OT § 140

Third, he sets out the order of destruction, for it comes through judgment; hence he sets out the coming of the judge: for behold the Lord will come: behold the Lord will come forth (Mic 1:3), and all the angels with him; and the revealing of their crimes: and the earth shall disclose her blood: O earth, cover not you my blood, neither let my cry find a hiding place in you (Job 16:19).

Let us earnestly endeavor, therefore, to flee every crooked and tortuous act, and let us keep our mind and the judgment of our soul as straight as a rule, in order that the praise of the Lord may be permitted to us since we are upright. In the same way the serpent, which is the author of sin, is called crooked, and the sword of God is drawn against the dragon, the crooked serpent, which makes many twists and turns in its progress.… Therefore one who follows the serpent shows that his life is crooked, uneven and filled with contrarieties; but one who follows after the Lord makes his paths straight and his footprints right.

For "Leviathan" is interpreted to be "their addition." Whose "addition," then, but the "addition" of people? And it is properly styled "their addition," for since by his evil suggestion he brought into the world the first sin, he never ceases to add to it day by day by prompting to worse things.Or indeed it is in reproach that he is called Leviathan, that is, styled "the addition of men." For he found them immortal in Paradise, but by promising the divine nature to immortal beings, he as it were pledged himself to add somewhat to them beyond what they were. But while with flattering lips he declared that he would give what they did not have, he robbed them cunningly even of what they had. And hence the prophet describes this same Leviathan in these words, "Leviathan, the serpent: even Leviathan that crooked serpent." For this Leviathan crept near to people with tortuous windings through the false promise of what he would give them; for while he falsely promised things impossible, he really stole away even those which were possible.

For who is described by the designation of the "serpent" but our old enemy, at once slippery and crooked, who for the deceiving of humankind spoke with the mouth of a serpent? Of whom it is said by the prophet, "Leviathan the serpent, the crooked one"; who was for this reason allowed to speak with the mouth of a serpent, that by Leviathan's vessel humanity might learn what he was that dwelt within. For a serpent is not only crooked but slippery as well; and so because he stood not in the uprightness of truth, he entered into a crooked animal.… He spoke to man by means of a slippery animal because if one does not resist him, he secretly slips into the interior of the heart. Now "the dens" of this serpent were the hearts of wicked people.

(Chapter 27 - Verse 1) On that day the Lord will visit with His hard, great, and strong sword Leviathan, the twisted serpent, and Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and He will slay the sea monster that is in the sea. LXX: On that day God will bring forth His holy, great, and strong sword against the fleeing dragon, against the twisted dragon, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea. The Hebrews understand the devil, that is, the accuser, whose Greek name is Satan (), to be called in Hebrew Satan (), which means adversary. And in Zachariah it is said: Satan stood at his right hand, to resist him (Zech. III, 1). And he is also called Belial (), that is, apostate, transgressor, and without yoke. And so the Apostle says: What fellowship hath Christ with Belial? (2 Cor. VI, 15). And wherever the LXX translate the sons of iniquity, in the Hebrew it is written, sons of Belial. And that which is sung in the psalm about the mystery of the Savior: The son of iniquity shall not afflict him (Ps. LXXXVIII, 23), in the Hebrew it is said, son of Belial. And it is called by other names, as it is written in another psalm: You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon (Psalm 90, 13). This dragon is properly called Leviathan in the Hebrew language. It is the great sea monster, of which, that it must be caught by Christ, is mystically narrated in the book of Job: He who will capture the great sea monster (Job 40, 20); for there, Leviathan is also used instead of sea monster; and again: You will draw out the dragon with a hook, you will encircle his jaws with a bridle; And immediately: This is the beginning of the creation of the Lord, which was made to be played with by his angels. And in the psalm: This great and spacious sea: there are creatures without number: small creatures with the great ones. This dragon that you formed to mock him (Ps. CIII, 25, 26). John also writes about this in the Apocalypse: A battle took place in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven (Apoc. XII, 7 et seqq.). And the great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.' (Revelation 12:9-10). It should be noted that in the psalm and in Job, the dragon is called Leviathan, to mock him by the angels. And so the Apostles receive power, that they may tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the might of the enemy (Luke 10). Therefore, from that place where it is written: Behold the Lord will lay waste the earth and make it desolate (Isaiah 24:1); or according to the Septuagint: Behold the Lord will destroy the world and lay it waste, until the present chapter, the judgment against the world at the consummation of the age has been preached, and the final enemy death will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15): therefore, against the devil the ultimate sentence is that he be attacked with a holy, great, and strong sword, or according to the Hebrew and other interpreters, a harsh sword. For it is not as the Seventy perceived Cadesa, which, if it were, would sound holy; but Casa, which properly means hard. Hence also Saul, the father of Cis, is called hard. And some of our people understand the holy or hard sword to be the Word of God, because of its sense which it endures, of which the Apostle says: 'For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword' (Hebrews 4:12). And in another place we read about the double-edged sword of the Savior coming forth from his mouth (Apoc. XIX). But at the end of the world, against Leviathan, who is called the most cunning serpent in the beginning of Genesis, the holy and strong sword will be brought forth, which will flee from the one who has never been accustomed to fleeing, not knowing that written: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (Ps. CXXXVIII, 7)? A certain poet beautifully describes in the Gigantomachia about Enceladus:

Where are you fleeing, Enceladus? Wherever you may go, you will always be under God. But that fleeing serpent Leviathan is called Bari in Hebrew, which the Eagle interpreted as a bolt, Symmachus as a lock, and Theodotion as strong. I think it is called a bolt or a lock because it has locked many in its prison and subjected them to its power, and it does not possess anything straight within itself, and for this reason it is called tortuous, and it cannot imitate the rod of the Lord, of which it is written: A rod of direction, a rod of your kingdom (Psalm 44). Whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth (2 Thess. 2), the former inhabitant of the sea, the false and bitter waves. Those who say that the devil will repent and obtain forgiveness, let them explain to us how they understand this, which is written: And he will kill the dragon who is in the sea, or the whale. For in the second place, in the present chapter, in Hebrew it is not called Leviathan, but Thannin (), which properly means whale. The Hebrews believe that Leviathan dwells under the earth and in the heavens, while the sea monsters dwell in the sea, which is a Jewish fable. And what is said at the end of this chapter is connected by Eusebius to the previous chapter, so that the following prophecy is not related to this time. However, the Hebrews and other commentators explain the following, which we are now going to set forth.

620. In that day. In this part he recalls divine and paternal correction, and first, by foreign scourges, second, by their own scourges: in that day (Isa 27:2); hence it said in Wisdom 11:11: for you didst admonish and try them as a father.

Concerning the first, he sets out the scourge of Babylon: with his sword, namely, vengeance; Leviathan, namely, Nabuchodonosor, because of the addition to his kingdom that he subjugated to himself; the serpent, because of his poisonous tyranny; bar, because of the correction of the people by God, above: woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod of my anger (Isa 10:5); crooked, because of their infidelity: behold, he will drink up a river, and not wonder (Job 40:18); the whale: I sit in the heart of the sea (Ezek 28:2).

630. Note on the words, the Lord with his sword shall visit (Isa 27:1), that the vengeance of God is called a sword that is: first, hard because of the harshness of punishment; second, great, because of the universality of those who are punished: a great sword was given to him (Rev 6:4); third, strong, because of the power of the one who punishes: flee from the face of the sword (Job 19:29); fourth, sharp, because it is piercing, even to the soul: the word of God is living and effectual and more piercing than any two edged sword (Heb 4:12); fifth, shining, because of its evident fairness: you shall perish by the sword, it shall devour you like the bruchus (Nah 3:15).

631. Also on the word, Leviathan (Isa 27:1), note that the devil is called Leviathan, because he adds, first, to human wickedness: add you iniquity upon their iniquity (Ps 68:28[69:27]); second, to his own power: all these will I give you, if falling down you will adore me (Matt 4:9); third, to divine justice: my iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon (Gen 4:13); fourth, to divine mercy: whereas she was sad, he comforted her with sweet words (Gen 34:3).

632. Note also on the word, serpent (Isa 27:1), that the devil is called a serpent, first, because of his ability to renew himself: Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14); second, because of his manner of going about: I have gone round about the earth, and walked through it (Job 1:7); third, because of his poisonous bite: in the end, it will bite like a snake (Prov 23:32); fourth, because of his manner of enveloping: he sets up his tail like a cedar, the sinews of his testicles are wrapped together (Job 40:12).

(Verse 2, 3.) On that day, the vineyard of wine will sing for him. I am the Lord who tends it, and I will suddenly water it, lest anyone harm it. LXX: On that day, her desire will be a good vineyard, that she may be a prince. I am a strong city, a city that is besieged: in vain will I give her drink. For they will be captured at night, but the wall will fall during the day. There is much disagreement between the Hebrew and the LXX edition in this passage, therefore we will discuss each one separately. The vineyard about which Isaiah speaks: The vineyard has become a beloved one in a fertile place, which should be understood, let us learn from the Teacher himself (or, rather, let us say): For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:1), of which it is sung in the psalm: You have brought the vineyard out of Egypt, etc. (Psalm 80:8). To this vineyard also, through Jeremiah, the most bitter cup is given (Jeremiah 25). For when he had sent him to intoxicate all the nations, and the Prophet had willingly offered himself for this task, he is first ordered to make Jerusalem drunk. Where it says: You have deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived (Jeremiah 20:7). Therefore, Jerusalem will drink and be made to drink a bitter potion, so that she may learn lamentation and weeping. And the Lord says that He has kept her for a long time and given her a place for repentance, but because she refused to return, she will suddenly be made drunk. For the Scripture says that the Lord has acted in this way day and night, always preserving her with His help. And the same beautiful vineyard is called the Seventy by the LXX, in which there was the Law and the Prophets, the priesthood and the pontificate, and the knowledge of God, as the Scripture says: God is known in Judah, His name is great in Israel (Psalm 75:1). What others think, according to their edition, pertains to the Church, which is nothing more beautiful. And of which it is said: Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God (Ps. LXXXVI, 3): which is the mother of her offspring, and says in the Song of Songs: The sons of my mother fought against me (Cant. I, 5). And he speaks: I am a firm city, a city that is besieged. He said that it is beautifully besieged, not conquered. And immediately he connects it with the Synagogue, which has been turned from head to tail: In vain do I impart the drink of my teachings to her, for she will be taken in the darkness of her error. And because it does not receive clear light, its wall collapses during the day, that is, everything that it believed to be help for itself, and there will be no opponent who does not understand that we must grasp power from opposites.

621. In that day. Here correction by their own scourges is set out. Hence he first describes the chastisement; second, the consolation: and it shall come to pass, that in that day (Isa 27:13). Concerning the first, he does two things: first, he foretells the chastisement; second, the manner is examined: there is no indignation in me (Isa 27:4). Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he foretells the song of sorrow: the vineyard, formerly, in the prophets and patriarchs, of pure wine, above: for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel (Isa 5:7).

It is the soul, too, that says, "I am a strong city, a city besieged." The city is besieged through Christ, the city is that heavenly Jerusalem, in which there are interpreters of God's law and men skilled in doctrine in great abundance; through them one seeks the Word of God.

Therefore let us flee these evils and elevate our soul to the image and likeness of God. The flight from evils is the likeness of God, and the image of God is gained through the virtues. And so, like a painter, he has painted us with the colors of the virtues. "See, I have painted your walls, Jerusalem." Let us not wipe away with the brush of neglect the props of the painted walls of our soul. And so "I have painted the walls," with which we can turn away the enemy. The soul has its walls; from them it stands forth and concerning them it says, "I am a strong city, a city besieged." By these walls it is guarded, and by them it is protected under siege. And truly the soul is a wall, which stretches forth over the camp. And therefore the bride says in the Song of Solomon, "I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers." The wall that the Lord painted is good, even as he says: "On my hands I have painted your walls, and you are always in my sight."

You have in Isaiah the speech made by the soul of a just man or of the church: "I am a strong city, I am a city besieged," defended by Christ and besieged by the devil. But one whom Christ aids ought not to be fearful of a siege. [Such a person] is defended by spiritual grace and is besieged by the perils of this world. Hence also it is said in the Song of Songs, "I am a wall, and my breasts are as a tower." The wall is the church, and the towers are her priests, who have full power to teach the natural and the moral sciences.

Second, he sets out the intention of the one who punishes: I am the Lord that keep it, below: you have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath (Isa 51:17). Third, he sets out the benefit, for which they were ungrateful: lest any hurt come to it, I keep it night and day: your word, O Lord, which heals all things (Wis 16:12).

(Verse 4, 5.) Indignation is not mine: who will give me a thorn and a thistle in battle? I will march over it: I will set it on fire together. Or rather, shall I hold onto my strength? It will bring me peace, it will bring me peace. LXX: There is nothing that does not seize it. Who will appoint me as a keeper of the straw in the field? Because of this adversary, I have repelled it. Therefore, the Lord has done all that He has planned: I am consumed; its inhabitants will say, we will make peace with it: we will make peace with him. According to the Hebrew, the meaning here is: I who, day and night, have always kept my vineyard, so that the boar from the forest would not destroy it, nor the beasts devour it. Do I not have indignation? And do I not know how to strike the sinner and give to each what he deserves? Where the eagle placed a thorn and a bramble, in Hebrew it is written 'Samir' and 'Saith', which means adamant and places full of thorns. Therefore, he says: Who will teach me to be firm and overcome my mercy, and to proceed fiercely in battle: so that I may walk over the vineyard which I kept, and burn it down which I enclosed with my wall? Or should my courage rather do this, that I postpone anger and save those who are not saved by the authority of the Law, with the mercy of the Gospel? But emphatically, according to the Hebrew reading, it is said: Who will make me hard and cruel, that I may overcome my nature? This is indeed signified in the desert and in thorns: that I may crush and burn it as if in battle, which I have always kept guarded by my diligence. Or should I hold onto my courage, which is undoubtedly Christ, and of which we read: Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), so that it may itself make peace for me and reconcile the world? According to the Septuagint, here is the meaning: Let us understand it from the perspective of the Church: I am a strong city, a city surrounded by many enemies, to whom I have given in vain the cups of my enemy, the Synagogue. For she will be captured at night, and her wall will fall, and there will be no power of adversaries that will not seize her. Again I will say: What profit is it for me to guard her, which has straw in herself, not grain: which is so uncultivated, that it is full of disgrace and thorns, which I wanted to save? But because she treats me hostilely, I have departed from her. And the Apostles born in me and from me have said: Indeed, it was necessary for you to speak the word of God first, but since you have rejected it and deemed yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Therefore, the Lord will do what He has threatened, so that all may burn in it surrounded by Roman fire. Or certainly let them burn with vices and sins, lest they be able to extinguish the burning darts of the devil. For all those who commit adultery are like an oven whose hearts are burning. And those who formerly dwelled in it, after they cry out, the city is captured and burned, and they leave it, and reconciling the world (or unclean) to God, they say: Let us make peace to her, let us make peace to Him, which is Christ, always writing in their Letters: Grace be with you and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:3). Of whom we read in this same Prophet: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce peace (Isaiah 52:7)! Some refer this place to the Churches, because they are indeed guarded by God; but many of them do not bear fruit; and therefore the fervor of a good teacher should succeed, so that they may proclaim and confess their error, and afterwards make peace with God, who are truly called the children of Jacob.

622. There is no indignation in me. Here he examines the manner of punishment, and first, the deliberation of the judge is set out; second, the execution of the result of deliberation: for the strong city shall be desolate (Isa 27:10). Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he sets out severe judgment, setting out the wrath of rage: there is no indignation in me, as if to say: indeed, I am justly indignant, for they are ungrateful for my benefits, below: full of the indignation of the Lord (Isa 51:20); and out of wrath he determines a severe punishment: who shall give to me a thorn and a brier, as to the preceding difficulties that arose together among them, above: briers and thorns shall come up over it (Isa 5:6); in battle, as to the attack of the enemy: I myself will fight against you (Jer 21:5–6); shall I set it on fire, as to the destruction of homes and cities: my indignation goes forth like a fire (Jer 21:12).

623. Second, he sets out the moderation of the sentence: or rather shall I take hold of my strength? As if to say: I will restrain my wrath; by way of contrast: the Lord will not turn away the wrath of his indignation (Jer 30:24). And he sets out the fruit of the moderation of the sentence as to the good, which all will bear in relation to God: shall it make peace with me, as if to say: will he make peace with me by good works? Below: the work of justice shall be peace (Isa 32:17).

(Verse 6) Those who come out from the root of Jacob will flourish and grow Israel: and they will fill the face of the world with their offspring. LXX: The sons of Jacob who come: Israel will flourish and bloom, and its fruits will fill the earth. After the Apostles, preaching the Gospel in the whole world, have said: We will make peace for Christ, peace will be made for you, those who come from the seed of Jacob and have reached the Apostolic dignity will be called sons of Jacob. Then Israel will sprout and flourish, seeing that the teachings of its children have filled the entire world, and have brought forth abundant fruits that it had not brought while remaining in Judaea.

In relation to himself, Israel shall blossom, in faith, or in good intention, and bud, in completion of the work, below: Jerusalem shall flourish like the lily (Isa 35:1); and in relation to his neighbor: they shall fill the face of the world with seed, who shall rush in, namely, the Apostles, above: the law shall come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isa 2:3); their sound has gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world (Ps 18:5[19:4]).

(Verse 7.) Did he strike him according to the blow of the one striking himself: or as he killed his killers, so was he killed? This place is understood in two ways. Either against Jerusalem, so that he may say that she was not struck by God in the same way that she struck Christ and his Apostles: or against the multitude of the Gentiles, so that the Apostles and apostolic men, despite being persecuted and shedding Christian blood, nevertheless had care for their salvation and reconciled them to God.

624. And he sets out the supplementing of the punishment as to the ungrateful: has he struck him according to the stroke of him that struck him? Here he reproaches the benefit of the moderated punishment: he has not dealt with us according to our sins (Ps 102[103]:10).

(Verse 8) When it has measured out against the measure, you shall judge it. LXX: He will send them out, quarreling and reproaching. According to the Hebrew sense here: As Jerusalem has done, so she will receive, and according to the measure with which she has measured, it will be measured to her in return. And then she will receive a full measure, when the time of judgment comes and God has rejected her. According to the LXX, it depends on what was said earlier. For Israel will not be struck as she has struck, nor will she be killed as she has killed. He argued against the Apostles, and reproached his teachers, and commanded them not to speak in the name of Christ. Therefore the Lord will reject them and cast them out from his flock.

He meditated in his hard spirit during the heat of the day. LXX: Were you not the one who meditated on destroying them with a hard spirit, with a spirit of fury? According to the Hebrew, it is said, 'In the measure that the table is, Jerusalem will receive.' Therefore, God meditated in his hard and vehement spirit, whether speaking against her during the heat of the day, that is, in the time of persecution, when there is a more intense day of indignation and punishment. According to the Septuagint, it is said of Jerusalem, or of Israel: Were you not the one who in your most stubborn and cruel spirit, and in the fury of your blasphemies, desired to kill the Apostles of the Lord and the teachers?

In measure: here he threatens judgment adequate to their sin; when it shall be cast off, from the worship of God through faithlessness, not believing in Christ: according to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be (Deut 25:2); he has meditated: here he shows the support of the sentence, with his severe spirit, because it cannot be placated, above: cease therefore from the man, whose breath is in his nostrils (Isa 2:22).

(Verse 9) Therefore, because of this, the iniquity of the house of Jacob will be forgiven, and all this fruit will be removed, so that its sin may be taken away. For they have set up all the stones of the altar like scattered ashes; neither the lights nor the shrines will stand. LXX: Therefore, the iniquity of Jacob will be taken away, and this will be his blessing when I remove his sin, when I set up all the stones of the altars shattered like crushed ash, and their trees and idols will not endure. The reason why they suffer no harm even after the Jews laid hands upon the Lord is that they may obtain forgiveness if they choose to repent, so that the prayer of the Savior may be fulfilled: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Therefore, it is said, the iniquity of the house of Jacob will be pardoned, and its sin will be taken away, so that it may deserve the blessing of God, which had been cursed upon it when it said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children (Matthew 27:25). Because through the Apostles, the Gospel will be sown from the stock of Israel throughout the whole world, and idolatry will be destroyed, and altars will be crushed to dust, lights will be cut down, temples will fall, and the knowledge of the one God under the mystery of the Trinity will be proclaimed.

625. Third, he explains the motive for moderating the punishment, so that he would not destroy them entirely at that time, namely, because Christ and the Apostles were to descend from that people, and through their preaching the worship of idols was to be abandoned; and this is what is meant by, when he shall have made all the stones of the altar, as burnt stones broken in pieces, above: man shall bow down himself to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel (Isa 17:7).