以賽亞書註釋 第 6 章

Chapter 6. And it came to pass in the year in which Uzziah the king died.

Why then does the prophet mark all other times by the life of the kings, but this one now by a death? For he did not say:

It came to pass in the days of Uzziah, nor, in the reign of Uzziah, but, It came to pass when he died.

Why then does he do this? Not simply, nor at random, but he is hinting to us at some hidden thing.

And what is this? This Uzziah, being drunk with the prosperity of what had befallen him and puffed up by his good fortune, thought more highly of himself than was fitting.

And since he was king, he supposed that it belonged to him also to perform the priest's office; and he burst into the temple and entered into the holy of holies, and when the priest hindered him and forbade him entrance thither, he would not endure it, but persisted in his madness, making little account of the priest.

On account of this shamelessness, God sent leprosy upon him, upon his forehead.

For while he wished to receive greater honor than he possessed, he fell also from that which he had.

For not only did he fail to obtain the priesthood, but having become unclean, he was cast out of the palace, and all the time he dwelt hidden in a certain house, unable to bear the shame.

And the whole people also shared together in such wrath, because they had disregarded the laws of God and had not avenged the priesthood that was being outraged.

How then did they share in the wrath? By the suspension of prophecy;

for God, being angry with them, made no answer to them about anything whatsoever.

But he did not do this forever; rather, by the measure of the king's life he also determined the measure of the punishment.

At all events, as soon as that man ended his life, God too ended his wrath and again opened the doors of prophecy.

Hinting at this, then, the prophet reminded us of the time of the king's death;

wherefore he thus begins the prophecy, saying:

It came to pass in the year in which Uzziah the king died, I saw the Lord seated.

And yet Christ says:

No one has ever seen God.

The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.

Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God;

And to Moses too He himself says:

No one shall see my face and live.

How then does this man say that he saw the Lord? For, I saw, he says, the Lord;

not speaking things contrary to those of Christ, but very much in harmony with them.

For Christ speaks of the exact comprehension, which no one has seen;

for the naked Godhead and the pure Essence no one has beheld, save the Only-begotten;

but the prophet declares that which it was possible for him to see.

For not even he was able to see God as He is, but he beholds Him in a fashioned form, and having descended just so far as the weakness of the beholder was able to rise.

That neither he himself nor anyone else saw the Godhead is plain from the very things which they declare.

For, I saw, he says, the Lord seated.

for the fashioning of a form belongs to bodies.

Not merely seated, but Upon a throne.

But God is not contained, <nor is He encompassed>;

for how could He be, who is present everywhere and fills all things, in whose hand are the ends of the earth? Whence it is clear that what was seen was a condescension.

So indeed another prophet, hinting at this, said in the person of God:

I multiplied visions—that is, I appeared in diverse ways.

But if the Essence itself appeared naked, it would not have appeared in diverse ways;

but since, condescending, He showed Himself to the prophets now in this manner, now in that, fashioning the appearances in accordance with the seasons that lay before them, therefore he says:

I multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets I was likened.

Not as I was did I appear, he says, but I was likened to that which those who beheld were able to see.

You see Him, then, now seated, now armed, now having hoary hair, now in a breeze, now in fire, now appearing from behind, now upon the Cherubim, and having His appearance portrayed after the brightness of the most translucent of metallic substances.

Now for what reason He appears now armed and blood-stained, now in fire, now showing His back parts, now in heaven, now upon a throne, now upon the Cherubim—this would not be the proper occasion to say, lest the digression become greater than the work itself.

For the present, however, it is necessary to discourse concerning the vision at hand.

For what reason, then, does He now appear thus, seated upon a throne and with the Seraphim? He imitates human custom, since His discourse was directed to men.

For since He is about to pronounce sentence concerning matters of the greatest moment and concerning the whole inhabited world, and moreover concerning Jerusalem, He also sets down a twofold verdict: the one bringing chastisement upon the city and upon the whole nation, the other bringing benefaction upon the inhabited world and promising great hopes and immortal honors.

Now it is the custom of those who sit in judgment to do these things not in secret, but seated upon a lofty tribunal, with all standing by and the curtains drawn aside [to do this].

Imitating these, He too set the Seraphim in attendance beside Himself, and sits upon a lofty throne, and thus pronounces this sentence.

And that you may learn that the matter is not a mere conjecture but a habitual practice with him, I shall endeavor to make this plain from another prophet as well.

For in the case of Daniel also—since there too he was about to bring forth a certain great verdict concerning the punishments and chastisements of the Jews and concerning the good things that were to be given to the whole world—there likewise appears a throne bright and resplendent, and a host of angels standing by, and nations of archangels, and the Only-begotten seated with them, and books are opened, and rivers of fire are drawn forth, and on every side the form of a tribunal is set up.

And all those things are akin to what is here spoken; or rather that prophet declares them even more clearly, inasmuch as the times were drawing nearer and the prophecy was now arriving, as it were, at the very doors.

But leaving these matters to the diligent, to gather and compare them and to learn the common bond of both prophecies, let us, as I said, take up the passage before us with exactness, expounding each utterance as far as is possible.

For in this way what has been said will become clearer both to us and to you.

What then does he say? 'I saw the Lord seated.'

To be seated upon a throne is always a symbol of judgment, as David says:

'Thou hast sat upon the throne, Thou that judgest righteousness';

'Thrones were set, and the tribunal took its seat.'

But to be seated simply, the prophet says, is a symbol of something else.

Of what, then, is this? Of that which is firm, abiding, established, unchangeable, unending—of life without limit.

'Thou art seated forever, and we are perishing forever.'

'Thou,' he says, 'abiding, existing, living, ever being the same.'

For that he was not speaking about a mere sitting posture, the contrast made clear.

For he did not say, 'We stand,'

'and Thou art seated,' but 'Thou art seated, and we are perishing.'

But to be seated upon a throne is to judge.

For this reason he sees Him thus seated 'upon a throne high and lifted up'—or else this signifies one thing, and that another.

For indeed the throne was high, that is, great and exceedingly lofty;

and lifted up, that is, appearing in an unspeakable height and raised on high.

'And the house was full of His glory.'

For since He was giving oracles from thence, He fittingly appears there also seated in this marvelous vision.

And by 'glory' he here means splendor, an ineffable light;

which, being unable to interpret in words, he called glory—and not simply glory, but the glory of God.

'And the Seraphim stood round about Him.'

Which are these Seraphim of which he speaks? Incorporeal powers of the hosts above, whose virtue and blessedness one may perceive even from their very name.

For in the tongue of the Hebrews 'Seraphim' is interpreted 'fiery mouths.'

What, then, do we learn from this? The purity of their essence, their sleeplessness, their alertness, their keenness, their energetic activity, their spotlessness.

So indeed the prophet David also, wishing to show us the unhindered ministry of the powers above and the swiftness and exceeding energy of their service, said:

'Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire';

showing us their swiftness, their lightness, their vigor by means of these elements.

Such also are these powers, praising the Master with pure mouths, having this as their unceasing work, offering up hymns of praise, an unbroken ministry.

And their dignity is shown also by their being near the throne.

For just as, in the case of earthly kings, those who are in greater dignities stand beside the royal throne itself,

so indeed these powers too, on account of their surpassing virtue, encircle the throne above, enjoying that ineffable blessedness continually, and delighting in the blessed lot of this ministry.

'Six wings to the one, and six wings to the one.'

'And with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they did fly.'

'And they cried one to another, and said:'

'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Sabaoth.'

'The whole earth is full of His glory.'

What do these wings mean to us, and what do the pinions signify to us? For surely there are not wings upon those incorporeal powers;

but rather, through cruder images the prophet intimates to us certain ineffable things, condescending indeed to the weakness of those who then listened, yet through that condescension nonetheless indicating to us with exactness thoughts that surpass all understanding.

What, then, do the wings intimate? The loftiness and sublimity of these powers.

So too Gabriel is seen flying and descending from the heavens, that you may learn his swiftness and lightness.

And why do you marvel if he has used these expressions concerning the ministering powers, when even concerning the God of all things He did not decline to employ this same condescension? For, wishing to show either His incorporeality or the swiftness of His presence everywhere, David says:

'Who walketh upon the wings of the winds.'

And yet the winds have no wings, nor does He Himself walk upon wings.

For how could He who is present everywhere? But, as I said before, condescending to the weakness of the hearers, he raised up their understanding from the things within their reach.

And again, wishing to indicate His succor and the security that comes from it, he uses the same expressions, saying thus:

'In the shelter of Thy wings Thou wilt shelter me.'

Here, however, the prophet intimates to us by these wings not only the sublimity and lightness, but also something else that is fearful.

For he shows that, even if what was seen was a condescension—as indeed it was—not even the powers above were able to advance up to this measure.

For their covering of their feet and their faces and their backs was the act of those who were astonished, trembling [at the lightning], not enduring the lightning that leaped forth from the throne.

As with a kind of wall, by the outstretching of their wings they overshadowed their own countenances;

and just as we are wont to experience, when thunder crashes or lightning flashes, bowing ourselves to the ground, this very thing did those powers also experience.

But if the Seraphim, those great and marvelous powers, were not able to behold God seated, and seated upon a throne, without fear, but even covered their faces and their feet, what word could set forth the madness of those who claim to know God Himself clearly and who pry into that undefiled essence? 'With two they did fly and they cried.'

They did fly—and what does this mean to signify? That they are continually about God and do not depart from Him, but this is their very way of life: continually to sing to Him, perpetually to praise the One who made them.

It is not 'they cried out' but 'they were crying'—that is, they have this as their continual work.

'One to another, and they said:'

This shows their all-harmonious concord and their praise offered with great unanimity.

This hymn is not only praise, but also a prophecy of the good things that were to lay hold of the whole world, and an exactness of doctrines.

And for what reason did they not say it once and fall silent, nor a second time and stop, but a third time and added it? Is it not plain that they did this because they were referring the hymn to the Trinity? For this very reason John says it was spoken concerning the Son, Luke concerning the Spirit, and the prophets concerning the Father.

And what follows also makes this thought manifest to us.

For after the hymn they added:

'The whole earth is full of His glory'—which was a matter of exact prophecy;

they proclaim beforehand the knowledge that was to come, through which the whole world was filled with the glory of God;

whereas of old, and at the very time when these things were being spoken, not only the rest of the world, but even the very land of Judea itself was filled with much impiety, and no one anywhere glorified God.

And the prophet himself is a witness, saying that 'Because of you My name is blasphemed among the nations.'

When, then, did the earth become full of His glory? When this hymn was brought down to the earth, and men below became fellow-choristers with the powers above, and raised up one melody, and made the praise common.

But if the Jew acts shamelessly in the face of these things, let him show when the whole earth became full of His glory that comes from this knowledge. Yet he could never show it, even if he should be shameless ten thousand times over.

And the lintel was lifted up at the voice with which they cried out.

Do you see the ease of prophecy, how the events hold fast to one another? For after this hymn and after the earth was filled with His glory, all the Jewish things came to an end—which very thing He also indicated through the lifting up of the lintel.

For this was the sign of desolation and of the overthrow of the temple;

and when the temple was made to vanish, all the rest was dissolved along with it.

And that you may learn that the New brought the Old to an end—

'At the voice,' he says, 'the lintel was lifted up';

that is, from the coming of this doxology and the shining forth of grace, and the pouring out of the glory everywhere throughout the inhabited world, the things of the shadow were put away.

And the house was filled with smoke.

To me this too seems to be a sign of the capture that was to seize them, and of the barbarian fire and the most grievous conflagration.

Woe is me, wretched that I am, for I am pierced to the heart, because being a man and having unclean lips, and dwelling in the midst of a people that has unclean lips, I have seen the Lord of Hosts with my own eyes.

The vision astounded the prophet, roused him up, cast him into great fear, moved him to confession, and prepared him to recognize more exactly the meanness of his own nature.

For such are all the saints;

whenever they enjoy a greater honor, then they humble themselves the more.

Thus also Abraham, conversing with God, called himself dust and ashes;

thus also Paul, when he was accounted worthy of that vision, then named himself an untimely birth;

thus indeed this one too first bewails himself on account of his nature, saying:

Woe is me, wretched that I am, for I am pierced to the heart, because I am a man;

and on account of his purpose: 'And having unclean lips.'

He called his lips unclean, as I for my part suppose, in comparison with those fiery mouths of the pure powers, and with that most exact ministry of theirs.

And he did not even stop here, but confesses on behalf of the whole people as well, adding and saying:

In the midst of a people that has unclean lips I dwell.

And for what reason does he here bring a charge against the lips? To show their lack of freedom to speak.

Since the three young men too said almost this very thing, when they were in the furnace:

It is not permitted us to open our mouth.

And now, since it was a time for hymn-singing and praise, and he saw the powers above doing this, with good reason he turns his discourse to the lips, which are above all called to such a ministry.

But his own lips he called unclean for this reason, whereas the people's not so, but because they were filled with much lawlessness.

And I saw the King, the Lord, with my own eyes.

For this reason I groan and lament, he says, because I, who am unworthy, have been accounted worthy of so great an honor that surpasses my desert and rises above my nature.

'I saw'—do not think it an exact comprehension, but such as was possible for him.

And consider how great is the gain of confession.

He accused himself and was straightway cleansed.

For when he had spoken these words:

'There was sent to me,' he says, 'one of the Seraphim, and in his hand he had a coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.'

And he touched my mouth and said:

Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away your iniquities and thoroughly purge your sins.

Some indeed say that these things are symbols of the mysteries that were to come: the altar, the fire lying upon it, the ministering power, the giving into the mouth, the cleansing away of sins;

but we for the present hold to the literal narrative and say for what reason this came to pass.

He is about to be sent to the Jewish people, announcing certain fearful and unbearable things.

The Seraphim, therefore, are sent, so as to deliver him from fear and to fill him with boldness.

And that he might not put forward excuses—as Moses, saying he was slow of speech, and Jeremiah, that he was too young—so this one too, that he had unclean lips and was unable to minister to the things spoken, the Seraphim comes cleansing away his sins, not by its own power (for this belongs to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit alone), but by the command and the giving of the coals.

It does not say 'Behold, I take away,' but 'Behold, this takes away your iniquities and will thoroughly purge your sins,' by the command of the One who sent it.

And for what reason did the Seraphim take the coal with the tongs? For surely the incorporeal power was not going to be burned up by the coals.

For what reason then did these things come to pass? By reason of much condescension.

For this very reason he also takes it from the altar, where the sacrifices were offered and the purifications of sins.

How was the prophet's mouth not burned up? Most of all, indeed, what appeared was not even a perceptible fire;

and besides, whenever God works something, do not busy yourself over it nor be overly curious.

For indeed, when active and perceptible fire came into contact with bodies, it did not display the properties of fire.

But if, where there were twigs and pitch, the flame forgot its own nature, why do you marvel if now, when so great a wonder was wrought, this fire cleansed but did not burn? And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? Do you see how much the vision accomplished, how much the fear set right? And yet indeed something of this kind happened also in the case of Moses;

for even though no Seraphim appeared, nor did He Himself sit upon a throne, yet nevertheless another marvelous sight was then shown to the prophet, and such a one that no one could look back upon what appeared.

For the bush was burning, it says, and was not consumed.

But nevertheless, even after those things and the great exhortation of God, the great Moses draws back and makes excuses and devises countless pretexts for begging off, saying:

I am slow of speech and slow of tongue; and:

Appoint another whom You will send.

And Jeremiah too puts forward his age;

when commanded, he lingers seven days about the river, drawing back and hesitating.

Wherefore God also added that parable, saying:

I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel;

and that: 'I will require their soul at your hand.'

But Jonah not only begged off, but even fled.

What then? Was Isaiah more daring than all, even than the great Moses? And who would say this? Whence then was it that the one, being commanded, drew back, while this one, not openly commanded, leapt in? For He did not even say:

'Whom shall I send?'—he had seized upon the command.

Now some indeed say that, since he had sinned in not reproving Uzziah when he presumptuously entered the sanctuary, wishing to make amends for that sin, he leapt forward quickly by his eagerness of obedience afterward, so as to propitiate God.

For on this account also he said that his lips were unclean, because of his lack of freedom to speak.

But I could not bear with those who say these things;

for more worthy of belief than they is Paul, who calls him bold and says:

But Isaiah is very bold and says.

For this very reason he did not end his life by the common law, as they say, but underwent a most grievous punishment, the Jews not enduring his boldness.

And apart from these things, Scripture nowhere says that he was present when the affairs concerning Uzziah took place, and being present kept silent; but those who say these things conjecture them from themselves and out of their own imagining.

What then is to be said? That the case of Moses was not equal, and this too.

For the one was sent into a foreign and barbarous land, and to a tyrant who was raging and frenzied;

but this one was sent to his own people, who had often heard many things and had been instructed over a long period of time;

and it did not require the same measure of courage to render obedience there as it did here.

But some say that yet another thing kindled in him this readiness of will.

For since he had made confession both on his own behalf and on behalf of the people, and had seen the Seraphim sent forth and cleansing his lips, he expected that these same things would befall the people also, and that he would go forth announcing them; and so he eagerly seized upon what was said.

For just as they were lovers of God, so also the saints were, above all men, tender-hearted in their affections.

Hoping, therefore, to announce some deliverance from their troubles, he sprang up quickly and says:

'Here am I; send me.'

And besides, he had a soul thoroughly arrayed and ready to face dangers;

and this character of his is manifest throughout the whole of his prophecy.

Since, then, he had promised to go, and did not thereafter dare to draw back, at that point he hears the grievous tidings.

For indeed God also dealt with him wisely.

'Go and speak' — but first making the command lie in suspense and the manner of the mission uncertain.

Since he had readily obeyed, He tells him the evils that were to overtake the Jews.

And what were these? 'Go,' He says, 'and say to this people:

You shall hear indeed with your hearing, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.'

'For the heart of this people has grown gross, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and they have closed their eyes; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I should heal them.'

These words, I think, do not even require interpretation, since those who accurately understood them have already anticipated us and expounded them — namely John, the son of thunder, and Paul, who knew both the old things and the new with precision.

For the one, addressing at Rome those who had indeed come together but then leaped away and would not endure what was said, declared in his public discourse:

'Well did the Holy Spirit say:

You shall hear indeed with your hearing, and shall not understand.'

But the son of thunder — since they saw miracles and yet did not believe, and heard the teachings and yet gave no heed (for Christ raised up Lazarus, and they set about to kill Him;

He was driving out demons, and they called Him one possessed by a demon;

He was leading men to the Father, and they named Him a deceiver and embraced opinions contrary to the truth) — makes mention of this prophecy, saying:

'Well did Isaiah the prophet say: You shall hear indeed with your hearing, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.'

For since the inward eyes of the understanding had been blinded, there was no benefit to them from their outward eyes,

the judgment-faculty of the mind being corrupted.

For this reason, seeing they did not see, and hearing they did not hear;

and he adds the cause, that it was not the senses that were corrupted, nor the nature that was maimed, but the heart that was blinded.

'For the heart of this people has grown gross,' he says;

and grossness of the understanding arises both from sins and from the desires of this life.

And Paul, expounding this grossness, said:

'I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to carnal;

for you were not yet able to bear it, nor indeed are you even now able.'

And he adds the cause, saying:

'For where there is among you strife and jealousy and dissensions, are you not carnal?' Since, then, those men too, being consumed with much envy and malice, and besieged by countless other passions, made the eye of their understanding gross, they could no longer see clearly.

Therefore they formed other opinions about the things they saw, and opposite ones.

Seeing all this, then, with precision, the prophet foretold beforehand also the cause of the malady.

But consider this for me: how, there being two prophecies, the one concerning the Church and the good things of the world the Seraphim received, saying:

'Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth; the whole earth is full of His glory';

but the one concerning the capture and the punishments of the Jews they left to the prophet, that from this also you might learn the pre-eminence of the Church.

'And I said, How long, O Lord?' Do you see how it was not in vain nor without reason that we surmised the prophet's obedience to have come about with much readiness of will? Since, then, he heard the opposite of what he expected — desolation, utter destruction — he asks at least to learn the measure of the punishment;

for He did not dare to snatch them away from the full weight of His wrath, because God had first shown them to be sinning in an unpardonable way.

For their bold deeds were not the result of being carried away, nor of a judgment merely led astray, but of a soul that made disobedience its work, and of a contentious mind that, as by some deliberate practice and zeal, set itself in opposition to the things commanded by God.

This, at any rate, is what he was hinting at when he said:

'Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I should heal them.'

'For as though fearing,' he says, 'lest at any time they should learn something of what they ought, so with much zeal they blinded their own understanding.'

Since, then, both the accusation was most grave and the punishment inexorable, he seeks to learn what remained — namely this;

but in the guise of learning he introduces a supplication.

And since he did not dare to make supplication openly even for this, on this account, under the pretext of inquiry, he devises a question, saying:

'How long, O Lord?' And He said:

'Until the cities be made desolate for want of inhabitants, and the houses for want of men;

and the land shall be left desolate.'

'And after these things God shall remove the men far off, and those that are left upon the land shall be multiplied; and yet upon it there is the Tithe.'

'And again it shall be for a spoil, like a terebinth and like an acorn, when it falls out of its socket.'

'A holy seed is the standing stock thereof.'

Having brought that prophecy to completion, he again leads the discourse back to the history, foretelling both the capture of the ten tribes and the long-suffering that was extended toward the two tribes on account of that captivity;

then also the deportation of these very tribes themselves, since they made no proper use of that long-suffering;

and the prosperity that would again be kindled for them out of the remnant.

'Until the cities be made desolate for want of inhabitants' — he hints at the captivity of the ten tribes.

For indeed they were all utterly wiped out, and with great violence, being carried off all together, they were borne away into a foreign land, so that all the cities stood empty of men, and the land desolate of those who tilled it for the benefit of those who should be left remaining.

'Until the cities be made desolate for want of inhabitants, and the houses for want of men' — then he speaks of the captivity as well.

But when He says, 'And after these things God shall remove the men far off,' He hints either at the complete well-being of all, or at the prosperity that came to the two tribes after the deportation of the ten.

And having had the enjoyment of victory over the barbarian army and the marvellous triumph, they again increased into a multitude and into length of days, no war troubling them.

And when He says 'shall remove far off,' He hints either at the multitude of the men or at the length of the years.

And that you may learn that He says these things concerning the two tribes, He added that 'Upon it there is the Tithe' — calling 'Tithe' that which is above the ten, the surplus beyond the ten, which were the two tribes.

Paul too has used this same expression, saying:

'To more than five hundred brethren' — that is to say, to those exceeding five hundred.

'And again it shall be for a spoil, like a terebinth' —

'And like an acorn, when it falls out of its socket.'

For just as that unpleasant fruit, once fallen from its casing, so also shall these be objects of mockery and reproach, having fallen from their city and having all been stripped bare of that former glory.

'The holy seed is its pillar.'

Yet the evils shall not be incurable, he says, nor without end; but its seed shall be holy, and a 'pillar' — that is, firm, fixed, immovable, awaiting the change of circumstances.

For they shall indeed fall from prosperity, yet they themselves shall not undergo utter destruction, but shall remain and stand firm, until they recover once more their former manner of life and return to their former holiness.