Commentary on Isaiah 3.3.26–3.4.5
Greek text: PG 70.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
part 3, chapter 3
3.3.26PG 70
ἜἜρημον καὶ στείραν ἀποκαλεῖν ἔθος τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἢ ποτε μὲν ἐν τούτοις ἦν, οὔτε τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ νοητὸν ἔχουσα νυμφίον, φημὶ δὴ Χριστὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ἐνδείᾳ τυγχάνουσα παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ, καὶ οἷον ἀκάνθης οὖσα τροφὸς δίψης τε καὶ ἄνυδρος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῇ Χριστός" (προσελήφθη γὰρ διὰ τῆς πίστεως καὶ τὸ θεῖον παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ πεπλούτηχε νάμα" πηγὴ γάρ ἐστι ζωῆῇς, καὶ χειμάῤῥους τρυφῆῇς " καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ λέγων δι᾽ ἑνὸς τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν “ ε Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐχχλίνω ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ὡς ποταμὸς εἰρήνης, καὶ ὡς χειμάῤῥους ἐπικλύζων δόξαν ἐθνῶν"») στείρα μὲν οὐκέτι καὶ ἔρημος" πολύπαις δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ὑπὸ νυμφίῳ, καὶ εὐανθὴς νοητῶς. Ἡ πάλαι τοίνυν διψῶσα χατευφραινέσθω, φησίν" ἐξανθείτω δὲ καὶ ὡς κρίνον ὁμοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀνθηρὸν, καὶ τὸ εὐῶδες ἔχουσα. Χριστοῦ γὰρ γέ- Ύονεν ὀσμὴ, καὶ πιστώσεται γράφων ὁ Παῦλος, ὅτι « Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν τῷ Θεῷ. » Τὰ δέ γε ἔρημα τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν ἔρημόν φησιν. Οὐ γὰρ τοῖς; ἀπειθήσασιν ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, ἀλλ᾽ ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν, ἣ καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν πιστεύσασι, τὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου δέδοται νάμα, καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν ἐστι" βαπτιζόμεθα γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἡμῶν, ὡς ἔφην, γέγονεν ἡ ἁγία πηγή. Ταύτῃ τοίνυν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, φησὶ, τῇ ποτὲ μὲν … ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ ὕψος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ τεθεάμεθα. Θεὸν γὰρ ἴσμεν κότα, καὶ οὕτως θεόν. … δόξα δέδοται τοῦ Λιδάνου, καὶ ἡ τιμὴ τοῦ Καρμήλου, Λίδανος δὲ καὶ Κάρμηλος εἴρηται πλειστάκις ἡ Ἴερουσαλὴμ, καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ θεῖος νεώς. ᾿Αλλ' ἡ πάλαι πρέπουσα δόξα τῇ τε ἁγίᾳ πόλει καὶ τῷ θείῳ ναῷ, δέδοται τῇ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ᾿Εκκλησίᾳ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τεθεάμεθα τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου, καὶ τὸ ὕψος ταῦ Θεοῦ. Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ ψιλῷ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχοντε παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους τὸ πλέον προσεφέροντα τῷ Κυρίῳ" τ γοίᾳ᾽ ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοδεῖσϑε. "Ἰδοὺ ἃ Θεὸς ἡμῶν κρίσῶι ἀνταποδίδωσι καὶ ἀνταποδώσει. Αὐτὸς ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς. Τότε ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφιλῶν, καὶ ὦτα κωρῶν ἀκούσονται. Τότε ἀ.λεῖται ὡς Πρέπουσα μυασταγωγία, καὶ παράκλησις πνευματικὴ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν χαλουμάνοις εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ταῦ Χριστοῦ, τὸ, Ἰσχύσατε χεΐρες ἀνειμέναι, καὶ γάνατα, παραλελυμένα. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἔτι πλανωμένοις, αἱ χεῖρες ἀργαὶ, παραλελυμένα δὲ καὶ τὰ γάνατα. Καὶ οὐκὶ δὴ πάντω; περὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος μορίων τὰ. τοιαῦτά φησιν, ἀῤῥωστοῦντας δὲ νοητῶς εὑρήσομεν, τοὺς ἐν ἀπάταις καὶ πλάναις. Θῦὔτε γὰρ ἔργον εὑσεδείας παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, οὔτε ἰσχὺν γονάϑων, ἤγουν διανοίας, τὴν εὐαγῇ τῆ; δικαιοσύνης διαπορευομένοις ὁδόν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἰσχύσατε, φησὶν, ἵνα καὶ δραμεῖν δύνωνται πρὸς Θεόν. Ὑμεῖς δὲ ὡς τεταγμένοι πρὸς ἱερουργίαν τοῦ θείον κηρύγματος παραχαλάσατο τοὺς ἡπθενηχότας, λέγετε σαφῶς τοῖς ὁλιγοψύχοις " Ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοθεῖσθε, Οὐ. γὰρ εὔρωατας ὁ νοῦς τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσι τὸν Θεόν δεδίασι γὰρ ὥσπερ τὰς τῶν παθῶν ἐφόδαυς, καὶ τὸν πάλαι κατ᾿ αὐτῶν τυβαννήσαντα Σατανᾶν, καὶ πρός γε τούτῳ τὸν θάνατον.
EErēmon kai steiran apokalein ethos tę̄ theopneustǭ Graphę̄ tēn ex ethnōn Ekklēsian, ē pote men en toutois ēn, oute ton ex ouranou noēton echousa nymphion, phēmi dē Christon, alla kai en endeią tynchanousa pantos agathou, kai hoion akanthēs ousa trophos dipsēs te kai anydros. Epeidē de gegonen en autę̄ Christos" (proselēphthē gar dia tēs pisteōs kai to theion par᾽ autou peploutēche nama" pēgē gar esti zōēę̄s, kai cheimarrhous tryphēę̄s " kai autos ēn ho legōn di᾽ henos tōn hagiōn prophētōn “ e Idou egō echchlinō ep᾽ autous hōs potamos eirēnēs, kai hōs cheimarrhous epiklyzōn doxan ethnōn"») steira men ouketi kai erēmos" polypais de mallon kai hypo nymphiǭ, kai euanthēs noētōs. Hē palai toinyn dipsōsa chateuphrainesthō, phēsin" exantheitō de kai hōs krinon homou kai to anthēron, kai to euōdes echousa. Christou gar ge- Yonen osmē, kai pistōsetai graphōn ho Paulos, hoti « Christou euōdia esmen tǭ Theǭ. » Ta de ge erēma tou Iordanou, tēn peri auton erēmon phēsin. Ou gar tois? apeithēsasin ex Israēl, all᾽ hēmin tois ex ethnōn, hē kai tois ex autōn pisteusasi, to tou Iordanou dedotai nama, kai par' hēmin esti" baptizometha gar en autǭ, kai hēmōn, hōs ephēn, gegonen hē hagia pēgē. Tautę̄ toinyn en tę̄ erēmǭ, phēsi, tę̄ pote men … hēmeis de to hypsos tēs doxēs autou tetheametha. Theon gar ismen kota, kai houtōs theon. … doxa dedotai tou Lidanou, kai hē timē tou Karmēlou, Lidanos de kai Karmēlos eirētai pleistakis hē Ierousalēm, kai autos ho theios neōs. ᾿All' hē palai prepousa doxa tę̄ te hagią polei kai tǭ theiǭ naǭ, dedotai tę̄ ex ethnōn ᾿Ekklēsią, kai en autę̄ tetheametha tēn doxan Kyriou, kai to hypsos tau Theou. Ioudaioi men hōs anthrōpǭ psilǭ, kai ouden echonte para tous allous to pleon prosepheronta tǭ Kyriǭ" t goią᾽ ischysate, mē phodeisϑe. "Idou ha Theos hēmōn krisōi antapodidōsi kai antapodōsei. Autos hēxei kai sōsei hēmas. Tote anoichthēsontai ophthalmoi typhilōn, kai ōta kōrōn akousontai. Tote a.leitai hōs Prepousa myastagōgia, kai paraklēsis pneumatikē tois ex ethnōn chaloumanois eis epignōsin tau Christou, to, Ischysate cheïres aneimenai, kai ganata, paralelymena. Tois men gar eti planōmenois, hai cheires argai, paralelymena de kai ta ganata. Kai ouki dē pantō? peri tōn tou sōmatos moriōn ta. toiauta phēsin, arrhōstountas de noētōs heurēsomen, tous en apatais kai planais. Thyyte gar ergon heusedeias par᾽ autois estin heurein, oute ischyn gonaϑōn, ēgoun dianoias, tēn euagę̄ tē? dikaiosynēs diaporeuomenois hodon. ᾿All᾽ ischysate, phēsin, hina kai dramein dynōntai pros Theon. Hymeis de hōs tetagmenoi pros hierourgian tou theion kērygmatos parachalasato tous hēpthenēchotas, legete saphōs tois holigopsychois " Ischysate, mē photheisthe, Ou. gar eurōatas ho nous tois ouk eidosi ton Theon dediasi gar hōsper tas tōn pathōn ephodaus, kai ton palai kat᾿ autōn tybannēsanta Satanan, kai pros ge toutǭ ton thanaton.
The inspired Scripture is accustomed to call the church from the nations desert and barren, since it was once in this state, having neither the spiritual bridegroom from heaven, I mean Christ, but being also in want of every good, and as it were a nurse of thorns, thirsty and waterless. But when Christ came to be in it (for he was received through faith, and it was enriched with the divine stream from him; for he is the spring of life and the torrent of delight; and he it was who said through one of the holy prophets: “Behold, I turn toward them like a river of peace, and like a torrent flooding the glory of the nations”), it is no longer barren and desert, but rather rich in children, under a bridegroom, and blooming spiritually. So, he says, let her who once thirsted be glad, and let her blossom like a lily, having both bloom and fragrance. For she has become the fragrance of Christ, and Paul will confirm it, writing: “We are the fragrance of Christ to God.” By “the desert places of the Jordan” he means the desert around it. For not to those from Israel who disobeyed, but to us from the nations, or to those of them who believed, the stream of the Jordan has been given, and it is with us; for we are baptized in it, and ours, as I said, the holy spring has become. In this desert, then, he says, which was once … but we have seen the height of his glory. For we know [him as] God … and so God. The glory of Lebanon has been given, and the honour of Carmel. Lebanon and Carmel very often denote Jerusalem and the divine temple itself. But the glory that once befitted the holy city and the divine temple has been given to the church from the nations, and in it we have seen the glory of the Lord and the majesty of God. The Jews treated the Lord as a mere man, having nothing more than the others; …
“… be strong, do not fear. Behold, our God renders judgment and will render it; he himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear. Then [the lame] will leap like …”
A fitting initiation and spiritual comfort for those from the nations called to the knowledge of Christ is “Be strong, slack hands and paralysed knees.” For in those still astray the hands are idle, and the knees paralysed. And he does not say such things altogether of the parts of the body; rather, we shall find those in deceits and errors spiritually sick. For neither is a work of godliness to be found among them, nor strength of knees, that is, of mind, for travelling the holy way of righteousness. But be strong, he says, so that they may be able to run to God. And you, as appointed to the sacred ministry of the divine preaching, comfort those who have grown weak; say clearly to the faint-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear.” For the mind of those who do not know God is not robust; for they fear, as it were, the assaults of the passions, and Satan, who of old tyrannized over them, and besides this, death.
Isa 35:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 35:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 54:1 (echo, low confidence) · Ps 36:9 (35:10 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 36:8 (35:9 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 66:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The thirsty desert of Isa 35:1–2 is the church of the nations, once barren, made fruitful and fragrant by Christ, receiving the Jordan's stream in baptism and the glory once given to Jerusalem and the temple; Isa 35:3–4 bids the teachers strengthen those still weak from error.
- Comment on Isa 35:1–2, then the lemma Isa 35:3–6a, of which the beginning (“Be strong, slack hands and paralysed knees; comfort, you faint-hearted in mind”) is lost in the OCR but quoted in the comment, and the end broken off. Words are lost in the comment on 35:2 (marked “…”), where Migne's Latin version and references, read as Greek letters by the OCR, have been removed. Quotations: Isa 66:12; 2 Cor 2:15. Allusions: Ps 36:8–9 (LXX 35:9–10); Isa 54:1. Cyril's statement that the Jews treated the Lord as a mere man is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; Migne's references read into the text by the OCR; lost Greek marked): εἱ βὰν 5βροηϑο, οἱ Ποεία ἐμ 6! "αἰ "6 γ. ()υώ οἰϊπι → … ; 14. βοὴ. 1, 30, → … .
Topics: Baptism, Christology
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.26 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-26
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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.
3.3.27PG 70
Ἀλλ᾽ ἰδοὺ, φεσὶν, ὁ Θεὰς, ταῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐ μακρὰν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὃς ἀντασιοδώσει χρίσιν. Κατακρινεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτον, καὶ ἀπαλλάξει τῆς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ δουλεία; τοὺς βεδιασμένους. Ἥξει γὰρ, ἥξει καὶ σώτει ἡμᾶς. Τί οὖν; Ἥξει τότε τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν. Οἱ γὰρ πάλαι τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν Κτίστην λατρεύοντες, αὐτὴν τὴν ποτε πλανήσασαν κτίσιν, χειραγωγὸν ὥσπερ τινὰ Δημιουργαῦ. ᾿Απὸ γὰρ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων, ἀναλάγως ὁ. γενασιρυργὰς αὑτῶν θεωρεῖται" καὶ ὡς φησὶν ὁ Παῦλας, « Τὰ ἀόρατα αὑτοῦ, ἀπὸ κτίσεως χόάσμον, «οἷς ποιήμασι νοούμενα χαθορᾶτα:, ἢ τε ἀΐδιος αὐ- «τοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης. » ᾿Ανοιχθήσονται τοίνυν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν πάλαι τυφλῶν, ἀχούσοντα: τὰ ὦτα τῶγ κωφῶν. Οἱ γὰρ πάλαι τοὺς περὶ Θεοῦ λάγους ἀποτὴν τῶν ἁγίων μνοταγωγίαν, ἀσμένως αὐτὴν παραδέξονται, ᾿Αλεῖται δὲ καὶ ὡς ἔλαφος ὁ χωλὸς, καὶ τρανὴ ἔσται ἡ γλῶσσα μογιλάμων. Οἱ γάρ τοι πάλαι, φησὶν, ὀφθοποδεῖν οὐκ εἰδότες, ἀλλ᾽ οἱονεὶ παρειμέ» νὸν ἔχοντες, τὸν νοῦν ἐλάφων δίκην ἀναπηδήσουσι, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, εὕδρομρί τε καὶ εὐκλεεῖς ἔσονται " νοητῶς δηλονότι, καὶ πρός γε τούτῳ καὶ ὀφιοχτόνοι, καὶ «εἰδότες εὐστομεῖν. Λαλήσουσι γὰρ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ μᾶλλον, οὐκέτε λέγοντες τῷ ξύλῳ’ « Πατήρ μον εἶ σύ" καὶ τῷ λίθῳ" Σὺ ἐγέννησάς με. » ἴστέον δὲ ὅτι καὶ σωματικῶς ταῦτα πεπλῆρωκεν ὁ Χριστὸς ταῖς ἀπὸῤῥξτοις ϑεοσημείαις κατα πλήττων τὴν Ἰουδαίαν. θτι ἐῤῥόγη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὕδωρ, καὶ φάραγξ ἐν τῇ διψώσῃ. Καὶ ἡ ἄνυδρος ἔσται εἰς ὅλη, καὶ εἰς τὴν διψῶσαν γῆν, πηγὴ ὕδατος" ἐκεῖ ὅσται φσὑρροσύνη ὀρνέων, ἔπαυλις καιϊάμου, καὶ ἕλη. Εὐφρανθῆναι. προστέταχε τὴν διψῶσαν ἔρημον" εἶτα προσεπάγει τὴν τῆς εὐφροσύνης αἰτίαν εὐθύς. Ἐῤῥάγη γὰρ ὕδωρ ἐν αὐτῇ, φησί. Καὶ τὸ, ἐῤῥάγη, καλῶς, ἵνα τὸ ἀμφιλαφὲς τῆς χορηγίας διὰ τούτου σημαίνηται. Φάραγγα δέ φησιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ" οὗ δὴ γεγονότος ἡ ἄνυδρός ποτε φστραφήσεται λοιπὸν εἰς ἕλη. ἜἝξει δὲ καὶ ὕδατος πηγὴν, ἢ τὸν ἅγιον Ἰορδάνην, ἤγουν καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν τῶν ὅλων Σωτῆρα Χριστόν" πηγὴ γάρ ἐστι ζωῆς, καὶ φρέαρ ὕδατος ζῶντος. Ἐπ' αὐτῶν γέγονεν ἡ τῶν ὀρνέων συνδρομὴ τε καὶ εὐφροσύνη. Ὄρνεα δέ φησιν ἕν τούτοις, τοὺς τῶν ἐπιγείων ἀναπτάντας πραγμάτων, καὶ ὑψοῦ γεγονότας διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν, τὰ ἄνω τε φρονεῖν ἑλομένους " οὗτοι καίρουσιν ὡς ἐπὶ πηγῇ τῷ Χριστῷ, τῷ ποιή σαντι τὴν ἔρημον ἔπανλιν καλάμου, καὶ ἕλη. Τὰ ϑὲν γὰρ εὔδενδρα τῶν χωρίων ἀεί πως τοῖς ἕλεσι στεφανοῦσθαι φιλεῖ. Ἡ δὲ ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πλουτήσασα νάμα, καὶ τοῖς θείοις χαταρἐνσπαταλήσασα, τροφός ἐστιν ἑλῶν, καὶ καλάμου, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστι τῶν ἐν Χριστῷ τεθηλότων εἰς ζωὴν ἀμύ ρητον δι᾽ ἁγιασμοῦ.
All᾽ idou, phesin, ho Theas, taut᾽ estin, ou makran ho Sōtēr, hos antasiodōsei chrisin. Katakrinei gar ton archonta tou aiōnos touton, kai apallaxei tēs hyp᾽ autǭ douleia? tous bediasmenous. Hēxei gar, hēxei kai sōtei hēmas. Ti oun? Hēxei tote tois epi tēs gēs, anoichthēsontai ophthalmoi typhlōn. Hoi gar palai tę̄ ktisei para ton Ktistēn latreuontes, autēn tēn pote planēsasan ktisin, cheiragōgon hōsper tina Dēmiourgau. ᾿Apo gar kallonēs ktismatōn, analagōs ho. genasiryrgas hautōn theōreitai" kai hōs phēsin ho Paulas, « Ta aorata hautou, apo ktiseōs choasmon, «hois poiēmasi nooumena chathorata:, ē te aïdios au- «tou dynamis kai theiotēs. » ᾿Anoichthēsontai toinyn hoi ophthalmoi tōn palai typhlōn, achousonta: ta ōta tōg kōphōn. Hoi gar palai tous peri Theou lagous apotēn tōn hagiōn mnotagōgian, asmenōs autēn paradexontai, ᾿Aleitai de kai hōs elaphos ho chōlos, kai tranē estai hē glōssa mogilamōn. Hoi gar toi palai, phēsin, ophthopodein ouk eidotes, all᾽ hoionei pareime» non echontes, ton noun elaphōn dikēn anapēdēsousi, tout᾽ estin, heudromri te kai eukleeis esontai " noētōs dēlonoti, kai pros ge toutǭ kai ophiochtonoi, kai «eidotes eustomein. Lalēsousi gar ta tou Theou mallon, oukete legontes tǭ xylǭ’ « Patēr mon ei sy" kai tǭ lithǭ" Sy egennēsas me. » isteon de hoti kai sōmatikōs tauta peplērōken ho Christos tais aporrhxtois ϑeosēmeiais kata plēttōn tēn Ioudaian. thti errhogē en tę̄ erēmǭ hydōr, kai pharanx en tę̄ dipsōsę̄. Kai hē anydros estai eis holē, kai eis tēn dipsōsan gēn, pēgē hydatos" ekei hostai phsyrrosynē orneōn, epaulis kaiïamou, kai helē. Euphranthēnai. prostetache tēn dipsōsan erēmon" eita prosepagei tēn tēs euphrosynēs aitian euthys. Errhagē gar hydōr en autę̄, phēsi. Kai to, errhagē, kalōs, hina to amphilaphes tēs chorēgias dia toutou sēmainētai. Pharanga de phēsin, anti tou potamou" hou dē gegonotos hē anydros pote phstraphēsetai loipon eis helē. HeExei de kai hydatos pēgēn, ē ton hagion Iordanēn, ēgoun kai auton ton tōn holōn Sōtēra Christon" pēgē gar esti zōēs, kai phrear hydatos zōntos. Ep' autōn gegonen hē tōn orneōn syndromē te kai euphrosynē. Ornea de phēsin hen toutois, tous tōn epigeiōn anaptantas pragmatōn, kai hypsou gegonotas dia tēn aretēn, ta anō te phronein helomenous " houtoi kairousin hōs epi pēgę̄ tǭ Christǭ, tǭ poiē santi tēn erēmon epanlin kalamou, kai helē. Ta ϑen gar eudendra tōn chōriōn aei pōs tois helesi stephanousthai philei. Hē de ex ethnōn Ekklēsia to ex ouranou ploutēsasa nama, kai tois theiois chatarenspatalēsasa, trophos estin helōn, kai kalamou, tout᾽ esti tōn en Christǭ tethēlotōn eis zōēn amy rēton di᾽ hagiasmou.
But behold, he says, God, that is, the Saviour is not far off, who will render judgment. For he will condemn the ruler of this age and free from slavery under him those who had been oppressed. For he will come, he will come and save us. What then? When he comes to those on earth, then the eyes of the blind will be opened. For those who of old worshipped the creation rather than the Creator [will have] the very creation that once led them astray as a guide, as it were, to the Maker. For from the beauty of created things their Creator is seen by analogy; and, as Paul says: “His invisible things, from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen, his eternal power and divinity.” So the eyes of those formerly blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear. For those who of old … the words about God … the initiation given by the saints, will gladly accept it. And the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of stammerers will be clear. For those who of old, he says, did not know how to walk straight, but had, as it were, a paralysed mind, will leap up like deer, that is, they will be swift and glorious — spiritually, plainly — and besides this, snake-killers, and knowing how to speak well. For they will speak rather the things of God, no longer saying to the wood, “You are my father,” and to the stone, “You gave birth to me.” But one should know that Christ fulfilled these things bodily too, astounding Judea with his ineffable divine signs.
“For water has broken out in the desert, and a ravine in the thirsty land. And the waterless land will become marshes, and in the thirsty land there will be a spring of water; there will be the gladness of birds, a dwelling of reeds and marshes.”
He commanded the thirsty desert to be glad; then he adds at once the cause of the gladness. For water has broken out in it, he says. And “broken out” is well put, so that the abundance of the supply may be signified by it. By “ravine” he means a river; and when this has come about, the land once waterless will thereafter be turned into marshes. And it will have a spring of water, either the holy Jordan or the Saviour of all, Christ himself; for he is the spring of life and the well of living water. Around them has come the flocking together and gladness of birds. By birds here he means those who have flown up from earthly affairs and have come to be on high through virtue, and have chosen to set their minds on things above. These rejoice in Christ as at a spring, who made the desert a dwelling of reeds and marshes. For well-wooded places are always, somehow, wont to be crowned with marshes. And the church from the nations, enriched with the stream from heaven and luxuriating in the divine [waters], is a nurse of marshes and of reed, that is, of those who flourish in Christ unto ineffable life through sanctification.
Isa 35:4 (allusion, high confidence) · John 12:31 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 35:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 2:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 2:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 4:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: When the Saviour came he condemned the ruler of this age; the formerly blind nations learned to see the Creator through creation, and the lame leapt like deer, while Christ also healed bodily (Isa 35:4–6); the water in the desert is the Jordan or Christ himself, the spring around which the faithful gather (Isa 35:6–7).
- Comment on Isa 35:4–6, then the lemma Isa 35:6b–7 (LXX). Words are lost after “those who of old” (marked “…”). Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in two places. Quotations: Rom 1:20; Jer 2:27. Allusions: John 12:31; Rom 1:25; Wis 13:5 (the Creator seen by analogy from the beauty of creatures); Jer 2:13 and John 4:10 (spring, living water); Col 3:2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR): οὐγϑι! ἀρίϊες, εἰ → ; Ὦ δυ) πη! → .
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 13:5 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.27 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-27
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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.
3.3.28PG 70
.« Ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁδὸς καθαρὰ, καὶ ὁδὸς ἁγία κιηθήσεται, καὶ οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἐκεῖ ἀκάθαρτος, οὐδὲ ἕσται ἐκεῖ ὁδὸς ἀκάθαρτος " οἱ δὲ διεσπαρμένοι πορεύσονται ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς, καὶ οὐ μὴ πλαγηθῶσι. Καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐκεῖ λέων, οὐδέ τι τῶν θηρίων τῶν πονηρῶν οὗ μὴ ἀνγαδῇ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν, οὐδ᾽ οὐ μὴ εὑρεθῇ ἐκεῖ, ἀ.1.:ὰ πορεύσονται ἐν αὑτῇ μένοι διὰ Κύριον, καὶ συγηγμέγοι ἀποστραφήσονται, καὶ ἤξουσιν ἐκ Σιὼν μετ᾽ εὑφρροσύγης, καὶ εὑ:ροσύνη αἰώγιος ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν. ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν αἵνεσις καὶ ἀγαλλίαμα, καὶ δὐφροσύνη χὠἰτζαλήψεται αὑτοὺς, ἀπέδρα ὀδύνη καὶ στεγαγμὸς καὶ λύπη. Ὁδὸν ὀνομάζει καθαρὰν τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας 9 τὴν δύναμιν, ἤγουν καὶ ἑτέρως τὴν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος κάθαρσιν. ᾿Αποσμήχει γὰρ τὴν ἐντετηγμένην ταῖς πῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς κηλῖδα, καὶ ἀπαλλάττει πλημμελημάτων, καὶ ῥύπου παντὸς ἀποφαίνει κρείττονας. Ὁδὸς οὖν ἁγία καὶ καθαρὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ὀρθῶς ὠνόμᾶσται, ἀνέμθατος δὲ τοῖς οὕπω κεκαθαρμένοις. Πολιτεύεται γὰρ οὐδεὶς εὐαγγελικῶς μὴ οὐκὶ πρότερὸν τὸν διὰ τοῦ ἁγίον βαπτίσματος καταπλοντῆσας κάθαρσιν " οὐδεὶς οὖν ἄρα τῶν ἀπίστων. Οὗτοι τὰρ οἱ ἀκάθαρτοι βαδιοῦνται, φησὶν, ἐν αὐτῇ. Πορεύσονται δὲ μᾶλλον οἱ διεσπαρμένοι, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν. … ἔσονται λύπης μέτοχοι; ἢ ποῖον εἰσδέξονται πλανηθῶσι. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ πεπλάνηνται ξύλοις τε καὶ λίθοις λελατρευχότες, καὶ σκολιὰς ἰόντες ὁδούς. Νῦν δὲ μαθήσονται τὴν εὐθεῖαν καὶ καθαρὰν τὴν κρὸς ἀγίαν ζωὴν ἀποφέρουσαν τρίδον. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τῆς τοῦ διαδόλου πλεονεξίας ἐλεύθεροι γεγονότες τὸν οὕτως Οὔτε λέων, οὔτε μὴν ἕτερόν τι τῶν πονηρῶν θηρίων ἐκεῖ ἔσται, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τῇ καθαρᾷ. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ οἷά τις ἄγριας θὴρ ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἀνοσίοις πνεύμᾶσιν ἑπκεπήδα τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ὁ τῆς ἁμαρτίας εὑρετής" ἀλλ' ἠσθένησεν ἐν Χριστῷ, ἀπελήλαται δὲ τῆς τῶν πιστευσάντων ἀγέλης, καὶ τῆς κατ᾽ αὐτῶν πλεονεξίας ἐξεσοδήθη παρὰ Χριστοῦ. Ἐν ταύτῃ τοιγαροῦν τῇ ὁδῷ τῇ καθαρᾷ οἱ διὰ Χριστοῦ λελυτρωμένοι, καὶ συναχθέντες διὰ τῆς πίστεως εἰς ὀμοψυχίαν ται, καὶ τὴν πάλαι τρίδον ἀφέντες ἀποστραφήσονται, καὶ ἥξουσιν εἰς Σιὼν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς, καὶ ἐν οὐρανοῖς εὐφροσύνην ἔχοντες Θεόν. ᾿Αγαλλίαμα δὲ καὶ εὐφροσύνη, καὶ πᾶν εἶδος τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ θυμηδίας, καταλήψεται αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἄγενστοι παντελῶς λύπης ἔσονται, καὶ στεναγμοῦ. Οἱ γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίσι ταῖς οὕτω λαμπραῖς κεκλημένοι, οἱ τῆς εἰς αἰῶνα ζωῆς ἐσόμενοι κληρονόμοι, καὶ δόξης τῆς ἄνωθεν καταπλουτεῖν μέλλοντες τὰ αὐχήματα, καὶ αὐτῷ δὲ προσδοκῶντες συμδουλεῦσαι Χριστῷ, ποίας στεναγμόν; … Ἡσθήσονται γὰρ μᾶλλον ὡς ἐν παντὶ πάντη τε καὶ πάντῳ; νοι καλῷ.
.« Ekei estai hodos kathara, kai hodos hagia kiēthēsetai, kai ou mē parelthę̄ ekei akathartos, oude hestai ekei hodos akathartos " hoi de diesparmenoi poreusontai ep᾽ autēs, kai ou mē plagēthōsi. Kai ouk estai ekei leōn, oude ti tōn thēriōn tōn ponērōn hou mē angadę̄ ep᾿ autēn, oud᾽ ou mē heurethę̄ ekei, a.1.:a poreusontai en hautę̄ menoi dia Kyrion, kai sygēgmegoi apostraphēsontai, kai ēxousin ek Siōn met᾽ heuphrrosygēs, kai heu:rosynē aiōgios hyper kephalēs autōn. epi gar tēs kephalēs autōn hainesis kai agalliama, kai dyphrosynē chōitzalēpsetai hautous, apedra odynē kai stegagmos kai lypē. Hodon onomazei katharan tēs euangelikēs politeias 9 tēn dynamin, ēgoun kai heterōs tēn dia tou Pneumatos katharsin. ᾿Aposmēchei gar tēn entetēgmenēn tais pōn anthrōpōn psychais kēlida, kai apallattei plēmmelēmatōn, kai rhypou pantos apophainei kreittonas. Hodos oun hagia kai kathara kai mallon orthōs ōnomastai, anemthatos de tois houpō kekatharmenois. Politeuetai gar oudeis euangelikōs mē ouki proteron ton dia tou hagion baptismatos kataplontēsas katharsin " oudeis oun ara tōn apistōn. Houtoi tar hoi akathartoi badiountai, phēsin, en autę̄. Poreusontai de mallon hoi diesparmenoi, tout᾽ estin. … esontai lypēs metochoi? ē poion eisdexontai planēthōsi. Palai men gar peplanēntai xylois te kai lithois lelatreuchotes, kai skolias iontes hodous. Nyn de mathēsontai tēn eutheian kai katharan tēn kros agian zōēn apopherousan tridon. Hoti de kai tēs tou diadolou pleonexias eleutheroi gegonotes ton houtōs Oute leōn, oute mēn heteron ti tōn ponērōn thēriōn ekei estai, tout᾽ estin, en tę̄ hodǭ tę̄ katharą. Palai men gar hoia tis agrias thēr homou tois anosiois pneumasin hepkepēda tois epi gēs ho tēs hamartias heuretēs" all' ēsthenēsen en Christǭ, apelēlatai de tēs tōn pisteusantōn agelēs, kai tēs kat᾽ autōn pleonexias exesodēthē para Christou. En tautę̄ toigaroun tę̄ hodǭ tę̄ katharą hoi dia Christou lelytrōmenoi, kai synachthentes dia tēs pisteōs eis omopsychian tai, kai tēn palai tridon aphentes apostraphēsontai, kai hēxousin eis Siōn, tout᾽ estin, tēn Ekklēsian, tēn de epi gēs, kai en ouranois euphrosynēn echontes Theon. ᾿Agalliama de kai euphrosynē, kai pan eidos tēs en Christǭ thymēdias, katalēpsetai autous, kai agenstoi pantelōs lypēs esontai, kai stenagmou. Hoi gar ep᾽ elpisi tais houtō lamprais keklēmenoi, hoi tēs eis aiōna zōēs esomenoi klēronomoi, kai doxēs tēs anōthen kataploutein mellontes ta auchēmata, kai autǭ de prosdokōntes symdouleusai Christǭ, poias stenagmon? … Hēsthēsontai gar mallon hōs en panti pantē te kai pantǭ? noi kalǭ.
“There will be a pure way, and it will be called a holy way, and the unclean will not pass by there, nor will there be an unclean way there; but the scattered will walk on it, and they will not go astray. And there will be no lion there, nor will any of the evil beasts go up on it, nor will it be found there; but … will walk in it … for the Lord's sake, and, gathered, they will return and will come from Zion with gladness, and everlasting gladness will be over their head. For upon their head will be praise and exultation, and gladness will take hold of them; pain and groaning and grief have fled away.”
He names the power of the evangelical way of life a pure way, or, in another sense, the cleansing through the Spirit. For it wipes away the stain melted into human souls, frees them from offences, and shows them above all filth. So it is rightly named a holy and pure way, but it cannot be trodden by those not yet cleansed. For no one lives the evangelical life unless he has first been enriched with the cleansing through holy baptism; so none of the unbelievers does. For these are the unclean who will [not] walk on it, he says. Rather the scattered will walk, that is, … [they will not] go astray. For of old they went astray, worshipping wood and stones and going in crooked ways; but now they will learn the straight and pure path that leads to holy life. And that, having become free also from the devil's overreaching, … Neither a lion nor any other of the evil beasts will be there, that is, on the pure way. For of old the inventor of sin, like some wild beast, leapt upon those on earth together with the unholy spirits; but he was made weak in Christ, has been driven from the flock of those who believed, and has been scared off by Christ from his overreaching against them. So on this pure way those redeemed through Christ and gathered through faith into one mind will [walk], and, leaving their old path, they will return and come to Zion, that is, the church, the one on earth and in the heavens, having God as their gladness. And exultation and gladness and every kind of delight in Christ will take hold of them, and they will be wholly without taste of grief and groaning. For those called to such bright hopes, who will be heirs of eternal life, and are to be enriched with the boasts of the glory from above, and expect to reign with Christ himself — what grief will they share, or what groaning will they admit? … For they will rather delight, as in every good, wholly and altogether.
Isa 35:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 2:27 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 8:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 2:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The pure and holy way of Isa 35:8–10 is the gospel life and the cleansing of the Spirit, open only to the baptized; Satan, the lion, has been driven from it, and the redeemed walk on it to the church on earth and in heaven, free of grief.
- Lemma: Isa 35:8–10 (LXX; “redeemed” and “and gathered” are lost and marked “…”; Cyril reads “from Zion”). Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in two places. The OCR has scrambled the comment: part of the question at the end (“what grief will they share, or what … will they admit”) stands earlier, after “the scattered will walk, that is,”, and a line repeated from the beginning of the previous section has been removed; the question is translated where the sense requires. “Will [not] walk”: the negative is missing in the Greek; “reign with” translates συμβουλεῦσαι, a slip for συμβασιλεῦσαι. Allusions: Jer 2:27; Rom 8:17; 2 Tim 2:12.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR, splitting the word ἐπί; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; line from the previous column repeated by the OCR (it belongs to the beginning of 3.3.24)): νἱα ἱπιπιιπάα; αἱ ἀϊερενεὶ απιυμίανυν! ἱπ ἐπ, εἰ πον πὶ γὰρ → ἐπὶ γὰρ; οὺς δῦ βοά ρεῖ ΟἸιγίδιυμπι [γϑοίαδ οδὶ, οἱ ἃ ξγεξο ἐϊ ἴῃ ἰογγὰ οἱ ἰῃ σι → … ; τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν τὰ πονηρὰ τῶν θηρίων χκατανεμηθήσονται καὶ καταλύσουσιν. → … .
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.3.28 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-28). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-3-28
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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.
part 3, chapter 4
3.4.1PG 70
Καὶ ἐγένετο τοῦ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτου ἔτους ᾿εὺς ᾿Ασσυρίων ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις τῆς Ἰουδαίας τὰς ὀχυρὰς, καὶ ἔλαδεν αὑτάς. Καὶ ἀπέστει.16 βασισαλὴμ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ᾿Εζεχίαν, μετὰ δυνά» μεως πολλῆς, καὶ ἔστη ἐν τῷ ὑδραγωγῷ τῆς κολυμδήθρας τῆς ἄνω, ἂν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τοῦ Ἐναργὴς μὲν ἅπασι τοῖς φιλομαθεστέροις τῆς ἱστορίας ὁ λόγος “ ἐρῶ δ᾽ οὖν ὅμως βραχυλογήσες ὡς ἕνι. Βασιλεύοντος τοῦ "Αχαζ ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις, εἶτα Φαχεὲ τοῦ Ῥωμελίου, καὶ τοῦ Ῥαασσὼν Ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως Συρίας ἐχπολιορχούντων τὴν Ἰουδαίαν, καὶ αὐτοῖς ὃὲ τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐπαφεῖναι τὴν χεῖρα βουλευσαμένων, ἀτονήσας πρὸς ἀντίστασιν ὃ λει πρὸς ἐπικουρίαν τὸν Θεγλαφαλλασὰρ ᾿Ασσυρίων βασιλέα, καὶ δώροις αὐτὸν ἀναπείθει πολλοῖς ἐπαμῦναί τέ οἱ, καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν συμπεφωνηχότων βασιλέων, τοῦ τε τῆς Σαμαρείας φημὶ, καὶ τοῦ τῆς Συρίας ἀνακόψαι πλεονεξίας. Οὗ δὴ γεγονότος, διολώλασι μὲν οἱ πολεμοῦντες αὐτῷ. Εἶλε γὰρ τήν τε Δαμασχὸν, καὶ τὴν Συρίαν ὁ ᾿Ασσύριος, γέγονε δὲ ὑπὸ χεῖρα τὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑπὸ δασμὸν καὶ τέλη λοιπὸν ὁ "Αχαζ. Ἣν δὲ τῶν ὅτι μάλιστα φαυλοτάτων. Εἰδωλολάτρης τε γὰρ καὶ θεομισὴς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τάχα ποὺ νενιχηχὼς ἅπαντας ταῖς κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δυστροπίαις. Καταλύσαντος δὲ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον τοῦ "Αχαζ, βεδασίλευχεν ἀντ᾽ αὐτοῦ Ἐζεκίας, υἱὸς μὲν ὧν αὐτοῦ, πλὴν ἀνὴρ θεοφιλὴς, καὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω δικαιοσύνης καὶ εὐσεδείας ἀνημμένος τὰ αὐχήματα. Οὗτος ἠθέτησεν, φησὶ, ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ ᾿Ασσυρίων. Οὐ γὰρ ἠνέσχετο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείαν ὑπὸ δασμοὺς ἐᾶσαι γενέσθαι, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ "Αχαζ. Ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας ὁ Σεναχειρεὶμ ὁ τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων βασιλεὺς, ὡς ὀφείλων ἔχειν ὑπὸ δασμοὺς τὴν τε Ἰουδαίαν ἅπασαν, καὶ αὐτήν τε τὴν παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς βασιλείαν, ἀνεκαίετο μὲν εἰς ὀργὰς, καταδῃώσας δὲ τὴν Σαμάρειαν καὶ ταῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν πόλεσιν ἐπηφίει τὴν στρατιὰν, ἑλὼν δὲ πολλὰς, ἐπ᾿ αὐτὰ λοιπὸν τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα πέμπει τὸν Ῥαψάχην, οὐκ ὅπλα τέως χινήσοντα πολέμου νόμῳ, ἀπειλαῖς δὲ μᾶλλον, καὶ ὑποσχέσεσι ταῖς εἰς ἡμερότητα δελεά- Καὶ ἐξη,.θε πρὸς αὐτὸν ᾿Ελιακεὶμ ὁ τοῦ Χεῖ- Β κίου ὁ οἰκογόμος, καὶ Σομνὰς ὁ γραμματεὺς, καὶ Ιωὰχ ὁ τοῦ ᾿Ασὰφ ὁ ὑπομνηματογράφος. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς 'Ραψάκης" Εἴπατε ᾿Ἐζχίμ" Τάδε «1έγει ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς ᾿Ασσυρίων" Μὴ ἐν βουλῇ ἣ «“όγοις χειλέων παράταξις γίγεται; Καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ τίνι πέποιθας, ὅτι ἀπειθεῖς μοι; Ἰδοὺ πεποιθὼς εἶ ἐπὶ τὴν ῥάδδον τὴν καιλαμί- Ψη», τὴν κεκλασμένην ταύτην ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον, ὃς ἂν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν ἐπκιστηριχθῇ, εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ. Οὗτός ἐστι Φαρωὼ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύατου, καὶ πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Κεκλεισμένων δηλονότι τῶν πυλῶν, καὶ τοῖς τείχεσιν ἐφεστηκότος δήμου πάντως πόυ τοῦ μαχιμωτάτου, τὴν τῶν πρεσδειῶν ἀποτελοῦντος χρείαν, ἑξήεσαν χοντες ἐν ἱερουργοῖς. Ὁ δὲ Περσικῇς ὠμότητος ὧν, ἔχων δὲ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξης χατεθρασύνετο. Καὶ ψιλῇ μὲν κλήσει τὸν Ἐζεχίαν ὀνομάζει, οὐ προστεθεικὼς βασιλέα " οὐκ ἕτερόν τι τῶν ὅσα ἐστὶ τῶν ἐν τοιαύταις ὑπεροχαῖς πρεπωδέστατα. Τὸν δέ γε τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων βασιλέα, οὐκ ἀπλῶς αὑτὸ δὴ ταῦτό φησιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέγαν ἀποκαλεῖ, Φησὶ δὲ ὅτι, Μὴ ἐν βουλῇ ἢ λόγοις χειλέων παράταξις γίνεται; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ Ἱουδαΐοι τὸν διὰ Μωσέως νόμον ἔχοντες σοφώτεροι τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν ἐνομίζοντο: καὶ γοῦν ἔφασκον, Μακάριοί ἐσμεν Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι τὰ ἀρεστὰ Κυρίῳ γνωστὰ ἡμῖν ἔστι" καταφέρει πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν ὁ Ραψάχης τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ καύχημα πολέμου, καὶ μάχης ἐνεστηχότων ἀνόνηταν παντελῶς ἔσεσθαι λέγων εἰς ἐπικουρίαν Ὁ αὑτοῖς, καὶ τὸ ἐν εἰδήσει νόμων, καὶ τὸ συνετὸν καὶ μόναις βαυλᾳῖς, καὶ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ ἐν λόγοις οἱονεί πως ἐντριδές. Ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες τῶν βεδασιλευχότων τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς ἐπικουρίαν κεκλήκασι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τὴν χεῖρα, καίτοι τοῦτο δρῶντες ἐχτόπως, ῴήθη καὶ νῦν ὁ ᾿Αασύριος, οὐκ ἐπὶ Θεῷ μᾶλλον πεποιθέναι τὸν Ἐζεχίαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἑτέροις τισὶ, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς τῶν Αἰγμπτίων ἔχουσι τὴν γῆν. Ταύτῃ τοι χαλαμίνην … τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς καθημένους ἐκὶ τῷ τείχει, ἅμα;
Kai egeneto tou tessareskaidekatou etous ᾿eus ᾿Assyriōn epi tas poleis tēs Ioudaias tas ochyras, kai eladen hautas. Kai apestei.16 basisalēm pros ton basilea ᾿Ezechian, meta dyna» meōs pollēs, kai estē en tǭ hydragōgǭ tēs kolymdēthras tēs anō, an tę̄ hodǭ tou agrou tou Enargēs men hapasi tois philomathesterois tēs historias ho logos “ erō d᾽ oun homōs brachylogēses hōs heni. Basileuontos tou "Achaz en tois Hierosolymois, eita Phachee tou Rhōmeliou, kai tou Rhaassōn Ho tou basileōs Syrias echpoliorchountōn tēn Ioudaian, kai autois hoe tois Hierosolymois epapheinai tēn cheira bouleusamenōn, atonēsas pros antistasin ho lei pros epikourian ton Theglaphallasar ᾿Assyriōn basilea, kai dōrois auton anapeithei pollois epamynai te hoi, kai tas tōn ep᾽ auton sympephōnēchotōn basileōn, tou te tēs Samareias phēmi, kai tou tēs Syrias anakopsai pleonexias. Hou dē gegonotos, diolōlasi men hoi polemountes autǭ. Eile gar tēn te Damaschon, kai tēn Syrian ho ᾿Assyrios, gegone de hypo cheira tēn autou, kai hypo dasmon kai telē loipon ho "Achaz. Hēn de tōn hoti malista phaulotatōn. Eidōlolatrēs te gar kai theomisēs kai tous allous tacha pou nenichēchōs hapantas tais kata tou Theou dystropiais. Katalysantos de ton anthrōpinon bion tou "Achaz, bedasileuchen ant᾽ autou Ezekias, huios men hōn autou, plēn anēr theophilēs, kai tēs anōtatō dikaiosynēs kai eusedeias anēmmenos ta auchēmata. Houtos ēthetēsen, phēsi, en tǭ basilei ᾿Assyriōn. Ou gar ēnescheto tēn heautou basileian hypo dasmous easai genesthai, kathaper amelei kai "Achaz. Tautēs heneka tēs aitias ho Senacheireim ho tōn ᾿Assyriōn basileus, hōs opheilōn echein hypo dasmous tēn te Ioudaian hapasan, kai autēn te tēn par᾽ autois basileian, anekaieto men eis orgas, katadę̄ōsas de tēn Samareian kai tais kata tēn Ioudaian polesin epēphiei tēn stratian, helōn de pollas, ep᾿ auta loipon ta Hierosolyma pempei ton Rhapsachēn, ouk hopla teōs chinēsonta polemou nomǭ, apeilais de mallon, kai hyposchesesi tais eis hēmerotēta delea- Kai exē,.the pros auton ᾿Eliakeim ho tou Chei- B kiou ho oikogomos, kai Somnas ho grammateus, kai Iōach ho tou ᾿Asaph ho hypomnēmatographos. Kai eipen autois 'Rapsakēs" Eipate ᾿Ezchim" Tade «1egei ho basileus, ho megas basileus ᾿Assyriōn" Mē en boulę̄ hē «“ogois cheileōn parataxis gigetai? Kai nyn epi tini pepoithas, hoti apeitheis moi? Idou pepoithōs ei epi tēn rhaddon tēn kailami- Psē», tēn keklasmenēn tautēn ep᾽ Aigypton, hos an ep᾿ autēn epkistērichthę̄, eiseleusetai eis tēn cheira autou. Houtos esti Pharōō basileus Aigyatou, kai pantes hoi pepoithotes ep' autǭ. Kekleismenōn dēlonoti tōn pylōn, kai tois teichesin ephestēkotos dēmou pantōs pou tou machimōtatou, tēn tōn presdeiōn apotelountos chreian, hexēesan chontes en hierourgois. Ho de Persikę̄s ōmotētos hōn, echōn de stoma laloun megala, kata to gegrammenon, tēs tou Theou doxēs chatethrasyneto. Kai psilę̄ men klēsei ton Ezechian onomazei, ou prostetheikōs basilea " ouk heteron ti tōn hosa esti tōn en toiautais hyperochais prepōdestata. Ton de ge tōn ᾿Assyriōn basilea, ouk aplōs hauto dē tauto phēsin, alla kai megan apokalei, Phēsi de hoti, Mē en boulę̄ ē logois cheileōn parataxis ginetai? Epeidē gar Hioudaïoi ton dia Mōseōs nomon echontes sophōteroi tōn allōn ethnōn enomizonto: kai goun ephaskon, Makarioi esmen Israēl, hoti ta aresta Kyriǭ gnōsta hēmin esti" katapherei pros to mēden ho Rapsachēs to epi toutǭ kauchēma polemou, kai machēs enestēchotōn anonētan pantelōs esesthai legōn eis epikourian Ho hautois, kai to en eidēsei nomōn, kai to syneton kai monais bauląis, kai auto dē to en logois hoionei pōs entrides. Epeidē de tines tōn bedasileuchotōn tēs Ioudaias eis epikourian keklēkasi tōn Aigyptiōn tēn cheira, kaitoi touto drōntes echtopōs, ǭēthē kai nyn ho ᾿Aasyrios, ouk epi Theǭ mallon pepoithenai ton Ezechian, all᾽ heterois tisi, mallon de tois tōn Aigmptiōn echousi tēn gēn. Tautę̄ toi chalaminēn … tous anthrōpous tous kathēmenous eki tǭ teichei, hama?
“And it came to pass in the fourteenth year … king of the Assyrians against the fortified cities of Judea, and took them. And … sent … to King Hezekiah with a great force, and he stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road of the field of the …”
The account is clear to all who are rather fond of learning history; yet I shall speak of it, being as brief as I can. When Ahaz was reigning in Jerusalem, and then Pekah son of Remaliah and Rezin the king of Syria were besieging Judea and had resolved to lay hands on Jerusalem itself, [Ahaz], lacking the strength to resist, … Tiglath-pileser king of the Assyrians to his aid, and persuaded him with many gifts to defend him and to check the overreaching of the kings who had conspired against him, I mean the king of Samaria and the king of Syria. When this happened, those who were warring against him perished. For the Assyrian took Damascus and Syria; and Ahaz came under his hand, and thereafter under tribute and taxes. He was among the very worst; for he was an idolater and hateful to God, and perhaps outdid all the others in perversity toward God. When Ahaz ended his human life, Hezekiah reigned in his place, his son indeed, but a man dear to God, who had won the boasts of the highest righteousness and godliness. He, it says, rebelled against the king of the Assyrians. For he would not allow his kingdom to come under tribute, as Ahaz had. For this reason Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians, as one who ought to hold all Judea and its very kingdom under tribute, was inflamed with anger; and having ravaged Samaria, he loosed his army on the cities of Judea, and, having taken many, he finally sent the Rabshakeh against Jerusalem itself, not, for the moment, to move arms by the law of war, but rather to entice them with threats and with promises of gentleness.
“And there went out to him Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder. And the Rabshakeh said to them: Say to Hezekiah, Thus says the king, the great king of the Assyrians: Is battle joined by counsel or by words of the lips? And now in whom do you trust, that you disobey me? Behold, you trust in this broken staff of reed, in Egypt; whoever leans on it, it will go into his hand. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt, and all who trust in him.”
The gates were plainly shut, and on the walls stood surely the most warlike part of the people, while … carrying out the business of the embassy went out. But he, being full of Persian cruelty, and having a mouth speaking great things, as it is written, was insolent against the glory of God. He names Hezekiah by his bare name, without adding “king” or any other of the titles most fitting for such eminence; but the king of the Assyrians he does not simply call that, but calls him great too. And he says: “Is battle joined by counsel or by words of the lips?” For since the Jews, having the law through Moses, were thought wiser than the other nations — indeed they said, “Blessed are we, Israel, for what pleases the Lord is known to us” — the Rabshakeh reduces their boast in this to nothing, saying that when war and battle are at hand, their knowledge of laws, their prudence in mere counsels, and their very skill, as it were, in words will be wholly useless to help them. And since some of those who had reigned over Judea had called the hand of the Egyptians to their aid, though doing so improperly, the Assyrian supposed that now too Hezekiah trusted not in God but in others, namely in those who hold the land of the Egyptians. Therefore … a reed … “the men sitting on the wall, that …?”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Isa 36:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:2 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 16:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 16:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 16:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 18:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 18:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 36:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Dan 7:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 36:12 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyril recounts the background of Isa 36: Ahaz's submission to Assyria, Hezekiah's refusal of tribute, and Sennacherib's campaign; the Rabshakeh, sent to Jerusalem, mocks Hezekiah's trust in counsel and in Egypt, the broken reed (Isa 36:1–6).
- Lemmas: Isa 36:1–2 (damaged in the OCR: “of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib came up” and “the king of the Assyrians sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem” are partly lost; the last word, “fuller”, is lost; marked “…”) and Isa 36:3–6 (Cyril's text, without “What do you trust in?” in 36:4). Other gaps are marked “…”. At the end a phrase from Isa 36:12 stands displaced in the OCR text and is translated where it stands. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed. Allusions: 2 Kgs 16:5–9 (Ahaz and Tiglath-pileser); 2 Kgs 18:7, 13; Dan 7:8 (a mouth speaking great things). Quotation: Bar 4:4 (cited as what the Jews said). “Persian” for Assyrian is Cyril's usage.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; marginal letters read into the word by the OCR): Εἰδω- Α οἱ λολάτρης → Εἰδωλολάτρης; αὐβοι! ἰῃ θεὸ Πάυείδπι οοἰϊοοανίθβα, δϑὰ ἰῃ δἰ 4. θη] δ → … .
Extrabiblical texts: Bar 4:4 (Baruch [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.4.1 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam-3-4-1) · 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.
3.4.2PG 70
'πλαάστος ἀεὶ, ἡ ἐπ’ ἐκείνοις ἐλπὶς, καὶ ἀδιχοῦσα μᾶλλον, ἢ ὠφελεῖν ἰσχύουσα τοὺς κεχρημένους αὐτῇ " καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ χαλαμίνη ῥάδδος, ἧ εἴπερ τις ἐπαναπαύσεται συνθραύσει μὲν πάντως αὐτὴν, ἡ δὲ Εἰ δὲ λέγετε " ᾽Επὶ Κύριον τὸν Θϑοὸν ἡμῶν σοίθαμεν, νῦν μίχθητε τῷ κυρίῳ μου τῷ Ἁσσυρίων, καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν δισχιλίαν ἵππον, εἰ δυνήσεσθε δοῦναι ἀναβάτας ἐπ' αὑτούς. Καὶ πῶς δύνασθε ἀποστρέψαι εἰς πρόσωπον τοπάρχου ᾿Αθυροστομεῖ πάλιν, καὶ τὸ χέρας εἰς ὕψος ἐπαίρει, καὶ ἀδικίαν λαλεῖ κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ δὴ, φησὶν, ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ πεποίθατε, μέχθητε τῷ Κυρίῳ μον, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐξοπλίσασθε, καὶ στῆτε πρὸς μάχην. Ἐγὼ δὲ προσθήσω, καὶ ἵππους ὑμῖν δισχιλίας, καὶ ἀρκέσει τοῦτο, φησὶ, πρὸς πίστιν, ὅτε περιγενήσεσθε τῆς ᾿Ασσυρίων χειρὸς ἐὰν εὕρητε τοὺς ἀναδησομένους ἥἣ καὶ εἰδότας ὅλως ἱππεύειν ἐν μάχαις. Εἶτα πῶς οὐδὲ τοῦτο πληροῦν δυνάμενοι περιγενήσεσθε τοπάρχου ἕνός; Καταδιήρηται γὰρ ἢ τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἀρχὴ, καὶ βασιλέας ὑποδεδηχότας ἔχει τοῦ πάντων μείζονος οἵ καὶ ὠνομάζοντο τοπάρχαι. Οἰχέται εἰσὶν οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ' Αἰγυπείοις, εἰς ἵππον, καὶ ἀγαδάτην. Καὶ νῦν μὴ ἄνευ Κυρίου ἀνέδημεν ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν ταύτην πολεμῆσαι αὖτήν. Κύριος εἶπε πρός με’ ᾿Αγάδθηθι ἐπὶ τὴν γὴν ταύτην, καὶ ἄνελαι αὑτήν. ᾿Αποχείρει παντελῶς τὴν ἐπ᾽ Αὐροκείοις ἐλπίδα, μονονουχὶ καὶ ἐν οἰκέναις ἤδη τετάχθαι λέγων τοὺς ἐπ' αὐτῇ πεποιθότας. ᾿Αλώσονται γὰρ, φησὶν, εὐκόλως ἵππῳ τε καὶ ἀναθάτῃ τεθαῤῥηκότες, Εἶτα πικρόν τι καὶ ὡς ἀπό γε τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῷ δυστροπίας ἀποφθέγγεται, οὐκ ἄνευ Κυρίου διαδεδαιούμενος τὴν κατὰ τῆς Ἰουδαίας αἴρεσθαι μάχην. Εἰ γὰρ δὴν ψησὶ, καθάπερ αὐτοί φατε, μέγας τε καὶ ἀλχιμώταπος ὁ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἔστι Θεὸς, καὶ ὑπεραθλεῖ τῆς χώρας, πῶς ἀνέδημεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτήν; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ πεπλεονεχτήχαμεν τὴν τοῦ ἐπαμύναντος ἰσχὺν, οὗ μέγας ἐστὶ, μᾶλλον δὲ βραχύς τε καὶ ἄναλχις. Εἰ δὲ μέγας καὶ δυνατὸς, οὐ χεχωλύμεθα χκαταδηοῦν θέλοντες τὴν Ἰουδαίαν " οὐκ ἀνέδημεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν ἄνεν Κυρίου. Καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἐλιακεὶμ, καὶ ὁ Σομνᾶς Ὁ ὁ γραμμαξεὺς, καὶ ᾿Ιωάχ' Λάλησον πρὸς τοὺς παῖδάς σου Συριστὶ, ἀκούομεν' γὰρ ἡμεῖς" καὶ μὴ λάλει αρὸς ἡμᾶς Ἰουδαιστί. Καὶ ἵνα τί ταλεῖς εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῷ τείχει; Καὶ εἶπε 'Ῥαψάχης πρὸς αὐτούς" Μὴ πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ὑμῶν, ἣ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀπέσεταιχέ με ὁ κύριός μου λαλῆσαι τοὺς λόγους τούτους; Οὐκὶ πρὸς ἵγᾳ φάγωσι κόπρον καὶ πίωσιν οὖρον μεθ' ὑμῶν Εὐχαταπτόητον ἀεί πώς ἔστι τὸ δημοτιχὸν, καὶ πολὺ λίαν ἕτοιμον εἰς ὀλιγωρίαν ἐνεστηκότος μάλε στα πολέμου, καὶ σφαγῆς ἔσεσθαι προσδοκωμένης, ἐμπρησμῶν τε τῶν ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν, Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ μάλα ἐμφρόνως οἱ τῷ Ῥαψάχῃ ςασ', μὴ δεῖν χρῆνα! λα) εἴν αὐτὸν Ἰουδαῖστι, »εχρῇσθαι δὲ μᾶλλον τῇ Σύρων φωνῇ. Οὐ γὰρ ἤθελον α επί! βαρδαριχῆςς ἀπονοίας γέμοντες λόγους ἑνίεσθαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ταῖς τῶν δημοτῶν ἀκοαῖς;, καίτοι παροτρύνονπος αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀλκὴν τοῦ βασιλέως Ἐζεχίον, καὶ φάσκοντος ἐναργῶς ὅτι Κύριος μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, καὶ ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἐπὶ Θεῷ πεποιθόσιν ἀκράδαντος ἐλπὶς, εὐχαπάσειστα δὲ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως ὡς πρός γέ φημι τὴν τούτου δύναμιν. ᾿Αλλὰ συνίησιν ὁ Ῥαψάχης, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ τοῦ χεχωλύσθαι λαλεῖν Ἰουδαῖστί. Ταύτῃ τοί φησιν ὡς οὐ πρὸς αὑτοὺς, οὔτε μὴν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα σκοπὸς αὐτῷ γέγονε τῆς ὁδοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα μᾶλλον τοῖς ἐν τῷ τείχει προσδιαλέγηται. “Ὑδρίζει δὲ πάλιν, καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἀκαθάρτου καρδίας ἐρεύγεται λόγους, φάσκων, ὅτι ταύτης ἕνεκα «ἧς αἰτίας ἐπιχάθηνται τῷ τείχει τηροῦντες τὴν πόλιν, ἵνα λιμώττοντες, ἐν ἐνδείᾳ τε γεγονότες … ἄρτου τε καὶ ὕδατος εἰς τοῦτο χατενεχθεῖεν ἀνάγκης, ὡς; τὰ εἰσάπαν ἀπηχθημένα καὶ αὐτοῖς τάχα πὸν κυσὶ τροφὴν ποιήσασθαι καὶ πότον.
'plaastos aei, hē ep’ ekeinois elpis, kai adichousa mallon, ē ōphelein ischyousa tous kechrēmenous autę̄ " kathaper amelei kai chalaminē rhaddos, hē eiper tis epanapausetai synthrausei men pantōs autēn, hē de Ei de legete " ᾽Epi Kyrion ton Thϑoon hēmōn soithamen, nyn michthēte tǭ kyriǭ mou tǭ Hassyriōn, kai dōsō hymin dischilian hippon, ei dynēsesthe dounai anabatas ep' hautous. Kai pōs dynasthe apostrepsai eis prosōpon toparchou ᾿Athyrostomei palin, kai to cheras eis hypsos epairei, kai adikian lalei kata tou Theou. Ei gar dē, phēsin, ep᾽ autǭ pepoithate, mechthēte tǭ Kyriǭ mon, tout᾽ estin, exoplisasthe, kai stēte pros machēn. Egō de prosthēsō, kai hippous hymin dischilias, kai arkesei touto, phēsi, pros pistin, hote perigenēsesthe tēs ᾿Assyriōn cheiros ean heurēte tous anadēsomenous hēē kai eidotas holōs hippeuein en machais. Eita pōs oude touto plēroun dynamenoi perigenēsesthe toparchou henos? Katadiērētai gar ē tōn ᾿Assyriōn archē, kai basileas hypodedēchotas echei tou pantōn meizonos hoi kai ōnomazonto toparchai. Oichetai eisin hoi pepoithotes ep' Aigypeiois, eis hippon, kai agadatēn. Kai nyn mē aneu Kyriou anedēmen epi tēn chōran tautēn polemēsai autēn. Kyrios eipe pros me’ ᾿Agadthēthi epi tēn gēn tautēn, kai anelai hautēn. ᾿Apocheirei pantelōs tēn ep᾽ Aurokeiois elpida, mononouchi kai en oikenais ēdē tetachthai legōn tous ep' autę̄ pepoithotas. ᾿Alōsontai gar, phēsin, eukolōs hippǭ te kai anathatę̄ tetharrhēkotes, Eita pikron ti kai hōs apo ge tēs enousēs autǭ dystropias apophthengetai, ouk aneu Kyriou diadedaioumenos tēn kata tēs Ioudaias airesthai machēn. Ei gar dēn psēsi, kathaper autoi phate, megas te kai alchimōtapos ho par᾽ hymin esti Theos, kai hyperathlei tēs chōras, pōs anedēmen ep᾽ autēn? Ei men gar pepleonechtēchamen tēn tou epamynantos ischyn, hou megas esti, mallon de brachys te kai analchis. Ei de megas kai dynatos, ou chechōlymetha chkatadēoun thelontes tēn Ioudaian " ouk anedēmen ep᾽ autēn anen Kyriou. Kai eipe pros auton Eliakeim, kai ho Somnas Ho ho grammaxeus, kai ᾿Iōach' Lalēson pros tous paidas sou Syristi, akouomen' gar hēmeis" kai mē lalei aros hēmas Ioudaisti. Kai hina ti taleis eis ta ōta tōn anthrōpōn epi tǭ teichei? Kai eipe 'Rhapsachēs pros autous" Mē pros ton Kyrion hymōn, hē pros hymas apesetaiche me ho kyrios mou lalēsai tous logous toutous? Ouki pros higą phagōsi kopron kai piōsin ouron meth' hymōn Euchataptoēton aei pōs esti to dēmotichon, kai poly lian hetoimon eis oligōrian enestēkotos male sta polemou, kai sphagēs esesthai prosdokōmenēs, emprēsmōn te tōn ana tēn polin, Tautę̄ toi kai mala emphronōs hoi tǭ Rhapsachę̄ sas', mē dein chrēna! la) ein auton Ioudaisti, »echrę̄sthai de mallon tę̄ Syrōn phōnę̄. Ou gar ēthelon a epi! bardarichēss aponoias gemontes logous heniesthai par᾽ autou tais tōn dēmotōn akoais?, kaitoi parotrynonpos autous eis alkēn tou basileōs Ezechion, kai phaskontos enargōs hoti Kyrios met᾽ autōn, kai hoti tois men epi Theǭ pepoithosin akradantos elpis, euchapaseista de ta anthrōpina, kai ouden holōs hōs pros ge phēmi tēn toutou dynamin. ᾿Alla syniēsin ho Rhapsachēs, kai tēn aitian ouk agnoei tou chechōlysthai lalein Ioudaisti. Tautę̄ toi phēsin hōs ou pros hautous, oute mēn pros ton basilea skopos autǭ gegone tēs hodou, all᾽ hena mallon tois en tǭ teichei prosdialegētai. “Hydrizei de palin, kai tous ex akathartou kardias ereugetai logous, phaskōn, hoti tautēs heneka «hēs aitias epichathēntai tǭ teichei tērountes tēn polin, hina limōttontes, en endeią te gegonotes … artou te kai hydatos eis touto chatenechtheien anankēs, hōs? ta eisapan apēchthēmena kai autois tacha pon kysi trophēn poiēsasthai kai poton.
… always the hope in them, which rather harms than is able to help those who use it, just like a staff of reed: if anyone leans on it, he will surely break it, and it …
“But if you say, We have trusted in the Lord our God, now mingle with my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to provide riders for them. And how can you turn back the face of a toparch …?”
He again speaks with an unbridled mouth, lifts his horn on high, and speaks injustice against God. For if, he says, you have trusted in him, mingle with my lord, that is, arm yourselves and stand for battle. And I will add two thousand horses for you, and this, he says, will suffice as proof that you will prevail over the hand of the Assyrians — if you find men to mount them, or men who know at all how to ride in battle. Then how, being unable even to accomplish this, will you prevail over one toparch? For the empire of the Assyrians was divided, and had kings subordinate to the greatest of all, who were also called toparchs.
“… They are slaves who trust in the Egyptians, for horse and rider. And now, have we come up against this land to war against it without the Lord? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.”
He utterly cuts off the hope in the Egyptians, saying that those who trust in it are all but already ranked among slaves. For those who trusted in horse and rider will be easily captured, he says. Then he utters something bitter, as from the perversity within him, affirming that he is undertaking the war against Judea not without the Lord. For if, he says, as you yourselves say, the God among you is great and most valiant and fights for the land, how have we come up against it? For if we have overcome the strength of its defender, he is not great, but rather small and feeble. But if he is great and powerful, we have not been prevented when we wished to ravage Judea: we have not come up against it without the Lord.
“And Eliakim and Somnas the scribe and Joah said to him: Speak to your servants in Syrian, for we understand; and do not speak to us in the Jewish language. And why do you speak into the ears of the men on the wall? And the Rabshakeh said to them: Has my lord sent me to your lord or to you to speak these words? Is it not to … that they may eat dung and drink urine with you?”
The common people are always easily terrified and very ready to lose heart, especially when war is at hand and slaughter is expected, and burnings throughout the city. Therefore very prudently those with the Rabshakeh [said] that he ought not to speak in the Jewish language but rather use the Syrian tongue. For they did not wish words full of barbarian madness to be put by him into the ears of the common people, while King Hezekiah was urging them to courage and saying clearly that the Lord was with them, and that for those who trust in God hope is unshakeable, while human things are easily shaken and nothing at all, I mean compared with his power. But the Rabshakeh understands, and is not ignorant of the reason why he was stopped from speaking in the Jewish language. Therefore he says that the aim of his journey was not to them nor to the king, but rather to converse with those on the wall. And he insults again and belches out the words of an unclean heart, saying that for this reason they sit on the wall guarding the city: so that, starving and come into want … of bread and water, they may be brought to such necessity that they make their food and drink of things utterly loathsome, perhaps even to dogs.
Isa 36:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 36:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 75:5 (74:6 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 36:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Rabshakeh mocks Judah's lack of horsemen and its trust in Egypt, claims to come with the Lord's mandate, and, asked to speak Aramaic, insists on addressing the people on the wall in their own language to terrify them (Isa 36:6–12).
- Lemmas: Isa 36:8–9a, 36:9b–10, and 36:11–12 (LXX; Cyril reads “destroy” (ἄνελε) in 36:10; words lost at the end of 36:9a and in 36:12, marked “…”). The first lines finish the comment on Isa 36:6 (the image of the reed that pierces the hand), partly lost. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in one place. Allusion: Ps 75:5 (LXX 74:6). “Syrian” is the Septuagint's word for Aramaic.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): πο αἰ, ποι δὰ ᾽ρ808, βοᾷ δὰ γεζδίῃ → … .
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.4.2 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-2
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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.
3.4.3PG 70
Ἰονδαῖστὶ, καὶ εἶπεν" ᾿Ακούσατε τοὺς «Ἰόγους εοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ μεγάλου, βασιλέως τῶν συρίων. Τάδε λέγει ὁ βασωϊεύς" Μὴ ἁπατάτω ὑμᾶς Ἐζεκίας.1όγοις οἵ οὐ δυνήσονται ῥύσασθαι ὑμᾶς" καὶ μὴ λεγέτω ὑμῖν Ἐζεκίας, ὅτι 'Ρύσεται ὑμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οὐ μὴ παραδοθῇ ἡ πόλις αὕτη εἰς χεῖρας βασιλέως ᾿Ασσυρίων. Μὴ ἀκούετε ᾿Σχίου. Τάδε «“1έγει ὁ βασιλεὺς ᾿Ασσυρίων" Εἰ καὶ φάγεσθε ἕκαστος τὴν ἄμπελον αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὰς συκὰς αὑτοῦ, καὶ πίεσθε ὕδωρ τοῦ λάκκου ὑμῶν ἕως ἂν διλθω καὶ 1άδω ὑμᾶς εἰς γῆν, ὡς ἡ γῆ ὑμῶν, σίτου καὶ οἴγου, καὶ ἄρτων καὶ δ δὸς «Ἰώνων. Μεθίστησι τοὺς λόγους ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἤδη τοὺς ταῖς … ἀντιφέρεσθαι προτεθυμημένους' ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω βασιλέα μέγαν ἀποκαλεῖ τὸν ᾿Ασσύριον, καὶ κατασμιχρύνει μὲν ἐλπίδα τὴν ἐπὶ Θεῷ, ψεύστην δὲ ἀποκαλεῖ τὸν ᾿Ἐζεχίαν, καὶ ἀπατεῶνα, λέγοντα χρῇναι μᾶλλον ἐπανακεῖσθαι Θεῷ, δεδιέναι δὲ κατ᾽ οὐδένα τρόπον ἐπαμύνοντος αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐφόδους. Εἶτα ἐπαγγέλλεται τοῖς αὐτομολοῦσιν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν, ὡς ἔσονται μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν μέχρι καιροῦ. Τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ, Ἕως ἔλθω, καὶ λάδω ὑμᾶς. ᾿Απολαύσουσι δὲ τῶν ἰδίων ἀγρῶν, καὶ χαταλειαίνει ὥσπερ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίᾳς τὸ δεῖμα, καὶ τὸ τραχὺ τοῦ πράγμᾶτος ἀπατηλοῖς χαταχρύπτει λόγοις, προστιθεὶς τὸ, Ἕως ἔλθω, καὶ λάθω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν γῆν ὡς ἡ γῆ δαίων γῇ. μονονουχὶ λέγων’ Καὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ἀφέντες κᾶν γένησθε παρ᾽ ἡμῖν οὐδὲν ἧττον τὴν ἑαυτῶν εὑρήσετε. Γῆ γάρ ἐστι σίτου καὶ οἴνου, καὶ ἄρ- «ων καὶ ἀμπελώγων, ἡ Περσῶν τε καὶ ρίων. Μὴ ὑμᾶς ἀπατάτω Ἐζμχίας,.1έγων' Ὃ Θεὸς ῥύσεται ὑμᾶς. Μὴ ἐῤῥύσαντο οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθγῶν ἕὅχκαστος τὴν ἑαυτῷν χώραν ἐκ χειρὸς βασιλέως ᾿ασσυρίων; Ποῦ ἐσειν ὁ θεὸς Ἐμὰθ καὶ Ἁρφάθ; καὶ ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς τῆς πόλεως Σεπραρουΐμ; Μὴ ἠδύναντο ῥύσασθαι Σαμάρειαν ἐκ τῆς χειρός … « Ἐθέμην τῷ στόματί μου φυλακὴν ἐν τῷ καὶ ἐταπεινώθην, καὶ ἐσίγησα ἐξ ἀγαθῶν. » ἐῤῥύσατο τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ ἐκ χειρός μου, ὅτε ῥύσεται ὁ Θεὸς ἹἹἱερουσωλὴμ ἐκ χειρός μου; Καὶ ἐσιώπησαν, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀπεχρίθη αὐτῷ διὰ τὸ προστάξαι τὸν βασιλέα μηδὲν ἀπο-᾿ κριθῆναι. Βαρδαρίξει πάλιν τῇ γνώμῃ Ῥαψάχης, καὶ τοῖς κατὰ Θεοῦ λόγοις ἐμδαρύνεται, καὶ μέγα πεφρόνηχε ᾿Ασσυρίων πλείστας μὲν ὅσας ἑλόντος πόλεις τῶν ἐθνῶν, σεσωσμένης δὲ οὐδεμιᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ψευδωνύμων θεῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἠγνόησεν ὅτι ξύλα μὲν ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ λίθοι, καὶ ἀνθρωπείας χειρὸς φιλοτέχνημα, καὶ ἕτερον οὐδέν. Ὁ δέ γε τῆς Ἰουδαίας Θεὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς, ἔστι Θεὸς ζῶν καὶ ἀληθινὸς, οὐ πρόσφατος πεποιημένος, ποιητὴς δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ αὐτῶν αἰώνων, καὶ δημιουργὸς τῶν ὅλων, καὶ τῶν δυνάμεων Κύριος. Οἴεται δὴ οὖν ὁ ἔσεσθαι, τοῦ ὅτι πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ἁλώσονται, κἂν ἐπιχουρήσῃ αὑτοῖς Θεὸς ὁ μέγας, τὸ μηδένα «τῶν παρ᾽ Ἕλλησι θεῶν ἀνασῶσαι δύνασθαι πόλιν, ἦτοι χώραν ἐν ἧ καὶ ἐτετίμητο. Διὰ τοῦτό φησι" Ποῦ ὁ θεὸς Ἐμὰθ, καὶ '᾿Αρφάθ; Προσεπάγει δὲ τὸ, ὅτι Μὴ ἠδύναντο ῥύσασθαι Σαμάρειαν ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου;
Iondaisti, kai eipen" ᾿Akousate tous «Iogous eou basileōs tou megalou, basileōs tōn syriōn. Tade legei ho basōïeus" Mē hapatatō hymas Ezekias.1ogois hoi ou dynēsontai rhysasthai hymas" kai mē legetō hymin Ezekias, hoti 'Rysetai hymas ho Theos, kai ou mē paradothę̄ hē polis hautē eis cheiras basileōs ᾿Assyriōn. Mē akouete ᾿Schiou. Tade «“1egei ho basileus ᾿Assyriōn" Ei kai phagesthe hekastos tēn ampelon autou, kai eas sykas hautou, kai piesthe hydōr tou lakkou hymōn heōs an dilthō kai 1adō hymas eis gēn, hōs hē gē hymōn, sitou kai oigou, kai artōn kai d dos «Iōnōn. Methistēsi tous logous ep᾽ autous ēdē tous tais … antipheresthai protethymēmenous' anō te kai katō basilea megan apokalei ton ᾿Assyrion, kai katasmichrynei men elpida tēn epi Theǭ, pseustēn de apokalei ton ᾿Ezechian, kai apateōna, legonta chrę̄nai mallon epanakeisthai Theǭ, dedienai de kat᾽ oudena tropon epamynontos autou tas ex anthrōpōn ephodous. Eita epangelletai tois automolousin ep᾽ auton, hōs esontai men en tois heautōn mechri kairou. Touto gar to, Heōs elthō, kai ladō hymas. ᾿Apolausousi de tōn idiōn agrōn, kai chataleiainei hōsper tēs aichmalōsiąs to deima, kai to trachy tou pragmatos apatēlois chatachryptei logois, prostitheis to, Heōs elthō, kai lathō hymas eis tēn gēn hōs hē gē daiōn gę̄. mononouchi legōn’ Kai tēn Ioudaian aphentes kan genēsthe par᾽ hēmin ouden hētton tēn heautōn heurēsete. Gē gar esti sitou kai oinou, kai ar- «ōn kai ampelōgōn, hē Persōn te kai riōn. Mē hymas apatatō Ezmchias,.1egōn' Ho Theos rhysetai hymas. Mē errhysanto hoi theoi tōn ethgōn heochkastos tēn heautǭn chōran ek cheiros basileōs ᾿assyriōn? Pou esein ho theos Emath kai Harphath? kai pou estin ho theos tēs poleōs Seprarouïm? Mē ēdynanto rhysasthai Samareian ek tēs cheiros … « Ethemēn tǭ stomati mou phylakēn en tǭ kai etapeinōthēn, kai esigēsa ex agathōn. » errhysato tēn gēn autou ek cheiros mou, hote rhysetai ho Theos HiIierousōlēm ek cheiros mou? Kai esiōpēsan, kai oudeis apechrithē autǭ dia to prostaxai ton basilea mēden apo-᾿ krithēnai. Bardarixei palin tę̄ gnōmę̄ Rhapsachēs, kai tois kata Theou logois emdarynetai, kai mega pephronēche ᾿Assyriōn pleistas men hosas helontos poleis tōn ethnōn, sesōsmenēs de oudemias hypo tōn en autę̄ pseudōnymōn theōn, all᾽ ēgnoēsen hoti xyla men ēsan ekeinoi, kai lithoi, kai anthrōpeias cheiros philotechnēma, kai heteron ouden. Ho de ge tēs Ioudaias Theos, mallon de ho tou kosmou pantos, esti Theos zōn kai alēthinos, ou prosphatos pepoiēmenos, poiētēs de mallon kai autōn aiōnōn, kai dēmiourgos tōn holōn, kai tōn dynameōn Kyrios. Oietai dē oun ho esesthai, tou hoti pantē te kai pantōs halōsontai, kan epichourēsę̄ hautois Theos ho megas, to mēdena «tōn par᾽ Hellēsi theōn anasōsai dynasthai polin, ētoi chōran en hē kai etetimēto. Dia touto phēsi" Pou ho theos Emath, kai '᾿Arphath? Prosepagei de to, hoti Mē ēdynanto rhysasthai Samareian ek tēs cheiros mou?
… in the Jewish language, and said: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians. Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you with words, which will not be able to deliver you; and let not Hezekiah say to you, God will deliver you, and this city will not be handed over into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. Do not listen to Hezekiah. Thus says the king of the Assyrians: … and you will eat each one his vine and his figs, and you will drink the water of your cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and wine, and of bread and vineyards.”
He turns his words now to those … eager to resist. Up and down he calls the Assyrian a great king, belittles the hope in God, and calls Hezekiah a liar and a deceiver for saying that they ought rather to rely on God, and on no account fear the assaults of men while he defends them. Then he promises those who desert to him that they will be on their own land for a time — for this is “until I come and take you” — and will enjoy their own fields; and he smooths over, as it were, the dread of captivity and hides the harshness of the matter with deceitful words, adding, “until I come and take you to a land like your land,” … the land of the Jews, all but saying: Even if you leave Judea and come to us, you will find your own land no less; for the land of the Persians and … is a land of grain and wine, of bread and vineyards.
“Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, God will deliver you. Did the gods of the nations deliver each his own land from the hand of the king of the Assyrians? Where is the god of Hamath and Arphad? And where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? Were they able to deliver Samaria from my hand? … [“I set a guard to my mouth when … and I was humbled and kept silent from good things.”] … delivered his land from my hand, that God will deliver Jerusalem from my hand? And they were silent, and no one answered him, because the king had commanded that no answer be given.”
The Rabshakeh again acts the barbarian in his thinking, grows heavy with words against God, and is greatly puffed up because the king of the Assyrians had taken very many cities of the nations, and not one had been saved by the falsely named gods in it; but he did not know that those were wood and stones and the handiwork of human hands, and nothing else. But the God of Judea, or rather of the whole world, is a living and true God, not one recently made, but rather the maker of the ages themselves, creator of all, and Lord of hosts. The … thinks, then, that it will be … that they will be captured in every way, even if the great God helps them, that none of the gods of the Greeks could save a city or a land in which it had been honoured. Therefore he says: “Where is the god of Hamath and Arphad?” And he adds: “Were they able to deliver Samaria from my hand?”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Isa 36:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 39:1 (38:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 115:4 (113:12 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Jer 10:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Thess 1:9 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Rabshakeh, speaking in the people's language, calls Hezekiah a deceiver, promises deserters a land like their own, and boasts that no god of the nations saved its land; Cyril answers that those gods were wood and stone, while the God of Judea is the living Creator (Isa 36:13–21).
- Lemmas: Isa 36:13–17 (LXX; its opening and “If you wish to be blessed, come out to me” are lost in the OCR; marked “…”) and Isa 36:18–21. In the second lemma the OCR has inserted, together with Migne's Latin version (removed), a line of Ps 39:1–2 (LXX 38:2–3) that belongs to the comment in the next section; it is translated where it stands, in brackets. Other gaps are marked “…”. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed in three places. Allusions: Ps 115:4 (LXX 113:12; idols the work of human hands); Jer 10:10; 1 Thess 1:9 (living and true God).
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 lemma; lost Greek marked; Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): δὲ τεἰ εἴ ὑεαιὶ 6446, ἐργεαϊμιϊπὶ αα ηϊθ, Εἰ εἰ 6 φμίδφις → ; Ω (ἰοιινοτιὶι 56γπιοιθῆ Δι: Δ 608 4 π΄ ρτορυχεῖν → … ; γι 9 ὕϑὶ εεἰ θεμε Επιαιδ, εἰ Ατοπαίῆ 7 εἰ εϑὶ φεὶ τοῦ Ἰηρ τ εἰ8. δι ΐ τ δογιηοηΐθα5, οἱ (διαὶ θαυυατῖοο, οἱ Οἰδ᾽ → … .
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.4.3 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-3
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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.
3.4.4PG 70
"Αλλ᾽, Ὦ τρισάθλιε, φαίην ἂν, δαμάλεσι καὶ αὐτοὶ προσχεχυνήχασι ταῖς χρυσαῖς, ἤλω τε ἡ χώρα θεοῦ συστέλλοντος τὴν ἐπικουρίαν. Καὶ, ὡς ἔφην φθάσας, εἰ μηδεὶς τῶν παρ᾽ Ἕλλησι θεῶν σέσωκε τὴν ἑαντοῦ, τοῦτο πρὸς Θεὸν οὐδὲν τὸν ἀληθῶς, καὶ φύσει, καὶ μέγαν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τέχνης ἀνθρωπίνης δεἔλαχον, τὸ κἂν γοῦν ὁρᾶσθαι μόνον. Ὁ δὲ χατεξουσιάζει τῶν ὅλων, καὶ ἄμαχον ἔχει τὴν χεῖρα, τῶν δυνάμεων ὑπάρχων Κύριος. ᾿Αποχρίνεται δὲ οὐδεὶς τῷ Ῥαψάχῃ, σιωπᾷν ἐπιτάττοντος τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ μάλα ἐμφρόνως. ᾿Απαιδεύτοις δὲ λόγοις, καὶ φρονήματι βαρδαρικῷ, καὶ ταῖς κατὰ Θεοῦ γλωσα- Καὶ τοῦτο, οἶμαι, διδάσκει λέγων ὁ μακάριος Δα. συστῆναι τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐναντίον μου, ἐκωφώθην, Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ᾿Ἐλιακεὶμ ὁ τοῦ Χελκίου οἰκονό μος, καὶ Σομνᾶς ὁ γραμματεὺς τῆς δυνάμεως, ῃ ἐσχισμένοι τοὺς χιτῶνας, καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ τοὺς λόγους Ῥαψάκου. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν βασιλέα Ἐζοχίαν, ἔσχισε τὰ ἱμάτιω, καὶ σάκκον περιεθάλετο, καὶ ἀνέθη εἰς τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου. Ἐπὶ ταῖς Ῥαψάχου μεγαληγορίαις, καὶ ταῖς ται τοὺς χιτῶνας οἱ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐσταλμένοι, καὶ ἀπαγγέλλουσι μὲν τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ ἐκ τῆς Περσικῆς ἀποἐσθῆτα, καὶ μετημφιέσατο σάκκον, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἱμάτιον πενθ᾽χὸν, καὶ ἀνέδη, φησὶν, εἰς τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου. Καὶ ποία τις ἡ πρόφασις τοῦ περιῤῥήγνυσθαι τὰ ἄμφια; Ἔθος ἣν Ἰουδαίοις ἐπὶ ταῖς κατὰ θεοῦ ὃνσφημίαις τοῦνο δρᾶν. Καὶ γοῦν παραδέδοται μὲν ὁ Σωτὴρ τοῖς τῶν Ἰόυδαίων χαθηγηταῖς, καὶ ὁ τοῦ κόσμον κριτὴς ἐκρίνετο παρ᾽ αὑτοῖς. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐσιώπα, ταῖς τῶν ψευδηγορούντων φωναῖς οὐκ ἀποχρινόμεενος. Εἶτά φησι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ ἀρχιερεύς" « ᾿Ἐξορχίζω σε κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, ἵνα ἡμῖν εἴπῃς εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς" Σὺ εἶπας. Πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ᾿Απ᾿ ἄρτι ὄψεσθε τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καθήμενον ἐκ δεξιῶν τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Τότε ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς διέῤῥηξε τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, λέγων" Ἐδλασφήμησεν. ν» "ἔφη δὲ καὶ δι' ἑνὸς τῶν προφητῶν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τοῖς ἐξ. αἵματος Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι « Διαῤῥήξατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, καὶ μὴ τὰ ἱμάτια ὑμῶν. ν» “Ὥοντο γὰρ ἴσως εὐσεδεῖν, καὶ ταῖς ἀνωκάτω τιμαῖς χατευφραίνειν Θεὸν, ἐπὶ ταῖς κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ δυσφημίαις τοὺς χιτῶνας χατασχίξοντες, κἂν εἰ μηδένα ποιοῖντο λόγον τῶν διὰ Μωσέως τεθεσπισμένων. Σάκκον μέν γε ἤτοι περίδλημα πενθιχὸν περιτέθειται μὲν Ἐξεχίας, ἄνεισι δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Πενθεῖν γὰρ ἀκόλουθον, κλαίειν δὲ καὶ κατατρύχεσθαι τοὺς ἐν ἀκμαῖς ὄντας κακῶν, καὶ σωτηρίας ἐλπίδα ποιεῖσθαι Θεὸν, αὑτῷ τε προσχαθῆσθαι, καὶ θαμίζειν ἐν, ἁγίοις τόποις, ἔνθα μάλιστα πρεπωδέστερον τὰς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἱκετείας ποιοῖτ᾽ ἄν τις.
"All᾽, Ō trisathlie, phaiēn an, damalesi kai autoi proschechynēchasi tais chrysais, ēlō te hē chōra theou systellontos tēn epikourian. Kai, hōs ephēn phthasas, ei mēdeis tōn par᾽ Hellēsi theōn sesōke tēn heantou, touto pros Theon ouden ton alēthōs, kai physei, kai megan. Hoi men gar ek technēs anthrōpinēs deelachon, to kan goun horasthai monon. Ho de chatexousiazei tōn holōn, kai amachon echei tēn cheira, tōn dynameōn hyparchōn Kyrios. ᾿Apochrinetai de oudeis tǭ Rhapsachę̄, siōpąn epitattontos tou basileōs, kai mala emphronōs. ᾿Apaideutois de logois, kai phronēmati bardarikǭ, kai tais kata Theou glōsa- Kai touto, oimai, didaskei legōn ho makarios Da. systēnai ton hamartōlon enantion mou, ekōphōthēn, Kai eisēlthen ᾿Eliakeim ho tou Chelkiou oikono mos, kai Somnas ho grammateus tēs dynameōs, ę̄ eschismenoi tous chitōnas, kai anēngeilan autǭ tous logous Rhapsakou. Kai egeneto en tǭ akousai ton basilea Ezochian, eschise ta himatiō, kai sakkon periethaleto, kai anethē eis ton oikon Kyriou. Epi tais Rhapsachou megalēgoriais, kai tais tai tous chitōnas hoi pros hauton estalmenoi, kai apangellousi men tǭ basilei ta ek tēs Persikēs apoesthēta, kai metēmphiesato sakkon, tout᾽ estin, himation penth᾽chon, kai anedē, phēsin, eis ton oikon Kyriou. Kai poia tis hē prophasis tou perirrhēgnysthai ta amphia? Ethos hēn Ioudaiois epi tais kata theou honsphēmiais touno dran. Kai goun paradedotai men ho Sōtēr tois tōn Ioudaiōn chathēgētais, kai ho tou kosmon kritēs ekrineto par᾽ hautois. ᾿All᾽ esiōpa, tais tōn pseudēgorountōn phōnais ouk apochrinomeenos. Eita phēsi pros auton ho archiereus" « ᾿Exorchizō se kata tou Theou tou zōntos, hina hēmin eipę̄s ei sy ei ho Christos ho Huios tou Theou? Legei autǭ ho Iēsous" Sy eipas. Plēn legō hymin, ᾿Ap᾿ arti opsesthe ton Huion tou anthrōpou kathēmenon ek dexiōn tēs dynameōs, kai erchomenon epi tōn nephelōn tou ouranou. Tote ho archiereus dierrhēxe ta himatia autou, legōn" Edlasphēmēsen. n» "ephē de kai di' henos tōn prophētōn ho tōn holōn Theos tois ex. haimatos Israēl, hoti « Diarrhēxate tas kardias hymōn, kai mē ta himatia hymōn. n» “Hōonto gar isōs eusedein, kai tais anōkatō timais chateuphrainein Theon, epi tais kat᾽ autou dysphēmiais tous chitōnas chataschixontes, kan ei mēdena poiointo logon tōn dia Mōseōs tethespismenōn. Sakkon men ge ētoi peridlēma penthichon peritetheitai men Exechias, aneisi de kai eis ton oikon tou Theou, kai mala eikotōs. Penthein gar akolouthon, klaiein de kai katatrychesthai tous en akmais ontas kakōn, kai sōtērias elpida poieisthai Theon, hautǭ te proschathēsthai, kai thamizein en, hagiois topois, entha malista prepōdesteron tas pros auton hiketeias poioit᾽ an tis.
But, O thrice-wretched man, I would say, they too worshipped golden heifers, and the land was taken when God withdrew his help. And, as I said before, if none of the gods of the Greeks saved his own land, this is nothing against God, who is truly, by nature, and great. For they had received from human art no more than, at most, to be seen; but he rules over all and has an invincible hand, being the Lord of hosts. No one answers the Rabshakeh, since the king commanded silence, and very prudently. For to uneducated words, a barbarian mind, and tongues [wagging] against God … And this, I think, is what the blessed David teaches when he says: … “when the sinner stood against me, I was struck dumb …”
“And Eliakim son of Hilkiah the steward, and Somnas the scribe of the force … with their tunics torn, and they reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh. And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and went up to the house of the Lord.”
At the boastings of the Rabshakeh and his … those sent to him [tear] their tunics, and report to the king the [words] of Persian madness; … clothing, and changed into sackcloth, that is, a garment of mourning, and went up, it says, into the house of the Lord. And what is the reason for tearing one's clothes? It was the custom of the Jews to do this at blasphemies against God. Indeed, the Saviour was handed over to the guides of the Jews, and the Judge of the world was judged by them. But he was silent, not answering the voices of those who spoke falsely. Then the high priest said to him: “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says to him: You have said so. But I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, He has blasphemed.” And the God of all said through one of the prophets to those of the blood of Israel: “Rend your hearts and not your garments.” For they perhaps thought they were being godly and gladdening God with the highest honours by tearing their tunics at blasphemies against him, even if they took no account of what had been ordained through Moses. Hezekiah puts on sackcloth, or a garment of mourning, and goes up into the house of God, and very fittingly. For it is fitting that those at the height of misfortunes should mourn, weep, and be worn down, make God their hope of salvation, sit before him, and frequent the holy places, where one would most fittingly make supplications to him.
1 Kgs 12:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 17:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 39:1 (38:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 39:2 (38:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 37:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 27:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 26:63 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 26:64 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 26:65 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 2:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Samaria fell because it worshipped golden calves, not because God was weak; Hezekiah's officials keep silence as David did before the wicked, and Hezekiah tears his garments and goes to the temple (Isa 36:22–37:1); Cyril compares the high priest's tearing of his robes at Jesus' trial.
- Lemma: Isa 36:22–37:1 (LXX; “and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went in to Hezekiah” is lost in the OCR; marked “…”). Words are lost in the comment (marked “…”); the beginning of the quotation of Ps 39:1–2 (LXX 38:2–3) stands displaced in the previous section. Migne's Latin version, read as Greek letters by the OCR, has been removed. Quotations: Matt 26:63–65; Joel 2:13. Allusions: 1 Kgs 12:28 and 2 Kgs 17:16 (golden calves); Matt 27:12–14 (Jesus' silence). Cyril's remark on the Jewish custom of tearing garments is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR): αὶ ὑμάπκοτυπι ξηνετβλίιογίθυδ, οἱ πιυτα!! ἕε εκ αν ἰδ → .
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.4.4 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-4
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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.
3.4.5PG 70
Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ᾿Ἐλιακεὶμ τὸν οἰκονόμον, καὶ Σομνὰν τὸν γραμματέα, καὶ τοὺς πρεσδυτέρους τῶν ἱερέων περιδεδλημένους σάκκον πρὸς Ἡσαῖαν υἱὸν μὼς τὸν προφήτην, καὶ εἶπαν ὀνειδισμοῦ, καὶ ἐλεγμοῦ, καὶ ὀργῆς ἡ σήμερον ἡμέρα, ὅτι ἦχει ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ τιχτούσῃ, ἰσχὺν δὲ οὖκ ἔχει τοῦ τεκεῖν. Εἴ πως εἰσαχούσαι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου τοὺς.όγους Ῥαψάχου, οὖς ἀπέστειλε βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ὀνειδίζειν Θεὸν ζῶντα; καὶ ὀνειδίζειν «1όγους οὖς ἤκουσε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, καὶ δεηθήσῃ πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου περὶ τῶν Τοὺς προὔχοντας ἐν ἱερωσύνῃ καὶ ταῖς ἀνωτάτω σιμαῖς ἐκ νόμου χατεστεμμένους ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἄλλοις, οὐκ ἂν ἐσθήμασιν ὄντας ἱεροῖς, καὶ τοῖς τῇ λειτουρ- Ὑἱᾷᾳ πρεπωδεστέροις" ἐν σάκκοις δὲ μᾶλλον, ἧτοι προστέταχε πρὸς τὸν μακάριον προφήτην Ἡσαῖαν, ἀπαγγεΐξλαί τε ἔτι θλίψεως αὐτοῖς ἐπιπέπτωχεν ἡμέρα καὶ ὀνειδισμοῦ. Μονονουχὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, χατονειδίζει Θεὸς τοὺς τὴν ἁγίαν οἰκοῦντας πόλιν, ὡς τῆς κατὰ νόμον ἐπιεικείας ἡμεληχότας" ἐλέγχει δὲ πεπλημμεληχότας, ἐπάγει τὲ οὕτω τὰ ἐξ ὀργῆς. “χειν τε εἰς τοῦτο ὑπὸ τὰ πράγματα αὐτοῖς διαδεδαιοῦντο σαφῶς ὡς ἱοιχέναι τὸν Ἰσραὴλ γυναικὶ μὲν τιχτούσῃ, γενομένῃ δὲ λοιπὸν ἐν ἐσχάτοις διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνατθαι τεκεῖν, Βούλεται δὲ καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου μεσι- «εἰας ἐπακοῦσαι τῶν λόγων ῬΡαψάχου τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν, οὗς ἀκήχοε δι᾽ ἑαυτοῦ. Λανθάνει γὰρ αὐτὸν … ἁγίων. Κατανεύει γὰρ δι' αὐτοὺς, καὶ … ἀνῃρημένων, ἐμπεπκρησμένων τε οἴκων. Δεήθητι, φησὶ, περὶ τῶν χαταλελειμμένων τούτων. Εὐσεδὴς ἄγαν ὁ Ἐζεκίας, συλλήπτορα παρακαλῶν γενέσθαι τὸν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τίμιον δηλονότι τὸν προφήτην. Ἐπ: ὠφελὲς οὖν ἄρα τὸ προσπίπτειν Θεῷ προεστηχότων πολλάκις, καὶ τῶν ῥᾳθυμεῖν εἰωθότων τὸ δά- Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἡσαΐας" Οὕτως ἐρεῖτε πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὑμῶν " Τάδε «.ἰέγει Κύριος " Μὴ φοδηθῇς ἀπὸ τῶν «᾿όγων ὧν ἤκουσας, οὖς ὠνείδισάν με οἱ πρέσδεις βασιλέως ᾿Ασσυρίων. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμδάλλω εἰς αὐτὸν πνεῦμα, καὶ ἀκούσας ἀγγελίαν ἀποστραφήσεται εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πεσεῖται μεκαίρᾳ ἐν τῇ τῇ αὐτοῦ. Παραθαρσύνει Θεὸς, καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺ καὶ καραχρῆμα τὸν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ πεποιθότα, καὶ ὀνησιφάρον αὐτῷ δέδειχε τὴν ἐλπίδα, καὶ οὐκ ἄμισθον τὸ δραμεῖν εἰς οἶκον Κυρίον, καὶ ὁμοῦ ταῖς λιταῖς τὸ ἐκ πόνου καθεῖναι δάκρυον. Ἐχμειλίσσεται οὕτως φιλάνθρωπος ὧν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Δεσπότης. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ Ῥαψάκης ἀποχείρων τῶν ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ σωθῆναι τὴν ἐλπίδα, κἂν εἰ ἕλοιτο διασώζειν αὐτοὺς ὁ πάντα ἰσχύων Θεὸς, ἀνοσίως ἔφασκε' Μὴ ἀπατάτω ὑμᾶς Ἐζεκίας, ὅτι ῥύδεται ὁ Θεὸς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἐκ χειρός μον. Μὴ ἐῤῥύσαντο οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν τούτων ἕκαστος «τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν ἐκ χειρός μου; Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ μάλα εἰκότως ἀπαλλάττει δειμάτων, καὶ ψυχροῖς, καὶ ἐπιστυγνάζειν οὐκ ἐᾷ, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀναῤῥώννυσιν εἰς πολύευχτον ἐλπίδα, καὶ οὐκ ἀκόντα λέγων τὸν ἀλαζόνα τύραννον ἀνακομισθήσεσθαι εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πονηροῦ χαταπτοοῦντος πνεύματος, καὶ εἰς δειλίας αὐτὸν τὰς ὑπέρ γε τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείας οὐ φορητῶς συνελαύνοντος, πεσεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ μακαίρᾳ, κινδυνεύ.
Kai apesteilen ᾿Eliakeim ton oikonomon, kai Somnan ton grammatea, kai tous presdyterous tōn hiereōn peridedlēmenous sakkon pros Hēsaian huion mōs ton prophētēn, kai eipan oneidismou, kai elegmou, kai orgēs hē sēmeron hēmera, hoti ēchei hē ōdin tę̄ tichtousę̄, ischyn de ouk echei tou tekein. Ei pōs eisachousai Kyrios ho Theos sou tous.ogous Rhapsachou, ous apesteile basileus Assyriōn oneidizein Theon zōnta? kai oneidizein «1ogous ous ēkouse Kyrios ho Theos sou, kai deēthēsę̄ pros Kyrion ton Theon sou peri tōn Tous prouchontas en hierōsynę̄ kai tais anōtatō simais ek nomou chatestemmenous homou tois allois, ouk an esthēmasin ontas hierois, kai tois tę̄ leitour- Huiąą prepōdesterois" en sakkois de mallon, hētoi prostetache pros ton makarion prophētēn Hēsaian, apangeïxlai te eti thlipseōs autois epipeptōchen hēmera kai oneidismou. Mononouchi gar, phēsi, chatoneidizei Theos tous tēn hagian oikountas polin, hōs tēs kata nomon epieikeias hēmelēchotas" elenchei de peplēmmelēchotas, epagei te houtō ta ex orgēs. “chein te eis touto hypo ta pragmata autois diadedaiounto saphōs hōs hioichenai ton Israēl gynaiki men tichtousę̄, genomenę̄ de loipon en eschatois dia to mē dynatthai tekein, Bouletai de kai dia tēs tou prophētou mesi- «eias epakousai tōn logōn RhRapsachou ton tōn holōn Theon, hous akēchoe di᾽ heautou. Lanthanei gar auton … hagiōn. Kataneuei gar di' autous, kai … anę̄rēmenōn, empepkrēsmenōn te oikōn. Deēthēti, phēsi, peri tōn chataleleimmenōn toutōn. Eusedēs agan ho Ezekias, syllēptora parakalōn genesthai ton para tǭ Theǭ timion dēlonoti ton prophētēn. Ep: ōpheles oun ara to prospiptein Theǭ proestēchotōn pollakis, kai tōn rhąthymein eiōthotōn to da- Kai eipen autois Hēsaïas" Houtōs ereite pros ton kyrion hymōn " Tade «.iegei Kyrios " Mē phodēthę̄s apo tōn «᾿ogōn hōn ēkousas, ous ōneidisan me hoi presdeis basileōs ᾿Assyriōn. Idou egō emdallō eis auton pneuma, kai akousas angelian apostraphēsetai eis tēn chōran autou, kai peseitai mekairą en tę̄ tę̄ autou. Paratharsynei Theos, kai ouk eis makran, all᾽ euthy kai karachrēma ton ep᾽ autǭ pepoithota, kai onēsipharon autǭ dedeiche tēn elpida, kai ouk amisthon to dramein eis oikon Kyrion, kai homou tais litais to ek ponou katheinai dakryon. Echmeilissetai houtōs philanthrōpos hōn ho tōn holōn Despotēs. Epeidē de ho Rhapsakēs apocheirōn tōn ex Israēl tou sōthēnai tēn elpida, kan ei heloito diasōzein autous ho panta ischyōn Theos, anosiōs ephaske' Mē apatatō hymas Ezekias, hoti rhydetai ho Theos Hierousalēm, ek cheiros mon. Mē errhysanto hoi theoi tōn ethnōn toutōn hekastos «tēn heautou chōran ek cheiros mou? Tautę̄ toi kai mala eikotōs apallattei deimatōn, kai psychrois, kai epistygnazein ouk eą, mallon de anarrhōnnysin eis polyeuchton elpida, kai ouk akonta legōn ton alazona tyrannon anakomisthēsesthai eis tēn heautou ponērou chataptoountos pneumatos, kai eis deilias auton tas hyper ge tēs heautou basileias ou phorētōs synelaunontos, peseisthai de kai makairą, kindyneu.
“And he sent Eliakim the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and the elders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, and they said … of reproach and of rebuke and of wrath is this day, for the birth pang has come to her who is in labour, but she has no strength to give birth. If perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to reproach the living God, and to reproach with words which the Lord your God heard; and you will pray to the Lord your God for …”
The foremost in the priesthood, crowned by the law with the highest honours, together with the others — not in sacred vestments, those more fitting for the liturgy, but rather in sackcloth — … he commanded to [go] to the blessed prophet Isaiah, and to report that a day of affliction and of reproach had fallen upon them. For God, he says, all but reproaches those who inhabit the holy city as having neglected the equity of the law; he rebukes them as having offended, and so brings on the effects of wrath. And they plainly affirmed that matters had come to such a point for them that Israel resembled a woman in labour who has come to extremity because she cannot give birth. He wishes also that, through the prophet's mediation, the God of all should give ear to the words of the Rabshakeh, which he had heard by himself. For it escapes him … of the saints. For he consents for their sake … destroyed, and houses burned. Pray, he says, for these who are left. Hezekiah is very godly, calling on the one honoured with God, plainly the prophet, to become his helper. So it is useful to fall down before God, often together with those who preside, even for those used to being slack …
“And Isaiah said to them: Thus you shall say to your lord: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the envoys of the king of the Assyrians reproached me. Behold, I am putting a spirit into him, and having heard a report he will turn back to his own country, and he will fall by the sword in his own land.”
God encourages the one who has trusted in him, not after long but at once and immediately, and has shown him that his hope is profitable, and that to run to the house of the Lord, and to shed tears from toil together with prayers, is not without reward. So is the Master of all won over, being the lover of humankind. And since the Rabshakeh, cutting off the hope of those of Israel for being saved, even if the all-powerful God should choose to save them, said unholily: “Let not Hezekiah deceive you, that God will deliver Jerusalem from my hand. Did the gods of these nations deliver each his own land from my hand?” — therefore, very fittingly, he frees him from terrors, and does not let him … and be gloomy, but rather strengthens him to a much-prayed-for hope, saying that the boastful tyrant will be carried back, not willingly, to his own [land], an evil spirit terrifying him and driving him unbearably into fears for his own kingdom; and that he will fall by the sword, having been endangered
Isa 37:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 37:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 37:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 37:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 37:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 36:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Hezekiah sends the priests in sackcloth to Isaiah, likening Jerusalem to a woman unable to give birth, and asks for his prayers (Isa 37:2–4); God answers at once that Sennacherib, driven by a spirit of fear, will return home and fall by the sword (Isa 37:6–7).
- Lemmas: Isa 37:2–4 (LXX; “Thus says Hezekiah: A day of affliction and” and the last words, “those who are left”, are lost in the OCR; marked “…”) and Isa 37:6–7. Words are lost in the comment in several places (marked “…”), where Migne's Latin version and references, read as Greek letters by the OCR, have been removed. Quotation: Isa 36:15, 18 (the Rabshakeh's words, cited from memory).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked; Migne's references and Latin version read as Greek letters by the OCR; lost Greek marked): Ποῖ. ἃρ. δΝμϊ δίδί. δου. ΡΡ. ἢ, 4δ; φυοὰ [πὶ εἰονὶς εἰ ἔνα εεἰ ᾿οάίογημ αἶσα, μία νενὲϊ → … ; δυδῶ) 46 πηλοῦ πιε8 ἢ Εἴος πος δἰ οδυδδ [ἰ αγαὶ ἰδ σιν → … .
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Cyril of Alexandria, Comm. Isa. 3.4.5 (PG 70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/cyril-alexandria-commentarius-isaiam/3-4-5
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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.