Isaiah 47:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, he asserts that you will not prevail; your plans have been in vain, for the strategies of those deemed wise have proven ineffective. If you doubt the truth of my words, let the star-gazers, those who observe the heavens, come forth and rescue you, declaring what is to come. Beyond the magi and enchanters, I believe there are other deceivers. They assert that some among them can predict the rising and setting of the stars, chart their movements no matter their position, and through this fraudulent science attempt to acquire foresight of future events. Thus, if they are not deceivers, and if the stars that grace the sky serve them as prophets, then let them reveal what shall occur. Yet, he notes, they are unable to do so, for they will face the same fate as all others, becoming kindling for the fire, with none escaping its destruction. In a manner of speaking, he criticizes the land of Babylon for its misguided beliefs, saying, "Imati coals of fire," referring to fervent individuals, implying that they are like those who sit upon them. The act of sitting could symbolize a state of calm or rest.

Babylon and her Chaldean counterparts were renowned for their reliance on sorcerers, diviners, and soothsayers, clearly seen within the accounts of Daniel, who notes the kings of Babylon heeded their counsel. Instead of what is interpreted through Simmachus and Theodotion, the Seventy rendered it more explicitly: let the astrologers of the heavens arise and save you, those usually called mathematicians who believe that earthly existence hinges on the movements of stars and the paths of planets. Hence, the wise men from the east arrived, proclaiming that they had witnessed the Lord’s star, possibly due to their scientific insights or the prophetic declarations of Balaam, who foretold in Numbers, “A star shall shine out of Jacob, and a man shall rise from Israel” (Num. 24:17). Therefore, those who calculate months and reckon years, promising foresight through minute calculations, should declare what the Lord has decreed concerning you.

And since they remain silent regarding future events, the prophet proclaims, Behold, they have become as chaff, consumed by fire, that those who offered hope to others may recognize their own affliction. It is certain that while the city was ablaze, its inhabitants were engulfed in the devouring flames. The Jewish interpretation implies: there are no embers to warm themselves, nor fire to sit before; they lack the illuminating knowledge and understanding needed to dispel their darkness and expel the chill of error. The Seventy, perhaps for reasons unknown, rendered it differently: you have coals of fire, you will sit upon them; suggesting that fire and burning were far more beneficial to Babylon than the wise men, diviners, astrologers, and soothsayers.

For the former, through punishment and discipline, call to repentance, while the latter, in their deceit, lead to arrogance. All his toil and his merchants, whom we equate with the Magi, resulted in each one straying on his own path, and in his own demise, he could not offer salvation to another. Let us inquire of those who understand differing natures whether Babylon embodies a good or an evil nature. If they assert evil, which they certainly will, then why is there a call to repentance, and what does it mean when it states: sit down, enter into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans? Furthermore, after detailing sins and transgressions, why the proclamation: you that have coals of fire, you will sit upon them; they shall be your support? Why is it also stated, according to the same Seventy: you have toiled for a change since your youth? What kind of change is this? Surely from good to evil. It is evident that those who are inherently good can become wicked through their will. Ultimately, it is concluded: man is lost within himself, not by nature, but by choice of will.

We experience His providence in this life, and through the grace of our Lord and Savior Christ, we will partake in eternal blessings in the life to come, to whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forevermore. Amen.