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Micah 1:1. The word of the Lord, which came to Micah Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which was revealed to him concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. LXX: about what he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem. So the word of the Lord came to Micah after Hosea, Amos and Isaiah, who prophesied in the time of [king] Uzziah; from here we conclude that Micah did not prophesy during the time of Uzziah, but prophesied during the time of his son Jotham, after whom Ahaz reigned; and Hezekiah, under whom ten tribes were taken into captivity by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17), inherited the kingdom after his father Ahaz. So, in relation to history, the table of contents of the prophecy is arranged according to the order of the captivity, first about Samaria, and then about Jerusalem, because first Samaria, the capital of Israel, was taken, and then Jerusalem, the capital of Judah; and in relation to the mysterious meaning - and Samaria is always understood in the sense of heresies, and Jerusalem - the church - we say that the word of the Lord was to the humble, [or Jerusalem] and joint heir of Christ about the perverted teaching and about the church, if it had committed any sins. This is the meaning and arrangement of the entire book of the prophet. And that Samaria and the ten tribes that broke away from the house of David under Jeroboam (1 Kings 12) are taken to mean heretics, all Scripture testifies to this, and especially the prophet Hosea, and this very book of Micah, which calls heretics wicked, and those who belong to the church - sinners. After all, almost immediately (this) follows (the words): “What is the wickedness of Jacob? isn't it Samaria? and what is the sin of Judas? Isn’t it Jerusalem?” So according to LXX. How the rest is read in the Hebrew text, we will add a little later. And the fact that heretics rely on the apparent loftiness of their dogmas and treat with contempt the simplicity (of the teachings) of the church is indicated elsewhere: “Woe to those who despise Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria” (Am. 6:1), “for out of Zion shall come the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Is. 2:3). Then, Samaria built for herself, according to her own understanding, golden calves, which, it is true, have outward decency, but do not have the spirit of life, and she built them in the house of God, which is what the word Bethel means. After all, the people of Israel could only accept those gods who were installed in the house of God and in accordance with Scripture; but although the Samaritans call the place of their gatherings Bethel, after the establishment of idols in it, it ceased to be Bethel (the house of God) and is called Bethaven (Bethaien), which means “house of the idol,” why LXX translated the house ὦν ... This (refers to) the table of contents of the book. Now let’s move on to the beginning of the prophecy and, due to the raging of the Lernaean Hydra, let us ask for the influx of the Holy Spirit. But you, O Paula and Eustochia, pour out your prayers to the Lord Savior, so that envy does not harm me, so that a free mind reflects only on what it seeks to explain, and does not feel the blows of slander, which the Lord despised during the hours of His suffering (Mark 14, and John 14, John 18). Micah 1:2. Hear, all nations, and pay attention to the earth and the fullness of it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy church. LXX: Hear, all nations, and let the earth, and all that is in it, take heed, and let the Lord be a witness to you, the Lord from his holy house. Since the literal historical meaning (of the words) is clear, I leave the understanding of it to the mind of the reader. In a figurative sense, they call for listening to the nations, that is, the churches of the whole world, and to the attention of the earth, because heretical teachings on it have earthly properties. That heresies are counted among the works of the flesh, which belongs to the earth, firstly, the Apostle does not remain silent about this in the Epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 5:19-21), secondly, the Lord in the Gospel shows the prudent listener, [saying]: “He who is from the earth speaks of the earth,” and to distinguish such from those who belong to the church, He says: “he who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31); and: “what he has seen and heard, he testifies of these things” (John 3:32). The words: “listen to the nations”, in view of the saying of the Lord: “whoever has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8), say something more in comparison with the words following them: “and listen, earth”; Therefore, we will refer the words: “listen to all nations” to the church, and to heretics who accepted earthly teaching, [the words]: “and listen to the earth and all who are on it,” so that the first, if they hear, and the second, if they listen, do not suffer those [disasters] that threaten the further word of the Lord. And may the Lord be unto them “for a witness,” or, as the Hebrew text says: “for a witness,” or, as Symmachus more clearly interpreted, “testifying,” and testifying not from any other place, but from His house, which is the church, and undoubtedly in the Son, that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who truly is the church of the Father, and through whose mouth the Father speaks, penetrating to the depths of the soul and the marrow of the bones those who would like to hear and listen. Micah 1:3–5. For behold, the Lord will come forth [Vulg.: comes] from His place, and will descend and tread upon the heights of the earth. And the mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split apart, like wax from the face of fire, like waters pouring down a steep place: all this is for the wickedness of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's wickedness? isn't it Samaria? and who [set up] the high places of Judah? Isn’t it Jerusalem?” LXX: For behold, the Lord will come out from His place and will descend and ascend on the heights of the earth, and the mountains above Him will shake, and the valleys will melt like wax before fire and like water that goes down into rapids: all this is because of the wickedness of Jacob and because of the sin of the house of Israel. What is the wickedness of the house of Jacob? isn't it Samaria? and what is the sin of the house of Judah? isn't it Jerusalem? O Samaria and Jerusalem! listen and give diligent attention to the Lord, who testifies against you from His church and predicts what He will do. “Behold, the Lord will come out from His place.” He Who is meek and merciful, and whose nature is condescension, for your sake wants to take on an image of cruelty that does not belong to Him, “And He will descend and tread on the heights of the earth.” The descent of God and the striving of His Majesty into the depths signifies the trampling of the earth and the destruction of some powerful [rulers]. “And the mountains and valleys will be dissolved,” says [he], “or the mountains and valleys will melt under Him,” by which we mean rulers and nations. And just as wax cannot withstand the proximity of fire, and as waters rush swiftly into rapids, so all the pride of the wicked will fall and disappear at the approach of the Lord. Yet this will be due to the crimes of the ten tribes, which [the prophet] calls Jacob and Israel, and due to the betrayal of Judah; for Samaria was the capital of the ten tribes, and in the kingdom of Judah Jerusalem built idols on the high places. This is what the literal meaning says. In the mysterious sense, by the words: the Lord will come out from His place, we can understand either the Son or all the saints, for the Son himself says: “I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (John 14:10), and about the saints: “I will dwell and walk in them and will be their God and they will be My people” (Lev. 26:12). [He] will come from them, but He will not leave them, just as the word of the Lord came from the apostles to those who heard it and yet did not leave them. And [therefore] the inhabitants of this kind, that is, [the saints], who were worthy to receive the Lord as a stranger, are located on the mountain, as if they had risen with Christ and are seated with Him in heaven. Therefore, “descend” is said in relation to those who cannot hear His teachings on high. And when [He] descends, he will not approach the low ones and those who are below, but those who are called the high places of the earth, and who, realizing the majesty of the approaching Lord, will move forward. And although they are mountains, they will be equalized by the arrival of such a horseman and driver. Valleys, that is. souls imprisoned in earthly [κοιχοῖς] bodies and not ascended with the heavenly man cannot endure His presence, but everything that is rough in them will be destroyed, and they will flow, rushing quickly into the depths, like water that does not have a flat surface beneath it. And the terrible Lord will come for teaching, that is, to move the mountains and destroy the lowlands of the valleys, because Jacob committed wickedness and Israel committed sin. The wickedness of Jacob is a gathering of heretics called Samaria. And the sin of Judas, that is, the one who confesses the Lord, is nothing other than Jerusalem, in which many crimes are revealed. And that the house of Judah refers to Christ, to whom the church belongs, we have often spoken about this before and now we affirm on the basis of (the words): “Judas, your brothers will praise you, your hand is on the back of your enemies” (Gen. 49:8). It can also be understood in the sense that because of the wickedness of Samaria and the crimes of Judas, the Lord will come out from some place of His and will say to the Jews, “your house is being left to you” empty (Luke 13:35; Matt. 23:38). And he will descend from heaven and ascend to the heights of the earth, this means those who among the nations, as a result of humble faith, were worthy to be exalted. And the mountains moved, [i.e. e.] the teachings of philosophers and high kingdoms and those that, being in lowness, were crushed and destroyed by the coming of the Savior, and with the growth of the church and with the raising of mountains to heights, idols were cast into the abyss. So, the Lord came out from His place, and the Church was created from the pagans, so that the mountains shook under its feet and the abysses of the valleys crumbled, because Jacob acted wickedly and Israel sinned, and all the tribes rejected the Lord. Micah 1:6–10. And I will make Samaria like a heap of stones in the field, when the vineyard is cleared up, and I will cast down its stones into the valley, and I will expose its foundations, and all its idols will be broken, and all its fornication rewards [or reward] will be burned with fire, and all its idols will be destroyed, for it was from fornicious gifts that it built them, and they will be converted into fornicious gifts. I will cry and sob about this, I will walk like a robbed and naked, I will howl like jackals and cry like ostriches. Because her painful defeat reached Judah, even touched the gates of My people, even Jerusalem. LXX: And I will make Samaria a hut for storing vegetables in a field and a vineyard, and I will throw its stones into the abyss, and I will expose its foundations. And all her idols will be crushed, and all her tokens will be set on fire, and all her idols will be destroyed, because she has collected [them] from the wages of fornication, and has seduced them from the wages of fornication. Therefore she will weep and wail, she will go barefoot and naked, she will weep like serpents and wail like the daughters of the Sirens, for her plague has reached its peak, because it has reached Judah and touched the gates of My people even to Jerusalem (or: to Jerusalem). The order of punishments is arranged according to the order of sins. First Samaria sinned: she built idols and worshiped calves instead of God; That’s why She dies first. I will destroy it when the Assyrians arrive and make it like a heap of stones when grapes are cultivated, so that [or: and] it will turn into hills: “And I will throw its stones into the valley.” This is because it was located on the hills where Sebaste is now located, in which the remains of St. John the Baptist are also buried. “And I will expose its foundations,” because the destruction and destruction of the city will be such that not only the walls and buildings will be destroyed, but also the foundations will be exposed to the very last stones. And all her images and all her wealth, collected in her by various kings, will be destroyed and burned and reduced to nothingness. If, however, many riches and a large amount of utensils, collected as they believed as a result of fornicating service to idols, are given in favor of another harlot, i.e. Nineveh, this is because just as in their own land they committed fornication with idols that they themselves had created, so they will go to another land of idols and fornication, that is, to Assyria. Up to this point we are talking about Samaria. And since her plague will pass to Jerusalem, because he also sinned in a similar way, forsaking God and setting up idols, the prophet in his person, as it were, personifies (προσωποποίαν) God, weeping in great suffering, and says: “for this I will weep and wail, I will walk as if robbed and naked” (for I have lost ten tribes), I will howl like jackals and cry like ostriches. Just as dragons hiss terribly, according to the stories of writers of natural history, when an elephant defeats them, and as ostriches forget about their eggs and leave their young to be trampled upon by animals in the sandy desert, as if they had never given birth to them, which is written about in more detail in the book of Job (Job 39:14-16): so I will walk without children, robbed and naked. And I will do this, because her plague, that is, Samaria, is hopeless. And the same sin or punishment for sin that destroyed Samaria will reach Judah and even the gates of My city Jerusalem. And just as Samaria was plundered and destroyed by the Assyrians, so Judah and Jerusalem will be conquered by the Chaldeans. And since near Samaria we have already shown the prototype of the church of heretics, separated from God and turned into a gathering of the crowd, [then] the Lord himself threatens to turn it into a storehouse of vegetables, into a field and a vineyard. For it is much better that a useless city be destroyed, the stones from which it was built thrown into the abyss, and its place turned into a hut for storing fruits and a place for growing grapes, than to allow the greatest iniquities in its buildings. When will it be destroyed, and its foundations revealed (in which, as it seemed, it hid its secrets and had firm dogmas: when all its idols, which seemed beautiful and even beautiful, thanks to eloquent praises, will be destroyed by the servants of God, i.e. pillars of the church): then, in the place of the most wicked structure, various fruits of the church will grow, and not only will they grow, but will also be preserved; and the Sorec vineyard will be planted, yielding wine, which the Lord said he would drink in the kingdom of the Father (Mark 14:25). And not only will its foundations, which until that time were in the ground, be opened and exposed to view, but the idols invented by its inhabitants will be destroyed; and the riches that he seems to have collected through fornication and his delusions will be destroyed by My fire, about which I said in the Gospel: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I would that it... would burn” (Luke 12:49): and they will be burned and turned into nothing, because they were not accumulated from the truth of dogmas, but were collected by fornication and delusions of the soul now from here, now from here. After all, in fact, heretics do not have the wealth that they inherited from the inheritance of their fathers: they daily find an object for their worship and, with a skillful hand, build for themselves idols generated by their curious mind. Therefore, when their field is turned into a storehouse of fruits and cultivated as a vineyard; when the stones from which the city was built are thrown into the abyss, and their foundations are exposed; when all the idols are destroyed and burned, and the fornication’s rewards, on which they pinned vain hopes, and which they seemed to worship as if God, are turned into nothing, for all [their] treasures are collected from the fornication of the soul: then, in the consciousness of their former errors, having come to their senses, they will cry about what they previously saw as the source of laughter, and regret that before during their fornication, so to speak, was a source of pleasure. They will take off everything deadly from their feet and will be barefoot, because the ground on which they will be placed is a holy place; and they will throw off all the garments of their fornication and will be naked, that they may be able to put on the garments of Christ, and they will howl like serpents. Indeed, even the dragons will one day groan, [precisely]: when they see the greatest dragon captured and the fisherman hanging on the hook, and the sea devastated. And they will weep like the daughters of the sirens, because sweet are the poetic works of heretics, seducing people with a pleasant sound. Only the one who plugs his ears and walks by as if deaf can not listen to their singing. And this Samaria will weep and wail because, struck by an arrow and wounded by [His] word, she recognizes her error. But she not only sinned herself, but even wanted to bring her uncleanness and delusion closer to the gates of Judas. That is why it is said about it: “It has even reached Judah, it has touched even the gates of My people, even Jerusalem.” He says, touched the gate, by which we mean the ears; however, it could not enter into the middle of the city, because if it had entered (there), it would have made Samaria out of Jerusalem. When we see that some members of the Church are outraged by the speeches of heretics and are looking for how to give an answer to their questions, but do not leave the Church, we will say: “Samaria has come,” or the plague of Samaria has reached the consciousness of the people, to the ears of the people of the Lord, to the ears of Jerusalem. So in general (ἀπὸ χοινοῦ) the words “touched the gates of my people” must be understood to mean: even the gates of Jerusalem were touched. Up to this point [there was speech] against Samaria and Jerusalem, let's look at what follows. Micah 1:10–15. Do not declare... in Gath, shed no tears, in the house of dust be covered with dust; leave from you the inhabitants of Safir (Vulg. “beautiful”), covered with dishonor, she who dwells in Sennan (Vulg.: “in the exodus”) did not leave. The cry of the house of Azel (Vulg.: neighbors) will be received from you: it stands on its own because she who dwells in Maroth (Vulg.: “in bitterness”) has weakened in goodness, for disaster from the Lord has descended on the gates of Jerusalem. The noise from the terrible war drivers against the inhabitants of Lachish, which is the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion, because the crimes of Israel were revealed in you. Therefore [the enemy] will send spies over the inheritance of Gath, over the houses of lies, to deceive the kings of Israel. And I will bring an heir to you, who dwells in Mares, and the glory of Israel will go even to Adullam. LXX: Do not be proud, you who live in Gath, and you who are in Bachim, do not rebuild [your] house as a mockery: sprinkle earth on your ridicule; The inhabitant of Sennan, who lived well in her cities, did not escape; weep over the house near her: he will receive from you the plague of diseases; who began to do good [for her] who dwells in sorrows? for disasters from the Lord have come upon the gates of Jerusalem. The noise of chariots and horsemen is the inhabitant of Lachish; she is the beginning of sin in the daughter of Zion, because the uncleanness of Israel is found in you. And therefore he will give spies even to the inheritance of Gath, the houses of lies; They were of no use to the kings of Israel; until I bring you heirs, O dweller of Lachish; the legacy will reach even to Adollam. The Hebrew text in many respects disagrees with the translation of LXX, and both my translation and their translation are obscured by such difficulties that if at any time we needed the Spirit of God (and we always need the influx of Him when expounding the Holy Scriptures), it is now that we especially desire His presence, so that He might reveal what was spoken through the prophets - which He himself once deigned to promise: “Open your mouth and I will fill it” ( Ps.80:11). Gath, as it is said in one place in the history of the Kingdoms (1 Samuel 17:4,58), is one of the five cities of Palestine, adjacent to the borders of Judea, on the road from Eleutheropolis to Gaza; Even today it is a very large settlement. From him came Goliath, the Hethian whom David defeated in battle. So, if the prophet, i.e. The Lord, through the prophet, said: “I will weep and wail, I will walk like one robbed and naked, I will howl like dragons and weep like ostriches, because the plague of Samaria is hopeless and incurable, and has reached Judah, and has even touched the gates of My people, Jerusalem:” then I begin with the words of the one crying: “Do not announce in Gath,” so that the enemies do not hear and do not rejoice, do not shed tears, lest (your) sorrow burst into loud sobs. Hide your crying so that your enemies do not greet it [or: do not rejoice], do not let your faces (your) be covered with tears, although your heart is tormented by sorrow; do not go out, but (go) to the house of ashes and be covered with the ashes that fall from your ruins. Depart, [or: “let the population of Safir (שסיר) depart from you,” which means “beautiful” in Syriac and Hebrew. Indeed, Samaria was located in the most beautiful and fertile place in Judea; this is noticeable even at the present time. So, the following is said to her: O inhabitant of the most fertile country! since you have become covered with dishonor, flee so, let them take you captive so that some neighboring foreigner (ἀλλόφυλος) due to (your) great misfortunes does not hear your voice. The following words: “she who dwells in Sennan did not leave,” which signifies the exodus, or, as Symmachus reads: “the abundant population did not leave,” refer to the same Samaria, which is located at the very gates of the Assyrian captivity and immediately, after being moved from its borders, entered the enemy country. The “abundant” population should be understood in the same sense as the “beautiful” population explained above. So, the dwelling [or: dwelling] in the exodus, or abounding, did not come out of her own free will, but was taken by force into the midst of the Assyrians. After this, the neighboring house, located on the side - as (the word) Azel (אעל) is interpreted - namely the kingdom of Judah, now after the capture of Samaria is still standing and has God as its protector, will take grief from you. Shocked by horror and not strong in her goodness, the inhabitant Marofa (or: Ramotha), i.e., will also accept grief. “sorrows,” or, as Symmachus reads, “a population that brings sorrow upon itself,” i.e., a population that greatly grieves ( ἠ χατοιχία ἠ παραπιχπαίνουσα ) – in Hebrew this is expressed by Josebeth maroth ( ישסת םרית) due to the captivity of neighboring tribes, for disaster came from the Lord on the gates of Jerusalem; namely: the Assyrian, after taking Samaria, came to Jerusalem at the time when Rapsaks was sent to make a raid; this [Rapshakes] is written about in more detail in the fourth book of Kings (2 Kings 18) and in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 36). It says here that the Assyrian king sent from Lachish to Jerusalem, and then, after the capture of Lachish, he began the siege of Lobna. So, Lachish, a city given over to idols! a horseman and an Assyrian horse will come against you, because the crimes of Israel were found in you, and you were the beginning of idolatry among Judah; for through you, as through a gate, the wickedness of the ten tribes passed into Jerusalem. But the confusion and the horsemen will spread not only in Lachish, but also in Gath, the main city of Palestine, about which I said above: “Do not boast in Gath”: For the Assyrian will send his robbers, whom he calls spies, and will take possession of the house of idolatry and the city of lies, which exposed the feet of the kings of Israel. The following words: “And I will bring an heir to you, who dwells in Maresa,” perfectly correspond to the name [of the city], since maresa means “inheritance,” then he calls the invasion of enemies on it heirs; and even to Adullam, the city of Judah, the “inheritance” (םרשח), which means maresa, will reach Adullam, glorious among the cities belonging to Israel. Yes, and Symmachus translates it like this: ἥξει τῆς ὸόξης Ισπαήλ, i.e. “Yet I will bring an heir to you, dwelling in Mares, and even to Adollam will reach to [Adollam] “the glory of Israel,” i.e. the one who is famous among the cities of Israel; and when it says glory (gloriae), it is the genitive case of the singular: “this glory” (hujus gloriae), and not the nominative plural: “these glory” (hae gloriae). Therefore, we will understand this passage as follows: the captivity of Israel, which will come to Lachish, and Gath, and Maresah, will also reach Adullam, and we should even say more expressively: “until the glory of Israel,” so that by contrast (χατὰ ἀντίφρασιν) its vastness and all its dishonor can be felt. Then let the reader know that our earlier interpretation of the name of the homeland of the prophet Morasfi, as an inheritance, is also found in the verse above: “therefore he will send spies over the inheritance of Gath”; in Hebrew instead of: “over the inheritance of Gath” it says: maraseth geth ( םרשת גת ) [or: morasseth]. Until now, we have directed our boat among the cliffs and the most dangerous rocks, as far as we could, according to the Jewish text and our own understanding based on what we heard from the Jews; to judge whether she has reached the pier or is still wandering on the sea waves will be a matter of the reader’s understanding. And now, with the assistance of your prayers, let’s follow a different current and, if possible, try to avoid the threatening collapse here and there during the presentation (interpretation). Gath (גת) is interpreted as the place where grapes are pressed (torcular); Thus, those who live in Gath, or in the place of pressing grapes, thinking that they have gathered the fruits of life and trampled the clusters from the Sorek vineyard, will proudly exalt themselves, not knowing that the grape clusters of Judah are no longer within the borders of the foreigners. Do not be proud, he says, you who live in the places where grapes are pressed, for your vineyard is from Sodom and your growth is from Gomorrah, your grapes are filled with bitterness; he is like gall to you; your wine is the rage of dragons and incurable rage for adders. Therefore, even if you bear fruit (since your grapes are not only from Sodom and Gomorrah, but even from Egypt and other hostile tribes), the Lord will give your fruit to the rust, your labors to the locusts, and will overwhelm your vineyards with hail, and your mulberry trees with ice. Do not let the apparent goodness of the wine deceive you, and do not call the bitter sweet, taste your wine carefully and you will find (in it) instead of Sorek wine the rage of dragons and the poison of asps. For this reason, do not be proud; rather, humble yourself under the mighty hand of the Lord and go to that place of squeezing grapes, about which the one coming from Edom and the red one from Bosra (or: Bosrah) speaks through Isaiah the prophet: “I trodden the winepress alone, and from among the nations not a single man was found with me” (Is. 63:3). And since among the foreigners there are others (after all, the provinces of foreigners have many countries and cities) who, through villainy and opposition to God, say: “We are defeated, but, having returned, we will restore what was destroyed,” then the prophet defines both the limits of lawlessness and the people against whom the wrath of God was poured out: “you who live in Bakhim, do not make your house an object of ridicule.” Bakhim (בכים) in our language means "grief and lament"; and all, excluding LXX, translate χλαυθμόν, i.e. cry. So, you, who have given yourself over to deeds and thoughts worthy of lamentation, do not restore the edifices of the wicked, do not consider [the works] of your mind to be the work of God; Do not build buildings on sand, lest when storms approach, your house falls and [your] useless labor becomes a laughing stock to those watching. Oh, how much better it will be when you, realizing that your building is worthy of ridicule, sprinkle its dust and ashes on your heads and repent of the fact that you wanted, contrary to all advice, to unwisely build a house that must fall. It follows: “She who lives well in her cities, she who lives in Senaan has not escaped.” These words, it seems to me, have such meaning. O proud men of Gath and Bahim! In vain are you trying to create a house worthy of ridicule, cover yourself in ashes, do repentance, because you wanted to trample vile wine and build a house that is contrary to God. The Church of Christ, living well [in its cities] and having parts (of its own) throughout the world, is bound by the unity of the spirit and has strong cities in the law, prophets, gospel and apostles: it has not departed from its borders, that is, from the Holy Scriptures; she maintains the position she occupies because she lives in Senaan, which, according to the interpretation of Symmachus, as we said above, means “abundance.” She has the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in whom all spiritual gifts of grace and an abundance of virtues are united. Therefore, regarding her it is said: “Let there be peace in your fortress and abundance in your towers” ​​(Ps. 122:7). But you, heretics, living near Senaan, i.e. abounding church, you creators of incorrect dogmas, mourn yourselves, because you created a house for your own derision and proudly squeezed the grapes; and not on the Holy Scriptures, but on the likeness of the Scriptures, you built your house, which is therefore worthy not of joyful laughter, but of sobs and tears. Hence it follows (addition): weep over the house that is near her, that is, Sennan; but also that addition, which says: “he will receive from you the plague of sorrow,” refers to the same heretics who are commanded to weep over the house adjacent to the church, because the enemy and avenger the devil, to whom they will be handed over as punishment, will himself inflict plagues on them and instead of the most wicked building will erect suffering from plagues. These ulcers will be inflicted so that they, feeling the sins they have committed, will repent, and so that the house of disasters will turn into a source of good for them. Or does this indicate the grief of the church, which will one day mourn its children and will itself be the reason for the salvation of heretics if they wish to return to their grieving mother. The Marcionites and Manichaeans use the following words: “for evil has come from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem” as proof that the God of the [Old] Law is supposedly the organizer of evil. So we will say [for our part]: disasters came from the Lord, just as the Savior says in the Gospel: “I saw Satan falling from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:18). Just as there fell from the sky the morning star (Isaiah 14:12), and the one who sent (or was sent) to the nations fell from heaven, so these disasters fell from the Lord and came to the gates of Jerusalem were not disasters before they fell, and therefore they became disasters because they were cast down from God. But so that we would know the cunning of the enemies, he said: “they came to the gates of Jerusalem”; Since these gates are firmly built, as if made of diamond, and are closed by the apostles, who are entrusted with the keys of Jerusalem, the enemies rush to the gate and kill those who would like to leave. So, he who is in Jerusalem, living well in its enclosures, does not move away, because he lives in abundance; he always remains inside them, without going outside the gate, because whoever goes out [from there] will be killed. He is killed by those who proudly exalt themselves in Gath, live in Bachim and make a house for ridicule. Then: the disasters that came down from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem make such a noise of chariots and horsemen and such a roar before the gates of Jerusalem that they will kill with the power of their mouth those whom they see fleeing. After this it is written: “the inhabitant of Lachish”: [she] is “the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion.” Lachish means: πορεια ἐστὶν, i.e. a hike, a walk is going on. So, these are those who mounted chariots, acquired horses and made a terrible noise, and to whom she who lives well in her cities will say: these are on chariots, and these are on horses; we will cry out in the name of the Lord our God (Ps. 19:8); since they lifted up their feet and, swept away by every wind of false teaching (Eph. 4:14), desired to leave the church, which signifies the heights, or Zion, they became the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion. And in it itself, that is, among the Latins (Romans), the wickedness of Israel was found, which separated the people from the former kingdom of God. So, the inhabitant of Lachish is the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion, i.e. his wicked walk, which continually changes its ways; and the wickedness of Israel is in those who always move their steps and are called those who dwell in Lachish. The spies will be sent out to the inheritance of Gath, the most wicked Gath, [that] winepress of poisons, which rises up against the house of God, [that] receptacle of vain houses, built for ridicule. These vain houses did not benefit the kings of Israel. In the historical sense [this means]: to the kings whose sins are described in the Books of Kings and Chronicles; as for the meaning of the mysterious, this means: the heads of heretics, and representatives of perverted dogmas; after all, their houses are vain and built without benefit; but they will persist only until those who are to be brought from the Lord prevail over their inheritance. - Then the words follow: “living in Lachish, the inheritance will reach even Adullam.” Adullam means: “evidence of their consumption”, or “wasting them”, which in Greek is more clearly expressed by the words: “evidence of their exhaustion” (μαρτυρία αντιήσεος αὺτῶν). In the book of Proverbs [of Solomon], we read: “If you are evil, you will be the only one who draws evil” (Proverbs 9:12). So, she who dwells in Lachish, that is, on the most wicked way, will come to the point of evidence of her exhaustion, because according to the extent of her deeds she will draw and drink. But, of course, it should also be noted that the words: “dwelling in Lachish” refer to [the words] above; and then the order and meaning of the speech will be as follows: I will bring to you, O inhabitant of Lachish, heirs from the church, since you too will be [part of] the inheritance of the Lord when you have exhausted and endured everything that you deserve. – At the end of this section, I conjure the reader so that he does not see the necessity [that prompted me] as a voluntary desire, and in the extensive presentation does not see an excess of speech, but rather is surprised both that I found something [to say] in such difficult places, and that I did not miss anything that I had to say. Micah 1:16. Tear off your hair and shave your head [in sorrow] for your sons, your sweet consolation, expand... your bald head like an eagle, for they were taken captives from you. LXX: Glory to the daughters of Israel, pluck off your hair and cut your hair in sorrow for your tender children, spread out your bald head like an eagle, for they were taken away from you into captivity. Words quoted from the Seventy: Glory to the daughter of Israel, [i.e. e.] with the addition of a daughter, Jews place it at the end of the previous section (sarituli). As for us, we - according to your desire and the corresponding [interpretation] we have begun - must interpret Scripture as it is read by the church, without at the same time deviating in the least from Jewish truth. So here he says to Israel - and this [must be taken] in a literal sense - so that we will understand either the ten tribes in Samaria, or all of Israel in general: for the people were taken captive and all Judea was devastated by the Assyrians and Babylonians; [they] must bear grief and mourn for their sons. And just as the eagle, the king of birds, at a certain time loses the feathers that cover it and remains naked, so Israel will lay down all the glory with which it was previously surrounded, and will mourn in mourning its sons, who submitted to the power of the enemy. And that an eagle at a certain time usually loses its feathers is written about this in the Psalter: “Your old age will be renewed like an eagle” (Ps. 102:5); and the comic writer in the [comedy] “Punishing Himself” (Neautontimorumenos) says: “It is true what they usually say about the old age of the eagle” (Terent. title of the comedy act, III, scene 2). If we wish to accept the same regarding the present time of the Jewish calamity, then we will see that all the grace with which they once shone with God has completely withdrawn from them. Indeed: where is the prophet? where is the teacher of law? where is the intercession of angels? where are the unexpected [or: expected] victories won by a small number of people over a much larger number? Jerusalem, having completely lost the crown of its former glory, lost its hair (Is. 33:18; 1 Cor. 1:20), and its sons, who cried out against the Lord: “Crucify, crucify Him” (John 19:6), were taken into captivity. I read in the interpretations of a certain [writer] that the words: “throw off your hair and shave your head” in sorrow for children, your consolation, can also be accepted in relation to the human condition, so that [here] God seems to be saying, turning to Adam or heavenly Jerusalem: O human spirit! O city, which was once the matter of saints, which was once in paradise and enjoyed the beauty of various trees, and had the most precious ornament, now cast down from its height, carried to Babylon and reached the place of captivity, and having lost its hair, shaved and put on the garments of repentance; Formerly soaring like an eagle on high, mourn your sons, your descendants, who were taken away from you into captivity! Micah 2:1–5. Woe to you who plot useless things and in your beds commit iniquity: in the morning light they commit it, because their hand is against God; and they coveted the fields, and took [them] by force, and plundered the houses, and slandered the man and his house, the husband and his inheritance. Therefore, the Lord says this: Behold, I am planning for this generation... a calamity from which you will not carry away your backbones and will not act proud: for [this] is the most evil time. On that day a parable will be made about you, and a song will be sung of those who speak pleasantly: We are completely devastated by destruction; the lot of my people has been changed [given into the hands of others]. How will he leave me when the one who divides my countries returns [to me]? Therefore there will be no one in the assembly of the Lord who will cast down a line to measure [your] inheritance. LXX: There were [people] plotting labor and doing evil on their beds and ending it with the day, because they did not lift up their hands to God; and they coveted the fields, and robbed the orphans, and oppressed the houses, and plundered the man and his inheritance. Therefore, the Lord says the following: Behold, I am planning disasters for this tribe, from which you will not carry away your backbones and will not come forward with your head raised - [suddenly], for the time is most evil. On that day a parable will be made about you and there will be a bitter cry of those who speak in song: We have suffered the greatest calamity, part of my people is measured with a measuring line, and there will be [no one] who would forbid it to turn away [from them]: our fields are divided. Therefore there will not be for you [a person] who will throw a rope to measure the inheritance. The words we added at the end of the section, according to the Hebrew [text], “in the assembly of the Lord,” instead of which the Seventy translated: “in the church of the Lord,” according to the popular edition (Vulgatam), constitute the beginning of the next section. And therefore, if God wills, we will reason [about them] in him. So: woe to you, Jewish assembly, which conceived evil and carried it out in practice; you have covered the bed given for peace from labors with shameful deeds; and whatever unjust thing you planned during the night, as if there was no way to recognize it, immediately after the day has come, you hasten to fulfill it, without thinking that your strong hand will [revolt] against God. And what [exactly] they planned at night and carried out during the day, Scripture shows, listing it in parts. It says: “They desired the fields and took them away by force”; it is also added: they desired the houses and plundered those that they desired; and they not only slandered their husbands and their houses, but also [their] descendants, who due to their young age deserved mercy, they plundered with predatory cruelty. Therefore, because you have done this, and have planned something useless, I, the Lord, will plan evil against this generation; not because what I intend is [really] evil, but because what I intend will seem evil to those who endure it; for it will oppress you so that you will not be able to raise your spines, you will not walk with the appearance of pride, it is you who have suffered the time of captivity. At that time (or: later) they will talk about you in a parable, and your misfortunes will turn into the subject of a song: “We are completely devastated by ruin, the lot of my people.” My church, He says, which alone among other nations I set above all, this church will turn into ruins. And how will the Assyrian retreat from me when he returns to divide my fields by lot? For this reason, O family of Israel, against whom I am plotting disaster, you will have no share in the inheritance of the righteous. But even from the extreme degree of punishment through captivity, one can see that everything that happened to them is a consequence of the fact that they crucified the Lord: so, at least, according to the publication of the Seventy Interpreters. For the glory of Israel is stripped of its hair and shaved in sorrow for the children once beloved; If anything serves to restore her hair, then again through shaving and circumcision she will be cut off. Then all their thoughts were turned to work, and what they conceived with a lulled soul and thought would bring them work; and no matter what they do, everything will be thrown into confusion immediately after the light of Christ shines and vengeance [comes]. For although they read that Israel was victorious when Moses lifted up his hands to the Lord, and was overcome when Moses laid down his weary hands (Ex. 17), they did not lift up their hands to the Lord; but, committing all sorts of crimes against the poor and the people of God, they coveted the fields, robbed the homes of the orphans, and ruined the husband, the wife, the children, and his property. For this reason, the Lord planned (or, planned) disasters for this tribe - not for the twelve tribes, but for the tribe defiled by villainy and crimes - because of which they could not raise their heads and speak out straight. And to this day they are subject to Roman power, and oppressed by the yoke of captivity, and do not raise their ridges. And then the next word is ἐξαίφνης, i.e. “suddenly” is not in the Jewish [lists]; however, it can be so agreed with the present place that we will say: “Therefore, thus says the Lord: behold, I am suddenly planning disasters for this tribe, from which they could not (or: cannot) lift their backs, and they cannot lift them because the time is evil.” And just as they committed evil against the Lord Jesus, so they themselves will suffer the misfortunes of constant captivity and will reach such oppression that all their songs and psalms will turn into lamentation. And the people will not be able to say anything else except these [words]: “We have become extremely unhappy.” Because the land of promise, which was originally divided by lot across the Jordan to two and a half tribes according to the measure of Moses, and then distributed by Joshua to the other tribes, - this land is now divided by Roman distribution to [alien] nations, and there was no one who would prevent [the Romans] from conquering all the nations; There is not a single one of the Jews who would have owned the ancient land with the freedom of former times. If we wish to follow the third [method of] interpretation, [i.e. e.] apply the whole speech about what I just said above to the human soul, which, through its fall from paradise, fell into the captivity of this world, then we will see that every thought of ours is work and sorrow, and our beds are full of atrocities and the most visible light is mixed with darkness; and whatever we think about in the night, we carry out in darkness. Indeed, who [of us] raises holy hands to God without anger and doubt? Who among us does not desire the possessions of this age, forgetting about the riches of paradise? Do you not see that others are adding fields to fields and plots to plots, and that the possession of villages and cities is not enough for the insignificant body of man? Therefore, the Lord is planning disasters for us, from which we will not be able to raise our backbone and walk straight, because the time is the most evil, which is in accordance with the words of John: “The world lies in evil” (1 John 5:19). The same thing is meant in the Gospel by that daughter of Abraham, the noble soul whom Satan imprisoned and conquered, and who only at the coming of the Lord, but not before, can rise to heights and contemplate [or: accept] her Creator. Therefore the Savior said: “This... daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound... ought not to have been released from these bonds on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). Consequently: since all your glory is circumcised, and we have enlarged our baldness, or nakedness (for so we find in some lists), then those who, like Jeremiah, will mourn for us, will make up a parable about us and will say along with the apostle: I will “mourn ... for many who sinned before and did not repent” (2 Cor. 12:21). Indeed, who does not weep when he sees that human souls are in the power of various vices and demons, like various household utensils? One of the demons distributes a cord to measure fornication, the other - avarice; this one determines the measure of murder, this one - perjury: part of the people of God is divided by this [cord], and the fields that were once fields of holiness and paradise, the fragrance of which Isaac enjoyed in Jacob his son (Gen. 27:27), were given over to the Assyrians and the king of Babylon; and while the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). – As far as the weak qualities of my natural mind allowed me, I outlined the first captivity from the Assyrians and Babylonians, and the second from the Romans, and the third spiritual, into which each of us fell together with Adam from paradise, and rotates in the captivity of this world; from this [captivity], the Lord, upon His coming, will raise up those who are cast down and will loose those bound (Ps. 145:14), and will bring those who were once captives of the devil into His power, and the words of the Psalmist will be fulfilled, saying: “By ascending on high, He has brought captivity into captivity” (Ps. 67:19). According to this presentation, the fourth captivity can also be accepted in relation to the church, from which everyone leaves through sin, and then from Ezra, which means: “helper,” that is, from the word of God, is brought back to Jerusalem (1 Ezra 7:6-7). But if someone who studies the law of the Lord day and night has had greater diligence - with greater natural gifts, leisure and grace - and can say something more suitable to the truth regarding this passage, [such] I do not envy, and I do not treat [him] with contempt, for I prefer to learn from him what I do not know, and will willingly declare myself [his] disciple until he will teach, but not revile. After all, nothing is so easy as for someone who is idle and loves to sleep to dispute the meaning of the work and wakefulness of others. Micah 2:6–8. Do not repeat incessantly, lest confusion be poured out upon them, says the house of Jacob. Has the Spirit of the Lord diminished? or is this His intention? Are not My words good to him who walks rightly? My people, on the contrary, have turned into [Me] enemies; You put on an epancha over your tunic, and you turned those who passed by you in simplicity to war. LXX: In the Church of the Lord, do not shed bitter tears and let them not cry over these, for the one who says: The House of Jacob has challenged the Spirit of the Lord to battle will not turn away reproaches. Are these not his undertakings? Were not His words good to him? And [were] they right? And the people who were before Mine, contrary to their peace, resisted with hostility; they tore off his skin to take away hope, complete defeat in the war. “Don’t repeat it incessantly,” he says; instead, Aquila translated, “do not continually shed drops,” calling, according to an ancient Hebrew expression, speech the falling of drops of water, because it flows and reaches the ears of the listeners like the falling of rain. O house of Jacob! do not be deceived, do not say to yourself as a consolation: “God is good; The captivity that we fear will not come [to us]. Will His immeasurable mercy and all-forgiving Spirit, which rose widely and abundantly over everyone, diminish and be strict only in relation to us? Are His undertakings really such as we see [them] in people, i.e., that He will not restrain His anger and will be aroused by sudden rage for vengeance? To this the Lord answers: Truly I am good, My words sound like mercy; but this is in relation to those who walk in the right way. And the one who - I do not say in ancient times - yesterday worshiped idols to dishonor Me; who, as far as it was in his power, took hold of violent weapons against Me; who, by the permission of God (auxilio Dei), robbed the unfortunate people and, as it were, put on epancha over his lower clothing; who turned to war against Me some of the believers in simplicity [of heart] and relying on the authority of great [men], - will he not be subjected to (such) an outpouring [of the wrath] of the Lord, will he not be overcome by confusion? The words that we cited in the form: “My people, on the contrary, turned into enemies [of Me],” Symmachus, on the basis that mul ( םול ) has the meaning of both “opposite” and “yesterday”, translated more clearly, so that he says: “a day ago, My people rebelled [against Me] with hostility,” thus, he resolves the question that God imputes to the people not their past crimes, but completely new, seeming ones. perfect as if it were yesterday. This is according to the meaning of the Hebrew text. But the Seventy Interpreters completely disagree with him in this place. In fact, what sequence can there be between the introduction: “In the church of the Lord, do not shed bitter tears,” and the following words: “She who says, “The house of Jacob has challenged the Spirit of the Lord to battle,” will not turn away reproaches?” And then in the following words: “Are these not his undertakings? Were not" [or: not] "His words good to him? and” [did] “they walk right?” what does this have to do with the further speech: “And the people that were mine before, in spite of their peace, opposed themselves with hostility; did they tear off his skin to take away the hope of complete defeat in the war? It seems to me that in [this] place, although very difficult [to interpret], the meaning can be given, or expressed like this - of course, if the prudent reader agrees with our interpretation. The Church is commanded not to have sorrow and worry about temporary things, and about the losses that usually happen in this world; its inhabitants are told: O you who are in the church! always rejoice and be glad no matter what happens to you as a result of [God's] righteous judgment. I’m not saying that you should never cry, for: “Blessed are those who mourn... for they will laugh” (Luke 6:21), but I urge you not to grieve for the things of the world [of this]. If one of your close relatives dies; if the state tax devastates the estate; if gout or any other disease takes over the body: do not cry, do not shed bitter tears; do not worry about the present, but about the future, and grieve more that you dwell longer [than you should] in this refuge of death. Therefore, it is better to be careful not to make attacks on the weak, and not to consider the ruin of another as a means for your own creation: let each [of you] receive payment according to his strength, and not from the poverty of another. Otherwise, what truth would there be in the fact that the branches of the wild olive attack the branches of the grafted olive, which were broken due to their unfaithfulness (Rom. 11:17-20), and they say: the house of Jacob challenged the Spirit of God to battle, beating the prophets, honoring idols and crucifying the Son of God? Whoever does this will not be free from reproach and will be condemned by Him to the same extent that he himself condemned [others]; and just as he himself spoke of the sins of the one who fell, so another will attack his ruins. This is followed by: “Are these not his beginnings? Were not His words good to him? And” [did] “they walk right?” And what the Jewish people say, they pushed away, so that the multitude began to be saved, this was a work of God’s providence, so that later, according to the faith of Israel, everyone would be saved and everyone would begin to need the mercy of God. Therefore, the apostle, coming to the question concerning this place (ibid.), exclaims that the depth of wisdom and the abyss of knowledge and the destinies of God are unsearchable (Rom. 11:33). So, if God’s intentions and intentions are to break off the former branches of the grafted olive tree, and to graft in others from the wild olive tree, you should not rebel, but you should be afraid lest you fall, you should not think that you are pleasing to God by reading His word, that is, the Scriptures. Scripture only benefits the reader when what is read is actually fulfilled; and when you, speaking from Scripture, can say: Are you not “seeking the proof of him who speaks in me” [i.e. e.] Christ (2 Cor. 13:3), because the Lord will give the word to those who bring good news with much power (Ps. 67:12) and: go up to the high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion, and lift up your voice with power, you who bring good news to Jerusalem (Is. 40:9). Consequently, the words of God are good if they are with Him, that is, if God does not abandon the preacher, if his heart and mouth are in agreement with each other. However, the good words of God do not come to the one who speaks [only] with his lips, but his heart is far from God, and proclaims His judgments, and accepts His covenant with his lips, but [in fact] is defiled by the deeds of sinners. This should say not only about the sinner. but also to each of those who do not have the grace of the spirit, i.e. prophecy and teaching and interpretation and greater gifts of grace; this kind of person will not have with him the word of God if he wants to indicate the causes of the elements, the foundations of his faith and [explain] why God, the good and Creator of all, came only to the Jews, and already in the very last time called the [pagan] nations; with his own inexperience he will pervert even the good words of God, which come straight and seek correct hearing. This is precisely what the Lord commands the people who are to be the successors [of Israel] and the church gathered from the Gentiles [i.e. e.] do not attack the original generation of Israel and do not become worthy of reproach by attacks. He himself, the True Judge and speaking without anger, shows how Israel during His sufferings will be his adversary and will do this not because he can harm his Creator, but because he designed against his own well-being. That's why He turns the word to Jerusalem: “Oh, if you... knew what brings about your peace” (Luke 19:42). Having lost the world, they tore off their skin, i.e. they removed from themselves the help of God, which patronized them, and remained like naked bodies without skin and covering; so that what before, with the assistance of Divine mercy from above, seemed beautiful [in them], after its distance revealed [their] shame to those looking on. After the removal of the world and the help of God, as a result of their opposition to God - about which it is said: “The Lord is the Lord who destroys battles”, the Lord is his name (Judith 16:2), - they could not resist their enemies, but were defeated in all battles and there was no One who destroyed the battles that arose against them, according to the two kinds of [their] enemies: either from people who took them into captivity, or from the power of the enemy, which daily captured their souls through blasphemy. Micah 2:9,10. You have thrown the women of My people out of your house of pleasure; You have taken away My glory from their children forever. Get up and walk, because you have no peace here; for his (or her) uncleanness, she will be subjected to the most evil rottenness. The translation of the Seventy [if only there are Seventy: for Joseph writes and the Jews report that they translated only five books of the law of Moses and transferred (or: sold) to King Ptolemy] deviates so much in the present place from the Jewish meaning that we can neither distribute the corresponding sections, nor explain together [their] thoughts. Therefore, we will first explain our translation and then move on to them. Up to this point, the word [of God] is directed against the people of God, to whom it was already said: “On the contrary, My people have turned into enemies; you put on an epancha over your underwear.” And he not only did this, but even the noble wives, once tender, forced them to go captives, or, in a figurative sense, the cities of Judah, which in the book of Isaiah He calls the daughters of Zion (Is. 1:8, Is. 62:11). because Zion is the capital (metropolis). Even from their infants, He says, you have taken away My glory forever; there is no one left among the people who would sing psalms, because everyone was either killed or taken into captivity; and those few who survived [death] in Babylon testify to themselves that they cannot sing: “how will we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land” (Ps. 137:4). Therefore, arise and go into captivity, for in this land you have no rest; it is defiled because of your crimes and cannot be cleansed unless it first celebrates a long Sabbath rest. Therefore, I tell you, you have no peace here, since your land is desecrated and will be subjected to the most evil corruption, namely captivity, either Babylonian or Roman, because it was drunk with the blood of the Lord: the meaning can be taken in accordance with the two [named] historical events. LXX. The leaders of my people will be cast out from their houses of pleasure; because of their evil undertakings they were rejected. This passage can be understood: firstly, in general, about the rulers of the Jewish people, priests and Pharisees, who, after the death of the Lord, were cast out from the city of their amusement, where they had previously indulged in amusement, as a result of their evil undertakings, secondly, in particular, about the family of David, because immediately after the birth of the Lord, “the prince became poor from Judah, and the leader from his loins” (Gen. 49:10), for his appointed purpose has come, and the desire of the nations has appeared. But the prophetic speech also describes the rulers of the church, who are drowning in amusements, and think that in the midst of feasts and amusements they maintain chastity; but they must be thrown out of their vast chambers, from magnificent feasts, from banquets that cost great labor; they must be cast out because of their evil intentions and deeds. And if you want to know where they should be cast out, read the Gospel: Into utter darkness, where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13). Is it not dishonorable and shameful to preach Christ crucified on the cross, the Teacher, poor and hungry, having well-fed bodies, and to proclaim the teaching of fasting with lips red [from wine] and with a thick face? If we take the place of the apostles, then we will imitate not only the word of their preaching, but also their conversion and self-control. There is no doubt that the ministry of the apostles is holy, [their] ministry to widows and the poor; [but] they also say: “We must not, leaving the word of God, serve tables” (Acts 6:2). And now the priest of Christ invites to the feast, I do not say, the poor, the brethren, and those who, for their part, cannot pay with an invitation, (from whom the hand of the bishop can expect nothing more than gratitude), but military men girded with swords, and judges, while centurions and detachments of soldiers are watching at the entrance doors. Clerics are bustling all over the city: they are trying to deliver to the judges what the latter cannot find in their praetoriums or, having found, cannot buy. Of course, one should not think that this [word] of reproach applies to all bishops in general. No! let the prophet’s speech concern those who are such [in their qualities]; let them [precisely] threaten punishment and eternity of torment, so that those of them who are not restrained by modesty will repent, at least under the influence of threats of punishment. LXX: Get closer to the eternal mountains. By eternal mountains we can understand either angels or prophets, about whom it is written in the psalm: “His foundations are on the holy mountains” (Ps. 86:2), and in another place: “I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence my help will come” (Ps. 121:1). The one who in his sins is not separated from the cohabitation of the saints will approach the eternal mountains, just as Moses approached God not by space, but by his merits. And to those who approached the eternal mountains, God Himself said: “I am God who draws near, and not God from afar” (Jer. 23:23). These mountains are called eternal to distinguish them from those that are not eternal, namely: from the dark mountains of the princes of this age, which, although they will be erected like the cedar of Lebanon, will pass away along with the world, so that their place will not be found. LXX: Get up and go, because there is no peace for you here. [Here] we receive a command not to consider any things of this world as rest for ourselves, but, as if rising from death, to strive for heights, walk after the Lord our God and say: “My soul cleaves to You” (Ps. 63:9). Therefore, if we are careless and do not want to listen to him who says: “Awake, you who sleep, and be raised up, and Christ will enlighten you” (Eph. 5:14), then we will be as if in a state of sleep; but we will be deceived, for we will not find peace, because where Christ does not enlighten the rebel, apparent peace is only torment. LXX: Because of uncleanness, you were destroyed by corruption. Instead of the words: “destroyed” (destroyed), according to the Greek meaning in Latin, you can say: “corrupted,” so the order of speech will be [as follows]: but because of the defilement, you were ultimately corrupted. This is said about those who, serving the lusts of the body and passions, corrupted not only the soul, but also the body, since they preferred to love lust rather than God. We can say: you have decayed due to uncleanness, and the meaning will be complete even without the word corruption. But since he says: “they have decayed to the end” (decayed by corruption), it seems to me that this is to distinguish it from saving corruption, regarding which the Apostle says: “But even if our outer man decays, the inner man is renewed from day to day” (2 Cor. 4:16). He who always carries within himself the mortification of Christ and corrupts the outer man and subjects the flesh to the power of the soul, although he decays, he does not decay (in the end), because his corruption is salvific. LXX: You ran away, although no one was pursuing [you]. The speech is addressed to those who, due to impurity, have decayed to the end, because in the consciousness of sins, even without external torture, they do not dare to resist their enemies and enter into battle [with them]. Therefore, during the battle of the saints, those who are cowardly are excluded from the camp, so that they cannot frighten the spirit of their brothers, and are removed from the ranks (Deut. 20:8); and in the curses of the book of Leviticus to people of this kind it is said: “The sound of a leaf flying quickly will drive you and you will run, although no one is pursuing you” (Lev. 26:36). In the interpretation of a certain writer who explained the beginning of the Gospel of John, I read that in the words: “All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created” (John 1:2-3) the word nothing refers to evil, and evil is understood in the sense of the devil, so that nothing created without Christ is precisely the devil. So, if evil, or the devil, is nothing, and if those who have decayed with corruption have fled, although no one, that is, nothing, is pursuing them; then the devil pursued them in insignificance. If this interpretation of mine seems to someone too strained and composed more on the basis of a play on words than on the basis of the actual meaning of the simple words of Holy Scripture, let him follow either my first interpretation, or the one that he finds himself. Micah 2:11,12. Oh, if only I were not a man who has the Spirit, and would I rather tell lies! My speech will fall drop by drop, like wine and drunkenness, upon you, and this people will be the one upon whom it is poured. By gathering [or: gathering] I will gather you, Jacob, in all its fullness; likewise I will gather together the remnants of Israel into one. And in this passage (sarite) the Seventy Interpreters differ in many ways from the Hebrew text. Therefore, we will first present what was transmitted to us from the Jews, and then, if God wills, we will discuss their translation. O people of the Jews, to whom belong the promises, the covenant and the law, and from whom Christ is according to the flesh (Rom. 9:4,5), and to whom, in view of the dangers threatened by the Babylonians and Romans, I said: Arise and go into captivity, because in this land there is no rest for you, since it will be devastated by a new population due to its uncleanness, do not think that I am speaking voluntarily and proclaiming with It is joy that I see as coming [on you]: I myself would like to be excommunicated (anathema) for the sake of my brothers, that is, the Israelites (Rom. 9:3). Oh that I spoke from my own mind and did not have the Holy Spirit! It would be better for me to perish alone as a false prophet, if only what I say were not true! Oh that such a great multitude [of people] would believe in the Son of God and would not be handed over to eternal captivity. But since I am a prophet and speak under the influence of the Spirit of God, and am sent by divine power [or: truth], then I preach the truth: therefore I will pour out my speech on you like whole wine, so that it will intoxicate you and make you fall. While I pour out my speech and prophesy the disasters of the future captivity, this people will be subjected to my floods, that is, they will endure what I proclaim, whether they want it or not. And so that you do not think that I am a prophet of only [or: so many] disasters, it is now that the predicted division will come; but here in [or: let it be recognized that in] the word speaks to me, which was to all the prophets, with the silence of which the prophet does not speak, and which to say now: “I will come and take on a human body and be born of a virgin,” or this: Because I came in the humiliation of the flesh, and you did not believe me, then at the end of the world I will come in My majesty with the Angels and other powers, and then, Jacob, I I will gather you all, then I will gather the remnants of Israel into one and unite them in the flock of My sheep with a people of the Gentiles. Then I will fence you with the strongest wall, and the multitude of believers, as well as the noise of the flock enclosed in the sheepfold, will be so great that the number of heads will exceed [any] number. And lest you accidentally think that My words: “I will lay them down like a flock in a sheepfold, and like a herd among a fence” refer to ordinary sheep, understand that these sheep are people. For further it follows: “There will be noise from many people.” The word tumultus denotes the noise of the voices of many [people], and likewise the cry emitted by a huge number [of them], so that we will not consider it the voice of one [person], but the common voice of all praising the Good Shepherd, who leveled some rocks and trampled them with His foot, [who] Himself will be their leader on the way through the gates of paradise, and will say: “I am the door”; with the accompaniment and under the leadership of Whom the believing people in simplicity of heart will pass through the door of the path. This shepherd is the King and Lord. Therefore, the following words follow: “And their king will pass before them, and the Lord at their head.” Therefore, if we wish to take all this in relation to His first coming and attribute all of Jacob and the remains of Israel to the Apostles and that multitude of the Jews who, according to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, were saved, this interpretation will not depart from the truth; Indeed, the Lord truly gathered them into His flock, and placed them among the fence, and went ahead of them, and brought them into the Church, and became the King before them and the Lord at their head forever. LXX: The Spirit stopped the lie. He set you up for wine and intoxication. And it will come to pass that from a drop of this people Jacob will be gathered into an assembly. Here you need to read not: “The lying spirit has stopped,” as many people think, but: “The lying spirit has stopped,” because in Greek it says: πνεῦμα ἔστησε ψευδές i.e. τό ψεῦδος. Just as with putrefactive wounds, doctors stop [or: cut off] the wound and cauterize it with a hellish stone, or burning dust (χαυστιχῶ) so that the cancer does not spread and so that the affected part of the body does not increase in size by feeding on living parts: so the Spirit of the Lord put an end to lies, so that the people of God would no longer obey the voice of false prophets. And that the word spirit, both in the New and in the Old Testament, wherever it is used without addition, is understood [always] in a good sense, we have often said this [before] and now, so that no one doubts, we will say in part: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” (Gal. 5:22) and: “If we live by the Spirit, we will also walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25); and in another place: “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live” (Rom. 8:13), and in the Old Testament: “Giving breath to the people who are on it,” and spirit to those who trample on it (Is. 42:5), it is undoubtedly clear from the previous that the words: “on it, her” mean on earth, and the earth. Indeed, those who trample upon earthly affairs and throw them under their feet undoubtedly deserve to receive not an evil, but a good spirit. On the contrary, the evil spirit is always spoken of with an addition, as for example in the following place: “When the unclean spirit comes out of a man” (Matthew 12:43), or in another place: “He rebuked the unclean spirit” (Luke 9:42) or: “An evil spirit attacked Saul” (1 Sam. 14:14) and other similar things. So, the Spirit of God, who put an end to the lies of the false prophets, will Himself drop your wine and your drunkenness. This wine is the wine that gladdens the heart of man (Ps. 103:15); and this intoxication is the one with which Noah was intoxicated, and about which it is said: “Eat, my friends, and drink until you become drunk” (Song. 5:1). After all, all this joy and all this intoxication is only a drop and the smallest drop in comparison with the wisdom of God, which, like an abundant river, waters the heavenly Jerusalem. And that only a drop of Divine Wisdom speaks in people, those who read that the stone was torn from the mountain without the help of hands (Dan. 2:34), that the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and that even the Apostles only partly knew and partly prophesied (1 Cor. 13:9) will not doubt this. So, from this wisdom, that is, from a drop of the Jewish people (after all, He [Christ] came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel) Jacob was gathered - [namely]: the one who overcame Esau, seized his birthright and blessing, and who, before being born, while still in his mother’s womb, took possession of the sole of the foot of his hairy brother. LXX: I will accept the remains of Israel, accepting with everyone. When, He says, the people of the Gentiles believe, and the whole world is brought to My faith, and the fullness of the tribes enters [the church], then the remnant of Israel will be saved; [these are] not the remnants about which it is written in the book of Kings: “I left for myself seven thousand men who bowed not the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18), and about which Paul [says]: “Even so at this time a remnant was saved because of the election of grace” (Rom. 11:5); This prophet also testifies about them above: “And it will come to pass [that] from a drop of this people Jacob will be gathered into an assembly.” But these are the remnants that, after everyone has been accepted, will be accepted, they are accepted by God in the end. It is now said about them: “I will receive the remnant of Israel, accepting with all,” so that, according to what is written, God, “having imprisoned all under sin, will have mercy on all” (Rom. 11:32). LXX: Their falling away I will put down like sheep in confusion. I intend to receive the remnants of Israel after I have received everyone; and now, while they have fallen away from Me, I will put them in tribulation and will oppress them, and will force them to remain without a priest, without an altar and without a prophet, so that they understand through punishment what they could not understand through good deeds. LXX: Like a herd in the midst of their lair, it means: I will put it. But he says not only that their falling away, by which they fell away from Me, will be laid down like a flock in confusion, but also that after they are subjected to tribulation and the time of their oppression is fulfilled, they will be laid down at rest, that is, in their place of rest. And then, [or: now], they will move away from people, rise above the state of life in [ordinary] human conditions and fulfill the [prophecy] contained in the further words: “they will jump out from people.” But not only will they stand out and leave, but also all those to whom the word of God is addressed, and who, having abandoned human vices, imitate the divine walk and hear the words addressed to them: “I said: you are gods and all sons of the Most High” - they will stand out from among people and, as it were, will be ascended [or: ascended] to heaven. LXX: Rise through division. The present place contains, as it were, its own beginning and the appeal of prophetic speech to the one who wants to be saved, and who is commanded to go through the division (through the hole). However, this will be more clear if we take an example from the book of Genesis, which speaks of the birth of two twins from Tamar, after Judah lay with her: And behold, it says there, when she was giving birth and had two twins in the womb, and during the birth one put his hand forward, the grandmother took and tied him a piece of red cloth with the words “This one will come out first.” But when he removed his hand and immediately after that his brother came out, she said: “Why was the barrier divided for your sake” and gave him the name Perez, which means: “division.” And after that his brother came out (from the womb), on whose hand was a bandage of red cloth, and called him the name “Zara” (Gen. 38:27-30), which in our language means “seed” or “east.” Thus, the oldest people, in whom there was a germ or birth before the origin of the church from the Gentiles, showed their hand in works, and then withdrew it, hearing [said] through Isaiah: “For your hands are full of blood” (Is. 1:15). And when he withdraws [or: removed] his hand and distances himself from righteousness, his brother, the pagan people, will come forward. Because of him, the wall of the barrier was divided, and the Lord and Savior destroyed the fence that was in the middle, and the border that separated the two peoples, and formed one flock, and in Himself created two, [putting] peace and one new man. Therefore, the grandmother, prophetically turning to Peres, the younger people, says: “Why was the barrier divided for your sake?” If you understand the example taken from the Book of Genesis, then ascend everyone who wants to be saved, and of course, not through the old people, who have withdrawn their hand, but through the new one, in which the way is Christ, in which the gate is Jesus, through whom we approach the Father; because He himself removed the obstacles and mediastinum, i.e. the darkness of the Old Testament prophets, and revealed all the mysteries of the Old Law and, having removed all difficulties for those entering, opened the way in the eyes of everyone, so that those who wish to continue will not be restrained or hampered by any obstacle and will not be afraid of any degree of darkness. LXX: They opened the gates in front of them and passed [through] the gates and went out through them. Their king came out before them. The Lord is their leader [or: will be] to You, risen with Christ and seeking what is on high, I therefore said: “Ascend through division,” because the angels, or the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, revealed what [before] seemed like a barrier, and prepared the way for those wishing to enter; and since they entered on a completely free path, they not only entered the gate, but also passed through it. They entered because their King also entered the same gate and opened the way for them, so that they proceeded without any difficulty. For the Lord himself is the King, and the Shepherd, and the way, and the door, and says: “I am the door; whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find” pasture (John 10:9). There is a prophetic word about this door in another place: “Behold the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through it” (Ps. 117:20). And the one who enters should not remain in the state in which he entered, he will go out into the pasture, so that in his entry there will be the beginning of the virtues, and in his departure from there and in the assimilation (acquisition) of the pasture - their perfection. The one who enters is still in this world, and cognizes [or: will cognize] the Creator through creation. But the one who goes out, goes beyond the boundaries of all creation, and considers everything visible to be insignificant, will find pasture above [his] eyes, he will feed on the word of God and say: “The Lord feeds me and I will not lack anything” (Ps. 22:1). From this we will understand the testimony of the words of the Gospel: “And he will come in and go out, and find pasture,” as well as what the prophet now says: “And they passed through the gate and went out through it.” However, this entry and this exit cannot be accomplished without our King Christ, who is the King and the Lord, since immediately after this are added the words: “The Lord will be their leader.” Micah 3:1–4. And I said, Listen to the head of Jacob and the rulers of the house of Israel. Isn't it your business to know the truth; for you hate good and love evil, you forcefully tear off their skin and flesh” [Vulg.: flesh] them from their bones; You have eaten the flesh of My people and taken them off, their skin and crushed their bones and broken [them] as in a frying pan, and the meat as in a cauldron. Then they will cry out to the Lord, and He will not hear them and will turn His face away from them at that time, since they act unrighteously in their evil imaginations. It is obvious that the speech is directed against the leaders of Israel, and their cruelty is described under the image of lions or robbers; for they robbed the poor and killed them and crushed their bones and their flesh, and, as if in the depths of a cauldron, they exhausted the unfortunate people in the city of Jerusalem. It is for this reason that punishment will be brought upon them later, during the days of captivity, either from Nebuchadnezzar, or from Titus and Vespasian. And they will cry out to God, and He will not hear them and will hide His face from them, for they acted wickedly in their crimes. LXX: And he will say: Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel. [Here] the thought is connected with the [immediately] higher words. For above he said: “The Lord is the leader” [of them] “and will say: Hear, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and the remnant of the house of Israel.” Instead of the words: “The remnant of the house of Israel,” everyone, with the exception of the Seventy, translated: “the leaders of the house of Israel.” So, the Lord, who prepared the way for His people and went out before them, is Himself also the leader on the way for the simpler people, which He calls the flock. He threatens those who do not want to follow His leading, but are proud and, as judges of the people, do not follow His steps, He says: “Hear, ye heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel.” What is it that He makes them listen to? “It is not your business to know the truth, since you hate good and seek evil,” that is, you are not worthy to know the truth of God, which is a great deep, and a corrupt mind does not find the means to know the depth of His truth. Or [so]: how can you comprehend the truth of God, you who hate good and seek evil, you who abhor holy people, but the poor, and you who honor sinners, but the rich. At the same time, let us think about the meaning of the words: [if] not loving goodness is already a sin, [then] how grave a crime will be hatred [of it]? On the contrary: if not avoiding evil is already a vice, then how great is wickedness to diligently seek [evil]? After this [the prophet] describes the cruelty of judges and their inhumanity towards their subordinates. LXX: Stripping their skin from them and their flesh from their bones. Since they have devoured the flesh of My people and flayed them and crushed their bones and crushed their flesh as if in a frying pan and as if meat in a cauldron, they will cry out to the Lord and will not hear them and will turn His face away from them at that time, because they acted wickedly in their evil undertakings. It was not enough for [them] to plunder the herd subject to them, but they also exhausted the bodies with cruel dominion and crushed their bones in order to smash and grind [to dust] if anything [accidentally] remained strong [intact] on them. And so: just as they, having delivered My flock to the devil and his angels, robbed My people and completely deprived them of all beauty and decency of the skin that covered them, and threw bones and flesh into a boiling cauldron, which the king of Assyria set on fire; so they themselves, when the day of vengeance comes, will cry out to the Lord and will not be heard, since they themselves did not hear those asking; and they will stretch out their hands to the Lord, and God will turn away His face from them, just as they themselves turned away their face from those who pleaded with them. And they will endure all this deprivation, since they acted extremely wickedly in their deeds and lusts: they were not kings, but tyrants, not leaders, but lions, not teachers for students, but wolves for sheep; and they were filled with flesh, and became fat, and [thus] prepared from themselves, as it were, the fattest sacrifice for slaughter and for the punishment [prepared for them] from the Lord. – Up to this point [the speech was] against the wicked leaders. The following words are directed against false prophets and the most wicked false teachers, who, through cunning flattery, deceive the people of God, promising [them] knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Micah 3:5–8. This is what the Lord says about the prophets who deceive My people, who bite with their teeth and preach peace, and if anyone does not give something in their mouth, they declare holy war against him: therefore you will have night instead of vision" [or: "division"] "and darkness instead of foreshadowing. And the sun will set on the prophets, and the day will be covered with darkness over them, and those who see the vision will be dismayed, and they will come to the fortunetellers are perplexed, and all will cover their faces, because there is no answer from God. But I am filled with the power of the Spirit of the Lord, with righteousness and strength” [or: with truth], “to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” LXX: This is what the Lord says about the prophets, who deceive My people, and bite with their teeth and preach peace over them, and [it] is not given in their mouth: they have made war against them. Therefore there will be night for you instead of vision [or: division] and darkness will be for you from [your] divination; and the sun will set on the prophets and the day will darken over them, and the dreamers will be in confusion, and the soothsayers will be the subject of ridicule, and all these things will begin to speak against them, because there will be no one who will listen to them; unless [when] I am filled with power in the Spirit of the Lord, both with righteousness and with might, to make known to Jacob his wickedness, and to Israel his sins. We learn [here] that among Israel there were false prophets who, for gifts, proclaimed a peace that had not been given to them; if someone did not give gifts, they proclaimed the coming wrath of God against him, even if that person were a saint. For this reason, it is said to them that they are telling lies, and their word is not a prophecy, but a false prediction; and they will not have light, but darkness and error. And when all their predictions are fulfilled in a completely opposite sense, then they will be covered with confusion, because, he says, there was no answer from God. Already [or: for] the demons will not receive the power to deceive them with their lies. The oracles will become silent, the unclean spirit will be silent and will not dare to mock [them]. - It's about false prophets. Following this, the prophet begins to speak about himself, - [namely]: while they prophesied falsehood and were covered with confusion and confusion, I speak everything according to the instruction of the Holy Spirit and proclaim the righteousness of the Lord and the power [or: truth]. And when the false prophets bite with their teeth and preach peace, without any fear I proclaim to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin, because they either worshiped idols instead of God, or nailed the Son of God to the cross. If we wish to accept what is said according to the [translation] of the Seventy in relation to heretics, who are truly false prophets and claim that the Lord says so, but the Lord did not send them; then we will not make a mistake [in this]. In fact, heretics sometimes deceive the people of God and eat people, either by simply accepting gifts from them, or by secretly destroying their souls; They promise these [people] peace and the kingdom of heaven and say that there is no need to live abstinently and holyly: have [only] the faith that we preach, and you will inherit all the promises of God. By preaching this way, they rather arouse the wrath of God against people and prepare war against them. Therefore, O heretics, who imagine themselves to be the possessors of the prophetic word and imitate the Church of God! The darkness of the night will be where you think there is a vision, and the unclean spirit speaks where you boast of a prophetic prediction. The sun of righteousness will hide over the prophets of this kind and they will see their darkness and will be in confusion. And when they are declared to be fortunetellers rather than prophets, they will be ridiculed for their dreams, and those nations who were previously deceived by them will begin to speak against them. Then even the teachers themselves will repent, but no one will listen to them, except Me, whom they insulted; and since I am merciful and do not want the sinner to die (Ezek. 18:32), but for him to turn and live, then when I hear them, I will give them the power of My Spirit and fill Him with righteousness and strength, so that those who previously deceived the people with flattery will after this frighten them, proclaiming the truth to them and will call them to the right path, and those who were previously the cause of error will begin to heal the wounds inflicted by them and be the cause of recovery. – In this place, pay attention to the fact that after a sin [the repentant] can teach someone, if, however, he washes away his previous sins with worthy repentance. Therefore, David, after his fall into adultery and murder, says: “Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” He rejoices not only about his purity, but also adds: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and confirm me with the Lord’s Spirit”; When You do this, I will: I will teach, he says, “The wicked will turn to You in Your ways and the wicked” (Ps. 50). Micah 3:9–12. Hear this, heads of the house of Jacob and judges of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert everything that is right, building Zion in blood and Jerusalem in lawlessness. Its leaders were judged for gifts, and its priests taught it for a fee, and its prophets foretold for money, and they rested, trusting in the Lord, saying: “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come to us." Therefore, for your sake, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be like a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the church will be turned into a mountain covered with forest.” LXX. Hear this, O leaders (or: judges) of the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert everything that is right, building up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wickedness. Its leaders judged for gifts, its priests gave advice for a fee, and its prophets gave predictions for money, and they rested in the Lord, saying: “Is not the Lord among us? No disasters will come to us.” Therefore, for your sake, Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be like a hut for storing vegetables, and the mountain of the Lord like a grove on the side of a steep hill. No one doubts that Jerusalem was subjected to disasters for the crimes that are described in this passage, because a threat has already been made above either against the judges or against the false prophets: “Listen to the heads of the house of Jacob and the leaders of the house of Israel”; and then after, a few verses later [it is said]: “This is what the Lord says against the prophets who deceive My people,” and so on. Now [it is said] in general against judges, and against false prophets, and against priests, and against those who boast [as if they had] a sign from the Lord to them. The prophet's speech threatens and denounces them because because of their crimes, Zion should be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem should be destroyed [and turned] into a heap of stones, and the hill on which the church is located should be turned into a wooded hill. What was said, we see completely accomplished; the eyes confirm the words of the mouth; and [our] observation testifies to the fulfillment of prophecy. This same evidence is found in the book of Jeremiah (Jer. 26:18), where a mention is made of Micah, and Jerusalem appears desolate. The judges and heads of the house of Jacob and the house of Israel, that is, both the two and the ten tribes, not only did not do justice, but also despised it, and perverted everything that was straight, so that somehow even a small share of justice would not remain in the city. They built Zion on blood and Jerusalem on iniquity, robbing the poor, destroying innocent children and killing the saints. If some of the judges seemed to judge fairly, this means that they sold the court verdict for money and judged for gifts. Even the priests taught the people only for a fee; and although the saints are told: “Freely you have received, freely you also give” (Matthew 10:8), yet they, only having received money from those who brought them, with the greed of money lovers, sold the word of God and the grace of the Lord. And after all these atrocities, not understanding their sin, as if through their crimes they had acquired the mercy of God, they vainly say that they are judges, priests and prophets; out of their unrepentant hearts they repeat: “The Lord is among us, and disasters will not come upon us.” And since they did not repent, and the whole people followed in the footsteps of the vices of [their] leaders, priests and prophets, then Zion will be plowed up like a field, and Jerusalem will be turned into a heap of stones, and the church, until that time shining with gold and silver, will be brought to a state of complete destruction. This [is said] about the Jewish people, whose present captivity and complete defeat were determined, both as a result of their above-mentioned crimes, and especially as a result of the shedding of the blood of the Lord. For the same reason, Zion was plowed like a field, and Jerusalem was reduced to hills covered with forest, and that church, once revered and glorious, was reduced to dust. If anyone applies the words relating to Jerusalem and Zion to the church [after all, it is the house of Jacob and the house of Israel, according to what is written in the book of Isaiah: “Jacob is my servant, I will receive him” (Is. 42:1) and the following words (of the apostle) to Timothy: “So that you may know how you ought to act in the house of God, which is the church” (1 Tim. 3:15)]; he will clearly see that the heads of the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel, or (as it is better written in the Hebrew text) “the judges of the house of Israel” are none other than bishops, elders and deacons, who despise justice and pervert everything that is right, unless they guard their hearts with all care; In fact, don’t they despise justice and pervert everything that is straight when they judge with partiality and [when] when considering a case, what matters is not the guilt of the defendants, but their power. But [this place] can be understood differently, [namely]: that the heads of the house of Jacob and the judges of the house of Israel despise and hate justice, rejecting the decision of the Judge of God and perverting every rule of [Holy] Scripture with perverse interpretations; thus they build Zion on blood and Jerusalem on iniquities. For when Scripture commands: “Do not bring the wicked under the roof of the righteous” (Prov. 24:15) and says: “The Lord will abhor a bloody man and a flatterer” (Ps. 5:7); then these [church rulers], when they ordain as clerics whomever they happen to have from their retinue, are responsible for the unbelief of those who are exposed to temptations, since the lives of [the initiates] are exposed to the temptation of the people (Matthew 18:6-9). This is why it is said that it would be better for a man if a millstone driven by a donkey were tied around his neck, and that man were thrown into the depths of the sea, than if one of the least [children] of the church were offended. And although the prophet Malachi calls the priests angels (Mal. 2:7), although their lips [are called] the saying of the Lord, they do not judge without gifts, saying: “Gifts blind the eyes of even the wise and, like a bridle on the lips, prevent a strict sentence.” (Deut.16:19; Sir.20:29); and although the apostles are told: “Do not have gold and silver and copper in your belts” (Matthew 10:9), and even hard-earned money is taken from the hands of the holy man, they trade in the word of God and make a profit from trading doves even in the church. But the prophets of Jerusalem also give prophecies for money, not knowing that divination is one thing, and prophecy is another; after all, prophecy in the Holy Scriptures is never understood in the good sense of “There will be no magic.” - he says, - “in Jacob and prophecy in Israel” (Num. 23:23) True, it seemed to them that this was a prophecy, but their prophecy turned into the prophecy of fortune-tellers, because they received money. The Apostle Peter says: “I have no silver or gold” (Acts 3:6); Of course, he could sell Simon the sorcerer what he asked for; at least he could pretend to be selling (for the Holy Spirit can neither be sold nor bought); however, he condemned the money brought along with the one who brought it (Acts 8:18–23). Nowadays you can see that the mouths of the prophets of Jerusalem had no prophecy, [although] they leaned as if on the Lord and said: “No disasters will come upon us”; and [behold] for their sake, the place of the [special] Providence of God is cultivated by the enemy’s plow, and the place, once peaceful, is covered with ruins, and the church of the Lord turns into a thorny thorny forest and becomes the dwelling of wild animals. And no one is touched by what we read in the first book of Kings, [namely]: that Saul, wanting to go to Samuel, told his servant that he did not have a gift with which he could pay for the prediction; but the boy answered: “Behold, a fourth part of a shekel of money has come into my hand, and I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way” (1 Samuel 9:8ff.); for it is not written there that Samuel accepted [the money], or even that they offered [it] to him; on the contrary: they themselves receive refreshments from the prophet and are invited to his feast. But suppose that he accepted [the money], it should still be considered rather a payment for hospitality than a gift for a prediction. Indeed, a shekel has twenty obols, but the fourth part of a shekel is only five obols. Thus, our priests, if they want to sell prophecy and offer doves from their pulpits, [similar to those] that the Lord once cast down with a scourge (John 2:15), then let them receive five obols, and not a payment [equal to the value of] villages. The same thing is noted in the third book of Kings, [namely]: that the wife of Jeroboam, when her son fell ill, goes to Ahijah, the man of God, bringing him bread, dried grapes and a jar of honey (1 Kings 14:1-3). And in fact, [there] it is said that she carried it with her, but it is not written that he accepted it: for he both reproached her and predicted her coming grief. It is possible that those who used to go to fortune-tellers (because among Israel there were many fortune-tellers and soothsayers), out of their bad habit, thought the same thing about the prophets, and wanted to make offerings to holy men, as they usually brought to fortune-tellers; and therefore the Scripture said that they wanted, but it does not add that they dared to make offerings, or that the prophets accepted them. The Apostle Paul says: “Those who serve the altar take part from the altar and live” (1 Cor. 9:13). O priest! you are allowed to live from the altar, but not to live luxuriously. The mouth of the threshing ox is not stopped (ibid., 1 Cor. 9:9). We know this, and yet the Apostle does not abuse this permission: having the means of living and clothing, he is satisfied with [them]; day and night he works with his hands, so as not to be a burden to anyone. And in his epistles he swears that he walked in the Gospel of Christ holyly and without stinginess, and not only about himself, but also about his disciples, he affirms the same thing - [namely] that he did not send anyone to demand [or: could], or wanted to receive anything (1 Thess. 2:5-11; 2 Thess. 3:8-12). If in some epistles he thanks [the brothers] and calls the gifts of those who send them the favor of God, then he collects them not so much for himself as for the poor saints who were in Jerusalem. And the saints who were in poverty in Jerusalem are those who from the very beginning believed in Christ of the Jews and, being rejected by their parents and relatives and loved ones, lost both their possessions and all their utensils as a result of plunder by the priests of the church and by the people. If [even now] there are such poor people, then let [the priests] accept; but if, under the pretext of the poor, some houses are enriched, and if we eat gold in glass and clay vessels, then either we will change our clothes according to the accumulated treasures, or let the poor dress not seek wealth, like the senators. What is the use of not having a scarf around your neck to dry your sweat! And what is the pleasure of having only one tunic and preferring poverty in clothing, when the whole crowd of poor people will sigh about our purse? For this reason, for our own sake - which are such that we build Zion in blood and Jerusalem in unrighteousness, which we judge for gifts and give answers for payment, and give prophecies for money, and beyond this, appropriating false holiness for ourselves, we say: “Disasters will not come upon us” - [for our own sake] we will hear the terrible verdict of God; it follows further: Zion and Jerusalem and the hill of the church - the container and place of vision of the world - and the Church of Christ will be in destruction; and at the end [of the world], when love grows cold and faith becomes rare, they will be plowed up like a field, and will become hills and will be hills covered with forest and huts for storing vegetables, so that where there were once vast houses and countless heaps of fruit, there will be a scarcely visible hut containing a small amount of food, not enough to strengthen the soul. Micah 4:1–7. And it will be in the very last of days" [Vulg. adds: “The mountain of the Lord’s house will be prepared in the top of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills, and nations will flow to it, and many peoples will hasten and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His ways, for out of Zion will come the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” and He will judge among many. nations and will subdue many nations to a great distance, and will beat their swords into plows and their spears into shovels: and” [one] “nation will not take up a sword against” [another] “nation, and will no longer learn to make war; but the man will sit under the vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to make him afraid” [them], “for the mouth of the Lord of war has spoken these things. For all nations walk, every one in the name of his god; but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. On that day, says the Lord, I will gather the lame and the one whom I rejected, and I will add the one whom I have made sad, and I will make the lame a remnant, and the one who suffered a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on until eternity. LXX: And in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, set on the top of the mountains, and will rise above the hills, and nations will hasten to it, and many nations will go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and [He] will show us His way and let us walk in His paths, for out of Zion will come the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and He will judge between many nations and will reprove strong nations even at a great distance. And they will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning hooks; and people will no longer raise the sword against people, and they will no longer learn to wage war. And each one will rest under his own vine, and each one under his fig tree, and there will be no one who makes him afraid, for the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these things. And all nations will go each their own way; but we will go in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. On that day, says the Lord, I will gather those who are broken and will receive those who are rejected and those who are cast out; And I will make the broken one a remnant, the exiled one a mighty nation, and the Lord will reign over them from now on and forever. Since the heads of the Jews despised judgment and perverted everything that is right, and built Zion on blood and Jerusalem on iniquities, and not only did this, but also judged on gifts, and the priests of Jerusalem gave answers for a fee, and the prophets prophesied for money, and since because of them Zion was plowed up like a field, and Jerusalem was turned into a heap of stones, and the mountain of the church of God was desolate [and turned] into a wooded hill; that is why their house was left empty now, when the Son of God, coming out of the church, said: “Arise, let us go from here” (John 14:31) and: “Behold, your house is left empty” (Luke 13:35). Also, the angels, according to Joseph’s interpretation, said: “Let us leave our seats” [or: “from the dwelling”]; instead of Mount Zion, the Mount of the Lord will rise, about which the head of the city of Tire is told: “And you are smitten on the Mount of the Lord” (Ezek. 28:16). It is this mountain of the Lord that was revealed at the very last time, when the kingdom of heaven drew near, for at the end of the ages our Savior appeared for the humiliation of sins through his sacrifice and at the eleventh hour he came to occupy the workers. And when His sufferings were fulfilled, John says: [Children!] “The last time is” (1 John 2:18); in fact, if in the period of six thousand years every five hundred years are distributed according to the hours of the day, then the last hour will truly be called the time of faith of the pagans. “And the mountain of the Lord will be revealed,” he says, “prepared on the top of the mountains.” She who was previously hidden will be revealed, and prepared not only between the mountains, but also on the top of the mountains, [i.e. e. above] Moses and the Prophets who proclaimed Her. For although they described everything sacred, yet in comparison with the prophecy in which they announced the coming of the Lord, everything else is base and in no way can reach the top of the mountains. “And he will be exalted,” he says, “above the hills” (Phil. 2:8,9). Indeed, He appeared [as] a man and took on the form of a slave; He humbled Himself even to the point of death, death on the cross. But the Father highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name; and all human life, in comparison with His walk, is called plains and fields. So, to this mountain, which is prepared above the tops of the mountains and exalted above the hills, they will “rush,” or, as the Hebrew text says, “all nations will flow,” that is, countless crowds will gather like rivers. The nations must hasten, precisely when the Parthians, the Medes, the Elamites, and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and the aliens Romans, Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, believe in Him equally (Acts 2:8-11). Do not those to whom it was said seem to be hurrying towards the mountain? “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19,20) and who immediately followed the Savior? And then the Scripture testifies of James and John that they hastened to the mountain, leaving their father and the ship, and the troubles of [this] age. And Matthew, the tax collector, hearing the words: “Follow Me” (Matthew 9:9), immediately hastened [to follow]. But even in that case, the Gospel indicates people in a hurry, when [it is said] that many crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and the region beyond the Jordan, and He healed them [Matthew 4:25]. And when the nations hurry, then very many pagans will also come in grief—namely, the whole world who believes in Him—and they will say, mutually calling themselves to the banner of the Crucified One: “Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord.” One must be lifted up so that someone can come to Christ and to the house of the God of Jacob, [i.e. e.] to the church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth [1 Timothy 3:15]. Further, we have already said above that Jacob signifies the Savior: Jacob is My servant, I will receive him (Isa.2:3, Isa.51:8, Isa.52:1). But they will say to those to whom they said: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob,” and they will add: “so that they show us their way,” - what do you understand about the angels presiding in the churches, or about the sacred Scripture, which will show [you] the way of the Lord and Him who says: “I am the way” ( John 14:6). And we will walk in His paths, precisely in the Apostles, through whom we believed in Christ. Indeed, the spiritual law came out of Zion, and the word of God came out of Jerusalem to the Gentiles, for the Father gave all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). And He will admonish many nations over a very long distance (Ps. 93:10), for the Lord will defeat the wise in their tricks and will know their thoughts that they are futile. He will judge between the nations that are worthy of salvation and those that are not worthy [of it], and at His coming all the cares of war will be reduced to peace (Isa. 2:4): swords will be changed into ploughs, and spears will be beaten into pruning hooks; people will stop fighting against people: no one will learn to fight once the need for battles is eliminated. And peace will be of such a kind that everyone will be safe, not only in cities, but also in villages, and even in the fields; and it will be so, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. But in the beginning, according to the literal meaning, before the Youth prayed to us, whose rulership was on His frame, the whole world was filled with blood, and nations fought fiercely against nations, kings against kings, and tribes against tribes. Finally, even the Roman state itself was torn apart by internal wars: the struggle of Cinna, Octavius ​​and Carbon, Marius and Sulla, Antony and Catiline, Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey, Augustus and Brutus, and the same Augustus against Antony, in the struggle of which all kingdoms shed blood. After that, by the time of the coming of Jesus Christ, one kingdom emerged - the Roman Empire; the whole world became accessible to the walking of the Apostles, the gates of cities became open to them, and only one state was formed for preaching about the one God. But the above words: “They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning hooks” (Joel 3:10) can also be understood in a mysterious sense, namely: by the time of faith in Christ, anger and indomitable curses were put aside, so that everyone puts his hand on the plow and does not look back [with fear], and having crushed the spears and arrows of curses, he wants to reap the spiritual fruits. Therefore, when others work, let us enter into their labor [John 4:38], so that it may be said about us: “As they went, they went joyfully, carrying their sheaves” (Ps. 125:6). Nowadays no one fights against another, because we read: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9). No one learns to strive to overthrow those who listen, but [everyone] puts silence on his lips and maintains silence, because the time is evil; but everyone rests under the vineyard to tread the wine that gladdens the heart of man (Ps. 103:15), under that vine of which the Father is the worker (John 15:1), and under his fig tree, plucking the sweet fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, and so on. All this will undoubtedly happen - which corresponds to both methods of interpretation - because the words of the Lord are true, and His word is action. All nations will go, each in his own way; but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. While all nations, he says, walk in the path of their error, we hastened the path and said: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob” (Is. 2:3) and we will walk in the name of Christ our Lord, for He is the mountain that is God. On the day when the sun of righteousness shines, those who were previously oppressed will be gathered, and those who were in exile will be accepted, and those who were in contrition will be gathered in order to be made into the remnant, and those left behind in order to become a strong people, for “If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and likened to Gomorrah” ( Rom.9:29). But the Hebrew text says very well: “I will gather the lame and the one who walked evil,” addressing whom Elijah [the prophet] says: “How long will you limp” (1 Kings 18:21), and whose offended foot was cut off (Mark 9:45). I will gather the one whom I drove out and to whom I gave the book of divorce, and whom I saddened with various kinds of captivities or handed over to the devil and his angels. But, lest the diligent reader immediately object to us: “How can you say that the lame is gathered and the exiled is added [to her], when Judea stubbornly persists in unbelief”? - let him pay attention that [here] it is said about the original Church of Christ, which believed from the Jews, from which were the Apostles, and about which Luke in the Acts of the Apostles writes that in one day three thousand believed, and in another place five thousand (Acts 2:41. Acts 4:4), about which James says to Paul: “Brother Paul, you see how many thousands there are of believing Jews, and they are all zealous doers of the law” (Acts 21:20). On the other hand, also think about the meaning of the prophetic expression: he does not say: “I will put the lame woman completely into salvation,” but only: “I will put the lame woman into the remnants,” so that the remnants and the chosen part will be saved, and the one who has worked [suffered] a lot will become a strong people, that is, a people with the name Christians, which neither sword, nor fire, nor terrible torment will overcome. Look at the faith and suffering of the martyrs, and you will not doubt the strength of [this] people - And the Lord will reign over them, that is, over many nations and over the limping remnant of [Israel] on Mount Zion, [i.e. e.] in the Church, in an exalted place in the contemplation of virtues from the present time to the next century. - If someone wishes the words: “I will gather the one who is broken and accept the one who was rejected” and so on, to be understood in relation to the human soul, [i.e.] in relation to the fact that before the coming of Christ it served various passions and vices and as if a weak and lost sheep were torn to pieces by the teeth of wolves, he will not fall into error if he considers in that, which was crushed and cast down in sorrow, [the soul] having subsequently to be under the dominion of the Lord, to live in Zion and to be lifted up to its former height on the shoulder of the Good Shepherd (Luke 15:5). It is necessary, however, to know that the Jews and the followers of their error attribute both this section we have outlined and a similar passage from Isaiah to the thousand-year reign of Christ and the Saints. And the passage that says: “All nations will walk, every one in the name of the Lord their God,” is interpreted to mean that every nation will suffer with its idol and will be cast into the fire of eternal torment. The falsity of such an interpretation is exposed by the sequence of speech, which shows that this is not talking about the end of times, but about the first coming of Jesus Christ, during which the remnants of the lame man will be collected, and even earlier the pagans will be saved. This is how the prophet Isaiah stated this passage: “The word that came to Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed and the house of the Lord will be revealed on the tops of the mountains and will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will come to it, and many nations will go and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of our God, and He will tell us our way and walk in it; For out of Zion shall come the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem”; and He will judge among many nations, and He will reprove a very many people, and they will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning hooks, and nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to make war” (Isaiah 2:1-5). It is significant here [or: in these words] that it is said that the word of God coming out about Jerusalem will judge among many nations, and will convict [only] the Jewish people. Indeed, He will judge us, as sinners, according to our deeds; He will not judge them, as the wicked and rejected, but will [only] convict them as condemned. You might be interested in: