“Woe, Ariel Jonathan renders: Altar of the Lord. Ezekiel, too, called it that, as it is said (43: 16): “And the altar (וְהָאֲרִיאֵל) twelve [cubits] in length,” [because of the heavenly fire that lay like a lion atop the altar, as we learned in Tractate Yoma (21b)]. Our Sages, however, explained it in reference to the heichal (the Temple proper), which was narrow from the rear and wide in the front. the city wherein David encamped The altar that was built in the city wherein David encamped [from Jonathan]. add year to year And always your sins are continuously increasing until your sacrifices are cut off (יִנְקֹפוּ), an expression similar to (supra 17:6): “like the cutting (כְּנֹקֶּף) of an olive tree.””

“Ariel. Jerusalem. According to some, Ariel is the name of Jerusalem, on account of the altar therein, which is called הראל and also אריאל Harel and Ariel (Ez. 43:15, 16); for the letters אׄ הׄ וׄ יׄ interchange; according to others, on account of her planet being the lion; but this is absurd. קרית The city; it is in the construct state; supply אמת of truth, or some similar word: the city of truth, where David hath dwelt; or the city, where David dwelt, since the whole sentence, with the past tense of a verb, can in this case be considered as a noun in the genitive governed by a preceding substantive; comp. בראשית ברא in the beginning, when God created, etc. (Gen. 1:1); תחלת דבר וגו׳ the beginning of the Lord’s speaking to Hosea (Hos. 1:1). ספו Add. Comp. לספת to add (Num. 32:14). חגים Sacrifices. ינקפו Will cease. It is a neuter verb. It can also be rendered: they shall kill, ינקפו being explained to be a transitive verb with the omission of the subject (הנקפים the men that kill); comp. ויאמר ליוסף and one said to Joseph (Gen. 48:1)”

“651. Woe to Ariel. In this part, he sets out threatening against the people or against the city, and this is divided into two parts; in the first, he threatens the punishment of temporal destruction; in the second, the punishment of spiritual blinding: be astonished (Isa 29:9). Concerning the first, he does two things: in the first, he threatens destruction; in the second, he sets out consolation of any kind: and the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream (Isa 29:7). The first of these is divided into two: in the first, he sets out the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians; in the second, destruction by the Romans: and I will encircle you like a sphere (Isa 29:3). 652. Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he recalls their former dignity: Ariel, that is, lion of God, for by the power of God in the time of David and Solomon they feared no one, like a lion: a lion, the strongest of beasts, who has no fear of any thing he meets (Prov 30:30); or because of the altar of holocausts, which was there in Jerusalem, because, like a lion, it consumed animals, and this is understood from Ezekiel 43:15; or perhaps because of its shape, for it was situated in the manner of a lion. The city which David took: for I have taken both a lion and a bear (1 Sam 17:36). 653. Second, he sets out the destruction, setting out three things: the ending of feasts: year is added to year, as if to say: for many years; the solemnities have been unrolled, that is, they have perished: for they shall sit many days without sacrifice, and without ephod (Hos 3:4).”

“To Ariel. To Jerusalem. תאניה ואניה Heaviness and sorrow. Comp. ואנו and they shall mourn (19:8). According to others, A waste place, the two words being derived from אנה where; the meaning of the phrase is, that only her place will be left. והיתה לי כאריאל And it shall be unto me as Ariel, as the altar which is desolate of sacrifices, or like an altar, because the inhabitants will be slaughtered.”

“The siege: and I will make a trench, namely, by the Chaldees: and lay siege against it (Ezek 4:2); and he intimates the taking of the city from its sadness: and it shall be in sorrow: my sighs are many (Lam 1:22). 654. Third, he sets out the reparation made under Jesus the high priest and others, about whom it is written through all of Ezra. And it shall be to me as Ariel, as if to say: retaining a shadow of its former dignity. On the contrary: great is the glory of this last house more than of the first (Hag 2:10). And to this is to be said that this is said because it had been visited bodily by the Son of God himself.”

“in a circle like a row of surrounding troops. ([Other editions read:] In a row of surrounding troops.) ([Some manuscripts read:] An expression of the encampment of surrounding troops.) a camp of siege (מֻצַּב, lit. stationed,) an expression of a camp of siege stationed against the towns. siege works (מְצֻרוֹת) an expression of מָצוֹר, a siege.”

“655. And I will encircle. Here he threatens destruction by the Romans. And concerning this, he sets out four things. First, the siege: and I will encircle you like a sphere, that is, round about: your enemies shall cast a trench about you (Luke 19:43); he shall laugh at every strong hold, and shall cast up a mount (Hab 1:10).”

“from the earth shall you speak It shall appear as though the speech that comes out of your mouth comes from below the ground. shall your speech chirp to supplicate to Me, and because of your supplication, My mercies shall be aroused. צִפְצוּף is an expression of a whispering (var. weak) voice like the voice of small birds.”

“Second, the humiliation of the besieged: you shall be humbled; and the sign of their humiliation, you shall speak out of the earth, that is, just as if you were under the earth, so shall you humbly be heard, bearing the words of the python, which chanted silently: I will take away out of the midst of you your proud boasters (Zeph 3:11); or their meriting of humiliation, accusing them of the sin of avarice: you shall speak out of the earth, and idolatry: and your voice shall be like that of the python.”

“And shall be like a dream that one imagines that he saw, yet he did not see, so will this multitude of all the nations contemplate to conquer, but they will not succeed. those stationed around her who set up against her a garrison and raiders called cenbel in O.F., as it is stated regarding Saul (I Sam. 14: 15): “The garrison and the raiders trembled.””

“657. Note on the words, it shall be as the dream (Isa 29:7), that something is called a dream: first, because of vanity: the vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another (Sir 34:3); second, because of brevity: as a dream that flees away he shall not be found (Job 20:8); third, because of obscurity of understanding: by a dream in a vision by night (Job 33:15); fourth, because of perversity of soul, below: sleeping and loving dreams (Isa 56:10).”

“And those who sleep are those who, when they ought to be taking heed and watching with the soul, are not doing this. But by reason of great want of attention they are nodding in resolution and are drowsy in their reflections, such as "in their dreaming defile the flesh, and set at nothing that which is highest in authority, and rail at dignities." And these, because they are asleep, live in an atmosphere of vain and dreamlike fancies concerning realities. [They do not admit] the things that are actually true, but [they are] deceived by what appears in their vain imaginations. In regard to [them] it is said in Isaiah, "Like as when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but when he has risen up is still thirsty, and his soul has cherished a vain hope, so shall be the wealth of all the nations, as many as have warred in Jerusalem."”

“Let us speak of him who thought he was happy since he was chief butler and believed that this was the summit and crown of all power, that he would give the cup to the king. This was his glory, this was his grandeur in this world; when he was deprived of this he felt sorrow, and when he was restored to it he rejoiced. But this is a dream, and all worldly power is a dream, not a reality. To be sure, he saw by way of a dream that his preeminent position was restored to him. Isaiah also says that people of this kind are such as take delight in prosperity in this world. One who eats and drinks in his sleep thinks he is filled with food and drink, but when he awakens, he begins to be more hungry; then he understands how insubstantial were that dreamer's food and drink. Just so, one who is asleep in this world and does not open his eyes to the mysteries of God, as long as he is in a deep corporeal sleep, supposes that such worldly power is of some importance, seeing it, as it were, in his dreams. But when he has awakened, he discovers how insubstantial the pleasure of this world is.”

“Truly, this life is a dream, a dream of riches; for when we seem to have them within our grasp, immediately they slip away. Isaiah expresses this same thought: "As when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakens faint and dry," so indeed are the riches of this world; while we are reaching out for them they are gone.”

“What are we to do now, my brothers, when crushed, cast down and drunk but not with strong drink or with wine, which excites and obfuscates but for a while, but with the blow which the Lord has inflicted upon us? He says, "And you, O heart, be stirred and shaken, and gives to the despisers the spirit of sorrow and deep sleep to drink." To [them] he also says, "See, you despisers, behold, and wonder and perish." How shall we bear his convictions; or what reply shall we make, when he reproaches us not only with the multitude of the benefits for which we have continued ungrateful, but also with his chastisements, and reckons up the remedies with which we have refused to be healed?”

“Since you are reasonable, I know that after my exhortation you will not permit yourselves to go beyond the bounds of what you need. But now it is appropriate for me to urge you not only to turn aside from drinking to excess but also to avoid the drunkenness that comes without drinking wine. For this kind is more dangerous. Don't be astonished at what I say, for it is possible to be drunk without wine. That you may know that this is possible, listen to the prophet, who said, "Woe to those who are drunk not from wine." But what is this drunkenness that does not come from wine? It takes many and varied forms. For anger makes us drunk; so too, vainglory, haughty madness, and all the deadly passions that spring up in us produce a kind of drunkenness and satiety that darkens our reason. For drunkenness is nothing more than the distraction of our minds from their natural ways, the straying of reason and the loss of our understanding.”

“stop Be patient to reflect [to think] about your deeds. and wonder And wonder about your corruption. they became blind (הִשְׁתַּעַשְׁעוּ) an expression related to (supra 6:10) “And his eyes are becoming sealed (הָשַׁע),” they were blind, not being able to see [lit., from seeing]. They were intoxicated yourselves (sic) but not from wine. Why? ([Parshandatha claims that this reading is erroneous. The correct reading, according to all manuscripts is:] their wise men, but not from wine.)”

“658. Be astonished. Here he threatens the punishment of blinding, and first, he foretells the blinding of the Jews; second, the conversion of the gentiles: is it not yet a very little while (Isa 29:17). Concerning the first, he does two things: first, he sets out the blinding; second, he assigns the reason for it: and the Lord said (Isa 29:13). 659. Concerning the first, he does three things. First, he foretells the blinding, setting out those things which confused the judgment of their reason: be astonished, from consideration of the guilt of the wicked or of their punishment: be astonished, O you heavens, at this, and you gates thereof, be very desolate (Jer 2:12); and wonder, from consideration of great things: wonderful are your works (Ps 138[139]:14); waver, from uncertainty in choosing: for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind (Jas 1:6); stagger, from inconstancy of intention: your hands have confirmed them that were staggering (Job 4:4); be drunk, from anxiety of sorrows: drink you also, and fall fast asleep: the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall compass you (Hab 2:16).”

“Not to recognize sins lest penance follow is the wrath of God, as it is written: "And the Lord gave to them the spirit of a deep sleep," lest they actually return and be cured and be healed by their lamentations and just satisfactions after their sins.…The first degree of felicity is not to sin; the second, to recognize the sins committed. In the former, innocence runs upright and unimpaired to save; in the latter, there follows the remedy to cure. They have lost both of these by offending God.… Or do you think, brother, that crimes against God are light matters, small and of little moment, because through them the majesty of an offended God is not sought, because the wrath and fire and day of the Lord are not feared, because, with Antichrist at hand, the faith of a militant people is disarmed while vigor and the fear of Christ are taken away?”

“(Verse 10) For the Lord has mixed into you the spirit of deep sleep: he will close your eyes, your prophets and leaders who see visions he will cover. For the spirit of sleep, LXX, is interpreted as compunction: Theodotius, the passing away of the mind: Aquila, καταφορὰν, that is, a heavy sleep; which in Hebrew is called Thardema (), which Scripture commemorates as sent by God to Adam (Gen. II), when woman was made from the rib of his side. And Jonah snored in the same sleep on the ship (Jon. I). Therefore, know this, O scribes and Pharisees, who are the leaders of the Jews, that the Lord will render to you your recompense. For you, who have heard the Lord Savior, did not want to understand, and you closed your eyes so that you would not see him, and you weighed down your ears so that you would not hear. Therefore, he will also close your eyes, you who are the prophets through whom you saw the knowledge of God. Or he will close the eyes of your prophets, who are your leaders. For as the Law and the Prophets testified until John, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind, as it is written: They will hear the words of the book, even the deaf will hear, and the blind will see and rejoice. For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind, that is to say, the people of the nations who were blind, may see and contemplate the Lord.”

“For the Lord has poured upon you, etc. (נָסַךְ) an expression of mixing wine. Comp. (Prov. 9: 2) “She mixed (מָסְכָה) her wine.” It may also be an expression of princedom (נְסִיכוּת). He caused a spirit of deep sleep to overcome you, (lit., to rule over you). Concerning the transgressors of Israel he was prophesying, for they were stargazers and were experts in adjuring the heavenly princes, each one with the proper name for adjuring him. Therefore, they say, “Who will encamp upon us (Jer. 21:13)? If the enemy comes upon us, we can make for it a wall of fire around, ([Most manuscripts read:] If the enemy comes upon the city, we can make for it a wall of fire around,) or surround it with the Great Sea.” Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I will change the heavenly princes; the one appointed over fire, is appointed over water. When he adjures the prince of fire to bring him fire, he will reply, “This is not mine,” And, likewise, the prince of water. And even the name by which you adjure him, he does not recognize. This is the closing of the eyes and the covering of the heads of the stargazers.”

“And that the things spoken of old by the law and the prophets were all sealed, and that they were unknown to people, Isaiah declares when he says, "And they will deliver the book that is sealed to one that is learned, and will say to him, 'Read this;' and he will say, 'I cannot read it, for it is sealed.' " It was right and necessary that the things spoken of old by the prophets should be sealed to the unbelieving Pharisees, who thought that they understood the letter of the law, and be opened to the believing. The things, therefore, which of old were sealed, are now by the grace of God the Lord all open to the saints.”

“And clearly, if we hear negligently, if we bring no zeal to learning and understanding, not only are the Scriptures of the law and prophets but also of the apostles and Gospels covered for us with a great veil. I fear, however, lest by too much negligence and dullness of heart the divine volumes are not only veiled to us but also sealed, so that "if a book should be put into the hand of a man who cannot read to be read, he would say, 'I cannot read'; if it should be put into the hands of a man who can read, he would say, 'It is sealed.' " Whence it is shown that we must not only employ zeal to learn the sacred literature, but we must also pray to the Lord and entreat "day and night" that the Lamb "of the tribe of Judah" may come and himself taking "the sealed book" may deign to open it. For it is he who "opening the Scriptures" kindles the hearts of the disciples so that they say, "Was not our heart burning within us when he opened to us the Scriptures?"”

“Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries. The sea is deep, nor can a man wade across it: so great is the profundity of the mysteries of sacred Scripture that, however illuminated a man may be and however great his industry, he cannot attain to their depth. Hence Isaiah says: "The vision of all things shall be to you as the words of a sealed book, which when they give to one who knows letters, they will say: Read this; and he will answer: I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book shall be given to one who does not know letters, and it shall be said to him: Read; and he will answer: I do not know letters." Neither the learned nor the unlearned will be able to read it. Who then will read it? I say that he who wishes to enter the sanctuary of God with pride will not be able to, even if he is learned; similarly, if a learned man wishes to enter, he would be foolish. It is necessary, therefore, that one have both learning and the spirit.”

“Third, he sets out the effect of the blinding, for they will not understand the book of the Sacred Scriptures and the visions of all the prophets: and the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed: and I saw, in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book, sealed with seven seals (Rev 5:1).”

“And if the book is given And when they take it from him and open its seal and give it to one who does not understand the language of the letter, and they say to him, “now read this,” he will say, “I cannot read.” Similarly, when you adjure the prince of fire, he will say, “I cannot, for the matter is sealed from me,” and when you adjure his colleague, he will say, “I do not recognize this name, by which you adjure me, for this is not my name.” This is what Jeremiah said (Jer. 21:4): “Behold I will turn around my implements of war that are in your hands.” This refers to the Explicit Name. In Midrash Tehillim (36:5).”

“Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it. For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." [Isaiah 29:13] And again: "They bless with their mouth, but curse with their heart." [Psalm 62:4] And again it saith, "They loved Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue; but their heart was not right with Him, neither were they faithful in His covenant." [Psalm 78:36-37] "Let the deceitful lips become silent," [and "let the Lord destroy all the lying lips, ] and the boastful tongue of those who have said, Let us magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, and for the sighing of the needy, will I now arise, saith the Lord: I will place him in safety; I will deal confidently with him." [Psalm 12:3-5]”

“What is this obstinacy or what is this presumption to place human tradition before the divine plan and not to notice that God is offended and angered as often as human tradition subverts and disregards the divine precepts? He cries and says through Isaiah, the prophet, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far separated from me. In vain, moreover, they honor me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men."”

“Because this people has come near Jonathan renders: Because this people has aggrandized itself. I.e., they have come near to raise themselves up to the heavens. They show themselves as though honoring Me with mouth and lip, but their heart they have drawn far away from Me. and their fear of Me has become not wholehearted, but by the command of the people who teach them, they show themselves as humbled before Him in order to entice Him with your mouth.”

“660. And the Lord said. Here he sets out the cause of the blinding, namely, their own sins; and first, in the affections; second, in the intellect: woe to you that are deep of heart (Isa 29:15). Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he sets out the fault of contempt of the divine: but their heart is far from me, for they cloak it with their words, with their lips; with human observances: and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men: you are near in their mouth, and far from their reins (Jer 12:2); you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition (Matt 15:6).”

“Philosophers also declare that they pursue this virtue, but their patience is as false as is their wisdom, for how can anyone be either wise or patient unless he knows the wisdom and patience of God? For he himself warns and states concerning those who think that they are wise in this world: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject." … Therefore, if their wisdom is not true, their patience cannot be true either. For if that man who is humble and meek is patient, and yet we see that the philosophers are not humble or meek but very pleasing to themselves, and displeasing to God by the very fact that they are pleasing to themselves, it is evident that patience is not found where there is the arrogant boldness of an affected freedom and the shameless boasting of the proud and half-naked breast.”

“Therefore, I will continue I am He Who will continue to perform additional obscurity upon obscurity, concealment upon concealment, sealing upon sealing. And what is this obscurity upon obscurity? And the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost. The taking away of the sages of Israel is twice as hard as the destruction of the Temple and all the curses in Deuteronomy, for all of them are only one obscurity, as it is said (Deut. 28:59): “And the Lord shall make your plagues obscure (וְהִפְלָא),” whereas here are two obscurities.”

“הנני יוסיף Behold I will proceed, comp. ונשאר אני and I am left (Ez. 9:8); אמלל אני I am withering (Ps. 6:3); אמלל is the third person past, because of the Pathah under ל. Some explain יוסיף to be a participle like תומיך supporting (Ps. 16:5). להפליא את העם הזח הפלא ופלא To be very embarrassing to this people, that they shall not understand, that the wisdom of the wise shall be lost, etc. Others explain this phrase thus: To do a marvellous work among this people; comp. עשה פלא who performs wonders (Ex. 15:11). I explain it in the following way: To do to this people a wonderful thing like this.”

“He forgets the words of the Educator: "Every man that passes beyond his own bed, who says in his soul: Who sees me? Darkness compasses me about, and the walls cover me, and no man sees my sins: whom do I fear? The Most High will not remember." Such a person is most wretched, for he fears only the human observation and thinks to hide from God. "He does not know," Scripture continues, "that the eyes of the Most High Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men and looking into the most hidden parts." Another time, the Educator gives warning through Isaiah: "Woe to you who made your counsel in secret and say: Who sees us?" A light that can be seen by the senses may pass unnoticed, but that which illumines the mind cannot be ignored.”

“(Vers. 15, 16.) Woe to those who are deep in heart, who hide their counsel from the Lord. Their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us, and who knows us? Your thoughts are perverse, as if clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to its maker: You did not make me; and the thing formed should say to its former: You do not understand. LXX: Woe to those who make deep counsel, and their works are in darkness, and they say: Who sees us? Who will know us and what we do? Will we not be regarded as clay in the potter's hands? Will the work say to the one who made it, 'You did not make me wisely,' or the creation to its creator, 'You did not make me?' Against those of whom he spoke before, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and reject the intelligence of the intelligent. As the prophet writes, I will hide it away. Now even the word of God is directed towards those who are wise in themselves and prudent in his sight. From these things it can be very well understood: 'They have failed examining with examination' (Psalm 63); since it is written about the wisdom of God: 'For if someone is perfect in the sons of men without your wisdom, he will be considered as nothing' (Wisdom 3). Those who believe that God is unaware of their plans because their works are in darkness, say: 'Who sees us? And who knows us?' But this is also said by the wise of this world, and by the masters of heretics, and by the Pharisees of the Jews, because no one understands them; not remembering what is said to God: 'Darkness will not obscure you, and the night will be illuminated like day' (Psalm 138, 12). And as his darkness, so also his light (Genesis 3). Deceived by this error, Adam and Eve, upon hearing the sound of footsteps walking in the paradise of God, hid themselves under the tree in which was the knowledge of good and evil; and Cain also, saying: If you cast me out today from your presence, I will hide (Genesis 4, 14), thought foolishly that God was ignorant. And through Amos, it is said of the wicked and sinners: If they hide themselves from my eyes in the depths of the sea: there I will command the serpent and it will bite them (Amos 9, 3). Even if someone is wise and of fervent genius, if they do not have God's wisdom and teaching, let us say of them: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the one who guards it stays awake in vain (Psalm 127:1-2). Let us make ourselves similar: Unless the Lord assists knowledge, the one who thinks themselves wise labors in vain. Unless the Lord keeps our hearts in every watch, the one who thinks it can be kept by their diligence stays awake in vain. He says, 'Your thinking is perverse, to think that the Creator does not know what He has made, and that the Creator is ignorant of His creation, as if clay were to say to the potter and to its maker, 'You did not make me,' or 'You did not make me well,' and you do not understand your own creation.' The Apostle also uses this testimony in other words to refute the slander of humans and to discuss the deep knowledge of God with the Romans: 'O man, who are you to answer back to God?' Does the thing formed say to its creator, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:20-21). In all these things, the following rule is always to be observed: that the Evangelists and Apostles may without harm to the sense be translated into Greek from Hebrew, as it seems best to them.”

“661. Woe to you that are deep of heart. Here he sets out their sin on the part of the intellect, for they did not believe in the providence of God, that he knew what happens among us. And concerning this, he does two things. First, the devising of error is set out, and they said this was hidden from God because of the depth of their heart, where they handled their wicked counsels; hence he says: woe to you that are deep of heart: the heart is deep above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it? (Jer 17:9); and because of the darkness of the places in which they carried out wicked deeds; hence he says: their works are in the dark: every one that doth evil hates the light (John 3:20); say not: I shall be hidden from God (Sir 16:16).”

“If a man seems more comely to look upon than clay, this difference was not produced by a change of nature but by the wisdom of the craftsman. Why? Because you are no different from the clay. If you refuse to believe this, let the coffins and the cinerary urn convince you. And you will know that this is the truth if you have gone to visit the tombs of your forebearers. Therefore there is no difference between the clay and the potter.”

“Scripture says to Pharaoh, "To this purpose have I raised you that I may show my power in you; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." Then, making a conclusion to both passages, he says, "Therefore he has mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardens." Obviously he treats neither of these with injustice but both with mercy and truth; in spite of that there is an uprising of insolent weakness on the part of those who attempt to comprehend the unsearchable depth of the judgment of God according to the interpretations of the human heart. The apostle refutes this view when he says, "You will say therefore to me: Why does he then find fault? For who resists his will?" Let us imagine this as said to us. What other answer should we make than the one he made? If such ideas disturb us also because we, too, are human, we all have need to listen to the apostle saying, "O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it: Why have you made me thus? Or has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, another unto dishonor?" If this lump of clay were of such indifferent value that it deserved nothing good any more than it deserved anything evil, there would be reason to see injustice in making of it a vessel unto dishonor. But when, through the free will of the first man alone, condemnation extended to the whole lump of clay, undoubtedly if vessels are made of it unto honor, it is not a question of justice not forestalling grace, but of God's mercy. If, however, vessels are made of it unto dishonor, it is to be attributed to the judgment of God, not to his injustice—far be from us the thought that there could be any such with God! Whoever is wise in this matter with the Catholic church does not argue against grace in favor of merit, but he sings mercy and judgment to the Lord, that he may not ungratefully deny his mercy or unjustly upbraid his judgment.”

“Shall your perversion be regarded like the potter’s clay (Heb. הָפְכְּכֶם) Your perversions. Do you know this, that it is like the potter’s clay? Just as the clay cannot say of its maker, “He did not make me,” so you cannot say that I do not understand your deeds. Shall...like the potter’s clay, etc. This is an expression of a question, but there are questions to be answered in the affirmative. of him who made it (לְעֹשֵׂהוּ, lit. to him who made it.) Like עַל עֹשֵׂהוּ. Comp. (Ex. 14:3) “And Pharaoh shall say of the children of Israel (וְלִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל).” (Jud. 9:54) “Lest they say of me (לִי), ‘A woman killed him.’” and the impulse say concerning the One Who formed it, “He does not understand”? Did he say concerning the One Who formed it, “He does not understand what is in my impulse”? Did He not build the hidden recesses, the inner chambers, and the thoughts?”

“662. Second, the just rebuke is set out, this thought of yours is perverse. You made me not, for God knows a thing in as much as he is its cause, below: woe to him that gainsays his maker (Isa 45:9), below: and now, O Lord, you are our father, and we are clay: and you are our maker, and we all are the works of your hands (Isa 64:8).”

“(Verse 17). Will not Lebanon soon become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest? Let the Jews and friends of simple history answer, those who seek fruit not on the tree, but only leaves and the shadow of words, which quickly wither and perish. How is it that in the coming of the Lord Savior (because from the time of Isaiah until the incarnation of the flesh, for the comparison of eternity, it is a short and small span of time) the mountain of Lebanon turned towards Phoenicia and moved to Mount Carmel? It is called in Hebrew Chermel, and it is near the border of Palestine and Phoenicia, overlooking Ptolemais: although another mountain in the holy scriptures is called Mount Carmel, where there was Nabal the Carmelite (1 Samuel 25), a foolish and wicked man, who had a wife named Abigail, who married David after her husband died; while her husband was alive, she could not marry David, so as not to be called an adulteress if she were associated with another man; and how is Carmel considered a desirable place and unfruitful trees? But since they are unable to express it, let them listen to Libanus, which means "whiteness", referring to the people of the Gentiles who, having been washed in the Lord and cleansed of their former filth, ascend as a whole world. They rely on the person of the Church as the bride of the Savior, and it is said about them in the Song of Songs: Who is this who comes up, shining white, leaning on her beloved? (Cant. VIII. 5) And let this people be transferred to Carmel, which means the knowledge of circumcision, so that they may recognize the mysteries of spiritual and true circumcision, and be in the place of the former people of the Jews. As for those who refuse to accept Christ, let them be considered as thorns and barren trees, which cannot praise the Lord with fruitful trees.”

“Note that [Paul] taught Greeks in Jerusalem, and Jews in Damascus which is a Gentile city, even though this should signify that Gentiles were to be included in the city of God and Jews were to fall into the faithlessness of the Gentiles, in accordance with what Isaiah said, "Lebanon shall be changed into Carmel, and Carmel shall be regarded as a wasteland."”

“Indeed, in a short time In a few days, it is easy in My eyes, if you return to Me the Lebanon shall be turned The Lebanon, which is a forest of trees, shall be turned into a ‘karmel,’ a settlement of fields and vineyards. and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest Jonathan renders: It shall be populated by large cities. And the Aggadah in Gen. Rabbah (24:1) explains it as forests of people, a settlement of cities and people, crowded and full, like this forest, which is full of trees.”

“663. Is it not yet a very little while? Here he foretells the conversion of the gentiles, and concerning this, he does three things. First, he foretells their conversion to grace: Libanus, a gentile people, for the mountain was in the land of the gentiles; into Carmel, into grace, which the Jews had through circumcision, because Carmel means "knowledge of circumcision"; as a forest, that is, as barrenness, which the gentiles were in before, below (Isa 32:15) has the same thing. 666. Or this may be otherwise explained as concerning the prosperity that was promised to them when Sennacherib or Nabuchodonosor were destroyed: Carmel shall be esteemed as a forest (Isa 29:17), that is, the fertility of the land of the promise will be such that the fertility of Carmel will be reckoned barrenness in comparison to it.”

“(Verse 18). On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. But when Lebanon is changed into Carmel, and Carmel into a forest, then those who were deaf and could not hear the words of the prophetic book (of which we have spoken before, that all Holy Scripture is called one book, as Ecclesiastes says: 'The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails fixed deep in, given by one Shepherd') will hear and speak, to whom the Savior will say: Ephphatha (which means, 'Be opened') (Mark 7). And that which we translate, the eyes of the blind shall see darkness and mist, the interpretation of which is easy; Aquila and Theodotion and Symmachus translated: The eyes of the blind shall see darkness and mist: to show the sacraments of Christ to the people of the nations, who were previously blind, according to what is said: Dark water in the clouds of the sky (Ps. 17, 12). And in the same psalm it is written about God: He set darkness as his hiding place (Ibid. 12). And in Proverbs we read: This wise person will be wiser by hearing these things and will have possession of prudent governance and will understand parables and dark sayings spoken by the wise and enigmas (Prov. I, 5, 6). Moreover, Moses, in order to understand and see God (Exod. XX), entered into a cloud and darkness, of which it is said in the Psalm: Darkness is under his feet (Ps. XVII, 10).”

“Neither was heaven created in any six-day period and the stars illuminated and the dry land separated from the water and the trees and vegetation planted. Rather, Scripture customarily uses "day" to denote an unspecified period of time, as the apostle did when he said, "Behold, this is the day of salvation." He was not referring to a particular day but to the entirety of the time of the present life in which we labor for eternal salvation. The prophet also spoke not of one specific day but of numerous moments of divine grace, saying, "In that day, the deaf will hear the words of this book." Moreover, it is difficult to understand how in one day God made heaven and earth and all the brush of the field and every plant of every region, unless we say that all creatures were created simultaneously in formless matter, according to which it is written: "He who lives forever created all things together."”

“(Verse 19). The meek will obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people will exult in the Holy One of Israel. But when the blind or those who are initiated into mystical matters have first beheld these things or have lifted up their eyes from blindness and darkness to see, so that true light may arise for those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, then the meek, of whom it is written: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matt. V, 4), whether they be the poor, of whom the leader says in the Psalms: This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him (Ps. XXXIII, 7); and he who judges the poor people and will save the children of the poor (Ps. XIII, 9), of whom it is said to the Jews: You have despised the counsel of the poor, they shall add joy in the Lord, so that he who glories, may glory in the Lord (II Cor. X); and poor men or those in despair and contempt by men, who did not have knowledge of the law before, will exult in the Holy One of Israel, who says: Be holy, for I am holy (Lev. XI, 44).”

“(Verse 20). For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off. And there is rejoicing for every downfall: for he who prevailed has fallen. The deceiver, or the arrogant and proud one, is brought to an end, who said: With my strength I will do it, and with my wisdom I will remove the boundaries of nations and destroy their strength; who deceived everyone to such an extent that even the holy one said: My loins are filled with deceits (Psalm 38:8). And all those who kept watch over wickedness have been cut off or destroyed, for their wicked vigilance does not cease: they caused the whole human race to sin by blaspheming the Word of God and placing their mouths in heaven.”

“664. Second, he indicates the occasion or the reason of their conversion: from the fall of the devil: for he that did prevail, by power, has failed, the scorner, the deceiver by cunning, above: the wretch is consumed: he has failed, that trod the earth under foot (Isa 16:4); from the blindness of the Jewish people, that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in (Rom 11:25). They are cut off that watched: zeal to do evil: for they sleep not, except they have done evil (Prov 4:16). 666. Or this may be otherwise explained as concerning the prosperity that was promised to them when Sennacherib or Nabuchodonosor were destroyed: the scorner (Isa 29:20), Sennacherib or Nabuchodonosor.”

“(Verse 21). Why do people sin in words and overthrow the one who argues at the gate? And they turned away in vain from the just. But the demons, themselves wicked, made all men sin in speech, blaspheming with various teachings, and they would overthrow the one reproaching in the gate and in judgment as much as they could, and they made him turn away from righteousness, who was in the gates of the daughter of Zion, exalted from the gates of death; and he rebuked those who hated him in the gates. These things we understand concerning the devil and his angels, the Nazarenes consider them to be spoken against the scribes and Pharisees, because they failed in their second attempt, who before mocked the people with their wicked traditions; and they watched day and night to deceive the simple, who made men sin against the Word of God, to deny Christ the Son of God.”

“Those who cause man to sin by a word They are the false prophets. and him who reproves in the gate they trap (יְקשׁוּן. Jonathan renders:) And for the one who reproves them, they seek for him a stumblingblock. (יְקשׁוּן is) an expression related to מוֹקֵשׁ, a trap. and they mislead the righteous through fraud And they pervert with fraud the cause of the just [from Jonathan].”

“מחטיאי אדם בדבר That make a man an offender for a word, that watch the words of man, and accuse him, in order to see him punished; or that cause others to sin by their words. יקושון They lay a snare. Comp. מוקש snare (Deut. 7:16). R. Moses Hakkohen explains יקושון they rebuke, comparing it with התקששו וקשו be rebuked and rebuke (Zeph. 2:1), and says that the ש ought to have a Dagesh.”

“That made men sin, by wicked example and teaching; that reproved them in the gate, as to contempt of instruction: they have hated him that rebukes in the gate (Amos 5:10); and declined in vain from the just, as to the vanity of sin, for that is vain, which fails to attain its end: what has pride profited us? Or what advantage has the boasting of riches brought us? (Wis 5:8).”

“(Verses 22-23) Therefore, the Lord says to the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham: Jacob will not only be ashamed, but his face will also turn red. But when he sees his children, the works of my hands, in their midst sanctifying my name, they will sanctify the Holy Jacob, and they will proclaim the God of Israel. (LXX: Therefore, the Lord says about the house of Jacob, whom he overcame from Abraham: Jacob will not only be ashamed, but his face will not change now; but when he sees his children, my works, they will sanctify my name because of me, and they will sanctify the Holy Jacob, and they will fear the God of Israel.) When the deaf hear, says he, the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind see: the Lebanus has been turned into Charmel, and Charmel is regarded as a forest, so that the meek and the poor rejoice in the Lord, and the proud and the scoffers are overcome: then Jacob, who now is not yet ashamed, will be put to shame. But this refers to the times of Isaiah. And his face will blush, so that blushing and confusion may be the occasion of salvation, especially when he sees his sons, that is, the Apostles and apostolic men, who were from the race of the Jews, performing miracles in the midst of the nations of the Lord, and preaching the name of Christ to the Gentiles, and saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name (Matt. 6:9). For they shall sanctify the Holy One who was born of Jacob, and they shall teach the God of Israel among the nations, so that, the idols being abandoned, they may say: how false were the idols that our fathers possessed, and there is no power in them. What we have translated in the beginning of the chapter according to the Hebrew: This is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, who once redeemed Abraham, and brought him out from the Chaldeans, and led him into the promised land (Gen. XI), is clearly evident. However, what the Seventy translated: This is what the Lord says about the house of Jacob, which he separated from Abraham, can be understood as meaning that he has separated the Scribes and Pharisees, who blasphemed the Lord, from Abraham, who saw the day of the Lord and rejoiced (John VIII). For if they were the children of Abraham, they would do the works of Abraham. And the Apostle argues that those who have the likeness of the faith of Abraham, that is, the people of the Gentiles, who are called children of Abraham not by works but by faith (Hebrews XI).”

“For when he seeth his children, etc. For when he sees his children, and the good which I shall do to the pious, they—he and his children—shall sanctify my name. יעריצו They will cause others to fear the God of Israel, or they shall be afraid, intransitive. Having mentioned Jacob, the prophet says metaphorically, they will sanctify, etc. that is to say, if Jacob were alive and saw his pious children, and the wonders which God performed for their sake, he would join his children in sanctifying His name; for He was the holy one of Jacob.”

“His children, the Apostles. 666. Or this may be otherwise explained as concerning the prosperity that was promised to them when Sennacherib or Nabuchodonosor were destroyed: he shall see his children . . . sanctifying my name (Isa 29:23), the three children in the furnace of fire; or that their children will praise my name, because they themselves in their youth did not.”

“(Verse 24) And those who wander in spirit will gain understanding, and murmurers will learn the Law. (LXX: And those who wander in spirit will gain understanding, and murmurers will learn obedience, and those with stammering tongues will learn to speak peace.) And then those who now wander in spirit will understand the knowledge of God, and those who once murmured against the Lord in the wilderness will learn the Law, of which they previously had no knowledge. For if they had received Moses, they would have also received the Lord Jesus Christ, because Moses spoke of him.”