John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

of the Jews. For they said they did not need the protection fitting for women to be provided by men, but that he should release them from this service and be content and love it, if they might at least simply and in whatever way be freed from the name of widowhood. For this is: Take away our reproach; since in ancient times this seemed to be a reproach. And in that day God will shine forth in counsel with glory upon the earth, to exalt and to glorify the remnant of Israel. Since he had greatly shaken their mind with the threat of grievous things, and vividly dramatized the disaster and spun out a long account narrating the terrible things, he now changes to better things. For this is the method of the best medical treatment, not only to cut and to cauterize, but also to soothe the pains that arise therefrom with gentle remedies; this is what he himself does. For he said that the whole matter would not end in gloomy things, but that with the wicked taken from the midst, better things would follow; and there would not only be a release from unpleasant things, but also great distinction and great splendor. For he calls this the shining forth of God, which dispels the darkness of despondency and makes the day bright and renders them conspicuous. And as for: "In counsel," it means, he says, that he will do all things with understanding and with the wisdom that befits him. And the remnant of Israel shall be in Zion and the remnant in Jerusalem, all who are written for life in Jerusalem shall be called holy. So that you may learn that the salvation of those who escaped the danger was not a matter of chance, but, fortified by the decree from above, even though they were in the midst of terrible things, they were not captured, for this reason he says: All who are written for life in Jerusalem shall be called holy. Those who have been set apart, he says, those who have been tested, those who have been marked, to suffer nothing terrible. And he rightly calls them holy, showing that it was not simply the setting apart that delivered them, nor simply the decree of God; but the virtue of their character also contributed something, both before and after. For even if some were good and upright, nevertheless they became better and more exact because of what had happened. For just as gold, when given over to the fire, puts off every stain, so also the zealous become more zealous in temptations, washing away all indolence. For the Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion and will cleanse the blood of Jerusalem from their midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. Here he seems to me to speak of a twofold cleansing, both paying the penalty for their sins and becoming more zealous for the future from then on. And by "blood of Jerusalem" he means the murders, the unjust slaughters. Then, magnifying the charge, he says, "From their midst." For they did not dare to commit murders in secret and concealment, but worse than robbers and those who lie in wait on the highways. For the latter hide in the darkness and dare their usual deeds in deserted places; but these men committed their lawless acts in the middle of the marketplaces, in the middle of the city, in the very courts of justice. But the war, he says, coming upon them, will consume the stain that arose from there. For even in the time of good things, he makes an apology for the former grievous things, saying that those very events happened for this reason, that they might be washed, that they might be cleansed, that they might be refined by fire, that they might put off every stain, that they might wash away the reproach from their sins and slaughters. But what is it that he says: "By a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning?" He has persisted in the metaphor of materials being smelted. For just as there the draft falling into the furnace, fanning the flame and making the coals hotter, consumes all the filth; so also here the divinely-sent wrath and the attack of the enemies, having fallen upon them, has become for the city like a fire, a fire not destroying, but burning and cleansing, punishing and correcting. For: "By a spirit of judgment," that is, of punishment, of retribution, of vengeance. And the Lord will come, he says. He calls his activity a "coming." And every place of Mount Zion shall be

τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ προστασίας ἔφησαν δεῖσθαι τῆς ταῖς γυναιξὶ προσηκούσης ὑπὸ ἀνδρῶν παρέχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ἀτελῆ τῆς λειτουργίας αὐτὸν ἀφεῖναι ταύτης καὶ στέργειν καὶ ἀγαπᾶν, εἰ ἁπλῶς γοῦν καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε τοῦ τῆς χηρείας ἀπαλλάγειεν ὀνόματος. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν· Ἄφελε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν· ἐπειδὴ τὸ παλαιὸν ὄνειδος εἶναι τοῦτο ἐδόκει. Τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπιλάμψει ὁ Θεὸς ἐν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τοῦ ὑψῶσαι καὶ τοῦ δοξάσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα κατέσεισε τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν τῇ τῶν λυπηρῶν ἀπειλῇ, καὶ τὴν συμφορὰν ἐναργῶς ἐτραγῴδησε καὶ μακρὸν ἀπέτεινε λόγον τὰ φοβερὰ διηγούμενος, μεταβάλλει λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὰ χρηστότερα. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἰατρείας ἀρίστης τρόπος, μὴ τέμνειν μηδὲ καίειν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν γινομένας ὀδύνας προσηνέσι παραμυθεῖσθαι φαρμάκοις· τοῦτο δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ποιεῖ. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ εἰς τὰ σκυθρωπὰ καταλύσειν ἔφησε τὸ πᾶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ἐκ μέσου ληφθέντων διαδέχεσθαι τὰ χρηστότερα· καὶ οὐκ ἀπαλλαγὴν ἔσεσθαι μόνον τῶν ἀηδῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλὴν τὴν περιφάνειαν καὶ μεγάλην τὴν λαμπρότητα. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπίλαμψιν Θεοῦ καλεῖ, τὸ σκότος τῆς ἀθυμίας λύουσαν καὶ φαιδρὰν ποιοῦσαν ἡμέραν καὶ περιφανεῖς καθιστῶσαν. Τὸ δέ· Ἐν βουλῇ, ὅτι συνετῶς, φησί, πάντα ἐργάσεται καὶ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης αὐτῷ σοφίας. Καὶ ἔσται τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν Σιὼν καὶ τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἅγιοι κληθήσονται πάντες οἱ γραφέντες εἰς ζωὴν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐ συντυχίας τινὸς ἡ σωτηρία γέγονε τῶν διαφυγόντων τὸν κίνδυνον, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς ἄνωθεν ψήφου τειχισθέντες καὶ ἐν μέσοις τοῖς δεινοῖς ὄντες οὐχ ἑάλωσαν, διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Ἅγιοι κληθήσονται πάντες οἱ γραφέντες εἰς ζωὴν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. Οἱ ἀφορισθέντες, φησίν, οἱ δοκιμασθέντες, οἱ τυπωθέντες, μηδὲν παθεῖν δεινόν. Εἰκότως δὲ αὐτοὺς ἁγίους καλεῖ δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς ὁ ἀφορισμὸς αὐτοὺς ἀπήλλαξεν, οὐδὲ ἁπλῶς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ψῆφος· ἀλλά τι καὶ ἡ τῶν τρόπων εἰσήνεγκεν ἀρετή, ἥ τε προτέρα, ἥ τε μετὰ ταῦτα. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ χρηστοί τινες ἦσαν καὶ ἐπιεικεῖς, ἀλλ' ὅμως ὑπὸ τῶν συμβάντων βελτίους ἐγένοντο καὶ ἀκριβέστεροι. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ χρυσίον τῷ πυρὶ παραδιδόμενον πᾶσαν ἀποτίθεται κηλῖδα, οὕτω καὶ οἱ σπουδαῖοι σπουδαιότεροι καθίστανται ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς, πᾶσαν ἀπονιπτόμενοι ῥᾳθυμίαν. Ὅτι ἐκπλυνεῖ Κύριος τὸν ῥύπον τῶν υἱῶν καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων Σιὼν καὶ τὸ αἷμα Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐκκαθαριεῖ ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν πνεύματι κρίσεως καὶ πνεύματι καύσεως. ∆ιπλοῦν ἐνταῦθά μοι δοκεῖ λέγειν καθαρμὸν καὶ τὸ δοῦναι δίκην ὧν ἥμαρτον καὶ τὸ σπουδαιοτέρους γενέσθαι πρὸς τὸ μέλλον ἐντεῦθεν. Αἷμα δὲ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τοὺς φόνους λέγει τὰς σφαγὰς τὰς ἀδίκους. Εἶτα αὔξων τὸ ἔγκλημά φησιν, Ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ λανθάνοντες καὶ κρυπτόμενοι τὰς ἀνδροφονίας ἐτόλμων, ἀλλὰ τῶν λῃστῶν καὶ τῶν τὰς λεωφόρους ἐφεδρευόντων χεῖρον. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ καὶ τῷ σκότῳ κρυπτόμενοι καὶ ταῖς ἐρημίαις τολμῶσι τὰ εἰωθότα· οὗτοι δὲ ἐν μέσαις ταῖς ἀγοραῖς, ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλει, ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς δικαστηρίοις τὰ ἐκείνων παρηνόμουν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖθεν, φησί, γενομένην κηλῖδα ἐπελθὼν ὁ πόλεμος ἀναλώσει. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν χρηστῶν ὑπὲρ τῶν προτέρων ἀπολογεῖται λυπηρῶν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὰ ἐκεῖνα τὰ συμβάντα διὰ τοῦτο συνέβη, ἵνα ἐκπλυθῶσιν, ἵνα καθαρθῶσιν, ἵνα πυρωθῶσιν, ἵνα πᾶσαν ἀποθῶνται κηλῖδα, ἵνα τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τῶν σφαγῶν ἀπονίψωνται ὄνειδος. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὅ φησι· Πνεύματι κρίσεως καὶ πνεύματι καύσεως; Τῇ μεταφορᾷ τῶν χωνευομένων ὑλῶν ἐπέμεινεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα εἰς τὸ χωνευτήριον ἐμπῖπτον καὶ τὴν φλόγα ἀναρριπίζον καὶ θερμοτέρους ποιοῦν τοὺς ἄνθρακας ἅπαντα δαπανᾷ τὸν ῥύπον· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ θεήλατος ὀργὴ καὶ ἡ τῶν πολεμίων ἔφοδος ἐμπεσοῦσα, ἀντὶ πυρὸς τῇ πόλει γέγονε, πυρὸς οὐκ ἀπολλύντος, ἀλλὰ καίοντος καὶ καθαίροντος, κολάζοντος καὶ διορθουμένου. Τὸ γάρ· Πνεύματι κρίσεως, τουτέστι, κολάσεως, τιμωρίας, ἐκδικήσεως. Καὶ ἥξει, φησί, Κύριος. Παρουσίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν καλεῖ. Καὶ ἔσται πᾶς τόπος τοῦ ὄρους Σιὼν