Isaías 50
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 50:1
(Chapter 50, Verse 1) Thus says the Lord: Who is this bill of divorce of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or to whom have I sold you? Behold, because of your iniquities you were sold, and because of your sins your mother was sent away. For I came and there was no man; I called, and there was none to answer. LXX: Thus says the Lord: What is this bill of divorce of your mother, whom I have sent away? Or to whom have I sold you, to the creditor and exactor of me? Behold, you have been sold for your sins, and for your iniquities I have dismissed your mother. For I came, and there was no man: I called, and there was none that obeyed. After the calling of the nations, and the kings and princes, the nourishers and the nurses, and the captivity of the strong and the mighty, whose prey was distributed to the Apostles, and after the fury of the demons, who were satiated with their own flesh and intoxicated with their own blood: when all flesh knew that the Redeemer and the strong God of Jacob himself, speaks to the people of Judah concerning Zion, which he had previously said: The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. Do you think that I, through my stubbornness, have cast down your earthly Jerusalem and that because of my rigid mind, I gave her a bill of divorce, and rather, as is true, you understand that she has departed from me because of her own fault? For when I said to her, 'Stop acting unjustly, learn to do good, listen to me,' she did not want to listen but turned her back on me as she departed. Therefore, I spoke to her children: Woe to them, for they have departed from me. Those who acted wickedly against me have been made evident. And against her, You, your departure and your wickedness will reprove you; and you will know that it is evil for you to leave me. But perhaps you cannot show a certificate of divorce, and one of my creditors demanding money, with me having nothing to give back, do you accept a repayment of debt? It is not so: but I will show you why I have abandoned the mother with her children. Your crimes and sins have sold you to demons, so that, entangled in the pleasures of this present age, you would abandon both your parent and that wife. I could not continue to hold your adulterous mother any longer, but I allowed her to leave willingly. And it is true that each person is sold by their own sins, as we are abandoned by our own free will, either led to goodness or led to evil, and the Apostle Paul teaches: 'But I am carnal, sold under sin' (Rom. VII, 14). For whoever commits sin is a slave to sin (John VIII). And just as misers and plunderers are slaves to money, so every sin dominates sinners. To whom it is said: Let not sin reign in your mortal body (Rom. VI, 12). But so that you may know, I did not reject your mother's soul; rather, she withdrew of her own accord. After many benefits, I assumed a human body, and I spoke not through the prophets, but in person. I came, and I was not a man, nor a human being. For all men, leaving the image of a man and of a human being, took on the images of beasts and serpents. Therefore, due to her wickedness, it is said to Herod: Go, and tell this fox (Luc. XIII, 32). And to the Pharisees: 'Brood of vipers' (Matthew 23:33). And to the lustful: 'They have become insane horses longing for females' (Jeremiah 5:8). And about the indulgent: 'Do not cast your pearls before swine' (Matthew 7:6). And to the shameless: 'Do not give what is holy to the dogs' (Matthew 7:6). And in general, about everyone: 'The vision of the beasts that were in the wilderness' (Isaiah 30). So the Lord came, but did not find a man. For when man was in honor, he did not understand; he was compared to dumb animals and became like them' (Psalm 49:13). I called, he said, them as if they were rational animals, and I said: Incline your ear to the words of my mouth (Psalm 77), and my people did not hear my voice. I cried out, and said: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let them drink (John 7:37). And in another place: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden (Matthew 11:28). And there was no one to hear; therefore I spoke to them in the Gospel: You have not seen the form of God, nor have you heard his voice, because you do not have his word abiding in you (John 5:37, 38). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 50:2
So that you might know that your mother was not rejected by me but deserted of her own will, after many benefits I put on human flesh and not through any prophets but actually present myself I spoke forth: "I have come, and there was not a man" or a person. For all people, abandoning the image of humans, adopted the images of beasts and serpents. Thus it was said to Herod on account of his wickedness, "Go and tell that fox," or to the Pharisees, "brood of vipers." … I have called them as if they were rational animals.… We can say that although he is the accomplisher of such great signs and he makes the sky and earth and sea to serve his uses, even he could not avoid the cross. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:26
Isaías 50:2
(Verse 2.) Has my hand been shortened and become small, that I cannot redeem? Or is there no power in me to deliver? Indeed, I will make the sea a desert, I will dry up the rivers. The fish will rot without water and die of thirst. I will clothe the heavens in darkness and make sackcloth their covering. LXX: Can my hand not save, or is it not strong enough to deliver? Behold, by my threat I will make the sea a desert, and I will dry up the rivers, and their fish will wither away because there is no water, and they will die of thirst. And I will clothe the sky in darkness, and I will make its covering like sackcloth. Against those who believed that the Lord could not deliver his people from captivity, he sets forth overwhelming proof and most abundant examples. He made the Red Sea passable for his people (Exod. XIV), he dried up the flowing waters of the Jordan, and as the rivers in Egypt dried up, he turned their fish into rot. (Exod. VII). And He who made the darkness in Egypt palpable for three days, so that the sky appeared covered as if with a sack and with darkness, certainly could also deliver His people from danger. Whether because He had said before, 'I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was none to hear,' we can say this: He who is the performer of such great signs, who makes the sky, the earth, and the seas serve His will, could also escape the cross himself, saying in the Gospel, 'Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?' (Matthew 26:53) According to the anagoge, the sea becomes a desert through the rebuke of the Lord, when all the bitterness of this world is dried up, and the rivers are desolated, about which the spiritual dragon said in Egypt: 'The rivers are mine, and I have made them' (Ezek. XXIX, 9). And about which we read in another place: 'What have you to do with the ways of the Assyrians, to drink the waters of the rivers?' (Jer. II, 18). Also, the fish that are thrown into the sea with nets rot, having been separated from the good fish. And what follows: I will clothe the heavens in darkness, and its covering will be like sackcloth; or everything that is above us, let us understand as heaven, just as those flying creatures that are in the air are called celestial; and the opposing powers are said to be celestial, which move between heaven and earth. Or certainly, the heavens are clothed in darkness when they are covered with clouds. According to what is written: Who covers the heavens with clouds, and gives rain to the earth (Psalm 147:8). And in the threat of drought, God says: I will make the sky bronze and the earth iron (Deut. XXVIII, 23). Not that the nature of the elements is changed, but that the magnitude of the punishment is shown through bronze and iron. Philosophers say that clouds are lifted no more than ten stadia above the earth and hide the brightness of the sun. Therefore, the sky is not wrapped in a sack, but the air beneath, with the light of the sky blocked, is darkened by the darkness of the clouds. We can interpret that the heavens are covered with darkness, and being covered with a sack, in such a way that we say all are under sin, and even the holy ones need the mercy of God. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 50:3
Everything that is above us we call "heaven," just as the winged things that are in the air are called "celestial" and the enemy powers are called "celestial" since they shuttle between heaven and earth.… Therefore, heaven is not covered up by a bag; but with the light of heaven closed off, the air that is underneath it becomes darkened with black clouds. We can interpret the heavens covered in darkness and concealed in a bag by saying that all are under sin and that the holy ones, too, need the mercy of God. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:27
Isaías 50:4-7
(Chapter 50—Verse 4 and following) The Lord has given me a learned tongue, so that I may sustain with words the weary. He awakens me morning by morning, awakens my ear as a master. The Lord God has opened my ear; I do not resist, I do not turn back. I offered my body to the ones striking me, and my cheeks to those plucking my beard. I did not turn my face away from those reproaching and spitting. The Lord God is ((added by the Vulgate)) my helper, therefore I am not ashamed; therefore I set my face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. LXX: The Lord gives me the tongue of instruction, so that I may know when it is necessary for me to speak a word. He has set me in the morning, and added an ear to listen; and the instruction of the Lord opens my ears. But I do not refuse or contradict. I have given my back to the lashes, and my cheeks to the slaps. But I have not turned my face away from the shame of spitting. And the Lord is my helper, therefore I am not ashamed: but I have set my face like a mighty rock, and I know that I will not be put to shame. The Jews, separating this chapter from the previous ones, want to refer it to Isaiah, who says he received a word from the Lord about how to sustain and call back the weary and wandering people to salvation. And, in the manner of little children who are instructed in the morning hours, let him hear what the Holy Spirit says. And [let it be known] that he did not contradict His command, but when the Lord asked, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?' he answered, 'Here I am, send me' (Isaiah 6:8). And because it has been said: 'Listen to the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom: listen attentively to the law of our God, people of Gomorrah' (Isaiah 1:18), he endured so much hardship, not only the insults of words, but also the pains of wounds. However, he was not terrified by the conscience of the commanding God; but according to what is said in Ezekiel: 'Behold, I have made your face stronger than their faces, and your forehead harder than their foreheads, like adamant and flint I have made your face' (Ezekiel 3:8, 9), he crushed all their attacks. This they say, who by every means try to overturn the prophecies about Christ and distort them with a perverse interpretation, as if also these things were written about Isaiah, they could take away other testimonies about Christ that are so clear that they shed light on themselves for the eyes of everyone. Therefore, concerning the person of the Lord, in whom also the previous book ends, these things must also be mentioned: that, according to the arrangement of the assumed body, he was trained and acquired the language of learning, so that he would know when he should speak and when to be silent. Finally, he who was silent in his suffering now speaks through the Apostles and the men of the Apostolic age throughout the whole world. And it is a mark of great knowledge to give timely food to those under your care and to consider the individuality of your audience. Thus, the Apostle Paul, speaking by the testimony of his authorities, addresses those who do not accept the faith of the Prophets, saying: 'For we are indeed his offspring,' as some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring' (Acts 17:28), signifying Aratus. Again about the Comedian: Evil conversations corrupt good morals (1 Cor. XV, 33); and Epimenides' hexameter verse: Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons (Titus I, 12). If they do not maintain the order and measure of the meters in translation, it should be known that in Greek they run with feet. However, he did this because he had learned the language of discipline, so that he would know when to speak a word. To this was added an ear through grace, which he did not have by nature: so that we understand that ears should not be received from the body, but from the mind, about which the Lord also spoke in the Gospel: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke VIII, 8). The discipline and education that opened his ears, so that he might transmit the knowledge of the Father to us; who did not contradict him, but became obedient even unto death, and death on a cross (Philippians 2). So that he would offer his body or back to the blows; and his chest, capable of receiving the scourges of God, would not turn away from the blows. It is clear that he endured this from the minister of the chief priests: so that both the Jewish people and the priests would mock him. He who was struck and spat upon did not blush, but was led to the victim like a lamb; and like a sheep before the shearer, he did not open his mouth. But what the Son heard from the Father regarding the mystery of his assumed body, we learn more fully in the Gospel, where he himself says: And he who sent me, the Father, has given me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And again: As I hear, I judge. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 50:6
The Jews, separating this chapter from what has been said previously, wish to refer it to the person of Isaiah, in that he would say that he received the word from the Lord and how he put up with a lazy and wandering people and called them back to salvation, and in the manner of small children who are trained early in the morning, Isaiah recited what he heard from the Holy Spirit.… But these verses should be applied to the person of the Lord in which the older book is fulfilled, since according to the dispensation of the flesh that Christ assumed, he was trained and accepted the lash of discipline so that he would know when he ought to speak and when to keep quiet. And he who in his passion was silent, through the apostles and apostolic people speaks throughout the whole world.To Christ was added through the grace of the ear things that he did not have by nature, that we might understand that we ought to accept with the ears not of our body but of the mind.… The breast that contained God was beaten.… This discipline and training opened his ears that he was able to communicate the knowledge of the Father to us.… We learned more fully in the gospel that the Son, according to the flesh he took on, spoke the mystery that he had heard from the Father. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 14:2
Isaías 50:8-9
(Verse 8, 9.) He is near who justifies me: who will contradict me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God is my helper: who is he that will condemn me? Behold, all of them shall wear out like a garment, the moth shall eat them up. LXX: He is near who justifies me: who is he that will judge me, stand up against me together? And who is he that will enter into judgment with me? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord is my helper, who shall afflict me? Behold, all of you shall grow old like a garment, and like a moth shall eat you. If anyone, says He, thinks that I am justly addicted to the cross and have committed some sin, let him resist me. Who is there to be judged with me, so as not to be overcome by the power of my majesty, but by reason? However, he is judged with the Lord, not by the authority of the reigning, but by the comparison of virtues: just as the apostles judged the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Ninevites, and the queen of Sheba judged the people of the Jews. According to which sense, it is said to Jerusalem: Sodom is justified by you (Ezech. XVI, 52). Therefore, since no one can be justified in the presence of the Lord, all will grow old like a garment (Ps. CI). And what grows old is close to ruin. And it will consume them like a moth, it says. Clearly the conscience of sinners; and the zeal of the saved gentiles. About which it is said at the end of this volume: Their worm will not die. And in Micah against perverse princes: I will take away their goods like a moth devouring, and walking on the standard on the day of speculation (Micah VII, 4, sec. LXX). And in Proverbs: The moth of bones has understanding of the heart (Prov. XIV, 30, sec. LXX). For tinea, in this place Symmachus interpreted it as rust: while Aquila as worm. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 50:10-11
(Verse 10, 11.) Who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant? Who walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on his God. LXX: Who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant? Who walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on his God. You have struck me, you have spat on my face: yet I call my persecutors to repentance. For I do not desire the death of a sinner, but only that he should turn back and live (Ezek. 33). And I say: who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant or his child, that is, his Son? of whom one is assumed flesh, the other is of nature. And indeed, let us not think it is enough to fear the Lord, according to what is said in Proverbs: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). For perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But whoever fears is not perfect in charity. But this fear is placed for timidity and caution; about which we read elsewhere: Blessed is the one who fears everything (Prov. 20), because of caution, that is, because of timidity: those who are commonly called timid in the religion of God. For the Lord protects their path; and guards the way of the timid. Regarding this fear it is written: The fear of the Lord conquers all things. And elsewhere: There is no lack for those who fear Him (Sirach 25:14; Psalm 34:10). Finally, after many steps of virtue, one arrives at this kind of fear of the Lord. For the divine word speaks in the person of a master and father, instructing the disciple and son: If you call upon wisdom and give your voice to understanding, and if you seek it like money and search for it like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and you will find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2:3). This is the fear that preserves the souls of the holy ones intact, chaste, and pure, of which it is said, The fear of the Lord remains forever (Ps. 19:9). To whom the divine scriptures exhort us: Fear the Lord, and give him glory (Apoc. XIV, 7). Therefore, whoever fears the Lord in this way, let him listen to the voice of his servant or his child, who walked in darkness and had no light; who had no appearance or glory, but in the likeness of sinful flesh took on the form of a servant, that he might overcome sin in the flesh. Concerning this, it is said, let him hope in the name of the Lord, and rely on his God: so that whatever belongs to human frailty, may be strengthened and sustained by divine majesty. This is in accordance with the Hebrew. However, according to the Septuagint, it is said about sinners, who refused to obey the voice of His Son, and they walk in the darkness of error, and therefore they do not have light. For it was not possible for wisdom to enter into a perverse soul. They did not know or understand, and therefore they walk in darkness. For they did not do the works of the Lord and His commandments, nor did they sow righteousness for themselves, nor did they harvest the vine in order to kindle the light of knowledge for themselves. For whoever desires wisdom, let them keep the commandments, and the Lord will give it to them. Thus it is said to God: Your commandments are a light. And elsewhere: The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes (Ps. 19:9). And it is commanded to the wicked to trust in the Lord, and those who fall into sin rely on his help and support. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 50:11
(Verse 11) Behold, all of you who kindle fire, girded with flames, walk in the light of your fire, and in the flames that you have kindled: it is made by my hand, you will sleep in sorrows. LXX: Behold, all of you who kindle fire, and strengthen the flame; walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame that you have kindled; these things have been made for you because of me. You will sleep in mourning. Exhortation is useless, and there is no hope of salvation after wicked deeds. All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one (Psalm 14:3); all light their own fire and prepare their own torches. For they are like a bundle of dry grass, wood, straw, thorns, and thistles, which will be consumed by eternal fire. Hence it is also written in Proverbs: Fire thrives where there are many logs (Proverbs 26:20). But if a small spark can ignite a large material, how much destruction can a great flame cause? It is also said in the Letter to the Hebrews, concerning the land which produces thorns and thistles, that it is worthless, cursed, and its end is to be burned (Hebrews 6:8). Therefore, those who are girded with flames and surrounded, and have made the fire strong in themselves, are provoked to salvation, and it is said to them: Walk in the light of your fire; and in the flames that you have ignited, so that they may learn the power of God in punishment and suffering, and return to salvation. However, it signifies the devastation of the Jewish people, who were handed over to the Romans, and who continue to bear the yoke of captivity. For all these things have been done by the hand of Christ, and they will sleep in sadness and sorrow; because they did not want to receive the Son of God with either kindness or torment. He speaks to them, saying: Go into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). This is also what the Apostle says: Wrath has come upon you to the end (1 Thess. 2:16). In this chapter, we learn that according to the quality of sin, each person kindles a fire for themselves. And just as in the same location, and if it can be said, in the same bed, some are healthy while others are burning with the heat of fever, feeling different torments due to the diversity of bodily fluids and phlegm: so the fire that is kindled by sinners has its material in sins and iniquity, of which it is written: Evil will burn like a fire, and like dry grass it will be consumed by fire (Isaiah 9:18). — Commentary on Isaiah