John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

leading the image of things. And what is more difficult, is that it not only opened its mouth, but also remains gaping and takes no satiety of those being buried in it. And the glorious and the great and the rich and her plagues will descend into it. Then, that you might learn that what was happening was not according to the sequence of nature, but the blow was sent by God and a vote brought down from heaven, he said that those in prominence, those in power, those confounding all things, and turning the affairs of the Jews upside down, these would descend there.

5.6 And he rightly calls them plagues, since they do not keep their wickedness to themselves, but also transmit the disease to others. For such is the nature of a plague; when it begins from one body, it proceeds on its way and spreads to the remaining multitude. And the one who rejoices in her. The one living in luxury, the one leaping, the one thinking he possesses goods that are immoveable, he too will fall in and be captured. And a person shall be humbled and a man shall be dishonored. And the lofty eyes shall be humbled. And the Lord of Sabaoth will be exalted in judgment. See again God’s care. For he does not work utter destruction, nor does he snatch away their whole people from their midst, but he leaves some, so that by the punishment of those who departed they might become better. Hinting at this, at any rate, he said that they will be humbled, that is, those who remain, those who are left behind. And the Lord of Sabaoth will be exalted in judgment, and God the holy will be glorified in righteousness. He sets down two good things: that those will be freed from the inflammation and will be better, and God will be marveled at by all; for this is what it means: He will be exalted and glorified; through the chastisement itself, through the punishment. And what is: In judgment? Through vengeance. And those who are scattered shall be fed like bulls, and lambs shall eat the deserted places of those who have been carried away. Here he hints at the small number of those who were left and the widespread desolation of the land. Woe to those who draw their sins as with a long rope, and their iniquities as with the strap of a heifer's yoke. Those who say: Let what God will do approach with speed, that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know. While the prophets were continually threatening and proclaiming terrible things beforehand, the false prophets, speaking to please and relaxing the resolve of the people, were saying that the words of the former were false, but their own were true. Many, therefore, being deceived, disbelieved even the words themselves. Then, since the prophecies were not spoken and fulfilled at the same time—for it was the nature of prophecy to proclaim long beforehand things that would come to pass in the future—since, therefore, the prophets were continually speaking of famines, plagues, wars, but were not showing them in deeds, for the time being, many of the deceived, taking the delay of time as an occasion for disbelief, would say: Let the things spoken come to pass; if you are telling the truth, let the events draw near; show us the counsel of God in deeds. Since, therefore, they were making his long-suffering a pretext for disbelief and from this were adding to their sins, both to disbelieve, and through disbelief to become more indolent, the prophet rightly laments them, saying that just as with a long rope, so you draw upon yourselves the wrath of God, and increase your own wickedness. For since you disbelieve the words being spoken, it remains for the trial through deeds to be brought upon you. So that you are the ones drawing the evils upon yourselves, you who disbelieve what is said. For this reason he says: Woe to those who draw their sins; that is, the recompense for their sins. As with a long rope you draw from afar, he says, the penalty determined for your sins, and as with the strap of a heifer's yoke their iniquities, of a heifer being under a yoke, in order to express the intensity, the with-haste. Just as if someone were to draw something to himself with a strong strap, so you through your disbelief draw upon yourselves the wrath of God. Then he also says how they draw it: Those who say: Let what God will do approach with speed, that

τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων ἄγων. Καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον, ὅτι οὐκ ἤνοιξε τὸ στόμα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μένει κεχηνὼς καὶ κόρον οὐ λαμβάνων τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ κατορυττομένων. Καὶ καταβήσονται εἰς αὐτὸν οἱ ἔνδοξοι καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι καὶ οἱ πλούσιοι καὶ οἱ λοιμοὶ αὐτῆς. Εἶτα, ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι οὐ κατὰ φύσεως ἀκολουθίαν τὸ γινόμενον ἦν, ἀλλὰ θεήλατος ἦν ἡ πληγὴ καὶ ψῆφος ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν κατενεχθεῖσα, τοὺς ἐν περιφανείᾳ, τοὺς ἐν δυναστείᾳ, τοὺς πάντα συγχέοντας, καὶ ἄνω καὶ κάτω τὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ποιοῦντας πράγματα, τούτους ἐκεῖ καταβήσεσθαι ἔφησε.

5.6 Λοιμοὺς δὲ εἰκότως αὐτοὺς καλεῖ, ἅτε οὐ μέχρι ἑαυτῶν τὴν κακίαν διατηροῦντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς ἄλλους τὴν νόσον διαβιβάζοντας. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τοῦ λοιμοῦ φύσις· ἐπειδὰν ἄφ' ἑνὸς ἄρξηται σώματος, ὁδῷ βαδίζουσα τὸ λοιπὸν ἐπινέμεται πλῆθος. Καὶ ὁ ἀγαλλιώμενος ἐν αὐτῇ. Ὁ τρυφῶν, ὁ σκιρτῶν, ὁ νομίζων ἀκίνητα ἔχειν τὰ ἀγαθὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμπεσεῖται καὶ ἁλώσεται. Καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἀτιμασθήσεται ἀνήρ. Καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ οἱ μετέωροι ταπεινωθήσονται. Καὶ ὑψωθήσεται Κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐν κρίματι. Ὅρα πάλιν Θεοῦ κηδεμονίαν. Οὐ γὰρ πανωλεθρίαν ἐργάζεται, οὐδὲ ὅλον ἐκ μέσου τὸν δῆμον αὐτῶν ἀνάρπαστον ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ἀφίησί τινας, ὥστε τῇ τιμωρίᾳ τῶν ἀπελθόντων γενέσθαι βελτίους. Τοῦτο γοῦν αἰνιττόμενος ἔφησεν, ὅτι Ταπεινωθήσονται, τουτέστιν, οἱ μένοντες, οἱ ὑπολιμπανόμενοι. Καὶ ὑψωθήσεται Κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐν κρίματι, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος δοξασθήσεται ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ. ∆ύο τίθησιν ἀγαθά, ὅτι κἀκεῖνοι τῆς φλεγμονῆς ἀπαλλαγήσονται καὶ ἔσονται βελτίους καὶ ὁ Θεὸς θαυμασθήσεται παρὰ πᾶσιν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν· Ὑψωθήσεται καὶ δοξασθήσεται· διὰ τῆς κολάσεως αὐτῆς, διὰ τῆς τιμωρίας. Τί δέ ἐστιν· Ἐν κρίματι; ∆ιὰ τῆς ἐκδικήσεως. Καὶ βοσκηθήσονται οἱ διεσπαρμένοι ὡς ταῦροι καὶ τὰς ἐρήμους τῶν ἀπειλημμένων ἄρνες φάγονται. Τὴν ὀλιγότητα ἐνταῦθα αἰνίττεται τῶν ὑπολειφθέντων καὶ τὴν ἐπιτεταμένην ἐρημίαν τῆς χώρας. Οὐαὶ οἱ ἐπισπώμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ὡς σχοινίῳ μακρῷ καὶ ὡς ζυγοῦ ἱμάντι δαμάλεως τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν. Οἱ λέγοντες· Τὸ τάχος ἐγγισάτω, ἃ ποιήσει ὁ Θεός, ἵνα ἴδωμεν· καὶ ἐλθέτω ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰσραήλ, ἵνα γνῶμεν. Τῶν προφητῶν ἀπειλούντων συνεχῶς καὶ τὰ φοβερὰ προαναφωνούντων, οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται πρὸς χάριν διαλεγόμενοι καὶ τοῦ δήμου τὸν τόνον ἐκλύοντες τὰ μὲν ἐκείνων ἔφασκον εἶναι ψευδῆ, τὰ δὲ αὐτῶν ἀληθῆ. Πολλοὶ τοίνυν ἀπατώμενοι ἠπίστουν καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ῥήμασιν. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ αἱ προφητεῖαι οὐχ ὁμοῦ τε ἐλέγοντο καὶ ἐξέβαινον· προφητείας γὰρ ἦν φύσις τὸ πρὸ πολλοῦ χρόνου τὰ μέλλοντα ἐκβήσεσθαι προαναφωνεῖν· ἐπεὶ οὖν συνεχῶς μὲν ἔλεγον οἱ προφῆται τοὺς λιμούς, τοὺς λοιμούς, τοὺς πολέμους, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἔργων αὐτὰ οὐκ ἐδείκνυον, τέως τὴν τοῦ χρόνου μέλλησιν ἀφορμὴν εἰς ἀπιστίαν λαμβάνοντες οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἠπατημένων ἔλεγον· Ἐλθέτω τὰ λεγόμενα· εἰ ἀληθεύετε, ἐγγισάτω τὰ πράγματα· δείξατε ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὴν αὐτοῦ μακροθυμίαν ὑπόθεσιν ἀπιστίας ἐποιοῦντο καὶ ἐντεῦθεν προσετίθεσαν αὐτῶν τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι, τό τε ἀπιστεῖν, τό τε διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν ῥᾳθυμότεροι γίνεσθαι, εἰκότως αὐτοὺς ὁ προφήτης θρηνεῖ λέγων ὅτι καθάπερ σχοινίῳ μακρῷ, οὕτως ἕλκετε καθ' ἑαυτῶν τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ αὔξετε ὑμῖν τὴν πονηρίαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπιστεῖτε τοῖς λεγομένοις ῥήμασιν, λείπεται λοιπὸν τὴν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπενεχθῆναι πεῖραν ὑμῖν. Ὥστε οἱ τὰ κακὰ ἐπισπώμενοι ὑμεῖς ἐστε, οἱ τοῖς λεγομένοις ἀπιστοῦντες. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Οὐαὶ οἱ ἐπισπώμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν· τουτέστι, τὴν ἀντίδοσιν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. Ὡς σχοινίῳ μακρῷ πόρρωθεν ἕλκετε, φησί, τὴν ὡρισμένην τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν ὑμῶν δίκην καὶ ὡς ζυγοῦ ἱμάντι δαμάλεως τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν, δαμάλεως ὑπὸ ζυγὸν οὔσης, ἵνα εἴπῃ τὸ εὔτονον, τὸ μετὰ σπουδῆς. Ὡς ἐάν τις ἱμάντι εὐτόνῳ ἐφελκύσαιτό τι, οὕτως ὑμεῖς διὰ τῆς ἀπιστίας ἐφέλκεσθε καθ' ὑμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργήν. Εἶτα λέγει καὶ πῶς ἐφέλκονται· Οἱ λέγοντες· Τὸ τάχος ἐγγισάτω ἃ ποιήσει ὁ Θεός, ἵνα