Isaiah 59 in the early church
[Vulgate: Isaias]
93 passages quote, allude to, or echo Isaiah 59, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 14 · 17 · 19 · 20 · 21
Isaiah 59:1
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:1–2 | Homilies on Psalms 36-38 2.5 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| Isa 59:1–4 | To Quirinus 2.4 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) |
| Isa 59:1–4 | To Quirinus 3.47 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | ca. 248–250 (book 3 perhaps later) |
| Isa 59:1 | 12 · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | 250 (the text may be later) |
| Isa 59:1 | On the Lapsed 21 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 251 |
| Isa 59:1 | To Demetrian 11 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 252–253 |
| Isa 59:1–3 | Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.25 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 314–324 |
| Isa 59:1 | Demonstration 13.10 · Aphrahat | allusion, medium confidence | 337-345 |
| Isa 59:1 | Oration 16.10 · Gregory of Nazianzus | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 362–383 |
| Isa 59:1–8 | Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.6 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 400 |
| Isa 59:1 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 41.5 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
| Isa 59:1 | Commentary on Jeremiah 2.4 · Jerome | allusion, high confidence | ca. 414-419 |
| Isa 59:1 | The Conferences 23.12 · John Cassian | quotation, high confidence | ca. 426–429 |
Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
Isaiah 59:3
For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:3–4 | Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.26 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 314–324 |
| Isa 59:3 | Tractates 1.13.6 · Zeno of Verona | quotation, high confidence | ca. 362-380 |
Isaiah 59:4
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:4–5 | Demonstration 14.12 · Aphrahat | allusion, medium confidence | 337-345 |
Isaiah 59:5
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:7 | 5 Ezra 1.26 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | 2nd–3rd century |
| Isa 59:7 | Dialogue with Trypho 27.3 · Justin Martyr | quotation, high confidence | ca. 155–160 |
| Isa 59:7 | Miscellanies 1.27.175 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, medium confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| Isa 59:7 | Didascalia 2.21 (Latin) · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | first half of the third century |
| Isa 59:7 | Commentary on Romans 3.2 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 244–246 (Rufinus's translation ca. 405–406) |
| Isa 59:7 | Against the Heathen 5 · Athanasius of Alexandria | echo, medium confidence | ca. 318–325 |
| Isa 59:7 | Against Parmenian the Donatist 2.18 · Optatus of Milevis | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 366–385 |
| Isa 59:7 | Commentary on Romans 3:15 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
| Isa 59:7–8 | Apostolic Constitutions 2.21.4 · Anonymous | quotation, medium confidence | ca. 380 |
| Isa 59:7 | Altercatio, chapter 3, speech 2 · Evagrius of Gaul | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 400 |
| Isa 59:7 | Letter 108.14 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 386–430 |
| Isa 59:7 | On Christian Doctrine 2.12 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | Books 1–3 ca. 396–397; completed 426–427 |
| Isa 59:7 | Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.7 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 400 |
Isaiah 59:8
The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:8 | Dialogue with Trypho 27.3 · Justin Martyr | quotation, high confidence | ca. 155–160 |
| Isa 59:8 | Miscellanies 5.1.5 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| Isa 59:8 | Didascalia 2.21 (Latin) · Anonymous | quotation, high confidence | first half of the third century |
| Isa 59:8 | Commentary on Romans 3.2 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 244–246 (Rufinus's translation ca. 405–406) |
| Isa 59:8 | Commentary on Romans 3:16 · Ambrosiaster | quotation, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
Isaiah 59:9
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:9 | Commentary on the Apocalypse 11.4 · Victorinus of Pettau | quotation, medium confidence | late 3rd century |
| Isa 59:9–11 | Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.28 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 314–324 |
| Isa 59:9 | Book of Rules 7 · Tyconius | quotation, high confidence | ca. 380 |
| Isa 59:9–10 | Against the Letter of Parmenian 2.6 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 400 |
Isaiah 59:10
Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:10 | Book of Rules 7 · Tyconius | quotation, high confidence | ca. 380 |
| Isa 59:10 | Liber Orsiesii 34 · Orsiesius | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 380-390 |
Isaiah 59:14
So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:14 | 1 Clement 3.4 · Clement of Rome | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) |
Isaiah 59:17
He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:17 | Commentary on Ephesians 6:13–17 · Ambrosiaster | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 366–384 |
Isaiah 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets, and His glory where it rises. For He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:19 | Prophetic Extracts 4.30 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Isa 59:19 | Demonstration of the Gospel 2.3.29 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 314–324 |
Isaiah 59:20
“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 59:21
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 59:21 | Prophetic Extracts 4.30 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Isa 59:21 | Catechetical Lecture 16.30 · Cyril of Jerusalem | quotation, high confidence | ca. 350 |
| Isa 59:21 | Letters to Serapion 1.5 · Athanasius of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 357–360 |
| Isa 59:21 | On the Holy Spirit 50 · Didymus the Blind | quotation, high confidence | Greek ca. 360-390; Latin 387-391 |