Isaiah 42
Commentary from 30 fathers
He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice], nor shall his voice be heard without.
οὐ κεκράξεται οὐδὲ ἀνήσει, οὐδὲ ἀκουσθήσεται ἔξω ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ.
не возопїе́тъ, нижѐ ѡ҆сла́битъ, нижѐ ᲂу҆слы́шитсѧ внѣ̀ гла́съ є҆гѡ̀:
(Verse 2) He will not cry out or raise his voice: his voice will not be heard in the streets. LXX: he will not cry out, nor raise his voice, nor will his voice be heard in the streets. He will not cry out, for he will be gentle and meek. He will not show favoritism in judgment, nor will he raise his voice in the streets. According to Symmachus, he will not be deceived, understanding all the schemes of the devil. Or according to the Septuagint, he will not leave the people of the Jews, but will call them to repentance.' Nor will his voice be heard outside of Galilee and Judea, for he did not preach the Gospel among the other nations. And if we read that he was in the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matt. XV), or in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, which is now called Paneas, it should be understood that it is not written that he actually entered those cities.
Commentary on Isaiah
To which he joins his meekness: he shall not cry: the words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools (Eccl 9:17).
Second, he shows the equality of the judge: nor have respect to person: God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34); to which he joins his piety in coming to help: neither shall his voice, the voice of his preaching, be heard abroad, outside Judea, so that he should first come to the aid of those to whom he was sent (Matt 15:24): to day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Ps 94[95]:8).
828. There is the cry (see 42:2),
of devout prayer: with a strong cry and tears (Heb 5:7);
of attentive preaching: and on the last festival day, Jesus cried (John 7:37);
of strife and contention, above: I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isa 5:2).
Commentary on Isaiah
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
κάλαμον τεθλασμένον οὐ συντρίψει καὶ λίνον καπνιζόμενον οὐ σβέσει, ἀλλὰ εἰς ἀλήθειαν ἐξοίσει κρίσιν.
тро́сти сокрꙋше́ны не сотре́тъ и҆ льна̀ кꙋрѧ́щасѧ не ᲂу҆гаси́тъ, но во и҆́стинꙋ и҆знесе́тъ сꙋ́дъ:
By such means was the prophet—very indignant, because of the transgression of the people and the slaughter of the prophets—both taught to act in a more gentle manner, and the Lord’s advent was pointed out, that it should be subsequent to that law that was given by Moses, mild and tranquil, in which he would neither break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. The mild and peaceful repose of his kingdom was indicated likewise. For after the wind that rends the mountains, and after the earthquake and after the fire come the tranquil and peaceful times of his kingdom, in which the Spirit of God does, in the most gentle manner, vivify and increase humankind.
Against Heresies 4:20.10
He does not say, “Jacob my son and Israel my beloved,” but simply “Behold my son and my beloved.” Hence, the names of Jacob and Israel are marked with an obelisk in the Septuagint, as if the prophecy were not in the Hebrew. And it is silently omitted by the other translators, as it is not found in the Hebrew.… Therefore, the prophecy does not apply either actually or figuratively to the Jews but only to the Christ of God, to whom clear evidence and the results bear witness. For Christ alone prophesied the future judgment to the Gentiles, quietly sojourning in human life and setting judgment on the earth. And not only did he not break the bruised reed, but so to say he bound it up, setting up and strengthening the weak and the bruised in heart. And just as Christ did not neglect the sick and the corrupt, who needed his medicine, or bruise the repentant with harsh judgment, so he did not quench those who continued in evil and were smoking under the fire of passion by preventing their following their own choice; nor did he punish any of them before the time, reserving the time of their due chastisement for the general judgment.
Proof of the Gospel 9:15
It appears that Matthew the Evangelist did not by preferring the authority of the old interpretation ignore the truth of the Hebrew text. Rather, as a Hebrew among Hebrews and deeply taught in the law of the Lord, Matthew distributed his Hebrew learning to the nations. For if the Septuagint translators are accepted when they write, “Jacob my son, I will lift him up; Israel my chosen, my soul has lifted him up,” then how can we understand the text fulfilled in Jesus, since it was obviously written about Jacob and Israel? We read that the blessed Matthew, not only in this verse but in another, has done this: “Out of Egypt I have called my son,” while the Septuagint translated, “Out of Egypt he has called his sons.
Letter 121.2
For after the coming of the Lord and Savior, who gave the spirit of the gospel interpretation, [Christ] rested in the death of the Jewish letter, with which all works are bruised. Christ did not snuff out the smoking wick, reducing it to ashes. Instead, he ignited a great flame from this little spark, a spark that had almost gone out. The result is that the whole earth was ablaze with the fire of the Lord and Savior.
Letter 121.2
(Verse 3) A bruised reed he will not break: a smoldering wick he will not put out: he will faithfully bring forth justice. LXX: A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not extinguish: he will bring forth justice in truth. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. For he will be merciful to all and will grant forgiveness to sinners, saying to the woman: Have confidence, daughter, your sins are forgiven (Luke VII, 48). And the smoking flax, or as the others have translated it, dim and gloomy, will not be extinguished: those who were near to being extinguished were saved by the mercy of the Lord (which we have discussed about the Jews and the nations in the aforementioned writings); but with truth He will judge all things; not fearing the Scribes and Pharisees, whom He boldly called hypocrites (Mat. VII, XV, XXII, XXIII throughout, and Luc. VI, XII).
Commentary on Isaiah
[Isaiah] calls him “servant” or “slave,” according to the other interpreters, in connection with his humanity. It is in relation to this that he has [also] given him the name of Jacob and Israel, seeing that it is from Jacob, who is also Israel, that [Christ] descended according to the flesh. In the same way he also receives the most Holy Spirit, not insofar as [he is] God—for he lacks nothing—but as man for the purpose of becoming the model for those who have believed in him. Of this gentleness both his words and his deeds give witness: “Learn from me,” [Christ] says, “for I am gentle and lowly of heart.” Even when he received a blow to the face, he said to the one who struck him, “Friend, if I have spoken evil, bear witness to the evil; but if well, why do you strike me?” Although he could destroy those who unleashed rage against him by having lightning strike them immediately, he breaks them like a bruised reed and snuffs them like smoldering flax; he has borne their folly. For [Christ] was aware of the outcome of these events, and he knew that the truth would be manifested through them. It was likewise even after he had been delivered over to death; he shone forth anew, filled the earth with truth and had invited the Gentiles to put their hope in him. It is this that the prophetic text has said: “In his name the nations put their trust.”
Commentary on Isaiah 12:42.4
[The abbot] must be aware of his own frailty and remember that it is forbidden to break the already bruised reed. We do not mean that he should countenance the growth of vice but that he use discretion and tenderness as he sees it expedient for the different characters of his brothers. He is to endeavor much more to be loved than to be feared.
Rule of St. Benedict 64
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench,” that is, [Christ] will not be hard or angered with those who have a feeble spirit. He will not render powerless that strength that is left to them, but he will lead them back to virtue with kindness. [Isaiah] calls a “dimly burning wick” the one whose oil is finished and where there is no greasy matter left. This means, when the people are about to be extinguished because of the affliction of captivity, he will make them shine against their hope. This is clearly said with regard to Zerubbabel but is evidently accomplished by our Lord, the Savior.
Commentary on Isaiah 42:3
And in dissembling: the bruised reed, namely, the kingdom of the Jews, smoking flax, of the priests: that which was broken you have not bound up (Ezek 34:4).
Third, he shows the truth of his judgment: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth: he shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth (Ps 95[96]:13).
Commentary on Isaiah
He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgment on the earth: and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
ἀναλάμψει καὶ οὐ θραυσθήσεται, ἕως ἄνθῇ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κρίσιν· καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν.
возсїѧ́етъ и҆ не потꙋ́хнетъ, до́ндеже положи́тъ на землѝ сꙋ́дъ, и҆ на и҆́мѧ є҆гѡ̀ ꙗ҆зы́цы ᲂу҆пова́ти и҆́мꙋтъ.
With truth and boldness to all, he proclaims the judgment of God, which has not ceased to operate. Rather, God’s judgment is like light shining through the resurrection of the dead, which the prophetic word announced, saying, “He will give light and not be crushed.” For those who planned Christ’s death tried to crush him and extinguish him. For it is the nature of all mortal species to be crushed by death. But it did not crush him. Christ was the only person of all time who was shown to be stronger than death.
Commentary on Isaiah 2:22
(Verse 4) He will not be sad or discouraged, until he establishes justice on earth: and the coastlands will wait for his law. LXX: he will shine and not be broken, until he establishes justice upon the earth: and the nations will hope in his name. But what follows: It will shine, and will not be crushed, until He establishes judgment upon the Earth, the Evangelist Matthew did not include (Mat. XII): or perhaps between judgment and judgment, they were omitted due to an error by the writer. But it signifies that, rising from the dead, he enlightened all, and was not crushed by death, until he placed judgment upon the earth: of whom it is spoken in the Gospel: I have come into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (John 9:39). Concerning which we have interpreted: He will not be sad, nor troubled; but will always maintain an equal countenance: which they falsely boast about Socrates the Philosopher, that he was never, more than usual, either sad or joyful. For which reason Aquila and Theodotius are interpreted: It will not hide, and it will not run, until it establishes judgment on earth. And the meaning is: no sadness will deter the face, nor will it hurry to punishment, who has reserved the truth of judgment for the last time. What follows: and the law of that island they will expect, the nations, clearly, put hope in its name: which in the Scriptures are called islands, because they are open to incursions of persecutors from every side. But let us understand his law, not the one given through Moses, but the Gospel: For from Zion a law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (see above, II). Concerning this law, Jeremiah also prophesies: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will establish a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (Jeremiah 31:31, 32).
Commentary on Isaiah
To which he joins his pleasantness: he shall not be sad, in his heart, nor troublesome, in his face, for he was always cheerful and pleasant, keeping evenness of mind, even if, as to the sensible part, there was the suffering of sadness, not indeed of necessity, but of will; thus, my soul is sorrowful even unto death (Matt 26:38); the joyfulness of the heart (Sir 30:23[22]).
820. Third, he shows the power of the Lord: till he set the final judgment, or his precept, by the preaching of the Apostles; his law, the Gospel: he shall be the expectation of nations (Gen 49:10), below: for, the islands wait for me (Isa 60:9). Others explain these things of Darius the king of the Persians, who was meek, just and peaceful, and whom the Lord chose to liberate the Jews.
Commentary on Isaiah
Thus saith the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it:
οὕτω λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ πήξας αὐτόν, ὁ στερεώσας τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ διδοὺς πνοὴν τῷ λαῷ τῷ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς καὶ πνεῦμα τοῖς πατοῦσιν αὐτήν·
Та́кѡ гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ, сотвори́вый не́бо и҆ водрꙋзи́вый є҆̀, ᲂу҆твержде́й зе́млю и҆ ꙗ҆̀же на не́й, и҆ даѧ́й дыха́нїе лю́демъ, и҆̀же на не́й, и҆ дꙋ́хъ ходѧ́щымъ на не́й:
The breath of life, which also rendered man [a person] an animated being, is one thing, and the vivifying Spirit another, which also caused him to become spiritual. And for this reason Isaiah said, “Thus says the Lord, who made heaven and established it, who founded the earth and the things therein, and gave breath to the people on it and the Spirit to those walking on it”; thus telling us that breath is indeed given in common to all people on earth but that the Spirit is theirs alone who tread down earthly desires.
Against Heresies 5:12.2
And again, “who gave breath to the people on the earth and spirit to those walking on it.” For at first the soul, that is, “breath,” was given to the people who go around on the earth, that is, to those acting in flesh in a fleshly manner; then later the Spirit was given to those who walk on the earth, that is, those who subdue the works of the flesh, as the apostle affirms, “Not that which is spiritual first, but that which is animal and then that which is spiritual.” For although Adam from the beginning prophesied that great mystery in Christ and the church, “this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, on which account a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and they two will become one flesh,” he was subject to a falling of the spirit.
On the Soul 11:3-4
It says, “He who gives spirit to the people who are on the earth, and spirit to them who walk on it.” For undoubtedly every one who walks on the earth, that is, every earthly and corporeal being, is a partaker of the Holy Spirit that he receives from God.
On First Principles 1:3.4
The name by which he will be praised as the Lord and God of all, [Isaiah] says, “I will give to no other” but to you alone, whom I shall grant to be light to the nations. Hence, in the promise the Christ of God is called Lord and God by all the nations, the Father having granted him alone that glory. Next comes “nor will I give my powers to the carved images,” or, according to Aquila, “my worship to carved images,” or, with Symmachus, “my praise to carved images.” … According to this, Christ alone is called God since to him alone and to no other has God, who is above all things, given his glory and power.
Commentary on Isaiah 2:22
The Son is both sent and given, and the Spirit also is both sent and given; they have assuredly a oneness of Godhead who have a oneness of action.
On the Holy Spirit 3.2.10
(Verse 5) Thus says the Lord God: He who creates the heavens and stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it. It was uncertain who has said before: Behold my servant, I will take him: my chosen, my soul has pleased him. I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. After the condemnation of idols, a sudden speech had burst forth. Behold my servant, and the rest, which we have interpreted from the Father's perspective on Christ. Therefore, to not leave it ambiguous who said the previous things, he adds and says: Thus says the Lord God, creating the heavens and stretching them out. Or as the Septuagint translated: He made the heaven and fixed it. Therefore, the Creator and Lord of the universe himself promised the coming of his Christ, who not only stretched out and fixed the heavens, but also established the earth with its lofty mass, and everything that springs forth from it, so that the invisible things of him may be understood and seen from the things that are made (Rom. I); as well as his everlasting power and divinity. He who gave breath to all who dwell on earth, the first law of mortals. For God breathed into the face of Adam the breath of life, and he became a living soul (Gen. II). But the Spirit properly belongs to those who tread upon the earth; and the wisdom of the flesh subjects itself to its own power.
Commentary on Isaiah
821. Thus says the Lord God. Here he foretells the sending.
And first, he sets out the power of the one who sends as to the creation of heavenly things: that created the heavens; as to the disposition of earthly things: that established the earth; as to the animation of living things: that gives breath, of natural life, and spirit, freely: the Lord, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man in him (Zech 12:1).
Commentary on Isaiah
I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles:
ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκάλεσά σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν
а҆́зъ гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ призва́хъ тѧ̀ въ пра́вдѣ, и҆ ᲂу҆держꙋ̀ за рꙋ́кꙋ твою̀ и҆ ᲂу҆крѣплю́ тѧ: и҆ да́хъ тѧ̀ въ завѣ́тъ ро́да і҆и҃лева, во свѣ́тъ ꙗ҆зы́кѡвъ,
And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. [Isaiah 42:6] And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
Moses then received it, but they proved themselves unworthy. Learn now how we have received it. Moses, as a servant, received it; but the Lord himself, having suffered in our behalf, hath given it to us, that we should be the people of inheritance. But He was manifested, in order that they might be perfected in their iniquities, and that we, being constituted heirs through Him, might receive the testament of the Lord Jesus, who was prepared for this end, that by His personal manifestation, redeeming our hearts (which were already wasted by death, and given over to the iniquity of error) from darkness, He might by His word enter into a covenant with us. For it is written how the Father, about to redeem us from darkness, commanded Him to prepare a holy people for Himself. The prophet therefore declares, "I, the Lord Thy God, have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, and to bring forth from fetters them that are bound, and those that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." Ye perceive, then, whence we have been redeemed.
The Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter XIV
Since, therefore, we were as though blind before, and when we sat as though enclosed by the prison house of foolishness in the darkness, not knowing God and his truth, we were enlightened by him who adopted us by his gracious treatment (his will in our favor). And when he had freed us as from evils and bonds and brought us into the light of wisdom, he recognized us as the heirs of his heavenly kingdom.
Divine Institutes 4:20
6–7(Verses 6-7) I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Therefore, he to whom such great praises are sung has spoken these words to him, whose law the islands await and the nations: I am the Lord who called you in righteousness; of whom he himself speaks in the Gospel, Father, the world does not know you (John XVII, 25); so that he may be not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. And I took hold of your hand, for whatever the Son does, the Father does also. And I saved you, who preserves all things yourself. And I gave you into a covenant with the people of Israel, to whom I had promised that you would come. And into the light of the Gentiles, who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, so that you would open the eyes of the blind who had not seen God before. And you would bring out those who were bound in confinement (Prov. 2:16); for each one is bound by the cords of their own sins. And in the Gospel, which Satan had bound, the Lord set free (Matt. VIII). Those sitting in the darkness of the prison house, who were dwelling in the night of error and darkness.
Commentary on Isaiah
Second, he foretells the sending, setting out the exaltation of the one sent: I the Lord have called you, my Son, from eternity predestining to the unity of the divine person, in justice, that is, that I may be just, fulfilling my promise: who was predestined the Son of God (Rom 1:4); and taken you by the hand, as to his working: the Father who abides in me, he doth the works (John 14:10), and preserved you, lest you be detained by death: nor will you give your holy one to see corruption (Ps 15[16]:10), below: I have called him and brought him (Isa 48:15).
He also sets out the injunction of his office: and I have given you for a covenant, as a mediator: I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant (Gen 9:13), for a light, as an illuminator, above: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen (Isa 9:2); that was the true light (John 1:9).
828. Christ is given for a covenant (see 42:6),
of preserving salvation: I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of my covenant (Gen 9:13);
of fulfilling the promise: for all the promises of God are in him (2 Cor 1:20);
of divine love: God so loved the world (John 3:16);
of the law to cease: burnt offering and sin offering you didst not desire (Ps 39[40]:7).
Commentary on Isaiah
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house.
ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν, ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν δεδεμένους καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς καθημένους ἐν σκότει.
ѿве́рсти ѻ҆́чи слѣпы́хъ, и҆звестѝ ѿ ᲂу҆́зъ свѧ̑занныѧ и҆ и҆з̾ до́мꙋ темни́цы и҆ сѣдѧ́щыѧ во тьмѣ̀.
“The opened eyes of the blind” means [Christ] provided clear knowledge of the Father through the Son.
The Stromata Book 1
He calls “blind” here those who are impaired in their intellectual vision; he calls the same people imprisoned by the bonds of sin and held by the darkness of error. After having delivered them from the murk of ignorance and having broken the bonds of sin, he has led them to the light of truth.
Commentary on Isaiah 12:42.7
He also shows the use of his office against faithlessness: that you might open the eyes of the blind: for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39); against the slavery of sin: and bring forth the prisoner out of prison: you also by the blood of your testament have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit (Zech 9:11).
Commentary on Isaiah
I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images.
ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεός, τοῦτό μού ἐστι τὸ ὄνομα· τὴν δόξαν μου ἑτέρῳ οὐ δώσω οὐδὲ τὰς ἀρετάς μου τοῖς γλυπτοῖς.
А҆́зъ гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ, сїѐ моѐ є҆́сть и҆́мѧ, сла́вы моеѧ̀ и҆но́мꙋ не да́мъ, нижѐ добродѣ́телей мои́хъ и҆стꙋка̑ннымъ.
The same thing applies to the word Lord, which is also used as a name of God. “I am the Lord your God,” he says. “This is my name,” and “The Lord is his name.” But we are making deeper enquiries into a nature that has absolute existence, independent of anything else. The actual, personal being of God in its fullness is neither limited nor cut short by any prior or any subsequent reality—so it was, and so it will be.
On the Son, Theological Oration 4(30).18
[Eunomius says,] Receiving glory from the Father, not sharing glory with the Father, for the glory of the Almighty is incommunicable, as [the Lord] has said, “I will not give my glory to another.” Who is that “other” to whom God has said that he will not give his glory? The prophet is speaking of the adversary of God, yet Eunomius refers the prophecy to the only-begotten God himself! For when the prophet, speaking in the person of God, had said, “I will not give my glory to another,” he added, “neither my praise to graven images.”
Against Eunomius 2:10
(Verse 8) I am the Lord, this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to idols. And He declares: I am the Lord, this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor does He exclude the Son, to whom He said in the Gospel: Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with You before the world was (John XVII, 5), He Himself answered; And I have glorified, and will glorify. For He did not say, 'I will not give My glory to anyone,' for if He had said this, He would have excluded the Son as well, but He said, 'I will not give My glory to another, except to You, to whom I have given it, and to whom I am going to give it.' Therefore, I greatly admire the uniqueness of the holy Scripture, that the phrase 'another' all interpreters have translated consistently, unlike the many other instances where they differ. And so that we may know that the Son is not excluded by this statement, but rather idols are, the following words testify: 'And My praise to carved images.' Pro quo LXX: nec virtutes meas simulacris. Cum enim Christus Dei virtus sit, Deique sapientia, omnes in se virtutes continet Patris.
Commentary on Isaiah
Since he is the only God, in a proper and true sense, he is the Creator of all, and so he is confessed to be by us; as the most wise Paul says: “Even though there may be many so-called gods and lords in heaven or on earth, yet for us there is one God and Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.” And since he presented himself to us as the author of great and marvelous things, he says that his glory, which is the virtues proper to God, is not to be given to lifeless idols or to any other created thing, but to be retained for himself alone. It follows, therefore, that the glory of the divinity cannot be attributed to any of the beings that differ from him in essence, but only to the ineffable and transcendent nature itself. Even though he says that his own glory is to be given to no one, he gave it to the Son who, of course, has been glorified in the same way as the Father who is worshiped in heaven and on earth. How, then, did [God] give [his glory] to someone who is not different from him, at least on the basis of consubstantiality, even though each is distinguished into his own hypostasis? For there is a single nature of the divinity on high in three distinct hypostases, and it is so understood and worshiped by right-minded people.
Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.42:8
There was no other way to honor the slave [i.e., humanity] except by making the characteristics of the slave his very own so that they could be illumined from his own glory. What is preeminent will always conquer, and the shame of the slavery is thus borne away from us. He who was above us became as we are. He who is naturally free took on the limitations of our life. This was why honors passed even to us, for we too are called the children of God, and we regard his own true Father as our Father also. All that is human has become his own. And so, to say that he assumed the form of a slave expresses the whole mystery of the economy in the flesh. So, if [my opponents] confess one Lord and Son, the Word of God the Father, but say that a simple man of the line of David was conjoined as a companion of his sonship and his glory, then it is time for you to speak to people who choose to think like this.… It seems that they argue as though there are two sons unequal in nature and that a slave is crowned with the glory that is proper to God, that some bastard son is decked out with the selfsame dignities as the one who is really God’s natural Son, even though God says quite clearly, “I will not give my glory to another.” How can someone who has only been honored with a mere conjunction fail to be “other” to the true and natural Son when he has just been assumed for the office of servant, given the honor of sonship, just like us, and sharing in another’s glory that he attains by grace and favor?So the Emmanuel must not be separated out into a man, considered as distinct from God the Word? On no account. I say that we must call him God made man, and that both the one and the other are this same reality, for he did not cease to be God when he became man, nor did he regard the economy as unacceptable by disdaining the limitations involved in the self-emptying.
On the Unity of Christ
It is the Son who possesses the glory of the Father, and it is in the glory of the Father that he will manifest himself, for the divinity of the Son and of the Father is one. Thus, if God says that he will not give his glory to another and if the Son manifestly possesses the glory of the Father, it is evident that he is not another according to the essence but that [the Son] has the same nature as the Father.
Commentary on Isaiah 12:42.8-9
Third, from the sending he deduces the singularity of the divine majesty as to power: I the Lord: make a way for him who ascends upon the west: the Lord is his name (Ps 67:5[68:4]); my name Adonai (Exod 6:3); my glory, by which I am called Lord: glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14).
Commentary on Isaiah
Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and [so will] the new things which I tell you: yea, before I tell [them] they are made known to you.
τὰ ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς ἰδοὺ ἥκασι, καὶ καινά, ἃ ἐγὼ ἀναγγέλλω, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι ἐδηλώθη ὑμῖν.
Ꙗ҆̀же и҆з̾ нача́ла, сѐ, прїидо́ша, и҆ нѡ́ваѧ, ꙗ҆̀же а҆́зъ возвѣщꙋ̀, и҆ пре́жде не́же возвѣсти́ти, ꙗ҆ви́шасѧ ва́мъ.
“Behold, the first things,” he says, “came to pass. But I proclaim new things, and before they arise, I will cause these things to be heard by you.” Just as he says “the first things” would be fulfilled through my works, as I promised Abraham concerning his “seed,” so indeed I acted. I fulfilled also those things foretold by Moses and the rest of the prophets; “now I promise to everyone what was proclaimed before” and to make them come to light through the prophecies, for “I caused these things to be heard by you.”
Commentary on Isaiah 2:22
(Verse 9) The things that were first, behold they have come, and new things I declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sequitur, Quae prima fuerunt, ecce venerunt. Et est sensus: Quae locutus sum, quae per Moysen, Prophetasque pollicitus sum, universa completa sunt. Nunc autem annuntio vobis Evangelium, vocationem gentium, passionem Christi, novitatem fidei: ut quomodo priora cernitis rebus expleta, sic et ea quae nunc polliceor, credatis esse ventura.
Commentary on Isaiah
When the prophet says, “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them,” he does not allow for us to disbelieve the word of the Savior in any respect. In fact, he is saying that, just as what was said from the beginning about his coming has been fulfilled, so also what he calls the “new things” will be shown to be true and will be revealed before they are made manifest. And what are these things? Our Lord Jesus Christ promised life in the age to come, namely, the life of incorruption, and holiness, and righteousness, the kingdom of heaven, the glorious participation in the spiritual goods, the fruits of gentleness, the reward of piety, the crown of love for him. May it be that we, too, attain this through his grace and loving-kindness.
Commentary on Isaiah 3:5.42:9
And as to knowledge: the things that were first, etc., below: I foretold you of old (Isa 48:5). They also refer this to Darius.
Commentary on Isaiah
Sing a new hymn to the Lord: ye [who are] his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: ye that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them.
῾Υμνήσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ὕμνον καινόν, ἡ ἀρχὴ αὐτοῦ· δοξάζετε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἀπ᾿ ἄκρου τῆς γῆς, οἱ καταβαίνοντες εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πλέοντες αὐτήν, αἱ νῆσοι καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες αὐτάς.
Воспо́йте гдⷭ҇еви пѣ́снь но́вꙋ: нача́льство є҆гѡ̀, просла́вите и҆́мѧ є҆гѡ̀ ѿ конє́цъ землѝ, сходѧ́щїи въ мо́ре и҆ пла́вающїи по немꙋ̀, ѻ҆́строви и҆ живꙋ́щїи на ни́хъ.
Well, in as much as the Word was from the first, He was and is the divine source of all things; but in as much as He has now assumed the name Christ, consecrated of old, and worthy of power, he has been called by me the New Song. This Word, then, the Christ, the cause of both our being at first (for He was in God) and of our well-being, this very Word has now appeared as man, He alone being both, both God and man-the Author of all blessings to us; by whom we, being taught to live well, are sent on our way to life eternal. This is the New Song, the manifestation of the Word that was in the beginning, and before the beginning. The Saviour, who existed before, has in recent days appeared.
Exhortation to the Heathen
You descend into the water and come out unimpaired, the filth of sins having been washed away. You ascend “a new person” prepared to “sing a new song.”
Homilies on Exodus 5:5
Here [Isaiah] speaks again about the Gentiles and invites them to sing a new song to the Lord. Indeed, if the Jews, redeemed from captivity after seventy years, had to sing a new hymn to the Lord, their liberator, why should not the Gentiles do the same? And should they not burst out into a new song with much more good reason, since they have been delivered from a bondage of many centuries?“His praise from the end of the earth,” that is, it happens in a wonderful way that the salvation given by Christ to humankind is celebrated by the remotest nations with hymns and songs. “The coastland and their inhabitants”: those nations who submit to the waves of the sea with their ships will praise the Lord. Those who have considered the sea as a divinity and sacrifice to it will recognize, after being enlightened by faith, their true God, and they will consider and preach him as the Lord of the sea.
Commentary on Isaiah 42:10
Even as islands have been set in the midst of the sea, churches have been established in the midst of this world, and they are beaten and buffeted by different waves of persecution. Truly these islands are lashed by waves every day, but they are not submerged. They are in the midst of the sea, to be sure, but they have Christ as their foundation, Christ who cannot be moved.
Homilies on the Psalms 24 (psalm 97)
(Verse 10) Sing to God a new song: his praise from the ends of the earth: you who descend into the sea, and its fullness; islands and their inhabitants. LXX: Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and sail on it; the islands and those who inhabit them. He who had said: what was first, behold, it has come; I also announce new things: before they arise, I will make them heard to you; and he had promised that he would say what they did not know: what are those new things, he states in the following discourse, commanding the Apostles and the Apostolic men to sing a new song, not in the antiquity of the letter; but in the novelty of the spirit. Not only in the old Instrument, but also in the new; and His praise reaches to the ends of the earth. For He has come forth from the highest heaven and His circuit is to the highest point of it (Psalm XIX). The sound of the Apostles has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Or according to the Septuagint: Glorify His name in the ends of the earth, that the name of Christ may be announced to the nations in the whole world. But who are those who should sing a new song, the following words declare: You who go down to the sea and sail upon it, or the fullness of the sea. For seeing the apostles, Jesus by the sea of Galilee, mending their nets, called and sent them into the great sea (Luke 5); to make fishermen of fish, who preached the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyria and Spain: taking the power of the Roman city itself in a short time. Or certainly they descended into the sea and sailed it; enduring the storms and persecutions of this age. Also the islands and their inhabitants, whether understanding the diversity of nations or the multitude of churches.
Commentary on Isaiah
The word of the holy apostles and Evangelists about the Savior made visible the message of the glory of the Savior. At that time they wrote words concerning his ineffable divinity, and they hymned his transcendent virtue, not placing him among the things that are born but above those things that have been called into being and in such a nature he was placed beside God the Father. At that time their words set forth the divine signs that are beyond wonder and its explanation.
Commentary on Isaiah 4:1.42:11-12
822. Sing to the Lord. Here he invites to thanksgiving.
And first, he enjoins praise, and especially upon the rustic, whether because of the distance of their habitation: from the ends of the earth, above: from the ends of the earth we have heard praises (Isa 24:16); or because of they are confined by the sea: you that go down to the sea, namely, sailors, and the fullness thereof, namely, of the sea, that is, let everything with which it is filled praise God: they that go down to the sea in ships (Ps 106[107]:23-24).
Commentary on Isaiah
Rejoice, thou wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains.
εὐφράνθητι, ἔρημος, καὶ αἱ κῶμαι αὐτῆς, ἐπαύλεις καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες Κηδάρ· εὐφρανθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες Πέτραν, ἀπ᾿ ἄκρων τῶν ὀρέων βοήσουσι·
Возвесели́сѧ, пꙋсты́не, и҆ вє́си є҆ѧ̀, придвѡ́рїѧ, и҆ живꙋ́щїи въ кида́рѣ: возвеселѧ́тсѧ живꙋ́щїи на ка́мени, ѿ кра́ѧ го́ръ возопїю́тъ,
11–12(Verses 11-12) Let the desert and its cities lift up: in the houses shall Cedar dwell, praise you inhabitants of Petra, they shall shout from the top of the mountains. They shall give glory to the Lord, and his praise in the islands they shall declare. LXX: Let the wilderness lift up its voice and its towns, the settlements where Kedar dwells. The inhabitants of the rocks will rejoice, they will shout from the mountaintops. They will give glory to God; they will declare his virtues in the islands. Let the desert and its cities raise their voices, as we mentioned earlier. Whether the desert and its villages rejoice, and Cedar, which was once an uninhabitable region beyond Arabia of the Saracens. And the inhabitants of Petra, which is also a city of Palestine. But this signifies that the deserted people of the nations, previously bound by the ignorance of God and the errors of idolatry, should be converted to the praises of the Lord. Whether because Cedar is interpreted as darkness, and according to the Apostle (I Cor. X) Christ is the rock, it is commanded to all believers, that those who were previously in darkness, and now believe in the Lord Savior, shout from the top of the mountains, and openly proclaim Christ, to whom it is also said above (Ad cap. XL, 9): Ascend to the high mountain, you who proclaim the good news to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, you who proclaim good news to Jerusalem. And I will set his glory among the islands, of which we have spoken before.
Commentary on Isaiah
Or because their way of life is in the desert: let the desert, that is, its inhabitants, especially as to the Ishmaelites, raise, its voice in praise of God; Cedar, the son of Ishmael, shall dwell in houses, according to the custom of other nations, for they were formerly wanderers through the desert, above: the land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice (Isa 35:1); or because their habitation is in the mountains: give praise, you inhabitants of Petra, the city in Palestine, which is built in the rocks; or any mountain, below: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise (Isa 55:12); and he invites these who seem less likely to be turned to praising God.
Commentary on Isaiah
They shall give glory to God, [and] shall proclaim his praises in the islands.
δώσουσι τῷ Θεῷ δόξαν, τὰς ἀρετὰς αὐτοῦ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις ἀναγγελοῦσι.
дадѧ́тъ бг҃ꙋ сла́вꙋ, добродѣ́тєли є҆гѡ̀ во ѻ҆́стровѣхъ возвѣстѧ́тъ.
Second, he foretells the spreading of divine praise: they shall give glory to the Lord, in others, not only in themselves, below: I will send of them that shall be saved, to the Gentiles (Isa 66:19). Mystically, all this refers to the conversion of the gentiles to the faith.
Commentary on Isaiah
The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies.
Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων ἐξελεύσεται καὶ συντρίψει πόλεμον, ἐπεγερεῖ ζῆλον καὶ βοήσεται ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ μετὰ ἰσχύος.
Гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ си́лъ и҆зы́детъ и҆ сокрꙋши́тъ ра́ть, воздви́гнетъ рве́нїе и҆ возопїе́тъ на врагѝ своѧ̑ со крѣ́постїю.
Also in Isaiah it says, “the Lord of powers will come out and wage war, and will rouse his zeal and will shout in triumph over his foes with strength.” For God will come out from his place, once he is compelled to break his peace and gentleness and kindness for the sake of putting sins right, who, although by his nature is sweet, has been made bitter by our flaw, not in himself but in those suffering, to whom the torments are bitter. It is he who elsewhere spoke by the prophet, “I am God, and I do not change.”
Commentary on Zechariah 3:14.3-4
(Verse 13) The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a warrior he shall stir up zeal: he shall shout and cry out: he shall strengthen himself against his enemies. LXX: The Lord God of hosts will go forth and crush the battle, he will stir up zeal, and he will cry out against his enemies with strength. And the prophetic discourse describes the glorious advent of the Savior, about which even the Apostle Paul speaks: According to the illumination of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4; 2 Timothy 1:10); and he compares him to a mighty man who will fight against his adversaries, arousing zeal. Of whom it is also prophesied in the Song of Deuteronomy: They have made me jealous with what is not a god; they have provoked me with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a nation; I will provoke them with a foolish nation (Deuteronomy 32:21). He will also shout and cry out against his enemies, openly condemning their faithlessness.
Commentary on Isaiah
It is [Christ] who has destroyed the power of death; it is he who has crushed the way of sin; it is he who has made the tyranny of the devil to cease; it is he who has put an end to the error of idols.
Commentary on Isaiah 12:42.13
823. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man. Here he foretells the coming fall of the wicked through the coming of Christ; and concerning this, he sets out four things.
First, power: the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, to fight against the Jews through the Romans: the Lord is as a man of war (Exod 15:3); zeal, for vengeance: the zeal and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge (Prov 6:34);
second, he sets out wrath: he shall shout, through the tribulations which he sends upon them; against what is said above, he shall not cry (Isa 42:2); for he first shows meekness when he comes, but he shows indignation to those who disdain him: he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty (Job 37:4).
Commentary on Isaiah
I have been silent: shall I also always be silent and forbear: I have endured like a travailing [woman]: I will [now] amaze and wither at once.
ἐσιώπησα, μὴ καὶ ἀεὶ σιωπήσομαι καὶ ἀνέξομαι; ὡς ἡ τίκτουσα ἐκαρτέρησα, ἐκστήσω καὶ ξηρανῶ ἅμα.
Молча́хъ, є҆да̀ и҆ всегда̀ ᲂу҆молчꙋ̀ и҆ потерплю̀; Терпѣ́хъ ꙗ҆́кѡ ражда́ющаѧ, и҆стреблю̀ и҆ и҆зсꙋшꙋ̀ вкꙋ́пѣ,
Christ suffered shame for humanity’s sake in order to set people free from death. This he exclaimed, as in the words of the prophet, “I have endured as a woman in childbirth.” In very deed Christ endured for our sakes sorrow, ignominy, torment, even death itself, and burial. For thus he says himself by the prophet, “I went down into the deep.” Who made him thus to go down? The ungodly.… They suspended him on the tree—the One who stretches out the earth. They transfixed him with nails who laid firm the foundation of the world. They circumscribed him who circumscribed the heavens. They bound him who frees sinners. They gave him vinegar to drink who has enabled them to drink of righteousness. They fed him with gall who has offered to them the bread of life. They caused corruption to come on his hands and feet who healed their hands and feet. They violently closed his eyes who restored sight to them. They gave him over to the tomb who raised their dead to life both in the time before his passion and also while he was hanging on the tree.
Epistles on the Arian Heresy 5:5
Still, the saying of Isaiah has come to my mind: “I have kept silence; I shall not always keep silence and endure, shall I? I have been as patient as a woman in labor.” May it be that we both receive the reward for our silence and acquire some power for refuting, so that, when we have given our proofs, we may dry up this bitter torrent of falsehood poured out against us. May we say, “Our souls have passed through a torrent,” and, “If it has not been that the Lord was with us, when people rose up against us, perhaps they had swallowed us up alive, perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.”
Letter 223
14–15(Verses 14-15) I have always kept silent, I have been quiet, I have been patient: like a woman in labor, I will speak. I will scatter and devour together. I will make mountains and hills desolate, and I will dry up all their vegetation, and I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up ponds. LXX: Have I been silent from the beginning, will I always be silent and endure? As one in labor, I have acted with patience; I will burst forth and dry up together, I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and I will dry up all their grass. And I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up marshes. And with loud voice proclaiming: I have been silent, I have always kept silent, I have been patient, or as the Septuagint translated: I have been silent, will I always be silent? (Ecclesiastes 3:7) That which is said through Solomon may be fulfilled: A time to keep silent, and a time to speak. And the meaning is: I have often borne with you as you have transgressed for a long time; but because I remained silent before, I will by no means keep silent any longer. And just as a woman giving birth brings forth a child into the light and makes what was previously hidden in the depths of her womb open and visible, so too I will reveal my pain and the deceit that I have always harbored regarding your crimes, and I will expose your plans. And at once I will devour the entire nation and all the pride of your mountains and the swelling of your hills. And the grass, of which it was said: Truly the grass is the people, that is, both the leaders and the common people, I will reduce to a desert. What is added in the edition of Theodotion of the Septuagint, who had omitted these words (See above, Chapter IV, 7). And when I have dried you up from head to toe and wiped you out, then I will make the rivers of my teaching flow in the islands of the nations, and I will turn your lakes or marshes into dry land, so that there may be knowledge of the Scriptures among the nations and dryness of teaching among you.
Commentary on Isaiah
The one who speaks is now keeping quiet. He speaks in commandments; he keeps quiet in judgment.… How has he kept quiet, seeing that he spoke to say this very thing? He says, “I have kept quiet,” and yet he does not keep quiet, because just by saying “I have kept quiet,” God has not kept quiet. So then, Lord, I hear you speaking in so many commandments, as many sacred signs, so many pages, so many books. And then I hear you saying this, “I have kept quiet, will I keep quiet always?” So how have you kept quiet? Because I am not yet saying, “Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom.” And I am not yet saying to the others, “Go into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” And while I am not yet saying these things, I am already warning you that I am going to say them.
Sermon 47:4
“Sweet and righteous is the Lord.” You love [him] because he is sweet. You fear [him] because he is righteous. In a gentle voice, he said, “I have kept silence.” But as a just person, “shall I always be silent?” “A Lord compassionate and merciful.” Yes, indeed. Yet add, patient; yet add, and very compassionate.
Tractates on the Gospel of John 33:7
Which same truth he conveys by the Prophet in few words, saying, "I have long time holden my peace, I have been still and refrained myself; now will I cry like a travailing woman." For as we have already before said, a woman in travail with pain gives forth that which she bore for long in her inner parts, He then that for long time held his peace, 'crieth like a travailing woman,' in that the Judge that shall come, who for long bore with the deeds of men without taking vengeance, sooner or later brings to light with hotness of examination, as if with pain of mind, the sentence of direful visiting which He kept within. Therefore let none despise this Lamp, when it is out of sight, lest He burn up His despisers when He shineth from heaven. For to whomsoever He does not now burn to give pardon, He shall then assuredly burn to award punishment. Therefore because by grace from above we are vouchsafed the season of our calling, whilst there is still the room left, let us by altering our ways for the better flee from the wrath of Him, Who is every where present. For him alone that visitation fails to find, whom correction keeps in hiding.
Morals on the Book of Job 10:31
Third, he sets out justice, for it is just that when he has long waited for the impenitent, he should swallow them all up at once: I have always held my peace: have I not dissembled? Have I not kept silence? (Job 3:26), I have been patient, above: therefore the Lord waits that he may have mercy on you (Isa 30:18); as a woman in labor, I will bring forth hidden pain, as a woman brings forth the infant she has conceived, or because as a woman in labor, I will be pained at such a grave penalty.
Commentary on Isaiah
I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools.
ἐρημώσω ὄρη καὶ βουνοὺς καὶ πάντα χόρτον αὐτῶν ξηρανῶ, καὶ θήσω ποταμοὺς εἰς νήσους καὶ ἕλη ξηρανῶ.
ѡ҆пꙋстошꙋ̀ го́ры и҆ хо́лмы, и҆ всѧ́кꙋ травꙋ̀ и҆́хъ и҆зсꙋшꙋ̀, и҆ положꙋ̀ рѣ́ки во ѻ҆́стровы, и҆ лꙋ́ги и҆зсꙋшꙋ̀:
Fourth, he sets out the punishment as to men: I will lay waste the mountains, the great, hills, the middle ranks, grass, the common people: and I will make mount Seir waste and desolate (Ezek 35:7); and as to the removal of every teaching or consolation, I will turn rivers into islands: he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground (Ps 106[107]:33). This can also be referred to the destruction of the enemies of the Jews by Darius.
Commentary on Isaiah
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them.
καὶ ἄξω τυφλοὺς ἐν ὁδῷ, ᾗ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, καὶ τρίβους ἃς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν, πατῆσαι ποιήσω αὐτούς· ποιήσω αὐτοῖς τὸ σκότος εἰς φῶς καὶ τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν· ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ποιήσω καὶ οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψω αὐτούς.
и҆ наведꙋ̀ слѣпы̑ѧ на пꙋ́ть, є҆гѡ́же не ви́дѣша, и҆ по стезѧ́мъ, и҆́хже не зна́ша, ходи́ти сотворю̀ и҆̀мъ: сотворю̀ и҆̀мъ тьмꙋ̀ во свѣ́тъ и҆ стро́пѡтнаѧ въ пра̑ваѧ: сїѧ̑ гл҃го́лы сотворю̀, и҆ не ѡ҆ста́влю и҆́хъ.
(Verse 16) And I will lead the blind on a path they do not know, and I will make them walk on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness into light in front of them, and I will make crooked paths straight. These are the things I will do for them, and I will not abandon them. LXX: And I will lead the blind along a way they do not know, and I will make their paths uneven; I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight paths. I will speak these words to them, and I will not abandon them. And I will lead the blind along a path they did not know, of whom we have also read above: I have made you a covenant of the people, a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind. They will be led along the way by which Christ speaks. I am the way, that is, the way of the knowledge of God, and I will make them walk on the prophetical paths. Then their darkness will be changed into light, and their faults will be turned into righteousness, so that they may understand what they read and with the eyes of their hearts may gaze upon the clear light of Christ in the Old Testament. At the same time, he adds: These words that I have spoken or will speak to them do not promise anything further in the future, but fulfill what I promised before.
Commentary on Isaiah
Again, God calls the people who suffer from unbelief and who are devoid of intellectual acuteness “the blind.” He promises to guide their steps on the way they do not know, for they failed to recognize the path of the truth but followed on the paths of error. “I will turn darkness into light for them.” After freeing them from their previous ignorance, I will deem them worthy of the knowledge of God, for ignorance is like darkness, whereas knowledge is analogous to the light. “And crooked things into straight.” For the difficult course of wisdom, of the governing of oneself and of justice, he has made an easy course, since he has attached the hope of future benefits to the efforts to claim virtue. “These are the words that I will fulfill for them; and I will not forsake them.” I will not cease to judge them worthy of these benefits, and I will lavish all kinds of care, even to the future.
Commentary on Isaiah 12:42.16
The apostle John teaches how this is fulfilled: “We know that the Son of God came and gave understanding to us, that we might know the truth and be in his true Son.” And again, “Let us love, therefore, since God first loved us.” By loving us, God restores us to be his image, so that he might find the form of his own goodness in us. He grants that we ourselves might work what he works, indeed setting light to our minds and causing us to burn with the fire of his love, in order that we love not only him but also the things that he loves.
Sermon 12:1
824. And I will lead. Here he sets out the resurrection of the good as to three things:
first, as to the restoration of action: I will lead the blind, namely, the gentiles, into the way, Christ, or the precept of the law, or also the Jews, according to another explanation: I will lead you by the paths of equity (Prov 4:11);
second, as to the illumination of the intellect: I will make darkness light before them: to enlighten them that sit in darkness (Luke 1:79);
third, as to the direction of the affections: and crooked things, namely, their hearts, straight, above: the crooked shall become straight (Isa 40:4).
825. These things have I done to them. Here he shows the perversity of the Jews.
And first, he shows that they are ungrateful toward his benefits;
second, that they are hard-hearted toward his precepts: hear, you deaf (Isa 42:18);
third, obstinate between scourges: who is there among you (Isa 42:23).
Commentary on Isaiah
But they are turned back: be ye utterly ashamed that trust in graven [images], who say to the molten [images], Ye are our gods.
αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀπεστράφησαν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω· αἰσχύνθητε αἰσχύνην, οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς, οἱ λέγοντες τοῖς χωνευτοῖς· ὑμεῖς ἐστε θεοὶ ἡμῶν.
Ті́и же возврати́шасѧ вспѧ́ть: посрами́тесѧ стыдѣ́нїемъ, ᲂу҆пова́ющїи на и҆зва̑ѧннаѧ, глаго́лющїи слїѧ̑ннымъ: вы̀ є҆стѐ бо́зи на́ши.
(Verse 17) They have turned back: let them be confounded with confusion, that trust in idols, that say to molten things: You are our gods. LXX: but they have turned backward; you will be confused with confusion, you who trust in idols, who say that they are gods. But when this was said, the Jewish people turned backward so as not to believe the promise, and in their errors they were confused and neglected the pledge of God, whom they had believed in before idols. Or when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then also the people of Israel will be converted (Rom. II), and they will repent of their error, by which they had served idols before. Or certainly after the calling of the Gentiles, they will return to the beginning: so that it may be said, all the Gentiles who did not want to believe in the Gospel will be confounded in their idols.
Commentary on Isaiah
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he shows their ingratitude: these things, namely, the aforementioned benefits. They are turned back, from me: you have forsaken me, says the Lord, you are gone backward (Jer 15:6);
second, he calls down confusion on them: let them be greatly confounded: let all them be confounded (Ps 24:4).
Commentary on Isaiah
Hear, ye deaf, and look up, ye blind, to see.
Οἱ κωφοί, ἀκούσατε, καὶ οἱ τυφλοί, ἀναβλέψατε ἰδεῖν.
Глꙋсі́и, ᲂу҆слы́шите, и҆ слѣпі́и, прозри́те ви́дѣти.
Now the blind see when they see the world, and from the exceedingly great beauty of things that have been created they contemplate the Creator corresponding in greatness and beauty to them. And when they see clearly “the invisible things of God from the creation of the world, which are perceived through the things that are made,” [then] they see and understand with attentiveness and clarity.
Commentary on Matthew 11:18
It is evident, indeed, that some possess ears better able to hear the words of God. But to those who do not have those ears, what does he say? “Hear, you deaf, and, you blind, behold.” Also, “I opened my mouth and panted,” and “You have broken the teeth of sinners.”4 All these things were said in reference to the faculties that render service for spiritual food and spiritual doctrine.
Homilies on the Psalms 16.13. (psalm 33)
18–19(Verses 18-19) The deaf, hear! And the blind, look to see. Who is blind, if not my servant? And who is deaf, if not the one to whom I send my messengers? Who is blind, if not the one who has been sold? And who is blind, if not the servant of the Lord? LXX: Hear, you deaf! Look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind, but my children? And deaf, but those who rule over them? Who is blind but he who receives: and the servants of God were made blind. Lest anyone think that what is said, 'Hear, you deaf; look, you blind,' applies to the Gentile people, who were previously deaf and blind (as the Jews foolishly claim to approve by interpretation), the prophetic speech itself shows that the deaf and blind should be understood. 'Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like Israel?' Who is blind, but the one who was previously a servant of the Lord?
Commentary on Isaiah
“Who is deaf but my servant?” And who is blind, but the one to whom I have sent my messengers?” And so that no one might ascribe their blindness to their nature instead of to their own will, he says elsewhere: “Bring forth the people that are blind and have eyes, that are deaf and have ears.” And again he says, “You have eyes, but do not see, ears but do not hear.”
Conference 13:12
Who is as blind as the one who has moved away? Symmachus translates, “Who is as blind as the perfect and as blind as the servant of the Lord?” He says that although the nations are just as much in error, they do not deserve the same accusation. For they did not have the prophets guiding them toward the truth and were not deemed worthy of such attention. “The one who is far off” has the same meaning; he who has been called by God has left the service of God, preferring the worship of idols.
Commentary on Isaiah 13:42.19
826. Hear, you deaf. Here he shows that they are hard-hearted or disobedient toward his precepts.
And first, he shows their hard-heartedness, calling them deaf and blind unitedly: for their own malice blinded them (Wis 2:21), though they may have the eyes and ears of the body, which shows that those who see take heed and those who have the ears of their hearts open obey.
Commentary on Isaiah
And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yea, the servants of God have been made blind.
καὶ τίς τυφλός, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ οἱ παῖδές μου καὶ κωφοί, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ οἱ κυριεύοντες αὐτῶν; καὶ ἐτυφλώθησαν οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ.
И҆ кто̀ слѣ́пъ, ра́звѣ рабѝ моѝ; и҆ глꙋ́си, ра́звѣ владѣ́ющїи и҆́ми; и҆ ѡ҆слѣпо́ша рабѝ бж҃їи.
19–21He reports how they became the blind and dull by saying, “They see many things but do not observe.” These things were previously communicated [in Isaiah]: “Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand. Make the mind of this people dull.” … You see that all these things he says about the people, he means concerning those of the circumcision. But “the Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his praise.” And they surrendered to those who made war on their souls and became “a people who have been torn in pieces, plundered and trapped in a secret room” of their souls, “and in their own homes as well.” For these very reasons those who plotted with these thoughts that they hid from Christ were themselves caught in a “trap from which they could not be delivered,” there being no “rescuer” and none to say, “Release them.”
Commentary on Isaiah 2:23
He that is sold, as a slave of sin for love of temporal good: you are sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord (1 Kgs 21:20).
Commentary on Isaiah
Ye have often seen, and have not taken heed; [your] ears have been opened, and ye have not heard.
εἴδετε πλεονάκις, καὶ οὐκ ἐφυλάξασθε· ἠνοιγμένα τὰ ὦτα, καὶ οὐκ ἠκούσατε.
Ви́дѣсте мно́гажды, и҆ не сохрани́сте: ѿвє́рсты ᲂу҆́шы (и҆мꙋ́ще), и҆ не слы́шасте.
(Verse 20) You who see many things, will you not observe? You who have open ears, will you not hear? LXX: You have seen many things, but you have not observed them: your ears are open, but you do not hear. To whom it is said: O Israel, who sees many things, and has many prophets through whom you may know the commandments of God, will you not keep the precepts that have been given to you? You who have open ears, will you not hear what is being said, of which we also read above: You will hear with your ears, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive: for the heart of this people has grown dull (Isa. VI, 9).
Commentary on Isaiah
You that have ears open: hear, O foolish people, and without understanding: who have eyes, and see not: and ears, and hear not (Jer 5:21); above: blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy (Isa 6:10).
Commentary on Isaiah
The Lord God has taken counsel that he might be justified, and might magnify [his] praise.
Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐβουλεύσατο, ἵνα δικαιωθῇ καὶ μεγαλύνῃ αἴνεσιν.
Гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ восхотѣ̀, да ѡ҆правди́тсѧ и҆ возвели́читъ хвалꙋ̀.
(Verse 21) And the Lord desired to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt it. LXX: The Lord God was pleased for the sake of his justice, that he might magnify his law. The Lord, he said, wanted to sanctify him, and magnify his Law, and lift up and comfort his suffering people.
Commentary on Isaiah
Second, he shows the foolishness of the hard-hearted, because the Lord intended what is found in the precepts for their own advantage. Hence he sets out the intention of the Lord: and the Lord was willing to sanctify him, the people, both that the people themselves should magnify the law of God in their hearts by keeping it, and that the Lord should exalt the people: for this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess 4:3).
Commentary on Isaiah
And I beheld, and the people were spoiled and plundered: for [there is] a snare in the secret chambers everywhere, and in the houses also, where they have hidden them: they became a spoil, and there was no one that delivered the prey, and there was none who said, Restore.
καὶ εἶδον, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ λαὸς πεπρονομευμένος καὶ διηρπασμένος· ἡ γὰρ παγὶς ἐν τοῖς ταμιείος πανταχοῦ, καὶ ἐν οἴκοις ἅμα, ὅπου ἔκρυψαν αὐτούς· ἐγένοντο εἰς προνομήν, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἐξαιρούμενος ἅρπαγμα, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ λέγων· ἀπόδος.
И҆ ви́дѣхъ, и҆ бы́ша лю́дїе расхище́ни и҆ разгра́блени: прꙋгло́ бо въ ло́жахъ вездѣ̀, и҆ въ домѣ́хъ вкꙋ́пѣ, и҆дѣ́же скры́ша ѧ҆̀, бы́ша въ плѣ́нъ: и҆ не бы́сть и҆з̾има́ѧй разграбле́нїѧ и҆ не бѣ̀ глаго́лющагѡ: ѿда́ждь.
(Verse 22) But the people are plundered and devastated: all the youth are trapped in snares, and hidden in prison houses. They have become a prey, and there is no one to deliver them; a spoil, and no one says, 'Restore them.' LXX: And I saw, and behold a people is destroyed and taken captive. For there was a snare in the hidden places, and a net over their houses. They have become a prey: and there was no one to deliver the spoil: and there was no one to say, Restore. But he did not want to do God's will: and therefore he was plundered and devastated by his adversaries, whom we should understand as either demons or enemies. The snares of young men, and those hidden in the houses of prisons. Or as the LXX translated, snares in every hiding place, and in the houses where they concealed them: signifying the scribes and the Pharisees, who deceived the miserable people, and everywhere set traps against the Lord Savior and his Apostles (Luke 11): having the key of knowledge, neither entering in themselves, nor allowing others who wanted to enter. Their beautiful hearts in which they lived were called prisons of evil thoughts. Therefore, they became a prey and a plunder: and there was no one to deliver them, and to speak for them.
Commentary on Isaiah
He has taught us both the divine object and the free will of the human creature. Although he desires, he says, that you be justified by choosing godliness, you have, on the contrary, taken the opposite way and reaped death. “For there is a snare in the secret chambers everywhere, and in the houses also, where they have hidden them.”
Commentary on Isaiah 13:42.22
And he also shows their contradiction, because they sinned against themselves: but this is a people that is robbed, by demons through various sins, and therefore they are wasted, by enemies, above: from a people rent and torn in pieces (Isa 18:7); also by others who furnished the occasion of sin: the snare, that is, the occasion of sin, of young men, the foolish: you have been a snare to them (Hos 5:1); and because they hid their sins in the houses of prisons, that is, in the secret of their hearts: with a double heart have they spoken (Ps 11:3[12:2]).
Third, he sets out the punishment: they are made a prey, and there is none to deliver them, by the power of wars, and there is none that says, in the insistence of prayer: they compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me (Sir 51:10); or the punishment begins where it says: in the houses of prisons, so that this is explained literally.
Commentary on Isaiah
Who [is there] among you that will give ear to these things? hearken ye to the things which are coming to pass.
τίς ἐν ὑμῖν, ὃς ἐνωτιεῖται ταῦτα; εἰσακούσατε εἰς τὰ ἐπερχόμενα.
Кто̀ въ ва́съ, и҆́же внꙋши́тъ сїѧ̑; и҆ ᲂу҆слы́шитъ во грѧдꙋ̑щаѧ.
23–24(Verses 23-24) Who among you hears this, pays attention, and listens to the future? Who has given Jacob over to plunder, and Israel to the plunderers? Is it not the Lord himself, whom we have sinned against? And they have refused to walk in his ways and have not listened to his law. LXX: Who is among you that will hear this, and will consider the future? Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? hath not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? and they would not walk in his ways, neither would they hearken to his law. At the same time, the Prophet encourages them, so that if everyone cannot hear, at least a few would know and understand what they have endured. And they would recognize the reasons for their desolation, who neither wanted to hear nor to do what was commanded by the Law.
Commentary on Isaiah
827. Who is there among you. Here he shows that they cannot be corrected by scourges, because they do not even recognize the cause of the scourges; and concerning this, he does three things.
First, he seeks those who perceive rightly, intimating their scarcity; things to come, which I foretell concerning your punishments: who is wise, and he shall understand these things? (Hos 14:10).
Commentary on Isaiah
For what did he give to Jacob up to spoil, and Israel to them that plundered him? Did not God [do it] against whom they sinned? [and] they would not walk in his ways, nor hearken to his law.
τίς ἔδωκεν εἰς διαρπαγὴν ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ ᾿Ισραὴλ τοῖς προνομεύουσιν αὐτόν; οὐχὶ ὁ Θεός, ᾧ ἡμάρτοσαν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐκ ἠβούλοντο ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ πορεύεσθαι οὐδὲ ἀκούειν τοῦ νόμου αὐτοῦ;
Кто̀ дадѐ на разграбле́нїе і҆а́кѡва, и҆ і҆и҃лѧ плѣнѧ́ющымъ є҆го̀; не бг҃ъ ли, є҆мꙋ́же согрѣши́ша и҆ не восхотѣ́ша въ пꙋте́хъ є҆гѡ̀ ходи́ти, ни слꙋ́шати зако́на є҆гѡ̀;
In this part of the Lord’s Prayer, [Christ] shows that the enemy is powerless against us without God’s prior permission. During temptation, consequently, all our fear and devotion and attention should be focused on God, since evil has only such force as he himself permits. … Moreover, evil is given power over us according to our [willful] sins. As Isaiah writes, “Who gave Jacob up to the looters and Israel to the ponderers.” It was the Lord, against whom we sinned, in whose ways we would not walk and whose law we refused to obey. So he unleashed the fury of his anger against us. And again, when Solomon strayed from the precepts and paths of the Lord, it was recorded, “The Lord stirred up Satan against Solomon himself.”
Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 25
Since God had been addressing people who could not hear him, he now speaks of them as helpless and weak.… For the outcome of the matter was no longer an issue but would be accomplished very soon.… He sent on them the fury of his anger, and battle overtook them. Those who were already wearied by war once more took it on themselves so as to hold on to Jerusalem and their rule over it. But war was unleashed on them, and not only in an external sense but also in that which afflicted their souls.
Commentary on Isaiah 2:23
But Scripture declares that these evils are not by nature made by God but rather come from causes dwelling within humans. Sins against the Lord are the source of trials and pressures of various persecutions that with God’s permission rise up against those sinning, as it is written, “who gives Israel up to the spoil.” Is it not the Lord against whom they sinned and his ways in which they did not want to walk? For Scripture elsewhere states that God did not make evil things. In the book of Genesis, which speaks of the creation of the world, it states that all God made was very good.… So evils are not naturally caused by God’s creating but by human will.
Book of Heresies 79:2-5
Second, he determines the truth as to the doer of the punishment: who has given Jacob for a spoil, the Lord kills and makes alive (1 Sam 2:6); as to the fault: has not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned: and they have not known his justices, nor walked by the ways of God's commandments (Bar 4:13).
Commentary on Isaiah
So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew [it], neither did they lay [it] to heart.
καὶ ἐπήγαγεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατίσχυσεν αὐτοὺς πόλεμος καὶ οἱ συμφλέγοντες αὐτοὺς κύκλῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ἕκαστος οὐδὲ ἔθεντο ἐπὶ ψυχήν.
И҆ наведѐ на нѧ̀ гнѣ́въ ꙗ҆́рости своеѧ̀, и҆ ᲂу҆крѣпи́сѧ на нѧ̀ ра́ть, и҆ палѧ́щїи и҆̀хъ ѡ҆́крестъ, и҆ не ᲂу҆вѣ́дѣша кі́йждо и҆́хъ, нижѐ положи́ша на ᲂу҆мѣ̀.
(Verse 25) So he poured out his wrath on them, and the fierceness of battle: and he set them on fire all around, but they did not understand; and he burned them, but they did not comprehend. LXX: And he hath poured out upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not, and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. Therefore the Lord poured out upon them all his wrath and the fury of his anger; uttering also against them exceeding hard words, behold how he incenses them with the Roman Empire he newly built. He burns them completely and leaves nothing healthy in them, yet they do not understand the reason for their punishment, that they have not received the Son of God.
Commentary on Isaiah
And as to the punishment, and he has poured out: pour out your indignation upon them (Ps 68:25[69:24]), "pouring out" signifies its abundance.
Third, he excludes knowledge of the truth: and has burnt him, namely, with material fire through the wasting by their enemies, and he knew not, that he was punished by God for his sins: they have not known nor understood (Ps 81[82]:5).
Commentary on Isaiah
Jacob is my servant, I will help him: Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
ΙΑΚΩΒ ὁ παῖς μου, ἀντιλήψομαι αὐτοῦ· ᾿Ισραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου, προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου· ἔδωκα τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξοίσει.
І҆а́кѡвъ ѻ҆́трокъ мо́й, воспрїимꙋ̀ и҆̀: і҆и҃ль и҆збра́нный мо́й, прїѧ́тъ є҆го̀ дш҃а̀ моѧ̀, да́хъ дх҃ъ мо́й на́нь, сꙋ́дъ ꙗ҆зы́кѡмъ возвѣсти́тъ: