Commentary on Isaiah 5.6.5–5.6.11

they added to their former impieties their drunken outrage against the Saviour and Redeemer of all; for they killed the Author of life; then at last the wrath was kindled, and the smokes changed, in a way, into flame.

“… I repay, and I will repay into their bosom their sins and those of their fathers, says the Lord, who burned incense on the mountains and reproached me on their hills; I will repay their works into their bosom.”

It is as if he said: the things done unholily to grieve me, by their fathers and by them, I behold as though written on a tablet, and they are before my eyes; or how could I bear such terrible and incomparable evils? I will surely repay into their bosom, taking into remembrance their fathers too, who burned incense on the mountains and on the hills, on which they reproached me. Observe that, having said that they burned incense in gardens, he here speaks of the mountains and hills, meaning, I think, the groves on the mountains, as we said before. And sacrificing to the unclean demons, and then deeming the glory owed to God worth very little account, they all but reproached him as not being God. For to wish to devote oneself at all to gods that do not exist would be nothing other than to outrage the divine and supreme glory. “I will repay”, then, he says, “their works into their bosom”; for they have fallen away from every good thing, … terrible and inescapable …

“Thus says the Lord: As a grape will be found in the cluster, and they will say: Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it; so I will do for the sake of … all. And I will bring forth the seed from Jacob, and that from Judah, and it shall inherit my holy mountain; and my elect and my servants shall inherit it and dwell there.”

The effects of divine wrath and penalty were brought upon the Jews; yet they did not all perish utterly and without distinction. For the judge is just, and would not destroy the good together with the ungodly. He makes, as it were, a vivid image, and takes as an example a cluster in which one grape is kept safe, though the others have withered; then he brings in the farmer, that is, the master of the land, saying to someone: “Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it. So I will do”, he says, “for the sake of him who serves me”, that is, I will use such exactness that, even if in one city all the others have turned to ruin and one alone is found faithful and docile, he will obtain sparing, and will not share the danger with the others against whom the judgment may justly go. “For I will not destroy all”, he says. For the wrath of the Lord leapt, as it were, upon the arrogance of the Jews, all but burning up the disobedient and intractable; but by God's providence everyone among them who was worthy of the salvation through Christ was kept safe. And so the divine Paul …

… says that the remnant came to be according to the election of grace, and picked out one by one, as though the remnant of Israel were netted for the faith out of the whole country of the Jews. “So I will not destroy all”, he says, “but I will bring forth the seed from Jacob, and that from Judah.” And “I will bring forth” you will understand here not as “I will destroy”, but rather as “I will make it lofty and conspicuous”; for the verb (ἐξαίρειν) sometimes means to exalt. And such, I mean in glory, were the divine disciples, lofty and seen by people everywhere, like a city set on a mountain, and a lamp set on a lampstand and shining to all in the house, according to the word of the Saviour himself. So this seed from Jacob and from Judah “will inherit”, he says, “my holy mountain”, plainly the church. For so the all-wise Isaiah himself signifies it elsewhere too, speaking of those called through faith in Christ to participation, that is, communion, in his divine nature: “That they shall drink, they shall drink wine, they shall be anointed with ointment on this mountain. Hand all these things over to the nations. For this counsel is upon all the nations.” In this mountain, then, he says, there will be a lot for my elect, and in it all those will dwell who go under the yoke of my kingdom. And there is nothing unreasonable in saying also that the city above, the heavenly Jerusalem, is named the mountain, in which the lot of the saints is, God distributing to them the good things beyond mind and word. “For eye has not seen”, it says, “nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

“And in the thicket there shall be folds for flocks, … for my people who have sought me.”

… flourishing cities, or sometimes countries; and so one of the holy prophets said, as to the mother of the Jews, I mean Jerusalem: “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let fire devour your cedars. Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the dense thicket has been torn down.” And surely no one would say that he commands pines and oaks to …; for the matter is quite plain; but, as I said, he sees fit to liken to trees the multitude, past numbering, of those in the cities and countries. And the Jews wailed as they fell under the swords of the enemies because of their impiety toward Christ. And the divine David too sings somewhere about the time when Christ was about to appear to the world: “Then all the trees of the forest will exult before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.” So “in the thicket”, he says, that is, in the multitude of the nations, or in their cities and countries, “there shall be folds for flocks”, plainly churches of Christ, “and the valley of Achor for a resting place of herds, for my people who have sought me.” This Achor was one of those [at] Jericho; then, when God had commanded that everything in it be devoted to destruction, he stole from what was devoted. And when he was exposed by God, he paid a bitter penalty; for he perished with his whole household, Joshua son of Nun determining the penalty. So the valley of Achor was under a curse. And the countries of the nations are in a way like this; for they were accursed and hated by God, since there was no one in them who knew the God who is God by nature. But the land accursed in the old times, he says, will be a resting place for herds, that is, folds of spiritual sheep, under the hand of Christ, the chief shepherd of all, who proclaimed beforehand to the peoples of the Jews, saying about the nations: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them too, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.” For those who once went astray sought him through faith, and having found him became members of his household, fellow citizens of the saints, and fellow heirs of the good things promised to them.

“But you who have forsaken me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table for the demon, and fill a mixed cup for Fortune: I will hand you over to the sword, and you shall all fall in slaughter; for I called you, and you did not obey; I spoke, and you did not listen; and you did evil before me, and …”

Just as disobeying Christ did not go unpunished for those of the blood of Israel (for they were given over to slaughter, while the remnant was saved by God's mercy and love for humankind), so you will understand it also of the calling of the nations. For those who seized the salvation that comes through Christ have come to be outside the fire and the punishment and the effects of divine wrath; but those who, through their own ignorance, [keep] the defilement of their ancient offences by wishing to cling to the worship of idols will be given over to slaughter. For they will dwell in Hades, and will have endless punishment through sleepless fire. You, then, he says, who have forsaken me, that is, who are apostates to the end, and have been brought, as it were, into complete forgetfulness of my holy mountain. For some of those who have gone astray and worshipped the creation cannot bear even to say that they know the name of the church; “who set tables for the demons, and fill mixed cups for Fortune”. Those whose heart was filled with the devil's mist did something of this kind. You will be handed over to slaughter; and if anyone dares to ask for what reason, I will say to him: I called, and you did not obey, but you have a persistent wickedness that you will not cast off, doing only what is out of tune with my laws, disparaging every kind of good deed, and eagerly treating as choice the things through which one would become full of every …

“Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, those who serve me shall eat, but you shall hunger. Behold, … Behold, those who serve me shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame. Behold, those who serve me … because of the pain of your heart, and from … your name for a surfeit to my elect; and the Lord will destroy you.”

He always and of necessity sets the bad things beside the crowns, leading by both to the duty of choosing what pleases him, in thought and in deed; for just as the rewards draw people as in a net toward the pursuit of virtue, so the bitterness of punishment sometimes removes them from the ways of wickedness and makes them change eagerly to better things. So he very skilfully steals into the minds of those who are called, both promising them rewards and threatening punishments. “For those who serve me shall eat”, he says, “but you shall hunger; and they shall drink, but you shall thirst.” And while they rejoice, you will be put to shame; for those who have recognized the God who is God by nature and in truth, have leapt away from the falsely named gods, and have admired the beauty of the true worship, will truly delight, fattening their hearts with the blessings from above, approaching the life-giving table of Christ, the Saviour of us all, eating the bread of life and the divine drink, through which they come to share in the gladness from above; for it cleanses away sins, removes what grieves, and does not let the fear of punishment overpower our minds. For we rather rejoice … as the sacred Writing says. “But you”, he says, who have remained in error, “will cry out because of the pain of your heart, and wail from the breaking of your spirit.” For when Christ, the Saviour of us all, comes down from heaven and renders to each according to his works, all will lament and wail who neither recognized the true God, but rather died in their own sins. “For you have left”, he says, “your name for a surfeit to my elect; the Lord will destroy you.” See again, I pray, the depth of the thought. It is the custom of the divinely inspired Scripture sometimes to say “for a surfeit” in place of “for loathing and hatred”. For God said somewhere to those of the blood of Israel: “I will no longer forgive your sins …” You who have not departed from the falsely named gods, but are dead in your own sins, have left your name for a surfeit, that is, for hatred, to my elect; for among those who have once been chosen, no one finds the name of the superstitious acceptable.

For everyone flees from being called hated by God, an idolater, unholy and profane, and desires rather to be called a holy people, a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, according to the voice of the divine Peter. And if anyone wishes to apply what was said to those of the blood of Israel, so that “You have left your name for a surfeit to my elect” is said to them, we say that Israel was called God's children, his people and his lot; but since they slid without check into unruliness, they fell from such glory, and those called from the nations, as it were, inherited it; and this, I think, is what God said through the voice of Hosea: “I will call not-my-people my people, and I will say to not-my-people: You are my people.”

“But for those who serve him a new name shall be called, which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall … the true God. And those who swear on the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget their first affliction, and it shall not come up into their heart. For the heaven shall be new, and the earth new, and they shall not remember the former things, nor shall they come into their heart; but they shall find gladness and exultation in her.”

All things have become new in Christ: worship, life and lawgiving. For no longer with shadows and types … to the God of all the worship and service in spirit and truth. And we are not called, as those of the blood of Israel are, after founders of families, that is, fathers, Ephraim or Manasseh, or as from another tribe; nor do we count the … of the scribes and Pharisees worth any account; but we approach Christ in newness of gospel life, and, binding on the name that comes from him as a kind of crown, we are called Christians. This name is renowned and blessed throughout the whole world under heaven. And since we have been blessed by Christ, we too are eager to gladden him with blessings and unceasing praises. For long ago, that is, before faith in him, we were rightly laughed at, weaving our songs for gods that do not exist. But since we have come to know the God who is God by nature, we hymn him and bring him the fruit of lips and tongue, remembering his praises; and if there should somehow be need and use for assurance through oaths in any matter, they will swear by the true God. For it is the custom of the worshippers of idols sometimes to make heaven their oath, or some other of the elements in it. But those who have accepted the faith vigorously depart from the offences in this matter too; for they swear by the God of all alone, knowing him as Master by nature and in truth, and no other at all besides him.

The law given through Moses commanded this too: “You shall worship the Lord your God”, it says, “and serve him alone, and swear by his name.” Then he says: “They shall forget their first affliction, and it shall not come up into their heart.” And here he seems to call affliction the hardship they underwent when, not knowing the true God, … for they were ordered to sacrifice to them not only sheep and oxen, but also the offspring of their womb, as it is written: “Some sacrificed sons and daughters.” And the hardship was of another kind too: to serve such countless gods, and to be hurried into worshipping those who were not known; and it is likely too that some were plotted against by the gods they had neglected; for there is nothing unreasonable in thinking that, when the loathsome and murderous demons ruled them, they could also wrong them, since they did not have the shelter that comes from God. “This affliction of theirs”, he says, “they shall forget. For the heaven shall be new, and the earth new.” How, or in what way? Long ago they thought that earth and heaven were gods; but having received the divine light into their minds through Christ, the Saviour of us all, they will have, as it were, new thoughts about them. For they will know that these are not gods, but works of the craftsman and creator of all. And being so disposed, he says, they will no longer remember the former things; for together with paganism they will cast away the opinions they had about the elements themselves, and about those who went astray long ago, whether demons or men, who lent their tongues as advocates of the error. “Instead of the affliction of old”, he says, “they shall find gladness and exultation in her.” And in whom? Surely he would say: in the church of Christ. But it is necessary to note that some of the interpreters attach these things not to the times of the sojourn, but rather to those that will come after the present age; for he says that the righteous will be in gladness and joy and in endless delights, plainly spiritual ones, when creation itself too changes into renewal. For one of the holy apostles said: “For the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be burned and dissolved; and the earth and all that is in it will be burned up; but we look for new heavens and a new earth, and his promises.” So let the sensible be free to choose whichever of the interpretations seems good to them, or rather both, to benefit; for what is by nature … is in no way to be rejected.

“For behold, I make Jerusalem an exultation, and my people a gladness; and I will exult over Jerusalem and be glad over my … And no longer shall there be heard in her the sound of weeping or the sound of crying; and there shall no longer be there one untimely, or an old man who does not fill out his time.”

“For the young man shall be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies a hundred years old shall also be accursed.”

Deep is the insight, and very obscure the meaning of the prophecy before us. Yet I will try to explain it as far as I can. He seems here to name Jerusalem not that old city, but rather the church from Jews and gentiles; this he says he will show to be an exultation and gladness, and the matter is true, as experience itself bears witness; for there is nothing gloomy in the church of Christ; it is rich in hopes of endless life and of glory beyond counting, and has great renown in this world. Or perhaps in another way too: I will make Jerusalem, he says, an exultation and gladness for myself. For I will take pleasure in my people; and he adds the grounds of his delight, saying: “No longer shall there be heard in her the sound of weeping, nor the sound of crying.” God weaves the praise of the church as from a contrast with earlier things. For long ago the leaders of the synagogue of the Jews judged for bribes, and did not know how to do justice to the orphan or the widow. And since they were lovers of shameful gains, they condemned the innocent and righteous, and those who suffered this were in every way … crying, as wronged. So it was said somewhere of Jerusalem through the voice of Jeremiah: “O city … as a cistern keeps its water cool, so her wickedness keeps cool. Impiety and misery will be heard in her before her face continually.” And another of the holy prophets said: “And they struck the heads of the poor with their fists, and turned aside the way of the humble.” I will take pleasure, then, he says, in my people, seeing them to be workers of true righteousness. For no one among them will weep, plainly through being defrauded; nor again will anyone cry out as wronged. “And there shall not be there”, he says, “one untimely, or an old man who does not fill out his time. For the young man shall be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies a hundred years old shall also be accursed.” I think that the meaning of the prophecy wishes to suggest something like this. He seems to consider the people from the gentiles, still young, as “untimely”, of which David says: “The people being created will praise the Lord”; and the disciple of Christ writes to these, saying: “Like newborn babes, long for the spiritual and pure milk.” So the young one is untimely, and the old man is the one from the circumcision, that is, of the blood of Israel, since he was called before and had come first into the spiritual church. But in the calling through Christ, he says, and in the times of the sojourn, neither the untimely nor the old man will differ from each other in this respect; for all will be … and will go up to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. For the young one, that is, the people from the gentiles, will be a hundred years old, that is, perfect, grey-headed in mind, and having reached the end of spiritual maturity; for the number of a hundred years is a sign or symbol of perfection. Then he says: “And the sinner who dies a hundred years old shall also be accursed.” He shows in these words that even perfection according to the law is useless to those who have it, if they have not accepted the faith through Christ and the redemption through holy baptism, through which alone we rub off the reckonings of sin. So even if someone is a hundred years old, he says, that is, has the perfection according to the law, and then dies a sinner, that is, … in faith …, he will also be found liable for transgressions of the law. For no one among the Jews was so great as never to fall in any way: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace.” And that zeal for this is useless even for those made perfect according to the law, if the grace through Christ has not been received, the all-wise Paul shows very well when he writes to some that he counted all things in the law as refuse, that he might gain Christ and be found in him, not having his own righteousness, that is, the one in the law, but the one through

faith in Jesus Christ. And he charges the Jews, as it were, with folly, saying: “For not knowing the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” And again he said: “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, we too have believed in Christ.” And for this reason Christ was called a curse, that he might rescue from the curse of the law those who had come under it; for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

“And they shall build houses, and they themselves shall dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, and they themselves shall eat their fruit. And they shall not build and others dwell; and they shall not plant and others eat. For according to the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people; they shall make the works of their labours old. My elect shall not labour in vain, nor bear children for a curse; for they are a seed blessed by God. And it shall be that before they cry out I will hear them; while they are still speaking, I will say: What is it?”

He promises them unshakeable peace, sparing and kindness, goodness and love for humankind. For long ago those of the blood of Israel, through exceedingly great folly and manifold wickedness, and because they would not consent to live rightly, kept provoking the God who rules all; for this reason they were tormented in many ways. For sometimes what was in the fields was destroyed, and, having undergone the sweat of farming in vain, they were worn down by famine; for it is written: “And he gave their fruits to the blight, and their labours to the locust.” And it was said to them somewhere through one of the holy prophets too: “You shall sow but not reap; you shall press the olive but not anoint yourself with oil, and you shall not drink wine.” And again: “You shall build houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you shall plant desirable vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.” For at times invasions of wars too came upon them, so that some were consumed by the enemies' swords, while others, fearing to suffer, fled from their houses and their native land and moved to other countries. But these things the ancients suffered, and not once, because of much sin; whereas those in Christ who have seized the grace that comes through faith, and have washed off the stains of sin through holy baptism, will not fall into their evils, nor will they suffer unexpected loss of what they have laboured at spiritually; but rather they will delight in their own good deeds, according to what is sung in the Psalms: “You shall eat the labours of your fruits”, the “fruits” meaning the flesh below the palm of the hand. For no one will cast them out, nor ever scare them away from the dwelling that will be given them by God; for there are many dwellings with the Father; nor will they fall from the lot that will be given and that befits their spiritual fruitfulness; for their life, he says, will be according to the days of the tree of life, that is, holy. For such it was in the first-formed before the transgression, when they were allowed to share in the tree of life, since the most loathsome and God-hated sin had not yet found a place in them. The word of the prophecy adds another such thing: “For they shall make the works of their hands old”, that is, they will have an unchangeable road of conduct. To give an example: the law was given through Moses to those of Israel; but in it there was shadow and type, having the form of the truth, but not yet the truth itself. But when Christ shone forth, the types changed into truth, and the shadows were, as it were, transformed and made old, that is, the power of the way of life under the law did not prevail to the end.