Cornelius a Lapide
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Synopsis Capitis
Praedicit exitium Damasco et Syris aeque ac Samaritis, quodque tam pauci relinquentur, quam paucae remanent spicae post messem. Secundo, vers. 7, dicit reliquias per hanc cladem, quae eis obtigit eo quod obliti sint Dei, ab idolis ad Deum convertendas.
Textus Vulgatae: Isaias 17:1-14
1. Onus Damasci. Ecce Damascus desinet esse civitas, et erit sicut acervus lapidum in ruina. 2. Derelictae civitates Aroer gregibus erunt, et requiescent ibi, et non erit qui exterreat. 3. Et cessabit adjutorium ab Ephraim, et regnum a Damasco: et reliquiae Syriae sicut gloria filiorum Israel erunt, dicit Dominus exercituum. 4. Et erit in die illa: attenuabitur gloria Jacob, et pinguedo carnis ejus marcescet. 5. Et erit sicut congregans in messe quod restiterit, et brachium ejus spicas leget: et erit sicut quaerens spicas in valle Raphaim. 6. Et relinquetur in eo sicut racemus, et sicut excussio oleae duarum vel trium olivarum in summitate rami, sive quatuor aut quinque in cacuminibus ejus fructus ejus, dicit Dominus Deus Israel. 7. In die illa inclinabitur homo ad Factorem suum, et oculi ejus ad sanctum Israel respicient: 8. et non inclinabitur ad altaria, quae fecerunt manus ejus: et quae operati sunt digiti ejus non respiciet, lucos et delubra. 9. In die illa, erunt civitates fortitudinis ejus derelictae sicut aratra, et segetes quae derelictae sunt a facie filiorum Israel, et eris deserta. 10. Quia oblita es Dei salvatoris tui, et fortis adjutoris tui non es recordata: propterea plantabis plantationem fidelem, et germen alienum seminabis. 11. In die plantationis tuae labrusca, et mane semen tuum florebit: ablata est messis in die haereditatis, et dolebit graviter. 12. Vae multitudini populorum multorum, ut multitudo maris sonantis: et tumultus turbarum, sicut sonitus aquarum multarum. 13. Sonabunt populi sicut sonitus aquarum inundantium, et increpabit eum, et fugiet procul: et rapietur sicut pulvis montium a facie venti, et sicut turbo coram tempestate. 14. In tempore vespere, et ecce turbatio: in matutino, et non subsistet, haec est pars eorum qui vastaverunt nos, et sors diripientium nos.
Versus 1: The burden of Damascus
1. Onus Damasci. — Nota: Prophetiae Isaiae, uti et aliorum Prophetarum, non ex ordine sunt editae, quo sunt in hoc volumine collectae: nam Damascus ab Assyriis eversa est ante mortem Achaz, ac consequenter ante cladem Philistinorum; quae facta est ab Ezechia filio Achaz, de qua egit cap. XIV, vers. 29, et multo magis ante cladem Moab, de qua capitibus XV et XVI; haec enim facta est diu post, scilicet tempore Nabuchodonosoris. Praedicit ergo Propheta hic Syriae, cujus caput erat Damascus, excidium imminens per Theglath-phalasar, IV Reg. XVI, 9; qui tamen nonnullas in ea reliquias dimisit, quas post 134 annos Nabuchodonosor delevit, uti praedixit Jeremias, cap. XLIX, vers. 23; sed postea Damascus sub Macedonibus et Ptolemaeis restaurata est, inquit S. Hieronymus, estque etiamnum nobilis Orientis urbs, de qua plura Jerem. XLIX.
The Prophet therefore predicts here the destruction imminent for Syria, whose capital was Damascus, through Tiglath-pileser, IV Kings XVI, 9; who nevertheless left some remnants in it, which 134 years later Nebuchadnezzar destroyed, as Jeremiah predicted, chapter XLIX, verse 23; but afterward Damascus was restored under the Macedonians and the Ptolemies, says St. Jerome, and it is still a noble city of the East, about which see more in Jeremiah XLIX.
Mystice S. Bernardus, tract. De Undecim oneribus Isaiae, ita hoc onus Damasci exponit: « Damascus interpretatur fundens sanguinem, illam nobis innatam exprimens corruptionem, quae quodam modo nolentes et invitos trahit ad peccatum. Ipsa est lex in membris nostris, repugnans legi mentis nostrae, et captivos nos ducens in legem peccati, quae est in membris nostris. Omnis sensus vitalis in corpore, ex sanguine est; vitalis autem sensus in anima, ex ratione est. Et scitis, naturalis motus peccati quomodo nonnunquam in quamdam delectationis poenam, ipsam rationem absorbeat, et totam animam, ut ita dicam, reddat exsanguem. Sed quidam sentiunt, sed non consentiunt; impugnantur, sed non expugnantur; onerantur, sed non prosternuntur. Hi onus quidem sustinent a Damasco; sed Damascus non sunt. At ille qui consentit, et praebet arma iniquitatis peccato, profecto Damascenus est, proprium sanguinem fundens, et suis se manibus interficiens; hic, procul dubio, pondere poenae, quod in onere Damasci describitur, se noverit opprimendum. »
Versus 2: Aroer
2. AROER. — Civitas haec erat Syriae, diversa ab Aroer urbe Judaeae: ita dicta, quod esset arida instar deserti, in quo crescunt myricae. « Aroer » enim hebraice significat myricam. « Aroer » ergo Syris talis erat qualis est Campinia Belgis. 3. CESSABIT ADJUTORIUM AB EPHRAIM. — Solet enim Ephraim (id est decem tribus) confoederatus esse Syris et Damascenis, praesertim pugnando contra Judam. Samaria enim, quae mox vocatur « gloria filiorum Israel, et gloria Jacob, » sub idem tempus, puta anno sexto Ezechiae, ab eodem rege Assyriorum vastata est; unde tunc non poterant Syri amplius ab Ephraim, id est a Samaritanis, auxilium exspectare.
3. HELP SHALL CEASE FROM EPHRAIM. — For Ephraim (that is, the ten tribes) was accustomed to be allied with the Syrians and Damascenes, especially in fighting against Judah. For Samaria, which is soon called "the glory of the children of Israel, and the glory of Jacob," was devastated by the same king of the Assyrians at about the same time, namely in the sixth year of Hezekiah; hence at that time the Syrians could no longer expect help from Ephraim, that is, from the Samaritans.
Versus 5: And it shall be as one gathering in the harvest
5. Et erit sicut congregans in messe. — Nota, cum S. Hieronymo et Haymone, hic inopiam et paucitatem tam Israelitarum sive Samaritanorum, quam Syrorum, ad quam redigentur a vastatore Assyrio, describi per triplicem comparationem: prima est, quod erunt tam pauci, quam paucae sunt spicae, quae post messem in agro amplissimo, verbi gratia Raphaim, remanent, et a pauperibus colliguntur; secundo, quod erunt tam pauci, quam pauci racemi vindemiatores fugiunt, et post vindemiam relinquuntur; tertia, quod erunt tam pauci, quam quatuor vel quinque olivae quae in olea excussa remanent, vel quia latent sub foliis, vel quia sunt in summitate aut cacumine arboris, ut manus collectoris eas attingere nequeat. Allegorice, tam pauci erunt salvandi et electi, quam paucae remanent post messem spicae, uvae et olivae, et, ut ex aliis ait S. Hieronymus, reliquiae Israel salvabuntur; multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi. Ita B. Nilus vir mirae sanctitatis, qui floruit ante sexcentos annos, fuitque fundator monasterii Cryptae Ferratae juxta Tusculum, in quo ejus sepulcrum vidi et colui; cum visitaretur a primoribus Constantini Imperatoris, ex S. Simeonis libro et doctrina eis dixit: « Intelligite, quia nisi virtute, et magna virtute praediti fueritis, nullus vos liberabit a poenis inferni; » additque: « Ex decem millibus hominum vix unum salvari, » idque asserere S. Basilium, Chrysostomum, Ephrem et alios. Cumque a primoribus istis rogaretur an Salomon salvus esset, necne, respondit: « Nihil in S. Scriptura legimus, quod post peccatum poenitentiam egerit, sicut Manasses. Quis ergo de illo dicere poterit, quod salvus sit? » Ita habet ejus Vita, et ex ea Cardinalis Baronius, anno Christi 976, tom. X. Vide dicta Num. XIV, 30 et 38.
Allegorically, so few will be saved and chosen as the few ears of grain, grapes, and olives that remain after the harvest, and, as St. Jerome says citing others, the remnant of Israel shall be saved; for many are called, but few are chosen. So Blessed Nilus, a man of marvelous sanctity, who flourished six hundred years ago and was the founder of the monastery of Grottaferrata near Tusculum, in which I saw and venerated his tomb; when he was visited by the chief men of the Emperor Constantine, from the book and teaching of St. Simeon he said to them: "Understand that unless you are endowed with virtue, and great virtue, no one will free you from the punishments of hell;" and he added: "Out of ten thousand men scarcely one is saved," and he asserted that St. Basil, Chrysostom, Ephrem, and others said the same. And when he was asked by those chief men whether Solomon was saved or not, he replied: "We read nothing in Sacred Scripture that after his sin he did penance, as Manasseh did. Who therefore can say that he was saved?" So his Life records, and from it Cardinal Baronius, in the year of Christ 976, volume X. See what was said on Numbers XIV, 30 and 38.
Versus 6: Or Four or Five on its Topmost Boughs (of the olive tree)
6. SIVE QUATUOR AUT QUINQUE IN CACUMINIBUS EJUS (oleae) FRUCTUS EJUS, — hoc est olivae, q. d. Sicut quatuor vel quinque fructus oleae, id est olivae quae remanent in olea. Noster legit פריה piria, id est fructus ejus; alii legunt פוריה poria, vertuntque, in cacuminibus ejus (oleae) frugiferis. Ita Vatablus.
Versus 7: In that Day Man shall Bow
7. IN DIE ILLA INCLINABITUR, — q. d. Residui ex hac clade Samaritae, uti et Syri nonnulli, qui Assyriorum manus effugerint, relictis idolis fallacibus, quae ipsos salvare ab hoc excidio non potuerunt, ad Deum, verum in adversitatibus asylum et protectorem, confugient, ejusque fidem et cultum amplectentur. Factum id est, monente et excitante Ezechia, II Paralip. XXX et XXXI. Ita S. Hieronymus. Unde subdit: « Ad Sanctum Israel respicient, » id est revertentur et convertentur, a quo antea fuerant aversi. 9. ERUNT CIVITATES FORTITUDINIS EJUS DERELICTAE, — q. d. Assyrii quasi torrens Syriam et Samariam magno impetu pervadent et prosternent, ita ut ex eorum pavore et formidine civitates Israelitarum munitissimae a civibus fugientibus deserantur, non secus quam olim ad adventum filiorum Israel ex Aegypto venientium perculsi Chananaei et Amorrhaei dereliquerunt sua aratra et segetes, fugeruntque in sylvas et latebras. Ita S. Hieronymus.
Hence he adds: "They shall look to the Holy One of Israel," that is, they will return and be converted, from whom they had previously been turned away.
9. THE CITIES OF HIS STRENGTH SHALL BE FORSAKEN, — as if to say: The Assyrians, like a torrent, will invade and overwhelm Syria and Samaria with great force, so that from their fear and terror the most fortified cities of the Israelites will be abandoned by the fleeing citizens, not otherwise than when formerly, at the coming of the children of Israel arriving from Egypt, the terrified Canaanites and Amorites abandoned their plows and crops, and fled into the forests and hiding places. So St. Jerome.
9 et 10. Et eris deserta (o Samaria!), quia OBLITA ES DEI, — quia avitam Dei veri, qui tibi in adversis solet esse praesidio, fidem et religionem deseruisti. 10. PROPTEREA PLANTABIS PLANTATIONEM FIDELEM. — Primo, S. Hieronymus censet esse ironiam. Unde Septuaginta pro « fidelem » vertunt, infidelem, quae mox vocatur germen alienum, id est spurium et adulterium. Per haec autem intelligit plantas et arbores degeneres, quod scilicet Deus iis ob peccata incolarum sterilitatem inducet. Secundo et aptius, Sanchez: Ager, ait, fidelis est, qui agricolae spem et laborem non fallit, sed ei reddit quod accepit cum usura et ubere fructu; infidelis est, qui aut nihil reddit, aut, si quid profert, id non domino, sed alieno producit. Unde pro germen alienum, ex Hebraeo verti posset, germen alieno seminabis: id ita factum est; nam quod seminarunt Israelitae, hoc messuerunt alieni, scilicet Assyrii. Sensus ergo est, q. d. In agros tua manu plantatos et excultos grassabuntur alieni; et licet in se fidelis futura sit planta, fructusque redditura, tibi tamen erit infidelis, quia non tu, sed alieni eos colligent. Hoc eis minatus erat Dominus, Deut. XXVIII, 51.
10. THEREFORE YOU SHALL PLANT A FAITHFUL PLANTING. — First, St. Jerome considers it to be irony. Hence the Septuagint for "faithful" translate unfaithful, which is soon called an alien shoot, that is, a bastard and adulterous one. By these he understands degenerate plants and trees, namely that God will bring barrenness upon them because of the sins of the inhabitants.
Secondly and more aptly, Sanchez says: A field is faithful which does not deceive the farmer's hope and labor, but returns to him what it received with interest and abundant fruit; it is unfaithful which either returns nothing, or, if it produces anything, produces it not for its master but for a stranger. Hence for "alien shoot" one could translate from the Hebrew: you shall sow a shoot for a stranger: and so it happened; for what the Israelites sowed, strangers reaped, namely the Assyrians. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Strangers will ravage the fields planted and cultivated by your hand; and although the plant will be faithful in itself and will bear fruit, it will nevertheless be unfaithful to you, because not you but strangers will gather them. The Lord had threatened this to them, Deuteronomy XXVIII, 51.
Tertio, aliqui haec referunt ad filios Israelitarum, quos ipsi pessimi pessimos, et a Patriarcharum sanctitate degeneres ac quasi spurios genuerunt. Verum hic sensus non est litteralis, sed symbolicus.
Versus 11: On the Day of your Planting, a Wild
11. IN DIE PLANTATIONIS TUAE LABRUSCA (q. d. Cum plantaveris vineam, invenies ex ea excrescentem non vineam, sed labruscam): ET MANE SEMEN TUUM FLOREBIT, — q. d. Ante tempus florebit, ac proinde praecox erit, nec maturescet. Tales tropologice sunt ii qui toti sunt in studiis, nec ea referent ad Dei gloriam, ad suam et aliorum salutem, nec ea virtute et pietate condiunt; hac enim florem dant, sed non fructum; is enim evanescit, omnisque labor consumitur in vana quadam cognitione, et inani speculatione.
Such tropologically are those who are entirely absorbed in studies, and do not direct them to the glory of God, to their own and others' salvation, nor season them with virtue and piety; for these produce blossom but not fruit; for it fades away, and all their labor is consumed in a certain vain knowledge and empty speculation.
Secundo, q. d. In die quo plantam et vitem fidelem et fertilem serere aut plantare videbaris, revera labruscam plantasti, quae te inani spe et specie lactabit; sed amarum tibi dabit fructum; nam illa quidem florebit, sed cum ad fructum et messem pervenerit, auferet eam hostis, quod tibi cordis dolorem et amaritudinem pariet. Loquitur enim Propheta de more parabolice. IN DIE HAEREDITATIS. — Id est cum advenerit tempus possidendi et haereditandi eam, scilicet tempus messis et vindemiae. ET DOLEBIT, — scilicet messis, se ab alieno et hoste carpi; est prosopopoeia. Vel « dolebit, » id est dolebis tu, videns tuam messem ab alienis colligi; ut sit enallage personae; tertio, et planissime, « dolebit, » id est dolere te faciet, in Hebraeo enim est כאב kieb, in Piel, quod est activum.
ON THE DAY OF INHERITANCE. — That is, when the time has come to possess and inherit it, namely the time of harvest and vintage.
AND IT SHALL GRIEVE, — namely the harvest, that it is being seized by a stranger and enemy; it is personification. Or "it shall grieve," that is, you yourself will grieve, seeing your harvest being gathered by strangers; as a change of person; thirdly, and most plainly, "it shall grieve," that is, it will cause you to grieve, for in Hebrew it is כאב kieb, in the Piel, which is active.
Versus 12: Woe to the Multitude (so the Roman edition
12. VAE MULTITUDINI (ita Romana, non multitudo, ut habent Plantina) POPULORUM. — Aliqui putant Isaiam hic transire ad Sennacherib, ejusque poenam praedicere; ipse enim vastavit Judaeam et Syriam. Unde ait, « et increpabit, » id est coercebit et compescet Deus eum vespere, id est nocte, caedendo 185 millia, ita ut mane cum summa turbatione fugere ipse debeat. Verum dura et insolens videtur haec transitio. Quare melius dicemus Prophetam hic pergere intentare vae Damascenis et Israelitis, qui contra Judam saepe conjurarunt. Unde exercitus eorum copiam, impetum et fremitum comparat fluctibus maris; hos enim Deus increpavit, id est contudit et contrivit per Assyrios; perinde ac pulvis a vento, et turbo a vehementi tempestate dispellitur, idque « vespere et mane, » id est brevissimo tempore; hoc enim significat istud proverbium, cap. XXXVIII, 12, et Psalm. LXXXIX, 6.
Nota: De hoc exercitu nunc loquitur in singulari, dicens: « Increpabit eum; » nunc in plurali, dicens: « Sonabunt populi multi. » 13. SICUT TURBO CORAM TEMPESTATE. — Septuaginta vertunt, sicut pulverem rotae tempestatis impellentis; Vatablus, sicut globus ante turbinem. Hebraeum enim גלגל galgal significat rem volubitem, qualis est turbo, rota et globus, qui, ubi a turbine corripitur, totus impetu illius rotatur ac projicitur. Exercitus ergo Damascenorum videbatur esse mons ingens, superbus et immobilis: sed ecce coram Deo fuit quasi rota et globus, non tantum mobilis, sed et volubilis ac instabilis.
13. LIKE A WHIRLWIND BEFORE THE STORM. — The Septuagint translates, like the dust of a wheel of the driving storm; Vatablus, like a ball before the whirlwind. For the Hebrew גלגל galgal signifies something that rolls, such as a whirlwind, a wheel, and a ball, which, once caught by a whirlwind, is entirely spun and hurled by its force. The army of the Damascenes therefore seemed to be a vast mountain, proud and immovable: but behold, before God it was like a wheel and a ball, not only movable but also spinning and unstable.