John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

to be commanded, spent seven days by the river, holding back and hesitating. Therefore God also added that parable, saying: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; and that I will require their soul at your hand. But Jonah not only refused, but also fled. What then? Was Isaiah bolder than all, and than the great Moses? And who would say this? Why then did that one, when commanded, hold back, while this one, not being openly ordered, leapt forth? For He did not say: Go; but when God said: Whom shall I send? he seized the command. Some indeed say that, because he had sinned by not rebuking Uzziah when he was presumptuously entering the holy places, wishing to atone for that sin, he quickly leapt forth with subsequent readiness to obey, so as to propitiate God. For because of this he also said his lips were unclean, on account of his lack of boldness. But I could not endure those who say these things; for Paul is more trustworthy than they, who calls him bold and says: But Isaiah is very bold and says. Therefore, on this account, he did not end his life by the common law, as they say, but underwent a most severe punishment, since the Jews did not bear his boldness. And apart from these things, Scripture nowhere says that he was present when the events concerning Uzziah took place, and that being present he was silent, but those who say these things conjecture them from their own minds and from themselves. What then can be said? That the case of Moses and this one were not equal. For the one was sent into a foreign and barbarian land, and to a raging and maddened tyrant; but this one to his own people who had heard many things many times and had been instructed over a long time; and to obey in that case and in this was not an act of equal courage. But some say that something else also made him this eager. For when he had confessed on behalf of both himself and the people, and saw the Seraphim sent and cleansing his lips, expecting that these things would also happen for the people and that he would go and announce these things, he eagerly seized what was said. For just as they were lovers of God, so also were the saints most affectionate of all men. Hoping, therefore, to announce some release from evils, he quickly leapt up and said: Behold, it is I; send me. And besides, he had a soul exceedingly arrayed for dangers; and this character of his is clear through the whole of his prophecy. Since, therefore, he promised to go and no longer dared to refuse, then he hears the grievous things. For God also handled him wisely. For He did not say from the beginning: Go and say, but first made the command suspended and the manner of the mission unclear. Since he readily obeyed, He speaks of the evils that would befall the Jews. And what were these? Go, He says, and say to this people: By hearing you will hear, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them. These things, I think, do not even require interpretation, since those who know these things accurately have anticipated and explained them, both John the son of thunder and Paul who knew the old and the new things with accuracy. For the one in Rome, speaking publicly to those who had assembled but then leapt away and did not endure what was said, said: Well did the Holy Spirit speak: By hearing you will hear, and will not understand. And the son of thunder, since they saw miracles and did not believe, and heard doctrines and did not pay attention (for Christ raised Lazarus and they attempted to kill him; he drove out demons and they called him possessed; he led them to the Father and they named him a deceiver and received contrary opinions), mentions this prophecy, saying: Well did Isaiah the prophet say, that: By hearing you will hear, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive. 6.6 For since the inner eyes of the mind were blinded, there was no benefit to them from their outer eyes,

κελευσθῆναι ἑπτὰ διατρίβει περὶ τὸν ποταμὸν ἡμέρας, ἀναδυόμενος καὶ ὀκνῶν. ∆ιὸ καὶ τὴν παραβολὴν ἐκείνην προσέθηκεν ὁ Θεὸς λέγων· Σκοπὸν δέδωκά σε τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ὅτι Τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ χειρός σου ἐκζητήσω. Ἰωνᾶς δὲ οὐ μόνον παρῃτήσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐδραπέτευσε. Τί οὖν; τολμηρότερος πάντων ὁ Ἡσαΐας καὶ Μωϋσέως τοῦ μεγάλου; Καὶ τίς ἂν τοῦτο εἴποι; Πόθεν οὖν κελευόμενος ἐκεῖνος ἀνεδύετο, οὗτος δὲ μὴ φανερῶς ἐπιταγεὶς εἰσεπήδησεν; Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπεν· Ἄπελθε· ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος· Τίνα ἀποστελῶ; ἥρπασε τὸ ἐπίταγμα. Τινὲς μὲν οὖν φασιν, ὅτι ἐπειδὴ ἥμαρτε, τὸν Ὀζίαν οὐκ ἐλέγξας κατατολμῶντα τῶν ἀδύτων, ὑπὲρ ἐκείνης βουλόμενος ἀπολογήσασθαι τῆς ἁμαρτίας, τῇ μετὰ ταῦτα προθυμίᾳ τῆς ὑπακοῆς ἐπεπήδησε ταχέως, ὥστε ἐξιλεώσασθαι τὸν Θεόν. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἀκάθαρτα τὰ χείλη αὐτοῦ ἔλεγεν εἶναι διὰ τὸ ἀπαρρησίαστον. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἀνασχοίμην τῶν ταῦτα λεγόντων· ἀξιοπιστότερος γὰρ αὐτῶν ὁ Παῦλος, ὁ τολμήτην αὐτὸν καλῶν καὶ λέγων· Ἡσαΐας δὲ ἀποτολμᾷ καὶ λέγει. ∆ιὰ γοῦν τοῦτο οὐδὲ τῷ κοινῷ, ὥς φασι, νόμῳ τὴν ζωὴν κατέλυσεν, ἀλλὰ χαλεπωτάτην ὑπέστη τιμωρίαν, τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὐκ ἐνεγκόντων αὐτοῦ τὴν παρρησίαν. Χωρὶς δὲ τούτων οὐδέ φησιν ἡ Γραφή που, ὅτι παρῆν, ἡνίκα τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ὀζίαν ἐγίνετο, καὶ παρὼν ἐσίγα, ἀλλ' οἴκοθεν καὶ παρ' ἑαυτῶν ταῦτα οἱ λέγοντες στοχάζονται. Τί οὖν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν; Ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἴσον τὸ Μωϋσέως, καὶ τοῦτο. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ εἰς ἀλλοτρίαν ἐπέμπετο καὶ βάρβαρον χώραν καὶ πρὸς τύραννον, μαινόμενον καὶ λυττῶντα· οὗτος δὲ πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους καὶ πολλὰ πολλάκις ἀκηκοότας καὶ ἐν πολλῷ παιδευθέντας χρόνῳ· καὶ οὐ τοσαύτης ἀνδρείας ἦν τὸ ὑπακοῦσαι ἐκεῖ τε καὶ ἐνταῦθα. Τινὲς δέ φασιν ὅτι καὶ ἕτερόν τι αὐτῷ τὴν προθυμίαν ἐποίησε ταύτην. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὑπέρ τε ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐξωμολογήσατο καὶ τὰ Σεραφὶμ εἶδεν ἀποσταλέντα καὶ ἐκκαθάραντα αὐτοῦ τὰ χείλη, προσδοκήσας ὅτι καὶ τῷ λαῷ ταῦτα συμβήσεται καὶ ταῦτα ἀπελεύσεται ἀπαγγέλλων, προθύμως ἥρπασε τὸ λεχθέν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἦσαν φιλόθεοι, οὕτω καὶ φιλόστοργοι μάλιστα πάντων ἀνθρώπων οἱ ἅγιοι. Ἐλπίσας οὖν λύσιν τινὰ τῶν κακῶν ἀπαγγελεῖν, ἐπεπήδησε ταχέως καί φησιν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀπόστειλόν με. Ἄλλως δὲ καὶ ψυχὴν σφόδρα πρὸς κινδύνους παρατεταγμένην εἶχε· καὶ δῆλον αὐτοῦ τοῦτο τὸ ἦθος διὰ πάσης τῆς προφητείας ἐστίν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ὑπέσχετο ἀπελεύσεσθαι καὶ οὐκ ἐτόλμα λοιπὸν ἀνανεῦσαι, τότε ἀκούει τὰ λυπηρά. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν σοφῶς μετεχείρισεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἶπε· Πορεύθητι καὶ εἰπέ, ἀλλὰ πρότερον μετέωρον ποιήσας τὸ ἐπίταγμα καὶ ἄδηλον τῆς ἀποστολῆς τὸν τρόπον. Ἐπειδὴ ῥᾳδίως ὑπήκουσε, λέγει τὰ καταληψόμενα τοὺς Ἰουδαίους κακά. Τίνα δὲ ταῦτα ἦν; Πορεύθητι, φησί, καὶ εἰπὲ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. Ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσι καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσι καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσι καὶ ἰάσωμαι αὐτούς. Ταῦτα οὐδὲ ἑρμηνείας οἶμαι δεῖσθαι, τῶν ἀκριβῶς ταῦτα ἐπισταμένων, προλαβόντων καὶ ἐξηγησαμένων αὐτά, Ἰωάννου τε τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς βροντῆς καὶ Παύλου τοῦ τὰ παλαιὰ καὶ τὰ καινὰ μετὰ ἀκριβείας εἰδότος. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ πρὸς τοὺς συνελθόντας μέν, ἀποπηδήσαντας δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀνασχομένους τῶν λεγομένων, δημηγορῶν ἔλεγε· Καλῶς εἶπε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε. Ὁ δὲ τῆς βροντῆς υἱός, ἐπειδὴ θαύματα ἑώρων καὶ οὐκ ἐπίστευον καὶ δογμάτων ἤκουον, καὶ οὐ προσεῖχον (ἀνέστησε γὰρ Λάζαρον ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ ἀνελεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπεχείρουν· δαίμονας ἤλαυνε καὶ δαιμονῶντα ἐκάλουν· τῷ Πατρὶ προσῆγε καὶ πλάνον ὠνόμαζον καὶ τὰς ἐναντίας ἐδέχοντο δόξας), μνημονεύει τῆς προφητείας ταύτης λέγων· Καλῶς εἶπεν Ἡσαΐας ὁ προφήτης, ὅτι Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. 6.6 Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ ἔνδον ὄμματα τῆς διανοίας πεπήρωντο, οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἦν αὐτοῖς τῶν ἔξωθεν ὀφθαλμῶν,