Interpretation of the Prophet Zechariah

“Interpretation of the Prophet Zechariah” (3 books, 14 chapters) written by Bl. Jerome of Stridon in 406. The commentary presents a double translation - from Hebrew and from Greek (Septuagint) (except for those places where the text is completely identical). Blzh. Jerome speaks of the inspiration of Holy Scripture: “The law was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit” (chapter 4). As for the teaching about the Church, here is Bl. Jerome primarily speaks from the position of an exegete and only then from the position of a dogmatist. He turns to the Holy Scriptures, containing symbols and images of the Church, calling it the “heavenly Jerusalem” (chapter 12). When working blzh. Jerome used the interpretations of Didymus the Blind, written at his request. *The title of the work in Latin is Commentarius in Zachariam prophetam. Three books of commentaries on the prophet Zechariah to Exuperius, Bishop of Toulouse. Already in late autumn, our brother, your son, monk Sisinius handed me a letter of your dignity. After reading it, I rejoiced that you are healthy and remember me and all the brethren who serve the Lord in holy places, and in whose consolation you gain friends for yourself from the riches of unrighteousness and prepare an eternal dwelling place to say with David: How beloved are your dwellings, O Lord of hosts, my soul longs and faints [with longing] for the courts of the Lord (Ps. 84:2-3). For if the sparrow finds a home for itself, and the turtle dove a nest in which it could lay its young (Ps. 83:4), then why should you, the high priest of the Lord, and laboring at the end of the world in the winepress to distribute to the thirsty peoples the wine of the blood of Christ, not cry out with full desire and say: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God: blessed are they that dwell in Thy house (Ps. 84:3,5). I understand that in this valley of tears, in the place which the Lord has destined to be a battleground to give a crown to those who overcome, you have in your heart the degrees of ascension, and you go from virtue to virtue, and imitate the poverty of the Lord, so that together with Him you may be rich, and so that He may bow His head to you, be received every day, be visited [by you], be fed and clothed [with you], and especially [that] you are burning with zeal for reading the Holy Scriptures. Since I would like to bring you as a gift some work of my insignificant mind, and since the begun interpretation of the twelve prophets was approaching the end, I did not want to stop the work I had begun, but since I had no intention of leaving [it] without you, I dedicated [it] mainly to your name. And I rejoice that the darkest and most extensive of the twelve books, the [book of] the prophet Zechariah, will be the subject of interpretation at a time when there will be no obstacle in the interpretation from the haste of the one who is about to return. But whether I want it or not, I am forced to compose what I intend for you, snatching only suitable hours at night. Origen wrote two volumes on this prophet from the beginning to the third part of the book. Also, Hippolytus published interpretations, and Didymus, at my request, compiled books of expositions, which, together with three others on the prophet Hosea, he dedicated (προςεφώνησεν) to me. But all their interpretation was allegorical and they touched only a little on history. So, imitating the householder who brings out of his treasury new and old (Matthew 13:52), and the bride from the book of Song of Songs, who says: My beloved brother I have kept for you new things along with old (Song 7:14), to the history of our Jews I added a figurative meaning to build a building on stone, and not on sand (Matthew 7:24-26), and to lay a solid foundation, which the great one laid creator Paul, as he writes about himself (1 Cor. 3:10). It will depend on your goodwill to accept not our learning, which is either insignificant or insignificant, but our sincere desire that you call us to further and encourage us to flow through the wide field of the Scriptures. And if there are those to whom I previously promised the interpretation of both these and other scrolls, then let them forgive me my excessive love for you and let what I wrote to you consider it written for themselves, for: Love is forgiving, love is not jealous and does not seek its own (1 Cor. 13:4-5). However, the time has come that, basing [on] the words of Zechariah, we leave the sails of interpretation to the wind of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah 1:1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, the prophet, speaking. LXX: In the eighth month, the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah Barahip, son of Addo, the prophet, saying. – In the second year of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the seventieth year was completed after the destruction of the church, predicted by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11, 29:10), as evidenced by Zechariah himself in the words: Lord of hosts, until You have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry for the seventieth year now (Zechariah 1:12). And no one doubts that Cyrus, king of Persia, who destroyed the kingdom of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign returned about fifty thousand people from Babylon to Judea; He also returned the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away, and ordered the church to be restored [or: built] in Jerusalem, and appointed Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jozedek, the great priest, as rulers of the returning people. So, after the murder of Cyrus, who reigned for thirty years, among the Massagetae by their queen Tomirisa, his son Cambyses, who after an eight-year reign had as successors two brothers magicians, took over the kingdom; and after the killing of these latter by the people, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was installed as king of the Persians, by the decision of seven families. In the second year of this last reign the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet and to Zechariah the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo. Regarding Haggai we have already spoken; Little needs to be said regarding the inscription of Zechariah. Since he is the son of Varachia, the question arises: why is he called [also] the son of Addo. And according to what was said in the book of Chronicles, there is no doubt that this is not the same Addo who was sent to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat (2 Chronicles 12:15, 13:21), during which the altar was destroyed [or: overthrown] and the hand of the king withered, and through whose prayers it became healthy again (1 Kings 13:4-6). So, from the first year of King Cyrus to the second year of King Darius, son of Hystaspes, forty years passed [according to calculations], during which only the altar was built and the foundations of the church were laid, since the work was hindered by the neighboring nations in the vicinity and the Persian king Cambyses, who made a written order about this matter to the princes of Lower Syria (κοίλης), Phenicia and Samaria. The book of Ezra talks about this in more detail. But Haggai began to prophesy in the sixth month, on the first day of the same month; and Zechariah - in the same year, but not in the same month, for he prophesied two months later, in the eighth month of the year. Therefore, correctly, in the series of twelve prophets, this one is considered the eleventh, and that one the tenth. The consequence of great trust in God, even hope in Him and faith in Him, was that the work, left for so long without progress due to the opposition of the king and [neighboring] peoples, began to be carried out by the [Jewish] people under the influence of the conviction of [only] two people. We prefaced this [our interpretation] in a historical sense, as we usually do. And now we need to briefly summarize it in a figurative sense [secundum ἀναγωγήν]. The Jews have the eighth month, which is called maresVan (מרחשין), the Egyptians have Athir, we have November (November); it is the beginning of winter. At this time, due to the end of the summer heat, the entire earth is bare of vegetation, the bodies of mortals shrink, and no holiday is celebrated as prescribed by the law. For it is written that three times a year every male must appear before the face of our Lord (Ex. 34:23). The first holiday is the feast of unleavened bread - Phase, which we call Easter in Greek and Latin. The second is Pentecost, after seven weeks, on which the showbread of new fruits is brought for the first time. The third - in the seventh month - is the feast of trumpets, propitiation and tents, or the establishment of tabernacles (σκηνοπηγίας), the last day of which is called the day of the exodus and the end [of the holiday]. So, while still in captivity and under the authority of the king of the Persians, without having rebuilt the church and without erecting walls and fortifications of the city, the people receive the prophecy not in the days of rejoicing, but after the rejoicing. But since he remembered the Lord and, as a result of remembrance, had a blessing, and as a result of the blessing, a testimony, then Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Addo, was sent to him. Zechariah means the memory of the Lord, Barachiah means the blessing of the Lord, and Addo means His testimony. Let us therefore pay attention to the fact that the Word of God, which was from the beginning with God the Father, spoke to the people through the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah 1:2–4. The Lord was angry with your fathers with wrath, and you shall say to them: This says the Lord of hosts: “Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets called and spoke.” LXX: The Lord was angry with your fathers with great wrath, and you say to them: This says the Lord Almighty: “Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets called before, saying, “The wrath of the Lord does not indicate the indignation of Him who is angry, but the merits and sins of those against whom the wrath of the Lord breaks out.” At least the Lord never takes revenge in anger, but exposes him to anger in order to correct. Therefore, the prophet prays in the Psalm: Lord, do not reprove me in Your wrath and do not punish me in Your anger (Ps. 6:2). Also in another place we read: Punish us, O Lord, not with Thy wrath, but with mercy (Jer. 10:24). So the Lord was angry with the fathers of those who are now being punished, not with great wrath, as the Seventy say, but simply with wrath. Indeed, if He had become angry with great anger, He would never have called those in captivity to repentance through Daniel and Ezekiel. And since he was angry with them, the Lord of hosts speaks to you, - instead of which in Hebrew it is used Sabaoth [Sabaoth] (שכוח), which in the Seventy is translated either almighty, or powers - and says: “Turn to Me, and I will turn to you,” according to what we read: “Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you.” These words are the opposite: “You have departed from Me and I have departed from you.” And he instructs those who returned from Babylon to turn to the Lord, so that the Lord also turns to them, and so that the children do not begin to do what the fathers did, to whom the prophets of that time addressed speech in a similar way. It should be noted that in some verses and short sayings of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah it is always added: the Lord of hosts speaks, so that those who listen undoubtedly know that it is the Lord who gives the command despite the authority of the king and the surrounding hostile nations, and are excited by this confidence to build the church. Zechariah 1:4. This says the Lord of hosts: “Turn from your evil ways and your most wicked thoughts: you neither heard nor rushed to Me,” says the Lord. LXX: This says the Lord Almighty: “Turn from your wicked ways and your evil undertakings; and did not press forward to listen to Me,” says the Lord. - [The present] thought depends on the previous one, - the above, - and the subsequent must be adapted to the previous one. For Zechariah does not [yet] speak to the people, but only shows that before the former prophets spoke to their fathers, whereby they exclaimed, saying: This says the Lord of hosts: “Turn from your evil ways and your wicked thoughts.” Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jeremiah exclaimed this [precisely] so that they would leave evil ways and leave the most wicked thoughts, with which they sinned in word, deed and thought; and yet they did not listen to the admonitions of the Lord through the prophets and thus did not pay attention not to the prophets, but to Me, says the Lord, for I was the one who spoke and was despised among the prophets. Therefore, the Lord says in the Gospel: He who receives you receives Me (Matthew 10:40). Zechariah 1:5–6. Where are your fathers and prophets? Will they live forever? But did not My words and My decrees, which I commanded My servants the prophets, restrain your fathers? And they turned and said: “As the Lord of hosts thought to do to us [or: with us] according to our ways and our devices, [so] he did it to us.” LXX: Where are your fathers and prophets? Will they live forever? But you accept My words and the definitions that I give in My Spirit to My servants the prophets: they restrained your fathers; and they answered and said: “As the Lord Almighty prepared to do to us according to our ways and according to our undertakings, so he did it to us.” “Where,” He says, are your fathers who did not hear and did not rush to Me? Where are your prophets? This should be generally understood in the sense of some exaggeration (ἀπὸκοινοῦ): where are your fathers, and where are your prophets? that is, false prophets, for He would never say about the holy prophets: will they live forever? Thus, when those who sinned and did not want to turn to Me, and those who deceived those who sinned with false promises, are carried away by death, My words spoken through My prophets remain forever: they restrained your fathers and showed that what I said was true. These your fathers, after the death of My prophets, experiencing the fulfillment of their prophecies about events, turned to repentance and said: “As the Lord of armies foretold that he would do to us, so he rewarded us according to our deeds and sins.” We will read about how Daniel, on his own behalf and on behalf of the people, confesses before the Lord that they did not want to listen to the Lord and justly endured what happened to them (Dan. 3:28-32). Zechariah 1:7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month Sabat: in the second year of Darius the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Barachiah, the son of [Vulg.: son of] Addo, the prophet, speaking. LXX: On the twenty-fourth [day] in the eleventh month - this is the month of Sabat - in the second year under Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, speaking. - Some, instead of the eleventh month, put the twelfth and, interpreting the twenty-fourth day of the same month with the help of arithmetic considerations, try to discern a stable quadrangle and a fixed number in order to see in what is written something undoubted and unshakable. We will say that in the same second year of King Darius, in the third month after the first vision, that is, in the eleventh after the eighth, called by the Jews Sabat (Sabat - שכט), the word of the Lord again came to Zechariah. We have often pointed out that the second number is an unclean number, related to the union of the flesh, the things of the world and matter. The eleventh month, called Sabat, in our language is translated by the word vine (rod), inspires the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bstrictness and correction, to which these words of the apostle correspond: What do you want? So that I come to you with a rod? (1 Cor. 4:21) or the words of the Psalmist: Thy rod and Thy rod, they comforted me (Ps. 22:4). This month is the coldest winter time and is called Meshir among the Egyptians, περίτιος among the Macedonians, Februalius (February) among the Romans; and the twenty-fourth day of the month signifies the greatest darkness of the night, in the absence of moonlight with a gradual increase in the terrifying impenetrable darkness of the night. Therefore it is quite fitting that those who were still in captivity, and for the most part were still in exile among the Medes, Chaldeans and Assyrians, in the second year and during the difficult time of the eleventh month and on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, received a vision for the Jewish people, which follows: Zechariah 1:8–13. I saw at night: and there was a man mounting a red horse and standing between the myrtle trees that were in the hollow, and behind him were red, piebald and white horses, and I said: “My Lord! Who are they? And the angel who spoke within me said to me: “I will show you what this means.” And the man standing among the myrtles answered and said: “These are the ones whom the Lord sent to go around the earth.” And they answered the angel of the Lord, who stood between the myrtle trees, and said: “We have walked around the earth, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited and in peace.” And the angel of the Lord answered and said: “Lord of hosts! Until You have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You were angry. This is [already] the seventieth year.” And the Lord answered the angel who spoke in me, good words, comforting words. LXX: I saw at night: and behold, a man mounted a red horse, and he stood between two mountains covered with shadow, and behind him the horses were red, motley and white. And I said: “Lord, who are they?” And the angel speaking within me said to me: “I will show you what this means.” And the man who stood between the mountains answered and said to me: “These are the ones whom the Lord sent to go around the earth.” And they answered the angel of the Lord, who stood between the mountains, and said: “We have walked around the whole earth, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited and in silence.” And the angel of the Lord answered and said: “Lord Almighty! Until You have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with whom You were angry! It’s [already] the seventieth year?” And the Lord answered the angel who spoke in me with good and comforting words. – First, let's talk about history. I saw, they say, at night, not during the day, like Moses, who saw God face to face, and Isaiah, who said: I saw the Lord on a throne, high and exalted (Is. 6:1); this was even before the people were taken into captivity and the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed; and for a people still subject to the misfortunes of slavery, [the prophet] contemplates in darkness what he sees concerning them. And here is a man mounting a red horse. By him the Jews mean the Angel Michael, who is the avenger for the iniquities and sins of Israel. And the fact that he stood between the myrtles located in the depths [they understand this way]: under the myrtles they want to see the prophets and saints who walked among the captive people and were in the depths; and behind the husband, i.e. Mikhail, red, motley and white horses followed in a gradual order, as they think; so that the white ones represent the Medes and Persians, since under their rule the captivity ceased and the church was restored; the variegated ones represent the Macedonians, some of whom were friends, others persecutors (Daniel’s last vision (Dan. 8) speaks about this in great detail); the red ones denote the kingdom of the cruel and bloodthirsty Romans, which destroyed the people and destroyed the church, - And others, preserving the order indicated in Scripture, under the husband who mounted a red horse and under the red, motley and white horses, they mean four kingdoms. The first and second are the bloody kingdoms of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, of which the first, under Shalmaneser, took ten tribes into captivity; and the latter [conquered] Judah and Benjamin, burning Jerusalem and destroying the church. By the third and fourth, [i.e.] by motley and white, in their opinion, are meant the Medes and Persians, some of whom were lenient, like Cyrus and Darius, the son of Hystaspes, and Assuer, whom the Greeks call Artaxerxes, and under whom the story of Esther is committed; and others are cruel, like Cambyses and the rest. So, to the prophet, who sees a man mounting a red horse, and behind him red, speckled and white horses, but does not know what exactly he saw and wants to know the meaning of his vision and says: “Who are they, Lord,” the Angel who spoke in him promises to say it; and since he is silent, the husband, standing between the myrtle trees, tells. This is the essence of the kingdom, which the Lord commanded to go around the earth and subjugate it to his power. Then the angels who ruled over kingdoms and nations come not to anyone else, but to the very true Angel of the Lord, Who stood between the myrtle trees; they say: We have walked around the whole earth, and now the whole earth is inhabited and calm. The meaning is this: Under our rule, all kingdoms are safe and at peace, and none [of them] are oppressed. As a result of this answer, the angel who interceded for Israel receives the opportunity to ask for the people and says to the Lord: “Since the whole earth is in calm and peace, why, Lord, do you not have mercy on Israel and the cities of Judah, when the time of captivity, according to Your purpose, is completely over?” And the Lord answers the angel who spoke in the prophet with good words, words of consolation: good about the promises of the future, comforting about the necessity of the present. – This is the literal meaning, so that it does not seem that ours are hiding what we have learned from foreign language teachers. However, the teachers of the Churches under the night in which the vision occurs understand the obscurity of the mysterious vision, for the Lord has laid darkness as His covering (Ps. 17:12), and the Seventy says about Him: The deep is like His covering (Ps. 103:6). And the man who mounted the red horse is the Lord Savior, Who, accepting the dispensation of our flesh, hears in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Why are your clothes red (Is. 63:2). The One who is shown here to the captive people as red is described in the Revelation of John as dressed in white clothes and sitting on a white horse (Apoc.3:5,6:2). And what is said that He stood between two shady mountains (although in Hebrew there is no word two) is understood in relation to the Old and New Testaments (Instrumentum), which is considered to be covered with thick foliage, forest and shady groves, for its meaning is shrouded in much mystery. By the myrtle trees, which were in the depths, and among which He is described standing, they understand the angelic powers that served Him even in the body He assumed. Of course, on the other hand, under the mountains (let's throw out word two, which is not found in Scripture), in general and without indicating a specific number, we can understand very many saints - apostles and apostolic men - who are spoken of as going out to the whole world, [like horses that were] red, motley and white. Of these men, some were crowned with martyrdom and are called red; others, according to the variety of signs, deeds and teachings, are called motley; still others accepted the reward for virginity, purity of dogma and purity of heart that sees God. Then the prophet asks the same man and angel who stood between the myrtle trees and said: Who are they [or: what is this] my Lord, and the Angel who spoke in him, that is, the prophetic sense promises to show [the meaning of what] is contemplated [or: contemplates] in the vision. And although he promised, he answers [the question] not himself, but another, standing between the myrtle trees, [who] says: These are those whom the Lord sent to go around the earth. Indeed, the apostles were sent by the Lord to fill the whole world with the preaching of the Gospel, and after completing [this] work they returned to the Angel of the Great Council, who stood among those who said with the Apostle: We are the aroma of Christ in those who are saved and in those who perish (2 Cor. 2:15), and among the nations of both callings. And they said to him: “We have walked around the earth, completed the work that was assigned to us, and now the whole earth is inhabited and in silence - a land that was previously desolate from God; she is calm from wars, from attacks from vices and sins; for she has received the inheritance of the Lord, returning to the Father and saying: My peace I give unto you, the peace of Mon I leave with you (John 14:27).” And the fact that the vision asks for complete mercy, i.e., that with the onset of the seventieth year the Lord would have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, leads [us] to the following understanding: Before complete peace and sabbathing comes and the number of seven tens is fulfilled, i.e., the seventieth year [ends], neither Jerusalem, which signifies the vision of the world, i.e., the church will receive complete freedom, nor the city of Judah, that is, souls who believe in the Lord. Finally, the Lord promises in good words, in words of consolation, what we now see in part and prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9), and when the perfect comes, then what has happened in part will cease, and we, freed from the Babylon of this age, will exclaim: When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were as if comforted (Ps. 126:1). Zechariah 1:14–16. And the angel who spoke within me said to me: “Cry out, saying: This says the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy, and I have been angry [or: I will be angry] with great wrath against the rich nations. Since I was little angry, they increased the evil.” Therefore thus says the Lord: I will show much kindness to Jerusalem, and my house will be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and the carpenter's cord will be spread over Jerusalem. LXX: And the angel who spoke within me said to me: “Cry out, saying: This says the Lord Almighty: I have been jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy, and with great wrath I am angry with the nations who are too eager. Because I was little angry, they especially rushed towards evil. Therefore thus says the Lord: I will turn to Jerusalem in mercy, and My house will be rebuilt therein, says the Lord Almighty, and a measure will be spread over Jerusalem. – And here again are good words, words of consolation, which the prophet is commanded to exclaim: The Lord was jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great jealousy. And the one who is jealous shows love for the one he is jealous of, not at all speaking as he [said] through Jeremiah: As a wife despises her husband, so the house of Israel has despised Me (Jer. 3:20), to whom through Ezekiel the Lord says: Being angry, I will no longer be angry with you, and My jealousy has departed from you (Ezek. 16:42). So, He who was jealous of Jerusalem and Zion - and this is one and the same city - is now angry with the nations abounding in wealth, whom He previously called red, motley and white; for He appointed them for the correction of [others], and they treated cruelly the devotees into their hands. “He wanted his son to be corrected by the schoolmaster, and they tried to exterminate and punish him as an enemy. What happened was similar to what is said in Isaiah: I have delivered them into your hands; You did not show them mercy: you burdened the elder with a burden and said: “I will be a mistress forever” (Is. 47:6). Jealousy, like anger, is understood according to the human concept of passion (ἀνδρωποπάδως). But from this passage [of the prophecy], the heretics who slander the Old Testament are necessarily convinced that an angry God does not want to destroy those with whom he is angry, but only to correct them. Thus, he says: Since I was jealous for Jerusalem with great jealousy and for Zion, which the enemies oppressed more than I wanted, therefore this is what the Lord says: “I will turn to Jerusalem, not with mercy only, but with much mercy, and my house,” that is, the church will be built in it under Zerubbabel and Joshua the son of Jozedek, and the building cord will be spread over Jerusalem. By Jerusalem and Zion - [which means] a vision or place of observation of the world - which do not think about the wars of this age, not about base and earthly things, but about peace and harmony and the heights of heaven, one can understand the Church. God, angry with her for her sins and vices, and for the gradual cooling of love (Matthew 24:12), betrays her to persecution so that she appears like pure gold and silver in a crucible. And her enemies, to whom she is devoted, seeking to destroy her, will fill Jerusalem with the blood of the slain from gate to gate. After this, the Lord, who promises peace and mercy, says that he has to recreate it again. And a carpenter's cord or surveying rope will be stretched in it according to certain measures and the correct arrangement of individual parts. And what kind of rope this is is shown in the next chapter, where the prophet says: I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold a man, and in his hand a surveying rope (Zechariah 2:1). And the church of God, which the opponents destroyed, we can see in the venerable Body of the Lord, about which He himself said: Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). It was crushed in suffering, but restored in resurrection, and became the seed or germ of all churches, about which the Apostle says: You are the church of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you (2 Cor. 6:16). Zechariah 1:17. Exclaim again, saying: This says the Lord of hosts: “My cities will again flow with good things; and Zion will again comfort the Lord, and will again choose Jerusalem.” LXX: And the angel who spoke within me said to me: This says the Lord Almighty: “Again the cities will be filled with good things, and again the Lord will have mercy on Zion, and again the Lord will choose Jerusalem.” – The angel who had previously told the prophet: “Shout: This is what the Lord of hosts says,” now again invites him to shout, not with the power of his voice, but with the intensity of his thoughts, and commands him to exclaim the following: My cities, which you now see devastated by the fire of Babylon, will again overflow with blessings; again they will abound in everything, and in their former miserable situation the Lord will console them with real blessings, and will choose Jerusalem, which He had rejected a little before. If we attribute this to the Church, to which true and eternal blessings are promised, then we must think that these are the blessings about which we read what is written: You will see the blessings of Jerusalem (Ps. 127:5) and in another place: If you will and listen to Me, you will eat the blessings of the earth (Isa. 1:19) and in another place: You will trust in the Lord, and He will exalt you above the blessings of the earth. A wise man, to whom the Lord has revealed the hidden secrets of His wisdom, expects with hope to receive these blessings in the future and says: I believe that I will see the blessings of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 26:13). With these blessings, as we see, the churches of the Lord flowed abundantly after the flames of the most severe persecution that they suffered from the pagans and heretics of the Arians, and - after the restoration of peace - Zion was consoled, Jerusalem [again] chosen, - Zion and Jerusalem, a little before rejected. We can apply this to the church of the Lord and to each of the believers. Some attribute the consolation of Zion and the election of Jerusalem, and so on, preached by all the prophets of this kind, to the heavenly Jerusalem, which, after its destruction by vices, was recreated by virtues. But it is more correct to interpret this in relation to the Church. Zechariah 1:18–21. And I lifted up my eyes and saw: and behold four horns, and I said to the angel who spoke to [or: to] me: “What are these?” And he said to me: “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” And the Lord showed me four workers, and I said: “What are these going to do?” He spoke to me, saying: “These are the horns that scattered Judah one man at a time, and not one of them lifted up his head, but these [people] came to crush them in order to overthrow the horns of the nations that lifted up the horn on the land of Judah to scatter it. LXX: And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns, and I said to the angel who spoke within me: “What is this, Lord?” And he said to me: “These are the people who scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” And the Lord showed me four workers, and I said: “What are these going to do?” And he said: “These are the horns that scattered Judah and crushed Israel, and not one of them lifted up his head, but these came out to sharpen them in their hands. The four horns are those nations that raised a horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it. – The four horns that scattered and scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem are four nations: the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians, the Macedonians and the Romans. In this place this is shown by the Lord, questioned by the prophet, and Daniel explains it in great detail. He named these nations in explanation of the vision of an image that had a head of gold, a breast of silver, a belly and legs of brass, and feet of iron and clay (Dan. 2:31–44). And in another vision he again showed the same peoples under a different image - under the image of four animals: a lion, a bear, a leopard and another terrible beast, whose name he did not indicate; and that the Medes and Persians after the victory of Cyrus constituted one kingdom, no one who reads both secular and sacred books will doubt [or: does not doubt]. And quite correctly, the prophet used horns instead of kingdoms, since the Holy Scriptures have the custom of denoting kingdoms with the word horns, such as the following passage: And he exalted the horn of his Christ (Ps. 149:14) and another: And he raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David (Luke 1:69). And the same Daniel the prophet testifies about the ten horns that will ultimately reign (Dan.7:7-20). Thus, at the time when this vision was contemplated, the kingdom of the Babylonians had already passed, the kingdom of the Persians and Medes was advancing, and there would still be the kingdom of the Macedonians with the Greeks and the kingdom of the Romans. What did the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, i.e., do to Judah, Israel and Jerusalem? The Macedonians, and especially during the reign of Antiochus, named Epiphanes, during which the events described in the books of the Maccabees took place, a scientist knows about this. And what the Israelites endured after the coming of the Lord Savior, when Jerusalem was surrounded, is first predicted by the Gospel (Luke 19:42–43), and then described in great detail by Joseph, the people's writer of Jewish history. It was these horns that scattered and scattered Judas, as if one person at a time, so that none of them, oppressed by the severity of the disasters, could raise their heads. And the prophet did not see the four workers, or craftsmen, whom the Greeks call τέκτονας, but the Lord showed them to him, and explained who these workers, or masters were; by these we mean angels who obey the power of the Lord, so that they build what the pagans destroyed. The same words that we translated from Hebrew: They came to crush them, that is, the kingdoms, the Seventy translated: They came to sharpen [refine] them in their hands. And to sharpen them should be understood in the sense of crushing. And, of course, to crush, with the goal that they would all bend their necks under the yoke of Christ, and not so that (as someone interpreted) they would become worse, since they were sharpened. Indeed, if angels came to make the evil worse, then they should not be called masters, that is, destroyers of evil and creators of good, but they themselves should be recognized as evil and destroyers. It should also be noted that these four horns of the pagans raised one horn against the people of God: for they did not reign simultaneously, and did not oppress Judah together, but successively followed each other: after the Babylonians - the Medes and Persians, after the kingdom of the Persians - the kingdom of the Macedonians, and after the kingdom of the Macedonians - the power of the Romans. We spoke about them following the order [of events] of history. - The words of the prophet: I have lifted up My eyes must be adapted to the spiritual meaning [which is expressed in the words]: I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where help will come to me (Ps. 120:1), and: Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for the harvest (John 4:35) and what we read from the prophet Isaiah: The Holy One said: “Lift up your eyes and see, who showed all these things” (Isaiah 21:6). Therefore, it is necessary to lift up the eyes and have spiritual understanding in order to see the hostile forces that are pressing their horn against us, about which the Apostle says: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of this darkness of this present age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). Christ, by His coming, defeated these four enemies who had always fought against the saints. The Psalmist also says about them: You will tread on the asp and the basilisk, and trample under your feet the lion and the serpent (Ps. 90:13). By the four horns that rebelled against the people of God, we can also understand the four passions (πάδη), a word that among learned people is not understood in the literal meaning of the word, i.e. suffering (passiones), but in the sense of indignation: sorrow and joy of the spirit; [these] two relate to the present; and [more] two - to the future: fear and lust; The famous poet also points to them: “Therefore they fear, strongly desire, grieve and rejoice” (Aeneid. Virg. VI.) The prophet does not see four workers and, so to speak, doctors against these [indignations] and good builders and could not see himself without the revelation of God; God shows them to him; these are the four virtues: prudence, justice, strength, temperance, which Tullius [Cicero] discusses in great detail in the books “De officiis”, compiling a special book for each of the four virtues. Thus, those who destroy vices and create virtues, as well as all the saints who, using these means, always build the Church, should be called builders, or workers. Therefore, the apostle says: Like a wise builder, I laid the foundation (1 Cor. 3:10). And the Lord in His anger says that He will remove from Jerusalem a wise man and a builder (Is. 3:3). And the Lord himself, the Son of almighty God and Creator [or: Creator] of all, is called the son of the builder. In the interpretations of a certain person, I read that the four workers are understood as four evangelists who have to restore to the original seat of oppressed Israel, that is, the thought contemplating God, and Judah, that is, relying on God, and Jerusalem, that is, the vision of the world, and who, through the preaching of the Gospel, attracted to salvation people who were cut off from the church by vicious nations (Vitiorum gentes). Zechariah 2:1–2. And I raised my eyes and saw: and there was a man, and in his hand was a surveying rope. And I said: “Where are you going?” And he said to me: “Measure Jerusalem and see how its breadth dictates, and how great its longitude [or: its height].” LXX: And I raised my eyes and saw, and there was a man, and in his hand was a surveying rope, and I said to him: “Where are you going?” And he said to me: “Measure Jerusalem and see how great its breadth is, and how great its longitude.” - He who, having raised his eyes before, saw sadness in the four horns, now raises his eyes again to see the man about whom it is written: Behold the man, East is His name (Zech. 6:12); about whom we read above: And behold a man mounted a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the depths, or between the shady mountains (Zech. 1:8). The Father also says about Him: This is the one who created My city (Heb. 11:16), the creator and organizer of which is God. Ezekiel also sees him holding in his hand a rope and a cane the size of a man's cubit in order to measure Jerusalem, the description of which, i.e., the dimensions of latitude and longitude, is made by the same prophet in mysterious language (Ezek. 40:5 et al.). Some believe that this was partially fulfilled under Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah and other leaders and kings who ruled the people of Israel until the coming of the Lord Savior. Others, and especially the Jews, carnal people seeking carnal things, interpret this in relation to the thousand-year reign. Of ours, the majority attribute [this] to the heavenly Jerusalem and say that it must be rebuilt again - it, which was an abandoned heap of sinners' souls. By this we mean heretics. On the other hand, by Mount Zion and the matter of the firstborn and saints, we will understand the Church, which was created by the suffering and resurrection of the Savior and is created daily by Him who knows the measure and merits of each. What we said about the Church can also be accepted regarding the souls of believers, who are daily created by the Lord and contemplate His world, left by Him to the Apostles. Zechariah 2:3–5. And so the angel who spoke in me came out and another angel came out to meet him and said to him: “Run [and] tell this youth: Jerusalem will be inhabited without a wall because of the multitude of people and livestock in the midst of it. And I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire around [him], and I will be in glory in the midst of him. LXX: And behold, the Angel who spoke in me stood and another Angel came out to meet him and spoke to him, saying: “Run and tell that young man, saying: Jerusalem will be peopled fruitful because of the multitude of people and cattle in its midst. And I will be to him, says the Lord, a wall of fire around [him], and I will be in the midst of him for glory. - By the Angel who spoke in the prophet and stood, or, as it is read in Hebrew, came out, for this means the word יעא, the Jews mean Michael; and by the other angel who came out and went to meet him, they mean Gabriel, who tells Michael to convey to the prophet how great the abundance of everything and the multitude of people and livestock, and what the strength of the walls Jerusalem, which is currently destroyed, will have. And we, according to the spiritual meaning, will interpret all this in relation to the Church, which is without a wall, or, as the Seventy translated, κατάκαρπος, that is, will be filled with a multitude of all kinds of fruits and will have a multitude of people and livestock. And the Lord will be fire around her and will be in glory in her midst. This is the city about which we read elsewhere: Glorious things have been said about you, city of God (Ps. 87:3) and again: Great is the Lord and we praise greatly in the city of our God, in His holy mountain (Ps. 47:2). Whoever lives in this [city] can say: I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God (Ps. 51:10), the Lord rules over me and I will not lack anything; in a place of pasture, there He placed me; He brought me up on the waters of calm (Ps. 23:1-2). And Jerusalem will be peopled with a multitude of people and livestock without a wall, or rich in abundance of all fruits. Some understand by people and beasts two peoples - Jews and Gentiles, because those who walked under the Law and turned to faith in Christ are called people; and we, who, as a result of idolatry, were, as it were, at a distance from the Law and in separation from the prophets, and who had internalized [only] His sufferings, should be called beasts. Others want to understand by people men of understanding and instructed in the knowledge of the Scriptures, and by cattle some believe in simplicity, and in relation to them they understand what is said: Lord, You will save men and beasts (Ps. 35:7). These animals and these animate [creatures] hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, recognize Him and follow Him: He Himself is both the Shepherd, for He governs us, and the door, for through Him we enter the Church and [come] to the Father (John 10:3-11), and a wall of fire around [it], so that the believers and those who dwell in the midst of it, who were previously freed from the cooling of love within themselves, may be warmed and able to blaze in spirit. And the wolves and the most ferocious animals - (about which it is written: Do not give over to the beasts the soul that trusts in You (Ps. 73:19) and whose fruits are hay, firewood, straw (1 Cor. 3:12) and which bear only thorns and thorns) - destroy with His fire. And He who is a consuming fire to enemies is glory among them to believers. And that the Lord is the wall of Jerusalem, we read about this in another place: The mountains are around it, and the Lord is around his people (Ps. 125:2). The Jews think that all this will be fulfilled in a sensual way with the Anointed One (ἠ λειμμέν ῳ), Whom they wait in vain for themselves; [then] Jerusalem will have such great prosperity that, due to the multitude of people and animals, it will not have walls; and his wall will be the protection of the Lord himself, and he will enjoy the glory of His presence in his midst. Zechariah 2:6–9. ABOUT! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I have scattered you to the four winds of the sky, says the Lord. O Zion, dweller of the daughter of Babylon, arise. For thus says the Lord of hosts: He sent me for glory to the nations that plundered you; for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye. Therefore, behold, I lift up my hand against them, and they will be a prey to those who were in bondage to them, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. LXX: Oh! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for from the four winds of heaven I will gather you, says the Lord. Flee to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For this says the Lord Almighty: He sent me for glory to the nations that robbed you, for whoever touches you touches, as it were, the apple of His eye. Behold, I will lift up my hand against them, and they will be the prey of those who were in bondage to them, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. - The countries of the world - called κλίματα by the Greeks - differ [here] in relation to the position of Jerusalem and the church. Thus the Assyrians and Babylonians, who defeated the people of God, live in the northern country. Finally, in the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:13–14), the cauldron (i.e. the city of Jerusalem), according to the words of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 24:3–4), is heated from the north. So the angel, who came out to meet the angel prophesied in Zechariah, commanded to speak to the youth (all human nature in comparison with angelic dignity is called adolescence, for it is not angels who rise to our nature, but we to the nature of angels) and say to him: Without the wall they will inhabit [or: will be inhabited] And Jerusalem, and so on. Now the same word of the Lord is addressed to those who dwell in the north: let them be gathered from the four countries in which they were scattered throughout the whole world, and let those who dwelt in Babylon return to Zion. Or [can be understood] like this: You, scattered throughout the four countries of heaven, flee from the northern land, and you, O Zion, now dwelling in Babylon, flee and turn to your former home. And using it for the third time Oh! in the vocative case, it denotes a decisive conviction to flee, so that they know that not just once, but much more often they are encouraged to flee. The following should also be said: The north wind is the most cruel, making the hearts of the inhabitants of its country very hard, and from the north disasters come to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to it, as this very prophet Zechariah says, black horses are directed to stop in His country (Zechariah 6:6). Likewise, the one who proudly proclaimed in the book of the prophet Isaiah: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit on the most exalted mountain, above the high mountains in the North (Is. 14:13), boasts that he has a kingdom in the coldest land. Elsewhere we read: Behold, smoke comes from the North (Is. 14:31) and about those who have retreated far from the holy city, it is said: Behold, these come from far from the North and from the sea (Is. 49:12). And through Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit, calling those in captivity, says that they should return to Jerusalem: Go and turn these words of Mine to the North and say: Return to Me, O dwelling place of Israel, says the Lord (Jer. 3:12). So we, who lived in the north and have lost our ardent zeal for the Lord, and are scattered throughout the [entire] circle of the earth, and about whom the Gospel preaches that the Lord will send His angels to the four countries [or winds] (Mark 13:27) and will gather us, who have been spinning in the vices and confusion of this age, are commanded to flee to Zion, [i.e.] the Church of the Lord, and to stand firmly on guard and at the height of its dogmas, leaving the base. The following words: This says the Lord of hosts: He sent me for glory, etc., introduce [into the speech of the prophet] the voice of the speaking Savior. He, Almighty God, says that He was sent by the Almighty Father, not in the sense that He is omnipotent, but in the sense that He was sent for glory. Since He was in the form of God, He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and was in obedience to the Father even to death, even death on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8). It is not surprising that Christ is called omnipotent, on whose behalf we read in the Revelation of John: This says the faithful witness, the firstfruits of the creation of God, who is and was and is to come, the Lord God omnipotent (Rev. 1:4-5). Also what we read in the twenty-third psalm: Princes, lift up your gates, and be exalted, the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will enter (Ps. 23:9), as well as what was said by other angels to people who do not know the secret of taking on the flesh [or: incarnation]: Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts Himself is the King of glory (Ps. 23:10) refers to Christ, for where we read the Lord of hosts, in Hebrew it is written sabaoth (עבאוח), translated by the LXX interpreters with the word: almighty. From this we understand that where it is said about Christ: Lord of hosts, we must recognize Him as omnipotent. It should not be surprising that Christ is called omnipotent, to whom was given all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and who says: All that belongs to the Father is mine (John 17:10). And if everything, that is, God is from God, the Lord is from the Lord, Light is from Light, then from the Almighty and the Almighty. Indeed, it cannot be that the glory of those whose nature is one is different. So, He was sent for the glory of Divine Majesty to the nations who plundered the people of God, so that those who made him their prey would themselves become the prey of their former slaves, and so that the whole crowd of those who were once slaves would know that He was sent by Almighty God. In the words: Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye, understand the touch in the sense of oppression and resentment, according to what we read: Touch not My anointed and do not harm My prophets (Ps. 105:15). For whoever touches the saints of the Lord, it is as if he wants to subject the apple of His eye to suffering and deprive Him of the clear light that is spoken of in the Gospel: You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). And the Lord will raise His hand to shake hostile nations and return His people either to Jerusalem or to the Church. In a figurative sense (juxta tropologiam); By hostile peoples, understand opposing forces that daily subjugate sinners to their power and force them to slavishly serve themselves. Zechariah 2:10–12. Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and will dwell among you, says the Lord, and in that day many nations will draw near to the Lord and will be a people for Me, and I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will possess Judah, His inheritance in the consecrated land, and will again choose Jerusalem. LXX: Rejoice and rejoice, daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and will dwell among you, says the Lord: and on that day many nations will flee to the Lord and will be a people for Him and will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And the Lord will possess Judah, His inheritance in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. – These words should also be understood as spoken on behalf of the Lord, for He calls upon His people, who have returned to their former home from captivity, to rejoice and be glad, for the Lord Himself will come and dwell among them, and many nations will believe in Him, as it is said: Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance and the borders of the earth for Your dominion (Ps. 2:8) and He will dwell among them saying to the disciples: Behold, I am with you seven in everything days until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). And the Lord will possess Judas with His inheritance, those who rely on Him and believe in His name, and will possess it not in any other place, but in the holy land, by which is meant the Church, and will again choose Jerusalem, which it gave up for testing through persecution. Some of the Jews think that under Zerubbabel and Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah, this was partially fulfilled, especially in the election of Jerusalem and in the possession of Judah [from the Lord]: it was the two tribes that returned from the captivity of Babylon and are called Judah, and not Israel, which [or: for he] still lives among the Medes to this day. Others [Jews] attribute this to the future, [saying] that then the nations will believe in Him who is sent from the Lord, and then Jerusalem must be chosen when all the nations will believe in the Lord Savior; and now the one who is almost completely destroyed cannot yet be elected. It is entirely in accordance with the truth that the daughter of Zion after her captivity is called to joy; The psalm also says about this: When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel will rejoice (Ps. 53:7). Zechariah 2:13. Let all flesh be silent before the Lord, for He has arisen from His Holy Dwelling. LXX: Let all flesh fear before the Lord, for He has arisen from the clouds of His saints. - When the above comes true, and when the Lord prevails over Judah, His inheritance, and chooses Jerusalem; then let every human race fear the coming of the Lord, for He has risen from His holy habitation. And it is said about the Lord that He rises and, as it were, awakens from sleep when He rises to avenge His people, as it is written! Arise, Lord, why are you sleeping? (Ps.43:24); or, as in LXX, who say: He rose from the clouds of His saints, understand the patriarchs, prophets and apostles, whom the Lord commanded not to send rain on Israel. These are the essence of the clouds about which it is written: And let the clouds shed righteousness (Is. 45:8); Indeed, it is not those sensual clouds in which the air thickens that can shed justice. In these same clouds and with these clouds, according to the word of the Gospel, the Lord will come, as He says about Himself (Luke 21:27). And from the prophet Isaiah we read that the Lord will come to Egypt in a light cloud (Is. 19:1). By Egypt is meant a world in which the Lord appears to have descended in the flesh that came from a girl’s womb and was not burdened with the burden of male seed and sins. And that by all flesh we mean not the flesh of people, animals, birds and fish in general, but exclusively human flesh, this is indicated by the following words of Scripture: Hear my prayer, all flesh will come to You (Ps. 64:3). For not all flesh of foolish animals can come to the Lord, but only that which receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, and about which it is said: I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy (Joel 2:28). Zechariah 3:1–5. And he showed me Jesus, the great priest, standing before the angel of the Lord. And Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan: “May the Lord rebuke you, O Satan, and may the Lord who chose Jerusalem rebuke you. Is he not a brand thrown out of the fire? And Jesus stood dressed in filthy clothes and stood before the angel, who answered and said to those who stood before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And he said to him: “Behold, I have taken away your iniquity from you and clothed you in [clothes] changeable (mutatoria).” And he said, “Put a clean miter on his head,” and they placed a clean miter on his head and clothed him with clothes. LXX: And the Lord showed me Jesus the great priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil: “May the Lord rebuke you, O devil; may the Lord rebuke you, who chose Jerusalem, is it not like a brand thrown out of the fire!” And Jesus was dressed in filthy robes, and stood before the angel, and [the angel] answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take off his filthy robes.” And he said to him: “Behold, I have taken away your iniquities from you; and put a garment on him, and put a clean turban on his head.” And they placed a clean turban on his head and clothed him with clothes. - Before moving on to the spiritual understanding of this place, I must say in brief but precise words about how the Jews talk about it. By Jesus, the great priest, whom the Greeks call ἀρχιερεύς, and the Latins call pontifex, the Jews want to mean Jesus, the son of Jozedek, who, together with Zerubbabel, ruled over the people. On his right side stood the enemy (for this is what the word satan means) to resist him. And by right he stood on the right side, and not on the left, since the accusation against Jesus was not false: he, along with others, married a foreigner, which is described in great detail in the book of Ezra and the prophet Malachi, which follows the prophet Zechariah (1 Ezra 10:18, Mal. 2:11). And the Lord said to Satan, his accuser and his enemy, for he is the enemy and the avenger and the accuser of his brothers: May the Lord rebuke you, Satan, and, just as it is said: The Lord has shed rain from the Lord (Gen. 19:24), says: And may the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. So, if Jerusalem is now chosen out of all the cities of Judah, and the Lord does not impute to it the sins that it has committed, why are you trying to throw away, like a brand, or like a burning piece of wood, Jesus, who withdrew from Babylonian captivity, as if half burned? And the words: Jesus was dressed in dirty clothes are understood in three ways: either in the meaning of an illicit marriage, or in the sense of the sins of the people, or in relation to uncleanness from captivity. And the angel, in whose face Jesus stood, commanded other angels on behalf of the Lord to take off his dirty clothes, as we have already said above. When they actually fulfilled the command, the same angel again says to Jesus: Behold, I have taken away your iniquity from you - his dirty clothes, and put on you changeable clothes, that is, I gave you an Israeli wife; The Seventy instead translated ποδήρη, which we can translate with the word: clothing that goes down to the heels and feet. And in the following words: Place a clean miter on his head. In Hebrew, instead of miter, we read saniph (עניף), which is called by many a bandage (mitra); and in this they want to see the dignity of the priesthood, namely: after removing dirty clothes, he will have an immaculate priesthood. This is how the Jews explain this passage. “But ours reason that the great priest is the One to whom it is said: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 109:4). And since it is impossible for the prophet to see Him in himself, the Lord shows Him to him standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, in whom they want to see the Angel of the Great Council, not because He is both, or that in the Son we recognize two persons, but because He is one and the same, in whom, on the one hand, it is shown as if an unclean man, and on the other, as if an Angel - the Intercessor of people, appeared before God. And that this is not Jesus, the son of Yosedek, they try to see this in the absence of the addition in the present place: son of Yosedek, while in other places where Jesus, the son of Yosedek is undoubtedly spoken of, his name is always marked by the addition of the name of his father. So Jesus is beheld by the prophet standing and standing firmly in an unchangeable position, and Satan stood on his right side to oppose him. Indeed, He was tempted in every way except sin (Heb. 4:15) and in the Gospel the tempter approaches Him, trying in every possible way to go against the right path and virtues. Regarding the following words: May the Lord forbid you, Satan, and may the Lord, who chose Jerusalem, rebuke you, they reason like this: Since both the Father and the Son are Lord, about which we read in the hundred and ninth psalm: The Lord said to My Lord: “Sit at my right hand,” then [and here] one Lord speaks about another, not because the Lord Himself, Who speaks, could not forbid, but because due to the unity of nature let there be a prohibition from the One who speaks when another has forbidden. For whoever sees the Son sees the Father also (John 14:9); and He is the One who chose Jerusalem [i.e.] the Church, contemplating the peace of the Lord. By a brand thrown out of the fire, it will be very correctly understood as the One who, although he was in Babylon, was not destroyed by the fire of Babylon and was not exposed to the flames of this age. Therefore, Moses sees a great vision in the desert: a bush burned and was not consumed (Ex. 3:2). This Jesus was clothed in filthy garments; Although He did not create sin, for our sake He became sin, bears our infirmities, and suffers for us, and we thought that [it was] He who suffered, suffered blows and endured hardship. And He was wounded for our sins (Is. 53:4–5). And from the Apostle we read: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for our sake (Gal. 3:13). This one also says in the twenty-first Psalm: Far from My salvation are the words of My sins (Ps. 21:2); and in the sixty-eighth Psalm: God, You know My foolishness and my sins are not hidden from You (Ps. 68:6). They are generally called filthy robes and will be removed from Him when He blots out our sins, so that due to the fact that He was dressed in filthy robes, we, rising in Him again after baptism, will hear the words: May my robes always be clean (Eccl. 9:8) and the whole Church of believers hears what is said through Isaiah: Wash ye, ye be clean (Is. 1:16). She is also prophesied about in the book of Song of Songs: Who is this white woman who rises? ( Song 3:6 ). And above the subdir (ποδήρην) understand His incarnation, which is earthly and is designated by the concept of leg (πούς). Consider the clean turban on His head as the radiance of Divine Majesty. Thus, one and the same is contemplated both as a man, adorned with clothing reaching to the feet (ποδήρη), and as God - with a turban. Zechariah 3:6–7. And the Angel of the Lord stood; and the Angel of the Lord testified to Jesus, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: “If you walk in My ways and stand on My watch, you will also judge My house and keep My courts, and I will give you those who walk among these who are now standing here.” LXX: And the Angel of the Lord stood, and the Angel of the Lord testified to Jesus, saying: Thus says the Lord Almighty: “If you will walk in My ways and keep My commandments, and you will judge My house, and if you will preserve My court, I will give you those who turn among these who stand.” - The Jews, following the previously accepted order of interpretation, understand these words spoken by the angel of the Lord in relation to Jesus, the son of Josedek, in the sense that after removing from him his dirty clothes and restoring in him the dignity of the immaculate priesthood, a command is given to him, just as it is written in the Gospel: Behold, you have become well, sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you ( John 5:14), - and a reward is promised to him: if he walks in the ways of the Lord and keeps the commandments of the Lord, then he himself will be a judge of His house. i.e. He will always remain as His high priest, and will guard His courts and His habitations; and the Lord will give him from among the angels who at that time stood before his face, such whose help will assist him and save him from all the tricks of his enemies. – And according to our interpretation, which relates all this to the Lord the Savior, everything said by the angel to Jesus seems difficult to explain. If He walks in the ways of the Lord and keeps His commandments, then He Himself will be the judge of His house and the guardian of His courts, and the Lord will give Him companions from those who stand before Him. Zechariah 3:8–9. Listen, Jesus, great priest, you and your friends who live before you, for they are men who predict. Behold, I will bring My servant East, for here is the stone that I gave before Jesus; on one stone there are seven eyes... LXX: Listen, Jesus, the great priest, [you] and your neighbors who sit before you, for they are men τερατοςκόποι, that is, spectators of miracles, for behold, I will bring my servant the East, for [he is] the stone that I gave before the face of Jesus, on one stone there are seven eyes. – The Jews strongly insist that our [interpreters], according to the connection and sequence of speech in this place, should understand by the priest Jesus rather Jesus the son of Jozedek than the Lord Savior. Indeed, if the speech is addressed to the Lord, and [if] to Christ it is said: Hear, Jesus, great priest; then who is the one about whom it is said: Behold, I will bring My servant the East, which is called by another name stone, and which was given before the face of Jesus, and on it are seven eyes? On the contrary, ours insistently assert that in the names: Jesus, the great priest, the East and the stone, one must see the names of Christ in various respects. But it is very difficult to understand how He himself is spoken of to Him as about [someone] else. Thus, those who want to see [in this place] Jesus, the son of Josedek, the great priest, under his friends who dwell or sit before his face and who foretell, mean his disciples and prophets. After all, prophets are appointed to foreshadow the future. So, what does it mean that Jesus and his friends are prompted to hear, [i.e. e. words:] Will I bring My servant to the East, etc.? Previously, God promised Jesus, the son of Josedek, the great priest, that if he would walk in His ways and keep His commandments, He would judge his house and guard His habitation, and He would give him servants equal in dignity to the angels, and now He tells him about complete happiness and perfect bliss that will come when the East comes, about which it is written: Behold the man, the East is His name (Zech. 6:12), and Malachi: The sun of righteousness will rise among [or without: among] you [or: to you], who fear My name, and healing in His wings (Mal.4:2) and in the book of Numbers: A star will rise from Jacob and a man from Israel (Num.24:17). In the Gospel we also read very clearly about Christ: In which the East visited us from on high: to enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our steps into the path of peace (Luke 1:78–79). This East is also called the corner stone (Eph. 2:20), for it unites two nations and binds two separate fences into one dwelling. For unbelievers, it is a stone of temptation, which is spoken of in the Psalms: The stone that the builders rejected, this [stone] was the cornerstone. This was from the Lord (Ps. 118:22-23). On this stone there are seven eyes, about which Isaiah speaks: A branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a flower will spring up from the root thereof, and the Spirit of God will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the spirit of the fear of God will fill Him (Is. 11:1-3). Those who want to understand the Lord the Savior by the great priest and his friends, by men contemplating miracles and predictors they see the apostles [or: disciples] who contemplated His mysterious signs and knew the future from the present; at the same time, in the man born blind, the healing of the eyes (John 9) they attribute to the pagans, and in the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20–22) they see the Church, freed from bloody deeds. The following words: Therefore, here is the stone that I gave before the face of Jesus, lovers of history understand about Christ, and they say that after Jesus, the son of Josedek, Christ will come. For to be before Jesus, that is, before His face and before his eyes [means] to announce the future; and He is called a stone because of its strength and strength, with which He will crush all kingdoms; We also read about this stone, as being torn from the mountain without the help of hands, in Daniel (Dan. 2:34). Zechariah 3:9–10. ...Behold, I will cut out his images, says the Lord of hosts, and I will destroy the iniquity of the land in one day. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, a man will call his friend under the vine and under the fig tree. LXX: Behold, I will dig a trench, says the Lord Almighty, and I will touch the iniquity of the land in one day. On that day, says the Lord Almighty, everyone will call his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. - Above he said: This is the stone that I gave before Jesus; on one stone there are seven eyes. Accordingly, even now he continues to preserve the comparison [μεταφοράν], meaning a stone, and says: I will cut out images of it, or: I will depict its mark; for what is in the Hebrew text: maphate phethee ( מפתה פתחה ) Aquila translated with the words: διαγλύψω ἄνοιγμα αὐτῆς, i.e. I will cut out its lid; Symmachus and Theodotion: I will draw his images. The meaning is this: I will cause this Stone to be wounded by the nails on the cross and the spear of a warrior, and in His suffering I will destroy the iniquity of the earth in one day, about which it is written: This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 117:24). On that day of Christ’s suffering, a man who is perfect in Christ and with the Apostles has reached the highest degree of favor on the Day of God, will call his neighbor, i.e. believers from the Jews, or pagan nations, under the shadow of a vineyard called Sorek, about which the Gospel says: I am the vine (John 15:1), and the fruit of which makes glad the heart of man, and under the fig tree, [i.e. e.] the sweetest fruits of the Holy Spirit, so that those who are called may rest in silence and, having overcome the charm of the world and [having stopped] bloody battles, know that they are under the authority of the King, whose name - peace - is mysteriously indicated in the person of Solomon. The prophet Micah speaks about this same tranquility under the vineyard and fig tree in the words: On that day everyone will call his neighbor and his brother under the vine and under the fig tree, and there will be no one to frighten him (Mic. 4:4). And in the words of the prophet according to the interpretation of the Seventy: Behold, I will dig a ditch under a ditch or a trench, we can understand the recesses of the artist’s chisel, for everything that is cut out is also pulled out. However, if someone would not be content with understanding this in relation to the stone, but [would like to think] that there is a special significance and meaning here, [to such] we will say that God Almighty on the day of the suffering of His Son or, as the Jews think, on the last day of the world, will reveal and put into the midst the affairs of every person and touch on the day of judgment of the whole earth: after all, this is one day, and on this day each of the saints He will call on his friends and associates, who are also holy, to calm down and enjoy their virtues. Zechariah 4:1. And the Angel who spoke in me returned and awakened me, like a man awakening from sleep. LXX: And the Angel who spoke in me returned and woke me up just as a man awakens from sleep. - Where did [the Angel] go, so he returns, and especially the one who spoke in the prophet and could not be outside the one in which he spoke. But we must believe that God’s help [or: God] and [the help] of His angels leaves us every time human weakness is left to its own powerlessness. Therefore, the prophet, amazed by the amazing vision, seemed to completely lose the ability to think and could not see the clear light of truth: and so he awakens from the past vision, as if from a dream, in order to turn to another vision and see what he could not see with his closed eyes. Let's say it another way: in the parables of Solomon there is evidence: If you sit, you will be without fear, and if you sleep, you will sleep sweetly and will not be afraid of the horror that comes to you and the attacks of the wicked [people] rushing at you (Prov. 3:24-25). Whoever falls asleep in this kind of sleep and hears about himself what we read in what is written about Lazarus: If he sleeps, he will be healthy (John 11:12), he can sing with the bride: I sleep, but my heart is awake (Song 5:2). So let's see: to contemplate what does the prophet get up as if from sleep? Zechariah 4:2–7. And he said to me: “What do you see?” And I said: “I saw, and behold, a lampstand was all made of gold, and its lamp was on its top, and its seven lamps were on it: seven and seven tubes for the lamps that were on its top. And there were two olive trees on it: one on the right side of the lamp, and the other on its left side.” And I answered and said to the Angel who spoke within me: “What is this, my lord?” And the angel who spoke in me answered and said to me: “Don’t you know what this is?” and I said: “No, my lord.” And he answered me and said this: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not in might, nor in power, but in My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts: Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [you] are a plain. And he will bring out the first stone and compare grace with grace.” LXX: And he said to me: “What do you see”? And I said: “I saw, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, and a lamp on top of it, and seven lamps on it, and seven tubes of the lamps that were on it. And there are two olive trees on it: one on the right side of the lamp, and the other on the left.” And I asked and so, I said to the Angel who spoke in me: “What is this, Lord?” And the Angel who spoke in me answered me: “Don’t you know what this is?” And I said, “No, Lord.” And he answered and said to me thus: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: Not in great power, nor in might, but in My Spirit, saith the Lord Almighty. Who are you, O great mountain before Zerubbabel, to correct? And I will bring out the stone of inheritance, the equality of grace with grace." - The angel who awakened Zechariah, like a person who gets up from sleep, asks what he sees, so that - through the questions of [the prophet] through his ignorance and asking again about the subject of the vision and through his words: What is this, my lord? , - we learned from him: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not in might, nor in power, but in My Spirit, says the Lord. So, let us first explain, reviewing in order what the Jews, from whom we learned the Old Testament, think about this; and then through them, as if by degrees, we will enter the top [or: within] the Church. By the heavy golden candlestick they mean the Law (νόμον); and under the lamp, that is, the flame burning and shining on the top of the candlestick, Christ, Who is the Head of the Law and enlightens the whole world. The seven lamps on the candlestick are the seven gifts of grace of the Holy Spirit, about which we said above that there are seven eyes on one stone. After all, no one doubts that the Law was written at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And they want to consider the seven tubes, which contain oil flowing into the lamps on the candlestick, as the descent of these gifts of grace from heaven to people. And two olives on a candlestick on the right and left sides, between which the lamp shines, these are the Law and the Prophets. So, as the prophet told his vision, not knowing the meaning of the vision, he asked the angel speaking in it, that is, the mind enlightened by God. Indeed, this is our angel, who with reasonable understanding shows us the will of God and says: “What is this, my Lord?” But the angel does not explain the vision of the prophet when asked by him, and in response to his question he gives a new question: “Do you not know what this is?” and having received the answer: “I do not know,” he himself answers: This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: “Not in might, nor in power, but in My Spirit, says the Lord.” So, the real explanation of the vision is the word of the Lord, which said: not in might, nor in power, but in My Spirit. Not by force or by a multitude of warriors, but by the Spirit of God, the people were returned from captivity and must continue to be returned, and the enemies must be defeated. And the following words: Who are you, great mountain? before Zerubbabel [you] - the plain is understood in relation to the devil, who stood on the right side of Jesus to oppose him, and exalted himself before Zerubbabel and the people of Judah. But it is turned into a plain and humiliated, and lies at the feet of Israel, for God will bring out the first stone, i.e. Jesus Christ, His Son, who will always be a help to the people of Israel. And His grace, that is, the stone, in those whom He brought out of captivity will be compared with His grace, which He always showed to their fathers. We find this interpretation among the Jews. Now let’s look at what is set out in the interpretations of men belonging to the Church. They understand the golden candlestick made of the purest gold in the sense of the Church, which in the holy scriptures seeks meaning and meaning more than words. And what is meant by gold is shown by the wings and feathers of a dove in the sixty-seventh psalm: they shone with the brilliance of gold (Ps. 67:14). By the lamp they also understand Christ, Who shines in the Church; He said about himself: No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel [or: in four quarters - a grain measure] (Matt. 5:15), that is, under the measure of the Law, but on a candlestick, that is, on the gospel freedom, so that it gives light to everyone who is in the house. By the seven lamps and their tubes through which oil flows, they also understand the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit, through which the Church receives the oil of God’s mercy and all the virtues. By two olives on a candlestick they mean Moses and Elijah, who talked with the Lord on the mountain and showed that He had to suffer in Jerusalem (Matthew 17:3,12), for every Law and prophet preaches about the suffering of Christ. Others, by two olive trees on the right and left sides, understand the Law and the Gospel, namely: the Gospel on the right side and the Law on the left, as stated in the Song of Songs: His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces [or: will embrace] me (Song. 2:6). And by the mountain, very many of us understand the devil and the Antichrist, who dared to stand in the face of Zerubbabel (from whom Christ was born) and to exalt himself and say in the Gospel: All this has been handed over to me, and I will give it to You if You, having fallen, will worship me (Matthew 4:9). The Lord, stretching him out at His feet and pacifying his pride and rejecting him, says: Depart from me, Satan, for it is written: The Lord your God you will worship and serve only him (Matt. 4:10 and Deut. 6:13). In the Gospel they point to the example of a lunatic - [possessed]; when the apostles could not heal him, and asked why they could not heal him, they hear [from the Lord]: Truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, and say to this mountain: Move from here, then it will move and nothing will be impossible for you. This same race is driven out only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:19–21). In this place under the mountain the devil is clearly visible. Others, with considerable recklessness, refer what is obviously said about the devil to Christ, Who in the holy scriptures is very often called a mountain. There is no need to provide examples [of this], of which there are many. However, such interpreters are misled by the fact that it is written in the Seventy: Who are you, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel, to correct? [they think] that this mountain is in front of Zerubbabel, i.e. descended from the descendants of Zerubbabel, she herself has to correct the world, and what is written next applies to her: I will bring out the stone of inheritance, about which it is said: You are the builder of My inheritance for Me (Ps. 15:5), and in another place: You have chosen for us your inheritance the beauty of Jacob, which you loved (Ps. 46:5) and again: Jacob has become the portion of the Lord, and Israel is the measure of His inheritance (Ps. 104:11). And in the second Psalm: The Lord said to me: My son ecu you: today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance (Ps. 2:7–8). The Lord will bring forth the first stone, about which it is written: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and: All things were through Him, and without Him there was nothing (John 1:1,3). And the words: He will equalize grace with His grace have such a meaning. We receive everything from His fullness, and [one] grace instead of [another] grace: the grace of the Law instead of the grace of the Gospel, so that both believers from Israel and the Gentile nations receive the same grace and the same gift. Therefore, Gabriel says to Mary: You have found grace from God (Luke 1:30) and the Apostle Paul writes: By grace you have been saved through faith (Eph. 2:8). And the Evangelist John says: The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth were through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Zechariah 4:8–10. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: The hands of Zerubbabel founded this house, and his hands will finish it, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the days [as] unimportant? and they will rejoice and see a tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven eyes are [Vulg. without: essence] Lords who survey the whole earth. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: The hands of Zerubbabel founded this house, and his hands will finish it. And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. For who has despised the days of little importance? And they will rejoice and see a tin stone in Zerubbabel’s hand. These seven eyes are the Lord's, surveying the whole earth. – Much is said [about this] both by the Jews and by ours. From this we will present what pleases us, examining the greater part and rejecting the other, so that, while observing historical truth, we will be able to know from it the One who is predicted through history. The hands of Zerubbabel, the leader of the Jews who returned from Babylon, laid the foundations of the church, and his hands reached to the top of it, completing what he had begun, and finally finishing what he had begun. We read in Ezra that the church was begun and finished by Zerubbabel (1 Ezra 4 and 1 Ezra 6). The Prophet Zechariah says: “When you see the roof you have laid over the church you are building, then you will understand that the Lord sent me [to you], and what I said was said by His command. For who has despised the unimportant days? Who is used here to denote something rare, just as [in the words]: Who, do you think, is a faithful and prudent steward? (Luke 12:42) and: Lord, who dwells in Your habitation, and whoever goes up to Your holy mountain (Ps.14:1). So, rarely does anyone despise the insignificant days of this age and place royal power at nothing. When we see the nobles of this age, shining with gold, shining with purple and precious stones, surrounding themselves with an army, we will say within ourselves: “Who, in your opinion, despises the days of insignificance.” This is why Jacob, realizing the shortness of human life, says: The days of my life are short and very unhappy (Gen. 47:9). So, those who will despise the days of insignificance (and he refers this to the royal power in order to convince Zerubbabel and Jesus, and the people who are building the church of God, not to be at all afraid of the prohibition of the opponents, but to listen to the commands of the Lord), through the contempt of the royal power, they will have joy and will see the help of the Savior, Who was promised from the family of Zerubbabel and is called by its strength a stone and a stone of tin. In Hebrew it is written abdil [or: abdel] (הבריל) instead because He is the wall, the strength and the fortress of the believers. For, just as tin protects other metals from fire, and since by their nature copper and the strongest iron, if without tin, heat up and burn; so all the power of people and angels, if it does not have help from the Savior, is weak and easily broken. And this stone, i.e. pile, which is expressed by the Hebrews by the word abdil, i.e. tin, has the meaning (ἐτυμολογεῖται) ἀποχωρίζων, i.e., separating, indicating difference; so that just as tin separates metals mixed and forged through fire; so the Lord, the true judge and refiner (χωνευτής), separates the copper and lead of vices from the gold and silver of good deeds, so that pure gold and silver remain. This separator (ἀποχωρίζων) and separator is described in the Gospel in other words: His spade is in His hand, and He will cleanse His barn, and separate the chaff from the wheat (Luke 3:17); He exclaims through Jeremiah: What is the chaff to the wheat, says the Lord (Jer. 23:28). Many of us under the hands of Zerubbabel, who founded the house and finished it, mean Christ. If we accept this, then we must explain what the tin stone in the hand of Zerubbabel means. Indeed, one should not see another Christ in the hand of Christ? Although some by tin stone mean the body of the Lord, which is not contaminated with any vices and is called not lead, but pure tin. And the seven eyes that survey the whole earth and reason about everything are, as we said above, seven spirits, and also the fact that there is nothing hidden from God, who knows about the past, present and future and rewards everyone according to his deeds, especially when he comes in the person of the one who separates the good from the evil and in the person of the uniter (conflator - χωνεύς). Zechariah 4:11–14. And I answered and said to him: “What do these two olives mean on the right and on the left side of the candlestick?” And he answered a second time and told him. “What do the two olive branches mean, which are located near two golden horns, on which there are cups of gold.” And he said to me like this: “Don’t you know what this is?” And I said: “I don’t know, my lord.” And he said to me: “These are the two sons of the anointing who stand before the Lord of all the earth.” LXX: And I answered and said to him: “What do these two olives mean on the right and left side of the candlestick? And he asked him a second time and said to him: “What do the two olive branches mean, which are in the handles of the two golden ends, pouring and diverting the golden cups?” And he said to me: “Don’t you know what this is?” And I said: “No, Lord.” And he said to me: “These are the two sons of fatness who stand before the Lord of all the earth.” – When the prophet asked what the two olive trees meant, one of which stood on the right side of the candlestick, and the other on the left, the Lord or the angel of the Lord did not want to answer him. The Prophet understands this and asks a second time: What do these two olive shoots, or the bottom of the olive branch, mean? He asks about less, because he is not worthy to hear more. And the two branches are in the handles of two tips and curls like a beak, which in Hebrew are called sinthoroth [or: sinthuroth] (ענחרוח), and in Greek μυξωτῆρες [nostrils]; these two μυξωτῆρες, on which there were two shoots, or two olive branches, were of the purest gold. And when the prophet asks about the two branches, and in turn hears a question from the angel, does he know what the two branches mean, and says to him: No, Lord, then the angel of the Lord answers: These are the two sons of the anointing, - as Symmachus wanted, or, as Aquila translated, ςτυλπνότητος, i.e. shine, or, as conveyed the Seventy, - πιότητος, i.e., fatness, or, - as Theodotion interpreted, - λαμπρότητος, i.e., radiance, - which stand before the Lord of the whole earth. We spoke above about the two olive trees that were on the right and left sides of the lamp. And therefore the prophet, now asking about this, is not worthy of hearing an answer, because he does not stop at what was said before, or because he wants to hear what was unclearly expressed there more clearly here, or because the silence of the angel rejects his persistence in wanting to know more. However, the Jews claim that when he asked about olives, he did not hear anything because he asked not as he should (non bene), and not everything that he should have known. Finally, later he asks more fully and with the addition of shoots or branches of olives, about which he had previously kept silent, - for so he said: What do these two olive trees mean, and here he asks: What do these two branches of olives mean - this is in a figurative sense (μεταφορικῶς), for by shoots of olives are meant real trees and like ears of corn in thorns, they rise up, covered with a kind of fence of branches and leaves. Some of our people understand by two olive trees the Son and the Holy Spirit, and by the lamp in the middle - God the Father. But I don’t know how it is possible to accept one on the right and another on the left without blasphemy. Under the branches, or under the shoots of the olive trees, they distinguish the incarnation of the Savior and the likeness of the Holy Spirit to the dove, because we may not see [these] olive trees as a whole, but only some side of them, so that we are shown, so to speak, the most insignificant shoots; in the incarnation of the Son and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Others see in this two Testaments in the sense that in one there is a spiritual meaning, and in the other a physical one, and in the fact that we cannot explain the whole Gospel and not the whole Law, and now we know in part and prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9), but we cannot yet understand what is perfect. There are also those who understand by two olive branches, or two shoots and sons of fatness or radiance, the priesthood and the Law, which give joy to the whole earth. The others are Enoch and Elijah, of whom one was acceptable to God in uncircumcision, and the other in circumcision, and both were taken alive into heaven (Gen. 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11-12). Instead of the words: shine, oil (anointing), fatness and radiance in Hebrew we read isaar (יעהר) just as in the psalms we read what is written about the joy and bliss of the saints: They were drunk from the abundance, or from the fatness of your house (Ps. 35:9), for the word is πιότης; [or: πιότητος] denotes obesity rather than abundance. We have stated this as much as we could, and as far as our [supporters] with a natural mind could assimilate (ferre), briefly setting forth the various opinions of both the Jews and ours; and if someone says something better, then we will willingly join in with the best. Zechariah 5:1–4. And I turned and raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a scroll flying. And he said to me: “What do you see?” And I said: “I see a scroll flying: its length is twenty cubits, and its width is ten cubits.” And he said to me: “This is a curse that comes upon the face of the whole earth, for whoever steals will be judged, as it is written, and whoever swears by it will be judged in like manner. I will bring this to light, says the Lord of hosts, and he will come to the house of the one who steals and to the house of the one who swears falsely in My name, and he will tarry in the midst of his house and destroy it and his trees and his stones.” LXX: And I turned and raised my eyes, and saw a sickle flying. And he said to me: “What do you see?” And I said: “I saw a sickle flying, its length was twenty and its breadth was ten cubits.” And he said to me: “This is a curse that is rising on the face of the whole earth. For anyone who steals will be punished by it to death, and anyone who swears a false oath will be tortured by it to death. And I will bring him out, says the Lord Almighty, and he will enter the house of the one who steals, and he will stay in his house and in the house of him who swears by My name, and he will stay in his house, and he will destroy him and his trees and his stones. - Turning, says the prophet, to another vision, and, raising my eyes from the cheerful and joyful to the sad, I see a flying scroll, which in Hebrew is called megella (מגלח), and in Aquila and Theodotion it is translated διφθέρα [skin made for writing], in Symmachus - κεφαλίς, i.e. chapter, in accordance with what is written in the Psalm: At the head of the book it is written about me (Ps. 39:8), or according to the Seventy: a flying sickle (δρέπανον πετόμενον). Everything seen before - the creation of the church, the coming of the Lord Savior, etc. – showed the liberation of the people from Babylon; now, lest his heart begin to be exalted [i.e. e. the prophet] with the Apostle, - to whom the angel of Satan is given to disgrace him (2 Cor. 12:7), and so that he does not become arrogant - the prophet sees sad things; this is so that vanity, which arises as a result of the contemplation of goods, is reduced through the threat of possible disasters. He is shown a flying scroll in which the sins of everyone are described, so that everyone receives either good or evil according to their deeds, as Daniel says: Thrones are set up, and books are opened (Dan. 7:10). If we accept the word sickle, as translated LXX, then for example we can take from the Apocalypse of John: And the angel answered and said to him, sitting on a horse: “Throw in your sharpest sickle and prune your vineyard, for its grapes are ripe (Rev. 14:18). In Deuteronomy, instead of the sickle, we read arrows and sword: I will water My arrows with blood, and My sword will devour flesh (Deut. 32:42). And since God did not spare the sinful angels, who by their crime destroyed the heavenly dwelling, He Himself says through Isaiah: My sword is drunk in heaven (Is. 34:5). Indeed, all sinful nations will perish from the sword, but, of course, not from the physical sword (for besides the sword there are many different paths to death), but from the spiritual sword, which will strike those who have not repented; such is threatened by the Psalmist who calls: If you do not turn, He will shake His sword; He strained the bow and prepared it and prepared in it the vessels of death (Ps. 7:13-14). We also read from the prophet Jeremiah: O sword of the Lord, how long will you cut? How long until you calm down? Return to your scabbard (Jer.47:6). This sword is called not only a sickle, cutting hay, stubble and thorns, but also an ax of trees, cutting those that do not bear fruits worthy of repentance, and about which John the Baptist exclaimed: Behold, an ax is laid at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. 3:10). That scroll in which the sins of all are described, or the sickle that cuts off the crimes of all, is sent to the vineyard of Sodom: about it it is written: Your enemies are foolish: their vineyard is from the vineyard of Sodom, and their offspring is from Gomorrah. Their berry is a berry of gall, and they have a bunch of bitterness. The rage of dragons is their wine, and the rage of the adder is incurable (Deut. 32:31–33). This sickle is twenty cubits long and ten wide; in this number the joyful is combined with the sad, for, after all, the Lord strikes in order to exalt, In the number twenty, composed of two dozen, severity and sadness are proclaimed; and in the number ten, i.e. in one ten, there is an improvement in well-being. Thus, through all the scourges and disasters, Israel receives instruction. At the same time, we will convince those who think that perjury and theft are insignificant offenses that the curse, depicted in the guise of a scroll and a sickle, will descend on the house of the stealer and the perjurer and will stop there and destroy all its trees and stones. Therefore, if what is considered insignificant - I’m talking about theft and perjury - is spoken with such a threat, then what will we say about fornication, adultery, murder, sacrilege and all the crimes indicated by the Apostle among the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). I read that twenty cubits in length and ten in width refer to the age of the Lord Savior, that is, they form thirty, for the Father will not judge anyone, but will give all judgment to the Son, and the whole world must be judged from Him (John 5:21). Zechariah 5:5–8. And the angel who spoke in me came out and said to me: “Lift up your eyes and see what is coming out?” And I said: “What is this?” And he said: “This is a vessel going out”; and he said, “This is their eye throughout all the earth.” And then a piece of lead [weighing a talent] began to be carried around, and there was one woman sitting in the middle of the vessel. And he said: “This [woman] is wickedness,” and he threw her into the middle of the vessel and threw a piece of lead over the hole. LXX: And the angel who spoke in me came out and said to me: “Look with your eyes, and see what comes out?” And I said: “What is this?” And he said: “This is the measure that comes out.” And he said: “This is their untruth throughout all the earth.” And then a piece [talent] of lead rose up, and one woman sat in the middle of the measure. And he said: “This [woman] is iniquity,” and he threw her into the middle and threw a tin stone over her hole. – A vessel or measure would come out and float in the air. And so that we do not hesitate as to what name to call it, the angel himself, who showed the measure, or the vessel, gives it a name and says - among the Seventy: This is their untruth throughout the whole earth, and among the Jews: This is the eye, that is, the testimony of all sins. And so the wife sat among the vessel or measure, called epha (איפה) in the Hebrews and often translated in the LXX by the word οἴφι [or: ephi]; and that same woman was called: wickedness. And when they saw it this way, suddenly the talent of lead began to be carried around in the likeness of a stone: it was carried either by its own strength, and at the command of God, or by someone else whose name was not mentioned. And the angel who spoke in the prophet, and, coming out of him, showed him everything, grabbed the woman called wickedness, and quickly threw inside the vessel [the one] who had previously been running freely and, sitting on the vessel, was visible to everyone. And so that she would somehow not raise her head again and begin to enjoy her wickedness and her unrighteousness, he threw a piece of lead about a talent weighing like a stone onto the opening of the vessel, in order to imprison the wickedness in the middle, and so that it would not escape in any way. – In this [interpretation], we sketched out, as it were, some shadows and features of the future image, so that we could complete the rest with our own colors. The angel who spoke in the prophet stepped out of him, and, speaking as if from the side, ordered him to raise his eyes and look at the sins of the people of Israel, collected together in a vessel or measure, and the crimes of all reaching the extreme; and this is their eye, which in Hebrew is called the word enam (עינם) and is written through Ayin, Yod, Nun Mem, or their iniquity. If this word were written with the letter wau then, indeed, it would read onam [or: unam] (אוינם), as LXX believed; this error often creeps into the vernacular edition [of the Vulgate], so that the letters vau and iod, identical in appearance, but different in size, are read one instead of the other. – The above-mentioned vessel, or measure, is their eye throughout the whole earth, i.e., an indicator of sins, so that their vices, which spread individually, would unfold before the eyes of everyone, collected into one [i.e.], so that Israel would come out of their land, and all nations would be shown what they are like in their land. And now a piece of lead weighing a talent was floating [in the air]. Instead of talent of lead in the following words we read lead stone. Talent [in Hebrew] is called chachar (ככר); [a] stone – aben ( אבן ). So the same one who is a talent of lead is also a stone of lead; expressing this more clearly, we translated a pile or ball of lead, which denotes the greatest severity of sins. And on this measure, or vessel of all sinful acts, sat in the middle place wickedness, which by another name we can call idolatry and denial of God. Therefore, the Savior says to the Jews: You have fulfilled the measure of your fathers (Matthew 23:32). This wickedness, which sat upon the sins of Israel, and boasted of its transgression, is then sent to Babylon and suppressed by the scourge of captivity; or - according to Theodotion's interpretation - he himself throws himself into the vessel and hides, and draws upon himself the enormous weight of lead, so that he has his lips closed and can no longer boast. It may be partly [interpreted] in such a way that it is oppressed by an angel of God, so that it, which previously rejoiced in crime, closed its lips in eternal silence. Further reading [of the book] shows where and by whom the imprisoned wickedness was carried away. Zechariah 5:9–11. And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, two women came out, with a spirit in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a vulture, and they lifted up a vessel between heaven and earth. And I said to the angel who spoke within me: “Where are they taking the vessel?” And he said to me: “So that a house is built for him in the land of Shinar, and he will be firmly established and established on his foundation. LXX: And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming out, and a spirit in their wings, and they themselves had wings like the wings of a hoopoe [dummies]. And they raised the measure between earth and heaven. And I said to the angel who spoke within me: “Where are they taking the measure?” And he said to me: “To build her a house in the land of Babylon and to prepare it, and to set it there in her place. – By the two women coming out, the Jews mean the kingdom of the Medes and Macedonians; both nations oppressed the Babylonians, and there their wickedness made its seat. The Jews cleverly invent this so that what is said about them would not be applied to them. Indeed, by the two women coming out, undoubtedly from Judea, one should mean ten and two tribes, of which the first were taken captive by the Assyrians, and the second by the Chaldeans. And in their wings was a spirit, that is, the power of the devil, about whom Ecclesiastes writes: If the spirit of him who has power comes upon you, do not leave your place (Eccl. 10:4). And in the Gospel we read about the unclean spirit, that he, expelled from his dwelling, walks around the waterless land and returns to his former dwelling with seven other spirits, more evil than he (Luke 11:24-26). So, those women, caught by this spirit, as if by the wind, rushed quickly and had wings. The Hebrew word asida (הםירה), translated by Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion with the word herodio (heron), was only translated by the LXX with the word hoopoe [dummy]. By the word asida, Jews mean the kite, the most predatory bird, always attacking domestic birds. As for the heron, those who have written about the nature of birds recognize three types of herons: some are white, others are shiny, and others are black. The last type is the most cruel and bloodthirsty and in a clash [with others] is unstoppable, so that blood splashes from the eyes. And the hoopoe, whose name - irira - we borrowed from the Greek language due to the similarity of the name - for they call it rora because it loves human droppings [or: sits on...], they call the most disgusting bird, always spending time over the burial places of corpses, always [found] over human droppings; They say she even makes a nest out of it, and feeds her chicks with worms from the decomposing droppings. Whichever of the three birds you choose to understand by the name asida will be equally applicable to those women of Judah and Israel who, for [their] foul sins, were handed over to the power of demons and taken to Babylon. And they carried away the vessel or measure in which the wickedness was imprisoned, with a pile of lead placed on top so that it could not escape; and they lifted this greatest weight of all sins into the air between heaven and earth. Understanding this, the prophet did not ask a question [or: does not ask] about who these women are (for this was revealed to the prophetic spirit) and what they are taking away - he was told about this before - but [only about] where they are taking them. Finally, the words follow: I said to the angel who spoke in me: “Where are they taking the vessel?” He answers: “So that a house may be built for him in the land of Senaar.” Instead, the Seventy were translated: in the land of Babylon. Indeed, Senaar is the Chaldean valley, in which those who moved from the East and could not resist in serving God built a tower of pride (Gen. 11:4), after which that city was called Babylon, i.e. confusion, because there the languages ​​of all were mixed and merged. So, wickedness is carried by these women to Babylon, in order to build and firmly establish a dwelling for him, and establish it on its own foundation, and make it immovable forever. For truly in Babylon there is a dwelling place of wickedness, which is in accordance with both the historical and the mysterious understanding of this place. If you want to understand by two women the nations: the heretical and the Jewish (both of them move away from the face of God and are carried about by a fickle spirit, and have the wings of a kite, a heron or a hoopoe, while they unceasingly amass riches like partridges by unrighteousness (Jer. 17:11), and hasten to steal [the property] of the Church, and delight in competitions and quarrels, and dragging away to destruction all those deceived by them, and wallowing in the mud of lusts and eternal uncleanness), then [you will see that] those two women lift the greatest burden of wickedness and build their house in confusion, and serve the king of Babylon, so that where the heretical and Jewish people live, [there] idolatry continues, the slavish worship of wood and stones. Zechariah 6:1–8. And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and saw: And behold, four chariots coming out from the middle [Vulg.: from the middle] of two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of copper. In the first chariot there are red horses, in the second chariot there are black horses, in the third chariot there are white horses, in the fourth chariot there are piebald and strong horses. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke within me: “What is this, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me: “These are the four winds [spirits] of heaven that come out to stand before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses went out into the land of the North, and the white [horses] came out after them, and the piebald ones went to the land of the South. And those who were the strongest came out and sought to go and disperse throughout the whole earth. And he said: “Go and go around the earth.” And they walked around the earth. And he called me and told me this: “These are the ones who go out into the land of the North and let My spirit rest in the land of the North.” LXX: And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and saw: And behold, four chariots came out of the midst of two mountains, and the mountains [those] were mountains of copper. In the first chariot there are red horses, and in the second chariot there are black horses, and in the third chariot there are white horses, and in the fourth chariot there are motley horses, very agile. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke within me: “What is this, my Lord?” And the angel who spoke in me answered and said: “These are the four winds of heaven, which go out to appear before the Lord of all the earth.” That [chariot] in which there were black horses went out into the land of the North, and the white [horses] went out after them. And the motley [horses] went out towards the South. And the [horses] moving quickly went out and looked around to go around the ground. And he said: “Go and go around the earth.” And he exclaimed and spoke to me, saying: “Behold, they who go out to the land of the North have allowed My wrath to calm down in the land of the North. “I passed,” he says, to another vision, and lifted the eyes of my heart to the highest heaven, and saw four chariots coming out of the middle of two mountains, which were copper, i.e. irresistible and very strong, which no antiquity could destroy. Those which above he called mountains covered with myrtles, or shady, or wooded, we now call copper. In the first chariot there were red horses, that is, cruel and bloodthirsty, terrible [with their] Babylonian cruelty. In the second chariot were black horses, that is, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, because sitting on a two-seater chariot and speaking by order of King Asuer, it, through a sad messenger, brought death to all the Jews. In the third chariot are white horses, that is, the Macedonians, under whose king Antiochus we read about the victory of the Maccabees. In the fourth chariot there are colorful, strong horses. Indeed, we know that some Roman kings were merciful to the Jewish people, such as: C. Caesar, Augustus and Claudius; others were terrible persecutors, such as C. Caligula, Nero, Vespasian and Hadrian. Instead of the word strong, translated by Aquila κρατερούς; Seventy translated φαρούς; [starlings], in Hebrew it is written amasim (עמצים). In some lists there is the word πυ ῤῥ ούς [fiery red], so that the difference in colors and [succeeding one another] kingdoms is confused, for the word πυ ῤῥ οί, i.e. red, in Hebrew is called not amasim, but adamim (אדמים). So, to the prophet’s question, what does what he contemplates mean, the angel who spoke in him answers and tells him that these are the four winds of heaven (that is, the four countries of the world, called κλίματα by the Greeks), which stand before the Lord and obey [His] will. In fact, those four kingdoms that we spoke about did nothing without the will of the Lord. The black horses that were in one chariot, he says, went out into the northern land. How beautifully the chariot was lowered here, into which the red horses were harnessed, and what is described [only] is what the second, third and fourth chariots did, because at the time when the prophet talks about this, the kingdom of the Babylonians had already passed into the past, and the mighty Medes ruled over all of Asia; under their king Darius, in his second year, in the eleventh [or: tenth] month, called sabat (שבט), on the twenty-fourth day of the month, [the prophet] contemplates everything that we have outlined. And so: black horses, which were in one chariot, went out into the land of the North, so that the power of the Media would crush the kingdom of the Chaldeans. It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that κλίματα, i.e., the countries of the world and the circle [of the earth], are designated in the Holy Scriptures according to the position of Jerusalem and the church. White horses also came out behind them; it was the kings of Macedon who followed in the footsteps of the Medes and Persians in order to subjugate the Chaldeans and Babylon to their rule. The fourth horses, that is, fast-moving and colorful, - instead of which in Hebrew it is read borodim (ברדים), - which are also called by another name amasim, i.e. strong or strong, they entered the southern country and quickly flew around the whole earth. And the angel who spoke in the prophet exclaims to the Roman kingdom: Go, go around the earth, and run around the circle of the earth, and throw all the kingdoms at your feet. And turning to the prophet, he said in a clear voice: These are the ones who go out to the land of the North, who allowed My spirit to rest in the land to which they went. Regarding this very difficult passage, it was conveyed to me from the Jews that Alexander and all the Macedonians, that is, the white horses that came out after the Medes and Persians, who also headed to the land of the North, gave peace to the prophetic spirit in the land of the North by fulfilling the will of God regarding the Medes, and the kingdom of the Medes and Persians was destroyed by the Macedonians in a short time. For there is great consolation for the oppressed when they know that their enemies will soon perish. – As far as we could, and moreover, as we received from others, we convey [or: conveyed] to people experienced in understanding our language, preserving the historical truth, and not bringing to mind, like the Egyptian interpretation, neither the four-seater chariots of Pharaoh, nor the chariots of Babylon; for one must look not at the place in which something is written, but at the purpose [or: meaning] of what is written. In the mysterious sense (juxta allegoriam) we will also accept in this place what was said [previously] about the four horns and the four colors [of horses]. In the scroll of a certain [writer] I read that by the four chariots in which the horses were red, black, white, speckled and strong, one should understand the four Gospels and the horses - the Apostles, having different graces according to the different colors [of prophecy]. Of these, some are red from the blood of martyrdom, others are dark and black, as those who know the mysteries of Christ, about which it is written in the Psalms: Darkness is under His feet (Ps. 17:10) and: He has laid darkness as His covering (Ps. 17:12). Others are white by the grace of virginity. Still others are colorful and strong, as having the grace of healing and other virtues. These four chariots or carts are sent in the direction of the four winds of heaven, that is, to the ends of the world and throughout the entire earthly circle, to fulfill the will of God. After this, they are instructed by the Angel: Go and go around the earth and sow the word of the Gospel to all the ends of the earth. And then the following words: These are those who went out into the Northern land and allowed My spirit to calm down in the Northern land, he explains this way: The Spirit of the Lord or the Angel calmed down when in the Northern land the most powerful kingdoms of the devil were subjugated to the preaching of the Apostles; and these are precisely the kingdoms that the devil showed to the Lord Savior on an exalted mountain, boastingly claiming that they had been given to him (Matthew 4:8). From the dark we move to even darker [or: dark] and together with Moses we enter cloud and darkness (Exodus 34:5). The abyss calls the abyss with the voice of the waterfalls of God (Ps. 42:8) and: whirling in a whirlwind, the wind moves and returns to its circles (Eccl. 1:6); we wander, as it were, through intricate passages and with the help of a thread we walk along the inaccessible [caeca] paths of Christ. The transmitter of the book [i.e. e. Sisiny]. - “He who began, has done half” (Horac. I, letter 2.), the more we, who have already gone through the third part of the journey, must work hard on the rest of the same work, so as not to ruin what has already been done and not to increase the thirst of the reader with unfinished work. So, venerable Exuperius, my Father [Papa], being away from me physically, be with me in prayers and ask the Lord that the veil of Zechariah, (extended [or hanging] before the eyes of Moses (Ex. 34:29-35; 2 Cor. 3:7), since the ignorant people could not bear the radiance of his face, would be removed from my face) and that I, too, together with David, could say: The Lord will give the word to those who bring good news with much power. - This is the beginning of the second book of explanations on Zechariah; We compiled them so hastily that there was almost no time for corrections, while Brother Sisinius was in a hurry to go to Egypt, so that he could also transfer there the feeling of your fragrance that you sent to the brethren, and so that the thirsty fields would be irrigated not by the river of Ethiopia, but by the abundant waters of Gaul. Zechariah 6:9–15. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Take from the exile, from Goldai, and from Tobiah, and from Idai, and go on that day, and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, who came from Babylon. And take silver and gold, and make crowns, and put it on the head of Jesus the son of Jozadak, the great priest, and say to him: This says the Lord of hosts: Behold the Man, the East is His name, and under him shall be born, and shall build the church of the Lord. And he himself will build a church for the Lord, and he himself will bear the glory, and he will sit and rule on his throne and be a priest on the throne, and the council of peace will be between the two of them. And those crowns will be for Helem and Tobiah, and Idai, and Gen, the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the church of the Lord. And those who are far off will come and build the church of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this will come to pass if you diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Take what is of the captivity from the princes, and from those who were useful to him, and [from those] who knew him, and on that day enter into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, who came from Babylon, and take silver and gold, and make crowns, and put them on the head of Joshua the son of Jozadak, the great priest, and tell him. This says the Lord Almighty: This is the Man, His name is East, and under him will be born, and will build the house of the Lord, and he himself will receive power, and will sit and rule on his throne; and he will be a priest at his right hand, and the counsel of peace will be between the two. And the crown will be for those who wait and benefit from it, and those who know it, and for grace to the son of Zephaniah, and for singing in the house of the Lord; and those who are far from them will come and build the house of the Lord. And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you, and [so] it will happen if you diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God. – Since I suggested to the Latin listeners to offer the secrets of Jewish learning and the hidden instructions of the teachers of the synagogue, such, of course, as correspond to the Holy Scriptures; therefore, in interpreting the most obscure passages, it is necessary for me to draw historical lines and thus expose [in medium] what is accepted by the men of the church, leaving the reader free to follow what should be recognized as the best. And first of all, the reading order must be restored so that what is said is obvious according to the letter [of the text]. Accept, he says, from Goldai and from Tobiah and Idai, who came from the captivity of Babylon, and take from them the gifts they bring, silver and gold, and enter the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, and there make crowns, different in the difference of silver and gold, not one crown, but two or more, because ataroth (עטרוח), i.e. crowns (στέμματα) is either dual or plural. And when you have made the crowns, you will place them on the head of Jesus the son of Jozadek, the great priest, and you will say to him: This says the Lord Almighty: Behold the Man whose name is East, which in Hebrew is expressed by the word sema (צמה), which is written not through the letter sin, but through garden. Therefore, He who is called the East, i.e. ἀνατολή, or ἀναφύη, or βλάστημα, i.e. branch, because He directly increases by Himself, and from His root will grow like a seed, He will build the church of the Lord. And when he rebuilds it, he himself will bear the glory, that is, the second crown, which is called in Hebrew hod (הוד), [and in Greek:] or ἐπιδοξότης, or: εὐπρέπεια, or: ἀρετή, or: δόξα, which means either: glorious, or: beauty, or: virtue, or: glory. But they think that these words refer to Zerubbabel, who from a humiliated and captive suddenly rose to the rank of leader, built a church to the Lord and sits on His throne, and rules like a prince. But the high priest, he says, Jesus the son of Josedek, will sit on the priestly throne, and with one mind and one accord they will rule the people of God. And there will be peace between the two of them, that is, between the one that comes from the royal tribe and the one that comes from the tribe of Levi; so that the priesthood alike with the kingdom of God will rule the people; and those crowns that you will make of gold and silver, after placing them on the heads of Jesus the son of Jozedek and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, you will dedicate in the church to the names of those who brought them, that is, Helem, Tobiah, Idai and Gen. The second and third of the names mentioned are identical with those listed above. The first was changed: instead of Goldai he used Gel, and the fourth, not named above, he added, this is Gen, but we will talk about this later. – After the placement of the crowns in the church of the Lord and after dedicating them to eternal remembrance, nations will come from the entire circle of the earth and from afar and will make arrangements in My church, each according to his strength. And then, by the outcome of the matter and by the success in everything, you will know that the Lord sent me, and that I predicted everything according to His command. But this will happen when you obey the commandments of the Lord and do His commandments. Goldai means: petition from the Lord, which in Greek is more significantly expressed by the words: λιτάνευσις Κυρίου [kneeling petition from the Lord]. Tobiah - good of the Lord. Idaya - famous before the Lord. Instead of Goldai (הלדי - now he used Gelem (חלם), which means a dream, and in the fourth place he added: Gen (חן), i.e. grace. The crowns of these four people will be on the son of Zephaniah, who was previously called Josiah, and is the builder and guardian of the church of the Lord; they will remain there forever. The Jews say that Ananias, Azariah and Misail, returning from captivity, brought gold and silver, and gifts to the church, and the crowns of the high priest and the leader, and that Gen i.e. grace, which the prophet had not previously mentioned, it was Daniel who came with the gift: therefore, Gel was put in place of Goldai, so that by the meaning of his name - dream - to show that Daniel and the three youths in captivity learned the mysterious meaning of the royal dream. After all, Daniel prayed to the Lord, taking three youths with him and achieved an understanding of the dream (Dan. 2:17-19). So circumcision [i.e. e. Jews] tries to explain this place according to the actual events of the past. – And we need, according to the LXX interpreters, to state what the majority of our [i.e. e. Christians]. Take from the captivity and from the princes and from those who were useful to him, and from those who knew him, gold and silver, and when you entered the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, who also returned from Babylon, make in it gold and silver crowns, which you placed on the head of Jesus, the son of Jozadak, the great priest. The captivity of the Jews, that is, the believing people of God, are vices and sins. Anyone who begins to repent and strongly desire the former Jerusalem, that is, the Church of Christ, leaves and forsakes them [i.e. e. sins] in Babylon. This captivity is endured by both the leaders of the captives, and those who benefited from it, that is, captivity (for they were also handed over for their benefit to the angel of Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit could be saved (1 Cor. 5:5), and those who learned that it, that is, captivity, should turn into good after the punishment they suffered. And gold and silver are offered by those who confess the Lord with both feelings and words; and are made of gold and silver crowns in the house of Josiah, which means saved and is the son of ἐπισκοπῆς Κυρίου, that is, the visitation of the Lord; for, after all, the Lord visits the one who was previously seriously ill; and Josiah is called saved by his nature, because he also returned from Babylon. The crowns, or crown, are placed on Jesus, the son of Josedek, the great priest, because when we improve and return to the best, the Lord is crowned with our individual virtues: especially when we are crowned with repentance, the Savior in each individual receives a crown according to the words of the Apostle: And then there is prepared for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will give me: and not only to me, but also to all those who love the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:8). Therefore, from the crown of righteousness the Father of the Lord and Savior received the name; for the word Yozedek means Lord of righteousness, because He rewards everyone according to his deeds. James also speaks about this crown in his epistle: Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because when he is tested, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). The prophet also receives a command, namely, that after laying the crown, or crowns, on the head of Jesus, the Son of Joseph the great priest, he [the prophet] should turn to him and say: This says the Lord: Here is the Man. East is His name, and under Him will be born, and so on. We do not separate Jesus and do not put two persons in one person; However, [we recognize] that he who is called Jesus because He will save the world is also called the East, because during his days righteousness was born. And in the Psalm it is sung: Truth came from the earth (Ps. 84:12), because He who was born at the end of the ages from the Virgin’s womb said: I am the seven truth (John 14:6), and, as the letter of John says, the last hour has come: Children, now is the last hour (1 John 2:18), during which He spoke for a denarius to the pagan people, who stood without any work, and sent them into the vineyard (Matt. 20:6). On the other hand, if He is different by different names, then it is another matter that He is a shepherd, another a sheep, another a lamb, another a door, another a stone (lapis) of stumbling and another rock (petra) of temptation. So He will be born who will be crowned with our virtues and will be called the East. The Father speaks to Him: My Son ecu You: Today I have begotten You (Ps. 2:7), and under His leadership a multitude of believers will arise, and [He] will create the house of the Lord - the Church - and He Himself will receive power and honor, and perfection, and glory, and will sit and rule on His throne - the throne of David - about which it is written in the Gospel: And there will be a priest at His right hand ( Luke 1:32) or, according to the Hebrew text, on His throne, for He is both King and High Priest; and He will sit on both the royal and the priestly throne, and the counsel of peace will be between one and the other, so that neither the royal power will oppress the priestly dignity, nor the priestly dignity the royal power, but both will be in harmony in the glory of the one Lord Jesus. In a book by someone, I read that the words: And the counsel of peace will be between two (Zech. 6:13) refer to the Father and the Son, for [the Son] came to do not His own will, but the will of the Father and: The Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father (John 6:38,14:10–11). And the sign of glory, the crown - after the crowning of Christ - is promised to those who wait for Him and understand the benefit of their once [former] captivity, and have come to know all the mysteries of God, so that they are in the grace of the son of Zephaniah, that is, the visitation of the Lord. And those who exclaimed in Babylon: On the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we remembered Zion: on the willows among it we hung our organs (Ps. 137:1-2), upon returning to Jerusalem, they will take a psalm and tympanum and will sing in the Church of the Lord, and those who, as a result of great sins, were away from Judea for a long time, due to sincere repentance, will come with each of their by succeeding in virtue they will create the house of the Lord; then everyone will unanimously acknowledge that the almighty Lord has sent a prophet to them. But everything promised will be fulfilled only if they want to listen to the Lord and, having repented, remain steadfast in good deeds. Zechariah 7:1–7. And it happened in the fourth year of Darius the king. The word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kaslev. And Saraser and Rohommelech and the men who were with him sent to the house of God to pray before the Lord, to speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying: “Should I really weep in the fifth month, or should I consecrate [it] as I have done for many years?” And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: “Speak to all the people of the earth and the priests, saying: When you fasted and wept in the fifth and seventh [months] in the last seventy years, did you fast for Me? and when you ate and when you drank, did you not eat and drink for yourselves? Are there not words that the Lord spoke in the ears [manu] of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was still inhabited and rich, both it and its cities [Vulg. without: him ] around him and was inhabited to the south and in low-lying places? LXX: And it happened in the fourth year under King Darius. The word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kaslev, and the king sent Sarasar and Arabesser and his men to Bethel to inquire of the Lord, saying [thus] to the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and to the prophets saying: “Here in the fifth month came sanctification like what they had already done for many years? And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: “Speak to all the people of the earth and to the priests, saying [thus]: If you have fasted and wept in the fifth and seventh [months] for seventy years now, have you fasted for Me? And if you eat or drink, are you not the one eating and drinking? Are not these my words which the Lord spoke by the mouth [manibus] of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and abundant, and the cities around it, and the mountains and valleys were inhabited?” - In the fourth year of King Darius, in the ninth month called Kaslev (כםלו), and on the fourth day of the same month, they sent to the house of God, i.e. to the church, which was restored by Zerubbabel and Joshua, Saraser and Rohommelech and the rest who were with them - these, as the Jews think, were Persians, the leaders of King Darius, who feared God - so that, having heard about the construction of the church, they asked the priests of the Lord and the prophets: should they, according to the former custom, weep and fast, or [can they] replace grief with joy? The meaning of the words of the questioners is as follows: In the fifth month, called July by the Romans, Jerusalem was crushed by Nebuchadnezzar; therefore, as a result of the destruction of Jerusalem, we fasted and wept, and consoled our grief with fasting and weeping. Now, when, as they say, the church has already been rebuilt, and when we no longer see any reason to continue the previous sadness, we ask you to answer: should we do this now, or can we replace grief with joy. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that crying and fasting are called sanctification. Therefore, in the book of Joel the prophet, the priests are commanded to sanctify fasting and preach healing (Joel 2:15), for fasting and abstinence heal the wounds of the criminal and sanctify everyone healed. After the leaders of the Persians had expressed their request through messengers, and the embassy to the priests and prophets had done its job, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, commanding him to speak to the people and priests that they should answer the messengers. When you fasted and wept in the fifth and seventh months - that is, in the month of the capture of Jerusalem and in the month of the slaying of Gedaliah by Ishmael - for seventy years from the devastation of the church and the destruction of Jerusalem, was it any benefit to Me that you fasted (2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:7)? And vice versa, when you eat and drink, aren’t you doing it for yourself? For the Lord is not appeased by these, but by good deeds and the fulfillment of His commandments on our part, and food does not make us pleasing to God. And if we do not eat, we will not have loss, and if we eat, we will not have abundance. And were not these my words that I spoke, while Jerusalem still stood and the cities of Judah were still standing, to you through the mouth [in manibus] of My prophets, when Jerusalem was intact, and the cities of Judah abounded with everything, and both the highland country and the lowland were filled with fruits and enjoyed unbroken peace. And the words of the Lord, which Scripture further testifies to, were that He wanted there to be true judgment, mercy towards others, and that widows, orphans and strangers should not be despised and should not think evil in their hearts. This, He says, they did not want to do and with closed ears they despised My commands; therefore great wrath came upon Jerusalem. And just as they did not want to listen to Me, so I did not hear them; and now they ask with such precision: when should they fast and cry, although I previously said through Isaiah: I have not chosen such a fast, says the Lord, not so that a person would humiliate his soul; But break all the bonds of unrighteousness, resolve the obligations of violent guarantees, give your bread to the hungry from the bottom of your heart. If you see a naked person, cover him, and bring the poor and homeless person into your hut. Then your light will shine in due time, and your healing will quickly occur (Is. 58:5-8). None of our people could interpret the words found in the Seventy: Sarasar and Arabesser [or: Arbatfh sager] sent from Bethel, for no one could explain for any reason why the Hebrew [male] was translated incorrectly. In fact, who is this Sarasar or Arabesser king? or: what region is the king? or: to what area and from what area did Bethel send? or: the king of which Bethel could Arabesser be - [Bethel], which was once deposed along with Judea and at that time was no longer called Bethel, i.e., the house of God, but Bethaven, i.e., the house of the idol? Also, what follows: Here, in the fifth month, consecration came, similar to what they had been doing for many years, is explained as follows: The consecration that came means the restoration at that time of the vessels that were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar. They tried to attribute the posts on the fifth and seventh to the fifth and seventh days of the week; but since then there is a fast in the tenth, which is forced to be attributed to the month, they completely passed over in silence the fact that there are fasts in the fifth, seventh and tenth months. Therefore, we are content with the original interpretation and will not be inclined to the false attempts of the interpreters [or: let us neglect the false attempts], which arose from an error in the translation. Zechariah 7:8–14 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: This saith the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge with true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother. And do not speak evil of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, or the needy, and let no man conceive evil in his heart against his brother. And they did not want to listen, and turned their shoulders to the side [capulam recedentem], and hardened their ears, so as not to listen, and made their heart like a diamond [or: like a diamond], so as not to listen to the law and the words, which the Lord of hosts sent in His Spirit through the mouth [manum] of the godly prophets, and there was great indignation from the Lord of hosts. And it came to pass: just as I cried, and they did not hear, so they also will cry, and I will not hear, says the Lord of hosts. And I scattered them throughout kingdoms which they did not know, and the earth was desolate by them, so that there was no one passing through or returning [through it]; and they turned the desired land into a desert. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: This says the Lord Almighty, saying: Judge with righteous judgment, and let each one show mercy and compassion to his brother, and do not oppress the widow, the orphan, and the poor, and let each one not remember his brother’s malice in his heart, and they did not want to listen, and turned their backs in contempt and made their ears heavy, so as not to hear, and they made their hearts disobedient, so as not to heed My law and My words, which the Lord Almighty sent in His Spirit through the mouth of His prophets. And there was great wrath from the Lord Almighty. And it will come to pass: just as I spoke, and they did not listen, so they will shout, and I will not hear them, says the Lord Almighty; and I will drive them out into all nations whom they did not know, and the land after them will be empty from those who walk [on it] and those who return, and they turned the chosen land into a desert. – This is what I primarily wanted and cared about, and not fasting in the fifth and seventh months from despair and death; but you, failing to do this, are given over to captivity. Judge with righteous judgment, so as not to hear [found] in the psalms: How long will you judge in unrighteousness and accept the faces of sinners? Judge the fatherless and the widow, justify the lowly and the needy (Ps. 81:2-3), lest Isaiah also tell you: Who justify the wicked for gifts and take away from the upright what rightfully belongs to him (Is. 5:23); after all, because of you, Habakkuk reproaches God on behalf of the oppressed: A trial is being held against me and the judge is receiving [a bribe]; Therefore the law is scattered, and judgment has not reached its end, for the wicked oppresses the poor (Hab. 1:3-4). And let us not think that [this is] a new commandment of God: once through Moses He commanded the same thing: You will judge the great as well as the small; do not look on the face and do not show mercy to the poor in judgment: for this is the judgment of God (Deut. 1:17). Let everyone also show mercy and compassion to his brother. Let strict judgment be followed by leniency towards everyone and especially towards brothers, by which we mean brothers either half-blooded or united in faith with us. Also the widow and the orphan, about whom we are told: Be a father to the orphans and a husband to their mother, judging the fatherless and justifying the widow. (Sir.4:10). Do not oppress either the stranger or the poor, for the former is humbled by his migration to strangers, and the latter by his poverty. And let no man conceive evil in his heart against his brother, or, as it is read in the Seventy: Let no man remember in his heart the evil of his brother. And by brother and neighbor we must mean either the entire human race, for we came from one parent, or those who are our household [neighbors] by faith, according to the parable of the Gospel (Luke 10:6-7, 30-37), which makes it clear that the neighbor is not one of the same blood [only], but all people. And that anger must cease before the sun sets, and that the memory of all the evil that we have suffered from others must be erased, we read about this in many places and mainly from Jeremiah, who speaks on behalf of God: And let not each of you remember the malice of your neighbor in your heart. Although I commanded this, they did not want to heed and turned their shoulders to the side [decedentem] or their backs with contempt [contemnens], rejecting My commands with their body movements. In fact, we are in the habit of turning our backs when, with a wrinkled forehead and a raised nose, we express contempt for those who admonish, as it is written: They turned their backs to Me, and not their faces (Jer. 2:27). And they weighed down their ears, He says, so as not to hear, like deaf asps who stop their ears, so as not to hear the voice of the tamer and the sorcerer, the wise tamer. Indeed, they have burdened their ears so as not to hear, and have set their hearts so that it does not rest on the law of God. Therefore, Isaiah says to them with a threat: The heart of this people is heavy, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they close their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and hearken with their heart, and turn, that I might heal them (Is. 6:10; Acts 28:27). The following words according to the Hebrew text: And they made their heart like a diamond [or: like a diamond] signify a heart of stone and a hardness of heart, for they did not want to accept the words of God. Diamond is the strongest stone, in Hebrew Samir (שמיר); it is so hard that it breaks all metals, but itself does not break against any. Therefore, among the Greeks it is called irresistible, [indomabilis]. With this adamant the heart of Pharaoh was hardened so as not to let go of the people of God (Ex. 7:13 et al.). And since they had a hard heart, or made it hard as a diamond, willfully showing hardness of heart, so as not to listen to the words of God, which He sent in His Spirit, that is, in the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of the ancient prophets - Isaiah, Hosea and others - who had clean hands, and who, obviously, were before the captivity; then, against great sins, God’s indignation was great, and the words of the Lord, Who rewards according to deserts (par pari), were fulfilled, so that just as they walked depravedly before Him, so He will turn away from them; He will not hear the voices of those calling to Him, because they, like deaf people, despised the words of the Lord. Therefore, He will scatter them throughout all the kingdoms that they do not know, throughout the kingdoms of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, the Medes and Persians and other peoples who were subject to their power and throughout whose countries they are scattered. All of Judea turned into a desert, because it did not have a single inhabitant and there was no person walking through it or returning. And they turned into a desert that land, which, above all other lands, was a honeycomb and, due to its extreme abundance, seemed to flow with honey and milk. – We can also apply this to those who, leaving the Church, were expelled from the country of confession, because they did not want to listen to the Lord, turned their shoulders to Him with stubbornness, burdened their ears and made their hearts like an indestructible, indestructible stone. And the wrath of God turned against them, and they were scattered throughout all the kingdoms of vice, and their land was desolate, [i.e. e.] either a soul or a body that does not have the Lord dwelling in them and the Spirit turning into them. And the once coveted land, which was the dwelling of the Trinity, turned into a desert, into the place of the dwelling of dragons. – We quickly ran through what is not an obstacle [plana], so that there was time for detailed reasoning in dark places. After all, we are not writing lengthy and brilliant arguments in which speech is designed to attract applause, but interpretations, the purpose of which is to bypass the obvious and explain the obscure. Zechariah 8:1–3. And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying: This saith the Lord of hosts: I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and with great indignation I was jealous for her. This says the Lord of hosts: I have turned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the city of truth and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, a sanctified mountain. LXX: And the word of the Lord Almighty came, saying: This saith the Lord Almighty: I was jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy, and with great wrath I was jealous for it. This says the Lord Almighty: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the true city, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty the holy mountain. – We learn more fully in the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:6-12) that the Lord will accept Jerusalem, that is, the people of Israel, in the desert as if it were a wife, and will cover him lying in the blood of idolatry with His clothing and honor him with love, as if a husband would a wife. After this, he, filled with the best wheat flour, oil and honey, adorned with magnificent clothes and endowed with all kinds of jewelry made of precious stones by the generosity of his Husband, committed adultery with the Assyrians and Chaldeans and heard from the Lord: As a wife despises her husband, so the house of Israel has despised Me (Jer. 3:20). But he was taken into captivity and deceived by his lovers, and deprived of his former adornment; after he has committed indecency (divaricavit pedes suos) with everyone who passes by and has become defiled even to the top of his head, remembering his former happiness, he says with a sigh: I will return to my former Husband, for then it was better for me than now (Hos. 2:7). And He, [the Lord], accepting him and uniting with him again, now says: I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy and I was jealous for it with great indignation, to the one to whom I had previously said: I will not be angry with you, and My jealousy will depart from you (Ezek. 16:42). How much before I was indignant, since he was defiled by many of his lovers and dishonored My bed, - why I gave him to his lovers, not as a married adulteress, but as an indecent woman, a cheap slave, given to be mocked in indecent houses: I now showed such great love, turning to him, for he did repentance and created My church in which I will dwell among him. And that which was formerly called the city of lies will be called the city of truth, about which it is also written in Isaiah: Truth has fallen asleep [or: dozed off] in it: but now there is murder (Is. 1:21). It will also be called the mountain of the Almighty Lord, a sacred mountain, for on it, after the restoration of the church, sacrifices are consumed and liturgical actions are performed according to the order. This [is said] according to history. On the other hand, it does not seem doubtful to anyone that Zion and Jerusalem, a place of contemplation and vision of the world, can be understood in relation to the thoughts of believers, angry at which as a result of their sins, the Lord gives them up to captivity, so that they might know God through evil and disaster, if they did not know Him through goodness and prosperity. When they repent, the Lord will turn to Zion and will dwell among Jerusalem, by which we must understand the same state, or [the same] city; and where previously the lie of vices and sins reigned, after this the truth - Christ - will live. The mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called a holy mountain, about which it is said: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion (Ps. 125:1), and: Great is the Lord and worthy of great praise in the city of our God, in His holy mountain (Ps. 47:2). Isaiah and Micah exclaim about it: In the very last day the mountain of the Lord will be prepared on the top of the mountains and [will be] high above the hills, and all nations will flow to it and many peoples will hasten, and will say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob” (Is. 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2). The Apostle Paul also speaks of this same mountain and this same city in his sacred discourse: You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and to many thousands of angels, and to the church of the firstborn who are written in heaven (Heb. 12:22-23), - if, however, the Latin language does not prevent you from accepting the message in view of the undoubted testimony (auctoritatem) of the Greeks. Zechariah 8:4–5. This says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women will yet dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and a man's staff will be in his hand because of many days [of life]. And the streets of the city will be filled with children and young women playing in its streets. LXX: This says the Lord Almighty: The old men and old women will still sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each holding his staff in his hand for many days. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets. - When I turn to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, prosperity in all matters, complete peace and rest from wars will be such that not a single enemy will remain, so that the old age of people of both sexes will reach the last limit, and they will support trembling limbs with the help of a staff. The city streets will also be filled with boys and girls playing. And this usually happens when cities enjoy security and deep peace, so that the joyful mood of the cities is accompanied by games and dancing [or: singing] of a merry age. If we attribute this to the Church, about which it is said: Glorious things have been said about you, city of God (Ps. 87:3) and: The flow of the river makes the city of God glad. The Almighty has sanctified His dwelling. God is in the midst of him, [he] will not be moved (Ps. 45:5-6), then who can doubt that the ways of the Church are virtues, in which Wisdom acts with confidence and is preached on the tops of the walls? Therefore, the Psalmist exclaims to the Lord: Your commandment is too broad (Ps. 119:96). The bride, looking for the Lord Savior in these streets, says in the book of Song of Songs: I will rise and walk around the city, in the square and in its streets, until I find Him whom my soul has loved (Song. 3:2). So the old men and old women will dwell or sit, about whom it is written (if, however, anyone wants to accept [this] book): Old age is not honorable because of the number of days and is honorable not because of the number of years (Wis. 4:8), but they are old according to human prudence, and old age is in a blameless life. The Lord speaks to Moses about this: Establish with you seventy elders, of whom you yourself know that they are elders (Num. 11:16); therefore, even before Abraham, no one was called an old man, about whom it is written: Abraham died exhausted: he was satisfied with good old age, [he] is an old man and many years old (Gen. 25:8); for the glory of the elders is gray hair, as it is said: The wisdom of a man is gray hair to him (Wisdom 4:9). Because of their many years, they will hold rods and staffs in their hands and will say to the disciples: What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in a spirit of meekness and condescension (1 Cor. 4:21)? In fact, the one who wears wisdom on his lips strikes a foolish man with a rod [excordem – ἀκάρδιον] – and vice versa: He who spares his rod hates his son, [and] whoever diligently corrects [him] loves (Prov. 13:25). But on the streets of Jerusalem there will be sitting not only elders, but also old women, about whom Paul, through the apostolic mouth, says: Honor those widows who are in truth widows (1 Tim. 5:3). And in another place: Let a widow be chosen, at least sixty years of age, who has been the wife of one husband, and who has a testimony of good works: if she has raised children, if she has received [strangers] hospitably, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has ministered to [the brothers] who were exposed to disasters, and has diligently done every good work (1 Tim. 5:9-10). Old men and elders of this kind will sit on the streets of Jerusalem and hold the staffs in their hands, and the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing. These are the youths and young women, old men and young men, whom the Psalmist invites to sing to the Lord, saying: Young men and virgins, old men and young men, let them praise the name of the Lord (Ps. 149:12-13). Also, the apostle and evangelist John says: I write to you, youths, because your sins are forgiven in the name of the Savior; I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who was from the beginning and gave. (1 John 2:12,14). And then: Hear, O children, the instructions of your father, that you may know understanding (Prov. 1:8,4). The forty-fourth psalm also speaks about these youths, virgins and young women: The virgins will be brought to the king after her (Ps. 44:15), which is in accordance with what is written: The daughters of Judah rejoiced and were glad in all Your judgments, O Lord (Ps. 96:8). They heard from the Apostle: Rejoice! and again I say: rejoice! (Phil.4:4), the joy of the soul is expressed by the movement of the body and while dancing with the stamping of feet they say with David: Before the face of the Lord I will play and dance (2 Samuel 6:21). Zechariah 8:6. This says the Lord of hosts: If [this] seems hard to do in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, will it be hard to do in my sight? says the Lord of hosts. LXX: This says the Lord Almighty: If it be impossible before the remnant of this people in those days, will it be impossible before Me? says the Lord Almighty. - To individual words and thoughts in which Israel is promised well-being and events almost incredible in its greatness, the prophet adds: This says the Lord Almighty, in other words [as if] like this: “Do not think that what I promise is mine and do not refuse to trust me as a person: the promises that I convey are God’s.” Above He said: old women and elders will sit in the streets and, due to their long life, will lean their hands on their staffs; the streets and squares will be crowded with many people; the youths and young women will arrange joyful feasts, as if on holidays, Jerusalem will be rebuilt and restored to its former state of prosperity. To the remnants of the people who returned from captivity, this seemed incredible, since they saw that the city was almost destroyed, the walls were in ruins, the fences were burned, testifying to the destructiveness of the hands of the Babylonians; Therefore, the prophet adds: If to you who are left from the people who were in captivity, it seems difficult or impossible that I predict that such prosperity will come during the restoration of Jerusalem, then will it be impossible or difficult in the eyes of God when He says with my mouth that this will come true? For what is impossible for men is possible for God (Matthew 19:26). We see that this was also fulfilled during the times of persecution in the churches of Christ, when the cruelty of the persecutors reached such a degree of fury that they even destroyed our meeting places [churches], burned [our] divine books; all the islands, mines and prisons, were filled with numerous (gregibus) martyrs and confessors chained in chains. Who would have believed at that time that the Churches would be restored again by the very ones who once destroyed them; of course, these were not the same people, but this is the same government power, which once before, together with the rich, sat [as if] in ambush (Ps. 10:2) and, as if by definition of the Senate, tried to blot out the name of Christ, now, using state funds, builds church basilicas and erects the highest towers, decorating with gold not only the vaults and shining roofs, but also covering the walls with tiles of multi-colored marble, and reverently venerating, as a protection for the Roman state, those sacred books which she had formerly committed to the fire, and now adorns with gold, purple and various precious stones. Zechariah 8:7–8. This says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the land of the East and from the land of the West, and I will bring them, and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they will be My people, and I will be God. LXX [translated] in the same way. - Some of the Jews say that this was fulfilled after Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, after the construction of the church, the construction of the walls of the city and the restoration of the kingdom of Judah by the Maccabees and other leaders who ruled Judea until the time of Herod. Others say that this must be accomplished under the sovereignty of Christ, for whom they wait in vain. We say that this was fulfilled in part at that time, that is, after Zerubbabel and Nehemiah and - as if in images and pictures - warned [that time] when the people were returned from captivity and dwelt in Jerusalem, and were again called the people of God, and God their God, and no longer in lies and iniquity, but in truth and righteousness; but the promise was fully fulfilled in practice under the authority of the Lord Savior in the Church, i.e. in true Jerusalem, especially the words: Behold, I will save My people from the land of the East and from the land of the West, about which the Lord speaks in the Gospel: Many from the East and West will come and sit in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 8:11), and much earlier the Psalmist proclaimed, saying: The God of gods, the Lord spoke and called the earth. From the East of the sun to the West, from Zion is His glory (Ps. 49:1-2). For from Zion He will come to destroy and turn away iniquity from Jacob, when from the East and West in every place incense and pure sacrifice are offered to the name of the Lord, not in the sacrifices of the Old Testament, but in the holiness of the purity of the Gospel; We read about this censing in another place: Let my prayer be corrected [directed] as censing before Thy face (Ps. 140:2); and what kind of incense this is, this is shown by the following words: The lifting of my hands, the evening sacrifice. Indeed, after the one who had dominion over the nations arose from the root of Jesse, and in him was the hope of the nations (Rom. 15:12), both from the East and from the West believed in the Lord, both the ancient and the new people, and there was one flock: then all the nations were called to joy and moved to joy, as the prophet says: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people ( Deut.32:43; Rom.15:10), according to what is written elsewhere: All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes (familiae) of the Gentiles will worship before Him (Ps.21:28). The following words: In truth and righteousness they mean that the shadow of the ancient law will depart, and the truth of the Gospel will come, not in the righteousness of the Jews, but in the righteousness of the Christians, for the Lord Himself is truth and justice, about which we read: Truth came from the earth, and righteousness came down from heaven (Ps. 84:12); therefore, in the fourteenth psalm, righteousness and truth are called together: He who walks blamelessly and does righteousness speaks the truth in his heart (Ps. 14:2) Zechariah 8:9. This says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strengthened, who in these days hear these words from the mouth of the prophets, in the day when the house of the Lord of hosts was founded to build a church. LXX instead of: Lord of hosts is translated: Lord Almighty; the rest is similar - After the restoration of the church under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jesus (for all this is said in the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month, called Kaslev, when the church was already rebuilt), the same prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who convinced both the people and the leaders to build, now encourage them, so that they, seeing the exact fulfillment of the previous promises, with full faith accepted what was promised to them in the future and strengthened their hands, not at all afraid of the attack of the Medes and the intrigues of the surrounding peoples who wanted to counteract them. Let them be strengthened by the words (per os) of the prophets spoken from the day of the founding of the church until the day of its complete completion, and let them hear what follows. We have briefly outlined the history, relating in a spiritual sense everything that has been said about Jerusalem and about the church to the Church, in which hands are strengthened by good works and a house is founded when the foundations of faith are laid, and a church is built when the multitude of believers increases and leads such a life that it deserves to be the church of God. Zechariah 8:10. Since until those days there was no reward for people, no reward for animals, and there was no rest for anyone entering or leaving due to adversity; and I allowed all people, each separately, to [attack] their neighbor. LXX: Because before those days the reward of men was not profitable, and there was no reward for the animals, and there was no rest for him who went out or came in from adversity, and I will send people, every one of them against his neighbor. – The seventy attributed everything to the future tense, but it is better to [attribute] to the past, as it is in the Hebrew text, and the correctness of the [consistent] interpretation will confirm [this]. Until the foundation of the house of God and the building of the church of the Lord, all your labor was in vain. And both people and draft animals in agriculture, in trade and various works worked unsuccessfully due to the futility of efforts: enemies on the outside, and treason at home outraged peaceful life, and correct legal proceedings ceased everywhere due to frequent wars and domestic intrigues against each other, when brother did not trust brother, and all relatives began to quarrel with each other. Understanding the same thing, the prophet Haggai says in other words: And now fix your hearts from this day back, before stone was laid on stone in the church of the Lord, when you came to a heap of twenty squares, and there were only ten, you went into the winepress to press out fifty vessels, and there were twenty. I struck you with a burning wind and jaundice, and with hail all the works of your hands, but there was not one among you who turned to Me, says the Lord (Hag. 2:16-17). We can apply these words to both the Church and each of the believers. Before the foundation of the house of God in us and the creation of a church to God, and before we hear from the Apostle: You are the church of God and the Spirit of God lives in you (1 Cor. 3:16), whatever good work we seem [or: seem] to have, whether the rational [of us] are called people, or the simpletons, called cattle, for it is said: Lord, you will save men and beasts (Ps. 35:7), - it does not have rewards are with God, and there are wars and disagreements among us and misfortunes everywhere without the peace of Christ, which He left to the apostles when He departed to the Father (John 14:27), and the word of the Lord is fulfilled on us: A man’s enemies are those of his own household (Micah 7:6). For every brother deceitfully puts a stumbling block, and every friend comes forward with wiles, and every man mocks his brother and does not speak the truth: their tongue has learned to speak lies (Jer. 9:4). Therefore, if we turn to Christ and build His church, we will immediately hear the voice of the calling Apostle: Each one will receive his reward according to his work (1 Cor. 3:8). Zechariah 8:11–12. But now I will not make the remnant of this people according to the likeness of the former days, says the Lord of hosts: but the seed will be [seed] of peace. The vine will give its fruit, and the earth will give its plant, and the heavens will give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to have all these things. LXX: But now I will make the remnant of this people not according to the likeness of the days of old, says the Lord Almighty, but I will show peace. The vine will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its plants, and the sky will yield its dew, and I will cause the remnant of my people to have all these things. - Before the foundations of the house of God were laid and the church was created, there was no reward for people and no payment for the work of livestock, and due to misfortunes and oppression there was no rest for those coming in or going out, and all the people were in discord from hostile hatred. Now, when the foundations of the house of God are laid and the church is built. I will no longer deal with those who returned from Babylon as before, but there will be peace and joy everywhere; future abundance will reward [them] for the drought and famine of the past. For the grapes will yield their fruit, and all the wine presses will be filled; the earth will be covered with a harvest that delights the eyes, and everything will begin to grow from the abundant rain moisture and night dew. All this I will give to the remnant of my people for a possession, for the foundations of the house of God have been laid, and the church has been built. The prophet says the same thing about this time - who said before: I struck you with a burning wind, and with jaundice, and with hail, all the works of your hands - after the foundation of the church: Set your hearts from this day and on the future from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: from the day on which the foundations of the church were laid, set your hearts. Isn't there a seed in the sprout yet? And did not the grapes and the fig tree, and the faceted tree, and the olive tree also give color? From this day forward I will bless [them] and move heaven and earth again ( Hag.2:18–19 ). Let us say it differently, following the interpretation we have begun in relation to the Church. Before anyone accepts the faith of Christ, and before the foundations of the Holy Spirit are laid in him, no one can hear: “There is a reward for your work.” Whether he is a Jew, a heretic, or a pagan, he will have no reward for his good deed. We see virgins among heretics, severity among philosophers, and abstinence of Jews from various kinds of foods; and, however, we say [or: it is said] - according to the words of Haggai - that they eat and are not satisfied, they drink but are not satisfied, they are covered with clothes but are not warm, and the one who accumulates the wages he earns throws it into a holey bag (Hag. 1:6). And after accepting the faith of Christ, both of them - who were sinners in the Church and, due to a multitude of sins, were given over to the captivity of this world and burned by the fire of Babylon - heard the preaching of the Lord: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, therefore He has anointed Me: I have been sent to bring good news to the poor, to preach remission to the captives, to the blind that they will see, and to heal the brokenhearted (Is. 61:1). and the words of the prophet Amos will be fulfilled on them: I will restore the captivity of my people Israel and they will build up the desolate cities, and I will plant them (Am.9:14); then, in those days, righteousness and abundance of peace will be reborn (Ps. 70:7). The Vineyard that says in the Gospel will give its fruit: I am the vine, and you are the branches. The Father purifies every branch that abides on Me, so that it may bear great fruit (John 15:1–2; cf. John 15:5–8). And when its branches, that is, twigs and shoots, are cleansed, and shining eyes begin to give hope for future fruits, since what is written will be fulfilled: The flowering vines gave a smell (Song. 2:14); then the Sun of righteousness will color the hanging tassels, so that those placed in the winepress of the eighth and eighty-third psalms - inscribed with the words: about the winepresses - will be trampled under the foot of the Lord, who comes from Bozrah, to pour out the wine that makes glad the heart of man. The land will also yield its fruit, not dry and rocky and covered with thick thorns, but good land, yielding fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold (Matthew 13:8), so that those who sow in tears will reap in joy (Ps.126:5). But the heavens will also give their dew, as written in the eighteenth psalm: The heavens will tell of the glory of God, and the firmament will tell of the works of His hands (Ps. 18:2). These heavens are spoken of in the song of Deuteronomy: Rejoice, O heavens, with Him (Deut. 32:43), i.e. with the Lord Savior, [heaven] foreknown and predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29), speaking to Moses: Let My speech be expected like rain, and let My words come down like dew (Deut. 32:2). Indeed, those who were dead in sins will rise and those who lay in whitened graves filled with the bones of the dead will awaken, and those who continue to live on earth will rejoice; and what is the cause of joy, this is shown by the following speech: For the dew that comes from You is their healing. And all this, that is, peace, the fruits of the vine, and the abundance of the earth, increased by the dew of heaven, will belong to the remnant of My people, of whom Isaiah speaks: If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom, and would have become like Gomorrah (Is. 1:9). In fact, the remnant were saved by the election of grace: not by works; otherwise there would be no grace. Zechariah 8:13–15. And it shall come to pass: as [once] ye were a curse among the nations, the house of Judah, and the house of Israel, so [now] I will save, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, that your hands may be strong. For this says the Lord of hosts: Just as I thought to afflict you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, says the Lord, and I was not merciful: so, having turned in these days, I thought to send down a blessing on Jerusalem and the house of Judah: do not be afraid. LXX: And it shall come to pass: as ye were a curse among the nations, the house of Judah, and the house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: have steadfast faith, and be strong in your hearts [or: hands], for this saith the Lord Almighty: How I thought to afflict you, when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, saith the Lord Almighty, and I did not repent; Thus have I prepared and purposed these days to do what is good for Jerusalem and the house of Judah: have steadfast faith. - After the construction of the church, He promises such a future that, just as [before] the house of Judah and the house of Israel, that is, the two and ten tribes, were the subject of curses, mocking whistles and sayings among the nations, likewise, when they are saved and returned to Judah, they will be a blessing to everyone. Do not be afraid, he says, of warlike enemies: firmly believe that what the Lord promises through me is true. May your hands be strengthened and complete the work you have begun. The reason for strengthening [for them] is a divine promise: This says the Lord Almighty, for whom nothing is impossible, who can fulfill what he promises. Just as I decided to sadden you and deliver you into captivity, because your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not have mercy - which LXX translated with the words: οὐ μετενόησα, i.e. did not repent; in Hebrew it is written nlo naamathi ( ולא נהמהי ); I did not have mercy in order to correct you through captivity and instruct you through all sorts of trials and punishments; likewise at this time I have decided to send down a blessing upon Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And it must be noted that when He is angry, the house of Judah and the house of Israel, that is, all the twelve tribes delivered into captivity, are a curse among the heathen nations; and after He decided to send down a blessing, He does not do this to Judah and Israel, that is, [not] to the twelve tribes, namely: Jerusalem and Samaria, Oollah and Oolibah, but only to the remnant of Israel in captivity, He sends down a blessing [only] to Jerusalem and the house of Judah, and at the end adds: Do not be afraid, or: Believe firmly, meaning what we have already stated above. – And regarding the Church and regarding each believer, this passage can be understood in the sense that Christians during the persecution for all surrounding nations were the subject of curses and mocking sayings [exemplum example, parable], because they saddened their Lord; and after this they will become a blessing when peace comes, and all this will happen, since the Lord, who was previously angry with Jerusalem, later had mercy on him, that is, on the vision of the world, and on Judas, which means he who professes faith in the Lord. Also, individual believers, expelled from the Church and handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5:5), in order to learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:20), when they repent, will return to their previous state, see the peace of God and gain glory for their confession. Regarding the words: I did not have mercy, or: I did not repent, heretics slander that God is either cruel or changeable, if He either repents or does not repent. For if He repents, then He is changeable, and if He does not repent [i.e. e. has no regret], then He is cruel. And God repented of anointing Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:1–2). And in relation to the Ninevites, to whom He announced through the prophet: Three more days, and Nineveh will be destroyed (John 3:4), and who repented, He, according to the prophet, changed his mind; but this is not due to lack of knowledge (mentis improvidae), but due to the variability of those who do good and sometimes evil. If they do evil, then He sends threats, and if they mourn their former sins, then He shows mercy: God, being one and the same, does not change and cannot change; but when people replace evil deeds with good ones, He also changes His definition. He also says in the book of Genesis: The cry of the Sodomites and Gomorrah increased, and their sins became excessively great. Therefore I will come down to see whether [actions] are being carried out according to the cry that comes to Me, or not, so that I may know (Gen. 18:20-21). His words have this meaning: If they persist in their madness, then punishment will not depart from sinners; if they abandon their fury, then they will be very worthy of My knowledge: For God knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19), and to the Galatians the Apostle writes: But then they who do not know God (Gal. 4:8). But although God knows everyone, and nothing of the past, present and future is hidden from Him, [however] He says in the Gospel that He does not know the wicked: Depart from Me, you who practice iniquity; I do not know you (Luke 13:27). So, we must talk about the knowledge of God, repentance, anger, indignation and all internal movements, not from the point of view of the limitations inherent in human speech, but in a sense corresponding to the Divine greatness. Zechariah 8:16–17. So these are the commands that you must fulfill: Speak the truth, every one of you to your neighbor; at your gates judge with truth and with the judgment of the world; and do not plot evil, each one against his friend, in your hearts; and do not love a false oath, for I hate all this, says the Lord. LXX: These are the commands that you must fulfill: Speak the truth, every one of you to his neighbor, judge at your gates with truth and peaceable and righteous judgment, and let no one plot evil against his neighbor in his heart, and do not love a false oath, for all this I hate, says the Lord Almighty. “I promised that I would not do in the likeness of the former days to the remnants of the people who were in captivity. And how I decided to grieve them, when their fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not have mercy; so now, having turned in these days, I have decided to send down a blessing on Jerusalem and the house of Judah. So, so that My decision remains [unchanged] and the promise is not empty, fulfill the following My commands: Speak the truth to your neighbors. By neighbor we must mean every person, for we came from one parent. Otherwise, if by neighbor we meant a relative, then before foreigners and strangers one could lie. The Apostle says the same thing: Putting aside lies, speak the truth every one to his neighbor (Eph. 4:25). Judge by the truth and judgment of the world at your gates. In the first judgment let there be truth and justice, and then mercy follows. In fact, the judgment of the world consists in the fact that the judge has the intention of reconciling those who disagree, in accordance with what is said in the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). The following words: at your gates are in relation to the following prophetic words: They hate the one who corrects at the gates and abhor the holy word (Amos 5:10), and in another place: They will not be embarrassed when they speak to their enemies at the gates (Ps. 126:5). David also judged at the gate when Absalom, promising the truth at the trial, plotted against his father (2 Sam. 19:8). But the question is, why did the Jews have the place of judgment at the gate? The judges sat at the gates in order not to force farmers to enter the city and incur costs, so that both townspeople and villagers were heard by the judges at the entrance and exit, and at the end of the analysis of the case, everyone could return to their place of residence without delay. And, he says, do not conceive evil in your hearts against your enemies: the word raach (רעה), translated by everyone in the same way with the word κακία, that is, malice, we can understand in two ways: in the meaning of evil and in the meaning of grief: [for example] in the sense of grief: Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord did not make (Am. 3:6), and: Sufficient for every day is its trouble ( Matthew 6:34); in the sense of evil, God speaks through the prophet Jonah: The cry of their wickedness has reached Me (John 1:2), and from the Apostle we read: Filled with all unrighteousness and malice (Rom. 1:29). So he who is holy does not grieve his friend with either one thing or another, and does not plot evil in his heart. And he says, do not love a false oath, for the Lord commanded in the Gospel: I tell you not to swear completely, but let your word be: Yes, yes! (est, est) No, no! (Matthew 5:34–37). Indeed, whoever does not swear can never break an oath; whoever swears will hear what is said in Scripture: Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [super re vana – in a empty matter] (Ex. 20:7). I hate all this, says the Lord, which corresponds to the words of Malachi: And all that I hated, you did (Mal.2:13, according to the LXX translation). In instructions that are relevant to life and completely understandable, we should not see allegories and, in the words of one comedian, we will not work in vain (Plaut. Men. II, 1). Zechariah 8:18–19. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: This says the Lord of hosts: “The fast of the fourth and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth will be joy and gladness and glorious celebrations for the house of Judah, only you love truth and peace. LXX: And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me saying: This says the Lord Almighty: The fourth fast and the fifth fast and the seventh fast and the tenth fast shall be for the house of Judah joy and gladness and good festivals (because the Hebrew tobim [מבים] has this meaning corresponding to the word ἀγαθάς) and rejoice and love truth and peace. - To the question proposed earlier through the ambassadors of Oarasar and Rogommelech, whether they should bone and cry in the fifth and seventh months, as it is said in LXX, or after building the church they can end the fast and cancel their lamentations - [to this question] the prophet, after pointing out in the middle of the speech many things, what they should do and what to hope for, on behalf of the Lord answers: The fast of the fourth and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth (in general implies: the month) for the house of Judah and Jerusalem will turn into days of celebration and joy: God seeks only truth and peace - Regarding this place, many of our people say many things that disagree with each other. Some, silently recognizing [his] darkness, bypassed him in interpretations, like the deepest ditch, correctly reasoning that it is better to say nothing than to say little. So, we are forced to resort to the Jews, and seek truth rather at the source than in side streams, especially in the case when it is not about any prophecy about Christ - in which case they [the Jews] usually retreat back and cover the truth with lies - but about discovering the connection of past events on the basis of what preceded and what followed. By the fast of the fourth month, called July by the Latins, on the seventh and tenth days of this month, they mean the fast when Moses, returning from Mount Sinai, threw and broke the tablets of the Law (Ex. 32:19), and when, according to Jeremiah, the walls of the city were destroyed for the first time (Jer. 52:14). In the fifth month, called Augustus by the Latins, division and strife arose among the people as a result of the report of the spies of the holy land, and he received an order not to ascend the mountain, and [had] to wander for forty years, [moving] towards the holy land with great loss, so that everyone fell in the wilderness except Caleb and Jesus (Num. 14:25-45). In this month, Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 52:4), and many centuries later by Titus and Vespasian, the church was destroyed and burned and the city of Bethir was taken, to which many thousands of Jews fled, and to the disgrace of the oppressed people, the site of the church was plowed by Turannius Rufus; and in the seventh month, which we call October, as we said above, Gedaliah was killed and the remnants of the tribe of Judah [the remnants were destroyed] and Jerusalem were scattered (2 Kings 25:10,11,25. We will read the chapters of Jer.39 and Jer.41). In the tenth month, which we call January - since it is the door (janua) and the beginning of the year - Ezekiel, who was in captivity, and all the captive people learned that in the fifth month the church was destroyed, which we learn about in great detail from this book. So, this is all that is said: “Know that the days of mourning and fasting, which until now have been days of sorrow for you, must turn into days of joy, gladness and celebration for you, since I have decided to send down a blessing on Jerusalem and the house of Judah, but only if you love truth and peace.” In an allegorical sense (juxta ἀναγωγήν) the meaning is this: since we fast when the bridegroom is taken from us (Luke 5:35), and we do not deserve his presence, then when the Lord turns to us and decides to send us a blessing, all sorrow will turn into joy, and the initial hunger of the word of God will be satisfied through the presence of His teaching and through the saturation of bread heavenly. Zechariah 8:20–22. This says the Lord of hosts: Until the nations come and dwell in many cities, and the inhabitants come one to another, saying: “Let us go and pray before the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts.” I'll go too; and many nations and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and pray before the Lord. LXX: This says the Lord Almighty: Again many nations and inhabitants of many cities will come, and those who dwell in the cities will come together into one city, saying: “Let us go and pray before the Lord and seek the face of the Lord Almighty.” I'll go too; and many nations and numerous nations will come to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, and to pray before the face of the Lord. - The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will turn into the most solemn (optimas) festivals in view of the fact that the cities of Judea, which were previously empty, will be glorious because of the multitude of inhabitants in them. And each city will rush to another city, and they will mutually convince themselves and say: “Because during the last seventy years the ways of Zion were in sorrow, because there was no man who went to the festivals, then all its gates are empty, and all its priests sighed with sorrow; and now, after the coming of peace, let us move to Jerusalem, where, according to the commandment, we will offer sacrifices, and let every man of us appear before the Lord three times a year” (Ex. 23:14-17). And when one says to another: “Let us go and pray before the face of the Lord and let us seek the Lord Almighty,” then the other city will answer: “I will also go.” At this time, many nations and tribes, countless and strong, will go to offer sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem and pray before Him. For the Lord draws near to those who do not tempt Him, and shows His face to those who believe (Wis. 1:2). He who has seen the Son sees the Father also (John 14:9), and the Lord Savior is the image of the invisible God, not in the sense that the Son is visible and the Father is invisible, but in the fact that when we name the Son we think about the Father: in no way would He be the Father if He did not have the Son. Therefore, [the Lord] Himself says in the Gospel: Father, I have revealed Your name to people (John 17:6). What we said about Jerusalem and Zerubbabel or [about the time] after Zerubbabel more correctly and definitely applies to Christ and that Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant. And in this case [this place has the meaning] that from all corners of the earth peoples and tribes will converge to offer sacrifices in the church of the Lord. Also during the persecution, as we have briefly noted before, the teachers and priests of the Church boldly consoled the believers and captives [Christians] with the fact that Christian communities (παροικίαι) would again be restored, and complete calm would come again, and prayer before the Lord would begin in the churches again. We quickly ran through what was obvious in order to dwell longer on what was less clear. Zechariah 8:23. This says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten foreign men from every tongue will take hold of the hem of a Jewish man’s garment, saying, “We will go with you, for we have heard that the Lord is with you.” LXX: This is what the Lord Almighty says: In those days ten foreign men from every tongue will take hold of the hem of a Jewish man’s garment, saying: “We will go with you, for we have heard that the Lord is with you. “Some of the Jews say that this was fulfilled under Zerubbabel and after Zerubbabel.” Others refer this to the future, when, according to their expectations, Christ will come. And we, with greater correctness and certainty, attribute this to the time of the coming of the Lord Savior, when He was born of the Virgin Mary. Moreover, it is written: Until the nations come (Zechariah 8:20). When it says how long, it does not show the present time - the time of Zerubbabel and Jesus - but the future, when many nations and powerful tribes will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the face of the Lord. So at that time and in those days, ten people from different speaking tribes will take hold of the half of one Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that the Lord is with you. And in Isaiah we read: Seven women will take hold of one husband, saying: We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing, only let your name be given to us; take away our shame (Isaiah 4:1). So, the seven women called in that place are the seven churches, the number of which is also found in the Apostle Paul, for he writes to seven churches: to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians. And according to the Apocalypse of John, the Lord enters girded with a colorful robe, [or truth] and the purest gold, among the seven lampstands, that is, the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardicia, Philadelphia, Laodicea. The prophet Zechariah now names ten whom the Lord [once] sought, so that if he found [them] in Sodom, Gomorrah, Adam and Seboim, he would save them from destruction. Indeed, the letter J, with which the name of the Savior begins, not only among the Greeks, but also among the Jews, denotes the number ten. This mysterious language shows that all those bearing the name of Christians, of which the remaining seven thousand men are a type, who did not bend the knee to Baal during the persecution of Jezebel and the flight of Elijah (1 Kings 19:18), and who have reached the measure of the age of a perfect man from all languages and tribes, will seize the sex of a Judean husband, that is, the Lord Savior, of whom it is also said in the Psalms: Judah is my king ( Ps.59:9) and: Judas, your brothers will praise you, and then: The prince from Judah will not fail, nor the leader from his feet, until He comes. To whom it is appointed, and He will be the expectation of the nations (Gen.49:8,10). For the root of Jesse will be and he who will arise to rule over the nations, the nations will hope in Him (Is. 11:10). And when they seize Him, they will want to follow in His footsteps, for God is with Him. However, it is also certain that every believer from all languages ​​and peoples will take hold of the man of Judea, that is, the Apostles who come from Judea, and will say: Let us go with you, for we have heard through the prophets and known from the words of all the Scriptures that the Son of God, Christ God and the Lord, is with you. – Where the prophecy is very clear, and is proclaimed about Christ and His apostles and about the faith of all nations, we will not make more extensive research. And that the number seven thousand refers to Christians is clear from the fact that in Greek ἑπτάκεις χιλίους and χριστειανούς are the same in number: the amount denoted by the letters of both words is equal to one thousand nine hundred and forty-one. The mystical meaning of this number also includes the parable of the ten virgins in the Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13), by which we mean spirit and flesh, if they prepare the oil of good works for their lamps and double the fivefold number, [turning it] into ten, so that (according to the word of the Apostle) they become saints in spirit and body. On the other hand, the one who best controls the senses of the body will also receive ten cities in the future, [i.e. e.] in double quantity (Luke 19:17,26). Zechariah 9:1. The time of the word of the Lord is in the land of Adrach and in Damascus [place] to give him rest, for the eye of the Lord is open on [every] man and on all the tribes of Israel. LXX: The fulfillment of the word of the Lord in the land of Adrach [or: Shadrach] and in Damascus, his sacrifice, for the Lord looks upon the people and on all the tribes of Israel - All this vision, or “burden”, or “heaviness” as interpreted by Aquila, refers to the calling of the nations, or the dispensation of the Church. And the consistent meaning of these words is this: Fulfillment of the word of the Lord, terrible for sinners and meek in relation to the righteous - for this is the meaning of the word Adrach (הדרה), composed of two whole words: of which ad means strict [sharp, terrible] and rach - gentle, soft; At the same time, one should not read Sedrach, as some people read it incorrectly. There are interpreters who by the word Adrach mean the Jewish people, and by the word Damascus the pagans called [to the Church]. Therefore, the people, or the fulfillment of the word of the Lord, takes place on the land of Adrach, over which the Lord showed both His severity and [His] mercy - severity towards those who did not want to believe, and mercy towards those who turned [to the Church] together with the Apostles; Damascus belongs to the Lord because of rest, as it is written about in Isaiah: And rest shall be His honor (Is. 11:10, according to text LXX), for before a child can distinguish between good and evil and name father and mother, he has received the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria (Is. 8:4). Therefore, the word Damascus in our language means: drinking blood, or: blood of hair shirt; Thus, the first interpretation means: the people are bloody, and the second means that their cruelty is combined with repentance. And the following words: The eye of the Lord is an eye on [every] person and on all the tribes of Israel are interpreted as follows: The Church of God must be built by one and another people, i.e. the land of Adrach and Damascus, the place of his rest, because everyone who looks to God and trusts in Him belongs to the Lord, both from the Gentiles and from all the tribes of Israel, or, as they say LXX, God looks equally to all people and to all the tribes of Israel. Let’s say it another way: The burden of the word of the Lord and the greatest burden on earth is Adrach, and in Damascus His sacrifices and offerings, for the Lord impartially looks at the faith of the pagans and at the treachery of the circumcised, and is God equally for everyone, placing the great weight of His judgment on some, and resting in the place of the dwelling of others. The Jews say that all this must be fulfilled at the coming of Christ, which they expect at the very last time; [then] the land of Adrach, and Damascus, and Hamath, and Tire, and Sidon, and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and Azoth, and the Philistines will bow their necks before the most powerful King and will serve Him as slaves during His stay in Jerusalem; and no one will dare raise a hand against Israel after conquering all the surrounding nations. We insist that all this was spiritually realized in the coming of the Lord and in His Church. Zechariah 9:2–4. And also [nor] Hamath within its borders, and Tire, and Sidon, for they have gathered up wisdom for themselves in a very great steppe. And Tire built her fortifications and heaped up silver like earth and gold like street dirt. Behold, the Lord will take possession of him and smite his strength on the sea, and he will be consumed by fire. LXX: Hamath is within its borders, Tire and Sidon, for they have become too wise. And Tire built her fortifications and gathered up silver like earth, and gold like roadside mud. Therefore the Lord will take possession of him and shake his stronghold on the sea, and he himself will be destroyed by fire. - Hamath, which means χόλος, i.e. indignation, is the same city that received the name Epiphania from Antiochus Epiphanes (Επιφανεῖ) and is now the city of Coelesyria. So this city, and Tire, and Sidon will be within the borders of Damascus, or within the borders of the land of Adrach, to believe in the Lord and Savior, to whom it is said from the Father: Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance and the borders of the earth for Thy power (Ps. 2:8). The daughters of this Tyre, that is, the souls of those who believe in Christ, will bring gifts to the king, so that what is written will be fulfilled: The daughters of Tyre will honor Him with gifts (Ps. 44:13). And when the city of God, the Church, is built, about which the Psalmist foretells: Glorious things have been said about you, city of God (Ps. 86:3), - the rest will immediately follow: Behold the foreigners and Tyre, and the people of Ethiopia, they were born there (Ps. 86:4). Foreigners are spoken of in two psalms: Foreigners serve me, or are subjugated. We read about the Ethiopians from the prophet Zephaniah: Through the rivers of Ethiopia, from there they will bring gifts to me (Zeph. 3:10), and in the Psalm: Ethiopia will rub its hands to God (Ps. 67:32) And about Tire it is said in the Gospel: Woe to you, Horozaim, woe to you, Bethsaida, because if in Tire and Sidon there were virtues [or: powers] that were in you, then they would once have repented in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21). From among the daughters of Tire and Sidon, that Syrophoenician Canaanite woman, whose daughter suffered from a demon (Mark 7:25-30), came out to meet the Lord Savior and dedicated [to the Lord] the beginnings of the faith of the Tirians and Sidonians, so that those who did not believe at the time of Jesus Christ, because they had not yet seen signs and powers, would then see and believe through the apostles, and be the owners of it the bliss that the Lord promised in the words: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). And Tire and Sidon, - of which the name of one means συνοχή, i.e. gorge, and the other - θήρευμα, i.e. hunting, - they mastered wisdom so much that with their wisdom and dialectical intricacies and subtleties - which fortifications, according to Scripture, Tire offered as a riddle to Solomon, that is, the king of the world - in the likeness of the dust and dirt found on the roads and squares, he collected his silver, that is, the brilliance of eloquence, and gold, that is, the resourcefulness of mental abilities, in order to own the kingdom idolatry, which he strengthened. But against these fortifications the Apostle says: The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the breaking of strongholds, to the overthrow of imaginations and of every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:4-5). And under the image of Nineveh, which means adorned or beautiful (for there is nothing more beautiful than the world), the word of God is directed against the people of the world [this]: And you will be intoxicated and despised, and you will seek help from the enemy; all your fortifications will be like a fig tree with its fruit: if it is knocked down, it will fall into the mouth of the one who eats. So the Lord will take possession of Tire and Sidon when he first overthrows their power in the salty and bitter sea of ​​this age; and then, so that nothing of [their] former wisdom remains in them, that is, the arrogantly exalted stupidity, as a result of which they prepared for themselves weak fortifications and gold and silver like dirt, He will purify them to complete purity with fire, about which the Savior speaks in the Gospel: I came to bring down fire on the earth, and as I want it to kindle (Luke 12:49), according to this in the Gospel of Mark it is written: Every He will be salted with fire (Mark 9:49). Zechariah 9:5–8. He will see Ascalon and be afraid, and Gaza, and will be in great sorrow, and Ekron, for his hope will be disgraced, and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ascalon will not be inhabited; the separator will sit in Ashdod, and I will strike the pride of the Philistines, and I will pluck out his blood from his mouth and his abomination from the midst of his teeth, and he himself will remain with our God, and he will be like a leader of Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusite, and I will surround My house from those who fight for Me, going and returning, and no more will the torturer pass over them, for I have seen with my eyes. Our own. LXX: He will see Ascalon and be afraid, and Gaza will mourn a lot, and Ekron, for He will be put to shame in his hope, and the king will perish from Gaza, and Ascalon will not be inhabited. And foreigners will live in Azoth, and I will destroy the iniquity of the foreigners and remove their blood from their mouths and their abomination from the midst of their teeth, and they will abide with our God, and will be like the commander of a thousand (χιλίαρχος), i.e., the leader of the troop (tribunus), in Judah, and Ekron, like Jebusshee, I will establish There is a high place in My house, so that no one will pass through it or turn back, and no more will a predator or a threatening one pass over them, because now I have seen with My eyes. – The word Askalon means: unknown fire or: weighed, or: scales; Gaza means: strong or: power; Akkaron - barren, or: uprooted, Azoth - in Hebrew esdod (אשדוד) - means: fire that gives birth, or: fire of paternal uncle, or: fire of the nipple; Jebusite means: trampled underfoot. We have indicated the meaning of the names to give a brief overview of the meaning of [the passage]. Ascalon, Gaza and Ekron - seeing that Emath was within the borders of Damascus, and Tire and Sidon, after the defeat of [everything] that was in the surrounding area, and after He burned all their hay, wood and straw with fire, fell under the power of the Lord - and themselves, terrified in fear, sorrow and shame, began to hope for the best. Finally, Ascalon, in which the devil had previously been - an unknown fire - and reached the limit and severity of sins, trembled with fear, because there were no more inhabitants in it. And Gaza greatly mourned, repenting of previous crimes - Gaza, which was once strong, strong and insurmountable, and hoped to receive for itself the kingdom of all - because the king and its princes, [i.e. e.] the word opposing and the power of the enemy has lost its power. Also, barren Ekron, who did not have children without the law and the knowledge of God, was uprooted in order to hear this prophetic word: Rejoice, O barren woman who does not give birth, shout aloud, who did not suffer in childbirth, because she who is abandoned has many more children than she who has a husband (Is. 54:1). And when Ascalon and Gaza and Ekron will be afraid and will mourn - either because they will not have inhabitants, or because they will lose the king, or because their former expectations will be in vain - the strangers will sit in Azoth, where the fire is working, which the Lord sent to the earth, and about which He says that He wanted it to burn (Luke 12:49), for He Himself performs the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11); there is a cousin brother and paternal uncle (ἀδελφιδοῦς πατρὰδελφος), to whom the bride strives in the book of Song of Songs: there is a flame of breasts and full breasts, about which we read in the same book: He dwells among my breasts (Song. 1:12), and in the Apostle: I gave you milk to drink, and not [to eat] solid food (1 Cor. 3:2). And instead of what we translated according to the text of LXX: And strangers will dwell in Azoth, in Hebrew it reads: The Manizer (ממור) will dwell or sit in Azoth, instead of which we used the expression: and the separator will sit in Azoth. By separator understand the Lord, who will separate the wheat from the chaff (Matt. 3:12), and the good fish from the bad (Matt. 13:48), and gold and silver from dirt and dross. When He does this, He promises other things that follow: I will destroy the offense or pride of the Philistines: instead LXX translated: foreigners. The word Philistines in our language means: falling to the glass, because they drank from the cup of Babylon and fell from drunkenness. Thus, at the time of the calling of the Gentiles and the coming of Christ, they will not have pride, but will follow the meek and humble Jesus; and He will remove the blood from their lips, [i.e. e.] words of blasphemy, abomination, idolatry and their dishes prepared for idols, from the middle of their teeth, so that after all this is taken away, they themselves will remain Philistines for the Lord, that is, foreigners; and Judah will have a leader, that is, the people who believe in the Lord, and the people who were previously at the head will remain behind (vertatur in caudam), and the very last, who was behind, will become the head; Ekron, once barren and therefore uprooted, will be like Jebus, i.e. like Jerusalem, for this city is called by three names: “Jebus”, “Salem” and “Jerusalem”. And I will surround, he says, My house, that is, the Church, from those who make war upon Me, that is, those who serve Me in various ministries, and at My command disperse, going everywhere (huс illucque) and returning. Or: I will surround My house with the intercession of Angels, about whom it is written in another place: The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him and will deliver them (Ps. 33:8), so that there will no longer be one who attacks and one who returns, that is, one who plots intrigues for My people. And the predator about whom Isaiah speaks will no longer pass over him: The one who causes violence (Is. 14:4) has ceased, or at least the ἐξελαύνων, that is, the one who leads away and carries away the vanquished into captivity, for with His eyes, by which we can understand the prophets and all the saints, the Lord sees the calling of the nations and the security of the church. Zechariah 9:9–10. Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, rejoice, daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, your righteous King and Savior comes to you, He is poor and sitting on a donkey and a colt. And I will destroy the chariots from Ephraim, and the horses from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be scattered, and He will proclaim peace to the nations, and His power will be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth. LXX: Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, preach, daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, your righteous and saving King will come to you, sitting on a colt and a colt, and he will scatter the chariots from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and he will scatter the bow of those who fight, and multitudes and peace from the nations, and he will rule from the waters and to the sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth. – Evangelists write that this prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord entered Jerusalem, sitting on a donkey and a colt, and when a crowd of children with palm branches came out to meet Him, exclaiming: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21:9); and when the Pharisees began to reproach why He did not restrain the shouting children, He answered: Haven’t you read: From the mouths of babes and sucklings You have made praise (Matt. 21:16; Ps. 8:3). So, let Zion rejoice and let Jerusalem triumph - this is one and the same city, for Zion is the fortress of Jerusalem - for its King will come to it, Who was promised by the predictions of all the prophets, the Righteous One, He is also the Savior, i.e. Jesus, as the Angel explained it, preaching the gospel to Mary: And he will be called Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). He is also poor, or, as LXX translated, meek, because although He is rich, for our sake He became poor and says in the Gospel: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29); [finally] He sits on a donkey, or colt, that is, at the head of both nations, circumcised and uncircumcised, of which the first bore the heaviest burden of the Law, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles: Neither we nor our fathers were able to bear the heaviest burden of the Law (Acts 15:10,28). Therefore, Paul writes to the Galatians who wanted to be circumcised: Stand still and do not hold back the burden of slavery again (Gal. 5:1). And the colt is a multitude of pagans, not having the reins of the Law on them and not being governed by anyone, but always slipping and falling into the deep abysses of idolatry, which with the Lord sitting over it [like a horseman] learned to walk, stepping on the right path. And I will scatter, he says, the chariot from Ephraim. Up to this point, from the Person of God the Father it is said that the rider or chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem will perish. And at the same time, the following is literally said. There will be no wars, since everything is reconciled with the coming and birth of Christ. And then, according to the highest understanding, Ephraim should be classified among many heresies. This word is translated by the word καρποφορία i.e. fertility, or abundance of fruits, as written in Psalm LXXVII: The sons of Ephraim, straining the bow and shooting in the day of battle, turned back (Ps. 77:9). About chariots of this kind or horsemen [or: charioteers] we read: These are on chariots, and these are on horses, but we will cry out in the name of the Lord our God: they are bound and fell, but we rose up and stood upright (Ps. 19:8-9). And the horse that is destroyed from Jerusalem is the one about which we read: A horse is unreliable for salvation (Ps. 32:17). And in the prophet Jeremiah, people who indulged in luxury and carnal pleasures hear: They became like horses before Me, frantically rushing at women, each neighing at the other’s wife (Jer. 5:8). Therefore, they are called to repentance by the words of the Psalmist: Do not be like a horse and a mule that has no understanding (Ps. 31:9). And when the Lord destroys the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, which will be freed from the horses and chariots of this kind, then they themselves will be converted to serve the Lord and become Cherubim and regarding them it will be said: There are many thousands of the chariots of God, thousands of rejoicing (Ps. 67:18), and: I have likened you, My neighbor, to My cavalry in the chariots of Pharaoh (Song. 1:8), and: Mount your horses, and Your ascent is salvation (Hab.3:8). The bow of war will be scattered, so that fiery arrows will not be thrown out to strike the hearts of lustful people. And peace will be proclaimed to the nations, about whom it is written: He will be the hope of the nations (Gen. 49:10), and again: The nations will hope in Him (Is. 11:10), and: His power is from sea to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth (Ps. 32:8). The meaning of this passage should not be weakened by allegorical interpretations: on the contrary, it should be believed that all this was fulfilled in accordance with what we read: Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance, and for Thy dominion the ends of the earth (Ps. 2:8). The seventy-first psalm also speaks on behalf of Solomon and the true reconciler: And he will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth (Ps. 72:8). Zechariah 9:11–12. Thou hast also, in the blood of Thy covenant, freed Thy prisoners from the lake in which there is no water: return ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: now I will repay thee twice as much as I declare. LXX: And you, in the blood of your covenant, freed your prisoners from the lake that had no water: you, the prisoners of the congregation, will sit in the stronghold, and I will repay you twice for one day of your wandering. - After the prophet, i.e. Almighty God the Father Himself, announced to Zion and Jerusalem that their King would come to them, meek and ascending on a donkey and a colt, and that His power would be from sea to sea and from rivers to the ends of the earth, - after that He turns to Christ Himself, Whom is being proclaimed, and says: You are also in the blood of Your covenant, or: covenant freed Your prisoners from the lake in which there is no water. This means: In the blood of Your suffering, You freed with Your mercy those who were held as prisoners in the prison of hell, where there is no mercy. Finally, after the resurrection of the Lord, those who were bound by the sins of Adam, or, as some wish, by the bonds of congenital sin (erroris inoliti) and death, rose with the Lord and appeared in the holy city. He Himself speaks to the disciples about this blood of the Covenant, pointing to future suffering: Take and drink everything of it: this is the cup of the covenant in My blood (Matthew 26:27–28). Into the prototype of this lake without water, that is, into the ditch, Joseph was thrown by his brothers (Gen. 37:24–25) and Daniel (Dan. 6:16), and Jeremiah by the Chaldeans and the people of Judah (Jer. 37:17–18, 38:6). Also, Benaiah, during the snow and cold, went down into the ditch to kill a lion there (2 Samuel 23:20). Jeremiah is not immersed in the water of the lake, but in mud and mud, so that he could drown rather than be refreshed, being thirsty. Therefore, in one Psalm it is written: I am mired in deep mud, and there is no support [for me] (Ps. 68:3). In this depth of hell, the rich man who once dressed in purple spends his time, whose long-winded tongue was burning from the fire of punishment so much that he wanted to refresh it even if only with the touch of the end of a finger dipped in water (Luke 16:24). And on the other hand, the word is addressed to those who were bound and, by the mercy of Christ, should be freed: Turn to strength, prisoners of hope. The meaning is this: You, who are now bound and kept in the terrible unceasing imprisonment of hell, awaiting the release of the bonds through the coming of Christ, turn to the fortification, or you will sit in the fortification, about which it is written: A fortress for a saint is the fear of the Lord, - so that you can say: Be my patron God and a strong place to save me (Ps. 71:3); The prophet will also say about you: This is a strong city, [He] will turn our salvation into a wall and rampart (Is. 31:1). And by this fortification, to which God convinces the hoping prisoners, or captives of the Church, to turn, we must understand nothing other than the paradise dwelling into which the thief was the first to enter with the Lord (Luke 23:43); and now, through the prophet Zechariah, they are called to strengthen, because from that time on the Lord promised that for a short time of testing they would receive an eternal reward, or, as it reads in LXX: For one day of your wandering I will reward you twice. In fact, in comparison with eternity, everything that we endure in the world should be called one day and not a day of sojourn, but a day of wandering, for we, like all our fathers, are nothing more than strangers and strangers, for our short-term light suffering at the present time produces in us the greatest eternal glory in immeasurable abundance, when we contemplate not what is visible, but what is invisible, for what is visible is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor. 4:17–18). Zechariah 9:13. For I have made Judah [like a bow] for myself, and I have filled Ephraim as a bow, and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and will make thee as the sword of the mighty. LXX: For I have bound you, O Judah, to Ephraim like a bow, and I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against the children of the Greeks, and I will touch you as with the sword of a warrior. – The Jews date this back to the time of the Maccabees, who defeated the Macedonians and cleansed the church defiled by idolatry, three and a half years later. And the following words: As I filled Ephraim with a bow, signify, in their opinion, those who, from the ten tribes called Israel, came during the time of Hezekiah, and over whom, as is known, Josiah was king; but in this way, as before, they interpret differently the testimony that we have explained, and say: O Christ, whose coming we are waiting [or: looking for], You will reign in all the ends of the earth in the blood of Your covenant, with which You purchased Jerusalem, watered with Your blood, as Ezekiel says (Ezekiel 16:6,8); You entered into a covenant with Abraham in the divisions of a bull, a ram and a kid (Gen. 15:9), You freed Your people Israel from captivity and from the cave of the Chaldeans, where there was no leniency towards them; Therefore, you, Israelites, who were prisoners and trusted in the Lord, turn to the most fortified Jerusalem, for now you have a promise from the Lord that for the short-term disasters of captivity you will receive everything in double quantity, which, as you know, Job also received (Job.42:10-12). In a figurative sense (juxta tropologiam) this passage can be explained as follows: Judas strains at the bow when the Lord and Savior is sent into the world from the Father: He Himself is the bow and the archer and the arrow. For example, the onion is in the present place; Sagittarius - in the forty-fourth psalm: Your arrows, O Mighty One, are very sharp (Ps. 44:6); if someone is wounded by them, he says: I am wounded by love (Song. 2:5), and the Arrow is He Himself, Who speaks through Isaiah: He made Me as if it were a chosen arrow, and hid Me in His quiver (Is. 49:2). The chosen arrow is the word of God; the quiver in which the arrow is hidden is the economy of the incarnation. Ephraim does this, so that when he is armed and completely ready for war, he himself, together with the nations, will be struck by the arrows of the Lord; the first to divide the people, Jeroboam, was from his tribe (1 Kings 12:19,25). By this we must understand heretics, which is more fully shown by the prophet Hosea (Hos. 5 and Hos. 6) and what we said above: The sons of Ephraim, straining the bow and shooting in the day of war, turned back (Ps. 77:9). For when the Lord stirs up the sons of Zion, i.e. sons of the Church, then the teachers of dogmas contrary to the [Church], and all the statements of philosophers, and all the arguments of the pagans will be defeated, because the Lord Himself is the sword of the mighty, about whom it is said: Gird yourself, O Mighty One, with His sword on His thigh, - with His greatness and His beauty, strain your bow, go forth hastily and reign, for the sake of truth, and meekness, and righteousness, and He will destroy Your right hand is wonderful to you (Ps. 45:4-5). The Ethiopians are slain with this sword, about whom it is written: And you Ethiopians will be slain with my sword (Zeph. 2:12); after they are defeated by the sword of Christ, they will put aside the dark color and joyfully exclaim: The glory of the Lord our God will be upon us (Ps. 89:17); David also expects this for himself after repentance: You will wash me, and I will become whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9). This is the sword about which the Apostle writes: The word of God is living and powerful, and can pierce more than any two-edged sword, and reach to the division of soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12). Zechariah 9:14–15. And the Lord God will appear over them and His arrow will rush like lightning, and the Lord God will sound the trumpet and come out in the whirlwind of the noonday. The Lord of hosts will protect them, LXX: And the Lord God will appear over them, and His arrow will rush like lightning, and the Lord God Almighty will sound the trumpet and go out in the movement of His terrible wrath. God Almighty will protect them. - And this place [Jews] dates back to the time of the Maccabees, because when they fought against Antiochus and gained the upper hand over him, defeat and victory were the work of God: He, the Mighty One, appeared in battle and His power appeared to the vanquished and enemies like lightning: and after the enemies were scattered with a deadly whirlwind, He protected the people of Judah. And we attribute all this to the Lord Savior, about whom it was written above: I have strained Judas for myself like a bow. After its tension and after the beating of heretics and pagans by the sons of Zion, the glory of the Lord will appear and His arrow will rush like lightning; We also read about this lightning in Habakkuk. In the brilliance of Your arrows they will go and in the brightness of Your lightning spear (Hab. 3:11). This lightning and radiance are also called trumpet and sound, so that when the sacred cry [or: sound] sounds, the one who was previously deaf will say: The instruction of the Lord has opened my ears, and has given me an ear to hear. And the following words: And he will come out in the whirlwind of noon [or: South], or: he will come out in the movement of his threat [must be understood this way:] He threatens and says that he has to send punishments in order to have mercy on the repentant. Finally he adds more words: the Almighty Lord will protect them, that is, those whom He previously terrified with His threats. Let's read the history of the Ninevites. Zechariah 9:15–16. and they will devour and pelt with sling stones, and when they have drunk, they will be drunk as with wine [Vulgate: with wine] and they will be filled like great bowls, and like the horn of the altar, and the Lord their God will save them in that day, like the flock of His people, for the holy stones will be exalted in His land. LXX: And they will eat them and cast them into sling stones, and they will drink their blood like wine, and fill the altar like great vessels, and the Lord will save them in that day, like His people as His sheep, for the holy stones will roll in His land. – Instead of what we expressed with the word: they will be exalted, and in Hebrew it is written methnosasoth (מהנוססוה), it can be translated: wandering, or running. When the Lord protects the sons of Zion and blows his trumpet and comes out in a whirlwind against their enemies, the defeat of the Greeks will be such that, not to mention swords, they will be thrown with a pile of stones launched by slings, so that they will become prey and food for their enemies. Then when they get drunk, they will become intoxicated as with wine. Not those who are beaten will be drunk with their blood, but those who are victorious will fight with despair, as if drunk, and will be pleasing to God as the horns of the altar and its drink offering. After all, this is what is meant by the large vessels with which libations are poured on the altar. And the Lord will save them like sheep or a flock of His people: for he will come out against the Macedonians, not as an army armed and trained in the art of war, but will come out as a flock ready for death, and [only] with the help of God will gain the upper hand. And the holy stones that will be seized (and he calls them stones for the severity of the suffering [suffered] and the strength of the soul) will rise from their humiliation and will be glorious on His earth. Otherwise: the holy stones from the line of priests, dispersed to different countries, will win, since the Lord will give them [this]. Let us also pay attention to the mysterious meaning, that is, we will explain the prophecy, which contains much that is unclear. Protected by their Lord, the sons of Zion will defeat their enemies, by whom we mean the sons of Greece, and will pelt them with sling stones, making their enemies obedient, subject to the action of the threats of Scripture, for nothing is so striking as the example of the Holy Scriptures and the testimony coming through the movement of the mouth [like a stone thrown through the turn of a projectile]. And what is read in LXX: And they will drink their blood like wine, in Hebrew we read it differently, but: When they get drunk, they will become drunk as if from wine, in order to hear what is said in the book of Song of Songs: Drink, friends, and be drunk (Song.5:1). And their intoxication will be acceptable as a sacrifice on the altar; and horns, i.e., the corners of the altar. God will also save them, like the flock of His people, because the holy stones will roll, which will be so light and will so strive for height that the hands of the builders will not need to wait for them: they themselves will hasten to be laid on the foundation of Christ and to be held on to the corner stone, as the Apostle Peter speaks about: As living stones you are built into a spiritual house, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God ( 1 Peter 2:5). These are the stones that will cry out when the Jewish people are silent (Luke 19:40), and will revolve on the earth while they remain in the body, for an earthly dwelling burdens the sense of having worries about many things (Wisdom 9:15), therefore the saint living in the body exclaims: Who will give me wings like [the wings of] a dove (Ps. 54:7); He, as far as he controls himself, strives and rolls and rises to heights, but he is held back by the corruption of the flesh. And the land on which the stones rotate is the one about which we read: Sing to the Lord, all the earth (Ps. 95:1) and: Let all the earth worship You and sing to You (Ps. 65:4). Zechariah 9:17. For what is His goodness and what is His beauty, if not the bread of the elect and the wine that fertilizes the young women. LXX: For if there is any good, and if there is any good from Him, [it is] wheat for the young men and sweet-smelling wine for the young women. - They say that the Maccabees will win with God's help, running back and forth, so that after the expulsion of the Macedonians from the land of Israel, the church will be cleansed, the commandments of the Law will be observed, and the study of Holy Scripture will fruitfully water the young women, that is, the peoples who believe in one God, and who were previously defiled by idolatry. Under the bread of the elect, i.e. baurim (בהורים) they want to understand not young men, as the Seventy were translated, but chosen and taught men who deserved to eat wheat, that is, the law of God. Instead of the word wine, - which in Hebrew is expressed by the word thiros ( תירוש - Aquila translated οἰνίαν, which can also be related to the fertility of the vineyard. Such are the thoughts of the Jews. Finally, we understand the Lord by the wheat of the elect, or young men, and by the wine that fructifies virgins, or wine fragrant to virgins The Savior, Who says in the Gospel: If a grain of wheat falls into the ground and is dead, it remains alone; but if it does not die, it bears many fruits (John 12:24). From this wheat comes the bread that comes down from heaven, and which strengthens the heart of man (Ps. 103:15). This bread is eaten by those who are strong in Christ, and to whom the Evangelist John says: I write to you, young men, for the word of God abides in you [or: us], and you are strong, and have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14). He who is the bread of the elect, or young men, is also the wine that gladdens the heart of man; those virgins who are holy both in body and spirit drink it, so that, having drunk and rejoiced, they follow the Church and it is said to them; The virgins will be brought after her for the King, her neighbors will be brought to You, they will be brought in joy and joy (Ps. 45:15-16). In fact, how will those who, having drunk from the cup of the Savior, transform into virgins and dare to say: Bring me into the wine storeroom, strengthen me with fragrant ointments (Song. 2:4), will not have joy. This wine is fragrant, which is why the same song says: Give me fragrant wine to drink, the abundant moisture of your pomegranates [or: sons] (Song. 5:1 et al.). Those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, dressed in white robes, are given this wine to drink, because they did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins (Rev. 14:4). Zechariah 10:1–2. Ask the Lord for rain at a later time, and the Lord will give a cloud and send rain to those clouds, to every grass in the field. For the idols spoke useless things, and the soothsayers proclaimed lies, and the dreamers told empty things and warned in vain: therefore they are led away like a flock; they will be saddened, because they have no shepherd. LXX: Ask from the Lord the seasonable rain, early and late; The Lord will grant their desires and give them cold rain and grass in the field for everyone: for those who spoke foretold disasters, and the soothsayers communicated false visions and false dreams and made empty exhortations. Therefore they dried up like sheep and were sad, for there was no one to heal them. - So, now the prosperity promised in the time of the Maccabees is more often predicted, when the holy stones were raised above the earth, and the affairs of Israel went so successfully that the nations again began to eat the wheat of the law, and your virgins drunken themselves with the wine of the Holy Spirit. However, since now is the last time of the prophets, and the world is approaching the end, and everything that was predicted is already approaching its fulfillment, then ask the Lord to give you the latter rain, so that the promised Christ will come and give you dew and clouds; in Hebrew instead it is written azizim (הויוים), and I do not know for what purpose the LXX was translated: desires (phantasias, i.e., whims), unless with this word they wanted to figuratively indicate the greatness of grace and the miraculousness of what is given from God. So, the Lord, who has the power to water the clouds and the drought of the earth with the rain of the Gospel preaching, will Himself give rain to the believers, and everything will be filled with abundance, so that the nations, after they believe in Christ, will understand that what they previously revered was in vain. In other words: Israel itself, which once held onto the errors of idolatry, will understand that it was in vain that it worshiped idols and listened to the false predictions of fortune-tellers and listened to dreams, the belief of which the Holy Scripture forbids (Deut. 13: 1-3). And for this reason they, like a flock, were led into captivity, and since the Lord was not their shepherd, they suffered a lot, not having the knowledge of the law. This whole passage is dark and arouses doubts, therefore the reader must show us some indulgence if we take the wrong step in approaching something that has a double meaning. But in a spiritual sense we can say that the Lord persuades those who believe in Christ to ask for the latter rain at the end of the world, when the fullness of grace is to be given, and when the grass of each one in his field grows, so that they can all say: The Lord feeds me, and I will lack nothing (Ps. 22:1-2). For all the idols and fortune tellers and dreamers spoke empty words and exhorted in vain. This is said about heretics, who, although they bear the name of Christians, do not understand either what they are talking about or what they affirm, and are carried away by the spirit of error and the teachings of demons, hypocritically speaking lies, having a seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:2), so that unbelievers are carried away by the consolations of those who make false promises; Therefore, they were handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5:5), and were taken into captivity by the king of Babylon and will be subjected to suffering, for they do not have Christ as their shepherd, although they have an unrealistic hope in Him. Zechariah 10:3–5. My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will rush against the goats, for the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will set them up as the horse of His glory in battle. From Him is the cornerstone, from Him is the pillar, from Him is the bow of battle, from Him will come every ruler together. And they will be strong in war, to trample down [enemies] like roadside mud, and they will fight, for the Lord is with them. LXX: I have stirred up My wrath against the shepherds, and I will rush against the lambs, and the Lord God Almighty will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and set them up in battle like His beautiful horse. From him He looked, from him he set, from him the bow is in rage, [from him] everyone will come forth, and they will be like warriors trampling the dirt of the roadside in battle, and they will be prepared, because the Lord is with them. – And the Jews explain this passage in two ways, for some think that everything must be fulfilled at the time of the coming of Christ, while others claim that all this has already been fulfilled during the time of the Maccabees. But the interpretation of what the Lord promises is this: the Lord was angry with the shepherds, princes and priests, and with the goats, and visited His people according to what is written: My people became a lost flock, the shepherds threw them out (Jer. 50:6); thus, the disciples will be punished for the vice of the mentors, not by the unjust judgment of the judge punishing the sons for the sins of their parents, but because when they sinned, the people participated with them, approving them; It was then that the Lord visited the goats, or the fattest lambs, and, according to the Seventy, caused them to dry up from the drought. And after this the Lord visited His flock, the house of Judah, for He raised up Judah Maccabee and others of his family against the leaders of Antiochus, and set them in battle as His glorious horse, that is, those who were descended from his generation: for they had long oppressed the Macedonians. And the following words: From him the cornerstone, from him the pillar, from him the military bow, from her will come every ruler together, in a figurative (μεταφορικῶς) sense they mean that by the cornerstone they mean royal power, because it supports [or: supported] the walls. From him, he says, comes the pillar, that is, the priesthood. Read Isaiah, who [says that] Eliakim is strengthened in the church like a pillar (Is. 22:20–24). From him will come a military bow, [i.e.] strong for battles; from him also are all the rulers together, which in Hebrew is expressed by the word noges (ננש) and by Aquila translated by the word εἰςπράσσων, which means that among them there will be men not only strong and good, but also others unworthy of his family. Indeed, Judas Maccabee and all those who were princes from his family were also the cornerstone, because they ruled the people with the royal suit, they were also the pillar, because they themselves were priests, they were also the bow of war, because they were the bravest men, so that they not only controlled the formation of the troops, but also rushed into battle first. And about the following words: from him will come every ruler together, instead of which LXX translated: from him will come every ruler together, we can also say this: there will be no leadership in the army that is not distributed according to his will. And they will be very strong men, trampling down the Macedonians in battle like roadside mud; They will also be very strong in war, and they will fight, because the Lord is with them. Our interpreters attribute this place to times of persecution, because for the vices of the priests the people are often given over to the hands of their enemies. And yet after this the Lord Almighty will visit His flock, the house of Judah, which confesses God with its mouth and heart (animo), and will set them up in war as His glorious horse, about which the saints say: Mount Your horses, and Your ascent is salvation (Hab. 3:8). He himself will be the bow of the wrath of the Lord, about which he says: I will water My arrows with blood (Deut. 32:42), and again: My arrows will destroy them. We read about this bow and these arrows in the seventh psalm (Ps. 7:13-14): He flexed His bow and prepared it, and in it He prepared the vessels of death; He made His arrows of flame. And those crowned with martyrdom, he says, will trample on their opponents and will say: The Lord is my enlightenment and my salvation, whom will I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life, before whom will I tremble? When the evil ones rushed against me to devour my flesh, my enemies tormenting me, they themselves became weak and fell. If they set up armies against me, my heart will not fear; if war arises against me, I will place my hope in Him (Ps. 26:1-4). Then these words will be fulfilled: One of you will pursue a thousand, and two will put many thousands to flight (Deut. 32:30). Zechariah 10:6–7. And the horsemen will be dismayed, and I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will convert them, for I will have mercy on them. And they will be as they were when I did not leave them, for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them. And they will be like the mighty men of Ephraim, and their hearts will rejoice as with wine; and their sons will see, and their hearts will rejoice and be glad in the Lord. LXX: And the horsemen will be troubled, and I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will let them live, because I have loved them; and they will be like the soldiers of Ephraim, and their hearts will be glad as with wine, and their sons will see and rejoice, and their hearts will be glad in the Lord. – And according to the highest understanding, they explain this passage in two ways: either in the sense that this has already been fulfilled during the time of the Maccabees, or in the sense that this should happen during the time of Christ in the last age. But here is the meaning of this passage: when Judah is mounted like a glorious horse in battle, and tramples his enemies like roadside mud, and gains the upper hand, since the Lord will fight with him, then every horseman of Greece will fall, and the house of Judah and the house of Israel (for he already calls it the house of Joseph, that is, the kingdom of the ten tribes) will be saved together; and I will bring them back from the captivity in which they were, and will be, as when I had not yet left them, for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their prayers. And the Ephraimites, who are now in captivity, will then be released and will discover such great joy that you will mistake them for being intoxicated. Their sons will also see the triumph of their fathers and rejoice in the Lord, with whose help they won the victory. Let us examine past events - namely, when Judah and Israel fought together against the Greeks, or when Ephraim returned from captivity, when, according to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:16-21), the two rods, i.e. Judah and Ephraim, united together and were one tree. In a figurative sense, this can be explained as follows: when the Lord Almighty visits His flock, the house of Judah, then the horsemen about whom it is written: Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been gloriously glorified: He has cast horse and rider into the sea (Ex. 15:1); The voice of the psalmist also sings about them: Because of Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, those who sat on horses fell asleep (Ps. 75:7). And the face of the saints sings in agreement: These are on chariots and these on horses, but we will call on the name [or: name] of our God; They are bound and fell, but we have risen and stood upright (Ps. 19:8-9). The king of Egypt placed his hope in this cavalry, but being cast into the sea, he sank into the depths like lead (Exodus 15:10) and taught by his example that the word of Scripture is truly true: A horse is unreliable for salvation (Ps. 32:17). We applied these chariots and these horsemen above to the interpretation of the four types of disturbances. If they are not driven by the bridle of a good driver; then they will be carried away into the abyss. But there is another driver, Elisha says about him: Father, father! The chariot of Israel, and his driver (2 Kings 2:12). “Then,” says God, “He will strengthen the house of Judah and the house of Joseph, so that those who were divided during the reign of Jeroboom (1 Kings 12:16) will be united under the authority of Christ, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd.” Judas and Joseph, with different names, inspire the same thought - about the Savior, because Joseph also delivered bread to the people suffering from hunger (Gen. 42:1ff.), and the Lord, with His stay on earth, quenched the hunger of the world. And He will convert them and have mercy on them, and they will be as they were before He left them. Understand all this in relation to persecution; Then the Lord heard His servants, when everyone was already in despair. And they will be like the strong men of Ephraim - they, who were previously weak and weak, after this became strong and worthy of their name, for the word Ephraim means: abundance. And their hearts will rejoice, as they will drink the wine trampled out of the Sorek vineyard. Their sons will also rejoice, to whom the Apostle Paul says: My children, whom I give birth to again in pain, until Christ is reflected in you (Gal. 4:19), and Peter, the foremost of the apostles (princeps apostolorum) says: As children of obedience, not conformed to their former life (1 Peter 1:14). And in the Psalm we read: Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Ps. 33:12). So these children will leap and rejoice, and their hearts will rejoice in the Lord. Zechariah 10:8–10. I will descend upon them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and I will multiply them even as they were numerous before. And I will scatter them among the nations, and they will remember Me from afar, and they will live with their sons, and they will return, and I will bring them out of the land of Egypt, and I will gather them from the Assyrians, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be [enough] room for them. LXX: I will give them a sign and accept them, for I will redeem them, and they will multiply as they were numerous, and I will scatter them among the nations, and from afar they will remember Me. They will raise their children and be converted, and I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and I will receive them from the Assyrians, and I will bring them into Gilead and Lebanon, and not one of them will be absent. “My sign of their gathering,” either during the rule of the Macedonians or at the end of the world, as we said before, “they,” he says, “will have a whistle, so with My whistle I will gather them and teach them that I am a shepherd.” For I have redeemed them and freed them from captivity by stretching out My hand. And I, who multiplied them before, will multiply so that their settlement among the nations will seem not like dispersal, but the action of a sower, and, having multiplied [as if] the harvest of their sons and grandsons, they will live with their sons; and they will return not only from the land of Egypt, but also from Assyria, and from both parts of the world they will return to Judah, to the land of Gilead and Lebanon, which were formerly owned by ten tribes, called the house of Joseph and Ephraim, and the number of those returned will be so great that the earth will not contain all their multitude. - In a figurative sense (secundum ἀναγωγήν): the Lord gives a sign like a whistle to those who were previously in sinful captivity and says to them: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and you will find rest for your souls. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me that I am meek and lowly in heart, for My yoke is pleasant and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). What is more merciful than this sign of call that gathers a scattered people? And they gather because the Lord has redeemed them [and has redeemed them] not with corruptible things, silver and gold from their vain life, but with the precious blood, as it were, of the spotless lamb of the Lord Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Therefore, he says in the Psalm (Ps. 31:7): ​​My joy, deliver me from those around me. And again: The Lord, the God of truth, has redeemed me (Ps. 30:6). And I will multiply [or: I will multiply] them, as they were numerous before, so that what was promised to Abraham will be fulfilled: I will multiply him and bless him, and he will be blessed, so that he will be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:16). And by the sons of Abraham we must understand not those about whom the Lord says: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of your father (John 8:39), but those about whom the Apostle says: Those who are of faith are the children of Abraham (Gal.3:7). Isaiah testifies to this multiplication in mysterious words, saying: The little one will turn into thousands and the little one into a great nation (Is. 60:22). And we must understand the multiplication and blessing of children not in a carnal sense, for otherwise Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah and John the Baptist, more than Who was not among those born of women (Matthew 11:11), are deprived of this blessing; we must understand the blessing through which many peoples are called to faith. Finally, the words follow: I will scatter them among the nations, and from afar they will remember Me. Scattered among the nations are those who heard the words: Going and teaching all nations (Matt. 28:19), and in another place: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you, so that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit will endure forever (John 15:16). And when the Apostles are scattered among the nations, then the most distant peoples and tribes will remember Me according to the prophetic word known about this: All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes (familiae) of the nations will worship before Him. For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and He will rule over the nations (Ps. 21:28–29). And the words: From afar they will remember Me are similar to the following words: Those who are far away, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem be in your heart (Jer. 51:50). All the multitude of nations were far away, but they remembered God, because we all come from one ancestor. And when the apostles were scattered among all nations, the nations living far away will remember God and will live with their sons, so that those who previously died in unbelief will begin to live by faith. These are the sons whom the Apostle raised in the Gospel, as he writes to the Corinthians: I have given you milk to drink (1 Cor. 3:2). And Peter writes to the regenerate believers in the dispersion: Not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of the living God, who abideth always, as little babes, to desire the understanding milk, and to grow in it unto salvation (1 Pet. 1:23, 2:2). The Evangelist John also wrote to these sons: Children, beware of idols (1 John 5:21). And I will bring them back,” he says, “from the land of Egypt and from the Assyrians I will gather them, [i.e. e.] from the land of Egypt, in which Pharaoh reigned, who boastfully said: Mine are rivers, and I created them (Ezek. 29:3), and from the land of Assur, which was owned by the very proud king of Assyria, who also said: I will set my throne above the stars of heaven and will be like the Most High (Is. 14:14). When the Lord gathers the nations from the darkness of Egypt and from the torments of the world and from the power of the Assyrian, which means rebuking and conquering (for he is both an enemy and an avenger), he will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon. Gilead in our language is translated by the words evidence of transmigration, when we move from the carnal to the spiritual, from the part to the whole, when we leave the earthly and move to the heavenly. Lebanon means λευκασμός, i.e. whitening. So we are brought out of the darkness of Egypt, so that after the transition and migration from this world we may be made white from the Lord, and so that it may be said about us: Who is she who comes out white (Song. 6:9). Others, in accordance with the double meaning of the Greek word, by which both the mountain in Phenicia and incense are called Lebanon, now understand incense and, in view of the meaning of incense, think that God, after our migration from earth to heaven, will fulfill in us the prayerful word of the Savior: Father, grant to them that they may be one in Us, just as I and You are one (John 17:22). Therefore, in the book of Song of Songs, the bride says to the groom: The fragrance of your clothes is like the fragrance of Lebanon (Song. 4:11). And when he brings us into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, there will not be [enough] room for us, so that we will not be constrained by the narrow boundaries of the earth, but will enjoy the breadth [or: height] of heaven. Zechariah 10:11–12. And it will pass through the stormy sea, and shake the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the river will be disturbed, and the pride of Assyria will be humbled and the rule of Egypt will retreat back. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and in His name they will walk, says the Lord. LXX: And they will pass through the narrow sea and destroy the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the rivers will be dried up, and all the insults from the Assyrians will cease, and the dominion of Egypt will cease. And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and they will be glorified in His name, says the Lord. – Jews interpret that the people of Judah, captive by the Assyrians and Chaldeans, were resettled not only to the lands of the Medes and Persians, but also to the Bosporus and to the northern countries; and then, due to Divine mercy addressed to him, he was partially returned; this is what is now said: they will cross a narrow sea, along the narrow strait of the Propontis, which separates Chalcedon and former Byzantium with a narrow arm. And, they say, the Lord (going before His people) will shake the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the rivers will be troubled, as was once the case after the drying up of the Jordan (Joshua 3:13,17), and then when the people crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 14:22). And when the people are delivered from the depths of captivity and bitter calamities, Asshur will be subdued, and the power of Egypt will depart from them, and they will be strong in the Lord, and will walk in His name in the land of Israel, says the Lord. We conveyed this in our own language according to the way it was transmitted to us by the Jews, leaving the authenticity of the story to the responsibility of those who told it. But we, who bear the name Christians, leave the killing letter and follow the life-giving spirit; comparing the spiritual with the spiritual, we see here not the Bosporus and the new drying up of the sea, or the dry bed of the Jordan - the stories of the Jews about this are fabulous - but we mean the mercy worthy of the servants of God towards them, when God, going before us and opening the way, takes us through a strait or a narrow sea, which is very wide for sinners: For broad and broad is the way that leads to death, but narrow and narrow that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14). We read about this sea in the Psalm: Those who went down to the sea in ships, doing work on many waters, saw the works of the Lord and His wonders in the depths (Ps. 106:23-24). The Apostles also descended into this sea of ​​this age, in which the number of saints is limited and in trials, and Christ descended first to free us from the bitter depths (Mark 4:36-39). The net of the Gospel (Matthew 13:47), woven from the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, is thrown into this sea in order to drag out many fish and people mired in the depths of this world to freedom (liberam auram), and so that they can sing the praises of God. These are those who went down to the sea and on the ships of the Church do many things and contemplate the wonderful works of God in the depths of His wisdom and understanding, and in the Holy Spirit, Who penetrates even into the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10); The Lord says to them: Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). Isaiah also prophesies about these fishers who go into the sea and are on ships: They will fly on the ships of foreigners and at the same time [with this] they will capture the sea as a prey [for themselves] (Is. 11:14). For in the churches gathered from among the nations of the pagans, the Apostles went back and forth to make the sea a prey and to take away the wealth of the serpent who reigned in [this] sea, about which it is written: This sea is great and spacious: there are reptiles there, of which there is no number, small animals with great ones; There are ships sailing there: this is the serpent which You created to mock him (Ps. 103:25-26). This sea is wide and spacious for the great and small animals that live with the serpent, and of which there is no number. And those who fly over the sea and on the sea itself in ships will hear from the Savior: You will rule over the power of the sea, You will tame the movement of its waves (Ps. 89:10). When they pass through the sea strait and trample its waves with their feet, then all the depths of the river about which it is written: He who turned the sea into dry land will walk through the river with their feet (Ps. 65:6), so that the offense will cease, or the pride of the Assyrians will be humbled, and the power of Egypt over the saints and believers will retreat back, and they, the liberated ones, will be strengthened in the Lord and will exclaim: The Lord is my strength and my song (Ps. 118:14). And again: I will love You, O Lord, my strength (Ps. 17:2), and together with Jeremiah: My strength and my help and my refuge, O Lord my God (Jer. 16:19). Therefore, the Apostle, in whom Christ speaks, exclaims: I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). And not only will they be strengthened in the Lord, but they will also be glorified in Him and will say: I have no glory except [the glory] in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world was crucified to me and I to the world (Gal. 6:14), and in another place: Let him who boasts in the Lord boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31) and: Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, nor the mighty in his strength, neither he who is rich in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows the Lord and shows mercy and judgment in the midst of the earth (Jer. 9:23-24). There is no doubt that the words of the Hebrew text: And they will walk in His name should be understood to mean that Christians will walk in the name of Christ, and that their new name will be written on stones, and under the cover of the dignity of such a great name they will walk with the Lord, as Enoch walked and pleased God and was translated (Gen. 5:24). Brother Sisinius is in such a hurry to hand me over the incompletely processed, faulty work that, let alone correcting it, I do not even have the opportunity to re-read it. He hurries to his work, and therefore we do less in our work, so that learning turns into nothing, and everything that appears to our minds cannot be expressed in skillfully crafted speech. So, accept these books in an unfinished form, not through my fault, but because of the haste of the one who gives [them] to you, for he is in a hurry to distribute your money to the saints and does not allow us to hand over our [property] to you. In fact, no matter how flexible and educated the natural mind may be, and no matter how flowing the speech developed by long practice, however, if [the book] is not carefully finished by the hand of the writer, traces of negligence are noticeable in it: it either abounds in too flowery expressions, or is blurred from the abundance of vowel letters, or is difficult [to read] from a combination of consonants. That is why they say about Virgil that he wrote his books, as if cleansing them with his tongue, like a bear of cubs, so that they would be the best and always be retained in the memory [of the people], and with free speech they would complement the necessary requirements of poetic meter. - However, let us move on to Lebanon and to the two branches, and the three shepherds killed in one month, and the thirty pieces of silver for which the potter's field was bought for the burial of strangers [foreigners] (Matthew 27:7), and to the vessels of the foolish shepherd, and to everything else, to the end of the scroll [Zechariah]. The named objects are connected with such sacraments that we need the mercy of God and your prayers, so that our movement will not be delayed by any misunderstanding (errore) and there will not be a solid reason for reproaches from evil-wishers, who think that they have a tongue only to torment their neighbor, and with the stubbornness of people who have lost shame, they find consolation for themselves in curses. Zechariah 11:1–2. Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars. Weep, O fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, for even the majestic ones are devastated. Howl, O oaks of Bashan, for the mighty forest has fallen. LXX: Open your gates, Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars. Let the pine weep, for the cedar is fallen, for the nobles are crushed. Howl, O oaks of Basanitis, for the forest that abounded in trees has been cast down. - Near Lebanon, to which the prophet’s speech is addressed in the words: Open, Lebanon, your gates, undoubtedly, of course, the Church of Judah, which was renewed and finally built by Zerubbabel, and then, according to the word of the prophet (canitur), should be destroyed by Vespasian and Titus. And since the church is called Lebanon in a figurative sense (μεταφορικῶς), then in other words the prophet retains the same way of speaking, denoting by the names of cedars, firs, oaks of Bashan and the forest abundant with trees, the princes, priests and people of Judah. And Lebanon opened its gates for the Roman army to enter, and fire destroyed its cedars; this means either that everything was devastated by fire, or that the leaders and princes of the people were exterminated during the attack of the enemies. The firs are weeping, for the cedar has fallen, that is, the heads of the people and the priests, who mutually mourn themselves due to their ruin. And what he initially expressed with some secrecy now expresses more clearly: For even the majestic are desolate. I want to know what kind of cedars of Lebanon they are that are burned, what kind of firs they are, to which mourning is predicted, what kind of pines they are that He has cast down: the majestic ones, he says, are desolate. Weep, oaks of Bashan, - that is, disgrace and confusion, for the strongest forest - which in Hebrew is expressed by the word besor (בעוד), and in the LXX is translated: abounding in trees - was cut down; because the church, considered insurmountable in its strength, and rebuilt by various kings and princes, and then by Herod, was destroyed to the ground by the Romans. Some, not understanding the meaning of this place, refer to the names: Lebanon, firs, pines, oaks of Bashan and a forest, abundant in trees and strong against hostile forces, which in the prophet Ezekiel are called by the names of Asur and Pharaoh: Here is Asur, a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful with branches and thick foliage, tall in stature, its top among the clouds, the water nourished it, the abyss lifted it ( Ezek.31:3-4) and so on, relating either to Asur or to Pharaoh; they think that this refers either to hostile forces, or to some proud people and rulers, about whom we read in the Psalm: The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars and the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon (Ps. 28:5), and in another place: The Day of the Lord of hosts is against every offender and the proud and against everyone who is exalted (Is. 2:12), and after the people: And against every high cedar of Lebanon and against every tree, the oak of Bashan (Isa. 2:13). These people also claim that about the same Lebanon it is prophesied as follows: Lebanon will fall with the high ones. But we will follow the previous interpretation, especially since what follows also corresponds to the meaning we indicated. Zechariah 11:3. The voice of the lamentation of the shepherds [is heard], for their majesty is laid waste, and the roaring of lions, for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste. LXX: The voice of weeping shepherds [is heard], for their greatness has become disastrous, and the voice of roaring lions, for the noise of the Jordan is saddened. – These words also contain part of the previous passage. Those which he previously called cedars, firs, pines and oaks of Bashan - and then explained what kind of trees they were with the words: For the majestic ones were desolate, now, with the help of another comparison (μεταφορἀν), they are called shepherds, that is, heads and teachers and those who were the first among the people; they must cry and weep because their greatness, outer beauty and splendor are devastated and destroyed - the very church of which they boasted. Then he says: And the roaring of lions, [i.e. e.]: those same ones whom he previously called towering trees and then shepherds, he now calls lions. And since he spoke about lions, continuing to use a figurative meaning, he adds: For the pride of the Jordan is desolate, or the noise and thunder of the overflowing water, which is called in the Hebrew language gaon (נאון). And just as he compared the height of the church, according to the position of the land of Judea, with the height of Lebanon, for in the promised land there is nothing higher than Lebanon, just as there is nothing more wooded and shady, and with the Jordan River, the largest in Judea, the banks of which serve as a habitat for lions, he connected the roaring of lions due to burning thirst, the close proximity of the desert and the huge stretches of uninhabited land, places covered with reeds and sedges. Therefore, through the mouth of the prophet it is said: A lion comes out of the Jordan (Jer. 4:7), to show that Nebuchadnezzar came out of his settlements against Jerusalem, like a lion from his den. Or in other words: the sound of lions roaring, for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste, [i.e. e. the prophet] says: the cry of the elders is because the church is destroyed, from where they always expected help for themselves and where lions were once raised, [i.e. e. people] fair, warlike and powerful. Zechariah 11:4–5. This says the Lord my God: Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which those who own them killed, and did not spare them, but sold them, saying: Blessed is the Lord, we have become rich, and their shepherds did not spare them. LXX: This says the Lord Almighty: Feed the sheep of the slaughter, which those who owned them killed and did not express regret; and those who sold them said: Blessed be the Lord, and we became rich, and their shepherds did not suffer at all over them. - Where the prophecy is very clear, and the translation itself restores the proper order of past events, interpretation in a figurative sense is unnecessary, and there is no need to assert that there are both good and bad shepherds, and that this applies to both the New Testament and the Old Testament people, that is, both to the priests and leaders of the Jews, and to the bishops and elders of the Christians; the shepherds who were careless and led one of the little ones into temptation, and these are the ones who tend the sheep of the slaughter, do not suffer over them at all, do not grieve and cannot say with the Apostle: Who is tempted, but I am not on fire? (2 Cor. 11:29); they sell the nations entrusted to their care, as it is written: Who devour my people as food of bread (Ps. 52:5) and become rich through the death of others, praising those who gain wealth, and blessing the unjust. Let others explain this passage as they wish; and we will adhere to the order of explanation that we have already adopted once. Since Lebanon was opened, and its cedars and firs were burned with flame, and the cry of the shepherds was heard, and the roaring of lions, because all the beauty and pride of the Jordan was devastated and destroyed; then the Lord my God says to me: “O prophet Zechariah, my speech is addressed to you! Feed the sheep of the slaughter, that is, let those who are later to be killed by enemies feed and grow.” These sheep and these herds were killed by the rulers of the Romans, who took possession of them by right of victory over them; They did not show compassion, or when sacrificing, they did not feel sorrow, that is, they did not suffer any disaster for such cruelty and sold what they kept not out of mercy, but for the sake of profit. We will read stories about past events and traditions of the Jews, mourning the fact that in the tent of Abraham, where the famous market now takes place annually, after the final defeat during Hadrian, many thousands of people were sold, and those who could not be sold were resettled in Egypt and died either during a shipwreck, or from hunger, or during the massacre of the rebel peoples. Thus, the Romans are precisely those victors and avengers of God who killed, but did not grieve, sold livestock and said: Blessed is the Lord, we have become rich. These words contain the following thought: “The Jews offended [God] with their sins; therefore we oppress them and become rich by receiving payment for them.” And it is not surprising, he says, when the enemies, by the right of the victors, killed livestock and did not regret it, sold it and boasted of their atrocity, for their shepherds and teachers themselves did not spare them, and through their fault the herd was given over to the wolves. Zechariah 11:6–7. And I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord: Behold, I will deliver people, every one into the hands of his neighbor, and into the hands of his king, and they will smite the earth, and I will not pluck them out of their hands, and therefore I will feed the sheep of the slaughter, O poor ones of the flock! LXX: Therefore I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. And behold, I will deliver the people, every one into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king, and they shall smite the land, and I will not pluck [them] out of their hand, and I will feed the sheep of the slaughter in the land of Canaan. – What LXX translated in the last passage with the words: And I will feed the sheep of the slaughter in the land of Canaan is not in the Hebrew text, and this expression is not included in any other translation. So: since their shepherds did not spare them, and even themselves first of all devoured My people, then I will no longer spare the inhabitants of the land of Judea, says the Lord. Indeed, [here] we are talking about the land that he spoke about above, and not about the entire circle of the earth, as the Jews would like, incorrectly explaining this place in order to interpret this sentence of God’s judgment [over themselves] in a different sense for themselves. For after the destruction of the church, which was their fault, since they, having forty-two years of time after the suffering of the Lord, did not want to repent, I will raise up, He says, every man against his neighbor, and they will destroy themselves by mutual beating, or during the siege of the church, when the Roman army surrounds Jerusalem, indeed, then such hostile movements and disagreements will arise among the Jews themselves that the people will be divided into three parts. Let us read Joseph and the seven books about the Jewish captivity, and then we will see that this prophecy was actually fulfilled in past events. And they will strike, he says, the earth. There is no doubt that the Romans are meant here, because they destroyed the whole land and all the cities of the Jews. And I will not pluck them out of their hands. Listen, Judea, who delude themselves with vain hopes and do not listen to the Lord, who speaks truthfully: I will not pluck you out of their hand, because your captivity with the Romans will be eternal. And I will feed the sheep of the slaughter, so that the Jews will always prepare for death, because the decision of God's judgment is this: O you who are poor in the flock, i.e. righteous people of Israel, who believed in the Lord Jesus and received the Son of God, listen to what is said and know the mystery contained in the following passage. And what we read according to the text of the Seventy: And I will feed the sheep of the slaughter in the land of Canaan, we can understand that the people of Judah, destined for death, are scattered throughout the whole earth, that is, in the land of Canaan and in the countries of the pagans; and the Lord will feed him and feed him for sacrifice. Zechariah 11:7–9. And I took for myself two rods: one I called decency, and the other - bonds [or: surveyor's rope] and tended the flock. And I struck three shepherds in one month, and My soul grieved at them, because their souls also changed in relation to Me. And I said: I will not shepherd you: whatever dies, let him die, and whatever is killed, let him be killed, and let the rest devour, every one the flesh of his neighbor. LXX: And I will take for myself two rods: one I call decency, and the other a surveying rope, and I will feed the sheep. And I will destroy three shepherds in one month, and My soul will be burdened with [anger] against them, because their souls also cried out angrily against Me. And I said: I will not shepherd them; whatever dies, let him die, and whatever weakens, let him weaken, and let the rest devour, each one the flesh of his neighbor. - Above, he said: Therefore, the poor are from the flock and, having made a silence (facta ἀποσιωπίσει), implied: pay attention to the fact that the gates of Lebanon are open, and the oaks of Bashan, firs and cedars are cut, and then added a threat: No more will I spare the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. It seems that this is said about one people of Judah, because having beaten the prophets, the Jews even raised their hands against the Son of God and exclaimed in madness: His blood be on us and on our children. (Matthew 27:25). Now the Creator of all things and God sets forth the mysteries of His world and says that He had two rods, of which He called one decency [or: kindness], and the other - bonds, and that with these two rods He will feed the bound flock: He will smite three shepherds in one month, and He will be sad or indignant, or, as the Seventy translated, My soul will be burdened [with wrath] against them; there is no doubt that by this He points to the shepherds whom He struck in one month. He also adds the reason why He was so indignant with the shepherds that He struck them down in one month. Since their soul also changed in relation to Me. The meaning of this passage is this: They did not love Me in the fullness of their hearts; and the shepherds, the hirelings, did not love the True Shepherd: For the Good Shepherd lays down His soul for His sheep (John 10:11). Therefore, I pronounced my decision with indignation, and said to these shepherds whom I struck in My anger, or to the rest of the people, after beating the shepherds: I will not shepherd you; but that which chooses death, let it die according to [its own] desire, and let them devour each other and torment themselves with mutual murder. This we said, making a simple translation of words (παραφραστικῶς) in order to smooth the path for further explanation. The Creator and Shepherd, whose voice the sheep know and whom they follow, took for Himself two rods, or two σκυτάλας, i.e., rods, called in Hebrew macaloth (מקלות) to show that He acts like shepherds. One rod He called decency; [by this we mean the time] under Noah, when God patronized the human race with his blessing, while people had not yet desecrated the restored world with their sins. And the calling of all peoples is called decent and beautiful because there is nothing more just than that the Father of the whole world calls in the same way everyone whom he begot in the same way. He called the other rod bonds [or: land measuring rope], [to show the time] when the Most High divided the nations and scattered the sons of Adam, then He set boundaries for the nations according to the number of the Angels of God (Deut. 32:8); and His people Jacob became part of the Lord, and Israel the measure of His inheritance (Deut. 32:9). And I tended,” he says, “the flock [i.e. e. passed] either this Israel, or together with Israel the entire human race. And he struck, he says, three shepherds in one month. In the interpretations of some I read that the shepherds who were struck down as a result of the indignation of the Lord are understood to be priests, false prophets and kings of the Jews, and that after the suffering of Christ at one time everything was struck down, as Jeremiah speaks of: The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? Keeping the law they did not know Me, and the shepherds betrayed Me, and the prophets proclaimed in the name of Baal and followed idols (Jer. 2:8). And not content with this interpretation, the said interpreter wants to understand by the three shepherds struck in one month those who sinned against the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, all heretics sin either in relation to one, or two, or all three persons of the Holy Trinity together. Let this interpreter assert what he pleases, for he should not speak ill of the understanding of another. But it seems to us that the three shepherds slain in one month were Moses, Aaron and Mary [Mariam]; Of these, Miriam died in the first month, called Nisan (ניםן), in the wilderness of Sin: in the same place and in the same month, as a result of the water of strife, Moses and Aaron were condemned not to enter the land of promise (Num. 20:10-13) And it came to pass that of those three leaders, one was struck with actual death, the other two were condemned to death by the sentence of divine judgment. “And My soul was indignant,” he says, “at them, that is, at the three shepherds whom I placed at the head of My flock, because their souls also changed regarding Me and they did not glorify Me at the waters of discord.” If we attribute the last words to the people, i.e. that the soul of the people has changed in relation to Me, then it must be interpreted as follows: I was indignant at them because they, hesitating between Me and idols, rebelled against Me in different ways. Therefore, in My indignation I said to Moses: I will not shepherd you: leave Me, and I will scatter you (Ex. 32:10). And when in anger He says: Leave Me, by this He calls for petition, and shows that He can be restrained [from anger]. That which dies, let it die; and whatever is killed, let it be killed; let the bodies of all lie in the desert, and let these people, like beasts, inflict wounds on each other in internecine struggle, and let not one of them enter the land of promise. Some understand by this a two-fold calling: the calling of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, the first concerning Israel, and the last Christians. But since the calling of Christians was postponed [to the future], and the Jews were preserved and educated by God, they were not attentive enough [to Him]. Zechariah 11:10–11. And I took My rod, which was called propriety, and cut it, to invalidate My covenant which I had made with all nations, and it was invalidated on that day, and thus the poor of the flock, who watch before Me, knew that this was the word of the Lord. LXX: And I will take My beautiful rod and throw it away to destroy My covenant, which I commanded to all nations, and it will be destroyed on that day, and the Canaanites, the sheep kept for Me, will know that this is the word of the Lord. - After calling Israel and taking another rod, called the surveying rope, the Lord took the first rod, - [i.e. e.] all the nations of the earth - a rod that was called beautiful, and cut them off from serving Himself, since they worshiped idols and all together turned away and became indecent (Ps. 13:3). And showing more clearly what this rod is, He added: To invalidate My covenant, which I made with all nations. Indeed, as soon as Israel was accepted, many pagans were rejected, and as soon as the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue was born - about whom it is later said in the Gospel that at the age of twelve she fell ill and died - the bleeding woman (αἱμο ῤῥ οοῦσα) began to bleed and suffer from continuous illness (Mark 5:25-42; Matthew 9:18-25). And,” he says, “My covenant, which I entered into with all nations, was turned into nothingness.” And the poor of the herd, i.e. The people of Israel, who kept My commandments, understood that this is the word of the Lord, that is, that, by the will of the Lord, the nations that reject Him are rejected, and believing Israel is accepted in the person of Abraham. Instead of what we translated: And the poor of the flock thus knew, the Seventy translated: And the Canaanites, the sheep kept by Me, will know, as some others have translated: The people of Judah will know, to whom it is said: The seed of Canaan, and not of Judah (Dan. 13:56), kept for My great sacred rites; on the other hand, since the word Canaanites means: ready for humiliation, this means that those who were once prepared [by God] for humiliation and abandoned by Him will know the Lord. And why Seventy instead of what we translated: In this way the poor were transferred from the flock by the Canaanites, the reason is quite clear: among the Jews, chen (כן) means in this way, and anie (עניי) - poor; Seventy, linking two words into one, instead in this way the poor (chen anie – כן עניי) read the name of the Canaanite tribe. Zechariah 11:12–13. And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, then bring My payment, but if not, then calm down; and they weighed out My payment - thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Throw them [or: this] into the furnace [or: to the potter], a fair price at which I am valued by them. And I took thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the furnace into the house of the Lord. LXX: And I will say to them: If it is good in your sight, then decide whether to give My wages or refuse, and they determined My wages to be thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me: Put them in the furnace and judge: is it rightly valued, as I was valued for them? And I took thirty pieces of silver and put them in the furnace in the house of the Lord. – When the poor of the Israelite flock, those who keep My commandments, know that what has been said is the word of the Lord, and that what I have said is true, he says to them, that is, to the poor of the flock: “If it pleases you, for you are people, and I once created you free and once said in the wilderness: If you listen to Me, then you will taste the goodness of the earth (Is. 1:19), then in return for the fact that I rejected the entire human race and I chose you for His special flock, and, being the Creator of all, He desired a small measure; pay Me My wages, that is, keep My commandments. If you do not want to pay, and it is not pleasing in your eyes to judge the price of My name, then refuse openly and do what you want.” It is true that then they answered Moses: We will do everything that the Lord says (Ex. 24:3). But at the end of time, because I chose them from among the nations and freed them from the iron furnace of Egypt, they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as My payment, giving them to Judas the traitor for My blood (Matthew 26:15). And said,” says the Prophet, “the Lord or the Savior Himself, to whom the first words belong, and He testifies that the Father speaks to Him, [said] to me: Throw him into the furnace; in Hebrew, instead of the last word there is Joser (יוער), i.e. πλαστήν, which we can convey with the words: sculptor and potter. And the meaning is this: Throw My price to that potter who is the Creator and Sculptor of everything. And he did not say: take it, but throw it away, so that the payment for the Lord would be weighed and assessed by the Artist and Sculptor himself. And in mockery (εἰρωνικῶς) His price, that is, the price of the Divine Majesty - seeing himself betrayed for such a cheap price as thirty pieces of silver - He calls decent: Decent, - he says, - the price at which I am valued by them. But this should be expressed even more concisely with the ridicule and contempt of the speaker: My people and the once poor of the flock, and those whom I have chosen to be my sons, judged using the purchase and sale price! “And I took, says the Lord through the prophet, as the Lord commanded me, thirty pieces of silver, and did not put them aside, but threw them into the house of the Lord to the sculptor. I made sure that the traitor in the house of the Lord returned them to the priests and Pharisees, and the betrayer himself confessed: I sinned by selling righteous blood (Matthew 27:4). And they, since this was the price of blood, did not want to put them in the corbona (corbona), that is, in the treasury (gazophylacio), but bought for them a potter’s field for the burial of strangers. Indeed, we all, who were strangers and sojourners of the law, after redemption by His most precious blood, are buried and rest in the house of the Creator of all and the Artist. Instead of sculptor and artist, I first translated statuarium, keeping in mind the dual meaning of this word, which means both. - The Jews, explaining this passage with some slyness, by thirty pieces of silver they mean thirty prescriptions of the law, which the law commands to be fulfilled, and then thirty-six other prescriptions about what is prohibited in the law: they are supposedly commanded that they return the silver of the commandments of the Lord to the Sculptor and Artist to their God, and since they did not want to do this, they were rejected. I only wanted to briefly show what they think in order to [quickly] move on to what follows; It is boring to reveal in detail their very extensive explanation. Zechariah 11:14. And I cut off My other rod, called the surveying rope, to break the brotherhood between Judas and [Vulg. adds: between] Israel. LXX: And I threw away another rod, called the surveying rope, in order to break the covenant between Judah and Israel: - I remember (novi) that regarding this passage I read a very lengthy explanation, or rather an inexplicable confusion of some writer, borrowing from the prophet Ezekiel the word about the union of two branches into one and adapting to the above passage everything that can be thought about agreement between Judah and Ephraim spiritually. And we will follow the order we previously adopted. After the Lord was valued by the Jews at thirty pieces of silver, and was crucified, and they threw the price of His blood into the burial of the nations who had departed from the law and commandments of the Lord, immediately the Lord, without delaying His decision, said: I have circumcised My second rod; it was actually Mine, it was so connected with Me that the prophet Jeremiah called it a girdle, a girdle, or, in ordinary language, a belt around the loins. This second rod, in another place called the measuring rope and My inheritance, was thrown by Me in order to break the alliance, brotherhood and harmony that existed between Judah and Israel, and to divide the brothers among themselves; so that among the Apostles and those who repented there would again be the name of Judas and those who believe in their God; Israel will be called Ephraim and Joseph; [these are those] who, being in the hardness of their hearts, said: We have no king except Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore He does not say: To invalidate the agreement or covenant that I had with Judah and Israel - for even to this day He stretches out His hand to those who repent - but He says that from the same people He will divide among themselves some who believe and others who do not believe: Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth; I did not come to send peace on earth, but a sword, for I came to separate man from his father, and to [set up] a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies in his own household (Matthew 10:34-36). Zechariah 11:15–17. And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself the vessels of the foolish shepherd; For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the earth, who will not visit the forsaken, who will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the broken, and will not feed what stands, but will eat the flesh of the fat and tear off their hooves. O shepherd! O idol that leaves the flock! a sword on his hand and on his right eye, and his right eye will grow dim and dark. LXX: And the Lord said to me: Again, take for yourself the shepherd's vessels of an unskilled shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd on the earth, who will not visit the forsaken, who will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the broken, nor guide the healthy, but will eat the flesh of the elect and break their feet. O shepherds of vanity! O [shepherds] who leave the sheep! a sword on his hand and on his right eye: his hand will finally wither, and his right eye will be completely blind. - When he says: “Again, take for yourself the vessels of the foolish shepherd,” he shows that before He had already taken two rods for Himself, one called decency, the other - a surveying rope. And since he rejected them because of their vice and sin, and we, after the severance of the family ties between Judah and Israel, were grafted into the root of the good olive tree, and blindness partially struck the house of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles came in (Rom. 11:25); then now the prophet is told to announce the most important prophecy about a foolish or unskillful shepherd. There is no doubt that a foolish or unskillful shepherd is the Antichrist; it is said about him that he will come at the end of the world, and it is shown how he will come. And by the vessels of the shepherd we must understand his distinctive signs and his attire: a bag, a staff, a trumpet and a whistle. And just as once Isaiah, in order to foretell the captivity of the people, walks naked (Is. 20:2-4), and Jeremiah goes to the potter’s house to show both the destruction of Israel and the power of God with pieces of clay from a broken vessel that was on the circle and again dressed by the hands of the potter (Jer. 18:2-9); and how Ezekiel, to show the destruction of Jerusalem and the flight of Zedekiah, and the oppression awaiting the captives, not only with his words, but also with his behavior, makes a hole in the wall and pulls out [the rubble] on his shoulders (Ezek. 12:5-7); So now Zechariah takes on the appearance of a foolish, unskillful shepherd in order to proclaim the one who is coming. This shepherd will arise in Israel because the true Shepherd said: I will not shepherd you. This same shepherd is prophesied about under other names by the prophet Daniel (Dan.9:27) and in the Gospel (Mark 13:14) and in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians) - [prophesied under the name] the abomination of desolation that he should sit in the house of God and declare himself God; The prophet Isaiah also calls it arrogance (sensus magnus). And he came not to heal, but to destroy the flock of Israel. Indeed, the good shepherd visits the sick sheep, seeks out the scattered, brings the stragglers, supports the weary. On the contrary, the bad shepherd does the opposite and devours the flesh of the fat, tears off and breaks the hooves of sheep and lambs so that they do not walk correctly. The Jews accepted this shepherd, whom the Lord will kill with the spirit of His mouth and abolish with the revelation of His coming, so that those who did not believe the truth will not be saved, they will believe a lie and will be judged, since they have embraced unrighteousness. - After describing the wicked, unreasonable, unskillful shepherd, the prophetic speech turns to the shepherd himself: “O shepherd, oh idol!” The shepherd is so criminal that he is not called a worshiper of idols, but he himself receives the name of an idol when he calls himself God and wants to be worshiped by everyone. He left the herd that he had kept for such a long time to be torn apart by animals. A sword was on his hand and strength, and on his right eye, with which he supposedly penetrated so clearly into the mysteries of God that he saw more than all the previous prophets, so that he called himself the Son of God. And the sword here is of course the one about which we have already spoken above, and now we will say in part; Isaiah also speaks about him: My sword is drunk in heaven (Is. 34:5). And the sword of the Lord will be on his hand and on his right eye, so that his strength and all the audacity of his might will be completely exhausted, and the knowledge that he falsely boasted will be covered with eternal darkness. Zechariah 12:1–3. The burden of the word of the Lord is upon Israel: The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who establishes the earth, and who forms the spirit of man in it, said: Behold, I will make Jerusalem the height of intoxication for all the surrounding nations. But Judah will also be under siege against Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass on that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone of heaviness for all nations. All those who raised [Vulg. they will lift up] him, they will be torn to pieces by the strain, and all nations will be gathered against him [Vulg. all the kingdoms of the earth. LXX: Prophecy of the word of the Lord against Israel. Says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, establishes the earth and forms the spirit of man in it: Behold, I will establish Jerusalem as the doorposts of the doors that move for all [or: all] the surrounding nations and in Judea. And there will be a siege around Jerusalem; and it shall come to pass on that day that I will make Jerusalem a stone, which all nations will trample under foot; whoever tramples on him will mock him, and I will gather all the nations of the earth against him. – This passage from the book of the prophet Zechariah is explained in three ways, starting from the words: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a limit of intoxication for all the surrounding nations, to the place where it is said: O sword [spear – framea], rise up against My shepherd and against those who are like-minded with Me, says the Lord of hosts: Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered (Zechariah 13:7). In fact, some of the Jews think that this has already been partially fulfilled in the course of time, starting from Zerubbabel and ending with Q. Pompey, who of the Romans was the first to take Judea and the church, as Josephus [Flavius] writes about. And others think that this should be fulfilled at the end of the world, when the church will be restored: the unfortunate people of Judah are expecting this with their anointed one (ὴλειμμένψ suo), whom we have already seen above in the person of the foolish shepherd. And the third, that is, we who bear the name of Christ, affirm that this is being fulfilled daily until the end of the world and must be fulfilled in the Church. But in order not to increase the size of the book by presenting individual opinions, imagining that some say this, others understand it this way, and we understand it this way, we have presented [briefly] three interpretations, so that the prudent reader will understand from various methods of interpretation what should be adapted to what. So the Lord, who stretched out the sky like a skin, and solidified the earth in a large heap, and formed the spirit of man in it, is at the same time the Creator of all souls, so that He formed one living being (animal) from two essences - body and soul. As for the spirit, it is often used in the sense of the soul, for example: Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit (Luke 23:46), And: You will take away their spirit, and they will not be, and they will return to their dust (Ps. 103:29). So, the Creator of the universe and the Lord testifies to Himself that He will make Jerusalem the height of intoxication for all the surrounding nations, so that whoever reaches it will become drunk and fall down, or the very peak that he touched will collapse on him. But Judah, during the siege of Jerusalem, was taken by the nations and, entering into communication with them, [or into their society], he himself will be forced to participate in the investment of his capital. On the other hand, the Lord will make Jerusalem for everyone not only the height of intoxication, but also a heavy stone; if anyone wants to lift it, he will strain his strength (concisione lacerabitur). Indeed, all the kingdoms of the earth will gather against Jerusalem. There is a custom in the cities of Palestine, and to this day in all the cities of Judea, an ancient custom is preserved: in villages, cities and castles, they place round stones of very heavy weight, on which young men are in the habit of practicing, lifting them according to their strength: one to the knees, others to the waist, others to the shoulders and head, and revealing the extent of their strength. In the Athos fortress, near the image of Minerva, I saw a copper ball of enormous weight; Due to the weakness of [my] body, I could barely move this ball. And when he asked what its purpose was (quidnam sibi vellet), he received the answer from the inhabitants of the city that the strength of the wrestlers was tested over this bulk, and no one entered the competition before, by lifting the stone, he found out who could match whom. So, the meaning is this: I will make Jerusalem for all nations to be like a very heavy stone to lift. True, they will raise it and empty it, as much as they can; but, of necessity, during lifting and straining, this very heavy stone leaves some tear and scar in the bodies of the lifters. In relation to the Church, this can be interpreted as follows. All the persecutors who rebelled against the house of God will drink from his cup, which the prophet Jeremiah offers to all nations, so that they drink, become drunk, fall, vomit and go mad (Jer. 25:27). I know that during the persecution many of us were forced to fight against the Church; but the one who would like to lift this weight will indeed lift it and, due to the wrath of God with which He corrects sinners, will hold it in his hands; but for this he himself will not remain unpunished: he himself will be struck by the sword of God. Instead of the stone of heaviness, which we, according to our understanding, used for translation, Seventy translated: Stone trampled under foot by all nations; whoever tramples it (the stone, or Jerusalem) will mock [him]; the meaning of this place is quite clear; Jerusalem must be trampled underfoot in two ways: both by hostile nations and persecutors, and it must be the subject of reproach at the will of those who mock it. However, the above meaning should be considered more consistent with the truth. We have outlined the details briefly in order to finally achieve our goal and not confuse the reader’s soul, both with the mystery of the objects and with the prolixity of speech. Zechariah 12:4. On that day, says the Lord, I will smite every horse and every horseman to madness, and I will open my eyes against the house of Judah, and I will smite every horse of the nations with blindness. LXX: On that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will smite every horse with stupor, and its rider with madness; But I will open My eyes against the house of Judah, and I will smite all the horses of the nations with blindness. - At that time - this is what the word day means - when Jerusalem will be besieged so that even Judah will be forced to take part in the siege of it, and in the carnal and spiritual sense the Lord will stupefy the cavalry of all enemy nations, so that everyone who sees that they are defeated will become numb, and their horsemen will become insane under the yoke of great disasters, and the house of Judah will be forced to do something against their capital (metropolin) the Lord will open His eyes to have mercy on them and make them worthy of His face (aspectu), and will enlighten [them] with the light of His eyes; and he will strike all the horses of the nations with eternal blindness. What kind of horses in the spiritual sense should be understood, we said about this above: A horse is unreliable for salvation (Ps. 32:17) and: These are on chariots and these are on horses (Ps. 19:8) and so on and so forth. Also their horsemen, i.e. - as we said, - demons or false teachers, everyone will become numb and become insane, so that they will be forced to confess complete ignorance (nihil sapere). A very thick darkness, similar to what happened [in Egypt], when the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck with death (Ex. 11), will oppress them. And over the house of Judah, that is, over the people who confess God, bowed under the yoke of persecution and defeated in horror to the point that they are among the persecutors, the Lord will open His eyes to look at many who say to Him: Look at me and have mercy on me (Ps. 119:132) and so that they will be worthy to hear: The Lord will be your eternal light ( Isa.60:19). This is the defeat from the heaviest stone with which the Lord threatens His enemies who tried to lift and shake Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:5. And the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strong for me in the Lord of hosts, their God. LXX. And the leaders of the troops, that is, the commanders of thousands (οἱ χιλίαρχοι), of Judah will say in their hearts: We will find for ourselves those who live in Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God. - When the Lord opens His eyes to Judah and strikes with blindness all the horses of the nations, then the leaders of Judah, as stated above in the words: But Judah will [participate] in the siege against Jerusalem, will express wishes in their hearts, for they will not dare to speak freely [and openly], that Jerusalem will win, and that Judah, defeated along with his enemies, will triumph in his victory along with his fellow citizens. Instead of what we translated: May they be strengthened for me, and by the Seventy: Let us find for ourselves (εὐρήσομεν ἑαυτοῖς), in Hebrew there is emsa li (אמעה לי), translated by Aquila: καρτέρησόν μοι, which means: strengthen for me. And the meaning of the place is this: The commanders of thousands, the leaders of the troops, the leaders of Judah will desire and express their sincere thought in the deepest recesses of their souls that God would strengthen the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord His God, and that they would defeat their enemies. In a mysterious sense, the leaders and commanders of the troops are the apostles and all the apostolic men and teachers who stood at the head of the army of Christ, who wanted to find for themselves not anyone else, but only those who live in Jerusalem, that is, the vision of the world, and who live in the Lord Almighty, their God. From among these leaders was the Apostle Paul, who found Titus and Timothy, Luke and Silvanus, as well as Peter, who raised Mark, the writer of the Gospel [or: in the Gospel], and the other apostles, who filled the whole world with their teaching and instructions, in order to have the inhabitants of Jerusalem as disciples. Zechariah 12:6–7. In that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace among the wood, and like a lamp of fire among the hay; and they will devour to the right and to the left all the nations around, and Jerusalem will again dwell in its place, in Jerusalem. And the Lord will save the tents of Judah, as at the beginning, so that the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. LXX: On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a burning brand among the wood and like burning hay among the stalks, and they will devour to the right and to the left all the people of the Lord around, and Jerusalem will dwell in itself; and the Lord will save the tents of Judah, as at the beginning, so that the glory of the house of David will not be magnified, and the exaltation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem over Judah. - When the leaders of Judah say in their hearts: Strengthen me, O Lord, those besieged in Jerusalem, so that they, defeated due to their weakness, will gain the upper hand with Your help: then I, the Lord Almighty their God, will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace among the fire, and like a burning torch among the stalks, so that they destroy the enemies with whom they have united with feigned friendship. And they will devour on the right and on the left, and destroy all the nations in the surrounding area, so that Jerusalem will again dwell in its place and no longer be afraid of hostile raids. They will also restore the cities, fortresses, settlements and individual dwellings of the tribe of Judah, which were destroyed and desolate, and will restore them in the same form in which they were before the destruction, and never again will the royal house, nor the nobles and nobles of the tribe of Judah, nor the inhabitants of Jerusalem be magnified in the eyes of the tribe of Judah because it was under their control and subject to their determinations; but they will know that victory over both them and the tribe of Judah belongs to the Lord. In relation to events, this prophecy has either already been fulfilled or is still about to be fulfilled. We, however, leaving to the judgment of God the certainty of the fulfillment of events and [their interpretation] to the saints of God, who received from God the spirit of wisdom and truth, we will say that during the persecution against the church, the leaders and rulers of the Christian people (nominis), about which we spoke above, when the Lord returns peace to Jerusalem and kills the enemy with the spirit of His mouth, [these leaders] will be like a fiery furnace in the midst of wood, to devour the wood, not bearing fruit, and like burning coals among the stubble, to set on fire all that [like chaff] has no grain and is easily carried away by every wind of doctrine. And, he says, the leaders of Judah and the rulers will devour to the right and to the left those who did not want to go the middle way and did not know that extremes (ὑπερβολάς) are evil; Therefore, the people of the Lord promise not to turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but to walk in the right way (Num. 20:17). The right path is extreme moderation, which the Greeks express by the word φειδωλία (frugality); the left path is luxury, and the middle and right path is abstinence. So, all those on the right side are those to whom it is said: Do not be too righteous (Eccl. 7:16); and on the left are those who hear: The paths on the left are corrupt ways (Prov. 4:28); the consuming fire will destroy [them]; and after the destruction of the enemies and their disappearance, Jerusalem, that is, the Church, will again receive its former glory, and will be in its position; and the tents of Judah will be saved; congregations of Christians will be spread throughout the world; from them, as if from tents and tents, we wish to go to that house that is not made with hands, and to the heavenly Jerusalem. Therefore, the dwellings of the people and all who bear the name Christians and are counted among the common people will receive the former peace after the rulers of the churches are besieged and put to flight, so that teachers and mentors do not imagine that peace returned to the churches as a result of their teaching and wisdom, but believe that as a result of help from the Lord. Zechariah 12:8. On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them will be like David and the house of David, like the [house] of God, like the angel of the Lord before them. LXX: And it will come to pass on that day that the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and whoever on that day is not strong among them will be like David and the house of David, like the house of God and the angel of the Lord before them. - After the victory won by Judas and after the Lord restored the tents to their original state, so that the royal house would no longer be at all magnified before the people, on that day at that time the Lord - with the help of which Judah will devour enemies right and left - will patronize those besieged in Jerusalem, and everything will change into such prosperity and joy that those who were considered the lowest will be like the royal house, and the one who was from the royal house will be like from the house God, that is, as if of an angelic order, the messenger of the Lord in the face of those who at that time will be saved again. In a figurative sense, this means: the Lord will patronize those in the Church when peace comes after the most severe persecution, when [the Church-Jerusalem] is adorned with what is expressed in the meaning of his name: after all, Jerusalem means: a vision of the world. And those who fought in the name of the church and confessed the Lord during the persecution will be so blessed that the one who seemed lesser and, as a person, revealed weakness in some sin or glory will be placed in the ranks of teachers; and teachers who have retained their dignity will be like the house of God, and like the angel of the Lord, for we, who were appointed to live on earth and toil in various ways by the sweat of our brow, work in every possible way in order to be transformed to receive angelic honors. Zechariah 12:9–10. And it shall come to pass on that day that I will take care to destroy all the nations that rush against Jerusalem, and I will pour out upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and prayer. LXX: And it shall come to pass on that day that I will take care to remove all the nations that rush against Jerusalem, and I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and mercy. – On the day when the Lord will patronize the inhabitants of Jerusalem, He will take care to crush all the nations that are heading against Jerusalem. But He will crush them not to destruction, but to exaltation, so that they will cease to be at enmity against Jerusalem and begin to be among the inhabitants of Jerusalem; indeed, if He created everything out of nothing, then, of course, He did not create it in order to destroy, but so that what was created would be saved by His mercy. Therefore, in the [book of] Wisdom attributed to Solomon (if, however, anyone wants to accept this book) we find the words: He created so that all things could be, and the births of the world would be saving, and there would be no deadly poison for them. (Wis.1:14). In fact, just as the Lord came to seek what was lost and saved the human race, so He will destroy nations only in the sense in which they were hostile nations. Then it follows: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and mercy. Paul also wrote about this grace: The grace of God was poured out into our [or: your] hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5:5) And in the above-mentioned scroll [of Wisdom] there is a place: Who would search for what is in heaven, if it were not for the fact that You gave Wisdom and sent Your Holy Spirit from on high, and thus the ways of those living on earth were straightened, and people learned whatever they wanted to you (Wis.9:16–18). And through Isaiah God says: I have given My Spirit upon you (Is. 42:1), and again Scripture mentions the same thing: I have given My Spirit upon him (ibid.). The word outpouring gives an idea of ​​​​the breadth, as is obvious from what we said: The grace of God is poured out in your hearts. And in another place from the person of God it is said: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28). And who is this Spirit of grace, the same Apostle to the Hebrews speaks about this: How much more severe punishment in your opinion is the one who tramples on the Son of God, and considers the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, to be defiled, and brings dishonor to the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29)! That is why the gifts of grace of the Holy Spirit are called different. And in his greeting the Apostle says: Grace and peace be multiplied to you (1 Peter 1:2), so that after He forgave us our sins, peace also came through [His] mercy. The Jews indicate that this has already been partially accomplished, but will more fully come true at the end of the world. And we think and affirm that after the coming of Jesus Christ this happens daily. Zechariah 12:10. And they will look at Me, whom they have pierced, and they will bitterly mourn him, as if they were the only begotten, and they will grieve over him, as they usually grieve over the death of the firstborn. LXX: And they will look at Me, because they have made an attack, and they will mourn bitterly, as for the most beloved, and they will grieve greatly, as for the firstborn. – The Hebrew letters Dalet and Res, i.e. D and R are similar to each other and differ [from one another] only by a small dash at the top. From this it happened that those who read the same word differently translate it one way or another (aliter atque aliter). Let us give one example to make it clearer: And Samuel was clothed with ephod bad (1 Samuel 2:18), for bad means linen, which is why baddim is called linen. Instead, both in Hebrew and Latin, some incorrectly read: ephod bar, although bar means: either son, or: sheaf of wheat, or: chosen, or οὖ λος, i.e. curly (wavy). Already from this example it is clear what an error occurred in the translation of this passage. In fact, if the word דקרו is read dacaru, then it will turn out ἐξεκέντησαν, i.e. wounded with a point, or pierced, and if, after mixing the letters, one is read instead of the other, i.e. רקדו (racadu), then it will turn out ὠ ρχήσαντο, i.e. bumped into: the error occurred due to the similarity of the letters to one another. But the Evangelist John, who drew wisdom from the breasts of the Lord (John 21:20), a Jew from the Jews, whom the Savior loved primarily, did not particularly care about what was literally contained in the Greek text, but translated letter to letter what he read in the Hebrew text, and which, according to his testimony, was fulfilled during the suffering of the Lord (John 19:37). If anyone does not agree to accept this, let him indicate the evidence from which place St. John brought this scripture; and when he does not find this, he will inevitably be forced to accept the truth. And the Jews will mourn over the Lord, as if over the only begotten and the firstborn, which also means the Lord the Savior, who is both the only begotten and the firstborn. He is called the Only Begotten by the property of his nature; the firstborn, raised from the dead by the Apostle (Col. 1:18). Instead of the only begotten, the Seventy was translated: most beloved, which we read about in the Gospel: This is My most beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then they will weep for Him who was crucified by them, when they see Him reigning in glory. The Greek word κατωρχήσαντο is composed not only from the concept of reproach, but also from the concept of jumping, precisely because they cried out against the Lord with mocking jumping: Wah! You who destroy the church and build it up in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross (Matthew 27:40). They spoke these and similar words in mockery and circled madly in some kind of frantic galloping. Zechariah 12:11–14. On that day there will be a great cry in Jerusalem, like the cry of Adadremon in the field of Mageddon. And the earth and families will weep, each separately; the family of the house of David separately, and their women [or: wives] separately (The Hebrew word nese, i.e. γυνκὰικες means both). The family of Nathan's house is separate, and their women are separate; the family of the house of Levi separately and their women separately, the family of Shemea separately and their women separately. All other families are each family separately, and their women are separate. LXX: In that day there will be a great cry in Jerusalem, like the groan of a pomegranate tree that is cut down in the field, and the earth will weep among nations and families. The tribe of David is separate, and their women are separate, the tribe of the house of Judah is separate, and their women are separate, the tribe of the house of Nathan is separate, and their women are separate, the tribe of the house of Levi is separate, and their women are separate, the tribe of Simeon is separate, and their women are separate; all other tribes are separate, and their women are separate. - Adadremon ( הדדרמון), instead of which the LXX translated: ῥ ο ὼ νος, there is a city near Jezreelem, called in ancient times by this name, and now called Maximianopolis on the field of Mageddon, where Josiah, the righteous king, was defeated by Pharaoh named Necho (2 Kings 23:29), about whom Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, and that he wrote this book is evidenced by the book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 35:25). Thus, just as at that time, after the kings sinned [before God], all the hope of the people was in Josiah, and after his murder a great outcry arose in the city, as we read in the Hebrew text (Lamentations 4:20): The breath of our lips, the Anointed Lord is taken away in our sins, to him we said: Under your shadow we will live among the nations (let others attribute this place according to its spiritual meaning to the Lord Jesus): so after the crucifixion of the Savior, weeping will resume in Jerusalem, as it once was in Adadremom on the field of Mageddon. And the following words: Each family will weep separately, or: tribes and tribes separately, the family of the house of David separately, and their wives, or: their women separately indicate that during suffering and cries we should not serve marriage or marriage matters. Therefore, in view of the imminent captivity, Joel says to the Jews: The bridegroom will come out of the bridal chamber [or: bed] and the bride from the bridal chamber (Joel 2:16); and when the flood came, Noah was commanded: Enter into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives (Gen. 6:18), and then at the end of the flood he says [or: it is said] to him: Go out, you, and your wife, and your sons, and their wives (Gen. 8:16). Thus, separated in the ark under threat of danger, they, upon returning to earth (mundo), could [again] serve the continuation of the race in children. This happens not only in times of trouble, but also during prayer, when we want to beg the Lord, as the Apostle says about this in his letter to the Corinthians: Do not deny one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you can watch in prayer (1 Cor. 7:5). So now also the tribe of the house of David, and the tribe of the house of Nathan, and the tribe of the house of Levi, and the tribe of the house of Shemea, are separated from their wives to mourn the only begotten and firstborn of the Lord Jesus, of whom they said: His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25). In the person of David, of course, the royal tribe, i.e. f Judas; in the person of Nathan the prophetic rank is indicated; the name of Levi refers to the high priests, for from him came the priesthood; in the person of Samey we mean teachers, for many teachers were born from this tribe. He kept silent about the other tribes, because they had no advantage in dignity. And in his words: All the other tribes, each tribe (tribus et tribus) separately and their wives separately, he means everything in general, without naming them. It must also be said that under ῥ ο ὼ ν the LXX refers not only to the pomegranate tree, that is, the Phoenician apple, but to the place planted with these trees, about which the bridegroom speaks in a spiritual sense in the Song of Songs: I went down to see in the shoots by the stream, whether the grapes had budded, whether the pomegranates had blossomed (Song. 6:10). Indeed, the Savior descended into the stream of this age and into the stormy waters from which He drank, as His prototype Elijah says (1 Kings 17:2-8), so that after the flowering of the grapes and the pomegranate tree, he could gather the fruits of both and, having watered his Church, hear from her: You will give me a sweet-smelling wine to drink, the wine of my pomegranates (Song. 8:2). A drink of this kind not only quenches the heat of the stomach, but, as they say, cures its pain and helps the rest of the insides. There is nothing more beautiful than this apple, for its redness indicates the timid modesty of the Church; and in the correct arrangement of the grains are the degrees and members of the whole body, distributed to the performance of separate services. When the Savior does not find fruit in the vineyard of this kind and apples, He will say: The Father will remove every branch that does not bear fruit, and every branch that bears fruit will purge it, so that it will bear greater fruit (John 15:2). And in another place John the Baptist exclaims: The ax has already been laid at the root of the trees (Matthew 3:10), every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire (Luke 3:9). During the cutting of vices or evil, when on the day of judgment all external dignity (nomina dignitatum) will be put aside and the word of Scripture will be fulfilled: Behold the man and his works, and the wheat will be separated from the chaff (Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17) there will be a great cry not in another place, but in Jerusalem; for He will begin punishment and judgment from the saints, and kings, high priests, prophets and teachers will strike their chests with their hands when they see that the most beautiful, in their opinion, fruits have been cut off, and He whom they pierced reigns in His and His Father’s majesty. Zechariah 13:1. On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and to those living in Jerusalem for the washing of sinners and uncleanness (menstruatae). LXX: On that day every place will be open in the house of David and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, both for travel and for irrigation. – The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47:2-5) also reads about this spring coming from the house of David, that the spring will break through and grow into a river; which is called the water of remission and indulgence; and he will continue his journey to the desert and to the sea, now called the Dead Sea, and will revive all the fish, and on both banks of the river various kinds of trees will grow, abundantly bearing more and more fruits every month. And so that we know that the house, that is, the church of God, is precisely the house of David, the house that in Ezekiel is called the house of God, in Zechariah is called the house of David. This source, coming from the house of God, relates to the church and to the knowledge of the Scriptures in order that we may all be reborn in Christ and that our sins may be forgiven in the water of baptism. There is nothing more unclean than a woman during purification; she makes everything she touches unclean; however, even its impurity is washed away by the baptism of Christ. Instead of washing away sins and uncleanness (menstruatae) LXX translated: movement and irrigation; this is because we move from the law to the Gospel, from the letter to the spirit, from the shadow [of truth] to the truth; instead of the short-term present, the eternal future comes. And irrigation means the blood of the Lord, about which the Apostle Peter speaks: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2). And again: Knowing that you were not redeemed with silver and perishable gold, but with precious blood, like that of a Lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Pet. 1:18-19). The one who is watered and redeemed by it can speak with the prophet: You will sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop and I will be cleansed; you will wash me and I will become whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9). Zechariah 13:2. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will scatter the names of idols from the earth, and shall be mentioned no more, and I will cast out the prophets [Vulg.: false prophets] and the unclean spirit from the earth. LXX: And it will come to pass on that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will scatter all the names of idols from the earth, and there will be no more remembrance of them, and I will remove false prophets and the unclean spirit from the earth. – On that day, which he often mentions, all idols will be removed from the earth, that is, those idols about which the Psalmist speaks: The idols of the pagan nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands (Ps. 134:15), so that there is no other religion except the faith of the Christian people. The prophet wrote about these same idols: Wail, you graven images in Jerusalem and Samaria, for as I did to Samaria and her graven images, so will I do to your idols (Is. 10:11). Or the prophet speaks about those idols about which the prophet speaks: The Spirit clearly says that in the very last times some will depart from the faith, listening to seducing spirits and the teachings of demons in the hypocrisy of liars, having a seared conscience (1 Tim. 4: 1-2). Indeed, just as idols are made by the hand of an artist, so the perverted teaching of heretics turns into an idol what it tries to counterfeit, and results in people worshiping the Antichrist instead of Christ. Instead of false prophets, the Hebrew simply says: prophets, i.e. nebim (נביאים); however, this also means false prophets; but even among the pagans the priests of idols are called prophets. Zechariah 13:3. And it will come to pass, when anyone begins to prophesy further, that his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say to him: You will not live, for you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord. And his father and his mother who gave birth to him [Vulg: his parents] will smite him when he begins to prophesy. LXX: And it shall come to pass, if a man prophesies further, that his father and his mother, who begat him, will say to him: Thou shalt not live, for thou shalt speak a lie in the name of the Lord, and his father and his mother, who begat him, will hinder him, when he prophesies. – After the expulsion from the earth of idolatrous names, and false prophets, and the unclean spirit that spoke in them, if anyone further desires to test and prophesy on behalf of the Lord, his father and mother will immediately forget that they are parents, in order to preserve the service of God, and pronounce a death sentence on their son. The thoughts of everyone in relation to God will be so pious that they will not expect public judgment, but those who find themselves so will perish by the judgment of their parents. In place of what we translated: they will strike him in Hebrew, we find the same word as above dacaru (דקרו). So on what basis did the LXX interpreters want to translate there with the word κατωρχήσαντο, i.e. they jumped on, or quarreled, or, if we translate word for word, galloped against him, and here with the word σνμποδιοῦσιν, i.e. will hinder [place chains] when Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion both here and there translated: struck? Whoever prophesies falsely is rightly called a man, because the Apostle says: For when there are envious disputes and disagreements among you, are you not carnal, are you not acting like men (1 Cor. 3:3). And in the psalms: You, like people, will die and you will fall like one of the princes (Ps. 82:7). But those unworthy of the spirit of God will deserve to hear: My Spirit will not abide in these people, for they are carnal (Gen. 6:3). Zechariah 13:4–6. And it will happen on that day: the soothsayers will be confused, each from his vision, when he prophesies and will not be covered with coarse linen clothing to deceive, but [each] will say: I am not a prophet, I am a farmer, for Adam has served as an example to me from my youth. And it will be said to him: What are these wounds among your hands? And he will say: Thus I was wounded in the house of those who loved me. LXX: And it will happen in that day: the prophets will be confused, each one from his vision, when he prophesies; and they will dress themselves in hairy skin, because they have lied. And he will say: I am not a prophet, because a man begat me from my youth; and I will say to him: What are these plagues in the midst of your hands? And he will say: By them I was wounded in the house of him who loved me. - Anyone who tries to prophesy when he is condemned by his parents’ court, and the falsity of his prophecy is proven by the fact that what was predicted turned out the other way around, will be embarrassed by his vision and will no longer be covered with a hair shirt to deceive. For this was the custom of the prophets, that when they called the people to repentance, they dressed themselves in hair shirts. Therefore, Isaiah is also commanded to take off the sackcloth from around his loins and walk naked (Is. 20:2); although it was not a time of repentance, but a time of captivity threatening to come. Thus, this false prophet will not take on prophetic clothing, so as not to deceive some simpletons in alien clothing and coverings, but will prefer to plow the land with plows and show himself as a person devoted to cultivating the land, and obeying the definition of the Divine judgment spoken over Adam: Cursed is the earth for your work, in your labors you will eat from it all the days of your life, thorns and thorns will produce it is yours, and you will eat the grass of the ground and eat bread by the sweat of your brow. (Gen.3:17-18). And when he shows that he was born to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, another will ask him: What do these wounds and marks of blows mean in the midst of your hands? The meaning is: Why are you tied to the gallows? Why are your hands pierced with nails? What have you done that you are being subjected to this punishment and torment? And he will answer and say: “I accepted these wounds and these ulcers as condemned by the verdict of my parents and those who did not hate me, but loved me.” And after the lies are driven away, the truth will prevail so much that even the one punished for his crime will admit that he was punished fairly. The words of the scripture: They will not be covered with coarse linen clothing in order to deceive, the Jews explain this way: And those who in Isaiah are called τριχιῶντας, that is, covered with hair, will not be filled with the spirit of demons, so that with the help of clothing invented for this case they will not pass themselves off as speaking in the name of God, or: so as not to deny God, for the word chaesu (כהשו) can be translated by both the word lie and the word deny. Zechariah 13:7–9. O sword, rise up against My shepherd and against the man who cleaves to Me, says the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. And they will be throughout the whole earth, says the Lord: two parts will be scattered in it, and they will not be, but the third part will remain in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and I will burn them as silver is burned, and I will test them as gold is tested. He will call on My name, and I will hear him; I will say: You are my people, and he will say: The Lord is my God. LXX: O sword, rise up against My shepherd and against My fellow citizen, says the Lord Almighty. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will bring My hand against the shepherds. And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that two parts shall perish, and they shall be no more, and the third part shall remain therein, and I will cause the third part to pass through the fire, and I will burn them as silver is burnt, and I will try them as gold is tested. He will call on My name, and I will hear him and speak. These are My people; and he will say: The Lord my God are you. – Instead of the word: sword [framea - spear], translated in the LXX by the word: ῥ ομφαία, in Hebrew we find the word: areb (רדב), and in Aquila and Symmachus μάχαιρα i.e. short sword or dagger. Where we translated: to a man who cleaves to Me (προςκεκολημμένονμοι), Akila translated: to a man of My kindred (σύμφυλόνμου); Symmachus translated: to a husband from my people, which in Hebrew is expressed by the word amithi (עסיתי), LXX - to the husband of his fellow citizen, Theodotion - to his neighbor's husband, reading at the end of the expression instead of the letter iod the letter wau, which differ from each other only in their size; if you read iod, it will mean: Mine and if wow, then: his. - I am surprised that some want, with the help of allegorical interpretations, to weaken this prophecy, attributed by the Evangelist Matthew to the Lord Savior, as fulfilled after His disciples fled during suffering; and the fact that [these interpreters] do not adhere to the truth at a time when they want to show that they know more than others. In fact, the Evangelist Matthew says: Then Jesus said to them: This night you will all be offended because of Me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Matthew 26:31). And again: And all this happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left Him and fled (Matthew 26:56). And one should not think that this testimony was borrowed from another place, because in the Gospel God says that the shepherd is slain by Him, and in this place we read the command to the sword or knife: Smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. This sword is that sword, and that spear, about which the Lord speaks in the twenty-first psalm to the Father: Pluck out my soul from the sword and from the hand of my only dog ​​(Ps. 21:21). The prophet Amos also wrote about this spear: All the sinners of the earth will die by the sword (Am.9:10). In a literal sense, this cannot matter, for many sinners die from shipwreck, others from poison; some drown in water, others are destroyed by fire. And by this sword and this spear all the sinners of the earth are destroyed [or punished], and the black Ethiopians, about whom Zephaniah testifies with sacred lips, saying: And you Ethiopians will be beaten with my sword (Zeph. 2:12). – After the good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11) and said to the Father: He who was smitten by you, they pursued and added [suffering] to the sickness of My wounds (Ps. 69:27), was smitten by the Father, and the Man who cleaves to God. - Who said: I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:11) - was crucified (rerendit in paitibulo) and said: Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit (Luke 23:46), immediately the sheep were scattered, [i.e. e.] the whole multitude of believers in Christ. And the Lord turned His hand, as we read in LXX, against the shepherds, by which many incorrectly (male) mean the princes of the Jewish people. And [it is better to understand how], as it is written in Hebrew: on the little ones, to whom the Lord said in the Gospel: Fear not, little flock (Luke 12:32) and in Isaiah: Here am I and the children, or: the little ones whom God has given me (Isaiah 8:18). And there were two parts in all the land of Jews and Gentiles, which alike perished, and were no more; Indeed, during His suffering the word of the Psalmist was fulfilled, who says: Save me, Lord, for there is no saint (Ps. 11:2) and: All have turned aside, all have become useless, there is not one who does good, not even one (Ps. 13:3). With the destruction of the pagans and Jews on earth, a third part suddenly increased, that is, the third Christian people. And he says very well: The third part will remain on it, i.e. on earth, because of the Jews and pagans only those were preserved on earth for life and abiding who confessed the Lord. And so that this third part is not weak and careless in confession, it is carried out and tested, as if silver and gold, through the fire that the Lord wanted to kindle in the believers (Luke 12:49), and the ardor that the Apostle desires (Rom. 8:35). Therefore, the Apostles, baptized in spirit and fire (Acts 2:3-4) say in the Psalm: For You have tested us, O God, You have tested us with fire, as silver is tested (Ps. 65:10-11). And a little later: We went through fire and water, and You brought us out into the cool (Ps. 65:12). And in another place it is said to the believer: If you walk through the fire, the flame will not burn you, because I am with you (Is. 43:2). And the fire does not consume, and the flame does not devour, because [this is] the word of the Lord cutting off the flame of fire (Ps. 28:7). When the little ones, against whom the Lord has turned His hand, will be tested in this way, and through their calling the whole multitude (turba) of nations will believe, then the believing people will call Christ by His name, and to His words: You are My people, the people will answer: You are the Lord my God. The Jews attribute this to Christ, and expect it to come to pass in the last times. But this is the difference between them and us, that we consider this to have already been fulfilled, but they claim that it has yet to be fulfilled. Zechariah 14:1–2. Behold, the days of the Lord are coming, and your spoil will be divided among you. And I will gather all nations to war against Jerusalem, and the city will be taken, and the houses will be laid waste, and the women will be raped, and the middle part of the city will go into captivity, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city. LXX: Behold, the days of the Lord are coming, and your spoil will be divided among you, and I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to fight, and the city will be taken, and the houses will be plundered, and the women will be defiled, and the middle part of the city will go into captivity, and the rest of my people will not be cut off from the city. - The days the coming of which the Lord threatens - when the spoils from Jerusalem will be divided in the midst of it, and when everything else that is contained in prophetic speech will happen - are those days about which we read in the prophet Isaiah: The inevitable day of the Lord will come [the day] of rage and wrath, to turn the entire circle of the earth into a desert and destroy sinners from it (Is. 13:9). How great will be the need to divide the spoils from it in the midst of it? It often happens that the loot in a city during a surprise attack is divided outside [the city], in a field or in a deserted place, so that enemies do not accidentally attack. And here the severity of the disasters will be so great that the loot in the city will be divided among it due to complete safety for the victors. And not only will Jerusalem be taken, after all the nations have been incited to war against it, but the houses of those living in Jerusalem will be devastated, and the women will be subjected to violence, to the great sorrow of the masters and husbands, who could not prevent either the plunder of houses or the violence of their wives by the enemies, as we read about this in another place: Those who are gathered among you will fall by the sword, and before your eyes they will tear your children to pieces, and will plunder your houses, and will take your wives ( Isa. 13:15–16 ); nothing could be more terrible and unfortunate than the fact that, under fear of their lives, they would not dare to speak out in defense of the lives of their children and the chastity of their wives. The prophet Amos says the same thing to the wicked priest Amaziah: Your wife will play the harlot in the city, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be measured with a measuring line (Am. 7:17). And all this will happen to the city of Judah because the tribes rebelled and the peoples plotted in vain; Kings rebelled, and rulers gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ (Ps. 2:1-2). [But] He laughed and mocked them and in His anger brought them into confusion so much that the Apostle, seeing the years appointed for repentance already fulfilled, and those who killed the Lord and persecuted the prophets and apostles nevertheless stubbornly insist on rejecting [the teaching], says: Wrath is coming upon them [or us] to the end (1 Thess. 2:16). Joseph, who wrote the history of the Jews, depicts in great detail that the Jews endured all this, and even more than what we read in the prophets. The same must be said about Cornelius Tacitus, who compiled the Lives of the Caesars in thirty books from the death of Augustus to the death of Domitian. And how the middle part of the city was taken, while the rest of the people remained in the fortress, this is shown both at that time and at others - namely: the northern and lower part of the city was taken, but the church mount and Zion, on which the fortress was located, remained untouched. The Jews say that this should be fulfilled under Gog, and others [argue] that it was partially fulfilled during the reign of the Macedonians, Egyptians and various nations. And we, leaving the exact indication of time to the determination of the Lord, will explain what is written. Zechariah 14:3–4. And the Lord will come out and take up arms against these nations in war, just as He took up arms on the day of battle. And His feet will stand on that day on the Mount of Olives, which is located in front of Jerusalem on the East side, and the Mount of Olives will sit in the middle part towards the East and West, forming a large valley. LXX: And the Lord will come out and wage war against those nations, as in the day of strife and in the day of battle. And His feet on that day will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the East side, and the Mount of Olives will sit: the middle part [half of it] towards the East and the middle part [half of it] towards the sea, a very large chasm. – That God comes forward and wages war against the nations, and that His feet stand on the Mount of Olives, and everything else expressed in the Holy Scriptures in human form (ἀνδρωποπάδως), and sensually understood, we must understand in a manner worthy of God, in the opposite meaning, since the Apostle says: He is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), and again: To the King of the ages, the incorruptible to the invisible God (1 Tim. 1:17) and in the Gospel it is written: No one has seen God at any time: He has revealed the Only Begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18) and again: For no one has seen God except Him who is from the Father (John 6:46). And how, according to the difference in actions and the meaning of interpretation, we understand His anger, and repentance, and soul, and hands, and feet, and belly, and eyes, and other members of the body; like this, what is written here: The Lord will come out and take hostage should be interpreted according to what we read in Habakkuk: You have come out for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your Christ (Hab. 3:13), in Micah: For behold, the Lord will come out from His place, come down and step on the heights of the earth, and the mountains under Him will be destroyed and the valleys will be divided (Mic. 1: 3-4); also in Isaiah: The Lord of hosts will come forward and destroy the army, and will stir up zeal, and will cry out with strength against his enemies (Is. 42:13). So the Lord will come out from His place when He wishes to cease the rest and the revelation of His meekness and mercy in the forgiveness of sinners; Although He is meek by His nature, He is grieved by our vices, that is, He becomes sorrowful (παραπικραίνεται) not for Himself, but for the one who endures suffering, for whom the torment is sorrowful. He, in another place speaking through the prophet: I am God and do not change (Mal. 3:6), and to Him he says: You are one and the same and remain unchanged (Ps. 101:28), and in the epistle of James: With whom there is no change (James 1:17); Now He comes out and fights, as in the days of battle, when He drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea and came out in defense of the people of Israel (Ex. 14). And His feet will stand on those over whom He had compassion, so that it can be said about Him again: And the Lord will sound the trumpet, and will walk in the movement of His terrible wrath (Zechariah 9:14). And He will no longer appear when the sun slopes towards the west, and with darkness approaching, noon, as we read about His appearance to Adam (Gen. 3:8). And when He stops, He will stand not in a valley and low-lying places, but on a mountain on which there are neither barren trees nor barren forest, but olive trees grow, which feed the eternal light, heal the weak and give rest to the weary. And this Mount of Olives, on which the feet of the Lord stand, is in front of Jerusalem on the east, from whence the sun of righteousness rises; it is surrounded by olive trees, about which it is said: Your sons are like new shoots of the olive tree around your table (Ps. 127:3). The middle part [half] of it will be separated to the east, the part on which the trees of the nations grow; one of them says: I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God (Ps. 51:10); the other middle part [half] of it will be separated towards the west and the sea, forming a large valley, that is, the people of the circumcision, to whom God says through the prophet: What shameless deed has my beloved done in my house? Will vows and sacred meats remove evil deeds from you (Jer. 11:15), or will you find refuge in them? This beloved committed such iniquity in the house of God that she crucified the Son of God on the cross, and heard: “The Lord called you by the name of the olive tree, shady and beautiful branches; but your branches have become useless, having been torn away from the good root, so that we could be grafted in their place.” And notice the mysterious meaning of the Scriptures in the fact that when speaking about the middle part, leaning towards the west and watered by bitter waves, they do not simply say that it is in the sea, but they say: in a very deep abyss of the sea, about which Micah also speaks: I will throw into the valley its stones - undoubtedly Jerusalem - and will open its foundations (Micah 1:6). According to the weakness of our forces, we presented this as in the most difficult and extremely dark places. However, the Jews, following the killing letter, are trying to show that the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives, and the mountain itself is divided into two parts, and that the cleft of the mountain on one side has its beginning towards the East, on the other side its end is formed towards the West, and in the middle of a huge chasm one side is separated to the north, and the other side to the south. Zechariah 14:5. The middle of the mountain will be divided towards the North and its middle towards noon. And you will run to the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will extend to the nearest [place], and you will run as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Wasp king of Judah, and the Lord My God will come and all the saints with Him. LXX: And the middle of the mountain will bend towards the North and the middle of it towards the South; And the valley of my mountains will be filled up, and the valley of the mountains will be added even to Asahel, and will be filled as it was filled because of the earthquake in the days of Hoshea king of Judah, and the Lord my God will come and all the saints with Him. - Instead of what we translated: you will run. LXX and other interpreters translated ἐμφραχδήσεται, i.e. will be filled, filled up; and instead of what we translated: since the valley of the mountains will extend to the closest place, it was instead of the word close that LXX translated: Asael, Aquila used the very Hebrew word asel (אצל), which is written through a short e (ἀζέλ), and Theodotion asil through a long e (ἀζήλ); only one Symmachus translated near; We followed him too. – Let’s transpose the text (dicamus παραφραστικῶς) to reveal the meaning of what was written. When the Mount of Olives is cut through by a great chasm, so that one part of the chasm faces the East and the other faces the West; suddenly, in the highest part of this abyss, open on both sides, another abyss will break through towards the North and South and form a rocky quadrangle; Thus, the resulting abyss will be divided into four sides: East, West, North and South. And run, he says, to the valley that is between the temple and Zion; for these two mountains, the mountain of the temple and Zion, are called the mountains of God, since the well-known valley of the Mount of Olives, surrounded from here and there by hills divided among themselves, reaches with its deepening to that mountain which is called holy. And the earthquake in the days of Hoshea, king of Judah, as it says [in Scripture] was at the time when Hoshea, called by another name Azariah, tried to seize the priesthood that did not belong to him by law and was struck with leprosy on his face (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). This earthquake is also spoken of at the beginning of the book of the prophet Amos: The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekuah, about what he saw concerning Jerusalem in the days of Hoshea king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel two years before the earthquake (Amos 1:1). Finally, after the death of this criminal king, as a result of whose wickedness the whole earth was shaken, the prophet Isaiah saw a great vision (Is. 1). – Now let’s move on to the spiritual understanding of this place. After the Mount of Olives is divided into two parts to the East and West by the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, there will be another break between the part of the North and the part of the South. The North will join the West, and the South will join the East; On the left side there will be circumcision, on the right - the Christian people. The Church says about these two trends: North, arise, and South come (Song. 4:16), so that with the removal of the North, the extremely cold wind, the warmest South wind arrives: looking for it, the bride says: Where do you graze, where do you rest? ( Song 1:6 ); Habakkuk also mysteriously speaks about him: God will come from Teman, instead of which in Hebrew it is written: God is from the South (Hab. 3:3), that is, from a completely clear light, about which the Psalmist speaks elsewhere: You, who shine marvelously from the eternal mountains (Ps. 70:5). When such a division of peoples occurs throughout the world that some will separate to the East and South, i.e. to the right, and others to the West and North, i.e. to the left, then each saint will run into the valley of the mountains of God, which we spoke about above, [precisely the mountains of] the temple and Zion, that is, the two Testaments, for the abyss that was previously between the two mountains will stretch to Hazael, i.e. the house of God, which is adjacent to paradise, and heavenly Jerusalem, and the holy mountain on which the church is located. And as at the time when, under King Hosea the leper, a powerful earthquake terrified the hearts of mortal men, and they scattered hither and thither in fear; so the separation of two peoples and then uniting them in one faith will calm them down in a peaceful stay between two mountains; for both the Old and New Testaments (Instrumentum) will be mutually united with each other. And the words: until Hazael, i.e. to the nearest [place] they mean that although the two Testaments - the Law and the Gospel - are connected together, they are connected in such a way that they are rather very close [to each other], but they are not one; indeed, we have discarded much of the Old Testament and borrowed from the new grace. And when all this is actually accomplished, then the Lord my God will come, he says, and all the saints with Him. If we would like, instead of what we translated, to run to follow the translation of others: the valley of those mountains will be filled up, or: the valley of those mountains will be filled, then we will say the following: The coming of the Lord Savior, after the separation of the two nations, will fill up and fill the abyss that separated the two peoples, so that they will ascend together to Him along a level path. Zechariah 14:6–7. And it will happen on that day: there will be no light, but cold and cold. And [this] day will be one, which is known to the Lord, [it is] neither day nor night; and during the evening there will be light. LXX: And on that day there will be no light, but there will be cold and cold on that day, and that day will be known to the Lord, but neither day nor night, but towards evening there will be light. – It is obvious that here we are talking about the second coming of the Lord the Savior, about which John also speaks in his revelation [or: thus]: Behold, He will come with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him (Rev. 1:7). And the Lord in the Gospel foretells that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory (Matthew 24:30). He will come with clouds, that is, with angels, who are ministering spirits sent to various ministries, as well as with prophets and apostles, about whom it is written: Your truth is even to the clouds (Ps. 35:6). When the day of His coming approaches, there will be no light, but cold and severe cold, due to the cooling of love among everyone, and due to the many disasters that are about to occur, when everyone will grow cold and lose the flame of their former faith. And after all sinners are shackled by cold and severe cold, one eternal day will come, since light and darkness, night and day will no longer replace each other; but the Lord himself will be the light of all, as Isaiah speaks more fully about: There will be no sun for you to light by day, and the rising moon will not shine at night (Is. 60:19). In another place he exclaims to Jerusalem: Shine, shine Jerusalem, for your light will come upon you, and the glory of God will rise upon you. For behold, darkness and darkness will cover the earth over the nations, but the Lord will appear over you, and His glory will be revealed on you. And kings will walk in your light and nations in your radiance (Isa.60:1-3). If darkness and darkness cover the earth over the nations, then, on the other hand, how will the nations walk in the brightness of the Lord? But in darkness there will be those nations who are shackled by cold and cold; and in the light of the Lord those nations who follow kings will walk [i.e. e] behind the apostles and prophets, about whom it is written: The heart of the king is in the hand of God (Prov. 21:1). Finally, in the evening, i.e. during the darkness and sorrow of all sinners, for the saints there will be light, and one eternal day; and if this day is known to the Lord, for He may not know what He has created, then it is necessary to think: how does He say in the Gospel that neither the angels nor the Son know this day, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36). Zechariah 14:8. And in that day it shall come to pass: living waters shall flow from Jerusalem: in the midst of them to the Eastern Sea, and in the midst of them to the last sea: they shall be both in summer and in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. LXX: On that day living water will come out of Jerusalem. The middle part of it is towards the first sea, and the middle part of it is towards the last sea; It will be like this in summer and spring. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. - At that time - after all, this means a day known to the Lord alone, on which light and darkness will not replace each other, but there will be eternal light, according to what we read in the Apocalypse: And the city will not have the necessary light of the sun, for the Lord Almighty will be its light (Apoc. 21:23) - [on that day] living waters will come out of Jerusalem, about which we discussed above (Zech. 13), setting forth the testimony of the prophet Ezekiel; the middle part [half] of them will go to the Eastern Sea, which the Greek books call λίμνη Ἀσφαλτῖτιν (in manuscript: Ἀσφαλτίτην), and it is usually called the Dead Sea, because nothing can live in its waters. And the middle part [half] of them will go to the last sea, which leads to Egypt and forms the shores of Palestine [Mediterranean?]. Both in summer, he says, and in winter, it will be so that the waters that flow from Jerusalem will neither freeze in winter from the cold, nor dry up in summer from too much heat; although the Seventy were transferred to spring instead of winter, this does not agree with [the prophet’s] desire to contrast something with summer. And when the waters enter both seas and dissolve the bitter waters [of the sea] with the pleasant-tasting river water, then the Lord will be king over all the earth. The water coming from Jerusalem, that is, from the church, signifies the teaching of the Savior: For out of Zion shall come the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Is. 2:3), as it is written in another place: All things are filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the abundance of water covering the sea (Is. 11:9). The middle part of these waters will go to the Eastern Sea, that is, to the people of the circumcision [of Judah], who were chosen in the person of the Apostles and through the Apostles; and the middle part of them will go to the last sea, so that those from the East and West will come to lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 8:11). Of course, by the Eastern sea and the last sea we can also understand the Old and New Testaments (Instrumentum), which are very bitter if they are not sweetened by the river of the Savior and his spiritual understanding, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). The following words: Both in summer and in winter they will be, which means that these living waters emanating from Jerusalem will not stop flowing both in times of peace and in times of persecution. Or, according to the LXX translation: And in summer and spring it will be like this, let’s say that at that time there will be no winter, but spring and unceasing summer, when the voice of the turtledove will be heard on our land, and the fig trees will give their first fruits, and the grapes will bloom; winter will go away, and the rain will pass and stop (Song. 2:11). At this [or: that] time, spring will be necessary, because flowers will bloom on our earth, so that we celebrate Easter and Pentecost, during which we move from earthly to heavenly and bring all our fruits to God. The righteous one speaks to the Lord about this eternal summer and spring: You formed the dawn and the sun...you established summer and spring (plasmasti. Ps. 74:16-17). The Lord will be king over all the earth when we exclaim: The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice (Ps. 97:1). And again: Say among the nations that the Lord reigns, for He has created a universe that will not be moved (Ps. 95:10). But living water [i.e. e] the teaching of the Savior that we have correctly stated will be known by those who drink and who listen to the voice of the Savior’s preaching: Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will have a fountain of living water flowing into eternal life (John 4:14). And again: Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). Indeed, just as he who drinks from His teaching will have a living spring within himself, so from the belly of him who believes in Him will flow, according to the words of Scripture, rivers of living water. Many relate the words about living waters to baptism, for these waters, both in spring and summer, that is, on Easter and Pentecost, should be given to the thirsty, when the word of Scripture is fulfilled: Wash you, be clean (Is. 1:16). Zechariah 14:9–11. On that day the Lord will be one, and His name will be one, and the whole earth will return even to the wilderness, from the hill of Remmon to the south of Jerusalem, and will be exalted and inhabited in its place from the gate of Benjamin to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananiel to the king's winepress, and they will dwell in it, and there will be no more curse, but Jerusalem will live in safety. LXX: On that day the Lord will be one, and His name will be one, circumnavigating the whole earth and the desert from Hawaii to Remmon south of Jerusalem. But Rama will remain in place, from the gate of Benjamin to the first gate, to the corner gate and to the tower of Anamael, to the king's winepress (they will dwell, and the curse will no longer be, and Jerusalem will live with confidence [in safety]. - Jews and Judaizing Christians imagine that the restoration of Jerusalem and the flowing out of the waters from the middle of it, flowing down to the two seas, will take place in the last time, when circumcision will again be performed and offerings will be made. sacrifices, and all the commandments of the law will be observed, so that it will not be the Jews who are Christians, but the Christians who will be Jews. On that day, they say, when Christ is to sit as king in Jerusalem, adorned with gold and precious stones, there will be no idols and various services to deities, but there will be one God, and the whole earth will return even to the desert, i.e. [will return] to its former (antiquum) state. And he will assign names to the places from which place and to which place Jerusalem should be rebuilt: from the hill of Remmon (for this means Hawaii, where the pomegranate tree is located) to the southern side of Jerusalem. The following words: And Rama will remain in his place, more correctly translated by Aquila and others, who used the word: exalted, for Rama means exaltation in accordance with this prophetic and evangelical word: A voice was heard in Rama, that is, it sounded on the heights (Matthew 2:18). So, Jerusalem will be exalted and will be rebuilt in the same place, from the gate of Benjamin to the gate called the corner, and from the tower of Hananiel (not Anamail, as the Greeks and Latins incorrectly read) to the king’s winepress, which in Hebrew is expressed by the word ammelech [or: amalech] ( הכלר ). And they will live in it, that is, in Jerusalem, and there will be no more curses, that is, no fear from enemy attacks and no horror. But Jerusalem will stand, or live peacefully in eternal peace. The Jews imagine that this will come true literally, just like our chiliasts (χιλιασταί), who again want to hear the words: Grow and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28), and instead of abstaining from this life and a short fast, they promise themselves fatty dishes with onions (bulbos et ....) and birds from the country of the river Phazos, and hazel grouse, not Ionian, but Jewish; Regarding these people, the Lord may have said: My spirit will not remain in these people, for they are carnal (Gen. 6:3), for: The flesh rebels against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh (Gal. 5:17). Let them not contrast with us chapter XX from the Apocalypse of John (Apocalypse 20), because it must also be explainable in a spiritual sense. We, for our part, will explain this prophecy in relation to the heavenly Jerusalem - the Church, which, walking in the flesh, does not live in the flesh, and whose dwelling is in heaven. For after the Lord reigns over all the earth, about which the Holy Spirit speaks to the Father through the prophet: God, give Your judgment to the King and Your righteousness to the Son of the King (Ps. 72:1). – The Lord will be one, about which it is written: That you may know that the Lord Himself is God (Deut. 4:35), and His name is one after the overthrow of every false belief, according to what the Prophet sings about: O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth (Ps. 8:2), and again: Thou hast magnified Thy holy name above all (Ps. 137:2), and in another place: As Thy name is, God, so is Your glory throughout the whole earth (Ps. 47:11), Habakkuk also speaks about this: The earth is filled with His glory (Hab. 3:3). The Lord Himself speaks about this glory of His name: Without Me you will not know God, and without My name, which is exalted above all (Is. 44:8). Then the whole land in which the Jews dwelt will turn even to the desert, that is, to the pagan people, who were previously deserted and had no knowledge of the law: from Hawai to Remmon, that is, from the hill to the high place, for we rise from the earth and from the desert to the hills, and from the hills to the high places. Therefore, the bridegroom, - in the book of Song of Songs, - jumps over hills that are smaller in size, and jumps up on high mountains (Song. 2:8), about which it is written: The mountains are high for deer (Ps. 103:18). If we do not want to understand the pomegranate tree by Remmon (for this word among the Jews means both) then we must say that the boundaries of the church originate from the hills, so that every church order [hierarchical degrees] is established, which we spoke about above when we explained the lamentation of the only begotten, and the lamentation of Adadremmon. But the church is not content with this limit, but in full light reaches to the South, which we have already spoken about recently, and therefore now we will remain silent so as not to bore the reader with frequent reminders of this; and the Church, which began from the hills, will be exalted, and will reach the noon day, and will dwell in its place, about which it is written: In a place of pasture, there He has placed me (Ps. 22:2). From the gate of Benjamin, whose name means: Son of the right [hand], and not the son of days, as some incorrectly think; in fact, for this word, if it ends with the letter nun, means one thing, and if it ends with the letter mem, it means something else. And he will reach the place of the eastern and first gates, even to the corner gates. We begin with virtue, for this is what is right (dextera), and we reach the first gate, in order to enter the others through it; immediately we meet the corner gate, where is the Cornerstone, which the builders rejected, and He became the foundation of the corner (Ps. 118:22). This cornerstone connects both sides of the wall and brings the two nations into one (Eph. 2:14), as God speaks through Isaiah: Behold, I will lay in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious for its foundations; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame (Isa.28:16). This cornerstone will want other cornerstones to be laid on it, so that the apostle Paul could freely say: Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Jesus Christ is the supreme cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Heretics do not imitate these stones, doing everything for glory and profit; they perform prayers at street corners, leaving a straight path. In fact, every angle is a refraction of a straight line; This is why the harlot in the book of Proverbs, no matter how we wish to understand it, whose feet do not rest in her house, or wanders in front of the market places, or plots intrigues on the corners of the streets, when she sees a foolish young man (for she does not invite the one in whom she notices the prudence and maturity of the old man, about whom it is written (Wisdom 4:8): Wisdom for a man is gray hair), immediately seizes him, kisses him, caresses him, leads him to an indecent house and inclines him to sin. Let us therefore leave the treacherous corners, and come to the strong and strong cornerstones of Christ; when we go to them, we will immediately meet the tower of Anaiel, which means the most beloved of God. For what is more pleasant than the tower of Solomon, about which the bride is told: Your neck is like the tower of David, built in [on] Falfioth [Russian: for weapons]; a thousand shields hang on it, all the shields of mighty [people] ( Song 4:4 ). The Lord wants, in the Gospel, for this tower to be created (Luke 14:25-30) after calculating in advance all the necessary costs; Jerusalem is also spoken of about her: Let there be peace in your strength and abundance in your towers (Ps. 122:7); about her the saint says to the Lord: [To the rock] You brought me out, for you became my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy (Ps. 61:4). From the tower of Hananiel we move on to the royal winepresses, after which the three psalms have their names. And the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah: I alone have trodden the winepress (Isa. 63:3) to make our grapes abundant in it, and that we may give brushes and tread new red wine in the blood of Christ, and drink the wine that makes glad the heart of man (Ps. 103:15); and the bride expresses her desire to the groom's companions in these words: Lead me into the wine room (cella vini), cover me with love (Song. 2:4). If we are given water from this kind of winepress, then we will reap in Jerusalem, in which there will no longer be a curse, that is, slander and blasphemy. Therefore, the Apostle says: He who does not love the Lord will be excommunicated (anathema) (1 Cor. 16:22), and in another place: No one speaking in the spirit of God will say “anathema” about Jesus. But for the salvation of the brethren, the Apostle wished to be a curse, striving to imitate his Lord, who, although He Himself was not subject to a curse, became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). After the removal of all curses, Jerusalem will live in security, with confidence in it, carrying out on itself what was said: Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord and: It is better to trust in the Lord than in man (Ps. 118:8), the prophet Jeremiah speaks about this security and confidence: Blessed will be the man who trusts in the Lord (Jer. 17:7). Zechariah 14:12. The blow with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem will be as follows: The body of everyone who stands on his feet will dry up, and his eyes will dry up in their hollows, and their tongue will dry up in his mouth [Vulg.: them]. LXX: And the destruction with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem will be as follows: The flesh of them who stand [still] on their feet will dry up, and their eyes will flow out of their hollows, and their tongue will dry up in their mouth. – This scripture testifies to what the nations who were hostile against the city of God must endure. They will still stand, it says, on their feet, but their flesh will already dry up and evaporate, and their eyes will decay and fall out of their sockets; the long-winded tongue that slandered the people of God will turn into pus and decay among the teeth. It is obvious to everyone that those who endured this are not the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem. Perhaps the Jews will argue that those nations who will still be at enmity against Jerusalem, adorned with gold and precious stones, should be attacked. We will say that all the persecutors who saddened the Church of the Lord - not to mention future torments - have already received reward in this life for what they did. We will read church stories about what Valerian endured, what Decius suffered, what Diocletian suffered, what Maximian suffered, and what Maximinus, the most cruel of all, and more recently Julian, endured, and then in the events themselves we will find literal confirmation that the truth of the prophecy was justified: their flesh decayed, and their tongue rotted and disintegrated. Then, if these words seem to heretics to be a manifestation of God’s cruelty, then let them know that all this happens so that through the weakening of evil, goodness will increase. In fact, the one who stands in the Lord and with the Lord, his carnal side will dry up so that the spiritual side will be reborn, and his eyes, which looked incorrectly, will fall out of their sockets to make room for others who could contemplate the Lord along with the prophet who says: I have lifted up my eyes to You who dwell in the heavens (Ps. 122:1). And the slandering tongue will decay, so that the tongue that glorifies the Lord will be reborn, and can say: My tongue will meditate on Your righteousness, all the day on Your praise (Ps. 34:28). Therefore, Simeon, taking the Child into his hands and proclaiming the future, says: Behold, He is destined for the fall and for the rising of many (Luke 2:34); Therefore, the Lord says: I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may be blind (John 9:39). The pagan people did not see and only after faith in Christ began to see the light of the Truth, which speaks through the prophet: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for whose sake He has anointed Me, He has sent Me to preach good news to the poor, to preach release to the captives, sight to the blind and illumination of wisdom (Isa. 61:1-2), about which it is written: The wisdom of a man enlightens his face; and in the psalms we read: The Lord enlightens the blind, that is, makes them wise (Ps. 146:8), for the latter expression is more correct. The Jews saw; but since they did not want to accept the light, they were shrouded in eternal darkness. Zechariah 14:13–14. In that day there will be great confusion among them from the Lord; and the man shall seize his neighbor's hand, and his hand shall rise up against his neighbor's hand. But Judah will also fight against Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold and silver, and quite a lot of clothing. LXX: And on that day there will be great confusion among them from the Lord, and every one will seize the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will cleave to the hand of his neighbor, and Judah will prepare himself in Jerusalem and gather the strength of all the surrounding nations: gold and silver and very many garments. – When those miraculous events are fulfilled, that is, the flesh of people will evaporate, the eyes will dry up, and the tongue will rot in the mouth of those who slander; then great confusion or amazement will occur among them - after all, this is what ἔκστασις means, which the LXX used in the translation. And each one will grab the hand of his neighbor, and one hand will be joined to the other, because of the fear and severe disasters that are about to overtake them. Judah will also fight against his hometown [or: capital], as we said above (Zech. 12), and the Lord will give him victory. The wealth of all the nations who fought against Jerusalem will be collected - gold and silver, and many clothes, that is, the most precious of things. The unfortunate Judas counted on this, hoping to receive gold - those thirty pieces of silver with which he valued the Lord. We, following the once accepted order, will attribute all this to the well-being of the Church, because all those who will be in it will be amazed at the defeat of their enemies and at their own happiness, and each will grab the hand of his neighbor in order to join his right hands and draw closer through mutual trust and out of necessity. And the words of the Hebrew text: And Judah will fight against Jerusalem, instead of which LXX translated: And Judah will prepare in Jerusalem, we will understand in two ways: either in the sense that Judas once confessed the name of the Lord, but, prompted during persecution, persecuted the people of Christ, [after] and he himself will turn to joy; or in the sense that Judah, that is, everyone who believes and hopes, will not fight against Jerusalem, but will prepare in Jerusalem to fight against enemies. And Judas himself will collect the wealth of all the surrounding nations: gold and silver and an extremely large amount of clothing. We have repeatedly said that gold and silver signify reason and word, and similarly we must understand the garments with which the Church of Christ is adorned; it is written about her: The queen appeared at Your right hand, dressed in golden utensils, dressed in various garments (Ps. 44:10). The multitude of believers rejoice that they are clothed with these garments and exclaim: I will rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed me with the robe of salvation and the robe of gladness (Is. 61:10, according to text LXX). In fact, the Lord says to her: I have clothed you with the finest (τριχάπτοις) and linen (βυσσίνοις) garments (Ezek. 16:10). By the word τριχάπτοις: we mean thin clothes, so beautiful and delicate that they seem like hairs. The Church collects these clothes so that there will be clothing for her people, to whom the true preacher commands: Let your clothes be clean at all times (Eccl. 9:8). Zechariah 14:15. And there will be the same defeat of the horse, and the mule, and the camel, and the donkey, and all the animals that are in their camps, just like this [aforesaid] defeat. LXX: I this defeat of horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the livestock that will be in their camps, will be like that defeat. – The Jews also expect this to be fulfilled in a sensual way during the time of their anointed (Messiah). In truth, the power of the Lord is great, so that in the camps of the enemies, horses, mules, camels and donkeys and all kinds of livestock will fall, just as people have fallen [or will fall]. Great celebration! Glorious victory! So even foolish animals will be defeated when the Lord enters the battle. So, turning to our earlier interpretation in a figurative sense, let’s say that all the disasters that previously struck the Church will be dispelled with the goal that goodness will immediately increase. Thus, the horse, which previously neighed at his neighbor's wife (Jer. 5:8) and was impatiently carried away by lust and wallowed in the mud of sensual desires, when he begins to observe purity, will hear the words: Arise, let us go from here (John 14:31), and: Arise, come, my neighbor (Song. 2:10), and what was said by the Apostle: He who sleeps, arise, and rise again from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you (Eph.5:14). And when the previously fallen horses rise and prepare some of their backs for the Lord to sit on, they will say to God: Mount Your horses, and Your ascent is salvation (Hab. 3:8). According to this interpretation, by hinnies we mean those who are barren and have no children, but only indulge in lust; the psalmist mentions them: Do not be like a horse and a mule that has no understanding (Ps. 31:9). But just as people who are always ready to satisfy lust are called horses, so those who are virgin in body, but not in spirit, and who lead the life of eunuchs not for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but prompted by human desires [or: the movements of the waves], are rightly called hinnies. And when these mules and these eunuchs turn to beget offspring and begin to give birth to spiritual children, they will hear what is said through Isaiah: Let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree,” for thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: To those who will keep My Sabbaths and choose what I have willed, and keep My Covenant, I will give a place in My house and within My walls. famous, and a name better than sons and daughters, I will give them an everlasting name, a name that will not be destroyed (Isa. 66:3-4). The kings of Israel had such mules of both sexes (mulos et mulas) and especially David, a type of Christ (2 Kings 13:29; 1 Kings 1:44). If we understand who the horses and hinnies are that fall and rise, then we will move on to camels, an animal that chews the cud, but does not have cloven hooves (Lev. 11:4); we will affirm that by camel we mean all the sinners of the earth who are oppressed by the weight of great sins; they imagine that they are reading the Holy Scriptures, but they do not clove their hoofs; they seem to spew out Divine sayings, but are careless about the truth that is contained in them. And more correctly the people of Judah can be called a camel, which, although they meditate on the law of God and [so to speak] burp it and hide it in their chest, do not share the hoof in order to believe in the Father and the Son; he is not pure in the sense that he does not separate the letters from the spirit, the shadows from the truth; and he bears the weight of the law and hears from the prophet: Woe to you, a sinful people, a people burdened with crimes (Is. 1:4). A camel of this kind, regurgitating the cud but not splitting its hooves, is spoken of in Proverbs as if it were a son: He who ceases to observe his father’s instructions conceives evil words (Prov. 15:5,32,10:17). Let us move from the camel to the donkey, which once ran around without a bridle, and was unclean, and had many masters, slid in the abysses, so that, falling, it immediately stood up and carried the Lord Savior, and entered holy Jerusalem, where a crowd of believing children received him triumphant (Matthew 21; John 12). It is said about this donkey that the Savior tied him to a vine (Gen. 49:11), about which it is written: You brought the vine from Egypt, and threw out the nations and planted it (Ps. 79:9). The vinedresser himself addresses this vine with the words: I planted you like a real fruitful vine (Jer. 2:21). Yet the [other] cattle and animals, which the prophet united in one name, must be understood according to the nature of each; and such an interpretation is much more suitable for the time of the Son of God than the nonsense that the Jewish people invent when explaining this prophecy. Zechariah 14:16. And all those who remain from all the nations that came against Jerusalem will come from year to year to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. LXX: And it shall come to pass that those who remain from all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall come every year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. – The Prophet says that all who remain from the nations that are about to come against Jerusalem will go annually to worship the King, the Lord of armies, and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews promise themselves in vain that this will be fulfilled during the millennial kingdom, the celebration of which this [festival] begins. After leaving Egypt, the people of Israel in the vast, terrible, completely naked desert - where there were no houses, no cities, no fortifications, no caves - built for themselves booths and tents, which, due to their resemblance to a small bird, are called wings (papiliones - butterflies). Under them the people lived with their wives and children and ate food, sheltering from the heat of the sun during the day, and from rain, cold and dew at night; and it was commanded to him that in the 7th month, on its 15th day, the celebration of tabernacles should be held. And when,” it says there, “your son later asks you: “What do these tabernacles mean?” you will answer him: For a long time we were strangers in Egypt, from which the Lord brought us into the desert, and now we erect tents because we remember at all times the benefits of God at the time when we began to live in cities (Deut. 6:20-21 and Lev. 23:43). He also commanded that they build tents from the most beautiful tree, which the Jews call the lemon tree, and from palm branches and from the leaves of the thickest tree, willow and poplar. We have made a general overview of [relevant] past events in order to move from them to spiritual understanding. As soon as we move and fight, we live in tents, with all our thoughts striving to move from tents to a solid and permanent dwelling, that is, to the house of God. Therefore, Saint David exclaims in the Psalm: Woe to me, that my [variable] residence continued (Ps. 119:5), and: I am a stranger and a stranger, like all my fathers (Ps. 39:13). This is said by one who is in Egypt and is still in this life. And the one who comes from Egypt, in the Hebrew language called mesraim (מערים), which means a difficult test, who enters a place free from vices (solitudinem vitiorum), begins his journey and speaks to the Psalmist: I will go to the place of a wonderful village (tabernaculi mirabilis) to the house of God (Ps. 42:5). Indeed, it is surprising not to want to live with the Egyptians, but, having drowned Pharaoh, to wish to enter the land of promise (Ex. 14). Therefore, in another place it is said: How beloved are Thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts, my soul longs and faints [with longing] for the habitations of the Lord (Ps. 83:2-3) and a little lower: Blessed are those who dwell in Thy house, for ever and ever they will praise Thee (Ps. 83:5). For the voice of joy and salvation is in the dwellings of the righteous (Ps. 117:15). And in Proverbs we discover the following words: The houses of the righteous remain, and those of their villages that act in righteousness will stand (Prov. 2:21), that is, it is promised that the houses will always remain and the dwellings will stand firm. And in another place the holy man says: I have asked one thing from the Lord, and this is what I will seek, [namely] to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to contemplate the beauty of the Lord and to visit His church (Ps. 26:4). Whoever dwells in villages of this kind, and from the villages hastens to move to the front parts of the dwellings (atria), and from them to the house, and from the house to the church of the Lord, he must celebrate the solemn feasts of tabernacles from the most beautiful tree of wisdom - which is spoken of in Proverbs: The Tree of Life for all who draw near to it, bow their heads on it, as over a strong house (Prov. 3:18), - and from palm branches, in which the sign of victory and reward for virtue is indicated, and also from the leaves of the thickest tree - by which the Jews mean myrtle, to indicate the mortification of the flesh and lusts; therefore, the Magi bring myrrh as a gift to the Lord Savior (Matthew 2:11), as well as from willow and poplar; by them some mean one tree, and the very name of the tree, which in Greek is called ἀμνός, indicates purity. Doctors and those who wrote about the properties of trees and herbs say that if someone drinks an infusion of water the color of willow or [or: and] poplar, then all ardor in such a person will cool, the passionate bloodstream will dry up, and he will no longer be able to give birth to children. And the one who is covered with the branches of such trees will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, bypassing the sixth month, which relates to the world, and in the seventh, celebrating the spiritual Sabbath, on the 15th day of the same month, when there is a full moon, and all the darkness of the night is dispelled by clear light. We spoke about this briefly, imagining in our minds the large size of the books [that need to be interpreted], in order to move on to what remains. Zechariah 14:17. And it shall come to pass that there shall be no rain upon those of the nations of the earth who do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King Lord of hosts. LXX: And it will come to pass that those from the tribes of the earth will join them who will not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty. - Instead of what was translated by the Seventy: and those will join them, in Hebrew it is written: ulo alehem eee hesem, - words that Aquila and Symmachus, and Theodotion translated the same way: and there will be no rain on them. The Church of the Lord Jesus is called the heavenly Jerusalem, about which the Apostle writes: But the Jerusalem above is free, she is the mother of us all (Gal.4:26) and: Come to Mount Zion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb.12:22). And this Jerusalem is not located in low places, but on a high mountain, about which the Savior says: The city standing at the top of the mountain cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). Therefore, whoever will worship the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem must enter into the highlands. But he who belongs to the nations and tribes of the earth, and therefore cannot worship the Lord, and the seasonable rain will not fall on him, nor the latter rain, and the moisture of heaven will not water the earth. Or, according to the translation of the Seventy, the meaning is this: Those who from the tribes of the earth will not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, will be joined to those who will fight against Jerusalem, and whose flesh will dry up, their eyes will flow out and their tongue will rot. Zechariah 14:18–19. And if the tribe of Egypt does not rise up and come, then there will be no [rain] on them, but there will be destruction with which the Lord will strike all the nations who do not come to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And this will be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all nations, who will not come to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. LXX: But if the tribe of Egypt does not rise up and come there, then destruction will be upon them, with which the Lord will strike all the tribes that do not rise up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. It will be the sin of Egypt and the sin of all nations who do not come to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. - He who belongs to Egypt and to other nations - while Egypt remains pagan - will not ascend to Jerusalem; and since he cannot ascend, and cannot take a step towards the sublime, then the rain of the blessing of the Lord will not be given to him. And this will be the greatest sin of the Egyptian, the Assyrian, the Chaldean, the Syrian, the Moabite and the Ammonite, if they do not want to leave their land and go up to Jerusalem in order to enter Jerusalem through the tabernacles and find an eternal dwelling, and if they do not cease to be people of other nations and do not become Israelites, in whom there is no guile (John 1:47). We considered all this very quickly; The Jews and our Jewish-minded people - of course, they are no longer ours, for they are Judaizers - expect that all this will be fulfilled in a tangible way, (of course, the restoration of circumcision and marriage) during the thousand-year kingdom, so that the curse that is written will not be fulfilled on them: Cursed is the barren woman who does not give seed in Israel (Deut. 7:14?), and blessed is he who has a tribe in Zion and a household in Jerusalem (Isa. 31:1). But if this interpretation is correct, then are all those who will be virgins during the thousand-year reign subject to curse and eternal infertility, or, in order to avoid curse, must they marry? Zechariah 14:20–21. On that day that which is on the horse's bridle will be holy to the Lord, and the pots in the house of the Lord will be like bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be dedicated to the Lord of hosts. LXX: In that day that which is on the bridle of a horse will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and the braziers that are in the house of the Lord will be like bowls before the house of the altar; and every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the Lord Almighty. – The Hebrew word mesuloth (מעולות) Aquila and Theodotion translated βυδόν, i.e. deep, Symmachus: περίπατον σύσκιον, i.e. shady place for a walk. Only the Seventy were translated: bridle (χάλινον); and we followed them in this place, so that it would not seem that we want to say something new regarding the popular edition of the Holy Books [Vulgate]. For whichever of the Jews I would ask: “What does this mean?”, I am told that one should read not mesuloth, but mesaloth, meaning horse blankets [saddle cloths] and military decoration, and that this word, except in this place, is not found in any of the Holy Books. And the bridle in Hebrew is called resen (רםן), and not mesaloth, as the Seventy translated this word. And this is the meaning of this place. During the eternal festival, after the advent of the [1000-year] kingdom of Jerusalem, when everyone will live in peace and tranquility, there will no longer be a need for cavalry, which constitutes the main strength of the army; and every ornament and military equipment of the cavalry will be assigned to the noble service of the Lord. This is what they (the Jews) say. We attribute the “depth” of horses and the “shady walk” to mysterious knowledge, the possession of which David, the best of horses, boasts of, saying: The unknown and secret things of Your wisdom, You have made clear to me (Ps. 50:8), and the Apostle exclaims: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How are his judgments untried and his ways unsearched? (Rom.11:33). From this depth the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He heard him. In this depth and darkness God made a covering for Himself (Ps. 17:12); Moses also entered this most mysterious darkness to see God in the cloud on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18–20), and David speaks about this in another Psalm: The judgments of the Lord are a great deep (Psalm 35:7). All these innermost secrets are holy before the Lord; they were known by the Evangelist John, who dared to speak about what, perhaps, even the angels did not know: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). That is why he was loved by the Lord because he possessed the deepest secret, for he reclined on the forehead of the Lord and from there he drew wisdom (John 21:20). If we want to accept the “bridle,” as translated LXX, i.e., the word of God, then by bridle we must understand the one who bridles lustful horses and barren horses and restrains them from vices and does not allow them to go into the abyss, which is what it says: Do not be like a horse and a horse that has no reason. With bridle and bit tame the jaws of those who do not approach You (Ps. 31:9). James also speaks about this bridle: We put bits in the horses’ mouths and surround their whole body with harnesses (James 3:3) so that they walk the right way and can provide the Lord with ridges convenient for sitting on. Such a bridle, and such a word, composed of a varied combination of gold and silver, prepares wild horses for the Savior to sit on, makes them saints who devote themselves primarily to serving Him. From a certain [preacher] I heard something said under the influence of pious feeling, but funny. The nails from the cross of the Lord, from which the emperor (Augustus) Constantine made a bit for his horse, are called the shrine of the Lord. I leave it to the discretion of the reader to accept or not accept this; and we will move on to the cauldrons, which will be like bowls of the altar in the house of the Lord. Indeed, every cauldron in Jerusalem and Judea will be dedicated to the Lord Almighty. Let those who loved Egyptian vessels, meat, melons, garlic, onions and cucumbers love copper cauldrons (Numbers 11:5). And we will turn those Jewish cauldrons in which the sacrificial meat was boiled into bowls of fragrance before the altar of the Lord, about which the bride says to the groom: My brother goes down into my garden to bowls of fragrance to tend the gardens and gather lilies (Song. 6:2). The garden and paradise into which the groom descends to the bride is the reading of the Holy Scriptures; from them he collects lilies, roses, violets and various fragrances in order to fill the cups of the souls of believers and make a sacrificial offering from them to the Lord. When cauldrons of this kind are turned into vessels for the Lord and say: We are the aroma of Christ (2 Cor. 2:15), and instead of fat meats they begin to sacrifice various flowers of virtues, then in Jerusalem and Judah they will be sacred to Almighty God; We have already said more than once that Jerusalem means the vision of the world, and Judah means the one who trusts [relying on God]. Zechariah 14:21. And all the sacrificers will come and take them and boil them; and there shall be no more merchant in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day. LXX: And all who sacrifice will come and take them to boil in them, and there will be no more Canaanites in the house of the Lord Almighty in that day. - Instead of the Canaanite, Aquila, whom we followed in this case, translated the merchant. When the cauldrons turn into bowls, then all the surrounding nations or those that remain from all the nations will come to offer sacrifices; and they will take cauldrons and boil sacrificial meat in them, so that they will not eat raw lamb meat, but only what, after burning all the fat on the fire, will be prepared by the fire for eating. What are the bowls before the altar of the Lord, into which the Israelite cauldrons will turn, we said about this above, and we will say in part now. The bride in the book of Song of Songs praises her groom: His cheeks are like cups of fragrant fragrance (Song.5:13). By cheeks we mean speech flowing from the Lord and spreading incense of various kinds; and the spread of the fragrance will be so great that the Lord will weave a scourge for Himself from the testimonies of Scripture and throw out of the church all those who sell and receive and will say to them: My Father’s house will be called a house of prayer for all nations; and you made it a house of trade (Matthew 21:13). Some adapt to this place the words of the prophet Daniel: The seed of Canaan, and not of Judah (Dan. 13:56) - although this place is not in the Hebrew text - as well as the words of the prophet Hosea about Ephraim: Ephraim, a participant in idols, laid the beginning of temptation in himself, called the Canaanites, the fornicators gave themselves up to fornication ( Hos. 4:17-18); these interpreters want to call every fornicator a Canaanite and a foreigner, who, according to them, should be expelled from the house of God. In Patrologiae Cursus eompletus Series prima, latina Tom. XXV40;, interpretations of the prophet Zechariah are inscribed as follows: S. Eusebii Hieronimi, Stridonensis presbyteri commentariorum in Zachariam prophetam ad Exsuperium, Tolosanum episcopum, Libit duo (see Col. 1415, 1416). The same inscription is retained in the publication: Oeuvres completes de saint Jerome.... Traduites en français et annotees par L’ abbe Bareille. Vol. IX. Paris 1881. (See p. 305.); this inscription is retained both over the Latin text and over the translation. In both editions, the Third Book of Interpretation is added to the first two and is not accompanied by any remark.