The destruction of Jerusalem by the sword is further described: the ruin also of the Ammonites is forshewn. And finally Babylon, the destroyer of others, shall be destroyed.
Destruction of Ierusalem by sword is further described: 10. With translation of the kingdom. 28. The ruine also of the Ammonites is foreshewed. 30. And finally Babylon, the destroyer of others, shal be destroyed.
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, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and let thy speech flow towards the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel:Figliuolo dell'uomo, volgi la tua faccia verso Gerusalemme, e parla a' santuarj, e profetizza contro la terra d'Israele;Sonne of man set thy face to Ierusalem, and droppe to the sanctuaries, and prophecie against the ground of Israel:Fili hominis, pone faciem tuam ad Jerusalem, / et stilla ad sanctuaria, / et propheta contra humum Israël. 3And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off in thee the just, and the wicked.E dirai alla terra d'Israele: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Ecco, che io vengo a te, ed io trarrò la mia spada dal suo fodero, e ucciderò in te il giusto, e l'empio.And thou shalt say to the land of Israel: Thus saith our Lord God: Behold I to thee, and I wil draw forth my sword out of his scabbard, and wil kil in thee the iust, and the impious.Et dices terræ Israël: / Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Ecce ego ad te, / et ejiciam gladium meum de vagina sua, / et occidam in te justum et impium. 4And forasmuch as I have cut off in thee the just and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.E perchè io ho ucciso in te il giusto, e l'empio, per questo trarrò la mia spada dal suo fodero contro tutti gli uomini da mezzodì a settentrione,And for that I haue killed in thee the iust, and the impious, therfore shal my sword goe forth out of his scabbard to al flesh, from the South euen to the North.Pro eo autem quod occidi in te justum et impium, / idcirco egredietur gladius meus de vagina sua / ad omnem carnem, ab austro usque ad aquilonem: 5That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out of its sheath not to be turned back.Affinchè tutti sappiano, che io il Signore ho tratta dal suo fodero la spada mia, né la rinfodererò.That al flesh may know that I the Lord haue drawen my sword out of his scabbard not to be reuoked.ut sciat omnis caro quia ego Dominus, / eduxi gladium meum de vagina sua irrevocabilem. 6And thou, son of man, mourn with the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness sigh before them.Ma tu, figliuolo dell'uomo, trai dal rotto fianco sospiri, e nell'amarezza del cuore, gemi dinanzi a costoro.And thou sonne of man, mourne in contrition of the loynes, and in bitternes mourne before them.Et tu, fili hominis, ingemisce in contritione lumborum, / et in amaritudinibus ingemisce coram eis.
7And when they shall say to thee: Why mournest thou? thou shalt say: For that which I hear: because it cometh, and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and water shall run down every knee: behold it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord God.E quando a te diranno: Per qual motivo sospiri tu? dirai: Per quel, che ho udito; perchè (colui) viene, e ogni cuore verrà meno, e tutte le braccia saranno spossate, e ogni spirito sarà fiacco, e tutte le ginocchia saran bagnate di sudore: ecco, che viene, e la cosa avverrà, dice il Signore Dio.And when they shal say to thee: Why mournest thou? thou shalt say: For the bruite: because it cometh, and euerie hart shal melt, & al handes shal be dissolued, and euerie spirit shal be weakened, and waters shal runne by al knees: behold it commeth, and it shal be done, saith our Lord God.Cumque dixerint ad te: Quare tu gemis ? / dices: Pro auditu: / quia venit, et tabescet omne cor, / et dissolventur universæ manus, / et infirmabitur omnis spiritus, / et per cuncta genua fluent aquæ: / ecce venit, et fiet, ait Dominus Deus. 8And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:E il Signore parlommi, dicendo:And the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens: 9Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Say: The sword, the sword is sharpened, and furbished.Profetizza, o figliuolo dell'uomo, e dirai: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Parla: La spada, la spada è tagliente, ed arruotata;Sonne of man prophecie, and thou shalt say: Thus saith our Lord God: Speake: The sword, the sword is sharpened, and fourbished.Fili hominis, propheta, et dices: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: loquere: Gladius, gladius exacutus est, et limatus: 10It is sharpened to kill victims: it is furbished that it may glitter: thou removest the sceptre of my son, thou hast cut down every tree.Ella è tagliente per uccider le vittime, è arruotata, affinchè riluca: tu (spada), che abbatti lo scettro del mio figliuolo, tu troncherai ogni pianta.To kil victims, it is sharpened; to glitter, it is fourbished: thou that mouest the scepter of my sonne, hast cut downe euerie tree.ut cædat victimas, exacutus est: / ut splendeat, limatus est: / qui moves sceptrum filii mei, succidisti omne lignum. 11And I have given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, that it may be in the hand of the slayer.Ed io la ho data ad affilare, perchè sia alla mano: questa spada è tagliente, questa è affilata, affinchè sia in mano dell'uccisore.And I gaue it to be made smooth, that it may be held with the hand: this is a sharpened sword, and this is forbished, that it may be in the hand of the slayer.Et dedi eum ad levigandum, ut teneatur manu: / iste exacutus est gladius, et iste limatus est, / ut sit in manu interficientis.
12Cry, and howl, O son of man, for this sword is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel, that are fled: they are delivered up to the sword with my people, strike therefore upon thy thigh,Grida, ed urla, o figliuolo dell'uomo, perchè questa (spada) è fatta pel popol mio, questa per tutti i duci d'Israele, che eran fuggiti: sono stati messi a fil di spada col popol mio, per questo percuoti tu il fianco;Crie, and howle ô sonne of man, because this same is made in my people, in al the captaines of Israel, that fled: they are deliuered to the sword with my people, therfore strike vpon the thigh,Clama et ulula, fili hominis, / quia hic factus est in populo meo, / hic in cunctis ducibus Israël qui fugerant: / gladio traditi sunt cum populo meo: / idcirco plaude super femur, 13Because it is tried: and that when it shall overthrow the sceptre, and it shall not be, saith the Lord God.Perocché questa è (spada) provata, provata allor quando ha rovesciato lo scettro di Giuda, che più non sarà, dice il Signore Dio.because it is proued: and that, when it shal ouerthrow the scepter, it shal not be, saith our Lord God.quia probatus est: / et hoc, cum sceptrum subverterit, et non erit, / dicit Dominus Deus. 14Thou therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled: this is the sword of a great slaughter, that maketh them stand amazed,Tu adunque, figliuolo dell'uomo, profetizza, e batti mano con mano, e si raddoppi, e si triplichi la spada omicida: questa è la spada del gran macello, che stupidi li renderà,Thou therfore ô sonne of man prophecie, & strike hand against hand, and let the sword be dubled, & let the sword of the slaine be tripled: this is the sword of great slaughter, that maketh them to be astonied,Tu ergo, fili hominis, propheta, / et percute manu ad manum: / et duplicetur gladius, / ac triplicetur gladius interfectorum: / hic est gladius occisionis magnæ, / qui obstupescere eos facit 15And languish in heart, and that multiplieth ruins. In all their gates I have set the dread of the sharp sword, the sword that is furbished to glitter, that is made ready for slaughter.E farà venir meno il cuore, e moltiplicherà lo scempio. A tutte le loro porte ho portato il terrore della spada tagliente, e arruotata, affinchè risplenda, e sia pronta a fare strage.and to pine in hart, & multiplieth ruines. In al their gates haue I geuen the truble of the sword sharpe and furbished to glitter, addressed to slaughter.et corde tabescere, / et multiplicat ruinas. / In omnibus portis eorum dedi conturbationem gladii acuti, / et limati ad fulgendum, / amicti ad cædem.
16Be thou sharpened, go to the right hand, or to the left, which way soever thou hast a mind to set thy face.Aguzzati, o spada, va a destra; ed a sinistra, dovunque a te piaccia di volgerti.Be thou sharpened, goe to the right hand, or to the left, whithersoeuer the appetite of thy face is.Exacuere, vade ad dexteram sive ad sinistram, / quocumque faciei tuæ est appetitus. 17And I will clap my hands together, and will satisfy my indignation: I the Lord have spoken.Anzi io pure applaudirò battendo palma a palma, e sfogherò il mio sdegno; io il Signore ho parlato.Yea and I wil clappe hand to hand, and wil fil mine indignation: I the Lord haue spoken.Quin et ego plaudam manu ad manum, / et implebo indignationem meam: / ego Dominus locutus sum. 18And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:E il Signore parlommi, e disse:And the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens: 19And thou son of man, set thee two ways, for the sword of the king of Babylon to come: both shall come forth out of one land: and with his hand he shall draw lots, he shall consult at the head of the way of the city.E tu, figliuolo dell'uomo, figurati due strade, per cui venir possa la spada del re di Babilonia: tutte due partiranno da un luogo, ed egli al capo della (doppia) strada colla mano tirerà a sorte una città.And thou sonne of man, put thee two wayes, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both shal come forth out of one land: and he shal take coniecture with the hand, in the head of the way of the citie shal he choose it.Et tu, fili hominis, pone tibi duas vias, ut veniat gladius regis Babylonis: de terra una egredientur ambæ: et manu capiet conjecturam; in capite viæ civitatis conjiciet. 20Thou shalt make a way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and to Juda unto Jerusalem the strong city.Tu figurerai una strada, per cui la spada arrivi a Rabbatti dei figliuoli degli Ammoniti, e un'altra per arrivare a Giuda, alla fortissima Gerusalemme;Thou shalt make way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and to Iuda into Ierusalem most fenced.Viam pones ut veniat gladius ad Rabbath filiorum Ammon, et ad Judam in Jerusalem munitissimam. 21For the king of Babylon stood in the highway, at the head of two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows: he inquired of the idols, and consulted entrails.Imperocché si è fermato al bivio il re di Babilonia, alla testata delle due strade, cercando d'indovinare col rimescolar le frecce: interrogherà gl'idoli, consulterà le interiora degli animali.For the king of Babylon stood in the high way, in the head of two wayes, seeking diuination, shufling arrowes: he asked the idols, & tooke counsel of intralles.Stetit enim rex Babylonis in bivio, in capite duarum viarum, divinationem quærens, commiscens sagittas: interrogavit idola, exta consuluit.
22On his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice in howling, to set engines against the gates, to cast up a mount, to build forts.L'indovinamento lo mena a destra contro Gerusalemme, affinchè egli la abbatta cogli arieti, affinchè annunzi uccisione, affinchè alzi la voce con urli, affinchè gli arieti dirizzi contro le porte, e alzi terra, e fabbrichi de' fortini.On his right hand was made diuination vpon Ierusalem, to sette engins, to open the mouth in flaughter, to eleuate the voice in howling, to set engins against the gates, to cast vp a rampier, to build munitions.Ad dexteram ejus facta est divinatio super Jerusalem, ut ponat arietes, ut aperiat os in cæde, ut elevet vocem in ululatu, ut ponat arietes contra portas, ut comportet aggerem, ut ædificet munitiones. 23And he shall be in their eyes as one consulting the oracle in vain, and imitating the leisure of sabbaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity that they may be taken.E negli occhi loro parrà come se quegli indarno consultato avesse l'oracolo, e come se fosse per imitare l'ozio dei sabbati: ma egli si ricorderà dell'ingiustizia per prendere (la città.)And he shal be as it were consulting the oracle in vaine in their eies, & imitating the rest of sabbathes: but he shal remember the iniquitie to take it.Eritque quasi consulens frustra oraculum in oculis eorum, et sabbatorum otium imitans: ipse autem recordabitur iniquitatis ad capiendum. 24Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have remembered your iniquity, and have discovered your prevarications, and your sins have appeared in all your devices: because, I say, You have remembered, you shall be taken with the hand.Per questo così dice il Signore Dio: Perchè voi vi siete vantati della vostra iniquità, e avete rendute pubbliche le vostre prevaricazioni, e i peccati vostri si son fatti palesi in tutti i vostri disegni: perchè, dico, vi siete vantati, voi verrete in potere altrui.Therfore thus saith our Lord God: For that you haue remembred your iniquitie, and haue reueled your preuarications, and your sinnes haue appeared in al your cogitations: for that, I say, that you remembred, you shal be taken by hand.Idcirco hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Pro eo quod recordati estis iniquitatis vestræ, et revelastis prævaricationes vestras, et apparuerunt peccata vestra in omnibus cogitationibus vestris, pro eo, inquam, quod recordati estis, manu capiemini. 25But thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come that hath been appointed in the time of iniquity:Ma tu, profano, empio principe d'Israele, per cui è venuto il dì preordinato al gastigo di tua iniquità:But thou prophane, impious prince of Israel, whose day prefixed cometh in the time of iniquitie:Tu autem, profane, impie dux Israël, cujus venit dies in tempore iniquitatis præfinita:
26Thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, take off the crown: is it not this that hath exalted the low one, and brought down him that was high?Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: e deponi il diadema, levati la corona: ma non è ella questa, che sollevò l'abbietto, ed umiliò il grande?Thus saith our Lord God: Take away the myter, take of the crowne: is not this it, that extolled the humble, and humbled the high?hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Aufer cidarim, tolle coronam: nonne hæc est quæ humilem sublevavit, et sublimem humiliavit ? 27I will shew it to be iniquity, iniquity, iniquity: but this was not done till he came to whom judgment belongeth, and I will give it him.Io farò manifesta l'iniquità, l'iniquità, l'iniquità di lei; e questo non sarà sino a tanto, che venga colui, a cui si appartiene di far giudizio, e a lui io la darò.Iniquitie, iniquitie, iniquitie wil I put it, and this was not done, til he came to whom iudgement belongeth, and I wil deliuer it to him.Iniquitatem, iniquitatem, iniquitatem ponam eam: et hoc non factum est, donec veniret cujus est judicium, et tradam ei. 28And thou son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and thou shalt say: O sword, O sword, come out of the scabbard to kill, be furbished to destroy, and to glitter,Or tu, figliuolo dell'uomo, profetizza, e dirai: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio ai figliuoli di Ammon, e riguardo ai loro insulti. E tu dirai, Spada, spada, sfoderati per uccidere, affilati per uccidere, e folgoreggiareAnd thou sonne of man prophecie, and say: Thus saith our Lord God to the children of Ammon, and to their reproch, and thou shalt say: Sword, sword draw out thyselfe to kil, fourbish thy selfe to slaye, and to glitter.Et tu, fili hominis, propheta, et dic: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus ad filios Ammon, et ad opprobrium eorum: et dices: Mucro, mucro, evagina te ad occidendum: / lima te ut interficias et fulgeas: 29Whilst they see vain things in thy regard, and they divine lies: to bring thee upon the necks of the wicked that are wounded, whose appointed day is come in the time of iniquity.(Nel tempo, che a te, o Ammon, sono annunziate visioni vane, e bugiardi indovinamene), affinchè tu sii adoprata, e porti ferite sopra i colli degli empi, de' quali è venuto il dì preordinato al gastigo di loro iniquità.When vaine thinges were sene for thee, and lies were diuined: that thou mightest be geuen vpon the neckes of the wounded impious, whose day prefixed cometh in the time of iniquitie.cum tibi viderentur vana, / et divinarentur mendacia, / ut dareris super colla vulneratorum impiorum, / quorum venit dies in tempore iniquitatis præfinita.
30Return into thy sheath. I will judge thee in the place wherein thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.Rientra nel tuo fodero. Colà dove tu fosti fatta, nella terra dove nascesti, io farò giudizio di te,Returne to thy scabbard in the place, wherin thou wast created, in the land of thy natiuitie I wil iudge thee,Revertere ad vaginam tuam, / in loco in quo creatus es: / in terra nativitatis tuæ judicabo te. 31And I will pour out upon thee my indignation: in the fire of my rage will I blow upon thee, and will give thee into the hands of men that are brutish and contrive thy destruction.E spanderò sopra di te la mia indignazione; accenderò contro di te il fuoco del furor mio, e ti darò in potere di uomini barbari, amanti di strage.and wil powre out vpon thee mine indignation: in the fire of my furie wil I blow vpon thee, and wil geue thee into the handes of men vnwise, & framing destruction.Et effundam super te indignationem meam; / in igne furoris mei sufflabo in te: / daboque te in manus hominum insipientium, / et fabricantium interitum. 32Thou shalt be fuel for the fire, thy blood shall be in the midst of the land, thou shalt be forgotten: for I the Lord have spoken it.Tu sarai cibo del fuoco, il tuo sangue sarà negletto in mezzo alla terra, e tu sarai posto in dimenticanza; perch'io il Signore ho parlato.Thou shalt be foode for the fire, thy bloud shal be in the middes of the land, thou shalt be forgotten: because I the Lord haue spoken.Igni eris cibus; / sanguis tuus erit in medio terræ; / oblivioni traderis: / quia ego Dominus locutus sum.
21:1
Year of the World 3411.
21:3
Calmet
Just. But had not God declared the contrary? (chap. 18.) The time was not yet arrived; or, he rescued the just from death, though he permitted them to experience the other common miseries. (Calmet)
Estius
He preserved them from eternal death. (Estius)
Calmet
The just often means those who are so only in appearance, Ezechiel 16:51. (Calmet)
Worthington
Temporal afflictions fall upon all; but the just derive benefit from them, while the wicked fall into eternal misery. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
21:4
North, including all the country belonging to Israel.
21:5
Calmet
Back, (ver. 30.) without doing execution, Jeremias 50:9. (Calmet)
21:6
Bitterness. Septuagint, "pains," like those of child-bearing, Isaias 21:3.
21:7
Melt. Literally, "decay," Josue vii., etc.
Haydock
Knee. Ezechiel 7:17. (Haydock)
21:10
Challoner
My son. He speaks, according to St. Jerome, to the sword of Nabuchodonosor; which was about to remove the sceptre of Israel, whom God here calls his son. (Challoner)
Worthington
This title belonged to all Israel, Exodus 4:22. (Worthington)
Haydock
The Hebrew seems to be corrupt, and we may adhere to the Vulgate or to the Septuagint, (Calmet) which has, (9.) "Sword be sharp, and raging to slay victims; be sharp to shine, ready for destruction; cut, reduce to nothing, remove all wood." (Haydock)
Calmet
Syriac, "be ready to scatter the race of my son," etc. Hebrew, "Where shall we rejoice, sceptre of my son, thou sword which despisest every tree?" (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "It contemneth the rod of my son as every tree?" (Haydock)
21:11
Slayer. He had conquered many nations before he attacked Israel. Let none boast of being the scourges of the Lord.
21:12
Fled, with Sedecias, by night.
Thigh, in surprise and grief, ver. 17.
21:13
Calmet
God. Perhaps you will say it is only a trial: but what will be your sentiments, when you behold the king and his people led away? (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "Because it is a trial; and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith." (Haydock)
21:14
Calmet
Tripled. Let the war be very bloody. Nabuchodonosor often invaded Judea. (Calmet)
Vatable
He raised the siege, but returned. (Vatable)
21:15
Ready. Literally, "covered," (amicti. Haydock) in the scabbard, and quite new and sharp.
21:20
Haydock
Rabbath. They had formed a league with Sedecias, and Nabuchodonosor thought of punishing them first. (Haydock)
But they joined his forces, Jeremias 12:6., and 27:3.
21:21
Haydock
Shuffling. Hebrew, "polishing." Syriac, etc., "shooting an arrow upwards." He was undetermined which to attack first, and perhaps wrote Jerusalem on one and Rabbath on another arrow; (St. Jerome, etc.; Calmet) or which way the arrow fell the army followed. (Haydock)
Many nations have adopted such superstitious practices.
Grotius
Entrails. The Chaldeans taught the Lydians and they the Tuscans. (Grotius)
Cicero
At first this was done only to see if the victims were sound. (Cicero, Div.)
21:22
Calmet
Right of one going by Thapsacus and Damascus, and not through the Desert Arabia, for thus Rabbath would have been to the right. God permitted this divination to succeed in his wrath. The devil pushed the Chaldeans forward, lest the Jews might be converted. (Calmet)
Worthington
If they had attacked Rabbath first, they would probably have succeeded, as they did five years after. But the time of vengeance was come for Jerusalem, (Haydock) and they were directed to assault it. (Worthington)
Voice: the din of war, (Haydock) or of soldiers, trumpets, etc.
21:23
Vain. They shall think that Nabuchodonosor is wasting his time.
Sabbaths. Hebrew, "they have people who swear to them;" false prophets, or the Egyptians, on whom they depend. Septuagint, "and counting the weeks," like Aman, Esther 3:7.
Calmet
Iniquity, or perfidy of Sedecias, Ezechiel 17:15. (Calmet)
21:24
Calmet
Remembered. Hebrew, "caused....to be remembered," (Haydock) sinning publicly. (Calmet)
21:25
Challoner
Thou profane, etc. He speaks to king Sedecias, who had broken his oath, and was otherwise a wicked prince. (Challoner)
Calmet
Hebrew, "Criminal, (sentenced to die) wicked," etc. (Calmet)
21:26
Haydock
Diadem, (cidarim.) Some think this was the ornament of the high priest, (St. Jerome; Chaldean) denoting that he should perish as well as the king. (Haydock)
Challoner
This. The royal crown of Juda had exalted Sedecias from a private state and condition to the sovereign power, as the loss of it brought down Jechonias, etc. (Challoner)
Calmet
It shall be given to Godolias. (Chaldean) Hebrew, "it is not (Haydock) or shall be no more" the same, or for the posterity of Sedecias. None of the tribe of Juda was truly king after him, till the Messias. (Sanctius; Tirinus, etc.) (Genesis 49:10.) (Calmet)
21:27
Challoner
Iniquity. Or, I will overturn it, viz., the crown of Juda, for the manifold iniquities of the kings: but it shall not be utterly removed till Christ come, whose right it is; and who shall reign in the spiritual house of Jacob (that is, in his Church,) for evermore. (Challoner)
Hebrew also, "sideways." Thou shalt no more wear the tiara erect, (Haydock) like a king: (Hesychius) or rather, thy iniquity or punishment shall be most grievous.
Menochius
Him; Christ, or (Calmet) Nabuchodonosor. (Vatable) (Menochius)
21:28
Reproach, by which they had reproached and insulted over the Jews, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. (Challoner) (chap. 25:6., and Sophonias 2:8.)
Worthington
They were punished five years later (Calmet) by the same Babylonians whom they had encouraged. (Worthington)
21:30
Challoner
Sheath. The sword of Babylon, after raging against many nations, was shortly to be judged and destroyed at home by the Medes and Persians. (Challoner)
Calmet
After Nabuchodonosor had chastised the nations around for 18 years, after the ruin of Jerusalem, he returned and died in peace. Yet he first became like a beast, ver. 31., and Daniel 4:30. The rest of the prophecy regards his successors. Cyrus waged war upon them, and Baltassar was slain in a conspiracy. See Isaias XLVII., and Jeremias L. (Calmet)
Worthington
At last the sword fell upon Babylon itself. (Worthington)
21:31
Haydock
Brutish, or devoid of sense. (Haydock)
Calmet
Hebrew, "burning;" smiths. (Calmet)
21:10
Thou removest the sceptre of my son.... He speaks (according to St. Jerome) to the sword of Nabuchodonosor: which was about to remove the sceptre of Israel, whom God here calls his son.
21:25
Thou profane, etc.... He speaks to king Sedecias, who had broken his oath, and was otherwise a wicked prince.
21:26
Is it not this that hath exalted the low one.... The royal crown of Juda had exalted Sedecias from a private state and condition to the sovereign power, as the loss of it had brought down Jechonias, etc.
21:27
I will shew it to be iniquity, etc.... Or, I will overturn it, viz., the crown of Juda for the manifold iniquities of the kings: but it shall not be utterly removed, till Christ come whose right it is: and who shall reign in the spiritual house of Jacob, that is, in his church, for evermore.
21:28
21:30
Return into thy sheath, etc.... The sword of Babylon, after raging against many nations, was shortly to be judged and destroyed at home by the Medes and Persians.
21:2
Cease not to instil and incul •ate the punishment of the people.
21:3
Temporal afflictions s•l also vpon the iust; not for punishment, but for their merite, and that they may escape the miseries of captiuitie, wheras the vvicked are punished both temporally and eternally. S. Ierom. in ch. 20. v 47.
21:10
The vvhole people of Israel vvas the peculiar adopted sonne of God, called also his first begoten. Exo. 4. v. 22.
21:19
The Babylonians consulting the idols vvhether they should inuade the Ammonits or the Ievves, vvere ditected to assault Ierusalem.
21:28
The Ammonites reproching the Ievves vvhen they were afflicted by the Babylonians, vvere for the same destroyed also by the Babylonians.
21:30
At last the like svvord, and ruine fel vpon Babylon.
21:9
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.7
… For as he who remembers God here is conqueror of death (as David has most excellently sung) so the departed have not in the grave confession and restoration; for God has confined life and action to this world, and to the future the scrutiny of what has been done.
21:14
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Virgins 2.6
40. We ought to stir up the love of the bride, for it is written: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.” At bridal feasts we ought to adorn the hair at least with some ornaments of prayer, for it is written: “Smite the hands together, and strike with the foot.”
21:21
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret 3.21
… For there was seen a woman hung up on high by the hairs of her head, and with her hands outstretched. The villain had cut open her belly, and so I suppose learnt from her liver his victory over the Persians.
21:27
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 33
… that the rising of the true King might be attested by the voice of prophecy, which had said: “a prince shall not fail from Juda, nor a leader from his loins, until He come for whom it is reserved
21:2
2. DROP TOWARD THE SANCTUARIES. — Prophesy against the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, which are as it were two sanctuaries, that is, holy temples. Likewise against the court and the porches, which is the place and temple of the people, in which Christ and the Apostles preached. Here he clearly explains the parable which he proposed at the end of the preceding chapter. Thus St. Jerome.
21:3
3. Behold, I am against you, — namely, I turn my face, and I send my fury. Thus the Chaldean. It is an aposiopesis, signifying God to be utterly indignant. I WILL DRAW (draw out, unsheathe) MY SWORD OUT OF ITS SHEATH. — The sheath, says Theodoret, is God's Longsuffering, the sword is God's vengeance and punishment, which he exercised through the Chaldeans. Secondly and more truly, the sword is Nebuchadnezzar, as is explained in verses 19 and 30. The sheath is his country, namely Babylon, as is evident from verse 30, as if to say, I will draw Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans out of Chaldea against you, O Jerusalem! AND I WILL DRAW THE CHALDEANS OUT OF CHALDEA AGAINST YOU, O JERUSALEM! Thus Maldonatus. What therefore he called fire parabolically in chapter xx, 47, he here calls the sword properly. I WILL SLAY IN YOU THE JUST AND THE UNJUST. — You will say, by what justice does God slay the just? The Septuagint, to avoid this, translate: I will destroy from you the unjust and the wicked; the Chaldean: I will cause your just to depart from you, so that I may destroy your sinners. But the Hebrew texts have it, as our translator renders: "I will slay" therefore "in you the just," namely, he who thinks himself just, when he is truly unjust and guilty. It is a catachresis. Add, God permits the guilty and innocent to be involved in a common calamity and destruction (such as was the destruction of Jerusalem), but he does not do this in a particular calamity, as he said in chapter xviii, 4. And thus these two passages are reconciled with one another.
21:4
4. FOR THIS REASON (as if to say: If I thus punish my own nation, namely the Jews, how much more shall I punish foreign nations, which have rejoiced at the destruction of the Jews and have aided it, Zechariah i, 14, namely Ammon, Moab and other nations which dwell) FROM THE SOUTH EVEN TO THE NORTH? — that is from Jerusalem even to Chaldea. But, because he treats here of the Jews alone, and of Ammon he will treat in verses 28 and 30; hence you may better explain it, as if to say: "I have slain," that is I have decreed to slay, "the just and the unjust;" therefore in fact and in reality "my sword shall go forth out of its sheath to all flesh from the south even to the north," so that it may rage throughout all Judea, so that it may slay all Jews dwelling from Dan even to Bersabee. For Dan was the boundary of northern Judea; Bersabee, of the southern. These things correspond to the parable of the preceding chapter, verse 47.
21:5
5. IRREVOCABLE, — which no one shall be able to revoke and hinder, namely, until it shall have done my will, and shall have completed just vengeance.
21:6
6. GROAN IN (that is, with) THE BREAKING OF THE LOINS. — That is, groan as those are wont to do whose loins are broken, such as women in travail; or, as if to say: Groan vehemently, so that on account of sighs and groans your loins seem to you to be broken and burst. Thus St. Jerome and Maldonatus. In bitternesses, — namely of soul, that is bitterly; the Septuagint, in sorrows. Note that this commandment was efficacious. Whence Ezekiel was corrected by sharp pain of the loins, and from it gave forth deep groans. Behold how hard a thing the Prophets undergo, that they may bend the people, namely: "If you wish me to weep, you must weep first."
21:7
7. BECAUSE OF THE REPORT (that is, on account of the report, that is the thing reported): BECAUSE IT COMETH, — as if he should say: Groan, because the thing reported, namely the calamity which I have heard from God, is now at hand, and comes upon the Jews, and hangs over and threatens their head. The Septuagint translate it, because of the messenger; Vatablus, because of the rumor, namely of the approaching enemy. SHALL MELT (that is, shall faint with fear, and as it were shall dissolve) EVERY HEART; SHALL BE WEAKENED (the Chaldee, shall be darkened; the Septuagint, shall be examined) EVERY SPIRIT, — that is soul, and the soul's strength and vigor. The spirit shall desert the bodies, strength the spirit, says Prado. WATERS SHALL FLOW, — that is watery sweat, or rather, as St. Jerome, urine. "For it is natural," he says, "that when fear compels, the bladder is loosened, and against man's will the fluid flows forth." See Canon LV. This is a hypotyposis, or vivid description of great fear and terror.
21:9
9. SWORD, SWORD (this repetition signifies a terrible and twofold, that is, manifold, sword pressing upon the Jews, that is, that a great and extensive slaughter will soon befall them) IS SHARPENED, AND FILED, — that is, polished. It is a circumlocution of impending and fierce battle: for in such circumstances soldiers are accustomed to sharpen and polish their swords. Mystically, the sword of God's wrath is the avenger and executor, the devil, says St. Jerome. Thus against Ammon he cries out, verse 28: "O sword, sword, draw thyself out to kill: file thyself that thou mayest slay, and shine." The same Jeremiah utters against the Philistines, chapter xlvii, 6: "O thou sword of the Lord! how long wilt thou not be quiet? Go into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How shall it be quiet, when the Lord hath commanded it against Ascalon, etc., and hath appointed it there?" Thus elsewhere often does Jeremiah, as it were a choir answering a choir, sing in harmony with Ezekiel, so that what Ezekiel prophesied in Babylon, this Jeremiah would resound and respond in Jerusalem with the same words, as it were antiphonally and antistrophically. God has often shown and brandished a similar sword against the nations on account of their sins. Thus by means of a comet having the form of a sword, hanging over Jerusalem for an entire year, He brandished against it destruction through Titus, as Josephus testifies, book VI of the Wars, chapter xii. Thus in the year of Christ 337, when Constantine the Great died, before his death an unusually large comet shone for a long time, a portent of his death and of the calamities which the Arians brought upon the Church under Constantius his son, as Eutropius testifies, book X. Thus in the year of Christ 444, which was the 5th year of Pope Leo I, the 37th of the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, a comet was seen burning for the greater part of the year, threatening and portending the incursions of the Huns into the Roman empire, which they began to make that year in Illyricum, as Marcellinus says in his Chronicle. Thus in the year of Christ 632, which was the 23rd year of the Emperor Heraclius, a comet appeared in the south in the form of a sword, threatening Christians, especially those in Palestine, on account of their sins, with the incursions of the Saracens, namely of Eububezer the successor of Mahomet, which occurred that same year. Thus Theophanes and from him Baronius. Thus in the year of Christ 679, a comet appeared for three months, threatening a severe famine and plague, which followed after three years, especially in England, as Bede relates, book IV of his History, chapter xiii. Thus in the year of Christ 837, Louis the Emperor, son of Charlemagne, seeing a comet at Aachen, which after 25 days finally laid down in the head of the bull beneath the feet of the charioteer a fiery globe and a long train of rays, felt that death and a change of reign were portended to him. And when mathematicians turned him away from this interpretation, citing that passage from Jeremiah, chapter x: "Be not afraid of the signs of heaven, which the heathens fear:" he, using his accustomed magnanimity and prudence, said: We ought to fear no other than Him who is the creator of us and of this star. But we cannot sufficiently praise and imitate His clemency, who deigns to admonish our sloth, since we are sinners and impenitent, by such signs. Because therefore this portent concerns both me and all in common; let us all hasten to better things as much as we are able and wise, lest perhaps, with His mercy being prolonged and our impenitence hindering, we be found unworthy of it. Wherefore he himself distributed alms most generously, and caused the solemnities of Masses to be celebrated by whomever he could, fearing not so much for himself as providing for the Church entrusted to him: and soon, crowning his son Charles as king, he prepared himself for death, which occurred in the year of the Lord 840. Thus the author of his Life and an eyewitness of these events relates. Thus in the year of Christ 729, two comets appeared near the sun, striking great terror into those who beheld them. For one comet preceded the sun in the east, the other followed the sun in the evening in the west, as if portending dire calamity to both East and West alike. They bore the appearance of fire against the north, as if to set ablaze the northern regions. At that time a most grievous plague of Saracens devastated Gaul with miserable slaughter, says Beda, book V of his History, chapter xxiv. These were therefore as it were two fiery tongues, which portended slaughter upon wretched Christians, plundering of sacred temples, fires and sacrileges, slaughter of priests, violation of virgins consecrated to God, etc., says Baronius. Thus in the year of Christ 1110, a comet appearing portended bitter war and hard bonds, which the Emperor Henry IV brought upon the Roman Church, arriving in Italy that same year. Thus Peter the Deacon, Chronicle of Cassino, book IV, chapter xxxvii. despise, repel every tree. Now the Hebrews have it, as Vatablus and others translate: How shall we rejoice (namely concerning this sword) which destroys and casts away the tribe of my son, and every tree? that is to say, We ought not to rejoice here, as if this sword were to be drawn against enemies, when rather it will rage against the tribe of my son, namely against Judah, than against the remaining nations. But our reading is truer and more fitting. It appears that our Interpreter, for או נשיש o nasis, that is how shall we rejoice, read מנשי mansi, that is taking away, moving: for in both words the Hebrew letters are similar and near to one another. Thus Maldonatus, Prado and others. Finally the Chaldean translates: That he might slay the slain, unsheathed he is, that he might execute vengeance, sharpened he is: for the reason that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin rejoiced over the tribes of Israel, when they migrated, because they had served idols, and they themselves turned to wander after wooden images.
21:10
10. THAT HE MAY SLAY VICTIMS; — because God is honored and appeased by the slaughter of the impious as if by victims, Joshua vii, 25; Isaiah xxxiv, 6. Again, the word victims signifies that there will be a great slaughter, so that men are slain like beasts. Whence in Hebrew it is, to slay slaughter, or, to victimize victims. For this gemination of the same word contains great amplification. A similar phrase is in Jeremiah xlvi, 10. THAT IT MAY SHINE, — that is, with its splendor it may strike down the Jews. WHO MOVES THE SCEPTER OF MY SON, YOU HAVE CUT DOWN EVERY TREE, — that is to say, O sword of the Chaldeans, "who" in your place "moves," that is destroys, the rod and "scepter," that is the kingdom, "of my son," namely of Israel, "you have cut down," that is you will cut down also more easily, "every tree," that is every other people and nation. Whence the Septuagint translates: Slay, despise, repel every tree. AND THIS WHEN THE SCEPTER SHALL HAVE BEEN OVERTURNED (that is the kingdom of Judah), AND IT SHALL NOT BE, — that is, so that it is not, that is to say, This sword has proved itself, when the scepter of Judah so strong it has cut down, that it is apt for cutting down other nations. Septuagint: And what if even the tribe of Judah be repelled? R. David and the Hebrews translate otherwise, namely: And what if even the scepter shall have rejected? that is passed over, not slain, but spared it; "it shall not be," namely proved, that is it shall have been sharpened and polished in vain. But to reject is not to spare.
21:11
11. I have given it to be polished, — that is to say, I have sharpened and polished this sword, namely the forces and arms of the Chaldeans, that it may cut better, penetrate, slay, while it is held in hand, namely by the enemies the Chaldeans. Thus Vatablus. Or, as Prado, that it may be held in hand, namely by God, who acts as leader in the army of the Babylonians.
21:12
12. THIS HAS BEEN MADE IN MY PEOPLE ("this has been made," that it may be exercised: or rather "this has been made," that is it will be and will be exercised against my people, and against all the leaders) WHO FLED, — that is who will flee, namely against Zedekiah and his princes, who fleeing from the Chaldeans will be captured and slain, Jeremiah lii, 10. Others explain it of Johanan and other leaders, who after the slaughter of Gedaliah fled into Egypt. For these were slain there by the Chaldeans, Jeremiah xliii. CLAP UPON THE THIGH, — namely in the manner of those who are stupefied, and greatly grieving strike the thigh. It is similar in Jeremiah xxxi, 19.
21:13
13. BECAUSE IT IS PROVED, — namely the sword to be proved, polished and apt to cut and slay; the Septuagint, because it is justified, that is judged apt for its office; Aquila, because it has searched out, that is even if anyone has hidden himself, yet this sword of God will find him. For it is like the hundred-eyed God, as Argus.
21:14
14. STRIKE HAND AGAINST HAND, — in amazement, stupor and grief clap your hands once, a second and a third time, because a second and a third time the sword of the Chaldeans will come to slay the Jews; namely, first, under Joakim; second, under Jehoiachin; third, under Zedekiah. Thus St. Jerome. This sword therefore tripled "is of great slaughter," especially under Zedekiah when Jerusalem was captured, to come. The Hebrews translate, of great slain, that is of the greatly slain, which namely will slay many magnates. WHO CAUSES THEM TO BE STUPEFIED. — Hebrew: Who penetrates them, so that, with blood poured out, they become rigid and stupefied. For the Hebrew חדר chader signifies an inner chamber, that is to say, Even if you flee into Egypt, or into forests and caves, this sword will pursue you, even to the innermost recesses. Whence Vatablus translates: The sword which will turn in the chambers, so that namely it may slay citizens hiding in them. Others translate: The sword which has hitherto been hidden. But St. Jerome, the Septuagint and the Chaldean, translating: Who will cause them to be stupefied, or to tremble, for חדר chader, by metathesis read חרד charad, that is to tremble, to be struck, to be stupefied.
21:15
15. AND HIS HEART SHALL WASTE AWAY, AND HE SHALL MULTIPLY RUINS. — that is, he shall multiply corpses, killing many. IN ALL THE GATES I HAVE GIVEN TROUBLE, — that is, many in the gates shall seek occasion for flight, but shall fall upon enemies who shall strike them down and kill them. Thus the Scholiast. POLISHED TO SHINE. — The Septuagint: As lightning I passed through. For thus read the Complutensian editors and Theodoret, although the Roman edition reads: It was made good for brightness; for the Hebrew ברק barac signifies both lightning and brightness. Thus two lightnings of war are said of the Scipios. Thus Apelles painted Alexander as if a thunderbolt, suddenly passing through and striking the world, but quickly disappearing. Thus this epitaph was given to Louis the Emperor, son of Charlemagne, who died in the year of Christ 840, as the author of his Life reports: Lightning of empire, noble summit of the Franks, Taken from the world, in this tomb is laid. SWORDS CLOTHED FOR SLAUGHTER. — "Clothed," that is, wrapped, covered, as if to say: Just as an executioner about to cut off the head of a condemned man sharpens and hones his sword, and wraps the sharpened sword so it may not be stained, covers and conceals it, not in a sheath, but so that he may have it at hand and, without the condemned man knowing, suddenly cut off his head, under a cloak or garment: thus this sword of God is clothed, that is, covered with a cloak, as if prepared for sudden slaughter. Hence Prado: "Clothed," he says, that is, suddenly drawn from the covering under which it lay hidden for slaughter. The same also translates the Hebrew מעטה meutta differently, namely as involving in slaughter, like a rapacious bird which, with wings spread, covers and crushes its prey. Otherwise Maldonatus: "Clothed," he says, that is, which is girded with a belt to the soldier; for the sword is wrapped and clothed with straps when the soldier girds himself with it. Otherwise also Vatablus.
21:16
16. SHARPEN, GO TO THE RIGHT, OR TO THE LEFT. — Vatablus and R. David; but because of the exultation and insult, and indignation which I shall accomplish upon my enemies. Whence St. Jerome: "The Lord," he says, "exults as if an inciter of the raging sword;" and the Chaldean translates: I shall bring vengeance upon vengeance. The sense is, as if to say: You, O Jerusalem! clap your hands, with the same shall I clap, but you from pain, I from joy, insulting you as if my enemy. Thus to clap is of one exulting and insulting, Psalm xlvi, 1; Lamentations ii, 15; IV Kings xi, 12, and elsewhere.
21:19
19. SET BEFORE YOURSELF TWO WAYS, — describe for yourself one way from Chaldea divided into two parts, or paths, of which one may lead to Jerusalem, the other to Rabbath, that is Philadelphia, so that you may represent to yourself and to the people the deliberation and way of Nebuchadnezzar: namely, that when he comes, "at the head of the way," that is at the crossroads where two ways leading to two cities meet, then he shall take by hand a conjecture, which way to enter, and which city to attack, and having made divination, shall go by the way toward Jerusalem. All these things the Prophet is commanded here to depict on a chart, or on a side, or on a board, and to represent in reality to the people, namely the following narrative concerning the omen which Nebuchadnezzar took, while he doubted whether he ought to invade the Jews or the Ammonites. Thus he was commanded, cap. iv, to depict the siege of the city on a side. THAT THE SWORD MAY COME, — that is by which (namely by the ways, as preceded) the army of the Chaldeans may come. HE SHALL CAST LOTS, — he shall take a conjecture from casting lots and from the omen, which follows.
21:20
20. YOU SHALL MARK A WAY, — that is, you shall describe one way by which the army of the Chaldeans may come to Rabbath the metropolis of Ammon; another by which to Jerusalem.
21:21
21. HE STOOD, — that is, Nebuchadnezzar shall stand divining by omens. MINGLING ARROWS, — namely, by inscribing the name Rabbath on one arrow and the name Jerusalem on another, then mingling them in the quiver, and drawing out one with eyes closed, he would determine by lot which way he should go, whose name that arrow bore; but God willing to punish Jerusalem through him and directing his hand, he drew out that on which Jerusalem was inscribed; therefore he went against it. Thus St. Jerome. It can be translated from the Hebrew, casting arrows, namely by throwing two or three arrows mixed together straight upward, to see whether they would fall toward the right toward Jerusalem or toward the left toward Rabbath, and he would go in the direction they fell. Thus the Chaldean and Polychronius; and this seems more apt for taking an omen of the way: and the Hebrew קלקל kilkal signifies he made the arrows light or swift, namely by casting them upward. Whence the Syriac translates, he sent forth an arrow; the Arabic both versions, he cast an arrow. Thirdly, Vatablus translates, he polished the arrows, that is, the iron of the arrows, so that it would shine, and in that splendor the diviners would discern which way to go, as those same men are accustomed to look in the shining nail of the thumb of the hand, and from it to divine. Thus also R. David and R. Solomon. They wish therefore to signify here a kind of divination called catoptromancy, by which augurs in a shining point, as in crystal or a nail, inspected future things. But since this is a recent commentary, it is better to follow the version and explanation of St. Jerome and the Septuagint. Thus Delrio, lib. IV Disquis. magic. cap. ii, Quæst. VII, sect. III. The Septuagint translates: So as to make a rod bubble up. The Greeks call this βελομαντείαν or ῥαβδομαντείαν, that is, divination by arrows or by rods. The Hebrews imitated this superstition of the Chaldeans, as St. Jerome, Cyril and Theophylactus teach, in that passage of Hosea iv: "My people have consulted their wooden idols, and their staff hath declared unto them," namely future things. Moreover, that there were among the ancients various methods of divining by rods or staves cast on high, Cœlius Rhodiginus teaches, lib. VII Antiq. lect. cap. xxix. Furthermore, this king divines by omens with arrows, not with books or another thing, both because he sought an oracle concerning war, in which it was customary to fight with arrows; and because this oracle demanded from heaven from the gods, to whom he cast the arrow upward. Thus the arrow of Abaris symbolically is the mind contemplating and flying toward God and divine things, says Blessed Gregory Nazianzen, and from him Nicholas Causinus, lib. XII Parallel. Histor. cap. xlix. For they relate, or rather fabricate, that Abaris the Scythian cast an arrow with such force that it flew from Greece all the way to Scythia, which Blessed Gregory Nazianzen explains, and offers as a type of the mind, which, supported by the wings of contemplation, is borne to heaven with great swiftness: and as the arrow of Abaris sought his homeland, so that mind seeks the dwelling place of the Blessed. Note: These lots and these omens were very much in use among the ancients, especially the Gentiles. Julian the Emperor (as Ammianus Marcellinus writes, lib. xxxii), when a Babylonian horse fell, and from the fall with its trappings fell to the ground, from this he conjectured that Babylon would be subjected to his dominion. Caesar, having disembarked on the African shore, by chance with his foot impeded fell prone into the sand. Some received this accident as inauspicious: but he himself, so as to add courage to his men from the outcome, grasping the sand with both hands, cried out in a loud voice: "I hold thee, Africa." Thus Dio lib. xlii. A similar omen of empire William the Norman received when invading England. For as soon as he disembarked from the ship, he stumbled slightly and fixed his foot firmly in the sand. Seeing this, the soldier, exulting with joy and cheerful, said: "Now, duke, with firm foot thou holdest England." Polydorus is witness, lib. VIII Hist. Anglic. Caesar, when he had dreamed in the night that he was shamefully coupled with his mother, the augurs affirmed this portended his power and dominion over the republic. Whence it is evident that they were accustomed to interpret these omens according to favor and human judgment, not from any firm reasoning. More truly and divinely did St. Gregory receive an omen by God's instinct concerning the conversion of England, as John the Deacon relates in book I of his Life, chapters xxi, xxiii and xxiv. For when he saw in Rome fair-haired and comely boys for sale in the forum, yet pagans, groaning over the sons of pagans, he asked by what name they were called. "The merchant replied: They are called Angles. But he said: Well, Angles, as it were angels, for they have angelic faces, and it is fitting that such should be fellow-citizens with the angels in heaven. He therefore asks what name that province itself had? The merchant replied: Those provincials are called Deiri. And Gregory said: Well, Deiri; for they are to be snatched from wrath and called to the grace of Christ. What is the name of the king of that province? The merchant replied: He is called Aelle. And Gregory, alluding to the name, said: Well, for the king is called Aelle: Alleluia indeed ought to be sung in praise of the Creator in those parts." Wherefore he himself asked of Pope Benedict to be sent into England and obtained it. And behold another omen of his: for when he was journeying into England, resting in a certain place and reading, a locust coming upon him forced him to cease from reading a little, and from consideration of the name taught him that he ought to remain in that place. Then he is said to have spoken thus: "A locust, he said, can be called as it were loco sta (stay in place)." Soon legates coming from the Pope compelled him to return. For the Roman people had requested this of the Pope, indeed extorted it, saying to him: "You have offended Peter, you have destroyed Rome, because you have dismissed Gregory." For God had destined him not for England, but as doctor and rector of the whole Church. Wherefore he himself shortly after was created Pope, and soon sent St. Augustine with his companions into England, who converted it to the faith of Christ. Thus St. Eustratius, a noble martyr in Armenia under Diocletian, whose relics I have venerated in Rome in the German College, eager for martyrdom but fearing the cruelty of the prefect, by this instinct of God caught an omen of martyrdom. He ordered his servant to place his girdle on the altar and to observe whether the priest Auxentius, a holy man, entering to pray, would take it from the altar or not. If he took it, he did not doubt that the outcome of his martyrdom would be happy: if not, he ought to hide himself and not thrust himself into martyrdom. It happened therefore that Auxentius took the girdle, which Eustratius understanding rejoiced, and commending himself to the prayers of the martyrs bound in prison, stood before Lysia the prefect, and with wonderful boldness professing himself a Christian, he underwent the glorious struggle of martyrdom bravely. Thus his Life has it on December 13. HE INTERROGATED THE IDOLS, HE CONSULTED THE ENTRAILS. — Therefore the king sought threefold divination: first, from the lot and omen of arrows, of which I have already spoken; second, by seeking an oracle from Bel, Nebo and his other idols; third, by consulting the entrails. The entrails are properly called the heart and lungs, from standing out; because they are located in the upper part: likewise, the spleen, liver, stomach, because they are located above the lower intestines. The entrails are called, says Festus, what are offered to the gods, which especially stand out and are prominent. By these the Gentiles divined, considering the victim's heart, liver, stomach, etc., and their position and arrangement: whence they called such divinations extispicy, from inspecting the entrails: and the diviner was called an Extispex. Thus Cicero, in book II of On Divination.
21:22
22. AT HIS RIGHT HAND WAS MADE THE DIVINATION. — By the lots of arrows already mentioned, perhaps also by the responses of idols and soothsayers he understood that he must take his way toward Jerusalem. For Nebuchadnezzar feared to go there, says St. Jerome, mindful that there one hundred eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians were slain by an Angel in one night, and knowing the city to be most strongly fortified. TO SET UP BATTERING RAMS, — namely, warlike instruments, by which he might shake the gates and walls of Jerusalem. TO OPEN HIS MOUTH IN SLAUGHTER, — that by his mouth he might exhort and inflame his soldiers to slaughter. IN HOWLING, — The Septuagint: in the blast of the trumpet.
21:23
23. AND IT SHALL BE AS IF CONSULTING AN ORACLE IN VAIN IN THEIR EYES, — as if to say, it will seem to the Jews that Nebuchadnezzar comes against Jerusalem in vain from his divination. For they themselves think it to be impregnable; but they do not know that not idols, but God so moderates the lots, that the king chooses Jerusalem for himself to be conquered, and therefore by God's will and aid he will certainly conquer it. AND IMITATING THE REST OF THE SABBATHS, — that is, as St. Jerome says, it will seem to the Jews that Nebuchadnezzar holds as it were the rest of the Sabbaths, that is, plays and accomplishes no work with all his military apparatus. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew word for word: it will seem to them that he counts weeks of weeks. Otherwise Vatablus and Kimchi translate: swearing oaths to them, as if to say, the Jews will not believe the Chaldeans are coming, because they have made a covenant with them sanctioned by oath. Otherwise both R. Solomon and the Chaldean paraphrase translate: seven times seven, that is 49 times, the Chaldean cast the lot, and so many times went out against Jerusalem; for the Hebrew שבע scheba signifies, first, seven; second, the seventh day, namely the Sabbath; third, a week; fourth, an oath. For the ancients swore by the number seven, as I have shown in Genesis xxi, 23. Hence again others translate: Oaths of oaths to them, that is, because they themselves, namely the Jews, trust in the covenants and oaths by which God promised to protect the city and temple, hence they live securely, thinking the city, as being under God's protection, to be impregnable. BUT HE (namely Nebuchadnezzar) WILL REMEMBER THE INIQUITY — of the Jews, and especially the perfidy and perjury of Zedekiah, rebelling against the faith given to the Chaldeans, as if to say, As soon as the lot fell against Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed: This is a just judgment of God, and the faithless Zedekiah shall be punished.
21:24
24. BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO REMEMBRANCE, — you have recalled, made public, boasted of your iniquities (so that even enemies hear them and curse them), it is just that I deliver you to them. Note that public calamities are not sent except on account of public sins, especially when the impious proclaim and boast of them: then indeed they cry out to heaven, and from there provoke vengeance. YOU SHALL BE TAKEN BY HAND (namely of the Chaldeans). — Thus the Chaldean paraphrase.
21:25
25. BUT YOU, PROFANE ONE, — In Hebrew חלל chalal, that is, polluted; the Chaldean paraphrase, you who are guilty of death; Vatablus, condemned to slaughter. He speaks to Zedekiah the covenant-breaker. WHOSE DAY (namely of vengeance) HAS COME IN THE TIME OF INIQUITY, — at that time when you wickedly violated the oath, "predetermined" by God. It could be translated, in the time of iniquity predetermined, that is, consummated, when namely your impiety being consummated to the greatest degree, its and your kingdom's end and consummation are at hand. Whence others translate and explain it, in the time of the end of iniquity, that is, in the time when your iniquity is to be ended by destruction: or, in the time when your iniquity will bring an end to your kingdom. Thus R. David.
21:26
26. REMOVE THE TURBAN, TAKE OFF THE CROWN, — that is, as Theodoret and the Chaldean paraphrase say, remove Seraiah the high priest, and strip him of the pontifical turban and priesthood: take also the royal crown from the head of Zedekiah. But because he speaks to one only, namely to the leader, that is, the king, you would better understand it thus, that the turban and crown are the same thing, namely a white band with which they bound the head. For this was formerly a crown for kings (and hence it is called a diadem from diadein, that is, from binding around), just as in ancient coins Emperors are seen with a band binding the head and crowned. And this is what the Hebrew מצנפת mitsnephet signifies: for tsanaph means to wrap. Thus Plutarch, in his Life of Lucullus, relates that the wife of Mithridates, having bound her diadem around him, hanged herself. And Justin, book xv, relates that Alexander bound a wound of Lysimachus with his own diadem, which was an omen that he would become king. Dio, in the Life of Pompey, relates that Tigranes cast down a white band before the feet of Pompey, as if surrendering the insignia of kingship and the kingdom itself to him. Thus Maldonatus and Prado, who also adds: Or certainly by turban he calls a cap, and by crown the band already mentioned wrapped around that cap. IS NOT THIS SHE THAT LIFTED UP THE HUMBLE? — The royal crown lifted up the humble Jehoiachin to the royal throne. For Evil-merodach, seeing Jehoiachin humble, restored to him the royal garment and crown: or rather, as if to say, This crown of Zedekiah, when he was humble, raised him to kingdom and glory; now it will cast him down and humble him on account of his pride. For this crown loves and follows the humble; but it hates and flees the proud. For honor and exaltation follow those who flee, and flee those who follow and seek them. Thus Chilon, or, as others wish, Aesop, when asked what Jupiter does, answered: "He depresses the exalted, he exalts the depressed." Otherwise St. Jerome: This, he says, is the turban and crown, which did nothing justly: for it "lifted up the humble," that is, him who ought to have been humbled (namely Zedekiah); and it "humbled the exalted," that is, him who ought to have been exalted, for example Jehoiachin. Otherwise also Hector Pintus, as if to say, This is the royal power of Zedekiah, by which he perverted justice, namely by exalting the humble and vile, whom he ought to have cast down: and by humbling the sublime and distinguished, whom he ought to have exalted.
21:27
27. INIQUITY, INIQUITY, INIQUITY WILL I PLACE IT. — In Hebrew עוה avva, that is, perversity, crookedness, obliquity will I place it, namely the royal crown of Sedeciah and Judaea, as if to say, I will cause the cidaris or tiara of Sedeciah, which was formerly straight after the manner of kings, to be bent, and that gradually and in a threefold manner, namely first by Nabuchodonosor; secondly by Antiochus and the Greeks; thirdly and fully by Titus and the Romans. More simply, and equally plainly, iniquity could be taken both properly for guilt, and figuratively for the punishment of iniquity, as if to say, I will set forth and show to all his manifold iniquities, by this very fact that I will punish him through the Chaldaeans, will depress him, will bend him to the earth. For by threefold iniquity he signifies all: likewise great and manifold. For the number three is a symbol of multitude and universality. For all things are three, namely beginning, middle, end, as Aristotle says; for indeed it is not of one, nor of two, but of three that it is first said that they are all. This exposition is favored by the Syriac, when it translates: And also this into iniquity and fraud (oppression) will I place it; and the Arabic of Antioch: And this also iniquity and ignorance made it; and the Arabic of Alexandria: And make this him into iniquity and deceit. AND THIS WAS NOT DONE (as if to say, This will not be done, namely the crown of the kingdom of Judaea will not be entirely bent and cast down) UNTIL HE CAME (that is, comes) WHOSE IS THE JUDGMENT, — that is, the right to this kingdom. This is not Nabuchodonosor, as Lyranus and Pintas wish; not Zerobabel, as Polychronius, but Christ to whom the Father gave all judgment, John v, 22. Because those who were kings of the Jews after Sedeciah, from the Machabees, such as Alexander, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, obtained the kingdom not so much by hereditary right as by force, says St. Jerome. Hence others translate: I will bend, bend that punishment, namely the crown of Judaea, that is, I will make it fit no one's head, until Christ comes, to whom it is due, and to whom it is reserved.
21:28
28. TO THE CHILDREN OF AMMON. — Here the Prophet passes from the Jews to the Ammonites, and threatens them with a like destruction; because they mocked the Jews, their kinsmen and neighbors, when they were being laid waste by the Chaldaeans, and invaded their possessions, Jer. xlix, 1. TO THEIR REPROACH, — with which the Ammonites reproached the Jews, and their God as if weak, because Nabuchodonosor, verse 21, turned aside to them, as if he did not dare to invade the Ammonites. The same thing is predicted by Sophonias, cap. ii, 8. SWORD, SWORD, DRAW THYSELF TO KILL, SHARPEN THYSELF. — Correct with the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, draw yourselves, sharpen yourselves, in the vocative, as if to say, O sword of the Chaldaeans! thou art already drawn, and sharpened, so that after Jerusalem thou mayest rage against the Ammonites. In Hebrew it is, O sword, O sword open! that is, thou who art already open, drawn and unsheathed, so that thou mayest shine and slay the Ammonites. SHARPEN THYSELF THAT THOU MAYEST KILL, AND SHINE. — Leo the Hebrew translates: Polished that thou mayest consume, and in this thou shinest; Vatablus: It is polished that it may sustain, and on account of the brightness; that is, he says: It is polished that it may suffice for killing many, and that it may terrify by its brightness (as if by lightning: for the Hebrew ברק barac signifies both lightning and brightness) those to be destroyed; the Septuagint: Drawn for consumption, rise that thou mayest shine; others, wiped to seize, namely that thou mayest seize and hold the slaughter and carnage of many. Thus Pineda from the Complutensian, lib. V De Rebus Salom. cap. v. All these come to the same thing. For the Hebrew הכיל huchil descends from the root כיל cel, which signifies to be able, to suffice, to sustain, to accomplish, to embrace all things. For the noun col is the same as all. It signifies therefore the universal slaughter and killing of all. Moreover the Syriac translates: Sword, sword, thou who art prepared (fitted) for slaughter, and thou art sharpened, and shining; the Arabic of Antioch: And say, sword, sword drawn, prepared for slaughter; the Arabic of Alexandria: O sword prepared for slaughter, thou who art sharpened, who shinest, rule over their vain and false visions.
21:29
29. WHILE VAIN THINGS WERE SEEN FOR THEE, AND LIES WERE DIVINED, — as if to say, This sword is prepared for thee, O Ammon, while thy false prophets falsely promise thee immunity from it, and security: just as before against the Jews it was prepared and sharpened, when they themselves, trusting in false prophets, did not believe it would come against them. Note: These words are inserted as if by parenthesis. Whence it follows: THAT THOU MAYEST BE GIVEN (namely, O sword!) UPON THE NECKS OF THE WOUNDED IMPIOUS, — namely of the Ammonites, just as before thou wast given upon the necks of the Jews. IN THE TIME OF INIQUITY. — See the things said at verse 25.
21:30
30. RETURN TO THY SHEATH (namely, O Chaldaean, thou who art the sword avenging the Lord! the vengeance being accomplished, return to Chaldaea: there) I WILL JUDGE THEE. — That is, I will punish thy tyranny and other crimes, just as through thee I have punished other nations. For Cyrus overthrew Babylon. Thus St. Jerome and Theodoretus. For here the Prophet passes from Ammon to the Chaldaeans, to whom he threatens a like destruction through Cyrus.
21:31
31. I WILL BLOW UPON THEE IN THE FIRE OF MY WRATH. — O sword! in a furnace as if ignited, and by blowing kindled with fire I will deliver thee, that thou mayest be consumed. Thus St. Jerome. Whence some translate: I will blow the fire of my wrath upon thee, that is, my fury, as if by blowing, I will kindle it more and more in thee. AND I WILL GIVE THEE INTO THE HANDS OF MEN (enemies) UNWISE. — The Hebrew בערים baarim can be translated with the Septuagint and Vatablus as barbarians, who have no regard for person, age, or sex; or, as Prado, the burning, namely, those who as if in the fire of their own fury fabricate thy destruction for thee, as follows. It signifies the assault and fury of the Persians against the Babylonians. Thus Polychronius. Again, that they are accustomed to wars, skilled in slaying and slaughtering, and versed and exercised in perpetrating slaughters.
21:32
32. THOU SHALT BE FOOD FOR THE FIRE, — thou shalt be consumed by fire. THY BLOOD SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF THE EARTH, — Thy blood shall be absorbed and consumed by the earth, so that no one avenges thy slaughter. That this phrase signifies this is evident from Job xvi, 18, where it is said: "O earth, cover not thou my blood," that is, Do not suffer me to die unavenged. For when blood is seen, it brings to mind the slaughter perpetrated, and demands vengeance. Secondly and better, that is, Thou shalt not be slain in hiding and secretly, but openly and publicly. Thirdly, and best, that is, None of thy friends shall gather thy blood and thy body to bury it, but thou shalt rot in thy blood. Whence follows: "Thou shalt be forgotten," that is, thou shalt lack a tomb: for this preserves the memory of the dead. Thus Prado, that is, There shall be no more memory of thee. This calamity shall extinguish thy name and fame together with thy life, and bury it in eternal silence. Morally, note here how gravely tyrants are punished, and those who cooperate with them, and who invent new arts and other modes of oppressing, torturing and killing; even if God sometimes uses them to chastise others. A famous example is that of Perillus, an Athenian craftsman, who, to please Phalaris the cruel tyrant, gave him a bronze bull, in which men shut up would be tortured by fire placed beneath and would bellow like oxen, and delight the tyrant's ears. For by the command of Phalaris, the craftsman himself, first shut in the bull which he had made, gave his art its trial. Of whom Ovid says: And Phalaris in the bull of violent Perillus Roasted the limbs! the unhappy author steeped his work. Such too was the fate of Thrasius with Busiris, which Ovid describes in the Ibis thus: Egypt is said to have lacked rains helping the fields, And to have been dry for nine years: When Thrasius came to Busiris, and showed that Jupiter Could be appeased by the blood of a guest shed. To him Busiris: Thou shalt be Jupiter's victim first, He said, and thou as a guest shalt give water to Egypt. Each was just (both Busiris and Phalaris); for no law is more just Than that the authors of death perish by their own art.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
21:5
… Finally, m. is identified with "fable" in the pejorative sense (Ezek. 21:5; hence "to become a byword," Ezek. 14:8; Ps. 44 [45]:15; 2 Chron. 7:20; 1 Kings 9:7; Deut. 28:37).
21:26
In two prophetic passages, Ezek. 21:26 (Vulg. idola) and Zech. 10:2 (Vulg. simulacra), the t. are mentioned as means for obtaining oracles, in the first case on the part of the king of Babylon, in the second as deceptive …
21:28
… Jud., X, 9, 7) relates that 5 years after the destruction of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar made war on Ammon and M. (cf. Ezek. 21:28-32). From the Persian period onward, M. was gradually absorbed by the Arabs (cf. Ezek. 25:10) and then by the Kingdom of the Nabataeans (cf. Flavius Josephus, Antiq. …
The idea of S. is connected with that of God's "judgment." S. is the public accuser who "stands against" (ἀππαδ' al: Zech. 3:1; 1 Chron. 21:1; cf. Ps. 108 [109]:6); he is similar to the mezhīr 'āwān ("who brings guilt to remembrance" with a view to punishment, death) of Ezek. 21:28 ff.; 29:16 (cf. Gen. 41:9; 1 Kings 17:18). And since, in the prophets' theology of history, the fortunes of a people correspond to God's judgment upon it, the two s. (the Edomite Hadad …
21:33
… Therefore they rejoiced at the misfortunes of Israel (Zeph. 2:8) and at the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 9:24 ff.; Ezek. 21:33-37; 25:1-7), indeed they cooperated in it under Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:2), and their king Baalis had Gedaliah (v.; ibid. 25:25 and Jer. 40:14-41:2) put to death; they realized their ancient …
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.