Глава 17

1. Seventh vision. "Prophecy of Damascus" (Isa. 17:1). 2–3. “Behold, Damascus is excluded from the number of cities and will be a heap of ruins.” And the reasons for this are given: “The stronghold of Ephraim and the kingdom of Damascus with the rest of Syria will no longer exist; The same thing will happen to them as to the glory of the children of Israel” (Isaiah 17:3). From here it is clear that the Lord is punishing him, not as a rebel, but sparing him and providing. “And he will come to his sanctuary to pray,” says the prophet, “but nothing will help” (Is. 16:12), but he does not say: they cannot. How? How could those who previously spoke empty words against the prophecy provide help when they themselves were deprived of it? The prophet says what happened to the Jews, that they will all leave the cities. 4. “And it will happen in that day: the glory of Jacob will decrease, and his fat body will become lean” (Is. 17:4): for some will be killed outside, others will be besieged in the cities, and the rest will come to extreme disaster, so that neither the priest, nor the prophet, nor anyone else can help. Thus, it is clear what it means: “Jacob’s glory will diminish, and his fat body will become lean”: neither multitude, nor bodily strength, nor anything like that will be able to help him, and very few will remain, like ears of corn in the fields after the harvest. Therefore, God initiates war and often gives victory to the few over the many, in order to show that victory does not belong to the many, but to the power of Him who, by His will, conquers the many, both with the many and with the few. 5–6. “It will be the same as when the reaper gathers the grain, when his hand reaps the ears of grain, and when the grain is gathered in the valley of Rephaim. And he will have, as happens when olive trees are trimmed, two or three berries at the very top, or four or five on the fruitful branches, says the Lord, the God of Israel” (Isaiah 17:5-6). Look what the prophet says. Having established glory in their own locality, they considered the city free, and neglected to undertake anything within the walls. But for us, freedom is secured not by the terrain, but by the help of the Lord. The prophet says this in order to give faith to the prophecy, so that the Jews will not be afraid. Look how great was their fear! He struck the foreigners not only so that they would learn His power, but also so that they themselves would become sober and useful to themselves. 7–8. “On that day man will turn his gaze to his Creator, and his eyes will be fixed on the Holy One of Israel; and he will not look at the altars, at the work of his hands, and he will not look at what his fingers have made, at the images of Ashtoreth and Baal” (Isaiah 17:7-8). What are you doing, you pathetic man? He created you, and you trust in someone else? Couldn't He who created you be your patron? He who brought you from nothing to life can return you to nothing again. “And his eyes will be directed towards the Holy One of Israel,” i.e. the eyes of the mind will behold the Holy One of Israel. “And he will not look” at his tormentors. Is it really not a great dishonor to not be able to understand something very easy, in the absence of difficulties? And how will a person honor what he does? This does not come from anything else, but only from stupidity. 9. “In that day its fortified cities will be like ruins in the forests and on the tops of the mountains, abandoned before the children of Israel, and it will be desolate” (Isaiah 17:9). He brings to mind past good deeds so that the Jews would know Him now, since it is impossible for them to reject, and they must admit that they did not carry out the destruction (of the cities of the Amorites and Hivites) by their own strength, but these very nations, for their sins, were given to them, just as now those same cities for the sins (of the inhabitants). Look at the number of accusations! If the Jews committed the same sins as the pagan peoples, then did they not deserve their own punishment? 10. “For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the rock of your refuge; That’s why he planted pleasure gardens and planted cuttings from someone else’s vine” (Isa. 17:10). Wasn't it enough to just say: God? Why also - “the God of your salvation”? “You have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the rock of your refuge.” Not only did he not remember, he even forgot. But, forgetting God, how did you not remember the Nourisher who always fed you? Since the need for food and treatment is urgent, you must remember Him. “That’s why he planted pleasure gardens.” Aquila puts: “planting splendor.” Symmachus: “beautiful plantings.” Theodotion: “decent plantings.” “And he planted cuttings from someone else’s vine.” Aquila says: “and a foreign shoot,” and the others say something similar to this, namely: “you will plant at a time when foreigners will wage war and camp outside the walls.” 11. “On the day of your planting, you took care that it would grow and that what you sown would bloom early; but on the day of gathering there will not be a heap of harvest, but a severe tribulation” (Isaiah 17:11), due to the fugitives who left the city. “So that what you sow will bloom early,” i.e. will mature. “On the same day you will inherit, and like a father of man, give the inheritance to foreigners, like your son,” 114 and you will accompany them. 12–14. "Alas! the noise of many peoples! They make noise like the noise of the sea. Roar of the tribes! they roar like strong waters roar. The nations roar as mighty waters roar; but He threatened them and they ran far and were driven like dust over the mountains by the wind and like dust by a whirlwind. Evening - and what a horror! and before morning he was no longer there. This is the lot of our robbers, the lot of our destroyers” (Isa. 17:12–14). Let not, he says, the multitude, which stirs up confusion, frighten you. "Alas! the noise of many peoples! They make noise like the noise of the sea. Roar of the tribes! they roar like strong waters roar. The nations roar as mighty waters roar; but He threatened them and they ran far away.” Others say: “he will run and pursue far.” “And they were driven like dust over the mountains by the wind, and like dust by a whirlwind.” Look how the victory immediately became very easy. “It’s evening - and here’s the horror! and before the morning he is no more.” He even names the time of the victory, which was to take place at night; why not during the day? So that citizens do not see the torment and are not embarrassed. “Such is the fate of our robbers, the lot of our destroyers.” Do you see how the prophet brings this to mind, so that they know that they were punished for their own sake? These words are not in the Russian translation. You might be interested in: