Isaiah 41

Scripture correctly says: Be renewed, O islands. For we are surrounded by the waves of sin, like islands in the sea of this world. Therefore, these islands were renewed by the coming of the Lord through the forgiveness of sins, that is, men were immersed in the water as if placed in the midst of the sea like islands, they were struck by the waves like islands, resounding with the waves of sins as if they were islands, in which, before, there were frequent shipwrecks for the simple reason that there was deceit in their hearts and flattery on their lips.

The Interrogation of Job and David, Book 2, Chapter 9

1–7

(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet. Who has accomplished and done this, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and the last; I am He. The islands have seen and feared; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!' The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows faint. LXX: Come near to me, you islands; let the leaders approach together and declare judgment. Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.\ He will call her who has been called from the beginning of generations. I am the first God, and I am present in the things that are to come. The nations have seen and feared: the ends of the earth have stood in awe and approached: they have come together, each judging their neighbor to help and support their brother: and they will say: the skilled craftsman and blacksmith have prevailed, striking the hammer together, producing: sometimes indeed they say, ‘it is good to strengthen’. They have strengthened it, they have set it in nails: and it will not be moved. People, that is, the islands, which are buffeted by the false and bitter waves of this age, are commanded to listen and to close their mouths, and to know that which was said to Israel: Listen, Israel, and be silent; and to change their strength, lest they cannot hear the word of God because of their former weakness, so that they may approach the Lord first, and that they may not be satisfied with their own salvation; but that which they have learned, they may teach to others, and may argue with the Lord whether God has kept justice for all. But he interrogates them and challenges them to respond, in order to teach them through the questioning what they are ignorant of: Who raised up the just one from the East, or justice? For it is not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, who called Christ the Lord and Savior, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1). In which, according to the same Apostle, God's righteousness is revealed (ibid). But he called him, so that he might follow him in all things and do the works of the Father; and he fulfilled that saying: O God, I desired to do your will (Ps. 39:9). In his presence, kings and nations will submit their necks, and the opposing powers, like stubble and dust, will be subjected to his sword and arrows. He will pursue them, namely the kings and princes of each nation, and he will pass by in peace, calling all to peace so that they may be reconciled to God. His path will not be visible, that is, he will not feel the labor of the journey or any weakness or fatigue of human nature; but he will drink from the stream on the way, and therefore he will lift up his head. Who, he says, has worked and made these? Who raised up the righteous, or righteousness? Who delivered nations and kings to him? Who subjected all things to his sword and bow? Certainly he, who from the beginning of the world predicted these things, who is the creator of all. And because he had said, in response to the questioner's emotion: Who raised up the righteous from the East, etc., while all were silent, he answered himself: I am the Lord, I am the first and the last. He Himself is the one who speaks in the Apocalypse of John: I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. I, 8; and XXII, 13). The islands, that is, the nations or the Churches gathered from the nations, have seen and feared the Lord, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. IX, 10). All the ends of the earth trembled at the words of the Apostles, approaching and likewise coming to the Gospel of Christ. And when they saw themselves to be saved, they completed the work that they had heard before: let them approach, and then let them speak; that they may assist their neighbors, and that they may wish to strengthen their brothers in the Lord, and may say to them: Depart from idols, despise ancient images of demons, which were created by human hands, which were produced by a hammer striking, which were bound with glue, which were fastened with nails, so that they would not be moved; and when they stood, they could not walk. Some report that we, interpreted as the ones above all others, through the calling of the Gentiles and the preaching of the Gospel and the condemnation of idols, led Cyrus, the king of the Persians, to rise up against the Babylonians from the East, and made him submit to his command, prostrating many nations before him and subjecting everything to his sword and bow. And they relate other things that follow concerning his person, namely that their idols, which were made with human skill and skillfully crafted by the bronze smith, were of no avail to the Babylonians. Some Hebrews believe that Abraham was called righteous from the East, that is, from the Chaldeans, because he alone was found to be righteous. He followed God, leaving his homeland to a land that he did not know, and he delivered kings into his hand who had come against Sodom and Gomorrah. He made them like stubble and dust before his sword and bow. He pursued them, returned in peace, and did not feel the effects of the long journey, and all this was not by his own strength but by the mercy of the Lord, who knew these things from the beginning. They saw, he said, the islands, that is, the nations in the surrounding area, and they were terrified by his power: and the ends of the earth. Indeed, he was the son of Noah, who had escaped the Flood with his father and brothers in the final time of the earth; and he had been preserved until that time: they want him to be understood as Melchizedek, and to have come to meet Abraham returning from battle, and to have received him, and blessed him, and strengthened him with the blessings of God: and to be the skillful craftsman who had fashioned for Abraham, and with the hammer of his art had brought forth better things: and to have said to him, It is good that you are united and joined to him in the fear of the Lord. And he strengthened him, or established him on the key of the commandments of the Lord, so that he would not be moved, but would remain in fear of Him.

Commentary on Isaiah

He calls the churches “islands,” because they receive the assault of the waves of persecutors and because they are founded on the rock. He gives the title of “princes” to the heralds of truth, who have become changed from their [previous state] after their call: “Follow me,” says [the Scripture] and I will make you fishers of men.” They have consequently taken on new strength: it was no longer fish drawn from a single lake, but humans drawn from the entire world that they made their catch.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.1

804. Let the islands keep silence before me. Here he begins to strengthen them toward firm expectation from the love of God who promises. And this is divided into three parts:

in the first, he shows divine love from the benefits which he gave to their fathers;

in the second, from the Son, whom he promised to them: behold my servant (ch. 42);

in the third, through the consolations which he foretells among various difficulties: and now thus says the Lord (ch. 43).

Now, by the benefits first given to them, he intends the strengthening of the Jews and the confutation of idols, which did not give such things to their worshippers; and therefore the first part is divided into two:

in the first, he disputes against the worshippers of idols;

in the second, against the idols themselves, where it says, bring your cause near (Isa 41:21).

The first of these is divided into two:

first, by the benefits given to the Jews, he convicts their adversaries;

second, by the same benefits, he strengthens the Jews: but you Israel, are my servant (Isa 41:8).

805. Concerning the first, he does three things.

First, he calls the nations to judgment, following the order of judgment, that being silent they might hear, and thus they might respond; let the nations take new strength, that is, let them strengthen themselves as though renewed in strength to dispute with me: let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord (Mic 6:2).

Commentary on Isaiah

For it was a work of righteousness not only for the Jews but also for the other nations to be called to the knowledge of God. So who is raising up this righteousness from the dawn of the light? Who is calling all to follow him? Who is the one offering this to all the peoples so as to shock the kings of the nations and to confound the foremost among them? God resists and tames those who attack this work, sweeping away the fighters with a word of righteousness, as they are conquered by the righteousness of God. It also serves to win over those who follow this word. He makes a rough way for the feet of the enemies of righteousness. He makes smooth a path for the feet of those who walk in peace.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:19

The wonder of God is not only found rightly in the magnificent work he did in the creation. For he has done nothing less than save the inhabitants of the earth, delivering the human race from death and destruction and the devil’s snare. For he has condemned the sin that had become master through our sins, so that he has justified through faith those who are able to be with him. He became for us righteousness and redemption and sanctification before God the Father.

Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.41:2

Of this righteousness, the blessed Paul has said in his turn: “It is from God that we have been given wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” When this righteousness arose and pervaded the world, kings were dismayed, tyrants were conquered, all kinds of torments were suppressed; the persecuted overcame their persecutors, and, as if rejoicing in great peace, they ran the course that was set before them. However, the words “it will not come” are not to be found in the Septuagint.… They show clearly that righteousness will not come for all but [only] for believers; for the ungodly did not even desire to pay attention to divine messages.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.2

Second, he tells of the benefits given to them: who has raised up the just one, where he tells of the multitude of benefits as to divine election; the just one, Abraham, from the east, namely, Chaldea (Gen 12); my foot has followed his steps (Job 23:11); as the girdle sticks close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all the house of Israel (Jer 13:11); I saw their fathers like the first fruits of the fig tree in the top thereof (Hos 9:10); and as to power granted them: he shall give the nations in his sight, namely, when he liberated Lot, fighting against the four kings (Gen 14); not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth (Ps 1:4).

Commentary on Isaiah

“His feet will not trod the path,” that is, he will not feel the labor of life or any fatigue from human weakness, but he “will drink from the torrent on the way, and therefore, will lift up his head.” … That which we interpreted as referring to the person of Christ, some refer to Cyrus, the king of the Persians, … while some of the Jews think this is said about Abraham.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:3

As to ease of pursuing, he shall pass in peace, namely, without labor, no path shall appear in his feet, as one who walks lightly, so that he leaves no footprints behind; or because labor, the sign of the way, was not left behind in his feet, above: they shall run and not labor (Isa 40:31).

Commentary on Isaiah

813. Christ passed in the peace, of the flesh toward the spirit, which he had: you shall know that your tabernacle is in peace (Job 5:24); of man toward his neighbor, which he taught, below: how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, and that preaches peace (Isa 52:7); of the world toward the Lord, which he made: making peace, and reconciling both to God (Eph 2:15).

Commentary on Isaiah

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: [Isaiah 41:4] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

[Where] do you get those fortresses of yours, “ingenerate” and “unoriginate,” from—or where the term “immortal”? Show us the express words, or we cross them out as unscriptural, and you will be dead as a result of your own principles, since the words, the wall of defense you trusted in, will have been destroyed. Is it not plain that these terms derived from passages that imply, without actually mentioning them? Which passages? What about “I am the first, and I am hereafter,” and “Before me there is no other God and after me there shall be none,” “for everything that exists” [God is saying] “is mine, without beginning or ending”? You have taken the truths that there is nothing before God and that he has no prior case, and you have given him the titles “unoriginate” and “ingenerate.” The fact that there is no halt to his ongoing existence means he is “immortal” and “indestructible.”

On the Holy Spirit, Theological Oration 5(31).23

“I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.” There is no “God” “before” God, nor can we call “God” that which is “after” God. (For that which is after God is the creation, and that which is before God is nothing, and nothing is not God, or, one should rather say, that which is “before” God is God in his eternal blessedness, defined in contradistinction to nothing.) … For if it is the Father who speaks in this way, he bears witness to the Son that he is not “after” himself. For if the Son is God and whatever is “after” the Father is not God, it is clear that the saying bears witness to the truth that the Son is in the Father and not after the Father. If, [however,] one were to grant that this statement is of the Son, the phrase “no other has been before me” will be a clear allusion that he whom we contemplate “in the Beginning” is apprehended together with the eternity of the Beginning.

Against Eunomius 5:1

From the beginning, [Isaiah] says, God has made announcements concerning righteousness. He made the covenant with Abraham in these terms: “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in your seed,” and he [renewed] the covenant with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David. This is what he has likewise announced through other prophets. “I, God, I AM the first, and I AM the future.” The One who gave the Old Testament, he says, is not different from the One who established the New. The divine nature is one, always the same and unchanging.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.4

He seeks the author: who has wrought and done these things, and who was calling the generations from the beginning, in eternal foreknowledge, below: the Lord has called me from the womb (Isa 49:1); and he sets out the response: I the Lord: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8). This is explained otherwise literally of Cyrus, and mystically of Christ.

Commentary on Isaiah

Third, he sets out the response as though from the gentiles, in which they believed that they were defended by idols; and first, he touches on their stupor at wonders recounted or seen: the islands saw it: the waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you: and they were afraid (Ps 76:17[77:16]); they drew near, to resist.

Commentary on Isaiah

You, Jacob, now ponder such things, the Savior of everything did not privilege you over the salvation of other human beings but chose the things that suited you, while to the rest of the nations he announced an exchange, summoning them all to knowledge of him.… He calls “islands” the churches from all the nations, since those partially submerged under the evil of life are like those islands in the sea.…For it is not only those who are called who come to salvation, but also those nearby according to the laws of neighbor love (philanthropy). So they say these things to those worshiping God nearby, who would like to be their brothers and friends yet who are still “out of place.” There was a time when our own craftsman prevailed, beating out idols, and the smith struck with a hammer his gods. But now we know that they are nothing and recognize the illusion of our forefathers.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:19

The meaning of this is as follows: They have approached and come together, no longer staying apart, not alienated from each other through sin but as if brought close through spiritually taking possession, are joined into one faith and a common spirit. For once they tasted of the Lord and understood that he is good and began to wonder at the beauty of his truth, they did not only keep the gift for themselves but each one generously came to the aid of his brother and his friend.

Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.41:4-6

Those who formerly have been in error, as soon as they have benefited from the light of the knowledge of God, cannot bear to hide his glory but call all people to participate in it. “And one will say,” that is to say, one who is removed from the darkness of ignorance.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.6

Second, he sets out mutual strengthening: every one shall help his neighbor: they stick one to another (Job 41:8).

Commentary on Isaiah

Look, [Isaiah] says, what the newcomers to the truth say to those who are still held prisoner to the error of idols, to show them their impotence: idols can neither walk nor hold themselves up without being fastened with nails. As for the phrase “it is a piece well joined,” the three interpreters have rendered it, “it is a joint well made”; that is to say, the joints are well fitted. It has been put together by craftsmanship.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.7

By mocking those who make the idols, [Isaiah] says, “The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, who strikes with the hammer.” That is, even though they know that their hands have made them and that “they fasten them with nails,” they are not ashamed to adore them.

Commentary on Isaiah 41:7

Third, he sets out the making of idols: the coppersmith striking the iron with the hammer encouraged him that forged, that formed the figure of the idol, saying: it is ready for soldering, to solidify the idol: setting it in a wall, and fastening it with iron (Wis 13:15–16).

Commentary on Isaiah

Abraham, styled "the friend," [Isaiah 41:8] was found faithful, inasmuch as he rendered obedience to the words of God. He, in the exercise of obedience, went out from his own country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house, in order that, by forsaking a small territory, and a weak family, and an insignificant house, he might inherit the promises of God. For God said to him, "Get you out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, into the land which I shall show you. And I will make you a great nation, and will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be blessed. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed." [Genesis 12:1-3] And again, on his departing from Lot, God said to him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you now are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, [so that] if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." [Genesis 13:14-16] And again [the Scripture] says, "God brought forth Abram, and spoke unto him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them; so shall your seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." [Genesis 15:5-6] On account of his faith and hospitality, a son was given him in his old age; and in the exercise of obedience, he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains which He showed him. [Genesis 22:9]

Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10

8–9

Since the seed of Abraham is spread over all the earth, he speaks about this.… In the same way Paul the apostle shows the Jews, “first it was necessary that the word be proclaimed to you, but since you turn away, we are going to the Gentiles.” Isaiah addresses those among them, therefore, who would obey the calling and the Gospel word that is handed on: “You whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners.” Many from the Jews, during the apostolic times, handed on the word of Christ, not only to the land of Judah but also to the rest of the nations. For the seed of Abraham rises quickly, until the time when God remembers the election of the apostolic chorus, and he says to them, “you are my son,” or, according to the other interpretations, “you are my servant; I have chosen you and not abandoned you.” Probably the divine apostle equates the servant with himself, made present as one worthy of the honor of being a servant of the Savior, since also from the first the word proclaimed this, saying, “great to you are those called ‘my servant.’ ”

Commentary on Isaiah 2:20

8–9

(Verses 8-9) And you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend. I have taken hold of you from the ends of the earth, and summoned you from its farthest corners. I said to you, 'You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.' LXX: But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off". Paul the Apostle teaches that Jacob and Israel are both carnal and spiritual: See Israel according to the flesh (1 Cor. 10). From which we understand that there is also another according to the spirit; and the carnal are called Israel: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. And above all, it is said (In Chapter 40, verse 27): Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel: My way is hidden from the Lord: and my judgment has passed over from my God? On the contrary, now God speaks to the spiritual Israel, who has received the coming of his Lord, whom he first calls servant, then chosen, and finally the seed of Abraham. For before we received the spirit of slavery in fear (Romans 8); and afterwards, as the chosen ones, we are joined in friendship with God. Therefore, after the calling of the Gentiles, when they saw the islands and were afraid, they were astonished at the ends of the earth; they came near and approached, they are called the remnants, according to the choice of grace, of whom both the Gospel and the Evangelist write: Jesus chose these twelve, whom he also named Apostles (Luke 6), who were chosen after the servitude of the Law, in the Gospel; and they deserved to be the seed of Abraham, friends of God. For in that he apprehended them from the ends of the earth, and called Israel from its farthest borders, gathering first the people of the Jews, of whom also the Apostle Paul says: 'It was necessary that the word be preached to you first, but since you reject it, we will go to the Gentiles' (Acts 13:46).

Commentary on Isaiah

8–9

To Israel [Isaiah] awards praise at one time, then later addresses accusations. Far from acting in a contradictory manner, he does things in consonance. For those who believe are descendants of Israel, as are also those who crucified Jesus. It is, therefore, natural that [Isaiah] should praise one and accuse the other. Here, in any case, he has recalled his promises and his benefits of former times: he led their patriarch [Abraham] out of the land of the Chaldeans. He delivered their whole race from the domination of the Egyptians; and he deemed them worthy of all kinds of attention.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.8

8–9

806. But you Israel. In this part, he strengthens the Jews by the same benefits.

And first is set out the repetition of past benefits in the election of their fathers Jacob and Abraham, in whom they were distinguished from others universally: Jacob whom I have chosen: O you seed of Abraham his servant; you sons of Jacob his chosen (Ps 104[105]:6); that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calls, it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved: but Esau I have hated (Rom 9:11–13).

Commentary on Isaiah

He adds that he is to strengthen and sustain those undergoing afflictions at the hands of those [who oppose God] with the vision of the goal that awaits them. He encourages with good news of God speaking to you without deceit: “I am the Lord and God, and I strengthen your right arm,” and I say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” In the Septuagint, “I will help you, do not fear, you worm Jacob,” does not appear. This one who was after the former people called “chosen” is now called worm through its worm-like subjection to the cities of the unbelieving nations and all of their polytheistic errors. In addition, what is perfect and special in the apostolic preaching will destroy and remove the demonic energies from the depth of human thinking. Indeed, the Savior called himself a worm, saying “I am a worm and no man,” a disgrace among people and an object of their contempt. Since there were only a few who were the Savior’s disciples, there being twelve apostles, therefore the Septuagint says, “Israel, the very few.”

Commentary on Isaiah 2:20

For to none other than to God does it belong to implant courage in the fearful, saying to the fainthearted, “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed,” as says the psalmist, “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Against Eunomius 2:15

(Verse 10) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. LXX: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Therefore, to you, who are both my servant and my chosen one, who will preach among the Gentiles and endure many persecutions, I say, do not be afraid, for I am with you, to whom I speak in the Gospel: Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Do not wander, nor deviate from the truth, nor deceive yourself with false persuasion, thinking that with your inexperienced and unarmed strength, you can enter the wilderness of the nations and call the fiercest nations to gentleness. I am the one who has strengthened you and helped you; and my right hand, that is, the right hand of the righteous, that is, the Lord Savior, has supported you or protected you, as the Septuagint translates.

Commentary on Isaiah

Second, the promise of future benefits is set out; and first, as to freedom from evils, he excludes fear, because of the presence of God: fear not, for I am with you: be not afraid at their presence: for I am with you (Jer 1:8); because of the justice of their fathers: I upheld you, as the promised seed, of my just one, Abraham; or: I upheld you, to defend you, my just one, Cyrus: in their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone (Ps 90[91]:12).

Commentary on Isaiah

815. Christ upheld us, as a conqueror upholds a captive to liberate him: to the prey, my son (Gen 49:9); bring my soul out of prison (Ps 141:8[142:7]); as a physician upholds a sick man to heal him: who forgives all your iniquities: who heals all your diseases (Ps 102[103]:3); as an advocate upholds a defendant to plead to excuse him: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1); as a strong man upholds a weak man to defend him, below: I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save (Isa 63:1); the Lord will fight for you (Exod 14:14); as a husband upholds his wife to rejoice with her: I will espouse you to me (Hos 2:19).

Commentary on Isaiah

11–12

(Verses 11-12) All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. You will seek them, and you will not find them: your rebel men will be as if they were not: and like the destruction of warring men against you. LXX: Behold, they shall be confounded and ashamed, all your adversaries. They shall be as if they were not, and all your enemies shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them, those who rage against you. They shall be as if they were not, and they shall not fight against you. Behold, for your adversaries, the people of the Jews and all who fight against you, and your persecutors will be turned into nothing, and you will seek your adversaries, and you will not find them. And the reason why you will not find your adversaries is explained: because they will be as if they do not exist.

Commentary on Isaiah

This is what already happened figuratively in the epoch of the Babylonians, since the God of the universe destroyed their empire, liberated the Jews from bitter servitude and brought them back to the land of their ancestors. However, this deliverance applies properly and truly to the holy apostles and to the victorious martyrs: their enemies are covered with shame, their persecutors have today disappeared and are unknown, whereas the defenders of the truth attract all the attention and are known by all.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.12

And he sets out also the removal of enemies as to their confusion: behold all that fight against you shall be confounded: let them be confounded that persecute me (Jer 17:18); as to their destruction: they shall be as nothing, above: to destroy the nations unto nothing (Isa 30:28).

Commentary on Isaiah

And the impossibility of restoration: you shall seek them: I have seen the wicked highly exalted. And I passed by, and lo, he was not (Ps 36[37]:35–36).

Commentary on Isaiah

13–14

(Verses 13-14) For I, the Lord your God, took hold of your hand, saying to you: Do not fear, I have helped you. Do not fear, words of Jacob, you who are dead from Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. LXX: For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob, O little Israel.' I have helped you, says God, who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel. But you should not be afraid, because I have taken hold of your hand. I say to you, Do not be afraid: I have helped you; do not fear, worm of Jacob, who are dead from Israel, or as the LXX says, very few from Israel. This that we have set forth, I have helped you: do not fear, worm of Jacob, which is not found in the LXX. But the worm which is said in Hebrew, Tholath (), is called the chorus of the Apostles because of their humility and contempt, imitating the Savior, who speaks in the psalm: I am a worm, and not a man: the reproach of men, and the despising of the people (Psalm 22:7). For just as the worm penetrates the earth, so the apostolic word penetrated the cities of the nations and first entered the hardest hearts. And rightly few are called from Israel, because in comparison to the whole world, very few from the Jewish nation believed, to whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'Do not be afraid, little flock' (Luke 12:32). Or, according to the Hebrew, the dead from Israel, who also say with the Apostle: 'I die daily' (2 Corinthians 15:31). And elsewhere: I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20).

Commentary on Isaiah

There are many who think of the holy mysteries and the saving message in disrespectful ways, but they amount to nothing, and such impious adversaries will perish. For those who oppose the divine agents of preaching are doing no less than fighting against the teachings of godliness.… For thousands will make war against God’s ministers, but these will end up as though they never existed and will clearly be brought low, falling under the machinery of the wrath of God. [Isaiah] tells them to quit relying on human strength and their own foolhardiness, saying, “I am your God who strengthens your arm,” that is, I am the one who supports you and makes you prevail in any test. I say to you, “Do not be afraid, O little Israel.”

Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.41:11-14

When we hear the prophet say, “You, Israel, my child, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, whom I have loved,” we do not think, do we, that the Jews are only flesh and not complete human beings composed of bodies and rational souls?… And [don’t we think] that the seed of Abraham is not without a soul and not without a mind but that it possesses everything that belongs to Abraham’s nature?… We confess one Son, who, according to the divine apostle, took hold of the seed of Abraham and brought about the salvation of human beings.

Dialogue 1

He also shows the reason for their destruction: for I am the Lord your God: put forth your hand from on high (Ps 143:7[144:6]).

Commentary on Isaiah

The Spirit described his generation as a worm that was without meaning. The type that the Holy Spirit shaped attains its meaning.

Hymns on the Nativity 1:10

Therefore, you will subdue kings and kingdoms with your frailty and will overturn their schemes and proud designs. So [Isaiah] calls the Jews, about whom he is speaking here, “worm,” in order that they may understand that they cannot rely on their strength; nonetheless, their weakness will not hinder them, since worms are able to consume hard wood, so that, in the future, they will destroy the pride and power of very strong kingdoms.

Commentary on Isaiah 41:14

“I have placed you like a new threshing wagon [sledge] with jagged wheels.” … We can also say that the person of the church is in a new wagon with the jagged wheels of the preaching of the gospel, which cannot be worked at all in the old way of the letter but in the new way of the Spirit, and which wears away the hardest hearts of unbelievers, separating the wheat from the chaff.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:4

This shows clearly that the prophetic text applies to those who have believed in the Lord. It is a small part of Israel that believed, while the major part refused to. That is why Paul said that even at the present time there remains a remnant according to God’s gracious election.… As for the name “worm,” it fits very well. In the first place, this remnants’ appearance was contemptible. In fact, this is what the divine apostle meant when he said, “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise.” But Isaiah calls them worms for another reason. The worm that lodges in wood of poor quality will in a short time wear it down. Similarly, those who are athletes of the truth will, while hidden and imperceptible, destroy the error of the idols.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.14

807. Second, as to abundance of goods; and first, against slavery, he sets out the very yoke of slavery: fear not, you worm, as if to say: you who were thought vile and trampled on as a worm, and were reckoned for dead: I am a worm, and no man (Ps 21:7[22:6]); he also sets out divine help, below: I have helped you (50).

Commentary on Isaiah

15–16

(Verses 15-16) I have made you like a new threshing sledge, with sharp teeth. You will crush the mountains and reduce them to dust; you will make them like fine dust. You will scatter them to the wind, and a whirlwind will blow them away. Then you will rejoice in the Lord; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. LXX: Behold, I have made you like new grinding wheels of a wagon, in the manner of saws: and you will grind the mountains and crush the hills: and you will scatter them like dust and the wind will carry them away, and the storm will disperse them. But you will rejoice in the Lord and in the holy ones of Israel. And what follows: I have set thee as a new threshing cart, having tearing beaks, signifies that the preaching of the Gospel crushes the opposing powers and lifts up the spiritual wickedness that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; which, according to the variety of pride, are called mountains and hills. And when these are taken away and scattered like a whirlwind, let Israel exult and rejoice in the Holy Lord of Israel. We can also say that an ecclesiastical man, having the serpents of evangelical preaching on a new wagon, which does not work at all in the oldness of the letter, but in the freshness of the spirit, crushes the hardest hearts of unbelievers: separating the wheat from the chaff, and breaking mountains and hills, that is, all the leaders of heretics, who, being crushed and broken, are reduced to dust and taught that they are nothing, so that those who were gathered wickedly may be divided into their own good.

Commentary on Isaiah

He also sets out the benefit of exaltation as to the subjugation of enemies: I have made you as a new thrashing wain, above: Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wain (Isa 25:10); which perhaps was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees.

Commentary on Isaiah

And as to their exaltation: and you shall exult: we will exult and rejoice in you (Song 1:3[4]).

Commentary on Isaiah

17–20

(Verse 17 and following) The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. LXX: And the poor and needy will rejoice, for they will seek water and there will be none; their tongue will be parched with thirst. I, the Lord God of Israel, will hear them; I will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the cypress, together with the fir tree and the pine, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. The common people, poor and humble, who did not have knowledge of the truth, sought through various teachers and the various doctrines of philosophers for healing waters, and they did not find them, because they do not exist; their language was parched with thirst, without Law and Prophets. For they had consumed all their substance on doctors according to the faith of the Gospel (Luke 8); and they could not be freed from the blood of idolatry and the blood of sacrifices. Therefore, the Lord God of Israel did not completely abandon them, nor did he allow them to perish forever; but he opened rivers on the tops of the hills, or springs in the midst of the fields. Which rivers drew their beginning from that river which is read in the Psalms: The impetuousness of the river makes the city of God glad (Ps. 46:4). And in another place: The river of God is filled with water. Which waters and springs sprang from that fountain which speaks through Jeremiah: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water (Jer. 2:13). And above, in this same Prophet, it is said: They shall drink waters from the springs of the Savior. Of which it is also sung in the Psalms: Bless the Lord, O God, from the springs of Israel (Ps. 68:27). And he made, he said, a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into flowing water. Concerning these waters, the Savior spoke in the mystical discourse of the Gospel (John 4:13-14): 'Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' And again: 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-39). But, says the Evangelist, he was speaking about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. Therefore, since the multitude that had once been deserted by the Church had been irrigated with life-giving water, according to the Septuagint, cedars, boxwoods, myrtles, cypresses, and poplars sprout from it, and according to the Hebrew and other interpreters, cedars, junipers, myrtles, olive wood, firs, elms, and boxwoods together. These varieties of trees signify the diversity of spiritual grace. And because the nature of them is well known to all, we will now explain the Setta, which Theodotio translated as a thorn. It is a type of tree that grows in the desert and resembles a white thorn. From this tree, all the wood for the ark and the tabernacle was made, which is called Settim (Exodus 37). This wood is incorruptible and very light, surpassing all other types of wood in both strength and beauty. But cedar and cypress, and myrtle, of excellent fragrance and incorruptible, are joined with elm and poplar, or with boxwood, or they are most suitable for grafting vines or for various works. All these things are placed together in solitude, so that at least one string of the Lord's lyre and some virtue of the Church's graces may not seem to be lacking. That all may understand and know together in their minds that the hand of the Lord has brought forth all these things, so that in the dryness of the nations the streams of virtues may be found, and in a once deserted and full of saltiness land, cedars and cypresses, and other trees may be born, whose height and top reaching toward the heavens would be illuminated by the wood of the olive, which is the nourishment of light and rest for those who labor.

Commentary on Isaiah

Second, against poverty, he first sets out the disadvantage of poverty: the needy and the poor, above: their nobles have perished with famine (Isa 5:13); second, the divine intention: I the Lord will hear them: he shall call upon me and I will hear him (Ps 90:15).

Commentary on Isaiah

God is not offering his services as a water manager or a farmer when he says, “I will open rivers in a dry land; I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the box tree.”

Against Marcion 3.5

He refers in this way to those who have been entrusted with the grace of instruction. For he has said in the holy Gospels: “He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” “I will make the desert pools of water and a parched land springs.” He gives the name “desert” to the Gentiles; this promise had been made to them similarly in the preceding passages.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.18

808. Third, he sets out the benefit as to abundance of waters in mountainous places: I will open rivers in the high hills, above: there shall be upon every high mountain rivers of running waters (Isa 30:25); and in desert places: I will turn the desert, that is, your land formerly desert: he has turned a wilderness into pools of waters (Ps 106[107]:35).

Commentary on Isaiah

816. There is the water, of tears poured out: who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? (Jer 9:1); of baptismal purity: unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5); of spiritual grace: he that believes in me: out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38); of divine wisdom: I, wisdom, have poured out rivers (Sir 24:40); of internal joy: drink water out of your own cistern (Prov 5:15).

Commentary on Isaiah

All these [types of trees] are equally placed in solitude, lest even one chord from the harp of the Lord and any virtue of the graces of the church seem to be missing. They are planted in the desert so that all might understand and recognize with a common mind that the hand of the Lord has accomplished all these things, so that in the desert of the nations there came rivers of virtues and in a land once a desert and full of salty water the cedar and cypress and other trees may grow, whose height and stature rush to the skies. The olive tree is the same tree that supplies both light and relaxation after working.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:5

The water was not life-giving. For they were not able to satisfy those who longed for truth from their teachings. Their tongues remained parched from thirst. But I will hear them, says the God of Israel, and I will not abandon them. For he had mercy on the mass of those who strayed and did not leave them without gifts from above, but rather he gave to them in fullness, and this in such a way as is finely described in the verses that follow.… The desert and the land short of water is the region of the Gentiles. The desert that will run dry and barren of any flowering growth, meaning spiritual growth, is the way of shriveling, where the wild trees are those useful only for burning in fire. The water allows the nations to bear fruit. To those who were once thirsty he says, “I will make rivers flow on the mountains,” that is, holy people who are enriched by the divine word from above and pour out like flowing streams to the thirsty.

Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.41:16-20

And as to the beauty of the trees: I will plant in the wilderness: his branches were multiplied (Ezek 31:5).

Commentary on Isaiah

809. Fourth, he sets out the fruit of the benefit: that they may see: that they may know that there is no God beside you, and that they may show forth your wonders (Sir 36:2).

Commentary on Isaiah

(Verse 21) Make your case, says the Lord: bring forth if you have anything to say, says the king Jacob. LXX: Your judgment is near, says the Lord God: they have come and drawn near your counsels, says the king of Jacob. As we said above, Jacob and Israel are two, those who do not believe and those who believe in the Lord Savior: thus the nations are called, and they flow in rivers and springs in the once desert Church, and with a wonderful abundance of a variety of trees, all most abundantly fruitful, those who refused to believe in Christ from the nations are provoked to judgment, that they may answer why they did not want to see, and know and understand, because the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created all things. He says, 'Let your idols approach, which you think are the strongest. Or bring forward, if you have anything by chance within you; and reveal your plans, in what way, with what understanding, you have not wanted to accept the revealed truth. At the same time, there is a direct challenge to the idols themselves, which are insensible, and have neither the ability to hear nor to respond.

Commentary on Isaiah

To the expression “your judgment draws near,” Symmachus has given the following interpretation: “Present your case, the Lord has said; bring up your solid supports, the king of Jacob has said.” Become judges, he says, between myself and the idols; produce your solid props or, according to Theodotion, “your firm supports,” that is to say, the idols. Let them reveal the future; let them inform us of [the things] that have happened from the beginning. I, for my part, have not ceased to do the one and the other. Through my servant Moses, I have even taught what took place before the creation of humanity. As for the future, I have revealed it through [Moses] and through the other prophets.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.23

810. Bring your cause near. Here he sets out the disputation against the idols themselves; and first, he sets out the disputation; second, the determination of the sentence: and I saw, and there was no one (Isa 41:28).

Concerning the first, he does two things: first, he disputes against the idols with universal reasons; second, by a reason taken from a particular fact: I have raised up (Isa 41:25).

Concerning the first, he does three things.

First, he calls them to judgment: bring your cause near, that is, come near to me that we may be judged together; you, idols or idolaters, bring hither, that is, allege, if you have any thing, that you might prove that you are gods: God has stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judges gods (Ps 81[82]:1).

Commentary on Isaiah

“Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.” … It is a further sign that the idols are not gods that they can do neither good nor evil. It is not saying that the idols or the demons inhabiting idols do not do evil frequently, but that unless God permits them to have power they cannot do so. So in the Gospel demons ask that they might have power over a herd of pigs, and in Job we read that without the Lord’s command the devil is not able to destroy livestock or goods.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:6

(Verse 22) Let them come near and declare to us what has happened: declare the past events, and we will set our hearts and know their outcome; and reveal to us what is yet to come. LXX: Let them draw near and announce to us what is to come: or tell us the former things that have happened, and we will set our minds on them: and we will know the last things. 'Tell us,' he says, 'either about the past or the future, and demonstrate your power from the events of things.' However, this signifies that after the coming of Christ, all the idols fell silent: where is Apollo of Delphi, and Loxias, and Delius, and Clarus, and the other idols, promising knowledge of the future, which deceived the most powerful kings? Why could they not predict anything about Christ; nothing about his Apostles; nothing about the ruin and destruction of the temples? If they could not predict their own demise, how could they announce the fate of others, whether good or evil? But if someone were to say that many things have been predicted by idols, it must be understood that they have always joined falsehood with truth, and thus moderated their statements, so that whatever happened, whether good or bad, could be interpreted in either way. Like the saying of King Pyrrhus of the Epirotes: I assure you, descendant of Aeacus, that you are able to conquer the Romans. And as for Croesus: Craesus, having crossed the river Halys, will lose his vast kingdom.

Commentary on Isaiah

If you do not want to demonstrate your personal strength from your knowledge or prescience, then do so through a demonstration of your power. Demonstrate your power, whether it be kind or punishing. “It is I who will put to death and I who will bring to life, I who will strike down and I who will heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hands.” But because you are lacking in knowledge and in power, I will now expose your emptiness. “They have dug you from the ground as an abomination.” For whether they are wooden or from gold, silver or bronze, they all have their origin from the earth.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.24

Second, he sets out a twofold argument: one is taken from divine knowledge, which knew all things fully, past and future, and which the idols do not have: tell us the former things what they were: for all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created (Sir 23:29[20]).

Commentary on Isaiah

(Verse 23) Announce what will happen in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Do good or do evil, if you can, and let us talk and see together. LXX: Also, tell us what is to come, and announce to us what will happen in the end: and we will know that you are gods. Do good and evil, and we will admire: and we will see at the same time where you are, and where your work is. Another indication is that idols are not gods, because they can neither do good nor do evil. Not that idols, or demons sitting on idols, have often not done evil; but rather, unless power has been granted to them by the Lord, they cannot do this. Finally, they implore in the Gospel to have power over a herd of pigs (Matthew VIII). And in Job we read, without the Lord's command (Diabolus) that a holy man was not even able to destroy animals and possessions. And it is not surprising that this is true about God, for the Apostle Paul also teaches that certain people belong to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Commentary on Isaiah

The other is taken from divine power, which can punish and impart benefits: do also good or evil, if you can: and whether it be evil that one doth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it (Bar 6:33).

Commentary on Isaiah

(Verse 24) Behold, you are nothing (from nothing): and your work is from something that does not exist: an abomination is he who chooses you. LXX: they have chosen you from the land of abominations. Or this may be said, that mute images of humans and insensible things are neither able to do good nor evil, nor to know the past nor the future, because they are made out of nothing and out of that which does not exist, and not they themselves, but rather the one who worships them, is deserving of abomination. For the idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see (Psalm 115: 4-6). So how can they know and proclaim the future or recount the past, and do good or evil, when they have no understanding like humans and animals? It does not matter what material they appear to be made of, since they are all earthly.

Commentary on Isaiah

Third, he deduces their defect as to material cause: behold, you, idols, are of nothing, created out of matter; as to formal cause, your work, that is, the artificial form, which fashioned in you a divinity, which does not exist; and as to efficient cause: an abomination, that is, abominable. Or: you, artists, your work, namely, the idols, he that has chosen you, worshippers: we know that an idol is nothing (1 Cor 8:4); every artist is confounded in his graven idol (Jer 10:14).

Commentary on Isaiah

This is spoken against the idols and those who after the coming of Christ still refused to abandon them but maintained them in their error. And he says that he will raise up a people of nations from the north.… But this will be the response of all, all those who follow vanity and winds and adore the works of their own hands. What we have said about the idols and the peoples we can refer to the teachings of corruption and to their princes, the heresiarchs, that when Christ announced peace to the church and showed it the way of truth, they followed error so as to be like wind and a whirlwind.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:7

(Verse 25) He stirred up from the north, and he will come from the rising sun: he will call my name, and he will bring magistrates like clay: and like a potter treading the earth. LXX: But I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; they shall call upon my name. Let the princes come and be like the potter's vessel, and let the potter tread down the clay. Yet he speaks against the idols, and those who did not want to abandon them after the coming of Christ. He says that he himself, having arisen from the North, has raised up the people of the nations. For from the North shall evil be kindled against all inhabitants of the earth. And to Jeremiah it is said: What do you see, Jeremiah? And he answered: I see a burning pot, and its face is towards the North. They are stirred up from the North, that they may believe in him who came from the East. As we read above: Who has stirred up the just one from the East, or justice? Also in another place: Behold a man, the East is his name. Those who call them (Others have called them) by my name, so that, forsaking idols, they may worship one God. For he himself speaks in the Gospel: I came in my Father's name, and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, and you will receive him (John 5:43). He will trample down the princes and rulers and all the pride of the world, and they will be subjected to him like clay in the hand of the potter, so that he may make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor (Romans 9). The Hebrews, rising from the North, and coming from the rising of the sun, interpret it as Assyria and Persia, who will come to Jerusalem, and trample all its princes; and let him know that none of the idols they worship will come to pass, except the Lord alone, who has avenged them for their sins.

Commentary on Isaiah

He threatens the idols with destruction. He calls “the one who comes from the east” the righteousness that has awakened, concerning which he had earlier said, “Who has roused righteousness from the east?” And he calls the one from the north the church drawn from the nations, toward which came the one from Theman or from the “rainy country,” according to the other translators. For God came from Theman, that is, from the south. It is to this church that the Master Christ has revealed himself, finding it scattered by the deceit of the idols. He warmed [the church] with the southern rays and led it to life. Its leaders, priests and teachers have trampled the idols under their feet.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.25

811. I have raised up. Here he takes up a certain particular fact to argue against idols.

And first, he foretells something to come: from the north, Chaldea; from the rising of the sun, Persia, which subjugated to itself various lands and princes, potter (plastes)—plasma, a thing produced; mystically: he who comes from the north signifies the gentile; he who comes from the rising of the sun, Christ: I shall bring them to naught, like the dirt in the streets (Ps 17:43[18:42]).

Commentary on Isaiah

(Verse 26) Who announced it from the beginning, so that we may say: You are just. There is neither announcer, nor predictor, nor listener to your words. LXX: For who can declare to you the things that are from the beginning, that we may know them that shall be in the future? And we shall say that they are true: there is none that announces, nor that hears your words. These things, which I say I have done according to the prophetic tradition, as if they were already past, or, according to Symmachus, I promise they will be in the future, no demon or idol can predict. Therefore, all oracles have remained silent, because there is no one to announce, no one to hear, while the dull hearts of the Gentiles were first understood in their own terror, and they left behind false prophecies.

Commentary on Isaiah

And what has been accomplished confirms the text: the oracles spread through all parts of the earth and of the sea have ceased to speak, and those who used to attend to them openmouthed have now turned away from them to learn the truth.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.26

Second, from this, he sets out an argument under the form of a question: that he who can foretell this is justly called God; and he who cannot, is not: who has declared, below: assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear (Isa 48:14).

Third, he excludes proof of divinity from the idols: there is none, any of you gods, that shows nor, any of your worshippers, that hears, etc., they have eyes and see not; they have ears and hear not (Ps 113:13–15[115:5–6]).

Commentary on Isaiah

I want you to know, God is saying, I have intended from the beginning of everything to give authority to my church over all things, and the authority of my kingdom I shall give to my Zion. And I shall stir up my Jerusalem, preparing it as the road on which are all those who labor in it towards the thrice-blessed goal—to the God over all and his heavenly kingdom.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:21

(Verse 27) The first to Zion will say: Behold, they are here, and I will give Jerusalem a messenger. LXX: I will give the beginning to Zion: and I will console Jerusalem in the way. And the Lord will speak first to Zion, that is, to His Church, and He will say to her: See, your children are here, whom I have given to you through my faith. But it signifies the Apostles, who preached the Gospel throughout the whole world. Zion and Jerusalem differ in name; but as one city, so is one Church.

Commentary on Isaiah

27–28

"I will give a leader to Zion, and I will console Jerusalem as I go." … Again the multitude of those going astray is promised the revealing of the Savior, through whom each one under heaven has been saved and is summoned to the recognition of the truth. So that we could have a guide who would be able and skilled to lead us along the path of salvation, the only-begotten Son of God became a human being. And though he was King by nature in that he is considered to be God and from God the Father and ruler of all things with all creation under his feet, he is said to be elected king among us.

Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.41:27-28

Fourth, he shows the sign of divinity in the true God: the first, that is, the only one, our God; behold I am here to help, evangelists, announcing things to come: verily, your God is the God of gods (Dan 2:47); or: the first, prophet of the Lord, in the person of God; or the first, the firstborn Son of God: he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists (Eph 4:11).

Commentary on Isaiah

28–29

(Verses 28-29) And I saw, and there was none among them that could counsel, and when I asked, no one could answer a word. Behold, all are unjust, and their works are vain; their idols are wind and emptiness. LXX: For there is no one from the nations, and from their idols there was no one who announced. And if I ask them where they are, they will not respond to me: for they are your makers, and they deceive you in vain. Therefore, let all the nations that follow the error of idols be questioned by us, so that they may respond where they come from. And this will be the answer of all, that they all follow vanity and winds, and adore the works of their own hands. Whatever we have said about idols and nations, let us attribute it to the doctrines of wickedness; and to their leaders, heresiarchs, who, when the Church announces peace in Christ and shows them the way of truth, themselves follow error and are compared to wind and whirlwind.

Commentary on Isaiah

28–29

812. And I saw. Here from the disputation set out above, he deduces the determination of the sentence, and it is self-evident: they are vain things, and a ridiculous work (Jer 10:15 and 51:18).

Commentary on Isaiah

It is in a perfectly appropriate way that he both shows the stupid nature of the idols and accuses of impiety those who have fashioned them. For if the idols are inanimate, their makers are full of stupidity and impiety.

Commentary on Isaiah 12:41.29