And behold at evening time trouble; and before the morning he is no more. This is the portion of them that plunder us, and the lot of them that rob us.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 17:14 Go To Isaiah 17
Jerome
AD 420
Those who believe that the captivity of Damascus discussed above was inflicted by the Romans also refer what is written here to the time of Christ and the apostles: “People will bow to their Creator, and their eyes will look to the holy one of Israel.” They further think that what follows, namely, “You will plant faithful plants, and you will sow strange seeds; in the day of your planting, the wild grape” applies to the infidelity of the Jews. And this little passage that we just set forth they interpret as concerning the peoples who persecute the church. The next line, “he will rebuke him, and he will flee far away,” they receive as concerning the devil, demonstrating the destruction of persecutors and demons through a tropological interpretation. We, however, follow the original order and complete the historical foundation with a historical culmination. Woe, it says, to all the nations who wage war against my people, whose attack was strong enough to be compared to the waves of the sea. But when raging warriors come and inundate my land, then their prince Sennacherib will flee from them, rebuked, and they will be scattered like dust in a plundering storm. As the top of a whirl-wind revolves, so will he be struck by an angel when he approaches Jerusalem to besiege her. He will come in the morning and witness his powerful army destroyed. And “this is the portion of those who despoil us.” This prophet speaks either in the person of the people or as though uniting himself to his nation.
