Isaiah 4

Second, their fecundity is represented by the seven women in Isaiah: Seven women will take hold of one man on that day. A man, because these virtues produce virility; and one, because they do not divide him, but make him stable and fruitful.

(Chapter IV, Verse 1) And in that day, seven women will take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach. When the most beautiful of the city of Jerusalem fall by the sword and the strong ones perish in battle, and its gates mourn and lament; and it becomes desolate due to the scarcity of people, with the warriors being killed, seven women will take hold of one man, desiring to have offspring in Zion and descendants in Jerusalem. They say that they have food and clothing, only so that they will not appear without a husband and be subject to the curse that is written: Cursed is the barren woman, who does not bear children in Israel (Deuteronomy 7). Zacharias also agrees with this interpretation: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will seize the hem of a Jewish man, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zech. VIII, 23). The number seven and ten are familiar to the Jews due to the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments of the law, and therefore they often use them; although according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, which interprets the word Saba () as both seven and several or an oath, it may not mean seven in this passage, but rather several. This according to the letter. However, in the coming of the Lord and Savior, the seven women, that is, the seven graces of the Holy Spirit, of whom the same Prophet will speak in the following words: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2) They will lay hold of Jesus, whom they have long desired, for they could find no other in whom they could find eternal rest. And John the Baptist confirms in the Gospel: And he who sent me said to me: Upon whom you see the Holy Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he is the one (John 1:33). In Zachariah, we also read about a stone with seven eyes, and in a golden candlestick, seven lamps and seven tubes, and two olive trees on either side of the lampstand, firmly rooted (Zechariah 3). However, the grace of the Holy Spirit, possessing all things, does not need explanation. But because he always suffered reproach among men, while no one living was seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit, therefore they desire to invoke the name of Jesus, so that what was imperfect in the Law may be fulfilled in the Gospel.

The "seven women" suffer "reproach" and go about seeking to receive the one who is able to "take away their reproach". These same "seven women" make a promise, that they will "eat their own bread and be clothed with their own garments". They have no need of the "bread" of him who "takes away their reproach"; they do not lack the "garments of a man" whom they "take". They have better "garments" than a "man" can supply to them; they have more sumptuous foods than the human condition can bestow. It is therefore worth considering whose these "seven women" are and what their "reproach" is. The "seven women" are one; for they are the "Spirit of God". And this one is seven; for the "Spirit of God" is "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord". This "wisdom" suffers "reproach" from the many wisdoms that rise up against it; this true "understanding" bears "reproach" from false understandings; this great "counsel" is reproached by many counsels that are not good; this "might" is reviled by a certain thing which, though it is not "might", promises that it is "might"; this "knowledge" suffers "reproach" from a certain "knowledge" of false name that filches its name; this "piety" is reproached by that which, though it calls itself "piety", is impiety and instructs the impious; this "fear" suffers "reproach" from that which is thought to be "fear"; for many promise a divine dread, but they do not fear "with knowledge". Let us therefore consider in what way these "seven" suffer "reproach". See the "wisdom of this world", see the "wisdom of the princes of this world", how they reproach the "wisdom" of my Christ, how they reproach the "wisdom" of the true Judaism, according to which we are circumcised spiritually, while those others are cut off. Understand, then, how the "wisdom of this world and of the princes of this world" reviles "wisdom"; and on this account a "man" is sought who may be with these "seven" spiritual "women", that he may "take away their reproach". Properly there is "one" "man" who may "take away their reproach". Who is this "man"? Jesus, who "came forth according to the flesh" "from the root of Jesse", "made of the seed of David according to the flesh, predestined the Son of God in power according to the spirit of justification". For "there came forth a rod from the root of Jesse". The "rod" is not "the firstborn of all creation", the "rod" is not "he who in the beginning was with God, God the Word", but "a rod from the root of Jesse", who "was born according to the flesh". "There came forth", therefore, "a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root". What is the "flower" and what is the "root"? For both are one in him who lies beneath; but the difference is one of dealings. For if you are a sinner, there is no "flower" for you, nor will you see the "flower which is from the root of Jesse"; for the "rod" will come even to you, just as the disciple speaks of the "rod" and the "flower". Of the "rod" indeed he says: "what do you wish? shall I come to you with a rod?", but of the "flower": "or in the love of God and the spirit of gentleness?". "There came forth", therefore, "from the root of Jesse a rod" for him who is punished with penalties, a "rod" for him who needs rebuke, a "rod" for him who has need to be reproved; but a "flower" for him who is already instructed and does not need harsh correction, or at least does not need punishments, but is now strong enough to begin to flower toward perfect fruit. For first the "flower" is shown, and then after the "flower" it becomes a "rod" unto fruit. "There came forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root. And the seven women shall rest, the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him". For the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in Moses, the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in Joshua son of Nun, the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in each of the prophets, in Isaiah, in Jeremiah.

But do not stone me as though I were blaspheming, while I desire to glorify my Lord Jesus Christ; rather, bearing with me, consider what is said, and you will see that in none of them did the "spirit rest", not because it came to none, but because it "rested" in none. It came "upon" Moses, and Moses does not believe after the "spirit of wisdom" that came to him. For he says: "Hear, you rebels: shall I bring forth water for you out of this rock?" It came "upon" all the just, it came also "upon" Isaiah. But what does he say? "Having unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips". The "spirit of wisdom" came after that "tongs" and fire, it came to him "having unclean lips", but it did "not rest". It used him indeed as a minister, but it did "not rest"; it is troubled, to whatever of men it comes. For every man sins, "there is no just man upon the earth who does good and does not sin"; "no one is clean from filth, not even if his life be of one day, but his months are numbered". Therefore it "rests upon" none. We can also prove from the Gospel that the "spirit came upon" many and "did not remain in" them. A little while ago it was read: "my spirit shall not remain in these men forever"; he does not say: it shall not be, but: "it shall not remain". John saw one alone in whom it "remained", and this was the sign: "upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the Son of God". A certain one ministered to the Word of God when the "spirit descended"; a little after he "sins", a little after he speaks an "idle word". But I do not know whether he even remains without sin; do you think that, with the "spirit" present, it is granted to sin? "Upon" none, therefore, did "the Spirit of God rest", according to what is written: "there came forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root, and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might". On account of this he is the "angel of great counsel", on account of this he grew strong and, growing strong, ascended, and the powers marvel at him as he ascends and say of him: this is "the Lord strong and mighty in battle". To him, then, as he ascends into the heavenly places, or to his strength, I will say that: "the spirit of counsel and might rested upon him"; "the Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become for me salvation". "There rested", therefore, "upon him the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of God filled him".

The "women", therefore, seeking whom they may "take, seven shall lay hold of one man". And this depends on what precedes, and one must first know when the "seven women receive one man". When the "strong ones" of Jerusalem "have been humbled", when the "cases of the ornament" of the daughters of Zion "have mourned", when she "has been left" "alone", when she "has been dashed to the ground", then "seven women shall lay hold of one man, saying: we will eat our own bread, and we will be clothed with our own garments; only let your name be invoked upon us", then "did they lay hold" and truly hold fast "seven women, one man", Jesus Christ our Lord, according to which he is understood to be "man", according to which he was born, according to which he took up a body. "Seven women shall lay hold of one man, saying: we will eat our own bread". Many "men" walk about and the "women lay hold" of none, no "man" pleases them; for it is not on account of a scarcity of men that they "lay hold of one man", but on account of the rarity of the "man" such as they wished, such as they sought; "one" "man" only they found, whom they "laid hold of", that they might "say" to him: "we will eat our own bread and be clothed with our own garments". There is a certain food of "wisdom", there is likewise a certain food both of "understanding" and of the other "spirits". What is this food? I am not afraid to say: there is another food beyond these; perhaps, as my food is the word of God, who says: "I am the living bread who came down from heaven" and "I give life to the world", so the food of "wisdom" is the Father himself, on account of this: "my food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to complete his work". Nor is it to be thought that "wisdom" and "understanding" and the rest of the "spirits" lack anything, because they have another food, since of the whole dispensation there is one food, the nature of God. "We will eat our own bread and be clothed with our own garments". There is a certain adornment of "wisdom", with which it is adorned; "wisdom" is adorned with speech. Each of these "women" has her adornments. "Only let your name be invoked upon us, take away our reproach". What is the "name of wisdom"? Jesus. What is: "let your name be invoked upon us"? I am "wisdom", I wish to be called by your name, that I, "wisdom", may be called Jesus, that "understanding" and "great counsel" and "might" and "knowledge" and "piety" and "the fear of God" may be named Jesus, that your "name" may become "all in all". "Let your name be invoked upon us, take away our reproach". Truly Jesus "took away the reproach". Therefore, rising up, let us pray to God, who sent this "man" and in whom "the spirit of the seven women rested", that this "man" may grant to us also the fellowship of these "women", and that, taking them up, we may become wise and understanding in God, and that the other virtues may adorn our soul in Christ Jesus, "to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages, Amen!".

133. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man. After he denounces the calumny of the oppressors in chapters 2 and 3, in this chapter, the prophet sets out the consolation of the oppressed. And this is divided into two parts:

in the first, he consoles them against the oppression of women;

in the second, against the oppression of tyrants, where it says, in that day (Isa 4:2).

134. Now women are accustomed to be troublesome to men in three matters, namely, in contempt of men, and as to this, he says: and in that day seven women shall take hold: which the Gloss explains literally, that it could have been that after the captivity, many men having been killed, there remained more women than men, so that seven women sought to have one man, below: a man shall be more precious than gold, yea a man than the finest of gold (Isa 13:12).

Second, they were accustomed to be troublesome in superfluous food and clothing, and as to this he says: we will eat our own bread, as if to say: it will not be necessary that he give expenses to them: she is like the merchant's ship, she brings her bread from afar. She has sought wool and flax, and has wrought by the counsel of her hands (Prov 31:13–14).

Third, they are troublesome in the haughtiness of pride, and as to this he says: only let your name be called upon us, that we may be called your wives, take away our reproach, namely, of barrenness. No one shall be barren among you of either sex, neither of men nor cattle (Deut 7:14).

135. But from this it seems that it may be lawful to have many wives, because the Lord never consoles through something unlawful. Moreover, every sin is unnatural; but for one man to have many wives is natural, because one man can impregnate many women.

To this is to be said that, as the Philosopher says, the joining of male and female among men is not only for the sake of generation, as in brute animals, but also for advantage of life: hence male and female have different operations, by which they give help to each other. Therefore, as far as something is otherwise ordered to these ends, so far is it otherwise called natural or unnatural. For that which in no manner can stand with the stated end is entirely unnatural, and never can be good, as the vice of sodomy, and as when one woman has many husbands, since one woman cannot be impregnated by many men, and as regards civil life, because one woman is not ruled by many men, but the contrary. However, something can, considered in itself, stand indifferently in relation to the stated end; and this can be determined in various times in various ways according to various cases by a lawgiver: and it will be the positive just, as with the degrees of consanguinity.

136. There is, however, something through which someone can pursue the end, but which nevertheless impedes the end in the majority of cases. And this is, of itself, unnatural, but it can be lawful according to the dispensation of a lawgiver attending to special cases. And such is it for one man may have wives: for one man can rule many women according to civil life, and one man can impregnate many women; but, nevertheless, something presents an impediment to generation, since it is necessary for the seed of a man to be prepared, and this cannot happen with those engaging frequently in intercourse, because of which such men are frequently sterile. And yet more does it impede common life, because the perfect friendship of the sort which exists between a man and his wife, for whom man even leaves his father and mother (Gen 2:24), cannot be had with many wives.

142. The Gloss, however, touches on a twofold mystery. Some explain the seven women (Isa 4:1) as churches, and according to this, this chapter is divided into three parts:

first is placed the espousal;

second, the exaltation of the bridegroom, where it says, in that day (Isa 4:2);

third, the government of the bridegroom, where it says, and it shall come to pass (Isa 4:3).

Now the espousal is through faith: I will espouse you to me in faith (Hos 2:20). Hence he puts forth three things.

First, the communication of faith, seven women (Isa 4:1), the seven churches, of which Revelation 1:4 says: John to the seven churches which are in Asia, in which are contained all churches according to the fifth rule of Tyconius, shall take hold, through faith; one man, that is, Christ: I will take hold of you, and bring you into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me (Song 8:2).

Second, the manifestation of hope, which is from receiving the sacrament: we will eat our own bread, the body of Christ given to us: the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world (John 6:52); and which is from receiving the gift of virtue: we will wear our own apparel, that is, the virtues: I clothed you with embroidery, and shod you with violet colored shoes: . . . and clothed you with fine garments, and I decked you also with ornaments (Ezek 16:10–11).

Third, the desire or the petition of charity, which is from the attainment of the name Christian: only let your name be called upon us, as from Christ we are called Christians: there is no other name under heaven . . . whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12); and from the removal of guilt: take away our reproach, which we suffer from the Jews, who say we are without the law: this day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt (Josh 5:9).

143. Note on words, we will eat our own bread (Isa 4:1). That bread gives pardon for our faults: give us this day our supersubstantial bread, and forgive us our debts (Matt 6:11–12); it gives us the life of grace: the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world (John 6:52); it strengthens us for battle: bread strengthens man's heart (Ps 103[104]:15); it strengthens us for the journey: he walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights (1 Kgs 19:8); it gives us a foretaste of glory itself: you gave them bread from heaven, prepared without labor; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste (Wis 16:20).

144. According to other glosses, it is divided thus:

in the first part is noted the fullness of grace;

in the second, the exaltation of grace, in that day (Isa 4:2);

in the third, the good government of subjects is set out, where it says, and it shall come to pass (Isa 4:3).

Concerning the first, he does three things.

First, he places the abundance of gifts, seven women (Isa 4:1), that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are called women because, through them, one is begotten and nourished in God; one man, that is, Christ singularly, who alone is without sin: we saw him as it were of the only begotten, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Second, the sufficiency of the gifts in perfect enjoyment: we will eat our own bread, namely, of heaven, which the Holy Spirit, to whom the gifts belong, enjoys perfectly, just as the Son does: my meat is to do the will of him that sent me (John 4:34); in the testimony of the Scriptures: and we will wear our own apparel, that is, the word of God, by whom the gifts are furnished.

Third, the perfection of the gifts through Christ as to the conferring of salvation: let your name, that is, the thing signified by your name, namely, salvation, be called upon us, that is, upon those—us—who have been filled up, for of his fullness we all have received: grace for grace (John 1:16); for before Christ, the gifts did not lead to the kingdom. As to the removal of errors: take away our reproach, which we suffer from false virtues, which steal our good name: the night is passed and the day is at hand. Let us, therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Rom 13:12); catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines (Song 2:15); or the reproach which we suffer in the rejection of men, who, in sinning, reject us. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful (Wis 1:5), and added to this, he shall not abide when iniquity comes in.

"And He had in His right hand seven stars." He said that in His right hand He had seven stars, because the Holy Spirit of sevenfold agency was given into His power by the Father. As Peter exclaimed to the Jews: "Being at the right hand of God exalted, He hath shed forth this Spirit received from the Father, which ye both see and hear." Moreover, John the Baptist had also anticipated this, by saying to his disciples: "For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father," says he, "loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands." Those seven stars are the seven churches, which he names in his addresses by name, old calls them to whom he wrote epistles. Not that they are themselves the only, or even the principal churches; but what he says to one, he says to all. For they are in no respect different, that on that ground any one should prefer them to the larger number of similar small ones. In the whole world Paul taught that all the churches are arranged by sevens, that they are called seven, and that the Catholic Church is one. And first of all, indeed, that he himself also might maintain the type of seven churches, he did not exceed that number. But he wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians; afterwards he wrote to individual persons, so as not to exceed the number of seven churches. And abridging in a short space his announcement, he thus says to Timothy: "That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the Church of the living God." We read also that this typical number is announced by the Holy Spirit by the month of Isaiah: "Of seven women which took hold of one man." The one man is Christ, not born of seed; but the seven women are seven churches, receiving His bread, and clothed with his apparel, who ask that their reproach should be taken away, only that His name should be called upon them. The bread is the Holy Spirit, which nourishes to eternal life, promised to them, that is, by faith. And His garments wherewith they desire to be clothed are the glory of immortality, of which Paul the apostle says: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on mortality." Moreover, they ask that their reproach may be taken away-that is, that they may be cleansed from their sins: for the reproach is the original sin which is taken away in baptism, and they begin to be called Christian men, which is, "Let thy name be called upon us." Therefore in these seven churches, of one Catholic Church are believers, because it is one in seven by the quality of faith and election. Whether writing to them who labour in the world, and live of the frugality of their labours, and are patient, and when they see certain men in the Church wasters, and pernicious, they hear them, lest there should become dissension, he yet admonishes them by love, that in what respects their faith is deficient they should repent; or to those who dwell in cruel places among persecutors, that they should continue faithful; or to those who, under the pretext of mercy, do unlawful sins in the Church, and make them manifest to be done by others; or to those that are at ease in the Church; or to those who are negligent, and Christians only in name; or to those who are meekly instructed, that they may bravely persevere in faith; or to those who study the Scriptures, and labour to know the mysteries of their announcement, and are unwilling to do God's work that is mercy and love: to all he urges penitence, to all he declares judgment.

The Lord indeed gave of his generosity in that he arranged to liberate the human race from the crime of its transgression through his only-begotten Son. He gave of his generosity because with the grace of the Holy Spirit he consecrated for his entry the temple of a virginal womb. And our earth gave its fruit because the same virgin who had her body from the earth bore a son who was coequal to God the Father in his divinity but by the reality of [his] flesh consubstantial with her. Concerning this, Isaiah also, looking toward the time of human redemption, said, "On that day the branch of the Lord will be in magnificence and in glory, and the fruit of the earth will be sublime." The branch of the Lord was in magnificence and glory when the undying Son of God, appearing temporally in the flesh as a bright light, poured out upon the world the greatness of his heavenly virtues. The fruit of the earth became sublime when the mortal flesh that God received from our nature, already rendered immortal in virtue of the resurrection, was raised up to heaven.

The third mode of generation is by means of propagation, and this in a fourfold way: as of a growth coming from a seed, a tree from a root, a conceived offspring from the belly or womb of the mother, or children from a begetting father. In the first mode of generation, formal beauty is lacking, for in the seed the form is vague and hidden. It is not so in the case of the Son. In the second, conformity is lacking, for although there is a single root, it is different in shape from the branches even though they produce a single tree. In the third, actuality is lacking, for although the mother is in a certain sense the active principle of the offspring, yet she is much more of a passive principle. In the fourth, eternal coexistence is lacking.

Now, take away these defects and suppose first formal beauty. In this sense, there is Isaiah: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." Second, suppose conformity: The Son conforms to the Father to the point that He is "the tree of life... in the midst of the garden." Hence, in Proverbs: "She is a tree of life to those who grasp her." Third, suppose actuality: in this sense, you have the Psalm: "With Thee is the principality in the day of Thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot Thee. From the womb," says the Psalmist, which is in relation to the warmth of the Father's bosom, from which He does not withdraw. Fourth, suppose eternal coexistence. In this sense, there is the Psalm: "This day I have begotten You," that is in eternity, or in My eternal today.

Fourth is the fullness of restoring fruits. Isaiah says: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." And when was this? When the woman said: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!"

(Verse 2, 3) On that day, the Lord's shoot will be in splendor and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be exalted, and those who have been saved from Israel will rejoice. And it will be, everyone who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded in life in Jerusalem. When the daughters of Zion have lost all their pride and all their adornment, and her gates have mourned and she herself is desolate, and all her warriors have perished in battle, to the point that many women can hardly find one man: then the shoot of the Christian name will arise, and the land will yield its fruit. And there will be rejoicing for those who have been saved from Israel, of whom it has been said before: Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom, and similar to Gomorrah (Isa. 1:9). And note that not all Israel will be saved, but the remnant of the people of Zion and the remainder in Jerusalem; all who are enrolled in life in Jerusalem, to whom the Lord also spoke: Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). It signifies the Apostles and those who believed through the Apostles.

137. In that day. Here he promises exaltation against the oppression of tyrants.

And first, as to prosperity in temporal things;

second, as to holiness in spiritual things, where it says, and it shall come to pass, that every one (Isa 4:3);

third, as to security from enemies, where it says, and the Lord created (Isa 4:5).

And he promises prosperity in three things.

First, as to the honor of men, when he says, in that day, namely, after the return from captivity, the bud of the Lord, that is, the sons of Judah, of whom it says, below: the men of Judah, his pleasant plant (Isa 5:7); shall be in magnificence, as to the great things which they will do, and especially in the time of the Maccabees, and glory, as to the honor which they will receive: he saw the glory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great equipage, and he was astonished (1 Macc 15:32).

Second, as to abundance of fruits: and the fruit of the earth shall be high, that is, products of the soil in abundance: the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed: and the mountains shall drop sweetness (Amos 9:13); our earth shall yield her fruit (Ps 84:13[85:12]).

Third, as to joyfulness of hearts, and a great joy to them that shall have escaped, returning from captivity, below: joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise (Isa 51:3).

145. In that day (Isa 4:2). Here the exaltation is set out.

And first, as to the working of miracles: in magnificence: magnificent in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy, doing wonders (Exod 15:11);

second, as to his glorious resurrection, and glory, below: arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion (Isa 52:1);

third, as to his ascension: and the fruit of the earth, that is, the son of the virgin, shall be high, below: behold my servant shall understand, he shall be exalted, and extolled, and shall be exceeding high (Isa 52:13);

as to the veneration of the whole world, about which Philippians 2:10 says: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And a great joy, below: they shall rejoice before you, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey (Isa 9:3).

138. And it shall come to pass, that every one. Here he promises holiness in spiritual things, and concerning this he does three things.

First, he promises to spread among the people the name of holiness, which to a greater extent drew those desiring glory; hence he says, and it shall come to pass, this which follows, in those times, every one that shall be left in Zion, in life, and that shall remain, of those conquered by death, shall be called holy, below: you shall be called the priests of the Lord: to you it shall be said: you ministers of our God (Isa 61:6); below: that which shall stand therein, shall be a holy seed (Isa 6:13).

Second, he places the sign of those made holy: every one that is written in life in Jerusalem, that is, all whose procession of life and generation from their parents was written in the annals, as we read in Ezra 2:59–63 concerning some who usurped an office to themselves, and whose genealogy was not enumerated.

146. And it shall come to pass (Isa 4:3). Here the government is set out:

and first, as to sanctification;

second, as to the order of sanctification, where it says, if the Lord shall wash away (Isa 4:4);

third, he sets out the protection of those who are sanctified: and the Lord created (Isa 4:5).

147. Three things are required for someone's sanctity.

First, distinction with faith; and as to this, he says: that shall be left, cast out from the unbelieving, as distinct, in Zion, which is a looking-glass, because faith sees through a glass and in a dark manner (1 Cor 13:12), below: in truth, the remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to the mighty God. If your people, O Israel, shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be converted (Isa 10:20–22).

Second, tranquility for peace: that shall remain, as if resting, in Jerusalem, which is a vision of peace, below: Jerusalem, the city of the Holy One (Isa 52:1).

Third, predestination for glory: every one that is written: rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). I will not blot out his name out of the book of life (Rev 3:5).

The greatest cleansing is the spiritual washing that washes away the filth of the soul. The inspired word speaks of such a washing: "The Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Israel and shall wash away the blood from their midst." This refers to the blood of immortality as well as the killing of the prophets. He means by this purification, seen from the added phrase, "by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." The washing of the body, however, is physical and is accomplished only by water. In fact, it can even be done in fields far away from the baths.

(Verse 4.) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from its midst with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the remnant of Israel shall be saved when their sins are forgiven in the baptism of the Savior and that blood is cleansed, the blood that the wandering people invoked upon themselves saying: His blood be upon us and upon our children (Matthew 27:25). Hence, we read above: When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15-16). And afterwards, provoking them to repentance, he brings forth this: Be washed, be made clean. And take note that the filth of the daughters of Zion will be washed away by the spirit of judgment, but the blood of Jerusalem will be washed away by the spirit of burning. For what is light is washed away, but what is heavier is burned up. Concerning this spirit of judgment and spirit of burning, John the Baptist spoke in the Gospel: I baptize you with water, but he who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). From this we learn that while man gives only water, God gives the Holy Spirit, by which both filth is washed away and the sins of blood are cleansed.

Then there follows: "when the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem". On account of the purification, he says, "of them". Of whom, "of them"? If it had been written: on account of her purification, that is, of Mary, who had given birth, no question would arise, and we would boldly say that Mary, who was human, had need of purification after childbirth. But now, in that it says: "the days of their purification", it seems to signify not one, but another or several. Did Jesus, then, have need of purification and was he unclean, or defiled with some filth? Perhaps I seem to speak rashly, but I am moved by the authority of the Scriptures. See what is written in Job: "no one is clean from filth, not even if his life should be of a single day". He did not say: "no one is clean from sin," but: "no one is clean from filth". For filth and sins do not signify the same thing; and that you may know that filth means one thing and sin another, Isaiah teaches most plainly, saying: "the Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst, by the spirit of judgment the filth and by the spirit of burning the blood". Every soul that has been clothed with a human body has its own "filth". And that you may know that Jesus too was made filthy by his own will, because for our salvation he had assumed a human body, listen to the prophet Zechariah saying: "Jesus was clothed with filthy garments".

When one has recognized the differences in sins, one can see how the Lord says in Isaiah, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion and will cleanse the blood from their midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning." Filth is washed away by a spirit of judgment. Blood is washed away by a spirit of burning. Even if you have not committed a sin that leads to death, you have still sinned and have thereby become filthy. The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and he will cleanse the blood from among them. A spirit of judgment will be the recompense for filth, and a spirit of burning will be a recompense for the blood. Whenever we commit heinous sins, we do not need lye or washing with soap; rather we need the spirit of burning.

Third, the manner of sanctification: if the Lord shall wash away, that is, if yet before he shall wash away, the filth, of vices, and the blood, of the prophets poured out, out of the midst thereof, not in a corner, by which the public nature of their sin is noted, by the spirit of judgment, as to the equity of the punishment, and by the spirit of burning, that is, of tribulation as to its harshness. By the spirit, that is, the wind, metaphorically, by which an area is purged: a burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people (Jer 4:11), supply: to fan and to cleanse.

148. If the Lord shall wash away (Isa 4:4). Here the order of sanctification is set out.

And first, through the washing of baptism: the filth, of actual faults, and the blood, of original sin; or the filth, of venial sins, the blood, of mortal sins: I washed you with water, and cleansed away your blood from you (Ezek 16:9).

Through the distinction of penance: the spirit of judgment: but if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged [by the Lord] (1 Cor 11:31); but by his loving passion: the spirit of burning, that is, of his love, which none is greater than: greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13); for this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins (Matt 26:28).

(Verse 5) And the Lord will create (or created) over every place of Mount Zion, and where he is invoked, a cloud by day, and smoke and the brightness of a flaming fire at night. For in Christ there is a new creation, of which we read elsewhere: The old things have passed away: behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Regarding this, the Septuagint translated: And he will come, and there will be every place of Mount Zion, and all the things that are around it, a cloud will cover during the day, and the light of a flaming fire at night. But who will come except him, of whom it is written: He will come from Zion to free them (Isaiah 59:20, according to the Septuagint). And of whom another prophet mentions: Yet a little while, and he who is to come will come, and will not delay (Habakkuk 2:3). When he comes, the people will be restored to their former happiness, which they once had in the desert; the Lord will lead them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and during the night with a pillar of fire (Exodus 13): so that they may not be disturbed either in prosperity or in adversity. And in the psalm it is said: By day the sun shall not scorch you, nor the moon by night (Ps. CXX, 6). But in this place smoke signifies not error and ignorance, but glory, according to what we shall read in the same prophet, according to the opinion of some: And the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6). And in Joel, concerning the grace of the Holy Spirit which descends upon the apostles, it is said: I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy (Joel II). And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke (Acts 2:17). I think this signifies that which is said in the Psalms: He touches the mountains, and they smoke (Psalm 104:32).

139. And the Lord created. Here he shows their security from enemies, and he continues the metaphor: for because he had compared tribulation to burning, he compares security to a cloud and to a tabernacle, by which one is defended from the burning heat. And this is divided into two parts.

First, he promises divine protection, under the similitude of a cloud;

in the second, under the similitude of a tabernacle, where it says, and there shall be a tabernacle (Isa 4:6).

140. Concerning the first, he does three things.

First, he places the reason for their protection, and the Lord created, already in his foreknowledge, or because of the certitude of the prophecy, he uses the past tense for the future; and he says created because he promoted them from the basest state into such glory, just as what is created is made from nothing; upon every place of mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem, which lies below the stronghold of Zion and the temple, where he is called upon: behold the reason for their protection: but you, O Lord, are among us, and your name is called upon by us (Jer 14:9).

Second, the protection itself is set out: a cloud; and it is set out according to a comparison to the benefit furnished when the sons of Israel came forth from Egypt, about which it is said in Exodus 13:22: there never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people. And therefore he sets out here a cloud by day, as to the first, and a smoke, as to the second, because of the twofold benefit of fire: namely, of heat against the cold, and as to this, he says, smoke, in which is noted the flame, which is smoke set on fire, or because it is the effect of heat; and of brightness against the darkness, and as to this, he says, and the brightness, below: and the light of Israel shall be as a fire, and the Holy One thereof as a flame (Isa 10:17).

Third, he places the magnitude of their protection: over all the glory, because the protection which protects them is God, it will be over all the glory previously presented to you as if exceeding it: great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the first (Hag 2:10).

149. And the Lord created (Isa 4:5). Here the protection of the sanctified is set out. And he sets out universality of the protection as to those protected: hence, upon every; diversity as to the things protecting them, a cloud; and authority as to the things afflicting them: hence, by day. But there are three things in those who are protected: eminence of contemplation in the heart: mount Zion: they that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem (Ps 124[125]:1–2); praises of confession in the mouth, he is called upon: whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13); honesty of conduct in work, glory: our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor 1:12).

150. Furthermore, he protects through four things: through his overshadowing Spirit: a cloud: the power of the Most High shall overshadow you (Luke 1:35); through humbling compunction: a smoke: I will show wonders in heaven; and in earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke (Joel 2:30); through illuminating truth: brightness: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel (Luke 2:32); through the living Church: a tabernacle: behold the tabernacle of God with men: and he will dwell with them (Rev 21:3).

(Verse 6) But protection is above all glory. And it will be a tabernacle for shade from the heat during the day, and for security and hiding from the whirlwind and rain. The Jews interpret this place as referring to Antichrist, whom they believe will be defended by the Lord from a mighty adversary represented by the whirlwind and storm. However, we refer everything to the first coming of Christ, of whom we also read in the Psalms: He protected me in the hiding place of His tabernacle; on a rock He exalted me (Psalm 27:9-10). On this rock, the Church is founded and is not shaken by any storm or overturned by any wind. The majority of the Jews understand both these things and all the things which are associated with them, concerning the captivity in Babylon and the return to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

141. And there shall be a tabernacle. Here he describes the same benefit through the metaphor of a tabernacle. Hence he places the things for which a tabernacle is useful: for it protects against the heat by its shade, and as to this, he says, for a shade in the daytime from the heat, that is, in the day; second, it protects against the attack of the storm, providing security, and as to this he says, and for a security . . . from the whirlwind: for a whirlwind arises from a certain wrestling of winds; third, it protects against the falling of the rains by giving cover, and as to this, he says, and for a covert . . . from rain.

And according to these three things persecution is designated according to the different degrees of its kind, below: and a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind, and hides himself from a storm (Isa 32:2).

151. There are three things that oppose: prosperity that elevates: day; adversity that breaks constancy: night: the sun shall not burn you by day: nor the moon by night (Ps 120[121]:6); persecution that afflicts: heat, through affliction: and the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun (Rev 16:8); and following this, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire. The whirlwind, through assault, below: as whirlwinds come from the south, it comes from the desert from a terrible land (Isa 21:1). From rain, because of its multitude: the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell (Matt 7:27).