Isaiah 22:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If He distances Himself from humanity, who would be able to intervene on their behalf? They wander, from the least to the greatest among them, lost in the hills. Marvel at the wisdom bestowed upon the one filled with the Spirit. While he proclaimed that confusion and a day of ruin would be sent from the Lord of Hosts, he immediately counters any notion that divine wrath might come upon them without cause, affirming that the Creator is a just judge. They roam, as he states, from the least to the greatest, adrift in the mountains. You will understand the meaning of this through God’s own words. For the blessed prophet Jeremiah was not told, “Have you observed what the house of Israel has done to me? They have ascended every high mountain and gathered beneath every green tree” (Jeremiah 3:6). They established altars and shrines on lofty heights, crafted an idol to suit themselves, and offered sacrifices to it, wholly disregarding reverence towards God, exclaiming to the tree, “You are my father,” and to the stone, “You brought me forth” (Jeremiah 2:27). Yet, it may seem that only a few are affected by this plight. Not at all, he asserts; for the entire nation has strayed, both small and great. Therefore, he reminded the blessed prophet Jeremiah, “You shall not pray for these people... nor intercede, nor come to me on their behalf, for I will not listen” (Jeremiah 7:16). Cannot you see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and Jerusalem? Their sons gather wood, their fathers light fires, and their wives prepare dough to bake unleavened bread for the host of heaven, offering drink offerings to foreign gods to provoke Me to anger (Jeremiah 7:16-18). Thus, they suffer just judgment. By bestowing divine honor upon created things and serving the fruits of their own hands, they brought upon themselves the repercussions of divine wrath; righteousness is not absent when the innocent suffer, as it is written, “For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird” (Proverbs 1:17), and God punishes those who bring shame upon His glory through the corruption of their thoughts.

The day of ruin, trampling, and mourning is from the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision. This triple understanding clarifies why he declared, ‘Leave me be; I shall mourn deeply,’ for Zion has been trodden down; once a mountain of revelation, it has transformed into a abode of lamentation. He who tests the wall and challenges it—up to the mountains! And Elam grasped the bow, (I see) the chariots of the mounted warriors, with their shields displayed against the walls. The Babylonian forces are portrayed entering the city, conquering the temple, and parading boastfully in four-horse chariots through its streets. In the Hebrew text, it is beautifully illustrated that the shield, which normally shields others, has laid bare the gilded cornices and marble-clad walls; its profound meaning being that the shield provided no protection, instead exposing all that was gilded, as the might of the soldiers unearthed every treasure. Should the inhabitants of Elam be mentioned as joining in the battle, this can only be understood allegorically, not as a reference to the times of Roman destruction.

Thus I proclaimed, Leave me, I shall mourn deeply; do not strive to comfort me for the desolation of my people, for it is the day of ruin, trampling, and lamentation from the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision. He who tests the wall and dares it—up to the mountains! As translated in the Septuagint: Therefore I said, Allow me to go; I will lament profoundly; do not seek to comfort me for the brokenness of my people, for it is a day of confusion, ruin, trampling, and delusion from the Lord of Hosts; wandering from the least to the greatest, roaming over the mountains. And Samuel wept for Saul (1 Sam. 15). Likewise, our Lord and Savior wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19). The Apostle writes to the Corinthians, ‘May my God humble me with you again, and I mourn for many who have sinned before and remain unrepentant (2 Cor. 12:21),’ expressing deep compassion: ‘Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Cor. 11:29).’ So too, the prophet perceives that the nation, which once experienced divine vision, is now pursuing futile ambitions and surrendering to confusion, as all its leaders flee and are ensnared by sin’s chains. He begins to weep, rejecting those who offer him comfort, asserting that he mourns not for the sons but for the daughters of his people, who have lost their dignity. The day of judgment, destruction, and trampling will not be for Jerusalem, which signifies the vision of the world, but rather, in accordance with its ancient name, for Jebus, which signifies trampling; for it shall be for him a day of grief or delusion, as the Septuagint puts it, from the Lord of Hosts—not implying that weeping and delusion originate from the Lord, but indicating that, regarding the sacred scriptures which the Lord has decreed to be read, they serve as a smokescreen for delusion among those who may cry out, ‘Why have you led us astray, O Lord, from your path? (Is. 68:28)’ In another instance, ‘The Lord has stirred up in them a spirit of error’ (Is. 29:10), leading them to dwell not upon the mountain of revelation but rather in the valley of Zion. This very day, disclosed by the Lord of Hosts in the valley of vision, is designed to reveal the actions of each individual and puts to the test the wall of heretics, which they have constructed against the Church as a fortified structure. It scrutinizes the towering and proud figures—their teachers—who boast of standing upon the mountain-Christ. In another passage, we read: Come, and let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will instruct us in His ways (Is. 2:3). Moreover, understood from the Septuagint: they wander from the least to the greatest, roaming over the mountains, indicating that the greater are transgressing more grievously, yet all, from the least to the greatest, have strayed, traversing over the mountains—including Moses, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, as well as the Evangelists and the Apostles—astonishingly wandering over the mountains while remaining in the valley.