Книга пятая

In order not to mix up the number of books and not to disturb the order of volumes separated over long periods of time, I have placed small prefaces before each of the books, so that the reader, at first glance at the title, can immediately know which book he needs to read and which prophecy you have to explain. So in the previous, that is, in the fourth book, I, as briefly as I could, explained part of the prophecy against Jerusalem, which begins like this: Your root and your descendants are from the land of Canaan, to the place where it is written: the best wheat flour, and oil and honey, with which I fed you, you set before them. Now the rest of the prophecy, with everything that follows, is dedicated to the fifth book and to your name, Eustochia. In it you will find nothing of rhetorical art, no sophistication and captivating expressions, but sincere and careful care that only this will be praised by me if, with my help, you understand the words of the prophet. Ezek.XVI:19–22. And it came to pass, says the Lord God, that you took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to Me, and sacrificed them to eat. Was your fornication not enough that you slew My sons? And you gave them away, dedicating them. And after all the abominations and fornications, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and full of shame, trampled under foot in your blood. LXX: And it came to pass after this, saith the Lord Adonai, that thou took thy sons and thy daughters whom thou hadst bare, and slew them to be destroyed, as though thou had committed little fornication, and slew thy sons and gave them, offering them to them [idols]. This is above all your fornication and your abominations, and you did not remember the day of your youth when you were naked and disgraced and lived mixed with your blood. That Jerusalem sacrificed its sons and daughters to idols, about whom it is written: they gave birth to sons and were raised up, but they rejected Me (Isa. 1:2), the Scripture speaks about this: they devoured their sons and their daughters to the demon (Ps. 106:37). And one more thing: shedding innocent blood, the blood of his sons and daughters, even devouring the idols of Canaan (Ps. 106:38). He calls Him His own according to the Hebrew [text], for He Himself said about them: My firstborn son Israel (Ex. 4:22), or, according to the Seventy, yours, whom you gave birth to fornication. In the place in which we put: and gave them, dedicating them, instead of which the LXX translated: and gave them for propitiation or reconciliation, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion put: carried and saw them off, since the pagans either carry their children through the fire if they are small, or force them to pass if they are adults. In doing this, he says, you did not remember your youth, when I took you, spattered with blood, and washed you, and, after much that was reported in the prophetic speech, united you with Me. Also, our Jerusalem, if it stumbles through heretical deceit, then takes its sons, who are stronger in faith, and daughters who do not have such a strong faith, or sons who know everything mysterious, and daughters who follow the simple historical meaning, and gives it to the demons to be devoured and, killing them, thinks that it gives life to them and appeases the idols, which are satisfied by killing them. And what is said according to the Seventy: this is higher than all your fornication and your abominations, this means that the teaching of demons is worse than all sins and fornication: it will kill those whom God either begat with great difficulty or made His sons those who were born through fornication. Ezek.XVI:23–26. And after all your wickedness it came to pass: woe, woe to you, says the Lord God. And you built yourself a whorehouse and made for yourself an indecent house (prostibulum) in all the squares. At every beginning (sarut) of the street she placed a sign of your lewdness and made your beauty vile and spread out your feet for everyone who passed by and multiplied your fornication. And you played the harlot with the children of Egypt, your neighbors with great flesh, 37 and increased your harlotry to provoke Me to anger. LXX: And it came to pass after all your atrocities, woe, woe to you, says the Lord Adonai. And you built yourself a harlot’s dwelling and publicly displayed yourself in every public square. And at the beginning of every street she built your whorehouses, and corrupted your beauty, and laid out your legs for everyone who passed by, and multiplied your fornication. And you played the harlot with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors, who have great flesh, and played the harlot many times, to provoke Me to anger. What is said twice: woe, woe to you, the generally accepted (vulgata) edition does not have, but this was added from Theodotion’s edition. And then, where we said: and you built yourself a whorehouse, instead of which LXX translated: and you built yourself a dwelling (habitaculum); fornicating, Symmachus and Theodotion translated πορνεῖον; Aquila, wanting to express the etymology of the Hebrew word gob, put βάθυνον, which we can express through a pit, to indicate a lewd house (ganeam) and an excavated and gloomy den in which the lustful desires of lewd women are satisfied. Instead of the following: and made herself an indecent house (prostibulum) in all the squares, instead of which the LXX translated ἔκθεμα, in Hebrew there is rama, and both Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion translated: high or sublime. Therefore, further, where it is written: at every beginning of the street you have placed a sign of your lewdness, instead of a sign or a fornication in the Hebrew there is again a rama, which we translated or an indecent house or a sign, since among the Jews this is expressed in one word, meaning what is on high, so that for those who want to commit fornication, the place of fornication can be seen from afar, and so that there is no need to look for it. What we have repeatedly said, regarding this it will be enough [once] for all to say that under the image of a woman committing fornication after many good deeds of her husband, the fornication of Jerusalem is described, how she retreated from God and united with idols, and was not content with secret fornication, but built herself a fornication and on every street put up a sign of fornication for those passing by, so that they would come to the harlot and satisfy their lust not so much as their own, as much as she who laid out her legs for everyone passing by and disfigured her great beauty with great fornication, and by the way, also committed debauchery with the Egyptians, her neighbors, for the love of big flesh. And in order to represent all kinds of vileness, he disfigured himself with various types of obscenity. For everyone there is no doubt that Palestine is in the neighborhood of Egypt, as the Lord says to Abraham: I will give you the whole land from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates (Gen. 15:18), so that it has on one side the Egyptians, and on the other the Assyrians, with whom it is subsequently called having committed fornication. The fornication of Jerusalem with the Egyptians consisted in imitation of their idolatry. To our Jerusalem or to the Church or the souls of believers, if they are careless and allow all sorts of vices, a double word of curse is addressed: woe, woe to you, says the Lord God, just as it is written in the Apocalypse of John, woe to all who live on earth (Rev. 8:13). For if the saint says: I am a stranger and a stranger, like all my fathers (Ps. 39:13); then why should not a sinner be called living on earth? He who sins with all his freedom builds a fornication for himself, in accordance with what is written: when the wicked comes to the depths of evil, he is negligent (Prov. 18:3) And he builds a very high building in all the squares, for wide and broad is the way that leads to death, and he builds at the beginning of every street, so as not to leave behind any kind of sins, but, imitating the woman of the Proverbs, publicly in the squares and on the corners of the squares to invite the passing foolish youths into his arms and to defile the beauty of the soul with which it is endowed by the goodness of God the Creator. And all her ways are full of abomination, and to all thoughts that promote sinful excitement, she opens her heart, and spreads out her legs and commits fornication with the Egyptians, her neighbors, whose examples she follows, that is, with the pagans who boast of their abominations, and is so wicked that even she surpasses them in abominations. And she does all this in order to anger God. The Egyptians are called having large flesh either because of great abominations or because of vile sins. Therefore, it is said about the saint that he has little flesh, which in him daily decreases and becomes refined through virtues, so that he is called not flesh, but spirit, and he says in the psalm: my soul thirsts for You, since my flesh multiplies for You, or (as it stands in some lists) “how my flesh fainted” in an empty and impenetrable and waterless land. Thus I appeared to You in the holy (Ps. 62:2–3). Therefore, the Corinthian fornicator gives himself up to the weariness of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved (1 Cor. 5:5). Of this flesh it is written: All flesh is hay, and all glory is like the flower of grass. The grass is gone, and the flower is fallen away: but the word of the Lord abides forever (Isa. 40:6–8). The apostle also spoke about her: blood and flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50). And in Genesis God says: My spirit shall not abide in these men forever, for they are flesh (Genesis 6:3). And it is said to believers: those who are in the flesh cannot please God; But you are born in the flesh, but in spirit (Rom. 8:8–9). But there is another flesh of the saints, about which it is written: “All flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Isa. 40:5). Ezek.XVI:27. Behold, I have stretched out (Vulgate: I will stretch out) My hand against you and will reject your justification (Vulgate: your right) and will give you over to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of Palestine, who are ashamed of your criminal ways. LXX: But if I stretch out My hand against you, and cast aside your statutes (legitima), and give you over to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of foreigners, who have turned you away from your way. The following is: ἠσέβησας, that is, acted wickedly, according to LXX it is connected with the subsequent section, and according to others it serves as the end of the previous one. The Lord stretches out His hand to Jerusalem to correct the sinner and to reject his statutes, which, while he kept the commandments of God, were called the statutes of the Lord. But when He began to honor idols and turned piety into ungodliness, they are not called His statutes. This must be understood not only in relation to the law and sacred rites, but also in relation to Saturdays and holidays and new moons. For, giving the law, He says: My Sabbaths and My holidays (Ex. 31; Deut. 5). But when they retreated from God, it is said: I will not tolerate your new moon and Saturdays and high days: my soul hates your fasting and idleness and holidays (Isa. 1:14). This is also written about the people (Deut. 7). For those who were previously called the people of God, after their departure from God, it is said to Moses: For your people are wicked, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt (Ex. 32:7). What is called here stretching out the hand is called raising or visiting in other places. For when the Lord does not punish a sinner, He holds back His hand. If he sins and begins to suffer in relation to the law of God, then a visitation is sent to him, as it is sung in the psalm: if his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, I will visit them with the rod of iniquity (Ps. 89:31-33). And this prophet wrote: if the earth sins against Me, if it feeds on sin, I will stretch out My hand on it and wipe out the grain (Ezek. 14:13) and so on. Here we pose the question: what is the difference between stretching out a hand and sending it? The devil says to the Lord: send your hand and touch everything that he has: if not at your face he will bless (Job 2:5). It seems to me that the hand is sent to test those to whom it is sent, and is extended to punish those who deserve punishment. And not only does it speak of stretching out (extensione) and sending the hand of God, but also about spreading out (expansione), as Isaiah cries on behalf of the Lord: I have stretched out my hand all day long to people who do not believe and speak against them (Isaiah 65:2). It is also said about the saint that he raises his hands, as Scripture says: lifting up my hand, the evening sacrifice (Ps. 141:2). After the Jewish people rejected the laws of God, we can ask: how can they keep the law? After the rejection and destruction of the church, they cannot offer sacrifices, and neither stoning for adultery and other crimes can be carried out legally, nor the liberation of the land in the year of absolution, and so on. He gives himself up to the souls of the Palestinian daughters who hate him, when he gives himself up to the Palestinians, whom LXX without distinction calls foreigners, by which we can understand the cities or villages of Palestine. Likewise, our Jerusalem - if we abandon all divine sacred rites and His hand is stretched out on us and all observance of the law is rejected - will be given over to the daughters of Palestine, and not to the sons. For at first we are not given over to the strongest punishments, but to the lower ones, in accordance with the quality of our sins, so that, having been punished to a lesser extent, we will avoid greater torment. Philistines, that is, Palestinians, by changing the first part of the letters, means falling from the cup or from crushing. Through this it is made known that we will be betrayed to the opposing powers, who drank from the cup of Babylon and fell, and whose deeds are perverse. And such will be the punishment and disgrace of unfortunate Jerusalem that even the opposing forces themselves will be ashamed of our great sins. Instead of what we translated criminal according to Symmachus, Theodotion put the Hebrew word zemma itself. After the rejection of sacred rites from the Jewish people, the law passed to us along with the priesthood, as the Scripture says, Lord, set a lawgiver over them (Ps. 9:21). And in another place: establish me, O Lord, in Thy way (Ps. 26:11). Ezek.XVI:28–29. And you committed fornication with the sons of the Assyrians because you were not yet satisfied, and when you committed adultery, you were not satisfied with that either. And you multiplied your fornication in the land of Canaan with the Chaldeans, and was not satisfied with it. LXX: You acted wickedly and played fornication with the sons of Asshur, and were not satisfied with it, and played fornication and were not satisfied. And she multiplied your covenants with the land of Canaan and Chaldeans, and was satisfied with this. It was written above that Jerusalem committed fornication with the sons of Egypt, her neighbors with large flesh; here it refers to other neighbors - the Assyrians. And they betray themselves to both nations, for they honored the idols of both [peoples] and, entering Chaldea, which constitutes the land of Canaan, they imitated the errors of those to whose authority they submitted. In an allegorical sense, we often move from one sin to another. And when we do not repent of previous crimes, then we increase our sins with sins and are not satisfied with any delusion, but, as if on a long rope and a thong at the yoke of a heifer, we drag out sins and increase our covenant or fornication in the land of Canaan, which means: like a disturbance, and with the Chaldeans, also meaning together with us as if demons. For we always walk as if on a troubled sea and can never say: set my nose on stones (Ps. 39:3). We also submit to the perversions of heretics, who are like demons, or the demons themselves, about which Paul writes: our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). Ezek.XVI:30–31. How will I purify your heart, says the Lord God, when you do all these things of an adulterous and insolent woman? For you built your fornication at the beginning of every journey, and made your high place in every square, and you were not like a harlot, who increases her wages through contempt. LXX: What will I do with your heart, says the Lord Adonai, when you do all these deeds of an adulterous and shameless woman? And you committed fornication in three ways with your daughters, when you built your whoredom at the beginning of every way, and set your foundation in every market place, and you were not like a harlot who collects wages. What they said LXX: and she committed adultery three times with your daughters, this is not in the Hebrew, and none of the other translators put it. ᾿Επαπορητικῶς (in the form of bewilderment) God says all this to Jerusalem - that He cannot find a medicine with which to heal the sick and half-dead, just as Isaiah writes (Isaiah 5:4): what else will I do to My grapes, and I will not do it to them? And Hosea (Hosea 6:4): What will I do to you, Ephraim? What will I do to you, Judas? Your mercy is like the morning cloud and like the dew that falls early. For your fornication was not secret, but was committed with complete freedom, so that at all the beginnings of the streets and at the crossroads you set up altars and in every square you built your foundation or elevation, which we spoke about above. You did not imitate those cunning harlots who, usually making difficulties, thereby increase the price for [satisfying] lust and, as a result, cause more fury in lovers. Or according to the Seventy: you were not like a harlot collecting wages, but you gave instead of receiving, so that for your fornication and following demons you will not be protected by their help, but, oppressed by various kinds of captivities, you will experience your disasters. This can also apply to every Christian soul, which, having left the service of God, gave itself up to vices and sensuality and, following the worldly life, also had no success in it, but also lost the riches of godly reverence, and did not receive the riches of the world; also there was no difficulty in committing fornication with her, but she herself gave herself to her lovers. But there is another fornication, spiritual, when we, leaving the Church, unite with heretics and build our own fornication at the beginning of every path, regarding which the word of God commanded: stand on the path and ask about the eternal paths of the Lord, and see which is the good way, and walk in it (Jer. 6:16), where Moses, Jesus, the books of Judges and Kings, Isaiah and Jeremiah and other prophets. At all the beginnings of the paths he builds his whorehouse, who perverts the Scriptures for perverse teaching and says: “Thus says Isaiah, Thus says Hosea, Thus said Moses, Thus Daniel.” And it is beautiful [it is said that] he places his fornication not among the paths and not at the limits, but at the beginning of the paths, for once he has achieved knowledge and the depths of the divine books, it is impossible to go astray. She also establishes her elevation or foundation in every square, indulging in the licentiousness and vices of the pagans and the wicked, not finding favor even among heretics after being dishonored by them, but being despised because she easily lost her former purity of faith. The next thing, which (as we said above) is not in the Hebrew: You committed fornication in three ways with your daughters, or in the literal sense it is said to Jerusalem, because he committed all kinds of fornication in his cities and villages, and not a single corner or square remained where he did not put signs of idolatry, or to the believers and deceived [members] of the Church who did not heed the following [saying] of the apostle: May the God of peace Himself sanctify you in everything, and may your spirit be perfect, and may your soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23), but you have committed all kinds of fornication in body, soul and spirit. In Proverbs (Proverbs 22:21) we read: write to yourself three times... to answer with truthful words offered to you. We are commanded that we understand the words of truth, that is, the Holy Scriptures, in three ways: in the first, literally; secondly, in the middle form, allegorically; thirdly, in a higher way, so that we know everything mysterious. The literal meaning is the following [saying]: below we will commit fornication, as there were none who committed fornication and fell in one day twenty-three thousand (1 Cor. 10:8), and: do not murmur, as there were none who murmured from them, and perished from the Destroyer (1 Cor. 10:10). The middle and allegorical meaning occurs when we deviate from the letter and gradually ascend to a higher one, as the apostle says: it is written: Do not block the mouth of the threshing ox. And then he immediately adds: God willing? Or he says all sorts of things for our sake (1 Cor. 9:9-10). According to the last, that is, the third, sublime and sacred meaning, the same apostle [writes]: for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. This mystery is great; I speak into Christ and into the Church (Eph. 5:31–32). The daughters of the fornicating church are the souls of those who first believed, and then were deceived into heresy and whose guilt is transferred to the mother. Ezek.XVI:32–34. But like an adulterous wife who accepts strangers instead of her husband. All harlots are given wages, and you gave wages to all your lovers, and gave them gifts, so that they would come to you from everywhere to fornicate with you. And your fornication was contrary to the custom of women, and after you there will be no fornication. For you gave payment, and did not receive payment: this was contrary to you [to others]. LXX: An adulterous wife and one like you, receiving wages from her husband: she gave wages to all who committed fornication with her: and you gave wages to all your lovers and burdened them, so that they would come to you from all the surrounding areas to commit fornication with you. And you were contrary to women in your fornication, and after you they did not commit fornication: for you gave wages, and they did not give you wages, and this was contrary to you [to others]. What is written in LXX: “one like you” is not found in Hebrew and confuses the connection of speech, raising a very important question - what kind of woman is she to whom she is like, since Jerusalem itself is called an adulterous woman. So, Jerusalem took all the abundance that she received through the generosity of her husband and gave it to strangers, that is, to demons and idols, as it is written in Hosea 2:8: but she did not understand, because I had given her wheat, and wine and oil, and multiplied her money; and create these silver and gold for Baal. Therefore, being angry, He immediately adds: for this reason I will turn and take away My wheat in its season and My wine in its season, and I will take away My garment and My shroud, lest he cover his cold, and now I will reveal her uncleanness before her lusters, and no one will take it out of My hand (ibid., Hos. 2:9-10). But, although all women who commit adultery usually receive payment from their lovers, Jerusalem did the opposite, so that it gave more than it received. And to show the generosity of gifts, she says: burden them (or honor them) so that they come to you from all the surrounding areas, so that there is no neighbor who is not an accomplice in your dishonor. Also in this respect, Jerusalem surpassed other harlots, so that she gave not only her gifts, acquired by labor according to the custom of a shameful trade (turpitudinis), but also gave [gifts] of her husband to her lovers and fornicators. And she gave herself so much to every great abomination that she surpassed not only the present, but even future harlots. That’s why we translated it according to Symmachus: and after you there will be no fornication. For, in comparison with you, all fornication in the future will be considered not so significant. Everything that we have said about Jerusalem relates to the Church and the souls of believers, who give the gifts of a husband, that is, gold in thought and silver in speech and clothing, which covers our ugliness and shame, to their lovers: either to opposing forces, or to teachers of perverse teachings, when they claim that voluptuousness is completely harmless, and that passive lust, according to natural law, requires copulation due to the bodily genitals, that one must use every food, which is created in order to be consumed, that prudence is necessary only insofar as it brings benefits, and that justice is inappropriate, because if it had force, one would have to beg, and so on. By accepting this, unfortunate Jerusalem, in which there should have been a vision of the world, turned the insight of the mind and the grace of speech into an abomination. And he went out to his lovers in the presence of his husband, dressed in those decorations that were given to him by his husband for good use. The next thing: and she gave gifts to them, so that they would come to you from everywhere to commit fornication with you, means every kind of sin, so that she was not content with one sin, but experienced a hunger for sin and, having disfigured herself in opposition to the laws of nature, desecrated herself in all members up to the top of the head. Ezek.XVI:35–43. Therefore, hear, O harlot, the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God: Because your money was so wasted, and your shame was revealed in your fornication before your lovers, and before the idols of your abominations in the blood of your sons, whom you gave to them: behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you have united, and all whom you have loved, along with all those whom you have hated, and I will gather them against you from everywhere and expose them. your shame before them, and they will see all your vileness. And I will judge you with the judgment of adulterers and bloodshedters, and I will deliver you over to bloody rage and jealousy, and I will deliver you into their hands, and they will destroy your whoredom, and lay waste your house of depravity (prostibulum), and strip you of your clothes, and take away the ornaments of your adornment (vasa decotis) and leave you naked and full of shame. And they will bring a crowd against you, and stone you with stones, and cut you down with their swords. And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgment on you in the sight of very many wives, and you will cease to commit fornication and will no longer give wages. And My anger over you will subside and My jealousy will leave you, and I will calm down and will no longer be angry because you did not remember the days of your youth and with all this irritated (provocasti) Me. Therefore I turned your ways upon your head, says the Lord God, and did not do according to your evil deeds in all your abominations. LXX: Therefore, hear, O harlot, the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord to Adonai: because you have wasted your money, and your shame will be revealed in your fornication before your lovers, and in all the plans of your iniquities, and in the blood of your sons whom you gave to them: behold, I will gather against you all your lovers with whom you have been united, and all whom you have loved, with all whom you have hated, and I will gather them against you from all the surroundings, and will reveal all your crimes are before them, and they will see your shame. And I will take vengeance on you with the vengeance of adulterers and shedding blood, and I will give you over to bloody rage and jealousy, and I will deliver you into their hands, and they will destroy your fornication and destroy your foundation, and strip off your clothes, and take away the accessories (vasa) of your praise, and leave you naked and full of shame. And they will bring a crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you down with their swords. And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will exact vengeance on you in front of very many wives, and I will turn you away from fornication, and you will no longer give wages, and I will send My wrath upon you, and My jealousy will leave you, and I will calm down and will no longer worry because you did not remember the day of your youth and grieved Me with all this. And behold, I will turn your ways on your head, says the Lord Adonai, and so you have committed wickedness in all your iniquities. First of all, we consider the historical basis. Since you have done this and that which is contained in the previous speech, then listen, harlot, what you have done and what you will experience. You squandered your money, which you received from Me, and gave payment to your lovers, while you yourself should have received, and you killed your sons, offering them to idols, so that you were not only an adulterer, but also a murderer. Therefore, I will gather against you all your lovers with whom you committed fornication, both those whom you loved and those whom you hated, and I will expose you according to the law of adulterers, so that everyone can see your shame and sexual members, as a result of which you previously indulged in mad love. Under the metaphor of a woman who was an adulteress and a murderer, who not only committed fornication in opposition to her husband, but also killed her sons, all this is said to Jerusalem, and also that all the nations will gather against her, whose idols he worshiped and to whose service he devoted all the gifts of God, and the church of Baal will be destroyed, and the altars throughout the city will be destroyed by burning and nothing will remain in it. And just as everyone usually throws stones against an adulteress and beats a dissolute woman, so that she is killed through the wounds [inflicted] by everyone, so that all women see the punishment of the harlot: so before other surrounding cities and before all nations, Jerusalem will be abandoned. And this is done so that he stops committing fornication, and no longer gives payment to his lovers, and so that the wrath of God subsides and so that He is not angry with the one whom he has stopped loving. From here we see that the offense is great and that God does not care about man, but leaves him to his atrocities and sins. My jealousy will leave you, he says, and I will calm down and will no longer be angry as with someone else and with someone who has departed from Me and whom I have given over to eternal nakedness. If Jerusalem suffered this because she committed fornication with demons, then what will she experience, in our opinion, after the death of the Son of God? And all this, he says, you did, forgetting about your previous good deeds, and angered or upset Me, whom you should have pleased with good deeds. Therefore I also turned your deeds on your head. And although I will ruin you, adulteress, I will nevertheless show My wrath over you less than you deserve, so that divine goodness may be manifested in this too, so that your sins are more serious than the punishments. In an allegorical sense, every soul receives spiritual money from God, as the Gospel says (Matt. 25; Lk. 19), in the parables of the five, and of the two, and of the one talent, and of the servants who receive ten minas and, through carelessness, become owing fifty (or ten) and five hundred denarii, and as a result of this, in the presence of lovers, by which we mean demons and opposing forces, the shame of Jerusalem is revealed, either on the day of judgment or at the time of repentance, when they come to their senses. But previously, God Almighty alone sees the unseen, as the word of the Gospel says: and the Father, see in secret (Matthew 6:6). And in another place: try the hearts and bellies, O God (Ps. 7:10). And in the book of Kings: You alone weigh the hearts of all the sons of men (2 Chronicles 6:30). When will [the said] be accomplished: there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and in secret that will not be understood (Luke 12:2), and in another place: before the time, judge nothing, until the Lord comes, who will bring the secret of darkness into the light, and then praise will be for everyone from God (1 Cor. 4:5), and when the time of punishment comes, then it will be fulfilled [saying] of Hosea (Hos. 7:2): now, having passed them by, counsel them, and in another place: among themselves with a condemning or reproving thought, in the day when God judges in secret by man (Rom. 2:15-16), and again: “Here is a man, and his deeds are before Him,” and all those who have committed fornication with her before will see her vileness, and God will betray her with the blood of rage and jealousy. For this is the complete wrath of a husband against an adulterous wife, and it cannot be averted by any price. The blood of sons can be understood in the sense that we will call the sons of Jerusalem λογισμοὺς καλοὺς, that is, good thoughts that are innate to people from God and which the adulteress kills when she is inclined to evil deeds. It is even beneficial for Jerusalem that her fornication should be destroyed, and that the breeding ground of all her fornication should be destroyed. For when this is accomplished, he will no longer give payment, and the wrath of God will cease and He will no longer be jealous of him, not worrying about his chastity, precisely according to [the opinion of] those who understand everything that is said [here] in a good way. Others, as we said above, take this in the opposite direction - that this serves as an expression of the great wrath of God, that He is not angry, since He once despised the fornicator and abandoned hope for her salvation. If the heretics, who do not accept the Old Testament according to the LXX edition, reject what was said in this place: and grieved Me with all this, since God seems to not only not be angry, but is also not subject to sadness and grief, then we can ask them: how do they understand what undoubtedly constitutes the commandment of the good God: do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for He is signified on the day of deliverance (Eph. 4:30 )? For whatever they say in defense of this testimony, we will apply all this in defense of the present speech. Ezek.XVI:44–45. Now, anyone who usually speaks in a proverb will apply it to you, saying: like a mother, like her daughter. You are the daughter of your mother, who abandoned her husband and her children, and you are the sister of your sisters, who abandoned their husbands and children. LXX: This is all that they said against you in the parable, saying: as is the mother, [such is] the daughter. You are the daughter of your mother, who rejected her husband and her children, and [these are] the sisters of your sisters, who rejected their husbands and their children. After the list (κατάλογοv) of vices and the admonition (or admonitions) of Jerusalem, through which he turns to salvation, a very common saying in the popular language (proverbium) or, as translated by LXX, a parable (parabola) is applied to him: like the mother, like the daughter. The mother of Jerusalem, as written above and below, is called a Hittite, which means maddened or turning into madness, through which the excitement of this world is indicated, dragging the captive soul to destruction and separating it from its husband (no doubt, it is talking about the word and teaching of God). And the sister of her sisters, as we will read a little later, are called Sodom and Samaria, of which one signifies pagan life and voluptuousness, the other - a network of heretics. What is further read in the Seventy: sisters of your sisters, who have rejected their husbands and their children, does not make sense. For what other sisters did Sodom and Samaria have, serving as sisters of Jerusalem? And we need to ask about this: which husbands did Sodom and Samaria leave and which children did they abandon? Unless we can only say that the feet of those who err always waver, and those feet that are directed against the truth do not have firmness, but rush here and there and are carried away by every wind of doctrine (Eph. ch. 4), moving from one lie to another lie, and having learned that they labored in vain at the first, they move on to the second and third. Ezek.XVI:45–47. Your mother is a Hittite, and your father is an Amorite, and your elder sister Samaria, she and her daughters who live on your left; and your youngest sister, who lives on your right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. But you did not walk in their ways and did not commit a little less in their atrocities: you acted almost more criminally than them in all your ways. LXX: Your mother is a Hittite and your father an Amorite; your elder sister Samaria, she and her daughters who live on your left, and your younger sister who lives on your right, are Sodom and her daughters; and you did not walk in their ways and did not commit a little less in their iniquities, but you surpassed them in all your ways. Above he said: your father is an Amorite and your mother a Hittite; here with a change in order and number: your mother is a Hittite and your father is an Amorite. For when they succeed in evil deeds, they are divided into parties and, leaving unity, move into a crowded crowd that cannot ascend the mountains with Jesus. And that the sisters of Jerusalem are Samaria and Sodom, of which one is on the left and the other on the right, you will confirm this in the literal sense if you look from the Jerusalem Temple to the east. The larger one is Samaria, which previously sinned and was taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and the smaller and younger Sodom, meaning the pagan crowd. But at that time there was no Sodom, which, earlier than we read about Jerusalem, was destroyed by divine fire along with Gomorrah, Adama and Seboim (Gen. 19:24). The middle one between the two sisters, Jerusalem, called by another name Judas, was taken by the Chaldeans to Babylon, and Jerusalem sinned much more criminally than Samaria and Sodom, worshiping the idol of jealousy in the church and killing the Son of God. Further, in the allegorical sense of Samaria and Sodom, i.e. heretics and pagans often do less important things than those who are considered Jerusalem, that is, members of the Church (eclesiastici). Therefore, it is said to the Corinthians, who, although they believed in Christ, were burdened with evil deeds: fornication is heard in you, and such is fornication, which is not known among the nations, as if a man had a wife from his father (1 Cor. 5:1), and so on. Usually heretics, who, however, accept the Old Testament, draw a conclusion from this passage about three natures: spiritual, mental and earthly. We can briefly ask them: how is it that three natures: spiritual, mental and earthly, which, of course, are different, are said to have one mother and one father? This does not agree with their fabrication. And how, according to this same prophet, do spiritual and earthly natures return to their previous state, that is, to the spiritual? This also contradicts their reasoning. And that by Samaria heresies are meant, this is confirmed by Hosea the prophet, and in many other places, and especially by the following testimony: the fierceness of those who despise Zion and trust in Mount Samaria, the firstfruits of tongues were wrapped around (Am. 6:1). For all heretics despise Zion, which means the watchtower and refers to the Church, and hope in Mount Samaria, that is, in arrogant, perverse teachings considered high, and through these false praises they gather up and devastate the firstfruits of the nations, so that by the miraculous teachings of all the foremost among the pagans they will be drawn into heretical error. Ezek.XVI:48–51. As I live, says the Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as you and your daughters did. This was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: in pride, in the satiety of bread, and in abundance and in idleness of her and her daughters, and she did not give her hand to the needy and the poor. And they became proud and committed abominations before Me, and I rejected them, as you saw (or I saw). And Samaria did not sin half of your sins, but you surpassed her in your atrocities and justified your sisters in all your abominations that you did. LXX: As I live, says the Lord Adonai, so did Sodom, this thy sister, and her daughters, even as thou and thy daughters did. But the iniquity of your sister Sodom was pride, a glut of bread and abundance. She and her daughters were drowned in pleasures; This she and her daughters had, and they did not take the hand of the poor and the needy, and they became arrogant, and committed iniquity before Me, and I rejected them, as you saw. And Samaria did not sin half your sins, and you multiplied your iniquities more than them, and you justified your sisters with all your iniquities that you committed. Placed by the Seventy: she had this and her daughters are not in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, the oath of God is: I live, says the Lord (Num. 14:28), and in the New: Amen, amen, I say to you (John 13:16). If this is a common [property] with others: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob; is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living (Mark 12:27), and in another [place: I will please the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 114:8); then we ask: how does God appropriate this common name for Himself as His own? But as they say: a good tree, and a good man, and a good shepherd and a good servant, although no one is absolutely good, with the exception of God alone; so, although angels and other powers, also patriarchs, and prophets and apostles are living, however, in comparison with God Almighty they are called dead. For who is a man who will live and not see death (Ps. 89:49)? Therefore, the Apostle Paul speaks of God: one, having immortality and living in the light unapproachable (1 Tim. 6:16), and about the source of the living he says: our life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). So the one who swears and says: As I live, says the Lord, describing the atrocities of Sodom and her daughters, he put pride first, the property of the devil and the first sin. Therefore, the same apostle says: lest the devil, being proud, fall into judgment (1 Tim. 3:6), because of which [pride the devil] fell from heaven. For he said: with strength I will create, and with the wisdom of understanding I will take away the boundaries of tongues, and the power of their captivity, and I will shake inhabited cities, and I will embrace the whole world with my hand, like a nest and like broken eggs I will pick up (Is. 10:13-14). And: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). We read elsewhere: Why are you proud, O earth and ashes (Sir. 10:9)? And the Gospel reports that the humility of the tax collector was superior to the pride of the Pharisee (Luke 18:14), the nursery of which is the satiety of bread and abundance in everything and idleness, or, as the LXX translated: an abundance of pleasures and voluptuousness. Regarding the famous rich man dressed in purple, the Gospel does not speak of any other crime except that, due to the abundance of property and wealth, he became so proud that he did not give his hand to the needy and poor Lazarus, and so forgot about his position that he did not even give the unfortunate man what needed to be thrown away. Therefore, it is written in another place: everyone who exalts himself will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11). Pride, satiety with bread, abundance in everything, idleness and pleasure are the sin of Sodom, and therefore it is followed by forgetfulness of God, believing that the blessings of this time are eternal, and that there will never be a need for the necessary. Therefore, the law prescribes: take heed of yourself, so that once you have eaten, and drunk, and are satisfied, and have built good houses, and the oxen and sheep, which have multiplied in silver and gold for you, you will forget the Lord your God (Deut. 8:11-14). And in another place it is written about Israel: the beloved poisoned, and drank, and was filled, and grew fat, and became stubborn (Deut. 32:13). Knowing this, the wisest of all Solomon prays in Proverbs (Prov. 30:8–9): Make me needy and self-satisfied, so that I may not be satisfied with beds and rivers: who can see me? or having become poor, I steal, and I swear by the name of my God. In the next one: and you justified your sisters with all your abominations that you did, it is not simply stated that Samaria and Sodom are right, but in comparison with the worst, just as the publican, about whom we said above, is not absolutely called right, but in comparison with the worst. And yet Samaria and Sodom, being such, did not sin even half as much as Jerusalem. For a servant who knows the will of his master, without having done according to his will, will be beaten many times (Luke 12:47), and will be tormented even more severely (Wis. 6:6). Further, that instead of pleasures (or wealth) in Hebrew one reads idleness, regarding this you need to know that this refers to this thought: “every idle soul dwells in desires,” that is, that we must always do something so that the field of our heart is not occupied by the thorns of evil thoughts. Ezek.XVI:52. So, bear your shame and you, who surpassed your sisters in your sins, acting more criminally than them: for they are justified by you. LXX: Accept your torment, you too, because you corrupted your sisters with your sins, with which you committed more lawlessness than them and made them more righteous than you. This is the second picture after the shipwreck 38 - to be ashamed after sin and not to be subject to the reproach that is expressed against Jerusalem: you will have the face of a harlot: you do not know how to be ashamed (Jer. 3:3). The one who bears his torment is the one who is tormented by his own conscience and in this age endures the torment of his own free will, so as not to experience eternal torment. And we corrupt our brothers or sisters with our sins, when through our sins they are called to greater atrocities. What I say will be clearer in this way: imagine that someone, having the highest degree of priesthood, does not live well and disgraces the dignity [of his rank] with his deeds. Isn’t a lay brother corrupted by imitation of his vices? For whoever causes one of the least to stumble is thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck (Matthew 18:6). Also, the sisters of Jerusalem, Sodom and Samaria are made right not because they are right in themselves; but compared to the worst. So be ashamed, you too, and bear your shame, who has justified your sisters. LXX: Be ashamed, you too, and accept your shame, because you have justified your sisters. Shame is followed by shame, shame is followed by admonition, after admonition is consolation, and after consolation is fear, according to this [saying] of the apostle: tribulation makes patience, patience is an art, art is hope, but hope does not put one to shame (Rom. 5:3-5), undoubtedly in the future, for in the present sins are blotted out through shame. Something similar is expressed in this [saying] of the Gospel: “there is shame that leads to death, and there is shame that leads to life” 39. The Holy Spirit also admonishes sinners in the Psalms: let all my enemies be ashamed and put to shame, and let them turn back and be very ashamed soon (Ps. 6:11; 34:15). It is also written in another place: speak your iniquities first, that you may be justified (Isa. 43:26). And one more thing: a righteous man is a righteous man in the first word (Proverbs 18:17). So, it is not surprising that Jerusalem is called to shame and disgrace, which sinned so much that it justified its sisters, and to which it is subsequently said: both you and your daughters will return to your former state (Is. 16:55). Ezek.XVI:53–54. And I will convert, restoring them by the conversion of Sodom with her daughters and the conversion of Samaria and her daughters, and I will convert your conversion among them, so that you may bear your shame and be ashamed of all that you did in comforting them. LXX: And I will turn their conversions to the conversion of Sodom and her daughters, I will reverse the conversion of Samaria and her daughters, and I will convert your conversion among them, so that you may bear your torment and have the shame of all that you have done to provoke Me to anger. Great is the success of Jerusalem that after the shame and disgrace that were inflicted on it by God's decree, it willingly accepted and bore, it is promised a return to its former state. But since, in comparison with his atrocities, Sodom and Samaria became right, of which one is on the right, the other on the left, then first the conversion or captivity of Sodom is restored, as Aquila translated, then the captivity of Samaria, as the same Aquila and Symmachus translated, and finally, Jerusalem will be restored, which was more burdened with iniquity and proved that the sinful sisters were right in comparison with it. For who can doubt that of the three sinners, or rather wicked people - the pagan, the heretic, the member of the Church - the one who possessed the greater degree of dignity is worthy of much greater punishment? For stronger, as we said, the torment will be stronger (Wis. 6:6). And whoever was the least deserves pardon. The same servant, who knows the will of his master, without having done according to his will, will receive many stripes (Luke 12:47). Therefore, Peter says: it is time to begin judgment from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). And this prophet commands those who have axes: begin with my sanctified ones (Ezek. 9:6). The sisters will first convert and return to their former state, and Jerusalem after them will bear its shame, and will be ashamed and blush because of everything in which it has sinned, and will console its sisters in everything, enduring more severe (disasters). Or perhaps he will be ashamed and blush because he has provoked God to anger. From here it is clear that anger is not characteristic of God, but by our vices the most kind and merciful God is provoked to anger, as the apostle says: or do you not care about the riches of His goodness and meekness and long-suffering, not knowing how the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Because of your cruelty and unrepentant heart, you are storing up anger for yourself (Rom. 2:4-5), which He does not have by nature. Therefore, in another place it is written: You sent Your wrath, which I have eaten like a stalk (Ex. 15:7). For what is bound and united in one body cannot be sent [or launched], but what is outside the body, for example, a spear, a javelin, an arrow, a sword. We also read in the Gospel (Matt. 10:15), that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for that which did not receive the apostles. Ezek.XVI: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. Both you and your daughters will return to your former state. LXX: And your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored as they were in the beginning, and Samaria and her daughters will be restored as they were in the beginning, and you and your daughters will be restored as you were in the beginning. The Jews, among other fables and endless genealogies and nonsense invented by them, also dream that at the coming of their Christ, about whom we know that this is the Antichrist, and in the thousand-year reign of Sodom, it will return to its previous state, so that it will be like the paradise of God and the land of Egypt, and Samaria will enjoy the same happiness upon its return from Assyria to land of Judea. For we know (2 Kings 17; 18) that the ten tribes were captured by Thul, and Shalmaneser, and Teglaththalasser, kings of Assyria, and are still there in captivity. Jerusalem will also be built then, and all his daughters, that is, the cities, villages and fortifications that will be under his authority, will flourish as they flourished before, and Jerusalem itself will be built of gold and silver and precious stones, about which Isaiah also foretells: I will appoint your judges as before, and your counselors as from the beginning, and from now on you will be called the city of righteousness, the mother of the city, faithful Zion (Is. 1:26), and our Apocalypse says (Rev. 21) and David sings: Bless Zion, O Lord, with Thy favor, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built (Ps. 50:20), and in another place: the cities of Judah will be built, and they will dwell there, and they will inherit, and their seed will be retained forever (Ps. 69:36). As for us, providing full knowledge of this to the court of God, or, better yet, directly recognizing (or being confident) that after the coming of the Lord Savior there will be nothing humiliated, nothing earthly, but [there will be] the kingdoms of heaven, which are first of all promised in the Gospel, let us say that in the state of the Church everything has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled daily. Sodom returns to its previous state when the soul, which was previously pagan and wicked, recognizes the Creator, returning to the state characteristic of its nature. Samaria receives its former prosperity when it despises the error of the heretics and joins the Christian teaching and faith. And when they return, then Jerusalem, the vision of the world, meaning the Church, will return to its previous state. It is written about him: his place will be in peace (Ps. 75:2), and: Jerusalem, built like a city, to which it is a communion together (Ps. 121:3), and from the apostle: but the highest Jerusalem is freedom, which is our mother (Gal. 4:25), and from him: come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the angels (Heb. 12:22). And he returns with his daughters, scattered throughout the world. We spoke about this in more detail in the interpretations of Isaiah. Ezek.XVI:56–58. But there was no mention of your sister Sodom in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was revealed, as at this time as a reproach from the daughters of Syria and all those who are in your neighborhood, the daughters of Palestine, who surround you on all sides. You have borne your wickedness and your shame, says the Lord God. LXX: If your sister Sodom had not been the subject of rumor in your mouth in the days of your pride, before your wickedness was revealed, as now among the daughters of Syria, and if it had not been for this, then what would have happened to you and to all those who are in your neighborhood, the daughters of foreigners who surround you on all sides? Bear your wickedness and your iniquities. Symmachus translated this passage as follows: Because there was no mention of your sister Sodom in your mouth in the day of your pride, until your shame was revealed, as in the time of reproach from the daughters of Syria and all those who are in the neighborhood with you, the daughters of Palestine, who surround you on all sides; then you will bear your wickedness and your wickedness. Theodotion as follows: And there was no mention of your sister Sodom in your mouth in the day of your pride, until your wickedness was revealed as a time of reproach from the daughters of Syria and all those who are in your neighborhood, the daughters of foreigners who abhor you on all sides. You have borne your fornication and your abominations, says the Lord Adonai. Our translation agrees with Akila's edition. I have put all these [translations] so that from the demolition of all we can find a trace of some meaning, and by the way, without prejudice in relation to others, the connection of speech can be presented, as it seems to us, in this way: in the days of your pride, when you sinned, you did not remember the destruction of your sister Sodom, until your wickedness was revealed, which at that time was revealed so much that for all the cities of Syria and Palestine that are in the neighborhood with you, you became the subject of reproach. So, since you have surpassed your sister in crime and were not afraid of her example, so as not to experience something like this and keep your foot, but now your shame has been revealed, then listen to God’s decree: either you bear it according to the Seventy, or you carried it according to Aquila and Theodotion, or you will bear it according to Symmachus, your crime and shame, so that, having suffered punishment for sacrilege, you will receive pardon not as a result of your agreement, but according to Mine goodness. Syria in Hebrew is called Aram, which means high ground. And according to the interpretation of that passage of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 7:2), in which Aram and Ephraim conspire against Judah and Jerusalem, pagan intricate wisdom, arrogating to itself the height of knowledge, united with the wickedness of the heretics, rebels against Judah, who has the true confession, and cannot overcome. Also here, too, the arrogance of Syria, that is, the philosophers, with the daughters of foreigners, which indicates the diverse errors of various teachings among the pagans, mocks Jerusalem and makes the subject of reproach the one who surpassed her in vices. Ezek.XVI:59–63. For thus says the Lord God: And I will do to you as you despised your oath to break the covenant. And I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will restore with you an everlasting covenant. And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your older sisters with you and your younger ones, and I will give them to you as daughters, but not according to your agreement. And I will restore My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, so that you will remember and be ashamed, and so that you will no longer be able to open your mouth for your shame, when I forgive you (placatus fuero) everything that you have done, says the Lord God. LXX: Thus says the Lord Adonai: And I will do to you as you did, as you despised it, breaking My covenant. And I will remember My covenant, which I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will restore an everlasting covenant with you, and you will remember your way and be despised, when you receive your older sisters along with your younger ones, and I will give them to you for testing, but not according to your covenant, and I will restore My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, so that you I remembered and was ashamed, and so that you can no longer open your mouth from your dishonor, when I forgive you everything that you have done, says the Lord God. This is why I told you to bear your wickedness and your shame, either you bear it or will bear it, so that you receive what you deserve, because you despised My oath and violated My covenant. When will [what was said] be fulfilled: I will kill and make life, I will smite and I will heal (Deut. 32:39); then I will remember My covenant, which I once made with you. And I will restore my covenant with you, not the law, which has passed away, but the everlasting covenant of the gospel, so that after you have remembered your ways and received your older or younger sisters, Samaria and Sodom and their allies, I have given them to you as daughters or for testing (for it is fitting for heresies to exist, so that trials may appear, 1 Cor. 11:19), - not according to your merit, but according to My mercy, and so that then you would know that I am the Lord, and remember My good deeds, and be ashamed and say according to the apostle: whoever is not worthy to be called an apostle, have persecuted the Church of God (1 Cor. 15:9), and so that you can no longer open your mouth in shame. For it is characteristic of saints to open their mouths, according to the apostle, who says, Our mouths are opened unto you, O Corinthians (2 Cor. 6:11), and to the Lord Savior, who opened His mouth and taught them (Matthew 5), saying in the psalm (Psalm 77:2): I will open, says My mouth in parables. To the sinner it is said: you have sinned, be silent (Gen. 4:7), and; How have you received My covenant with your lips (Ps. 49:16)? and: praise is not sweet in the mouth of a sinner (Sir. 15:9). And the saint is worthy to hear: open your mouth and I will do it (Ps. 80:11). Hence, we conclude that even when, by the grace of God, we have received the former glory, or, rather, the eternal covenant of the Gospel, after the Lord has forgiven us everything that we have done, we have a remembrance of the former sin and always close our lips, because we are saved not by our works, but by the grace of God. Ezek. XVII:1–6. 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 large eagle with large wings, long in the length of its limbs, fluffy and colorful, came to Lebanon and took the best part (medullam) of the cedar. He tore off the top of its branches and carried it to the land of Canaan and placed it in the city of merchants. And he took from the seed of [this] earth, and placed it on the earth instead of the seed, so that it would establish roots near many waters, and placed it on the surface. And when it sprouted, it grew up and became a vine, very wide and low in stature, with branches facing it, and its roots were under it, and it became a vine, and put out branches and gave rise to branches. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man! tell a story and tell a parable to the house of Israel and say: Thus says the LORD Adonai: a great eagle with great wings, with a long reach and many claws, who had command to enter Lebanon, and who took the best part of a cedar tree, plucked the tender tops and brought them to the land of Canaan, placed it in a walled city, and took from the seed of [this] land and planted it in the field of many waters, he placed it so that it could be seen, and it sprang up and became a weak and small vine, so that only its branches on it and its roots under it were visible. And it became a great vine, and gave forth branches and expanded its branches. When the prophet is told: offer a riddle and tell a parable, or, as the LXX translated: tell a story and tell a parable, then it is given to know that what is being said is dark: because no one doubts that a riddle and a parable express something else in words and imply something else in thoughts. For the Savior also spoke to the people in parables, which he separately explained to the apostles. Consequently, we must understand the riddle and the parable as if it were a riddle and a parable. The present prophecy of Ezekiel speaks of two eagles. The first should now be said, and the second we will talk about later. But, meanwhile, we will touch on the simple historical meaning. A large eagle with large wings, long in the length of its limbs, fluffy and motley or, as the LXX translated, with many claws, this is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, about whom Hosea says: like an eagle in the house of the Lord (Hos. 8:1). He, commanding many nations and surrounded by a countless army, came to the house of God, which undoubtedly means the church, or, as the Scripture now says, to Lebanon, about which Zechariah says: Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let your cedars burn with fire. Let the spruce weep, let the cedar fall, for the nobles are poor (Zech. 11:1-2). And often the church, which was glorious and high, is called Lebanon in the scriptures. And he took the best part of the cedar, and plucked off the tops of its branches, and carried it into the land of Canaan, and placed it in the city of the merchants. Instead of merchants or trade, the LXX was translated: walled. He points to Jeconiah, the king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive with his mother, and the princes of the people, and all the riches of Jerusalem and the vessels of the church, and moved to Babylon, which is in the land of Canaan, and there he grew old. Subsequently, from his family, as evidenced by the writings of the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 1:11), our Lord and Savior was born through Salathiel and Zerubbabel. He produced from the seed of the same land, that is, from the royal family, Matthaniah, Jehoiachin's paternal uncle, whose name he changed and called him Zedekiah, and made him king in Jerusalem and made him ruler of many nations. And, however, he placed him on the surface and did not establish his authority through the deep root of government, but placed him so that he was visible, but so that he was under the authority of Babylonia, or: he was of low stature, so that his branches were turned towards him, so that he addressed the authority of the Babylonian ruler, although he was the ruler of the people of Judah. For this is what the words of Scripture mean, low in stature, whose branches were turned towards him, meaning - towards the eagle. This was translated more clearly by LXX: what was planted came up and became a vine, weak and small, so that only its branches were visible, so that although he seemed to have a kingdom, his very reign, low and weak, was controlled by the will of the Babylonian ruler. This, by the way, is relative to the present department, to which we will add the rest Ezek. XVII:7–10. And there was another big eagle with big wings and fluffy. And this vine, as it were, directed its roots towards him, stretched out its branches towards him, so that he would water it from his ridges of growth (germinis). He planted it on good soil, near many waters, so that it would send out branches and bear fruit and become a great vine. Say: Thus says the Lord God: will she succeed! Will he not pull out its roots and tear off its fruits and make all its branches dry, and it will wither, and not with great force (brachino) and not with many nations will it uproot it. Here it is planted; but will she succeed? Will it not dry up as soon as the burning wind touches it, will it not dry up on the ridges of its branches? LXX: And there was another large eagle, with large wings, with very many claws, and behold, this vine entwined itself around him and its roots around him, and stretched out its branches towards him, so that he would solder it along with part of the earth (gleba) of his planting. In a good field, near many waters, it became fat, so that it sprouted branches and bore fruit and became a large vine. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord Adonai: will she be corrected? Will not her tender roots and her fruit rot, and will not everything that has come up from her dry up? And not with great force (brachino) and not with a large people will he uproot it by its roots. And now she is becoming fat: will she recover? Will it not dry up immediately as soon as the burning wind touches it, will it not dry up due to drought and will it not dry up along with the part of the land (gleba) on which it started the industry? The second eagle, that is, another one, also large, fluffy, with many claws, due to the speed and devastation of very many peoples, is the Egyptian king, Pharaoh. And this vine, meaning Zedekiah, installed by Nebuchadnezzar in Jerusalem, began to speak, turn its branches to him, that is, to the king of Egypt, send ambassadors and ask him for help against the king to whom he was subordinate. For this means what the Scripture now says: that he should water it from his ridges of growth. It was planted by Nebuchadnezzar in good soil, that it might put forth branches and bear fruit and grow into a wide vine; Therefore, the prophet is commanded to say to the vine that was planted by Nebuchadnezzar and turned its branches towards the Egyptian eagle: will it succeed in what it planned to do, and will not all its branches and branches immediately wither? And, he says, not with great strength and not with a large people. For Zedekiah, having fled and remained without the help of the king of Egypt, was captured by the leaders of Nebuchadnezzar in the deserts of Jericho, and all his accomplices were scattered to different places, as it is written in the book of Kings (2 Kings 25:5) and Chronicles and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 39). Ezek. XVII:11–18. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Say to the house that hardens, Know ye not what this means! Say: Behold, the king of Babylon has come to Jerusalem, and will take the king and his princes and bring them to him to Babylon. And he will take [another] from the royal seed, and will make a covenant with him, and will take an oath from him, but will also take the mighty of the earth, so that his kingdom may be humiliated and so that it will not rise, but will keep his covenant and keep it. This one, having left him, sent ambassadors to Egypt to give him horses and many people. Will he succeed or will the one who did this be saved? Will the one who breaks the agreement be saved? As I live, says the Lord God, that in the seat of the king who made him king and whose oath he did not fulfill and violated the treaty made with him, he will die in the midst of Babylon. And neither with a large army nor with a numerous people will Pharaoh wage war against him, building embankments and making trenches in order to destroy many souls. For he despised his oath to break the covenant. And so he gave his hand and, having done all this, he will not be saved. This means a riddle, this means a parable, since under the two eagles and the vineyard the Scripture pointed to the two kings of Babylon and Egypt, and to King Zedekiah, who, contrary to his oath, leaving friendship with Nebuchadnezzar, went over to the king of Egypt. He will conclude, he says, an alliance with this and will take an oath from him so that he will preserve his agreement and observe it. Will he, he says, be saved who violated the agreement? From here we learn that loyalty must be observed between enemies and that you need to look not at whom, but at whom you swore. For the one who believed you for the sake of the name of God and was deceived turned out to be much more faithful than you, who, taking advantage of divine greatness, plotted against your enemy or, rather, even your friend. In the seat of the king, he says, who made him king, whose oath he did not fulfill and violated the treaty concluded with him, he will die in the midst of Babylon. For we read that Zedekiah, having been taken captive, was taken to Reblatha and there he was blinded after killing his sons, and, imprisoned like a wild beast in a cage, he was transported to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7). Therefore, although Scripture seems to contradict itself, in both cases it remains completely true to the truth. For Zedekiah was told: “And you will enter Babylon, but you will not see it” (Jer. 34). And he entered because he was taken to Babylon, but he did not see because he was blinded. The following then: neither with a large army nor with a large people will Pharaoh wage war against him, pouring embankments and making trenches in order to destroy many souls, is understood in two ways: either the king of Egypt, going against Nebuchadnezzar, will not be able to fight and with a small army resist such a multitude [of people], or Zedekiah himself will be subjugated by Pharaoh, whose help he hoped - not because Pharaoh conquered him or that Scripture anywhere testified to this, but because the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar accidentally became a conquest from the king of Egypt, and it was not the one who besieged Jerusalem who seemed to have conquered, but the one on whom Zedekiah vainly hoped. So, he says, he gave his hand and surrendered to the king of Egypt, and committed a sacrilegious oath against God. Really, he says, will this serve him well? And having done all this, he will not be saved. Ezek.XVII:19–21. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As I live, the oath which he despised, and the covenant which was broken, I will bring upon his head. And I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snares, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will judge him there for the treachery through which he despised Me. And all his fugitives with all his army will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to all the winds, and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken [this]. Cunning or honesty - who will ask about the enemy? This [opinion] is usually opposed to us by those who say that enemies must be deceived by deception. Let it be so, but Zedekiah did much worse, because he deceived not an enemy, but a friend with whom he was bound by the covenant of the Lord. So, until you have sworn an oath and made a contract in the name of the Lord, then prudence and courage require you to deceive, or gain the upper hand over the enemy, as best you can. But when you bound yourself with an oath, then it is no longer an enemy, but a friend who believed you, and he was deceived under the guise of an oath, that is, in the name of God. Therefore the Scripture now says: The oath which he despised, and the covenant which was broken, I will bring upon his head. And so that we do not think that the oath, and the alliance and the agreement applied to the king of Babylon or to Zedekiah, as their culprit, then it follows: for the treachery through which he despised Me. Consequently, he who despises an oath despises the one by whom he swore, and insults the one whose name the enemy believed. Therefore, I will spread My net over him, he says, and he will be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there. So, what Nebuchadnezzar did against Zedekiah, he did it not on his own, but as a result of the wrath of God, through whose name [God] the oath was broken. Regarding the allegorical meaning, although the interpretation seems strained, you need to know that like other animals, the eagle and the lion can be understood both for good and for bad. In a good way it is said: the skin of the lions of Judah (Gen. 49:9). In the opposite way: our adversary the devil walks like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), and it is in the psalm: he catches in secret, like a lion in his fence, he catches the hedgehog to snatch the beggar (Ps. 9:30). On the good side, it is said about the eagle that an active righteous man will make himself, as it were, the wings of an eagle, so that he can return to the house of his predecessor. And in Isaiah it is written that the righteous will fly with wings like eagles, they will flow and not be weary, they will walk and not hunger (Isaiah 40:31). The same one who said: with strength I will create and with the wisdom of understanding I will take away the limits of tongues, and the power of their captivity, and I will shake the inhabited cities and the whole world with my hand, like a nest and like broken eggs (Isa. 10:13-14), is now correctly depicted as an eagle, because he wants to have at his disposal (perstringere) not small and low bushes, but the tops of cedars with Lebanon, meaning whiteness and related to incense, both from the princes and from the royal family, in accordance with this saying of Habakkuk: his chosen foods (Hab. 1:16) And he makes a covenant with those whom he took captive, so that they would subject their necks to the king of Babylon and fulfill what the apostle says: whom he delivered to Satan, so that they would not blaspheme ( 1 Timothy 1:20). And in another place he says: he handed them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved (1 Cor. 5:5). Therefore, we should not resist if we are removed from the assembly of the brethren and from the house of God for some sin, but calmly endure the decreed sentence and say to the prophet: I will endure the wrath of the Lord, for those who have sinned against Him will vindicate my sins (Mic. 7:9). And it often happens that we, having submitted to one, move on to another, who promises us help and does not force us to remain with the same decision. This must be avoided in every possible way, so that our branches do not wither and branches wither, and so that they do not think that we are acting contrary to the covenant of God. Ezek.XVII:22–24. Thus says the Lord: And I will take from the best part (medulla) of a high cedar and set it up, pluck the tender from the top of its branches and plant it on a high and majestic mountain, on the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. And it will send out a branch and bear fruit and become a great cedar, and all kinds of birds will live under it, all birds will build nests under the shade of its branches. And all the trees of the land will know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, and have withered the green tree and made the dry tree green. I, the Lord, said and did. LXX: Thus says the Lord Adonai: And I will take from the chosen cedars, from the top and give from the top of its branches, I will take their cores (corde) and plant them on a high mountain, and I will place it on the high mountain of Israel, and I will plant it, and it will bring forth a branch, and it will bear fruit, and it will become a great cedar, and every bird will rest under it, and every feathered creature will rest under its shadow: and its branches will come. to their former state, and all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord, who brings down the high tree and exalts the low tree, and makes the green tree wither, and makes the dry tree put forth branches. I, the Lord, have spoken and am doing. What is said in LXX: and I will give from the top of its branches, is added from the edition of Theodotion. Then, further the following: and its branches will return to their previous state, should be marked in front with an obel [doubtful place], because this is not in the Hebrew. The real Nebuchadnezzar takes from the best part of the high cedar, from the top of its branches, so that his kingdom will be low and not exalted. And the Lord God, the Almighty Father, who spoke to Ezekiel, takes from the royal family, from the family of David, and plants on a high and majestic mountain the one who says in the psalm: I am the king of Him appointed over Zion, His holy mountain (Ps. 2:6). For the prince departed from Judah, and the leader from Israel, until the hope of the tongues, which was put aside for him, would come (Gen. 49:10). He gave branch and brought forth fruit and surpassed all the cedars in height, so that all the birds of the air live under Him, and all the birds are protected by His shadow. Habakkuk says about Him: roses are in His hands, His power is hidden there (Hab. 3:4), and He wants to gather, like a hen, the chicks under His wings (Matthew 23:37), so that all the trees of the country will know that He is Lord. In an allegorical sense, speaking about believers: this is the One who once brought down the high tree of Israel and exalted the humiliated people of the pagans, and who dried up the green tree of the Jews, which blossomed and put forth branches through the law and the prophets, and made the dry tree of the pagans green, in order to actually fulfill what He always said. The same thing is meant by the words of Simeon, who speaks in the Gospel: This one lies for the fall and for the rising of many (Luke 2:34), and the mustard seed, which, although smaller than all seeds, when it grows, becomes a habitat for birds (Matthew 13:32). Some explain differently, attributing a high tree that became humble, and a low tree that became exalted, to the suffering of the Lord, the Saviors, who are in the image of God, not by the admiration of being equal to God, but made Himself humble, taking on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6-7), and after the resurrection this very tree was exalted, which before, being green, was dried up through death, and then, having revived, received its former strength. Others, like the Jews, attribute both to Israel, since at the first coming it was humiliated and withered, and at the second it will return to its former state, after fulfilling what the Apostle Paul says: when the fulfillment of tongues comes, then all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25). Here we need to understand by flesh not growth in general, as some translate, because, on the contrary, the Egyptians were short in stature, but the genital parts. Note. to the translation of the book. Ave. Ezekiel in the Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy. Those who escaped from a shipwreck usually depicted their deliverance from this misfortune on a wooden or metal plate, and either hung this picture in the church with a vow never to go to sea again, or carried it with them, asking for alms. There is no expression literally similar to this in the canonical Gospels, but expressions very similar in thought are found in 2 Cor. 7:10 and in Sir. 4:25. Maybe bl. Jerome borrowed this expression from some apocryphal Gospel, unless the word Evangelii is a later insertion. You might be interested in: