(Verse 44.) Behold, everyone who speaks a commonly-known proverb, will apply it to you, saying: Like mother, like daughter. You are the daughter of your mother, who has cast away her husband and her sons, and the sister of your sisters, who have cast away their husbands and their sons. Seventy: These are all the things that they have spoken against you in a parable, saying: Like mother and daughter. You are the daughter of your mother, who has rejected her husband and her sons; and the sisters of your sisters, who have rejected their husbands and their sons. In the catalog of vices and corrections ((otherwise known as repentance)) in Jerusalem, by which one is drawn back to salvation, a well-known proverb in the common speech of the people is adapted, or as the Seventy translated it, a parable: Like mother, like daughter. The mother, however, is called Jerusalem, as is written above and in the following passages, and she is called Chethaea, which means raging or turning to madness: through her, the provocations of this world are shown, which lead the captive soul to destruction and separate her from her husband (no doubt, this is said by the word of God and his teaching). And the sister of their sisters, as we have read a little later, is called Sodom, and Samaria: one of which signifies the Gentile life and luxury, the other the deceitful followers of heretics. Moreover, what is read in the Septuagint, 'the sisters of your sisters, who rejected their husbands and their sons,' has no meaning. For what other sisters did Sodom and Samaria have, who are sisters to Jerusalem? And it must be asked, which husbands did Sodom and Samaria send away, and which sons did they reject? Unless, perchance, we are able to say this: that the feet of those who always wander are tossed about and there are no solid footsteps which are contrary to the truth; but they run hither and thither, and are carried about by every wind of doctrine, until they pass from falsehood to another falsehood (Ephesians IV). And when they realize that they have labored in vain at first, they proceed to second and third things.
16:45-47
(Verse. 45 seqq.) Your mother Hethaea (also spelled Chethaea), and your father Amorrhaeus, and your older sister Samaria: she and her daughters who live on your left. But your younger sister, who lives on your right, is Sodom and her daughters. But you did not walk in their ways, nor did you commit crimes like theirs, but rather, you committed even more wicked things in all your ways. LXX: Your mother Chethaea, and your father Amorrhaeus, your older sister Samaria: she and her daughters who live on your left, and your younger sister, who lives on your right, is Sodom and her daughters: and even so, you did not walk in her ways, nor did you act according to her wickedness, but rather, you transgressed against them in all your ways. He had said above: your father is Amorrhæan, and your mother Chethæan; here with the order and number changed: Your mother is Chethæan, and your father is Amorrhæan. For when they have advanced in wickedness, they are divided into parts; and deserted unity, they make progress into a tumult and multitude, which is not able to ascend to the mountains with Jesus. But Jerusalem is the sister of Samaria, and Sodom, of which one is on the left, the other on the right, even according to the carnal understanding, if you look from the temple at Jerusalem towards the East, you will approve. Majorca is said to be Samaria, because it sinned first and was led into captivity by the Assyrians; and Minor and younger Sodom, which is related to a multitude of nations. Otherwise, at that time Sodom was not there, which we read about before in the Scriptures, with Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, it was destroyed by divine fire (Gen. 19). However, in between the two sisters, Jerusalem, which is also called Judah, was led into Babylon by the Chaldeans; and Jerusalem sinned much more wickedly than Samaria and Sodom, worshipping the idol of Baal in the temple, and later killing the Son of God. Furthermore, according to tropology, Samaria and Sodom, that is, heretics and the Gentiles, often commit less serious sins than those who are considered Jerusalem, that is, the Ecclesiastics. Therefore, it is said to the Corinthians, who indeed believed in Christ but were oppressed by evil works: Certainly there is heard among you fornication, and such fornication that not even among the Gentiles, so that one has his father's wife (I Cor. V, 1), and so on. The heretics, however, who still accept the old Testament, understand three natures from this place: spiritual, animal, and earthly. And they refer the spiritual to Jerusalem; the animal to Samaria; the earthly to Sodom. Let us briefly ask them how the three natures, spiritual, animal, and earthly, which are certainly distinct from each other, are said to have one mother and one father? This does not correspond to their fabrication. And how will the animal and earthly nature be restored to their original state, that is, the spiritual state, according to this same prophet? This is contrary to their own reasoning. Moreover, the understanding that Samaria refers to heresies is confirmed in the prophet Hosea and many other places, especially by this testimony: Woe to those who despise Zion and trust in the mountain of Samaria, they have taken the firstfruits of the nations (Amos 6:1). For all heretics despise Zion, which is interpreted as a watchtower, and is referred to the Church; and they trust in themselves on the mountain of Samaria, namely in the pride of perverse doctrines, which they think are sublime, and through these fraudulent preachings, they plunder and pillage the beginnings of nations, so that, through the wonder of teachings, they may draw even the powerful ones of the Gentiles into heretical error.
16:48-49
(Verse 48, 49) I live, says the Lord, that Sodom, your sister herself and her daughters did not do as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, abundance, and idleness of herself and her daughters; and they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abominations before me, and I took them away as you saw. And Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you surpassed her in your wickedness, and you have justified your sisters in all your abominations that you have done. LXX: I live, says the Lord Adonai: this is what your sister Sodom did, and her daughters did the same as you and your daughters. However, the wickedness of your sister Sodom was pride, fullness of bread, and abundance. She and her daughters lived in luxury and had an abundance, but they did not support the poor and needy. They were proud and committed iniquities in my sight, so I took them away as you have seen. And Samaria has not sinned half as much as your sins, and you have multiplied your iniquities upon them; you have justified your sisters in all your iniquities which you have done. What the LXX has placed, she and her daughters also have, but it is not found in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, there is the oath of God: As I live, says the Lord (Num. XIV, 21). But in the New Testament: Truly, truly, I say to you (John XIII, 16). But if this is common with others: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Mark XII, 16, 27). And in another place: I will please the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. CXIV, 9): we seek to understand how the common term properly belongs to God. But how is it said, a good tree, and a good man, and a good shepherd, and a good servant (Luke XVIII); for no one is absolutely good, except God alone: so when the angels and other virtues, as well as patriarchs and prophets, and even the apostles, are called living in comparison to almighty God, they are called dead. For what is the man who lives, and does not see death? (Psalm LXXXVIII, 49). Hence, the apostle Paul also said about God: He alone, he said, has immortality and dwells in inaccessible light (I Timothy VI, 16). And about the fountain of life: Our life, he says, is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians III, 3). Therefore, this person who swears and says: As I live, says the Lord, describing the crimes of Sodom and its daughters, established the first pride, the very own of the devil, and the first sin. Wherefore as the same Apostle says: 'Lest being inflated with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil' (1 Timothy 3:6), on account of which he says: 'And his pride fell from heaven' (Isaiah 14:12). For he had said: 'I will do it in the strength of my hand, and by wisdom of my understanding I will take away the bounds of the people, and I will rob their strength, and I will make their cities desolate: and I will break them asunder, and they shall not be able to stand, nor shall they be able to resist my force' (Isaiah 10:13-14). And: 'God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble' (James 4:6). We also read in another place: 'Why do you boast, O earth and ashes?' And the Gospel tells of the Pharisee's pride overcome by the humility of the tax collector (Luke 18): whose seedbed is the abundance of bread and all things, and leisure; or as the Septuagint translated, the luxury and opulence of delights. That rich man in the Gospel, dressed in purple (Luke 16), is reported to have had no other fault except that, being abundant in wealth and riches, he had burst forth with such pride that he did not reach out his hand to the needy and poor Lazarus: and thus he had forgotten his own condition, to the point that he did not even give this miserable man what was to be thrown away. For what reason and in another place it is written: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke XIV, 11). Pride, gluttony, abundance of all things, leisure and indulgence, are sins of Sodom, and because of this, the forgetfulness of God follows, which considers present goods to be perpetual and never in need of necessities. Therefore, it is also commanded by the law: Take care lest, while eating and drinking and being satisfied, you build good houses and possess sheep and oxen, silver and gold, you forget the Lord your God (Deuteronomy VIII, 11). And in another place it is written about Israel: 'He ate and drank, and was satisfied, and grew fat, and kicked' (Deut. XXXII, 15). Knowing this, the wisest of all, Solomon, prays in Proverbs: 'Give me what is necessary and sufficient, so that I may not become full and deny you, saying: Who will see me? Or becoming poor, steal and profane the name of my God' (Prov. XXX, 8, 9). And what follows: 'And you justified your sisters in all your abominations, which you have done, not simply judging Sodom and Samaria to be wicked, but with a comparison to the worse: as the Publican, of whom we have spoken above, is not called absolutely righteous, but in comparison to the worse.' And yet even though Sodom and Samaria were such, they did not even sin half as much as Jerusalem. For the servant who knows his master's will and does not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes (Luke XII, 47). And: The mighty shall suffer torments mightily (Wisdom VI, 7). Furthermore, that which is contained in Hebrew for luxury (or wealth), should be understood to refer to this meaning: In desires is the entire soul idle; that is, that there should always be something to do: lest the field of our heart, with the hand resting, be occupied by the thorns of evil thoughts.
16:52
(Verse 52.) So you also bring your own confusion, having surpassed your sisters in your sins, acting more wickedly than them ((Other version: against them)): for they have been justified by you. Septuagint: And you will bear your torment because you have corrupted your sisters in your sins, in which you have acted unjustly against them, and you have justified them against yourself. The second tablet after the shipwreck is to be ashamed when you have sinned, and not to subject yourself to the reproach that is said against Jerusalem: You have become like a prostitute, you do not know how to blush (Jeremiah III, 3). But he carries his own torture, who is tormented by his own conscience, and in this world endures torment by his own will, lest he endure eternal torments (Genesis IV). And we corrupt our brothers and sisters through our sins, when they are provoked to greater crimes by our own sins. What I say will become clearer: Imagine someone in a priestly position not living well, and dishonoring their dignity with their actions. Surely by imitating his vices, the lay brother is corrupted? For even he who scandalizes one of the least of these, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown into the depths (Matthew XVIII, 6). Likewise, the sisters of Jerusalem are justified like Sodom and Samaria, not because they are inherently righteous, but as we said, by comparison with the worse.
So you will also be confounded; and your own shame, which you have justified, will become your gate. Seventy: So you will also be confounded, and you will bear your shame, because you have justified your sisters. Confusion follows shame: shame correction: correction consolation: consolation salvation: according to that of the Apostle: Tribulation works patience: patience provenance: provenance hope: but hope does not confound (Rom. V, 3-5). There is no doubt that in the future: because in its present state it has wiped out its sins through confusion. Something like this and that of the Gospel is said: There is confusion that leads to death, and there is confusion that leads to life (Eccl. 4:25). The Holy Spirit also urges sinners in the Psalms: Let all my enemies be confused and ashamed: let them turn back and be confused very quickly (Psalm 39:15). It is written also in another place: Declare your sins first, so that you may be justified (Isa. 43:26, sec. LXX). And again: The just one is his own accuser in the beginning of the discourse (Prov. XVIII, 17). Therefore, it is not surprising if Jerusalem is called to confusion and disgrace; she has sinned so much that she had to justify her sisters, to whom it is then said: And you, and your daughters, return to your former state.
16:53-54
(Verse 53, 54.) And I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore your own fortune among them, so that you may bear your shame and be confounded in everything you have done, consoling them. LXX: And I will restore their fortunes like the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, I will restore the fortune of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortune among them, so that you may bear your punishment and have shame for everything you have done, in order to provoke me to anger. Jerusalem made great progress, that after the confusion and ignominy that was brought upon it by the judgment of God, it willingly accepted and carried, saying: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, for I have sinned against Him, let restoration be promised to it in its former state. But yet, because by the comparison of its crimes, Sodom and Samaria were justified, of which one is on the right and the other on the left; first, the conversion or captivity of Sodom is restored, as Aquila interpreted; secondly, the captivity of Samaria, as Aquila and Symmachus also translated; and lastly, Jerusalem, which was oppressed by greater iniquity, will be restored, and it had shown that its sinful sisters were just in comparison to itself. For of whom is it doubted that among three sinners, rather sinners, a gentile, a heretic, and a churchman, he is more deserving of greater punishments, who is deserving of greater dignity? For the powerful, as we have said, endure torments powerfully (Wisdom 6:7). But he who is least deserving is deserving of mercy. And the servant who knows the will of his master, and does not do it, will be beaten with many (Luke 12:47). Therefore Peter also says: It is time for judgment to begin with God's house (1 Peter 4:17). And in this same place, the prophet commands those who have axes: 'From my saints begin' (Above, IX, 6) , that Jerusalem, having been converted and restored to its former state before its sisters, may bear its own shame, and be confounded, and blush over those things which it has sinned, and in all things may console its sisters, while it endures more weighty things (Jerem. VI) . Or certainly, it is confounded and blushes for this reason, because it has provoked God to anger. From this it is clear that the anger of God is not natural, but rather that the God who is most kind and gentle is provoked to anger by our vices, as the Apostle says: “Do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. II, 4, 5). You, however, with your hard and impenitent heart, are storing up wrath for yourself, which is not according to the nature of God. And in another place it is written: You have sent forth your wrath, which consumed them like stubble (Exodus 15:7). For what is joined and united in one body cannot be sent, but that which is outside the body. For example, a spear, weapon, arrow, sword. We also read in the Gospel (Matthew 10:15) that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for the one who does not receive the apostles.
16:55
(Verse 55) And your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state. And Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. And you and your daughters will return to your former state. LXX: And your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored as they were at the beginning, and Samaria and her daughters will be restored as they were at the beginning. And you and your daughters will be restored as you were from the beginning. The Jews, among their many fables and endless genealogies and delusions that they invent, even dream of this: that in the coming of their Christ, whom we know to be the Antichrist, and in his thousand-year reign, Sodom will be restored to its ancient state, so that it may be like the paradise of God, and like the land of Egypt; and that ancient Samaria will regain its prosperity, so that the Assyrians may return to the land of Judah (2 Kings 17, 18). For we read that the ten tribes were captured by the kings of Assyria, namely Phul, and Salmanassar, and Teglathphalassar, and they have remained captive there until today. Also, at that time, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, along with all its daughters, that is, the cities, villages, and castles that will be under its future power, they will flourish as they once did, and Jerusalem itself must be built with gold, silver, and precious stones, as prophesied by Isaiah: I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning, and after this you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother of cities, Zion (Isa. I, 26); and our Apocalypse speaks of this (Apoc. XXI): And David sings: Do good, O Lord, in your good will to Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt (Ps. L, 20). And in another place: The cities of Judah shall be built, and they shall dwell there, and they shall remain there, and their offspring shall be established forever (Ps. LXVIII, 36). But we, leaving the perfect knowledge of these things to the judgment of God, or rather, confidently confessing, after the second coming of the Lord and Savior, that nothing humble, nothing earthly will be in the future; but the heavenly kingdoms which are first promised in the Gospel, we say that in the state of the Church, all things are complete and are being completed daily. Sodom returns to its ancient state, when it regains its original nature and the impious soul recognizes the Creator. Samaria regains its ancient blessedness, having rejected the error of heretics and joined to the teaching and faith of Christianity. And when they have returned, and Jerusalem, the vision of peace, which is interpreted as the Church, will return to its former state. Of which it is written: 'His place was made in peace' (Psalm 75:2); and: 'Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together' (Psalm 122:3); and in the Apostle: 'But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all' (Galatians 4:25); and in the same: 'You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal gathering' (Hebrews 12:22). And he returns with his daughters, who are scattered throughout the whole world. We have discussed this more fully in Isaiah's explanations.
16:56-58
(Verse 56 and following) However, your sister Sodom was not heard in your mouth on the day of your pride before your wickedness was revealed, like it is now with the disgrace of the daughters of Syria, and all the daughters of Philistia around you who surround you. You carried your own wickedness and disgrace, says the Lord God. LXX: If your sister Sodom had not been heard in your mouth on the days of your pride before your wickedness was revealed, like it is now with the daughters of Syria, and if this had not been so, what would have happened to you and all the foreign daughters around you who surround you? You carry your impieties and your iniquities. Symmachus interpreted this passage as follows: Because your sister Sodom was not heard through your mouth on the day of your pride, before your disgrace was revealed, like the time of reproach of the daughters of Syria and all the daughters of Palestine around you, who surround you in a circle. You will bear your crime and your wickedness. Theodotus interpreted it as follows: And your sister Sodom was not heard through your mouth on the day of your pride, before your evil was revealed: like the time of reproach of the daughters of Syria and all the daughters of foreign nations around it, who abhor you in a circle. Your fornication and your contaminations, you have borne, says the Lord Adonai. Our translation agrees with the Aquila edition; all of which I have placed, so that from the comparison of all, we may find some trace of meaning, and in the meantime without prejudice from others, it seems to us that the order of the reading must be restored as follows: In the days of your pride, when you were sinning, you did not remember the overthrow of your sister Sodom, before your wickedness was revealed to such an extent that you became a reproach to all the cities of Syria and Palestine which are around you. Therefore, because you have overcome in the crime against your sister, and you were not terrified by her example, so as not to endure similar things, and you did not refrain from stepping forward: now, however, your disgrace has been revealed, listen to the sentence of God. Either you have carried, according to the Septuagint: or you have carried, according to Aquila and Theodotion: or you will carry, according to Symmachus, your crime and disgrace, so that after you have endured punishment for sacrilege, you may obtain forgiveness not by your own terms, but by my clemency. Syria is said to be called Aram in the Hebrew language, which means 'sublimity'. And according to the explanation of that passage of the prophet Isaiah, in which Aram and Ephraim conspire against Judah and Jerusalem, the clever wisdom of the nations and the claim of sublimity in knowledge, joined with the malice of heretics, attacks Judah, in which there is true confession and cannot be overcome. Here also the same arrogance of Syria, that is, of the philosophers with the daughters of foreigners, in which the manifold errors of various doctrines are shown among nations, mocks Jerusalem and reproaches her, though she is overcome by her own vices.
16:59-63
(Verse 59 and following) Thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath and broken the covenant. But I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both the older and the younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of the covenant. I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you for all that you have done, says the Lord God. LXX: Thus says the Lord God: And I will do to you as you have done, as you have despised these things, in order to go against my covenant. And I will remember my covenant, which I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant, and you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older sisters with your younger ones, and I will give them to you as a test, not according to your covenant. And I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be ashamed, and there shall be no more opening of your mouth from the face of your disgrace, when I have been propitious to you according to all that you have done, says the Lord God. Therefore I said to you: your crime and your disgrace you carry, whether you have carried or will carry; in order to receive what you deserve: because you have despised my oath, and nullified my covenant. But when it is fulfilled, I will kill, and I will give life: I will strike, and I will heal (Deut. XXXII, 39): then I will remember my covenant, which I once had with you. And I will raise up for you a covenant, not of the Law that has passed, but an eternal covenant of the Gospel: so that when you remember your ways, and receive your older and younger sisters, Samaria and Sodom and their companions, I will give them to you as daughters, or as a proof (for there must be factions (I Cor. XI, 19) and heresies, so that those who are approved may be made manifest), not based on your merit, but based on my mercy, and then you will know that I am the Lord; and you will remember my benefits, and be confounded, and say according to the Apostle: I am not worthy to be called an Apostle: because I have persecuted the Church of God (I Cor. XV, 9). And may your mouth no longer be closed because of your confusion. For it is the duty of the holy to open their mouth, as the Apostle says: My mouth is open to you, O Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6:11), and of the Lord Savior, who opened his mouth and taught them (Matthew 5), as it is also said in the psalm: I will open my mouth in parables (Psalm 78:2). But to the sinner it is said: You have sinned, be silent (Genesis 4). And: Why do you speak my covenant through your mouth? (Psalm 49:16). And: A sinner's praise is not beautiful on the lips (Sirach 15:9). And only a saint deserves to hear: Open your mouth, and I will fill it (Psalm 80:11). From this, we understand that even when we have regained our original glory through the mercy of God, indeed when we have received the eternal covenant of the Gospel, after the Lord has been appeased towards us in all that we have done, we should still have the memory of past sin and always keep our mouths shut, for we are saved not by our own works, but by the grace of God.
17:1-6
(Chapter 17, Verse 1 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, propose a riddle, tell a parable to the house of Israel, and say: Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with large wings, long feathers, full of plumage and variety, came to Lebanon and took the topmost branch of a cedar. It plucked off the highest of its young twigs and carried it to the land of Canaan, and set it in a city of merchants. And he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in the ground for seed so that it would establish roots over many waters; he set it on the surface. And when it sprouted, it grew into a vine of wide spread with low stature: its branches turned toward it and its roots were under it. Thus the vineyard was made and it bore fruit in the form of tendrils and it sent out shoots. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, tell a story and speak a parable to the house of Israel, and say: This is what the Lord God says: A great eagle with great wings, full of long feathers, with long wings and full of talons, came and took from among the choice cedars. He uprooted the tops of its tender shoots and brought them to the land of Chanaan. He put it in a walled city and took it from the seed of the land and planted it in a field over many waters, so that it would be seen. He planted it and it grew into a weak and small vine, so that only its branches could be seen beneath it, and its roots were underneath it. And it became a great vine and produced branches and extended its branches. When it is said of the prophets: Present an enigma, tell a parable, or as the Septuagint translated: tell a narration, it is shown that what is said is obscure. For there is no doubt that to present an enigma and a parable is to express something in words and hold something in meaning. And indeed the Savior spoke to the people in parables, which he explained in secret to the apostles. Therefore, we must understand enigma and parable in such a way that enigma and parable are Two enigmas and parables are presented in the prophecy of Ezekiel at present by Aquila. Now we must first speak: we will discuss the other in the following. And in the meantime, let us enjoy a simple story. The great eagle, with large wings, long feathers, and full of variety, or as the Septuagint translates it, full of claws, is King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans, about whom Hosea also speaks: Like an eagle over the house of God (Hosea 8:1). He who reigns over many nations and is surrounded by an innumerable army comes over the house of God, undoubtedly referring to the temple, or as Scripture says now, over Lebanon, about which Zechariah speaks: Open, Lebanon, your gates, and let fire consume your cedars. Howl, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled:(Zach. XI, 12). And often the temple, which was famous and lofty, is called Lebanon in the holy Scriptures. And he took the pith of the cedar, and the top of its branches he plucked off, and brought it to the land of Chanaan, and placed it in the city of the merchants. For the merchants, or for the merchandise, the seventy translated it. Now it signifies Jehoiachin, the king of Juda, whom Nebuchadnezzar, with his mother and the princes of the people, took captive, and all the treasures of Jerusalem and the vessels of the temple; and he carried them into Babylon, which is in the land of Chanaan, and there he grew old. Afterwards, the Lord and our Savior was born through Salathiel and Zorobabel, as the Scripture of the Evangelist Matthew testifies (Matthew 1). He brought forth from the seed of the same land, that is, from the royal lineage, Matthan, uncle of Jechoniah, whose name he changed and called him Zedekiah, and he set him as king in Jerusalem, and he ruled over many peoples. And yet he set him on the surface and did not establish the power of his high empire with a deep root. But he set him there to be looked upon, and he was under the power of Babylon, or of low stature, with his branches looking towards it, so that he would indeed govern the people of Judah, but look to the command of the Babylonians. For this is what Scripture says: 'He will be lowly in stature, his branches will turn towards her, and he will be overshadowed by an eagle.' This is more clearly translated by the Septuagint, 'What had been planted grew up and became a weak and small vineyard, so that only its branches were visible, and it seemed to have a kingdom of its own, but its kingdom was lowly and weak, ruled by the authority of the Babylonian prince.' This is the interpretation of the present chapter, to which we will append the rest.
17:7-10
(Verse 7 and following) And another great eagle appeared, with large wings and many feathers. And behold, this vineyard sent out its roots toward it, extending its branches toward it, in order to be irrigated by the streams of its sap. It was planted in good soil, above abundant waters, in order to produce leaves and bear fruit, and to become a great vineyard. Say: Thus says the Lord God: Will it succeed? Will it not uproot its roots and squeeze its fruit, causing all its branches to wither and dry up, so that it will not be strong in a mighty arm or among many people, in order to uproot it completely? Behold, it is planted, so will it prosper? When the burning wind touches it, will it not wither and dry up, and its shoots wither in its own beds? LXX: And another great eagle was made, with many wings and many claws. And behold, this vineyard was entangled with it, and its roots were attached to it, and its branches extended to it, in order to irrigate it with the soil of its plantation. In a good field, it was fattened over much water, so that it would produce shoots and bring forth fruit, and be a great vineyard. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: If it shall be exalted? Shall not its roots be tender, and its fruit wither, and all the things that have sprung from it wither, and it be pulled up even from its roots? And behold, it is fattened. Shall it be exalted? Shall it not, when the burning wind touches it, wither, and dry up with aridity? When the soil of its germination withers, the second eagle, that is, the other, also great, full of feathers, with many talons, because of its rapaciousness and the devastation of many nations, the king of Egypt is Pharaoh. And behold, this vineyard signifies King Zedekiah, who had been appointed by Nebuchadnezzar in Jerusalem, began, he says, to send his branches to it, that is, to send ambassadors to the king of the Egyptians, and to ask for help from him against the king to whom he was subject. For this is what the Scripture says now, that he may water it with the streams of his planting. Which had been planted in good soil by Nebuchadnezzar, in order to produce leaves and bear fruit, and to grow into a wider vineyard: therefore the prophet is commanded to speak to the vine, which had been planted by Nebuchadnezzar, and had sent its branches to the Egyptian eagle: will it prosper because she has tried to do this, and will not all her branches and shoots wither immediately? And did he not, he says, flee to a great army and not to a numerous people? For, while fleeing, Zedekiah was deserted by the help of the king of Egypt, and he was captured by the generals of Nebuchadnezzar in the deserts of Jericho. And all his allies were scattered here and there, as it is written in the books of Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah.
17:11-18
(Verse 11 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Say to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon is coming to Jerusalem. He will take the king and his princes and bring them to Babylon. And he will take one of the royal offspring, make a covenant with him, and take an oath from him. He will also take away the mighty of the land, so that the kingdom will be humble and not exalted, but will keep his covenant and obey it. When he departs from there, he sends messengers to Egypt, to give him horses and a great population. Will he prosper? Will he escape the one who does these things? Can anyone who breaks a covenant escape? As I live, declares the Lord God, surely in the place where the king who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. For he despised the oath to break the covenant. And behold, he stretched out his hand, and when he has done all these things, he shall not escape. This is the riddle, this is the parable, which the Scripture showed under the two eagles and the vine, the two kings of Babylon and Egypt; and King Zedekiah, who, against his oath, abandoned the friendship of Nebuchadnezzar and transferred himself to the king of Egypt. He shall strike a covenant with him, and he shall take an oath to him, to keep his pact and observe it. He who breaks a covenant, it is said, will not escape. From this we learn that even amongst enemies, faith must be kept, and it is not important to whom you swore, but through whom. For he who believed in you because of the name of God, and was deceived by you, who, taking advantage of the divine majesty, plotted against your enemy, or rather your friend, has proven to be much more faithful. For, as it is said, in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he made void, and broke the covenant he had with him, he will die in the midst of Babylon. For we read that Sedecias was captured, brought to Reblatha, and there his sons were killed and he was blinded like a wild animal enclosed in a cage, and then taken to Babylon (4 Kings 25). Therefore, Scripture, although it may seem contradictory to itself, is nonetheless very true in both instances. For it had been said to Sedecias: 'And thou shalt enter into Babylon, and thou shalt not see it' (Jeremiah 34:4). He entered indeed, for he was brought to Babylon, but he did not see it because he was blind. But what follows is understood in two ways: either the Egyptian king coming against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon will not be able to fight or resist with a small army against such a great multitude, or King Zedekiah will be conquered by Pharaoh, from whom he hoped for help. Not that Pharaoh himself conquered him, or that Scripture testifies to this anywhere, but rather that the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was opportune for the Egyptian king. And it was not the one who was besieging Jerusalem who appeared to conquer it, but the one in whom Zedekiah had vainly hoped. Behold, he said, he gave his hand to the king of Egypt and sold himself; and he committed perjury and sacrilege against God. Will it benefit him, he said? And when he has done all these things, he will not escape.
17:19-21
(Vers. 19 seq.) Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely I will bring upon his head the oath he has despised and the covenant he has broken. I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and there I will execute judgment on him for the unfaithfulness with which he has despised me. And all his fugitives, with all his troops, will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I am the Lord, I have spoken. The sentence is secular.
Deception or virtue, who seeks in an enemy? They often oppose us, those who say that enemies are to be deceived by fraud. To whom should we agree, Sedecias did much worse: he did not deceive an enemy, but a friend, with whom he had been joined by the covenant of the Lord. Therefore, as long as you do not swear and do not enter into a pact in the name of the Lord, it is a matter of prudence and strength to deceive or overcome the adversary in whatever way you can. However, when you have bound yourself by an oath, the one who trusted you is not an adversary, but a friend: and under the pretext of the oath, that is, the invocation of God, he was deceived. Therefore the Scripture now says: I will set upon his head the oath that he despised and the covenant that he broke. And lest we should think that the oath and the covenant and the agreement belonged to the Babylonian king, or to Zedekiah who made it, it follows: In the transgression in which he despised Me. Therefore, the one who despises the oath, despises the one by whom he swore; and he does wrong to the one whose name he believed as an adversary. For this reason, I will spread My net over him, says the Lord, and he will be captured in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and will judge him there. Therefore, whatever Nabuchodonosor did against Sedecias, he did not do it by his own power, but by the wrath of God, in whose name he had sworn falsely. According to another interpretation, although it may seem violent, it should be known that just as all other animals are usually referred to in both a good and a bad sense, so it is with the eagle and the lion. In a good sense, it is said: 'The lion's whelp of Juda' (Genesis 49:9). In a contrary sense: 'Our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about' (1 Peter 5:8). And in the psalm it is said: He lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor (Ps. IX, 9). It is said in a positive sense of the eagle that the righteous, when he becomes wealthy, makes wings for himself like an eagle, so that he can return to the house of his predecessor. And it is written in Isaiah that the righteous bring forth wings like eagles (Isa. XL): they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. But rightly does he who said, By strength will I do it, and by wisdom will I remove the boundaries of the nations, and I will plunder their strength; and I will stir up the cities that are inhabited, and I will seize the whole world in my hand, as a nest: and as eggs that are laid (Ibid., X, 13, 14), now describe it in the persona of an eagle: because it does not want to lash out at the small and humble twigs, which are interpreted as whiteness and are related to incense, but at the tops of the cedars, and the princes, and the royal stock, according to that of Habakkuk: His prey shall be choice (Abac. I, 16). And he makes a covenant, that those whom he has captured should submit their necks to the Babylonian king, and fulfill that which the Apostle speaks of: Those whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme (I Tim. 1:20). And in another place: Those whom I have delivered, he says, to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved (I Cor. 5). Therefore, if perhaps we are expelled from the congregation of brothers and from the house of God because of some sin, we should not resist, but bear the sentence that has been passed on us with a calm mind, and say with the Prophet (Micah 7:9): I will endure the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He justifies my cause, and so on. And it often happens that we, subjects under one another, turn to another who promises us his assistance; and he does not make us remain in our former opinion. This must be avoided by all means, so that our branches do not wither and our shoots dry up: and so that we are not believed to act against God's covenant.