Isaías 42
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 42:1
(Verse 1) Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my chosen one, my soul is pleased with him. I have put my spirit upon him: he will bring justice to the nations. LXX: Jacob my servant, I will take him: Israel my chosen, my soul has received him. I have put my spirit upon him: he will bring forth justice to the nations. Jacob and Israel are not mentioned in the current chapter, nor did Matthew the Evangelist include them, following Hebrew truth. We say this as a rebuke to those who despise us. This matter was discussed in more detail in the little Commentary on Matthew, and in the book we recently wrote to Algasia. And in the meantime, it should be noted that when the chorus of the Apostles is mentioned, both Jacob and Israel are called the seed of Abraham: to whom, as if to men and servants, it is subsequently said: Fear not, you worm Jacob, and you little one of Israel. But when it comes to Christ's prophecy, it is read without Jacob and Israel: Behold my servant, I will uphold him; my chosen, my soul is pleased with him. And in the following: I have given you as a testament to the race, as a light to the nations: to open the eyes of the blind, and to bring out prisoners from confinement, and those who dwell in darkness from the house of the prison. It is not surprising if he is called a servant, being made from a woman, and being made under the law (Galatians 4); who, although being in the form of God, he humbled himself, taking the form of a servant, and being found in human form (Philippians 2). In whom the soul of God was pleased, seeing in him all the virtues: indeed, seeing him as the power and wisdom of God. He said: 'I will send my Spirit upon him, who will come down in the form of a dove. He will bring judgment to the nations, which they did not know before. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:1-4
What does it mean that it is written in Matthew: 'A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench' (Matthew 12:20). For the explanation of this passage, the whole testimony that Matthew takes from the Prophet Isaiah must be set forth, even the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 42): according to the Septuagint interpreters and the Hebrew itself, to which Theodotus, Aquila, and Symmachus agree. Thus of the four Evangelists, only Matthew relates: "And Jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all. And he charged them that they should not make him known. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying: Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles." (Chapter 12, verses 15-18) He will not strive, nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not extinguish, until he brings forth judgment unto victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope" (Matthew 12:15 and following). For which in Isaiah, according to the Septuagint interpreters, it is thus written: "Jacob my servant, I will uplift him. My chosen one, my soul has received him. I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad. The bruised reed he shall not break: and smoking flax he shall not extinguish: but he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall shine, and shall not be broken, until he set judgment in the earth: and the countries shall wait for his law." However, we translate it from Hebrew like this, "Behold my servant, I will uphold him; my chosen, my soul has delighted in him. I have given my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. "He will not cry out, nor raise his voice, nor make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In truth he will bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice on the earth; and the islands will put their hope in his law." This shows that the Gospel writer Matthew, not bound by authority of the old interpretation, dismissed the Hebrew truth and brought forth to the nations, educated in the Law of the Lord, the things he had read in Hebrew as if he were a Hebrew among Hebrews. For if it is to be taken thus, as the Seventy Interpreters have given it: Jacob is my servant, I will receive him; Israel is my chosen, my soul has received him, how do we understand that it has been fulfilled in Jesus, what has been written concerning Jacob and Israel? We read that Blessed Matthew did this not only in this testimony, but also in another place: Out of Egypt I called my son (Hosea 11:2): for which the Seventy translated: Out of Egypt I called his sons. Certainly, if we do not follow the Hebrew truth, it is evident that it does not pertain to the Lord and Savior. For it follows: but they sacrificed to Baalim. And that which is less in the assumed testimony in the Gospel: it shall shine and not be shaken, until he shall place judgment upon the earth, seems to have happened by the error of the first writer who, reading the higher sentence to be finished in the word judgment, thought that the final word of the lower sentence was judgment, and he omitted a few words which were in the middle, that is, between judgment and judgment. And again, that which is read among the Hebrews: And in his law shall the islands hope, Matthew, interpreting the sense rather than the words, put for law and islands, a name and nations. And not only in the present place, but wherever the testimonies of the Evangelists and Apostles from the old Instrument have been brought forth, it should be observed more diligently: not that they followed words, but the sense: and where they differ from the Hebrew in the Septuagint, they expressed the Hebrew sense in their own words. Therefore, the Child of the almighty God, according to the dispensation of assumed flesh, which is sent to us, is called the Savior. To whom and in another place the Father says: It is great for you to be called my child, to gather the tribes of Jacob (Isai. 49.3). This is the vineyard of Sorec, which is interpreted as chosen. This is the beloved son, in whom the soul of God is pleased; not because God has a soul, but because every affection of God is shown in the soul. And it is not surprising if the soul is named in God, when all the members of the human body, according to the laws of tropology, and various intelligences, are said to have it. He also placed his spirit upon him: the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Strength, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11): He who descends upon him in the form of a dove, about whom John the Baptist narrates having heard from God the Father: "The One upon whom you see the Holy Spirit descending and remaining upon, He is" (John 1:33). And He will announce judgment to the Gentiles; concerning whom it is also written in the Psalms: "Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the son of a king" (Psalm 71:1). He Himself speaks about it in the Gospel: "For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). He will not contend: like a lamb led to the slaughter: He will not argue in the hearing. Nor will he cry out, in accordance with what the Apostle Paul writes: Let all clamor, and anger, and bitterness be taken away from you (Ephesians 4:31). He will not cry out: because Israel did not do justice, but cry out. Nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets or outdoors. For all the glory of the daughter of the king is within (Psalm 44:14): And, Narrow, and cramped is the way that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). Therefore his voice is not heard in the streets, where wisdom confidently acts, not entering a broad and spacious way, but accusing and condemning. And so he spoke to those who were outside, not in his own voice, but in parables: 'The reed, he said, shaken does not break; or, as the Septuagint translated, the broken reed not to be crushed. The broken reed that was once vocal, and sang in praise of the Lord, is called Israel, who, because he stumbled on a corner stone and fell on it, was broken in it; therefore it is said of him: Rebuke, O Lord, the beasts of the reed (Ps. 67. 31): and in the volume of Jesus he is called the torrent of the cane, that is, of the reed; who has turbid waters, which Israel chose, despising the purest streams of the Jordan: and turning his mind back to Egypt, and desiring the marshy and swampy region, and pumpkins, and onions, and garlic, and cucumbers, and the pots of Egyptian flesh, is rightly called a broken reed by Isaiah: he who wants to lean on which, his hand will be pierced. For whoever, after the advent of the Lord and Savior and leaving behind the spirit of interpreting the Gospel, rests in the death of Jewish literature, all the works of that person are harmed. Even smoking linen will not extinguish a people gathered from the nations who, with the ardor of natural law extinguished, are wrapped in the bitter smoke, which is hurtful to the eyes, and enveloped in the darkness of errors. He who not only did not restrain and reduce to ashes, but on the contrary, from a small spark, and almost dying, raised the greatest fire; so that the whole world burned with the fire of the Lord and Savior, whom he came to send upon the earth, and in all desires to burn (Luke 12:49). According to the tropology, what we see in this place, we have briefly noted in the Commentaries of Matthew. But he who has not broken the bruised reed, and has not extinguished the smoking flax, has also brought judgment unto victory (Isai. 42:3), whose judgments are true, justified in themselves (Psalm 18), so that he may be justified in his words and may overcome in judgment (Psalm 50), and so that the light of his preaching may shine in the world, not be crushed by anyone, and may overcome all snares, until he establishes judgment on earth and that which is written may be fulfilled: 'Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven' (Matthew 6:10). And, in his name shall the Gentiles hope (Isaiah 11:10); or the islands shall hope in his law (Ibid. 42:4). For just as the islands are struck by the blast and rush of winds and frequently buffeted by storms, but they are not overturned, as an example of the Gospel house built on a sturdy foundation of rock (Matthew 7; and Luke 6), so the Churches, which hope in the law and in the name of the Lord and Savior, speak through Isaiah: I am a strong city, a city that cannot be taken (Isaiah 27:3, LXX). — Letter 121, Chapter 2
Isaías 42:2
(Verse 2) He will not cry out or raise his voice: his voice will not be heard in the streets. LXX: he will not cry out, nor raise his voice, nor will his voice be heard in the streets. He will not cry out, for he will be gentle and meek. He will not show favoritism in judgment, nor will he raise his voice in the streets. According to Symmachus, he will not be deceived, understanding all the schemes of the devil. Or according to the Septuagint, he will not leave the people of the Jews, but will call them to repentance.' Nor will his voice be heard outside of Galilee and Judea, for he did not preach the Gospel among the other nations. And if we read that he was in the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matt. XV), or in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, which is now called Paneas, it should be understood that it is not written that he actually entered those cities. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:3
It appears that Matthew the Evangelist did not by preferring the authority of the old interpretation ignore the truth of the Hebrew text. Rather, as a Hebrew among Hebrews and deeply taught in the law of the Lord, Matthew distributed his Hebrew learning to the nations. For if the Septuagint translators are accepted when they write, "Jacob my son, I will lift him up; Israel my chosen, my soul has lifted him up," then how can we understand the text fulfilled in Jesus, since it was obviously written about Jacob and Israel? We read that the blessed Matthew, not only in this verse but in another, has done this: "Out of Egypt I have called my son," while the Septuagint translated, "Out of Egypt he has called his sons. — LETTER 121.2
Isaías 42:3
For after the coming of the Lord and Savior, who gave the spirit of the gospel interpretation, [Christ] rested in the death of the Jewish letter, with which all works are bruised. Christ did not snuff out the smoking wick, reducing it to ashes. Instead, he ignited a great flame from this little spark, a spark that had almost gone out. The result is that the whole earth was ablaze with the fire of the Lord and Savior. — LETTER 121.2
Isaías 42:3
(Verse 3) A bruised reed he will not break: a smoldering wick he will not put out: he will faithfully bring forth justice. LXX: A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not extinguish: he will bring forth justice in truth. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. For he will be merciful to all and will grant forgiveness to sinners, saying to the woman: Have confidence, daughter, your sins are forgiven (Luke VII, 48). And the smoking flax, or as the others have translated it, dim and gloomy, will not be extinguished: those who were near to being extinguished were saved by the mercy of the Lord (which we have discussed about the Jews and the nations in the aforementioned writings); but with truth He will judge all things; not fearing the Scribes and Pharisees, whom He boldly called hypocrites (Mat. VII, XV, XXII, XXIII throughout, and Luc. VI, XII). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:4
(Verse 4) He will not be sad or discouraged, until he establishes justice on earth: and the coastlands will wait for his law. LXX: he will shine and not be broken, until he establishes justice upon the earth: and the nations will hope in his name. But what follows: It will shine, and will not be crushed, until He establishes judgment upon the Earth, the Evangelist Matthew did not include (Mat. XII): or perhaps between judgment and judgment, they were omitted due to an error by the writer. But it signifies that, rising from the dead, he enlightened all, and was not crushed by death, until he placed judgment upon the earth: of whom it is spoken in the Gospel: I have come into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (John 9:39). Concerning which we have interpreted: He will not be sad, nor troubled; but will always maintain an equal countenance: which they falsely boast about Socrates the Philosopher, that he was never, more than usual, either sad or joyful. For which reason Aquila and Theodotius are interpreted: It will not hide, and it will not run, until it establishes judgment on earth. And the meaning is: no sadness will deter the face, nor will it hurry to punishment, who has reserved the truth of judgment for the last time. What follows: and the law of that island they will expect, the nations, clearly, put hope in its name: which in the Scriptures are called islands, because they are open to incursions of persecutors from every side. But let us understand his law, not the one given through Moses, but the Gospel: For from Zion a law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (see above, II). Concerning this law, Jeremiah also prophesies: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will establish a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (Jeremiah 31:31, 32). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:5
(Verse 5) Thus says the Lord God: He who creates the heavens and stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it. It was uncertain who has said before: Behold my servant, I will take him: my chosen, my soul has pleased him. I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. After the condemnation of idols, a sudden speech had burst forth. Behold my servant, and the rest, which we have interpreted from the Father's perspective on Christ. Therefore, to not leave it ambiguous who said the previous things, he adds and says: Thus says the Lord God, creating the heavens and stretching them out. Or as the Septuagint translated: He made the heaven and fixed it. Therefore, the Creator and Lord of the universe himself promised the coming of his Christ, who not only stretched out and fixed the heavens, but also established the earth with its lofty mass, and everything that springs forth from it, so that the invisible things of him may be understood and seen from the things that are made (Rom. I); as well as his everlasting power and divinity. He who gave breath to all who dwell on earth, the first law of mortals. For God breathed into the face of Adam the breath of life, and he became a living soul (Gen. II). But the Spirit properly belongs to those who tread upon the earth; and the wisdom of the flesh subjects itself to its own power. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:6-7
(Verses 6-7) I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Therefore, he to whom such great praises are sung has spoken these words to him, whose law the islands await and the nations: I am the Lord who called you in righteousness; of whom he himself speaks in the Gospel, Father, the world does not know you (John XVII, 25); so that he may be not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. And I took hold of your hand, for whatever the Son does, the Father does also. And I saved you, who preserves all things yourself. And I gave you into a covenant with the people of Israel, to whom I had promised that you would come. And into the light of the Gentiles, who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, so that you would open the eyes of the blind who had not seen God before. And you would bring out those who were bound in confinement (Prov. 2:16); for each one is bound by the cords of their own sins. And in the Gospel, which Satan had bound, the Lord set free (Matt. VIII). Those sitting in the darkness of the prison house, who were dwelling in the night of error and darkness. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:8
(Verse 8) I am the Lord, this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to idols. And He declares: I am the Lord, this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor does He exclude the Son, to whom He said in the Gospel: Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with You before the world was (John XVII, 5), He Himself answered; And I have glorified, and will glorify. For He did not say, 'I will not give My glory to anyone,' for if He had said this, He would have excluded the Son as well, but He said, 'I will not give My glory to another, except to You, to whom I have given it, and to whom I am going to give it.' Therefore, I greatly admire the uniqueness of the holy Scripture, that the phrase 'another' all interpreters have translated consistently, unlike the many other instances where they differ. And so that we may know that the Son is not excluded by this statement, but rather idols are, the following words testify: 'And My praise to carved images.' Pro quo LXX: nec virtutes meas simulacris. Cum enim Christus Dei virtus sit, Deique sapientia, omnes in se virtutes continet Patris. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:9
(Verse 9) The things that were first, behold they have come, and new things I declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sequitur, Quae prima fuerunt, ecce venerunt. Et est sensus: Quae locutus sum, quae per Moysen, Prophetasque pollicitus sum, universa completa sunt. Nunc autem annuntio vobis Evangelium, vocationem gentium, passionem Christi, novitatem fidei: ut quomodo priora cernitis rebus expleta, sic et ea quae nunc polliceor, credatis esse ventura. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:10
Even as islands have been set in the midst of the sea, churches have been established in the midst of this world, and they are beaten and buffeted by different waves of persecution. Truly these islands are lashed by waves every day, but they are not submerged. They are in the midst of the sea, to be sure, but they have Christ as their foundation, Christ who cannot be moved. — HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 24 (PSALM 97)
Isaías 42:10
(Verse 10) Sing to God a new song: his praise from the ends of the earth: you who descend into the sea, and its fullness; islands and their inhabitants. LXX: Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and sail on it; the islands and those who inhabit them. He who had said: what was first, behold, it has come; I also announce new things: before they arise, I will make them heard to you; and he had promised that he would say what they did not know: what are those new things, he states in the following discourse, commanding the Apostles and the Apostolic men to sing a new song, not in the antiquity of the letter; but in the novelty of the spirit. Not only in the old Instrument, but also in the new; and His praise reaches to the ends of the earth. For He has come forth from the highest heaven and His circuit is to the highest point of it (Psalm XIX). The sound of the Apostles has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Or according to the Septuagint: Glorify His name in the ends of the earth, that the name of Christ may be announced to the nations in the whole world. But who are those who should sing a new song, the following words declare: You who go down to the sea and sail upon it, or the fullness of the sea. For seeing the apostles, Jesus by the sea of Galilee, mending their nets, called and sent them into the great sea (Luke 5); to make fishermen of fish, who preached the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyria and Spain: taking the power of the Roman city itself in a short time. Or certainly they descended into the sea and sailed it; enduring the storms and persecutions of this age. Also the islands and their inhabitants, whether understanding the diversity of nations or the multitude of churches. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:11-12
(Verses 11-12) Let the desert and its cities lift up: in the houses shall Cedar dwell, praise you inhabitants of Petra, they shall shout from the top of the mountains. They shall give glory to the Lord, and his praise in the islands they shall declare. LXX: Let the wilderness lift up its voice and its towns, the settlements where Kedar dwells. The inhabitants of the rocks will rejoice, they will shout from the mountaintops. They will give glory to God; they will declare his virtues in the islands. Let the desert and its cities raise their voices, as we mentioned earlier. Whether the desert and its villages rejoice, and Cedar, which was once an uninhabitable region beyond Arabia of the Saracens. And the inhabitants of Petra, which is also a city of Palestine. But this signifies that the deserted people of the nations, previously bound by the ignorance of God and the errors of idolatry, should be converted to the praises of the Lord. Whether because Cedar is interpreted as darkness, and according to the Apostle (I Cor. X) Christ is the rock, it is commanded to all believers, that those who were previously in darkness, and now believe in the Lord Savior, shout from the top of the mountains, and openly proclaim Christ, to whom it is also said above (Ad cap. XL, 9): Ascend to the high mountain, you who proclaim the good news to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, you who proclaim good news to Jerusalem. And I will set his glory among the islands, of which we have spoken before. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:13
Also in Isaiah it says, "the Lord of powers will come out and wage war, and will rouse his zeal and will shout in triumph over his foes with strength." For God will come out from his place, once he is compelled to break his peace and gentleness and kindness for the sake of putting sins right, who, although by his nature is sweet, has been made bitter by our flaw, not in himself but in those suffering, to whom the torments are bitter. It is he who elsewhere spoke by the prophet, "I am God, and I do not change." — COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 3:14.3-4
Isaías 42:13
(Verse 13) The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a warrior he shall stir up zeal: he shall shout and cry out: he shall strengthen himself against his enemies. LXX: The Lord God of hosts will go forth and crush the battle, he will stir up zeal, and he will cry out against his enemies with strength. And the prophetic discourse describes the glorious advent of the Savior, about which even the Apostle Paul speaks: According to the illumination of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4; 2 Timothy 1:10); and he compares him to a mighty man who will fight against his adversaries, arousing zeal. Of whom it is also prophesied in the Song of Deuteronomy: They have made me jealous with what is not a god; they have provoked me with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a nation; I will provoke them with a foolish nation (Deuteronomy 32:21). He will also shout and cry out against his enemies, openly condemning their faithlessness. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:14-15
(Verses 14-15) I have always kept silent, I have been quiet, I have been patient: like a woman in labor, I will speak. I will scatter and devour together. I will make mountains and hills desolate, and I will dry up all their vegetation, and I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up ponds. LXX: Have I been silent from the beginning, will I always be silent and endure? As one in labor, I have acted with patience; I will burst forth and dry up together, I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and I will dry up all their grass. And I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up marshes. And with loud voice proclaiming: I have been silent, I have always kept silent, I have been patient, or as the Septuagint translated: I have been silent, will I always be silent? (Ecclesiastes 3:7) That which is said through Solomon may be fulfilled: A time to keep silent, and a time to speak. And the meaning is: I have often borne with you as you have transgressed for a long time; but because I remained silent before, I will by no means keep silent any longer. And just as a woman giving birth brings forth a child into the light and makes what was previously hidden in the depths of her womb open and visible, so too I will reveal my pain and the deceit that I have always harbored regarding your crimes, and I will expose your plans. And at once I will devour the entire nation and all the pride of your mountains and the swelling of your hills. And the grass, of which it was said: Truly the grass is the people, that is, both the leaders and the common people, I will reduce to a desert. What is added in the edition of Theodotion of the Septuagint, who had omitted these words (See above, Chapter IV, 7). And when I have dried you up from head to toe and wiped you out, then I will make the rivers of my teaching flow in the islands of the nations, and I will turn your lakes or marshes into dry land, so that there may be knowledge of the Scriptures among the nations and dryness of teaching among you. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:16
(Verse 16) And I will lead the blind on a path they do not know, and I will make them walk on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness into light in front of them, and I will make crooked paths straight. These are the things I will do for them, and I will not abandon them. LXX: And I will lead the blind along a way they do not know, and I will make their paths uneven; I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight paths. I will speak these words to them, and I will not abandon them. And I will lead the blind along a path they did not know, of whom we have also read above: I have made you a covenant of the people, a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind. They will be led along the way by which Christ speaks. I am the way, that is, the way of the knowledge of God, and I will make them walk on the prophetical paths. Then their darkness will be changed into light, and their faults will be turned into righteousness, so that they may understand what they read and with the eyes of their hearts may gaze upon the clear light of Christ in the Old Testament. At the same time, he adds: These words that I have spoken or will speak to them do not promise anything further in the future, but fulfill what I promised before. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:17
(Verse 17) They have turned back: let them be confounded with confusion, that trust in idols, that say to molten things: You are our gods. LXX: but they have turned backward; you will be confused with confusion, you who trust in idols, who say that they are gods. But when this was said, the Jewish people turned backward so as not to believe the promise, and in their errors they were confused and neglected the pledge of God, whom they had believed in before idols. Or when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then also the people of Israel will be converted (Rom. II), and they will repent of their error, by which they had served idols before. Or certainly after the calling of the Gentiles, they will return to the beginning: so that it may be said, all the Gentiles who did not want to believe in the Gospel will be confounded in their idols. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:18-19
(Verses 18-19) The deaf, hear! And the blind, look to see. Who is blind, if not my servant? And who is deaf, if not the one to whom I send my messengers? Who is blind, if not the one who has been sold? And who is blind, if not the servant of the Lord? LXX: Hear, you deaf! Look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind, but my children? And deaf, but those who rule over them? Who is blind but he who receives: and the servants of God were made blind. Lest anyone think that what is said, 'Hear, you deaf; look, you blind,' applies to the Gentile people, who were previously deaf and blind (as the Jews foolishly claim to approve by interpretation), the prophetic speech itself shows that the deaf and blind should be understood. 'Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like Israel?' Who is blind, but the one who was previously a servant of the Lord? — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:20
(Verse 20) You who see many things, will you not observe? You who have open ears, will you not hear? LXX: You have seen many things, but you have not observed them: your ears are open, but you do not hear. To whom it is said: O Israel, who sees many things, and has many prophets through whom you may know the commandments of God, will you not keep the precepts that have been given to you? You who have open ears, will you not hear what is being said, of which we also read above: You will hear with your ears, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive: for the heart of this people has grown dull (Isa. VI, 9). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:21
(Verse 21) And the Lord desired to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt it. LXX: The Lord God was pleased for the sake of his justice, that he might magnify his law. The Lord, he said, wanted to sanctify him, and magnify his Law, and lift up and comfort his suffering people. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:22
(Verse 22) But the people are plundered and devastated: all the youth are trapped in snares, and hidden in prison houses. They have become a prey, and there is no one to deliver them; a spoil, and no one says, 'Restore them.' LXX: And I saw, and behold a people is destroyed and taken captive. For there was a snare in the hidden places, and a net over their houses. They have become a prey: and there was no one to deliver the spoil: and there was no one to say, Restore. But he did not want to do God's will: and therefore he was plundered and devastated by his adversaries, whom we should understand as either demons or enemies. The snares of young men, and those hidden in the houses of prisons. Or as the LXX translated, snares in every hiding place, and in the houses where they concealed them: signifying the scribes and the Pharisees, who deceived the miserable people, and everywhere set traps against the Lord Savior and his Apostles (Luke 11): having the key of knowledge, neither entering in themselves, nor allowing others who wanted to enter. Their beautiful hearts in which they lived were called prisons of evil thoughts. Therefore, they became a prey and a plunder: and there was no one to deliver them, and to speak for them. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:23-24
(Verses 23-24) Who among you hears this, pays attention, and listens to the future? Who has given Jacob over to plunder, and Israel to the plunderers? Is it not the Lord himself, whom we have sinned against? And they have refused to walk in his ways and have not listened to his law. LXX: Who is among you that will hear this, and will consider the future? Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? hath not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? and they would not walk in his ways, neither would they hearken to his law. At the same time, the Prophet encourages them, so that if everyone cannot hear, at least a few would know and understand what they have endured. And they would recognize the reasons for their desolation, who neither wanted to hear nor to do what was commanded by the Law. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 42:25
(Verse 25) So he poured out his wrath on them, and the fierceness of battle: and he set them on fire all around, but they did not understand; and he burned them, but they did not comprehend. LXX: And he hath poured out upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not, and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. Therefore the Lord poured out upon them all his wrath and the fury of his anger; uttering also against them exceeding hard words, behold how he incenses them with the Roman Empire he newly built. He burns them completely and leaves nothing healthy in them, yet they do not understand the reason for their punishment, that they have not received the Son of God. — Commentary on Isaiah