Commentary on Isaiah 3.3.1–3.3.8

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who trust in horses and in chariots; for they are many, and in horses, which are a very great multitude. And they did not trust in the Holy One of Israel, and they did not seek God. And he in his wisdom has brought evils upon them, and his [word] will not be set aside; and he will rise up against the houses of wicked men and against their vain hope: an Egyptian man and not God, flesh of horses, and there is no help.”

The prophet had learned what would befall the Assyrians in due season, and that when the Persians and Medes ravaged their land with utter destruction … Cyrus against them; and he comes to recall the disobedience of those from Israel. For the Babylonian took Judea, and the holy city itself, I mean Jerusalem, and carried Israel off captive; then God gave his mercy to those left in Judea. But when they wished to move over to the Egyptians, fearing that war from the Assyrians might perhaps come upon them again, he who is able to save commanded them, through the voice of Jeremiah, not to go down into the land of the Egyptians. But since even after this they were disobedient, and supposed that the help of men would save them better, they fell in Egypt and perished utterly, all of them. So the prophet pronounces them wretched: “Woe,” he says, “to those who go down to Egypt for help.” For they took courage not in God, who is strong in all things, but in horses and chariots, for there were very many in Egypt. But the God of all, being wise, brought evils upon them, and his word will not be set aside. For through the voice of Jeremiah he told them what follows. So they will rise up against the houses of wicked men, plainly of those who fled to Egypt, and against their vain hope. For they chose as helper, he says, an Egyptian man and not God, flesh of horses. The prophet speaks most vividly, exposing the ignorance of those from Israel. For what is a horse but mere flesh? And what power has flesh, so weak and subject to corruption? The prophet Jeremiah too says something like this: “Cursed is he who has his hope in a man, and will fix the flesh of his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord.” “For it is truly good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in a man.”

“But the Lord will bring his hand upon them, and those who help will grow weary, and together …”

For since the Egyptians, raising a boastful and arrogant

brow, received those from Israel, and supposed that the power of the falsely named gods among them was superior to that of the God of the Hebrews, … of the land; and those from Israel who had been caught there perished together with its inhabitants. This is why he says that the Lord will bring his hand on them, and that those who promised them invincible help will in every way grow weary, that is, lose their strength, and all will perish together.

“For thus the Lord said to me: As a lion would roar, or a lion's whelp over its prey, and cry out over it until the mountains are filled with its voice, and they were overcome and terrified at the greatness of its wrath, so the Lord will come down to make war on Mount Zion, on its mountains. Like birds flying, so the Lord will shield Jerusalem, and will rescue, and …”

The prophet threw in a rebuke in between, I mean the one against those who go down to Egypt and choose to have as helper an Egyptian man and not God; and he said that they will perish together with those who promised to defend them. Then he turns the discourse back again to its beginning. For having said that the Assyrians will inherit a deep ravine, he foretells clearly that God will also help those who revere him and will fight for those in Judea, and will leap upon those who wish to wrong it just as a lion leaps on its prey, roaring something great and extraordinary at those who oppose it. For they say that this beast, when hunger drives it to leap on herds of cattle or on other flocks, first terrifies them with a dreadful … attack on the shepherds. So, he says, the Lord will come down to make war on Mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem, on its mountains. Like birds flying, so the Lord will shield Jerusalem. For birds raise their young in the mountains and fix their nests in dense thickets. And if another bird or a snake wishes to rob them of the nestlings, the mother fights for them fiercely and makes plain the strength of the affection within her, flying round, twittering, and all but launching the greatest possible assault on the one who wishes to harm them. So, he says, the Lord of all will shield Jerusalem, and will rescue, and preserve, and save. These things happened … [when he brought] Israel back from captivity. For they returned when Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, who was of the tribe of Judah, was governing their kingdom, and Jesus son of Josedek, the great priest, was serving as priest. And when they wished to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, some of their neighbours set upon them, wanting to stop them; but none prevailed, since God gave Israel strength. Such too was the power of our Saviour's help toward us. For he who was thought to be the god of this age had taken all captive; but Christ leapt upon him like a lion or a lion's whelp and abolished him by the word of his power. He is the Lord of hosts. And he made war on Mount Zion, that is, he fought on behalf … of the spiritual Zion, which is the church of the living God, … and he saved it mightily, as his own nest. For the father of sin, out of very great arrogance, said: “I will seize the whole world in my hand like a nest, and like eggs that are left I will take it up, and there is none who will escape me or speak against me.” But the Saviour and Lord of all gathered those who believed in him, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and placed them beyond every plot.

For he rescued and gained the whole earth for himself, and saved all that is under heaven.

“Turn back, you who [devise] deep counsel …”

God has said that he will make war on Mount Zion and will leap, like a most valiant lion, on those who wrong Israel, that is, those who believe in him; and he has added that he will also shield, preserve, and save. So the prophet again cries out against those who will not bring themselves to believe, that the right hand of God is all-powerful and will easily save from enemies whomever it chooses. So, he says, you who have [fallen into] such shameful and most loathsome unbelief, who have abandoned the God of all and foolishly go begging for help from men, and who, I know not how, have prized a lawless and ridiculous plan in this, turn back to God, take better counsel, and say, you too: “O Lord, God of hosts, blessed is the man who hopes in you.”

“For in that day men will renounce their handmade things of silver and of gold, which their hands made; and Assur will fall. Not a sword of a man nor a sword of a human will devour him, and he will flee, not from the face of a sword. And the young men will be for … and will be defeated; and he who flees will be caught.”

The word now returns to the aim set before it. For the Lord, he says, will shield Jerusalem, that is, will fight for his own church, which is his city. And he will rescue those who believe in him, and [gain] them for himself and count them his own lot, and besides this he will also save. In what way? [They will be freed from] idolatry, and will no longer serve the works of their own hands, whether these be of gold and silver or made at great cost in some other way. For before the Saviour's coming the human race was wildly excited about these things; some worshipped the creation and assigned to the elements of the world the glory fitting for God, as the prophet says: “Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves.” But when Christ shone forth, the whole earth became free of such shameful and abominable charges. For sacred precincts and altars and the handmade things have been pulled down, and the error of Satan that once defiled the whole earth has been put out of the way. With the handmade things destroyed, he says, the inventor of the error will perish together with it, that is, Satan, the spiritual Assur, or Assyrian. For he will fall, struck not by a man's sword, and he will be wretched; for he will go down to Hades together with the other evil powers. This is what he hints to us when he says, “And the young men will be for defeat”; that is, those who are strong and who rule by overreaching over those on earth will be defeated and will fall. How, or in what way? “For they will be enclosed by a rock as by a palisade.” By “rock” here he names the unbreakable and indestructible power of the Saviour. So, held fast by the divine power as by a rock and as by a palisade, … none of them could escape. For he will be caught in every way, even if he should choose to [flee]. This, I think, is what “he who flees will be caught” means. Who of them, then, is left to be saved, if they will be enclosed by the rock as by a palisade, and no place of flight at all will be given them? The power of the Saviour accomplished these things: it abolished Assur, that is, Satan, brought down with him the evil powers that are with him, and, as it were, surrounded them with a palisade, made them powerless, and shut them up in the recesses of Hades to be punished.

“Thus says the Lord: Blessed is he who has seed in Zion and kinsmen in Jerusalem. For behold, a righteous king will reign, and rulers will rule with judgment. And the man will be hiding his words, and will be hidden as from rushing water, and will appear in Zion like a glorious river rushing in a thirsty land.”

In these words the blessed prophet openly proclaims the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh of the Only-begotten. For he says that those who at that time inhabit Zion will be blessed, plainly the spiritual Zion, which is the church of the living God. For they are truly blessed, and the Saviour himself will assure us of this, saying to those who believed in him: “Amen, amen, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” So, he says, those who have … Jesus Christ, and have borne fruit in the spiritual Zion, and have kinsmen in Jerusalem (and this is no other than Zion), have become thrice-blessed and [rich] in every good. And we too have kinsmen, those according to the Spirit, that is, the holy initiators into the mysteries. “For behold, a righteous king will reign, and rulers will rule with judgment.” For Christ has reigned over us, the righteous and blameless one, the arbiter of all [righteous]ness and the one who brings in what is beyond the law. And rulers too ruled with judgment. “With judgment” he says in place of “with discernment.” The righteous king will be a man, and a brother in all respects to those on earth, though God in truth; for the Word became flesh, according to the Scriptures. And he will be hiding his words. For our Lord Jesus Christ spoke very many things in parables, and through the voice of David he had cried out this very thing in advance, saying: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation.” And not only this, he says, but he will also be hidden as from rushing water. It is the custom of the holy writings to compare the onset of temptations to waters pouring down with a rush. When, then, [temptations come on him] like rushing water, he himself will be hidden, that is, he will not be caught by the [snares] of those who tempt him. David too said somewhere about him: “The enemy will gain no advantage over him, and the son of lawlessness will not again harm him.” For very often those who had then come to be leaders, I mean the scribes and Pharisees, [set themselves] to this; but it was not [possible]. For they took up stones, but he, as the blessed evangelist says, went through their midst and so passed by, that is, paying them no heed. And for those in Zion he will be like a glorious river rushing in a thirsty land. For to those from the nations called to the knowledge of him, who were thirsty and had no word that knew how to save, he became like a river pouring down a rich stream, and glorious besides, that is, distinguished. For very many others too have been called rivers. Blessed David, at any rate, comparing to rivers the holy initiators into the mysteries, who from above, out of heaven, water with the word those who accept the faith, said: “The rivers lifted up, O Lord, the rivers lifted up their voices.” For the voices of the holy apostles are heard far and wide. But none of them is as glorious as the torrent of delight, that is, Christ. For it is from him, we say, that all the others too have been given fitness to initiate into the mysteries and to put the life-giving word of God into the souls of believers.

“And they will no longer trust in men, but will give their ears to hear; and the heart of the weak will attend to hear, and the … peace. … and your servants will no longer say, ‘Be silent.’ For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will think vain things, to accomplish lawless things … and hungry souls, and to make the thirsty souls empty. For the counsel of the wicked … lawless things … unjust …, and to scatter … and this counsel will remain.”

The force of these words would fit very well both those from the nations called through faith … and those of the blood of Israel. For the former … the false[ly named gods] …, those who among them seemed to have a reputation for wisdom and the name of supreme eloquence. For they went astray and said to the wood, “You are my father,” and to the stone, “You gave birth to me,” and they enrolled as gods those that are not. And the Jews, attending to those who had come to be their leaders, did not accept faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For those who were learned in the holy writings thought that what they themselves had decided was better, and that they were not ignorant of what pleases God and what most of all serves the benefit of the peoples under their hand. So, he says, they will no longer trust in men, but will offer their ears to hear the word of the Saviour; and the heart of the weak, strengthened at last toward understanding, will attend to hear; and the stammering tongues, that is, those that once did not know how to speak rightly (for stammering is, as it were, being able to say nothing to the glory of God while spending words on hymns to the falsely named gods), will learn, he says, to speak peace. To speak peace is nothing other than to have Christ and what is his on the tongue; for he is our peace, according to the Scriptures. And for those of Israel, stammering is refusing to speak the mystery of Christ, and always talking of the law and its shadows, and … teachers. But these too will cease, he says, and all their talk will be about Christ. That they will no longer bear with their ancient teachers he has made known by saying, “And they will no longer tell the fool to rule.” For the wise among the Greeks are admittedly fools, since the wisdom of the world has been made foolish. Fools too are the guides and teachers of the Jews, who did not recognize what is written through the shadow in the law and do not understand the words of the holy prophets. So they will no longer tell the fool to rule; nor indeed will the servants of the fools say to those taught by them, “Be silent.” For the wise in the world spoke in Beelzebul, and became inventors of crooked, cold, and, besides this, unholy doctrines. But if anyone chose to oppose their nonsense, and … some of those used to serving them leap up and cry out, “Be silent,” wanting their utterances to be beyond contradiction. They say, for instance, that when Pythagoras's disciples said things that were at times cold and ridiculous and disbelieved by many, it was their custom to say this: “He himself said it,” that is, “Be silent, and give your faith to the inventor of the doctrine without examining it.” So, he says, your servants will no longer say, “Be silent.”

For the fool will surely speak foolish things, and his heart too will think vain things, having one aim: to accomplish lawless things and to speak error against the Lord. For the nonsense the Greeks composed against the glory of God is error and nothing else, [aimed] at destroying hungry souls; and the thirsty souls … nothing at all; rather they are shown, though they hungered and thirsted, [deprived of] what it was surely necessary for them to learn and useful for the salvation of the soul. But the counsel of the wicked, he says, will devise lawless things, and looks to this: to destroy souls with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the lowly in judgment. For the lovers of worldly wisdom and the shield-bearers of perverse doctrines campaign against the teaching of the holy initiators into the mysteries, whom he also calls lowly, and they put all their zeal into scattering their words, although these were spoken in judgment, that is, not carelessly but rather with discernment, in the wisdom that is from above and from God. This, I think, is what he teaches when he adds: “But the godly have devised wise things, and this counsel will remain.” For the boastful loquacity of the wise in the world has come to nothing, and the counsel of the godly has prevailed, that is, their teaching, or the preaching. And by the godly we mean those who minister as priests the divine and evangelical word to those throughout the whole earth.

“… my voice; daughters, hear my words in hope. Make remembrance of the days of a year in pain with hope.”

It is the custom of the divine and inspired Scripture very often to give cities, or even villages, the character of women, and, where there is one mother city, to call the others her daughters. So, for instance, the divine David says of Zion, that is, of Jerusalem, and of the towns around it: “Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judea rejoiced.” For the small cities under the leading one are always, in a way, around their mother. Here, then, the person of the Saviour himself is brought in, advising the cities of Judea and saying: “Rich women, rise up and hear my voice.” … them, then, to choose to honour obedience and to accept the words that come from him, plainly the saving and evangelical preaching. And he now calls them rich very aptly, since they were still populous and had a countless multitude of inhabitants, but were before long to be desolate and utterly poor, to the point of having none of their inhabitants left, unless they [bowed their] neck to his oracles. So, women, he says, daughters, hear my words in hope, that is, not without reward but rather in a bright hope. What, then, is commanded? Make remembrance, he says, of the days of the year in which Christ appeared and clearly preached to the cities and villages throughout all Judea. For he himself said through the voice of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives and sight to the blind, to send away the broken in release, to heal the broken in heart, to call the acceptable year of the Lord.” Rise up, then, he says, that is, keep awake, and, taking a good hope into your mind, remember the days of the year in which, as I said, the preaching from Christ the Saviour of us all took place. And he commands that this be done not slackly nor carelessly but with zeal and with care; for so good things are accomplished.

“The vintage is consumed, the sowing has ceased, … your loins, and beat your breasts … The land of my people: thorn and grass will come up on it, and gladness will be taken from every house … of the city, and desirable houses they will abandon. And the villages will be caves for ever, [the glad]ness of wild asses, and pastures of shepherds.”

[That] refusing to accept the word from Christ would not be without loss for those of Israel, but would rather bring about every outrage and calamity, he shows in these words. For the [cities] throughout all … all of them … the hand of the Romans, so that they would be seen empty of men, the choicest of the lands would be laid waste, those who scarcely managed to escape would go off in flight and lose house and wealth, and the once-populous city or village would become a haunt of wild beasts. But if anyone wishes to take a spiritual sense of these words too, he will understand this. By “vintage” and “sowing,” I think, he means the power of spiritual fruitfulness, by which we are well pleasing to God, not bearing manifold sin like a thorn, but honoured by God as rich and fruitful land. The wretched Jews, then, have fallen away from spiritual fruitfulness, and the spiritual vineyard has become thorn-bearing land. For “he waited,” he says, “for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns.” And it has been said through the voice of the prophet too concerning Israel: “… blighted by the wind, and their overthrow will await them.” “A sheaf … ” … So, he says, the vintage [is consumed], that is, you will no longer be called a vineyard, for you have nothing ripe. The sowing has ceased: you will not be a land that bears good crops and nourishes cultivated fruit. Therefore, very fittingly, be beside yourselves, that is, be astounded and amazed. “Be grieved, you who are confident.” For you who long ago thought highly of yourselves, he says, on account of God, when you see your own heart bare of every good, then, then indeed, be grieved. … “and beat your breasts, for the desired field and the fruit of the vine.” The reason for lamentation, he says, is that a desired field and an admired vineyard have perished and vanished altogether. By this he means Israel. … “[the land of] my people: thorn and grass will come up on it.” For Israel was … , as I said. For he gave up his vineyard and commanded the clouds not to rain on it. And it became the gladness of wild asses and the pasture of wicked shepherds, that is, of the unclean spirits. So too blessed David, addressing his words to God the Saviour of all as concerning the vineyard of Israel, says: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out nations and planted it.” Then he adds: “Why did you pull down its hedge, so that all who pass by the way pluck it? The boar out of the wood has ravaged it, and …” For just as owners throw away the neglected parts of their land and take no account of them, even if every harm befalls them, so too our God, who loves virtue, gives up a soul and shows it bare of all protection if it becomes empty of the fruits that make for good works.

“Until the Spirit comes upon you from on high.”

“And Chermel will be a desert, and Chermel will be counted as a forest. And judgment will rest in the desert, and righteousness will dwell in Carmel. And the works of righteousness will be peace, and righteousness will take hold of rest, and they will be confident for ever. And his people will dwell in a city of peace, and will dwell in it confidently, and will rest with …”

He makes plain also the time at which the race from Israel that disobeyed will be desolate of spiritual fruitfulness. For he shifts the discourse to those, I mean, who honoured our Lord Jesus Christ with obedience, who were cleansed through faith in him and came to share in the Holy Spirit. For what was foretold will happen, he says, and Israel will be laid waste for its unruliness, until the Spirit comes upon you from on high. As we have read in the Acts of the holy apostles: “They were all gathered together in one place about the days of holy Pentecost. And behold, suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a rushing, violent wind, and it filled the house where they were gathered; and there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and it sat on each one of them, and they began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” So when, he says, the Spirit of God from above and from on high comes upon you who believe, then Chermel too will be a desert. Chermel, or Carmel, is a very great mountain in Judea, thickly covered with dense woodland. So he compares Jerusalem itself and the whole surrounding country to Chermel, since it had a countless multitude of inhabitants. But it will be desolate, he says, and counted as a forest. By “forest” he means wild woodland, which is used for burning; for the uncultivated trees are cut down and are fuel for flame. When Chermel has been cut down and counted as wild woodland, judgment will rest in the desert. By “desert” he means, in a riddle, the land of the nations, which the prophet Isaiah himself mentions elsewhere too, saying: “Be glad, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice and blossom like a lily.” It is compared to a desert because of its barrenness and its being, as it were, parched, and having nothing at all standing upright in it. But … this too, because Christ came to dwell in it. Indeed, he said again through the voice of the prophet Isaiah: “And I will make water in the desert, I will set rivers; into the waterless land … and poplar.” For by these are meant the souls that are approved through faith in him, and … lifted to the height of varied and manifold virtue. So, he says, judgment will rest in the desert, and righteousness will dwell in Carmel, in place of “good will make its home both in the desert and in Carmel.” Chermel and Carmel are not two different things; it is one mountain that both names signify. How then will it both be a desert and be counted as a forest, and righteousness dwell in it?