Under the name of Jerusalem, he prophesieth the progress of the church of Christ, by the conversion of some Jews and many Gentiles.
Vnder the name of Ierusalem, he prophecieth the progresse of the Church of Christ: 6. by the conuersion of some Iewes, 8. and manie Gentiles.
1And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, with a measuring line in his hand.Alzai i miei occhi, e stava osservando: ed ecco un uomo, che avea in mano una corda da misuratore.AND I lifted vp mine eyes, and saw: and loe a man, and in his hand a corde of measurers.Et levavi oculos meos, et vidi, et ecce vir, et in manu ejus funiculus mensorum. 2And I said: Whither goest thou? and he said to me: To measure Jerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great the length thereof.E io dissi: Dove vai tu? Ed egli mi disse: Vo' a misurare Gerusalemme per vedere quanta sia la sua larghezza, e quanta la sua lunghezza.And I sayd: Whither goest thou? And he sayd to me: To measure Ierusalem, and to see how great the breadth therof is, and how great the length therof.Et dixi: Quo tu vadis ? Et dixit ad me: Ut metiar Jerusalem, et videam quanta sit latitudo ejus, et quanta longitudo ejus. 3And behold the angel that spoke in me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him.Quand'ecco uscì fuora l'Angelo, che parlava in me, e l'altro Angelo andò incontro a lui,And behold the Angel that spake in me, came forth, and an other Angel went out to meete him.Et ecce angelus qui loquebatur in me egrediebatur, et angelus alius egrediebatur in occursum ejus: 4And he said to him: Run, speak to this young man, saying: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof.E gli disse: Corri, parla a quel giovine, e digli: Senza mura sarà abitata Gerusalemme per la gran quantità di uomini, e di bestie, che avrà nel suo seno.And he sayd to him: Runne, speake to this yongman saying: Without wal shal Ierusalem be inhabited for the multitude of men, and of beasts in the middes therof.et dixit ad eum: Curre, loquere ad puerum istum, dicens: Absque muro habitabitur Jerusalem, præ multitudine hominum et jumentorum in medio ejus. 5And I will be to it, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about: and I will be in glory in the midst thereof.Ed io sarò ad essa, dice il Signore, una muraglia di fuoco, che la circonderà; ed io sarò glorificato in mezzo a lei.And I wil be to it, sayth our Lord, a wal of fire round about: and I wil be in glorie in the middes therof.Et ego ero ei, ait Dominus, murus ignis in circuitu, et in gloria ero in medio ejus. 6O, O flee ye out of the land of the north, saith the Lord, for I have scattered you into the four winds of heaven, saith the Lord.O, o fuggite dalla terra settentrionale, dice il Signore, dappoiché io vi ho dispersi ai quattro venti del mondo, dice il Signore.O b flee ye out of the land of the North, saith our Lord, because into the foure windes of heauen haue I dispersed you, sayth our Lord.O, o, fugite de terra aquilonis, dicit Dominus, / quoniam in quatuor ventos cæli dispersi vos, dicit Dominus.
7O Sion, flee, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon:Fuggi tu, o Sionne, tu che abiti presso la figlia di Babilonia.O c Sion, flee thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon:O Sion ! fuge, quæ habitas apud filiam Babylonis: 8For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After the glory he hath sent me to the nations that have robbed you: for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye:Perocché così dice il Signore degli eserciti: Dopo la (vostra) gloria egli mi spedirà alle genti, le quali vi spogliarono: perocché chi tocca voi, tocca la pupilla dell'occhio mio.because thus sayth the Lord of hosts: After glorie he sent me to the nations, that haue spoiled you: for he that shal touch you, toucheth the apple of myne eye:quia hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: / Post gloriam misit me ad gentes quæ spoliaverunt vos: / qui enim tetigerit vos, tangit pupillam oculi mei: 9For behold, I lift up my hand upon them, and they shall be a prey to those that served them: and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me.Ecco, che io stendo sopra di loro la mia mano, ed elleno saranno preda di quelli, che furono schiavi loro; e voi conoscerete come il Signore degli eserciti mi ha mandato.because loe I lift vp my hand vpon them, and they shal be a praye to those that serued them: and you shal know that the Lord of hosts sent me.quia ecce ego levo manum meam super eos, / et erunt prædæ his qui serviebant sibi: / et cognoscetis quia Dominus exercituum misit me. 10Sing praise, and rejoice, O daughter of Sion: for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: saith the Lord.Canta inni di laude, e sta' lieta, o figliuola di Sion: perocché ecco, che io vengo, ed abiterò in mezzo a te, dice il Signore.Prayse, and reioyce ô daughter of Sion: because loe I come, and wil dwel in the middes of thee, sayth our Lord.Lauda et lætare, filia Sion, quia ecce ego venio, / et habitabo in medio tui, ait Dominus. 11And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee: and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to thee.E si accosteranno molte nazioni al Signore in quel giorno, e saranno mio popolo, ed io abiterò in mezzo a te, e conoscerai come il Signore degli eserciti mi ha mandato a te.And manie nations shal be ioyned to our Lord in that day, and they shal be my people, and I wil dwel in the middes of thee: and thou shal know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to thee.Et applicabuntur gentes multæ ad Dominum in die illa, / et erunt mihi in populum, / et habitabo in medio tui: / et scies quia Dominus exercituum misit me ad te.
12And the Lord shall possess Juda his portion in the sanctified land: and he shall yet choose Jerusalem.E il Signore possederà Giuda suo retaggio nella terra santa, ed eleggerà di nuovo Gerusalemme.And our Lord wil possesse Iuda his portion in the sanctified land: and he wil yet choose Ierusalem.Et possidebit Dominus Judam partem suam in terra sanctificata, / et eliget adhuc Jerusalem. 13Let all flesh be silent at the presence of the Lord: for he is risen up out of his holy habitation.Tutta la carne si stia in silenzio dinanzi al Signore, perchè egli si è svegliato e mosso dalla sua mansioneLet al flesh be silent at the presence of our Lord: because he is risen vp out of his holie habitation.Sileat omnis caro a facie Domini, / quia consurrexit de habitaculo sancto suo.
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Calmet
Another. The angel who measured spoke to Michael. (Calmet)
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Challoner
Walls. This must be understood of the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church of Christ. (Challoner)
Worthington
According to St. Augustine (in Psalm lxxi.) when the literal sense cannot be verified, we must have recourse to the thing prefigured; and thus what is here written, must be explained of the Church rather than of Jerusalem. (Worthington)
Josephus
A little before the fall of the latter, it was become so populous that the houses which had been built without the walls were enclosed. (Josephus, Jewish Wars 6:6.)
This multitude was a sort of pledge or figure of the crowds which should embrace the gospel.
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Fire, to enlighten and protect it. Arms will be unnecessary, Micheas 5:10., and Isaias 2:4. The Church shall enjoy peace.
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Calmet
Winds, Ezechiel 5:2, 12. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Glory. After restoring you to your own country, and rebuilding your cities, I will punish your enemies. (Calmet)
After they have enjoyed prosperity, they shall feel the reverse. Hebrew Cabod, (Haydock) means also "a burden."
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Justin i
Prey. Two years after this (Calmet) the Assyrians revolted, and seized Babylon. (Justin i.)
They slew the useless women: but Zopyrus betrayed the place to Darius, who hung 3,000 of the principal inhabitants, and demolished the walls. (Herodotus 3:150.; Usher, year of the world 3489.)
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Nations. We know of none who embraced the Jewish law. But both the old and the new world submits to Christ.
Calmet
Dwell. St. Michael represents the Messias. The latter preached and wrought miracles among the Jews, which rendered them inexcusable, John 15:24. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Silent: obey with reverence. (Haydock) See Habacuc 2:20., and 1 Machabees 1:3. (Calmet)
Menochius
Habitation, becoming man. (Menochius)
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Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls.... This must be understood of the spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ.
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According to S Augustins rule in Psal. 71. vvhen greater thinges are sayd then can be verified as the letter soundeth, the same is literally to be vnderstood of the thing presigured. And so this prophecie perteyneth to the Church of Christ rather then to the citie of Ierusalem.
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O ye Gentiles that remaine in confused Babylon of this world, flee from it into the Church.
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And ye Iewes that haue feloship vvith Babylon, leaue it, and serue God sincerely.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 1 Timothy 5
… v. 4 .) He was then immediately expelled from the common assembly, he was separated from the fold, he became deserted and destitute; he was delivered to the wolf. For as the cloud designated the camp of the Hebrews, so the Spirit distinguished the Church. If any one therefore was without, he was consumed,
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 137
… for that was given for a sign, and not for a work of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you [to admit]. Assent, therefore, and pour no ridicule on the Son of God; obey not the Pharisaic teachers, and scoff not at the King of Israel, as the rulers of your synagogues teach you to do after your prayers: for if he that touches those who are not pleasing
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.35
… For it is no stranger who is to avenge the offence done to His disciples. Recognise also in Him the Judge, and one too, who expresses Himself on the safety of His followers with the same tenderness as that which the Creator long ago exhibited: “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye.”
St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith 4.1
The fool, who goes astray, grazes the faith, as it were an eye,
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 102
Moved by your importunity and that of all your people, I have undertaken the charge of your Church, and have promised before the Lord that I will be wanting to you in nothing which is within my power. So I have been compelled, as it is written, to touch as it were the apple of my eye.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.4
36. Hear another passage, your sacred Majesty,—hear the voice of Christ. “Thus saith the Lord Almighty: After His glory
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 20.30
… For it is written, “Thus saith the Lord Almighty, After the glory hath He sent me unto the nations which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye. Behold, I will bring mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord Almighty hath sent me.”
Early Popes (Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) The Epistles of Pope Pontianus 1
… They also make the body of the Lord with their own mouth ( proprio ore corpus Domini conficiunt ), and give it to the people. For of them it is said: He that hurteth you, hurteth me; and he that doeth you an injury, shall receive again that which he hath done unrighteously.
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 115
… Let all flesh fear before the Lord, for He is raised up out of His holy clouds. And He showed me Jesus (Joshua) the high priest standing before the angel [of the Lord ]; and the devil stood at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to the devil, The Lord who hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Behold, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?’ ”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.13
… For had they known, they would not have been irreligious against ‘the Lord of glory ,’ nor have wrested the good words of Scripture. If then henceforward openly adopting Caiaphas’s way, they have determined on judaizing, and are ignorant of the text, that verily God shall dwell upon the earth
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 12.8
… O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. Speak to the cities of Judah . What am I to speak? Behold our God! Behold! the Lord cometh with strength ! Again the Lord Himself saith, Behold! I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall flee unto the Lord
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 119
… I will heap mischief on them.’ And after that Righteous One was put to death, we flourished as another people, and shot forth as new and prosperous corn; as the prophets said, ‘And many nations shall betake themselves to the Lord in that day for a people: and they shall dwell in the midst of all the earth.’
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1. AND I LIFTED UP. — Theodoret probably thinks that this pertains to the preceding vision and to the consolatory words about Jerusalem being restored, cap. I, 13, and therefore was seen by Zechariah at the same time, namely in the same night and vision. For it seems to be a continuation of the preceding vision. For by all these symbols God promises to the Jews the restoration of the city and temple, and to that he incites and impels them. Whence Zechariah sees the same angels here whom he saw in the preceding chapter. AND BEHOLD A MAN, — namely an angel in the form of a man: for he had taken on the form of a man in an aerial body formed and assumed by himself. And in his hand a measuring line, — by which architects are wont to measure the length and breadth of buildings; and by lines fixed in the ground, and extended on either side, to comprehend it, to build, so that the symmetry and proportion of all parts may be just. By this line therefore he signifies that he will soon rebuild Jerusalem. This angel appears to be the same one who was seen by Zechariah in cap. I, 8, standing among the myrtles, namely St. Michael: for he was the guardian and protector of the Synagogue, as he now is of the Church; whence the care of restoring Jerusalem and the temple pertained to him. A similar man was seen by Ezekiel cap. XL, 3, who was measuring with a line and reed the temple to be rebuilt by Zerubbabel. Thus St. John in Apocalypse XXI, 15, saw an angel measuring the heavenly Jerusalem with a reed.
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2. And I said (I, Zechariah, to the man having the measuring line, namely to St. Michael): WHITHER GOEST THOU? (what dost thou intend to do or measure with thy line)? AND HE SAID (Michael answered) TO ME: TO MEASURE JERUSALEM (namely the area in which Jerusalem is to be rebuilt. For Jerusalem no longer existed, having been destroyed by the Chaldeans about 70 years before. Whence he adds): AND TO SEE HOW GREAT IT IS (that is, it shall be, or ought to be) IN BREADTH. Tropologically, this line signifies the dimensions of the cross of Christ, likewise of charity, humility, and the other virtues, according to which the spiritual house is to be built, namely the structure of perfection, concerning which the Apostle in Ephesians III, 18: "That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth." See the remarks there.
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3. AND BEHOLD THE ANGEL WHO SPOKE IN ME. — This was the proper angel of Zechariah, who suggested these oracles to him and showed him visions, and therefore different from Michael, as I said in chapter I, 13. Wherefore St. Jerome, Theodoret, Haymo, Hugo, Lyra and others commonly count three angels here: first, the one with the line as it were a measurer, who was St. Michael; second, the prophetic angel of Zechariah; third, "who went forth to meet him," namely the second, so that through him he might teach Zechariah how great Jerusalem would be; many think this third was St. Gabriel; for he was the guardian of the people of God, as is evident from Daniel IX, 21, and chapter X, 5, where similarly Daniel saw three angels like these of Zechariah, indeed almost the same ones, and announcing nearly the same things. 4. And he said to him (namely the third angel said to the second, who was the guardian of Zechariah): RUN, SPEAK TO THIS BOY, SAYING: WITHOUT A WALL SHALL JERUSALEM BE INHABITED, — that is to say, Tell Zechariah, a boy, not in age, as Ribera and Emmanuel wish (for he was very old, says St. Epiphanius, Dorotheus, Isidore, and indeed the Roman Martyrology), but in condition and status; because namely he was a boy, that is, a client and disciple of his guardian angel. For men in respect to angels are as it were boys, says St. Jerome. Again, a boy, that is, a minister. For Zechariah was a minister of the angel, through him the angel of God announced to the Jews the decree concerning the restoration of Jerusalem. Thus in Luke I, 69, David is called a boy, that is, a minister of God: "He hath raised up, he says, a horn of salvation to us in the house of David his boy." Likewise Jacob, in the same place verse 14: "He hath received, he says, Israel his boy." Acts IV, 27, Jesus is called a boy, that is, a minister of God. Thus in Genesis XXIV, 52, the servant of Abraham, though old, is called his boy. It is a catachresis: for boys are accustomed to serve men and the aged. The sense therefore is, that is to say, O angel, tell thy client Zechariah: Thou, seeing the first angel, namely Michael with the line, didst think Jerusalem was to be rebuilt small, as if its small line could encompass it; but know that thou art deceived: for I predict and promise to thee and thine that Jerusalem shall be so great and so full of citizens that its walls shall not be able to contain them. For the line which thou seest, although it appears small, because it is thin and rolled up in a ball; yet if it be unrolled, as it shall be in the measuring, it will encompass a vast area, which will contain a great city; and the city itself, although great, shall not contain its inhabitants, so great shall be their multitude; wherefore through suburbs and villages near the city they shall be forced to dwell. From this place St. Gregory, homily 34 in the Gospel, teaches that angels send lesser angels: "For when, he says, an angel says to an angel: Run and speak to this boy, there is no doubt that one sends another. But those things which are sent are lesser, those which send are greater." Hence also the Scholastics received what they teach concerning the speech of angels. WITHOUT A WALL. — In Hebrew perazot, that is, villages, that is, like villages without a wall shall Jerusalem be inhabited: because there shall be so great a multitude of citizens that the city cannot contain them. Wherefore they shall build suburbs and villages adjoining the city, and through these they shall extend and spread themselves very far. Whence some thus expound without a wall, that is, outside the wall. For thus it is said in Joshua chapter XVII, 5: "The lines of Manasseh fell without the land of Gilead," that is, besides and outside the land of Gilead. He does not therefore deny that Jerusalem is to be surrounded by a wall, as some wish, who therefore want it to be taken literally of the Church. Neither does he correct Michael wishing to measure Jerusalem with a line, as others expound, that is to say, Do not measure it: for it is not to be measured with a line: for it is to be built without walls and to be expanded on all sides. For what angel would correct Michael, the prince of all angels? But the sense is, that is to say, Although Jerusalem is immediately to be surrounded by a wall on account of fear of neighboring nations, as is evident from Nehemiah IV, 17; yet so great a throng of men shall flow into it, that many citizens shall be forced to dwell outside the walls in neighboring villages and suburbs. Thus indeed it came to pass: for they dwelt in Bezeta, that is, in the new city, until King Agrippa began to surround these suburbs with a wall, as Josephus testifies in book VI of the Wars, chapter VI. Mystically, this is more truly in the Church, which is inhabited without a wall: because it is spread throughout the whole world. For to it from every direction has flowed an innumerable multitude of the faithful, both of men, that is, of the just, and of beasts, that is, of the carnal, who after the manner of beasts gape for the earth. Thus St. Augustine in sermon 131 On the Seasons, and Remigius, Albert, Lyra, Vatable, Arias here. Again the Church, equally as a holy soul, is perazot, that is, a village, on account of its pleasantness, freedom and fertility. For it abounds in spiritual grain, wine, oil, fruits, beasts and animals of every kind, fields, vineyards, gardens, trees, fountains, etc. What wonder? This is the village of God, erected by His hands, increased, adorned. Thus the same propagation of the Church through the dilation of Jerusalem, he depicts symbolically in Jeremiah chapter XXXI, 38, and Isaiah chapter XLIX, 20: "The place is too narrow for me, make room for me that I may dwell." Indeed St. Jerome in Jonah asserts that the old Jerusalem almost always bears the new in Holy Scripture; for everywhere this has been given to it as it were as a burden that it should present and reflect the Church of Christ in itself, as its image and type, indeed its mother. Wherefore in the Liturgy of St. James, Jerusalem is called the Mother of Churches; just as in Romans XI, 18, the ancient Patriarchs are called the root of the Church, which bears the faithful from the gentiles. Thus St. Augustine in the Preface to Psalm CXXVI, says that Solomon bears the figure of Christ, so that in those things which Scripture commemorates concerning his kingdom, Solomon is not so much the person as he himself personating Christ; and therefore both ought to be understood: because the figured thing cannot be perceived without that which figures it. Thus here the substratum, or foundation of the letter is the restoration of earthly Jerusalem, upon which is typically built the structure of the Christian Church. Thus Fernandius in vision XXX. Anagogically, Jerusalem and the heavenly paradise is encircled by the fire of purgatory, through which all must pass as it were into heaven, so that they may be proved whether they have anything impure; and if they have anything, let them be purified, according to that in I Corinthians III, 13: "The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is, etc., if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." To these things Origen, St. Basil, Lactantius, St. Ambrose and Rupert from this place and similar ones have held the opinion that before heaven in the aether there are very great fires through which all going to heaven must pass and be purified, even St. Peter and Paul; concerning which opinion what is to be judged I have said in I Corinthians III, 12. Finally Christ the Judge, and the saints on the day of judgment shall be encircled by the fire of the conflagration of the world, which shall then wrap the impious and the damned in the depths, concerning which Psalm XLIX, 2: "Fire shall burn before Him, and a mighty tempest shall be round about Him." AND IN GLORY SHALL I BE IN THE MIDST OF HER. — In Hebrew לכבוד lecabod, that is, unto glory; the Septuagint, unto glory, for glory, in place of glory; the Chaldean, I shall place my glorious majesty in the midst of her. Now this glory can be taken in two ways: first, passively, that is to say, I shall be in glory, that is, I shall be glorified and worshipped in Jerusalem through the worship of latria: thus St. Jerome, Lyra and Dionysius. Second, and better, actively, that is to say, I shall glorify Jerusalem, I shall bring glory to her: thus Cyril, Theodoret, Haymo, Vatable and Ribera, Sanchez and others. For God dwelling in Jerusalem through His worship, law, oracles, miracles, guardianship and protection, made her renowned and glorious among all nations, as Josephus testifies in book XII of the Antiquities, chapter XXVI. God therefore was the glory of Jerusalem, according to that in Jeremiah II, 11: "But my people have changed their glory," that is, their glorious God, "into an idol." Hence that in Psalm LXXXVI, 9: "Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God." And Psalm XLVII, 1: "Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. The city of the great king is founded with exultation by all the earth. The sides of the north, the city of the great king." Thus Theodoret. Secondly, some, such as a Castro, understand by the glory of Jerusalem the ark of the covenant; on account of it being captured by the Philistines, the pregnant daughter-in-law of Heli, shaken by grief and giving birth, called the boy Ichabod, saying: "The glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God is taken," 1 Kings IV, 21, so that the sense is: I God will be to Jerusalem a wall of fire without, and within in the midst of it I will be to it in place of the ark. For just as all ran to the ark, about to adore and invoke God sitting upon it in the mercy seat, and from there God governed the city: so he promises here to be in place of the ark (which before the captivity Jeremias had carried out of Jerusalem and hidden, as it is said II Maccabees II, 5) and in place of the soul in the midst of Jerusalem, so that he might animate, cherish, govern and rule all the citizens and inhabitants from there. Moreover God was then otherwise the glory of Jerusalem, especially when having assumed flesh he appeared visibly in it, taught, worked miracles, and instituted his Church. Thus Vatablus. Wherefore allegorically, and rather tropologically, God through Christ is the glory of the Church. For how great is its glory, that its head is Christ, that is the incarnate Word, God man? how great is its glory, the heavenly life of Christ, his doctrine, the Gospel, the sacraments, grace, which he continually pours into each of the faithful as his members, by which he leads them to beatitude and eternal glory? This glory of the Church Isaiah depicts graphically under the type of Jerusalem, cap. LX, 1: "Arise, he says, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see: all these are gathered together, they are come to thee," etc. Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Albert and Remigius expound this passage concerning the Church. Wherefore allegorically, and tropologically, the wall of fire of the Church, and of any of the faithful in particular, are first, guardian angels. For concerning these the Psalmist says, and from him St. Paul in Hebrews I, 7: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." Thus the holy angels in the form of horses and chariots of fire defended Eliseus against the army of the Syrians, IV Kings VI, 18. Thus the same angels snatched Elias in a fiery chariot, to which demons dared not approach, up to heaven, IV Kings II, 41. Secondly, the Holy Spirit, who descended upon the Apostles and the Church in the form of fire at Pentecost, whom Christ had already promised before, saying: "I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?" Luke XII, 49. By the symbol of this thing the same Holy Spirit through an angel led the Hebrews out of Egypt, and through the desert to the promised land in the form of a column of fire and cloud, which went before the camp and was the guide of the journey, and at the same time surrounded and protected it from enemies, concerning which Wisdom X, 17: "It was to them a covering in the day, and a light of stars in the night." Burning and girded with this fire of charity, St. Lawrence laughed at Valerian, and his fires and gridirons.
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5. AND I WILL BE TO IT, SAYS THE LORD, A WALL OF FIRE ROUND ABOUT. — The Chaldean: My word will be to it, says the Lord, as a wall of fire surrounding it round about. It is an occupation: for it meets and forestalls a tacit objection, as if to say: Do not marvel, O Zacharias, that I said Jerusalem to be inhabited without a wall, nor fear from this that access to it will be easy for enemies: behold, I promise that I myself, your God, will be to it in place of a wall, and not a stone one, but a fiery one, as if to say: I like a wall of fire will surround and protect Jerusalem, and by my mere appearance will put enemies to flight, and gladden the citizens. He alludes to the flaming sword by which the Cherubim guarded paradise, Genesis III, 24, which not a few expound as a wall of fire with Lactantius, lib. II Instit. cap. XIII. For paradise was once God's Jerusalem, and now is the Church. Again he alludes to Psalm XXIV, 2: "Mountains are round about it, and the Lord is round about his people." And to Isaiah XXVI, 1: "Salvation shall be set up in it as walls and bulwarks." Thus Theodoret expounds it, as if to say: "By my kindness I will be to it a wall, which cannot be crossed or overcome. For he called this a wall of fire. For just as a great pyre cannot be crossed, so he cannot be overcome who is guarded by the grace of God." Because, as Rupert says, since it is written: "As wax melteth before the fire, so let sinners perish before the face of God," who will fear an enemy there? who will be anxious about an adversary? for indeed "God is our protector, a consuming fire," as Paul says from Moses in Hebrews XII, 29. the glory of Jerusalem, especially when having assumed flesh he appeared visibly in it, taught, worked miracles, and instituted his Church. Thus Vatablus. Wherefore allegorically, and rather tropologically, the wall of fire of the Church, and of any of the faithful in particular, is thirdly, Christ himself and God, who in Hebrews XII, 29, is called a consuming fire; for by his majesty and power he protects and defends all the faithful, and destroys their enemies by dispersion and ruin. Thus Theodoret.
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6. O, O, FLEE FROM THE LAND OF THE NORTH. — In Hebrew הוי הוי hoi hoi, that is heus heus, which is an adverb of exhorting and inciting to swift and eager flight, and therefore it is doubled, indeed tripled by the Prophet, so that he may strike great fear into the people on account of the great calamity, and add great spurs to the Jews to flee from it, as if to say: O Jews, who are the children of Jerusalem and Zion, flee from Babylon, which is northward to you, into which as into a prison you have been thrust for seventy years, and thence further into Assyria, Media, Persia: and thus you have been scattered into the four quarters of the world: flee, I say, to your homeland, return to Jerusalem the city of God, as into a place of refuge. For many Jews had fixed their dwelling in Babylon, as if they were to remain there perpetually, and there they had their families, merchandise and wealth, according to the counsel of Jeremiah, cap. XXIX, 5, as is evident from Joakim the husband of Susanna, Daniel XIII, 4. Whence with difficulty and not without loss of their possessions could they transfer themselves with their families to Jerusalem, especially because they feared lest the Samaritans and other nations should again plunder Jerusalem, as the Chaldeans had done seventy years before. Therefore he stirs up and encourages these to flight and return, promising that the aid and protection of God will be present at Jerusalem, so that no enemies dare to invade it. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius and Hugh. Furthermore the Prophet exhorts the Jews so seriously and earnestly to flee from Babylon: both lest they themselves and their children adopt Babylonian customs and superstitions, but that returning to Jerusalem, they may there worship God piously and holily: and also properly, because a new destruction of Babylon was imminent, lest it involve them. For Babylon, having been captured by Cyrus, and he being slain, and his royal line being extinguished in Cambyses his son, began to raise its head, and to aspire to its former kingdom and monarchy: whence it shook off the yoke of the Persians. Wherefore Darius Hystaspis again besieged it, and finally conquered it; and this in the fourth year of his reign, that is two years after this oracle of Zechariah concerning it (for this was issued in the second year of Darius, as is evident from cap. I, 1) our Gordon believes to have been accomplished in the Chronology. Justin narrates the deed at the end of lib. I; Herodotus at the end of lib. III, and from these Torniellus in the year of the world 3532. The Babylonians, says Herodotus, rebelling against Darius, were besieged by him and mocked him, saying that he would conquer Babylon when a mule should give birth. In vain therefore did Darius attack the city, although with all art and force applied, for twenty months, after which a mule of Zopyrus a prince of Darius gave birth. Zopyrus took this as an omen, as if the time for taking Babylon were now at hand. And so cutting off his own nose and ears and horribly wounding and mutilating himself, he fled to the Babylonians, pretending that he had been treated so unworthily by Darius, because he had advised him to lift the siege; wherefore he would betray to them the secrets of Darius, and be their general in battles against him. The Babylonians believed him: wherefore being made by them the general of war, and having received the keys of the city, he secretly admitted the soldiers of Darius into the city, and thus delivered the city to Darius, who demolished its walls and all its gates, which Cyrus had not done; and he also hanged three thousand of the Babylonian nobles on the gallows. Concerning Zopyrus, Darius made this pronouncement: "I would prefer that Zopyrus were not mutilated than that twenty Babylons should be acquired for me through this calamity of his: one Zopyrus is worth more to me than twenty Babylons." In a similar manner Jeremiah, as the destruction of Babylon by Cyrus was imminent, warns the Jews to flee from it, cap. LI, 6: "Flee," he says, "from the midst of Babylon, and let every man save his soul: be not silent concerning her iniquity, for it is the time of vengeance from the Lord, he himself will render recompense to her." Thus Tobias, as the destruction of Nineveh was imminent, warns his son to withdraw himself from it, cap. XIV, 12: "Direct," he says, "your steps, that you may go forth hence: for I see that its iniquity will bring an end to it." Tropologically, Babylon, that is confusion, namely of vices, errors and miseries, is the world, as if to say: Flee from the world and from the power of the devil to Jerusalem, that is to the Church, which is the mother and teacher of truth, holiness and happiness: thus Lyra and Vatablus. Again, flee to the state of Religion, to monastic cloisters as to a refuge. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 30 On Conversion to Clerics: "Why should not chastity be endangered in delights, humility in riches, piety in business, truth in much speaking, charity in this wicked age? Flee from the midst of Babylon, flee and save your souls. Hasten to the cities of refuge, where you may both do penance for the past, and obtain grace in the present, and confidently await future glory." and to experience its cares, burdens and tediums mixed with false joys, and when he saw religious men what an entrance to eternal happiness it blocks. How long do you prefer such great glory to hay, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven? I speak of the flesh and its glory. For all flesh is hay, and all the glory thereof as the flower of hay. If you are wise, if you have a heart, if the light of your eyes is with you, cease now to follow those things which it is miserable even to attain. Is it not better to spurn them with honor than to lose them with sorrow? Is it not more prudent to yield them to the love of Christ than to death? There is a robber in ambushes, from whose hands you will be able to protect neither yourself nor your possessions. Nor can it be provided for, because as a thief in the night, so shall he come. You brought nothing into the world, no doubt because neither shall you take anything out. You shall sleep your sleep, and you shall find nothing in your hands." St. Augustine rightly mourns, book II of the Confessions, chapter IV, his youth spent in those streets of Babylon, because when he heard his companions boasting of their shameful deeds, and glorying all the more the more base they were, he himself was also stirred not only to do the same things, but also to feign things he had not done, lest he appear more abject because he was more innocent, and lest he be held cheaper because he was more chaste. For indeed bad companions are a most contagious thing, when it is said: "Let us go, let us do, and it is shameful not to be shameless." O if it were permitted to ascend to a high watchtower with St. Cyprian, book II, epistle 2, and from there to look upon Babylon, that is the world, namely the various pursuits of worldly men, cares, business, conversations, running about, labors, trading, anguishes, tediums, crimes, miseries, disasters and slaughters; surely we would cry out: O how much emptiness is in things! O what a sea of miseries is Babylon! O how mad are those who choose to be tossed about and drowned in it! O, o wretched and blind mortals, flee from the midst of Babylon, flee this flood of evils. Behold even one city, or one house, or one family, how much discord you will see in it, curses, blasphemies, how many obscenities and shameful things in images, books, words and deeds; how many labors from morning to evening, how many anxieties, how much tedium, how many misfortunes! You will see this one afflicted with fever, that one with stone, a third with asthma, a fourth with colic, a fifth with pleurisy, a sixth with poverty, etc., a seventh with robbery, sterility, shipwreck, etc. If you look into souls, you will discern them far more sick and miserable, so that with Hosea chapter IV, you may cry out: "There is no truth, and there is no mercy and there is no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing, and lying, and murder, and theft, and adultery have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood." St. Fulgentius, afterwards bishop of Ruspe, was looking upon these things, who, as his Life relates, although he was born of a senatorial family, and was considered most fortunate in learning, wealth, the highest magistracy, clienteles, and in his flourishing age, began to ponder the brevity and emptiness of this worldly happiness, BECAUSE IN FOUR WINDS OF HEAVEN I HAVE SCATTERED YOU. — First, some expound it thus, as if to say: Flee from Babylon into Judea, because there I will enlarge and scatter you to the four regions of the world. For I will give you Philistia, which is to the West; Moabitis, which is to the East; Idumea, which is to the South; Samaria, which is to the North. Second, others better, as if to say: Flee from Babylon, because there you are not united, but scattered to the four regions of the world, through which you wander: return therefore into Judea, so that there you may coalesce into one people and your former commonwealth. Third, Sanchez, as if to say: I invite you, O Jews only, who dwell in Babylon: for I do not speak to those scattered into other lands, because these scattered ones are to the four winds, so that they cannot be recalled. Whence in fact only those returned who remained in Babylon, not those who wandered scattered to other shores.
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8. Because thus saith the Lord. — Sanchez refers these words to the preceding, as if to say: Flee from Babylon, because the Lord commands this. But all other interpreters refer them to what follows, and thus also the Hebrew, Greek and Latin codices begin the eighth verse from here. After glory he sent me to the nations. — That is to say, After I shall have gloriously restored Jerusalem through Esdras, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, etc., I, an angel, namely Gabriel, am sent to the nations, which you, O Jews, have afflicted, and which have aided the Chaldeans in the desolation of Judea, and have despoiled those fleeing from it, so that I may punish them and subject them to you, namely the Idumeans, Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, etc. Thus the Chaldean, Hugo, Mariana and others. The same was predicted by Obadiah at the end of his prophecy, and by Sophonias in chapters I and II. For these words are not those of Zacharias, as Castro wishes, as if he were sent by God to the nations to preach their destruction to them; but of the third angel, who began to speak to Zacharias in verse 1, and extends his discourse hitherto. For this is required by the connection of the text, and the Septuagint. Arias understands by nations the Persians, as if the angel here predicts the destruction of the Persians by the Greeks and Alexander the Great. But the Persians, such as Darius and Cyrus, did not despoil, but enriched the Jews. Thirdly, others understand glory from what was said in verse 5: "In glory I shall be in the midst of thee," that is to say, After the glory which God by his presence shall exhibit to you, O Jews, in the new Jerusalem and temple, he himself will send me Gabriel to the nations, so that he may subject them to you, which will be your new glory; and with much greater glory he will send my antitype Christ, who is the power and strength of the Father, so that to his Church, which he himself will begin and establish in you, he may subject the nations formerly hostile to you, and thus make one flock from Jews and Gentiles, of which he himself shall be the shepherd, that is to say, After the glory of Jerusalem and the Jews, there will succeed through Christ the glory of the Church and Christian nations. This third glory seems more genuine and attached to the letter; for it looks back to the glory which preceded, which he promised in verse 5. Thus Albert, Hugo, Arias and Sanchez: indeed also the Chaldean, for thus he translated it, after the glory which he said he would bring to you (for example) he sent me to the peoples who plunder you. R. David translated it wrongly, afterwards (that is after all these prophecies) in glory he sent me to the nations, that is to say, After I Zacharias have prophesied to the Jews, God for the sake of greater glory sent me to prophesy to the nations: for in Hebrew it is אחר כבוד achar cabod, that is, after glory he sent me to the nations. The exposition already stated seems to be the literal one, to which only this stands in the way which preceded: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts;" to which he immediately adds: "After glory he sent me to the nations," where the pronoun me seems to refer to him who preceded, namely the Lord of hosts. But it can be answered that this is a Hebraism, which you may soften and explain in Latin thus, that is to say, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, that after the glory of Jerusalem he will send me Gabriel to the nations, so that I may strongly subject them to him. Let us grant therefore that this is what the letter of the text wishes, which seems to touch upon the victories of the Jews in passing; but it cannot be denied that the principal sense is concerning Christ, to whom the Prophet flies, and therefore uses this phrase. Christ therefore is the Lord of hosts, that is God, whom the Father sent to the nations after glory. Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Remigius, Theodoret, Lyra, Vatable, Clarius, Ribera and others. Whence the orthodox doctors rightly prove against the Arians from this place that the Son of God is true God, and therefore the mystery of the Holy Trinity. For another Lord of hosts is here asserted by Zacharias to be sent, namely the Son; another sending, namely the Father. Hence also in verse 10, the Lord sent to Sion says: I will dwell in the midst of thee, where the Chaldean clearly translates it: I will place my divinity in the midst of thee. Now St. Jerome understands by glory that by which the Son of God was eminent in heaven, after glory, he says, of the divine Majesty, that is to say, Behold the condescension of our God; behold the Word of God after the glory which he had from eternity in the divine nature, deigned to assume the garment of our mortality, so that in it he could be sent to the nations, and redeem them by his death. For ignominies are wont to be more bitter after glory, labors after rest, sorrows after happiness. See Rupert. Eusebius indeed in book VI of the Demonstration, chapter XVI, and Emmanuel and others understand the glory of the humanity of Christ, that is to say: After I, Christ man, have shown my glory through so many and such great miracles performed by me, and likewise through so many appearances by which I showed myself after my resurrection from the dead alive again; finally after my ascension the Father sent me to the nations, that through the preaching of the Apostles I might gather the faithful, especially those who are to be and remain holy, and therefore are to be chosen for eternal life. For this is properly the glory of Christ, concerning which John VII, 39: "The Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Where note the canon of St. Augustine, book III of Christian Doctrine, XXXI: "What things are said in Scripture concerning the head," that is Christ, "understand them of his body," that is the Church, namely the Apostles and the faithful, and conversely. Thus Christ here is said to be sent to the nations, not in himself, but in his Apostles, whom he destined for the nations. For Christ in his Apostles as it were on horses traversed the whole world, according to that Psalm LXVII, 5: "Make a way for him who ascendeth over the west (namely to the western regions of the world) the Lord is his name." WHOEVER SHALL TOUCH YOU, TOUCHETH THE APPLE OF MY EYE. — The Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Septuagint, and St. Jerome in his Commentary, have "the apple of his eye," or "the apple of his eye," so as to speak of God in the third person, and to refer back to what he said: "He sent me to the nations." For to this it rightly responds in the same person: "Whoever shall touch you, toucheth the apple of his eye," namely of God. Our translator however rendered it in the same sense in the first person, "of my eye," because he understood this as God speaking of himself in the first person, and especially because he refers to the principal sense, which is concerning Christ, that is to say: Thus saith the Lord, namely the Son of God: after the glory of the Jews, namely after the Church which I gathered from the Jews, the Father sent me to the nations, that I might subject them to you and gather them: for you, O my faithful ones and as it were my firstborn, I so love, protect and guard, that I shall be a protector to the nations once hostile to you; or if they remain rebellious, I shall destroy them. Whoever touches you, touches the apple of my eye; for nothing is more delicate, more dear, more precious than the apple of the eye, and therefore nothing is guarded with greater care: for if the apple is injured, the eye is also injured and blinded, which is the light of life and the guide of all the way and action of man, so that the blinded man lives most miserably in darkness, and is like one dead. Whence the apple of the eye in Hebrew is called bath, that is daughter, because it is precious, dear, a matter of care and affection, and is guarded as an only daughter; and because it is as it were the daughter of the eye. Wherefore in the apple of the eye there appears the image of a human being, namely of a daughter or son. Hence the Hebrews call it by another word אישון iscon, that is a little man; because such an one appears in the apple of the eye. He alludes to Deuteronomy XXXII, 10: "He guarded him as the apple of his eye." Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Haymo, Lyra and others. Otherwise St. Cyril and Vatablus, that is to say: Whoever touches you, touches the apple of his eye, that is harms himself most grievously: because he brings upon himself the most bitter wrath and vengeance of God your avenger. BECAUSE BEHOLD I LIFT UP MY HAND UPON THEM, — namely upon the neighboring and hostile nations, that I may strike them, and give them to you as prey and subject them to you. Thus he subjected to them the Ammonites, Moabites, Philistines, Samaritans, Idumaeans, both at one time and another, and through Judas and the Maccabees. For the Jews hearing these oracles of Zechariah were soon to see this, and from the real outcome of these events were to know that he was a true prophet, and that he had received these things from God, as he himself asserts. Thus Albert, Hugh, Lyra and Arias. Mystically, these things are more truly fulfilled in Christ, who subjected all nations to the Apostles born from Judaea. Where note that the conversion of the nations is called plunder and spoil, because the Apostles plundered them from the devil, the flesh and the world, to which they had willingly subjected themselves and willingly served, and subjected them to Christ. Hence Isaiah chapter VIII, 3, predicted that the name of Christ would be: "Make haste to spoil, hasten to take the prey." And chapter IX, 3, concerning the Apostles who were to convert the world, he says: "They shall be glad before thee as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors exult over the spoils taken, when they divide the booty."
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10. REJOICE. — He stirs up the Synagogue returning from Babylon to Jerusalem, to thanksgiving and jubilation, because it is to feel the presence, aid and glory of God dwelling in itself, so much so that the nations are to see and confess the same, and therefore are to bring their offerings and gifts to God in his temple; indeed not a few are to be converted to Judaism and are to become proselytes, according to that Psalm LXVII, 30: "From thy temple in Jerusalem kings shall offer thee gifts." Thus King Seleucus of Asia and other princes sent him great gifts, as appears in II Maccabees III, 2 and 3. Thus Remigius, Haymo and Dionysius. Mystically, he stirs up much more the Jews and all the first faithful in the time of Christ, that they may rejoice and give thanks to God, because they see the Messiah, that is God incarnate, visibly dwelling in their midst, and there founding the Church, to which he is soon to gather all nations through the Apostles. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius, Lyra, Vatablus, Arias and others.
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11. AND THE LORD SHALL POSSESS JUDAH HIS PORTION IN THE SANCTIFIED LAND. — Literally, that is to say, when God shall restore the tribe of Judah (under which understand also the tribe of Benjamin, inasmuch as it had coalesced with Judah into one commonwealth and Church) from Babylon, then He shall place it again as His portion, that is His hereditary inheritance, in the holy land, namely in Judaea, which is holy both on account of the holy temple and the sacred worship of God in it, and because the holy Patriarchs and Prophets lived in it, so that it might again be His peculiar possession and property, as it was in the time of Moses, who says in Deuteronomy XXXII, 9: "But the Lord's portion is His people: Jacob the lot of His inheritance." Mystically, Christ chose and possessed as His portion, that is the Apostles and other first believers, from whom He formed His Church, in the holy land, namely Judaea; for He Himself sanctified and consecrated it by His nativity and conversation more than all the Patriarchs and Prophets. Thus St. Jerome, Cyril and others already cited.
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13. Let silence be. — This is an epiphonema. For the Prophet, marveling at this beneficence of God toward His people, both the literal one under Nehemiah and the Maccabees, and especially the mystical and spiritual one under Christ, breaks forth into profound reverence and doxology of God; and proclaims that all should acknowledge, regard, revere, worship and celebrate it with fear, reverence, humility and gratitude: "Because," he says, "He hath risen up from His holy habitation." Tropologically, Arias: Let silence be, he says, all flesh which is the source and spring of all evil thoughts and desires, and let the stimulus of its raging be quieted and restrained by the force and efficacy of the grace of Christ, which drains the entire source of vices. Anagogically, let all flesh be silent before the face of Christ coming to judgment, because He hath risen from heaven and descended into the valley of Josaphat, that there He might judge the living and the dead, all who ever existed, exist or shall exist in the world. Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Lyra and Vatablus. For so great shall be the majesty of Christ then, so great His wrath against the wicked, that they themselves shall not be able to bear His countenance, but shall cry out to the mountains and rocks: "Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb," Apocalypse VI, 17. Then shall that paradox be true: "A time shall come when the damned shall not wish to go forth from hell, and the blessed shall wish to go forth from heaven;" namely this time is the day of judgment. For on that day the damned shall wish to remain in hell, lest they be forced to come to judgment; partly lest they undergo the public shame of condemnation before the whole world in the valley of Josaphat; partly lest they see the angry and flashing countenance of Christ the Judge; partly lest they be forced to assume bodies and be tormented in them, when already their soul alone is tormented. But the blessed on the day of judgment shall wish to go forth from heaven, both that they may hear the most happy sentence: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" and that their innocence, virtue and glory may become known to the whole world, by which it was once despised; and that they may assume their body and be glorified in it, and triumphantly accompany Christ gloriously ascending into heaven, and enjoy His vision eternally. For the glory of the body shall be as it were another robe and crown of beatitude, which the blessed souls therefore ardently desire, as appears from Apocalypse VI, 10 and 11.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Anc. — Nuntius affertur angelo Domini ab iis qui singulorum populorum curam habent, terram adhuc et nationes quiescere; quare angelus apud Dominum pro lerusalem intercedit (1, 1-13) ; cui Dominus optatum in modum respondet : se gentes deiecturum et sanctam civitatem restituturum et bonis abundanter donaturum (4, 44-17). In cuius rei confirmationem statim cernit vates, quomodo quattuor cornua quae ventilaverint populum Dei per totidem fabros sint confringenda (1, 18-21).
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Trimestri interiecto post verbum Domini primo ad Zachariam factum secunda vice ei affertur revelatio divina : v. "1 « In die vigesima et quarta undecimi mensis Sabath in anno secundo Darii, factumest. verbum Domini ad Zachariam filium Barachiae filii Addo, prophetam dicens » ; — cum nulla verba Domini subsequantur, sed visionis narratio : « vidi per noctem », ipsam hanc visionem designat vates ut verbum Domini rebus et symbolis expressum ; « Deus ita rebus, ut verbis loquitur, visio ipsa sive res in visione repraesentatae verba quaedam Dei sunt » (Rib.), vel ut Theod. haud incongrue advertit : « sive enim sermonem dicit, sive verbum, sive assumptionem (Asp), sive manum !, divinae gratiae operationem indicat ». ; Quare ex modo loquendi docemur, non solum visionem ipsi esse a Deo immissam, sed eius visionis narrationem pariter ad Deum referri ac proinde nos certos esse debere, prophetam in visione narranda nihil addidisse de suo, nihil perperam retulisse, nihil mutasse, in nulla re errasse, verum exposuisse visionem, sicut illam acceperat ?. 1. I. e. facta est super eum manus Domini et sim. 2. Id monere non erit inutile, cum in visionibus sanctis horiüibu: concessis accidere possit, ut quae viderint, ex memoriae errore vel defectü fglso referáht. ^ ————— misit Dominus ut perambulent terram » ; — cum somni vel somnii nulla flat mentio, supponendum erit vigili prophetae, ut iam Barh. notat, visionem esse oblatam. Nocte immittitur, vel quia nox aptior est animi recollectioni et visionibus; in ea enim quiescentibus collectisque sensibus phantasia vivacius concipit et intuetur sua phantasmata, praesertim a Deo vel angelo impressa (Lap.) et quia ipsa tranquillitas nocturna et caligo aliquid spirare videtur sacri sensusque rebus externis clausi aptiores sunt et attentiores ad eloquium divinum (cf. Ps. 4, 5. Iob 4, 413; 38, 15) ; vel quod ad symbolicam visionis indolem magis aptum et accommodatum videtur, quia nocturno tempore status ipse Iudaeorum afflictus, aerumnosus, obscurus melius adumbratur (Sanct. Rib.) ; « sed ut noctem dies consequitur, ita hac visione praedicitur illis ventura paulo post consolatio aedificatis urbe et templo » (Rib.). Cernitur vel oculis corporis vel interna animi acie ea nocte (hebr. adest scil. articulus; cf. LXX «^v» vóxza), quae scil. diem vigesimum quartum inchoabat, vir insidens super equum rufum (hebr.) et stans inter myrtos, quae erant in profunda valle vel ad lacum vel aquam profundam ', undique myrtis septam. Amant enim myrti loca humida secundum illud Virgilii : « et amantes littora myrtos » (Rib.). Post eum cernuntur alii equites vecti equis rufis, variis et albis; ita enim equos simul cum equitibus intelligi, omnes interpretes consentiunt et aperte ex v. 10 et 11 colligitur, quo omnes loquentes inducuntur. Disceptari potest, cuiusnam coloris sint equi Q'p*i» ; vox haec non occurrit risi Is. 16, 8 ; sed ibi flagella vitis vel palmites dicuntur. Explicant multi ex arabico et voce «ognata soreq (Is. 5, 2. Ier. 2, 21 : vitis cum uvis suco rubro et praestanti impletis) de colore rutilo, fusco (cf. Ges. Thes. p. 1342. Fürst C. p. 1211), de rubedine clara ct nitente vel de colore gilvo, qui sit flavo proximus, sed dilutior (cf. Ros.). Verum LXX praebent Qapot xzi xotxiAot i. e. starnei; cinerei instar sturni (staargrau, aschgrau) et maculis parvis variegati — sed videtur adesse duplex versio unius vocis, quia S. Hier. in sua versione textus graeci quam commentariis inserere solet, tantum varii habet. Syrus habet versicolores, uti Barh. quoque vocem explicat : variegatos habentes pilos. Keil equos explicat vapoix, uti 6, 3 et eundem colorem agnoscit, quem in Apoc. 6, 8 equus xAopóc fert. Sed non est, cur a sententia et versione LXX, Syri, S. Hier. recedamus, quibus vox ex certa traditione potuit esse nota. Vocem hanc disceptatam Chald. vertit Y'r'p ; sed quid voluerit, pariter sub iudice lis est ; alii enim 1. n5yo alii explicant a Uv umbra vel locum umbrosum vel. umbraculum, tabernaculum (cf. Fürst L.), sacrum scil. Dei habitaculum ; umbram etiam LXX et Syrus exprimunt ; illi praobent montes umbrosos, iste arbores umbriferas ; sed cum myrti umbram secum habeant, quid sibi vellet locutio : myrti in loco umbroso ? Unde praeplacet cum S. Hier. vocem explicare à nyp profundum cf. Ion. 2, &. Ps. 107, 94. Iob 41, 43. Zach. 10, 11; quam notionem etiam Ros. Schegg, Keil aliique sequuntur. Ag. et Theod. vertisse Buooc affert Fürst C. vocem chald. explicant de rubore (Bochartus) ; sed Buztorfius in lex. chald. p. 1986 scribit : « balii, spadicei vel varii coloris epitheton equorum pro hebr. Zach. 1, 8, ubi Hebraei dicunt, se ignorare quem colorem ista vox proprie denotet » ; Levy vero in lex. chald. vocem censet probabiliter ortam ex graeco xoxvoyaitne eique eandem attribuit notionem, censens Zach. 6, 2 in loco parallelo equos nigros legi. In tanta explicationum varietate semper tutissimum erit, veteres sequi interpretes praesertim si invenies eos inter se concordes. Sed dices : fortasse ex mera coniectura et graecus interpres posuit et alii eum caece secuti sunt. Bene fortasse dicis; at in aliorum quoque explicationibus non video nisi coniecturas. Neque coniecturam excedit, quod Trochon tamquam usui hebraico (?) conforme proponit : c'est bien plutót cette espéce de gris, dans lequel le noir est mélé au blanc, que le mot désigne. Propheta hos cernens quaerit ex angelo quem habet in visione hac comitem et interpretem, quid sunt isti ? qui sunt, quali munere funguntur, quid eorum apparitio et praesentia sibi vult ? Respondet ei angelus : faciam te videre (hebr.) i.e. intelligere et percipere, quid sint. Angelus hic designatur tamquam loquens 2n vate ; ita quoque v. 13. 44 et in visionibus sequentibus v. 19; 2, 3; 4, 1. 4. 85; 5, 5. 10 ; 6, 4; exprimi videtur locutio intime in eius animo facta, quam non percipit quasi extrinsecus ad se advenientem sed in ipsius mente tamquam natam et insitam. Unde ex eo loco aliqui collegerunt, Deum ita quandoque loqui per angelos hominibus, ut nulla appareat corporea species, sed ipsa angeli substantia sit intra hominem, cui loquitur (cf. Rib.) ; immo hominem possideri ac regi per angelum eo modo, quo energumenus a daemone (cf. Lap.). Verum hoc gratuito asseritur, quia in textu hebr. eadem loquendi ratio de Deo quoque loquente in propheta adhibetur ; uti Num. 12, 6. 8. Os. 4, 2. Hab. 2, 4. Sed certe quamvis Trochon aliique id asserant, non est plane idem atque ad vatem. Etiam LXX servant à AaXAóv à» ipol. Hac promissione interna accepta statim audit vates illum equitem inter myrteta stantem (v. 8) respondentem ! ad quaestionem, quam angelo interpreti proposuerat. Ex angeli promissione, quam statim alterius respon- $io excipit et adimplet, fortasse discere licet, quam celeriter angelus an- £elo suos communicet conceptus. Nam equitem illum etiam angelum fuisse, concors est interpretum sententia et plerique ei opinioni libentissime subscribunt, quam Hebraeos amplecti S. Hier. commemorat, esse scil. eum Michaelem (ita quoque Theod. Barh,), tutorem ac protectorem populi Dei. Is igitur equites alios nuntios esse Domini etlegatos declarat, qui missi fuerint ad terram perlustrandam, ut de statueius et conditione referant (cf. Iob 4, 1; 2, 2). Et statim isti munere isto fungi perhibentur v. 14 «crresponderunt angelo Domini, qui stabat inter. myrteta et. dixerunt: perambulavimus terram, et ecce omnis terra habitatur ac quiescit » ; — rationem reddunt nuntii isti angelo Domini quasi eorum domino ac superiori. Iste angelus certe talis est, cui populi israelitici cura est commissa (S. Cyr. Theod. M.), quia statim pro huius populi salute studiose Dominum interpellat (v. 12). Plerique interpretes eum censent eundem qui modo vir insidens super equum rufum nominatus est i. e. Michael (cf. S. Hier. Theod. Haimo, Alb. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Tir. Gord. Calm. Scheg), cui, ut praesidi synagogae (Alb.) intercessio pro populo et cura optime congruit, et qui eodem modo ac vir v. 8 designatur stans inter myrteta. Eum tamen alium esse volunt a viro v. 8 Keil et Trochon. Ille urget, virum describi tamquam primum equitum, posf quem alii adsint, qui igitur omnes uno ordine et eadem serie dispositi alicui superiori, qui e regione eorum stet, nuntium afferant ; Trochon vero eum propterea distinguit, quia in angelo Domini ipsum cernit Verbum divinum apparens. Verum hoc non obstat, dummodo rite percipiatur modus quo Verbum apparuit in vetere testamento. Neque enim ipsum per se apparuit, sed apparuit vero aliquo angelo intermediante, i. e. is qui apparuit angelus erat, sed qui nomine et auctoritate Dei loquebatur et agebat. [ta concors est theologorum doctrina duce S. Thoma (cf. Suarez, de angelis 6, 22) et quicumque ex patribus de modo apparitionis loquuntur, Deum per angelum vel in angelo dicunt apparuisse; de qua re vide Katholik 1882, II p. 149-169 et meam explanationem ad Is. 63, 9 (in libro : Erklaerung des Propheten [saias). Neque ullo modo repugnat, quod alii exhibentur post angelum stantem ; potest enim v. 8 ex ratione visionis ita intelligi, ut vati prius sit oblata visio viri sedentis super equum rufum et post ipsum i. e. deinde postquam ipsum vidit, etiam alii equites apparuerint ; post igitur, "'* non de loco, sed de tempore, uti saepissime accipi debet, etiam hic accipi potest. Accedit quod angelus iste eodem modo stans inter myrteta exhibetur, sicuti designatur vir v. 8, neque ullum adest vestigium, novam speciem obiici prophetae. Vel rem ita concipe : omnes stant una serie dispositi, ut vati rationem reddant itinerum suorum ; exorsus est vir v. 10; eum loquentem excipiunt alia responsione pleniore reliqui ; non proprie ipsi respondent, qui quaestionem nullam posuerat, sed cum eo rationem reddunt missionis suae. Unde nil obstat quin virum et angelum Domini unum eundemque dicamus cum plerisque interpretibus. Respondent pacata esse omnia, nihil adesse indicii commotionis illius, qua terra omnesque gentes sint commovendae ; cf. Agg. 2, "1. Quare angelus, populi comes ac tutor — S. Cyr. eiusdem angeli munus designari vult, qui populum Dei contra impetum Pharaonis tuitus erat EX. 14, 19 — Dei misericordiam implorat, ut moris abruptis populi sui ex- Bistat auxiliator ac sospitator; v. 42 «et respondit angelus Domini et dixit : Domine exercituum, usquequo tu non misereberis lerusalem et urbium Iuda, quibus iratus es ? iste 4am septuagesimus annus est» ; — ex vaticiniis enim antecedentibus praesertim ex oraculo Aggaei constat, salutem messianicam vel theocratiae plenam instaurationem iri coniunctum cum magna quadam gentium regnorumque commotione, regna iri . deiectum, gentes iudiciis divinis iri perculsum ; cum igitur omnia adhuc sint quieta, Deus populo suo nondum videtur salutis suae fontes aperire. Quare angelus exclamat : usquequo etc. desiderans, ut mora abrumpatur, ut omnia impedimenta removeantur, ut demum urbs sancta et regio Iudaeorum deserta a reducibus novo cultu novoque splendore exornetur. lam enim volvitur annus septuagesimus, ex quo urbe ettemplo destructis tristes ruinae iram Dei in populum foedifragum omnibus palam denuntiant (i. e. ab anno 588 - 519 vel 518) ; post annos autem septuaginta restitutionem fore certa spe ex Ieremiae vaticiniis omnes exspectant. Semel iam terminus iste annorum septuaginta erat expletus, quo facto statim sub Cyro redeundi venia est concessa et exsilium solutum (cf. 2 Par. 36, 22. Esd. 4, 4. Dan. 9, 2); fluxit enim prior terminus captivitatis populi et servitutis sub iugo Chaldaeorum, uti Ieremias clare indicat (25, 4 - 13),a primo anno Nabuchodonosoris i. e. a prima urbis expugnatione ab ipso facta et a prima multorum abductione (cf. 4 Reg. 24, 4 - 4. 2 Par. 36, 6. 1. Dan. 1,41 - 4) i. e. ab anno 606 et expletus est anno 536 ; in ultima urbis expugnatione demum templum quoque ruinis concidit ; quare a plena vastatione alter annorum septuaginta terminus computari poterat (cf. Theod. Rib. Sanct. Lap. 'Calm.). Quare interpellator angelus vel ex prophetae piorumque Iudaeorum mente vel ex proprio desiderio terminum hunc adesse Deo proponit, quo eum moveat ad sanandas urbis regionisque ruinas. Sicut enim angelis docente Paulo in novo foedere per ea, quae in Ecclesia Deo disponente fiunt, innotescit multiformis sapientia Dei (Eph. 3, 10), ita in veteri quoque revelationis et divinae miserationis consilium atque cursum sollicita pro piis cura considerasse ! censendi sunt, et cum sine speciali Dei revelatione rerum futurarum et divinae de salute dispositionis sint ignari, facile concipitur, cur tali modo apud Dominum preces fundant implorantes, ut omnem abrumpat moram, et rationem suggerentes, cur miserationem accelerari iubeat. Neque frustra fit intercessio ; v. 43 « et respondit Dominus angelo qui loquebatur in me verba bona, verba consolatoria » ; — intercessionem illam quam audit vates fleri ab angelo, ipsi magnae consolationi propter interpellatoris dignitatem et curam fuisse, satis perspicitur; illam etiam factam esse ex mente vel forte nomine prophetae, ex eo licet coniicere, quia responsio Domini fertur ad «angelum interpretem et comitem ! prophetae. Responsio est bonorum augurium ; « verba bona de futurorum promissione, consolatoria de praesentium necessitate» (S. Hier.). Qualia fuerint haec verba, statim in subsequentibus declaratur v. 44 - 17. Verum antequam pergamus, ipsa ratio et conformatio visionis distinctius est indaganda. Neque enim Deum frustra vel sine certo consilio talia symbola menti prophetae exhibuisse aliquis affirmare ausus fuerit ; sed Deus rebus et imaginibus loquitur et temporum hominumque conditionem eiusmodi involucris vestitam menti prophetarum repraesentare Bolet. tg Virum sedentem equo rufo angelum esse qui tali specie oculis prophetae sese obviam fert, fere omnes consentiunt et ex v. 10 non obscure colligitur. Etiam alios equites angelos exhibere, consequens videtur ad hanc acceptionem et revera plerique interpretes in iis agnoscunt angelos singulis provinciis vel regnis et populis praesidentes, vel, ut alii loquuntur, angelos provinciales (cf. S. Hier. Theod. M. Alb. Rib. Sanct. Vat. Lap. Sa, Mar. Men. Tir. Gord.), quales regionibus praeesse in Danielis prophetia aperte docetur (Dan. 10, 12. 13. 20. 21). Angelis quoque convenit mitti a Domino ad ministerium eorum, qui hereditatem capiunt salutis ; angelorum quoque est sollicitam gerere curam eorum qui ipsis commissi sunt, uti ex locis allegatis apud Dan. constat. Equis insidentes apparent, in apparatu scil. habituque nuntiorum. In equis cernitur celeritas, promptitudo angelorum (Theod. M. Barh. Rib. Sanct. Lap.). Varietas autem colorum apte adumbrare videtur variam populorum regnorumque eis commissorum indolem, propensionem, habitudinem (Rib. Sanct. Lap. Men. Tir.) ; nam ut notat S. Cyr. : «aenigma colorum de differentia cuiusque voluntatis et sententiae interpretari quispiam commodissime poterit » ; aliis (Sa, Mar.) praeplacet varia designari angelorum munia. Color rufus ad indignationem versus hostes, ad belli peritiam, ad vindictam facile accommodatur (cf. Theod. Theod. M. Barh. Rib. Lap.) ; color albus ad pacem, prosperitatem, laetam spem, benignitatem, indolem amicam et placidam ; color varius ad varios impetus, motus animorum inquietos, inconstantes vel ad varia calamitatum genera designanda assumi poterit. Ita ipsa externa angelorum species variam ac multiplicem gentium regnorumque formam et indolem effert, cum qua muneris eorum exercitium intime videtur esse consertum et connexum, ita ut duae hae acceptiones ad unam redigi possint. Neque significatione carere censendum erit, quod stare perhibetur primus angelus inter myrtos in profundo. Qui cum sit angelus tutelaris populi Dei vel theocratiae (cf. v. 11. 12), myrti in profunda valle conditionem theocratiae qualis eo tempore fuerit, exhibere videntur; stat in profundo ad statum: calamitosum et aerumnosum atque depressum designándum (cf. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Calm. Keil); stat inter myrtos, arborum genus odoriferum ac viride et hortorum decus et ornamentum, quare iam ab Isaia ad theocratiae instauratae amoenitatem et gratiam adumbrandam adhibitum (Is. 41, 19; 55, 13). Quare myrti theocratiam Deo gratam designant, quae suavem suum odorem per terram transfundit, viriditatis amoenitate et decore suo terram illustrat ; a qua acceptione non absunt, qui viros bonos ac sanctos myrtis designari volunt (cf. Rib. Sanct. Lap.) !, « redolentia devotionis in oratione et virore virtutis in opere » (Alb.) praeclaros. Myrtum Theod. ad consolationem Iudaeis futuram refert; nam «est planta odorata babens vim morbos calidos refrigerandi (xà 0£ppu.a tà» xa0Àv xzvadóyew) ». Cum angeli tutelares provinciarum et regionum ex omni terrae parte ad angelum synagogae conveniant (v. 41), optime eo symbolo declaratur, omnia regna omnesque eventus ad theocratiam i. e. ad regnum Dei inter homines collocatum referri ac dirigi a divina providentia, in una theocratia cardinem verti ac centrum adesse omnium. Sicuti symbolo montis Domini elevati super omnes colles ad quem omnes populi confluunt (cf. Mich. 4, 4. Is. 2, 2), ita hoc nuntiorum conventu theocratiae dignitas, excellentia, propter quam reliqua fiant in mundi administratione, egregie delineata cernitur. Equos vel equites varia regna designare, iam erat Hebraeorum traditio, quam refert S, Hier. : « albi Medos Persasque significant, quia sub ipsis dimissa est captivitas ; varii Macedonas, quorum nonnulli amici, alii persecutores fuerunt; rufi vero regnum Romanorum cruentum et sanguinarium ». Praeter eam etiam alterius traditionis mentionem facit, qua rufi Assyrios et Chaldaeos exhibeant sanguinarios, qui populum captivum duxerint, varii autem et albi Medos et Persas, quorum alii clementes fuerint, ut Cyrus, Darius, Assuerus (Artaxerxes), alii crudeles, ut Cambyses. Reges quoque et gentes belli cupidas significari censet S. Cyr., « quae per totum orbem velut dispersae omnes provincias et regna sub sole in suam redigere ditionem connitantur, quales fuerunt Phul, Salmanassar, Sennacherib, Nabuchodonosor». Aliis tamen iuremerito praeplacet, non intelligi regna praeterita vel futura, sed angelos tutelares variarum gentium et provinciarum tempore visionis concessae (cf. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Men.) et coloribus designari vel regnorum statum sanguinarium, pacificum, mutabilem vel gentium adversus ludaeos indolem inimicam, amicam, mutabilem. Cum in Apocalypsi qui varias plagas infligunt sedere perhibeantur super equum album, rufum, nigrum, pallidum, aliis visum est angelos interpretari vindices et ultores, qui similibus plagis homines visitent (cf. Keil). At hic de tali angelorum munere non est sermo et cum reduces nuntient de conditione terrae tranquilla, nulla apparet ratio, cur in visione tamquam ultores et auctores calamitatum repra-- sententur. Reliqua vide ad Zach. 6, 9 seq. Nexum inter v. 14 et 12 plerique aliter adstruunt : omnibus scil. pace fruentibus angelum tutelarem aegre ferre, quod suus populus in aerumnis adhuc versaretur varieque turbaretur (cf. S. Hier. Theod. Theod. M. Alb. Lap. Schegg) ; at vix pax illa et prosperitas unquam in terra aderat, neque sufficit dicere cum Sanct. occasionem sumptam esse ex pace et tranquillitate, quae propediem futura speraretur, vel tali pace significari terram fuisse pacatam in Iudae- 0s eisque amicam ; carent enim hae explicationes solido fundamento, quod vel ex rerum gestarum historia vel ex sacris literis aliisque prophetiis adesse demonstretur. Quare id quod Aggaeus significat de terrae gentiumque commotione et salute futura, optime inservit ad nexum hunc declarandum. Ita simul haec visio docet, commotionem illam proximo tempore iam non esse exspectandam, et altero hoc vaticinio propheticum illud « adhuc unum modicum » ad longius temporis spatium referri demonstratur. Verba bona et consolatoria quae Deus cum angelo communicaverat, hic vati aperit sane ipse gavisus et « ex ingenti laetitia exclamare prophetam iubet et a Deo dicta cum omnibus communicare » (Cyr.) ;
2:5
… True, the repatriates are the foretold "remnant" (Hag. 1, 12; Zech. 8, 6.11; cf. 2, 9.14 [Vulg. 2, 5.10]), the Israel of the promises (Zech. 1, 7-17; 2, 5-17 [Vulg. 2, 1-13]; Mal. 1, 1-5; Joel 2, 18 f. 26 f.), the heirs of the covenant of Sinai or of David (Hag. 2, 5; which now has its full realization: Zech. 2, 16; 8, 8; Joel 2, 17; 4, …
2:9
… True, the repatriates are the foretold "remnant" (Hag. 1, 12; Zech. 8, 6.11; cf. 2, 9.14 [Vulg. 2, 5.10]), the Israel of the promises (Zech. 1, 7-17; 2, 5-17 [Vulg. 2, 1-13]; Mal. 1, 1-5; Joel 2, 18 f. 26 f.), the heirs of the covenant of Sinai or of David (Hag. 2, 5; …
2:15
… 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33 ff.; Deut. 10:18 ff., etc.; cf. H. Lesêtre, Etranger, in DB, II, col. 204); they could embrace the Jewish religion (v. proselutti); and the prophets announce their aggregation to the messianic kingdom: Is. 2:2; 42:6; 49:6; 60:3; Zach. 2:15; 8:23; Mal. 1:11, etc. In the persecutions suffered upon the return from exile (Neh. 5:8; 9:2; 13:1-3) and particularly by the Seleucids (I-II Maccabees) there developed among the …
2:16
… 1, 12; Zech. 8, 6.11; cf. 2, 9.14 [Vulg. 2, 5.10]), the Israel of the promises (Zech. 1, 7-17; 2, 5-17 [Vulg. 2, 1-13]; Mal. 1, 1-5; Joel 2, 18 f. 26 f.), the heirs of the covenant of Sinai or of David (Hag. 2, 5; which now has its full realization: Zech. 2, 16; 8, 8; Joel 2, 17; 4, 2.16 f. [Vulg. 3, 2.16 f.]), and they are blessed by Jahweh (Hag. 2.18 f.; Zech. 8.14 f.), while Edom and all who rejoiced at the ruin of Judah are about to be …
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.