The idols of Babylon shall be destroyed. Salvation is promised through Christ.
Bel, Nabo, and other idoles shal be destroyed, 3. Wherupon the Iewes are admonished to returne from sinne, to Gods true seruice. 12. And saluation is promised by Christ.
1Bel is broken, Nebo is destroyed: their idols are put upon beasts and cattle, your burdens of heavy weight even unto weariness.Bel è in pezzi, Nabo è ridotto in polvere: i lor simolacri sono stati dati a portare alle bestie, ed ai giumenti, quelli, che portati da voi vi stancavano col grave peso.BEL is broken, Nabo is destroyed: their idols are made to beastes and cattel, your burdens of heauie weight euen vnto wearines.Confractus est Bel, contritus est Nabo; / facta sunt simulacra eorum bestiis et jumentis, / onera vestra gravi pondere / usque ad lassitudinem. 2They are consumed, and are broken together: they could not save him that carried them, and they themselves shall go into captivity.Sono iti per terra, e sono stati spezzati: ei non han potuto salvare chi li portava, ed essi stessi anderanno in ischiavitù.They haue melted away, and are broken together: they could not saue him that caried them, and their soule shal goe into captiuitie.Contabuerunt, et contrita sunt simul; / non potuerunt salvare portantem, / et anima eorum in captivitatem ibit. 3Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel who are carried by my bowels, are borne up by my womb.Udite me, casa di Giacobbe, e voi reliquie tutte della casa d'Israele, ch'io tengo nel mio seno, e porto nelle mie viscere.Heare me ô house of Iacob, al the remnant of the house of Israel, which are caried of my wombe, are borne vp of my matrice.Audite me, domus Jacob, / et omne residuum domus Israël; / qui portamini a meo utero, / qui gestamini a mea vulva. 4Even to your old age I am the same, and to your grey hairs I will carry you: I have made you, and I will bear: I will carry and will save.Sino alla vecchiezza, ed alla canuta età io stesso vi porterò: io vi feci, ed io vi porterò: io vi, porterò, e vi salverò.Euen vnto old age I am the same, and vnto hoare heares I wil carie: I haue made, and I wil beare: I wil carie, and wil saue.Usque ad senectam ego ipse, / et usque ad canos ego portabo; / ego feci, et ego feram; / ego portabo, et salvabo. 5To whom have you likened me, and made me equal, and compared me, and made me like?A qual cosa mi avete voi rassomigliato, e agguagliato, e paragonato, e fatto me somigliante?Wherto haue you resembled me, and made me equal, and compared me, and made me like?Cui assimilastis me, et adæquastis, / et comparastis me, et fecistis similem ? 6You that contribute gold out of the bag, and weigh out silver in the scales: and hire a goldsmith to make a god: and they fall down and worship.Voi, che dalla borsa cavate l'oro, e sulla stadera pesate l'argento: e prezzolate un orefice, che faccia un Dio, cui la gente s'incurva, e l'adora.You that contribute gold out of the bag, and weigh siluer with balance: hyring a goldsmith to make a god: and they fal downe and adore.Qui confertis aurum de sacculo, / et argentum statera ponderatis, / conducentes aurificem ut faciat deum, / et procidunt, et adorant.
7They bear him on their shoulders and carry him, and set him in his place, and he shall stand, and shall not stir out of his place. Yea, when they shall cry also unto him, he shall not hear: he shall not save them from tribulation.E lo porta sopra i suoi omeri, e lo posa al suo luogo, e quello vi sta; nè dal suo posto si muove: ma quando ancora alzeranno a lui le strida, ei non udirà, nè dalla tribolazione li salverà.They beare him on their shoulders carying, and setting him in his place, & he shal stand, and shal not moue out of his place. Yea when they shal crie also vnto him, he shal not heare: from tribulation he shal not saue them.Portant illum in humeris gestantes, / et ponentes in loco suo, / et stabit, ac de loco suo non movebitur: / sed et cum clamaverint ad eum, non audiet; / de tribulatione non salvabit eos. 8Remember this, and be ashamed: return, ye transgressors, to the heart.Ricordivi di questo, e confondetevi: rientrate prevaricatori nel vostro cuore.Remember this, & be confounded: returne ye transgressors to the hart.Mementote istud, et confundamini; / redite, prævaricatores, ad cor. 9Remember the former age, for I am God, and there is no God beside, neither is there the like to me:Ricordivi de' secoli precedenti; perocché io son Dio e non v'è Dio alcuno fuora di me, ne chi sia simile a me:Remember the former world, because I am God, and there is no God beside, neither is there the like to me.Recordamini prioris sæculi, / quoniam ego sum Deus, et non est ultra deus, / nec est similis mei. 10Who shew from the beginning the things that shall be at last, and from ancient times the things that as yet are not done, saying: My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done:Io che fino da principio annunzio le ultime cose, e anzi tempo quelle, che non son ancora avvenute: io che parlo, e fermi stanno i miei disegni, e tutti i miei voleri sarann' adempiuti:Which shew the last thing from the beginning, and from the begynning the thinges that as yet were not done, saying: My counsel shal stand, and al my wil shal be done:Annuntians ab exordio novissimum, / et ab initio quæ necdum facta sunt, / dicens: Consilium meum stabit, / et omnis voluntas mea fiet. 11Who call a bird from the east, and from a far country the man of my own will, and I have spoken, and will bring it to pass: I have created, and I will do it. Hear me, O ye hardhearted, who are far from justice.Io che dall'oriente chiamo un augello, e da rimota terra un uomo, che fa la mia volontà; io ho detto questo, e lo adempirò; lo ho disegnato, e lo ridurrò ad effetto.Which cal a bird from the east, and from a farre countrie, the man of mine owne wil, and I haue spoken, and wil bring it: I haue created, and wil doe it. Heare me ye hard harted, which are far from iustice.Vocans ab oriente avem, / et de terra longinqua virum voluntatis meæ: / et locutus sum, et adducam illud; / creavi et faciam illud.
12I have brought my justice near, it shall not be afar off: and my salvation shall not tarry. I will give salvation in Sion, and my glory in Israel.Udite me, voi gente di duro cuore, che siete lontani dalla giustizia.I haue made my iustice neere, it shal not be far of, & my saluation shal not tarie. I wil geue saluation in Sion, and my glorie to Israel.Audite me, duro corde, / qui longe estis a justitia. 13Io accelero la venuta di mia giustizia; ella non differirà, e non tarderà la salute, che viene da me. Io porrò la salute in Sionne, e la gloria mia in Israele.Prope feci justitiam meam, non elongabitur, / et salus mea non morabitur. / Dabo in Sion salutem, / et in Israël gloriam meam.
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Worthington
Bel; perhaps Nimrod, (Calmet) or Saturn, to whom they sacrificed their children. (Worthington)
Calmet
Nabo, "the oracle" of Belus. The Chaldeans adored statues and beasts. But the Persians worshipped the elements. (Calmet)
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Haydock
They. Literally, "their soul." (Haydock)
Calmet
The pagans must have supposed they had one. (Calmet)
Tertullian
Captivity. "There are as many triumphs over the gods as over men." (Tertullian)
The former shared the fate of their adorers. Their statues were plundered.
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Calmet
By my. Vulgate may have read a me ab, (Calmet) instead of a meo. Hebrew and Septuagint, "taken from the womb," (Haydock) and treated with the utmost tenderness. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Ashamed. Septuagint, "groan." Protestants, "shew yourselves men." (Haydock)
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Calmet
Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet)
Xenophon vii
He chose a golden eagle, with wings expanded, for his standard. (Xenophon vii.)
Calmet
Christ came from heaven to redeem the world, Psalm 18:6., and Malachias 4:2. (Calmet)
Worthington
He was the orient, adored by the eastern sages, to whom the prophet refers. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
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Bel or Belus, called also Saturnus, was of such estimation, that they offered to him insacrifice not only men that vvere taken captiues, but also their owne sonnes. Nabo, otherwise called Da gon, vvas an especial idol amongst the Philistims. 1. Reg. 5.
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Rom. •.
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Not Cyrus (saith S. Ierom) but Christ the Orient ••arre prophec ed by Balaam. Num. 24 whom the Sages came to adore from the East Mat. 2.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.60
… and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me: and they turned to me their back, and not their face.” In Isaiah: “The dragon hath fallen or is dissolved; their carved works have become as beasts and cattle. Labouring and hungry, and without strength, ye shall bear them bound upon your neck as a heavy burden.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.17.3
… neither hast thou bought for Me incense with money, nor have I desired the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast stood before Me in thy sins and in thine iniquities.” He says, therefore, “Upon this man will I look, even upon him that is humble, and meek, and who trembles at My words.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 4.2
… The Greeks on the one hand draw men away by their smooth tongue, for honey droppeth from a harlot’s lips : whereas they of the Circumcision deceive those who come to them by means of the Divine Scriptures, which they miserably misinterpret though studying them from childhood to old age
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 9
This reproach God spake against the Jews. “Borne from the belly, and instructed even to old age.” (
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 39
But that the expression, “until,” spoken of God, and “unto,” do not signify an end, hear what one saith: “From everlasting unto everlasting Thou art God:” ( Ps. xc. 2 .) and again, “I am, I am,” and “Even to your old age I am He.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary 6
… not.” Now we have to prove that just as in the one case he has followed the usage of Scripture, so with regard to the word till he is utterly refuted by the authority of the same Scripture, which often denotes by its use a fixed time (he himself told us so), frequently time without limitation, as when God by the mouth of the prophet says to certain persons,
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.12
76. Seeing, then, that we find not the customary order prevailing, be content, Arian, to believe in a miraculous generation of the Son. Be content, I say, and if you believe me not, at least have respect unto the voice of God saying, “To whom have ye esteemed Me to be like?”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.60
… The workmen have made with their hand the things made; and, bowing themselves, they have adored it, and have raised it on their shoulders: and thus they walked. But if they should place them down, they will abide in their place, and will not be moved; and they will not hear those who cry unto them: they will not save them from evils.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 122.2
… I am God, and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. Remember this and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Return in heart and remember the former things of old: for I am God and there is none else.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 2.37
… Return then, O ye transgressors, to a right mind,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 18.10
10. And we, who see in one way, and hear in another way, how know we this? We return perhaps to ourselves, if we are not the trangressors to whom it is said, “Return, O trangressors, to your heart.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 58.1
… not because in hearts it had not been written, but because thou wast a deserter from thy heart, thou art seized by Him that is everywhere, and to thyself within art called back. Therefore the written law, what crieth it, to those that have deserted the law written in their hearts? “Return ye transgressors to the heart.”
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 1.5
… lxviii. 3 ). After business I long to return to my heart; but, driven therefrom by vain tumults of thoughts, I am unable to return. From this cause, then, that which is within me is made to be far from me, so that I cannot obey the prophetic voice which says, Return to your heart, transgressors (
Pseudo-Cyprian Exhortation to Repentance 1
Also in the same: “Have these things in mind, and groan. Repent, ye that have been seduced; be converted in heart unto me, and have in mind the former ages, because I am God.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 1.5.4
… but the existence of all the other animal substances they ascribe to fear, such as the souls of irrational animals, and of wild beasts, and men. And on this account, he (the Demiurge), being incapable of recognising any spiritual essences, imagined himself to be God alone, and declared through the prophets, “I am God, and besides me there is none else.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.9
… But the latter maintain that He, [i.e., the Creator of this world,] is the fruit of a defect, and describe Him as being of an animal nature, and as not knowing that Power which is above Him, while He also exclaims, “I am God, and besides Me there is no other God.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Flesh of Christ 24
… Having thus Marcion in his prophetic view, he says, “I am God, and there is none else; there is no God beside me.” And when in another passage he says, in like manner, “Before me there was no God,”
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 9.20
… Or at any rate it may be taken in this way: The will of God is the salvation of all men, according to these words of the blessed Paul: “Who willeth all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Of which will also the prophet Isaiah says in the Person of God the Father: “And all Thy will shall be done.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.22
… “They who were far from my righteousness, have come near to my righteousness and truth.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.17
… The apostle had in mind that it had been predicted concerning the call of the Gentiles from their distant alienation in words like these: “They who were far off from me have come to my righteousness.”
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1. BEL IS BROKEN, NEBO IS BROUGHT LOW. — God had said in the preceding chapter that idols were to be destroyed in the time of Christ, and in verse 24: "Unto me every knee shall bow." Here he shows this by means of the chief idols of the Chaldeans and of the world, namely Baal or Bel, and Nebo, that these are to be laid waste and plundered by Cyrus the conqueror, and much more are these and all other idols to be abolished by Christ in the golden age of the Gospel. Therefore God here insults these very idols as victor. For the destruction of the gods of Babylon, made by Cyrus, was a type of the destruction of idols throughout the whole world to be made by Christ. Whence for "is broken" the Hebrew is cara, that is, "is bowed," that is, shall soon be bowed by Cyrus, as if to say: Cyrus shall overthrow Babylon, and then Baal, to whom the Babylonians and all nations subject to them were accustomed to bow the knee and to worship, shall be forced by Cyrus and the true God to bow his own knee and his back, when he shall be cast down to the earth by Cyrus and broken. For Cyrus shall seize the gold and silver of which he was made, and shall load it upon camels in pieces, so as to carry it into Persia. Moreover, what Cyrus did in Babylon, this Christ his antitype shall do throughout the whole world. Who Bel or Baal was, I shall say in Daniel, chapter XIV, verse 2. NEBO. — This was the second god of the Babylonians, so called, as it appears, because he gave oracles. For Nebo in Hebrew and Chaldaic is the same as prophecy or divination, says St. Jerome. The Prophet here hints that Christ shall impose silence upon Nebo, that is, upon the oracles of idols. For when the Word of God himself began to speak to men in Christ, then all the talkative gods of the Gentiles, or rather demons, became silent, as Porphyry confesses in Eusebius, book IV of the Preparation for the Gospel, chapter 1. The Septuagint, according to the Complutensian edition, likewise Cyril and Procopius, wrongly read Dagon for Nebo. For the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, the Roman Septuagint all have Nebo: for this was the god of the Chaldeans, whereas Dagon was the god of the Philistines. Moreover, Nebo appears to be the same as Merodach. For just as Isaiah here says: "Bel is broken, Nebo is brought low": so Jeremiah, chapter L, verse 2, meaning the same thing, says: "Bel is confounded, Merodach is defeated." The sign of this is that Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, just as he was called Merodach or Evil-merodach, so also was he called Natonitus or Labinitus; for the letters N and L, since both are labials, are often interchanged with each other. For the kings both of the Jews and of the Chaldeans were accustomed to borrow a name from their gods. Thus to Jah, which is an abbreviation of Jehovah, was annexed to the names Abijah, Hezekiah, Josiah, Uzziah, etc., kings of Judah. Whence Abijah is the same as Father of the Lord; Hezekiah, Strength of God; Josiah, Fire of God; Uzziah, Might of God. Others prefixed to Jah or Jehovah in their name, as Jehoshaphat, that is, God is judge; Joash, or, as it is in Hebrew, Jehoash, that is, Fire of God; Jehoiakim, that is, God's resurrection; Jehoahaz, that is, God's seizure; Jonathan, that is, God's gift. Thus from Baal was called Belshazzar, as I shall say in Daniel, chapter V, verse 1. Indeed it is probable that Nebuchadnezzar took his name from Nebo the god, unless you prefer that Nebo is Nebuchadnezzar himself abbreviated by contraction. For he himself wished to be worshipped as a god in the golden image which he set up, Daniel, chapter III, verse 1. THEIR GRAVEN IMAGES ARE BECOME A BURDEN TO THE BEASTS AND TO THE CATTLE. — Here something must be supplied. St. Jerome, Haymo and Hugo supply "similar." For thus says St. Jerome: "Their graven images are become a burden to the beasts: not that they are exposed as prey to beasts and cattle, but that the religion of nations consists of graven images of beasts and brute animals, which especially in Egypt were consecrated to divine worship: concerning which Virgil also says: Every kind of god and monsters, and barking Anubis. For indeed very many names of cities have names from beasts and cattle: κυνών, from a dog; λεών, from a lion; θμοῦις in the Egyptian language, from a goat; λόκων, from a wolf, to say nothing of the fearful and horrible onion and the sound of inflated belly, which is the religion of Pelusium: these, he says, graven images, which cannot save those who carry them, are nothing else but burdens of priests." Thus far Jerome. So that dragon, which Daniel slew, chapter XIV, verse 22, was worshipped as a Deity. So Jupiter Ammon had the form of a goat, and was a goat. For Hammon in Punic signifies a goat, says Herodotus in the Euterpe. Whence for Nebo the Septuagint here translates Dagon. For Dagon was an idol of the Philistines having the form of a fish: דגון Dagon in Hebrew signifies a fish, and Dagon appears to have had the appearance of a whale or some sea monster, such as that celebrated in the fable of Perseus and Andromeda, which they worshipped as a Deity. See what I have said concerning Dagon in Philippians, chapter III, verse 19. Second, St. Thomas, Forerius and Vatablus supply what is imposed, that is to say, Bel, Nebo, and other idols of the Chaldeans, already broken, were imposed upon beasts of burden and carried away into Persia. Third, Haymo understands by beasts and beasts of burden the worshippers of Bel. For unless they had been stupid and senseless like brute animals, they would never have worshipped wooden, stone, bronze and golden idols. Fourth, others explain it thus: they became beasts, that is, they were trampled by beasts; when they were abandoned and overthrown by the Persians. For the Persians worshipped other gods than the Babylonians, and indeed, just as they considered the nation to be their enemies, so also they considered their gods to be their enemies. Fifth, very aptly Sanchez by zeugma repeats the burdens, that is to say, the simulacra of Bel and Nebo became burdens for beasts and beasts of burden (when namely the Persians loaded them upon their camels, asses and horses, so that they might carry them into Persia), which previously were your burdens, O Babylonians! and they weighed you down and wearied you with great weight even unto exhaustion, when namely you carried them upon your shoulders. That they did this is taught by Baruch, VI, 3. Sixth and most plainly, Forerius: the simulacra of the Chaldeans were made, or, as it is in Hebrew, were beasts of burden, that is, were delivered to beasts of burden, were in the power of beasts of burden, as it were their lot. For this is what the Hebrew phrase signifies, when it is said that something is, or becomes, another's, namely to be in his power, or to be in his right and dominion: for beasts of burden, since they bore the idols on their backs, had them as it were captive, in their hand and power. This sense is required by what follows: "Their soul shall go into captivity."
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2. THEY ARE BROUGHT DOWN, AND BROKEN TOGETHER. — That is to say, your idols which you carried even unto exhaustion, bent down and broken together with you by the Persians, are brought down, perished and consumed. Just as if an ass should bear upon its back a heavy burden of vessels, and being thrust down by an enemy should fall, and thus break the vessels together with itself: for this is what the Hebrew signifies. Whence also the Complutensian Bible connects these with the preceding in this manner: Your burdens with great weight even unto exhaustion are brought down, and broken together. Hence also follows: "They could not save" from the Persians "him that carried them," that is, the Chaldeans carrying them. Our text reads משא masse in the past tense hiphil, that is, carrying; already others read it with different points as massa, that is, burden. Whence Vatablus and Forerius translate: They are bent down, they are bowed down together, they could not escape the burden. And they understand this of the beasts of burden, not of the idols, that is to say, Those beasts of burden laden with idols collapsed under the burden, nor could they shake off the burden itself. THEIR SOUL SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY. — That is, the very idols which the idolaters think to be endowed with soul, because oracles are given from them, as if they possessed voice and mind, shall be carried away into captivity by the Persians. Thus Vatablus. Or rather he calls the soul of the idol the idol itself, which because it is the image and idol of an animate thing, hence it is said to have a soul metaphorically. Thus a dead body which once lived is called a soul, because it is similar to flesh once animate, and as it were the same as it, as I said on Leviticus XIX, 28. Thus the soul of a man is called the man himself. Thus Sanchez. Add that the soul of an idol is the demon sitting by it, and as it were bound to it, and giving oracles through it, that is to say, the whole idol together with its attendant demon shall be captured. Otherwise Forerius, who refers these things to the beasts of burden, and thus translates, their soul went away with captivity: that is, the beasts of burden collapsing under so great a burden of idols expired, and breathed out their soul, just as the idols themselves captive and collapsing together with the beasts were broken: and thus they went away, that is, vanished, perished, and as it were breathed out their soul. Third, St. Jerome: "Their soul," namely of the idolaters or priests attending to the idols, "shall go into captivity."
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3. HEAR ME, O HOUSE OF JACOB, AND ALL THE REMNANT (all the survivors from captivity and the rest) OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, WHO ARE CARRIED BY ME FROM THE WOMB. — He rebukes idols and idolaters, as if to say: Idols of stone and bronze are carried by their worshippers, and weary them, so that they groan under the burden; but I myself carry my worshippers, with that care and love with which an infant is usually carried by its mother in the womb. For "from my" in Hebrew is מני minni, which the Septuagint, Forerius and others take for min, that is "from," so that the iod is here paragogic, and they translate it, "who are carried by me from the womb": that is, whom I carry from birth, when they came forth from the womb: that is, from tender years until grey hairs, as follows. Secondly, more significantly and effectively our interpreter took minni properly, so as to signify "from me": whence you would translate word for word from the Hebrew thus: "Who are carried by my womb, who are borne by my vulva." He calls the maternal providence of God toward his own, and his tender love and care, indeed more than maternal, the womb and vulva by catachresis and metaphor. For a mother gives a part of matter to the body of the embryo, but gives nothing to its soul; God gives both wholly and entirely: for he forms and creates both soul and body. Again, a mother from her superfluity, namely from menstrual blood, nourishes and feeds the embryo in the womb, and the infant with milk after it comes forth from the womb: but God nourishes and feeds us by himself, and that continually throughout all life, from the womb until grey hairs, from sunrise until sunset and death. Moreover, God nourishes not only the body, as a mother does, but also the soul by his grace, doctrine, illumination, impulse, and the Holy Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Literally he speaks to the Jews remaining and surviving from captivity, not the Babylonian, but the Assyrian, namely the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin: for these remnants remained in Judea, when the ten tribes were led into Assyria by Salmanasar in the sixth year of Hezekiah. For this had already happened when Isaiah said these things: but the Babylonian captivity had not yet happened, but was to be in many years, as if to say: O Jews! I love you intimately, though you are rebellious to me, and care for you from the womb until grey hairs and old age, just as a mother loves and cares for the infant whom she bears in the womb. Thus St. Jerome. Again, "from the womb," that is from the birth of the Synagogue, namely from the time when you began to be, O Jews! namely from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I have had the greatest care of you, and have it, nourish you, cherish you, preserve you, free you. This is what is said in Exodus XIX, 4: "You yourselves have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have borne you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself." And Deuteronomy XXXII, 10: "He led him about, and taught him: and he kept him as the apple of his eye. As the eagle enticing her young to fly, and hovering over them, spreading her wings, and taking them, bearing them on her shoulders." Now under the Jews remaining from captivity he understands the holy remnants of them and of the Gentiles, which survived from the infidelity either of the ancient fathers of the Gentiles, or of the country of the other Jews who spurned Christ; for Christ and God the Father and the Holy Spirit form, nourish, cherish, educate and direct these few and remaining ones believing in Christ, as a mother in the womb of the Church, until they arrive at eternal salvation in heaven. Mystically, "from the womb," that is from the rudiments of heavenly doctrine, which were in the old law until the perfection of the Gospel, God ruled and directed the Church and his faithful. Thus St. Augustine, and from him Leo Castrius. Hence again St. Augustine in Psalm CXII, 1, infers that we at every age, from childhood until old age, ought to praise God, because always and at every age we are nourished by him with such great care.
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4. EVEN TO OLD AGE,—that is to say, Mothers nurse and carry infants only until the third year; then they drive them from their arms and milk, so that they may learn to walk by themselves and eat common food. Thus birds drive their fledglings, now able to fly, from the nest with their beaks; horses do the same with their heels, and dogs with their bite. But God pursues His own not only in the womb and as infants, but also as adults throughout their entire life even to old age, with the same care and indulgence, even when they sin and provoke God to wrath. Moreover, the infancy of the Synagogue and of the Jews was in the time of Abraham; their youth, in the time of Moses; their manhood, in the time of David. Up to this point, as a mother, God cherished, educated, and advanced them. Their old age was in the time of captivity, and He did not abandon them even then; but He raised up Jeremiah and the Prophets, who might admonish, teach, and console them, and shortly after He brought them back from captivity, when they seemed already lost and destroyed. The death and setting of the Synagogue was in the time of Christ, when it ceased and was abrogated; the Church of Christ succeeding it. Therefore, as long as that people stood and was the people of God, God cared for them as a mother; but when they ceased and perished, the care of God also ceased. Much greater is the care of God and Christ for His Church, which He redeemed and washed with His blood, and established to remain forever: and therefore He will exercise eternal care for it. What God here promises, David asks for himself, saying, Psalm LXX, 6, 9: "In Thee have I been confirmed from the womb; Thou art my protector from the womb of my mother, etc. Cast me not off in the time of old age: when my strength shall fail, do not Thou forsake me." I HAVE MADE (I have begotten you, I have nourished you, I have educated you, I have advanced you), I (likewise) WILL BEAR,—and will carry you henceforth even to old age. That is to say, I do not embrace you with this care on account of your merits, but on account of Me, on account of My maternal affection toward you. For just as a mother is not offended by the filth, wailing, wantonness, malice, and a thousand annoyances of her little child, so as to cast aside her care, but devours all these things with maternal affection, and says what mothers commonly say: How do you tolerate these things from a child? "I am a mother, a mother cannot be angry with her infant," nay, her love for him is kindled all the more by these his follies. And if anyone reproves her, she says: "You do not know what it is to be a mother. You are ignorant of what a maternal heart is and how great it is. The maternal affection, how great it is, no one knows except one who has experienced it, except she who has been or is a mother." Thus likewise God bore the murmurings, idolatry, and other crimes of His people, and did not cast them off, but showed greater love of God and greater benefits through David, Solomon, and other kings, and through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, and other Prophets. Morally, learn here who God is, what He is like, how great He is, how benign and beneficent, and how much He ought to be loved and worshipped by all. What is God? "He is an eternal and most perfect being," says Aristotle, lib. XI Metaphys. What is God? "He is an incorporeal mind, which, diffused through the nature of all things, bestows vital sense upon all living creatures," says Pythagoras in Lactantius, lib. De Ira Dei. What is God? "He is the mind of the universe. God is all that you see, and all that you do not see," says Socrates. What is God? "He is a spirit diffused through the immense parts of the world, from which all things that are born receive life," says Plato. What is God? "He is an infinite mind, which moves itself," says Thales of Miletus. What is God? "He is an ineffable principle and the origin of all things: by whose power the world was created: by whose providence it is preserved and continually governed," says Theophrastus. What is God? He is an immense, inconceivable, and inexplicable being. "The longer I consider what God is, the more His knowledge is taken from me and becomes obscure to me," says Simonides to Hiero, tyrant of the Sicilians, after repeated delays requested by him for thinking about God; as Cicero relates, lib. I De Natura Deor. Hear the Orthodox and Theologians. What is God? "He is infinite goodness, from which is given fourfold being, of creation, preservation, recreation, and beatitude," says Dionysius. What is God? "He than whom nothing better or greater can be conceived." What is God? "He whose power is not numbered: whose being is not bounded by beginning or end: whose goodness, wisdom, piety, justice, liberality, prudence is not terminated." What is God? "He is uncreated goodness, which the more it is possessed, the more vehemently it pleases and recreates."
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5. TO WHOM HAVE YOU LIKENED ME, — by making an idol, as if another god like me and equal to me, as I said in chapter XL, 18 and 25. Therefore Calvinus wrongly from this place, and among Catholics Abulensis in chapter IV of Deuteronomy, Question V; Durandus in III, distinction IX; Question V; Peresius, On Tradition, part III On Images, from this place of Isaiah contend to prove that it is lawful to make images of the Saints, but to make an image of God is unlawful. See what is said in Deuteronomy V, 7. Note: Just as a jealous husband repeatedly inveighs against an adulterer as a rival, and is indignant; for he is always present to his mind, and stirs up bile in him, because he loves his wife uniquely and is desperately devoted to her, whom he bears ill that another should court: so God here from the zeal with which He loves the Church and souls as it were as His brides vehemently, frequently turns His mind, words and arrows against idols, and their makers and worshippers, as it were against adulterers. The words have pathos: me, and to whom, as if to say: Do you know who I am? what is an idol? An idol is a log and a stone, which brings you no aid: I am He who begat you, fed you, exalted you from childhood, and continually feed and exalt you; how therefore do you compare me to idols? how do you make idols equal to me, nay prefer them, and take away my providence and divinity from me, and transfer them to idols? (Let every sinner who fashions for himself an idol of his own desire think this said to him by God.) For the Jews at this time under Achaz and Hezekiah were very prone to idols, and would be more so a little later, in the time of Manasseh, and therefore were to be laid waste and carried captive by the Babylonians, and so in Babylon itself they would worship its idols, as Jeremiah says, XVI, 13. For this reason therefore God rises up so often against idols here, that He might turn the Jews away from them: and lest they object to the happiness of the Babylonians dominating at this time, as if they had received this empire from their idols; He predicts both the destruction of Babylon and of its gods themselves.
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6. WHO BRING FORTH GOLD FROM THE PURSE, — as if to say: See your fine gods, by whom and how they are made, namely, you yourselves form and forge them: for you bring forth gold from the purse, and weigh silver on the scales to the goldsmith, so that he himself may forge an idol from it, which may be of the same weight, so that namely of a certain weight given by you you may receive a god.
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8. AND YOU SHALL BE CONFOUNDED. — In Hebrew התאששו hitoscasu, which recent scholars derive from איש isch, that is, man. Whence first, Leo the Hebrew translates, and you shall be strengthened; secondly, Forerius and Vatablus: Show yourselves men, that is, show that you are able to judge rightly, and abandon idolatry; thirdly, Pagninus and Forsterus: Be strong as foundations. Whence Forerius thinks the Latin text is here corrupted, and that for confundamini should be substituted fundamini, that is, as foundations lay in your heart, that is, lay up in your mind. But Forerius is deceived; for all manuscripts, even the Roman ones, read confundamini. Thus the Interpreter translated rightly. For the Hebrew hitoscasu he derived not from isch, but from esch, that is, fire. Whence hitoscasu is the same as, be red as fire, that is, blush and be confounded; wherefore the Septuagint translates, στενάζετε, that is, groan. RETURN TO YOUR HEART. — In Hebrew השיבו על לב hascibu al leb, that is, return to your heart, recall to mind, that I have created you, brought you up, borne you; but idols are created and borne by their worshippers. Fittingly St. Gregory, in the twenty-sixth book of the Morals, chapter twenty-seven: "What," he says, "is nearer to us than our own heart? And yet when it is scattered by wicked thoughts, our heart wanders far from us? Far therefore does the Prophet send the transgressor, when he compels him to return to his own heart; because as far as he has poured himself out externally, so far does he scarcely find a way to return to himself." Indeed Seneca also said: "The wicked are everywhere except with themselves." Morally, this passage teaches that the benefits of God must often be brought to mind and recalled and meditated upon: for the meditation of these things wonderfully avails to stir up sluggishness, to inflame the mind with the knowledge, esteem and love of God, and to establish life rightly, that is, to return to one's heart, namely to commune with oneself, to meditate on those things which are of God and salvation, not to wander and flow away to the things of the world, which draw the mind away from God and from itself. There in itself the mind sees what it itself is and what kind it is, and what God is, what and how much it has received from God, and receives day by day, indeed in every hour and moment. There it sees the goodness and magnificence of God, that there is none like him in the world, that he alone feeds and satisfies the mind, all other things only irritate and wound. The Psalmist knew this, saying: "In my meditation a fire shall be kindled." See St. Bernard in the book On Consideration addressed to Pope Eugenius. Thus Tobias commanded his son, chapter IV, verse 6: "All the days of thy life keep God in thy mind," and verse 20: "Bless God at all times: and ask of him that thy ways may be directed, and that all thy counsels may abide in him." Thus St. Dominic, as the Author of his Life has it, book IV, chapter II, constantly kept God in mind, "and both at home and on the way he always wished either to speak of God, or with God, rarely speaking otherwise: hence such great guardianship of his tongue in him, and premeditation; and perfect men testified, who had lived with him for a long time, that there was no guile in his mouth, nor did there ever proceed from him any idle word, or harmful, or detracting, or flattering word. If anyone had cursed him, he on the contrary blessed." Hence "also such his courtesy and affability. Wherefore he himself wished three things chiefly to be observed by his followers. First, that they always speak of God or with God. Secondly, that when traveling, they do not carry money with them. Thirdly, that they never receive any temporal possessions: for these are the things which make the heart clean, and free from cares, and ready for divine meditation." Ibid. chapter XI: O blessed, o perfect, o Angels who always speak of God, or with God! Thus St. Bernard in the Meditations, chapter VI: "Every," he says, "time in which thou dost not think of God, count that as lost to thee." And soon after: "The mind of the wise is always with God. We ought always to have him before our eyes, through whom we are, live and are wise. For we have him as the author that we might be: we ought also to have him as the teacher that we might be wise: and, that we might be blessed, as the giver of sweetness." And a little above: "As there is no moment in which man does not use or enjoy the goodness and mercy of God, so there ought to be no moment in which he does not have him present in his memory."
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9. REMEMBER THE FORMER AGE, — namely how much I promised, foretold and accomplished for your fathers; from this you will see that I am your God whom your fathers worshipped. Let us say the same now to heretics, who are new, and bring into the world a religion and faith unheard of in former ages. Most excellently St. Jerome, in his letter to Pammachius and Oceanus: "Whoever," he says, "you are an assertor of new dogmas, I beseech you to spare Roman ears, spare the faith which was praised by the mouth of the Apostles. Why after four hundred years (hear, Luther; hear, Calvin, who after 1500 years wish to renew the Christian faith) do you strive to teach us what we did not know before? Until this day the Christian world has been without your doctrine." Tertullian interrogates these same in his book On Prescription: "Who are you? From where and when did you come? Where have you lain hidden so long?" And Optatus, book II Against Parmenianus: "Show the origin of your sees, you who wish to claim the holy Church for yourselves." And Hilary, book VII On the Trinity: "Late has this age now brought forth to me these most pious doctors, late has my faith, which you (O Christ) instructed, had them: therefore hearing them in all things, I believed in you." ANNOUNCING FROM THE BEGINNING THE LAST THINGS, — that is to say, I am he who from the beginning both of the world and of the Synagogue foretold what things were to be in the last, that is the later, times, for example Genesis III, 15, I foretold that the woman through her seed, that is Christ, would crush the head of the serpent. To Abraham I foretold a numerous posterity like the stars of heaven, the possession of Chanaan, the birth of Isaac and Christ, etc. SAYING: MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND. — "Saying," that is saying and making: for God's speaking (since it is efficacious) is doing. Whence Vatablus translates efficaciously: I say, and my counsel is ratified, and whatever I will I do.
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11. CALLING A BIRD FROM THE EAST. — Cyrus with his army is called a bird: עיט he says, that is, a bird, or rather, a gathering and multitude of birds of prey, which swiftly and with force swoop upon their prey: thus Cyrus and the Persians swooped upon Babylon. In a similar manner Nabuchodonosor is called a great eagle swooping down upon the Jews and other nations, Ezech. XVII, 3; Jerem. XLIX, 40. See the things said there. Secondly, Cyrus is called a bird, because he bore upon his standard a golden eagle with expanded wings, as Xenophon testifies, book VII of the Cyropaedia. Whence the kings of the Persians used this sign thereafter, and afterwards the Romans. Thirdly, Arias understands by the bird the sun, which is swiftest like a bird. For Cyrus in Persian means the same as sun, which shone forth serene and pleasant upon the Jews in the darkness of captivity. But this sense is more remote. This bird comes "from the East," that is, from Persia, which is to the East of Babylon. Otherwise Cyril, who understands by the bird Nabuchodonosor, and the Chaldean, who understands by the bird the Jews; for he translates: I will bring back the Jews like a bird from the Babylonian captivity. Whence also the Arabic version, which exists in the Vatican, has: And I will call those who are in the East, and they will come swifter than a bird; and I will bring a man who has already done my will, from a far distant land. Mystically this bird is Christ who "hath visited us, a rising from on high." Thus Cyril and Jerome, who again understands by birds the Angels: for these like birds most swiftly run through the world for the sake of the elect. AND FROM A FAR DISTANT LAND A MAN OF MY WILL. — By this man Vatablus understands not Cyrus, but Christ. But others generally understand Cyrus: for Cyrus exercised the will and counsel of God, namely vindictive justice, upon the Chaldeans, unto the glorious salvation and liberation of Sion, that is, of the Jews. Much more was Christ the man of the divine will, who fully fulfilled God's will in the redemption of the Church. Thus St. Jerome, Cyril, Haymo and others. I WILL BRING IT, — namely the counsel, which preceded, of calling a bird from the East, and a man of my will.
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I HAVE MADE MY JUSTICE NEAR (Behold for Cyrus like a bird will soon fly, who will accomplish my justice, that is faith, and will free you from Babylon; whence also through him) I WILL GIVE IN SION (or to Sion, that is Sio...
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13. I HAVE MADE MY JUSTICE NEAR (Behold, Cyrus as a bird will soon fly hither, who will accomplish my justice, that is my faith, and will free you from Babylon; wherefore through him) I WILL GIVE IN SION (or to Sion, that is to the Sionites, namely the Jews) SALVATION, AND IN ISRAEL (or to Israel) MY GLORY. — For this was a glorious and magnificent liberation of Israel. Thus St. Jerome, who together with others teaches that these things apply far more truly to Christ, the antitype of Cyrus: for Christ brought to Sion, that is to the Church, true and eternal justice, salvation and glory. Note on I have made near. For when Christ draws near, then also draw near justice and our salvation, equally as the glory of God. For these proceed together, and with equal step together either approach or recede: for as much as you are distant from Christ, so much are you distant from justice, salvation and the glory of God; as much as you approach to him, so much also do you approach to these: again, as much as you approach to justice, so much do you approach or recede from Christ: the same is true of salvation and the glory of God.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Hic praedicit destructionem hostium eos captivantium, scilicet Babyloniorum, quantum ad duo in quibus gloriabantur. Primo quantum ad idolorum destructionem; secundo quantum ad regni cessationem, infra 47: « Descende, sede in pulvere, » virgo filia Babylon, sede in terra. » Prima in duas. In prima praedicit idolis Babylonis destructionem quantum ad fractionem statuarum Contractus est. Ezech. 6: « Demoliar aras vestras, et » succidam lucos. » Et quantum ad asportationem metallorum: quia Persae frusta auri et argenti secum detulerunt. Ponens ex parte asportantium, lassitudinis incommodum, Bestiis et jumentis, scilicet equis et camellis, in quibus metalla gravia deferbant. Vel cultoribus vestris, qui sunt bestiae, imagines bestiarum adorantes. Jer. 16: « Servietis diis » alienis, ligno et lapidi. » Ponens subventionis defectum ex parte idolorum, Contabuerunt, idest defecerunt, scilicet idola. Portantem, scilicet bestiam, vel colentem hominem se. Ponens etiam captivitatis opprobrium, Et anima eorum, scilicet idolorum, metaphorice, idest numen eorum; vel gentilium, quia idola sicut animam suam amabant. Oseae 10: « Siquidem et ipse in Assur delatus est, munus » regi ultori. » Secundo revocat Judaeos ad suam venerationem, relictis idolis, Audite me: et primo revocat eos ad suum cultum; secundo revertentibus promittit liberationis beneficium, ibi, Annuntians ab exordio novissimum. Circà primum tria. Primo ostendit eis suam dilectionem ex affectuosa supportatione.
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A meo utero; idest, ita supportavi in mea misericordia affectuose, in deserto, et in aliis locis in quibus contra me peccastis, sicut mater filium. Prov. 51: « Quid dilecte uteri » mei? » Job 58: « De cujus utero egressa est » glacies, et de caelo gelu quis genuit? » Hebr. 1: « Portans omnia verbo virtutis suae, purgationem peccatorum faciens. » Ex supportationis
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continuitate, Usque ad senectam, vestram, idest usque ad finem mundi. Psal. 70: « Usque ad senectam et senium, Deus, ne derelinquas me. » Ex supportationis ratione, Ego feci: dignum est ut qui fecit conservet. Deut. 32: « Expandat alas suas, » et assumpsit eos, atque portavit in humeris suis.
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Secundo ostendit idolorum vilitatem, ostendens operantium idola fatuitatem; et quantum ad intentionem, quia volunt aequare Deo facturam, Cui assimilastis? et quantum ad operationem, quia conducunt artifices ad faciendum deum ex auro; quia sicut avarum in sacculis reposuerant, Qui confertis.
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Jerem. 10: « Opus manuum artificis unius versa haec. » Ostendens etiam operum, scilicet idolorum ipsorum, imbecillitatem, quia per se nec moveri nec stare possunt: Portant illum. Baruch ult.: « Videbitis in Babylone deos aureos et argenteos et lapideos. » Ostendens etiam eorum vilitatem: Sed et cum clamaverint.
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Sapien. 15: « Pro vita quidem rogat mortuum, et in adjutor- em inutilem invocat. » Tertio concludit revocationem: Mementote, istud praedictum de dilectione mea et vilitate idolorum, prioris saeculi, in quo multa beneficia vobis contuli. Psalm. 76: « Cogitavi » dies antiquos, et annos aeternos in mente habui. » Annuntians ab exordio novissimum. Hic promittit conversis ad ipsum liberationem a captivitate. Et circa hoc duo facit. Primo promittit liberationem, ponens praenuntiantis potestatem, Annuntians novissimum, quodcumque futurum in novissimis temporibus. Eccl. 42: « Annuntians quae praeterierunt et quae » superventura sunt, revelans vestigia occultorum. » Ponit etiam praenuntiationis firmitatem, dicens, Stabit, implebitur, voluntas, hujus placiti. Eccl. 21: « Consilium ejus sicut fons vitae. » Psal. 115: « Omnia quaecumque voluit fecit Dominus. » Et ponit liberationis ordinem.
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Vocans, ab oriente, avem, Cyrum, propter velocitatem victoriae; vel Christum. Supra 41: « Quis suscitavit ab oriente justum? » Secundo ibi, Audite me, promittit liberationis propinquitatem, ponens primo eorum indignitatem, ne suis meritis ascribatur: Duri corde, ad bene operandum, longe, propter multitudinem peccatorum. Eccl. 3: « Cor durum male habebit in novissimo. » Secundo praedicit propinquitatem: Prope feci, idest faciam (praeteritum pro futuro) justitiam, de Babylonia pro vobis per Cyrum, vel justitiam Christi. Infra 56: « Juxta est salus mea ut veniat, et justitia mea ut reveletur. » Tertio ponit loci determinationem: Itabo in Sion. . . gloriam, beneficia, unde gloriosus apparebo: vel Christum, qui est gloria Patris. Aggaei 2: « Magna est gloria hujus » domus novissimae, plusquam primae. »
Nota super illo verbo, Onera vestra pondere gravi, quia peccatum quemadmodum onus fatigat primo propter solicitudinem in excogitando. Prov. 4: « Non enim dormiunt nisi male fecerint. » Secundo propter laborem in exequendo. Sap. 5: « Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis. » Tertio propter confusionem in recogitando. Rom. 6: « Quem ergo fructum habuistis tunc in illis in quibus nunc erudescitis? » Quarto propter frustrationem in expectando. Proverb. 11: « Expectatio sollicitorum peribit. » Nota super illo verbo, Redite praevacatores ad cor, quia debet homo redire ad cor primo quasi ad judicis solum, ut se discutiat. Psalm. 76: « Meditatus sum nocte cum corde meo, et exercitabar, et scopebam spiritum meum. » Secundo quasi ad vitae principium, ut se custodiat. Proverb. 4: « Omni custodia serva cor tuum, quoniam ex ipso vita procedit. » Tertio quasi ad divinae locutionis auditorium, ut diligenter attendat. Oseae 2: « Ducam eam in solitudinem, et loquar ad cor ejus. » Quarto quasi ad divinorum eloquiorum thesaurum, ut ipsum conservet. Psalm. 118: « In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua, ut non peccem tibi. » Quinto quasi ad divinae pacis et refectio-nis caenaculum, propter cujus oppositum de qui-busdam dicitur Psalm. 27: « Loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem in cordibus corum. »
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v. 4 « Confractus est. Bel, contritus est. Nabo; facta sunt. simulacra eorum, bestiis et iumenlis, onera vestra gravi pondere usque ad lassitudinem » ; — hebr. concidit Bel, curvavit se Nebo... gestamina vestra sunt imposita, onus ad lassitudinem (cf. For. Malv. et recentiores)i. e. simulacra camelis et asinis imponuntur, ut tamquam spolia et tropaea a victoribus asportentur ; quae antea pompis et sollemnibus supplicationibus circumferebantur magno cum honore et veneratione (gestamina vestra; cf. v. 1; 45, 20. ler. 10, 5. Baruch 6, 3), iam imponuntur bestiis por- . tanda, quae onere tali fatigantur. Ita clades populi in ignominia diis illata cernitur et victores triumphum agunt eo quoque quod diis tutelaribus utpote victis opprobria inferunt. Bel, vel Bil apud Assyrios et Babylonios, saepe nominatur in antiquis inscriptionibus babylonicis, neque raro quoque nomen eius invenitur temporibus .subsequentibus. Variis consalutatur appellationibus honorificis : sublimis, pater dei, creator, lumen deorum, pater deorum, dominus terrarum, princeps mundi ete. (cf. Schrader, Keilinschr. und A. T. ad h. l. ; Studien und Krit. 1874 p. 335. Lenormant, la magie chez les Chaldéens p. 16. 105. 115. Vigourour l. c. IV. p. 308). Ex quibus titulis quanto in honore sit habitus apparet. JVebo vel Nabo in formulis magicis invocatur tamquam mens sublimis Bel (cf. Lenormant l. c. 16. 1297) ; in regno! chaldaico recentiore eius cultus valde floruisse censendus est, quia eius nomen frequenter a regibus geritur, v. g. Nabopolassar, Nabonidus, Nebucadnezar (Nabuchodonosor) se vocat cultorem Nebo eumque moderatorem appellat agminum coeli et terrae (cf. Schrader l. c.) ; apud Ssabios Nebo laudatur maximus deorum et omniscius (cf. Fürst L. s. v. Schenkel, Bibellex. s. v.). Ex numero ergo deorum duo nominantur, in quibus potentia et sapientia quam maxime residere credebatur, ut iis deiectis et despectui traditis quam inane sit idolorum auxilium ostendatur. Si JVebo rite explicatur vates, fatidicus, eo magis Chaldaeorum ridetur sapientia qui incantationibus ac divinationibus tam sedulam operam navasse noscuntur. Cum hisce duobus reliqua quoque idola ignominiose conciderunt
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v. 2 « contabuerunt et contrita sunt simul; non potuerunt. salvare portanlem et anima eorum in captivitatem ibit » ; — hebr. curvaverunt se, conciderunt simul ; emphasis gratia et ad vividam descriptionem verba eadem chiastice repetuntur ; non potuerunt eripere onus i. e. idola non potuerunt simulacra sua ab hostibus servare et eripere ; verum hoc non possunt quia numina vel idola non in alia re quam in ipsis simulacris consistunt ; hoc ultimo membro enuntiatur: anima eorum 2n captivita- lem.iLi. e. dii ipsi, totum id quod vitae eorum fons et centrum et omnium actionum radix est et origo; sed haee anima quia nihil aliud est quam metallum quo simulacrum confectum est, abit in captivitatem ; ergo clare indicatur totam idoli naturam in uno consistere metallo neque aliquid aliud vel altius simulaero inhabitare. Ponitur enim anima etiam, utillad ipsum quod in se exsistat et per se subsistat efferatur ; proinde totum idolorum esse in uno constitui metallo clare asseritur, vel ut S. Thom. explicat animam 1. e. numen eorum, quod proinde nihil aliud esse dicitur nisi metallum, quod inter spolia ab hostibus asportatur, vel omnis eorum vis, tantum quantum sunt (cf. Osor. Calm.). Proinde animam non dicit daemonium inhabitans idolum (Sasb.), neque loquitur ex opinione gentilium qui animam tribuant idolis, neque animam ponit pro re dilecta a Chaldaeis : amasii, idola amata captiva ducuntur (cf. apud Mald. Malv. Men. Sanct.) neque anima eorum de ipsis cultoribus poterit explicari, id quod, ut bene notat Sanct., contextu excluditur. Quod vates dicens : non potuerunt eripere onus concedere videbatur idolum a metallo distingui, id tertio membro tamen diserte negatur: non potuerunt simulacra, onus, eripere, quia ipsa idola tanta quanta sunt in captivitatem abducuntur. Egregie descripsit quam inania sint idola. Regno babylonico devicto ipsa quoque conéiderunt, curvaverunt se. Id omnino vere dicitur, etsi Cyrus idola babylonica non confregit neque deswuxit. Nam ut saepius iam notatum est, cum clade et ruina regni illa quoque vinci ac superari censebantur; a victoribus autem saepius idola quoque in signum triumphi asportabantur (vide quae de Asarhaddon notavi ad Nah. 3, 4; Proph. min. II p. 31). Atque revera coluit Cyrus idola babylonica, uti ex inscriptionibus recenter inventis elucet, in quibus Cyrus Marduk, magnum deum babyloniorum laudibus celebrat, eius templum se restauraturum promittit et singulis diebus profitetur preces fundere ad Bel et Nebo qui priorem familiam regiam benigne sustinuerint, ut suos quoque dies prolongent etc. (cf. Vigourouz l. c. p. 5192 seq.). Idolorum impotentia et ignominia adeo vivide proposita vates iam praeclara antithesi magnifice explicat, quid Dominus in sui populi commodum egerit et agere perpetuo et constanter sit paratus. Omnium mentes ad rem hanc attentas reddit, ut tandem idolorum opprobrio intellecto ad unum Deum vivum, ad patrem populi potentissimum aeque ac benignissimum convertantur. En quantopere vati cordi est idololatriam omni ex parte convellere! quale ergo tempus horum oraculorum supponi debet ? num exsilii finis?
46:3
v. 3 « audite me. domus lacob et omne residuum domus Israel, qui portamini a meo utero, qui gestamini a mea vulva »! — ipsa compellatio optime ad Isaiae tempus convenit : domus Iacob vocatur simpliciter, sed de domo Israel, de regno israelitico reliquias quasdam adhuc superesse, quas alloquitur, supponitur; id quod regno israelitico destructo plurimisque in captivitatem abductis post sextum. Ezechiae annum optime fiebat; per modum antithesis non portat Israel Deum suum, uti gentiles, verum totus populus a Deo sustentatur et. quidem eo sensu, ut populum hunc Deus dicatur a primo ortu suo fovisse et portasse. Hebr. qui portamini ex utero; verbum hebr. 2'27 simul innuit, eos Domino oneri et molestiae fuisse, qui tamen longanimiter et patienter onus hoc quod sibi ipse imposuit sustinuit. Cum origo populi ascendat ad Abraham, ex utero, ex vulva intellige de prima illa epocha (cf. For. Sanct. Lap.), non solum de eductone ex Aegypto (S. Hier. Barh. ; cf. 43, 1; 44, 2). Consideratur populus tamquam una persona moralis, cuius infantia, pueritia, adolescentia variis epochis distinguitur. Haec consideratio etiam hoc loco subest; sed consequens est alia quam alii hoc loco sequi videntur : vos cura mea fovi ex quo nati estis, vel inde ab eo tempore quo vos mater alvo continebat (cf. Osor. Mald. Mar.). In textu hebr. non legitur illud a meo utero, à mea vulva, neque apud LXX : qui portamini de utero &x xoMac, qui erudimini a parvulo &xà «z3ío», neque apud Syrum legitur. Censet Mar. matris uterum vocari a vulg. Dei uterum quod Deo auctore concipiant ac pariant ; communiter in vulg. summam Dei sollicitudinem et tenerrimum amorem declarari asserunt; verum ad hoc illud à meo utero non est necessarium ; sufficit ea meminisse quae Ex. 19, 4. Deut. 4, 31; 32, 11 dicuntur de Deo qui portaverit populum suum super alas aquilarum, vel uti gestare solet pater parvulum suum filium ; vel quod Is. 4, 2: filios enutrivi et exaltavi. Recolant igitur tempora anteacta atque in singulis Domini curam et sollicitudinem agnoscant. Neque in hac cura Deus unquam erit segnis neque populum senescentem fastidiet ; ergo usque ad ultimam aetatem, perpetuo, eius curam habebit
46:4
v. 4 « usque ad senectam ego ipse et usque ad. canos ego portabo ; ego feci et ego feram, ego porlabo et salvabo »! — en quanta asseveratione, quanta ep:tasi loquitur! est scil. amantis et persuadere volentis, ut pluribus idem efferatur. Vim sententiae bene declarat Osor. : « nec hoc studium mihi omittendum puto; idem enim sum eademque benignitate vos ad extremam usque aetatem amplectar atque,sempiterna clementia fovebo; ego qui vos feci et effinxi, vos feram; ego vos meis humeris impositos sustinebo, ego vos ab omni mole impendentis calamitatis eripiam » ; et Sanct. : « quos teneros in infantia gestabat, eosdem aetate graves non minore studio atque indulgentia amplectitur et fovet, cum tamen longe maiora afferant fastidia et ad iracundiam provocent Deum multo gravius atque frequentius, quam filii matrem ». Deus enim ut est immutabilis (ego ?pse i. e. ego idem), ita consilii amoris sui tenax. Senectam et canos, canitiem intellige populi, aliis verbis, quamdiu populus exsistet; neque tamen desunt qui Dei senectam intelligant et peculiarem amorem in eo cernant, quod etiam aetate senili qua parentes a filiis sustententur eos portare dicit (cf. apud Sanct.). Itaque ex beneficiis. quae hactenus experti sunt spem firmam eos concipere iubet de futüro ; « ego eos procreavi, editos in lucem levavi atque portavi; quare et evadere faciam, eripiam atque liberabo; unde sicut ex aliis infinitis locis habemus, optima spei seu fiduciae alendae fomenta sunt praeteritorum beneficiorum in nos a Deo nostri amantissimo collatorum recordationes » (For.).
46:5
v. 8 « Cui assimilastis me et adaequastis et. comparastis me et fecistis similem »? — hebr. cui me assimilabitis et aequiparabitis et comparabitis et erimus similes vel ut similes simus? ita ut vera intercedat et appareat similitudo? cumulus quaestionum ponitur, ut quam sedulo rem perpendi velit asseratur, et ut reprehensio acrius efferatur et animus indignatione commotus ostendatur. Quae omnia sequentibus quoque efficacius illustrantur
Cum igitur adeo inania sint idola et Dei cura adeo eximia et optima quaeque praestans, cum indignatione idololatras perstringit
46:6
v. 6 « qui confertis aurum de sacculo et argentum statera ponderatis, conducentes aurificem ut facial deum, et procidunt et adorant » ; — quantas impensas debent pro deo facere? quem subire laborem? aurum effundere debent de loculo et argentum lance appendere, ut adsit res ex qua deus fiat; praeterea mercede conducere conflatorem (hebr.) ut demum deum faciat; in hebr. iam primum membrum in tertia persona effertur : effundentes aurum... argentum appendunt. ldola itaque suis cultoribus sumptui sunt duplici et omnia habent a suis cultoribus, qui tamen coram eis procidunt, sese prosternuht et ita se ab illis dependere et auxilium humillime efflagitare profitentur! Praeterea oneri sunt idola et curam de se agi perpetuo postulant; pro qua re quid tandem rependunt?
46:7
v. 1 « portant illum in humeris gestantes et ponentes in loco suo, et stabit ac de loco suo non movebitur ; sed et cum clamaverint ad. eum non audiet, de tribulatione non salvabit eos » ; — si ergo deus factus est ex liberalitate cultorum et ' arte conflatoris, debent eum tollere, humeris suis non sine labore baiulare eumque suo loco reponere ; iam itaque ibi, stat; verum truncus sine vita, sine ulla actione moles ac stipes; etsi clamaverint ad eum non respondet (hebr.); vide quomodo Elias irriserit sacerdotes Baal: clamate voce maiore, deus enim est et forsitan loquitur aut in diversorio est numen et simulacrum unum idemque est et utrumque pariter impotens ;
46:9
v. 9 « recordamini prioris saeculi quoniam ego sum Deus et non est ultra. Deus et non. est similis mei
Quid ergo intersit inter Dominum et idola et quam stupida sit mens: idololatrica perpendant v. 8 « mementote istud et confundamini, redite praevaricatores ad cor » ! — vertit S. Hier. ex hebr. : mementote istud. et. fundamini « ne rursum subitus idololatriae turbo vos subvertat »; eos alloquitur qui aliqua ratione ad idololatriam inclinant, exhortans, ut horum memores iam non in utramque partem claudicent, sed ut ista consideratione se roborent ac confirment : « vos viros esse ostendite contra hanc vanitatem » (Mar. sim. For. Malv. Osor. Vat. Loch, Rohl. Troch.). Altero membro compellat eos qui sese iam dederunt cultui superstitioso et quos apostatas (J95 cf. 1, 2) vocat. Hos admonet, ut rédeant « ad mentem, qui simulacra venerantes velut furiosi in ligna impingebant et lapides » (S. Hier.); cf. 44, 19; ut re perpensa resipiscant. - lam quid perpendant et alte menti infixum gerere debeant, iis pro. ponit
46:10
v. 10 annuntians ab exordio novissimum et ab. initio quae necdum facta sunt, dicens : consilium meum stabit et omnis voluntas mea, fiet » ! — hebr. mementote priorum rerum a saeculo ; recolant priorum rerum ab antiquitate remotissima historiam, in qua scil. Deus se rerum moderatorem ostendit et quae futura erant saepe praedixit : annuntians ab initio finem i. e. eventum et exitum rerum (hebr.); cogita v. g. de vaticiniis Noe datis et Abraham, quae saeculorum cursu impleta sunt, ita circa. diluvium iam non oriturum, terrae palaestinensis occupationem, multiplicationem posterorum Abraham, reges ex eis orituros; ita ergo annuntiavit ab initio ea quae nondum contigerant et ea quidem firmitate, ut suam voluntatem tamquam mensuram rerum futurarum stabiliret. In qua re, ut bene explicat S. Cyr., praeclare Dei potentia insuperabilis elucet. Quis enim hominum pro aliquo tempore asserere potest: consilium meum stabit etc. plurima enim incidunt, quae consilia hominum interturbant ; Deus autem pro saeculorum cursu suam praefigit normam et cuncta secundum eam ad amussim fiunt. Atque inter talia insignia documenta divinitatis et. oracula nota, quibus divinitas eius clare elucet et quibus ab initio annuntiaverit ex:tum rerum et ab initio, olim, ea quae nondum acciderant, recensetur iterum vaticinium de Cyro; est ergo oraculum, quo eodem modo ac priscis ilis magnalibus sublimitas Dei egregia quadam ratione demonstratur (cf. v. 9); quare haee argumentatio novum est argumentum quo oraculum diu ante eventum editum esse clare comprobatur ;pergit enim
46:11
v. 11 « vocans ab oriente avem et de terra longinqua virum voluntatis meae; et locutus sum et adducam illud; creavi et faciam illud »! — avem vel aquilam (hebr.) intelligi Cyrum patet, uti fere omnes quoque explicant ! ; aquila apte ponitur pro bellatore qui cursu celerrimo et praedae cupidus multas regiones pervolat (cf. ler. 49, 22. Ez. 17, 3), ergo in aquila potenti, celere, rapace ea describuntur quae 41, 2. 3; 45, 1. 2 exhibentur. Eo aptior est haec appellatio pro Cyro, si verum est quod Xenophon refert (Cyrop. "1, 4, 4), Cyrum auream aquilam expansis alis in oblonga hasta sibi praeferri iussisse, ut suae in castris praesentiae signum daret (cf. Sanct. Lap. Tir. Calm. Rohl. Troch. Del), immo etiam tempore posteriore idem signum regium apud reges Persarum in usu fuisse (Xenoph. Anab. 1, 10. 12. Va^g.). Venit ab oriente cf. 41, 93. Vocatur vir consilii mci (hebr.), qui ad Dei consilium exsequendum eligitur (cf. 44, 96 seq.). Et quam certo oraculum de Cyro impleri debeat, duplici assertione quasi sigillo divino confirmatur : locutus quoque sum, etiam adducam, formavi (cogitavi, animo designavi Mald., apud me constitui Mar. Malv.), etiam. faciam illud (hebr ), ergo prorsus ut animo praeformavit et finxit, ita perficiet. Qua affirmatione denuo oraculum diu ante impletionem datum esse asseritur ; in alia autem suppositione, oraculum fundi cum res iamiam fieri incipiunt, haec adeo graviter dicta risui essent ac potius contemptui exposita. Vim argumenti huius aliqui ita eludere student, ut dicant v. 10 explicandum esse : ab exordio Cyri annuntiavi finem et exitum rerum. At frustra. Nam hacc explicatio est prorsus falsa; "zw? significare ortum Cyri vel primum eius exordium tamquam belli ducis prorsus gratuito fingitur, et usui vocis atque analogiae plane repugnat; excluditur h. l. quoque membro altero: ab initio quae necdum facta sunt dicens ; Qà'3p tempus diu. praeteritum designat (cf. 19. 11; 23, 1; 31, 96. Deut. 33, 97. Prov. 8, 33. Ier. 30, 20. Lament. 5, 21. Ps. 44, 2 hebr. Mich. 5, 1; 7, 20). Etiam Ges. Thes. voci assignat notionem : a prisco tempore, antiquitus, olim. Et praeterea cum vates dicat: quae non. contigerunt, quae non facta sunt, non potest intelligere tempus, quo ea iamiam fiunt. Deinde simul considerare oportet v. 9 fieri provocationem ad priora a saeculo et in arcto nexu ad hune versum pergi in v. 10. Denique non erat omittendum saepius Cum igitur Deus talia documenta afferre possit, quibus ostendat se summa potentia praeditum sedulo ac continuo populi sui curam gessisse et gerere et praeclara pro iis consilia volvere et exsequi, iuremerito compellat eos qui a tali Deo et tali salute adliuc alieni sunt
46:12
v. 12 « audite me duro corde qui longe estis a iustitia !
46:13
v. 43 prope feci iustitiam meam, non elongabitur et salus mea non morabitur; dabo in Sion salutem et in. Israel gloriam meam » ; — robusti corde (hebr.), Sym. cxXnpexio?.o dicuntur contumaces qui monitis divinis non cor molle, carneum, tractab:le offerunt, sed impenetrabile, obtusum, in malo obfirmatum. Quo magis cultui idololatrico se dedunt (v. 5), eo longius absunt ab illa conditione, in qua Deus suos constitui vult, i. e. ab iustitia, quacum salus et felicitas iungitur. Et tamen hanc iustitiam et salutem prope adiacentem habent, dummodo velint. Eo ipso enim quod sint fideles cives Sion et vere Israelitae, qui patris nomen et virtutem in se exprimant, etiam illius salutis erunt participes quae sollemni attestatione et sponsione inviolabili Sioni promittitur eique adnectitur ; Israeli gloriam suam vel ornatum suum, splendorem, magnificentiam suam dabit (cf. 45, 26). Est enim Deus summa beatitas et gloria summa ; quo magis ergo quis ad eum accesserit, eo magis illa beatitate et gloria circumfunditur (cf. 60, 9. 3). Praeclaro modo vanitate idolorum ostensa quid ipse pro suis cultoribus facturus sit, verbis salutis et gloriae suae declarat, bona complectens hisce in terris largienda et gloriae divinae communicationem sublimem innuens. Sion et Israel elegit, ubi reposuit salutem et gloriam suam; ergo maxima in verbis continetur adhortatio, ut qui mente vel corpore procul sint a populo electo et centro theocratico, illi se coniungant; quare admonitio apta iam ponitur pro fine exsilii (cf. 48, 20; 52, 11; 57, 14) ; sed praeterea quicumque velit salutis et gloriae divinae partem habere, se Sioni aliqua ratione consociare debere clare consequitur (cf. Is. 2, 2. Ps. 86; vide ad 44, 5. 6). Modo quodam inchoato atque imperfecto hane salutem et gloriam Sioni et Israeli esse datam per Cyrum, qui vocatus a Deo Israelis et Ierusalem subversae uleisceretur iniurias et Medis Persisque superantibus Babylonem Chaldaeosque deleret, recte adnotarunt (cf. S. Hier. Osor. Sanct. Mar. Men. Tir.); verum ibi non esse sistendum, sed normam enuntiari sublimiorem, universalem, salutem messianicam spectantem, ex verborum ambitu et sermonibus antecedentibus facile collegeris (cf. S. Cyr. Lap. Tir. Calm.).
46:10
… Will, freedom and divine omnipotence often appear interwoven in the praises rendered to God by the inspired authors (cf. Ps. 115, 3; 135, 5-6; Is. 46, 10; Esth. 13, 9). The New Testament points out to men in the divine will the supreme rule of their conduct: a rule which the human will of Jesus Christ always took as its inspiration: …
… The admirable correspondence between the predictions of the prophets and their realization is, finally, the ultimate seal of divine inspiration (Isa. 41:22 ff.; 44:7 ff.; 44:26; 45:21; 46:10 ff.).
… cf. Am. 2:10 ff.; Ex. 7:25; Zach. 7:12; Neh. 9:30), giving them as an unmistakable sign of recognition, besides moral worth, fidelity to Jahweh and to his precepts, the charism of predicting the future (Deut. 18:22; Is. 41:22 ff.; 44:7 ff.; 46:10 ff.) and sometimes of working other miracles. …
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.