(Verse 24) Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours straw, and the heat of flames consumes it, so their root will be like embers, and their blossom will rise like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and have blasphemed the word of the Holy One of Israel. Because of the higher causes of pride, drunkenness, and greed, they have brought forth thorns, hay, wood, straw, and will burn the brambles. Therefore, the root of their wickedness will be reduced to ashes, and all the beauty and splendor of wealth and the body will be compared to dust (I Cor. III). For they not only did these things, but by these steps they arrived at blasphemy, so that they would not receive the law of the Lord, and they blasphemed the word of the Holy One of Israel; concerning which we read above: From Zion the law will go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). The root can be understood as evil thoughts, but the fruit and the shoot as evil deeds and words, so that what lies hidden in the root may be revealed in the shoot: both of which will be consumed by the fire of the Lord. And so the Apostle (Heb. XII, 15), refers to the root of bitterness springing up, speaking of evil.
5:25
(Verse 25.) Therefore the wrath of the Lord's fury is upon His people, and He stretches out His hand against them and strikes them, and the mountains tremble, and their dead bodies become like refuse in the middle of the streets. In all of this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still outstretched. For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, which the Lord had promised to give through Jeremiah, saying: 'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt' (Jeremiah 31:31-32). And the people of Holy Israel blasphemed His speech, saying: He has a devil, and He is a Samaritan (John 8:48); and: Is not this the carpenter's son (Matthew 13:55)? Therefore, the fury of the Lord was kindled against His people, who were previously angry with the rulers and the powerful, who were wise in their own eyes, and justified the wicked for bribes, and their tongue devoured them like fire, and the heat of the flame consumed them, so that the mighty would suffer mighty torments. And He stretched out His hand against the people whom He calls His own; because they are His portion and the inheritance of His possession (Deut. XXXII). But He stretched out His hand to strike, and His fury was kindled, as we read in another place: O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy fury, neither chasten me in Thy wrath (Ps. VI, 1). And Jeremiah says: Correct us, O Lord, but with judgment; not in Thine anger (Jerem. X, 24). However, the Lord is said to be angry, not because He is subject to human disturbances, but because we who sin do not fear the Lord unless we hear Him expressing His anger. Therefore, the Apostle writes (Rom. II) that the goodness and patience of God provoke us to repentance: but we, according to the hardness and impenitence of our heart, treasure up wrath to ourselves against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. And concerning the hand that is stretched forth or lifted up against the sinful people, Job speaks more explicitly: For the hand of the Lord has touched me (Job. XIX, 21). And the devil, knowing the mighty hand of the Lord, and the arm that is revealed to all nations, says to the Lord: send forth your hand, and touch all that he has, unless he blesses you to your face (Job 2:5). But what is said as if it were past, which is future, follows a prophetic custom, in which the things that are said to be future are so certain, that they are thought to be past. This is also sung in the Psalms: They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:22). And again: They have divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots (Ps. XXI, 19). And what follows: And he struck him, that is, his people, and the mountains were troubled: some mountains are thought to be opposing strengths; or they are the spirits who are in the ministry of God, and to whom sinners are handed over for punishment. But we think that it is said hyperbolically, that the mountains are also moved because of the magnitude of the impending evils, and that all the streets of cities are filled with the corpses of the dead. No one doubts that this happened to the Jews after the passion of the Lord under Vespasian and Adrian. And when these things were done, it is not against their fury: but still his hand stretched out, or elevated, which shows the appearance of one being angry and striking. And it is to be noted in all these things, that it does not reproach them for idolatry, nor for any other sins for which they have offended God, but because they have rejected the law of the Gospel, and blasphemed the word of the Lord.
5:26-30
(Verse 26 and following) And he will raise a signal among the nations far away, and he will whistle for them from the ends of the earth, and behold, they will come quickly and swiftly. And he will not be weary or faint. He will not slumber or sleep, nor will his waist belt be loosened or his sandal strap be broken. His arrows are sharp, and all his bows are drawn tight. The hooves of his horses are like flint, and his chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. His roar is like that of a lion, he will roar like a lion's cubs. He will growl, and seize his prey, and embrace it, and no one will rescue it. And it will sound over him in that day like the roaring of the sea: we will look to the land, and behold, darkness of distress, and the light is obscured by its shadow. The Hebrews understand this passage to prophesy about the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar, that by the will of God he was led into Judah and Jerusalem, and he destroyed the temple. But we, following the order, and connecting the following things with those that came before, therefore, we say that the sign, elevated far away among the nations, signifies the Lord, or that he has hissed at them like a serpent, or has dragged them with the boundary of the land; because they have cast aside the law of the Gospel, and have blasphemed the holy word. For if there had been discourse regarding the Babylonians, according to the prophetic custom, it would have said: I will call him who is from the North, because the Assyrians and Chaldeans are situated near Judea in the northern region. He certainly described the Babylonians and Assyrians more clearly. But now, saying, 'He will raise a signal among the nations far away, and will whistle for them from the ends of the earth,' he signifies distant nations and those who dwell at the ends of the earth, undoubtedly including the Romans and all the peoples of Italy, Gaul, and Spain, who were subjected to the Roman Empire under Vespasian and Hadrian. Hence why Italy was called Hesperia, because the evening star sets there. And with this, he was struck down, and all the hills of Judea were troubled, as Theodotion and Symmachus interpreted, or disturbed, as Aquila put it, or embittered, as the LXX translated, so that the streets were filled with the bodies of the dead, as if by the assault of enemies. The divine word describes the speed of the approaching army, which came not by its own will, but by the will of the Lord; indeed, it was drawn in and provoked by its hiss, which did not fail or tire from such a journey, and did not allow sleep to its eyes, and whose sandals were not worn out. The multitude of archers, the troops of horsemen, the fervor of chariots and quadrigas, is compared to the roar of a lion, which came not so much to fight as to plunder and devour, and the shouting of the victorious army is likened to the waves of the sea. From which it should be noted whenever the sound of the sea is referred to in the Scriptures, what it signifies. Therefore, when the Roman army arrives, takes plunder, and there is no one to rescue, the Prophet joins the people with sympathetic affection and says: We will look upon the earth and behold the darkness of affliction. For we dare not look upon the sky, whose inhabitant we offend, and our light, which we always had in God, is obscured by the darkness of afflictions. I read in the commentary of someone that this which is said: He will raise a signal among the nations afar off, and will whistle to him from the ends of the earth, is to be understood from the calling of the Gentiles, that when the sign of the Cross is raised and the burdens of sins are laid aside, they will come quickly and believe. But I do not know how the following things can agree with this interpretation.
Book Three
Book Three
The size of the volumes is enough for me, which is covered in the explanation of the prophet Isaiah, where omitting something is a loss of understanding. Therefore, in each book, which only indicates the number and order, I have included short prefaces. And, virgin Eustochium, I pray that you assist me in the exposition of the most difficult vision: in which Almighty God is seen in His majesty; and two Seraphim standing around Him and crying out: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory; and the threshold of the temple shaken and the house of Judah filled with the darkness of error. And in comparison to the glory of God, the Prophet said that he had unclean lips and dwelt among a blaspheming people who cried out with the impious voice of rebellion: Crucify, crucify such a person; and, We have no king but Caesar (John 19:6 and 15). And one of the Seraphim was sent to Isaiah, who took a pair of tongs from the altar that had a burning coal, and purified the Prophet's lips, while the people remained unclean. Therefore, the third book of Isaiah begins with these words.
6:1
(Chapter 6, Verse 1) In the year when King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. Isaiah prophesied under the reign of four kings over Judah and Jerusalem, as indicated in the introduction to the first vision: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. After Uzziah died, under whom all the things we have mentioned above were spoken, his son Jotham succeeded him. Jotham reigned for sixteen years and did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He also built a high gate for the temple. When he saw this, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, to show the appearance of a ruler.
And those things which were under him, filled the Temple, whether as Theodotius and Symmachus carried it over: And those things which were under his feet, filled the Temple. For which reason the Seventy interpreted. And the house was full of his glory. About thirty years ago, when I was in Constantinople, with the most eloquent man Gregory Nazianzen, then bishop of the same city, I recall having dictated a brief and sudden treatise on this vision, in order to test my little talent and to obey my friends' advice. Therefore, I send this little book to the reader, and pray that he may be satisfied with a brief explanation of this time. It tells the sacred story of Aziah, who claimed for himself an illicit priesthood and was struck with leprosy; and when he died, the Lord appeared in the Temple that he had defiled (2 Chronicles 26). From this, we understand that while we have a leprous king ruling within us, we cannot see the Lord reigning in His majesty, nor understand the mysteries of the Holy Trinity. And in Exodus, after Pharaoh, who oppressed Israel with mud and bricks, and later with straw, died, the people cried out to the Lord, who they could not cry out to while he was still alive. And when Phaltia son of Bananiah, a wicked ruler, died, Ezekiel fell on his face and with a loud voice cried out to the Lord. And it is beautifully said in the Hebrew: the Lord does not fill the Temple, whose heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool; and as we read elsewhere: The Lord is in his holy Temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven (Psalm 11:5); but the things under his feet filled the Temple (Isaiah 66). But who is this Lord that is seen, as we learn more fully in the Gospel of John and in the Acts of the Apostles. Of whom John says: These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spoke of him (John 12:41), undoubtedly referring to Christ. Again, Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, where he speaks to the Jews in Rome, says: Well said the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying: Go to this people, and say: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them (Acts 28:26-27). However, the Son appeared in the form of one who reigns, and the Holy Spirit spoke because of the sharing of majesty and the unity of substance. Someone may ask, how can the Prophet say that he saw the Lord now, and not just the Lord, but the Lord of hosts, as he himself testifies in the following text; since the evangelist John said: No one has ever seen God (John 1:20). And God speaks to Moses: You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live (Exodus 33:20). To this we will respond, not only regarding the divinity of the Father, but also of the Son and the Holy Spirit, because there is one nature in the Trinity, that is able to see with the eyes of the flesh; but with the eyes of the mind, as the Savior himself says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). We read that Abraham saw the Lord in the form of a man, and that Jacob wrestled with him as a man, who was God. Therefore, that place itself was called Peniel, which means 'face of God': For I have seen the Lord face to face, and my soul has been saved (Genesis 32). Ezechiel also saw the Lord in the form of a man sitting upon Cherubim, from his loins downwards he was like fire, and the upper parts had the appearance of electricity. Therefore, the nature of God is not seen, but appears to humans as he chooses.
6:2
(Ver. 2.) The seraphim stood above him, six wings to one, and six wings to the other: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried to one another, saying: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. This that we, following other interpreters and the Hebrew truth, in which it is written Memmallo, that is, ἐπάνω αὑτοῦ, which in Latin is said super illud, translate: the Seventy translated around him, so that the seraphim are not said to stand above the temple, but to be described around the Lord. Again, where we have said that one of the Seraphim covered his face and feet, by which is understood the face and feet of God: in Hebrew it is written Phanau and Reglau, which can be interpreted as both his own and its: so that, according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, the face and feet of God and his own face and feet are said to be covered. In the seventy-ninth psalm we read: You who sit enthroned upon the Cherubim, manifest (Psalm 79:3); which in our language is interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. And thus the Lord is openly shown to sit upon the cherubim in the manner of a charioteer. However, I do not know elsewhere in the Canonical Scriptures where the seraphim, who are called to stand above the Temple or in the surrounding of the Lord, are read. Therefore, those who are accustomed to say in prayers 'You who sit upon the cherubim and seraphim' are mistaken, as Scripture has not taught this. The seraphim, however, are interpreted as 'burning ones', which we can say are kindling or setting on fire, according to what we read elsewhere: 'Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire' (Psalm 104:4). And so Paul the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which the Latin custom does not receive: 'Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?' (Heb. 1:14). Daniel also, when he described the Lord in the guise of a ruler, added: 'Thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him' (Dan. 7:10). Therefore, the Lord is shown in the Cherubim, in part revealed, and in part concealed in the Seraphim. For they cover their face and feet, because we cannot know what happened before the world and what will happen after the world; but we only contemplate the things that were made in the six days. It is not surprising to believe this about the Seraphim, since the apostles reveal the Savior to those who believe and hide Him from unbelievers; and a veil was also before the Ark of the Covenant (Exod. 40). They are also said to have wings, because of their speed and their ability to travel everywhere: either because they always dwell in higher places. For that which is said about the winds, 'He walks upon the wings of the winds' (Psalm 104:4), does not truly testify that the winds have wings, according to the license of the fables of poets and painters, but rather it signifies their swift movement in all directions. And each has six wings, because we only know about the creation of the world and the present age. And what they cry out, one to another, or according to the Hebrews, this one to that one, that is, one to one, they encourage each other in the praises of the Lord and say: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, in order to demonstrate the mystery of the Trinity in one Divinity; and they testify that the glory of God fills not just the Temple of the Jews, as before, but the entire earth, which He deigned to assume a human body for our salvation and descend to the earth. Finally, when Moses prayed to the Lord on behalf of the people, asking Him to spare the sinful people, the Lord responded: 'I will be merciful to them.' However, as surely as I live and as surely as my name lives, my glory will fill the whole earth (Num. 14: 20, 21). The seventy-first psalm also declares: 'His glory will fill the whole earth' (Psalm 71:19). That is why the angels proclaimed to the shepherds: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will' (Luke 2:14). Therefore, some impiously understand the two Seraphim to refer to the Son and the Holy Spirit: as we teach according to the evangelist John and the Apostle Paul, that the Son of God was seen in the majesty of his reign, and the Holy Spirit spoke. Some Latin scholars understand the two Seraphim to refer to the Old and New Testaments, which speak only of the present age. Hence, they are said to have six wings and to veil the face and feet of God, and eagerly bear witness to the truth, and show forth all the sacraments of the Trinity that they proclaim. And they marvel at each other because the Lord of hosts, in the form of the Father, took on the form of a servant and humbled Himself even unto death, death on a cross (Philippians II), so that not only heavenly beings, but also earthly beings may know Him.
6:4
(Verse 4) And the doorposts of the cardinal's palace were shaken by the voice of the one who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. The seraphim cried out, and throughout the whole earth they proclaimed the mystery of the Trinity, when the entire earth learned of the passion of the Lord and Savior. Immediately, the threshold of the Temple was either raised or lifted up, and all its hinges fell down, fulfilling the Savior's threat, saying: Your house will be left to you desolate (Matthew 23:38). And what a beautiful arrangement of words. After the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord of hosts, the Temple of the Jews is filled with the darkness of ignorance, and with darkness, and with smoke, which is harmful to the eyes. Or certainly through the smoke of the Temple the fire is revealed. For first the Gospel of the Savior was preached throughout the whole world, and after forty-two years from the Lord's passion, Jerusalem was captured, and the Temple was set on fire. The Jews believe that the Temple was filled with smoke, which signifies incense, and through this the coming of the divine majesty.
6:5
(Verse 5.) And I said: Woe to me because I have kept silent, for I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips, and I have seen the king, the Lord of hosts, with my own eyes. And after Abraham saw the Lord and heard His voice, he declared himself to be mere dust and ashes (Gen. 18). And Isaiah, according to the Septuagint, testifies that he was stricken, not for any other sins, but because he had unclean lips. Blessed is the conscience that has only sinned in speech, not by its own fault, but because of association with a people with unclean lips, with whom he was often compelled to speak. From this it is shown to be harmful to live with sinners: For he who touches pitch, will be defiled by it (Ecclesiasticus 13:1). But because we read in Hebrew: Woe is me, for I have kept silence, the Prophet laments, because he was not worthy to praise the Lord of Hosts with the Seraphim, whom we understand to be Angelic virtues. But he dared not praise the Lord, because he had unclean lips. And therefore he had unclean lips, because he associated with the sinful people. Certainly, it must be understood in this way: Because I remained silent and did not boldly rebuke the wicked king Ozias, therefore my lips are unclean, and I dare not sing praises to the Lord with the angels, lest it be said of me: Why do you declare my justices and take my covenant in your mouth? (Ps. 49:16) For there is no beautiful praise on the lips of a sinner. (Eccl. 15:9) However, we say this, not that we teach that Isaiah was such; but that he himself, out of humility and with only unclean lips, confesses himself worthy of God's praise.
6:6
(Verse 6) And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity shall be taken away, and your sin be cleansed. He flew, or rather, one of the Seraphim was sent, the name of which means burning, in order to cleanse the impure lips of the Prophet with a fiery coal which he had taken from the altar. However, many believe that there are two Seraphim, because one was calling to the other, even though each individual could call out to the others; and the Septuagint edition suggests that there were actually many, who were interpreted as Seraphim, standing around him. And if it were spoken about two things, they would not have spoken in a circle, but they would have spoken from both sides. And this applies to the multitude of angels, which is prepared for the ministry of God. But the Seraphim are called in the plural number, and in the singular, Seraph; just as the Cherubim are called Cherub. But as for the altar under which the souls of the martyrs are seen in heaven, John speaks of it in the Apocalypse (Rev. 6); and this stone, which is interpreted as 'LXX coals of fire,' that is, a carbuncle, may not signify coal or charcoal, as many think, but a carbuncular stone, which is called fiery because of its flame-like color. From this we understand that the altar of God is filled with carbuncles, that is, fiery stones and embers, which cleanse sins. Hence we read in the Scriptures about God: Coals were kindled by Him (Psalm 18:9). And it is said of the Lord Himself that He is a consuming fire. And the Savior in the Gospel says: I have come to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49), to baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. For the fire will test the quality of each one’s work (1 Corinthians 3). And he who is to be saved will be saved as if he passed through fire. And it should be noted that to Jeremiah, to whom it was said: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I sanctified you (Jeremiah 1:5), because he did not have unclean lips, but had only said: I do not know how to speak, because I am young, the Lord himself stretched out his hand, and touched his mouth, and said: Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Moreover, to Isaiah who said, 'I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips,' the hand of God is not extended, but a Seraphim is sent by God, or flies of its own accord, because it is entrusted with this task. And in its hand it holds a coal, which according to the Septuagint and Theodotion, is grasped with tongs; according to Aquila and Symmachus, who have followed the Hebrew, with forceps it grasps, that is, 'he cleanses his iniquities,' so that it may touch his mouth and purify his ancient sins. However, it is the hand that is sent from God and the Seraphim, so that the Prophet, seeing a member of his own body, is not frightened by external touch. Some of our people consider the forceps, with which a stone is grasped, to be the two Testaments, which are united by the union of the Holy Spirit. But because the Lord is introduced as sitting, and sitting in the Temple, and the house is filled with smoke, as the Jews think, of incense; consequently, forceps are also mentioned, which we read about in the priestly ministry (Exodus 37).
6:8
(Verse 8.) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said: Here am I, send me. Because both us and all the other interpreters have translated it, the Hebrew phrase Lanu (), which means 'for us,' is put by the LXX to this people, which is not at all found in the Hebrew. But when it is said in the person of God, 'for us' is to be understood in that sense in which it is read in Genesis: Let us make man in our image, and likeness (Gen. 1:26), to indicate the sacrament of the Trinity. For just as we read in the Gospel, when the Lord says, 'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30), and we refer this to the unity of nature, namely, that we are one in essence, but to the diversity of persons, the Trinity governs as commanded by the Lord. However, the Lord does not specify whom to go forth, but presents the listeners with an option, so that the will may obtain the reward. And the Prophet does not promise to go forth by presumption and the arrogance of his own conscience, but by confidence: because his lips have been cleansed, and iniquity has been removed, and sin has been purified. Therefore Moses also, to whom the Lord said: Come, I will send thee to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (Exod. III, 10), and he said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent, send whom thou wilt (Exod. IV, 13), answered not with contempt, but with humility, because he had not heard anything from his purified lips, who had been educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And Isaiah, not by his own merit, but by the grace of the Lord, by which he was purified, offered himself to the service. But others think that Isaiah offered himself because he thought that he had good news to announce to the people. But because he heard, 'Go, tell this people: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed see but not perceive' (Isaiah 6:9), therefore, in the following passages, when the voice of the Lord said to him, 'Cry out,' he does not immediately cry out, but he asks, 'What shall I cry?' The prophet Jeremiah, to whom it had been said, 'Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and drink to all the nations to which I send you' (Jeremiah 25:15), willingly receiving the cup of sufferings, so that he might offer it to the opposing nations, for them to drink, and vomit, and fall down; after he heard, 'Go and first offer it to Jerusalem,' he replied, 'You have deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived' (Jeremiah 20:7). This is the observance of the Hebrews. However, we say that it is not a matter of rashness, but of obedience, to offer oneself to be sent by the Lord.
6:9-10
(Verse 9 and following) And he said: Go, and say to this people: Hearing, you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and shall not perceive. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. The Septuagint translates this passage as follows, as the evangelist Luke placed it in the Acts of the Apostles: And when they did not agree with one another, it is certain that the Jews departed, as Paul said one word: Because the Holy Spirit has spoken well through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying: Go to this people, and say: Hearing, you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and shall not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heavily heard with their ears, and have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them (Acts 28:25 and following). But as for the time when this prophecy was fulfilled, the Apostle Paul himself speaks in the following words: Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen. (Acts 28:28) Hence, in the same Acts of the Apostles, we read that Paul and Barnabas, when the Jews refused to believe, said: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46, 47) For thus the Lord commanded us: I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Therefore, according to the easy interpretation of the Septuagint, Isaiah the prophet declares what the people will do by the command of the Lord. In Hebrew, there is a difficulty in how God Himself commands the people to hear but not understand, to see but not perceive, and then the prophet comes and prays to the Lord and says: Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed (Isaiah 6:10). First of all, the question that can be posed to us must be answered: why did the apostle Paul, when disputing with the Hebrews, speak not according to the Hebrew that he knew to be correct, but according to the Septuagint? The ancient commentators of the Church claim that the evangelist Luke was extremely knowledgeable in the medical arts and had a greater understanding of Greek letters than Hebrew. Hence, his language in both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles is more polished and reminiscent of secular eloquence, and he makes greater use of Greek testimonies than Hebrew ones. But Matthew and John, of whom one wrote the Gospel in Hebrew and the other in Greek, cite testimonies from the Hebrew, such as: 'Out of Egypt I have called my Son' (Hosea II, 1). And: 'He shall be called a Nazarene' (Matthew II, 23). And: 'Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water' (John VII, 38). And: 'They shall look upon him whom they have pierced' (Zechariah XII, 10; John XIX, 37), and others similar to these. Moreover, it can be objected that the Epistle to the Hebrews is not Paul's because in writing to the Hebrews, he uses testimonies that are not found in Hebrew volumes. But if someone were to say that the Hebrew books were later falsified by the Jews, let them hear what Origen responds to this question in the eighth volume of his Explanations of Isaiah, namely that the Lord and the Apostles, who accuse the scribes and Pharisees of other crimes, would not have remained silent about this greatest crime. But if they were to say that the Hebrew books were falsified after the coming of the Lord Savior and the preaching of the Apostles, I cannot help but laugh, because the Savior, the Evangelists, and the Apostles presented their testimonies in such a way that the Jews would later falsify them. However, in the present place, it must be said that it is in vain for us to resort to the Septuagint translation, lest it seem blasphemous that what is said in Hebrew, Hear and you shall not understand, and see the vision, and you shall not know, we also find such testimonies in the Seventy Interpreters, as is the case in Exodus where it is said to Pharaoh: For this very reason have I raised you up, that I may show my power in you. But if he Himself raised up and hardened the heart of Pharaoh, that he should not believe: and of others it is said: God hath given them the spirit of insensibility, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear (Rom. XI, 8); and in the Psalms: Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and their back bend thou down always (Ps. LXVIII, 23, 24): they are not to be blamed who do not see, but He who gave eyes that they should not see. Therefore, even without this testimony that we are now trying to explain, the same question remains in the churches, and either with these things being resolved along with the others, or with the others being resolved and this one remaining unsolvable. The blessed apostle Paul explains this matter more fully in his letter to the Romans, and what he has almost entirely discussed throughout the letter, we make unnecessary if we wish to summarize it in a short speech. For he says after many things: God has concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all (Rom. 11:32). And admiring the sacraments of the Lord, he exclaimed: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! And again, speaking about the incredulity of the Jews, he says: Have they then stumbled that they should fall? God forbid; but by their offense salvation is come to the Gentiles, that they may be provoked to emulation. And after a little while: For if the loss of them be the reconciliation of the world, what shall the receiving of them be? Is not life from the dead? And again: I don't want you to be unaware, brothers, of this mystery, so that you may not be wise in your own sight, for a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. And then all Israel will be saved. And in a little while (Rom. XI, 25): According to the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but according to election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers: for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you, he says, at one time did not believe in God but now have attained mercy due to their disbelief, so too these individuals now have not believed in your mercy, in order that they may also attain mercy. For God has concluded all under sin, so that he may have mercy on all. Therefore, it is not cruelty on God's part, but mercy, for one nation to perish so that all may be saved: that the part of the Jews may not be seen, so that the whole world may be seen. And the Lord Himself in the Gospel turns the miracle of the blind man from birth, who had received his sight, into a Tropology, and He says: 'For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.' (John 9:39). And in another place, Simeon speaks: 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and the rising of many.' (Luke 2:34). Therefore, while they do not see, we see; while they fall, we rise. The Prophet, understanding in a certain way, says in other words: O Lord, you command me to speak to the people of Judah, so that they may hear and not understand the Savior, and see him, and not recognize him. If you want your command to be fulfilled, and the whole world to be saved, which I also desire, blind the heart of this people and make their ears heavy, and close their eyes, so that they may not understand, hear, or see. For if they see, and are converted, and understand, and are healed, the whole world will not receive healing. From this, we understand that although sin is grave, if someone converts, they can be healed. And at the same time, it must be understood that for the magnitude of the crime, they are deemed unworthy of repentance. As the Lord Himself said to Jerusalem: How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).
6:11-13
(Verse 11-13.) And I said, how long, Lord? And he answered, until the cities are desolate and without inhabitant, and the houses are without people, and the land is left empty. And the Lord will remove men far away, and what was abandoned in the midst of the land will be multiplied. And even in it there will be a tenth, and it will be turned again to destruction, like a terebinth tree, and like an oak tree that sheds its leaves, the holy seed will be the stump that remains in it. The Lord said: Go, and tell this people, Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Deut. XXXII). The prophet responds, anxiously questioning about his people: How long, Lord, will this message endure, that they hear but do not understand; and see but do not perceive? To whom the Lord responded, for so long will not hear, and will not see, and will have a blind heart, until the cities of Judea are completely destroyed by Vespasian and Titus fighting, to the extent that not even the original name remains, and if there are any houses left; they will be without inhabitants, and the land will be reduced to a wilderness; and either by fleeing or by captivity, the Jewish people will be dispersed throughout the entire world: and the Jewish people will multiply not in Judea, as before, but in all the nations. But when I say that it will multiply, the misery of the remaining people will be so great that compared to the previous multitude, hardly a tenth part will remain. And even in the land itself there will be desolation (for this place can be understood in two ways: that hardly a tenth part will remain in the whole world, and that hardly a small part of the people will be reserved in Judea). Again, the remaining people will be for plundering, when after nearly fifty years Adrian will come and completely plunder the land of Judea, to such an extent that it will be compared to a terebinth and an oak tree that has lost its acorns. Finally, after the ultimate devastation, even the laws of the state were suspended, and the Jews were prohibited from entering the land from which they had been expelled. But if anyone believes in Christ, and the fulfillment of what we have read above: 'Unless the Lord of hosts had left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom and become like Gomorrah' (Isaiah 1:9); as the Apostle also says (Romans 9), the remnant will be saved; this holy offspring will be, and from the seed of the apostles all the churches will sprout forth. What we have said, the holy seed will be that which remains in her, or next to the eagle, the holy seed will be its offspring; it is not found in the Seventy Interpreters, but added by Origen from the Hebrew and Theodotion's edition; in the copies of the Church, it is stated that after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved; and this word of the Lord will also be fulfilled, saying: 'I will kill, and I will make alive; I will wound, and I will heal' (Deuteronomy 32:39).