Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 5:11-19

"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them! And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are [in] their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands. Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol hath enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, descend [into it]. And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled: but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope; that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!" — Isaiah 5:11-19 (ASV)

1. Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness. Here he denounces their fault regarding the abuse of food.

   First, he denounces the fault.

   Second, he threatens punishment, where it says, therefore is my people led away captive (Isaiah 5:13).

   Concerning the first part, he does two things:

   First, he denounces gluttony according to its types.

   Second, he denounces it by its effect, where it says, and the work of the Lord you regard not (Isaiah 3:13).

2. Now, the types of gluttony are five, which are contained in the saying: hastily, sumptuously, too much, greedily, daintily.

   Therefore, he first addresses “hastily” when he says, woe to you that rise up early in the morning. As it is written, Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning! (Ecclesiastes 10:16); and, When shall I awake and find wine again? (Proverbs 23:35).

   Regarding “greedily,” he says, to follow.

   Regarding “too much,” he says, and to drink until the evening. As it is written, Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has contentions? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups (Proverbs 23:29–30). This is to be inflamed with wine, with lust, and with all the vices.

   Regarding “daintily,” he says, the harp and wine, sought out daintily,Studiose. with great eagerness,Studio. because they prepare for themselves pleasure in food.

   Regarding “sumptuously,” he says, in your feasts, in which there were great displays and choice foods. As it is written, You that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd; you that sing to the sound of the psaltery: they have thought themselves to have instruments of music like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments (Amos 6:4–6).

3. The effect is thoughtlessness, and regarding this he says, and the work of the Lord you regard not, which you ought to do, nor the works of his hands, which he himself has done. As it is written, Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous (Proverbs 20:1).

4. Therefore is my people led away captive. Here he sets out the corresponding punishment.

   First, regarding the affection of the will, he says, therefore. Just as their knowledge was taken captive by drunkenness, so will they themselves be taken captive: My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

5. It might seem, however, that ignorance does not deserve punishment, because it excuses a fault.

   To this, it must be said that ignorance can mean merely the negation of knowledge; in this sense, it deserves neither punishment nor pardon, like the ignorance of geometry among peasants. It can also mean the privation of knowledge, where one neglects the aptitude one ought to have in a subject. In this sense, it is evident that it is a vice not to know those things that someone is able and obligated to know.

6. Second, he sets out the punishment corresponding to the five types of gluttony. He sets out hunger and thirst, which correspond in their cause to “hastily,” for hunger is caused by someone excessively postponing the taking of food. It is as if he were saying: You used to eat too quickly, but you only postponed your future hunger.

   Next, he addresses the type of gluttony that is “greedily” by its general category, for hunger is the desire for food. For this reason, he says, and their nobles. He sets out thirst in opposition to the multitude of the common people, who were at least accustomed to quenching their thirst with water. But against the nobles, who abounded in provisions, he sets out hunger, though they are sometimes weighed down with thirst: It was better with them that were slain by the sword, than with them that died with hunger (Lamentations 4:9).

7. Second, against the type of gluttony that is “too much,” he sets out the insatiability of their captors. For this reason, he says, therefore has hell, that is, death or the devil, enlarged her soul, regarding affection, and opened her mouth, regarding the effect. He speaks in a human way, for hell does not have a soul: Hell and destruction are never filled (Proverbs 27:20). Or “hell” may refer to Nebuchadnezzar: Who has enlarged his desire like hell: and is himself like death, and he is never satisfied (Habakkuk 2:5).

8. Third, regarding the dainty preparation of food, which arises from a certain vanity, he sets out the punishment of humiliation, where it says, and shall go down. He shows that they are going to be humiliated in three ways.

   First, regarding their subjugation. For this reason, he says: their strong ones, referring to the powerful; and their high ones, referring to the rich and others prominent in wealth, who are prideful about it; and their glorious ones, referring to the noble and famous, shall go down, as if humiliated, into it, namely, into the hell of captivity. As it is written, And the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. He also put out the eyes of Sedecias: and bound him with fetters, to be carried to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:6–7). And later in the same chapter: And Nabuzardan the general of the army carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and the fugitives that had gone over to him, and the rest of the people that remained (Jeremiah 39:9).

   Second, regarding the humbling of the captives: and man shall be brought down, being in captivity, referring to the high ones; and man shall be humbled, referring to the powerful; and the eyes of the lofty, referring to the glorious ones. As it is written, Neither shall you be quiet, even in those nations, nor shall there be any rest for the sole of your foot (Deuteronomy 28:65).

   Third, regarding the exaltation of God who punishes them: and the Lord of hosts shall be exalted. He who was first despised will appear high in just judgment. And the holy God, holy in himself, shall be sanctified, that is, he will appear holy. As it says above, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day (Isaiah 2:11).

9. Fourth, against the type of gluttony that is “sumptuously,” he sets out the devouring of their goods by their enemies: and the lambs shall feed, that is, your goods will be consumed by your enemies, according to their order, for the best are taken first, referring to animals. Regarding the products of the soil, strangers shall eat the deserts, that is, the fields you deserted, which have been turned into fruitfulness, meaning made more fertile. As it is written, The Lord shall bring you, and your king, whom you shall have appointed over you, into a nation which you and your fathers know not (Deuteronomy 28:36). And later in the same chapter: The stranger that lives with you in the land, shall rise up over you, and shall be higher (Deuteronomy 28:43).

   Mystically: the lambs, that is, the saints, shall feed, meaning they will be refreshed by the teaching of God the Father, according to their order, that is, according to their capacity. The strangers are the Gentiles. And deserts refers to what has been deserted by the Jews—namely, the Sacred Scriptures—which are turned into fruitfulness through spiritual understanding.

10. Woe to you that draw. Here he denounces the stubbornness of their sinning.

    First, he denounces their fault.

    Second, he threatens punishment, where it says, therefore as the tongue of the fire devours the stubble (Isaiah 5:24).

    Concerning the first part, he does two things:

    First, he denounces the fault in general.

    Second, he explains it in particular, where it says, that say (Isaiah 5:19).

    Therefore, he first says: woe to you that draw, that is, prolong, iniquity with cords of vanity, referring to the vain occasions by which a person is drawn to sin, as the fault is prolonged and increased. As it is written, His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins (Proverbs 5:22). This is said regarding common sins. Regarding grave sins, however, he adds: and sin as with a cart rope, that is, the rope by which a cart is bound and drawn, which is larger than a cord. He designates the weight of the sin in the cart, as it says later: loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress (Isaiah 58:6).

11. That say. Here he shows in particular those vanities from which they drew sin upon themselves. He does this in three ways:

    1. Regarding their contempt for the judge;
    2. Regarding their excusing of sin, where it says, woe to you that call evil good (Isaiah 5:20);
    3. Regarding the presumption in their sinning, where it says, woe to you that are wise (Isaiah 5:21).

    And this is the threefold cord, which is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

12. Their contempt for the judge's threat stems from two things.

    First, because of the delay of the sentence. For this reason, he says: let him make haste, and let his work of captivity, which you threaten, come quickly. As it is written, For because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the evil, the children of men commit evils without any fear (Ecclesiastes 8:11).

    Second, because of the judge's distance. For this reason, he says, let him come near, as if to say: He is in heaven and cannot see, but let Him come near. As it is written, For they have said: The Lord has forsaken the earth, and the Lord sees not (Ezekiel 9:9).

13. Note, regarding the words above, and sin as with a cart rope (Isaiah 5:18), that sin is first called a cord. This is because:

    1. It draws us to the pattern of sin: Immediately he follows her as an ox led to be a victim . . . and not knowing that he is drawn like a fool to bonds (Proverbs 7:22).
    2. It draws us to the habit of sinning: A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness in the desire of his heart, snuffed up the wind of his love (Jeremiah 2:24).
    3. It draws us to the destruction of eternal death: Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death, forbear not to deliver (Proverbs 24:11).

14. Second, sin is called vanity. This is because it falls short:

    1. Of imitating divine truth: All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God .
    2. Of attaining the end we hope for: But to the sinner he has given vexation, and superfluous care, to heap up and to gather together, and to give it to him that has pleased God: but theseHaec. Vg.: hoc. DR: “this.” also are vanity, and a fruitless solicitude of the mind (Ecclesiastes 2:26).
    3. Of having any long-lasting duration: The son of man is not immortal, and they are delighted with the vanity of evil ; All those things are passed away like a shadow, and like a post that runs on .

15. Third, sin is called a bond. This is because it binds:

    1. The intellect, so that it cannot see: For while the wicked thought to be able to have dominion over the holy nation, they themselves being fettered with the bonds of darkness, and a long night, shut up in their houses, exiled, they pleased the eternal providence.Perpetuae providentiae placuerunt. Vg.: fugitivi perpetuae providentiae jacuerunt. DR: “lay there exiled from eternal providence.” And while they thought to lie hid in their obscure sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness .
    2. The hand, so that it cannot do good.
    3. The feet, so that they cannot advance.

    Regarding these last two, Matthew 22:13 says: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness.

16. Fourth, sin is called a cart. This is because it oppresses:

    1. With the burden of servitude: And there you shall serve strange gods day and night, which shall not give you any rest (Jeremiah 16:13).
    2. With fear in the heart: For whereas wickedness is fearful, it bears witness of its condemnation .
    3. With uneasiness of conscience, as it says later: but the heart of the wicked is likeImpii autem cor quasi. Vg.: impii autem quasi. DR: “the wicked are like.” the raging sea, which cannot rest (Isaiah 57:20).