Глава 13

God finally turns his word against the false prophets; for he says: Ezek.13:2. Son of man, prophesies against the prophets of Israel, prophesies And so that the similarity of names would not harm people, since both true and false were called Prophets, it was not without reason that he added: and the prophet spoke from his heart, that is, completely devoid of the effectiveness of the Spirit, speaking lies from their own thoughts. and the prophets, and said to them: Hear the word of the Lord. Ezek.13:3. This is what the Lord Adonai says: “Discipline wickedly from your heart, walking after your spirit, but not seeing at all.” Crying will befall those who are not governed by the effectiveness of the Divine Spirit, but obey their own aspirations: for the Prophet called the will of the soul “by their spirit.” Ezek.13:4. Like foxes in the desert, your prophets are to Israel! Ezek.13:5. You did not stay in the firmament, and did not gather the flock to the house of Israel; you did not rise up, as those who speak in battle on the day of the Lord. Symmachus translated this more clearly: “like foxes in ruins,” thy prophets, O Israel; They did not go into the trenches, they did not build fortifications around the children of Israel, so that they could stand as in battle on the day of the Lord, that is, your prophets, O Israel, were like foxes living in the ruins. Just as they do not block the entrances to the ruins, but anyone who wants can go in and out with them, so the prophets, seeing the carelessness of the people, did not block their paths to vice and did not protect them with pious words, so that on the day of wrath they could overcome their enemies, but they used the weakness of the people to their advantage. Ezek.13:6. They who see lies, and those who practice vain magic, saying, “Speaks the Lord,” but the Lord did not send them, and began to speak forth the word. Ezek.13:7. Is it not a false vision that you have seen, and vain magic that has been recreated? and you say, the Lord said: But I did not speak. You used my name for evil, says God, telling the people false fortune-telling, but I did not instill this in you. Ezek.13:8. For this reason, says Adonai the Lord: Because your words are deceitful, and your sorcery is vanity, for this reason I am against you, says Adonai the Lord, Ezek.13:9. And I will stretch out My hand against the prophets who see lies, and who proclaim vain things: they will not punish My people, and they will not be written in the scripture of the house of Israel, and they will not enter into the land of Israel, but they will lead away, as I am Adonai the Lord. I will warn My people, says God, but they will be given over to final destruction, and their memory will not be written, and they will not be numbered among My people. And showing the reason for this, he says: Ezek.13:10. Having deceived My people, saying: peace, peace, and no more peace: I foretold war, beating, captivity to the people, with the intention of bringing them to chastity through this threat of disasters, and these prophets, doing things contrary to Me, falsely promised them peace. and this one builds up the wall, and they anoint it: will it fall? Ezek.13:11. Verbs to those who anoint you, he will fall, The people build a rotten wall with wickedness and wickedness, and the prophets bring good predictions and good promises to this wall, like a kind of ointment and anointing, when it was necessary to destroy the unreliable building and make it solid. And those who anointed the wall thought that by this anointing they would make it safe. So tell them that the wall will fall and be destroyed. there will be a drowning cloud, and I will throw stones at their bodies, and they will fall, and the wind will raise them up, and dissipate. Ezek.13:12. And behold, the wall fell. God foretold all this allegorically, as if about a wall, and thereby depicted the invasion of enemies; “Svuz” he called the walls the king and the princes, who, like the bonds of a building, united the people. Therefore, he called the Chaldeans “a cloud that drowns, and arrows of stones, and a wind that lifts up.” Therefore, when the wall falls, God continues, Ezek.13:12. Do they not say to you: Where is your anointing, where is your anointing? When they actually find out that your predictions are false, instead of the hoped-for peace, they will suffer war, beatings, and captivity, then won’t they tell you: where are your kind words and promises of peace? So God, repeating the same thing again with greater detail, after threatening with a flood of enemy arrows, a cloud of stones, the destruction to the foundation of a poorly built wall, and after convicting those who prophesied good of deceit, offers a word more clearly. For he says: Ezek.13:15. I say to you: there is no wall, no one who anoints it. Ezek.13:16. The prophets of Israel who prophesied against Jerusalem, and saw peace for it, and no peace, says the Lord Adonai. All this will serve no purpose: the anointing, the wall, and the prophets who brought the anointing, because instead of the promised peace, siege and captivity will befall Jerusalem. Having spoken this about false prophets, he turns his word to false prophetesses, because the destroyer of the human race, having found them as tools suitable for himself, spread lies through them and, just as he contrasted the prophets with false prophets, so also with the wives who were honored with prophetic grace - these wives who accepted the effectiveness of lies. Therefore, God predicts what will happen to them. Ezek.13:17. And you, son of man, set your face on the daughters of your people, on the one who prophesies from her heart, and the prophets on them. Ezek.13:18. And you said: This says Adonai the Lord: Woe to those who sew heads under every lacquer of hands, and to those who make veils over every head of every age, so as to corrupt souls; the souls of My people were corrupted, and the souls were given to the virgin. Symmachus translated this more clearly, saying: “Woe to those who sew armrests under every elbow of the arm, and who make pillows under the heads of people of all ages to catch souls.” Allegorically, God meant this to mean calming and reassuring speech, because pillows and armrests bring calm and joy to the members under which they are placed, as well as reassuring words, even if they are false, pleasantly tickle the ear for a while, and produce all kinds of seduction in the souls. Likewise, the false prophetesses, prophesying apparently good things, caused spiritual harm to the people, and gained self-interest for themselves. God made this clear, saying: “The souls of My people were corrupted, and the souls were given to the virgin”; By corrupting the people and making them apostates from God, they attracted people's attention to themselves. Then he shows the insignificance of the benefit they acquire. Ezek.13:19. And I desecrated Me among My people, for the sake of a handful of barley, and for the sake of a crust of bread, What is less valuable than this? And what is more terrible than the harm that is happening from here? to beat souls for which it is not fitting to die, and to revive souls for which it is not fitting to live: prophesying to people who listen to false prophecies? For the sake of small self-interest, you praised some among the people in vain, others were called worthy of punishment, using people’s frivolity and gullibility for evil, because, having obeyed your words, some were unjustly saved, while others were killed in vain. Having thus denounced wickedness, he threatens punishment. Ezek.13:20–21. For this reason says Adonai the Lord, behold, I am upon your heads, with them you corrupt the souls there: and I will tear them away from your arms, and I will send the souls, even as you corrupt their souls to scatter. And I will rend your veils, and I will take my people out of your hand, and no one will be in your hands to corrupt: and you will know that I am the Lord. I will expose your words, says the Lord, I will prove their lies, and instead of your good promises, which are like soft headboards and armrests, I will send disasters to the people who have trusted us, and I will scatter them, teaching them through experience to recognize your lies, however, I will also deliver them from your deceitfulness by the very fact that they will endure, convincing them not to pay attention to your words, but to recognize Me as Lord and Master. Ezek.13:22–23. Since you have corrupted the heart of the righteous with unrighteousness, I have not corrupted it and have strengthened the hand of the wicked, so that evil will never turn from his way, and I live for him: for this reason you will not see a lie, and you will not practice magic on anyone: and I will deliver My people from your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord. Since you have disturbed and agitated the righteous (as Aquila translated), predicting sorrows for them, and made the wicked more daring, foretelling good things to them, and have done both contrary to My intentions, then I will give you over to complete destruction for this, and I will stop your deceitful sorcery, and I will deliver My people from the destruction prepared for you. Thus, having foreshadowed this about them, the Prophet turns the word to another subject.