Commentary on Isaiah Volume 2 John Calvin
JOHN CALVIN
to be observed, that what was said was actually true as to the whole body of the people, who had been divorced on account of their wickedness; and although God did not receive all of them indiscriminately into favor with him, but only the elect remnant, yet there is nothing absurd or improper in addressing his discourse as if it had been to the same persons. 311
8. In a moment of wrath. He again repeats and enforces this statement, in order to impress it more deeply on the hearts of believers, that they may not be at all discouraged by adversity, and with good reason; for, amidst that frightful darkness, it was not easy for the captives to behold God's smiling face. And although the literal sense in which the "wrath" is here said to last but for "a moment" 312 be, that God in due time brought back the captives to their native country, yet we draw from it a general doctrine, that the afflictions of the Church are always momentary, when we raise our eyes to its eternal happiness. We ought to remember what Paul has taught us, (2 Corinthians 4:17) that all the afflictions of believers are light and easy to be endured, and are justly considered to be momentary, while they look at the "eternal weight of glory;" for if we do not attend to this comparison, every day will seem to us like a year. There would be no propriety in comparing the seventy years of the captivity of the Jews to "a moment," if it were not contrasted with the uninterrupted progress of the grace of God.
9. For the waters of Noah, or, As the days of Noah. There are two readings of this passage; for if we read it {( }כי{ }מיki me), {( }כיki) must be translated for; and if we read it {( ,}כימיkime,) {( }כcaph) must be translated As, and {( }ימיyeme) must be translated Days. 313 As to the general meaning, it makes little difference; and therefore we ought chiefly to consider what the Prophet meant, for commentators do not appear to me to have caught his meaning. They explain it generally, that the Lord promised to: Noah by an oath, that there would never be a deluge, and that this oath would perpetually remain in force. (Genesis 9:10) But for this, the good man might have trembled, and, at the approach of rain, might have dreaded a similar calamity, if the Lord had not sworn that this should never again happen. In like manner, when afflictions are at hand, we might dread that we should be ruined, if the Lord did not promise that the Church would be safe.
But I think that this ought to be limited to the period of the Babylonish
311"En ce qu'il addresse sa parole a tous." "In addressing his discourse to all." 312In explaining the words {{( }קצף{ בשצףbeshetzeph ketzeph,) commentators differ, being uncertain as to the meaning of the word; ,{( }שצףshetzeph.) Most commentators, on no other grounds, as Kimchi himself acknowledges, than the context of this passage, think that it denotes 'something little,' which some, concurring with the Chaldee interpreter, refer to 'a little time;' but as this is afterwards expressed by the word ,{( }רגעregang,) others refer it to 'a small measure,' agreeing with the Septuagint, which translate it {ἐν} {Θυμῷ} {μικρῷ}, 'for a short time,' compared with Zechariah 1:15. But A. Schultens, in his Animadversiones Philologicae on this passage, has justly remarked that there are good grounds for hesitation as to this received interpretation, because in none of the cognate languages can any trace of this meaning of the word; {( }שצףshetzeph) be found, nor even from the context is it very evident. By comparison with an Arabic root, he makes it signify 'In vehemence of wrath I hid,' etc. 'In great wrath' is the sense justly expressed by the Syriac version." — Rosenmuller
מיme,) "waters of," is the construct form of ,{( }מיםmaim,) "waters;" and ,{( }ימיyeme,) "days of," is the construct form of ,{( }ימיםyamim,) "days." — Ed. "On peut lire ceci en deux sortes, assavoir comme nous l'avons traduit, Car ceci m'est comme les eaux de Noe, ou, Ceci m'est comme les jours de Noe." "This may be read in two ways, namely, as we have translated it, This is to me as the waters of Noah, or, This is to me as the days of Noah."