arguments that they will turn to dust. He will also do that they will leave the snares and nets with which they previously caught the deceived people, and will spread and dry on the ground of the devastated city, so that they will be replaced by other fishermen sent by the Lord to fish. But his daughters, who were previously kept, as it were, in inner peace and, due to mysterious and hidden teachings, were considered inaccessible to anyone, will come forward and will be brought out before the eyes of everyone, and will be killed by the sword of the Church, so that they will know that He is the Lord, who little by little forsaken Jerusalem for its sins, and destroyed the fortifications of Tire for its rejoicing and joy. Eze.XXVI:7-14. For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, to Tire (or: against you, Sor) from the north, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and a large congregation and people. He will destroy your daughters who are in the field with the sword, and he will surround you with fortifications, and he will build a rampart around you, and he will raise a shield against you, and he will build siege engines and rams against your walls and destroy your towers with his weapons. From the multitude of his horses their dust will cover you, from the noise of horsemen and wheels and chariots your walls will shake when he enters your gates, as one enters a broken city (or: as one entering a city from the field). With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets, he will kill your people with the sword and your famous idols will fall to the ground (or: he will cast down the support of your strength to the ground). They will plunder (or: he will plunder) your wealth, they will plunder your goods (negotitiones) and they will destroy (or destroy) your walls and destroy (or destroy) your beautiful (or coveted) houses, and they will throw your stones, and your wood, and your rubbish (pulverem) among the waters (or throw them into the middle of the sea). And I will put an end to the multitude of your singing (or songs) (or your music), and the sound of your harps (or the sound of your organs) will be heard no more. And I will make you a completely smooth (or bare) rock. You will be a drying place for nets and you will not be built again, for I, the Lord, have spoken [this], says the Lord God. I have joined both editions together according to custom, and where they differ is what I have attached to the side, taking care of the brevity of the books. So, having said: I will raise up many nations against you, just as the troubled sea rises, and Tire will be plundered by the nations, he then more clearly depicts that the Lord will bring from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with an countless crowd of troops, who will first destroy the cities and fortresses subject to Tire on the seashore, and then will besiege Tire and surround it with an army, and a rampart, and fortifications and with siege engines (or shields) and rams, he will attack the walls and destroy them, and his horsemen will be so numerous that from the dust of the cavalry and from the noisy cries of the army, and the knocking of wheels and the neighing of horses, the foundations of the city will tremble, and so they will enter the city after the destruction of the walls, as they enter the city without fear from the field, and the victorious army will be so safe that with its hooves the streets of Tire will be trampled by horses, and all the people will be defeated in the middle of the city and the idols that were once famous, or everything that was there (universa substantia), will be thrown to the ground, and nothing of the former riches will remain in the conquered city, but along with the walls, beautiful houses will also be destroyed, and the cruelty of the victors will be so great that the wood and stones remaining from the fire will be thrown into the middle of the sea, and or Nebuchadnezzar or the Lord himself will put an end to the rejoicing in the city, which was previously expressed in songs and music; and, destroyed to the ground, it will be a place for drying nets. The next words: you will not be built again, apparently raise the question: how will the city be built, which we see now, as the most famous and beautiful in Phenicia? On this basis, some argue that Tire will suffer this at the last time and that after that it will not be built again. But how can they keep the face of Nebuchadnezzar, especially since we further read about Nebuchadnezzar that he conquered Tire and received no reward for his labor, and that Egypt was given to him because he fulfilled God’s decree in conquering Tire? They say that they have read the histories of the Greeks, and the Phoenicians, and especially of Nicholas of Damascus and other foreigners, which contradict this narrative, and that they have found nothing concerning the conquest of the city of Tire by the Chaldeans. But we can prove that the scriptures speak of many such events as are not mentioned in the Greek books, and that we must not rely on the testimony of those whose perfidy and deceitfulness we abhor. Therefore, the words: you will not be built again can be understood in the sense that he will no longer reign over the nations and have his own government, which he had under Hiram and other kings, but will obey either the Chaldeans, or the Macedonians or the Ptolemies and, finally, the Roman rulers. But for everyone it is certain that in a mysterious sense, under Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who comes from the north wind, of course, the devil, who, although he serves as the most severe and unfavorable (proper left, sinister) wind, is nevertheless called favorable (proper right, dexter), assigning to himself a respected name (nomen dignitatis), and he is the king of kings and all the kingdoms that he showed to the Lord and said To him: these are all devoted to me, which I will give to you if we fall down in worship (Matthew 4:9). He has horses and chariots, about which it is written: a lie is a horse for salvation (Ps. 32:17) and: slumbering on horses (Ps. 75:7), and in another place: a horse and a rider thrown into the sea (Ex. 15:1). In a vast field and plain, he kills the daughters of Tyre, the souls who are in cramped conditions and, as it were, in a prison of sins, and surrounds Tyre with his fortifications to keep it imprisoned and so that no one in it can be freed from the power of the king of Babylon. He will destroy the walls and overthrow the towers, and everything in the teachings that had power will be shaken by the multitude of his horses and by the noise of horsemen and wheels and the clatter of chariots, and without any opposition he will enter its gates, and the streets of the city will be trampled under the hooves of his horses, “for wide and broad is the way that leads to death” (Matthew 7:13), and will throw to the ground everything that you had (universam substantiam), or famous idols in which you have depicted your false ghosts, about which it is written: Lord, in your city you will scatter their images (Ps. 72:20). After the destruction of the walls, the beautiful houses that he prepared for himself and in which he rejoiced will also be destroyed, and he will come to such desolation that his stones and the wood from which he built the walls and with which he fastened them will be thrown into the depths [of the sea], and the singing and music on which they relied in the wisdom of this age, and every sound of the harp, will no longer be heard, and his fishing will cease and he will be humiliated, so that he will become a place for drying nets and will not be built again, for, having been handed over to Nebuchadnezzar by definition of the Lord, it is completely destroyed, as the apostle says: whom he delivered to Satan, so that they would be punished not for blasphemy (1 Tim. 1:20). [These] passages are difficult, and the wise and attentive reader must excuse my labor. And if he finds something better, then I will accept his opinion, and let him know that he will receive from others the leniency that he will show me. Eze.XXVI:15–18. Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: At the sound of your fall, and at the groaning of your slain, when they are slain in your midst, will not the islands tremble? And all the princes of the sea will come down from their seats and take off their armor (exuvias) and throw off their many-colored garments and clothe themselves in torpor. They will sit on the ground and, struck by your sudden disaster, will be amazed and, raising tears, will say to you: how did you perish, living on the sea, a famous city that was strong on the sea with its inhabitants, whom everyone feared! Now the ships will be amazed in the day of your terror, and the islands of the sea will be in confusion, because no one comes out from you. LXX: For thus says the Lord God to Sora: at the noise of your fall, when your wounded groan, when the sword is drawn from its scabbard in your midst, will not the islands tremble, and will not all the princes of the sea come down from their seats, and will they not lay down their crowns and take off their stained garments? They will go into a frenzy, sit on the ground, and will fear their destruction and groan for you, and will raise a cry for you and say to you: how you perished and were scattered on the sea, the city that was glorified, who was strong on the sea, and its inhabitants, who brought fear to all its inhabitants! And the islands will be afraid on the day of your fall, and the islands will be in confusion at your departure. First, let's explain these words historically, through a compressed periphrasis (μεταφράσει) revealing the meaning of what was said. Thus says the Lord Adonai to Tire, which in Hebrew is called Sor. On the day of your destruction, when you fall, being taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and with the groaning of the wounded or slain who are killed among you, will not the islands tremble? And all the kings and princes of the sea, ruling the various islands, will come down from their seats or from their thrones, and will lay down the diadems from their heads, taking off all the royal ornaments from themselves, and will throw off the most precious clothes and shining with an extraordinary variety of colors, and due to great amazement they will come to the point of losing their minds, and having been cast down with humiliation, they will sit on the ground and, seeing you fallen, they will fear the same for themselves and none of the earthly blessings will be considered permanent; but, on the contrary, they will raise a lament for you and shout a lamentable song, saying: How did you perish, living (or who lived) on the sea, a glorious city or a city that was glorified? For in Greek and Latin and foreign histories we read that Tire was an island and had no access from land; but subsequently, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans, or, as some say, Alexander, king of Macedon, made embankments and, during the siege, a place was prepared for siege engines and rams, and from the island it became a peninsula. So, how suddenly did you fall, Sor, Tire, who was once the strongest of all the islands or glorified in the cities by everyone, along with your inhabitants, whom everyone feared! Now the islands will be amazed or horrified at you, or, as it is better in Hebrew, the ships on the day of your horror and fall, and the islands on the sea will be confused, - it is more consistent with the connection to read ships, so that for the second time it does not stand: islands, - because no one comes out from you or, as LXX translated: on the day of your exodus, - when you are taken into captivity. Through this we, as it were, laid a historical foundation, and now we will try to build a spiritual building on it. Imagine someone who, having maintained chastity for a long time, was famous for many virtues, but after that fell into some grave and mortal sin: at the hearing of his fall and the destruction of his virtues, will not all the islands tremble, that is, those that are subject to the blows of the salty and bitter waves of this age? And all those who in the salt marsh of this age were considered princes will come down from the throne of their pride and, being overthrown with humiliation, will remove the diadems from their heads, which apparently possessed good deeds, and will throw off the varied and multi-colored clothes of virtues, and will be clothed in stupor, and due to great fear will seem to have lost their minds, and will sit on the ground and, numb from the sudden fall him, they will be amazed, so that everyone will raise groaning and lamentation for the one who has fallen, and will say: how did you perish, who was previously unharmed? How did you fall, who stood for so long, who was considered glorious by everyone on the sea of ​​this century, who, in the opinion of everyone, was strong? And your inhabitants, that is, your thoughts, which with great strength resisted all the fiery arrows of the devil and previously instilled fear in all opponents, fell into numbness. But the ships, that is, all the saints who sail around the waves of this age, will be amazed when they see that he has fallen. On the day of your horror and fall, the islands will be in turmoil, so that they themselves will not experience the same. For the fall of others serves as an example for the righteous, just as we all in this world are in a state of weakness and powerlessness and step with wavering feet and can never be confident and calm about victory when those who previously stood from you leave, or at your departure, at your death and destruction. For we are judged not by the past, but by the present. And one must beware and constantly fear lest the former glory and unshakable firmness be instantly destroyed by a storm. Eze.XXVI:19–21. For thus says the Lord (in the Vulgate added: God): when I will make you a desolate city, like uninhabited cities, and I will bring the deep upon you, and many waters will cover you, and I will cast you down with those who descend into the pit (or: to those who descend into the grave) to the eternal people, and I will place you at the end of the earth (or: in the depths of the earth), as in the wilderness of old, together with those who are brought down to ditch (or: with those who go down to the grave), so that you will not be inhabited, and I will show glory in the land of the living (or: so that you will not rise up in the land of the living), I will bring you to destruction (or: I will give you over to destruction) and you will not be, and they will look for you, but will not find you forever, says the Lord God. Connect the above with the previous one. When I make you, Tyre, a city desolate forever, like other completely uninhabited cities, and I will bring the abyss upon you and many waters or innumerable crowds of enemies will cover you, or, perhaps, speaking to the island and to the city located on the island, allegorically compares numerous enemies with the waves of the abyss: and I will cast you down along with those who descend into a ditch or into a grave, to those who are in the underworld, about which we read in the Psalms: they will go down into the nether regions of the earth, they will be given into the hands of arms, parts of the fox will be (Ps. 62:10-11), among the eternal people, where there is weeping of eyes and gnashing of teeth, and I will place you at the ends of the earth, where the ancient serpent is, and as if in ancient deserts and steppes, where there is no remembrance of blessings, but there will be eternal punishments, and I will not give arise for you in the land of the living, about which it is written: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), and in another place: I will please the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 114:8): then you will be brought to destruction, or you will perish forever and you will no longer exist, according to what is written in another psalm: weaken me, so that at night I will not even go away and I will not be with anyone (Ps. 39:14). This is not in the sense that he who is subject to eternal punishment ceases to exist, but in the sense that whoever does not live in God is called non-existent in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, Esther, speaking against idols, said: Do not deliver, O Lord, your scepter to those who are not (Esther 4:17). For, of course, there were those about whom she prays not to be betrayed to them; but those who ceased to exist for the virtues and the living God did not exist for God. And then it should be noted that Tire is sought by the one who came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10) and, leaving ninety-nine sheep on the mountains, is looking for one lost sheep. Also, a woman, having lost one drachma, searches and finds it and calls her neighbors for common joy (Luke 15:9). If the one who seeks him does not find Tire, then this is not the fault of the seeker, but of the one who runs away from the hand of the Good Shepherd. And you will not be, he says, forever, or, according to what is written in Hebrew lolam and in Greek αἰῶν, one century is meant according to this [saying] of Isaiah, who says (Is. 23:15) that after seventy years Tire will be restored to its former state. And one century, that is, the time of continuation of human life, they say, is calculated at seventy years, according to the words of the Psalmist: the days of our years are seventy years, and if we are able, eighty years, and their labor and sickness multiply (Ps. 89:10). This, which we said about Tire according to the allegorical meaning, can also be applied to those who, being in the cramped conditions of this age, are brought down to the underworld, and are covered with the abysses and waves of punishment, and are carried away into the underworld of the earth, and are united with those who are in the ancient desert, and are brought down into the ditch or into the eternal grave, so that the Holy Spirit no longer dwells in them. It is written about them: when the wicked comes into the depths of evil, he is negligent (Prov. 18:3). And after that they will not be alive on earth, but will perish and be brought to destruction and cease to exist for God. These testimonies are abused by those who deny the eternity of punishment for the wicked and sinners, who, having been sought by God, were not found and ceased to exist forever; because through their own fault they lost the One who says: I am the life (John 14:6). Eze.XXVII:1-3. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, take up a lament for Tire and tell Tire, who lives at the entrance to the sea, trading (negotiationi) with the peoples of many islands (or: from many islands). Thus says the Lord God. If I wanted to present the entire prophecy against Tire or about the mourning of Tire in one speech, it would be extensive and would obscure the understanding of the reader, because it is impossible to keep everything together in the mind, especially in which the LXX edition differs from the Hebrew, that is, what they added and what they omitted. Therefore, we will be content with our interpretation, and if there are differences anywhere, then we will add it to the side, leaving complete knowledge of everything to God, and we will briefly give our opinion regarding each point. He who is mourned serves as an object of care for the one by whom he is mourned. Therefore, Samuel wept and wept for Saul (1 Sam. 15:35). And the Apostle Paul weeps and grieves for those who committed fornication and did not repent (2 Cor. 12:21). And Jeremiah writes a lament for the destruction of Jerusalem in four alphabets. So, in the literal sense, Tire or Sor lives at the entrance to the sea: either because it was formerly an island, or because it receives ships coming from the sea in a completely safe harbor and conducts trade with peoples near many islands or from many islands. This it continues to this day, so that trade is carried out in it with almost all nations. Following the interpretation begun, we will attribute everything that is said about Tire to συνοχήν, that is, to the misadventures (angustias) of this world, which lies in evil and experiences constraint and is subject to blows from various kinds of disturbances, as if from waves. This kind of merchants is also spoken of in the psalm in a mysterious speech: they who go down to the sea in ships, doing work in many waters, have seen the works of the Lord and His wonders in the depths (Ps. 107:23–24). Eze.XXVII:3-4. Shooting gallery! you said: I have perfect beauty (or: I have clothed myself in beauty) and am located in the heart of the sea. The first crime of Tyre is that if he seems to have something good, he recognizes it not as God’s, but as his own, and he attributes all the beauty that he receives from various countries to his own zeal and merit. For he said: I have perfect beauty or: I have clothed myself in beauty, although he is in the heart, that is, in the middle of the sea and, like an island, moves and sways. And that the heart of the sea means the middle, this is also shown by this prophetic speech: for this sake let us not fear, for the earth is always troubled and the mountains are given into the hearts of the sea. They made noise and troubled their waters (Ps. 46:2-3). But it is also said about our Lord that He descended into the heart of the earth, that is, into the middle, into (or: and into) the underworld. True and perfect beauty is not inherent in any of the people, but only in the body of Christ, meaning the Church, and in the virtues of many saints. Therefore, He says to the bride: You are all good, my neighbor, and there is no vice in you (Song. 4:7). Eze.XXVII:4–5. Your neighbors, who built you, have completed your beauty. They built you with all the beams of the sea (tabulatis maris) from Sanir fir trees; They took cedar from Lebanon to make a mast from you. Instead, LXX for some reason was translated like this: Veelim your sons surrounded you with beauty; They built you from Sanir cedar; They took thin cypress boards from Lebanon to make your spruce masts. For the Jews do not have the word Veelim at all in this place, but instead of Veelim it is written gebulaic, which means your limits. Also in what they said: your sons, they were misled by the ambiguity of the word and the similarity of the style, since the same letters are read, but with different pronunciation in bonaich and benaich, masons and sons. So you, Tire, who, being located in the middle of the sea, proudly said: “I have perfect beauty” or “I have surrounded myself with beauty,” listen to how much has been given to you through the bounty of God. Your neighbors and those adjacent to you, not from distant, but from neighboring countries, have completed your beauty, but you consider what is foreign to be yours. And τροπικῶς (figuratively) speaks [to it] as to a ship, pointing out the beauty of the city and the abundance in everything, so that, having described all its utensils, the mast, yards, oars, sails, the front part, the keel, the ropes, the roof and other things that are necessary for ships, the best equipped, then announce that a storm will come for it and a severe wind, from which huge waves will rise, and he will be wrecked. By this he points to the destruction of the city of Tire by King Nebuchadnezzar or, as many believe, Alexander, king of Macedon, about whom it is said that he besieged this city for six months and took it after his victory over Darius in Libya. In a mysterious sense, the beams of the ship of Tire are cut out of fir trees or cedars of Sanir, from which it is built and with which it is fastened, and its mast is made from cedar or Lebanese cypress: from fir trees for the sake of lightness and connection of the beams, which, as more flexible, hold together better and interlock with each other, or from cedars, as from rotting wood. It is said about Sanir, which means the path of the lamp or, which we consider more correct, the tooth of vigils, because all the well-being of the ship and illumination comes from the true Light. In a literal sense, Mount Sanir is identical with Hermon, which others call Saniar. Read the story [about this]. Lebanon means whiteness or whiteness: it also refers to the grace that comes from outside [from another place]. Eze.XXVII:6. Your oars were hewn from the oak trees of Bashan, your benches were made from Indian ivory, and your cabins (praetoriola) were made from the islands of Italy. LXX: From Bashan they made your oars and your churches, and they built you houses of ivory from the islands of Hittite. So great was the beauty of the ship and its utensils that it had cedar oars, not from anywhere, but from Bashan, and ivory benches and cabins or storerooms in which the most expensive goods were stored, from the islands of Hettiim, which we translated: Italy, meaning by the country closest to Greece, all parts of the western islands. Therefore, in an allegorical sense, we can say that the oars of the Tyrian ship are made from Bashan, about which it is written in the Psalms: the Lord says: from Bashan I will turn in the depths of the sea (Ps. 67:23). Vasan in our language means: dishonor. So those who were in the depths of the sea and were dishonored by sins, God turns, and turns to the oars, so that, sailing on the sea with the apostles, they can reach the earth and the shores; and the benches are made of ivory, when they mortify their bodies or use their teeth to praise God, and the cabins or storerooms from the islands of Hettiim, which, according to the etymology of the Hebrew word, means broken, so that he is not so much destroyed as tempted by the snares of the devil. We can understand by ivory and forest houses from the islands of Hittite those that heretics are trying to build not in the house of God, but on the ship of Tyre. Having their own ivory of words and language, they also build churches, opposite the church of God, and forest houses, habitats of animals, while Scripture says that forests, groves and oak groves should not be planted in the house of God (Deut. 12:3). Eze.XXVII:7. They wove a sail from fine Egyptian fine linen for you to hang on the mast; hyacinth and purple from the islands of Elisha were your covering. LXX: Fine linen with patterns from Egypt served as your covering to surround you with glory and clothe you in hyacinth and purple; from the islands of Elissa were your coverings. Since Tire said: I have perfect beauty or: I myself have clothed myself in beauty, it is shown that he received from each country, in accordance with this saying of Scripture: what did you receive, what did you receive? And even if you have received it, you boasted that it was not received (1 Cor. 4:7)? This describes what each province provides, just as Virgil says: India sends us ivory, sabeans of smoke, hard steel of halibeya, and Pontus supplies us with a stream of beaver, and so on. 56 Visson is mined, especially in Egypt. It was used to weave a sail for a Tyrian ship, which is hung on the mast, and its cover, which serves as cover for shipmen and passengers during the heat of the sun and when there is no wind, is made from hyacinth and purple, which are delivered from the islands of Elisa, as the islands of the Ionian Sea are called here. Further, according to the Seventy, curtains are woven from fine linen for the covering and covering of the Tyrian ship, so that, covered with them and clothed in them, he would be more glorious and have a more beautiful robe. We have repeatedly reminded that fine linen refers to the earth, since it comes from the earth, hyacinth to the air, purple to the sea, from which it is obtained; of these, with the addition of the double coloring of scarlet, the robes of the high priest are made, because they signify the four elements: earth, fire, air and water, of which everything consists. Tire appropriates this to himself, so as not to use God’s creations with gratitude, but to say: “I have perfect beauty” or: “I have clothed myself with perfect beauty.” Eze.XXVII:8–9. The inhabitants of Sidon and the Aradians were your oarsmen. Thy wise men, Tyre, were thy pilots. The elders of Vili and its wise men supplied shipmen to serve with your various utensils. All kinds of sea ships and their shipmen were among your trading population. LXX: Your princes lived in Sidon and the Aradians were your oarsmen. Your wise men, Sor, who were with you, were your pilots. The elders of Bibliya and his wise men were with you; they strengthened your council, and all kinds of sea ships and their rowers were with you to the west of the west. Having said above: your neighbors, who built you, have completed your beauty, he, before moving on to those living afar, describes assistance from the nearest regions. The inhabitants, he says, are yours or the princes of Sidon and Aradia, the neighboring island, [were] your rowers. Thy wise men, Tyre, were thy pilots. For it is to the wise that governance belongs, as Scripture says: those who have no governance fall like leaves (Prov. 11:14). The elders, or the elders of Biblia and its wise men, supplied shipmen to serve you, or strengthened the council of Tire and delivered various kinds of utensils, and all sorts of sea ships and their shipmen were among the trading population of Tire or to the west of the west. This is literally true. In relation to the mysterious meaning, we can say that since the Sidonians in translation mean those who catch and the Aradians who overthrow, then the glorious and proud Tire, which will subsequently be destroyed by the blow of the wind, has as citizens or princes hunters, about whom it is written: our soul, like a bird, is delivered from the net of those who catch (Ps. 124:7). For where we read those who catch, in the Hebrew it is written: Sidonians. They catch unwary souls on high in order to bring them down to earth, and become oarsmen to lead them to ruin. The sages of Tire, understood in the bad sense, according to which the sons of darkness are wiser than the sons of light (Luke 16:8), themselves rule Tire, prepared for destruction. The elders of the Biblians and its sages delivered shipmen to Tire for service or strengthened its council. Sacred history tells that many elders were rejected by the Lord and younger ones were chosen to form the synagogue and the Church. The elder Cain is rejected and the younger Abel is chosen (Gen. 4:4–5). Ishmael, the son of Abraham, was alienated by his father, and the younger Isaac received the inheritance (Gen. 21). Also, of the sons of Isaac, the eldest Esau is engaged in trapping and wanders through the forests, and the youngest Jacob simply lives at home (Gen. 25:27). Therefore, it is written in Malachi: I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau (Mal. 1:2). And justly according to the apostle (Rom. 9:13), being in the womb of their mother, they did nothing good or bad and had neither merit nor guilt, so that one should be chosen and the other rejected, unless in the image of the synagogue and the Church, as we said, the elder is rejected and the younger is accepted. All sorts, he says, of sea ships and their shipmen were among the trading population of Tyre or to the west of the west. As they say: a song of songs, and an age (or centuries) of centuries, and a work of works in the sense of a song, higher than other songs, and an age longer than other centuries, and a work more useful than other works; this is how the west of the west is said to denote the vastness of the western countries. And the ships of the sea are beautiful, and their shipmen and rowers, who assist the Tyrian ship, are directed not to the east and not to the rising of the light, where the Sun of Truth is born, but to the west of the west, where the light sets and where darkness begins. Eze.XXVII:10. The Persians and Lydians and Libyans were in your army as your warriors, they hung a shield and a helmet on you to decorate you (or: shields and helmets hung on you; they gave glory to you). That the Persians were very courageous, whose king Cyrus, according to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 45), having overthrown Astyages, king of the Medes, took Babylon, both sacred and civil history tell about this. That the Lydians were also considered very strong at that time, whose king Croesus was captured by the same Cyrus, Xenophon writes about this in great detail. And about the Libyans in the book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 12:3) it is said that they, together with the Troglodytes and Ethiopians, came to Jerusalem; since they were most famous at that time and were known as warriors, it is said that they were the defenders of the city of Tire and hung shields and helmets between the battlements of the walls to intimidate enemies. The spiritual meaning says that the Persians, who mean tempting or tempted, and the Lydians, by which we mean the born, and the Libyans, who in the Hebrew language are called phut and translated mean mouth (os from ore, lips, and not from osse, bones), try in vain to protect Tire, since they are overcome by temptations and given over to birth and lust and speak only a multitude empty words, not having the helmet of salvation and the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16-17), but exhibiting only glory and cracking words to decorate it. Eze.XXVII:11. The sons of Aradi with your army (or theirs) were all around on your walls; also the pygmies who were on your towers hung their (or your) quivers around on your walls; they completed your beauty. LXX: The sons of the Aradians and your strength is on your walls; they were watchmen around on your towers; They hung their quivers all around on your visors. They completed your beauty. The word gamadim was translated by Aquila in the first edition of the Pygmies, Symmachus the Medes, LXX guards, Theodotion [put] the Hebrew word gomadim itself. We still see the island of Arad, which consists entirely of a city and opposite which the city of Anthara is located; it is located in the neighborhood of Tire and lies on the shore of the adjacent land in Phenicia. They are in the army of the city of Tire and serve as guards of its towers, and hung their quivers around and complete its beauty to show that they are archers or pygmies, that is, warriors, from the word (ἀπὸ τῆς) πυγμῆς which in Greek means battle. If Aradians mean those who overthrow, then anyone who reveals false knowledge and has in the quiver of his heart the fiery arrows of the devil, with which the hearts of the deceived are wounded and kindled, should be called an Aradian. For he wants to overthrow those who strive to reach heights, and completes the beauty of Tyre, about which it is written in Proverbs: let not the lust of kindness overcome you; let your eyes be caught below (Prov. 6:25). And one more thing: just as there is soreness in the nostrils of a pig, so is babbling more malicious to a woman (ibid., Prov. 11:22). Eze.XXVII:12. The Carthaginians, who traded with you, filled your marketplaces with all kinds of riches, silver, iron, tin and lead. Not only in the present place, but also in Isaiah, where it is written: Cry, O ships of Carthage (Is. 23:14), other translators translated the Hebrew word [without change]: Tarshish (Tharsis), which, without any doubt, was a colony of the Tyrians. They filled the marketplaces of Tire with silver, iron, tin and lead from the western countries. Tarsis in our language means looking out for joy. We must understand those who are spying here not in a good way, such as Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land (Num. 13:17), but in the opposite direction, which the Apostle also avoided, according to his words: for the false brethren who came, who were spies of our freedom, even the imams of Christ (Gal. 2:4) and about whom Joseph says: spies by nature, spy on the ways of the land of the land (Gen. 42:9). His brothers, who understood that secretly spying on someone else’s property was an important crime, answered: “Your servants are not spies” (ibid. Gen. 42:11). So, they filled the marketplaces of Tire not with gold or precious stones, but with silver, iron, tin and lead, having the charm of eloquence and weapons for fighting: tin, which is passed off as silver, serves as an image of eloquence, and lead [means] extremely grave wickedness according to Zechariah (Zechariah 5:8), according to which a woman sat on the talent of lead and the Egyptians sank into the depths like lead. It would be too long to talk about each metal; care should be taken to keep it short. Eze.XXVII:13–14. Greece, Tubal and Mosoch traded with you; they brought slaves and copper vessels to your people; From the house of Fogorm they brought horses and riders and mules to your market. LXX: All Greece and its adjacent [countries] traded with you in human souls and brought copper vessels for you to buy; from the house of Forham they brought horses and riders and mules to your marketplaces. The Ionians, he says, who in Hebrew are called Javan, and Tubal, that is, the eastern Iberians or Spaniards from the western parts, called by this name from the river Iberus, and Mosoch, by which we mean the Cappadocians, whose main city, later called Caesar Augustus Caesarea, is still called in their language Mazakoi: they carried on trade with Tire of high value, delivering copper from Corinth to Tire vessels, and from the house of Fogorm, that is, from Phrygia, horses and horsemen and mules, which this province once had in great abundance. The Jews say that Javan means is and is not, which actually refers to worldly wisdom, in which if something good is found, then it is said that it is, and if on the contrary, then it is not. For, by their natural inclination towards good, they engage in discussions about duties, about abstinence, about the contempt of wealth, which the Stoics in particular appropriate to themselves, and, apparently, they acquire the souls of people whom they deceive, and have copper vessels, which they counterfeit with gold and offer to tyrants in order to cause them to stumble through the acceptance of false teaching. Also from the house of Forgom, which means a stranger and a stranger, horses and riders and mules will be delivered to his market and marketplace, about which it is written: a lie is a horse for salvation (Ps. 32:17); and in another place: having fallen asleep on horses (Ps. 75:7) and in the Psalms; Do not be like a horse and a horse, who have no understanding (Ps. 31:9). Therefore Doegus, the accuser and murderer of the priests, was the leader of many 57 (1 Samuel 21:7; 22:18), and they serve as strangers from home and strangers who do not eat the flesh of the lamb and about whom it is written: a stranger or a hired servant shall not eat from it (Exodus 12:45), so that all the marketplaces of Tire would be filled with these goods. Eze.XXVII:15. The sons of Dadan traded with you. Instead, LXX for some reason was translated: sons of Rhodia, having been misled, perhaps, by the similarity of the first letter (ד and ר), so that instead of Dadan they read Radan - this is the name of the largest of the Cycladian islands and a city that was once the most powerful on the Ionian Sea, famous for a naval battle and served as a haven for merchants due to its very safe harbor. And since Rhodians in our language mean those who see judgment, now allegorically it is said about those who see the true judgment, but do not fulfill it, as the apostle says: for this reason you are irresponsible, O man, every judge; For when you judge a friend, you condemn yourself: in the same way you judge (Rom. 2:1). But it is better to accept the name of another area - Dadan, as it is in Hebrew and among other translators. Eze.XXVII:15–16. Many islands were your trading allies (negotiatio manus tuae), giving you ivory and ebony in payment. The Syrians, who traded with you because of the multitude of your wares, brought to your marketplaces myrrh (guttam), purple, and scutulata, and fine linen, and Syrian cloth (sericum), and hodhod. LXX: From the islands they increased your trade, [delivering] elephant teeth, and you paid for what you imported with your goods. People to conduct trade with you, due to the extent of your trade, in Aphek, staktu and multi-colored fabrics (rolimitia) from Tarshish, and ramoth and hodhod were delivered to your marketplaces. In the present place the edition of the LXX differs in many respects from the Hebrew; therefore, a little should be said about each of them, so that, having engaged in the trade of Tire, one does not be delayed in moving on to other prophecies. The sons of Dadan, who traded with Tire, increased its trade, so that they delivered ivory teeth to those who came to trade with him and had people in the marketplaces due to extensive trade; they had [them] in Afek, which LXX added from Theodotion and instead of which Symmachus translated multi-colored fabrics (rolimita). Also staktu, instead of which all others translated purple, which in Hebrew is called argaman, and patterns from Tarshish, instead of which in Hebrew it reads bus, which everyone translated through fine linen. Tarshish is not at all present in this place. Iramoth, they say, and Hodhod were delivered to your market places; this is also the case in the Hebrew text; but instead of ramath Aqilah translated sir or fine cloth. Hodkhod translated everything as it is in Hebrew. So, according to the Seventy, the sons of the Rhodians, who traded with Tire, from numerous islands increased its trade; according to the Hebrew text, after the sons of Dadan, who traded with him, the islands of various nations also increased his trade, bringing ivory teeth from India and ebony, which is black in color and very expensive, and exchanged it for other Tyrian goods. The Syrians also traded with Tire, instead of which Aram was put in Hebrew, but LXX was translated by people reading adam instead of Aram and misled, as above, by the similarity of the letters resh and dalet. Among the Syrians there remains to this day an innate passion for trade; They travel all over the world out of a desire for profit, and are so madly carried away by trade that now, when the entire Roman Empire has been attacked, they, amidst swords and the beating of the unfortunate, seek wealth and avoid poverty through danger. This kind of people carried on trade with Tire, selling multi-colored fabrics, purple and netted fabrics, also delivering fine linen and Syrian fabrics and hodhod to its marketplaces. Instead of purple, as everyone translated, LXX translated stacta, that is, myrrh. And what does hodhod mean? Until now I could not find out 58. The Jews say that this name denotes all the most expensive goods, or some kind of expensive goods for which there is no name in the language of the Romans, or what is sold under the general name of junk (scruta). From many islands, which - to move on to the allegorical meaning - are exposed to the blows of salty and bitter waters and this world, the merchants of Dadan deliver elephant teeth, promising the brilliance (candorem) of eloquence, about which it is written: from the churches of elephants, from which the daughters of kings rejoiced Thee in Thy honor (Ps. 44:9). But they do not have whiteness (non sunt candidi) and do not imitate the bride of whom it is said: Who is this ascendant who is made white and established for her brother (Song 8:5)? But those who cannot change their blackness have the black color of ebony, as Jeremiah says: if an Ethiopian changes his skin and the lynx of his motley (Jer. 13:23). Also the Syrians, that is, Aram, which means high and who is pompous with arrogance, trade with Tire and for many works of Tyre they deliver false knowledge, promising a variety of variegated and fragrant stacta and purple, [serving as a distinction] of royal dignity, and mesh woven fabrics of dialectical art and fine linen, instead of which LXX translated Tarshish, devoted to earthly affairs, and Syrian fabrics, instead of in Hebrew it is written ramorh, which means a vision of death, for all earthly affairs quickly lead to destruction, and offering hodhod in the marketplaces of Tyre, everything that is meant by it. By Dadan, judging by the goods that are said to be delivered by merchants and its islands, one should understand the country either in India, or in Idumea and in the vast desert, as some believe: it means affinity, so that we recognize in heretical teachings the likeness of the divine. Eze.XXVII:17. Judah and the land of Israel traded with you in the best wheat; balsam, and honey, and oil, and balsamic resin (resinam) were sold in your marketplaces. LXX: Judah and the children of Israel traded with you, selling wheat and ointments: they brought the best honey, and oil and balsamic resin to your marketplaces. The Hebrew word phanag was translated by Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion as it is in the Hebrew; LXX instead translated the suits, and we translated the balm. It is said that with what the land of Judea, now called Palestine, abounds, [namely] wheat, balsam, honey and oil and resin, this is delivered by Judah and Israel to the marketplaces of Tyre. But since the literal meaning is clear, we will say in relation to the allegorical meaning that the land of confession and the mind contemplating God, which relates to the Church, should not provide Tire with the best wheat, which, falling to the ground, multiplies and is understood in the sense of the word of God: for man does not live on bread alone, but on every word of God (Deut. 8:3). Then the balm that will be born in the vineyards of Engad, or the ointment about which it is written: like ointment on the head, which comes down on the bridge, the tree of Aaron (Ps. 132:2). And the honey that Solomon also speaks of: having found honey, eat in moderation, so that you are not so full that you vomit (Prov. 25:16), since honey, when over-saturated with it, turns into bitterness. But since she left the borders of Tire and Sidon and approached the land of Israel, she received what she asked for. Eze.XXVII:18. The Damascenes, because of the multitude of your products, because of the abundance of all wealth, traded with you in thick wine (pingue), wool of the best color. LXX: Damascus, because of the multitude of your wares, all your great strength, traded with you wine from Helbon and wool from Miletus. Instead of thick wine, as Symmachus translated, both Aquila and Theodotion, and in the Hebrew text itself, use wine from Gelbon. Then, where we placed wool of the best color or brilliant whiteness, there Aquila and Theodotion were transferred with Soor wool. This means that among other types of trade of Tire, the thickest wine and the best wool that we see to this day were delivered from Damascus to its marketplace. If Damascus means drinking blood and if the Jewish tradition is true that the field on which Abel was killed by the murderer Cain (Gen. 4:8), was located in Damascus, as a result of which the place became known under this name; then it is right that Paul, after the murder of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ, went to Damascus to bring those who believe in Christ bound to Jerusalem; but by the mercy of God, who creates the blind and the seeing, he lost his carnal eyes in order to receive spiritual ones, and the scales of the dragon fell from his eyes, through which he lost the light of truth, in order to go to the street called straight and meet Ananias, which in our language means one who obeys (Acts 9). So, from that country to which it was said: “Cursed is the land, which opened its mouth and received the blood of your brother” (Gen. 4:11), thick wine and wool of shining whiteness, or wine from Helbon, which means milk, are delivered to the marketplaces of Tire. LXX, instead of wool of the best color, wool from Miletus or Soor was understood. Miletus is not in Hebrew; but since the best wool is delivered from there, they translated Miletus instead of Soor. From this it is obvious that Tire feeds on milk typical of childhood, and does not have its own clothes, but those delivered from elsewhere and from different countries. The explanation of Damascus in terms of the blood of the hair shirt and the blood of the kiss does not apply to the present place. For often Hebrew names are explained differently, depending on the difference in stress and the change in letters and vowels, especially those that have their own special meanings. Eze.XXVII:19. Dan, and Greece, and Mosel, supplied thy market places with skillfully wrought iron; they traded with you in myrrh (stacte) and reeds. LXX: Dan and Javan and Mozel in your marketplaces, which is added in their edition from Theodotion. The iron is skillfully wrought and the wheel is in your mixing. On behalf of Patriarch Dan and the tribe [his] received the name and area in which the tribe lived, where Panea is now, which was once called Caesarea Philippi. Hence the Jordan River flowing from Lebanon received its name, that is, from Jor the stream and from [the name] Dan. Javan means Greece, which has, as we said, [the following] meaning: there is and there is no. Instead of Mosel, Symmachus also translated delivering, so that it would have the following meaning: Dan and Greece delivered skillfully wrought iron and so on to your marketplaces. Instead of Akila, he placed from Uzal. From these countries, it must be assumed, iron and myrrh and reed were delivered to the marketplaces of Tire. We can also say that Greece, that is, Javan, has iron skillfully wrought and very suitable for war, and constructed through dialectical art, boasting that it expresses everything rationally and thoroughly, and promises loud sounds that are expressed through reeds 59 and fragrant myrrh, or iron skillfully wrought, and a wheel that turns due to the skillful construction of words and has a flow of speech. Eze.XXVII:20. Dadan traded carpets for seats with you. LXX: Dedan traded with you selected cattle for chariots. In many ways the Hebrew text and the LXX differ in the present place, except in the name of the adjacent country, Dedan and Dadan. For the difference between carpets for seats and choice cattle for chariots is extremely great, and there is no doubt that quarters, chariots and horses are understood in a bad way if they are earthly. Also, Elijah admires the chariot into heaven and Elisha says to him: father, father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry (2 Kings 2:12). And Gehazi’s eyes are opened so that he sees chariots on the mountain and horses without riders, prepared for the Lord to sit on them (ibid., 2 Kings 6:17). Carpets mean grace of speech; sitting on them, the Dedan traders ride and rest, going to the marketplaces of Tire. Eze.XXVII:21. Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trading allies; they came to you with lambs, rams and goats. Instead of lambs, rams and goats, LXX was translated: camels and rams and lambs. Arabia and the princes of Kedar (this is now the country of the Saracens, as shown in great detail in the speech of Jeremiah written against Kedar - Jer. 49) abound in these animals, that is, lambs, and rams and goats, and through their delivery they increase the trade of Tire. But this country also abounds in camels due to the extensive steppe pastures and moderate temperatures that this animal loves. Arabia means evening and Kedar means darkness. The Psalms also say about him: he moved from the village of Kedar (Ps. 119:5). These countries provide Tire with camels, burdened with the burden of sins, or lambs, and rams and goats, which they slaughter on their altars, which they concoct from a wicked and rebellious heart. Also in this same prophet, in a vision of shepherds, we read about rams muddying completely clean water and pushing the sheep with their sides and butting with their horns (below Ezek. 34); also about goats, usually standing on their heels, and lambs pretending to be that Lamb about whom it is written: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Isaiah (Isaiah 60:6) writes in a good way about camels that will come to Jerusalem from Midian, which means the judgment of God, and Ephah, and about rams from Nebaioth and Sheba, which will bring gold and incense; of these, the last two are also offered by the Magi to the Lord (Matthew 2:11). These camels, having laid down the burden of sins, can walk the narrow and cramped path leading to life (Matthew 7:13; 18). Eze.XXVII:22. Merchants from Sheba and Reamah traded with you in all sorts of best perfumes and expensive stones and gold, which they sold in your marketplace. In the Psalms, where it is written: the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring you gifts (Ps. 71:10), in Hebrew it says: the kings of Sheba and Sheba will bring you gifts, of which one Sheba is written through the letter sin, and the other through samekh, which is similar to our letter. So, since Sheba is explained in the sense of conversion, it must be said that in the present place it does not mean conversion, but seduction, as a result of which gifts with all kinds of incense and the best perfumes, and expensive stones and gold are delivered to Tire, and all this is sold in the marketplaces of Tire. For they also counterfeit fragrances and costly stones, from which they try to build their perverted churches, and the gold promised in relation to the mind, and everything with them is perverse. For they do not receive anything for free and do not give away for nothing, but they trade with everyone, while the kings of Arabia and Sheba bring gifts to Christ freely. These are those who do everything for the sake of shameful gain and received these gifts from the one who says in the Gospel: for this was delivered to me; This I will give to You, if you fall down in worship (Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:7). Reamu, or, according to the Seventy, Regmu, I could not find in any other place of the Scriptures, nor what country it was, or what it signified; The only thing that is certain from the connection of this country with Sava is that it was adjacent to this region. Eze.XXVII:23–24. Haran and Hannah and Eden traded with you; Sheba, Assur, Helmad were your merchants; They traded with you in many places with patterned fabrics (polymitorum) and expensive treasures, which were in hyacinth wrappers and were wrapped and tied with ropes. LXX: Haran and Hana and Edna traded with you; Sawa, Assur and Halman were your merchants, bringing selected treasures bound with ropes for sale in Mahalim and Galim. And these peoples contain the names of various places. As for what was added to the Seventy from Theodotion: in Mahalim and in Galim, Symmachus translated this: expensive tires. We also added patterned fabrics, which Theodotion translated into multi-colored ones, from Aquila and Symmachus. The clothes that the merchants kept in wrappers were so expensive that they were tied with hyacinth ropes. Aran or, as the LXX translated, Harran, in our language means holes, Hannah preparation, Eden - pleasure, instead of which the LXX has Edna, which is not in Hebrew; We don’t know what it means and we don’t consider it necessary to look for an etymological explanation for the false name. Thus, in the trade of Tire through the carnal senses, which are indicated through the holes, all preparations are made by the people of this age, who consider the increase in the trade turnover of the city of Tire as their only pleasure. We mentioned Sava above. Assur is explained as corrective, Helmad or, as it stands in some lists, Herm is translated: vineyards, no doubt Sodom; they come to the marketplaces of Tire to straighten the crooked ones, or rather to expose through punishment and correct what has been perverted, in accordance with what is said in the Psalms: to destroy the enemy and the local (Ps. 8:3). They also have a variety of utensils, dotted with extremely varied patterns and packed in hyacinth wrappers, or their treasures, collected by them on earth, are tied with ropes, in accordance with what is written: everyone is held captive by their sins (Proverbs 5:22). They also did not have free trade, but entangled everyone in the bonds of sins. Hyacinth wrappers, due to the similarity of color, we can attribute to the forces that dominate the air, which distribute their treasures in the marketplaces of the century. Eze.XXVII:24–25. They also had cedars in your trade. The ships of the sea (or, as it is in Hebrew, the ships of Tarshish) were your princes in your trade. LXX cedars were replaced by cypresses. But, since we talked about both above, it would be unnecessary to increase the reader’s boredom. Eze.XXVII:25. And you became full and exceedingly glorified (or became burdened) in the midst of the sea. Nothing, he says, was missing from you that relates to the wealth of the islands. However, this glorification was a burden for the possessor, because you cannot use it moderately, although poverty often serves as a temptation (Prov. 30:8). Therefore, Solomon asks only what is necessary; he equally does not desire wealth and poverty, lest pride arise through one, and impatience and deceit through the other. Eze.XXVII:26. Your rowers brought you into great waters. Above we read about the oarsmen of the city of Tire, the Sidonians and the Aradians, some of whom mean catchers, others – dethroners. For they catch the souls of those whom they lead among the waves of this age of their own free will, and do not lift them to heights, but plunge them into the depths, and do not imitate those who, sailing until the morning watch, crushed the raging waves of the sea and were worthy to receive the Lord Savior and immediately, with the help of such a passenger and companion, reached a calm pier. More details about this are written in the Gospel. The south wind has crushed you in the middle of the sea. All the wealth of Tire is scattered due to the blowing of the south wind, which is more expressively designated by cadim, in Greek καύσων, which we can translate by burning wind. Saint David spoke about him: in the days the sun will not burn you, the moon will not burn you at night (Ps. 121:6). Jacob was scorched by this wind, and yet he was not crushed by it, as he says: there was scorching heat in the days and cold in the night (Gen. 31:40). Also, those who were hired from the first hour endured heat and heat for a whole day, and yet receive a denarius each, because they were scorched, but were not crushed. Therefore, the bride says in the Song: I am black and good, as the sun looked at me (Song. 1:4) or, as it is better stated in Hebrew, the sun changed my color. Eze.XXVII:27. Your wealth and your treasures and your various instruments. Many read this: in the midst of the sea, your wealth and your treasures and your various instruments in the sense that all the riches of Tire and treasures and all your fortune were on the sea and are being destroyed by the waves of the century, and its inhabitants have nothing stable and permanent in fulfillment of this [saying] of the Gospel: foolishly, this night your soul will be extorted from You; and what thou hast prepared, to whom will they be (Luke 12:20)? and this apostolic one: those who want to get rich fall into misfortunes and snares that plunge them into the depths (1 Tim. 6:9). The historical meaning is clear, and therefore we attach [our] short judgments to almost every verse. For the speech is already hastening towards the end of the book. Your shipmen (or oarsmen), and your helmsmen, who were in charge of your utensils and who governed your people, and your warriors that you had, with all your multitude [of people] that was among you, will fall in the midst of the sea on the day of your fall. We read about the oarsmen or shipmen of the city of Tire, the Sidonians and Aradians, about whom it has already been said, and according to the LXX edition about the advisers of Bivlus, who in Hebrew is called Gebal, also about his warriors, the Persians, Lydians and Libyans, who will all fall and reveal their insignificance when Tire falls and all its glory ends in fall. The multitude, which LXX translated through confusion, means the people with the exception of the princes, who, without naming their differences, will perish from the same judgment. The prophecy is of a mixed nature, relating to the city and the ship, so that from one the other can be understood, and, however, both refer to the end of the age and the shipwreck. Eze.XXVII:28–32. From the noisy cry of your helmsmen the fleets will be thrown into confusion, and all who hold the oar will disembark from their ships. The shipbuilders and all the helmsmen of the sea (both passengers and navigators) will stand on the ground and will cry out for you with a loud voice and cry out with sorrow, and will throw dust on their heads and be sprinkled with ashes (or cover themselves with ashes). The next one: they will cut off your bald patch, and girdle themselves with hair shirts, and they will cry bitter tears for you out of spiritual grief, and they will raise a lamentable song about you and will weep for you - the LXX does not have it, but it was added from Theodotion’s edition. When Tire falls, its helmsmen will fall into confusion, will leave the fleets, and rowers, and passengers, and navigators or shipbuilders, and all the helmsmen of the sea, overwhelmed by the waves, will finally stand unshakable and will cry out in a loud voice about the one whom they previously enriched with their goods, and in their cry express their spiritual grief; they will also throw dust or earth on their heads, bringing repentance for earthly affairs. And ashes or heifers will be sprinkled, according to the law (Num. 19:6–9), to cleanse them, or they will cover themselves, according to what is said to Jerusalem: “strew earth on your head and cover yourself with ashes and lift up mourning” (Jer. 6:26). And in the Gospel it is written: although these signs were in Tire and Sidon, of old we repented in sackcloth and ashes (Luke 10:13). And the psalmist says: ashes are like bread that eats (Ps. 101:10). And they will shave their heads according to Tire and make them bald, as usually happens during mourning, at a time when all joy is excluded by great sorrow. The hairs of the apostles are numbered because they, like the Nazarenes, dedicated their hair to the Lord (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7). And Sampson, while he had hair, had strength; having lost his hair, he was taken captive by foreigners (Judges 16:19). When it is said: “And they will girdle themselves with hair shirts,” then the lust of the loins is condemned in the sense that those who lived among pleasures will subsequently repent and lead a strict and harsh life. The Ninevites dressed in sackcloth (John 3). And to Jerusalem it is also said: cry unto me more than the bride, girded in sackcloth after her virgin husband (Joel 1:8). And they will cry for you, he says, out of spiritual grief with bitter weeping. For it is better to enter into a house of mourning than into a house of feasting (Eccl. 7:2), in order to mourn Tire and aggravate the lamentable song, which is further added in Scripture. And so that we may know that this is for the benefit of those who mourn the fallen and who were formerly in the heart of the sea and among it, this can be taught to us by the example of the prophet, who is also commanded to mourn Tire, so that, after the time of repentance has been fulfilled, he will return to his former state and, taking the zither, play [it] for the Lord. Read Isaiah. Some in a strange way (however, it should be said about what we read) by helmsmen they mean heretical bishops, by advisers to presbyters, by navigators of archdeacons, by oarsmen and shipwrights of deacons, while passengers are referred to as the whole people; and if we add the devil as the owner of the ship, then there would be a complete tragedy. They will all equally cry out and cry bitterly and repent when they learn about the wreck of their ship, and they will stand on the ground and lose all the glory of false knowledge and instead of joy and joy they will express repentance through grief in heartfelt sorrow. Eze.XXVII:32–36. Who, like Tire, was dumb (or silent in the middle of the sea? (LXX does not have this). When your goods (or what reward did you receive) from the sea, you filled many nations. With the multitude of your wealth and nations you enriched many kings. Now you are broken by the sea (or in the sea) in the depths of the waters, your riches (or your trade) and all your numerous population (multitudo) that was among you have fallen. All the inhabitants of the islands they were horrified (or lamented) about you, and all their kings, struck by the storm (or having gone into a frenzy), changed their faces (or began to cry). The merchants of the tribes (or peoples) hissed about you: you have been destroyed (or have become destruction) and you will no longer exist forever (or forever). Helmsmen, oarsmen, navigators and passengers will speak like this when weeping for the city of Tire: what other city was so silent that it did not have the courage to speak, and listened to this gospel [saying]: be silent, cease (Mark 4:39), and from the Psalms: you will tell all my justifications, and accept my covenant with your lips (Ps. 49:16 )? How many goods have you become rich in, Tyr? And why did you try so hard day and night to collect what would perish from a shipwreck? You filled many nations and enriched the kings with your riches, about whom it is written: the kings of the earth stood before them, and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ (Ps. 2:2). But now you have been wrecked in the sea and in the depths of the waters, just as it is written about Pharaoh: Pharaoh’s chariots and his strength were cast into the sea (Ex. 15:4). He sank into the depths like a stone, and could say: I have sunk into the depths of the sea, and the storm has drowned me (Ps. 68:3). All the islands or the inhabitants of the islands, subject to the blows of the waves of this age, will be horrified at you, and their kings, struck by the storm, will understand their destruction and, imitating the sounds of the snake, will hiss and say: you are destroyed or have become destruction, so that you were prone to destruction not by nature, but by [your] will. And you won't be there. If he had said only this, then an important question would arise: how was it not when we now see it built? But with the following words per century, she indicates the time of one century, which, according to the years of human life, is determined by a period of seventy years. Or: you will not be for God, as the apostle says: I call you not (Rom. 4:17); and the prophet Isaiah: behold, all those who resist you will be ashamed and disgraced, for they will be as if they do not exist (Is. 41:11); and Esther according to the LXX translation: do not deliver up, O Lord, this scepter of yours, who are not (Esth. 4:17), and in the Psalm: weaken me, so that I may rest, before I even go away, and I will not be with anyone (Ps. 39:14). In what sense should this evidence be understood, we spoke about this above. But we can attribute all this to heretics, who, with the destruction and shipwreck of Tire, will understand their error and, being in the middle of the sea, will desire to save their souls and will cry over the treasures that were collected in evil ways and with which they enriched many kings, that is, their patriarchs, and the common people, and whose wealth will perish in the middle of the sea. Also, the inhabitants of all the islands (if, however, we wish to take what has been said in a good way) will be horrified at the destruction of Tire, and the kings of all the islands, or they themselves, struck by the storm, will change their countenance or, perhaps, express heartfelt sadness in crying and tears and, through surprise and hissing, will testify to the great horror that the one who promised salvation to many peoples has been destroyed and perished. And he will no longer be - not at a certain time, as would be the case with the translation [in words]: throughout the century (in saeculo), but forever (in perpetuum); because the same word has both these meanings. Virgil. Georg. 1, 57–59. Here, instead of multorum (many), one should probably read mulorum (mules), which would be more consistent with both the context of the speech and the testimony of 1 Samuel. 21:7 about Doik; an elder from the shepherd of Saul, shepherding Saul's villages. But in the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 54:12) bl. Jerome translates chodchod, following the example of the LXX, with the word jasper. See Creation. bl. Jerome in Russian lane part 9 page 13. Of course, the reed that was used to write in ancient times. You might be interested in: