Ezequiel 9
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Ezequiel 9:1
(Chapter IX—Verse 1) And he cried out in my ears with a loud voice, saying: The visitations of the city have drawn near. In place of visitations, the Seventy translated 'vengeance.' For I will exact vengeance, and I will repay, says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35). And every vengeance is like that of a sick person, like one who has wounds, like someone waiting for healing hands, according to what is written elsewhere: I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with lashes, but I will not take away my mercy from them (Psalm 88:33-34). And rightly (as we have said above), a visit or revenge is said to be approaching with imminent captivity. And each person has a vessel of destruction in their hand. He did not say, he had, as the Septuagint translated. For he does not narrate the past, but demonstrates the present and the future. Therefore, whoever strikes evil people because they are evil and has vessels of destruction in order to kill the worst, is a servant of the Lord. — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:2-3
(Verses 2, 3) And behold, six men were coming from the way of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand. And there was one man among them clothed in linen, with a scribe's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. And the glory of the God (Vulgate: Lord) of Israel went up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe's inkhorn at his side. According to the lines, which we have interpreted alongside Symmachus, LXX, ποδήρη; Theodotius translated the Hebrew word Baddim (); Aquila, the chief, interpreted. Again, when we said, and the writer's inkwell at his kidneys, they put LXX: And a sapphire belt on his kidneys; Theodotius, the scribal pen in his hand; Aquila, μελανοδοχεῖον, that is, the writer's inkwell at his loins; Symmachus had writing tablets at his kidneys. And when we moved, the threshold of the house, the Seventy and Theodotion, the open area, that is, placed the entrance under the sky. As for the vase, which each man held in his hands, only the Seventy interpreted it as an axe. Therefore, in order to atone for the sins of man, who were made on the sixth day of the creation of the world, six men come and descend from the upper gate, or as the Seventy translated, the heights to the North. And each person had an ax in their hands, about which John speaks: For now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. III, Luke III, 9). And in the middle of the six men there was one, that is, the seventh, dressed in the garments of a high priest, made of linen, and he had a scribe's inkwell at his kidneys, with which he would record the sins of all and separate the number of holy individuals from the sinners: or a sapphire belt of the color of a sapphire stone, which is in the ornaments of the high priest. Six men went out and stood next to the brazen altar. There were two altars: one for burning incense, golden inside; and the other in front of the temple, bronze for burnt offerings. They are said to stand ready by the altar to carry out the commands of the one who commands, so that if they see any sins not forgiven there, they may know the judgment of the Lord and subject themselves to his punishment. The glory of the God of Israel also ascended, or was taken up, from one Cherub and went to the threshold, or to the inner court of the house and vestibule, which is not covered but enjoys the freedom of the air. The glory of the Lord Himself called the man, who was in the attire of a high priest and had an inkwell in his loins, and said what the Scripture testifies. Some interpret the six men as six Angels who obey the will of God, and they understand the one who had the attire of a high priest as the Savior; in accordance with that, the Priest is both the Angel of great counsel and that which is said: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4). However, what the Seventy translated as 'podērē' is one of the eight vestments of the high priest, which is called 'talaris' in Latin; and it receives this name because it reaches down to the feet. I know that I published a book about the vestments of the high priest many years ago, and I am sending the reader the explanation of it. For I cannot say everything in every place, and when I asked Aquila and Theodotion what the Hebrew word 'כַּ֫סְתָּ֥ח' meant, they replied to me in Greek that it is called 'καλαμάριον', because it is adorned with reeds. We call ink 'atramentarium' because it contains ink. Many people call it a more significant name, 'thecas', because they are the cases of writing quills. Of the four Cherubim, one Cherub is sent from the glory of the Lord's majesty to speak to the one who was clothed in the garments of the pontiff. And although many think that 'τὰ χερουβεὶμ' should be said in the neutral gender and plural number, we must know that 'Cherub' is singular in number, masculine in gender, and its plural is 'Cherubim' of the same gender: not because there is gender among the ministers of God, but because each thing is called by different genders according to the properties of their language. Angels are called by the plural number Malachim, and Cherubim, and Seraphim of the same kind and number. Furthermore, Sabaoth, which is interpreted as hosts or armies and virtues, are called by the feminine gender, plural number, and end in the final syllable Oth (). However, those who want the Savior to be understood under the figure of a pontiff use the example from the Book of Revelation of John, in which it is written: And I turned and saw a voice that spoke with me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, and so on. — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:4-6
(Verse 4 and following) And the Lord said to him: Go through the middle of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who groan and lament over all the abominations that are done in the midst of it. And to the others he said while I was listening: Go through the city after him and strike. Your eye shall not spare, nor shall you show pity. Old men, young men and maidens, little children and women, kill them all to total destruction. But on whomsoever you shall see Thau, ye shall not kill him: and begin ye at my sanctuary. So they began with the ancient men who were before the house. Or, as the Hebrews understand it, because the Law is called Torah among them, which is written with the letter at the beginning of its name; those who have fulfilled the precepts of the Law received this sign. And to come to our point, the ancient Hebrew letters, which the Samaritans still use today, have the shape of the letter Thau at the end, which bears resemblance to a cross, which is painted on the foreheads of Christians and is frequently marked in handwriting. There are those who think that, because in the Hebrew alphabet this is the last letter, it is demonstrated that the remains of the saints survive in a multitude of sinners. Therefore, those who groan and lament are saved; those who not only did not consent to evil deeds, but also mourned the sins of others, just as Samuel mourned over Saul (3 Kings 16), and the apostle Paul mourned over those who did not repent after sin. And he himself also said: We who are in this tabernacle groan (2 Cor. 5:2). And elsewhere: I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart (or in my mind) (Al. cordi meo). And it is commanded to the six men that they should kill everyone except those who can say: The light of your face, O Lord, is signed upon us (Psalm 4:7), that they should spare neither the old man, nor the young man, nor the virgin, nor the little child, nor the woman. According to a mystical understanding, the old men are those in the Church of whom it is said: The gray hairs of a man are his prudence (Wisdom 4:8); the young men are those who are most ready for the battles of faith; the virgins are those who preserve chastity with their whole mind; the little children are those who drink milk of infancy and have not yet perceived solid food; the women are those who, by the weakness of their sex, reveal the frailty of the soul. To all of these, no mercy is shown if they believe themselves to be something without the seal of Christ. And what follows: 'And begin from my sanctuary,' or as the Seventy have translated, 'begin from my saints,' which means the priests who served in the temple and worshipped idols; or those who were called holy due to their merit in the priesthood among the people, and who were the first to deserve punishment for the sins of the people. For it is time, as it is written in I Corinthians 7, that judgment begin from the house of God. — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:6
This means priests who went to the temple and adored idols, or those who were called holy among the people because of their status as priests. It is time for judgment to begin on them from the house of God. — COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 3:9.4-6
Ezequiel 9:7
(Verse 7) They therefore began with the older men who were before the house. And he said to them: Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Fill the courts with the slain. For the courts, which are called the Asroth in Hebrew, the Seventy set up roads. However, the older men, of whom we read above that they had censers and offered incense to idols, are killed. There is no longer any religious worship in the temple, for, having offended the God of religion, all things are defiled, so that where there is sin, there is also judgment. The atriums are filled with corpses in the temple, and not the streets, which were certainly outside, unless we can perhaps understand the streets as the city squares. The angels could not dare to defile the temple with the blood of the dead, in which the glory of God previously dwelt, unless the Lord of departing glory commanded it. Everyone who is dead because of sin defiles the atriums of the temple and the streets of the Lord's city, in which he lives. But when he rises again with Christ, he ceases to be dead. And they went out and struck those who were in the city. Or, as others have translated: they struck the city, calling the city itself the ones who were in the city. — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:8
And when the slaughter was complete, I remained: and I fell upon my face, and crying out I said: Alas, Lord God, wilt thou then destroy all the remnant of Israel, pouring out thy fury upon Jerusalem? For when all those who did not have the seal were slain, the prophet fell down on his face, thinking that no one except himself had remained among the dead. And because this seemed to be contrary to the commandment that the Lord had given, that the men with sealed foreheads should not be slain, it was therefore removed from the Vulgate edition. But we, following the Hebrew truth, have established, I remained. And it should be noted that He did not say alone: as if He had said, it seemed to be contrary; but I remained, so that it is understood with the others who had marked foreheads. But in order to know distinctly what is said here, I remained, in the book of Kings, when Elijah speaks to God: Your altars have been demolished, and I alone have been left, and they seek to take my life (1 Kings 19:14); He said alone, because He did not know that others had remained. Some think that, from the person of the Lord in whose likeness Ezekiel preceded, this can be understood of the people of the Jews: when all turned aside, they became useless together (Psalm XIII). And the Prophet testifies: Save me, O Lord: for the holy one has failed (Psalm II, 1). For only the Lord has been found who did not sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth (1 Peter II). But what he inflicted, pouring out your fury upon Jerusalem, the word of outpouring shows the magnitude of the punishments, as we read elsewhere: Scorn has been poured out upon the princes (Psalm CVI, 40). And again: My steps have almost slipped (Psalm 73:2). And in a good way. The love of God has been poured out into our hearts (Romans 5:5). And: Grace has been poured upon your lips (Psalm 45:3). And on the contrary: Pour out your fury upon the nations that do not know you, and upon the kingdoms that do not invoke your name (Jeremiah 10; Psalm 79:6). And: Draw out your spear and stop those who pursue me (Psalm 35:3). — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:9
The cause of so many crimes is this: The people thought that there was no such thing as providence on earth and that God did not look after mortal things at all.… They either thought that there was no providence, or if there had once been any, it had forsaken its own people. Therefore, not even the eye of the Lord will spare them, nor will he have mercy. — COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 3:9.9-10
Ezequiel 9:9-10
(Verse 9, 10.) And he said to me: The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. And the land is filled with blood, and the city is filled with perversity. For they said: The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see. Therefore, I will not show pity nor have mercy: I will repay their ways upon their heads. Seeing his prophet weep for the people, the Lord, in his great anger, explains the reasons: not as he thought, unjust or excessive punishment, but a deserved and just sentence. Iniquity, he says, is great among the ten tribes of Israel and the two tribes of Judah, and not only great, but exceedingly great. And he not only said this once, but repeated it forcefully, so that the punishment is as great as the magnitude of the iniquity. From this we learn, contrary to what most people think, especially the Stoics, that sins are not equal; but rather, they are either great or small, and the judgement of the punisher varies according to the quality and quantity of the sinners. 'The land is filled,' he says, 'with blood,' or as the Septuagint translates, with peoples; and the city is filled with aversion, or as the Vulgate edition has it, with iniquity and uncleanness. Not a small amount of blood has been shed, but from one end of the city to the other; and the whole city has turned away from the worship of God, and as a result it is filled with uncleanness, clearly of idolatrous filth. But the cause of such great crimes is that they believed there is no providence over the earth, nor does God care about mortal things, according to what we read elsewhere (Virgil, Book IV, Aeneid). Undoubtedly it is a task for the gods, this concern disturbs their tranquility. Because therefore they either thought that there is no providence, or that which was in other nations has now abandoned its own people: on account of this, the eye of God will not spare, nor will it have mercy: so that raging against vices, it may be appeased by virtues, and may repay their ways and sins upon their heads, either upon the principal (ἡγεμονικὸν) of the heart, or upon the leaders of the people, according to the book of Numbers, in which the leaders of the people are said to be the heads of the people. — Commentary on Ezekiel
Ezequiel 9:11
(Verse 11) And behold, a man who was clothed in linen, who had a writing utensil at his waist, answered saying, 'I have done as you commanded me.' LXX: And behold, a man who was clothed in a long robe and had a belt around his waist, answered and said, 'I have done as you commanded me.' He is the man who was commanded to pass through the midst of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it. He says that he has fulfilled the commandments of the Lord, and has marked the foreheads of the mourners with the seal of the letter Tau (or armed them). But the six men to whom the Lord commanded, saying: Go through the city following him, and strike; show no mercy to anyone until complete destruction, do not report such a thing. For they filled not the sentiment of joy, but of sorrow, which is proven not by words, but by actions. And in this place, instead of ποδήρη, which is translated by the Seventy as a long robe, Theodotion placed the Hebrew word Baddim (); Symmachus, a rope; Aquila, a main robe, or a stole. Symmachus also placed the tablets; Aquila, the inkwell; Theodotius, the helmet. — Commentary on Ezekiel