十二先知書註釋 第 1 章 第 16/19 段

If you fasted or mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, and behold, seventy years, have you at all fasted a fast to me? And if you eat or drink, do not you eat and drink? Do not suppose, he says, that I gain any profit from your fasting;

for even if a thousand times over, lamenting and wailing, you keep it in the fifth and in the seventh months, I shall reap no benefit therefrom.

And that these things are so, the time of the captivity is a witness;

for in seventy years you offered me no cure through fasting.

Just as, therefore, in eating and drinking you enjoy the pleasure that comes therefrom, so also you yourselves reap the benefit that comes from fasting.

And do not think this teaching to be new;

for of old and from long ago I continued saying these things through the prophets to your forefathers and fathers.

For are not these, he says, the words which the Lord spoke by the hands of the former prophets? When Jerusalem was inhabited and prospering, and her cities round about, and both the hill country and the lowland were inhabited. Having thus shown the antiquity of the proclamation, he teaches in detail what the things are that serve him:

Judge a just judgment, and show mercy and compassion, each man to his brother;

not to take advantage of the weakness of the poor;

and, in addition to these, to abhor the remembrance of wrongs, and not to avenge oneself upon those who began the injustice.

But those men would not obey.

But they gave, he says, their back in senselessness. And receiving stripes, they were sick with insensibility.

For by 'a senseless back' he called their insensibility, from the metaphor of household slaves who are flogged and yet reap no profit from it.

And they made their ears heavy, that they might not hearken.

(v. 12) And they made their heart disobedient, that they might not hearken to my law and to my words which the Lord Almighty sent forth, in his Spirit, by the hands of the former prophets. But of their disobedience they plucked the fruit.

For there came a great wrath from the Lord Almighty.

(v. 13) And it shall be, in the manner that I spoke and they did not hearken to him, so they shall cry out, and I will by no means hearken, says the Lord Almighty. He alters the form of the tense;

for he speaks of things already come to pass as though yet to come.

For the phrase 'they shall cry out' stands in place of 'they cried out,' and 'I will by no means hearken' stands in place of 'I did not hear.'

'And I will cast them out among all the nations which they knew not'; this stands in place of 'I cast them out.'

'And the land shall be made desolate behind them, without anyone passing through or returning'; that is to say, 'it was made desolate.'

For he changed the form of expression, and says:

'And they made a desirable land a desolation.' These things he has recounted concerning the disobedience of their fathers and their punishment.

For it was not likely that, to those who had received the trial of bitter slavery and had lately been delivered from it and had not yet rebuilt their city, he should again threaten such dire calamities.

'And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying:'

'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy, and with great wrath have I been jealous for her.' 'This punishment,' he says, 'I brought upon her, exacting the penalty for her impiety against me.'

By 'jealousy' he designates his righteous anger.

For since he was styled her husband and called her his wife, he necessarily added also the name of 'jealousy' to his words.

For thus too, when beginning with her, he named himself, saying:

'I am,' saying, 'the Lord your God, a jealous God, a consuming fire.' Having thus shown the cause of his anger, he then promises good things.

'I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty, a holy mountain.' These things came to pass in a figurative manner after the building carried out under Zerubbabel;

but the truth of the prophecy all men came to know after the incarnation of our Saviour.

In addition to these things he also promises to grant a multitude of inhabitants to the city, and to bring them to a ripe old age, so that leaning upon staves they may go about the marketplace, and sit in the customary assemblies, and the streets be filled with children at play — which is wont to happen in populous cities.

For he made these things plain when he said:

'Old men and old women shall yet sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand, because of the multitude of days.'

'And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in her broad places.' Then he confirms his words, furnishing his own power as a guarantee.

'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be marvellous in my eyes? says the Lord Almighty.' 'For you,' he says, 'looking to your own fewness and poverty, do not receive the hope of these good things.'

'But it is fitting that you, knowing the power of the one who has promised, should receive without hesitation the things spoken, and believe that I will count my people worthy of complete salvation, and having gathered them from every quarter, will bring them back to their ancestral land;'

'to Jerusalem will I make my own manifestation.'

'I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they indeed shall be styled my people;'

'and I shall be named their God, not as of old falsely, but in truth and in righteousness.'

(9) 'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the house of the Lord Almighty was founded, and the temple since it is being built.' 'Having,' he says, 'the encouragement that comes from my promise, take courage and build the divine house, so that in it you may perform the services of the Law, and receive through it the divine graces.'

'And I will send forth all men, each against his neighbour.' 'For it was I who, on account of your negligence concerning divine things, stirred up the successive tumults against you.'

'But now, seeing your zeal concerning the building, I will give you, before all other things, the gift of peace;'

'and you shall enjoy also the fruits of the earth, the rains being supplied abundantly from above.'

'And it shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing.' For men are wont, when they curse, to bring forward those who have fallen into calamities, and to say:

'May you suffer such things as so-and-so suffered!'

and, when praying for good, they bring forward the memory of some of those who have been counted worthy of the divine blessing;

'Take courage, and let your hands be strong;'

'As I purposed to afflict you when your fathers provoked me to anger, says the Lord Almighty, and I did not repent;'

'so have I set in array and purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.' 'Just as,' he says, 'I showed the threats of punishment to be true, so also will I set the end upon my good dispensations.'

Having thus encouraged them, he again urges them to virtue, and prescribes what is to be done.

(10) 'These are the words which you shall do.' Above all he commands them to honour truth.

'For speak,' he says, 'truth every man to his neighbour.' Then also, to those who are contending over certain matters, to award peace.

'For give a peaceful judgment in your gates.' And to drive out the remembrance of wrongs from their souls.

'And do not,' he says, 'each of you devise the malice of his neighbour in your hearts.' And those who swear, to keep firm their oaths, and to abhor falsehood.

'For do not,' he says, 'love a false oath;'

'for all such things have I hated, says the Lord Almighty.' Then, since above he had said that no benefit is reaped from fasting (and he said this because of those who think that God is served by this alone), having taught all the forms of virtue, he legislates, along with these, fasting also.

'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'When you fast,' he says, 'do not be distressed on account of the abstinence from food, but rejoice on account of the benefit that springs from the hardship;'

'and both with fasting and without it, maintain your disposition toward truth and toward peace.'

in agreement, the three: that of the fourth, and that of the fifth, and that of the seventh, and that of the tenth;

so that it is clear that in the fourth, and the fifth, and the seventh, and the tenth month he enjoined a fast.

'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'Peoples shall yet come, and those who dwell in many cities.'

'And the inhabitants of five cities shall come together to one city, saying:'

'Let us go, indeed let us go, to entreat the face of the Lord Almighty.'

'And many peoples shall come, and many nations, to seek the face of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, and to make propitiation before the face of the Lord.' So conspicuous and renowned shall Jerusalem be, that those who dwell in the other cities, visiting one another, will urge and rouse one another to piety;

so that, leaving the things in their hands, they come together into this city, and seek the favour of God;

'I too will go, and will depart together with you.'

And this they shall do, not only those who trace their descent from Jerusalem, but also foreign nations longing to enjoy the divine help.

And these things came to pass dimly after the building that took place under Zerubbabel;

but after the manifestation in the flesh of our God and Saviour, one may see all land and sea running together to that city, and longing to behold the sites of the saving sufferings.

With these things also the following words agree.

'Thus says the Lord Almighty:'

'In those days ten men from all the languages of the nations shall take hold, and shall take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying:'

'We will go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' Thus did those from among the nations who had been counted worthy of the calling long for the holy apostles, who traced their descent from the Jews, believing that through them they would enjoy salvation.

So did the Philippians long for the divine Paul;

so the Thessalonians, so the Corinthians, so all the nations;

so did the blessed Onesiphorus run to the city, that he might render to him the debt of ministry;

so did the blessed Titus, so did Trophimus, following him even unto the uttermost perils.

But if, when the Jews also had returned from Babylon, some of the nations marvelled at the strangeness of their liberation, and believed their God to be the true God, and following certain of the Jews longed to learn the truth from them — this does no injury to what has been said by us, but rather bears further witness to the truth.

For the things of old are a type of the things that pertain to us.

And it is fitting that the image bear a likeness to the archetype.

So that, if this account, according to the Jews, is true, that one also is true.

But let us return to the sequence of our interpretation.

'For the Lord looks upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel, and Hamath within its borders.' Or, according to the other translators:

'And in Hamath which borders upon it.'

For He who looks upon all men, and not upon the tribes of Israel alone, will care for these also; and Hadrach is a city of Arabia.

And Hamath is the city now called Epiphaneia.

But the divine Scripture names Great Hamath as Emesa.

These cities, then, being illumined with the light of the knowledge of God, will do what is fitting.

'And Tyre and Sidon, because they were exceedingly wise.'

(vv. 3-5) 'And Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the mire of the streets.'

'...a king out of Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.' Tyre, he says, and Sidon, priding themselves upon their wealth and trusting in their fortified walls, shall be given over to every kind of calamity.

For the sea, flooding over, shall show some of their possessions submerged beneath the waves;

and others shall be consumed by fire, since the God of all pronounces this sentence against them.

And the words, 'The Lord shall take possession of them,' have this interpretation:

Since they separated themselves from the divine care, they shall have experience of His power.

And Ashkelon, beholding these things, and Gaza, shall be filled with dread, and together with Ekron shall continue in lamentation;

'because she was put to shame'—that is, Tyre—'for her transgression.'

'But indeed I will also make the kingdom of Gaza to cease, and I will render Ashkelon bereft of her inhabitants, and I will cause foreigners to dwell both in her and in Ashdod.'

For the words, 'Ashkelon shall not be inhabited,' refer to the men of that time, whom He gave over to slaughter and to slavery.

'And foreigners shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will bring down the pride of the Philistines, and I will take away their blood out of their mouth, and their abominations from between their teeth.' The chastisement brought by God is therefore the mother of benefaction;

for through it He declared that even the Philistines would cease from their former lawlessness and impiety, and would receive the knowledge of God.

For this He made plain by immediately adding:

'And these also shall be left to our God, and shall be as commanders of thousands in Judah, and Ekron as the Jebusite.' For, having come to abhor the sacrifices of the idols with which they were formerly filled, they shall place themselves under the care of God, and being numbered together with Judah, shall be distinguished like commanders of thousands, and shall become equal in honor with those who inhabit Jerusalem.

For these He called Jebusites;

for it was of old called Jebus.

'And I will set up a bulwark for My house, that none pass through nor return, and no oppressor shall come upon you any more;

for now I have seen with My eyes.' I will render My house an object of admiration, and being mighty I will fill My people, so that the enemies who dare to attack them shall not return, nor take possession of their homes, but shall receive their punishment from Him;

while the others, beholding the sufferings of these, shall remain at home in fear, and shall not dare to make assaults against the people;

for at the present time I have determined to exercise this care over them.

These things, moreover, received their fulfillment even in the days of the Maccabees, when Judas, Jonathan, and Simon were their commanders;

for after their victory they subjugated the cities of the foreigners, and settled Jews in them instead, and indeed prevailed upon many of those very people to learn true religion.

But the exact accomplishment of the prophecy was seen after the manifestation of our Savior;

for now, having renounced the error of the idols, both the people of Ashkelon and of Ekron, and the other foreigners, have received the light of the knowledge of God;

and those from among them who have obtained the office of shepherding them shine forth like commanders of thousands and generals.

Wherefore the all-holy Spirit, foretelling these things, also points to the Author of these good things, and cries out through the prophet:

'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; proclaim, O daughter of Jerusalem;

behold, your King comes to you, righteous and bringing salvation;

He is meek, and mounted upon a beast of burden, and a young colt.' These things have their interpretation made plain through the events;

for the prophesied King came, and by His own righteousness put an end to sin, and by His meekness overthrew the arrogance of the devil, and by using an ass's colt, He has as His worshippers the kings who ride upon golden and jewel-studded chariots.

Concerning this colt the blessed Jacob also prophesied, saying: ...

'And He shall utterly destroy the chariots out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem.'

The King of all utterly destroyed the chariots out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, dissolving their audacity and their frenzied dominion;

and He also utterly destroyed the bow of war and the multitude of weapons, by dispensing peace to the nations through the Roman peace, and granting facility to the heralds of the truth.

For when the kingdom had become one, the insurrections of the nations against one another ceased, and peace prevailed throughout the whole inhabited world; and without fear the apostles, entrusted with the proclamation of true religion, ran to and fro, and traversing the world, hunted men unto life.

And most paradoxical of all: He who used the colt, having nowhere to lay His head, when He willed it, gained mastery over all land and sea.

This the prophetic word also foretold:

'And He shall rule the waters from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth.' But I marvel at the stupidity of the Jews, who most shamelessly dare to refer this to Zerubbabel.

For that Zerubbabel did not rule over all Palestine, but only over Judea, even they themselves would agree;

but the prophet foretold that He who was mounted upon the colt would rule over the whole inhabited world.

Moreover, we know that the Lord used a colt, whereas no one, even to this very day, among those who have written of divine matters, has said that Zerubbabel did this.

The prophet foretold these things concerning Him, and the prophecy plainly received its fulfillment.

And what follows agrees with these things.

'And you also, by the blood of your covenant, have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit that has no water.' For those, He says, whom you have both redeemed and set free by your precious blood, these you have sent forth together with your covenants of salvation, so as to proclaim liberty to all, having delivered them from the pit that has no water.

And whether one wishes to understand this pit as eternal death, or as the error of the idols, he will not miss the truth.

For thus the God of all also says through Jeremiah:

'They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have hewn out for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.' In this way He designated the toilsome and profitless worship of the idols.

For being wretchedly worn out in the service concerning these things, they gathered no gain from them, but instead forfeited the true life.

'You shall sit in a stronghold, O prisoners of the congregation, and for one day of your sojourning I will repay you double.' For in place of those grievous bonds, I have put upon you other bonds of My love, most delightful, exhorting you to wait upon Me, and to be trained in My laws, and to be guarded by My strong care, and, in place of your former captivity, to enjoy together both liberty and life.

For concerning these matters, He said, 'I will repay you double.'

These He said He would bend like a bow, and grasp like the sword of a warrior.

Concerning these things the prophetic word speaks thus:

'Your arrows are sharpened, O mighty one, in the heart of the king's enemies.' But indeed also in the case of the Macedonians, as in a type, the prophecy found its accomplishment.

For the children of Zion, having rushed upon the forces of the Greeks, routed the many myriads of the Macedonians, and having raised a trophy, returned victorious, and rebuilt the altar that had been demolished.

And these things they accomplished, since the God of all fought on their behalf and supplied His invincible aid.

For this the prophet also says:

'And the Lord shall appear over them, and His arrow shall go forth as lightning, and the Lord God Almighty shall sound the trumpet, and shall proceed in the tumult of His threatening.' Wishing to defend them, He will thunder against their foes, and terrify them with lightnings, and using the clouds as it were for slings, He will hurl down upon them the stones of hail, and with these overwhelm them.

'And they shall drink,' He says, 'their blood, like water.' That is, they shall reap the greatest possible pleasure from the victory.

For He does not speak of the drinking of human blood;

for how could He, seeing that He forbids the eating of the blood even of beasts, both to those before the Law and to those under the Law? 'And they shall fill the altar as bowls'—that is, with the sacrificial offerings from the spoil.

'And the Lord their God shall save them in that day, as sheep, His people;

for holy stones are rolled upon His land.' For on account of the holy ones God will preserve the others also, and, as it were His own sheep, will deliver them from the wild beasts that assail them.

For whatever good is His, and whatever fair thing comes from Him: grain for the young men, and wine that gives fragrance for the maidens. CHAPTER X

Ask of the Lord rain in due season, both early and latter rain;

The Lord has made bright appearances, and He will give them wintry rain, to each one herbage in the field. He it is, he says, who supplies both grain and wine, so that the young men are strengthened by the grain, and the maidens reap the gladness that comes from the wine.

For here too he has set wine in the context of gladness.

Knowing these things, therefore, ask in due time both the early and the latter rain from Him who is able to give it.

For He it is who both supplies the rain and fashions the other things which are wont to arise for men's awe;

for He has made lightnings for rain.

Such things he called a bright appearance, as they strike men with amazement;

and through these too fruits are brought forth from the earth.

The true God, then, both works and freely bestows such things.

But those who utter oracles have spoken vain toils, and the diviners saw false visions and told lying dreams;

therefore they were dried up like sheep, and were afflicted, because there was no healing. Bringing the whole chorus of the devil into the midst—the diviners, the astrologers, the dream-interpreters—he both refuted their falsehood and pointed out their punishment.

My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit the lambs. For those who ruled ill I have delivered over to captivity, but those who were ruled I have brought back from thence, and I count them worthy of My care.

And the Lord God the Almighty will visit His flock, the house of Judah;

and He will make them as His goodly horse in war. And I will make them, He says, in the time of war, like some horse exulting in beauty and strength, advancing fearlessly upon the foe, and it shall have no need of any other help.

For from Him, He says, He looked forth, and from Him He set in array, and from Him is His bow in the spirit of wrath; from Him shall go forth everyone who drives on in Him.

And they shall be like warriors treading down mire in the ways in war, and they shall set themselves in battle, because the Lord is with them, and the riders of horses shall be put to shame. Neither shall they use foreign arms, He says, nor hire mercenaries;

For just as that mire yields to the feet that tread it, so those enemies too shall be turned to flight, and while fleeing shall be struck down, since the Lord of all directs this campaign.

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will settle them. And thus, He says, having delivered all their enemies to death, I will make them dwell in peace in the land of their fathers.

And showing the cause, He added:

Because I have loved them, and they shall be as though I had not turned away from them. This Symmachus interpreted more clearly:

And they shall be as though I had not cast them off. For I will so cause them to flourish, He says, that they shall have no perception of the captivity that has come upon them, seeing their former prosperity restored.

(v. 7) And they of Ephraim shall be like warriors, and their heart shall rejoice as from wine, and their children shall see it and be glad, and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. For being their Lord and God, He says, I will both receive their supplications, and make them victorious, and cause them to pass their lives in all good cheer.

And their children likewise, along with them, shall live in all delight, glorying in Me and exulting in My power.

I will signal to them, and gather them in, I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied, according as they were many. And they shall be increased into a multitude, He says, receiving the blessing of fruitfulness, so that, not content with their own cities, they shall be settled as colonists in other cities also, and shall become through themselves an occasion of salvation to others as well.

For this He indicated when He said:

And I will sow them among the peoples, and those afar off shall remember Me, and shall bring up their children. For seeing their earnest piety, He says, they will bestow all care upon them.

And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them from among the Assyrians, and lead them into Gilead and into Lebanon, and not one of them shall be left behind. I will bring them back, He says, both from Egypt and from the Assyrians, and I will make them dwell in the land of their fathers, and I will fill Gilead with them, and I will grant them a dwelling as far as Lebanon itself, and nothing shall stand in their way, since I will deliver over to destruction all who attempt to war against them.

For this the eleventh verse discloses:

And all the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall be taken away.

(v. 12) And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in His name shall they glory, says the Lord. Both the kingdom of Egypt, He says, shall come to an end, and the arrogance of the Assyrians shall be quenched;

and these, who once were slaves to them, shall through My aid become distinguished and renowned among all.

Let the pine tree howl, for the cedar has fallen. All you, then, who think great things of your power, and imitate the height of Lebanon by the vain show of your boasting, make yourselves ready for the punishment that is coming upon you.

And you who are lower than these (for these he calls the pine tree), beholding the destruction of the more powerful, bewail your own calamities.

For let the pine tree howl, he says, because the cedar has fallen. And interpreting what he had said figuratively, he added:

Because the great ones have been greatly wretched;

the thickly planted forest has been pulled down.

(v. 3) A voice of shepherds lamenting, because their majesty has been made wretched;

a voice of lions roaring, because the pride of the Jordan has been made wretched. He has said all these things figuratively, according to his own idiom.

Yet by lions and shepherds he names the kings and the rulers;

and by the thickly planted forest, the fruitless dominion.

And he said that all these lament and mourn, having thought great things against the Jordan, but having been cheated of their hope;

for through it he makes his passage;

these things, then, concerning the prosperity that would come to the Jews after the return, the divine Zechariah foretold.

From here on he prophesies the evils that shall overtake them because of their own transgression.

Thus says the Lord Almighty:

I am the good shepherd;

the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But let no one dare to belittle Him because He is called a shepherd;

for He, for the sake of our salvation, was named not only shepherd, but also lamb and sheep.

And why do I say sheep and lamb? For He was called a curse and sin, that He might loose both the sin of men and the curse.

To Him, therefore, the Father says: