Глава 9

1–2. “Formerly the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were humbled; but what follows will exalt the coastal route, the Trans-Jordanian country, the pagan Galilee, parts of Judea. The people walking in darkness will see a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death the light will shine” (Isa. 9:1–2). First, he says, suffer the punishment; this comes at a high price for Jerusalem. “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” What kind of light is this? 3. “You will multiply the people, increase their joy. He will rejoice before You” (Isa. 9:3). Since they were fugitives, Christ came to their country and poured out joy on them, not as guilty of a crime and shameful fugitives. And rightly (the prophet) said: “You will multiply the people”; from among them many pagans believed, who lived with them and near them and were also overcome with joy. Look where the light is born: on what basis did the pagans become partakers of it? With the coming of Christ, light was born in Bethlehem, and from here it shone to the tongues; from the very beginning everyone persecuted Him from Judea, and He, moving away, crossed into Egypt, so that the light shone on the tongues. But we see this light not with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the heart and mind. "A people who walk in darkness". The prophet calls their first life darkness: and since they walked in darkness, I will show you their wounds and their torment. "Those who live in the land of the shadow of death". He calls the land and shadow of death the error of idolatry, in which they wandered and fell to the ground. They see the “great light”. We are told not only about earthly things, which are clearly revealed, but also about heavenly things, i.e. what is death, life, evil, good, so that we do not look at stone and wooden idols, do not fix our eyes on the ground, but contemplate what is comprehended by the mind, unexplored and heavenly. Truly great and wondrous is this light, which the evangelist calls “the true light” (John 1:9), since it teaches us the truth: visible objects are soon destroyed, become desolate, and disappear; on the contrary, this light is great, true, solid and immovable, showing us what is great and true. “You will multiply the people, increase their joy. He will rejoice before You." Only the Lord should rejoice in the salvation of us who have become free: he calls the cross joy. “He will rejoice before You, as they rejoice during the harvest.” Just as during the harvest they rejoice over the fruits of the field, so they will find everything prepared for themselves, although after labor and effort. “They will rejoice, as they rejoice when dividing the spoils,” since they will no longer experience oppression from failures, but will enjoy only those things in which there is no anxiety. 4–5. “For the yoke that weighed him down, and the rod that struck him, and the reed of his oppressor, you will break in pieces, as in the day of Midian” (Isaiah 9:4). Just as then the war was not stopped by human force, so now is the battle of Satan: then there were urns and torches, but now not urns and not torches, but mutually fighting demons were thrown into flames. You know about this war, but if you don’t, then I’ll tell you. “For all the sandals of a warrior in battle, and all the clothing stained with blood, will be given to be burned as food for the fire” (Isaiah 9:5). These words denote the future, i.e. that they will return everything with indignation and disgust. 6. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). Why? Because the One who was born destroyed and destroyed them (the Jews); By His birth for us He consumed them. Although Paul says that He was born for them, but since they did not want to recognize Him, He was born “to us,” and the Child “to us,” and the Son “to us.” Having heard the prophet foretell His human nature and birth, and teach from the beginning of whom He was born, now understand who He is and what His name is. "Dominion is upon His shoulder." This cannot be understood in relation to any other person (but only in relation to Christ), since He has His authority not from anyone else, but from Himself and His nature, since He is self-sufficient. “And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Where are both sides now – Jews and heretics? This is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us worthy to be amazed and not tested. So, we must confess that the Creator is not a creation, that He is one, and not two, “Son”, i.e. The One Whom the Jews do not want to recognize. And the fact that they did not want to receive health from general medicine indicates their wounds. Above he says: “God is with us,” but here he says: “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And truly; - the great Fatherly council, since no one declared to us the name of the Father, except the One who has the same nature and subsequently desired to be His Angel, - not that He was transformed into an angel, but - fulfilled the duty of an angel, according to His goodness, being God from God, according to what was said: “And I made known to them Your name” (John 17: 6, 26). "Advisor". Here is another meaning: since the Father wished to make the pagans co-heirs, similar and participating in His Son, then look at the advice He held with the Son and the Holy Spirit, namely, to elevate our nature and place it above the angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim. “And they will call His name: Wonderful, Counselor,” in order to raise the earth and dust to heaven. But He Himself is advice and will: He thought, desired, loved the world, came and freed it from evil. "Wonderful, Advisor". This expression is not found in the translation of the 70s (in Vat. Code. T. LXX these words are not readable, but in Alex. they are readable), but is found in other translators and in the Hebrew text, along with other subsequent words. Therefore, the martyr Lucian, who well extracted and compared the rest in order to make clear to us the equality in essence of the Son with the Father, deserves surprise, and he is unjustly accused as a heretic. But how does it say: “Who understood the spirit of the Lord, and was His adviser and taught Him?” (Isa.40:13)? Do you not see that the expression “who” does not show the division between the Father and the Son, but the difference from the idols that are called gods? “Wonderful,” he says, “my name will be and majestic.” He says very well in another place: “Why do you ask about my name? it is wonderful” (Judges 13:18); and also: “Lord our God! How majestic is Your name throughout the whole earth!” (Ps. 8:2). And indeed, how wonderful is not that name, which drove away lies, enlightened the circle of the earth and drew us to Himself and to the Father. "God is Mighty". The difference between those who were not gods and the true God is primacy. How can you say that He is under authority when the prophet calls him chief? It is known that the chief is not under anyone's authority. "Prince of Peace, Father of Eternity". How did He not know the day when it is called: behold the Son, and behold the Father (cf. Matt. 24:36)? Although in this world He was not recognized by the unbelievers, yet at the end (of the age) everyone will recognize Him. It is well said: “Eternal Father,” because He created not only the present, but also the future. Having first called Him “Counselor of the great council,” the prophet then freely speaks of Him more and more important things. But so that you do not consider Him formidable, he says: 7. “I will bring... peace to the princes... and health to Him” (these words are not in the Russian translation), i.e. in the days of His incarnation, through Him I will heal His members, all who believe. “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9:7): His peace is endless, and there is nothing that can take it away; why (Christ) says: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). "On the throne of David and in his kingdom". Let us return again to the beginning of this passage, and repeat these same words as they are expressed by other translators. Seventy interpreters say: “For to us a child was born, and a Son was given unto us, whose rulership was upon His frame, and the name of His great council is called Angel; I will bring peace to princes and health to Him. And His rulership is great, and His peace has no end.” Aquila says: “For as a child we were born, and a Son was given to us, and a measure was made on His back, and His name was called wondrous, counselor, mighty, mighty, Father and Prince even of them, immeasurable, and His peace has no greater bounds.” And Symmachus: “A young man will be born to us, and peace will be on His shoulders, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty, Mighty, Father of the age to come, Prince of their peace; "Increase your instruction, and your peace will have no end." In the same way, Theodotion did not say: named, but: “addressed; a wondrous thinker, mighty, mighty, Father, Prince of Peace; increase instruction and peace will have no end.” So it is in the Hebrew text: “His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of the Age, Prince of Peace, so that power may increase, and the world will have no end.” So it is clear that St. The martyr (Lucian) did not add or subtract anything, but collected it from Jews and other translators, arranged it in order and published everything. Thus, the translation of Lucian (this is the translation that was made by St. Lucian the Martyr, presbyter of Antioch, in 300 AD, during the reign of Diocletian) should not be suspected; it is even more important and correct than the Palestinian text. But let's return to what we started. “On the throne of David and in his kingdom, to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." Since it was constantly being destroyed, and for no other reason, but only because of sins, He came with the birth of baptism to completely restore it. “By judgment and righteousness”: He observed him justly. "From Here to Eternity". How was the kingdom of David established? Through the universal veneration of the One born of David throughout the earthly circle, whose seed endures forever and ever. “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this,” and not the virtue, he says, of people who were unworthy of Him. This does not cause us offense, but reveals the strength of blessings. He calls peace and salvation of souls, together with bodies, since the beginning of bodily illnesses arose from sins. Therefore (Christ) said to the paralytic: “Behold, you have recovered; sin no more” (John 5:14), and elsewhere it says: “you will have no sickness” (cf. Exodus 15:26). Since the first punishments were not enough, others had to be added. And what I say means the following: God established the punishment of death if a person dares to eat from the fruit of the tree, and did not add anything else. Since the man violated the commandment, he incurred punishment by illness: he had to die, although his life itself should have passed without sorrow. But since, as a result of this, he could indulge in laziness, God also added punishment with illnesses, so that a person, admonished by this, would remember goodness. Such is God's providence that, through a few illnesses, a person is freed from numerous torments. That is why God threatens the Jews with many things, i.e. sorrows, illnesses, despondency and other disasters, in order to demonstrate virtue as the cause of all good things. Now, since they led a bad life, He threatens them with hell as punishment. 8–9. “The Lord sent death upon Jacob, and came upon Israel” in the Russian text: (“The word the Lord sends upon Jacob, and it descends upon Israel”) (Is. 9:8–9). He sent and she will come. Translators use the verb “sent l”, since nothing can drive away what is sent by God. And since this was sent to his people, he speaks as if with regret. “That all the people may know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who speak with pride and a haughty heart.” Look, nothing upsets God more than arrogance, unbearable, but absurd words that put hope in transitory things as in very solid ones. 10. “The bricks have fallen,” he says, “we will build with hewn stone” (Is. 9:10). Oh man! You constantly hear about future wars, about the disasters that will befall your state, and yet you still despise these words and take care of good buildings. Oh, madness, inexperience, pride! God threatens, do you despise? And even if God did not threaten, the object itself should have convinced you of this. If nothing else, the life of the Jews no less than the prophets could convince them of the prophetic meaning of these words. But perhaps you think that this is why you will not be punished because you will build good buildings? These are the words of extreme unbelievers, plunged into ignorance of God: not believing the sayings of the prophets, they became so hardened that they intended to build durable buildings. And now, O man, for whom are you building lasting buildings? Soon you will leave this world: today or tomorrow your body will be dissolved - whose strong buildings will be made by you? Oh, how great is such madness! But, you say, I care about the existence of my sons and relatives. Much better than houses and buildings were the commandments that Jonadab the Rechabite gave to his sons: “You shall not build houses” (Jeremiah 35:7); you, on the contrary, if you had the opportunity, would excite them to great disasters: this is what you are now striving for, thus tying them to the transitory world. “Let us build a pillar for ourselves” (there are no Russian translations of these words): they do not say to children or descendants, but “to ourselves” the prophet, they say, is crazy and does not know what he is saying. They build towers not to live in them, but for the sake of glory and boasting. Do you see how, out of their pride, they insulted God? However, he says, not only for this, but also for the sake of the Jewish people, I will subject them to punishment. 11–12. “And the Lord will raise up Rezin’s enemies against him, and will arm his enemies: the Syrians from the east, and the Philistines from the west; and they will devour Israel with their mouths full. Despite all this, His anger will not be turned away, and His hand will still be stretched out” (Isa. 9:11–12). Benefits must be beneficial. See how God admonishes us with the fear of punishment. First He prophesied about the Babylonians, then about the Syrians and Western Greeks. It seems to me that by this He wanted to show some good, i.e. that His glory would appear throughout the entire earthly circle, and especially among the Babylonians, who at that time controlled many countries, so that they would not arrogate victory to themselves, but would understand that God had given them the power to oppress many nations and Greeks “from the west of the sun.” But why? Because they “will devour Israel with their mouths full.” Do you see that he himself is finally seeking protection from them? “Even though His anger is not turned away, His hand is still stretched out.” These words mean either that, after listening to so many threats, they did not become kind, or that God will not bring punishment to such a limit; as can be seen from the following words, we are talking about the people. 13. “But the people do not turn to Him who smites them, and do not resort to the Lord of hosts” (Is. 9:13). Do you see that He said all this so that the people would not be wounded, yet the latter did not convert? All these words of the prophet have the same meaning as if someone said: everything was tried and there was no benefit until he was wounded. 14–15. “And the Lord will cut off from Israel the head and the tail, the palm and the cane, in one day.” Other translators do not say: “great and small,” but: “who sowed discord, seduced and impeded freedom.” He does not say: head and feet, but, as if talking about unreasonable animals, “head and tail”; since the people were like snakes, He crushed the head, the root of all evil, and cut off the tail so that it could no longer move. "In one day": correctly he showed that these punishments were sent down by God. Then he turns his speech to those who were subject to the spell: “an old man and a noble, this is the head,” who, due to partiality, performed justice badly. “And the prophet-false teacher is a tail.” Why did he call the false prophet a tail, although he seems to be their head? Because the false prophets encouraged them to do evil and did not allow them to correct themselves. From here we learn that it is not those who do evil who deserve greater punishment, but those who incite them to sin. A poor man, perhaps, as an excuse, can imagine his poverty, but you, being strong and rich, what do you imagine? Then the prophet answers, rightly asserting that this circumstance does not serve as punishment, but as medicine and correction. 16. “And the leaders of this people will lead them astray, and those they lead will perish” (Isaiah 9:16). They haven't shown up yet, but they will show up eventually. Now they will seduce, but then everyone will recognize them. He adds: “they will lead him astray,” because, although they deceive now, they will appear (as deceivers) later. 17. “Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over his young men” (Isa. 9:17). What is the use of being tall and strong if someone makes bad use of age and strength? For example, if someone’s slaves are tall, well-built, strong and healthy people, but devoted to vices, drunkenness and debauchery, wandering here and there, then their strength will not please anyone, because, although they are strong in body, they have no mind, as a result of which all kinds of evil occur. Good in itself is not good, and evil in itself is not evil, but according to the spiritual mood of the person doing both. The horse will be humble and reliable if he has a good direction from the beginning, but he will do a lot of harm if he has an evil tendency. “He will not have mercy on his orphans and widows”; they will not recover from punishment and will not become kind. So that you do not despise such severity and do not consider it cruelty, for this, understand the reason for it: “for they are all,” he says, “hypocrites and evildoers, and the lips of all speak wickedly.” Look, not being merciful here is a sign of mercy, because nothing more contributes to their correction than abandonment, neglect, oblivion. “For all this, His anger will not be turned away, and His hand will still be stretched out,” to bring punishment by deed itself, or to repeat threats, as befitted God. I (the prophet) fulfilled and predicted all this, but “His anger will not be turned away,” i.e. the words I spoke could not remove His anger. 18. “For iniquity has burned up like fire, consuming the thorns and thorns, and blazing in the thickets of the forest, and pillars of smoke rising up” (Isaiah 9:18). Do you see what food the wrath of God gave to the fire? This is just like how a spark, when it falls where there is a lot of dry grass, becomes a big fire, and if it finds nothing to excite it, it immediately weakens and goes out. 19. “The wrath of the Lord of hosts will scorch the earth, and the people will become, as it were, the food of fire; A man will not spare his brother” (Isa. 9:19). You, he says, of course, have heard about how quickly hay burns, and therefore do not consider the fire to be extinguished. I use this kind of similitude in order to show its speed and strength. And if you want to know this power, then pay attention to the following words: “the people will become like the food of fire” (near the conflagration). “The wrath of the Lord of hosts will scorch the earth, and the people will become like food for fire.” To confirm the same thought, he speaks of the wrath of God as one that will not spare either the earth or any other thing, neither the poor nor the rich; and he asserts this so that you do not think that sin has such power, and the wrath of God can do nothing. “And the people will become as the food of fire.” Here he denotes such relationships in which, he says, even the laws of nature will be neglected, and people will not recognize each other. “A man will not spare his brother.” Since you do not recognize each other, I will destroy you in another way: “A man will not spare his brother.” Remaining meek and calm now, he will not change towards others, like a cruel beast, will not have regret for his brother, who is closest to him, and thus the disasters will intensify. 20. “And they will cut on the right side, and they will remain hungry,” i.e. retreat, leave him; “and they will eat on the left, and will not be full”, i.e. will consume like fire, destroying right and left. “Each one will devour the flesh of his own muscle” (Isa. 9:20). And Symmachus says: “the flesh of your neighbor.” Oh, bitter, bile-filled meal! O food prepared by demons! O obscene feast! The meal of bitterness, prepared from its own members, became its own food and so pleasant that one could not get enough of it: evil and warring demons descended into the city, which is more bitter than many deaths. Wouldn’t it be better to end your life from lack of food and not find such an expensive medicine? Medicine is worse than illness, health is worse than weakness: man has entered into a struggle with himself. How can we not be filled with horror and fear? Look at the food he ate: his mouth was full of blood and dirt, his lips were raw meat, he ate himself, he became a dog for himself, the cruelest of all predators. What a crime! What a shame! I know that my words terrify many, plunge them into fear, trembling and tears. But if I showed that we ourselves commit crimes greater than these, would you not be horrified by this? The whole church is one body, but when we eat our brothers, we at the same time gnaw mutually at the bones of each of us. “If you bite and devour one another” (Gal. 5:15), when, I say, this is done between people, then do they not become like rabid, predatory and insane animals? 21. “Manasseh - Ephraim, and Ephraim - Manasseh”: these are legitimate brothers. “Both together - Judas”. Do you see anger, do you see rage? “Even though His anger is not turned away, His hand is still stretched out” (Isaiah 9:21) so that they would know what kind of punishment they are worthy of. Having been subjected to so many punishments, they, however, did not correct themselves, but remained still mired in the same vices. You might be interested in: