Глава 13

1. “Prophecy of Babylon” (Is. 13:1). Aquila: “the chariot of Babylon,” Theodotion and Symmachus say: “the parable of the Babylonians.” “Which Isaiah the son of Amoz spoke,” because other prophets also saw it. 2–3. “Raise your banner on the open mountain, lift up your voice; wave your hand to them so that they go to the gates of the rulers. I have given a commandment to My chosen ones, and I have called My mighty ones, who triumph in My greatness, to carry out My wrath” (Isaiah 13:2-3). Aquila: “I have commanded My sanctified ones, namely, I will bring leaders and warriors”: with this he reminds of King Cyrus; I, he says, will bring them so that you will fear the king. “And I called My mighty ones to carry out My wrath,” other translators, instead of “strong,” say “warriors,” “those who triumph in My greatness.” Akila: “raised with pride,” Theodotion: “rejoicing in My reproaches.” 4–9. “A great noise on the mountains, as if from a crowded people, a rebellious noise of kingdoms and nations gathered together” (Isaiah 13:4): this means the presence of many warriors, with great and enormous help. “The Lord of Hosts surveys the fighting army. They come from a distant country, from the end of the sky” (Is. 13:4–5), i.e. from Media and Parthia. “Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand” (in the words: “Behold... the day of the Lord... unhealed”) (Is. 13:6, 9). It is very good to understand this about the future (age). If we work in this world to acquire virtues, then such will contribute to salvation, otherwise, upon relocation from this world, we will be overcome by the power of torment, which will never end. That is why He calls the day “unhealed,” so that no one will be found unhealed in this world, just as masters, intending to beat slaves and at the same time intending to forgive their guilt, often swear before their friends: if I catch him, I will not leave him alive. If you want to know how this day is unhealed, then let’s go together to that rich man who had many slaves, an abundance of cups and household utensils in this age, and none of this revived him in another age, but he was so tormented that he asked Lazarus to refresh his dry lips. And you're not blushing? How come you do not become confused, looking for a doctor for the ulcers with which you are languishing, in the one whom you saw every day and cruelly abandoned, did not spare him, although he had the same nature? But cruel torment makes you forget the feeling of modesty. Who would not take pity on this unbearable torment, even if he himself suffered evil from the one experiencing it? And so, he asks not for anything great, not to be freed from the burning flame and to get out of hell, but only to somehow refresh a small part of the body. However, no one allowed him to do this either. “And besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you” (Luke 16:26). Let him not think that because he was cruel to Lazarus, Father Abraham did not allow the latter to refresh his thirsty lips. For others, this would serve as proof of laziness, and they would reason like this: Lazarus did not do good to the rich man because, during his life, he received evil from him; but my father or brother can intercede, since my father cannot look at such executions without taking pity, he will have mercy and deliver him from the torment. Christ, in order to remove all these empty consolations and convince everyone to rely on their own virtues, and very little on others, puts forward Abraham, who says: “And besides all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot cross, nor can they cross from there to us” (Luke 16:26). And the former shows fair justice: “you have already received your good things in your life, but Lazarus received your evil things” (Luke 16:25). I, he says, admit and affirm that I am not so shameless as to be unjust even in torment. It is not for the sake of justice that I wish for relief, but only for compassion. “A great chasm has been established between us and you,” because the unhealed day is filled with anger and rage. The prophet said well: “fulfilled,” since (then) there is no place for repentance, but everything is filled with anger, there is no place for regret and mercy, since God gave the medicine of repentance for the duration of life, and made that day incurable. But perhaps they will say: will He really not take into account human nature? Are we really not made of dirt - not dust and ashes? However, now is not the time for such words; These beautiful words should have been remembered when you committed sins, boasted, proudly exalted yourself, indulged in effeminacy and shameful drunkenness. Patriarch Abraham spoke during the torment, when the wrath of God had already come, was already at the door (Matthew 24:33), but the decision of the court had not yet been given and was not conveyed to the tormentors. Is it possible to change the law after a court decision? Do you not hear how Abraham himself prayed to God while he stood as a judge and spoke to Him; but when he reduced the number of righteous people to ten and only said: “Will You really destroy the righteous with the wicked” (Gen. 18:23), then he fell silent? You should speak in exactly the same way there: after pronouncing the definition, you should be silent - now you are trying in vain. If you did not hasten when you were hastening, what is the use of hastening now? Christ Himself prays, and you do not heed. And Paul also insistently speaks of Christ’s prayer: “as if God himself exhorts through us; In the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). You must be reconciled, he says, with My Son, who sinned against no one, but even bore the sins of many. If you are reconciled to Him, you will be reconciled to Me; and if you do not listen to His prayers, then you will ask Me for anything in vain. Although you will not be reconciled with the Savior and Redeemer, yet I wait and endure, I ask and do not want to retreat and despise prayer. How can you ask Me when I subject you to punishment and execution? You ask and beg Me now, but you should have listened and obeyed when I called you, and I would have given you forgiveness and mercy, and would have reconciled with you, but (now) you have made reconciliation your accusation. 10. “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, fierce, with wrath and burning fury, to make the land desolate and to destroy its sinners from it” (Isa. 13:9). He calls that day of the Lord, on which all faces that were not previously flushed with shame will come to amazement. Then all who are now rebels will understand that everything is from God, when they are punished and filled with awe, when those who were despised in this world will shine brighter than the rays of the sun, and the proud, glorious and noble here, being overthrown and humiliated, will go to the place of torment. Then it will be the day of the Lord, when everyone “will receive wages according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8). If this day is a day not only of anger and rage, but also of reward and honor, then why, it will be said, is it designated not by pleasant, but by harsh expressions? Because of you and your carelessness, in order to - at least in this way - excite you. After all, everyone knows that it is a day of reward, but they do not know that it is also a day of punishment; they believe this, but they don’t believe that. "To make the earth desolate". But why is it said: all the “earth”? Listen also to what follows: “and destroy her sinners from her.” When hell accepts sinners and heaven accepts the righteous, then the prophet rightly said: “make the earth a desert” where sins were committed. Then cities and houses and everything will be overthrown. The world order will be renewed again, although some do not believe it. It is rightly said: “destroy from it,” since they will not perish completely, but, being cast into the fire, they will suffer punishment for their deeds. 11. “The stars of heaven and luminaries do not give light from themselves; the sun darkens when it rises, and the moon does not shine with its light” (Is. 13:10). To whom will they give light when the Sun of Truth appears? When the sun appears, all the stars disappear; in the same way, after the Sun of Truth appears, no luminary will appear. 12. “I will punish the world for its evil” (Is. 13:11). Listen now to the saying that threatens the universe with disaster. “And the wicked for their iniquities, and I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and I will destroy the arrogance of the oppressors.” Why, leaving other disasters, does He expose only this? To show the severity of pride, which is the root of evil, the source of untruth, from which came the end and beginning of the destruction of the world: it was the beginning of all evil, it cast down Satan and others with him from heaven. Therefore, in order to heal this severe wound, God did everything with humility: His birth, his walk in the world, the calling of the apostles, and the Virgin from whom he was born, and the betrothed to whom this Virgin was betrothed, since he was a craftsman by occupation, for whom there was no place in the inn, and they were so poor that they did not even have a cradle, which is why He, as the son of the poor, was laid in a manger. When He physically came of age, then, it is said, “and some women... served Him with what they had” (Luke 8:2, 3); and He Himself said: “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). He called insignificant people to become apostles, He gave the teaching of humility, strengthening it completely and at the same time pursuing pride like a fierce beast. Thus, with His meal, bed, life, His clothes, instructions, the cross of suffering and everything else, God teaches us nothing else, only humility. He washed the traitor's feet: this is more wonderful than anything else. Do you see how meek He showed? He took a blow from a slave, whom he supported with the power of patience. From then until now, He has been despised and reproached, but He spoke and did all the deeds for the salvation of those who despise and neglect Him. “Then everyone will turn to his people like a hunted roe and like abandoned sheep, and everyone will flee to his own land” (Isaiah 13:14). The Prophet not only speaks about vices, but also shows the dignity of virtues. 13. “I will make people more valuable than fine gold, and men more valuable than the gold of Ophir” (Is. 13:12). Do you see the beauty of virtues? Do you see the shine? “For this purpose I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move from its place because of the wrath of the Lord of hosts, in the day of His burning wrath” (Is. 13:13). The Prophet again dwells on terrible words and, even longer than before, recognized this as useful in order to make them well-behaved. “I’ll shake the sky,” he says. If the forces of heaven move, then even more will heaven itself, which has fed people for so long, become enraged, and the reason for eternal punishment will be the abundance of heavenly blessings, which has always fed them. Do not think that the second coming will be similar to the first: then He came quietly and silently to take away sins, and now He will come for righteous retribution; Then He was like a doctor, and now He is in the form of a judge; then He planted the vine, and now He gathers the fruit; therefore He will come to overthrow everything, so that you understand His greatness and so that you know that He could come then in the same way. If in His hand are the ends of the world, He “looks upon the earth, and it shakes” (Ps. 103:32), then is it surprising that when He comes, He will transform everything? “From the wrath of the Lord of hosts”: souls will feel the wrath of the Lord. 14. “Then everyone is like a persecuted roe” (Is. 13:14): those who are separated from the righteous will not find refuge or consolation anywhere. “And like abandoned sheep”: and rightly so, since they will not have a shepherd. “And he shall not gather” (these words are not in the Russian translation): how will they be gathered when God Himself scatters? The Prophet changes his speech again. 17–18. “Behold, I will raise up the Medes against them, who do not value silver and are not partial to gold. Their bows will strike down the young men” (Is. 13:17–18). And Symmachus says: “Young men will be killed with bows.” “And they will not spare the fruit of the womb.” The troubles must be severe because there are no words of mercy. Look how many blessings there are for some and how many disasters there are for others. Oh, wonderful transformation! 19–20. “And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God, like Sodom and Gomorrah, and will never be inhabited, and for generations there will be no inhabitants in it; The Arabian will not pitch his tent, and the shepherds and their flocks will not rest there. But the beasts of the desert will dwell in it, and the houses will be filled with eagle owls; and ostriches will settle, and shaggy ones will gallop there. Jackals will howl in their palaces, and hyenas in their houses of pleasure” (Isaiah 13:19-20). “The Shaggy Ones” do not actually exist, nor do they live in Babylon, but people have such a name; they use it to designate a desert or a city that has no inhabitants. In this sense, Scripture also accepts it, setting out everything according to human custom, but not claiming that this is actually so. Scripture accepts even the vulgar speech of people and thus speaks to them. Other translators, instead of “shaggy x,” suggest: ostriches. And Akila says: “hairy and shaggy demons.” Symmachus and Theodotion: “shaggy-haired demons and onocentaurs. And the owls will call to each other in Idim” (in Hebrew-Masoretic: “in his palaces”). You might be interested in: