The Burden against Egypt 1 An oracle of Egypt. See, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and coming to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the heart of Egypt melts within it.
Tertullian · AD 220 Egypt is sometimes understood to mean the whole world in [Isaiah], because of superstition and malediction.
John Chrysostom · AD 407 That it was Jesus himself [at the ascension] they knew from the fact that he had been conversing with them (for had they seen only from a distance, they could not have recognized him by sight), but that he is taken up into heaven the angels themselves inform them. Observe how it is ordered, that not all is done by the Spirit, but the eyes also do their part.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 The burden of Egypt. In this part, he threatens the destruction of the Egyptians, describing the manner and the order. And this is divided into three parts: in the first, the preparation of the punishment is described; in the second, the destruction itself: and I will deliver Egypt (Isa 19:4); in the third, the attainment of advantage, where it says, in that day there shall be…
2 And I will stir up Egypt against Egypt, and they will fight each against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
Jerome · AD 420 (Version 2.) And I will make the Egyptians fight against the Egyptians, and one man will fight against his brother, and one man against his friend, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
Isidore of Seville · AD 636 Daughters of Tyre, daughters of the nations, from species to genus. Through Tyre, neighbor to the land of prophecy, the psalmist signifies all the people who would come to believe in Christ.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, as to the dissension of those who resist, as to external contact: and I will set, as to strangers: the Egyptians to fight against the Egyptians; as to kindred, they shall fight brother against brother; as to acquaintances and friends: and friend against friend; as to different peoples, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt will be emptied out within it, and its counsel I will swallow up; and they will inquire of the idols and of the whisperers and of the ghosts and of the spirits.
Jerome · AD 420 And the spirit of Egypt was disrupted in their hearts, so that they would not feel equal; but separated by a spiritual sword against themselves, they would recognize that all their plans had been thrown away: and nevertheless, remaining in their previous error, those who had refused to accept the truth of faith would consult idols and their gods, and Pythonesses, and soothsayer…
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 He sets out the diversity of wills: the spirit, that is, the will, shall be broken, that is, divided, in the bowels thereof, that is, in the inhabitants of the land: every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate (Matt 12:25).
4 And I will shut Egypt up in the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them — the utterance of the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
Jerome · AD 420 (Version 4) And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king shall rule over them, says the Lord God of hosts. We follow a twofold interpretation: either of the Chaldean times, when Egypt was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar; or of the Roman empire, when Antony and Cleopatra were defeated, and Augustus Caesar subdued Egypt.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 And I will deliver Egypt. Here he describes the destruction itself; and first, as to the slavery of the people; second, as to the desolation of the land: and the water of the sea shall be dried up (Isa 19:5); third, as to the stupidity of their wise men: the princes of Tanis are become fools (Isa 19:11).
5 And the waters will fail from the sea, and the River will be parched and dried up.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verset 5 et suiv.) And the sea water will dry up, and the river will be deserted and dried up, and the rivers will fail, and the streams of the embankments will be thin and dry up. The reed and the rush will wither, the bed of the river will be exposed from its source, and all irrigated crops will dry up. It will dry up and cease to exist.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 The destruction of the land he designates by the drought of the waters in which Egypt is well-endowed and rich; because the wrath of God goes before so that their waters are dried up and their animals die; or he speaks hyperbolically, as if to say: so great will be the tribulation that it will seem even to dry up the waters. Therefore, he sets out three things.
6 And the canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up; reed and rush will wither.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 And the rivers, other rivers: I will make the channels of the rivers dry (Ezek 30:12). Second, he sets out the sign of the drought: the reed and the bulrush, which are raised in the water, below: shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush (Isa 35:7).
7 The bare places by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile, and everything sown by the Nile, will dry up, be driven away, and be no more.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, he sets out the ruin from the drought, shall be laid bare: first, the ruin of agriculture, from its fountain, that is, from its beginning, or this to the end: he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground (Ps 106[107]:33).
8 And the fishermen will mourn, and all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament; and those who spread a net on the face of the waters will languish.
Jerome · AD 420 (v. 8-10) And the fishermen shall mourn, and all those who cast the hook into the river shall lament, and those who spread the net over the face of the water shall wither away. And those who work with flax, twisting and weaving fine fabrics, shall be put to shame; and its pools shall be dried up, and all those who make fishing-gear for catching fish shall mourn.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, the ruin of fishers: the fishers also shall mourn: I will cast you forth into the desert, and all the fish of your river (Ezek 29:5).
9 And the workers of combed flax will be ashamed, and the weavers of white cloth.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, the ruin of various craftsmen, they shall be confounded that wrought in flax, which is raised in wet places. Flaccid, that is, parched, pools, fish ponds.
10 And her weavers will be crushed, all the wage-workers grieved of soul.
11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh — their counsel is brutish. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?
Ambrose of Milan · AD 397 And the Father says to him: Return to me, calling him from the earth to heaven, whom he had sent for our salvation. Therefore, raising up his only-begotten Son, he frustrated the plan of the slanderers. Hence, Isaiah also says: The futile plan of your spirit.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 11-13.) The foolish princes of Tanis, the wise counselors of Pharaoh, gave foolish counsel: How can you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 The princes of Tanis are become fools. Here he sets out the stupidity of their men; and first, as to error in their counsels; second, as to fear in wars, where it says, in that day Egypt shall be like unto women (Isa 19:16). Concerning the first, he does three things.
12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts has counseled against Egypt.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 12 and following) How can you say to Pharaoh: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. The princes of Tanis have become foolish, the princes of Memphis are deluded; the leaders of Egypt have led it astray.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, he mocks the confidence of the king: where now, and first, the question, below: there is none that can save you (Isa 47:15); second, the answer: fools have withered away, that is, have failed, as above.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; the cornerstone of her tribes has led Egypt astray.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, he mocks the laziness of the deceived people: they have deceived. First, he sets out the deception of the wise: they have deceived the angle, that is, the kingdom, in which many are joined together like walls in an angle, below: your wisdom, and, your knowledge, has deceived you (Isa 47:10).
14 The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of distortion, and they have led Egypt astray in all its doing, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse. 14, 15.) The Lord mixed in its midst the spirit of dizziness: and he caused Egypt to wander in all its work, like a drunkard and a vomiter: and Egypt will have no work that it does, bending and restraining head and tail. First let us speak about the interpretation, and afterwards we will discuss what is written.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, the permission of God: the Lord has mingled, often said metaphorically, the spirit of giddiness, that is, the spirit of error, like one who suffers giddiness: the Lord has given a lying spirit in the mouth of all your prophets (1 Kgs 22:23).
15 And there will be no work for Egypt that head or tail, palm frond or reed, may do.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, the error of the people themselves: and they have caused Egypt to err. Head, namely, neither with respect to the beginning; tail, nor the end; that bends down, in respect to the old man; that holds back, in respect to the youth, who lacks restraint, or to the lascivious: but evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse (2 Tim 3:13).
A Blessing upon the Earth 16 In that day Egypt will be like women, and will tremble and be in dread before the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he is waving over it.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 16, 17.) On that day Egypt will be like women, and they will be astonished and afraid because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he will bring against them. And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who mentions it will fear because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts, which he has planned against it.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 In that day. Here he threatens fear of the strong. And first, he places the fear itself, like unto women, feeble and weak: their strength has failed, and they are become as women (Jer 51:30).
17 And the ground of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who brings it to mind will be in dread of it, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he is counseling against it.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, the reason for the fear, and the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt, namely, the memory of the evils which they did to them, turning them from the worship of God, for which they will know that the wrath of God has befallen them: now I remember the evils that I did in Jerusalem (1 Macc 6:12).
18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the lip of Canaan and swearing to the LORD of hosts; City of the Sun one of them will be called.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 18.) On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing by the Lord of hosts. One city shall be called the City of the Sun. The raised and shaking hand of the Lord over Egypt greatly benefits, so that the land of Judah may be in fear of Him, and everyone who remembers Him may tremble.
Bede · AD 735 The servant is "faithful in very little" who does not defile the word of God but speaks as though he were speaking from God and with God in Christ.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 In that day. Here the consequence or the consolation is set out, namely their conversion. And first, the threefold sign of their conversion; the first of which is an oath: swearing, below: he shall swear by God, amen: because the former distresses are forgotten (Isa 65:16); the city of the sun, Heliopolis, the language of Chanaan, which is close to the language of the Jews, so…
19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar beside its border to the LORD.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verses 19-21.) In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar near its border to the Lord. And it will be for a sign and for a testimony to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. For they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion who will deliver them.
Augustine of Hippo · AD 430 The prophet Isaiah says this about Egypt: "In that day there will be an altar of the Lord in the land of the Egyptians and an inscription to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign forever to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, for they will cry to the Lord against their assailants, and the Lord will send them a savior who will be determined to save them.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 The second sign is a sacred building: an altar of the Lord; and a monument, for they worshipped many gods, as it says in Acts 17. Some say that this was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees, when many Jews were fleeing into Egypt, and Onias, wishing to fulfill this prophecy, built an altar against the precept of the law.
20 And it will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the LORD before oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius · AD 325 He was called "Christ" from the anointing. Then, that the same one was a human being Jeremiah shows, saying, "And he is man, and who has known him?" And Isaiah, "And the Lord shall send them a man, who shall save them, and judging them he will heal them."
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 20.) And the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day; and they will worship him with sacrifices and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. And the Lord will strike Egypt with a plague, and he will heal it; and they will return to the Lord, and he will be appeased by them, and he will heal them.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 The third sign is that they call on the help of God, they shall cry to the Lord; a Savior, Jesus: he shall cry to me, and I will hear him (Ps 90[91]:15).
21 And the LORD will be known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the LORD in that day; and they will serve with sacrifice and offering, and vow a vow to the LORD and fulfill it.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, he sets out the manner of their conversion. And first, as to the undertaking of faith: and the Lord shall be known: all shall know me from the least of them even to the greatest, says the Lord (Jer 31:34); second, as to the offering of sacrifices and vows: and they shall worship: in every place there is offered to my name a clean oblation (Mal 1:11).
22 And the LORD will strike Egypt — striking and healing — and they will turn back to the LORD, and he will be entreated by them and will heal them.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 22.) And the Lord will strike Egypt with a plague, and He will heal it. And they will turn to the Lord, and He will be appeased by them, and He will heal them. For whom the Lord loves, He chastises, and He punishes every son whom He receives. Persecution does not pertain to the denial of believers, but to their testing and reward.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, as to the remission of sins: and the Lord shall strike, first, through many punishments, and shall heal from sin: he wounds, and cures: he strikes, and his hands shall heal (Job 5:18).
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria; and Assyria will come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt will serve with Assyria.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 23) On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. As we have shown, the preceding events have been for the good of the Egyptians. Five cities in their land will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, he sets out the threefold effect of their conversion, namely, peace: in that day there shall be a way, which could not exist before because of the various kingdoms, which, when the Lord was born, were joined under the Romans; they shall serve, each other in trade; or because Syrian soldiers were in the Roman legions that guarded Egypt, above: nation shall not lift up swo…
24 In that day Israel will be a third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 24, 25.) On that day, Israel will be a third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.' In no way will Israel be a mediator between Egypt and Assyria, now that Antiochus and Demetrius are drawing the kingdom to themselves, no…
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Second, he promises the second effect, the truth of faith: in that day shall Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian, at the same time and equally serving the Romans, and in unity of faith: there shall be one fold and one shepherd (John 10:16); there is no distinction of the Jew and the Greek (Rom 10:12).
25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying: Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 25, 26.) On that day, Israel will be a third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: Blessed be My people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and My inheritance Israel.
Thomas Aquinas · AD 1274 Third, he sets out the third effect, namely, divine blessing: it, namely, Israel, shall be a blessing, for, through the apostles, the whole world received the blessing of God; Israel is my inheritance, for it was there that he was born and fulfilled the mysteries of our salvation: he has blessed the house of Israel (Ps 113:20[115:12]).