John Calvin on Isaiah 5:30

30. He shall roar against him. And in that day they shall roar against them. — Eng. Ver. The Prophet adds this, that the Jews may understand that the fierce attack of the Chaldeans is not accidental, but that they have been appointed by God and are guided by his hand. By the roaring of the sea he means an attack so violent that it will look like a deluge, by which the whole of Judea will suffer shipwreck. He likewise cuts off all hope by foretelling that the punishment will have no alleviation and no end. “The Jews,” he says, “will do what is usually done in a season of perplexity, will cast their eyes up and down to discover the means of escape; but in whatever direction they look, whether to heaven or to earth, they will find no relief whatever; for on all sides distresses and calamities will overwhelm them.” This mode of expression has come to be frequently employed even by the common people, when misery and ruin appear on all sides, and no escape or relief can be found. This must unavoidably happen when the Lord pursues us, so that his uplifted arm meets our eyes on every side, and, wherever we turn, we behold his creatures armed against us to execute his judgments; for we may sometimes escape the hand of men, but how can we escape the hand of God?

CHAPTER 6.

Isaiah Chapter 6:1-13

1. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

1. Anno mortis regis Usiae, vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum, cujus extrema replebant templum.

2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

2. Et seraphim stabant super ipsum: erant singulis sex alae; duabus operiebant faciem suam; duabus tegebant pedes suos; et duabus volabant.

3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

3. Et clamabant alter alteri, dicentes, Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Iehova exercituum; plena est omnis terra gloriae ejus.

4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

4. Et commota sunt superliminaria postium a voce clamantis; et domus impleta est fumo.

5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

5. Tunc dixi, Vae mihi, quia excisus sum (vel in silentium redactus); cum homo sim pollutis labiis, et in medio populi habitem polluta labia habentis; et tamen regem Iehovam exercituum viderunt oculi mei.

6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the alter:

6. Volavit autem ad me unus ex seraphim; habens in manu sua carbonem ardentem, forcipe correptum ab altari.

7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

7. Et applicans super os meum, dixit, Ecce, tetigit hoc labia tua, et expiabitur peccatum tuum.

8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

8. Postea audivi vocem Domini dicentis, Quem mittam? et quis ibit nobis? Tum dixi, Ecce ego, mitte me.

9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

9. Tum dixit, Vade, et dic populo isti; audiendo audite, et ne intelligatis; videndo videto, et nesciatis;

10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

10. Obstina cor populi hujus, et aures ejus aggrava, et oculos ejus obline; ne forte videat oculis suis, et auribus suis audiat, et cor ejus intelligat, et ubi conversus fuerit, sit illi sanatio.

11. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

11. Et dixi, Usque quo, Domine? et ait, Dum fuerint vastatae civitates absque habitatore, et domus vacuatae fuerint hominibus, et terra redacta fuerit in solitudinem;

12. And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

12. Donec procul amoverit Deus homines, sitque multa vastitas in medio terrae;

13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil-tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

13. Donec in ea decima, et revertetur; et erit in excidium sicut tilia et quercus, quibus in projectione est subsistentia; ita in hac erit subsistentia, semen sanctum.