Isaiah 59:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If we leave him thus, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and nation." However, Caiaphas, the architect of their wickedness against Christ, responded, "You do not know that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (John 11:47-50). From this, it is evident that those who experienced the torment of envy against Him bore forth iniquity.

What insight does the prophetic word offer us? The eggs of the asp shall be broken, and whoever consumes their eggs, by breaking them, shall encounter iniquity. The Jews believed their plots against Christ would yield beneficial outcomes for the entire nation. Yet, they miscalculated, facing the same folly that befalls those who break asp's eggs; for once broken, they discover nothing but the basilisk within. This serpent’s offspring is preserved, resulting in a worthless egg. Thus, the consequence of the Jews’ arrogant actions against Christ not only proved futile but also became a source of their ruin, presenting them with the visage of a serpent, a progeny leading them to the depths of hell. The futility of their betrayal against Christ is further underscored by another example. The post, he states, resembles a spider's web. The spider, a small and seemingly insignificant creature, intricately weaves threads in the empty corners of homes. Despite the care taken in their creation, these webs offer no utility; they cannot serve as garments for their maker and are too fragile even to clothe the artisans themselves. In this way, he claims, their malice toward Christ mirrored the spider’s toil. They believed that by bringing about His death, they were accomplishing something beneficial for themselves and securing their own safety through their wickedness. However, their aspirations were in vain, for they forsook the greatest grace and rejected the Advocate, Christ. True protection is granted to those who pursue good works, and it is bestowed by God upon the willing. In contrast, those who embrace evil find that their deeds cannot shield them; instead, they are stripped of the divine protection that God offers.

26:18), rightly bear tribulation and give birth to sin, so that in this iniquity they welcome the one who is sought with great effort, concerning whose father it is written: conceive sickness and bear sin (Ps. 7:15). They repeatedly break the eggs of vipers to ingest their venom, as the Gospel states, The serpent, the offspring of the brood (Matt. 23:33). They meticulously lay the eggs of vipers and serpents, noted for being the first to produce eggs. And since they harbor not only the venom of malice in their hearts but also study the law of the Lord day and night, spreading tales of old wives, it is said: they weave webs of spiders to ensnare flies, mosquitoes, and small creatures; yet when something strong approaches their traps, it soars past them as if through empty space. Whoever, it is said, consumes their eggs will perish; that is, anyone who heeds their counsel, akin to how Abel trusted Cain, who advised, ‘Let us go into the field’ (Gen. 4:8), shall swiftly meet their end, or as the Seventy renders it, whoever desires to eat their eggs will, upon breaking them, encounter rottenness and a serpent. For whoever, misled by their facade, assumes these to be harmless hen’s eggs will soon experience a repulsive odor before consuming them, and upon their hatching, discover a small snake (regulum), or according to Symmachus and Theodotion, a viper (aspidem). The translation by Aquila uses the term echidna, while the Hebrew states: ephee. Therefore, whoever, lured by fables, aspires to partake in the feast of the thousand years, entranced by promises, reaches for the egg: if, before consumption, that is, relying on treacherous words, they take heed to examine what is stated, scrutinizing each word and weighing their arguments, they will uncover that the Antichrist lies in wait. Thus, according to the Hebrew text, he who consumes from their eggs shall die. But as per the Seventy, anyone willing to break them open and inspect what is concealed will find the most revolting odor within, as well as the leader of all serpents, the devil. And, having previously mentioned their weaving of spiders’ cloths, he indicates that such weaving is futile. Their toil, he asserts, and all their teachings yield no garment for Christ, no veil to cloak the soul’s nakedness; instead, their efforts are in vain, as the same prophet states: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain, teaching human precepts and doctrines (Is. 29:13): those who embrace these teachings abandon the law of God. And to illustrate that the fabric serves as a testament to their actions, he adds, they will not find cover in their deeds. Some interpret this passage to mean that they left behind the prophetic messages that rebuked them, opting instead to weave the flattering notions of false prophets, from which anyone who partakes will be struck by the serpent and will realize that the words of deceit provided him no benefit.