Isaías 64
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Isaías 64:1-3
(Chapter 64, Verses 1 and following.) Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake before you! As when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. Chapter 70: If you open the heavens, trembling will seize the mountains from you, and they will melt like wax before fire, and the fire will consume your adversaries, and your name will be made known among your adversaries, and the nations will tremble at your presence. When you have done glorious things, the mountains will tremble because of you. For our enemies have trampled your sanctuary, and we have become like those in the beginning, when your name was not invoked upon us. Therefore, we implore and say: Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down; that you, who are always promised, would finally fulfill your promises. But this was said at that time when the Saviour had not yet come, nor had he taken upon himself a human nature and substance from a virgin's womb in order to save humanity: so that as we have borne the image of the earthy, we may bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15). But if you were to do it, they say, and the heavens were to open up, or even the heavens, at the coming of your majesty, would flow down, or if trembling were to seize the mountains, and they were to be consumed, as wax is consumed by fire. And the heavens were opened before Ezekiel, and he saw a great vision (Ezek. I). But even Moses, in the blessings of Deuteronomy, implores: May the Lord open his good treasury, the heavens, to give you blessing (Deut. XXVIII). And in the Gospel (Matt. III), it is said (or it is testified) that John the Baptist saw the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descending upon the Lord in the form of a dove. But the mountains, which at the coming of the Lord, of whom it is written: God is a consuming fire (Deut. IV, 24), will be consumed like wax and melt, are the opposing powers, and all those who rise up against the knowledge of God. Concerning them, it is also sung in the ninety-sixth psalm: The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth (Psalm 96:4, 5). For if you were to come down and fulfill your promises, the waters of the sea would dry up and their saltiness would be consumed by fire (according to Symmachus). This is also written in another psalm: Like smoke disappears, let them disappear; like wax melts before fire, let the sinners perish before God (Psalm 68:2). And it should be noted that when the waters of the sea are consumed by divine fire, then the name of the Lord Savior becomes known to his enemies. Concerning this, it is said in the sixty-seventh psalm: The tongue of your dogs is from enemies themselves, so that those who had not sensed his kindness may know by the destruction and their own captivity of their city. And the nations will be troubled by his presence, or rather, as it is more significantly said in Hebrew, they will be moved: so that those who were previously immobile may come to salvation. And when he has done wonderful things and shown signs in the Gospel, which he once showed in Egypt and in the wilderness, they will confess that they cannot bear the glory of his coming, either because trembling has seized the mountains. And beautifully, as if those who had prayed above were heard: Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down, that the mountains would melt away at your presence, afterwards they say: You have descended, the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us, truly Emmanuel, which is interpreted as God with us. And therefore all the mountains have flowed down from your face, of which we have spoken above. The Hebrews have interpreted this passage as follows: Thus the fire will burn the wicked, just as water boils with the heat of fire; for they do not understand the word Amasim () as destruction and decay, as others have interpreted, but they understand it as referring to the wicked. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 64:4
The apostle Paul inserts a paraphrase of this passage, like a Hebrew from the Hebrews, in the original text of the letters that he wrote to the Corinthians, not rendering it word for word, which he altogether despised doing, but expressing the truth of its meaning, a practice that he used for purposes of emphasis. Hence, the nonsense of the apocryphal texts, which are conveyed to the churches of Christ on the occasion of this passage, fall silent. It can truly be said of these texts that the devil would sit in ambush with the riches of the apocrypha to kill the innocent or that he would "wait in the 'apocrypha' like a lion in its lair to seize the poor." For the Ascension of Isaiah and the Apocalypse of Elijah contain this very passage. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 17:34
Isaías 64:4-5
(Verse 4, 5.) From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who rejoice in doing righteousness, who remember you in your ways. (LXX: From ages past no one has heard, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him, and the works that you will do for those who hope for mercy. For you meet those who rejoice in doing righteousness, and they will remember your ways.) The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, takes a paraphrase, as it were, of this testimony from a Hebrew of the Hebrews, from the authentic books, not rendering word for word, which he altogether despises, but expressing the truth of the sense, which he uses to strengthen what he wants to say. Hence, let the delirium of the apocryphal writings be silenced, which are foisted upon the Churches of Christ on the occasion of this testimony. Of which it can truly be said that the devil sits in ambush with the rich in the apocrypha, in order to kill the innocent. And again: He lies in wait in the apocrypha like a lion in his den; he lies in wait to seize the poor (Psalm IX, 8). For the Ascension of Isaiah and the Apocalypse of Elijah bear witness to this. And on this occasion, many such women, burdened with sins, who are led by various desires, always learning but never able to come to knowledge of the truth (3 Timothy III), were deceived in Spain, and especially in Lusitania, so that they would embrace the marvels of Basilides, Balsamis, and Thesaurus, as well as Barbelo and Leusibora, and other such names. About which the apostolic man Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons and martyr, writes very diligently, explaining the origins of many heresies, especially the Gnostics, who deceived noble women of Egypt first around the Rhone, and then of Spain, mixing pleasure with their fables and claiming the name of knowledge for their ignorance (Irenaeus, Book 1 on Heresies). But what the people say at present is that they have never known, neither with their ears nor with their eyes, what God has prepared for his saints in the future: that it happens to those who practice righteousness and remember His ways. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, they say that they never knew any other God except for the one who truly is God, nor have they seen any other works so great that He will do for those who wait for His mercy, and they will do justice and remember His ways. And as it is written: No one has ever seen God (John 1:18). And again: No one can see My face and live (Exodus 33:20). Therefore, God is not explained by words, nor is He visible to the eyes, but He is seen by those about whom it is written: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 64:5
It is not because you are angry that we sinned, but rather it is because we sinned that you are angry. Because we sinned, you are angry with us, O Lord, for we strayed and abandoned the right path, or, according to the Hebrew text, we, who always lived in sin and are unclean in ourselves, will be saved only by your mercy. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 17:35
Isaías 64:6
Whatever righteousness that we who are unclean in ourselves appear to possess may be compared with the rag of a menstruating woman, for which Theodotion uses the Hebrew word eddim and which Symmachus translates with the Greek term kyēseōn, that is, "of she who gives birth," while Aquila uses the word martyriōn, that is, "of the witnesses," from when a woman is proven to be a virgin by the issue of blood during her first act of marital intercourse. "And we fall," Isaiah continues, "like leaves from a tree, which are then dispersed by the wind on account of our iniquities." It must be borne in mind here that the righteousness that is in the law will be called unclean in comparison with the purity of the gospel. For what was previously glorified is no longer glorified, due to the surpassing glory of the latter. Hence, the apostle Paul, who fulfilled everything according to the righteousness that is in the law, says that he considered everything as loss, or dung, in order to gain Christ, on account of the magnificent knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so that he may not be found having the righteousness in him that is from the law but the righteousness from God that comes through faith in Christ. For there is a righteous person who dies in his righteousness if, after receiving the truth of the gospel, he chooses to use legal shadows and to pursue righteousness in a manner that is not righteous. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 17:35
Isaías 64:6
(Verse 6.) Behold, you are angry, and we have sinned; we have always been in them, and we shall be saved. And we have become like the unclean, all of us, like the soiled cloths of our entire righteousness. And we have fallen like leaves, and our iniquities have swept us away like the wind. LXX: Behold, you are angry, and we have all sinned; therefore, we have erred and have become like all the unclean, like a cloth that sits, all our righteousnesses: and we have flowed away like leaves because of our iniquities: as the wind will take us away. A disorder of priorities. Not because you are angry, we have sinned; but because we have sinned, you are angry. And because we have sinned, you are angry with us, O Lord: therefore we have gone astray and have left the right path. Whether according to the Hebrew, who we have always been in sins, we shall be saved only by your mercy, who we are defiled through ourselves; and whatever righteousness we appear to have is compared to the rag of a sitting or menstruating woman. For which Theodotion put the Hebrew word Eddim (), which Symmachus interpreted as κυουσῶν, that is, of those giving birth; Aquila as μαρτυριῶν, that is, of testimonies: when blood is approved in the first marital union of a virgin. And we have fallen away, he says, like leaves from trees, which are scattered by the blasts of the winds because of our iniquities. In this, it should be considered that the righteousness which is in the Law is called impurity in comparison to the purity of the Gospel. For what was once glorified is not glorified anymore because of the surpassing glory. Therefore, the apostle Paul, who had fulfilled everything according to the righteousness which is in the Law, says that he has considered all things as loss in order to gain Christ (Philippians III), and because of the surpassing knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom he considers everything as worthless, so that he may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having his own righteousness which is from the Law, but the righteousness which comes from God through faith in Christ. For he is just who dies in his own righteousness (Eccles. 7), if after the truth of the Gospel he wishes to exercise legal shadows, and not to pursue what is justly just. Hence, according to the wisest Solomon, every man seems just to himself, when he is engaged in the law: to whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'You are they who justify yourselves before men' (Luke 16:15). Which Paul, in fleeing, says: 'I am conscious of nothing, yet I am not justified in this' (2 Cor. 4:4). But the righteousness of God, of which Solomon speaks: Understand true righteousness. Therefore there is another righteousness which does not have truth, and this is true righteousness, about which it is said again in the Gospel: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). Many prophets and righteous people desired to see it, and did not see it. But Abraham saw this righteousness and rejoiced, not following the dead letter, but the life-giving spirit. No wonder these things are said about men, since even the stars, compared to the justice of God, are not clean, and what perverse thing He has devised against His angels. If anyone, therefore, after the Gospel of Christ and the coming of the Son of God, observes the ceremonies of the pedagogue Law, let him hear the people confessing that all that righteousness is compared to the filthiest rag, to which even Esther compares her diadem, which was the emblem of royal power, which she wore not by choice, but by necessity: You know my necessity: for I detest the sign of my pride which is over my head in the days of my appearance: I abhor it like a menstrual cloth: nor do I wear it on my days of rest. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 64:7
(Verse 7) There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises and holds on to you. You have hidden your face from us and have afflicted us in the hand of our iniquity. LXX: And there is no one who calls upon your name and remembers to grasp you. For you have turned your face away from us and have delivered us because of our iniquities. Like leaves from the trees, we have flowed and the dry wind has scattered us, therefore no one was found who would call upon your name and rising from the ruin of their iniquities, would grasp or hold on to you, and would say with the bride: I have found him whom my soul sought: I will hold on to him, and I will not let him go (Song of Solomon 3:4). The wind is mentioned in the Scriptures in three ways; either in the magnitude of temptations, or in the perversity of doctrine, or simply as the wind, by which clouds gather and the air is forced into clouds. Concerning temptations, there is this Gospel passage: The rivers came, the winds blew, and they beat against that house, but it did not collapse, because it was founded on a solid rock (Matthew 7:27). Concerning the perversity of doctrine: So that we may no longer be tossed around by every wind of doctrine in the wickedness of men (Ephesians 4:14). On wind in general: And they could not sail, for the wind was contrary (Mark 6:48): not that this cannot be understood metaphorically, but only that it bears a resemblance to our present experience. For when the Lord turns his face away from us, we are thrown into the hand of our own wickedness, or we are delivered to temptations because of our sins. From this we learn that wickedness also has a hand, and all the sins that strongly desire to keep us tightly bound. And in the hand of the tongue is both death and life (Prov. XVIII); and the holy one prays: Let not the foot of pride come to me (Psal. XXXV, 12). But we, because the Lord has turned his face away from us, knowing that which is written: Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel. II, 32), let us call upon his name and say: I have confessed my sin to you, and I have not covered up my iniquity. I said I will confess my iniquity to the Lord, and you forgave the impiety of my heart (Psal. XXXI, 56). And immediately we will have the Lord responding: I have blotted out your iniquities as a cloud, and your sins as a mist (Isaiah XLIV, 22), and we will say, Show us your face, and we shall be saved (Psalm LXXIX, 4): so that we may not be servants of sin, but servants of yours. For whoever commits sin is the servant of sin (John VIII). — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 64:8-12
(Verse 8 and following) And now, Lord, you are our father, and we are clay; you are our potter, and all our works are the work of your hands. Do not be exceedingly angry, Lord, and do not remember our iniquity any longer. Look, your people are all of us. The city of your holy ones has become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem is desolate. Our house of sanctification and glory, where our fathers praised you, has become a burning ruin, and all our desirable things have turned to ruins. Will you restrain yourself from punishing us, Lord, and be silent? Will you afflict us severely? - LXX: And now, Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry with us, Lord, and do not remember our sins forever. Look now, for we are all your people. Your holy city has become a wilderness, Zion has become a desolation, Jerusalem a curse. Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. And above all these things you have endured, O Lord. And you have remained silent and humbled us greatly. If we consider our own merits, we must despair. But if we consider your mercy, you who chastise every son whom you receive, we dare to pour forth prayers (Hebrews 12). For you are our father, who deemed to say: My firstborn son is Israel (Ezekiel 4:22). And although we are but clay and the work of your hands, and you are our creator; and not even a potter's vessel can answer why it was made thus or so: yet knowing that we are your children, we dare to say: Do not be angry, Lord, that is sufficient. We do not forbid anger, nor do we seek your patience beyond measure, through which we have stored up anger for ourselves on the day of wrath. But we beseech you, do not be excessively angry with us, do not remember the iniquity of our retaliation and vengeance at the time of our vengeance: but rather look upon your people, who were once called your people. And have mercy on the city of your sanctuary, in which your name has been invoked. This city is called Zion and Jerusalem, which the rushing of the river gladdens; and in which there was once a gazebo of virtues and contemplation of peace (Ps. 43). Moreover, your house, that is, the sanctuary of our sanctification and glory, in which our fathers praised you, has fallen into ruins and ashes, and has been destroyed by a raging fire, so that no victims are offered in it, no Passover is celebrated, nothing is done of the ceremonies that you commanded to be done, but all our desires have been turned into ruins. Therefore, since these things are so, O Lord, will you not restrain your mercy over them, and be silent to the blaspheming adversaries, and afflict and humble us, not in the usual manner, but excessively? All these things the Jews believe to have been accomplished in the times of the Assyrians and Babylonians. But according to what follows from the perspective of the Savior's person, I appeared to those who did not inquire. I was found by those who did not seek me (Isaiah 65:1); we refer everything to the time of Roman victory, which Josephus, the Jewish historian, explains in seven volumes, under the title of the Jewish Captivity, that is, περὶ ἁλώσεως. And it is superfluous to discuss these things in words, which are evident to the eyes, as all their desirable things have been turned into ruins, and the Temple, celebrated throughout the whole world, has become a dung heap in the new city, which was called Elia by its founder; and it has become a dwelling place for owls: and in vain they say every day in their synagogues: Over all these things, O Lord, you will sustain and afflict us, and you will greatly humble us. We can refer these things to the Church, or to the soul of a holy man, which can rightly be called a mirror and vision of peace, when the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit dwell in it. But if, by our fault or the fault of the people, such a Zion is abandoned by the Lord, immediately the fire of ignited devilish arrows will become evident: for all who commit adultery are like a burning oven in their hearts. And with the coldness of chastity expelled, the flame of lust will rage in the temple of God, so that whatever was glorious and renowned in us before will fall, be destroyed, and perish. And let that which is said in the Psalms be fulfilled: They have burned your sanctuary with fire, they have profaned the tabernacle of your name on earth. Which only He can extinguish, from whose belly flow the rivers of living water. — Commentary on Isaiah
Isaías 64:11-12
We can correlate this "temple of our sanctification and our glory, in which our ancestors praised you," with the church or to the soul of a holy person, which can rightly be called beautiful or a vision of peace, when the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit dwell within it. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 17:37
Isaías 64:11-12
If, however, Zion is abandoned by the Lord due to wickedness, either ours or the people's, a conflagration of the devil's fiery arrows will appear immediately. For all are adulterers, with hearts like burning ovens. With the frigidity of shame expelled, the flame of desire will rage in the temple of God, such that whatever within us that was once glorious and brilliant will corrupt, be destroyed and perish. Then what was said in the Psalms will be fulfilled: "They consumed your sanctuary with fire, they profaned the tabernacle of your name to the ground." And this fire can be extinguished only by him from whose heart flows rivers of living water. — COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 17:37