Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:1-13

(Chapter 43, Verse 1 and following) And now, thus says the Lord, the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. From the moment you became honorable and glorious in my eyes: I loved you, and I will give men for you, and peoples for your soul. Do not fear, for I am with you: I will bring your descendants from the East, and gather you from the West. I will say to the North, give up: and to the South, do not withhold: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. And everyone who calls upon my name, I have created him for my glory, and I have formed him and made him. Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among you will declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I am, I am the Lord, and there is no savior without me. I have declared and saved; I have made known, and there was no strange one among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God, and from the beginning I am myself, and there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I will work, and who can turn it aside? LXX; And now thus says the Lord who made you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine. If you pass through water, I am with you, and rivers will not cover you. And if you pass through fire, you will not be burned: the flame will not burn you: for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have made your exchange for Egypt, and Ethiopia, and Seba for you. Since you have been honorable and glorified in my sight: and I have loved you, I will give men for you, and princes for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you: I will bring your offspring from the East, and gather you from the West. I will say to the north, give up; and to the south, do not withhold: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' Let them bring their witnesses, and let them be justified, and let them hear and speak the truth. Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe and understand that I am: Before me there was no other God and after me there will be none. I am God, and there is no Savior besides me. I have declared and saved: I have rebuked and there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God from the beginning, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand. I will do it, and who will turn it away? The Hebrews interpret this as the second coming of the Savior, when after the fullness of the Gentiles, all of Israel will be saved. But we do not think that the promise will be fulfilled for them, as it has been said: Who is blind, but my children? And who are deaf, but those who rule over them? And the servants of God have become blind. And again: The people have been devastated and plundered, and similar things. Finally he brought upon him the outpouring of his furious indignation, and perhaps war, and consumed him all around, and did not recognize, and set him ablaze, and did not understand. Therefore, what we have said above, there are two Jacobs and two Israels, one carnal and the other spiritual, those who did not want to believe in the Savior and those who received the Son of God. This should also be understood now, that the chorus of the Apostles and the first Church of Christ, gathered from the Jewish people, may understand their Creator and Maker, who is both the creator of their soul and body. And let him not fear persecutors, because he has been redeemed by the blood of Christ, who has called him by his name, and let him specifically call his people because of their special relationship; but let him preach fearlessly, and let him not fear any dangers. And what he implies: he describes the attack and fury of persecutors as waters and rivers, and fire and flames, who envy the salvation of the Gentiles and do not want the gospel message to be preached. Although the Jews want the Egyptians to be understood as waters, the Babylonians as rivers, the Macedonians as fire, and the Romans as flames. Therefore, He commands them not to fear, because the Lord their God, the Savior, and the holy one of Israel will be with them, who made them known in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Syene, and even to the ends of the earth to proclaim. Regarding Syene, the remaining interpreters have placed it in Saba (), where the queen of the South came to hear the wisdom of Solomon (III Kings 10). Therefore, the chorus of the Apostles became honorable in the sight of God, and beloved by Him; and they are the salvation of all people and nations who are called to the Gospel through them, and they will be considered for the salvation of their souls. And he joins and says: Do not be afraid, I am with you, who speak to you in the Gospel: Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world (Matt. 28:20). For I will bring your sons from the East and from the West, who will rest in the bosom of Abraham, and from all parts of the world the people of my sons and daughters will be gathered, who will either invoke my name or be called by my name, so that they may be called Christians to the glory of their creator. And what follows: Educate the blind people, who have eyes; the deaf, who have ears; many people think that it is said about the Gentile people, who began to hear and see through the teaching of the Apostles. But we should also understand this about the dispersed Israel, who was called by the Apostles and believed first; to whom Paul also speaks: It was necessary for the word of God to be preached to you first (Acts 13:46). And the Lord Himself in the Gospel: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Finally, it follows: all the nations are gathered together, and the tribes are assembled, that is, with the people who believed from the Jews, so that there may be a dual calling, of circumcision and of uncircumcision. But what is said, 'Bring forth, O Lord, the word is spoken to the Son.' Or, according to the Septuagint, the Father speaks to the Son, that He may bring forth His blind and deaf people, and join them to the nations, and make many leaders of the Church from them. And the prophet marvels that no one among the nations could have known these things in advance, nor could they have known the plans of God; but only His people who have received the Law and had prophets: For God is known in Judea, His name is great in Israel (Ps. LXX, 1). Whether he himself is the witness of his own words, both the doer and the boy and servant whom he has chosen. There is no doubt that it signifies Christ, to whom he also says above: It is great for you to be called my servant. And all these things will happen, so that the truth may be preached to the world, and they may know, and believe, and understand, whose minds were previously brutish and insensible, that besides one God, there is no other God, neither before nor after. For the creator of times never has a beginning, since time itself sometimes exists. And how did He speak: I am a witness, says the Lord God; and the boy whom I have chosen, saying this very thing to the Lord in the Gospel: The testimony of two men is true. I am the one who testifies about myself, and the one who sent me is the Father (John 8:17-18). Thus, we must understand the divinity of Him, that there is no God except Himself who speaks, and His chosen boy. Besides God the Father, there is no other God: because Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1), who speaks in the Gospel: I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me (John 14:11). For just as the one Lord Christ does not take away from the Father so that he may not be Lord, so the one God the Father does not take away from the Son so that he may not be God: who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: this was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). And what follows: And there is no Savior without me, shows that the Son saves all things in the Father. Concerning whom the same prophet testifies: And the Lord will send them a Savior, who will make them safe (Isaiah 9). For indeed, God is wise and strong, and His wisdom and virtue cannot exist without Him. So when I foretell these things from the beginning, there will be no one who rejects my will: indeed, what I have done, they could make void. These things are indeed said to Jacob and Israel, but they refer to the apostolic choir and all who want to believe in Christ and be saved from the Jewish people.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah

[AD 528] Procopius of Gaza on Isaiah 43:1

The things said here are of a quite different tenor from what was said in the previous passage about the people of the covenant, where he called them blind, deaf and plundered. Now the message here is of the better condition of those believers of the covenant who belong to a better order. For the former ones were those who were suffering. Here he addresses as “you” those who recognize their Creator and Maker. “Do listen to the one who keeps you an unblemished creation and product, for here you are fittingly called Jacob and Israel. For I made you in your soul, according to the image, and formed you, taking a body from the ground, and I provided my blood for you, buying back my own creation. You, being made worthy of these things, go by the road on which you are instructed to go and preach the good news. Although some will attack you, be encouraged that you are special. ‘For behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Be followers of me, the one who wished to give my blood of redemption for you, as atonement.” …“You are mine.” For we are said to have been Christ’s, even before the separation from God that occurred when we as sinners went out of the garden, though by nature we were always God’s. But he has made us once more to be his own through the Holy Spirit making us strong through every trial. Rivers, water and flames denote the many channels of temptation. For it is written, “All who wish to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” And Christ says to those who believed in him, “You will have sorrow in the world.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:1-13

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:2

“Even if we cross over, they shall not slip, says the Lord.” We shall not slip into corruption, we who are crossing over into incorruption, because he himself will support us. For so he himself has said and so he has willed.

Source: CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 1:9.84

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:2

What kind of fire? “He stationed the cherubim and the fiery sword, which turns about to protect the way of the tree of life.” Where the tree of life is, where the paradise of God is, where God the gardener is, where the blessed and the elect and the holy ones of God reside, there the blessed await God’s own way of handling affairs.

Source: HOMILY ON 1 KINGS 28:9.3

[AD 348] Pachomius the Great on Isaiah 43:2

Become guileless, and be like the guileless sheep whose wool is sheared off without their saying a word. Do not go from one place to another saying, “I will find God here or there.” God has said, I fill the earth, “I fill the heavens,” and again, “If you cross the water, I am with you.”

Source: INSTRUCTIONS 1:25

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Isaiah 43:2

We are wayfarers in this life. Many are walking along this way. All need to make a good passage. The Lord Jesus is walking with one who is making a good passage. Thus we read, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not cover you, nor fire burn your garments when you shall walk through.” But one who keeps a fire pent up in his body, the fire of lust, the fire of immoderate desire, does not pass through but burns the covering of his soul. A good name is more excellent than money, and above heaps of silver is good favor. Faith itself redounds to itself, sufficiently rich and more than rich in its possession. There is nothing that is not the possession of the wise person except what is contrary to virtue. Wherever he goes, he finds all things to be his. The whole world is his possession, since he uses it all as his own.

Source: LETTER 15

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:2

Even when the compassionate God disciplines, he does not abandon mercy.… For, he says, “judge, consider, take heart.” Now God strengthens those who were reduced to slavery in Babylon. And since they bore the title “the people of God,” it was appropriate that God addressed the people in this way: “I have called you by your name. You are mine.” He says, “You possess the name by which I have called you.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.1

[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Isaiah 43:2

If you watch and seek, the Lord says, “Here I am,” and “If you pass through fire,” I am with you “and the flames shall not consume you.” If you ask through prayer, you will find, and if you knock through giving to the poor, Christ opens the doors to you in order that you may enter and possess paradise. Now if you still think that anything will remain at the end of the world, consider your own end.

Source: SERMON 158A.I

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Isaiah 43:2

For the rivers overflow those whom the active business of this world confounds with perturbation of mind. But one who is sustained in mind by the grace of the Holy Spirit passes through the waters and yet is not swamped by the rivers, because in the midst of crowds of peoples he so proceeds along his way as not to sink the head of his mind beneath the active business of the world.

Source: LETTER 7:4

[AD 700] Isaac of Nineveh on Isaiah 43:2

“If thou go through fire, thou shalt not be burned, and the rivers shall not flow over thee.” Faith has many times worked such things before the eyes of all creation. If knowledge were given the opportunity to attempt such things, it would in no wise be persuaded. For it is by faith that men have entered into flames and bridled the burning power of the fire, walking unharmed through the midst thereof, and they have trodden upon the back of the sea as upon dry land. All these are above nature and opposed to the modes of knowledge.

Source: ASCETICAL HOMILIES 52

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:4

God renders the summary of benefits in which they take pleasure. It is because I love you, he says, and because I have chosen you that you have become respected and glorious. “And I will give men for you, and princes for your life.” He means to speak of the Babylonians, whom he has delivered over to Cyrus.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.4

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:5

These predictions received their fulfillment after the defeat of the Babylonians, for Cyrus commanded [the Jews] to return to Judea. At the time the latter made [their] return from the east, those who had taken flight during the war and reached the west then [also] returned to the land, probably because they recognized the peace that had come on Judea. In any case, it is with truth and precision that the text clearly indicates the people that the holy apostles have called from the entire world and who have obtained salvation. For in every city the Jews were the first to whom the apostles offered the divine teachings.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.5

[AD 528] Procopius of Gaza on Isaiah 43:5

“I will destroy those warring with you on account of the gospel, both people and leaders.” He encourages them in this way. “And your children, which you have sown by God and which you have begotten throughout the world, I will gather to my heavenly city, raising up those airborne, through the air, like birds made light by the winds,” that is, the angelic forces. “I shall raise up your offspring to be my children through their being reborn in the church, and all those called by my name Christians are welcomed.” For Christ prophesied these things through the godly prophet.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:1-13

[AD 100] Didache on Isaiah 43:7

You, Master almighty, created all things for Your name's sake; You gave food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to You; but to us You freely gave spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Your Servant. Before all things we thank You that You are mighty; to You be the glory forever.

Source: The Didache, Chapter 10

[AD 100] Didache on Isaiah 43:7

You, almighty Master, created all things for your name’s sake and gave food and drink to people to enjoy, that they might give you thanks; but to us you have graciously given spiritual food and drink and eternal life through your servant. Above all we give thanks because you are mighty; to you be the glory forever.

Source: DIDACHE 10:3-4

[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Isaiah 43:7

If it is necessary for some to be marked by name, then I will make it clear to them all that they are now “those who have been called by my name.” From where else did the name of Christians come than from the name of Christ? For it was he who foretold such a thing through the prophet.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:24

[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Isaiah 43:8-9

If they seemed to have the eyes of the soul and a human mind, they were still nonetheless blind to the deceit of idolatry. But what then happened to them provides the basis for Isaiah’s message. For the former blind and deaf were gathered together into the church of God even as the rulers of the nations opposed the people of God. The prophet is amazed and tries to make sense of the prophecy that he is speaking, and so he calls out, saying, “Who can announce these things?”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:24

[AD 370] Gaius Marius Victorinus on Isaiah 43:10

If Christ is Son, Christ is certainly after God. But after God there is nothing comparable to him. Christ is therefore not comparable to God; or if he is not after God, certainly he is with God; for in no way can he be before God; therefore he is consubstantial (homoousion) … substance as substance, especially if it is a homogeneous substance that is realized in two or more individuals, which is said to be identical substance, not similar.

Source: AGAINST ARIUS 2:1.1

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Isaiah 43:10

Still I would like to ask of our opponents what the words mean that were once uttered by the prophet, “Before me there was no God, and after me there is none.” If the Son is younger than the Father, how can the Father say, “after me there shall be none”? You will not, therefore, also deprive the Only Begotten himself of his substance, will you? Indeed, you must dare to do this or else to accept the one Godhead with the distinct persons of the Father and the Son.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 4

[AD 528] Procopius of Gaza on Isaiah 43:10

“I have glorified you in the world.” By this glory Christ has led the blind people into the light. For the sun of righteousness does not allow us to be children of the night and shadows but rather of day, as the divine apostle says. When Paul says, “They have been gathered,” this in fact has not yet taken place, and he is obviously speaking prophetically, meaning “they will be gathered.” For speaking of things to come as if they had happened is customary in the Scriptures; another example of such is “I have given my back to the rod” and “they divided my clothing among them.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:1-13

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:11

If you want to have me as a witness to your verdict, then be the first to render witness to my truth. In this case, I will not be alone in bearing witness, but there is also my chosen servant. Now it is neither Moses nor another of the prophets who is referred to here, but Christ our Master. And he calls him a [servant], not as God but as a human being; for it is as a human being that he has named him “chosen.” … We likewise find in the holy Gospels this number of two witnesses. In the course of a conversation with the Jews our Master Christ in effect declared, “It is written in your law that the testimony of two persons is true. I bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness.” … “I am, I am your God, and there is no other savior besides me.” Again these words proclaim the one divinity. For our Master Christ is called “savior” throughout the holy Scriptures, as I think even the followers of Arius and Eunomius would concede. Now if apart from God there is no savior and if Christ is called “Savior,” it is clear that he participates in the [divine] nature. If Christ does not, as the blasphemers allege, then he is not Savior.… But if he is Savior, then he shares the same essence to which alone belongs the faculty of saving.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.10-11

[AD 749] John Damascene on Isaiah 43:11

It has been sufficiently demonstrated that God exists and that his essence is incomprehensible. Furthermore, those who believe in sacred Scripture have no doubt that he is one and not several. For the Lord says at the beginning of his lawgiving, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall not have strange gods before me.” And again: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord.” And through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: “I am,” he says, “the first God, and I am the last, and there is no God besides me. Before me there was no God, and after me there shall be none, and beside me there is none.” And the Lord speaks thus to his Father in the holy Gospels: “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God.” With those who do not believe in sacred Scripture we shall reason as follows. The Divinity is perfect and without deficiency in goodness or wisdom or power. He is without beginning, without end, eternal, uncircumscribed; to put it simply, he is perfect in all things. Now, if we say that there are several gods, there must be some difference to be found among them. For if there is no difference at all among them, then there is one God rather than several. But if there is some difference, then where is the perfection? For if one should come short of perfection in goodness, or power, or wisdom, or time or place, then he would not be God. The identity of God in all things shows him to be one and not several.

Source: ORTHODOX FAITH 1:5

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:12

I not only made the predictions; I have also brought them to their conclusion. “I reproached, and then there was no strange god among you.” The three interpreters have rendered the word “I have reproached” by the verb “I have made to understand,” which comes back to saying, I have born witness. The verb “I have made reproaches” also has the same sense: it is because they do not cease to sin that they suffer reproaches. Moreover, he then makes the following declaration: At the time when I gave the law, no strange god was present: “You are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God.” Know clearly, he is saying, that no one else is concerned for you, but that you alone have benefited by my providence.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.12

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:13

“I will act, and who will hinder it?” For I have accomplished the calling of the nations, he says, that is, I have saved those who were led astray. And who can alter this, or who could change things so that they did not happen? The Savior himself assures us that no one can snatch those who are being saved from the hand of God. “For my sheep hear my voice, and I know them; and they follow me, and I give them eternal life.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:1.43:11-13

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:14

(Verse 14.) Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their bars, and the Chaldeans glorying in their ships. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your king. LXX: Thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, your redeemer: For your sakes I will send to Babylon, and will bring down all their fugitives, and the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, who have shown your king, Israel. According to the Hebrew, the prophetic speech is still directed to Israel, to whom their redeemer, the Lord and Holy One of Israel, spoke these words: 'Because of you who preach the Gospel with me, to whom I said above: Do not be afraid, for I am with you, you who are the witnesses of my will, and you announce my other Son to the unbelieving world, I have sent my Son into Babylon and the confusion of this age. And I have removed all its bars, which are called Barihim in Hebrew (or Barichim, as interpreted by Theodotion).' And, he said, the Chaldeans are implied, I have removed those who boasted in their ships: in these, namely, who floated like ships among idols. No one doubts about the Chaldeans that they sound like demons. I, the Lord, have foretold these things, who am your Creator and the king of Israel. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the meaning is quite different: I, the Lord, who have delivered you from dangers, and the holy one of Israel: because of you, I will send the king of the Medes and Persians to Babylon, and I will make its inhabitants flee, and the Chaldeans who captured you will be bound and transferred across the Caspian Sea to other nations. I, the Lord, have determined these future events, which will reveal that the King of Israel will be the one who believes.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:14-15

[Isaiah] predicts the defeat of the Babylonians and the enslavement of the Chaldeans. They will suffer these misfortunes because of you, he says, since they were unwilling to recognize that their victory depended on my good will and that you were made prisoners because I rejected you.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.14

[AD 850] Ishodad of Merv on Isaiah 43:14-15

“I have brought down all the runaways and the Chaldeans,” that is, “For your sake I will send you to Babylon” and will make the Medes rise, in order to deliver you from captivity. And when the Babylonians fly from you in every manner, through the land and the sea, they will be captured in “their ships” and be imprisoned. He calls “runaways” the Medes because of their previous weakness.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:14

[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Isaiah 43:16

Although these things were done to the Babylonians and Chaldeans, prophetically speaking, the future things that are “not yet” shall be as if already accomplished. God has completed these by himself, comparing the present events with those that happened earlier: I showed my divinity to those in Egypt and led my people through the Red Sea. I made a way “in the mighty water” and a dry path through that same sea when I threw the chariots of Pharaoh and his forces into the sea to the bed prepared for them, sinking down to the abyss and no longer able to rise. They were like those of old who were bent like a snuffed wick in a burning flame. I worked such things among the ancients, who in turn passed on the memory of those wonders to those of old who followed. But for the present I command them no longer to be amazed at those deeds, neither those done in Babylon nor those in Egypt.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:25

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:16-21

(Verse 16, 17 and following) Thus says the Lord, who made a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. Who brought out the chariot and horse, the army and the strong: they lay down to sleep together, they will not rise again; they are broken like flax, they are extinguished. Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the ancient things. Behold, I am doing something new, now it will spring forth; will you not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The animals of the field will glorify me, the dragons and ostriches; for I have given waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people. I have formed this people for myself; they will proclaim my praise. LXX: For thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. Who brings out chariots and horses, and a multitude of warriors. But they lie down, they shall not rise; they are extinguished, extinguished like flax. Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field, the sirens, and the daughters of ostriches will bless me, for I have given water in the wilderness and rivers in the dry land, to make my chosen people, my acquired people, drink. They will declare my virtues. The Lord, who destroyed and cast down Babylon and took away its mightiest ones from power, and made all the Chaldeans who sailed prosperously on the waves of this age captives, He Himself found a way in the rushing waters of the Red Sea, so that his liberated people could cross from Egypt. Whether it was he who made a path in the Red Sea, or who found a way in the raging waters of the river Jordan, so that the departure from Egypt and the entrance into the promised land would have a miracle. He submerged Pharaoh's chariots, horses, and entire army in the depths, who slept an eternal sleep. They were crushed and annihilated, like flax in a short span of time, and in an instant. For flax, even before being consumed by fire, is immediately extinguished due to its light substance, and dissolves into ashes. Therefore, I command you that among my signs and miracles, by which the most powerful city of Babylon was destroyed, and by which the way was opened for my people in the Red Sea and the Jordan river, you must not remember the past, for in the Gospel I am going to do much greater things; in comparison to which, the past should be forgotten. For I will no longer find a way in the Red Sea, but in the desert of the whole world. And not just one river or spring will burst forth from a rock, but many rivers that will refresh not bodies as before, but thirsty souls. And that which we read above will be fulfilled: You will drink the waters from the fountains of the Savior (On Chapter 12, Verse 3). Then, what has never been done will be done, so that all beasts and dragons, and ostriches who dwelt in the wilderness of the nations, and those who were like idolatry in their blood and the savagery of beasts, will glorify and praise me. As for the dragons, whom only Theodotius, as it is written in Hebrew, called Thannim (or Al. Thennim), the rest were interpreted as Sirens, monstrous creatures who would throw sailors to be torn apart by the barking Scyllaean dogs with their sweet song and deadly charm. And this means that those who were formerly devoted to pleasure and luxury are converted to the service of the Lord; although it is better to understand it as dragons, because they are joined with ostriches, since he spoke about beasts of the wilderness once, he put these animals, which are familiar in the desert. They will praise me, he says, and the animals of the field will glorify me, and the dragons, and the ostriches, because I gave waters in the desert of the nations, and rivers in the dry land of the peoples, so that my people, whom I have chosen for myself, or my chosen race, and the people whom I have acquired with my blood, may drink, and they may tell my praises and virtues.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah

[AD 528] Procopius of Gaza on Isaiah 43:16

How has he led chariots and horses? It is clear that Pharaoh pursued Israel by his own decision, for God had already spoken in this way to him: “I have raised you up as to show my power in you and so that my name might be made known throughout the earth.” Thus in a marvelous way God saves those who are fleeing from the desire for earthly things as they are pursued by the devil. God shows them that the wild waves of the present life are passable and that they will not be overwhelmed by trials but will arrive securely in the desert with a stilled and purified mind. They will eat the heavenly bread and drink the water from the rock. This is to share in Christ and to go through the Jordan and gain the Promised Land.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:14-28

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:19-20

The Word says, “Look, I am doing something new, which no eye has seen, no ear heard, no human heart felt.” These are to be seen, heard and grasped by a new eye, a new hearing and a new heart when the Lord’s disciples speak, listen and act in the Spirit.

Source: STROMATEIS 2:4.15:3

[AD 220] Tertullian on Isaiah 43:19-20

For of this number I find figurative hints up and down the Creator’s dispensation in the twelve streams of Elim. … Now the same number of apostles was thus portended, as if they were to be fountains and rivers that should water the Gentile world, which was formerly dry and destitute of knowledge, as he says by Isaiah, “I will put streams in the unwatered ground.”

Source: AGAINST MARCION 4.13

[AD 258] Cyprian on Isaiah 43:19-20

But as often as water is named alone in the holy Scriptures, baptism is referred to, as we see intimated in Isaiah: “Remember not,” says he, “the former things, and consider not the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.…” There God foretold by the prophet that among the nations, in places that previously had been dry, rivers should afterwards flow plenteously and should provide water for the elected people of God, that is, for those who were made children of God by the generation of baptism. Moreover, it is again predicted and foretold before, that the Jews, if they should thirst and seek after Christ, should drink with us, that is, should attain the grace of baptism. “If they shall thirst,” he says, “he shall lead them through the deserts, shall bring forth water for them out of the rock. The rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow, and my people shall drink,” which is fulfilled in the Gospel, when Christ, who is the Rock, is cloven by a stroke of the spear in his passion; who also, admonishing what was before announced by the prophet, cries and says, “If anyone thirst, let him come and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And that it might be more evident that the Lord is speaking there not of the cup but of baptism, the Scripture adds, saying, “But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive.” For by baptism the Holy Spirit is received, and thus by those who are baptized and have attained to the Holy Spirit is attained the drinking of the Lord’s cup.

Source: Epistle LXII:8

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Isaiah 43:19-20

“Although he took a body, although he became man to redeem humanity and recall it from death, still, being God, he came to earth in an unusual way so that, as he had said, ‘Behold, I make all things new,’ he might thus be born from the womb of an immaculate virgin, and be believed to be, as it is written, ‘God with us.’ ”

Source: LETTER 42

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:19-20

What I am going to do, he says, merits still more admiration than the things done [in the past]. He adds what will be: “And I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the dry land.” Some have thought that these declarations relate to the return from Babylon. This is wrong, for he did not favor them at that time, while they were returning from exile, either with a strange road or with rivers. But he is calling the Gentiles “the desert” [wilderness], and the preachings of the apostles “rivers” and the course that escapes error “the way.” What he has added makes it equally obvious.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.19

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:19-20

“Because I have given water in the wilderness and rivers in the waterless land to assuage the thirst of my elect race; the people I have set aside for myself proclaim my virtues.” The race that [Jesus] put on according to his human nature is human nature in its entirety, yet is nearer still to the Jewish race. For there is no doubting that our Lord came from Judah.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.21

[AD 202] Irenaeus on Isaiah 43:21

God would make a new covenant with people, not such as that which he made with the ancestors at Mount Horeb, and would give to people a new heart and a new spirit. And again [it is written], “And do not remember the things of old: behold I make new things.” [This] plainly announced that liberty that distinguishes the new covenant and the new wine that is put into new bottles, [that is], the faith that is in Christ, by which he has proclaimed the way of righteousness sprung up in the desert and the streams of the Holy Spirit in a dry land, to give water to the elect people of God, whom he has acquired. [This is done] that they might show forth his praise but not that they might blaspheme him who made these things, that is, God.

Source: AGAINST HERESIES 4:33.14

[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Isaiah 43:22-24

For there was no mention at all of such things required from you in the laws of the new covenant that I established through my servant whom I chose. But you did not offer these things to me. If it had been necessary to say such things, you still probably would have done something contrary. “In your sins is your preference” or as the other interpreters put it, “in your sins and in your unrighteous acts you called on me.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:25

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:22-24

(Verse 22, 23 and following) You did not call upon me, Jacob: you did not labor for me, Israel. You did not offer me the ram of your burnt offering, and you did not glorify me with your sacrifices. I did not make you serve in the offering, nor did I require labor from you in the burning of incense. You did not buy for me fragrant reeds with silver, and you did not satisfy me with the fat of your sacrifices. However, you served me in your sins: you provided labor for me in your iniquities. LXX: You have not now called, Jacob, nor have I made you labor, Israel. You have not brought me the sheep of your holocaust; nor have you magnified me with your sacrifices; nor have you made me serve with your offerings; nor have you bestowed upon me labor with frankincense; nor have you purchased for me with silver the sweet odor of your sacrifices; nor have you desired the fat of your victims; but you have defended yourself in your sins, and in your iniquities. The beasts of the field, dragons and ostriches praising me, you, Jacob, did not want to invoke me, nor afterwards did you labor to amend sin through repentance. But what you think you offered me as victims and sacrificed rams, know that they were not accepted by me, because they were common to me and idols. And he repeats the sense that he stated above: Why do I need the multitude of your victims, says the Lord? I am full of burnt offerings of rams, and fat of lambs, and blood of bulls and goats I do not desire. For I have not required anything precious from you, that I would make you labor in acquiring them. I have not required offerings from you, nor have I sought incense: not reed, nor incense, nor diverse kinds of pigments, with which you would intoxicate and satisfy me with their smoke. But I desired obedience, which is above sacrifice: and sacrifice, of which David says in the Psalms: Sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: a broken and humbled heart God does not despise (Ps. 50:19), that is what I wanted, that is what I sought. But you have made me serve and labor in your sins, so that I am compelled to say: I have labored and endured; and I can no longer bear you. And through Hosea, God says the same: What shall I do to you, Ephraim? I will protect you, Israel. What shall I do? I will make you like Adam, and like Sodom. But what the Septuagint has is, I have defended you in your sins, and in your iniquities, so it can be connected to the previous statements, that it is God's labor and weariness to defend sinners.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:22-24

In the section we examined and read previously, he delivered a prophecy of the covenant in Christ and the graces bestowed by him, for he said that he would “make a way in the desert and rivers in the dry land,” and because of this he would be blessed by “all the wild animals of the field.” The praise-giving is to be understood as a spiritual sacrifice and fruit of the new covenant in Christ. In the present passage, however, he tries to assure Israel that they had been redeemed from Egypt, rescued from the slavery that they endured there and freed from such intolerable labors, not so that they would offer him calves and thus secure access to him through blood and smoke—for such things are repugnant to God, and shadow rather than reality.That is why he says: “I have not called you now, O Jacob.” The word “now” ought to be understood to mean, “Not when you were offering sacrifices,” that is, “I have not called you when you were sacrificing oxen and slaughtered sheep, so that you should not think that you had been redeemed as a reward for the offerings.” Rather, it was when you were still in sin and guilty of defilement, for you had worshiped the gods of the Egyptians, that I deemed you worthy of mercy and love. So the gift is one of gentleness, and the fruit of loving-kindness is mercy, and the redemption came from love. The sheep of your burnt offering are nothing to me, he says, nor did you glorify me with your sacrifices. After all, how can that which is wholly unacceptable and offered in vain contribute to my glory? You did not serve me with your sacrifices. The one who pursues any good deed, he says, who achieves the character that leads to virtue, who bends his neck in submission to my decrees, who puts the teachings of the prophets into practice, could be said to serve the God who is over all. As for the one who fills the holy tent with incense, who offers oxen or sheep, or who performs successfully any of the other fine actions, that one will not genuinely glorify me. Such a person, in fact, has done nothing at all that pleases me. So then, service does not consist in offering sacrifice, but in being prepared to submit a tender neck, that willingly submits to his wishes. … Everywhere he rejected worship in shadows, leading them away from types, and drawing them to the justification which is in Christ, and teaching them to be refashioned according to the way of life taught by the gospel, by which alone it is possible to do what is pleasing to God, and come to truly blameless and sincere worship—that is, worship that is spiritual. For it says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:1.43:22-24

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:24

In the previous passage, prophecies were made of the covenant of Christ and the graces bestowed by him, because he had promised that he would make a way in the wilderness and streams in the arid land, on account of which the beasts of the field would bless him. This may be understood as the praise of spiritual sacrifice and the fruit of the new covenant in Christ. Here in the present passage, he tries to assure Israel that they have been ransomed out of Egypt and delivered from the grievous burden of slavery there—but not so that they would offer cattle to him and find access to God through blood and smoke! For such things are refuse in God’s sight and are shadows rather than the truth itself.
He therefore says, “I have not now called you, O Jacob.” The word now should be taken to mean “not when you were offering me sacrifice,” that is, “I have not called you while you were sacrificing oxen and slaughtering sheep, so that you should not conclude that you had received deliverance as some kind of reward for the offering. On the contrary, it was while you were in sin and guilty of defilement, for you had worshiped the gods of the Egyptians, that I deemed you worthy of mercy and love.” Therefore the gift is one of gentleness, and the fruit of loving kindness is grace, and the liberation is as if out of love. The sheep of your burnt offerings are nothing to me, he says, nor indeed have you glorified me with your sacrifices. For how can that which is entirely unacceptable and offered in vain contribute to my glory? You have performed no service with your sacrifices. A person who pursues the good, he says, who achieves the moral character that leads to virtue, who submits to my will, who puts the teaching of the prophets into practice—that is the person who may be said to serve the God who rules over all. But a person who fills the holy tabernacle with the smoke of frankincense, who offers oxen or sheep or who has put on a fine show, will not render any genuine glory. Such a person has done absolutely nothing that pleases me. Therefore service does not consist in offering sacrifice. It consists in the readiness to submit a tender neck, a neck that needs, as it were, not so much as a touch to do the will of God. … Everywhere he represents worship in shadows as rejected and the things in types as taken away, drawing us to the righteousness that is in Christ and teaching us to be refashioned according to the evangelical way of life, which is the only way that what is pleasing to God can be brought about, and in which we can arrive at the worship that is truly irreproachable and sincere, that is, the worship that is spiritual. “For God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” - "Commentary on Isaiah 4.1.43.22-24"

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:25

For now the devil urges us to sin and also accuses us when we do sin. If, therefore, in this life we anticipate him and are ourselves our own accusers, we escape the wickedness of the devil, our enemy and our accuser.… Does he [the prophet] not evidently show the mystery that we are dealing with when he says, “you speak first” to show you that you ought to anticipate him who was prepared to accuse you?

Source: HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 3:4.5

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Isaiah 43:25

You have blotted it out, indeed, in your hearts and minds, but the Word of God is not blotted out, the Holy Spirit is not blotted out but turns away from impious minds. It is not grace but iniquity that is blotted out; for it is written, “I am he, I am he who blots out your iniquities.”

Source: On the Holy Spirit 3.10.61

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Isaiah 43:25

We must always have these sins before our eyes, so we may be purified from them. And though God, by clemency, forgives you every sin, yet you, for the safety of your soul, must always have the sin before your eyes. For the memory of past sins hinders future ones; and one who is bitten by his past sins demonstrates the will to be steadfast about the next ones. For David says, “And my sin is ever before me,” in order to have the past ones before his eyes and not to fall into future ones. That God demands this firm stance from us, listen to him say, “I am the one who blots out your sins, and I will not remember them; you, however, remember them, and we shall settle accounts, says the Lord. First state your sin so you may be justified.” … Time does not excuse; rather, the manner of the repentant individual erases the sin.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 7:4.11-12

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Isaiah 43:25

Groan bitterly, sacrifice confession (for, he says, “Declare first your transgressions that you may be justified”), sacrifice contrition of heart. These victims turn not to ashes or dissolve into smoke or melt into air. They do not need wood and fire but only a deep-pricked heart. This is wood; this is fire to burn, yet not consume them. For one who prays with earnestness is burned yet not consumed, but like gold that is tested by fire becomes brighter.

Source: HOMILIES ON 2 CORINTHIANS 5:4

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Isaiah 43:25

God does not wait for time to elapse after repentance. You stated your sin, you are justified. You repented, you have been shown mercy. Time does not excuse; rather, the manner of the repentant individual erases the sin. One individual may wait a long time and not gain salvation, and another, who confesses genuinely, is stripped of the sin inside a short time.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 7:4.12

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:25-28

(Verse 25, 26 and following) I am, I am myself, who blots out your iniquities for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Bring me to remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first ancestor sinned, and your interpreters transgressed against me. And I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and delivered Jacob to destruction and Israel to reviling. LXX: I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember. But remember, and let us argue together. Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified. Your fathers have sinned, and your princes have dealt unjustly with me, and they have defiled my holy ones. And I gave up Jacob to destruction and Israel to reviling. You, Jacob and Israel, you have caused me to labor in your sins, and I could barely bear the burden of your iniquities. I do not call you my servants or slaves, but I address you simply by the names Jacob and Israel, so that I may show and prove your sins. But I, because I am kind and patient, and have many mercies, will wipe away all your iniquities in the sprinkling of the blood of the new Testament: I will wipe away the old handwriting, which was written against you; and I will no longer remember your sins, which I am willing to forgive you, if you believe, in baptism. Therefore, bring me to remembrance: if you have any just thing to answer to me, I will gladly accept it, so that we may be judged together, and you may accuse me of not doing what I should have done for you. Whom we find fuller in understanding than in Micha, saying: My people, what have I done to you, and how have I harmed you? Answer me: for I brought you out of the land of Egypt and freed you from the house of slavery, and I sent Moses and Aaron and Miriam before your face. And in the fiftieth Psalm David speaks to God: That you may be justified in your words, and may overcome when you are judged (Ps. 50:5). Therefore, tell me if you have anything, so that you may be justified. And the meaning is: I will not speak against you first, lest you claim to be overwhelmed by the multiplication of words; but if you have anything just to say, speak for yourself; so that you may seem to endure the things you suffer unworthily. And so that you may know that I have mercy on you, not because of your merit, but because of my compassion, I will repeat it from your fathers and ancestors, so that you may understand that you were born from sinners: Your father first sinned in solitude: namely, the entire people of Israel. Whether Abraham, the founder of your race, is shown to have sinned when, in response to the Lord's promise to give the land of promise to his descendants, he asked, 'How shall I know that I am to possess it?' And of your interpreters, he says, 'they have acted unfaithfully toward me' (Gen. XV, 8). Aaron and Moses at the waters of contradiction, when they were speaking between me and the Israelites (Exod. XVII). And so that we may understand this is not a forced interpretation, it is followed by the statement, 'And I have defiled the holy princes,' concerning whom it is said in the psalm, 'Their rulers were swallowed up by the rock' (Ps. CXL, 6). He says that they contaminated themselves on purpose because they did not enter the promised land. He devoted Jacob and Israel to destruction and blasphemy, so that no one except two of those who had come out of Egypt would enter into Judah, but their bodies would lie in the wilderness. According to the Septuagint, who added from their own: You speak first of your own iniquities, so that you may be justified. God calls them to repentance, so that they may understand their crimes and sins, and obtain forgiveness. For it is written in another place: 'He who pleads his own cause in the beginning of his speech is just' (Prov. XVIII, 17). And their leaders and fathers are said to have violated the holy things of the Lord, not obeying the Law of God, but seeking the traditions and commandments of men. Because of them Jacob perished, and Israel was given into reproach, expelled from his own province, and became an exile and wanderer throughout the whole world.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Isaiah 43:25

All truth is justice. In the confessing of what is the case, there is justice. He speaks the truth, that sinners who justify themselves by their faults cannot be justified. And in this way one is called truly just in that confessing one’s own sin, he asks them to be accounted to himself yet begs God for mercy. For he knows that it is stated in the law, “Confess your sins, and you will be justified.” What does it mean “to confess at the start of speaking” unless “to speak freely and not just when forced to”? For who (even one who fears God) is without sin, since faults get mixed into thinking and unconsciously we sin in so many ways?

Source: QUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT 30

[AD 435] John Cassian on Isaiah 43:25

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Whoever, therefore, desires to obtain the forgiveness of sins should strive to use these methods. The obstinacy of a hardened heart should turn no one away from a salutary healing and from the source of so great mercy, for even if we did all these things they would not be ineffective for the expiation of our crimes unless the goodness and mercy of the Lord destroyed them. When he has seen the services of a devout effort rendered by us with a humble mind, he supplements these feeble and small efforts with his own measureless generosity, as he says: “I am the one who destroys your iniquities for my own sake, and I will not keep record of your sins.” - "Conference 20.8.8-9"

[AD 435] John Cassian on Isaiah 43:25

“Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.” Whoever then desires to obtain forgiveness of sins, should strive to use these means. Let not the stubbornness of an obdurate heart turn away any from the saving remedy and the source of so much goodness, because even if we have done all these things, they will not be able to expiate our offences, unless they are blotted out by the goodness and mercy of the Lord, who when he sees us engaged in pious efforts with a humble heart, supports our small and puny efforts with the utmost bounty, and says: “I even I am the one that blots out your iniquities for my own sake, and I will remember your sins no more.”

Source: CONFERENCE 20:8

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:25

Do not forget your errors, God says, but keep them firmly in your memory so that you will always recognize how great are my benefits. In this way you will avoid committing the same misdeeds. Now since he has mentioned judgment and that fear is an appropriate response, he teaches them who would learn the way of victory. “You be the first to confess your sins, so as to be justified.” I do not want to overcome you, but rather I long for the opposite. Learn how it is possible for you to overcome; confess first your errors, and I will grant you pardon. I will judge you if you attempt to hide something from me. If you confess, I will forgive.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.26

[AD 528] Procopius of Gaza on Isaiah 43:25

Nature is too weak to gain righteousness by works. For the human disposition is inclined toward evil from an early age, as David clearly says, “If you kept record of our transgressions, who would stand? For with you there is atonement.” For I myself am merciful, and I wish that those in trouble remember their Savior and give him thanks through all things. For this is what the saints do.… And do not be ashamed to confess your sins. For the Pharisee did not do so, and he was condemned. But the tax collector did so, and he was justified. …“You transgressed against me”—this is given great force. For it is not a transgression against humanity or created nature. For the idolater rejects the divine nature as he robs the same of its transcendence and glory, which are to be worshiped. As God says in Jeremiah, “Why have you spoken to me? You have all acted unrighteously and impiously toward me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:14-28

[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Isaiah 43:25

Though this type of argument seems without resort and bereft of human force in court trials here on earth, before God it is invested with invincible protection. Only confession of faith can acquit the person whom no arguments defend. Such a course is permitted to those who truly repent, who in seeking pardon for themselves strive instead to condemn their own actions. This is what Isaiah too advises: “Speak first of your iniquities that you may be justified.”

Source: EXPOSITION OF PSALM 6:2

[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Isaiah 43:26

And it is ours to flee to God. And let us endeavor after this ceaselessly and energetically. For he says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And prayer and confession with humility are voluntary acts. Therefore it is enjoined, “First tell your sins, that you may be justified.” What afterwards we shall obtain, and what we shall be, it is not for us to judge.

Source: FRAGMENTS 11:3

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Isaiah 43:26

Do you wish that I shall speak of the ways of repentance? They are many and various and different, and all lead to heaven. The first way of repentance is condemnation of sins. “First declare your sins, that you may be justified.”

Source: CONCERNING THE POWER OF DEMONS 2:6

[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 43:26

We are just when we acknowledge that we are sinners, and our justice depends not on our personal merit but rather on the mercy of God, as holy Scripture says: “The just is an accuser of himself in the beginning of his plea.” And in another place, “State your sins, that you may be justified.”

Source: Against the Pelagians 1.13

[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 43:27

[The Lord] has proclaimed these words in addressing those who were in Babylon. It is not I, he says, who am the cause of these misfortunes, but your ancestors, and your priests, who have transgressed my laws. Their iniquity has transformed the renown of Israel to an object of shame.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:43.27

[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Isaiah 43:28

“Your princes profaned the sanctuary.” Those who were from the house of Manasseh profaned the sanctuary with the four-faced idol, which they placed inside the sanctuary. Because of those crimes, and in particular because of Manasseh’s crime, “I have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reviling.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 43:28