The prophet laments, that notwithstanding all his preaching, the generality are still corrupt in their manners: therefore their desolation is at hand: but they shall be restored again and prosper; and all mankind shall be redeemed by Christ.
The prophet lamenteth, that for al his preaching few are good, and manie corrupt in maners: 5. therfore their miseries approch: 7. from which they shal be againe deliuered, 14. and prosper, 20. and al mankind shal be redemed by Christ.
1Woe is me, for I am become as one that gleaneth in autumn the grapes of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat, my soul desired the first ripe figs.Guai a me, che son divenuto come colui, che in autunno cerca di raspollare dopo la vendemmia: non v'è un gradinolo da mangiare: ha desiderato l'anima mia de' fichi primaticci.VVO is me, because I am become as he that gathereth in autumne the clusters of vintage: there is no cluster to eate, timely ripe figges my soule hath desired.Væ mihi, quia factus sum sicut qui colligit in autumno racemos vindemia ! / non est botrus ad comedendum, / præcoquas ficus desideravit anima mea. 2The holy man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood, every one hunteth his brother to death.Non v'ha più un santo sopra la terra, e non havvi un giusto tra gli uomini: tutti tendono insidie alla vita altrui; il fratello va a caccia del fratello per ammazzarlo.The holie is perished out of the earth, & there is none righteous among men: al lie in wayte for bloud, euerie one hunteth his brother to death.Periit sanctus de terra, / et rectus in hominibus non est: / omnes in sanguine insidiantur; / vir fratrem suum ad mortem venatur. 3The evil of their hands they call good: the prince requireth, and the judge is for giving: and the great man hath uttered the desire of his soul, and they have troubled it.Il male delle loro mani lo chiamano un bene. Il principe domanda, e il giudice rende il suo debito. Il grande manifesta il desiderio dell'anima sua: hanno messa in iscompiglio la terra.The euil of their handes they cal good the prince requireth, and the iudge is in rendring: and the great man hath spoken the desire of his soule, and they haue trubled it.Malum manuum suarum dicunt bonum: / princeps postulat, et judex in reddendo est; / et magnus locutus est desiderium animæ suæ, / et conturbaverunt eam. 4He that is best among them, is as a brier, and he that is righteous, as the thorn of the hedge. The day of thy inspection, thy visitation cometh: now shall be their destruction.Il migliore di costoro è come un paliuro; e il più giusto è come la spina delle siepi. È venuta la giornata di tue sentinelle, e la tua visita: adesso quelli saranno spersi.He that is left among them, is as a brier: and he that is righteous, as the thorne of the hedge. The day of thy speculation, thy visitation cometh: now shal be the destruction of them.Qui optimus in eis est, quasi paliurus, / et qui rectus, quasi spina de sepe. / Dies speculationis tuæ, visitatio tua venit: / nunc erit vastitas eorum. 5Believe not a friend, and trust not in a prince: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that sleepeth in thy bosom.Non credete all'amico, e non vi fidate di chi governa: tieni chiusa la tua bocca con quella, che dorme con te.Beleue not a frend, and trust not in prince: from her that fleepeth in thy bosome, keepe the closures of thy mouth.Nolite credere amico, / et nolite confidere in duce: / ab ea quæ dormit in sinu tuo custodi claustra oris tui.
6For the son dishonoureth the father, and the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man’s enemies are they of his own household.Perocché il figliuolo fa oltraggio al padre, e la figliuola si ribella contro la madre, la nuora contro la suocera: nemici dell'uomo sono quelli di sua famiglia.Because the sonne doth contumelie to the father, & the daughter ryseth agaynst her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law: & a mans enemies they of his owne houshold.Quia filius contumeliam facit patri, / et filia consurgit adversus matrem suam: / nurus adversus socrum suam, / et inimici hominis domestici ejus. 7But I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God, my saviour: my God will hear me.Ma io volgerò il mio sguardo al Signore: aspetterò Dio mio Salvatore: mi ascolterà il mio Dio.But I wil looke towards our Lord, I wil expect God my sauiour: my God wil heare me.Ego autem ad Dominum aspiciam; / exspectabo Deum, salvatorem meum: / audiet me Deus meus. 8Rejoice not, thou my enemy, over me, because I am fallen: I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.Non rallegrarti di mia caduta, o mia nemica: io mi rialzerò, e mentre sarò nelle tenebre, il Signore è mia luce.Reioyce not thou mine enemie ouer me, because I am fallen: I shal arise, when I haue sitte in darkenes, our Lord is my light.Ne læteris, inimica mea, super me, quia cecidi: / consurgam cum sedero in tenebris: / Dominus lux mea est. 9I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him: until he judge my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth into the light, I shall behold his justice.Porterò l'ira del Signore, perchè ho peccato contro di lui, fino a tanto ch'egli giudichi la causa mia, e sentenzi in mio favore: egli mi ritornerà in luce, e io vedrò la mia giustizia.I wil beare the wrath of our Lord, because I haue sinned to him: vntil he iudge my iudgement: he wil bring me forth into the light, I shal see his iustice.Iram Domini portabo, / quoniam peccavi ei, / donec causam meam judicet, / et faciat judicium meum. / Educet me in lucem: / videbo justitiam ejus. 10And my enemy shall behold, and she shall be covered with shame, who saith to me: Where is the Lord thy God? my eyes shall look down upon her: now shall she be trodden under foot as the mire of the streets.E vedrà ciò la mia nemica, e sarà coperta di confusione, ella, che dice a me: Dov'è il Signore Dio tuo? Io la guarderò d'alto in basso: ella adesso sarà conculcata come il fango delle piazze.And mine enemie shal behold, and she shal be couered with confusion, which sayth to me, where is the Lord thy God? Mine eyes shal looke on her: now shal she be into conculcation as the myre of the streetes.Et aspiciet inimica mea, / et operietur confusione, / quæ dicit ad me: Ubi est Dominus Deus tuus ? / Oculi mei videbunt in eam: / nunc erit in conculcationem ut lutum platearum.
11The day shall come, that thy walls may be built up: in that day shall the law be far removed.Il giorno, in cui saran ristorate le tue rovine, in quel giorno anderà lungi la tirannia.The day that thy walles may be builded vp: in that day shal the law be made far of.Dies, ut ædificentur maceriæ tuæ; / in die illa longe fiet lex. 12In that day they shall come even from Assyria to thee, and to the fortified cities: and from the fortified cities even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.In quel giorno verranno dall'Assiria fino a te, e fino alle città forti: e dalle città forti fino al fiume, e dall'un mare fino all'altro, e dal monte fino all'altro monte.In that day and Assur shal come euen to thee, & euen to the fensed cities, and from the fensed cities euen to the riuer, and to sea from sea, and to mountaine from mountaine.In die illa et usque ad te veniet de Assur, / et usque ad civitates munitas, / et a civitatibus munitis usque ad flumen, / et ad mare de mari, / et ad montem de monte. 13And the land shall be made desolate because of the inhabitants thereof, and for the fruit of their devices.E quella terra sarà desolata per colpa de' suoi abitatori, e per frutto de' loro pravi pensieriAnd the land shal be into desolation for the inhabitants therof, and for the fruite of their cogitations.Et terra erit in desolationem propter habitatores suos, / et propter fructum cogitationum eorum. 14Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy inheritance, them that dwell alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed in Basan and Galaad, according to the days of old.Governa in mezzo al Carmelo col la tua verga il tuo popolo, il gregge di tuo retaggio, che solingo abita nella foresta: pascoleranno in Basan, e in Galaad come ne' giorni antichi.Feede thy people with thy e rod, the flocke of thine inheritance, them that dwel alone in in the forest, in the middes of Carmel: they shal feede vpon Basan and Galaad according to the dayes of old.Pasce populum tuum in virga tua, / gregem hæreditatis tuæ, habitantes solos, in saltu, in medio Carmeli. / Pascentur Basan et Galaad juxta dies antiquos. 15According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, I will shew him wonders.Io farogli veder prodigj, come nel tempo di loro uscita dalla terra d'Egitto.According to the dayes of thy coming forth out of the Land of Aegypt I wil shew him meruels.Secundum dies egressionis tuæ de terra Ægypti, / ostendam ei mirabilia.
16The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their strength: they shall put the hand upon the mouth, their ears shall be deaf.Ciò vedranno le genti, e saran confuse con tutta la lor possanza; si metteranno il dito alla bocca, e diverranno sorde le loro orecchie.The nations shal see, and shal be confounded vpon al their strength: they shal put the hand vpon the mouth, their eares shal be deafe.Videbunt gentes, / et confundentur super omni fortitudine sua. / Ponent manum super os, / aures eorum surdæ erunt. 17They shall lick the dust like serpents, as the creeping things of the earth, they shall be disturbed in their houses: they shall dread the Lord, our God, and shall fear thee.Leccheranno la terra come le serpi, e quasi insetti della terra saranno sbigottite nelle lor case: temeranno il Signore Dio nostro, e avran paura di te.They shal lieke dust as serpents, as the creeping beasts of the earth, they shal be trubled in their houses: the Lord our God they shal dreade, and shal feare thee.Lingent pulverem sicut serpentes; / velut reptilia terræ perturbabuntur in ædibus suis. / Dominum Deum nostrum formidabunt, / et timebunt te. 18Who is a God like to thee, who takest away iniquity, and passest by the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance? he will send his fury in no more, because he delighteth in mercy.Chi, o Dio, è simile a te, che togli l'iniquità, e passi sopra il peccato delle reliquie di tua eredità? Egli non darà più libero il corso al suo furore, perché è amante della misericordia.What God is like to thee, which takest away iniquitie, and passest ouer the sinne of the remnant of thine inheritance? he wil send his furie in no more, because he is willing mercie.Quis, Deus, similis tui, / qui aufers iniquitatem, / et transis peccatum reliquiarum hæreditatis tuæ ? / Non immittet ultra furorem suum, / quoniam volens misericordiam est. 19He will turn again, and have mercy on us: he will put away our iniquities: and he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea.Egli si volgerà a noi, e avrà pietà: seppellirà le nostre iniquità, e getterà tutti i nostri peccati nel profondo del mare.He wil returne, and wil haue mercie on vs: he wil lay away our iniquities: and he wil cast al our sinnes into the botome of the sea.Revertetur, et miserebitur nostri; / deponet iniquitates nostras, / et projiciet in profundum maris omnia peccata nostra. 20Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, the mercy to Abraham: which thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.Tu ti mostrerai verace a Giacobbe, misericordioso ad Abramo, come giurasti a' padri nostri ab antico.Thou wilt geue truth to Iacob, mercie to Abraham: which thou hast sworne to our fathers from the dayes of old.Dabis veritatem Jacob, / misericordiam Abraham, / quæ jurasti patribus nostris a diebus antiquis.
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Calmet
Holy man. Hebrew chasid, (Haydock) "the pious" Assidean, 2 Machabees 14:6. The disorder of Israel was great, though some were religious. (Calmet)
Worthington
Such expressions only mean that few could be found, and that the far greatest number rejected the prophet's advice. (Worthington)
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Giving. Septuagint, "speaks words of peace." He flatters the prince, (Haydock) and dares not oppose the unjust. Syriac, "he says, bring presents."
Troubled it; or, "have thy?" etc. Hebrew, "they confirm it."
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Brier. Hebrew chedek, or "thorn." Septuagint, "a consuming moth."
Calmet
Inspection, or of thy chiefs (Haydock) and prophets. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Bosom. In times of general distress, even domestics are not trusted; because all are solicitous for themselves, even to the prejudice of others. (Worthington)
Calmet
Before the ruin of Israel civil wars raged, 4 Kings xv. Our Saviour alludes to this passage, Matthew 10:35., Luke 12:52., and 21:16. People will rise up to oppress true believers; and these must abandon their nearest relations, when they prove an obstacle to salvation. Thus is the moral, and the other the literal sense. (Calmet)
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Challoner
She; Babylon, my enemy. (Challoner)
Worthington
It was taken by the Medes and Persians, who set the Jews at liberty, to the great mortification of their enemies. (Worthington)
God thus displayed his justice or mercy, rescuing his people from the night of misery.
Calmet
Streets. Cyrus treated the fallen city with contempt. It stood for some time afterwards. (Calmet)
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Challoner
Law of thy enemies, who have tyrannized over thee. (Challoner)
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Calmet
Fortified. Hebrew also, "Egypt, and from Egypt to the river Euphrates," etc. The Jews shall occupy their ancient limits, Amos 8:12. (Calmet)
Haydock
The fenced cities may be Pelusium, Gaza, Tyre, etc. From all parts the captives shall return. (Haydock)
Calmet
They were very numerous under the Machabees, and in the time of Christ. (Calmet)
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Land of Babylon, (Challoner) or "the land of Judea (Haydock) has been," etc. It might also be again made desolate, because the captives built houses for themselves, and neglected the temple, Aggeus 1:10.
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Haydock
Alone: destitute of all things, or in full security, Jeremias 15:17., and Numbers 23:9. God will feed his people (Calmet) in the most fertile places, designated by Carmel and Basan. (Haydock)
Worthington
A pastor must maintain sound doctrine and discipline. (Worthington)
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Calmet
Wonders. The prophets speaking of the return, have Christ and his religion in view; so that they seem not to find terms sufficiently magnificent, Isaias 9:15., and 43:16., and Zacharias 10:11. We know from Esdras that nothing so surprising attended the liberation of the people. (Calmet)
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Menochius
Strength, because they cannot overcome the Hebrews or Christians. (Menochius)
Deaf, being astonished, Job 21:5.
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Calmet
Serpents, (Genesis 3:14.) out of respect or rage. (Calmet)
Theodoret
Converts shall humbly apply to the ministers of Christ to receive baptism and confirmation. (Theodoret; Sanct. lxvii.)
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Calmet
No more, for past offences. Yet, if they transgress again, they must not expect impunity. The Jews still bleed for the murder of the Messias. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Away. Protestants, "subdue," (Haydock) or trample upon. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Truth, performing what he had promised out of mercy to Abraham. (Worthington)
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She shall be covered, etc.... Viz., Babylon my enemy.
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The law.... Viz., of thy enemies, who have tyrannized over thee.
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The land, etc.... Viz., of Babylon.
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THE PROPHECY OF NAHUM
NAHUM, whose name signifies A COMFORTER, was a native of Elcese, or Elcesai, supposed to be a little town in Galilee. He prophesied, after the ten tribes were carried into captivity, and foretold the utter destruction of Ninive, by the Babylonians and Medes: which happened in the reign of JOSIAS.
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Such general speach doth not importe absolutly al vvithout exception, but that very manie or the farre greater part of the vvicked remaned so stil notvvithstanding the prophetes diligence in preaching, by the vvhich fevv were conuerted
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In time of great & general distresse ne rest freindes euen domestical may not be trusted, because euerie one in such case hath care of himself, though it be vvith preiudice of others.
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Concordance Mat. 10. v. 21. •5.
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Babylon shal be taken and spoyled by the Medes & Persians, by them the Iewes shal be deliuered: vvherat the Chaldees vvil much repine.
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Pastors office is to feede and rule,
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vvith meate, and rodde; vvith doctrine and discipline.
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Concordance Iere. 10. Act. 10. Collos. 2.
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Concordance Iuc. 1. v. 55. 73. Gen. 22. v. 17.
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God gaue truth to Iacob performing that vvhich was promised,
of his mere mercie to Abraham.
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.58
… Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem be as a lodge in a garden, and the mountain of the house be reckoned as a glade in a thicket. He bewails also the scarcity of the upright, there being scarcely a stalk or a gleaning grape left, since both the prince asketh, and the judge curries favour,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 42.4
… Such was my field, such my harvest; great and well-eared and fat in the eyes of Him Who beholdeth hidden things, and becoming such a husbandman, its abundance springing from the valleys of souls well tilled with the Word: unrecognized however in public, and not collected together, but gathered in fragments, as an ear gleaned in the stubble,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 2.8
79. O that He may not cast away this straw at His harvest, the empty stalks of my produce; but may He gather it in, as is said by some one: “Woe is me, for I am become as one that gathereth straw in harvest, and grape gleanings in the vintage,”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 64
… xx. 29 , LXX. and marg. of E.V.) This makes slaves of freemen, concerning this we talk every day, and no good comes of it, we become worse than wild beasts; we plunder orphans, strip widows, do wrong to the poor, join woe to woe. “Alas! that the righteous hath perished from the earth!” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 23
[8.] “Woe is me, my soul! For the godly man is perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men” (
Pseudo-Cyprian Exhortation to Repentance 1
Also in Micah: “Alas for me, O my soul, because truth has perished from the earth, and among all there is none that correcteth; all judge in blood. Every one treadeth down his neighbour with tribulation; they prepare their hands for evil.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 12.6
… After Moses, Prophets were sent to cure Israel: but in their healing office they lamented that they were not able to overcome the disease, so that one of them says, Woe is me! for the godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none that doeth right among men
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 2.7
52. Let us, then, mourn for a time, that we may rejoice for eternity. Let us fear the Lord, let us anticipate Him with the confession of our sins, let us correct our backslidings and amend our faults, lest of us too it be said: “Woe is me, my soul, for the godly man is perished from the earth, and there is none amongst men to correct them.”
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 2
Micah vii. 2 . The godly man is perished from the earth, etc.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 35
… and some believed the one, and some the other. Wherefore the prophet admonishes, saying, “Trust ye not in friends, have not hope in guides; yea, even of her that lieth in thy bosom beware, in respect of communicating aught to her:” and, “A man’s enemies are the men that are in his own house.”
St Jerome † AD 420 Jerome's Apology for Himself Against the Books of Rufinus 2.18
“Why need I speak of the language in which the prophets constantly threaten and reprove the pastors, elders, the priests and the princes? These things you can of yourselves without my aid draw out from the Holy Scriptures, and you may clearly see that it may well be the present time of which it is said
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 9.35
… For so we shall fulfil this injunction: “Keep the doors of thy mouth from her who sleepeth in thy bosom.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.29
… the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law.” Since this battle among the relatives was sung by the prophet’s trumpet in the very words, I fear that Micah
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 39.5
… And what the “Axe?” The excision of the soul which is incurable even after the dung. And what the Sword? The cutting of the Word, which separates the worse from the better, and makes a division between the faithful and the unbeliever; and stirs up the son and the daughter and the bride against the father and the mother and the mother in law,
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 2.8
… Mine enemy, too, shall see it and shall be covered with confusion, which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her, and she shall be for treading down as the mire in the streets.”
Anonymous A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop 12
… and if I shall walk in darkness, the Lord is my light. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He justify my cause, and execute judgment and justice, and bring me forth to the light. I shall behold His righteousness; and she that is mine enemy shall see me, and shall cover herself with confusion.”
Pseudo-Cyprian Exhortation to Repentance 1
Also in the same: “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, because I have fallen, but I shall arise: because although I shall sit in darkness, the Lord will give me light: I will bear the Lord’s anger, because I have sinned against Him, until He justify my cause.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.20.4
… “And the holy Lord remembered His dead Israel, who had slept in the land of sepulture; and He came down to preach His salvation to them, that He might save them.” And Amos (Micah) the prophet declares the same: “He will turn again, and will have compassion upon us: He will destroy our iniquities, and will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.21
… Their ears shall be deafened, and they shall lick the dust as do serpents. Dragging the earth, they shall be disturbed, and they shall lick the dust: in their end they shall be afraid towards the Lord their God, and they shall fear because of Thee. Who is a God as Thou art, raising up unrighteousness, and passing over impiety?”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 114.5
5. Hear what is even more wonderful, that the hidden and veiled mysteries of the ancient books are in some degree revealed by the ancient books. For Micah the prophet speaketh thus. “According to the days of thy coming out of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things, etc.
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 1.13
… For as the Lord did not give power to Satan over the soul of holy Job, but allowed him to afflict his body, so here, too, the sinner is delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the serpent might lick the dust
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.10
… “Who is a God like unto Thee? pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgressions of the remnant of Thine heritage. He retaineth not His anger as a testimony against them , because He delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, and will have compassion upon us; He wipeth away our iniquities, and casteth our sins into the depths of the sea.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.21
… or what succour had come from like to like, when one as well as other needed it ? And how, were the Word a creature, had He power to undo God’s sentence, and to remit sin, whereas it is written in the Prophets, that this is God’s doing? For ‘who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homily on the Paralytic Let Down Through the Roof 6
… “You have confessed,” He says, “that forgiveness of sins is an attribute of God alone: my equality therefore is unquestionable.” And it is not these men only who declare this but also the prophet thus saying: “who is God as thou?” and then, indicating His special attribute he adds “taking away iniquity and passing over unrighteousness.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 69.6
… “Ye are my little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you;” and “I have fed you with milk and not with meat.” And it is to the grace of baptism that the prophecy of Micah refers: “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us: he will subdue our iniquities, and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 114.5
… who would venture to explain the words, “shall see and be confounded,” of past events? And a little lower down he
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It is asked why Micah complains that he labors in vain by preaching, because he scarcely finds anyone who has changed his wicked ways for the better; wherefore, in verse 4, he threatens destruction and Babylonian captivity: then, in verse 11, he promises liberation from it, peace and happiness, both through Cyrus and more through Christ, and therefore, in verse 18, he breaks forth into praise and doxology of divine clemency and beneficence. 1. Woe is me! — In Hebrew it is אללי לי allai li, that is, alas to me! for it is the voice of one lamenting, not threatening, as if to say, O wretched me! For the Prophet, or rather the Holy Spirit through the Prophet, deplores the rarity of upright men, and esteems this his own misery. Moreover, he compares this rarity to the few clusters which are wont to be left in the vineyard by those who gather the vintage. Because I am become as one that gathereth in the autumn the clusters of the vintage, — that is, after the vintage. The Hebrew already has word for word: Because I was as gatherings (of fruits) of summer, as clusterings of vintage. Which the Syriac, Arabic, Septuagint, Chaldean and others thus expound: Because I am become as one who gathers stubble in harvest, and as (one who gathers) clusters in vintage, so that there is a twofold similitude, namely that God compares himself first to a gleaner, who after harvest makes gleaning, and gathers the few ears left by the reaper; secondly, to a vintager, who picks the few remaining grapes after the vintage. But these supply much that is not found in the Hebrew. Add that in the Hebrew, as they now read it, God is compared not to the gatherer, but to the gathering itself of fruits, which indeed seems to be said less fittingly. Wherefore our translator, reading מספי aspe, that is, gatherings, with other points as מספי osephi, renders it, gathering, or one who gathers. For osephi is a noun, or a participle of the qal, having attached to it the paragogic yod. Again, for קיץ kaits, that is, summer, he renders, autumn, because the time of fruits is in autumn, and thus autumnal fruits are called fruits of summer; for then we distinguish the year into two parts, namely summer and winter, and under summer we comprehend the earlier part of autumn and the later part of spring, when the air is warmer; under winter, however, we embrace the later part of autumn and the earlier part of spring, as being colder. Learnedly therefore for kaits he renders, in autumn, understanding the preposition ב, that is, in, which the Hebrews are wont to leave understood, so that קיץ kaits is put for בקיץ becaits. He renders therefore in a single tenor and single similitude: "Because I am become as one that gathereth in the autumn the clusters of the vintage," Whence fittingly there follows not of ears, but of grapes alone: "There is no cluster to eat," as if to say, By gleaning the vineyard, I sought grapes, and I found not even one cluster which I could eat. Now symbolically by grapes and clusters he understands faithful, just and holy men, and their pious and holy works; for these are produced from the vineyard, that is, from the Church; and from the vine, that is, Christ, as grapes most pleasing to God. Thus the Bride, Cant. i, 13, says: "A cluster of Cyprus is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi." And cap. vii, 7, in turn the Bridegroom says to the Bride: "Thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters." I have reviewed the causes and analogies of this vine and grape in Ezech. xv, at the end. Wherefore the Chaldean renders: Woe is me! because I was when the good were failing, in the time when the merciful perished from the earth; behold as summer fruits, as clusters after the vintage. There is no man who has good works; yet my soul desires the good, as if to say, I Micah was like a poor gleaner; for he after the vintage hopes to find at least some clusters which the vintagers passed by in the vineyard, and seeks and finds them; thus also I hoped to convert at least a few Jews by my preachings, admonitions and threats; but "there is no cluster," that is, not one, or scarcely one, who has converted himself and changed his life, do I find; wherefore I groan and weep: "Woe is me!" alas to me, I have lost my oil and labor. Allegorically, the same happened to Christ preaching: for he converted few of the Jews throughout his whole life. Whence he himself allegorically refers to his own times verse 6 of Micah, citing him, Matt. x, 33, concerning which presently. Note here the grave pathos of God and Christ, in that they attribute to the devil the vintage of the vineyard, that is of the Church, inasmuch as he gathers all the grapes, and therefore has his wine presses full of grapes and wine; but they ascribe to themselves the gleaning, inasmuch as they gather the few left behind by the devil, because they have escaped his eyes and hands: for the greatest part of mankind serves the devil, and becomes his food and prey; whence it is pressed by him and trodden in the wine press of hell, but only a small portion falls to Christ; for many are called, but few are chosen. To the devil therefore fall those great clusters and the many, as to the vintager; to Christ nothing but the gleanings, the few and the poor, as to the gleaner, as if to say: To Christ there remains not a cluster, and scarcely a few grapes; for a few grapes and small berries do not deserve the name of a cluster: for those great and fat clusters have become the portion of foxes. Whence the Arabic version translates: The extremity (the extreme part) my soul desired. This is what Isaiah grieves over in chapter xxiv, 13: "As if few olives remain, and clusters when the vintage is finished." Wherefore tropologically, if a doctor and preacher, after many labors and years of teaching and preaching, converts but few, let him not marvel; he is not better than Micah, not better than Christ. Let him therefore be content with their lot, and expect from God full, nay fuller reward; for God rewards not the fruit, but the labor; which without fruit is greater and more troublesome, and for that reason deserves a greater reward. Morally, as eagerly as we desire early figs before all other fruits, so eagerly does God desire the conversion of sinners, and so eagerly should the preacher desire the same, as another Micah. There is no cluster to eat, — that is, fit to be eaten; because if there are any, they are either unripe, or sour, or corrupted and rotten from rain. Thus Micah found some Jews outwardly good, and listening to his preaching; but inwardly sour with malice and superstition, or rotten with gluttony and lust, as Lyra and Rupert explain. Early figs (in Hebrew בכורה biccura, that is primitive, or first fruits) my soul desired. — But by primitive the Hebrews understand figs, as Vatablus rightly noted; not because in Palestine figs are the first of all fruits, as some thought; for plums are earlier, etc., equally as in Italy, as Palestinians and Hierosolymites assured me at Rome. The Reverend Father Melchior ab Helmont, a Belgian Franciscan, who dwelt for a long time in his convent at Jerusalem, affirmed to me at Rome that the first fruits of that land are peculiar to it, and are called muze, and that they are in taste similar to figs, but longer than figs; which if split open, show a cross; and that the natives hand down that this was the forbidden fruit which Eve ate. They are called early, therefore, because figs alone are biennial; for the earlier fruits they produce in summer, namely in July, and these are called biccura, that is primitive, or early; the later in September. Moreover, early figs are more savory; for they are as it were the flower of figs and fig trees, and are more eagerly sought after on account of their novelty, as I said in Jeremiah xxiv, 2. Wherefore it is strange that St. Jerome in his Commentary translates biccura as gross, or unripe figs, as if to say, God: "I, not finding bread on account of the great famine, sought out refuse and bran." For he himself in the text translates biccura: "Early figs," which are indeed ripe and pleasant to the taste. And thus biccura is translated by others everywhere. The sense therefore is, as if to say, I Micah, like one famished, after so many sermons and labors, desired even in autumn early figs: for although to others they are early in summer; yet to me, either in autumn (for none ripened to me in summer) I shall be content with a few ripe ones, that is I desire the conversion and salvation of at least a few, however late and tardy, so that at least this reward and consolation may be rendered to my labor; but I could not even obtain this.
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Moreover symbolically, early figs, says Arias, were the first fathers and Patriarchs, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc., who, as the first faithful, were thus most pleasing to God, and by their piety and sanctity most acceptable to Him. Micah therefore wishes that the golden age of the Patriarchs would return, that the first and ancient faith, piety, and integrity of the ancestors would return. In a similar way the poet Juvenal wishes, Satire xiii: Would that the earth, which first bore me, had borne me among these heroes. For, as Horace sings, Book III, Ode vi: What has not destructive time diminished? The age of our fathers was worse than that of our grandfathers, and brought forth us more wicked, soon to give birth to a generation still more depraved. 2. The holy man has perished. — In Hebrew חסיד chasid, that is pious; the Chaldean, merciful; the Septuagint, reverent; the Zurich Bible, benign; Vatablus, holy. And the upright. — The Septuagint, reading sin for shin, namely for ישר iascur, reading ישר iasar (for sin is equivalent to the letter samech), translate: And there is no corrector among men, as if to say, There is no censor who may chastise and correct the vices of men. Thus Ovid, in Book I of the Metamorphoses, grieves that with the golden age faith, piety, virtue have perished, and the iron and bronze age have succeeded, in which in place of virtues / fraud and deceit / and treachery, and force, and accursed love of possession have entered.
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All lie in wait for blood (in Hebrew, for blood, that is, for the life of their neighbor; whence the Chaldean: All prepare snares for the shedding of the blood of the just. For which reason, explaining further, he adds): a man (that is, each one) hunts his brother unto death,—just as a fowler hunts a bird in order to kill it. The Hebrew and Chaldean: A man hunts his brother unto cherem, that is, unto destruction, so that he may scatter and destroy him as it were an anathema; Pagninus and Vatablus translate: He hunts with a net, so that he may ensnare him; just as a fowler ensnares a bird. But the Hebrew cherem properly and commonly signifies destruction, not a net, except abusively, as is evident from Habacuc 1, 47. 3. They speak of the evil of their hands as good (that is, the evil works which they work with their hands, they say are good, as if to say: Not only do they do evil, but they also defend it and say it is good. Thus St. Jerome. Secondly, the Septuagint translates: They prepare their hands unto evil, as if to say, "All lift up their hands unto evil, so that even he who could not do evil, nevertheless while he prepares his hands, delinquishes by will," says St. Jerome. Thirdly, R. David aptly and connectedly to what follows translates: They join their hands unto evil, so that they may do it well, that is, so that they may perfect it and bring it to effect. Whence the Zurich Bible translates: They are diligently and strenuously intent upon the evil of their hands; because namely they associate with themselves suitable companions and powerful ministers for it, and together with them conspire unto the evil which they have determined in mind. For) The prince demands (that the judge adjudicate to him unjust tributes, goods, or the life of the innocent, or a similar impious or unjust thing); and the judge in rendering is (as if to say: The judge renders what the prince unjustly demands; he renders, I say, in hope of reward, or of equal judgment, or of favor, which he expects from the prince: "So that they may lend mutual favor to their crimes, and defend themselves in the crime of another," says St. Jerome. Whence from the Hebrew you may translate: The judge for retribution, namely judges; that is, as the Chaldean translates: The prince demands, and the judge says: Do for me, and I will repay you. Finally) the great (that is, someone from among the magnates or Rabbis) has spoken the desire (in Hebrew hoffat, that is, corruption and depravity: thus Vatablus) of his soul (namely, if he is asked about this demand of the prince, and the unjust judgment of the judge adjudicating the matter unjustly to him, he does not answer according to justice, law, and the will of God; but according to his flattery, ambition, and avarice; namely he approves and defends both the unjust demand of the prince and the sentence of the judge, so that he may gain their favor, or be a partaker of plunder. Whence Pagninus translates: And the great speaks: Bring gifts): and (by this means) they have troubled (the Chaldean, they have corrupted) it—"or the city, or truth, or the land of which he spoke in verse 2: The just has perished from the earth," says St. Jerome. In Hebrew more aptly and significantly it is said vaieabtuba, that is, they have condensed, entangled, interwoven it, as if they made it a rope, namely the corruption; namely by a threefold mouth, that is, of the prince, the judge, and the great man, as if by a threefold rope tripling and strengthening it, so that they may show that to be good which is evil; that to be just which is unjust, according to that saying: "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." For the root abat signifies to intertwine ropes, or fronds; hence abot are called ropes, because intertwined. This is what Isaiah says in chapter 5, 18: "Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with the rope of a cart." For Micah alludes to Isaiah in his customary manner. Thus Lyra, Vatablus, Marinus in the Lexicon, and other more recent scholars. And the upright.—The Septuagint, reading sin for shin, namely iascur, reading iasar (for sin is equivalent to the letter samech), translate: And there is no one correcting among men, as if to say: There is no censor who may chastise and correct the vices of men. Thus Ovid, in book 1 of the Metamorphoses, laments that when the golden age perished, faith, piety, virtue perished, and the iron and bronze age succeeded, in which in place of virtues entered frauds and deceits, snares, violence, and the accursed love of having. All lie in wait for blood (in Hebrew, for blood, that is, for the life of their neighbor; whence the Chaldean: All prepare snares for the shedding of the blood of the just. For which reason, explaining further, he adds): a man (that is, each one) hunts his brother unto death,—just as a fowler hunts a bird in order to kill it. The Hebrew and Chaldean: A man hunts his brother unto cherem, that is, unto destruction, so that he may scatter and destroy him as it were an anathema; Pagninus and Vatablus translate: He hunts with a net, so that he may ensnare him; just as a fowler ensnares a bird. But the Hebrew cherem properly and commonly signifies destruction, not a net, except abusively, as is evident from Habacuc 1, 47. 3. The evil of their hands they call good (that is, the evil works which they work with their hands, they say are good, as if to say: Not only do they do evil, but they also defend it and say it is good. Thus St. Jerome. Secondly, the Septuagint translates: They prepare their hands for evil, as if to say, "All lift up their hands to evil, so that even he who could not do evil, nevertheless while he prepares his hands, delinquishes by will," says St. Jerome. Thirdly, R. David aptly and connectedly to what follows translates: They join their hands to evil, so that they may do it well, that is, so that they may perfect it and bring it to effect. Whence the Zurich Bible translates: To the evil of their hands they are diligently intent and vigorous; because namely they associate with themselves suitable companions and powerful ministers for it, and together with them conspire to the evil which they have determined in mind. For) the prince demands (from the judge that unjust tributes, goods, or the lives of the innocent, or a similar impious or unjust thing be adjudged to him); and the judge in rendering (as if to say: The judge renders what the prince unjustly demands; he renders, I say, in hope of reward, or of equal judgment, or of favor which he expects from the prince: "So that they may render mutual favor to their crimes, and defend themselves in another's guilt," says St. Jerome. Whence from the Hebrew you may translate: The judge for retribution, namely judges; that is, as the Chaldean translates: The prince demands, and the judge says: Do for me, and I will repay you. Finally) the great one (that is, someone from among the magnates or Rabbis) has spoken the desire (in Hebrew הוה hoffat, that is, corruption and depravity: thus Vatablus) of his soul (namely if he should be asked about this demand of the prince, and the unjust judgment of the judge adjudging the matter unjustly to him, he does not answer according to justice, law and the will of God; but according to his flattery, ambition and avarice; namely he approves and defends both the unjust demand of the prince and the sentence of the judge, so that he may gain their favor, or be a partaker of plunder. Whence Pagninus translates: And the great one speaks: Bring gifts): and (by this means) they have confounded (the Chaldean, they have depraved) it — "or the city, or truth, or the land of which he spoke in verse 2: The just has perished from the earth," says St. Jerome. In Hebrew it is said more aptly and significantly ויעבתוהה vaieabtuba, that is, they have twisted together, entangled, complicated it, as if they made it a rope, namely the corruption; namely with triple mouth, that is of the prince, judge and magnate, as if with triple rope tripling and strengthening it, so that they may show that to be good which is evil; that to be just which is unjust, according to that: "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." For the root עבת abat signifies to twist together ropes, or fronds; hence עבות abot are called ropes, because twisted together. This is what Isaiah says in chapter v, 18: "Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope." For Isaiah indeed does Micah allude to in his manner. Thus Lyra, Vatablus, Marinus in the Lexicon, and other more recent scholars. Pineda explains this passage somewhat differently in Job chapter xxii, 8, number 6, as if Micah here censures princes, who indulge and concede all things to the harpies of the court, that is to their familiars and flatterers to the harm of the commonwealth and the poor. Thus he explains it: The prince (a man of rank and great before his king and supreme judge) "demands (from the king), and the judge (supreme) in rendering (easily assenting, and conceding without sufficient examination of the cause and the thing demanded) is; and the great one (the chief men and familiars of the king) has spoken the desire of his soul (what they desire, they ask for; what they ask for, they obtain forthwith) and they have confounded it," namely the commonwealth, by wounding and tearing the poor, and sucking out their blood. Whence it follows: "The best of them is as a brier; and the righteous as a thorn of the hedge." But, because commonly the prince is greater than the judge, hence the former exposition seems clearer. The Belgians, appropriately scorning these associates in crime, call them Vandregisilos. For the name Vandregisilus is compounded from these three Flemish words, van de by gesellen, that is, one of three companions, as Hutterus and others have noted in the Origins of Flemish. Here the Prophet passes from the slaughters and crimes of the people to the crimes of the magnates, such as we also not rarely see in this age; for the children of this world are wise to do evil; and therefore with so many counsels and companions, or powerful supporters, as if with ropes, they bind it together, so that no one can overturn it, no one can resist them; but He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall deride them, as Micah beautifully shows in what follows. Thus Jezabel the queen took care that the innocent Naboth should be condemned and stoned by the judges, so that she might seize his vineyard and deliver it to her husband Ahab: the chief men of Samaria approved this death and plunder, but immediately the watchful eye of God rushed forth in vengeance, and inflicted upon her through Elijah the thunderbolt of curse. Wherefore Jezabel shortly after, despoiled of kingdom and life by Jehu, was devoured by dogs in the same field which she had taken from Naboth, III Kings xxi, 23.
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Excellently St. Gregory, homily 9 on Ezekiel: "Neighbors must be tolerated everywhere," he says, "because Abel cannot be made of one who is not exercised by Cain's malice. But there is one thing, namely power, by which the society of the wicked ought to be avoided; lest if perhaps they cannot be corrected, they draw others to imitation, and while they themselves do not change their malice, they pervert those who are joined to them." And St. Isidore, book II of the Soliloquies: "Standing before fire," he says, "even if you are made of iron, you will sometimes be dissolved; a neighbor will not long remain safe from danger: often familiarity has entangled, often it has given occasion for sinning, often what the will could not do, constant association has overcome;" and soon after: "It is better to have hatred of the wicked than their company; just as the common life of the saints has many good things, so the society of the wicked brings many evils." Thus on both sides the power of society is great. Wherefore wisely Cassiodorus, book II of the Epistles: "To man himself," he says, "the divine power has given double hands, companion ears, twin eyes, so that the office which was to be completed by the society of two might be carried out more robustly." And Hugh, book III On the Soul: "A lovable companion," he says, "is helpful to all and burdensome to none; because devoted to God, kind to his neighbor, sober toward the world; servant of the Lord, companion of his neighbor, master of the world; he has superiors for joy, equals for companionship, inferiors for service." 4. He that is best among them is as a paliurus. — The Septuagint: as a moth eating. The sense is, as if to say, He who among these unjust and rapacious nobles appears best, that is, less wicked, if compared with the others more rapacious; yet he pricks and wounds neighbors like a thorny paliurus. For paliurus is a kind of rough and sharp thorn, which is commonly called holly, concerning which Virgil, eclogue 5: A thistle and paliurus with sharp thorns arises. And he that is right, as a thorn of the hedge, — as if to say, He who among them appears more right and more just than the others, that is, less iniquitous, is nevertheless distorted and pricks and harms like a thorn. Conjecture therefore what kind and how biting and harmful the others ought to be, who are worse than these, and especially those who among them are the worst and most harmful. Again, just as a thorn snatches the wool of sheep and lacerates the sheep; so these snatch the substance of the simple and lacerate the simple, says R. David. The Hebrew texts have: Their right one is a manger, namely thorny and pricking. Whence Pagninus translates: Their right one is rougher than hedges of thorns; and the Zurich Bible: He who is right, a hedge made of thorns, is thornier, that is sharper and more harmful; the Syriac and the Antiochene Arabic: They despised their goods, as a piece of cloth corrupted by a moth; but the Alexandrian Arabic: I will destroy their goods like a moth (or decay) which eats and creeps in beams, like a day of snares. Secondly, more pressingly and fittingly: "He that is best," that is most kind and most gentle among them; yet he is sharp "in" pricking, "like a paliurus: and he that is right," that is pleasing, agreeable, pleasant, calm, appears among them; yet he pricks and afflicts "like a thorn." Thus often good is taken for sweet and mild, as in Psalm 72, 4: "How good is the God of Israel!" good, that is sweet, kind, beneficent, "to them that are right of heart," who exhibit to God a heart equal, calm, gentle and friendly. For God is right to the right, good to the good, calm to the calm, kind to the kind; on the other hand he is sharp to the sharp, cruel to the cruel, harsh to the harsh, as David sings in Psalm 17, 26 and 27. The day of thy speculation, thy visitation cometh. — In Hebrew מצפיך metsappecha, that is, of thy speculators. Whence the Zurich Bible clearly translates: The day of thy speculators and of thy visitation cometh; which Vatablus explaining: Soon, he says, there will come the day which thy false speculators, that is, Prophets, foretold to thee would be all happy; but falsely: for that day will be a day of visitation, that is of punishment, of thee, namely when God will take vengeance upon thee and will destroy thee through the Chaldeans. And the Chaldean: The day of evil in which thou didst expect good, the day of the visitation of thy malice has come, that is, is present and presses upon thee. He speaks of the destruction not of Samaria, as St. Jerome, Remigius and Hugh think, but of Jerusalem, as is evident from what follows, where he promises liberation from captivity; for this happened to the Jerusalemites when led into Babylon, not to the Samaritans when led into Assyria.
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Now their desolation shall be. — For desolation in Hebrew is מבוכתם mebucha, which the Septuagint and the Syriac translate as weeping, from the root בכה bacha, that is, he wept; Pagninus renders it desolation; others, siege; Marinus, confusion; others, distraction; properly the Chaldean and Vatablus, perplexity; for he sets this as a kind of punishment imposed in opposition to their binding together and conspiracy in evil, of which he spoke in verse 3: "They have troubled her;" in Hebrew, they have entangled her, as if to say: The prince, judge and magnates colluding and conspiring in robberies and plunderings of the weaker, have thus strengthened their crime, and entangled it as if with three cords, so that it appears inextricable, and no one is able to resist it or escape; wherefore I will unravel these cords of theirs, and in turn will entangle them with a cord, not threefold, but a hundredfold of the Chaldeans besieging and surrounding them on all sides, so that they cannot escape their snares and hands; but thus shall they be perplexed, that they know not where to turn themselves, what counsel to take, where to flee. Much more tropologically shall God perplex them in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, when in fear and anguish they shall say to the mountains: Fall upon us, and to the hills: Cover us," Apocalypse vi, 16. 5. Believe not a friend (in Hebrew רע rea, that is, a companion; for it refers to the partnership by which the prince, judge and magnates conspire in robberies, and he proceeds to dissolve and punish it), and trust not in a leader: from her that sleepeth in thy bosom, keep the doors of thy mouth. — Various writers explain this verse variously, and adapt it to the text. First, St. Jerome, Remigius, Hugo and Lyran refer these things to false prophets, as if to say: Believe them not, because, if among men, whether by kinship or by covenant joined together, such as are friends, leaders, spouses, daughters-in-law, faith is rare, as experience testifies; how much more rare will faith be in false prophets, who fabricate dreams in order to flatter and to empty the purses of their peoples. Second, others more rightly take these words generally, so as to censure the infidelity of men of that age, as if to say: At this time the perfidy of men is so great, that neither companion can trust companion, nor wife husband, nor subject leader, nor mother-in-law daughter-in-law; because the very members of a man's household are his enemies. He acts wisely, therefore, who holds all suspect, extends faith to no one, trusts himself to no one; but himself takes counsel and provides for himself. This is what Jeremiah deplores in the same age, chapter ix, 4: "Let every one, he says, keep himself from his neighbor, and trust not in any brother of his: for every brother will supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully," etc. To which the words of Micah that follow are plainly similar: "For the son dishonoreth the father, and the daughter riseth up against her mother." Which if taken plainly as they sound, signify nothing other than the malice and perfidy of that age. This sense therefore, as being simpler and plainer, so also appears more genuine; for it explains and exaggerates what he said in verse 2: "The merciful man hath perished from the earth, etc. A man hunteth his brother to death." And that in verse 3: "He that is best among them is as a brier," etc. And in this sense Christ appears to cite these words of Micah, Matthew x, 34, concerning which more presently. And this sense, as being general, embraces all the others, especially the third, which I shall now assign. Ovid similarly describes such an iron age of the world and of men in the first book of the Metamorphoses: Life is lived by plunder, the guest is not safe from the host, the father-in-law not from the son-in-law, and even the love of brothers is rare; the husband threatens the wife with death, she threatens her husband; terrible stepmothers mix ghastly aconite; the son inquires into his father's years before their time; piety is conquered, and the virgin Astraea, the last of the celestial beings, left the blood-soaked earth. Moreover, he says pointedly and wisely: "From her that sleepeth in thy bosom," that is from thy wife, as the Chaldean translator renders it (for thus it is said in Deuteronomy xiii, 6: "The wife that is in thy bosom;" and chapter xxviii, 54: "The wife that sleepeth in thy bosom"), "keep the doors of thy mouth," that is, do not trust thy wife, do not reveal thy secrets to her: for the mouth is as it were a door, which closes the senses of the breast like a door by silence, or opens them by speaking: whence it has its own doors and bolts, namely the lips and teeth, by which nature admonishes us to keep our mouth and tongue closed by them, especially before women. For woman is inconstant and talkative: "Woman is ever fickle and changeable," says Virgil. Thus Delilah betrayed Samson, when he himself had revealed to her that his strength lay in his hair, Judges xiii. Thus Jezabel destroyed Ahab, when he had revealed to her that the cause of his sadness was his desire for the vineyard of Naboth, III Kings chapter xv and xvi. Wherefore Cato, as Plutarch testifies, grieved over three things: first, that in this uncertain life he had remained intestate for even one day; second, that he had set out by sea and ship, when he could have gone by land and on foot; third, that he had revealed his secret to a woman. Indeed, Antiphanes in Stobaeus: What say you? When you wish to keep some matter hidden, will you open it to a woman? But what difference is there whether you tell it to a woman or to all the heralds in the forum? See Plutarch, book On Talkativeness. Seneca wisely: "If you wish another to be silent about what you desire, be silent about it first yourself." And Valerius Maximus, book vi, chapter xi: "Taciturnity is the best and safest bond of administering affairs." See St. Augustine, book xix of the City of God, chapter v, where treating this passage of Micah, he illustrates it with two opinions of the Gentiles. One is from Terence in the Adelphi: "I took a wife; what misery did I see there?" nay rather, what misery did I not see there? And in the Eunuch: "In love all these evils are present, injuries, suspicions, enmities, truces, war, peace again: have they not filled all human affairs everywhere?" The other is from Cicero, book On Friendship: "There are no more hidden snares than those which lie hidden in the simulation of duty, or in some name of relationship. For him who is openly an adversary, you can easily beware of." To this pertains the exposition of Arias, which is partial: who thinks that here it is signified that subjects and common people ought to beware of commerce with princes, as if to say: Do not, O common people, mix yourselves in the affairs of princes, so as either to enter into friendship with them, or to show enmity by detracting from them, and censuring their deeds among your friends, wives, sons, etc., because these, having heard, will not be silent, but partly from talkativeness, partly from malevolence, by which they, angered and offended at you, desire to harm you, will tell these things to others, and these to others and others, so that they reach the ears of princes, who will avenge themselves and punish you severely, according to that in Ecclesiastes chapter x, 20: "Detract not the king, no not in thy thought, and speak not ill of the rich man in the secret of thy chamber: for even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell thy speech."
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Third, others think that these things regard and explain the bitterness of visitation, that is of punishment and desolation, or, as it is in Hebrew, the perplexity of the Jews, especially of the nobles, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, of which the passage just preceding spoke, as if to say: So great will be the calamity, so great the famine, so great the anguish, so great the perplexity of the citizens, especially of the nobles, who by their counsels and conspiracies have involved and plundered the poor, in the siege of Jerusalem, that each one will be concerned for himself alone, and will care for no one else, not even a friend, a leader, a wife, or a daughter-in-law, nay, will trust no one with the means of sustaining his life, or the plans of flight; but will hide the bread which he has from them, so that he alone may eat it, and sustain his own life; the hiding places, or the ways and means of escaping the hands of the Chaldeans, which he himself has found or devised, he will keep in silence and reserve for himself, lest they be snatched from him by a friend or wife. Thus Theodoret, a Castro, Ribera and others. Whence it follows: 6. Because (in so great a famine, disturbance and anguish) the son shall do shamefully (that is, will do) to the father (as if he will contend and fight with him for bread, and snatch it from him), and the daughter shall rise up (that is, will rise up) against her mother (for a like reason): and the enemies of a man (that is, of anyone, as the Chaldean translator renders it) shall be they of his own household, — supply will be; because the members of the household will contend and fight among themselves everywhere for bread, a hiding place, or some like thing necessary for sustaining life in so great a danger. Allegorically, this discord and strife of the Jews in bodily matters, that is, concerning bodily goods, represented the discord and spiritual strife (that is, concerning faith and spiritual goods) of the faithful and unfaithful, namely the persecution of the unfaithful, even of parents, brothers and kinsmen, against Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles in the time of Christ and the new law, especially when on account of these they incurred danger to their reputation, goods and dignities, or even their lives. And in this sense Christ cites these words of Micah in Matthew x, 34: "I came not, He says, to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies shall be they of his own household," as if to say: I came to send separation and dissension among brothers and parents, in the matter similar to that which Micah foretold to the Jews; but dissimilar in cause. For that of the Jews was on account of their malice; or, as others wish, on account of the siege of the Chaldeans, in which they were so afflicted by famine, plague and sword, that even brother robbed brother, son his father, daughter her mother, of bread, house, fortress to save themselves: but this of mine and of Christians will be on account of faith, piety and the worship of God on the part of the faithful, but on account of malice likewise on the part of the unfaithful. I came therefore to send a sword, that is, separation and discord in faith and religion, so that namely I may separate my faithful properly by faith from the unfaithful: but these, taking occasion from this to quarrel, separate themselves from the faithful by their infidelity, hatred and persecution, by which they deprive them of goods and life. And this latter especially Christ intends, and it more answers the mind of Micah, from which Christ borrowed this: "For I came to set a man at variance against his father, etc., and a man's enemies shall be they of his own household." "For it will come to pass, says St. Chrysostom in his Oration Against the Jews, that in the same house one shall be faithful, another unfaithful, and the father will wish to draw his son to impiety. Foretelling this he says: So much will the power of the Gospel prevail, that sons also will despise their parents, daughters their mothers, and parents their children, indeed so that they will expose their soul and all things for piety." Whence Christ adds: "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me:" "cross," so that namely he be prepared for me, and for my faith and obedience, to bear stripes, reproaches, and even the hardest and most ignominious death, such as that of the cross: "because as I have brought you the highest beatitude, so I demand from you singular obedience and affection, that in my battle you be lions," says St. Chrysostom. The same St. Chrysostom, homily 36 on Matthew: "A man's enemies are they of his own household." "By these words, he says, the Prophet endeavors to make him superior in all things, who would have received his words. For it is not to die, but to die badly that is evil. Therefore he said: I came to cast fire on the earth: by which words he wishes to signify the greatness and ardor of the charity which he demands. For because He Himself loved us in a wonderful manner, therefore He desires to be loved by us also with singular charity." Therefore Christ does not abuse the words of Micah, as certain interpreters have asserted; but rightly applies them to his own age and his own argument, as if to say: Now through the preaching of my Gospel there will be such dissension of brothers and parents as Micah once foretold: although for another, and more pious cause. Wherefore now likewise it is permitted to use this celebrated sentence of Micah, which has become a common proverb: "And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household." For this is a general sentence and maxim, which has use in every place, matter and time, when my and your interests in the same house or assembly are in question and dispute: for then each one, fighting for himself and his own thing and advantage, has enemies not foreign, but domestic, who strive to snatch it away and claim it for themselves. Wherefore anagogically, this maxim is most true in hell, where the greatest enemies are those who in this life were the greatest friends, namely parents, brothers, domestics and associates in crime, on account of which they go to hell
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are condemned. For these, like dogs, snarl at one another, curse, and reproach one another, saying: Cursed be thou, father, who didst not chastise me in my wantonness, but didst rear me in wickedness, that I might become fuel for hell. Cursed be thou, brother, who didst invite me to harlots and gluttony by word and example. Cursed be thou, wife, who didst urge me to gather riches by fair means and foul. Cursed be ye, daughters: for on account of you, to adorn and enrich you, I unjustly seized the goods of others, pursued usury and unjust gains, for which now I am burned with eternal fire. 7. But I will look unto the Lord. — In such evils he gives sound counsel, and likewise an example, as if to say: In such calamity of the Jews, both the siege of which I spoke in verse 5, and the malice and perfidy by which brother betrays brother, and father betrays son and destroys him; I, Micah, and the like holy and wise men, shall not look to parents and friends, as being treacherous, but to God with the eyes of the mind more than of the body, invoking him alone, commending ourselves to him, seeking and awaiting from him alone aid and deliverance from such great evils, according to that most sound counsel of the pious and prudent king Jehoshaphat in matters afflicted and nearly lost: "In us indeed there is not so great strength, that we can resist this multitude, which hath rushed in upon us: but as we know not what we should do, we have only this left, that we direct our eyes to thee," II Paralipomenon xx, 12. For God in desperate matters is the only refuge and asylum, and in them he delights to help, that he may show his supreme power and beneficence, especially toward those who believe, hope for, and ask this. Wherefore then must diffidence and despair be most avoided, and certain hope and confidence in God must be most stirred up; which if it be present, will certainly draw forth God's aid, even by miracle, as happened to Lot besieged by the Sodomites, Genesis xix; to Moses and the Hebrews by Pharaoh, Exodus xiv; to Judith and Bethulia besieged by Holofernes; to David besieged by Saul, I Kings xxiii, 27; to the Maccabees besieged by Antiochus; to Hezekiah besieged by Sennacherib, Isaiah xxxviii, 14. This is what is commonly said: "God from the machine," namely, appearing unexpectedly and bringing aid.
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I will look for God my saviour, — namely, literally for God, who shall deliver me and those like me both from the Chaldeans and from the treacherous Jews. Allegorically, I will look for Christ, who shall deliver us from the captivity of the devil and from the insult of all the impious. Hence Christ is called Jesus, that is, saviour of the world. Micah speaks literally in the person of Jerusalem (that is, of her faithful and pious citizens) besieged, laid waste, and carried away into Babylon by the Chaldeans, as St. Jerome, Theodoret, Rupert, Hugh, Lyran and others note; for what follows is clearly the words of Jerusalem. For he says: 8. Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy: for I am fallen (Jerusalem calls her enemy, not Rome, as the Jews wish; but either Babylon, her devastator, as St. Jerome, Remigius, Vatablus and others wish; or rather Idumea: for Babylon was the enemy of all nations, but Idumea was the peculiar and ancestral enemy of the Jews, and therefore rejoiced and applauded in her destruction: hence almost all the Prophets reproach her for this, and therefore threaten her with like destruction, as Obadiah does throughout his whole prophecy. Wherefore in verse 12: "Despise not," he says, "in the day of thy brother, and rejoice not over the children of Juda in the day of their destruction, etc. For the day of the Lord is near upon all nations: as thou hast done, so shall it be done to thee, he shall turn thy reward upon thy own head." And the Psalmist, Psalm cxxxvi, 7: "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem, who say: Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof in it." Similar things are found in Jeremiah cap. xliv, 12, Amos cap. i, 11, and others. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Rejoice not in my destruction, O mine enemy, O rival Idumea: for although I have fallen, yet after seventy years God shall again raise me up and restore me through Cyrus: then) I shall rise when I sit in darkness (namely, in the dark prison of Babylon; because) the Lord is my light, — not formally, but causally; that is, God, while I sit in the darkness of captivity, shall illuminate me, as the Septuagint and the Chaldean render it, and shall restore me to light, that is, to joy, liberty and happiness, and as it were to life (for light is the symbol of these things, just as on the other hand darkness is the symbol of sorrow, captivity, adversity and death). Thus David, constituted in darkness, that is, in troubles, looking to God as to light, says: "The Lord is my illumination, and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm xxvi, 1.
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Morally, St. Ambrose in Psalm 37, on that passage: For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped; citing these words of Micah: "It is not," he says, "a grave ruin of infirmity, if there be not also a striving of the will. Have the will to rise, and he is ready to make you rise." And a little before: "Because even if I have sinned, thou forgivest sin: even if I have fallen, thou raisest me up; so that those who rejoice in the sins of others may have nothing whereof to exult. For we have gained more, who have sinned more: because thy grace makes us more blessed than our innocence. Let penitent sinners hear this, let them hear and rejoice. 9. I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him. — "Wrath," namely that by which Jerusalem through the Chaldeans chastises me, lays waste, and leads me into Babylon, as if to say: I, Jerusalem, will bear the wrath, that is, I will endure the punishment of destruction inflicted upon me by the wrath of God. For Micah speaks in the person of Jerusalem, that is, of her pious and faithful citizens, who in her destruction were despoiled of goods and liberty. Whence it is clear that pious and holy men bear the wrath of God, while they are punished for their sins. Hence it follows that God, although he forgives the wrath, that is, the guilt, to a penitent sinner, does not however immediately forgive all wrath, that is, punishment, as heretics wish. For there is a twofold wrath of God. The first is hatred, by which he hates the sinner as his enemy, and wishes him the greatest evil and destruction, while he destines him to hell: this is taken away by penance, by which he is reconciled to the sinner: and when he returns to grace. The second wrath is that by which he does not wish to leave the penitent, although reconciled, unpunished, but on account of past sins wishes some evil for him, namely chastisement; while he destines him to disease, famine, spoliation, captivity, etc. This Micah bears, and the Saints. You will say: By penance all offense is taken away from the mind of God, so that he is no longer offended by the sinner; but he forgives the sin completely, and is entirely reconciled to him: therefore likewise all wrath is taken away. I answer to the antecedent: There is a twofold offense, just as there is also wrath. The prior offense or offensiveness is the very enmity and hostility: this is entirely taken away by penance. The posterior offense is the will to chastise and punish with some temporal penalty the pleasure which the sinner perceived in the act of sin. This remains and abides in the mind of God, until the sinner pays it, or God forgives it; just as David forgave the prior offense to Absalom, when he, although a fratricide, received him into grace, but not the latter; for he said: "Let him not see my face," II Kings 14:24. Therefore on his part he was still offended by him, because he was unwilling to see him. Thus David himself bore this wrath and offense of God: for when corrected by Nathan concerning his adultery and murder and doing penance, he said: "I have sinned against the Lord," immediately he heard from him: "The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die. Nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born to thee shall surely die," II Kings 12:13. Wherefore David, although he now knew that his sin was forgiven him as to guilt, yet still deprecates the wrath, that is, the vengeance and punishment of God, saying: "O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chastise me in thy anger," Psalm 6:1. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity," Psalm 50:1, as if to say: Thou hast washed me by wiping away the guilt, but wash me yet more by wiping away all wrath and punishment. Moreover, that this chastisement of God is rightly called wrath, and truly proceeds from the wrath and angry mind of God, Gregory of Valencia demonstrates by this argument in his tract On Satisfaction against Heretics, chapter 3: To be angry, he says, or to be hostile to someone, is to wish some evil to befall him: but God wishes that to the penitent, although reconciled to him, this evil of temporal punishment should befall, indeed he positively sends it and inflicts it upon him, while he chastises him; therefore by this very fact he is in some way angry with him, and there is still in God toward him an offense, for which compensation ought to be made and can be made. Whence the Syriac and Arabic versions render for wrath, I will bear the plague of the Lord. Morally, penitents say the same thing when they are afflicted by God with disease, poverty, persecution and other troubles, and especially by that temptation of concupiscence to which they once consented, recurring: "I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him." I will take up unwillingly my bed, on which I lay willingly, and I will walk. Thus St. Mary of Egypt suffered for so many years the sharp temptations of lust as she had lived in it, namely seventeen. Thus the Maccabees ascribe their martyrdoms to their sins out of humility, II Maccabees vii. I have known religious men who, whenever something adverse happens to them, suddenly say: My fault, this is the just punishment of my fault. Thus the Emperor Maurice, seeing five of his sons slain before his eyes by the Emperor Phocas, exclaimed: "Thou art just, O Lord, and thy judgment is right." For he had once resisted St. Gregory the Pontiff in the rights of the Church; and therefore he was punished by God with this penalty, indeed he himself sought it, that he might redeem the future and eternal one. Thus from Theophanes, Baronius, in the year of the Lord 602. St. Basil applies this to the sick in the Rules more fully explained, question 55: "Diseases," he says, "are often scourges of sinners, by which nothing else is done except that we change our life for the better, etc. Wherefore those who are such, these, omitting the aid of physicians, ought to bear the harshness brought upon them in silence, whenever they perceive that they have sinned; and to imitate him who said: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; and also to amend the perverse pursuits of their life, and to bring forth fruits worthy of penance." Until he judge my cause (and vindicate it: for although I am justly punished with respect to God, to whom I have sinned, yet I suffer this unjustly from the Chaldeans and Idumeans, to whom I have done nothing, and who have no right in my destruction and plunder. For the Chaldeans had no just title of war by which they could justly and lawfully invade and lay waste the Jews. Moreover God will judge and vindicate my cause when he) shall bring me forth into the light (namely into freedom from the Babylonian prison; for then) I shall see his justice (namely the just vengeance, by which he will render like for like to the Chaldeans, while he will lay them waste through Cyrus, as they themselves laid us waste; and to the Idumeans, while he will lead them likewise by the Chaldeans into captivity, and will leave them in it, and will not bring them back to their homeland, as he will bring me back. Again while he will subject them to me and my law through Judas and the other Maccabees, I Maccabees v, 3. Then therefore) my enemy (that is, hostile Babylon; or rather envious and malicious Idumea) shall see (with sorrow and shame her disasters and troubles), and shall be covered with confusion, which (now insulting me) says to me: Where is the Lord thy God? (to deliver thee from this destruction.
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She shall see my freedom and happiness under Cyrus; whence then envy shall be broken. For) mine eyes shall see in her (as if to say, I, again placed on high Sion and at the summit of happiness, shall look down upon Idumea lying on the ground, afflicted, and almost lifeless, and shall say): Now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets, — she who once proudly despised me, mocked and afflicted me. For shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem the Chaldeans trampled down Idumea, and afterwards the Maccabees. 11. The day that thy walls shall be built. — First, Theodoret continues to take these things of Idumea, as if to say, There shall come to thee, O Edom, a day of the siege of the Chaldeans, in which thou shalt repair the walls and ruins of thy walls, that thou mayest defend thyself with them, and resist the Chaldeans: but in vain; for the Chaldeans will either destroy the walls or scale them, and will take and plunder thee. Second, St. Jerome, as with the preceding things, so also takes these of Babylon, as if to say, There shall come to thee, O Babylon, a day in which Cyrus and Darius shall besiege thee, and consequently in which thou shalt be forced to repair thy walls. But in vain: for Cyrus shall take and lay waste thee: "In that day the law shall be far off," as if to say, Henceforth thou shalt not make laws and rights to Cyrus and the Persians, but thou shalt receive them from them. Third and properly, with the same St. Jerome, the Chaldean, Remigius, Rupert, Hugh, Clarius, Ribera and others, take these things of Jerusalem, and its restoration through Ezra and Nehemiah, as if to say, Soon, O Jerusalem cut off and led away into Babylon, there shall come to thee a day happy and blessed, in which, released by Cyrus and sent back to thy native soil, thou shalt restore the wall, that is the ruins, and the walls of thy buildings remaining from the fire.
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In that day the law shall be far off. — That is, the imperious command, as Theodotion and Symmachus translate it, of the Chaldeans namely, who ruled over thee tyrannically, as if to say, Thou shalt no longer be subject to the empire, laws and edicts of the Chaldeans. Whence the Zurich Bible translates: The day is that thy hedges shall be repaired, torn down by enemies, on which day the decree shall be far off; but Pagninus: In that day in which the Lord shall build thy walls, the tribute shall be far off, as if to say, Thou shalt no longer pay the tribute which thou wast wont to pay to the Chaldeans.
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12. In that day (of liberty and return from Babylon to the homeland) and even to thee shall come from Assyria (thus it should be read with the Romans, Hebrews and Greeks, not, Assyria shall come to thee, as many read it. The sense is, as if to say, In that day of thy restoration, O Jerusalem, thou shalt not only be freed from the enemy and his yoke, law and dominion; but also thy captives scattered throughout Assyria, Media, Persia, etc., shall return thence to thee, and to thy other fortified cities of Judea, and moreover shall spread out from them) even to the river (his, namely the Jordan, says St. Jerome, or rather even to the Euphrates, for the Jordan was not the boundary, but rather the middle of the Holy Land; but the boundary appointed to it by God toward the east was the Euphrates, Joshua cap. i, 4. Thus the Chaldean and Vatablus. And from one sea thou shalt spread thy citizens even to another sea, namely from the sea of Galilee, which is the Eastern, even to the Mediterranean sea, which is the Western; and from one mountain even to another, namely from mount Lebanon, which is the boundary of Judea to the north, even to the mountain of Idumea, which is the boundary of the same to the south. Thus Theodoret, as if to say, Thou shalt be scattered, O Jerusalem, O Synagogue, throughout thy whole land and dominion once assigned to thee by God, in every direction toward all the regions of the world. For he notes here four boundaries and limits of the Holy Land promised to the Jews: for its boundary to the east is the sea of Galilee, or of Tiberias: to the west, the Mediterranean sea: to the north, Lebanon: to the south, the mountains of Idumea.) to the mountain from the mountain. — For this in Hebrew is הר ההר har haar, which Pagninus and Vatablus translate: Even to mount Hor. But mount Hor is nowhere set as a boundary of the Holy Land, and is far distant from it, and is situated in Arabia. Again Vatablus takes all these things of the Chaldeans and their victories, as if to say, This affliction of the Chaldeans shall reach even to the Holy Land: for they themselves shall lay waste all things from Assyria even to the fortified cities of Egypt, and even to Judea and its boundaries. But that this pertains to the restoration of Jerusalem is evident from verse 11: "The days that thy walls shall be built," O Jerusalem. For this day is the same as that one, in which he predicts that her citizens, fugitives from Assyria, shall return to Jerusalem. The same is evident from verses 14 and following. Moreover, a Castro takes by the mountain from the mountain, the mountain of mountains, namely mount Sion, which is situated in the midst of mountains, and stands out among them as king and prince. Thirdly, some more recent interpreters thus expound to the mountain from the mountain, as if to say, From mount Carmel even to mount Lebanon. But neither Sion nor Carmel were boundaries of the Holy Land: but rather they are situated in its midst. Wherefore the former sense, which I assigned at the beginning, is the genuine one. For that some understand by Assyria Sennacherib, and thus expound it, as if to say, There shall come to thee, O Jerusalem, a day of siege and devastation by Sennacherib, who shall trample upon the law of God and the holy land: for he shall take all the fortified cities of Judea, whence the whole land shall be in desolation. This sense, I say, is less fitting; for, to pass over other things, concerning Sennacherib and his slaughter he has already treated long before in cap. ii, 13.
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13. And the land shall be in desolation ("Land," not Judea, but hostile and inimical to it, from which the Jews liberated by Cyrus will return joyful and happy to Jerusalem, and will restore it, that is to say: When Jerusalem shall be restored, then Babylon, which laid it waste, shall be desolated by Cyrus) on account of its inhabitants (on account of the impious Chaldeans, who afflicted the faithful and pious people of God), and on account of the fruit of their thoughts,—namely on account of their perverse works: for these are the fruits and effects of their thoughts and wicked machinations, that is to say: Babylon on account of its tyranny and crimes shall be laid waste. 14. Feed thy people with thy rod (These are the words of the prayer of the Prophet, by which Micheas beseeches God, that with his pastoral rod, that is his fatherly providence, and with his scepter, which he gave to the tribe of Judah, and to the posterity of David, as Theodoret thinks, namely through Zorobabel and his successors, he would feed and rule the Jews, who are the people of God, his inheritance and Church), dwelling alone in the forest,—that is, who, being alone and destitute of all aid, as if in a forest among beasts, namely among the Gentiles and idolatrous Babylonians are held captive. Thus Vatablus and Dionysius. Or, who separated from the Gentiles alone worship thee, and dwell with thee as with their shepherd, just as sheep alone are in the forest with their shepherd. Thus Theodoret and Clarius. In the midst of Carmel.—Refer these words, not to shall be fed, which follows, nor to dwelling, which precedes, but more remotely to feed, thus the Roman [edition], that is to say: Come, O Lord, let the Jews return to Carmel, and to their fields and cities, and there feed them, as if in Carmel, that is abundantly and copiously. For Carmel, being a fertile mountain, on account of the rich pastures of flocks, is a symbol of fertility and abundance. Or more forcefully, that is to say: O Lord, feed thy Jews in Babylon, as if placed in a horrid and thorny forest; feed them, I say, there so securely and abundantly, as if they were in their native Carmel, grassy and luxuriant: make Babylon to them be Carmel, as thou didst make the furnace of Babylon to the three boys a dewy garden, nay a paradise, Daniel iii, 50. Thus God turned burning coals into roses for St. Tiburcius the martyr; and for St. Lawrence fire into dew and refreshment; nay, and for St. Cecilia, St. Agnes, St. Lucy, and other holy Virgins and Martyrs he changed torments into joys, racks into feasts, crosses into delights. So great is the power and might of our God, so great his goodness, so great his sweetness toward his faithful and children. The former sense is favored somewhat more by what follows:
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They shall be fed (The Jews, when thou shalt have brought them back from Babylon into Judea) in Basan and Galaad (which are fertile mountains, and rich in cattle, Basan, that is in Basan, that is to say: As sheep in Basan and Galaad are fed and fattened, so also the Jews shall be fed there by God with the same sheep and all abundance of things) according to the days of old,—that is, as formerly under David and Solomon they were fed there. Or "they shall be fed," that is they shall graze "Basan and Galaad," and the other most fertile mountains and fields of Judea, that is they shall gather and eat the fertile fruits, produce and harvest of Judea. He persists in the metaphor of the shepherd, sheep, and pastures: for he compared God to a shepherd, the Jews to sheep, Judea to the pastures of Carmel, Basan and Galaad: for these are grazed by sheep. 15. According to the days of thy going out of the land of Egypt,—that is to say: As I miraculously led the Jews out of Egypt through so many plagues and portents wrought by Moses; so likewise will I lead their descendants out of Babylon through many wonders, nay miracles. For first, I will reconcile to them Cyrus and Darius the idolaters, so that they may free them from Babylon. Second, on the journey and return I will be with them, so that children, women, the aged and the weak, without harm joyful and eager, may accomplish it, though long and troublesome, as their fathers accomplished it in the desert, when they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. Third, when they shall have arrived in Judea, I will restrain the neighboring, hostile and envious nations, so that they cannot harm them, nor hinder the building of Jerusalem and the temple. For that these things happened thus is evident from I Esdras iv and v, and Baruch v. Thus Theodoret, Lyran and Vatablus. Allegorically, Christ wrought far more wonderful things than Moses or Esdras, in the liberation of men from the captivity of the devil; for, to say nothing of the wonderful mysteries of the incarnation, nativity, preaching, transfiguration, passion, resurrection, ascension, mission of the Holy Spirit, and the miracles wrought by him while he lived; after his death through a few abject and poor Apostles, he overthrew all the power and wisdom of the world. Allegorically St. Jerome, Haymo, Remigius, Rupertus, Hugo and Arias hold these to be the words of the eternal Father to Christ the Son, that is to say: I constitute thee, O my Son, now incarnate, my shepherd, and I command that thou feed my sheep, namely the faithful Christians with the pastoral rod, namely with the Evangelical power, which I give to thee in full. Hence Christ going into heaven, resigned this power in these very words to St. Peter, and constituted him his vicar in this pastoral office, saying: "Feed my sheep," John xxi, 17.
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indeed of hell and demons, and kings and wise men, and subjected the whole world to His life-giving cross. Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Albert, Rupert and others. Whence it follows: 16. The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their strength, — namely because by it they were not able to harm the Hebrews, nor afterwards to overcome the Christians. For they shall see far greater strength and power given by God to the Hebrews, and to the Apostles and Christians, by which they themselves unconquered shall conquer all things, so much so that even through deaths and martyrdoms they overcome tyrants, and convert many of them to the faith of Christ and the Church. For, as Tertullian says: "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians." And, as St. Gregory says: "Individual grains, while they fall, rise up multiplied." And, as St. Leo in his sermon On Sts. Peter and Paul: "The Church is not diminished by persecutions, but increased." Thus also in it the virtue of each faithful one "grows when agitated by adversities," which otherwise without an adversary would wither away. They shall put their hand upon their mouth, — that is to say, From confusion, consternation and amazement at such great wonders, they shall become silent and be stupefied, so that they dare not utter a word.
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Their ears shall be deaf, — that is to say, in like manner they shall become deaf, so that as if struck senseless they lose the use of mouth and ears, so that they can neither speak nor hear. Secondly, as if from envy and grief they will stop up their ears, lest they hear these wonderful things, and the prosperous successes of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, and afterwards of the Christians in the law of the Gospel: for these things will torment the idolatrous and envious nations, and will be as a thorn in their eyes, and as thunder in their ears. 17. They shall lick the dust like serpents. — This is a catachresis, signifying the utmost subjection of the nations under the victors the Jews, such as befell them under Judas, Jonathan, and their descendants, as is evident from the books of the Maccabees. That is to say, the Idumeans, Ammonites, Moabites and other neighboring nations, formerly hostile, will be so struck with fear of Judas, Jonathan and the Jews, that before them they will prostrate themselves as suppliants on the ground, and after the manner of nations will strike the earth with their foreheads, so that they will appear to touch and lick the ground with their mouths. The same thing was fulfilled more truly allegorically in Christ and the Apostles: concerning these the Psalmist says in Psalm 71, 9: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down: and his enemies shall lick the ground." And Isaiah in chapter 49, 23: "With their face toward the ground they shall adore thee, and shall lick up the dust of thy feet." See what is said there. Thus St. Jerome. So a ship is said to lick or lick the shore, when it sails near the coast; and a river to lick the land which it washes; and a flame to lick the things which it touches or blows upon. Thus Virgil, in the second book of the Aeneid: "It seemed," he says, "that flame licked the hair of Iulus, and fed around his temples." He alludes to serpents, which properly lick and eat the earth, according to that in Genesis 3, 14: "Thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life." As creeping things of the earth shall be troubled in their houses. — Some read "shall be driven out." Thus Haymo, Remigius and ancient manuscripts; which some explain thus, that is to say, Just as certain lands, such as Malta, by the blessing of St. Paul; Ireland, by the blessing of St. Patrick; Ebusus in the Balearics, as Solinus testifies in his Polyhistor, chapter 26, and sealed earth, which physicians commonly use, do not suffer poisons, nor serpents; but drive them away and repel them: so the Jews returning from Babylon to Judea will drive out the nations which had occupied it, and will compel them to yield to them their ancestral place and land. But it should be read with the Romans "shall be troubled," that is, with a certain sacred horror and reverence, both of God and of His faithful people, namely the Jews, and allegorically of the apostles and Christians, will be struck with fear; for in Hebrew it is יִרְגְזוּ iirgezu, that is, they shall tremble. Whence the Septuagint translates: "They shall be troubled in their conclusions"; the Chaldean: "They shall be moved from their houses"; the Zurich and Vatablus: "They shall tremble in their enclosures," that is, in the cities in which they shall be shut up for fear, that is to say, Just as serpents and creeping things are frightened at the sight of man, and fearfully hide themselves in their dens and caves: so the nations will be frightened and will revere the Jews returning from Babylon, and allegorically much more the apostles and holy Christians. Whence follows: "They shall fear the Lord our God." Sanchez adds that there is an allusion to stags, which by their breath draw serpents from their caves, "The breath of elephants draws out serpents, and that of stags burns them," says Pliny in book 11, chapter 53. Whence also the stag is called ἔλαφος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑλεῖν ὄφεις, that is, from drawing out serpents, that is to say, So easily will the Maccabees draw their enemies from their hiding places, as easily as stags by their breath alone draw serpents from their caves. Allegorically, this is more truly of the apostles, converting barbarous nations from their dens and their barbarism to humanity and holiness. They shall fear the Lord our God. — Thus it should be read with the Romans, the Hebrew and the Septuagint; not "they shall desire," as the Plantin and many other Bibles read. In Hebrew it is: Before the Lord our God they shall be afraid, thus the Zurich; or, as Pagninus: They shall fear from the Lord our God. Here fear and dread is a sign both of terror and of reverence. For in Scripture the fear of God is the same as the reverence of God; and to fear God is the same as to revere God. He alludes to the Chaldeans, Persians and other nations converted to Judaism under Cyrus, in 1 Esdras 6, 21, and under Esther, chapter 8, 47.
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And they shall fear thee, — O Israel, O faithful people, O Church. 18. Who is God like unto Thee? — These are the words, not of the nations struck down and fearing the God of Israel, but of the Prophet, who, from so great clemency and liberality of God toward His people, by which He preserved and advanced the Jews liberated from Babylon, breaks forth gratefully into doxology and praise of God. Thus Theodoret, Lyra and Vatablus. And at the same time he prophesies allegorically concerning Christ and the redemption of Christ. Whence the Chaldean, verse 19, translates: His word shall return to have mercy upon us, that is to say, the Word of God shall be incarnate, and thus shall return to us, that He may redeem us. Thus St. Jerome, Remigius, Rupert, Hugh and very many others expound this concerning Christ. For Christ is He who taketh away our iniquities, and casteth into the depth of the sea all our sins; namely, He Himself is the truth of Jacob and the mercy promised to Abraham. Who taketh away iniquity, and passest by, — that is, thou passest over, thou dissemblest, thou forgivest; the Septuagint, thou passest over; the Chaldean, thou makest remission; Vatablus, thou forgettest and puttest under thy feet (for in Hebrew it is, thou passest over sin, namely by treading it down, blotting it out and destroying it) the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance, — that is, the sin of Israel, or of the people left and remaining from captivity. By sin, understand both the guilt: for many of the Jews, afflicted by the evil of captivity, repented and did penance with Daniel, chapter ix; and the punishment of guilt, namely the Babylonian captivity: for God took this away, when He brought the Jews into liberty. He will not send forth His wrath any more, — such as He sent forth through the Chaldeans; supply, unless the Jews return to their crimes, as in fact they did return: wherefore He sent forth greater wrath upon them, when He utterly destroyed and blotted them out through Titus and the Romans. Wherefore these things are more truly understood allegorically in Christ and Christians.
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19. He shall cast down (in Hebrew יכבוש iichbos, that is, shall subdue, shall put under His feet, shall trample) our iniquities. — Thus Vatablus. The Septuagint, shall submerge; the Chaldean: He shall subject our iniquities to His mercy. For this, as it were far greater than all sins, dominates over them, and by dominating forgives and abolishes them. And He shall cast all our sins into the depth of the sea. — It is a catachresis, that is to say, God shall make it so that sin is utterly abolished, and no longer exists or remains. For thus is sin abolished, which is sunk to the bottom of the sea. Hence that saying of Horace, book I of the Odes 1: Whether flame or the Adriatic sea please thee. Moreover it was the custom of the Jews, that whatever was to be abhorred, dire and accursed, they would cast into the salt sea which was near, namely into the Lake Asphaltites. Thus from the Rabbis in the Mishnaioth Arias. Thus the Indians cast their sins written down or expressed by another symbol into a river, that it may carry them to the sea, where they are pressed down in eternal oblivion. Our Acosta is witness, book V On the New World, chapter xxv. But properly the Prophet alludes to the submersion of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, which was a type of baptism reddened with the blood of Christ, by which the Egyptians are submerged, that is, sins. Hence allegorically Theodoret and Rupert understand by the depth of the sea here baptism, that is to say, I shall submerge your sins in baptism, as I submerged Pharaoh with his people in the sea. Thus also St. Basil explains it, homily 4 on Psalm xxviii. Hence St. Augustine, discourse 1 on Psalm cxiii, teaches, "as the Egyptians in the Red Sea, he says our sins are submerged and extinguished in baptism." Note this against our heretics, who think that sins are only covered and hidden in baptism by the justice of Christ imputed to us, as it were by a cloak, but in reality remain and live in the soul by the concupiscence adhering to it. For the contrary is said here by the Prophet, and the contrary happened to Pharaoh and the Egyptians: for they were not covered and hidden by the waters of the sea, but killed and extinguished; therefore in like manner in baptism and the other sacraments, sins are not hidden, but are truly blotted out and extinguished.
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20. Thou shalt give truth to Jacob (in Hebrew le-Jacob, that is, to Jacob), mercy (the Arabic version, grace) to Abraham (in Hebrew le-Abraham, that is, to Abraham, and likewise the Syriac, by bestowing namely these things) which thou hast sworn to our fathers (to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, etc.) from the days of old,—that is to say, Thou shalt truly and faithfully fulfill in Jacob, that is, in Jacob's descendants, namely the Jews, those things which thou didst mercifully promise to Abraham, Jacob and other patriarchs, both concerning the care, protection and deliverance of the Jews from captivity, for example the Babylonian; and especially concerning Christ who was to be born from their seed; namely that he would deliver us from sins and all evils, and would endow us with all grace, salvation, happiness and eternal glory. For this is the promise made to Abraham, Genesis xxii, 18, where it is said: "In thy seed shall all nations be blessed," namely in Christ to be born from thee, as the Apostle explains, Galatians iii, 16; and from this Abraham was called, as it were אב רב המון ab rab hamon, that is, father of a great multitude, namely father of many nations, who namely imitate the faith of Abraham and believe in Christ, the son of Abraham. Note: He calls the promise of God mercy; because God freely and out of mere mercy promised the aforesaid goods to Abraham, and because the nations, not from merit, but from the same mercy, namely grace, justice and the salvation of Christ, partake thereof. He calls the same truth, that is, faithfulness; because it was to be most faithfully fulfilled by God, as it has already been fulfilled. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius, Rupert, Lyran. But why did he attribute "mercy" to Abraham, "truth" to Jacob? They answer first subtly, St. Jerome and the Hebrews, because the first promise of God made to Abraham was not from his merit, nor from obligation, but from mercy; but this promise being established, truth was made, that is, from due faithfulness. What therefore was grace to Abraham, became truth, or faith, and obligation to his grandson, namely Jacob and the Jews. And so the promises of God, especially Christ, is the mercy of God; because he was mercifully promised by God and given to the world. The same is also truth, because in him God faithfully fulfilled all things and gave all the goods which he had promised. This is what concerning him and the cause of his coming, Zacharias sings in Luke i, 72: "To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;" which covenant is that great "oath which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us." For in Christ all promises and magnificent pledges made to the Patriarchs and Prophets are ended and fulfilled. He mentions Abraham and Jacob, not Isaac, both because Isaac is intermediate between Abraham and Jacob, and is included and understood in them; and because clearer promises were made to Abraham and Jacob than to Isaac; and finally because the promises made to Isaac descended only to Jacob and all his descendants: for Esau was excluded from them, the other and the firstborn son of Isaac. Secondly, more solidly and truly, to Jacob he attributes "truth," to Abraham "mercy," because by Jacob he understands his descendants, who from him as a near parent are called Jacobites and Israelites, indeed Jacob and Israel (for Jacob was called by another name Israel) by their proper name. And for this reason he prefers Jacob to Abraham, because by Jacob he understands his descendants: for these are properly called Jacobites and Israelites from him, not from Abraham their grandfather. For these promises were exhibited and completed, not in Jacob himself, but long in his descendants. Thus Theodoret, Albert, Vatable and Castro. The sense therefore is, that is to say, Thou shalt give truth, that is, thou shalt faithfully fulfill in Jacob, that is, in the Jews, those things which thou didst mercifully first promise to Abraham, the patriarch and their grandfather, especially concerning Christ and Christ's redemption and salvation. Mystically, Jacob represents and stands for the Jews, as it were their proper parent, to whom God properly made these promises concerning Christ: whence truth is attributed to them, that is, faithfulness of promises. Abraham represents the nations, for from this Abraham was called, that is to say, Father of many nations: but the nations were admitted and adopted by grace to these promises of Christ: whence the same mercy is attributed to them, according to that word of Paul, Romans xv, 8: "For I say that Christ Jesus was a minister of the circumcision," that is, of the circumcised, namely the Jews, "for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers; but that the gentiles might glorify God for mercy." Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Remigius and Rupert. Morally, learn here how great a benefit is the remission of sins, and how much gratitude we ought to render to God for it. For just as sin is the greatest of all evils, so the remission of it is the greatest of all goods. For sin most gravely offends that immense divine majesty, goodness and holiness, and is as it were a kind of deicide, indeed truly and properly it was a killing of Christ; for it could be washed away and expiated by no price except by the blood and death of Christ, concerning which I have said more at Jeremiah ii, the beginning of the chapter. Add to this, that this remission is made only through the grace of God infused into the soul, through which we become sons and heirs of God, and thus, as St. Peter says in his second epistle, chapter i, 4, sharers of the divine nature. This is what Micah says: "Who is God like unto thee, who takest away iniquity?" etc. For the justification of the impious is a greater work of God than the creation of heaven and earth, as St. Thomas demonstrates from St. Augustine, I II, Question cxiii, article 9. Furthermore, God not only takes away from the soul sin, which is as it were a most pernicious enemy invading and occupying it, and expels it; but also removes it so far from it that he casts it into the depth of the sea, as the Prophet says here: indeed on the day of judgment he will cast it together with all sinners into the abyss of hell. This is the truth and mercy promised to Jacob and Abraham, of which Zacharias says in Luke i, 77: "To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins: through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to illuminate them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace." And verse 74: "That we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear, in holiness and justice before him, all our days." Wherefore all the holy penitents have marvellously celebrated this benefit of God in themselves. St. Peter, daily hearing the cock crow, mindful of his denial of Christ, was dissolved in tears, and therefore devoted himself entirely to his preaching, love and obedience, even unto the death of the cross. Whence, in his first epistle, chapter ii, 9 and 10, exulting in this grace and congratulating the Gentiles: "You, he says, are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." St. Paul so admires his own conversion, and so congratulates himself upon it, that he breaks forth into these words: "A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the first: but for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ Jesus might shew forth all patience, for an information to them that believe on him unto life everlasting. Now to the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." Read the whole chapter i to the Ephesians, in which he is amazed at this benefit of remission, and pours it forth with deep feelings and words. St. Mary Magdalen, certain of the remission received from Christ, spent her whole life in the desert, in tears, thanksgiving, love and contemplation, using that passage from the Canticle i, 12: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts. Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love." St. Mary of Egypt, penitent, in like manner spent 47 years in solitude, constantly having this in mind: "The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. The mercies of the Lord, because we are not consumed. Draw me after thee: we will run in the odour of thy ointments. I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, nor will I let him go, till I bring him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me." Let those imitate these, who have at some time sinned, especially mortally and gravely; and therefore let them serve God in humility, penance, thanksgiving, love and fervour, especially that they may draw the souls of their neighbours out of the abyss of sin, and offer them to God for compensation, with joy and alacrity throughout their whole life.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Vae mihi, quia factus sum sicut qui colligit in autumno racemos vindemiae ! non est botrus ad comedendum, praecoquas [icus desideravit anima mea » ; — vae (Vox — ut distinguitur a 55) non minantis est vox, sed gementis et sortem. deflentis (cf. Men. Tir.); « heu mihi, quia in cxcolendo populo tamquam vinea operam prorsus vacuam et inutilem sumpsi ; accidit enim mihi quod in autumno vinitori absoluta vindernia, qui relictos scrutatur racemos, neque tamen aliquid invenit opportunum esui ; desideravi in populo meo virum aliquem iustum ca aviditate, qua 1. Hebr. T2200! diligens studiuin ac scdulam observantiam dicit. Phorm. Mix. 1 — 30 famelicus homo ficus temporaneas et praecoquas desiderat» (Sanct.) ; populus vinea est Domini (Ps. '19, 9. Is. 5, 4 seq. Pup.) ; at nihil fructus attulit ; unde vates dolet, cum laboris sui successum, i. e. salutem suorum adeo exoptet. Intimo enim desidero animi fertur 2n praecoquas ficus i. e. non, ut aliqui volunt (S. Hier. Alb. Mar.), saltem immaturas ficus volui invenire, sed, ut constans usus fert (cf. Is. 28, 4. Os. 9, 10) fructum lautissimum, qui gratissimi sit saporis, ergo maximam morum emendationem vehementissime expetivi (cf. Barh. Sanct. Sa, Lap.: Calm. Schegg). At iusta spe et exspectatione est deiectus ; quare ea quoque ratione grave onus muneris prophetici sentit et lamentatur. In textu 245. legitur ad. verbum: vae mihi, quia faclus sum sicut collectiones pomorum, sicut racemi vindemiae (cf. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Schegg, Reinke), et ita recentiores quoque vertunt; sed locutio est satis dura. Nam, vel debet explicari : mihi accidit, sicut fieri solet in collectione post messem, in racemalione post vindemiam — id quod verba non admittunt, quia v5 *DDN2non est: sicut incollectione — vel pro pheta nomine totius populi etin populi personaloquitur : populussimilis est racemationi post vindemiam ; at ne talis quidem comparatio facile fluit, neque hoc loco admitti potest prophetam induere personam populi ; nam alias etiam in persona populi dicendum esset : populum desiderasse optimam morum conditionem (praecoquas ficus). Sed ut id absurdum est, ita repentina. personae enallage bis subito faeta etiam repudiari debet. Quare textus liebr. intelligendus erit, ut LXX et S. Hier. legerunt: àz avvavcv sicut colligens ; legatur ergo participium FON vel in plurali *5ON, idque altero membro quoque suppleatur:sicut (colligens) racemos vindemiae, ubi brevitatis causa omitti poluit. De Vp cf. Am. 8, 1;pomaibi vertit S. Hier. ; hoc loco tempus pomorum i. e. autumnum substituit, uti Is. 28, & maturitatem autumni dixit ; alibi vocem verlit aestatem (lor. 8, 20. Zach. 14, 8. Prov. 6,8:26, 1 et iam Gen. 8, 22 — ita quoque Ps. 73, 4 vulg. quibus adde Am. 3, 15 domus aestiva), messem (ler. &0, 10 ; 48, 32. Prov. 10, 5:30, 2:9, vindemiam (Is. 16, 9 — inloco vero parallelo Ier. 48, 32 messen); vox generatim signilicat lempus abscissionis fructuum, Etiam LXX varie exprimunt. Semel LXX et S. Hier. palathas reddiderunt (2 Reg. 16, 1. 2). « Quae tropice enuntiaverat, plana facere volens subiungit » (Thcod. Mar.)
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v. 2 « periit sanctus de terra et rectus in. hominibus non cst ; omnes in sanguine insidiantur, vir fratrem suum ad mortem venatur » ; — hebr. "Pen ef. Os. 4, 2; periit i. e. iam non invenitur, disparuit ; hyperbolice dictum, uti v. g. Ps. 13, 2 seq. ad maximam morum corruptelam et omnium ordinum perversitatem declarandam ; hebr. omn ^s ad. sanguines 1nsidiantur, violentias, rapinas, caedes meditantur et machinantur cf. Is. 4, 21. Os. 4, 2 ; quare explicans subdit: vir i. e. quisque fratrem suum, alios venatur, sicut auceps venatur avem ; callide insidias struit, venatur eum cerei hcbr., quasi rem interitul et excidio devotam, vel ad exterminium,! ut cum quasi anathema disperdat ct exterminet (cf. Lap. Mar.), vel (quod ad venationem magis aptum est) eum reti venatur i. e. callide ac fraudulenter insidias parat eumque capere et perdere studet. Neque pudet eos scelerum, verum flagitiis tamquam re bene gesta gloriantur ; haecque lues ipsos quoque primores infecit ; ita
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v. 3 « malwun manuum suarum dicunt bonum ; princeps postulat et iudex in reddendo. est et magnus locutus est desiderium animae suae et conturbaverunt eam » ; —cf. Is. 5, 20: «vae quidicitis malum bonum et bonum malum » ; perversitatis fastigium id est, ipsas veri iustique notiones rebus affingere facinorosis. Hebr. verte : ad malum manus eorum, ut bonum vel egregie faciant i. e. male seduli sunt et assidui, ut prava quaeque consilia expedite, solerter vel ut bona peragant. Quod quam late iam serpserit, in primorum ordinibus demonstrat : princeps exigit i. e. totus est in exactione munerum, vectigalium ad sacram auri famem explendam ; uti Syrus non male supplet : postulans (est; dicens) da ! iudex in retributionem (hebr.) vel remunerationem, largitionem est intentus ; non ius et iustitiam ut administret ei curae est, verum ut ditescat. Unde Is. 1, 93 : «principes tui socii furum ; omnes dilizunt munera, sequuntur retributiones » ;cf. supra 3, 11. Soph. 3, 3. Ez. 22, 27. Praeterea magnus, nobilis scil. et opibus, auctoritate valens quaecumque pravo? animi desiderio concepit, sine ullo freno sermone cffundit; ex abundantia scil. cordis perversi perversa loquitur. Neque ibisistit, verum « condensarunt, implicuerunt, intricaverunt, sicut funem reddiderunt. eaim, scil. zvà i. c. corruptclam » (Lap.), perniciem, quam animo conceptam fovent. Pluralem numerum vates ponit, quia mergnus totum ordinem dicit. Enumerationem et descriptionem generali sententia propheta absolvit :
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v. 4 « qui optimus in eis est, est quasi. paliurus ; ct qui rectus quasi spina de sepe » ; — i. e. « quasi. paliurus pungens et retinens, vulnerans appropinquantem sibi et adunco dente retinens; quei spina de sepe, ut ibi inveniatur dolor, ubi putabatur auxilium » (JIer.). Vinea Domini, domus Iuda et Isracl, non. uvas,verum spinas profert ; et. si qui bonus est et censctur inter illos, talis invenitur, quales demum reliquos putabimus? Rhamnus paliurus est spinae genus, de quo Virgilius : « carduus, et spinis surgit paliurus acutis » (Eclog. 5 — cf. Aib. Rib. Sanct. Lap.). In altero membro hebr. fert et rectus prae vepreto i. e. peior ve. preto. Tali rerum conditione vindicta Dei, toties a prophetis praedicta, necessario devolvetur in criminosos : « dies speculationis tuae, visitatio (ua. venit ; nunc erit vastitas corum » ; — hebr. dies speculatorum tuorum i. e. prophetarum (cf. Ier. 6, 47. Ez. 33, 71) ille scil. dies irae divinae et iudicii, quem tot minis vaticinati sunt (cf. Os. 1, 9; 2, 9; 4, 16 etc. Am. 3, 4. Iocl 2, 29) ; quare Ieremias iure contra pseudoprophetam excipit : « prophetae qui fuerunt ante me et te ab initio et prophetaverunt super terras multas et super regna magna, de proelio et de afflictione et de fame » (Ier. 28, 8). Quare dies ille ut dies visitationis i. c. castigationis, qua Deus scclera eorum est visitaturus et ulturus, a vate designatur ; tunc erit perturbatio * eorum (hebr.), perplexitas, confusio (cf. Is. 29, 5; 99, 10). Atque iuremerito. Nam uti ipsi omnia pervertunt, notiones boni malique evertunt, ita condigna poena plectentur. Qualis autem futura sit perplexitas et omnium rerum perturbatio, propheta eum in modum describit, ut vincula omnia amicitiae, familiae, consanguinitatis soluta esse et bellum omnium contra omnes geri dicat ; ex qua conturbatione simul concludi oportet, ingentem fore calamitatum molem, qua talis strages edatur :
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v. 8 « nolite credere amico et nolite confidere in duce ; ab ea quae dormit in sinu tuo, custodi claustra oris (i ;
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v. 6 quia filius contumeliam facit patri, et filia consurgit adversiis matrem suam, murus adversus socrum suam, el inimici hominis domestici eius » ; — hebr. ne fidatis familiari i. e. amicissimo, cuius consuetudini quis quam maxime assuefactus est ; ita cernitur gradatio ? post amicum ; immo diligenter cave ab ipsa uxore (cf. Deut. 13, i; 28, 54 : quae cubat in sinu suo). Malorum ingruentium magnitudinem hisce delineari, vera est plerorumque interpretum sententia (cf. Cyr. Theod. Theod. M. Theoph. Rup. Rib. Men. Calm.) ; nam verba haec aperte perturbationem v. 4 explicant et v. "1 traditur doctrina, quomodo iudicio ingruente pii se habere debeant. Tali contextui autem descriptio morum, qui tum tempore Michaeae iam adsint (cf. Ephr. Lap. Mar. Tir. 1. S. Hier. uotat : « maPucha imo*2r3) magis roXi0pvixv. et onosproty, id est obsidionem et castodiai, quam vastitatem in licbraco sonat » ; verum *333 cf. Ex. 14, 3. Iocl 1, 18. Esth. 3. 15 in ziph. notionem. perplezum esse prae se frt vel perturbari terrore. Undo Is. 22, 5 Schegg, Reinke qui prophetam ad v. 3 redire volunt), minime apte inseritur. Multiplex bellum in ipso familiae sinu v. 6 exhibetur; ita Christus quoque malorum molem designat (cf. Matth. 10, 36 ; 24, 10. Luc. 12, 53). — Animadverti oportet, calamitatem futuram iterum iterumque a propheta ita describi, ut in unoquoque loco certa quaedam malorum species adumbretur; v. g. 2, 10 habes migrationem e terra ; 3, 12 destructionem urbis et templi ; 4, 9. 10 regni abolitionem, exsilium, servitutis dolores; 6, 14. 15 plagas famis, sterilitatis, vastationis hostilis, quam effugere iam non liceat ; 7, 5. 6 demum bellum intestinum !. Singulas autem comminationes reprehensio morum pessimorum ct accusatio comitatur. Tale est enim munus propheticum, ut et. scelera perstringat praesentia et futura mala non taceat. Verum pracclarius est illud, quo vates vel instaurationem annuntiat vel pios ad eam praeparat. Ilas partes sublimiores iam in subsequentibus aggreditur.
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v. 1 « Ego autem ad Dominum aspiciam, exspectabo Deum salvatorem meum ; audiet me Dcus meus »; — hebr. n9XN « attentissimam speculationem » (ftib.) dicit : in alta quasi specula constitutus Domini opem magno cum desiderio magnaque spe prospiciam, ad illam incessanter oculos dirigam ; Deum salutis meae (hebr.) praestolabor, certus de exauditione. « Quamvis tales tantaeque sint calamitates, de Dei patrocinio non desperabo ; constanter ad ipsum respiciam, salutem inde exspectans, quam etiam mihi sine dubio praebcbit, eum qui in huiusmodi calamitatibus petit auxilium, exaudiens » (Theod. M.). Tales igitur animorum sensus induant pii Israelitae, talibus verbis se erigant, quando calamitatum molem diu iam annuntiatam viderint revera ingruere ! lis propheta praeit, in se depingens fidem atque spem, quae a fidelium Israelitarum animis abesse nunquam debet. Eadem ratione suos docet Isaias 8, 11 - 92, et Ieremias se solatur mediis in angustiis ; cf. Lament. 3, 29 - 33. 64; 5, 19. 21 etc. Hunc enim in modum, ut Ephr. dicit, cor iustorum loquitur; et comparanda est, ut Lap. monet, oratio Iosaphat regis : « sed cum ignoremus quid agere debeamus, hoc solum habemus esidui ut oculos nostros dirigamus ad te » (2 Par. 20, 12). Quanam vero spe piorum animi semper confortari debeant, explicatur
Iam quid in ea rerum omnium perturbatione, cum humana omnia corruant et dissolvantur fulcra (cf. Is. 3, 1), iustis ac piis agendum erit ? Hos propheta edocet, sanum praebens consilium aeque ac exemplum, quemadmodum sit in Deo omnis fiducia collocanda (cf. Theod. Theoph. Lap.) ; « ipse enim credit in Deo et omnis contemplatio eius in Deo suo ; et quamquam tribulationibus et pressuris mundi prematur, tamen praeter eum qui dicit : « nolite timere, ego vici mundum » (Ioan. 16, 36) in nullo fiduciam habens exspectat Deum salvatorem suum et credens in eo oculosque suos ad eum semper dirigens sperat se exaudiendum » (S. Hier.). Unde
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v. 8 «me laeteris, inimica mca, super mo, quia cecidi; consurgam ; cum sedero in tenebris, Dominus lux mea est » | — praeclaram exspectationem verbis praeclaris conceptam ! hebr. ita magis concinne verte : nam $i ceciderim, surgam ; mam si sedeam dàn. tenebris, Dominus mili est lux. Spesest reparationis. Gentes manibus plaudunt de regno iudaico prostrato, populum Dei cum contemptu conculcant — at me laeteris ! adest populo Dei remedium casus ; ex conditione abiecta ad altissimam dignitatem theocraticam evehetur; est spes novissimis eius (cf. 2, 12. 13; 4, 1; 5, 2. 0s. 4, 10,2, 48 etc.) ; « si nimirum in calamitatum afflictionumque tenebris versabor, Deus mihi lux erit efficictque, ut eiusmodi tenebrarum incommoda minime sentiam » (TAeoph.), vel potius Deus suae benignitatis radiis et gratiae suae illustratione tenebras dispellet, quia quasi sol orietur super populum suum (cf. Is. 60, 1) ; uti olim in ignis splendore populum suum ex Aegypto eduxit et in nube lucida super tabernaculum foederis requievit, ita denuo sua luce noctem miseriarum collustrabit atque in splendidissimum diem mutabit (cf. Is. 60, 20). Ad tropum notat Sanct. : « esse intenebris in omni ferme lingua idem est quod aerumnosam vitam agere et in luctu aut moerore esse ; cui lux opponitur, qua et animi profusa laetitia significatur et fortuna melior ». Insuper cogita, coelum in oriente limpidius, clarius esse lucemque gratius atque iucundius oculis animisque illabi et fulgentius splendere, quam nostris in regionibus nubibus et nebulis offusis. Hac igitur certissima instaurationis spe pii se solentur. Verum quando felicissima illa tempora effulgcbunt? At etiam hic valet : non est vestrum nosse tempora et momenta. Quare vates docet, qua animi dispositione interea spes illa alenda sit et qua mente calamitates sint ab omnibus subeundae :
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v. 9 « iram Domini portabo, quoniam peccavi ei, donec causam meam iudicet et faciat iudicium meum : educet me $n lucem, videbo iustitiam eius » ; — i. e. vera postulatur et describitur poenitentia, qua dolentes agnoscant se peccasse et propterea etiam parati sint cum patientia ram. Dominii. e. poenam et calamitatem a iusto peccatorum vindice inflictam subire eamque exsolvere, quamdiu ei placuerit. Ea mente exsilii poenam esse adeundam propheta docet ; ea consideratione eventus bellorumque exitus, clades regni populique stragem, hostium impetum perpendi ac rite aestimari iubet. Brevem precationis formulam proponit, qua per longam malorum seriem pii de divino consilio erudiantur ; humilem docet confessionem, labores et molestias poenitentiae ne declinent, monet; sed simul certa spe eos erigit : donec causam meam iudicet, i. e. « quoad ipse causam, quae mihi cum affligentibus me inimicis est, iustam et aequam esse iudicio suo confirmet ; etsi enim eum iniuriis lacessivi, mihi tamen cum illis admodum iusta est. expostulatio. Quippe cum nihil mali passi a me sint, adco crudeliter me vexarunt» (Theoph. sim. S. Hier. Rib. Lap. Sa, Est. Mar. Men. Tir.). Deus enim populum suum e servitute liberans, novam condens theocratiam, hostes prosternens populi sui causam agit et. faeit éudicium meum i. e. id populo reddit, quod gratuita sua promissione pollicitus erat et quod vi huius promissionis iam ius populi constituit ; illum igitur statum rectum Deus induccet, qui populo iam vi promissionum et foederis debetur. Hunc autem vates optime designat : educet mc in. lucem, e carcere et tenebris in libertatem et beatitudinem, e tristitia in. laetitiam, ex impietate in beatam Dei cognitionem et gratiae eius collustrationem. Tum videbo cum voluptate (ita hebr. 3 0w2) tustitiam eius i. e. novum illum statum, quem Deus vi suae fidelitatis instituet, et qui in Dei regno et salute continetur. Vocatur ?ustitia Dei, quia Deus eum vult, eum pro sua fidelitate efficiet (cf. 6, 9). Haec vero iustitiae pars est ultio in inimicos, quam solam multi h. 1. agnoscunt (cf. Ephr. Theod. Theoph. Sanct. Lap. Mar. Men. Tir.); altera pars est fidelitas et proin miseratio in populum suum (cf. Cyr.); unde integram notionem bene describit Theod. M. : « concedet mihi conversionem in melius, ipse mihi ius reddens de fis, quae a cunctis inimicis meis pertuli inique, mihique quod aequum est adiudicabit, nieque adeo in. propriorum bonorum splendore collocabit, ut manifesta et indubia appareat Dei voluntas, qua de iuris aequitate sollicitus ab incumbentibus malis me sublevabit, et qui mihi temere iniuriam faciebant, iuste punivit ; id enim denotant verba : videbo fustiti«m eius » (sim. Bib. Sanct.). Haec populi Dei exaltatio gloriosus est de inimicis triumphus et maznifica honoris divini vindicatio :
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v. 10 «et aspiciet inimica mea et operie-- tir. confusione quae dicit ed me : ubi est Dominus Deus tuus ? Oculi mei viebunt in. eam z mnc erit in conculeutionem et lutum. platearum » ; — populi enim iudaici. opprobrium et cladem putabant. gentes ipsius Domini impotentia et infirmitate accidisse ; quare deos suos potentiores lactabant et. populo insultabant irridentes : ubi est Doinini auxilium et potentia? Nam victoriae. et. gloria. gentis. referri. solebant. ad deum gentis (ef. Is. 10, 9-11) ; idque iuseriptiones cuneiformes. quoque lIuculenter. coniprobant, in. quibus. nihil frequentius legitur, quam : Assur, Dominus meus, hostes prostravit, mihi in manus dedit ete. ; idem elucet ex Ier. 48, 1. 46. Unde populi restitutio simul est gloriae Domini vindicatio et ostensio ; quare propter me, propter me faciam, ut non blasphemer (Is. 48, 11). — In hebr. et aspiciat.. optantis in modum effertur. De repentina populi Dei exaltatione oppressores eius et inimici Dei confusione obstupescent et Dei manum potentissimam agnoscere cogentur. Ad aspiciend? verbum haec advertit Sanct. : « habent auxesim haec verba, quae iuxta materiae qualitatem et modum aut gravem significant dolorem et molestiam, aut voluptatem ingentem 'ex rei alicuius contemplatione conceptam... vehementer confunderis, o inimica mca, cum tantam fieri videas fortunae mutationem ». lam sortes mutatae sunt; civitas sancta stat gloriosa, hostes quasi lutum conculcantur ; sancti triumphant exsultatione et victoria Dei laetantur, inimici iacent prostrati. Haec est iusta audacissimi consilii retributio (cf. Is. 10, 6) ; quod illi inferre gestiecbant civitati Dei, ipsi in se experientur. Ita iam in vetere foedere praeformatur illud : « portae inferi non praevalebunt » ; ita fortitudo Davidica servatur in urbe Davidica (cf. Ps. 17, 43). Haec proxime dici de Babylone a Medis Persisque devicta, de Babylone mimica civitatis sanctae, plurium est sententia (cf. Ephr. Cyr. Hier. Rup. Rib. Sanct. etc.) eaque vera — de Idumaea enim, quam alii intelligunt (cf. Darh. Lap. Tir. Men.), hic non fit mentio — at simul propheta in illa de Babylone victoria generatim adumbrat regni Dei gloriam et potentiam invictam. Illa enim urbis post exsilium instauratio non est nisi praeparatio quaedam et prolusio ad instaurationem messianicam, quam propheta praecipue contemplatur et tanto verborum pondere et ambitu delineat. Ea vero, quae de regno Dei in universum dicuntur, belle applicari posse ad singulos regni Dei cives, ad singulas animas, apte expositum invenies apud S. Hier. et S. Cyr. h. l. Spem eam, qua piorum animi confortentur, vates accuratius delineat ostendens, quomodo Sion licet ceciderit, sit surrectura, et qua ratione Dominus lux sit futurus sedentibus in caligine ; ait enim Domini vineam, quae nunc vastationi sit obnoxia, esse restituendam i. e. fore theocratiae instaurationem :
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v. 14 « Dies, ut aedificentur maceriae tuae ; in. dic illa longe fiet lex » ; — est 13 murus, sed etiam maceria vineae (cf. Num. 22, 24. Eccl. 10, 8. Is. 5, 5) ; muri Ierusalem restituentur ; vinea Domini (cf. "1, 1) denuo restituta custodiae Domini tradetur (cf. Is. 2*1, 2); idque per modum exclamationis laetae propheta annuntiat, quasi dicat : laetare ; exsistet dies faustissimus, veniet tempus optatissimum ad macerias aedificandas. Indolem vero instaurationis addit, qua illam longe sublimiorem fore vetere conditione asserit : eodem scil. die longe recessurum, procul abfuturum esse terminum vel limitem. In antiqua enim rerum conditione Deus populum suum arctis incluserat limitibus et theocratiam in una gente et terra una conclusam esse voluit ; non ita in instauratione, sed tum spatia esse dilatanda, limites illos esse removendos, terminum longe lateque extendendum. Quod in quantum futurum sit, v. 12 designatur. Hanc esse significationem vocis hebr. pn cotlige ex Prov. 8, 29, ubi vulg habet : « quando cireumdabat mari terininum suum » ; Iob 154, 3; 26, 10; 38, 10. Is. 5, 14. Ier. 5, 22 : quibus in locis subest notio termini vel limitis definiti ! et circumscripti, uti ex eoruin locorum versione quoque vulgata elucet. Hanc autem significationem voci etiam hoc loco optime convenire, ipsa explicatio prodit et a. versu subsequente penitus exigitur. Eodem sensu intellige : /ong» fiet lex i. e. lex antiqua recedet ; vel lex illa populum Dei et theocratiam veterem coarctans et angustis includens finibus longe filet, removebitur. Priori explanationi proxime accedit, quod LXX expresserunt : «a! zzezgíiysza: v5atux 229 d; fia iox Evsiim, vel, ut alii legunt xxi 4z62:za:, diesille depellet legitima. Eo enim die populi undique ad instauratam theocratiam confluent :
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v. 12 « in die illa et usque ad te veniet de Assur et usque ad. civitates munitas, et a civitatibus munitis usque ad. flumen et ad. mare de mari et ad montem dc monte » ; — hebr. :llo die ad. te venient ab. Assur ct urbibus Aegypti ?, et ab. Aegypto et usque ad. flumen (et a regione quae extenditur usque ad flumen) et usque ad mare a mari (i. e. ab iis regionibus quae sunt a mari usque ad mare) et ad montem a monte i. c. undique; primo nominantur regiones, in quas exsules dispergentur : Assur et Aegvptus, in quam urbe a Chaldaeis capta multi Iudaeorum fugerunt ; dein tota regio intermedia : ab Aegypto usque ad Euphraten, qui est fluvius, flumen xx:' 22274» ; demum omnes terrarum tractus a mari ad mare, a monte ad montem generali quadam designatione comprehenduntur ?, cum extrema terrae et mari et montibus claudi popularis ferat opinio. Cum dicatur venient, confluxus iste non de Israclitis revertentibus intelligitur, quorum reditus aliis verbis :. reverti, congregari, reduci, educi, convertere captivitatem, describi solet, verum de gentium omnium in novam theocratiam assumptione (cf. 4, 4 seq.) ; venient scil. nationes ab Assur et Aegypto i. c. oppressores qui erant populi Dei, a theocratia non excluduntur ; cf. Is. 19, 23-95 : « benedictus populus meus Aegypti, et opus manuum mearum Assur» (hebr.); venient tribus illae in desertis dispersae, venient demum ab omni etiam remotissima terrae plaga, ab oriente et occasu, a septemtrione et meridie. Ita theocratiam fore universalem liquido patet. Eam autem immediate adnectit propheta urbi Ierusalem aedificatae, non quasi statim oritura sit simul ac Ierusalem aliqua ratione Esdra et Nehemia ducibus sit restituta, sed quia ipsa haec restitutio fit, ut theocratia illa universalis praeparetur, in qua demum ultimus restitutionis terminus summaque perfectio consistit. Vates enim ea coniungit, quae nexu interno ac destinatione divina inter se copulantur, licet longo temporum intervallo separentur ; cf. Os. 2, 16. 18. Am. 9, 41. tatur, quippe quae tempore et praeparatione praecedat. Quare bene advertit Ephr. hoc vaticinium opere impleri in Ecclesia Christi. Yàae autem illis, qui ad novam theocratiam confluere renuunt ! Simul cum regno messianico iudicium fit in adversarios contumaces :
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v. 13 « et lerra erit in desolationem propter habitatores suos et propter fructum cogitationum eorum » ; — terra scil. hostium (cf. Theod. Theoph. Haimo, Alb. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Sa, Mar. Men. Beinke), non terra Iudaeorum (ut volunt Tir. Calm. Trochon), hebr. propter fructum operum corum. Dei enim regnum in terris constitutum id secum afferre debet, ut demum omnes, qui contra illud surgunt, intercant ; « gens enim et regnum quod non servierit tibi, peribit ; et gentes solitudine vastabuntur » (Is. 60, 12. cf. Zach. 14, 11-19). Sollemne est a Gen. 3, 153 et deinceps, simul cum homine peccatore affligi ac vastari creaturam, regiones (cf. Gen. 6, 13 ; 19, 23. Is. 34, 4-15). Dum terra illa, quae regno theocratico non adiungitur, vastitate ac desolatione horret a Domino inflicta, populus tlieocraticus pace, prosperitate, securitate summa fruitur. Talem epocham animo cernens vates et desiderio efflagitans precatur
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v. 44 « pasce populum (uum in virga tua, gregem hereditatis tuae, habitantes solos in saltu, in medio Carmeli ; pascentur Dasan et Galaad iuxta dies antiquos » ; — Dominus ipse erit pastor bonus (cf. 5, 4) ; « pascit in virga, non ferrea virga eos percutiens, sed convertens eos in mansuetudine » (Cyr.). Titulus quem habent, ut Deus curam gerat tenerrimam, est quia sunt grex hereditatis Domini, populus quem sibi Dominus elegit in peculium et possessionem ct in nomen et gloriam (cf. Ex. 19, 5. Ier. 13, 11). Ut grex Domini (cf. 4, 8) habitant soli i. e. separati a profanis, longe ab eis remoti moribus, file, religione ; est laus illa, quam iam Balaam populo tribuit (Num. 23, 9) et quam donec retinuerit, securus erat sub Dei protectione speciali (cf. Deut. 33, 98). Coetus theocraticus illustris est. sanctitate ; ille igitur excellenti modo solus habitabit ; ct quia talis est, in pascuis uberrimis erit constitutus, quae propheta sui temporis regionisque conditione ex pascuis Carmeli montis amoenissimi et. Basan et Galaad. designat. Constat. eas regiones fuisse fertilissimas, quare, ut iam lup. notat, Ruben et Gad illas sibi in possessionem postularunt (Num. 32, 4 seq.), et tauri. Desan in proverbium abierunt, quo boves pinguissimi et optimi. dicerentur (cf. Deut. 32, 44. Am. 4, 4. Ez. 39, 18. Ps. 22, 13 hebr.) ; sieut. dicbus saeculi (hebr.), ut olim Deus gregis sui curam. gerebat, ut olim. patriarchis piisque regibus beneficiorum suorum magnificentiam exhibuit et teripore Davidis et Salomonis populum ubertate, pace, securitate donavit. (ef. 4, : 4. Is. 4, 26) ; alii malunt tempora intelligi Moysis et Iosue, quibus Deo duce populus pascebatur et demum in terram fluentem lacte. et. niclle introducebatur (cf. Reinke). Precationi annuit Deus atque pollicetur, theocratiae instaurationem iisdem Dei magnalibus fore insignem, quibus prima institutio et liberatio ex Aegypto fuerit commendata :
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v. 15 « secundum dies egressionis tuae de terra Aegypti ostendam ei mirabilia » ; — est enim prima illa liberatio, clectio et in populum Dei assumptio prolusio quaedam atque imago altioris liberationis messianicae et filiationis ; quare utraque liberatio nexu similitudinis coniuncta saepius proponitur ; cf. Is. 43, 15; 51, 10. Os. 13, 4. 8. Zach. 40, 41. Nam in utraque hostes devincuntur miro Dei auxilio, populus insigni Dei protectione praeventus favores divinos experitur et e servitute in libertatem filiorum vindicatus Dco duce iter aggreditur ad terram promissam, quo in itinere coelesti pabulo reficitur etc. Hanc similitudinem effert S. Paulus 4 Cor. 10, 1-6 ; eam paucis declarat Rup. : « a diabolo liberati eta peccatis in quibus servivimus ei, de Aegypto huius saeculi, id est de ignorantiae tenebris exivimus, transivimus mare baptismi et ecce spiritualem escam manducavimus et spiritualem potum bibimus, scil. corpus et sanguinem eiusdem pastoris et agni » . Erit igitur liberatio messianica opus a Dei potentia et gratia gratuito profectum et insignis maiestatis eius ac benignitatis manifestatio. Uti in egressu ex Aegypto visis et auditis Dei magnalibus « conturbati sunt principes Edom, robustos Moab obtinuit tremor, obriguerunt omnes habitatores Chanaan » (Ex. 15, 13), ita futura instauratio non minort erit admirationi, stupori, terrori
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v. 16 «videbunt gentes et confundentur super omni fortitudine sua, ponent manum super os, aures eorum surdae erunt » ; —i. e. eainstauratione conatus et impetus hostiles inimicorum Dei inanes fuisse constabit, quare ipsi hostes pudore suffundentur de clade accepta, de viribus suis, quas tam parum valuisse iam cernunt ; porro visis Dei magnalibus ita percelluntur, ut omnes sensus stupefiant et prae nimia admiratione hebetentur ; manum ori imponere est prae admiratione obmutescere et obstupescere, est silentio alium venerari, cum prae rerum magnitudine usus loquelae sit interceptus, et est se convictum et pudefactum profiteri (cf. Iud. 18, 49. Iob 21, 5; 99, 9 — Rup. Sanct. Lap.). Istis magnalibus simul continetur insignis clades et prostratio hostium, qua maiestatis divinae terror illis quam maxime innotescit:
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v. 11 « lingent pulverem sicut serpentes, velut reptilia terrae perturbabuntur tn, aedibus suis ; Dominum Deum nostrum formidabunt et timebunt te » ; — uti columna ignis in exitu ex Aegypto benefica erat Israelitis, Aegyptiis vero horrorem et interitum intulit, ita gloriosa Dei manifestatio in liberatione messianica erit aliis in resurrectionem, in ruinam aliis ; simul enim iudicium Dei cum illa coniungitur, iudicium scil. in contumaces ac refractarios (cf. 1, 13. Is. 66, 18. Mal. 3, 2-4. Matth. 3, 10. 12). Verum ipsis iudicii terroribus adhuc salus eis offertur, quia ad salutarem Dei timorem multi adducentur : formidabunt, timcbunt te!. Wostes prostrati lngent. pulverem i. e. prono. corpore reverebuntur ct supplices terram deosculabuntur : « habitus est eorum qui se victos fatentur et a se verbera et plagas et gravem aliquam ignominiam deprecantur, aut certe humillimum aliis et abiectissimum deferunt et profitentur obsequium » (Sanct. ; cf. Is. 49, 93. Ps. "i4, 9) ; trepidabunt e claustris suis (hebr.) l. e. timidi ac trementes e cavernis suis prodibunt, extrahentur sicut coluber (Sanct.). Fortasse in serpentis comparatione simul latet, impetus diabolicos cerni in regni Dei impugnatione (cf. Gon. 3, 13. Is. 91, 1 ; 65, 93. Apoc. 12, 9; 20, 9). | Primario respici et praedii instaurationem messianicam, ex verborum et promissionum ambitu perspieadum est ; elueet ex à, 4 seq. ; nam sieat. ibi manus pastoris et Dominatoris in Israel adumbratur in gregis custo.lia ct hostium prostralione exercendum, ita utrumque loco. nostro proponitur. At quemadmodum 9, 12. 13 reditus e Babylone ita tangitur, ut illa liberatio nonu sit nisi prolusio | quaedam et adumbratio maioris liberationis messianicae, aliis verbis, ut in sehiemale et forma. reditus e Dabvlone maior instauràtio messianiea repraesentetur, ita nostro quoque loco tempora illa post reditum deseribi, multis placet iei. Ephr. Theod. Theoph. Sanct. Lap. Su, Rib. Tir), immo aliqui in. v. 11 tempora et vietorias exprimi volunt Machabaeorum (ef. Lap.). Sed is est. promissionum ambitus, ut non solum spiritualiter, ut vult. Ep/r., sed. sceusu literali inimediate Christi tempora referantur (ef. Cyr. Rup. Haimo, Alb.) ; idque ex sequenti quoque precatione et gratiarum actione elucet.
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v. 18 « Quis Deus similis tui, qui aufers iniquitatem et transis peccatum reliquiarum hereditatis tuae? non. immilttet ultra furorem suum, quoniam volens misericordiam est » ; — transis, vel ut S. Hier. in comm. habet, transscendis i. e. condonas parcens peccatoribus. Locutio, ut idem advertit, alludit ad rem in Aegypto gestam : « ut quomodo exterminator in Aegypto transscendit populum Israel et non vastavit eum, sic tu parcas nequaquam illis imputans iniquitates suas ». Reliquiae convertentur, reliquiae, inquam, Iacob ad Deum fortem ; Is. 10, 21; cf. Mich. 2, 12; 4, 6. Dona messianica praedicaturus propheta primo loco effert peccatorum ablationem et condonationem ; idque repetitis vicibus; Deum enim ait non retlenturum in aeternum ! iram suam (hebr.), qua nunc iuste in populum exardescit et qua veterem theocratiam dissolvere statuit. Iram ergo deponit et deposuisse ostendit eo, quod auferat iniquitatem et veniam peccatorum concedat. Hisce instaurationem bonis spiritualibus contineri innuitur. Non retinet Deus iram, quia in miseratione et amore (19r?) sibi beneplacet, haec volenti animo et libenti complectitur, in hisce largiendis delectatur. Praeclaram divinae bonitatis speciem ! « diligis enim omnia quae sunt et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti » (Sap. 11, 235 — Alb.) ; vel, ut Ecclesia orat : Deus cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere... Peccatorum veniam et ablationem ulterius praedicat
Tribus orationibus et populi scelera exagitavit propheta et praeclara promissa messianica explicuit. lam quam mira rerum oppositio? Populus aucta serie offensiones Dei et scelera accumulat, Deus autem instaurationem salutis plenam promittere et insigniore modo illam proponere non desistit. Quare haec omnia animo complexus propheta in Dei admirationem et laudem prorumpit ct cum tanta sit populi perversitas eaque. per longa tempora incrementis aucta, non divinam maiestatem, non potentiam, non omniscientiam, verum clementiam et inexhaustaim condonandi miserationem laudibus extollit. Nexum bene adstruit. Theoph. : « cum immensam Dei erga nos benignitatem propheta considerasset. vidissetque ipsum tanta eos misericordia dignatum, qui nefaria seclera, venia prorsus indigna patrarant, ingenti cum admiratione clamat » :
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v. 19 « revertetur et miserebitur nostri, deponct iniquitates nostras et proiiciet in profundum marisomnia peccata nostra » ; —i. e. iterum miserebitur nostri ; nam, ut bene notat Sanct. : « revertor et similia iterationem significant et per adverbium explicantur plerumque ; Iob 71, "1 » ; deponet, hebr. conculcabit, pedibus conteret (cf. Rib. Lap. Mar. Men.), i. e. delebit, in nihilum rediget iniquitates nostras. Et quo efficacius etiam et clarius plena peccatorum ablatio exprimatur, additur et proiiciet... i. e. ut Ros. interpres protestans exponit : « acterna oblivione delebis memoriam peccatorum nostrorum ; nam quae mari immersa sunt, eorum non est amplius apud nos memoria. Quae funditus deleta quis cupit et quorum etiam vestigia aut memoriam remanere nolit, ca 2n mare proiici dicuntur et Graecis et Latinis » (et profert exempla ex Horatio, Tibullo, Cicerone, Luciano). In profundo maris ergo peccata latebunt, nunquam emergent, nunquam apparebunt i. e. aeterna oblivione sepulta sunt (cf. ib. Sanct.) ; « quemadmodum enim quod in profundum maris coniicitur, nostros omnino fugit oculos, ita et iniquitates perpetuae Deus oblivioni dabit » (Theoph.). Uti in liberatione prima hostes persequentes proiecit in mare, ne in captivitatem et servitutem redigerentur Israelitae, ita in altera spirituali peccata mari operit (eaque baptismo abluit), ut spirituali carentes servitute filiorum dignitatem prae se ferant (cf. Rup. Lap.). Deleri peccata et ita apud Deum oblivioni tradi, disce quoque ex Is. 43, 23 (Theod. Theoph.). Cur autem Deus instaurationem adducturus sit peccatorum venia concessa, causam vates áffert promissionem olim iam patribus datam (cf. Theod. M.), eamque ut Deus opere uberrime impleat, propheta efflagitat ; eas autem promissiones bona messianica spectare, ex hoc contextu perspicuum est. Postquam enim propheta tot ac tanta de instauratione futura vaticinatus est, iam quasi ad primam originem et fontem totius exspectationis ascendit et ut certissimum spei illius praeclarae pignus et testimonium affert
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v. 90 « dabis veritatem lacob, misericordiam Abraham, quae iurasti patribus nostris a diebus antiquis » ; — 1. e. gencratim promissa patribus data opere exsequeris. Hacc autem dicuntur veritas et misericordia, istae enim sunt « universae viae Domini » (Ps. 94, 10. Rup.), vel veritas et gratia, quibus novi foederis indoles egregie exprimitur, « lex per Moysen data est, gratia et veritas per Christum facta est » (Ioan. 4, 1'1). Multi sunt, qui veritatem explicent fidelifateim in promissis servandis, Deum fidem servaturum (cf. Alb. Bib. Sanct. Lap. Mar. Men. Tir. Reinkce), scd 2x hoc loco optime retinetur 1n significatione veritatis, et veritas Dci TY2N saepe est in psalmis vera. doctrina. (cf. Ps. 25, 5; 260, 3; 86, 11 hebr. Dan. 9, 13). Hunc sensum etiam LXX zAx0zz» vertentes exprimunt. Unde maior manifestatio Dei et amplior revelatio et magis intima cognitio Dei pro novo foedere efflagitatur, quae simul cum uberiore gratia et miseratione tribuenda sit. ii5, qui secundum Dei foedus ex nomine Iacob ct Abraham censentur (cf. 4, 2 ad domum Dei Iacob). Haec autem. dona. certissime speranda esse, ex Dei iuramento constat, « ut per duas res immobiles, quibus impossibile est mentiri Deum, fortissimum solatium habeamus » (Hebr. 6, 18). Promissa in ultimo culmine messianica, quae iureiurando a Deo corroborantur, vide Gen. 22, 16 seq. Deut. 7, 123. Ita propheta ex regui messianici eiusque bonorum contemplatione. et. explicatione. redit ad fundamenta rerumque initia et fausti ominis primordia, quae Deus sui consilii conscius lam priseis temporibus posuit, quae iurasti patribus nostris, ut unum Dei consilium quod omnia tempora complectatur innotescat nobis, quo maiore cum religione et admiratione sublimem Del providentiam supplices veneremur. 1. Quo ordine liber sit dispositus. 9. Quaenam potissimum exstent CoUmEnter pam subsidia . 1. Quaedam de ipso propheta proponuntur . 9. Quid Osee libro contineatur SECUNDA PARS. Cap. 4-9, 9. [. — PRIMA SCELERUM REPREHENSIO. Cap. 4. c) Ex calamitate salus. 5, 15-6, 3. . III. — TERTIA REPREHENSIO IN CONTUMACES. 6, 4-7, 16. a) Frustra in rebelles animadversum est. 6, 4-11 b) Ignis vitiorum vehementer accensus. 7, 1-1. a) Beneficia peccatis rependunt. 9, 10-17 b) Per idololatriam omnia perdunt. 10, 1-10. c) Poenis praeparatur resipiscentia. 10, 11-15 . II. — SEgcuNDA ANNUNTIATIO. Cap. 11. a) Praeclara beneficia spreverunt. 11, 1-7 . . b) Deus miserator dispersos colliget. 11, 8-12 . a) In calamitate Deus est exorandus. 13, 15-14, 4 . b) Salus describitur futura. 14, 5-9. 1. Quo tempore Ioel vaticinatus sit . 9. Quale sit libelli argumentum . LIBER IOEL. PRIMA PARS. 1-2, 17. a) Plaga locustarum. 1, 1-13. b) Maioris calamitatis portentum. 1, 14- 0. PROLEGOMENA De tempore Abdiae . LIBER ABDIAE . a) Clades Edomitarum. v. 1 9. PROLEGOMENA . 1. De Iona eiusque libro . 2. Quae fuerit regni assyriaci Goiiditio LIBER IONAE. CaPuT I. — à) Dias fugit. " 43. . b) Tempestas valida 1, 4-7 . c) lonas se reum fatetur. 1, 8-16. CaPvT II. gu a) lonas in ventre piscis. 2, 1. b) lonae oratio. 2, 9-11 . CaPur III. » ge c a) longe praedicatio . 3, 1-4. b) Ninivitarum poenitentia et salus. 3, 5-10. CaPvuT IV. a) Irascitur Ionas. 4, 1 "4 : b) Edocetur Ionas. 4, 5-11 . De propheta eiusque libro LIBER MICHAEAE . à I. — ORATIO PRIMA Cap. 1-2. a) Dei iudicis maiestas. 1, 2- T b) Poena destructionis. 1, 6-9. , c) Calamitas per Iudaeam serpens. 1, 10-16. e) Ne vana fiducia sibi blandiantur. 2, 6-11. a) Crimina principum et poena. 3, 1-4. . b) Pseudoprophetarum reprehensio. 3, 5-8. d) Montis Domini cxallatio: 4, 15 . €) s: regiaeque potestatis instauratio. 4, 6- 8 f) Via ad instaurationem. 4, 9-13 . g) Dominator ex Bethlehem oriundus. 5, 1-3. h) Dominatio eius beata atque invicta. 5, 4-8. a) Dei beneficia et populi ingratitudo. 6, 1-5. b) Quomodo gratum se ostendere oporteat. 6, 6-8 c) Át iniustis ct impiis ingruit poena. 6, 9-16 . €) Consolationi est spes instaurationis. 7, 1-10. f) Describitur instauratio messianica. 7, 11-17 . g) Instauratio spiritualis describitur. 7, 18-20 .
7:1
… Instead fraud, violence and lies reign (ibid. 6:9-12); the punishment will therefore fall inexorably (ibid. 6:13-16). In view of it, the nation laments the corruption of its children (ibid. 7:1-6); it expresses in a song, an echo of the poetry of the Psalms, its firm hope in the mercy and goodness of Yahweh toward his people; the nations will acknowledge the power of the true …
7:2
ASSIDEANS. - "Pious" men of Judaism in the Maccabean and Hasmonean era. The Hebrew ḥāsidhim "pious" (in the Septuagint 'Aou82[6]os) occurs often in the Old Testament (Ps. 4, 4; 11, 2 etc.; Prov. 2, 8; Mic. 7, 2, etc.); in the 2nd century B.C. it designates the adherents of a strong group made up of the best of the Jewish people, devoted to the strictest observance of the Mosaic law (I Macc. …
7:7
… the nation laments the corruption of its children (ibid. 7:1-6); it expresses in a song, an echo of the poetry of the Psalms, its firm hope in the mercy and goodness of Yahweh toward his people; the nations will acknowledge the power of the true God (ibid. 7:7-20).
… 18:5 ff.; cf. Tob. 12:9). At the same time, trust in the God who saves is required, as the Psalms especially inculcate, and above all faith in God and in the One whom God will send to his people as Messiah-Savior (cf. Isa. 62:1; 11; 12:3; Zech. 9:9; Mic. 7:7). Circumcision is the sign of entry into the state of righteousness and is prescribed for whoever wishes to benefit, together with the rest of the chosen people, from God's special governance. …
7:14
… It is a vast plain of volcanic nature, surrounded by mountains, sung by the prophets for its fertility, like Galaad and Sharon (Is. 33, 9; Jer. 50, 19; Mic. 7, 14; v. Ps. 67, 16 f.; Nah. 1, 4), famous for its pastures populated with bulls (a symbol of ferocity and pride; Ps. 21, 13; Ez. 39, 18), once covered with forests of admired oaks (Is. …
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… "remnant," which he will purify in the long exile and lead back to Palestine to reconstitute the new Israel; this, in due time, will be raised up and absorbed into the kingdom of the M., the end of the whole divine economy (Am. 4, 11; 9, 9; Mic. 4, 6 f.; 7, 19; Is. 1, 9; 7, 3; 10, 20 ff.; 40-66; Jer. 3, 14, 16; 23, 3; 24, 6; 30-31; 33; Ez. 11, 13-20; 34; 37, 12; etc.). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.