THEOSISJerome of Stridon
Behold, the Lord declares that He will send numerous fishermen to gather them in, and subsequently, He will dispatch many hunters to pursue them from every mountain, every hill, and the valleys in the rocks, for His gaze is fixed upon all their ways. Nothing escapes His sight, and their wickedness is not concealed from Him. He will first hold them accountable for their egregious transgressions and the sins that have defiled His land with the remains of their idols and have filled His inheritance with despicable acts.
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Interpretations of this separation vary. The Jewish understanding suggests that the Chaldeans are symbolized by the fishermen, while the Romans are likened to hunters, relentlessly pursuing the afflicted people from the mountains, heights, and rocky valleys. The Lord states that He acted upon having observed their conduct and recompensed them for the defilement of the land through idol worship and the pollution of His inheritance with abominations.
However, it seems more accurate that the prophet was alluding to future events. The earlier statement regarding their return to the land granted to their forefathers highlights how this return is facilitated: first, by sending the apostles, to whom Christ promised to make them fishers of men (Matt. 4:19), and then by the hunters, which may refer to church leaders or angels who, at the end of days, will gather the known saints from the lofty beliefs, from virtuous deeds, and from the rocky gorges—namely, the apostles and their successors. Christ is the cornerstone, and Apostle Peter is similarly referred to as a rock (1 Cor. 10; Mt. 16), while those who remain steadfast in his teachings are rightly seen as drawn from the rock.
It is also noteworthy that the apostles and their followers had their own failings and were accountable for their wrongdoings; the servant who is aware of his master's will yet fails to act will face severe consequences (Lk. 12). It should be noted that the Hebrew text presents the idea first, while the LXX version omits it. When the Lord mentions repaying them first for their iniquities and sins, it implies that upon recognizing evil, they will also discern the good. Yet, in their exile, they have polluted the Lord's land with the remains of their idols and sullied His inheritance with their abominations—this is so that the entire world may stand accountable before God and attain salvation, not through their own merits, but solely by His mercy. The phrase from the Hebrew that states nothing is hidden from My face is also absent from the LXX.