Isaiah 57:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore, in your time of trouble, if you reach out your hands, not toward the idols you have revered, but heavenward, and beseech the Lord for assistance, let those whom you have esteemed during your times of peace hear you and rescue you from peril.” This sentiment is echoed in Jeremiah: “Where are your gods that you have made? Let them arise and deliver you in your time of anger” (Jeremiah 2:28). Instead of the Seventy’s translation suggesting, “Let them deliver you in your distress,” and what we have conveyed as, “Let your gathered ones rescue you,” Symmachus renders it as “Let your synagogues save you.” This specifically addresses the Jews, indicating that their synagogues will not be able to save them amidst the siege. All of them will be swept away like chaff in the wind. Yet, whoever places their trust in Me will inherit the earth and possess My holy city. I will proclaim, “Prepare a way, make a path, clear the way, remove obstacles from the path of My people.” The Seventy translates: “For all of them will be scattered by the wind and carried away by the tempest. But those who hope in Me shall inherit the land and possess My holy mountain, and shall say, ‘Clear the paths before Him, and remove the obstacles out of the way of My people.’” The Jews assert that this refers to the Babylonians, suggesting that when they are vanquished by God’s power, the people will return to Judah, reclaim the city of Zion, and have all impediments removed from their path—because the Lord will smooth the way for His people. It is said that this was fulfilled during the times of Zerubbabel and Ezra. However, we, linking these statements to what precedes them, affirm that all idols that could not save are blown away by the wind, becoming like dust scattered from the earth’s surface. Conversely, those who trust in the Lord will inherit the earth, as we read in this same prophet: “He will raise you up to the good things of the earth.” Thus, it is evident that this land is not earthly but heavenly. For if the Lord elevates the righteous, they will ascend to that state referred to: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5), and “I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 26:13). By the holy city of God, we refer to the one mentioned by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews: “You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, and to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:22). The earth and the mountain of the Lord that the saints will inherit may also signify the sacred Scriptures, which shall be taken away from the Jews, as the Lord warns: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43), so that they may discover through them the mountain of which it is stated in the same prophecy and in Micah: “In the last days, the mountain of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1). The Lord Himself commanded the apostles and all church leaders to clarify any obscure or difficult matters through their interpretations, to prepare the way for understanding, and to remove all temptations, enabling the Lord's people to comprehend what they read without difficulty, thus prospering in reverence to God. John the Baptist also proclaimed about these pathways: “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). Here, where we substitute the name of God, the Septuagint translates: “And they shall say,” referring to those who will inherit the land and receive as their legacy the holy mountain of God. They will not only seek their salvation but will call upon other nations to instruct them. Symmachus translates this passage: “But he that trusts in Me shall possess the land and inherit My holy mountain, and shall teach others to make straight the way, so that he who possesses the land and the mountain may also guide others to prepare the path of the Lord.”