RSV
From: Isaiah 1:10-20
Religion Without Soul
[12] “When you come to appear before me,
who requires of you
this trampling of my courts?
[13] Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and the calling of assemblies –
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
[14] Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
[15] When you spread forth your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Call to Conversion
The People Must Decide—Obedience or Rebellion
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Commentary:
1:2-39:8. The first part of the book of Isaiah is usually described as “First Isaiah”. It includes prophetic passages that have as their background the threat posed by the Assyrians to Judah and Jerusalem during the second half of the eighth century BC. At the start and conclusion of this part, Jerusalem is referred to as a “besieged city” and as “overthrown by aliens” (l:7-8; 36:1ff).
The sacred text links the people of Judah’s distress and uneasiness with the fact that they have distanced themselves from God; they live without reference to him, forgetful of all he has done for them. The future looks bleak, for there is no sign of their heeding the prophet’s call to conversion. However, there is still some cause for hope, for a remnant of Israel has kept faith with God, and from it a new, reformed people will emerge. In various ways a contrast is drawn between those (like King Ahaz: cf. 7:1-17) who clearly do not put their trust in God, relying only on human prudence to deal with the situation, and others (like King Hezekiah: 36:1-38:22) who have recourse to the Lord and make every effort to remedy things; they are confident that God will come to their aid and deliver them from danger.
The first part of the book contains prophetic passages that differ in style and origin. The oldest of them reflect the fear caused by the sheer might of Assyria, which is depicted as a rod or staff wielded by the Lord in his anger (cf. 10:5). All nations in the region felt threatened by Assyria, whose armies reached the very gates of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged the city. (That siege marks the end of this part of the book.)
These words of prophecy fall into six sections. The first deals with the threat hanging over Israel and Judah (1:2-12:6); and the second contains oracles to do with foreign nations (13:1-23:18). The third, which in away contains the theological basis of all the teaching found in First Isaiah, and which is known as the “Apocalypse of Isaiah”, deals with the sentence passed on the nations by the Lord (he is supreme, and nothing escapes his justice); still, the light of salvation is always on the horizon (24:1-27:13). Then we hear more about the misfortunes that threaten Jerusalem on account of its sins — and further reason to hope that all is not lost (28:1-33:24). After returning to the theme of divine judgment and rallying the people to hope in salvation, in a section known as the “little Apocalypse” (34:1-35:10), First Isaiah ends with a narrative section dealing with the havoc caused in Judah by Sennacherib’s forces, although, for a while at least, a small remnant is spared — those who take refuge in Jerusalem alongside
Hezekiah the king (36:1-39:8).
1:2-12:6. Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet must have begun in the years prior to the war, when the kingdoms of Syria and Ephraim (Israel), with Egypt’s encouragement, joined forces and took to the field in campaigns aimed at stemming the advance of the Assyrians. The kings of Syria and Israel tried to persuade Ahaz of Judah to join their alliance. Ahaz refused to get involved and, instead, sought to ingratiate himself with Assyria in order to save his country. In 734 BC Assyria overran Syria, most of Israel and the Lebanon, the Philistine coast and the Transjordan, and in the years that followed it consolidated its grip on the region. After the fall of Samaria (722 BC), much of the population of Israel was deported and replaced by foreigners.
The kingdom of Judah was not invaded, but it was forced to pay heavy tribute and became a state dependent on Assyria. At the cost of many concessions, an uneasy peace prevailed. Religious life and the rule of law deteriorated. This was the background to the earliest of the oracles contained in these twelve chapters. The section begins with a general denunciation of the forsaking of the Lord; no specific events are mentioned. It is a time of crisis, with Judah laid waste and Jerusalem under siege (1:2-20); clearly there is need for a call to conversion, to atone for sins and infidelities (1:21-31). After a few verses that strike a note of hope (in time, Jerusalem will be raised on high), there follow oracles that describe how the people have been laid low on account of their pride (2:6-22). However, amid all the uncleanness, a seed of beauty remains, offering hopes of rebirth (3:1-4:6). One could say that the core of the whole section is the “Song of the vineyard” (5:1-7), a lovely allegory about the care that the Lord lavishes on his people, and about their failure to appreciate it.
After this we begin to find references to specific times in what is called the “Book of lmmanuel” (7:1-12:6), which begins with an account of the calling of Isaiah, whom the Lord has commissioned to explain the meaning of what is happening and to show that there are grounds for hope (6:1-13). In line with this, the prophet approaches Ahaz to encourage him to trust in the Lord (7:1-17) in the face of threatened invasion (7:18-25). Assyria is about to close in on Israel and Judah (8:1-22), but there is still hope of deliverance (8:23-9:6). Punishment does await Israel and Judah (9:7-10:4), but Assyria will not escape it either (10:5-19). Meanwhile, the “remnant” of Israel will grow in its appreciation of the Lord and will find peace (10:20-11:9). The section ends with a song of joy and praise to the Lord for saving and renewing his people (11:10-12:6).
1:2-31. The first oracles are couched in the language of a lawsuit (rib). This is a style of writing often found in the prophetical literature of Israel. which shares similar modes of expression with other writings of the ancient Middle East (see the note on Is 1:10-20). However, other people resort to that legal style when they seek to justify the punishment inflicted on a vassal by an aggrieved overlord, whereas when prophetical texts denounce a fault it is in order to evince an immediate change of heart. The Lord takes no pleasure in punishing people; he very much wants to forgive transgressors and reestablish friendship with them.
The passage begins by calling on heaven and earth to see how wickedly the people have acted, and by accusing them of forsaking the Lord (vv. 2-3). It then inveighs against those who have turned away from the Lord and show no inclination to react, even though misfortune has overtaken them (vv. 4-9), and it denounces the hypocrisy of a people that goes through the motions of religious worship without having the right dispositions (vv. 10-15). A call to conversion follows (vv. 16-17). The Lord is ready to argue his point against his people, to reward them if they mend their ways or punish them if they persist in their sins (vv. 18-20). They are in a bad way, such is their sinfulness (vv. 21-23). Their punishment will be very harsh; so they should respond now and be faithful, as they were in earlier times (vv. 24-31).
This oracle brings in all the main theological themes found in the history of the chosen people of the Old Testament — their divine election; God’s offer of a Covenant; the people’s transgression of the Covenant; God’s punishment for their infidelity. Even so, it shows that theirs is a merciful God, ever ready to forgive offences; he never turns his back on those whom he has loved.
1:10-20. These verses, too, in some ways form a literary unit in line with the “lawsuit” (”rib”) style often found in prophetical literature: the charge sheet (vv. 10-15) is set against a list of good works, given here in the form of an exhortation (vv. 16-17), and then comes to the sentence at the end, seen here in the attitude of the judge, who is God (vv. 18-20).
Harsh words (v. 10) are used: the people of Judah are identified with those of Sodom and Gomorrah, the epitome of sin and rejection of God. The transgressions of which they are accused are against acts of worship (vv. 11-15), listed one after the other—sacrifices, incense offerings, festivals, entreaties. The accusation is not against acts of worship in themselves, for these are laid down in the book of Leviticus and therefore are right and proper. What the prophet is inveighing against is religious formalism and the dichotomy between performance and intention, as.can be seen from the verses that follow. What God desires is sincerity of heart, virtue, protection for the weak—in other words, proper treatment of others. In laying down the law here, the Lord shows his readiness to forgive, while still holding out the threat of punishment (vv. 18-20).
Some passages of the section are read in the Liturgy during Lent (Tuesday of the Second Week) to help people check whether they have given God the worship due to him, and as a call to a sincere change of heart. Christian writers have used this passage from Isaiah (and other texts from the Scriptures) to explain that true religion and compassion begin in a person’s heart and then express themselves in actions. For example, one of the apostolic Fathers writes: “Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace will speak of penance. And the Lord of all things himself spoke of penance, and swore an oath: I do not desire the death of the wicked man, but that he should change his ways; and he adds: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; [...] though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” The Lord desires that all whom he loves would repent, and he affirms it by his all-powerful will. Let us be obedient, then, to his glorious plan, and, by imploring his mercy and kindness, let us return to his goodness and be converted, leaving aside all our vain works, the disputes and jealousies that lead to death” (St Clement of Rome, “Ad Corinthios”, 8, 1-9, 1).
1-17. “Learn to do good”: in order to lead the sort of lives that God wants, we need to be properly schooled. St Basil comments: “Since moral understanding is neither self-evident nor clear to all, we must learn to do good deeds through our study of sound doctrine” (”Enarratio in Isaiam”, 1, 40). As well as calling for sound doctrine, holiness of life requires the practice of virtue, day after day, consistently, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. The “human virtues are [...] the foundation for the supernatural ones. These in turn provide us with constant encouragement to behave in a noble way. But it is not sufficient merely to want to have these virtues: we must learn bow to practise them. “Discite benefacere” (Is 1:17), learn to do good. We need to make a habit of exercising each virtue, by actually being sincere, truthful, balanced, calm, and patient—for love is proved by deeds and we cannot love God only by word, but ‘with deeds and in truth’ (1 Jn 3:18)” (St Josemaria Escriva, “Friends of God”, 91).
Amen. Hand sanitizer can only do so much...what is the real sickness here...
| Matthew | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Matthew 10 |
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| 34. | Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. | Nolite arbitrari quia pacem venerim mittere in terram : non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium : | μη νομισητε οτι ηλθον βαλειν ειρηνην επι την γην ουκ ηλθον βαλειν ειρηνην αλλα μαχαιραν |
| 35. | For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. | veni enim separare hominem adversus patrem suum, et filiam adversus matrem suam, et nurum adversus socrum suam : | ηλθον γαρ διχασαι ανθρωπον κατα του πατρος αυτου και θυγατερα κατα της μητρος αυτης και νυμφην κατα της πενθερας αυτης |
| 36. | And as a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. | et inimici hominis, domestici ejus. | και εχθροι του ανθρωπου οι οικειακοι αυτου |
| 37. | He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. | Qui amat patrem aut matrem plus quam me, non est me dignus : et qui amat filium aut filiam super me, non est me dignus. | ο φιλων πατερα η μητερα υπερ εμε ουκ εστιν μου αξιος και ο φιλων υιον η θυγατερα υπερ εμε ουκ εστιν μου αξιος |
| 38. | And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. | Et qui non accipit crucem suam, et sequitur me, non est me dignus. | και ος ου λαμβανει τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθει οπισω μου ουκ εστιν μου αξιος |
| 39. | He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. | Qui invenit animam suam, perdet illam : et qui perdiderit animan suam propter me, inveniet eam. | ο ευρων την ψυχην αυτου απολεσει αυτην και ο απολεσας την ψυχην αυτου ενεκεν εμου ευρησει αυτην |
| 40. | He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. | Qui recipit vos, me recipit : et qui me recipit, recipit eum qui me misit. | ο δεχομενος υμας εμε δεχεται και ο εμε δεχομενος δεχεται τον αποστειλαντα με |
| 41. | He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man. | Qui recipit prophetam in nomine prophetæ, mercedem prophetæ accipiet : et qui recipit justum in nomine justi, mercedem justi accipiet. | ο δεχομενος προφητην εις ονομα προφητου μισθον προφητου ληψεται και ο δεχομενος δικαιον εις ονομα δικαιου μισθον δικαιου ληψεται |
| 42. | And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. | Et quicumque potum dederit uni ex minimis istis calicem aquæ frigidæ tantum in nomine discipuli : amen dico vobis, non perdet mercedem suam. | και ος εαν ποτιση ενα των μικρων τουτων ποτηριον ψυχρου μονον εις ονομα μαθητου αμην λεγω υμιν ου μη απολεση τον μισθον αυτου |
| Matthew 11 |
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| 1. | AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he passed from thence, to teach and preach in their cities. | Et factum est, cum consummasset Jesus, præcipiens duodecim discipulis suis, transiit inde ut doceret, et prædicaret in civitatibus eorum. | και εγενετο οτε ετελεσεν ο ιησους διατασσων τοις δωδεκα μαθηταις αυτου μετεβη εκειθεν του διδασκειν και κηρυσσειν εν ταις πολεσιν αυτων |