From: Isaiah 61:9-11
The herald of good tidings (continued)
[10] I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my soul shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
[11] For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.
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Commentary:
1-11. Into the air of great joy reflected in the previous hymn, the prophet inserts
this very important oracle about the new messenger (vv. 1-3). The rest of the
chapter is made up of three stanzas that celebrate the wonders of the holy city.
These can be seen in profound, spiritual renewal (vv. 4-7), perfect fulfillment of
the promises made to the ancient patriarchs (vv. 8-9), and joy-in-worship, com-
parable to that of a bridegroom and bride, or that of the farmer on seeing a rich
harvest (vv. 10-11).
The remarkable events and features of the city point to the time of the End, the
time of the Lord’s definitive, salvific intervention. In this context, these new things
are ultimate and definitive. Because in the New Testament the Church is called
“God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), erected on the foundation of the apostles (1 Cor 3:
11), Christian tradition has seen the new, glorious Jerusalem as a symbol of the
Church that makes its way through this world and will be made manifest at the
end of time (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 756-757).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
Second lament: Zion’s misfortunes and their causes
[10] The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground in silence;
they have cast dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth;
the maidens of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
[11] My eyes are spent with weeping;
my soul is in tumult:
my heart is poured out in grief
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babes faint
in the streets of the city.
[12] They cry to their mothers.
“Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like wounded men
in the streets of the city.
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.
[13] What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For vast as the sea is your ruin;
Who can restore you?
[14] Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
false and misleading.
[18] Cry aloud to the Lord!
O daughter of Zion!
Let tears stream down like a torrent
day and night!
Give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite!
[19] Arise, cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the watches!
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint for hunger
at the head of every street.
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Commentary:
2:1-22. The second lamentation begins and ends with explicit references to the
main reason for all Zion’s misfortunes — the anger of God (vv. 1 and 22), that is,
his just indignation at the sins of the people. However, the main body of the po-
em is a meditation containing reflections on the prospects of conversion. St
Thomas points out that there are two parts to the poem: “In the first part of the
poem, the disgrace of the destruction is lamented (vv. 1-7); in the second part,
the grace of God’s mercy is implored” (”Postilla super Threnos”, 2).
The poem begins by describing the fall of Jerusalem (vv. 1-9). Using bold image-
ry, the author describes the defeat of the Jews and the destruction of the temple
as something done not so much by the Chaldeans as by the Lord himself, who
became “like an enemy” to Israel (v. 5), rejected the temple and its rites (vv. 6-7),
and deprived the city of its defences (vv. 8-9). It then goes on to show the reader
just how things were in the city at the time — no law, no princes, no prophets (v.
9), no food (vv. 11-12), nothing but silence and weeping (vv. 10-11). Such being
the scene, the inspired writer reproaches Jerusalem on a number of counts (vv.
13-19) — the apathy of its prophets (v. 14), the city’s failure to turn back to God;
it has become the object of jeers and mockery. But it must not stay like that; it
must be converted to the Lord, by making anguished prayer (vv. 18-19) — prayer
like that of the sacred writer (vv. 20-22) which stresses that Israel is still the
Lord’s chosen people.
Jerusalem’s plight, then, is a punishment from God. Still, the severest reproach
of all is that addressed to the prophets. The false prophets lulled the people into
a false sense of security instead of calling them to conversion (v. 14); as Olym-
piodorus glosses the text, “they do not tell you the truth by which you would re-
cognize your sins and repent [...]. On the contrary, they read you false prophe-
cies and use vain arguments to drive you further from God” (”Fragmenta in La-
mentationes”, 2, 14). On the other hand, the true word of God has been borne
out: it is not surprising that v. 17 should be quoted when reminding Church pas-
tors of their responsibilities: “The good pastor should know when to keep silent
through discretion and when it is important to speak, so that he will never speak
of what should not be said nor fail to speak when it must be said. As indiscreet
speech can lead to sin; imprudent silence can leave those who were in need of
teaching to wallow in their sin. It often happens that imprudent pastors are afraid
to tell the truth openly because they fear that they will lose the respect of their
people. The pastor who is afraid to tell his people the truth turns his back on
them by his silence. He builds a wall for the house of Israel, to keep out those
who would destroy the flock; but when the people have sinned, as is said else-
where in Scripture: ‘Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes (Lam 2:14)’” (St.
Gregory the Great, “Regula pastoralis”, 2, 4).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.