Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6:1

Cyril of Alexandria: No one can deny that the prophet saw the Son in the glory of God the Father, as John said: “Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him [Christ].” Look and see the great honor that is due to God, and see the authority he has over all creation. God is high and lifted up on a throne, crowned with the splendor of his reign.… In my view we should not think of the throne of God as lifted up in a physical way. That would be foolish and absurd. Rather, that the throne is said to be lifted up means that the reign of God transcends all things. That God is sitting refers to his immovability and that his blessings are everlasting and unchanging. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 1:4

Eusebius of Caesarea: The prophet had seen Christ and the glory of Christ in the vision in which he said, “I saw the Lord of hosts sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,” and what follows. — PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 9:16

Jerome: We have talked about standing; we have talked about walking; let us talk about sitting. Whenever God is represented as seated, the portrayal takes one of two forms: either he appears as the ruler or as the judge. If he is like a king, one sees him as Isaiah does: “I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne.” There he is presented as the sovereign king. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 14 (Psalms 81)

Jerome: (Chapter 6, Verse 1) In the year when King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. Isaiah prophesied under the reign of four kings over Judah and Jerusalem, as indicated in the introduction to the first vision: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. After Uzziah died, under whom all the things we have mentioned above were spoken, his son Jotham succeeded him. Jotham reigned for sixteen years and did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He also built a high gate for the temple. When he saw this, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, to show the appearance of a ruler.

And those things which were under him, filled the Temple, whether as Theodotius and Symmachus carried it over: And those things which were under his feet, filled the Temple. For which reason the Seventy interpreted. And the house was full of his glory. About thirty years ago, when I was in Constantinople, with the most eloquent man Gregory Nazianzen, then bishop of the same city, I recall having dictated a brief and sudden treatise on this vision, in order to test my little talent and to obey my friends’ advice. Therefore, I send this little book to the reader, and pray that he may be satisfied with a brief explanation of this time. It tells the sacred story of Aziah, who claimed for himself an illicit priesthood and was struck with leprosy; and when he died, the Lord appeared in the Temple that he had defiled (2 Chronicles 26). From this, we understand that while we have a leprous king ruling within us, we cannot see the Lord reigning in His majesty, nor understand the mysteries of the Holy Trinity. And in Exodus, after Pharaoh, who oppressed Israel with mud and bricks, and later with straw, died, the people cried out to the Lord, who they could not cry out to while he was still alive. And when Phaltia son of Bananiah, a wicked ruler, died, Ezekiel fell on his face and with a loud voice cried out to the Lord. And it is beautifully said in the Hebrew: the Lord does not fill the Temple, whose heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool; and as we read elsewhere: The Lord is in his holy Temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven (Psalms 11:5); but the things under his feet filled the Temple (Isaiah 66). But who is this Lord that is seen, as we learn more fully in the Gospel of John and in the Acts of the Apostles. Of whom John says: These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spoke of him (John 12:41), undoubtedly referring to Christ. Again, Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, where he speaks to the Jews in Rome, says: Well said the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying: Go to this people, and say: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them (Acts 28:26-27). However, the Son appeared in the form of one who reigns, and the Holy Spirit spoke because of the sharing of majesty and the unity of substance. Someone may ask, how can the Prophet say that he saw the Lord now, and not just the Lord, but the Lord of hosts, as he himself testifies in the following text; since the evangelist John said: No one has ever seen God (John 1:20). And God speaks to Moses: You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live (Exodus 33:20). To this we will respond, not only regarding the divinity of the Father, but also of the Son and the Holy Spirit, because there is one nature in the Trinity, that is able to see with the eyes of the flesh; but with the eyes of the mind, as the Savior himself says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). We read that Abraham saw the Lord in the form of a man, and that Jacob wrestled with him as a man, who was God. Therefore, that place itself was called Peniel, which means ‘face of God’: For I have seen the Lord face to face, and my soul has been saved (Genesis 32). Ezechiel also saw the Lord in the form of a man sitting upon Cherubim, from his loins downwards he was like fire, and the upper parts had the appearance of electricity. Therefore, the nature of God is not seen, but appears to humans as he chooses. — Commentary on Isaiah

John Chrysostom: It is obvious from the very words of Isaiah that he saw God because of God’s condescension. He said, “I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne.” But God is not sitting down. Beings with bodies sit. Isaiah also said, “on a throne.” But God is not encompassed by a throne, because divinity cannot be contained within boundaries. That said, the seraphim could not endure the condescension of God although they were nearby.… He said, “And the seraphim stood around him,” because he wanted to make it clear that although the seraphim are closer to the essence of God than human beings are, they cannot look upon his essence simply because they are closer to it. He is not referring to place in a localized sense. When he speaks of nearness, he is demonstrating that the seraphim are closer to God than we human beings are. — AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 3:16

John Chrysostom: Why does God appear to be sitting on a throne with seraphim, when God does not sit? He is accommodating himself to the ways of human beings. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 6:1.78-81

Theodoret of Cyrus: By speaking of Uzziah’s death, the prophet informs us that it was Uzziah’s sin that had brought an end to prophetic activity. At the beginning of his reign Uzziah had God’s favor and was victorious over the Allophyles [foreigners]and other neighboring enemies. But he became blinded by pride because of his victory. His pride caused him to usurp the honor of the priesthood. He took it on himself to trespass into the sanctuary of the temple and offer incense, though even the priests were not allowed to do this, as only the high priest had the right to enter the Holy of Holies. Azarias and other priests tried to stop him from doing this, but he ignored their warning.… It was not until after the death of the king that God granted this vision to the prophet, who had angered God by not identifying the culpability of the king. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 6:1

Theodoret of Cyrus: Isaiah has revealed the Father’s existence but not his essence (WHICH CANNOT BE SEEN). In other places God reveals himself in ways that also demonstrate that no one has seen his essence. Abraham saw him in one way, Moses in another, Micah saw him in yet another way, which was different from the way Daniel saw him. Ezekiel saw God in yet another way. God’s essence, however, does not have many different forms, because God is incorporeal, indivisible, simple, invisible and inaccessible. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 6:1

Isaiah 6:2

Eusebius of Caesarea: Some think there are two seraphim, but I, based on the idea expounded by the sacred Scripture, which says, “the seraphim stood round about him,” think there are many, and they are bodyguards, as it were, like a crown from all sides, surrounding his throne with light and enlivened by him. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 6:2

Jerome: (Ver. 2.) The seraphim stood above him, six wings to one, and six wings to the other: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried to one another, saying: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. This that we, following other interpreters and the Hebrew truth, in which it is written Memmallo, that is, ἐπάνω αὑτοῦ, which in Latin is said super illud, translate: the Seventy translated around him, so that the seraphim are not said to stand above the temple, but to be described around the Lord. Again, where we have said that one of the Seraphim covered his face and feet, by which is understood the face and feet of God: in Hebrew it is written Phanau and Reglau, which can be interpreted as both his own and its: so that, according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, the face and feet of God and his own face and feet are said to be covered. In the seventy-ninth psalm we read: You who sit enthroned upon the Cherubim, manifest (Psalms 79:3); which in our language is interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. And thus the Lord is openly shown to sit upon the cherubim in the manner of a charioteer. However, I do not know elsewhere in the Canonical Scriptures where the seraphim, who are called to stand above the Temple or in the surrounding of the Lord, are read. Therefore, those who are accustomed to say in prayers ‘You who sit upon the cherubim and seraphim’ are mistaken, as Scripture has not taught this. The seraphim, however, are interpreted as ‘burning ones’, which we can say are kindling or setting on fire, according to what we read elsewhere: ‘Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire’ (Psalms 104:4). And so Paul the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which the Latin custom does not receive: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?’ (Heb. 1:14). Daniel also, when he described the Lord in the guise of a ruler, added: ‘Thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him’ (Dan. 7:10). Therefore, the Lord is shown in the Cherubim, in part revealed, and in part concealed in the Seraphim. For they cover their face and feet, because we cannot know what happened before the world and what will happen after the world; but we only contemplate the things that were made in the six days. It is not surprising to believe this about the Seraphim, since the apostles reveal the Savior to those who believe and hide Him from unbelievers; and a veil was also before the Ark of the Covenant (Exod. 40). They are also said to have wings, because of their speed and their ability to travel everywhere: either because they always dwell in higher places. For that which is said about the winds, ‘He walks upon the wings of the winds’ (Psalms 104:4), does not truly testify that the winds have wings, according to the license of the fables of poets and painters, but rather it signifies their swift movement in all directions. And each has six wings, because we only know about the creation of the world and the present age. And what they cry out, one to another, or according to the Hebrews, this one to that one, that is, one to one, they encourage each other in the praises of the Lord and say: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, in order to demonstrate the mystery of the Trinity in one Divinity; and they testify that the glory of God fills not just the Temple of the Jews, as before, but the entire earth, which He deigned to assume a human body for our salvation and descend to the earth. Finally, when Moses prayed to the Lord on behalf of the people, asking Him to spare the sinful people, the Lord responded: ‘I will be merciful to them.’ However, as surely as I live and as surely as my name lives, my glory will fill the whole earth (Num. 14: 20, 21). The seventy-first psalm also declares: ‘His glory will fill the whole earth’ (Psalms 71:19). That is why the angels proclaimed to the shepherds: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will’ (Luke 2:14). Therefore, some impiously understand the two Seraphim to refer to the Son and the Holy Spirit: as we teach according to the evangelist John and the Apostle Paul, that the Son of God was seen in the majesty of his reign, and the Holy Spirit spoke. Some Latin scholars understand the two Seraphim to refer to the Old and New Testaments, which speak only of the present age. Hence, they are said to have six wings and to veil the face and feet of God, and eagerly bear witness to the truth, and show forth all the sacraments of the Trinity that they proclaim. And they marvel at each other because the Lord of hosts, in the form of the Father, took on the form of a servant and humbled Himself even unto death, death on a cross (Philippians II), so that not only heavenly beings, but also earthly beings may know Him. — Commentary on Isaiah

John Chrysostom: Let us bring our discourse back to our earlier proposition and let us show that God, even by the accommodation of condescension, cannot be seen by the powers above. Tell me this. Why do the seraphim stretch forth their wings? There is no other reason than the statement made by the apostle: “Who dwells in unapproachable light.” And these heavenly virtues, who are showing this by their very actions, are not the only ones. There are powers higher than the seraphim, namely, the cherubim. The seraphim stood near; the cherubim are the throne of God. They are not called this because God has need of a throne but so that you may learn how great is the dignity of these very powers. — AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 3:24

Isaiah 6:3

Ambrose of Milan: Cherubim and seraphim with unwearied voices praise him and say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts.” They say it not once, lest you should believe that there is but one; not twice, lest you should exclude the Spirit; they say not holies [in the plural], lest you should imagine that there is plurality, but they repeat three times and say the same word, that even in a hymn you may understand the distinction of persons in the Trinity and the oneness of the Godhead, and while they say this they proclaim God. — On the Holy Spirit 3.16.110

Augustine of Hippo: What are we going to do there? Tell me. Sleep? Yes, here people who have nothing to do just sleep. But there is no sleep there, because there is no weariness. So we aren’t going to perform works of necessity, aren’t going to sleep—what are we going to do? None of us must be afraid of boredom; none of us must imagine it’s going to be so boring there. Do you find it boring now to be well? You can get tired of anything and everything in this age; can you get tired of being well? If you don’t get tired of good health, will you get tired of immortality? So what activity are we going to engage in? “Amen” and “Alleluia.” Here, you see, we do one thing and another, there one thing, I don’t say day and night but day without end; what the powers of heaven, the seraphim, say now without ever getting bored: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.” — SERMON 211A.2

Caesarius of Arles: Isaiah, too, includes one Holy Spirit in the glory of the Trinity when he says, “I saw the Lord seated on a high throne; seraphim were stationed above and cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” And in a following passage he says, “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Go and say to this people: Listen carefully, but you shall not understand! Look intently, but you shall see nothing!’ ” — SERMON 212:3

Cyril of Alexandria: The mouths of the seraphim are filled with blessings. They offer a doxology in turn, not in my opinion because they are tired but because they show respect to one another, both receiving and giving the doxology. They say “holy” three times and then conclude with “Lord of hosts.” This demonstrates that the Holy Trinity exists in one divine essence. All hold and confess that the Father exists, along with the Son and the Spirit. Nothing divides those who are named nor separates them into different natures. Just the opposite is true. We recognize one Godhead in three persons. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 1:4

Cyril of Alexandria: In announcing that the whole earth is full of his glory, the seraphim are predicting the mystery of the economy that will be brought to pass through Christ. Prior to the Word’s becoming flesh the world was ruled by the devil, the evil one, the serpent, the apostate. The creature, rather than the Creator, was worshiped. But when the only-begotten Word of God became human, the entire earth was filled with his glory. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 1:4

Cyril of Jerusalem: We make mention also of the seraphim, whom Isaiah in the Holy Spirit saw standing around the throne of God, and with two of their wings veiling their face, and with two their feet, while with two they flew, crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” For the reason of our reciting this confession of God, delivered down to us from the seraphim, is this, that so we may be partakers with the hosts of the world above in their hymn of praise. — Catechetical Lecture 23:6

Fulgentius of Ruspe: The prophet Isaiah did not keep silent about this Trinity of persons and unity of nature revealed to him, when he says he saw the seraphim crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.” Therefore, where the triple “holy” is repeated, there is the Trinity of persons; where “God Lord of hosts” is said but once, we recognize the unity of the divine nature. Therefore, in that Holy Trinity—and I keep on saying it so that it may be fixed in your heart the more firmly—the Father is one, who alone by his nature has generated the one Son from himself; and the Son is one, who alone has been born from the nature of the one Father; and the Holy Spirit is one, who alone proceeds from the essence of the Father and the Son. All of this is not possible for one person, that is, to generate oneself and to be born of oneself and to proceed from oneself. Therefore, because generating is different from being born and proceeding is something different again from generating and being born, it is obvious that the Father is different, the Son is different, and the Holy Spirit is different. The Trinity, therefore, refers to the persons of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; unity, to the nature. — TO PETER ON THE FAITH 6

Jerome: Because they cry out one to another or, according to the Hebrew, this one to that one, that is, mutually, they are exhorting each other to the praise of the Lord. And they say “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts,” that the mystery of the Trinity in one divine nature might be displayed. They also declare that no longer is it true only of the temple of the Jews, as before, but the whole earth is filled with the glory of him who deigned to assume a human body for our salvation and descend to earth. Moreover, when Moses had prayed to ask the Lord to spare this sinful people who had worshiped a calf, the Lord responded, “I will forgive them. Yet I live, and my name lives, for all the earth will be filled with my glory.” And the seventy-first psalm sings, “All the earth will be filled with his glory.” For this reason also did angels call to the shepherds, saying, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will.” It is impious, therefore, to understand the two seraphim to be the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us teach instead, according to John the evangelist and the apostle Paul, that the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are said to be seen reigning in majesty. Some of the Latin [commentators] understand the two seraphim to be the Old and New Testaments, which speak only of the present age. Thus they are said to have six wings and to cover the face and feet of God, and earnestly to provide a witness of the truth. Everything that they cry reveals the mystery of the Trinity. They also express wonderment to each other that the Lord of the sabbath who was in the form of God the Father accepted the form of a servant and humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross, that no longer only those in heaven would know him, as before, but also those on earth. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 3:4.2-3

John Chrysostom: Do you desire to learn how the powers above pronounce that name; with what awe, with what terror, with what wonder? “I saw the Lord,” says the prophet, “sitting upon a throne, high, and lifted up; around him stood the seraphim; and one cried to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Do you perceive with what dread, with what awe, they pronounce that name while glorifying and praising him? But you, in your prayers and supplications, call upon him with much listlessness; when it would become you to be full of awe and to be watchful and sober! — HOMILY CONCERNING THE STATUES 7:9

John Chrysostom: What, then, do you think? Do you think that the angels in heaven talk over and ask each other questions about the divine essence? By no means! What are the angels doing? They give glory to God, they adore him, they chant without ceasing their triumphal and mystical hymns with a deep feeling of religious awe. Some sing, “Glory to God in the highest”; the seraphim chant, “Holy, holy, holy,” and they turn away their eyes because they cannot endure God’s presence as he comes down to adapt himself to them in condescension. — AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 1:35

Origen of Alexandria: My Hebrew master used to say that the two seraphim, which are described in Isaiah as having six wings each and as crying one to another and saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” were to be understood to mean the only-begotten Son of God and the Holy Spirit. — ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1:3

Origen of Alexandria: My Hebrew teacher also used to teach as follows, that since the beginning or the end of all things could not be comprehended by any except our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, this was the reason why Isaiah spoke of there being in the vision that appeared to him two seraphim only, who with two wings cover the face of God, with two cover his feet and with two fly, crying one to another and saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of your glory.” For because the two seraphim alone have their wings over the face of God and over his feet, we may venture to declare that neither the armies of the holy angels, nor the holy thrones, nor the dominions, nor principalities nor powers can wholly know the beginnings of all things and the ends of the universe. — ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4:3

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: The scriptural declaration “they cried out to one another” means, I think, that they ungrudgingly impart to each other the conceptions resulting from their looking on God. And we should piously remember that in Hebrew the Scripture gives the designation of seraphim to the holiest of beings in order to convey that these are fiery hot and bubbling over forever because of the divine life which does not cease to bestir them. - “Ecclesiastical Hierarchy 4.3.9”

Theodoret of Cyrus: Because the seraphim use the title Lord singularly in this song, but repeat “holy” three times (in reference to the Trinity), we know they are referring to the one essence of Deity. The praise “holy, holy, holy” properly indicates the Trinity, and the appellation “Lord of Hosts” indicates the oneness of the divine essence. Furthermore, the seraphim, in their song, praise the eternal essence for having filled both heaven and the entire earth with his glory. This happened through the incarnation of our God and Savior; because after the appearing of the Master, the nations received the illuminating ray of divine knowledge. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 6:3

Isaiah 6:4

Jerome: (Verse 4) And the doorposts of the cardinal’s palace were shaken by the voice of the one who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. The seraphim cried out, and throughout the whole earth they proclaimed the mystery of the Trinity, when the entire earth learned of the passion of the Lord and Savior. Immediately, the threshold of the Temple was either raised or lifted up, and all its hinges fell down, fulfilling the Savior’s threat, saying: Your house will be left to you desolate (Matthew 23:38). And what a beautiful arrangement of words. After the earth is filled with the glory of the Lord of hosts, the Temple of the Jews is filled with the darkness of ignorance, and with darkness, and with smoke, which is harmful to the eyes. Or certainly through the smoke of the Temple the fire is revealed. For first the Gospel of the Savior was preached throughout the whole world, and after forty-two years from the Lord’s passion, Jerusalem was captured, and the Temple was set on fire. The Jews believe that the Temple was filled with smoke, which signifies incense, and through this the coming of the divine majesty. — Commentary on Isaiah

Isaiah 6:5

Cassiodorus: By “mouth” [or lips] is meant the hidden region of the heart, from which God’s praise is efficaciously sung. So he rightly proclaims after the forgiveness of his sin that his lips will be opened and that his mouth can announce the praise of the Lord. — EXPOSITION OF THE Psalms 5:17

Cassiodorus: We must especially follow the commandments, and signing our lips with the seal of the cross we must pray to the Lord that he may cleanse our mouths, which are disfigured with human foulness. — EXPOSITION OF THE Psalms 141:8

Desert Fathers: Mathois said, ‘The nearer a man comes to God, the more he sees himself to be a sinner. Isaiah the prophet saw the Lord and knew himself to be wretched and unclean (Is. 6:5).’ — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Gregory the Dialogist: Purity of heart and simplicity, Peter, is of great force with almighty God, who is in purity most singular, and of nature most simple. For those servants of his, which do retire themselves from worldly affairs, avoid idle words, labour not to lose their devotion, nor to defile their soul with talking, do especially obtain to be heard of him, to whom, after a certain manner, and as they may, they be like in purity and simplicity of heart. But we that live in the world, and speak oftentimes idle words, and that which is worse, sometime those that be hurtful: our words and prayers are so much the farther off from God, as they be near unto the world: for we are drawn too much down towards the earth, by continual talking of secular business: which thing the prophet Esaye did very well reprehend in himself, after he had beheld the King and Lord of armies, and was penitent, crying out: Woe be to me for being silent, because I am a man that have defiled lips: and he sheweth straight after the reason why his lips were defiled, when he saith: I dwell in the midst of a people that hath defiled lips. For sorry he was that his lips were defiled, yet concealeth not from whence he had them, when he saith, that he dwelt in the midst of a people that had defiled lips. For very hard it is that the tongues of secular men should not defile their souls, with whom they talk; for when we do sometime condescend to speak with them of certain things, by little and little we get such a custom, that we hear that spoken with pleasure which is not meet to be heard at all, so that afterward we are loath to give that over, to which at the first, to gratify others, we were brought against our wills. And by this means we fall from idle words to hurtful speeches, and from talk of small moment to words of great importance: and so it cometh to pass that our tongue is so much the less respected of God when we pray, by how much we are more defiled with foolish speech, because, as it is written: He that turneth away his ear that he hear not the law, his prayer shall be execrable. What marvel, then, is it, if, when we pray, God doth slowly hear us, when as we hear God’s commandments, either slowly or not at all? — Dialogues, Book 3, Chapter 15

Jerome: According to the Hebrew, Isaiah cries out in anguish and says, “Woe is me because I have held my peace, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people that has unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the Lord of hosts!” Because of his virtues, he deserved to enjoy the sight of God, and, because of his awareness of his sins, he confessed that his lips were unclean. Not because he had said anything that was contrary to the will of God, but because he had held his peace, deterred either by fear or modesty, and because he had not exercised the prerogative of a prophet, of condemning a sinful nation. When we, who flatter the rich and accept sinful persons, rebuke sinners, is it for the sake of base gain? Unless, perhaps, we speak with complete frankness to those whose wealth we stand in need of. We may act otherwise; we may refrain from every type of sin, but, if we keep silent about the truth, we are certainly committing a sin. — Against the Pelagians 2.24

Jerome: (Verse 5.) And I said: Woe to me because I have kept silent, for I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips, and I have seen the king, the Lord of hosts, with my own eyes. And after Abraham saw the Lord and heard His voice, he declared himself to be mere dust and ashes (Gen. 18). And Isaiah, according to the Septuagint, testifies that he was stricken, not for any other sins, but because he had unclean lips. Blessed is the conscience that has only sinned in speech, not by its own fault, but because of association with a people with unclean lips, with whom he was often compelled to speak. From this it is shown to be harmful to live with sinners: For he who touches pitch, will be defiled by it (Ecclesiasticus 13:1). But because we read in Hebrew: Woe is me, for I have kept silence, the Prophet laments, because he was not worthy to praise the Lord of Hosts with the Seraphim, whom we understand to be Angelic virtues. But he dared not praise the Lord, because he had unclean lips. And therefore he had unclean lips, because he associated with the sinful people. Certainly, it must be understood in this way: Because I remained silent and did not boldly rebuke the wicked king Ozias, therefore my lips are unclean, and I dare not sing praises to the Lord with the angels, lest it be said of me: Why do you declare my justices and take my covenant in your mouth? (Ps. 49:16) For there is no beautiful praise on the lips of a sinner. (Eccl. 15:9) However, we say this, not that we teach that Isaiah was such; but that he himself, out of humility and with only unclean lips, confesses himself worthy of God’s praise. — Commentary on Isaiah

Sahdona the Syrian: Let us, therefore, show awe when we sinners stand in the presence of this Majesty and speak. Even though we are so impure in our deeds he draws us close to the sight of himself in the Spirit; let us therefore repeat with trembling the words of the blessed prophet Isaiah: “Woe is me, for I am dazed: I am a man of unclean lips, yet my eyes have beheld the King, the Lord Almighty.”He can be seen by us in the Spirit even now, if we wish—not that he is contained on the throne in any form external to his nature, just “filling the temple with the extremity of his train,” as the prophet beheld. No, he is hidden in the loftiness of his hiddenness in the inaccessible light of his nature where he lives and reigns over all the extremities of the universe in the majesty of his dominion.… His creation is full of the splendor of his glory: “the seraphim” of fire “stand” there to honor him, the ranks of the many-eyed “cherubim” escort his majestic Being, the bands of spiritual powers dash around ministering to him, the throngs of angels fly hither and thither with their wings, and all the orders of spiritual beings serve his Being in awe, crying “holy” in trembling and love, “as they cover their faces” with their wings at the splendor of his great and fearful radiance, ceaselessly crying out to one another the threefold sanctification of his exalted glory, “saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord Almighty, with whose glories both heaven and earth are full.” Let us therefore tremble at the magnitude of the sight of the ineffable one and at the sound that ceaselessly utters the praise of the hidden Being. And let us be filled with awe and trembling, falling on our faces in fear before him. Let us recognize our earthborn nature. Let us be aware of the base character of the dust we are made from. Let us join the prophet in saying, with feeling and with a penitent heart, “Woe is our state of confusion.” Let us lay bare the foulness of our sins quite openly, accusing ourselves forcefully—just as it is said: “The just man condemns himself at the very beginning of his words.” This is what we too should do at the commencement of our prayer, stating before God that we are not worthy to stand in his presence in our wretched state; and that, because our blind hearts have lost their sight through concentrating on what is below, dwelling in the darkness of the earth, we are unable to gaze on the great sight of him whose glory blinds the vision of the angels of light. Again, how are we able to speak with unclean lips about his great holiness? — BOOK OF PERFECTION 5-9

Isaiah 6:6

Cyril of Alexandria: Let our lips be touched by the divine coal, which burns away out sins and consumes the filth of our transgressions. Moreover, it makes us zealous by the Spirit. By saying “taken from the altar with tongs,” Isaiah means that we receive faith in and knowledge of Christ from the teachings or announcements in the law and the prophets, in which the word of the holy apostles confirms the truth. By quoting from the law and the prophets, the apostles convince their hearers and “touch their lips with the burning coal” in order to lead them to confess faith in Christ. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 1:4

Gregory the Dialogist: But Dionysius the Areopagite, that ancient and venerable Father, is said to declare that from the lesser hosts of angels some are sent forth to fulfill their ministry either visibly or invisibly, namely because angels or archangels come for human consolation. For those higher hosts never withdraw from the inner places, since those who are preeminent have no function of external ministry. This seems to be contradicted by what Isaiah says: “And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth.” But in this statement of the prophet, he wants it understood that the spirits who are sent receive the name of those whose office they perform. For the angel who carries a coal from the altar to burn up the sins of speech is called a Seraphim, which means burning. This interpretation is also believed to be supported not unsuitably by what is said through Daniel: “Thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him.” For ministering is one thing, and standing before is another, because those minister to God who also go out to us announcing; but those stand before who so enjoy inward contemplation that they are not at all sent forth to accomplish external works. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34

Jerome: (Verse 6) And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity shall be taken away, and your sin be cleansed. He flew, or rather, one of the Seraphim was sent, the name of which means burning, in order to cleanse the impure lips of the Prophet with a fiery coal which he had taken from the altar. However, many believe that there are two Seraphim, because one was calling to the other, even though each individual could call out to the others; and the Septuagint edition suggests that there were actually many, who were interpreted as Seraphim, standing around him. And if it were spoken about two things, they would not have spoken in a circle, but they would have spoken from both sides. And this applies to the multitude of angels, which is prepared for the ministry of God. But the Seraphim are called in the plural number, and in the singular, Seraph; just as the Cherubim are called Cherub. But as for the altar under which the souls of the martyrs are seen in heaven, John speaks of it in the Apocalypse (Rev. 6); and this stone, which is interpreted as ‘LXX coals of fire,’ that is, a carbuncle, may not signify coal or charcoal, as many think, but a carbuncular stone, which is called fiery because of its flame-like color. From this we understand that the altar of God is filled with carbuncles, that is, fiery stones and embers, which cleanse sins. Hence we read in the Scriptures about God: Coals were kindled by Him (Psalms 18:9). And it is said of the Lord Himself that He is a consuming fire. And the Savior in the Gospel says: I have come to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49), to baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. For the fire will test the quality of each one’s work (1 Corinthians 3). And he who is to be saved will be saved as if he passed through fire. And it should be noted that to Jeremiah, to whom it was said: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I sanctified you (Jeremiah 1:5), because he did not have unclean lips, but had only said: I do not know how to speak, because I am young, the Lord himself stretched out his hand, and touched his mouth, and said: Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Moreover, to Isaiah who said, ‘I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips,’ the hand of God is not extended, but a Seraphim is sent by God, or flies of its own accord, because it is entrusted with this task. And in its hand it holds a coal, which according to the Septuagint and Theodotion, is grasped with tongs; according to Aquila and Symmachus, who have followed the Hebrew, with forceps it grasps, that is, ‘he cleanses his iniquities,’ so that it may touch his mouth and purify his ancient sins. However, it is the hand that is sent from God and the Seraphim, so that the Prophet, seeing a member of his own body, is not frightened by external touch. Some of our people consider the forceps, with which a stone is grasped, to be the two Testaments, which are united by the union of the Holy Spirit. But because the Lord is introduced as sitting, and sitting in the Temple, and the house is filled with smoke, as the Jews think, of incense; consequently, forceps are also mentioned, which we read about in the priestly ministry (Exodus 37). — Commentary on Isaiah

John Damascene: With eyes, lips and faces turned toward it, let us receive the divine burning coal, so that the fire of the coal may be added to the desire within us to consume our sins and enlighten our hearts, and so that by this communion with the divine fire we may be set afire and deified. Isaiah saw a live coal, and this coal was not plain wood but wood joined with fire. Thus also, the bread of communion is not plain bread but bread joined with the Godhead. And the body joined with the Godhead is not one nature. On the contrary, that of the body is one, whereas that of the Godhead joined with it is another—so that both together are not one nature but two. — ORTHODOX FAITH 4:13

Isaiah 6:7

Ambrose of Milan: Tell me, then, whoever you are who deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit could not be liable to sin, who rather forgives sin. Does an angel forgive? Does an archangel? Certainly not, but the Father alone, the Son alone and the Holy Spirit alone [can forgive sins]. Now one is obviously able to avoid that which he has power to forgive.But perhaps someone will say that the seraph said to Isaiah, “Behold, this has touched your lips and shall take away your iniquities and purge away your sins.” Shall take away, he says, and shall purge, not I will take away, but that fire from the altar of God, that is, the grace of the Spirit. For what else can we piously understand to be on the altar of God but the grace of the Spirit? Certainly not the wood of the forests or the soot and coals. Or what is so in accordance with piety as to understand according to the mystery that it was revealed by the mouth of Isaiah that everyone should be cleansed by the passion of Christ, who as a coal according to the flesh burnt up our sins, as you read in Zechariah: “Is not this a brand snatched from the fire? Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments.” — On the Holy Spirit 1.10.112

Gregory the Dialogist: But Dionysius the Areopagite, that ancient and venerable Father, is said to declare that from the lesser hosts of angels some are sent forth to fulfill their ministry either visibly or invisibly, namely because angels or archangels come for human consolation. For those higher hosts never withdraw from the inner places, since those who are preeminent have no function of external ministry. This seems to be contradicted by what Isaiah says: “And one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth.” But in this statement of the prophet, he wants it understood that the spirits who are sent receive the name of those whose office they perform. For the angel who carries a coal from the altar to burn up the sins of speech is called a Seraphim, which means burning. — Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34

Origen of Alexandria: We read also in Isaiah that the prophet is purified with fire by “one of the seraphim which was sent to him, when he took with a pair of tongs one coal from those which were upon the altar; and he touched the lips of the prophet and said, Behold, I have taken away your iniquities.” These appear to me to be mystical and to indicate that the coals are put on the members of each in proportion to his sins, if he is worthy to be purified. For since the prophet says here, “I have unclean lips; also I dwell in the midst of a people who have unclean lips.” For this reason, “a coal taken up with a pair of tongs” by the seraphim cleanses his lips.… The cleansing of his lips indicates that Isaiah’s sin continually would be found only in words, but he would not have sinned in any act or deed. Otherwise, he would have said since I have an unclean body or I have unclean eyes, if he had sinned in desiring what belongs to something other than his lips. He would have said I have unclean hands, if he had polluted these with unjust deeds. But now since possibly he was aware of his transgression in word alone, about which the Lord says, “Likewise, you will give an account for every useless word on the day of judgment”; because it is difficult even for the perfect to escape the fault of the word, the prophet was likewise in need only of a purification of his lips. — HOMILIES ON Leviticus 9:7.2

Peter Chrysologus: But let us at this time feel remorse with all the affection of our hearts. Let us admit that we are wretched in this misery of the flesh. Let us weep with holy groans because we, too, have unclean lips. Let us do all this to make that one of the seraphim bring down to us, by means of the tongs of the law of grace, a flaming sacrament of faith taken for us from the heavenly altar. Let us do this to make him touch the tip of our lips with such delicate touch as to take away our iniquities, purge away our sins and so enkindle our mouths to the full flame of complete praise that the burning will be one that results in salvation, not pain. Let us beg, too, that the heat of that coal may penetrate all the way to our hearts. Thus we may draw not only relish for our lips from the great sweetness of this mystery but also complete satisfaction for our senses and minds. — SERMON 57

Isaiah 6:8

Jerome: When Isaiah had seen the Lord seated high upon a lofty throne, what does he say? “Woe is me, because I am in sorrow; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that has unclean lips.” Pay attention to his exact words: Woe is me because of my unclean lips. After that, what does he tell us? Because his lips are soiled, one of the seraphim is sent to him, and the seraph taking a burning coal from the altar touches with it Isaiah’s lips and tongue and purifies his mouth. Then what does the seraph say? “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your tongue is cleansed.” Then immediately, what does the Lord say? “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” O divine secrets of Scripture! As long as Isaiah’s tongue was treacherous and his lips unclean, the Lord does not say to him, Whom shall I send, and who shall go? His lips are cleansed, and immediately he is appointed the Lord’s spokesman; hence it is true that the person with unclean lips cannot prophesy, nor can he be sent in obedient service to God. “With fiery coals of the desert.” Would to heaven this solitude were granted us, that it would clear away all wickedness from our tongue, so that where there are thorns, where there are brambles, where there are nettles, the fire of the Lord may come and burn all of it and make it a desert place, the solitude of Christ. — HOMILIES ON THE Psalms 41 (Psalms 119)

Jerome: It was not with temerity and arrogance that the prophet promised his own conscience that he would go, but with fidelity, for his lips were cleansed and the iniquity of his sins washed away and purified. When the Lord had said to Moses, therefore, “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt,” he too responded with humility, not contempt, saying, “I beg you, Lord, to send another because I am not worthy,” or as we read in Hebrew, “Send him whom you were about to send,” for he who had been educated with all the wisdom of the Egyptians had heard nothing about the cleansing of his lips. Isaiah also offered himself for ministry by the grace of the Lord with which he was cleansed, not by his own merit. But others think that Isaiah offered himself because he thought that the message to be announced to the people was favorable, because he heard, “Go and say to this people: ‘You will hear with your ears and not understand, you will see and not recognize.’ ” Subsequently, therefore, when the voice of the Lord had said to him “Cry,” he did not cry immediately but inquired, “What shall I cry?” Jeremiah also, to whom it had been said, “Take this cup and make all the nations to whom I will send you drink from it,” willingly accepting the cup of punishments to give to the enemy nations that they would drink and vomit and fall, later heard, “Go and first make Jerusalem drink from it,” to which he replied, “You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived.” This observation pertains to the Hebrews, but we acknowledge that others were obedient, not impetuous, in offering themselves to be sent by the Lord. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 3:6.8

Jerome: (Verse 8.) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said: Here am I, send me. Because both us and all the other interpreters have translated it, the Hebrew phrase Lanu (), which means ‘for us,’ is put by the LXX to this people, which is not at all found in the Hebrew. But when it is said in the person of God, ‘for us’ is to be understood in that sense in which it is read in Genesis: Let us make man in our image, and likeness (Gen. 1:26), to indicate the sacrament of the Trinity. For just as we read in the Gospel, when the Lord says, ‘I and the Father are one’ (John 10:30), and we refer this to the unity of nature, namely, that we are one in essence, but to the diversity of persons, the Trinity governs as commanded by the Lord. However, the Lord does not specify whom to go forth, but presents the listeners with an option, so that the will may obtain the reward. And the Prophet does not promise to go forth by presumption and the arrogance of his own conscience, but by confidence: because his lips have been cleansed, and iniquity has been removed, and sin has been purified. Therefore Moses also, to whom the Lord said: Come, I will send thee to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (Exod. III, 10), and he said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent, send whom thou wilt (Exod. IV, 13), answered not with contempt, but with humility, because he had not heard anything from his purified lips, who had been educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And Isaiah, not by his own merit, but by the grace of the Lord, by which he was purified, offered himself to the service. But others think that Isaiah offered himself because he thought that he had good news to announce to the people. But because he heard, ‘Go, tell this people: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed see but not perceive’ (Isaiah 6:9), therefore, in the following passages, when the voice of the Lord said to him, ‘Cry out,’ he does not immediately cry out, but he asks, ‘What shall I cry?’ The prophet Jeremiah, to whom it had been said, ‘Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and drink to all the nations to which I send you’ (Jeremiah 25:15), willingly receiving the cup of sufferings, so that he might offer it to the opposing nations, for them to drink, and vomit, and fall down; after he heard, ‘Go and first offer it to Jerusalem,’ he replied, ‘You have deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived’ (Jeremiah 20:7). This is the observance of the Hebrews. However, we say that it is not a matter of rashness, but of obedience, to offer oneself to be sent by the Lord. — Commentary on Isaiah

Isaiah 6:9

Acts (28:23-28): And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. [Isaiah 6:9-10] Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

Jerome: (Verse 9 and following) And he said: Go, and say to this people: Hearing, you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and shall not perceive. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. The Septuagint translates this passage as follows, as the evangelist Luke placed it in the Acts of the Apostles: And when they did not agree with one another, it is certain that the Jews departed, as Paul said one word: Because the Holy Spirit has spoken well through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying: Go to this people, and say: Hearing, you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see, and shall not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heavily heard with their ears, and have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them (Acts 28:25 and following). But as for the time when this prophecy was fulfilled, the Apostle Paul himself speaks in the following words: Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen. (Acts 28:28) Hence, in the same Acts of the Apostles, we read that Paul and Barnabas, when the Jews refused to believe, said: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46, 47) For thus the Lord commanded us: I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Therefore, according to the easy interpretation of the Septuagint, Isaiah the prophet declares what the people will do by the command of the Lord. In Hebrew, there is a difficulty in how God Himself commands the people to hear but not understand, to see but not perceive, and then the prophet comes and prays to the Lord and says: Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed (Isaiah 6:10). First of all, the question that can be posed to us must be answered: why did the apostle Paul, when disputing with the Hebrews, speak not according to the Hebrew that he knew to be correct, but according to the Septuagint? The ancient commentators of the Church claim that the evangelist Luke was extremely knowledgeable in the medical arts and had a greater understanding of Greek letters than Hebrew. Hence, his language in both the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles is more polished and reminiscent of secular eloquence, and he makes greater use of Greek testimonies than Hebrew ones. But Matthew and John, of whom one wrote the Gospel in Hebrew and the other in Greek, cite testimonies from the Hebrew, such as: ‘Out of Egypt I have called my Son’ (Hosea II, 1). And: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’ (Matthew II, 23). And: ‘Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’ (John VII, 38). And: ‘They shall look upon him whom they have pierced’ (Zechariah XII, 10; John XIX, 37), and others similar to these. Moreover, it can be objected that the Epistle to the Hebrews is not Paul’s because in writing to the Hebrews, he uses testimonies that are not found in Hebrew volumes. But if someone were to say that the Hebrew books were later falsified by the Jews, let them hear what Origen responds to this question in the eighth volume of his Explanations of Isaiah, namely that the Lord and the Apostles, who accuse the scribes and Pharisees of other crimes, would not have remained silent about this greatest crime. But if they were to say that the Hebrew books were falsified after the coming of the Lord Savior and the preaching of the Apostles, I cannot help but laugh, because the Savior, the Evangelists, and the Apostles presented their testimonies in such a way that the Jews would later falsify them. However, in the present place, it must be said that it is in vain for us to resort to the Septuagint translation, lest it seem blasphemous that what is said in Hebrew, Hear and you shall not understand, and see the vision, and you shall not know, we also find such testimonies in the Seventy Interpreters, as is the case in Exodus where it is said to Pharaoh: For this very reason have I raised you up, that I may show my power in you. But if he Himself raised up and hardened the heart of Pharaoh, that he should not believe: and of others it is said: God hath given them the spirit of insensibility, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear (Rom. XI, 8); and in the Psalms: Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and their back bend thou down always (Ps. LXVIII, 23, 24): they are not to be blamed who do not see, but He who gave eyes that they should not see. Therefore, even without this testimony that we are now trying to explain, the same question remains in the churches, and either with these things being resolved along with the others, or with the others being resolved and this one remaining unsolvable. The blessed apostle Paul explains this matter more fully in his letter to the Romans, and what he has almost entirely discussed throughout the letter, we make unnecessary if we wish to summarize it in a short speech. For he says after many things: God has concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all (Rom. 11:32). And admiring the sacraments of the Lord, he exclaimed: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! And again, speaking about the incredulity of the Jews, he says: Have they then stumbled that they should fall? God forbid; but by their offense salvation is come to the Gentiles, that they may be provoked to emulation. And after a little while: For if the loss of them be the reconciliation of the world, what shall the receiving of them be? Is not life from the dead? And again: I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of this mystery, so that you may not be wise in your own sight, for a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. And then all Israel will be saved. And in a little while (Rom. XI, 25): According to the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but according to election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers: for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you, he says, at one time did not believe in God but now have attained mercy due to their disbelief, so too these individuals now have not believed in your mercy, in order that they may also attain mercy. For God has concluded all under sin, so that he may have mercy on all. Therefore, it is not cruelty on God’s part, but mercy, for one nation to perish so that all may be saved: that the part of the Jews may not be seen, so that the whole world may be seen. And the Lord Himself in the Gospel turns the miracle of the blind man from birth, who had received his sight, into a Tropology, and He says: ‘For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.’ (John 9:39). And in another place, Simeon speaks: ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and the rising of many.’ (Luke 2:34). Therefore, while they do not see, we see; while they fall, we rise. The Prophet, understanding in a certain way, says in other words: O Lord, you command me to speak to the people of Judah, so that they may hear and not understand the Savior, and see him, and not recognize him. If you want your command to be fulfilled, and the whole world to be saved, which I also desire, blind the heart of this people and make their ears heavy, and close their eyes, so that they may not understand, hear, or see. For if they see, and are converted, and understand, and are healed, the whole world will not receive healing. From this, we understand that although sin is grave, if someone converts, they can be healed. And at the same time, it must be understood that for the magnitude of the crime, they are deemed unworthy of repentance. As the Lord Himself said to Jerusalem: How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37). — Commentary on Isaiah

John (12:35-43): Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. [Isaiah 6:9-10] These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Luke (8:9-10): And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. [Isaiah 6:9-10]

Mark (4:10-13): And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. [Isaiah 6:9-10] And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

Matthew (13:10-17): And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. [Isaiah 6:9-10] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Maximus of Turin: But he appeared not so much for the eyes of human beings as for their salvation, for even though he was first seen by fleshly eyes when he was born of the virgin, still he did not appear because the eye of faith did not as yet recognize his power. Hence it is said to the Jews by the prophet: “Seeing you will see and will not see”; that is, the Savior whom they discerned with their fleshly eyes they did not see in a spiritual light. — SERMON 101:2

Isaiah 6:10

Augustine of Hippo: Behold mercy and judgment: mercy upon the elect, who have obtained the justice of God, but judgment upon the others who have been blinded. And yet the former have believed, because they have willed, while the latter have not believed, because they have not willed. Hence mercy and judgment were brought about in their own wills. Clearly this election is through grace, not at all through merits. — PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 6

Isaiah 6:11

Eusebius of Caesarea: See here that the rest of the earth is desolate, and those who remain on the earth alone are said to multiply. These must be the disciples of the Savior, going forth from the Hebrews to all people. Like a seed left behind they have brought forth much fruit, which are the churches of the Gentiles in every dwelling place. In addition, when he says that only those who remain from the falling away of the Jews will multiply, he also says that the Jews themselves are desolate. For he says of them, “Their land shall be left desolate.” And this was said to them before by the same prophet, saying, “Your land is completely desolate, your cities burned with fire, before you strangers will devour your country.”When was this fulfilled other than in the time of our Savior? Before they dared to do evil things to him, their land was not desolate, their cities not burned with fire, and strangers did not devour their country. Our Savior and Lord predicted what was to happen to them through that prophetic announcement, saying, “Your house is left to you desolate.” It was not long from the prediction of that moment that the Romans laid siege to them and brought them to desolation. The prophetic word gives the reason for the desolation by showing the cause of their fall, making the understanding of it clear. When they heard our Savior teaching among them but would not listen with the ear of the mind and did not understand who he was, seeing him with their eyes and not with the eyes of their spirit, “they hardened their heart, closed the eyes of their mind, and made their ears heavy.” As the prophecy says, their cities would become desolate such that no one would live in them because of this. In addition, their land would become desolate, and only a few would remain, being kept like fruitful seed who would proceed to all people and multiply on the earth. — PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 2:3

Jerome: (Verse 11-13.) And I said, how long, Lord? And he answered, until the cities are desolate and without inhabitant, and the houses are without people, and the land is left empty. And the Lord will remove men far away, and what was abandoned in the midst of the land will be multiplied. And even in it there will be a tenth, and it will be turned again to destruction, like a terebinth tree, and like an oak tree that sheds its leaves, the holy seed will be the stump that remains in it. The Lord said: Go, and tell this people, Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Deut. XXXII). The prophet responds, anxiously questioning about his people: How long, Lord, will this message endure, that they hear but do not understand; and see but do not perceive? To whom the Lord responded, for so long will not hear, and will not see, and will have a blind heart, until the cities of Judea are completely destroyed by Vespasian and Titus fighting, to the extent that not even the original name remains, and if there are any houses left; they will be without inhabitants, and the land will be reduced to a wilderness; and either by fleeing or by captivity, the Jewish people will be dispersed throughout the entire world: and the Jewish people will multiply not in Judea, as before, but in all the nations. But when I say that it will multiply, the misery of the remaining people will be so great that compared to the previous multitude, hardly a tenth part will remain. And even in the land itself there will be desolation (for this place can be understood in two ways: that hardly a tenth part will remain in the whole world, and that hardly a small part of the people will be reserved in Judea). Again, the remaining people will be for plundering, when after nearly fifty years Adrian will come and completely plunder the land of Judea, to such an extent that it will be compared to a terebinth and an oak tree that has lost its acorns. Finally, after the ultimate devastation, even the laws of the state were suspended, and the Jews were prohibited from entering the land from which they had been expelled. But if anyone believes in Christ, and the fulfillment of what we have read above: ‘Unless the Lord of hosts had left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom and become like Gomorrah’ (Isaiah 1:9); as the Apostle also says (Romans 9), the remnant will be saved; this holy offspring will be, and from the seed of the apostles all the churches will sprout forth. What we have said, the holy seed will be that which remains in her, or next to the eagle, the holy seed will be its offspring; it is not found in the Seventy Interpreters, but added by Origen from the Hebrew and Theodotion’s edition; in the copies of the Church, it is stated that after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved; and this word of the Lord will also be fulfilled, saying: ‘I will kill, and I will make alive; I will wound, and I will heal’ (Deuteronomy 32:39). — Commentary on Isaiah