Глава 8

Ezek.8:1. And it came to pass in the sixth summer, in the fifth 12th month, on the fifth day of the month, that I sat in the house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, It is known that the Prophet was captured along with Jehoiachin. Why does it mean the same time everywhere? But, like some kind of mentor to youth, he never ceases to educate those in captivity and lead them to knowledge of the will of God. And he expressed this by saying: “The elders of Judah sat before me.” Then he adds: and the hand of Adonai the Lord be upon me. The activity of God's Spirit is called the hand of the Lord. Ezek.8:2. And I saw, and behold, the likeness of a man, from his loins and even to the bottom there was fire, and from his loins upward, like the vision of the dawn, like the gaze of an electr. Whom he saw sitting on Cherubim, He sees Him without Cherubim, because he appears sometimes in a terrible form, and sometimes in a meek form, arranging everything as needed. For He Himself says: “I multiplied visions, and became like them in the hands of the prophets” (Hos. 12:10). It was not in essence visible, which is why the Prophet says that he saw a similarity. Ezek.8:3. And stretch out the likeness of a human hand, and take me by the top of my head, and take my spirit from the midst of the earth, and from the midst of heaven, and lead me to Jerusalem in the vision of God on the threshold of the inner gates of those looking to the north, where there is a pillar and image of possessive jealousy. It should be noted that the Prophet, as he said, saw this “in the vision of God.” Therefore, it was not a bodily movement and not carnal vision, but, sitting in the house among the elders of Judah, he contemplated this whole vision. And he informs about this by describing the vision, for he says: “he sighed,” that is, he came to himself, “from my vision” (Ezek. 11:25). since he predicts severe punishments, he necessarily explains the reasons for them and sees them in the church of God as a “pillar of the image of jealousy.” An idol was placed there illegally, and he calls it “jealousy,” taking the image of speech from adulterers who make their husbands jealous. God Himself spoke this through the mouth of the great Moses: “You have angered Me not about God,” and, explaining this, he added: “You have provoked Me to anger with your idols” (Deut. 32:21). Ezek.8:4. And behold, the glory of the Lord God of Israel was in the vision that I saw in the field. Ezek.8:5. And he said to me: son of man, look with your eyes to the north: and I looked with my eyes to the north to the gate looking to the east of the breviary, where the image of this zeal is in the entrance. And we have already said before that the Prophet explains the truthfulness of the punishment of the Jews; why the righteous Judge shows him everything they dared to do. Ezek.8:6. And he said to me: Son of man, have you seen what these are doing? The house of Israel commits great iniquities here, if they move away from My holy things. Do you see, says God, that through their vices they themselves bring punishment upon themselves? For wickedness and negligence in serving Me, they will be removed from My holy places, according to the prophecy of David: “those who remove themselves from You will perish” (Ps. 72:27). Ezek.8:7. And he led me to the entrance of the courtyard, and I saw, and behold, there was one hole in the wall. Ezek.8:8–9. And he said to me: son of man, dig up the wall, and you dug up, and behold, there is one door in the wall. And he said to me: go in and see the evil iniquities that they are doing here. The Lord, having shown him the wickedness that was openly dared, also points out what was done secretly. For the Prophet says: Ezek.8:10. I saw, and I saw, and behold, every likeness of creeping things, and of cattle, of vain things of abomination, and of every graven image of the house of Israel, written on the wall all around. Ezek.8:11. And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel, and Jezonia the son of Zephan stood in the midst of them, and each one had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of the incense ascended. With wickedness there is also excessive madness, for what is crazier than this - to worship images of poisonous reptiles and dumb animals? We used to kill some, as harmful and malicious, and the Master separated others into slavery and service to us, for it is said: “To him who grows on the mountains, grass and grain are for the service of man” (Ps. 140:8). Therefore, let us take into account how foolish it is to worship images of servants and slaves. Therefore, the Lord, rightly indignant, says to the Prophet: Ezek.8:12. Hast thou, the son of man, seen what the elders of the house of Israel do, each of them in their secret beds, deciding beforehand: The Lord does not see, the Lord has forsaken the land. The cause of wickedness is forgetting God; Having convinced themselves that God has no control over what they do, they strayed into this lawlessness. But we were taught by blessed David to think and say the opposite of this, for he says: “I have seen the Lord before me, as he is at my right hand, so that I will not move” (Ps. 15:8). Ezek.8:13–14. And he said to me: turn again, and you will see the greater iniquity that they are doing. And bring me to the threshold of the gates of the house of the Lord, looking towards the north: and behold, there were women sitting weeping for Tammuz. This denounces not only wickedness, but also lewdness, because Fammuz in the Hellenic language is called Adonis. Therefore, of course, here is the crying at the orgies of Aphrodite, the obscene demon who was served for the sake of obscenity. Ezek.8:15–16. And he said to me: Son of man, and you will also see greater beginnings of these. And he brought me into the court of the house of the Lord within, and into the vestibule of the church of the Lord, between Elam and between the altar, like twenty and five men, their backs towards the church of the Lord, and their faces straight towards the east: and they bowed down to the sun towards the east. And this is a very great act of wickedness, for, having turned the spine to the Master, to worship a slave just like us, doesn’t it mean to exceed every measure of madness? The Prophet called the threshold of God’s church “Elam,” because a copper altar was built in front of it. It is said that, standing between Elam and the altar, they dared to commit this wickedness. With this detailed instruction, the Lord, as if justifying himself to His servant in punishing the Jews, beautifully says to him: Ezek.8:17. Thou didst see, the son of man, that there was little food for the house of Judah, that he would commit the iniquities which he had committed here? Having already filled the land with iniquity, they turned to anger Me: and these also spread out a vine to reproach Me. For I chose them, says God, with the intention of turning others away from wickedness; Not only were they not useful to others, but they also dared to commit more wickedness than others, so that the whole earth was finally filled with iniquity, spreading branches of wickedness everywhere, acting contrary to My intention. Why does God say: Ezek.8:18. And I will do to them with wrath: My eye will not spare, neither will I have mercy: and they will cry in My ears with a great voice, and I will not hear them. Just as they spread everywhere the branches not of piety, but of wickedness, and served to greater harm for neighboring nations, so I will use truncation without mercy to heal them, not restrained by their prayers, not listening to their cries, because mercy of such is not mercy. The doctor should pay attention not to the tears and words of the person undergoing truncation, but to the demands of art. According to other readings, as in the Slavic translation: “sixth.”