(1) If anyone wishes to read the holy prophet Isaiah usefully and understand it more fully, let him (if he has no better knowledge) not despise this counsel and advice of mine: first, that he not skip the title or beginning of this book, but learn to understand it in the best possible way; lest he think that he understands Isaiah almost well, and suffer it to be said that he has never understood the title and first line, but is silent about the whole prophet. For the same title is almost to be taken for a gloss and light over the whole book. And Isaiah himself, as it were, points his readers to it as a guide and reason for his book. But whoever despises the title or does not understand it, I say to him that he should leave the prophet Isaiah in peace or will never understand it thoroughly; for it is impossible to hear or remember the prophet's word and opinion correctly and clearly without such a thorough knowledge of the title.
(2) But the title I mean and mean not, that thou read or understand these words, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Jehizkiah king of Judah, 2c. but take before thee the last book of the kings, and the last book of the chronicles, and take the same well, especially the histories, speeches, and accidents that happened among the kings that are named in the title, unto the end of the same books. For it is necessary, if one wants to understand the prophecy, that one knows how it was in the country, [and] the things were situated in it, what the people were like, or had for plots with or against their neighbors, friends and enemies. And especially how they have behaved in their country against God and against the prophet, in his word and worship, or idolatry.
Lands situated around Jerusalem and Judah.
It would also be good to know how the countries are situated in relation to one another, so that the foreign, unknown words and names do not make reading unpleasant and cause darkness or hindrance in understanding. And so that I may be of service to my simple-minded Germans, I will recently indicate the countryside around Jerusalem or Judah where Isaiah lived and preached, so that they may see all the more clearly where the prophet turns when he prophesies at noon or midnight.
(4) Toward the east Jerusalem or Judah has the Dead Sea nearest to it, where Sodom and Gomorrah stood in ancient times. Beyond the Dead Sea is the land of Moab and the children of Ammon. Beyond that lies Babylon or Chaldea, and still further the land of the Persians, of which Isaiah speaks much.
005 Toward the north is Mount Lebanon, and over against it pass Damascus and Syria: but farther on, toward the east, is Assyria, of which also Isaias speaketh much.
006 And toward the west the Philistines, the worst enemies of the Jews, lie by the great sea: and down by the same sea, toward the north, lie Sidon and Tyre, which border with Galilee.
007 There are many countries toward the south: Egypt, the land of the Moors, Arabia, the Red Sea, Edom, and Midian; so that Egypt is toward the south in the evening. These are almost the countries and names that Isaiah prophesies of, as of the neighbors, enemies and friends, that lie about the land of Judah, as wolves about a sheepfold. With some of whom they made covenant and covenant at times, and yet they helped them nothing.
*This preface does not actually belong to this writing, but Luther wrote it for the German translation of the prophet Isaiah published in 1528. But because it gives an instruction to understand the prophet correctly, all editions have prefixed it to our writing, and we have retained it as well as Walch hrer. In the Latin editions, the title reads: Praefatio Doctoris Martini Lutheri in JEsaiae lectionem, which gives the impression that this preface belongs to the lecture on the prophet, which is not the case. In addition, several changes have been made in the Latin preface to the German original, which are aimed at making it appear to belong to our Scriptures. Walch does not include the German preface among the prefaces in the fourteenth volume, but only here, but nevertheless considered the altered Latin preface as authoritative, and corrected it accordingly. We reproduce the original German text.
What the prophet Isaiah is talking about.
8 After this, you must divide the prophet Isaiah into three parts. In the first, like the other prophets, he deals with two things: One, that he preaches much to his people, and punishes their various sins, but especially the manifold idolatry, which had prevailed among the people (as also now and always pious preachers do and must do among their people), and keeps them in correction with threatenings of punishment and promises of good. The other is that he sends them and prepares them to wait for the future kingdom of Christ, of which he prophesies so clearly and manifoldly as no other prophet does, that he also describes the mother of Christ, the Virgin Mary, how she was to conceive and bear him with untainted virginity, Cap. 7, 14, and his suffering in the 53rd chapter together with his resurrection from the dead, and his kingdom proclaimed in a mighty and dry way, as if it had happened at that time, that [it] must have been an excellent, highly enlightened prophet. For so do all prophets, that they teach and rebuke the present people, and proclaim Christ's future and kingdom, and direct and point the people unto it, as unto the common Saviour, both of the former and the latter; yet one more than another, one more abundantly than another; but Isaias above them all most abundantly.
9th In the other he has a special thing to do with the empire of Assyria, and with the emperor Sanherib. There he prophesied more and further than any other prophet, namely, how the same emperor would win all the surrounding countries, including the kingdom of Israel, and how much misfortune would befall the kingdom of Judah. But there he stands as a rock with his promise, how Jerusalem should be defended and delivered from him; which miracle is probably the greatest one that is found in Scripture, not only because of history, that such a mighty emperor should be defeated before Jerusalem, but also because of faith, that it was believed. It is a wonder, I say, that a man in Jerusalem could believe him in such an impossible thing. He will no doubt often
have had to listen to many evil words from the unbelievers. He still did it: he defeated the emperor and defended the city. Therefore, he must have been well off with God and a great man before him.
In the third part he has to do with the empire of Babel. There he prophesies of the Babylonian prison, so that the people should be punished and Jerusalem disturbed by the emperor of Babylon. But here is his greatest work, how he comforts and sustains his future people in such future destruction and prison, so that they do not despair, as if it were over with them, and Christ's kingdom would not come, and all prophecy would be false and lost. How richly and fully he preaches that Babylon should be destroyed again, and that the Jews should be loosed, and that they should come again to Jerusalem; that he also indicates, with arrogant defiance against Babylon, the names of the kings who should destroy Babylon, namely, the Medes and Elamites or Persians; but especially the king who should loosen the Jews and help them back to Jerusalem, namely, Cyrus, whom he calls the anointed of God, so long before there was a kingdom in Persia. For it is all for the sake of Christ, that the future of the same, and the promised kingdom of grace and blessedness, should not be despised, or lost through unbelief and great unhappiness and impatience among his people, and be in vain, if they would not wait for it, and certainly believe in the future. These are the three pieces that Isaiah deals with.
What order the prophet Isaiah hold.
(11) But he does not keep the order, that he fasts each in its own place, and with its own chapters and leaves, but is almost mixed together, that he introduces much of the first piece under the other and third, and probably the third piece acts about before the other. But whether this was done by the one who read and wrote his prophecy together (as is also considered to have been done in the Psalter), or whether he himself put it that way, according to which time, causes and persons occurred, to speak of each piece, which time and which persons were involved.
Causes may not be equal nor have order, that I do not know. So much order does he keep, that he shows and drives the first, as the noblest piece, from the beginning to the end, both through the other and the third piece. Just as in our sermons it is our duty to do that our most important part, to punish the people and to preach about Christ, is always included, even if we sometimes accidentally intend to preach something else than about the Turk or the emperor 2c. From this, everyone can easily grasp the prophet, and make sure that the order (as it seems to be with the unaccustomed) does not mislead him or make him weary.
12 We have made every effort to ensure that Isaiah speaks well and clearly in German, even though he has made it difficult for himself to do so, and has almost increased the number of those who know German and Hebrew well, as you will see, but most of all the conceited masters who think they know it all. For he has been almost eloquent in Hebrew, that the awkward German tongue has soured him. 1)
(13) But what benefit he who reads Isaiah may have, I would rather let the reader find out for himself than tell. And whoever does not experience it nor wants to experience it, it is also of no use to boast much about it. It is full of lively, comforting, heartfelt sayings for all poor consciences and miserable, sorrowful hearts.
1) This sentence is missing in the Erlangen edition in the 63rd German volume p. 58; instead of the same, the last sentence of the following paragraph is also here.
So there is also enough of the deterrents and terrors against the stubborn, hopeful, hard heads of the wicked, where it should help.
014 But thou shalt not look upon Jeshuaam among the Jewish people as anything but a despised man, even as a fool and a foolish man. For as we hold him now, so they have not held him, but, as he himself testifies, Cap. 57:4, they have put forth their tongues against him, and have pointed fingers at him, and have thought all his preaching foolishness, not even a little more pious children in the multitude than the king Ezechias 2c. For it was the custom of the people to mock the prophets and consider them foolish, 2 Kings 9:11, as has always happened to all ministers of God and preachers, happens daily and will happen from now on. This can also be seen in the fact that he punishes the people the most for idolatry; he hardly touches the other vices three times, such as boasting, drinking and 2) being stingy. But the presumption on their chosen idolatry and own work, or comfort on kings and alliance, he punishes through and through, which was unpleasant to the people, because they wanted to be right in it. For this reason he was finally killed by King Manasseh as a heretic and seducer, and (as the Jews say) cut apart with a saw.
2) Erlanger: to binge. The Weimar Bible and the Altenburg Bible also have the reading "binge"; in Latin is: luxus.