Isaiah 8

1–4

Chapter 8 — Verses 1-4. And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself a large book, and write in it with the pen of a man, quickly seize the spoils, swiftly plunder. And I appointed faithful witnesses for myself, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Barachiah, and I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me: Call his name, hasten, seize the spoils, hurry to plunder; for before the child knows how to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus will be taken away, and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria. Seventy interpreters were employed for the large book, they translated it into a new and large book. And because it is found in Hebrew, I called upon faithful witnesses who said: 'It is present indeed, and let faithful men be my witnesses.' And concerning Uriah the Priest, only Uriah, the rest likewise. The first prophet was sent to Ahaz (Isaiah 7), to foretell to him what the Scripture mentions: but since he was unwilling to listen, the Lord himself speaks to Ahaz and commands him to ask for a sign either in the depth or in the height. In response to this, I will not ask, and I will not test the Lord. After the wicked king is dismissed, the words of God are turned to the house of David, and a Virgin is promised to give birth to a son, whose name shall be Emmanuel, which means, God is with us. If he is frequently invoked, Samaria shall be overthrown and Syria: and shall be overthrown by the king of Assyria, who shall later capture Judah itself; so that all the land of Judah shall be turned into a wilderness. Again, therefore, under another figure, a virgin birth is described. And the Lord said to the Prophet, that he should not reveal the secret of the new birth to the people, but write it in this great volume that we now read. And to make it more wondrous, let it be written in human words and in the style that men are accustomed to write, so that it may contain the sacraments of God. But what is this that is written in human style? That a child born swiftly may take away spoils and quickly plunder, that is, that he may no longer suffer the devil to reign. And let him not send Angels or Prophets, but he himself descend to save his creatures. Therefore, the Prophet does what he was commanded and summons two faithful witnesses for himself, Uriah the priest, who is a teacher of the law, as Malachi says: The lips of the priest shall guard knowledge, and they shall seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts (Malachi 2:7); and Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom there is no doubt was a prophet. We read that during the reign of Ahaz, Uriah was a priest of the Temple of the Lord (2 Kings 4), to whom Ahaz commanded to make an altar like the altar in Damascus. And the book of Days (2 Chronicles 29) narrates that Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, sought the Lord in the days of Zechariah, who was learned in the fear of God. Isaiah presented himself as worthy of the prophetic spirit and offered the prophetess, that is, the Holy Spirit, who is called Rua in the Hebrew language. According to what is written: Come to the Lord and be illumined (Psalm 33:6). Therefore, the Lord was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And although human speech cannot explain the mysteries of his nativity, nevertheless Gabriel speaks to the Virgin who conceived him: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God (Luke 1:35). Some interpret the holy prophetess Mary, whom there is no doubt was a prophetess, for she herself speaks in the Gospel: For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me (Luke 1:48-49), and the rest. And it is commanded by Isaiah, that the very child who was formerly called Emmanuel, should now be called, hasten, strip away the spoils, hasten to plunder. For ascending on high, he led captivity captive; he received gifts for men (Ps. 67; Eph. 4:8) . And before assuming a human body, and calling God his father in his infancy, and calling Mary his mother, the strength of Damascus will be taken away, and the spoils of Samaria by the king of Assyrians: so that even before he is born, he will save his people, the house of David, by his mere invocation. Uriah means the light of the Lord; Zacharias, the memory of the Lord; and Barachias, the blessing of the Lord: by these witnesses, the birth of Christ is confirmed. For he, in the Gospel of Luke, explained to two men going to Emmaus that Moses and the Prophets had prophesied about him. According to typology, in the virgin soul, untouched by any stain, conceived by the Holy Spirit, he quickly takes spoils from opposing powers and makes all things serve him. And now, as he sees in part and prophesies in part (1 Corinthians 13), before he can be made perfect and rightfully call God his heavenly Father and Mother, he, still in infancy and in progress, will conquer the strength of Damascus, namely the doctrine of secular wisdom. And he will take the spoils of Samaria that the heretics have taken from the Church, saying, 'We have no share in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse' (1 Kings 12:16), with the very king of the Assyrians present, the devil, who will not be able to come to their aid. But these holy women do not only bear sons to the prophets, Maria the eternal Virgin, but also to the patriarchs. Sara, which is interpreted as 'ruler' or 'prince', that is, chief: and Rebecca, which in our language means 'patience'.

Commentary on Isaiah

263. And the Lord said to me: take you a great book. Here he foretells the destruction of the ten tribes, insofar as it pertains to their punishment. This was carried out by the Assyrians: first, in the reign of Phacee, by Theglathphalasar, who captured the two and a half tribes which were across the Jordan, and many people from the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali (2 Kgs 15); afterwards, by Salmanasar, who reduced the remaining tribes to captivity (2 Kgs 18:9–12). However, the two tribes also shared in this tribulation, for they were afflicted by Theglathphalasar, as is said in 2 Chronicles 28:20, and by Sennacherib, as is said below in chapter 36. Nevertheless, they were not entirely subjugated. And this is divided into two parts:

in the first, he foretells the tribulation;

in the second, its mode and order: at the first time the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtali was lightly touched (ch. 9).

264. This chapter, moreover, is divided into three parts:

in the first, he threatens the ten tribes with destruction by the Assyrians;

in the second, he foretells the affliction of the two tribes in this, where it says, and shall pass through Judah, overflowing (Isa 8:8);

in the third, he strengthens them with their future liberation, where it says, gather yourselves (Isa 8:9).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

in the first, the sign of destruction is set out;

in the second, the deed itself is described, where it says, and the Lord spoke to me again (Isa 8:5).

Concerning the first, he sets out two things:

first, he sets out the prefiguration of the punishment;

in the second, the expression of the sign, where it says, for before the child know (Isa 8:4).

The Jews, however, interpret this sign literally as the son of Isaiah, through whose name the Lord wished to signify the destruction of the ten tribes. And according to this, he confirmed the sign in three ways:

first, by writing;

second, by testimony, where it says, and I took (Isa 8:2);

third, by the deed itself, where it says, and I went (Isa 8:3).

265. Concerning the first, he sets out three things,

namely, that in which it is to be written: a great book, for, literally, the book is large to signify the magnitude of the tribulation: take you a roll of a book, and you shall write in it all that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah (Jer 36:2).

Second, that with which it is to be written: with a man's pen, that is, plainly, that it may be understood, and that what is written will remain: write the vision, and make it plain upon tables: that he that reads it may run over it (Hab 2:2).

Third, that which is to be written, namely, the name of him who will lay waste, signifying in brief the future destruction: take away the spoils with speed, quickly take the prey, that is, ravage. These may be words of the Lord spoken to the prophet, and thus they are taken materially; or they are spoken to the enemies, and thus, significatively, below: and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to lay hold on the prey (Isa 10:6).

268. Against this, some object in many ways that it should not be understood literally,

first, because, since the words commanded to be written are few, it is not necessary for the book to be large;

second, because it is not probable that the prophet, a decent man, would have brought in witnesses when he went to his wife;

third, because Urias made an altar of idols like the altar of Damascus in the temple of the Lord (2 Kgs 16:15–16), and thus he was not a faithful witness;

fourth, because Zachariah was not alive then, for Zachariah the son of Joiada had been killed long before by Joas, king of Judah (2 Chr 24:22); another man is called Zachariah, who was one of the twelve prophets, and he lived long after, during the return of the people from captivity, as is clear from Zechariah 1:1 and through the whole book: therefore, the prophet could not have taken Zachariah as a witness; and moreover there remains a similar objection as exists with the first sign, that the child himself was born before the death of Phacee: therefore, as was proved above, he was at least nineteen years old at the capture of Samaria, and therefore what is said in 8:4 is false: before the child know to call his father and his mother.

269. And thus they hold that this is understood only of Christ, just as the first sign; that, by the great book, Sacred Scripture is signified, about which it says in Baruch 4:1: this is the book of the commandments of God, and the law, that is for ever; by the man's pen, the manner of prophecy, that it is not altogether clear to everyone, but only to the rational, who can conceive things signified from figures: I have multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets (Hos 12:10).

Take away the spoils with speed, the name of Christ, that is, a circumlocution for his name, because Jesus is savior, in that he took away spoils, that is, sinners, from the power of the devil, and plundered hell, about which it says below: therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong (Isa 53:12).

By Urias, which means "light of the Lord," the law is signified: because the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light (Prov 6:23). By Zachariah, which means "memory of the Lord," the son of Barachias, which means "blessing of the Lord," prophecy is signified, for the prophets received divine knowledge through the blessing of a divine gift. And these, namely, the law and the prophets, are the witnesses of the Incarnation of Christ: all things must needs be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms, concerning me (Luke 24:44). The prophetess, moreover, is the blessed Virgin, who prophesied saying: my soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46), to whom the prophet went through prophetic understanding and through faith; or the prophetess is said to be the Holy Spirit, who is the principle of all prophecy: for prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21). For in Hebrew, the word for "spirit," namely, ruah, is feminine in gender, and according to this, she conceived, that is, the Spirit made Mary to conceive: for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:20). Call his name, O Isaiah, that is, foretell his name, as above.

270. This interpretation, however, is not of such authority as that above on 7:14, concerning the other sign, because it is more forced and does not have authority from the Scriptures, as the other does from Matthew 1:22–23. Hence some say that it is not unreasonable if this be understood literally, in such a way, however, that this child may be a figure of Christ, as is also said above in a certain gloss on 7:14: behold a virgin.

Hence, according to this, a reply can be made to the objections that were made at first.

And to the first is to be said that the book was great, not because the writing required it, but to signify the magnitude of the tribulation.

To the second is to be said that it can be understood that the witnesses were brought in for the writing, as may be done in claims of privilege, and not for his going to his wife; and even if they were brought in for this, it would not be more against decency, as it seems, than bringing in witnesses for fornication as in Hosea 1:2–3, even though many interpret that passage literally.

To the third is to be said that Urias is called faithful because of the authority of the priesthood and not because of the goodness of his life; or that he was held to be worthy of faith by the king.

To the fourth is to be said that this Zachariah was neither of the ones named; for it is the custom among the Hebrews, as among many peoples, that names are given to sons from their kindred, as is said in Luke 1:61 of John: there is none of your kindred that is called by this name, and thus, this Zachariah could have been from the progeny of the one who had been killed earlier; or it is also the custom among the Hebrews, as Jerome says, that they often use a proper noun for a common noun, as they often use Bosra, which is the name of a fortified city, for any fortified city: and thus, because that Zachariah was a faithful prophet, and of great reputation among the people, this man is also called Zachariah, who perhaps was similarly worthy of faith to the people of that place.

To the fifth is to be said that this is not a similar objection, for it is necessary that what is said above only be understood of the destruction, because it says in 7:16: the land shall be forsaken; but 8:4 can be understood of the persecution carried out by Theglathphalasar, who destroyed Damascus (2 Kgs 16:9), and despoiled the kingdom of Samaria (2 Kgs 15:19–20); hence he says expressly: the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away, and this event was near enough.

271. It is to be noted on the words, a great book (Isa 8:1), that the Sacred Page is a book that is said to be,

first, great, as to the greatness of its content: hear me, for I will speak of great things: and my lips shall be opened to preach right things (Prov 8:6).

Second, it is sealed, as to vision, below: and the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed (Isa 29:11).

Third, it is rolled up because of its multiple senses: and I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a book rolled up (Ezek 2:9).

Fourth, it is bitter because of the labor of study: and I took the book from the hand of the angel and ate it up: and it was in my mouth, sweet as honey. And when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter (Rev 10:10); they that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me (Prov 8:17).

Fifth, it is sweet, as to its effect: eat this book: and I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth (Ezek 3:1–3).

Sixth, it is flying, as to its meaning: I saw, and behold a volume flying (Zech 5:1); will the eagle mount up at your command, and make her nest in high places? (Job 39:27).

Seventh, it is life-giving, as to its fruit: all these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the Most High, and the knowledge of truth (Sir 24:32); he that shall find me, shall find life (Prov 8:35).

Commentary on Isaiah

266. And I took unto me. Here the sign is confirmed by testimony; faithful witnesses: in the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word stand (Deut 19:15).

Commentary on Isaiah

How was it, then, one may say, that his name was not called Emmanuel but Jesus Christ? Because he did not say “you shall call” but “they shall call,” that is, the multitude and the issue of events. For here he uses an event (i.e., God being “with us”) as a name; and this is customary in Scripture, to substitute the events that take place for names. Therefore, to say, “they shall call” him “Emmanuel” means nothing else than that they shall see God among humanity. For he has always been among them, but never so manifestly.

Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 5:2

267. And I went to the prophetess. Here it is confirmed by the deed, for sometimes the prophets announced a future thing also by the deed itself, as below: go, and loose the sackcloth from off your loins, and take off your shoes from your feet. And he did so, and went naked, and barefoot (Isa 20:2). Hence this is understood literally that he went to his wife. Hence two things are set out:

first, the begetting of the child: and I went;

second, the naming of the begotten, call his name, hasten, as if to say: make haste to do it; take away the spoils, as above (Isa 8:1).

Or according to another version of Jerome: hasten, the spoils take away; and this is better, since, according to this, there is nothing more in the name than in what was written in the book.

Commentary on Isaiah

For that expression of Isaiah 'He shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria,' foretold that the power of the evil demon that dwelt in Damascus should be overcome by Christ as soon as He was born; and this is proved to have happened. For the Magi, who were held in bondage for the commission of all evil deeds through the power of that demon, by coming to worship Christ, shows that they have revolted from that dominion which held them captive; and this [dominion] the Scripture has showed us to reside in Damascus. Moreover, that sinful and unjust power is termed well in parable, Samaria. And none of you can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia, although now it belongs to what is called Syrophoenicia. Hence it would be becoming for you, sirs, to learn what you have not perceived, from those who have received grace from God, namely, from us Christians; and not to strive in every way to maintain your own doctrines, dishonouring those of God.

Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter LXXVIII

I, on my part, now wish to engage with you in a discussion on the allegorical expressions of the apostle. What figures of speech could the novel god have found in the prophets (fit for himself)? "He led captivity captive," [Ephesians 4:8] says the apostle. With what arms? In what conflicts? From the devastation of what country? From the overthrow of what city? What women, what children, what princes did the Conqueror throw into chains? For when by David Christ is sung as "girded with His sword upon His thigh," [Psalm 45:3] or by Isaiah as "taking away the spoils of Samaria and the power of Damascus," [Isaiah 8:4] you make Him out to be really and truly a warrior confest to the eye. Learn then now, that His is a spiritual armour and warfare

Against Marcion, Book 5, Chapter 18

For, before the child knew how to call his father and mother, as Isaiah had prophesied of him, he took the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria. That is, before he uttered human speech through his humanity, he took the strength of Damascus or that which gave confidence to Damascus. For, in the estimation of the world, that city had flourished for some time on account of her riches. But preeminence in riches is gained by gold, and the magi as suppliants offered gold to Christ.

Sermon 202:2

272. For before the child know. Here the interpretation of the sign is set out; and it is already clear according to the literal interpretation. According to the other interpretation, however: for before the child know, by created knowledge, his father, his putative father Joseph, or God; the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away, according to this, this can also be referred to the captivity of Samaria.

Commentary on Isaiah

5–8

(Verse 5, et seq.) And the Lord added, speaking to me again, saying: Because this people has rejected the waters of Siloam that flow gently, and has preferred Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore behold, the Lord will bring upon them the mighty and abundant waters of the river, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise above all its channels, and overflow over all its banks. And it will pass through Judah, flooding and reaching up to the neck. And the spreading of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel. He had said before that the strength of Damascus should be taken away, and the spoils of Samaria should be seen by the king of the Assyrians, and that two kings should be captured while the Assyrian was fighting: now God speaks to the Prophet in the usual style of the Scriptures, through the translation of the Siloam spring in Jerusalem, and the very violent river of the Assyrians, that the whole land of Israel will be flooded by its waters, and it will overflow its riverbanks with such force that after it has occupied the land of the ten tribes, it will reach Judah and, passing through, it will reach the neck: by which it signifies the nearby captivity. For Judas was not captured at that time, but after all the cities of the two tribes were conquered, only Jerusalem remained, which was liberated by the incredible mercy of God. Therefore, the power of the Assyrians and their countless army, which he had described as being under the flood of the river, now shows through another translation, namely, that he has covered the land of Emmanuel, that is, the land defended by God, with his other wings, that is, his leaders, and an infinite multitude. However, he did not possess it, although Emmanuel is connected in the following chapter to the seventy, not by his own name as he is called among the Hebrews, but by an interpretation, that is, "God with us. But we cannot doubt that Silo is a fountain at the foot of Mount Zion, which does not flow continuously, but only at certain times and days, and comes through the underground caves and dens of the hardest rock with a great noise. Especially we who dwell in this province. The meaning is that the people of the ten tribes preferred to be subject to Rezin and the son of Romelia, that is, the kings of Damascus and Samaria, rather than to the lineage of David, who began to reign by my judgment. I will make him not serve these kings whom he took, but serve the Assyrian king, whose power is compared to the flooding of the river that covers the land of Samaria. And an apostrophe is made to Emmanuel, that is, to the present God, that the Assyrian has exalted himself to such an extent that he has even tried to possess his own land, Judah. According to the spiritual sense, every heretic who joins his secular wisdom and desires to attack Jerusalem, that is, the Church, abandoning the waters of the Siloam fountain (John 9), which is interpreted as 'sent', and who ascends to eternal life, will be handed over to the prince of Assyria (which sense we will read later), and by the power of the one to whom he is handed over, he will come into the depth of sins. Such is the arrogance, that he dared to show to the Savior all the kingdoms of the earth and say: 'All these have been given to me' (Matthew and Luke IV). He will also try to enter into Judah, that is, the house of confession, and he will often come up to the neck through those who are negligent in the Church, wishing to suffocate those who believe in Christ, and he will spread his wings, filling the whole region of Emmanuel; but he will not be able to prevail, because Judas has the presence of God. We read in the Gospel according to John (John 9) that a blind man from birth, whose eyes the Lord had anointed with clay made from his own saliva, was sent to the pool of Siloam, and when the blind man washed the clay away, his blindness was removed and he received clear vision. This miracle signifies that the blindness of the Jews and all unbelievers can only be healed by the teachings of Christ's waters, which flow gently without noise or clamor, dispelling the darkness of previous error. What is read in the Septuagint: And he shall walk over all your walls, and he shall take away from Judah the man who can lift up his head, or perhaps do anything: in Hebrew it is not found, and in the Greek manuscripts ÷ it is cut off by the true killer.

Commentary on Isaiah

273. And the Lord spoke to me again. Here the deed of destruction itself is described. And concerning this, he does three things:

first, he sets out the fault of those to be punished;

second, the power of those who punish them: behold the Lord will bring upon them (Isa 8:7);

third, he sets out the punishment itself: he shall come up over all.

Therefore, he first says, and the Lord spoke to me again. After the sign was given, the waters of Siloe. Siloe is a certain spring which arises at the foot of mount Zion, whose waters bubble up for hours and flow evenly; hence they signify the kings of Judah, who were sometimes good and powerful and sometimes evil and weak but nevertheless reigned lawfully and quietly in comparison to the kings of Israel, who all drove the people to idols.

Commentary on Isaiah

Obviously the only way to preserve the understanding of this passage is to explain its spiritual meaning. By the softly proceeding water of Siloam it means the gospel teaching of the word of salvation, because Siloam means “sent with a message.” This would be God the Word, who was sent by the Father, of whom Moses says, “A ruler will not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until the one for whom it is stored up comes, and he is the expectation of the nations.” For rather than “for whom it is stored up” the Hebrew has “Siloam.” The same word, Siloam, is used the same way in this passage for Isaiah, that is to say, “the one who is sent.”

Proof of the Gospel 7:1

274. But it seems that this should not be imputed to them as a fault, because it was done by the will of the Lord, as it says in 1 Kings 12:24: this thing is from me. And to this is to be said that the Lord justly willed that the kings of Judah should suffer this harm because of the fault of Solomon, about which, see 1 Kings 11; but Israel did this wickedly and because of their pride of heart, for they did not wish to pay the customary taxes, as is read in 1 Kings 12:4. Or otherwise: this people has cast away, that is, they disdained and persecuted, following the malice of two kings. And this seems to be the intention from what follows: and has rather taken Rasin.

Commentary on Isaiah

[Isaiah] uses the “king of Assyria” as a symbol for the Antichrist.

On the Antichrist 57:15-16

275. Therefore. Here the power of the enemy is described.

And first, a metaphor is set out as to four things, namely, as to divine help: behold the Lord will bring upon them; as to the impulse: the waters of the river; as to their strength: strong; as to their number, and many, below: nations shall make a noise like the noise of waters overflowing (Isa 17:13).

Second, he explains the metaphor: the king of the Assyrians, and all his glory, that is, his army: behold a people comes from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up (Jer 6:22). The Gloss says that this is understood to be Sennacherib.

On the contrary, it was not Sennacherib that laid Samaria waste but Salmanasar, as is said in 2 Kings 18:9. To this some say that the same man is called Salmanasar and Sennacherib. But this is plainly false from what is said in Tobit 1:15, that when Salmanasar was dead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his place.

And therefore it is to be said that, with Salamanasar reigning but already aged, his son was in the army, and perhaps was at the head of it; and therefore the same army can be said to belong to either one. Hence he speaks of all the destruction which was done by those kings of the Assyrians as if it were from one persecutor, because of the unity of their reign.

276. And he shall come up. Here he places the punishment itself; and he preserves the metaphor, for overflowing waters are higher: hence he says: and he shall come up over all his channels, that is, his princes, and over all his banks, his lands: my indignation shall come up in my wrath, and in my zeal (Ezek 38:18–19).

Commentary on Isaiah

277. And shall pass through Judah. Here he foretells the tribulation running over into the two tribes.

And first, he sets out the running over of the tribulation: and shall pass, namely, the impulse of water, through Judah, that is, through the land of Judea, overflowing; he preserves the metaphor: for when waters overflow, they send out waves beyond their bed into the neighboring fields. And he says, shall pass, because they will not have complete dominion, below: as the violence of many waters overflowing (Isa 28:2); behold there come up waters out of the north, and they shall be as an overflowing torrent, and they shall cover the land, and all that is therein, the city and the inhabitants thereof (Jer 47:2).

Second, the overflowing of the persecution: and going over shall reach even to the neck. He speaks metaphorically, as if he were saying: they shall run over in such abundance that if anyone wished to cross the waters, they would come up to his neck, as he would almost be submerged in them: in which it is signified that they will be near captivity, as is shown below (ch. 36). And behold there ran out waters on the right side (Ezek 47:2); the waters were risen so as to make a deep torrent, which could not be passed over (Ezek 47:5).

Third, the multitude of the army: and the stretching out of his wings, that is, its princes, shall fill, by its multitude, the breadth of your land, that is, Judea, O Emmanuel, Christ, who came to be born from it; for Sennacherib sent his princes to capture Jerusalem, below (Isa 36:3). Of these wings, Ezekiel 17:3–4 says, a large eagle with great wings, long-limbed, full of feathers, and of variety, came to Libanus, and took away the marrow of the cedar and the top of the twigs thereof: and carried it away into the land of Chanaan, and he set it in a city of merchants.

Commentary on Isaiah

And what the same prophet said has been fulfilled. “God is with us. Know this, O nations, and be conquered.” For we who are from the nations have been conquered and overcome. And we who bend our necks beneath his grace stand forth as a kind of spoils of his victory.

On First Principles 4:1.5

9–10

(Verse 9, 10.) Gather together, O people, and be conquered, and listen, all far away lands: be strengthened and be conquered. Gird yourselves, and be conquered: take counsel, and it shall be dissipated: speak a word, and it shall not be, because God is with us. Regarding the phrase 'gather together, or be weakened, and be broken,' as others have interpreted, the Septuagint translated it as 'know.' For the Hebrew word, Rou (), because of the resemblance of the letter Res () and Daleth (), they understood it as Dou (). Therefore, know that the people of Samaria and Syria are weak and feeble, and in the presence of Emmanuel, they are unable to do anything against the city of God, Jerusalem. And not only you, who are neighbors, but the whole distant land should know this. For even if you gather an army and prepare for battle, and the number of those besieging is greater than the number of those being besieged, I say to you again, you will be defeated. And whatever plan you make against Jerusalem will be destroyed. And although you have said above (Isaiah 7:6): Let us go up to Judah and harass it, and make a breach in it, and set a king over it, the son of Tabeel; you speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us, that is, Emmanuel. We can use this testimony against the nations in the time of persecution, that although they may seem strong and overcome us in those who have fallen, they will be defeated in those who have shed their blood for Christ, and that after the wars, peace will be restored to the Churches, and all their plans against Emmanuel will be scattered, for God is with us. They also listen beneficially to contradict the truth, so that they may ultimately be overcome by reason, and never desire to prevail in falsehood, because whatever they say, wickedness can never overcome what is right.

Commentary on Isaiah

278. Gather yourselves together, O you peoples. Because he had said that the persecution of the Assyrians would run over in some manner into the two tribes, here he strengthens them, because they were not to be finally captured in that persecution, nor even be subjugated by the ten tribes and the Syrians. And this is divided into two parts:

in the first, he sets out divine strengthening;

in the second, he removes the communication of diviners: and when they shall say to you (Isa 8:19).

Concerning the first, he sets out two things:

first, he sets out the ridicule of the enemy,

second, the instruction of the people: for thus says the Lord (Isa 8:11).

Concerning the first of these, he does two things:

first, he sets out the ridicule or insult;

second, the reason for the ridicule: because God is with us (Isa 8:10).

And he ridicules the army of those who fight, the counsel of the wise, and the command of the lords: for wars are fought by these three.

279. Now an army grows strong by three things:

namely, by multitude, and as to this, he says: O you peoples, of Syria and Samaria, gather yourselves together, that you may be many, and be overcome, by God fighting against you through whomsoever of his ministers; and not only you, but give ear to this same thing all you lands. And this is sarcasm, a certain species of trope, which is said to be a sort of ridicule that is hostile and full of hatred: break forth, and come, all you nations from round about, and gather yourselves together: there will the Lord cause all your strong ones to fall down (Joel 3:11).

Second, it grows strong in the fortitude of body and soul of those who fight, and as to this he says, strengthen yourselves: let the weak say: I am strong (Joel 3:10).

Third, it grows strong in the protection of arms: gird yourselves, which pertains properly to swords, but is taken from there to apply to all arms: gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary (1 Macc 3:58).

Commentary on Isaiah

280. As to counsel: take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: who catches the wise in their craftiness, and scatters the counsel of the wicked (Job 5:13); there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord (Prov 21:30).

281. As to the commands of lords concerning these things which are chosen after counsel: speak a word, and it shall not be done, above: let us make him king in the midst thereof (Isa 7:6). For the kings would announce what they chose to the people, as Homer says.

282. He sets out the reason by translating the name Emmanuel, because God is with us: if God be for us, who is against us? (Rom 8:31); and they shall fight against you, and shall not prevail: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you, says the Lord (Jer 15:20).

Commentary on Isaiah

11–15

(Verse 11 onwards) For thus says the Lord to me: As He has taught me with His mighty hand, so that I do not walk in the way of this people, saying: Do not say, 'conspiracy'; everything this people says is a conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear or be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself, let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread. And He will be a sanctuary for you, but for the two houses of Israel, He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And many among them will stumble, fall, be broken, snared, and taken captive. The Septuagint translates this passage as follows: Thus says the Lord: they have departed from the path of this people speaking with strong hand lest they say, It is difficult. For everything that this people speaks is harsh; but do not fear their fear, nor be troubled. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and he will be your fear; and if you trust in him, he will be your sanctification, and you will not encounter him as a stumbling block, nor as a falling rock. But the house of Jacob will be in a snare and in a valley to those sitting in Jerusalem: therefore many will be weak in them, and they will fall and be broken, and they will come near, and they will be captured. And what follows, men in defense, it must be noted that it differs greatly between the Hebrew and the Vulgate Edition: therefore we have included both. And first, we must discuss the Hebrew. The Lord spoke this to me. Because of good works and the grace which I have obtained through good works, whether he instructed me and taught me with his mighty hand, so that I would not walk in the way of this people, and be held captive by the same error: or certainly he made me depart from the most wicked way of this people, and said to me: do not fear the conspiracy of the two kings; but consider this more, that every word which this people speaks against me is a conspiracy; and according to Symmachus, who interpreted it, it will become a rebellion against me. But you, the Prophet, and those who are with you, do not fear the plots of the people, but fear the Lord, and let Him be your fear. For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Prov. 1:7; Ps. 110:9). He will be a sanctuary to those who believe, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the unbelieving, namely the houses of Judah and Israel. Especially to those who dwell in Jerusalem, it will be a snare and a trap, where many will stumble, fall and be broken, and those ensnared by their own sins will be led into captivity. There are two houses, which the Nazarenes (who receive Christ in such a way that they do not omit the observances of the Old Law) interpret as two families, Sammai and Hillel, from whom the Scribes and Pharisees are descended, whose school Akibas embraced, whom the proselytes consider a master, and after him Meir, who was succeeded by the son of Zachai, and after him Eliezer, and in order Telphon, and again Joseph of Galilee, and up to the captivity of Jerusalem Josue. Therefore, Sammai and Hillel were born in Judaea, not long before the Lord's birth. Sammai is interpreted as a dissipater, while Hillel is considered profane because he dissipated and defiled the precepts of the Law through his traditions and additions. And it is said that these two houses did not receive the Savior, and he became a cause of their ruin and downfall. According to the Septuagint, the people of God resisted with a strong hand (or will resist) and said that all the commandments of the Lord are harsh, as we read in the Gospel: 'This is a hard saying; who can hear it?' (John 6:61). Where it is commanded to them to listen to the Lord and fear Him alone. For if they have trusted in Him, they will have Him for sanctification, and they will not stumble like a stone of scandal, and like a rock of ruin. Of this passage, the Apostle takes testimony, that Christ has become a stumbling block to the Jews: but to the Gentiles foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). And again: Israel, by following the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness (Romans 9:31). Why? Because they stumbled not in faith, but as if stumbling in the works of the law. As it is written: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense: and he that believes on Him shall not be confounded' (Ibid., 33). Therefore, those who did not receive Emmanuel, but became to them a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, shall be crushed and led captive. And what he says: 'But the house of Jacob shall be a snare and a trap' to those who sit in Jerusalem signifies that they shall not dwell in high places nor engage in lofty discussions of the Scriptures; but that they should always understand the humble, joining sins to sins, and being bound by the cords of transgressions.

Commentary on Isaiah

283. For the Lord says these things to me. Here the instruction of the people is set out:

and first, he teaches them what is not to be feared,

second, what is to be feared: sanctify the Lord of hosts (Isa 8:13).

The first is divided into two parts:

namely, into the proof of the teaching

and its handing on, where it says, say not: a conspiracy (Isa 8:12).

And he proves in two ways that enemies are not to be feared.

First, through the precept of the Lord; hence he says: you will be overcome thus, O enemies, for, that is, because, the Lord says these things, which have been spoken, to me, and therefore, do not fear: God is not a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed (Num 23:19).

Second, by his own example: he says: the Lord says, I say, to me; saying to you what follows to teach you, as he has taught me, that is, that I not imitate them in their malice; and this with a strong hand, that is, with tribulation. Or not only teaching what is to be done, but also giving the grace of virtue to carry it out: from above he has sent fire into my bones, and has taught me (Lam 1:13).

286. Note on the words, as he has taught me, with a strong hand (Isa 8:11), that there is a threefold divine hand.

First is the hand of divine power, and this is threefold:

first, the hand of God creating: your hands have made me, and fashioned me (Job 10:8);

second, containing: in your hand, Lord, are all the ends of the earth (Ps 94[95]:4);

third, protecting, below: in the shadow of his hand he has protected me (Isa 49:2).

The second hand is the hand of justice, and this is threefold:

first, touching to test: the hand of the Lord has touched me (Job 19:21);

second, scourging to cleanse: for though, for the present time, I should be delivered from the punishments of men, yet should I not escape the hands of the Almighty neither alive nor dead (2 Macc 6:26);

third, crushing to condemn: it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31).

The third hand is the hand of mercy, and this is threefold:

first, healing: he wounds, and cures: he strikes, and his hands shall heal (Job 5:18);

second, pasturing: the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand (Ps 94[95]:7);

third, crowning: they shall receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord (Wis 5:17).

Commentary on Isaiah

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; [Isaiah 8:12] But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

284. Say not. Here the teaching itself is set out.

And first, he prohibits the word of fear: say not: a conspiracy, of two nations, as if it is to be feared by us; for all that this people speaks, is a conspiracy, against me. Hence if they join me to you in conspiracy, they will know that I am joined to you in defense: your murmuring is not against us, but against God (Exod 16:8); below: let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me (Isa 50:8).

Second, he prohibits the movement of passion: neither fear their fear. Fear and dread differ as more and less: for fear causes movement of the heart by way of contraction, but dread, as it were, immobilizes the heart: if armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear (Ps 26[27]:3).

Commentary on Isaiah

285. Sanctify the Lord of hosts. Here he instructs them how the Lord is to be feared:

and first, he sets out the law;

second, the hiding of the law: seal the law (Isa 8:16).

Concerning the first, he does three things:

first, he places the precept of the law;

second, the fruit of obedience: and he shall be a sanctification to you (Isa 8:14);

third, the punishment of rebels: but for a stone of stumbling.

And the precept is that God be honored: sanctify the Lord of hosts, in yourselves, and serve him in holiness; let him be your dread, inasmuch as he is Lord: blessed is the man that fears the Lord (Ps 111[112]:1); let him be your terror, inasmuch as he is punisher: fear not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28). Peter explains this as concerning Christ: and be not afraid of their fear: and be not troubled (1 Pet 3:14). This also seems to be the intention of the prophet because of what follows.

Commentary on Isaiah

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. [Isaiah 8:14] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. [Isaiah 8:14] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Christ rose again from the seed of David, as the son of David, because he had emptied himself. How did he empty himself? By taking what he was not, not by losing what he was. He emptied himself; he humbled himself. Though he was God, he made himself known as a man. He was despised as he walked the earth, though he made the sky. He was despised as a mere man, as though he had no power. Not only despised, but on top of that also killed. He was a stone lying flat; the Jews stumbled over him and were shaken. But what does he say about that himself? "Whoever stumbles over this stone will be shaken; but as for anyone upon whom this stone comes, it will crush him." First he lay flat, and they stumbled; he will come from above and crush them, after they have been shaken.

Sermon 92:2

287. And he shall be. Here he sets out the fruit of obedience: sanctification to you, I will make you holy: I am the Lord who sanctify you (Lev 22:9). For a stone, he sets out the punishment of impeding rebels under the metaphor of travelers;

and first, he sets out the occasion,

second, the reception of the punishment: and very many of them shall stumble (Isa 8:15).

And he sets out the occasion

first, as to the people;

second, as to the princes: for a snare.

He shows the first under the metaphor of a stone lying in the way, which impedes the traveler in two ways: namely, by injuring his foot, and by being an occasion of his falling; and similarly, Christ was to the unbelievers among the Jews an occasion of injury and falling, not from his fault but from theirs. Therefore he says: to the two houses of Israel, that is, to the unfaithful of the ten and the two tribes, or to the scribes and Pharisees, for a stone of offense, as to injury: for they were offended at the stone of offense (Rom 9:32); and for a rock of scandal, on which the foot strikes, leading to a fall: in Greek, scandal means a stumbling of the foot: but we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a scandal, and unto the Gentiles foolishness (1 Cor 1:23).

288. And because the princes resisted Christ more, he weighs down regarding them: to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which was the city of their princes, for a snare—like animals they are captured by a snare—and this is weightier than offense, below: he that shall rid himself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare (Isa 24:18); and a ruin, which is more than a simple fall: behold this child is set for the ruin (Luke 2:34).

Commentary on Isaiah

289. And because sometimes someone avoids occasions and does not run into them, he therefore removes this and shows the reception of the punishment and says, and very many of them shall stumble, against the offense he spoke of above, through faithlessness; indeed against the scandal they fall from worthiness of the kingdom: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness (Matt 8:12). They shall be broken in pieces, as to the ruin of punishment, famine and sword, Matthew 21:44: whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall break him to pieces. As to the snare he says, they shall be snared, by the ropes of sins and perplexities, which shall not be broken, and so they shall be taken by the Romans: he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins (Prov 5:22).

Commentary on Isaiah

16–17

(Verse 16, 17.) Join the testimonies, establish the law among my disciples, and I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. The voice of the Lord speaking to the Prophet: because, he said, the Lord has become a stumbling stone and a rock of offense to the two houses of Israel, and they did not want to receive Emmanuel sent to them. Join the testimonies of the old Testament, and give them to my disciples, who have received the Gospel, namely the Apostles or the apostolic men. Certainly, the law and the prophets are bound up until John among them (Matthew 11), and it is closed and sealed so that they do not understand what they read. For, according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, we can interpret doctrines for the disciples. Therefore, the Prophet responded: because with the succession of the Gospel, the Law was closed and sealed among the Jews, and you command that it should be assigned not to the Jews, but to the Gentiles. Therefore, I will wait for Emmanuel, whom you have promised to come, about whom you said above that he himself will be our fear and our terror, and for us he will be for sanctification; and I will wait for the Lord who hides his face from the house of Jacob, that is, from the Jews, because they did not want to receive him. The Seventy translated this passage as follows: Then those who are marked will be revealed, so that they may not learn the law. This has the meaning that when many have fallen and have been crushed, and have stumbled against the stone of offense and the rock of scandal, then those who are marked in the people will be revealed, so that they may by no means learn the law of Moses; but rather obey the precepts of the gospel.

Commentary on Isaiah

290. Bind up the testimony. Here he sets out the closing of the law,

and first, he sets out the hiding of the law, where it says, bind up the testimony, that is, roll up the prophecy of Christ in obscurity, lest the Jews see, for they are unworthy. Seal the law. To seal signifies two things:

sometimes it signifies to close under a seal, and thus he says: seal the old law, under figures, among my disciples, that is, until my disciples open it by preaching throughout the world: shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time appointed (Dan 12:4); or hide it among my disciples.

Sometimes it signifies the expression of a figure: the light of your countenance, O Lord, is sealed upon us (Ps 4:7). And thus seal in the soul of my disciples.

Commentary on Isaiah

17–18

For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. [Isaiah 8:17-18] Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Second, the awaiting of what is hidden, and I will wait: but I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God (Mic 7:7).

Commentary on Isaiah

Not only do we become his brothers but even his children, for he says, “Behold, I and my children, whom God has given me.” Not only do we become his children but also his members and his body. As if the things already mentioned were not enough to prove the love and kindness that he shows toward us, he set down another thing, greater and more intimate than these, when he spoke of himself as our head.

Baptismal Instructions 12:14 (2:2)

First it must be noted that Matthew’s Gospel uses the text of the Septuagint, not the Hebrew: “Jesus, hearing that John had been handed over, departed to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is near the sea at the end of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘In the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, by the way of the sea across the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that moment, Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘The kingdom of heaven approaches.’ ” And the evangelist John reports that Jesus performed his first sign, changing water into wine, when he was invited to attend a wedding in Cana with his disciples: “Jesus performed the first of his signs in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” Hence, the Septuagint reads, “Drink this first and do it quickly.” For the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were the first to see the miracles of Christ, that they who first saw the Lord perform a sign would be the first to drink the potion of faith. According to the Hebrew, it is also said to be the first time that the [lifting of the] burden of sins was revealed, because the Savior first preached the gospel in the region of these two tribes.…But it calls this sea the lake of Gennesaret, which is formed from the influx of the Jordan. On its shore are situated Capernaum, Tiberias, Bethsaida and Chorazin, in whose regions the Lord spent a great deal of time. He did so to enable the people who sat or walked in darkness to see the light—not a little light as from other prophets but a great light, as from him who said in the Gospel, “I am the light of the world.” And upon those who lived in the region of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. This region lies between death and the shadow of death, I believe, because death belongs to those who directed themselves straight to the underworld with their dead works: “For the soul that sins will die.” But the shadow of death pertains to those who do not depart from life when they sin, for they are still able to do penance if they wish.

Commentary on Isaiah 3:9.1-2

(Verse 18.) Behold, I and my children, whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and wonders in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. The Lord commanded me, saying, 'Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.' For He has hidden His face from the house of Jacob; therefore, I will wait for Him, and I will hope in my Lord, and not only I, but also the children whom the Lord has given me, namely, other prophets and the sons of prophets, who are not born of the will of the flesh and blood, but of God (John 1:13). About whom the Apostle also spoke: My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Gal. IV, 19). But these children, that is, the prophets, were given as signs and wonders to the people of Israel, according to what we read in Ezekiel: And Ezekiel will be a sign to you (Ezek. XXIV, 24). Also, in Zechariah, the holy men and disciples of the prophets are called observers of wonders, that is, of signs and wonders, because the prophets always preceded the signs of future events (Zech. III, 16). Meanwhile, according to the letter. However, the blessed Apostle in the Epistle, which is written to the Hebrews, teaches (although the Latin custom does not include it among the Canonical Scriptures) that this testimony should be understood as coming from the person of the Lord Savior. Therefore, he does not hesitate to call them brothers, saying: 'I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the church I will praise you' (Hebrews 2:12); And again: 'I will put my trust in him' (Ibid., 13); and again: 'Here am I and the children God has given me.' Therefore, because the boys have shared in flesh and blood, and he himself has likewise become a partaker in the same sufferings (Isaiah 8:18). But how these boys have become a sign and wonder of the wisdom of the world and the pride of the Jews, the same Apostle teaches: who says that the Lord Savior has chosen foolish things and weak things of the world to confound the wise and the strong (1 Corinthians 1). Therefore, the Savior said to the Apostles: Unless you are converted and become like one of these boys, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). But the boy becomes a preacher of the new Gospel, he puts aside the old man, who is corrupted in the desires of seduction, and he puts on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of the Creator. However, the Apostle writes that the Lord of hosts dwells on Mount Zion: 'You have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem' (Hebrews XII, 22). So I wonder that some of our people understand these two boys of Isaiah, whom he generated from the conception of the prophetess woman, namely Jasub and Emmanuel: the former of whom, in the abjection of the former people, the latter, in the assumption of the nations, has preceded. Whoever receives this, will consequently confirm that the prophet Hosea truly had a prostitute as his wife.

Commentary on Isaiah

Third, the presentation of what is awaited, behold I, namely, Christ, and my children, the apostles, whom the Lord has given me: thine they were: and to me you gave them (John 17:6); for a sign, that is, that they may do signs, and for a portent, a wonder, which by its magnitude portends; and this comes to be from the Lord, who dwells, by worship or by faith, in Zion, the Church: hear, O Jesus you high priest, you and your friends that dwell before you, for they are portending men (Zech 3:8).

291. Some explain this as concerning Isaiah: and my children, the prophets, according to this, below: as my servant Isaiah has walked, naked and barefoot, it shall be a sign and a portent of three years upon Egypt, and upon Ethiopia (Isa 20:3). Others explain this as the sons of Isaiah, and this is false.

Commentary on Isaiah

19–22

(Verse 19 and following) And when they say to you, seek from the Pythons and the diviners, who make their enchantments, whether not the people seeks from their God for the living from the dead? To the law more and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this word, it will not be morning light for them. And they will pass through it: they will fall down and be hungry: and when they are hungry, they will become angry and curse their king and their God. And they will look upwards and gaze downwards, and behold, trouble and darkness, dissolution, distress, and pursuing darkness: and they will not be able to escape from their distress. If the voice of the prophet Isaiah is, as the Jews believe: Behold, me and my children, whom the Lord has given to me as a sign and a portent to Israel; and the things that follow, he himself is to be believed to say to his disciples. When the nations and peoples spoken of above say to you: Weak are the people, and defeated; what do you prophets want to hear, why are you deceived by the words of Isaiah, and do you think that he knows what will come? Seek more from the Pythonians, and from the gods, who hiss in their incantations. Concerning them, it is interpreted in the LXX: Those who speak from the earth, who cry out from the belly. For everyone who is from the earth speaks from the earth (John 3:31). And the one whose god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame (Philippians 3:19), is to be believed as crying out from the belly. You answer them, and say: Does not the people seek from their God for the living from the dead? If you consult those gods whom you believe in for the sake of the variety of your idols (for you have not just one, but many gods), and if you seek advice from the images of the dead or of deceased human beings, how much more should we listen to our God through the prophets? He teaches his disciples and brings them to the law and to the testimony. If you have any doubts about someone, know this: It is written, 'The nations that the Lord your God will drive out before you listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me; you must listen to him' (Deut. XVIII, 15). If you wish to know doubtful things, you should rather read and deliver them with testimonies of the Scriptures. But if your congregation refuses to seek the word of the Lord, it will not have the light of truth, but will wander in error and darkness. The light will pass over it, that is, your congregation or land, and you will fall, and hunger, and when you hunger, you will be angry, as it is written: 'And when they were not satisfied, they murmured' (Ps. 58:16). And you will blaspheme your God and king, and in times of need you will look up to heaven and down to earth, and behold there will be tribulation and darkness, collapse of knees, anguish of mind, darkness of eyes, and you will not be able to escape the distress. This is according to the Hebrews. Moreover, as we have said above, if the person of Christ is speaking, saying: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me, he himself also speaks to the Apostles and to the believers from the Gentiles, who have received his Gospel. If they say, he says, to your fathers whom you have left behind: seek ventriloquists, whom we understand as pythonesses (such as we read about in the Acts of the Apostles with the slave girl, who was a source of income to her masters) and who speak from the earth, promising to perform magic tricks in the evocation of souls, and other kinds of wicked arts; you must know this, that each nation consults its own gods, and inquires about the living from the dead. But God has given you help in the law, so that you can say: divination is not like that of the Gentiles, who often deceive their worshippers, but ours, which is freely given without any reward, from the law. Hence it is interpreted in the Septuagint: not like this word, for which there is no need to give gifts. For you have received freely, he says, freely give (Matthew X, 8). But a most severe famine will come upon the unbelievers, not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of God (Amos VIII). And when you are hungry, you will be sad, and you will curse your ruler and your ancestral traditions, which is the devil, and the old errors. But this is said to those who have suffered from hunger for the truth, and who look up to heaven and down to earth, and they will be in distress, in darkness, and in tribulation, so that they may not see until the time when they themselves turn to the Lord. These passages require a broad explanation, but we spare the size of the books in order to avoid boredom in reading. We have briefly addressed this passage according to the LXX translation, which in many places differs from the Hebrew. However, the Nazarenes (also called Nazareni) explain this place as follows: When the scribes and Pharisees tell you to listen to those who do everything for the sake of the belly, and in the manner of the magi, charm their way into your hearts in order to deceive you, you should respond to them: It is not surprising that you follow your own traditions, since every nation consults their own idols. Therefore, we should not seek advice from you who are dead to the living: God has given us His law and the testimonies of the Scriptures. If you do not choose to follow them, you will not have light. Instead, darkness will always oppress you, which will pass through your land and doctrine. Then, when they realize they have been deceived by you and cannot satisfy their hunger for truth, they will be saddened, angered, and curse you, whom they considered to be their gods and kings. And they are in vain to look towards heaven and earth, since they are always in darkness and cannot escape your snares.

Commentary on Isaiah

292. And when they shall say to you. Here he removes the communication of diviners; and concerning this, he does three things.

First, false communication is set out: and when they, your enemies, shall say: seek of pythons, which foretell evil things for you and good things for us. The word for python in Hebrew means "mouth of the abyss." And Jerome says that they are named after Pythian Apollo, because he invented this kind of magical art, through which the dead seem to be raised and things about the future seem to be predicted, as is read in 1 Samuel 28:8. Rabanus says that it is the name of a malign spirit; likewise, Jerome says that one is called a python who has a devil in his belly. And of diviners, because they claim for themselves an act of God in predicting future things, and especially as to the worship of false gods; who mutter, as though insane: so they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood (1 Kgs 18:28); let there be no wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consults pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeks the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhors all these things (Deut 18:10–12).

Commentary on Isaiah

293. Second, the response is taught: should not the faithful people seek of their true God, for the living and the dead, that is, for the salvation of the living and the dead: is it because there was no God in Israel, that you send to Beelzebub, the god of Accaron? (2 Kgs 1:6). Or for the living and the dead, that is, in place of your gods, who were made in imitation of men, both dead and living. Or we seek a vision for the living and the dead, just as you do, namely, from your gods, who are like the dead. To the law rather, which prohibits such things, or which teaches what is to be awaited; the testimony of Scripture.

Commentary on Isaiah

294. Third, he sets out the threatening of the disobedient: and if they speak not. And he does three things:

first, he threatens punishment;

second, impatience in punishment: and when they shall be hungry (Isa 8:21);

third, the sadness of despair: and they shall look upwards (Isa 8:21).

Therefore, he first says: and if they speak not according to this word, namely, responding to it, we shall make it so that they shall not have the morning light, that is, Christ expelling the darkness: that was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world (John 1:9). And it shall pass by them, the congregation, to others, not remaining among them, below: here I am (Isa 58:9), for I the Lord your God am merciful; they shall fall into condemnation, and they shall be hungry for the word of God: behold I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). Or the light of consolation; and they shall fall into condemnation, above: Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen (Isa 3:8); and be hungry, for bread.

295. And when they shall be hungry. Here he threatens impatience in punishment, as to wrath of the heart: they will be angry: they shall murmur if they be not filled (Ps 58:16[59:15]); as to blasphemy of the mouth, and curse: and they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and wounds: and did not penance for their works (Rev 16:11).

Commentary on Isaiah

296. And look upwards. Here he sets out the sadness of despair,

and first, the expectation of help: look upwards, seeking help from heaven. And they shall look to the earth, to help from earth; above: they shall look towards the land, and behold darkness of tribulation (Isa 5:30).

Second, the imminence of danger: and behold trouble, foreseen, and darkness, as to counsel of resistance, weakness, against strengthening, and distress, as to perplexity, and a mist following them, as to persecution: and his kingdom became dark (Rev 16:10).

Third, the impossibility of liberation, like a captured bird: and they cannot fly away from their distress. On the contrary is it with the just: the snare is broken, and we are delivered (Ps 123[124]:7).

Commentary on Isaiah