14:21
(Verse 21.) The seed of evildoers will not be called forever. Prepare his children for slaughter because of the iniquity of their fathers: they will not rise, nor will they inherit the land, nor will they fill the faces of the cities. All histories agree that after the killing of Balthasar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and the succession of Darius to the kingdom of the Chaldeans, no one from the offspring of Nebuchadnezzar ruled thereafter. Therefore, Scripture predicts that such devastation will come upon Babylon that no royal seed will remain, but because of the wickedness of the father, all offspring will be destroyed. But because we have moved to the final part of the sentence, the faces of the cities will not be filled up, it is written in Hebrew for cities, Arim (), which we can translate as adversaries; so the meaning is: no one from your seed will desire to restore the kingdom, an adversary will be raised up. According to the Seventy Interpreters, who said: Wicked seed, prepare your sons for destruction because of the sins of your father, I cannot understand the meaning.
14:22-23
(Verse 22, 23.) And I will rise up against them, says the Lord of hosts: and I will destroy the name of Babylon, and the remnants, and the seed, and the offspring, says the Lord. And I will make it a possession for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts. Babylon was the most powerful, and situated on a plain, with walls stretching from one corner to another, covering sixteen thousand stadia, which is equivalent to sixty-four times around, according to Herodotus and many others who wrote Greek histories. But the citadel, that is, the Capitol of that city, is a tower which is said to have been built after the flood, and is reported to be four thousand paces high, gradually narrowing from the sides to the top, so that the weight pressing upon it may be more easily supported by the broader base. There they describe marble temples, golden statues, streets gleaming with stones and gold, and many other things which almost seem incredible. We have narrated all this to show that all human power is as dust and ashes compared to the anger of God. If it were permitted to enter barbarian nations and see the remains of such a great city, we would see the possession of heretics, and swamps of water, and truly fulfill what is now sung by the voices of Isaiah: I will sweep it with a broom, wearing it out; for except for the baked brick walls, which are being restored after many years in order to enclose wild animals, the entire middle space is a desolation.
14:24-25
(Verse 24, 25.) The Lord of hosts swore, saying: If it shall not be as I thought, so it shall be, and as I devised it in my mind, so shall it come to pass, that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulder. He returns to the present, that is, to Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, who devastated Samaria and Judah, and except Jerusalem, destroyed everything all around; and he associates events in the distant future, so that the impending fear may be removed: for those who hear could say: We endure the present siege, but he promises something that will come many centuries later. Therefore, there is a prophecy, although after many years Babylon will be destroyed and the entire seedbed of the Assyrians and Chaldeans will be scattered: nevertheless, so that you do not fear the imminent captivity, the Lord swears (to whom even the one who does not swear must be believed) that his estimation will not deceive and that what he has conceived in his mind will not be in vain. However, he speaks this with human affection, namely, that the one who cannot be deceived will not be deceived: I will crush, he says, the Assyrian in my land, and I will trample him on my mountains. For in one night, 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army were destroyed by the Angel. And the yoke that oppressed those who were besieging Jerusalem, and the heavy burden that weighed upon them, will be removed from them and instead pushed back onto themselves. For when the Assyrian king fled to his own land, King Hezekiah went out with the rest of the people, free from oppression.
14:26-27
(Verse 26, 27.) This is the plan that I have devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? Some interpret this passage as a general prophecy against the entire world, and that the desolation of the cities of Babylon and Assyria are a type of the end of the world. We do not disagree with them, as long as we understand that in this passage the whole earth properly signifies the land of the Assyrians and all the nations allied with the Assyrian king. But whatever is decreed by the Lord, is not prevented by the power of anyone. And no one can restrain his outstretched hand, ready to strike.
14:28
(Verse 28.) In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden came. We read in the Book of the Prophets that four kings of Judah held the title of Prophet: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, each succeeding the other in order and lineage. We have read earlier about the death of Uzziah, as recorded by Isaiah: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. From this, we understand both the vision of the Lord sitting and the things that are commanded to the Prophets, up to the point where it is written (Chapter VI): "As a terebinth and as an oak that spreads its branches, so shall be the holy seed, it shall be the germ under King Jotham prophesied" (Ibid., VII). Achaz, the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, succeeded as the third king of Judah. During his reign, Rasin, the king of Syria, and Phacee, the son of Romelia, the king of Israel, came to Jerusalem to fight against it, as the Scripture recounts. Therefore, from Achaz up to the present point, which we now endeavor to explain, we know all the things that are placed in the middle, prophesied: after his death, Ezechias, the fourth and final king, succeeded, under whom the entire book is woven together until the end.
14:29
(Verse 29.) Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod of your striker is broken; for from the root of the serpent a little king will come forth, and his offspring will consume the flying creature. It is natural that we say: when the king of the enemy nations dies, the enemies always rejoice, waiting for civil wars, seditions, and the incompetence of ruling from new things. Therefore, with the sinner Ahaz dead, who had walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and had been joined to them by kinship, we understand that the Philistines were pleased to be nearby and insulted the Israelites because with the mature king lost, they would be subject to the young Hezekiah. But, as we said above, Philisthaeos signifies the Palestinians, whom the Vulgate edition of the Bible refers to as foreigners: even though this is not the name of one particular nation, but of all foreign nations. Do not, he says, rejoice, O Philisthaea, do not insult my people because the rod of your smiter Achaz is broken; because the staff that used to strike you appears to be shattered; because the snake is killed. For this reason, a more harmful ruler will be born, whom the Greeks call the basilisk, who will put you to death with his gaze and the breath of his mouth. For no bird of prey can pass through unharmed: however far away it may be, it is sucked up by its mouth. So too, you will perish from the sight of King Hezekiah. And he preserved the metaphor well: for he had mentioned both a snake and a bird of prey, and he says that birds are devoured by its mouth and breath. As for no king of Judah having struck the Philistines like Hezekiah devastated them, listen to the Book of Kings: He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza, and as far as its borders: from the tower of the keepers to the fortified cities (2 Kings 18:8). But because we have translated it as absorbing the winged creature, and it is written in Hebrew as Saraph Mopheth (), which can be interpreted as a flying serpent: so the sense is: from the root of the serpent a king will be born, and its fruit, that is, the king's flying serpent, so that you may understand a flying dragon.
14:30
(Ver. 30.) And the firstborn of the poor will be fed, and the poor will rest confidently. When the ruler strikes you, and the flying dragon devastates your boundaries, you will not plot against Judah, and you will not frighten my humble people with your deceit; but crushed by your own troubles, you will weep for your calamity. But the humble and poor, who did not trust in wealth and power, but in my name, will rest in secure peace and will not fear the attack of any enemy.
And I will make your root perish in famine, and I will destroy your remnants. He is speaking entirely in figures. The meaning is that, while the people of God are confidently resting, the root of the Philistines will dry up, and all the remnants will be consumed.
14:31
(Verse 31.) Howl, O gate! Cry out, O city! Philisthaea is laid waste, all of it. For from the north comes smoke, and there is no escaping its horde. He calls the gate for those who are at the gate, and the city for the inhabitants of the city. He also directs his speech to the cities of the Philistines, saying that they should wail and mourn when Senacherib comes, and when the torrent ravages everything. For the Assyrian came under the reign of Hezekiah, and among other nations he devastated the Philistines. To whom Jeremiah speaks: Behold, waters rise up from the north, and they shall be like a overflowing torrent, and they shall cover the land and its fullness, the city and its inhabitants (Jer. 47:2). For from the north comes the Assyrian, and from its heat, they go forth, subjugating Nineveh and other nations. At that time when these things were being sung, smoke rose up on high, that is, a rumor spread among the peoples in the order of all nations, that the Phoenicians and the Philistines were also to be devastated.
14:32
(v. 32.) What will the response be to the messages of the nation? Because the Lord has founded Zion, and in it the poor of his people will hope. Because it was said, there is no one who can escape his army, it seemed in the general sentiment that even Judah was included. Yes; he says, if the angels of the Assyrian nation inquire why only Judah escaped, answer them, because the Lord has founded Zion, and he has protected his humble people with his power. For the Angels () the kings () translated in the Septuagint, deceived by the error of a single letter Aleph.
15:1
(Chapter 15, Verse 1) Burden of Moab: because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it is silent; because in the night the wall of Moab is laid waste, it is silent. It is enough to have said once about the burden and weight. I only briefly remind you that burdens always bring about sadness. However, visions are either immediately joyful or joyful after sadness. Moab is a province of the Arabs, where Balak son of Beor was (Numbers 22); he hired the diviner Balaam from Mesopotamia to curse Israel, where the people were initiated into the worship of Baal (ibid., 25). The city of this metropolis is called Ar ( ), which is now composed of Hebrew and Greek language and is called Areopolis; not as most people think, that it is the city of Mars, which is interpreted as Ar and ἀντίδικος, meaning adversary. However, Jeremiah testifies to the extent of its power (Jeremiah 48:2, 7 ff.), saying: There is no longer rejoicing in Moab. And again: You have trusted in your fortresses and in your treasures. And again: Moab was fertile from his youth, and he rested in his own filth, neither was he poured out from vessel to vessel, neither did he go into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent was not changed. And in another place (Ibid., 25): How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod? And a little later: We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is very proud: his haughtiness, and his arrogance, and his pride, and the loftiness of his heart, I know it, saith the Lord, and his boastfulness. Just as the Prophet prophesied against Babylon and the Philistines, that they would oppress the people of Judah; so now the devastation of the Moabites, that is, the Arabs, is predicted by the Assyrians and Babylonians. For they were devastated by both nations, at the time when Sennacherib took Israel captive, and when Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem (2 Kings 17 and 25). For Ephraim and Judah had insulted both enemies, as Jeremiah said: Moab will be like vomit in their own mouths, and will be ridiculed as well. For he has made a mockery of you, O Israel, as if you had found him among thieves (Jeremiah 68:26, 27). Because of your words, which you spoke against him, you will be led captive. And as for what he says: 'Ar is destroyed, Moab is silent, the beginning of the invader's splendor, in darkness they shall be destroyed; he who was conceived in incest by his father at night.' Unless we take night to mean the magnitude of terror: and it should be believed, that he trusted in his walls, but she was overcome by ambush and tunnels. I heard that a certain Areapolites, but also the whole city is a witness, experienced a great earthquake in my childhood, when the seas crossed the entire shore of the world, and on the same night the walls of this city collapsed.
15:2
(Vers. 2.) The house ascends, and Dibon ascends to the heights in lamentation over Nabo, and over Medaba Moab will howl. Do not be troubled that I am proceeding along the path of history, for you yourself desired that I do so. It is understood, however, that the royal house and the city of Dibon ascend to the idols that are placed on the heights: over Nabo and over Medaba, distinguished cities, the entire province will wail. For in Nabo there was consecrated the idol Chamos, which is called by another name Beelphegor.
In all its chapters, there is baldness; every beard will be shaved off. Among the ancients, the shaving of the beard and head was a sign of mourning. By these things, therefore, the magnitude of sorrow is shown, with Jeremiah proclaiming against Moab: Every head is bald, and every beard is shaved off, and there is binding of the hands on every side, and sackcloth on every back (Jeremiah 48:37).
15:3