Chapter 52
52:1 Arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion, put on the garments of your glory, O Jerusalem, the city of the Holy One: for henceforth the uncircumcised, and unclean shall no more pass through you.
52:2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit up, O Jerusalem: loose the bonds from off your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
52:3 For thus says the Lord: you were sold gratis, and you shall be redeemed, without money.
52:4 For thus says the Lord God: my people went down into Egypt in the beginning to be a colonist there: and the Assyrian has oppressed them without any cause at all.
52:5 And now what is this to me, says the Lord: for my people is taken away gratis. They that rule over them treat them unjustly, says the Lord, and my name is continually blasphemed all the day long.
52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name in that day: for I myself that spoke, behold I am here.
52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, and that preaches peace: of him that shows forth good, that preaches salvation, that says to Zion: your God shall reign!
52:8 The voice of your watchmen: they have lifted up their voice, they shall praise together: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall convert Zion.
52:9 Rejoice, and give praise together, O you deserts of Jerusalem: for the Lord has comforted his people: he has redeemed Jerusalem.
52:10 The Lord has prepared his holy arm in the sight of all the Gentiles: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
52:11 Depart, depart, go out from thence, touch no unclean thing: go out of the midst of her, be clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord.
52:12 For you shall not go out in a tumult, neither shall you make haste by flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will gather you together.
52:13 Behold my servant shall understand, he shall be exalted, and lifted up, and shall be exceeding high.
52:14 As many have been astonished at you, so shall his visage be inglorious among men, and his form among the sons of men.
52:15 He shall sprinkle many nations, kings shall shut their mouth at him: for they to whom it was not told of him, have seen: and they that heard not, have beheld.
940 . Arise, arise . Here he excludes the third impediment to their liberation, which could be doubted from their poverty of goods, promising them gratuitous liberation. And this is divided into two parts:
for first, he foretells the liberation of the Jews from the Babylonians;
second, the liberation of the gentiles from their sins: behold my servant shall understand (Isa 52:13).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he foretells the liberation;
second, the order of liberation: the Lord has prepared (Isa 52:10).
Concerning the first, he does three things:
first, he promises gratuitous liberation;
second, he assigns the cause of liberation: for thus says the Lord God (Isa 52:4);
third, he proclaims joy to the liberated: how beautiful (Isa 52:7).
941 . Liberation is promised to them in three ways.
First, from the oppression of their enemies as to the goods which they regained: arise , from the weakness through which you were not able to resist your enemies, and therefore, he says: put on your strength , like arms of war, O Zion , on which was the stronghold for the defense of the city; arise , from the misery which you incurred, when your enemies despoiled you, and therefore he says: put on the garments of your glory . The glory of a city is the crowds of its citizens, the beauty of its streets, the riches of its goods: put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of your mourning, and affliction: and put on the beauty, and honor of that everlasting glory which you have from God (Bar 5:1). And as to the enemies which they escaped: for henceforth shall no more pass through you , as ravagers and rulers, the uncircumcised , as to gentile enemies, and unclean , as to traitors from their own people, above: it shall be called the holy way (Isa 35:8); there shall not enter into it any thing defiled (Rev 21:27).
942 . Second, he promises liberation from the baseness of her inhabitants, for some of the poor of the land were left behind, as it says in 2 Kings 25:12 and Jeremiah 52:16; shake yourself from the dust , of baseness, arise , resisting your adversaries, and then next, sit , at rest: he raises up the needy from the dust (1 Sam 2:8).
943 . Third, he promises liberation from detention by her captors, foretelling the benefit of liberation: loose the bonds , that is, come forth from captivity: I have broken the chains of your necks (Lev 26:13). And he shows the manner of liberation: for thus says the Lord: you were sold gratis , as if to say: those who took you captive furnished no benefits to you; and you shall be redeemed , from captivity to Babylon by Cyrus, above: he shall let go my captives (Isa 45:13); you have sold your people for no price (Ps 43:13[44:12]).
944 . For thus says the Lord . Here he assigns two causes of their liberation, namely, the calumny of the people and the blasphemy of God.
And first, he alleges calumny: my people went down into Egypt in the beginning , in their fathers (Gen 46–47); to be a colonist there , and therefore the Egyptians had some right to oppress them from the benefits bestowed on them; and the Assyrian , under which the Chaldeans are also included, has oppressed them without any cause at all , not furnishing them any benefits. If, therefore, the Assyrian drives away their liberation, what is this to me , that is, what hinders me that I should not now free Jerusalem?
945 . Second, he pronounces the sentence: for my people is taken away , from their own land; they that rule over them , who have usurped dominion to themselves, namely, the Chaldeans; and , because, my name is continually blasphemed , as though I could not free my people: I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the Gentiles (Ezek 36:23). Therefore my people shall know my name in that day , of liberation, for I myself that spoke , promising, I am here , to fulfill my promise: afterwards he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men (Bar 3:38); God, who, at sundry times and in diverse manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days, has spoken to us by his Son (Heb 1:1–2) if this is explained mystically of the coming of Christ.
946 . How beautiful . Here he proclaims joy to the liberated.
And first, he describes their joy as to the reception of messengers, who, coming from Chaldea, announced it to them: beautiful , for it was beautiful and pleasant to the people to hear them announcing such things; upon the mountains , so that many would hear them; that preaches , publicly, peace , restored by Cyrus, good , of promised assistance, salvation , from captivity; your God shall reign , as though from then on, God alone will reign in you because you will worship him in the restored temple: behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings (Nah 1:15).
947 . Second, he describes their joy as to the inspection of their watchmen who saw them returning from there, setting out the voice of exultation, the voice , of joy will resound: with one accord lifted up their voice to God (Acts 4:24); and the reason for their joy: for they shall see eye to eye , as if to say, they shall see the captives coming with their own eyes, above: your eyes shall see Jerusalem (Isa 30:20).
Third, as to the arrival of the captives: rejoice , above: the land that was desolate shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice (Isa 35:1).
948 . Note on the words, put on the garments (Isa 52:1), that the saints have garments of virtues in which they glory: and these are,
first, for protection, below: the Lord has clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he has covered me (Isa 61:10);
second, for keeping warm: she shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments (Prov 31:21);
third, for ornament: that you may be clothed in white garments (Rev 3:18).
949 . These garments ought to be,
first, white in honesty of work: at all times let your garments be white (Eccl 9:8);
second, clean in rectitude of intention, above: every garment mingled with blood, shall be burnt (Isa 9:5);
third, fragrant through the spreading of reputation: the smell of your garments, as the smell of frankincense (Song 4:11).
950 . Also on the words, loose the bonds (Isa 52:2), note that there are bonds from which God loosens:
first, of worldly solicitude: who has sent out the wild ass free, and who has loosed his bonds? (Job 39:5);
second, of carnal love: I have found a woman more bitter than death, and her bonds (Eccl 7:27);
third, of perverse action: he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder (Ps 106[107]:14);
fourth, of vicious custom, above: woe to you that draw iniquity to iniquity , and sin as the rope of a cart (Isa 5:18).
951 . There are also bonds from which God does not loosen:
first, of love: I drew them with the cords of love (Hos 11:4);
second, of divine law: of old time you have broken my yoke (Jer 2:20);
third, of divine instruction: bow down your shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her bands (Sir 6:26[25]).
952 . The Lord has prepared . Here he describes the order of liberation.
And first, he sets out the manifest help of God: his holy arm , namely, his power, which all were able to perceive in this deed: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God (Ps 97[98]:3).
Second, he enjoins the captives to flee: depart , namely, from Babylonia; touch no unclean thing , do not live among these unclean people: go out from her, my people (Rev 18:4).
Third, he shows the manner of their flight, as to purity: be clean , you priests; as to security: for you shall not go out in a tumult , namely, of war, as you did from Egypt: he brought forth his people (Ps 104[105]:43); as to their leader: for the Lord will go before you , as a leader, and the God of Israel will gather you together , as a shepherd: for I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land (Ezek 36:24).
953 . Behold my servant shall understand . Here he foretells the liberation of the gentiles from slavery to sin, carried out by the Son of God.
And first, he describes the liberator as to eminence of grace: my servant shall understand , as to the fullness of wisdom; servant , Christ, according to the human nature he assumed: taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7); a wise servant is acceptable to the king (Prov 14:35); and: he that understands shall possess governments (Prov 1:5). He shall be exalted , as to the operation of his powers: be you exalted, O Lord, in your own strength (Ps 20:14[21:13]); and lifted up , as to his ascension: for your magnificence is elevated above the heavens (Ps 8:2[1]); he that descended is the same also that ascended (Eph 4:10); and shall be exceeding high , sitting at the right hand of the Father, above: the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high (Isa 4:2). And as to the ignominy of his passion: for as many have been astonished at you , by your example, miracles and teachings: and all the multitudes were amazed (Matt 12:23) at his teaching and the miracles which he did, so shall his visage be inglorious , in suffering, and his form , his appearance or beauty: I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people (Ps 21:7[22:6]).
954 . Second, he foretells liberation as to the remission of sins: he shall sprinkle , with the sprinkling of his blood (1 Pet 1:2), and the water of baptism: having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water (Heb 10:22); as to the veneration of him: kings shall shut their mouth at him , silent, to listen, not presuming to discuss his secrets: the princes ceased to speak (Job 29:9); and as to the knowledge of truth: for they to whom , namely, the gentiles, it was not told of him , by the prophets, have seen , in their hearts, and they that heard not , him preaching in person, below: behold me, to nations that did not know me and that did not call upon my name (Isa 65:1).