Глава 4

Am.4:1. Hear this word of the young Bashanites, even in the mountain of Samaria, offending the poor, and trampling on the poor, saying to their Lord: Give us, that we may drink. The Prophet calls the wives “Basanitian youths”, as living in luxury and in all bliss; Such were the Bashan youths, galloping from the abundance of pasture. Because of this luxury, the wives appropriated for themselves what belonged to their subordinates; they did not refuse to command their husbands, to whom they were subordinate according to God’s law, but demanded services from them. Such was Jezebel, who had a husband instead of a slave. For this iniquity of yours: Am.4:2. The Lord swears by His saints: for these days are coming upon you, and you will stir up your weapons, and those who are with you will be thrown into the horses by the fiery destroyers. And interpreting what was said, the Prophet added: Am.4:3. And you will be cast out naked, wife and husband, right next to each other, and you will be cast away into Mount Arman, says the Lord. The time will come when I will subject you to the punishment that you deserve, and I will hand you over to your enemies, so that your men (about them it is said: “he is with you”), out of jealousy and seeing your lewdness, will become like the horses being set on fire; because the enemies, as if inflamed by some kind of flame, will treat your husbands angrily, and will treat you insolently, leading husbands and wives, stripped of all cover, to Mount Arman. Symmachus translated the word “Armana”: “Armenia”, and Theodotion: “high mountain”. And instead of the words: “The Lord swears by His holy things,” Symmachus said: “He swore by His holy things.” The Prophet added an oath to what was said, showing the falsity of the prophecy. Be patient with this, says God, as those who were maligned in Bethel and Gilgal, who dared to celebrate the three-day festivals of idols, those tithes that I commanded My priests to bring, who brought wickedness to the servants, and who made some conditions and agreements with the idols, to follow their laws. For God expressed this when he said: Am.4:5. Pronouncing the law from without, and calling for confession: The law does not call God's law, but the decrees of those who serve idols. Then he commands the Prophet to say: Proclaim that you have loved the children of Israel, says the Lord God. Not out of momentary enthusiasm, but out of ardent disposition and affection, they dared to commit such wickedness. Am.4:6. But I will give you a setback in all your cities, and a shortage of bread in all your places: and turn not to Me, says the Lord. Am.4:7. And I withheld the rain from you before three months of harvest, and I will rain for one city, but not for another: part of it will be necessary, and the part that I don’t need will dry up: Am.4:8. and two and three cities will be gathered into one city to drink water and not be satisfied: neither turn to me, says the Lord. Am.4:9. You have been beaten by desperation and the golden grass: multiply your heaps, your grapes, your figs, and your olive trees: this is the gobbling of caterpillars: and so turn to me, says the Lord. Am.4:10. I sent death to you on the way of Egypt, and beat your youths with weapons, and took your horses captive, and led your army into the fires in my wrath: and thus turn to me, says the Lord. The word "set on edge" was translated by Symmachus and Theologion as "purification", but it means hunger; because those who do not see anything will not get a crumb of food stuck in their teeth. Therefore, when hunger and poverty befall you because, while you had an abundance of good things, you reproached the Giver of good things, your teeth will be set on edge, unable to eat food, like teeth damaged by something sour and hard and unable to chew food. But even after this punishment imposed on you, you remain in your former vices. However, even with all this, I will not stop your healing, but I will subject you to another punishment, by withholding the latter rain (God meant this with the words “before three months of harvest”), I will render the earth barren. But guided by love for mankind and showing that this does not happen by chance, but happens at His behest, he continues: I will give rain to one city, but I will not send such irrigation to another, so that the earth is not completely dry, but is wetted in parts by rain. There will be such a scarcity in water that two and three cities will flock together to the city in which there is water, looking for something to drink, but will not quench their thirst to the point of satiety. However, even with all this, you remain with an unhealed illness, even having already been subjected to new disasters. For, as a doctor of souls, I used other methods of cauterization, inflicting on you various diseases, sometimes “desperation”, sometimes “goldenness,” but you did not forget wickedness. And after this punishment you suffered from the caterpillar, from which everything that is pleasing in the vineyards, olive trees and other gardens perishes; and this has not convinced you to recognize Him who inflicts these punishments. To this God adds that those fleeing from the king of Assyria, hastening to reach Egypt, he gave over to the Assyrian sword, as if by some kind of fire, burning them with his anger; but they did not want to understand what was due from this. Why does he say: Am.4:11. You have destroyed, just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, not by this meaning that they were ruined by someone else, but by speaking about themselves as about another. and quickly, as the main thing was plucked out of the fire, and so turn to Me, says the Lord. Just like a half-burnt brand shows the power of fire and is no longer good for anything but fire; so you too, after many of you have been beaten and taken into captivity, will be deprived of all strength and will find yourself fit only for slavery. Am.4:12. For this reason I will do this unto Israel: even as I will do this unto you, Although your illness is incurable, I will nevertheless give you decent healing. prepare to call on your God to Israel. Am.4:13. Behold, I establish the thunder and create the wind, and proclaim His Christ among men, create morning and darkness, and ascend to the high earth: The Lord God Almighty is His name. Therefore, having freed yourself from this insensibility, seek, O Israel, God, who called Himself your God, Who also transforms this permeable air, which has no solidity, into movement and rotation by the winds that originate from it, into a terrible thunderclap. He shows you a king appointed for your liberation (he says this about Cyrus). It is not difficult for him to bring about morning after a deep night, and to cover the light with darkness after day. How upon you, who rested in the midst of noon (and the world is like noon), He brought the darkness of captivity; thus, having ceased the night of slavery, he commands the pleasant morning of freedom to dawn; because He ascends “to the high earth,” that is, above all, fills the whole universe, as the Lord and God, has dominion over all. Thus, having proclaimed something encouraging, he turns the word to the opposite, frightening some, comforting others, and directing them to turn to repentance with all their hearts.