Глава 35

Ezek.35:1–4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, turn your face towards Mount Seir, and the prophets against it, and spoke to it: This says Adonai the Lord: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand on you, and I will make you desolate, and I will make a wilderness in your cities, and you will be a wilderness, and You will understand that I am the Lord. Seir is an Edomite mountain, as we said above. And the Edomites, descending from Esau, were extremely hostile and hostile towards the Jews, which is why they rejoiced at the disasters that befell them. It is to them that the God of all things threatens with final desolation. This “I will stretch out My hand against you” is said in a figurative sense, meaning strong anger, and the image of speech is taken from those striking with their hands. Meanwhile, we know that the nature of God is impassive, and that such words in Scripture are proportionate to the strength of those listening. After this threat of punishment, God gives the reason for it. Ezek.35:5. Before there was everlasting enmity in you, and you bowed down to the house of Israel with wickedness, with the hand of the enemy with the sword, in the time of their sorrow, and in the time of unrighteousness, in the end. He accuses the Edomites of resentment and of secretly plotting against Israel. For he expressed this by saying: “You sat down to the house of Israel with wickedness, with the hand of the enemy with the sword during their sorrow,” that is, when the enemies invaded them, with ambushes and secretive guards you blocked their paths, not allowing them to escape. This is how other interpreters have translated: And she shut up the children of Israel by the hand of the sword in the time of their sorrow, in the time of their iniquity before Me. For for iniquity, or according to the translation of the seventy, for unrighteousness before Me, suffering punishment, the house of Israel found the increase of their disasters in your wickedness and in your wiles in common with your enemies. Therefore, this prophetic word teaches us not to attack those punished for sins, but, according to the advice of the Apostle, to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). Ezek.35:6. For this reason I live, says the Lord Adonai: for thou hast sinned in blood, and blood shall wed thee; for thou hast hated blood, and blood shall wed thee. “Blood” here refers not to war, but to affinity. since, he says, you waged war against your family, then in justice he will raise up war against you, and among the relatives whom you hated, I will raise up enemies for you. The relatives of the Edomites are Jews, because they descend from two brothers, one from Edom, or, what is the same, from Esau, and the other from Jacob, otherwise Israel. Ezek.35:7. And I will make Mount Seir desolate and desolate, Then he will tell you how it will be abandoned. and I will destroy from it man and beast, both coming and going. And this depicts the excessiveness of desolation, namely, that on Seir there will not only be no inhabitants, but also passing travelers. God also predicts how he will destroy the inhabitants. Ezek.35:8–9. And I will fill your hills and your wilds with your plagues, and in all your fields the plagues will fall in you with the sword. And I will make you desolate forever, and your cities will not be inhabited, and you will understand that I am the Lord. He says again: “it is empty forever, and there is no one to inhabit it,” according to the expression that is characteristic of Scripture; why, as we have already explained the desolation of Tyre, we will understand this too. Thus, having uttered a threat of punishment, he again reveals their cunning. Ezek.35:10. You have always said: both languages, and both countries will be mine, and I will take them as an inheritance, and the Lord is there, or according to other translators: “And You, Lord, are there.” And this not only exposes them to gluttony and covetousness, but also shows the excessiveness of wickedness and resembles the arrogant words of Sennacherib, for he said: “The Lord will not destroy Jerusalem out of my hand” (2 Kings 18:35). So the Edomites said with insolence: although the Lord is in Jerusalem, we will take possession of both countries. Meanwhile, the God of all, driving Israel out of Egypt, did not allow him to attack the Edomites, for he said: “Thou shalt not make war against them” (Deut. 2:5), because they are your brothers. Why did the Israelites, when their path was blocked, go around the mountain and the desert, as they were commanded? And about all this land God said to Israel: I will not give it to you, “as I gave it by lot to the son of Esau” (Deut. 2:5). However, the Edomites, not content with the God-given blessings, hoped to inherit the land of Judea. Why does God justly threaten them with punishments, and confirms His determination with an oath. Ezek.35:11. For this reason I live, says the Lord Adonai, and I will do to you according to your enmity, and according to your jealousy, which you have done out of your hatred of them. that is, you will endure what you deserve for your hatred and hostility. and I will be known by you when I am your judge, and you will understand that I am the Lord. Subjecting you to punishments that are obvious to you, I will inflict on Me myself, so that you do not think that these sorrows befall you from someone else, but having learned My sovereignty, you have gained benefit for yourself from this knowledge. Ezek.35:12–13. I heard the voice of all your blasphemies, which you spoke about the mountains of Israel, saying: The high mountains of Israel, the eternal, the desolate, are given to us to possess, and you spoke against Me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against Me, which I heard. God does not even want to bring these blasphemous words into memory, thus teaching us, even in the story of the blasphemy of others, not to utter them with the tongue, but to remember the prophetic word, namely: “Let not my mouth speak of the deeds of men” (Ps. 16:4). To all of this, God showed not only their hostility and maliciousness, but also their arrogance and violent rebellion against God. To the great benefit for us, he added this: “I multiplied my words, and I heard,” teaching us that of everything we say or do, nothing can hide from His sight or hearing. Ezek.35:14–15. Thus says the Lord Adonai: I will make you empty forever in the joy of the whole earth. Just as you rejoiced at the inheritance of the house of Israel, as if you were destroyed, so will I do to you: the city of Seir will be desolate, and all Idumea will be consumed, and they will know that I am the Lord their God. He threatens them with bleak punishment, for he says: when everyone lives in peace and joy, I will crush you with disasters, so that you will not have consolation in the fact that others suffer troubles with you. And Israel had this consolation when Nebuchadnezzar attacked not only him, but also the Tyrians, Sidonians, Philistines and Egyptians. However, he also promises a good deed in the punishment itself, for he says: “They will lead you to know that I am the Lord their God.” Therefore, punishment is useful in that, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, it “opens the ears” (Is. 50:5) and leads to the knowledge of one’s Master, Who strikes and heals.