Isaiah 32

Behold, a king will reign with righteousness, and princes will rule in judgment. And a man will be like one who is hidden from the wind and conceals himself from the tempest: like streams of waters in thirst, and the shade of a jutting rock in a desert land. The eyes of those who see will not be dimmed, and the ears of those who hear will listen diligently. And the heart of the foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers will speak quickly and plainly. He who is senseless will no longer be called a prince, nor will the deceitful man be called great. For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will work iniquity, to accomplish pretense, and to speak deceitfully to the Lord, and to empty the soul of the hungry, and to take away drink from the thirsty. The vessels of the deceitful man are most evil: for he has devised schemes to destroy the meek with the word of a lie, when the poor man spoke judgment. But the prince will think the things that are worthy of a prince, and he himself will stand over the leaders. LXX: For behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will rule with judgment. And there will be a man hiding his words, and he will be hidden as from water that is borne along: and he will appear in Zion like a running river, glorious in a thirsty land; and they will by no means be trusting in men, but they will give their ears to hear, and the heart of the weak will attend to hearing, and the tongues of the stammering will quickly learn to speak peace: and they will no longer tell the fool to be a prince, nor will your ministers any longer say, Be silent. For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will understand vain things, to accomplish iniquity and to speak error to the Lord, to scatter the hungry souls and to make the thirsty souls empty. For the counsel of the most wicked will think unjust things: to slay the humble with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the humble in judgment. But the pious have thought wisdom, and this counsel abides. According to the Seventy Translators, who said: For behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will rule with judgment, what follows must be joined to what precedes, namely to the words with which the previous section ended: Blessed is he who has seed in Zion, and kinsmen in Jerusalem. According to the Hebrew, the former prophecy, concerning those who were going down into Egypt, is finished, and now begins another oracle, namely concerning the coming of Christ and of his Apostles. For this king will reign righteously, not respecting persons in judgment, and his princes will rule with truth, considering causes, not men.

These things are according to the Hebrew, from which the Seventy disagree in most places not only in words but also in senses. For when the righteous king has reigned, and his princes have ruled with judgment, there will be a man hiding his words, a man who by nature is God, and he will hide his words, speaking to them in parables (Matt 20:21, 23, 24, and 25). And he will hide them as from running water, that is, from the people of the Jews, which, like water, is borne and drawn this way and that at the will of its teachers. This man, hiding his words among the unbelieving, will appear in Zion, that is, in the Church, like a glorious river running down in a thirsty land. For he will appear to the people of the Gentiles, which before suffered thirst for the truth; and the river of God will water the thirsty fields, the river of which it is written: The rush of the river makes glad the city of God (Ps 45 [46]:4). And in another place: The river of God is filled with waters (Ps 64 [65]:10). For he himself says in the Gospel: He who thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). Then they will by no means have confidence in their teachers, but will offer their ears to hear the Lord; and both with heart and with tongue they will confess the peace of the Lord, forsaking the foolish princes and their ministers, who imposed silence on those who believed in Jesus.

This is the third part of the threatening, in which he describes their liberation from the enemies who were threatening them then. And first, he foretells the liberation in the manner of prophecy, second, he recounts it in the manner of history: and it came to pass (ch. 36). The first of these is divided into two parts: in the first, he foretells the prosperity of the Jews; in the second, the destruction of their enemies: woe to you that spoils (ch. 33).

Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he foretells the status of the liberated, as to the equity of the king: a king shall reign, namely, Ezechias: a king shall reign, and shall be wise (Jer 23:5); as to the prosperity of the people: and princes shall rule in judgment.

And whoever is under his shelter will be as safe in tribulations and distresses, and in the tempest of this world, as one who, fleeing wind and whirlwind, hides himself in a safe place; and as one who finds the purest springs in the desert; and as one who, in fierce heat, when the blaze of the sun scorches everything, rests under a jutting rock. Where we said: like streams of waters in thirst, the Seventy translated: and he will appear in Zion like a running river. For the Hebrew word about which we argued above, BASAION (בציון), which means in thirst, or in dryness, and in a pathless place, the Seventy and Theodotion translated in Zion, reading SION, which is written with the same letters, for SAION, that is, thirst.

As to consolation in tribulation: and a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind, above: there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytime from the heat (Isa 4:6).

When, therefore, Christ has reigned, and his princes have ruled in judgment, the eyes of those who believe will not be dimmed, and the ears of those who hear, which before were deaf, will attend diligently, and the heart of those once foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammering and the mute, which could not utter Christ, will confess the Lord with full and open speech.

As to amendment in spiritual matters: the eyes of them that see, namely, the prophets, shall not be dim, as before, because of the sins of the king and the people, but shall receive clear visions from the Lord; and the ears, namely, of their subjects, shall hearken, fulfilling the precepts of the Lord given by the prophets.

The heart of fools, who formerly erred following idols; and the tongue of stammerers, the prophets, who formerly spoke obscurely and enigmatically: wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent (Wis 10:21).

He who is foolish will no longer be called a prince (1 Cor 1). For God has made foolish the wisdom of this world. Nor will the deceitful and perverse teacher be called great among the peoples: namely the scribes and Pharisees, to whom the Lord said: Fools and blind, which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? (Matt 23:17).

And also as to their consequent liberty, namely, from tyrants: the fool shall no more be called prince, namely, Sennacherib, to whom formerly they paid tribute, as is evident in 2 Kings 18:14. I will deliver them out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians (Ezek 24).

And they [our opponents] even joined in censuring us, as if we thought the opposite to the things that we have already written. But I learn that they say this also, namely, that recently we have accepted a doctrinal statement, or a new creed, perhaps, I suppose, because we lightly esteem the ancient and august one. "The fool will say foolish things, and his heart will think nonsense." However, we say this, that no individuals have demanded an explanation from us, nor have we accepted one newly coined by others. For the divinely inspired Scripture and the vigilance of our holy Fathers and the creed formulated by those who are in every way orthodox are sufficient for us.

For the fool will speak foolish things, for which in the Hebrew it is written: NABAL NABALA IDABBER (נבל נבלה ידבר). We say this in order to explain the words of Abigail, who says of Nabal the Carmelite: According to his name he is foolish (1 Sam 25:25). For truly the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will accomplish iniquity: he who feared where there was no fear, and practiced folly in place of wisdom, saying: If this man were from God, he would not break the sabbath (John 9:16). This the master of the synagogues does to this day, to accomplish pretense, for which in the Hebrew is written ONEPH (חנף), that is, ὑπόκρισις. Hence it is said again and again to the Pharisees: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites (Matt 23:14). And he will speak, he says, deceitfully to the Lord: Master, we know that you are from God, and that you have no concern for men; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? (ibid. 22:16, 17). They empty the souls of the hungry people, and take away drink from the thirsty crowds, neither entering themselves nor allowing others to enter.

What follows contains nearly the same sense as the Hebrew, and can be fitted to the heretics. For these speak a lie against the Lord, and pervert the hungry and thirsty souls, and make them go away empty; so that even if they have anything good by nature, they lose it through the fault of their teachers, whose whole counsel is to destroy the humble with unjust words and to scatter the words of the humble in judgment. In which it must likewise be noted that whoever can be deceived by them is humble, and clings to the earth.

Second, he describes the manner of liberation: for the fool. And first, he describes the affliction; second, the liberation: until the spirit be poured upon us (Isa 32:15). Concerning the first, he does two things: first, he describes the enemy who persecutes them; second, the persecution: rise up, you rich women (Isa 32:9). Concerning the first, he sets out three things. First, the wickedness of the king himself, as to the blasphemy of his mouth: the fool, namely, Sennacherib, will speak foolish things, blasphemous words, below (Isa 37:17). The mouth of fools bubbles out folly (Prov 15:2); as to the duplicity of his heart: his heart will work iniquity, promising good land to the people, to the Lord deceitfully, saying he has come by his command, below (Isa 36:10). The thoughts of the just are counsels (Prov 12:5); as to the cruelty of his work: to make empty the soul of the hungry, despoiling them of the things by which they ought to have been nourished, against what it says in Proverbs 25:21: if your enemy be hungry, give him to eat.

For all the vessels and weapons of the deceitful teacher and prince are most evil; he contrives snares to destroy the simple with the word of a lie, saying to the deceived people: Search and see, that a prophet does not arise from Galilee (John 7:52). When the poor man spoke to them judgment: he who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake (2 Cor 8). For truly Christ spoke judgment and righteousness to them, saying: If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me: but if I do them, even if you will not believe me, believe the works (John 10:37).

Second, the malice of his princes: the vessels, that is, the messengers and princes, of the deceitful, namely, of Sennacherib: a prince that gladly hears lying words, has all his servants wicked (Prov 29:12); and the execution of their malice: for he, namely, Rabsaces, about whom, see below (36), will frame (concinnabit), that is, compose, devices—cinnus is a kind of drink composed of different kinds of things; the poor man, the Jew: your mouth has abounded with evil, and your tongue framed deceits (Ps 49[50]:19).

This poor man who speaks judgment, the prince and Lord, will think the things that are worthy of a prince, saying: I came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 15:24). And he will be anxious for the unbelieving, desiring to save those who do not believe; and he will stand over his leaders, the Apostles, to one of whom he says: But you, a man of one mind with me, my leader and my familiar friend (Ps 54 [55]:14).

Third, the prudence of Ezechias in his reign: the prince, for Ezechias commanded that no one should respond to Sennacherib, above: I will restore your princes as they were before (Isa 1:26).

After the calling of the nations, when Christ the king has ruled with righteousness, and his princes, the Apostles and apostolic men, have presided over the believers with judgment, the prophetic word will be directed to the wealthy women, whom we must take either as the cities of Judea, or as the synagogues of that time, or, as most think, as the matrons of the rich men of the former people of the Jews, to whom, as to women lying prostrate after their ruin, it is said: Rise; and they are nonetheless called confident daughters, or hoping; and they are commanded to hear the words of the Lord, and to remember the days and the year, of which we shall speak in what follows, as the Savior himself says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me: he has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18, 19); and that this very remembrance may become for them, according to the Seventy, grief with hope, so that they may lament that they denied the Lord, and may have hope of salvation if they repent. For he says that the vintage is ended, and that after the last devastation, which happened under Vespasian and Titus and Hadrian, no other captivity will come, nor will clusters remain among the peoples to be gathered afterward.

Here he describes the persecution inflicted on them as to three things. First, as to the loss of fruits, stirring up attention: you women, who cry easily, rich, who have reason to cry from the ruin of their goods; or you women, that is, you feeble Jews: they that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches (Ps 48:7[49:6]).

And he sets out the determination of the time: after several days and one year: for tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me (Ps 21:12[22:11]). And he sets out the loss of fruits: the vintage is at an end, destroyed, the gathering, of crops, shall come no more, into our houses from the fields: the joy of the vintage is taken away (Jer 48:33).

Hence they are summoned to lamentation, and are commanded to bare their breasts and to gird their loins, because the country once desirable, and the fruitful vine, of which it is written: I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true: how have you turned into the bitterness of a strange vine? (Jer 2:21), has been destroyed by the ravaging Roman.

Second, as to the devastation of the fields, he prescribes mourning, be astonished: I have put off the robe of peace (Bar 4:20), above: and the Lord in that day shall call to weeping (Isa 22:12).

And he foretells harm: upon the land, above: briers and thorns shall come up (Isa 5:6) over it.

If those very persons, who amid the darkness of the present life shine bright by virtuous attainments—if they also cannot be void of contagion, with what guilt of wickedness are those bound, who still live after the flesh? If those persons cannot be free from sin who are already walking in the way of heavenly desires, what about those who still lie under the loads of sinful habits, who, abandoned to the gratifications of their fleshly part, still bear the yoke of rottenness? So Peter says, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" And it is said by Isaiah, "Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briars; how much more upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city." The "house of joy in the joyous city" is the mind of the wicked, which neglects to regard the punishments that are destined to come, in the gratification of the flesh, and going away from itself, it revels in empty mirth.

Over the ground, he says, of my people thorns and briers, or grass will come up. And the sense is: if thorns and briers have filled the land of Judea, which is the land of promise, how much more the other cities, which are full of joy, and which that saying of the Gospel will overtake: Woe to you who rejoice now, for you will weep (Luke 6:25)!

What was said above according to the LXX: Over the land of my people thorns and grass will come up, can be referred both to the heretics and to all the simple among believers, who do not understand Holy Scripture as befits its majesty. Hence we have fitted each to each: that the land of the people of God brings forth thorns for the heretics, and grass for all the unskilled in the Church.

Third, as to the desolation of their cities and houses, he sets out the desolation itself: how much more, namely, to be wept for, the city that rejoiced, namely, Jerusalem, whose lower part was handed over to the Assyrians, above: a populous city, a joyous city (Isa 22:2).

Wealthy women, rise and hear my voice: confident daughters, take in my speech with your ears. After days and a year you too will be troubled, you confident ones: for the vintage is ended; the gathering will come no more. Be astonished, you wealthy women; be troubled, you confident ones: strip yourselves and be confounded. For which Symmachus translated be made naked; there follows: Gird your loins, lament upon your breasts, over the desirable country, over the fruitful vine: thorns and briers will come up over the ground of my people: how much more over all the houses of joy of the exulting city? For the house has been forsaken; the multitude of the city has been left; darkness and groping have come upon the caves for ever: the joy of wild asses, pastures of flocks. Until the spirit is poured out upon us from on high: and the desert will be in Carmel, and Carmel will be counted as a forest. And judgment will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will sit in Carmel. And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness silence, and security for ever. And my people will sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence, and in wealthy rest. But hail in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought low with lowliness. Blessed are you who sow upon all waters, sending forth the foot of the ox and the ass. The LXX, for the darkness and groping which have come upon the caves for ever, translated and your villages will be caves for ever: what in the Hebrew is called OPHEL (עפל) and BEEN (בחן), which the Hebrews think were two towers in Jerusalem, lofty and very strong, called by these names. The first of them means darkness, or cloud, because it raised its head up to the clouds; the other, proving and firmness, or, as Symmachus renders it, inquiry: because the eyes were deceived in gazing at its summit.

For the Lord, that is, my temple, has been forsaken, as I said to the Apostles: Rise, let us go hence (John 14:31); and to the unbelieving: Your house will be left to you desolate (Luke 13:35). Palpable darkness has taken possession of the inner sanctuaries of the Temple and its secret mysteries, and they have become no longer storerooms for the vessels of the Lord, but caves for ever. For they had heard from the Lord Savior (Matt 21:13): The house of my Father shall be called a house of prayer: but you have made it a den of robbers. The joy, he says, of wild asses, pastures of flocks. This is to be understood either according to the letter, in that all things are deserted; or spiritually, in that, Israel having been driven out, savage men who have no knowledge of God dwell in Judea.

And the magnitude of the desolation as to the houses, for they were reduced to perpetual darkness, as happens to ruined buildings: and darkness: they shall grope in the dark, and not in the light (Job 12:25); and as to their fields: a joy of wild asses, which dwell in great wildernesses: a wild ass accustomed to the wilderness (Jer 2:24).

And this is to be until the spirit is poured out upon us from on high, which the Savior, ascending to the Father, promised to believers, saying: Behold, I go, and I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth (John 16). And again: Until you receive power from on high (Luke 24:49). And what he had said above: Yet a little while, and Lebanon will be in Carmel, and Carmel will be counted as a forest: and in that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of darkness and gloom the eyes of the blind will see (above, Isa 29), he now repeats in other words: that the wilderness of the nations is turned into the riches of Israel, and Israel is counted among the nations: at which time judgment will have dwelt in the desert, the Lord and Savior, to whom the Father has given all judgment (John 3). And righteousness will rest in Carmel, of which it was said above: And the desert will be in Carmel: that judgment and righteousness dwell in the desert, and rest in Carmel, which before was called the desert.

Here he describes their liberation. And first, he sets out the consolation of the Jews; second, the destruction of their enemies: but hail (Isa 32:19); third, the prophet's congratulation: blessed are you that sow (Isa 32:20). Concerning the first, he sets out three things. First, divine consolation: these things, I say, will happen, when Sennacherib lays waste the land, until the spirit, divine consolation, be poured upon us: you shall know that I am the Lord, for I will send spirit into you, and you shall live (Ezek 37:5–6).

Second, the manner and order of the consolation, as to the fertility of the land: and the desert shall be as Carmel, and Carmel shall be counted for a forest; that is, your land, formerly a desert, will be so fertile like Carmel, that Carmel's fertility will be considered barrenness in comparison to your land; above (Isa 29:19) has the same thing.

As the observation of justice: and judgment shall dwell, above: Zion shall be redeemed in judgment (Isa 1:27).

He that suffers from a flux of seed is pronounced unclean, because, being addicted to much speaking, he defiles himself by that which, had it been orderly issued, might have produced the offspring of right thought in the hearts of hearers; and, while he incautiously spends himself in loquacity, he sheds his seed not so as to serve for generation, but unto uncleanness.

It is the practice of the impertinent ever to answer by the opposite what is said aright, lest, if they assent to the things asserted, they should seem inferior. And to these the words of the righteous, however small in number they have been heard, are 'much,' in that as they cut their evil habits to the quick, they fall heavy upon the hearing, whence that is even wrested to a crime, which by a right declaration is pronounced against crimes. For the very person, who had delivered strong sentences on grounds of truth, Zophar rebukes and calls full of words, in that, whereas wisdom reprimands sins by the mouth of the righteous, it sounds like superfluity of talkativeness to the ears of the foolish. For froward men account nothing right, but what they themselves think, and they reckon the words of the righteous idle in the degree that they find them differing from their own notions. Nor yet did Zophar deliver a fallacious sentiment, 'that a man full of words could never be justified,' in that so long as anyone lets himself out in words, the gravity of silence being gone, he parts with the safe keeping of the soul. For hence it is written, "And the work of righteousness, silence." Hence Solomon saith, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit in talking, is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." Hence he says again, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." Hence the Psalmist bears witness, saying, "Let not a man full of words be established upon the earth"; but the worth of a true sentence is lost, when it is not delivered under the keeping of discretion. Thus it is a certain truth, that 'a man full of words cannot be justified,' but a good thing is not well said, because there is no heed taken to whom it is spoken. For a true sentence against the wicked, if it is aimed at the virtue of the good, loses its own virtue, and bounds back with blunted point, in proportion as that is strong which it hits. But that the wicked cannot hear good words with patience, and that wherein they neglect the amending of their life, they brace themselves up to words of rejoinder, Zophar plainly instructs us.

The work of righteousness too will be peace, which, according to the Apostle, surpasses all understanding (Phil 4). And the service of righteousness silence, so that they may worship the Lord not with the much speaking of the Jews but with the brevity of faith; and may rest secure in eternal peace, and in their tabernacles may be the riches of which the Apostle spoke (1 Cor 1:5): I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ, because in everything you have been made rich in him, in all speech and in all knowledge.

And as to the tranquility of peace: and the work, that is, the effect, of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness, for it will be without the tumult of contentions and wars, above: Lord, you will give us peace (Isa 26:12).

Note on the words, the work of justice shall be peace, that the peace of the saints in heaven will be beautiful, first, because it will not be false (Wis 15); second, because it will not be interrupted, above: and there shall be no end of peace (Isa 9:7); third, because it will be full: he has placed peace in your borders (Ps 147:14).

Note also on the peace to come that three things make it desirable: first, the strength of divine power: they that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem (Ps 124[125]:1–2); second, the purity of one's own conscience: you shall walk confidently in your way, and your foot shall not stumble (Prov 3:23); third, the removal of hostile wickedness: have confidence. I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

And when the Christian people sits, or dwells, in beauty, or, as the Seventy translated, in the city of peace, which is without doubt in the Church, then hail and tempest and the raging wrath of the Lord will come down upon the forest, of which it was said above: And Carmel will be counted as a forest; and the city of Jerusalem will be brought low, and, according to another Scripture, will speak from the earth.

Third, he sets out the pleasant enjoyment of divine consolation: and my people shall sit in the beauty of peace: but he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance (Prov 1:33).

Hail, namely, of tribulation, in the descent of the forest, that is, it shall descend from the Lord upon your enemies; the city, Ninive, above: the high city he shall lay low (Isa 26:5).

Accordingly, like a perfect man learned in the law and made firm in the gospel, accept the faith of both Testaments, for, as we read today, "Blessed is he who sows upon every water, where the ox and the donkey tread," that is, who sows upon the people who follow the teaching of both Testaments. This is the ploughman's ox, wearing the yoke of the law, of which the law says, "You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out your corn," for this ox has the horns of holy Scripture. But in the Gospel the Lord, representing the people of the Gentiles, mounts the colt of a donkey.

The prophet says, "Blessed is he that sows into all waters, whose ox and donkey tread," [that is] the people, from the law and from the Gentiles, gathered into one faith.

Only let us not be condemned for frivolity by asking for little, and for what is unworthy of the giver. Blessed is he from whom Jesus asks drink, as he did from that Samaritan woman, and gives a well of water springing up unto eternal life. Blessed is he that sows beside all waters, and upon every soul, tomorrow to be ploughed and watered, which today the ox and the donkey tread, while it is dry and without water, and oppressed with lack of rationality. And blessed is he who, though he be a "valley of rushes," is watered out of the house of the Lord; for he is made fruit-bearing instead of rush-bearing and produces that which is for the food of man, not that which is rough and unprofitable. And for the sake of this we must be very careful not to miss the grace.

By water peoples are denoted, as it is said by John, "Now the waters are peoples." By water likewise not only the tide of peoples drifting away, but also the minds of good men that follow the preachings of faith, are denoted, as the Prophet saith, "Blessed are ye that sow upon all waters." And it is said by the Psalmist; "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters."

What else is meant by 'seed,' but the word of preaching? As the Truth says in the Gospel, "A sower went forth to sow"; and as the Prophet says; "Blessed are ye who sow upon all waters." What else but the Church, ought to be understood by the threshing floor? Of which it is said by the voice of the Forerunner; "And He will throughly purge His floor."

Let them take as much pleasure as they please in their Gallican geldings; we will be satisfied with the simple "donkey" of Zechariah, loosed from its halter and made ready for the Savior's service, which received the Lord on its back and so fulfilled Isaiah's prediction: "Blessed is he that sows beside all waters, where the ox and the donkey tread under foot."

Do we ask where we have read of the ox and the ass together? In Deuteronomy it is written: You shall not plough with a calf and an ass together (Deut 22:10). And in this same Isaiah: Blessed is he who sows upon every water, where the ox and the ass tread (Isa 32:20). Ebion ploughs with the ox and the ass together, worthy, for the lowliness of his understanding, of the poverty of his name; for he so receives the Gospel as not to abandon the ceremonies of the Jewish superstitions, which went before in shadow and image. But blessed is he who sows in the words of the Scriptures, of the old as well as of the new Instrument, and treads the waters of the letter that kills, so as to reap the fruit of the life-giving spirit.

At the end of the section too they translated thus: Blessed are those who sow upon every water, where the ox and the ass tread.

Since these things are so, and we have learned from the prophetic oracle how great the goods are that the Church will possess, and how great the evils that Jerusalem will suffer: blessed are you, Apostles, and you other teachers, who sow upon all the waters of Holy Scripture, in which the ox and the ass tread. The ox is a clean animal, on account of the election of the fathers; the ass unclean, on account of the former idolatry of the Gentiles; so that the Church of the Lord may be gathered both from the Circumcision and from the Uncircumcision.

Here he shows the prophet's congratulation: upon waters, that is, upon the places that are fertile from the abundance of the waters; sending thither the foot of the ox and the ass, not at the same time, for this was prohibited: you shall not plough with an ox and an ass together (Deut 22:10); for you shall eat the labors of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you (Ps 127[128]:2).

Note also on the words, blessed are you that sow upon waters, that the teaching of the Lord is water: first, because it abounds: I, wisdom, have poured out rivers (Sir 24:40); second, because it cools: as cold water to a thirsty soul (Prov 25:25); third, because it makes fruitful, below: as the rain comes down from heaven, and returns no more thither, but soaks the earth, and makes it to spring, so shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth (Isa 55:10–11); fourth, because it carries quickly: it shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting (John 4:14); fifth, because it conforms itself to each individually: in the streets divide your waters (Prov 5:16).