God declares against false prophets and prophetesses, that deceive the people with lies.
God threatneth false prophetes, 5. that flatter the people with lies: 10. without the feare of God. 17. Likewise false prophetisses, that deceiue themselues and others with flaterie, 19. for worldlie gayne.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:Il Signore parlommi, e disse:AND the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens: 2Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel that prophesy: and thou shalt say to them that prophesy out of their own heart: Hear ye the word of the Lord:Figliuolo dell'uomo, profetizza ai profeti d'Israele, i quali fan da profeti, e dirai a costoro, che profetano di lor capriccio: Udite la parola del Signore:Sonne of man prophecie to the prophetes of Israel, that prophecie: and thou shalt say to them, that prophecie of their owne hart: Heare ye the word of our Lord:Fili hominis, vaticinare ad prophetas Israël qui prophetant, et dices prophetantibus de corde suo: Audite verbum Domini. 3Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and see nothing.Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Guai a' profeti stolti, i quali seguono il proprio spirito, e non veggon nulla.Thus sayth our Lord God: Wo to the foolish prophetes: which folow their owne spirite, and see nothing.Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Væ prophetis insipientibus, / qui sequuntur spiritum suum, / et nihil vident ! 4Thy prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts.I tuoi profeti, o Israele, son come volpi ne' deserti.As foxes in the desertes, were thy prophetes ô Israel.Quasi vulpes in desertis prophetæ tui, Israël, erant. 5You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the Lord.Voi non siete usciti a mostrar la faccia, né vi siete posti di contro qual muro per la casa d'Israele, per sostenere la pugna nel dì del Signore.You haue not ascended against, nor opposed a wal for the house of Israel, that you might stand in battel in the day of our Lord.Non ascendistis ex adverso, / neque opposuistis murum pro domo Israël, / ut staretis in prælio in die Domini. 6They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying: The Lord saith: whereas the Lord hath not sent them: and they have persisted to confirm what they have said.Vane son le loro visioni, e son bugie i loro indovinamenti, e dicono: Il Signore ha detto, mentre il Signore non gli ha mandati; ed ei continuano ad asseverar quello, che han detto.They see vayne thinges, and they diuine lies, saying: Our Lord sayth: whereas our Lord sent them not: and they perseuered to confirme the word.Vident vana, et divinant mendacium, / dicentes: Ait Dominus, / cum Dominus non miserit eos: / et perseveraverunt confirmare sermonem.
7Have you not seen a vain vision and spoken a lying divination: and you say: The Lord saith: whereas I have not spoken.Non è egli vero, che vane sono le vostre visioni, e bugiardi gl'indovinamenti, che avete spacciati? E voi dite: Il Signore ha detto, quando io non ho parlato.Why haue you not seene vayne vision, and spoken lying diuination? and you say: Our Lord saith; wheras I haue not spoken.Numquid non visionem cassam vidistis, / et divinationem mendacem locuti estis, / et dicitis: Ait Dominus, / cum ego non sim locutus ? 8Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have spoken vain things, and have seen lies: therefore behold I come against you, saith the Lord God.Per questo il Signore Dio dice così: Perchè voi avete spacciato cose vane, e le vostre visioni son bugiarde, per questo eccomi a voi, dice il Signore Dio.Therfore thus saith our Lord God: Because you haue spoken vaine thinges, and haue seene lies: therfore behold I to you, saith our Lord God.Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Quia locuti estis vana, et vidistis mendacium, / ideo ecce ego ad vos, dicit Dominus Deus. 9And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see vain things, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the council of my people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.E la mano mia sarà sopra i profeti da visioni vane, e da predizioni bugiarde: non saranno nel ceto del popol mio, e non saranno scritti nella matricola della casa d'Israele, e non entreranno nella terra d'Israele: e conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore Dio:And my hand shal be vpon the prophetes, that see vaine thinges, and diuine a lie: in the counsel of my people they shal not be, and in the scripture of the house of Israel they shal not be written, neither shal they enter into the land of Israel: and you shal know that I am the Lord God.Et erit manus mea super prophetas / qui vident vana, et divinant mendacium: / in consilio populi mei non erunt, / et in scriptura domus Israël non scribentur, / nec in terram Israël ingredientur, / et scietis quia ego Dominus Deus: 10Because they have deceived my people, saying: Peace, and there is no peace: and the people built up a wall, and they daubed it with dirt without straw.Perchè eglino han gabbato il mio popolo, dicendo: Pace, e la pace non è: e quegli fabbricava un muro, e quelli lo intonacavano con loto, senza mistura di paglia.For that they haue deceiued my people, saying: Peace, and there is not peace: and he builded the wal, and they daubed it with morter without straw.eo quod deceperint populum meum, / dicentes: Pax, et non est pax: / et ipse ædificabat parietem, / illi autem liniebant eum luto absque paleis.
11Say to them that daub without tempering, that it shall fall: for there shall be an overflowing shower, and I will cause great hailstones to fall violently from above, and a stormy wind to throw it down.Dì a costoro, che intonacano senza mistura, che il muro cadrà: imperocché verrà pioggia, che inonderà, e manderò ad urtarlo pietre smisurate, e una bufera, che lo atterrerà.Say to them, that daube without tempering, that it shal fal: for there shal be a shower ouerflowing, and I wil geue very great stones falling violently from aboue, and the wind of a storme dissipating.Dic ad eos qui liniunt absque temperatura, quod casurus sit: / erit enim imber inundans, / et dabo lapides prægrandes desuper irruentes, / et ventum procellæ dissipantem. 12Behold, when the wall is fallen: shall it not be said to you: Where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed it?E quando il muro sarà caduto, non si dirà egli a voi: Dov'è l'intonacatura fatta da voi?for in dede behold the wal is fallen: shal it not be sayd to you: Where is the dawbing, that you dawbed?Siquidem ecce cecidit paries: / numquid non dicetur vobis: / Ubi est litura quam linistis ? 13Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Lo, I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in my indignation, and there shall be an overflowing shower in my anger: and great hailstones in my wrath to consume.Per questo il Signore Dio così dice: Io nella mia indegnazione farò scappar fuori la bufera, e nel furor mio verrà pioggia, che inonderà, e nell'ira mia grosse pietre, che porteranno rovina.Therfore thus sayth our Lord God: And I wil make the spirite of tempests to breake forth in myne indignation, and there shal be an ouerflowing shower in my furie: and great stones in my wrath vnto consumption.Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Et erumpere faciam spiritum tempestatum in indignatione mea, / et imber inundans in furore meo erit, / et lapides grandes in ira in consumptionem. 14And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with untempered mortar: and I will make it even with the ground, and the foundation thereof shall be laid bare: and it shall fall, and shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord.E distruggerò il muro intonacato da voi senza mistura, e lo agguaglierò al suolo, e i suoi fondamenti saranno scoperti, e cadrà, e quelli periranno con esso; e conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore.And I wil destroy the wal, that you haue dawbed without tempering: and I wil make it euen with the ground, and the fundation therof shal be reueled: and it shal fal, and shal be consumed in the middes therof: and you shal know that I am the Lord.Et destruam parietem quem linistis absque temperamento, / et adæquabo eum terræ, / et revelabitur fundamentum ejus: / et cadet, et consumetur in medio ejus, / et scietis quia ego sum Dominus.
15And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that daub it without tempering the mortar, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and they that daub it are no more.E sfogherò il mio sdegno sopra il muro, e sopra quelli, che lo intonacano senza mistura, e dirò a voi: Il muro non è, e que', che lo intonacavano, più non sono.And I wil accomplish myne indignation in the wal, & in them, that daube it without tempering, and I wil say to you: The wal is not, and they are not that daube it.Et complebo indignationem meam in pariete, / et in his qui liniunt eum absque temperamento: / dicamque vobis: Non est paries, / et non sunt qui liniunt eum: 16Even the prophets of Israel that prophesy to Jerusalem, and that see visions of peace for her: and there is no peace, saith the Lord God.Que' profeti d'Israele, che profetizzavano sopra Gerusalemme, e vedevan per lei visione di pace, e pace non è, dice il Signore Dio.The prophetes of Israel, which prophecie to Ierusalem, and see vision of peace for it: and there is not peace, sayth our Lord God.prophetæ Israël, qui prophetant ad Jerusalem, / et vident ei visionem pacis, et non est pax, / ait Dominus Deus. 17And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people that prophesy out of their own heart: and do thou prophesy against them,Ma tu, figliuolo dell'uomo, fissa lo sguardo sulle figliuole del popol tuo, le quali di lor capriccio profetano, e profetizza sopra di esse,And thou sonne of man, put thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophecie of their owne hart: and doe thou prophecie vpon them,Et tu, fili hominis, pone faciem tuam contra filias populi tui quæ prophetant de corde suo: et vaticinare super eas, 18And say: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to them that sew cushions under every elbow: and make pillows for the heads of persons of every age to catch souls: and when they caught the souls of my people, they gave life to their souls.E dirai: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Guai a quelle, che applicano dei cuscini a tutti i cubiti, e fanno de' guanciali da mettere sotto alle teste di qualunque età per far preda delle anime; e facendo preda delle anime del popol mio, davano vita a quelle anime,and say: Thus sayth our Lord God: Wo to them that sow cushions vnder euerie cubite of the hand: and make pillowes vnder the head of euerie age to catch soules: and when they caught the soules of my people, they did viuificate their soules.et dic: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Væ quæ consuunt pulvillos sub omni cubito manus, / et faciunt cervicalia sub capite universæ ætatis / ad capiendas animas: / et cum caperent animas populi mei, / vivificabant animas eorum !
19And they violated me among my people, for a handful of barley, and a piece of bread, to kill souls which should not die, and to save souls alive which should not live, telling lies to my people that believe lies.E mi disonoravano dinanzi al mio popolo per un po' d'orzo, e per un tozzo di pane, uccidendo le anime, che non son morte, e facendo vive le anime, che non vivono, spacciando menzogne al popolo mio, che crede alle menzogne.And they violated me to my people, for a handful of barley, and a cantel of bread, that they might kil the soules, which dye not, and viuificate the soules which liue not, lying to my people, that beleeueth lies.Et violabant me ad populum meum / propter pugillum hordei, et fragmen panis, / ut interficerent animas quæ non moriuntur, / et vivificarent animas quæ non vivunt, / mentientes populo meo credenti mendaciis. 20Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I declare against your cushions, wherewith you catch flying souls: and I will tear them off from your arms: and I will let go the soul that you catch, the souls that should fly.Per questo così parla il Signore Dio: Eccomi ai vostri cuscini, co' quali voi fate preda delle anime, come di uccelli, e io gli straccerò nelle vostre mani, e alle anime, delle quali voi fate preda, darò libero volo.For this cause thus saith our Lord God: Behold I to your cushions, wherwith you carche flying soules: and I wil breake them from your armes: and I wil let goe the soules that you take, the soules to fl•e.Propter hoc hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Ecce ego ad pulvillos vestros, / quibus vos capitis animas volantes: / et dirumpam eos de brachiis vestris, / et dimittam animas quas vos capitis, / animas ad volandum. 21And I will tear your pillows, and will deliver my people out of your hand, neither shall they be any more in your hands to be a prey: and you shall know that I am the Lord.E romperò i vostri guanciali, e libererò dal poter vostro il mio popolo, e non saran più nelle vostre mani per essere vostra preda. E conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore.And I wil breake your pillowes, and wil deliuer my people out of your hand, neither shal they be anie more in your handes to be a praye: and you shal know that I am the Lord.Et dirumpam cervicalia vestra, / et liberabo populum meum de manu vestra, / neque erunt ultra in manibus vestris ad prædandum: / et scietis quia ego Dominus. 22Because with lies you have made the heart of the just to mourn, whom I have not made sorrowful: and have strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his evil way, and live.Perchè voi con menzogne avete contristato il cuore del giusto, cui io non contristai; e avete fortificate le braccia all'empio, perchè non si convertisse dal suo mal fare, e vivesse:For that you haue made the hart of the iust to mourne lyingly, whom I made not sorowful: and haue strenghtned the handes of the impious, that he might not returne from his euil way, and liue.Pro eo quod mœrere fecistis cor justi mendaciter, / quem ego non contristavi, / et confortastis manus impii, / ut non reverteretur a via sua mala, et viveret:
23Therefore you shall not see vain things, nor divine divinations any more, and I will deliver my people out of your hand: and you shall know that I am the Lord.Per questo non avrete più le vostre false visioni, né spaccerete indovinamenti, e io trarrò dalle vostre mani il mio popolo: e conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore.Therfore you shal not see vaine thinges, and diuinations you shal diuine no more, and I wil deliuer my people out of you hand: and you shal know that I am the Lord.propterea vana non videbitis, / et divinationes non divinabitis amplius, / et eruam populum meum de manu vestra: / et scietis quia ego Dominus.
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Year of the World 3411.
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Sanctius
Heart; what pleases them, (Haydock) without being inspired. There were always such impostors. These deluded the people at Jerusalem, (Calmet) or at Babylon, ver. 9. (Sanctius)
Haydock
They might be distinguished by the sincere: yet caused irreparable injury to the ignorant people. (Haydock)
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Nothing. Yet would lead the blind, though they are not directed by God.
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Deserts, or ruins. They sought only to gratify themselves.
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Enemy. You do not admonish sinners of their evil ways, nor strive to avert God's indignation, in imitation of true prophets, (Exodus 32:10.) but rather undermine the wall like foxes.
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Upon, to punish.
Counsel. They shall not be consulted, or have any credit.
Calmet
Writing. They shall perish in the city, or in banishment. (Calmet)
Their works shall not be accounted canonical. (Sixt. Bib. 2:2.)
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Haydock
Straw. Iniquity ruins my people, (Calmet) and these do not endeavour to reform their manners. (Haydock)
Theodoret
They ought to demolish such a work, and not daub it over. (Theodoret)
St. Jerome
One false prophet builds, and another strives to support his authority; (Junius) or God has given the people his law, but these people corrupt it. (St. Jerome)
Worthington
A wall built without proper mortar, will easily be washed down: so vain hopes of security, without amendment, deceive the people. (Worthington)
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Calmet
Hailstones. Literally, "stones," like those which fell on the enemies of Josue, 10:11.; (Haydock) or thunderbolts. (Grotius) (Calmet)
Haydock
Such will be the fate of all the buildings of the wicked, Matthew 7:27. (Haydock)
Menochius
None can resist the judgments of God, who will employ the Chaldeans. (Menochius)
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Haydock
You. Literally, "it." But Hebrew and Septuagint have, "ye." (Haydock)
Calmet
The wall and the inhabitants shall perish. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Daughters: so false prophets are styled in scorn, (Vatable) or witches; (Rabbins) though it seems rather that there were false prophetesses as well as true ones. Such were Prisca and Maximilla among the Montanists. Women have commonly fostered heresies. (Calmet)
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Cushions, by making people easy in their sins, and promising them impunity, (Challoner) by disguising the truth, or not admonishing people of their danger, Ezechiel 3:17. He alludes to the cushions used on sofas.
Calmet
Pillows. Symmachus, "veils;" (Septuagint and Kimchi) or "nets" designed "to take" the unwary; as mispachot may be properly rendered, ver. 20, 21., and Isaias 5:7. (Calmet)
Worthington
Souls. That is, they flattered them with promises of life, peace, and security. (Challoner) (Worthington)
Calmet
People are often said to do what they only announce, Leviticus 13:11. These impostors pretended to save, while they really destroyed. They shewed a cruel mercy, detaining the people in captivity, or rather Hebrew, "shall you catch?" etc. Do you expect to pass unpunished? (Calmet)
Haydock
We might read the Vulgate, "Did they give?" etc. Protestants, "Will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?" (Haydock)
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Challoner
Violated me. That is, dishonoured and discredited me. (Challoner)
Haydock
Protestants, "and will ye pollute?" etc. (Haydock)
They employed the name of God to give credit to their lies, for the smallest advantage.
Challoner
Souls, etc. That is, to sentence souls to death, which are not to die: and to promise life to them who are not to live. (Challoner)
Calmet
They contradicted Jeremias, who exhorted the people to surrender. (Calmet)
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Catch. Hebrew also, "hunt the souls to make them into gardens, (Haydock) or flourishing." Septuagint, "you gather souls there." The original seems to be incorrect, ver. 18.
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Calmet
Just. Jeremias, or any other, particularly the more simple, who were easily seduced and filled with apprehensions. You shall therefore die, (ver. 23.) and your imposture shall be made known. (Calmet)
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Sew cushions, etc.... Viz., by making people easy in their sins, and promising them impunity.—Ibid. They gave life to their souls.... That is, they flattered them with promises of life, peace, and security.
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Violated me.... That is, dishonoured and discredited me. Ibid. To kill souls, etc.... That is, to sentence souls to death, which are not to die; and to promise life to them who are not to live.
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As a wal of clay, or morter without straw or other temperature, is washed away with rayne, so vaine hopes of securitie, without repentance & good vvorkes deceiue the careles people that liue in sinne.
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There were also false prophetisses feaning to be illuminated with the spirit of Prophecie; as Debora (Iud 4) Holda (4. Reg 22.) & other holie vvemen vvere in dede true prophetisses. but these, by
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flaterie deceiued the people, saying they vvere in good state and in securitie, vvhen they vvere in sinne, & in ex•teme danger of both temporal and eternal ••••.
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St Dionysius of Alexandria † AD 265 Containing Epistles, or Fragments of Epistles 11.3
… who, while formerly reputed as the sovereign’s faithful public treasurer, had yet no mind for anything which was either reasonable in itself or conducive to the public good, but subjected himself to that curse of prophecy which says, “Woe unto those who prophesy from their own heart, and see not the public good!”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 7.10.6
6. ‘Woe unto those who prophesy from their own heart and do not consider the general good.’
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St Jerome † AD 420 Jerome's Apology for Himself Against the Books of Rufinus 3.7
… and then, when I bestir myself ever so little, you harp upon the precept of the Gospel. Would you like to have all the windings of your cunning exposed?—those tricks of the foxes who dwell among the ruins, of whom Ezekiel writes,
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Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.4
… For hence it is that the Lord through the prophet upbraids them, saying, Dumb dogs, that cannot bark ( Isai. lvi. 10 ). Hence again He complains, saying, Ye have not gone up against the enemy, neither opposed a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord (
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.6
… And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building, but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the Prophet:— He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall .
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 65
… as Ezekiel also saith, “They that build the wall, and daub it with untempered mortar.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 133.4
… They confound old mire with new cement and, as Ezekiel says, daub a wall with untempered mortar; so that, when the truth comes in a shower, they are brought to nought.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 96.3
… Therefore they who choose to declare their own honour, have refused to dwell in that house; and therefore they sing not a new song with all the earth. For they do not share it with the whole round world; and hence they are not building in the house, but have erected a whited wall. How sternly doth God threaten the whited wall?
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 102.10
… Wouldest thou not thus speak unto thyself, and from this very despair become still worse? Rather than this, then, He who promiseth forgiveness, doth correct thee, saying, “As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.65
… And a little further on: Her priests have violated My laws and profaned My holy things, they have put no difference between the holy and profane, but all things were alike to them, and they hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I was profaned among them. He threatens that He will consume both the wall and them that daubed it,
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Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.8
… nay sometimes he smooths down with flatteries the offence of his subordinates which he ought to have rebuked. Hence it is well said through the prophet, Woe unto them that sew cushions under every elbow, and make pillows under the head of every stature to catch souls (
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 18
There were, it is likely, in the time of our forefathers also, some who “weakened the hands of the people” ( Jer. xxxviii. 4 .), and brought into practice that which is mentioned by Ezekiel,—or rather who did the works of the false prophets, who “profaned God among His people for handfuls of barley” (
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3. WOE TO THE FOOLISH PROPHETS, WHO FOLLOW THEIR OWN SPIRIT (that is, who follow that which is suggested and inspired, not by God, but by imagination, human thought, appetite and desire; and they sell this as the oracles of God), AND SEE NOTHING, — and, that is, when, as if to say, When they hear nothing from God, they prophesy whatever comes into their mouth. Note: He calls them foolish, when he could call them deceivers, because they were priests, whose honor he consults; saying that they preach false things from ignorance and foolishness, not from malice. But, because verse 6 and following accuses them of falsehood, you would better say they are called foolish, that is, stupid and dull, because by their lies they created ruin for themselves, equally as for the people.
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4. AS A FOX IN THE DESERTS,—that is, in the broken walls of the vineyard (as Vatablus translated from the Hebrew), and often broken through, by which foxes enter the vineyard, as if through their own broken hedge: for this is plundered and laid waste both by men passing through and by wild beasts, and becomes as it were a desert. Whence Symmachus and Theodotion translate, in ruined walls, that is to say, These priests are not shepherds and guardians of the people, but wolves and foxes. First, because they secretly and deceitfully lay waste the people, as if from ambushes, pretending to speak what is advantageous to the people, so that they may catch their own gains from it. Second, because they are cowardly, and when danger presses in, they do not oppose the enemy, but like foxes lurk in their own dens. Thus Maldonatus. Whence it follows: "You have not gone up against the enemy," etc. And therefore this shall befall them, Psalm lxii, 11: "They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, portions for foxes shall they be," namely so that their bodies may be devoured by earthly foxes, their souls by infernal ones. Morally, note here that foxes are hypocrites and flatterers, especially false prophets and heretics, says St. Jerome, concerning whom Canticles ii, 15: "Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards." Just as only the skin of the fox is of value, but the flesh is not edible: so the external appearance of the hypocrite is beautiful, but the interior is full of deceit and poisons. Carbo, a prudent man among the Greeks in Plutarch, wishing to call Sulla cruel and deceitful, said he was a lion and a fox. And Lysander said "the fox skin must be added, if the lion skin were not sufficient," that is, one must use cunning and fraud when strength fails or is not sufficient. And Plato, in book II of the Republic: "Each one," he says, "ought to put around himself as it were a vestibule of virtue a shadow, but in such a way that the wisest Archilochus drags the fox behind him." For cunning surpasses the fox beyond other animals. On which account there is a fable extant in Plutarch in the Moralia: When at some time, he says, a leopard despised a fox before itself, because it itself had a skin variegated with spots of all kinds of colors, the fox replied that this beauty was in its mind, which was in the other's skin: but it was better to have a mind variegated and versatile than a body. The same thing is indicated by the common proverb: "The fox is not corrupted by gifts." For birds and beasts are caught by food, the fox not so. And another: "Sleep overtakes the hungry fox." For when the fox hungers, it gives itself to sleep, both because physically sleep quells and extinguishes hunger and thirst; and because the fox, pressed by hunger, simulates sleep, so that it may catch and devour the hens attracted to it. And a third: "To play the fox with a fox." And a fourth: "The fox knows many things, the hedgehog one great thing," namely to stick out its spines like quills, by which it wraps itself like a ball, while dogs pursue it. But heretics, especially Calvinists, are eminently skilled in this, who lurk and secretly creep into cities and provinces like foxes, but when they become masters of affairs, they rage like lions. Calvin taught them this, who through Luther with subtle specious title, as if a reformer of religion both Lutheran and Orthodox: "entered as a fox;" soon supplanting Luther: "reigned as a lion;" and finally snarling and blaspheming: "died as a dog," as Bolsec and others report in his Life. Pythagoras for no other reason said that those things which had a black tail should not be tasted, except to teach us that the snares of hypocrites are to be avoided. For although they display candor and friendship before themselves, yet the tail is foul, the end wicked, and the purpose perverted. Poets when they narrate that Actaeon was devoured by his own dogs, which he was feeding, wished to signify nothing else, says Favorinus, than that he who feeds and fosters his own praisers and flatterers is not rarely devoured and consumed by those very ones whom he has reared. For the dog, wagging its head and tail to its master, is a symbol of the hypocrite and flatterer. except to teach us that the snares of hypocrites are to be avoided. For although they display candor and friendship before themselves, yet the tail is foul, the end wicked, and the purpose perverted. Poets when they narrate that Actaeon was devoured by his own dogs, which he was feeding, wished to signify nothing else, says Favorinus, than that he who feeds and fosters his own praisers and flatterers is not rarely devoured and consumed by those very ones whom he has reared. For the dog, wagging its head and tail to its master, is a symbol of the hypocrite and flatterer.
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5. YOU DID NOT ASCEND AGAINST THE ADVERSARY, — the enemies, or rather, as follows, the Lord God, who sends the Chaldean enemies against the wall of the vineyard, that is the city of Jerusalem, broken down. Whence in Hebrew it is: You did not ascend into the breaches, or interruptions. Thus Pagninus. The Septuagint translates: They did not stand in the firmament. The Septuagint translates: They did not stand in the firmament. NEITHER DID YOU BUILD UP A WALL (in Hebrew, as also Vatablus translates it, neither did you hedge in a hedge) FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, THAT YOU MIGHT STAND IN BATTLE IN THE DAY OF THE LORD, — namely when the Lord, as it were the leader of the enemies, invaded the city, so that namely by prayers and holiness you might resist the wrath and vengeance of God, and obtain victory from His clemency. He compares the people to a city, laws and holiness to walls, sins to breaches of the wall. He therefore rebukes the false prophets, in that they did not correct the vices of the people, and in that by interceding for it, they did not turn away the wrath of God from it. Learn here how much zeal, prayer and holiness ought to be in a prelate and preacher, namely that they ought to oppose themselves to God's wrath as it were a wall. how much zeal, prayer and holiness ought to be in a prelate and preacher, namely that they ought to oppose themselves to God's wrath as it were a wall. Thus Moses opposed himself to Him, saying in Exodus xxxii, 32: "Either forgive them this sin, or blot me out of thy book which thou hast written." And St. Paul, Romans ix, 3: "For I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ for my brethren." Thus when God's fire raged against the murmurers, Aaron offered incense, and standing between the dead and the living, he stayed the wrath and plague of God, Numbers xvi, 48. Thus God says to Jeremiah cap. vii, 16: "Do not stand before me." Hear again St. Gregory, II part. Pastor. cap. iv: "To ascend against the adversary is to oppose the powers of this world with free voice for the defense of the flock. And to stand in battle in the day of the Lord is to resist those fighting wickedly out of love of justice. For what else is it for a pastor to have feared to speak rightly than to have given his back in silence? For he who indeed offers himself for the flock opposes a wall to the enemies for the house of Israel.
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6. AND THEY PERSEVERED. — The Chaldee: They impudently asserted to confirm their word.
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8. BEHOLD I AM AGAINST YOU. — The Chaldee: I will send my wrath upon you. It is an aposiopesis.
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9. AND MY HAND SHALL BE (that is vengeance, and, as the Chaldee, the plague of my power) UPON (the false) PROPHETS. — Thus also Elias killed 400 prophets of Baal, III Kings xviii. Thus suddenly and miserably almost all heresiarchs perished. Arius burst asunder in the middle, like Judas: Julian the Apostate was pierced through from heaven by a spear; John Hus was burned; Mahomet was destroyed by apoplexy; Luther was suffocated in his sleep with his concubine at night; Mani was flayed alive by the king of the Persians; Calvin was consumed by worms. This is what Isaiah says, cap. xlv, 16: "They went into confusion, the makers of errors." Thus the Antichrist with his forces shall be struck from heaven, Apocalypse xx: "Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 14. THE FOUNDATION SHALL BE REVEALED, — that is it shall be overthrown even to the foundation, and it shall be revealed and appear. AND IT SHALL FALL (the wall) AND SHALL BE CONSUMED, — namely he who daubed the wall. It seems to be corrected with St. Jerome, you shall be consumed, namely you daubers, false prophets. Whence the Hebrew, Chaldee and Septuagint have, you shall be consumed, namely, O you daubers! 15. THERE IS NOT, — that is the wall fell down with those building and daubing it. 16. PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. — Remove the point before "prophets," and read: "Who daub with the prophets of Israel." Although the Roman codices have the point: which seems to be a printing error. speak lies: and they shall not be in the council of my people, and they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am the Lord God. 10. Because they have deceived my people, saying: Peace, and there is no peace: and one built up a wall, and they daubed it with untempered mortar. 11. Say to them that daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: for there shall come a violent rain, and I will send great hailstones falling down upon it, and a stormy wind to break it.
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10. SAYING: PEACE. — "Peace," that is prosperity, as if to say: I threaten war to the people, that it may repent: they promise peace, and thus foster the people in their sins. HE HIMSELF BUILT A WALL. — That is, the first false prophet was setting up a wall, that is a false prediction; others by assenting were smearing over and approving this. Thus Vatablus. Secondly, St. Jerome: "God," he says, "through the law and threats of the Prophets was building a wall for the people; but false prophets smear over with their lies." Thirdly, the Scholiast: "The wall," he says, "is the doctrine of false prophets, which they smear over with the elegance of speech." Fourthly, most excellently Prado and Maldonatus. He himself, namely the people, the wall, that is the hedge and wall of his vineyard, that is of the city and kingdom, crumbling and broken, namely God's protection, which was to Judaea as a wall, withdrawing from it, attempted to restore by human aid, especially of the Egyptians, but in vain. The false prophets were exalting this, smearing over the badly joined wall with mud without straw, that is confirming vain confidence in the Egyptians by lying promises; when rather they ought to have overthrown this wall, and built another from hope in God, and from God's aid and mercy from the foundations, says Theodoret. Note: Builders are accustomed to apply a crust to a wall, to strengthen it, but from lime and mud not friable and loose, as these were doing; but mixed with straw and thatch bound together and compressed. Just as therefore mud without straw, when rain comes, crumbles and falls: so all the reasonings of the false prophets, by which they promised and confirmed peace and security to the people, when war came upon them, were shaken. But by saying the coating would not last, he sufficiently hints that the wall would not be firm. For it is clear that it serves the wall not only for ornament, but also for firmness, from Amos vii, 7, where when the Lord sets down the trowel, and ceases to smear the wall, the falling of the people's strength is foreshown. Thus Ribera, and from him Delrio, adage 807. Beautifully St. Gregory, and it is found in the 46th distinction, chapter Some there are: "By the name of wall," he says, "the hardness of sin is designated. To build therefore a wall against oneself, is to construct obstacles of sin against oneself. But they smear the wall, who flatter those perpetrating sins; so that what they build while acting perversely, they make as if shiny by flattering."
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11. WITHOUT TEMPERING, — without straw, by which clay is tempered and mixed, or mortar. For in Hebrew it is the same word, which the Interpreter rendered a little before, without straw, namely תפל taphel, which properly signifies insipid. Whence Aquila translated it, ἀνάλω, that is without salt: because, as flesh without salt, or insipid, is not solid and firm, so neither is mud without straw. Or rather Aquila understood this not of mud, or sandy mortar, but of whitewash made from lime, which is not suitable for coating, unless pure lime is mixed with salt, and with cuttings of hides, and properly macerated and tempered, as Vitruvius testifies, lib. VII, cap. ii and iii. Our Interpreter, the Chaldee, Symmachus, Vatablus and others understood it of sandy mortar; the Septuagint and Theodotion translate it, foolishness: because insipid thought, and speech or discourse, lacking the salt of discretion and wisdom, is foolish. They translate therefore: And they themselves smear with foolishness. I WILL GIVE VERY GREAT STONES. — Thus also the Septuagint: πετροβόλους, that is catapults, which hurl great stones: in Hebrew אלגביש elgabis, that is of hail. Thus St. Jerome, Pagninus, Forsterus, Marinus and commonly the Hebrews, although this word is not found elsewhere. By rain, stones, wind, storm or tempest, he understands the assault of the Chaldeans, which like a storm overwhelmed and overthrew Judaea. Thus also the Chaldee. — Thus also the Septuagint: πετροβόλους, that is catapults, which hurl great stones: in Hebrew אלגביש elgabis, that is of hail. Thus St. Jerome, Pagninus, Forsterus, Marinus and commonly the Hebrews, although this word is not found elsewhere. By rain, stones, wind, storm or tempest, he understands the assault of the Chaldeans, which like a storm overwhelmed and overthrew Judaea. Thus also the Chaldee.
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14. THE FOUNDATION SHALL BE REVEALED, — that is it shall be overthrown down to the foundation, and it shall be revealed and appear. AND IT SHALL FALL (the wall) AND SHALL BE CONSUMED, — namely he who smears the wall. of the earth, and its foundation shall be revealed; and it shall fall, and shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord. 15. And I will accomplish my indignation upon the wall, and upon them that daub it without tempering, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and they that daubed it are no more. IS NO MORE, — that is the wall has fallen with those building and smearing it. 16. THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. — Remove the point before "prophets," and read: "Who smear with the prophets of Israel." Although the Roman codices have the point: which appears to be a printing error.
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17. PUT THY FACE—that is, speak with a firm and threatening countenance, not to men, as heretofore: but to women, false prophetesses. Although the Scholiast thinks that men are here called women on account of womanly affection, by which they were accustomed to sew soft cushions on every elbow. Thus the Poet says of Jupiter: He stood firm, and fixed his gaze upon the kingdoms of Libya. He passes here from men to women prophetesses (although some understand by women effeminate men, and those who make others effeminate), whose falsity was equal, their imposture greater on account of their smooth speech. Such were to the heresiarch Montanus Prisca and Maximilla, "who by false prophecy subverted the faith of truth," as St. Jerome says. Hence the proverb: "The ruin of women." For women have been the authors of almost all calamities to men. Witness Pandora of Hesiod, witness Helen of Troy, witness Dejanira who killed Hercules, witness the fable of the Danaids, witness the history of the women of Lemnos, witness Cleopatra, witness Delilah, witnesses the mistresses of Solomon, witness Eve. Although the greater fault is that of the man, who, being wiser, allows himself to be ruled and deceived by a weak and foolish woman. For as the mind is to the body, so ought a man to be to a woman. It is an ancient saying of the wise: "Put no faith even in a dying woman."
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18. WOE TO THOSE (thus it should be read with the Hebrew, Septuagint and Romans, not as others have it) WHO SEW PILLOWS UNDER EVERY ELBOW OF THE HAND: AND MAKE CUSHIONS UNDER THE HEAD OF EVERY AGE,—that is, woe to false prophetesses, who flatter the Jews in their vices and rebellion, and foster them, so that they rest securely and softly in them, promising peace, that is, security and prosperity, as if the Chaldeans were not about to capture Jerusalem. Appropriately he attributes to men the building of a wall and plastering it, but to women the sewing of pillows and cushions. For this is the work of women, that of men. A pillow therefore is a delicate and voluptuous life: let him consume this who says: "Eat, drink, play; after death there is no pleasure." Thus Origen, St. Jerome and others in many places. Hence secondly, Polycarp and Theodoret: "A pillow," they say, "and a cushion are soft and smoother words composed for gain, which for a time tickle the hearing, but overturn souls." Hence secondly, Polycarp and Theodoret: "A pillow," they say, "and a cushion are soft and smoother words composed for gain, which for a time tickle the hearing, but overturn souls." Thus also Gregory, in the eighteenth book of the Morals, book iv: "Whoever," he says, "flatters those acting badly, places a pillow under the elbow or under the elbow of one lying down; so that he who ought to have been corrected from his fault, supported by praises, rests softly in it." Thirdly, Lyra, Vatable and Isidore Clarius think that these women truly sewed pillows and cushions, and by means of them prophesied, or taught others to prophesy. Thirdly, Lyra, Vatable and Isidore Clarius think that these women truly sewed pillows and cushions, and by means of them prophesied, or taught others to prophesy. Hear Clarius: Little women instructed in magical art used to sew pillows, and would place them under the armpits of men who inquired; and they would place pepla, that is, very thin linen cloths, upon their heads, as if by these garments they would be made fit to receive a sacred oracle. Indeed, they themselves meanwhile would thrust into the ears of the foolish things which they had fabricated, so that those things might happen to them. But these fabrications seem new and frivolous, and discordant from the common opinion of interpreters. For interpreters everywhere think that pillows and cushions here are taken proverbially, not properly, and are adages. To this fourth point, the Greek Scholiast, Polycarp and our Prado are added, who translate the Hebrew kesatot, which our translator renders as pillows, as phylacteries; and the Hebrew mispachot, which our translator renders as cushions, as amulets, that is, magical charms, namely papers, seals, chain-nets, which were hung from the neck or arm, as if by these men would be safe against enemies, swords and all attacks; by which these sorceresses sought gain, and at the same time hunted as if with their net souls for the demon; and these amulets are called by our translator pillows and cushions, because in them, as if in a soft pillow, men would rest securely, Prado thinks. But it seems more true that both the Greek and Hebrew words already mentioned properly signify a netted covering and veil (whence the Septuagint translates as cushions and coverings, or additions; and Symmachus translates as pillows under the elbows and cushions) which is bound around something, or placed upon it, and put forward to cover and foster it, such as are pillows and cushions. For thus translate the Chaldean, Septuagint, St. Jerome, Theodoret, Vatable, Lyra, Pagninus, Clarius and other distinguished Hebraists, who think mispachot is put for mitpachot (by the exchange of the letter d for the neighboring t); mitpachot moreover signifies linens, from the root napach, that is, he spread out, unfolded, stretched, as is done with linens and sails. Thus kesatot signifies pillows clearly: for the root kasa signifies to cover, to conceal. Whence kisse signifies a seat, a throne, which is covered and concealed with a pillow. The vulgar languages favor this word and its cognates: for thus the Italians say cussinetto, the Spanish cozin, the French coussinet, the Flemish and Germans cussen. To sew pillows and cushions therefore is an adage signifying to flatter, to cajole. For, as Plutarch, in the book On the Difference between a Flatterer and a Friend, flatteries are similar to pillows and cushions, which when they seem to resist and push back against the heads of those reclining, yield more and comply. Thus also the flatterer assumes a painted and then seizes and reproves certain things, and seems to swell and puff up, so that subsiding and contracting itself it may seize, and likewise snatch away in itself whoever casts himself upon it. And this is what the Prophet adds: "To take the souls." By a similar phrase Plautus and others say: "To sew together deceits, frauds, lies." Thus Origen, Theodoret, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, XVIII Morals iv, Delrio adages 908, and others throughout. Truly St. Jerome to Eustochium, epistle 19: "Since," he says, "honey is not offered in the sacrifices of God, excessive sweetness has been changed by art, and seasoned, so to speak, with a certain harshness of pepper. For with God nothing voluptuous, nothing merely sweet is pleasing, except what has in itself something of the bite of truth." Therefore to God pleasing is not bland and false flattery, but severe and biting truth. Moreover the Syriac translator renders: Pillows and coverings; the Arabic of Antioch: Cushions for the elbows of the hands, and a covering for every head; the Arabic of Alexandria: Woe to those who sew cushions, that the elbows of the hands may rest upon them, and weave and make veils (coverings) for every head. The first sense therefore, as it is common, so it appears truer, and the second is connected to it and serves it. Morally note: A cushion, that is pleasure, is a net by which the devil catches souls. This therefore is a great calamity of Churches and Commonwealths and certain ruin, when pastors do not pursue the vices of the people, but conform themselves to them and flatter them. St. Jerome deplores this of his native land Stridon, epistle 43 to Chromatius: "In my," he says, "native land the vernacular of rusticity, God is the belly, and one lives for the day: and he is holier who is richer. There has been added to this dish a cover worthy of it, Lupicinus the priest, according to that of which Lucilius once in his life said Crassus laughed: They have lips similar to lettuce, an ass eating thistles, namely, so that a weak helmsman might steer a perforated ship, and a blind man lead the blind into a pit, and such be the ruler as those who are ruled." Again learn here that the vices of subjects seek and deserve such cushions, that is pastors: therefore the fault is of the hearers, that the Prophets, that is preachers, are bland, false and lying. For they say "to those seeing: Do not see: speak to us pleasing things, show us our errors, let the Holy One of Israel cease from before our face," Isaiah xxx, 10; and St. Paul, II Timothy iv, 3: "For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they will heap to themselves teachers, itching in the ears." Therefore the itching of disciples provokes the rubbing and tickling of masters, which in the manner of things ends in pain and torment. Thus, as Cicero truly says, oration for Caelius: "Loves and delights wither early and quickly, and in all things the greatest pleasures have disgust as a neighbor," and Boethius, book III, meter 7: Every pleasure has this, It drives those enjoying with stings, And like a pair of bees flying Where it has poured sweet honey, It flees, and with too tenacious Bite strikes the wounded hearts. III, meter 7: Every pleasure has this, It drives those enjoying with stings, And like a pair of bees flying Where it has poured sweet honey, It flees, and with too tenacious Bite strikes the wounded hearts. An apt symbol of this matter is the Hypanis spring, which, as Herodotus testifies, book IV, for five days pours forth sweet but scanty waters: then after a journey of four other days, gives most bitter waters. Likewise the leopard, which by a sweet odor attracts gazelles and goats to itself, soon seizes and tears them. Thus Plutarch book Against pleasure. The comparison was drawn from cushions, which the ancients did not, as we do, place under the loins of those sitting, but according to the custom of those reclining, which they then used, were accustomed to place under the necks or shoulders of those reclining. Hence Martial, Epigrams book III, 82: Galbanus lies in an occupied bed, Thrusting his elbows here and there against the guests, Supported by purple and silken feathers. See in Bonfrer's Analects of Holy Scripture page 280. Appropriately he attributed to men to build a wall, to women to apply cushions. (Rosenmuller.) because our translator rendered not 'birds' potentially, but 'flying ones' in act; hence more is signified, namely that these fowlers capture souls while flying, when they plainly appear secure, and neither think of nor fear any snares; as we see happen in nets hung from on high, namely from a tree, or among trees suspended. Thus tropologically the demon through himself, and through these fowlers of his, and the like, especially lies in wait and spreads snares for souls, while from sin or the world they think to fly upward to the state of grace or perfection, as we all experience. Wherefore the Psalmist in Psalm 54:7 says: "Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly (that I may fly away from these snares), and I will rest?" Thus St. Antony saw the whole air and world full of snares, by which souls flying upward were captured; and when he groaned and said: "Lord, who shall escape these snares?" he heard: "Humility," for this by letting itself down beneath the snares will slip away. Thus to "the woman," that is the Church, against whom Antichrist lies in wait, "were given wings, that she might fly into the desert," Apocalypse 12:14. Thus Hosea chapter 9:11 says: "Ephraim as a bird hath flown away." And Proverbs 6:5: "Deliver thyself as a gazelle from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler." Jeremiah also mourns, Lamentations 3:52, saying: "My enemies have hunted me like a bird, without cause." Note secondly: He compares these "cushions" to nets, both because they are wont to be more delicate for the sake of softness and elegance, outwardly to be embroidered with a needle, or woven in a reticulated work, namely spotted like a net, and because with these as with nets they captured souls, as if to say: Just as a fowler captures birds with a net, so you with your reticulated cushions capture souls. Otherwise Delrio, adage 904, where he thinks in the cushions is alluded to the snares which fowlers prepare for birds. But snares are not cushions; nor are cushions, but nets and baits wont to be prepared for capturing birds. Truly St. Augustine in Sentences, sentence 137: "The tongues of flatterers," he says, "bind souls in sins. For it delights to do those things in which not only is a reprover not feared, but even a praiser is heard." VIVIFIED SOULS, — promised to souls, that is to men, life and salvation; but falsely. 19. VIOLATED ME BEFORE THE PEOPLE, — saying they were moved and prophesied from my spirit, when they were moved by their own. For it is equally an injury to God if you say the prophecies of God are human, as if you say human ones are divine; for in both cases God is mixed and equated with man, and consequently in both cases he becomes a liar. For every man is a liar. FOR A HANDFUL OF BARLEY, — that is to say. For every man is a liar. FOR A HANDFUL OF BARLEY, — that is to say, They exact and receive a vile reward for their prophecies, namely a morsel of bread and a handful of barley. See at how vile a price the sinner sells his immortal and divine soul to sin and to the demon. THAT YOU MIGHT KILL (that you might predict death to the true Prophets who) DO NOT DIE. KILL (that you might predict death to the true Prophets who) DO NOT DIE. — In Hebrew, who shall not die, that is who ought not to die, who have not deserved death. AND THAT YOU MIGHT GIVE LIFE (that is promise life to the false prophets and Jews, who) DO NOT LIVE. deserved death. AND THAT YOU MIGHT GIVE LIFE (that is promise life to the false prophets and Jews, who) DO NOT LIVE. — In Hebrew, who shall not live, that is who ought not to live, but are to be killed. Namely, that they might predict that those who with Jeconiah surrendered themselves to the Chaldeans would die, who nevertheless were to be saved: and on the other hand that those would be safe who remaining in Jerusalem resisted the Chaldeans, who nevertheless were to be killed. Thus Maldonatus. He speaks of life and death, first of the body and present, then of the soul and eternal. Otherwise Prado, that is to say, Because by their sorceries they killed the saints, and preserved life for the impious using their amulets. Morally St. Gregory, homily 27 in the Gospel: "He vivifies one who does not die," he says, "who condemns the just; and he strives to give life to one who will not live, who attempts to absolve the guilty from punishment.
13:20
20. BEHOLD I AM AGAINST THE PILLOWS (namely I prophesy and preach to them exile, because they are like nets, which) OF THE HEAD (in Hebrew ye hunt, as fowlers) SOULS FLYING, — that is souls like flying birds. It is an aposiopesis. Less correctly Clarius translates: That they may be flying and coming to them, as if to say, They allure souls by their deceits so as to destroy them. Less aptly also Pagninus and Vatablus translate, that they may fly, that is, may fly out of the body. Note: In the Hebrew there is the same word לפרחות leporechot, which in this verse the Interpreter translates, to fly, but in the preceding verse he translates, flying. Note: In the Hebrew there is the same word לפרחות leporechot, which in this verse the Interpreter translates, to fly, but in the preceding verse he translates, flying. Therefore to fly, understand, born and prepared; which is the same as flying, that is, about to fly. Or rather the פ in leporechot can be taken as the article, and then it signifies flying; and it can also be taken as a preposition, and then it signifies to fly. The sagacious Interpreter therefore in the former place translated, flying, because there the matter was of fowling, by which souls like flying birds are captured: here however he translates, to fly, because the matter is of their liberation, by which God breaking the snares, frees these souls so that they may fly whither they wish. Thus St. Jerome: "God," he says, "breaks their pillows, which like nets capture flying souls, so that, after they are broken, they may have free power of flying." Thus also Clarius, and Delrio adag. I WILL BREAK THEM, — showing the falsity of your promises of peace, so that you may be treated not gently but harshly by the enemy: for delights, relaxation, dissolution and pleasure, which are the pillows and cushions of sinners, do not allow them to know God, unless they are torn apart, says the Scholiast. And thus "souls," which you capture like a fowler, "I will send to fly," that is, I will lead into liberty like a bird snatched from a snare. Otherwise Prado, as if to say, I will break your amulets and deceits by which, as by a net, you enchant and capture souls. Note: He calls "souls" "flying," that is souls which are like birds, just as the flatterers were like fowlers. souls" he calls "flying," that is souls which are like birds, just as the flatterers were like fowlers. For he persists in the metaphor of fowling and hunting. Therefore the note of comparison "as flying," that is as flying or birds, that is as birds, is to be understood. position, and then it signifies to fly. The sagacious Interpreter therefore in the former place translated, flying, because there the matter was of fowling, by which souls like flying birds are captured: here however he translates, to fly, because the matter is of their liberation, by which God breaking the snares, frees these souls so that they may fly whither they wish. Thus St. Jerome: "God," he says, "breaks their pillows, which like nets capture flying souls, so that, after they are broken, they may have free power of flying." Thus also Clarius, and Delrio adag. 909.
13:21
21. NEITHER SHALL THEY BE ANY MORE IN YOUR HANDS (in your power) TO PREY UPON, — that you may plunder them, i.e., They shall no longer be open to the plunder of your hands. 22. 22. Because you have made the heart of the just to mourn deceitfully, whom I have not made sorrowful: and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his evil way, and live: 23. therefore you shall not see vanity, and you shall not divine any more, and I will deliver my people out of your hand: and you shall know that I am the Lord. therefore you shall not see vanity, and you shall not divine any more, and I will deliver my people out of your hand: and you shall know that I am the Lord. Morally, learn from this chapter how great an evil flattery is. By this Justinian was deceived, otherwise a shrewd Emperor. For Tribonianus the jurist, wickedly flattering him, instilled into him, according to Suidas in the word Tribonianus (from which the Theatre of Human Life, vol. XIII, lib. II, pag. 2852, relates the same thing): "That he would not die, but would migrate to heaven together with his body." Who would not laugh at this flatterer fostering and exulting in the stupidity of the prince? He would certainly have believed the flatterer less if he had remembered the admonitions of Pope Agapetus, writing to him thus: "Embrace those, O Emperor, who wish to admonish you with good counsels, not those who often study to flatter. For the former truly perceive what is expedient; the latter, however, look to those things which please the powerful, and imitating the shadows of bodies, applaud each of their words. " Consider Caligula, as Dio testifies in lib. LIX, when he wished to be held as a god, and indeed to have relations with the moon, he asked Vitellius whether he had seen him consorting with the goddess? This Vitellius, as if struck, with eyes cast down: "It is permitted, my lord, only to you gods to see one another," said he. Thus the flatterer, and indeed a senator. More sincere was that Gallic shoemaker, from whom when the same Caligula, sitting on the tribunal in the guise of Jupiter, asked, "What did he think of him?" he answered: "A great piece of madness. " he answered: "A great piece of madness." In Paris is shown the mouth of a sewer in the grain market, into which a certain man ordered himself to be buried, whom it later repented to have given such harmful flattery. For to a king sad on account of financial straits he persuaded that even from the smallest things which rustics bring into the city, he should exact one or another small coin, and this for only two years: and from this, when the counselors saw in the city, on account of the crowd of people, a great amount of money being collected, several similar exactions burdening the people were devised. He therefore who had given the counsel, when he saw that he did not have the same authority in dissuading as he had had in persuading, fell into great anguish of mind, and almost despaired of his salvation. And in order to testify to this repentance of his, and to warn others to beware of flattery, he provided in his will that he should be buried in that sewer, into which all the filth of that entire market flows; in which the execution of the exaction persuaded and urged by him remains even to this very day. Truly the Greeks say: It is better to fall εἰς κόρακας than to flatterers. and urged by him remains even to this very day. Truly the Greeks say: It is better to fall εἰς κόρακας than to flatterers. For first, those devour the dead, these devour the living, Demosthenes used to say; second, those pluck out the eyes from corpses, these from the mind, Epictetus used to say. Aristonymus, according to Stobaeus serm. used to say. Aristonymus, according to Stobaeus serm. 12, used to say: "While logs increase the fire, they are consumed by it; while riches nourish flatterers, they perish by them themselves.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
13:3
… who orders him to speak or to write (Ex. 17, 14; 34, 27; Deut. 31, 19; Is. 8, 1; 30, 8; Hab. 2, 2; Dan. 8, 26; 12, 4; Ezek. 24, 2; in a special way Jer. 36) and to set forth only what God wills (Deut. 18, 15-22; Jer. 23, 16; 20, 7-9, 15, 19; 14, 14; Ezek. 13, 3-17; Mic. 3, 5-8; Zech. 7, 12; cf. II Sam. 7, 1 ff.), declares divine (Hos. 4, 1; Joel 1, 1; Am. 1, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2, 1 etc.; Obad. 1; Jon. 1, 1; 3, 1; Mic. 1, 1; 3, 5; 6, 1; Nah. 1, 12; …
13:22
… A popular saying is also called a m. (1 Sam. 24:14); an apologue, a witty saying (synonymous with hīdhāh; cf. Ezek. 17:2); a satirical saying (Isa. 14:4; Ezek. 13:22 ff.; 16:44; 18:2 ff.). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.