Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 6:8-13

"And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they sea with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof." — Isaiah 6:8-13 (ASV)

1. And I heard the voice of the Lord. Here the authority of the minister is shown from the duties of his office, and concerning this, the author makes three points.

   First, the consent of the one to be sent is sought. Thus he says, whom shall I send, in which the authority of the sender is noted: and how shall they preach unless they be sent? (Romans 10:15). And who shall go? This refers to the will of the one who is sent. For us is used acquisitively, so that he may not seek empty honor or personal profit. The opposite is seen here: for all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s (Philippians 2:21). In I send, the unity of essence is noted, while in for us, the plurality of persons is noted.

2. Second, the submission offered by the prophet is presented: and I said: lo, here am I, send me. And elsewhere: and I do not resist: I have not gone back (Isaiah 50:5).

   But this might seem presumptuous, because Moses declined his office: who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11). And Jeremiah said: and I said: ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child (Jeremiah 1:6).

   The response to this is what Gregory says in his Book of Pastoral RuleRegula Pastoralis 1.7 (PL 77, 20B). (and in the Gloss at the beginning of Jeremiah): Each arose from the root of charity. For the one [Jeremiah], for the love of God, did not wish to lose the solace of contemplation; the other [Isaiah], for the love of the neighbor, wished to be sent that he might be useful. And nevertheless, the one did not stubbornly decline the command, nor did the other offer himself until he was cleansed and sought for.

3. Third, the office is assigned to him. Regarding the two-part action he is to proclaim, it says: and he said: go. As in: behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). And you shall say to this people. As in: and you will separate the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth (Jeremiah 15:19).

4. Hearing, hear. Here the sentence of judgment is presented.

   First, the sentence of hardness of heart is explained. God does not, however, harden hearts by sending malice into them, but by withholding grace, which he does because they do not wish to be converted to grace.

   Second, the duration of the sentence is questioned, where it says, and I said: how long, O Lord? (Isaiah 6:11).

   Regarding the first point, the author makes three observations.

   First, the Lord's pronouncement of the sentence is presented in relation to the two senses that produce knowledge. The first is hearing, which serves instruction; thus he says, hear with the outer ears, hearing Christ or another who preaches, and understand not. This is as if to say: because you do not wish to, you do not understand. This is permissive. The second is sight, which serves discovery: and see the vision—Christ, physically, or the mighty works of God—and know it not. This is permissive and not imperative. As it says elsewhere: who is blind, but my servant? (Isaiah 42:19).

5. Second, the acceptance of the sentence is presented. These are the words of the prophet; thus he says: O Lord, so that the Gentiles may come in, strike Israel with blindness (Romans 11:25): blind the heart inwardly, and make their ears heavy, lest they perceive, and shut their eyes, lest they understand. As it says: for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39). Alternatively, these are the words of the Lord, and the sense is: blind, that is, proclaim them blind.

   Third, the reason for their blindness is explained: lest, for their own benefit, they be converted and I heal them, when they are unworthy of healing. As it says: but if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all his iniquities (Ezekiel 18:21–22). And elsewhere: if you return and be quiet, you shall be saved (Isaiah 30:15).

6. And I said. Here the duration of the sentence is explained.

   First, the prophet's question is presented: how long will they be blinded? How long shall the vision . . . be trodden under foot? (Daniel 8:13).

   Second, the Lord answers: and he said.

   A twofold end to this period is described:

   • First, regarding the punishment of the wicked.
   • Second, regarding the holiness of the good, where it says, a holy seed (Isaiah 6:13). This is as if to say: how long will those who are in filth remain filthy? He that hurts, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still (Revelation 22:11).

   The author then touches on a threefold punishment.

   First is the punishment of subjugation, which is indicated by the desolation of their cities: until the cities be wasted. As it says: they have changed my delightful portion into a desolate wilderness (Jeremiah 12:10); and he has made me desolate, wasted with sorrow all the day long (Lamentations 1:13). This also applies to the cultivation of their fields: the land shall be left desolate. As it says above: your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire (Isaiah 1:7). It also applies to the exile of the people: and the Lord shall remove men far away. As it says: and I will send you, and your mother that bore you, into a strange country, in which you were not born, and there you shall die (Jeremiah 22:26). And also: And I will pick out from among you the transgressors, and the wicked, and will bring them out of the land where they sojourn (Ezekiel 20:38).

7. Second is the punishment regarding the length of their captivity: and she shall be multiplied, that is, the people that was left in the midst of the land where they will be held captive. As it says: thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: build houses, and dwell in them (Jeremiah 29:4–5). And further on: and be multiplied there, and be not few in number. And seek the peace of the city, to which I have caused you to be carried away (Jeremiah 29:6–7).

8. Third is the punishment of repeated persecution. This is explained in three parts:

   1. First, he notes their small number: and there shall be still a tithing therein. This means barely a tenth will be left by Titus in the land of Judea, or in the whole world, because of the number of Jews killed. As it says: and you shall remain few in number, who before were as the stars of heaven for multitude (Deuteronomy 28:62).
   2. Second, he notes their repeated destruction: and she shall turn, meaning subjugation shall overcome you again, under the emperor Hadrian. As it says above: for after this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still (Isaiah 5:25).
   3. Third, he notes their lowliness and contempt, or their dispersion: and shall be made a show of derision, as a turpentine tree;Terebinthus. a certain tree, which is large in the regions of Damascus and small in Greece, and as an oak that spreads its branches. This signifies their dispersion: I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree .

9. A holy seed. Here the author explains the final state regarding the holiness of the good. Thus he says: a holy seed, that is, of mature people who obey the divine vision, and of other saints among the Jews, which shall stand, not falling through unbelief. As it says elsewhere: for as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make to stand before me, says the Lord: so shall your seed stand, and your name (Isaiah 66:22).

   Others explain this passage for their good: and she shall be multiplied (Isaiah 6:12) after her return from captivity, in the midst of her own land (Isaiah 6:13). And there shall be still a tithing therein, who will be left for the worship of God after the murder of many. And she shall turn to God, and shall be made a show of glory.