The judgments of God upon Israel for their sins. Christ shall one day redeem them.
For their obstinacie in idolatrie, 7. greatest plagues are threatned: 10. from which none shal be able to deliuer them. 14. But at last Christ coming wil redeme al by his death.
1When Ephraim spoke, a horror seized Israel: and he sinned in Baal, and died.Alle parole di Ephraim s'intimidì Israele, e peccò onorando Baal, e perì.EPHRAIM speaking, horrour inuaded Israel: and he sinned in Baal, and died.Loquente Ephraim, horror invasit Israël; / et deliquit in Baal, et mortuus est. 2And now they have sinned more and more: and they have made to themselves a molten thing of their silver as the likeness of idols: the whole is the work of craftsmen: to these that say: Sacrifice men, ye that adore calves.E adesso hanno aggiunto peccato a peccato, e del loro argento hanno fatte di getto figure d'idoli: tutto è lavoro di artefici: riguardo ad essi, dicon costoro: Voi, che adorate i vitelli, immolate degli uomini.And now they haue added to sinne: and they haue made to themselues a molten of their siluer as it were the similitude of idols, the whole is the worke of craftesmen: the these they say: Immolate men adoring calues.Et nunc addiderunt ad peccandum; / feceruntque sibi conflatile de argento suo / quasi similitudinem idolorum: / factura artificum totum est: / his ipsi dicunt: Immolate homines, vitulos adorantes. 3Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the dust that is driven with a whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.Per questo saranno essi come una nuvola sul far del giorno, e come la rugiada della mattina, la quale sparisce, e come la polvere, che un turbine alza dall'aia, e come fumo, che esce da un camino.Therfore they shal be as a morning cloude, and as a morning dew passing away, as dust caught with a whirlewind out of the floore, and as smoke out of the chimnie.Idcirco erunt quasi nubes matutina, / et sicut ros matutinus præteriens; / sicut pulvis turbine raptus ex area, / et sicut fumus de fumario. 4But I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt know no God but me, and there is no saviour beside me.Io però fin dalla terra di Egitto sono il Signore Dio tuo; e altro Dio non conoscerai fuori di me; e non v'ha Salvatore fuori di me.But I the Lord thy God out of the Land of Aegypt: and God beside me thou shalt not know, and there is no Sauiour beside me.Ego autem Dominus Deus tuus, ex terra Ægypti; / et Deum absque me nescies, / et salvator non est præter me. 5I knew thee in the desert, in the land of the wilderness.Ed ebbi cura di te nel deserto, nella terra di solitudine.I knew thee in the desert, in the land of wildernes.Ego cognovi te in deserto, / in terra solitudinis.
6According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full: and they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me.Presso alle loro pasture si son ripieni, e si son satollati, e in cuor loro s'inalberarono, e si scordaron di me.According to their pustures they were filled, and were made ful: they haue lifted vp their harr, and haue forgotten me.Juxta pascua sua adimpleti sunt et saturati sunt; / et levaverunt cor suum, et obliti sunt mei. 7And I will be to them as a lioness, as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians.Ed io sarò per essi qual lionessa, e qual leopardo sulla strada, che mena in Assiria.And I wil be vnto them as a lionesse, as a leopard in the way of the Assyrians.Et ego ero eis quasi leæna, / sicut pardus in via Assyriorum. 8I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps, and I will rend the inner parts of their liver: and I will devour them there as a lion, the beast of the field shall tear them.Anderò loro incontro come orsa, cui siano stati rapiti i suoi parti, e sbranerò fino al cuore le loro interiora: ed ivi li divorerò qual lione, e le fiere gli strazieranno.I wil meete them as a beare her yong being violently taken away, and I wil breake in sunder the inner partes of their liuer: and wil consume them there as a lion, the beast of the filde shal teare them.Occurram eis quasi ursa raptis catulis, / et dirumpam interiora jecoris eorum, / et consumam eos ibi quasi leo: / bestia agri scindet eos. 9Destruction is thy own, O Israel: thy help is only in me.La perdizione è da te, o Israele: da me solo il tuo soccorso.Perdition is thine ô Israel: onlie in me thy helpe.Perditio tua, Israël: tantummodo in me auxilium tuum. 10Where is thy king? now especially let him save thee in all thy cities: and thy judges, of whom thou saidst: Give me kings and princes.Dov'è il tuo re? adesso è il tempo, che te, e le tue città salvi egli, e i tuoi giudici; perocché tu dicesti: Dammi un re, e de' principi.Where is thy king? Now especially let him saue thee in al thy cities: & thy iudges, of whom thou saydst: Geue me kinges, and princes.Ubi est rex tuus ? / maxime nunc salvet te in omnibus urbibus tuis; / et judices tui, de quibus dixisti: / Da mihi regem et principes. 11I will give thee a king in my wrath, and will take him away in my indignation.Ti diedi un re nel mio furore; e nell'ira mia tel riterrò.I wil geue thee a king in my furie, and wil take him away in mine indignation.Dabo tibi regem in furore meo, / et auferam in indignatione mea.
12The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is hidden.Ho messe insieme le iniquità di Ephraim, i suoi peccati son custoditi in luogo nascosto.The iniquitie of Ephraim is bound together, his sinne is hidden.Colligata est iniquitas Ephraim; / absconditum peccatum ejus. 13The sorrows of a woman in labour shall come upon him, he is an unwise son: for now he shall not stand in the breach of the children.Lo sorprenderanno i dolori, come una partoriente: egli è un figliuolo non saggio: ei non si sosterrà adesso nella strage de' figli.The sorowes of a woman in trauel shal come to him, he a sonne not wise: for now he shal not stand the confraction of the children.Dolores parturientis venient ei: / ipse filius non sapiens: / nunc enim non stabit in contritione filiorum. 14I will deliver them out of the hand of death. I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy death; O hell, I will be thy bite: comfort is hidden from my eyes.Io li salverò dal poter della morte; li riscatterò dalla morte: o morte, io sarò la tua morte: tuo strazio sarò io, o inferno: i miei occhi non veggono consolazione.Out of the hand of death I wil deliuer them, from death I wil redeme them: I wil be thy death ô death, thy bitte wil I be ô hel, consolation is hidden from mine eyes.De manu mortis liberabo eos; / de morte redimam eos. / Ero mors tua, o mors ! / morsus tuus ero, inferne ! / consolatio abscondita est ab oculis meis. 15Because he shall make a separation between brothers: the Lord will bring a burning wind that shall rise from the desert, and it shall dry up his springs, and shall make his fountain desolate, and he shall carry off the treasure of every desirable vessel.Perocché egli divide tra loro i fratelli. Il Signore manderà un vento ardente, che si leverà dal deserto, e asciugherà le sue sorgenti, e seccherà le sue fontane. Egli farà preda del tesoro di tutti i vasi preziosi.Because he shal diuide betwen bretheren: our Lord wil bring a burning winde rising from the desert: and it shal drie vp his vaines, and shal make his fountaine desolate, and he shal spoyle the treasure of euerie vessel that is to be desired.Quia ipse inter fratres dividet: / adducet urentem ventum Dominus de deserto ascendentem, / et siccabit venas ejus, / et desolabit fontem ejus: / et ipse diripiet thesaurum omnis vasis desiderabilis.
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Worthington
Spoke. When Jeroboam proposed to erect the golden calves, people were seized with horror; yet they consented, and soon after Baal and other idols were worshipped. (Worthington)
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Calmet
Calves. A cutting reproach! Those who could stoop to adore a calf, might be so blind as to sacrifice men! Hebrew, "sacrifice, ye men who," etc. Jeroboam issues this edict. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "immolate men; calves are wanting." (Haydock)
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Away. Osee 6:4.
Calmet
Chimney, or hole, at the side or top of the room. (Calmet)
Hebrew arubba, (Haydock) means also "a locust," as the Septuagint render it, though here it affords no sense.
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Calmet
Knew: treated thee with kindness, or tried thee. (Calmet)
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Pastures: the more they were indulged. (Haydock) (Deuteronomy 32:15.)
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Lioness. Septuagint, "panther." I will pursue them even in their captivity.
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Whelps; with the greatest fury, 2 Kings 17:8.
Calmet
Inner. Hebrew, "what encloses the heart;" or, I will break their hard heart. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Own. Evils are brought on by the sins of men, which God does not cause. (Worthington)
Haydock
Septuagint, "who will aid to prevent thy perdition, O Israel." (Haydock)
Worthington
God alone is the author of salvation. He also punishes, (Amos 3:6.) but for man's amendment in life. (Worthington)
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Menochius
Princes. It was on this pretext that a king was demanded, 1 Kings 8:20. Will any now save you? (Menochius)
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Haydock
Away. Osee, (Calmet) so that you shall have no more kings of Israel. (Haydock)
St. Jerome
Septuagint alone have, "I took (Calmet) or had him in," etc. (St. Jerome)
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Haydock
Hidden. He thinks to escape. (Haydock)
Calmet
But I keep it like pieces of silver, bound up in my treasury. (St. Jerome) (Calmet)
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Him. He shall be taken when he least expects it. His fruit shall come forth, Jeremias 4:31.
Calmet
Children. He shall have no share in the division of property, or shall not escape when the father shall bring his children to an account. The Chaldean, etc., insinuate, that the infant affords no help to come forth, as it would if it had sense. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Death. This must be understood of eternal misery, from which the just are preserved. All must die, and many suffered a violent death from the Assyrians. (Worthington)
Calmet
After denouncing the severest judgments, the prophet promises redress and a sort of resurrection, which was a figure of the real sufferings and rising of Jesus Christ. The apostle applies this text to him, but follows not the Hebrew or Septuagint, 1 Corinthians 15:55. (Calmet)
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Protestants read, O grave, (marginal note: hell) instead of the latter death. Hebrew ehi has been twice placed for aie, I will be instead of where? (Haydock) as the Greek, Arabic, and Syriac versions, as well as the context, evince. All the versions prove the same corruption to be [in] ver. 10. Kennicott, Aquila, and the 5. edition read where? Symmachus I will be: (St. Jerome) so that the change probably took place between the year of the Lord 130 and 200. Septuagint, "Where is thy cause gained, (in a lawsuit, or thy justice; dike.; Haydock) O death?" etc.
Calmet
Eyes. I can find no consolation, (St. Jerome) because the people cause dissension by their perseverance in evil. Hebrew also, "repentance," etc. I will utterly destroy Ephraim; or rather, "vengeance....because he shall flourish," etc. If Ephraim would repent, this should not take place; but now, the Lord will bring Salmanasar, a burning wind, ver. 15. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Springs of death; or the sins which Christ, born of a virgin, shall destroy, and liberate the vessels of election from hell. (St. Jerome) (Haydock)
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VVhen Iero boam first set vp the calues to be adored the people had horrour therof yet consented therto.
and shortly after some added the idol of Baal. 3 Reg. 16.
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and of other idols: as this place testifieth
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Concordance Isa. 43.
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Euils that happen are al of mans owne procurement by his sinnes: vvherof God is no vvay the auctor or cause:
vvho of his part doth al for the helpe of man: for vvhether he punish or pardon, al is to saue men: so God is onlie cause of helpe and of al good but not of euil as it is euel he is in dede the cause of punishment, vvhich is called malum paenae, the euil of paine. Amos. 3. v. 6. but this for amendment during this life, and of iustice after death.
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Concordance 1. Reg. •.
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This can not be vnderstood of temporal death, from vvhich God vvil no• deliuermen, nor of violent death, from vvhich he vvould not deliuer those that vvere slaine by the Assyrians, but necessarily of eternal death, from vvhich the iust shal be deliuered.
Concordance 1. Cor. 15.
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Concordance Heb. 2. Ezec. 19.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 1 Timothy 18
… They say to him, in effect, “Disgrace thy soul without end or object,—offend thy God,—be deaf to the claims of nature; though it be thy father or thy mother, be not ashamed to set thyself against them.” Such are the commands of avarice. “Sacrifice to me, she says, not calves, but men.” The prophet indeed says, “Sacrifice men, for the calves have failed.” (
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St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Answer to Eunomius' Second Book 1
… But if this is not agreeable to our opponents, let it be as each of them pleases. In his ignorance, however, of the figures of Scripture, our opponent contradicts what is said. For if he had learned the Divine names, he must have known that our Lord is called a Curse and Sin , and a Heifer , and a lion’s Whelp , and a Bear bereaved of her whelps
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St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 12.4
… Melchisedec is our witness, thus declaring God to be Creator of heaven and earth: Blessed be Abraham of God most high, Who created heaven and earth . The prophet Hosea also is witness, saying, I am the Lord thy God, that establish the heavens and create the earth, Whose hands have created all the host of heaven
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 De Trinitate or On the Trinity 12.9
9. For often by means of these members of our bodies, God illustrates for us the method of His own operations, enlightening our intelligence by using terms commonly understood: as when He says, Whose hands created all the host of heaven
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.7
7. I know the glittering sword, and the blade made drunk in heaven, bidden to slay, to bring to naught, to make childless, and to spare neither flesh, nor marrow, nor bones. I know Him, Who, though free from passion, meets us like a bear robbed of her whelps, like a leopard in the way of the Assyrians,
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Answer to Eunomius' Second Book 1
… In his ignorance, however, of the figures of Scripture, our opponent contradicts what is said. For if he had learned the Divine names, he must have known that our Lord is called a Curse and Sin , and a Heifer , and a lion’s Whelp , and a Bear bereaved of her whelps , and a Leopard
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 16
… As, for instance, when he says, “He couched, he lay down as a lion;” ( Numb. xxiv. 9 ) let us take out the indomitable and fearful part, not the brutality, nor any other of the things belonging to a lion. And again, when He says, “I will meet them as a bereaved bear” (
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichæans 32
… "Through me kings reign and tyrants hold the land through me." The apostle also says: "For there is no power but of God." But that it is worthily done is written in the book of Job: "Who maketh to reign a man that is a hypocrite, on account of the perversity of the people." And concerning the people of Israel God says: "I gave them a king in my wrath."
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 14
… The one was cast into a whale’s belly: but the other of His own accord went down thither, where the invisible whale of death is. And He went down of His own accord, that death might cast up those whom he had devoured, according to that which is written, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; and from the hand of death I will redeem them
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
… and it saved those that looked upon it, not because they believed it to live, but because it was killed, and killed with it the powers that were subject to it, being destroyed as it deserved. And what is the fitting epitaph for it from us? “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 7.1
… Let us not fear punishment, and then we shall escape punishment. Even as the Three Children were not afraid of the furnace, and so escaped from the furnace. Such indeed it becomes the servants of God to be. For if those who were brought up under the Old dispensation, when death was not yet slain,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 19
And raising aloud the cry of victory over death, he said, “Where, O Death, is thy victory? Where, O Grave, is thy sting?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 42
Thus, since he was speaking of great and secret things, he again takes prophecy (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 60.2
… He, yes He, conquered thee, He slew thee, that fugitive prophet who left His home, gave up His inheritance and surrendered his dear life into the hands of those who sought it. He it was who of old threatened thee in Hosea: “O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 75.1
… But we have this consolation that it is slain by the word of the Lord. For it is said: “O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction,” and in the next verse: “An east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Morals of the Catholic Church 30
… "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? Where, O death, is thy contest?"
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Sermons 59
… and though the nature of the Godhead could not sustain the sting of death, yet at His birth He took from us that which He might offer for us. For of old He threatened our death with the power of His death, saying by the mouth of Hosea the prophet, “O death, I will be thy death, and I will be thy destruction, O hell
Ecumenical Councils The Epistle of Cyril to Nestorius with the XII. Anathematisms 1
… And this: “In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,” being removed through him, he showed the truth of that spoken by the prophet, “Strong death swallowed them up, and again God hath wiped away every tear from off all faces.”
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 A discourse by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ 4
… Listen to Osea, as he speaks thus grandly: “In those days the Lord shall bring on a burning wind from the desert against them, and shall make their veins dry, and shall make their springs desolate; and all their goodly vessels shall be spoiled. Because they rose up against God, they shall fall by the sword, and their women with child shall be ripped up.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 60.2
… O death that dividest brothers knit together in love, how cruel, how ruthless thou art so to sunder them! “The Lord hath fetched a burning wind that cometh up from the wilderness: which hath dried thy veins and hath made thy well spring desolate.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 75.1
… like Moses he can say: “I will now turn aside and see this great sight,” but I am tormented with regret that I was not allowed to look upon the face of one, who was likely, as I believed, in a short time to come hither. True indeed is the prophetic warning concerning the doom of death that it divides brothers,
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1. When Ephraim spoke ("Ephraim" he calls Jeroboam, who was born from the tribe of Ephraim, and was the first from it to be made king of Israel, as if to say: When Jeroboam the Ephraimite began to speak, and to incite the people to idols, namely to the golden calves to be worshipped), horror (or, as Symmachus and Theodotion, trembling) seized Israel (so that they dared not resist the idolatrous king, but, struck with fear as if with trembling, they worshipped Baal, that is, idols, namely the golden calves proposed by him: and thus) he died, — both he himself and his king, that is, he was given over to captivity and temporal death, and much more incurred the spiritual death of the soul, losing him who says: "I am the life," John xiv, 6, according to that of Ezech. xviii, 20: "The soul that sinneth, the same shall die." Thus St. Jerome, Rupert, Hugh, Lyran, Emmanuel and Mariana. Literally, Baasa slew Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and overthrew his line, and transferred the kingdom to himself, III Kings xv, 29. Otherwise Arias: for he takes horror as aversion from Roboam, which Jeroboam impressed upon the people, setting before them his tyranny and the enormity of his tributes; and thus Jeroboam was made king by the people, turning away from Roboam. Secondly, for "seized" in Hebrew it is נשא nasa, which among other things signifies exalted, alienated. Whence the Chaldean and Vatablus thus translate and explain: Once when Ephraim himself worshipped God, all trembled when he spoke, and then he exalted his head, and became king; but after he turned aside to Baal, he incurred death, and was deprived of life and kingdom. By Ephraim understand Jeroboam, or the royal tribe itself: for the tribe of Ephraim in Jeroboam and his descendants obtained the kingdom over the other tribes.
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2. And now they have added to their sin (that is to say, They add sin to sin, idols to idols and accumulate them: for) they have made themselves a molten image (they have cast an idol) of their silver (or gold, or some other metal) as a likeness of idols. — In Hebrew, according to their understanding, or conception of idols, that is, as each one conceived it in his mind, as each one formed it in his imagination, as it seemed good to each one, or as each one pleased to fashion or form this or that idol with such or such a form, shape and figure; which our translator clearly renders, "a likeness of idols." For this conception or idea of their mind was nothing other than the idea and likeness of idols. Whence he adds: The work of artificers entirely, — that is to say, The idol has nothing of divinity, or of the divine, but is entirely the idea conceived by the artificer and fabricated by his hand; therefore when you adore the idol, you adore the idea and imagination of the craftsman: for it is his work and image, and it came forth from no other source than from this workshop of his; for just as the artificer first conceives in his mind the idea of a house before he thinks to build it, and then according to it he builds and fabricates the house; so also the idol-maker, or artificer of the idol, first forms for himself the idea of the idol in his mind, so that for example it might have such a measure, such a face, such eyes, such a position, etc., and then according to it he casts and forms it from silver or gold. The Hebrew word תבונה tebuna properly signifies understanding, not idea, from the root בן ban, that is, he understood; but in the matter, the understanding of the architect, artificer and craftsman is nothing other than the exemplar and idea of the thing to be built and fabricated, which the Hebrews properly call תבניה tabnit, from the root בנה bana, that is, he built. Hence it is clear that some interpret, more subtly than solidly and genuinely, by the likeness of idols the images of idols, that is to say, How great is the vanity and foolishness of the Israelites, that they not only make the idols themselves, but also paint and carve their effigies and images, and worship them as gods. To these they themselves say: Sacrifice men, adoring calves. — The word men is in the accusative case, not the vocative. This is evident from the Hebrew זבחי אדם zobeche adam; and from the Septuagint, θύσατε ἀνθρώπους, that is, sacrifice men, for example sons as victims; for the calves have failed. The sense is, that is to say, Concerning the idols the idolaters say, especially their priests: You, O Israelites, who adore the golden calves of Jeroboam, sacrifice to them not only sheep and oxen, but also men; because the nations do this, and because Abraham did this, sacrificing Isaac his son, Genesis xxii. But the true cause was that the demon thirsts for human blood and demands their death for himself. There is a forceful antithesis between calves and men, that is to say, How great is the stupidity to sacrifice men to calves, when calves as beasts ought to serve men, not men to calves? Thus St. Jerome, Cyril, Hugh and others. Some, however, such as Lyra, Pagninus, Vatablus and Arias, take men in the vocative, that is to say, You, O men, sacrifice victims to the golden calves, adoring them. Note: For adoring the Hebrew is ישקון iissakun, that is, kissing. Whence Vatablus translates: You, O men, who sacrifice to calves, kiss them. For the idolaters were accustomed, as a sign of veneration and adoration, to kiss the idol, or, if they could not do that, to kiss their own hand in place of the idol. This is what Job says in chapter xxxi, 26: "If I beheld the sun when it shined, etc., and I kissed my hand," that is, if I adored the shining sun by kissing my hand. And Ezekiel viii, 17: "Behold they put the branch to their nose," as if adoring and kissing God, to whom this branch was sacred. See the remarks there. Hence to adore is the same as to apply to the mouth, namely by kissing the hand. Thus Pliny, book xxviii, chapter ii.
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3. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud. — He threatens the guilty with punishment of destruction, and that swift, sharp and complete, which he therefore explains and exaggerates by four parables. The first is: "They shall be," he says (namely the Israelites who adored the calves) "as the morning cloud," which is quickly dissolved or dispersed by the rising sun and perishes. The second, as "the morning dew passing away," which namely the morning sun immediately absorbs, dries up and removes. The third, "as dust snatched by a whirlwind from the threshing floor:" understand dust, not of sand or earth, but of chaff of threshed wheat, namely the husk and refuse of chaff (for these the Hebrew מוץ mots signifies) which the whirlwind snatches from the threshing floor and scatters hither and thither. For in like manner the Israelites, with Samaria cut off, were snatched from it as from their threshing floor by the Assyrians into captivity, and thence scattered in all directions. The fourth, "as smoke from a chimney," namely from a smoke-hole or fireplace, goes forth and is driven; which immediately vanishes thin into the air: thus the Israelites shall be expelled from Samaria into Assyria. For chimney in Hebrew is ארבה arubba, which Aquila renders cataract; Symmachus, opening; Theodotion, καπνοδόχην, that is, smoke-hole, translates. Now he properly calls a cataract an opening made in a wall, through which smoke goes out, says St. Jerome. But the Septuagint, reading with different points ארבה arbe, translate it locust; which St. Jerome explaining says: Let Ephraim hear that it is compared to arbe, that is to vapor, or to air and spirit, which thus thin goes forth from the mouth of the locust, that it is not felt.
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4. But I am the Lord your God (I have been continuously) from the land of Egypt (that is, from of old, when I led you out of Egypt through so many wonders, I have had continuous care of you, I protected you, nourished you, prospered you as your God, indeed as your father. Wherefore I said, and commanded you in turn what follows, namely:) You shall know no God besides (that is, except) me (that is, you shall not acknowledge or worship any God other than me), and there is no savior besides me. — The Hebrew vau, signifying and, is causal. And therefore, that is because, that is, you shall worship me, because there is no other redeemer and savior for you than I, who saved and freed you from Egypt and other enemies. Thus Cyril, Theodoret, Lyra and others.
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5. I knew (practically, that is, I loved, benefited, ruled and directed) you in the desert. — Thus St. Jerome. Whence the Septuagint translates: I fed you in the wilderness, namely by giving manna from heaven daily. Truly the Psalmist, Psalm 23, 1: "The Lord," he says, "rules me (in Hebrew, feeds me, or is my shepherd), and I shall want nothing: in a place of pasture there he has placed me."
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6. According to their pastures they were filled, — that is, when I fed them so abundantly and miraculously with manna, quails, and water from the rock in the driest desert, as if I had placed them in the richest pastures, they, being satisfied, kicked against me. Thus the Chaldean; and so they fulfilled that prophecy of Moses concerning them: "The beloved grew fat, and kicked: grown fat, fattened, enlarged, he forsook God his maker," Deuteronomy 32, 15. Thus St. Jerome, the Chaldean, Hugh, Lyra and others.
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7. And (that is, therefore, that is, Because they were ungrateful and rebellious to me, feeding them so abundantly, therefore) I will be to them as a lioness. — He compares God the avenger, sharp and terrible, and consequently the Assyrians, whom God used for this vengeance, first to a lioness, which is more savage than a lion, especially while nursing her cubs; secondly, to a leopard "in the way of the Assyrians," which namely are accustomed to prowl in the desert, through which one goes from Judea and Samaria into Assyria. He notes the captivity made by the Assyrians: for the Assyrians, like leopards, through this desert vexing, burdening, and beating the Israelites as slaves, led them into Assyria. In Hebrew it is אשור Assur, that is, Assyrian: but the Chaldean, the Rabbis, Clarius, Arias, Pagninus and Vatablus for Assur read אשור asur, that is, I shall look, I shall prepare myself for prey, I shall lie in wait, from the root שור sur, that is, he looked, he lay in wait. Whence they translate: As a leopard I shall look to the way, and I shall lie in wait for them, that I may plunder and tear them.
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Third: 8. I will meet them as a bear robbed of her whelps, — raging against the robber, and consequently against anyone who comes in the way. Marvelous is the savagery of a bear robbed of her whelps: because marvelous is her love for them. For a bear brings forth shapeless whelps, and then by licking gradually forms and perfects them, which other animals do not do. Whence Blessed Isidore of Pelusium, disciple of St. Chrysostom, in book III, epistle 267, reads: "I will meet them as an anxious bear," and says that by this similitude is signified the avenging power of God. Tropologically, if so great is the bear's love for her shapeless offspring, and so great her fury against him who snatches them from her; how great is God's love for His faithful and His children, and how great His fury against those who turn them away from God by evil example, or by wicked counsels, enticements, etc., and entice them into lust and other crimes? Surely God will rage against such more than a bear against the robber of her whelps. See concerning the bear's care for her whelps Pliny, book VIII, chapter 36, and Aelian, book II, chapter 19. And I will rend the caul of their heart. — The Hebrew, Chaldean and Septuagint: I will rend the enclosure of their heart; Leo Hebraeus: I will lacerate their stubborn heart. He alludes to lions and other beasts, which are accustomed, when they have seized their prey, to tear and rend the body even to the heart, and to devour the heart itself first. Moreover, the Hebrew לב leb, that is heart, in Scripture by synecdoche signifies all the inward parts, namely the liver, the breast, and other viscera. Therefore our Translator preferred to render liver rather than heart, because the liver is the seat of love and concupiscence; and therefore is justly punished and rent by God. For this reason in the hymn of Saturday, at Matins, the Church prays: "Burn the loins and diseased liver with fitting fire." That is to say, Burn the concupiscence, which chiefly resides in the loins and liver. Thus also both Philosophers and Poets think and speak, such as Plato and Horace, book I, ode 25, when he says: "When burning love and lust shall rage around your ulcerous liver." And book IV, ode 1 to Venus: "If you seek a fitting liver to burn." And book I, epistle 18: "Let not a handmaid ulcerate your liver." Again, God will rend the liver, that is the life, happiness and glory of the Israelites; for their symbol is the liver, as I said on Lamentations ii, 8. And I will consume them there as a lion, the beast of the field shall tear them. — "There," namely "on the way of the Assyrians," and in Assyria itself. Thus St. Jerome, Lyra and Vatablus. Otherwise Arias: "There," he says, that is in the heart, that is to say, Just as a lion seeks and devours the heart of its prey, and sucks out the fat and blood diffused around the heart, but permits the other members to be devoured by bears, wolves, and other beasts: so I will consume and devour the hearts of the Israelites by sending upon them constant cares, sorrows, anxieties and terrors: but the beast of the field, that is the Assyrians, will tear and mangle the remaining parts of the body. This exposition is apt, and equally learned. In the leopard, besides strength and savagery, are also celebrated the swiftness of running and insidious cunning. Cf. Pliny, Natural History, book X, chapter 73: "Leopards lie in wait in dense trees, and hidden in their branches they leap down upon those passing by, and they attack from the seat of birds." Morally, God is a mother to believers and the penitent, and says: "Come to me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you," Matthew xi, 28. "But to the unbelieving and those unwilling to do penance, He becomes a panther, leopard, bear, and lion," says St. Jerome.
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9. Your destruction, O Israel, is only from yourself; in me is your help. — "Your," that is, from you, and from your sins and demerits it comes upon you, as if to say: You, O Israel, are the cause of your own destruction, that is, of captivity and ruin, not I: for in me there is no destruction, but your help: for there is no one who can and will help you except me. You go to your own ruin, I wish only to help you and to save you. Hence Leo the Hebrew, Pagninus and Vatablus, for שחת (shachet), that is, to destroy, destruction, reading שחת (shichet), that is, he destroyed, he ruined, he blotted out, translate: your calf destroyed you, which, abandoning me, you worshipped, but in me is your help. "Destruction" therefore here does not signify sin and guilt, but the penalty of sin and ruin: for this is what the Hebrew shachet signifies. Thus the Septuagint, St. Jerome, Lyran, Vatablus, de Castro, Mariana and others. The sense therefore is, as if to say: You, O Israel, have always brought upon yourself calamities, ruins, and a thousand disasters through your rebellion, idols and crimes: I on the other hand, as far as in me lies, have cared and do care for your salvation by sending Prophets, who would exhort you to repentance, by which you might escape the impending disasters: therefore impute your ruin to yourself, not to me; for although I shall come against you through the Assyrians like a lion, leopard, and raging bear, yet you compel me to this by your obstinacy and impenitence, which is so great that it almost wrests from me, even though willing to have mercy on you and to spare you, the very scourge with which you are chastised. Hence the Chaldean renders: When you corrupt your works, O house of Israel, peoples rule over you; but whenever you have turned to my law, my word has been your protection; the Syrian however: I have destroyed (ruined) you, Israel; who will help you? The Arabic Alexandrian: In your destruction, O Israel, who is there that will help you? The Arabic Antiochian: They will destroy you (enemies, for example the Assyrians), who is there that will help you? Note here: The word "only," although it is not expressly in the Hebrew, is nevertheless understood by antithesis, and signifies two things. First, that Israel ought not to hope for help from the Assyrian, nor from the Egyptian, nor from Hosea his king, nor from any other, except only from God. Second, that it is God's alone to help, not to destroy, as if to say: Just as it is your nature to destroy yourself, so it is God's nature to help you and to save you: for it is accidental to him, and as it were foreign to him, if on account of sins he is compelled to punish you. Thus our Emmanuel Sa. Second, St. Jerome from the Hebrew gives also this sense: "You would perish, Israel, because nothing remains for you except that you be preserved by my clemency alone." Third, the Septuagint renders: To your corruption, Israel, who will help? that is, to your captivity, and to your ultimate servitude, who of those whom you esteemed as your rulers will be able to bring help? says St. Jerome. Whence follows: "Where is your king?" The Prophet speaks of destruction and help first corporeal and temporal, then spiritual and eternal. For this is far more serious and of the greatest moment. Whence it follows that destruction, reprobation, hardening and damnation are not properly and of themselves from God destroying, reprobating, hardening and damning; but from man sinning, and hardening himself in sins until the end of life. On the other hand, predestination, vocation and grace are not from the foreseen merits of the predestined; but from God predestinating, calling, and his grace going before the predestined. For these are God's help. Thus the Theologians, I part. Question xxiii. Wherefore although in the predestined there is no cause or reason why they are predestined, nevertheless in the non-predestined there is a reason or cause why they are not predestined. For if God, moved by himself, excluded some from the benefit of predestination, he himself would be the first cause of their destruction, since it is certain that those who are not predestined will perish, says Gregory of Valencia, I part. Question xxiii, point 4, disp. 1. This therefore is the meaning of the sentence: "Your destruction, O Israel, is from you; in me alone is your help," general and universal, which you may explain thus as it were in parts and in parallel: Your captivity, Israel, is from you: your redemption from me. Your destruction from you: your salvation from me. Your death from you: your life from me. Your evil from you: your good from me. Your reprobation from you: your predestination from me, I who always stand at the door of your heart and knock mercifully. Your abandonment from you: your vocation from me. Your misery from you: your happiness from me. Your damnation from you: your salvation and beatification from me. For, as St. Augustine says in Sentences, no. 311: "God does many good things in man which man does not do; but man does nothing which God does not do so that man does it." What therefore some Doctors thus expound: "Perdition," that is, sin and thy guilt, by which thou destroyest thyself, O reprobate man, is from thee and thy evil will: but perdition, that is, reprobation and permission of sin, from which sin and damnation infallibly follow, is from God reprobating: this exposition, I say, is not pertinent to this place; because perdition, as I have shown, here signifies punishment, not guilt. And it is also false, as it appears: for the first permission of the first sin of man in God is not an effect of reprobation, nor from God reprobating: but it is an effect of common providence, by which God permits secondary and free causes to their liberty, that they may freely do well or ill, as they shall will; for this is required by man's freedom, and by the sweet disposition of divine providence. For reprobation is not the cause of sin, but rather its effect. For God reprobates no one in order that he may sin; but He reprobates every reprobate for this reason, that he has sinned and acted reprobately; and thus he has made himself reprobate and worthy of damnation. For reprobation is an act of vindicative justice, which necessarily presupposes sin to be vindicated and punished, as its proper object, it does not make or cause it. See what is said at chapter xi, 8 and 9. Most excellently St. Bernard, sermon 8 on the Nativity of the Lord: "Rightly," he says, "God is called not the father of judgments or vengeances, but the father of mercies, because He takes the cause and origin of showing mercy from His own nature, but the cause of judging or avenging more from ours." And St. Augustine, Sentence 379: "God," he says, "compels no one to sin; yet He foresees all who will sin by their own will. Why therefore does not the just One avenge what He does not compel the Foreknower to do? For just as no one by his memory compels the deeds to have been which have passed, so God by His foreknowledge does not compel to be done the things which are to come. And just as man remembers some things which he did, yet not all things which he remembers did he do; so God foreknows all things of which He Himself is the author, yet He is not the author of all things which He foreknows: but of those of which He is not the author, He is the just avenger." More clearly the same, epistle 106: "If God," he says, "is believed to condemn anyone undeservedly, He is not believed to be free from iniquity." And in the book On the Perseverance of the Saints, chapter viii: "Let him who is liberated love grace: let him who is not liberated acknowledge his debt." And chapter xi: "Unsearchable therefore is the mercy of God, by which He has mercy on whom He will, with no preceding merits of theirs; and unsearchable is the truth (that is, justice), by which He hardens whom He will, indeed with his preceding merits; but with him whom He has mercy on, usually with common merits." And epistle 105: "We seek the cause of predestination, and we do not find it; but we seek the cause of reprobation, and we find it. For those to whom God does not impart mercy, so that He does not impart it, they deserve." And book I to Simplician, Question ii: "He to whom He comes to aid, and he whom He abandons, are from the same mass of sinners. And although each ought to suffer punishment, from one it is exacted, to the other it is given." In the same place he asserts that Esau was hated by God on account of sins. Since therefore reprobation is hatred, and God hates nothing in man except sins, as St. Augustine says, epistle 103, it follows that God reprobates no one except on account of sins. St. Augustine is followed by St. Prosper in the Chapters to the Gauls, in the sentence on chapter vii, where he says: "The grace of God did not first abandon them (the reprobate) than by them it was abandoned. And because He foresaw that they would do this by voluntary defection, therefore in the election of predestination He did not have them." Following both, St. Fulgentius, book I to Monimus: "I beseech thee," he says, "most dear Monimus, that thou attend carefully to this place of the Apostle. For it is known that the wrath of God cannot be said to be, except where it is believed that the iniquity of man has preceded." For God, when He reprobates, is said by the Apostle to will "to show wrath," Rom. ix, 22. The same teach Scotus, Herveus, Cajetan of Ferrara, John Major, Sylvester, Dominic Soto, and others whom Ludovicus Molina cites and follows, I part. Question xxiii, art. 4 and 5, disp. iii, Vasquez, Bellarmine, Suarez and Gregory of Valencia ibid. All these assert that God reprobates no one except on account of his sins, in which he ends his life. Tropologically, "your destruction, O Israel," not from enemies, not from infected air, not from the concourse of stars, not from the force of kindled fire, not from arms, not from leaders, not from enemies, nor from most powerful armies: for all these things would be weak and vain, and could not destroy you, unless you yourself by your sins stirred up the wrath of God against you, and provoked and called forth that wrath to your destruction; therefore ascribe it to yourself, impute it to yourself, not to the enemy. Let every republic, city, and sinful soul say the same, which by its own crimes brings upon itself God's vengeance, and stirs up and arms its own enemies to its own ruin. Again, the same St. Augustine, in book II On the Merit and Remission of Sins, chapter v, explains the same thing with a beautiful similitude: Just as, he says, the eye of the body is not helped by light, if you close the eye, or if you turn it away from the light; so if you turn away from God, who is the light that illuminates every man coming into this world, or if you close the eyes of your mind, you will fall into the snares of demons, and you will perish; but if you turn yourself to God, He will illuminate your mind, and will turn you to Himself. Therefore, O Israel, your destruction is from you, because you turn away from God; your salvation is only from Me, because conversion to God from sin must necessarily begin from God. Hence St. Thomas, I II, Question cxii, article 3, to 2, explains it thus: "The defect of grace has its first cause from us; but the bestowal of grace has its first cause from God, according to that word of Hosea: Your destruction is from you, O Israel, your help is only in Me." With a similar scheme the Poet sang of the fall of Troy: Not to you is the face of the Tyndarid Lacaean woman hateful, nor Paris to be blamed; but rather the harshness of the Gods overturned these riches.
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10. Where is your king? Let him especially now save you,—that is to say, The kings whom you asked for and created cannot snatch you away and save you from the impending destruction by the Assyrians, but I alone, whom you neglect and despise. Proof, from what he said in the preceding verse: "Your help is only in Me," that is to say, Your kings and princes cannot help you in this calamity, learn therefore from experience itself that I alone can aid you. For "where" in Hebrew is אהי ehi, which the Septuagint, the Chaldean, our Vulgate, Leo the Hebrew and others translate as "where." Some, however, translate it as "I will be," as if ehi were the future from היה haia, that is, "he was," so that the sense would be: I will be your king now, that is to say, Now I will rule and bridle you like a rebellious and untamed horse. But this translation is opposed by what follows: "Let him save you," etc., which clearly must be understood of the king, not of God. And your judges (counselors and princes, as follows)—of whom you said (I Kings viii, 5): Give me a king and princes.—Hence it appears that the people asking for a king from Samuel (who, assenting to him by God's command, gave them Saul) at the same time asked him for judges, as it were counselors of the king; although this is not expressed in the history of the book of Kings.
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11. I will give thee a king in my wrath. — "I will give," that is, I gave thee Saul, being angry because thou didst seek another king from me; likewise Jeroboam and the other kings of Israel, whom I therefore soon took away, because they lived impiously. In like manner I will shortly take away the last king Hosea, equally impious, and in him and with him I will overturn thy kingdom. Truly St. Augustine in Sentences, sentence 252: "God," he says, "when something evil is sought, giving is angry, not giving shows mercy." Whence St. Jerome and Lyra thus explain it: I gave thee Saul the first king in wrath, and the last king Sedecia I will take away likewise in wrath. Or rather, I gave Jeroboam the first king to thee, O Israel, in wrath (for it is of him that we speak here, not of Sedecia and Judah), and I will take away thy last king Hosea in wrath. Note: God gave Jeroboam and the other succeeding kings to Israel in anger, because, offended by the sins of the people, He wished to cast them away from Jerusalem, and from His temple and kingdom, which was in Judah; hence as a punishment for their sins, He gave them kings who would make schism from Judah and God, and would lead the people away to golden calves. He proves what he said, that Israel ought not to expect protection from their kings against the Assyrians and salvation; because, he says, I gave these kings to Israel, not from love, but from anger, and therefore I will likewise take them away with the kingdom and people from anger. Wherefore they themselves are not so much a scepter as a scourge of God; because they are a rod with which God does not rule His flock, but chastises His enemies. Truly Livy said in book IX: "Empires badly acquired, badly managed, badly retained are destroyed." This is what Job says in chapter xxxiv, verse 30: "Who maketh a man that is a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people." Which words St. Gregory explaining, in book XXV of the Morals, chapter xiv, teaches that subjects ought not to complain of the vices of kings and princes, but of their own, because for these God gives them wicked princes. "Let them therefore accuse the fault of their own work rather than the injustice of their ruler. For it is written: I will give kings in my wrath. Why therefore do we despise them presiding over us, whose rule over us we receive from the wrath of the Lord?" Whence he concludes: "Thus therefore according to the merits of subjects, the persons of rulers are assigned. Thus according to the qualities of subjects, the acts of rulers are disposed, so that often for the evil of the flock even truly good men, the life of the pastor may be at fault." The same, book VI, epistle 7: "Thus," he says, "the merits of rulers and of the people are connected to each other, so that often from the fault of the preceding a worse life befalls the subjects, and often from the merit of the people the life of pastors may be at fault." He proves this by the example of David: "For he, God bearing witness, was praised, he was conscious of the mysteries of the heavens, suddenly puffed up with the swelling of pride, sinned by numbering the people, and yet the people received vengeance while David sinned." Why this? "Because namely according to the merit of the people, the hearts of rulers are disposed." Whence he infers that subjects ought especially to pray both for kings and for the whole assembly of the people. Thus God will give to the Jews and the wicked, at the end of the world, Antichrist as king in His wrath, as St. Gregory teaches in the same place, nay St. Paul, "because," he says, "they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; therefore God will send them the operation of error, to believe lying," II Thess. ii, 10, as if to say: Because the Jews would not receive Christ the true one, therefore God will send them Antichrist the false one. The crimes therefore of the wicked, which at the end of the world will be greatest, will bring forth as it were Antichrist, and will extort him from God as king. Most excellently Plutarch, in the book On the Delayed Vengeance of the Deity, chapter iv, teaches that wicked princes and tyrants are given by God, as it were executioners, to exact punishment from the wicked people; for just as the gall of a hyena is useful for curing diseases, so also the cruelty of a tyrant or magistrate avails for purging the vices of the people: "Such a medicine," he says, "Phalaris was to the Agrigentines, Marius to the Romans, Orthagoras to Myro, Clisthenes to the Sicyonians." Hence Theognides, when he saw the city swollen with pride and luxury: This city, he says, bears a womb; but I fear lest it bring forth a Man as a corrector of your evil insolence. Anastasius of Nicaea, Question xv in the Scriptures, relates two illustrious examples. The first, when Phocas, he says, the Emperor as a tyrant raged against the innocent, a certain monk often expostulated with God: "Why, Lord, didst Thou make him Emperor?" To which the answer came from heaven: "Because I found none worse." The second, a certain monk, a hypocrite but wicked, by the admonition of an angel was created. tus of Thebes, a most corrupt Bishop, when he grew insolent from his sacred honor, heard from an angel: "Why are you proud, O wretched one? You were not made a Bishop because you were worthy of the priesthood, but because the city was worthy of such a Bishop." Indeed, St. Ambrose also in his Apology for David, speaking of his fall: "The fall of kings," he says, "is the punishment of peoples; for as we are preserved by their virtue, so also are we endangered by their error." Moreover, among the other sins which impious princes deserve and which provoke God to give them over to themselves, the contempt of priests and sacred things stands out: for God punishes this with the tyranny of princes, says St. Cyprian, epistle 67 to Rogatianum, and he proves this by the example of Samuel. For God said to him: "They have not rejected you, but me," and to avenge this, He raised up for them Saul as king, who would afflict them with grave injuries, and through all manner of insults and punishments would trample down and press the proud people; so that the contempt shown to the priest might be avenged by divine retribution upon the proud people.
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12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up (that is to say: The crime of Israel is stored and laid up in the treasury of my memory, just as money is gathered and laid up in a chest and coffers: bound up, I say, so that it may not escape, and therefore in my mind) hidden (is) his sin,—because in it is reserved for the time of vengeance, which shall come shortly, so that he may be punished. Thus the Chaldean, St. Jerome, Theodoret, Vatablus and others. He alludes to Deuteronomy xxxii, 34: "Are not these things laid up with me, and sealed up in my treasures?" Tropologically, some refer these things to the faithful, who from shame or pride are unwilling to confess their sins to a Confessor; and to Religious, who are unwilling to reveal their conscience to their Superior, and the infirmities of soul and evil inclinations. In these the tongue is bound up, and consequently iniquity; for just as the disease of a sick man cannot be cured unless he himself reveals it to the physician; so neither can the vices of the soul, which have this property, that they are healed or mitigated only by the humility of confession and by the charity, consolation and instruction of a spiritual Father, as Cassian teaches, Lives of the Fathers, and experience itself shows. Whence it follows: "The pangs of a woman in labor shall come upon him," for the longer one remains silent about sin, the more difficult it is to reveal and expel it, just as a girl who carries a dead fetus in her womb, the longer she keeps silent about it and conceals it, the more difficult she will give birth; because day by day it becomes more corrupted, so that it cannot be cast out from the womb and by the power of giving birth. Hear Cassian, Conferences II, chapter x: "As soon as the evil thought has been revealed, it withers, and before the judgment of discernment is pronounced, the most foul serpent, as if drawn from a dark and subterranean cave by the power of confession into the light, and in a manner brought forth and dishonored, departs. For his harmful suggestions dominate us only so long as they are hidden in the heart." He then confirms this same thing by the example of Serapion, who was accustomed to steal bread to satisfy his hunger, and confessing the theft, was soon freed from temptation and hunger altogether. See also Dorotheos, sermon 5. This pertains to that passage in Psalm xxxi, 3: "Because I was silent, my bones grew old." And Ecclesiastes iv, 24: "For your soul's sake do not be ashamed to speak the truth. For there is a shame that brings sin, and there is a shame that brings grace and glory." And St. Augustine, in the book On the Ten Strings: "Better is a little bitterness in the throat than eternal torment in the bowels."
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13. The sorrows of a woman in travail shall come upon him, etc.; for now he shall not stand in the breaking of the children,—that is to say, Israel shall grieve as a woman in travail, while he sees his sons slain and broken by the Assyrians. For in the breaking of the children, Pagninus and Vatablus translate, in the breaking of the offspring, that is in the very act of birth, and the anguishes of childbirth; for by breaking they understand the anguishes of the maternal womb, from the effect, because the offspring are broken there, that is to say, I shall inflict the most grievous punishments upon Israel, and yet he shall not repent; for he is like a foolish offspring, which does not strive to depart at once from the anguishes of the maternal womb and come forth into the light; but there he remains long in the breaking. So foolish are sinners, who, when they are often in extreme anguishes, remain in them, and are broken and crushed by them, and do not turn to repentance and to God: but if they would do so, they would at once free themselves from them; for they would be delivered by God. Otherwise Rupertus and Arias, that is to say, Ephraim does not acknowledge his own guilt and crime, "and says: All my labours shall not find iniquity in me;"; he acts therefore like a foolish girl, who when she has committed fornication, hides the crime; but when the anguishes of childbirth come upon her, she brings it forth with the greatest shame and pain: for he shall not stand in the breaking of the children, that is, he shall suffer such great torments and breakings in giving birth, that he shall not be able to endure and conceal it; but shall reveal himself giving birth by countenance and voice, nay shall cry out. In like manner it shall happen to Israel in its destruction: for so great shall be its calamity and pain, that all shall recognize that its crime was enormous, for which it is so punished; although it now denies and hides it. Thus Rupertus, Arias and Sanchez, whom see. Tropologically, as a girl conceives an offspring, so a sinner conceives sin with brief and very short pleasure; but he brings it forth and gives birth to it with great and long pain, present and eternal. See St. Jerome here at verse 15.
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14. From the hand of death I will redeem them. — The Chaldean translator renders it in the past tense, I have redeemed them, as if to say: Hitherto I have often freed the Israelites, when penitent and calling upon me, from enemies, death and destruction; but now, impenitent and rebellious toward me, I will deliver them to enemies and death; indeed I myself will be their death, as follows. But the Hebrew, the Septuagint and others everywhere read it in the future: I will redeem and deliver. Second, Leo Hebraeus and Clarius supply the conditional particle if, and render it by the subjunctive mood, as if to say: If the people of Israel were a wise son, and repented of their sins, and returned to me, I would redeem him from the jaws of hell and death; but because he remains foolish and impenitent, he will be delivered to death by me. Note here: For death in Hebrew it is שאול sheol, that is, hell, as the Syriac translator renders it; but the matter comes to the same thing, because these two were then conjoined. For before the resurrection of Christ, those who went to death went likewise to hell. But neither the Hebrew, nor the Septuagint, nor the Chaldean, nor others have the particle if, but read absolutely: I will redeem and deliver. This therefore is the true and genuine reading. You will ask, what is its meaning, and of what deliverance is spoken here? First, Rufinus understands this of the deliverance of the city of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib besieging it, which was accomplished by the angel striking down 185,000 Assyrians, IV Kings xix, 35. But that was a deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem; here, however, the deliverance of Ephraim, that is, of the ten tribes, is spoken of, as is clear from verse 1. Better do Theodoret and a Castro judge that here is spoken of deliverance from the Babylonian captivity; for although that was primarily of the Jews, it was secondarily also of the Israelites; for many of them, mingling with the Jews, returned with them from captivity into Judea. For in captivity they were as it were in death and in hell, and were about to die there and descend into hell, unless God had freed them from it. Typologically, however, here is spoken of the deliverance and redemption of Christ, who by dying and rising again freed the Fathers from limbo and death, and restored them to life. By a similar scheme Ezekiel, cap. xxxvii, 1, by the vivification of dry bones, represents the deliverance of the Jews from captivity, and typologically the resurrection of the dead. But others everywhere take this not typologically, but literally of Christ, who by his resurrection freed the Fathers from hell and death, and caused them to rise with him; and at the end of the world he will call all alike from death to life in the universal resurrection. For then Christ will perfectly fulfill this oracle, which he fulfilled in part in his resurrection; for in it we rose together with him, as it were, through faith and hope. Thus hold St. Jerome, Haymo, Hugo, Rupert, Lyra, Vatable, Arias, Ribera and others everywhere here, and St. Augustine, serm. 157 On the Seasons; Eusebius, lib. IV Demonstrat., cap. xii; St. Gregory, homil. 22 in the Gospel, and the ancient Rabbis cited by Galatinus, lib. VIII, cap. xxi, where he reports the words of R. Moses Hadarsan, saying: "The Messiah, son of David, went with me, until I came to the gates of Gehenna, and when the captives who were in Gehenna saw the light of the Messiah, they rejoiced to receive him, saying: He will lead us out of these darknesses, as it is said, Hosea cap. xiii: From the hand of hell I will redeem them, from death I will deliver them." This opinion is proved, first, because thus the Apostle explains this of Christ, I Cor. xv, 54, saying: "But when this mortal shall put on immortality (in the common resurrection), then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" Where he manifestly cites the words of Hosea at this place, as I shall presently say more fully. Second, because the very words following argue it: "I will be thy death, O death; thy sting I will be, O hell;" which apply only shadowily and very thinly to Cyrus delivering the Jews from Babylon; but properly they befit Christ the conqueror and triumpher over death and hell, as is clear from the very words themselves, and the Fathers and Interpreters teach everywhere, so that here appears to be the common sense of the faithful and the Church, to contradict which is impious; third, because the Israelites, of whom some think is spoken here, were never freed from the Assyrian captivity, but remained in it. Therefore it cannot be said of them: "I will redeem and deliver them;" for although some returned with the Jews from Babylon, yet that was accidental, and they were very few. But this opinion and promise: "From the hand of death I will redeem them," is general and universal; therefore it concerns all, and is not to be restricted to a few. I say therefore that the Prophet here, after the manner of the Israelites of his time, flies to Christ: for the Prophets are accustomed to subjoin joyful things to sad things, lest they drive the people's minds into desperation, but raise them to better hope. But those joyful things are the liberation and redemption to be made through Christ. For when this Prophet had foretold the complete destruction of Israel, which was a most sad thing and an occasion of extreme desperation, in order to mitigate this with the consolation of a better lot, and to sweeten this as it were with honey the bitterness of gall, he adds that they are to be liberated not only from captivity, but also from death and hell through Christ; for Christ will liberate them, if they believe in him, equally as he will liberate all others who believe in him, from death and hell. I confess, however, that there is an allusion here to the liberation from the captivity of Babylon, according to the sense brought forward a little before from Theodoret: yet so that the Prophet does not stop at that, but merely touches upon it in passing, as it were a shadow, and flies over it, and fixes the aim and purpose of his mind on Christ, whom alone he intends to signify literally. In a similar manner Isaiah flies from Cyrus to Christ, saying in chapter xlv, 8: Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just. See Canticles IV and V, which I prefixed to the Major Prophets. I will be thy death, O death; thy sting I will be, O hell. — Rupert, in book VI on John, towards the middle, takes the sting passively for food which is bitten and eaten, and says that Christ was such, who descending to the lower regions, fed, created, and vivified the Fathers in limbo with himself: "That lamb, he says, roasted on the cross, all those placed in hell together swiftly ate on that most sacred evening, the prophecy being fulfilled which says: O death, I will be thy death; thy sting, he says, I will be, O hell: that lamb, I say, the dead in hell ate, we eat the same (in the Eucharist) that we may live forever." But this is mystical, not literal, nor genuine. Rather indeed this sting is taken actively, equally as death, namely that Christ bit hell, and made death die, and killed it by dying. For this is what the Hebrew word signifies, as I shall say presently. Whence also for sting the Septuagint translates, stinger, by which Rupert, again here and in I Corinthians xv, understands the divinity of Christ. For he says: "Free them from death. But how will this be done? You will bite me, O hell, and as a hook will devour me; but afterwards with the hook of my divinity I will break your belly, and I will come forth, and the Fathers will come forth together. Christ is he of whom Job says in chapter xl, 23: Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a hook?" This is accommodated and elegant: for literally this stinger is of death, not of Christ; for the Septuagint translate: Where is, O death, thy sting? Therefore as to the literal sense, Theodoret and de Castro understand by death and hell the captivity of Babylon, that is to say, From Babylon, as it were from the jaws of death and hell, I will liberate the Israelites, and thus I will as it were kill death itself to them, and destroy hell. The Chaldean on the contrary translates: My word, he says, will be against them unto death, and my word unto destruction. That is to say, By my word and command through the Assyrians I will kill the Israelites, and thrust them into hell. To this Clarius agrees; for he translates: I will be thy plagues unto death, I will be thy destruction unto the grave, that is to say, I will consume thee, O Israel, even unto utter destruction, even unto death and the grave. But from the definition of the Church, and of the Council of Trent, session IV, which sanctions the Vulgate version to be the genuine version of Holy Scripture, it is certain as a matter of faith that this is the meaning of this passage: "I will be thy death, O death; I will be thy sting, O hell;" for thus the Vulgate version has it. It is equally certain that the discourse here is of Christ the victor over death and hell, as I proved a little before. For death and hell signify the kingdom of death and hell, by which death, brought into the world through the sin of Adam, ruled over all his posterity, as the Apostle teaches, Romans chapter ix, 12 and following, and exercised right and dominion over all the dead, and gave and enslaved them to hell, as it were to its attendant and jailer, until the coming of Christ. It is a prosopopoeia: for death and hell are here introduced as it were two persons and two kings ruling widely, whom Christ, rising from death and hell, despoiled of kingdom and life, and triumphed over both: death indeed, because after the resurrection there will be no more death; hell truly, because after the same it will no longer be able to seize and devour any. From this the resurrection of Christ and ours is symbolized, first, by the phoenix, which is said to die, rise again and grow young: dying therefore it kills death, and raises up life. Whence that passage in Job, cap. xxix, 18: "I said: In my nest I shall die, and as the palm (Tertullian, lib. De Resurrect. cap. xiii, Vatablus, R. Solomon and others translate, and as the phoenix) I shall multiply my days." For this bird is long-lived, and dies in its nest. Second, as the hydrus kills the crocodile, so Christ kills death and hell. Hear Blessed Peter Damian, lib. II, epist. 18 to the Cardinal: "The hydrus," he says, "is an animal dwelling in the depths of rivers, ferociously an enemy to crocodiles. When therefore it sees the crocodile sleeping with open mouth on the bank of the river, it rolls itself in the mud of slime, so that with its slippery body it can more easily slip into its jaws. Then it leaps swiftly into the mouth of the sleeping crocodile, which the latter, suddenly awakened, immediately swallows. But the hydrus tears apart all its entrails, until, with it now completely destroyed, it bursts forth alive and victorious from its carcass. What is this crocodile but a figure of death and hell? What is the hydrus but a sign of the Savior's victory? The hydrus therefore is covered with slime, as our Redeemer is clothed with the mud of human flesh. It enters the belly of the crocodile, because the Lord penetrated the barriers of hell. It demolishes the inner entrails, and the Lord overturned the empire of death. It, with the carcass corroded and penetrated, returns after victory, because our Savior, after biting hell by dying, rose with triumphal glory from the sepulcher. Whence he insults death through the Prophet: Where is, he says, O death, thy victory? Where is thy sting? And again: O death, I will be thy death: thy bite I will be, O hell." St. Paul cites this passage from Hosea, I Cor. cap. xv, 54: but from the Septuagint version in this manner: "Where is, O death, thy victory? Where is, O death, thy sting?" Whence it is clear that here there is a twofold version from the Hebrew, each canonical: for both our version here in Hosea, and the Septuagint, which Paul follows, is canonical. Note first here: The Hebrew אהי ehi signifies I will be, as our version translates it here in verse 14; second, as R. Jonah says, ehi by metathesis is taken for איה aiie, that is where, as the Septuagint and Paul translate, I Cor. cap. xv, 55, and thus the Septuagint and Chaldean translate ehi here, verse 10. Note second: For "thy death" in Hebrew it is דברך debarecha: which if you derive from דבר deber, it signifies thy plagues, as if to say O death, I will be thy most complete plague and death; and, as Symmachus translates: I will be thy wound. But if you derive it from דבר dabar, that is word, it signifies, where are thy words, or thy sayings? as Aquila and the Old Edition translate. The Septuagint translate δίκη, that is cause; for which Paul here has νίκος, that is victory. Whence some think Paul read νίκος, or νίκη, in the Septuagint for δίκη: but all the ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint interpreters, as Jerome testifies, have δίκη, that is cause. We shall therefore better say that the Apostle changed the words, not the sense, since for cause he put victory; for the Greek δίκη signifies four things: First, a forensic cause, and, as Jerome in Hosea cap. xiii translates, contention, as if to say Where is, O death, thy contentious cause, by which in God's judgment thou didst make men guilty of death and didst prevail? Second, δίκη signifies a sentence, as if to say Where is, O death, thy sentence? namely all are adjudged to thee, that is to death. Third, it signifies right, as if to say Where is the right which thou once hadst over all? Fourth, it signifies punishment, as if to say Where is that harshest punishment by which thou didst punish and destroy men? and this fourth alludes to the Hebrew deber, that is plague; the first three allude to dabar, that is word. From which it is clear that in the matter the cause is the same as victory. Note third: For "thy bite" in Hebrew it is קטבך katabcha, which Symmachus translates as encounter; Theodotion and the Old Edition, as wound and closing; the Septuagint, as κέντρον, that is sting, goad, by which namely death pierced men and killed them. Properly katabcha signifies cutting off, by which Christ cuts off death cutting off all things. For this is katob, namely eradication, cutting off, destruction, or ruin, that is a plague suddenly tearing away and cutting off: such as violent fever, plague, apoplexy, which suddenly brings death, and sudden death itself, which tears away and cuts off a man. Our version aptly translates it as bite. Note here: this bite can be taken both passively and actively, as if to say I Christ shall be bitten by thee, O death, and O hell; but so that by thee I bite thee in turn, so that by thee as if absorbed I burst thy entrails, and thus I lead the faithful elect out of thy belly. Note fourthly: For "in hell," as the Hebrew has it, and our version, and the Greek, 1 Cor. cap. xv, 55: "Where is thy victory, O hell?" Our interpreter here translates: "Where is thy victory, O death?" in the same sense: for hell and death signify the state of the dead: all formerly before Christ after death descended into limbo. Thus Acts cap. ii, 24, and elsewhere, the Greek θανάτου, that is death, our Interpreter translates as hell. Therefore the version of the Septuagint, which Paul follows, comes to the same thing as our version and the Hebrew. The sense therefore is: Where is thy victory and sting, O death, by which thou wast wont to kill men and to have dominion over them? as if to say, It has perished, it has been broken by Christ, who is thy death, O death, and by his bite he has torn thee asunder and swallowed thee, O hell. Where note: this began to be fulfilled when Christ rose, and brought back the souls of the saints from limbo, and thus from hell as it were by a bite took away this part. Thus Anselm and Origen, homil. 22 in the Gospel, and St. Augustine, serm. 137 On the Seasons: but it will be perfectly fulfilled in the common resurrection, as the Apostle teaches. Beautifully St. Jerome, in the Epitaph of Nepotian to Heliodorus, addressing death and insulting it with Paul: "He," he says, "who through Hosea once threatened thee sternly: I will be thy death, O death, I will be thy bite, O hell—by his death thou art dead, by his death we live. Thou didst devour, and thou wast devoured; and while thou art troubled by the allurement of the assumed body of Christ, and thinkest the prey is in thy greedy jaws, thy inmost parts have been pierced by a hooked tooth (or, as others read, a hook). Thanks to thee, Christ our Savior, we render, thy creature, because thou didst slay so mighty an adversary of ours while thou wast being slain." Finally the Syriac, following the Septuagint, translates: Where then is thy victory, O death? or where is thy sting, O hell? And the Arabic Alexandrian: Where is thy knowledge, O death, and where is thy thorn? namely thy sting. And the Arabic Antiochene: Where is thy cause (thy suit, thy right), O death? And where is thy weapon (or sword), O hell? Hear St. Augustine, serm. 137 On the Seasons, and from him St. Gregory, homil. 22 in the Gospel: "I will be," he says, "thy death, O death, I will be thy bite, O hell; for that which we kill, we do so that it is utterly no more: for from that which we bite, we draw away a part, and leave a part. Because therefore in his elect he utterly kills death, death has become the death of death: because truly from hell he took away a part, and left a part, he did not kill it utterly, but bit hell. He says therefore: I will be thy death, O death, as if he openly said: Because in my elect I utterly destroy thee, I will be thy death. I will be thy bite, O hell, because, taking them away, I pierce thee in part." The ancients celebrate the strength, victories and triumphs of Achilles, Hercules, Samson, Alexander, Julius Caesar, and the like, against whom no one in this life was able to resist; but all these were conquered by death, and descended to hell. Christ alone is the conqueror of death and hell. Whence he himself says, Apocal. cap. 1, 18: "I have the keys of death and hell." And cap. xx, 13: "Death and hell gave up (to Christ the judge) their dead. And hell and death were cast into the lake of fire." Therefore on the day of judgment death and hell will be led in triumph by Christ, and will follow his triumphal chariot, according to that of Habac. cap. iii, 5: "Before his face shall go death. And the devil shall go forth before his feet." Moreover Christ made it so that not only he himself, but also all his soldiers and followers conquer hell and death, and triumph over them. Excellently does St. Bernard, in sermon 26 on the Canticles, describing the happy and blessed death of his brother Gerard: "There is no doubt," he says, "that you went to those whom around the middle of the last night of your life you were inviting to praise, when in countenance and voice of exultation you suddenly burst forth into that Davidic utterance, to the amazement of those standing by: Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the high places. Now for you, my brother, even in the middle of the night it was becoming day, the night was illuminated like the day. Truly that night was your illumination in your delights. I was called to witness that miracle, to see a man exulting in death, and triumphing over death: Where is, O death, your victory? Where is, O death, your sting? Now there is no sting, but jubilation. Now man dies singing, and dying sings. You are turned to joy, mother of sorrow, you are turned to glory, enemy of glory, you are turned to the entrance of the kingdom, gate of hell, and pit of perdition to the finding of salvation, and this by a sinful man." He adds the cause: "Justly indeed, because you unjustly usurped rash power over an innocent and just man. You are dead, O death, and pierced by the hook which you unwittingly swallowed, whose voice is in the Prophet: O death, I will be your death, your bite will be, O hell. By that hook, I say, pierced through, to the faithful passing through the midst of you, you open a broad and joyful exit to life. Gerard does not fear you, phantom image. Gerard passes through the midst of your jaws to his homeland, not merely secure, but also rejoicing and praising." Thus the holy martyrs Vincent, Lawrence, Sebastian, and others insulted their torturers, torments and death through the grace and strength of Christ. Thus the holy Confessors, Anchorites, Religious exulted in death, and still exult: because by dying they overcome death, and pass over to blessed immortality, as our Jerome Platus demonstrates in many places, book I On the Good of the Religious State, chapter xxxi. Nor Religious only, but all the faithful. Hence those voices of theirs: "Death is a game to the Christian. He is mature in age who can die for Christ. Life is a burden to me, death is my desire. Life is not taken from me, but changed for the better. Now I cease to die, and begin to live." For in this life "for your sake," O Lord, "we are mortified all the day." St. Cyprian, hearing the sentence of death: "I give thanks," he said, "to almighty God, who deigns to free me from the chains of this body." The same, epistle 1 to Cornelius, praising his and the Roman people's constancy in the confession of faith: "The adversary understood," he says, "that the soldiers of Christ cannot be conquered, can die, and by this very fact are unconquered, because they do not fear to die." For, as St. Bernard says, treatise On the Nature and Dignity of Divine Love, chapter xv: "This passage to life the wretched unbelievers call death, but the faithful, what else but Passover? because he dies to the world, that he may live perfectly to God: he enters the place of the tabernacle wonderful even to the house of God." Finally from this place, and from I Peter chapter iii, 19, where it is said that Christ preached to those in hell, Origen and some others held the opinion that Christ would at some time free all the damned from hell, and consequently that all the damned would at some time be saved. Thus Marcion held that Christ in his descent to hell freed all damned souls, as Irenaeus reports, book 1, chapter xxix, and Epiphanius, heresy 24. Thus many think the soul of the Emperor Trajan was freed from hell by the prayers of St. Gregory. And in some histories of the Fathers (as Niceta testifies in oration 42 of Nazianzen) it is related that Plato appeared to a certain Christian, to whom he had often cursed, and said: "I do not deny that I am a sinner; but when Christ descended to hell, no one before me came to faith." But these things are apocryphal, fabulous and heretical, as Bellarmine teaches, book II On Purgatory, chapter viii; Suarez, III part, Question lii, article 8, disputation 33, section iii, and others. Christ therefore descending to hell, liberated only the Fathers from limbo, and the purified souls, or those being purified from Purgatory. For many piously hold that Christ the conqueror in his descent to hell gave to all existing in Purgatory a jubilee, and the first indulgences, namely a full remission of guilt and penalties. For thus kings are accustomed, when they are inaugurated somewhere, to liberate all the guilty from prisons. For this befits the beneficence and magnificence of a new prince, that the reign may have a happy beginning, and that he may gain for himself the reputation of clemency. Whence St. Gregory, book XIII of the Morals, chapter xx, asserts that Christ descending to hell liberated all the elect. And St. Augustine, sermon 137 On the Seasons: "Of his elect," he says, "he left none in hell." And St. Anselm in the Elucidarium: "The King of glory absolved all and led them into glory," according to that of Isaiah, chapter xlix, 9: "Thou shalt say to them that are bound: Go forth; and to them that are in darkness: Show yourselves." To this also inclines Marsilius in III, Question xiii, article 2, doubt 3; Major in III, distinction xxii; Gabriel ibid., last doubt; Dominicus Soto in IV, distinction xlv, Question 1, article 1. Gerson, alphabet 83, letter F, saying that Christ perhaps emptied Purgatory: although St. Thomas, III part., Question lii, article 8, and Suarez there suspect that Christ did not liberate all from Purgatory, but granted this grace to some only, namely to those alone who were more disposed to it, for example those who had some singular perfection of faith and devotion toward Christ, or his passion, or his glory while they lived. Harsher is what Durandus in III, distinction xxii, Question iv, Richard ibid. article 3, Question ii; Abulensis, paradox V, chapter cxviii, hold, that Christ granted nothing whatsoever to the souls in Purgatory, but only liberated those which had already paid all the debt of penalty. Mystically St. Augustine, in book LXXXIII Questions, Question lxx, and epistle 57 to Dardanus, by death understands concupiscence, or the tinder of sin: for this desires and contends against the spirit: for this death, he says, we merited by sin. This death and contention will be taken away in the resurrection and heavenly glory: for there will be no contention between flesh and spirit, when this mortal shall have put on immortality: "I think," he says, "that death is signified in this place by carnal habit, which resists the good will by the pleasure of enjoying temporal goods. For it would not be said: Where is thy contention? if it had not resisted and opposed... Its contention is also described in that place: The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For these resist and oppose each other, so that you do not do whatever you will. It comes to pass therefore through perfect sanctification, that all carnal appetite is subjected to our spirit illuminated and vivified, that is to the good will. But we merited this death." And soon after: "Therefore the sting of death is sin, because by sin there came to be a pleasure, which now could resist the good will, and be accomplished with sorrow: which pleasure, because it is in the defect of the soul made worse, is rightly called death. Then therefore death shall be swallowed up in victory, when through sanctification perfect in every part of man the carnal pleasure is overwhelmed by the pleasure of spiritual things." Consolation is hidden (in Hebrew, hides itself) from my eyes. — Thus the Hebrew, the Septuagint and others commonly. Therefore the Chaldean and Theodotion wrongly translate, from the eyes of them, namely of the Israelites when they are cut off, as if to say: I will take away all consolation from them, by taking away my presence and majesty, and consequently all good from them. Now "it is hidden," that is, it will soon and certainly be hidden. Again for consolation the Hebrew is נחם nocham, which signifies three things, consolation, commiseration, and repentance. Consolation our translator and the Septuagint render; but the more recent, such as R. David, and from him Leo the Hebrew, Pagninus and Arias translate, repentance, as if to say: It will be hidden, that is, repentance will not come into my sight, that is, I will not change my sentence concerning the destruction of Israel moved by repentance, as I have often done hitherto, but without any commiseration I will certainly and firmly destroy him. But how do these cohere with the supreme consolation which preceded: "I will be thy death, O death; I will be thy sting, O hell?" Again these pertain to Christ, not to Israel, as I demonstrated a little before. I say therefore, the sense is that which St. Jerome gives: "When I see and consider," he says, "the hard necessity of death (because there is no one among men who lives and does not die), I am unable to be consoled; whatever I conceive in my mind cannot mitigate my sorrow, seeing the dearest names among themselves separated by death: hell itself," he says, "divides among brothers," that is to say, When I contemplate all men dying, and descending to hell, when I see death devouring all things, and brothers separated from brothers, I am greatly saddened, but I console myself, when I turn my eyes to Christ the conqueror of death. For He will surely accomplish in reality what He promised: "I will be thy death, O death; thy sting I will be, O hell." To this Lyra adds, who takes this as a voice of those who are to be raised from death by Christ, but anxious, because they do not know their lot, namely whether on the day of judgment they are to be placed among the elect at the right hand, or among the reprobate at the left, until Christ the judge divides among brothers, and assigns to each his lot, place and reward according to his merits. This exposition is fitting and appropriate to this place.
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15. Because he himself shall divide among brothers. — "Himself," namely "hell," not the captivity of Assyria, as Theodoret and Arius wish, that is to say, Because Ephraim made a schism, and divided himself from his brothers, namely from the two tribes, therefore God will bring a burning wind, namely Shalmaneser, who will divide and scatter him in captivity: but hell properly so called; for this divides the living brothers from the dead, whom it absorbs: it also divides the dead themselves, while one is placed in one place, another in another in hell according to the diversity of works. Thus Jerome and Haymo. Otherwise Lyra. Himself, he says, namely Christ, will divide in judgment just men from unjust, namely the elect from the reprobate. Note: For "shall divide," as our version and the Septuagint translate, reading in the Hebrew יפריד iaphrid, now in the Hebrew is read יפרי iaphri, that is, shall multiply, shall grow, shall bear fruit; whence the name Ephraim is derived, that is, fruitful, growing, multiplying. For from this Joseph called his son born to him Ephraim, saying: "God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty," namely in Egypt, in which I was imprisoned, poor and miserable, Gen. xli, 52. Jacob, the father of Joseph, confirming and extending this name, blessing Ephraim said: "His seed shall grow into nations," Gen. cap. xlviii, vers. 19. Therefore iaphri alludes to Ephraim, of whom the discourse is, that is to say, Ephraim according to his etymology was Ephraim, that is, fruitful; for he grew and sprouted into much offspring, according to the blessings of his grandfather Jacob, as long as he stood in the worship and law of God: but because he has now departed from Him, I will bring a burning wind, which will dry up all these his sprouts. Thus Clarius and Pagninus. Or, as the Chaldean: Because, he says, they have multiplied corrupt works, therefore I will bring a strong king, namely Shalmaneser, who will punish and destroy them. Better do Vatablus and others take this of Christ, that is to say, Christ is Ephraim, who iaphri, that is, shall multiply His elect on the day of judgment, both in number and in glory, as in this life He multiplied them in grace, merits and virtues. Most rightly take this of hell, for the pronoun himself demonstrates this, that is to say, Because hell has grown immensely, and thus has opened its mouth, so that it has consumed the greater part of mankind, therefore the Lord will bring a burning wind, namely that is, fruitful; for he grew and sprouted into much offspring, according to the blessings of his grandfather Jacob, as long as he stood in the worship and law of God: but because he has now departed from Him, I will bring a burning wind, which will dry up all these his sprouts. Thus Clarius and Pagninus. The Lord shall bring a burning wind. — By a burning wind, Theodoret understands Cyrus, Arius and Clarius Shalmaneser: for this one dried up, destroyed and carried off the veins of riches of the Israelites, that one of the Babylonians, and all desirable and precious things like a burning wind. But I say the "burning wind" is Christ, that is to say, Because hell divided brothers from brothers, therefore God the Father brought Christ like a burning south wind into the world, when He raised Him from the uncultivated desert of this world, as also from the unploughed womb of the Blessed Virgin, as from a desert, so that He might dry up and abolish the veins of death, namely sins by which we tend to death and hell, as to a common and full fountain of evils, and might desolate and plunder that very fountain, namely death and hell, and snatch away the souls of the Holy Fathers and Saints, which death and hell, as the most precious and desirable furnishings, held in their treasures, and retained tightly. Thus St. Cyril, Jerome, Rupert, Haymo and others. Again, not unfittingly do Lyra and Vatablus understand by the burning wind the fire of the conflagration of the world, which Christ will send forth as it were as a minister, so that he may destroy and burn up all the veins of death and hell, namely sins and sinners, and all the concupiscence of the world. For this fire will have wind mixed with it, by which it will be driven through all parts of the world, so that it may consume all things everywhere. For all these things pertain to Christ, for to him they began to fly away in verse 14, and he continues to speak concerning him until the end of the chapter. For by all these things he describes Christ's victory over death and hell, his spoils and triumph, yet in such a way that he alludes to the victories, spoils and triumphs of Cyrus or Salmanasar. For just as these destroyed the impious, so also does Christ; and just as Cyrus freed the pious from Babylon, so Christ freed those who believe in him from death and hell. Wherefore it is accommodative, not literal, what St. Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, in his tract On the Consummation of the World, at the beginning, understands by this burning wind the Antichrist: "For who else," he says, "is the wind of burning from the desert than the Antichrist, who in his times will be about to destroy and dry up the veins of waters and the fruits of trees, for the reason that men will embrace his works? And so he will destroy them, and they themselves will serve in his uncleanness."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Loquente Ephraim horror invasit Israel et deliquit in. Baal et mortuus est » ; — prioris membri sensum expressit S. /[ier. ; hebr. vertes : simul ac loquebatur Ephraim, horror ( exstitit) ; exaltatus erat! ipse in Israel ; sim. Syrus : « factus est magnus in Israel », et Chald. : « dum aliquis de domu Ephraim lo- 1. NY?3 hac notione cf. Nah. 1, 5. Hab. 1, 3. Forte alludit ad N*gez princeps tribus Nu. queretur, terror apprehendit populos ; exaltati erant ! in Israel ». Tempus iudicum propheta dicit, quo Ephraim numero, potentia, auctoritate eminebat (cf. Iud. 8, 1 etc. 12, 4 etc. et postea etiam cf. 4 Reg. 14, 9 et seq. ctc.) — at mox idololatria infecti sunt, Baal coluerunt (cf. Iud. 2, 11-13). Inde mortuus est, interiit, ruinae se obnoxium reddidit, vitam et vigorem funditus evertit. Iustitia enim fundamentum est regnorum, miseros autem populos reddit peccatum. Cogita varias calamitates, oppressiones in libro Iud. enarratas et 4 Reg. 4 cladem a Philisthiim illatam, qua arca Domini in hostium potestatem venit. Hisce Ephraim principatu et priore dignitatis loco destitutus est (Scholz). Neque tamen ea poena resipuit :
Dixerat, quid Deus patri, quid populo iuveni praestitisset ; iam ulteriorem historiam brevi complectitur : fuit Ephraim tribus potentissima ; at per idololatriam misere cecidit ; ita
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v. 2 « et nunc addiderunt ad. peccandum, feceruntque sibi conflatile de argento suo quasi similitudinem tdolorum ; factura, artificum totum est ; his ipsi dicunt : immolate homines vitulos adorantes » . — Idololatriam, vitulorum cultum a leroboam introductum propheta designat, quo apostasiam a Domino et regno Dei instituto admiserunt, quod est praecipua ratione et dicitur peccatum Israel ( cf. 3 Reg. 12, 28. 30 ; 14, 16. 4 Reg. 10, 29 etc. ). Rei indignitatem proponit dicens de argento suo et factura artificum totum est ; i. e. idola niil sunt ; cultores iis tribuunt, ut fiant et exsistant, largientes materiam et operam et artem impendentes ; unde fit, ut totum idolum nihil sit, nisi inanis quaedam effigies, hominum industria elaborata ; huc omnis gloria, potentia, terror idolorum recidit. Conflatile cf. Ex. 32, 4. 8; de idolorum confectione cf. Is. 40, 19 ; 44, 9-20. Ier. 10, 3. Baruch cp. 6. Sap. 13, 10; 14, 1 etc. Et haec simulacra fecerunt sibi quasi similitudinem idolorum i. e. in iis numinis effigies, similitudo, repraesentatio agnoscebatur. Patet vatis irrisio et. exsufflatio idololatrarum, dum simulacra illa belluina, foeda, horrida similitudines numinis colendi vocantur (cf. Schegg). In hebr. legitur Danai in intelligenlia sua idola, uti iani veteres vertunt (cf. Rib. Sancl. Lap. Mar.) ; explicant a nzan quasi formam abbreviatam pro pnaman — varia de hac re cf. apud Scholz — sensus est : tota. ratio, cur simulacrum vel idolum exsistat, est hominis mens et ratio, qua tale sibi fingit ; vel nisi homo artem et intelligentiam suam adhiberet, actum esset de idolo. Alii vero explicant : faciunt simulacra secundum sententiam, seu consilium suum i. e. ut quisquis excogitavit (cf. Sanct.) ; at minus apte, quia idolorum simulacra non pro artificis arbitratu, verum pro more antiquo ae consuetudine inolita formabantur. LXX vertunt xaz' eixóva ; Syrus et Chald. : in similitudine ; quare coniectura Sanct. non est omnino spernenda censenüs, illos vocem a 523 aedificare, fabricare derivasse. Uti LXX (xa«xà), Chald. (?) vulg. (quasi), ita et codices hebr. plerique et editiones sollerter * factae legunt 2 (ef. apud de Rossi), uti etiam codex babylonicus. 1. vanai]no cf. Num. 16, 3, ubi ita hebr. hithpael verbi NY'3 declaratur. V *ci 2. Vide v. g. editionem quam adornavit Baer : liber duodecim prophetarum, textum maQuod sequitur : Ais ipsi dicunt... in omni textu difficultate non caret. Textum latinum explanant vel : sacerdotes et principes adhortantur : vos, homines, offerte sacrificia ; scil. « ut vitulis ratione sensuque carentibus supplicent homines, precum ac victimarum oblatione famulantes » (Ps. Ruf. sim. Sanct.) ; vel praeterea : immolate! homines cum sint, tamen vitulos adorant (cf. Alb.) ; vel demum : ipsos homines offerte et caedite victimas ; ita LXX 032aze av0gozcug et graeci interpretes ; praeterea Ephr. Hier. Haimo, Rup. Rib. Lap. Schegg, Trochon. Sacrificia humana facta fuisse certum est in cultu Moloch (cf. 4 Reg. 17, 17. Ez. 93, 31). Quare in hac explicatione cum vitulorum cultu aliud idololatriae cenus adfuisse propheta coarguit, et fatale illud studium castigat omnes gentium abominationes sedulo imitandi. Hic sensus accusationem v. 1 auget, rebus gestis et moribus Israelitarum congruit, et minas. pocnamque in versu subsequente optime praeparat. Ais tpsi dicunt erit explicandum : de his scil. idolis, quod attinet ad idola, dicunt etc. ; nam principes ac plebem ibi indicari nullo demum vestigio apparet. LXX in altero membro habent : uóo70: 112 £z*s2otzasw. Textum hebr. verte : iis (seil. idolis). ipsi. supplicantes ; immolantes homines, vitulos osculantur ; YN. ad idola loqui hoc loco ex contextu facile ad supplicandi vel adorandi notionem deflecti potest (ef. Scholz) ; alias illud. Qn difficile explicatur, neque. commode ad. antecedentia trahi potest, uti LXX coniungunt &£gyx 3xzovuv Guvzezessapévx autou, D'IN nas eliam verti potest : immolantes inter homines, vel homines qui immolant (cf. Is. 29, 19. 4 Sam. 17, 40), ità ut cum emphasi rei indignitas notetur, quia homines ratione praediti sacrificia offerunt simulacris arte humana factis et. eitulos venerentur osculo ; « qui enim adorant, solent deosculari manum suam, quod Iob fecisse se negat, Iob 31, 27. 28 » (Hier), de qua re plura hic vide apud Sanct. et apud. Pinedam Ibi locum explicantem. Praeterea notat S. Hier. : « pro eo quod iuxta Sym. et Theod. verumus adorantes, Aq. interpretatus est za:xzuoz2vze; deosculantes ». lodem teste Sym. interpretatus est : « immolate, homines vitulos adorent, ut sit. sensus : immolate, lioc est sacrificate idolis, et hucusque distinetio sequatur : rationale animal, homines, adorent vitulos, muta animantia ». Ceterum verba. Sym. feruntur : usos; zo55t42visxz: (in fragmentis Hexapl.) '. — Syrus in. utroque membro. vertit. participium : saerificantes homines et vitulos osculantes ; item. Chald. : pseudoprophetae saeritieantes operi manuum hominum et tauros vitulis mactantes. — LXX et S. Hier. certe legerunt 3123, quae lectio verbo dicentes praecedente. exigitur, nisi Y2N. notione potius inusitata adorandi, supplicandi aceipiatur. Syrus tàmien per. exelamationem vertit : dieebant eis , immolantes homines.... In tanta. varietate quid Osee. scripserit dicere vel coniicere non ausit. ' Sceleri poenam denuntiat : umbram et nihilum sequuntur ; pari ratione soreticum accuratissime expressit, e fontibus masorae varie illustravit, uotis criticis confirperibunt, nam qui adhaeret creaturae cadet cum labili, quanto magis qui inania simulacra veneratur ?
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v. 3 « idcirco erunt quasi nubes matutina et sicut ros matutinus praeteriens, sicut pulvis turbine raptus ex area et sicut fumus de fumario » ; — « quae omnia videntur ad tempus et subito dilabuntur, iuxta illud quod dixerat 10, 1; 41,4 » (Hier.) ; cf. 6, 4. Comparationibus utitur quattuor ; longior haec poenae intimatio et aliquid habet sollemnitatis et vastationis certitudinem magnitudinemque enuntiat. JVubes matutina cito a sole oriente dissoluta et dispulsa evanescit ; rorem sol matutinus statim sorbet, siccat, aufert; pulverem intellige non arenae, nec terrae, sed palearum frumenti triturati, puta glumam et quisquilias palearum (has enim significat hebr. VB ), quas ventus turbinis rapit ex area, in loco aperto, alto, ventis pervio collocata et huc illucque difflat. Fumus de fumibulo propulsus statim tenues vanescit in auras ( Lap.) ; sicut deficit fumus deficiant Ps. 61, 2. De versione LXX haec monet S. Hier. : «quaerimus, quare LXX pro fumario, quod Theod. transtulit xazvoóó7,» *, locustas interpretati sint ? Apud Hebraeos locusta et fumarium iisdem scribitur literis : alef, res, beth, he. Quod si legatur arbe (12*N) locusta dicitur, si orobba (n2*N) * fumarium, pro quo Aq. xazao&«zn» Sym. foramen interpretati sunt. Cataractam autem proprie vocat foramen in pariete fabricatum, per quod fumus egreditur ». At eorum ruina non erit perpetua; « numquid sic offenderunt ut caderent? absit » (Rom. 141, 11) ! Uti in hac parte fit, instaurationis promissio immediate ruinae subiungitur (cf. 11,8 ;
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12, 9) v. 4 « ego autem Dominus Deus tuus ex terra Aegypti, et Deum absque me nescies et salva- Lor non est praeter me » ; — mirabilia, quae olim pro populo patravit, dat populum rebellem sed spem instaurationis ostendat. Se profitetur unum Deum et salvatorem, quem populus uti olim in Aegypto expertus est vel scivit (cf. Ex. 6, 1), iterum salutis largitorem experietur, neque enim est aliud nomen, in quo nos oporteat salvos fieri ; cf. Is. 43, 11; 63, 16 ; 64, 4 (hebr.). Deus igitur fidelitatem, potentiam, clementiam suam et hominum salutis desiderium proponit ; idque denuo confirmat
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v. 5 « ego cognovi te in. deserto, in terra solitudinis » ; — LXX £rxolyatwév ce. Cognovi notitia scil. dilectionis, electionis, beneficiorum (Ai/b.), dilexi te (Haimo). Desertum, terram sterilem, « inhabitabilem (LXX), ubi rerum omnium penuria, ubi nullae aquae » ( Hier. ), terram siccitatum vel ardorum (hebr.) commemorat, ut plurima illa et stupenda miracula in memoriam revocet, quibus populum numerosissimum servaverit, aluerit, ornaverit. Tantus utique labor non erit cassus! Sed tantae etiam molis erat theocratiam condere. Denuo « castigat Israelitas, qui ex rebus admodum florentibus et secundis omnia ipsis vitae praesidia suppeditantis et quibuscumque conspicuis lucem suam dare scientis obliti sint, quamquam claris verbis lex eos praemonuerit Deut. 8, 14 - 18 » (Cyr.). Uti 10, 14, bonorum abundantiam in peccata ab iis esse conversam conqueritur
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v. 6 « furta pascua sua adimpleti sunt et saturati sunt et levaverunt cor suum et obliti sunt mei » ; — i. e. secundum abundantiam pascuorum ; populus Dei est grex Domini, quem in optimis pascuis collocavit, in terra fertilissima, et cui prosperum rerum successum saepe concessit. At bonorum copia circumfluentes extolli coeperunt et superbire et Dei oblivisci, quasi eius opera non egerent (Rib.). In hebr. secundum pascua eorum — ct saturati sunt, saturali sunt, eiusdem vocis repetitio vim auget. Verba sensum aperte referunt ex Deut. 8, 11 - 15; 31, 20; 32, 15 : « incrassatus est dilectus et recalcitravit » ; saturitas et divitiae superbiam gignunt, superbia, cordis elatio (Deut. 8, 14) Dei oblivionem et contemptum (cf. 2, 5) ; unde in hebr. propterea mei sunt obliti. Ex eadem gregis metaphora poenae declarationem depromit v. i « et ego ero eis quasi leaena, sicut pardus in via Assyriorum » ; — in hebr. et fui iis ... dicit scil. Deum iam saepius poenas exegisse ; cf. 3, 14 sicut leo, qui fortitudine sua terrorem incutit ; « leo rugiet, quis non timebit » (Am. 3, 8)? Unde hostiles exercitus et duces eorum leonibus etc. comparantur (cf. ls. 5, 299; 15, 9. Ier. 2, 15; 4, "1; 5, 6 etc.). Deus vero ipse iis comparatur, ut doceat « eas calamitates, quas erat illatura hostium barbaries, iubente se et essc et contingere; nec dedignatur commonitionem suam ferinis imaginibus explicare, quas et scit, licet non naturae suae sententiae, tamen damnatorum miseriae convenire » (Ps. Ruf.). lis simul poenae acerbitatem depingit et a se hostes induci ac mitti tamquam sui iudicii administratores (cf. Cyr. Theod. Theoph.). Pardus propter velocitatem notus est, cf. Hab. 4, 8. Dan. 7, 6 et propter saevitiam, cf. Ier. 5, 6 ; ?n via Assyriorum, ita etiam LXX et Syrus; 1. c. dum ab alienis auxilia et foedera petérent et supplices ad eos pergerent, calamitatibus opprimebantur ; ista foedera et amicitiae male cedebant. Si enim aliam meditantur aut ingrediuntur viam, quam quae a Deo iis praefigitur, occurret illis velut pardus hianti rictu et exsertis ungulis ad lacerandum (Sanct.) ; cf. 8, 13; 1, 11. 12; 8, 9. Sensus sane praeclarus : in via illa et itinere antitheocratico latere perniciem. Legerunt itaque "2x; textus mas. fert '"ZN insidiabor ! (cf. apud Rib. Lap. Mar.), ei concordat Chald., quae sententia bene cum sequenti cohaeret;
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v. 8 « occurram eis quasi ursa raptis catulis, et dirumpam 1nteriora $ecoris eorum et consumam eos ibi quasi leo; bestia agri scindet eos » ; — uti olim punivit, ita puniet etiam in futuro; id temporis mutatione indicatur in hebr. Et cum divina mansuetudine et prioribus castigationibus non profecerint (cf. Cyr.), acerbiores annuntiat. « Aiunt qui de bestiarum scripserunt naturis, inter omnes feras nihil esse ursa saevius cum perdiderit catulos » (Hier.) ; interiora i. e. distumpam eorum universa vitalia, ut S. Hier. explicat. Vel distinctius Sanct. rem proponit : « hoc proprium est leonis, pardi, ursi, qui captam praedam foede dilacerant et eviscerant;.. porro ?nteriora iecoris praecordia sunt» (sim. Lap. Tir.). In hebr. dirumpam claustrum cordis eorum i. e. ea quae cor ambiunt ac tegunt, praecordia, pectus. Ea dilaceratio crudele mortis genus dicit ; proinde acerbissimam poenam minatur. LXX Gx ebd so cu xAetogiv xag- 6ag a):o», quam conclusionem audaciam (Cyr. Theoph.) vel cordis obdurationem ( Theod. ) exponunt, quam Deus immissis infortuniis sublaturus sit. Dilaceratione facta eos iri devoratum illico ait ; quas? leo enumeratione et multiplicatione bestiarum terrorem et cladis magnitudinem auget (cf. 13, 3) et neminem posse effugere innuit (cf. Is. 24, 18). In eo quod sese quattuor bestiis comparat, Ftup. quattuor regna signari vult, quibus Israelitarum natio conculcata et dispersa fuit. — Demum omnia complectens concludit : bestia agri ; cf. Lev. 96, 92. Deut. 32, 94; iis Deus utitur ad hostium cadavera dilaceranda, ad regiones eorum horrore et vastitate complendas ; cf. Is. 13, 21; 18, 6; 34, 11 ; 506, 9. Ier. 12, 9; 54, 31 etc. Istis minis prolatis iam consequitur Israel sibi ipsi ruinam machinari ineluctabilem, spem vero salutis in uno Domino collocari ; ita
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v. 9 « perditio tua Israel, tantummodo in me auxilium tuum » ; — S. Ilier. interpretationem suam ita explanat: «infelix Israel et dignus maledictione perpetua, qui in tantum impietatis descendit profundum, ut solius Dei salvetur misericordia. Potest autem in hebr. et hoc sensu legi : dispereas, quia nihil tibi reliquum est, nisi ut mea solum clementia conserveris ». Priori modo consentit Ps. Ruf. Rem magis in universum accipit Sanct. : quidquid populus aut patitur aut. metuit mali, id cius peccatis esse tribuendum ; quare non esse cur Deum incuset, qui ut solus rebus afflictis possit esse subsidio, sic etiam ad auxiliandum pene cogente naturae bonitate semper paratus sit (sim. tib. Lap.). Idque recte. LXX vertunt : «5 &iz0023 200 'locxz zi; doxümssi; proinde pro *23 legerunt v2 et oinisso *2 non "qSy23 sed "quz? transtulerunt. Cyr. et Theoph. z5 &ixszon3 habent, at hebr. 4nrm solum £ixz6ogx correspondet. Ceterum etiam textus hebr. varie accipitur. Quod fert textus mas. jnno est — perdidit (e, ut veteres iam agnoscunt, qui. generatim supplent vitulus perdidit te (ef. Sanet.. Lap.) ; recentiores aliqui ità. sententiam absolvunt : perdidit te, quia (tu) contra me, contra. auxilium. tuum (ef. eil) ; sensus ulique est aptus, sed quis. credet ?*3 esse contra ime ? Syrus in priore parte. verbum quoque etfert ; in altera legit uti LAX. vel. eos. secutus est ; habet. enim : perdidi. fe, lsrael, quis auxiliabitur tibi? Chald. longiore cireumlocutione. utitur : « cum. vos (sitis) depravantes opera vestra, dominantur populi vobis » ete. — Alii nmm ut substantivum vertunt. (nro ?), uti iam. LXX. et S. Hier., et quidem vel : perditio. tua Israel est tantum in me, in aurilio tuo, ut sit oxyvmoron : ego qui sum et esse. volo auxilium tuum, debeo esse perditio tua, debeo te perdere. propter. peccata. (Scheqg) — sed id fortasse nimis argute et acute dieitur ! vel : perditio tibi * quia in me, in auxilio tuo (est scil. auxilium tuum) ; fortasse 3 in 1772723 per errorem adscribitur vel ex Deut. 33, 26 transsumptum est (ef. Scholz), nam de beth essentiae quod vocant. minime erit cogitandum. [nterrozatio, quam LXX efferunt, ad versum sequentem optime connectitur ; quare SeAolz. censet pro *3 cum LXX. et. uno eodice. hebr. esse 2 le gendum : perditio super te, Israel ! quis erit übi in auxilium ? Quod vere tantummodo in ipso auxilium sit, increpando. confirmat (Rup.)
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v. 10. « ubi est rex. (tus ? marime nunc salvet te in omnibus urbibus tuis ! et iudices tui, de quibus dixisti : da mihi regem et principes »! — in hebr. etiam maiore cum emphasi : ubi est rez tuus, ubi ! ? cet salvet te . . . Bene expendit interrogationis vim Rup. : « vehementer vanam populi percutit aestimationem, qui regem sibi petivit, cum regem Deum haberet, et ab hoc percunctatur, ut ad considerandum excitet ct scire faciat, quia tantummodo in Deo auxilium est ». Bis enim Dominum regem spreverunt, sibique regem constituerunt: prius cum a Samuel regem institui flagitarent (1 Reg. 8, 4 et seq. v. 5i « non enim te abiecerunt, sed me ne regnem super eos » — ita Hier. Cyr. Theod. Theod. M. Barh. Lap. Mar.), dein cum regem theocraticum denuo repudiarent Israelitae et sese scindentes a domo David proprium sibi regnum instituerent (cf. Rup.) ; haec apostasia malorum omnium erat ferax. fudices, scil. regis magistratus, comites, aulae principes, qui regi sunt ab administratione et pompam regiam augent ; cf. 4 Reg. 8, 12 ; et supra 1, 3. 5. Petitioni importunae acquievit Deus; « vetus tibi est ista dementia, ut videlicet melius te tibi, quam me putes consulere, de cuius opinionis exordio principes tibi dari ad similitudinem reliquarum gentium postulasti. Nunc ergo consulentiae tuae fructus appareat et contra indignationem meam regum te tueatur industria ; debebant nimirum docere te, quid prosint potestates istae tuis ambitionibus expetitae » (Ps. Ruf.). Regnum enim contra Dei voluntatem expetitum saluti iis minime fuit, sed demum regum impietate quam maxime adducebatur reipublicae ruina ; quare
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v. 14 « dabo tibi regem in furore meo et auferam in indignatione mea » ; — LXX xa! &&oxa, sensum rite exprimunt ; optime tamen utimur tempore praesenti, quia responsio Dei ad petitionem illam refertur. Regem dat in furore, quia praesciens malum quod reges operaturi sunt tamen populi postulationem admittit; mala illa adumbrantur 1 Reg. 8, 11-20. Propter allusionem, quae fit ad populi petitionem, rex qui datur a Deo, non potest rex Assur intelligi (Ps. Ruf. et apud Sanet.). Atque cur regem ablaturus sit et regnum disiecturus, rationem affert
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v. 12 « colligata est iniquitas Ephraim, absconditum peccatum eius » ; — i. e. « quomodo si ligetur quid in sacculo, conservatur et non perit ei, cui ligatum est : sic omnis iniquitas qua in Deum peccavit Ephraim, colligata est ei et abscondita quasi in marsupio reservetur » (Hier.). Iram scil. sibi thesaurizarunt (Rom. 2, 5) et thesaurus iste iniquitatis signatus, conservatus apud Dominum et repositus diem ultionis exspectat (cf. Is. 8, 16) ; absconditum peccatum priorem partem explicat (cf. Alb. Rib. Sanct.), esse scil. in Domini quasi custodia et memoria alte repositum et conservatum ; aliis placet : egisse peccatum altissimas in populo radices et profundissime omnes rerum conditiones penetrasse (cf. Theod. Theod. M.). | Iam indicat, ad quale iudicium iniquitas illa apud iustum iudicem reposita asservetur
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v. 13 « dolores parturientis venient ei ; ipse filius non sapiens ; nunc enim non stabit in contritione filiorum » ; — partus dolores et acutissimi sunt et subito irruunt ; aptam proinde suggerunt similitudinem afflictionis maximae '. Sed comparatio hoc loco eo magis est congrua, quia calamitate futura nova rerum instauratio quasi partus edi debet (cf. Mich. 4, 9. Is. 26, 17. Ier. 31, 9) ; ex excidio enim nova efflorebit salus (cf. 2, 13; 3, 5). Ad quam tamen efficiendam populus ipse plane impar est ac impotens, ita ut ad unum Deum effectorem referri debeat. Hanc populi impotentiam, qua gratuitum Dei largitoris beneficium commendatur, altera parte describit propheta : ?pse filius non. sapiens, cum scil. Dei castigationem non ad resipiscentiam convertat, neque enim iudiciis, quae quasi praeambula erant ultimi excidii et ruinae regni, correpti ad meliorem frugem redierunt; quare per se et quantum ad se non stabit in contritione filiorum i. e. in interitu et ruina universali Ephraim non erit superstes, non per se firmiter stabit neque emerget ; verum si qua spes supersit, « misericordia Domini, quia non sumus consumpti ». Ita quidem textus lat. et sim. LXX ; « dum enim filii tui conterentur, nec ipse subsistet; capietur, servusque et captivus una cum aliis ad Assyrios migrabit » (Cyr.). Idem effert Syrus : « non stabit in. doloribus filiorum ». Eandem populi ad salutem adducendam impotentiam optime adumbratam cernis in textu hebr. qui retenta imagine parturientis partum edi non posse i. e. filium suo tempore non apparere in orificio uteri significat : quia tempus (est et) non stat in orificio uteri (in matrice). Idem enim est sensus, eadem verba, quae habes Is. 31, 3: « quia filii venerunt usque ad partum (32553 scil. ab uteri fractione, aper. tione dictum) et virtus non est pariendi » (cf. Sanct. Lap. Mar. Schegg, Scholz). Eandem metaphoram ! indicat h. 1. CAhaldaeus ?. Verum quod ab homine fieri nequit, a Deo servatore efficietur. Novus ille partus, instauratio illa, reditus ille a morte et ruina ad novam gratiae et cum Deo amicitiae vitam ab Omnipotente fiet. Id sollemni promissione ac laeto epinicio triumphantis in modum Deus se praestiturum spondet
13:14
v. 14 « de manu mortis liberabo eos, de morte redimam eos ; ero mors tua, o mors, morsus tuus ero, inferne » ! — ct etiam magis ad paeana expressum est in hebr. de manu inferi liberabo eos, de morte redimam eos, ubi ? pestes tuae, mors? ubi pernicies tua, inferne? Verba sane amplissimam liberationem et redemptionem prae se ferunt ac promittunt. Angusta est nonnullorum interpretatio de liberatione a Sennacherib (Ps. Ruf., quae nullo pacto congruit, cum de Ephraim sermo sit), vel ge- 1. Fortasso latinum ín contritione filiorum eodem modo intelligi. potest — iu. fractura filiorum ; orificium enim matricis iu partu cedit ac disrumpitur, unde nomeu 32vj2 fractara, contritio? (vide quae adaotat Foreiro ad ls. 37, 3 — ) ; sim. Schegg : filii conterunt uterum matris ; contritio — pressura. 3. Est scil. 3514 eadem vox, quam v. 10 Hier. reddidit ubi ; eadom notioue h. 1l. LXX zo2 neratim ab Assur ( Theod. M. Barh.) ; plerique de redemptione per Messiam afferenda explicant (cf. Hier. Cyr. Rup. Alb. Sanct. Rib. Lap. Mar. Gord.), et certe verba ita sunt. conformata, ut plenissimam victoriam, plenissimam malorum reparationem, mortis abolitionem enuntient. Quare summa illorum impletio tunc habebitur, uti S. Paulus 4 Cor..15, 55 ! innuit, quando in resurrectione mortuorum omnis demum praeda, quam per tot saecula mors cepit, eidem eripietur corporibus omnibus resuscitatis. Verum ex isto impletionis culmine ad ipsa prophetae tempora et ad consolationem illam erit descendendum, quam suis aequalibus ac popularibus pro muneris prophetici ratione elargitus est. Illis sane theocratiae collapsae instaurationem, populi a faucibus mortis et interitus ereptionem per Dei potentiam praedicit. Bene enim monet Sanct. mortem et infernum (scheol) eadem notione h. l. dici ; et de manu mortis i. c. « cum in tantam rerum difficultatem venerint, ut iniecta manu mors eos comprehendisse ac tenere videatur, tunc ego liberator adveniam » (Ps. Ruf.). Normam enim generalem Deus proponit; sed per quos eradus et quot liberationes suos demum ad ultimum ac felicissimum finem sit perducturus, non edicit. Unde reditus ex captivitate et liberatio illa ab interitu reipublicae israeliticae neque excludi debet neque ita asseri, ut ea in re totius impletionis ratio ponatur. Merito igitur Theod. etTheoph. ea in reditu Iudaeorum typice facta dicunt, perfectum autem et verum finem sortita esse post Salvatoris resurrectionem ; et Lap. scribit: « fateor tamen alludi hic ad liberationem e captivitate babylonica, ita tamen ut in ea non sistat propheta, sed eam obiter tantum quasi umbram perstringat et praetervolet ac mentis suae aciem scopumque figat in Christo » ; sim Tir. et idem innuit Ephr. Atque prorsus apposite iam TAeod. et Theoph. meminere, Ezechielem etiam resurrectionis mortuorum symbolo et involucro praemonstrasse populi ad novam vitam et gratiam suscitationem. Ceterum cf. 6, 9 : « vivificabit nos post duos dies, in die tertia suscitabit nos et vivemus in conspectu eius ». Eadem promissio hoc loco ita proponitur, ut Deus de manu inferi et de morte eos erepturus dicatur; at simul promissio magis preminet, et excellentem quandam victoriam triumphumque insignem portendit, cum mortis et inferi irrisio et plena prostratio atque spoliatio subiungatur (id forma fit chiastica adeoque concinna): ubi pestes tuae, mors? i. e. ubi iam sunt terrores mortis, ubi iam arma illa et horrores et copiae quasi militares, quibus ingentem in genere humano edere stragem solebat? ubi pernicies tua, infere? ubiiam est excidium illud universale, quo omnes in scheol tamquam in carcerem mortis imperio praevalente detrusi continebantur? Carmine triumphali Deus insignem victoriam celebrat. Idem sensus adest in versione latina ; etiam magis Deus victor eminet : ero mors tua, mors; mortem occidet, stirpitus evellet, abolebit ; id vero fiet, cum strages illa a morte edita reparatur, cum mortis imperium aufertur ; namque « mors dicitur vivere secundum actum mortis, qua mortificare potest et in morte detinere, quam potestatem amisit Christi morte, et ideo mortua dicitur esse » ( Alb.) ; morsus tuus ero, inferne i. e. scheol vel mors, uti hucusque morsu vel aculco et stimulo (LXX x£vxgcov — cf. 1 Cor. 15, 55) homines interfecit et ad mortuorum habitationem coegit, ita a Deo superabitur, spoliis collectis privabitur, omni vi destituetur atque ita prosternetur ut esse plane desinat ( cf. Sanct. ). Carmine hoc triumphali refelluntur ii, qui primam versus partem por modum interrogationis legentes auxilium a Deo cum indignatione negari volunt, neque minus ii, qui conditionalem particulam subaudientes explicant : si Ephraim resipuisset, ego liberarem a morte (cf. apud Sanct. Lap.); promissio enim propter illum triumphum ostenditur esse absoluta. De aliorum versionibus haec adnotat S. Hier. : «in co loco, in quo LXX transtulerunt ubi est causa tua (scil. 6i«z) ? et nos diximus ero mors tua, Sym. interpretatus est ero plaga (ua ; quinta editio et Aq. ubi sunt sermones tui? quod hebr. scribitur dabarach ^21 J, legentes dabar hoc est verbum, pro deber quod interpretatur mors... pro aculeo quoque quem nos morsum transtulimus, Sym. àzivzngzid est occursum, Theod. et quinta editio. plagam. et conclusionem interpretati sunt »,. Syrus. vertit ; ubi iam est victoria tua, mors? ubi stimulus tuus, inferne? Etiam in. aliquibus exemplaribus graecis vizz legi : x99 90v, 0xvxst, 7j viv ; pro Gi Theoph. adnotat; ita legisse etiam S. Cyr. censendus est ', explieat enim : ( X Xuxozix ) abzm Yàp Eottw 7; 100 Üxvàou vixr xxi tó *ivipov 102 150v. Et ad hanc lectionem proxime aecedit textus allatus a S. Paulo : xo) cou 0xvass 5ó vi«o; (1 Cor. 15, 55). Haec translatio deri, vanda est ex notione chaldaiea 123 ducem esse, regere, imperio subiicere, gubernare ; cfwn21 ductus, gubernatio (cf. Buxtorf, Levy, Chald. Woerterb.), quare nulla alia lectio in hebr. statui potest. — Chald. totum versum magna cum libertate ita periphrastice declarat : « domum Israel de manu occisoris redemi et de exterminio erui eos ; tunc erit verbum meum iis in occisionem et elfatum meum in exitium ; eo quod transgressi sunt legem meam, auferam gloriam meam (habitationem meam) e medio corum ». Promissionem hanc manere immutatam, sollemni assertione Deus confirmat immutabilitatem sui consilii proponens : poenitudo abscondita est ab oculis meis (hebr. cf. Mar. Scholz) ! i. e. promissionem se nunquam retractaturum spondet, uti Ps. 109, 4: « iuravit Dominus et non poenitebit eum », praedictionem igitur esse absolutam, neque ulla hominum impietate fieri posse irritam. [dque Deus statim alio modo affirmat, asserens ex ipso nomine Ephraim fore, ut populus electus denuo ad statum florentem pertingat : quia ipse inter fratres efflorescet (fructum feret). Aperte alludit X?2? ad vocem a?2N (cf. Gen. 41, 52), uti Sanct. Lap. Mar. iam monent. Nomen igitur optimis auspiciis inditum non carebit effectu, in ipso nomine adest pignus instaurationis, quia nomina in sacris literis, praesertim si a Deo dantur, non inania sunt rerum simulacra, verum vel beneficiorum praesentium documenta vel vaticinia et omina futurorum. Textus lat. vero vocem Dni quae hoc solum loco invenitur alia significatione exprimit : « consolatio abscondita est ab oculis mets » ; — consentiunt LXX (xzedxXqo:w) et Syrus. In explicatione autem interpretes multum variant. S. Hier. in ambiguo relinquit, utrum Dei an prophetae verba sint ; item Haimo. S. Cyr. per interrogationem legi vult. Ps. Ruf. causam ibi cernit expressam, quae indignationem illam et mortis punitionem commoverit.Lap. dici censet in hunc sensum : auferam ab ills omnem consolationem, auferendo meam praesentiam et consequenter omne bonum ; sim. Men. Isti igitur verba a Deo dici putant et prophetam post laetam promissionem ad tristia sui temporis fata redeuntem describere, per quas calamitates ad illam liberationem enitendum sit. Alii verba ibi agnoscunt prophetae ; vel hanc consolationem melioris spei et resurrectionis exspectationem Iudaeis fuisse occultam et generatim hominibus ignotam (Theod. Theoph.), vel quia ipse vates illam non sit visurus (Alb.), vel generatim prophetam lugere, quia sciat populum suum devotum esse cladi atque exsilio (Rup. Rib. Sanct. Sa). Idque ad verba latina optime congruere videtur. Revertitur igitur propheta ad populi cladem considerandam, bene gnarus, quam longe absint a salute et per quot quantasque tribulationes ad spem illam tendere debeant. Et addit causam moeroris v.15 « quia ipse inter fratres dividet » ; i. e. — Deus disper- . det Israel tribusque cognatas inter se separabit(Theod. M. Mar.); vel quia ipse Ephraim se separavit et regnum dissecat (Sanct.), vel quod aliis placet, quia mors et infernus dividet inter fratres et stragem edet (cf. Alb. Rup. Men. Tir.). Uti textus latinus est, etiam referri potest ad 1. ani; pnm habere significationem poenitendi certum est in forma miphal; goneratim sententiam sequentem : quia Ephraim fecit schisma et divisit se a fratribus et regnum dissecuit, idcirco adducet Deus ventum urentem (Lap.). Atque id versuum distinctione et interpunctione, quae in vulg. cernitur adoptata, commendatur. LXX vertunt : àvX uícov 32:;ív Óixstexet. Notionem separandi etiam. S. Cyr. agnoscit * ; eandem Syrus exprimit ; unde versiones istae in hebr. T*3E? legisse vi- Anc. — Breviter iudicium venturum imagine tempestatis proponit et ruinam Samariae et caedem commemorat futuram. Hisce adnectit adhortationem, ut ruinae causa remota ad Deum sese convertant, et modum docet conversionis : scil. Deus est humiliter exorandus et omnis spes ac fiducia humana abiicienda (13, 13 - 14, 4). Quodsi hoc modo ad Deum revertantur, pollicetur, Deum abundantissime eorum necessitatibus occursurum ; fore, ut Israel denuo efflorescat, ut dilatetur, ut aliis salutem afferat (14, 5-9). Concludit propheta monens, ut vaticinia attendant, inde erudiantur ; esse enim vias Domini rectas in se, iustis in salutem, in ruinam peccatoribus (v. 10). Duo praeprimis in hac oratione eminent : a) modum inculcat propheta, quo ad Deum redire debeant v. 3, 4; b) salus messianica, gratia Dei salutisque laeta diffusio et fructus salutares egregie proponuntur (14, 9 et seq.).
13:15
Vastitatem futuram et quae sint eius causae, in antecedentibus saepius docuit. Hic calamitatem sub symbolo venti urentis et exsiccantis omnia breviter ac nervose depingit, ut post eam demonstret viam ad instaurationem eiusque gloriam et laetitiam ex opposita ruina illustret. Unde v. 19 « Adducet urentem ventum Dominus de deserto ascendentem, et siccabit venas eius et desolabit fontem eius, et ipse diripiet thesaurum omnis vasis desiderabilis » ; — ventus! a Domino missus dicitur, quia tamquam Dei minister et iustitiae divinae administrator et regioni et hominibus perniciem affert ? ; de deserto ascendensi. e. ex terra horribili, horrorem et mortem afferens (cf. Is. 21, 14. Iob 1, 19), et quia ventus orientalis ex regionibus aridis flabat et sole adustis, unde quam maxime noxius erat atque molestus et saepe arenae calidissimae copiam ingentem secum afferebat. Quare apte dicitur per hyperbolen ipsas aquarum venas, rivulos eorumque origines, fontes quibus perpetuo aluntur, exsiccare, ut omne prioris formae ac fertilitatis antiquae vestigium plane exstinguatur (cf. Sanct.). Terra ita exusta et aquarum scaturigine privata iam nullius plantae ferax est ; ita Ephraim de se reflorescere post cladem nullo modo poterit. Eadem eversio rerumque destructio altera imagine exhibetur ct dirtpiet... quaecumque pretiosa sunt, a vastatore et raptore diripientur; conculcabuntur. Beneficiis enim et thesauris a Deo concessis abusi sunt (cf. 2, 8), quare ab hostibus auferentur. Quis symbolo venti urentis proponatur, ex 14, 4 elucet. Unde Aib. imminentem captivitatem eiusque mala in imagine descripta cernit, in fonte exsiccato metropolim, in venis villas et oppida explicans ; Assyrios intelligunt Barh. Sanct. Mar. ; regem vero Babylonis Theod. M. ; angelum, qui exercitum Sennacherib interfecit, Ps. Ruf.; alii demum ventum urentem Christum esse volunt vel in primo vel in altero adventu (cf. Hier. Cyr. Rib. - Lap.). Imagini vastationis rem subiungit, et quidem in textu hebr. poenas luet Samaria, quia rebellavit contra Deum suum, in gladio cadent... tw cf. 5, 45 est delinquere et delicti poenas dare; rebellio in apostasia a Deo, in idololatria consistit. Eundem sensum fert textus lat.
13:4
… In the minor prophets, even in the most ancient (Am. 2:4; 4:13; 5:8 ff.; 9:2, 5 ff.; Hos. 4:12; 9:10; 13:4), the same faith is found.
13:5
… On God's part, every benefit and the greatest affection; on Israel's part, the infidelity that began with the first contacts with the Canaanites (Hos. 9:10; 10:1; 11:1 ff.; 13:5 ff.; cf. Jer. 2:1-3; Ezek. 20:28), and now in Samaria is at its height (Hos. 2:4-15; 4:12 and passim). …
13:14
… Hos. 6:1-2: "Come, let us return to God, for it is he who has wounded us and will heal us: he has struck us and will restore us to health; after two days he will revive us and on the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his presence" (cf. Hos. 13:14). The spiritual resurrection of the chosen people is promised to Ezekiel (37:1-10) under the grandiose image of an ossuary (arida ossa), which at the breath of the spirit of God …
… In Is. 26:19 is the oldest explicit attestation of the resurrection (= "going up" from the f.: Job 7:9). The divine promises of redemption and spiritual restoration present themselves as liberation from the f. (Hos. 13:14 = I Cor. 15:55; Is. 25:8; 26:19, etc.; Ez. 37:1 ff.; Job 19:15 ff.; Dan. 12:2) as "resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 11:15); rising again from the abyss-necropolis ("from …
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.