Fragments on Isaiah

… for which these are going to be punished; and a promise of the calling of the nations, of the apostolic preaching, and of the tumult which the devil was going to suffer as a result. 9. A vision of the glory of God, and of the standing and hymn-singing of the Seraphim; and the ordination of the prophet, sent to accuse the Jews and to proclaim what they were going to undergo for their disobedience. 10. An account of the uprising of the king of Samaria against the king of Judea; and God’s command to the prophet to encourage the king of Judea, since those who rose up against him had planned in vain, while Samaria was going to come under the kingdom of the Assyrians.

11. A prophecy of the Saviour’s birth from the Virgin, the Mother of God; and of the wonders Christ was going to work while still an infant: benefiting Judea itself, calling the nations, abolishing the devil, making grace spring up, and changing the fruitlessness of the land into a fruitfulness of virtues.

12. A prediction of the writing of the gospel, witnessed by the law and the prophets, of the birth of Christ, and of the plundering of the devil.

13. A threat against the Jews, because they refused the word of gospel grace, and for this reason will come under the error of the devil. And a rebuke against the demons, that even if they prevail over us for a time, they will be defeated when God fights on our side. And an accusation of the Jews, as disobeying Christ, living in hypocrisy, transgressing the law willingly, and boasting in vain of their confidence in God.

14. A prophecy of adoption through Christ, concerning the signs that would be done by him in Jerusalem; a turning away from heeding Greek divinations; and an accusation of the Jews, that, having received the law so as not to heed them, they did not keep it, and for this reason fall into great evils.

15. A calling of the nations; and a prophecy of their freedom, of the wickedness of the demons, and of the evil jealousy of the Jews at the birth of Christ, who renewed the kingdom of David.

16. A prediction of chastisements sent by God on the Jews and on those who despise the new Zion; a denunciation of the Jewish rulers, for leading the people astray; an account of the chastisements brought upon them from God’s right hand; and a complaint against those who judge lawlessly, as God’s anger is at its height chiefly because of them.

17. A threat against the Assyrians, in which he hints at the demons, and with them the devil, as lifted up against God and expecting to master the whole earth, and not reckoning that it was by God’s permission that he prevailed for a little while.

18. An address to the faithful people, not to fear the demons, since their tyranny is soon to be crushed; a riddle of the devil’s working, which he worked among the Jews through Herod’s slaughter of the children; and an encouragement to Zion, since Christ is going to destroy [the devil] and those with him. 19. The good news of the incarnation of Christ, and that the fullness of the Spirit will dwell in him; and how he will destroy his adversaries, but will deal with men in truth and righteousness, will gather with the righteous those who turn from sin, and will abolish the harm that comes from the demons, as faith is multiplied. 20. That Christ is the expectation of the nations; he will gather them from every side to salvation, and will join to the righteous the sinners who confess; he will send out the apostles as heralds to the nations, and knowledge will be multiplied in Egypt; an exhortation to share in baptism; and a glorification of Christ, for the wonders by which he initiated [us] in Zion. 21. A prophecy of the calling of the nations through Christ, and of his arrival; of what will be at the time of the end on the earth and in all the elements; of the destruction of the lawless and the glory of the righteous; and of what those then found liable to judgment will suffer. 22. A prophecy that the nations will rise up against the demons, and the confusion of the idols will be destroyed by them, and the believing Israel will be mingled with them; and that from this a lament will come upon the devil. 23. The joy of the [nations] at the fall of the devil; a rebuke of the nations; and a complaint against the ungodly …, announcing from God the complete destruction of him and of his, and the confirmation of the divine counsel. 24. An address to … not to take courage at the fall of the Jews, … from the apostles … 25. A prophecy against idolatry under the riddle of Moab, for it was full of idols; a prediction of the coming of the Lord; and an indication of the correction of the nations that had gone astray. 26. A prophecy that error will cease from Damascus too; a prediction of the diminishing of the people of the Jews and of the conversion of the nations; and of what the children of the Jews have suffered because of their unbelief in Christ. 27. A curse against the nations and the demons together; a prediction of the apostolic course to the nations, of the destruction of the unbelievers, and of the coming of those of the nations who believed to the mysteries of Zion. 28. A prediction of the benefits the Lord bestowed on the Egyptians when he came down to them as an infant: how he did away with every kind of their deceit, put to shame those reckoned wise among them, and made his own counsel fearful to them. 29. A prophecy of the turning of the Egyptians to God, and of how, with the other nations, they will hold first place over Israel. 30. An address to Isaiah, to proclaim the stripping … that happened, … to the believing nations, from the captivity of the idols. 31. A threat against the ungodly; a prophecy of the mystical table; a contemplation of the preaching of Peter and Paul, and of the coming of Christ, by which the idols of the demons were thrown down. 32. … a prediction of the calling of the nations, of the fellowship of the mysteries, and of the destruction of the idolatrous arrows …; and what … of the ancient … of the nations who believe … of God thought. 34. A prediction that the priesthood of the Jews will be destroyed, and that the priesthood of Christ will be set up in its place. 35. A prophecy in which he set out the lovers of money as a riddle of the merchants of the sea; he threatened that the Assyrians too will fall, plainly the spiritual ones, the demons; and he promised that the Church of the nations will be saved through repentance, describing it in the person of Tyre. 36. An account of what will befall sinners and the righteous in the age to come, and of what will befall the elements at the end; and of the glory of Christ, with which he is glorified in appearing through the flesh. 37. A hymn to God, because the ancient Jerusalem fell for its ungodliness, while the mysteries of the new Jerusalem flourished; death was abolished, the ungodliness of the idols trampled down, and the devil who worked it; on which the prophetic pen proclaimed the calling of the nations through hope in God. 38. A song of the prophet, announcing the destruction of the devil and the ignorance and envy of the Jews, and proclaiming that the hope of the godly is in God, who raises the dead, whom they cannot [raise]. 39. An exhortation to submit to the anger of God, as it is going to destroy the devil himself; an accusation of the fruitlessness of the Jews; a prophecy that the earth will come to Christ; and a promise that the Israel that turns will be saved by Christ, that the idols will perish, and that the rational sheep will be brought up. 40. A calling of the women who saw the resurrection of Christ; a prediction of how ungodliness will perish through the gospel preaching, and anger come upon the Jews, because they were not only made drunk with the error of the idols, but were not persuaded by the preaching of the apostles; from which comes destruction to the unbelievers and salvation to the faithful. 41. A threat against those who think they are helped by ungodliness; and an exhortation to obey Christ, who after the resurrection sends anger to the unbelievers but a speedy salvation to the world, … the preaching, who tilled us first with the law and after that with the commandments of the gospel … 42. A complaint against the ancient Jerusalem; a threat against the demons who tyrannized over it; an accusation of the hardening of the Jews; and how the Gospel is sealed to the Jews, and they do not know …, but … to be taught divine things. 43. An accusation of the condemnation of the Jews, and a prediction of the knowledge of God among the nations, and of the destruction of those who scandalize the people by deed and word; and how the nations will be instructed by the wonders of Christ, while the Jews will be put to shame, as having departed from God and chosen the alliance of the spiritual [Egyptian]. 44. How the things from the demons are useless (for he compared them to beasts), which the prophet is commanded to write in the image of the gospel book; and how the Jews, refusing to hear divine things, fall with an incurable fall. 45. An exhortation to repentance to Israel; a reminder of what they planned when they departed from God; and that Christ, by his own incarnation, has prepared … 46. A prediction of Christ’s second arrival; a threat against those who have refused the house of God, and against the devil and those who trust in him; and how the coming of the Saviour becomes the destruction of the error of the idols and of the one who worked it. 47. A blessing of those who keep their kinship with the spiritual Jerusalem, in which Christ manifests the mysteries of his own coming, puts an end to the arrogance of the Jews, and confirms the piety of the faithful. 48. Good news for the churches, and a lament for the Jewish synagogues; and a threat of the desolation of Jerusalem until it receives the fellowship of the Spirit, which the nations receive and are kept free of all harm, while the Jews, disobeying, will suffer dispersions. 49. A glorification of God and of the good things which he grants; and a prediction that ungodliness will be destroyed through the resurrection and ascension of Christ and the other mysteries which, being incarnate, he accomplishes for the destruction of all error; from which the new Zion will be unshaken, while the synagogues of the Jews are shaken. 50. A prediction of the end of the visible creation, at which those who have gone over to ungodliness are destroyed with it by the anger of God, while an inheritance is given to the godly. 51. Good news of the flowering of the Church, of the wonders which Christ, having become incarnate, performed, and of the good things of the gift of baptism. 52. An account of what Rabshakeh, sent by Sennacherib, threatened [Jerusalem]; and how Hezekiah, learning of the threat, sent to Isaiah men to ask him to pray for it; and he announced safety for the city from God, and Sennacherib’s return to his own land. 53. An account of the illness of Hezekiah, in which the prophet announced death to him, but when he prayed God added to his time of life; and … the gifts from the Persians, for which, since he showed his treasures, the prophet announced to him the capture of Jerusalem that was to come. 54. A promise to Israel of the forgiveness of sins and of the coming of Christ; good news of what he accomplished by his coming; a glorification of him; and a denunciation of those who make idols. 55. An address to Israel, not to plead ignorance of Christ, who is the Maker of the world and the benefactor of the faithful; the renewal of the churches through Christ, who pulled down ungodliness and struck the nations with awe; and an account of the weakness of the idols. 56. An address to the elect of the new Israel, which is bidden to take courage; a threat to those who are hostile to it; and he foretells the mysteries of the Church, and considers the demons, and the idols with them, as knowing nothing either of the ancient things or of those to come, being without sense. 57. An address of the Father about the love of the Son, and with what meekness the Son comes, and what he accomplishes by the Father’s good pleasure; and good news to the Church, for the benefits Christ confers on her, while he destroys the ungodliness of the idols. 58. A reproach to Israel for its wilful hardening, from which, though it endured the plundering of divine things, it nevertheless remained without feeling; good news that the new Israel is helped by God and gathered from every side; and a solemn declaration of Christ, that he is God before the ages, and that he accomplished the redemption of men. 59. An exhortation to Israel not to attend to the ancient way of life, but to the mysteries of the Church, since God does not [accept] the Jewish sacrifices but saves those who come through repentance; and a promise to the new Israel, that it will flourish through the gift of baptism. 60. An address about Christ, as being the eternal God; a denunciation of those who make idols and worship what they themselves made from weak matter; and an exhortation to Israel not to fall into forgetfulness of God. 61. Good news of the redemption which Christ accomplished, having abolished the sorceries of the demons, and of the new people he established; the prophecy hints at it in the person of Cyrus, since he raised up the ancient Jerusalem, and Christ the new. 62. … to rejoice in God’s love for mankind toward men; a rebuke to those who accuse Christ about what he ordains, when they ought to glorify him, who alone foreknows and makes all things; and for this reason the nations run to him to worship. 63. A prophecy of the renewal of the churches; and how Christ, as God and Creator, commands nothing vain to Israel, but calls and saves the nations; every knee will bow to him, and the idols will be shattered by him; an accusation of Israel for its idolatrous error; and an exhortation to run to Christ, as about to accomplish the mysteries which he set forth for the salvation of Israel. 64. An address to the ancient Jerusalem, to mourn for its ungodliness, for which he put on it the person of Babylon, since it imitated her evils; and a threat that the devil will be sent into the fire of Gehenna. 65. An accusation of the hypocrisy and hardness of heart of Israel; a solemn declaration of the mysteries that will be in the Church, and of the estrangement of the Jewish people; and that Christ himself is before the ages and in the last times; a reproach to Israel, as not having obeyed; a calling to the nations; and a promise of the spring of baptism. 66. A calling of the nations, and a prophecy of Christ, who proclaimed himself in the form of a slave for the salvation of the nations, and ordered it at the due time. 67. An address to the elements, to keep festival because of the salvation of men; and a promise of the many children to come, of the gathering of the nations, of the despoiling of the devil, of the destruction of the demons, and of the redemption of the faithful. 68. A reproach to Israel, and the rejection of its synagogue; a display of God’s strength; a prophecy of the sufferings of the Lord; and a threat against the Jews, as having prepared their own destruction. 69. An address to Israel to attend to the wonders of the Lord’s tomb, to reckon with the blessing of Abraham, and to expect the renewal of Zion, the coming of the nations, and the end of the elements; and an exhortation to the faithful not to fear the mockeries of the unbelievers. 70. An encouragement to Jerusalem, as a faithful people is about to gather in her; an exhortation to trust in God; and a promise that the anger against her will be turned against the demons. 71. An exhortation to Zion, as she is about to be freed from captivity; a reminder of what the old Israel did lawlessly; and a prediction that Christ, coming to dwell, makes known his own mysteries and grants them deliverance from the ancient Jerusalem, as being unclean. … An address to the elements, because of the … of the heavenly … 72. A prophecy of the … sufferings, … and how for our sake … the Father, …

… [the] sacrifice …, ordering redemption, was well pleased. 73. An address to the Church of joy and growth; and that, having been left by God for a short time for discipline, she will be blamed …; and a prophecy of the glory that will come to the new Jerusalem, and of the destruction of the demons who are hostile to her. 74. A promise of the inheritance of the nations, of the mystical water, of the gospel covenant, and of the worship of the nations toward Christ; an exhortation to repentance, and a promise of the multitude [of good things?] through it. 75. God’s decision that abstinence from evils is to be counted as keeping Sabbaths, and that the accomplishing of the commandments is honoured by him above the begetting of children; and an accusation of Israel, as neither [keeping] the law and given over to debauchery. 76. An accusation of the Jews, who do not understand the harm they suffered by losing Christ, but were given over to idols and departed from God through arrogance; a reproach of Jerusalem, for fearing the idols more than God; and a promise that the faithful will be saved. 77. A command to the prophet to proclaim the evils of the Jews; and God’s explanation of why he rejected the fasting of the Jews, and with what fasting and what Sabbaths he is pleased. 78. An account of why God [turned away from] Israel; and that, planning evil things, they gained nothing from it, but fell into the blindness of ignorance. 79. A personification by the prophet, containing an accusation of the wickedness of the Jews; a threat of the vengeance [of God] upon them; and a prediction of the conversion of the nations, of the coming of Christ, and of the gospel covenant, sealed by the Spirit and continually studied by the nations. 80. Good news to the new Jerusalem of the coming of Christ, of the gathering of the nations, of the course of the apostles, of the glory that will be for the Church, of eternal enlightenment, and of growth to a number without limit. 81. A prophecy of the coming of Christ and of the gospel preaching, and of the joy that will be for Zion … the gathering of the nations, with whom God makes an everlasting covenant. 82. An outcry of gladness from … the people; and good news to Zion of the glory that will come to her through Christ, …, of the enjoyment of the divine mysteries, and of the bringing near and redemption of the people of the nations. 83. A question about the Lord’s passion from the powers; and Christ’s answer, that [he suffered] for the sake of human salvation; he accuses the Jews and reminds them of the former wonders. 84. The prophet’s plea to God for Israel, as having been overlooked because of its offence and having multiplied its sins still more; and a supplication that God would not keep silent to the end, but visit his own people and Jerusalem. 85. A promise of Christ, that he will be made manifest to the nations; and a threat against the Jews, as having disobeyed at the cross, served idols and justified themselves; for which he threatened to repay them their sins. 86. God’s decision that Israel will not be destroyed to the end, but the disobedient will perish, while those who serve God will obtain the enjoyment of the mysteries and a new name, and in the temple of the new Jerusalem will … the perfection of the virtues from their own labours. 87. God’s decision not to … visible houses, nor to be pleased with sacrifices from injustice; an exhortation to the faithful to show forbearance toward enemies; a prediction of the people to be born to the new Zion; and an address of gladness at the good things prepared for the new Jerusalem. 88. A prophecy of Christ’s second coming and of the destruction of the ungodly; a prediction of the gathering of the nations with glory into the new Jerusalem and of the new creation through Christ; and how what befell the people of the Jews will be set before the nations to look upon.

Isaiah the prophet was born in Jerusalem, of the tribe of Judah; he dies under Manasseh king of Judah, sawn in two [with a wooden saw], and he was laid beneath the oak of Rogel, beside the crossing of the waters which King Hezekiah destroyed by filling them in.