Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 2:9-22

"And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low: therefore forgive them not. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?" — Isaiah 2:9-22 (ASV)

1. Therefore forgive them not. Here he threatens them with punishment, which is divided into two parts:

   1. In the first part, he shows them that danger is imminent.
   2. In the second part, he cuts off the means of escape, where it says, cease therefore from the man (Isaiah 2:22).

   He shows them that danger is imminent by taking away three things:

   1. Presumption of divine mercy.
   2. Confidence in their own power, where it says, the lofty eyes of man are humbled (Isaiah 2:11).
   3. The remedy that remained in their confidence in other gods, where it says, in that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver (Isaiah 2:20).

   And because divine mercy has no measure, but always exalts itself above judgment (James 2:13), he does not remove it by foretelling that it will fail, but by calling for it to be applied justly. Therefore, he does two things.

   First, he presents the call for justice, saying that since they commit such vile evils, forgive them not. This is as if to say: Let there be justice, so that you might show them no mercy. Shall I not visit for these things, says the Lord? And shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation? (Jeremiah 5:9).

2. Second, he ironically offers advice for escape, saying, enter you. This is as if to say that since God himself does not send you away, all that remains is for you to hide from his face.

   Enter you into the rock—literally, into the fissures of the rocks to remain there. Hide you in the pit—that is, in the caverns of the earth—from the face of the fear of the Lord. This means from the face of those through whom God proves that he is to be feared and glorified, as it is written, leave the cities (Jeremiah 48:28). But this does not help them, as it says in Psalm 139:7: Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your face?

3. Bernard explains this as referring to Christ. And the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). One must enter him through devout affection. Therefore, Bernard says: That which is lacking to me I usurp from the heart of Jesus Christ. For out of his heart mercies overflow, and there is no lack of fissures by which they flow out: for they dug holes in his hands, pierced his feet.Sermons on the Song of Songs 61.4 (PL 183, 1072C). As it is written, Arise, make haste, my love, and come . . . in the clefts of the rock (Song of Solomon 2:13–14).(Compare to Song of Solomon 2:10).

4. The lofty eyes. Here he takes away their confidence in their own power. Concerning this, he does two things:

   1. He excludes the power of resistance.
   2. He rejects the strategy of hiding, where it says, and they shall go into the holes of rocks (Isaiah 2:19).

   Concerning the first point, he does three things:

   1. He sets out the intention.
   2. He explains the manner, where it says, because the day of the Lord of hosts (Isaiah 2:12).
   3. He concludes the proposition: and the loftiness of men shall be bowed down (Isaiah 2:17).

   He presents two things to exclude the power of resistance.

   First is their humbling, both regarding pride of heart, when he says, the eyes—that is, the pride—of the lofty—that is, of powerful men—are humbled—that is, they will be humbled. The past tense is used for the future because of the certainty of the prophecy: a generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up on high (Proverbs 30:13); he will lookRespiciet. Vg.: respice. on all that are proud, and confound them, and crush the wicked in their place (Job 40:7). This also applies to nobility of ancestry; hence he says, the height of men, that is, their nobility of ancestry: yet I cast out the Amorrhite before their face: whose height was like the height of cedars (Amos 2:9).

   Second, he presents the exaltation of the one who punishes: the Lord alone shall be exalted. That is, he who seemed weak while they waited will appear great in his punishment: the Lord shall be known when he executes judgments (Psalms 9:16). And later: the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment (Isaiah 5:16).

5. Because the day of the Lord. Here the author sets out the manner in which the predictions will be fulfilled. He addresses first the humbling of men, and second, the removal of things, where it says, and upon all (Isaiah 2:13).

   Thus he first says that what was predicted will happen, because the day of the Lord—that is, the time of vengeance—will come. As it says later, the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come (Isaiah 63:4). He is the Lord of hosts, so that there may be no doubt about the victory of one who has such a multitude of servants.

   He will come as a heavy weight to crush upon every one that is proud and high-minded—that is, upon one who is exalted because of the great things he possesses. He will also come upon every one that is arrogant—one who is elevated because of what he does not have. As Gregory says, The arrogant man is he who attributes to himself what he does not have.Moralia 23.6 (PL 76, 258C). It is also written, I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue (Proverbs 8:13). And he shall be humbled, for he that exalts himself shall be humbled (Luke 14:11).

6. And upon all the tall and lofty cedars. Here he presents the removal of things that provide for defense.

   First, regarding things that pertain to preparing war machines. This is addressed either by their height, and thus he says, upon all the cedars, or by their strength, and thus he says, upon all the oaks. As it is written, open your gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour your cedars (Zechariah 11:1), and also, howl, you oaks of Basan, because the fenced forest is cut down (Zechariah 11:2).

   Second, regarding things that pertain to the fortification of places, whether by nature—and upon all the high mountains, as in, thus says the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the rocks, and the valleys (Ezekiel 6:3)—or by human skill: and upon every high tower, as in, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high bulwarks. And I will distress men (Zephaniah 1:16–17).

   Third, regarding things that pertain to an abundance of provisions. Thus he says, and upon all the ships—in which provisions are carried—of Tharsis, that is, of the sea. As it says later, howl, you ships of the sea, for the house is destroyed, from whence they were accustomed to come (Isaiah 23:1).

   And upon all that is fair to behold: this pertains to appeasing enemies or increasing the number of warriors, as in, who can despise the people of the Hebrews, who have such beautiful women? .

7. Shall be bowed down. Here he, as it were, concludes the proposition. It is entirely the same as what was said before, except that something is added about the destruction of idols, so that God alone may be shown to be the highest. He says, and idols (Isaiah 2:18), and it is also written, Your idols shall be broken in pieces and shall be no more, and your temples shall be destroyed (Ezekiel 6:6).

8. And they shall go into the holes of rocks. Here he presents the strategy of hiding. It is the same as before, except that here it is foretold as a future event, because he had also explained by foretelling—not by calling for judgment—that their power was to be thrown down. As it is written, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth: they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes (Psalms 63:9–10).

9. In that day. Here he removes the third support: confidence in idols.

   First, he takes away their help, which was to adore them. As it is written, And I went in and saw, and behold every form of creeping things, and of living creatures, the abominations, and all the idols of the house of Israel, were painted (Ezekiel 8:10). And later: in that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you to sin (Isaiah 31:7).

   Second, he returns to the theme of hiding for protection, where it says, and he shall go into the clefts of rocks. As it is written, every slave and every free person hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains (Revelation 6:15).

10. Cease therefore. Here he offers good advice for escape. Since all these other things do not help you, cease therefore from the man. That is, cease from what is offensive to him, namely Christ, whose breath is in his nostrils—meaning, who breathes with his nostrils and lives like other men with respect to his humanity. For he is reputed high—with respect to his divinity—by the saints and angels: The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens (Psalms 113:4).Vg. omits “all.”

11. Alternatively, this speaks of God in human terms, using anthropomorphism. From the man refers to God, whose breath is in his nostrils. This is spoken in the likeness of an angry man who, because of his increased breathing, breathes out through his nostrils. Hence Homer says that strong men breathed out harsh power through each of their nostrils.According to Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 3.8 (1116b28) and Albert, Postilla super Isaiam on 2:22 (47, 93). Cf. Odyssey 24.318f. As it is written, At the blast of the breathDR: “spirit.” of your wrath (Psalms 18:15). And later: his wrath burns, and is heavy to bear (Isaiah 30:27), and again: his breath as a torrent overflowing even to the midst of the neck, to destroy the nations unto nothing (Isaiah 30:28). This interpretation refers back to the first point, in which he takes away the presumption of God’s mercy. The phrase For he is reputed high, taken separately, stands against the second point (confidence in their own power).