Глава 7

And knowing that the constant repetition of sorrowful predictions can soften even the extremely stubborn, he again predicts sorrows in a different way. For it is said: Ezek.7:1–3. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And thou art the son of man, O Lord: this saith Adonai the Lord, The end of the land of Israel is come, the end is come upon the four wings of the earth. The end has come, now the end will come for you, and the end will come for you who inhabit this earth. He calls the four wings of the earth the limits, not of the universe, but of the land of Israel, that is, the end has befallen you: do not think of escaping the threatening disasters without resorting to repentance. For destruction will come upon you all. And I will unleash My wrath on you, and I will judge you according to your ways. By the way, now say with blessed Paul: “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of the living God” (Heb. 10:31), for “he will reward anyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). God spoke this here too: “And I will judge you according to your ways. And I will give against you all your abominations,” that is, you will reap what you sow and you will receive a reward worthy of your deeds. Ezek.7:4. My eye will not spare you, neither will I have mercy, For when we exceed the measure of lawlessness and make the disease incurable, then we will block God’s mercy for ourselves. Your way will be brought against you, and your abominations will be upon you, and hang them, for I am the Lord. The greatest consolation for those punished is the knowledge of a punishing God. Ezek.7:5. This says Adonai the Lord: evil is one, evil, behold, comes. Ezek.7:6–7. The end has come, the end has come, the rise of thee, behold, thee has come. The weaving has come upon you who dwell on the earth: God's love for mankind is indescribable; it threatens punishments so as not to punish; but when we are not afraid of threats, then we will experience them. The Jews also suffered this, hearing that “the end has come,” and were not afraid of the end. And the Prophet calls the final destruction that befalls them “one evil”, and “weaving” - sinful bonds; for it is said: “everyone is burdened with the captivity of his sins” (Proverbs 5:22); and Isaiah says: “Woe to those who draw sins, as if they are already long, and as the yoke is a yoke with the strap of its iniquity” (Is. 5:18). The time has come, says God, the day is drawing near, not with rumors, but with illnesses. Ezek.7:8. Now I will pour out My wrath on you from close by, that is, there will be no reprieve of punishment; on the contrary, the time has come, the time has come. Then he again describes how they will be punished for their iniquities, and soon after that he adds to what has been said: Ezek.7:10–11. The rod prospers, reproach fades, and the wicked man's affirmation shatters. “Rod” he called punishment, watered by lawlessness and flourishing, and “reproach” he called wickedness against God, which they indulged in for a very long time, neglecting God’s long-suffering. But at the present time, says God, this reproach has vegetated, and “will crush the affirmation of the wicked.” Why does it add: Ezek.7:12. Let the buyer not rejoice, and the seller do not cry, for he is angry with all their multitude. Ezek.7:13. Attract more to the seller, i.e., someone who wants to change the contract, because everyone will fall under the same calamities, will mourn and sigh equally. However, he says: and to him who is still living, for the vision of all their multitude will not return, When they are burdened with so many calamities, they do not despair of life, says the Prophet, and the prophetic vision does not seem true to all of them. They should, the Prophet continues, know that and man will not be strengthened by the waste of his life, that is, events do not always necessarily correspond to human hopes; on the contrary, those who hoped to live often found themselves dying. Ezek.7:14. Blow the trumpet, and judge all, and there will be no one coming against the army, for My wrath is against all their multitude. Since you think, says God, that what I have predicted is false, then blow your trumpets, remain in the thought that you are better than everyone else, but you will not receive any benefit from this, because you will not be able to take up arms, and I will impose all kinds of punishment on everyone. Ezek.7:15. The army is from without with the sword, but famine and death are from within: those who are in the field will die with the sword, but those who are in the city will be famine and death. Therefore, will you be able to wage war, being walled off by so many and such calamities? Ezek.7:16. And they will survive saved from them, and will be on the mountains, like mourning doves. When they lament and weep, they will become like doves cooing sadly, because the voice of doves sounds like lamentation. I will beat everyone, says God, every time in his iniquities. I will not punish in defiance of justice, but I will subject each person to the punishment he deserves. Ezek.7:17. All the arms will weaken: and the whole thigh will become scalded with wetness. Both are signs of timidity. Ezekiel 7:18. And they will gird themselves in sackcloth, and horror will cover them: and on every face there is shame, and on every head there is baldness. When they see a cloud of evil befalling them, and there is no help for them from anywhere, then in despair they will throw down their military weapons and take on a sad look. The Prophet mentioned sackcloth and a shaved head, because at that time this was the custom among those who mourned. Ezek.7:19. And their silver will be cast into heaps, and their gold will be despised: Then he reveals the reason for his contempt for property. their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord, Seeing that the acquisition of silver and gold is useless, they will throw them away with contempt, no longer caring about storing them, as they did before. their souls will not be satisfied, and their bellies will not be filled, before the punishment of their iniquities will come. What benefit will silver and gold bring them when hunger strikes them, and there is a shortage of the most necessary things, there will be nothing to fill the belly with, the soul will hunger for food, and the torture and investigation of their untruths will begin? Then the Prophet again explains the reasons for the punishment. Ezek.7:20. I placed the chosen utensils for pride, and created images of my abominations and abominations from them: They turned silver, gold, and precious stones into food for their arrogance and wickedness, preparing expensive jewelry from them, and using most of them to make idols. For this reason, says God, he gave it to them for uncleanness. Ezek.7:21–22. And I will hand over into the hands of strangers, who will plunder, and who will destroy the earth for gain, and who will defile it. And I will hide My face from them, He called the Babylonians “destroyers of the earth” as the most cruel, lawless and educated in all wickedness. To them I will deliver, says God, both the gold and silver idols you have made, and those expensive utensils that you have prepared for yourself: “and I will defile”, that is, from the precious substances of your idols made, they will use them for other products. and they will defile My guard and enter into it without danger, and they will defile me: Ezekiel 7:23. and they will create a rebellion. “His watch” God calls the church dedicated to Him, from which, as it seemed, He watched over Israel and honored them with His providence. Not only did God deliver your idols, says God, to the Babylonians, but also the church consecrated to Me, from which I oversaw you. “And they will enter into it without danger,” that is, without having prepared themselves and without purifying themselves according to the law, without having first received circumcision, but in clothing stained with blood, in all military armor, committing murders inside it, penetrating into the very sanctuary; God expressed this when he said: “They will defile me and create rebellion.” Then he will tell the reason. The earth is still full of people, and the city is full of lawlessness, that is, the multitude of their iniquity is likened to the multitude of people in the universe. Ezekiel 7:24. And I will bring evil tongues, and they will inherit their houses, and they will defile their holy things. He did not say: “My holy,” but says: “their holy,” that is, what they dedicated to Me, which I did not need, and which I accepted from them out of care for them. But I will again despise this, because of their iniquities, which is desecrated and trampled under foot. Ezek.7:25. Prayer will come, seek peace and there will be no peace. That is, in the highest degree of disaster, they will beg for favor and liberation, but will not receive it. Ezek.7:26. There will be grief upon grief, and there will be news upon news, Disaster after disaster will follow them, and one bad rumor will be replaced by another worse rumor. and there will be no vision from the Prophet, and the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elder. This continues to this day with all its might, because their priesthood is not administered according to the laws, and the grace of prophecy has faded away. Ezekiel 7:27. The king will weep, and the prince will be clothed with destruction, and the hands of the people of the earth will weaken: Jeremiah reveals this to us more clearly, narrating what happened under Zedekiah and his flight. According to their ways I will do to them, and according to their judgment I will take vengeance on them, and they will understand that I am the Lord. I will impose these punishments on them, says God, holding them accountable for what they have sinned. Therefore, from everything that has been said, it behooves all of us, reaping the benefit, not to incur punishment on ourselves through wickedness, but with tears of repentance to heal sinful ulcers, so that the boat does not overflow and drown us according to the righteous judgments of God. To God be glory forever and ever! Amen.