Theodoret of Cyrus — Commentary on Scripture

Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

And what is more, they (Ethiopians, Midianites, Arabians) are also in the habit of offering these beasts as presents to the God of the universe, some, in gaining closeness to some apostle, offer them as gifts; others, in approaching a martyr, look for his intercession to reconcile themselves to God and lead [their beasts] by way of firstfruits of offerings that they have promised to make.… The text teaches therefore that even less intelligent people will share in the light of the knowledge of God. And indeed it did not say that irrational offerings would be made on the altar, but “acceptable” sacrifices, that is, “agreeable” sacrifices.…The church of God is therefore seized with amazement in contemplating the clouds of people who hasten towards it; they resemble doves flying in the company of their little ones. However, if one desires to understand this passage exactly, let him consider what happens during public feasts of the Lord or those of holy martyrs.

Isaiah 60:10

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

Cyrus ordained the reconstruction of Jerusalem, but the work remained unfinished. Under Darius, the son of Hystapis, only the temple of God was reconstructed. Under Artaxerxes the Long-armed, Nehemiah—who was not a stranger but a Jew—was engaged in the reconstruction of the walls. The money that he possessed to cover the expense was not provided from royal riches, but he had gathered it as the result of a collection; and, after the conquest of the Jews, the Roman emperors rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Whoever would wish, however, to understand [the text] more precisely will find that these are the teachers who have come from foreign nations who watch over it and guard it by their prayers and their instructions. “For by reason of my wrath I struck you, and by reason of mercy I loved you.” That applies both to the ancient Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by reason of [their] sins, and to the reconstruction by reason of the singular [divine] benevolence, and to the church of God, which was formerly like a desert, since it did not benefit from divine solicitude but which has enjoyed…

Cyrus ordained the reconstruction of Jerusalem, but the work remained unfinished. Under Darius, the son of Hystapis, only the temple of God was reconstructed. Under Artaxerxes the Long-armed, Nehemiah—who was not a stranger but a Jew—was engaged in the reconstruction of the walls. The money that he possessed to cover the expense was not provided from royal riches, but he had gathered it as the result of a collection; and, after the conquest of the Jews, the Roman emperors rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Whoever would wish, however, to understand [the text] more precisely will find that these are the teachers who have come from foreign nations who watch over it and guard it by their prayers and their instructions. “For by reason of my wrath I struck you, and by reason of mercy I loved you.” That applies both to the ancient Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by reason of [their] sins, and to the reconstruction by reason of the singular [divine] benevolence, and to the church of God, which was formerly like a desert, since it did not benefit from divine solicitude but which has enjoyed the result of the Savior’s providence.

Isaiah 60:11-12

Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

Which power of the nations ran toward the former Jerusalem to worship? Which kings were led to worship the God of the universe? But the gates of the church of God are always open to receive the arrivals, and they receive also the godly kings drawn there by the teaching of the holy apostles.…The Babylonians hardly idolized Jerusalem, whereas the majority of the members of the Gentiles adore the church of God and that is particularly true of their offspring. When the parents have reached the end of their life, their children, having learned the truth from them, present worship to the Savior by carrying out their acts of worship in the houses of prayer.… For the earthly Jerusalem received another name, when the Roman kings called it Aelia. How then can the accuracy of the prophecy be shown unless one understand “Zion” more in a spiritual sense?… The church of God demonstrates the truth of this prediction. It continually receives royal gifts and welcomes that which is brought forth from the nations as it sings the praises of the One who is the cause of all these.

Isaiah 60:18

Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

Everyone will see a truer fulfillment of these promises in the future life. That life is free from all injustice. That life is adorned with the highest justice. That life is in truth without sorrow and exempt from troubles. However, one also finds, as it were, a prefigurement of a similar state of affairs even now in the church of God. It has been freed from the error of idols, it continually extols the God of the universe in hymns and its leaders watch (insofar as it is in their power) over the interests of those who are victims of injustice.

Isaiah 60:19-20

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

This is exactly what the future life possesses. It will need neither moon nor sun, since it has the ineffable light of God. But those who believe can take advantage of it in a provisional form. Nevertheless, in a figurative sense, believers enjoy this light even now. When they are illuminated by this light, they take the road that is free from error.… And this is what is announced about the life to come. It will have immutability of thought. It will be arrayed in righteousness forever. It will have freedom from sin. It will not have an excess of either youth or age. Instead, it will have a life without end. And in that life those who are worthy will inherit the land of the living.

Isaiah 60:21

Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

From the various translations and the Septuagint we find that the author of these words, and so to speak, the gardener, is the God of the universe. For it is he who has planted his church. It is he who watches over it now. It is he who has made it grow and he who receives the glory that proceeds from it.

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

After completing these predictions, Isaiah now turns the prophecy to Christ the Master, who in the present life has given these things to the church and has promised the commonwealth to come.… We do not need many examples to explain the meaning of this prophecy. For the Master himself has made it clear to us. For, entering the synagogue he took the book, unrolled it … and he was anointed by the All-Holy Spirit, not as God but as man. For we have often made this manifest already in our other writings.…Isaiah calls “poor” those who have lost heavenly riches, “broken-hearted” those who have corrupted their reason, “blind” those who do not know God and who worship creation, “prisoner” those brought into the enemy’s camp and who have lost their original freedom.… Christ did not only give to us the forgiveness of sins and free us from the tyranny of the devil and reveal to us the divine light, but he also announced the future existence and warned of the righteous judgment. For I think that “the year of grace” means his first coming and “day of recompense” the day of judgment. To console al…

After completing these predictions, Isaiah now turns the prophecy to Christ the Master, who in the present life has given these things to the church and has promised the commonwealth to come.… We do not need many examples to explain the meaning of this prophecy. For the Master himself has made it clear to us. For, entering the synagogue he took the book, unrolled it … and he was anointed by the All-Holy Spirit, not as God but as man. For we have often made this manifest already in our other writings.…Isaiah calls “poor” those who have lost heavenly riches, “broken-hearted” those who have corrupted their reason, “blind” those who do not know God and who worship creation, “prisoner” those brought into the enemy’s camp and who have lost their original freedom.… Christ did not only give to us the forgiveness of sins and free us from the tyranny of the devil and reveal to us the divine light, but he also announced the future existence and warned of the righteous judgment. For I think that “the year of grace” means his first coming and “day of recompense” the day of judgment. To console all who mourn with the hope of the resurrection, he has tempered the despair of death.…
“Perfume of joy,” which Theodotion and Symmachus translate by “oil of gladness,” refers to the mystical anointing through which those made worthy receive the cloak of glory; for “cloak” must be understood as spiritual clothing.…
As the blessed David says, “This is the generation that seeks the Lord.” The three interpreters, instead of “the generations of justice,” have “the strong ones of justice, a plantation of the Lord for his glory.” In this way, the finest generals of godliness, as they roam the globe, remove impiety, and they plant in the desert the first plantations of the Lord.

Isaiah 61:4

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

This is said to the holy apostles, “Do not be distressed when you are persecuted, tortured and disgraced among all and endure death of a thousand vanities. For through your sufferings the nations will gain salvation, and they will have a portion among those rejoicing.”

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Here in the person of the church he cries to its benefactor, … “May my soul rejoice.” … He calls the grace of baptism “the garment of salvation” and “the cloak of joy,” for “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” For in the Hebrew language the garment of salvation is called the garment of “Jeshua,” that is, of Jesus, like a young groom. … She both calls herself a bride, because she has been yoked to the bridegroom, and a bridegroom, because she has put on the bridegroom [Christ]. As for the mitre, the three interpreters translate it as “crown.” Of this adornment the blessed David comments, “The queen is here on your right, arrayed in a multicolored golden vestment.” The text means the multicolored gifts of the All-Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 62:4

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

Those who believe in the Lord received a new title; they are not called after Abraham or Israel or Judah but are named after the master, Christ. For they are called Christians by everyone, since they have put on Christ through the most holy baptism.

Isaiah 62:6-7

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

Again, he gives the name Jerusalem to the bride but calls guards those who lead the godly people through city and town, those who night and day sing praises to God and guard the city. If one wants to take these as angels, one would not be far wrong. For it says, “The angel of the Lord will encircle those who are afraid and protect them.”

Isaiah 62:8

The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:

As you battle courageously, I will lead from the front. Since there is no one else better by whom one should swear, then by my own glory and by my own power I swear, since I will guard your harvest for you and stop those who are perpetual thieves, while you will profit from your own labors. Wheat and wine and food, spiritually speaking, signify the harvest of righteousness.

Isaiah 62:11

Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Thus, what God has indicated to the ends of the earth is not the reconstruction of Jerusalem but the cross, the passion, the resurrection, the ascension of the Master to the heavens, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the hope of future benefits. He commands the heralds to prepare the road and to make it level … by removing difficulties. For he calls obstacles “stones.” … Then, once the route has been arranged, he ordains the heralds to say to the daughter of Zion, that is, to the church extended throughout the world, “Behold, your Savior has come to you, having his reward and his work before his face.”

Isaiah 63:4-6

For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

They call the red land “Edom,” and “Bosor” to the flesh; they were amazed at the ineffable beauty of the one wrapped in earthly and fleshly apparel, such as to drive those who looked to love. The blessed David is mindful of this beauty: “Fair and beautiful among the sons of humankind.” That Edom means flame-colored is affirmed in the Song of Songs by the bride, who cries, “My beloved is red and white.” Christ’s nature is twofold. Therefore, white means the inaccessible light of divinity, red the human appearance.…For this is the time for these who were brazen to receive retribution and for those unjustly enslaved by them to get their freedom.… He calls “arm” the power of righteousness, for he guarded spotless and free from sin the nature that he assumed.… We who have benefited from this good work and have been delivered from that bitter slavery, let us sing praises to the author of these things. He was the one who underwent the battle and provided us with the gift of victory and peace. Let us hope that we can enjoy this victory until the end, by the grace of the one who has conquered…

They call the red land “Edom,” and “Bosor” to the flesh; they were amazed at the ineffable beauty of the one wrapped in earthly and fleshly apparel, such as to drive those who looked to love. The blessed David is mindful of this beauty: “Fair and beautiful among the sons of humankind.” That Edom means flame-colored is affirmed in the Song of Songs by the bride, who cries, “My beloved is red and white.” Christ’s nature is twofold. Therefore, white means the inaccessible light of divinity, red the human appearance.…For this is the time for these who were brazen to receive retribution and for those unjustly enslaved by them to get their freedom.…
He calls “arm” the power of righteousness, for he guarded spotless and free from sin the nature that he assumed.… We who have benefited from this good work and have been delivered from that bitter slavery, let us sing praises to the author of these things. He was the one who underwent the battle and provided us with the gift of victory and peace. Let us hope that we can enjoy this victory until the end, by the grace of the one who has conquered.

Isaiah 63:9

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

For the grace of the incarnation is of mercy and good will. Aquila translates, instead of “virtues,” “hymns”; Theodotion and Symmachus render it “songs of praise.” For “make retribution,” Symmachus has “work benefits.” But the Septuagint is more accurate in putting “make retribution,” since we deserved punishment but received salvation instead of punishment.… He switches us to the opposite, giving us good things in place of bad.… He does not use justice only in judging, but he moderates justice with mercy, or rather good will wins over justice.

Isaiah 63:13

That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?

Just as with Pharaoh and the Egyptians chasing them, the people led by Moses crossed the sea, so, too, as the devil and the demons were waging war, Christ the master shattered the gates of death, was first to go through them and took with him human nature in its entirety!

Isaiah 63:17

O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Your great tolerance encouraged our shamelessness. When you did not punish our sins, we remained transgressors, disregarding your laws. In the same sense, God said to the blessed Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” He used his great forbearance and tolerance and punishes Pharaoh only with frogs and locusts and flies to begin with, and Pharaoh thought that God could not increase the level of punishment.… You have been patient for a long time; you have not disciplined us, seeing us transgressing without a care; we have accordingly hardened our hearts and as a consequence left the straight path.

Isaiah 63:19

We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

The holy of holies of the sanctuary, which it was forbidden to touch and to which access was reserved for priests alone, has been despoiled and trampled by impious enemies. For the Babylonians were not the only impious ones; the Macedonians and the Romans were also, when they devastated Jerusalem.… We have resembled our ancestors who, in the time of slavery in Egypt, had not yet received the title of “your people.”

Isaiah 64:3

When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.

These things we suffered were not on account of your weakness but on account of our transgression. For when you make your personal appearance from heaven, the mountains will melt and dissolve like wax too near to the fire. For fire will feast on our enemies, and your power will become obvious to all.

Isaiah 64:4

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

He has shown the justice of mercy. For the mercy of God is not without judgment, nor is his judgment lacking in mercy. On that account he adds the provision of his mercy to those who are patient and acting justly.… He compares not their sin but their righteousness with an unclean rag. Now if it is their righteousness that is compared with this, it is because their sin does not have anything with which it can be compared.