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God is the Lord and appeared to us, according to the Scriptures (Ps. 117:27), and a multitude of those who were mistaken were caught by Him to grace through faith, for He was the hope of the nations and through Him God the Father called those in darkness and shadow to the light of truth. He made this clear to us in the above words, briefly saying: I the Lord God has called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand, and I will strengthen you, and I have given you for the covenant of the race of Israel, for the light of the tongues, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring them out from the bonds of bondage, and from the prison house, and those who sit in deep darkness (Is. 42:6,7). Our Lord Jesus Christ was put into covenant by God the Father with His generation according to the flesh, I say, with the descendants of Israel, to whom God had already announced of old through one prophet, saying: These days are coming, says the Lord, and I am making a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the covenant which their father commanded (Jer. 31:31). For the divine Moses, being in the position of a suppliant, was a servant of the shadow, and the image of Christ, as the Son and Lord, became the organizer of the new covenant; I say: new, because it transforms a person into a renewal of holy life and, through gospel living, reveals him to be pleasing to God and a true worshiper; for, he says, the spirit is God, and whoever worships him is worthy to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). So it was laid down as a covenant for generations and for the light of tongues, to open the eyes of the blind and to free them from the bonds that are bound. The leader of evil, Satan, has darkened the hearts of the nations and has become vain in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts have been darkened: to be wise, to become fools and change the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible image of man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things (Rom. 1:21-23). But the true light, that is, Christ, has shone for us as a spiritual star and as the sun of righteousness; Having spread the rays of true knowledge of God, He dispelled the darkness that covered those who lived on earth because of the devil’s deception; He freed from bonds those who were kept in the indestructible chains of their own sins. So that those who from ancient times served the creature instead of the Creator, have darkness in their minds, are carried away to worship the works of their hands and are far from God, will be called through faith in Christ and will know the King of all and the Lord - this is perfectly explained by the word of prophecy. For those who have been shown mercy by God commands them to praise Him and says this: Isa.42:10. Sing a new song to the Lord: his ruler, glorify his name from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and those who sail on it, the islands and those who live on them. The song is new and corresponding to the news of affairs. For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, according to what is written (2 Cor. 5:17), and the ancient thing was made all new. Those who descended from the blood of Israel, through the mediation of the wise Moses, were freed from the lust for power of the Egyptians and delivered from plinth making, from vain labor on earthly affairs, from the cruelty of the overseers and from the inhumanity of the ruler; They were translated through the middle of the sea, ate manna in the desert, drank water from the rock, crossed the Jordan with wet feet and were brought into the land of promise. With us, all this is new and incomparably better than the ancient one. We have been delivered not from carnal, but from spiritual slavery, and instead of earthly labors, we have been freed from the defilements of carnality; It was not the Egyptian taskmasters that we escaped, nor the wicked and indomitable tyrant, but still a man similar to us; but the wicked and unclean demons who lead the rulers of these crowds into sin, that is, Satan. We crossed, as it were, a kind of sea, the excitement of real life and the confusion in it and its truly vain entertainments. We have tasted spiritual manna, the heavenly bread that gives life to the world; They drank water from the stone, enjoying the springs of Christ, obviously spiritual. We crossed the Jordan, worthy of holy baptism; entered into the promised and proper land of the saints, of which the Savior Himself reminds us, saying: blessed are the meek: for these shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). So, it was necessary that with new improvements there should be a new song among his superiors, that is, among those who submitted to Him and are under His authority; and there should have been songs or praise appropriate to him not only in the Judean country, but obviously from one end to the other of the earth, that is, in all under heaven, for in ancient times God was known only in Judea, and His name was great in Israel alone; but when we are called by Christ to the knowledge of the truth, then heaven and earth became full of His glory. So nowhere does the Psalmist say that the whole earth will be filled with his glory (Ps. 71:19). Who are those who command that His name be glorified from the ends of the earth, composed songs for Him, and urging them to organize choirs and convening them in a spiritual assembly, go down to the sea and swim on it? Who are the islands and those living on them? Mentions, as I think, the holy apostles; for they preached Jesus and the grace through Him not only in Judea, but crossing the sea they also preached the gospel to the countries of the pagans. So they even reached Illyricum and beyond, so that neither the islands of the sea nor those living on them were left untouched by the sacred sermon. This is the meaning you can give to the saying from a historical perspective. But you can understand the words of the prophecy, if you wish, in another way. Divinely inspired Scripture often likens this world or human life to the sea, as sung in the psalms: This is a great and vast sea: there are creeping things there, countless in number, the smallest animals with the great (Ps. 103:25). He claims that our life is like the sea, perhaps due to the very inconstancy of affairs in it, due to their rise, fall and great confusion. This sea is crossed by those who do not plunge into it, but, as it were, float up and move away from worldly entertainments. Such, having received help from God and always remembering the gifts through Christ, glorify Him. And the islands, that is, churches, are, as it were, surrounded by a spiritual sea and receive those overwhelmed by the evil spirit, and they glorify Christ, that is, those who dwell in them. For when we talk about churches, or name them, we designate the holy worshipers who are in them. However, you need to know this: those villages and cities that lie in the middle of a great and vast desert are also called islands. Isa.42:11,12. The desert, and the palace thereof, and they that dwell in Kidar, rejoice: they that dwell on the rocks shall rejoice; they shall cry from the ends of the mountains. They will give glory to God, his virtues will be proclaimed in the islands. The blessed prophets, composing 115 speeches about the coming of our Savior, in many places make mention of the calling of the pagans; for Christ, as I said, was the hope of the pagans also. But they do not speak about this to all tribes and peoples throughout the universe without exception. Given the countless number of them filling the heavenly world, it was incongruous to desire such detail in speech as to make a mention of everyone by name and tribe; but, often taking in the countries neighboring Judea, which were very devoted to idolatry, and then saying that they would be called in due time, the prophets seemed to indicate from a part the whole. So, since adjacent to the land of Judea to the south lay a vast desert, which was owned by the Saracen and Arab tribes; then they say that those who dwell in it will receive grace and salvation through Christ in due time. The names of the villages or towns located, I say, in the desert are Prigradia, and Kedar and Petra, even to this day located in the land of Arabia and called the same. Those whom we are talking about are extremely superstitious, as I said, that is, the inhabitants of these places have completely deviated from apostasy from God, for they serve unclean spirits. since they had, as I said, to become participants in calling and salvation through the preaching of the Gospel and through faith in Christ; then for this reason and with all justice, the prophet, as having beautiful feet, in these words preaches joy to them and, as it were, raises his voice on high and says: rejoice, the desert, and the rulers of it, the courtiers, and those who live in Kidar, the inhabitants of the rock (in Petra) will rejoice. And this serves as a great and amazing proof of the power and superiority of our Savior, who easily tamed such cruel and stubborn hearts and persuaded them to move away from ancient error, to prefer the best and change in accordance with the truth. And he will foretell this to us through the mouth of Ezekiel, saying: I will pluck out the stony heart from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that is, a tender heart, knowing that I am the Lord (Ezek. 11:19, 20:20). So, that they too will be called, he indicated this, saying: they rejoiced in the wilderness and what follows. And those who cry from the tops of the mountains, giving glory to God and proclaiming His virtues on the islands - whoever they could be, this is worthy of knowing. Nothing, of course, prevents us from understanding the called ones themselves, who, inhabiting Petra, such an elevated and mountainous country and city, no longer compose songs of praise and praise to false gods, but on the contrary, glorify God, who enlightened them and caught them in the truth. Or the divine disciples can be called crying from the tops of the mountains, and quite rightly, to whom nowhere else does the prophet say: go up to a high mountain, preach the gospel to Zion, lift up your voice with strength, preach the gospel to Jerusalem: lift it up, do not be afraid (Is. 40:9). And truly they preached with great boldness and did not want to hide from any of the people, but were visible to everyone, like a city lying on a mountain, and their word was not in secret and hidden, but with great boldness, as I just said; for the Savior Himself commanded them this, saying: If I speak to you in darkness, shout in the light; and if you hear in your ears, preach on the housetops (Matthew 10:27). Thus they gave glory to God and proclaimed His properties in the islands; for the word of the holy apostles and evangelists became the herald of the glory of the Savior. Then they preach about His ineffable Divinity and glorify His premium virtue, not placing Him among mortals, but beyond everything brought into existence, and in equality in nature with God and the Father. Then again they talk about His divine signs, exceeding wonder and words, for to raise the dead from their graves, to use the sea as dry land, making it passable for one’s feet, to rebuke the winds, to crush Satan with a word - all this testifies to His divine glory. Isa.42:13,14. The Lord God of hosts will come out and destroy the army, stir up zeal, and cry out against his enemies with strength. Keep silent, food and always keep silent and tolerate? Patience, like a woman in labor. The prophetic word now extends forward in great order and has a structure worthy of wonder. The priests of the revelations of our Savior had to preach His virtues to the inhabitants of all countries and proclaim them with great boldness. And it was necessary to expect that such a holy zeal and zeal would certainly be opposed by the enemies of the truth and those plotting in every possible way against the glory of the Savior, that is, pernicious and superstitious people, instruments of the devil’s malice and associates of his stubbornness, and with them, of course, the very hordes of demons, as soon as their glory and the dominion achieved by violence were shaken. For they exercised dominion over the heavenly places through deceit. So, that they will be invincible for their enemies and no one will surpass them, with God’s protection to them, the prophet indicates this in these words, saying that the Lord of hosts will come out and crush the army. He will come forth, he speaks, as if about one of the kings of the earth, irresistibly attacking, together with the troops under his command, against enemy detachments. And that the Lord of hosts will completely overcome, he shows this by saying that he will crush the army. The power of God is incomprehensible to anyone, on the contrary, it is unbearable to anyone who exists when it resists and rushes, even if we had in mind the evil forces, even the apostate and criminal Satan himself, or some inhabitants of the earth who care about them. But they will be taken, and this without difficulty and, of course, without a struggle; for who can turn away a high hand? according to what is written (Isaiah 14:27). And that among those who opposed the face of the holy apostles, the war was and still is not against the holy angels alone, but also against the Lord of hosts Himself - the prophet confirmed this, saying that He Himself will come out to crush the army. He will stir up, he says, zeal, that is, anger or from Himself against the enemies, according to what is written in the words of Zechariah: zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great zeal (Zech. 1:14); or from those who strive for His glory, obviously honoring Him, of whom one, the most sacred Paul, we say, was also the chosen one, who says: who will separate us from the love of God (Christ)? Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or a sword (Rom. 8:35)? Again: for me, if Christ lives, even if I die, I have gain (Phil. 1:21). Such zealots, we affirm, were the holy martyrs, who turned out to be stronger than Satan and fought with his power for the sake of piety in Christ; for they have kept faith and due love towards Him. So, he will stir up zeal, he says, and will cry out against his enemies with strength, using, he will cry instead: he will utter a military voice. This voice is most befitting of the victors and in some way expresses triumph over the vanquished. Then he says: keep silent, food, and will I always remain silent and be patient? bear with me like a woman in labor. From here you can easily see that at a time when many peoples were in error, since Satan was plundering them and darkening them with the darkness of sin and distracting them from the knowledge of the One, Who by nature and truly is the God of all, then God who was above all wanted to help them; but he put it off and obviously endured it, waiting for the right time to help. And such a time was when His Only Begotten Word became incarnate and became man. It was then that He defeated our victors, snatched us away from their malice, stood up and saved us, and subjected us to His own yoke. So, regarding the past time, when those living on earth were plundered and Satan, like a lion, devoured everyone, he says: I am silent, I will always be silent, and I will endure? bear with me like a woman in labor. Look what kind of mercy the God of all has shown to those living on earth, although, as the Psalmist says, no one does goodness, but they all turned away, even to one and were completely helpless (Ps. 13:3); and, as if having torment because of this, He endured, as much as He was capable of grief, and enduring this for our sake, waited for the time, as I said, favorable for help. Isa.42:14,15. I will destroy and dry them up, and I will make rivers into islands and dry up meadows. It is necessary to examine what the expression means in these words: I will destroy (Ἐκστησω). It either says that I will drive out those who now rule over the earth - I will arrange for them to be outside, after they were given power over everyone, according to what Christ said; Now the prince of this world will be cast out (John 12:31). Or the expression: Ἐκστησω you can understand in the sense: I will make those who see My works and the ways of My economy and the abundance of indescribable power be amazed, as without a doubt the prophet Habakkuk was amazed at similar things, saying: Lord, I heard Your hearing and was afraid: I understood Your works and was horrified (Hab. 3:2). Or, if you like, the expression: Ἐκστησω you can understand in another way, namely: I will translate those who are now mistaken, who are in darkness and darkness of the devil, to the knowledge of the truth and to the divine, spiritual and heavenly light; I will change those who are now defiled and have a vile and unclean mind to an incomparably better mood, so that they will shun their former impurities and prefer virtue. And the expression: I will dry up together again means something, as indicated by the meaning of the following words nearby: I will put, he says, rivers into islands and dry up meadows. What kind of rivers are these that form islands and dry swamps? We say that these are Hellenic poets and orators who were preachers of polytheistic error. For they deified creation and brought into life countless gods; and they were, as it were, some rivers that filled those who were deceived by muddy corruption, as it is written (Hab. 2:15), and flooded the minds of those who were amazed at them with streams of refined words, leading them astray through this and, as it were, offering them some kind of food the sweetness and pleasantness of their eloquence. Therefore, they can rightly be likened to rivers and swamps, or forests and groves, which received perhaps abundant and flowering grass. God promises to turn such rivers into islands, that is, to make them dry and waterless, and to make the swamps dry up, as it were, which actually happened. For the grace of their eloquence finally turns out to be ineffective, and absolutely no one has affection for them; on the contrary, those who once erred, as if trampling underfoot the rotten and nasty fables of seducers befitting women, admire the wisdom in Christ. Thus Paul writes: Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God put on the wisdom of this world? (1 Cor. 1:20). So the rivers, we say, turned into islands, are the essence of the speeches of the Hellenic sages, involving in the Hellenic delusion. Or, as we admitted in the previous words, there are other islands - the churches of Christ, which receive those who sail on the sea, obviously mentally and spiritually, resorting, as it were, to some safe harbors - to the mentors who are located in them - escaping the evil spirit, which always overwhelms those who go to sea on ships and labor in the midst of many waters. To the sea, as I said, we must liken the excitement of our life and the confusion of earthly affairs, the swamps will also dry up, that is, the pastures of creatures that were once under the power of Satan, so that they will finally be under the power of the Shepherd of all, I say, Christ, who does not lead, in the image of these false shepherds, his flocks among thorns and thistles, but shepherds them among the lilies, for the divine and sacred and His own revelations are filled with spiritual incense. Isa.42:16. And I will cause the blind to walk in a way that they have not seen, and to walk in paths that they do not know; I will make darkness for them light, and darkness for the right: these words will I create, and I will not forsake them, says the Lord God. When the Lord of hosts came out to crush the army, and the enemies were destroyed, and the rivers were turned into islands and the swamps were dried up, according to the contemplative reasoning that we just had; Then those who were among the prisoners of war and subject to the willfulness of the devil were completely redeemed. Being blind (for this apostate had blinded their hearts), they are finally led by Christ, obviously onto a path that they did not know before; and this path is undoubtedly served by the revelations of the Gospel and living according to reason and virtue and the beauty of a holy life. Therefore, the divine Paul cried out to the Gentile Christians: For sometimes there was darkness, but now there is light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). So their darkness became light; this means: things have become completely opposite, for the ignorant have become wise, those who were once mistaken have learned the straight paths of all truth, those who knew nothing about good have turned out to be experienced in every virtue and diligent in the deeds of piety. Curved paths turned into straight ones, that is, inaccessible and difficult to pass paths became accessible and comfortable for driving, even and smooth. Something similar is shown in the sermon of John the Baptist: every wilderness will be fulfilled, and every mountain and hill will be humbled; Hills and depressions make the path uneven; when there are neither hills nor depressions, then the path turns out to be completely straight, convenient for driving and free from any difficulties. The blessed prophet Isaiah himself expresses this nowhere else: the path, he says, of the pious is right, and the path of the pious is prepared (Is. 26:7). And indeed, the path of the gospel life is not difficult and not difficult to travel, but rather even and, as it were, smooth for those who love a fair life. So, God declares that He will bring these words or promises to fulfillment, and will not forsake them (pious people), that is, He will always abide, according to the saying: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20). Isa.42:17. But when you turn back, you are put to shame by shame, you who put your trust in the sculpture, who say to those who are united: you are our gods. Very opportunely he turns his speech to the Jewish people, who, having the law of Moses, guiding them to the knowledge of God and to the desire to accomplish what was natural for them to be glorified, declined to retreat and, having entered the swamps of polytheism, fell into the abyss of destruction, and through this, without a doubt, offended God, who showed him all mercy and love. Therefore, having foreshadowed that one day the pagans will be called and will go in ways that they did not know, and there will be darkness in the light and obstinacy in the right, the word (of the prophet) now reveals the ignorance of the descendants of Israel, saying: these will turn back. The word: these should be given special expressiveness, that is, precisely those who were guided by the divine law, were under My control and had Moses as a mediator, who clearly heard: The Lord your God is one Lord and: let you not be gods other than Me (Ex. 20: 3), these same ones, while the multitude of pagans abides in good hopes, turning back, wickedly turning to Egyptian filth and again accepting the vice of ancient error. The truth of the parable was fulfilled on them: the dog returned to his vomit, and the pig, having washed, returned to the pot (2 Peter 2:22). Our Lord Jesus Christ said something similar, pointing to Israel, who was again returning to ancient wickedness: when, he says, an unclean spirit leaves a person, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and not finding it, it returns to the place from which it came, and when it comes, it finds it empty and marked. Then he will take with him seven other spirits that are fiercer than himself, and they will come and live: and the last will be more bitter to that man than the first (Matthew 12:43-45). For they served the Egyptian gods, and this demon was cast out when they were called to the knowledge of God, I say, through the law. But they were again subjected to accusation, and even worse, when, having come to know God as existing by nature, they became apostates, giving honor to those who are not Gods. Therefore, be disgraced by shame, he says, those who trust in the sculptured and venerable name of the deity above all, that is, glory, appropriating with the hands of those carved and made by hands. Isa.42:18–20. In darkness you will hear, and in your blindness you will see. And who is blind, my servants? and the wilderness, who owns them? and the servants of God went blind. You have seen it many times, but you have not kept it; your ears are open, but you cannot hear. He rightly calls those who served idols deaf and blind, just as the wise Paul writes: The God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should not shine upon them (2 Cor 4:4). The meaning of the speech primarily refers to the Israelites, for whom, although it was possible to enrich their minds with divine light, since the law sent them the radiance of the knowledge of God, they madly loved to walk in darkness and become entangled in the networks of deception. They are also blind in another respect: while nothing prevented them from contemplating their Creator according to the beauty of creatures, for, as the wise Paul writes, His invisible essence from the creation of the world was conceived by the created, and His ever-present power and Divinity (Rom. 1:20); They, however, fell into such foolishness that they said to the merged: you are our gods. And that now the prophet is not talking about the multitude of pagans, but about the descendants of Israel - he showed this when he said, and who is blind, are my servants? and the wilderness, who owns them? for the subject people became blind and fell to such a degree through the negligence of the leaders; they were the culprits of their ignorance and the teachers of error. And the wildernesses were those who owned them, that is, they received the lot of authority over them. Although they saw (outwardly) the glory of God and experienced it on themselves for a long time, they nevertheless turned to apostasy, because they did not want to obey God, who spoke clearly; May you not be gods other than Me (Ex. 20:3). Because they, knowing well the divine revelations, together with their subordinates, declined to retreat; then the prophet seems to be struck with amazement, saying: the servants of God are blind. And what was their reason for going blind? Voluntarily, he says, you have come to this; because it was possible to protect oneself by often seeing (the glory of God) and hearing, knowing and understanding what is written; but you did not protect yourself from abandoning this, and did not show either diligence or good obedience to expand your hearing to the sacred laws. So, the crimes of the Jews are not excusable. For although they could know the truth, having a guide for this - the law; however, they turned out to be on a par with those who do not have eyes and whose ears are in vain before their heads due to their unwillingness to heed the sacred laws. Isa.42:21. The Lord God is pleased that he will be justified and magnify the praise. I snatched them away, he says, from the cruel power of the Egyptians, freed them, who had worked beyond their duty for foreigners, through the law led them to the knowledge of God, gave them Moses, a teacher of improvement. For Me, the Lord of all, had the goal of making Israel a worker of righteousness and a diligent of good deeds, so that, feeling what was given to them from Me, they would magnify the praise, that is, constantly glorify Me, who was clearly for them the author of all prosperity and the giver of what they were enriched with. But they, not feeling anything of the kind, repaid the Lord with evil for good, and having freed their neck from under His yoke, they became enslaved to Satan and, wallowing in the mud of polytheistic error, became vile and hateful to the God who loves virtue. This is obvious from the fact that He said somewhere else about them as about a vineyard: wait for him to create grapes, and create thorns (Is. 5:2). Isa.42:22. And I saw, and there was people being plundered and plundered: it was in the lodges everywhere, and in the houses together, where I hid, I was taken captive: and the plunder was not taken away, and without him saying: give it back. Directs them to remember what happened to their fathers due to the fact that they were caught in the nets of cursed polytheism. And he did this not in vain, but in order to show them to be more prudent, fearing to suffer something similar to what happened to their ancestors. When they became blind and deaf and, having rejected the service of God, adopted the worship of trees and stones; Then I saw, he says, this, and people were plundered and plundered. For when God regards the crimes of the extremely wicked, then He sends upon them punishments corresponding to their guilt. Therefore, the people were plundered and became objects of plunder for their enemies. For what guilt? It was all right in the boxes everywhere, and in the houses I hid it together. Who am I? Obviously, gods cast from metal. For the leaders of the Jews, showing that they served God and, as far as outwardly concerned, bowed their necks to the sayings of the law, hid in their minds and hearts the disease of apostasy, and worshiping those who are not gods and, hiding them in the storerooms of their own houses, made secret sacrifices to them. Thus it is written in Ezekiel: Son of man, dig and dig in the wall. And he said, “And I saw, and behold, every likeness of creeping things, and of cattle, and of all kinds of graven images of the house of Israel, written on the wall all around. And he said to me: Thou hast seen, son of man, that there is little food for the house of Judah, which every one does in his bed in secret (Ezek. 8:8,10; 12:17). Look how each of them, having a net laid out for him in his secret chamber, that is, idolatry, nevertheless showed an appearance of respect for the law. Therefore, he says, he was taken into captivity, and did not take the plunder, and without saying anything, give it back. Truly, if God did not help, then who could rescue them from such a grave and terrible misfortune? and if He did not rebuke the robbers, then who could say to them: give it back; because God no longer sought them out as his own lot, on the contrary, he abandoned them as a people who had become alien to Him due to the fact that they bowed before non-existent gods. It seems that these words indicate the time of captivity that the Israelites spent, falling under the power of their enemies, for until the seventieth year they were not taken away and they were not spoken to the plunderers: give them back. And after he spoke about the calling of the pagans, it was very prudently and clearly shown why the Israelites were cut off from communion with God, so that it could be seen that God is always guided by righteous judgment. Truly, it was necessary for those who loved wickedness in relation to God to find themselves outside of His mercy and love, and through ignorance, caught in the net of sin and falling under the power of the devil, to receive mercy from the Creator of all, as those called to the knowledge of Him and to the light of truth. He speaks about this nowhere and through the wise Moses: they provoked me not about God 116, angered me in their idols 117: and I provoked them not about the pagan, but about the foolish pagan I angered them (Deut. 32:21). Nowhere did the divine Psalmist say: in your graven images you provoked him and in your hills 118 angered him, and hearing 119 The Lord God despised and humiliated the great Israel (Ps. 77:58,59). If we must add some spiritual contemplation to what has been said, then let us beware of having in our minds and hearts the net of the devil and in our imagination evil idols of thoughts calling for intemperance and shameful pleasures, so that we do not become prey to Satan and demons. For it is written: if the possessing spirit comes upon you, do not leave your place: for healing will satisfy great sins (Eccl. 10:4). Isa.42:23. Who will inspire this in you? and will hear in the coming 120. It is usual for God-inspired Scripture to use the word: inspire in the case when speech about necessary subjects should not be perceived superficially or carelessly, but, on the contrary, carefully, so that what is proclaimed is preserved in the mind and heart, as it is said through the mouth of the Psalmist: in my heart I hide your words, so that I will not sin you (Ps. 119:11), in the forty-eighth psalm it is written: hear this, all the nations, inspire all who live in the world (Ps. 48:2). For hearing is common to everyone in general who has at least once perceived a voice or any other sound in the ear; to suggest means, as I said, to introduce into one’s mind something discovered. So, the prophetic word, it seems, wants the most attentive or thoughtful listeners here, so that in confirmation of future deeds he can tell what happened to the ancients, just as Paul says that such deeds were figuratively received by him: but they were written for our teaching, in them the ends of the world have reached (1 Cor. 10:11). For it is fitting for us not to read the stories about them in vain, but to perceive them for the benefit of the soul, and carefully avoid being caught in similar sins, so that we do not suffer the same calamities. Isa.42:24,25. Who will give the plunder of Jacob, and of Israel to those who take him captive? Is it not God who sinned and did not desire to walk in his ways, nor to listen to his law? And he brought upon her the wrath of his wrath, and strengthened himself against her army, and those who burned them around, and did not lead each of them away, putting it lower in their minds. In these words he names Jacob and Israel, it seems, with particular expressiveness. And what meaning of this expressiveness can be understood by us, let’s talk about this briefly. The Israelites once worked for the Egyptians; but they were freed by God, through the mediation of Moses, and, moreover, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, as it is written (Ex. 6:1), for He struck the covetous with such varied and unbearable blows. When they fled from the land of Egypt, they crossed the sea on foot, ate the bread of angels, drank water from the stone, were led into the land of promise, conquered kingdoms, defeated enemies, had terrible and irresistible power and at the same time loud glory. Their weapon was the God of all, who stopped the flow of the sun and moon at Gibeon, sent down hail from heaven on the foreigners and elevated his people to the inheritance of all good glory. This glorious Israel, worthy of the competition of Jacob, invincible to enemies, powerful and warlike, accustomed to always winning, who, he says, gave to plunder and captivity? How did one become weak who did not know victory over himself? How was he defeated and found himself under the feet of his opponents, who raised his high and invulnerable horn against everyone? since it was necessary for us, existing after those, to know the reasons why such a glorious and chosen people were betrayed, it was necessary to add: was it not God who sinned and did not desire to walk in his ways, nor to listen to his law? This question in controversial subjects contains a clear solution to the matter; for God, without a doubt, was the One who gave him and brought upon him wrath corresponding to his crimes. Therefore, strengthen your army. And this was unusual for the Israelites, for they always won under the protection of God. But when they discovered a blatant disregard for His divine laws, they found themselves deprived of their ancient advantages: they fell into powerlessness, were reduced to cowardice, scorching people appeared around them and, as if with some fire, destroying them with the greatness of the misfortunes inflicted, or burning their cities, according to what was clearly said in another place: hail yours with burning fire (Is. 1: 7). But you don’t know, he says, you put each of them lower in your soul. In these words they are accused of insensitivity. They would have been perfect in knowledge if they had averted offending God, and would have been far from being subject to His wrath if they had obediently bowed their necks to Him. Indeed, those who are subject to the same fate due to human stumblings, if they do not feel the disasters inflicted, are far from any good hope. And that the Israelites were subject to such accusations, everyone can see in Jeremiah, who speaks to the God of all: Lord, your eyes (see) on faith, you beat them, ... and did not want to accept punishment (Jer. 5:3). Let us remember how, after the capture of Jerusalem and the taking of Israel into captivity, the prophet Jeremiah told those who remained what God had said: do not go to Egypt. Then the women shamelessly, without even feeling the least bit of anger (divine), said to him: the Lord did not send you. And to this they added another thing due to extreme mental damage: when, they said, we stopped making sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven 121, then all these disasters came upon us (Jer. 44:18). Therefore, what was truly said (about them), that you did not lead each of them away, was lower on your mind when the war overcame them and they were surrounded on all sides by those who were scorching them. Isa.43:1–3. And now says the Lord God, who created you to Jacob, and He who created you to Israel: Fear not, for I have delivered you; I have called you by your name: you are mine. And even if you pass through water, I am with you, and the rivers will not cover you; and even if you pass through fire, you are not burned, and the flame does not burn you, for the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, will save you. And now it is necessary to express reverence before the merciful God. For, being by nature good and the Creator of all things, if there is a certain need for some to fall under the movements of His righteous anger in order to cleanse crimes, He then turns to mercy, and, moreover, in a short time - having struck, He heals and takes away the scourge, and returns to Himself those who repent, and restores us, the fallen, and gives a saving hand to those who have suffered, delivering us from all misfortune and returning to prosperity. Notice how He comes, as it were, into oblivion of sins and promises to blot out crimes with divine forgiveness, giving them, as it were, another beginning of time, elevating them to complacency. The same thing, we think, is said in the book of psalms: today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as if in anger (Ps. 95:8). Just as there “today” defines the beginning of other times, so here “now” contains the idea of ​​forgiveness of previously committed crimes and leads to the beginning of the path and other deeds that have to be from God. So, He does not allow them to completely lose hope of well-being and does not turn away forever, but leads them out of all fear and gives them hope for receiving every good thing when God turns the state of their affairs to an incomparably better one. “I delivered you,” he says, and how, the wise Paul explains this, speaking about the Savior of us all. Christ, that God and the Father was pleased to preside over all things in him, both in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10); for in Him is the deliverance of all, the remission and forgiveness of past sins and the image of a spiritual nature, I say, with Him, accomplished through sanctification, which brings us into communion with God and the Father. Therefore he says: I called you by your name. Which one? that is: mine you are. For we are called Christ's; and this is a wonderful name given to us. You need to know that another scripture says: I called you by my name. In addition, by adding and saying: you are mine, he destroyed the alienation in which those possessed by sins usually remain, for they are not the essence of God, although God rules over everything, but the disposition to evil removes them from their relationship with Him. That is why we affirm that those who are in defilements are not God’s people. So, the name: mine you are, can serve as an expressive indication of the spiritual property with God. He promises him irresistible help, so that he will be elusive to any temptation. For rivers, water and flames signify the varied onslaughts of temptations. It is written that everyone who wants to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). And Christ himself said nowhere to those who believed in Him: you will be in a world of sorrow (John 16:33). But if you pass through the water, he says, I am with you: for if Christ abides, then nothing can offend those who are His, but they will achieve such spiritual strength that it is impossible to indicate anything that has the power to overwhelm them - and that even if persecution comes upon them like a river stream, even if it has the power of fire and flame, they will still overcome, knowing that God is the saver. For the Divine Scripture usually compares the invasion of temptations to rivers and waters, which the Savior himself will show, speaking in the form of a parable or example: everyone who hears these words of mine and does this, I will liken him to a wise man who built his church on the stone: and the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and attacked that church, and fallen: founded on rock (Matthew 7:24,25). The stone is Christ. Isa.43:3–5. I have made Egypt, Ethiopia and Soinah your substitute 122 for you. Therefore, you were honest before me, you became famous, and I loved you, and I will give men (many) for you, and princes for your head. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. The meaning of the words to be explained is very difficult to understand. With the assistance of God, I will try to explain them as much as possible; for He gives wisdom and knowledge. So, before Christ, who is the true light, shone into the world, the whole earth was in error and was darkened with a very strong darkness of ignorance, and everywhere, in all countries and among all peoples, there were many types of idolatry; More superstitious than others were the Chaldeans and Phoenicians and those who owned the land of Egypt, as far as Soina (Siina) and Ethiopia, for they live in a country adjacent to Egypt 123. Israel alone was God's chosen lot and the Lord's portion, according to what is written (Deut. 32:9). But when they acted wickedly against our Lord Jesus Christ and became murderers of the Lord, then from that time they ceased to be God’s lot and were deprived of fellowship with Him, and the pagans were accepted and became a substitute for Israel, although they were once more superstitious than all others and had in this regard an impurity that was difficult to wash off. I said that the Egyptians were famous and powerful, especially in the invention of idols, and skillful in false worship and highly intelligent in inventing useless things regarding the worship of idols, as well as their names. So, as a replacement for you, he says, the beloved, set apart as My lot, I made Egypt and Ethiopia, that is, Egypt again, because the Divine Scripture usually calls the Egyptians Ethiopians. So through one of the holy prophets he said: you too are Murini (Ethiopians) 124, you will be my weapons to destroy plagues (Zeph. 2:12). So, instead of you, he says, I accepted those who were in terrible filth and had, as it were, ineradicable uncleanness. However, if you were honest before me, you were glorified: for Israel did not remain in rejection and dishonor forever, but he too will be called through faith in Christ and will be a fellow and participant in the glory of the saints. You are glorified, he says, and I have loved you. The expression: I will give many men for you and princes for your head, seems to indicate that when the Israelites are called in due time to the knowledge of Christ, then many will appear capable of leading them in secret, wise and most glorious men. Acting for you, he says, I will give many people; I will give you ladies and princes who will speak for your head. The head of the believers is Christ, who is meant by all the secret teaching among the nations, led in due time to instruction, according to His determination. So, for you can mean: for what is useful and serves for your good, learning the most honorable and great secret of your Head, that is, Christ. But you can also understand the words in another way: I will give many men for you, and princes for your head. You have become an outcast, he says, and distant and completely alien to friendship and fellowship with Me; That is why I accepted peoples who had reached the extreme degree of deception as a replacement for you. But if you were honest before me, having obviously believed and thereby gained glory, then I loved you, and I loved you so much that if it were timely and necessary to give many people and princes for your head, I would have given. This speech is conjectural and contains a possibly expressive indication of the honor in which Israel found itself with God, and also gives him firm hope, since in every good, everywhere and always God will be with him: I am with you. And this is enough for them for all prosperity, for if God is with us, then troubles will disappear, and instead of them all kinds of complacency, pleasure and joy will appear in us. Isa.43:5–7. From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. Bring the river to the north, and the river: do not forbid it: bring my sons from a distant land, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, all the trees are called by my name. The Only Begotten Word of God appeared to those living on earth in our image, that is, became human, so that the Greeks and Jews, who through many and varied sins had reached the point of apostasy, I say from the Creator, could attract everyone to the true and pure knowledge of God, through faith and sanctification lead them to spiritual unity and, finally, make them worthy of perfect communion with Himself and thus, through Himself, unite them with God and the Father. And that for this reason Christ became man is not difficult to see from the holy Gospel writings. For Lazarus miraculously rose from the dead, and a crowd of wicked Jews and a God-hating crowd of Pharisees gathered in council and said: what shall we do? for this man does many signs. If we leave him like this 125, the Romans will come and take away our place and our language. One man from them, Caiaphas 126, spoke to them: You know nothing 127 that we have nothing to do, that one man should die for the people, and not the whole tongue perish (John 11:47-50). Then the divine evangelist immediately added to these words: this is not what he said about himself: but the bishop of that year prophesied that Jesus wanted to die for people: and not only for people, but that he might also gather the scattered children of God into one (John 51:52). For as regards the creation of man in the beginning, and the purpose regarding him on the part of Him who brought him into existence, all were His children; Satan, as I said, scattered everyone, drew everyone into various sins and, having misled them, removed them from communication with Him; but Christ gathered everyone together, for He came to seek what was lost. This is indicated by the words being expressed. For he promises to the assembly, made up of Gentiles and Jews, or the church, to gather everyone from east to west and from north and east or south, so that from here you may understand the assembly from every country of the earth. This is what they undoubtedly point to: east and west, north and south. Saying to the north: bring, and to the south: do not forbid. He, as it were, makes it clear that he will not allow the opposition of cruel and crafty spirits to rush spiritually towards those who come to Him, just as the ancient criminal Satan, together with his companions, like some cruel and proud tyrant, oppressed those living on earth, not allowing them to direct their gaze to the truth, or to come to God through conversion. This also ceased through Christ, who leveled the path to salvation for those who are called and arranged it so that every obstacle lying on it was, as it were, outside the path. Naming the sons and daughters fleeing from four countries clearly indicates the time of the coming of Christ, when those on earth were given the grace of sonhood through sanctification in the Spirit. And that the calling was accomplished not of just one people, but common and united for all, he pointed out this, saying: all of them are called by my name; for we are called Christians, or the people of God. So Peter writes a letter to those who are called through faith and says: you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy tongue, renewal of men, so that you may proclaim virtues to him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light: who sometimes were not men, are now people of God in the Lord (1 Pet. 2:9,10). Isa.43:7–9. In my glory I built it, and created it, and created it. And I know that people are blind, and their eyes are also blind, and their ears are deaf. All the nations are gathered together, and the princes are gathered from them. Everything in Christ has become new, as confirmed by the most sacred Paul, who writes: And if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the ancient past (2 Cor. 5:17); He who is called to an obviously spiritual renewal also writes: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, as you may be tempted, that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2). For in Christ we have been renewed, through sanctification returning to the ancient beauty of nature in the image of the Creator, and casting off the oldness that comes from sin and all uncleanness; we have put off the old man, which is corrupting in the lusts of our deceitful desires, and have put on the new man, being renewed in the image of Him who created him (Eph.4:22-24; Col.3:9-10). In Christ the transformation took place and is called a new creation, which we received not from the seed of corruption, but through the word of the living God and abiding forever (1 Pet. 1:23). So, no one else, but I, in my glory, ordered and created and created a people gathered from the four countries under heaven and called by my name. That the Son serves as the glory of God and the Father, for through God (the Son) and in Him he is glorified, this can be affirmed and according to what was clearly said by Himself: I have glorified you on earth (John 17:4). And that those who believe in Him were created by Him, we are convinced of this by the fact that we are conformed to Him (Rom. 8:29). And we have in our souls the shining beauty of divine nature. The divine Psalmist said something similar: the coming generation of the Lord will be announced (Ps. 21:31) and the people of the dwellers will praise the Lord (Ps. 102:19). And adding to these words: and I knew people were blind, clearly shows the superiority of his power, which goes beyond the limits of any word and is truly worthy of surprise. For those who of old, as a result of the devil’s malice, had darkness and deception in their minds and hearts, He made them light and bright, shining upon them as if a certain star and the sun of righteousness and revealing them to be sons not of night and darkness, but, on the contrary, of light and day, according to the saying of the wise Paul (1 Thess. 5:5). So, that He made people blind is obvious to everyone. But someone seems to resist these words and say: but even to this day everyone can see that their eyes are also blind and that their ears are deaf; to which he answers, saying: all the nations have gathered together, and the princes will be gathered from them - as if (so he says): believe the words of the prophecy; The time for their fulfillment has not yet come; but surely in due time all nations will be gathered together. And those who have gathered say instead: they will gather, because the inspired Scripture has such a custom: what will certainly happen, it represents as having already happened once. Thus, through the mouth of Isaiah, as if from the person of Christ, it is said: I have breathed my cloaks on the wounds (Is. 50:6) instead of: I will give, and through the mouth of the Psalmist: I divided My garments for myself, and cast lots for My clothes (Ps. 21:19), which came true at the coming of Christ. So, he says, all the nations will be gathered, and not only this, but there will also be princes from them, that is, leaders of the peoples and secret leaders; - and those who were once mistaken and in deep darkness will be the givers of the divine light that they secretly impart. The Psalmist said something similar about the pagan church: as is its darkness, so is its light (Ps. 139:12). Just as during her error she suffered from immeasurable and deep darkness, so later she became bright and supernaturally white, for it is true that, as the divine Paul said, where sin abounds, grace abounds (Rom. 5:20). Isa.43:9. Who will proclaim this? or who will tell you first? Let them bring their witnesses, and be justified, and let them speak the truth, and let them hear. Once he mentions the fruits or those that are called through faith to the knowledge of the truth, he constitutes for them a certain method of secret teaching, which greatly exposes the deception of demons and reveals the complete insignificance of the invention of idols. For to know everything from beginning to end is characteristic of God alone by nature; and all understanding is from Him, and He is the source of all knowledge, and in Him are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and understanding, according to what is written (Col. 2:3); and if anyone turns out to have knowledge of the future, then obviously He received this gift through revelation from Him. So, as I said, he talks with the pagans and says: everything that is to be with you and that you will be called in due time to the knowledge of the truth, I have proclaimed and said. Who else will tell you this or will be the one who spoke? Let them bring their witnesses and be justified, and let them speak the truth, and let them hear. I, he says, spoke through the prophets, foretold through holy men what was to happen in due time, and I have those who served My voice as witnesses of My providence about the future. And what kind of witnesses can demons or soulless idols have that they said something like that through them? After all, the Hellenes have a lot of writers and poets, but absolutely none of them said, as if on behalf of their own gods, that this will happen to us in due time, and no one can see any of the Hellenic sages who would foretell that Satan would one day lose the glory he acquired through violence, or that through faith in Christ the heavenly realms would be enlightened and the peoples would be called to the knowledge of Him; then that the darkness of idolatry will pass and the truth will dominate the universe. So, let them bring their witnesses and let them show those who speak the truth; and even if this happened, then let them hear them, that is, let them follow them and glorify that the crowd of demons is rich in knowledge of the future. But they have neither a witness nor a herald of the future. So, those who considered them gods were undoubtedly mistaken; for they (demons) are not initiated into the secrets and are deceivers and flatterers. Isa.43:10. Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, and the servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am: before Me there was no other God, and after Me there shall not be. Having said that nothing can testify to the knowledge of the future by unclean demons or the products of human hands, he conducts a conversation with his prophets and says: be my witnesses; for through you I imparted knowledge of the future, and My Spirit shone in you. So I will present you as witnesses of My glory and My divine supremacy. But I myself will testify about myself and my servant, his chosen one. Similar to this is what was said through the mouth of our Savior to the Jews: If I testify of myself, my testimony is true: for I have known where I came from, and where I go (John 8:14); and again: I am a witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me (John 8:18). And truly, the voice of God is completely sufficient to verify that whatever He wills to say about His glory and superiority; but with a secondary meaning follows the voice of the Saints and the consciousness that assimilates to Him everything that befits a nature that is superior to all natures. Therefore, having taken the holy prophets as witnesses, He turns to the highest and not at all false, I say, to Himself and to His own Son; for to those who are sensible, as I said, the voice of God is sufficient for complete confirmation. This, he says, I did not speak to you in vain, but that you may know and believe in me and understand that I am; For through knowledge comes faith, and through faith comes understanding: if you do not believe, you cannot understand, says (Is. 7:9). You must believe that before Me there was no God, and after Me there will be no God. Truly, before Him there was no other God, but He is the beginning of everything and above all understanding, and after Him there will be no other; He remains the same (1 Cor. 12:6; Heb. 13:8) and has an unchanging nature and unshakable supremacy over everything and an unceasing kingdom. For He who has no beginning of being, to what end can he come? Isaiah 43:11–13. I am God, and there is no one who can save me. I have proclaimed and saved, I have reproached, and there is no stranger in you: you are my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, from the beginning, and have not taken it out of My hand: I will do it, and who will turn it away? Be, he says, witnesses that I alone am the God of all, since there was no one before Me and there will be no one after Me; I am the only one who saves; and I foretold this to you from ancient times and brought it into fulfillment, for I saved in Christ. I reproach you, and don’t be a stranger to you. The Israelites at times forgot the sacred laws given, I say, through the wise Moses, and loved pleasures more than God; then, being responsible for their frivolity, they were exposed to danger when enemies attacked them; but in times of sorrow they began to call for help to the One who always saves. And for this He reproached them through the mouth of Jeremiah, saying: and in the time of their bitterness they say: Arise and deliver us. And where are your gods that you have created for you? may they arise and deliver you in the time of your bitterness (Jer. 2:27,28). So I reproached you, the descendants of Israel, many times, and you learned from your own experience that there was no god among you, that is, a stranger, for none of them saved you. Therefore, I am the only One who saves. Therefore, be witnesses, but I will also be a witness to myself, says the Lord God, or in the words of Christ: everyone who has confessed me before men, let us also confess him before my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32). Testify that I am from the beginning, that is, from the beginning to this day, foretelling the future and able to freely save those who thirst for communication with Me; - saving in such a way that absolutely no one can snatch from My hands the once chosen one: for there is nothing, he says, taken from My hand: I will do it and who will turn it away? He fulfilled, he says, the calling of the nations, or saved the erring, and who will change this? or will he arrange for it not to be so? And that from the hand of God no one will snatch those saved by Him, the Savior himself will assure of this, saying: My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they will come after me. And I will give them eternal life: and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them away from my hand. My Father, who gave to me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father (John 10:27–29). Obviously, this is also what is written: No, take it out of my hand. Isa.43:14. Thus says the Lord God, who delivers you, O Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and raise up all those who flee, and the Chaldeans will be bound in ships. With the words just spoken, having expressed noble praise to those called from the pagans to know Him and showing that only He has the knowledge of what is in the middle, first and last, and that there is absolutely no one who can save, and through this instilling in them firm faith, He turns His speech to the descendants of Israel, and tries to assure them that He is omnipotent and a miracle worker and that the natures of things follow His gestures, that the very elements of the world serve Him, and whatever He desires will certainly be fulfilled, since there can be no obstacle. And truly, there was a need for the Israelites both for the greatest possible light guidance and for exhortations and reminders that led them to firmness of mind, since they fell into what they should not have, and bowing before other gods, made sacrifices to idols and the heavenly army, as it is written 128. Therefore, he makes a prediction about the future for them and very skillfully reveals the disasters from the Babylonians, foretelling that they will be their captives and foretelling, as I said, that through them they will suffer the most shameful of all. But since the word came to them about the greatest deeds, He necessarily shows the incomparable glory of His power and the superiority of His strength, saying: Thus says the Lord God, who delivers you, O Holy One of Israel, in order to lead them to the remembrance of the ancient deeds that happened, I say, during their former deliverance from Egypt, when a great many miracles testified to His glory. Therefore, calling Himself the Lord God, He confirmed that He is also a deliverer. That's what these words mean. But what could have happened? For your sake, he says, I will send you to Babylon. The Babylonian took Israel captive and drove him out of his native land, even setting the whole country of Judah on fire together; with the famous church, resettled the Persians and Medes to the mountains. When did these disasters reach their seventieth year? then God had mercy on them and raised up Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, against the Chaldeans, with the assistance of the Persians and Medes. These took by force the country of the Chaldeans or Babylonians, although previously they were afraid of them and feared their power-hungry power. There is a legend that Cyrus, having taken some of the nobles there and bound them with iron, sent them across the Caspian Sea to impassable and uninhabited countries. And Cyrus rebelled against the Babylonians because God aroused him and gave him the power to rule. For nowhere through the mouth of Isaiah did he say to him: The Lord God says to my anointed Cyrus, who has held his right hand and bowed his tongues before him; and again: I will go before you, and I will level the mountains, I will break in pieces the gates of brass and break the chains of iron, and I will open to you the dark hidden treasures that are invisible (Is. 45:1-3). since the Babylonians, using terrible and unbridled ferocity against the Israelites, thereby offended God; then for this they themselves were betrayed to the Persians and Medes, who also used extreme inhumanity against them. Therefore, through one of the holy prophets it was said to Babylon: as you have done, your reward will be upon your head (Abd.1:15). So, for your sake, he says, O Israelites, I will send to Babylon. I’ll send – who? Is it the unknown Cyrus and the army subordinate to him? I will send means I will send. I will raise up against them all those who fled of old - those who previously yielded to them and feared them as warlike and very strong people. And the Chaldeans will be bound in ships; for, as I previously said, they too were resettled in distant and impassable countries, crossing the sea called the Caspian. It is appropriate, however, to know that there is another reading, according to which the Chaldeans will not be bound in ships (Ἐν πλοιοις), but in chains (ἐν κλοιοις) 129. The Savior and Lord of all and spiritually saved everyone living on earth by rendering the hordes of demons powerless and opposing them with his irresistible and supernatural power, that is, Christ. Thus, He redeemed us, their captives, as if by hire, serving their desires, made us free and, having brought us out of the barbarian land, again raised us into spiritual Judea, which is the church, which He himself acquired for himself, removing it from all uncleanness and filthiness and revealing it to be holy and blameless (Acts 20:28; Eph.5:26-27). Isa.43:15. I am the Lord your holy God, who has shown Israel your king. Great and extraordinary things are often not believed when they are announced. For this reason and with all justice, the God of all, when he announces something of this kind, expressively points to his glory to assure the listener and calls himself Lord of all and God. What can resist someone who has such a nature and such glory? So, when I, he says, foretell you, I am not one of those false gods who, being absolutely nothing, could not do anything small or great; on the contrary, I am the Lord your holy God, that is, venerable and separate from all others, who with an omnipotent wave accomplishes everything that I please: I am the one who showed Israel your king. This must be understood in two ways: either He says that I have shown myself to be your king through many signs and power and authority exceeding the word: or it must imply an indication of something else. Our Lord Jesus Christ in the divine Scriptures is called Israel and Jacob, as well as, without a doubt, David, because in the flesh He comes from the seed of the named persons. So Az, he says, showed what is from the blood of Jacob and Israel your king. The speech is distinguished by the most philanthropic character possible. For after he mentioned the particular deliverance (Israel, as I said, was brought out of Babylon into Judea), he necessarily raises the promise to an incomparably greater one and reminds us of the deliverance that is to be accomplished through Christ and is no longer private and among one people, as in ancient times, but on the contrary, it is universal and extending to the whole of heaven. And that the mystery of Christ is worthy of wonder due to the excellence of the economy and the greatness of mercy in this towards us, no one can doubt who once knew this. For He who is God by nature and having risen from God the Father, the Only Begotten, humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant, in order to free those under His power from the violence of the devil and subordinate them to His power. So, the speech here recalls both a particular redemption, which had no time to be, which was given only to the descendants of Israel, and about the whole and universal, evident in Christ, through which God and the Father saved those living throughout the entire universe. Isa.43:16,17. The Lord says to Sitsa, “make a way on the sea, and a strong path on the water, make chariots and horses, and a strong people: but they have fallen asleep and will not rise; What is good and useful, if very often expressed by God and people, cannot in any way be burdensome for the prudent; on the contrary, it is necessary for salvation. This is why the wise Paul writes in his epistle to some: “It is not lazy for me to write 130 to you, but to you it is firm” (Phil. 3:1). Since the human mind, due to very great absent-mindedness, sometimes falls into oblivion of what is given to everyone by God; therefore, the divine word everywhere raises us to the remembrance of this, not allowing us to completely cool down in carelessness, on the contrary, inflaming us to the love of God and to the desire for all good. So, since the Israelites were delivered, after performing very many wonderful works for their sake, and then, forgetting about this, turned to apostasy and worshiped non-existent gods; then God leads them to the remembrance of His power, saying that He has given a way on the sea and a strong path on the water. For when they left the land of Egypt, they walked through the middle of the sea and crossed the Jordan with their feet. This, we think, is the stronger path on the water, which is why the divine David, in amazement, sings: what is the sea to you, as if you ran away, and to you the Jordan, as if you returned back (Ps. 114:5)? And again speaking about God: turn the sea into dry land, they will walk through the river with their feet (Ps. 65:6). So He made a way through the sea and a stronger path through the water. But He brought out chariots and horses and a strong people. Pharaoh pursued the descendants of Israel on chariots and horses and, having a terrible strength of warriors, however, in no way gained victory and did not harm those who were delivered. But having fallen asleep, they will not rise, he says, having been extinguished like flax is extinguished: they drowned in the waters, perished along with the horses, just as easily flammable flax was destroyed by divine wrath. And they were extinguished without difficulty, that is, they turned into nothing (disappeared) and were turned, as it were, into ashes; for flax is quickly consumed by fire, but it is also extinguished by the touch of the hand and produces a very weak flame. But if someone were to say: since the ruler of the land of Egypt persecuted Israel at his own will; then how is it said that the God of all things Himself brought out the horses and chariots and their army (the Egyptians)? We respond to this with the same thing that was said to Pharaoh from God, who rules over all: for this purpose I have raised you up, so that I may show you My power and let My name be known throughout all the earth (Rom.9:17; Exod.9:16) 131. Let this be said again historically. But (in a spiritual sense) we believe that those who decide to lead a pious life and avoid slavery to the devil, move away from earthly pursuits and want, as it were, to be carried away from all uncleanness, are persecuted by the evil one, and God miraculously saves; He makes the excitement of real life passable for them and, with His ineffable power, transfers them through it, does not allow the passions of this life to drown them, but arranges it so that they find themselves outside of carnal worries, tames, as if a kind of sea, the various temptations that happen to them, so that being in the desert, that is, in a pure and calm state of mind, we can eat the bread of heaven and drink water from the stone, that is, be in communion with Christ, cross the Jordan and thus reach the Promised Land. A spiritual person will, of course, understand what I am saying. Isa.43:18–21. Do not remember the first and do not think about the old. Behold, I create a new thing, even now they will shine, and I will tell you: and I will create a way in the desert, and in a waterless river. The beasts of the village, the sirens, and the daughters of Strouf will bless me: for I gave water in the desert, and rivers in the arid waters, to give drink to my chosen race, my people, who have provided them, will tell of my virtues. Just as in the words quoted a little earlier, He offered the particular deliverance that was to be for the Israelites into their knowledge and, raising the narrative of events to an incomparably better one, recalled salvation through Christ, saying, the demonstrations of Israel as your king: so here, having beneficially recalled the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea and the waters of the Jordan, He again returns to the mystery of Christ. Therefore he says: do not remember the first and do not think about the old. The inclusion (in the narrative) of incomparably superior events sometimes consigns less important ones to oblivion, and brilliant deeds somewhat obscure those that are not of that nature by nature, although they precede them in time. The wise Paul says something similar: now we understand in part; Whenever that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with (1 Cor. 13:9,10). So, although the deeds accomplished by God through the wise Moses are great and above all words; but, accomplished by the power and might of our Savior, is incomparably more excellent and majestic; for through Him and by Him many nations have been saved, living throughout the whole world. Therefore, he commands, as it were, to forget about the first, on the contrary, to direct your mind to what is incomparably superior and has the greatest glory. I will make, he says, a way in the desert. In these words, the desert refers to the anciently dry and barren multitude of pagans, as if generating thorns, since among them there was absolutely not one who was pious, or worthy of honor, or capable of doing reasonable good, for, as the Psalmist says, they all turned away, and together they were without keys: there was not one among them who did goodness, not even one (Ps. 13:3). So, in this desert a path has appeared that leads those who walk through it to the true knowledge of God, to a holy and immaculate life and to every understanding of every good deed. This path, we think, is either a divine, evangelical and saving sermon, or even Christ himself, for we heard Him clearly saying: I am the way (John 14:6). But not only a path appeared in the desert, there were also rivers capable of intoxicating those in it with intelligent and soul-beneficial waters. We think that these are the essence of the clergy of the Gospel and Apostolic revelations. The divine David also reminds us of them when he says: He raised up the rivers with their voices (Ps. 93:3), as again he says nowhere: Their words went out into all the earth, and their words went out to the ends of the world (Ps. 18:5). With the named rivers one can understand both the leaders of nations and those who have the ability to correctly and without reproachfully conduct the secrets and can irrigate with words of piety those who come to Christ through faith. The multitude of pagans are called waterless, because they did not have a teacher of truth and one who had saving water, and who said to be wise, they became fools, according to the saying of the blessed and divine Paul, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible image of man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things (Rom. 1:22,23). So, with the appearance, he says, of a path in the desert and the receipt of rivers by a waterless country, the beasts of the village, the sirens and the daughters of Struth will bless me: for I have given water in the desert and rivers in a waterless land, to water my chosen race, my people, who have provided me with virtues to tell. The beasts of the village seem to mean those who, due to extreme unreason, have become wild in some way and live brutally. This is how the pagans lived. He calls those Sirines and daughters of Struff who from them knew how to speak skillfully and acquired experience in eloquence. It is customary for God-inspired Scripture to call the most twittering of birds and those usually emitting some harmonious and pleasant sounds as sirens. Such were the teachers of Hellenic superstition - poets and prose writers. For as for words, although they have pleasantness and euphony, they do not teach anything necessary. And all these, he says, will glorify Me, as the one who gives spiritual water and who opened rivers to a waterless country, so that they will give water to my chosen generation. And what kind of generation is this, isn’t it the same one to whom the wise Peter called, saying: you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy tongue, a people of renewal, so that you may proclaim virtues from him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light: who were sometimes not men, are now people of God in the Lord (1 Peter 2:9,10). Isaiah 43:22–24. Not now did I call upon you, Jacob, to work below the work of you, Israel. You did not bring me your sheep, your burnt offering, nor did you glorify me in your sacrifices; you did not enslave you in sacrifices; Thou didst not buy me incense with money, lower than the fatness of thy desires, but thou didst stand before me in thy sins and in thy iniquities. Already, through previously explained or previously read words, he made a prediction about the covenant in Christ and about the (grace-filled) gifts from him. For he said that he would make a way in the desert and rivers in the waterless country; for this He will be blessed from all the beasts of the field, and by this doxology we may mean a kind of spiritual sacrifice and the fruit of the new covenant in Christ. In the words proposed, he tries to convince Israel that he was delivered from Egypt and plucked from slavery there and thus freed from such painful labors, not so that he would bring him calves and gain access to Him through blood and smoke; for all this is rejected from God and is rather a shadow than the truth. Therefore he says: I have not called you to Jacob now. Now we must accept instead: not now, when you make sacrifices, that is, you were called, not killing oxen and sacrificing sheep, lest you somehow come to the idea that you received deliverance as if in some kind of retribution for your sacrifice, but you, who are in sins and subject to filth (for you served the Egyptian gods), I have honored with mercy and love. So, grace is the gift of mercy and the fruit of love for mankind, and deliverance is accomplished out of love. The sheep of your burnt offering are nothing for me, nor have you glorified me in your sacrifices, for what is completely unacceptable and is offered in vain, how can it serve My glory? But I did not enslave you in your sacrifices; because, he says, only the one who practices something good and has become the performer of glorious deeds of virtue, who bows his neck to My beckons and is a servant of sacred revelations - only one can say that he works for the God who exists above all. But whoever fumigates the holy tabernacle with the smoke of incense and sacrifices oxen and sheep, but has not done anything excellent, will not receive true glory, for such a person has definitely not done anything pleasant for Me. So, serving God does not consist in making sacrifices, but in the desire to submit one’s neck to His desires with humility and readiness. What, he says, concerns what is pleasant for Me; then I did not bother to create you in Lebanon, you did not buy me incense with silver, below the fat you desired. Similar to this is what was said to him through another prophet: gather up your burnt offerings with your sacrifices, and eat away the flesh: for you did not command your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices (Jer. 7:21,22). And in another place the same prophet Jeremiah said: Bring me all the incense from Sheba, and cinnamon from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not pleasant, and your sacrifices do not please me (Jer. 6:20), and also through the mouth of the Psalmist: I will not accept bulls from your house, nor goats from your flocks (Ps. 49:9). Everywhere he declares that service in the shadows has been rejected, turning them away from images, but as if leading them to justification in Christ and teaching them to assimilate the gospel life, through which only one opportunity has appeared to please God, and true integrity and purity in service, obviously spiritual: for, he says, the spirit is God and those who bow to him are worthy in spirit and truth bow (John 4:24). Isa.43:25,26. I am, I am, atone for your iniquities 133, and I will not remember. Remember, and let us be judged: speak up your iniquities first, so that you may be justified. Note again that God did not assign to the power of subordinate service the ability to free anyone from his inherent impurity; the blood of oxen and goats cannot take away sins and the shadow of the law is useless in this regard, for in the law no one will be justified, according to the saying of the divine Paul (Gal. 3:11). Therefore, he writes in the epistle and speaks about himself and about the other apostles, or those who believed from the circumcision: we are Jews by nature, and not by the tongue of a sinner: But knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but only through the faith of Jesus Christ, we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified in Him (Gal. 2:15,16). So, do not think, he says, that you could ever make yourself free from the accusation of depravity through sacrifices and smoke: on the contrary, you should know that I am the one who atones for your iniquities, and will not remember them, for we were justified not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but by the great mercy ( Titus 3:5 ) of Him who was willing not to remember our iniquities. Only this alone saves those who live on earth, who have a weak mind and are inclined to everything that is condemned by the law; it is diligent, he says, that the thought of a man is diligent in evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21). That is why the divine David, remembering the human fall, very rightly says: if you see iniquity, Lord, who will stand? For you have purification (Ps. 129:3). This is how the God of all shows his mercy and, with his benevolent gestures and godly forgiveness, removes guilt and crimes from those who have fallen into them. However, He does not allow those who have been pardoned to know the grace of the one who justifies. And we will find that this was very useful even to the saints for the competition. So blessed David sings and says nowhere: for I know my iniquity and take away my sin before me (Ps. 50:5) and again: for I will proclaim my iniquity and take care of my sin (Ps. 37:19). Therefore, he says, I will not remember your crimes, but you remember it yourself, and let us be judged. Confess them and you will undoubtedly receive forgiveness, as it is written: the righteous is a blasphemer to himself in the first word (Prov. 18:17); and again: do not be ashamed to confess your sins (Sir.4:30). This commandment was not kept by the proud Pharisee, whom the Savior in the Gospel parable represents as praying in the congregation, 135 suffering from great rudeness and out of empty arrogance saying: God, I give you praise, as I am not like other men, predators, unrighteous people, adulterers, or like this tax collector, I fast twice on the Sabbath, I give tithes. in total I will attract 136 (Luke 18:11,12). He did not allow himself to talk about his sins; Therefore, I am condemned as a proud man and a liar, for no one is clean from filth, and we all sin greatly (James 3:2). The publican knew and confessed his sins; for he stood striking his chest and saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13). So, the one who confessed his sins and did not hide the filth of his inherent abomination in order to receive cleansing is justified. Isa.43:27,28. Your fathers sinned first, and your princes committed iniquity against me. And I desecrated my holy princes, and let them destroy Jacob and Israel as a reproach. Saying: I am the one who atones for your iniquities, and I will not remember, He at the same time knew that some would oppose these words and say: if You honored Israel with forgiveness, if they had some complete peace, if they were cleansed from defilements, if they were washed from the uncleanness of ancient crimes; then how or why was he punished, being destroyed by the swords of his enemies, then becoming a captive, losing his native country and falling to the power and yoke of his victors, since he was betrayed to the soldiers who came from Babylon? Therefore, he responds to this by saying let us sue, and argues that they themselves were the culprits of this and brought it upon their own heads. For your fathers, he says, and your princes committed your iniquity against me. By calling us fathers here, he not only accuses the ancestors, but it seems more likely that he wants to point out something else as well. And the sages and lawyers chosen for sacred rites, accustomed to raising children for the people under their control, can be called fathers and princes, as well as leaders of those subordinate to them. Therefore, when any lawlessness is committed not by the common people, but, on the contrary, by those who should have corrected the crimes of others; then the inevitable and due punishment of the wicked finally becomes necessary. So those, he says, who take the place of the fathers and have received authority over you, have committed lawlessness against Me. Saying: on me, indicates that their obscene and ungodly crimes were committed not against one of us, but against the very glory of what is above all God. I reason like this. If anyone offends one of his neighbors by subjecting him to cruelty and violence, or in some other way; then although he sins, it is against man of the same nature, and not against God. And whoever rejects serving Him, has submitted himself to the deception of demons and worshiped them, he rebels against God and, depending on the idolater himself, 137 brings Him down from the throne of the Divine and tries to deprive Him of the supremacy and glory that is due to Him alone. This is what the Israelites once did: for they served idols and, having said hello to the sacred revelations, 138 did not want to bow their arrogant and cruel neck to God. Therefore He accuses them and says: The priests do not say: where is the Lord? and those who keep the law do not know me, and the shepherd 139 dishonors me (Jer. 2:8); and again: What are you saying to me? All of you are dishonest and all of you are lawless towards me, says the Lord Almighty (Jer. 2:29) So, you have become desecrated, he says, my holy princes; for they had the audacity to erect monuments to demons not only in Jerusalem, but also could have been convicted as perpetrators of such wickedness in the divine temple itself, why did the God of all things say about the synagogue of Judea: Why did my beloved create abominations in my house? (Jer. 11:15), calling a skillfully made statue and image of God an abomination. The saint is also desecrated in another way if someone neglects what was commanded to be done for the glory of God with reverence and sacredness, and if some impute the crime of His divine laws to nothing. So, since your fathers, he says, committed iniquity against Me and desecrated My holy princes, I also allowed the enemies to destroy Jacob, and I brought shame on Israel for this. Isa.44:1. Now hear, my servant Jacob, and to Israel whom I have chosen. Having recalled the past and clearly revealed the crimes for which the apostate Israel was handed over to destruction and reproach, he again proclaims to them his unforgettable malice and desires to restore them to perfect and immaculate obedience. As if omitting the time of foolishness, when the one who was loved by God and had the law turned out to be a criminal, he again assigns them another time, saying: now. I think the following words are similar to this: today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as if in anger (Ps. 95:8). In the past time, he says, a very strong and completely just accusation has appeared against you: for you have cast yourself into apostasy, you have offended Me excessively, rejecting the guidance of the law, rushing to what is not permissible, and plunging yourself into crimes of disobedience. God says let it be. Now hear, that is, throw away your arrogant thoughts, know Your Master, bow under the yoke of obedience, thinking that you are called My servant. I have made you the chosen one from among all the nations living on earth. For when the Highest divided the tongues, as if the sons of Adam were scattered, you set the boundaries of the tongues according to the number of the Angels of God. And His people Jacob became the portion of the Lord: Israel was already His inheritance (Deut. 32:8,9). Thus He shames and, as it were, exposes those who transgressed the law and immeasurably offended Him—those who were His children instead and were in His care. number of the chosen ones. Isa.44:2. The Lord God, who created you and created you from the womb, says to you: He will help you yet. Having accused the Israelites of apostasy and the fact that they withdrew from love for Him and gave themselves up to non-existent gods, since he said: your fathers and your princes have committed iniquity against Me, and have defiled My holy princes (Isa. 43: 27, 28), he also cites this very beneficially. For he does not allow them to deviate towards apostasy or despair and completely lose hope in Him; but he promises them mercy again, restores them with his usual love of humanity and leads them to repentance. He makes it clear that He has not completely turned away from those who have sinned and that not all of Israel will perish completely, since He is merciful and greatly facilitates the path of salvation for those who believe in Him. Calling Himself Lord and God, who created and created him from the womb, it seems to show that he fell into error, ascribing to others the name of Divinity and foolishly giving the glory of the Lord to non-existent gods. And that he did not know the Creator and the One who brought into existence man who once did not exist on earth, he again points to this, claiming about Himself that He is the Creator and Creator, and as if accusing those who have fallen away from love for Him of ingratitude. And truly, it turns out to be incongruous if we give the highest honors to parents according to the flesh, as the Divine law prescribes, but we do not praise the Creator of all things more than those with praises befitting Him and do not honor Him with our perfect submission to Him. The same thing is said through one of the holy prophets: the son glorifies the father, and the servant of his master (fears): and if I am the Father, then where is my glory? and if the Lord is Az, then where is my fear? says the Lord Almighty (Mal.1:6). For He is equally the Lord, as having all creation under the yoke and slavery of Himself, and so the Divine Psalmist somewhere said to Him that all things work for You (Ps. 119:91); - but He is also the Father again, as the Creator and Creator and the One who brought everything into being. So, according to rank or the requirement of duty, we must render both the obedience appropriate to sons and the fear appropriate to servants. When God thus calls Himself Creator and Creator, this inspires us with the idea that we must honor Him as the giver of existence itself and as the author of existence for those who once did not exist. And saying to those who have sinned: “He will still help you,” gives hope that for them, although entangled in many and inevitable guilts, a remnant of mercy and philanthropy is preserved; and nothing would prevent them from being saved if they decided to move on to what is better and more decent and in accordance with His laws. Isa.44:2–5. Fear not, my servant Jacob, and beloved of Israel, whom I chose. For I will give water to those who thirst in the abyss, I will put My spirit on your seed and My blessings on your children. And they will vegetate like grass in the middle of the water, and like a willow by the flowing water. This one says, “I am God’s,” and this one will cry out in the name of Jacob, and another will write 140, “I am God’s,” in the name of Israel. It seems that in these words He refers to the face of the holy Apostles as Israel and Jacob, as if implied in one person; because in Christ all are one. In fact, consider: how does He say that Israel is beloved and chosen, and yet isn’t it obvious to everyone that He would never call those who rejected faith in Him beloved and chosen? since they, being from the blood of Jacob, who is also Israel, became honorable and chosen vessels and were called to the priesthood of the Gospel preaching, He considered it proper to crown them with such glorious names as those who were to be lights in the world (Phil. 2:15), containing the word of life (Phil. 2:16), and as the secret leaders of all the earth under the sun. So, do not be afraid, he says, that is, take courage and be strong, have a patient and youthful disposition of spirit and, laughing at the uprisings of your persecutors, have firm faith in God. Very many are fighting against the sacred sermon and an ungodly multitude will rise up, opposing your words, but be, he says, above fear, laziness and weakness, for I will give water to those who walk in the void. Truly sweet and saving for those who walk on the earth, thirsting to meet with sources of water. But for those who strive in piety, we think, three times, and even more, the irrigation with Divine and spiritual streams or consolations from the Spirit is desired, through which the human spirit, having somehow weakened a little, could again be strengthened to courage. The water in these words, which God promises to give to those who walk in the abyss, is, we say, the Holy Spirit. This is what the Savior Himself said: as the Scripture says, rivers of living waters will flow out of his belly, and explaining the meaning of what was said, the wise Evangelist immediately added: this is the speech about Dus, whom those who believe in Him want to receive (John 7:38,39). For water is life-giving and contributes to the growth of trees and herbs, and in some way it reflects the action of the Holy Spirit, through whom everything consists, being contained in well-being, and the mental creation abounds in growth in every good and quickly moves towards spiritual growth. And that the promise of water to those walking on a waterless (land) indicates the life-giving power and action of the Holy Spirit, spiritual consolation through Him, this will be clear from the following: I will put, he says, My Spirit on your seed, and My blessings on your children. We call the seed and children of the holy Apostles those called through them to the knowledge of the truth and to spiritual rebirth, by which they regenerate them not from corruptible seed, but by the word of the living and abiding God and the action of the Holy Spirit himself. So the Divine Paul writes in his epistle to those called through Him and says: although many have cared for Christ, but the fathers have not been many: for in Christ Jesus I have given birth to the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). And everywhere we can find that he calls those who believed in Him through them children. Therefore, he says, I will put My spirit on your seed, and My blessings on your children. We consider the blessings given from God to the saints to be the variety of spiritual gifts, for some are given the word of wisdom, and to others the word of understanding and what follows (1 Cor. 12:8 ff.); and in another place the wise Paul writes that each of us receives his gift from God (1 Cor. 7:7). Then, what the benefit of blessings could be, He explained this, adding: they will vegetate like grass in the middle of the water, and like a willow by the flowing water. Herbs and plants, which may exist in waterless areas, grow very slowly, and once grown, they immediately dry out. On the contrary, those who are very flourishing are those in which there are streams and water currents that keep them alive; Thus, the willow plant is always green, since it always grows near springs and rivers. So, having been drunk, he says, with spiritual streams, those enriched by this will confess that they know only Me alone and will call Him who called them God. By saying that this one speaks, I am God’s, and this one will cry, and another will write, signifies the multitude of those who come running to Him through faith in Christ. For it will not be called by the name of any one people; but rather, the entire multitude of pagans located in the sunflower, and all confess that they have become God’s and will be called (written) Savior and Redeemer, and will finally be called by the name Jacob, that is, that they are already 141 and the lot of God: they have become, it is said, a part of the Lord, His people, already His inheritance, Israel (Deut. 32:9). And we boast, having believed that we are God’s lot and part of the Savior of us all, Jesus Christ. Isa.44:6–8. To this says the Lord God the King of Israel, the God of hosts shall deliver him: I am the first, and I am hereafter, besides Me there is no God. Who is Az? let it become and let it call 142, and let Me prepare, from which I created man forever, and that which is to come before it will come to them, that they may tell you. Do not hide 143, and I will tell you. Having made a reminder of the knowledge of Christ in the words we have recently read, the prophet turns the speech to another something necessary. since at the time in which the Divine prophet Isaiah composed speeches to us about such subjects, when hatred of God reigned among them 144, and everything was filled with grave sins, for self-will was for everyone God and religion: then God gives them the necessary admonition, coupled with corresponding denunciations, from polytheism and the vices contained in this, turning them away, and to knowledge truth, through repentance, calling and leading to the remembrance of His glory and incomparable power. That is why he says: to this says the Lord God the king of Israel, God of hosts deliver him, since He wants them to know that He is God and the Lord of hosts, so that I, like those who have sobered up from drunkenness, will see that they were also delivered from the covetousness of the Egyptians with the assistance of His miracles and manifestations of the greatness of His inherent power and superiority. For what marvelous thing was not accomplished? What blow was not struck by those who oppressed them? Wasn’t it a clear proof of His unspeakable power that the sea parted, the waters became as solid as a wall, and fugitives walked in the middle?.. And what miracles then happened in the desert? Did He not give them bread from heaven? Didn’t he open up a stone in the desert and let me drink like the depths of the depths and bring down like rivers of water (Ps. 77:15,16)? Having placed, as it were, a kind of bridle on the streams of the Jordan, did He not prepare it for the passage of feet? So, it is necessary to call Himself in these words not just Lord and God, but added: and deliver him, bringing to mind, as I said, what He miraculously accomplished. Know, he says, that I am God first and I am hereafter, and besides Me there is no God: because God is the beginning of everything, being Himself without beginning, and from Him everything was brought into being, He Himself did not come from anyone, but is He and the future (He who was, and is, and will be 145). This is His eternal name and the memory of His generations (Ex. 8:14,15). Neither before Him there was another God, nor after Him there will be anyone, for there is one God by nature and no one else besides Him. This admonition is very useful for those who have denied Him and, through very great foolishness, have been carried away by the idea that there are many gods. And that no one should be considered like Him or others with Him, this is shown by saying: who is like Az? Which of the gods you suppose or foolishly call so can be equal to Me in glory and power? Because of what great deed did you believe that they are Gods? Let anyone, if there is one like Me, become; may anyone prepare for him who has equality with Me in nature, or in strength, or in glory. Let them call upon whomever they want from the false gods who created man in this age. I created, he says, the heavens and what is in them, having an innumerable multitude of holy spirits worshiping and serving Me; but from the time I created man on earth and in the time that follows, that is, forever, let anyone show Me someone like Me. Saying again: even though He created man, He reveals about Himself that He is the Creator, and about false gods that they are complete nothingness, for which of those who worshiped them did they bring into being? On the contrary, I reveal myself as the Creator and Creator of all things and as having knowledge of everything. Test this from the so-called gods among you: what is coming before them will come first, let them tell you; for God by nature must have all knowledge, both of what has already passed and of what will be. If among the false gods there is not one found who possesses this, then it is clear that those who do not have the knowledge of God cannot be gods. Do not take cover, it is said instead; don't keep silent and don't pretend. Isa.44:8. Didn’t I first inspire you and tell you? As God existing by nature and leading all the future and past. I foreshadowed it to you through the holy prophets, through the wise Moses. I revealed the mystery of Christ, and all that knowledge about which should have been revealed to you was foreshadowed by Me. So, they are not gods, since they have nothing worthy of God; I am by nature, as they believe in Me, God, obviously the God of all and having a divine existence. Thus, this word secretly guides those who were removed from the true contemplation of God, bowed before soulless idols and said to the tree: you are my father, and you gave birth to stones (Jer. 2:27). Isa.44:8. You are witnesses whether there is a God or Me. Again it leads to the recollection of the power and authority revealed before them, which befits the natural God and Lord of all, when they were delivered from the land of Egypt. Then, just then, together with the Lord, the creation itself armed itself and rebelled against the cruelty of those who oppressed them; the elements underwent changes: water turned into blood, three days of deep darkness extended, hail fell from the sky on them, scythes and frogs, and dog flies and the death of the firstborn were brought upon them, and they passed through the middle of the sea. When they came to the land of promise, they defeated many tribes, even more powerful than they. And they appeared terrible and inaccessible to neighboring tribes, and to distant ones they became known and glorious. And so, rather, not others, but you yourself could know what concerns you: who is the one who did this, who had the creature as an ally in what concerned you, who crushed the forces of the enemies and crowned you with courage against everyone. You are witnesses of My superiority if you decide to think right and do not need other mentors. For the Egyptians had very many gods, and their churches were full of their images. There were also very many of them among the Amorroites, Hivites, Perizzites and other pagans. But none of them turns out to be able to save their (fans); on the contrary, you destroyed the worshiped (gods) themselves, together with their worshipers. For through Moses it was commanded by God: You shall scatter their churches, and shatter their pillars, and burn the graven images of their gods with fire (Deut. 7:5; cf. Deut. 7:25 and Deut. 12:3). So, if you decide to tell the truth, then you will be My witnesses, whether there is a God or Me. If anyone rebelled against My forces and won, let him be considered God among you. If they were exposed as being nothing and through you became the food of fire, then you learned by experience, he says, that there is no God except Me, truly God. Isa.44:9–11. And then those who create and sculpt did not listen; they are all in vain, creating their own desires, even if they do not use them; but all who create God and sculpt are all useless. And everything, from nowhere 146 happened, came out: and the loss from man. Through these words he reveals the terrible and very serious crimes of apostates. If, having such assurance that besides Him there is no one else by nature and truly God, and if, from what had happened themselves, being convinced that He is one, they fell to such recklessness that, when the law itself clearly cried out to them and said: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve him only (Deut. 6:13; fn. Matt. 4:10), and: Thou shalt not do themselves an idol, nor any likeness, the tree in heaven, the mountain below, and the tree in the waters below the earth (Deut. 5:8; fn. Exod. 20:4), they imputed obedience to him as nothing, but on the contrary, they did not lovingly turn to making and forming gods from trees and stones: then of course such are in vain, and very rightly, for having reached this, it was not any necessity, but rather fulfilling their (creative) desires, they turned out to be lovers of vanity (vanity). And truly, what is the use of stone and wood? So, the making of idols can be presented as the fruit of unwise advice and clearly a matter of empty considerations. However, he prefaces the fact that such a thing is not harmless, saying: all who create God will be put to shame, and all who sculpt unprofitable things. And all of them, no matter how many there were, withered away and died from people. If what has been said is accepted regarding the man-made (idols) themselves, then we believe that “izskhosha” should be understood in the sense: they perished. If we apply idols to those who usually do this, then we can well understand the same thing about them; because they are spoken of as barren plants if they turn out to be unusable and are finally cut down for flame and burning (Matthew 8:10; 7:19). The expression: glusii from man, is used instead: those who no longer do anything among people, but, on the contrary, are deaf and completely insensitive, so that they in no way correspond to what they had 147, as the blessed Psalmist sings and says in one place: the idols of a tongue are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands: they have lips, and will not speak: they have eyes, and will not see: They have ears and will not hear: and to this he adds: let those who do things be like them, I, and all who trust in her (Ps. 113:12-14,16). Such evil must be presented as the fruit of extreme insensitivity. And in fact, how can one not imagine those who, having recognized by nature and the truly existing God through experience, as insane and heartless, having a heart filled with extreme insensibility and little different from the works of their own hands, then send to stones and trees the glory befitting Him and Him alone? Isa.44:11,12. Let them all gather, and let them stand together: and let them be ashamed and ashamed together. Just as a woodmaker sharpened a cut, he made it with an adze, and made it with a drill, 148 e 149, making his muscles strong: and he will be hungry, and faint, and will not drink water. Not one by one, but, if they want, the servants of idols gathered in large numbers will be put to shame, he says, by their own recklessness and will destroy what was proposed. And what does it feel like, he immediately adds, saying: sharpen, he says, the wood-cutter. He also mentions the tools with which this is done to show that they worship the art of the stonemason, and not the wood itself. For if it were God, then he would not need anyone’s art or knowledge; but He would still be God. If you consider a tree that has not been processed and visualized to be a simple substance, but you worship the wood that has been processed and say that it is God: then art has become God for you, and, moreover, the art of a person who is weak and subject to decay; because the need for food and drink is evidence of corruption. Therefore, the saying: he will not drink water is said, we think, not in the form of a statement, but rather it should be read in the form of a question and with a subdividing punctuation mark 150. The meaning will be this: and in any case, he will get drunk. Then, how will the corruptible be the creator of the incorruptible gods, or how will the mortal create immortals? For the truly existing God, in any case, must be characterized by incorruptibility and indestructibility, even more so, to be alive and have the power to give life to those to whom He desires to impart life. So, the worship of the erring serves as a demonstration (exhibition) of the adze (axe) and drill (drill) and carpentry power as well as art, if it is true, as I said, that they would not dare to worship an ugly tree or stone, and when any image is carved, then all visible objects become gods for them. Isaiah 44:13–20. Having chosen a woodworker, set it in measure, and build it with glue: and create like the image of a man and like the beauty of man, place it in the house. I cut down the tree in the oak grove, which the Lord had planted, a pine tree, and the rain would grow, so that man would burn it: and taking from it, warming himself, and burning it, I baked bread with it, and from the rest I created gods, and they worshiped them. I burned its floor with fire, and burned its floor into coals, and baked bread in them, and baked meat in them, and ate food, and was satisfied, and warmed up, saying: It is sweet to me, because I sinned and saw fire. From the rest, create a god in sculpture, bow to him, and worship, and pray, saying: deliver me, for you are my god. They did not know how to understand, but their eyes were darkened, so that they could see and understand with their hearts. And he did not think in his heart, he did not judge 151 in his soul, nor was he led away by deliberation, as if he had burned the floor thereof with fire, and baked bread on its coals, and baked meat for food, and made what was left of it into an abomination, and they worshiped him. Convince them that their heart is ashes, and they are deceived, and not one can deliver their soul: you see, do not cry, for lies are in my right hand. The meaning of the sayings proposed here is very clear, and there is nothing difficult in them. It is written that the worshiper of idols, as well as the artist, is heartless and appears to be beyond all reason and completely devoid of proper understanding. But he dwells for a very long time on the story about them, at the same time shaming them as erring, and opening their eyes as if overcome by evil, and convincing them to look at the very truth, which if they comprehend with their minds, they will be outside the nets, and will free their heads from the wounds of madness. In addition, we will say the following: it seems to us that in these words the speech is structured very strongly and wisely and has no shortage of convincing many to move away from polytheistic error, but to prefer most of all submission to the One who is by nature and truly God. For having chosen, it is said, a treemaker, he set it in measure, and with glue he built it: and made it like the image of a man, and like the beauty of a man, and placed it in the house. The art, he says, of those who usually make gods, is then especially worthy of every surprise when he makes the image and beauty of a man from wood. Anything skillfully done by someone in imitation of something is in any case lower than the truth itself and already follows it. So, those who worship trees or stones carved in the image of a person are convicted of honoring their own form and, being much better than their imitations, insulting their own nature, as giving great glory to them. Thus, this is a guilt of extreme insensibility and a crime of the greatest madness. He supplies the house, that is, the church, with a tree that has been cut in the oak grove. In these words he shows that those who usually make gods are not ignorant of the substance from which they are made, so that some, according to the custom of the Hellenes, do not call the idols placed in the churches fallen from heaven and self-born or self-produced 152. And that they distort the meaning of the purpose of God’s creation, this exposes them by saying that a tree was planted in an oak grove and brought back by the supply of rain, so that it may be burned by man. Those who make gods out of what is destined for burning will themselves, along with them, become food for the fire. He is almost amazed when he says that he burned the floor with fire and spent it on his own needs, preparing food and using parts of the gods to bake bread. Then he fell into such madness that he bowed to the remainder of what he had consumed and prayed and said: deliver me, for you are my God. Therefore, their heart is nothing more than ashes, and they are deceived, and no one can deliver the souls of those who have fallen so low, except the one, if He wills, God, who creates and transforms everything and enlightens the darkened and converts the lost. And in gods made by hands there is nothing useful, but only vain; because they are meaningless and insensitive substance. See, that is, understand, and do not cry as lies in my right hand. Everything about them, he says, is false, both names and glory. In My right hand, that is, in the Son (since the Son is called the right hand of the Father everywhere in the inspired Scripture) nothing can be found false; but if He is called God, that is, he is true God, and if He is called Lord, then he does not have this name as illegally acquired, but on the contrary, by nature he is the Lord of all; and if - the King, or the light, or life and power, or the Creator, then all this is not false. For He is not something that came into being, 153 but by His nature must be intelligible as superior to everything brought into being, being God from God and true light from true light. Isa.44:21,22. Remember this, O Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant, who made you My servant, and you, O Israel, do not forget Me. Behold, I have taken away as the cloud of your iniquity, and as the darkness of your sins: turn to Me, and I will deliver you. Christ said somewhere: he who knows the will of his master, and does not do it, will be beaten many times. But if one does not know and does not create, there will be few beats. (Luke 12:47,48). The verdict in both cases is certainly righteous. For those who do not know the will of the ruler, and then sin and become guilty of a crime, someone can forgive ignorance, taking it as the basis of mercy (a reason for pardon); and those who, knowing the laws, decided to live carelessly, should rightfully be punished, because this is the fault of obvious negligence. So, so that Israel, having been convicted of so many crimes, but having received forgiveness from God, would become better, for this purpose he is commanded to remember his negligence and the goodness of the Merciful. Remember this, he says, to Jacob. What is this? What has already been said before, because you are My servant, I have made you My servant. In these words it shows, and very clearly, that Israel was not left without child-keeping, but was under the law and under the yoke and had very many capable of admonishing it. Therefore, he was a youth (slave) and was created for this. How? Let's say as much as possible. Man is created, as without a doubt the forefather Adam, simply from the earth, for, it is said, God took dust from the earth, and created man (Gen. 2:7). This method of creation continues to this day in relation to us; because everyone is created in his mother’s womb, and this is the path leading those on earth to existence. But he is also created into a child (I created you My servant) of God, transformed spiritually, by the knowledge of Divine laws, into an excellent form, appearing in human souls as a result of being adorned with virtue. This beauty must be mentally imagined as spiritual. They are also created, as it were, in Christ, through the communion of the Holy Spirit into the image after Christ. So the Divine Paul writes to the Galatians: my children, even though I am sick, Christ will be imagined in you (Gal. 4:19). Christ is imagined in us when the Holy Spirit sends into us a certain Divine image through sanctification and truth. This is exactly how the image of the hypostasis of God the Father (Heb. 1:3) shines in our souls when, as I said, the Holy Spirit transforms us, through sanctification, in His image. This is what the most sacred Paul said again: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, if you are tempted, that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2); and a veil, he says, is laid over the hearts of the Jews, but we all, with revealed face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as we are of the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:15,18). Thus we are created into a child of God. since the name of the youth is in some way general, for it is accepted for both servants and sons, we believe that it is more fitting for those created in the law to be created into servants, since Israel had the spirit of slavery and negligence was not harmless to them, which is why the law punished them as servants. And if anyone is created in Christ, then he is created into the Son of God in the ways recently spoken of. Therefore, we must remember both the love of mankind of the Justifier, and that we were created for sonship and glory, and how to send to the Father rewards to God for what he has done for us. And how this can be accomplished by us, He graciously teaches, saying: And you, Israel, do not forget Me. Someone forgets God when he neglects piety in relation to Him or even completely moves away (from piety). The Israelites did this, serving non-existent gods; Some do the same even to this day, going back after (accepting) faith 154, whose judgment is righteous, as it is written (Rom. 3:8). And that forgetting God very often marks a departure from piety in relation to Him, we can learn this from what He Himself says to the Israelites: you who have forsaken Me and forgotten My holy mountain and prepared a meal for the demon and fulfilled the dissolution of happiness, I will give you under the sword, you will all fall to the slaughter (Isa. 65:11,12). And on the same occasion He cried out against the Israelites through the mouth of Jeremiah, saying: Will the bride forget her beauty, and the virgin monist her Persians? My people have forgotten My days are numberless (Jer. 2:32). So, forgetfulness can often indicate a departure (from faith); remembrance is for firmness in faith, for steadfastness in love and for strength in everything that pleases Him. Therefore, do not forget Me, he says, but on the contrary, remember. Behold, I have recoiled like a cloud of your iniquity. Taken away, he says here instead: I will take away, and, as if dispersing a certain darkness and cloud, I will destroy. What he says instead of: I will take away, this can be very clearly shown by the following: turn, he says, to Me, and I will deliver you. For in what way has he already “taken away” if he calls to conversion those who, as it were, have not yet been converted, but who are destined to come to this in due time, precisely when Christ will shine to the world, through Whom is all remission of sins, and conversion and calling to God, by faith in Him and the gospel life and high deeds of virtue? Isa.44:23. Rejoice, heavens, for the God of Israel hath mercy: blow the trumpet of the foundations of the earth, let the mountains cry for joy, the hills, and all the trees that are therein: for the God of Jacob has delivered, and Israel will be glorified. From these words, everyone can easily see that through the holy prophets, from time to time, God foretold the remission of sins, as well as the conversion of all and redemption, as coming through Christ. For when He, as God the Lord, appeared to us (Ps. 117:27) and treated those living on earth as man, the true Lamb, taking away the sin of the world (John 1:29), the all-holy Sacrifice: then, just then, this became the cause of triumph for the highest and heavenly powers of reason or for the ranks of holy angels; for they sang, sang at His birth, at His birth, I say, according to the flesh, and cried: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:13,14). And if it is true (but in any case, of course, this is true) that, according to the word of the Savior, there is joy in heaven before the holy angels for one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10,7): then how could anyone doubt that there is joy and triumph among the highest spirits, when Christ brings all the sunflowers to the knowledge of the truth, calls to conversion, justifies in faith and makes glorious through sanctification? So, when the heavens rejoiced, for God had mercy on Israel, and Israel, of course, not only according to the flesh, but also according to the spirit: then the foundations of the earth sounded the trumpet, that is, the priests of the Gospel revelations. Their loud voice carried everywhere and, as it were, some sacred trumpets, they announced, everywhere proclaiming the glory of the Savior and calling to the knowledge of Christ, both those who were of the circumcision, and those of old who served the creation more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). The earth is called the foundations, we say, for what reason? Because the foundation of everything and the unshakable support is Christ, who holds everything and rules everything, so that it all is firmly established; in Him we are all built into a spiritual house, united harmoniously through the Spirit into the holy church, into His habitation (Eph. 2:21,22; cf. Eph. 4:16), for He dwells in our hearts through faith. The Apostles and Evangelists, the witnesses and servants of the former Word (Luke 1:2), but who also became the affirmation of the faith, should be considered as adjacent and closer to Him than we are. because, having learned that we must follow their traditions, we will preserve the right and not perverted faith in Christ. It was once said by Him Himself to the Divine Peter (when this wisely and impeccably confessing faith in Him, said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God): You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church (Matthew 16:16,18), and by the stone, I think, He calls the steadfastness of the disciple in the faith. It is said in one place and through the mouth of the Psalmist: His foundations are in the mountains of the saints (Ps. 87:1): the mountains of the saints, without a doubt, should be likened to the holy Apostles and Evangelists, whose knowledge for the generations that follow them is established like a foundation, not allowing those caught by them to move on to unthinking regarding faith. Thus sound the foundations of the earth. In addition, pay attention to the following remark: Moses was weak-voiced and tongue-tied (Ex. 4:10); for the law was not heard by anyone except those who lived in Judea alone: ​​on the contrary, sound the trumpet of the fulfilling duties of the messengers of Christ, for their message went out into all the earth, and their words went out to the ends of the world (Ps. 18:5; St. Rom. 10:18). And he commanded the mountains to cry out for joy, again calling the foundations of the earth mountains; because the Divine disciples are visible from everywhere and visible to everyone, being glorious in deed and word and well known to those everywhere. The prophetic word cried out to them: go up to the high mountain, preach the gospel to Zion, lift up your voice 155 with strength, preach the gospel to Jerusalem (Is. 40:9). It was with these mental mountains that he commanded to cry out in joy. From here one can see both the power of the law and the greater superiority (over it) of the gospel preaching. For the law, threatening criminals with punishments and subjecting the guilty to inevitable condemnation, cried out rather not for joy, but for sadness; The priests of the Gospel revelations and ministers of the gifts given by Christ preach joy to the world, since where there is forgiveness of sins and justification in faith, and the Holy Spirit, and the lordship of sonhood, and the kingdom of heaven, and true hope for blessings that exceed the mind, there, without any doubt, there is joy and joy. By hills and trees, even on them, we again call those that are lower than the mountains and are somewhat inferior to them in terms of their inherent measure of right life, since, obviously, the holy Apostles and Evangelists stand above them. So, hills can be those that are slightly inferior to them in glory and lower than them in the greatness of virtue; however, they too keep themselves on high ground, stand above earthly affairs, have higher thoughts and choose lofty thoughts regarding virtue as their destiny. And by the trees growing on the hills and brought up from them can be understood those who believed through them, grew up as if into a perfect man and reached the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13). These are the teachers of the nations and the leaders of the flocks, who through their mental fruitfulness gain (Christ) those who come to them. Thus, together with the foundations of the earth, the hills and the trees that are on them exclaim about the joy that is in Christ. And they rejoice in this, for God has delivered Jacob, and Israel will be glorified; because he was not only delivered, having been washed from the filth of sin and being taken away from fire and punishment, but he was also glorified, having become close to God (Eph. 2:19), being called His son, and receiving brotherhood with Him who is one by nature and truly the Son, that is, with Christ. Isaiah 44:24–26. Sitsa says the Lord, who delivered thee, and created thee from the womb: I am the Lord who perfected all things, who spread out the heavens alone, and established the earth. Who else will scatter the signs of the womb-wizards, and magic from the heart, turning back the wise and binding their advice, and instructing the verb of his servant, and making the advice of his messengers true. Also in these words, the God of all things speaks to us in the highest degree of benevolence, and wants to confirm to those who were mad against His glory, transferring it to others, that is, to non-existent gods, that He is the Creator of all things and the Preserver, the Creator and Creator, and of those who are being taught. since he made such promises about so many and wondrous deeds that could arouse distrust on the part of some, it is beneficial, as I said, to reveal to them his power and superiority in advance, so that they would know that what He decided to do would certainly and in any case come to an end. For in what respect could he not be sufficient, or how could he not be able to deliver someone from the womb, that is, who led to the very existence of those who once did not exist, complete everything, that is, the Preserver of everything, arranging and directing everything according to his will? And all this with absolute perfection, because God cannot err in that which is most fitting for His glory. Or how would He not be omnipotent and above all understanding and speech, Who stretched out this great heaven and established the earth, as the Psalmist says: He founded the earth on its firmament (Ps. 103:5)? He who possesses such power, or better yet, is himself all power, will, of course, complete whatever he wants to do, without any hindrance from anyone. When he says that he alone stretched out the heavens, he does not exclude the existence from the nature of His only begotten God - the Word, through whom are all things and in whom are all things, but expresses only that of the false gods, absolutely none contributed in anything to the God who exists above all; for how could those who do not exist at all be admitted as workers, or better yet, co-workers with the Creator God? So, in these words, we say, there is no opposition between God the Father in relation to the Son born from Him and by nature, but the following is concluded: it was the work of no one else but God that the heavens were spread out or that the earth had fixed foundations. Having thus shown through this his glory and incomparable superiority and greatness of power, he subsequently reveals and clearly states: what deeds will He do in due time. Who else, he says, will scatter the signs of womb-wizards, and magic from the heart? Until the Savior of us all, Christ, had yet shone upon us from heaven, the violence of the power of the devil extended to everyone, and everyone living on earth was swallowed up by deep darkness: in countries and cities there were, indeed, altars, churches, a string of idols, an innumerable number of false gods, magic and false prophecies everywhere, and the deceptions of demons who pretended that they could know and foretell the future, and yet nothing at all those who speak and those who do not know. When the true light, that is, the only begotten Word of God, illuminated the whole of heaven with the revelations of the Gospel, when the darkness of sin was thus driven away, this deep darkness ceased and the erring were called to the knowledge of the truth: then, and only then, did the signs of the magicians scatter. He calls the false prophets or Pythian soothsayers “gluttonians,” who regurgitated from their hearts what pleased them, and did not know anything true; about such the prophet Ezekiel says: “They who prophesy fiercely from their hearts, but do not see at all” (Ezekiel 13:3). So, the signs or predictions given to some by false prophecy are scattered: because the Hellenic oracles have been abolished everywhere and those of the Hellenic gods who are accustomed to telling lies have fallen silent 156; the wise are turned back and their counsels are overcome. In these words, it seems, he calls either the magicians who were among the Hellenes wise, for they were called wise men; or, perhaps, they enjoyed the reputation of wisdom and keen intelligence, possessing the art of speech and excellent eloquence and not lacking the ability to decorate a lie with the grace of their speech. Such, we say, are turned back, since their wisdom, both spiritual, earthly and demonic, finally turned out to be fruitless and useless. And that the wisdom of this world has obviously been turned into madness by God, the wise Paul also speaks about this (1 Cor. 1:20). When, he says, the wise were turned away, and their whole advice was declared unreasonable and completely meaningless, then God and the Father established the verb of his servant, that is, the gospel and saving revelation that Christ himself spoke to us. God also showed the advice of his messengers to be true. Messengers can be understood as acting as messengers of Christ and preaching to the world. Their advice was good and the admonition everywhere was to move away from ancient vices, but to strengthen oneself in doing good and holding on to the best, to know the one who exists by nature and truly God, to bend one’s neck to His laws and thus go to salvation and life. So, their words are full of all truth, but the words of the Hellenes are turned into madness (enchanted), not having the beauty of truth; for everything with them is false: prophecy, and understanding, and the many imaginary gods unknown even to the deluded themselves. Isa.44:26. Say to Jerusalem: you shall inhabit the city of Judah: you will be rewarded, and its deserts will be made bright. With this saying the previous one can be connected in this way: I am, that is, O Jerusalem, who delivers you, completes everything and stretches out the sky; Therefore I am, he says, saying to Jerusalem: inhabit. For the Babylonians took it by force, and devastated the whole country of Judea; but they were delivered by God and overthrew the yoke of captivity, since the one who burned Babylon allowed them to do this - Cyrus, I say, the son of Cambyses. And returning to Judea, they again built the cities and the church and lived in peace. So, the prophetic word, saying that Jerusalem will be built again, prudently makes it clear to the listeners that it will in due time be taken and destroyed. And the prediction of what was going to happen does not begin with the sad things, but on the contrary, with what it was natural to be very happy about, but at the same time sadder objects also came to mind. So, if God commands that Jerusalem should be built, then the word of prophecy designates Jerusalem as taken captive, of course, before (it was built). If anyone wants to go into deeper speculation, let us say that the truest Judea, obviously, is the Church, whose inhabitants and citizens can be honored who are circumcised in the spirit (Rom. 2:29). It, once deserted, was revealed to the populous by the One who commanded it to be, that is, God in Christ. And its deserts shone: it turned out to be overgrown and, as it were, covered with mental and beautiful trees and having high peaks of saints; for it is customary for God-inspired Scripture to sometimes liken the faces of saints to plants and trees. So the God of all things said through the mouth of the saints: I will place in the dry land the cedar, and the tornado, and the myrrh, and the cypress, and the poplar (Is. 41:19). It was also said to God and through the mouth of the Psalmist about the saints, in one place: the trees of Poland will be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon, which you have planted (Ps. 103:16); and in another again: then all the trees of the grove will rejoice at the presence of the Lord, for the judge of the earth is coming: he will judge the world with righteousness, and people with his truth (Ps. 96:12,13). We do not claim that rejoicing is characteristic of insensitive trees; on the contrary, this befits the saints, of whom he says that they rejoiced when Christ shone into the world. It was in this way that He judged the universe in truth, in faith having justified those who were once mistaken, and condemning Satan and his angels to destruction. Isa.44:27,28. Say to the abyss: You are desolate, and I will dry up your rivers. Say to Cyrus to make sense, and he will do all my will: say to Jerusalem: Be rewarded, and build the foundation of my holy church. At one time, Israel, as I said, was taken into captivity, since the Babylonians took the country of Judah. When the seventieth year had already ended for the captives and the time had finally come for mercy towards them, obviously from God, then He rebelled against the Chaldeans, the son of Cambyses Cyrus, who had power over the Persians and Medes, who took them and released the Jews, having learned that God, Whom they serve, had foretold about him that, strengthened by help from Him, he would be both the conqueror of his enemies, and completely unapproachable for those who wanted to rebel against him, and that he himself will restore the Divine Church. So, that the country of Babylon, although very populous, was to be completely devastated, this is indicated by saying: I am, say to the abyss, you are desolate. In these words he called the countless number of Babylonians the abyss; the rivers of the Babylonian country - the tribes that flocked to it, which were neighboring it and, possessing adjacent countries, were called upon by the Babylonians to help them. There is again a custom in Divine Scripture to almost always liken rivers, seas and waters to many peoples. So about the Savior of us all, Christ, and about the multitude of nations that were caught up in His words, the Divine Psalmist said: The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: The God of glory roars (Ps. 28:8). The voice of the Lord, that is, the gospel and saving sermon, swept through all nations, when it seemed to thunder over them, for the sacred and saving sermon rang out like thunder throughout all the heavens. It is also written again: the rivers raised up their voices (Ps. 92:3). In these words, we think, the rivers are the names of the holy Apostles, whose voices, that is, their teachings, became known to those everywhere. It is said nowhere about Babylon and Nineveh itself: like a font of water, its waters (Nahum.2:8). Thus God spoke to the abyss: You are desolate, and I will dry up your rivers. He was in a similar way and used the verb Cyrus to understand, instead of: to do everything with understanding and to do everything pleasing to Him. And this consisted in punishing the Babylonians for what they had done, cruelly devastating Judea and burning the sacred and Divine church; in addition, to free Israel and rebuild or found the church. This last statement will be more true; because Cyrus ordered the restoration of the church, adding monetary support, and laid its foundations. But after he ended his earthly life, the success of the business, due to the envy of some, was delayed by his successor; and then again, by God’s will, it was brought to an end. We have a detailed story about this in the inspired Scripture (see 1 Ezra 4 ff.), and I consider it unnecessary to spend a lot of words on this. But let not some say that the Divine word is false, since Cyrus, being a man an idolater, did not do everything pleasing to God. For the words: He will do all my will, of course, refer only to what God willed to be revealed (in Cyrus), according to the state of affairs, that is, to take the country of Babylon into captivity, free Israel from bonds and slavery, erect a church and build the cities of Judah. Isa.45:1–7. The Lord God says to my anointed Cyrus, I will hold him by the right hand, I will bow down the tongues before him, and I will destroy the fortress of kings, I will open the gates before him, and the cities will not be closed. I will go before you, and I will level the mountains, I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and I will break the chains of iron, and I will give you dark hidden treasures: I will open to you the invisible, that you may hang it, for I am the Lord God, who calls out your name, the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob and my chosen Israel, I will call you by your name and will accept you: but you have not known Me, that I am the Lord God, and you have not yet known Me, that you might be led away, who are from the east of the sun and those from the west, for I am not God: I am the Lord God, and I am not yet. I am the creator of light and the creator of darkness, the creator of the world, and the builder of evil: I am the Lord God, create all this. The most powerful Cyrus, they say, recognized this prophecy and greatly rejoiced at what God had foretold about it, and reached such a state of mind that in the cities and countries under his control he proclaimed the glory of God, clearly confessing that he alone is God and Lord of all, whom the Jews worship. And the meaning of prophecy or prophetic predictions is very clear, I think. But let us touch upon, as much as possible, each saying separately, and what may sometimes seem dark or difficult, we will bring into clarity. First of all, he calls Cyrus anointed, not as one of the saints to whom this name can be applied, but in an improper sense, as taken from anointing; but because those called by God to the kingdom, even if some were not holy and venerable, it was the custom to anoint them with oil. Thus we will find the holy prophets saying to some of those elevated to this degree: The Lord has anointed you for the kingdom of Israel (1 Samuel 15:17; cf. 2 Samuel 12:7, etc.). So, Cyrus was anointed as king. However, that with the help of God he received power and rose to such excessive glory, this is made clear by calling him anointed, that is, through anointing and determination from Him called to the kingdom. Therefore, he says that I will hold him by the right hand. And this can be a clear sign of intercession, according to what was said from the saints in the book of Psalms: you have restrained my hand on my right hand; with your advice you have instructed me (Ps. 72:23,24). He says: I will hold him by the right hand, so that the tongues will be subdued before him, that is, so that they will be subordinate and yield to him; and I will destroy the fortress of the kings, for seven kings, they say, were subordinate to one main one among the Babylonians. And that the cities themselves had to open the gates before him and absolutely nothing should have hindered Cyrus, who opposed the enemy force, this is shown by saying: the cities will not be closed, I will go before you, and I will level the mountains, that is, I will prepare everything so that it will be easy and passable, so that nothing will resist you. But even if someone came and, like a mountain, met your forces, then I will equalize this too, that is, I will show him pitiful, cast down and powerless. I will break the gates of brass, and break the chains of iron, and I will give you dark hidden treasures; I will open them to you that are invisible. They say that the Babylonians, after their city was taken, buried themselves in dark caves, especially the noble ones, who, out of fear of death, hid, hiding like snakes in every cave and in the crevices of the rocks; however, they were unable to hide. Some let Cyrus know about this, and he ordered torches to be lit and those terrified to be snatched from their dark hiding places and thus subjected to severe punishment. Others say that he devastated the treasures of the Babylonians, which were underground and hidden. So, you will be so glorious and honored, that you may be considered as the Lord God, calling your name, the God of Israel, for the sake of My servant Jacob, and My chosen Israel. He called you to this, he says. I, the only God, have honored you with such bright glory so that my servant Israel may receive prosperity from you. I called you, he says, and crowned you with glory. You have not known Me, for I am the Lord, and you have not yet known Me as God, and you have not known Me. This is as if He had clearly said: You did not receive such glory from Me as a reward for great deeds related to piety; I honored you, although you did not know My Divinity and superiority and were not even among those who worshiped Me: but let them be led away from the east of the sun, and from the west, as if I were not. For if I wanted, he says, to deliver Mine, then I will accomplish this work even through those who do not know My glory, so that those who live throughout the whole earth will clearly know that there is no God except Me. I am the Lord of hosts and the Ruler of every nation and kindred; and wherever I want, there I direct the hearts of those living on earth, so that even those who are not Mine I show to be the executors of My commands. So I am the Lord God, who made light and created darkness, that is, day and night, or light for the redeemed, darkness for the lost. Those rejoiced as if they were being delivered from bonds, but these were in inevitable misfortune. I am the creator of the world, and the builder of evil. And take this in the same sense as what was just said, namely: peace is for the redeemed, but evil, that is, calamitous or causing all kinds of torment, is for the fierce and wild people who attacked Israel. That this offended God, this could become clear when He said through the mouth of an Angel to the prophet Zechariah: I am zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great zeal, and with great wrath I am angry at the attacking tongues: for I was angry a little, but they went to evil (Zech. 1:14,15). The same applies to the Babylonians themselves: I gave into your hand, but you did not give them mercy (Is. 47:6). And that by the will of God, for the insolence of the Babylonians, Cyrus, brave and powerful, attacked them, and used the cruelty befitting those who suffered (his attack), we can learn this from the words of Him himself, spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, as if to Cyrus: with cruelty, go out on her, and on those living in her, take revenge with the sword, and kill, says the Lord, and do everything that I command you. (Jer.50:21). And to this further: the Lord opened his treasures, and brought forth the vessels of his wrath, for the work of the Lord is in the land of the Chaldeans: because his times have come, open his treasures, and test him like a den, and destroy him. May there be no remnant of him. Dry up all its fruit, and let it be slaughtered: woe to them, for their day has come, and the hour of their vengeance (Jer. 50:25-27). The prophet Isaiah himself also said in one place, as if on behalf of God, to the Babylonians: Behold, I stir up the Medes against you, who do not count silver, but demand less than gold. The shootings of youth will crush, and they will not have mercy on your children, but their eyes will have mercy on your children (Isa. 13:17,18), obviously the Medes. Isa.45:8. Let the heavens above rejoice, and let the clouds sprinkle righteousness; let the earth vegetate, and let mercy and truth sprout, and let it vegetate together. It is usually and often characteristic of God-inspired Scripture to translate speech from what happened separately and privately to the general and to everyone, and, as if from an image of historical events that is clear to everyone, skillfully raise the minds of those being instructed to more mysterious speculations. This can be seen in the verses we now have. Above, a long speech was used about Cyrus, the ruler of the Persians and Medes, how he devastated the country of Babylon, and took it by force, freed Israel from the slavery there and the bonds of captivity, and also about the fact that he founded a temple in Jerusalem and was erected against the land of the Chaldeans, and God himself guided him, opened the gates of copper before him and crushed the iron faiths. But this was a private story; for only the Israelites had the opportunity to be in good spirits and freed from the hardships of captivity. Then he transfers the power of thoughts to Emmanuel himself, who was revealed from God the Father to preach release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind (Luke 4:18; fn. Is.61:1), - in order to remove those bound by the inextricable chains of their own sins from evil and, having revealed those living on earth free from the torment of the devil, to prepare their return to Himself, and through Himself thus lead them to God and the Father. For He was the intercessor of God and men, and through Him there is reconciliation in one soul with the Father, and He Himself is our peace, according to the Scriptures (1 Tim. 2:5; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:18,14). He himself recreated the Divine, or His, church, that is, the Church; because He Himself presented her to Himself as a pure virgin, having no filth or vice, or anything from such, but on the contrary, holy and blameless (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27). So, in Cyrus and in his deeds, as if in an image, one can clearly see the divine blessings bestowed from God on those living throughout the entire earth. This is the purpose of the sayings offered to us. But let us explain, as far as possible, each of the written expressions in particular. Let the heavens above rejoice, he says, that is, those who are in the highest city and have a bright and wonderful dwelling: angels, archangels and the highest ones, thrones, powers and intelligent powers and primates of the highest thrones. We affirm that for the heavenly spirits themselves, the turning to God of the erring inhabitants of the earth, the turning to God, I say, through the Savior of us all, Christ, and the sight of the blind, and in general the Salvation of the lost, has become a cause for joy. For if they rejoice over one sinner who repents, then how can one doubt that they rejoice and rejoice, seeing the heavenly realms saved? So let the heavens from above rejoice, he says, let the clouds also sprinkle the truth. Clouds, we say, are the essence or the highest spiritual forces, through which, like rain, consolations from the Spirit are sent down and drop on the hearts of believers, according to what was clearly said in another place about the Israelites, as if about grapes: and with a cloud we command that it shall not rain on them (Is. 5:6); or the holy secret guides themselves and those living on earth, of whom the Divine disciples became the firstborn and firstfruits, who, going around the whole earth, spread the Divine and sacred word, and, as it were, some thirsty and barren land, delighting and mentally feeding the inhabitants of the universe, became for them the cause of spiritual well-being. So, for the Jews, as having become murderers of the Lord, mad against the very giver of mental waters, Christ, God commanded the clouds not to give rain; on the contrary, they (the clouds) are commanded to send them down on those who believe in Him and to abundantly water the hearts of those who come to Him. When the rains come, let the earth vegetate, he says, and let mercy sprout and truth vegetate together. For it was necessary, when the mental clouds began to water the heavenly realms with the teachings of truth, as if from good seeds to sprout and grow into good fruits. When the inventor of sin was, as it were, a ruler on earth and, through the wise men of this world, sowed vile and unclean seeds everywhere, then no one did goodness, not even a single one; but everything turned away, together with indecent things (Rom. 3:12; fn. Ps. 13:3), and the whole earth was deprived of the fruits of justice, since the teachings of righteousness had not yet been sent down, like rains, to those everywhere; then, finally, the fruits of piety in relation to God should appear. We call mercy (let mercy grow) love, which is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10), being accompanied by truth, and of course the gospel, of which Christ himself became our mediator and teacher. It can also be said that mercy and truth, vegetating from the earth, or even sprouting, is our Lord Jesus Christ himself; because He became for us from God the Father mercy and righteousness, if it is true that in Him we were pardoned and justified, having received remission of ancient sins, or that from Him we received the truth that can elevate us to the inheritance of every good thing, through which we are saved. If the earth is commanded to increase righteousness, then let no one be bothered by this, taking into account what the Psalmist says about God and the Father, as well as about Emmanuel himself: she has done righteousness 157 in the midst of the earth (Ps. 73:12). For Christ did not bring us his flesh from above or from heaven, but was born according to the flesh from a woman, who was one of those living on earth. So, when it is said that He became the fruit and growth of the earth, then understand, as I said, that He was in the flesh from a woman chosen for this mystery, although one of those living on the earth. Isa.45:8–9. I am the Lord God who created you. What is the best thing to arrange like clay for a poor man? In these words, as it were, he sets out the reason that the Son, who is God by nature, humbled himself (Phil. 2:7), even deigned to suffer for us and to make those living on earth worthy of the table of great mercy, in order to give his soul as a ransom for them - even more, he deigned to take on the form of a servant and, with the highest glory, to accept the humiliation of human nature 158 . Therefore, he says: I am, which in the present case should be taken in the sense: I abid and live, the true God who is and the Lord of hosts, who brought all things into being and did not create death, but created all things for incorruption (cf. Wisdom 2:23). Then, honoring human nature and since of all living creatures on earth absolutely not a single one can be equal to it (human nature), he says: what is the best thing that I have made, like clay for a poor man? For we were created by Him in such a way that He took dust from the earth and, like a poor man, gave it a beautiful image. But the dignity of human nature is not limited to this: we have a certain and even greater gift and gift of Divine artistry; we were created in the image and likeness of God, we were honored to have the image of His glory, mentally shining in our souls, although in the flesh we are earth and from the earth. Therefore, man is not some kind of despised, but on the contrary, a living being admirable on earth: and thus God is glorified in him. This is what He said to the long-suffering Job, making his great deeds clear: or did you create the earth’s rot from the earth, and planted this verb on the earth (Job 38:14)? And nowhere does the Divine David sing: Lord, what is man that you remember him? or son of man, because you visit him? Then he explains the high dignity of human nature, saying: you made him a little lower than an angel, you crowned him with glory and honor: and you put your hand over his works, you put everything under his nose (Ps. 8: 2,5-7). The wise Paul applied some of these verses to Christ (Heb. 2:6–8). But the same thing can be said without inconsistency about every person like us: there is nothing false in that. Isa.45:9,10. Will Orai Orati food be on the ground all day? Food speaks to the scoundrel: what are you doing that you don’t do, below the hands of the hand? 159 Food says to the father: What have you given birth to? and mothers, why are you sick with stomach? This speech is deep and overshadowed by great secrecy; however, now you can be convinced of its usefulness and truth. First of all, I think it is necessary to briefly reveal the purpose of the thoughts contained in it; because in this way it will be accessible and acceptable to listeners. The God of all liberated Israel from Egypt, also plucking it from polytheistic error and from demonic seduction, with the help of the law given through Moses, raising it to the brilliance of true knowledge of God. For the law taught him to serve one God and worship one Lord. Then, through types and shadows, I wanted to raise him to something even greater and more perfect, that is, to that which is in Christ. The law came into being (Gal.3:24) and was laid down until the time of correction (Heb.9:10), and such was the time of the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, Who, having abolished the shadow of the commandments of the law and the types contained in its letter, brought to those living on earth in an unveiled form the beauty of service in spirit and truth. But the Jews reacted to this very thing with displeasure, and, continuing to defend the types, they opposed Christ and accused Him of violating the Mosaic decrees, sometimes saying: if this man were from God, he would not have violated the Sabbath (cf. John 9:16), sometimes striking Him with even worse words. So, since they did not perceive the benefit of the Gospel teachings, which elevated them to spiritual well-being from a useless canopy, therefore he says: food orai orati will be on the ground all day long? O foolish ones! He says that a farmer plows the land with a plow, but he does not always do it and does not spend all the time cultivating the land on the plow. He plows the earth not so that it will experience only this one thing, but so that it is suitable for the seeds sown in it and turns out to be fertile. Therefore, the hearts of all of you that were once overgrown with wild forest and, as it were, turned into wastelands, I cultivated them in advance, using the law given through Moses like a plow and plowing them like a farmer, I showed them fit for sowing good seeds. And the sower of every good thing is My Son. Accept His teaching and do not want to be constantly content and love the plowman - the law. He plowed, as I said, not just for you to have; for what is the use of this? but in order that you may bring forth the fruits of truth. since we are spiritually transformed in Christ or transformed, some from Hellenic error to the knowledge of the truth and to a holy life through the Savior of us all, Christ, others from circumcision to the perception of the Gospel teachings and to the renewal of ministry, no longer having the vagueness of prototypes, but, on the contrary, shining with the most magnificent spiritual beauty (this happened after we and they received rebirth in Christ water and spirit, and in the same way after the Jewish people rejected and did not accept the grace intended for themselves, for they opposed, as I said, the revelations of Christ); That’s why he says: food says clay to the poor man: what are you doing that you are not doing below your hand? Food says to the father: what have you given birth to? and mothers: what are you sick of? I, he says, want to transform you for the better and, as it were, recreate you to the most perfect through spiritual birth, of course, through birth by water and spirit. But you are unreasonably opposing my intentions. Has clay, he says, ever reproached a poor man as not having a skillful hand, or as not knowing how to transform what is in his hands? But the one who is about to be born says, will he really ask his father the question: will he give birth? Then: how are you, being like clay in the hands of a potter and not knowing at all how your spiritual rebirth will be accomplished, how were you not afraid to argue? and how, on the contrary, did they not decide to give Him, as the Artist and Father, the way it should be? That the Jews disputed the words of the Savior, which He spoke about this subject, it is not difficult to see this, for He said to Nicodemus: Amen, Amen, I say to you: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:5,3). And this one, foolishly attacking what exceeds the mind, resisted, saying: can an old man take food into his mother’s womb and be born? (John 3:4) and to this he added another mystery: how can these things be? (John 3:9). What does Christ have to do with this! If an earthly river came to you, He answered, and you do not believe: how, if a heavenly river came to you, will you believe? (John 3:12). So, it is necessary to obey what God says. He knows the path of his own deeds: the unsearchable accomplishments of His Art; and it is fitting for a person to honor with undoubted faith that which exceeds our mind. Should also know. that the prophet Jeremiah was sent to a poor house to see a potter going about his business. When at the same time the clay disintegrated and was remade into another vessel, God said to him (Jeremiah): I cannot create food like this poor man in the house of Israel? Behold, like the clay of a poor man, you eat into My hand (Jer. 18:6; fn. Jer. 18:1–5). And that we too are being transformed mentally into a holy and excellent life, this will be explained by Paul, who says: we all beholding with revealed face the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18), through whom we are regenerated, having seed no longer corrupted, but sown by the word of the living God and abiding ( 1 Peter 1:23). Isa.45:11,12. For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, who created the things to come: Ask Me concerning My daughters and concerning My sons, and command Me concerning the works of My hand. I created the earth and man on it, I established the sky with My hand, I gave commandments to all the stars. In these words one sees a statement of the meaning of the words above. The meaning of these verses is as follows. If, he says, the clay ever reproached the potter and accused the hand of the one who formed something from it as unskillful and inactive: if also one of those who do not yet exist or are not born, but only expected to be born, took care of what kind of children his father will be a sower: then ask Me and you who are destined to be My sons and daughters in due time: how could this be, and how will you be My sons and daughters? daughters? Command Me also about the deeds of My hand. The commandment says instead: command, and as one who does not know the way in what he must do, do not hesitate to give advice to God. Worthy of wonder, and this in all fairness, the wise Paul wrote this: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! For His judgment has not been tried, and His ways have not been explored. Who understands the mind of the Lord? or who will be His adviser? (Rom.11:33,34). The artist of all Wisdom in her affairs does not need anyone at all; and there is nothing that concerns us that would be inaccessible and inconvenient for her. She can do everything, as possessing omnipotence; better yet, She Herself is all power, for the God of all is the Lord of powers and He alone knows the path of His deeds. So, His deeds are not investigated and are above the mind and words, they are inaccessible to the human mind, but they are known to Him alone. And therefore we believe that through water and spirit spiritual rebirth is granted to those who know the appearance of Christ. When Christ wanted to clearly present grace to Nicodemus, He explained the way of this matter. And he, not at all understanding what was said, accused the Savior’s words of being difficult to understand; and so disposed (Nicodemus) He exhorted him to accept the miracle by faith, saying: we know it, we say: and we see it, we testify (John 3:11). So, if we do not understand the way of Divine affairs, then, removing our minds from all doubt, let us say to God; We know that you can do all things, but nothing is impossible for You (Job 42:2): let us not ask Him about His daughters and sons; and we do not command or give Him rules concerning the works of His hands; but like clay to the potter, let us leave it to God to do what pleases Him. For He easily changes, as He pleases, what belongs to us and transforms the mind from worse to better and sends into us a new heart, uprooting the old. He said something similar through the mouth of Ezekiel: I will pluck out the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh (Ezek. 11:19), that is, tender and meek, capable of letting them know Me that I am the Lord. Thus, by moving away from all depravity and defilement, then reorganizing our soul to the desire to do good, and to this adding spiritual rebirth from water and spirit, we will become sons and daughters of God. And that He has omnipotence, He indicates this by saying: I created the earth and man on it. The culprit of the origin of man, who brought something that once did not exist into existence, how can he be powerless to transform him spiritually? And isn’t it obvious that, at His behest, the nature of creatures could change into any form, in accordance with His thoughts? What is strange if the human soul is transformed into a form pleasing to Himself by He Who established heaven with His own hand? But by the omnipotent hand of the Father we call the Son, through whom are all things and in whom are all things. For by the Word of the Lord, it is said, the heavens are established (Ps. 32:6). He Himself commanded all the stars, that is, He commanded how each of them should be. The sun is placed at the beginning of the day, and the moon at the night (Gen. 1:16). But the sun, as the Psalmist says, knows its west. The God of all also laid down the darkness, and it became night (Ps. 103:19,20). The Divine David sings again and says: Yours is the day, and yours is the night: You have made the sun and the moon (Ps. 73:16). So, each of these luminaries performs its specific course, with a well-ordered movement, and at measured intervals of hours. In the same way, the rest of the stars, according to the law given to them by God, rise and set at certain times. God, who is by nature and the Creator of all things, commanded them to do so. Isa.45:13. I have raised him up with the righteousness of a king, and all his ways are right: this will build my city and bring back the captivity of my people, neither for reward nor for free, says the Lord of hosts. Perhaps some would argue that this is said about Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, since he released Israel and freed them from the bonds of captivity, and also founded the temple in Jerusalem. But consideration of what follows should concentrate the power of thoughts rather not on him, but on the Savior of us all, Christ, Who was raised up with righteousness. For He shone forth unto us, being God the Lord, since God the Father was pleased to rule over all things in Him, both in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10). So, He arose with a truth not assimilated and learned (from another), but Himself being the very act and truth. It is written about Him in another place: behold, a righteous king will reign, and princes will begin to rule with judgment (Is. 32:1). The only-begotten Word of God, together with God and the Father, has always been the king of all, and had under His feet all creation, visible and invisible: and if man living on earth rejected His kingdom and neglected His scepter, precisely because he fell under the power of the devil and was entangled in the nets of sin, then the Mediator and Giver of all righteousness again subjected him to His yoke; for all His ways are right. We call the ways of Christ the Divine and Gospel revelations, by which, marching towards every virtue and adorning our heads with the glory of piety, we achieve the honor of the highest calling. The paths are truly right, because there is nothing stubborn (crooked) or corrupt in them, but they are, as it were, straight and easy to follow, as it is written that the way of the godly is right, and the way of the godly is prepared (Is. 26:7). In some ways the path of the law is difficult, going through many prototypes and insurmountable obstacles; the path that goes through the gospel revelations is easy and has absolutely no unevenness or difficulties. In this way, the ways of Christ are right, and He built a holy city, that is, the Church, in which He Himself dwells, since He dwells in the saints, and we have become churches of the living God, having Christ within ourselves through the communion of the Holy Spirit. So, He founded the Church, Himself being its foundation, on which we also are built like magnificent and precious stones into a holy church, a habitation of God in the spirit (1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:22). And the Church is completely unshakable, having Christ as its foundation and unshakable support: for behold, I believe, he says, for the foundation of Zion, a stone is chosen, a cornerstone, honorable: and he who believes in it will not be put to shame (1 Pet. 2:6). So He Himself, having founded the Church, returned the captivity of His people; because He saved us, living on earth, oppressed under the power of Satan and sin, and took us away and subjected us to His yoke. However, not by reward, nor by gift, as His disciple said: We were not redeemed by our faithful fathers with corrupted silver or gold from our vain life, but with the honest blood of Christ, like the unblemished and most pure blood of a lamb (1 Pet. 1:18,19). He gave his blood for us, and we do not belong to ourselves, but to him who bought and saved us. For this reason and with all justice, those who transgress the noble rule of the right faith are accused by the mouths of the saints as denying the Master who redeemed them. Isa.45:14–16. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Egypt shall labor, and the purchases of Ethiopia, and Shebaimstia, high men and women will come to you, and you will have servants, and they will follow you, bound with hand bonds, and they will worship you, and they will pray in you, for there is God in you, and they say: there is no God for you. For you are God, and know not, the God of Israel, the Savior. All who oppose Him will be ashamed and disgraced, and will go away in the cold. Having prefaced the speech about the Savior of us all, Christ, and foreshadowed that He would bring back His people neither by reward nor by gift, He immediately shows those who were called to redemption, obviously from the pagans, for whom Christ appears most of all to shine, although He clearly said: I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). But they (the Israelites) were truly the first to shine with the Divine and Gospel light; since, as it is written, beloved Israel became weak, thick, and rejected (Deut. 32:15), because they killed the Author of life (Acts 3:15): then for this reason and with all justice, Christ shone forth to the host of the pagans. This is what we will find inherent in the contemplation of the proposed words. Here he also names the most superstitious of all pagans, so that the power of the call to repentance may serve as a subject of surprise. For just as the art of those who know the medical profession is then especially praised when they, using their experiences in good time, are able to relieve the suffering of some desperately sick people: so God then makes His supernatural glory especially obvious when some of the people who have deviated too much (from the right path) and plunged into the most almost extreme depths of depravity and wickedness are encouraged to float up and rise to the desire of virtue, to wash away evil and how to be endowed with all things praiseworthy. So the Egyptians and the Ethiopian purchases, that is, the cities of Thebes, whose neighbors and borders are the so-called Savaim 160, that is, the Ethiopian or Indian peoples (perhaps received the name from Sheba, who at a certain time reigned over their country and land 161), labored (troubled), he says. The word: they have labored should be understood in a double sense: or it wants (the prophetic word) to indicate that they were exhausted, during times of error, being under the unbearable yoke of the cruel tormentor Satan and enslaving to hoards of demons who demanded from them their very offspring as sacrifices, I mean sons and daughters; or that in ancient times they were terrible and indestructible and, as it were, shield-bearers of ancient charm and used all their strength to youthfully adhere to the Hellenic wickedness proposed to them (by the Greek sages); but when Christ shone and sent the true light into the hearts of all, and a certain mental star ascended, as it were, then they became weary, that is, they did not remain stable as before, but seemed to weaken in ancient tension, yielding victory to the preaching of Him. And the word about them is by no means false, for, as the wise Paul writes, where sin abounds, grace abounds (Rom. 5:20): the land of Egypt is full of honest and holy churches - everywhere there are altars, and meetings of monks, and strings of virgins, and ascetic labors with great joy, and zeal for virtue, and great zeal, intense and not enduring. break, and the veneration of Christ extends even to the very Shebaimites or Indian nations. It is possible, truly possible, to see with them the same thing as in Egypt and in the Ethiopian purchases, that is, in the land of Thebes. So, these Egyptians, he says, and Savaimstiya men of high standing, that is, prominent and very famous among everyone and not unknown to anyone on the other hand, who are pretty much in front of everyone the servants of demons and defenders of the devil’s inventions, will come to you, that is, leaving behind the previous deception, and receding from the depths of destruction, they will come to You and You will be servants, and Your commands will obviously be performers. For this means the name of slavery, ordained by God. They will follow You, bound with hand bonds: they will follow, he says, in Your footsteps, guided by the Gospel laws in everything that should be done and will walk along the path of their chosen life, bound with hand bonds, that is, with bonds of love and chains of ineffable love for God, so that they can say: who will separate us from our love for Christ? Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or a sword? (Rom.8:35). These will worship You, he says, and will pray in You: for God is in You, and there is no God except You. For you are God, and you do not know, the God of Israel, the Savior. For every knee will bow to the Savior Christ, and every tongue will confess (Phil. 2:10,11), and every limit of prayer reaches Him, since in Christ we ask God and the Father for the fulfillment of requests and we pray in Him, confessing that in Him there is God and there is no God besides Him. So He taught us to think, saying to the Divine disciple (it was Philip): I have been with you so long, and have you not known Me Philip? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? Seeing Me, the form of the Father (John 14:9,10). I and the Father are one (John 10:30). So the sayings: God is in You, and God is not with You, have the same meaning as the sayings: and the Word is to God, and God is the Word. This one is from time immemorial to God (John 1:1,2). If anyone would like to prudently attribute the meaning of what has been said to the person of Christ alone, then we affirm that, according to the word of the Divine Paul, in Christ lives every fulfillment of the physical Divinity (Col. 2:9). He Himself is God, not divided into two Sons, but in such a way that the Word has its own flesh, in which, it is said, He lives. Thus, even in this God is understood, as in the human body the soul; but so that there is one Son God. One must, however, know that the flesh of the Lord, we say, is animated by a rational soul. So, they confess both that God exists in You, and that there is no God except You. For you are God, and you do not know, the God of Israel, the Savior. This is the voice of those who repent and are already moving to the light from deception and darkness, who have reached the knowledge of the truth and have come to know what is by nature and truly God, and all Creator and Lord. They call Him the Savior of Israel, who became man and incarnate, believing that He is the same one who was a helper for the Israelites in ancient times. Or by Israel you should understand not only Israel according to the flesh, but also everyone else who can see God, for the name Israel is interpreted: the mind that sees God 162. He sees God with the eyes of the mind who looks at the image of God and the Father, that is, at the Son, about those who resist Whom it is said that they will be put to shame and go away in shame. For those who did not accept faith in Him, but fought against God, like, without a doubt, the Jews, will all be put to shame and defeated by an irresistible hand, and without causing any harm to His glory at all, but only heaping destruction on their own heads, they will be ashamed and reproached - they will be the disgrace of all flesh, according to the word of the prophet (Is. 66:24). Isa.45:16,17. Renew yourselves to Me islands. Israel will be saved from the Lord with eternal salvation: they will not be put to shame, nor will they be put to shame, even to eternity, says the Lord Almighty. Again he spreads a prediction about the calling and conversion of the pagans, and not only represents for this the Egyptians, the Ethiopian purchases and even the Sabaim ​​themselves, but indicates in these words that those living throughout the whole earth will be called and that the opening of holy churches will be everywhere. For, as it were, the omnipotent Word of God proclaims to the churches: be renewed unto Me. They deserve to be called islands: because just as on the sea, islands are constantly exposed to the pressure of waves, but remain unshakable and sometimes even receive ships in danger and, providing them with a quiet bay, save them from the waves: so the churches of Christ are, as it were, in the very midst of everyday rebellion and in solitude and are subject to countless temptations; but in Christ they have steadfastness, and even give shelter to those who are fleeing from the useless and empty rebellion of affairs in this world and are, as it were, overwhelmed by Satan and sin. Thus, they should be likened to islands, for this is what the Divine Word desires here. So, be renewed towards Me, he says, islands. The name of the Church represents the multitude of those who believed in Christ, clergy and people, shepherds and teachers and those under their leadership and control. But all these were renewed in Christ in due time, obviously in the time in which God the Lord shone to us. It was then, just then, that we were renewed in the renewal of life, customs and morals, as well as worship; because they rejected the oldness of sin and became a new creation in Christ (Gal. 6:15; cf. 2 Cor. 5:17), brought forth by His laws to a glorious and worthy life. So the wise Paul writes in his epistle to those called through faith and says, in one case, that they should put off the old man with his passions and lusts and put on the new, renewed in the image of Him who created him (Col. 3:9,10; cf. Eph. 4:22,24), and in another case again: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, into tempt you that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2). He also says that our old man will be crucified with Christ, so that we may put on the new, through behavior and life in Christ (cf. Rom. 6:6 ff). Let us renew ourselves regarding the manner of service: those who followed the Jewish institutions, leaving the canopy and types, for such will no longer offer sacrifices of bulls and incense, but will perform spiritual and immaterial service and, as it were, according to the order of the most decent incense; and those caught from the multitude of pagans will move on to the best and incomparably superior, since they will no longer have the ancient darkness in their minds, but having infused Divine and mental light into it, they will be saints and true worshipers. They will stop worshiping creatures, voiceless and insensible substances; They will also abstain from divination and magic, and destroy the absurdity of Hellenic buffoonery and demonic charms, and in general, abandoning the most shameful and moving away from vile activities, they will remain adorned with all virtue and versed in the dogmas of truth. This is the renewal in relation to us; For anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). God declares to all that everyone who is according to the flesh, I say, and whoever according to the promise is numbered among the children of Abraham (not all who are of Israel, these are Israel: but the children of the promise, these are numbered among the children, Rom. 9:6,8), He saves with eternal salvation, and that they will be far from shame and disgrace, and this forever. For in Christ, having been stripped of unclean sin and freed from the yoke of the devil’s lust for power, having also overthrown corruption and having been clothed with incorruption, we will remain in this state forever. Sin will no longer deceive us and Satan will not again subject us to his former power; In the next century, the power of death will also completely disappear, trampled underfoot in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory and power to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. Isa.45:18–20. Thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, this (God) showed the earth, and he who created it, divided it, not creating it in vain, but creating it for the world. I am the Lord, and there is no one. Do not hide the verbs, nor in the dark place of the earth: I have not told the tribe of Jacob, seek vain things: I am the Lord, speak righteousness, and proclaim the truth. Having foreshadowed the coming of the Savior of us all, Christ and pointing to the time of salvation, when everyone, having left the darkness of ancient ignorance, will come to the light of true knowledge of God, he gives the necessary instruction to the Jews and Greeks, adding obvious signs by which they can recognize and very clearly that He is God and the Creator of all things and besides Him there is no god. Therefore he says: thus says the Lord, and not simply (so says): Lord (for there are very many in heaven and on earth who have received this name unlawfully), but the very One who by nature and truly is what He is called, and who, because of the deeds He has done, has an unfathomable glory. For, he says, this is the same one who created the sky: to create the sky, show the earth and found it is a majestic proof of the highest glory and omnipotent power. For He divided it, that is, once hidden in the abyss, invisible and disordered, He made it visible and well-ordered; because He has determined its boundaries; for He said according to the words of the books of Moses: let the waters be gathered together and let the dry land appear (Gen. 1:9). So, she appeared from under the waters and, immersed in water and barren, he set her apart, putting locks and seals on the abyss and very well separating her from the waters. And that He brought it into such a state for benefit and need, so that it would not only be visible, but also have inhabitants, of course, formed from it, just as heaven has holy angels - He first announced this, saying: “I did not create it in vain, but to inhabit it.” So for those who walk on it, that is, for us, it appeared as a ship and, as it were, a kind of house. If she is brought into being by Him; then doesn’t justice require us to say that we were created entirely to worship Him alone and, recognizing Him as the Generator of all, to bring Him songs of thanksgiving? So, I am and there is no one. For if He is the one who created the heavens and showed the earth, and did not create it in vain, but to inhabit it; then what other god can we think of besides Him? Or who can equal Him in power and glory? or who can even only approach Him? Is not every nature of creation inferior to such great, all-surpassing glory, power and wisdom? There is no one (who could be like Him). So God by nature and true is only one and another besides Him is completely inconceivable. But perhaps someone will say: who knows His purpose and who can say whether He wants to adorn anyone else with divine glory and title, or only Himself? Therefore, He answers this and says: do not hide the verbs, not in the dark place of the earth: I did not tell the tribe of Jacob, you will seek the vain. Regarding this, he says, I established laws, speaking to them (about them) not in a hidden place, without trying to hide them, but clearly and solemnly. For the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai in the form of fire; there was darkness, a whirlwind, smoke and loud trumpet sounds; and when Moses was the mediator, all the people stood near (the mountain) and the laws of God were proclaimed, not allowing Israel to seek anything vain, that is, an idol, or any false worship of God; the commandments expressly prohibit this. For it was said to him: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve him only (Deut. 6:13). Let there be no blessings for you, except for me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness, such as the tree in the heavens, or the tree below on the earth, or the tree in the waters under the earth (Ex. 20:3,4). So, he was told: I am the Lord; and this also means that He said not once, but many times: I am God and Lord of all, speak the truth and proclaim the truth. Truth, as I think, is what the law calls, because the law is the guardian of truth; he calls the instructions of Christ truth; for the law has the image of truth and the secret of Christ is hidden in the shadows; because Moses wrote about Him. So, in that he speaks the truth, the power of the truth is proclaimed along with it. If it is true that the law is a shadow; then it contains the image of truth. Isa.45:20. Gather together, and come, take counsel together to save us from the tongue; those who build their image without understanding and pray to God do not save. The apostate dragon distracted those living on earth from communion with God and, removing them from the true knowledge of God, plunged them into deception and polytheistic delusion and, leading them into various vices, made the network of his wickedness inevitable and indissoluble. But Emmanuel appeared and courageously freed those bound and suffered death for us according to the flesh, so that the children of God, as the Evangelist says, will gather into one (John 11:52); for what Satan, attacking like a cruel and wild wolf, scattered, Christ, the good shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, gathered. This is what he hints at when he says: gather together, that is, unite through one faith and unanimity; gather to God, who rules over all things, through sanctification and righteousness; come close, you who were far away and still separated through sin; because we say about those who are mistaken that they have come to an extremely shameful and vile disposition of the soul and have moved away from God, but through faith in Christ they will be close to Him. Therefore, the wise Paul said to those who strived for this: now you who were sometimes far off are near by the quick blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13) and again about Him: and having come to bring peace to you who are far and near (Eph. 2:17). Therefore, to those who were far from God, through the holy prophets he said: draw near to God and he will draw near to you. So come, he says, and take counsel together to save us from the tongue. Consult instead: let you do what is necessary for turning to God not recklessly or imprudently, but with admirable prudence. For through faith knowledge increases; unless there is no doubt that we have realized the folly of error and turned away from ancient deception, then we avoid harm by turning to God, receiving the light of true knowledge of God and, as a result of correct reflection, deciding to do incomparably better deeds. Take counsel, that is, be prudent in avoiding tongues. For those who are filled with madness, he seems to command to turn to prudence, to admirable and impeccable knowledge, with the help of which one can call on the power and glory of the God who rules over everything. But, he says, without understanding this, that is, those who erect their own image of a tree can be considered completely reckless and filled with extreme ignorance. The word: elevating, here understand in the sense: exalting, in order to give the glory due to God to him - to this tree, and, moreover, sculpted by them themselves. Then praying to God, those who do not save. Therefore, those who worship the products of their art and seek help from insensible matter and assign the name of God to what is a work of their own art are senseless and have not yet reached the point of insensibility of the objects of their worship. So, let them listen to the words of the Psalmist, laughing at them and crying: Let them that do so be like unto them, and all that trust in her (Ps. 113:16). Isa.45:21,22. If they tell you, let them draw near, let them take you away together; who heard, did this from the beginning? Then it will be proclaimed to you: I am God, and there is no other except me, righteous and savior, there is no other except me. Turn to me and you will be saved from the edge of the earth. Evil demons, laying destructive and varied nets for the inhabitants of the earth and digging ditches of destruction for them, wickedly stealing the glory of the deity and appropriating it for themselves, tried with the greatest insolence to establish dens of their deception. By pretending that they knew the future and could announce it to those who wished to know it, they were able to easily catch them all the time. Therefore, everywhere in the countries and cities there were soothsayers, false prophecies, portents and a multitude of deceivers, speaking according to what was written, from their hearts, soothsayers, callers of the dead, extracting sounds from the earth, ventriloquists and fortune tellers on flour and the word: the sunflower was filled with liars and deceivers. So they had no true knowledge of the future; but only lies, cunning, deceit, deceit, and nothing more. Therefore, the God of all says: if they proclaim, let them draw near, let them lead them away together: for if, he says, they can proclaim, then let them draw near, in order to find out whether they, gathered all together, can proclaim something directly; because, as I said, in very many places they had special oracles. But others were mistaken differently and worshiped unclean demons who spoke lies. If, he says, they can truly foretell, then let them all gather together and find out something about the future. Whoever heard, do this from the beginning. For who among the superstitions, or among the prophets among them, or those engaged in fortune-telling, has ever known and proclaimed that at a certain time Christ will shine to the world and that the darkness of error will disappear and the darkness of false knowledge will be dispelled and Christ will shine upon those living on earth as a spiritual star, as light and day, as the sun of righteousness. But, he says, neither the demons, who pretend to know the future, nor the servants of their lies announced this from the beginning. For none of the Hellenic poets and prose writers thought about such glorious events. So, whoever was heard did this from the first: then it will even be announced to you, that is, from the beginning. It was announced not by anyone else, but by Me, Who knows everything and foretold everything before it happened; for I spoke to you of these things through Moses and the holy prophets, who delivered My words to you. So, he says, I am God, and there is no other except Me: righteous and Savior, but demons are unjust and evil and destroyers and love blood and cast down the inhabitants of the earth to destruction; The God of all is righteous and Savior, helps the oppressed, frees those captive and bound by sinful chains from the bonds, enlightens those in darkness, strengthens the weak, lifts up those who are down and converts the erring. Therefore, he says, turn to me, and you will be saved from the end of the earth. From these words one can clearly see the greatness of Christ’s grace, which extends to all the inhabitants of the earth; for grace and salvation, which were limited through Moses, extend to the nation of Israel alone, but the grace of Christ is wide and extends to the ends of the earth; because through faith in Him the whole earth was caught for salvation and life. Isa.45:22–24. I am God, and there is no other. I swear by myself, unless righteousness comes out of my mouth, my words will not return: for every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess to God, saying: righteousness and glory will come to him. After false worship had been destroyed, the truth had to come into the middle, and after the darkness had been driven away, the light had to shine forth. It is therefore very fitting, after this useful and fruitful instruction, that he exhibits his glory; for I am God, he says, and there is no other. Then he foretells the greatness of what is about to happen through Christ, assuring with an oath that the truth foretold through Him, that is, through faith in Christ, given to all who live on earth, and His words, obviously the gospel and saving sermon, will shine everywhere and will certainly shine at a certain time. This, I think, is precisely what (the saying) indicates: they will not return. For if God promises and says that something will certainly happen; then who can prevent this from happening? Therefore he swears by himself; for men swear by great things, and every contradiction of theirs ends with an oath (Heb. 6:16), but God, who is above all and rises above all in incomparable superiority, swears by Himself; for He, as I said, being a Being superior to all and special in nature and glory, could not swear by anything else. What was announced? Salvation and conversion (to God) of all peoples living on earth: every tribe will bow to me, he says, and every tongue of God will confess (swear); for by the expression: the knee will bow to God and His name will be an oath for everyone, what else can be understood other than turning everyone (to God) and knowing Him and discovering closeness to Him? For those who turn entirely to God completely avoid bending the knee to unclean spirits and calling them gods; because they will swear by no one else but God; but having come to know the one true and by nature God, they bow their necks under His yoke and bend the knee, making prayers, and when they decide to utter a legal oath, they will remember Him only alone, saying: all truth and all glory will come to Him, that is, it befits Him alone; for all the best deeds and everything that can be accomplished through the word for the glory of God, we must attribute all this to Him alone. Isa.45:24,25. And all who separate themselves from the Lord will be put to shame, they will be justified, and all the seed of the children of Israel will be glorified in God. What is said (here) is true in both respects, and the divine word cannot be false; for people who want to withdraw from communication, of course spiritual, with God, always inevitably suffer shame, while those who love Him from a sincere heart are glorified in Him and gain fame for justice. And such are not at all Israel according to the flesh, but, on the contrary, the seed of the sons of Israel. Trying to make the meaning of the proposed passage clearer, we say the following. For the only begotten Word of God shone on earth, in a form similar to ours, or becoming flesh, as the Scripture says. It came preaching release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, setting the tormented at liberty and healing the brokenhearted, and proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18,19). Although the Jews, as having had a teacher in the law and teachers in the holy prophets, should have accepted faith in Him; but they did not do this; on the contrary, they seemed to run away from Him and were filled with shame, carrying within themselves an ineradicable sin that shamed them. Therefore it is true that all who separate themselves from the Lord will be put to shame; for they have heard His words: Amen, Amen, I say to you, If you do not have faith as I am, you will die in your sins (John 8:24). And those who recognized His appearance, were justified by faith, acquired great and endless glory, finding themselves partakers of the Holy Spirit, enriched by the glorious dignity of sonhood; for He gave them the realm to become children of God (John 1:12); Moreover, having a hope worthy of all acceptance and not shameful, they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. It is they who may be meant by the seed of the children of Israel. We say that in these words the holy apostles and evangelists are called the sons of Israel, because in the flesh they were from the Jews, and their sons are those who through them were called to the knowledge of Christ. Therefore, the divine Paul said to those who believed through Him: although many are teachers of the Lord, but the fathers are not many: for in Christ Jesus I gave birth to the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). But in many other places we find that they also call others whom they themselves have captured to salvation in Christ as children of the holy apostles. Isa.46:1. When Vil fell, Dagon was crushed and turned them into beasts and cattle. Behind the predictions that were pronounced by the holy prophets about Christ. Savior of us all, there are always necessary prophecies about His deeds, or what He has done in the world. But His most excellent work of all was the expulsion of Satan and the unclean and murderous horde of demons. Therefore, when He shone in the world, the ancient great and hateful darkness of sin, which Satan introduced into the souls of all, was dispelled, so that they would not see the light of truth. The dominion of demons and the triumph of idolatry ceased. So, as I said, it was necessary that a word be offered to us about this, and therefore he says that Vil will fall. A. this was especially an idol of the Babylonians, but was also revered in other cities. They also say that Vil is Saturn, who is described in mythology among the godless Hellenes; they say that he is cruel and bloodthirsty and loves murder, for in the Hellenic stories it is written that in one day three hundred strangers were slaughtered in order to perform a disgusting and hateful sacrifice to God and people. Therefore, the God of all, expressing His indignation at such terrible wickedness, nowhere through one of the holy prophets says to those who had the custom of doing such things: devour men, for the calves have become scarce (Hos. 13:2). For the demons, he says, reached such hatred and cruelty that they insatiably thirsted for human blood and rejoiced at the death of those killed. For them, the calf emitting a plaintive howl on the altar, incense and sheep are not so much pleasant as, on the contrary, they rejoice in the killing of people. So, he says, fallen Vil, that is, the power of the demon was overthrown and fell, so that, having finally overthrown their heavy yoke, those who were once delayed by the malice of the devil would rush to God with a free and unconstrained mind. Crush and Dagon. This is also the deity of those who inhabited the coastal country neighboring Judea, the inhabitants, I believe, of Ascalon and Gaza, whom the Holy Scriptures in many places call Philistines or foreigners. He says beautifully: lamented, because from what once happened to him, the prophet now borrows an expression about him. For in the book of Kings (1 Samuel 5:1-5) we read that foreigners who had once taken captive the divine ark of the covenant brought it into the church of Dagon; then the servants of the demon, entering, saw that the idol had been thrown down before the ark and was crushed, so that it had lost its arms, legs and head. Therefore, based on what happened, he once very wittily says: contrite. We affirm that the prophetic word here points us to the destruction of idolatry, when it speaks of Bel and Dagon as an example; because it could not list all the idols that were on earth, but again defines the whole part by part. Isa.46:1,2. I am bound to bear, like a burden to the one who labors and who is weakened, and who is hungry and who is unable, together, who cannot be saved from the army, having themselves suffered captivity. Here the (prophetic) word again shows us the uselessness and vanity of man-made gods, and from the festivities held in honor of them, it seems to make clear that the worship of the erring is filled with shame; for they held terrible, and sometimes laughable, solemn assemblies in honor of the demons; then idol statues were taken out from the inside of the churches and having placed them on themselves, some priests walked with them through the streets, swaying from side to side and as if drunk, and carrying a great weight, and when it was hard for them what they wanted to carry, they gathered together and showed the appearance that they could not bear the weight. And the unreasonable and street crowd, seeing soulless matter that had the appearance of a man or a woman, expressed greetings to it in a feminine and senseless way and thought that the weight of what was carried on the shoulders of the priests was truly unbearable. Therefore, here the divine word laughs at the greatness of Hellenic stupidity and speaks of the statues that were in the churches to which they foolishly wanted to worship. I am bound, like a burden to the one who labors, and I am weak and hungry, and am unable to bear it. For, as I said, some of the priests showed this precisely during the transfer of things made with hands. And how the powerlessness of those who are worshiped will be known, anyone can learn this from many other things; for the nature of idols is wood, or stone, or some other substance. But since it was necessary to show this from completely appropriate circumstances; then he points them to their future captivity, I mean, Babylonian, which they experienced, after they neglected to fulfill the law and serve the one and real God, they began to do everything that is most hateful, and worshiped the works of their hands, and, in addition to what is written, they made sacrifices to the heavenly army. Where will the powerlessness of the imaginary gods be seen? They will not be able, he says, to escape from the army, but they themselves have been captured. For when a city or country is conquered, then if they have any gilded and silvered gods, they are taken prisoner by the victors first of all else. If only they were truly gods; then they should provide assistance to their fans and grant them victory over the enemy army. So, what does something used that is sculptured do? having created a merger, a false dream, according to the word of the prophet (Hab. 2:18), but they cannot help either themselves or others. For how can anything like this come from wood and stone? Isa.46:3,4. Listen to me, the house of Jacob and all the remnant of Israel, born from the womb and punished from childhood even to old age: I am, and until you grow old, I am, I endure you, I created and I will bear, I will raise and save you. The speech is again distinguished by very great artistry and continues in proper harmony and economically. For after he recalled the war, in the continuation of which countless husbands and wives died and the country of Judea became very poor in the male population, he therefore speaks, as it were, to one house, as if to the remnant left from barbaric cruelty. Listen to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of Israel. The word could bring considerable benefit to the listeners if among them there were several attentive and seeking useful things. No matter how sad and unbearable the foreshadowed events may be, everyone would conveniently avoid them by eliminating the causes of their occurrence. But how can you turn away from yourself what has already arrived and, as it were, collapsed? Therefore, he calls them a remnant, as if declaring that they will be exterminated by war and become prey to barbaric cruelty if they do not stop such shameful deeds. And that the souls of the Jews were not receptive to instructions and the care of the law was useless for them, this is shown by saying: they were carried from the womb and punished from childhood even to old age. For from infancy to old age, being instructed in the sacred and divine Scripture, they did not derive any benefit for themselves; but, as if completely unworthy of any instruction, they reached the point of retreating from God. But although, he says, a long time has been spent unprofitably in taking care of you and I see that you have remained very rude, I will not deviate from my characteristic goodwill; I appear to you and clearly say: I am, that is, I live and exist, not as if I received the beginning of being and know that I will cease to exist, but I always remain the same and equal to myself, and when you grow old, I will remain the same again; for old age does not come to Me as it does to you, but I am alive and omnipotent. And I caused the disasters of war to befall you, calling them on the basis of a righteous judgment as punishment for those who disdained My glory. But I will bear it, that is, I will let you go, and I will restore you, exhausted by all-forgiveness. I will lift you up and save you. For I, who delivered you into the hands of your enemies, will again accept you into fellowship with Me and deliver you from the bonds of captivity. Thus, partly with threats, partly with promises of benefits - as if with a variety of healing, He heals the hearts of those who impudently acted against Him and, due to their greatest rudeness, fell into the wrong. For His goal is to save the lost and the lost from the hands of the devil. Isa.46:5–7. Who will you liken me to? You see, you are cunning, you who are deluded, who make gold out of furs, and put silver in weights in measure, and hire a goldsmith, make them with hands, and bow down and worship them. They lift me up on a frame and walk: but if they put me in my place, they lie there and move below: and even if he cries out to them, they will not hear, and they will not save him from troubles. Convicts despisers (of God) and feeble-minded worshipers of idols and those who sin against the most divine and highest Being. For what belongs to themselves, they transfer their inherent glory to what should not be applied to, transfer it to soulless matter, giving this glory to the works of their own hands and bringing just extreme punishments on their own heads. So, to whom, he says, will you liken me, by nature surpassing everything and rising above everything with incomparable advantages, the Creator of the universe, the king and the Lord? Probably God, saying to those who are mistaken: to whom will you liken me? you see, trick those who are mistaken, he wants to understand something else. For having collected, he says, gold and silver, then hiring a gold smelter, they give the metal the appearance of a man, or a woman, or an animal, say, or cattle, and the substance that has received the form immediately gives the name: God. So, think, he says, who will you liken me to? or man, or woman, or beasts, or dumb animals. Is this not a matter of extreme wickedness? Come up with something to justify yourself, free yourself from your sins. But you will not find an excuse that can excuse you from this. For, relegating the highest nature to the category of beasts and beasts, what excuses can you use that could be sufficient to justify you in crimes? He tries to teach that the creation of idols is nothing more than vanity of thoughts. Therefore, he says very wittily: they collect silver and gold from the bag, put it on the scales, perhaps while everyone brings it, so that God, created by the artist, will justly show greater favor to the one who brings more. I think that everyone would say that if they lacked money, they would not have God at all, and if there were no artists in the world, then they would have no object of worship at all. They have reached such ignorance and unreason that, existing before their gods, they give honor to those who were born later than them, and those who should have been creators themselves are created and masters of matter and those who took it for necessary use ask it for salvation. Having lifted their gods onto their shoulders, they carry them as weights: they see that they are motionless and that everyone carries them wherever they want, and yet they turn to them with prayers. So, if you see that they have accepted the prayer, then expect help from them; but if you see that they remain insensitive and motionless; then what benefit will you get from them? But suffering from the same illness, you don’t notice it; because you have fallen into extreme insensibility. Isa.46:8–11. Remember this and groan, repent, having been deceived, turn in heart and remember, first from all eternity, that I am God, and there is none yet of me: proclaim first the last, before he was, and it came true: and he said: All my counsel will become, and I will create all the things that I have counseled. Call the bird from the east, and from the earth from afar, about these councils: rivers and brought, created and created, brought and prosperous on his path Seeing them immersed in error, darkness and terrible ignorance, God again feels compassion for them and commands them to look back, turning an attentive mental gaze to the events, so that, having experienced evil, they turn to the better, having an incessant memory of the words that were spoken to them, decide to correct themselves and do it not only in words, but from the very heart; for only this way of repentance is the most praiseworthy and true. And that the creation of idols is a matter worthy of laughter, he commands us to learn about this from what he has already said about it. And that He, precisely, is the God of all, He encourages one to be convinced of this from His inherent virtues, which are quite appropriate for a deity: for I, he says, have knowledge of everything and, before anything happens, I proclaim about it, and bring into fulfillment what was foretold. Moreover, I affirm that everything that I decided was accomplished, and nothing that I desired was left undone. And this serves as important proof of irresistible and divine power. For people, even those who have achieved the highest honors and received power as their inheritance, although they strive for some goal and decide to accomplish something; but their plans are not always and not everywhere successfully fulfilled. For at this time many things can happen and serve as an unpleasant obstacle for them. If God wants to do all sorts of things; what can resist and prevent this? For who can destroy what the Holy God wants? And who will turn away the high hand? So, to prove that He is by nature and true God, He could rightly say about Himself: all my council will become and everything that I have done together will be created by me. Then he says: call a bird from the east, and from afar from the earth, about them, and this is followed by: I am. And by the bird called from the east and from a distant land, we mean the Babylonian, who burned the entire Judean country, took Jerusalem and destroyed the church in it; then, having exterminated many of the simple and noble citizens, he took others away from their native country, settling them in the Persian country and land, imposing on them a heavy and unbearable yoke of captivity. And this will be clear to you from what God said to the blessed prophet Ezekiel. And these words are as follows: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak a story and a parable against the house of Israel, and say: This says Adonai the Lord: A great eagle, great-winged, long in length, full of nails, who was commanded to go into Lebanon, and took the chosen cedars, and the tops of the softness of the fort, and brought them to I have placed the land of Canaan in a fenced city. And he took from the seed of the earth and gave it to the fruit of the field, above many waters, the teaching was seen: and the grapes grew weak and small in majesty, and the vine appeared on it, and its roots were under it: and it became grapes, and made rods, and spread out its branches (Ezek. 17: 1-6). Thus spoke God to the blessed prophet Ezekiel. But since His speech was incomprehensible and the essence of his thoughts was not entirely clear to the listeners, He himself again explains it, saying: cry to the house that angers me: do you not know what this is? Tell them: behold, the king of Babylon is coming to Jerusalem, and he will take away his king and his prince, and he will take him to Babylon with him: and he will understand from the king’s tribe, and will make a covenant with him, and will make him swear an oath, and will take the elders of the earth, even if he was weak in the kingdom, and not to be very exalted, but keep his covenant and stand in it ( Ezek.17:12–14). For in the book of Kings we read that after the holy city was destroyed, the Babylonian took Zedekiah in chains to the country of the Chaldeans and with him some of the noble Jews (2 Kings 25: 1-7), and they are the chosen cedar. That’s why he says: “I am, call a bird from the east, about which I spoke, spoke and brought, and I will not lie,” he says. I foretold how this would happen in due time - and what was foretold was fulfilled. I created, that is, I prepared evil, obviously, events that cause sorrow and disasters that occur for those who dishonored My glory and worshiped soulless idols. And he made and brought, and made his way prosperous; for the victory over Israel would not have been the work of his own hands, if God had not been his helper; but I myself, who saves and controls him, showed him the way, so that he would inflict righteous punishment on those who neglected reverence for Himself, even completely removed themselves from Him, so that the honor and glory due to Him alone were given to trees and stones. Isa.46:12,13. Listen to me, you who have lost your heart, who are far from the truth. I have brought My righteousness near, and I will not be far away, and the salvation that comes from Me will not be delayed: I have given salvation to Israel in Zion for glorification. God again proclaims salvation to them and does not allow them to fall into despair, so that they, burdened with immeasurable sadness, do not lose hope that they can be saved, if only they decide to repent. So those who are mistaken are meaningless and the word about them is true. For by what consideration do they arrange those (gods) whom they worship, giving divine honors to trees and stones, and asking them for salvation? But even in this case, God is long-suffering, and even feels compassion for those who are lost, and has mercy on the fallen, and with good promises brings them to their senses and commands them to sober up, and commands those who have strayed far from the truth, that is, from God, to come to Him. But it seems that the promises of the salvation of some people are connected by an indication of universal and universal salvation. He saved from the land of the Chaldeans those who were taken into it as prisoners of war; and this, I think, can be called private assistance; universal help through Christ, which is to be provided in a short time and was promised to the ancients: for those who are near, he says, I will not delay My righteousness and salvation, which is from Me. This, he says, is similar to the saying: It is still a little while, but he who goes will come and will not tarry (Hab. 2:3); salvation was given in Zion to Israel for glorification. In these words Zion means spiritual, that is, the Church of Christ, in which we all who belong to spiritual Israel receive His salvation in glory. For as a Jew, not only one who is a Jew in the flesh, but also everyone who is worthy of circumcision in the spirit; so Israel is called not only those who came from the blood of Israel, but also those who have acquired a mind directed towards God, and who are numbered among the children of Abraham and according to the promise. It is they who we call the truest Israel. Isa.47:1–3. Come down, sit on the earth, maiden, daughters of Babylon: sit on the earth (there is no throne), go into the darkness, daughters of the Chaldeans, for you will not apply to this the title of soft and young. Take the millstones, grind the flour, uncover your veil, uncover your gray hairs, lift up your shins, cross the rivers, your cold will be revealed, your reproaches will appear, I will take away what is righteous from You. Having said: He gave salvation to Israel for glorification and announced their deliverance from captivity, finally, he recalls and clearly tells how (the country of Judea) was taken and devastated and, as if in a picture, depicts the condition of the captives. For, as before, he foreshadowed the military campaign of the Babylonians against the land of Judea, telling about everything in detail and saying: the daughter Zion was exalted from time to time and walked with her neck high and her hair crossed and her feet treading, dragging her robe together (along the length) and playing with her feet. And the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Zion, and the Lord will reveal their shame on that day, and the Lord will take away the glory of their garments and their beauty, and the woven gold (on the head) and the cracked vestments and what follows. Then he adds to this: and instead of a good stench there will be a stench, and instead of a belt you will have girded yourself, and instead of a golden adornment on your head, you will have baldness for the sake of your works, and instead of a scarlet robe you will have girded yourself with sackcloth (Is. 3:16-18,23). So now he shows what the daughters of the Babylonians or their neighbors will endure when the Persians and Medes take them into captivity, saying: come down, sit on the earth, makes it clear that she who once suffered from terrible pride will be humiliated. So come down from the mountain, move from a high opinion of yourself to humility, from glory to dishonor, from effeminacy to harsh labor, from immeasurable wealth to extreme poverty, from freedom to slavery, in a word, from all kinds of pleasures to the worst and most disastrous state. Enter the darkness, obviously as a result of a terrible disaster, For the strong sorrow penetrating the soul, the aspiration of unexpected disasters and the fear that suppresses it like heaviness enslave the mind. And that the time of her former prosperity has passed, she shows by saying: as if you didn’t apply to all this the nickname soft and young. For it is not incredible that the Chaldean women led a pampered life, loved to adorn themselves and attached no small value to the art of dressing. It is also said that the Chaldeans were skilled in military tactics, boasted of gold and (expensive) stones, and loved to flash amazing jewelry even during the most battles. So, he says, you will no longer be called gentle, but willy-nilly you will endure labors inseparable from slavery. You will grind flour, you will be stripped of your head coverings; Obviously, her hair will be in extreme disarray, whereas before it was braided in various ways. Reveal the gray hair, and this will serve as an obvious sign that the winners will reach such cruelty that they will not spare even an old woman. Put up your shins, cross the rivers, your cold will open, your reproaches will appear. For those of them who had already been captured and were being taken from their native country to the country of the victors had to cross rivers during the journey, of course, baring their legs and not observing the modesty characteristic of women in the presence of others, on the contrary, out of necessity, exposing usually hidden members of the body in the presence of many. But we can say that otherwise her shame was revealed and her reproach was discovered when she fell into the hands of the victors and was in a humiliating position, whereas before she lived in luxury and enjoyed prosperity. Then he says: I will take from you what is righteous, that is, I will take from you what you must endure. And what this is, he foretold about it through another of the holy prophets, saying: as you have done, I will do to her (Ezek. 16:59) and again: as you have done, this will be done to you, your reward will be repaid on your head (Abd. 1:15). And nowhere else is it said about everyone who is accustomed to sin: woe to the wicked: for the evil one befalls him according to the work of his hands (Is. 3:11). Isa.47:3,4. I will not deliver you up as a man, says the Lord of hosts, who delivered you, the Holy One of Israel is his name. A speech is inserted about another subject and as if to Israel. God makes a promise that at no time will he deliver into the hands of his enemies and will have mercy on those who have suffered punishments equal to the crimes against him, and even punished beyond this. For He nowhere said about him: Priests, speak in the heart of Jerusalem, comfort her, and, as if her humility has been filled, her sin has been resolved, for she has received her sins from the hand of the Lord (Is. 40:2). Therefore, he says, the Lord who delivered you, whose name is Holy Israel, said that you will not be betrayed to the wicked and merciless people, who obviously once conquered when God was angry with him and deprived him of mercy and love because they betrayed Him and uncontrollably sought to do what was contrary to His divine laws. Isa.47:5–7. Sit down, touched, enter into the darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans, for this you will not be called the fortress of the kingdom. You were angry with my people, you desecrated my inheritance: I breathed into your hand, but you did not give them mercy, you burdened the elder with a yoke and you said: I will forever be a mistress: you did not think of these in your heart, but you remembered the latter. Shows that He always conforms to righteous judgment and sends punishments corresponding to sins. For the crimes of the Babylonians were very numerous, and He accuses them of very great cruelty and inhumanity, showing that it was a proud city, recklessly relying on its own strength, so that it thought that it could never undergo a change for the worse. So when, he says, you are captured, then sit down, touched. Touched instead: thinking, albeit late, about herself in particular. Feel dizzy. For I said that terrible disasters plunge the mind into a kind of darkness and burden the soul like a weight. Ksemu, he says, was not called the fortress of the kingdom. This was the name of Babylon, which had countless inhabitants and a very brave army, capable of repelling an attack if any enemies appeared and attacked those who had power over them. Then he explains what was the reason for the disasters brought upon the Babylonians that befell them as a result of divine wrath, saying: You were angry with my people, you have defiled my heritage: I gave into your hand, but you did not give them mercy. Apparently, he says the same thing through the mouth of Zechariah: I am zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great zeal, and I am angry with the attacking tongues with great wrath: I was angry a little, but they went to evil (Zech. 1:14,15); for sometimes God punishes out of love, and those who do not heed His admonitions and proudly hold their necks towards Him, He disposes through sorrows to submission, or by laying the hands of enemies on them, or by subjecting them to other disasters, just as difficult to cure ulcers, not inferior to the corresponding medicines, are often cured with the help of fire and iron; So, I think, our God who loves goodness, when he sees a soul uncontrollably rushing towards destruction and firmly attached to various vices, heals it with strong sorrows. But those who are chosen to carry out punishment give free rein to their terrible and uncontrollable anger and are carried away beyond what is proper and unbearably burden those who are subject to their power. Therefore, this is a serious crime and God is angry with those who are accustomed to do this. Therefore, this evil must be avoided; and if any of us had to be executors of punishment when God educates; then we must keep in mind meekness, knowing well that the Educator becomes very angry if we inflict upon them punishment beyond measure. “So,” he says, “you did not have mercy on the old man, and you captured them not by your own power, but because I betrayed them.” But you were cruel and ferocious in disposition, and what’s worse than this is that you reached such arrogance that you thought and said that you would have endless power and unshakable power. About those extreme disasters that later happened to you, he says, you did not deign to think or remember. What kind of disasters are these? Obviously, the disasters of captivity and suffering sent to her by God. Isaiah 47:8–10. Now hear this, young, sitting, trusting, saying in your heart: I am, and there are no others, I will not sit as a widow and I will not know orphanhood. Now these two will come to you suddenly in one day, childlessness and widowhood will suddenly come to you, in your magic and in the strength of your magicians, in the hope of your malice: for you have declared: I am, and there are no others: know that the thoughts of these and your fornication will be a disgrace to you. He speaks as if to some accessible and dissolute woman, pampered and partial to clothes. But we mean the following. The Chaldeans had a lot of wise men, whom they called wise men; The Babylonians did everything according to their advice and false predictions. For while pretending that they had an exact knowledge of the future, they did not predict anything sad to the rulers of the earth, on the contrary, only what, apparently, could bring joy to the listeners. So, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that when Cyrus threatened to attack them and made hostile incursions, these false prophets always came to the middle and said that they would very soon defeat him, without any difficulty they would defeat him, get rid of their enemies and would triumph over those lying down. But they (heard) the following words: now listen, young (pampered) one. With these words he condemns the way of life of the Babylonians as effeminate and licentious. They were devoted to ostentation, anointed themselves with the most fragrant ointments, dressed in multi-colored clothes and attached great value to the shine of jewelry, so that the art of dressing was highly valued by them and they competed with each other in beauty. As a result of this, she (the daughter of the Chaldeans) is called pampered. He calls her sitting instead: reigning not only over neighboring, but also over distant peoples. She was trusting, that is, she relied on an immense multitude of warriors, so she said: I am, and there are no others: for she thought that besides her there was absolutely no other like her. But she was deceived in her hope and deviated from the truth. For Cyrus was excited, who brought the Persians and Medes against them, and, having been captured, she was barely convinced that there was another, stronger than her, obviously, the country and land of the Persians and Medes, which made her a widow and childless, although she did not expect that she would ever be subjected to this. For she lost her king, who suffered death there. And she became childless because many of her warriors were exterminated by the swords of the victors, and thus widowhood and childlessness befell her. And this will happen to you, he says, in your magic, and in the strength of your magicians, in the hope of your malice. since, he says, you had a crafty hope in your magic and spells, then for this you became childless and a widow - because you raised your eyebrows high and having a soul filled with arrogance, you imagined that you were better and more powerful than all other countries: for you said that there are no others. So, understand that this thought and fornication will be a disgrace to you. I said before that they called the Magi wise or intelligent. Know, he says, O Babylon, that the wisdom of magicians, or false prophets and spellcasters, your wandering with them will be a disgrace for you. For you fell under the power of your enemies because you placed your trust in those from whom it was impossible to get anything except shame, so that you had empty hope in them. What Vavilovian here calls fornication is not carnal fornication, but their excessive and unbridled removal from God. For (Babylon) is a land of graven figures (Jer. 50:38) and by the deceptions of demons it was as if carried away with full sail. Isa.47:10,11. And you declared with your heart: I am, and there is no other. And destruction will come upon you, and you will not be weighed down, an abyss, and you will fall into the nude: and sadness will come upon you, and you will not be able to be pure; and destruction will come to you suddenly, and you will not be weighted down. Again he accuses her of pride and of the fact that her heart is completely alien to the desire to know that there is nothing durable in people, but that the existence or non-existence of the inhabitants of the earth depends on the beck of the divine; and they, not having risen to the knowledge of this, think that their own superiors can do everything right, and are surprised at those who can do a lot for their well-being. But those who submit to them grab, as it were, a reed rod, for they unexpectedly fall and, beyond all hope, mourn their death. So, since you said in your heart: I am, and there is no other, then the bitter end of such terrible pride will befall you; for destruction will come to you, and do not take it away, that is, your magic will not bring you any benefit in this case; because you will be exposed to something you did not know, and a serious and unexpected disaster will befall you. The abyss will come, and you will fall into nude. This is the same as if he said: a serious and inevitable misfortune; for those who are already falling into the abyss, if it is deep, cannot complete their fall. Sadness will come, and you will not be able to be pure, and destruction will come, and you will not be able to bear it; for the wise men could not know the future at all, but prophesying biasedly and speaking from their hearts, according to what was written (Ezek. 13:2,17), they saw that the outcome of the expected events turned out to be inconsistent with their prophecies. Isaiah 47:12–15. Become now with your magicians and with many of your spells, which you learned from your youth, if they can help you. Thou art weary in thy counsel: may the astrologers of the heavens, looking at the stars, stand now and save thee, and let them tell thee what is to come upon thee. Behold, all those who are proud will burn with fire and will not take their souls out of the flame, until they have burned coals of fire, sit on them. These will help you: you have labored in disbelief from your youth, man has become deceived in himself, but there will be no salvation for you. He laughs and, as it were, mocks the empty fun of the superstition of the Magi, and shows that this is a completely useless activity. For when the soldiers gathered, he says, and Cyrus rebelled against you, and when the enemy army overcame your arrows; then the shield-bearers will weaken and the art of archery will turn out to be completely useless, when the horsemen will fall along with the heavily armed and infantrymen. Become now with your magicians and with many of your spells, which you learned from your youth, if they can help you. Arm the Magi, he says, against the besiegers and contrast the lies of the spellcasters with those experienced in the art of war. But you can’t do it, he says; Thou art weary in thy counsel; for the advice of the wise men, considered wise, brought absolutely no benefit. If you think that my word has departed from the truth, let the astrologers of heaven, looking at the stars, stand now and save you, and let them tell you what they have to come to you. Besides the magicians and spellcasters, I think it was some other category of deceivers. They claimed that some of them knew the rising and setting of the stars, measured the movement of each of them, wherever they were and wherever they came from, and through this false science they were striving to achieve knowledge of the future. So, if they are not liars and if the stars that adorn the firmament fulfill the office of prophets for them; then let them say what will happen. But they, he says, cannot say this, for together with everything else they will be, like brushwood, the work and food of the fire, and none of them will escape this. Then, in some way, mockingly, he condemns the country of Babylon as erring, and says: imashi are coals of fire, that is, hot, burning the people in question when you sit on them. Sitting can mean calmness. These will help you. For if, he says, you decide to seek reassurance in the false predictions of the Magi and in the obsequious speeches of others; then you will find great help in this. Then he speaks to her again. You have been working hard since your youth. Again the expression: you worked must be understood in the sense: you have weakened; for having retreated from God and turned to vanity and submitted to the wickedness of demons from your youth, you have become weak and easily defeated; you did not stock up on the help of the One who alone has the power to save and who is the Lord of hosts. To this he adds: a person is deceived in himself, but you will not be saved. It is as if He said: many people have gone astray due to their inherent weakness, offending God by corresponding betrayals of Him, or by being attached to the flesh, or by suffering from some other passion. But you have reached such wickedness that there is no way of salvation left for you; for extreme crimes are always followed by due and completely appropriate retribution. Isa.48:1–3. Hear this, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and coming out of Judah, swearing by the name of the Lord God of Israel, remembering not with truth, but with righteousness, and holding fast to the name of the holy city, and confirming the God of Israel: The Lord of hosts is his name. I declared the first thing, and it came out of my mouth, and it was heard: suddenly I did it, and it was found. Having finished the speech against the Babylonians. He again turns strong admonitions to the descendants of Israel, seeing that they have completely bowed down and, as if with their whole being, rushed to retreat (from God). For after the death of Hezekiah, who took the royal throne, Manasseh, who was born from him, was a most wicked man and was completely carried away by demonic wickedness and reached such malice, debauchery and committed such wicked deeds that he filled the holy city with churches and idols and placed an abomination in the divine church itself, that is, an idol made instead of God. Therefore, the God of all things accused Jerusalem, saying: Why did my beloved create abominations in my house? Will food vows and holy meat take your wickedness away from you, or will you escape with it? (Jer.11:15). Again in another place: according to the number of your cities there were your gods, O Judah, and according to the number of the roads of Jerusalem to the priest Baal. You say all this to me: and you all speak iniquity to me: says the Lord (Jer. 2:28,29). And when Jeremiah fell to God and offered up prayers for the Israelites, God said: don’t pray for these people and don’t ask to be shown mercy to them, and don’t pray, come to me about them, because I won’t hear you. Do you not see what these people are doing in the cities of Judah and on the roads of Jerusalem? Their sons gather wood, and their fathers kindle the fire, and their wives knead flour, that they may make unleavened bread for the host of heaven, and pour out drink offerings to a strange god, that they may provoke me to anger ( Jer. 7:16–18 ). For, as I said before, Hezekiah's son Manasseh showed divine honors to the heavenly host and wanted to show all respect to the wise men and false prophets, spellcasters and bird-tellers, and even sacrificed some of his children to idols. Therefore, God wanted to turn all Israel, who had fallen into such corruption and wickedness, to the light of truth through constant exhortations. Therefore, he very often addressed them with a word of consolation, so that they would open their minds and free themselves from the demonic darkness, although they could barely and with difficulty know who the Creator of all things and the Lord is. Therefore he says: This house of Jacob will hear that they are called by the name of Israel, and they come out of Judah. Very wisely recalls the nobility of the fathers both in morals and in character traits of those who have shamefully changed. For in the flesh they really came from those, but they became strangers and far from the virtuous life of those, they differ from them both in their way of life and in their way of thinking; they have only one name from those, but are not at all similar in thoughts to those whose nobility they are proud of. And that this does not bring them any benefit, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly showed. For the Jews, thinking highly of the glory of their fathers and making their virtues a subject of boasting, foolishly said: we have a father Abraham, but He says: if the children of Abraham were quicker, the works of Abraham were quickly done (John 8:39). So, for real glory, one name is not enough for those who come from famous fathers, if they are not imitators of their inherent (moral) purity. Therefore, he shames them, saying that they are called by the name of Israel and came from Judah, that is, they were born from the seed of Judah, but are absolutely not like them in anything. Moreover, he charges them with the fact that they swear by the name of the Lord God of Israel and fulfill the commandment of the law (for the One who understands the benefit of oaths says: in His name they are sworn (Deut. 10:20), but not through true and righteous deeds, but through those invented contrary to the law. Then he charges them with the fact that they adhere to the holy city and are confirmed about the God of Israel; for they wanted to raise their eyebrows high because only that they live in the holy and called the city of God; because they heard that the clergy sang in the divine church about Jerusalem: the glorious saying of you, the city of God (Ps. 86:3). Matthew 5:35,36); they swore by Jerusalem, calling it, as he said, the city of God. They leaned on him, saying that their strength was the Lord of hosts. But those who thought that they were in such a position should not have desecrated the city of God with altars and sacrifices and sold themselves to the wickedness of demons and irritate Him in whom they placed their trust against themselves; on the contrary, it was necessary to please Him with good deeds and steadfastness in piety brings Him, as it were, some kind of sacrifice to Him. But hear this, he says. What exactly? I proclaimed the previous one, and it came out of my mouth, and it was heard: suddenly I created it, and it was found: because, as I said before, the hater of God Manasseh, collecting so-called soothsayers and bird-tellers from everywhere, always tried to find out the future from them, and, carried away by their empty speeches, probably thought that they clearly foresaw it; then the God of all says: I told you the former things, and none of the other false gods told you about this; but this came out of my mouth. And it was heard: and suddenly I created it, and found it, that is, if you had not expected that it would come to fruition; then you would have learned about this from the very events and experience itself, because I created and found. It seems that by the previous disaster he means the disaster that befell them as a result of that war, when they were taken away from their native country and, having submitted to the bitter yoke of slavery, were taken to the country of Persia and Media. The second disaster after this happened to them when, as a result of divine wrath, the Babylonians struck them down, as we have already spoken about many times. Isa.48:4,5. We know that you are cruel, and your neck is iron, and your forehead is copper. And I told you, even of old, before you came to you: I heard what I did to you. In these words he reveals how inexplicably compassionate the Supreme Being is and what mercy He shows to people, although many of them constantly insulted Him; for It possesses mercy equal to His glory, and It is both distinguished by immeasurable superiority over mortals and possesses incomparable love for mankind. For look, although It knows that Israel is cruel and has a proud and indestructible neck, so that it seems sinewy, that is, hard and unyielding, its forehead is copper, that is, it has again lost the ability to blush and be embarrassed and has lost all modesty; however, It foreshadowed the future for him and before he came, he heard it do. And it was not in vain that he did so. But since they had a heart that was not receptive to admonition; then He gave prophecies about disasters, so that they, a little shaken by fear, would lag behind the shameful and most disgusting life and feel the disposition to strive for the best and, leaving the damnable and most vile service that they performed to false gods, decided to worship the One by nature and true God. For those whom the word does not turn away from shameful deeds are sometimes held back by fear against their will. It seems that this is what the divine David instills in us, singing and saying to the Savior of all God: with a bridle and a bridle you will bind their jaws, those who do not come near you (Ps. 31:9). Isa.48:5–11. Yes, not when you say, as if you have created these idols for me, and not when you say, as if you have commanded me, sculptured and merged. You have heard this (ταυτα) and you have not understood: but you have also heard that new things have been done to you from now on, even as they were: and you did not say: now they are, and not before, and not in the days of old did you hear this: do not say: this, we know this. You did not know, you understood below, you opened your ears from the very beginning; For my name’s sake I will show you my wrath, and I will bring my glorious wrath upon you, so that I will not consume you. Behold, I did not sell you for money; I took you out of the cave of misery. For my sake I will do it, because my name is defiled, and I will not give my glory to anyone else. In the speeches of the prophet Jeremiah, we find that after the Babylonians took the holy city, devastated all of Judah, and took Israel into captivity, the remaining women, along with the surviving Israelites, wanted to go to Egypt, and when the prophet opposed this and persuaded them to stay at home and explained the reason for this, they cried out against this, saying: when the Lord gave incense to the queen of heaven, all misfortunes came upon us these (Jer.44:18). For they thought that they had been captured because they had offended the false gods and, having lost their help, had fallen under the feet of their enemies. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah said to God: Lord, your eyes see in faith, you beat them, and without being hurt, you crushed them, and did not want to accept punishment (Jer. 5:3). Therefore, he says, when I told you about what happened before it happened, you should not say again that you have created these idols for me. What have you done? Το that he was exposed to disasters as a result of the war. It was not because of their anger that you were taken into captivity, nor because you rejected help from them that they brought inevitable punishment on you; for they are sculptured and merged; Do not also tell yourself, he says, that the idols commanded me, instead: they threatened, or foretold that I would be subjected to such disasters. You have heard this from Me, and you are foolish, that is, you have not come to your senses and have not become wise. For we affirm that this is precisely what understanding consists of; because it would be a smart thing and the fruit of admirable prudence to prevent what was predicted, not to expect disasters to come, but to avoid all wrath and punishment. For the predictions were given by God even before the events took place. So, do not say that you did not hear this before, nor in former days; for I foretold this from the beginning. They are not, as we all know, through false prophets and deceivers. You did not know, you understood below, you first looked at your ears, that is, before my words were uttered, I made it known to you, but through another; but I brought to pass what was prophesied; I know that I have rejected you, and have been called a lawless man from the womb. And those who act treacherously and love iniquity, and this from their mother’s womb (for from childhood they learned to serve other gods), must undergo the punishments they deserve. I will show you my wrath, for my name’s sake, and I will bring my glorious wrath upon you, so that I will not consume you. For it was necessary to show anger against Israel, proud, attached to all uncleanness and not at all thinking of giving honor to God. But in order for him to again see the greatness of the love of mankind characteristic of God, wonderful deeds are added to the disasters, so that they (the Israelites) do not perish. For He rescued them from the hand of their enemies and delivered them from the bonds of captivity, so that Israel would not completely perish. Behold, I did not sell you for the sake of silver, that is, not for the sake of money, because I did not demand anything like that from you and did not need anything earthly, nor the slaughter of bulls, sheep and goats, but because you sinned and did not care about the honor and glory due to Me from you. I took you out, he says, from the cave of misery; because he was in bondage to the Babylonians; and the necessary consequence of the disasters of slavery is that they fall into a lack of every good. For my sake I will do it, because My name is defiled; for the victors thought that although God wanted to save them and protected them, they defeated Him and, contrary to His will, received dominion over those whom He helped. Therefore, he says, my name is defiled when they have such a concept about Me. But I will not give My glory to anyone else: and the glory of God is to save and have mercy and rule over everyone and without difficulty bring to fruition what He wants to do. Isa.48:12,13. Listen to Me, Jacob and Israel, to whom I call: I am the first, and I am forever. And My hand is the foundation of the earth, and My right hand is the foundation of the heavens. Again he brings to mind the honor and glory shown to them, and, moreover, mercy and love. For they were awarded the highest honors, alone of all peoples were called to communicate with him and became his inheritance and heritage. Therefore, the divine Moses once proclaimed to the Israelites, saying: Behold, the Lord your God is heaven, and heaven is heaven, and yet the Lord has chosen you out of all nations to be His people (Deut. 10:14): and again: when you have divided the languages ​​on high, as the sons of Adam have scattered, you have set boundaries for the languages ​​according to the number of the angels of God. And Jacob his people became the portion of the Lord: his inheritance was Israel (Deut. 32:8,9). For those who were so honored by Him, received a glorious and excellent name, chosen into His inheritance, enriched with advantages, should not have had a disposition towards what is contrary to the law, should not have decided to upset the Benefactor and Giver of all honor to them by illegal rebellion and the Distributor of such chosen and desired benefits. But they, pathetic ones, not taking any of this into account, entered the swamp of idolatry and, leaving the true God, served the elements of the world. But despite this, He still shows compassion towards them; for he calls them to obedience with the words: listen to My voice, and to the determination to do what was best from ancient times, in order to have inviolable well-being. Although it is now late, He still commands them to do this, so that they can escape punishment and be freed from the bonds of slavery imposed on them. But since they worshiped the heavenly army and, leaving the Creator, gave divine honors to what He called into existence, He again guides them in secret. For, as blessed Paul said, you must be a teacher for the sake of years, since you demand to learn what writing began the words of God: and quickly require milk, and not strong food (Heb. 5:12). And that He is this One, exists first of all and has endless existence, God in nature, this is shown by saying: I am the first and I am forever. And who can imagine something existing before the first? For just as it is impossible to imagine an early beginning existing before the true and first beginning; So we don’t think of anyone else being the first, earlier than this First. Therefore, the God of all is always and first and to endless ages; for He who has no beginning, for what purpose will he ever cease to exist? And this is what is said here about divine glory. And a horde of false gods, or the elements of the world, just as they cannot be thought of first, they certainly cannot exist forever. For the stars, the sun and the moon, and the sky itself, were brought into being and received beginning and being and will one day cease to exist; and in them no one can notice anything that is not completely subordinate to the glory of the divine and most perfect Being. And that such an explanation does not deviate from the truth, he immediately showed by saying: My hand is the foundation of the earth, and my right hand is the foundation of the heavens. But how can that which is created compete for equality with Him who created it, and how can it compete in glory with Him who created it? Therefore, it shows that it is extremely senseless and worthy of all condemnation to worship a creature instead of the Creator and abandon Him. Who always exists and is the First, to assimilate the name of the true God to those created in time and to his own products; for you will bow down to those who have made their fingers, according to what is written (Is. 2:8). God the Father calls the Son His hand and right hand. For we will find that He is so called in many places of inspired Scripture. So, for example, the divine Moses said: thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength: thy right hand, O Lord, hath crushed the enemies (Ex. 15:6); blessed David: let your hand be strengthened, and your right hand be exalted (Ps. 89:14). Isa.48:14. I will call, and there will be a crowd, and they will all gather and hear: who will tell them this? I would like, he says, having gathered them, to ask them a question so that they can clearly say: who do they truly consider to be the seer or herald of what unexpectedly befell them, that is, the disaster resulting from the war? But it turns out that none of the false prophets foretold this, although they strenuously begged the gods and some reached the point of exhaustion - and were inspired by demons. But there was no foreknowledge of the future either among unclean spirits or soulless substances transformed into gods. Thus, absolutely none of those who were revered as gods foretold the future. But I announced every event in detail through the holy prophets, so that disasters could be avoided and the snare could be freed; but you slept, waiting for the onset of the most disasters, testifying to the truth of my words. So, what benefit do you get from the Magi? What profit do you have from false prophets? What could the hordes of those who practiced bird divination find out? Those who are in charge of the churches of idols and are at unclean altars, for the most insignificant price, sell the lies that they utter from their hearts, as if from God, and to those who come to them they spew out their fiction for a handful of barley and for a piece of bread, according to what was spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 13:19). Isa.48:14–16. Loving you, I will do your will over Babylon to take away the Chaldean tribe. I have spoken, I have called, I have brought, and his path will prosper. Come to Me and hear this, from the first you do not stop saying: when I was, I was there, and now the Lord has sent me and His Spirit. Again he tries to deviate them from the wrong opinion. For it is very plausible that those who had a mind not subject to the influence of education and very susceptible to treason and easily caught in the nets of deception thought and said that they had to suffer the disasters of war as a result of perhaps the wrath of their false gods, when the decent and proper worship was neglected and sacrifices were unacceptable to them, but that they would again have mercy on the suffering and deliver them from the disaster that befell them due to their anger. And this thought has nothing incredible in it. For we have already shown before that when Jerusalem was devastated and all of Judea was burned along with the church, then the remaining women said that this happened to them because they stopped making sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. So, so that they would recognize the Savior and bring gratitude for salvation not to other gods, but to Him, He very clearly says how He, moved by compassion and love, commanded that what was desired and very pleasant for them to be done, so that, obviously, the seed of the Chaldeans would be destroyed, because they defeated them and showed all inhumanity in relation to them and subjected them to these disasters. Therefore, I was inflamed with love for you, in order to carry out what was pleasing to you in relation to the country of Babylon, to take away the seed of the Chaldeans. Then he says about Cyrus that he was brought by His wave and called to devastate this country and to conquer it by force. I brought and prospered his way; I spoke about this from the beginning, and did not stop, I clearly foretold it through the holy prophets. The Lord says to my anointed Cyrus, I will hold his right hand, subdue the tongues before him, and I will destroy the fortress of kings (Is. 45:1). So, I did not speak about him in secret and not in a hidden place, but I brought and called and prospered his path. And he did not only speak, but also helped the one who did what was pleasing to you and in accordance with your desire, overthrowing the power of the Chaldeans and making the one who destroyed them omnipotent and indestructible, so that this was done rather not by the hand of Cyrus, but by My all-powerful right hand, when I brought punishment on them for their fury against you, or better yet, for exorbitant inhumanity and unbridled cruelty, for I said: I breathed into your hand, but you gave them no mercy (Is. 47:6). Then between these words he inserts the words of Cyrus himself, confessing that God aroused him and made him irresistible and the conqueror of the power of the Babylonians: now, he says, the Lord has sent me, and His Spirit. Word: now he believes instead: even though what happened was not foretold by God, but now the Lord confessed that God aroused him and crowned him with glory through the fact that he defeated the Babylonians. For when Cyrus learned from the Jews living in Babylon that God had spoken about him in the books of the holy prophets, how he would one day come and conquer the land of the Chaldeans by force and free Israel from captivity: then, as he says, when the books themselves were shown to him, they brought him into such a frame of mind that in his decrees he called the God of Israel Lord and Most High. In the first book of Ezra it is written thus: in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled from the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord raised up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, and commanded him to preach throughout his whole kingdom, and in writing, saying: This saith Cyrus the king of Persia: “The Lord of Israel, the Most High, has made me king of the world,” 163 and he commanded Me, that I may build him a house in Jerusalem, which is also in Judea. He who is among you of all his people, and his God will be with him, and let him who is in Judah go up to Jerusalem, and let him build a house for the God of Israel, who is the God who is in Jerusalem (1 Ezra 1:1-3). So if you, he says, do not believe that it was not through false gods, but through Me, that what happened became known to you before it happened; then listen to Cyrus, who says that the Lord has sent me and His Spirit. Isa.48:17–20. Thus says the Lord, who delivered you, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who taught you to find the way you should not walk. And if you had obeyed My commandments, then peace would have been like your river, and your righteousness like a wave of the sea, and your seed would have been like sand, and the offspring of your belly like the dust of the earth: if you are consumed now, your name will perish before Me. Get out of Babylon, run away from the Chaldeans. Again he tries to make their thoughts firm and give their minds a good direction, so that they know the real and true God, and reveals to them his glory, so that they are not carried away by the words of those who are mistaken into vain things, that is, to think and philosophize that they are helped by false gods who do not exist at all. Therefore, as I think, he says: I am your God, because the word: I am means: I exist. He announced this to the wise Moses, saying: I am He, for the God of all in the proper sense and truly is He, and everything that He brought into being, although it can be called existing, is only because it was created and received the beginning of existence. Therefore he says: Thus says the Lord, who delivered you, the Holy One of Israel; I am your God. But, O Lord, I think one of the descendants of Israel would say, You delivered and saved us, snatched us from fire and punishment, from yoke and slavery and from the barbarian hand, obviously as omnipotent and with a single wave of Your will, as the One who creates everything that He desires; but how are we, who were under your care and love and always boasting of having a helper in you, brought to such a disaster that we fell under the feet of our enemies and, born free from the free beyond our expectations, became slaves? How does God respond to this? Teach you how to find the way for you, and you will not follow the same path. I have laid down a law for you, it says, which determines what you should do, knows how to direct you to what is most pleasant for me, indicates the path to truth, instructs you in piety, leads you to the straight path, which, if you only wanted to fulfill it, you would come to the point that you would be an actual and true servant and beautifully crowned with the beauties of virtue. But you did not take the straight road and, leaving the beaten path, turned, as it were, to what is contrary to the law. You served the heavenly army, made sacrifices to idols, worshiped gods who are not gods, forgot the Creator, and considered the law He gave for nothing. For if you were obedient to my commandments, then you would be like your river of peace, and your righteousness like a wave of the sea, and by this He wants to point out the following. He says that when heavy rainfall falls in the mountains, its streams rush down with terrible and uncontrollable force, so that nothing can resist their swiftness. I think that the above is very clear. For the blows of the waves of the sea are terrible and terrible not only for sailors and heavily laden ships, but sometimes even for the rocks themselves; for they too are broken when the waters hit them with terrible force. So, he says, if you were obedient to My words and made your mind submissive, then your peace would be like a river and waters; irresistible to enemies or those who want to attack you. Or maybe there is another way to explain it. To show the abundance of the world and its constancy, he compares it with a river and waves, with a river that is always flowing and rushing quickly, with waves that are always rising and constantly hitting the shore. And your seed would be like sand, the offspring of your womb would be like the dust of the earth. As if he were saying this: since no one would draw the sword and the hand of the enemy would not destroy anyone; then you would be fruitful and innumerable, so that your children would be like sand and dust. But since you acted impudently towards God and insulted Him immeasurably, rushing towards everything vile; then you have greatly diminished and have no increase, increasing into a multitude of kind. But, despite this, the consumption is now lower; for yet the remnant of Israel is still preserved. God Himself said that it would never be completely eradicated, for the sake of the promise given to the fathers. Then he says: get out of Babylon, run away from the Chaldeans. This is a royal command that frees Israel from captivity. For as rulers of the earth and those who own royal thrones, they give liberation to those who work on the earth, expressing this with a humane gesture and word; So God involuntarily gave a humane command to all those who were tormented and said clearly: come out, so that they may recognize the Savior and the Giver of all joy to them. Isa.48:20–22. Proclaim the voice of joy, and let it be heard, proclaim even to the last of the earth, saying: The Lord deliver his servant Jacob. And if they are thirsty, he will lead them through the desert and bring water out of the rock for them: the rock will loosen, and the water will flow out, and my people will drink. The wicked shall not rejoice, says the Lord. There is no doubt that everything that God has created is worthy of wonder; but these are more excellent than His other works and have the highest glory. Silence about them brings harm to those who will be deprived of knowledge about them, and knowledge about them will bring them no small benefit. For from them one can recognize His ineffable glory and superiority over everything, and His high hand and omnipotent right hand. For He delivered Israel out of Egypt; but in order for the splendor of His works to be revealed, so that His glory would become known to those living throughout the whole earth, Pharaoh was taken as a mediator, like a kind of vessel, so that, opposing the words spoken through Moses, he would finally cause God to reveal His own glory to everyone and show the greatness of His immeasurable power. For it was said to him: for this very reason I have stirred you up, that I may show my strength in you, and that my name may be preached throughout all the earth (Ex. 9:16). This happened to the ancients, but it happened for our teaching, and in them the end of the age reached (1 Cor. 10:11). So, the deliverance of Israel from Babylon should not have passed in silence; on the contrary, it should have been preached everywhere. Therefore he says: proclaim the voice of joy. We say that the voice of joy is the doxology that someone would make, praising Him for such great and glorious deeds. This is, in its own sense, truly joy, a voice befitting the righteous, who tend to glorify. Therefore, the divine David sings and says: the voice of joy and salvation in the villages of the righteous (Ps. 118:15). He wants to have a voice, a narrative about the deliverance of Israel, which was in the book of psalms. It is this: Thou didst favor, O Lord, Thy land, Thou didst return the captivity of Jacob. You have forsaken the iniquities of your people, you have covered all their sins (Ps. 84:2,3). For, although these words contain an indication of spiritual events, they are useful and understood in a historical sense. And he promises that if, while passing through the desert, they felt thirsty; then he would bring water out of the stone for them: the stone would loosen, and the water would flow out, and my people would drink. We affirm that He in these words shows that it was not another God who freed Israel from the cruelty of the Egyptians, and brought them across the middle of the sea, and provided food in the desert, and brought water out of the rock, but He Himself, who always remains the same and can perform miracles equal to the ancients. For if they were passing through the desert and felt the lack of drink and water; then the same ancient sign would have been shown to them and water would have been drawn out of the stone. But it is not clear that this happened while the Israelites were returning from Babylon to Judea. But, as I said, this is said in this consideration, so that they know that the ancient God still exists, has the same power, can perform equally great miracles, has unshakable power, as if crying out and issuing a universal law: the wicked shall not rejoice, says the Lord. And this is true. For the face of the wicked is always sad, because their heart seems to be tormented by sorrow, and their soul is burdened with the convictions of their conscience; for they do not expect crowns, not glorious honors, but, on the contrary, fire and punishment, which are prepared for sinners. Or perhaps this saying can also be applied to the Babylonians. For they rejoiced when they captured the people of God, and thought that they had taken possession of Judah, having overcome His right hand; but they deviated from the truth; because some turned out to be guilty of crimes and therefore lost His care, while others were cruel, insensitive and, not knowing compassion, brought upon themselves worthy punishments and lost joy, having a worried face and a dejected soul. For they should have rejoiced not in the fact that they had once defeated the Israelites, but in the fact that the wicked perished in an evil way and, when their country was destroyed, experienced all the bitterness of sorrow. Isa.49:1–3. Listen to me, O islands, and listen, O Gentiles. For a time many will stand, says the Lord: from my mother’s womb you will call my name, and put my mouth like a sharp sword, and hide me under the shelter of your hand: put me like a chosen arrow, and hide me in your body, and say to me: You are my servant to Israel, and in you I will be glorified. Having communicated what was beneficial to Israel with so many admonitions and instructions, he turns the mystery to a host of pagans and again clarifies to them the mystery of Christ, through whom they, having left their bestial and unclean life, were raised to a life acceptable to Him and to receive into their minds the true light, so as to clearly know who is by nature and truly God and the ruling being. over everything. He calls out to the islands, which, we think, are the Churches of Christ, as if lying in the middle of the sea, that is, the turmoil of real life, and surrounded by unbearable blows of the waves, that is, persecutions and dangers that are inflicted on them by the enemies of the truth and opponents of the calling of God. Such islands are spoken of many times in the Holy Scriptures, as blessed David sings in one place: The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands rejoice (Ps. 97:1); since when Christ reigned over the heavenly places, taking everything under his arm and tearing it away from the power of demons, then they rejoiced, that is, the Churches throughout the whole earth were filled with joy. That the prophet, by naming the islands here, points to the Churches of the pagans. This is clear from what follows, for to the words: listen to me islands, he immediately added: listen to the Gentiles. He further says that for a time many will stand, says the Lord. It proclaims, as I said, the appearance of the Savior of us all, Jesus Christ, and that, being God, the Word deals with those living on earth in an image similar to us. However, that then there was a time of prophecy, but not the manifestation of things itself, this is revealed by saying: the time will stand for many, obviously announced and prophesied. And what it consists of, the very face of the Savior is introduced to those who speak about this: from the womb I called my mother my name. With these words he directly connected a deep and great mystery, requiring secret guidance from above; for this was revealed to the divine Peter (Matthew 16:17). The Word was and is God, equal in glory and one-throne with God and the Father, co-existing with Him and co-eternal. The names before the incarnation were in some way corresponding to His nature: God, wisdom, light, life, power, and besides these others, which are found in sacred writings. But when It brought Himself down to humiliation, becoming in the likeness of humanity and being found in the likeness of man (Phil. 2:7), then it takes on a common name, that is, Christ and Jesus or God With Us 164, since with us means: in what concerns us 165. Thus it is written: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). Also, blessed Gabriel, revealing the secret to the Most Holy and Virgin Mother of God, says: Do not be afraid, Mariam: for you have found grace with God: and behold, you conceived in your womb, and gave birth to a son, and called his name Jesus (Luke 1:80,81)... for he will save his people from their sin (Matthew 1:21). So, did the blessed Angel and the prophet really utter verbs that are dissimilar to each other? Far from it, the divine Prophet, speaking mysteries in the spirit, foretold God who became with us, calling Him so by nature and dispensation with the flesh. And the blessed Angel gave Him a name according to his effectiveness, for He saved His people, therefore He was called a savior. So the armies of angels, when He suffered for us to be born according to the flesh, preached the Nativity to the shepherds, saying: Do not be afraid, for this day we bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people, for today the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, has been born (to you) in the city of David ( Luke 2:10,11). So, Emmanuel (called), because this God by nature became with us, that is, man; Jesus, because he had to save the heavenly places, Himself being God and becoming man. When in this way he came from his mother's womb, for he was born of her according to the flesh, then His name was called. Therefore, the name of Christ was not according to God the Word before birth, I mean according to the flesh, for he who was not yet anointed, how could he be called Christ? And when he came from the mother’s womb as a man, then he receives a name similar to being born according to the flesh. It is said further that His mouth is like a sharp sword. This is also true; for nowhere is it written about Him, but rather the prophet Isaiah himself says: And he will be girded with righteousness about his waist, and entwined with truth on his side, and with the spirit of his lips he will kill the wicked (Is. 11: 4-5). And truly, the divine and heavenly preaching, that is, the gospel, spoken by the mouth of Christ, became a piercing and sharpest sword (Heb. 4:12 against the power of the devil, destroying the rulers of this darkness 166 and the spirits of malice (Eph. 6:12): He dispelled the darkness of deception and sent down into the hearts of all the light of the true knowledge of God; transformed heavenly places to a godly life and made everyone lovers of pure morals; he took away the sin of the world, justifying by faith the ungodly and filling those who come to Him with the Holy Spirit, revealing them to be the sons of God, putting into them a strong and victorious spirit, and giving them the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:14), so that, opposing those who once ruled, they would rush to them. honors of the highest rank, without any obstacle. And that instruction and secret teaching through Christ destroyed the power of the devil among those living on earth, the prophet Isaiah announces this in the words: on that day the Lord will bring the great holy sword against the dragon of the evil serpent, and will kill the dragon (Is. 27:1). But he added that even under the roof of his hand I hid me. Speaks in a humanlike manner; however, it is not difficult for the prudent to see from these words that the Son exists inseparably from God the Father and that the Son became man. He is, it is said, under the roof of His right hand, in order to thereby indicate that His divine nature is inalienably and irresistibly preserved with Him, although He appeared in our nature; for no one can prevail against the all-powerful right hand. But the word is separated, as I said, by the nature of humanity. The Omnipotent One, who is from God the Father, the Word, is Himself the Lord of hosts; but since he became a man, the Father, without degrading the significance of the sacrament, leaves Him to the economy and speaks about Him through the lyre of the psalmist: nothing will the enemy have time to attack him, and the son of iniquity will not try to embitter him. I will cut off his enemies from before him, and I will overcome those who hate him: and my truth and my mercy are with him (Ps. 89:23,24). See from here, see that in the voice of the prophet he speaks in a human form, for our sake and adapting to us: under the roof of his hand he hides me. Lay me down, he continues, like a chosen arrow, and hide me in his body. There were numerous arrows of God, for a certain time, as if in a tula (quiver), hidden in His foreknowledge and sent at the appropriate time for each. But set the chosen and above all the arrow of Christ, hidden, as I said, in the foreknowledge of the Father, as if in a bullet, for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, (1 Pet. 1:20), and then brought into the middle (of the earth), when it was necessary to visit the whole earth, which had fallen into disaster and destruction through the service of the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25), through submission to unclean spirits and entanglement networks of sin. This chosen arrow strikes, as I said, Satan himself and the evil forces with him; it also strikes the enemies of truth and the wicked opponents of His sacred preaching. But it also hurts in another way, precisely for the benefit and salvation, as the stricken bride says in the song of songs: for I am wounded by love (Song. 2:5). The Father said, “It is obvious to me: You are my servant to Israel, and in you I will be glorified.” O the depth of the wealth and wisdom and mind of God! according to what is written (Rom. 11:33). The Son was and is free, as ineffably born from the Essence reigning over all; and yet I heard the Father saying: You are my servant. So, free by nature, the Word becomes a slave through the dispensation of the body or the mind according to the flesh, so that again you understand His birth from a woman in time according to the flesh. And He called Him Israel because in the flesh He came from the blood of Israel. But in you, he says, I will be glorified. The God of all was glorified through the holy prophets, but not in them, but in Christ - wonderfully and unusually, for he was glorified in Him (and not through Him only). When Christ is glorified, the Father in Him is glorified. Thus we see Him (the Father) shining in Him (the Son) through divine virtues, and power, and effectiveness in absolutely everything, and through sanctification, and truth, and complete meekness, for in this way the Divinity becomes spiritually visible (to people). So Christ Himself said: He who saw me saw My Father (John 14:9). The wise Paul also said that in the face of Christ He who begat Him is glorified (Rom. 15:9 cf. Heb. 5:5; 1 Pet. 4:1). Therefore, in you, he says, I will be glorified, for every tribe will worship the Son and those who were manifested in the flesh, as it is written, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 1:10,11). Isa.49:4. I said: I labored in vain, I gave my strength in vain and for nothing: for this reason is my judgment before the Lord and my labor before my God. The Savior of all appeared in order to save the whole of heaven from the cruelty of the devil, death and sin and to illuminate those who come to Him through faith with sacred gifts. The descendants of Israel are called to this, and moreover, before others. Thus, they are preferred to the pagans, so that Christ Jesus says: I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). But they, having accepted such a glorious and considerable honor, turned out to be unbelievers, and daring apostates, and arrogant, cruel and arrogant. And while they should have eagerly come to grace and be enriched by the benefits flowing from it, they by no means did this, but resisted the One who called to salvation, recklessly reviling Him, and blaming Him uncontrollably, and shamelessly saying something terrible about Him, and finally crucified Him. So, as for the stubbornness of unbelievers and the accusations brazenly invented by them, the Savior labored in vain, and in vain, and gave His strength for nothing; for, as I said recently, foolish Israel did not tolerate His holy preaching, did not honor His work. And the difficulty for the word was that It became like us and suffered human humiliation. But my judgment *, he says, is before the Lord, and my work is before my God. Knew, ** says, the Father the labors that I bore for their salvation; therefore the judgment was pronounced by Him. What was the trial like? They were cut off from communion with Him, rejected from being the people of God, they became not partakers of salvation from Him, they remained without tasting the hopes of the saints, and in their place many pagans were called. And instead of their shepherds, others were ordained - righteous, and God-loving, and diligent in holy deeds, and able to lead nations, luminaries in the world, holding the word of animals, as the all-wise Paul says (Phil. 2:15,16). If you want to know the judgment of the Father or the sentence over them, listen to what the Savior says to the Jewish teachers: a certain man was a housekeeper, and he planted grapes, and made a stronghold for him, and a grinder for stone in him, and made a pillar, and was a laborer and a laborer. Then he says: his servant sent his ambassador to accept the fruits, and everyone was in danger. When he finally sent the Son, and having seen him, he said, deciding within himself: This is the heir: come, let us kill him and keep his inheritance. And killed. After this parable was told, the Lord says again: when the lord of the grapes comes, what will the worker do? They answered Him: The wicked will destroy them with evil, and the grapes will be betrayed by another worker, and they will reward him with the fruit in their own time. And to this Christ says: For this reason I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the tongue that produces its fruits (Matthew 21:38-43), which has actually been brought to pass. Other stewards of the helicopter cities and wise farmers, that is, divine disciples, were appointed. With them, the clouds sent down rain for us, although they were commanded to no longer irrigate the Jewish vineyard. With them it is no longer thorns, but Christ gathered a bunch, for we are taught to say: The Lord will give goodness and our land will give its fruit (Ps. 84:13, Ps. 67:6). Someone could say that in another way the work of the Son appeared in the eyes of the Father and righteous judgment was carried out. For this, consider again the meaning of the word (prophetic), taking into account the economy, which the wise Paul himself explains to us by saying that the son, being in the image of the Father and in equality with Him, was not equal to God by the admiration of Nepsche, but he diminished himself and became obedient to the Father even to the point of death, death on the cross; and for this reason He is highly exalted, and the name is given to Him above every name, that at His name every knee should bow (Phil. 2:9-11). He was and is the Word - God. After He was called man, and truly became such, He ascended into glory with the flesh; He knew that He was God and did not work in vain. This image of economy served Him to glory, since He did not devote Himself to anything useless and strange, but revealed Himself as the Savior and Redeemer of the heavenly places, which, being known, prepared heaven and earth and even the underworld for His worship. Isa.49:5–6. And now thus says the Lord, who created me from the womb to be his servant, and to gather together Jacob and Israel to him: I will gather unto him and glorify myself before the Lord, and my God will be my strength. And I said: It is great for you to call yourself my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and reverse the dispersion of Israel. We think that here is no less (than in the previous one; the Lord Jesus Christ Himself uses such humanoid sayings, although He reveals to a greater degree the great mystery of piety (1 Tim. 3:16) and clearly presents an image of humiliation. Pay attention to how He Who is by nature and truly autocratic (God the Father), created, it is said, Him as His servant, however from the womb. Not The Word, he says, not yet incarnated and not incarnate, brought Himself into a state of slavery, with the good will of God and the Father; but from the womb, that is, when He was born in the flesh from a woman. Then God by nature and free, as being from God and the free Father, He accepted the form of a slave or creation (having created me a slave). And truly, no one, if it makes sense, would say that by nature itself. what is slavish is converted or created into slavery, but on the contrary, one who has surpassed slavery and yoke and is distinguished by the virtues of natural freedom can naturally take on the form or state of a slave. That being free, the Son determined Himself to do this voluntarily, how can anyone doubt this, if Paul says that He abides in the form of God and does not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but out of equality and likeness in everything, He did not involuntarily descend into the form of a slave and became like men (Phil. 2:6-8). The Godhead was with Him; and, nevertheless, when introducing the didrachms, He revealed Himself to us as a slave, but not involuntary, but by nature and truly free. When the tax collectors asked the divine Peter whether Christ would bring the didrachm along with the others or would reject the payment, then the Lord said to him: from whom do the kings of the earth accept tribute, or kinson? From your own sons, or from strangers? After the disciple expressed the truth, for kings of course collect taxes from strangers, he says: for they are free, they are their sons: but let us not seduce them when they go to sea, cast a line, and if you have a fish before, take it: and you opened its mouth, and you found a statir: give it to them for me and for you (Matthew 17:24-27). So, he who is free by nature is created into a slave according to the economy, when he was born from his mother’s womb according to the flesh, for that was the time corresponding to a certain (eternal) period of humiliation. And that He was created in the image of a servant, He confirmed this by saying: He is the brother of Jacob and Israel. Being God, the Word did not descend into our state for any other purpose than to save Israel and gather Jacob; for the inventor of all depravity plunged all those who exist on earth into manifold and manifold sin. He completely alienated some from the Creator, forcing them to submit to themselves and unclean spirits and placing on them the inevitable yoke of sin and completely removing them from the knowledge of Him who is by nature God - the Lord of all. And others who had the law of Moses as a guide in proper matters, he made careless and lazy, leading them to everything indecent, namely: to attach very little importance to the law, but to live mostly according to their own willfulness and teach the doctrine of the commandment of men (Matthew 15:9). When Christ appeared to the world, then through faith it was gathered into one, right and irreproachable agreement that which Satan had scattered, and those who had anciently withdrawn from the love of God flocked to Him, and, sweeping far back the cause of enmity, sin, before caring for good deeds, they have peace towards Christ. The divine prophets also exhorted them to willingly go to this end. So Isaiah says: let us make peace for him, let us make peace for those who come (Is. 5:7). The divine disciples also cried out: let us therefore serve according to Christ, as I pray to God, we pray according to Christ: be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20). We make reconciliation with God when we come to Christ through faith, as the most sacred Paul again says: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19), for in Christ the world is reconciled to God. So, He reveals the ministry of incarnation when He says that He was created as a servant by the Father from the womb, in order to gather Israel and Jacob. And if anyone says that these words refer to the Jewish people, he will not move away from the purpose of the prophecy, for Christ said nowhere: I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). If anyone wants to call Israel and Jacob all those saved through faith, then it will be good and so, if it is true that not only one who is actually a Jew, nor one who is actually in the flesh, circumcision can only be called circumcision, but rather, who is a Jew in secret and has the circumcision of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter (the letter), his praise is not from man, but from God ( Rom.2:28–29). If, therefore, a Jew is one who also has circumcision in the spirit, then none of these (circumcised only in the flesh) should be called Israel and Jacob. Among the speech (of the Savior) are words from the faces of those called through faith and proclaiming that I will gather to Him and be glorified before the Lord, and my God will be my strength; for at the same time, as God commands this to be, it seems that following what is said here comes the fulfillment of the definite. However, not all of Israel was saved, but some did not believe due to their depravity, not accepting the grace of the gospel instructions. But along with the remnant, a multitude of pagans were also called, who were made children of Abraham, so that in all respects, that is, regarding the economy, the purpose of the coming of Christ does not turn out to be in vain, for everyone who is Israel was called, and also Jacob, according to the considerations we set out a little earlier. So, the people called in Christ make a promise that they will be gathered to God, obviously through faith, that they will be glorified before God, acquiring the bright glory of sonhood, and becoming a partaker of the divine nature, and receiving illumination by the Holy Spirit, and becoming the stewards of an excellent way of life, and that, finally, they will honor God for their strength. Such a disposition befits those who strive for salvation from Him and glory. To this he then added: and I said: It is great for you to call yourself my servant, to restore the tribes of Ikovle, and to reverse the dispersion of Israel. If we must partly speak humanly, then the Father does not allow the Son to undermine the economy and does not leave the humiliation of the image of a slave without reward, but he shows this work to be fruitful, and the humiliation is not gratuitous, and the burden of economy is not alien to greatness, on the contrary, it is worthy, although apparently it was inglorious. And truly, for the Word born of the Father, it was a humiliation to be called a slave (youth), that is, a servant, for this name (πα ῖ ς) sometimes means a son, and sometimes, as I said, a servant. And already the train of thought forces one to take one or another meaning, in the case corresponding to one and the other meaning. When we talk about building a house with the flesh, then in fairness we should understand a servant as a youth. So, although it was humiliating, as I said, the Son was dishonored by slavery, but in reality it was different. This turned out to be by no means insignificant for Him, for He is glorified by everyone for the fact that, not considering it robbery to be equal with God, he experienced the state of slavery, came to humiliation, endured the cross and, on it, laid down his soul to atone for the lives of all: in order to destroy the dominion of the devil and drive away the hordes of demons from the unbearable power over us, in order to abolish death and transform human nature to its original state and betray it to God. His and His kingdom, no longer raped by anyone’s power, but, on the contrary, reflecting the yoke of the brutal power of others. Isa.49:6. Behold, I have given you as a covenant of the generation, as a light of the tongue, so that you may be saved even to the last of the earth. The Father was not ignorant of the coarsened and incorrigible wisdom of the Jews and was completely perverted to the point of unbridledness, for they did not accept the teachings of Christ at all, whereas it was fitting to revere the meekness and incomparable love of mankind of the Redeemer and, as it were, to accept curiosity with outstretched hands. Thus, so that it would not seem that the economy of our Savior did not achieve its goal, since the people actually rejected their Leader and did not accept, as I said, redemption, the Father added that he would show the path of salvation, and would send the light of true knowledge of God to those in darkness and shadow. And Israel was called to this, since Christ clearly said: I am the light of the world (John 8:12) and: until you have light, walk in the light, so that darkness does not have you (John 12:35). When they loved the darkness more than the light (John 3:19), they were embraced by it, although the holy prophets foretold to them the grace in Christ. So one of them said: Shine, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory (of the Lord) has risen upon you. Behold, darkness will cover the earth, and darkness will cover the tongues, but the Lord will appear on you, and His glory will be seen on you (Is. 60:1-2). And another: And the sun of righteousness will shine upon you who fear my name, and healing will be in its wings (Mal.4:2). since, as the sacred writings say, they weighed down their ears so as not to hear, and closed their eyes (Is. 6:10, Is. 33:15 cf. Matt. 13:15; Acts 28:27), then Christ shone to the pagans and showed the heavenly places full of divine light, so that from the east to the west and even to the utmost ends of the earth they rejoiced with curiosity and pure eyes of mind they saw the divine and supreme Nature and dedicated to Her, and only to Her alone, all forms of spiritual service. Isa.49:7. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, who delivered you: Sanctify him who despises his soul, who is abhorred by the tongue of the servants of princes: kings will see him, and princes will arise and worship him for the Lord’s sake, for the Holy One of Israel is faithful and has chosen you. This is what the Lord says: I listened to you in a pleasant time and helped you on the day of salvation. And from here you can learn how great mercy God and the Father has honored those called through Christ, for he guides them in secret and reveals the deep and great mystery of the incarnation, not allowing anyone to stumble over the stumbling block and be foolishly dashed against the rock of temptation (Is. 8:14; Is. 28:16 cf. Rom. 9:32-33; 1 Pet. 2:7-8), as Foolish Israel was crushed. So what does it say? I, the God who delivered you, say this to you: sanctify him who humbles his soul, that is, honor him as sacred and holy, and try to attract to yourself the One who humiliated his soul, that is, valued him little. Yes; Having become man, God and the Only Begotten Word of God laid down His soul for us and wanted to endure death for us in the flesh, without accepting anything into His (divine) nature; for Himself, as God, being above suffering, yet in this way, I say, humiliated it, and this for sinners. At this, the all-wise Paul was amazed, for he said that God makes his love for us, even though we were still sinners... in time we died for the wicked (Rom. 5:8 cf. Rom. 5:6). And Christ Himself says nowhere: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). So He laid it down for us, for by His wound we were healed, and He was martyred for our iniquities and was betrayed for the sake of our sins (Is. 53:5). So, let him be holy, he says, that is, let him be revered as a saint or confessed, and this befits both God and Him alone in an unconditional and proper sense, because although there are many holy intelligent powers, as well as people on earth, they are called saints due to communion with Him who is holy by nature and only One is truly such. As the true light, He Himself is, however, He gave this dignity to others, for He says: you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14); so, being holy alone, together with God and the Father and the Holy Spirit, as if from His own fullness He grants sanctification to His partakers. So in our prayers we say: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9). Of course, we do not want to say that we are crying out for the addition of sanctification to the name of the Father, for this is completely meaningless; but, more correctly, we pray that everyone has what truly exists, that is, holy and terrible. The expression here should also be understood precisely: sanctify, although he has humbled, it is said, his soul, that is, although it is said that he suffered something human and made his flesh taste death (and He laid down his life for many). But the word (prophetic) extends further and mentions something else that could sometimes serve as an obstacle to the matter of faith in Him for those who do not see the depth of the economy, but of course it cannot cause any harm to the sane, namely: some of the soldiers subjected Jesus, betrayed to Pilate, to vile insults, sometimes wickedly striking Him, sometimes even dishonoring Him with spitting and mocking Him with a crown of thorns, cursing and saying: Hail to the king of the Jews (Matthew 27:29). Therefore he says: the tongue of the despised, the slaves, the princes, and this (speech) without a doubt depends on sanctify. But that he suffered reproach from the pagans in the course of his economy, after this he will shine forth and be glorified by all who are in the highest dignities and in the lowest honors, he foreshadows this by saying: kings will see him and rise, obviously from their royal thrones, princes will bow to him. They will see not with the eyes of the body, but as if with the gaze of the mind and heart, for this is how we see the glory of Christ. They will worship Him for the Lord’s sake, that is, for My sake, for He is glorified as the Son of God the Father and as the faithful Holy One of Israel. Faithful here means always abiding, because the kingdom of God and the Father is unshakable, as well as the Son; Meanwhile, false gods are not true, for they came into being (recently), and perish, and do not remain. The Savior of all and the Lord is truly faithful, that is, he stands firm in his dignity, and abides unshakably, and He Himself chose those who were called through Christ, whom He foreknew, it is said, (those) and predestined to be conformed (to be) in the image of His Son. So, it was necessary, truly it was necessary for the elect, to sanctify Him who humbles His soul and, looking at the deeds of His humanity, not to deprive Him of His due glory and not to move away from accurate knowledge regarding Him, but on the contrary, understanding the wisdom of the economy, to worship Him and have the conviction, and, moreover, a firm one, that He is by nature and truly the Son of the faithful Lord, although He appeared economically in a form similar to us and clothed himself with a measure of humiliation, But he continues the conversation to the elect and says: I listened to you in a pleasant time, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Before the creation of the world, Christ foretold His secret, but He shone forth at the time that the Lord desired, when He showed us help, and He calls the time of the incarnation the day of salvation. So the divine Paul says in one place; Now is the time acceptable, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). And the prophet David sings and says: this is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24). Isaiah 49:8–12. And I gave you for an everlasting covenant of tongues, to build the earth and inherit the inheritance of the wilderness, saying to those who are in chains: come out, and to those who are in darkness: open yourselves: and in all ways they will pasture, and in all paths they will pasture: they will not hunger, they will thirst, below the heat will strike them, below the sun, but He who has mercy on them will comfort them and through the springs. water will guide them. And I will make every mountain a way and every path for their pasture. Behold, these will come from afar, these from the north and from the sea, and some from the land of Persia. Some of the interpreters who preceded us were pleased to make the beginning of the presenting chapter the words: thus says the Lord: I listened to you in a pleasant time, and in the day of salvation I helped you. And this, they say, was said from God and the Father to the Savior of us all, Christ. The meaning is something like this. Christ, it is said, prayed before the honorable cross, saying: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me (Matthew 26:39). And he was not heard, for he drank it. When he trampled death, at the intercession of the Father, then naturally it could be said to him; in time I heard you pleasantly, and on the day of salvation I helped you. But it seems to me that such an interpretation has very little credibility. Knowing without a doubt that he must drink the cup and that the possibility of saving the universe would not have been realized otherwise than through the death of His flesh and the resurrection from the dead, He most prudently performed the form of prayer 167 so that the prayer for suffering would expose the filthiness of the Jews. Indeed, how would Israel have been accused of impiety against Him, if the suffering had not caused Him any harm, but had been done only to bring disgrace? However, such was His good pleasure, in order to remove the sin of the world and transform our nature into a renewal of holy life. This is exactly how you understand what He said: I came down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me, that is, the will of the Father who sent me, so that whatever I have given, I will not destroy it, but I will raise it up on the last day (John 6:38-39). Christ appeared to the world and preached a sacred sermon to the Israelites. since they were disobedient, rude, unbridled and impudent, they did not accept the faith, but sinned against it in many ways, then finally crucified Christ. Don't you see the power of hidden wisdom from here? For what was inflicted on Him by the cruelty of the Jews, I mean death, He clearly made it the reason for the salvation of the flesh for those living on the whole earth. Death is abolished by His resurrection and corruption is trampled underfoot, and we again flourish into life, having been led to the contrary by the transgression in Adam. So, we do not think that the prayer of our Savior Christ remained without success, let it not be; but rather it was a matter of economy that should be marveled at. And in another respect, we think that prayer was wise, I mean, prayer before the honorable cross. This was for us a model and outline of a necessary subject, namely: when temptation threatens and fear overwhelms us, it is not appropriate for us to be faint-hearted and lose heart, but on the contrary, to stay awake, then strain our strength for prayer and ask God to save, so that, if it pleases Him, we may escape snares and deceit. And if we have to suffer, then He knows that it will be more fruitful for us and will achieve the goal, since He gives us patience. Having thus shown the improbability of the opinion of some, let us again touch upon our subject. He gave Him, he says, for a covenant of tongues, to establish the earth, and to inherit the inheritance of the wilderness, saying to them that are in chains, Come ye out, and to them that are in darkness, Open yourselves. After Israel rejected Him and turned away from loving Him through their unbelief, He taught the laws to the pagans and established for them the New Testament, that is, the gospel and saving sermon, and created the earth, which was obviously in disarray and not in prudence. She got lost, serving the creature and enslaving herself to the crowds of unclean spirits; she did only what pleased them; They drew her into all kinds of uncleanness and commanded her to lead a bestial life. So, the earth was excessively unsettled and in confusion; but it is built by Christ and, as it were, passes from a storm and a hurricane into calm weather, for it becomes a part of Him and an inheritance. And this was said to Him from the Father in the second psalm: Ask of Me, and give your tongues your inheritance and your possession the ends of the earth (Ps. 2:8). Many pagans call it a desert, likening it to a barren and waterless land. However, as I said, it became the heritage of Christ. But how and in what way? To those who were in bonds and chained with the chains of their own sins, He proclaimed: come out. And He commanded those who were in darkness and in spiritual darkness and, as it were, in the dead of night, to open up and come to the light, to widen the eyes of the mind and to infuse themselves with the divine light emanating from Him. Those who are worthy of this, he says, will graze on all paths and pasture on all paths. There are many paths of righteousness, but among the pagans not a single path was passable for men, but was rocky and inaccessible; and they are obsessed with the rebellion of their own passions and the cruel power of the devil, who makes good inaccessible to them. When the Savior’s grace shone forth, it destroyed their bonds and illuminated the heart; As a result, they gained the strength to walk every way and gather mental food (this means: they will graze) and cheerfully walk along every path of virtue. Nothing prevents us from saying that the paths and paths that lead our minds to God and to a pure and excellent life are the inspired Scriptures, and they were least known to the erring. When they were called to the light of truth, they became pastures for them and pastures, feeding them to spiritual courage and the desire for all good. But God promises them an abundance of His grace and help and spiritual consolation, for they will not hunger, but rather will thirst, he says. In ancient times they were in poverty of spiritual consolation; they had neither a divine law, nor a prophet, nor a schoolmaster, nor a mentor, nor a teacher, nor a source of mental waters. When they were pardoned by Him and finally the most abundant supply of spiritual blessings appeared to them, then they had soul-healthy food: they began to eat bread from heaven, drink living water, about which Christ Himself said, talking with the Samaritan woman: everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again: but whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will not thirst forever: but the water that I will give him him, there will be in him a fountain of water flowing into an everlasting belly (John 4:13–14). The prophet Isaiah said in one place about those who are justified by faith and subordinate the neck of their mind to the gospel revelations: this one will dwell in a high cave of a strong stone: bread will be given to him, and his water will be faithful (Is. 33:16). But below the heat will strike them, below the sun, since Christ became their patron, who in ancient times sent a cloud to the children of Israel during the day and led them in a pillar of fire at night. So, outside the sun, he says, there will be heat, that is, they will find protection from God, so that nothing will happen to them that burdens them or leads them to cowardice. The divine Paul also said something similar: 168 God is faithful, who will not leave you 169 to be tempted more than you can, but will create with temptation also an abundance, so that you can bear it (1 Cor. 10:13). This, I think, is indicated by the expression: He who has mercy on them will comfort them, for he will lead them through springs of water and make every mountain a path and every path for their pasture. Here he calls the holy Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists the sources, with whom, by dealing wisely and benevolently, we draw the life-giving and divine word, which tends to strengthen our souls in piety and to bring us spiritual sweetness, as it is written: and draw water with joy from the fountain of salvation (Is. 12:8). And that of the many deeds, not a single one is difficult or inaccessible for those saved by Christ, this is indicated by the saying: I will make every mountain a path. To many it seems great, lofty, and beyond the reach of anyone to become glorious, for example, through abstinence, chastity, generosity, patience, meekness, love, and so on. But the Savior showed us every path smooth and easy, so that, apparently, the impassable and inaccessible (path) lies level for those who wish to follow it. This, I think, was clearly said by one of the holy prophets: all the wilderness will be filled and all the stubborn will be in the right and the sharp in the path will be smooth (Is. 3:4) And again: the path of the pious will be right and the path of the godly will be prepared (Is. 26:7). And that those who were called had become greater in number and had been gathered from every country under heaven, he indicated this, saying: behold, these will come from afar, and these from the north and the sea, and some from the land of Persia. The word: from afar seems to mean the parts of the south, and the north - the northern, and the sea - the countries to the west. So the psalmist mentions them saying: you created the north and the sea (Ps. 89:13). And from the land of Persia they can be caught from the east, for the land of the Persians is to the east. Or, perhaps, it is appropriate to understand the wise men who worshiped Him, since they came to Judea, asking and saying: where is the king of the Jews born, for we saw his star in the east, and when we died we worshiped him (Matthew 2:2); and, having bowed, they honored Him with gifts, I say frankincense, gold and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). The psalmist mentions this when speaking about the Savior of us all, Christ: and he will live, and some of the gold of Arabia will be given to him (Ps. 71:15), since in these words he refers to the country of the Persians as Arabia. Isa.49:13. Rejoice, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, let the mountains burst forth with joy (and the hills roll down righteousness), for God has mercy on His people and comforts His humble people. He calls heaven and earth into one meeting and graciously commands a celebration for those saved by Him. By heaven we can understand not the element itself, but the holy Powers, Principalities, Thrones, Powers and even higher Cherubim, who reside in the highest abodes and have heaven as their dwelling place; likewise, under the earth we mean those who expect that His appearance will take place and that He will appear for the redemption of the Israelites and all the nations throughout the whole earth: just as without a doubt the righteous Simeon, holding the still small Infant Jesus in his arms, glorified God, saying this: now you are releasing your servant, O Master, according to your word in peace, because mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people and what follows (Luke 1:29–32). Or maybe we should also mean the saved ones themselves, celebrating the festival for themselves and crowning the Redeemer with appropriate praises. The mountains, then, belching joy, must be assumed to be, as I said recently, intelligent Powers raised high in virtue, or priests of the Gospel preaching, who, speaking about Christ and His deeds, fill the earth with mental joy; for they proclaim that God has mercy on his people and comforts his humble people. Christ had mercy on everyone, shining upon them, if without a doubt it is true that they were taken from the hand of the devil and from the cruelty of demons. They were freed from the sin that had anciently ruled over them and also from the bonds of death; they were awarded grace and the gift of the world, having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and receiving the illumination of the glory of sonhood, and being enriched with hope that surpasses the mind. However, pay attention to the words of the prophet: comfort your humble people, he says. Humble, we believe, are those who bowed their obedient neck to Christ and did not disdain the yoke of His kingdom because, of course, they accepted faith and were prepared to serve and worship Him in spirit and truth; Meanwhile, those who have not accepted the faith are not humble, but raise their horns upward, and utter untruths against Him, and before His sacred revelations, as it were, they arrogantly lift up the neck of their mind. These are not worthy of spiritual consolation, since they turned out to be unworthy, for which part will I return 170 with the infidels? according to what is written (2 Cor. 6:15). Isa.49:14,15. And Zion said: The Lord forsake me, and God 171 forget me. Will the wife forget food 172 when she is a child, and not have mercy on the offspring of her womb? Even if the wife forgets these, I will not forget you, (says the Lord). The Savior of all, the Lord, offered grace through faith before others to the children of Zion and the descendants of Israel, and with countless admonitions he convinced them, saying: seize the time in which it was possible for those who believed in Him to be enriched with the honors promised to their fathers. But they were insensitive and disobedient, and therefore, despising the laws of the wise Moses and caring little about the prophetic preaching, they deviated from the faith and were caught in the nets of murder. So, for the sake of this guilt, they were rejected and removed from communication about Him, however, the remnant was saved and not all of Israel perished to the root. But very few were saved and they were very few in number compared to the many unbelievers. Therefore, it is very timely that Zion is now introduced, representing the face of the Jewish mother and as if crying that she was despised by the Almighty God 173. It is precisely because she has so few children left that she says that the Lord forsake me and the Lord forgets me. And what does God have to do with this? He shows incomparable love for people, and promises the mental Zion the benefit of his mercy, and tries to assure that he will never forget His creatures. Just as a wife who gave birth could not forget her children, having the law of nature as the guide of the highest philanthropy or tender pity; So I will not forget, he says, My children, if the love of God undoubtedly exceeds tenderness in mothers, since nothing is unnatural for them to fall into oblivion, but it is unusual for me to experience this. So, although the speech (God has forgotten me) comes as if from the earthly Zion or the mother of the Jews, who suffered childlessness or few children, the promise is given as if to a mental Zion, to which, says the wise Paul, those who believed have come (Heb. 12:22), so that you understand the Church gathered from pagans and Jews, having the image of the high Church, which the all-wise Paul mentions saying: But Jerusalem which is above is freedom, which is the mother of us all (Gal.4:26). She is the city of the living God and the nurse of the firstborn and the mother of the saints written in heaven, whom Christ will never forget; for He loved the Church (Eph.5:25), which He presented to Himself (Eph.5:27), creating two nations into one new man and reconciling both in one body with the Father (Eph.2:15,16). How can He forget His own body, that is, the Church, of which He is the head (Eph. 5:29,30)? Isa.49:16–17. Behold, your walls are written on my hands, and you are always before me, and having soon been rewarded, you were ruined by them, and those who devastated you will come from you. It is completely inconvenient to explore the meaning of the proposed sayings. And in fact: what kind of hands could anyone assume are the hands of God, on which, one must think, the walls of Zion are written? Holy Scripture often calls the hands of God His active powers, with which He brought everything into being and also produces anything in His mind. So, for example, the Psalmist explains the coming of every person into being, saying: with your hands you made me, and you will create me (Ps. 119:73)... just as there is a sea, you will create the same, and with his hands you will create dry land (Ps. 95:5); and again: in the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens (Ps. 101:26). Then: how can one imagine that by the active powers of God, as if on a board, the walls of Zion, meant here, are written? or what kind of walls does the prophetic word even mention? So what shall we say? It is unlikely that anything could, as I think, prevent the disciple of Christ from combining the proposed sayings with approximately the following meaning: Zion accused the Lord that He had forgotten him; but that this is not true, our Lord Jesus Christ tries to show, as if from his incarnation and from what he endured for our sake, becoming like us. Being in the form and equality with the Father, although he did not consider this robbery, but on the contrary, he descended into humiliation, took on the form of a servant and was obedient to the Father until death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:7), for he hung on a tree with his nailed hands. And the saving passion overthrew the beginnings, triumphed over the rulers of this world (Eph.6:12), freed everyone from the power of the devil, led us to God, since by His wound we were healed (Is.53:5), and He bore our sins (Is.53:12) in His body on the tree, and He was tormented (Is.53:5). We are saved and His suffering has become a stronghold and a wall for us, for He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being the curse of us (Gal. 3:13), and He Himself suffered in it, being tempted, and helped those who were tempted (Heb. 2:18), and suffered outside the city, that He might sanctify the people with His blood (Heb. 13:12). So, and I will say again, the passion of Christ, and the honorable cross, and the nailing of His hands became for those who believed in Him a stronghold and an impregnable and indestructible wall. Therefore, He can rightfully say: behold, your walls are written on my hands - understand the piercing of hands or passion, as signified through this alone; and in writing he says instead: imprinted. And you stand before me, because if you suffered for us, how can he forget us? or how would those for whom He was nailed to the tree not be in His sight? If anyone wishes to understand the meaning of this passage in another way, then, I think, there is nothing unnatural to understand something like this: he would not deviate, I think from the truth, who would say that all who believe in Christ are in the hands of God the Father, for He Himself said: My sheep hear my voice, and they will come after me, and I will give them eternal life (John 10:27,28), and at the same time: no one will snatch them from the hands of my Father. (John 10:28,29), since they are under the supreme protection and firmly protected by heavenly help. When, therefore, God and the Father, as it were, holds us all in His hands and protects us with Himself and does not allow us to be carried away in any way to what is not proper, or to be subjected to the malice of those who slander, or to become prey to the devil’s violence: then there is no obstacle to thinking that the walls of Zion are, as it were, written with His hands, that is, prepared for spiritual decency and have in their decoration the most beautiful distinction, consisting of all kinds of virtues. We say that the holy Apostles and Evangelists, appointed for this purpose by the Father and having His unceasing favor, became the walls of the mental Zion; for their names are written in heaven and placed in the book of the living (Phil. 4:3). And do not be surprised if he calls the saints the fence and walls of the Church. Of course, the wall and fortification is He Himself. But just as (He Himself is the true light and, however, calls them the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), so He Himself, being the wall of the Church and) 174 every stronghold of those who believed in Him, granted to the holy secret leaders, as if in the rank of high dignity, to be called the walls of His Church. And soon, he says, having been rewarded, you went bankrupt from them. The Jews, that is, the Jewish teachers, ruined earthly Zion or their mother, distracting her from Christ and teaching her to consider faith unacceptable, for we say: we know, as Moses said God: but this we do not know, whence we are (John 9:29). When they reached the final limit of evil and killed the Heir (Matthew 21:38), they became the culprits of its fall (Zion). But just as the Jews destroyed, so again, being Jews, the divine disciples erected it (Zion), obviously changed, not remaining what it was, that is, an unbeliever and murderer of the Lord, but shining with faith, of course, faith in Christ. Having devastated it (Zion), they left it, for the former teachers were expelled and others, whom we just mentioned, rebelled. Indeed, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to change and love Christ and prefer the shadow of the law to the truth, if his former teachers had not been removed from illegal leadership, and in their place the face of the holy secret leaders had not risen, of whom the divine David makes the most excellent reminder, singing in one place and saying to the Savior of all Christ: I will set up princes in all the earth and remember 175 your name in every kind and generation (Ps. 44:17,18). Isa.49:18. Lift up your eyes around and see everything, behold, I have gathered and come to you as I live, says the Lord: as if I were clothed with all of them in beauty and surrounded myself with them, like utensils for a bride. Through all the holy and inspired scriptures it is clearly stated that the descendants of Israel, or the children of earthly Zion, have a part and inheritance of Christ in the last times of the age. They will turn, it is said, to the Lord their God and David their king: and they will wonder about the Lord and about His goodness in the last days (Hos. 3:5). True, while they did not believe, a church of pagans arose, which we call the mental Zion. But they too will be called, there will be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16), so that they will no longer be called two Zions, but both will be perfected into one Church, coming under the authority of the One Shepherd-in-Chief over all. And that this will certainly and completely come true, he confirms this by saying to the mother of the Jews: lift up your eyes around and see everything that has gathered and come to you: As I live, says the Lord, I have clothed myself with all of them and have covered myself with utensils (beauty) like a bride. They scattered because they no longer had a shepherd. So one of the holy prophets said, as if from the person of Christ: and he said: “I am not to shepherd you, and let that which dies die, and that which disappears, let him perish, and let every one give water to the flesh of his neighbor (Zechariah 11:9); for a complete falling away from the mercy and love of God, what harm will it not suffer? They will give themselves over to those who want to waste them and drag them away wherever each of the lawless ones wants. They are also torn away from God by wicked and lost demons, as it is written: parts of the fox will be (Ps. 62:11). Demons also perpetrate this and manifold passions in us, for some are betrayed, says the all-wise Paul, in the passion of dishonor and in an unskilled mind (Rom. 1:26,28). So, what does the divine word promise in the spoken sayings? The calling and gathering of the scattered, the spiritual conversion of the lost, the return of the fugitives, the conversion and vigilance and rewards of love for Christ: look around, he says, and accept everyone - here they are gathered to you. But in order to show the promise to the faithful, he confirms with an oath what has been said and says: As I live, says the Lord, I have clothed myself with all of them in the beauty of the bride, since the adornment of the Churches is unity in plurality 176 . For this reason, it is customary for God-inspired Scripture to decorate the Church with vestments gilded and speckled (Ps. 44:10). Like many-shaped and valuable stones, I mean Indian, being bound in a gold frame, they constitute an amazing and wonderful decoration; so the souls of saints, adorned with distinctions of virtues, shine with brilliant beauty in the eyes of the Divine, so that everyone, sending thanks to Christ, says: May my soul rejoice in the Lord, for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation and the robe of joy: as for a groom, place a crown on me, and as a bride, adorn me with beauty ( Isa.61:10). Isaiah 49:19–21. Your still empty and scattered and fallen ones will now crowd you out from those who dwell, and those who consume you will move away from You. For your sons, whom you destroyed, will cry in your ears: The place is cramped for me; make a place for me, that I may dwell. And say in your hearts: Who will beget these for me? I am childless and a widow, who will teach me these? I was left alone, but where were I? The content of the word prophet even now consists of objects that seem to be in front of the eyes and the most obvious. When Israel did not believe and laid hands on Christ Himself, then the Jewish country was devastated, the church itself was burned along with Jerusalem, and Judea was seized by such a lack of people that the blessed prophet Isaiah secretly pointed out this very thing in many places. He said that there are seven wives for one husband, saying: Let us eat our bread and put on our garments, so let your name be called upon us, take away our reproach (Is. 4:1,2); since the law says: there will be no childlessness, lower than the childlessness of the children of Israel (Ex. 23:26; Deut. 7:14), and they considered the shame of childlessness unbearable. And since the war destroyed the entire male sex and those who remained were very few in number, he said that seven wives are married to one husband, so that he would remove the shame from them, that is, childlessness. since it is difficult for one husband to support seven wives, they promise to eat their own bread and dress in their own clothes, as if they do not need anything from his estate at all; for they, as I said, insisted that they were afraid only of the shame of childlessness. So, since their country has turned into a complete desert, he promises an end to what has happened (disaster) and the empty and fallen will oppress, he says, from the inhabitants, obviously, when those who consume it depart, that is, those who received the lot of its leadership, who, like some wild beasts, almost destroyed and devoured it. Then he points to the multitude of those who will be called, that it will be great and countless, for your sons, he says, whom you destroyed, will say in your ears: create a place for me. It is said in one place and to the mental Zion: expand the place of your tent and your coverings, set them up, do not spare, stretch them even on your right hand and on your left (Is. 54: 2,3). We also read in the books of Moses that around the tabernacle in the desert, made, I say, of skins, wide and long courtyards were built, partly looking to the east and the ray of the sun, partly to the west behind the tabernacle, also to the north and south: which type revealed the breadth and length of the sacred courts or churches that had existed in their time. However, even so, with the always abounding grace from Christ, places for those who believe are cramped everywhere, so that the Church, which is the mental Zion, reflects joyfully and exclaims within itself: who gave birth to these? And I would say that faith is in Christ: through it, childless and widowed, you have become abundant in children; you yourself have nourished your peoples; you, once abandoned, have become enriched beyond nature; once empty and lonely, you appeared with many children. Isa.49:22–23. This is what the Lord says: Behold, I will lift up my hand on tongues and set up my sign on the islands, and they will bring your sons in their bosoms and take your daughters on their capes. And the kings will be your nurses, and their princesses will be your nurses: they will worship you to the face of the earth and lick the dust of your feet, and hang them, for I am the Lord God, and those who endure me will not be put to shame 177 . Having announced to Zion that he will have many children and be blessed, and his children will reach such a multitude that they will need more spacious places than the previous ones and will ask to expand the tabernacle, he then shows that this multitude of children promised to him (Zion) will appear not from Israel, but from the host of the pagans. And this is true and can be seen from the very deeds. True, the remnant of Israel was saved (Is. 10:22), but it was small and not numerous; meanwhile, the heavenly places were captured by faith in Christ and the power of the apostolic and evangelical preaching attracted those living throughout the whole earth to Him. That this is exactly what will happen is shown in the words: Behold, I lift up my hand on tongues. I lift up means: I exalt and raise; and the hand indicates strength or strength. When Christ was known to the pagans through the preaching of the Gospel, and became exalted and glorious by the miracles that He performed, and by the resurrection from the dead, - when the sign of the honorable cross was revealed to those who once did not know Him who was by nature and truly God: then Zion was enriched with many children, then they (the pagans) hastily ran to Him everywhere, shouting to each other and saying: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will tell us his way, and we will walk in it (Isa. 2:8). And that for those marching to the house of God there will be nothing at all difficult or impassable, that is, obstacles, this is indicated by the words: your sons will be brought in their wombs, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. And truly, the blessed disciples became, as it were, teachers for the pagans, and after them, already predominant with the word of sacred mystical guidance, were the heads of the churches; since they, as it were, lift those who come to faith into their bosom and, placing them on their shoulders, carry them, not prescribing anything harmful to them, but as befits children, feeding them with milk and offering them a simple and completely understandable word of catechumen. The prophet Isaiah himself taught us this again, saying nowhere else: the way of the godly is right, and the way of the godly is prepared, for the way is the judgment of the Lord (Is. 26:7,8). He also introduces the divine Baptist, crying out and saying: prepare the way of the Lord, make right the paths of our God: every wilderness will be replenished, and every mountain and hill will be humbled, and the rough will become right, and the sharp path will be smooth (Is. 40:8,4; cf. Luke 3:4,5). Thus, for those who wish, like a mother, to go to Zion, the coming through faith will be without any burden, this can be indicated by the reception into the bosom and lifting on the shoulders of his sons and also daughters. And that they will be filled with the highest honor, glory and prosperity, this is shown in these words: there will be kings as their feeders and princesses as their nurses. It can, truly can be seen that, due to the piety of the rulers who believed in Christ, they are surrounded by honor and awarded all mercy, so that they (the rulers) turn out to be more than anything else their breadwinners and nothing else. And if they fall on their faces and worship Zion, that is, the Church, and as if with outstretched hands those cast down to the ground almost kiss (lick) the dust of his feet: then how can there be any doubt that having reached such a mood of the soul and illuminated by the grace of piety, they (the rulers) will not make it their duty to honor the elect, and will not consider as their children those who have believed in Christ? Upon the fulfillment of this, Zion will no longer be put to shame as barren and childless, having lost children in relation to the Jews, but will be crowned with glory. Isa.49:24. Who will take the food from the giant of self-interest? and if anyone takes captive unjustly, are you saved? The image of speech is a question and, in addition, requires understanding. The meaning of these words is this. The heavenly realm was embraced by the power of the devil and a crowd of demons, no one on earth could escape the cruelty of their rule, there was not one who did goodness, not even one (Ps. 13:1-3; Compare Rom. 2:12); but one veil was spread over everyone (2 Cor. 3:14), darkness and darkness invaded the hearts of everyone, removed them from the knowledge of what is by nature and truly God, and handed them over to the rulers (demons). Thus, some worshiped the creature more than the Creator and the elements of the world (Rom. 1:21-25), others served the very ones who oppressed (them) with unbearable cruelty, thus becoming, as it were, subject and prisoners of war of the cruel ruler, who also took possession of the inherent (human) mind. And there was no one at all who could provide help to the oppressed, so, pompous to the point of unbridled arrogance, he said that I will embrace the whole world with my hand like a nest, and like an abandoned egg I will take it, and carry it, those who will run away from me, or speak against me (Is. 10:14). Since the devil achieves such arrogance over the inhabitants of the earth, the Savior asks and says: who will take food from the giant of covetousness (Luke 11:21)? It is difficult, he says, and it is difficult to defeat the strong (for here he calls the strong a giant), and to take gain from him. And can this be doubtful? They are very unapproachable and not overpowerable for everyone, but for those only they can be overcome who have the strength to lift an outstretched and invincible muscle against them. But I, he says, will take and free the oppressed and, having broken the yoke of their slavery, I will show them shining with the grace of freedom. However, that the righteous judgment of God will crush Satan and that God will subject the villain to punishment for crimes against us, he confirms this by adding: whoever takes captive unrighteously will be saved (σιοθησεται)? We must again take this verse as an interrogative sentence with a dividing mark: were we saved? for the one who unrighteously attacked those who had not committed any unrighteousness, then took them captive and plunged them into hopeless troubles, will not be saved, but, on the contrary, will be punished for his insolence. So, he will release those who were in his possession for gain or prisoners of war, and in addition he will be obliged to give an account for those who were not rightfully in his power. The same thing is said in another place: just as a robe soaked in blood will not be clean, so you will not be clean, because you beat my people, you will not endure forever (Is. 14:20). We can also remind those familiar with the Holy Scriptures that the Savior Himself said something similar in the Gospel revelations: or how can someone sneak into the house of a strong man and plunder his vessels, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he plunders his vessels (Matthew 12:29)? He called the space surrounding the earth the home of the strong, that is, Satan, not as belonging to him in reality, but because he took possession of it. When the incarnate word entered into it (the house), then, binding the strong one with ineffable power, It took for itself his vessels, that is, those who once thought in accordance with him. Just as we call the saints vessels of election (Acts 9:15), so we call them vessels of the devil - those who submitted to him and decided or were forced to think in accordance with him. Isa.49:25. This is what the Lord says: if anyone captures a giant, he will take it for gain: but he who seizes it will be saved from the strong man. I have already said that, using ineffable and magnificent powers, our Lord Jesus Christ entered the house of the mighty, that is, he came with flesh into this world and who of old ruled and oppressed those who lived on the whole earth, subjected them to the yoke of sin and acquired them for himself as prisoners of war, plundered them (Christ) and, as if having imprisoned them in indissoluble bonds and bound them with captives of darkness, betrayed them to to observe the judgment of the great day of the tormented (2 Peter 2:4); and after this he also plundered him by convincing those under his power to return to the desire to obey the true God, obey His beckons and willingly achieve what leads them to achieve salvation. After Christ won the victory, He left us to win, but not without Him, for He is the praise of the power of the saints, according to the word of the psalmist (Ps. 89:18), just as the wise Paul says: I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). So, the opportunity to plunder the strong, or giant, I mean Satan, was made available to us. If anyone captures a giant, he says, he will reap his gain; for when we find ourselves above the devil’s fortress and courageously avoid the attacks of the enemy, having Christ Himself as an instrument of good will, then we plunder the evil one, robbing him of a decisive victory and being stronger than his inherent cruelty and wickedness. However, that the power to overcome is given to those who are courageous from Christ and that otherwise no one will achieve such glory, this is clearly shown by adding: take from the strong, you will be saved. If He gives us the strength to exalt ourselves over the foul-killing dragon, we will plunder him, but we ourselves will be saved, since this victory transfers us to endless life, to glory, to praise and to the kingdom of heaven. Nowhere did Christ Himself say, having plundered Satan and opened an easy and passable path to victory for those who believed in Him: Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion and all the power of the enemy: and nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19). So, it is true that by taking from the mighty, that is, from Him, for He is also the Lord of hosts, we are saved and overcome. But someone can plunder Satan in another way if he beneficially draws those who have submitted to him and are lost to the light of true knowledge of God and leads them away from depravity to a holy way of life. Isa.49:26. I will judge your judgment and I will deliver your sons: and those who have insulted you will eat their flesh and drink their blood like new wine and become drunk: and let all flesh know that I (the Lord) have delivered you and have made a stronghold for Jacob. He turns his speech, as I said, to Zion. It seems that here he calls his sons the holy Apostles, Evangelists, and also after them those called to priestly service, who became luminaries in the world, containing the word of life (Phil. 2:15-16), everywhere preaching the glory of Christ and proclaiming throughout the whole earth the power of salvation from Him: it was on them that the evil-doer heaped the dragon, as if some wild and fierce beast, tribulations and persecution and unbearably directed the assistants of his inherent malice. Thus, persecutions were repeatedly undertaken against the holy Churches, and the brutal rage of cruel rulers that attacked them led many to martyrdom for confession. But Az, he says, O Zion, - we think that this is the church, which he calls Zion, - I will accept your reasoning, and I will deliver your sons. Having committed no unrighteousness, devoted to God and innocent of anything obscene at all, having endured the struggle even to the point of life and blood with these glorious exploits, they flow to the highest abodes, although, as far as the goal of those who intended evil is concerned, they have died and perished. So, judgment or justice on them, without any doubt, will, of course, be from God. Those who have undergone glorious deeds for the sake of piety and have achieved the reward of the highest rank will be clothed with the crown of incorruption. And those who persecuted them and unjustly killed those with whom it would have been better to willingly compete, will consume their own flesh, and will, as it were, absorb the blood of no longer the victims, but their own. Thus, what they unjustly inflicted on others, they themselves will experience to a greater extent according to the righteous judgment of God, who crowns the victims and subjects the unjust to long and endless punishment. Such justice will be known to all flesh, that is, to every man; for those who are in danger for the sake of piety will certainly receive help from Me, who strengthens you - Jacob, that is, he who is from the seed of Jacob. And I have already said that the prophetic word here was written to the holy Apostles and Evangelists, who were from Jacob, I mean according to the flesh. But it is also incredible that Jacob calls every reproacher, that is, someone who repels Satan and skillfully, and at the same time courageously, avoids the snares of sin, for Jacob is interpreted as a reproacher (Πτερνιστής). Isa.50:1. This is what the Lord says: What is the book of absolution for your mother, with which you absolved her? or to which lender did you sell? Behold, I have sold myself for your sins, and for the sake of your iniquities I have forgiven your mother. The Deity is incorporeal, immaterial, invisible and simple; and no one who is right-thinking about Him will assimilate any bodily image for Him. However, the Holy Scripture talks to us about Him in a human form because it would be otherwise impossible for those dwelling in these coarse and stout bodies to understand if things that concern us and things similar to us were not given as examples, so that from sensory and visible objects we could understand, at least in part, those things relating to the divine and supreme essence, which is above any bodily image. So here, too, look at the prophet’s speech as humanoid. Like a certain husband living with his wife and connected with the Jewish people, He talks and speaks about the mother of the Israelites, I mean earthly and sensual Jerusalem, so that again in it, as if in the person of one wife, their whole integrity is understood. Just as when we call a church, the meaning of this expression usually refers not to the circumference of the walls, but denotes the holy society of those dedicated to the worship of God in it, so if someone calls the mother of the Jews, he at the same time points to them themselves. So, it was not I, he says, who rejected your mother, although I was for her, as it were, a spouse and bestowed the seeds of justice through the law and the prophets. But she herself separated, despising her rights in relation to Me and counting being with God as nothing. Indeed, what book of remission was given to her from Me? After all, God does not reject anyone from communion with Him and does not drive away anyone who is accustomed to walking in the right paths, but to those who are true children in faith and experienced in every virtue, He gives them the opportunity to constantly possess a lasting wealth of properties towards Him. On the contrary, someone who has a mind unrelated and dissimilar to His divine revelations and who loves pleasures more than God walks outside such glory. So, as if, as a husband, having cohabited with the mother of the Jews, which, he says, is the book of absolution for your mother, with which you absolved her? No one will prove, he says, that I rejected her and hated her; on the contrary, he will accuse her as having self-proclaimedly chosen to retreat. Or to which lender did you sell? Here is a different way of speech, for he talks like a ruler with his servants. Is it really possible, he asks, that I, as a man constrained by a lack of money and falling into the hands of lenders, gave my servants to other rulers? But this is not at all decent to think or say; because the Divine is the limit of necessity and there is absolutely nothing higher than Him. So, I did not sell, he says, and did not give to other owners those who love Me and are devoted to My revelations. How then were you subjected to the yoke of slavery to others? The cause of your evil was sin. For his sake, the father of sin and the inventor of all depravity transformed you all, snatching those who fall away from the relationship with God to himself, plunging them into the abyss of evil and dragging them to the bottom of hell; because for those who have deviated from their relationship with God, the necessary consequence is their entanglement in the hopeless nets of sin. And truly, Satan is terrible with his cruelty, and those of the inhabitants of the earth whom he sees determined to neglect communication with God, subordinates them to his own yoke and draws them into extreme evil, revealing them as his slaves instead of the free and the glorious dishonorable. Such are always the tolls of his malice. Isa.50:2–3. Why did he come and not be bigger than a man? The call, and there is no one who listens? food cannot my hand deliver (or cannot take away)? Behold, by my rebuke I will devastate the sea and make the rivers empty, and their fish will dry up in the dead water and die of thirst: I will clothe the heavens in darkness and put their clothing like sackcloth. Having clearly stated that the children of Zion, that is, the descendants of Israel, Zion itself, obviously the earthly Jerusalem, are sold by their own sins and cut off from their relationship with Him, now condemns and accuses their extreme foolishness and, at the same time, ignorance. This is because when the Only Begotten appeared to the inhabitants of the earth in flesh and appeared in an image similar to us, they, having wickedly consigned the law and the prophets to oblivion, remained cruel, stubborn and suffering from uncontrollable uncontrollability: they did not want to know the Redeemer and Giver of salvation, who justifies the wicked and can free from all guilt those possessed by human infirmities. So, I came, he says, that is, I became human and appeared to the Israelites, and there was no other man among them, obviously intelligent and able to know the time of redemption. I called, and there was no one who listened, for as the prophet Isaiah himself once again says on behalf of the Savior of us all, Christ: I was revealed to those who did not seek me, I was found who did not inquire about me, I said: Behold, I am: to the tongue that did not call on my name 180: I have stretched my hands all day long to people who do not repent and speak against ( Isa.65:1-2). And in the Gospel Scriptures we often find the Lord calling the Jews to faith: come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Also in another place: walk on me, do not have to walk in darkness, but have animal light (John 8:12). And showing faith as a truly fruitful and useful deed for them, he says: Amen, I say to you: believe in me to have eternal life (John 6:47). There are quite a few other sayings that have the same meaning that anyone could collect if they wished to speak at length. So, he called, he said, and there was no one who listened. But those who have fallen into such great folly, having a hard and coarse heart, will perhaps say that My hand cannot deliver in the heavenly places. In this case, their reasoning is not at all true; for the word, as I have spoken, although being God, appeared in a form similar to us and became man, having suffered birth in the flesh of a woman. Those who understand this and do not fade away His divine mysteries know that God, who exists by nature, can do everything and was sufficient for the redemption of the heavenly places. Unbelievers and those who did not know approached Him as if he were an ordinary person, so that they even attacked him and said: We will not lay stones against you for a good deed, but for blasphemy, because you, this man, have created God for yourself (John 10:33). It is common for such people to think and say that His hand is powerless to help those living on earth and to deliver those conquered by the devil and sin. But if you begin to reason about this, then take into account something better, namely, that I am not just a man like you, but God, who according to the economy appeared in a form similar to you, in order to deliver you from death and sin. I myself, the speaker, once performed miracles through Moses and with indescribable power divided the sea, that is, the Red Sea. The waters became like a wall and passed through freed and overthrown the yoke of Egyptian slavery. I will empty the sea, he says here instead: I have shown it dry. I will lay down and the rivers are empty: I will lay down again should be understood in the sense: I have laid down, for I stopped the Jordan and showed it deprived of water, when Joshua (Joshua) translated Israel and brought it into the land of promise. If he says that the fish in the water will dry up, then understand that this is used to indicate the complete drying up of the Jordan. The divine David also mentions this such a glorious and great miracle, saying in one place: what is the sea that you ran away and you, Jordan, that you returned back? (Ps. 113:5) And again in another way: when God saw you the waters, you saw the waters, and you were afraid: the deep was trembled, the sound of the waters was great (Ps. 76:17). The following also says about the Jordan: you have dried up the rivers of Itham (Ps. 73:15), that is, those in the south 181. We remind you of other miracles. And he says: I will clothe the heavens with darkness and put his clothing like sackcloth. The vestment must again be understood in the sense: I have vested. Let us also remember the wise Moses, who wrote that three days of deep darkness spread over the land of Egypt, and yet it did not cause any harm to the children of Israel, for they had both day and light: this is amazing and beyond all words. So, if I, he says, appeared in the flesh, the very One who once devastated the sea (I will devastate the sea) or made it dry, did this with the rivers, clothed only this great sky and clearly showed by experience that I am the Lord of all and there is nothing beyond the reach of My powers: then whoever dares to think and say does not deserve to be ridiculed, or better yet, accused of impiety: food cannot spare my hand? Isa.50:4–5. The Lord (Lord) gives me a language of teaching, so that I can understand when it is proper to speak the word: put me in the morning, open my ear to hear, and the punishment of the Lord opens my ears. It will not be incredible, but, on the contrary, in accordance with correct reasoning, to apply these sayings to the face of the holy Apostles or to all those who believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, who were made wise through the Spirit and who received from him the enlightenment of mind and heart in abundance, who became partakers of divine gifts and received the power with the pure eyes of the mind to comprehend the depth of the divinely inspired Scripture, and also acquired for themselves the well-being of the Gospel life and understanding befitting saints. It is they, sending up songs of thanksgiving, who say that they have been given the language of teaching, that is, the ability to speak edifyingly and perfectly explain divine mysteries, when and how it is appropriate to use words (say a word) of consolation. This is what the divine disciples actually did, abundantly filling their minds and hearts with a healthy and not reproachful knowledge of faith in Christ and offering each of those approaching the Gospel teaching an appropriate and appropriate word. Thus, to the still existing babies, as if as milk, they benevolently offered the word of a simple announcement (1 Cor. 3:1–2, 13:10–11; 1 Thess. 2:7); those who have reached perfection into manhood and have come to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13) is solid and most nourishing. This is the language of teaching and the gift of knowledge, when it is appropriate to speak the word. And they are set, as they say about themselves, morning morning, that is, given to their minds and hearts the radiance of the day, the illumination of the divine and mental light, the rising of the morning star, which again we learn from blessed Paul, who wrote this: giving thanks to God the Father, who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and entrusted us to the kingdom of the Son of your love in the light (Col. 1:12-13). And truly, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of Christ cannot shine upon them (2 Cor. 4:4); but for us the Sun of righteousness has risen, shining upon our minds with divine light, so that we become and are called sons of light and day (1 Thess. 5:5). Then he says: Open my ear to hear, and the punishment of the Lord will open my ears. Having accepted faith in Christ and being enriched by enlightenment from Him, we received the addition of the ear, that is, the ability of extraordinary hearing compared to the previous one: since the Jews, when reading the law, do not go further than the canopy, but remain with inactive images, and only with them; on the contrary, we, considering the law to be a teacher, when we receive into the ear what is revealed through Moses, we understand this with a different ear, translating images into truth and turning the canopy into an object of spiritual contemplation. Thus we have received the application of hearing, for punishment (teaching) through Christ, that is, the gospel sermon, and the secret teaching of Him teaches us to understand the law spiritually; He, as it were, expands the hearing of those who believe in Him, while the Israelis do not have this. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: try the scriptures, because in them you think that you have eternal life: and this is what testifies about me. And you do not want to come to me, but you are in your stomach (John 5:39–40). The wise and divine Paul also wrote about them that when Moses is revered, the veil does not lie openly on their hearts; it fails because of Christ Jesus our Lord and Redeemer (2 Cor. 3:14-15). Isaiah 50:5–8. I don’t resist or counter-verb. I put my cloaks on the wounds and my doe on the blows, but I did not turn my face away from the cold of spitting, and the Lord was my helper: for this reason I was not ashamed, but set my face like a hard stone and understood that I would not be ashamed: the one who justified me is already approaching. Through what has already been read and explained (by us), He makes a very strong reproach to the Jews for their stubbornness; for he said that he had come. and without a man you called, and without one who listened (Is. 50:2)? And after the face of those who accepted the faith was introduced and said: The Lord gives me a language of teaching, to understand when it is proper to speak the word (Is. 50:4) and the following, and sending up songs of thanksgiving, the face of Christ Himself again appears, contrasting his own obedience with the insolence of the Jews, in order to completely expose them for the fact that they are at enmity against God, raising a stubborn and cruel I howl against the One who calls (them) to salvation; For he called, he said, and there was no one who listened. They became inert and slow to obey and completely incapable of understanding what serves them well and through which they could truly avoid, and very easily, both the tyranny of sin and the machinations of the devil’s cruelty. But while they turned out to be disobedient, I do not resist; for when God and the Father wanted to rule in Me all things, even in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10), then I brought Myself to humiliation and stooped to the extreme limits of human poverty, becoming a man, in order to be obedient even to death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). And I gave my splashes to wounds, and my cheeks to be strangled, but my face was not turned away from the cold of spitting: for He had to endure all this when the ignorance of the Jews raged against Him, and Pilate subjected Him to scourging, when one of the wicked servants insolently dealt with him and beat him on the cheeks, and others spat on him. But the Suffering One had one goal - to carry out the good will of the Father. So Christ also said nowhere: for He came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent me, so that whatever he has given me I will not lose from him, but will raise up at the last day (John 6:38,39). So, in order to give life to those who believe in Him, He did not turn away from insults, nor from scourging, nor from the test of spitting, although He is God by nature and the true Lord. Then He speaks as a man: And the Lord will be my helper: for this reason we were not ashamed, but set our face like a hard stone, and understood that I was not ashamed: He who justified me is drawing near. Here He speaks, as I said, humanly and completely in accordance with His extreme humiliation. However, with these words, it seems to mysteriously indicate the punishment that struck them for their wickedness against Him: since, it is said, the Lord was my helper. He says, as it were, like this: after I put my capes on the wounds and my cheeks on the blows, when I even endured suffering on the cross, then the Father became my helper: for He helped and did not allow His Own Son to be completely disgraced and ashamed - and those who dared to rebel against God were punished and subjected to righteous judgment for crimes against Me. Having then added: the one who justified me is approaching, he again mysteriously indicated that retribution for those who raged against Him is not far away and will not be postponed, but is close and will come after their deeds. The son, we believe, was justified (justified me) in this way: when they dared to kill the Righteous One and completely innocent of crimes; then, as I said, they were punished for this, and the punishment of those who were subjected to it fully testified to the innocence of the One who was wickedly insulted by them. God and the Father said something similar: I will give the wicked instead of his burial, and the rich instead of his death (Is. 53:9). He calls the leaders of the Jews rich and wicked; for, suffering from extreme love of money, they were driven by it (the love of money) to anger against Him, so that, although they recognized Him, they said: This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and keep his property (Matthew 21:38) Isa.50:8. Who hide with me? Yes, he will resist me completely. And who will sue me? let him come closer to me. That He is righteous and completely innocent, for He did not commit the sins that the Jews assumed in Him due to their insolence, this is confirmed by the divine Prophet himself, who speaks about Him: you see how the righteous perish, no one accepts with his heart (Is. 57:1); and again on behalf of the Jews he speaks of Him: We will bind the righteous, for it is not necessary for us to eat (Is. 57:3,10). And the deed itself spoke loudly about this: for how was it possible for the divine and pure nature of the Word to sin against what was proper and characteristic of it, and to fall under the defilement of sin? Therefore, it is said about the Savior of us all, Christ, that He did not commit sin, but flattery was found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22). But since He says about Himself that, being innocent and righteous, He was subjected to slander from the synagogue of Judea: then to those who did not know about His complete innocence or perhaps even thought that He had done something shameful and that He suffered on the cross in justice, to such he gives the necessary answer and says: who will hide with me? Yes, he will resist me completely. This is similar to what Christ himself clearly said to the scribes and Pharisees: who of you accuses me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me (John 8:46)? Although the Only Begotten Word of God became the same as us, and was clothed in every likeness to us, yet for this reason alone there is no doubt that He has a nature superior to ours; for while every person is subject to falls and sins, and no one leads a completely blameless life, He alone retained His divine dignity even when He became a man: The Divine nature in justice must be thought of above the possibility of sinning. That is why he said that the prince of this world is coming, and he will have nothing in me (John 14:30). And truly, the One who became like us in order to remove us from the snares of sin, how could He Himself, along with us, be caught by them? or how could He who frees all those who believe in Him from accusation and reproach end up under reproach and accusation? God justifies, who condemns? Isa.50:9. Behold, the Lord (Lord) will help me: who will embitter me? Behold, you all promise like a robe, and like a prayer you are taken away. By this He wants to teach the wicked and those infected with unjust hatred against Him two useful and necessary subjects: firstly, that their plan against Him and the murderous enterprise turned out to be completely unsuccessful; secondly, to the fact that great and grave punishments will reach those who sinned against Him, since they thought that they could put to death the Chief of the life of the Lord, but as the Psalmist says, having considered the advice, they will not be able to draw them up (Ps. 20:12). And it was impossible for death to prevail over Him who is life. So He has risen by the power of God the Father, as it is written (1 Cor. 15:5 cf. Rom. 10:9). But He Himself, since He is thought of as the Word and God, was not powerless to avoid, I say, the corruption of His flesh. since He became a man, He received this (according to humanity) from the Father; for everything will be given to man from God. And that God and the Father through Him abolished the power of death (Heb. 9:14), that is, through His resurrection from the dead, this is clear from His words to the congregation of the Jews: Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). But since He usually assimilates everything that exceeds the power and nature of man to the face of the Father, therefore here he speaks according to humanity: Behold, the Lord will help me: whoever embitters me! If, he says, God and the Father helps (Me) and destroys all your exaltation and confirms my glory, then who will be among you so that he can resist His unchanging advice and cause harm to Him who is helped by Him? So, if the scribes and Pharisees had been reasonable, they would have refrained from plotting and plotting against him, having learned in advance through the holy prophets that they (the scribes) were not able to harm Christ, who is God and Lord and the true Son of the Father; but that, on the contrary, they themselves bring upon themselves a terrible and severe punishment. And this he teaches, adding: Behold, you all promise like a robe, and like a prayer you are taken away, that is, you will reach decay, decay and disappearance, consumed by many and inevitable sufferings, when terrible disasters, like moths, will destroy you. The prophet Isaiah also speaks about this in another place: why are you still wounded by committing iniquity? Every head is in illness, and every heart is in sorrow: from the feet even to the head there is no integrity in it: neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound: there is no plaster to apply, lower than oil, lower than duty. Your land is desolate, your cities are set on fire, strangers devour your country before you, and it is desolate from strange people (Isa. 1:5-7). This prediction of such terrible disasters was quite enough to convince the Jews to humble themselves and not rebel against God at all, if, as I said, their intrigues were to be unsuccessful, and they themselves, for their vain plans, were to suffer punishment and be subjected to destruction and complete extermination. Isa.50:10. Who in you fears the Lord? let him listen to the voice of his lad. Having said: “As a garment you have promised”, to those who have chosen useless labor and preferred to delight in violent deeds against Him (for he says: “Behold, you have all promised as a garment, and as a prayer you have lost”), finally, he turns his love for mankind to the good and shows them the path of salvation, since very many of the Israelites believed, as is clearly narrated in the book of Acts. Apostolic. The remains were saved, of which, as it were, some of the first fruits and first fruits were the divine disciples. Therefore, to those who were more disposed to faith, he offers his mercy, saying: who in you fears the Lord? let him listen to the voice of his lad. Calling Himself a child of God, He makes it clear that He, having become a man, is the true Son of God and the Father. And hearing His voice was not a transgression of the law, but a confirmation of the law, which predetermined, through image and shadow, the truth, which is Christ and His words. This is why the wise Paul writes in his epistle and says: Do we then destroy the law by faith? let it not be: but we establish the law (Rom.3:31), for it is written that my righteous shall live by faith (Rom.1:17). And the end of the law and the prophets was the mystery of Christ, which by faith justifies the wicked and frees from guilt those who were given over to their vices! So hearing His voice, obviously Christ, that is, accepting the gospel and saving preaching was the confirmation of the law. And that it is pleasing to God and the Father that those living on earth should obey the voice of His Son, this can be shown to reasonable people by the Gospel Scriptures. Christ was transfigured on the mountain, His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with each other; then there was the voice of God and the Father, speaking to the holy apostles and saying: This is my beloved Son, listen to him (Matthew 17:2-5). So, he says, if there is anyone who has the fear of God in his soul and has hidden it within himself like some treasure, let him listen to the voice of His Son. And this, as I said, is an evangelical and divine sermon, calling for redemption through faith in Christ, and for a holy life, much superior to life in the law: for one was, as I said, in the vestibule, the other has a bright and obvious truth. Isa.50:10. You who walk in darkness and have no light, trust in the name of the Lord and be strong in the Lord. The most skillful doctors sometimes add emollients to powerful medications to reduce severe and very severe pain. So now we find our Lord Jesus Christ doing something similar. He denounces those who walk in darkness and seem to be immersed in darkness, completely deprived of light, obviously divine and spiritual, and not taking even a step towards what can contribute to their salvation or benefit them, but, on the contrary, rushing towards what can very easily cast them into the abyss of destruction. And truly, there is no way for those who are in darkness to walk on the straight path; for even if there is a pit in their path, they fall into it, and even if stones are scattered, they stumble on them, being unprotected by anything. So, to you, he says, who walk in darkness and foolishly do not go towards My light, I address my instructions. Trust in the name of the Lord, and be strong in God. because the Jewish people, seeing the Only Begotten Word of God in an image similar to ours, that is, having become a man, did not understand, due to their great stupidity, the sacraments regarding Him, but recklessly insulted Him often with blasphemous words, calling Him either a Samaritan or a wine drinker, and sometimes, due to vain jealousy, they even inflamed with anger against Him (for they said: about a good deed we will not place stone on you, but about blasphemy, because you are a man, make God for yourself (John 10:33): then it was necessary, as I have already said, that, having become a man, he showed them His excellent and divine glory and power and distracted some of them from low thoughts about Him, saying: trust in the name of the Lord and be strong in God. So, He very clearly calls Himself Lord and God, distracting. them, as I said, from the desire to think and say something low and contemptuous about Him. On the contrary, He is glory to those who have accepted faith in Him, to trust in Him and have Him as a rod and support: for He uses everything for their good. And this, I think, is what the divine Psalmist teaches, saying to the Father of all and God: thy rod and club are my comforter (Ps. 22:4); since the human mind is inclined towards the affairs of this world and is strongly disposed towards shameful pleasures and carnality, why it always needs a Savior and the giver of a saving hand, so those who have received help from Him say: set my feet on stones and straighten my steps (Ps. 39:3). And that the mind of the Jews was immersed in darkness and gloom, this can be seen from the Holy Scriptures. So the Wise Paul says: the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ will not shine upon them (2 Cor. 4:4). And the divine prophet Isaiah speaks of the descendants of Israel this way: to those who wait for the light, there will be darkness for them; while they wait for the dawn, they walk in darkness (Is. 59:9). And Christ Himself called them to the light, saying: I am the light of the world: walk on me, not to walk in darkness, but to have the light of life (John 8:12). So, it is undoubtedly and true that those who did not want to follow Him will certainly have to walk in the night and in darkness. Isa.50:11. Behold, you all kindle the fire and strengthen the flame: walk by the light of your fire and by the flame that you kindled. For my sake, this will happen to you, you will fall asleep in sorrow. He also shows them something else that could easily dispose them to the right way of thinking: for the reminder of punishments, through complete fear, makes even a disobedient and stubborn mind seem receptive and submissive. Therefore, he says that those who increase the flame kindle the fire against themselves; since those who insult Him by prolonged disobedience and want to have a heart that is disobedient to Him kindle an unquenchable flame against themselves, obviously of punishment. A thought similar to the words being explained is contained in what was said by the Savior of us all, Christ: he who believes in the Son will not be condemned: but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he does not believe in the name of the Son of God (John 3:18); for what else does “to be condemned” mean, if not the same thing as to fall into the flames and into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels? Having added this: you strengthen the flame, trying to remind you of something terrible and fair. Just as those who add substances that can burn to the fire strengthen it, because the flame rages when there is a lot of such substances and weakens when there is a shortage of them: so the Jews kindled a fire against themselves, beating the prophets and stoning those sent to them. They intensified their flame, adding fury against Christ to their previous crimes, for they counted the Son among the servants and, as much as depended on them, killed the Author of life, although He, as God and life, rose from the dead. And since they, having become attached to the shadows of the law, did not accept the teaching through Christ, then, as those who imagine they have the light of the law, but in fact do not have it, they are quite deservedly deprived of fellowship with Him, saying: walk by the light of your fire and by the flame that kindled it; for they had no light, but their dream that they knew the law, and their reluctance to accept the teachings of Christ, were the cause of fire and flame for them. And that they were punished for their fury against Christ and will die in their sins, this is made clear by adding: for my sake, you will sleep in sorrow. What is this? Their country was devastated, the evil perished, the holy city was taken and fell into the hands of enemies, even the church itself was burned, and they died and, moreover, in sorrow; for, dying without being cleansed and not being worthy to receive redemption through Christ, they should rest not with hope of rewards and not in spiritual joy, but in fear of punishments and for their sake in sorrow. Isa.51:1,2. Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and seek the Lord, look at the solid stone, which was cut off and in the vale of the stream, which was dug up. Look to your father Abraham and to Sarah who gave birth to you: for you were one, and you called him, and blessed him, and loved him, and multiplied him. Having sufficiently exposed those who have become impervious to the truth, and clearly pointed out to them the punishment awaiting them if they do not want to follow the teaching of the Gospel, but continue to raise the proud and rebellious neck of their minds, he turns in time with words of encouragement to those descendants of Israel who believed, for the people of Judah were not completely destroyed, but a remnant was saved, according to the saying of the prophet. So many, as it is written in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, received the word about Christ and knew the manifestation of His glory. It is to them that he turns and says: listen to me, you who persecute the truth (τ ὸ δ ι καιον) and who seek the Lord. He uses truth instead of: justification (δικαιοσ υ νη), obviously through Christ, that is, through faith in Him, which justifies the wicked and frees the unclean from all filth, sanctifying in the Spirit and imparting the glorious praise of sonhood. Persecuting the truth does not mean that they pursue and expel it from their thoughts, but, as it were, run towards it in order to assimilate it. The divine David said something similar: seek peace, and marry (Ps. 33:15), that is, understand this in accordance with what was said by one of the holy prophets: in what will I comprehend the Lord? I will hide my God on high (Mic.6:6). So, they persecute the truth, as I said, in order to delight it when they find it. And these are those who seek the Lord himself, that is, Christ, and find Him through faith when God and the Father calls them to do so. So Christ also said nowhere to the Jewish people: do not murmur among yourselves: no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:43). In addition, pay attention to the following. God does not speak to everyone in general, but to those who persecute the truth and seek Him (the Lord) in the ways that we just talked about. So, everyone who is called through faith in Christ to the knowledge of the truth turns out to be taught by God. And what he wants to point out here and what the essence of thoughts is, we’ll say as much about this as we can. The number of Jews was very large, but very few of them believed. However, that those who believed will one day reach an innumerable multitude, when those who are circumcised will be joined by those who are uncircumcised, that is, the pagans, for God will gather them, he tries to confirm this, taking as an example or as confirmation of the hope in this the divine Abraham and with him Sarah. And this is because they became the root of the entire people, although they were old and advanced in age and did not have any hope of having children; for he was already a hundred years old, and she was barren and had lost the ability to bear children. But since nothing is impossible for God, on the contrary, everything is easy and convenient; then they became the beginning and root of a multitude of people, competing with the heavenly bodies, as the divine Abraham was told nowhere to look at the stars and believe that his seed would be equal in number to the stars (Gen. 22:17; Gen. 26:4). And that Sarah did not give birth according to the law of human nature and that the divine Abraham became the father of a son, being already an old man and having passed beyond the limits of courage - to clarify this, he points to two images: a solid stone being hewn and a deep ditch being dug. How to carve something out of a hard and stubborn stone or dig a deep well is one of the most difficult things; So exactly, I think, it is not easy and unthinkable to give birth to a child from an old man and from a barren woman. But this happened beyond expectation, and it happened by the will of God. So when you who have believed think that you are very few at the time when the divine and sacred preaching began; then you, he says, have a firm conviction that those like you will increase to countless numbers. After all, Abraham was alone, but I called Him, and blessed Him, and having blessed He loved, and having loved He multiplied, that is, I made him the father of the entire Jewish people and, moreover, the father of those who are from the promise, or the Gentiles; for Abraham was told that you are the father of many tongues (Gen. 17:5). So, the one who is called is blessed; and whoever is blessed will be completely loved; and whoever achieves this will be numerous, obviously in the spiritual sense, for he will have various fruits of virtues and gospel decorations. But according to the historical meaning, one can see that this promise was justified, for the whole of heaven worships the Savior of all Christ, everything is filled with Him, the whole earth is filled with His glory. Isa.51:3. And now I will comfort you, O Zion, and I will comfort all her deserts, and I will make her desert like a paradise, and even to the west of it like the paradise 182 of the Lord: joy and gladness will be found in it, they will confess 183 and the voice of praise. The speech of the holy prophets, although clothed in images of visible and sensory objects; but always relates to the supersensible and spiritual. Therefore, if he mentions Zion, then do not mean earthly (Zion), but understand spiritual, which is the living church of God; because how else could we see that the words of the prophet are fulfilled? God has promised to comfort Zion, but we do not find the fulfillment of this promise anywhere; on the contrary, it turns out that he was devastated and ruined. So, the word of the prophet now addresses the multitude of believers, which is the living church of God. What does he say? Just as I called, he says, Abraham, who was alone, and made him alone the father of many nations, so I will comfort you, O Zion. The consolation implied in these words is a promise that excites joy in the hearers and inculcates a confident hope that when God from everywhere will gather those who are called through faith; then Zion will not be deserted and deserted, but like a paradise, abundant in flowers and trees, covered with beautiful and noble plants and having spiritual fruitfulness, that is, joy and gladness, confession and the voice of praise. From this understand that He promises to free from subordinate service those who will take the place of plants and fill the spiritual garden, which is called here the paradise of God. And in fact, in ancient times the law of Moses commanded that oxen be sacrificed, sheep slaughtered, turtle doves and flour mixed with oil dedicated to God: however, through all this the God of all did not become accessible. But as Christ himself said: The Spirit is God: and whoever bows down to him is worthy to bow down in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Worship in spirit and truth and the power of spiritual service have in itself a fragrance, spiritual joy and gladness in the hope of Christ; for we hope that He will transform the body of our humility into conformity with the body of His glory, and that we will abide and reign with Him, numbered among the sons of God and having received in abundance His divine and life-giving Spirit. Let us also bring spiritual fruitfulness to Him, and praise, and songs of thanksgiving: for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb. 13:16) Isa.51:4. Listen to me, my people, listen, and kings, inspire me: for the law will come from me, and my judgment into the light of the tongue. Promising to reveal the greatest and innumerable multitude of those who believe in Him, He addresses this multitude with a speech as if it were already gathered; and then he secretly guides them as his worshipers, so that what is written about them may be true: and they will all be taught by God (John 6:44; Isaiah 54:13). Therefore, the divine David sings and says this to the Savior of all, Christ: blessed is the man whom you chastise, O Lord, and teach him of your law (Ps. 93:12). Moreover, He promised glory to those who knew His appearance, just as through one of the holy prophets He speaks about His coming into the world with the flesh: From these days, says the Lord: I have given my laws in their thoughts, and I will write them on their hearts (Jer. 31:33). And the wise Paul, who correctly understood this, writes and says to those who have achieved this: you are our epistle, written not with ink, but with the living Spirit of God (2 Cor. 3:2,3). So listen to me, he says, that is, accept my words and do not, like Israel, be unbridled, tied to the old letter of the law and seeing nothing but images. Until the time of correction, the commandment was given through Moses, it is said (Heb. 9:10). But since the time of the incarnation (of Christ) is no longer a matter of expectation, but has already arrived; then the shadow must be transformed into truth. Therefore, listen to me, my people. Saying: my people offers them spiritual communication (with Himself), given to them in due time, thereby convincing them, as I think, and making them more ready to accept, that is, His words. He calls not only those who belong to the people, but also kings, so that you understand the rulers or leaders of the peoples; for from the great number of those who believed, many achieved this, the first fruits of which became the divine disciples, and after them those who follow in their footsteps acquired the royal name, as having received the royal name and appointed to govern the nations. Therefore, as if out of extremely great joy, they send up songs of thanksgiving to God, saying: Subdue the people to us, and put the tongues under our feet (Ps. 46:3). The divine Psalmist also sings about them: the princes of mankind gathered with God Abraham (Ps. 46:10). Therefore he says: Oh, nations and kings! listen to me and inspire me and announce the future. The law will come from Me and my judgment in the light of the tongue. In these words he calls divine and evangelical preaching the law, for it is of a different kind and, as it were, a new and saving teaching, or the transformation of the old law into a better one and the transformation of images that have become unnecessary into the truth. Therefore, Christ said: Do not imagine that he came to destroy the law, or the prophets: he did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. I say to you: just as one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, they will all be complete (Matthew 5:18). But the law in writing was given through Moses, and the saving, that is, gospel, preaching occurred through Christ. Therefore, it was fitting, as one must think, for Moses to be a servant of shadow and image, and for Christ to become a lamp of knowledge and true worship in the Spirit; for He is the true light. To this he adds that my judgment is in the light of the tongue. Judgment here refers to His holy and humane determination, which proclaimed in the light of tongues grace from Him, or judgment, righteousness and justice, or truth, obviously the Gospel. So the divine David reminds of the sacred sermon, saying: you have prepared righteousness, justice and righteousness in Jacob you have created (Ps. 99:4). If he says that he created a divine and saving sermon among Jacob; then will he not do much more among other nations? But it is necessary to remember that God says: I was not sent, only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24), and also through the mouth of the divine David himself: I am appointed king by him, obviously from God the Father, over Zion, his holy mountain, to proclaim the commandment of the Lord (Ps. 2:6); For from Israel were the fathers, and the promise, and the law, and the covenant (Rom. 9:4,5). since they became apostates, disobedient and murderers of the Lord, as a result of this grace departed from them and became the light of all nations. Isa.51:5. My truth is soon approaching, and 184 will come out like the light of my salvation, and the nations will trust in my arm: the islands will wait for me and will trust in my arm. He does not allow the zeal of those called to weaken amid injustices and does not say that the fulfillment of hope will be in the distant future; on the contrary, it shows that the fulfillment of the promise seems to follow the very words, which is said through the mouth of Habakkuk or by God himself: yet a little, still a little, he who comes will come, and will not tarry (Hab. 2:3); for hope for blessings, causing thirst in those awaiting their fulfillment, weakens from delay. Therefore, he says that his truth is approaching. And if we wish to refer these words to God and the Father; then we can say that by His righteousness He calls the Son: for we were justified in Him, not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but by His great mercy (Titus 3:5), - and He came into this world not to judge it, but so that it might be saved through Him. And the world is saved only through His many mercy; for he said: I am the one who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember them (Is. 43:25). And you, Israel, do not forget me. Behold, the cloud of your iniquity has been cut away, and your sins have become dark (Is. 44:21,22). And David sings and says to Him: Thou hast pleased the Lord with thy land, Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forsaken the iniquities of your people, you have covered all their sins (Ps. 85:2-3). So, in the righteousness of God and the Father, that is, in Christ we are saved and sanctified and washed from sinful filth. If we apply the words to Christ: my righteousness is soon approaching; then by righteousness you should understand nothing other than grace that justifies through Him, or the gospel and heavenly preaching, through which we learned the path of righteousness pleasing to Him and were led to all the best exploits, according to what was said in the psalms: the lamp of my feet is your law and the light of my paths (Ps. 119:105). In addition, he calls the truth saving, and quite rightly; for it delivers us from all evil and, freeing us from the bonds of death, leads us to endless life. He also promises something else, for he says: the heathen will trust in my arm, and he claims that the islands also await him. Once upon a time, many pagans were in indestructible bonds, in bonds, I say, of sin, and, subject to the cruel power of the all-evil dragon and the head of all evil, they were in captivity and, amid extreme disasters, remained completely helpless: there was no one who could free them from such a bitter and inevitable disaster - there was no one who could break the yoke of cruel power; but they suffered, as I said, the fate of prisoners of war, had no hope of life and were deprived of every good deed; for completely ignorant of the true nature of the Lord, they lived without hope and without godliness in the world, according to the word of blessed Paul (Eph. 2:12). But those who were once weak and, as it were, thrown to the ground, eating at My arm, will acquire unexpected hope of salvation. The Holy Scripture everywhere calls the Son the arm of the Father; for He is His strength. But if anyone would like to understand the arm of the Son himself, in which lies the hope of the nations called to salvation, let him imagine His magnificent and excellent power, with which He, having crushed Satan and the rulers of this world, saved the pagans. So He Himself said: Or how can someone sneak into the house of a strong man and plunder his vessels, unless he first binds the strong man, and then plunders his vessels (Matthew 12:29)? And David said: you have humbled the proud, like a wound; you have squandered your strength against your enemies (Ps. 88:11). So, Christ became the hope and the way of salvation, not for the Israelites alone, but for all nations: even the islands will wait for Him. Islands, as I think, he calls churches of the pagans, who, being as if in the middle of the sea and as if struck by waves of the blows of events, acquire through patience the crown of glory, for patience makes art, but art makes hope: but hope does not put one to shame (Rom. 5:4,5). Therefore, the saying: to wait for God can mean nothing more than to please Him with constancy and patience and for this to receive love and care from Him, as it is written: having endured those who have endured the Lord, they have listened to me (Ps. 39:2). Isa.51:6. Raise your eyes to heaven and look down on the earth, for the sky is established like smoke, and the earth is like a robe, and those who live on the earth will die like this, but my salvation will endure forever, and my righteousness will not fail. Saying that He Himself will be hope for the pagans, He teaches the secrecy necessary for them, for those who did not know God could enter into spiritual communion with Him only through liberation from ancient error, through deliverance from the snares of the cruelty of the devil and through enrichment with the true and not reproachful knowledge of God, since clear knowledge and confession that there is no other God besides Him is, as it were, an entrance into close fellowship with Him. And since they thought that the sky is God, and were convinced that it was necessary to worship the brightest of the stars and even gave divine honor to the very earth lying under the feet of all, completely deviating from pious teachings and from the One who by nature is the God of all and brought into being what once did not exist: then he says that the creature has a different nature than He and, clearly pointing out the incomparable difference between the Creator and the creature, commands us to raise our eyes to the sky, that is, to look at the firmament and what is on it; and then again bring your mind down to the earth, that is, to contemplate the animals that are on it, and in general everything that exists on it. And if they have reverence for the Creator 185, then they should not stop their minds on creatures, but by the greatness of their deeds, recognize the power of the Artist and the excellent and ineffable glory of the Creator of all things. We are accustomed to collecting knowledge about God both from the divinely inspired Scripture, and also from the splendor and harmony of creatures. Therefore, Paul laughs at the Hellenic sages because, while they arrogate to themselves the glory of wisdom, they nevertheless have a heart filled with all foolishness, for they consider, he says, to serve the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). He also reproaches others because they again turn to the weak and poor elements of the world and want to serve them contrary to justice (Gal. 4:9). And that the beauty of creation does not give rise to delusion to the most intelligent, but serves as the beginning of true knowledge of God, he explained this, saying: for his invisible, from the creation of the world, was thought by the creatures, the essence is visible, and his ever-present power and divinity (Rom. 1:20). So, when you, he says, contemplated the sky that was established and appeared as if in the form of smoke; then know that he says that what has been brought into existence will again be destroyed; for what has the beginning of being will again one day turn into non-existence. So the earth, he says, will be promised, that is, it will disappear, and those living on it will die, just like this one. The death of the elements, in accordance with the nature of things, here refers to their change for the better, for, as Paul says, the creation itself will be freed from the work of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:21). How will he be freed? The disciple of Christ will explain this, saying: the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass by with a noise, the elements that are burned will be destroyed, and the earth and the works on it will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:10), but new heavens and new earths according to the promise of his tea (2 Pet. 3:13). So, the renewal of creation, he says, will be like a resurrection from the dead, like human bodies. But while the elements are being destroyed, my salvation, he says, will endure forever and my truth will not fail. Salvation and righteousness, as we have often said, calls the Son; and calling Him His own, shows the property that He has with Him, for by nature the Son is from Him and in Him. But, he says, he will endure forever and will not become poor. With these words he explains how great the difference is between the Creator and the creature, the Creator and the creature, for the creature has promise and how, brought from non-existence into being, will not be alien to corruption; The creator of all things and the artist is God the Word, through whom all things and in whom all things will endure forever and will not fail. The divine Psalmist also teaches this, saying: in the beginnings, O Lord, you founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens. They will perish, but you remain: and all the robe they have worn, and like the garment I have worn, they will be changed. You are the same, and your years will not fail (Ps. 101:26,27). Isa.51:7,8. Listen to me, you who lead the judgment, my people, who have my law in your hearts, do not be afraid of the reproaches of man and do not repent of their blasphemy. As the robe will be consumed by time, and as the cloth will be eaten away by the moths, my righteousness will endure forever, and my salvation will endure for generations. Having taught the secrets of those who were from the pagans, and offered them a simpler teaching, consistent with their meaning (for milk is more suitable for those who are still in infancy in the power of understanding), he again speaks to those who have matured and have a more courageous soul and a mature mind 186. And what they were like, he clearly speaks about this - (calling them) leading the court, that is, as if by some experienced money changers, evaluating each act and accurately distinguishing, accepting a good deed, and abstaining from every bad deed. These are those who have the law of God in their minds and hearts and have taken care to accept it as if it were some kind of wise teacher and guide. So David sings and says about everyone who is righteous and wise, that the law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter (Ps. 36:31). Truly, it turns out to be a saving thing for us to put aside the divine law for storage in our mind and heart; for like a vessel made of copper or some other similar substance and containing fire, it remains hot; so the human soul, which has the divine law in its mind, always burns in spirit. And one of the holy disciples says 187: for the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will dry out (Matthew 24:12). So listen, he says, you who carry out judgment and bear my law in your heart: do not be afraid of the reproaches of man, and do not repent of their blasphemy; For all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12) and... suffering for the sake of piety, they will be subject to ridicule from those who do not know him. But this must be considered as nothing; it is better to think that the Savior of all and the Lord himself endured the cross, despising the shame. Therefore, he says: a disciple is not a master of his master: if he casts me out, you will also be cast out: if he discredits the master of Beelzebub’s house, how much more than his household (Matthew 10:24,25; John 15:20); and to this he also adds: blessed are you, when they revile you, and destroy you, and say all sorts of evil things against you, who lie for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven: for you have driven out the prophets who went before you (Matthew 5:11,12). So, in the midst of these disasters, you need to have an unshakable spirit, not to attach any importance to the ridicule of the persecutors and to despise all reproach; on the contrary, consider persecution for piety into reproach for Christ as a deed worthy of all praise; for what insult can insolence and an offensive word, escaping from a foolish soul, cause to one who is famous for patience? And that the glory of those who endured will one day shine, and their blasphemers and slanderers will turn into nothing, He confirmed this, saying: as the robe will be consumed by time, and as the cloth will be eaten away by moths; and clothing and wool can very soon become subject to decay and decay. But my truth, that is, justification through Me and the salvation that is to be granted will be long-lasting and endless and will extend to many generations, that is, it will exist unceasingly. So, having endured a little for piety, we will receive a very rich reward. And the wise Paul will testify to this, saying: for if our sorrow is now light, when it is multiplied into success, he will make the burden of eternal glory for us, even though we do not see things that are visible, but things that are invisible: for what is visible is temporary, but what is invisible is eternal (2 Cor. 4:17,18). Isa.51:9. Arise, arise, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm, arise as at the beginning of the day, as the generation of the age. These words seem to evoke the calling and conversion of Israel; for he too will be called to the knowledge of the glory of the Savior of us all, Jesus Christ, after the entry (into the kingdom of Christ) of the Gentiles, as it is written in the prophets: In many days the children of Israel will sit; their God and David their king, and they will wonder about the Lord and his goodness in the last days (Hos. 3:4,5). And that in these words the prophet calls Christ, born according to the flesh from the seed of David, David, I think absolutely no one will doubt this; since the words of this prophecy were spoken long after the divine David died. And the wise Paul knows about the calling through faith of the descendants of Israel, which will take place in due time; for in one place he said that when the fulfillment of tongues comes, then all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25,26), and in another the pagan turns to those who believed themselves and speaks of them as about a plant and an olive tree: if any are broken off from the branches, so that you may be grafted in, not boasting on the branches; for it is not you who bear the root, but the root to you (Rom. 11:17,18); and how you were cut off from the natural olive tree, and through nature you clung to the good olive tree; so these also, who are by nature, will cling to their own olive tree (Rom. 11:24). Therefore he says: O Jerusalem, arise. I think that this is the same thing that the most sacred Paul wrote to some: Arise, sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light (Eph. 5:14). So, awaken, or rise from the dead, put on the strength of your muscle, and not the sensory, but the spiritual muscle of the soul, by which obviously means the accomplishment of virtue; since it is certain that Israel, having rebelled against Christ, became weak, and having turned and become sober, will again be clothed with the power of Christ. And he was told about this through one of the holy prophets: turn, O Israel, to the Lord your God, because you have fainted in your iniquities (Hos. 14:2). And through the mouth of Jeremiah it was announced about them, on behalf of the Savior of us all, Christ: Behold, I will give this disease to people, and fathers and sons together will faint, his neighbor and his sincere will perish (Jer. 6:21). Truly, Israel, for their wickedness against Christ, completely fell away from being able to do anything usually required for a decent life. But arise, he says, as at the beginning of the day, as at the beginning of the age, so that you can strive and return again to what you were in the beginning, when human nature was brought into being, or the first man before he became entangled in the networks of the devil’s malice and neglected this commandment. Christ transforms us into such a person and paints in us the original beauty of nature, putting His image in us: for we were created in His image and likeness. So the most excellent Paul writes to those who believed and then foolishly turned to the shadow of the law: my children, in the image of my illness, Christ will be imagined in you (Gal. 4:19). Isa.51:10. Are you not the one who empties the sea, the waters of the deep? putting the depths of the sea way of passage seized and delivered? He reminds Israel of the great deeds He accomplished in Egypt; He freed them from cruel and inevitable slavery, snatched them from the hand that unbearably oppressed him, brought them across the middle of the sea; the waters became solid like a wall, and the waves of the sea became passable for the redeemed, for they walked like dry land. And this was not their doing, but the discovery of the miraculous power of the almighty right hand; for, as I said, God made the sea passable for them. However, he calls them as if they were the deeds of Jerusalem itself, which happened for its sake, at the same time urging them to be courageous, because those who believe in Christ will overcome every temptation and overcome every power of the enemy. The One who in ancient times led them through the middle of the sea and showed the very path of passage to the saved and delivered, will again with His omnipotence turn away from them and drive away those disasters that will once be inflicted on them from someone, for it is written that all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). So, God says to Jerusalem: Are you not the one who devastates the sea and everything else, but you can understand the meaning of the above words in another way. After Jerusalem was called to the knowledge of Christ with the words of God and the Father: Arise, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm, after it was in some way awakened and brought to the remembrance of its strength, it turns to it and says: Are you not the one who empties the sea, the many waters of the deep? having laid down the depths of the sea a way of passage for those taken away and delivered for us, showing the way through the waves? Experience of having already been with them, it seems. takes for unshakable assurance of what will happen subsequently; since the One who led them through the middle of the sea will certainly calm down the excitement of this life, and make the vain and discordant confusion of worldly affairs powerless, so that the souls of those called will in no way be suppressed by worldly worries; but he will lead the saved and redeemed through every temptation, so that they will glorify Him and say: Sing a new song to the Lord, for the Lord has done a wondrous thing: his right hand and his holy arm will save him (Ps. 97:1). No one else could be the right hand and arm of God and the Father except our Lord Jesus Christ. Isa.51:11. For by the Lord they will return and come to Zion with joy and with everlasting gladness: for on their head is joy and praise, and I will receive joy: sickness and sorrow and sighing will have escaped. Again he speaks in accordance with what has already happened to them. Offending God in many ways and, as it were, falling into certain pits in the service of idols, they became immeasurably defiled and, rejecting the commandment of the wise Moses, turned to the teachings and commandments of men. As a result of all this, they were once betrayed to the Babylonians and lived as captives in the country of the Persians and Medes. But again they were pardoned. When, by the will of God, Cyrus freed them and allowed them to return, they went to Judea, rejoicing and triumphant, and having praises to God as a crown on their heads. So, as if based on what happened historically, he perfectly depicts the spiritual joy in the last appeals. They will return, he says, by the Lord and will come to Zion, obviously spiritual, that is, the church, having fun and rejoicing; for praise and joy will be on their head, and I will receive joy. The Savior of all, glorified by them and becoming for them a string and a lyre, as it were, crowns the souls of believers and fills them with all joy, rejoicing and gladness. Where is the title calling for repentance and conversion and the cleansing of sin through faith, obviously in Christ, where is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the grace and honor of sonhood and the enjoyment of endless blessings, and the hope of the kingdom of heaven: there, of course, joy always abides, illness, sorrow and sighing escape. In fact, what place will there be for sorrow and for what reasons could there be sighing where there is absolutely no reason for sighing and sorrow, where, on the contrary, hope for rejoicing, joy, endless pleasure and joy reigns? Isa.51:12–14. I am, I am the one who comforts you: understand who you were who feared mortal man and the son of man, who was like grass, and you forgot God who created you, who created the heavens and founded the earth: and you feared all the days the face of the fury that was cold to you: how could you desire to take you, and now where is the wrath cold to you? You will never be saved, but will hesitate. “I am” is used here instead of: I live and exist; for He is the One. And this is a divine and incomparable dignity, since being and life are characteristic only of the highest Nature, the one who received them not from anyone else and does not have them as something given, but, on the contrary, is life itself. Therefore, he says: I am the one who consoles you, that is, the one who gives all spiritual consolation and communicates his help for a strong affirmation and bold march along the straight path and all virtue. Or consolation can be understood here in another way. The Savior, through the Gospel preaching, called for cleansing from sin, I say, through faith in Him, for the communion of the Holy Spirit, for the praise and glory of sonhood. But you, Israel, he says, did not fear Me, despising and neglecting Me, who calls me to life: you feared man of death, and the son of man, who was like grass cut down. Then you forgot God, who created you, arranged the heavens and founded the earth, and you were afraid of the face of the man who oppressed you. Here God accuses the leaders of the Jews, who constantly opposed the glory of the Savior and, as far as it depended on them, made it mean nothing. He performed various miracles, and they poured out caustic words against the amazing divine signs, for they said that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24). He often delighted his listeners with his interpretations of the law; and They reached such wickedness that they reproached those who praised Him, and said: “They have a demon and are violent: why are you listening to him (John 10:20)? Therefore, they were afraid of the deceit of the Pharisees, as the blessed evangelist will testify, saying that the rulers also knew that He was Christ, but the Pharisee did not confess (John 12:42); For the Jews have already formed, and if anyone confesses Christ, he will be excommunicated from the congregation (John 9:22). And the Savior Himself reproaches the teachers of the law, saying: Woe to you also who are lawyers, because you have taken the key of understanding; you yourselves have not entered into, and have been forbidden to those who enter (Luke 11:46,52). So, He accuses the Jews because, out of their great foolishness, they despised Him Who is the One and the living God, Who with a word established the heavens and founded the earth - on the contrary, they placed above respect for people and listened to the voice of mortal people who dry up like grass. And that those who instilled this shameful fear in the people and through this diverted them from reverence for the One who comes to salvation should be subjected to extreme punishment, He confirmed this by adding: why would you want to take you, and now where is the wrath of him who is cold against you? Sometimes you won’t be able to save yourself, but will hesitate; since the rage of the scribes and Pharisees against the people under their control was temporary, but they came to destruction and were given over to destruction. And while those who believed in Christ rejoiced, having received salvation and being delivered from divine wrath, they, on the contrary, did not hesitate, that is, in a short time they died when all of Judea was devastated, the church was burned and Jerusalem was destroyed along with its inhabitants. Isa.51:15,16. For I am the Lord thy God, trouble the sea, and make noise unto its waves: The Lord of Hosts is my name. I will put my words in your mouth and cover you under the canopy of my hand, with which I have established the heavens and the foundations of the earth: and Zion says: For you are my God 188 . Having accused the Israelites because they were afraid of people, that is, those who received authority over the synagogue, and because out of fear of them they foolishly entered the swamps of disobedience and completely neglected love for Him, these words show that He eased the temptations and persecutions that could happen to those who decided to live godly, and the cruelty of the oppressors would make them unsuccessful and powerless, changing sorrow into joy and turning grief into pleasure. For example, take this visible spacious sea. “I am,” he says, “disturb the sea and make noise to its waves; the Lord of hosts is my name.” Therefore, just as sometimes a wave rises and, driven by the force of the winds, violently hits the shore, and then again soon calm and silence sets in, according to the will of God; just like that, I turn terrible, unbearable, and extreme disasters with one wave, he says, into clear weather; for having calmed all confusion, I bring those who decided to strive in piety to the greatest joy. And this, I think, is covertly sung by the lyre of the Psalmist: he commanded the storm, and arose into silence, and silenced its waves (Ps. 106:29). And so that they, without any doubt, assimilate the hope that what was promised will certainly come into fulfillment and the promise of the help expected from Him can never turn out to be false, He necessarily says that the Lord of Hosts is My name: since if He is the Lord of hosts; then how can He be powerless to save anyone, or what task can be difficult, difficult and inconvenient for His almighty right hand? He also adds something else, which is sufficient to confirm the help and at the same time reveals that the anger towards them has ceased and the harmful consequences of rejection have ceased, and, finally, they are in His care and are rewarded with mercy and love, which befits those who know His appearance. I will put my words in your mouth, he says. The divine David nowhere spoke about this very thing, singing: To the sinner God said: What kind of justifications will you tell and accept my covenant with your lips? (Ps.49:16). For praise is not sweet in the mouth of a sinner (Sir. 15:9), as it is written. Therefore, the thought 189 about God drives away everything unclean and criminal and constantly reminds us of His words, as it is said: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Isn’t it obvious to everyone that those who have an evil heart cannot utter good words? and it is very fitting for saints to have the law of God in their minds and to express it in language and words. Therefore, the God of all promises, as it were, to those who are already righteous and sanctified in the faith and who have received the glory of nobility, to put His words in their mouths, so that they, constantly remembering the divine law, may recognize the path to salvation that is beneficial for them. Thus it is written about every righteous person: the law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter (Ps. 37:31), and again: Your words are hidden in my heart, so that I will not sin against you (Ps. 119:11). For the law of God contributes to our confirmation in goodness and the acquisition of a mind well disposed to every good activity - it does not allow us to fall into bad things and greatly distracts us from the tendency to act unjustly. But since, as I have already said, he addresses his speech as if to his relatives; then he also promises something else: I will cover you, he says, under the canopy of my hands. And this is a worthy acquisition and an excellent good, sufficient for the salvation of those who have already been worthy to receive it; for by the hand of God the Father we mean none other than the Son begotten of him, our Lord Jesus Christ; and those who submit to Him cannot be harmed by anything that usually causes harm. But they will be strong and very courageous, will overcome all confusion and temptation, will prove invincible to Satan, above all carnal impurity and passions, both spiritual and physical. And that the almighty right hand of the Father will make them so, he shows by adding: with it I established the heavens and the foundations of the earth: for if by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, as it is written, and the earth was established so that it would be motionless; then is she really not powerful enough to save those who consider it very important to be under His protection? Then, he says, Zion says: You are my God. Here, in my opinion, you should see a clearly and obviously introduced confession of faith in Christ. True, as a result of their greatest wickedness, they once said that they did not know Christ, who performed manifold miracles and gained glory through the indescribable and amazing brilliance of signs; [in fact, they did not know Him, but dishonored Him: for they, due to the greatest foolishness or madness and a God-hating disposition of the soul, dared to say: we know, as Moses said God: but this we do not know, whence it is (John 9:29)]; but, he says, those who once rejected Him and fell into such wickedness, pronouncing my words with their lips and being under the protection of my right hand, recognize the Redeemer, confess Him, saying to Him: You are my God. So, the work of salvation is faith and the path leading to endless life, and the power of confession of Christ. Isa.51:17,18. Arise, arise, rise again, O Jerusalem, having drunk the cup of wrath from the hand of the Lord: for the cup of the fall, the vial of wrath, thou hast drunk and exhausted, and thou hast not comforted thee from all thy children whom thou hast begotten, and thou hast not lifted up thy hand, lower from all thy sons, whom thou hast exalted. He turns his speech to the synagogue of Judea, as if it had fallen and is still lying down, and, as if extending a helping hand to it and as God showing compassion for it, commands it to rise. We say that what is meant here is not a physical uprising, because this is not what we should understand as a fall, on the contrary, a spiritual one, consisting in unbelief. Therefore, the benefit of the uprising mentioned here lies in faith. They fell into destruction, without a doubt, from the fact that they did not accept the gospel saving preaching; on the contrary, they were attached to the teachings and commandments of men, although God clearly spoke through the mouth of Isaiah: my people, your blessed ones flatter you, and trouble the paths of your feet (Isa. 3:12): for their leaders, constantly speaking to them about the law given through Moses and often uttering the following words: blessed They are Israel, who are reasonable to us (Bar. 4:3), distracting the minds of those under their control from the love of Christ and, persuading them to disdain His grace, led them astray and made the path of their feet difficult, not allowing them to do the right thing or go the straight path to justification in faith, although the law in itself does not bring any benefit. So rise up, he says. Obviously, this is the same as what was said through the mouth of Paul: Arise, sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will sanctify you (Eph. 5:14). And to this he adds the following: also make the weak hands and the weak knees straight, and make right paths with your feet (Heb. 12:12,13). And that those who raged against Christ and, as far as it depended on them, dared to put to death the Author of life, brought upon themselves a punishment worthy and completely corresponding to their wickedness, this is shown by saying: having drunk the cup of wrath from the hand of the Lord: for the cup of the fall, the vial of wrath you have drunk and exhausted. He calls condemnation a vial. The expression: you exhausted means you did not pour it out, but drank it all to the dregs, that is, you were subjected to the full wrath of God and suffered anger tantamount to crimes; for the evil ones perished, partly already when their whole country was devastated and their famous church was burned along with Jerusalem, and moreover, they lost hope in God and were excluded from the host of saints. And while all this, he says, happened to you, and when he (Jerusalem) was as if drunk from the utter rage (of God), there was none of your children, there was no one holding your hand, there was no one to console you. True, they had a lot of Levites and priests, scribes and Pharisees, who enjoyed all the honors placed high above others by advantage and superiority. But none of them saved Judea from the disaster that befell her as a result of divine wrath: there was not a single one who could give even a little consolation to those who were subjected to unbearable suffering. So those who distracted them from love for God and convinced them not to have faith in Him, caused them harm and, falling into the abyss of destruction, did not provide any help. Isa.51:19,20. These two things are disgusting to you, who is sorry for you? fall and crushing, famine and sword, who will comfort you? Your poor sons, sitting on the edge of every outcome, like undercooked beets, are filled with the wrath of the Lord, weakened by the Lord God. Who can count the very many sufferings that happened to the Jews during the captivity, I say, under Vespasian and Titus, when the entire country of Judea was devastated, there was not a single type of disaster that they did not experience, but they reached the extreme limit of all evils, as the Savior of all Christ foretold them about this! For when He was led by Pilate's soldiers to the place of crucifixion, and the women followed Him weeping; then He, turning to them, said: daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but rather weep for yourself and your children (Luke 23:28); and again: when you see Jerusalem at war, then you will say to the mountains: fall on us: and with a hill: cover us (Luke 21:20; Luke 23:30). The severity of the terrible disaster was foretold by many holy prophets. The same idea is contained in the verses we are explaining. O wretched one, he says, Jerusalem! These two are disgusting to you, they say instead: they fight and defeat you. What is this? Fall and destruction, famine and sword. These words seem to briefly and concisely indicate the disasters of war. But careful attention must be paid to this, for having listed four, he calls them two: the fall, he said, and the crushing, the famine and the sword. What can we say about this? And how can named objects be two? Even though there may seem to be more of them, the prophetic word here adds their consequences to the first objects. I am saying that after a fall there is certainly destruction, and after hunger there is a sword, that is, death. So two - who was able to help and avert the onset of disaster? This is what the word here indicates first, that is, fall and famine, and their consequences are destruction and the sword. So he says, when this happened, who was able to help and avert the onset of disaster? This is what the word consolation indicates here. Your sons, he says, will they be capable of this? But they will have to be seen impoverished, that is, having nothing that they could advise or do for their consolation, for the benefit of their souls. They sleep on the edge of every exit; because when war befell them, the strong among them fled from the country of Judah and occupied the borders of the country so that they would be ready to flee: some of them hastened to go to the border Egyptians, others to the neighboring country of the Moabites, or to other countries of close nations. They were on the edge of any exit, that is, as I said, on the borders of the country, not in a state of wakefulness, that is, not in such a state that they could do anything important for the benefit of the victims, but as if drunk, with a heavy head, lying and weakened in thoughts and having lost their minds, like undercooked beets. What is the reason for this? Filled with the wrath of the Lord: this was the reason for their weakening. And this is because when we are subjected to inconsolable suffering, we usually seem to lose our minds and do not find any path leading us to salvation, especially if misfortune is sent to us by God. Isaiah 51:21–23. For this sake, hear, humble and drunk not with wine. Thus says the Lord God, who judges his people: Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of fall, the vial of my wrath, and put no drink of it into it: and I will put it in the hands of those who have offended you and humbled you, even those who repented of your soul: bow down, and thou hast laid thy capes equal to the earth on those who pass by. These are the words of Toro, Who nourishes pity and restrains his anger, or better yet, Who excites them to a joyful feeling, for he calls them humble and drunk. Excessive disasters, as I said, can bring those subjected to them to extreme suffering and intoxicate the victims, but not from wine, as he says; since what is meant here by the cup of the Lord is not sensual, and the mixture in it is not the same as is usually understood. On the contrary, Divinely inspired Scripture usually refers to the cup as the fate assigned to everyone, whether the unjust or the righteous. Thus, the divine David sings and speaks of sinners: fire and a bogeyman, and a stormy spirit is part of their cup (Ps. 10:6). This is the lot prepared by God for those who do not know Him, and a terrible sentence will befall them, for those who, as it were, drink fire and brimstone are subject to inevitable and eternal punishment. On the contrary, it is fitting for every righteous person to say: I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:4); for to always know and call on the Lord of all for those who are accustomed to doing this serves as a saving drink. Therefore, God, who judges righteously, says that Jerusalem was drunk not from wine, but from incurable disaster and unbearable misfortune. He judges righteously, assigning to the good the lot appropriate for them, and rebuking those who are not so, so that they, having become better, move away from every kind of uncleanness and change their spiritual mood to think and do things in accordance with His divine laws. But behold, take from Thy hand the cup of fall: and do not add it to him to drink, for he, as I said, will be called to the knowledge of Christ and will enjoy with us the highest blessings: and he himself will become a participant in sacred gifts and receive spiritual wealth. The prophet testifies to this, saying: For many days shall the children of Israel sit down, neither will I exist as a king, nor as I exist as a prince, nor as I exist as a sacrifice, nor as I exist as an altar, nor as a priesthood, by a manifestation: and therefore the children of Israel will return and will seek the Lord their God and David their king, and will wonder about the Lord and about his goodness in the last days ( Hos.3:4,5). The prophetic word here calls David the one who came in the flesh from the seed of David, Christ. A clear proof of this is that the prophecy was pronounced after the divine David had already died, many generations after him. So, while he is not yet called to grace through faith, while the cup of wrath is not yet removed from him; but when he honors Christ by faith, then this cup will be completely taken away from him and he will rejoice along with other good ones, about whom it is written: for they will forget their first sorrow, and it will not come into their hearts (Is. 65:16), on the contrary, joy and eternal joy will be on their head: for sickness, and sorrow, and sighing will have fled away (Is. 51:11). However, when this cup is taken away from him, it will be given to the multitude of those who have offended him. How did they offend him? Not giving them the opportunity to do the right thing and walk on the blameless path, by following which they could achieve a life pleasing to God and, clothed in the splendor of the gospel life, together with those who believed in Christ, reach the highest city. So, who can be understood as those who offended him? As for the direct and immediate meaning, it must be said that, first of all, those in charge of the synagogue especially drank the cup of rage: since the higher joys they enjoyed than others, the more painful for them was the outcome of the war, which deprived them of honor and glory, wealth and comforts of life, and even life itself. If it is necessary to say something about the hidden meaning (I consider this necessary too), then we affirm that the Jewish synagogue suffered troubles not only from its leaders, but also from the cruelty of the devil, which did not allow them to perceive the divine light with their minds, so that they would not know the One who calls to salvation, who justifies the wicked, who frees from punishment and delivers from the bonds of death, I mean Christ. Paul testifies to this, who wrote this: if our gospel be veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing, and in them the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine upon them (2 Cor. 4:3,4). And the Son Himself told the congregation of the Jews that this had happened to them, and openly denounced them for the fact that, under the influence of the unclean spirit, they had become cruel and rebellious and were drawn into all kinds of evil: for He said that when the unclean spirit departs from a person, it passes through a waterless place, seeking rest, and finds no rest: then He says: I will return to my house, from nowhere breathed out. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits that are fiercer than himself, and they enter and live: and the last one will be worse than the first. So will it be for this evil generation (Matthew 12:43–45). So in Egypt they served the gods there, and there was an unclean spirit in them. When they were freed through Moses and received the law, as a determinant of affairs, (they heard clear words: You will worship the Lord your God and serve him alone (Deut. 6:13): then the unclean spirit was driven out of their hearts. But since they did not have the fear of God in themselves and did not accept Jesus into themselves through faith (for He dwells by faith in our hearts, as Eph. 3:17 is written), then the unclean spirit, seeing that ancient place free, again invaded it and dwelt in them, and for them it was the last pot of the first. It is well known that the inventor of wickedness prepared a traitor among his disciples; for it is written that Satan entered through the bread (John 13:27). So, the Jewish synagogue is punished, since Satan darkens it and does not allow it to see with spiritual eyes the Light of the world, that is, Christ. After they are called to conversion, the cup of wrath and the vial of fall are given into the hands of those who have wronged them; for the evil and hostile forces are punished by the fact that the Savior of all, Christ, cast them into hell and bound them captives in darkness, handing them over to the tormented to watch over (2 Pet. 2:4 cf. Jude 1:6). It was they who said to Jerusalem: bow down and let us pass. He (Jerusalem) offers the middle of the earth for those who pass through it, that is, he stretched himself down and laid himself out for those who want to trample on it. This is what the evil forces do when they see a soul weakened and neglecting its mind to the point that it easily submits to their wicked and God-hating slander. ἐξυφαινειν actually means: to weave. St. Cyril “not about gods”, Hebrew בְּל־ֵל and therefore the singular number is retained in all translations. St. Cyril “in graven images”, Hebrew בְּהֵבִלַיהֶם literally: in their vain things. So Heb. Vulg. Ethiopian. The reading of Saint Cyril ἐντοῖςἐπιτηδεθμαδιν corresponds to the Khald. Pesh. and literally Arabic. So are the Hebrew and all translations, but St. Cyril reads: ἐιδε, probably due to a scribe’s mistake. So according to one reading, according to another, as in St. Cyril: “you will hear in the future.” The Hebrew corresponds to the accepted one. From Saint Cyril: Συηνην - Siinu. Slavic Siina, in LXX Συηνη, Hebrew םְוֵנֵח (Ezek.29:10; 30:6), called by Eusebius and Συηνη, present-day Aswan - a fortified city of ancient Thebaid, in upper Egypt, lying on the eastern bank of the Nile, on one of the peninsulas formed this river (Evseb. Onomasticon, edit. Larsow et parthey, 1862, Berolini, pag. 342. 3; Plin. Hist. Nat. 5, 10). Slavic Soina and Sheba (Ps. 71:10), in LXX Συηνη, Jos. Fl. (Antiq. 2, 10. 2) and Evsev. (Onomast. p. 320, 1 - 4) Σαβὰ, Hebrew םְבָ (Cf. Gen. 10:7; Is. 45:14; Ps. 72:10) - the former capital of the Ethiopian country in what is now upper Nubia, usually identified with the famous Meroe. Reading LXX corresponds to Heb. Pesh. and Vulg. (Saba), according to St. Cyril, is Arabic (Assuan). The Greek αιθιοφ, by which the LXX translates the Hebrew כּושִ Slavic, is sometimes retained. (Jer.13:23; Am.9:7) and sometimes uses the later Greek μαῦρος – murin, Moor, black, Latin. niger – Negro (Acts 8:27; Jer.38:7). Omitted: all will believe in Him and... Omitted: bishop since this summer. In many places in Holy Scripture, especially in the prophets, in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles 33:3. In Hebrew דִגָּחָםבְָָּיוח letters: in the ships their cry (rejoicing), Russian: magnified by the ships; like Pesh. Vulg. and hald. (in the ships of their praise), in Arabic as in LXX: they will be bound in ships. The version indicated by St. Cyril is read in the Alexandrian Codex and some others - it could only take place in the Greek text. Saint Cyril has λεγειν. The quotation is not from the book of Exodus, but from the Romans, where it reads: σοὶ τὴν δυναμιν μου καὶ ὃ πως διαγγλῆ τὸ ὀνομα μου ἐν παση τῆ γη. In the book of Exodus according to LXX: καὶ ἕ νεκεν τουτου διετηρῆθης, ἵ να ... ἰσχυν μου (according to another reading δυναμιν) ... καὶ ὃ πως ... (and for this reason you have been spared until now, so that I will show it to you..). This passage from the Epistle to the Romans, according to the accepted text, is read by all codes, ancient translations, also by Origen, St. Chrysostom and others, with the exception of Ambrosiastes, who, like LXX: quia in hoc ipsum te servavi, but at the same time notes that there is another reading: ad hoc te suscitavi. The discrepancy is explained by the fact that the Hebrew דְתִּיךָ הֶעְֶםַ literally: I made you stand - can be translated either like this: I set you up, raised you up, as 2 Chronicles 33:19; 1Ezra 9:9 and more. ἐξ ΄ γειρασε Romans, posui Vulg., constitui te Pesh., substitere te feci Samar.; or so, I preserved you, made you exist, like 1 Kings 15:4; 2 Chronicles 9:8, – διετρηθης LХХ, sustinui te Onkel. In both programs, the meaning of the saying does not change. Omitted: for my sake, and your sins. That is, they would not only hope, but would also know already in real life that at the Last Judgment they would be freed from punishment for their sins. Ἐν τῆ συναγωγῆ according to Luke 18:10 ἀνερησανε ἶ ςτὸἰερον cf. κατὲβη Luke 18:14. In Cyril: I tithe all my possessions - we find a similar reading in Origen and Chrysostom. That is, from the intentions of the idolater, for in reality God cannot be deprived of his glory. As in some codes, St. Cyril omitted the words: with his hand... and. ... will cry out. Already - a rope, a rope, a part of something measured by a rope. In Saint Cyril, as in some codes, it is omitted: and let him proclaim. Omitted, as in some codes: be mistaken below: weren’t you a suggester from the beginning? Βασιλευοντος παρ ’ αὐτοῖς θεομισοῦς cannot be translated as Latin: regnabat apud eos hostis Dei and see here an indication of any one of the kings of Judah contemporary to the prophet. Isaiah prophesied under four kings (Isaiah 1:1), and the prophecy explained refers to the reign of the last of them - Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:1), who “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord in all things, just as his father David did” (2 Kings 18:3; 2 Chronicles 29:1). Therefore, θεομισοῦς should be taken in the meaning of a noun, or better, as an uncommon noun θεομῖσος. Thus, St. The father speaks generally about the time of the prophet, without pointing to private individuals. Just as the Hebrew imperfectum ֶהְיֶה (Ex. 3:14), as a name of God, has the meaning of present, past and future, so the Greek present participle ὁ ὤ ν, in relation to God, has the meaning of the past, in the absence of such in the verb εἰμι. The explanatory distribution of this name of God is apocalyptic: He is, and he is, and he is to come (Rev. 1:8, etc.). Other saints interpret this name of God in this meaning of all-temporality or eternity. Fathers and church writers, such as St. Justin (in the Exhortation to the Hellenes) „ ὁ ὤ ν – συλλαβῆς οὐχ ἕ να μονον δηλουσηςχρονον, ἀλλὰ τους τρεῖς τοντε παρεληλυθοτα καὶ τὸν ἐνεστ ὼ τα καὶ τὸν μελοντα; cf. John 3 and 15; In Genes. Izl. ὅ θεν - all codes are like this, but St. Cyril: ὅ σοι - no matter how many of them there were. That is, they had eyes but did not see, ears but did not hear, and so on. Instead of ἐστησεν in St. Cyril, as in some codes of the Bible, it reads: ἐτρησεν - drilled. Omitted: and dlatom gouge e. Corresponding to Russian: whether in interrogative sentences, when an undeniably positive answer is assumed. So it is in some copies of the Bible. For example, the statue of Artemis in the Church of Ephesus. Γενητος among the Church Fathers has a special, dogmatic meaning, as the opposite of γεννητος: the first indicates created origin, the second expresses the act of the eternal birth of the Son of God from the being of God the Father. So St. Athanasius , γεννητὸν γὰρ ἐστι τὸ πατερα ἐχον , γενητὸν δὲ τὸ γενεσιουργὸν ἐχον – About St. Tr. dial 2; the same is often the case with St. Kirill, for example. on John 10:33, cf. Epiphany, Heresies LXIV and Preface to Psalm I. The word voice is omitted, obviously due to a scribe's mistake, for in the interpretation of this place by St. Cyril it is read, see Migne, t. 70 col. 805. Of course, the closest ones are Zeus and Apollo, whose oracles were especially famous in various places in Hellas. In all lists LXX it is: σωτηριαν - salvation, also in all other translations (by the way, in Slavic) and in Hebrew: יְשוּעות; but in Saint Cyril: δικαιοσυνην Hebrew עֶדֶק. Both concepts are inextricably linked. Καὶ τῆς ἀνωτατω δοξης ἀλλασθαι τῆς ἀνθρωπου φυσεως τὸ μικροπρεπες literally: “and replace the humiliation of human nature with higher glory.” Among the classics, ἀλλασσεσθαι τὶ τινος actually means the exchange of something for something or for something (ἀλλος other). But among the Holy Fathers and in the Christian language, this verb, when applied to the mystery of the Incarnation, received a special connotation in meaning, corresponding to another use of the root ἀλλος in the sense: another, that is, it began to mean a transition to another state, and its previous state ceases and does not change to the subsequent one, but remains together with it, so that it can literally be conveyed to the Russians: to make friends (from another). Hence, in relation to the sacrament of the incarnation of the Son of God, this verb indicates not the change of divine nature into human, but the inseparable and unmerged union of Divinity and humanity in the theanthropic Person of our Lord Jesus Christ - indicates precisely that God the Word “through the descent did not in the least humiliate His nature, but raised us to ineffable glory, for not His very being changed into flesh, but by remaining with what He is, He took on the form of a servant; in this way, it was not a change in the being that took place, no, but the perception of the true flesh” (Chrysostom, conversation on John 1:14), or as Theophylact: “do not think that the Word left its nature and changed into flesh, but, remaining what it was, became what it was not” (on John 1:14). This explains that in ancient liturgical and later Greek the verb ἀλλασσειν began to mean: to put on (sacred) clothes and ἀλλαγματα and ἀλλαγαι - sacred clothes). Omitted, as in many: food answers the building to the one who created it? Compare Isa.29:6. Residents of Soina or Sava. See note on Isaiah 43:3, bk. IV conversation 1. 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1 Heb. שְׁבֶ, compare. Isa.60:6; Jer.6:20; Ezek.27:22; Job 6:19; Joel.3:8. Eusebius seems to identify it with Soina or Sheba, Heb. סֵבָ, Onomast. 320, 5–8. ישְרֵָל from שָרָה ( שַר prince) and ֵל actually means: fighter against God or princeps Dei, as is clear from the fact that during the initial renaming of Jacob, God told him: “from now on your name will not be Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought ( שָרִיתָ princeps fuisti) with God” (Gen.32:28) or with the Angel of Jehovah (Hos.12:4). So Josephus: ισραηλ – συμαινει κατὰ τὴν ἑβραιων γλῶτταν τὸν ἀντισταντα ἀγγελ ῳ θειω (Antiq. I, 20, 2); LXX and Theodotus: ἐνισχυσας μετὰ θεοῦ; Ak.: ἧ ρξας μετὰ θεοῦ; Symm.: ἤ ρξω πρὸς τὸν Θεον ; St. Justin in Razgov. with Trif.: .f νθρωπος νικων δυναμιν, τὸ γὰρ ισρα ἀνθρωπος νικῶν ἐστι (from שןר ), τὸ δὲ ελι δυναμις ; Hieron. in Quaest. in Genes.: princeps Dei sive directus Dei hoc est εὐθυτατος θεοῦ (Migne, Patr. ser. lat. t. 70 col. 988). but the generally accepted interpretation in ancient times, according to Jerome, was the one given by St. Kirill: a husband or mind that sees God. So already Philo: ὁ ὁρῶν θεον (Paris. 358, a; 1057, a, etc.); Origen: νοῦς ὁρῶν θεον (Migne ib. col. 1263 and 1229); Eusebius: ὀρατικος ἀνὴρ καὶ θεωρητικος (Praep. evang. XI, 6), the same Jerome in Lib. nom. hebr., following the generally accepted language: Israel est videre Deum sive vir aut mens videns Deum (Migne ib. col. 788). It is impossible, like Jerome (col. 989), to explain this interpretation as a distorted reading or incorrect production from ִישׁ־רָָת־ֵל ; for 1) the concepts of a God-seer and a God-fighter have the closest connection with each other and the first is assumed to be the second, - 2) Jacob was renamed Israel twice; the second time and finally this was when “God appeared to him in Bethel,” in the place where Jacob had previously seen God in a dream (vision of a ladder) and “in which God is truly present” (Gen. 35:9-10, cf. Gen. 35:28,12). Thus, there is no reason to accuse the Father of the Church of textual or philological error; its interpretation is easily explained, on the one hand, by the closeness of the concepts of a fighter against God and a seer of God, and on the other, by the close connection of the secondary and final renaming of Jacob as Israel with the double appearance of God to him in Bethel. At LXX and in glory. In the Bible this passage reads like this: all the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of heaven. According to others, as in Slavic: the darkness of this century. Those marked with asterisks are not readable in the text due to a scribe's or publisher's error. τ ὸ τ η ς προσευχ ῆ σ ἐ πρ α ττετο σχ η μα: otherwise it should be understood that Christ gave only the appearance of prayer, without participating in spirit in the content of it, as the Docetes thought; but that the Gethsemane prayer of the Lord was an outward expression or manifestation (σχῆ μα) of the truth of His human nature, trembling before death. Chrysostom: “so that such an action (the Gethsemane feat) would not seem like a pretense, for this sweat flows from Him, and so that the heretics do not consider grief hypocritical, then sweat flows from Him in the form of a drop of blood, and an Angel appeared to reinforce Him; Also, lest anyone say that these words were false, there were many other signs of fear. For this very reason He prays. And when he says: if it is possible, let it pass by, then he shows his human nature: when he says: both, not as I want, but as you do, then by this he shows his courage and firmness, teaching him to obey God, despite the opposition of nature. And to the words He added the very fact, so that the most pretentious opponents would believe that He became man and died” (Conversation 83 on Hev. from Matt). Theophylact: “He grieves and yearns, prudently, so that they may believe that He is a true man: for it is human nature to fear death” (Matthew 26:39). St. Cyril reads here: δυνατος. In St. Cyril, according to some: ἡ μᾶς. In the text of St. Cyril, as in some: μ η τηρ. παρ ὰ συνκροτ ο υντος θεο ῦ: the verbs συγκροτε ῖ ν and συχρατε ῖ ν, as is known, are often put one instead of the other in editions of works paternal, for example Zlat. 20 discourse on Eph. and 35 on Matt. What is placed in brackets represents a tentative restoration of a text that has not been preserved in this location. So in LXX: μνησθ η σονται, Vulg., Ethiopian, Arab., Chald. and Sir. Let's remember. But Slavic, approaching Jewish, reads: I will remember. All these translations are explained by the exhortation. imperfect 1st person unit. numbers of the form gifil: ַן ׅ בּ ׅ ירָה I will make you remember or remember, hence the glory. I will remember, LXX, etc. I will do what they will remember or let them remember; Khald: we will remember, Sire. let's remember. Instead of further words in the text published by Min, St. Kirill reads: κα ὶ ο ὐ κ α ἰ σχυνθ η ση οὔτε μ η ν ἑ ντραττ η ση, also in the LXX according to Alex. Codex and some others have: α ὶ σχυνθ η ση, as in Arabic. But all other translations, like the Hebrew, correspond to the accepted reading. At St. Kirill: who did not know Me. In LXX ποταμο υ ς Ἠθ α μ, Vulg. and Ethiopian. ethan – there is a Hebrew left without translation: ֵית ׇ ן, meaning constancy, duration, hardness, hence about water and rivers: big (Sir), strong (Khald. and Russ), constantly flowing (Arab). Explanatory note by St. Cyril: τ ὀ υτ’ ἐ στι το υ ς ἐ ν τ ῷ ν ο τω indicates that the Jordan flows from north to south and that the place where the Jews crossed the Jordan (near Jericho), as well as the Red Sea, are located in the south in relation to the whole Palestine. In glory: after the words like paradise one can still read: and even to the west of it like... In Slav. instead of: confess stands: confession. In Slav. added: like light. ἀ υτ ο ν - but it is better to read τα ῦ τα, that is, even if you were amazed at the wise structure of the world, you should not stop your mind on it, but recognize the Creator by the greatness of deeds. Here in the Greek text; pass: there are only a few words: ἐ ι... τАηπαθειν... κα ὶ ε ὐ σεβε ι ας ὁ υδεν ἡ γε ι ται... the meaning of which is not clear. Those. Ev. Matthew, setting forth the words of the Lord in his Gospel. In Slav. reads: He speaks to Zion: You are my people. Some read ν ο μος instead of: θυμος. You might be interested in: