And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joathan, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, that Basin king of Syria, and Phacee the son of Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, to fight against it: but they could not prevail over it.2 And they told the house of David, saying: Syria hath rested upon Ephraim, and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.3 And the Lord said to Isaias: Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and Jasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool, a in the way of the fuller’s held.4 And thou shalt say to him: See thou be quiet: fear not, and let not thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these fire brands, smoking with the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of Romelia.5 Because Syria hath taken counsel against thee, unto the evil of Ephraim and the son of Romelia, saying:6 Let us go up to Juda, and rouse it up, and draw it away to us, and make the son of Tabeel king in the midst thereof.7 Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, and this shall not be.8 But the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Basin: and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall cease to be a people:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria the son of Romelia. If you will not believe, you shall not continue.
It is essential to notice that the statement means that those who read it do not only need understanding but also faith; and not only faith but also understanding. Those of the circumcision who do not believe in the Christ of God, though even now they hear these words, do not have understanding of the subject of this prophecy because they do not hear with the mind. The only reason for their lack of understanding is their lack of faith, as the prophecy clearly reveals both about them and to them.
Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.3 With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.3 With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.4 In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.5 For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves: they gathered together.6 So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were moved:7 Trembling took hold of them. There were pains as of a woman in labour.8 With a vehement wind thou shalt break in pieces the ships of Tharsis.
This, I say, is man's real death, when souls that know not God shall be consumed in long-protracted torment with raging fire, into which certain fiercely cruel beings shall cast them, who were unknown before Christ and brought to light only by his wisdom.
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for that they had not done penance.21 Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.†22 But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.23 And thou Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? thou shalt go down even unto hell. For if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day.24 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
That you should not say that they were by nature evil, He names Bethsaida, a town from which the Apostles had come, namely, Philip, and two pair of the chief of the Apostles, Peter and Andrew, James and John.
This makes the accusation heavier, for it is a proof of extreme wickedness, that they are worse, not only than any then living, but than the wickedest of all past time.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)