A woe to the Ethiopians, who fed Israel with vain hopes, their future conversion.
The Aegyptians, for alluring the two tribes to their confederacie, shal be afflicted, 7. and the Iewes returne to more sincere seruice of God.
1Woe to the land, the winged cymbal, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,Guai alla terra, cimbalo alato, che è oltre i fiumi dell'Etiopia,VVOE to the land the cymbal of winges, which is beyond the riuers of Aethiopia,Væ terræ cymbalo alarum, / quæ est trans flumina Æthiopiæ, 2That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, and in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters. Go, ye swift angels, to a nation rent and torn in pieces: to a terrible people, after which there is no other: to a nation expecting and trodden underfoot, whose land the rivers have spoiled.La quale manda ambasciadori per mare in barche di papiro, che van sulle acque. Andate, nunzj veloci alla nazione scossa, e lacerata, a quel popolo, formidabile più d'ogn'altro, alla nazione, che aspetta, ed è conculcata, di cui la terra è portata via da' fiumi.which sendeth legates into the sea, and in the vessels of bulrushes vpon the waters. Goe ye swift angels to a nation shaken a sunder, and torne in peeces: to a terrible people, after which there is none other: to a nation expecting and troden vnder foote, whose land the floodes haue spoiled:qui mittit in mare legatos, / et in vasis papyri super aquas. / Ite, angeli veloces, / ad gentem convulsam et dilaceratam; / ad populum terribilem, post quem non est alius; / ad gentem exspectantem et conculcatam, / cujus diripuerunt flumina terram ejus. 3All ye inhabitants of the world, who dwell on the earth, when the sign shall be lifted up on the mountains, you shall see, and you shall hear the sound of the trumpet.Abitatori tutti della terra, che avete stanza sulla terra; alzato che sia lo stendardo sui monti, lo vedrete, e udirete il rauco suon della tromba:Al ye inhabitants of the world, which abide in the earth, where the signe shal be lifted vp in the mountaines, you shal see, and shal heare the sound of the trumpet:Omnes habitatores orbis, qui moramini in terra, cum elevatum fuerit signum in montibus, videbitis, / et clangorem tubæ audietis. 4For thus saith the Lord to me: I will take my rest, and consider in my place, as the noon light is clear, and as a cloud of dew in the day of harvest.Ma il Signore dice a me: Io starò in riposo, e considererò dalla mia sede, come è chiara la luce di mezzogiorno, e come una nube di rugiada al tempo della ricolta.because thus sayth ourd Lord to me: I wil rest, and consider in my place, as the no one light is cleere, and as a cloud of dew in the day of haruest.Quia hæc dicit Dominus ad me: / Quiescam et considerabo in loco meo, / sicut meridiana lux clara est, / et sicut nubes roris in die messis.
5For before the harvest it was all flourishing, and it shall bud without perfect ripeness, and the sprigs thereof shall be cut off with pruning hooks: and what is left shall be cut away and shaken out.Imperocché avanti tempo fiorirà tutto, e germoglierà con immatura prosperità, e i suoi tralci saranno recisi colla falce, e quello, che rimarrà, sarà troncato, e gittato via.For before haruest it hath wholly florished, and vnripe perfection shal spring forth, and the boughes therof shal be cut of with hookes: and the thinges that are leaft, shal be cut of, and shaken out.Ante messem enim totus effloruit, / et immatura perfectio germinabit; / et præcidentur ramusculi ejus falcibus, / et quæ derelicta fuerint abscindentur et excutientur. 6And they shall be left together to the birds of the mountains, and the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall be upon them all the summer, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.E saranno abbandonati insieme agli uccelli di montagna, e alle bestie della terra, e per tutta l'estate staranno sopra di loro gli uccelli, e tutte le bestie della terra sverneranno sopra di lui.And they shal be left together to the birdes of the mountaynes, and beastes of the earth: and the foules shal be vpon it the whole summer, and al the beastes of the earth shal winter vpon it.Et relinquentur simul avibus montium / et bestiis terræ; / et æstate perpetua erunt super eum volucres, / et omnes bestiæ terræ super illum hiemabunt. 7At that time shall a present be brought to the Lord of hosts, from a people rent and torn in pieces: from a terrible people, after which there hath been no other: from a nation expecting, expecting and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, to mount Sion.In quel tempo dal popolo dissipato, e, lacerato, dal popolo formidabile più d'ogni altro, dalla nazione, che aspetta, ed è conculcata (di cui la terra è devastata da' fiumi) saran portati dei doni al Signore degli eserciti nel luogo, che ha nome dal Signor degli eserciti, nel monte di Sion.In that time shal a gift be brought to the Lord of hostes, of a people plucked asunder and rent in peeces: of a terrible people, after which there hath bene none other, of a nation expecting, expecting and troden vnder foote, whose land the floudes haue spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hostes, mount Sion.In tempore illo deferetur munus Domino exercituum / a populo divulso et dilacerato, / a populo terribili, post quem non fuit alius; / a gente exspectante, exspectante et conculcata, / cujus diripuerunt flumina terram ejus; / ad locum nominis Domini exercituum, montem Sion.
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Cymbal. Or sistrum, commonly used in Egypt. Septuagint, "ship sails."
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Calmet
Ambassadors. Hebrew, "images," (Bochart) in honour of Adonis; (St. Cyril) or rather Ezechias, or Tharaca send to demand troops. (Calmet)
Haydock
Bulrushes. Literally, "paper." (Haydock)
Pliny
Formed of rushes which grow on the banks of the Nile. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 7:56., and 13:11.)
Angels. Or messengers.
Pieces. With factions after the death of Sabacon, or by the inroads of Sennacherib.
Calmet
Other. He derides the vanity of the Egyptians. (Calmet)
Haydock
Expecting the overflowing of the Nile. (Haydock)
Hebrew, "of line," (Calmet) with which they marked out each person's property, after the waters had subsided. (Strabo 17.)
Foot. They worked their dough with their feet, and sent swine to trample on the seed, which required no more cultivation. (Herodotus 2:14., and 36.)
Spoiled. The Nile made considerable alterations.
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Place. God rules all with ease.
Haydock
Harvest. The allies shall comfort my people, (Calmet) or Sennacherib shall threaten ruin. (Haydock)
Calmet
But I will frustrate his evil designs. His army shall perish unexpectedly, ver. 5. (Calmet)
Worthington
The Egyptians had sent messengers to assure the Israelites that they would come to assist them: but the prophet informs them of their own ruin. (Worthington)
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Them. Their bodies shall lie unburied.
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Calmet
Sion. Egypt shall send presents to the Lord, 2 Paralipomenon 32:23. (Calmet)
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Angels.... Or messengers.
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Or paper boates.
The Aegyptians bid their messengers goe swiftly, & tel the Iewes that they shal haue present helpe according as they require & expect.
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But the prophet shevveth that the Aegyptians them selues shal be ouerthrowne by the Assirians.
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 58
… “Woe to the wings of the vessels of the land, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: (woe to him) who sendeth sureties by the sea, and letters of papyrus (upon the water; for nimble messengers will go) to a nation anxious and expectant, and a people strange and bitter against them; a nation hopeless and trodden down.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 51.1
… Where is that fear of God which should make us tremble with the trembling spoken of by the Lord—“Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment”? Not that I greatly care for your writing what you please. For Isaiah tells us
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1. WOE TO THE LAND OF THE RUSTLING OF WINGS. — First, Louis of Leon and Montanus in Obadiah think here, as also in Obadiah at the end, there is a prophecy concerning the Indies and the subjugation and conversion of the new world; for "woe" in Hebrew is הוי hoi, which can be translated "Come," "Hark," as Forerius translates it: as if God were exhorting the Spanish here with the rustling of wings, that is with fleets, equipped, to approach and aid those nations convulsed and awaiting help for salvation. Whence Vatablus (with whom Forerius also agrees) thus translates and explains: "Hark, land of the shadow of wings, which art beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, that is which art abounding in ships, which receivest the shadow of the sails of many ships. The calling of the Gentiles is described, and the liberation from the hands of the world and Satan made through Christ. Hark, he says, land, which art situated beyond Ethiopia; which art teeming with rivers, that is land placed in the uttermost part of the world: understanding synecdochically also other remote regions, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, as if to say the Gospel shall be preached everywhere. He invites the most remote peoples to Christ." Thus far Vatablus. Bosius confirms this, vol. II On Ecclesiastical Marks, book XX, sign LXXXIV: first, because when he says: "Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, and after whom there is no other," he notes the extreme peoples of the Indies; second, because the Indians from "vessels of papyrus," that is from cork and bark of trees, hollowed out boats, by which they would traverse the shores: for they lacked great ships, the magnet and the art of navigating the deep sea; third, because he says: "Whose rivers have spoiled her land," to show that those peoples are torn away from us and our continent, or the land absorbed by the intervening Ocean. For Plato relates in the Timaeus and Critias the greatest island Atlantis, and which in size surpassed Europe and Asia, once joined to Spain, but sunk by the whirlpools of the Ocean; or on account of the many inundations of waters, to which that land was subject; and of which the memory and fame remain even now in the minds of the Indians, as Francis Gomez writes, Indian History, part II, cap. CXXII. Thus concerning the Indies from this place take the interpretation Arias Montanus, Joseph Acosta, Frederick Lumnius, John Fernandes, whom Delrio cites and follows, adage 723. But it is clear from verses 5 and 6, that this prophecy, as also the rest in these chapters, contains a burden, that is a threatening prophecy against Ethiopia or Egypt, and threatens woe to it. Second, Justin, Against Trypho; Oecumenius, in the Prologue to the Epistle to the Romans, and Leo Castrius think here the matter is concerning Judaea. For thus in Apocalypse XI, 8, Jerusalem is called "Egypt," as if to say Woe to Judaea, which sends letters from every side to blaspheme and destroy the name and faith of Christ! This is mystical, not literal, as will be clear from what follows. Such is also that saying of St. Gregory, XIII Morals VII, in the Roman edition 5: Woe to the land etc., he says, that is, woe to the proud Antichrist, who sends his heralds throughout the whole world! Third, St. Jerome, Cyril, Haymo, Procopius, St. Thomas, Lyra, Adam and Ribera in Zephaniah III, think here the matter is concerning Egypt, as if to say Woe to Egypt, which in the shadow of its wings, and, as the Septuagint has it, in winged ships, promises aid to the Jews! For it is well known that the Jews, afflicted by the Assyrians and others, were accustomed to flee to the aid of the Egyptians, just as the Israelites fled to the aid of the Syrians or Damascenes, as he said in the preceding chapter. Thus at this time the king of Egypt had promised aid to Hezekiah against Sennacherib, as is clear from IV Kings XVIII. As therefore in the preceding chapter concerning the Syrians, so here he denounces the punishment and ruin of the Egyptians, which was accomplished by the Chaldaeans. For Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem laid waste Egypt, as Josephus testifies, book X Antiquities XI. Our Carpenteius, following this sense concerning the Egyptians, thus expressed it learnedly in heroic verse: Woe to thee, who celebratest with clattering sistrums the returning Apis, striking cymbals and empty rattles, proud land by the sacred river, which the noble gift the Ethiopians send forth from unknown sources. But I say here that the plague is not of Egypt, but of Ethiopia, which is under Egypt, namely of Abyssinia where the Prester John reigns, who holds dominion along the Nile, and rules widely even to the Red Sea. This is proved: First, because in the following chapter the burden of Egypt begins, therefore not this one. Second, because the Ethiopians are neighbors to the Egyptians; hence just as the Egyptians harassed the Jews, so it is evident from the Ethiopians, who conspired with Sesac king of Egypt against them, II Paralipomenon XII, 2, and from Zara the Ethiopian, who came with innumerable forces against Asa king of Judah, II Paralipomenon XIV, 9: therefore just as the Egyptians, Idumeans, Syrians and other enemies of the Jews are here punished by God and receive their burden, so also the Ethiopians. Hence Sophonias, cap. II, 12, and Jeremias, cap. XLIX, threaten them with the sword and destruction. Third, because what is said in this chapter of the Ethiopians is the same as what is said of the Egyptians in the following chapter; for if he were speaking of the Egyptians in both places, he would uselessly repeat the same thing in the following chapter. Fourth, because it is likely that the Ethiopians, just as the Egyptians, promised aid through ambassadors to the Jews against the Assyrians; for this reason indeed Tharaca king of the Ethiopians seems to have come against Sennacherib, namely so that he might drive him from Judaea and Egypt, because he did not wish to have so powerful an enemy as his neighbor. Fifth, because Egypt properly is not beyond, but within the streams of the Nile; Ethiopia however is beyond them. Again, papyrus and ships made of papyrus are found in Ethiopia, where the Nile begins, just as in Egypt; hence ships made of papyrus are called Ethiopian; indeed Ethiopia almost alone has the Nile, and through it it descends into Egypt. Sixth, because it befits the Ethiopians: woe to the land of the cymbals of wings, that is, bees and flies with their wings, that is, forces, cymbaling, that is, making a sound like a cymbal. Just as therefore he compared the Assyrians to bees and flies, cap. VII, vers. 18: so also here he compares the Ethiopians to the same: first, on account of their blackness; second, on account of their frequency, which even now is innumerable; third, on account of their multitude and noise; likewise on account of their vain boasting in their forces and arms; for they buzzed like bees and flies, which besides their buzzing and the sound of wings, have no strength; hence fifth, it is signified here that in arms they are unwarlike and weak. Seventh, because the same congruity can be applied to the Ethiopians as to the Egyptians, indeed some things more so, such as that: "After whom there is no other." Thus concerning the Ethiopians these things are expounded by Pineda in the Proemium to Solomon lib. IV, cap. XIV, vers. 3, Sanchez and Forerius. Moreover, Ethiopia after Egypt, to which it is adjacent, was laid waste first by Sennacherib, as I shall show cap. XX, 1. Then by Nabuchodonosor, as Sophonias teaches, cap. II, 12, when he says: "And you, Ethiopians, shall be slain by my sword;" and Megasthenes in Josephus, lib. I Against Apion. Here it is more a matter of the first devastation, which will be evident cap. XX. Finally, this is clearly taught by the Arabic Alexandrian version, which has it thus: Woe to the land, whose borders are shadowy, the extremities by which it is enclosed, in which the journey is prolonged, namely the land of Ethiopia, concerning which the children of Israel thought that they would be protected by it! WOE TO THE LAND OF THE CYMBALS OF WINGS! — It is an apposition, as if to say, Woe to the land of Ethiopia, which is a cymbal of wings, that is, cymbaled in wings, or having sounding wings like a cymbal! because the Ethiopians with great noise, proclamation and boasting, like bees and flies, as I said, with the clapping of wings, that is, with the display and vaunting of their forces and armies, sounding like a cymbal, were promising their aid to the Jews. Thus Tiberius Caesar called Apion the grammarian, who boasted that he made immortal those whom he praised in his writings, the cymbal of the world, as Pliny testifies in his preface to Vespasian, and the Apostle, I Corinthians XIII, calls knowledge lacking charity and eloquence "a tinkling cymbal." Second, because like a cymbal they produced only tinkling, that is, empty and futile sound, promising aid which in reality they were not going to provide; this is, as is commonly said, they were a reed staff, on which no one can safely lean on account of its emptiness, Isaiah XXXVII, 6: this staff therefore, like a cymbal, signifies empty and false aid. Third, Sanchez says: Ethiopia, he says, abounding in ships on the Nile and sea, is called the cymbal of wings, because a cymbal by its hollowness is like a ship; whence others for cymbal translate cymba, and, as Vatablus, nassa, in which sails are like wings; whence the Septuagint translates, ships' wings. From this wing-rowing ships are called sail-bearing, says Delrio, adage 171. Again, Ethiopian ships are called cymbal or cymballed, because the Ethiopians, and after them the Egyptians, were accustomed to clash soft instruments, lyres and sistrums while sailing; whence Plutarch in the Life of Antony describes the ship of Cleopatra, in which the oars were moved and sounded to the measures of pipes and flutes. Fourth, some think Ethiopia is called the cymbal of wings, on account of the Nile, which at the Cataracts rushes down headlong with noise like birds (hence Theodotion for cymbal translates, birds). Whence the Cataracts are peoples of the Ethiopians at the furthest cataract of the Nile, where among clashing rocks the waters of the Nile rush with such a roar, that by the excessive vehemence of sound they render the inhabitants deaf, concerning which Pliny, lib. V, cap. IX. For cymbal of wings in Hebrew is צלצל tsiltsel, which can be translated, shadowing; Aquila with other points reads by diastole צל צל tseltsel, so that it is a doubled name signifying shadow, shadow, that is, the greatest shadow. Whence also the Syriac translates: Woe to the land of the shadow of wings! For just as a mother protects her chicks with the veil and shadow of her wings, so Ethiopia promised that it would protect the Jews with its forces and military wings. Thus also Vatablus and Forerius: "The name," he says, "tsel doubled denotes the frequency of shadows, that is, the frequency and abundance of sails, which are like wings, as if to say: Hark, land which with frequent sails of ships dost shadow the sea and rivers!" For such was Ethiopia, and thence Egypt. See Pliny, lib. XII, cap. XI, and Strabo, lib. XVII. WHICH IS BEYOND THE RIVERS OF ETHIOPIA,—that is, beyond the Nile, which flows from Ethiopia into Egypt, no one doubts, says St. Jerome. Moreover, he calls the Nile rivers, because the Nile has seven streams like seven rivers, by which it empties itself into the sea by seven mouths. Whence also Ezechiel calls these streams rivers, cap. XXIX, 3. Ethiopia is said to be beyond the rivers, that is, beyond the seven streams of the Nile, with respect to Jerusalem; for with respect to it Scripture designates the regions of the world. But why does the Prophet use this circumlocution? why does he not clearly say: Woe to Ethiopia? I answer: first, because Prophets delight in obscurity; second, he mentions rivers, because it follows: "Who sendeth ambassadors into the sea," etc.; third, by this very fact that he names the rivers of Ethiopia, he signifies that he is speaking of Ethiopia; for Scripture is wont to designate provinces and kingdoms by rivers, as I showed cap. VIII, vers. 6. Whence Ethiopia can be referred both to beyond the rivers (for it is evident that it pertains to this from the Hebrew construction) and to woe to the land, as if to say: Woe to the land of Ethiopia, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, that is, its own; for the Hebrews are accustomed to put and repeat the same preceding name in place of the pronoun mine, thine, his, etc. Thus in Psalm CXXI it is said: "Our feet were standing in thy courts, Jerusalem: Jerusalem which is built as a city. Ask ye the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem." Where the preceding name, namely Jerusalem, is repeated a second time, and is put in place of the pronoun which and its.
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2. He that sendeth into the sea ambassadors. — "He," namely "the king." It is an enallage of person; for it passes from the land and kingdom to the king. See Can. XVI, q. d. The King of Ethiopia, for example Tirhakah, sendeth by sea ambassadors in vessels, that is in ships of papyrus, both to other nations and to the Jews, promising them aid against the Assyrians. AND IN VESSELS OF PAPYRUS UPON THE WATERS, — that is to say, He sendeth ambassadors and auxiliary soldiers in ships, which in Ethiopia, as also in Egypt, are made from the papyrus plant. See what is said on Exodus II, 5. He notes again in the papyrus, light and fragile, although painted, the false and fragile aid and forces of the Ethiopians. For these things befit Ethiopia, not Egypt: for the Egyptians sent their forces into Judea by land, not by river: but the Ethiopians by river; for they descended the Nile with the current into Egypt, thence they proceeded on foot into Judea. The Septuagint translate, he that sendeth papyrus letters (for these likewise as ships were made from papyrus), namely to the Jews, to whom he promiseth them aid. St. Cyril referreth these things to the superstition of the Egyptians, by which they sent letters into the sea, as if rejoicing at the discovery of Adonis, the lover of Venus, of which Ezekiel VIII, 14. Sanchez understandeth by papyrus letters papyrus ships; for letter in Greek signifieth something sent and thrust forth, or rather, he saith, he calleth letters ships bearing ambassadors with letters, by metonymy; for such ships are called by Seneca, lib. XI, cap. LXXVIII, dispatch-ships. The Arabic version translateth, he sendeth writings or books of papyrus, or paper. GO, YE SWIFT ANGELS, TO A NATION SCATTERED AND TORN IN PIECES. — St. Jerome and others think this to be a mimesis, or imitation of the voice of the king of Egypt, that is to say, Go, O ambassadors, O messengers of mine! by the Nile to the Jews, who are a nation torn in pieces by war; although formerly under David and Solomon it was terrible, to which no other was like (for after whom, others read, before whom, there is no other), now however it is afflicted expecting aid: because the rivers, that is the kings of Israel, overwhelm it like the army of the Assyrians. Secondly, others with Vatablus think that here nations, especially remote and Indian nations, are called to the faith of Christ, and Angels, that is Apostles, are sent to them, because they themselves are torn in pieces by the demon, infidelity and sins, so that through the grace of Christ they may be restored and saved, and taught to bear the cross and to choose death for Christ, and therefore these angels are opposed to the angels or ambassadors of the Jews, of which the same understand vers. 1, as I said. Thus Oecumenius, Procopius, Castrius, that is to say, Go, O Angels, O Apostles! go, O Xavier! O Gaspar! go, O Religious, zealous ones! to the Barbarians, to the Indians torn in pieces by vices, and rushing to perdition, and bring them your aid, bring them faith, grace, salvation. Thirdly and genuinely, Sanchez thinketh that to the weak and papyrus ambassadors of the Ethiopians, of which vers. 1, are opposed angels, that is ambassadors of God, namely Sennacherib and the Assyrians, whom God sent against Tirhakah and other Ethiopians, who therefore are a nation torn in pieces by them, trampled and lacerated, that is by God's decree soon to be torn asunder and lacerated, although before it seemed to be terrible; these also properly are "a people, after whom there is no other:" for they are at the end of the world toward the South. For they extend through the kingdom of Congo and Monomotapa to the Cape of Good Hope, in which the land, or continent, terminates toward the South: for beyond it there is nothing but Ocean, as is evident from the cosmographical Tables of Ortelius and others. TO A NATION AWAITING (some read, awaiting awaiting, that is plainly and entirely awaiting; for the Hebrews double קו kav kav) AND TRAMPLED, — that is soon to be certainly uprooted, and in God's foreknowledge and decree already uprooted. Note: The Hebrew word kav, first, signifies extended, for example a line: hence secondly, hope and expectation; for hope extends the mind of the one hoping, as it were like a line, toward the thing hoped for. To the letter therefore you should translate the Hebrew thus with Vatablus, Pagninus, Forerius and others, to a nation of line line, and of trampling. A nation of line is called one to which, according to a line, as it were to a rule, in proportion to its demerits measured and apportioned, that is decreed, punishment and vengeance from God is assigned. It is a metaphor from craftsmen and architects: for these build and construct according to a line, as it were to a norm, plumb-line, rule and guide. Thus also God according to the line of merits or demerits assigns to each, forges and fabricates reward or punishment. Thus in chapter XXXIV, verse 11, it is said: "The line shall be stretched out upon it to bring it to nothing, and the plumb-line to desolation;" that is, as the Chaldean translates, the line of desolation shall be stretched out upon it, and the plumb-line of destruction. And, as the Septuagint, σχοινίον γεωμετρίας ἐρήμου, that is the geometric cord of the desert, so that namely by just measure it may be demolished, and reduced to a desert. Thus in IV Kings XXI, 13, it is said: "I will stretch out upon Jerusalem the cord of Samaria," that is by the same line, or norm and measure of punishment and devastation I will demolish Jerusalem, by which I have demolished Samaria. Again, just as craftsmen first mark the material to be cut or hewn with a thread or line, which is called γραμμή by the Greeks: thus God delineates as it were the nations which he destines for destruction, and decrees to hew down. That this is the sense is evident first, from the fact that a little before he called this nation "uprooted and torn apart," and adds plundered. Hence indeed men who are lean, exhausted and attenuated are called μονόγραμμοι, as it were of a single line, says Delrio, adage 724. Secondly, because the Chaldean translates; a people oppressed and plundered; the Septuagint, a nation without hope (that is desperate, forlorn) and trampled; the Syrian, a nation plucked bare, whose feathers are stripped away, and uprooted; the Arabic, a nation without strength, foul, despised (or wicked, absurd). Thirdly, because Our translator renders it, a nation awaiting. For the Ethiopians are called a nation awaiting, namely the coming of the Assyrians, because they fear them, and eagerly await the outcome of their expedition. Again they await, that is they will experience certain disaster, which the Assyrians will bring upon them. Thus concerning the legates of Hezekiah to Sennacherib it is said in chapter XXXIII, verse 7: "The angels of peace shall weep bitterly." Otherwise Sanchez: They await, he says, yearly the inundation of the Nile, so that through it the fields may be covered with mud and made fertile. Secondly, the same for a nation awaiting, he says, in Hebrew is, a nation line line, that is to say the Ethiopians, as also the Egyptians, because they are adjacent to the Nile, which overflowing inundates the fields, hence they use a line, or rule and gnomon, by which they measure out the spaces of fields, so that each one may know what was and is his own. Hence from this inundation of the Nile there arose among them Geometry, as Strabo teaches, book XVII, and Diodorus, book II, that is to say the Ethiopians and Egyptians are a nation which uses lines and other geometric instruments, so as to designate to each his own fields and boundaries, which the Nile overflowing from its bed had buried, confused and obscured. Moreover just as in their papyrus vessels their weakness; so now in the mud and slime of the Nile, and in the line of fields measuring the region, it demonstrates the filth, and fortune uncertain and unstable. Thus far Sanchez. WHOSE RIVERS HAVE PLUNDERED HIS LAND. — It signifies the Nile overflowing, which Ethiopia, as also Egypt, inundating overwhelms. Symbolically it signifies the forces of the Assyrians and Babylonians coming together in troops, like rivers about to overwhelm Ethiopia, so that they may trample it and lay it waste.
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3. ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH. — God continues to speak, as if to say: When I shall have sent the Assyrians and Babylonians as it were my legates, then all nations will see the fierce war which I shall wage against the Ethiopians through them. 4. I WILL BE QUIET AND I WILL CONSIDER IN MY PLACE (that is, from afar from my throne I will silently, nay joyfully behold as it were games, namely these spectacles of my vengeance, to wit the slaughter of the Ethiopians): AS THE MERIDIAN LIGHT IS CLEAR, — that is, When the Ethiopians shall be in darkness, that is in straits, I dwelling in my clear and serene light, clear, serene, nay glorious will contemplate them. Thus Moses and the elders saw the glory of God, "as the work of the stone of sapphire, and as the heaven when it is serene," Exodus XXIV, 10. See the sayings there. A similar adage is said to have been used by Heraclitus the philosopher. For when he suffered from a disease of water between the skin, he was wont to question physicians thus: "Could you make dry weather from rain and serenity from clouds?" understanding by rain dropsy, by dry and serene weather health. When the physicians did not understand this, he buried himself entirely in ox dung, so that by its warm vapor the noxious humor of his body exuding might be dried out: when he had remained buried there for a long time, he died, if we believe Laertius and Plutarch. And as a cloud of dew in the day of harvest, — that is, The Ethiopians will be in heat, both of the sun by which they are scorched (for they are in the torrid zone), and of slaughter and destruction: but I shall be blessed in coolness, just as if I were in a dewy cloud, which in the time of harvest is wont to refresh the reapers; and thence I will instill some dew upon the devastation of the Ethiopians, that is I will bring moderation, and will temper it with clemency, lest they be utterly destroyed.
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5. FOR BEFORE THE HARVEST THE WHOLE THING HAS BLOSSOMED. — He persists in the metaphor of harvest, which while it luxuriates in flower, and pours forth all its sap and strength into flowers, is destitute of grain and fruit. The same happens in a tree, which, before the fruit ripens, pours itself wholly into flowers, buds and shoots: of it indeed he says that "immature perfection," that is immature shoots and twigs, although perfect in themselves will sprout, but will not give ripe fruit. He gives the cause of the calamity of the Ethiopians, namely their premature boasting and provocation of the enemy, as if to say: The Ethiopians were flourishing and were proud, gloriously trusting in their own strength, and promising themselves a vast empire: and therefore hearing that Sennacherib was dwelling afar off in Judaea, they prematurely took up arms, and directed their battle line against him, and provoked him to battle. But here all their flower was untimely and precocious, and did not ripen, but perished in the grass and was cut down: for first by Sennacherib, then by Nebuchadnezzar they were cut down: this is what he says: "And his twigs shall be cut down with sickles," that is the younger men and more ardent soldiers of the Ethiopians shall be slain by the swords of the Assyrians; "and those that are left shall be cut off and shaken down," that is the Assyrians and Chaldeans will pursue the remaining Ethiopians fleeing from battle, and will partly slay them, partly capture them, despoil them and scatter them. Thus young spirited and rash men while they provoke valiant soldiers, reap a harvest worthy of their flourishing boldness, namely slaughter and calamity. Note: whole, that is almost whole, most; for soon he excepts some, verse 7. See Can. XXX. 6. AND THEY SHALL BE LEFT TOGETHER TO THE FOWLS OF THE MOUNTAINS, — that is, So great shall be the slaughter of the Ethiopians, that the bodies of the slain shall suffice throughout the whole summer and winter to feed the voracious beasts and carnivorous birds.
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7. AT THAT TIME (namely in the days of the Messiah, see Can. XII), A GIFT SHALL BE BROUGHT TO THE LORD. — Prophets are wont, after sad things, to subjoin joyful things in order to mitigate them: thus it is done here, as if to say: After this calamity of the Ethiopians, the Ethiopians abandoning the vain hope which they had in their own strength and idols, will acknowledge the true God, and will worship him in mount Sion, that is in the Church. This came to pass when the Eunuch of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, converted by Philip, spread the faith of Christ throughout Ethiopia, Acts VIII; and when St. Matthew the Apostle, going there, converted the king and kingdom: whence Christianity flourished wonderfully in Ethiopia. This is what the Psalmist says, Psalm LXVII: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall," and Psalm LXVII: "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God." See our Father Cotignac and others, who have written concerning the Church and history of Ethiopia. FROM A PEOPLE EXPECTING. — Thus it should be read with the Romans, that is greatly expecting. It is an auxesis.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Hic comminator contra Aegyptios: et primo comminator eorum poenam per comparationem ad poenae meritum; in secunda exequitur poenae modum; cap. 19: Omni Aegypti etc. In tertia designat poenae tempus, cap. 20: In anno etc. Circa primum tria ponit. Primo designat culpam, quae est meritum poenae; in secunda comminator poenam ibi, Omnes habitatores orbis; tertio ostendit poenae fructum, ibi, In tempore illo defertur munus Domino exercituum a populo divulso. Circa primum duo facit. Primo describit sium terrae, in quo superbe confidebant, dicens: Vae, scilicet imminet, terrae, Aegypto, cymbalo alarum; propter sonitum Nili, cujus velocitas comparatur motui alarum propter velocitatem, vel propter similitudinem populorum, vel propter protectionis auxilium, quod populo duarum tribuum insonabant; quae est trans flumen Aethiopiae, idest ultra Nilum, qui venit de Aethiopia. Ezech. 29: « Ecce ego ad te, Pharao rex Aegypti, draco magne, qui cubas in medio fluminum tuorum. » Hoc tamen Judaei exponunt de Gog, qui habitant ultra Aethiopiam, contra quos testatur propheta Ezechiël 38. Secundo describit auxilium quod duabus tribubus promittebant. Et primo describit nuntiandi modum, dicens, Qui, scilicet populus Aegyptius, mittet legatos, idest nuntios, duabus tribubus, in mari, idest per mare, et super aquas, fluminis, vel maris, in vacis papyri, genus junci, de quo fiebant capsellae ad portandas litteras, vel arundines tam magnae quod de eis fiebant naves, ut legitur in historia Alexandri: a pyr, quod est ignis. Secundo ponit legationis praeceptum, in quo determinat duo. Primo nuntiandi modum, dicens: O Angeli, idest o nuntii mei, ite velves, idest velociter. Secundo motum, Ad gentem scilicet duarum tribuum, quam ostendit miserabilem ex quatuor. Primo ex afflictionis magnitudine, Convulsam, a propria firmitate per subjugationem, et dilaceratam, per poenarum afflictionem.
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Secundo ex pristina dignitate, Terribilem, quondam, post quem non est alius, potentiae comparandus; nunc autem expectante, alienum auxilium, conculcatam, quasi in vilitate redactam. Tertio ex hostium potestate vel iniquitate: Cujus diripuerunt injuste flumina, reges Assyriorum. Quarto ex loci sanctitate, Ad montem Sunt autem punjti, quia eos a cultu Dei retrahебant. Ezech. 29: « Non erunt ultra domui Israel in confidentia doctentes iniquitatem. » Omnes habitatores orbis qui moramini in terra. Hic comminator poenam: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit poenae evidentiam. Videbitis idest notum erit vobis, signum, vexillum Nabuchodonosor. Jerem. 46: « Audierunt gentes ignominiam tuam, et ululatus tuus replevit terram. » Vel hostium copiam, Videbitis, existentes in exercitu ejus. Ezech. 7: « Adducam pes-simos de gentibus, et possidebunt domos eorum. » Secundo aufert defensionis divinae confidentiam: Quia haec dicit Dominus. Et primo quia subtrahet eis auxilium suae defensionis: Quiescam, non vos adjuvans: considerabo, idest videbo quid vos possitis facere.
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Deuteron. 52: « Considerabo novissima corum. » Secundo quia hostibus praebet auxilium impugnationis, quantum ad consilium in dubiis: Sicut meridiana lux, ita evidenter ostendetur
eis quid sit eis agendum. Quantum ad revelationem in laboribus, Sicut nubes. Psal. 88: « Exaltasti dexteram deprementium eum, laetificasti omnes inimicos ejus. » Tertio ibi, Ante messem, describit poenam metaphorice, scilicet per destructionem fructus in agro: et ponit tria. Primo quantum ad fructus perditionem, qui perditur in flore, Ante messem enim totus effloruit. Similiter Aegyptus antequam potentiam haberet, florem suae gloriae ostentabat; de qua infra 40: « Omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri. » Perditur etiam in germine, quando nondum maturus est humor de quo fieri debet fructus. Et immatura. Similiter Aegyptus ultra potentiam quam habebat praesumebat. Perditur etiam in fructu, quando rami in quibus sunt fructus abseinduntur. Praecidentur, ante fructus maturatio-nem.
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Job 15: « Laedetur quasi vinea in primo flore. » Proverb. 13: « Substantia festinata minuetur. » Secundo ponit fructuum remanentium ablationem: Quae derelicta fuerint perfecta ab Aegyptiis, ab Assyriis abscondentur a propria firmitate, et executiur de loco suo per Chaldaeos. Infra 24: Quomodo si paucae oleae (vel olivae,) quae remanserunt, executiantur ex olea. Tertio ponit ipsius agri desertionem. Et relinquetur sicut ager incultus: in quo significatur caedes hominum, postquam multae bestiae fuerunt in terra Aegypti.
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Ezech. 59: « Haec dicit Dominus Deus: Die omni volueri et universis avibus, caenetsque bestiis agri: Convenite, properate, concurrите undique ad victimam meam quam ego immolo vobis, victimam grandem super montes Israel, ut comedatis carnem, et bibatis sanguinem. » In tempore illo deferetur munus Domino exercituum a populo divulso et dilacerato. Hic ponitur poenae fructus. Defertur munus, scilicet, populus duarum tribuum confident de Deo, et ipsius auxilium invocabunt cum munerum oblazione. Supra 10: » In die illa non adjiciet residuum Israel, et hi qui fuerit de domo Jacob, inniti super eo qui percutit eos; sed innitetur super Dominum sanctum Israel. » A populo divulso, et dilacerato; a populo terribili, post quem non fuit alius; a gente expectante et conculcata, cujus diripuerunt flumina terram ejus, ad locum nominis Domini exercituum, montem Sion. Exponatur ut supra in hoc eodem cap. circa principium.
Nota super illo verbo, Immatura perfectio germinavit, quia est perfectio multiplex. Prima naturae. Gen. 2: « Igitur perfecti sunt caeli. Secunda scientiae. Job 22: « Numquid Deo comparari potest homo, etiam cum perfectae fuerit scientiae? » Tertia gratiae. 1 Joan. 4: « Perfecta caritas foras mittit timorem. » Quarta gloriae. 1 Cor. 5: « Cum autem venerit quod perfectum est, evacuabitur quod ex parte est. »
Nota super illo verbo, Germen ejus, quia est germen primo pravae praelationis. Eccle. 10: « Vae tibi terra cujus rex est puer, et principes mane comedunt. » Secundo doctrinae erroris. Judae: « Hi autem quaecumque quidem ignorant, blasphemant; quaecumque autem naturaliter, tamquam muta animalia, norunt, in his corrumpuntur. » Tertio praesumptuosae opinionis. Rom. 12: « Unicuique sicut Deus divisit mensuram fidei . . . Non alta sapientes, sed humilibus consentientes. »
Quarto praesentis consolationis. Luc. 16: « Recordare quia recepisti bona in vita tua. »
Nota super illo verbo, Defereitur munus, quia est munus multiplex. Primo ferventis dilectionis. Proverb. 21: « Munus absconditum extinguit iram, donum in sinu, indignationem maximam. » Secundo devotae orationis. Psalm. 140: « Ascendat
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Anc. — Tempore. expeditionis Assyriorum Aethiopes quoque (cum Assyrii etiam regibus Aegypti et Aethiopiae bellum inferre molirentur) quaquaversus legatos mittunt, ut omnes ad arma convocent. Hos nuntios propheta alloquitur, monet, ut Aethiopibus, populo terribili et feroci, id nuntient, ad quod omnes habitatores orbis signo bellico dato attendant oportet (18, 1-3) scil. Deum ipsum qui per aliquod tempus quasi iners atque otiosus conatus ac progressum Assyriorum spectaverit, Assyrios subito esse prostraturum clade ingenti. Quo facto etiam gens aethiopica Dei maiestatem in Sion residentis agnoscet (18, 4-77). Hoc oraculum ad antecedentia arcte adnectitur. Uti enim 171, 14 cladem Assyriorum fore ad Dei glorificationem ostenditur, ita iam eadem maiestatem ac sublimitatem Dei in terras longinquas annuntiari describitur; proinde fructus qui eousque pro populo Dei praedictus est etiam fore ut gentibus contingat vates manifestat. Sic nova ratione declaratur illud vineimini quia Emmanuel et ubi sit pro gentibus salus, praeclaro modo docetur, dum iterato proponitur id quod 14, 32 dictum est: «et quid respondebitur nuntiis gentis? quia Dominus fundavit Sion et in ipso sperabunt pauperes populi eius ».
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Vates nos rapit in medias res. Aethiopes bellico rumore de magna Assyriorum expeditione terrefactos nuntiis quaquaversus emissis socios et auxilia belli contra eos subeundi sibi comparare non tam describit vates quam ipsa dicendi forma depingit. Cum enim Aethiopes talia agentes menti eius obversentur, exclamat v. 4 « Vae terrae cymbalo alarum, quae est trans flumina, Aethiopiae, v. 92. qui mittit in mare legatos et in vasis papyri super aquas» ; — vae ei dicitur genti, quae terrore bellico hoste appropinquante est perturbata et quae ad avertendum belli periculum vel ad hostes devincendos auxilii petendi causa legatos emittit; sic enim per vae conditio eius afflicta designatur. Hebr. "in utiest dolentisac minitantis plerumque, ita quandoque etiam acclamantis.et adhortantis vel attentionem provocantis (cf. Is. 55, 1. Zach. 2, 10 hebr.). Hoc loco ex iis ipsis declaratur quae menti vatis oblata sunt et quae nos ex subsequentibus colligere debemus. Vocatur terra cymbalum. alarum, hebr. terra stridoris (tinnitus) alarum, eodem sensu quo ', 48 terram et copias Aegyptiorum muscam vocaverat, nunc Aethiopiam vocat terram stridoris alarum ; terra enim ipsa insectis diversissimi generis abundat variique coloris et eorum sonitu ac stridoribus repletur; in iis autem animalculis eorumque tinnitu simul habetur symbolica quaedam delineatio Aethiopum, multitudinis innumerabilis, strepitus ac tumultus bellici. Apta ergo h. l. designatio gentis perturbatione bellica concitatae, tumultuantis, varias tribus turmatim ad arma convocantis habetur. Si terra dicitur trans flumina Aethiopiae, quam longe lateque perturbatio illa ac sedulitas pateat exprimitur, ita ut regiones illae ultra varias partes Nili et ultra fluvios qui in Nilum devolvuntur, meridiem versus usque in terrae tractus incognitos extensae intelligantur. Flumina Kusch (hebr.) nominantur Nilus qui dicitur albus, ille qui caeruleus appellatur, Atbara, Sobat, Bahr-el-Ghasal etc. (cf. Naeg. Del.). Alii speciatim explicant regiones prope Kusch, quae fluviis aethiopicis quoque alluantur i. e. Sabam vel Meroen; ita iam Malv. singulariter Meroen intelligi ait, de qua Strabo (17, 821. 186) : austrum versus fluminum concursu Astaborae, Astapodis et Astasobae ambitur i. e. fluminum quae hodie Atbara (Tacazze), Asrak, Abiad appellantur (cf. Kn.). Aethiopum regionem bellico terrore esse agitatam ex eo quoque patet quia mitlit per mare nuntios el per vasa (navigia) papyracea super faciem aquarum. (hebr.) i. e. fluminibus istis celeri cursu feruntur navigia nuntiorum qui omnes tribus ad arma capessenda invitant; mare quandoque appellatur flumen magnum (cf. 19, 5; vide quae notavi ad Nah. 3, 8). Naves in Nilo ex papyro et scirpo et arundine fieri veteres adno- ' tarunt, uti Strabo, Plinius, Solinus, Lucanus, quorum testimonia iam referunt Malv. Sanct. Calm. et ex recentioribus Ges. Winer (s. v. Schilf) Del. Ad rem notat Malv. eiusmodi naves leviores fuisse et adversis fluctibus scopulisque quibus Nilus abundat cessisse, at non dissiluisse aut fractas esse tam facile quam lignum ; ob levitatem facile quoque terra portabantur, utpote quae erant plicatiles, ubi cataractae cursum impediebant. Cum Sennacherib adversus Lobnam proeliaretur, nuntius affertur : egressus est Tharaca rex Aethiopiae, ut pugnet contra te (Is. 31, 9. 4 Reg. 19, 9) ; unde patet, cur nuntios de quibus h. l. vates dicit, ad arma gentes convocare censendum sit ; a qua re non est alienum si putaveris etiam intelligilegatos qui ad Iudaeos mittantur aliasque nationes palaestinenses, ut magnam quandam belli societatem contra Assyrios efficerent. Hisce autem legatis alium nuntium perferendum committit vates. Iubet enim eos ire et ad quos missi sunt etad eos qui miserunt i. e. ad omnem nationem Aethiopum longe lateque extentam et potentia eximiam et celebrem antiquitate iisque^annuntiare classicum Domini, non ut sese parent ad bellum, verum ut Dei magnalium sint testes. Cernit igitur vates legatos fluviis aethiopicis velociter vectos ; monet ut itinera sua peragant; « ite angeli veloces ad. gentem convulsam et dilaceratam, ad. populum terribilem, post quem mon est alius, ad gentem ezspectantem et conculcatam, cuius diripuerunt flumina terram eius » ; — textu lat. natio Aethiopum variaeque gentis tribus perturbatione et terrore describuntur correptae propter imminentem expeditionem Assyriorum ; ita intellige convulsam et dilaceratam i. e. calamitate vexatam ; hoc commode referes ad eas tribus quae invasioni proxime patent; dein natio ostenditur armis potens et terrorem aliis inferens: (id quod Aegyptii saepius experti sunt et quam maxime quoque tempore Tharacae); iste terror eo quoque augetur, quia natio Aethiopum innumerabiles turbas longissimos terrae tractus incolentes ita complectatur, ut post eum populum, pone regiones eius iam non aliae exsistere videantur gentes, sed ut illae omnem terram usque ad limites orbis occupare dici possint. Aliae tribus vel timida rerum futurarum exspectatione tenentur vel iam una alterave clade inflicta prostratae sunt. At que revera in inscriptionibus cuneiformibus narratur pugna ad' AIltaqu (Elthece ; cf. Ios. 19, 44) prope Accaron facta Aegyptios et Aethiopes fuisse devictos a Sennacherib, qui gloriatur a se ibi captos fuisse aurigas filiosque regis Aegypti et aurigas regis terrae Miluchi (i. e. Meroe, Aethiopiae). De qua re vide Vigourouz, la Bible et les découvertes mod. 3 éd. IV p. 195. Demum vates indicat per totam terrae longitudinem et ubicumque rivi sint vel canales nuntium esse perferendum quem ipse committat; nam terram nominat fluminibus omnem in partem quasi sectam, qua re quae adeo differt ab indole terrae palaestinensis peregrinam illam regionem modo apto describit. Tali autem imagine et populi et regionis exhibita animi audientium et legentium optime praeparantur, quo maiore magnalium Dei reverentia et admiratione afficianiut. In textu hebr. solum effertur quantae potentiae sint gentes Aethiopiae. Sensus tamen non adeo mutatur. Annuntiat enim vates non eorum armis sed Dei potentia esse Assyrios deiiciendos ; unde simul iis dicit eos fore impares superandis hostibus, id quod pugna ad Altàqu facta reipsa ostensum est; quare Dei sublimitas eo magis quoque praedicatur, quo maior potentia et terror Aethiopibus adscribitur. Textum hebr. verte : ite nuntii veloces ad. gentem tractam i. e. longam, proceram (Ges. Thes. Hitz. Ewald, Umbreit, Kn. Del. Naeg.) vel longe lateque diffusam vel fortem, robustam, ut alii explicant (cf. Malv. Ros. Vitr. Lowth); secundo loco gens vocatur polita vel glabra idque explicant vel depiles (pilibus velabrasis vel optime comptis — cf. Drechsl. Del. Net. Roh.) vel nitentes (Hitz. Kn. Naeg.) vel acres, vehementes (Ewald, Meier) vel lutosos i. e. fusci coloris (/ios.) ; dein appellatur populus terribilis longe lateque (cf. Rohl. Del. Naeg.) i. e. qui terrorem sui longe lateque spargit ; demum gens imperii duri et conculcationis i. e. quae arroganter et dure aliis imperat eosque superbe conterit et conculcat. incolas Nili superioris non paucos PRUSROSNIUBUE esse conspieuos recentiorum quoque testimoniis comprobat Naeg. Non satis expedita est quae additur phrasis ad terribilis nw5m NY 7 q23;LXX vertunt sí a3x09 &xfzstyx ; id quod ad sensum expressit S. Ilier. : Chald. ex hoc et ultra. Sed quid sibi vult ex hoc ? num sensu temporali : ex quo populus exsislit? sed tum polius seribendum erat N11 ww» vel uti simili notione Nah. 2, 9 xy3 "23; ergo ex hoc sensu locali i. c. ex eo loco ubi propheta loquitur in regionem longe lateque diffusam- (Del.)? vel ex hoc? i. e. a finibus suis longe lateque terrori est (Naeg.)» prout phrasis similis habetur 1 Sam. 20, 22; quamvis potius 13273 exspectares. Neque placet quod aliis plaeuit : terribilior est quam hic * scil. populus iudaicus, cum de tali comparatione non sermo sit neque pcpali iudaici mentio iniiciatur. Sequitur *p 7 "p *13 gens praecepli praecepti; id vix aliter. verti potest, si 28, 10. 13 respicitur. Hac iteratione indoles gentis aliis erebra et dura imponendi mandata deseribi videtur. LXX. praebent £0vo; XvDwsrov; vulg. gentem exspectanlem; ergo xYp exspectare ? Syrus g gentem foedam ; ergo Np? — Uliimo loco designatur gens nb "2 conculcationis, id quod LXX, Spas Hier. Chald. sensu passivo accipiunt ; sed cum reliqua gentis attributa ad robur eius describendum selecta appareant, eliam hic sensus activus qui oplime ex 1p sensu explicato consequitur quasi continens mandati sanctionem erit praeferendus. Terra describitur, quam flumina secant, Na findere eadem scil. significatione qua chald. yy2; ita enim sensus colligitur commodus. Eodem modo intellige textum lat. Nam quod aliis placet, aquis Nili humum Aethiopiae auferri et in Aegyptum transferri, proinde N32 idem esse a 352 et pro conculcatione quam Aethiopes in alios exerceant, vindictam sumi a Nilo quo eorum humus alio transportetur (Naeg.), subtilius sane est excogitatum quam verius. Chald. habet : cuius terram populi diripuerunt. Vates gentem potentia et terrore aliis incusso insignem descripsit ; sed simul monet quam parum vel potius quam nihil illa omnia valeant ; neque enim illis virtutibus salus erit acquirenda, sed solum interventu Dei; quare v. 3 « omnes habitatores orbis qui moramini in lerra, cum elevatum fuerit signum in montibus, videbitis, et clangorem tubae audietis » ; — hebr. et ad. clangorem tubae (i.e.si tuba insonuerit), audite ! omnium attentio excitatur et iam universum orbem invitat vates, ut ad classicum Domini attendat. Vexillum in monübus elevatum et clangor tubae iam dicit militum copias congregari et bellum indici. Si ergo incolae orbis terrarum magnos populos Assyriorum et Aethiopum ad bellum gerendum paratos cernunt et iamiam aciem instruentes, tunc videant, audiant i. e. attenta mente considerent, quid Dominus sit facturus. Hac interpellatione rem fore plane insolitam et ab omni exspectatione remotam vates indicat. Iam quale sit Dei consilium, in subseq. exponitur. 1. Ita S. Hier. : ad cuius potentiam nullus alius comparandus est. Cum igitur bellum inter duas gentes exarserit. vehementissimum, ad Deum oculos mentesque convertant; v. 4 « Quia haec dicit. Dominus ad. me : quiescam et. considerabo in. loco meo, sicut meridiana luz clara est et sicut mubes roris in. die messis » ; — i. e. qua est Dominus maiestate ac tranquillitate, in sublimi throno suo sedet et tacite. hominum conatus et bellicas expeditiones considerat eaque per aliquod tempus sua capere permittit incrementa. Comparatio adiecta est, qua maiestas Dei sublimis, imperturbata delineetur in se et exprimatur eius permissu et favore res omnes ad successum et prosperitatem adduci : sicuti enim solis splendor pulvere terreno non infuscatur, sed sol maxima et maiestate et claritate super tumultum et strepitum terrigenarum serenus et imperturbatus vehitur, ita Deus aeterna quiete et claritate humanas omnes considerat perturbationes; et sicut solis ardore et roris irrigationeopus est, ut semina crescant frugesque maturescant, ita quamdiu Deus rebus humanis suum praestat favorem, illae prospere cedunt atque augescunt. Hebr. ut calor serenus in luce diei, ut nubes rorans in aestu messis; comparationem etiam exprimunt LXX, Syrus et erit retinenda, utpote ad sensum intentum multo magis apta, quam mera temporis designatio : quiescam dum est calor serenus in luce diei etc. Comparatione enim et Dei maiestas adumbratur et eius favore res Assyriorum eousque provectas esse docetur ; prius apte inferri, per se patet ; alterum autem v. sequenti exigitur. Quare non cum JDel. Kn. Rohl. Net. particula tempus designans exponi debet, sed ? comparationis. Deo igitur permittente et. favente res assyriacae florebant aliquamdiu et augescebant, verum subita ruina prosternentur
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v. 9. « ante messem enim totus effloruit et immatura perfectio germinabit, et. praecidentur ramusculi eius: falcibus et quae derelicta fuerint abscindentur et excutientur » ; — i. e. res quidem florere videbantur, at non erant nisi immaltura perfectio ; specie tenus, non vere prospere agebant; ruina et destructio subito ingruet. Textum mas.! vertunt : nam ante messem, cum perfectum fuerit germen et flos abierit in uvam maturescentem, exscindit palmites falcibus et propagines removet, confringit scil. Deus (cf. Mald. Vat. Malv. Mar. et recentiores). Id iam explicatur sermone proprio
18:6
v. 6 « et relinquentur simul avibus montium et bestiis terrae et aestate perpetua erunt super eum. volucres et omnes. bestiae terrae super. illum hiemabunt » ; — i. e. innumera hostium cadavera iacent prostrata ictu divino ; volucres et bestiae terrae ad illa dilaceranda festinant et tanta est praeda, ut aestate et hieme, ergo per annum fere ibi degant. Clades igitur designatur ingens, maxima cum ignominia iuncta, ita ut cadavera hostium non in sepulcro condantur, sed volucribus ferisque discerpenda relinquantur. Dici per aestatem et hiemem ut maximus numerus occisorum exprimatur, non quasi reipsa tamdiu cadavera pabulo essent feris, per se liquet. Hoc igitur est Dei facinus, ad quod ut attendant omnes orbis terrarum incolae admonentur : maximum quoddam exorietur bellum v. 3; per aliquod tempus res satis bene cedet hostibus, Deus quiescere, immo iis favere videtur — at subito strage ingenti et maxime ignominiosa innumera multitudo hostium occiditur v. 4-6. Hoc totum unice ad cladem assyriacam referri posse, ex antecedentibus iam satis per se innotescit ; talis enim clades iam 10, 16-19. 33. 34; 144, 25 ; 11, 13. 14 adumbratur, quibus in locis ruina ingens ac subita clarissime describitur ; id quoque ex subsequentibus elucet cf. 29, 8 seq. 31, 8. 9; 33, 3 et ipsa impletione demonstratur 31, 36. | Adhortationem vatis non frustra factam esse v. 3, egregie ostenditur. Eadem enim gens longinqua et potentissima iam Dei maiestatem ex victoria illa et hostium prostratione agnoscit; quare in Dei gloriam et laudem carmen hoc triumphale praeclare concluditur v. "1 « im tempore illo deferetur munus Domino exercituuma populo divulso et dilacerato, a populo terribili, post quem non fuit alius, a gente exspectante, exspectante et conculcata, cuius diripuerunt flumina terram eius, ad. locum nominis Domini exercituum, montem Sion »; -— haec repetitio eiusdem descriptionis populi hoc loco egregie est ad artem facta : gens illa adeo peregrina, adeo potens, antea in bello parando occupata, iam e regione maxime longinqua munus adorationis affertur et adducitur ; ex hebr. ipsa scil. natio tamquam munus Deo sistitur; omnis illa potentia iam Deo dominatori sublimiori subditur, dominatori in monte Sion, ubi est locus nominis eius i. e, ubi maiestatem suam, fidelitatem, potentiam manifestat, ubi reipsa publice declarat se esse lahve, qui foedus initum summa, fidelitate opere exsequitur (cf. quae notavi ad Os. 12, 5. Ioel 2, 32). Si igitur natio illa a finibus terrae Deo adducitur, natio potentissima, iam ex parte impletur « plena est omnis terra gloria eius » (6, 3). Nomi-, nans autem non sine pondere ultimo loco montem Sion denuo docet, ubi sit salus quaerenda stabilis, denuo effert omnium populorum sortes dirigi a Deo ad theocratiam cuius sedes ac centrum cernitur in Sion gloria et honore ornandam, omnem conatum illi hostilem misere demum esse ruiturum, ibi in Sion Deum gloriam suam et salutem omnibus manifestaturum ; idem ergo habetur quod 14, 1. 2. 32; 16, 1-5; atque hoc loco mons Sion eo magis eminere et illustrior reddi censendus est, quia 11, 3 seq. regno israelitico ruina et vastitas est praedicta. Eo ergo monie commemorato Deus denuo profitetur, quomodo populum suum sit salvaturus, sed populum vere theocraticum, qui.promissa Dei monti Sion, domui David annexa fideliter amplexus etiam cultui Dei et domui David fideliter adhaeserit. Iudicio Dei in hostes devoluto mons Sion nobis exhibetur ad quem gens procul a finibus terrae venerabunda accedat : cernitur ergo in uno exemplo, per iudicia Dei in gentes montem Sion fieri centrum illud ad quod omnes confluent; cf. 2, 2-4; et fastu humano prostrato unam Dei gloriam in theocratia omnibus iri manifestatum. Quantopere haec omnia nexa sint cum vaticiniis antecedentibus, non opus erit pluribus prosequi, praesertim cum in subsequentibus et maxime in altera Isaiae parte (40-66) de hac Sionis dignitate theocratica repetitis vicibus sermo instituatur. Sicut autem solum theocratia messianica eo ordinis et dignitatis gradu constituitur, ita in ea solum plena impletio est quaerenda; sed quemadmodum theocratia vetus praeparatio quaedam est ac typus et umbra messianicae, ita reipsa pro indole veteris foederis clade Assyriis inflicta etiam Dei maiestas in Sion regnantis a gentibus agnoscebatur, cuius rei testimonium et exemplum habes 2 Par. 32, 23 : « multi deferebant hostias et sacrificia Domino in Ierusalem et munera Ezechiae regi Iuda, qui exaltatus est post haec coram cunctis gentibus ». invehitur h. l. in interpretum turbam, quae parum sibi convenientia afferat; verum quod ipse affert, etiam minus conveniens est; postquam enim explicuit Aethiopes mittere legatos ad Israelitas, iam v. 3 verbum crucis ex Iudaea sonareinterpretatur et in v. 4 Deum audit promittentem, se iam non ultra populo suo indignaturum esse, verum quieturum in Ecclesia ; in v. 5. 6 autem describi putat primitivae Ecclesiae ubertatem gentesque doctrina fidei satiatas ; v. 7 autem evangelium esse primo ludaeis annuntiandum, vel etiam Deum missurum esse discipulos ad Aethiopes. Verum contra talem interpretationem iam optime monet h.l. S. Hier. reprehendens Eusebium : « Eusebius caesariensis historicam interpretationem titulo repromittens diversis sensibus evagatur, cuius cum libros legerem, aliud multo reperi quam indice promittebat. Ubicumque enim eum historia defecerit, transit ad allegoriam et ita separata consociat, ut mirer eum nova sermonis fabrica in unum corpus lapidem ferrumque coniungere ». Praeclare quidem urget S. Hier. historicam interpretationem esse sequendam; sed utinam ipse quoque eam semper secutus esset ! — Interpretationem quam supra proposui aliqua ex parte iam habet Malv. et maximam partem exprimunt atque defendunt Loch, Net. Rohl. Troch. aliique recentiores.
18:1
… But the biblical texts that invite us to place C. in Africa, south of Egypt, that is, vaguely in modern Ethiopia (v.), are much more numerous (cf. 2 Kings 19:9; Ps. 67:32; 86:4; Is. 11:11; 18:1; 20:3, 5; Ez. 29:10).
sent a legation to Jerusalem to conclude a military alliance; negotiations were also conducted by H. with Ethiopia (Is. 18:1) and Egypt (ibid. 30:1 ff.). …
… It is separated from the city by the valley of the Kidron (2 Sam. 15:23; Isa. 18:1; cf. Mt. 26:20; Flavius Josephus, Antiq. …
18:2
… It is mentioned in many passages of the Bible and is indeed often called simply "the river" by antonomasia (Gen. 41:1-3; Ex. 1:22; 2:3; 7:17-22; 8:5-13; 9:9; Ps. 77 [78]:44; Jer. 46:7-8; Is. 19:6-9; 18:2). As is natural, it is always present in the life of the country: the pharaoh dreams of it in Genesis (41:1-3), when he sees the seven fat cows and then the seven lean cows of the …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.