John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

For then they will be completely captured; now, however, they will have nothing more than their own. But the head of Ephraim, that is, of the ten tribes, will be Samaria; for there was their kingdom; and it will not be extended further; and the head of Samaria, the king of Israel; which he said of the Damascene, making this clear here also, that they will have nothing more than what they now possess. Then, since he spoke of matters surpassing human reason and superior to the sequence of thoughts, and what was said was a prophecy, he fittingly added: If you do not believe, you will not understand. Do not ask, he says, how and in what manner these things will be; for it is God who is at work, and you need faith alone, and you will understand the power of the one who acts; you have received the full proof of what has been said. Wherefore also the prophet David said: I believed, and therefore I have spoken. And Paul, rightly taking up this saying, drew it to greater things, saying: But having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, and therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore we speak. For if the old things needed faith, being as far from those in the New as the earth is from the heavens, how much more the knowledge of such lofty dogmas and of things that have never entered into anyone’s mind. Which he himself also, making this clear, said: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. And the Lord added to speak to Ahaz, saying: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God, either in the depth or in the height. And Ahaz said: I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah said: Hear now, O house of David; is it a bitter thing for you to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. Great is the condescension of God and the ingratitude of the king. For having heard the prophet, he ought not to have doubted at all concerning what was said; but if he did doubt, he should have at least believed upon receiving a sign, as many among the Jews have done. For God, being benevolent, did not refuse to provide even this many times to those who were duller and crawling on the ground and nailed to the earth, as he did in the case of Gideon. For since he was inferior to all and very dull, see to what depths God again descends. He himself draws him and urges him to ask for a sign; and yet this was no small sign, to expose his secrets and bring his whole mind into the open and convict all his hypocrisy. For since the prophet said, "Ask for yourself a sign," but he, pretending to be very faithful, said, "I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord," see how the prophet, with great vehemence, brings on the rebuke, rightly making the accusation heavier after the proof of his hypocrisy. For this very reason, he does not even deem him worthy of an answer, but turns to the people, saying: Hear, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord? What is said is unclear; therefore it is necessary to unfold the saying with precision. For what he says is this: are the words mine? is the declaration mine? But if to disbelieve men simply and without reason is a serious thing and worthy of accusations, how much more so to disbelieve God. Therefore, to weary is nothing other than to disbelieve. Is this, then, he says, a small offense? is it a trivial accusation to disbelieve men? But if this is serious, how much more so toward God.

7.5 And he said this, so that all might learn that the prophet remained undeceived, not being misled by the words that were spoken, but casting his vote based on the thoughts in the mind of Ahaz. This Christ also did many times in the Gospels. For before he provided the proof from signs, by bringing into the open the malice of the Jews that was devised in their minds, this was no small

Ἁλώσονται γὰρ τότε παντελῶς· νῦν μέντοι πλέον τῶν οἰκείων οὐδὲν ἕξουσιν. Ἀλλ' ἔσται ἡ κεφαλὴ Ἐφραΐμ, τουτέστι, τῶν δέκα φυλῶν, ἡ Σαμαρεία· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἡ βασιλεία· καὶ οὐκ ἐκταθήσεται περαιτέρω· καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ Σαμαρείας ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆αμασκηνοῦ ἔλεγε, τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα δηλῶν, ὅτι οὐδὲν πλέον ἕξουσιν, ὧν νῦν κατέχουσιν. Εἶτα, ἐπειδὴ πράγματα εἶπεν ὑπερβαίνοντα λόγον ἀνθρώπινον καὶ ἀνώτερα τῆς τῶν λογισμῶν ἀκολουθίας καὶ προφητεία τὸ λεγόμενον ἦν, εἰκότως ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε, οὐδὲ μὴ συνῆτε. Μὴ ζήτει, φησί, πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ ταῦτα ἔσται· Θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐργαζόμενος καὶ πίστεώς σοι δεῖ μόνης καὶ ἐννοήσεις τοῦ ποιοῦντος τὴν δύναμιν· πᾶσαν ἔλαβες τῶν εἰρημένων τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ προφήτης ∆αυῒδ ἔλεγεν· Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ καὶ ἐλάλησα. Καὶ ὁ Παῦλος εἰκότως ἐπιλαβόμενος τῆς ῥήσεως ταύτης, ἐπὶ μείζονα αὐτὴν εἵλκυσε πράγματα λέγων· Ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς πίστεως κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ καὶ ἐλάλησα καὶ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν, διὸ καὶ λαλοῦμεν. Εἰ γὰρ τὰ παλαιὰ πίστεως ἔχρῃζε, τοσοῦτον ἀπέχοντα τῶν ἐν τῇ Καινῇ, ὅσον ἡ γῆ τῶν οὐρανῶν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν οὕτως ὑψηλῶν δογμάτων γνῶσις καὶ οὐδὲ εἰς νοῦν ἐλθόντων τινί ποτε. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς δηλῶν ἔλεγεν· Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. Καὶ προσέθετο Κύριος λαλῆσαι τῷ Ἄχαζ λέγων· Αἴτησαι σεαυτῷ σημεῖον παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου εἰς βάθος ἢ εἰς ὕψος. Καὶ εἶπεν Ἄχαζ· Οὐ μὴ αἰτήσω, οὐδὲ μὴ πειράσω Κύριον. Καὶ εἶπεν Ἡσαΐας· Ἀκούσατε δή, οἶκος ∆αυΐδ· μὴ πικρὸν ὑμῖν ἀγῶνα παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις; Καὶ πῶς Κυρίῳ παρέχετε ἀγῶνα; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δώσει Κύριος αὐτὸς ὑμῖν σημεῖον. Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. Πολλὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ συγκατάβασις καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἡ ἀγνωμοσύνη. Ἔδει μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀκούσαντα τοῦ προφήτου μηδὲν ἀμφιβάλλειν περὶ τῶν εἰρημένων· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀμφέβαλλε, κἂν σημεῖον λαβόντα πιστεῦσαι, ὅπερ πολλοὶ τῶν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις πεποιήκασι. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεός, φιλάνθρωπος ὤν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο παρῃτήσατο παρασχεῖν πολλάκις τοῖς παχυτέροις καὶ χαμαὶ συρομένοις καὶ τῇ γῇ προσηλωμένοις, οἷον ἐποίησεν ἐπὶ τοῦ Γεδεών. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πάντων καταδεέστερος ἦν καὶ παχύτατος, ὅρα ποῦ καταβαίνει πάλιν ὁ Θεός. Αὐτὸς αὐτὸν ἐφέλκεται καὶ προτρέπει πρὸς τὸ σημεῖον αἰτῆσαι· καίτοι γε οὐδὲ μικρὸν τοῦτο σημεῖον ἦν, τὸ ἐλέγξαι αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀπόρρητα καὶ εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν γνώμην ἅπασαν καὶ τὴν ὑπόκρισιν διελέγξαι πᾶσαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ μὲν προφήτης εἶπεν· Αἴτησαι σεαυτῷ σημεῖον, ἐκεῖνος δὲ τὸν σφόδρα πιστὸν ὑποκρινόμενος ἔλεγεν· Οὐ μὴ αἰτήσω, οὐδὲ μὴ πειράσω Κύριον, ὅρα πῶς μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σφοδρότητος ἐπάγει τὴν τομὴν ὁ προφήτης, εἰκότως μετὰ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ὑποκρίσεως βαρυτέραν ποιούμενος τὴν κατηγορίαν. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνον μὲν οὐδὲ ἀποκρίσεως ἀξιοῖ, πρὸς δὲ τὸν δῆμον ἀποστρέφεται λέγων· Ἀκούσατε, οἶκος ∆αυΐδ· μὴ μικρὸν ὑμῖν, ἀγῶνα παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις; Καὶ πῶς Κυρίῳ παρέχετε ἀγῶνα; Ἀσαφὲς τὸ εἰρημένον· διὸ δὴ δεῖ τὴν ῥῆσιν ἀναπτύξαι μετὰ ἀκριβείας. Ὃ γὰρ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· μὴ γὰρ ἐμά ἐστι τὰ ῥήματα; μὴ γὰρ ἐμὴ ἡ ἀπόφασις; Εἰ δὲ ἀνθρώποις ἀπιστεῖν ἁπλῶς καὶ ἄνευ λόγου βαρὺ καὶ ἐγκλημάτων ἄξιον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον Θεῷ. Τὸ οὖν ἀγῶνα παρέχειν οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἢ ἀπιστεῖν. Τοῦτο οὖν, φησί, μὴ μικρόν ἐστιν ἔγκλημα; μὴ ἡ τυχοῦσα κατηγορία τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀπιστεῖν; Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο βαρύ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τῷ Θεῷ.

7.5 Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν, ἵνα μάθωσι πάντες, ὅτι ἀνεξαπάτητος ἔμεινεν ὁ προφήτης, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων παραλογιζόμενος τῶν εἰρημένων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ τοῦ Ἄχαζ φέρων τὴν ψῆφον. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς πολλάκις ἐπὶ τῶν εὐαγγελίων ἐποίησε. Πρὶν ἢ γὰρ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων παρασχεῖν ἀπόδειξιν, τὴν κακίαν τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἰς μέσον ἄγων τὴν ἐν διανοίᾳ τυρευομένην, οὐ μικρὸν τοῦτο