John Calvin on Isaiah 4:6

6. And a covering in the day-time shall be a shadow from the heat. Though the Prophet confirms what we have already noticed, that God will be our perpetual guide till he has brought us to the end of our journey, yet we are reminded that believers will always be exposed to numerous calamities. Scorching heat, and piercing cold, and still heavier distresses, press on them severely; when they escape from one danger, they meet with another. But the highest consolation is that against every inconvenience the shadow of the Lord will of itself be sufficient; for it will cover them in such a manner that nothing can injure or do them any harm. Although, therefore, various calamities and afflictions surround us on every side, still the Lord promises that he will assist us; as it is said in the Psalm,

The sun shall not scorch thee by day, nor the moon by night; for the Lord will preserve thee from all evil. (Psalm 121:6, 7.)

Nothing more is necessary than that we follow our calling, and perform our duty faithfully. It belongs equally to the condition of the good and of the bad that they suffer many inconveniencies; but bad men have no refuge, no place of concealment in which they may hide themselves, and they must be utterly overwhelmed. But blessed is the condition of the godly; for although they endure heat and cold, still they have a safe refuge in God. But that glory of which we formerly spoke must shine in us; otherwise we shall have no share in these things; and if we carry about with us God’s mark, whenever we shall be assailed by a tempest, let us rest assured that he will be our protection.

CHAPTER 5.

Isaiah Chapter 5:1-30

1. Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

1. Cantabo, agedum, pro dilecto meo, canticum dilecti mei ad vineam suam. Vinea fuit dilecto meo in cornu filio olei.

2. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

2. Eam sepiverat, et elapidaverat, et plantaverat, ut vineam electam; turrim aedificaverat in medio ejus, et torcular in ea construxerat. Itaque speravit ut produceret uvas, et producit labruscas.

3. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

3. Nunc igitur, habitator Ierusalem, et vir Iuda, judicate inter me et vineam meam.

4. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

4. Quid faciendum fuit amplius vineae meae, quod non fecerim ei? Quomodo expectavi ut proferret uvas, et tamen produxit labruscas?

5. And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:

5. Et nunc ostendam, agendum, vobis, quid ego facturus sim vineae meae. Auferam sepem ejus, ut sit in depastionem: interrumpam maceriem ejus, ut sit in conculcationem.

6. And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

6. Faciam ut sit deserta: non putabitur neque fodietur; et ascendet sentis et spina. Quinetiam nubibus praecipiam, ne super eam pluant.

7. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

7. Sane vinea Iehovae exercituum domus Israel est; et vir Iuda palmes ejus delectabilis. Inde expectavit judicium, et ecce oppressio; justitiam, et ecce clamor.

8. Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

8. Vae qui conjungunt domum ad domum, agrum ad agrum copulant, donec non sit locus; ut collocemini scilicet vos soli in medio terrae.

9. In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

9. Hoc in auribus Iehovae exercituum, Si non domus multae in solitudinem redigantur, magnae et pulchrae absque habitatore.

10. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

10. Quinetiam decem jugera vineae facient batum unum, et semen cori reddet ephi.

11. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

11. Vae qui mane surgunt ad sectandam ebrietatem, et qui tempus ad noctem extrahunt, dum vinum accendit eos.

12. And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.

12. Et est cythara, lyra, tympanum, tibia, et vinum, in conviviis eorum; opus autem Iehovae non respiciunt; nec opus manuum ejus considerant.

13. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

13. Propterea in captivitatem abiit populus meus; quia non fuit praeditus scientia; et gloria ejus, viri famis, et multitudo ejus aruit siti.

14. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

14. Propterea dilatavit infernus animam suam, et os suum distendit absque modo descenditque gloria ejus; et multitudo ejus, et opulentia ejus, et qui laetatus est in ea.

15. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

15. Et incurvabitur homo, et humiliabitur vir; oculi inquam sublimium humiliabuntur.

16. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God, that is holy, shall be sanctified in righteousness.

16. Exaltabitur autem Iehova exercituum in judicio, et Deus qui sanctus est sanctificabitur in justitia.

17. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

17. Et pascentur agni secundum rationem suam; et desolata pinguium advenae comedent.

18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope:

18. Vae trahentibus iniquitatem in funibus vanitatis, et tanquam vinculis plaustri peccatum.

19. That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

19. Qui dicunt, Acceleret, festinet opus ejus, et videamus; appropinquet ac veniat consilium Sancti Israel, ut sciamus.

20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

20. Vae qui dicunt malo bonum, et bono malum; qui faciunt lucem ex tenebris, et tenebras ex luce; qui vertunt amarum in dulce, et dulce in amarum.

21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

21. Vae sapientibus in oculis suis, et qui coram seipsis sunt prudentes.

22. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;

22. Vae qui fortes sunt ab libandum vinum, et viris fortibus ad miscendam potionem:

23. Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

23. Qui justificant impium propter munus; justitiam autem justi tollunt ab eo.

24. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

24. Propterea sicut devorat stipulam lingua ignis, et palea a flamma dissolvitur; sic radix eorum quasi putredo erit, et germen eorum quasi pulvis vanescet. Quoniam abjecerunt legem Iehovae exercituum, et eloquium Sancti Israel aversati sunt.

25. Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

25. Idcirca exarsit furor Iehovae in populum suum; et extendens super eum manum suam percussit eum; et contremuerunt montes, fuitque cadaver eorum mutilum projectum in medio viarum; et in omnibus istis non est aversus furor ejus; sed adhuc manus ejus est extenta.

26. And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.

26. Et levabit signum ad gentes e longinquo; sibilabit Genti ab extremo terrae; et ecce velox et levis veniet.

27. None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

27. Non erit lassus, neque impingens inter ipsos; nullus dormitabit neque dormiet; non solvetur ulli cingulum lumborum, neque rumpetur corrigia calceamentorum ejus.

28. Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.

28. Sagittae ipsorum acutae erunt, et omnes arcus extenti. Ungulae equorum quasi silex; et rotae ipsorum quasi turbo reputabuntur.

29. Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

29. Rugitus ejus sicut leonis; fremet instar leunculorum. Frendet atque apprehendet praedam. Spolia corradet, et nemo eripiet.

30. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

30. Fremet super eum in die illo, quasi fremitus maris; tum aspiciet ad terram, et ecce tenebrae tribulationis; et lux obtenebrata erit in coelis.