Глава 3

Zeph.3:1. O bright and liberated hail, dove. Why, he says, did such a glorious and famous city, which ruled over every nation, easily defeated its opponents, was always stern and invincible for those who wanted to oppose it and armed according to the rules of military art, become completely deprived of honor, became pitiful and subjected to captivity? - a city that, with many signs and wonders, was delivered from Egyptian slavery and freed its neck from under the unbearable yoke, for the sake of which the rivers turned into blood, hail and darkness struck the land of Egypt, for which the sea also armed itself, defeating its pursuers - and on top of that, many other amazing deeds were accomplished? “Oh, the city of the dove,” that is, the most beautiful city. Inspired Scripture always uses this bird to denote beauty. So, for example, the groom wanted to honor the bride depicted in the Song of Songs, calling her a dove: “Arise,” he says, “my neighbor, my good one, my dove” (Song. 2:10). Jerusalem was very beautiful because, of course, it shone with the light of the divine law and turned out to be adorned with the virtues of the priesthood, created the truth and worshiped the real God, and performed service to Him. This is spiritual beauty. But you can understand differently the name of Jerusalem as a dove. This bird, even if someone takes it away from the nest, as soon as it finds a convenient time to fly, usually returns home again and flies to its native places. This, as we learn, was the case with Jerusalem itself. Having the piety inherited from his forefathers, he went to Egypt. Having departed, as it were, from the ministry of his fathers, he worshiped idols there. But he was called by Moses and somehow flew away from the error of Egypt, returning to God. What, however, he says, was the reason that the “deliverable” one was again completely captivated and subjugated by others? Zeph.3:2. Without hearing a voice. On Mount Sinai he heard God, who said: “Hear to Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord.” “You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any likeness, such as the tree in the heavens, nor the tree below on the earth, nor the tree in the waters under the earth” (Deut. 6:4; Exod. 20:4). But having violated this commandment, he recklessly fell into polytheistic error. Thus, “not having heard the voice” that came to him on Mount Sinai, or by the voice will be meant admonition. Having disdained the law that educates and leads to righteousness, he turned to the teachings and commandments of men and, following his own opinions, found himself far from the right path and remained unlearned and deprived of divine instructions (Is. 29:13; Tit. 1:14). Since war and battle were approaching and dangers were threatening, he had to imitate the piety of his ancestors, place his trust in the only saving God, and he “prayed to Egypt and went to Assyrians” (Hos. 7:11), hired Syrians or Arabians to help him, as if dishonoring the divine power. And do not get closer to your God. And we approach God through all good behavior and determination to do what is pleasing to Him. We approach Him in another way, namely by believing that He is the one, real and true God, and the King of all, and the Creator, and completely not recognizing anyone else besides Him. Zeph.3:3. His princes are in him, like lions roaring. He lists the crimes and gives the reasons that prompted Him and aroused Him to just anger, so that it would finally be revealed that He truly punishes the wicked and those who have reached such corruption that it has become, as it were, unbearable for God himself. So, he says, his “princes” were “like lions.” What are these doing? When hunger irritates them and impels them to seek food, they run about the mountains and valleys, uttering a kind of very terrible and wild roaring; and if they see anything suitable for food somewhere, then, filling the air with a roar like thunder, they instill such horror that everything seems to be frozen with fear and, as if entangled in nets, awaits the destroyer. Some of the leaders of Israel acted in exactly the same way, when they sometimes threatened those who had not sinned in anything with the death penalty prescribed in the law for criminals, if the latter did not want to do what was pleasing and pleasing to them - and when they allowed this to other accusers or deprived the judges themselves of their own property. He accuses them of the same crimes through another of the prophets - Micah, saying this: “having thought toil and doing evil on their beds, and committing them more and more day by day: until they had not lifted up their hands to God: and they sat down, and raked the orphans, and robbed the houses of the orphans, and plundered the man and his house, and the man and his inheritance” ( Micah 2:1–2). So the inventors of heresies seem to roar against those who have chosen life in simple faith - opening their God-hating lips, they seem to devour ignorant people, thereby making them even more ignorant and instilling in them empty and depraved thoughts. By telling fables in this way, they incline others to accept what they themselves perceive as good, so that those caught in the net seem to be already dead and little different from insensitive stones. Anyone can, and very rightly, cry to them: “Arise from sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will sanctify you” (Eph. 5:14). However, as blessed David says, “God will break their teeth in their mouths: the Lord has broken the members of lions” (Ps. 57:7). They say that Arabian wolves are superior to all animals in cruelty, suffer from insatiable greed, and are so fast on the run that they easily escape from any pursuit. Therefore, in one place and through another prophet he said about the horses of Babylon that they were “faster than the wolves of Arabia” (Hab. 1:8). So, he now uses the greed of wolves to depict judges, as if with their whole mouth and insatiable teeth exterminating the defendants; because they extort a lot and beyond measure, in order to violate justice and in order to wickedly deviate from what is consistent with the divine law to what is pleasing to some others. But they had to think about the fact that, as the Tributary says, “he who receives gifts unrighteously into the depths will not prosper” (Prov. 17:23), for “gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and sweep away the words of the righteous” (Deut. 16:19), as it is written. What's the best thing that comes from receiving gifts? What benefit can a shameful bribe bring to those who love it? On the contrary, could it bring them any harm? It is true what Blessed Paul says: “But those who want to get rich fall into adversity, and into snares, and into many foolish and destructive lusts, which plunge men into destruction and destruction” (1 Tim. 6:9). So, “better is a good name than great wealth” (Proverbs 22:1), and this saying is truly very wise and immutable. Zeph.3:4. His prophets are wind-bearers, men are despisers. Here he notes well about the prophets of Jerusalem that they were not from God, they spoke incorrectly, coming “from their hearts,” and not from the mouth of the Lord, as written (Ezek. 13:2, etc.). The prophetic word mocks them, calling them “wind-bearers”; because they did not actually partake of the Holy Spirit, but boldly imagined they had the gift of prophecy and did not hesitate to say that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. So, wanting, he says, to be both prophets and bearers of the spirit, and to assign to themselves such an honorable name, they became so “disdainful” that not only themselves did not know what honesty was, but they also destroyed others to whom they spoke “from their hearts” - and this they did, pathetic, for the sake of small and insignificant profits, as the prophet Ezekiel says, “handfuls for the sake of barley, and for the sake of a crust of bread” ( Ezek.13:19). They reached such madness that they passed off their own intentions as the will of the ineffable Glory and claimed that these were the words of God about the speeches coming from their own minds. And therefore he spoke about them through the mouth of Jeremiah: “The prophets did not send, but they taught: they did not speak to them, and they prophesied” (Jer. 23:21). When the prophet cried out and said: “O Lord God, behold, their prophets prophesy and say, You will not see the sword, and there will be no famine for you, but I will give truth and peace on earth and in this place”; and the God of all, as if in refutation of this, cried out, saying: “The prophets prophesy falsely in my name; I have not sent them, nor commanded them, nor spoken to them: for they prophesy to you false visions and fortune-telling and sorcery and the desires of their hearts” (Jer. 14:13-14). “If they are prophets and the word of the Lord is in them, let them appear” to me (Jer. 27:18); “What spit to wheat? “This is my word, says the Lord, ... and like milk that tears away a stone?”" (Jer. 23:28-29) For the word of God reaches to the depths of the soul and, as it were, tears the hearts of the listeners; on the contrary, it is a cold and weak word that comes from the will of man, as was the word of the wicked false prophets (Heb. 4:12; Matt. 7:29). His priests desecrate the holy place and dishonor the law. And the chosen tribe itself, that is, the tribe of Levi, turned out to be faulty. And he calls them “those who desecrate the holy things and those who dishonor the law.” It is written: “The lips of the Jerome will preserve understanding, and they will require the law from his mouth” (Mal.2:7), and meanwhile, as the Lord of all things Himself says of old, “The priests do not speak where the Lord is” (Jer.2:8). This means that they did not want to explain the law to those who did not know it and did not try to lead the people under their control to what pleased God. This, in my opinion, means “to dishonor the law” (against the law). But their crimes were not limited to this; they, he says, still “desecrate the holy thing.” The Mosaic Law regarding sacrifices and offerings prescribes very great caution - at what time and in what way each one must be performed. They probably made sacrifices imprudently and carelessly, not considering it necessary to observe either the time or the method of performing them. Or maybe they performed the sacred rite without even having cleansed themselves, and without putting on clothes appropriate to their priestly rank, and without proper decoration, disdaining such a reverent and admirable worship service as useless. So, the clergy of the church must be careful not to desecrate the holy things. The image of defilement is not one, but different and diverse. It is necessary to be cleansed both in soul and body, freed from every kind of bad pleasure, on the contrary, to shine with zeal for doing good deeds and remember the words of the inspired Paul: “Walk in the Spirit, and do not commit carnal lust” (Gal. 5:16). Zeph.3:5. The Lord is righteous in the midst of it and does not have the power to do unrighteousness: the morning, the morning, will bring His judgment into the light: and not hiding, and not knowing unrighteousness in torment, nor in strife, resentment. Truth and untruth are in no way reconcilable, and clean and unclean will not be one and the same; for “what fellowship can there be between light and darkness”? (2 Cor. 6:14) Everyone can see that such things are in opposition and very far from agreement among themselves. Therefore, if the sovereign God over all loves righteousness and does not know unrighteousness, then how could the crimes of the Jews always have power or be committed without any hindrance? It seems that one of the types of untruth was not to subject the criminal to punishment and not to bring to justice the one who carried out the licentious and wicked a life that does not pay any attention to the law and has reached such an untruth that it places good at nothing and counts as a high honor to itself that which in fairness should make one blush. So, since “the Lord is righteous in his midst and will not commit unrighteousness,” for He cannot tolerate those who are accustomed to doing unrighteousness, then “in the morning the morning” will execute “his judgment,” that is, in the morning, clearly, as if in daylight, no longer reducing the consequences of anger, but bringing it to the middle, making it obvious and, as it were, putting what was foretold before the eyes of everyone. He will not allow “resentment” to penetrate “into the feud” or even into retribution; for after the punishment of the wicked, unrighteousness will completely cease, because there will no longer be those who commit it. Therefore, those who are truly wise should (know) 16 ... that the Lord loves righteousness and will not tolerate those who do unrighteousness. But if anyone comes to repentance and sheds tears for his sins, he will find Him merciful and ask Him for forgiveness, and will escape the nets and punishment due to him. If he remains insensitive, without changing his mood to prefer a virtuous life, he will live in his sins; then he will finally perish and fall under the wrath of the Lord, because He does not tolerate sinners forever. Zeph.3:6. In the corruption of the debased ones, the majestic ones, I have destroyed their corners: I will completely devastate their paths, so that they cannot pass through: I have disappeared and destroyed them, so that they neither existed nor lived. Since, as I said, the priests desecrated the holy thing, and some acted wickedly against the law itself, then “the Lord will give his judgment in the morning.” What kind of court is this? “He has brought down the great into corruption,” that is, he has given over to destruction the proud and arrogant; for are not the proud among those who are usually at enmity against God, who oppose their own will to the institutions of Moses, who value the divine laws very little, who are prone to extreme licentiousness and who say to the Lord: Depart from me, I do not want to lead you in your ways? (Job.21:14) Further: who can doubt that, according to what is written, “poor in spirit” and humble in heart (Matthew 5:3) is a noble, modest person and very inclined to obey God, whom (the Lord) deigns to receive His special care? Therefore, the God of all things said through one of the holy prophets: “And to whom will I look? only on the meek and silent, and trembling at my words? (Isa.66:2). So, the proud race is cast into destruction. “They disappeared” and “their corners.” I think that the walls and fortresses of cities are called corners here, for their corners are always high and have prominent towers. Therefore, this probably means the same as if he said: their cities will be deprived of walls. In addition, he threatened to “devastate” and “their paths”, obviously, of Israel, “are not to be passed at all.” And it seems to me that He wants to express the following. When the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated at the appointed time, the Law of Moses commanded that from all the land of Judea they should go up to Jerusalem and fulfill there what was prescribed by the law. When the cities were destroyed and their inhabitants perished, then he says that the roads became desolate, so that there was no one passing through them and hastening to celebrate the holiday established among them, as before. Yes, the institutions of the Jews had come to such a pitiful state that there were no longer those celebrating their festivals, and those who had barely escaped and remained from the war could no longer enjoy prosperity. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah made the fate of the Jews the subject of lamentation, saying “the way of Zion mourns, because there are none who walk after them on the feast” (Pl. 1:4). And that this word is also immutable, this will be explained to us by the following words, for it immediately adds: “They vanished, never having existed or lived.” Yes, truly “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). Having irritated Him with our sins and, moreover, unbridledly, we, as if caught in the crimes of arrogance, then precisely and in all justice we will be cast into destruction and will be deprived of the highest protection, we will find our hearts as if easily conquered and defenseless and, moreover, we will not find the paths of righteousness. But these disasters can be easily avoided by those who decided to follow the will of the Lord and obediently bowed the neck of their souls before Him. Zeph.3:7. Reh: Otherwise, fear me and accept punishment, and do not consume from his sight 17, all the great avenge was taken on him. He tries to teach that again they themselves bring divine wrath upon their own heads. After all, He inspired them with frequent commands that they must live their lives in the fear of God and that they must obey the instructions, obviously, of the law and the prophets; for only in this way, and not otherwise, could one turn away the anger and get rid of what had happened. But since Israel was insensitive, cruel and rebellious, he rejected (divine) leadership, that is, he lost the opportunity to be wise, as if “he was consumed from his sight,” although he should always willingly obey good instructions and have constant zeal for doing everything pleasing to God. In this way, he says, it was possible to reject “all the trees were avenged on him.” So we, when we expel divine fear from our souls, when we turn away from divine guidance and completely neglect the opportunity to be wise, then we will certainly undergo what befits those accustomed to negligence (by the divine will). Then God will reward us and hold us accountable for our wickedness. So, it is necessary to remember the words of the one who says: “the fear of the Lord is the source of life” (Proverbs 14:27), “the fear of the Lord is glory and praise” (Sir.1:11); he is “pure, that is, he makes clean, abide forever,” according to the words of the Psalmist (Ps. 18:10). Get ready, morning, all their leaves will decay. Since you, he says, did not accept instruction from me, but rejected and hated life in fear and virtue, then get ready to flee and endure what could have been avoided if you had loved virtue and of your own free will and wisely captured it for yourself. Then he commanded to “matinize” (to stay awake), showing that the time of disaster was at the door, as if it would come tomorrow and would probably appear when dawn began. This stopped the hope of a delay and did not allow one to think that there would be any stop or delay - that a lot of time would pass and perhaps His wrath would already fall on the descendants. So, prepare yourself as for an inevitable task and get ready to escape in the morning; for you will go captive to your enemies and, leaving your native country, you will live among strangers. Next, the God of all speaks to the prophet, as if grieving for those taken captive. “All their leaves have decayed.” What He wanted to point out in these words, we will say about this to the best of our ability. The rulers of Babylon devastated Samaria and other Jewish cities besides it, and Thula was the first, then Shalmaneser followed, and Sennacherib third. As if having collected grapes, they again went to their country, leaving Israel with completely insignificant remnants and, as it were, leaving them with one bunch of grapes hidden under the leaves. We believe that by “foliage” here we mean small clusters consisting of a few berries, which, being covered with leaves, are very often hidden from the eyes of those who pick grapes. Another of the holy prophets says something similar: “Oh, it is cruel to me, my soul, because I would have gathered the slime of the harvest, and like a forest in the embrace of grapes, I do not exist in the bunch, which is the first fruit” (Mic. 7:1). So, they were gathering grapes, and after them Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the very last bunch (hidden under the leaves) and, having robbed the rest of Israel, returned home and constantly boasted about it. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah mourned the taken of Jerusalem, speaking about its devastators: “Let all their wickedness come before you, and cut them off, just as you have cut them off” to me (Pl. 1:22) and again: “See, O Lord, and see, whom have you cut off? food will women eat the fruit of their womb? the cook will create consumption” (Pl.2:20). So, when we irritate God, then, having been deprived of all help and not having (God’s) care for us, we will be given over to our enemies and no remnant of virtue or decency will survive in us, because Satan takes away all the good that is in us and collects, as it were, the last grapes and perhaps the very aspirations still inherent in our soul, leading us to the determination to perform virtue. Zeph.3:8. For this reason, be patient with me, says the Lord, on the day of my resurrection as a testimony. Since those who neglected the divine commandments were betrayed to the enemies and fell into the hands of him who destroyed even the remaining grapes, he finally commanded those subjected to slavery to wait and courageously endure until He rises to help them, which He, as it were, witnessed through the holy prophets and clearly foretold that it would one day come. So, “the day of resurrection as a testimony” indicates the time of help, which he testified in advance that it would certainly come. This is the historical meaning of the saying. But we affirm that the spiritual meaning of the words being explained is directed towards the discovery of the mystery of Christ and wants to point to the time of universal and universal deliverance, that is, through Christ. True, once upon a time, after seventy years (captivity), the God of all rose up to help those who suffered such (disasters); but in the last times of the century, the Only Begotten became man not only in order to deliver Israel, but in order to free all nations from slavery to the devil, to make them free, to deliver them from the corruption and impurity of sin and, especially, from worshiping the creature instead of the Creator. When he became a man, “he endured the cross, heedless of his shame” (Heb. 12:2), in order to acquire with His blood to God and the Father both those who were still alive and those whom death had previously swallowed up, according to what is written: “For this Christ both died and rose again,... that He may possess both the dead and the living” (Rom. 14:9). Therefore, it was rightly said to the ancients: “For this sake, be patient with me, says the Lord, on the day of my resurrection as a testimony.” Evidence of the abolition of death, as it were, is the rising of Christ from the dead, with whom we ourselves were resurrected, having been justified by faith and, together with death, having departed from the cause of death - sin. Before is my judgment in a host of tongues before the reception of kings, who will pour out all my wrath upon me, the wrath of my wrath: before the fire of my zeal the whole earth will be consumed. Threatens the Chaldean peoples with devastation, which was carried out by Cyrus and those who were companions in arms and fought in alliance with him, launching raids on the cities of Babylon and making terrible attacks on everyone. So, “there will be,” he says, “my judgment” on the assembly of nations, so that I will take both the kings, obviously named, for punishment through them, and the host of nations, very much humiliated by their armies and power and subjected to cruelty of all kinds. “I will pour out on her,” he says, “all the wrath of my wrath”; for there is no doubt that (God) punishes great and extraordinary crimes with considerable wrath, but He certainly imposes on every sinner punishments that are fully appropriate to his crimes. And that He intended, as it were, to destroy by fire all the well-being of the Chaldeans, he explained this by saying: “before the fire of my zeal the whole earth will be consumed.” And what this zeal is or against whom it is directed, the prophet Zechariah explains, saying: “Here saith the Lord Almighty: I am zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great zeal, and I am angry with the tongues of the attackers with great wrath; We will offer this explanation of the words read in the historical sense. But they can be understood differently, if in a spiritual sense they are related to the sacrament of Christ. In what he had already read before, he said: “For this sake, bear with me, says the Lord, on the day of my resurrection, as a testimony: my judgment is forbidden in a host of tongues before the kings receive him, so that all the wrath of my wrath may be poured out on me”; for Christ has risen, having emptied hell, “for I could not with power keep it from being” as Life by nature (John 11:25, John 14:6; 1 John 5, etc.) from death, according to what is written (Acts 2:24). Those who believed in Him, He did not leave in the dominion of the devil, but He creates a holy and worthy judgment of God, taking (into His power) a host of tongues, that is, a crowd of demons, and those who once ruled and reigned over the erring ones, as if seizing and imprisoning, and casting them into the very underworld of the abyss, that is, into hell - and pouring out all the wrath on them and, as it were, burning their fire, driven by ineffable and divine power and great jealousy. He “was a little angry for Adam’s crimes; They are guilty of evil,” distracting the entire universe from God and exposing the minds of those under their control to strangulation by the dirt of sin (Zech. 1:15). Thus, the Word of God was zealous for the spiritual Zion, that is, for the church, for He redeemed it and, as Blessed Paul writes, “I imagine... not having any filthiness, or vice, or any of these, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27). Zeph.3:9–10. For then I will turn my tongue to the people of his generation, to call on everyone the name of the Lord, to work for him under the yoke as one. From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia those who pray to me will bring sacrifices to me among those who are scattered. He says that after the devastation of the country of Babylon and the destruction of the arrogant, the pagans will recognize the power of God that overthrows it. And when those who once laughed at the falling and perishing Israel see him returning home and to the holy city with glory, and his destroyers completely lost, then they will change their language (speech) and will devote it to the glorification of God, although in ancient times they nodded their heads, thought and said that Judea was taken because the tyrant of Babylon seemed to have overcome the One who helped them, that is, God. When, therefore, they see that circumstances have taken the opposite turn, then they will change their languages ​​according to their tribes, or tribes and clans, and will use (them) to glorify God. They will want, I think, to serve under a single yoke and make sacrifices, even if due to the position of the countries they were located at a far distance from each other and lived in the Ethiopian countries. So, this is what should be said regarding the literal meaning (of the words being explained). But we affirm that these words came true at the time of the coming of Christ and serve as a clear sign of the change of tongues. So in the Acts of the Holy Apostles it is written that on the days of Holy Pentecost everyone gathered together and behold... there came a sound from heaven, like a storm of breath, and it filled the whole house where it sat. And the nations appeared to them, divided like fire, but they sat on one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit had given them to speak” (Acts 2:1-4). So, at that time, he says, I will change my language “to people”; “For I hear... all them speaking with their own tongues” (Acts 2:6), Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, and other peoples. However, pay attention to the following. He said that he would change the language “to its generation,” that is, it (the language) would remain with those who once spoke it until the end of their life or generation. Thus, it (the tongue) was a sign (until the end of life) only for those on whom, as the Holy Scripture says, their tongues rested (Acts 2:3). Therefore he says that I will change “the tongue of his generation.” But such a phenomenon has never happened to those who lived after them. And for what reason, let the wise Paul teach us this. He said that “the Gentiles are not a sign to those who believe, but to those who are unbelieving,” for it is written: “I will speak with other tongues and with other lips to this people, and neither will they believe” (Is. 28:11–12; 1 Cor. 14:21–22). But how the change of language “to his generation” brings benefit, He himself explains to us, saying: “Let us all call on the name of the Lord, working together under the yoke, from the end of the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring sacrifices to me.” Indeed, when they saw the Apostles speaking in other tongues, being greatly surprised by this miracle, they believed in Christ, very numerous of those who were then called on the name of the real and true God, bowed before the commandments of the Gospel, began to serve Christ and make sacrifices “from the end of the rivers of Ethiopia.” After all, the Ethiopian tribe extends from east to west, and it lives by the river Geon, for “it is the surrounding land of Ethiopia” (Gen. 2:13). Subsequently, the prophetic word comes to fulfillment, for the Gospel was preached not only in the Roman land, but also came to the barbarian peoples. Thus, everywhere (there are) churches, shepherds and teachers, mentors and secret guides, and divine altars; the Lamb is devoured spiritually by the holy priests of both the Indians and the Ethiopians. This was clearly stated through the mouth of another prophet: “Because I am a great king,” says the Lord, “and because ... my name is glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name and the sacrifice is pure” (Mal. 1:11, 14). Zeph.3:11. On the day he will not be ashamed of all your undertakings, in whose image you have disrespected me: for then I will take away from you the reproach of your annoyance, and whoever will not be allowed to be magnified on my holy mountain. The God of all is again speaking here to two persons. I think that these words need to be treated with special attention so that we can thus understand the spiritual meaning in them. So, he promises the inhabitants of Jerusalem forgiveness of sins and remission of previous crimes, confirming and saying that they will no longer be ashamed for the sake of their enterprises and because of the wickedness once committed against God. But he seems to threaten the Babylonian, and says that he will no longer be magnified after he destroys the holy city and dedicated to Him, which he calls a mountain. For upon returning, I say, from captivity, Jerusalem was no longer subjected to devastation and did not experience the inhumanity of the Babylonians. And that during the coming of the Savior to earth there followed forgiveness and remission of sins to all who believed in Him, no one can doubt this; for we were justified “not by righteous works which we have done, but by His great mercy” (Titus 3:5). But we are also freed from shame; for nowhere did He who has honored us with faith tell us: “Fear not, for thou art confounded; be ashamed, for thou art reproached” (Is. 54:4). He gave us boldness, Who for our sake rose from the dead and because of us ascended into heaven before the face of the Father; for Christ ascended into heaven because of us as our Forerunner, “that he may now appear before the face of God” (Heb. 9:24). So, He destroyed the guilt of everyone and freed those who believed in Him from shame and conscience due to their sins. And to Satan, who oppressed us, He said: “For I will take away from you the reproach of your annoyance, and whoever is not allowed to be magnified in my holy mountain”; for he will no longer despise those living on earth as suffering from complete impotence, and will not annoy the sanctified, easily inclining them to what is pleasing to him. The ancient things have passed away and the nature of things has been renewed (2 Cor. 5:17), after Christ raised them up, made the very weak strong, the prone to sins strengthened to godliness, and the wavering made strong. So, the “reproaches of annoyance,” obviously devilish, have been destroyed, and he will no longer magnify himself over the holy mountain, that is, the spiritual Zion, which is the “church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15); for it is founded on rock, and “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The prophet Isaiah also called the church a mountain, saying: “For in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed, and the house of God will be on the top of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills: and all the nations will come to it, and many nations will go and say: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will tell us his way, and let us walk on it” (Isaiah 2:2–3). Zeph.3:12–13. And I will leave in you a people meek and humble, and the remnants of Israel will revere the name of the Lord, and they will not commit unrighteousness, and they will not speak vain things, and no flattering tongue will be found in their mouth. Again he speaks to Zion or the holy city, I say, Jerusalem, to which he promises that a very meek and humble people will remain in it. The Jewish synagogue boldly acted against the Savior of all Christ, became the murderer of the Lord, and for this is being subjected to righteous punishment. But she wasn’t all dead; a considerable number of them believed. And these were meek, not inflamed with violent anger against Christ, like those who then brought Him to Pilate and shouted, saying: “Take him, take him, crucify him,” and added to this: if you do not kill this, “bring it on, friend of Caesar” (John 19:12, 15). What could be more inhumane than this? Calling even His most righteous blood on their heads, they foolishly said: “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). So, meek people, as well as humble ones, did not participate in such cruelty, because they submitted to Christ and bowed their spiritual necks under His yoke, and out of love for Him, they listened to His words with great joy: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart: and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). So, in this too they were like Christ, Who for our sake became poor, as if neglecting the glory due to Him as God and the superiority inherent in His nature, in order to endure a state of slavery in order to arrange our salvation. So those who obey His laws, like Him, think humbly of themselves. These “shall revere the name of the Lord”; for they were very God-fearing and, above all others, divine disciples, who became the light of the world. God-loving and good, they, he says, will turn away from untruth and idle talk (“they will not speak in vain,” he says), and insincere language; for this is deceit. This is their spiritual beauty and, as it were, some most excellent crown of virtues. Where there is meekness and humility, and the desire for truth, a tongue that does not know idle talk, and even less sinful words, on the contrary, it is always truthful and a servant of sincerity, there will certainly be revealed glorious and most perfect virtue; and such virtue is characteristic of those who are in Christ, because the beauty of piety is not revealed in the law, but, on the contrary, shines in the power of the gospel teaching. The evils will devour and nest, and there will be no terror for them. Once upon a time, the scribes and Pharisees carelessly shepherded the Jewish people; for they were commanded by law to lead the people, and for this they were honored with the privileges of the priesthood. So, they were shepherds, hired ones, however, and as if assigned to other people’s flocks - they saw “the wolf coming and left the sheep,” according to the word of the Savior (John 10:12). And that they were very careless about their verbal sheep and left them to the beasts, or rather, they themselves were wolves - everyone can easily see from what was said through the mouths of the prophets. Thus, one, as if on behalf of God, said: “Woe to the shepherds, who scatter and destroy the sheep of their pasture” (Jer. 23:1); the other: “This says... The Lord: Ole, shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds feed their own food? Is it not the shepherds who tend the sheep? Behold, you eat milk..., but... you did not feed the weak, and did not return the broken, and did not return the lost, and did not seek the lost, and the mighty were insulted by labor... And my sheep were scattered, having no shepherds, and were devoured by all the wild beasts and birds of the air (Ezek. 34:2-5); in another place he speaks to the shepherds themselves: “Feed the sheep of the slaughter. Even those who acquired hard labor and did not repent, and those who sold, I said: Blessed is the Lord, and we become rich” (Zechariah 11:4-5). This is how the shepherds destroyed the flock of verbal sheep, without driving the animals away from them, on the contrary, imitating the animals themselves. When later Christ appeared, the Good Shepherd, laying down His life for the sheep (John 10:11); then we graze with diligence. We have pastures at the springs, according to what is written (Is. 49:10), and rest in stalls, that is: we are housed in churches and holy churches; and no one frightens us or plunders us, no lion tramples us, no thief breaks through, and no one comes to us, “let him steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). On the contrary, we live in safety and security, and participate in every good thing, having as our leader the Savior of all, I say, Christ. And God and the Father revealed this to us, telling us through the mouth of Ezekiel: “This says... the Lord:... I will save my sheep... and I will judge between ram and ram. And I will raise up for them one shepherd,... my servant David,... and he will be their shepherd” (Ezek. 34:20-23). Zeph.3:14–15. Rejoice, daughters of Zion, preach greatly, daughters of Jerusalem, rejoice and be adorned with all your heart, daughters of Jerusalem: the Lord has removed your iniquity, he has delivered you out of the hand of your enemies: the Lord will reign in your midst, you shall see no evil. As for the historical meaning (of these words), God clearly promises them peace after returning from Babylon and proclaims that, after the forgiveness of their previous crimes, He will abide with them and protect them. As for the inner meaning, He commands us to rejoice greatly and have a lot of fun, and rejoice with all our hearts, because her sins have been blotted out, obviously, by Christ; for in Christ and in Him alone, the spiritual and holy Zion, that is, the church, or the holy multitude of believers, is justified. And through Him and by Him we are saved, having escaped harm from invisible enemies and having as a Mediator the very King of all and God the Word, who is from God the Father, who appeared in an image similar to ours. Thanks to Him, we no longer see evil, that is, we are delivered from all violence from evil; for He is the weapon of good will, the peace, the wall, the giver of incorruption, the dispenser of crowns, putting an end to the war arising from the spiritual Assyrians, and destroying the evil plots of demons. He gives us “to tread on the serpent and the scorpion and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19); through Him we stepped “on the asp and the basilisk and trampled the lion and the serpent” (Ps. 90:13); through Him we have the good hopes of incorruption and life, sonship and glory, through Him “we will see no evil for anyone.” Zeph.3:16–18. At this time the Lord says to Jerusalem: Be of good cheer, O Zion, let not thy hands be weak: The Lord thy God is in thee, the mighty one will save thee: he will bring joy to thee, and renew thee in His love, and will rejoice in thee in adornment, as on the day of the feast. And I will collect your erased ones. It is clearly foreshadowed to have bold hope, and He who promised is not deceitful. We heard that Christ himself says the same thing and, as it were, renews the ancient saying, or better yet, seems to put into perspective what was foreshadowed; for He said: “You will be in a world of sorrow: but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And indeed, when He appeared among us, then we too began to no longer have our hands hanging down and our knees not weakened, but we received a disposition to activity and to labor to accomplish good deeds - to labor, the fruit of which they are called blessed (Wis. 3:15). Then we also received boldness, because Christ, being omnipotent as God, delivers and saves those who believe in Him. He indwelt in our hearts by the Spirit and produced in us this obviously spiritual and acceptable joy. And what else can be accompanied by receiving the Holy Spirit, if not delight and joy and spiritual joy? So, when he aroused joy in us through the Spirit, then he renewed us in his love, that is, at the time of coming with the flesh, when, having died one for all, he truly said: “Greater than this love has no one, but whoever lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). If He laid down His soul and appeared for our sake among the dead, being by nature life, then He rose again, transforming human nature into renewal of life and restoring it to its original state: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), for it was pleasing to God and the Father - in Him “to lead all things” (Eph. 1:10), according to what is written. And what is led is restored and raised to what it was in the beginning. When Christ renewed us, He rejoiced over us, as if in pleasure and as if on a day of celebration. How could God not rejoice at what had happened among us, when we were freed from sin and became conquerors of death and corruption, and became partakers of the Spirit and sanctification? Then He “gathered together those that had been erased,” for, as the wise Paul writes: “Christ... came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). And He himself says nowhere: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). So, Christ gathered those whom Satan, through sin, crushed and made weak and unable to do what was right and walk in the paths of righteousness. But if he destroyed, then Christ restored; for He healed the sick and He Himself bears our infirmities, according to what is written (Is. 53:4; Matt. 8:17). Woe, who will accept reproach? If we want to adhere to the best way of thinking, we must affirm that the cross of the Savior, erected for the life and incorruption of the world, truly serves as praise for the Church. This is confessed by the wise Paul himself, who wrote the following words: “Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom peace has been crucified to me, and to the world” (Gal. 6:14). However, he again said that the cross served as a temptation for the Jews, and for the pagans as madness (1 Cor. 1:23); for they, pathetic ones, will laugh a lot, not understanding at all the power of the sacrament. But they will not remain unpunished and will not laugh, either at Christ or at the churches, but will one day become food for the indomitable fire and the unquenchable and eternal flame. After all, some of the Hellenes reached such madness and dullness of mind that they sharpened their impudent tongue against the divine and evangelical preaching and left their refutations written in books, so that their sins would not only bring them to justice, but would also follow them after their death, because their sin remained, as it were, alive after them. Therefore, he mourns, and with all justice, those who have undertaken reproach against the holy churches, to whom it is quite fitting to proclaim grief. Zeph.3:19–20. Behold, I will do in you, for your sake, in the time of this, says the Lord, in the time of this: and I will save that which is oppressed and rejected, and I will make it a point of praise and honor throughout all the earth. And they will be ashamed in the time when I do good to you, and in the time when I receive you. The speech again turns to the face of Zion and the wonderful deeds performed by Christ are proclaimed regarding the multitude of pagans and rejected Israel. “In you,” he says, “I will do it for your sake”: since some from pride reached madness, and others did not recognize God, who became man for the salvation of all, the Creator of all things abundantly bestowed mercy on both and for our sake he performed miracles among us. The “oppressed” one is saved, that is, the once oppressed multitude of erring people who were brought by the oppressing Satan to such a miserable state that they lost all ability to live, for the erring mind is insignificant. But the rejected Jewish synagogue was also accepted. She raged against Christ and therefore was rightly rejected, lost hope and lost fellowship with Christ. However, she too was pardoned, for in the last times of the ages she will be called to repentance and purification through faith. So they will be “praised” and “renowned,” and very far from being ashamed. And these two peoples, either partly or in full, will no longer be at enmity with each other - have irreconcilable thoughts among themselves, be divided in their opinions about God, as was the case in ancient times; but by the unity of the Spirit they will be closely united among themselves to unanimity and common faith, as it is written: “to the people... who believed had one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32); and Christ created both “into one new man, creating peace and reconciling both in one” spirit (Eph. 2:15–16). But even if envious people appeared among them, then these enemies, he says, would be completely ashamed, amazed by the greatness of the glory bestowed, the steadfastness of prosperity and the firmness of hope. Already from the events themselves, everyone can see the truth of this promise; for the church of Christ has become glorified and, being filled with glorious advantages, is an object of wonder to everyone. However, he also determines the time at which this will happen: “at the time,” he says, “when I receive you”; for that which serves as a consequence of faith cannot precede faith, but in justice must be conceivable after faith. So, we are called at the time of the saving incarnation of the Only Begotten; for then, only then, was the true fulfillment of the promise. I will give you honor and praise among all the people of the earth, so that we may never return your captivity before you, says the Lord. In some way completes the purpose of God's characteristic bounties and with these words clearly shows in what state those who believe will certainly be. They will be, he says, “eminent,” surrounded by the brilliance of glory and superior to any nation. Further he adds about the times in which this will happen, everywhere recalling the saving incarnation of the Only Begotten, when, as I just said, the revelation of all good in relation to us and all that is wonderful took place. After all, it was then that He miraculously freed those who were under the power of the devil and those who were subject to carnal passions; then he delivered him from polytheistic error and led him to the truth; then he rescued us from the bonds of death, giving himself as a ransom for us and acquiring to God the Father the whole universe, for through him we were called and in the Spirit we received access and nearness to God - through him, I say Christ, through whom and with whom to God and the Father be glory, power, honor and worship with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages, amen. There are a few words missing from the text here. Slav.: “for (all)”, which is not in Greek. You might be interested in: