Isaías 41
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 41:1-7
(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet. Who has accomplished and done this, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and the last; I am He. The islands have seen and feared; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!' The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows faint. LXX: Come near to me, you islands; let the leaders approach together and declare judgment. Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.\ He will call her who has been called from the beginning of generations. I am the first God, and I am present in the things that are to come. The nations have seen and feared: the ends of the earth have stood in awe and approached: they have come together, each judging their neighbor to help and support their brother: and they will say: the skilled craftsman and blacksmith have prevailed, striking the hammer together, producing: sometimes indeed they say, 'it is good to strengthen'. They have strengthened it, they have set it in nails: and it will not be moved. People, that is, the islands, which are buffeted by the false and bitter waves of this age, are commanded to listen and to close their mouths, and to know that which was said to Israel: Listen, Israel, and be silent; and to change their strength, lest they cannot hear the word of God because of their former weakness, so that they may approach the Lord first, and that they may not be satisfied with their own salvation; but that which they have learned, they may teach to others, and may argue with the Lord whether God has kept justice for all. But he interrogates them and challenges them to respond, in order to teach them through the questioning what they are ignorant of: Who raised up the just one from the East, or justice? For it is not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, who called Christ the Lord and Savior, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1). In which, according to the same Apostle, God's righteousness is revealed (ibid). But he called him, so that he might follow him in all things and do the works of the Father; and he fulfilled that saying: O God, I desired to do your will (Ps. 39:9). In his presence, kings and nations will submit their necks, and the opposing powers, like stubble and dust, will be subjected to his sword and arrows. He will pursue them, namely the kings and princes of each nation, and he will pass by in peace, calling all to peace so that they may be reconciled to God. His path will not be visible, that is, he will not feel the labor of the journey or any weakness or fatigue of human nature; but he will drink from the stream on the way, and therefore he will lift up his head. Who, he says, has worked and made these? Who raised up the righteous, or righteousness? Who delivered nations and kings to him? Who subjected all things to his sword and bow? Certainly he, who from the beginning of the world predicted these things, who is the creator of all. And because he had said, in response to the questioner's emotion: Who raised up the righteous from the East, etc., while all were silent, he answered himself: I am the Lord, I am the first and the last. He Himself is the one who speaks in the Apocalypse of John: I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. I, 8; and XXII, 13). The islands, that is, the nations or the Churches gathered from the nations, have seen and feared the Lord, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. IX, 10). All the ends of the earth trembled at the words of the Apostles, approaching and likewise coming to the Gospel of Christ. And when they saw themselves to be saved, they completed the work that they had heard before: let them approach, and then let them speak; that they may assist their neighbors, and that they may wish to strengthen their brothers in the Lord, and may say to them: Depart from idols, despise ancient images of demons, which were created by human hands, which were produced by a hammer striking, which were bound with glue, which were fastened with nails, so that they would not be moved; and when they stood, they could not walk. Some report that we, interpreted as the ones above all others, through the calling of the Gentiles and the preaching of the Gospel and the condemnation of idols, led Cyrus, the king of the Persians, to rise up against the Babylonians from the East, and made him submit to his command, prostrating many nations before him and subjecting everything to his sword and bow. And they relate other things that follow concerning his person, namely that their idols, which were made with human skill and skillfully crafted by the bronze smith, were of no avail to the Babylonians. Some Hebrews believe that Abraham was called righteous from the East, that is, from the Chaldeans, because he alone was found to be righteous. He followed God, leaving his homeland to a land that he did not know, and he delivered kings into his hand who had come against Sodom and Gomorrah. He made them like stubble and dust before his sword and bow. He pursued them, returned in peace, and did not feel the effects of the long journey, and all this was not by his own strength but by the mercy of the Lord, who knew these things from the beginning. They saw, he said, the islands, that is, the nations in the surrounding area, and they were terrified by his power: and the ends of the earth. Indeed, he was the son of Noah, who had escaped the Flood with his father and brothers in the final time of the earth; and he had been preserved until that time: they want him to be understood as Melchizedek, and to have come to meet Abraham returning from battle, and to have received him, and blessed him, and strengthened him with the blessings of God: and to be the skillful craftsman who had fashioned for Abraham, and with the hammer of his art had brought forth better things: and to have said to him, It is good that you are united and joined to him in the fear of the Lord. And he strengthened him, or established him on the key of the commandments of the Lord, so that he would not be moved, but would remain in fear of Him. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:3
"His feet will not trod the path," that is, he will not feel the labor of life or any fatigue from human weakness, but he "will drink from the torrent on the way, and therefore, will lift up his head." … That which we interpreted as referring to the person of Christ, some refer to Cyrus, the king of the Persians, … while some of the Jews think this is said about Abraham. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:3
Isaías 41:8-9
(Verses 8-9) And you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend. I have taken hold of you from the ends of the earth, and summoned you from its farthest corners. I said to you, 'You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.' LXX: But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off". Paul the Apostle teaches that Jacob and Israel are both carnal and spiritual: See Israel according to the flesh (1 Cor. 10). From which we understand that there is also another according to the spirit; and the carnal are called Israel: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. And above all, it is said (In Chapter 40, verse 27): Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel: My way is hidden from the Lord: and my judgment has passed over from my God? On the contrary, now God speaks to the spiritual Israel, who has received the coming of his Lord, whom he first calls servant, then chosen, and finally the seed of Abraham. For before we received the spirit of slavery in fear (Romans 8); and afterwards, as the chosen ones, we are joined in friendship with God. Therefore, after the calling of the Gentiles, when they saw the islands and were afraid, they were astonished at the ends of the earth; they came near and approached, they are called the remnants, according to the choice of grace, of whom both the Gospel and the Evangelist write: Jesus chose these twelve, whom he also named Apostles (Luke 6), who were chosen after the servitude of the Law, in the Gospel; and they deserved to be the seed of Abraham, friends of God. For in that he apprehended them from the ends of the earth, and called Israel from its farthest borders, gathering first the people of the Jews, of whom also the Apostle Paul says: 'It was necessary that the word be preached to you first, but since you reject it, we will go to the Gentiles' (Acts 13:46). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:10
(Verse 10) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. LXX: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Therefore, to you, who are both my servant and my chosen one, who will preach among the Gentiles and endure many persecutions, I say, do not be afraid, for I am with you, to whom I speak in the Gospel: Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Do not wander, nor deviate from the truth, nor deceive yourself with false persuasion, thinking that with your inexperienced and unarmed strength, you can enter the wilderness of the nations and call the fiercest nations to gentleness. I am the one who has strengthened you and helped you; and my right hand, that is, the right hand of the righteous, that is, the Lord Savior, has supported you or protected you, as the Septuagint translates. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:11-12
(Verses 11-12) All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. You will seek them, and you will not find them: your rebel men will be as if they were not: and like the destruction of warring men against you. LXX: Behold, they shall be confounded and ashamed, all your adversaries. They shall be as if they were not, and all your enemies shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them, those who rage against you. They shall be as if they were not, and they shall not fight against you. Behold, for your adversaries, the people of the Jews and all who fight against you, and your persecutors will be turned into nothing, and you will seek your adversaries, and you will not find them. And the reason why you will not find your adversaries is explained: because they will be as if they do not exist. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:13-14
(Verses 13-14) For I, the Lord your God, took hold of your hand, saying to you: Do not fear, I have helped you. Do not fear, words of Jacob, you who are dead from Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. LXX: For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob, O little Israel.' I have helped you, says God, who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel. But you should not be afraid, because I have taken hold of your hand. I say to you, Do not be afraid: I have helped you; do not fear, worm of Jacob, who are dead from Israel, or as the LXX says, very few from Israel. This that we have set forth, I have helped you: do not fear, worm of Jacob, which is not found in the LXX. But the worm which is said in Hebrew, Tholath (), is called the chorus of the Apostles because of their humility and contempt, imitating the Savior, who speaks in the psalm: I am a worm, and not a man: the reproach of men, and the despising of the people (Psalm 22:7). For just as the worm penetrates the earth, so the apostolic word penetrated the cities of the nations and first entered the hardest hearts. And rightly few are called from Israel, because in comparison to the whole world, very few from the Jewish nation believed, to whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'Do not be afraid, little flock' (Luke 12:32). Or, according to the Hebrew, the dead from Israel, who also say with the Apostle: 'I die daily' (2 Corinthians 15:31). And elsewhere: I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:14
"I have placed you like a new threshing wagon [sledge] with jagged wheels." … We can also say that the person of the church is in a new wagon with the jagged wheels of the preaching of the gospel, which cannot be worked at all in the old way of the letter but in the new way of the Spirit, and which wears away the hardest hearts of unbelievers, separating the wheat from the chaff. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:4
Isaías 41:15-16
(Verses 15-16) I have made you like a new threshing sledge, with sharp teeth. You will crush the mountains and reduce them to dust; you will make them like fine dust. You will scatter them to the wind, and a whirlwind will blow them away. Then you will rejoice in the Lord; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. LXX: Behold, I have made you like new grinding wheels of a wagon, in the manner of saws: and you will grind the mountains and crush the hills: and you will scatter them like dust and the wind will carry them away, and the storm will disperse them. But you will rejoice in the Lord and in the holy ones of Israel. And what follows: I have set thee as a new threshing cart, having tearing beaks, signifies that the preaching of the Gospel crushes the opposing powers and lifts up the spiritual wickedness that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; which, according to the variety of pride, are called mountains and hills. And when these are taken away and scattered like a whirlwind, let Israel exult and rejoice in the Holy Lord of Israel. We can also say that an ecclesiastical man, having the serpents of evangelical preaching on a new wagon, which does not work at all in the oldness of the letter, but in the freshness of the spirit, crushes the hardest hearts of unbelievers: separating the wheat from the chaff, and breaking mountains and hills, that is, all the leaders of heretics, who, being crushed and broken, are reduced to dust and taught that they are nothing, so that those who were gathered wickedly may be divided into their own good. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:17-20
(Verse 17 and following) The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. LXX: And the poor and needy will rejoice, for they will seek water and there will be none; their tongue will be parched with thirst. I, the Lord God of Israel, will hear them; I will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the cypress, together with the fir tree and the pine, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. The common people, poor and humble, who did not have knowledge of the truth, sought through various teachers and the various doctrines of philosophers for healing waters, and they did not find them, because they do not exist; their language was parched with thirst, without Law and Prophets. For they had consumed all their substance on doctors according to the faith of the Gospel (Luke 8); and they could not be freed from the blood of idolatry and the blood of sacrifices. Therefore, the Lord God of Israel did not completely abandon them, nor did he allow them to perish forever; but he opened rivers on the tops of the hills, or springs in the midst of the fields. Which rivers drew their beginning from that river which is read in the Psalms: The impetuousness of the river makes the city of God glad (Ps. 46:4). And in another place: The river of God is filled with water. Which waters and springs sprang from that fountain which speaks through Jeremiah: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water (Jer. 2:13). And above, in this same Prophet, it is said: They shall drink waters from the springs of the Savior. Of which it is also sung in the Psalms: Bless the Lord, O God, from the springs of Israel (Ps. 68:27). And he made, he said, a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into flowing water. Concerning these waters, the Savior spoke in the mystical discourse of the Gospel (John 4:13-14): 'Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' And again: 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-39). But, says the Evangelist, he was speaking about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. Therefore, since the multitude that had once been deserted by the Church had been irrigated with life-giving water, according to the Septuagint, cedars, boxwoods, myrtles, cypresses, and poplars sprout from it, and according to the Hebrew and other interpreters, cedars, junipers, myrtles, olive wood, firs, elms, and boxwoods together. These varieties of trees signify the diversity of spiritual grace. And because the nature of them is well known to all, we will now explain the Setta, which Theodotio translated as a thorn. It is a type of tree that grows in the desert and resembles a white thorn. From this tree, all the wood for the ark and the tabernacle was made, which is called Settim (Exodus 37). This wood is incorruptible and very light, surpassing all other types of wood in both strength and beauty. But cedar and cypress, and myrtle, of excellent fragrance and incorruptible, are joined with elm and poplar, or with boxwood, or they are most suitable for grafting vines or for various works. All these things are placed together in solitude, so that at least one string of the Lord's lyre and some virtue of the Church's graces may not seem to be lacking. That all may understand and know together in their minds that the hand of the Lord has brought forth all these things, so that in the dryness of the nations the streams of virtues may be found, and in a once deserted and full of saltiness land, cedars and cypresses, and other trees may be born, whose height and top reaching toward the heavens would be illuminated by the wood of the olive, which is the nourishment of light and rest for those who labor. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:19
All these [types of trees] are equally placed in solitude, lest even one chord from the harp of the Lord and any virtue of the graces of the church seem to be missing. They are planted in the desert so that all might understand and recognize with a common mind that the hand of the Lord has accomplished all these things, so that in the desert of the nations there came rivers of virtues and in a land once a desert and full of salty water the cedar and cypress and other trees may grow, whose height and stature rush to the skies. The olive tree is the same tree that supplies both light and relaxation after working. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:5
Isaías 41:21
(Verse 21) Make your case, says the Lord: bring forth if you have anything to say, says the king Jacob. LXX: Your judgment is near, says the Lord God: they have come and drawn near your counsels, says the king of Jacob. As we said above, Jacob and Israel are two, those who do not believe and those who believe in the Lord Savior: thus the nations are called, and they flow in rivers and springs in the once desert Church, and with a wonderful abundance of a variety of trees, all most abundantly fruitful, those who refused to believe in Christ from the nations are provoked to judgment, that they may answer why they did not want to see, and know and understand, because the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created all things. He says, 'Let your idols approach, which you think are the strongest. Or bring forward, if you have anything by chance within you; and reveal your plans, in what way, with what understanding, you have not wanted to accept the revealed truth. At the same time, there is a direct challenge to the idols themselves, which are insensible, and have neither the ability to hear nor to respond. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:22
"Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified." … It is a further sign that the idols are not gods that they can do neither good nor evil. It is not saying that the idols or the demons inhabiting idols do not do evil frequently, but that unless God permits them to have power they cannot do so. So in the Gospel demons ask that they might have power over a herd of pigs, and in Job we read that without the Lord's command the devil is not able to destroy livestock or goods. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:6
Isaías 41:22
(Verse 22) Let them come near and declare to us what has happened: declare the past events, and we will set our hearts and know their outcome; and reveal to us what is yet to come. LXX: Let them draw near and announce to us what is to come: or tell us the former things that have happened, and we will set our minds on them: and we will know the last things. 'Tell us,' he says, 'either about the past or the future, and demonstrate your power from the events of things.' However, this signifies that after the coming of Christ, all the idols fell silent: where is Apollo of Delphi, and Loxias, and Delius, and Clarus, and the other idols, promising knowledge of the future, which deceived the most powerful kings? Why could they not predict anything about Christ; nothing about his Apostles; nothing about the ruin and destruction of the temples? If they could not predict their own demise, how could they announce the fate of others, whether good or evil? But if someone were to say that many things have been predicted by idols, it must be understood that they have always joined falsehood with truth, and thus moderated their statements, so that whatever happened, whether good or bad, could be interpreted in either way. Like the saying of King Pyrrhus of the Epirotes: I assure you, descendant of Aeacus, that you are able to conquer the Romans. And as for Croesus: Craesus, having crossed the river Halys, will lose his vast kingdom. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:23
(Verse 23) Announce what will happen in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Do good or do evil, if you can, and let us talk and see together. LXX: Also, tell us what is to come, and announce to us what will happen in the end: and we will know that you are gods. Do good and evil, and we will admire: and we will see at the same time where you are, and where your work is. Another indication is that idols are not gods, because they can neither do good nor do evil. Not that idols, or demons sitting on idols, have often not done evil; but rather, unless power has been granted to them by the Lord, they cannot do this. Finally, they implore in the Gospel to have power over a herd of pigs (Matthew VIII). And in Job we read, without the Lord's command (Diabolus) that a holy man was not even able to destroy animals and possessions. And it is not surprising that this is true about God, for the Apostle Paul also teaches that certain people belong to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:24
(Verse 24) Behold, you are nothing (from nothing): and your work is from something that does not exist: an abomination is he who chooses you. LXX: they have chosen you from the land of abominations. Or this may be said, that mute images of humans and insensible things are neither able to do good nor evil, nor to know the past nor the future, because they are made out of nothing and out of that which does not exist, and not they themselves, but rather the one who worships them, is deserving of abomination. For the idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see (Psalm 115: 4-6). So how can they know and proclaim the future or recount the past, and do good or evil, when they have no understanding like humans and animals? It does not matter what material they appear to be made of, since they are all earthly. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:25
This is spoken against the idols and those who after the coming of Christ still refused to abandon them but maintained them in their error. And he says that he will raise up a people of nations from the north.… But this will be the response of all, all those who follow vanity and winds and adore the works of their own hands. What we have said about the idols and the peoples we can refer to the teachings of corruption and to their princes, the heresiarchs, that when Christ announced peace to the church and showed it the way of truth, they followed error so as to be like wind and a whirlwind. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:7
Isaías 41:25
(Verse 25) He stirred up from the north, and he will come from the rising sun: he will call my name, and he will bring magistrates like clay: and like a potter treading the earth. LXX: But I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; they shall call upon my name. Let the princes come and be like the potter's vessel, and let the potter tread down the clay. Yet he speaks against the idols, and those who did not want to abandon them after the coming of Christ. He says that he himself, having arisen from the North, has raised up the people of the nations. For from the North shall evil be kindled against all inhabitants of the earth. And to Jeremiah it is said: What do you see, Jeremiah? And he answered: I see a burning pot, and its face is towards the North. They are stirred up from the North, that they may believe in him who came from the East. As we read above: Who has stirred up the just one from the East, or justice? Also in another place: Behold a man, the East is his name. Those who call them (Others have called them) by my name, so that, forsaking idols, they may worship one God. For he himself speaks in the Gospel: I came in my Father's name, and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, and you will receive him (John 5:43). He will trample down the princes and rulers and all the pride of the world, and they will be subjected to him like clay in the hand of the potter, so that he may make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor (Romans 9). The Hebrews, rising from the North, and coming from the rising of the sun, interpret it as Assyria and Persia, who will come to Jerusalem, and trample all its princes; and let him know that none of the idols they worship will come to pass, except the Lord alone, who has avenged them for their sins. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:26
(Verse 26) Who announced it from the beginning, so that we may say: You are just. There is neither announcer, nor predictor, nor listener to your words. LXX: For who can declare to you the things that are from the beginning, that we may know them that shall be in the future? And we shall say that they are true: there is none that announces, nor that hears your words. These things, which I say I have done according to the prophetic tradition, as if they were already past, or, according to Symmachus, I promise they will be in the future, no demon or idol can predict. Therefore, all oracles have remained silent, because there is no one to announce, no one to hear, while the dull hearts of the Gentiles were first understood in their own terror, and they left behind false prophecies. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:27
(Verse 27) The first to Zion will say: Behold, they are here, and I will give Jerusalem a messenger. LXX: I will give the beginning to Zion: and I will console Jerusalem in the way. And the Lord will speak first to Zion, that is, to His Church, and He will say to her: See, your children are here, whom I have given to you through my faith. But it signifies the Apostles, who preached the Gospel throughout the whole world. Zion and Jerusalem differ in name; but as one city, so is one Church. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 41:28-29
(Verses 28-29) And I saw, and there was none among them that could counsel, and when I asked, no one could answer a word. Behold, all are unjust, and their works are vain; their idols are wind and emptiness. LXX: For there is no one from the nations, and from their idols there was no one who announced. And if I ask them where they are, they will not respond to me: for they are your makers, and they deceive you in vain. Therefore, let all the nations that follow the error of idols be questioned by us, so that they may respond where they come from. And this will be the answer of all, that they all follow vanity and winds, and adore the works of their own hands. Whatever we have said about idols and nations, let us attribute it to the doctrines of wickedness; and to their leaders, heresiarchs, who, when the Church announces peace in Christ and shows them the way of truth, themselves follow error and are compared to wind and whirlwind. — Commentary on Isaiah