The desolation of Egypt and her helpers: all her cities shall be wasted.
Aegypt shal be so wasted, 5. that Aethiopia, and other neighboures shal tremble; 9. seing the cities and countrie destroyed. 20. Al which is confirmed againe by an other vision.
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 factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens: 2Son of man prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, Woe, woe to the day:Figliuolo dell'uomo, profetizza, e dì: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Gettate urla: Guai, guai a quel dì;Sonne of man prophecie, & say: Thus sayth our Lord God: Howle ye, wo, wo to the day:Fili hominis, propheta, et dic: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Ululate: Væ, væ diei ! 3For the day is near, yea the day of the Lord is near: a cloudy day, it shall be the time of the nations.Perocché il giorno è vicino, e vicino il giorno del Signore, giorno caliginoso, che sarà il tempo delle nazioni.because the day is nere, and the day of our Lord approcheth: the day of a cloude, the time of the Gentiles shal be.quia juxta est dies, / et appropinquat dies Domini, dies nubis: / tempus gentium erit. 4And the sword shall come upon Egypt: and there shall be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed.E verrà contro l'Egitto la spada, e l'Etiopia sarà in terrore quando cadranno feriti gli Egiziani, e ne sarà menata via la moltitudine, e tutte le forze dell'Egitto saran distrutte.And the sword shal come into Aegypt: & there shal be feare in Aethiopia, when the woonded shal fal in Aegypt, and the multitude therof shal be taken away, and the fundations therof be destroyed.Et veniet gladius in Ægyptum, / et erit pavor in Æthiopia, / cum ceciderint vulnerati in Ægypto, / et ablata fuerit multitudo illius, / et destructa fundamenta ejus. 5Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the crowd, and Chub, and the children of the land of the covenant, shall fall with them by the sword.L'Etiopia, e la Libia, e la Lidia, e tutti gli altri popoli, e Chub, e i figliuoli della terra di alleanza periranno insieme con essi di spada.Aethiopia, and Libia, and the Lydians, and al the rest of the common people, and Chub, and the children of the land of couenant, shal fal with them by the sword.Æthiopia, et Libya, et Lydi, / et omne reliquum vulgus, / et Chub, et filii terræ fœderis, / cum eis gladio cadent. 6Thus saith the Lord God: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her empire shall be brought down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord the God of hosts.Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Anderanno per terra i sostegni dell'Egitto, e il suo impero superbo sarà distrutto: cominciando dalla torre di Siene cadranno di spada gli Egiziani, dice il Signore Dio degli eserciti;Thus sayth our Lord God: And they shal fal that vnderproppe Aegypt, and the pride of the empire therof shal be destroyed: from the towre of Siena shal they fal in it by the sword, sayth our Lord the God of hostes.Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Et corruent fulcientes Ægyptum, / et destruetur superbia imperii ejus: / a turre Syenes gladio cadent in ea, / ait Dominus Deus exercituum.
7And they shall be desolate in the midst of the lands that are desolate, and the cities thereof shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.E (quelle regioni) saran desolate in mezzo a terre deserte, e le sue città saran del numero delle città devastate.And they shal be dissipated in the middes of desolate landes, and the cities therof shal be in the middes of desert cities.Et dissipabuntur in medio terrarum desolatarum, / et urbes ejus in medio civitatum desertarum erunt: 8And they shall know that I am the Lord: when I shall have set a fire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.E conosceranno, ch'io sono il Signore, quando avrò acceso il fuoco in Egitto, e saranno distrutte tutte le sue milizie ausiliari:And they shal know that I am the Lord: when I shal haue geuen fyre in Aegypt, and al the ayders therof shal be broken.et scient quia ego Dominus, / cum dedero ignem in Ægypto, / et attriti fuerint omnes auxiliatores ejus. 9In that day shall messengers go forth from my face in ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and there shall be dread among them in the day of Egypt: because it shall certainly come.In quel giorno partiranno dei messaggieri spediti da me sopra triremi ad umiliar l'alterezza dell'Etiopia, ed ella sarà in terrore nel dì dell'Egitto, il qual dì indubitatamente verrà.In that day shal messengers goe forth from my face in gallies to terrifie the confidence of Aethiopia, and there shal be feare among them in the day of Aegypt: because it shal come without doubt.In die illa egredientur nuntii a facie mea in trieribus / ad conterendam Æthiopiæ confidentiam: / et erit pavor in eis in die Ægypti, / quia absque dubio veniet. 10Thus saith the Lord God: I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon.Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Io diraderò la moltitudine dell'Egitto per mano di Nabuchodonosor re di Babilonia.Thus sayth our Lord God: I wil make the multitude of Aegypt to cease in the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon.Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Cessare faciam multitudinem Ægypti / in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis. 11He and his people with him, the strongest of nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords upon Egypt: and shall fill the land with the slain.Egli, ed il suo popolo, fortissimi tralle nazioni saran condotti a distruzione dell'Egitto: e sguaineranno le loro spade contro l'Egitto, e copriranno di uccisi la terra.He and his people with him the strongest of the Gentiles shal be brought to destroy the land: and they shal draw their swordes vpon Aegypt: and shal fil the land with the slaine.Ipse et populus ejus cum eo, fortissimi gentium, / adducentur ad disperdendam terram: / et evaginabunt gladios suos super Ægyptum, / et implebunt terram interfectis.
12And I will make the channels of the rivers dry, and will deliver the land into the hand of the wicked: and will lay waste the land and all that is therein by the hands of strangers, I the Lord have spoken it.E i letti de' fiumi renderò asciutti, e uomini crudeli farò padroni della terra, e sterminerò la terra, e tutto quello, che ella contiene, per mano di stranieri: io il Signore ho parlato.And I wil make the channels of the riuers drie, and wil deliuer the land into the handes of the most wicked: and wil dssipate the land and the fulnes therof in the handes of aliens, I the Lord haue spoken.Et faciam alveos fluminum aridos, / et tradam terram in manus pessimorum: / et dissipabo terram et plenitudinem ejus / manu alienorum: / ego Dominus locutus sum. 13Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will make an end of the idols of Memphis: and there shall: be no more a prince of the land of Egypt and I will cause a terror in the land of Egypt.Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Io abbatterò i simolacri, e struggerò gl'idoli di Memphi, e principe nativo d'Egitto più non vi sarà: e manderò il terrore sulla terra d'Egitto.Thus sayth our Lord God: And I wil destroy the idols, and I wil make the idols to cease out of Memphis: and duke of the land of Aegypt there shal be no more: and I wil geue terrour in the land of Aegypt.Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Et disperdam simulacra, / et cessare faciam idola de Memphis: / et dux de terra Ægypti non erit amplius, / et dabo terrorem in terra Ægypti. 14And I will destroy the land of Phatures, and will make a fire in Taphnis, and will execute judgments in Alexandria.E rovinerò la terra di Phatures, e darò Taphnis alle fiamme, e farò giudizio di Alessandria.And I wil destroy the land of Phathures, and wil geue fire in Taphnis, and wil do iudgements in Alexandria.Et disperdam terram Phathures, / et dabo ignem in Taphnis, / et faciam judicia in Alexandria. 15And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium the strength of Egypt, and will cut off the multitude of Alexandria.L'indegnazione mia spanderò sopra Pelusio baluardo dell'Egitto; e farò passare a filo di spada la moltitudine di Alessandria,And I wil powre out mine indignation vpon Pelusium the strength of Aegypt, and wil kil the multitude of Alexandria,Et effundam indignationem meam super Pelusium, robur Ægypti, / et interficiam multitudinem Alexandriæ. 16And I will make a fire in Egypt: Pelusium shall be in pain like a woman in labour, and Alexandria shall be laid waste, and in Memphis there shall be daily distresses.Ed io darò fuoco all'Egitto: Pelusio sarà in dolori come una partoriente, e Alessandria sarà desolata, e Memphi ogni dì in affanni.And wil geue fyre in Aegypt: as a woman in trauel shal Pelusium sorow, & Alexandria shal be dissipated, and in Memphis daylie distresses.Et dabo ignem in Ægypto: / quasi parturiens dolebit Pelusium, / et Alexandria erit dissipata, / et in Memphis angustiæ quotidianæ.
17The young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastus shall fall by the sword, and they themselves shall go into captivity.La gioventù d'Eliopoli, e di Bubaste perirà di spada, e le loro spose saranno menate schiave.The youngmen of Heliopolis, and of Bubasti shal fal by the sword, and themselues shal be led captiue.Juvenes Heliopoleos et Bubasti gladio cadent, / et ipsæ captivæ ducentur. 18And in Taphnis the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the sceptres of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be led into captivity.E il giorno annerirà in Taphnis, allorché quivi io spezzerò gli scettri d'Egitto, e verrà meno la superbia di sua possanza: tetra nuvola lo cuoprirà, e le sue figlie saran condotte in ischiavitù.And in Taphnis the day shal waxe black, when I shal haue broken there the scepters of Aegypt, and the pride of the might therof shal faile in it: the cloude shal couer her, & her daughters shal be led into captiuitie.Et in Taphnis nigrescet dies, / cum contrivero ibi sceptra Ægypti, / et defecerit in ea superbia potentiæ ejus: / ipsam nubes operiet, / filiæ autem ejus in captivitatem ducentur. 19And I will execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord.E giudizio farò io contro l'Egitto, e conosceranno, ch'io sono il Signore.And I wil doe iudgements in Aegypt: & they shal know that I am the Lord.Et judicia faciam in Ægypto: / et scient quia ego Dominus. 20And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:E nell'anno undecimo, il primo mese, ai sette del mese, il Signore parlommi, dicendo:And it came to passe in the eleuenth yeare in the first moneth, in the seuenth of the moneth, the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factum est in undecimo anno, in primo mense, in septima mensis: factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens: 21Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharao king of Egypt: and behold it is not bound up, to be healed, to be tied up with clothes, and swathed with linen, that it might recover strength, and hold the sword.Figliuolo dell'uomo, io ho rotto il braccio di Faraone re dell'Egitto, e non è stato curato per ritornarlo sano, né avvolto con pezze, né fasciato con bende, affinchè ripreso vigore possa maneggiare la spada.Sonne of man, I haue broken the arme of Pharao king of Aegypt: and behold it is not wound vp, that health might be restored to it, that it might be bound with clothes, and swadled with linnen cloutes, that recouering strength it might hold the sword.Fili hominis, brachium Pharaonis regis Ægypti confregi, / et ecce non est obvolutum ut restitueretur ei sanitas, / ut ligaretur pannis, et fasciaretur linteolis, / ut recepto robore posset tenere gladium.
22Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I come against Pharao king of Egypt, and I will break into pieces his strong arm, which is already broken: and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand:Per questo così dice il Signore Dio: Ecco, ch'io vo da Faraone re dell'Egitto, e farò in pezzi il braccio di lui, che era forte, ma fu rotto, e farogli cader di mano la spada:Therfore thus saith our Lord God: Behold I to Pharao king of Aegypt, & I wil breake into peeces his strong arme, already broken: and I wil cast downe the sword out of his hand:Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: / Ecce ego ad Pharaonem regem Ægypti, / et comminuam brachium ejus forte, sed confractum: / et dejiciam gladium de manu ejus, 23And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.E spergerò l'Egitto tralle nazioni, e gli traporterò per le terre a tutti i venti.and wil disperse Aegypt among the Gentils, and wil scatter them in the landes.et dispergam Ægyptum in gentibus, / et ventilabo eos in terris. 24And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and will put my sword in his hand: and I will break the arms of Pharao, and they shall groan bitterly being slain before his face.E darò vigore alle braccia del re di Babilonia, e la mia spada porrò in mano a lui, e spezzerò le braccia di Faraone, e quelli, che saranno messi a morte sugli occhi di lui, daran profondi sospiri.And I wil strengthen the armes of the king of Babylon, and wil geue my sword in his hand: and I wil breake the armes of Pharao, and the slaine before his face shal grone with groninges.Et confortabo brachia regis Babylonis, / daboque gladium meum in manu ejus, / et confringam brachia Pharaonis, / et gement gemitibus interfecti coram facie ejus. 25And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharao shall fall: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall have stretched it forth upon the land of Egypt.E darò vigore alle braccia del re di Babilonia, e le braccia di Faraone non si reggeranno: e conosceranno, ch'io sono il Signore, quand'io avrò posta la mia spada in mano al re di Babilonia, e questi la sguainerà sopra la terra d'Egitto.And I wil strengthen the armes of the king of Babylon, and the armes of Pharao shal fal: and they shal know that I am the Lord, when I shal geue my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shal haue streched it forth vpon the Land of Aegypt.Et confortabo brachia regis Babylonis, / et brachia Pharaonis concident: / et scient quia ego Dominus, / cum dedero gladium meum in manu regis Babylonis, / et extenderit eum super terram Ægypti.
26And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will scatter them through the countries, and they shall know that I am the Lord.E spergerò l'Egitto tralle nazioni, e gli sbanderò in questo, e in quel paese, e conosceranno, ch'io sono il Signore.And I wil disperse Aegypt into nations, and wil scatter them into landes, and they shal know that I am the Lord.Et dispergam Ægyptum in nationes, / et ventilabo eos in terras: / et scient quia ego Dominus.
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Calmet
Lydia. Hebrew, "Phut," near Egypt. (Calmet)
Haydock
These troops were paid. (Haydock)
Chub, in Mareotis.
Calmet
Covenant: the Jews or auxiliaries. Septuagint add, "the Persians and Cretans." (Calmet)
Pliny
There were Persians in Africa who followed Hercules. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 5:8.)
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Calmet
Messengers; the Chaldeans. (Calmet)
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Dry. The canals were obstructed (Calmet) which rendered cavalry useless. (Herodotus 2:108.)
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Calmet
Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, (Calmet) where the idol or bull (Haydock) Apis was fed. (Calmet)
Here Amasis overcame Apries. (Herodotus 2:168.)
The Chaldeans made war on the gods as well as on the people.
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Challoner
Alexandria. In the Hebrew No, which was the ancient name of that city, which was afterwards rebuilt by Alexander the Great, and from his name called Alexandria. (Challoner)
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Calmet
Pelusium. Hebrew Sin, (Haydock) "muddy," has the same import as pelos. (Calmet)
Haydock
The place is now called Damietta. (Haydock)
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Darkened: war and misery shall ensue.
Sceptres, by dethroning Apries.
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Year of the World 3416.
Haydock
Year, in which Jerusalem was taken. Pharao lost a battle. His country was afterwards invaded, (Calmet) and his subjects rebelled, ver. 21. (Haydock)
Worthington
Part of the kingdom had been already subdued, 4 Kings 24:7. (Worthington)
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Alexandria.... In the Hebrew, No: which was the ancient name of that city, which was afterwards rebuilt by Alexander the Great, and from his name called Alexandria.
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The day of iust punishment is called the day of our Lord. As the Apostle calleth the day of general iudgement the day of our Lord. 1. Cor. 5. 2. Cor. 1 & 1. Thes. 5.
The time vvhen the Chaldees, the most potent nation shal conquer, and triumph ouer Aegypt.
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Part of the kingdom of Aegypt was subdewed before this time by the king of Babylon. 4. Reg. 24. v. 7.
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Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 15
… and tyrannical, took in hand to assail the men who had been committed to their charge and to rout them utterly in the conflicts of sin, as the Prophet Ezekiel mystically intimates when he says, “In that day angels shall come forth hastening to exterminate Ethiopia, and there shall be perturbation among them in the day of Egypt; for behold He comes.”
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2. Ululate, — O Egyptians and others, whose destruction I here foretell! Woe to the day, — that is, as Vatablus says, O unhappy day! For the Hebrew הוי hoi, that is, woe, agrees with אוי oi, that is, O, both in letters and sound, and likewise in meaning.
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3. The day of the Lord, — on which the Lord shall exercise public vengeance against the Egyptians, and that sharp and terrible. A day of clouds, — a cloudy day, that is, sad, turbulent, calamitous. It shall be the time of vengeance of the nations, — namely of the Babylonians laying waste and avenging; or rather of the nations to be avenged and laid waste, namely the Egyptians. Thus the Chaldean. As in verse 9, "the day of Egypt" is called the day of the destruction of Egypt. Tropologically, the day of death, and the day of judgment shall be the day of the Lord, "when all the conversation of this age shall be destroyed, and error being taken away, one truth shall appear, and a day of clouds and mist; for no one trembling and uncertain about the sentence, without fear awaits the judge. And the time or end of the nations shall be, not of one nation Egypt, but of all. It follows: The sword shall come into Egypt, a sword turning and flaming, the divine word; which may divide the good from the evil, and consume the worst in its fire; into Egypt, I say, of this age, so that there shall be fear in Ethiopia; who beyond Egypt in the night of error, and darkness dwell, and whose blackness is converted into whiteness either with difficulty, or not at all. And the multitude of Egypt shall be taken away; for broad and spacious is the way that leadeth to death," says St. Jerome.
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4. Its foundations destroyed, — namely, cities and fortresses well founded and fortified. Others understand princes, others laws: for both are the foundations of the commonwealth and polity.
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5. Ethiopia,—namely adjacent to Egypt, for instance Abyssinia, where rules a king commonly called Prester John. Lydians,—not from Lydia, in which there was a king named Croesus, also well-known. Indeed Ionians and Carians, neighbors of Lydia (these indeed perhaps also comprehended under the name of Lydians not only paid tribute to Psammetichus and Apries, but also were given lands in Egypt), but from Lyda, a city of Palestine adjacent to Egypt, where St. Peter, Acts ix, 34, healed Aeneas the paralytic; where also St. George suffered martyrdom and was buried: whence even now it is called St. George's, says Vitriacus, and from him Adrichemius, in Lyda or Lydda: for it was warlike, and as such is introduced by Ezekiel: whence in the time of St. Jerome, it was called Diospolis, that is the city of Jupiter, and was one of the eleven toparchies of Judaea, fifth in order. Chub.—Symmachus and Jerome translate, Arabs. Perhaps these are those whom Ptolemy, lib. IV Geogr. cap. v, calls Cobians. And the sons of the land of the covenant,—inhabitants of the land, which made a covenant with the Egyptians, as if to say, And all others, who were confederated with the Egyptians. For thus the Prophet explains this Hebraism in the following verse, when he calls the same ones "strengthening" and "fortifying" Egypt. Others, as if to say, Jews inhabitants of Judaea, which in the covenant of God with Abraham, to them and to his seed was promised, and whose inhabitants were covenanted to God. Whence the Septuagint translates, and the sons of my covenant.
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6. From the tower of Syene,—namely even to the borders of Ethiopia, of which he spoke before, that is throughout all Egypt, as I explained in the preceding chapter, verse 10. 7. In the midst of cities,—as if to say, Among cities laid waste, that is devastated, similarly the cities of Egypt shall be laid waste and deserted: for Nebuchadnezzar devastated all neighboring ones. See what was said concerning this phrase in the preceding chapter, verse 12.
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8. When I shall have given fire in Egypt,—that is when I shall have burned it with fire: or, fire signifies the bitterness of any calamity. 9. Messengers shall go forth from before me.—The Chaldeans namely, as if legates sent by God, shall go forth from their land, carried in triremes to crush the Ethiopians. But because the Chaldeans came from Chaldea by land journey, not by sea, as is evident from Geography; hence secondly, better Maldonatus, as if to say, Messengers shall go forth from Egypt through the Nile into Ethiopia, announcing the devastation of Egypt, to Ethiopia too secure and confident in itself, they shall strike terror. And God says they shall go forth from before his face, because they were going to go forth by his counsel and providence. And there shall be fear in them (in the Ethiopians) in the day of Egypt (in Hebrew, as in the day, namely of the devastation of Egypt, there was great fear in it, so shall it be in Ethiopia), because without doubt it shall come,—namely the devastation of Ethiopia.
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12. And I will make the channels of the rivers dry,—namely, that I may punish Egypt with drought and sterility. For if the Nile does not overflow and cover Egypt with mud, it shall be sterile. Others, as if to say, So great shall be the multitude of the Chaldeans, that they shall drink up the waters of the rivers. For thus Sennacherib boasts, IV Kings cap. xix, 24: "I have drunk the waters of strangers, and I have dried up with the soles of my feet all the waters that were shut up." Thus Maldonatus. Symbolically, R. David understands by streams riches, as if to say, I shall take away from Egypt its riches: for these in Egypt consist in the waters and overflow of the Nile. Into the hands of the worst,—into the hands of the cruel Chaldeans.
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13. I will make the idols cease from Memphis.—"Memphis," in Hebrew Noph, the most spacious and populous city of Egypt, has the form of a perspective glass, situated near Heliopolis, in that place where the Nile is divided, and forms a triangle, or three-cornered shape, founded by King Minaeus. It was once the seat of the kings of Egypt: hence in it were the tombs of kings, columns and pyramids, concerning which Martial lib. I: Let barbarous Memphis be silent about the wonders of pyramids. Hence also in it were wise men and philosophers: whence Pythagoras and Plato went into Egypt, that they might hear the Memphitic seers, says St. Jerome. It was most addicted to superstition, and therefore was held to be the metropolis of superstition. There was worshipped in it even in the time of St. Jerome a bronze image of a cow as a god: for there had been there once the temple of Apis, of Apis or Serapis, where the demon consulted gave responses. Concerning which Ovid lib. I De Arte amandi: Do not flee the Memphitic rites of the Nile-born heifer. And Tibullus, lib. I: Barbarous Memphis taught to mourn the cow. And this is the reason why against it thunder forth Ezekiel, Isaiah cap. xix, Jeremiah cap. xliv, Hosea cap. ix, especially because Jews fleeing from their country for fear of the Chaldeans, settled in Memphis against the command of the Lord, says St. Jerome in Hosea IX. Afterwards Memphis was called the Babylon of Egypt: now in the Arabic language Cayrus, commonly called Alcair: it was the seat of the Sultan of Egypt; but when he (called Campson) was killed in battle, Selim the emperor of the Turks subjected it with all Egypt to himself, and completely overthrew the empire of the Mamelukes in the year of the Lord 1516. There are those who assert it to be five times larger than Paris; but these comprehend the suburban field, which is scattered with innumerable villages, says Ludovicus Romanus, lib. I Navig. cap. I. And a duke of the land of Egypt shall be no more,—namely for a long time, for instance for forty years, as he said in the preceding chapter, verse 13.
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14. I will set fire to Taphnis,—I will burn Taphnis or Tanis, a most ancient city of Egypt, as is evident from Numbers xiii, 23. It was called Tanis in Hebrew צען tsoan, from which the middle letter ain was removed צן tsan, from which Tan, from which Tanis. For the Syrians exchange tsade for teth. From Tani were called the Titans, giants, its inhabitants. I will execute judgments in Alexandria,—I will punish Alexandria severely. For this is signified by the Hebrew נא No, as the Chaldean and the Hebrews translate it. For Alexandria in the time of Ezekiel was called No, and was a great and mighty city, so much so that in Nahum iii, 8, it is said not to yield to Nineveh itself, the greatest, which consisted in its circuit of walls of 480 stadia, says Diodorus Siculus lib. III, cap. I, that is 60 miles, which make 20 leagues. Therefore No was greater than Alexandria which came later, which in length was 30 stadia, in width ten, says Josephus, lib. II of the Wars, cap. xvi; but in the circuit of its walls it had 18. Whence the Septuagint translates it Diospolis, that is to say the city of Jupiter. This was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, but afterwards was restored by Alexander, and he surrounded it with very extensive walls, and called it Alexandria after himself. It is therefore a prolepsis; for by anticipation our Author calls it Alexandria, which was then called No. Thus Virgil said of Aeneas: He came to the Lavinian shore. "Not because at the time when Aeneas came to Latium they were called Lavinian, but which were afterwards called Lavinian," says St. Jerome. Whence the city of Lavinium, which still stands not far from Rome, and retains this name. Hence it is clear that Alexander was not the founder of Alexandria, but its restorer and namer.
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15. Pelusium the strength of Egypt,—because Pelusium was most fortified, and had a great and secure port; hence it was most flourishing in ships and merchandise. "Whence also the Poet calls the Pelusiac lentil, not because it is born there, but because it is brought there in great quantity from Thebes and all Egypt by the stream of the Nile," says St. Jerome.
30:17
17. The young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastis shall fall by the sword. shall fall.—Heliopolis is a city of Egypt, which by the Greeks, as Diodorus Siculus testifies, is called Thebes. Its citizens, as Herodotus testifies, lib. II, were held by the Egyptians to be the wisest of all. In Latin it is called the city of the Sun, because in it there was a statue and temple of the Sun. The ancients relate that the phoenix bird dwelt in Heliopolis: namely because the Heliopolitans depicted the sun as if it were a bird rising and setting. For the phoenix is not a bird, nor was it ever in the world, as I have shown on Genesis vii, 2. "Bubastis," or rather "Pubastis," in Hebrew פי בסת pi beset, is a city near Pelusium, at the eastern mouth of the Nile. By Ptolemy it is called the city of Heroes: from it the surrounding region and the adjacent river are called Bubastus. In it there was a celebrated temple of Diana: whence it is called sacred by Ovid; for thus he sings, Metamorph. IX: With whom the barking Anubis, And sacred Bubastis, and Apis of various colors. Mystically St. Jerome: "Phathures," he says, "is interpreted the trampling of bread; Taphnis, or Tanis, a humble commandment; Diospolis, which in Hebrew is No, rest; Sain, temptation. By which names are demonstrated the various assemblies of heretics, and of all liars, who trample upon the Ecclesiastical bread and despise it; and follow a humble commandment, and one not leading to heavenly things; and are devoted to pleasures, and are in rest (such as we read in the Gospel of the rich man clothed in purple) and serve temptations. All these things the Lord will destroy and set on fire, just as the young men of Heliopolis, in Hebrew און On, which is interpreted pain; and of Bubastis, that is the trial of the mouth. All these who could not bear pain, but pursued the pleasures of Diospolis, and trusted in themselves in the fluency of words, and disputing against other doctrines, having experiences of victory, shall fall by the sword of the word of God." Thus St. Jerome at length, whose words I have compressed into a few. And they themselves (namely the women of the young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastis) shall be led away captive.—Thus the Septuagint. Thus indeed in a similar disaster Taphnis is said and explained in the following verse.
30:18
18. The day shall be darkened,—that is to say, there shall be such great mourning and sorrow, that the day shall seem to the Egyptians to be darkened and turned to night, and to be covered with a cloud. This is the day of cloud, of which verse 3 speaks.
30:20
20. And it came to pass in the eleventh year—of the transmigration of Jehoiachin, as is evident from the preceding chapter, verse 17, which was the last year of Zedekiah, in which the kingdom of the Jews and the city of Jerusalem were overthrown by the Chaldeans.
30:21
21. His arm (the Chaldean: his strength) of Pharaoh I have broken,—that is, I will break, so that by no art or means can it be restored to its whole and former state. Secondly and more properly, I have already broken Pharaoh Necho fighting at Carchemish against the Chaldeans, in the fourth year of Joakim king of Judah, as if to say, The king of Egypt will not be able to resist the Chaldeans, because from the aforesaid battle already mentioned he has a broken arm, that is, forces so bruised that he cannot hold a sword. For indeed this bruising has not been healed up to now; because he could not recover his forces and regions, especially of Syria, lost in that battle. Thus H. Pintus, Maldonatus and the Hebrews. Wherefore his arm being thus broken and bruised, I will easily shortly after break it completely and crush it. Whence it follows:
30:22
22. Behold I come against Pharaoh,—namely I will come that I may destroy him. And I will break his arm strong, but broken.—In Hebrew, both strong and broken; thus the Septuagint, as if to say, The king of Egypt once had two arms, that is, kingdoms, namely of Egypt and of Syria: one, namely of Syria, has already been broken, and taken from him; there remains the other, namely of Egypt, which he still holds, but that likewise I will crush, so that mutilated in both arms and hand, he may be unwarlike, nor be able to hold a sword in this hand or that to resist the Chaldeans. Thus the Hebrews.
30:24
24. And I will strengthen,—strength, courage, wealth and forces I will give to the Chaldean. And they shall groan, etc., the slain.—In Hebrew חללים chalalim, that is, the wounded, mortally hurt: this therefore signifies the slain here an action, or rather a passion begun, not completed: for indeed the completely slain, that is, the dead, cannot groan. Thus often elsewhere our author renders the Hebrew chalalim, the slain. It signifies those who are wounded, and from this die. Before his face,—namely both of Pharaoh, and of the king of Babylon.
30:25
25. When I shall have given my sword.—God calls the swords of the Chaldeans his own; because he used them, as his instruments and officers, to punish the nations: for as a praetor gives a sword to the executioner, that he may cut off the head of the condemned: so God gave strength to the Chaldeans and other tyrants, that they might scourge sinful nations. See Canon. XXXV and XXXVI.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
30:5
2. Lâdh, Lâdhîm (Lydia, Lydii; Isa. 66:19; Ezek. 27:10; 30:5; cf. Gen. 10:13; 1 Chron. 1:13): a region and population perhaps in North Africa.
30:10
A. is named in the Masoretic text in Nah. 3:8, and Jer. 46:25. In Nah., Thebes is called "dwelling of A." (Nô'-Amôn), in Jer. 46:25 (and Ez. 30:10, 15 f.) Nô'. The Vulgate wrongly translates in these passages Nô' as "Alexandria" and 'Amôn as "populi" (Nah.) or "tumultus" (Jer.).
30:14
… The five mentions of A. in the Vulgate (Jer. 46:25; Ezek. 30:14-16; Nah. 3:8) are due to a misunderstanding of St. Jerome, who, believing the city to have been founded on the site of ancient No (Thebes), replaced the name No of the Hebrew text with …
Nahum (Hebrew: Naḥûm «Comforter»)
… In chs. 2-3 he describes the fall of Nineveh, imminent, and as a type recalls the past ruin of Thebes (Nō'-Amôn: Nah. 3:8 ff.; cf. Ezek. 30:14 ff.; St. Jerome [PL 25, 1260] erroneously translates Alexandria popularum). …
… During the XXI dynasty T. was for more than a century the capital of the country, so that Is. 19:11 and 13 gives particular importance to the "princes of T." In 667 B.C. it was sacked by Ashurbanipal and later by Nebuchadnezzar (hence the prophecy of Ez. 30:14-18). In the time of Strabo (XVII, 802) it was still a flourishing city; in the second half of the 1st century A.D. (Fl. Josephus, Bell. …
30:15
2. City, fortress of Egypt, mentioned only by Ez. 30:15-16; located in the Delta, but of uncertain identification. …
30:18
Taphnis (Hebrew: Taphranas; in Ezek. 30:18, Tephranas)
TAPHNIS (Hebrew: Taphranas; in Ezek. 30:18, Tephranas). - An Egyptian city (Ez. 30:18) where, after the assassination of Gedaliah, many Jews sought asylum in order to escape the reprisals of the Babylonians (Jer. 43:7-9). …
30:21
Ezechiel (Heb. Jēḥezqēl «God is strong» or «God strengthens»)
When in 587 Jerusalem, after a siege of about 18 months, during which the Pharaoh, who had set out to its aid, was defeated (Ez. 30:21 ff.), was taken, plundered and burned, harsh reality laid bare their foolish illusions, and, shaking their religious ideas, would have induced them to adhere to the worship of Marduk and …
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.