(Chapter 55, Verse 1) All you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, hurry and buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? LXX: You who are thirsty, go to the water, and you who have no money, go, buy and eat, and walk, and buy wine and fat without money and without price. Why do you spend money, and your labor not for satisfaction? The Hebrew word Oi (), which I mentioned earlier in the prophecy against Ariel (Isaiah chapter 29), was ambiguous, and it could either mean an interjection of calling or woe. Here at the beginning of the chapter, it is not read as a lament, but with the emotion of calling. Therefore, since he had said that every earthen vessel against the Church should be crushed, and every voice and tongue that had rebelled against the knowledge of God should be overcome, he calls believers to the river of God, which is filled with water, and whose flowing brings joy to the city of God, so that they may drink from the fountains of the Savior, who spoke to the Samaritan woman: If you knew the grace of God, and who it is that says to you, give me something to drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:10, 14). Of these waters He cried out in the Temple: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He who drinks of the water that I shall give him, rivers of living water shall flow out of his belly (Ibid., 37, 38), signifying the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, as also the Prophets did declare in mystic language: My soul thirsts for the living God (Psalm 42:2); and again: With you is the fountain of life (Psalm 36:10). He himself spoke of himself, saying: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). These waters are scattered by the clouds, to which the truth of God reaches. As it is written: Let the clouds scatter righteousness (Isaiah 45:8, Septuagint). And it is commanded to those who are thirsty, that they must not drink the turbid waters of Sion and the swollen torrents of the Assyrians, but rather go to the waters of Siloam, which flow silently, and not fear the poverty of speech, if perhaps they do not have silver (Isaiah 45; Jeremiah 2), but listen to the Apostle saying: By grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:8); and the Lord said to the disciples: Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). They amazingly buy water without money; and they do not drink it, but eat it. For he himself is both the water and the bread, which descends from heaven (John VI). Therefore, what is read in some copies, 'Buy and drink,' has been changed by ignorant writers, who thought it would be more consistent if water were drunk rather than eaten. And money is also very bad, or silver, which the Scripture condemns, saying: Money that is given with deceit will be considered as a broken piece of a pot (Proverbs XXVI, 23, sec. LXX); and in another place: Your silver is worthless (Jeremiah VI, 30). And silver is compared to the words of God: The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver that is tested in a furnace of earth, refined seven times (Psalm 12:6). Therefore, despising that silver and wealth, with which we cannot buy the waters of the Lord, let us go to Him, who, holding the chalice of the Sacrament, spoke to the disciples: Take and drink, this is my blood, which will be shed for you for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27, 28). He mixed wine and wisdom in his cup, challenging all the fools of the world who have no wisdom, to drink. And not only wine, but also milk, which symbolizes the innocence of children, as is still practiced today in Western Churches. It is given as wine and milk to those reborn in Christ. Concerning this milk, Paul also said: 'I gave you milk to drink, not solid food' (1 Corinthians 3:2). And Peter: Desire the rational milk, as newborn babes (I Pet. II, 2) . Therefore, even Moses, understanding wine and milk in the passion of Christ, testifies in mystical language: His eyes are gracious from wine, and his teeth white from milk (Genes. XLIX, 12) . For they translated milk into fat in the present passage. Concerning this, the holy David says in the psalm: Let my soul be filled as with fatness and abundance (Psal. LXII, 6) ; and in another place: He fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with honey from the rock (Psal. LXXX, 17) . Those who desire nothing other than mystical flesh. To which the Lord urged his disciples, saying: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you (John 6:54). Therefore, he was handed over in Gethsemane, which signifies a valley of fatness, or the fattest. At the same time, he rebukes those who follow secular wisdom and the perverse doctrines of heretics, as well as the traditions of the Pharisees, and all false knowledge that exalts itself against God, and who pay great prices and work constantly for money in that discipline in which there is no bread, and they sweat for food in which there is no satisfaction. From which it is shown that wisdom must be sought, which is not in the leaves and flowers of words, but in the marrow and fruits of senses; which does not fly past the ear, but refreshes the mind. And in order to learn this, we do not cross seas, nor do we need great expenses, but the word is near in our mouth and in our heart.
55:2-3
(Verse 2, 3.) Hear me, you who listen, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me; listen, and your soul will live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. And I will establish for you an everlasting covenant, holy and faithful to David. Lest anyone think these are hearsay of the flesh, not of the mind, to whom the divine word encourages them to listen, promising them not the goods of the flesh but of the soul. For, he says, if you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the earth (Isaiah 1:19). Or of the one who says: I am the good shepherd (John 10:11). And your soul will delight in good things and in richness. Therefore, the goods that are promised to the soul are not riches, and bodily health, and worldly honors, which even the philosophers call indifferent, that is, neither good nor bad, and vary according to the quality of the users; but they must believe in those things to which God encourages us: Turn away from evil and do good (Psalm 37:27). But if the soul is said to be good, then honesty and virtues are also said to be good. Therefore, not poverty, bodily infirmity, and low social status should be considered as evils, but rather all vices that are truly bad. In conclusion, Abraham was not considered good because he was wealthy, but because he made good use of his wealth (Genesis XIII). And Lazarus, who later rested in his bosom, did not endure evils because he suffered the torment of diseases in poverty, but he attained true good through the evils that were considered in the world. And so that rich man, clothed in purple, received his good things in his life, which were good to him, who thought them good (Luc. XVI), and of Lazarus it is not said on the contrary: He received his evil things in his life; but he received his evil things in his life, which were not evil to him, who suffered, but seemed evil to others. The blessed Job gives us an example of both things, who was not conquered in the good things or the evils of the world, but endured everything with equal strength of mind (Job. II). Therefore, Solomon prays to God: Do not give me riches and poverty. But establish for me what is necessary and sufficient for my sustenance, so that I may not become satiated and speak falsely, saying, 'Who sees me?' or 'I am needy and therefore become a thief and swear falsely by the name of the Lord' (Prov. X, 8, 9). But if he prays for this, that he may neither possess riches nor poverty, but only the necessary sustenance, of which the Apostle also says, 'Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content' (I Tim. VI): it is evident that riches and poverty, health and sickness, pleasure and torment, are not inherently good or evil, but become good or evil depending on the diversity of those who endure them. Therefore the Lord promises not a thousand riches, abundance of wealth, and luxurious food, and corpulence of the body, and bean dishes and stuffed turtles, mead, wine, and the beauty of wives, the offspring of bees, but those delights to which he mystically provokes us, saying: Delight yourself, or enjoy delights in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 36:4); and elsewhere: I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 26:13); and in another psalm: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name. Who fills your desire with good things (Ps. 102:1, 5). Finally, he adds: Hear me, and your soul will live (Isaiah 55:3). The promise of all good things is eternal life. But if you wish to hear and your soul will live forever, I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the faithful mercies of David. Concerning which the same Psalmist sings: I will sing the mercies of the Lord forever. In generation and generation I will announce your truth (Ps. 88:1, 2). And so that we may know what these mercies are, he explains in the following discourse: Once I swore in my holiness: if I lie to David, his seed will endure forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon, perfect forever, and a faithful witness in heaven. He is called faithful for this reason, because he has fulfilled the promises. For this reason, the Seventy translated it as 'the holy and faithful things of David' (Acts 13:34), which can be understood as strong and firm. That is, faithful is he in all his commandments: confirmed for ever and ever (Ps. CX, 8). And in another place: God is faithful, and there is no iniquity in him (Deut. XXXII, 4). And the apostle Paul says: If we deny him, he remains faithful: he cannot deny himself (II Tim. II, 13). And in another place, writing to Timothy: Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance (I Tim. XV). But this pact, which the Lord promises, will not be brief and of one time, as it was for the people of the Jews, but it will remain forever, so that the true David may come, and what has been promised from the person of God may be fulfilled in the Gospel: I have found David my servant, with my holy oil I have anointed him (Ps. LXXXVIII, 21). Whose hand he placed in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. Whom, according to Ezekiel, David, who has been sleeping for many centuries, calls his servant and shepherd, saying: I will raise up for you one shepherd, my servant David (Ezekiel 34:23).
55:4-5
(Verse 4, 5.) Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and instructor to the nations. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. See, I have given him as a witness to the nations, a prince and ruler of the nations; nations that did not know you will call upon you, and peoples who do not know you will seek refuge with you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. He had provoked the Jewish people to believe, so that they would incline their ear and accept the eternal covenant that the Lord had promised to David, and to Abraham, and to his descendants, saying: 'In your seed all the nations will be blessed' (Genesis 22:18). The apostle Paul, explaining this, says, 'He did not say "seeds," but "seed," which is Christ' (Galatians 3:16). And because he knew that the unbelieving Jews would believe, he turned to the Gentiles, and says that he sent his Son as a witness to all the nations, who would announce his commandments and teachings to the people. He speaks of himself, saying, 'This Gospel must be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all the nations' (Matthew 24:14). Finally, he refutes Pilate, who was acting arrogantly, with this statement: 'For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth' (John 18:37). Concerning whom the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy: 'For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was given at the proper time' (1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, everything that is said must be referred to him, who, like a sheep led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, did not open his mouth. Concerning which it is said above: We saw him, and he had no form nor comeliness (Isaiah 53:2); and: He himself bore our sins and suffers for us. Those who previously did not know him have taken refuge in him, saying: Our God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1); and again: Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). About their faith and what was said above, we read: Those to whom it has not been proclaimed will see, and those who have not heard will understand. This is the witness of all that the Father promised and provided for the world, the mystery of which Paul comprehends in his letter to the Ephesians: God, he says, is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory (Eph. I, 3). And it is written: For the sake of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you, and the glory that he had before the world was made. About whom the Prophet also testifies: The glory of God will appear (Heb. I), who is the splendor of glory and the form of his substance, when every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of the Father (Phil. II). Who answered the Son, demanding the glory that he had before: And I have glorified, and will glorify. About whom also the Apostle John says: We have seen, he says, his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 12:28; 1:14). Therefore, when he speaks of himself: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, he is called the Father of glory; but when he speaks of himself who says in the Gospel: Why do you persecute me, a man who speaks the truth to you (John 8:4)? He is called the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not that there is one and another (which is the worst of many errors), but that the same Son of God, now in the glory of his divinity, now in our nature, which he deigned to assume, speaks with emotions.
55:6-7
(Vers. 6, 7.) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. LXX: Seek the Lord: and when you have found him, call upon him. And after he has drawn near to you, let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts and return to the Lord; and he will obtain mercy, for he will abundantly forgive your sins. Therefore, since, as we have said before, you refused to accept the eternal covenant and the faithful mercies of David, which the multitude of Gentiles, unwilling as you were, received, I warn you, my fellow countrymen, I am a Prophet and I call upon you, while there is still time, to repent. Turn to him who now speaks to you through the prophets, who will speak to you in person later. Seek him while he can be found, while you are in the body, while there is a place for repentance, and seek him not only in place, but in faith. However, how God is to be sought is more fully explained in another place: 'Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who seeks refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing' (Psalm 34:8-9). Therefore, knowing this saying about sinners, 'Those who are far from you will perish,' let us speak to the Lord: 'Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there' (Psalm 139:7-8). And let us call upon Him while He is near, so that He does not withdraw far from our faults and sins. For He draws near to those who draw near to Him, and He joyfully meets His son returning after a long time. Therefore, the saint sings in the psalm: But for me it is good to cling to God (Ps. LXXII, 28). And Moses alone approached the Lord (Exod. XX). And God speaks through Jeremiah: I am the God who draws near, and not from afar (Jer. XXIII, 33). Approaching those who approach me with faith, and distancing myself from those who depart from me in disbelief. For this reason it is said to believers: Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. And lest we think this is enough, immediately he adds: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:8). Regarding this, he said previously: Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). It is not enough to seek the Lord, and while it is the time of penance, to find and invoke Him when He is near, unless the wicked person has abandoned their former ways and the old thoughts by which they had turned away from the Lord. For then we will return to the Lord, who will have mercy on us, and to the most merciful Father, who is abundant in mercies and ready to forgive, when we have abandoned our former thoughts and ways, so that we may deserve to hear afterwards: Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1).
55:8-9
(Vers. 8, 9.) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. LXX: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and your thoughts than my thoughts. Do not think, he says, that what I promise is difficult, and that it seems unbelievable to you, that the impious and unjust can be saved, either the Jewish people or all those among the Gentiles who did not know God. Consider this: there is much difference between my thoughts and yours, and as great as the difference in nature, so too is the difference in will. (Proverbs 19). For many thoughts are in the heart of a man, but the counsel of the Lord remains forever. You, like humans, often, repenting of a promised will, overturn an old desire with a new one. For the Lord frustrates the plans of the nations, and rejects the thoughts of the people, and renders the will of the rulers void (Psalm 33). But the thoughts of his heart endure from generation to generation, and whatever he has decreed cannot be changed. Do you want to know the difference between my plan and yours? Just as the sky's location is far from the earth, and the dwelling place of angels is different from that of humans, so my thoughts are separated from your plans. For it is said of my thoughts: His judgments are inscrutable, and his ways are unsearchable (Rom. XI, 33). Moreover, of yours: They devised a plan, but they could not establish it (Psal. XX, 12). And in another place: Whatever counsel you take, it will be scattered, and whatever you say, it will not remain within you (Isa. VIII, 10). They do not need a clear interpretation, therefore they are tightened rather than discussed.
55:10-11
(Verse 10, 11) And how does rain and snow descend from the sky, and it will not return there until it has soaked the earth and makes it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. LXX: Just as the rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return until they have soaked the earth, causing it to bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that comes out of my mouth; it will not return until it accomplishes what I desire, and I will make its ways prosperous and fulfill my commands. Based on what has been said earlier, the meaning here is briefly: may the people of the nations not be incredulous, that after so many wicked deeds the impious may suddenly be saved. For my thoughts are not the same as human thoughts, and as far as the heavens are from the earth, so are my thoughts separated from human thoughts. For I am most merciful and abundant in forgiving. Would you like to hear another similarity? Just as rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return there but drench the earth, and make it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish what I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. According to the twofold interpretation of anagoge, the word of the Lord can refer to that one of whom it is written: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). He who does not turn to him empty, unless he has done the will of the Father; and has completed all things for which he was incarnate, and has reconciled the world to God. He who is said to come forth from the mouth, and from the womb and birth canal: not that God has these members, but that we learn the nature of the Lord through our words. Or certainly this must be said, that the sermon of the Gospel doctrine is called a shower, and the rains that are poured out upon good earth, spiritual clouds, to which the truth of God reaches. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses promises rain and showers, saying: Let the earth hear the words of my mouth; let my speech come down as the rain and the dew, so that those who sow in tears may reap in joy. And those who sow in righteousness and in the spirit will reap the fruit of eternal life, receiving the bread of the Gospel teaching, as it is written in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes: Open your eyes and be filled with bread. And again: Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. For it is not to be believed that it is commanded to those who eat, that they should open their eyes to eat this bread, by which bodies are nourished, and thus be satisfied with bread, which the poor secretly eat in Abacuc (Abac. III). But God's teaching encourages us to the bread of doctrine, which we cannot eat unless we open the eyes of our heart. Of whom Paul often writes to these, who are nourished by the words of faith and truth (II Cor. IX). And it is commanded to the teacher, that he may send the bread of his doctrine over all the water, and pour out spiritual grace upon all, and know that if he does what is commanded, he will receive rewards in the last time. And it will seem unjust that the one who gives alms should make friends for himself from unjust mammon, who will receive him into eternal tabernacles (Luke XVI): and the one who gives spiritual food and gives food to his servants in their time, will not find them after many ages, which Ecclesiastes calls the multitude of days (Ecclesiastes XI).
55:12-13
(Vers. 12, 13.) Because you will go out in joy, and be led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow; and instead of briers, the myrtle will grow. And the Lord will be called an everlasting sign, that will not be taken away. LXX: You will go out in joy, and be led forth in gladness. The mountains and hills will leap with joy, eagerly awaiting your coming, and all the trees of the field will applaud with their branches. And in place of a heap of rubbish (that is, the lowest branches (Al. stems)) cypress will rise up; and in place of conyza myrtle will rise up. And the Lord will be a name and a perpetual sign, and he will not fail. My word, he says, will not return empty, but after it has accomplished all that I desired, and has made my will on earth, then it will come back to me; and that which is written will be fulfilled: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand: until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet (Ps. 110:1-2). For in joy you will go forth from the blood of idolatry, and you will be led in peace, so that you may hear from the Apostle: Grace be to you and peace (Rom. I, 7). Whether you are led in joy, that you may learn the truth of the Gospel after the shadow of the Law. For the mountains and hills, which we can understand to be Angels, and the souls of the Saints, which are called mountains and hills by reason of the variety of virtues, will rejoice over the repentant and will indicate the joy of the mind by leaps. What the Lord says in the Gospel: There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:7). Also, all the trees of the field will clap their hands, or branches, that are planted along the watercourses, which will bear fruit in their season, and their leaves will not wither (Psalm 1). Concerning these trees, one tree was spoken of in the psalm: But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of the Lord (Psalm 52:10). Let us ask those who follow only simple history and eat cooked lamb. Whether the woods applaud with branches and crackle in the hand, and what is said about rivers: The rivers will clap their hands (Psalm 98:8), in what sense it should be understood. Not only will the mountains and hills leap and sing; and all the trees of the field, blessed by the Lord, will applaud with branches and clap their hands: but even the bush and the fern, as well as the reed and the nettle, will turn into fir trees, and myrtle and cypress. The word κονύζη, which is written as Nesus in Greek and סרפד (Sarphod) in Hebrew, is translated by Aquila and Theodotion as κονύζη. κονύζη is a very cheap and bitter herb with a very bad odor. But when the Septuagint translated κονύζη, which is called Sarphod in Hebrew, Symmachus translated it as urticam (nettle). And as for the nature of proper names, it must be said that evil things are turned into good things, and virtues are born from vices, that is, justice from injustice, fortitude from temerity, temperance from luxury, and prudence from foolishness. Let us give examples of our ancestors: Matthew and Zacchaeus and the tax collectors were like salt and piles of ashes, and useless stumps, and bitter flavors, and extremely foul odors, saying: My wounds have festered and become corrupt, because of my foolishness (Ps. XXXVII, 6). Suddenly, these people were transformed into apostles, becoming cypress trees, and firs, and myrtles, with the best fragrance, and necessary for various works. Even Paul, the persecutor of the Church, when he heard from the Lord: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard to kick against the goad (Acts 9:4-5), it was a nettle with the stings of persecution. But when he preached the Gospel throughout the whole world, he could say: We are the sweet aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15), rightly called cypress and myrtle. Prostitutes and tax collectors enter the kingdom of God before the Pharisees, and the thief from the cross passes into paradise (Matthew 21). Therefore, what is said in the Gospel: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit (Luke 6:43; Matthew 7:18), does not refer at all to the nature of things, as the heretics want it to, but to the choice of the mind. Finally, it is inferred: Either make a good tree and its fruits good. From this it is clear, each one by their own will makes their soul a good or bad tree, whose fruits are varied. It follows: And the Lord will be an everlasting name and sign, which will not fail. For those who have been changed from evil to good, the Lord will be an eternal name and sign, so that they may be called Christians by his name, and branded by his crucifix. About which sign Simeon, holding the little one in his arms, spoke: This one will be for the ruin and the resurrection of many, and for a sign which will be contradicted (Luke 2:34): about which it is also said above: The Lord Himself will give you a sign (Isaiah 7:14): And the holy one sings in the psalm: Make with me the sign of the Lord for good (Psalm 85:17). And He Himself who is the sign says: When you see, He says, the sign of the Son of Man, which will not fail, and will not be changed by any end, but will pass from the present conversation into the future.
56:1
(Chapter 56, Verse 1) Thus says the Lord: Keep justice, and do righteousness, for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. The Seventy, instead of righteousness, have translated mercy, the rest likewise. With the prophecy of the nations being fulfilled, which speaks of the coming of the word of God, changing the thorn and the nettle into cypress and myrtle, Isaiah speaks to the listeners of that time, urging them to do all that is right and prepare for the coming of the Savior, for He is the justice and mercy of God. For if the thoughts of the Saints are judgments: and we should have trained senses to discern between good and evil, why do we not always hold judgment, so that we do not despise the person of the poor in judgment, nor be intimidated by the power of the rich: but rather judge great as small, knowing according to Moses that the judgment of the Lord is, who judges the judges (Deut. I); according to which it is also read in the psalm: God stands in the congregation of the gods: but judges among the gods (Ps. LXXXI, 1). This that is now said: Keep judgment, and do justice, is similar to: Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all times (Psalm 105:3); so that they may justly pursue what is just. Although in the name of justice, every place seems to signify to me that whoever has done one justice is said to have fulfilled all the virtues that follow one another and adhere to one another: so that whoever has one, has them all, and whoever lacks one, lacks them all. This is what the fourteenth psalm signifies: He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness (Ps. XIV, 2). And elsewhere it is written: Learn righteousness, you who dwell on the earth (Isai. XXVI, 9). And the words of the saints testify that the Savior, who became our righteousness, holiness, and redemption, is the mercy of God (I Cor. I): And God has sent forth his mercy and his truth (Ps. LVI, 4).
56:2
(Verse 2.) Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who understands it: who keeps the Sabbath, so as not to pollute it: who keeps his hands from doing evil. LXX: Blessed is the man who does these things, and the person who retains them, and keeps the Sabbaths, so as not to profane them, and keeps his hands from doing iniquity. He who can say with the apostle Paul, 'When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things' (1 Corinthians 13:11): he attains the present blessedness, forgetting the past and reaching forward to the future until he reaches the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that the psalm may be fittingly applied to him: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1). Therefore, this is the man, and the son of the inner man, of whom it is frequently said in Leviticus: Man, man (Lev. XVII, 8): in him is blessedness, because he accomplishes the first and grasps these things: judgment, namely, and justice, and the salvation of the Lord, which is near, and is to be revealed to all nations: so that he not only does what is commanded, but holds fast with a strict hand; and keeps the Sabbath, lest he defile it: Now what the Sabbath is, which he commanded to be observed, the following verse shows: Observing his hands, lest he do any evil. It profits nothing to sit idly on the Sabbath, or to sleep, and to long for feasts. But if one does good, let them rest from evil, and let them have a constant Sabbath of injustice, that is, leisure, and let them only do those things which pertain to the salvation of the soul, and not engage in any servile work. For whoever commits sin, is a servant of sin (John 8). But we have been called to liberty, by which liberty Christ has given us, so that we may not labor for food that perishes; but by cleaving to the Lord, let us say with the Prophet: It is good for me to cleave to God (Psalm 73:28). Let us be of one spirit with Him, and let us observe the dedicated Sabbaths, so that we may not be of the six days in which the world was made, of which the Apostles were not, and of which the Lord spoke: If you were of this world, the world would certainly love what is its own. But now you are not of this world, because I have chosen you, and therefore the world hates you (John 15:19).
56:3
(Verse 3.) And let not the son of the stranger, who adheres to the Lord, say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' And let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' LXX: Neither let the foreigner, who is joined to the Lord, say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' And let not the eunuch say, 'I am a dry tree.' Those who understand this passage humbly refer it to proselytes from the nations and truly to eunuchs, as it is said that even strangers, if they receive the law of the Lord and are circumcised, and eunuchs, like the eunuch of Queen Candace (Acts 8), who could not even be idle on a journey, and while he was seeking an interpreter of the reading, found Christ whom he was seeking, may not be excluded from the salvation of God. But this, they say, is said against the Jews, who boast of the nobility of their lineage, and claim to be descendants of Abraham, and believe those to be blessed who have offspring in Zion and dwellers in Jerusalem (John VIII). But we, who were previously interpreted as thorns and thistles and κονύζη and στοιβὴν (Above, to chapter LV), we now understand to be turned into fir trees, cypresses, and myrtle trees, and the same people are being challenged in regard to the faith of the Gospel: which they should not despair of, as long as they adhere to the Lord; and they should not consider themselves separated from God's people. For all who have been baptized in Christ have clothed themselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, nor free, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11). And it is written in Deuteronomy: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people, that is, the God who had the prior people of the Jews (Deuteronomy 33:43). Those who come from the East and West will rest in the bosom of Abraham. This is what John the Baptist also said: And do not say, we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham (Matthew 3:9). And just as there is no distinction among proselytes, both men and women are equally called to salvation; so also in eunuchs who have castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, both sexes are accepted; those who have mortified their members upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, until they all attain to the perfect man, and can say with the Apostle: We know no one according to the flesh. And if we have known Christ according to the flesh, but now we no longer know him (I Cor. V, 16). Therefore, in the case of eunuchs, they should in no way be understood, whom a passionate poet describes (Lucan. lib. X):
And also the unfortunate youth, cut off by the sword, and the men who were cut off . . . . . . . But those of whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'Those who have castrated themselves for the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 19:12), such were also the Apostles, to whom, marveling and saying because of the difficulty: 'Who then can be saved?' the Savior answered: 'He who can accept it, let him accept it.' Therefore, the Apostle also testifies that he does not have the commandment of the Lord regarding such eunuchs, that is, regarding virgins, but he gives advice as if having obtained mercy from the Lord, desiring that all be like himself: 'For the time is short,' he says, 'it remains, that both they who have wives be as though they had none' (1 Corinthians 7:29). For whoever is called to freedom and released from the duty of marriage, that person is truly a servant of Christ.
56:4-5
(Vers. 4, 5.) Because the Lord says these things to the eunuchs: If they keep my Sabbaths, and choose what I desire, and hold fast to my covenant, I will give them a place in my house and within my walls, and a better name than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. LXX: Thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: Those who keep my Sabbaths, and choose what I desire, and hold fast to my covenant, I will give them a place in my house and a named place within my walls, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not fail. He had proposed two things, proselytes and eunuchs. First, he speaks about eunuchs and gives them instructions for living, and promises them future rewards. And after them, he comes to the proselytes, promising them similar things. Therefore, he speaks to the eunuchs who have said in despair, 'Behold, I am a withered tree' (Exod. 23), so that they may not consider themselves subject to the curse spoken of the barren: 'Cursed is the barren one who does not bear seed in Israel' (Deut. 7). Yes, he said, if they have kept my Sabbaths and chosen the things I wanted and not the things I allowed for the weakness of the listeners, and have faithfully kept my covenant or testament, I will give them a place in my house, and in my Temple, and in the strong walls of my city, and a better name to my sons and daughters, which will never be erased from memory. Those who are eunuchs, as we mentioned before, who are devoted to the things of God; to them speaks Wisdom, which is called by the name of Solomon: Blessed is the sterile and stainless woman, who has not known a bed in sin, she will have fruit in the visitation of souls. And the eunuch, who has not worked with his hand iniquity, nor thought evil against the Lord. For the chosen grace of his faith will be given, and a pleasing part in the temple of the Lord (Wisdom 3:13, 14). This one is fruitful in virginity; this eunuch exercises power in the kingdom of heaven, and violently seizes it. This one is the keeper of the sabbaths, so that he never engages in the works of marriages (I Corinthians 7). This one has chosen what the Lord willed, to offer more than what was commanded: to consider not his indulgence, but his will. This one holds the everlasting covenant of the Lord, so that he does not cease from prayer for a time, and again returns to it, but knows that he will be accepted in the house of the Lord, which is his Church, the best place. For there are many mansions with the Father (John XIV). And whoever is a eunuch, and does all the things that are written, will have the best place within its walls, so that he may become a tower of the Lord, and may stand in a priestly rank, and may have many spiritual children for the children of the flesh. It is said that such was the eunuch whom Jesus loved most, the Evangelist John, according to the accounts of Ecclesiastical history, who reclined on Jesus' breast (John 13); who, with Peter walking more slowly, ran to the Lord on the wings of his virginity (John 20); who, immersing himself in the mysteries of the divine birth, dared to say what all ages did not know: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; this was in the beginning with God (John 1, 2). Therefore, let all the mockery of the Jews cease, and let him no longer offer himself for ridicule, opening the kingdom of heaven to those of half-heartedness, when chastity does not lie in the weakness of the body, but in the willingness of the soul.
56:6-7
(v. 6, 7.) And the sons of the stranger, who adhere to the Lord, to serve Him and love His name, to be His servants: everyone who keeps the Sabbath from defiling it, and holds fast (or holding) to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. LXX: And to the foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord to serve Him and love His name, to be His servants ÷ both men and women ÷ and all who keep my Sabbaths without profaning them, and hold fast (or holding) to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. After eunuchs pass over to foreigners, whom he had previously mentioned, he also promises rewards to them: that if they serve him, and pass from servitude to the love of that name, they will be his servants: such was also the Apostle Paul, writing at the beginning of his Epistles: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ (Rom, I, 1). And Moses, a servant of God (Heb. III). But what was added in the Septuagint: and female servants, we have marked with an asterisk. For it cannot happen that there be any diversity of sex in spiritual gifts: since in Christ Jesus there is no male or female; but all are one in him (John 17). We have already spoken about the Sabbath and the eternal covenant. Therefore, whoever does these things, God will bring him to his holy mountain, and he will be filled with joy in his house of prayer. The holy mountain, or the teachings of truth, and the confession of the Trinity: or the Lord himself, to whom in the last times (according to this same Isaiah and the prophet Micah) many nations will come together (Isaiah 2, Micah 4). The Church is the house of prayer, which is divided throughout the whole world, and not the Temple of the Jews, which was confined to the narrow confines of the land of Judea.
56:8-9