Isaías 49
Theodoret of Cyrus · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 49:1
Instead of "after a long time," Symmachus has said, "Lend your ear, O Gentiles, [who come] from afar." The text therefore calls [those of] the islands, the continents and even those who inhabit the extremities [of the earth] to listen to the prophecy. But the expression of the Septuagint, "after a long time," should be understood as follows: the Lord of the universe promised to Abraham to bless all nations in his posterity. This promise he also made to Isaac and to Jacob. Jacob, in his turn, gave it to Judah as a blessing: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, or a lawgiver from between his feet, until he comes for whom it is reserved, he who is also the expectation of nations." Now, a very great number of years had passed from the promise made to Abraham until the call of the Gentiles. This is why the prophetic text says, "Listen, you Gentiles, after a long time." Then he adds, "It shall stand, says the Lord," that is, to say the word of the promise, for the promise of God is trustworthy. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.1
Isaías 49:2
Such is the word, the source of division that he presented to all people; likewise he declared, "I have not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword." And moreover, the divine apostle says, "The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." … "He has set me like a chosen arrow and hidden me in his quiver." Similarly, Isaiah said this metaphorically; he speaks of an arrow that wounds the souls of those who love him. Each cries, "I am wounded by love." The quiver represents the mystery of the economy of the incarnation. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.2
Isaías 49:3
"You are my servant Israel, and I will glorify myself in you." This is to be understood according to Christ's human nature. For according to his human nature Christ is called Israel, Jacob, the son of David, the seed of Abraham, and so on. Christ is called "servant" since the servile nature God the Word assumed was the form of a slave. For "he has given him the name above every name," that is, to be the Son. As God, Christ the master was always Son, but as man he became Son. For there is not one that is "that Son" and another that is "this Son," but the one who is God the Son also became the Son as a human being. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.3
Isaías 49:4
It is necessary to recognize that he says these things as a human. For in the holy Gospels Christ as a human makes a number of humble declarations. For instance, … "I do nothing from myself." — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.4
Isaías 49:6
Then Isaiah predicts the disobedience of the Jews and the salvation of the nations. "Behold, I have given your race as a covenant, as a light to the nations." The Lord's race according to the flesh was the entire race of human beings, yet his own and nearest was Israel.… "And I will put an end to the arrangements that I made with their ancestors." — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.6
Isaías 49:6
We must also understand the prophet to be speaking of Christ's humanity here, for it would be no great honor for God the Word to be called the slave of God the Father. It is not "my child" but "my slave" that both the Hebrew text and the three translators make clear to us. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.6
Isaías 49:9
To apply these words to Zerubabbel is absolute nonsense. For Zerubbabel led the Jews out of Babylon, but he did not deliver the nations from error or present the new covenant to the nations. Isaiah says these things about the Lord Christ; it is Christ who has filled the wilderness of the world with divine shoots. He has restored the ruined earth, set those trapped in sins free from chains and illuminated those sitting in darkness with the light of the knowledge of God. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.8-9
Isaías 49:10
He has threatened Israel [with suffering] hunger for the Word and [with] a dearth of clouds: "I will send," he says, "a famine of hearing the word of the Lord," and elsewhere: "And I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it." Here, on the contrary, he promises those who have believed in him that they would have an abundance of divine nourishment and that they will have sources of salvation at their disposal forever. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.10
Isaías 49:13
It should be noted with attention that he has not made mention here either of Israel or of Jacob but that he has given the name of "people" to those he has assembled from all parts and has deemed worthy of salvation. He has again called on creation to join in the rejoicing, since even for a single sinner who repents, according to the word of the Lord, the assembly of angels rejoices. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.13
Isaías 49:15
Only let us put the rudders of our lives in his hands, and we shall encounter an unfailing providence. God's guardianship will be surer than that of any person, for his are the words, "Can a woman forget her nursing child? Will she not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yet I will not forget you." God is nearer to us than a father and mother, for he is our Maker and Creator. — LETTER 14
Isaías 49:17
It is the king of Babylon who has destroyed Jerusalem and the king of the Persians who has ordained its reconstruction. But as these last were formerly subjects of the Assyrians, they also joined with them in taking the city. Thus, he can say that the same men both destroyed the city and reconstructed it. "And they that made you desolate shall depart from you." It is to levy the punishment for their faults that they have been delivered into the hands of their enemies. But it is the demons who are the cause of their faults, those they served in giving them the name of gods. He, therefore, predicts the end of the cult of idols and the deliverance from error. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.17
Isaías 49:23
And all, even to our own day, stream toward Jerusalem, driven by the desire to see the three longed-for places of the cross, the resurrection and the ascension. Thus, it is from this church, gathered from across the earth and sea, that kings have become foster fathers and rulers providers of nourishment; the first offer firstfruits and the second tithes. These kings, for their part, are even granted an allocation of food for those consecrated to the God of the universe.… The rest of the passage teaches this with clarity. "With their faces to the earth, they prostrate themselves before you and lick the dust off your feet. You will know that I am the Lord." We see these things happening every day. In all the churches the faithful approach with their foreheads bowed to the ground and their lips on the doors to demonstrate their respect for God. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.22-23
Isaías 49:25
For "it is I," he says, who "am God the first, and I am he for the things to come." It is he who has made us and judged us to be worthy of salvation, he who has freed us from the original deception, he who has promised us the kingdom of God, of which may we enjoy the grace of him who has saved us and to whom is due glory for ages of ages. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 15:49.26