_Comfort ye my people.... The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord_, &c. (Ib. xl. 1-3). ‘These are words addressed to Cyrus, praying him to open a way through the desert for Israel, returning from the captivity of Babylon;’ and the ninth verse, _O Zion, that bringest good tidings ... say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God_, he says, ‘refers literally to Cyrus, who is here styled God; as does also the eighteenth verse, _To whom will ye liken God_ (_i.e._ Cyrus), _or what likeness will ye compare unto him_? ‘In many striking ways,’ adds our expositor, ‘the prophet would lead the rude Jews, on their redemption from the Babylonian captivity, to cease from idolatry and to believe in God, the Creator of the world.’ _He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely he hath borne our griefs ... he was wounded for our transgressions_, &c. (Ib. liii.). ‘In these passages, which also involve a great mystery referable to Christ,’ says Villanovanus, ‘the Prophet laments over Cyrus, slain, as it were, for the sins of the people, who, however, will suffer still more under Cambyses, his successor, when the building of the Temple, now begun, will be interrupted.’ _Arise, shine, for thy light is come.... They from Sheba shall come, and shall bring gold and incense_, &c., (Ib. lx.), _i.e._ ‘taken literally, and as it stands, these words refer to the great days of the Second Temple, when Jerusalem was again in its glory.’ _Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah_ (Ib. lxiii.), _i.e._ ‘Cyrus has inflicted severe chastisement on Edom, and brought back those who had been carried thither from Jerusalem into captivity, as we read in the fifteenth chapter, where it is said, _The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion._’ _Behold the days will come, saith the Lord, when I shall raise unto David a righteous branch_ (Jerem. xxiii. 5). The individual here referred to our exponent believes to be Zerubabel. _Know, therefore, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, is seven weeks, and three-score and two weeks ... and after three-score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off and be no more_ (Daniel, ix. 25). ‘The times specified,’ says Villanovanus, ‘refer to those of the exile and the return of the captives by favour of Cyrus, who is the Messiah or Anointed One of God, that is here spoken of. Sixty-two weeks having passed from the great event, Cyrus will have been cut off, and all have gone to wreck again.’ _Then shall Judah and Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head_, &c., _i.e._ ‘Judah and Israel will have become united for a season, as they were under Hezekiah.’