Commentary on Isaiah 3.3.18–3.3.25 (Commentary on Isaiah)

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on Isaiah 3.3.18–3.3.25

Cyril of Alexandria · Commentary on Isaiah · before ca. 428 (probably 420s) · Alexandria · 8 passages

Greek text: PG 70.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).

BothSource textEnglish

Transliteration

Show only the passage I followed

part 3, chapter 3

3.3.18PG 70

ἱερέων νουθεσίαις, ὁ ὑπὸ χεῖρα παιδαγωγεῖται λαός. Ποῦ τοίνυν οἱ συμδουλεύοντες; Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ ἀριθμῶν τοὺς συστρεφομένους μικρὸν καὶ μέγαν λαόν; Ἐνταῦθά μοι πάλιν σημαυνόμενος ἄθρει γραμματέας τε καὶ ἱερέας ἤτοι Φαρισαίους, οὗ χατεσώρευσαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοὺς ὑπὸ χεῖρα λαούς, καὺ συστροφὴν πεποίηνται δήμων μικρῶν καὶ μεγάλων " οἵ καὶ τὸ μὲν, φησὶ, σφίσι τὸν φονευτὴν Βαραδόᾶν, σταυροῦσθαΐ γε μὴν τὸν ἐπ’ οὐδενὶ τῶν ἀτόπων τὸ σύμπαν.Δ}] χατεγνωσμένον, φημὶ δὴ Χριστόν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐποίησεν ἀμαρτίαν. Τούτου διαμέμνηται Ματθαϊός τε καὶ Μάρκος, οἱ μακάριοι εὐαγγελισταί. Πιλάτου γὰρ λές“ γόντος ὅτι χρὴ μᾶλλον τῇ ἑορτῇ τὸν Ἰησοῦν αὐτοῖς ἀνεῖσθαι πεπλημμεληχότα μηδὲν, ὁ Ματθαϊός φησιν, ὅτι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς, καὶ οἱ πρεσδύτεροι ἔπεισαν τοὺς ὄχλους, ἵνα αἰτήσωνται τὸν Βαραδὔᾶν, τὸν δὲ Ἴησοῦν ἀπολέσωσι. Τοῦτο δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ ὁ Μάρκος, ὡς ἔφην, ἐναργέστατα λέγει. Πηῦ τοίνυν ὁ ἀριθμῶν τοὺς συστρεφομένους μικρὸν καὶ μέγαν λαὸν, ᾧ οὐ συνεὐούλευσαν, οὐδὲ ἤδει βαθύφωνον, ὥστε μὴ ἀκοῦσαι λαὸς πεφαυλισμένος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τῷ ἀκούοντι σύνεἐσις. Καὶ δυσχερεστάτη μὲν λίαν ἡ τῶν λέξεων συνθήκη, καὶ δυσχάτοπτος ὁ ἐν αὐτοῖς νοῦς ἐστιν. Ἐρῶ δὲ ὡς ἕνι. Ποῦ γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ ἀριθμῶν τοὺς συστρεφομένους μικρὸν καὶ μέγαν λαὸν, ᾧ λαῷ οὐ συνεδού- Β λευσαν; Ὁ μὲν γὰρ πολὺς, ὡς ἔοικε, δῆμος ἡγνόει Χριστὸν ὄντα Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν καταδοώμενον" ἔδρων δὲ τοῦτο διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἐγνωκότα:, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, τοὺς ἡγουμένους, μὴ συμθουλεῦσαι μᾶλλον αὐτῷ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν προσήχασθαι πίστιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἤδει, φησὶν, ὁ λαὸς τὸν βαθύφωνον, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, Χριστόν. Βαθύφωνον δὲ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζει, διά τοι τὸ χεχρυμμένους εἶναι, καὶ ὡς; ἐν αἰνίγμασι καὶ παραθολαῖς τοὺς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ λόγους. Καὶ γοῦν εἰσχεχόμισται διὰ τῆς τοῦ ψάλλοντος λύρας οὕτω λέγων " ε ᾿Ανοίξω ἐν παχαταδολῆῇς κόσμου. » Προσελάλει δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐν παραδολαῖς. Οὐκοῦν οὐ συνεδούλευσαν τῷ λαῷ, φησὶν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ἤδει τὸν βαθύφωνον. Οὐ συν- ς εὐούλευσαν δὲ ὥστε μὴ ἀκοῦσαι λαὸς πεφαυλισμένος. ΕἸ γὰρ ἧσαν συμδουλεύσαντες, οὐκ ἂν ἤκουσε λαὸς πεφαυλισμένος. Μακάριοι δὲ μᾶλλον ὡς ἐπεγνωκότες τὸν Λυτρωτήν. ᾿Αλλ' οὐκ ἣν, φησὶ, τῷ ἀκούοντι σύνεσις. ᾿Ασύνετοι γὰρ ὄντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, τὰς τῶν ἡγουμένων οὐκ ἐδοκίμαζον φωνὰς, οὐδὲ διέχρινον πότερόν ποτὲ χρηστὰ συμθδουλεύουσιν, ἣ δρῶσι τὸ ἐναντίον. ᾿Ιδοὺ Σιὼν ἡ πόλις, τὸ Σωτήριον ἡμῶν, οἱ ὀφθαιμοί σου ὄψονται Ἱερουσαλὴμ, πόλις πιουσία, σκηναὶ αἷ οὐ μὴ σεισθῶσιν, οἱ πάσσαλοι τῆς σχηγνῆς αὑτῆς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, οὐδὲ τὰ σχοινία αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ διαῤῥαγῶσιν, ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου μέγα ὑμῖν. Τόπος ὑμῖν ἔσται, ποταμοὶ πεποίηται πρὸς τοὺς ἀσυνέτους τῶν Ἰουδαίων γραμρεται πάλιν τὸ πρέσωπον τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐραστῶν, ἐπεγνωκότων τε τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ λεγόντων ΤῊ τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς Ἐκκλησίαν, ἤγουν τὴν ἐν οὐρανοῖς τὴν ἄνω καλλίπολιν, τὴν τῶν ἁγίων τρορρόν.

hiereōn nouthesiais, ho hypo cheira paidagōgeitai laos. Pou toinyn hoi symdouleuontes? Pou estin ho arithmōn tous systrephomenous mikron kai megan laon? Entautha moi palin sēmaunomenos athrei grammateas te kai hiereas ētoi Pharisaious, hou chatesōreusan tou Christou tous hypo cheira laous, kau systrophēn pepoiēntai dēmōn mikrōn kai megalōn " hoi kai to men, phēsi, sphisi ton phoneutēn Baradoan, staurousthaï ge mēn ton ep’ oudeni tōn atopōn to sympan.D}] chategnōsmenon, phēmi dē Christon. Ou gar epoiēsen amartian. Toutou diamemnētai Matthaïos te kai Markos, hoi makarioi euangelistai. Pilatou gar les“ gontos hoti chrē mallon tę̄ heortę̄ ton Iēsoun autois aneisthai peplēmmelēchota mēden, ho Matthaïos phēsin, hoti hoi archiereis, kai hoi presdyteroi epeisan tous ochlous, hina aitēsōntai ton Baradyan, ton de Iēsoun apolesōsi. Touto de auto kai ho Markos, hōs ephēn, enargestata legei. Pēu toinyn ho arithmōn tous systrephomenous mikron kai megan laon, hǭ ou syneuouleusan, oude ēdei bathyphōnon, hōste mē akousai laos pephaulismenos, kai ouk esti tǭ akouonti syneesis. Kai dyscherestatē men lian hē tōn lexeōn synthēkē, kai dyschatoptos ho en autois nous estin. Erō de hōs heni. Pou gar, phēsin, ho arithmōn tous systrephomenous mikron kai megan laon, hǭ laǭ ou synedou- B leusan? Ho men gar polys, hōs eoike, dēmos hēgnoei Christon onta Huion tou Theou ton katadoōmenon" edrōn de touto dia to tous egnōkota:, tout᾽ esti, tous hēgoumenous, mē symthouleusai mallon autǭ tēn eis auton prosēchasthai pistin. Ou gar ēdei, phēsin, ho laos ton bathyphōnon, tout᾽ esti, Christon. Bathyphōnon de auton onomazei, dia toi to chechrymmenous einai, kai hōs? en ainigmasi kai paratholais tous par᾽ autou logous. Kai goun eischechomistai dia tēs tou psallontos lyras houtō legōn " e ᾿Anoixō en pachatadolēę̄s kosmou. » Proselalei de kai tois Ioudaiois en paradolais. Oukoun ou synedouleusan tǭ laǭ, phēsin, all᾽ oude ēdei ton bathyphōnon. Ou syn- s euouleusan de hōste mē akousai laos pephaulismenos. EI gar hēsan symdouleusantes, ouk an ēkouse laos pephaulismenos. Makarioi de mallon hōs epegnōkotes ton Lytrōtēn. ᾿All' ouk hēn, phēsi, tǭ akouonti synesis. ᾿Asynetoi gar ontes hoi Ioudaioi, tas tōn hēgoumenōn ouk edokimazon phōnas, oude diechrinon poteron pote chrēsta symthdouleuousin, hē drōsi to enantion. ᾿Idou Siōn hē polis, to Sōtērion hēmōn, hoi ophthaimoi sou opsontai Hierousalēm, polis piousia, skēnai hai ou mē seisthōsin, hoi passaloi tēs schēgnēs hautēs eis ton aiōna chronon, oude ta schoinia autēs ou mē diarrhagōsin, hoti to onoma Kyriou mega hymin. Topos hymin estai, potamoi pepoiētai pros tous asynetous tōn Ioudaiōn gramretai palin to presōpon tōn tēs alētheias erastōn, epegnōkotōn te tēn epiphaneian tou Christou kai legontōn TĒ tēn epi gēs Ekklēsian, ēgoun tēn en ouranois tēn anō kallipolin, tēn tōn hagiōn trorron.

priests the people under their hand are instructed. Where, then, are the counsellors? Where is he who counts those who gather together, small and great people? Here again, please, see scribes and priests, or Pharisees, signified, who heaped up the peoples under their hand against Christ and made a gathering of crowds small and great; who … for themselves the murderer Barabbas, but that he who was condemned for nothing at all that was out of place, I mean Christ, be crucified. For he did no sin. Matthew and Mark, the blessed evangelists, record this. For when Pilate said that Jesus, who had done no wrong, should rather be released to them for the feast, Matthew says that the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. And Mark too, as I said, says this very thing most clearly. Where, then, is he who counts those who gather together, small and great people, whom they did not counsel; nor did it know the one with the deep voice, so that a despised people did not hear; and there is no understanding in him who hears. The arrangement of the words is very difficult, and the sense in them hard to discern; but I shall speak as best I can. For where, he says, is he who counts those who gather together, small and great people, the people whom they did not counsel? For the great crowd, it seems, did not know that the one shouted down was Christ, the Son of God; and they did this because those who knew, that is, the leaders, did not rather counsel it to accept faith in him. For the people, he says, did not know the one with the deep voice, that is, Christ. He calls him “deep-voiced” because his words were hidden, as in riddles and parables. Indeed he is brought in through the lyre of the psalmist, saying: “I will open … in parables … [from the foundation] of the world.” And he also spoke to the Jews in parables. So they did not counsel the people, he says, nor did it know the one with the deep voice. And they did not counsel it, so that a despised people did not hear. For if they had counselled it, a despised people would not have heard; rather, they would have been blessed as having recognized the Redeemer. But there was, he says, no understanding in him who hears. For the Jews, being without understanding, did not test the words of their leaders, nor discern whether they were counselling good things or doing the opposite.

“Behold Zion, the city, our salvation! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a rich city, tents that will not be shaken; the pegs of its tent … for ever, nor will its cords be broken; for the name of the Lord is great for you. A place will be for you, rivers …”

… is made to the Jews without understanding … again the person of the lovers of the truth, who have recognized the appearing of Christ and say … the church on earth, or the beautiful city above in the heavens, the nurse of the saints.

Isa 33:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 27:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 15:11 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 2:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 78:2 (77:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:21 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Cyril applies the obscure Isa 33:18–19 to the scribes, priests, and Pharisees who stirred up the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to crucify the sinless Christ, the “deep-voiced” one who spoke in parables; the lemma of Isa 33:20–21 on Zion, the unshaken tent, follows.

Cyril says himself that the wording of Isa 33:19 is very difficult. Words are lost after “small and great” (probably “asked that … be released”), in the quotation of Ps 78:2 (LXX 77:2), in the lemma Isa 33:20–21 (“will not be moved”, and the end of 33:21), and in the first lines of the comment (marked “…”). The sentence “if they had counselled it, a despised people would not have heard” is translated literally. Quotations: Matt 27:20 (paraphrased); Ps 78:2 (LXX 77:2). Allusions: 1 Pet 2:22; Mark 15:11. Cyril's account of the Jewish leaders' part in the passion is translated as written; it is his own view.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.18 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-18

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-18) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.19PG 70

“Ὥστε κἂν εἴτε τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς Ἐκκλησίαν ὀνομάσειέ τις, εἴτ᾽ οὖν ἐχείνην εἰς νοῦν δέξαιτο, ἕν ἕσται τὸ δι᾿ ἀμφοῖν δηλούμενον. Οἱ γὰρ ἐν τῇ κάτω γεγονότες, ἔσονται κατὰ καιροὺς καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἄνω καὶ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδήπερ ἐκ περιχαρείας πολλῆς … Διὰ μέσου τεθειμένων τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγων … ἐν ἦ τὰ σωτήριον ἡμῶν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, Χριστὸς, ἀλλή λοις αὐτὴν καταδειχνύουσιν, εὐθὺς ὁ θεῖος διαξέχεται λόγος τὰς παρ᾽ αὐτῶν φωνὰς, καί φησιν Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί οου ὄψονται Ἱερουσαλὴμ, πόλις πλουσία " καὶ διαλέ. γεται μὲν ὡς ἐξ ὁμοιότητος τῆς ἀρκαίας καὶ ἐν τὴ ἐρήμῳ σκηνῆς. Πλου αν τε ὀνομάζει τὴν Σιὼν, καὶ ἄῤῥηκτα μὲν ἔχουσα τὰ σχοινία, πασσάλους δὲ πεκὴγότας διηνεκῶς. Ἐρήρεισται γὰρ ἢ Ἐκκλησία, καὶ ἀκράδαντον ἔχει τὴν εἰς τὸ εὖ εἶναι διαμσνῆν᾽ « Εύλαι γὰρ ᾷδου, φησὶν, οὗ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς. » Καὶ ἀποδίξωσι τὴ) αἰτίαν, δι᾿ ἣν ἔσται τοιαύτη, καί φησι τοῖς πιστεύφσασιν εἷς Χριστὸν, ὅσνι τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου μέγα ὁμῖν. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ οὐ προσηχαμένοιφ τὰν πίστιν, οὐ μέγα καὶ δεδοξασμένον ἐστὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Παρ᾽ ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς πιστεύσασι, μέγα καὶ ὑψηλόν. Προσκυνοῦμεν γὰρ ὡς Θοὸν, ὡφ Υἱὸν ἄληθῶς ποῦ Πατρὸς, ὡς ἐνανθρωπήσαντα Λόγον ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ὅλων. Αὕτη τοίνυν, φησὶν, ἡ ἀεὶ μένουσα σκηνὴ τόπος ὑμῖν ἔσται. Πόλιν γὰρ ὥσπερ πεπκοτήμεθα τὴν Ἔκκλησίαν Χριστοῦ τῆς ἄνω τὸν τύπον. Ἔσονται δξ. ἐν αὐτῇ ποταμοὺ καὶ διώρυγες πλατεῖς καὶ εὐρύχωροι.. Σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τούτων τοὺς ἁγίους εὐαγγελιστὰς, τοὺς ἀποστόλους, τοὺς τῶν Ἔκχχλησιῶν κατὰ καιροὺς ἡγουμένους, οὐ ποταμίου νάματος δίκην τὰς τῶν πι-. στευσάντων κατάρδουσι διανοίας, τοῖ; παρὰ Θεοῦ λόγοις αὐτὰς ἐπιχλύζοντες, καὶ ἀμφιλαφῇ παράκλη.-. σιν ἐνιέντες αὐτοῖς, δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τὴν διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου. ς Πνεύματος. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὗτοι πάντες οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ αἱ διώρυχες ἕνα τῶν ἄνωτάτω δέχονται, δῆλον δὲ ὅτε Χριστὸν, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται" «ε Τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὁρμήμαῖα εὑφραίνουσι σὴν πόλιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. » Φησὶ δέ που καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ φωνῆς προφήτον περὶ τῶν ἰδίων προσχυνητῶν᾽ « Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐχχλίνω ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ὡς ποταμὸς εἰρήνης, καὶ ὡς χειμάῤῥους ἐπικλύζων δόξαν. ἐθνῶν.» Οὐ πορεύσῃ ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν, οὐδὲ πορεύσδται σιλοῖον ἔναύνον. Ὃ γὰρ Θεός μου μέγας ἐστίν. Οὐ. παρειλεύσεταί μὲ Κύριος. Κριτὴς ἡμῶν Κύριος, ἄρχων ἡμῶν Κύριος " αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς σώσει.. Μεταπεφοίτηκε πάλιν ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ τὸ τῶν πιστευ-. σάντων πρόσωπον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ποταμῶν, καὶ διὠὡρύγων. ἐποιήσατο μνήμην, ταύτῃ τοι, καὶ σφόδρα εἰκότως, ὡς περὶ πλοίου φησί. Καὶ τί δὴ ἄρα δηλοῖ, διατρανοῦν πειράσομαι. ρὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιδημίας χατεληΐζετο, τὴν οἰκουμένην, αὐδενὸς ἐπιτιμῶντος, ὁ Σατανᾶς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ λελυτρώμεθα διὰ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν οἰκοῦντες σκηνὴν, φημὶ δὴ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς καὶ ἀποπάλαι πλεονεκτεῖν ἰσχύοντος, καὶ ὅτι τηρήσει Χριστὸς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἐφιεὶς τῷ τῆς ἀνομίας εὑρετῇ͵ κατεπεμδαίνειν αὐτῶν" διὸ οὐ πεπιστευκότες φαμὲν πρὸς αὑτόν" Οὐ πορεύσῃ ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν, οὐδὲ πορεύσεται πλοῖον ἔναυλον, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἐσόμεθα.

“Hōste kan eite tēn epi gēs Ekklēsian onomaseie tis, eit᾽ oun echeinēn eis noun dexaito, hen hestai to di᾿ amphoin dēloumenon. Hoi gar en tę̄ katō gegonotes, esontai kata kairous kai en ekeinę̄ tę̄ anō kai en ouranois. Oukoun epeidēper ek perichareias pollēs … Dia mesou tetheimenōn tōn tou Theou logōn … en ē ta sōtērion hēmōn, tout᾽ esti, Christos, allē lois autēn katadeichnyousin, euthys ho theios diaxechetai logos tas par᾽ autōn phōnas, kai phēsin Hoi ophthalmoi oou opsontai Hierousalēm, polis plousia " kai diale. getai men hōs ex homoiotētos tēs arkaias kai en tē erēmǭ skēnēs. Plou an te onomazei tēn Siōn, kai arrhēkta men echousa ta schoinia, passalous de pekēgotas diēnekōs. Erēreistai gar ē Ekklēsia, kai akradanton echei tēn eis to eu einai diamsnēn᾽ « Eulai gar ądou, phēsin, hou katischysousin autēs. » Kai apodixōsi tē) aitian, di᾿ hēn estai toiautē, kai phēsi tois pisteuphsasin heis Christon, hosni to onoma Kyriou mega homin. Tous men gar ou prosēchamenoiph tan pistin, ou mega kai dedoxasmenon esti to onoma tou Christou. Par᾽ hēmin de tois pisteusasi, mega kai hypsēlon. Proskynoumen gar hōs Thoon, hōph Huion alēthōs pou Patros, hōs enanthrōpēsanta Logon epi sōtērią tōn holōn. Hautē toinyn, phēsin, hē aei menousa skēnē topos hymin estai. Polin gar hōsper pepkotēmetha tēn Ekklēsian Christou tēs anō ton typon. Esontai dx. en autę̄ potamou kai diōryges plateis kai eurychōroi.. Sēmainei de dia toutōn tous hagious euangelistas, tous apostolous, tous tōn Ekchchlēsiōn kata kairous hēgoumenous, ou potamiou namatos dikēn tas tōn pi-. steusantōn katardousi dianoias, toi? para Theou logois autas epichlyzontes, kai amphilaphę̄ paraklē.-. sin enientes autois, dēlon de hoti tēn dia tou hagiou. s Pneumatos. ᾿All᾽ houtoi pantes hoi potamoi kai hai diōryches hena tōn anōtatō dechontai, dēlon de hote Christon, peri hou gegraptai" «e Tou potamou ta hormēmaia heuphrainousi sēn polin tou Theou. » Phēsi de pou kai autos dia phōnēs prophēton peri tōn idiōn proschynētōn᾽ « Idou egō echchlinō ep᾽ autous hōs potamos eirēnēs, kai hōs cheimarrhous epiklyzōn doxan. ethnōn.» Ou poreusę̄ tautēn tēn hodon, oude poreusdtai siloion enaunon. Ho gar Theos mou megas estin. Ou. pareileusetai me Kyrios. Kritēs hēmōn Kyrios, archōn hēmōn Kyrios " autos hēmas sōsei.. Metapephoitēke palin ho logos epi to tōn pisteu-. santōn prosōpon. Epeidē gar potamōn, kai diōōrygōn. epoiēsato mnēmēn, tautę̄ toi, kai sphodra eikotōs, hōs peri ploiou phēsi. Kai ti dē ara dēloi, diatranoun peirasomai. ro men gar tēs tou Sōtēros hēmōn epidēmias chatelēïzeto, tēn oikoumenēn, audenos epitimōntos, ho Satanas. Epeidē de lelytrōmetha dia Christou, kai tēn hagian oikountes skēnēn, phēmi dē tēn Ekklēsian tois euangelikois kai apopalai pleonektein ischyontos, kai hoti tērēsei Christos tas kardias hēmōn, ouk ephieis tǭ tēs anomias heuretę̄͵ katepemdainein autōn" dio ou pepisteukotes phamen pros hauton" Ou poreusę̄ tautēn tēn hodon, oude poreusetai ploion enaulon, tout᾽ estin, ouk esometha.

So whether one names the church on earth, or takes that other into one's mind, the one thing will be signified by both. For those who have come to be in the one below will in due time be also in that one above and in the heavens. So, since in great joy … with the words of God placed in between … in which is our salvation, that is, Christ, pointing it out to one another, at once the divine word takes up their words and says: “Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a rich city.” And he speaks by likeness to the ancient tent in the wilderness. He calls Zion rich, having cords that cannot be broken and pegs fixed for ever. For the church has been firmly founded and has unshaken permanence in well-being: “For the gates of Hades,” he says, “will not prevail against it.” And he gives the reason why it will be such, and says to those who have believed in Christ: “For the name of the Lord is great for you.” For to those who did not accept faith the name of Christ is not great and glorified; but among us who have believed it is great and lofty. For we worship him as God, as truly Son of the Father, as the Word made man for the salvation of all. This tent, then, he says, which remains for ever, will be a place for you. For we have, as it were, as a city the church of Christ, the type of the one above. And there will be in it rivers and canals, broad and spacious. By these he means the holy evangelists, the apostles, and those who in each age lead the churches, who like a river's stream water the minds of believers, flooding them with the words from God and pouring into them abundant comfort, plainly that through the Holy Spirit. But all these rivers and canals receive one of the highest, plainly Christ, of whom it is written: “The rushings of the river gladden the city of God.” And he himself somewhere says through the voice of a prophet concerning his own worshippers: “Behold, I turn toward them like a river of peace, and like a torrent flooding the glory of the nations.”

“You will not go this way, nor will a ship go rowing. For my God is great; the Lord will not pass me by. The Lord is our judge, the Lord our ruler; he will save us.”

The discourse has passed over again to the person of the believers. For since he had made mention of rivers and canals, he therefore very fittingly speaks as of a ship. And what it signifies I shall try to make clear. Before the coming of our Saviour, Satan plundered the world, with no one to rebuke him. But since we have been redeemed through Christ and dwell in the holy tent, I mean the church, … by the evangelical … able to overreach as of old, and since Christ will guard our hearts, not allowing the inventor of lawlessness to step in upon them, therefore, having believed, we say to him: “You will not go this way, nor will a ship go rowing,” that is, we shall not be

Isa 33:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 16:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 8:5 (echo, low confidence) · Ps 46:4 (45:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 66:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 4:7 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Zion, the rich city with unbreakable cords, is the church on earth and in heaven, founded firmly, where Christ is worshipped as God; its rivers are the evangelists, apostles, and church leaders, fed by Christ the river; Satan, who once plundered the world, can no longer pass through it (Isa 33:20–22).

Comment on Isa 33:20–21, then the lemma Isa 33:21b–22 (Cyril's text reads πλοῖον ἔναυλον, rendered “rowing” after the usual LXX ἐλαῦνον; “the Lord our king” of the usual LXX is missing from the lemma but appears in the comment in the next section). Two runs of Migne's Latin version and references, read as Greek letters by the OCR, have been removed where Greek is also lost (marked “…”). Quotations: Matt 16:18; Ps 46:4 (LXX 45:5); Isa 66:12. Allusions: Heb 8:5 (type); Phil 4:7. The sentence continues in the next section.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version and references read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): Ρυΐιηι ἢ Οὐ] ρορυ!ο βοὴ ἀδύδγυηι σοι βἰ Πα}, → … ; οὗς τοὶ ἰη οἱ βδυιηηδηὶ οἱ μὰ τ Μά}. κενη, 171 844. δ΄ Μάγοι κν, Τ εση4ᾳ. ᾿᾽ ῥ58}. ἀχχνι, 3. “δ᾽ υπι “Κ,» "169. 68δὲ οὔθϑ ἢ δυ δι θην, πθιμέίης → … .

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.19 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-19

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-19) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.20PG 70

τοις εὑρεθήσῃ τοῖς ποταμοῖς, καθάπερ τι πλοῖον ἔναυλον. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἴσως φαέη «ἰς ἄν" Πόθεν τοῦτο λέγειν πεθαρσήκατε; Ναὶ, φησὶν, ἔχομεν τὸ θαρσεῖν. Ὁ γὰρ Θεός μου μέγας ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐ καρελεύσεταί με’ τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐ διελεύσεται δι᾽ ἐμοῦ, καθὰ καὶ πρώην ὁ Σατανᾶς. Οὐκ ὑποχείσομαι τοῖς ἐχείνου ποσί" Κὐρος γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐστι κριτῆς. Κύριος ἄρχων ἡμῶν, Κύριος βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν, Κύριος αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς σώσει. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς ἣν ἐκεῖνος ὁ δυστροπώτατός τε, καὶ ἀπηνὴς ἄρχων ἡμῶν. Ἐπειδὴ" δὲ τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν καὶ σωτήριον ὑπεδράμομεν ζυγὸν, κριτὴν ἐσχήγαμεν ἄρχοντα, βασιλέα, Κύριον, τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς σώσει. Ἑτέρως δὲ τοῦτο διδάσκει λέγων αὐτὸς ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας, περέ τε τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν πίστει τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ δεδιχανωμένων "Ἔσται ἐκεῖ ὁδὸς καθαρὰ, καὶ ὁδὸς ἁγία χληθέσεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐκεῖ ὁδὸς ἀκάθαρτος, οὐδὲ ἔτται ἐκεῖ λέων, οὐδὲ τῶν θηρίων τῶν πονηρῶν οὐδὲν, οὐ μὴ ἀναδῇ ἐκεῖ. ᾿Αλλὰ πορεύσονται ὃν αὐτῇ λελυ- «ρωμέναι διὰ τὲν Κύριον. Ἑρῤῥάγησαν τὰ σχοινία σου, ὅτι ον ἐνίσχυδον. ᾿ἃ ἱστός σου ἔχιλινεν, οὐ. χαλάσει τὰ ἱστία, οὖ» ἀρεῖ σημεῖον, δως οὗ πκαρωδοθῇ εἰς προγοἐήν. Ἡλαίου διαμνημονεύσας, καὶ σκηνὴν ὀνομάσας, ἔχε- «αι πάλιν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ διεχδολῆς" καί φησιν, ὡς πρός γε τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων Συναγωγὴν, ἧτοι τὴν σκηνὴν, ὅτι Ἐῤῥάγησαν τὰ σχοινίᾳ σου, ὅτι οὐκ βασιμοι ταῖ; σαῖς ἔτι πλεονεξίαις " ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ἐν τού- … ἐνίσχυσε. Τῆς μὲν γὰρ Σιὼν τῆς πόλεως τῆς πλου- ( σίας οὐ διαῤῥαγήσεσθαι τὰ αχοινία φησὶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον. Τεθεμελίωκε γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, ἐπὶ πέτραν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός" ἐῤῥάγη δὲ ὥσπερ τὰ σχοινία τῆς Ἰουδαίων σκηνῆς, οὐ γὰρ ἴσχυσαν. Ὥσπερ δὲ ἀνέμου ῥαγδαίου μὲν οὐδαμῶς; οὐκ ἐφιέντος τοῦ πνεύματος, ὑπομένει ξὲ νὴν ναυαγίαν’ οὕτω, φησὶ, καὶ ὁ σὸς ἱστὸς χέκλιται, καὶ οὐ μὴ χαλάσῃ τὰ ἱστία. Οὐκοῦν ὡς ἐξ εἰκόνος τῶν ναυτιλλομένων τοῦ συμδεδηχότος τῇ τῶν Ἰουδαίων Συναγωτῇ ποιεῖται τὴν δήλωσιν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ σημεῖον ἀρεῖ, φησίν. Μενεῖ δὲ οὕτως ἕως οὖ παραδοθῇ εἰς προνομῆν. Ἰδοὺ καὶ τούτῳ χρῆται παραδείγματι, πολυτρόπως ἡμῖν σημαίνων τὰ συμδεδηχότα αὐτοῖς. … σημεῖον, ἤτοι τρόπαιον ὑψοῦν. Οἱ δέ γε ἡττώμενοι, σημεῖον οὐκ αἵρονσιν. Οὐκ ἀρεῖ τοίνυν, φησὶν, σημεῖον, τοῦτ᾽ ἕατιν, οὐ περιγενήσεται τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἀσθενήσει δὲ μᾶλλον, ἕως οὗ παραδοθῇ εἰς προνομήν. Σημαίνει δὲ διὰ τούτων ἁπάντων, ὅτι καὶ ὑπὸ πόδας κείσεται τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ ναναγίαν ὑπομενεῖ, καὶ οὐ περιέσται ποτὲ τῆς ἐχδίνου καθάπερ ἀμέλει, καὶ οἱ τὴν ἀκατάσειστον οἰκοῦντες σκηνὴν, ἔσται δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς προνομὴν αὐτῷ.

tois heurethēsę̄ tois potamois, kathaper ti ploion enaulon. ᾿All᾽ isōs phaeē «is an" Pothen touto legein petharsēkate? Nai, phēsin, echomen to tharsein. Ho gar Theos mou megas esti, kai ou kareleusetai me’ tout᾽ estin, ou dieleusetai di᾽ emou, katha kai prōēn ho Satanas. Ouk hypocheisomai tois echeinou posi" Kyros gar hēmōn esti kritēs. Kyrios archōn hēmōn, Kyrios basileus hēmōn, Kyrios autos hēmas sōsei. Palai men gar autos hēn ekeinos ho dystropōtatos te, kai apēnēs archōn hēmōn. Epeidē" de ton euangelikon kai sōtērion hypedramomen zygon, kritēn eschēgamen archonta, basilea, Kyrion, ton Huion, kai autos hēmas sōsei. Heterōs de touto didaskei legōn autos ho prophētēs Hēsaïas, pere te tēs Ekklēsias tou Theou, kai peri tōn en pistei tę̄ en Christǭ dedichanōmenōn "Estai ekei hodos kathara, kai hodos hagia chlēthesetai, kai ouk estai ekei hodos akathartos, oude ettai ekei leōn, oude tōn thēriōn tōn ponērōn ouden, ou mē anadę̄ ekei. ᾿Alla poreusontai hon autę̄ lely- «rōmenai dia ten Kyrion. Herrrhagēsan ta schoinia sou, hoti on enischydon. ᾿ha histos sou echilinen, ou. chalasei ta histia, ou» arei sēmeion, dōs hou pkarōdothę̄ eis progoeēn. Hēlaiou diamnēmoneusas, kai skēnēn onomasas, eche- «ai palin tēs tou Theou diechdolēs" kai phēsin, hōs pros ge tēn tōn Ioudaiōn Synagōgēn, hētoi tēn skēnēn, hoti Errhagēsan ta schoinią sou, hoti ouk basimoi tai? sais eti pleonexiais " all᾽ oude en tou- … enischyse. Tēs men gar Siōn tēs poleōs tēs plou- ( sias ou diarrhagēsesthai ta achoinia phēsin eis ton aiōna chronon. Tethemeliōke gar, hōs ephēn, epi petran tēn heautou Ekklēsian ho Kyrios hēmōn Iēsous Christos" errhagē de hōsper ta schoinia tēs Ioudaiōn skēnēs, ou gar ischysan. Hōsper de anemou rhagdaiou men oudamōs? ouk ephientos tou pneumatos, hypomenei xe nēn nauagian’ houtō, phēsi, kai ho sos histos cheklitai, kai ou mē chalasę̄ ta histia. Oukoun hōs ex eikonos tōn nautillomenōn tou symdedēchotos tę̄ tōn Ioudaiōn Synagōtę̄ poieitai tēn dēlōsin. ᾿All᾽ oude sēmeion arei, phēsin. Menei de houtōs heōs ou paradothę̄ eis pronomēn. Idou kai toutǭ chrētai paradeigmati, polytropōs hēmin sēmainōn ta symdedēchota autois. … sēmeion, ētoi tropaion hypsoun. Hoi de ge hēttōmenoi, sēmeion ouk haironsin. Ouk arei toinyn, phēsin, sēmeion, tout᾽ heatin, ou perigenēsetai tōn echthrōn, asthenēsei de mallon, heōs hou paradothę̄ eis pronomēn. Sēmainei de dia toutōn hapantōn, hoti kai hypo podas keisetai tou Satana, kai nanagian hypomenei, kai ou periestai pote tēs echdinou kathaper amelei, kai hoi tēn akataseiston oikountes skēnēn, estai de mallon eis pronomēn autǭ.

… you will be found in the rivers, like a ship rowing. But perhaps someone would say: From where have you taken the courage to say this? Yes, he says, we have reason for courage. For my God is great, and will not pass me by, that is, he will not pass through me as Satan did before. I will not lie under that one's feet; for the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our ruler, the Lord our king, the Lord himself will save us. For of old that most perverse and harsh one was himself our ruler. But since we have come under the evangelical and saving yoke, we have as judge, ruler, king, and Lord the Son, and he himself will save us. The prophet Isaiah himself teaches this in another way, speaking concerning the church of God and concerning those justified in faith in Christ: “There will be a pure way there, and it will be called a holy way; and there will be no unclean way there, nor will a lion be there, nor will any of the evil beasts go up there; but the redeemed will walk in it for the Lord's sake.”

“Your cords have been broken, because they were not strong; your mast has leaned, it will not let out the sails, it will not raise a signal, until it is handed over for plunder.”

Having made mention of a ship, and having named a tent, he again keeps to the course of God's discourse; and he says, as to the synagogue of the Jews, or the tent: “Your cords have been broken, because they were not strong” … for your overreachings any longer; but not even in these … was it strong. For of Zion, the rich city, he says that the cords will not be broken for ever; for our Lord Jesus Christ, as I said, has founded his own church on the rock. But the cords, as it were, of the tent of the Jews were broken, for they were not strong. And just as [a ship], when a violent wind does not at all let up, … suffers shipwreck, so, he says, your mast too has leaned, and it will not let out the sails. So he makes plain what has befallen the synagogue of the Jews, as by an image taken from those who sail. But it will not raise a signal, he says; it will remain so until it is handed over for plunder. See, he uses this example too, signifying to us in many ways what has befallen them. … to raise a signal, or a trophy. But the defeated do not raise a signal. So it will not raise a signal, he says, that is, it will not prevail over its enemies, but will rather grow weak, until it is handed over for plunder. By all these he means that it will lie under the feet of Satan, will suffer shipwreck, and will never prevail over him, as those do who dwell in the unshaken tent; rather, it will be for plunder to him.

Isa 33:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 33:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 16:18 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Believers, once ruled by Satan, now have the Son as judge, ruler, and king, as Isa 35:8–9 also teaches (Isa 33:22); in Isa 33:23 the synagogue of the Jews is a tent with broken cords and a disabled ship that will raise no trophy but be plundered by Satan.

The opening words complete the last sentence of the previous section. Lemma: Isa 33:23 (LXX). “Keeps to the course of God's discourse”: the Greek διεκβολῆς is uncertain here. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in two places where some Greek is lost (marked “…”). Quotations: Isa 35:8–9 (Cyril's wording). Allusion: Matt 16:18. Cyril's judgment on the synagogue is translated as written; it is his own view.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): Α νι πανί τἱΐ δὺι χροΐ τη]8 [πὶ ἀϊτγεριϊυηΐι3, 566] εἰοηθιη, δυο δά πι ρογιι ϑγηδροκαπι ϑε ἰδ → … ; τυτ, ἥδ! πο ρου 6η16, οἱ ἠδη τ σία ρα 2 → … .

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.20 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-20

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-20) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.21PG 70

Τοίνυν ποιλιλοὶ χωλοὶ προκομὴκ ποιήσουσι, καὶ οὐ μὴ εἵπῃ᾽ Κοκιῶ, ὁ λαὸς ὁ ἐγοικῶν ἐν αὑτοῖς" ἀφείθη γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ ἁμαρτία. Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γὰρ, καίτοι τὸ ὀρθοποδεῖν λαχόντες ἀπό γς τῆς ἐν νόμῳ παιδαγωγίας, εἰς προχωλεύουσον ἔχοντες τὴν διάνοιαν, ἐπεπλάνηντο γὰρ καὶ ὀρθὰς τέναι τρίθους οὐκ ἥδεσαν, ποιήσουσι προνομήν. Κερδανοῦσι γὰρ τὰ παρὰ θεοῦ, νικῶντες τὸν Σατανᾶν. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀμαρτίας δυσαχθὲς τίον ἀποπεμψάμενοι, πνευματικὴν ἕξουσι τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν διατρανοῖ λέγων" Οὐ μὴ εἴπῃ, Κοπιῶ, ὁ λαὸς ὁ ἐνοικῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς " ἀφείθη γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ ἁμαρτία. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ αἵματος Ἰσραὴλ, ἅτε δὴ καὶ ἐπηρμένης αὐτοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας" προσήκατο γὰρ οὐδαμὼς τὴν οἷον αἰχμάλωτοι τῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας εὑρετῇ. Οἱ δὲ ἀμείνους γεγονότες τοῦ κατηγορεῖσθαι διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἀφῇρηται γὰρ Χριστοῦ διασμήχοντος, ἀπάσης εἴσω γενήσονται θυμηδίας, ἀ παλλαχθήσονται δὲ καὶ κόπον … « ἀφείθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι, καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι. Μακάριος ἀνὴρ, ᾧ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται Κύριος ἁμαρτίαν.» Καίτοι λέγοντος τοῦ πλημμελεῖν εἰωθότος, ὅτι « Αἱ ἀνομίαι μου ὑπερῆραν τὴν κεφαλὴν μου, ὡσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐδαρύνθησαν ἐπ᾽ ἐμέ. » Δυσφόρητος δὲ καὶ ὁ νόμος ἦν. Καὶ γοῦν ἔφη Χριστός" ε Δεῦτε πρός με, πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, χἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. » Προσαγάγετε, ἔθνη, καὶ ἀκούσατε, ἄρχοντες. ᾿Ακουσάτω ἡ γῆ καὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ ἡ οἰκχουμέγη, καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὁ ἐν αὐτῇ. Διότι ὁ θυμὸς Κυρίου ἐπὶ σάντα τὰ ἔθγη,καὶ ἡ ὀργὴ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὑτῶν, τοῦ ἀποιλέσαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ παραδοῦναι αὑτοὺς εἰς οἱ γεκροὶ, καὶ ἀγναθήσεται αὐτῶν ἡ ὀσμὴ, καὶ βραχήσεεαι τὰ ὅρη ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῶν. Καὶ εἰλιχθήσεται ὁ οὐρανὸς ὡς βιδλίον, καὶ πᾶντα τὰ ἄστρα πεσεῖται ὡς φύ.11α ἐξ ἀμπέλου, καὶ ὡς σίπτει σῦκα ἀπὸ συκῆς. Ἐμεθύσθη ἡ μάχαιρά μου ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. Ναυαγίῳ περιπεσεῖν τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων Συναγωγὴν εὖ μάλα διειρηχὼς, καὶ ὅτι παραδοθήσεται τοῖς χαπαδῃοῦσιν αὐτὴν εἰς προνομήν τε καὶ ἅλωσιν" καὶ τούτοις ἐπενεγχὼν τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν κλῇσιν - Πολλοὶ γὰρ χωλοὶ, φησὶ, προνομὴν ποιήσουσιν ἀναγκαίαν ποιεῖται τὴν κατήχησιν τοῖς ποτε μὲν χωλεύουσαν ἔχουσι τὴν διάνοιαν, μεμαθηκόσι δὲ τὸ ὀρθοποδεῖν διὰ πίστεως τῆς εἰς Χριστόν. Διαμνημονεύει καὶ μεγάλων. Ταύτῃ τοι φησὶν ὡς ἔτι πόῤῥω χκαθεστηχόσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι" Προσαγάγετε, ἔθνη, καὶ ἀκούσατε, ἄρχοντες. Τὸ δὲ, προσαγάγετε, τέθεικεν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, προσεγγίσατε. Ἕως μὲν γάρ εἰσιν ἐν τῷ πλανᾶτθαι τυχὸν, καὶ λατρεύειν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, πόῤῥω που Θεοῦ χαθεστήχασιν. μένης δὲ τῆς αἰτίας, ἐφ᾽ ἧ καὶ μακρὰν εἶναι λέγονται, προσοιχειοῦνται θεῷ, καὶ ἐγγὺς γενέσθαι νοοῦνται, μέτοχοι γεγονότες αὐτοῦ, διὰ τοῦ μεταλαχεῖν ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἐγγίσατε τοίνυν, φησὶν, ἔθνη τε καὶ ἄρχοντες. ᾿Ακουσάτωσαν δὲ καὶ ἡ γῆ, καὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ, Ἴ ἡ οἰκουμένη, καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὁ ἐν αὐτῇ. Καὶ τί δὴ τὸ δηλούμενον; Ἐπήρτηται γὰρ ὀργὴ. φησὶν, ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ οὐκ ἁπλῶς ἣ ἀδιακρίτως " ἥξει δὲ μᾶλλον ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνους, οἵ καὶ ἀναπόδλητον πὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ψυχαῖς τὸν ἐκ τοῦ πλημμελεῖν ῥύπον ἐντετηγμένον. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀπολοῦνται, καὶ οἷον εἰς ὄλεθρον καὶ σφαγὴν παραδοθήσονται, καὶ χαταμιανοῦσ: τὸν πάντα χῶρον, ὡς ἐπὶ σωμάτων διολωλότων τὸ τοῦ λόγου διαπλάττει σχῆμα.

Toinyn poililoi chōloi prokomēk poiēsousi, kai ou mē heipę̄᾽ Kokiō, ho laos ho egoikōn en hautois" apheithē gar autois hē hamartia. Ioudaioi men gar, kaitoi to orthopodein lachontes apo gs tēs en nomǭ paidagōgias, eis prochōleuouson echontes tēn dianoian, epeplanēnto gar kai orthas tenai trithous ouk hēdesan, poiēsousi pronomēn. Kerdanousi gar ta para theou, nikōntes ton Satanan. Hoti de kai to tēs amartias dysachthes tion apopempsamenoi, pneumatikēn hexousi tēn anapausin diatranoi legōn" Ou mē eipę̄, Kopiō, ho laos ho enoikōn en autois " apheithē gar autois hē hamartia. Hoi men gar ex haimatos Israēl, hate dē kai epērmenēs autois tēs hamartias" prosēkato gar oudamōs tēn hoion aichmalōtoi tǭ tēs hamartias heuretę̄. Hoi de ameinous gegonotes tou katēgoreisthai dia tēn hamartian, aphę̄rētai gar Christou diasmēchontos, apasēs eisō genēsontai thymēdias, a pallachthēsontai de kai kopon … « apheithēsan hai anomiai, kai hōn epekalyphthēsan hai hamartiai. Makarios anēr, hǭ ou mē logisētai Kyrios hamartian.» Kaitoi legontos tou plēmmelein eiōthotos, hoti « Hai anomiai mou hyperēran tēn kephalēn mou, hōsei phortion bary edarynthēsan ep᾽ eme. » Dysphorētos de kai ho nomos ēn. Kai goun ephē Christos" e Deute pros me, pantes hoi kopiōntes kai pephortismenoi, chagō anapausō hymas. » Prosagagete, ethnē, kai akousate, archontes. ᾿Akousatō hē gē kai hoi en autę̄ hē oikchoumegē, kai ho laos ho en autę̄. Dioti ho thymos Kyriou epi santa ta ethgē,kai hē orgē epi ton arithmon hautōn, tou apoilesai autous, kai paradounai hautous eis hoi gekroi, kai agnathēsetai autōn hē osmē, kai brachēseeai ta horē apo tou haimatos autōn. Kai eilichthēsetai ho ouranos hōs bidlion, kai panta ta astra peseitai hōs phy.11a ex ampelou, kai hōs siptei syka apo sykēs. Emethysthē hē machaira mou en tǭ ouranǭ. Nauagiǭ peripesein tēn tōn Ioudaiōn Synagōgēn eu mala dieirēchōs, kai hoti paradothēsetai tois chapadę̄ousin autēn eis pronomēn te kai halōsin" kai toutois epenenchōn tēn tōn ethnōn klę̄sin - Polloi gar chōloi, phēsi, pronomēn poiēsousin anankaian poieitai tēn katēchēsin tois pote men chōleuousan echousi tēn dianoian, memathēkosi de to orthopodein dia pisteōs tēs eis Christon. Diamnēmoneuei kai megalōn. Tautę̄ toi phēsin hōs eti porrhō chkathestēchosi tois ethnesi" Prosagagete, ethnē, kai akousate, archontes. To de, prosagagete, tetheiken, anti tou, prosengisate. Heōs men gar eisin en tǭ planatthai tychon, kai latreuein tę̄ ktisei para ton ktisanta, porrhō pou Theou chathestēchasin. menēs de tēs aitias, eph᾽ hē kai makran einai legontai, prosoicheiountai theǭ, kai engys genesthai noountai, metochoi gegonotes autou, dia tou metalachein hagiou Pneumatos. Engisate toinyn, phēsin, ethnē te kai archontes. ᾿Akousatōsan de kai hē gē, kai hoi en autę̄, I hē oikoumenē, kai ho laos ho en autę̄. Kai ti dē to dēloumenon? Epērtētai gar orgē. phēsin, epi pantas tous en autę̄, kai ouk haplōs hē adiakritōs " hēxei de mallon ep᾽ ekeinous, hoi kai anapodlēton pēn hamartian, kai tais heautōn psychais ton ek tou plēmmelein rhypon entetēgmenon. Hoti de kai apolountai, kai hoion eis olethron kai sphagēn paradothēsontai, kai chatamianous: ton panta chōron, hōs epi sōmatōn diolōlotōn to tou logou diaplattei schēma.

“… many lame will take plunder; and the people dwelling among them will not say, ‘I am weary’; for their sin has been forgiven them.”

For the Jews, though they had received the ability to walk straight from the tutelage in the law, … having a lame mind — for they had gone astray and did not know how to make straight paths — will take plunder. For they will gain what is God's, conquering Satan. And that, having also sent away the heavy burden of sin, they will have spiritual rest, he declares, saying: “And the people dwelling among them will not say, ‘I am weary’; for their sin has been forgiven them.” For those of the blood of Israel, since their sin has been lifted up against them — for they in no way accepted the … — are as it were captives to the inventor of sin. But those who have come to be above accusation for sin, since it has been taken away, Christ wiping it clean, will be in the midst of all gladness, and will be freed also from weariness … “… whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.” Yet one used to offending says: “My lawless deeds have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they have weighed on me.” And the law too was hard to bear. Indeed, Christ said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

“Draw near, nations, and hear, rulers. Let the earth hear, and those in it, the world and the people in it. For the anger of the Lord is upon all the nations, and wrath upon their number, to destroy them and hand them over to … the dead, and their stench will go up, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And the heaven will be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars will fall like leaves from a vine, and as figs fall from a fig tree. My sword has become drunk in heaven.”

Having said very well that the synagogue of the Jews would suffer shipwreck and be handed over to those who ravage it, for plunder and capture, and having added to this the calling of the nations — “for many lame,” he says, “will take plunder” — he gives the instruction needed by those who once had a lame mind but have learned to walk straight through faith in Christ. He makes mention also of great … Therefore he says to the nations, as still standing far off: “Draw near, nations, and hear, rulers.” He put “draw near” in place of “come near.” For as long as they are perhaps in error and worship the creation rather than the Creator, they stand somewhere far from God. But when the cause for which they are said to be far off is … , they are brought into close relation with God and are understood to have come near, having become partakers of him through receiving the Holy Spirit. So, he says, come near, nations and rulers. And let the earth hear, and those in it, the world and the people in it. And what is it that is made known? For wrath hangs, he says, over all who are in it — and not simply or indiscriminately; rather, it will come on those who … sin that cannot be cast off, and the filth of their offences melted into their own souls. And that they will perish, and be handed over as it were to destruction and slaughter, and will defile the whole place, he shapes the figure of the discourse as of bodies that have perished.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Isa 33:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 33:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 32:1 (31:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 32:2 (31:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:4 (37:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:25 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The lame who take plunder (Isa 33:23–24) are the nations, once astray, who conquer Satan and receive forgiveness and rest in Christ; Isa 34:1–5a calls the nations to draw near through the Spirit and warns of wrath on those who keep their sin.

Lemmas: Isa 33:23b–24 (its first words lost in the OCR) and Isa 34:1–5a (Cyril reads “as figs fall from a fig tree”; the words “to slaughter, and their wounded will be thrown down and” are lost; marked “…”). Other gaps are marked “…”; the contrast in the first paragraph (the Jews fell, but the nations … will take plunder) is incomplete in the Greek. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in three places; in one, the OCR read ὁ νόμος first as ἄνομος. Quotations: Ps 32:1–2 (LXX 31:1–2), its opening lost; Ps 38:4 (LXX 37:5); Matt 11:28. Allusion: Rom 1:25.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, splitting the word δηλούμενον; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; ἄνομος is the OCR's first reading of ὁ νόμος): « απο δὰ πιὸ, ὁπιῆθβ αυἱ ἰαυογδιὶβ, οἱ οπαδγαῖὶ → … « ; ἄνομος [Πυηνΐν. ἰ6ρ᾽1 ὁ νόμος] → ὁ νόμος; δη- Α ἀδιιοπείγαιυν πηρομ εἰ λούμενον → δηλούμενον.

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.21 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-21

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-21) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.22PG 70

Βραχήσεται γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰ ὄρη ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῶν. Εἶτα τὸν τοῦδε καιρὸν ἐμφανῆ καθιστὰς, τὴν τοῦ κόσμου συντέλειαν εἰς μέσον ἄγει, καί φησίν, Εἰλιχθήσεται μὲν ὡς βιόλίον ὁ οὐρανὸς, ἐν ἴσῳ δὲ φύλλοις τὰ ἄστρα πεσεῖται. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἴοηχε μαθητὴς περὶ τῆς ἐσχάτης ἡμέρας" «ε Ὅτι ἐν αὐτῇ μὲν οἱ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται, στοι- Β χεῖα δὲ χαυσούμενα λυθήσεται, γῇ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα κατακαήσεται πάντα. Καινοὺς δὲ οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καινὴν γῆν κατὰ ἐπαγγέλματα αὐτοῦ προσδοκῶμεν.» Οὐκοῦν τὸ εἰλιχθήσεσθαι τὸν οὐρανὸν, πεσεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄστρα, τὸν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς ἀνακαινισμὸν ὑπεμφαίνειεν ἄν. Ἐλευθερωθήσεσθαι δὲ τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος ἔφη Παῦλος ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας φθορᾶς, εἰς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς δόξης τῶν τέχνων τοῦ Θεοῦ. Προστιθεὶ; δὲ ὅτι, Ἐμεθύσθη ἡ μάχαιρά μου ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, δίδωσι νοεῖν, ὅτι τῆς θείας ὀργῆς ἡ ἔφοδος οὐ κατὰ μόνων ἥξει τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτῶν δραμεῖται τῶν ἀκαθάρτων πνευμάτων, οὖς καὶ κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους, καὶ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ὀνομάζειν ἔθος τοῖς ἱεροῖς Γράμμασι. Κολασθήσονται γὰρ καὶ οἷον χαταχορέαουσι, δι᾽ ἧς ὑφίστανται δίκης τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ μάχαιραν, τετυραννευχότες μὲν εἰς χρόνους μακροὺς, καὶ ὅλην ἀπολέσαντες τό γε ἦχον ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς τὴν ὑπ᾽ οὐρανόν ἑξαιτούμενοί τε τῶν οὕτω δεινῶν δυσσεθειῶν τὰς δίκας. Ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν καταδήσεται, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν τῆς ἀπωλείας μετὰ χρίσεως. Ἢ μάχαιρα Κυρίου ἐνεπιλήσθη αἱμάτων, ἐπαχύνθη ἀπὸ στέατος ἀργῶν», καὶ ἀπὸ στέατος ταύρων, καὶ κριῶν, ᾿Απὸ τῆς καθ᾽ ὅλου χρίσεως καταδιδάζει τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν τοῖς Ἰδουμαίοις ἐπενηνεγμένην κόλασιν, διά τοι τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν δυσσέόδειαν. Ἰδουμαίαν γε μὴν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ἀποκαλεῖ " βραχὺ παραλλάξας, ἵνα φαίνοιτο καὶ χατασχώπτων αὑτήν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ Ἰοαὰχ γεγονὼς Ἡσαῦ, βρώσεως μιᾶς χαταπωλήσας τὰ πρω- τοτόχια, κέκληται δὲ δικαίως Ἐδὼμ, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, γῆϊνος" φρόνημα γὰρ ἦν τοιούτων ἐν αὐτῷ" ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ δὲ λοιπὸν οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κέκληνται, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, Ἰδουμαῖοι. Γήϊνοι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ, γεῶδες ἔχειν τὸ φρόγημα οἰηθεῖεν ἂν. ὡς ἀπό γέ φημι τῆς τοῦ ὀνόματος ἑρμηνείας. Ἰδουμαίαν τοίνυν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ἀποκαλεῖ, ὡς οὐκ εἰδυῖαν τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν, ἐνιζήσασαν δὲ μᾶλλον τόϊς ἐπιγείοις πράγμασι, καὶ σαρκικὸν ἔχουσαν τὸ φρόνημα. Ἰδοὺ τοιγαροῦν, ἡ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ μεθυσθεῖσα μάχαιρα, φησὶ, καταδήσεται νῦν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν, ἥτοι τὴν Ἰδουμαίαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν τῆς ἀπωλείας, πλὴν μετὰ κρίσεως. ᾿Απωλείας δὲ λαὸς τίς ἂν ἕτερος εἴη παρά γε τὸν Ἰσραήλ; Οὐ γὰρ ἠθέλησε τιμῆσαι γι, 12.

Brachēsetai gar, phēsi, ta orē apo tou haimatos autōn. Eita ton toude kairon emphanē kathistas, tēn tou kosmou synteleian eis meson agei, kai phēsin, Eilichthēsetai men hōs biolion ho ouranos, en isǭ de phyllois ta astra peseitai. Hōs gar ho tou Sōtēros eioēche mathētēs peri tēs eschatēs hēmeras" «e Hoti en autę̄ men hoi ouranoi rhoizēdon pareleusontai, stoi- B cheia de chausoumena lythēsetai, gę̄ kai ta en autę̄ erga katakaēsetai panta. Kainous de ouranous, kai kainēn gēn kata epangelmata autou prosdokōmen.» Oukoun to eilichthēsesthai ton ouranon, peseisthai de kai ta astra, ton toude tou pantos anakainismon hypemphaineien an. Eleutherōthēsesthai de tēn ktisin, kai ho thespesios ephē Paulos apo tēs douleias phthoras, eis tēn eleutherian tēs doxēs tōn technōn tou Theou. Prostithei? de hoti, Emethysthē hē machaira mou en tǭ ouranǭ, didōsi noein, hoti tēs theias orgēs hē ephodos ou kata monōn hēxei tōn epi tēs gēs, alla gar kai kat᾽ autōn drameitai tōn akathartōn pneumatōn, ous kai kosmokratoras tou skotous, kai pneumatika tēs ponērias en tois epouraniois onomazein ethos tois hierois Grammasi. Kolasthēsontai gar kai hoion chatachoreaousi, di᾽ hēs hyphistantai dikēs tēn tou Theou machairan, tetyranneuchotes men eis chronous makrous, kai holēn apolesantes to ge ēchon ep᾽ autois tēn hyp᾽ ouranon hexaitoumenoi te tōn houtō deinōn dyssetheiōn tas dikas. Idou epi tēn Idoumaian katadēsetai, kai epi ton laon tēs apōleias meta chriseōs. Ē machaira Kyriou enepilēsthē haimatōn, epachynthē apo steatos argōn», kai apo steatos taurōn, kai kriōn, ᾿Apo tēs kath᾽ holou chriseōs katadidazei ton logon epi tēn tois Idoumaiois epenēnegmenēn kolasin, dia toi tēn eis Christon dysseodeian. Idoumaian ge mēn tēn Ioudaian apokalei " brachy parallaxas, hina phainoito kai chataschōptōn hautēn. Ho men gar ex Ioaach gegonōs Hēsau, brōseōs mias chatapōlēsas ta prō- totochia, keklētai de dikaiōs Edōm, tout᾽ esti, gēïnos" phronēma gar ēn toioutōn en autǭ" ap᾽ autou de loipon hoi ex autou keklēntai, tout᾽ estin, Idoumaioi. Gēïnoi gar kai autoi, geōdes echein to phrogēma oiētheien an. hōs apo ge phēmi tēs tou onomatos hermēneias. Idoumaian toinyn tēn Ioudaian apokalei, hōs ouk eiduian ta anō phronein, enizēsasan de mallon toïs epigeiois pragmasi, kai sarkikon echousan to phronēma. Idou toigaroun, hē en tǭ ouranǭ methystheisa machaira, phēsi, katadēsetai nyn epi tēn Ioudaian, hētoi tēn Idoumaian, kai epi ton laon tēs apōleias, plēn meta kriseōs. ᾿Apōleias de laos tis an heteros eiē para ge ton Israēl? Ou gar ēthelēse timēsai gi, 12.

For the mountains, he says, will be drenched with their blood. Then, making plain the time of this, he brings the consummation of the world into view and says: The heaven will be rolled up like a scroll, and the stars will fall like leaves. For as the Saviour's disciple said about the last day: “For in it the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will all be burned up. But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his promises.” So the rolling up of heaven and the falling of the stars would hint at the renewal of this universe. And the divine Paul too said that the creation will be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And by adding, “My sword has become drunk in heaven,” he gives us to understand that the onset of the divine wrath will come not only against those on earth, but will also run against the unclean spirits themselves, whom the holy writings are accustomed to call world-rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. For they will be punished and, as it were, will glut the sword of God through the penalty they undergo, having tyrannized for long times and destroyed, so far as it lay with them, the whole world under heaven, and being required to pay the penalties for such terrible impieties.

“Behold, it will come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of destruction, with judgment. The sword of the Lord has been filled with blood; it has been fattened with the fat of lambs, and with the fat of bulls and rams.”

From the universal judgment he brings the discourse down to the punishment brought on the Idumeans because of their impiety toward Christ. By Idumea he means Judea, altering the name slightly so that he may appear also to mock it. For Esau, born of Isaac, having sold his birthright for one meal, was justly called Edom, that is, earthy; for such was his mind. And from him those descended from him were thereafter called Idumeans. For they too, being earthy, might be thought to have an earthly mind, judging, I mean, from the interpretation of the name. So he calls Judea Idumea, as not knowing how to set its mind on things above, but rather sunk in earthly affairs and having a fleshly mind. Behold, then, he says, the sword made drunk in heaven will now come down on Judea, or Idumea, and on the people of destruction, but with judgment. And who else would the people of destruction be but Israel? For it did not wish to honour …

Isa 34:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 34:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Pet 3:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Pet 3:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 34:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 6:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 34:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 25:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 25:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 12:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The rolling up of heaven in Isa 34:4 points to the renewal of creation at the end, and the sword drunk in heaven to the punishment of the evil spirits; in Isa 34:5–6 “Idumea,” the earthy, is Judea, punished for its impiety toward Christ.

Comment on Isa 34:3–5, then the lemma Isa 34:5b–6a. Quotations: 2 Pet 3:10, 13 (Cyril's wording). Allusions: Rom 8:21; Eph 6:12; Gen 25:30–34 and Heb 12:16 (Esau's birthright); Col 3:2. Migne's Latin version and references, read as Greek letters by the OCR, have been removed in four places (in two of them they split the words μάχαιραν and πρωτοτόκια). The etymology Edom = “earthy” is Cyril's. His identification of Idumea with Judea and his judgment on it are translated as written; they are his own reading.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, inside the quotation; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, splitting the word μάχαιραν; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, splitting the word πρωτοτόκια; Migne's references and Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR): 4} ἰῃ δὰ δυη!, οἱ ποῸἢ δἰ πρὶ οἰ ι6Γ οἱ ργοπιίβουρ, → ; μάεἰλάϊυδ᾽ ποθ ἰῃ οὐαἷο, ὁδὶ ἰπ οἰ χαγα εὐνίπα ἱτα χαιραν, → μάχαιραν, ; Υεβϑ. ὅ, θ. κι αὐ 1ἀιπιαθαικ ἀεεοοπάεί, οἱ αὐ → ; ἢ Εἰίοπι, ἰὰ 651 ἰὀτγοηυ8. 515. δηΐπὶ ἰδ ἀΠοοίυβ. δγϑὶ, → .

Topics: Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.22 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-22

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-22) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.23PG 70

Δ σεως, ἦτοι μετὰ δικαιοκρισίας " οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς, ἣ ἀδιακρίτως, καὶ οἷον ἄρδην ἀπόλωλεν ὁ Ἱσραὴλ, ἀλλὰ σέσωται τὸ κατάλειμμα διὰ πίστεως, δηλονότι τῆς εἰς Χριστόν. Κέκληνται γὰρ καὶ ἐξ Ἰουδαίας οὐκ εὐαρίθμητοι, καὶ πεπιστεύκασιν εἰς Χριστόν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἀπειθήχασιν ἐνεπλήσθη αἴματος ἡ τοῦ Κυρίον μάχαιρα, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἡ ὀργὴ μονονουχὶ χατασφάξασα, καὶ οἷόν τίνας κριοὺς, καὶ ταύρους ἀδροὺς καὶ πίονας χαταστρώσασα, οἷς ἂν εἰκότως λέγοιτο πρὺς ἡμῶν" εΓΑγε νῦν, οἱ πλούσιοι, χλαύσατε, ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαςς ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις. » λήσατε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἐθρέψατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὡς Ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σφαγῆς. Τοιοῦτοι γὰρ γεγόνασιν οἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων χαθηγηταὶ, καταδοσχόμενοι μὲν τρόπον τινὰ τόπον πίονα καὶ εὐρύχωρον τὰς ἐκ τῶν λαῶν καρποφορίας " χαταπιανθέντες δὲ ὥσπερ ταῖς παρὰ πάντων τιμαῖς. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὡς κριοὶ καὶ ταῦροι πεπτώκασι, τῇ τοῦ Κυρίου μακαίρᾳ περιπεσόντες οἱ δείλαοι. εἶνε. Ὅτι θυσία Κυρίῳ ἐν Βοσὸρ, καὶ σφαγὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῇ Ἰδουμαίᾳ" καὶ συμπεσοῦνται οἱ ἁδροὶ μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, καὶ οἱ κριοὶ, καὶ οἱ ταῦροι, καὶ μεθυσθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στέατος Βοσὸρ ἑρμηνεύεται συνοχὴ, καὶ ὀχύρωσις, καὶ εὔαγγελισμὸς, καὶ μέν τοι καὶ σάρξ. Τὴν τοίνυν Ἰδουβαίαν καὶ Βοσὸρ ὀνομάζει, ἵνα νοήσῃς σαρκίνην, ἣ συνησχημένην, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, πολιορκηθεῖσαν" ἤγουν εὖαγγγελισμὸν, εὐηγγελίσατο γὰρ ἕν αὐτῇ Χριστός. Προσθείην δ᾽ ἂν, ὅτι καὶ ὀχύρωσις " Κύριος γὰρ ἦν κύκλῳ αὐτῆς, καὶ κύκλῳ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, καθὰ γέγραπται. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐν ταύτῃ, φησὶ, θυσία τῷ Κυρίῳ. Τέθυνται γὰρ ταῖς τῶν πολιορχησάντων μακαίραις, Ὁ καὶ οὐκ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας ἀναθδαίνοντες τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς κόρον τῆς καταπαιούσης αὐτοὺς μακαίρας. Ὅτι δὲ οὐκὶ ἐν μόνῃ τῇ Ἰδουμαίᾳ δαπανηθήσεται τληθὺς, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἐπισήμων ἐν αὐτοῖς, πλείστη τέ ὅση καὶ ἐλεεινὴ γενήσεται πτῶσις, αἷνι- Ὑματωδῶς ὑπεμφαίνει λέγων, τοὺς ἀδροὺς, καὶ τοὺς κριοὺς, καὶ τοὺς ταύρους πεσεῖσθαι μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, καὶ ὅτι μεθυσθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στέατος αὐτῶν ἐμπλησθήσεται. Ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ ταύρων, καὶ κριῶν ἐῤῥιμμένων εἰς γῆν, καὶ αἵματός π χύσιν ἱέντων, πολλὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ χκατατήχεσθαι, μόνον δὲ οὐκὶ καὶ χαταρδόντων αὐτὴν τοιαῦτά φησιν. Ἡμέρα γὰρ πρίσφως Κυρίου, καὶ ἐνιαυτὸς ἀνταποδόσεως χρίσεως Σιών. Καὶ στραφψήσονταε αὑτῆς αἱ φάραγγες εἰς πίσσαν, καὶ ἡ γῆ αὐτῆς εἰς θεῖον" καὶ ἔσται ἡ γῆ αὑτῆς καιομένη, ὡς πίσσα, νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ οὐ σδεσθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, καὶ ἀγαδήσεται ὃ καχγὸς αὐτῆς ἄγω. Εἷς γενεὰς ἐρημωθήσεται, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἔν αὐτῇ ὄρνεα καὶ ἐχῖνοι, καὶ ἵδεις, καὶ κόρωχες. Καὶ ἐπιθ1ηθήσεται ἐπ᾿ αὑτὴν ἀφῆκε νοεῖν. Ὀνομάζει γὰρ δὴ τὴν Σιὼν, ἧ καὶ κρίσεως ἡμέραν, καὶ ἀνταποδόσεως ἐνιαυτὸν ἔνεστηκέναι φησὶ, καθ᾽ ὄν μονονουχὶ πίσσης τε καὶ θείου καταῤῥανθέντων ἁπάσῃ; αὐτῶν τῆς χώρας, ἀνημέρῳ φλόγας " καὶ καπνὸν δὲ τάχα που τὸν ἀναθαίνοντα, νοεῖν ἀκόλουθον τὴν οἱονεὶ τοῦ πάθους ἀκοὴν, καὶ «οἷς συμφορᾶς τὸ μέγεθος. Ἐρημωθήσεσθαι δέ φησιν αὐτὴν εἰς γενεὰς καὶ τὰ ταῖς ἐρημουμέναις πόλεσι συμδαίνοντα λέγει. “"“Ὄρνεα μὲν γὰρ, καὶ ἐχίνους, ἴδεις τε καὶ κόρακας ἐναυλισθήσεσθαί φησιν αὐτῇ, καὶ μὴν ὅτι καὶ εἰς ἔρημον χαταμετρηθήσεται, δέ φησι τοὺς ἀγρίους τῶν ὄνων, οἷς δὴ καὶ φίλον ἐνδιαίτημα ποιεῖσθαι τὰ εἰσάπαν ἔρημα τῶν χωρίων.

D seōs, ētoi meta dikaiokrisias " ou gar haplōs, hē adiakritōs, kai hoion ardēn apolōlen ho Hisraēl, alla sesōtai to kataleimma dia pisteōs, dēlonoti tēs eis Christon. Keklēntai gar kai ex Ioudaias ouk euarithmētoi, kai pepisteukasin eis Christon. Epi de tois apeithēchasin eneplēsthē aimatos hē tou Kyrion machaira, tout᾽ estin, hē orgē mononouchi chatasphaxasa, kai hoion tinas krious, kai taurous adrous kai pionas chatastrōsasa, hois an eikotōs legoito prys hēmōn" eGAge nyn, hoi plousioi, chlausate, epi tais talaipōriass hymōn tais eperchomenais. » lēsate epi tēs gēs, ethrepsate tas kardias hymōn hōs En hēmerą sphagēs. Toioutoi gar gegonasin hoi tōn Ioudaiōn chathēgētai, katadoschomenoi men tropon tina topon piona kai eurychōron tas ek tōn laōn karpophorias " chatapianthentes de hōsper tais para pantōn timais. ᾿All᾽ hōs krioi kai tauroi peptōkasi, tę̄ tou Kyriou makairą peripesontes hoi deilaoi. eine. Hoti thysia Kyriǭ en Bosor, kai sphagē megalē en tę̄ Idoumaią" kai sympesountai hoi hadroi met᾽ autōn, kai hoi krioi, kai hoi tauroi, kai methysthēsetai hē gē apo tou haimatos, kai apo tou steatos Bosor hermēneuetai synochē, kai ochyrōsis, kai euangelismos, kai men toi kai sarx. Tēn toinyn Idoubaian kai Bosor onomazei, hina noēsę̄s sarkinēn, hē synēschēmenēn, tout᾽ esti, poliorkētheisan" ēgoun euanngelismon, euēngelisato gar hen autę̄ Christos. Prostheiēn d᾽ an, hoti kai ochyrōsis " Kyrios gar ēn kyklǭ autēs, kai kyklǭ tou laou autou, katha gegraptai. ᾿All᾽ en tautę̄, phēsi, thysia tǭ Kyriǭ. Tethyntai gar tais tōn poliorchēsantōn makairais, Ho kai ouk eis osmēn euōdias anathdainontes tǭ Theǭ, all᾽ eis koron tēs katapaiousēs autous makairas. Hoti de ouki en monę̄ tę̄ Idoumaią dapanēthēsetai tlēthys, alla gar kai tōn episēmōn en autois, pleistē te hosē kai eleeinē genēsetai ptōsis, haini- Hymatōdōs hypemphainei legōn, tous adrous, kai tous krious, kai tous taurous peseisthai met᾽ autōn, kai hoti methysthēsetai hē gē apo tou haimatos autōn, kai apo tou steatos autōn emplēsthēsetai. Hōs gar epi taurōn, kai kriōn errhimmenōn eis gēn, kai haimatos p chysin hientōn, pollēn hypo tou chkatatēchesthai, monon de ouki kai chatardontōn autēn toiauta phēsin. Hēmera gar prisphōs Kyriou, kai eniautos antapodoseōs chriseōs Siōn. Kai straphpsēsontae hautēs hai pharanges eis pissan, kai hē gē autēs eis theion" kai estai hē gē hautēs kaiomenē, hōs pissa, nyktos kai hēmeras, kai ou sdesthēsetai eis ton aiōna chronon, kai agadēsetai ho kachgos autēs agō. Heis geneas erēmōthēsetai, kai katoikēsousin en autę̄ ornea kai echinoi, kai hideis, kai korōches. Kai epith1ēthēsetai ep᾿ hautēn aphēke noein. Onomazei gar dē tēn Siōn, hē kai kriseōs hēmeran, kai antapodoseōs eniauton enestēkenai phēsi, kath᾽ on mononouchi pissēs te kai theiou katarrhanthentōn hapasę̄? autōn tēs chōras, anēmerǭ phlogas " kai kapnon de tacha pou ton anathainonta, noein akolouthon tēn hoionei tou pathous akoēn, kai «hois symphoras to megethos. Erēmōthēsesthai de phēsin autēn eis geneas kai ta tais erēmoumenais polesi symdainonta legei. “"“Ornea men gar, kai echinous, ideis te kai korakas enaulisthēsesthai phēsin autę̄, kai mēn hoti kai eis erēmon chatametrēthēsetai, de phēsi tous agrious tōn onōn, hois dē kai philon endiaitēma poieisthai ta eisapan erēma tōn chōriōn.

… that is, with just judgment; for Israel has not perished simply or indiscriminately, and as it were utterly, but the remnant has been saved through faith, plainly faith in Christ. For not a few from Judea too have been called and have believed in Christ. But on those who disobeyed, the sword of the Lord was filled with blood, that is, the wrath, all but slaughtering them and laying them low like rams and bulls, stout and fat, to whom we might fittingly say: “Come now, you rich, weep over the miseries that are coming upon you. … on the earth; you fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” For such were the guides of the Jews, grazing, in a way, on the fruits from the peoples as on a fat and spacious pasture, and fattened, as it were, by the honours paid them by all. But like rams and bulls, the wretches have fallen, encountering the sword of the Lord.

“For there is a sacrifice to the Lord in Bosor, and a great slaughter in Idumea; and the stout will fall with them, and the rams and the bulls; and the land will be drunk with blood, and from the fat …”

Bosor is interpreted “constraint,” and “fortification,” and “good tidings,” and indeed also “flesh.” So he names Idumea also Bosor, that you may understand it as fleshly, or constrained, that is, besieged; or as good tidings, for Christ preached the good news in it. I would add that it is also a fortification; for the Lord was round about it and round about his people, as it is written. But in it, he says, there is a sacrifice to the Lord. For they have been sacrificed by the swords of the besiegers, going up not for a sweet savour to God but to glut the sword that strikes them down. And that not only will the multitude in Idumea be consumed, but there will also be a very great and pitiable fall of the notable among them, he hints in a riddle, saying that the stout and the rams and the bulls will fall with them, and that the land will be drunk with their blood and filled with their fat. For he says such things as of bulls and rams thrown to the ground, pouring out a great flow of blood …, all but watering it.

“For it is a day of the Lord's judgment, and a year of the recompense of the judgment of Zion. And its ravines will be turned into pitch, and its land into brimstone; and its land will be burning like pitch night and day, and it will not be quenched for ever, and its smoke will go up on high. For generations it will be made desolate, and birds and hedgehogs and ibises and ravens will dwell in it. And … will be laid upon it …”

… he left us to understand. For he names Zion, for which he says a day of judgment and a year of recompense has come, in which, as if pitch and brimstone had been sprinkled over all their land, … with a savage flame; and the smoke going up it is perhaps fitting to understand as the report, as it were, of its suffering and the greatness of its calamity. He says that it will be made desolate for generations, and describes what happens to desolate cities. For he says that birds and hedgehogs, ibises and ravens will lodge in it, and that it will be measured out into a desert; and … he means the wild asses, to whom it is dear to make their haunt in the wholly desolate places.

Isa 34:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Jas 5:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 5:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 125:2 (124:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 5:2 (echo, low confidence) · Isa 34:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:11 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The sword fell with just judgment on the unbelieving leaders of the Jews, fattened like rams and bulls, while the believing remnant was saved (Isa 34:6–7); Bosor's meanings fit besieged Judea, and Isa 34:8–11 describes its burning and lasting desolation.

Lemmas: Isa 34:6b–7 and Isa 34:8–11 (LXX), both broken off in the OCR (marked “…”); in the comment on 34:11 the word explained as “wild asses” (onocentaurs, as in 34:14) is lost. Quotations: Jas 5:1, 5 (with words lost between them). Allusions: Rom 11:5; Ps 125:2 (LXX 124:2); Eph 5:2 (sweet savour). The meanings of “Bosor” are from Cyril's onomastic tradition. Cyril's application of the slaughter in Idumea to the leaders and people of Judea is translated as written; it is his own reading.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR): ἀϊεῖ! ἐρίπα → .

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.23 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-23

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-23) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.24PG 70

τῶν μυῶν. Εἰ δὲ δή τις ἕλοιτο καὶ θεωρίαν ἐπὶ τούτοῖς τὴν ἐσωτάτω λαδεῖν, φαμὲν ὅτι τὰς ἠρημωμένας, καὶ οἷον μεμονωμένας τῶν ἀνθρώπων διανοίας, διά τοι τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖν ἐν αὐταῖς διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος πὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν τὰ πονηρὰ τῶν θηρίων χατανεμηθήπονται καὶ χαταυλέσουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα ἐχίνων τέ φημι καὶ κοράκων, καὶ ὄνων ἀγρίων. Οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῆς οὐκ ἔσονται, οἱ γὰρ βασι δεῖς αὐτῆς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες, καὶ οἱ μεγιστᾶνες αὐτῆς, ἔσονται εἰς ἁπώζλειαν. ἹΑδροὺς καὶ κριοὺς καὶ ταύρους ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω λέγων, τοὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων χαθηγητὰς, ἤγουν τοὺς τὴν περίοπτον λαχόντας δόξαν, ἣ κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἱερωσύνης τρόπον, ἣ διά τοι τὸ ἐν πλούτῳ καὶ περιφανείᾳ γενέσθαι πολλῇ “ ἄρχοντας ἐν τούτοις χατονομάζει, σαφεστέραν τὴν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἀποφαίνων δήλωσιν. Οἵ «τοίνυν ποτὲ βασιλεύοντες αὐτῶν, φησὶ, καὶ οἱ ἄρχον- «ες καὶ οἱ μεγιστᾶνες οὐκ ἔσονται. Οὐ γὰρ ἕτι ταῖς κατὰ πάντων ἐντρυφήσουσι δυναστείαις, οὔτε μὴν τῶν ἐν ἀρχαῖς " καὶ οἷον βασιλείας ἀπολισθήσαντες, ἀπώλειαν, ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἑτέροις παρ᾽ αὐτῶν διολωλόσι. Γεγόνασι γὰρ ἀφορμὴ τοῖς ὑπὸ χεῖρα πρὸς ὄλεθρυν. Καὶ τοῦτο διδάξει λέγων ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός « Ποιμέ- 0 νες πολλοὶ διέφθειραν τὸν ἀμπελῶνά μον, ἐμόλυναν τὴν μερίδα μου. ν "Ἔδωκαν μερίδα ἐπιθυμητὴν μοῦ εἰς ἔρημον ἄδατον. ᾿Βγενήθη εἰς ἀφανισμὸν ἀπ- Καὶ ἀναρύσει εἷρ ἑὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν ἀκάνθινα ξύϊα, καὶ εἰς τὰ ὀχυρώματα αὐτῆς " καὶ ἔσταο ται ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν τερον" ἐκεῖ ἀγαπκαύσσνται ὀνοκχένταυροι. Εὖρον γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀνάπαυσιν" Πάλιν ἡμῖν ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ τὰ ταῖς ἐρήμοις συμθαΐνοντα πειρᾶται διατρανοῦν. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ πολυανδροῦσιν αἱ πόλεις, οὐδὲν αὐταῖς τῶν ἀγρίων ἐμα … τῶν πνευμάτων, ὡς ἐν εἴδει τῶν ὠνομασμένων … καίροντα τῶν θηρίων. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ κένανδροί τε γένοιντο, καὶ τῶν οἰκούντων ἐστερημέναι, τότε καὶ οἷά τις χέρσος εὑρεθήσεται γῇ, μεστὴ μὲν ἀκάνθης, ἕναὐλισμα δὲ στρουθῶν, σειρήνων μάλιστα. Σειρῆνας δέ φησι τὰ ἐν νυκτὶ θρηνώδη φωνὴν ἱέντα τῶν πτηνῶν» καὶ μονονουχὶ κατολολύζοντα, ἅ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν μὲν ἡρεμεῖ, καὶ ταῖς ἐρήμοις τῶν χωρῶν ἐναυλίζεται" ποιεῖται δὲ μᾶλλον τὰς πτήσεις ἐν σκότῳ, οἷον ἡ χλαὺξ, καὶ τὰ ἐοικότα. Δαιμόνια δὲ καὶ ὀνοχενταύρους ἀλλήλοις συναντῶντας, καὶ μὴν καὶ βοῶντας, ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον λέγων, τὴν οἷον ἄκρατον ἐρημίαν τῶν πόλεων ὑπαινίττεται. γὰρ λέγονται τοῖς ἢρεμοῦσι τῶν τόπων καὶ πονηρὰ πνεύματα. Ἥδιστα δὲ καταλύει καὶ τῶν θτιρίων ὅσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ ἀπεῖναι ποιεῖται περὶ πολλοῦ, καὶ φυσικοῖς εἰς τὸ ἀνήμερον παιδαγωγεῖται νόμοις.

tōn myōn. Ei de dē tis heloito kai theōrian epi toutois tēn esōtatō ladein, phamen hoti tas ērēmōmenas, kai hoion memonōmenas tōn anthrōpōn dianoias, dia toi to mē katoikein en autais dia tou pneumatos pon tōn holōn Theon ta ponēra tōn thēriōn chatanemēthēpontai kai chataulesousin en autę̄ ta akatharta echinōn te phēmi kai korakōn, kai onōn agriōn. Hoi archontes autēs ouk esontai, hoi gar basi deis autēs, kai hoi archontes, kai hoi megistanes autēs, esontai eis hapōzleian. HiAdrous kai krious kai taurous en tois anōterō legōn, tous tōn Ioudaiōn chathēgētas, ēgoun tous tēn periopton lachontas doxan, hē kata ton tēs hierōsynēs tropon, hē dia toi to en ploutǭ kai periphaneią genesthai pollę̄ “ archontas en toutois chatonomazei, saphesteran tēn ep᾽ autois apophainōn dēlōsin. Hoi «toinyn pote basileuontes autōn, phēsi, kai hoi archon- «es kai hoi megistanes ouk esontai. Ou gar heti tais kata pantōn entryphēsousi dynasteiais, oute mēn tōn en archais " kai hoion basileias apolisthēsantes, apōleian, homou tois heterois par᾽ autōn diolōlosi. Gegonasi gar aphormē tois hypo cheira pros olethryn. Kai touto didaxei legōn ho tōn holōn Theos « Poime- 0 nes polloi diephtheiran ton ampelōna mon, emolynan tēn merida mou. n "Edōkan merida epithymētēn mou eis erēmon adaton. ᾿Bgenēthē eis aphanismon ap- Kai anarysei heir heas poleis autōn akanthina xyïa, kai eis ta ochyrōmata autēs " kai estao tai heteros pros ton teron" ekei agapkaussntai onokchentauroi. Euron gar autois anapausin" Palin hēmin heterǭ tropǭ ta tais erēmois symthaïnonta peiratai diatranoun. Heōs men gar polyandrousin hai poleis, ouden autais tōn agriōn ema … tōn pneumatōn, hōs en eidei tōn ōnomasmenōn … kaironta tōn thēriōn. Epeidan de kenandroi te genointo, kai tōn oikountōn esterēmenai, tote kai hoia tis chersos heurethēsetai gę̄, mestē men akanthēs, henaulisma de strouthōn, seirēnōn malista. Seirēnas de phēsi ta en nykti thrēnōdē phōnēn hienta tōn ptēnōn» kai mononouchi katololyzonta, ha meth᾽ hēmeran men hēremei, kai tais erēmois tōn chōrōn enaulizetai" poieitai de mallon tas ptēseis en skotǭ, hoion hē chlaux, kai ta eoikota. Daimonia de kai onochentaurous allēlois synantōntas, kai mēn kai boōntas, heteros pros ton heteron legōn, tēn hoion akraton erēmian tōn poleōn hypainittetai. gar legontai tois ēremousi tōn topōn kai ponēra pneumata. Hēdista de katalyei kai tōn thtiriōn hosa tōn anthrōpōn to apeinai poieitai peri pollou, kai physikois eis to anēmeron paidagōgeitai nomois.

… of mice. But if anyone should choose to take a more inward sense of these words too, we say that minds made desolate and, as it were, bereft of men, because the God of all does not dwell in them through the Spirit, will be grazed over by the evil beasts, and the unclean will lodge in it — hedgehogs, I mean, and ravens and wild asses.

“Its rulers will not be; for its kings and its rulers and its great men will be for destruction.”

Having spoken above of the stout and the rams and the bulls, meaning the guides of the Jews, or those who obtained a conspicuous glory, either by way of the priesthood or through being in wealth and great distinction, here he names them rulers, making his meaning about them clearer. So those who once reigned over them, he says, and the rulers and the great men will not be. For they will no longer revel in power over all, nor … of those in office; and, having slipped as it were from kingship, … destruction, together with the others who perished through them. For they became an occasion of destruction to those under their hand. And the God of all will teach this, saying: “Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have defiled my portion. They have made my desirable portion a trackless desert. It has become a desolation …”

“And thorny trees will spring up in their cities and in its strongholds; and … one to another; there onocentaurs will rest, for they have found rest for themselves.”

Again he tries to make plain to us in another way what happens to desolate places. For as long as the cities are populous, none of the wild … of the spirits, as in the form of the beasts named … But when they become empty of men and deprived of their inhabitants, then the land will be found like waste ground, full of thorns, a lodging of sparrows, and especially of sirens. By sirens he means the birds that utter a mournful cry at night and all but wail, which are quiet by day and lodge in the desolate parts of the land, and make their flights rather in the dark, such as the owl and the like. By saying that demons and onocentaurs meet each other and indeed cry out one to another, he hints at the, as it were, utter desolation of the cities. For evil spirits too are said … the quiet places. And all those beasts that set great store by the absence of men, and are trained by natural laws to wildness, lodge there most gladly.

Isa 34:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 34:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 12:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 12:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:14 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Spiritually, minds empty of God become haunts of evil beasts (Isa 34:11); the rulers of Isa 34:12 are the leaders of the Jews, who perished with those they led astray; Isa 34:13–14 pictures desolate cities given over to thorns, night birds, demons, and onocentaurs.

Lemmas: Isa 34:12 and Isa 34:13–14 (LXX; the words “and it will be a dwelling of sirens and a court of sparrows, and demons will meet onocentaurs and cry out” are lost in the lemma but explained in the comment; marked “…”). The opening words “of mice” end a sentence lost at the end of the previous section. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in two places where Greek is also lost. Quotation: Jer 12:10–11 (Cyril's wording, broken off). “Sirens” and “onocentaurs” are the Septuagint's words for desert creatures; Cyril explains the first as night birds.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version and references read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): ται, οἱ δϑίπογαηι β να δι γί. → … ; πιο 216. Νιιπιότο ἱταπείεταπί, εἰ μπὰ ἐπα εἷε ποῦ δνουιθάυπι ἴθι} φ᾽ υἱ πὶ ἀγᾶοομοπι ἱπϑίγαοι οἱ Νὰ ρογίοἰ δια 681, ἤδπὶ ἰὰ δἰ νυ}, Τγαποίογυμι → … .

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.24 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-24

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-24) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

3.3.25PG 70

Καὶ ἔσωσεν ἡ γῆ τὰ παιδία αὐτῆς μετὰ ἀσφραλείας" ἐκεῖ ἔλαφοι συγήντησαν, καὶ εἶδον τὰ πρόσωπα ἀλλήλων. Ἀριθμῷ παρῆ,1θον, καὶ μία αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπώλετο" ἑτέρα τὴν ἑτέραν οὐκ ἐζήτησεν, ὅτι Κύριος ἐνετείλατο αὐταῖς, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ συνήγαγεν αὐτάς. Καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιδαλεῖ αὐτοῖς κλήρους, καὶ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ διεμέρισεν αὑτοῖς βόσκεσθαι " εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρέγον ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς. Εἰς ἐρημίαν ἐσχάτην παραδοθήσεσθαι λέγων τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων χώραν, καὶ ἀμοιρῇσαι παντελῶς τῆς ἄνωθεν, καὶ παρὰ Θεοῦ φειδοῦς " καὶ ἀγάπης δια- ( μέμνηται πάλιν τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ διασεσωσμένων. Εἶεν δ᾽ἂν οὗτοι τὸ κατάλειμμα, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οἱ διὰ πίστεως. Καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐνθάδε φησὶν, ὅτι Σέσωκεν ἡ γῇ τὰ παιδία αὐτῆς μετὰ ἀσφαλείας. Υἱοὶ γὰρ γεγόνασι τῆς Ἰουδαίων χώρας οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ πιστεύοντες ἀσφάλειάν τε καὶ οἱονεὶ πύργον ἀχατάσειστον εἰς ἐπικουρίαν εὑρόντες τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. ᾿Απὸ δέ γε τῶν ἀνασεσωσμένων παιδίων, ἔλαφοι τρόπον τινὰ γεγόνασιν οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταί. Παρειχάζονται δὲ ταῖς ἐλάφοις καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Ὀφιοχτόνον γάρ ἔστι τὸ ζῶον, καὶ πηγαῖς ὑδάτων ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν εἰωθός. Τοιοῦτοι δὲ πάντες οἱ τῆς εἰς Θεὸν εὐσεθείας εἰς λῆξιν ἡρμένοι πρὸς ἀναίρεσιν τοῦ νοητοῦ δράκοντος ἐπιτηδείως ἔχοντες διὰ τοῦ καταστρέφειν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ ἀδρανῆ τε καὶ ἄπρακτον Ὁ τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῷ δυστροπίας τὸν υἱὸν ἀποφαίνειν. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ ταῖς νοηταῖς τῶν ὑδάτων ἑνσπαταλῶσι πηγαῖς, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι, ταῖς τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀγαθῶν χορηγίαις, μονονουχὶ χαταρδούσαις τὰν νοῦν, εὔχαρπόν τε αὐτὸν ἀποφαινούσαις τῷ Θεῷ. Ἐκεῖ τοίνυν, φησὶ, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐν τοῖς ἀνασεσωσμένοις σαν ἀλλήλαις ἔλαφοι, Τεθαυμάχασιν ἀλλήλας. Τοῦτο γὰρ οἶμαι δηλοῦν τὸ, Εἶδον τὰ πρόσωπα ἀλλήλων. Κεχινδύνευχε δὲ οὐδεμία, τοῦτο γὰρ πάλιν τὸ, Παρῆλθον ἀριθμῷ, καὶ μία αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπώλετο, ἑτέρα τὴν ἑτέραν οὐκ ἐζήτησαν. Τίς οὖν ὁ σώσας; Κύριος ἐνετείλατο αὑταῖς, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ συνήγαγεν αὑτὰς, καὶ προστέταχε μαθητεύειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη " καὶ βαπτίζειν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἐπιδαλεῖ δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ κλήρους, καὶ διεμέρισεν ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ βόσχεσθαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον. ᾿Ἐχνενέμηνται γὰρ τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις οἷά τινες κλῆροι παρ᾽ οἷς ἕκαστον διαχηρύξαι ἐχρῆν. Καὶ γοῦν τέθειται μὲν ὁ θεσπέσιος Πέτρος εἰς τὴν περιτομήν. Κεχρημάτιχε δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα λέγον" ε ᾿Αφορίδατε δή μοι τὸν Βαρνάδαν, καὶ τὸν Σαῦλον, εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσχέχληται αὐτούς " καὶ γεγόνασιν ἀπόστολοι τῶν ἐθνῶν. » Διἐμέρισε τοίνυν αὐτοῖς ἡ χεὶρ αὑτοῦ κλήρους, ὥστε βόσκεσθαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐλάφων ἐποιήσατο μνήμην, τέθεικεν ἀναγκαίως τὸ, βόσχεσθαι. μόνον γὰρ οὐκὶ κατεδοσχήσαντο τὰς χώρας, ὕνωσιν ἀληθείας, καὶ κλῇρος οὗτος αὐτοῖς. Καὶ γοῦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος τοῖς δι’ αὑτοῦ σεσωσμένοις προσεφώνει, λέγων " ε Χαρὰ καὶ στέφανός μου. » τὐτι- δὲ ἀτελεύτητον αὐτοῖς φυλαχθήσεται παρὰ Θεῷ τὸ ἐπὶ τούτοις αὔχημα, διατρανοῖ λέγων τὸ, ᾿Αναπαύσονται ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς. Ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς δὲ τίνος; ἯἮ δηλονότι τῆς ἐχνεμηθείσης αὐτοῖς κληρονομίας παρὰ θεοῦ. Διαμνημονεῦσαι δὲ χρὴ καὶ τοῦ μακαρίου ψάλλοντος Δαδὶδ περὶ αὐτῶν, ὅτι ε« Φωνὴ Κυρίου χαταρτιζομένη ἐλάφους καὶ ἀποκαλύψει δρυμούς. ν Δρυμοὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ νοηταῖς ἐλάφοις ἀνεδείχθησαν παρὰ Θεοῦ, τῶν ἐθνῶν ἡ ἀριθμοῦ κρείττων πληθὺς, ι Εὑρράνθητι, ἔρημος διψῶσα: ἀγα.λλιάσθω ἔρημος, καὶ ἀνθείτω ὡς κρίνον. Ἑξαγθήσει καὶ ἀγα.λλιάσεται τὰ ἔρημα τοῦ 'Ιορδάγου" καὶ ἡ δόξα τοῦ Λιδάνου ἐδόθη αὐτῇ, καὶ ἡ τιμὴ τοῦ Καρμήλου, καὶ ὁ λαός μου ὄψεται τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου, καὶ τὸ ὕψος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν.

Kai esōsen hē gē ta paidia autēs meta asphraleias" ekei elaphoi sygēntēsan, kai eidon ta prosōpa allēlōn. Arithmǭ parē,1thon, kai mia autōn ouk apōleto" hetera tēn heteran ouk ezētēsen, hoti Kyrios eneteilato autais, kai to pneuma autou synēgagen autas. Kai autos epidalei autois klērous, kai hē cheir autou diemerisen hautois boskesthai " eis ton aiōna chregon ep᾽ autois. Eis erēmian eschatēn paradothēsesthai legōn tēn tōn Ioudaiōn chōran, kai amoirę̄sai pantelōs tēs anōthen, kai para Theou pheidous " kai agapēs dia- ( memnētai palin tōn en autę̄ diasesōsmenōn. Eien d᾽an houtoi to kataleimma, tout᾽ estin, hoi dia pisteōs. Kai peri autōn enthade phēsin, hoti Sesōken hē gę̄ ta paidia autēs meta asphaleias. Huioi gar gegonasi tēs Ioudaiōn chōras hoi ex Israēl pisteuontes asphaleian te kai hoionei pyrgon achataseiston eis epikourian heurontes ton Kyrion hēmōn Iēsoun Christon. ᾿Apo de ge tōn anasesōsmenōn paidiōn, elaphoi tropon tina gegonasin hoi thespesioi mathētai. Pareichazontai de tais elaphois kai mala eikotōs. Ophiochtonon gar esti to zōon, kai pēgais hydatōn emphilochōrein eiōthos. Toioutoi de pantes hoi tēs eis Theon eusetheias eis lēxin hērmenoi pros anairesin tou noētou drakontos epitēdeiōs echontes dia tou katastrephein tēn doxan autou adranē te kai aprakton Ho tēs enousēs autǭ dystropias ton huion apophainein. ᾿Alla kai tais noētais tōn hydatōn henspatalōsi pēgais, tout᾽ esti, tais tōn pneumatikōn agathōn chorēgiais, mononouchi chatardousais tan noun, eucharpon te auton apophainousais tǭ Theǭ. Ekei toinyn, phēsi, tout᾽ estin, en tois anasesōsmenois san allēlais elaphoi, Tethaumachasin allēlas. Touto gar oimai dēloun to, Eidon ta prosōpa allēlōn. Kechindyneuche de oudemia, touto gar palin to, Parēlthon arithmǭ, kai mia autōn ouk apōleto, hetera tēn heteran ouk ezētēsan. Tis oun ho sōsas? Kyrios eneteilato hautais, kai to pneuma autou synēgagen hautas, kai prostetache mathēteuein panta ta ethnē " kai baptizein eis to onoma tou Patros, kai tou Huiou, kai tou hagiou Pneumatos. Epidalei de autois kai klērous, kai diemerisen hē cheir autou boschesthai eis ton aiōna chronon. ᾿Echnenemēntai gar tois hagiois apostolois hoia tines klēroi par᾽ hois hekaston diachēryxai echrēn. Kai goun tetheitai men ho thespesios Petros eis tēn peritomēn. Kechrēmatiche de to Pneuma legon" e ᾿Aphoridate dē moi ton Barnadan, kai ton Saulon, eis to ergon ho proschechlētai autous " kai gegonasin apostoloi tōn ethnōn. » Diemerise toinyn autois hē cheir hautou klērous, hōste boskesthai eis ton aiōna chronon. Epeidē gar elaphōn epoiēsato mnēmēn, tetheiken anankaiōs to, boschesthai. monon gar ouki katedoschēsanto tas chōras, hynōsin alētheias, kai klę̄ros houtos autois. Kai goun ho thespesios Paulos tois di’ hautou sesōsmenois prosephōnei, legōn " e Chara kai stephanos mou. » tyti- de ateleutēton autois phylachthēsetai para Theǭ to epi toutois auchēma, diatranoi legōn to, ᾿Anapausontai ep᾽ autēs. Ep᾽ autēs de tinos? HēĒ dēlonoti tēs echnemētheisēs autois klēronomias para theou. Diamnēmoneusai de chrē kai tou makariou psallontos Dadid peri autōn, hoti e« Phōnē Kyriou chatartizomenē elaphous kai apokalypsei drymous. n Drymoi gar hōsper noētais elaphois anedeichthēsan para Theou, tōn ethnōn hē arithmou kreittōn plēthys, i Heurranthēti, erēmos dipsōsa: aga.lliasthō erēmos, kai antheitō hōs krinon. Hexagthēsei kai aga.lliasetai ta erēma tou 'Iordagou" kai hē doxa tou Lidanou edothē autę̄, kai hē timē tou Karmēlou, kai ho laos mou opsetai tēn doxan Kyriou, kai to hypsos tou Theou hēmōn.

“And the land saved its children with safety; there deer met and saw one another's faces. They passed by in number, and not one of them perished; one did not seek the other, for the Lord commanded them, and his Spirit gathered them. And he will cast lots for them, and his hand has divided for them to graze … for ever … on it.”

Having said that the land of the Jews will be given over to utter desolation and will have no share at all in the sparing and love from above and from God, he again makes mention of those in it who have been saved. These would be the remnant, that is, those who are through faith. And concerning them he says here: “The land has saved its children with safety.” For those from Israel who believe have become sons of the land of the Jews, having found our Lord Jesus Christ as safety and as an unshakable tower for their help. And from among the children who were saved, the divine disciples have in a way become deer. They are very fittingly compared to deer. For the animal is a snake-killer and is used to frequenting springs of water. And such are all who have been raised to the portion of godliness toward God, being fit for the destruction of the spiritual dragon, by overturning his glory and showing the purpose of the perversity within him powerless and ineffective. And they also revel in the spiritual springs of water, that is, in the supplies of spiritual goods, which all but water the mind and make it fruitful for God. There, then, he says, that is, among those who have been saved, the deer met one another. They admired one another; for this, I think, is what “they saw one another's faces” means. And none was endangered; for this again is “they passed by in number, and not one of them perished; one did not seek the other.” Who, then, was it that saved them? The Lord commanded them, and his Spirit gathered them; and he commanded them to make disciples of all the nations and to baptize into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And he will cast lots for them, and his hand divided [for them] to graze for ever. For to the holy apostles were assigned, as it were, lots, among whom each was to preach. Indeed the divine Peter was appointed to the circumcision, and the Spirit gave the oracle, saying: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”; and they became apostles of the nations. So his hand divided lots for them, so that they might graze for ever. For since he had made mention of deer, he necessarily put “to graze.” For they all but grazed over the countries … of truth, and this is their lot. Indeed the divine Paul addressed those saved through him, saying: “My joy and crown.” And that the boast in these things will be kept for them with God without end, he makes plain by saying, “They will rest on it.” On what? Plainly on the inheritance assigned them by God. And we must also recall what the blessed psalmist David says about them: “The voice of the Lord preparing deer, and it will uncover forests.” For forests were shown by God to the spiritual deer, as it were: the multitude of the nations, beyond number.

“Be glad, thirsty desert; let the desert rejoice and blossom like a lily. And it will blossom, and the desert places of the Jordan will rejoice; and the glory of Lebanon was given to it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people will see the glory of the Lord and the majesty of our God.”

Isa 34:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 34:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 61:3 (60:4 LXX) (echo, low confidence) · Matt 28:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 13:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 4:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 29:9 (28:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:2 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The land's saved children in Isa 34:15–17 are the believing remnant of Israel; the deer are the apostles, snake-killers who drink from spiritual springs, gathered by the Spirit and sent by lot to the nations, Peter to the circumcision, Barnabas and Saul to the Gentiles.

Lemmas: Isa 34:15b–17 (LXX; “you will inherit … for generations of generations they will rest” is partly lost and marked “…”) and Isa 35:1–2. “The purpose of the perversity within him”: the Greek has υἱόν (“son”), probably a slip for νοῦν; translated by sense. Words are lost after “the countries” (marked “…”). Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in two places. Quotations: Matt 28:19 (paraphrased); Acts 13:2; Phil 4:1; Ps 29:9 (LXX 28:9). Allusions: Rom 11:5; Ps 61:3 (LXX 60:4, tower); Gal 2:7–8. That the deer kills snakes is a commonplace of ancient natural history.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, inside the lemma; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, inside the quotation): α οἷδὶ οἷδ Ἤδοτγίε8, οἱ → ; ὀχεμίεἰ εοἰξίμάο, εἰ βοτεαι μι {Πίμηι. Εβογεεοσιι δὲ → .

Topics: Baptism, Trinity

Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.25 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-25

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-3-25) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 70 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.