Глава 5

Ezek.5:1. And you, son of man, take for yourself a sword as sharp as a shearer’s razor, 8 and draw it to yourself, and put it on your head and on your bridle: and take the weight of the scales, and measure it. The sword signifies punitive power, the removal of hair on the head and beard means the deprivation of splendor, and weights and scales mean the truthfulness of God’s sentence, because in the unsearchable judgments of God everything is strictly weighed. Ezek.5:2–3. May you burn the fourth part in the fires of the city after the completion of the days of your seclusion. And scatter the fourth part and burn it in the midst of the city, crush the fourth part with the sword around it, and scatter the fourth part with the wind: and I will draw the sword after them. In a few words, God Himself interprets this, calling hunger and death fire; why did he order two-fourths to be put on fire, because both hunger and death destroy people like fire. And by the sword he meant the invasion of enemies and the murders that they would carry out, and by scattering - captivity and future dispersion, about which he added: “and I will draw the sword after them,” because after they became captives, they suffered thousands of types of deaths. Ezek.5:4. And take them from there, a few in number, and tie them into your clothes. And thou shalt mix with the same again, and cast me into the midst of fire, and burnt me with fire: and from this shall fire come out upon the whole house of Israel. This means God of those who remained in Judea, whom the archmagir Nebuzaradan left along with Gedaliah, and who were also destroyed in various ways, either being killed by each other, or fleeing to Egypt, and not leaving wickedness there. And about seven the prophecy of Jeremiah makes clear to us. What was said: “from this will fire come out on the whole house of Israel,” makes it clear both the then irritation of the king of Babylon and the death that befell them in Egypt, and also foreshadows the rebellions that took place upon their return from captivity under Antiochus Epiphanes, due to which they fell into thousands of disasters, mainly heralds fury against the Lord Christ and their final destruction, and scattering throughout the entire universe after the cross. Having done this, God says to the Prophet, tell him the reasons for the punishment. Ezek.5:5–6. This saith the Lord Adonai: This Jerusalem is in the midst of the tongues that set it up, and the countries that are round about it, and say: Turn my justifications into iniquity more than the tongues that are round about it; The God of all things chose the Jewish people with the intention that through the Jews he would do good to all people. Why did he give them a law separating them from all nations, so that in this they would have differences. He also gave them a place to live in the middle of the universe, because they had Asia to the east and north, Europe to the west, connected by the sea, and Libya to the south. For the sons of Noah divided the universe into these three parts. Therefore, God says: “Let us lay Jerusalem in the midst of the tongues,” so that they may benefit from Jerusalem and learn from the Jerusalemites all piety and righteousness. But Jerusalem did the opposite in everything. Not only did he not teach him the good laws I had given him, but he himself participated in the wickedness of the pagan peoples. Ezek.5:7–8. For this reason the Lord Adonai says: For your image is greater than the tongue that is around you, 9 and you do not walk in My laws, and you do not create My justifications, but also according to the judgments of the pagans that are around you, you do not create, for this reason the Lord says: Behold, I am against you, and I will execute judgment among you before the nations. Since you have mixed into yourselves traits borrowed from the pagans, adopted their initiatives, and have despised My justifications and laws, and because of the excessiveness of iniquity, have surpassed in wickedness the pagans from whom they learned it, then I will judge you openly for this, the pagans will see My judgment and hear the verdict, so that, since they could not take advantage of your righteousness, they will at least benefit from your punishment. Ezek.5:9. And I will create among you things that I have not created, and those that I have not made, and those that I have not created like them, according to all your abominations. Then he lets you know what he is threatening. Ezek.5:10. For this reason the fathers will devour the children of your midst, and the children will devour the fathers: This happened during the siege of Jerusalem by both the Babylonians and the Romans, when the excessive famine led to such actions. That is, I will judge you truthfully. And I will scatter all that is left of You into all the wind. This does not require interpretation, because the events themselves proclaim this. Ezek.5:11. For this reason I live, says the Lord Adonai: verily, Thou hast desecrated My holy one with all thy abominations and all thy abominations, and I will cast away thee, In a word: “holy” refers not only to what is in accordance with the law, but also to the church dedicated to Him, which the Jews desecrated by placing idols in it and their abominations, as filled with abominations and abominations, as arousing all disgust. This is what Rebekah said: “My daughters are saddened by my soul for the sake of the sons of the Canaanites, if Jacob my son understands his wife from them, then what is my life?” , that is, I greatly abhor the daughters of the Canaanites. And God speaks in the same way through the mouth of David: therefore, “the wicked of that generation,” that is, he abhorred that generation, “and they always err in heart” (Psalm 94:10). And this Prophet also speaks about the lawless man: “I am not indignant about malice,” that is, he did not abhor malice (Psalm 35:5). and My eye will not spare, and I will not have mercy on you. Such is the excess of lawlessness that the merciful does not want to show mercy, and the philanthropic does not spare the punished. Then God repeats what has already been interpreted, namely, how he will give over a fourth part to hunger and another fourth part to death; then another part - to beating during the war, and the remaining fourth part - to captivity, because punishment will follow these too, and adds: Ezek.5:13. And My wrath and My anger against them will end, and I will be comforted, and they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal, that My anger will never end against them. The deity is dispassionate and not at all angry, but when calling punitive actions this way, he uses human names. It is said: “My wrath will end against them” meaning: it will come to an end. When they learn through experience that I am God and Master, and that, abhorring their iniquity, I have imposed punishment on them, then I will be “comforted,” for this is why I subjected them to punishment. Ezek.5:14. And I will put you in the wilderness, and reproach you with the tongues of those around you. To great chagrin, it is enough that those living next door and those constantly at odds will laugh and rejoice in the desolation. and the daughters that are around you 10 before everyone who passes by. He calls the subject cities and villages daughters. Ezek.5:15. And you will be in groaning and horror, punishment and destruction among the nations around you, I will make you famous for my disasters, and everyone, hearing about your death and the destruction of the cities and villages under your control, will groan and lament. when I will execute judgments on you in wrath and wrath, in vengeance of wrath, and reproof. Then, proving the untruthfulness of what was said, he continues: This announcement about the person is enough to prove the truth. Ezek.5:16–17. And when I send my arrows to famine you, and they will come to an end, and I will send them to corrupt you, and I will bring down famine on you, and I will erase the foundation of your bread. And I will send a sword and fierce beasts against you, and I will torture you; death and blood will pass through you, and I will bring a sword around you, as the Lord says. He repeats the same thing over and over again with the intention of frightening those who hear, so that through the fear of disasters he may turn them to piety and not subject them to the test of threats. He called the cruel Chaldeans “fierce beasts,” who, like bloodthirsty beasts, attacked them, killing some, and catching others alive and taking them captive. In glory: “more than a shearer’s razor.” Instead of ἡ ἀφορμ ἠ ξμῶν, Blessed Theodoret reads: ἡ μορφ ἠ νμῶν. According to the Slavic translation, these words are not readable.