It is said: "My people came down into Egypt before, when they were a stranger there, and into Assyria they were in need" (Isaiah 52:4). Wherefore he prophesies, that whether any of the people be in Egypt or among the Assyrians, at the birth of Immanuel they shall go out, and in the land of Judah they shall rest in native and unoccupied refuges. He says that flies possess a part of the river of Egypt and that there are bees in the country of Assyria, thus showing the insignificance of the opposing forces. For the fly is an animal born of dung, restless to men and disgusting, whose life is restless and death is abominable. Then they will take possession of a part of the river of Egypt. For the Nile begins above, among the Ethiopians, and with a small part of it, namely at its confluences with the sea, Egypt is inhabited. And in this place all four-legged creatures, beasts, reptiles and birds are deified, and they are worshipped. It is these flies, the impotence of the opposing force, that the Lord will consume by His permission, that is, "with the spirit of His mouth" He will destroy (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:8). "And in the land of Assyria the bee." And the bee is a small and weak animal, dying at the very moment that it takes revenge. For at the same time he lets in his sting, and dies with a sting; He harms the wounded little, but takes his own life. Such is the property of people who are sarcastic and Doukhobors: by their cunning they do more harm to themselves than to those who are subjected to their wrath.

(20) "On that day the Lord will shave the land of the river of the king of Assyria with his razor, the head and hairs of his feet, and he will take away his hair."

After the Nativity of Christ, when all the opposing force, like a fly and a bee, will be dispersed by the spirit of the mouth of the Lord, the children of Israel will be brought in and will rest in native refuges, in the wilds, in the fields, in the clefts, and so on. And in the words: "The Lord shall shave the king of Assyria with a razor, the head and the hairs of his feet, and the hair" he will "take away" — the Prophet, with the words "with a razor's waist," seems to indicate some mercenary army, which will lead the Assyrian kingdom to impoverishment and plunder what was glorious in it, that is, destroy the hair of its head, and the numerous and vile people, which the Prophet allegorically calls "the hair of the feet." And then the Prophet threatens that the very jewels and signs of courage that the Prophet called "brade" will be taken away "with a razor's eye." And those who delve into history will find, perhaps, that this is what the Roman army did to the Assyrians, and that this was at the birth of Immanuel.

(21) "And it shall come to pass in that day that a man shall feed a young man from oxen and two sheep,"(22) "And it shall come to pass from the multitude of the milky creature that every one that remains on the earth to eat oil and honey."

When rest comes for Israel, delivered from captivity, and the king who plotted against them is dishonored, being stripped naked with a "razor's walow", then, says the Prophet, there will be such abundance in the country that one cow and two sheep will bring much milk to the owner, and he will have oil in abundance, because all who dwell in the land will eat oil and honey.

But perhaps it is much more appropriate to accept the teachings about animals in a higher sense. For instead of saying: "Everyone will grow in his soul diligence and activity," the Prophet called the young woman — the animal that tills the land and helps us in our work; and, instead of a quiet, meek and generous disposition, he allegorically named sheep. Therefore, just as this animal gives us the substance for the preparation of clothing, so the life of those who are attentive to themselves is usually adorned with the clothe of virtue. And since such a one is nourished and adorned spiritually, therefore "the young woman and two sheep shall feed." The Prophet calls the introductory lessons to the Divine teaching oil and honey. Why is food offered to man first – oil and honey? But when he has been sufficiently nourished by it, after his initial training, having become above all earthly things, he will partake of food that is firmer, higher, and more suitable for men, devoting himself to the spiritual sciences.

(23) "And in that day every place where there are a thousand vines of grapes, according to a thousand shekels, will be in the flesh and in thorns." (24) "With arrow and bow they will enter there, as the whole earth will be a thorn and thorn." (25) "And every mountain that is ploughed shall be destroyed, and there shall be no fear: it shall be of flock and thorns to the flock of the sheep, and to the trampling of the ox."

At least, I think that in places that we do not understand we have found a story that is not entirely contradictory. Wherefore see if it is not possible to deduce from this speech the idea that those who belonged to circumcision were "a thousand vines of grapes, a thousand shekels." For "thou hast brought the vine out of Egypt," having cast out "tongues, and planted them" (cf. Psalm 79:9). And he, having at first been fruitful, is afterwards despised for having "turned into sorrow" (cf. Jeremiah 2:21), and "his bulwark" is cast down, and he has become a plunder "passing by" (cf. Psalm 79:13). It was these fruitful vineyards that turned into "flies" and places overgrown with thorns, when the enemy army ascended with thousands of arrows and bows, bringing devastation with them. And the mountains of "Oremy" are the souls that believe in Christ. Formerly they were desolate and uncultivated, so until the coming of Christ they remained wild and brought thorns. But since Christ came "to fall and to rise for many" (Luke 2:34) and called "that which is not, that it may abolish it" (1 Corinthians 1:28), those who belonged to circumcision, having lost their freshness and fruitfulness, turned into "frogs"; and the congregation of the Gentiles, which is called Mount Orema, is cultivated, being free from all fear and fear of the enemy. Thus, the mountain is the soul, exalted by the teaching of Christ. When the Lord came, Israel was "broken off" and the Gentiles were grafted in, "so that by their fall" the "salvation" of all would be arranged (cf. Rom. 11:17, 11), and on these mountains the sheep and oxen that graze fearlessly are of abundant benefit. It is obvious that sheep are more good-natured, and oxen are more industrious to do what is necessary.

Commentary on Chapter 8

(1) "And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee a great scroll, and write in it a man's letter, that thou shalt soon bring captivity to gain, for thou hast come!" (2) "And make faithful men witnesses to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Barachiah." (3) "And come to the prophetess, and in the womb thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. And the Lord said to me, "His name is Thou who hast taken captive, and plundereth impudently," (4) "And before the child knoweth to name his father or mother, he shall receive the power of Damascus, and the covetousness of Samaria before the king of Assyria."

Apparently, the Prophet was commanded to do one thing, and he did the other. For what is there in common between the commandment, "Take unto thee a great scroll," and that which is added, "And come to the prophetess, and be conceived in the womb"? And therefore some may say that what is added does not serve as an explanation of the preceding, but that one thought is finished, and another thought is attached, which has its own beginning. For although it is not added that the Prophet took "a great scroll," it must be implied that he fulfilled the commandment. The words: "And he came to the prophetess, and was conceived in the womb" are understood as having another beginning. For if the Prophet had contradicted the commandment, the contradiction would have been recorded, as in Ezekiel, who refused to eat bread baked in the human line. But there the Prophet denies, saying: "By no means, O Lord God!" "Behold, my soul is not defiled in uncleanness, and all flesh is an abomination in my mouth" (cf. Ezekiel 4:12, 14). That is why it is permitted for him to "make bread in beef bloodworms" (cf. Ezekiel 4:15). And here, since there is no denial, the silence clearly shows agreement, although it is not attested that the command was carried out, as in the case of Hosea. He was told: "Go, take for yourselves a woman of fornication, and bring forth children of fornication." Then the word, testifying of him that he had fulfilled what was commanded, adds: "And Gomer went and sang the daughter of Devilaimlu" (Hos. 1:2, 3). In other places we find that the command has been spoken, but whether it has been put into effect is not attested, but this is ascertained by us from the obedience of those who accepted the command. For example, about Ezekiel, to whom it is said: "Thou shalt sleep on thy left side" and again, "Thou shalt sleep on thy right side" (Ezekiel 4:4, 6), it is not added that he slept on his left or right side, but is silent about this, however, it is implied by us from the obedience of the Prophet. So here, too, our perplexity can be answered by saying that the Prophet did not begin to do another after receiving the first command, but when he had fulfilled the command, then he began to tell us about the prophetess again.

And the "scroll is new" and "great" may be an image of the New and Great Testament, written "by human writing," because the Gospel broadcasts are written in human language, understandable to many. In the Gospel it is also written that "the captivity of self-interest shall soon be wrought." For the teaching of the Gospel quickly, faster than any lightning, reached the boundaries of the universe; it takes away the gain of the prince of this world, and brings those who are captive by him into obedience to Christ. "Captivity" is the division of self-interest, and God has entrusted this to the guardians of the human race, the Angels, for the protection and observance of it. For this reason it is written: "Soon the captivity of gain will be wrought," for the Gospel is near, preaching the gospel from heaven of old, as having already come to us. And let the witnesses of what is written in the Gospel be, it is said, "Uriah" and "Zechariah." And "Uriah" is a priest and symbolically signifies the law given through Moses; "Zechariah" is the Prophet; and the gospel is established by the witness of the law and the prophets. In translation, they mean "Uriah" – "the enlightenment of God", "Zechariah" – "remembrance of God", and "son of Barachiah" – "son of God's blessing". Wherefore which of men is it proper to be a faithful witness? To him who is enlightened by God, who has an unceasing remembrance of God.

Therefore, what do the words "and come to the prophetess" mean? That is, by the spirit and foreknowledge of the future, I approached the prophetess. For he comprehended, as it were, approached by prophetic understanding, saw Her conception from afar, foreseeing by means of a prophetic gift that She had given birth to a Son, of Whom the Lord said: "Call His name: Quickly take captive, impudently plunder." Soon he captured the strong, guarding his possessions, that is, those who were sold under sin and kept in the chains of death. And He took him captive, and divided his gains to His own strength, giving the faithful over to the holy Angels for safekeeping and keeping, of whom He Himself said: "Your angels behold the face of My Father in heaven" (cf. Matt. 18:10). For this is the one who "impudently" plundered; it is written of Him: "Ascending on high, He took captivity captive, and received gifts among men" (cf. Psalm 67:19). And that Mary is the prophetess to whom Isaiah approached through the approach of knowledge, no one will contradict this, if he remembers the words of Mary spoken by Her prophetically. For what does he say? "My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He hath looked upon the humility of His servant, for behold, from henceforth all shall bless Me" (Luke 1:46-48). And having delved into all Her words, you will not refuse to call Her a prophetess, because the Spirit of the Lord descended upon Her and the power of the Most High overshadowed Her.

Therefore, what was commanded to be written in this scroll, then, approaching the Prophetess, he saw it come true. For there it is said: "Write to men, if soon the captivity of gain will be wrought," and here, after the words "conceived in the womb and bring forth a son," it is written: "And the Lord said: Narls are His name: Quickly take captive, impudently plunder." Thus, in different expressions and ideas: "Take thee a scroll" and "Come to the prophetess," the same thing is said, and this addition does not contain anything inconsistent with the preceding one.