Jerome : (Version 4) And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king shall rule over them, says the Lord God of hosts. We follow a twofold interpretation: either of the Chaldean times, when Egypt was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar; or of the Roman empire, when Antony and Cleopatra were defeated, and Augustus Caesar subdued Egypt. It is testified by the whole Scripture that the Babylonians were cruel, who spared not even the little ones, but wounded them with their arrows, and showed no mercy to the pregnant women. But the Roman kingdom, as the Scripture of Daniel testifies (Chapter VII), describes the fourth beast with iron teeth and claws. — Commentary on Isaiah Jerome : And when they did this, the Lord delivered them into the hands of cruel masters, according to the apostle's saying: Whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:20); being oppressed by the harshest servitude, may they return to the most merciful Lord. And fittingly, he calls the cruel demons their masters, to whom nothing is more cruel. Also, the strong king, who is their Lord, clearly refers to the devil, whom the Lord also calls a fortune in the Gospel, by binding and oppressing whom, the vessels of his house are plundered. — Commentary on Isaiah