48:1-2
(Chapter 48, Verses 1 and following) Listen to this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and come from the waters of Judah: who swear in the name of the Lord, and remember the God of Israel, not in truth or justice. For they are called from the holy city: and they are established upon the Lord, the name of the God of Israel. These things I foretold to the Chaldeans and the Babylonians, and it is necessary for what I have spoken through my prophets to be fulfilled. But you, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who come forth from the waters of Judah, and the rest that follows, listen attentively to what I am about to say. And it should be noted that he does not call them Jacob, but the house of Jacob; nor Israel, who are falsely called by this name, as they have no need for a name. And concerning the waters, he says, you come forth from the waters of Judah, calling them more reverently waters instead of seed, so as not to show that they are sons of the patriarchs in terms of virtue, but of the flesh. And rightly he called the waters of Judah, because at that time it was the only tribe that remained in the land of Judah; and the seed of David was preserved as king. You swore, he said, in the name of the Lord, not to honor the Lord; but taking his name, you commit injustice, while you want him to be a witness to your lie, and you rest in the holy city, and rely on the Lord of Israel; so that you boast to be the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem, and to have the privilege of the Lord of hosts, when you assume the names of the empty Jacob, Israel, and the holy city, and the omnipotent God.
48:3-11
(Verse 3, 4 and following) I announced the former things long ago, they went out from my mouth, and I made them heard. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze. I foretold them to you long ago, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idols did these things, and my carved images and molded idols commanded them.' You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? I have made known to you new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known. They are created now, and not from before; even until this day you have not heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them!' Neither have you heard, nor have you known, nor from that time your ear has been opened. For I knew that you would deal treacherously, and called you a transgressor from the womb. For my name's sake I will defer my anger, and for my praise I will hold it back from you, so that you do not cut off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of poverty. Because of me, because of me I will act, so that I may not blaspheme; and I will not give my glory to another. I have announced beforehand: and from my mouth they have gone forth, and it has been heard: suddenly I have done it, and they have come. I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze. I have announced it to you long ago, before it came to pass, so that you would not say, 'My idols have made these things for me, and my images and molded idols have commanded them to me.' You have heard all, and you have not understood: but I have told you new things that will happen now. And you did not say, now they are happening, and not in the past days. Do not even say that you knew them: neither do you know, nor do you understand, nor have you opened your ears from the beginning. For I know that you will act deceitfully: and you will be called unjust even from the womb. Because of my name, I will show you my anger: and I will bring my glory upon you, so that I do not kill you. Behold, I have sold you not for silver: I have redeemed you out of the furnace of poverty: for my own sake will I do this, lest my name should be polluted: and I will not give my glory to another. I have declared to you the things that are to come, before they come to pass I have foretold them to you: lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this, and will you not declare it? I have shown thee new things from that time, and things before they came to pass I foretold thee: and thou hast not heard them, lest thou shouldst say: Behold I knew them. Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of old. For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb. For my name's sake I will remove my wrath far off: and for my praise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish. Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty. For my own sake, for my own sake will I do it, that I may not be blasphemed: and I will not give my glory to another. Behold, you have heard all things that are to come, and yet you conceal the truth in silence. I do not speak of past events, in which my power has often been proven, such as when I led the people out of Egypt, drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea, gave them the promised land, and subjected various nations to you. But I announce the new things that I am going to do against Babylon, so that the impudence of your mouth may be refuted, you who claim to know what you do not know. From the beginning you have been a transgressor of my commands; and from the womb you were called a transgressor by God, when you were delivered from Egypt, as if you were conceived in my womb, and brought up, and taught. You desired the head of the Egyptian bull, saying: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, not by your merit, but by my mercy, I have delayed my anger, so that you would not be completely destroyed, and for the sake of the praise of my name, I will restrain you, so that you will follow me like a beast and an unwilling horse with reins. Behold, I have tested you, that is, I have proved how silver is refined. Whether in wealth or in the furnace of poverty, I desired to test you. From which it is shown that both wealth and poverty tempt many, if they either misuse them or cannot endure poverty with virtue. Therefore, I will act for my own sake, so that my name is not blasphemed among the nations, and so that they do not think that you have overcome by my anger, but by the assistance of their own idols. And what it brings forth, I will not give my glory to another, this signifies that it should not be thought that idols have oppressed the people of God. Certainly, when he says, 'I will not give to another,' he indicates that he has already given to another, for he is said to have given to another in order to distinguish the first. Many of our people, as I will briefly mention in accordance with the Seventy Interpreters, think that the coming of Christ is prophesied, that he will come suddenly, unexpectedly, and demonstrate his presence to a very stubborn people; to whom the Lord has never revealed, because their heart has become fat and their ears have become heavy. And immediately, as the Lord came forth from the virgin womb, he was called a transgressor and unjust, seeking to kill him. And he connects: For My name's sake I will show thee My fury, and My glory I will bring upon thee. He abuses the sense of the Apostle Paul, or the Apostle Paul takes testimony from this passage (Rom. I), so that the wrath of God may be revealed to terrify those who sin, and afterwards glory may be given to those who are converted: Behold, he says, I have sold you not for money, but I have sold you in your sins, and I have delivered you from the furnace of poverty. For this reason, Solomon (Prov. III) does not want to have wealth and poverty, but only the necessities, so that his heart is not lifted up in pride because of them, or compelled to do things he does not want, and to blaspheme God while pressed by poverty. Hence the Apostle says: Having, he says, food and clothing, let us be content with these (I Tim. VI, 8).
48:12-16
(Verse 12, 13 and following) Hear me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I am the first and the last. My hand also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand measures the heavens: I have called them, and they will stand together. Gather yourselves and listen: who among them has declared these things? The Lord loved him: he will fulfill his will in Babylon and his arm in the Chaldeans. I, I have spoken and called him: I have brought him, and his way is made straight. Come to me and listen to these (Vulg. this): I did not speak in secret from the beginning; from the time before it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit. LXX: Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I am the first, and I am forever: and my hand has founded the earth, and my right hand has established the heavens. I will call them, and they will stand together: and all will be gathered, and they will listen: Who has announced these to them? I, who am diligent, have carried out your will over Babylon, to remove the seed of the Chaldeans. I have spoken and I have called. I have brought him and made his way prosperous. Bring near to me, and hear these things: I did not speak in secret from the beginning, when it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit. To those to whom he had already spoken: Hear these things, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who have come forth from the waters of Judah, now he speaks to them again, Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22). Therefore, He calls them the non-elect, because they had not yet received the Savior; but He refers to them as the called. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, who is alive and was dead. (Revelation 22); so that you may bring life back to the beginning, and the last to Him who died. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient to the Father; He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2). My hand founded the earth. And it is also said in Proverbs: God, by His wisdom, founded the earth, and His right hand is the measure (Prov. III, 19), or He established the heavens or the sky, as the Septuagint translated. He calls the heavens to obey His command, and to declare His glory. But if the heavens obey the will of the Lord and run in their own order, why does the earth and ashes boast (Eccli. X) and not know its own fragility? Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen, whether heaven or all of creation or the entire multitude of Israel. What are the things that are commanded to be heard? Surely it signifies that which the Lord loves, no doubt Cyrus and Darius, who carried out the will of the Lord against Babylon, and exerted their power over the Chaldeans. And He himself spoke and called him by his name, and led him, and his path was made straight, so that no one dared to resist his strength. And he is provoking them to come and listen, and to know, through the Lord's prediction, that the king of the Persians and Medes is coming, who will overthrow Babylon and destroy the Chaldeans. And to announce this, the Prophet says that he is sent by the Lord and his spirit. This is according to the Hebrews and their opinion. However, according to Symmachus, who interpreted it, 'Who has declared these things to him?' refers to the one whom the Lord loves, who does his will in Babylon. And according to the Septuagint, 'to carry away the seed of the Chaldeans' is referred to the person of the Lord: the one who is truly loved by the Father, and who does all the will of the Father, and who overturns in Babylon, that is, in the confusion of this world, all the seed of the Chaldeans, which are interpreted as demons. He himself spoke and heard the Son, and brought him, who speaks to the believers: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened (Matthew 11:28). And hear these things that from the beginning were spoken in secret, that is, through the enigmas and mysteries of the Prophets, which were unknown to all previous generations. When all things were made by the Father, he was with him, who rejoiced, who even now says: I who have always been with the Father, and in the Father, and have never been without the Father, even now I speak (John 14); and according to the frailty of the assumed flesh, I say that the Lord God sent me and his spirit: and in a brief verse, the sacrament of the Trinity is revealed to us.
48:17-19
(Verse 17, 18 and following) Thus says the Lord, your holy Redeemer, the God of Israel: I am the Lord your God, teaching you what is profitable, leading you in the way you should go. Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like sand, and the offspring of your womb like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me. Because God has promised future blessings to Israel, he explains why he afflicted them before. If they avoid the same mistakes, they will not suffer similar consequences. Yes, he said, if you had followed my commands: as the Seventy translated; or at least, with a desire for it, if you had followed my commands: if you had done so, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea, signifying abundance of all things. And what follows: and your offspring would have been like the sand, and the descendants of your womb like its grains: indeed, it seems to remain in the Jewish people, who to this day, like worms, produce children and grandchildren; but how is this to be understood in terms of the promise, when they do not have peace and righteousness? For either he is angry with them, or appeased. If he is angry, how is his seed multiplied every day? If he is appeased, how do they serve and not possess peace and justice? From this it is clear that it is said now of the apostolic seed, of which we also read above (In Chapter I): Unless the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we would have become like Sodom. And because it seems at that time not to have been fulfilled, it is fulfilled in the coming of Christ: and before his face the seed of Israel remains.
48:20-22
(Verse 20, 21, 22.) Go out of Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans; proclaim it with a shout of joy, make it heard, proclaim it to the ends of the earth, and say: The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through the desert; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. Those above in that place, where it is written: I have spoken and called it; I have brought him and his way is straight; they understand it concerning Cyrus and Darius; even this refers to those times when the people went out of Babylon and fled from the Chaldeans, and they were redeemed by their Lord God. This also, which is said: They did not thirst in the desert when he led them out, he brought water from the rock for them; and he split the rock, and water flowed. Although they cannot teach that it was fulfilled according to history; for they did not come through the desert under Zerubbabel and Ezra, and the split rock provided them water, as is narrated to have happened to those coming out of Egypt: however, they testify hyperbolically that it was fulfilled in likeness to the previous happiness, when they came through the desert of nations into Judaea, and were liberated from captivity. And so, they say, it is not about Christ, but about Cyrus that it is prophesied: There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. And it is understood to mean that perfect happiness will not exist except under Christ, which is reserved for the last time. Moreover, those who interpret this more truly and rightly refer it to the coming of the Savior, of whom it is said: He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for prisoners. They understand it as an exhortation for those who proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Savior himself, so that we may come out of Babylon, that is, the confusion of this world, and flee from the Chaldeans, of whom it is often said: For the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob with his precious blood and led him through the desert of the world and split the rock to give water. The Apostle speaks excellently: But the rock was Christ (I Cor. X, 4). However, the divine word is divided and divided into many parts, so that we may receive it in parts, since we cannot receive it all at once. And so that it may not be thought that this preaching is directed to all the descendants of Jacob and not only to those who will believe through the Apostles, it is added and connected: There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord, namely those who have remained in their original error; those who do not deserve to drink from the rock. Whose side pierced with a spear, flowed with water and blood (John 19), giving us baptism and martyrdom.
49:1-6
(Chapter 49—Verse 1 onwards) Listen, O islands, and pay attention, O peoples from afar: The Lord called me from the womb; from the body of my mother he remembered my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword; in the shadow of his hand he protected me. He made me like a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me: You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. And I said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God. LXX: Hear me, O islands, and pay attention, O nations. After a long time, I will stand, says the Lord. From the womb, He called me, and from my mother's womb, He pronounced my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, and He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a chosen arrow and concealed me in His quiver. And He said to me: You are my servant, Israel, and in you I will be glorified. And I said, I have labored in vain and have spent my strength for nothing. Therefore, my judgment is before the Lord, and my work is before my God. I know that both these things and the things beneath, which we are about to discuss, pertain to the knowledge or understanding of one chapter, and all should be understood from the person of Christ. But I did not want to burden the reader's mind by presenting everything at once, nor did I want to confuse the magnitude of what can be said in parts. Therefore, I have provided both editions: so that what seems obscure in one may be revealed by the reading of the other. Therefore, after calling the remnant of Israel and rejecting the unbelieving people, of whom it was said: 'There is no peace for the wicked,' says the Lord (Isaiah 48:22), he turns to the Churches gathered from the nations and speaks to them under the name of islands. These, being exposed to the attacks of the persecutors, are like the waves of the sea, and are battered on all sides by a raging storm, rather than being moved. And lest anyone think that our interpretation is forced and does not apply to the Gentiles, but to the synagogues of the Jewish people, it follows: 'And listen, O peoples from far away, that is, from the ends of the earth.' Just as the Seventy translated, it will stand for a long time, that is, not in this time in which they are being said; but after many times have passed. The Lord, He says, called me from the womb, and He remembered my name from my mother's womb. Which now, in the meantime, seems obscure to those who hear it, but afterwards it will become known to all nations, when Gabriel said to Joseph about the birth from the Virgin: 'And you shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people' (Matt. 1:21). He has also made His mouth like a sharp sword, in order to kill the wicked with the breath of His mouth. Regarding this sword, he himself speaks in the Gospel: I have not come to bring peace upon the earth, but a sword, separating the wicked from the good: For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (Matthew 10:34-35). And in shadow, he says, his hand protected me, so that the lowliness of flesh would be covered by the power of divinity, as the Angel announced to the Virgin: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35). He has set me like an arrow chosen, in his quiver he has hidden me. When he says 'an arrow chosen', he shows that God has many arrows, but not chosen ones: which arrows are the Prophets and Apostles, who run throughout the whole world. Of whom it is also sung in another place: Your arrows are sharp, O mighty one; the peoples fall beneath you (Psalm 45:6); and again: Your arrows are sharp, with coals of desolation (Psalm 119:41). But Christ, out of many arrows and many sons, is the chosen arrow, and He is the Only Begotten Son: whom He has hidden in His quiver, that is, in a human body, so that the fullness of divinity might dwell bodily in Him. And rare indeed is the faith of believers, to whom it is also said above (Chap. XLV, 15): You are a hidden God, and we did not know. With this arrow, and as a wounded bride, the Song of Songs speaks and says: I am wounded with love. And he said to me: You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified (Cant. IV, 9). A servant, because although he was in the form of God, he chose to take on the form of a servant (Philippians II), and Israel, because he was born from the seed of the Jews. And what can be understood about no other servant is joined together: In you I will be glorified (or I will be glorified). For he himself says in the Gospel, Father, glorify your name (John XII, 28). He who speaks in the psalm to the Son: Arise, my glory, and arise, psaltery and harp (Ps. LVI, 9), that is, the chorus of all virtues. But when I said these things to my Father, I responded to him: How have you been glorified in me, Father, because I have labored in vain, and I have not been able to bring back a great part of the Jewish people to you? But all these things are said in order to show the free will of man. For it is God's job to call and our job to believe; and if we do not believe immediately, it does not mean that God is impossible; but he leaves his power to our free will so that the righteous will receive the reward of their will. Because, therefore, they did not want to believe in you through me, my judgment is before you, that I have done all that I should have done for them, saying in the Gospel: I have glorified you on earth, having completed the work which you gave me to do (John 17:4); and again: I have made your name known to men. And my work or labor and my suffering (for this is what πόνος signifies) are before your eyes. For he wept over Jerusalem in the Gospel (Luke 19), and in a certain manner, in Psalm, he says that he suffered in vain on account of the multitude of unbelievers: What profit is there in my blood, when I descend into corruption? (Psalm 29:10). And hanging on the cross, he speaks according to the Hebrew: Far from my salvation are the words of my lamentations (Ps. 21:1). (Verse 5, 6 and following) And now says the Lord, who formed me as his servant from the womb, to bring Jacob back to him, and Israel will not be gathered: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength. And he said: It is not enough for you to be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the remnants of Israel. Behold, I have given you (Vulg. Behold I have given you) as a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth. LXX: And now thus says the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to gather Jacob to him and Israel: I will gather and be glorified before the Lord, and my God will be my strength. And he said to me: It is a great thing for you to be called my servant, and to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dispersion of Israel. Behold, I have set you as a testament to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, that you may be salvation to the end of the earth. While I was speaking, I labored in vain, without cause, and in vain I consumed my strength: because the Jews refused to believe, and my judgment is with the Lord; and my work, which I accomplished with His help, is with the Lord. The Lord answered me, who formed me from the womb to be His servant. From the moment he was formed in the womb, it was shown that he would be called His servant. He also says in the psalm: You are my God from my mother's womb (Psalm 22:10). What then did the Lord say to him? That he should bring Jacob back to him who had strayed, who, having forsaken the Creator, served idols. Hence he himself speaks to his disciples: Do not go on the road of the Gentiles, and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5); and in another place: I came only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). Therefore, it was the will of the Father that the wicked vine-dressers should receive the Son who was sent, and render the fruits of the vineyard, but they killed him, saying. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours (Matth. XXI, 38); and this is what it now says: And Israel will not be gathered together, that is, will not return to the Lord. And I am greatly amazed how the common edition, by another interpretation, overturns this strongest testimony against the perfidy of the Jews, saying: I will be gathered together and glorified before the Lord: when it agrees with our interpretation of Theodotion and Symmachus. But I am not amazed concerning Aquila, who was most learned in the Hebrew language and expressed word for word, that in this place he either pretended ignorance or was deceived by the perverse exposition of the Pharisees, who wanted to interpret it as, and Israel will be gathered together to him, that is, to God. Since the Hebrew word Lo, in this place, is not written with Lamed and Vav (), which, if it were, would signify 'to him' or 'to them', but with Lamed and Aleph () which properly does not have a sound. Therefore, because Jacob has not been converted to God, nor Israel gathered together, the Son speaks to those who do not believe: I have been glorified in the eyes of the Lord. For in me, the whole world has believed, and my God has become my strength, who has comforted me in my sadness over the rejection of my people; and he said to me: It is not enough for you to serve me in raising up the tribes of Jacob, which have fallen by their own fault; and in converting the dregs or remnants of Israel. For this Hebrew word Nesure () signifies. For I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And that which is read in the Septuagint, 'I will gather and glorify before the Lord,' can be understood as meaning that the Lord is gathered with the believers. And what follows: He said to me: It is a great thing that thou shouldest be called my servant; a great thing let us ascribe to man and to a child who, in comparison with God, is small.
49:7
(Version 7.) Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the despised soul, to the abhorred nation, to the servant of rulers. Kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall worship because of the Lord, for he is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. LXX: Thus says the Lord, who delivers you, the God of Israel. Sanctify him who despises his own soul, who is an abomination to the nations, who is the servant of rulers. Kings shall see him and rise up, and princes shall adore him because of the Lord, for the Holy One of Israel is faithful and has chosen you. For what we have said, 'He has transferred us to the contemptible soul, to the abominable nation, to the slave of lords, Theodotius', applies clearly to him who despises the soul, who is an abomination to the nation, who is a servant of princes, which clearly applies to the person of Christ. For he himself, the good shepherd, has laid down his life for his sheep (John 10), and he has despised him who is an abomination to the Jewish nation, whom they curse three times a day with the name 'Nazarene' in their synagogues. He was a servant of the princes, and so humble that he stood before Annas and Caiaphas; and he was to be crucified by Pilate and sent to Herod. This interpretation was agreed upon by Aquila, and partly by the Septuagint, although they changed the meaning and made it weaker, interpreting 'pro gentes' as 'pro gente' and 'pro servos' as 'pro servo'. Others are of the opinion that this is said in reference to the Jewish people, who despised their own soul and are an abomination to the whole world; and they serve the princes, of whom it is written: 'They devour my people as bread.' (Psalm 13:4). But a better interpretation is above Christ. Therefore, which Father, once the redeemer and Holy One of Israel, speaks to the son? Kings will see and princes will rise, and they will worship, when he comes in the glory of the Father with his Angels, and he will sit on the throne of his glory, judging the living and the dead: then everyone will worship him because of the Lord his Father, who chose him. Or it is to be understood in this way: Kings whose heart is in the hand of God, and the princes of the Church of God, will worship you: for the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, who chose you, is faithful. But all these things apply to him who despises his own soul, who is despised by the nation, who is a servant of princes.
49:8-13
(Versed 8 and following) Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my paths will be exalted. Behold, these will come from afar, and behold, those from the north and the sea, and these from the land of the south. Praise, heavens, and rejoice, earth; sing praises, mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on his poor ones. LXX: Thus says the Lord: In the time of opportunity, I have heard you, and on the day of salvation, I have helped you. And I have formed you and given you as a covenant to the nations, to establish the land and possess the deserted inheritances. And you will say to those who are in chains, 'Come out,' and to those who are in darkness, 'Be revealed.' They will have pasture on all the ways, and their grazing grounds will be in all the paths. They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them; for He who has compassion on them will comfort them, and He will guide them to springs of water. I will make every mountain into a road, and every path into their grazing ground. Look, these will come from far away; these from the north and the sea; and others from the land of Persia. Rejoice, O heavens, and let the earth exult, let the mountains burst into joy, for God has had mercy on his people and consoled the lowly. The Apostle Paul used this testimony in his second Letter to the Corinthians, saying, 'In an acceptable time I have heeded you, and on the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the acceptable time, etc. (1 Cor. 6:2). Therefore, if the vessel of election pertains to the understanding of what is said about the first advent, and we follow the footsteps of its exposition, and like little children, imprint the letters on the shadowed lines of the Teacher. Time is favorable and opportune, and the day of salvation, it is the passion of the Savior and his resurrection, when he prayed on the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). And he saved him, or rather formed him, by overcoming death, and he gave him to the covenant of the Jewish people, namely to those who wanted to believe: so that he would revive the earth, which lay in the errors of idolatry, and possess the scattered or deserted inheritances, which had no God as its inhabitant, and he would say to those who were in chains, 'Come out, you who are bound by the chains of sin, for each one is bound by the ropes of his own sins' (Proverbs 5); and to those who were in darkness, 'Be revealed.' Those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and could not see the light, after they have been converted and have seen the bright light of Christ, will be nourished in the ways and paths of the holy Scriptures, and will say: The Lord feeds me and nothing shall be lacking to me, He has placed me in a place of pasture: He has brought me up on the waters of refreshment (Ps. 22:2). And whoever has been nourished and nurtured in these ways and paths, will not hunger, nor thirst, nor feel the heat of the sun: and what is written about him will be fulfilled: The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night (Ps. 120:6). So that he may not feel the adversities or the prosperity of this world. For indeed the Lord, who is merciful and compassionate, will console and guide them, and lead them to the fountains of water. He will give them to drink from the fountains, as it is written: Bless the Lord, you fountains of Israel (Psalm 68:27) . And in another place: Draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation (Isaiah 12:3) . These fountains are both in the Old Testament and the New. And the Lord will turn all the stumbling blocks that could hinder the steps of the believers into level ground, and he will humble the high places and exalt the lowly, so that they may have a smooth and open path. He makes it more apparent who these people are for whom the way is being prepared: Behold, these will come from afar: and behold, those from the north and the sea, and these from the land of the south. Showing the four corners of the world, the East and the North, the West and the South, he placed the East far away: for the southern region, it is read in Hebrew as Sinim (which the LXX interpreted as Persians). The rest expressed sinim as it is read in Hebrew, which we have interpreted as from the south (or also from the south wind): suspecting that Mount Sinai is located in the southern part, according to the Prophet Habakkuk: God will come from the south: and the Holy One from Mount Paran shaded and hiding (Habakkuk 3). But if we follow the Septuagint, we understand the Persians, who are situated towards the East, to be referred to in the above passage: Behold, they shall come from afar, from the South. And it is commanded to the heavens and the earth, or to those powers which dwell in heaven and earth, or to the angels and men, to sing praises to God. And those who are set in high places of power should testify to the joy of their minds with rejoicing and exultation. For the Lord has comforted His people, those among the Jews who wished to believe. And he had compassion on his poor and humble people: whether they were called to him from the East and the West, the North and the South, not having the Law or the Prophets or spiritual riches: but abandoned, poor and humble, they were subject to all demons.
49:14-21
(Verse 14 and following) And Zion said: The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if she forgets, I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are always before my eyes. Your builders have come, and those who destroyed and devastated you will depart from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see; all these have gathered together, they have come to you. I live, says the Lord: that you may be adorned with all these, and that you may surround yourself with them as a bride, for your desolate and deserted places, and the land of your ruins, will now be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who devoured you will be far away. They will still say in your ears, the sons of your barrenness: It is too small for me, make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? I am barren and not bearing children, a wanderer and captive: and who raised them? I am abandoned and alone: and where were they? LXX: But Zion said: The Lord has forsaken me, and God has forgotten me. Will a woman forget her infant, that she would not have compassion on the child of her womb? But even if a woman were to forget these, I will not forget you, says the Lord. Behold, I have engraved your walls on my hands: and you are always before me. You will be rebuilt quickly by those from whom you were destroyed; and those who scattered you will come out from you. Lift up your eyes all around and see: all these have gathered together, they have come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on like an ornament, and wrap them around you like a bride's necklace: for your desolate and ruined places and your destroyed land will now be too small for your inhabitants, and those who humbled you will be far away from you. For they will say in your ears, your sons whom you have lost: There is narrow space for me: make room for me to live. And you will say in your heart: Who has borne these for me? And I, without children and a widow, who has brought up these for me? I have been forsaken alone, and where were they? Jerusalem and Zion are understood in four ways in the holy Scriptures, as we have often mentioned. One, according to the Jews, which the Lord laments in the Gospel, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the Prophets, and stones those who are sent to you (Matthew 23:37). And in another place: When you see Jerusalem surrounded by an army, then know that its desolation is near (Luke, XXI, 20). Secondly, the congregation of the Saints, who are established in the peace of the Lord and in the towers of virtues, are rightly called Zion, of whom it is said: Its foundations are on the holy mountains: the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Psalm LXXXVI, 1). For the foundations of the Jewish Zion, which we see to be destroyed, were not loved by the Lord, nor could that which was loved by the Lord be destroyed. Thirdly, Jerusalem is called the multitude of Angels, Dominions, and Powers, and everything that is established in the ministry of God. Concerning this Jerusalem, the Apostle speaks: But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26). And in another place: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Fourthly, Jerusalem is called the one which the Jews and our Judaizers, according to the Apocalypse of John, think should be placed in the celestial realm as a golden and bejeweled one, which they do not understand (Apocalypse 21), whose boundaries and infinite breadth are also described in the final part of Ezekiel. Therefore, since these things are so, let us now examine more closely what Zion has said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. There is no doubt that the congregation of the saints, which was once among the Jews and was abandoned by the Lord, laments this and bitterly mourns that it has been deserted and deprived of the Lord's help. To this, God responded, using a natural analogy: Can a mother forget her infant, be without mercy towards the child of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you. I will say something more: even if she has forgotten, overcome by the hardness of her mind, the laws of nature; I, however, will not forget my creature, and I will always keep the souls of the saints in my heart. For you should know that what you think is completely abandoned, is written and depicted in my hands; and your walls always remain before my eyes. From this we learn that Jerusalem is not to be sought in the region of Palestine, which is the worst of the whole province, and is rough with rocky mountains, and suffers from scarcity of water, so much so that it needs heavenly rains and makes up for the scarcity of springs with the construction of cisterns; but it is in the hands of God, to which it is said: Your builders have hastened. Or according to the Septuagint: 'You will quickly be rebuilt by those by whom you were destroyed. For it was destroyed by the Jews, it was built by the Jews. It was deserted because of the fault of the Scribes and Pharisees, but it was gathered together for the preaching of the Apostles of Christ, both from the Jews and from the nations. It follows: And those who destroyed and scattered you will come out of you: the worst teachers; so that you do not follow at all the commandments and traditions of men (Matt. XV), but the law of God.' And it is said to her, to raise her eyes around, and to see the children who had gathered to her. Of whom also the Lord spoke: Lift up your eyes, and see that the harvest is already white for reaping (John 4:35). And to make us secure: As I live, says the Lord (which is said according to the custom of swearing in the Old Testament), you will be clothed with all these as with ornaments, and you will surround yourself with them, as a bride adorns herself with a necklace. Blessed is he who has such great merit and virtue that he is called an adornment of the Church. I think, however, that these various spiritual graces are signified, by which the bride is adorned. And this is sung about in the forty-fourth psalm: The queen stood at your right hand, in a garment adorned with gold, surrounded by variety (Ps. 44:10). For those places which were previously deserted and fallen into ruins, with the coming of Christ's Gospel, will be restored and will have such a multitude of inhabitants that they cannot be contained. So, while the persecutors are kept far away, or those about whom we have spoken above: Those who destroyed you and scattered you, will go out from you. And the sons of your barrenness, whom you thought you had completely lost, and that you were widowed by them, will say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me in the synagogues, make room for me in the Churches, so that I may dwell more expansively, so that I may not be constrained by the blasphemies of the Jews, so that the whole world may contain your wideness with you.' But unable to express the magnitude of my joy with my mouth, you will think silently in your heart, and say: Who has given birth to these for me? I was barren and a widow, forsaken and captive among the people of Judah, I had ceased to have children, for a long time I had not given birth. After Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi, I had seen no other prophets until John the Baptist; and how is it that being alone and deprived of the help of a husband, I have now begun to have so many children? But so that we may know that Christ is built upon a rock and foundation from both peoples, Paul speaks to the believers: Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20.) From this it is clear that the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets is one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
49:22-23
(Verse 22, 23.) Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise my hand to the nations, and I will exalt my sign to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. And kings shall be your foster fathers, and queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet; and you shall know that I am the Lord, those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. LXX: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise my hand against the nations, and raise my signal against the islands; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. And the Church said: Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away. I, abandoned and alone, where were they? The Lord answered: Are you surprised why these things have happened? You will not be surprised when you hear, for I have raised my hand against the nations. It is of this that the Holy One speaks: You formed me and laid your hand upon me (Ps. 138:4). And the Savior himself: No one can snatch from the hand of my Father (John 10:29). And the Apostle Peter: Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). This hand lifted up towards the nations is the same of which the Prophet spoke: Jesse's root will arise to be the ruler of nations; in him the nations will place their hope (Isa. XI, 10). Not only will he lift up his hand towards the nations, but he will also exalt his sign among the peoples. Undoubtedly, the banner of the cross, so that what is written may be fulfilled: the earth is filled with his praises. And again: his wonderful name is praised in all the earth (Ps. VIII, 1). Then they shall bring in their arms, or on their shoulders, the sons of Zion, and her daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Such was Lazarus, and all the saints who rest in the bosom of Abraham (Luke XVI), and the souls of the believers, to whom the Apostle Paul spoke: I have fed you with milk (I Cor. III, 2). And elsewhere: My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you (Galat. IV, 19). And in another place: As a nurse cherishes her children: so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls (I Thess. II, 8). Moreover, it is ridiculous according to Jewish custom to carry grown-up sons and daughters on one's shoulders and arms. But kings are nursing fathers, and queens and princes are nursing mothers, clearly showing the Apostles and Apostolic men: such was also Abraham, to whom it is said, 'You are a king from God among us' (Gen. 23:6), and those whose heart is in the hand of God (Prov. 21): who say to believers: 'Desire the pure milk like newborn infants, rationally and without deceit' (1 Pet. 2:2). Also the prince, that is, the ruler, which signifies Sarah's name; and the queen, or queen, of whom it is sung in the forty-fourth psalm: The queen stood at your right hand in a gold embroidered garment, she nourishes Christ's little ones daily, and leads them to perfect age: and every age, sex, and dignity, will adore Zion because of Him who dwells in it. For if Christ is the head of the Church, the head is worshiped in the body. And if it is said to some: Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of His feet (not that the footstool is to be worshiped; but that the majesty of His feet is revealed), why should not the Church, which embraces the whole body of Christ, be worshiped, so that what is written in Zephaniah may be fulfilled: They shall worship Him every one from his place: all the islands of the nations (Zep. 2:11), so that not according to the Jewish custom, tribes come to Jerusalem three times a year: but worshiping the Lord in their own place, they possess Jerusalem. And what follows: and they shall lick the dust of thy feet, signifies that kings and princes should wipe and wash away with their words whatever earthly work adheres to the feet of the Church. Hence, it is commanded to the Apostles that they shake off the dust from their feet. And it is said to Peter that he who is once washed needs only to wash his feet. (Matthew 10; John 13). Through all these things the Church learns that there is no other Lord besides Him, and those who have awaited Him will possess eternal glory.
49:24-26
(Verse 24 and following) Will the prey be taken from the mighty, or what is captured by the strong be saved? For thus says the Lord: Indeed, the captivity will be taken from the mighty, and what has been taken by the strong will be saved. But I will judge those who have judged you, and I will save your children. And I will feed your enemies with their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their own blood as with wine. And all flesh will know that I am the Lord, your Savior, and your strong Redeemer, Jacob. LXX: Will anyone take spoils from a giant? And if anyone unjustly leads captive, will they be saved? Thus says the Lord: If anyone captures a giant, they will receive spoils, and the one who receives from the strong will be saved. But I will execute my judgment. And I will deliver my sons, and those who have afflicted you will eat their own flesh, and they will drink their own blood like new wine, and they will become drunk. And all flesh will know that I am the Lord, who delivered you, and the helper of the strength of Jacob. Our Lord and Savior, who had previously spoken through Isaiah, repeats the same meaning in the Gospel: how can anyone enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house (Mark 3). The strong man and giant is the devil, who had subjugated all peoples under his empire, daring to say to the Savior: All these things have been delivered to me, and I will give them to you if you will fall down and worship me (Matthew 4, 9). The world is indeed placed in the power of the evil one (1 John 5), whom no righteous person could overcome; nor, according to Amos, could one take prey from the mouth of a lion (Amos 3). Therefore, given the question that no one can overcome a strong and mighty one, nor save what was taken from him, the Lord responded that by His coming, all things would be accomplished: namely, that the nations previously captured by the giant would be taken away, and all his possessions and entire household would be divided among the Apostles. Fulfilling that which is written: 'The beloved king of virtues, and of beauty, divided the spoils of the house.' For it is he who ascending on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (Psalm 67:13, 19; Ephesians 4): namely, those who were previously captured unto death, he received into life. Wherefore Symmachus interpreted it more explicitly: 'But even the strong captivity shall be taken away, and the terrible spoils shall be preserved.' Desiring the strong and terrible devil to be understood, who was overcome by the power of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord who judges those who oppressed Zion, whether he judges their judgement or liberates the children of those who were captured by the giant, he will save and feed his adversaries with their own flesh, and he will make them drunk with wine, so that they will be satisfied not with the death of others, but with their own death. And those who are flesh, because they have lost God's spirit, let them feed on their own flesh. Indeed, the Holy One speaks of this in the Psalms: When those who afflict me come near, to devour my flesh (Ps. 26:2). For it is not the incorporeal spirit, but the flesh that is devoured by the bites of fierce beasts. And then Zion will say: truly all flesh that sees the salvation of God, that the Redeemer and Savior is the one who struggled with Jacob, or the one who helped the strength of Jacob: so that in his suffering, he would bless those who crucify him: Father, forgive them: for they do not know what they are doing (Luke XXIII, 34).
50:1
(Chapter 50, Verse 1) Thus says the Lord: Who is this bill of divorce of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or to whom have I sold you? Behold, because of your iniquities you were sold, and because of your sins your mother was sent away. For I came and there was no man; I called, and there was none to answer. LXX: Thus says the Lord: What is this bill of divorce of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or to whom have I sold you, to the creditor and exactor of me? Behold, you have been sold for your sins, and for your iniquities I have dismissed your mother. For I came, and there was no man: I called, and there was none that obeyed. After the calling of the nations, and the kings and princes, the nourishers and the nurses, and the captivity of the strong and the mighty, whose prey was distributed to the Apostles, and after the fury of the demons, who were satiated with their own flesh and intoxicated with their own blood: when all flesh knew that the Redeemer and the strong God of Jacob himself, speaks to the people of Judah concerning Zion, which he had previously said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Do you think that I, through my stubbornness, have cast down your earthly Jerusalem and that because of my rigid mind, I gave her a bill of divorce, and rather, as is true, you understand that she has departed from me because of her own fault? For when I said to her, 'Stop acting unjustly, learn to do good, listen to me,' she did not want to listen but turned her back on me as she departed. Therefore, I spoke to her children: Woe to them, for they have departed from me. Those who acted wickedly against me have been made evident. And against her, You, your departure and your wickedness will reprove you; and you will know that it is evil for you to leave me. But perhaps you cannot show a certificate of divorce, and one of my creditors demanding money, with me having nothing to give back, do you accept a repayment of debt? It is not so: but I will show you why I have abandoned the mother with her children. Your crimes and sins have sold you to demons, so that, entangled in the pleasures of this present age, you would abandon both your parent and that wife. I could not continue to hold your adulterous mother any longer, but I allowed her to leave willingly. And it is true that each person is sold by their own sins, as we are abandoned by our own free will, either led to goodness or led to evil, and the Apostle Paul teaches: 'But I am carnal, sold under sin' (Rom. VII, 14). For whoever commits sin is a slave to sin (John VIII). And just as misers and plunderers are slaves to money, so every sin dominates sinners. To whom it is said: Let not sin reign in your mortal body (Rom. VI, 12). But so that you may know, I did not reject your mother’s soul; rather, she withdrew of her own accord. After many benefits, I assumed a human body, and I spoke not through the prophets, but in person. I came, and I was not a man, nor a human being. For all men, leaving the image of a man and of a human being, took on the images of beasts and serpents. Therefore, due to her wickedness, it is said to Herod: Go, and tell this fox (Luc. XIII, 32). And to the Pharisees: 'Brood of vipers' (Matthew 23:33). And to the lustful: 'They have become insane horses longing for females' (Jeremiah 5:8). And about the indulgent: 'Do not cast your pearls before swine' (Matthew 7:6). And to the shameless: 'Do not give what is holy to the dogs' (Matthew 7:6). And in general, about everyone: 'The vision of the beasts that were in the wilderness' (Isaiah 30). So the Lord came, but did not find a man. For when man was in honor, he did not understand; he was compared to dumb animals and became like them' (Psalm 49:13). I called, he said, them as if they were rational animals, and I said: Incline your ear to the words of my mouth (Psalm 77), and my people did not hear my voice. I cried out, and said: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let them drink (John 7:37). And in another place: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden (Matthew 11:28). And there was no one to hear; therefore I spoke to them in the Gospel: You have not seen the form of God, nor have you heard his voice, because you do not have his word abiding in you (John 5:37, 38).
50:2