Глава 36

Ezek.36:1–3. And you, son of man, prophets on the mountains of Israel and the prophets: hear the word of the Lord, this says Adonai the Lord: Because the enemy has spoken against you: the good, the eternal wilderness will be ours to possess: for this reason the prophets and prophets: this is what Adonai the Lord says: You will not be the destruction of all languages, and dishonored from all those around you, so that you will be a possession of all other languages, and sorrow for the reproach of the lips and the reproach of the tongues. Having predicted sorrowful and sorrowful things for the Edomites, he turns his speech to the mountains of Israel and pronounces to them the promise of good things, and commands them not to lose hope, because the words spoken by the hostile are false and vain; the desolation will not last long, but I will expose, says God, the reproaches of the nations neighboring you and put an end to their insolence against you; they will no longer tell everyone about your disasters and divulge about your misfortunes, to this he adds: Ezek.36:4. For this reason, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord: This saith the Lord Adonai to the mountains, and the hill, and the brook, and the wilds, and the glades, and the desolate, and the ruined, and the cities abandoned, which were taken into captivity, and to be trampled underfoot by the remaining tongue of the surrounding. It would be much easier and more convenient to say that the promise of blessings is given to the whole land of Israel, but God mentions in detail the mountains, wilds, hills, cities and everything else, comforting those saddened by desolation. Ezek.36:5. For this reason says Adonai the Lord: if not in the fires of My zeal spoke into other languages, and into all Idumea, as if you gave My possession as an inheritance to yourself with joy from the whole heart, having dishonored the soul, it was consumed by war; that is, I was extremely upset by the impudence of the Edomites and other peoples with which they treated My land, rejoicing at its desolation and hoping to take possession of it and enslave those living on it. For this reason I pronounced judgment on them. Ezek.36:6–7. For this reason the prophets again, the Prophet, came to the land of Israel, and spoke to the mountains, and the hills, and the glades, and the wilds: this says Adonai the Lord: Behold, I, in My zeal and in My wrath, spoke for the reproach that I took from the tongue. For this reason the Lord Adonai says: Behold, I have lifted up My hand against the tongues that are around you, and they will receive their dishonor. The reproach made to you led to the fact that a sentence is pronounced on those who reproached, and they will reap the fruits of their wickedness before Me, as well as rancor and insolence against you. Ezek.36:8. But your grapes and your fruit, the mountains of Israel, my people, O Israel, will devour, as they hope to come. I will reinforce the hope of the people, I will bring their good expectations to fulfillment; he will return and eat the fruits planted by you. It is clear that he does not talk to the mountains as if they were animate, because they do not have the gift of speech and soul, but through conversation with the inanimate he exhorts those who live on the mountains with the promise of good things for them. Ezek.36:9. Behold, I will come to you, and I will look upon you, and you will cultivate and sow, Ezek.36:10. And I will multiply the people of you, even the whole house of Israel to the end, and the cities will be inhabited, and the deserts will be fenced in: Ezek.36:11. And I will multiply you with people and cattle, and they will multiply and grow, and I will make you whole as before, and I will do good to you, as in the summer that was before you, and they will understand that I am the Lord. It is not the mountains that will understand, but those who live on the mountains. And this came to fruition upon his return from Babylon, and events testify to this; for the cities of Palestine, filled with inhabitants, are all being built again and are distinguished by their splendor; The one in which the Jews, furiously rebelling against the Lord and Savior, dared to undertake this audacity - the work of the cross, and thereby arranged the salvation of all people, but their own destruction, remains desolate. And that all Israel would be returned, the Lord promised this and fulfilled His word, for he did so that Cyrus allowed everyone to return, but those suffering from ordinary disobedience resisted the command and preferred someone else’s land to their own. Ezek.36:13. This is what Adonai the Lord says: “Even as I said to you, you are a land that devours men, and you were childless at the sight of your tongue.” Ezek.36:14. For the sake of men, do not belt anyone, and do not deprive anyone of your tongue, says the Lord. Ezek.36:15. And the dishonor of tongues will not be heard in you, and you will not receive reproach to anyone, and your tongue will not be without children, says the Lord Adonai. And this would have come to pass if the Jews had wanted it. But since they raged against the Lord like mad dogs, they themselves made the prophecy unfulfilled. And thus the prophecy retained its untruthfulness, because the God of all things had previously spoken through the Prophet Jeremiah: “To the end I will destroy the tongue and the kingdom, that I may build and plant. And they will do evil before Me, even if they do not listen to My voice, and I will repent of the good things that I have done to them” (Jer. 18:9, 10). Therefore, the Jews themselves are guilty of not receiving the benefits promised in prophecy. Ezek.36:16. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Ezek.36:17. The son of man, the house of Israel, have dwelt in their lands, and have defiled their way, and their idols, and their uncleanness: because of the uncleanness of the menstrual period, their way has become before Me, Ezek.36:18. and I poured out My wrath on her. The deeds themselves testify to the justice of the punishment, for they not only continued to serve all kinds of idols, but also committed iniquities of all kinds, so that they were filled with all kinds of abomination and vileness. And since “having menstruation,” that is, the flow of blood, was considered by the law to be extremely unclean, the abomination of iniquity is likened to this state. Then, continuing the accusation again, he says: For the sake of blood, you have shed blood on the earth and desecrated your idols, Ezek.36:19. and I scattered into languages, and I scattered into countries: And again proves the justice of the punishment. according to their ways and according to their undertakings I judged them. They gathered the fruits they had planted. “Blood” here meant not only other murders, but also the slaughter of children as sacrifices offered to insatiable and crafty demons. We would not be satisfied, says God, with the iniquities that we committed before the captivity, but even having become captives and exiles, we would not lag behind in the same evil deeds. Ezek.36:20. And I went down into the tongues, and I went down there, and profaned My holy name, never speaking to them, these people of the Lord, and I came up from my land. By living viciously, they became the reason that Me is blasphemed. The pagans first had the idea that due to My weakness the Jews were defeated and fell to the power of their enemies, and then, having learned from experience their vicious life, they began to blaspheme Me, as if such things pleased Me, and I called so many vicious people my people. However, while looking after them themselves, Ezek.36:21. And I have spared the name of My holy one, having desecrated the house of Izrilev, and even in that is, with the intention of showing them My power, I will deliver them from the surrounding evils. Ezek.36:22. For this reason are the kings of the house of Israel: this saith the Lord Adonai: I do not do it for you in the house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations, and there may be seen. Ezek.36:23. And I will sanctify My great name, profaned among the nations, which is defiled among them, and the nations will understand that I am the Lord, says Adonai the Lord: I will always be sanctified in you before their eyes. It is not you, says God, who are worthy of salvation, but those nations to whom you have given reason to blaspheme Me must be healed. Blasphemy will be destroyed when My power is proven by your salvation. For having learned how great is My name, and that it is sufficient to help My people, they will glorify and sing songs of My dominion. He expressed this by saying: “And the Gentiles will understand that I am the Lord God, and I will always be sanctified in you before their eyes.” Ezek.36:24. And I will take you away from the tongue, and I will gather you from all generations, and I will bring you into your land. This befits all those who returned from captivity, because those who wished to return were truly returned. The following words no longer apply to everyone, but only to some who believed in the gospel preaching. For God says: Ezek.36:25. And I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols: I will cleanse you. “Clean water” he called the water of rebirth, in which, having been baptized, we received the remission of sins. And what we said is confirmed by the following words: Ezek.36:26. And I will give you a new heart, and I will give you a new spirit. This signified a change in the way of thinking: your heart, says God, will be inclined towards the better, no longer having, due to its previous habit, an inclination towards the worse. This “I will give” does not in the least violate freedom, because with words, and deeds, and thousands of miracles, not only them, but also all nations were convinced, and not forced, by God to turn to piety. However, not by forcing, but by convincing, he says that He Himself gave souls an inclination for the better, as if, as a result of what he said and did, He Himself became the culprit of this. And I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put My Spirit in you. And this did not happen before the coming of the Lord Christ. For upon their return from captivity, at one time they had only three prophets: Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, and after them they were deprived of prophetic grace. And after the incarnation of God our Savior and after His ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and they imparted grace not only to the Jews, but also to all the pagans who came to faith. “Stone” means a stubborn and rebellious heart, and “flesh” means a docile and obedient heart, capable of receiving the imprints of divine writings. Ezek.36:27. And I will do, that ye may walk in My justifications, and keep My judgments, and I will do them. And this is characteristic of the grace of the Spirit, for it, promoting our freedom, brings it into a state of fulfilling what is said. Ezek.36:28. And dwell in the lands which your father gave, Again he turns his speech to ordinary objects and moves from the spiritual to the physical. And you will be My people, and I will be your God. Ezek.36:29–30. And I will cleanse you from all your sins, and I will call for wheat and multiply it, and I will not give you famine. And I will bring forth the fruit of the trees, and the fruits of the fields, so that no one will receive the smooth reproach of the people. Although I know that each of these sayings can be taken in a spiritual sense, I still think that the prophetic word now promises the Jews bodily benefits. since the earth was then in great desolation, God promises them an abundance of all kinds of fruits, and foretells the benefits that will come from this, namely, he says: Ezek.36:31. And you will remember your evil ways, and your evil undertakings, and you will be indignant before them about your iniquities and your abominations. Having enjoyed these blessings and having learned what fruits righteousness brings, remember your former wickedness and the punishment that befell you for it, and you will greatly hate your former iniquity. For the word: “you will be indignant” is used in the sense of “you will be disgusted.” Similar to this is what David said about the wicked man: “I presented myself to every evil way, but I was not indignant about evil” (Ps. 35:5), that is, he did not abhor vice. So, having promised them good things, he again humbles their way of thinking, saying: Ezek.36:32. It is not for your sake that I am doing this, O house of Israel, says Adonai the Lord; be it known to you, O house of Israel. It is not you, says God, who are worthy of the promised blessings, but I do what is proper to My nature. Then, exhorting and shaming, he continues: Be ashamed and ashamed of your ways, O house of Israel. Not without sorrow and not without feeling do you endure various punishments, but although it is too late, you will reflect on the craftiness of your undertakings and be ashamed of what you dared to do. Ezek.36:33. This says the Lord Adonai: On that same day I will cleanse you from all your iniquities, and I will inhabit the cities, and the deserts will be closed, Ezek.36:34. and the lost land will be cultivated instead of what was destroyed quickly before the eyes of everyone who passes by. When, says God, I grant you remission of sins and through forgiveness I make you clean, then I will give buildings to the cities and plantings to the land, and instead of the former desolation that everyone who passed by saw, it will be inhabited. Ezek.36:35. And they say: this lost land was like a heap of sweets, and the cities, desolate and destroyed and excavated, took away the approval of the stash. Just as before your desolation was on everyone’s lips, so now you will become notorious and will surprise everyone, because your deserted land will be like a paradise of sweetness, and uninhabited and ruined cities will be surrounded by strong walls. Ezek.36:36. And the Gentiles will understand, and the people will remain around you, for I am the Lord, I have restored the ruined, and I have planted the destroyed: I am the Lord, saying, and I will create. Neighboring peoples know that I have sent down both previous sorrowful events and present joyful ones, and the confirmation of what was said is the authenticity of the One who said: “I am the Lord who spoke, and I will do,” because, as the Lord, who has the strength to do, what I said, I will bring to fulfillment. Ezek.36:37. This saith the Lord Adonai: Behold, I will still be exacted from the house of Israel to do unto them. Instead of “I will be found,” Symmachus translated: “I will be found” 22. I will add this to the previous good deeds and honor their calling. And I will multiply them like holy sheep. Since I have taken them under my care, like sheep, I will exercise pastoral care for them. Ezek.36:38. Just as the sheep of Jerusalem were in her feasts, so the deserted cities will be full of sheep and people, and they will understand that I am the Lord. Just as before the siege, Jerusalem was filled with sheep during its great holidays, so I will fill all their cities with people, sheep and other goods, and from the very events they will know that I am the Lord, and the God who kills and gives life, smites and heals (Deut. 32:39). Therefore, knowing both the goodness and the power of our Master, let us love Him because of His goodness and fear Him because of His power, so that, both loving and fearing, we may become keepers of His commandments and be worthy of the promised blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord. With Him, glory to the Father and with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever! Amen. This is how it reads in the Slavic translation.