Isaiah 10:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

To deny justice to the impoverished and to seize the rights of the vulnerable within my community, to exploit widows and to take advantage of orphans. Do you not understand that the prophet does not pity those who are wronged but rather condemns those who commit the wrongs? The more he highlights the transgressions of the impoverished, the heavier the consequences placed upon the wealthy. All are continually grumbling against them, and still, their actions persist. It is no surprise that the Jews face punishment, for they are wholly devoted to worldly matters, while we who have gained clarity and wisdom must not partake in similar offenses. Leading widows and orphans into the exploitation of My people. Behold, yet another great place of refuge!

However, driven by unjustly acquired wealth, they issued corrupt judgments, perverting the essence of the divine law. Their actions were akin to diluting wine, rendering pure silver as valueless. In doing so, they disrespected the widow and denied the poor their rightful access to justice. Out of greed, they thrust orphans into hardship and surrendered them to those who sought to exploit them for personal gain, treating them as nothing more than worthless spoils.

Such individuals exploit those who are destitute in faith, seizing the souls of the widows belonging to the true Bridegroom, who is God the Word. When they determine that someone has been separated from God due to sin, they treat this person as if they were their quarry, promising security and a pleasant life, provided they can persuade him to embrace heretical beliefs. This represents the heresy of the Anomaians, which has recently emerged, offering forgiveness of sins to fornicators, adulterers, sodomites, enslavers of the free, perjurers, and deceivers, should they find any of them guilty of blasphemy against the Only Begotten. There are also those who falsify contracts and alter written documents to acquire properties, influencing wills and agreements, manipulating what is recorded.

They accomplish this by disregarding the verdicts that would benefit the needy, meaning they issue decisions that fail to provide the impoverished with the justice they deserve, and by taking advantage of the judgments concerning the underprivileged within My community, which involves soliciting offerings from them.

They enacted profoundly unjust laws designed to oppress the needy and humble among the populace, taking advantage of widows and exploiting orphans. In a sacramental context, every heretic perpetuates injustice to mislead the lowly and to wrong widows and orphans. The wealthy individual, referred to in Scripture, "The ransom of a man's life is his riches" (Proverbs 13:8), who is unable to withstand threats, is not easily ensnared by heretics; however, the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable are quickly drawn into deception by them. A widow bereaved of her husband—God—and an orphan deprived of their Father-Creator, concerning whom it is said, "You have forsaken the God who gave birth to you, and you have forgotten the God who nourishes you" (Deuteronomy 32:18).

They avoid facing the judgment of the needy, meaning they withhold justice from them and obstruct their pursuit of redress within the legal framework. They elevate the judgment of my humble people: they openly disregard the principles of justice and truth in their actions; rather than safeguarding them from the injustices inflicted by the powerful and affluent, they insidiously manipulate the court to benefit the latter and unjustly accuse the former, showing no mercy to widows or orphans: they abandon both to their oppressors, paying no attention to the grievances expressed by the oppressed against them.