Isaiah 17
Commentary from 4 fathers
abandoned for ever, to [be] a fold and resting-place for flocks, and there shall be none to go after them.
καταλελειμμένη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, εἰς κοίτην ποιμνίων καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ διώκων.
Ѡ҆ста́вленъ въ вѣ́къ, въ ло́же стада́мъ и҆ въ поко́й, и҆ не бꙋ́детъ ѿгонѧ́ѧй.
(Verse 2) The deserted cities will be for flocks, and they will rest there, and there will be no one to frighten them away. The deserted cities, Aroer, that is, Myrhae, will be for the Ecclesiastical flocks, so that we may inhabit those which the Jews deserted: whether the destroyed idolatry will be rebuilt as the Gospel. And we see that this has been fulfilled in our times: the Serapeum in Alexandria and the temple of Marnas in Gaza have arisen as churches of the Lord, and the cities of Aroer have been prepared for the Evangelical flocks. Aroer, that is, myrice, grows in desert places, according to what is written in the curse of the man who trusts in man and departs from the Lord: He shall be like a myrtle in the desert and shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in dryness, in the desert, in a land of saltness and uninhabitable. So those who were once in the desert of the Gentiles, and hated the name of Christians, will serve the flocks of Christ, who will find rest in them, and there will be no one to frighten them, for the Lord will dwell among them, and with the Shepherd present, they will not be able to fear the wolf.
Commentary on Isaiah
Second, as to the neighboring region: of Aroer, that is, of that region of Syria, in which there are many cities; or Aroer, which is Hebrew for "tamarisk," as if to say: as places where tamarisks abound are barren and abandoned to pasturage for sheep, so will the cities of Syria be; there shall be none to make them afraid, for, because of their solitude, there will not even be thieves there; or because they will not be useful for other fruit, as flocks are frightened by vineyards and farmland, below: nettles shall grow up in its houses (Isa 34:13).
Commentary on Isaiah
And she shall no longer be a strong place for Ephraim to flee to, and there shall no longer be a kingdom in Damascus, or a remnant of Syrians; for thou art no better than the children of Israel, [even] than their glory; thus saith the Lord of hosts.
καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται ὀχυρὰ τοῦ καταφυγεῖν ᾿Εφραίμ. καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται βασιλεία ἐν Δαμασκῷ, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν Σύρων ἀπολεῖται· οὐ γὰρ σὺ βελτίων εἶ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτῶν· τάδε λέγει Κύριος σαβαώθ.
И҆ ксемꙋ̀ не бꙋ́детъ ᲂу҆крѣпле́нъ, є҆́же вбѣ́гнꙋти та́мѡ є҆фре́мꙋ: и҆ ксемꙋ̀ не бꙋ́детъ ца́рство въ дама́сцѣ, и҆ ѡ҆ста́нокъ сѵ́рѧнъ поги́бнетъ: нѣ́си бо ты̀ лꙋ́чшїй ѿ сынѡ́въ і҆и҃левыхъ и҆ сла́вы и҆́хъ: сїѧ̑ гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь саваѡ́ѳъ.
(Verse 3) The help from Ephraim will cease, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the Lord of hosts. Then the help of God will cease from Ephraim, who in this place are understood as the Scribes and Pharisees, according to the prophecy of Hosea, who calls them adversaries of the people of God and names them Ephraim (Hosea 5 and 8). And the kingdom shall cease from Damascus, so that sin shall by no means reign, and the prince of sin, the devil, shall reign in Damascus, which once loved bloodshed; but the remnant of Syria, that is, those from the Gentiles who have believed, shall be as the sons of Israel were before, the kingdom of God being taken away from them and given to the Gentiles, who bear its fruit, as the Lord God of hosts has spoken through all His prophets.
Commentary on Isaiah
And aid shall cease. Here the effect of the destruction is set out, and first, the effect on the ten tribes: from Ephraim; second, the effect as to the royal city: and the kingdom from Damascus shall cease, and it will no longer be the head of the kingdom; third, as to the entire region: and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, ironically: that is, they will be ignominious like the children of Israel, above: the Lord shall put down his hand, and the helper shall fall (Isa 31:3).
Commentary on Isaiah
There shall be in that day a failure of the glory of Jacob, and the riches of his glory shall be shaken.
῎Εσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἔκλειψις τῆς δόξης ᾿Ιακώβ, καὶ τὰ πίονα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ σεισθήσεται.
Бꙋ́детъ въ то́й де́нь помраче́нїе сла́вы і҆а́кѡвли, и҆ тꙋ̑чнаѧ сла́вы є҆гѡ̀ потрѧсꙋ́тсѧ.
4–8By this it is clearly promised that the glory of Israel and all her riches will be taken away, and only a few, who like the few berries on an olive branch can be counted easily, will be left. These are the ones who believe in the Lord. Just after this there is a prophecy of the entire human race turning away from the error of idolatry and recognizing the God of Israel.
Proof of the Gospel 2:3
(Verse 4.) And it shall come to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob shall be diminished, and his fatness shall wither away. When, he says, Damascus is captured, and the city ceases to exist, and such glory crowns it, as crowns Israel, that is, the ten tribes: then all defense, and the fattest flesh, and refuge shall wither away from Jacob: for he will not have anything with which to devastate Jerusalem. We read above that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to fight against it: and it was announced to the house of David: Syria has rested upon Ephraim, of whom the Prophet speaks to Ahaz: Do not fear, and let not your heart be afraid of these two smoldering stumps, of these smoky tails, in the furious wrath of Rezin, the king of Syria, and the son of Remaliah, because he has plotted evil against you, both Syria, the worst enemy, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 4) And in that day, the glory of Jacob shall fade, and the fat of his flesh shall waste away. After the remnants of Syria had been, just as once had been the glory of the sons of Israel, and their salvation had been given to the nations by their transgression, then all the glory of the Jews will be diminished, with which they were glorious in the entire world, and their plump flesh will waste away, lacking prophets, signs and wonders, the present help of God, and the dignity of the priesthood: but the whole body of their nation will wither away and be reduced to nothing.
Commentary on Isaiah
And it shall come to pass in that day. Here he threatens the destruction of the ten tribes, who trust in the help of the Syrians, and first, as to the oppression of their people; second, as to the destruction of their cities: in that day his strong cities (Isa 17:9); third, as to the barrenness of their fields: therefore shall you plant (Isa 17:10). Concerning the first, he does two things: first, he threatens punishment; second, he shows the fruit of the punishment: in that day man shall bow down (Isa 17:7). He threatens punishment on their people first, against their vainglory: the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, that is, it will be brought to little, and reduced as if to nothing, when that which they gloried in is destroyed. Second, against the opulence of their riches: and the fatness of his flesh, that is, the riches with which they delicately nourished their flesh, above: the sovereign Lord shall send, shall break the earthen vessel with terror, and the tall of stature shall be cut down, and the lofty shall be humbled (Isa 10:16, 33). Third, against the abundance of the people, he threatens scarcity of people, which he describes under a threefold metaphor, as the blessing of Jacob consisted in the abundance of three things: abundance of corn and wine and oil (Gen 27:28).
Note on the words, and the fatness of his flesh (Isa 17:4), that riches are called fatness, first, because of their barrenness: the deceitfulness of riches chokes up the word, and he becomes fruitless (Matt 13:22); second, because of their inconstancy: charge the rich of this world not to be high-minded nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches (1 Tim 6:17); third, because of their uselessness: behold this was the iniquity of Sodom (Ezek 16:49); riches kept to the hurt of the owner (Eccl 5:12).
Commentary on Isaiah
And it shall be as if one should gather standing corn, and reap the grain of the ears; and it shall be as if one should gather ears in a rich valley;
καὶ ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἐάν τις συναγάγῃ ἀμητὸν ἑστηκότα καὶ σπέρμα σταχύων ἐν τῷ βραχίονι αὐτοῦ ἀμήσῃ, καὶ ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἐάν τις συναγάγῃ στάχυν ἐν φάραγγι στερεᾷ
И҆ бꙋ́детъ, ꙗ҆́коже а҆́ще кто̀ собира́етъ жа́твꙋ стоѧ́щꙋю, и҆ сѣ́мѧ кла́сѡвъ пожина́етъ: и҆ бꙋ́детъ, ꙗ҆́коже а҆́ще кто̀ собира́етъ кла́сы въ де́бри тве́рдѣ.
5–6(Verse 5, 6.) And it shall be like one gathering in the harvest what remains, and his arm shall gather the ears: and it shall be like one seeking the ears in the Valley of Raphaim. And there shall be left in it like a cluster of grapes, and like the beating of olives of two or three olive trees at the top of the branch, or four or five on its fruitful heights, says the Lord God of Israel. Those who understand the present devastation of Damascus under the Roman kingdom, contend that these things are signified about the Apostles, that just as few ears of wheat and olives usually remain in the field or on the trees, so the remnant of Israel shall be saved; especially because it follows: On that day, man shall turn to his maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, that is, to Christ. Two olives, and three, and four, and five, are interpreted as the fourteen Apostles, that is, the twelve who were chosen, and the thirteenth James, who is called the brother of the Lord; Paul also, the Apostle, the vessel of election (Acts 7). However, those who think that what was said is accomplished during the time of the Assyrians, want this to be understood, that under the Assyrian captivity Damascus was not completely destroyed, but some were transferred to Cyrene, and the other part of the worshipers of the land was left behind, which was also destroyed later by the Babylonian ravages: until it was restored again under the Macedonians and the Ptolemies, and in the coming of Christ it was indeed a city, but not of such power as it had been before. And there will be so few senses left in Damascus as there usually remain few ears of grain in the broad and mighty valley of Raphaim that the poor gather, or few olives left in the olive tree that have escaped the scrutiny of the harvester.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 5) And it shall be like the gleaning of a harvest, what remains, and his arm shall gather the ears of grain, and it shall be like one seeking grain in the valley of Rephaim. And when it is said of the calling of the Gentiles, 'The harvest is great, but the laborers are few' (Matthew 9), those poor people will gather the remnants of the harvest, which have been saved through the Apostles, and will gather the very rare grains, not from mountains and high places, but in the valley of Raphaim, that is, in the lowliness of letters. And consider that Raphaim, which is interpreted as giants, means the Pharisees and Scribes, just as Ephraim means above. Finally, the Seventy translated the valley of Raphaim as the hard valley, in order to express the hardness of the Jewish heart.
Commentary on Isaiah
As to the first, he sets out scarcity of ears of corn after the harvest, which are gathered by the harvester himself, and thus, the scarcity of the remnant of the ten tribes, shall be as when someone gathers in the harvest that which remains from the first reaping, and, from those gathered, his arm shall pick out the ears of corn, that is, collect them. And this one who gathers was Ezechias, who called together the remnant of the ten tribes, as is written in 2 Chronicles 30. Or also those which are gathered by someone poor, like it says in Ruth 2:3: I will go into the field to glean the ears of corn; and as to this, he says: it shall be as he that seeks ears in the vale of Raphaim, a certain valley which is very fertile.
Commentary on Isaiah
and [as if] there should be left stubble therein, or [as it were] the berries of an olive tree, two or three on the topmost bough, or [as if] four or five should be left on their branches; thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel.
καὶ καταλειφθῇ ἐν αὐτῇ καλάμη, ἢ ὡς ρῶγες ἐλαίας δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐπ᾿ ἄκρου μετεώρου, ἢ τέσσαρες ἢ πέντε ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων αὐτῶν καταλειφθῆ· τάδε λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ᾿Ισραήλ.
И҆ ѡ҆ста́нетсѧ въ не́й сте́блїе, и҆лѝ а҆́ки зе́рна ма̑слична двѣ̀ и҆лѝ трѝ на версѣ̀ высо́цѣ, и҆лѝ четы́ре и҆лѝ пѧ́ть на вѣ́твїи є҆ѧ̀ ѡ҆ста́нꙋтъ: сїѧ̑ гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ і҆и҃левъ.
(Verse 6) And he shall be left like a cluster of grapes, like the shaking of an olive tree, with two or three berries on the top of the branch, or four or five on its fruitful branches, says the Lord God of Israel. Those who are chosen because of their humility are like grain on the threshing floor and grapes in the vineyard, that are saved: and like the shaking of the olive tree, whether two, three, four or five olives. For when the stroke of the Jewish people came, that olive tree of the people of Israel, which under Moses had six hundred thousand armed men (Num. 26), and under David, counted by Joab, an innumerable people (2 Sam. 24), could hardly offer a few fruits to the Lord and Savior: Paul and Barnabas two olives, and Peter and James, and John (Acts 13), who also saw the transfigured Lord on the mountain and deserved to go with the Lord to the house of the synagogue official's daughter (Matt. 17). But four and five olives make up the remaining nine Apostles, in whom Matthias took the place of the treacherous Judas, who, for some unknown reason, was separated into four and five olives, in order to demonstrate the number of the Gospels and the volumes of the Law within themselves, as if they were proclaimers of both Instruments (Acts 1).
Commentary on Isaiah
Against abundance of wine, he sets out scarcity of grapes after the grape harvest: and the fruit thereof that shall be left upon it, shall be as one cluster of grapes: woe is me, for I am become as one that gleans in autumn the grapes of the vintage (Mic 7:1). Against abundance of oil, he sets out scarcity of olives after the shaking of the olive. The olive, as Papias says, is the fruit of the olive tree; but here, according to the explanation of the Gloss, it seems to be used to mean the tree itself on whose top remains a small amount of fruit which the harvesters are not able to reach; concerning this scarcity, see Deuteronomy 28:62: you shall remain few in number.
Commentary on Isaiah
In that day a man shall trust in him that made him, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ πεποιθὼς ἔσται ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν, οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐμβλέψονται,
Въ то́й де́нь ᲂу҆пова́ѧ бꙋ́детъ человѣ́къ на сотво́ршаго и҆̀, и҆ ѻ҆́чи є҆гѡ̀ ко ст҃о́мꙋ і҆и҃левꙋ воззрѧ́тъ,
7–8(Verse 7, 8) On that day, a man will turn towards his Maker, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. He will not turn towards the altars that his hands have made, nor towards the works of his fingers. He will not look to the groves and shrines. Some interpret this as fulfilled during the time of Christ, when the kingdom of Damascus was destroyed and the eternal kingdom of the Savior succeeded, and the error of idolatry was diminished. It is indeed a pious interpretation, but it does not follow the order of history. But we say that after Damascus was subdued and the ten tribes were led into Assyria, the remnant of the tribes of Israel, converted by the letters of Hezekiah, came to the worship of God and to the temple in Jerusalem, as the Chronicles history narrates (2 Chronicles 3). Therefore, with Damascus destroyed, the people will turn to their Maker, that is, to the one who created them, and their eyes will no longer look at the idols they made in Bethel and Dan, but they will look to God, despising the shrines and altars that their own fingers made.
Commentary on Isaiah
7–8(Verse 7, 8). On that day, man will bow down to his maker and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not bow down to the altars that his hands have made, nor to the things that his fingers have worked on; he will not look to the groves and shrines. In that time, when the Lord your God called the people of Israel, who were once called a fruitful olive tree (Jeremiah 11:16), and as we read in the Psalms: Your children will be like young olive trees around your table (Psalm 128:3), if the Lord hungry for the dryness of spiritual grace finds barely two olives, or three, or four, or five, the fullness of the Gentiles will enter, and they will not bow down to idols made by hands, but they will bow down to their own God, looking to the Holy One of Israel, and they will despise altars, groves, and shrines, knowing that which is written: Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted (Matthew 15:13).
Commentary on Isaiah
In that day. Here he sets out the fruit of the punishment: man, any who fled from the ten tribes to Ezechias, shall bow down himself to his Maker, giving the due service of worship; his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, expecting some help.
Note on the words, his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel (Isa 17:7), that our eyes ought to be inclined to the Lord, first, through the adherence of faith, below: your eyes shall see your teacher (Isa 30:20); second, because of the expectation of hope: the eyes of all hope in you, O Lord (Ps 144[145]:15); third, because of the contemplation of love: from thence she contemplates the prey, and her eyes behold afar off (Job 39:29); fourth, because of the enjoyment of glory: blessed are your eyes (Matt 13:16).
Commentary on Isaiah
And they shall not at all trust in their altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers made; and they shall not look to the trees, nor to their abominations.
καὶ οὐ μὴ πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς βωμοῖς, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ δάκτυλοι αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ὄψονται τὰ δένδρα, οὐδὲ τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτῶν.
и҆ не бꙋ́дꙋтъ ᲂу҆пова́юще на трє́бища, нижѐ на дѣла̀ рꙋ́къ свои́хъ, ꙗ҆̀же сотвори́ша пе́рсты и҆́хъ, и҆ не бꙋ́дꙋтъ смотри́ти на дꙋбра̑вы, нижѐ на ме́рзѡсти и҆́хъ.
Those who trust in idols are foolish. Idols are their own creations, things they made with their own hands, but they turn around and say, “These idols are our creators.” How can these people say that something they made is their creator? Moreover, they guard their idols, so that they will not be stolen by thieves. What foolishness! If idols cannot guard and protect themselves, how can they guard and save others?
Barlaam and Joseph 10
Temples (delubra), temples in which there were fonts, as though for washing, below: in that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver (Isa 31:7).
Commentary on Isaiah
In that day thy cities shall be deserted, as the Amorites and the Evaeans deserted [theirs], because of the children of Israel; and they shall be desolate.
τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις σου ἐγκαταλελειμμέναι, ὃν τρόπον κατέλιπον οἱ ᾿Αμορραῖοι καὶ οἱ Εὐαῖοι ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἔσονται ἔρημοι,
Въ то́й де́нь бꙋ́дꙋтъ гра́ди твоѝ ѡ҆ста́влени, ꙗ҆́коже ѡ҆ста́виша а҆морре́є и҆ є҆ѵе́є ѿ лица̀ сынѡ́въ і҆и҃левыхъ: и҆ бꙋ́дꙋтъ пꙋ́сти,
9–10(Verses 9, 10.) On that day your fortified cities will be deserted like plowed fields and cornfields that have been deserted by the children of Israel. And it will be desolate, because you have forgotten your God, your Savior, and have not remembered your strong helper. LXX: On that day your cities will be deserted like the cities abandoned by the Amorites and the Hivites before the children of Israel. And they will be deserted because you have abandoned your God, your Savior, and have not remembered the Lord, your helper. Just as under Moses and Joshua the son of Nun, the Amorites and the Eves and the other nations dwelling in the promised land abandoned their plows and crops and heaps in the fields and fled, lest they be seized by enemies, so too the land of Judea and all its mighty cities, with the Romans ravaging Judea and besieging Jerusalem, were deserted by their inhabitants. And there is an apostrophe to the very land of Judea, that is, to those who dwelt in it. But all these things you have suffered, because you have forgotten your God and Savior, who is called Jesus, whom the Law and the Prophets constantly proclaimed would come to you; and you have not remembered your strong helper, who has always come to your aid. Therefore, the reason for the desolation of the cities of Judea is the forgetfulness of the Savior, who, at the beginning of this prophecy, said: Israel did not know me, and my people did not understand me.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 9) On that day, her fortified cities will be abandoned like plowed fields and empty after the harvest. They will become a wasteland, just like the cities of the Israelites that were abandoned before them. This prophecy is not against Damascus, but against the ten tribes known as Israel. Just as when the people of God arrived from Egypt, all the nations living in the promised land were suddenly filled with fear and dropped their plows and left their crops and unfinished tasks, fleeing for safety on foot, so too shall the land of Israel remain deserted for a long time. I am amazed that Aquila interpreted 'pro aratris et acervis frugum' as 'testam et Emir'; Symmachus, 'silvam et Amir'; LXX, 'Amorrhaeos et Evaeos'. Only Theodotio put the Hebrew word, 'Ars Et Emir', which is more correctly read as 'Hores () Et Amir ()', that is, plows and heaps of grain.
Commentary on Isaiah
In that day. Here he threatens the desolation of their cities, and first, he threatens the desolation itself: as the ploughs. This touches on what is found in Joshua 6 and 7, how the Amorrhites fled at the coming of the sons of Israel, leaving behind everything in the fields, above: your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire (Isa 1:7).
Commentary on Isaiah
Because thou hast forsaken God thy Saviour, and hast not been mindful of the Lord thy helper; therefore shalt thou plant a false plant, and a false seed.
διότι κατέλιπες τὸν Θεὸν τὸν σωτῆρά σου καὶ Κυρίου τοῦ βοηθοῦ σου οὐκ ἐμνήσθης. διὰ τοῦτο φυτεύσεις φύτευμα ἄπιστον καὶ σπέρμα ἄπιστον·
занѐ ѡ҆ста́вилъ є҆сѝ бг҃а сп҃са твоего̀ и҆ гдⷭ҇а помо́щника твоего̀ не помѧнꙋ́лъ є҆сѝ: сегѡ̀ ра́ди насади́ши са́дъ невѣ́ренъ и҆ сѣ́мѧ невѣ́рно.
(Verse 10.) Because you have forgotten your God and have not remembered your powerful helper. These things, he says, you will endure, O Israel, because you have forsaken your God, who has freed you from Egypt, who has subjected enemy nations to you; and you have not remembered your helper.
Therefore you will plant a faithful plantation, and you will sow a foreign seed. This should be read more closely and ironically. For, he says, you have forgotten your God and Savior, and you have not remembered your strong helper: should you therefore plant a faithful plantation, and not rather sow a foreign seed, which the enemy will snatch away? Or certainly like this: you have founded my sons, who are born from the stock of my people, in the land, in order to make them foreign and wicked.
Commentary on Isaiah
Second, the reason for the desolation is set out: and you shall be desolate because you have forgotten God your savior: you have forsaken the God that begot you, and have forgotten the Lord that created you (Deut 32:18).
Therefore shall you plant. Here he threatens barrenness of fruit, and concerning this, he does three things. First, he shows the useless labor of cultivation, as to their vineyards: unfaithful plants, for they will not return fruit according to your labor, or faithful, ironically, as if to say: because of the evil which you have done, will your plants be faithful? As to their fields: strange seed, which another will gather, above: ten jugera of vineyard shall yield one little measure (Isa 5:10).
Note on the words, unfaithful plants (Isa 17:10), that these are first, the avaricious: he that loves riches shall reap no fruit from them (Eccl 5:9); second, the lustful: what fruit had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed? (Rom 6:21); third, the proud: what has pride profited us? (Wis 5:8).
Commentary on Isaiah
In the day wherein thou shalt plant thou shalt be deceived; but if thou sow in the morning, [the seed] shall spring up for a crop in the day wherein thou shalt obtain an inheritance, and as a man’s father, thou shalt obtain an inheritance for thy sons.
τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ ἂν φυτεύσῃς, πλανηθήσῃ· τὸ δὲ πρωΐ, ἐὰν σπείρῃς, ἀνθήσει εἰς ἀμητὸν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ κληρώσῃ, καὶ ὡς πατὴρ ἀνθρώπου κληρώσῃ, καὶ ὡς πατὴρ ἀνθρώπου κληρώση τοῖς ὑἱοῖς σου.
Во́ньже бо де́нь а҆́ще насади́ши, прельсти́шисѧ: а҆ є҆́же а҆́ще заꙋ́тра посѣ́еши, то̀ процвѣте́тъ на жа́твꙋ, во́ньже де́нь наслѣ́диши, и҆ а҆́ки ѻ҆те́цъ человѣ́чь наслѣ́дїе да́си сынѡ́мъ твои̑мъ.
(Verse 11.) In the day of your planting, the vineyard shall flourish, and in the morning your seed shall blossom. The harvest shall be taken away on the day of inheritance, and you shall grieve deeply. These will be the fruits of your labors: your vine Sorec shall degenerate into wild grapes, and your seed shall bring forth hope in the bud; but when maturity comes, it shall be harvested by another. And then you shall grieve deeply, when what you hoped for and almost touched is lost.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 11.) Therefore, you will plant a faithful plantation and sow a foreign seed. On the day of your planting, your grapevine will be in bloom, and in the morning your seed will sprout; the harvest has been taken away on the day of inheritance, and there will be great sorrow. LXX: Therefore, you will plant an unfaithful plantation and unfaithful seed, and on the day you plant, you will wander. But if you sow in the morning, it will bloom for the harvest on the day of inheritance, when a father gives inheritance to his sons. For that reason, because we have interpreted it according to Aquila and Symmachus and the LXX, on the day of inheritance, which in Hebrew is called Biom Nehela (), it can be read in Hebrew, on a very bad day. And for that reason, because it has been interpreted by Aquila and Theodotion, and the man will grieve: we learned from the Hebrews, for the man who is called Enos in their language, we have interpreted as Anus (), that is, heavily: concerning the ambiguity of this word, if there is time in this life, we will discuss it more fully in Jeremiah, where according to the LXX it says: And there is a man, and who will know him? Therefore I say what I proposed: Because you have forgotten, O land of Judah, your Savior God, and the one who always provided strength for you, you have not remembered; therefore you will indeed plant a faithful plantation, as the interpretations of Aquila and Theodotion say, beautiful; or as Symmachus says, good, preaching one God: but you will sow a foreign seed, not receiving the Father, because you do not receive the Son. For whoever believes in the Father, also believes in the Son. And because you have sown the seed of blasphemy against Jesus in the synagogues of Satan, therefore you shall not gather grapes, but wild grapes. And when it appears that your seed is flourishing and you have some shade of piety, while you withdraw people from idols: yet when you will grieve deeply in the day of harvest to gather the fruits, seeing that the people of the Gentiles are preferred to you. Hence the Apostle says: I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I myself wished to be anathema from Christ for the sake of my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the testament, and the giving of the law, and the promises: whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed forever. Amen (Romans 9:3-5). And not only Paul, but also every saint speaks this, wishing to save even the root with the branches of the olive tree. But that inheritance is what we obtain from the Lord, about which the Apostle says: There are divisions of grace, but the same Spirit; and there are divisions of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are divisions of operations, but the same God, who works all things in all. Let someone wonder why we have called our faithful congregation a faithful plantation, considering the beautiful and good translations made by Aquila, Theodotio, and Symmachus. The Hebrew word Neemanim, if spelled with the letter Aleph, means faithful; but if spelled with Ain, and pronounced as Neamenim, it means beautiful. Thus, Noemi, which is spelled with this letter, speaks in Ruth (Chapter I, 20): 'Do not call me Noemi, that is, beautiful, but call me bitter.'
Commentary on Isaiah
Second, as to the ruin of the fruit: in the day of your planting, that is, when you ought to have taken up the fruit from your planting, and this as to the vineyards; as to the fields, in the morning your seed shall flourish, that is, it will be beautiful at first, that you may mourn more, or because it will flower before the proper season and be useless: the inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning, in the end shall be without a blessing (Prov 20:21). The harvest is taken away, by enemies, in the day of inheritance, when it ought to be put away in the barn, like the fruit of their inheritance: they have sown wheat, and reaped thorns (Jer 12:13). Third, he threatens sorrow for the loss: it shall grieve you, who sowed; or you shall grieve.
Commentary on Isaiah
Woe [to] the multitude of many nations, as the swelling sea, so shall ye be confounded; and the force of many nations shall sound like water;
Οὐαὶ πλῆθος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν· ὡς θάλασσα κυμαίνουσα οὕτω ταραχθήσεσθε, καὶ νῶτος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν ὡς ὕδωρ ἠχήσει.
Ѽ, лю́тѣ мно́жествꙋ ꙗ҆зы́кѡвъ мно́гихъ! а҆́ки мо́ре волнꙋ́ющеесѧ, та́кѡ смѧте́тесѧ, и҆ хребе́тъ ꙗ҆зы́кѡвъ мно́гихъ ꙗ҆́кѡ вода̀ возшꙋми́тъ:
(Verse 12) Those who believe that the captivity of Damascus discussed above was inflicted by the Romans also refer what is written here to the time of Christ and the apostles: “People will bow to their Creator, and their eyes will look to the holy one of Israel.” They further think that what follows, namely, “You will plant faithful plants, and you will sow strange seeds; in the day of your planting, the wild grape” applies to the infidelity of the Jews. And this little passage that we just set forth they interpret as concerning the peoples who persecute the church. The next line, “he will rebuke him, and he will flee far away,” they receive as concerning the devil, demonstrating the destruction of persecutors and demons through a tropological interpretation. We, however, follow the original order and complete the historical foundation with a historical culmination. Woe, it says, to all the nations who wage war against my people, whose attack was strong enough to be compared to the waves of the sea.
Commentary on Isaiah 5:17.12-14
(Verse 12) Woe to the multitude of many peoples, as the sound of the roaring sea: and the tumult of nations, like the sound of many waters. Those who consider the captivity of Damascus inflicted by the Romans, and this which is written: Man shall bow down to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, refer to the times of Christ and the Apostles. They also understand the following: You will plant a faithful plantation, and you will sow a foreign branch: on the day of your plantation the wild vine, etc., they perceive the unfaithfulness of the Jews. And this chapter that we have now presented is interpreted by the Gentiles who persecute the Church. Moreover, what follows is understood to be about the devil, with a tropological interpretation illustrating the devastation caused by persecutors and demons. But we follow the sequential order and protect the historical foundations with historical insight. Woe, he says, to all the nations that have fought against my people, whose force was so great that it could be compared to the waves of the sea.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 12) Woe to the multitude of many peoples, like the roaring of the sea, and the tumult of the nations. Above, we read about the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, and also about the election of a few Jews among the Apostles. And since in comparison to the whole world and all the nations, only a small part of the people believed in Christ, as it was said above: 'And the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel' (for 'many are called, but few are chosen' - Matthew 22:14) and 'not all have faith' (2 Thessalonians 3:2), now it follows that there is not mourning, but woe to those nations who refused to believe and persecuted the Christian people. And they are compared to the mass of waves and the roaring sea, and as much as is within them, they desire to overwhelm and occupy everything. For the people will sound forth in the spectacles of theatrical luxury, and in the cruelty of the amphitheater, and in the madness of the circus, just as the sound of overflowing waters, when with a united voice of impiety they blaspheme, and they say to the Christians, 'Throw them to the lions and beasts,' and other things of this kind.
Commentary on Isaiah
Woe to the multitude. Here he threatens the destruction of the Assyrians, and concerning this he sets out three things. And first, he describes the multitude of the army as to the noise of their marching, woe to the multitude of people, coming with Sennacherib; as to the tumult of their speaking, the tumult, which is confused speech, especially of a multitude.
Commentary on Isaiah
many nations like much water, as when much water rushes violently: and they shall drive him away, and pursue him afar, as the dust of chaff when men winnow before the wind, and as a storm whirling the dust of the wheel.
ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ ἔθνη πολλά, ὡς ὕδατος πολλοῦ βίᾳ καταφερομένου· καὶ ἀποσκορακιεῖ αὐτὸν καὶ πόρρω αὐτὸν διώξεται ὡς χνοῦν ἀχύρου λικμώντων ἀπέναντι ἀνέμου καὶ ὡς κονιορτὸν τροχοῦ καταιγὶς φέρουσα.
а҆́ки вода̀ мно́га ꙗ҆зы́цы мно́зи, а҆́ки (шꙋ́мъ) воды̀ мно́гїѧ нꙋ́ждею носи́мыѧ: и҆ ѿве́ржетъ є҆го̀ и҆ дале́че пожене́тъ є҆го̀, а҆́ки пра́хъ пле́вный вѣ́ющихъ проти́вꙋ вѣ́тра, и҆ ꙗ҆́кѡ пра́хъ коле́сный бꙋ́рѧ возносѧ́щаѧ.
(Verse 13) But when raging warriors come and inundate my land, then their prince Sennacherib will flee from them, rebuked, and they will be scattered like dust in a plundering storm. As the top of a whirl-wind revolves, so will he be struck by an angel when he approaches Jerusalem to besiege her.
Commentary on Isaiah 5:17.12-14
(Verse 13) But when they come raging and flood my land, then their leader Sennacherib will flee, reproached by him, and be scattered like dust carried by the wind, and whirled up into the sky like a storm. Indeed, he will approach Jerusalem, besieging it, but he will be struck down by an angel.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 13) But to them, like raging seas, the Lord will rebuke the instigator of their sedition, and He will drive him away from His people. And as dust moved on the mountains, the higher it is, the stronger it is carried away; and as a whirlwind, which rises from the earth, is carried away into the sky by a sudden storm: so also he, being carried away, will be separated from the people of God and will flee, lest he be relegated to the abyss.
Commentary on Isaiah
As to the shout of their fighting, nations shall make a noise, in battle, above: behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river strong and many (Isa 8:7); their voice shall roar like the sea (Jer 6:23); many waters, many peoples (Rev 17).
Second, he threatens destruction. Concerning which he first sets out the destruction itself: but he shall rebuke him, killing his army by an angel, and he shall flee far off, to his own land with only a few men, as it says above (Isa 10:18); you have rebuked the Gentiles (Ps 9:6[5]). Second, a similitude is set out corresponding to the condition of the destruction, for he was proud: he shall be carried away as the dust: like the dust (Ps 1:4), which is driven before the wind; and corresponding to the time: as a whirlwind before a tempest, for by night his army was slain, which he calls a tempest, whose precursor is a whirling of dust by winds, which are the cause of rain: in the night an angel came, and slew the army of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 19:35).
Commentary on Isaiah
Toward evening, and there shall be grief; before the morning, and he shall not be. This is the portion of them that spoiled you, and the inheritance to them that robbed you of your inheritance.
πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἔσται πένθος, πρὶν ἢ πρωΐ καὶ οὐκ ἔσται. αὕτη ἡ μερὶς τῶν προνομευσάντων ὑμᾶς καὶ κληρονομία τοῖς ὑμᾶς κληρονομήσασιν.
Къ ве́черꙋ, и҆ бꙋ́детъ пла́чь: пре́жде заꙋ́трїѧ, и҆ не бꙋ́детъ: сїѧ̀ ча́сть плѣни́вшихъ ны̀, и҆ жре́бїй наслѣ́дившихъ на́съ.
(Verse 14) He will come in the morning and witness his powerful army destroyed. And "this is the portion of those who despoil us." This prophet speaks either in the person of the people or as though uniting himself to his nation.
Commentary on Isaiah 5:17.12-14
(Verse 14) He will come in the morning, and he will see his army destroyed, the power of his might gone. And this will be the portion of those who devastated us. The Prophet speaks either on behalf of the people or joins himself to his own nation (IV Kings XIX, 35, 36). Afterwards we read: The Angel of the Lord went out and struck down in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and they arose early in the morning, and behold, all the dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departed and returned and lived in Nineveh.
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 14) And when the day of consummation comes, which is interpreted as evening, then there will be turmoil, acknowledging his sins. And in the morning, on the day of resurrection, it will not continue, as the LXX translated, it will not be. But if it will not be, what will those who give penance to the devil respond, and they promise as much as they can, an archangelic rank? This is the role of those who have devastated us, and the fate of those who will plunder us. This is either the speech of the Christian people or the prophet speaking from the perspective of the believing people, that the persecutors will have eternal destruction, who have oppressed the holy ones of God with exile, imprisonment, and the seizure of goods, and will possess eternal punishments.
Commentary on Isaiah
Third, the completion of the destruction is set out: and he shall not be, for he himself was killed: you are brought to nothing (Ezek 28:19). Fourth, the reason for the destruction is set out: this is the portion of them that have wasted us, our possessions, and the lot of them that spoiled, our moveable goods: fire and brimstone, and storms of winds, shall be the portion of their cup (Ps 10:7[11:6]).
Commentary on Isaiah
THE WORD AGAINST DAMASCUS. Behold, Damascus shall be taken away from among cities, and shall become a ruin;
Τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ κατὰ Δαμασκοῦ.
Сло́во, є҆́же на дама́скъ. Сѐ, дама́скъ во́зметсѧ ѿ градѡ́въ и҆ бꙋ́детъ въ паде́нїе.