Isaiah 22:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If this principle applies in worldly matters, it is even more profoundly true in spiritual realms.

It is inherent to the prophets and all the righteous to mourn not only for those close to them but also for the plight of others.

They wander from the least to the greatest among them, lost in the mountains. Behold the wisdom of one filled with the Spirit. He proclaimed that confusion, ruin, and a day of calamity would be brought forth by the Lord of hosts; yet, to prevent any assumption that divine wrath could befall them without cause, he swiftly dispels such folly and offers an explanation, so that the Creator of all may be a just Judge: they wander, he states, from the least to the greatest, lost in the mountains. The meaning of this shall be revealed through the very words of God. For when the blessed prophet Jeremiah was asked, “Have you noticed what the house of Israel has done to me? They have ascended every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and have gathered together" (Jeremiah 3:6), it was evident that they had erected altars on high mountains, crafted idols to their liking, offered sacrifices, and in their complete disregard for the reverence due to God, declared to the tree, “You are my father,” and to the rock, “You gave birth to me” (Jeremiah 2:27). Yet, one might consider that only a few were affected by this sin. Not so, he insists; for the entire lineage and household have strayed, both small and great. Therefore, he once more instructed the blessed prophet Jeremiah, “You shall not pray for these people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor intercede with Me, for I will not listen” (Jeremiah 7:16). Can you not see what these people are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? Their sons gather wood, their fathers light the fire, and their wives prepare dough to make unleavened bread for the hosts of heaven, offering libations to foreign gods, thereby provoking Me to anger (Jeremiah 7:16-18). Thus, they face punishment by righteous judgment. For by bestowing divine honors upon created things and serving the works of their hands, they have brought upon themselves the repercussions of divine wrath: not without justice are the nets spread in vain, as written (Proverbs 1:17), and God disciplines those who dishonor His glory by yielding to the shameful corruption of their thoughts.

When you turn and stand up again, you will find salvation, for healing comes through effort, and deliverance follows. Therefore, if you seek to uphold your commitments to others, ensure that you do not violate your commitments to God, which you have made before numerous witnesses. Do not hesitate, based on human considerations, to approach me, for I will mourn deeply for the plight of my people, having restored the one lost to me. All will welcome you, all will toil alongside you; do not lose your fervor, remember the days gone by. Salvation is achievable, correction is attainable. Do not give in to despair, do not lose hope. There exists no decree that condemns without mercy, but abundant grace delays judgment and awaits a change of heart. The doors remain open; the Bridegroom listens, and sin does not yet reign supreme. Renew your endeavor, do not hesitate, show kindness to yourself and to all of us.

The day of ruin, trampling, and mourning comes from the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision. The threefold understanding reveals the reason behind the words, "Leave me; I will weep bitterly"—Zion has been trampled; once a mountain of visions, it is now a palace of lamentation. He who tests the wall and faces it, to the mountain! And Elam readied the bow, (I see) the rider’s chariot, and the shield stripped bare the wall. The Babylonian forces are depicted entering the city, seizing the temple, and parading grandly in four-horse chariots through its streets. The Hebrew beautifully illustrates that the shield, which typically protects others, instead reveals the adorned cornices and the marbled walls; this signifies that the shield did not shield anyone but exposed them, as the soldiers uncovered all the treasures. If we mention the inhabitants of the Assyrian city of Elam as engaged in battle, we must not ascribe this to the period of Roman destruction unless we interpret it allegorically.

Thus, I declared, "Leave me; I will weep bitterly; do not strive to comfort me regarding my people's daughter’s ruin, for it is a day of devastation, trampling, and weeping from the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision." He who examines the wall and confronts it, - to the mountain! LXX: Therefore, I said, "Let me go; I will weep bitterly; do not strive to console me for the brokenness of my people's daughter, for it is a day of confusion, destruction, trampling, and delusion from the Lord God of Hosts, wandering from the least to the greatest, roaming over the mountains." And Samuel wept for Saul (1 Sam. 15). And the Lord and Savior wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19). The apostle writes to the Corinthians, "May my God humble me again with you, to weep for many who have sinned previously and have not repented" (2 Cor. 12:21), and in a spirit of compassion, he states to others, "Whoever is weary, I will not be weary of; whoever is tempted, I will not be tempted" (2 Cor. 11:29). Likewise, the prophet, observing that the nation, once a people of vision, is rising to vain heights and yielding to confusion, and all its leaders have fled and are bound in the chains of sin, begins to weep and spurns those who would comfort him. He laments not for the sons, but for his people’s daughters, who have lost their dignity. For the day of judgment, destruction, and trampling shall not be for Jerusalem, representing the vision of the world, but, as it was historically known, for Jebus, denoting trampling; and for him, it shall be a day of weeping or delusion, as the LXX articulates, from the Lord of Hosts—not suggesting that weeping and delusion come from the Lord, but indicating that concerning the sacred scriptures, which the Lord has ordained for reading, they serve as a pretext for delusion among those who might inquire, “Why have You led us astray, Lord, from Your way?” (Is. 68:28) and elsewhere, “The Lord hath stirred up a spirit of error in them” (Is. 29:10), so that they should not dwell on the mountain of vision, but rather in the valley of Zion. This specific day, unveiled from the Lord of Hosts in the valley of vision, reveals the works of each person, testing the wall of the heretics that they have constructed against the Church as a stronghold, and examines the wall of the proud and lofty, namely their leaders, who boast of standing on the mountain—Christ. Of this we read elsewhere: "Come, and let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will show us His ways" (Is. 2:3). Furthermore, translated by the LXX: they wander from the least to the greatest, roaming over the mountains, which suggests that while the greater are in deeper transgressions, all from the least to the greatest wander, traversing the heights—Moses, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, as well as the Evangelists and the Apostles—surprisingly wandering over the mountains while they find themselves in the valley.