Книга тринадцатая

The thirteenth book of the interpretation of Ezekiel is the second [book] of the explanation of the church, which, together with the fourteenth, with the help of our Savior, I wish to dictate to the end, singing together with David the following [words] from the psalm of the same number - the fourteenth: Lord, who will dwell in Your habitation? or who will dwell in Your holy mountain? ( Ps. 14:1 )? We must recognize this as difficult and impossible. Therefore, in another place, the man of desires seems to pray more strongly and says: I have asked one thing of the Lord, this I will require: that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord and visit His holy church (Ps. 26:4-5). And again he says: since Thy village is beloved, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs and ends for the courts of the Lord (Ps. 84:2-3). I warn you about the slander of ill-wishers, who consider not what they themselves can do, but what I cannot, and when criticizing ours, they do not present their own to the court, never competing, but judging those competing calmly, or rather, arrogantly. It is easy to lecture others, and condemn every blow and laugh at other people's wounds, and where a wound needs to be inflicted, rant like an ignorant fencer (lanistae). I confess that in interpreting the church of Ezekiel and what relates to the end of this book, I did not write anything corresponding to the importance of the subject, and if, nevertheless, I am worthy to understand something a little, then for this I give thanks to the Savior. For it is written: If you do not believe, you will not understand (Isa. 7:9). And in another place: if you have faith like the grain of a mountain and say to this mountain: “Pass over and be cast into the sea,” it will happen (Matthew 17:20; 21:21). And how does the apostle mention that a mustard seed constitutes not a small part of faith, but the whole faith, saying: and if I am to remove all the faith, even the mountains are removed (1 Cor. 13:2)? For this mustard seed, even if it is small, grows into a large tree and the birds of the air live in its branches (Luke 13:19). Therefore, to you, virgin Eustochia, who lovingly accepts ours, whatever they may be [works], I wish to testify and briefly remind you of the opinion of the rhetorician Victorinus, so that you know that the darkness of books occurs for three reasons: either from the loftiness of the subject, or from the inexperience of the teacher, or from the insensitivity of the listener; Of these, I openly acknowledge the first and second in this work, but the third is easily rejected by your insightful mind and love of the Scriptures, and by the fact that, due to the advantages of virginity and abstinence in food, you have God - I will not say: a frequent, but constant guest. Let us therefore deal with the thirteenth book [of commentaries] on Ezekiel, the beginning of which is as follows: Ezek. XLII:1–12. And he brought me out into the outer court by the way leading to the north, and brought me into the treasury that was opposite the separate building and opposite the building facing north. On the front side there was a hundred cubits in length at the north door and fifty cubits in width against the twenty cubits of the inner courtyard and against the stone-paved floor of the outer courtyard, where there was a gallery connected to a triple gallery. And in front of the treasuries there was a passage (deambulatio) ten cubits wide, facing inwards a path of one cubit, and their doors to the north, where the treasuries above were lower, because they supported the galleries that protruded from them from the lower and middle [parts of] the building. For they were in three tiers and did not have pillars like the pillars of courtyards; Therefore, they protruded from the lower and middle (parts or courtyards), counting from the ground, fifty cubits. And there was a fence without, in the direction of the treasuries, which were in the way of the outer court before the treasuries; its length is fifty cubits. For the length of the treasuries of the outer court was fifty cubits, and the length of the front of the church was one hundred cubits. And at the bottom of these treasuries there was an entrance from the east for those who entered them from the outer court, in the width of the fence of the courtyard, which was opposite the eastern path in front of the separate building. And before the building there were treasuries, and the way before them was the same as the treasuries that were on the north road, their length was the same and their width was the same. And each of their entrances, and their likenesses, and their doors are the same as the doors of the treasuries that were on the way facing the south, and the door at the head of the way, which was in front of a separate porch for those entering by the eastern way. LXX: And he brought me out into the outer court to the east opposite the north gate, and brought me in, and behold five rooms (exedrae) near a part of the building and near a separate building to the north, and opposite a hundred cubits in length from the north and fifty cubits in width; they are located like the gates of the inner court and the pillars of the outer court, in order against the front side of the triple gallery, and opposite the rooms (exedras) there is a passage (deambutio) ten cubits in width and after a hundred cubits in length inward a path of one cubit, and their doors are to the north. And the same passages of the upper rooms, for the pillars protruded from the lower pillars, and the distance was the same. And there were triple galleries and did not have pillars like the pillars in the inner [courts]; therefore they protruded from those below, and in the middle from the ground, fifty cubits, and the outer light was the same as in the rooms (exedrarum) of the outer court, facing the rooms to the north, fifty cubits long. For the length of the rooms facing the outer court was fifty cubits. And they are opposite the front side of them, all one hundred cubits, and the doors of these rooms are at the east entrance, to enter through them in the inner court, according to the light that was at the beginning of the passage to the south, opposite the south and the front side of the rest and separate building. And the rooms and the passage opposite their front side are the same measure as the rooms and the path to the north, and the same length and width of them, and each of their exits, and entrances, and openings (luminaria), and the doors of the rooms to the south, and the entrance from the beginning of the passage to the opening, along the cane, and the one that serves to enter through them to the east. What was translated LXX: to the east is not in the Hebrew, and this is obviously unnecessary. For how is it brought out into the outer court to the east, when it then follows: opposite the northern gate? Where we translated: and he brought me into the treasury, which was opposite a separate building and opposite the building facing north, instead of which the LXX stands: and he brought me out, and here are five rooms near the rest of the building and near a separate one to the north, there, and above and in the present place, instead of a separate one, as Aquila and Symmachus translated, Aquila in the second edition and Theodotion put the word gazera itself, depicting it in the same way in all places, and many other things put in In the present place, there are so many disagreements between the Hebrew text and the LXX, not only regarding the order, but also regarding the number and translation of words, that if I wanted to dwell on each of them, examine the differences and explain the reasons for them, I would deviate far from the subject. Due to the hopelessness and loftiness of the subject, I wanted to pass over the present place in silence, but I recognized that it was better to say something than to say nothing at all, following the famous saying of Socrates: “I know that I do not know.” For part of knowledge is knowing what you do not know. So, when the prophet carefully examined what was inside, then the man, who had a rope and a cane in his hand, led him into the outer court along the path leading to the north, which he had already seen above before he entered inside. But we see differently when we have perfect knowledge, and differently at the beginning of learning. And it is necessary that he who has seen the inner should also see what is outside, having the same form, and measures, and hidden secrets. He was taken into the treasury or, as Symmachus and Theodotion translated, into the exedram (vault-shaped hall) or, as Theodotion [translated], into the παcτοφο’ριον, which means thalamus (bedroom); it was located opposite a separate building. What was added by the Seventy instead of a treasury, five rooms (exedrae), is not in the Jewish one. This treasury was located opposite a separate building, gazera, which we have already mentioned above. It was separate, serving to receive those who came from the north, and was located opposite the building facing north, that is, facing the northern countries, and not located in the north, so that the transition would be easier for those leaving the cold of the north, from which disasters flare up above the earth (Jer. 1:14). In the book of Numbers we read that the tribes of Dan and Naphtali and Asher, the sons of Bala and Zilpah, the maidservants of Rachel and Leah, pitched a camp on the north side (Num. 2:25). Also now the northern door had on its front side one hundred cubits in length and fifty in width, so that ten decades would indicate the square and perfect number, and seven sevens, which serve as the number of emancipation and go into the beginning of unity, that is, into the eight, pointing to the priestly places in the church of God. Also, what is added according to the Hebrew [text]: against the twenty cubits of the inner courtyard, instead of which LXX was translated: they were located like the gates of the inner courtyard, has the meaning that the hundredth and fiftieth numbers of the outer courtyard have the same meaning as the twentieth [number] of the inner courtyard. For if the number four is multiplied by five, then in the number twenty you will find both covenants, so that the Law is contained in the Gospel, and the Gospel comes out of the root of the Law. Instead, the numbers LXX translated the semblance of an inner courtyard, perhaps being afraid to place the twentieth number in the inner courtyard, in which Isaac’s gifts are brought. It follows: and against the stone-paved floor of the outer court, where there was a gallery connected to the triple galleries, instead of which LXX was translated: and like the pillars of the outer court were arranged in order against the front side of the triple galleries. This means that the floor of the outer court was covered with living stones, so that the feet of the priests would not be polluted by either summer dust or winter dirt. Therefore, before ascending to the Father, the Lord washed the feet of the disciples, so that they would ascend into the kingdoms of heaven with washed and clean feet, and commanded the apostles to shake off the dust from their feet if they, having entered any city, were not accepted, precisely so that they would not allow any of their earthly gifts to remain with them. And not only was the floor paved with stone, but the gallery was connected to a triple gallery. One gallery, protecting the priests from rain and heat and connected to a triple gallery, indicates the mystery of the Trinity, which, although divided through the names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is nevertheless united in one deity. In front of the treasuries, or vaulted halls and bedrooms, there was also a passage of ten cubits, facing inwards a path of one cubit. What was added by the Seventy: a hundred cubits in length is superfluous; because it is not in Hebrew. By putting this, they translated what is in the Hebrew text: facing inwards the path of one cubit, as we translated it from the Hebrew original. This means that before the doors of all the treasuries or vaulted halls and sleeping rooms there was a passage ten cubits wide, which number was also perfect either because of the ten words or because of the sacrament of the Gospel. For if from the one you go through two and three to the fourth number 85, then you get the tenfold number of the gospels, in the width of which the priests walk, walking in front of each of the treasuries, but only in such a way that they always look inside the path that leads to one cubit, that is, to listening to the one God, as the Son says to the Father: He has manifested Your name among men (John 17:6). For this is the same Path, looking inward, which says in the Gospel: I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6). For no one comes to the knowledge of the Father except through the Son. Further follows: and their doors to the north, where the treasuries at the top were lower, because they supported the galleries that protruded from them from the lower and middle [parts of] the building. For they were in three tiers and did not have pillars like the pillars of courtyards. Therefore, they protruded from the lower and middle [parts of the building], counting from the ground, fifty cubits. When adding doors, they mean: rooms or treasuries, which were discussed above. These treasuries above, that is, in the upper rooms, were below. Elijah and Elisha ascended to these upper rooms (1 Kings 17:19; 2 Kings 4:32), and the Lord with his disciples before the Passover (Mark 14:15), and Tabitha, who was resurrected by the faith of the apostle and for the sake of her virtues (Acts 9:36). These are the upper rooms about which it is written in the Psalm: solder the mountains from their upper rooms (or from the highest ones) (Ps. 103:13). For whoever does not become a mountain and does not ascend to the heights will not be watered by the rains of the Lord, who, depending on the difference in merit, gives water from the first, from the second and from the third upper room. Also, the very treasuries, that is, the storehouses of the treasures of the Lord, were lower at the top. For the more one exalts himself, the more he humbles himself with the apostle, saying: those who are not worthy to be called an apostle, because they persecute the Church of God (1 Cor. 15:9). In the upper rooms, the treasuries themselves were lower, because they supported galleries that protruded from them from the lower and middle [parts] of the building. And he points out the reasons why the treasuries located in the upper rooms were lower. For they, he says, supported galleries that were in the open air and protruded from the lower and middle [parts] of the building, so that the second upper room was higher than the floor of the lower part of the building, and the third upper room was higher than the second, and the higher one rose, the higher the upper room was used, which, due to humiliation, increased in accordance with the words of the Lord: if anyone wants to be the highest among you, let him be the least of all (Mark 9:35). For they were not supported by other pillars, as we read regarding the pillars in the courtyards, but protruded from the lower and middle parts, counting from the ground, fifty cubits according to the number of remission of all debts. They were in three tiers, regarding which it is commanded: I write three times, for advice and understanding, for answers with words of truth offered to you (Prov. 22:20-21). Thus, what is lower and external needs pillars, but what is higher and internal does not need the use of pillars, that is, the help of others. This follows: and there was a fence outside in the direction of the treasuries that were in the way of the outer court in front of the treasuries; its length is fifty cubits. For the length of the treasuries of the outer court was fifty cubits, and the length of the front of the church was one hundred cubits. Fence means a wall that was external and surrounded the treasury along the path of the outer court, having a length of fifty cubits, about the sacred significance of which number we have often spoken. Then, the length in front of the church was not fifty cubits, as in front of the treasuries, but one hundred cubits, so that after the remission of all sins we would expect perfect rewards a hundredfold. Instead of a fence or wall, which in Hebrew is called gader, LXX translated the light that comes from without and enlightens the eyes of our hearts, because the nature of our light, which turns in feeling, is insufficient to have the full radiance of knowledge, if it does not come from without by the grace of God. He first enlightens the eyes of our hearts and makes light the entire outer court, which extends fifty cubits in width. After that, when we come to the front side of the church, we will receive perfect rewards in perfect numbers. At the bottom of the treasury there was an entrance from the east for those coming into them from the outer courtyard. For we must possess the riches of God and from the outer court find the entrance under the treasuries from the east and through the width of the fence facing the eastern path, come to the building set apart for the saints, in front of which there are treasuries and on the path itself the likeness of the treasuries that were on the northern path. For, although we reach the eastern entrance, the likeness of the greater lies in the lesser, and we cannot reach the eastern light except by the northern route, that is, striving through the lesser and lower to the greater and higher. In the entrance itself, the length was the same as the height, that is, the same measure on four sides, and every entrance and likeness, and door had the same measure and likeness as the treasuries that were on the path facing south. For through the east, destroying the cold of the north, we reach the south, where the Bridegroom reclines at noon and remains in full light. At the head of the same path, that is, the eastern one, open to those who enter, there is a door, which, if it is not opened by Him who says: I am the door (John 10:9) and who has the key of David, then we cannot reach the porch, set apart for the virtues of the saints and receiving those coming from the north. It would be superfluous to explain every single word of this passage according to the LXX; for what is said is not devoid of darkness, and what we are silent about is very similar to what we said. Ezek. XLII:13–14. And he said to me, “The northern treasuries and the southern treasuries, which are in front of the separate building, are the sacred treasuries, in which the priests who draw near to the Lord in the Holy of Holies are fed. There they will place the Holy of Holies, and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for this is a holy place. When the priests have entered, they must not enter from the sanctuary into the outer court, but there they must lay down their clothes in which they serve, because they are sacred, and put on other clothes and thus go out to the people. When the man who was the leader of the prophet led him into the outer court and showed him everything that was said in the previous speech, also the treasuries or rooms in which he had been for a very long time, he said to him: these are the treasuries or vaulted halls (exedrae) and bedrooms (thalami) on the north and south sides, which are located in front of a separate building and are called sacred treasuries; in them the priests are fed, drawing near to the Lord in the Holy of Holies. From this we learn that there are many different types of food that priests can or cannot eat, and those that can be eaten are not consumed in all places, not by everyone, and not at all times. The northern and southern treasuries are, in my opinion, those that contain either simple history or the mysteries of spiritual understanding, so that we come through the north to the south. For this is not how we should read literally, and this is not how we should lay out the foundation of history, so that we do not reach the top, and this is not how we should lay roofs on the most beautiful building, so that they do not have strong foundations. The priests who eat in the rooms in which many riches are contained are those who draw near to the Lord and regarding whom Scripture (Ex. 24:2) testifies that Moses drew near to the Lord, but others could not approach. In the creation of the mysterious church and in the sacrament of the Church there are many priests and apostolic men who approach the Lord and not in any place, but in the Holy of Holies. As for the words according to LXX: sons of Zadok, which means righteous, they are not in Hebrew. There, he says, the priests will lay the holy of holies, and the offering, that is, the burnt offering, and [the sacrifice] for sin and for ignorance, so that they should not only offer one constant sacrifice, but know how to propitiate the Lord at different times and according to the quality of sin or ignorance; for this place is holy and the priestly order lives in it, which can intercede for others. When they should go out to those who cannot enter inside the church and learn the secrets of divine knowledge, then let the priests, he says, go out to them into the outer court and not in the clothes in which they were clothed inside, that is, in the womb of generous gifts (Col. 3:12) and in the Lord Savior, about whom it is written: put on your Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14), and do not use those words, about which God says: “My secret is to Me and Mine,” so as not to fall into what the Savior forbids, saying: You shall not give the holy thing to a dog, nor cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). But let them inside put off those clothes in which they put on when they serve inside the church, for they are sacred and should not be worn before those who do not have perfect holiness; but let them put on other clothes and appear to the people in this form. Let them, he says, speak to the people as the people can listen. Therefore, the apostle spoke to the Corinthians, among whom they heard fornication, and such is fornication, which is not known among the nations (1 Cor. 5:1): You have given milk to drink, and not meat, that is, not solid food, for it is not enough (1 Cor. 3:2). And again he says to them: my children, even though I am sick, until Christ is imagined in you (Gal. 4:19). For for young children and infants, solid food suitable for adults is not only not useful, but also harmful. Supplemented by the Seventy: therefore, let the priests not go out into the outer court, so that those who offer may always be holy, we must mark the front with an obel [doubtful place], because this is not in the Hebrew. Ezek. XLII:15–20. And, having finished measuring the inner house, he took me out through the gate facing the eastern path, and measured it around on all sides (or the likeness of the house around in order). He measured against the east wind (or: and stood behind the gate facing the east) with a cane measuring a total of five hundred canes, with a cane measuring all around. And he measured a reed against the north wind, measuring a total of five hundred reeds. And to the south wind he measured with a reed the dimensions of a total of five hundred reeds. And to the west wind he measured with a reed the measurements of a total of five hundred reeds. From the four winds he measured the wall around on all sides, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, separating the sanctuary from the place for the people. You need to know that after the east and north winds, relative to the south and west winds in LXX, the order is reversed. For they first placed the western one, that is, the sea, and then the southern one, whereas among the Jews first the southern one and then the western one. What the Scripture now says: and having finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out through the gate facing the eastern way, shows that all of the above regarding both the outer and inner sides, and the inner parts of the church, that is, the holy of holies, actually refers to the building of the church and the inner part of the church. Therefore, now it follows: he took me out through the gate facing the eastern path, and measured it in a circle on all sides, or the likeness of a house. Through this we know that it is not the house itself that is being examined, but the likeness of the house, for now we see like a mirror in fortune-telling (1 Cor. 13:12); When that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with (ibid., 1 Cor. 13:10). Therefore, both Moses through the tabernacle, and Solomon through the building, erected not the true tabernacle of the church, but a likeness and image, so that through lesser and earthly things we could understand what is in heaven and in the spiritual building. The husband, who led the prophet not into the outer court, but through the gate facing the eastern path, firstly measured against the eastern wind, that is, from the north side, five hundred cubits all around; secondly, from the north; thirdly, from the south; fourthly, from the sea, that is, from the west; therefore, from the four winds, the walls were all around, both in length and in width, that is, on four sides, which wall together had two thousand canes. If the cane was six cubits and one παλαιστῆ (span), which παλαιστη’ is the sixth part of a cubit; it is clear that the outer wall had around two thousand reeds, which together amount to twelve thousand three hundred and thirty-three and one third of two thousand cubits. Let the wise and diligent reader read the book of Joshua, and find how this measure is observed in the vicinity of cities. Therefore, the legion of demons chose this number when destroying the pigs (Lk. 8:30), so that those who, according to the commandment of the Lord, are set apart for those who serve God, serve, on the contrary, for the destruction of those who lead a life corresponding to filth and uncleanness. The whole wall, which was external and had a very large length and width on four sides, contains the number of apostles, that is, twelve thousand, so that for each apostle the thousandth number is taken, and one does not achieve the fulfillment of Christ and a perfect man (Eph. 4:13), unless παλαιστη’ is added to it, which amount to three hundred thirty-three cubits and one third of a cubit, through which it is indicated the sacrament of the holy and venerable Trinity, which surrounds and protects everything and keeps the inhabitants of its church in complete safety. Therefore, Noah's ark is three hundred cubits long and thirty cubits high, ending at one cubit (Gen. 6:15). The fifty cubits of breadth added there signify (as we have often said) the sacrament of absolution. Therefore, the Lord comes to baptism at the age of thirty, and this same prophet puts the thirtieth year at the beginning of his book. This three hundredth and thirtieth number is completed by the addition of three and one third. The same thing that, as a result of a simple interpretation - since when dictating quickly we are not very attentive - is found both in the LXX and in our translation: he measured the wall around on all sides with a length of five hundred cubits and a width of five hundred cubits, in Hebrew there is no, but simply [indicates] the length of five hundred and the width of five hundred, which means: reeds, just as it was said four times above that the one who held reed, measured the wall on each side, east, north, south and west, five hundred cubits. The five hundredth number, which is close to the fiftieth, relating to the remission of all sins, is indicated not only by the old Scripture (Lev. 25:10), but also by the words of the Savior in the Gospel, who says: two debtors are best to a certain lender: one owes five hundred denarii, the other fifty (Luke 7:41). And a wall separated the sanctuary from the place for the people. From here we see that the entire church described above was intended for the service of priests and that this wall, which occupied such a vast space and surrounded everything, separated the sanctuary from the place for the people. Ezek. XLIII:1–9. And he led me to the gate that faces the eastern path. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came through the eastern path, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was illuminated with His glory (majestate). And I saw a vision similar to the one that I saw when I came to destroy the city, and the same visions that I saw at the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord entered the church through the gate facing the east. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. And I heard someone speaking to me from the house. And the Man standing next to me said to me: Son of man! [this is] the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I dwell among the children of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, they and their kings, with their fornications and the ruins (ruinis) of their kings and the heights. They built their threshold at My threshold and their doorposts next to My doorposts, and one wall was between Me and them, and they defiled My holy name with the abominations that they did, as a result of which I destroyed them in My wrath. Now they will remove their asceticism and the fall of their kings from Me, and I will live among them forever. LXX: And he brought me to that gate that faces the east and brought me out, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came through the eastern path and the sound of the camp [was] like the sound of an aggravating multitude, and the earth was illuminated like a radiance from glory on all sides. And I saw a vision like the one that I saw when I came to anoint the city, and the vision of the chariot that I saw [was] like the vision that I saw at the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord entered the house by the gate facing the east. And the spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. And I stood, and behold the voice of one speaking to me from within the house; and the Man stood by me, and said unto me, Thou hast seen, O son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the sole of My feet, in which My name shall dwell in the midst of the house of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will no longer profane My holy name, they and their leaders, by their whoredom and the murder of their leaders among them, when they have built their threshold on My thresholds and My doorposts next to their doorposts. And they made My wall as if united with Me and with them, and they profaned My holy name with the iniquities that they committed. And I destroyed them through My wrath and beating. And now let them remove from Me their fornication and the murder of their leaders, and I will live among them forever. First of all, it should be said about the differences in translation. What they put LXX: and brought me out in Hebrew is not there. For if he was brought into the gate facing the east; then why did he need to be brought out when he was brought in order to see what was at the eastern gate? Then, where it is said: His voice, without a doubt God, was like the sound of many waters, which John also affirms in his Revelation (Rev. 14:2), there they put LXX: and the sound of the camp [was] like the sound of an aggravating multitude. Thirdly, in Hebrew it stands: and I saw a vision similar to the one that I saw when I came to destroy the city. The one who at the beginning of this prophet (Ezek. 9:2) was dressed in linen [clothes] and had a scribe's device at his loins came with the other six to destroy, and not to anoint the city, as the LXX translated, who, fourthly, said: and the vision of a chariot, which I saw, which is not in the Hebrew. Let us speak briefly about the particulars, as far as the difficulty of explanation allows, so that, due to the desire for brevity, the veil of not only Moses, but also the prophet Ezekiel, does not remain on us, who want to contemplate the truth of the Lord with an open face (2 Cor. 3:14). So, the glory of the God of Israel goes through the eastern path, through which it came out when the city was struck by the wrath of the Lord. She goes, or better yet, returns to them, for she showed the church of the Lord built on the mountain. But much more important is what it says next: the spirit lifted me up and led me into the outer court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. For here only the glory of the God of Israel enters, and there it is said that the fullness of the glory of the Lord was in the church, about which Isaiah writes: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the house was filled with His glory (Is. 6:1), when, with our revealed face beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the image of the Creator (2 Cor. 3:18). The voice of God was like the sound of many waters, that is, the peoples of the whole world, as the Evangelist John explains (Rev. 14:2), or like the sound of a camp and like the sound of an aggravating multitude, so that the army of God might know the mysteries. In this sense, Jacob called that place a camp (Gen. 32). It is written about this and in another place: the chariot of God is in darkness, a thousand gob-hungers (Ps. 67:18). The sound of the camp and the multitude is called one because of the unanimity in praising God. And the sound of those singing to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit intensifies: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, the earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3). It follows: and the earth was illuminated with His glory. This was fulfilled, in fact, at the coming of Christ, when the message of the apostles went out into the whole earth and their words to the ends of the world (Rom. 10:18), and is fulfilled daily among believers, and will fully come true when this corruptible is clothed with incorruptible and this mortal is clothed with immortality (1 Cor. 15:54). Addition: and I saw a vision similar to the one I saw when I came to destroy the city, instead of which the LXX was translated when I came to anoint the city, being clear from the Hebrew text, it represents a lot of darkness according to the Seventy: why did Ezekiel come to anoint the city? By whose prophecy and [by whose] threat did he fall? Can we really say that the prophetic reproof is the anointing of the city, and [precisely] the anointing with the priestly and royal oil of gladness, and that those who receive it with love and desire to listen to it become the Lord’s anointed, about whom it is written: touch not my anointed, and do not deceive my prophets (Ps. 104:15). In a mysterious sense, the one who saw the vision of the chariot and the mysteries of God, which Ezekiel saw at the river Chebar, meaning burden and heaviness, can anoint in a mysterious sense the city about which it is written: the glorious verb spoken of you, the city of God (Ps. 86:3). For what is more difficult in comparison with the rivers of Babylon, by which David sat and wept when he remembered Zion (Ps. 137:1)? It is written about them: for the image of this world passes away (1 Cor. 7:31). For I do not consider anything in the confusion of this world to be permanent, but everything to be transitory and flowing. Whoever discusses this will fall on his face, realizing how far he is from the glory of God, and will bow his knees before the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. And when, he says, I fell, the glory of the Lord entered the church by the gate facing the east, and immediately the spirit lifted me up (for I could not walk lying down) and brought me into the inner court, for I had fallen outside it, and behold, having first seen the glory of the God of Israel passing by the eastern way, I saw His house full of the glory of the Lord and heard a voice speaking to me from within the house. What this [voice] said, Scripture does not report, this may have been what the apostle is talking about: hearing inexpressible verbs, which a man should not speak (2 Cor. 12:4). The husband, he says, standing next to the prophet, said to him, by this [Husband] we obviously must mean the Lord. For who else could befit what follows: son of man! [this] is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I live among the children of Israel forever, if not one who lives in the Church among the children of Israel who see God, and lives forever, and not temporarily, as in Solomon’s temple? His place is that about which it is written: His place is in the world (Ps. 75:3), surpassing all understanding, and the place of the soles of His feet, as the apostles say: let us worship in the place where His feet stand (Ps. 131:7). And he said beautifully: stand, because in the Church the feet of the Lord stand, and in the synagogue they walk and pass. And so that we know that this is said about the Church, for this purpose it is added: and the house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, which refers, in fact, to those who lead a holy life and abide in the Church. And who are those who previously profaned the holy name of God, he expresses this more clearly [through words]: they and their kings, both the people and the priests, by their fornications with which they committed adultery before God, and by the falls of their kings - those who in vain, due to arrogance, appropriate the royal name to themselves. Therefore, what follows: and at heights. For arrogance offends God, but humility calls Him to mercy. They, following arrogance or as a result of arrogance, built their threshold at the threshold of God and their doorposts next to His doorposts. Let women, burdened with sins, carried away by every wind of doctrine, always learning and never achieving the knowledge of the truth, listen in relation to the literal meaning of this, that mental union with God, and not the neighborhood of churches and not the proximity of the place of residence, calls God to mercy towards them, and that, on the contrary, even the wrath of God is aroused when there is an unworthy inhabitant in places dedicated to God. They built, he says, their threshold at My threshold, so that there would be no distinction between the sacred and the profane, and their doorposts next to My doorposts, so that there would be one entrance for the laity and the priests. Therefore, the apostle says: let a man tempt himself, and thus come to the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:28). And to give more importance to what was said, He then adds the following verse: and the wall was between Me and them, so that the priestly sacrifices were separated from the place of the sacraments of the body and blood of Christ by a very small wall. And they defiled, he says, My holy name with the abominations that they did. What is the use of the contiguity of the place of residence and in the mediastinum between our room and the altar of the Lord, when through what we do secretly and about which it is even shameful to speak, the name of the Lord is desecrated and given over to reproach? I think that the name of the Lord is desecrated only by those who seemed to believe in His name and were called that way. And how he who first believed in Christ takes away the members of Christ and makes them members of a harlot (1 Cor. 6:16); so the one who previously believed in the name of God defiles His name. Although the pagan and the Jew are defiled and desecrated, this desecration and desecration cannot desecrate and make the name of God desecrated; it is desecrated by those to whom it is said: My name is blasphemed among the nations by you (Rom. 2:24). So for these reasons I destroyed them in My wrath, for they did what we said. And, however, the merciful God again commands the prophet to inspire them to remove from themselves their former fornications, and to leave the failures of their kings and princes, and to remove not so much from themselves as from God, and immediately promises rewards for a good deed, saying: and I will live among them I, about whom the Gospel says: stands in the midst of you, but Him you do not know (John 1:26); He will not live for a short time, as in the synagogue, but forever, which is confirmed through the Church of Christ. Ezek. XLIII:10–14. But you, son of man, show the house of Israel the church, and let them be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the construction [of it], and let them be ashamed of all that they have done. The appearance of the house and its structure, its exits and entrances, and all its outline, and all its commandments, and all its orders, and all its laws, show them and write before their eyes, so that they may keep all the divisions (Vulgate: outlines) of it and its commandments, and act according to them. This is the law of the house on the mountain top: all the borders around it will be the Holy of Holies. LXX: And you, son of man, show the house of Israel the house, and they will forgive their sins, and the appearance of it, and the disposition of it, and they will bear their torment for all that they have done. And you shall describe the house and its furnishings (praeparationem), and its exits and its entrances, and all that is in it (substantiam ejus), and all its commandments, and all its statutes, and all its laws, show them and write it down before them, and they will keep all the excuses and all my commandments and do them, and the mark of the house on the top of the mountain; all the borders around it are the Holy of Holies. This is the law of the house. It is a lot of work to depict what you see with your bodily eyes or contemplate with your mind in front of your listeners so that it seems to them that they saw it with you. Therefore, Joseph writes that those who were sent by Joshua the son of Nun to describe the earth were γεομε’τρας (land surveyors) and had knowledge of geometry, which is now the specialty of philosophers. So, the house of Israel - those who see God with their minds - is shown the house, that is, the church, which Ezekiel saw located on the mountain, and not only on the mountain, but, as they now say, on the top of the mountain; by it we should not at all understand the one whose construction by Solomon is narrated in the books of Kings and Chronicles. For he had a different location and (different) size and many differences in particulars, and was so much lower than this that not only his honorers and guardians, but also his very creator, Solomon, sinned and angered God, although he later repented when he wrote Proverbs, in which he says: I repented: I looked to choose punishment (Proverbs 24:32). The one that is shown to Ezekiel, and through Ezekiel to the house of Israel, is such that whoever sees it mentally will forsake his iniquities, and not just some, but all, or as it is stated in the Hebrew, he will be ashamed and suffer his torment for everything that he did. He who ceases to commit previous sins experiences torment for his iniquities; and it brings great benefit to someone who has previously sinned to see the house of God and know the plan of its entire structure, so that he ceases to sin and, having a desire for it, says to the Lord: Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house and the dwelling place of your glory (Ps. 25:8), and again: I have asked one thing of the Lord, this I will require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Ps. 26:4), when I begin to live and be with Christ, who serves as life for believers. What follows: exits and entrances, implies: houses. The exits of those who go out to those who are outside, and the entrances of those who, through the instruction of teachers, penetrate inside. And everything, he says, is its outline or that is in it (substantiam ejus), as the LXX translated, which refers not so much to the properties (naturam) of the church, but to utensils and wealth. And show all the statutes, and all the orders and all the laws of the church to those who suffered torment for their iniquities and stopped, or were ashamed of, what they were doing before. Show them so that they observe everything that is commanded. For there is no benefit in knowing the outline of the house and all its divisions, about which it is written: My Father has many mansions (John 14:2), and also: set the boundaries of the tongues according to the number of the sons of Israel or the angels of God (Deut. 32:8), if what is commanded is not fulfilled. The house and law of all the commandments of God and the city standing on the top of the mountain must be recognized as the one about which it is written: the city cannot hide, standing on the top of the mountain (Matthew 5:14) and: the aspirations of the river make glad the city of God (Psalm 45:4), which obviously refers to the Church; he is located on that mountain that stands on the top of all mountains and with which the prince of Tire was struck (Ezek. 28); and all the ends and borders of this house are the Holy of Holies. In that house, that is, in the tabernacle that Moses built, and in the church that was erected by Solomon, only the inner parts, where the cherubim were, and the atonement, and the ark of the covenant, and the table of incense, were called the “Holy of Holies.” And in this house, which is shown to Ezekiel and which stands on the top of the mountain, all its borders are recognized as the Holy of Holies. Addition: this law of the house applies either to the past, which has already been said, or to what will have to be said later. Ezek. XLIII:13–17. Here are the dimensions of the altar according to the most accurate cubit, which had a cubit and a span (or παλαιστη’ν); at its base (sinu) there was a cubit, and a cubit in width, and the enclosure (definitio) to the mouth (labium) around it was one span. And such was the recess (fossa) of the altar. And from the base of the earth to the last ledge are two cubits, and the breadth is one cubit, and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge are four cubits, and the breadth is one cubit. The ariel itself is four cubits long, and from the ariel four horns rise upward. And the ariel was twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, quadrangular with equal sides. And the protrusion was fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide on the four corners thereof, and the crown around it was half a cubit, and the sinus thereof was one cubit around. Its steps are facing east. LXX: And this is the size of the altar according to a full cubit, a cubit and παλαιστῆς (span): its base (sinus) is a cubit in height around and width, and the enclosure (gisus) of its mouth (per labium) around is one span. And this is the height of the altar from the depth of the beginning at the base (sinu) of it to the greater atonement, which at the bottom was two cubits, and the width was a cubit. And from the lesser purification to the greater purification are four cubits, and the width is a cubit, and the ariel is four cubits, and from the ariel to the top of the horns is a cubit. The ariel itself is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide on the four corners on each side of it, and the purgatory is fourteen cubits wide on its four sides, and the fence (gisus) surrounding it around is half a cubit, and the circumference (circuitus) around it is a cubit. Its steps are facing east. It is written: Who can search the abyss and wisdom (Sir. 1:3)? and: O the depth of the wisdom and understanding of God (Rom. 11:33)! Its depth is great, and who will find it? Much [work] would be required if we wanted to compare the temple of Solomon and all its parts and tabernacles with this church. Since this is very difficult, we will now partially compare the altar shown to Ezekiel with the altar we read about in Exodus (Exodus 38:1–2). There an altar is described as being five cubits long and five cubits wide, that is, quadrangular, and three cubits high; here, departing from the five senses, it strives for a unit in which a full or most accurate cubit is posited, to which a span is attached, that is, παλαιστη’, which contains, as we said above, the sixth part of the cubit. At the base of it (that is, the altar), in which was placed what was consumed by fire, there was a cubit and another cubit in width, so that the inner, that is, hidden, part of the altar, and the space designated by the width, ended with one cubit. In the next one: and the fence to its mouth, instead of which Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion set a limit, LXX again translated gisum. The meaning of this word, as I have already said before, 86 I cannot determine and say with certainty which language it belongs to; I will only remind the reader that above 87 I translated through the crown what I have now translated through the fence. Here it is briefly indicated that around the altar itself, that is, along the edges and around the circumference, there was a sloping mouth and, as it were, a crown like a lily, presenting a lot of beauty in appearance. This enclosure or gisus extended around the width of a span or παλαιστή. The recess of the altar, or the depth and height, instead of which in Hebrew it is gab, from the foundation on the ground to the last ledge or to the greater atonement, was two cubits and its width was one cubit. For the lower and deep and connected with the earth is in the dual number, which is also applied to unclean animals (Gen. 7), and the highest and reaching to the projection or purgatory, which Theodotion called the Hebrew word azara, have one cubit in width, so that the dual number passes into the singular and the lower good of marriage reaches the bliss of union. As for the following: and from the smaller protrusion to the larger protrusion there are four cubits, and the width is one cubit, instead of which the LXX put: and from the lesser purgation to the greater purgation, and which in both cases Theodotion translated through azara; then this should be understood in the sense that the smaller purification is a stone hewn out of a rock without hands, and the greater purification is that stone that became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:35). Or, in relation to another meaning, the lesser purification was when [Christ] humbled himself and took on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), and the greater purification was when He received the glory that he had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). For first we recognize the humiliation of Christ, and thus we reach the height of His divinity, and however, the purification of both natures, that is, the lesser and the greater, refers to the sacrament of one altar. Between the two purifications, the smaller and the larger, there were four cubits, meaning the four elements of the world, which also reach the height of one cubit. It should also be noted that when measuring the altar, the first cubit in width is not connected to any other, but remains perfect in its unity. The second cubit of width after two cubits increases to the highest limits, and the third cubit, after lesser and greater purification, strives through the four elements to the mystery of one cubit; it speaks of one, another and a third cubit on the altar of the Lord - not about the first, second and third, but about one, and one, and one. The ariel itself was four cubits long, and from the ariel four horns rose upward [or, as LXX says, from the ariel to the top of the horns one cubit. Ariel, as many believe, means the light of my God, which we talked about in detail and [in the interpretation] of the prophet Isaiah, where it is written: “Woe to you, the city of Ariel, which David conquered” or “surrounded by David” (Is. 29:1), but, as I believe: the lion or mighty one of God. This name actually refers to the altar, on which rests (est) either the enlightenment of God or the lion and its power, as Jacob says to Judah: “the young lion Judah; to the prey, my son, you have risen; having fallen asleep, you lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will stir him up” (Gen. 49:9)? It has four cubits and four horns, or the upper parts of the four horns end in one cubit, so that under the illumination of God and the power of the lion, the measure of the gospels and the power spreading throughout the whole world may be revealed, and that they may reach one cubit of the confession of God. But in order to gradually clear up the darkness of the present place, it follows: and the ariel is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, quadrangular with equal sides. No one doubts that this refers to the twelve tribes, which are described in the Apocalypse of John (Rev. 7), and to the number of the apostles, about the mysterious significance of which, as I remember, I spoke above. Twelve cubits, multiplied by four countries of the world, make up forty-eight cubits of priestly cities, so that on them, as on foundations distributed throughout the world, the power of the Church is established. Further, the protrusion (crepido), instead of which LXX translated purgatory, Theodotion, as above, azara, Symmachus σπεριδομη’ν, that is, the circumference, was fourteen cubits in length and fourteen cubits in width at its four corners, and the crown around it was half a cubit, instead of which LXX again translated gisum, and base (sinum) or, according to Symmachus, completion and completion, into one cubit. This secretly indicates that our Lord, who is truly called purification not only for our sins, but for the whole world, came through fourteen degrees from Abraham to David, and then through another fourteen until the captivity of Jehoiachin, and through the same mysterious number descended to earth, so that in the third τεσσαρακαιδεκαιδεκα’δι and in the mystery of the divine number to save the four corners of the world, about which it is written: many from the east and west, and from the north and south will come and sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11). The following then: and the crown or fence around it, that is, the purgatory, had half a cubit and the base of the same purgation or completion or completion, which Symmachus translated through, had one cubit, means that sinners and the righteous are saved through the purgation of the Lord, as the Apostle Paul says: we were reconciled to God by the blood of His Son (Rom. 5:10). It is said about sinners that they have a measure of half a cubit around and, however, are saved by the mercy of the Creator, in accordance with what is written in the Psalm: by no means can you save them (Ps. 55:8). About the righteous [it is said] that they will be saved through the singular and perfect number and will become like the one Godhead, as the same apostle says: God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19). As for the testimony placed at the end of this testimony: and its steps are directed to the east, then by the steps of this purification we must understand either the twenty-four [elders] in the books of the Old Testament, who had harp according to the Apocalypse of John (Rev. 5:8) and crowns on their heads, or the sacrament of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in which true reconciliation will be given to us. To put it more clearly, the number of steps is left indefinite so that, no matter how zealously we ascend upward, we consider ourselves to be below and so that we have in our thoughts the saying of the psalmist: they will go from strength to strength (Ps. 83:8). Ezek. XLIII:18–22. And he said to me: Son of man! Thus saith the Lord God: These are the rites of the altar when it is made, that burnt offerings may be offered upon it, and that blood may be poured out upon it. To the Levitical priests, who are descended from the seed of Zadok, who draw near to Me, says the Lord God, give a bull from the herd of oxen to offer to Me [as a sacrifice] for sin. And take his blood, put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the crown around, and cleanse it and sanctify it. And take the calf that was sacrificed for sin, and burn it in a special place in the house outside the sanctuary. And the next day, bring from among the goats a goat without blemish and cleanse the altar, as you cleansed it with the calf. LXX: And he said to me: Son of man! Thus says the Lord God: These are the establishments of the altar, when it is finished, to offer burnt offerings on it and to pour out blood on it. To the Levitical priests, who come from the seed of Sadduc and draw near to Me, says the Lord God, to serve Me, give a bull from among the oxen [as a sin offering]. And let them take his blood, and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the foundation around it, and cleanse and sanctify it. And let them take the calf [as a sin offering] and burn it in a special place in the house outside the sanctuary. And on the next day let them take from the goats two male goats without blemish [as a sin offering] and cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull. Having shown the prophet the altar, and its cubit and two cubits, and again a cubit and four cubits, and the third time a cubit and twelve cubits with other twelve, and four horns of the altar, also an ariel of twelve cubits with twelve cubits, and come out, that is, an atonement of fourteen cubits with fourteen cubits, also its crown and base are half a cubit and one cubit around, and steps to the east, the number of which is unknown; the man, in whose hand there was a cane and a rope, began to speak and told him how, after finishing the altar, the altar should be cleansed and sanctified. First, a sacrifice is made and given to the priests of the line of Levi, descended from the seed of Zadok, whom LXX for some reason is called Sadduc. Zadok means righteous. And according to LXX and Theodotion, a calf is brought, according to Symmachus an ox, which in Hebrew is called phar. The calf slain for us is spoken of in many places in the Scriptures, and in the Epistle of Barnabas, which is considered one of the apocryphal writings. The next day a goat is brought from among the goats. Therefore, those who intend to celebrate the Passover take a lamb and a goat from the herd, and those who were previously unable to celebrate the Passover, do so in the second month: here one applies to the righteous, and the other to the repentant. If we prefer the translation of the Seventy, who said: And on the morrow let them take from the goats two he-goats without blemish [as a sacrifice] for sin; although what we say is bold, it must directly state the opinion of others who claim that after the passion of the Lord, two blameless goats were offered on the altar of the Lord: James and Stephen, of whom one was from among the apostles, and the other was the first of the seven chosen to serve the Lord. This is the Jacob who saw the transfigured Savior on the mountain (Matt. 17), who, together with the Lord, and Peter and John, saw the resurrection of the daughter of the leader of the synagogue (Matthew 9) and who in the list of apostles, in which two names are combined, stands before his brother (Matthew 10:2). Herod killed him and, like a blameless goat, slaughtered him the next day after the Savior’s suffering. The Jews also stoned Stephen, whose wisdom and teaching no one could resist and who saw the Son standing at the right hand of the Father and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit (Acts 7:59). And how the apostle calls some of the believers the firstfruits of Achaia and Asia (1 Cor. 16); so they too were the firstfruits of martyrs, later crowned through the confession of Christ. And then it should be noted that the entire calf is offered as a burnt offering and its fat body is consumed by divine fire. For although we understood Christ according to the flesh, now we do not understand Him according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16). Jacob and Stephen, who were offered the next day, or the goat, the offering of which is spoken of in the Hebrew text, although they are sacrificed, the burnt offering is postponed until the appearance of the Lord. And that the blood is taken, about which Peter says: we are redeemed from our vain life, faithful fathers, with the honest blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18), and the Apostle Paul teaches: with the price of purchase (1 Cor. 7:23), and in another place: having made peace by the blood of His cross, whether it be on earth or in heaven (Col. 1:20); then this means that the four horns of the altar, that is, the four countries of the world, are cleansed with the blood of the Savior, and the crown of purification or the foundation is sprinkled on all sides so that everything is cleansed and so that the reconciliation is lasting. On the second day, either two goats, which we mentioned above, or [one] goat are taken because [this] animal always strives upward, and is not exposed to any danger on steep slopes and finds a way where death occurs for other animals. Therefore, in the Greek language, a herd of goats and goats is called the circulation of the high, that is, αὶπολιον, as if αἰποπο’λοιν, since αἰ’ποσ means high, and πο’λιον – circulation. Further, the altar of Christ is cleansed with blood so that the prayers of the saints reach God pure. It should also be noted that in the Hebrew text Ezekiel himself, as a priest, is commanded to take the calf, and make a burnt offering and sprinkle its blood around both the altar and the corners and the crown or base. LXX interpreters make it known that other priests do this, about whom it is written: Give to the Levitical priests, who come from the seed of Zadok, who draw near to Me. Ezek. XLIII:23–27. When you have finished this cleansing, bring from the herd of oxen a bullock without blemish, and from the herd of [sheep] a ram without blemish. And bring them before the Lord, and the priests will throw salt on them and offer them as burnt offerings to the Lord. For seven days you shall offer a goat daily as a sin offering, and they shall offer a bull from a herd of oxen and a ram from a herd of sheep without blemish. For seven days they must cleanse the altar and sanctify it and fill their hand. At the end of [these] days, on the eighth day and beyond, the priests will offer on the altar your burnt offerings and those [sacrifices] that are offered for reconciliation, and I will be merciful to you, says the Lord God. LXX: When you have completed the cleansing, let them bring from among the oxen a bullock without blemish, and from among the sheep a ram without blemish, and you shall bring them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the Lord. For seven days you shall offer a goat daily as a sin offering, and for seven days you shall offer a bull from among the oxen and a ram from among the sheep without blemish. And they will cleanse the altar and sanctify it, and fill their hands and end their days. From the eighth day onwards the priests will offer your burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for your salvation on the altar, and I will accept you, says the Lord God. After the altar and its dimensions were shown to the prophet on the top of the mountain, and then the purification and sanctification of it was shown to him through one bull without blemish and a goat or two goats, of which we attributed the first to the Lord the Savior, and the next two to the apostles and ministers; so that, when consecrating the spiritual altar and pertaining specifically to the Church, the law and the prophets do not seem excluded, therefore, for the consecration of the altar, a bullock without blemish and a ram is taken and offered before the Lord, and the sons of Zadok, that is, the priests of the righteous, sprinkle salt on their heads, so that the law and the prophets may be seasoned with the taste of the gospel. For there is no sacrifice that would be without salt, according to the command of the law and the interpretation of the apostle, who says: let your word be mixed with salt (Col. 4:6). Both burnt offerings are offered to the Lord so that the body of the fat letter, signifying the law, and the cloud of prophecy, may be offered by the fire of the Lord, that is, by the Holy Spirit, about whom Paul says: burning with the Spirit (Rom. 12:11), were transformed into a spiritual and refined being. If we want to know more clearly who is the bull without blemish from the herd of oxen and the ram from among the sheep with the purest wool, then we must understand Moses and Elijah, of whom the first was meek more than all the people who were on earth (Num. 12:3), and the second was like Moses in ardent faith. Therefore, he decided to say: I remain one (1 Kings 19:10). As for what is written in Hebrew: bring the calf, and in LXX: let the priests bring it, this does not raise any doubt. For Ezekiel himself, to whom this is spoken, was one of the priests, being of full age and in manhood, and grace increased the priestly degree of prophecy. And Moses and Elijah, that is, the law and the prophets, were visible on the mountain with the Lord and told him what He had to endure in Jerusalem. After the altar has been cleansed, for seven days a goat or a kid, a bull from a herd of oxen, and a ram from a herd of sheep without blemish are offered daily for sin, so that through these sacrifices within seven days the altar may be completely cleansed. Seven days indicate the Sabbath, which, according to the Apostle (Heb. 4:9), remains for the people of God; during them we hope to [have] eternal and true peace and will not commit servile deeds of sins. Through the goat, calf and ram, three common vices are indicated to which the entire mortal race is exposed. For we sin either in thoughts, or in word or in deed. The thought relates to the ram, since it serves as the first of all sins and from it the other two sins are born; and a kid or goat to ornate speech or a word, which is always used to discuss lofty subjects. Works are attributed to the calf itself, for he is freed from plowshares and labor and earthworks. Thus, all this without blemish during the seven days of the true and perfect Sabbath we must offer [as sacrifice] to God and cleanse the altar, so that our prayer reaches God pure. As for the addition: and they will cleanse him and fill his hand, as it stands in Hebrew and as translated by other translators, this means that also the altar itself, for the cleansing of which the sacrifice is offered, must be filled with gifts, just as [the sacrifice] is offered for the priest and the people and the high priest, so that nothing seems idle before God. Instead of this LXX they put: and they will cleanse it and fill their hands, that is, priests who, having been filled with good works - for this means full hands - at the end of the Sabbath will reach the eighth day of resurrection and will say with the apostle: “We have risen with Christ” (Rom. 6; Col. 3:1), and after the eighth day they will strive for heavenly things and offer burnt offerings for us and sacrifices of reconciliation for our sins and for our salvation, so that through the fire of the Holy Spirit, everything that we think, say, and do will take on a spiritual character and so that the Lord, pleased with such sacrifices, will be merciful to us. Ezek. XLIV:1–3. And he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, facing east, and it was closed. And the Lord said to me: These gates will be shut and not open, and no man will enter through them. For the Lord God of Israel has entered (or will enter) them, and they will be closed to the prince. The prince himself will sit in them and eat bread before the Lord. 88 will go out through the porch (that is, the elam) of the gate and will come out the same way. Instead of what was written in Hebrew: they will be closed for the prince, LXX translated: they will be closed; for the leader himself will sit in them. There are many gates that Scripture mentions when describing the church of Ezekiel, both inside and outside. The foregoing discourse also gives a brief overview of the appearance of the altar and the consecration and sacrifices. At the end of this, [the prophet] comes to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which was facing east and was closed. And immediately the man who led the prophet and showed him everything said to him: this gate, which you see closed, will always be closed and will not open, and no man will pass through it. And he indicates the reasons why they are always closed: for the Lord God of Israel has entered or will enter them and they will be closed, according to the Hebrew text, for the prince, whom LXX translated through the leader. This prince and leader, that is, nasi, will sit in them to eat bread before the Lord, and will enter by the way of the porch, and will go out through it. What kind of gate is this that is always closed, and through which only the Lord God of Israel enters? of course, those about whom the Savior speaks in the Gospel: Woe to you scribes and hypocritical Pharisees, and woe to you who are lawyers, because you have taken the key of understanding; you yourselves have not entered into, and have been forbidden to those who enter (Luke 11:44–52). Isaiah also writes about them under the name of the book: the words of this book will be like the words of the book, sealed, even if they are given to a person who does not know the scriptures, and it is said to him: read this, and he says: I do not know the scriptures. And they will give it to the man who keeps the scriptures, saying: Read this, and he says: I cannot read it, for it is sealed (Isa. 29:11-12). This is the book that no one in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth can open and unseal, except for the one about whom the Apocalypse of John says: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome, to open the book and loose its seals (Rev. 5:5). For before the Savior took on a human body and made Himself humble, He took on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), the law and the prophets and all the understanding of the Scriptures were closed, paradise was closed. But after He was hanged on the cross and said to the thief: today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43), immediately the veil of the church was rent (ibid., Luke. 23:46), and everything was revealed, and after the veil was removed, we say that we all, beholding with revealed face the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). If everything is open - for, through Christ, according to the word of Paul, everything is revealed (ibid., 2 Cor. 3:14), - then how will the gates be closed and not open and no one pass through them? From this we learn that although we have achieved the highest knowledge, but, in comparison with divine knowledge, we now partly know and partly understand; When that which is perfect has come, then that which is part will be done away with (1 Cor. 13:9-10). Therefore, in another place the apostle himself calls himself imperfect and then perfect. If this were left unexplained, it would seem contradictory. For he says: I have not already reached or already accomplished. Brothers, I do not think that I have achieved it; one thing, forgetting what is behind, but reaching out to what is before, to deliberately pursue, for the honor of the high calling of God (Phil. 3:12-14). And although we recognize him, in accordance with his statement, as still imperfect and more seeking than finding the truth, he calls not only himself, but also others perfect: if we are perfect, let us be wise (ibid., Phil. 3:15). The meaning of this place is as follows: in comparison with other people who do not care about knowing the Scriptures and the mysteries of God, I recognize myself as perfect; As for the knowledge of divine greatness, now I see fortune-telling, in fog and darkness, and I speak with the prophet: Thy mind was amazed at Me, strengthened, I will not be able to reach it (Ps. 139:6). Thus, these gates, which are closed to everyone (for no one will pass through them), will be closed to the prince or leader and will be opened at the coming of him who sits in them to eat bread before the Lord, which He Himself declares in the Gospel, saying: My food is, that I may do the will of him who sent Me and finish His work (John 4:34). He is a prince and high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, and a sacrifice and a priest, eating bread with us before the Father and drinking that wine about which He speaks in the Gospel: from now on I will not drink from this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink new in the kingdom of My Father (Matthew 26:29), precisely in that kingdom about which He elsewhere says: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). And the gates will be closed. For no one can comprehend the mystery of the Lord’s suffering and His body and blood in accordance with the greatness of the subject. And our prince is so good and merciful that, sitting alone in the gate that is closed, and eating bread before the Lord, He desires to have many participants in His meal and in His supper and says: Behold, I stand at the door and talk: if anyone opens to Me, I will come in to him, and I will sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20). He eats bread alone before the Lord, because His being and divine nature are different from the being of all creatures. He enters and exits through the same gate of the vestibule, for He is both inside and outside, that is, He fills and surrounds everything; He enters through the gate in order to bring with Him those who cannot enter without His teaching and help, and goes out to again bring others in and speak with those who cannot understand more difficult things. And that the eastern gates outside the world are always closed and inaccessible to human sight, this is proved by the Gospel of John, who says: God has never been seen by anyone: the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, is the one who confesses (John 1:18). He seemed to say in other words: and they will be closed for the prince. One prince will sit in them to eat the bread of perfect and complete knowledge. For no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and to him, if the Son wills, it will be revealed (Matthew 11:27). Well, some under the closed gate, through which the Lord God of Israel alone enters and the leader for whom the gate is closed, mean Mary the Virgin, who both before and after birth remained a virgin. For at the time when the angel said: The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, and what is to be born holy will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35), and when He was born, she remained an eternal virgin to the shame of those who, due to the mention in the Gospel (Mark 3:31) of His brothers, believe that she, after the birth of the Savior, had sons from Joseph. On this issue, in Rome, during my youth, I wrote, as I know, a small book against Helvidius, a heretic of that time. Ezek. XLIV:4–5. And he brought me by the way of the north gate before the face of the house, and I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me: Son of man! apply your heart [to everything], and look with your eyes and listen with your ears everything that I tell you about all the sacred acts of the house of the Lord and all the laws thereof, and apply your heart to the paths of the church through all the exits of the sanctuary. The man who led the prophet and, thanks to whose instructions, the latter learns everything about the church, showing him the closed gates, which should never be opened and which, however, are open to the one who entered through the closed doors, leads the prophet to the northern gate, which was also in front of the house, meaning, without a doubt, the church. And when the prophet saw before him the house of the Lord, full of the glory of the Lord, that is, the same one that he saw located opposite the north side, he immediately fell on his face, not being able to bear the greatness of the glory of the Lord. Since he has fallen in humility, it is not his husband who says to him, but the Lord: Son of man! apply your heart and so on. After the completion of the tabernacle and the church building built by Solomon, the glory of the Lord appeared, which subsequently ceased in comparison with the glory of the gospel, as the apostle says: For what was glorified in this part was not glorified for the glory that surpasses it. For if that which ceases to be in glory, much more remains in glory (2 Cor. 3:10–11). But one must be careful not to recognize the cessation of the former glory for destruction; this should be understood in such a way that when the perfect came, then what was in part ceased, just as it happens if we compare a lamp or the light of a burning light bulb to the rays of the sun. Therefore, it is said about John the Baptist: He was a lamp, giving light in the house (John 5:35). But when the Sun of righteousness came, the light of the lamp was eclipsed, as the prophet-Baptist himself says: It is fitting for him to grow, but for me to grow small (John 3:30). The prophet fell on his face so that, wanting to see more than human frailty can see, he would not lose his sight. Therefore, the Lord friendly calls him the son of man and commands him to apply his heart, and look with his eyes and listen with his ears. For, first of all, the heart must be opened to the understanding of what is said; then you need to understand with spiritual eyes, about which Abraham is told: “lift up your eyes and count the stars” (Gen. 15:5), and after that you need to listen with those ears about which the Savior says, “having ears to hear, let him hear” (Lk. 8:8), so that he can understand all the sacred rites of the church and its legalizations and, finally, attach his heart to the ways of the church, for there are many different entrances to God. Or the paths of the church signify the order of sacred rites and the exits of the sanctuary. Thus, this serves as an introduction and preparation for the prophet to understand what he subsequently learns about the order of the church. And then it should be noted that in the country of this world, which lies in evil and is in the cold north, we are shown the order of the sacred rites of the heavenly [world] Ezek. XLIV:6–8. And say to the house of Israel that grieves Me, Thus says the Lord GOD: All your wickedness has been enough for you, O house of Israel, for you are bringing in the sons of strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, to be in My sanctuary and to defile My church, and you offer My bread, the fat and the blood, and have broken (or transgressed) My covenant with all your wickedness and have not kept the decrees of My sanctuary and appointed guardians of My services (observationum) in My sanctuary for themselves. When he says: enough of all your atrocities or iniquities, he encourages you to repent of your past sins, so that we do not multiply sins with sins and do not prepare material for the future fire, but so that we listen to what Isaiah says: woe to those who draw in sins, as if they are already long and as if the yoke is a yoke with the strap of iniquity (Is. 5:18). And the first sin was that they bring in strangers or foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, so that they may be in the sanctuary of God and defile the house of God. For a little leaven leaves the whole mixture (1 Cor. 5:6) and in some copies of Proverbs it is said: “Do not bring the wicked into the tabernacle of the righteous.” Regarding this passage, the Jews and Ebionites, who accept carnal circumcision, object to us: how can we in this place explain the uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, that is, how should we understand circumcision of the flesh in a spiritual sense? But we read Paul saying: I testify to everyone who is circumcised, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you for nothing (Gal. 5:2–3), and the following words of Jeremiah: “Behold, your ears are not circumcised, and you are not willing to listen” (Jer. 6:10). And in the Exodus Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel did not hearken to me, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me? I am tongue-tied (Ex. 6:12). Instead, the LXX was translated: ἐγὼ δὲ ἀ’λογὀς εἰμι (I am unverbal); but in Hebrew it is better: “I am uncircumcised with my lips.” Therefore, let us pose the question to them too, or rather, let us force them to crop their ears and cut off their lips so that they appear to fulfill the Scripture. If they begin to explain the cutting of ears in the sense that it happens when we do not allow ourselves to listen to anything vile and shameful, and the cutting of lips when we do not say anything indecent; then we will tell them: you must keep the same explanation also regarding the heart and flesh. We circumcise our hearts with the knife of God and the foreskin is removed from our hearts when evil thoughts come out of our hearts and when it is not said about us: the hearts of these people are clothed and their ears are hard of hearing (Isa. 6:10; Acts 28:27). In the same way, the flesh is circumcised so that we do not perform earthly affairs that we are forced to do at the request of the body - eating and drinking and using sleep and clothing; We circumcise them if we do all this not for pleasure, luxury and inactivity, but as a result of natural necessity and to maintain the body. He who drinks a little wine for the sake of stomach and frequent illnesses (1 Tim. 5:23) and hates drunkenness, circumcises his flesh. He who sleeps as much as nature allows will hear from Solomon: if you sit down, you will be fearless; If you sleep, sleep sweetly; and you will not fear the fear of the one who finds it, lower than the desire of the wicked who finds it (Prov. 3:24–25). And whoever avoids fornication and fulfills his duty towards his wife, meaning that Satan will not tempt him (1 Cor. 7:5), he will hear along with the people of Israel: in this day I will take away the reproach of Egypt from you (Joshua 5:9). He will also use clothes that protect against the cold, and not those that, due to their thinness, reveal the nakedness of the body. The flesh, exhausted by fasting and circumcised through abstinence, avoids the reproach of the Egyptians, who have a fat body, and can say what is read in many [lists] of the LXX edition: my flesh is exhausted in a desert land, impassable and without water; Thus I have appeared to You in holiness (Ps. 62:2-3) So, if we ever want to bring foreigners into the church of God, then we must circumcise their ears, and lips, and heart, and all flesh, and eyes, taste and smell, so that we do everything with the fear of God and wisely. Let the bishops and elders and the entire church rank hear this, and let them not bring in the sons of strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, lest they be in the sanctuary of God and defile His house. For if they do this, then the following will apply to them: and you shall offer My bread, that is, the shewbread, in all the Churches and throughout the whole earth, coming from one bread, and not only the bread, but also the fat, about which it is written: they were drunk from the fatness of the wheat (Ps. 80:17), and the blood that was shed at the passion of Christ. This is how it should be read and this should be the order of reading: when you bring into My sanctuary foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, and defile My house; then you dare to offer bread, and fat, and blood, sacred (mystica) sacraments, and do not understand that you have destroyed or transgressed My covenant through all your atrocities and iniquities, and have not kept the statutes of My sanctuary, and have not appointed guards for My services in My sanctuary. Nevertheless, the rebuke is directed against those who did not heed the admonition of the Apostle: do not lay your hands on anyone, but share in the sin of others (1 Tim. 5:22). Or, perhaps, this should be understood: you have destroyed My covenant with all your atrocities and have not kept the decrees of My sanctuary, and you dare to appoint unworthy and foreign guards to serve in My sanctuary for your own sake, which must be understood: and not for Me. The meaning is this: they serve and help you in a carnal way, and for your peace of mind they defile My sanctuary. Ezek. XLIV:9–16. Thus saith the Lord God: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, [nor] any son of a stranger that dwelleth among the children of Israel. Likewise, the Levites, who went far from Me during the wandering of the children of Israel and, having departed from Me, wandered after their idols, will bear (Vulgate: suffered) the punishment of their iniquity, who were (Vulgate: will be) in My sanctuary watchmen and gatekeepers at the gate of the house and servants at the house; they sacrificed burnt offerings and [other] sacrifices for the people, and stood there before them to serve them. Therefore, because they served before their idols and became a stumbling block to the house of Israel to wickedness, I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they bore (Vulgate: shall bear) the punishment for their wickedness. And they will not approach Me to perform sacred acts before Me, nor will they approach all My holy things at the Holy of Holies, but they will bear their shame and their evil deeds which they have committed. And I will make them gatekeepers of the house at all the services of the house and at everything that happens in it. And the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the statutes of My sanctuary, when the children of Israel wandered [far] from Me, they will draw near to Me to serve Me, and they will stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD. They will enter My sanctuary and eat My table to serve Me and keep My statutes. LXX: Therefore thus saith the Lord: No son of a foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, with all the sons of foreigners who dwell in the midst of the house of Israel, even the Levites, who turned far from Me, when Israel wandered [far] from Me after their thoughts, shall receive [punishment for] their wickedness and serve in the sanctuary. Mine are like the gatekeepers at the gates of the house and the servants at the house. They will sacrifice burnt offerings and [other] sacrifices for the people and will stand before the people to serve them. Because they served them before their idols and became a torment for the house of Israel because of their iniquity, I have lifted up My hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will receive [punishment for] their wickedness, and they will not come near Me to perform sacred acts before Me, or make offerings at the holy places of the children of Israel and at My holy of holies, and they will suffer their disgrace for the error in which they have wandered. And they will appoint them to serve as guards of the house for all the activities in it and for everything that was done in it. The Levitical priests, the sons of Sadduc, who served as guardians of My holy things when the house of Israel wandered [far] from Me, they will draw near to Me to serve Me, and they will stand before Me to offer Me sacrifice, fat and blood, says the Lord GOD. They will enter My sanctuary and eat My table, to serve Me and keep My watch. I have presented the evidence for both editions so that by comparing them we can see how [this passage] LXX was understood and what is contained in the Hebrew [text]. LXX make it clear that foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, living among the children of Israel, should not enter the sanctuary of God; The Levites, that is, the priestly order, who strayed far from the Lord during the wandering of the children of Israel and wandered after their idols, when they receive [punishment for] their iniquity, will stand in the sanctuary of the Lord as guards and gatekeepers and servants of the house, and will slaughter burnt offerings and [other] sacrifices for the people; they will be present before them to serve them, because they served them before their idols, and became a torment to the house of Israel because of their iniquity; therefore, says the Lord God, I have lifted up My hand against them, so that they do not approach Him, and do not act sacredly before Him and do not make offerings to Him in the Holy of Holies, but so that they suffer their dishonor for the error in which they wandered, that is, so that they were appointed to keep watch over the house for all the actions in it and for everything that is done in the house. If this is so, how can it be that those same Levites who withdrew from God during the wandering of the children of Israel and wandered [far] from Him after their idols will serve in the house, and kill burnt offerings and [other] sacrifices for the people and stand before them to serve them? For what else have the priests, the sons of Zadok, to do, who kept the ordinances of the sanctuary of God, and of whom it is said: They will draw near to Me to serve Me, and will stand before Me to offer Me fat, etc.? The Hebrew [text] has the following meaning: no foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, will not enter My sanctuary, even though he apparently lived with the people of Israel. The Levites, that is, the priestly order, who departed far from Me during the wandering of the children of Israel and followed idols, will bear [punishment for] their iniquity, because in My sanctuary they served at the gates of the house and were servants at it. For they brought burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stood before them to serve them. Because they served them before their idols, and were a temptation to iniquity for the house of Israel, I lifted up My hand against them, says the Lord God, and they bore [punishment for] their iniquity, and they will not come near to Me to perform sacred acts before Me, and they will not approach any of My holy things in the Holy of Holies, but they will bear their shame and the evil deeds that they have committed. For those who, in accordance with the priestly duty, usually offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of all kinds, will be reduced to the lowest degree and will, for eternal shame, be gatekeepers at the house, so that all the people, when entering and leaving, will see from what high rank to what low level they have come. And those priests, that is, the Levites, who were the sons of Zadok, that is, the righteous or righteous of God, and who kept the statutes of My sanctuary, they will draw near to Me to serve Me, and they will stand before My face and offer Me fat, that is, the fattest sacrifice, and blood, that is, a living and acceptable sacrifice, and they will enter My sanctuary and approach My table, so that I will light incense and perform all established sacred rites. If this is so, then those who, during times of error and persecution, followed the idols fabricated from their hearts, and not only verbally, but also in writing, affirmed that the Son of God is a creature, and served more the creature than the Creator, blessed forever - how do they assign to themselves the highest priestly and high priestly rank and dare to offer sacrifices to God, having previously been worshipers of idols? But, as the highly enthusiastic poet testifies: Without punishment, all that remains, in which many are sinners. Since many have sinned, this has made it more accessible to the wicked to indulge in mercy, so that those who, after being reduced to the ranks of the laity, should have lamented their former criminal sacrilege, now sit with arrogance on the high priestly throne and vomit upon us the vomit of hypocritical faith, or rather the open presentation of hidden unbelief. Even though it is late, let them listen and fulfill the commandments of the almighty God: no foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh, will not enter My sanctuary. At least he was a son, at least he was related to us by kinship or friendship; but if he is uncircumcised in heart or flesh, he should not be brought into the sanctuary of God, so that we do not make the servants of Christ our servants, and so that for the sake of carnal pleasures we do not desecrate the altars of the Lord. Instead of what we have appointed: and I will make them gatekeepers of the house in all the services of the house and in everything that is done in it, that is, those of the Levites who departed far from God during the wandering of the children of Israel and followed the idols to which they sacrificed sacrifices. Symmachus, bearing in mind the order and meaning of the passage read, translated more correctly, saying: for I have appointed them as guards of the doors of the house in all its services and in everything that is done in it. so this does not apply to those who will be [later], but to those who [before] were in the church. Ezek. XLIV:17–21. When they enter the gates of the inner courtyard, then they will dress in linen garments (or vestments) and nothing of wool should be on them (or: and they should not dress in woolen garments) while they serve at the gates of the inner courtyard and inside [the church]. Withered linen will be on their heads (or: linen turbans will be on their heads) and linen garments will be on their loins and will not be girded with sweat (or much). And when they go out into the outer courtyard to the people, they will have to take off their clothes (or vestments) in which they served, and leave them in the treasuries (or in the rooms) of the sanctuary and put on other clothes (or vestments) and not sanctify the people through their clothes (or vestments). They should not shave their heads or let their hair grow, but often trim (or cover) their heads. And no priest should drink wine when he enters the inner court. First of all, the historical meaning of the words should be revealed. Among other instructions for the priests, the word of the Lord also commands that at the very gates of the inner court they should dress in linen garments, that is, vestments (stolae), and not wear woolen garments, both at the gates of the inner court and inside, that is, inside the Holy of Holies, and that withered or linen turbans should be on their heads and linen garments on their loins. What follows according to the LXX: and they should not gird themselves strongly, instead of which Aquila and Symmachus translated sweat, Theodotion, conveying the Hebrew word itself, put jeze, Aquila in the second edition busa - this means that they should not gird themselves with force, tightly and tightly, like prisoners, so that when serving as priests and Levites they would not be clumsy, but could hold and harden sacrifices, and so that [the latter] do not carry them away and scatter. And having once commanded what kind of clothing the priests should wear when they are inside serving, he again commands that when they go out, they take off their former clothes in the treasuries or in the sacred rooms and put on others, so that, having sacred clothes, they do not communicate sanctification to the people who are outside and have not yet been sanctified and have not prepared for the consecration of the church, like the Nazirites of the Lord. From this we learn that we should not enter the Holy of Holies in everyday clothes and those defiled by use in ordinary life, but with a clear conscience and in clean clothes we should approach the Mysteries of the Lord. The following: they should not shave their heads and grow hair, but often cut their heads, clearly shows that we should not have shaved heads, like the priests and worshipers of Isis and Seranis, and also let our hair grow, which is a sign of luxury and is characteristic of barbarians and warriors, but the appearance of priests should be decent. Instead, LXX said: They should not shave their heads or cut their hair tightly, but cover their heads with a covering. This shows us that we should not make bald spots with a razor and cut our heads so closely that we might appear to be shaved, but let the hair grow so much that it covers the skin. Or perhaps priests should always cover their heads, as Virgil says: You must cover your hair with a scarlet veil 89 . But this kind of explanation is unnatural. Priests and Levites should not drink wine, not only while serving, but even before entering the Holy of Holies, so that the mind does not become darkened and the senses are not dulled. Therefore, the apostle says: it is good not to drink wine, worse than to eat meat (Rom. 14:21). And in another place: and wine, in which there is fornication (Eph. 5:18). For “the people ate and drank, and rose up to play” (Ex. 32:6). If he allowed Timothy to drink a little wine, he clearly indicated why he allowed it: for the sake of stomaha, he says, and for frequent ailments (1 Tim. 5:23) Egyptian priests use linen clothes not only inside, but also outside. In the divine religion, different clothes are used during service and others in everyday life. Undergarments are put on fairly so that decency and decency are observed, that is, so that when ascending the steps of the altar and during the service, nothing that is indecent is exposed. Shaved heads are a pagan superstition. As far as I know and believe, none of the pagans abstain from wine. What significance all this has in relation to the spiritual meaning will be clear from the words that follow. The apostle also teaches that there are sacred and spiritual garments, saying: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14). And in another place: put on the belly of kindness, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering (Col. 3:12). And again: having put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new, being renewed in the mind after the image of him who created him (ibid., Col. 3:9-10). The following words mean the same thing, as I believe: it is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruption, and for this dead thing to put on immortality. When this corruptible has been clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal with immortality, then the word will be written, etc. (1 Cor. 15:53–54). Priestly vestments are written in detail in the book of Exodus (Ex. 28), and we once published book 90, to the explanation of which the zealous reader should be referred. For we cannot cover a vast subject in short speech. We prepare this kind of clothing, woven on top, with our own labor; and the Lord had such a tunic that could not be torn (John 19:23–24). We put on them when we cognize the hidden mysteries of the Lord and have a spirit that explores the heights and depths of God, which should not be revealed to the crowd and offered to people who are not dedicated and not prepared for sanctification, so that, hearing what is above their [understanding], they are not unable to bear the height of reason and so that those who should still be fed with the milk characteristic of childhood do not choke, so to speak, on solid food. And that, on the contrary, there are very thin clothes, this is reported in the Divine Scripture, as for example. in the fact that in the Psalms it is sung about Judas the traitor: having put on an oath, like a robe, and a little later: let him be like a robe, like a robe, and like a girdle, with which he will be girded (Ps. 109: 18-19). Therefore, about the Lord, who suffered for us and bore our sins (Isa. 53:4-6), Zechariah says that He had unclean garments, about which it is written: Jesus was clothed in vile garments (Zech. 3:3), which He subsequently took off, as the Scripture says: take away the vile garments from Him and clothe him in a garment, etc. (ibid., Zech. 3:4). The next thing: withered or turbans of linen will be on their heads means, as I believe, the crown of grace, about which it is written: “For the crown of grace will be placed on your head” (Prov. 4:9). What the apostle says regarding the covered and uncovered head should not arouse doubt in us: a woman should eat a veil and have an angel on her head for the sake of it. If the wife does not cover herself, let her have her hair cut; If it is disgraceful for a wife to cut her hair or shave, let her be covered. A husband must not cover his head, the image and glory of God: but the wife is the glory of her husband (1 Cor. 11:6-7, 10). If men are not to cover their heads, this seems to contradict the fact that priests are now commanded to cover their heads with withers or turban. But if we read carefully, the present [place] will be explained from what has gone before. For it is said above: when they serve in the gates of the inner court and within. For when we enter the sanctuary and stand before the face of the Lord, we must cover our heads: for no one living will be justified in the sight of the Lord (Ps. 142:2) and: “from childhood the human heart is inclined towards evil.” Therefore, inside [the church] we also use underwear, so that before the face of the Lord any indecency characteristic of a bad conscience or marital cohabitation will not be revealed. And the Savior wants the apostles to put on these undergarments when he says: let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning in your hands (Luke 12:36). And the apostle says to the believers: let your loins be girded with truth (Eph. 6:14). And the imitators of Christ heed what is written about Him: He will be girded with the righteousness of sins and entwined with the truth along his sides (Isa. 5:11). And with this very belt, the one who is holy and has entered the heights of virtues does not tighten himself too much, so that it does not seem that he is unwillingly observing the goodness of abstinence and eating bread in the sweat of his brow, but that he is willingly fulfilling the commandment of the Lord. Therefore, when he goes out and mixes with the people, he leaves the priestly vestments in the treasury in which the riches of the Lord are stored, and the priests use other clothing and a different teaching for the common people, so that the people are not sanctified through their vestments. It would be difficult for the masses to take on an unbearable burden, as Solomon says: the network of men will soon sanctify something of their own: according to a vow, there is repentance (Proverbs 20:25). Therefore, the Nazirites also voluntarily consecrate themselves, and if anyone makes a vow and does not fulfill it, he is subject to responsibility for the vow. Therefore, it is said about widows: when they fall into luxury, those who have sin want to encroach on Christ, because they first rejected the faith (1 Tim. 5:11-12). For it is better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not keep it. Anna dedicated Samuel, who remained constantly dedicated (I Sam. ch. 1), and Manoah dedicated his son, Samson, but his dedicated hair was desecrated by his passion for Delilah (Judges 16:6, 17–18). Therefore, the Lord retreated from him and he was punished with blindness and only then received his former strength when his hair grew back, and, in the image of Christ, he killed the foreigners much more in death than in life. The Lord wants His priests to always have consecrated hair and to cover their heads not with any external veil, but with their natural hair, and not for decoration and luxury, but for decency. Therefore, the hairs on the heads of the apostles are numbered, as the Savior says: for you also the hairs of the chief are all numbered (Matthew 10:30). This is the head about which it is written in Ecclesiastes: the eyes of the wise are at his head (Eccl. 2:14). But for the husband, Christ is the head (1 Cor. 11:3), which the sinner tramples and despises and, so to speak, shaves with a razor and deprives her of her beauty. The sons of Ammon also did this with the messengers sent [to them] by David (2 Sam. 10:4). But if breaking the law serves to dishonor God, then he who keeps the commandments of the law honors Him, in fulfillment of what is written: that all may honor the Son, as they honor the Father (John 5:23). The following: “no priest should drink wine when he has to enter the inner courtyard” is clear: through intoxication and strong drink, the state of mind is upset and we are deprived of full understanding when the soul is overcome by satiety with wine. Intoxication is revealed not only in drinking wine, but also in everything, as a result of which in contracts and worldly affairs, in losses and profits, in love and hatred, the mind becomes intoxicated and wavers, and cannot maintain its [normal] state. And since we are clothed with corruptible flesh and are forced, for the sake of food and clothing and the needs related to the body, to do something that we should not do; then it is required of us that, at least when we go deeper into ourselves and realize what we were born for and enter the inner sanctuaries of the church, that we move away from worldly vices and not commit even the slightest sins. This shows that if we sin due to the needs of the body, then these are light sins, and that at the time when we enter the inner court, we must be alien to all intoxication and clean from it. Ezek. XLIV:22–24. They shall neither take a widow nor a divorced woman (or a castaway) as a wife, but they shall take for themselves a virgin of the seed of the house of Israel, and also a widow left a widow by the priest. They must teach My people the difference between the sacred and the profane and explain to them the difference between the pure and the unclean. In disputes (LXX added: blood), they must adhere to My decrees and judge [by them]. They shall keep My laws and (My) statutes concerning all My feasts. This whole place contains regulations regarding priests who, after much that has been stated above, are commanded not to marry a widow or a divorced woman (or an outcast). A widow and a divorcee are a synagogue, that is, a congregation of Jews that did not receive the Lord. The rejected one means the numerous heretics who came out from us, because they were not from us. But, he says, [they should take as a wife] a maiden from the tribe of the house of David, brought up in the house of God, in the law and the prophets, about whom the apostle says: I desire to present you all as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). This is the virgin about whom the Word of God says in another place: protect her, and she will exalt you, almost embrace you (Prov. 4:8). And what kind of virgin this is, who must be loved and who will watch over the one who loves her, this will be known to those who read the following: I have loved this, and have sought from my youth, and have sought to bring myself a bride, and a lover of her beauty (Wis. 8:2), and also: and the Lord has loved all (Ibid., Wis. 8:8). But priests must marry not only a maiden, but also a widow, but one who was the widow of a priest, that is, knowledge acquired by another worshiper of God. For we should not be content only with the new teaching, but also study and assimilate the old, if only it is in accordance with the holy religion. The priest must also teach the people to distinguish the sacred from the unholy, the pure from the unclean. We relate the first to teaching, and the second to deeds done through the flesh. For who understands the Fall (Ps. 18:13)? And when there is a dispute about something or, as the LXX translated, [a dispute] of blood, that is, a crime punishable by death; then the priests must adhere to My decrees, not giving preference to anyone in judgment and not showing partiality in judgment to either the poor or the rich, but holding to the decrees of God and remembering the following psalm: God is in the assembly of gods, and in the midst the gods will judge (Ps. 81:1), where those who have the power to judge among people are called gods, and whoever judges with what judgment will be judged (Matt. 7:2). They must, he says, observe My laws and decrees about all My feasts, in order to know how Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us, how we should spend weeks of joy and gladness, and humble our souls during fasting, understand the sound of trumpets and the setting up of spiritual tabernacles, in relation to which we say: I am a stranger and a stranger, like all my fathers (Ps. 89:18). These are the true feasts of God, which can be interpreted with greater consistency by those who explain the Pentateuch. The first virtue of a priest is not only to teach what he knows, but also to observe all the feasts of God, and so that he can teach others to observe what he himself observes. And that the priests must know the law, we learn this through Malachi, who says: the lips of the priest will keep understanding, and they will require the law at his mouth: for the angel of the Lord Almighty is (Mal. 2:7). Ezek. XLIV:24–28. They must keep My Sabbaths holy. They should not approach a dead person, lest they become defiled (instead, the LXX translated: they should not approach a person’s soul, lest they become defiled); Only through the father, he says, and the mother, son and daughter, brother and sister, who did not have a husband, can they be defiled. And after his cleansing, seven days must be counted for him, and on the day of his entry into the sanctuary and into the inner court to serve Me in the sanctuary, he must offer a sacrifice for his sin to the Lord God (or bring propitiation). But they shall not have an inheritance: I am their inheritance, and do not give them possessions in Israel: I am their possession. The instructions for the priests continue, and one should pay attention to the fact that he did not simply say: they must keep the Sabbaths holy, or according to Isaiah: your new moon and the Sabbaths My soul hates (Isa. 1:14), but definitely: My Sabbaths. Therefore, it is written in the Gospel: the priests in the church defile the Sabbath, and they are innocent (Matthew 12:5), - not the Sabbath of God, but the literal Sabbath, the Sabbath of the Jews, which is rightly violated by those who make up the chosen, royal, priestly race. Further, by the Sabbath, kept holy, we must understand the one about which the Apostle teaches that it is left to the people of God, and about which it is said: if they enter into My rest (Ps. 94:11), which in Hebrew is called the Sabbath. The one who keeps the Sabbath of God holy is the one who does not bear the burden of sin on the Sabbath and does not say: for the burden is heavy on me (Ps. 37:5). Such a one does not gather wood on the Sabbath and does not build on the foundation of Jesus Christ with wood, hay, or straw (1 Cor. 3:12); he does not kindle a fire that destroys the useless substance, and on the Sabbath day he remains in one place and does not go out, but remains like a pillar in the church of God, about which John writes in the Apocalypse: I will make the conquering pillar in the church of my God, and no one will come out (Rev. 3:12). As for the following: they should not approach a dead person, so as not to become defiled, then the priest should not touch carrion, so that the one who prays for the sins of others will approach the altar clean. The Savior speaks about these dead in the Gospel: leave the dead to bury their dead (Matthew 8:22). They are defiled through a dead father, when they leave their Creator, and through a dead mother, when they depart from the Church, also through a son and daughter, in whom one refers to thoughts, and the other to deeds, which is more expressively called in Greek: τὰ νοητὰ καὶ αἰσθητα’. Also, if one who has been raised by the same Spirit recognizes a brother and sister as dead, he will be defiled through this, but through a sister only if she remains a virgin and has not defiled herself through union with any husband. From here we see the peculiarity of virginity that contact with any man deprives one of perfect purity. Whether this is said fairly or not is left to the reader to judge. Also in this is revealed a disposition corresponding to nature, that according to the order of love, in accordance with what is written: give me love (Song 2:4), after the Father of all that exists, the carnal father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister are loved, but the latter only if she has not left the house and has not passed into the possession of another. When the priest has been purified according to the order of purification described in the law of Moses, then seven days must be counted to him, either as the perfect number of repentance, or so that after the end of the world and when we have reached the true eight, he enters into the Holy of Holies (for this means the inner court), and can serve in the sanctuary, and offer a sacrifice for the sin of conscience, and so that there is no time in which he does not remember his defilement through father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister. For, being in the cramped conditions of this world, we are forced to do a lot either at the request of the flesh, or due to the frailty of nature. Who will be such that he will serve in the sanctuary and enter into the inner court and always offer sacrifice to God, so that he will be a true priest or imitator of Him about whom it is written: Thou art a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 109:4); he will not have any inheritance except God, who serves as his inheritance, and will not receive possession in Israel, that is, among the common people, but [will receive possession] priestly, so that the Lord will say about him: I am the inheritance and I am their possession. When they find Him, they will speak and say: “I will hold Him and not leave Him,” and they will sing with the prophet: “The Lord is my portion” (Ps. 72:26). Ezek. XLIV:29–30. They will eat from the grain offering (victimam) and from the sin offering and for the crime, and everything cursed (or separated) from Israel will belong to them. And the firstfruits of all the firstborn, and the offerings (libamenta) of every kind of offering, shall belong to the priests, and the firstfruits of your food shall you give to the priest, that he may leave a blessing in his house (or that he may leave a blessing on your houses). Instead of the grain offering, which in Hebrew is called manaa, Aquila and Symmachus translated gift. Then, instead of the cursed (votum), which the LXX translated through ὰφο’ρισμα, that is, separated, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion translated ὰνα’θημα, (excommunicated), which in Hebrew is called herem. We must pay attention to the fact that everything that the Lord now says through the prophet, He had already said through Moses. At the same time, the question should also arise: why does He repeat what has already been said before? This is precisely so that what was in the minds of people and erased from them as a result of careless reading, inattentive listening or forgetting, would be renewed through the living word, not written with a reed and ink, but through the Spirit and the word of God. Therefore, the Savior did not leave a single book of His own teaching, contrary to the absurd inventions of many apocrypha, but daily by His Spirit and the Father He speaks in the hearts of believers. This will also serve as an answer to those who reproach the prophets for repeating in their books what is contained in the Pentateuch. So, the priests must eat from the grain offering and from the sacrifice for sin and for crime or ignorance, about whom it is written: The sins of My people are consumed (Hos. 4:8). And we should not so much rejoice for the offering of gifts as fear condemnation for an honorable distinction (honoris), if we use it in an unworthy manner. Firstfruits literally means that which is the first to be born from among animate and inanimate objects and that which the earth produces first of all. Also, the firstfruits of our food are brought to the priests, so that we do not eat any new fruits before the priest has eaten from them. We do this so that the priest leaves our blessing and offering in his house, or so that through his prayer the Lord will bless our houses. Great is the dignity of priests, but great is their fall if they sin. We should rejoice in the exaltation, but fear the fall. There is not so much joy when reaching a height as there is sadness when falling from a height. For we must give an account not only for all our sins, but also for all the gifts that we use and do not care about preserving. Ezek. XLIV:31. The priests shall not eat any carrion or anything caught by an animal, either from birds or from livestock. And in the literal sense of the entire chosen race, royal and priestly - which actually refers to Christians anointed with spiritual oil, about which it is written: anointing You, O God, Your God with the oil of joy is more than Your partaker (Ps. 45:8), - these instructions are appropriate: not to eat carrion, either from birds or from cattle, whose blood has not been shed, that in the Acts of the Apostles it is called strangled, and the observance of which is recognized as necessary by the sending of the apostles from Jerusalem (Acts 15:20), [not to eat] what is caught by a beast, because this is also strangled, and the condemnation of those priests who, due to their passion for gluttony, do not observe these [prescriptions] in relation to blackbirds, vineyards, rats, etc. In the mysterious sense, we can call carrion that which in whom the blood of the soul has become dead and who is likened to Nabal of Carmel, who means crazy and who, hearing about David’s anger, trembled with fear, and his heart froze within him (1 Sam. 25:37). Caught by beasts, for deliverance from the destruction of which the prophet sighs, saying: Do not betray to beasts the soul that confesses to You (Ps. 73:19), the one who is torn to pieces and devoured by the enemy - the lion, and the leopard, which does not change its motley color, and the she-bear, who rages after abducting her cubs, and the wolves of Arabia and others - should be called beasts, by which we mean various kinds of demons. We call birds those who raise their mouths to the sky, and cattle those who, bending down and turning to the ground, serve only the belly and what is under the belly. Ezek. XLV:1–8. (Vulgate: by lot), then set apart the firstfruits to the Lord, a sacred portion (sanctificatum) of land twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width, it will be sacred throughout all the borders around it. From it there will be a quadrangle for the sanctuary, five hundred cubits in circumference, and its outskirts fifty cubits in circumference. From this measure measure out twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width, and here will be a church (or sanctuary) and the Holy of Holies. This sacred part of the ground will belong to the priests serving in the sanctuary, entering the service of the Lord; it will be for them a place for homes and a sanctuary of holiness. Twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width. The Levites who serve in the house will receive twenty treasuries (instead, the LXX translated: they will receive a city to inhabit). And for the possession of the city you shall give five thousand in breadth and twenty-five thousand in length, according to that which is set apart for the sanctuary, for the whole house of Israel. Also, to the prince [give a share] on both sides of the portion separated [or the firstfruits] for the sanctuary and the city domain, opposite the one separated for the sanctuary and opposite the city domain, to the sea on the sea side and to the east on the eastern side, the same length as each of the inheritances from the western limit to the eastern limit; this land will be his possession in Israel. And let the princes no longer oppress (or destroy) My people, but let them give the house of Israel a land according to their tribes. Following the decrees about the sacred rites of the priests and about their clothing, and about the food that they should accept and avoid, He now makes the distribution of the holy land and, before dividing it all among the tribes, He commands from all the tribes to choose a place that would be twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in width. Since cubits or spans are not indicated, it is made clear that of course the cane that was in the husband’s hand and had measures of six cubits and the sixth part of one cubit, that is, παλαιστη’ν (span). Let the zealous reader calculate how many canes make up a thousand steps, and how many thousands of them were in length and width. After this distribution, he again commands from the sacred land chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that is, from twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand in width, to choose for the construction of the sanctuary, that is, the church of the Lord, another plot of land on it, five hundred reeds on all sides, that is, two thousand. And so that no other buildings adjoin the church building, He commands that fifty cubits on each side of the land remain empty, as a suburb or, according to the translation of Symmachus, Theodotion and LXX, as a border and as an intermediate, border space. At the end of this distribution, another measurement of the land is again prescribed, which is to be set aside as sacred: to measure out, after the previous measurement, twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in breadth of another land, on which there will be not a church, that is, a sanctuary (sanctum), but a sanctuary and holy of holies, and on which the priests who begin to serve the Lord will live. They will live on it when they perform priestly duties; their possession will consist, as we said, of twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand in width. Further, the Levites, who serve the priests and have a special ministry, will receive space for the construction of twenty treasuries, according to Aquila rooms (exedras), according to Symmachus cells (thalamos), according to Theodotion offices (gazeras), or, as the LXX translated, cities. From this we see that a certain place set apart for the dwelling of the Levites is called a city, which place is five thousand reeds in width and twenty-five thousand in length. All this, that is, the sanctuary, and the other sanctuary, and the holy of holies, and the dwellings of the priests, and the house of the Levites who minister to the priests, are called places set apart and sanctified for the service and sanctification of the house of Israel. After the fourfold division of the holy land, a fifth division is proposed. The prince or leader of the people must receive from here and there, that is, from both sides of the sanctuary, [part] into his possession and live in the city, and his possession must face the place set apart for the church and the city and be located from the seashore, that is, from the west to the other shore of the sea, and have such a width as the prophet determines below when distributing each of the tribes. Finally it follows: the length is equal to each of the inheritances received by each of the inheritances, from the western limit, that is, from the sea, to the eastern limit, and where it ends, we find out when distributing the tribes. And this will be the possession of a leader or prince in the land of Israel. For now, we will limit ourselves to what we have said in order to familiarize ourselves with the simple, historical meaning of the speech. But if we wanted to compare the spiritual with the spiritual and rise higher, following the example of certain interpreters who claim that the present is an image of the future and everything that is said refers to the heavenly Jerusalem, which serves as the mother of us all and the Church of the firstborn; then, although it would not be difficult to state what others have said, we fear that the wise reader will not accept this kind of explanation. Therefore, everything to the present time and to the Church, now working in the world and hastening to reach heaven, should be attributed in the sense that some are chosen from the whole world into the possession of God and receive the sanctuary (sanctum), while others, who have shown greater success, reach the Holy of Holies. Also among the ministers there is a different rank of priests and Levites, of whom some daily offer sacrifice to God with their prayers and virtues, others occupy the second and lower level in order to serve them and through those who have ascended to the top of virtues. Finally, there is also a chief or prince, who has as much dominion as each tribe receives in possession, and the merit of one is rewarded by the merit of many. Being in the world, he first receives possession in width from sea to sea, then from the west or sea to the east, so that, leaving the present, he strives for the future and has his own definite possession, and so that the princes do not desire someone else's, and each tribe would have its own inheritance. This may apply, in particular, to bishops and elders, who are told that they should no longer plunder and ruin the people of God and should not possess as an inheritance the land of Israel, but that each one should have his own possession, assigned according to his degree. Twenty-five thousand refers to feelings taken in the square (quater), then ten thousand - to perfect knowledge, so that in one the simple historical meaning is retained, and in the other we are talking about theology and the highest virtues, because ten is a perfect number. It should also be noted that the priests placed at the highest level receive ownership of twenty-five thousand in length and ten thousand in breadth. The Levites, that is, the lowest degree, although they receive the same number in length, that is, twenty-five thousand, but their width is limited to a fivefold number. Therefore, they only occupy twenty treasuries, in which number the gifts are brought to Esau (Gen. 32:14). The prince, who serves as a true prince for the people and deserves to receive the name of leader, receives possession on both sides of the sanctuary, that is, from everyone who willingly submits to him, and lives in the city and makes the salvation of many his reward. For the first church, which is called the sanctuary, five hundred reeds are assigned on each side and then fifty cubits, with which the entire priestly domain is set aside. In the second sanctuary, where the Holy of Holies is located, the width of the church and the intervening space are not determined, but the number remains uncertain. We find the same thing regarding the possession of the prince, who has possession of the people of Israel without any number, since the success of everyone turns to the prince and the salvation of the disciples serves as a reward for the teachers. Ezek. XLIV:9 . Thus says the Lord God: It is enough for you, O princes of Israel! put off unrighteousness and extortion, and do justice and righteousness, and separate your borders from my people. Instead of thefts, the LXX translated disasters (miserias) and instead of boundaries (confinia) - oppression. The meaning is as follows: since you, the princes, received your share in accordance with the words of Scripture: also to the prince on either side of the sanctuary and city possession, it is implied: give a share, and your power is so great that you received the share of one tribe into possession; then I command and exhort you: it is enough for you that hitherto you have committed injustice and theft, attacking the property of others and plundering it. And since it is written: turn away from evil and do good (Ps. 36:27), then, on the contrary, do justice and righteousness, sorting out the lawsuit of the orphan and justifying the widow; Separate your borders from My people, that is, do not violate the borders. And since the neighborhood itself can harm the lower, who cannot tolerate the arrogance of the highest and strongest; then through Isaiah it is said: woe to those who join house to house and village to village, bringing them closer to the very border of the place (Is. 5:8). We will limit ourselves to what we have said in relation to the people of that time. But this command can also be applied to our princes, who, like Pharaoh and the Egyptians, oppress the children of Israel by force and do not remember what is written: if you have appointed an elder, do not be proud, but be in them, as one of them (Sir. 32:1), and what the Lord says in the Gospel of Luke (κατα’ Λουκᾶν): if the servant says in his heart: my master will stop coming, and the male and female servants will begin to beat, but they will eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day he knows not, and on an hour he knows not, and will spoil him and share his portion with the infidels (Luke 12:45–46). Also in the Gospel of Matthew, He teaches His disciples in the following instructions: know that the princes of the tongue rule over them and the great ones rule over them. It will not be the same in you: but whoever wants to be first in you, let him be the servant of all. The Son of Man did not come and let them serve Him, but He served and gave His soul redemption for many (Matthew 20:25–28). If I wanted, I could bring a lot from the Holy Scriptures, where the arrogance of the highest is curbed and where everyone is called to the humility of the Lord, who says: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). That is: if you add the numbers 1†2†3†4. Plot. Ch. XL, art. 33–43, pp. 199. Probably, it should be read not above (supra), but below (infra), that is, in article 17 of the same chapter. Instead of going out (egredietur), it should probably read going in (ingredietur), as can be concluded from the subsequent presentation of this passage. Virgil. Aen. lib. III v. 405. Letter 60 to Fabiola. Creation bl. Jerome in Russian translation Part 2, pp. 171–192. You might be interested in: