Isaiah 41:13

When we hear the prophet say, "You, Israel, my child, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, whom I have loved," we do not think, do we, that the Jews are only flesh and not complete human beings composed of bodies and rational souls?… And [don't we think] that the seed of Abraham is not without a soul and not without a mind but that it possesses everything that belongs to Abraham's nature?… We confess one Son, who, according to the divine apostle, took hold of the seed of Abraham and brought about the salvation of human beings.

There are many who think of the holy mysteries and the saving message in disrespectful ways, but they amount to nothing, and such impious adversaries will perish. For those who oppose the divine agents of preaching are doing no less than fighting against the teachings of godliness.… For thousands will make war against God's ministers, but these will end up as though they never existed and will clearly be brought low, falling under the machinery of the wrath of God. [Isaiah] tells them to quit relying on human strength and their own foolhardiness, saying, "I am your God who strengthens your arm," that is, I am the one who supports you and makes you prevail in any test. I say to you, "Do not be afraid, O little Israel."

(Verses 13-14) For I, the Lord your God, took hold of your hand, saying to you: Do not fear, I have helped you. Do not fear, words of Jacob, you who are dead from Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. LXX: For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob, O little Israel.' I have helped you, says God, who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel. But you should not be afraid, because I have taken hold of your hand. I say to you, Do not be afraid: I have helped you; do not fear, worm of Jacob, who are dead from Israel, or as the LXX says, very few from Israel. This that we have set forth, I have helped you: do not fear, worm of Jacob, which is not found in the LXX. But the worm which is said in Hebrew, Tholath (), is called the chorus of the Apostles because of their humility and contempt, imitating the Savior, who speaks in the psalm: I am a worm, and not a man: the reproach of men, and the despising of the people (Psalm 22:7). For just as the worm penetrates the earth, so the apostolic word penetrated the cities of the nations and first entered the hardest hearts. And rightly few are called from Israel, because in comparison to the whole world, very few from the Jewish nation believed, to whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'Do not be afraid, little flock' (Luke 12:32). Or, according to the Hebrew, the dead from Israel, who also say with the Apostle: 'I die daily' (2 Corinthians 15:31). And elsewhere: I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20).