A prophecy against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines, for their malice against the Israelites.
The Ammonites, 8 Moabiles, 12. Idumeans, 15. and Philistians (for their malice against the Israelites) shal be ouerthrowne.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:Il Signore parlommi, dicendo: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 against the children of Ammon, and thou shalt prophesy of them.Figliuolo dell'uomo, volgi la tua faccia contro i figliuoli di Ammon, e profeterai sopra di essi.Sonne of man, set thy face against the children of Ammon, and thou shalt prophecie of them.Fili hominis, pone faciem tuam contra filios Ammon, et prophetabis de eis. 3And thou shalt say to the children of Ammon: Hear ye the word of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast said: Ha, ha, upon my sanctuary, because it was profaned: and upon the land of Israel, because it was laid waste: and upon the house of Juda, because they are led into captivity:E dirai a' figliuoli di Ammon: Udite la parola del Signore Dio: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Perchè riguardo al mio santuario, che è stato profanato, e riguardo alla terra d'Israele, che è rimasa deserta, e riguardo alla casa di Giuda, menata in ischiavitù, tu hai detto: Bene sta, bene sta;And thou shalt say to the children of Ammon: Heare ye the word of our Lord God: Thus saith our Lord God For that thou hast sayd: Ha, ha, vpon my sanctuarie, because it is polluted: and vpon the Land of Israel, because it is made desolate: and vpon the house of Iuda, because they are led into captiuitie:Et dices filiis Ammon: Audite verbum Domini Dei. / Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Pro eo quod dixisti: Euge, euge, / super sanctuarium meum, quia pollutum est; / et super terram Israël, quoniam desolata est; / et super domum Juda, quoniam ducti sunt in captivitatem: 4Therefore will I deliver thee to the men of the east for an inheritance, and they shall place their sheepcotes in thee, and shall set up their tents in thee: they shall eat thy fruits: and they shall drink thy milk.Per questo darò io te in potere de' figliuoli d'Oriente, ed eglino collocheranno in te i loro ovili, e alzeranno le loro tende: ei mangeranno le tue biade, e beranno il tuo latte.Therfore wil I deliuer thee to the children of the east for an inheritance, and they shal place their shepecotes in thee, and shal set their tents in thee: they shal eate thy fruites: and they shal drinke thy milke.idcirco ego tradam te filiis orientalibus in hæreditatem: / et collocabunt caulas suas in te, / et ponent in te tentoria sua: / ipsi comedent fruges tuas, / et ipsi bibent lac tuum. 5And I will make Rabbath a stable for camels, and the children of Ammon a couching place for flocks: and you shall know that I am the Lord.E farò sì, che Rabbath diventi abitazione di cammelli, e la regione de' figliuoli di Ammon stalla di bestie: e conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore.And I wil geue Rabbath to be an habitation of camels, and the children of Ammon to be a lying place for beastes: and you shal know that I am the Lord.Daboque Rabbath in habitaculum camelorum, / et filios Ammon in cubile pecorum: / et scietis quia ego Dominus.
6For thus saith the Lord God: Because thou hast clapped thy hands and stamped with thy foot, and hast rejoiced with all thy heart against the land of Israel:Perocché queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Perché tu hai battuto palma a palma, e hai tripudiato, e di tutto cuore ti se' rallegrato dello stato d'Israele,Because thus saith our Lord God: For that thou hast clapped with the hand, and striken with the foote, and hast bene glad withal thy affection vpon the land of Israel:Quia hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Pro eo quod plausisti manu et percussisti pede, / et gavisa es ex toto affectu super terram Israël, 7Therefore behold I will stretch forth my hand upon thee, and will deliver thee to be the spoil of nations, and will cut thee off from among the people, and destroy thee out of the lands, and break thee in pieces: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.Per questo, ecco, che io stenderò la mano mia sopra di te, e ti darò in preda alle genti, e ti torrò dal numero dei popoli, e ti sterminerò dalla faccia della terra, e ti stritolerò; e conoscerai, che son' io il Signore.therfore behold I wil stretch forth my hand vpon thee, and wil deliuer thee into the spoile of the Gentils, and wil kil thee out of the peoples, and destroy thee out of the landes, and breake thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.idcirco ecce ego extendam manum meam super te, / et tradam te in direptionem gentium, / et interficiam te de populis, / et perdam de terris, et conteram: / et scies quia ego Dominus. 8Thus saith the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir have said: Behold the house of Juda is like all other nations:Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Perchè Moab, e Seir han detto: Ecco, che la casa di Giuda ella è come tutte le altre genti:Thus saith our Lord God: For that Moab, and Seir haue sayd: Behold as al the Gentils, so is the house of Iuda:Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Pro eo quod dixerunt Moab et Seir: / Ecce sicut omnes gentes, domus Juda: 9Therefore behold I will open the shoulder of Moab from the cities, from his cities, I say, and his borders, the noble cities of the land of Bethiesimoth, and Beelmeon, and Cariathaim,Per questo, ecco, che io nuderò il fianco di Moab dalla parte delle città, delle città io dico, che sono su' suoi confini le più celebri del paese Bethiesimoth, e Beelmeon e Canathaim,therfore behold I wil open the shoulder of Moab of his cities, of his cities I say, and of his borders the noble cities of the land Bethiesimoth, and Beelmeon, and Cariathaim,idcirco ecce ego aperiam humerum Moab de civitatibus, / de civitatibus, inquam, ejus, et de finibus ejus, / inclytas terræ Bethiesimoth, et Beelmeon, et Cariathaim, 10To the people of the east with the children of Ammon, and I will give it them for an inheritance: that there may be no more any remembrance of the children of Ammon among the nations.A' figliuoli dell'Oriente (aprirò il fianco di Moab) come de' figliuoli di Ammon, e a quelli darò il dominio di Moab, talmente che non rimarrà tralle nazioni memoria de' figliuoli di Ammon.to the children of the East with the children of Ammon, and I wil geue it for an inheritance: that there may be memorie no more of the children of Ammon among the Gentils.filiis orientis cum filiis Ammon, / et dabo eam in hæreditatem, / ut non sit ultra memoria filiorum Ammon in gentibus.
11And I will execute judgments in Moab: and they shall know that I am the Lord.E farò vendetta di Moab; e conosceranno, che son' io il Signore.And in Moab I wil do Iudgements: and they shal know that I am the Lord.Et in Moab faciam judicia, / et scient quia ego Dominus. 12Thus saith the Lord God: Because Edom hath taken vengeance to revenge herself of the children of Juda, and hath greatly offended, and hath sought revenge of them:Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Perchè l'Idumea ha voluto vendicarsi de' figliuoli di Giuda, e senza ritegno ha peccato per desio di vendetta,Thus saith our Lord God: For that Idumea hath made reuenge to reuenge herself of the children of Iuda, and hath sinned offending, and hath sought reuenge of them;Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Pro eo quod fecit Idumæa ultionem ut se vindicaret de filiis Juda, / peccavitque delinquens, / et vindictam expetivit de eis: 13Therefore thus saith the Lord God: I will stretch forth my hand upon Edom, and will take away out of it man and beast, and will make it desolate from the south: and they that are in Dedan shall fall by the sword.Per questo così dice il Signore Dio: Io stenderò la mia mano sopra dell'Idumea, e ne sterminerò gli uomini, e i giumenti, e la renderò deserta dalla parte di mezzodì; e que', che si trovano in Dedan, periranno di spada.therfore thus sayth our Lord God: I wil stretch forth my hand vpon Idumea, and wil take away out of it man, and beast, and wil make it desert from the South: and they that are in Dedan, shal fal by the sword.idcirco hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Extendam manum meam super Idumæam, / et auferam de ea hominem et jumentum, / et faciam eam desertam ab austro: / et qui sunt in Dedan, gladio cadent. 14And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to my wrath, and my fury: and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.E farò mie vendette dell'Idumea per le mani del mio popolo d'Israele, ed ei tratteranno Edom secondo l'ira mia, ed il mio furore: e conosceranno che son' io, che fo mia vendetta, dice il Signore Dio.And I wil geue my reuenge vpon Idumea by the hand of my people Israel: and they shal doe in Edom according to my wrath, and my furie: and they shal know my vengeance, saith our Lord God.Et dabo ultionem meam super Idumæam / per manum populi mei Israël: / et facient in Edom juxta iram meam et furorem meum, / et scient vindictam meam, / dicit Dominus Deus. 15Thus saith the Lord God: Because the Philistines have taken vengeance, and have revenged themselves with all their mind, destroying and satisfying old enmities:Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Perchè i Filistei han fatta vendetta, e con tutto l'animo si son vendicati, facendo stragi, e sfogando gli antichi sdegni;Thus saith our Lord God: For that the Palesthines haue made reuenge, and haue reuenged themselues with al their minde, killing, and accomplishing old emnities:Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Pro eo quod fecerunt Palæstini vindictam, / et ulti se sunt toto animo, / interficientes, et implentes inimicitias veteres,
16Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will stretch forth my hand upon the Philistines, and will kill the killers, and will destroy the remnant of the sea coast.Per questo il Signore Dio parla così: Ecco, che io stenderò la mia mano contro de' Filistei, e ucciderò gli uccisori, e sterminerò gli avanzi del paese marittimo:therfore thus saith our Lord God: Behold I wil stretch forth my hand vpon the Palesthines, and wil kil the killers, and wil destroy the remnant of the sea cost.propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Ecce ego extendam manum meam super Palæstinos, / et interficiam interfectores, / et perdam reliquias maritimæ regionis, 17And I will execute great vengeance upon them, rebuking them in fury: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.E vendetta grande prenderò sopra di loro, gastigandoli nel mio furore; e conosceranno, che son' io il Signore, quando mi sarò vendicato di essi.and I wil make in them great reuengements arguing in furie: and they shal know that I am the Lord, when I shal haue geuen my vengeance vpon them.faciamque in eis ultiones magnas, / arguens in furore: / et scient quia ego Dominus, / cum dedero vindictam meam super eos.
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Calmet
Ammon. These nations were punished five years after the Jews, Ezechiel 21:19., and Jeremias 27:3. (Calmet)
Calmet
Hast. God saw their dispositions, which they manifested afterwards. (Calmet)
Worthington
They rejoiced most, and were therefore punished with other nations. (Worthington)
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Year of the World 3417, Year before Christ 387.; Jeremias xlix.
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Worthington
East; the Chaldeans, (Sanctius) who conquered them, (Haydock) though the Scenite Arabs, who occupied the country after the inhabitants were removed, or the Armenians and Agarens, are rather meant than the Chaldeans. (Worthington)
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Challoner
Rabbath, the capital city of the Ammonites: it was afterwards called Philadelphia. (Challoner)
Flocks. These constituted the riches of those Arabians.
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Lord, and that it was not through impotence that my people became a prey. Ammon and Moab returned after some time, ver. 10., and Ezechiel 16:53., and Jeremias 49:6.
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Calmet
Nations, whose gods could not defend them. (Calmet)
Theodoret
Thus they blasphemed the Lord. (Theodoret)
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Worthington
Shoulder; reduce to slavery, (Haydock) or take the strong places, (Jeremias 48:7.; Calmet) or cities and strength of Moab. (Worthington)
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Haydock
With, or "like thee." Moab (ver. 11.) shall be treated like Ammon. (Haydock)
Calmet
Hebrew, "As for the," etc. (Calmet)
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Revenge; exhorting the Chaldeans to destroy utterly, (Psalm 136:7.) and seizing every opportunity of injuring the Jews, 2 Paralipomenon 28:18., and Amos 1:11.
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South. Hebrew, "Theman," a city at one extremity. The Chaldeans laid waste the country, (chap. 32:29.) but did not remove the people, who seized the southern parts of Juda, till they were forced to submit to the Machabees.
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Enmities. They also watched every moment to injure the Jews, Amos 1:5. But Nabuchodonosor was irritated, because they had assisted Tyre, Jeremias 47:4.
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Haydock
Killers. Hebrew, "Ceretheans." David's guards were of this nation, 2 Kings 8:18. They came originally from Crete; and the Septuagint have here, "Cretans;" (Calmet) as Grabe substitutes for "Judges of Sidon." (Haydock)
Chaldean, "archers."
Calmet
Remnant. They deserve not the name of a nation, having been much reduced by Egypt and the Chaldeans. (Calmet)
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Amongst other heathen nations, especially the Ammonites reioyced at the miseries of the Iewes, and were therfore plaged.
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The Chaldees, or rather the Armenians or Agarens (who are more direct eastward, and
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I wil take away al the streingth and force of Moab, vvhich consisteth in his strong cities.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 55
… For often even the will is able to effect great good. At least Ezekiel saith, that the Moabites were punished because they rejoiced over the Israelites, and that certain others were saved because they mourned over the misfortunes of their neighbors. (
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary 15
… Raguel, Moses’ father-in-law, is also called Jethro. Gedeon, without any apparent reason for the change, all at once becomes Jerubbaal. Ozias, king of Judah, has an alternative, Azarias. Mount Tabor is called Itabyrium. Again Hermon is called by the Phenicians Sanior, and by the Amorites Sanir. The same tract of country is known by three names,
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2. Set your face. — The Septuagint: Harden your face, that is, look upon the Ammonites with a firm, stern and threatening countenance. This is, turn your face toward the land of the Ammonites, so that you freely and fearlessly predict to them the evils that will befall them. Something similar was in chapter VI, 2, and chapter XIII, verse 17.
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3. HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. — He said this to those hearing, not to the Ammonites, but to the Jews, who could report the same thing to the Ammonites, and this so that he might console the Jews, from the fact that God will avenge their injuries. YOU SAID: AHA, AHA, — that is, as the Septuagint, you rejoiced at the overthrow of the temple. Something similar is in Psalm XXXIV, 21.
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4. I WILL DELIVER THEE TO THE SONS OF THE EAST, — that is, to the Medes and Persians, say R. David and Vatablus. Secondly, to the Arabs, say Theodoret and Maldonatus; for the Arabs are neighbors and eastern to the Ammonites, and were shepherds and camel-drivers. Whence it fitly applies to them what follows: "They shall set their tents in thee, they shall drink thy milk, thou shalt be a habitation for camels, and a couch for flocks." Thirdly, and most rightly, "to the East," that is to the Chaldeans, say St. Jerome and the Hebrews. For we read that not the Arabs, nor the Medes, or Persians, but the Chaldeans laid waste Ammonitis. For Nabuchodonosor, as we heard cap. XXI, 21, standing at the crossroads cast lots whether he ought to go against Jerusalem; and when the lot fell against Jerusalem, he went there and laid it waste: and after its devastation in the fifth year he laid waste the Ammonites, as Josephus teaches lib. X Antiquit. cap. XI. Wherefore Jeremias predicted the same destruction to the Ammonites, cap. XLIX. Nevertheless, by the Easterners can also be understood the Arabs, either because they aided the Chaldeans in the conquest of the Ammonites; or because, when the Ammonites were slain or carried away, they invaded and occupied their region as pasture-land, and there fed their flocks. For the Arabs, sprung from the sons of Abraham, whom he begat of Cethura, are called in Scripture "the sons of the east," as I said Genesis XXV, 6. THEY SHALL SET THEIR TENTS IN THEE, — that is they shall overturn thee and lay thee waste, and burn thy cities and strongholds, so that in them, as in an open field and sprouting ground, they may pitch their tents and folds of sheep. For metaphorically he calls the Chaldeans shepherds. For as a shepherd rules sheep, and leads them, handles them and slaughters them as he wishes: so also the Chaldeans the Ammonites. Otherwise Theodoret and Maldonatus, as if to say: I will deliver you to the Ishmaelites, whose custom it is to dwell in tents.
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7. I will cut thee off from the peoples, — that is, I will extirpate thee so that thou art not in the number of peoples, so that thou art not named and numbered among the peoples. And I will destroy thee out of the lands, — so that thou shalt no longer be in the land.
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8. Seir, — that is Idumea. For Esau was called Seir, because he was hairy: hence the region which he inhabited was called after him Seir, as well as Edom or Idumea. BEHOLD AS ALL THE NATIONS, — as if to say: The Jews have neither God, nor anything else distinguished before other nations, but like other nations they are subject to calamities, and are subjected to the Chaldeans.
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9. I WILL OPEN THE SHOULDER OF MOAB. — The Chaldean: I will break the strength of Moab. For men have their strength in their shoulders and arms. Secondly, Vatablus says that to open the shoulder or side is to make an entrance to the strongest and most fortified places, so that they lie open to enemies. For they have strongholds, fortified cities, and bulwarks which have the appearance of shoulders. These therefore he calls shoulders of the cities, that is of the cities of Moab. FROM HIS BORDERS, — from the border cities which are in his borders. For these, as a bulwark of the region, are usually the most fortified, such as in Moab were Bethiesimoth, and Beelmeon, and Cariathaim; whence he grants the renowned cities of the land.
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10. TO THE SONS OF THE EAST, — that is to the Chaldeans. Refer to "I will open the shoulder of Moab," as if to say: I will open and lay bare the strongholds and cities of Moab to the Chaldeans. With the sons of Ammon (as if to say: As I will open the shoulder of Moab to the Chaldeans: so also will I open to them the shoulder of the sons of Ammon), AND I WILL GIVE IT (namely Ammon, that is Ammonitis; or rather Moab, that is Moabitis; thus St. Jerome) IN INHERITANCE (to the Chaldeans), THAT THE MEMORY OF THE SONS OF AMMON MAY NOT BE REMEMBERED AMONG THE NATIONS, — as if to say: So that as there shall be no memory of the sons of Ammon among the nations: so also "in Moab" I will execute "vengeance," and "judgments," as follows. Thus St. Jerome, although the Roman Bible distinguishes these otherwise, for they place a period before "and in Moab I will execute judgments," and there begin verse 11. Wherefore according to this distinction it is better that what preceded: "I will give it in inheritance," thou understand of Ammonitis. He speaks mixedly of Ammon and Moab; hence he soon returns to Moab, because these nations were neighboring and mingled, as well as kindred. For Ammon was the brother of Moab, from the father Lot, when his daughters committed incest with him. The Septuagint translates, against the sons of Ammon. Whence Vatablus clearly translates: I will summon the sons of the East against the Ammonites, and will give it to the Ammonites in possession, that the memory of Ammon be not among the nations.
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12. Because Edom took vengeance, — as if to say: Because the Edomites joined themselves with the Chaldeans in the conquest of Jerusalem, as is evident from Obadiah cap. I, 14; and because, when the Jews were slain or carried away, the Edomites occupied Judea, as Jeremias says cap. XLIX, 2. Therefore, "I will stretch out my hand upon it," I will strike it and afflict it with plagues.
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13. AND I WILL MAKE IT DESOLATE FROM THE SOUTH. — In Hebrew מתימן mitteman, that is from Theman, which was the principal city of Idumea; so called from Theman the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, Genesis XXXVI, 15. But because Theman was a southern city of Idumea, and Theman in Hebrew signifies the South; hence our translator rightly renders it, from the south. It is therefore the same to say from Theman, as the Hebrew and Septuagint have, as from the south. The Prophet signifies that all Idumea from south to north (for the boundary of this seems to have been Dedan) shall be laid waste by the Chaldeans. Thus Maldonatus, and St. Jerome hints.
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14. I WILL LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON EDOM BY THE HAND OF MY PEOPLE,—that is, on the occasion of, or on account of, the injury inflicted upon my people by the Edomites. Thus Prado. Secondly, more simply we shall say that the Jews took vengeance upon the Edomites in the time of the Maccabees, or otherwise. For these words plainly signify this, although the history of the deed, says Vatablus, is not written in Scripture; just as neither are many other things spoken by the Prophets. See what is said at Jeremiah XLIX, 22. THEY SHALL KNOW (that is, shall experience) MY VENGEANCE.
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15. BECAUSE THE PHILISTINES HAVE ACTED.—From the Edomites he passes to the Philistines, or Palestines, the ancient enemies of the Jews.
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16. I WILL DESTROY THE DESTROYERS. — Thus translate Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. He calls destroyers the Palestinians, who were accustomed to destroy the Jews. Whence the Chaldean translates: I will destroy those who are worthy of death; in Hebrew it is, I will destroy the Cherethites, who, like the Pelethites and Gittites, appear to have been a people from the cities or places of the Palestinians, called Gath, Pelet, Ceret, I Kings XXX, 14, who, because they were most warlike and faithful, and now, as it appears, converted to Judaism and made proselytes, were taken up by David for the guard of his body, II Kings XV, 18, just as the Swiss are now taken up by foreign princes. Thus the Hebrews, although Ribera in Sophonias II, num. 11, holds that Cherethites is not a proper name of a nation, but a common name for all Palestinians. For these are called Cherethites, that is, hewers; because they were warlike and fierce. Which opinion is not improbable. Certainly here, and elsewhere by Cherethites all the Philistines are understood, by synecdoche, by which we understand the whole from a part. The Septuagint translates Cherethites as Cretans. Cretans therefore are these Cherethites, inhabitants of Palestine already mentioned, who led a colony into the island of Crete, and from thence were called Cretans, and their region Crete. Whence also in Crete there was a port called Phoenix, Acts XXVII, 12, named after the Phoenicians, who accompanied these colonists of theirs, or neighboring Cherethites there. Thus Prado. There is therefore no reason why anyone should wonder with St. Jerome why the Septuagint here translated Cretans; for by them they understand not island Cretans, but Cherethites Palestinians. For Cherethites is the same as Cretes and Cretans. Moreover, that many Jews and Palestinians migrated into the island of Crete is evident both from other sources and from the fact that Josephus, a noble Jew, took a wife from Crete. For thus he writes at the end of his Life: "After her I took another wife, a Cretan woman, Jewish by race, born of parents most noble at home, and distinguished in character among the rest." And Strabo, lib. X, celebrates the migration of the Curetes or Cretans into other lands, as well as their military prowess. Whether truly the island Cretans were descended from these Cherethites of Palestine, or conversely these from them, interpreters disagree. Prado asserts the former, the Scholiast and Theodoret the latter, from the fact that here is added: "I will destroy the remnants of the maritime region;" yet they agree in this, that these Cherethites, or Cretes were a particular people, who inhabited either all of Palestine, or some maritime part of it. Thus think Vatablus, I Kings cap. X, Abulensis there, Quæst. X, R. David, Mercerus and others in the Lexicon, and Prado here, and Pineda, lib. II De Rebus Salom. cap. XV. Wherefore it does not appear true what some, as Avenarius in the Lexicon, hold that Cherethites is Crete or Cureta, the island, thus named from the Hebrew כרת karat, that is, to cut off, to kill, because the island Cretans were most warlike soldiers: and from this the Greek verb κρατέω is derived, and the Latin certo, as if Cretes were the same as contenders, and ἀκρατοῦντες, that is, powerful, conquering, ruling. For it is certain that here we are dealing with Cretans, inhabitants not of the island of Crete, but of Palestine. Thus also David, I Kings cap. XXX, 14, says he rushed "to the south of Cherethites," or Crete, not the island (for this was separated from him by the whole sea), but of Palestine: for this was near the tribe of Judah, and Ziklag, in which David dwelt, a fugitive from Saul. I will destroy the remnants of the maritime region. — That is, I will destroy the Philistines. For these were dwellers by the Mediterranean Sea. Tropologically, St. Jerome by Ammon understands heretics, by Moab proud philosophers, of whom it is said: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will reject." By Idumæa he means those earthly ones who, abandoning the spirit, follow the flesh. These God will subject to Judah, that is, to reason and spirit: "So that," he says, "they, the flesh joined together, cease to be, and Idumæa pass over into Judah. Philistines are interpreted as falling into the cup, who themselves also, intoxicated by the golden cup of Babylon, rage and insult Israel with all their might, and therefore are separated from the people of God." By these therefore Turks and pagans can be understood, whom God will finally destroy. Morally, learn from this chapter how displeasing to God are mercilessness and envy, and with what similar ruin and calamity He punishes those who do not grieve at the calamity of others, but insult them. For this reason Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah threaten destruction to Moab, Ammon, Philistines, Tyrians and other nations, because they did not grieve at the ruin and destruction of the Jews, but exulted. Hannibal incurred the hatred of both gods and men when, looking upon a ditch full of human blood, he said: "This is a beautiful spectacle to behold." And Vitellius Caesar, when others avoided the road on account of the stench of the corpse, he himself went straight through the heap of the dead and said: "It is excellent to smell an enemy, and especially a citizen." Thus Suetonius in his life of Vitellius. But much more savage was Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia, who was so fierce that he kept an executioner constantly at his side, whom he called his godfather, because he had lifted his son from the sacred font; and he used him so familiarly that he sometimes allowed him to ride with him on the same horse, as Dubravius says, book XXIII. For this reason he was deservedly captured by the barons of the kingdom and removed from the Empire by the electors in the year of the Lord 1400. Thus Æmilius, book X. On the other hand, it is equally pleasing to God and to men to have compassion for enemies who are conquered and afflicted, and to have mercy on them. The Romans were illustrious in this regard. For the Roman Senate decreed that Syphax, once the most wealthy king of Numidia, who died a captive in custody at Tibur, should be carried out with a public funeral, so that it might add the honor of burial to the gift of life. He used similar clemency toward Perseus. For when he died at Alba, to which he had been relegated for the purpose of custody, the Senate sent a quaestor to carry him out with a public funeral, lest it suffer the royal remains to lie dishonored. These offices were rendered to enemies, and to the wretched, and to those who had fulfilled their fate, as to kings. And to descend from all the Fathers to individual cases, L. Cornelius, consul in the First Punic War, when he had captured the town of Olbia, for which Hanno, the Carthaginian general, had died fighting most bravely, carried out his body from his own tent with a grand funeral: nor did he hesitate to celebrate the obsequies of an enemy himself; for he believed that victory would be held in the least regard both by the gods and by men, which had possessed the greatest humanity. Come now, the clemency of M. Marcellus—how illustrious and how memorable an example it ought to be held! He, having captured Syracuse, stood in its citadel, so that he might see from on high the fortune of a city once most wealthy, then afflicted. But beholding its sad fate, he could not restrain his tears. If any man ignorant of the facts had seen him, he would have believed it was the victory of another. And so, Syracusan city, in your greatest calamity you had something mixed with rejoicing: because if it was not permitted for you to stand unharmed, you fell lightly under so gentle a conqueror. Pompey, when King Tigranes of Armenia, who had both waged great wars with the Roman people on his own account, and had protected Mithridates, most hostile to our city, when driven from Pontus, with his own forces, lay suppliant before him, did not allow him to remain in that position for long, but with kind words... ordered him to put back upon his head the diadem which he had cast away, and having commanded certain things, restored him to his former state of fortune; judging it equally noble both to conquer kings and to make them. When Caesar heard of the death of Cato, he said both that he envied his glory, and that Cato had envied his: and he kept his patrimony unharmed for his children. The mind of Marcus Antonius was not without understanding of such humanity. For he delivered the body of M. Brutus to his freedman for burial, and in order that it might be cremated more honorably, he ordered his own cloak to be placed upon it, considering him not an enemy, but a citizen, with hatred laid aside. And when he discovered that the cloak had been intercepted by the freedman, moved by anger, he immediately punished him, using this preface beforehand: "What? Did you not know what man's burial I had entrusted to you?" Annibals did not allow the body of Æmilius Paulus, slain at Cannæ, to lie unburied, as far as lay in his power. The same Annibals entrusted Tiberius Gracchus, surrounded by the treachery of the Lucanians, to burial with the highest honor, and delivered his bones to Roman soldiers to be carried to his native land. The same Annibals, when M. Marcellus was killed in the territory of Bruttium while reconnoitering the Carthaginian camp with more eagerness than caution, carried him out with lawful rites; and placed him on the pyre clothed also in a Carthaginian cloak and crowned with a laurel crown. Thus Valerius Maximus, book V, chapter I. Agesilaus, hearing of the victory of his Spartans against their neighbors the Corinthians, but a bloody one on both sides, groaned: "How many, said he, have perished who were citizens of Greece, and who could have resisted the force and attacks of the barbarians, and especially of the Persians!" Thus Plutarch in his life of Agesilaus. Q. Fabius Maximus, who broke Annibals by delaying, was called Ovicula from his clemency, as Plutarch testifies, in his book On Illustrious Men.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
25:1
… 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 dream …
25:4
… They were themselves absorbed by the Arabs (bēnē-qedem "children of the east"; Ezek. 25:4), with whom they already appear mixed in the 5th century B.C. (Neh. 2:10; 4:7). After the Macedonian conquest, their territory bears the name Ἀμμανῖτις (Fl. Josephus, Ant. Jud., IV, …
25:8
… Abel [op. cit. in bibl.], p. 280). Thus were fulfilled the prophecies against M. (Is. 15-16; Jer. 48; Ezek. 25:8-11; Zeph. 2:8-11), often cruel and inhuman (Am. 2:1).
25:9
Cariathaim (Hebrew Qirjāthajim, dual form: "Two Cities")
… Cities"). - A city northeast of the Dead Sea, belonging to the tribe of Reuben (Josh. 13:19; Num. 32:37). At the time of the prophet Jeremiah, during the period of the decline of the kingdom of Judah, it again belonged to the Moabites (Jer. 48:1, 23; Ezek. 25:9). Eusebius (Onomasticon, ed. E. Klostermann, Leipzig 1904, p. 112, 15) identifies it with the Christian city of Caraitha, 10 miles west of Madaba. …
25:10
… 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. …
25:11
… The description of the collapse of Jerusalem (10-14), rather than to earlier devastations, suggests the total destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 587, when, according to Lam. 4:21 and Ez. 25:11; 35:5-15, Edom rejoiced and enriched itself with the spoils. …
25:13
The D. are named in Is. 21:13; Jer. 25:23; Ez. 38:13; 25:13 and Jer. 49:8. The last two texts consider D. as situated to the south of Edom (v.); it would be an oasis corresponding to the position of the one called el-'Ola. …
25:16
… Since the country of origin of the Philistines (v.), their kinsmen, was Caphtor, commonly identified with Crete (v.), the C. appear to have been the "Cretans," as the Septuagint understood, translating C. in the prophetic books (Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5) with Κρήτες. …
… In the Old Testament too the P. are associated with the Kéréthim (Cretans); cf. Zeph. 2:5; Ezek. 25:16; and probably also the formula Kéréthi and Pélethi (2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 20:7, 23), in which Pélethi seems to be the name of the P. (Pélethi), assimilated to the preceding Kéréthi. …
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.