Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Scripture

Isaiah 49:25

But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the house of the strong man … he raided it and, throwing away the broken chains and the bonds of dark hell, he gave him over to the judgment of the great day to be kept for punishment.… Then Christ has conquered, and he has passed the victory on to us.… For he is the sole cause of our salvation. Therefore, he is the boast of the might of the saints, as Paul the most wise says: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." …For Christ gave us the ability to overcome the murderous dragon so that we can take spoil from it, and we are saved from it as he sends us the victory to everlasting life for glory, praise and the kingdom of heaven.… For Christ said, "I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy." … This is just what we take from the strong one, that is, from Christ. Since he is the Lord of powers, we have been saved and have the victory.

Isaiah 49:26

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Whoever suffers anything on account of me obtains help from me, the One who gives strength to you, Jacob, that is, all of you from the seed of Jacob. I have said how he sends them prophetic words in the mouth of the holy apostles and evangelists that they are from Jacob, which clearly relates to the flesh. And it is small wonder that Jacob was called the supplanter, that is, the supplanter of Satan and of those who casually and with youthful neglect rush into the noose of sins.

Isaiah 50:1-2

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

God never sends away anyone who makes his home with him, and he rejects none of those who walk uprightly. He allows them to be forever associated and firmly joined to him as a way of obtaining help. However, everyone who opposes or fights against his divine teaching falls completely away from the glory of God and shows that he is a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God. Therefore, like one who lived with the mother of the Jews God says, “What kind of bill of divorce did your mother have when I sent her away?” For no one could prove that I hated her and despised her. Instead, he would rather have to accuse her of deserting me.… It says, “I came,” that is, I took human form and appeared to those in Israel, and there was no man among them, that is, no one with a heart who was able to recognize the season of redemption. “I called, but no one listened.” … For he was in a form like ours, and yet he was God the Word, having become man by taking on flesh born of a woman. But those who knew this and were not ignorant of the depth of the mystery of his divinity knew that he was able to…

God never sends away anyone who makes his home with him, and he rejects none of those who walk uprightly. He allows them to be forever associated and firmly joined to him as a way of obtaining help. However, everyone who opposes or fights against his divine teaching falls completely away from the glory of God and shows that he is a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God. Therefore, like one who lived with the mother of the Jews God says, “What kind of bill of divorce did your mother have when I sent her away?” For no one could prove that I hated her and despised her. Instead, he would rather have to accuse her of deserting me.… It says, “I came,” that is, I took human form and appeared to those in Israel, and there was no man among them, that is, no one with a heart who was able to recognize the season of redemption. “I called, but no one listened.” … For he was in a form like ours, and yet he was God the Word, having become man by taking on flesh born of a woman. But those who knew this and were not ignorant of the depth of the mystery of his divinity knew that he was able to do all things because he was God by nature and suitable for the redemption of everyone under heaven.

Isaiah 50:2

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

No one who views things correctly thinks God possesses a physical body. It is only that the holy Scriptures speak in a human fashion about him. For those of us in simple and crass bodies can think in no other way, except that these things are adapted for us by a range of metaphors, so that in the perception of visible things we are able to know in part about the divine and higher being, which is higher than all bodily imaginings. Observe how in these words the message is adapted to human understanding.

Isaiah 50:4

The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

[Ministers] who sing thankful hymns say that they have been given a tongue of discipline; that is, they are able to speak in a trained manner and expound the divine mysteries without fault and are able to speak fittingly to those who need words of encouragement.… On us the sun of righteousness has arisen and has shed its light on our mind so that we are and are known as children of light and of the day. For we, having faith in Christ, are enriched with illumination from him; that is, we have our hearing enhanced and are thus enabled to hear.

Isaiah 50:7

For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

And the Father was Christ’s helper. For he did not allow or concede that his own Son should be completely shamed or overwhelmed. For they were punished, those who sought to take their punishment out on me as those who dare to fight with God.… For though being with us, he was the only-begotten Word of God. He put on an identical human likeness, by which reason alone he was believed to be of a nature with us. For every human being is subject to faults and sins, and no one alive is completely blameless. He alone in becoming man retained the divine dignity.… And being Word and God, his flesh was able to shoo away destruction. Thus, the Son became a man who was fit to be accepted by the Father. For all that human beings have is God-given. For the one God and Father, through him, undid the power of death through his resurrection from the dead.… He was the servant of God, who while being human was yet truly the Son of God and the Father. And to hear his voice means no transgression of the law but a confirming of the law through types and shadows discerning the truth which is Christ and the…

And the Father was Christ’s helper. For he did not allow or concede that his own Son should be completely shamed or overwhelmed. For they were punished, those who sought to take their punishment out on me as those who dare to fight with God.… For though being with us, he was the only-begotten Word of God. He put on an identical human likeness, by which reason alone he was believed to be of a nature with us. For every human being is subject to faults and sins, and no one alive is completely blameless. He alone in becoming man retained the divine dignity.… And being Word and God, his flesh was able to shoo away destruction. Thus, the Son became a man who was fit to be accepted by the Father. For all that human beings have is God-given. For the one God and Father, through him, undid the power of death through his resurrection from the dead.… He was the servant of God, who while being human was yet truly the Son of God and the Father. And to hear his voice means no transgression of the law but a confirming of the law through types and shadows discerning the truth which is Christ and the prophecies of him, as Paul notes. … His voice is the evangelical and divine preaching that calls us to the redemption that is through faith in Christ. He also calls us to a proper behavior that lives in a way that is, by far, more consistent than the way of the law. The law was given in the shadows. Faith was given in the bright and shining light.

Isaiah 51:1

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

“Righteous,” he says, instead of “righteousness,” which is through Christ through faith in him, a faith that justifies the ungodly and removes all stain from those who have been filthy, and cleanses them in the Spirit and prepares for them the shining honor of sonship. They pursue righteousness, not in the sense of driving it before them and so away from their minds, but of running toward it to take hold of it. As David said, “Seek peace and pursue it.” … The speech of the holy prophets always draws figures from the visible and the tangible things. For it has expressions that transcend reference, the senses and even the mind. In this way “Zion” is mentioned—not that we think of the earthly city but rather take it to be the spiritual one, that is, the church of the living God. Or how else would we see the words of the prophet coming true?…“Worship in spirit and truth,” and the power of spiritual worship gave off the pleasant spiritual fragrance and joy in the hope that is in Christ. For if we trust that our body of lowliness will be transformed into the body of his glory, so we shall…

“Righteous,” he says, instead of “righteousness,” which is through Christ through faith in him, a faith that justifies the ungodly and removes all stain from those who have been filthy, and cleanses them in the Spirit and prepares for them the shining honor of sonship. They pursue righteousness, not in the sense of driving it before them and so away from their minds, but of running toward it to take hold of it. As David said, “Seek peace and pursue it.” … The speech of the holy prophets always draws figures from the visible and the tangible things. For it has expressions that transcend reference, the senses and even the mind. In this way “Zion” is mentioned—not that we think of the earthly city but rather take it to be the spiritual one, that is, the church of the living God. Or how else would we see the words of the prophet coming true?…“Worship in spirit and truth,” and the power of spiritual worship gave off the pleasant spiritual fragrance and joy in the hope that is in Christ. For if we trust that our body of lowliness will be transformed into the body of his glory, so we shall be with him and reign with him, assembled among the children of God and enriched with his divine and life-giving Spirit. We too bring forward the spiritual harvest to him—the confession and hymns of thanksgiving. For with such sacrifices is God well pleased.

Isaiah 51:4

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

But when the time of his incarnation unexpectedly arrived, then the shadows made way for the truth. And he said, “Listen to me, O my people.” … He is speaking here not only to those who are numbered among the people but also to the kings, because he wanted the rulers, the leaders of the people, to receive his message as well.… “The law will go forth from me, and my judgment will be a light to the nations.” He refers to the divine and evangelical preaching as “law” here; it is just that it is in a different form now, just as the oracles and salvation also are new. For just as the old law was changed to something better, there has also been a transfer from those things that were provisional types to that which is the truth. For Christ said, “Do not think I have come to destroy the law.” … The law in letters was given by Moses, but the preaching of salvation, which is the gospel, came through Christ.… He calls his “judgment” here something that is both sanctioned by the law of God as well as a benevolent accounting; it is the grace from him that went out to illuminate the Gentiles; they…

But when the time of his incarnation unexpectedly arrived, then the shadows made way for the truth. And he said, “Listen to me, O my people.” … He is speaking here not only to those who are numbered among the people but also to the kings, because he wanted the rulers, the leaders of the people, to receive his message as well.… “The law will go forth from me, and my judgment will be a light to the nations.” He refers to the divine and evangelical preaching as “law” here; it is just that it is in a different form now, just as the oracles and salvation also are new. For just as the old law was changed to something better, there has also been a transfer from those things that were provisional types to that which is the truth. For Christ said, “Do not think I have come to destroy the law.” … The law in letters was given by Moses, but the preaching of salvation, which is the gospel, came through Christ.… He calls his “judgment” here something that is both sanctioned by the law of God as well as a benevolent accounting; it is the grace from him that went out to illuminate the Gentiles; they were amazed at his judgment, which was both righteous and just—truly the righteousness that is clearly made known in the gospel.

Isaiah 51:5

My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

If we want to know the meaning of these words in the person of God and Father, then we say that he calls the Son “his righteousness.” For we are saved in him … through his great mercy.… He is called “righteousness” and “salvation” and rightly so. For he has removed all evil from us and, freeing us from the chains of death, has led us into eternal life.… Those who were once weak and prostrate on the ground grasp his right hand and gain the hope of an unexpected salvation. For the holy Scriptures often call the Son the right arm of the Father. For he is his power.

Isaiah 51:6

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

The Son is called "salvation" and "righteousness," as we often say, and thus his quality is declared that he has in himself, by which and in which he is Son by nature. Indeed, he is eternal and does not "wear out." Such is the difference between creator and creation, the made from the maker, which is clearly seen in this verse.

Isaiah 52:1

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

He calls the holy city “the church.” It is sanctified not by the prescribed cultic system, for the law never perfected anyone, but it is made in the likeness of Christ and participates in his divine nature, according to the communication of the Holy Spirit, in whom we are sealed for the day of redemption, with all vileness washed and removed.… We have been justified by faith in him, who reinforces us in all safety and shelters us in his love from every fierce attack of the devil and wild surges of enemy opposition. And so he teaches us when he says “to Zion or Jerusalem, that is, the church of the living God.”

Isaiah 52:9

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

Israel was destroyed in the war with the Romans, so that very few survived to remain, and the holy city was deserted. But its desert places will rejoice, so it says. For the houses were mournful and filled with dejection for not having inhabitants. But they rejoice as if they have many living there. From the historical sense we can draw something that the spiritual senses can grasp. The church from the nations—that is, those believers from the nations who are called Zion and even Jerusalem—were few in the early days and the holy city of God, the church, was truly like a desert.

Isaiah 53:2

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

What therefore does the prophet say in these words?… For he confesses what we also have announced, that is, we have foretold unceasingly that he will come in due season. But perhaps someone shall say in response, “What then if God who is the Word should come down from heaven, covered in divine glory and resplendent in unapproachable light, and appear to those on earth as one who cannot be looked at because of his ineffable glory?” Indeed, when he visited the earth in the form of fire on Mount Sinai it was dark and gloomy, and storms and fire burst from on high along with smoke, and there were many other things that so completely terrified [the Israelites] that his appearance was unbearable to those who saw it. In fact, it was so unbearable that the Israelites called for a mediator, saying to Moses, “Speak to us, and do not let God speak lest we die.” So, as Isaiah says, it is no wonder that the one who shall appear should be hard to look at. Why then do the prophets say that unbelief is without excuse and rebellion is unjustifiable when there is no form or glory to his appearance? Fo…

What therefore does the prophet say in these words?… For he confesses what we also have announced, that is, we have foretold unceasingly that he will come in due season. But perhaps someone shall say in response, “What then if God who is the Word should come down from heaven, covered in divine glory and resplendent in unapproachable light, and appear to those on earth as one who cannot be looked at because of his ineffable glory?” Indeed, when he visited the earth in the form of fire on Mount Sinai it was dark and gloomy, and storms and fire burst from on high along with smoke, and there were many other things that so completely terrified [the Israelites] that his appearance was unbearable to those who saw it. In fact, it was so unbearable that the Israelites called for a mediator, saying to Moses, “Speak to us, and do not let God speak lest we die.” So, as Isaiah says, it is no wonder that the one who shall appear should be hard to look at. Why then do the prophets say that unbelief is without excuse and rebellion is unjustifiable when there is no form or glory to his appearance? For he was not, it says, in a form or glory that befits the divine. For he emptied himself, taking on the likeness of humanity, and being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself. And we say this not merely from hearing the reports, but we have gazed with our own eyes on the one proclaimed. For human things are in every way small, cheap and worthless compared with the divine, supreme, eminent and illustrious beauty of that nature that is above all things. For it is said in the Psalms, “You are the most beautiful among the sons of men.” And our text here adds, “more rejected than all people,” speaking of his appearance, as if to say that there are to be seen among people of distinction some which are distinguished by their fine radiant appearance … but Emmanuel was not among them, reduced instead to someone who was despised and lowly. This message is true, for he did not come from the holy virgin mother in opulence, but through all that is lowly and humble so as to raise up the humble and to bless those who seem worthless. And anyway, what need does God, who is Lord and king of the universe, have of human splendor?

Isaiah 53:3

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

One of the holy Evangelists said that when our Lord’s time of suffering drew near, he began to weep and grew sad. Yet by nature he was the only-begotten Word of the Father, being immune from sufferings and grief and the like. Nevertheless, he accommodated himself to our nature and showed himself empty of all [his divine qualities] in the face of the anxiety of the threatening onslaught of his trials. Through all these trials he declared himself to be similar to us, so that he emerges not (as some are fond of saying) as a shadow or specter seen on the earth but as a real human being.

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

For the spiritually dead and unholy Caiaphas asked him, “I put you under oath to the living God to tell us if you are the Chist, the Son of God.” And he answered him right away, saying, “From now on you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” And then Pilate asked him whether he was king of Israel, and Christ replied, “You say so.” Pilate was complacent with the madness of the Jews and had Jesus beaten, and he ordered his soldiers to put him between two thieves in his suffering of death on the cross. So what the prophet said was true: “Because of his affliction he did not open his mouth.” But he suffered a myriad of afflictions from the time of his arrest onwards, suffered insolence and spitting and the beatings of mindless underlings and other things beside these that could be wickedly arranged, before he was brought to Pilate.

Isaiah 53:11

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

He has bought us with his own blood. He endured the cross, despising its shame, so that he might win our salvation. Therefore bow your necks to his yoke. For your soul will see the fruitful seed, that is, you will be sharers in those being kept for eternal life, that is, the saints who have been enriched with the hope of eternal life. For there was no idea of the resurrection of the dead among the Greeks, and the mystery until now was not set forth. They all but said that the breath in your no nostrils is smoke that is burning. All the ashes will disappear, and the spirit like a weak person will be dissolved.

Isaiah 54:4-5 · 2 passages

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

We have been justified in Christ, and not from works of righteousness that we have done but according to his mercy. But this is also what the supremely wise Paul has written. For we have been set free from the darkness, deceit and wickedness, which have been inherited from our ancestors.… [Therefore,] do not fear that you will be put to shame. For just as a parent looks after children, the Lord will look after those who fear him. Your sins will be as far removed from you as the east is from the west. How necessary is it, then, that you not stumble again but reject those same sins in fear. Remember the grace of our justifying God, and do not bear malice or demand justice from those who sin against you.

He makes clear how he makes the shame of widowhood disappear, saying that it is “the Lord who makes you, the Lord of hosts is his name.” He is making you rather than creating you, transferring us into another type of citizenship and beautiful life. For we are being transformed in Christ into the newness of the holy and evangelical life, ascending to his own beautiful form through the Spirit so that others see us as different from the rest [of humanity].

Isaiah 54:8

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

“And by my eternal mercy I will have mercy on you.” For the season of anger is short and brief in comparison with the measure of the boundless loving-kindness given to us from God. He rescued us out of the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of his love in light. It is appropriate to think greatly of the mercy that is through Christ, who cleanses us from every stain and takes away the accusation of justice. He restores us to a relationship with him through holinesss and gives the garlands of the glory of sonship to those whom he establishes in the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah 54:11

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

“I will place you as a carbon stone.” It is fitting to want to signify Jesus through this stone that was set, the Scriptures say, as the foundation of Zion. If anyone trusts in this foundation, he will not be ashamed. He calls him a foundation stone among them. And he is also mentioned by the holy prophets. For he says through the voice of Amos, “Look, I am setting a diamond in the middle of my people Israel.” And through the voice of Zechariah, “Behold, I will bring my servant the sunrise.” “I have placed a stone before the face of Jesus; on the one stone there are seven eyes.” For the all-seeing one is Christ who is able to survey all things everywhere. For the carbon is placed to be a stone and a fixed foundation of the holy city. On it are the stones of sapphire, which perhaps signify the ranks of the apostles who are set. For they were very close to Christ, and when they followed him they became foundations in the earthly realm.