Commentary on Isaiah 3.4.6–3.4.13

not in a foreign land, nor having boasted of slaughters of enemies and being enriched with bright prizes for valour against foes; but where he [thought] to spend his time, there he fell, in his own land — this happened against hope and unexpectedly. For where he thought to spend his time … of fears, there he fell, and, endangered by those by whom it was likely he would be saved. Who these are we shall learn from what follows.

“… besieging Lamna; and the king heard … of the Ethiopians to besiege him; and having heard, he turned back, and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying: Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judea: Let not your God deceive you, in whom you trust, saying, Jerusalem will not be handed over into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. Have you not heard what the kings of the Assyrians did, how they destroyed the whole earth? Did the gods of the nations deliver them, whom my fathers destroyed, Gaza and Charran and Rapheis, which are in the land of Thaiman? Where are the kings of Hamath and Arphad, and of the city of Emphareim, Ata and Aua?”

… having come under the barbarian hand, and after it Lamna; there the Rabshakeh is said to have found the Assyrian. But he was greatly disturbed; for Tharaca, king of the Ethiopians, had marched against him. Then, fearing that, with his country seized, he might lose his most splendid thrones, he leaves Judea and hurries rather to his own land; yet he did not abate the cruelty within him. But, inflamed as it were to unmixed anger, perhaps because those of Israel, that is, those who inhabit the holy city, would not … to the Rabshakeh's words, the wretch again … mouth against the glory of God, and commands some of his household to go quickly to Hezekiah and report his message to him. These were blasphemies against God, as he says plainly: since the gods of the other countries or nations perished together with those who worshipped them, not even the God of the Hebrews could deliver them and snatch them from the hand of the Assyrians. Then he enumerates sacked cities, which, one would think, could do much, from which others suffered. By these very things he terrifies, as men about to die, even those who trust in him, in the God who rules all.

“… and opened it before the Lord; and Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who sit upon the cherubim, you alone are God of every kingdom of the world. You made heaven and earth. Hear, Lord; look, Lord, and see the words which Sennacherib sent to reproach the living God.”

From very great godliness toward God he unfolds the book, not as though God did not know the magnitude of Sennacherib's arrogance, but rather crying out against the barbarian madness and making God himself, who has authority over all, as it were a witness of that man's insolence. And see how he answers Sennacherib's words as he stretches out his supplication. For the one, so far as lay in him, mocking the glory of God, says: “Let not your God deceive you, in whom you trust, saying, Jerusalem will not be handed over into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.” But the other confesses the greatness of his authority, naming him Lord of hosts and God of Israel, and over all creation, the creation above and rational: “For you are,” he says, “the one who sits upon the cherubim.” And he confesses besides that

even if some on earth are called kings, yet the one who is by nature and truly King, and has all things under his feet, would be he alone, the Creator of earth and heaven, who by a nod brought into being what once was not. And he begs him to hear and to look, that is, not to overlook and pass by such bitter blasphemies, but to punish the wicked one with justice. For he reproached the living God, he says, that is, one in no way like the gods of the nations, to whom that man compared [him].

“… laid waste the whole world and their land, and threw their idols into the fire. For they were not gods, but works of men's hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them. But you, O Lord our God, save us from their hands, that every kingdom of the earth may know that you alone are God.”

I have heard, he says, the barbarian saying: “Did the gods of the nations deliver each his own land from my hand?” Even if someone says this, I approve it and am persuaded. For they have conquered the whole earth and burned the cities, which could get no benefit from the falsely named gods; for they saved no one. For how, or whence, could things made of wood and stone? Therefore they perished together with their own worshippers. But you, save us, O Master. For this too is a proof, and persuades all under heaven to hold, and firmly, that you alone are God. For just as the capture of the countries of the nations bore witness against the falsely named gods that they are nothing at all, so too Jerusalem's escaping and getting out of his hand, the city that is under you and yours, will all but bear witness, and will make clear to all everywhere the proclamation of your might and of your undefiled glory, and that you alone are God, in heaven and on earth.

“And Isaiah son of Amoz was sent to Hezekiah and said to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard what you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib …”

The one who saves is not far off, but near, and the fulfilment of what was asked follows, as it were, on the heels of the prayer. For the prophet is sent; having till then kept silent about the barbarian and not having announced God's sentence on him, he says: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel.” He strengthens the believer and does not show the sender to be one of the falsely named gods, but rather, making him confident, names him Lord and God of Israel. And he praises him, as it were, and accepts him, saying: “I have heard what you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of the Assyrians.” For all but, he says, I accept your zeal, I know your love of God; you found the blasphemy against me unbearable; you came in tears, grieving as it were on my behalf, and made the reproaches against me your own grief. Most praiseworthy, then, is the zeal of the saints; and when the glory of God is blasphemed and they grieve, God is gladdened.

“This is the word which God spoke about him: The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and mocked you; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. Whom have you reproached and provoked? Or against whom have you raised your voice? And you did not lift your eyes on high to the … of Israel; for through messengers you have reproached the Lord.”

He makes plain thereafter his sentence on the barbarian, and says that the virgin daughter of Zion, that is, Jerusalem, will mock him and shake her head. We say that he names Zion, or Jerusalem, virgin and daughter: virgin, as undefiled and not having the blemish of loathsome idolatry; daughter, because he has given it the affection a father owes to the children born of him. And she despised the Assyrian, or shook her head at him; in a way she smiled at him in his defeat and made his calamities, as it were, a song and a harmonious melody. Then she says to him: “Whom have you reproached and provoked? Or against whom have you raised your voice?” For did you think you were vexing one of the falsely named gods with such hot words? And yet how ought you not, he says, to have lifted the eye of the mind on high and considered who, and how great, the God of Israel is? You ought, even from the very sight of created things, to have seen by analogy the greatness of the Creator's power. You ought to have contemplated the height of his glory and to have reckoned nothing lowly of him. But, not remembering any such thing, he says, you said:

“With the multitude of chariots I went up to the height of mountains and to the farthest parts of Lebanon, and I cut down the height of its cedar and its beauty, and I entered the height of the part of the forest; and I made a bridge, and I dried up waters and every gathering of water.”

He sets forth the swelling of Persian arrogance, its senseless puffing up, and the magnitude of its boasting. For he compares to Lebanon, as we said before, the land of the Jews, and perhaps also that of the Samaritans, which the ten tribes inhabited. For Lebanon is a mountain in Phoenicia, flourishing and thickly covered with cedar trees lifted very high. And the land of the Jews is understood to be somehow like this: high, because God was its defender; dense, because those in it were seen to be beyond number. But the Assyrian tyrants took Samaria, and with it laid waste not a few cities of Judea. You, then, he says, O Assyrian, having an arrogant mind and ascribing the outcome of events to your own powers, said: “With the multitude of chariots I went up to the height of mountains and to the farthest parts of Lebanon,” that is, against the very kingdom of those of Israel. “I cut down the height of its cedar.” Of what? Of Lebanon, plainly Judea. By “the height of the cedar” he means their kingdom; and he entered “the height of the part of the forest.” For, as I said, many cities of Judea perished together with that of the Samaritans. And you said: “I made a bridge, and dried up waters and every gathering of water.” For the Persians and Assyrians, ascribing to their own powers the ability to accomplish everything, in overrunning countries bridged some of the rivers, and often boasted of being so many in number as to be able to exhaust springs and gatherings of water … extravagant … ; but rather the sentence from him against … made in them.

… for the thirsty, men and horses together. And the select writers among the Greeks, those who recorded Persian affairs in their own histories, say that they even bridged the Hellespont itself; and if a river, they say, was found in the midst as they passed through a country or a city, the tyrant gave orders, saying: Let it be drunk dry. So the God of all recalls the arrogance of the Persians and refutes those used to boasting. Then after this he shows that it was not rather they who were able to accomplish the things on which they prided themselves … the glory of power …

“Have you not heard long ago what I did? From ancient days I arranged it, and now I have commanded … and they became like dry flowers on rooftops, and like couch-grass.”

All these things, he says, which you yourself think you have accomplished, ascribing them to your own powers, you do not blush. But, O you who raise your brow vainly over nothing, have you not heard long ago what I did? For if you wished, he says, to busy yourself with the words of my prophets, I said beforehand that these things would happen. For I from ancient days arranged … now, when the time calls the things foretold to their end, … that is, not weak and easily taken. I let go my hands, and they were dried up. For he who of old, in his forbearance, still held them together in being, and … they withered like grass and faded like hay, and like dry couch-grass were given as food to fire. This, indeed, he says to him elsewhere too: since … the things determined by God to happen … he heard God saying again: “Will the axe be glorified without the one who cuts with it? Or will the saw be exalted without the one who draws it?” For just as such tools do not move themselves to work, but rather wait for the hand of the one who moves them, so you too, he says, have become an instrument of the divine wrath; you did not work by your own powers, but were rather like an axe and a saw in the hands of …

“But now I know your rest, and your going out; and your anger, with which you were angered, and your bitterness have come up to me.”

You boast, then, he says, having become a servant of the divine judgments, and you think perhaps that by yourself and alone you prevailed over so many nations and countries, so as to burn them and take them. But I know your rest, your going out, and your coming in. By “rest,” I think, he names death; by “going out and coming in,” the way to anything at all that is to be done. For nothing at all escapes the all-knowing Mind. And by adding, “Your anger, with which you were angered, and your bitterness have come up to me,” … For I will by no means overlook the malice and bitterness of your unholy designs, but, as if provoked to grief, I will bring on your rage the penalty that fits it.

“And I will put a muzzle in your nose and a bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.”

Since the Assyrian, having the irrationality most befitting a beast, mocked God, and, as it were, leaping into unbridled savagery, uttered words contrary to the glory of God, therefore very … in your nose and a bridle in your lips, all but … and by the greatness of the calamities as by a bridle. He says that the Assyrian will also return to his own land. For he turned back on hearing that Tharaca king of the Ethiopians had come out against him. And yet, someone might say, why, when his whole army had fallen, was he not only saved himself but even returned to his own land? For it was necessary, necessary, that, stripped of the multitude under his hand, he should by God's dispensation escape the hand of the destroying angel, so that he might bewail his own calamity, know whom he had blasphemed, and announce the marvel to all the others.

“And this shall be the sign to you: Eat this year what you have sown, and in the second year what is left, and in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. And those left in Judea … will bear seed upward. For out of Jerusalem will be those who are left, and those who are saved from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do …”

Saying that the Assyrian will be turned back to his own land and will depart from the land of the Jews, he defines the time at which this will happen, and says: “Eat this year what you have sown,” and what follows. It is not clear to all whether the sign was given to Sennacherib or to Hezekiah and those with him. But we shall state the sense of what is written; then it must be fitted to the one or the other. If we say that the sign was given to Hezekiah, we understand it thus. Jerusalem was besieged, and the very great army of the Assyrians was trying to burn and take it; a very great quantity of the food … so that those saved in Jerusalem might be able to live. You, then, Hezekiah, he says, and all the people with you, eat this year what you have sown, and in the second what is left; and in the third sow and reap, and plant vineyards. For having settled in Samaria for two whole years, … when [the third year] came on he went off in flight, especially when those with the Rabshakeh who were besieging Jerusalem round about had perished. So in the third year, he says, let the land at last be let go, and let there be enough for farmers and for those who tend vines … peace, plainly, presiding over it, and safety. And that those saved and left over from the war will be secure in their contentment, he indicates by saying, as of plants, that they will stretch their root downward and put forth seed upward. That they will dwell safely, firmly, and beyond all fear, the having of root in depth gives us to understand; and that their prosperity will be extended to the end, … lets us understand. … of hosts will do these things. For since the Assyrian blasphemed, and, comparing him to the falsely named gods, dared to say, Will God not deliver Jerusalem from my hand? — all these things will happen, he says, when the all-powerful is moved to zeal. But if “Eat this year what you have sown, and in the second year what is left” bears against Sennacherib, we say that those used to campaigning against countries or cities, when the siege is sometimes slow and the battle is drawn out for them over time, take to farming too, so that they may have food. And in this way it will fit that what was said should be understood of him too.

“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: … nor will he shoot an arrow against it, nor will he set a shield against it, nor will he surround it with a palisade; but by the way by which he came, by it …”

He sums up, in a way, the sense of what has been said, and, as it were cutting it short in few words, makes plain the course of the matter to its end. For he will not engage in war, he says; but before battle, before moving arms, before stretching the bow and letting fly an arrow, before setting up a shield, before surrounding it, he will return by the same way and run home, he says. One should know that by “palisade” here he means the mass of stakes fixed in the ditches, sharpened to a point, so that none of those who fall may be saved.

“Thus says the Lord: I will shield this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of …”

He cuts off the pride of those saved by God's mercy, and does not allow those who inhabit the holy city to think extravagant things. For it was very likely that they would think and say that they had been honoured by God because of the equity of their manners and the spiritual good order of the righteousness within them. So he saves, as God, but benefits those who have been saved … ; for he said he would shield the city, plainly the holy one, not on account of its inhabitants in any way, nor granting the thing to any one of those then living, but for his own sake, and for David's, whom he also calls his own servant: for his own sake, because he is good and compassionate, and because it was surely necessary to bring the most fitting penalty on those who mocked his divine glory; for David's sake again, because he often grants, in memory of the saints, forgetfulness of wrongs in what their descendants sometimes offend.

“And an angel of the Lord went out and slew out of the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and rising in the morning they found all the bodies dead. And … and dwelt in Nineveh. And while he was worshipping in the house of Asarach his patriarch, Adramelech and Sarasar his sons struck him with swords; and they escaped to Armenia, and Achordan his son reigned in his place.”

The fulfilment of what was expected is usefully added to what was promised, so that the God of all might not appear to speak falsely. For the multitude of the Assyrians was consumed, not taken by the hands of the Jews, with no one stretching a bow against them, nor taking up a spear for battle, nor baring a sword, nor beginning the battle with mighty horses; but an angel [destroyed] by ineffable power the host beyond number. So the general, Sennacherib, though very bold, is struck with amazement at the wonder, is carried back home with difficulty, and dwelt, it says, stripped, in Nineveh. Then at last the promises made by God were brought to fulfilment. For he fell in his own house, worshipping a certain patriarch, plainly one of his fathers or grandfathers according to the flesh. For it is the custom of those once gone astray to assign the thing not only to the unclean spirits but also to whatever dead they choose. For having once fallen from the straight way, to anything that seems good to them … those who killed him; for when a divine sentence is brought on some, those who suffer it are endangered in every way, and as by bitter enemies …

they will meet with … from their own, … as a pledge of safety, not the affection and zeal owed to fathers by children, but thrust into the pits of destruction through the very ones by whom it was likely that, when endangered, they would be saved. And these things, so far as the surface of the history goes, have, I think, been said not inelegantly. But I think we must also say something of the more inward contemplations, for the comfort of the spiritual. For the holy city, that is, Zion, or Jerusalem, would be a type of the church of Christ, the truer Zion. This the enemies of the truth sometimes, or rather generally, besiege, that is, the inventors of unholy heresies; and they besiege it not alone, but in a way hiring the powers in the world as well, inspired by … of Satan, who as it were lets loose those under his hand and those used to serving his perversity; and when they come to those who preside over the truth … talking nonsense about the glory of God, they will gain much — but nothing at all worth any account. For the besieged will keep silent; and for what reason the blessed Paul will teach, saying: “Not to dispute about words to no profit”; and again: “Avoid a heretical man after one and a second admonition, knowing that such a one is perverted.” For to those who have once turned wholly to deceit and imposture and are held fast by falsehood, even the word that usually benefits is perhaps superfluous. For it is written: “Speak into the ears of those who hear.” So when the enemies of the truth promise honours and rest, as well as battles, one must go to God and lay claim to the help from above alone. For the right hand above, almighty, will suffice also to save those … For he will scare them off, using some ineffable might, and will free from war the Zion that is so holy and blameless, that is, the church. For the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

“And it came to pass at that time that Hezekiah was sick unto death. And Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet came to him and said to him: Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you are dying and will not live. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying: Remember, O Lord, how I walked before you in truth, with a true heart, and did what was pleasing before you. And Hezekiah wept with great weeping.”

Hezekiah was among the most distinguished in love for God, and had a far-famed glory for it. For he pulled down altars, destroyed sacred precincts, burned what was in the shrines, cut down groves, and never ceased serving God with the sacrifices according to the law. He conquered the barbarians neighbouring Judea, so as to bring many under tribute and taxes. He built cities too, and …

… was rightly admired. But, as the children of the Hebrews say, he was carried a little beyond what was fitting, thought great things of himself, and fell into the snares of arrogance. For this reason God raised over him the rod of love: “For whom the Lord loves,” it says, “he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives.” For he strikes as a father who loves his children, moving to better things even those caught in more shameful ones. For just as physicians, when they burn bodies with fire or cut them with iron, are used to doing this not from hatred of the patient but rather overcome by sparing care for him, in the same way, I think, the God of all … in his indignations, so that we may not be condemned with the world, as it is written. So King Hezekiah fell into sickness, and indeed one that reached the limit of every evil; for he was put in extreme danger through the prophet's voice: he says that he will die and that he must set his house in order. This was the word of one who was not ignorant that he would live and would escape the terror of the sickness by the mercy that comes from him, but who was calling and spurring him to prayer, so that, having asked, he might receive mercy from him. For he pities those he loves, grants to his true ones the finding of what they long for, and accepts the words of supplicants. Which indeed happened. For Hezekiah prayed, saying: “Remember, O Lord, how I walked before you in truth, with a true heart, and did what was pleasing before you.” Fine is the boldness of the righteous; for they all but ask a repayment for what they have done and the fruits of their sincerity. And the God of all rejoices in those who have lived lawfully, and in those who … the excellent … and weave toil into their prayer.

“And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying: Go and say to Hezekiah: Thus says the God of David your father: I have heard the voice of your prayer and seen your tears; behold, I add to your time fifteen years, and I will save you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will shield this city. And this shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that God will do this word which he has spoken: Behold, I turn back the shadow of the steps which the sun went down, the ten steps. And the sun went up the ten steps which the shadow had gone down.”

No long time intervened, but God at once consents and receives the prayers of the righteous man. For, as is written in the Kingdoms, before the blessed prophet had gone out of the king's court the word of God came to him. Returning, then, at once, he makes plain the words from him. For he said that he had heard his voice …