Chapter 41
41:1 Let the islands keep silence before me, and the nations take new strength: let them come near, and then speak, let us come near to judgment together.
41:2 Who has raised up the just one from the east, has called him to follow him? He shall give the nations in his sight, and he shall rule over kings: he shall give them as the dust to his sword, as stubble driven by the wind, to his bow.
41:3 He shall pursue them, he shall pass in peace, no path shall appear in his feet.
41:4 Who has wrought and done these things, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, I am the first and the last.
41:5 The islands saw it, and feared, the ends of the earth were astonished, they drew near, and came.
41:6 Every one shall help his neighbor, and shall say to his brother: be of good courage.
41:7 The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that forged at that time, saying: it is ready for soldering: and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
41:8 But you Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend:
41:9 in whom I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and from the remote parts thereof have called you, and said to you: you are my servant, I have chosen you, and have not cast you away.
41:10 Fear not, for I am with you: turn not aside, for I am your God: I have strengthened you, and have helped you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.
41:11 Behold all that fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed, they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against you.
41:12 You shall seek them, and shall not find the men that resist you: they shall be as nothing: and as a thing consumed the men that war against you.
41:13 For I am the Lord your God, who take you by the hand, and say to you: fear not, I have helped you.
41:14 Fear not, you worm of Jacob, you that are dead of Israel: I have helped you, says the Lord: and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.
41:15 I have made you as a new thrashing wain, with teeth like a saw: you shall thrash the mountains, and break them in pieces: and shall make the hills as chaff.
41:16 You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and you shall exult in the Lord, in the Holy One of Israel you shall be joyful.
41:17 The needy and the poor seek for waters, and there are none: their tongue has been dry with thirst. I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
41:18 I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains: I will turn the desert into pools of waters, and the impassable land into streams of waters.
41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree: I will set in the desert the fir tree, the elm, and the box tree together:
41:20 That they may see and know, and consider, and understand together that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
41:21 Bring your cause near, says the Lord: bring hither, if you have any thing to allege, says the King of Jacob.
41:22 Let them come, and tell us all things that are to come: tell us the former things what they were: and we will set our heart upon them and shall know the latter end of them, and tell us the things that are to come.
41:23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, and we shall know that you are gods. Do also good or evil, if you can: and let us speak, and see together.
41:24 Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of that which has no being: he that has chosen you is an abomination.
41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun: he shall call upon my name, and he shall make princes to be as dirt, and as the potter treading clay.
41:26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know: and from time of old, that we may say: you are just. There is none that shows, nor that foretells, nor that hears your words.
41:27 The first shall say to Zion: behold I am here, and to Jerusalem I will give evangelists.
41:28 And I saw, and there was no one even among them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.
41:29 Behold they are all in the wrong, and their works are vain: their idols are wind and vanity.
804 . Let the islands keep silence before me . Here he begins to strengthen them toward firm expectation from the love of God who promises. And this is divided into three parts:
in the first, he shows divine love from the benefits which he gave to their fathers;
in the second, from the Son, whom he promised to them: behold my servant (ch. 42);
in the third, through the consolations which he foretells among various difficulties: and now thus says the Lord (ch. 43).
Now, by the benefits first given to them, he intends the strengthening of the Jews and the confutation of idols, which did not give such things to their worshippers; and therefore the first part is divided into two:
in the first, he disputes against the worshippers of idols;
in the second, against the idols themselves, where it says, bring your cause near (Isa 41:21).
The first of these is divided into two:
first, by the benefits given to the Jews, he convicts their adversaries;
second, by the same benefits, he strengthens the Jews: but you Israel, are my servant (Isa 41:8).
805 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he calls the nations to judgment, following the order of judgment, that being silent they might hear, and thus they might respond; let the nations take new strength , that is, let them strengthen themselves as though renewed in strength to dispute with me: let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord (Mic 6:2).
Second, he tells of the benefits given to them: who has called , where he tells of the multitude of benefits as to divine election; the just one , Abraham, from the east , namely, Chaldea (Gen 12); my foot has followed his steps (Job 23:11); as the girdle sticks close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all the house of Israel (Jer 13:11); I saw their fathers like the first fruits of the fig tree in the top thereof (Hos 9:10); and as to power granted them: he shall give the nations in his sight , namely, when he liberated Lot, fighting against the four kings (Gen 14); not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth (Ps 1:4). As to ease of pursuing, he shall pass in peace , namely, without labor, no path shall appear in his feet , as one who walks lightly, so that he leaves no footprints behind; or because labor, the sign of the way, was not left behind in his feet, above: they shall run and not labor (Isa 40:31).
He seeks the author: who has wrought , and who was calling the generations from the beginning , in eternal foreknowledge, below: the Lord has called me from the womb (Isa 49:1); and he sets out the response: I the Lord : I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8). This is explained otherwise literally of Cyrus, and mystically of Christ.
Third, he sets out the response as though from the gentiles, in which they believed that they were defended by idols;
and first, he touches on their stupor at wonders recounted or seen: the islands saw it : the waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you: and they were afraid (Ps 76:17[77:16]); they drew near , to resist;
second, he sets out mutual strengthening: every one : they stick one to another (Job 41:8);
third, he sets out the making of idols: the coppersmith striking the iron with the hammer encouraged him that forged , that formed the figure of the idol, saying: it is ready for soldering , to solidify the idol: setting it in a wall, and fastening it with iron (Wis 13:15–16).
806 . But you Israel . In this part, he strengthens the Jews by the same benefits.
And first is set out the repetition of past benefits in the election of their fathers Jacob and Abraham, in whom they were distinguished from others universally: Jacob whom I have chosen : O you seed of Abraham his servant; you sons of Jacob his chosen (Ps 104[105]:6); that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calls, it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved: but Esau I have hated (Rom 9:11–13).
Second, the promise of future benefits is set out;
and first, as to freedom from evils, he excludes fear, because of the presence of God: fear not, for I am with you : be not afraid at their presence: for I am with you (Jer 1:8); because of the justice of their fathers: I upheld you , as the promised seed, of my just one , Abraham; or: I upheld you , to defend you, my just one , Cyrus: in their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone (Ps 90[91]:12). And he sets out also the removal of enemies as to their confusion: behold all that fight against you shall be confounded : let them be confounded that persecute me (Jer 17:18); as to their destruction: they shall be as nothing , above: to destroy the nations unto nothing (Isa 30:28). And the impossibility of restoration: you shall seek them : I have seen the wicked highly exalted. And I passed by, and lo, he was not (Ps 36[37]:35–36). He also shows the reason for their destruction: for I am the Lord : put forth your hand from on high (Ps 143:7[144:6]).
807 . Second, as to abundance of goods;
and first, against slavery, he sets out the very yoke of slavery: fear not, you worm , as if to say: you who were thought vile and trampled on as a worm, and were reckoned for dead: I am a worm, and no man (Ps 21:7[22:6]); he also sets out divine help, below: I have helped you (50). He also sets out the benefit of exaltation as to the subjugation of enemies: I have made you as a new thrashing wain , above: Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wain (Isa 25:10); which perhaps was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees; and as to their exaltation: and you shall exult : we will exult and rejoice in you (Song 1:3[4]).
Second, against poverty,
he first sets out the disadvantage of poverty: the needy and the poor , above: their nobles have perished with famine (Isa 5:13);
second, the divine intention: I the Lord will hear them : he shall call upon me and I will hear him (Ps 90:15).
808 . Third, he sets out the benefit as to abundance of waters in mountainous places: I will open rivers in the high hills , above: there shall be upon every high mountain rivers of running waters (Isa 30:25); and in desert places: I will turn the desert , that is, your land formerly desert: he has turned a wilderness into pools of waters (Ps 106[107]:35). And as to the beauty of the trees: I will plant in the wilderness : his branches were multiplied (Ezek 31:5).
809 . Fourth, he sets out the fruit of the benefit: that they may see : that they may know that there is no God beside you, and that they may show forth your wonders (Sir 36:2).
810 . Bring your cause near . Here he sets out the disputation against the idols themselves;
and first, he sets out the disputation;
second, the determination of the sentence: and I saw, and there was no one (Isa 41:28).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he disputes against the idols with universal reasons;
second, by a reason taken from a particular fact: I have raised up (Isa 41:25).
Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he calls them to judgment: bring your cause near , that is, come near to me that we may be judged together; you, idols or idolaters, bring hither , that is, allege, if you have any thing , that you might prove that you are gods: God has stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judges gods (Ps 81[82]:1).
Second, he sets out a twofold argument:
one is taken from divine knowledge, which knew all things fully, past and future, and which the idols do not have: tell us the former things what they were : for all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created (Sir 23:29[20]);
the other is taken from divine power, which can punish and impart benefits: do also good or evil, if you can : and whether it be evil that one doth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it (Bar 6:33).
Third, he deduces their defect as to material cause: behold, you , idols, are of nothing , created out of matter; as to formal cause, your work , that is, the artificial form, which fashioned in you a divinity, which does not exist; and as to efficient cause: an abomination , that is, abominable. Or: you , artists, your work , namely, the idols, he that has chosen you , worshippers: we know that an idol is nothing (1 Cor 8:4); every artist is confounded in his graven idol (Jer 10:14).
811 . I have raised up . Here he takes up a certain particular fact to argue against idols.
And first, he foretells something to come: from the north , Chaldea; from the rising of the sun , Persia, which subjugated to itself various lands and princes, potter (plastes) — plasma , a thing produced; mystically: he who comes from the north signifies the gentile; he who comes from the rising of the sun, Christ: I shall bring them to naught, like the dirt in the streets (Ps 17:43[18:42]).
Second, from this, he sets out an argument under the form of a question: that he who can foretell this is justly called God; and he who cannot, is not: who has declared , below: assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear (Isa 48:14).
Third, he excludes proof of divinity from the idols: there is none , any of you gods, that shows nor , any of your worshippers, that hears , etc., they have eyes and see not; they have ears and hear not (Ps 113:13–15[115:5–6]).
Fourth, he shows the sign of divinity in the true God: the first , that is, the only one, our God; behold I am here to help, evangelists , announcing things to come: verily, your God is the God of gods (Dan 2:47); or: the first , prophet of the Lord, in the person of God; or the first , the firstborn Son of God: he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists (Eph 4:11).
812 . And I saw . Here from the disputation set out above, he deduces the determination of the sentence, and it is self-evident: they are vain things, and a ridiculous work (Jer 10:15 and 51:18).
813 . Christ passed in the peace (see 41:3),
of the flesh toward the spirit, which he had: you shall know that your tabernacle is in peace (Job 5:24);
of man toward his neighbor, which he taught, below: how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, and that preaches peace (Isa 52:7);
of the world toward the Lord, which he made: making peace, and reconciling both to God (Eph 2:15).
814 . What moves one to preach (see 52:7),
is the instigation of faith: I have believed, therefore have I spoken (Ps 115[116]:10; 2 Cor 4; Rev 22);
the spur of zeal: there came in my heart as a burning fire (Jer 20:9);
the greatness of the reward: he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:19).
815 . Christ upheld us (see 41:10),
as a conqueror upholds a captive to liberate him: to the prey, my son (Gen 49:9); bring my soul out of prison (Ps 141:8[142:7]);
as a physician upholds a sick man to heal him: who forgives all your iniquities: who heals all your diseases (Ps 102[103]:3);
as an advocate upholds a defendant to plead to excuse him: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1);
as a strong man upholds a weak man to defend him, below: I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save (Isa 63:1); the Lord will fight for you (Exod 14:14);
as a husband upholds his wife to rejoice with her: I will espouse you to me (Hos 2:19).
816 . There is the water (see 41:18),
of tears poured out: who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? (Isa 9:1);
of baptismal purity: unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5);
of spiritual grace: he that believes in me: out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38);
of divine wisdom: I, wisdom, have poured out rivers (Sir 24:40);
of internal joy: drink water out of your own cistern (Prov 5:15).