Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
From chapter 41 to 47, the Prophet does nearly the same thing in each chapter, and inculcates these three things: first, the liberation of Israel from Babylon through Cyrus; second, the liberation of men, especially the Gentiles, from sin through Christ, and the benefits to be given through Him to the nations; third, he disputes with the idolaters, and teaches that idols are mere idols, not gods, and proves and confirms the divinity of the one true God by many arguments. He does this so earnestly because in his own time King Ahaz and many with him had worshipped idols. Again, because the Jews were captives about to go to Babylon, and would see idols and idolatry widely prevailing; lest therefore they be swept into it through long familiarity with idolaters, he fortifies them in advance and shows the emptiness of idols by many arguments. So also Jeremiah fortified them in the whole of Baruch chapter 6. Again, he does this on account of the Gentiles, especially those who would come in the time of Christ, to prepare them for the Gospel and lead them from idols to God and Christ.
First, therefore, in this chapter he describes the happy state and golden age of the Gospel. Second, in verse 7, he shows the emptiness of idols from their craftsmen, who are wretched men, and from their material, namely wood, which is burned by fire and turns to ashes. Third, in verse 21, he exhorts the faithful that, despising idols, they should worship the true God, inasmuch as He is their Creator and Redeemer, and will lead the Jews from Babylon through Cyrus, and Christians from sin through Christ, as He promised.
Vulgate Text: Isaiah 44:1-28
1. And now hear, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen: 2. Thus says the Lord who makes and forms you, your helper from the womb: Do not fear, My servant Jacob, and most upright one, whom I have chosen. 3. For I will pour out water upon the thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground: I will pour out My spirit upon your offspring, and My blessing upon your descendants. 4. And they shall spring up among the grass, like willows by flowing waters. 5. This one shall say: I am the Lord's; and that one shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand: To the Lord; and shall be surnamed by the name of Israel. 6. Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last, and besides Me there is no God. 7. Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare: and let him set forth the order for Me, since I established the ancient people: let them declare to them the things that are coming and that shall be. 8. Do not fear, and do not be troubled: from that time I have made you hear and I have declared: you are My witnesses; is there a God besides Me, and a maker whom I do not know? 9. The makers of idols are all nothing, and their most beloved things will not profit them; they themselves are witnesses for them, because they do not see nor understand, that they may be confounded. 10. Who has fashioned a god and cast a graven image that is of no use? 11. Behold, all who share in it shall be confounded; for the craftsmen are mere men: let them all assemble, let them stand, and they shall tremble and be confounded together. 12. The blacksmith has worked with a file: with coals and hammers he has formed it, and has worked with the strength of his arm: he will hunger and grow faint, he will not drink water and will be weary. 13. The carpenter has stretched out his rule; he has formed it with a plane: he has made it with angles, and has rounded it with a compass: and he has made the image of a man, like a handsome man dwelling in a house. 14. He has cut down cedars, taken holm oak and oak that stood among the trees of the forest: he has planted a pine, which the rain has nourished. 15. And it has served men for fuel: he took from it and warmed himself: he kindled it and baked bread: but from the rest he has made a god, and worshipped it: he has made a graven image, and bowed down before it. 16. Half of it he burned in the fire, and from the midst of it he ate flesh: he cooked a stew and was satisfied, and warmed himself, and said: Ah, I am warmed, I have seen the fire. 17. But the rest of it he has made into a god and a graven image for himself: he bows down before it and worships it and entreats it, saying: Deliver me, for you are my god. 18. They do not know, nor do they understand: for they are blinded so that their eyes cannot see, and their heart cannot understand. 19. They do not reflect in their mind, nor do they know, nor do they perceive, so as to say: Half of it I burned in the fire, and I baked bread upon its coals: I cooked flesh and ate it; and shall I make an idol from the rest of it? Shall I fall down before a block of wood? 20. Part of it is ashes: a foolish heart has worshipped it, and will not deliver his soul, nor say: Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand. 21. Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, do not forget Me. 22. I have blotted out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist: return to Me, for I have redeemed you. 23. Praise, O heavens, for the Lord has shown mercy: shout for joy, O ends of the earth; resound with praise, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified. 24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and your Maker from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens alone, who establishes the earth, and no one is with Me. 25. Making void the signs of the diviners, and turning soothsayers to madness. Turning the wise backward, and making their knowledge foolish. 26. Confirming the word of His servant, and fulfilling the counsel of His messengers. Who says to Jerusalem: You shall be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah: You shall be built, and I will raise up its ruins. 27. Who says to the deep: Be desolate, and I will dry up your rivers. 28. Who says to Cyrus: You are My shepherd, and you shall fulfill all My will. Who says to Jerusalem: You shall be built; and to the temple: You shall be founded.
Verse 1: AND NOW HEAR, O JACOB MY SERVANT. — By Jacob or Israel understand the spiritual Israel, that is, the faithful and Christian people, with an allusion, however, to carnal Israel and his liberation from...
1. AND NOW HEAR, O JACOB MY SERVANT. — By Jacob or Israel understand the spiritual Israel, that is, the faithful and Christian people, with an allusion, however, to carnal Israel and his liberation from Babylonian captivity. So St. Jerome, Cyril, Procopius, Haymo, Forerius, Adam, and others generally.
To the faithful people, therefore, gathered partly from Israel and partly and more so from the Gentiles — that is, to the Church — God continues to promise His help, protection, grace, and every good through Christ.
Verse 2: YOUR HELPER FROM THE WOMB. — "From the womb," that is, from the beginning, from the cradle, as if to say: I have helped you, O Israel, from your origin: first, I freed and led your first parent Abraha...
2. YOUR HELPER FROM THE WOMB. — "From the womb," that is, from the beginning, from the cradle, as if to say: I have helped you, O Israel, from your origin: first, I freed and led your first parent Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans. Then your nearest parent, from whom you take your name, namely Jacob or Israel, I helped in the womb, when there, struggling with his brother Esau, he prevailed over him, and in being born held his heel, as one who would supplant him. Whence also his mother Rebecca heard from God, Genesis 25:23: "The elder shall serve the younger," namely Esau shall serve Jacob. In the same way, and much more, I helped the true Israel, that is, the Christians, at their beginning, when I protected them from the Jews and tyrants, especially the Roman Emperors, to such a degree that, while they for three hundred years, raging against them, strove with all their might to destroy them and the Church, I on the contrary brought it about that through persecutions and martyrdoms they always grew more. So St. Jerome and others already cited.
DO NOT FEAR, etc., MOST UPRIGHT ONE, WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN. — For "most upright" the Hebrew has Jeshurun, which the Septuagint and the Chaldean translate as "beloved Israel." Whence also Jeshurun has nearly the same letters as Israel, as St. Jerome notes; it is called "most upright Israel," because it received from God the most upright law, worship, and religion of God.
Note: The Hebrew Jeshurun can be translated variously: first, with Arias, as directed, destined, sent — namely by God for the Gospel of Christ, either to receive it, as a believer, or to announce it, as an Apostle. Whence all the Apostles were born from Israel.
Second, beloved, as the Septuagint translates here, and our Vulgate at Deuteronomy chapter 32:15 — or rather, little beloved one. For Jeshurun is a diminutive; whence it signifies a tender love, such as that of parents toward little children, like Jacob's love for Benjamin.
Third, seeing or singing, as Leo Castrius translates. For the Hebrew root shur signifies both, and both apply to the Church and the Apostles. For these were seers, that is, prophets, and as it were the eyes of God, and singers to Him, that is, those who celebrated His praises.
Fourth, Jeshurun can be derived from shor, that is, a bull, which, eminent in strength and size, leads the herds and flocks of cattle and cows: for so Israel stood out among the flocks of peoples, and was to God like a firstborn, and a leader of the flock — just as in a royal family the firstborn among brothers is prince and leader. So Forerius. And Moses alludes to this, Deuteronomy 33:17, where, calling Joseph the Nazarite among his brothers, he adds of him: "His beauty is like that of a firstborn bull, his horns are the horns of a rhinoceros: with them he shall gore the nations to the ends of the earth." Such were the Jeshurun, that is, the leaders of the Christian flock.
Verse 3: FOR I WILL POUR OUT WATER UPON THE THIRSTY. — By "the thirsty" and "the dry ground," namely the earth, He calls the Gentile world. For the Gentiles before Christ were like dry ground — parched, misera...
3. FOR I WILL POUR OUT WATER UPON THE THIRSTY. — By "the thirsty" and "the dry ground," namely the earth, He calls the Gentile world. For the Gentiles before Christ were like dry ground — parched, miserable, unfruitful, and barren of good works. But when God through Christ poured out upon them water, that is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, He made them like a well-watered field, fertile in virtues. Whence, explaining the same thing with another metaphor, He adds:
I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON YOUR OFFSPRING. — By "spirit" He calls the breath, or vital warmth, which revives seeds that are, as it were, dead in winter, bringing them back to life in spring, and making them germinate. Now by the seed or descendants of Israel He takes the spiritual descendants, not the carnal, as if to say: Upon the Gentiles believing in Christ, and therefore the spiritual children of Abraham and Jacob, I will pour out My vital spirit of graces, so that they may bring forth the fruits of virtue, and always flourish and thrive with them. So Cyril, Procopius, and St. Gregory, Book XXXIII of the Morals, chapter 5.
Verse 4: AND THEY SHALL SPRING UP AMONG THE GRASS LIKE WILLOWS. — This is a third metaphor meaning the same thing, as if to say: So greatly will that happy time of the Church flourish, so greatly will the fait...
4. AND THEY SHALL SPRING UP AMONG THE GRASS LIKE WILLOWS. — This is a third metaphor meaning the same thing, as if to say: So greatly will that happy time of the Church flourish, so greatly will the faithful flourish, as grasses are accustomed to flourish and sprout in a moist place, and willows by the waters. For willows love streams, and luxuriate there, as Virgil attests, Georgics II: Willows are born by rivers, and thick alders in marshes.
So St. Jerome. Second, just as willows, when the water fails, are as it were dead, but when it returns, they breathe again and revive: so also God through the grace of Christ will make the Gentiles, dead in sin and vice, live again. Third, and most genuinely, he compares and prefers the willows growing tall to the lowly grasses, as if to say: As much as the tall willows planted by the waters and continually irrigated by them tower above the grasses creeping on the ground, so much will that golden age of Christ and the Gospel tower above the former ages, which seemed to creep along the ground and scarcely think of God and heaven. So Forerius, Sanchez, and others.
Morally, St. Gregory notes, Book XXXI of the Morals, chapter 5, that the just are aptly compared to willows, which always remain green so that they cannot wither, and when cut down to the trunk, they spring up more abundantly and grow taller: for so also the just always retain the freshness and virtue of soul, and when harassed, afflicted, and oppressed, they all the more exercise and raise their spirits and strength.
Verse 5: THIS ONE SHALL SAY: I AM THE LORD'S. — It is a mimesis: for he imitates the voices of the Gentiles, congratulating themselves on their conversion, and giving themselves over, as it were, as slaves to...
5. THIS ONE SHALL SAY: I AM THE LORD'S. — It is a mimesis: for he imitates the voices of the Gentiles, congratulating themselves on their conversion, and giving themselves over, as it were, as slaves to God and Christ. For one will say: I am a servant of the Lord; for Him I desire to live, for Him to die.
AND THAT ONE SHALL CALL HIMSELF BY THE NAME OF JACOB — as if to say: Another will invoke the name of the God of Jacob. See Canon XXX. Or he will preach the name of the God of Jacob.
Forerius, for yiqra, that is "he will call," reads with different vowel points yiqqare, that is "he will be called," as if to say: He will be called a Jacobite, an Israelite, a son of Abraham and Jacob — namely, a believer and a Christian.
AND THIS ONE SHALL WRITE WITH HIS HAND: TO THE LORD — that is, "I am the Lord's." So the Septuagint; whence the Arabic translates: this one will write himself as belonging to the Lord — namely, as being of the family of the Lord, as being of those who belong to the Lord's service and servitude. For just as witches and others, when they devote themselves to the demon, give him a contract in which they profess themselves to be his servants: so also the faithful once wrote that they were Christians, servants of Jesus Christ; as the Apostle writes: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." Hence the baptized are said to give their name to Christ, and their name is inscribed, either by themselves or by their pastor, in the catalog of the faithful, as those who pass into the service of Christ. So in some Religious Orders, those professing, when they make their vows to God, write them with their own hand and deliver what they have written to the Superior of the Order. In a similar way, Martyrs testified either by voice or in writing that they were worshippers of God and Christians. So Athenagoras, Justin, Arnobius, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and others, who wrote Apologies for Christians to the Emperors persecuting them, wrote that they were worshippers of God and Christ. So Emperors, Kings, and Princes write: Ferdinand, by the grace of God, Roman Emperor; Philip, by the grace of God, King of Spain.
Second, some from the Septuagint translate: he will inscribe on his hand: I am God's. For formerly soldiers bore a brand burned or imprinted on their hand, by which they professed themselves to be soldiers of this or that commander, as Lipsius teaches, Book I On the Roman Military, chapter 9. Indeed, the same is attested by St. Gregory, Book II, Epistles 100 and 103. So Paul says: "I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body." So also the Antichrist will make his followers bear his mark on their right hand, Revelation 13:16.
And so the faithful even now wear crosses or little images of Christ on rings and bracelets on their hands, by which they confess themselves to be servants of Christ. Indeed, in the early times of the Church many Christians, not on rings but in their flesh, had the name of Jesus or the sign of the cross branded upon them with burning marks, says Procopius, an ancient author cited here.
Third, others from the Hebrew translate: he will inscribe his hand to the Lord. That is, he will consecrate and dedicate it. Thus those who with their hands continually perform good works for the honor and glory of God consecrate their hands to the Lord. Likewise those who inscribe on temples, altars, houses, books, and other works the words "To God, the Best and Greatest," or "To God be praise and glory."
AND SHALL BE SURNAMED BY THE NAME OF ISRAEL — that is, he will be called by a similar name; namely, he will be surnamed an Israelite, that is, a Christian, similar to the patriarch Israel who was faithful and holy; because he will embrace his faith and religion, says St. Jerome. For the Hebrew kinnah signifies to be surnamed, or to surname oneself after some illustrious person or some notable deed. So the Syriac, Arabic, Forerius, Vatablus, and others, as if to say: The Greek will not call himself a Greek, the Belgian will not call himself a Belgian, but a Christian. This sense from the Hebrew is genuine. Hence Tertullian, Book IV Against Marcion, chapter 39, says these are the words of Martyrs, growing strong in the confession of faith for God and with God. For this is what the Hebrew Israel signifies, he says: namely, growing strong, or prevailing with God.
Hence second, Leo Castrius explains it thus, as if to say: The faithful Christian will be made like, not Israel as a name, but the true Israel Himself, namely Christ, by taking up his cross after Him: "For every action of Christ is our instruction, to which we ought to conform ourselves."
First, Sanchez: "He shall be likened," he says, that is, he will be marked with some likeness, image, or character of Israel, that is, of Christ; by some sign he will show that he follows the law and religion of Christ — for example, by wearing from the neck a cross, an Agnus Dei, a rosary, a medal adorned with the image of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, or some Saint, as the Japanese, the Swiss, and other fervent Catholics do, who, living among heretics or infidels, freely and steadfastly wish to profess their faith publicly. This is what the Bridegroom asked, Song of Songs 8:6: "Set Me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm," as if to say: You, O bride, wear the image of Me, your Bridegroom, on a medal hung at your heart or on the bracelets of your arms. For conversely, idolaters used to wear the image of their idol on a ring, tablet, or bracelet hung from the neck, fingers, or arms, as Sanchez shows.
Verse 6: THUS SAYS THE LORD. — Here, as is His custom, God turns to the idols and idolaters, and disputes with them about the Divinity.
HIS REDEEMER — namely of Israel and of the faithful people. "Redeemer," that is, one who, like a brother or kinsman, will redeem us who have been alienated from God, and reclaim us for Himself, and restore His Israel to freedom; that very judge, redeemer, and champion of your liberty, your kinsman, O Israelites! — God made man from the seed of David. He, I say, promises you no other consolation and divine happiness than this, in so great a lamentation over your affairs, says Forerius. He alludes to the ancient custom by which goods sold by someone could be redeemed and recovered by his brother or kinsman, upon returning the price to the buyer: for he was called go'el, that is, redeemer, Leviticus 25:25.
Verse 7: WHO IS LIKE ME? — Who similarly to Me could redeem Israel, who could forgive his sins, who could pour out his spirit upon him, as I said in the preceding chapter, verses 3 and 25. So below, verse 22,...
7. WHO IS LIKE ME? — Who similarly to Me could redeem Israel, who could forgive his sins, who could pour out his spirit upon him, as I said in the preceding chapter, verses 3 and 25. So below, verse 22, having promised the remission of sins, immediately in the following verse He invites the heavens to praise God. Hence it is clear how great a thing it is that sins should be forgiven by God, and how worthy of God, so that from this alone the Divinity can be recognized. For the justification of the ungodly is a greater, more difficult, and more divine work than the creation of the universe, as St. Augustine teaches, Tractate 72 on John, and from him St. Thomas, I-II, Question 113, article 9.
LET HIM CALL OUT — let him preach, let him proclaim with a clear voice.
LET HIM SET FORTH THE ORDER FOR ME (let him narrate to Me the order and series of generations and ages that has flowed from that time) SINCE I ESTABLISHED THE ANCIENT PEOPLE — that is, since I created Adam and the first men and placed them on the earth.
7. WHO IS LIKE ME? — Who in a similar manner could redeem Israel, who could forgive his sins, who could pour out his spirit upon him, as I said in the preceding chapter, verses 3 and 25. So below, verse 22, having promised the remission of sins, He immediately in the following verse invites the heavens to praise God. Hence it is clear how great a work it is that God forgives men their sins, and how worthy of God, so that from this alone the Divinity can be recognized. For the justification of the ungodly is a greater, more difficult, and more divine work than the creation of the universe, as St. Augustine teaches, Tractate 72 on John, and from him St. Thomas, I-II, Question 113, article 9.
The Hebrew verb arakh has the same force as the Greek paratattein: to arrange and order a thing in a definite order, series, and succession. It properly pertains to warfare, where an army is arranged in order and forces are drawn up in battle array; see Judges 20:22; Jeremiah 6:23; 50:42. The same principle applies to establishing decrees. He who does this sets before himself a plan of the matter to be conducted, so that in execution nothing unforeseen may cause confusion. (Rosenmuller.)
will appear before the tribunal of Christ, and will tremble and be confounded.
Verse 8: FROM THAT TIME — as if to say: From ancient times, from the beginning of the world, I have taught the truth and foretold the future. I, I say, not the idols; therefore I alone am God, not the idols. S...
8. FROM THAT TIME — as if to say: From ancient times, from the beginning of the world, I have taught the truth and foretold the future. I, I say, not the idols; therefore I alone am God, not the idols. So Cyril and Procopius.
THE MAKER — God the creator, who created this world and, as it were, as a potter formed it, and adorned it with various essential and accidental forms: just as a potter gives various forms to various vessels. For the Hebrew yotser signifies a potter or molder, who shapes and forms vessels from clay. God therefore is, as it were, the molder and potter of the universe, just as a craftsman is the molder of his idol. He therefore sets God the maker of the world against the idols, whose potters and molders are craftsmen — base and lowly men. The Hebrews now read tsur instead of yotser, that is, rock, strong one, refuge. For such is God to those who hope in Him and call upon Him. So Forerius.
Verse 9: THE MAKERS OF IDOLS ARE ALL NOTHING. — He shows the vanity of idols from their very fabrication and fabricators. For "makers" in Hebrew is yotser, which properly signifies a potter; yet it is transfer...
9. THE MAKERS OF IDOLS ARE ALL NOTHING. — He shows the vanity of idols from their very fabrication and fabricators. For "makers" in Hebrew is yotser, which properly signifies a potter; yet it is transferred to signify any craftsman and artisan — as here it means goldsmiths, who fabricated idols from gold, silver, etc. For "nothing" in Hebrew is tohu, that is, empty, formless, vain, and as it were nothing. It is an elegant antithesis, as if to say: The makers strive to give figure and form to idols; but they themselves are formless, lacking form and figure, and are utter emptiness itself. For they are worthy of the name of nothing, and worthy to be called nothing. For they have been so foolish as to think that with their hands they can form gods, when they themselves have been formed by God. So Forerius.
Again, they are "nothing" because they hunger, thirst, grow weary, fail, and tend and return to their own "nothing," from which they were brought forth by God, as follows.
THEIR MOST BELOVED THINGS (the idols which they love and hold dear) WILL NOT PROFIT THEM.
THEY THEMSELVES (the makers of idols) ARE WITNESSES of these things (which I have just said, that idols "will not profit them," etc.); for if they are willing to confess the truth, they will be compelled to say of idols that they do not see nor understand (but are stones and stumps, devoid of sight and mind) SO THAT THEY MAY BE CONFOUNDED — as if to say: So that those who fashion, worship, and adore idols as gods rightly deserve to be confounded.
Allegorically, the idol is heresy, which the makers — that is, the heresiarchs — fabricate from their own brain, says St. Jerome.
Tropologically, the idol of the miser is money, as St. Paul says; the idol of the glutton is the belly; the idol of the proud person is honor. As mad as is the pagan who worships the idol of Jupiter, equally mad — indeed more mad — is the Christian who worships the idol of his own lust, gold, gluttony, etc.
Verse 10: WHO HAS FASHIONED A GOD? — as if to say: Who then was so mad as to form an idol? What was this madness of men? What frenzy? Vatablus translates: Who then would be so mad as to form an idol? "What is m...
10. WHO HAS FASHIONED A GOD? — as if to say: Who then was so mad as to form an idol? What was this madness of men? What frenzy? Vatablus translates: Who then would be so mad as to form an idol? "What is more ridiculous than when a man is the maker of a god?" says St. Basil on Isaiah chapter 3, and Sedulius: What madness is this, what great folly mocks the soul, that a supplicant man should bow down and adore a bird, a foul bull, a fierce dragon, and a half-human dog?
Indeed even the pagan Lucretius exclaims against these same men, as quoted by Lactantius, Book I of the Divine Institutes, chapter 21: O foolish minds of men! O blind hearts! In what darkness of life! In how great perils is spent whatever time of this age there is!
Then Lactantius adds: "Who with any sanity would not laugh at such absurdities? when he sees men, as if out of their minds, doing seriously what, if anyone did in jest, he would seem excessively foolish and silly?"
Moreover, that the first maker of idols among the Romans was Numa Pompilius, the same author teaches, chapter 22: "The author and establisher, he says, of these vanities among the Romans was that Sabine king, who especially entangled the rude and ignorant minds of men in new superstitions, and to do this with some authority, he pretended to have nightly meetings with the goddess Egeria." For Numa, the second king after Romulus, descended from the Sabines, established sacred rites to instill the fear of the gods (by which he might turn the fierce Roman spirits toward gentler things after the continual wars under Romulus), created priests, consecrated Vestal virgins, was the first to appoint a Pontifex Maximus, established the calendar of auspicious and inauspicious days, divided the year into twelve months, and having reigned for forty years in peace with the reverence of his own people and neighbors, he died.
Verse 11: ALL WHO SHARE IN IT (who collaborate in fabricating, polishing, and adorning the idol) SHALL BE CONFOUNDED (he gives the reason), FOR THE CRAFTSMEN ARE MERE MEN — as if to say: How then are they not a...
11. ALL WHO SHARE IN IT (who collaborate in fabricating, polishing, and adorning the idol) SHALL BE CONFOUNDED (he gives the reason), FOR THE CRAFTSMEN ARE MERE MEN — as if to say: How then are they not ashamed, who though they are men and sons of Adam, nevertheless wish to fabricate a god?
Verse 12: THEY SHALL ALL ASSEMBLE, etc. — as if to say: They are so wretched that one person does not suffice for the task, but several must assemble: of whom one hammers the ear of the idol, another the eyes,...
12. THEY SHALL ALL ASSEMBLE, etc. — as if to say: They are so wretched that one person does not suffice for the task, but several must assemble: of whom one hammers the ear of the idol, another the eyes, another the arm, another the feet, etc. And so they stand together, pressing on with the work, and if anything breaks, or the work does not turn out well, they tremble, are confounded, and grow sad — as if to say: How wretched therefore are the gods who are fabricated by such wretched people?
Others refer this to the times of Christ, or to the day of judgment; for then all idol-makers will appear before the tribunal of Christ, and will tremble and be confounded.
WITH COALS AND HAMMERS (as if to say: The smith with fire and hammers pounds and hammers that wretched god, just as he would his own hoe or plowshare, and does so) WITH THE ARM OF HIS STRENGTH — that is, with the utmost effort and striking of his arms.
HE WILL HUNGER AND GROW FAINT — as if to say: While this smith hammers the idol, he labors with hunger, starves, and grows faint, and unless he drinks water, he grows weary and faints from thirst. From the hunger and thirst of the craftsman, he gathers the vanity of the work, that is, of this idol and god. So St. Jerome.
Verse 13: THE CARPENTER — who fashions an idol from wood, just as the blacksmith hammers his from iron, bronze, and metal: this one measures out his idol with a rule or straightedge, just as he would a bench, a...
13. THE CARPENTER — who fashions an idol from wood, just as the blacksmith hammers his from iron, bronze, and metal: this one measures out his idol with a rule or straightedge, just as he would a bench, and shapes it with his plane. For the plane is an instrument with which carpenters smooth boards by scraping, which is also called a planula, because by scraping it levels beams and boards that are uneven and rough. So Pliny, Book XVI, chapter 24.
HE MADE IT WITH ANGLES — measuring it with an angular measure at the right angle of the plumb line. Vatablus translates: he made it with adzes; Forerius: he made it in the corners of houses and in secret places.
AND HE MADE THE IMAGE OF A MAN, LIKE A HANDSOME MAN DWELLING IN A HOUSE — as if to say: And so with his plane and compass he fashions the likeness of a man, as though that man were alive and handsome, inhabiting a sacred house and presiding over it as a deity. So Horace, Book I, Satire 8, introduces Priapus speaking of himself: Once I was a fig-tree trunk, a useless piece of wood; when the carpenter, uncertain whether to make a bench or a Priapus, chose to make a god. A god therefore am I, the greatest terror of thieves and birds.
Verse 14: HE PLANTED A PINE — as if to say: When he cuts down a tree, for example, a cedar, pine, holm oak, or oak, to make an idol from it, he immediately plants another tree, which the rain waters and makes g...
14. HE PLANTED A PINE — as if to say: When he cuts down a tree, for example, a cedar, pine, holm oak, or oak, to make an idol from it, he immediately plants another tree, which the rain waters and makes grow, lest the material for fabricating idols should ever be lacking. "O holy nations, for whom these deities are born — indeed, planted — in their gardens!" The rest is clear. For the Prophet laboriously shows both the Jews and the Gentiles the emptiness of idolatry, which then dominated the whole world, from the base fabrication, material, and maker of idols. Whence it is clear that these crude Gentiles entirely believed that the idol was truly a god, or at least that some divinity was present in it. Christians think and act differently when they venerate images of Christ and the Saints. Therefore Oecolampadius, Pellicanus, and other Innovators wrongly twist these words against those images. Pellicanus cites for his case the commentary of Ambrose on Romans chapter 1, but dishonestly. For there Ambrose speaks of the images of the pagans, which they worshipped as gods, as is clear to anyone who examines the passage.
Verse 16: FROM THE MIDST OF IT HE ATE FLESH. — "He ate," that is, he cooked and ate — as some manuscripts read — that is, he ate flesh cooked by the fire.
imitate and liken ourselves to. So Plato, Book VII of the Laws, says: "Man is the plaything of God, that is, His pastime, because human happiness consists in imitating God and conforming one's character to His as much as possible." Hence that famous saying among the seven sages: "Follow God," says St. Ambrose, Book I On Abraham, chapter 11.
Third, Sanchez says: "He shall be likened," that is, he will be marked with some likeness, image, or character of Israel, that is, of Christ; by some sign he will show that he follows the law and religion of Christ — for example, by wearing from the neck a cross, an Agnus Dei, a rosary, or a medal adorned with the image of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, or some Saint, as the Japanese, the Swiss, and other fervent Catholics do, who, living among heretics or infidels, freely and steadfastly wish to publicly profess their faith. This is what the Bridegroom asked, Song of Songs 8:6: "Set Me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm," as if to say: You, O bride, wear the image of Me, your Bridegroom, on a medal hung at your heart or at the bracelets of your arms. For conversely, idolaters used to wear the image of their idol on a ring, tablet, or bracelet hung from the neck, fingers, or arms, as Sanchez shows.
HIS REDEEMER — namely of Israel and the faithful people. "Redeemer," that is, one who, like a brother or kinsman, will redeem us who have been alienated from God, and reclaim us for Himself, and restore His Israel to freedom; that very judge, redeemer, and champion of your liberty, your kinsman, O Israelites — God made man from the seed of David. He, I say, promises you no other consolation and divine happiness than this in so great a lamentation over your affairs, says Forerius. He alludes to the ancient custom by which goods sold by someone could be redeemed and recovered by his brother or kinsman, upon returning the price to the buyer: for he was called go'el, that is, redeemer, Leviticus 25:25.
16. FROM THE MIDST OF IT HE ATE FLESH. — "He ate," that is, he cooked and ate, as some manuscripts read, that is, he ate flesh cooked by the fire.
AH — hurrah; for in Hebrew it is heach. The Septuagint translates: it is sweet to me — namely, to enjoy so splendid a wood fire, so that I may warm my limbs shivering with cold.
Verse 18: THEY DO NOT KNOW, NOR DO THEY UNDERSTAND. — Namely the makers of idols — that the idols are stones and polished and adorned rocks (for they are smeared with pigments), not gods. Whence Vatablus transl...
18. THEY DO NOT KNOW, NOR DO THEY UNDERSTAND. — Namely the makers of idols — that the idols are stones and polished and adorned rocks (for they are smeared with pigments), not gods. Whence Vatablus translates clearly: They do not perceive, nor do they understand (these blind artisans), because a plaster is upon their eyes, preventing them from understanding. This is what our translator renders as "they are blinded" — that is, their eyes are coated with lime, antimony, or paint (for the Septuagint's obliti is the past tense of oblino, to smear, not of obliviscor, to forget, as is clear from the Hebrew tach), as if to say: Idols have eyes and hearts that are not living but wooden, and covered with lime or other ornament; therefore they can neither see nor understand. But the blind craftsmen do not consider or reflect upon this. Note that "they are blinded" can be referred both to the gods of the nations and to their craftsmen and makers themselves (for these have eyes blinded and covered over by common error). The Hebrew refers more to the gods, our translator more to the makers. See here into what blindness custom and the example of others seize men, while one follows another like sheep following sheep, and neither considers nor examines the matter. He who is wise, therefore, should not follow the ingrained opinions of the crowd; but should examine and consider his actions before undertaking anything — whether it is reasonable, honorable, pleasing to God, and conformable to His law.
NOR SHALL HE SAY: PERHAPS THERE IS A LIE IN MY RIGHT HAND — as if to say: The craftsman does not reflect so as to say: Perhaps with my right hand I have fashioned a lying, trifling, and vain thing. For such is an idol.
Similar is what the Psalmist sings, Psalm 113: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men's hands. They have eyes, and they shall not see; they have ears, and they shall not hear, etc. May those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them."
Verse 20: PART OF IT IS ASHES. — In Hebrew, it is "a companion of ashes" — namely the idol, because the other part of the trunk from which it was formed has been burned and turned to ashes. So Forerius. Now Vat...
20. PART OF IT IS ASHES. — In Hebrew, it is "a companion of ashes" — namely the idol, because the other part of the trunk from which it was formed has been burned and turned to ashes. So Forerius. Now Vatablus and the Jews translate: A foolish heart feeds on ashes (that is, labors in vain, to no purpose), the one who makes and worships an idol. For they read in the Hebrew ro'eh epher, that is, "feeds on ashes." But our translator divided the words differently; for he took the letter he not as the final letter of ro'eh, but as the initial letter of epher, and read rea ha-epher, that is, "a companion of ashes." Companion, that is, part — as our translator renders it at Genesis 15:10. The Septuagint read differently, namely re'eh, that is, "see." For they translate: Know that ashes is their heart. They therefore do not translate cor as "part," as some have thought, but took cor from the following words, dividing them differently. For it follows, "a foolish heart worshipped it," for which the Septuagint translates merely "and they err" — because they joined "heart" to the preceding words. Now St. Cyril, Germanus, and Leo Castrius (who wrongly contends that the Septuagint, instead of rea, that is, companion — that is, part — read de'a, that is, wisdom) by "heart" understand wisdom, and give this sense: their "heart," that is, wisdom has withered and died, and
has become like ashes. One could also take "heart" as the idol, which they love and are devoted to, and call their little darling.
So Plautus said "to seek ashes," that is, to pursue base and worthless things; and P. Sabinus: Now ashes, and Troy is nothing but a mournful ground.
And Seneca in the Hercules Furens: O offspring of Cadmus, and Ophionian ashes, to what have you fallen?
Verse 21: REMEMBER THESE THINGS, O JACOB AND ISRAEL. — See, O faithful people, the blindness of idols and idolaters, lest you follow them; but worship Me alone, the true God, who created you, and who blot out y...
21. REMEMBER THESE THINGS, O JACOB AND ISRAEL. — See, O faithful people, the blindness of idols and idolaters, lest you follow them; but worship Me alone, the true God, who created you, and who blot out your sins as easily and plainly as clouds and mists are dissolved and scattered, either by the heat of the sun or by the force and blast of the wind, and the air is cleared.
Aptly are sins compared to a cloud, as I will show at Lamentations 3:44, and the Holy Spirit who blots out sins is compared to the wind; whence at Pentecost He descended upon the Apostles in the form of a mighty wind, Acts 2. Less correctly some explain it thus, as if to say: Just as a cloud — that is, rain dissolved from a cloud — washes away the filth of the earth, so I wash away the filth of your soul.
Verse 22: I HAVE REDEEMED YOU — from Egypt, and I will redeem you both from Babylon, and even more from the captivity of sin and the devil through Christ.
Verse 23: PRAISE, O HEAVENS. — Because the Prophet has recalled the remission of sins and the redemption of Christ, hence as is his custom, exulting at so great a benefit, he breaks into jubilation and the voic...
23. PRAISE, O HEAVENS. — Because the Prophet has recalled the remission of sins and the redemption of Christ, hence as is his custom, exulting at so great a benefit, he breaks into jubilation and the voice of praise, and invites the heavens and earth, mountains and forests to the praise of God.
THE ENDS (Septuagint: foundations) OF THE EARTH — that is, the center of the earth. For there were the souls of the saints shut up in limbo, eagerly awaiting this redemption of Christ, whom He therefore, once it was accomplished, invites to congratulation and hymns.
Verse 25: MAKING VOID THE SIGNS OF THE DIVINERS. — Diviners and augurs divined from the stars, from the entrails of animals, from the chattering of birds, from dreams, from lightning, as signs and omens of the...
25. MAKING VOID THE SIGNS OF THE DIVINERS. — Diviners and augurs divined from the stars, from the entrails of animals, from the chattering of birds, from dreams, from lightning, as signs and omens of the future; but God often makes their signs void and false, and causes their divinations to be wrong.
AND TURNING SOOTHSAYERS TO MADNESS — both because, seeing themselves and their oracles to be false and mocked as false by the people, they are driven to madness; and because from this falsity, the people see that they are driven not by God but by a kind of frenzied and diabolical fury while they deliver these oracles, so that "turning" means the same as "showing them to be turned" (i.e., revealed as mad), according to Canon XXXI.
TURNING THE WISE BACKWARD — so that they fall, and their oracles and counsels prove false: hence they also fall from their fame and glory, by which they were believed to be divine. Whence, explaining further, He adds:
AND MAKING THEIR KNOWLEDGE (the art of augury and divination) FOOLISH — and therefore inconsistent: for it is not consistent with itself, since God opposes it. And when they see themselves to be false, they adopt contrary counsels to cover up their falsity. On the contrary, God raises up and actually confirms His own oracles and those of His Prophets. Whence He adds:
Verse 26: CONFIRMING THE WORD OF HIS SERVANT — as if to say: I am the one who will actually fulfill all that I foretold and promised concerning My servant Cyrus, concerning the restoration of Jerusalem, as foll...
26. CONFIRMING THE WORD OF HIS SERVANT — as if to say: I am the one who will actually fulfill all that I foretold and promised concerning My servant Cyrus, concerning the restoration of Jerusalem, as follows, and allegorically concerning Christ, through My messengers, that is, through the Prophets; or, as if to say: I am the one who will fulfill My word and counsel concerning Christ, and concerning His messengers, that is, the Apostles, and their Gospel to be spread throughout the whole world.
WHO SAYS TO JERUSALEM: YOU SHALL BE INHABITED — as if to say: I will build and restore you, O Jerusalem, overthrown by the Chaldeans, through Cyrus. Again, and even more so, I will build and establish the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Christian Church, through Christ.
Verse 27: WHO SAYS TO THE DEEP: BE DESOLATE, AND I WILL DRY UP YOUR RIVERS. — Note from the Chaldean paraphrase, Theodotion, St. Jerome, and others generally, that the "deep" is called Babylon. So He also calle...
27. WHO SAYS TO THE DEEP: BE DESOLATE, AND I WILL DRY UP YOUR RIVERS. — Note from the Chaldean paraphrase, Theodotion, St. Jerome, and others generally, that the "deep" is called Babylon. So He also called it "the sea" in chapter 21, verse 1 — both because the rivers Tigris and Euphrates flowed through it, whose streams and course Cyrus diverted and channeled into other beds when he captured it; and because Babylon was like a sea and abyss of power, wealth, as well as vanity, pride, and luxury.
Verse 28: WHO SAYS TO CYRUS: YOU ARE MY SHEPHERD — as if to say: You, O Cyrus, will bring back My people scattered in Babylon to Judea, as a shepherd gathers his scattered sheep and brings them back to the fold...
28. WHO SAYS TO CYRUS: YOU ARE MY SHEPHERD — as if to say: You, O Cyrus, will bring back My people scattered in Babylon to Judea, as a shepherd gathers his scattered sheep and brings them back to the fold. Of this there is more in the following chapter.
Second, "shepherd," that is, king; for what a shepherd is to his flock, a king ought to be to his kingdom.
The Septuagint, reading the similar letter dalet instead of resch, namely da'i (so that this feminine form is used by enallage for the masculine), translates: Who says to Cyrus that he should be wise — that is, who gives wisdom to Cyrus so that he may wage war wisely, and who suggests to him this stratagem of diverting the Euphrates so that he may capture Babylon. The sense is, as if to say: I am the most powerful and wisest Creator and Redeemer, O Israel! who will most certainly fulfill what I promised concerning the restoration of Jerusalem through Cyrus, so that you cannot but expect that other, more august promise concerning Christ, who will make heaven and earth rejoice, to be fulfilled — which I want you to value highly, and to refer all other things to this, as shadows to the truth. So Forerius.