Isaías 48
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 48:1-2
(Chapter 48, Verses 1 and following) Listen to this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and come from the waters of Judah: who swear in the name of the Lord, and remember the God of Israel, not in truth or justice. For they are called from the holy city: and they are established upon the Lord, the name of the God of Israel. These things I foretold to the Chaldeans and the Babylonians, and it is necessary for what I have spoken through my prophets to be fulfilled. But you, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who come forth from the waters of Judah, and the rest that follows, listen attentively to what I am about to say. And it should be noted that he does not call them Jacob, but the house of Jacob; nor Israel, who are falsely called by this name, as they have no need for a name. And concerning the waters, he says, you come forth from the waters of Judah, calling them more reverently waters instead of seed, so as not to show that they are sons of the patriarchs in terms of virtue, but of the flesh. And rightly he called the waters of Judah, because at that time it was the only tribe that remained in the land of Judah; and the seed of David was preserved as king. You swore, he said, in the name of the Lord, not to honor the Lord; but taking his name, you commit injustice, while you want him to be a witness to your lie, and you rest in the holy city, and rely on the Lord of Israel; so that you boast to be the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem, and to have the privilege of the Lord of hosts, when you assume the names of the empty Jacob, Israel, and the holy city, and the omnipotent God. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 48:3-11
(Verse 3, 4 and following) I announced the former things long ago, they went out from my mouth, and I made them heard. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze. I foretold them to you long ago, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idols did these things, and my carved images and molded idols commanded them.' You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? I have made known to you new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known. They are created now, and not from before; even until this day you have not heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them!' Neither have you heard, nor have you known, nor from that time your ear has been opened. For I knew that you would deal treacherously, and called you a transgressor from the womb. For my name's sake I will defer my anger, and for my praise I will hold it back from you, so that you do not cut off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of poverty. Because of me, because of me I will act, so that I may not blaspheme; and I will not give my glory to another. I have announced beforehand: and from my mouth they have gone forth, and it has been heard: suddenly I have done it, and they have come. I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze. I have announced it to you long ago, before it came to pass, so that you would not say, 'My idols have made these things for me, and my images and molded idols have commanded them to me.' You have heard all, and you have not understood: but I have told you new things that will happen now. And you did not say, now they are happening, and not in the past days. Do not even say that you knew them: neither do you know, nor do you understand, nor have you opened your ears from the beginning. For I know that you will act deceitfully: and you will be called unjust even from the womb. Because of my name, I will show you my anger: and I will bring my glory upon you, so that I do not kill you. Behold, I have sold you not for silver: I have redeemed you out of the furnace of poverty: for my own sake will I do this, lest my name should be polluted: and I will not give my glory to another. I have declared to you the things that are to come, before they come to pass I have foretold them to you: lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this, and will you not declare it? I have shown thee new things from that time, and things before they came to pass I foretold thee: and thou hast not heard them, lest thou shouldst say: Behold I knew them. Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of old. For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb. For my name's sake I will remove my wrath far off: and for my praise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish. Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty. For my own sake, for my own sake will I do it, that I may not be blasphemed: and I will not give my glory to another. Behold, you have heard all things that are to come, and yet you conceal the truth in silence. I do not speak of past events, in which my power has often been proven, such as when I led the people out of Egypt, drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea, gave them the promised land, and subjected various nations to you. But I announce the new things that I am going to do against Babylon, so that the impudence of your mouth may be refuted, you who claim to know what you do not know. From the beginning you have been a transgressor of my commands; and from the womb you were called a transgressor by God, when you were delivered from Egypt, as if you were conceived in my womb, and brought up, and taught. You desired the head of the Egyptian bull, saying: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, not by your merit, but by my mercy, I have delayed my anger, so that you would not be completely destroyed, and for the sake of the praise of my name, I will restrain you, so that you will follow me like a beast and an unwilling horse with reins. Behold, I have tested you, that is, I have proved how silver is refined. Whether in wealth or in the furnace of poverty, I desired to test you. From which it is shown that both wealth and poverty tempt many, if they either misuse them or cannot endure poverty with virtue. Therefore, I will act for my own sake, so that my name is not blasphemed among the nations, and so that they do not think that you have overcome by my anger, but by the assistance of their own idols. And what it brings forth, I will not give my glory to another, this signifies that it should not be thought that idols have oppressed the people of God. Certainly, when he says, 'I will not give to another,' he indicates that he has already given to another, for he is said to have given to another in order to distinguish the first. Many of our people, as I will briefly mention in accordance with the Seventy Interpreters, think that the coming of Christ is prophesied, that he will come suddenly, unexpectedly, and demonstrate his presence to a very stubborn people; to whom the Lord has never revealed, because their heart has become fat and their ears have become heavy. And immediately, as the Lord came forth from the virgin womb, he was called a transgressor and unjust, seeking to kill him. And he connects: For My name's sake I will show thee My fury, and My glory I will bring upon thee. He abuses the sense of the Apostle Paul, or the Apostle Paul takes testimony from this passage (Rom. I), so that the wrath of God may be revealed to terrify those who sin, and afterwards glory may be given to those who are converted: Behold, he says, I have sold you not for money, but I have sold you in your sins, and I have delivered you from the furnace of poverty. For this reason, Solomon (Prov. III) does not want to have wealth and poverty, but only the necessities, so that his heart is not lifted up in pride because of them, or compelled to do things he does not want, and to blaspheme God while pressed by poverty. Hence the Apostle says: Having, he says, food and clothing, let us be content with these (I Tim. VI, 8). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 48:4
Not, therefore, on account of your merit but through my mercy I have calmed my fury, lest you come near to death. For the sake of my name I will rein you in so that like a donkey you are made to follow behind the reins of a horse. Behold, I have dried you up, that is, I have tested you in the way one fires silver. Or it may be that I will test you, not in riches but in the furnace of poverty.… I predict to you that Babylon is to be overcome by the Medes and Persians. I will do quickly that about which I have given warning, lest when the events predicted take place, you think they have happened at the nod of the gods you worship or by fate. And I do not intimate mere knowledge of future things, but I speak for your benefit, whose heart I know to have been from the beginning unbelieving and whose neck is like iron and whose forehead like bronze. For look! You have heard all the things that are about to come, and yet you hide the truth by keeping quiet. So it does little good to relate things long gone by, like how I led you out of Egypt. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:15
Isaías 48:9
"I will not give my glory to another." This means that the idols should not be thought to oppress the people of God. Or indeed when [Isaiah] says, "I will not give to another [Christ]," he shows that he has already given it to another. For "another" is used to distinguish from the first. Many of our translators … assert that he here prophesies about the advent of Christ that would come suddenly and unlooked for; that Christ would show his very stubborn people his presence, to those whose ears God never opened since their heart was coarse and they are hard of hearing, in that as soon as the Lord came from the virginal womb he was called "sinner" and "unrighteous" as the people sought to kill him. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:15
Isaías 48:12-16
(Verse 12, 13 and following) Hear me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I am the first and the last. My hand also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand measures the heavens: I have called them, and they will stand together. Gather yourselves and listen: who among them has declared these things? The Lord loved him: he will fulfill his will in Babylon and his arm in the Chaldeans. I, I have spoken and called him: I have brought him, and his way is made straight. Come to me and listen to these (Vulg. this): I did not speak in secret from the beginning; from the time before it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit. LXX: Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. I am the first, and I am forever: and my hand has founded the earth, and my right hand has established the heavens. I will call them, and they will stand together: and all will be gathered, and they will listen: Who has announced these to them? I, who am diligent, have carried out your will over Babylon, to remove the seed of the Chaldeans. I have spoken and I have called. I have brought him and made his way prosperous. Bring near to me, and hear these things: I did not speak in secret from the beginning, when it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit. To those to whom he had already spoken: Hear these things, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who have come forth from the waters of Judah, now he speaks to them again, Listen to me, Jacob and Israel, whom I call. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22). Therefore, He calls them the non-elect, because they had not yet received the Savior; but He refers to them as the called. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, who is alive and was dead. (Revelation 22); so that you may bring life back to the beginning, and the last to Him who died. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient to the Father; He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2). My hand founded the earth. And it is also said in Proverbs: God, by His wisdom, founded the earth, and His right hand is the measure (Prov. III, 19), or He established the heavens or the sky, as the Septuagint translated. He calls the heavens to obey His command, and to declare His glory. But if the heavens obey the will of the Lord and run in their own order, why does the earth and ashes boast (Eccli. X) and not know its own fragility? Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen, whether heaven or all of creation or the entire multitude of Israel. What are the things that are commanded to be heard? Surely it signifies that which the Lord loves, no doubt Cyrus and Darius, who carried out the will of the Lord against Babylon, and exerted their power over the Chaldeans. And He himself spoke and called him by his name, and led him, and his path was made straight, so that no one dared to resist his strength. And he is provoking them to come and listen, and to know, through the Lord's prediction, that the king of the Persians and Medes is coming, who will overthrow Babylon and destroy the Chaldeans. And to announce this, the Prophet says that he is sent by the Lord and his spirit. This is according to the Hebrews and their opinion. However, according to Symmachus, who interpreted it, 'Who has declared these things to him?' refers to the one whom the Lord loves, who does his will in Babylon. And according to the Septuagint, 'to carry away the seed of the Chaldeans' is referred to the person of the Lord: the one who is truly loved by the Father, and who does all the will of the Father, and who overturns in Babylon, that is, in the confusion of this world, all the seed of the Chaldeans, which are interpreted as demons. He himself spoke and heard the Son, and brought him, who speaks to the believers: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened (Matthew 11:28). And hear these things that from the beginning were spoken in secret, that is, through the enigmas and mysteries of the Prophets, which were unknown to all previous generations. When all things were made by the Father, he was with him, who rejoiced, who even now says: I who have always been with the Father, and in the Father, and have never been without the Father, even now I speak (John 14); and according to the frailty of the assumed flesh, I say that the Lord God sent me and his spirit: and in a brief verse, the sacrament of the Trinity is revealed to us. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 48:14
According to the Septuagint "to remove the seed of the Chaldeans" refers to the person of the Lord, who was indeed beloved of his Father and who did the will of his Father completely and who turned over all the seed of the Babylonians—which means the demons in Babylon, that is, those who lead the world into confusion. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:16
Isaías 48:16
When all things were made by the Father, he [the Son] was there with him, in whom the Son rejoiced when he said, I am he who always was with the Father and in the Father and never was without the Father, and who now speaks, and due to the weakness of the flesh I assumed, I say that "the Lord has sent me and his Spirit." In this short verse we are shown the mystery of the Trinity. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:16
Isaías 48:17-19
(Verse 17, 18 and following) Thus says the Lord, your holy Redeemer, the God of Israel: I am the Lord your God, teaching you what is profitable, leading you in the way you should go. Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like sand, and the offspring of your womb like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me. Because God has promised future blessings to Israel, he explains why he afflicted them before. If they avoid the same mistakes, they will not suffer similar consequences. Yes, he said, if you had followed my commands: as the Seventy translated; or at least, with a desire for it, if you had followed my commands: if you had done so, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea, signifying abundance of all things. And what follows: and your offspring would have been like the sand, and the descendants of your womb like its grains: indeed, it seems to remain in the Jewish people, who to this day, like worms, produce children and grandchildren; but how is this to be understood in terms of the promise, when they do not have peace and righteousness? For either he is angry with them, or appeased. If he is angry, how is his seed multiplied every day? If he is appeased, how do they serve and not possess peace and justice? From this it is clear that it is said now of the apostolic seed, of which we also read above (In Chapter I): Unless the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we would have become like Sodom. And because it seems at that time not to have been fulfilled, it is fulfilled in the coming of Christ: and before his face the seed of Israel remains. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 48:19
"Your offspring would have been like the sand and your descendants like its grains." This promise seems still to apply to the Jewish people.… But how can this be taken as a real promise to them since they do not have peace and justice? For he is either angry with them or pleased with them. If angry, how can their seed grow every day? If pleased, then how can they serve and yet not have peace and justice? For this becomes clear concerning the apostolic seed about which we read above, "Unless the Lord of the sabbath left us a seed we would have been like Sodom." At that time it did not seem fulfilled, but in the advent of Christ it was, and before his face the seed of Israel endures. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:17
Isaías 48:20-22
(Verse 20, 21, 22.) Go out of Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans; proclaim it with a shout of joy, make it heard, proclaim it to the ends of the earth, and say: The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through the desert; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. Those above in that place, where it is written: I have spoken and called it; I have brought him and his way is straight; they understand it concerning Cyrus and Darius; even this refers to those times when the people went out of Babylon and fled from the Chaldeans, and they were redeemed by their Lord God. This also, which is said: They did not thirst in the desert when he led them out, he brought water from the rock for them; and he split the rock, and water flowed. Although they cannot teach that it was fulfilled according to history; for they did not come through the desert under Zerubbabel and Ezra, and the split rock provided them water, as is narrated to have happened to those coming out of Egypt: however, they testify hyperbolically that it was fulfilled in likeness to the previous happiness, when they came through the desert of nations into Judaea, and were liberated from captivity. And so, they say, it is not about Christ, but about Cyrus that it is prophesied: There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. And it is understood to mean that perfect happiness will not exist except under Christ, which is reserved for the last time. Moreover, those who interpret this more truly and rightly refer it to the coming of the Savior, of whom it is said: He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for prisoners. They understand it as an exhortation for those who proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Savior himself, so that we may come out of Babylon, that is, the confusion of this world, and flee from the Chaldeans, of whom it is often said: For the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob with his precious blood and led him through the desert of the world and split the rock to give water. The Apostle speaks excellently: But the rock was Christ (I Cor. X, 4). However, the divine word is divided and divided into many parts, so that we may receive it in parts, since we cannot receive it all at once. And so that it may not be thought that this preaching is directed to all the descendants of Jacob and not only to those who will believe through the Apostles, it is added and connected: There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord, namely those who have remained in their original error; those who do not deserve to drink from the rock. Whose side pierced with a spear, flowed with water and blood (John 19), giving us baptism and martyrdom. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 48:22
Some say that so we might know that this prophecy is not about Christ but about Cyrus, the phrase is added, "there is no peace for the ungodly, says the Lord." This would mean that there will be no perfect happiness except under Christ, which is reserved for the last times. Yet those who more truly and rightly apply these words to the advent of the Savior, about whom it is said, "He has sent me to announce to the poor, to preach liberty to the captives," understand it to be an encouragement of those who preach the gospel or of the Lord and Savior, that we leave Babylon, that is, the confusion of this world, and flee the Babylonians.… For the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob with his most precious blood and led him through the desert and made a way for water to come out of a rock, about which the apostle said, "The Rock was Christ." … And lest it be thought that the prophecy is said about all the seed of Jacob, and not those only who would believe through the apostles, mention is also made concerning this: "there is no peace for the ungodly." — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:18