(Verse 22, 23.) And the Cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels with them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord ascended from the midst of the city: and stood upon the mountain, which is towards the east of the city. Gradually, the glory of the Lord departed from Jerusalem. First leaving the temple, it stood in the courtyard or at the threshold of the house, and afterwards at the entrance of the Eastern Gate; finally, with its wings and accompanying wheels lifted up, it stood upon the mountain, which is towards the east of the city, no doubt signifying the Mount of Olives, from where the Savior ascended to the Father. And the glory of the Lord stood and went from the city of Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives, as a sign of resurrection and light, so that from there it might behold Jerusalem about to perish and be consumed. And it says: 'The glory departs from the midst of the city' (John 14:31), in other words, the Lord speaks to his disciples: 'Rise, let us go from here' (Luke 13:35). And to the Jews: 'Your house will be left to you desolate' (Matthew 23). Josephus also reports the voice heard in the temple of angels and celestial powers that were previously in the city's defense: 'Let us go from these seats' (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews). And to this present day, in a wondrous manner, the glory of the Lord, which abandoned the temple, stands upon the Mount of Olives, shining forth in the sign of the cross, gazing upon the once-Jewish temple, dissolved into ashes and rubble.
11:24-25
(Verse 24, 25.) And the spirit lifted me up and brought me to Chaldea for the transmigration in a vision in the spirit of God, and the vision that I had seen was taken away from me. And I spoke to the transmigration all the words of the Lord that he had shown me. Because we have translated from the Hebrew truth: And the vision that I had seen was taken away from me, the LXX translated: And I ascended from the vision that I had seen. Both of which signify not that the prophet was physically transported from Jerusalem to Babylon, but in spirit, the vision that had led him in spirit to Jerusalem was taken away, and he returned to himself and spoke to the transmigration all that had been shown to him, namely, about those of whom it is written above: I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting beside me, and there the hand of the Lord God fell upon me, and I saw (Above, VIII, 1). And in a marvelous manner, while these people who had come to visit were seated, the prophet saw mystical visions and was absent from those who were sitting in front of him, present in body but without spirit. And everything happens so that those who were captive may receive consolation, because they will be brought back to the land of Israel and will walk in the commandments of the Lord, and they will be his people and he will be their God. But those who do not turn to repentance and continue to walk in their abominations will receive the consequences of their actions. But we often mention that words in the Holy Scriptures are often used for things.
12:1-2
(Chapter 12, Verses 1 et seq.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house: they have eyes to see, and do not see: and ears to hear, and do not hear: because they are a rebellious house. Because we translate it as: You dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, the LXX (Septuagint) has put: You dwell in the midst of their iniquities. But from what follows, Because they are a rebellious house, we understand that the preceding sentence also agrees with this verse. Furthermore, we learn from frequent teaching that in the midst of a house turning to bitterness, you, who by nature make God sweet and kind, make him bitter and cruel with the bitterness of your vices. Otherwise, we read about God: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet or pleasant (Psalm 33:9). But the prophet dwells in the midst of the people who provoke God to bitterness, who has eyes but does not see, ears but does not hear, not due to a defect of the senses, but due to the obstinacy of wickedness. And so the Lord said to the Jews: If you were blind, you would not have sin (John 9:41): accusing and condemning their voluntary blindness. Therefore, since they have eyes to see, but do not see; ears to hear, but do not hear; and they despise your words, teach them through images and pictures; and show them with visible examples, that they may recognize the impending captivity not only by hearing, but also by their eyes.
12:3
(Verse 3) Therefore, son of man, prepare for yourself the vessels of exile, and you shall go into exile during the day in their presence. You shall go from your place to another place in their sight, in case they might look upon it, for it is a rebellious house. LXX: And you, son of man, prepare for yourself the vessels of captivity, and you shall be held captive during the day in their presence. You shall be held captive from your place to another place in their sight, so that they may see that it is a rebellious house. There is no doubt that the entire extent of this place indicates the future captivity of King Zedekiah of the tribe of Judah, who was captured with Jerusalem. But since some desire to precede the captivity of Zedekiah, which is interpreted as the just Lord, as a type of the Savior who descends from the heavens to earth and assumes a human body, and these things are said to be vessels of captivity: therefore, I think it is necessary to warn the wise and cautious reader and to present these things, so that we may not seem to leave anything unmentioned, but not to prove them. For an impious king cannot surpass the example of piety shown by him who is the epitome of all piety. However, it is narrated in the history of Jeremiah the prophet and the Kings that Zedekiah was captured by the Babylonians and Chaldeans and was taken from place to place (Jeremiah 39 and 2 Kings 25), that is, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and other things that Ezekiel speaks of in the following passages. But those who refer to the Lord Jesus Christ believe that his captivity and migration from place to place signify his descent from heavenly to earthly realms.
12:4-6
(Ver. 4 seqq.) And you shall bring out your baggage like the baggage of an exile by day in their sight. And you shall go out in the evening before them, as one goes out into exile before their eyes. Dig through the wall for yourself, and you shall go out through it in their sight. You shall bear your baggage on your shoulders (Vulgate: you shall be carried): you shall escape in darkness (Vulgate: you shall be brought out). You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground: for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel. LXX: And you shall bring out your vessels of captivity by day in their sight. And you shall go out in the evening in their sight, as a captive goes out. Dig for yourself through the wall, and you shall pass through it in their sight. You shall be carried on your shoulders and go out in hiding. You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel. The prophet is commanded to act in a manner that Sedecias will do in truth. Gather, he says, your belongings (for these are the vessels of the one who is crossing over), while they are watching. And after they have seen what you are going to do, you will go out in the evening in the likeness of the one who is crossing over. We read that Zedekiah, with the wall secretly pierced, fled during the night to the deserts of the Jordan, and there he was captured by the Babylonians, and this signifies the wall being pierced. But when he says, 'you will carry on your shoulders,' your belongings are understood, and whatever they are accustomed to carry as a solace on the journey while fleeing. In the darkness you will escape ((or: you will lead out)); may you not be seen by anyone. You will cover your face, or by the blindness that befell him, the eyes will be plucked out by Nebuchadnezzar; or so that it is not recognized that he himself is the king, and the concern of the servants will be greater. And what follows: And you will not see the land, that signifies that he who is blind is led into Babylon, and will not see it. For I have given you as a portent to the house of Israel: for both the words and the deeds of the prophets have been spoken and fulfilled as a sign and a figure. And in Zechariah, extraordinary men are called, because they foreshadow the future (Zech. III). And in Hosea, God says: I have been compared to the hands of the prophets (Hosea XII, 10). But those who want to understand Christ in the person of Ezekiel, take the vessels of captivity to mean the human body, and the pierced wall through which he broke the bars of hell, and rising, he appeared to the believers alone; carried on their shoulders when he ascended as the victor to heaven with the angelic powers, and he came forth in concealment and veiled his face, so that the divine majesty might not be seen in mortal flesh, and he does not see the earth, lest the earth shine in his eyes, which does not deserve to see him. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just (Ps. XXXIII, 16), and his face is turned away from the wicked. But they say that all these things were done in order to convert the hard hearts of the Israelite people to faith through the likeness of a man. And it is given as a sign to the house of Israel; according to what is written: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many, and for a sign which shall be contradicted (Luke II, 24).
12:7-8
(Vers. 7, 8.) So I did as he commanded me: I brought out my belongings like the belongings of someone going into exile during the day, and in the evening I dug a hole in the wall with my own hands. In the darkness I went out, and on my shoulders I carried myself in their sight. LXX: And I did exactly as he commanded me: during the day I brought out my belongings like the belongings of a captive, and in the evening I dug a hole in the wall with my own hands, and I went out in hiding. I was carried on the shoulders in their sight. He testifies that he has completed the work that was ordered above, and does not need interpretation according to both opinions, as has been explained above. However, it should be noted that at the same time, Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, and Ezekiel in Babylon, and his prophecy was sent to the captives; and the prophecy of the former was sent to those who lived in Jerusalem; so that by the providence of God, the unity of the two could be proven in different regions, and those who heard it would understand that whatever happened to the people was not by the power of idols, but by the command of the Lord.
12:9
(Verse 9) And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying: Son of man, did not the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, say to you, 'What are you doing?' Say to them: Thus says the Lord God. If the rebellious house, they say, asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' Or even if they do not ask, you go, so that they may know why you have done these things. Say to them: Thus says the Lord God.
12:10-16
(Verse 10 and following) This burden is upon the prince who is in Jerusalem, and upon all the house of Israel who are among them. Say: I am your omen: as I have done, so it shall be done to them. They shall go into exile and captivity. But the prince who is among them shall be carried on shoulders, he shall go out in darkness; they shall dig through the wall to bring him out; his face shall be covered, so that he may not see the land with his eyes. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. And all who are around him, his helpers and his troops, I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries. But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, so that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord. First, let us explain the history. Say, he says, to them, O son of man, whether they ask or do not ask. What are you doing here? which is above the burden of that vision, which is in Jerusalem, signifying the leader Zedekiah. And say: I am your portent, or as the Septuagint translated, I am the one who makes portents; so that the future may be known from the present. As I have done, so it will be for them, the leader and all who are in the leader's entourage. Upon the transmigration to Babylon, the captives will be led, and the leader who is in their midst will be carried on their shoulders, either by beasts of burden or by those who fled with him. In darkness and in the shadows of the night, he will go forth: and his companions will dig through the wall to bring him out. His face will be covered, either by the fear of a fugitive or by the injury of blindness, so that the blind man may not see the land of Babylon. And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. Indeed, being seized by the Babylonians, he was captured as a result of God's permission. And he testifies that he himself caused these things to be done by the enemies. And being led into Babylon, he will not see the land of the Chaldeans, and there he will die as a captive. However, when he is captured, I will scatter all his allies, helpers, and companions in flight, here and there, and I will not allow them to depart in safety. But I will unsheathe my sword in the hands of the enemies, so that when they are dispersed among the nations, they may understand that I am the Lord, and all things are done according to my will. And I will leave behind, he says, a few from his companions who have fled with him, and those who have been able to escape the sword, famine, and plague, so that when they have come to various regions through either flight or captivity, they may recount all their crimes either through speech or example; because of which they have deserved such great evils, and understand that I myself am the Lord. But those who attempt to explain the allegory and the beginning of the explanation concerning the Savior, the leader who is in the midst of Jerusalem, interpret him, who has preceded as a sign and wonder, that he and his companions may be captives of this world, and as the victorious one ascending from the infernal regions, may be carried on the shoulders of angels: having gone forth in darkness, unknown to the unbelievers, having destroyed the middle wall, he has made both into one: his face being covered, so that he does not regard the land of the Jews (Ephesians 2). It is not surprising that the Lord hid His face; even today, the veil is placed before the unbelieving people when they look upon the face of Moses. And the Lord spread His net over him, as the bride speaks of him in the Song of Songs: Behold, he is behind our wall, looking through the windows, appearing through the lattice (Song of Songs 2:9). And also Jeremiah: The breath of our nostrils, the Lord's anointed, was captured in our sins (Lamentations 4:20). And: When he had not committed sin, he was made sin for us (II Cor. V, 21). And he shall be brought, he says, into Babylon, the confusion of this world, into the land of the Chaldeans who are interpreted as demons, so that he may draw back to salvation those who were enslaved to demons, and lead captive the ancient captivity. And he says that he will not see the land of the Chaldeans, and there he will die; so that he may give us life through his death. But he scattered all his helpers and partners, the apostles and apostolic men, throughout the whole world. And he unsheathed the sword after them, so that they might be crowned with various martyrdoms, and then they themselves or those who believed in them would understand that he is the Lord, and therefore he scattered them among the nations, and dispersed them in the lands, so they could bear much fruit. And he left a few men from among them, like the Apostle John, and others, freed from the sword, hunger, and pestilence, avoiding the onslaughts of persecution, to narrate the crimes of the Jews and the injustices of all the nations they entered, so that, through repentance, they may know that he is the Lord. We have said these things, leaving judgment to the discretion of the reader. However, there is no doubt that it is dangerous to compare the captivity and death of an impious king to the sacrament of the Lord.
12:17-20
(Verse 17 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, eat your bread with agitation (Vulgate adds but); and drink your water with haste and sorrow. And say (Vulgate says you shall say) to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord God to those who dwell in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with solicitude, and drink their water in desolation, so that the land may be desolate because of the multitude of its inhabitants, because of the wickedness of all who dwell in it. And the cities that are now inhabited shall be desolate, and the land shall be a desert: and you shall know that I am the Lord. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, you shall eat your bread with sorrow, and your water with torment and distress. And you shall say to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem concerning the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with scarcity and drink their water with dismay, so that the land may be desolate and its fullness be destroyed. For in impiety all who dwell in it and their cities which are inhabited shall be desolated, and the land shall be scattered, and you shall know that I am the Lord. After the prophecy of the prince and his companions, which was shown under a bodily image, came to the people: and whatever is said by the prophets is referred by the prophet to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that in the evil of the siege, they eat their bread in distress and poverty, and drink their water with torment and tribulation. But these things, says the prophet, are spoken to you, that you may speak to the people of your land and say: Thus says the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who are in the land of Israel: You will endure the evil of being besieged by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, famine and thirst; so that all the land with its abundance may be destroyed, indicating by it those who inhabit it. And lest they think that this happens to them without cause: Say to them that because of their crimes and impiety, all the cities of Judah will be reduced to solitude, and all cultivation of the land will perish, so that they may know the wrathful God, whom they did not want to recognize as merciful. Can we, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who believe in Christ, say, those who dwell in the Church. And if they have deserved by his sins the offense, let them eat bread with poverty, and drink water with mourning and distress: not food of bread, nor drink of water, but hunger, supporting the word and doctrine of God (Amos 8). For when, either by the fault of princes, who are to be captured and delivered to the Babylonians, or by our own hardness, we have lost the word of God, and have not deserved to have useful waters: then in sorrow and scarcity, we shall take our food, and the earth will lose the multitude of believers, and the cities, which are understood in the whole world as the Church, will be desolated, and the land will be deserted, so that all may know that the Lord has been offended. And indeed we can understand this even in times of persecution.
12:21-28
(Verse 21 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying: The days are prolonged, and every vision fails? Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and it shall be used no more in Israel. Speak to them, and say: The days are at hand, and every vision shall be fulfilled. For there shall no longer be any false vision, nor ambiguous divination in the midst of the children of Israel. Because I, the Lord, will speak, whatever word I have spoken will be done. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a word and I will do it, says the Lord God. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, behold the house of Israel, saying: The vision that this man sees is for many days and he prophesies for a long time. Therefore, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: My word will no longer be delayed: the word that I have spoken will be fulfilled, says the Lord God. What we have said, the proverb, according to Symmachus, all other interpreters have translated as a parable, which in Hebrew is called Masal. Again, where it has been said by us: 'There shall not be an ambiguous divination,' the Seventy have translated it as 'nor one divining according to favor.' For which reason all have interpreted it as slippery, whereas what we have said is ambiguous, so that we may understand the deceiving words of our prophets. Now the meaning of the entire chapter is this: He had previously prophesied against the ruler who was in Jerusalem, then he declared to the people that there would be famine and a burning thirst. So the unbelieving crowd takes up an old and well-known proverb: The threat of prophets is postponed to a distant time, and every vision will perish, while it is seen in vain; or, according to Symmachus, it will vanish into thin air and a gentle breeze. Therefore, say to them, my threat will by no means be postponed, nor will a false and ambiguous prediction be made to the people that has an uncertain end, so that it is said at one time and fulfilled at another; but now, while you who speak and those who hear are alive, let the word that I have spoken be fulfilled. However, it signifies the imminent captivity of the city of Jerusalem and the capture of Zedekiah with the people of Judah. Not only at that time, but even today the unbelieving crowd and the hard hearts of mortals do not accept the prophecy of God: but they consider everything that the prophets threaten, everything that the Gospel preaches, to be postponed to another time. And here let us understand the parable that is presented by the Septuagint as being received as a proverb, in accordance with what we read in the psalm: 'And I became a proverb to them' (Psalm 68:12). And in the same prophet: What is this parable to you in the people of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the sons are set on edge? We clearly explain, so that we may remain in the more obscure.
Book Four
Book Four
I would like, if it were possible, Eustochium, to weave explanations into the book of Ezekiel through each individual book with its own prophecies, and to not separate what is connected by prophecy with exposition: so that the course of the one dictating and the one reading would be easier; and to separate the long and immense journey of interpretation into certain intervals, as if with titles and indices, and, to speak more properly, with arguments, to show what each individual book contained. But what should I do, when some prophecies are short, others are long: so often we are constrained by necessity to condense many into one book, and divide one into many? Hence now also against the prophets and prophecies, to the elders of the people of Israel and to the land over which they are being led, we want to include in the fourth book a catalogue of the four worst plagues, and of the vine tree, which when it has been cut off, is useless among all the trees of the forests, we want to include a catalogue of vices of Jerusalem. Because it does not fit within the narrowness of one volume, we reserve the other part of it for the fifth volume: forewarning the diligent reader's concern, so that they know what we are explaining here and what they should read.
13:1-2
(Chapter 13, Verses 1, 2) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God. This is what we have added: 'who prophesy,' and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, which the Septuagint omitted, and because it is not found in Hebrew, they added, 'and you shall prophesy' and say to them. This is a message against false prophets who deceived the people and, against God's commands, prophesied something else. And let it not bother anyone that they are called prophets, for Holy Scripture has this custom, that it names each one of its prophecies and speeches a prophet, just as the prophets are called Baal, and the prophets of idols, and the prophets of confusion. Hence the apostle Paul also calls a Greek poet a prophet: A certain one of their own prophets said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons (Titus 1). And in Hosea we read: Like a prophet driven mad, a man carrying the Spirit (Hosea 9:7). But whatever was said to the people of Israel at that time is now applied to the Church: so that the holy prophets may be the apostles and apostolic men. But the false and mad prophets are all heretics, whose leaders invent falsehoods from their own hearts; and those who are led astray by them believe in the lies of others.
13:3