Isaiah 51:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This is the fate that God has prepared for those who lack knowledge of Him, and a dreadful judgment awaits them, for those who metaphorically drink fire and brimstone are subject to unavoidable and eternal punishment. Conversely, it is proper for every righteous person to proclaim, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalm 115:4); for to continually know and seek the Lord of all is a salvific drink for those who are used to it. Thus, God, who judges with righteousness, asserts that Jerusalem was inebriated, not by wine, but by unhealed calamity and unbearable sorrow. He judges with equity, defining the fortunes of the good, and reproving the unworthy, so that they may improve and turn from all forms of defilement, transforming their hearts to align with His divine laws. Yet, remove the cup of disaster from Your hand, and do not offer it to Xenus that he may drink; for, as I stated, he will be called to the knowledge of Christ and will share in the highest blessings with us; he himself will partake in the holy gifts and receive spiritual abundance. This is corroborated by the prophet, who states: “In the days of many days the children of Israel shall sit down, not to the king, nor to the prince, nor to the sacrifice, nor to the altar, nor to the priesthood: and therefore the children of Israel shall turn back, and shall call upon the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall rejoice in the Lord, and in His goodness in the last days” (Hosea 3:4, 5). Here, through David, the prophetic word refers to Christ, who is descended from the lineage of David according to the flesh. This is unequivocally demonstrated by the fact that the prophecy was declared long after the divine David had passed away, many generations beyond him. Thus, while he has not yet been called to grace through faith, and while the cup of wrath has not yet been taken from him; when he honors Christ through faith, that cup will be entirely lifted from him, and he will rejoice alongside other righteous individuals, concerning whom it is said, “they shall forget their former sorrow, and it shall not come upon their heart” (Isaiah 65:16), whereas joy and everlasting gladness shall crown their heads: “sorrow, and sighing shall flee from them” (Isaiah 51:11). However, when this cup is removed from him, it will be placed upon the multitude that has wronged him. How have they offended Him? By granting them the opportunity to do what is right and to walk in purity, by which they could attain a life pleasing to God, and, resplendent with the beauty of the evangelical life, together with those who have believed in Christ, reach the highest city. Thus, who can be recognized as those who have offended Him? In the most direct sense, it must be said that particularly those who governed the synagogue drank the cup of rage: for the greater joys they experienced compared to others, the more grievous was the outcome of the conflict that stripped them of honor and glory, of riches and earthly comforts, even their very lives. However, if we are to convey something of the deeper significance (and I regard this as essential), we assert that the Jewish synagogue suffered not only from their leaders, but also from the cruelty of the devil, which obstructed them from perceiving the divine light, causing them not to recognize Him who calls to salvation, who justifies the wicked, sets them free from punishment, and liberates them from the bondage of death—namely, Christ. Paul bears witness to this when he writes: “But if our gospel be covered, it is covered to them that perish: in them the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3, 4). Moreover, the Son Himself admonished the assembly of Jews, asserting that such had befallen them and openly reproaching them for their violence and disobedience under the influence of an impure spirit, drawing them into various evils: for He said, “When the unclean spirit departs from a man, it passes through dry places, seeking rest and finding none: then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be with this wicked generation” (Matthew 12:43-45). In Egypt, they served the idols of Egypt, and an unclean spirit was present within them. But when they were delivered through Moses and received the law as a guide for works, they heard the clear command, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Deuteronomy 6:13); then the unclean spirit was cast out from their hearts. However, since they lacked the fear of God and did not receive Jesus into their hearts through faith (for He dwells in our hearts by faith, as it is written in Ephesians 3:17), the unclean spirit, witnessing that ancient place vacated, re-entered and took up residence again, resulting in their final state being worse than the first. It is well-known that the architect of wickedness also instigated a traitor among the disciples; for it is written, “Satan entered into him” (John 13:27). Thus, the synagogue of the Jews faces punishment because Satan darkens it, preventing them from perceiving with spiritual insight the Light of the world, which is Christ. After they were beckoned to conversion, the cup of rage and the vase of ruin were handed to those who had exploited them; for the evil and adversarial powers faced their reckoning when Christ, the Savior of all, cast them into the depths, binding them in regions of darkness, and delivering them to the judgment of those tormented (2 Peter 2:4; cf. Jude 1:6). They urged Jerusalem, “Bow down, let us go down.” Yet she offers up the center of the earth to those who pass by, that is, she spreads herself out and lays herself down for those who wish to trample upon her. This is how the malevolent powers behave when they observe a soul weakened and distracted to the extent that it readily succumbs to their wicked and God-hating accusations.

O Jerusalem, I called to you, ‘Arise, arise, and turn toward repentance!’ For you have drained from the hand of the Lord the cup of His indignation, and have consumed it fully; your children, scattered and taken captive, lie in the streets and at crossroads, recognize that you are impoverished and bowed down, not from wine, but from the Lord's fury. Therefore, if you repent and rise up, understand that the cup of drunkenness and despair, or as Symmachus and Theodotion express, of torment and anxiety, must be taken from your hand. The vessel designed for dissolving wine, which Symmachus translates, shall no longer be your drink, but will be handed over to your foes, who have said to your soul: ‘Bend down that we may cross over.’ And when they spoke such words, you willingly bent down, turning your body—whether it be your spine, or as the Seventy refer, your middle and garments—into a pathway for those who trod upon you.

This may reflect a historical context, implying that had Jerusalem chosen to rise and elevate herself, she would not have tasted the cup of the Lord’s wrath and would no longer bear the burden she has endured. However, to glean a spiritual insight from the Seventy, it is conveyed to the soul weighed down by vices and filled with passions that she has the Lord as her judge and will be accountable for all her deeds. If she chooses to improve, the cup of destruction will be removed from her grasp, and the vessel of the Lord’s fury, which Ezekiel spoke of regarding Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall drink the cup of your sister Samaria, deep and wide, overflowing with drunkenness’ (Ezekiel 23:32), shall be delivered to those who have humiliated her.

It is clear that he refers to hostile powers that instructed her soul, ‘Bend yourself that we may pass over.’ Importantly, they did not force her nor violate her will, so that she who had previously stood tall would be brought low against her nature; they left her to her own volition. Nevertheless, she, from choice, submitted not from within, but from without, to those who trampled on her. We find a parallel in the gospel (Luke 13:11-13), where for eighteen years, Satan had bent the woman whom the Lord restored to her rightful state, allowing her to proclaim: I lift my eyes to the hills; from where will my help come? (Psalm 120:1) And: To You I lift my eyes, who dwell in heaven (Psalm 122:1).