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But Paul shows us this through all his epistles; who did not even endure to see Christ before the salvation of men, saying thus: To depart and be with Christ is better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Such a character this prophet also preserves for us, both speaking the decrees of God with great boldness and rebuking those who sin and continually exhorting him who was provoked against them through long discourses; and this is especially to be seen toward the end of the prophecy, but for now it is necessary to begin with the introductions.

1.t CHAPTER 1.

1.1 The vision which Isaiah saw. He calls the prophecy a vision, either because he saw many of the things that would come to pass by sight itself; as Micah saw the people scattered; and Ezekiel the captivity and the transgression of those who worship the sun and Tammuz; or because the hearing of the prophets which came to them from God was in no way inferior to sight, but was equally convincing, which is not the case in worldly matters. For that they heard differently than other men, he says: He has given me an ear to hear. And he also makes the word trustworthy by calling it a vision, and he rouses the hearer and refers him to the one who showed the things. For it is the custom of all those who convey the things spoken from God, to establish this before all else, that they speak nothing of their own accord, but that the things spoken are certain divine oracles and letters come down from heaven. Thus David also says: My tongue is the pen of a ready scribe. Do not, then, think the letters are of the pen, but of the right hand that holds it, that is, not of the tongue of David, but of the grace that moves it. And another prophet, indicating this very thing, said that, I was a herdsman, he says, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit; so that no one might reckon the things spoken to be of human wisdom. And he was not content with this alone, but also added something else, saying: But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might. For grace made them not only wise, but also strong, not in the constitution of the body, but in the mind. For since they were dealing with a bold and shameless people, thirsting for the blood of prophets, and practicing the slaughter of saints, they reasonably needed great power, so as not to be overwhelmed by their unspeakable rush. For this very reason, he says to Jeremiah: I have made you like a pillar of iron and like a wall of bronze; and to Ezekiel: You dwell in the midst of scorpions, do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their presence. And Moses, when he was being sent, seems to me to have shrunk back not only from fear of Pharaoh, but especially from the people of the Jews themselves. At any rate, conversing with God and leaving the barbarian aside, with great earnestness he sought to learn what he should say to them if they disbelieved that he had come from God; and he received the signs for the sake of their opinion; and quite reasonably. For if one man so frightened him, and that after having been benefited, what was it likely he would suffer when considering that disorderly people? For this very reason, he received a Spirit not only of wisdom, but also of power, and said: I was filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might. And another again: The word of God came to Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah. And another again: The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. For he himself indicates the same thing as the former ones with another word, calling the possession of the Spirit a burden. For since, being taken by the Spirit, 1.1 they spoke thus what they spoke, he so named the operation of grace. For this reason Paul also places the name of apostleship everywhere at the beginning of his Epistles, which the prophets did through

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Παῦλος δὲ δι' ὅλων <καὶ πασῶν> τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἐνδείκνυται τῶν ἐπιστολῶν· ὃς οὐδὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἰδεῖν ἠνέσχετο πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίας, οὕτω λέγων· Τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι κρεῖσσον, τὸ δὲ ἐπιμεῖναι τῇ σαρκὶ ἀναγκαιότερον δι' ὑμᾶς. Τοιοῦτον καὶ οὗτος ἡμῖν διατηρεῖ τὸν χαρακτῆρα ὁ προφήτης, καὶ λέγων τὰς ἀποφάσεις τοῦ Θεοῦ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παρρησίας καὶ ἐπιτιμῶν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι καὶ παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν συνεχῶς καὶ διὰ μακρῶν τῶν λόγων παροξυνόμενον κατ' αὐτῶν· καὶ τοῦτο μάλιστα πρὸς τῷ τέλει τῆς προφητείας ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, τέως δὲ αὐτῶν ἀναγκαῖον ἄρξασθαι τῶν προοιμίων.

1.τ ΚΕΦΑΛ. Αʹ

1.1 Ὅρασις, ἣν εἶδεν Ἡσαΐας. Ὅρασιν καλεῖ τὴν προφητείαν, ἢ διὰ τὸ πολλὰ

τῶν ἐκβησομένων ἐπ' αὐτῆς ὁρᾷν τῆς ὄψεως· ὡς ὁ Μιχαίας εἶδε τὸν λαὸν ἐσπαρμένον· καὶ ὁ Ἰεζεκιὴλ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν καὶ τὴν παρανομίαν τῶν τὸν ἥλιον προσκυνούντων καὶ τὸν Θαμούζην· ἢ διὰ τὸ τὴν ἀκοὴν τῶν προφητῶν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γενομένην αὐτοῖς μηδὲν ἔλαττον ἔχειν τῆς ὄψεως, ἀλλ' ὁμοίως πληροφορεῖν, ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς βιωτικοῖς οὐκ ἔνι. Ὅτι γὰρ ἑτέρως ἤκουον παρὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, φησί· Προσέθηκέ μοι ὠτίον ἀκούειν. Ποιεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν λόγον ἀξιόπιστον, ὅρασιν εἰπών, καὶ ἀνίστησι τὸν ἀκροατὴν καὶ παραπέμπει πρὸς τὸν τὰ πράγματα δείξαντα. Ἔθος γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἅπασι τοῖς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ διαπορθμεύουσι τὰ λεγόμενα, τοῦτο πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων κατασκευάζειν, ὡς οὐδὲν οἴκοθεν φθέγγονται, ἀλλ' ὅτι θεῖοι χρησμοί τινές εἰσι τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ γράμματα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν καταβάντα. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ ∆αυΐδ φησιν· Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμματέως ὀξυγράφου. Μὴ τοίνυν τοῦ καλάμου νόμιζε εἶναι τὰ γράμματα, ἀλλὰ τῆς κατεχούσης αὐτὸν δεξιᾶς, τουτέστι, μὴ τῆς γλώττης τοῦ ∆αυΐδ, ἀλλὰ τῆς κινούσης αὐτὸν χάριτος. Καὶ ἕτερος δὲ προφήτης τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἐνδεικνύμενος ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Αἰπόλος ἤμην, φησί, συκάμινα κνίζων· ἵνα μὴ ἀνθρωπίνῃ σοφίᾳ τὰ λεγόμενά τις λογίσηται. Καὶ οὐδὲ τούτῳ ἠρκέσθη μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερόν τι προσέθηκεν εἰπών· Ἀλλὰ μὴν ἐγὼ ἐνεπλήσθην ἰσχύος ἐν Πνεύματι Κυρίου καὶ κρίματος καὶ δυναστείας. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον σοφοὺς αὐτοὺς ἡ χάρις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἰσχυροὺς ἠργάζετο, οὐ τῇ τοῦ σώματος κατασκευῇ, ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πρὸς δῆμον εἶχον ἰταμὸν καὶ ἀναίσχυντον, αἱμάτων διψῶντα προφητικῶν, καὶ σφαγαῖς ἁγίων ἐμμελετῶντα, εἰκότως πολλῆς ἐδέοντο τῆς δυνάμεως, ὥστε μὴ καταπλαγῆναι τὴν ἄφατον αὐτῶν ῥύμην. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο τῷ μὲν Ἱερεμίᾳ φησί· Τέθεικά σε ὡς στῦλον σιδηροῦν καὶ ὡς τεῖχος χαλκοῦν· τῷ δὲ Ἰεζεκιήλ· Ἐν μέσῳ σκορπίων σὺ κατοικεῖς, μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν, μηδὲ πτοηθῇς. Καὶ Μωϋσῆς δέ, ἡνίκα ἀπεστέλλετο, οὐχὶ τὸν Φαραὼ δεδοικὼς ἀναδύεσθαι μοι δοκεῖ μόνον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν μάλιστα τὸν δῆμον τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Τῷ γοῦν Θεῷ διαλεγόμενος καὶ τὸν βάρβαρον ἀφείς, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σπουδῆς μαθεῖν ἐζήτει, τί δεῖ πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰπεῖν ἀπιστοῦντας, ὅτι δὴ παρὰ Θεοῦ ἀφιγμένος εἴη· καὶ τὰ σημεῖα τῆς ἐκείνων ἕνεκεν ἐλάμβανε γνώμης· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Εἰ γὰρ εἷς αὐτὸν οὕτως ἐφόβησε καὶ ταῦτα εὐεργετηθείς, τί εἰκὸς ἦν αὐτὸν παθεῖν ἐννοοῦντα τὸν ἄτακτον δῆμον ἐκεῖνον; ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο οὐχὶ σοφίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δυνάμεως ἐλάμβανε Πνεῦμα, καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἐνεπλήσθην ἰσχύος ἐν Πνεύματι Κυρίου καὶ κρίματος καὶ δυναστείας. Καὶ ἕτερος δὲ πάλιν· Ῥῆμα Θεοῦ ἐγένετο πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν τὸν τοῦ Χελκίου. Καὶ ἕτερος δὲ πάλιν· Λῆμμα Νινευῆ. Βιβλίον ὁράσεως Ναοὺμ τοῦ Ἐλκεσαίου. Καὶ αὐτὸς γὰρ οὗτος ἑτέρῳ ῥήματι τὸ αὐτὸ τοῖς προτέροις ἐνδείκνυται, τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν κατοχὴν λῆμμα καλέσας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ λαμβανόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος 1.1 οὕτως ἔλεγον, ἅπερ ἔλεγον, τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς χάριτος οὕτως ὠνόμασε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ Παῦλος πανταχοῦ προτίθησι τῶν Ἐπιστολῶν τὸ τῆς ἀποστολῆς ὄνομα, ὅπερ οἱ προφῆται ἐποίουν διὰ