First Apology 47

Hear, then, what was said by the prophetic Spirit, that the land of the Jews was to be laid waste. The words are spoken as from the person of the peoples wondering at what had happened. They are these: “Zion has become a desert; Jerusalem has become like a desert; the house, our sanctuary, has become a curse, and the glory which our fathers blessed has been burned with fire, and all its glorious things have fallen. And at these things you have held back, and been silent, and humbled us greatly.” And you are convinced that Jerusalem has been laid waste, as was foretold. And it was said also about its desolation, and that none of them would be permitted to live there, through Isaiah the prophet thus: “Their land is a desert; before them their enemies will devour it, and none of them shall dwell in it.” And you know well that it is guarded by you so that no one may be in it, and that death has been decreed against any Jew caught entering it.