*H Hear ye these things, O house of Jacob, you that are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Juda, you who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in justice.
Ver. 1. Waters; people, (Apoc. xvii. 15. H.) or from the stock of Juda. Prov. v. 15. C. — He claimed the sovereign power, but had not the fortitude or wisdom of Israel. W.
*H For they are called of the holy city, and are established upon the God of Israel: the Lord of hosts is his name.
Ver. 2. City: citizens of Jerusalem. Dan. iii. 28. Mat. iv. 5.
*H The former things of old, I have declared, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I have made them to be heard: I did them suddenly and they came to pass.
Ver. 3. Suddenly, when there was no human appearance of the event, as when I foretold the exploits of Cyrus and the ruin of Babylon so long before.
*H For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy forehead as brass.
Ver. 4. Brass; unblushing. Jer. iii. 3. C. — Os tuum ferreum. Cic. c. Piso.
*H See now all the things which thou hast heard: but have you declared them? I have shewn thee new things from that time, and things are kept which thou knowest not:
Ver. 6. Them. Could you have believed them? — Knowest not. He upbraids their ignorance and indocility.
*H They are created now, and not of old: and before the day, when thou heardest them not, lest thou shouldst say: Behold I knew them.
Ver. 7. Knew. Therefore I did not speak of the liberation from Egypt, but from Babylon, which is represented as just taking place. C.
*H Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of old. For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb.
Ver. 8. Opened; docile, (Theod.) or acquainted with these things. Isaias first made known the captivity of Babylon, and its end; and he insists so much, that people may discern the truth of his predictions, and of religion. No atheist can, with a good conscience, hold out against his arguments. C. xl. &c.
*H For my name's sake I will remove my wrath far off: and for my praise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish.
Ver. 9. Bridle thee, like a headstrong beast, (C.) running to its own ruin. H. — God pardons freely, that people may be saved if they will. W.
*H Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty.
Ver. 10. Poverty, at Babylon. I have not treated thee with the utmost rigour, nor attempted to render thee free from every imperfection. C. — Sept. "Lo, I have sold thee, but not for silver; I have snatched thee from the," &c. H.
* Footnote * Apocalypse 1 : 8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.* Footnote * Apocalypse 22 : 13
I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.*H Assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear: who among them hath declared these things? the Lord hath loved him, he will do his pleasure in Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
Ver. 14. Things, as I have done respecting Cyrus? (S. Cyr. &c.) who was a figure of Christ. v. 15.
*H Come ye near unto me, and hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: from the time before it was done, I was there, and now the Lord God hath sent me, and his spirit.
Ver. 16. Spirit. The Fathers here find the three Persons of the blessed Trinity specified. Isaias was not from the beginning, though the text may also speak of him (C.) as he spoke long before the event, by divine inspiration. Chal. S. Jer.
*H And thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof: his name should not have perished, nor have been destroyed from before my face.
Ver. 19. Name. The Jews were not forgotten, till they had rejected the Messias.
* Footnote * Jeremias 51 : 6
Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved.* Footnote * Apocalypse 18 : 4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues.*H They thirsted not in the desert, when he led them out: he brought forth water out of the rock for them, and he clove the rock, and the waters gushed out.
Ver. 21. Out. Their return was facilitated. This may easily be applied (C.) to the conversion of the Gentiles. S. Jer.
* Footnote * Exodus 17 : 6
Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:* Footnote * Numbers 20 : 11
And when Moses bad lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank,*H There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.
Ver. 22. Peace. Sept. "rejoicing," or prosperity for the Chaldees or wicked Jews. v. 18. C. — It is promised only to the penitent. W.