Verse 1. Bel; perhaps Nimrod, ( Calmet.) or Saturn, to whom they sacrificed their children. Worthington.—Nabo, “the oracle” of Belus. The Chaldees adored statues and beasts. But the Persians worshipped the elements. Calmet.—Xerxes destroyed the tomb of Belus, after his expedition into Greece. Arrian vii.) He had there demolished the temples, (Herod. viii. 109.) pretending ( Bible.) that “the world is the house of the gods.” Cic. Leg. ii.—Weariness. The priests affected to be weighed down, as if the god were present. Baruch 6:25. Saint Cyril
Isaiah
Verse 2. They. Lit. “their soul.” Bible.—The pagans must have supposed they had one. Calmet.—Captivity. “There are as many triumphs over the gods as over men.” Tert.—The former shared the fate of their adorers. Their statues were plundered.
Isaiah
Verse 3. By my. Vulg. may have read a me ab, ( Calmet.) instead of a meo. Hebrew and Septuagint “taken from the womb,” ( Bible.) and treated with the utmost tenderness. Calmet.
Verse 11. Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. Calmet.—He chose a golden eagle, with wings expanded, for his standard. Xen. vii.—Christ came from heaven to redeem the world. Psalms 18:6. Malachi 4:2. Calmet.—He was the orient, adored by the eastern sages, to whom the prophet refers. Saint Jerome Worthington.
Isaiah
Verse 12. Israel. It shall no longer be a reproach. Cyrus shall restore my people to their own country. But Christ more full accomplished what is here declared respecting the establishment of his Church. Calmet.