Isaiah 51 · The Lantern

Audite me, qui sequimini quod justum est, et quæritis Dominum; attendite ad petram unde excisi estis, et ad cavernam laci de qua præcisi estis.

The Jews refer this to Zerubbabel's time, because after the devastation of Babylon, Zion was restored, the Temple was built, and the ancient religion was restored.… thus the Lord also speaks here to those who persecute what is just, according to what is said elsewhere: Seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm XXXIII, 5); and again: Pursuing hospitality (Romans XI, 13).

"Righteous," he says, instead of "righteousness," which is through Christ through faith in him, a faith that justifies the ungodly and removes all stain from those who have been filthy, and cleanses them in the Spirit and prepares for them the shining honor of sonship.

921. Give ear to me, you that follow. Here he excludes the second impediment to their liberation, which could be believed from the oppression and humiliation of the Jews.

Attendite ad Abraham, patrem vestrum, et ad Saram, quæ peperit vos: quia unum vocavi eum, et benedixi ei, et multiplicavi eum.

For the divine voice says somewhere in the prophecy of Isaiah, "Consider Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who gave you birth." Scripture gives this admonition to those who wander outside virtue.

Nothing made is an obstacle to my power: not the fact that I called just one man or that old age was on him, or that Sarah lacked the physical capability; yet his race was [indeed] increased, just as I had wished. Be unbelieving no longer, therefore, even though you are [now] easy to count; I will make you too many to number.

923. Concerning the second, he does three things. First, he gives an example: look unto the rock, namely, Abraham, because of his old age, whence you are hewn, as though violently, not according to the course of nature; and to the hole of the pit, namely, Sarah, to whom it had ceased to be after the manner of women (Gen 18:11): neither did he consider his own body, when it was…

Consolabitur ergo Dominus Sion, et consolabitur omnes ruinas ejus: et ponet desertum ejus quasi delicias, et solitudinem ejus quasi hortum Domini. Gaudium et lætitia invenietur in ea, gratiarum actio et vox laudis.

Attendite ad me, popule meus, et tribus mea, me audite: quia lex a me exiet, et judicium meum in lucem populorum requiescet.

For the law promulgated on Horeb is now old, and belongs to yourselves alone; but this is for all universally. Now, law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one; and an eternal and final law-namely, Christ-has been given to us, and the covenant is trustworthy, after which there s…

Once it is said in Hebrew: 'Listen,' and secondly according to the Septuagint: 'Hear me, hear me,' so that it may teach us that we should hear with the ears of the body and the understanding of the soul.

925. Third, he sets out the manner of execution: hearken unto me. And first, he sets out the divine intention: a law, the precept of Cyrus concerning the liberation of the people; my judgment, promulgated from the justice of the Lord; to be a light, comfort, above: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen (Isa 9:2).

Prope est justus meus, egressus est salvator meus, et brachia mea populos judicabunt; me insulæ exspectabunt, et brachium meum sustinebunt.

If we want to know the meaning of these words in the person of God and Father, then we say that he calls the Son "his righteousness." For we are saved in him … through his great mercy.… He is called "righteousness" and "salvation" and rightly so.

He calls his power "arm": that which constitutes the greatest proof of divine power is to have conquered the world by the cross, by ignominy and by death; it is to have given fishermen, publicans, shoemakers as masters to philosophers and to rhetoricians; it is to have, thanks to a dozen men, cultivated the whole world and, thanks to an equally small number of men, filled the e…

Second, he sets out the nearness of the judgment: my just one is near at hand, namely, Cyrus, or Christ; my savior is gone forth, already in my foreknowledge, above: I have brought my justice near (Isa 46:13).

Levate in cælum oculos vestros, et videte sub terra deorsum: quia cæli sicut fumus liquescent, et terra sicut vestimentum atteretur, et habitatores ejus sicut hæc interibunt: salus autem mea in sempiternum erit, et justitia mea non deficiet.

Again, as to their malignantly asserting that if heaven is indeed the throne of God, and earth His footstool, and if it is declared that the heaven and earth shall pass away, then when these pass away the God who sitteth above must also pass away, and therefore He cannot be the God who is over all; in the first place, they are ignorant what the expression means, that heaven is…

The Son is called "salvation" and "righteousness," as we often say, and thus his quality is declared that he has in himself, by which and in which he is Son by nature. Indeed, he is eternal and does not "wear out." Such is the difference between creator and creation, the made from the maker, which is clearly seen in this verse.

926. Lift up your eyes to heaven. Here he shows the firmness of the divine promise by comparison to the changing of creatures.

Audite me, qui scitis justum, populus meus, lex mea in corde eorum: nolite timere opprobrium hominum, et blasphemias eorum ne metuatis:

(Verse 7, 8.) Listen to me, you who know righteousness, (people add "my" in Vulg.): my law is in their hearts. Do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their blasphemies. For like a moth, it will consume them; and like a worm, it will devour them. But my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness for generations upon generations.

This is what the Lord has also said in the divine Gospels: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul," and again: "Do not fear them," and: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.

927. Hearken to me. Here he excludes the impediment which could be feared from oppression, so far as pertains to the power of their oppressors. And concerning this, he does two things: first, the consolation of the Lord is set out; second, the discussion of the prophet: arise (Isa 51:9). Concerning the first, he does four things.

sicut enim vestimentum, sic comedet eos vermis, et sicut lanam, sic devorabit eos tinea: salus autem mea in sempiternum erit, et justitia mea in generationes generationum.

Consurge, consurge, induere fortitudinem, brachium Domini! consurge sicut in diebus antiquis, in generationibus sæculorum. Numquid non tu percussisti superbum, vulnerasti draconem?

According to the Hebrew, it is not Jerusalem but the arm of the Lord that has to put on strength. This relates to what we spoke about above [v.

He addresses these words as if [Jerusalem] had fallen and were prone on the ground, and he invites it to take up again its power of other times. "Awake as in the early time, as the ancient generation." Renew yourself, he says, and become again such as you were when your splendor attracted all eyes.

929. Arise. Here the discussion of the prophet with God is set out, as if to say: I have not contended that the enemies of the people are confounded or consumed otherwise than by divine strength. Thus, first, the petition of the prophet is set out; second, the response of the Lord: I myself (Isa 51:12). 930. Concerning the first, he does two things.

numquid non tu siccasti mare, aquam abyssi vehementis; qui posuisti profundum maris viam, ut transirent liberati?

For it is you who struck down the proud, wounded the dragon, the king indeed of Egypt Pharaoh, who is also called the great dragon in Ezekiel (Ezek. XXIX). You dried up the Red Sea, so that through the raging waters and deep sea, your people could find a way and escape the pursuing Egyptians.

The great number of the Egyptians he calls the "sea." If, however, one wishes also to see the Assyrians under this name, the explanation would hardly stray from the truth. "[Are you not the one] who made the depths of the sea a way of passage for the delivered and redeemed?" He has said that of the Red Sea: because it was parted in two, Israel enjoyed salvation.

And in the division of the sea: have not you dried up the sea: by his power the seas are suddenly gathered together (Job 26:12).

Et nunc qui redempti sunt a Domino, revertentur, et venient in Sion laudantes, et lætitia sempiterna super capita eorum: gaudium et lætitiam tenebunt; fugiet dolor et gemitus.

Ego, ego ipse consolabor vos. Quis tu, ut timeres ab homine mortali, et a filio hominis qui quasi fœnum ita arescet?

Et oblitus es Domini, factoris tui, qui tetendit cælos et fundavit terram; et formidasti jugiter tota die a facie furoris ejus qui te tribulabat, et paraverat ad perdendum. Ubi nunc est furor tribulantis?

Cito veniet gradiens ad aperiendum; et non interficiet usque ad internecionem, nec deficiet panis ejus.

My son will come quickly, treading on and trampling your adversaries, to open for you the way of victory: whether to open the abyss, which he will not destroy until complete annihilation; but he desires to save the converted.

"And his bread will not fail because I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves, the Lord of hosts is my name." The phrase "and his bread will not fail" appears in the Septuagint with an asterisk. The text means that in very captivity they will enjoy the divine concern since God provides generously for their need.

934. Third, he shows the order of comfort: he shall quickly come, namely, Cyrus, that is going to open, the prison for the captives, and he shall not kill you, like the other kings of the Chaldeans, neither shall the bread of his sustenance fail you, above: bread is given him (Isa 33:16), above: and I have given you for a covenant of my people (Isa 42:6).

Ego autem sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui conturbo mare, et intumescunt fluctus ejus: Dominus exercituum nomen meum.

Posui verba mea in ore tuo, et in umbra manus meæ protexi te, ut plantes cælos, et fundes terram, et dicas ad Sion: Populus meus es tu.

And He says that He has placed His words in his mouth. For whatever the Son speaks, the words are of the Father, and He will protect him in the shadow of His hand. And for this reason he will be protected so that he may plant new heavens and pour out a new earth, and say to Zion, that is, to the Church: You are my people.

It is by means of actions that I will teach you the truth of my words. "And I will shelter you under the shadow of my hand, with which I fixed the sky and founded the earth: and the Lord shall say to Zion, you are my people." It suffices to recall the creation to show the capability of his dynamic force that he has promised to convey to them; for he has indicated his dynamic fo…

Second, the authority granted to the prophet: I have put my words in your mouth, O Isaiah; that you might plant the heavens, that is, that you might foretell that the great of the people are to be planted, and found the earth, the lowly; or that you might plant, by your teachings.

Elevare, elevare, consurge, Jerusalem, quæ bibisti de manu Domini calicem iræ ejus; usque ad fundum calicis soporis bibisti, et potasti usque ad fæces.

Anger, which is called "the cup in the hand of the Lord" and "the cup of falling that is drained," is in proportion to transgressions, even though he abates to all some of what is their due and dilutes with compassion the unmixed draught of his wrath.

He calls chastisement "the cup," because it is stupefying like drunkenness. Of this cup, the blessed David has likewise made mention in the following terms: "For there is a cup in the hand of the Lord, full strength, full of a mixture [of aromatics]; and he has turned it from side to side"—for he chastises some, now others—"but its dregs have not been wholly poured out; all the…

Third, he promises liberation from punishments: arise; and concerning this, he does two things: first, he shows their past affliction; second, he promises liberation. 936. Concerning the first, he does three things.

Non est qui sustentet eam, ex omnibus filiis quos genuit; et non est qui apprehendat manum ejus, ex omnibus filiis quos enutrivit.

Duo sunt quæ occurrerunt tibi; quis contristabitur super te? Vastitas, et contritio, et fames, et gladius; quis consolabitur te?

By "two," he means the bravery of the adversaries and the desertion of the auxiliaries: while the former attack with courage, the others flee in a cowardly fashion. "Downfall and destruction." He has again presented two calamities: that of falling and that of being crushed. For sometimes a person falls without being struck.

"These two things have befallen you," that is, they have befallen you because of your sins. You have abandoned God, and you have followed the idols; that is why two punishments have come over you, "famine and sword," because "devastation" comes from the sword and "destruction" from famine.

Of compassion: there are two things; in goods, desolation, the effect of which is famine; in persons, destruction, the end of which is the killing sword: such as are for the sword, to the sword (Jer 15:2); and of comfort, who shall comfort you?

Filii tui projecti sunt, dormierunt in capite omnium viarum sicut oryx illaqueatus, pleni indignatione Domini, increpatione Dei tui.

(Verse 20.) Your sons are cast out, they have slept at the head of all the streets, like a trapped wild goat: full of the indignation of the Lord, the rebuke of your God. LXX: Your sons are destitute and sleeping at the head of all the streets: like a half-cooked beet, full of the fury of the Lord, and lacking from the Lord your God.

By the slumber, he has indicated their indolence, and by the cooked vegetables their laxness. But what he adds is even harsher than what he has said before: "They that are full of the anger of the Lord are caused to faint by the Lord God." By their iniquity they draw my anger, and by reason of my anger, they are deprived of my kind attention and despoiled of every kind of stren…

938. Third, he shows the reason for this: your children are cast forth, from their land, they have slept at the head of all the ways, resting on the way, when they were led in captivity.

Idcirco audi hoc, paupercula, et ebria non a vino.

Hæc dicit dominator tuus Dominus, et Deus tuus, qui pugnabit pro populo suo: Ecce tuli de manu tua calicem soporis, fundum calicis indignationis meæ: non adjicies ut bibas illum ultra.

Et ponam illum in manu eorum qui te humiliaverunt, et dixerunt animæ tuæ: Incurvare, ut transeamus; et posuisti ut terram corpus tuum, et quasi viam transeuntibus.

He has indicated both the arrogance of the enemies and the distress of the city. He says, If you had requested my alliance, you would have prevailed over those who waged war on you; but since you did not want to do this, you have been abased even to the level of the ground.

Why does he not know, unless because, bending himself down to these lowest and earthly things, he heaps up earth for himself? Assuredly he does not know, concerning those things which he commits to the earth, for whom he gathers them: whether for the moth that destroys, or for the thief that digs through; for the enemy that plunders, or for the fire that devours.

Second, the punishment of their enemies: and I will put it in the hand of them that have oppressed you, and have said to your soul: bow down, under our power, treating you so basely, as mud that is trod upon: your people, O Lord, they have brought low: and they have afflicted your inheritance (Ps 93[94]:5); behold they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup, shall certainly…

Isaiah51