The Holy Bible

Part 18 out of 29




4:33. For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall: so
shall she be grieved for her own desolation.

4:34. And the joy of her multitude shall be cut off: and her gladness
shall be turned to mourning.

4:35. For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal, long to endure,
and she shall be inhabited by devils for a great time.

4:36. Look about thee, O Jerusalem, towards the east, and behold the
joy that cometh to thee from God.

4:37. For behold thy children come, whom thou sentest away scattered,
they come gathered together from the east even to the west, at the word
of the Holy One rejoicing for the honour of God.



Baruch Chapter 5


Jerusalem is invited to rejoice and behold the return of her children
out of their captivity.

5:1. Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of thy mourning, and affliction:
and put on the beauty, and honour of that everlasting glory which thou
hast from God.

5:2. God will clothe thee with the double garment of justice, and will
set a crown on thy head of everlasting honour.

5:3. For God will shew his brightness in thee, to every one under
heaven.

5:4. For thy name shall be named to thee by God for ever: the peace of
justice, and honour of piety.

5:5. Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high: and look about towards the
east, and behold thy children gathered together from the rising to the
setting sun, by the word of the Holy One rejoicing in the remembrance
of God.

5:6. For they went out from thee on foot, led by the enemies: but the
Lord will bring them to thee exalted with honour as children of the
kingdom.

5:7. For God hath appointed to bring down every high mountain, and the
everlasting rocks, and to fill up the valleys to make them even with
the ground: that Israel may walk diligently to the honour of God.

5:8. Moreover the woods, and every sweetsmelling tree have overshadowed
Israel by the commandment of God.

5:9. For God will bring Israel with joy in the light of his majesty,
with mercy, and justice, that cometh from him.



Baruch Chapter 6


The epistle of Jeremias to the captives, as a preservative against
idolatry.

A copy of the epistle that Jeremias sent to them that were to be led
away captives into Babylon, by the king of Babylon, to declare to them
according to what was commanded him by God.

6:1. For the sins that you have committed before God, you shall be
carried away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor the king of
Babylon.

6:2. And when you are come into Babylon, you shall be there many years,
and for a long time, even to seven generations: and after that I will
bring you away from thence with peace.

Seven generations. . .That is, seventy years.

6:3. But now, you shall see in Babylon gods of gold, and of silver, and
of stone, and of wood borne upon shoulders, causing fear to the
Gentiles.

6:4. Beware therefore that you imitate not the doings of others, and be
afraid, and the fear of them should seize upon you.

6:5. But when you see the multitude behind, and before, adoring them,
say you in your hearts: Thou oughtest to be adored, O Lord.

6:6. For my angel is with you: And I myself will demand an account of
your souls.

6:7. For their tongue that is polished by the craftsman, and themselves
laid over with gold and silver, are false things, and they cannot
speak.

6:8. And as if it were for a maiden that loveth to go gay: so do they
take gold and make them up.

6:9. Their gods have golden crowns upon their heads: whereof the
priests secretly convey away from them gold, and silver, and bestow it
on themselves.

6:10. Yea and they give thereof to prostitutes, and they dress out
harlots: and again when they receive it of the harlots, they adorn
their gods.

6:11. And these gods cannot defend themselves from the rust, and the
moth.

6:12. But when they have covered them with a purple garment, they wipe
their face because of the dust of the house, which is very much among
them.

6:13. This holdeth a sceptre as a man, as a judge of the country, but
cannot put to death one that offendeth him.

6:14. And this hath in his hand a sword, or an axe, but cannot save
himself from war, or from robbers, whereby be it known to you, that
they are not gods.

6:15. Therefore fear them not. For as a vessel that a man uses when it
is broken becometh useless, even so are their gods:

6:16. When they are placed in the house, their eyes are full of dust by
the feet of them that go in.

6:17. And as the gates are made sure on every side upon one that hath
offended the king, or like a dead man carried to the grave, so do the
priests secure the doors with bars and locks, lest they be stripped by
thieves.

6:18. They light candles to them, and in great number, of which they
cannot see one: but they are like beams in the house.

6:19. And they say that the creeping things which are of the earth,
gnaw their hearts, while they eat them and their garments, and they
feel it not.

6:20. Their faces are black with the smoke that is made in the house.

6:21. Owls, and swallows, and other birds fly upon their bodies, and
upon their heads, and cats in like manner.

6:22. Whereby you may know that they are no gods. Therefore fear them
not.

6:23. The gold also which they have, is for shew, but except a man wipe
off the rust, they will not shine: for neither when they were molten,
did they feel it.

6:24. Men buy them at a high price, whereas there is no breath in them.

6:25. And having not the use of feet they are carried upon shoulders,
declaring to men how vile they are. Be they confounded also that
worship them.

6:26. Therefore if they fall to the ground, they rise not up again of
themselves, nor if a man set them upright, will they stand by
themselves, but their gifts shall be set before them, as to the dead.

6:27. The things that are sacrificed to them, their priests sell and
abuse: in like manner also their wives take part of them, but give
nothing of it either to the sick, or to the poor.

6:28. The childbearing and menstruous women touch their sacrifices:
knowing, therefore, by these things that they are not gods, fear them
not.

6:29. For how can they be called gods? because women set offerings
before the gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood:

6:30. And priests sit in their temples, having their garments rent, and
their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads.

6:31. And they roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast
when one is dead.

6:32. The priests take away their garments, and clothe their wives and
their children.

6:33. And whether it be evil that one doth unto them, or good, they are
not able to recompense it: neither can they set up a king, nor put him
down:

6:34. In like manner they can neither give riches, nor requite evil. If
a man make a vow to them, and perform it not: they cannot require it.

6:35. They cannot deliver a man from death, nor save the weak from the
mighty.

6:36. They cannot restore the blind man to his sight: nor deliver a man
from distress.

36:7. They shall not pity the widow, nor do good to the fatherless.

6:38. Their gods, of wood, and of stone, and of gold, and of silver,
are like the stones that are hewn out of the mountains: and they that
worship them shall be confounded.

6:39. How then is it to be supposed, or to be said, that they are gods?

6:40. Even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them: who when they here
of one dumb that cannot speak, they present him to Bel, entreating him,
that he may speak.

6:41. As though they could be sensible that have no motion themselves:
and they, when they shall perceive this, will leave them: for their
gods themselves have no sense.

6:42. The women also, with cords about them, sit in the ways, burning
olive-stones.

6:43. And when any one of them, drawn away by some passenger, lieth
with him, she upbraideth her neighbor, that she was not thought as
worthy as herself, nor her cord broken.

6:44. But all things that are done about them, are false: how is it
then to be thought, or to be said, that they are gods?

6:45. And they are made by workmen, and by goldsmiths. They shall be
nothing else but what the priests will have them to be.

6:46. For the artificers themselves that make them, are of no long
continuance. Can those things then that are made by them, be gods?

6:47. But they have left false things and reproach to them that come
after.

6:48. For when war cometh upon them , or evils: the priests consult
with themselves, where they may hide themselves with them.

6:49. How then can they be thought to be gods, that can neither deliver
themselves from war, nor save themselves from evils?

6:50. For seeing they are but of wood, and laid over with gold, and
with silver, it shall be known hereafter that they are false things, by
all nations, and kings: and it shall be manifest that they are no gods,
but the work of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them.

6:51. Whence, therefore, is it known that they are not gods, but the
work of men's hands, and no work of God is in them?

6:52. They cannot set up a king over the land, nor give rain to men.

6:53. They determine no causes, nor deliver countries from oppression:
because they can do nothing, and are as daws between heaven and earth.

6:54. For when fire shall fall upon the house of these gods of wood,
and of silver, and of gold, their priests indeed will flee away, and be
saved: but they themselves shall be burnt in the midst like beams.

6:55. And they cannot withstand a king and war. How then can it be
supposed, or admitted, that they are gods?

6:56. Neither are these gods of wood, and of stone, and laid over with
gold, and with silver, able to deliver themselves from thieves or
robbers: they that are stronger than them,

They that are stronger than them. . .That is, robbers and thieves are
stronger than these idols, being things without life or motion.

6:57. Shall take from them the gold, and silver, and the raiment
wherewith they are clothed, and shall go their way, neither shall they
help themselves.

6:58. Therefore it is better to be a king that sheweth his power: or
else a profitable vessel in the house, with which the owner thereof
will be well satisfied: or a door in the house, to keep things safe
that are therein, than such false gods.

6:59. The sun, and the moon, and the stars being bright, and sent forth
for profitable uses, are obedient.

6:60. In like manner the lightning, when it breaketh forth, is easy to
be seen: and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country.

6:61. And the clouds, when God commandeth them to go over the whole
world, do that which is commanded them.

6:62. The fire also being sent from above to consume mountains, and
woods, doth as it is commanded. But these neither in shew, nor in
power, are alike to any one of them.

6:63. Wherefore it is neither to be thought, nor to be said, that they
are gods: since they are neither able to judge causes, nor to do any
good to men.

6:64. Knowing, therefore, that they are not gods, fear them not.

6:65. For neither can they curse kings, nor bless them.

6:66. Neither do they shew signs in the heaven to the nations, nor
shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.

6:67. Beasts are better than they, which can fly under a covert, and
help themselves.

6:68. Therefore there is no manner of appearance that they are gods: so
fear them not.

6:69. For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing, so
are their gods of wood, and of silver, and laid over with gold.

6:70. They are no better than a white thorn in a garden, upon which
every bird sitteth. In like manner also their gods of wood, and laid
over with gold, and with silver, are like to a dead body cast forth in
the dark.

6:71. By the purple also and the scarlet which are motheaten upon them,
you shall know that they are not gods. And they themselves at last are
consumed, and shall be a reproach in the country.

6:72. Better, therefore, is the just man that hath no idols: for he
shall be far from reproach.




THE PROPHECY OF EZECHIEL



EZECHIEL, whose name signifies the STRENGTH OF GOD, was of the priestly
race; and of the number of captives that were carried away to Babylon
with king JOACHIN. He was contemporary with JEREMIAS, and prophesied to
the same effect in Babylon, as JEREMIAS did in Jerusalem; and is said
to have ended his days in like manner, by martyrdom.



Ezechiel Chapter 1


The time of Ezechiel's prophecy: he sees a glorious vision.

1:1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on
the fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives by
the river Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of
God.

The thirtieth year. . .Either of the age of Ezechiel; or, as others will
have it, from the solemn covenant made in the eighteenth year of the
reign of Josias. 4 Kings 23.

1:2. On the fifth day of the month, the same was the fifth year of the
captivity of king Joachin,

1:3. The word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi
in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar: and the hand of the
Lord was there upon him.

1:4. And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a
great cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it: and
out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it
were the resemblance of amber:

1:5. And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures:
and this was their appearance: there was the likeness of a man in them.

Living creatures. . .Cherubims (as appears from Ecclesiasticus 49.10)
represented to the prophet under these mysterious shapes, as supporting
the throne of God, and as it were drawing his chariot. All this chapter
appeared so obscure, and so full of mysteries to the ancient Hebrews,
that, as we learn from St. Jerome, (Ep. ad Paulin.,) they suffered none
to read it before they were thirty years old.

1:6. Every one had four faces, and every one four wings.

1:7. Their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like
the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of
glowing brass.

1:8. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four
sides: and they had faces, and wings on the four sides,

1:9. And the wings of one were joined to the wings of another. They
turned not when they went: but every one went straight forward.

1:10. And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a
man, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: and the
face of an ox, on the left side of all the four: and the face of an
eagle over all the four.

1:11. And their faces, and their wings were stretched upward: two wings
of every one were joined, and two covered their bodies:

1:12. And every one of them went straight forward: whither the impulse
of the spirit was to go, thither they went: and they turned not when
they went.

1:13. And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance
was like that of burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of
lamps. This was the vision running to and fro in the midst of the
living creatures, a bright fire, and lightning going forth from the
fire.

1:14. And the living creatures ran and returned like flashes of
lightning.

1:15. Now as I beheld the living creatures, there appeared upon the
earth by the living creatures one wheel with four faces.

1:16. And the appearance of the wheels, and the work of them was like
the appearance of the sea: and the four had all one likeness: and their
appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the midst of a
wheel.

1:17. When they went, they went by their four parts: and they turned
not when they went.

When they went, they went by their four parts. . .That is, indifferently
to any of their sides either forward or backward: to the right or to
the left.

1:18. The wheels had also a size, and a height, and a dreadful
appearance: and the whole body was full of eyes round about all the
four.

1:19. And, when the living creatures went, the wheels also went
together by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels also were lifted up with them.

1:20. Withersoever the spirit went, thither as the spirit went the
wheels also were lifted up withal, and followed it: for the spirit of
life was in the wheels.

1:21. When those went these went, and when those stood these stood, and
when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up
together, and followed them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

1:22. And over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of
the firmament, the appearance of crystal terrible to behold, and
stretched out over their heads above.

1:23. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward
the other, every one with two wings covered his body, and the other was
covered in like manner.

1:24. And I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many
waters, as it were the voice of the most high God: when they walked, it
was like the voice of a multitude, like the noise of an army, and when
they stood, their wings were let down.

1:25. For when a voice came from above the firmament, that was over
their heads, they stood, and let down their wings.

1:26. And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the
likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon
the likeness of the throne, was the likeness of the appearance of a man
above upon it.

1:27. And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance
of fire within it round about: from his loins and upward, and from his
loins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round
about.

1:28. As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy
day: this was the appearance of the brightness round about.



Ezechiel Chapter 2


The prophet receives his commission.

2:1. This was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, and
I saw, and I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one that
spoke, and he said to me: Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak to thee.

2:2. And the spirit entered into me after that he spoke to me, and he
set me upon my feet: and I heard him speaking to me,

2:3. And saying: Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to
a rebellious people, that hath revolted from me, they, and their
fathers, have transgressed my covenant even unto this day.

2:4. And they to whom I send thee are children of a hard face, and of
an obstinate heart: and thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord
God:

2:5. If so be they at least will hear, and if so be they will forbear,
for they are a provoking house: and they shall know that there hath
been a prophet in the midst of them.

2:6. And thou, O son of man, fear not, neither be thou afraid of their
words: for thou art among unbelievers and destroyers, and thou dwellest
with scorpions. Fear not their words, neither be thou dismayed at their
looks: for they are a provoking house.

2:7. And thou shalt speak my words to them, if perhaps they will hear,
and forbear: for they provoke me to anger.

2:8. But thou, O son of man, hear all that I say to thee: and do not
thou provoke me, as that house provoketh me: open thy mouth, and eat
what I give thee.

2:9. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a
book rolled up: and he spread it before me, and it was written within
and without: and there were written in it lamentations, and canticles,
and woe.



Ezechiel Chapter 3


The prophet eats the book, and receives further instructions: the
office of a watchman.

3:1. And he said to me: Son of man, eat all that thou shalt find: eat
this book, and go speak to the children of Israel.

Eat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel. . .By this eating
of the book was signified the diligent attention and affection with
which we are to receive, and embrace the word of God; and to let it, as
it were, sink into our interior by devout meditation.

3:2. And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:

3:3. And he said to me: Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels
shall be filled with this book, which I give thee, and I did eat it:
and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

3:4. And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou
shalt speak my words to them.

3:5. For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an
unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:

3:6. Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue,
whose words thou canst not understand: and if thou wert sent to them,
they would hearken to thee.

3:7. But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee: because they
will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are of a hard
forehead and an obstinate heart.

3:8. Behold I have made thy face stronger than their faces: and thy
forehead harder than their foreheads.

3:9. I have made thy face like an adamant and like flint: fear them
not, neither be thou dismayed at their presence: for they are a
provoking house.

3:10. And he said to me: Son of man, receive in thy heart, and hear
with thy ears, all the words that I speak to thee:

3:11. And go get thee in to them of the captivity, to the children of
thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and shalt say to them: Thus
saith the Lord: If so be they will hear, and will forbear.

3:12. And the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a
great commotion, saying: Blessed be the glory of the Lord, from his
place.

3:13. The noise of the wings of the living creatures striking one
against another, and the noise of the wheels following the living
creatures, and the noise of a great commotion.

3:14. The spirit also lifted me, and took me up: and I went away in
bitterness in the indignation of my spirit: for the hand of the Lord
was with me, strengthening me.

3:15. And I came to them of the captivity, to the heap of new corn, to
them that dwelt by the river Chobar, and I sat where they sat: and I
remained there seven days mourning in the midst of them.

The heap of new corn. . .It was the name of a place: in Hebrew, tel
abib.

3:16. And at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me,
saying:

3:17. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel:
and thou shalt hear the word out of my mouth, and shalt tell it them
from me.

3:18. If, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die: thou declare
it not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted from his
wicked way, and live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity,
but I will require his blood at thy hand.

3:19. But if thou give warning to the wicked, and he be not converted
from his wickedness, and from his evil way: he indeed shall die in his
iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.

3:20. Moreover if the just man shall turn away from his justice, and
shall commit iniquity: I will lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall
die, because thou hast not given him warning: he shall die in his sin,
and his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered: but I
will require his blood at thy hand.

3:21. But if thou warn the just man, that the just may not sin, and he
doth not sin: living he shall live, because thou hast warned him, and
thou hast delivered thy soul.

3:22. And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he said to me: Rise and
go forth into the plain, and there I will speak to thee.

3:23. And I rose up, and went forth into the plain: and behold the
glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river
Chobar: and I fell upon my face.

3:24. And the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet: and he
spoke to me, and said to me: Go in; and shut thyself up in the midst of
thy house.

3:25. And thou, O son of man, behold they shall put bands upon thee,
and they shall bind thee with them: and thou shalt not go forth from
the midst of them.

3:26. And I will make thy tongue stick fast to the roof of thy mouth,
and thou shalt be dumb, and not as a man that reproveth: because they
are a provoking house.

3:27. But when I shall speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou
shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: He that heareth, let him
hear: and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a provoking
house.



Ezechiel Chapter 4


A prophetic description of the siege of Jerusalem, and the famine that
shall reign there.

4:1. And thou, O son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee:
and draw upon it the plan of the city of Jerusalem.

4:2. And lay siege against it, and build forts, and cast up a mount,
and set a camp against it, and place battering rams round about it.

4:3. And take unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron
between thee and the city: and set thy face resolutely against it, and
it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it: it is a sign
to the house of Israel.

4:4. And thou shalt sleep upon thy left side, and shalt lay the
iniquities of the house of Israel upon it, according to the number of
the days that thou shalt sleep upon it, and thou shalt take upon thee
their iniquity.

4:5. And I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according
to the number of the days three hundred and ninety days: and thou shalt
bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

4:6. And when thou hast accomplished this, thou shalt sleep again upon
thy right side, and thou shalt take upon thee the iniquity of the house
of Juda forty days: a day for a year, yea, a day for a year I have
appointed to thee.

4:7. And thou shalt turn thy face to the siege of Jerusalem and thy arm
shall be stretched out: and thou shalt prophesy against it.

4:8. Behold I have encompassed thee with bands: and thou shalt not turn
thyself from one side to the other, till thou hast ended the days of
thy siege.

4:9. And take to thee wheat and barley, and beans, and lentils, and
millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread
thereof according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon
thy side: three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

4:10. And thy meat that thou shalt eat, shall be in weight twenty
staters a day: from time to time thou shalt eat it.

4:11. And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin:
from time to time thou shalt drink it,

Hin. . .That is, a measure of liquids containing about ten pints.

4:12. And thou shalt eat it as barley bread baked under the ashes: and
thou shalt cover it, in their sight, with the dung that cometh out of a
man.

4:13. And the Lord said: So shall the children of Israel eat their
bread all filthy among the nations whither I will cast them out.

4:14. And I said: Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God, behold my soul hath not been
defiled, and from my infancy even till now, I have not eaten any thing
that died of itself, or was torn by beasts, and no unclean flesh hath
entered into my mouth.

4:15. And he said to me: Behold I have given thee neat's dung for man's
dung, and thou shalt make thy bread therewith.

4:16. And he said to me: Son of man: Behold, I will break in pieces the
staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and
with care: and they shall drink water by measure, and in distress.

4:17. So that when bread and water fail, every man may fall against his
brother, and they may pine away in their iniquities.



Ezechiel Chapter 5


The judgments of God upon the Jews are foreshewn under the type of the
prophet's hair.

5:1. And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife that shaveth the
hair: and cause it to pass over thy head, and over thy beard: and take
thee a balance to weigh in, and divide the hair.

5:2. A third part thou shalt burn with fire in the midst of the city,
according to the fulfilling of the days of the siege: and thou shalt
take a third part, and cut it in pieces with the knife all round about:
and the other third part thou shalt scatter in the wind, and I will
draw out the sword after them.

5:3. And thou shalt take thereof a small number: and shalt bind them in
the skirt of thy cloak.

5:4. And thou shalt take of them again, and shalt cast them in the
midst of the fire, and shalt burn them with fire: and out of it shall
come forth a fire into all the house of Israel.

5:5. Thus saith the Lord God: This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the
midst of the nations, and the countries round about her.

5:6. And she hath despised my judgments, so as to be more wicked than
the Gentiles; and my commandments, more than the countries that are
round about her: for they have cast off my judgments, and have not
walked in my commandments.

5:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have surpassed the
Gentiles that are round about you, and have not walked in my
commandments, and have not kept my judgments, and have not done
according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you:

5:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, and
I myself will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of
the Gentiles.

5:9. And I will do in thee that which I have not done: and the like to
which I will do no more, because of all thy abominations.

5:10. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee,
and the sons shall eat their fathers: and I will execute judgments in
thee, and I will scatter thy whole remnant into every wind.

5:11. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God: Because thou hast
violated my sanctuary with all thy offences, and with all thy
abominations: I will also break thee in pieces, and my eye shall not
spare, and I will not have any pity.

5:12. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and shall be
consumed with famine in the midst of thee: and a third part of thee
shall fall by the sword round about thee: and a third part of thee will
I scatter into every wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

5:13. And I will accomplish my fury, and will cause my indignation to
rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the
Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I shall have accomplished my
indignation in them.

5:14. And I will make thee desolate, and a reproach among the nations
that are round about thee, in the sight of every one that passeth by.

5:15. And thou shalt be a reproach, and a scoff, an example, and an
astonishment amongst the nations that are round about thee, when I
shall have executed judgments in thee in anger, and in indignation, and
in wrathful rebukes.

5:16. I the Lord have spoken it: When I shall send upon them the
grievous arrows of famine, which shall bring death, and which I will
send to destroy you: and I will gather together famine against you: and
I will break among you the staff of bread.

5:17. And I will send in upon you famine, and evil beasts unto utter
destruction: and pestilence, and blood shall pass through thee, and I
will bring in the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.



Ezechiel Chapter 6


The punishment of Israel for their idolatry: a remnant shall be saved.

6:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

6:2. Son of man set thy face towards the mountains of Israel, and
prophesy against them.

6:3. And say: Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God:
Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the
rocks, and the valleys: Behold, I will bring upon you the sword, and I
will destroy your high places.

6:4. And I will throw down your altars, and your idols shall be broken
in pieces: and I will cast down your slain before your idols.

6:5. And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before
your idols: and I will scatter your bones round about your altars,

6:6. In all your dwelling places. The cities shall be laid waste, and
the high places shall be thrown down, and destroyed, and your altars
shall be abolished, and shall be broken in pieces: and your idols shall
be no more, and your temples shall be destroyed, and your works shall
be defaced.

6:7. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you: and you shall know
that I am the Lord.

6:8. And I will leave in you some that shall escape the sword among the
nations, when I shall have scattered you through the countries.

6:9. And they that are saved of you shall remember me amongst the
nations, to which they are carried captives: because I have broken
their heart that was faithless, and revolted from me: and their eyes
that went a fornicating after their idols: and they shall be displeased
with themselves because of the evils which they have committed in all
their abominations.

6:10. And they shall know that I the Lord have not spoken in vain that
I would do this evil to them.

6:11. Thus saith the Lord God: Strike with thy hand and stamp with thy
foot, and say: Alas, for all the abominations of the evils of the house
of Israel: for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the
pestilence.

6:12. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence: and he that is
near, shall fall by the sword: and he that remaineth, and is besieged,
shall die by the famine: and I will accomplish my indignation upon
them.

6:13. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain shall be
amongst your idols, round about your altars, in every high hill, and on
all the tops of mountains, and under every woody tree, and under every
thick oak, the place where they burnt sweet smelling frankincense to
all their idols.

6:14. And I will stretch forth my hand upon them: and I will make the
land desolate, and abandoned from the desert of Deblatha in all their
dwelling places: and they shall know that I am the Lord.



Ezechiel Chapter 7


The final desolation of Israel: from which few shall escape.

7:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

7:2. And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God to the land of
Israel: The end is come, the end is come upon the four quarters of the
land.

7:3. Now is an end come upon thee, and I will send my wrath upon thee,
and I will judge thee according to thy ways: and I will set all thy
abominations against thee.

7:4. And my eye shall not spare thee, and I will shew thee no pity: but
I will lay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the
midst of thee: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

7:5. Thus saith the Lord God: One affliction, behold an affliction is
come.

7:6. An end is come, the end is come, it hath awaked against thee:
behold it is come.

7:7. Destruction is come upon thee that dwellest in the land: the time
is come, the day of slaughter is near, and not of the joy of mountains.

7:8. Now very shortly I will pour out my wrath upon thee, and I will
accomplish my anger in thee: and I will judge thee according to thy
ways, and I will lay upon thee all thy crimes.

7:9. And my eye shall not spare, neither will I shew mercy: but I will
lay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of
thee: and you shall know that I am the Lord that strike.

7:10. Behold the day, behold it is come: destruction is gone forth, the
rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

7:11. Iniquity is risen up into a rod of impiety: nothing of them shall
remain, nor of their people, nor of the noise of them: and there shall
be no rest among them.

7:12. The time is come, the day is at hand: let not the buyer rejoice:
nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the people thereof.

7:13. For the seller shall not return to that which he hath sold,
although their life be yet among the living. For the vision which
regardeth all the multitude thereof, shall not go back: neither shall
man be strengthened in the iniquity of his life.

7:14. Blow the trumpet, let all be made ready, yet there is none to go
to the battle: for my wrath shall be upon all the people thereof.

7:15. The sword without: and the pestilence, and the famine within: he
that is in the field shall die by the sword: and they that are in the
city, shall be devoured by the pestilence, and the famine.

7:16. And such of them as shall flee shall escape: and they shall be in
the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them trembling, every
one for his iniquity.

7:17. All hands shall be made feeble, and all knees shall run with
water.

7:18. And they shall gird themselves with haircloth, and fear shall
cover them and shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon all
their heads.

7:19. Their silver shall be cast forth, and their gold shall become a
dunghill. Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them
in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall not satisfy their soul,
and their bellies shall not be filled: because it hath been the
stumblingblock of their iniquity.

7:20. And they have turned the ornament of their jewels into pride, and
have made of it the images of their abominations, and idols: therefore
I have made it an uncleanness to them.

7:21. And I will give it into the hands of strangers for spoil, and to
the wicked of the earth for a prey, and they shall defile it.

7:22. And I will turn away my face from them, and they shall violate my
secret place: and robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.

Secret place, etc. . .Viz., the inward sanctuary, the holy of holies.

7:23. Make a shutting up: for the land is full of the judgment of
blood, and the city is full of iniquity.

Make a shutting up. . .In Hebrew, a chain, viz., for imprisonment and
captivity.

7:24. And I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess
their houses: and I will make the pride of the mighty to cease, and
they shall possess their sanctuary.

7:25. When distress cometh upon them, they will seek for peace and
there shall be none.

7:26. Trouble shall come upon trouble, and rumour upon rumour, and they
shall seek a vision of the prophet, and the law shall perish from the
priest, and counsel from the ancients.

7:27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with
sorrow, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. I
will do to them according to their way, and will judge them according
to their judgments: and they shall know that I am the Lord.



Ezechiel Chapter 8


The prophet sees in a vision the abominations committed in Jerusalem;
which determine the Lord to spare them no longer.

8:1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the
fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the ancients of Juda
sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.

8:2. And I saw, and behold a likeness as the appearance of fire: from
the appearance of his loins, and downward, fire: and from his loins,
and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the appearance of
amber.

8:3. And the likeness of a hand was put forth and took me by a lock of
my head: and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven,
and brought me in the vision of God into Jerusalem, near the inner
gate, that looked toward the north, where was set the idol of jealousy
to provoke to jealousy.

8:4. And behold the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to
the vision which I had seen in the plain.

8:5. And he said to me: Son of man, lift up thy eyes towards the way of
the north, and I lifted up my eyes towards the way of the north: and
behold on the north side of the gate of the altar the idol of jealousy
in the very entry.

8:6. And he said to me: Son of man, dost thou see, thinkest thou, what
these are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel
committeth here, that I should depart far off from my sanctuary? and
turn thee yet again and thou shalt see greater abominations.

8:7. And he brought me in to the door of the court: and I saw, and
behold a hole in the wall.

8:8. And he said to me: Son of man, dig in the wall, and when I had
digged in the wall, behold a door.

8:9. And he said to me: Go in, and see the wicked abominations which
they commit here.

8:10. And I went in and saw, and behold every form of creeping things,
and of living creatures, the abominations, and all the idols of the
house of Israel, were painted on the wall all round about.

8:11. And seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and
Jezonias the son of Saaphan stood in the midst of them, that stood
before the pictures: and every one had a censer in his hand: and a
cloud of smoke went up from the incense.

8:12. And he said to me: Surely thou seest, O son of man, what the
ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in private in
his chamber: for they say: The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath
forsaken the earth.

8:13. And he said to me: If thou turn thee again, thou shalt see
greater abominations which these commit.

8:14. And he brought me in by the door of the gate of the Lord's house,
which looked to the north: and behold women sat there mourning for
Adonis.

Adonis. . .The favourite of Venus, slain by a wild boar, as feigned by
the heathen poets, and which being here represented by an idol, is
lamented by the female worshippers of that goddess. In the Hebrew, the
name is Tammuz.

8:15. And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man: but turn
thee again, thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

8:16. And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord:
and behold at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men having their backs towards
the temple of the Lord, in their faces to the east: and they adored
towards the rising of the sun.

8:17. And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man: is this a
light thing to the house of Juda, that they should commit these
abominations which they have committed here: because they have filled
the land with iniquity, and have turned to provoke me to anger? and
behold they put a branch to their nose.

8:18. Therefore I also will deal with them in my wrath: my eye shall
not spare them, neither will I shew mercy: and when they shall cry to
my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.



Ezechiel Chapter 9


All are ordered to be destroyed that are not marked in their foreheads.
God will not be entreated for them.

9:1. And he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying: The visitations
of the city are at hand, and every one hath a destroying weapon in his
hand.

9:2. And behold six men came from the way of the upper gate, which
looketh to the north: and each one had his weapon of destruction in his
hand: and there was one man in the midst of them clothed with linen,
with a writer's inkhorn at his reins: and they went in, and stood by
the brazen altar.

9:3. And the glory of the Lord of Israel went up from the cherub, upon
which he was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man
that was clothed with linen, and had a writer's inkhorn at his loins.

9:4. And the Lord said to him: Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem: and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the
men that sigh, and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in
the midst thereof.

Mark Thau. . .Thau, or Tau, is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet,
and signifies a sign, or a mark; which is the reason why some
translators render this place set a mark, or mark a mark without
specifying what this mark was. But St. Jerome, and other interpreters,
conclude it was the form of the letter Thau, which in the ancient
Hebrew character, was the form of a cross.

9:5. And to the others he said in my hearing: Go ye after him through
the city, and strike: let not your eyes spare, nor be ye moved with
pity.

9:6. Utterly destroy old and young, maidens, children and women: but
upon whomsoever you shall see Thau, kill him not, and begin ye at my
sanctuary. So they began at the ancient men who were before the house.

9:7. And he said to them: Defile the house, and fill the courts with
the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew them that were in
the city.

9:8. And the slaughter being ended I was left; and I fell upon my face,
and crying, I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, wilt thou then
destroy all the remnant of Israel, by pouring out thy fury upon
Jerusalem?

9:9. And he said to me: The iniquity of the house of Israel, and of
Juda, is exceeding great, and the land is filled with blood, and the
city is filled with perverseness: for they have said: The Lord hath
forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.

9:10. Therefore neither shall my eye spare, nor will I have pity: I
will requite their way upon their head.

9:11. And behold the man that was clothed with linen, that had the
inkhorn at his back, returned the word, saying: I have done as thou
hast commanded me.



Ezechiel Chapter 10


Fire is taken from the midst of the wheels under the cherubims, and
scattered over the city. A description of the cherubims.

10:1. And I saw and behold in the firmament that was over the heads of
the cherubims, there appeared over them as it were the sapphire stone,
as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

10:2. And he spoke to the man, that was clothed with linen, and said:
Go in between the wheels that are under the cherubims and fill thy hand
with the coals of fire that are between the cherubims, and pour them
out upon the city. And he went in, in my sight:

10:3. And the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the
man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.

10:4. And the glory of the Lord was lifted up from above the cherub to
the threshold of the house: and the house was filled with the cloud,
and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord.

10:5. And the sound of the wings of the cherubims was heard even to the
outward court as the voice of God Almighty speaking.

10:6. And when he had commanded the man that was clothed with linen,
saying: Take fire from the midst of the wheels that are between the
cherubims: he went in and stood beside the wheel.

10:7. And one cherub stretched out his arm from the midst of the
cherubims to the fire that was between the cherubims: and he took, and
put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it
and went forth.

10:8. And there appeared in the cherubims the likeness of a man's hand
under their wings.

10:9. And I saw, and behold there were four wheels by the cherubims:
one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the
appearance of the wheels was to the sight like the chrysolite stone:

10:10. And as to their appearance, all four were alike: as if a wheel
were in the midst of a wheel.

10:11. And when they went, they went by four ways: and they turned not
when they went: but to the place whither they first turned, the rest
also followed, and did not turn back.

By four ways. . .That is, by any of the four ways, forward, backward, to
the right or to the left.

10:12. And their whole body, and their necks, and their hands, and
their wings, and the circles were full of eyes, round about the four
wheels.

10:13. And these wheels he called voluble, in my hearing.

Voluble. . .That is, rolling wheels, galgal.

10:14. And every one had four faces: one face was the face of a cherub,
and the second face, the face of a man: and in the third was the face
of a lion: and in the fourth the face of an eagle.

10:15. And the cherubims were lifted up: this is the living creature
that I had seen by the river Chobar.

10:16. And when the cherubims went, the wheels also went by them: and
when the cherubims lifted up their wings, to mount up from the earth,
the wheels stayed not behind, but were by them.

10:17. When they stood, these stood: and when they were lifted up,
these were lifted up: for the spirit of life was in them.

10:18. And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the
temple: and stood over the cherubims.

10:19. And the cherubims lifting up their wings, were raised from the
earth before me: and as they went out, the wheels also followed: and it
stood in the entry of the east gate of the house of the Lord: and the
glory of the God of Israel was over them.

10:20. This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel
by the river Chobar: and I understood that they were cherubims.

10:21. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings: and the
likeness of a man's hand was under their wings.

10:22. And as to the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces
which I had seen by the river Chobar, and their looks, and the impulse
of every one to go straight forward.



Ezechiel Chapter 11


A prophecy against the presumptuous assurance of the great ones. A
remnant shall be saved, and receive a new spirit, and a new heart.

11:1. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the east gate of
the house of the Lord, which looketh towards the rising of the sun: and
behold in the entry of the gate five and twenty men: and I saw in the
midst of them Jezonias the son of Azur, and Pheltias the son of
Banaias, princes of the people.

11:2. And he said to me: Son of man, these are the men that study
iniquity, and frame a wicked counsel in this city,

11:3. Saying: Were not houses lately built? This city is the caldron,
and we the flesh.

Were not houses lately built, etc. . .These men despised the predictions
and threats of the prophets; who declared to them from God, that the
city should be destroyed, and the inhabitants carried into captivity:
and they made use of this kind of argument against the prophets, that
the city, so far from being like to be destroyed, had lately been
augmented by the building of new houses; from whence they further
inferred, by way of a proverb, using the similitude of a cauldron, out
of which the flesh is not taken, till it is thoroughly boiled, and fit
to be eaten, that they should not be carried away out of their city,
but there end their days in peace.

11:4. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, thou son of man.

11:5. And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me: Speak:
Thus saith the Lord: Thus have you spoken, O house of Israel, for I
know the thoughts of your heart.

11:6. You have killed a great many in this city, and you have filled
the streets thereof with the slain.

11:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Your slain, whom you have laid
in the midst thereof, they are the flesh, all this is the caldron: and
I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof.

11:8. You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you,
saith the Lord God.

11:9. And I will cast you out of the midst thereof, and I will deliver
you into the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments upon
you.

11:10. You shall fall by the sword: I will judge you in the borders of
Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

In the borders of Israel. . .They pretended that they should die in
peace in Jerusalem; God tells them it should not be so; but that they
should be judged and condemned, and fall by the sword in the borders of
Israel: viz., in Reblatha in the land of Emath, where all their chief
men were put to death by Nabuchodonosor. 4 Kings 25., and Jer. 52.10,
27.

11:11. This shall not be as a caldron to you, and you shall not be as
flesh in the midst thereof: I will judge you in the borders of Israel.

11:12. And you shall know that I am the Lord: because you have not
walked in my commandments, and have not done my judgments, but you have
done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about
you.

11:13. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pheltias the son of
Banaias died: and I fell down upon my face, and I cried with a loud
voice: and said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God: wilt thou make an end
of all the remnant of Israel?

11:14. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

11:15. Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all the
house of Israel, all they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have
said: Get ye far from the Lord, the land is given in possession to us.

Thy brethren, etc. . .He speaks of them that had been carried away
captives before; who were despised by them that remained in Jerusalem:
but as the prophet here declares to them from God, should be in a more
happy condition than they, and after some time return from their
captivity.

11:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because I have removed them
far off among the Gentiles, and because I have scattered them among the
countries: I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries
whither they are come.

11:17. Therefore speak to them: Thus saith the Lord God: I will gather
you from among the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries
wherein you are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

11:18. And they shall go in thither, and shall take away all the
scandals, and all the abominations thereof from thence.

11:19. And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in
their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh,
and will give them a heart of flesh:

11:20. That they may walk in my commandments, and keep my judgments,
and do them: and that they may be my people, and I may be their God.

11:21. But as for them whose heart walketh after their scandals and
abominations, I will lay their way upon their head, saith the Lord God.

11:22. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and the wheels with
them: and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

11:23. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city,
and stood over the mount that is on the east side of the city.

11:24. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to
them of the captivity, in vision, by the spirit of God: and the vision
which I had seen was taken up from me.

11:25. And I spoke to them of the captivity all the words of the Lord,
which he had shewn me.



Ezechiel Chapter 12


The prophet forsheweth, by signs, the captivity of Sedecias, and the
desolation of the people: all which shall quickly come to pass.

12:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

12:2. Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a provoking house: who
have eyes to see, and see not: and ears to hear, and hear not: for they
are a provoking house.

12:3. Thou, therefore, O son of man, prepare thee all necessaries for
removing, and remove by day into their sight: and thou shalt remove out
of thy place to another place in their sight, if so be they will regard
it: for they are a provoking house.

12:4. And thou shalt bring forth thy furniture as the furniture of one
that is removing by day in their sight: and thou shalt go forth in the
evening in their presence, as one goeth forth that removeth his
dwelling.

12:5. Dig thee a way through the wall before their eyes: and thou shalt
go forth through it.

12:6. In their sight thou shalt be carried out upon men's shoulders,
thou shalt be carried out in the dark: thou shalt cover thy face, and
shalt not see the ground: for I have set thee for a sign of things to
come to the house of Israel.

12:7. I did therefore as he had commanded me: I brought forth my goods
by day, as the goods of one that removeth: and in the evening I digged
through the wall with my hand, and I went forth in the dark, and was
carried on men's shoulders in their sight.

12:8. And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying:

12:9. Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the provoking house,
said to thee: What art thou doing?

12:10. Say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: This burden concerneth my
prince that is in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel, that are
among them.

12:11. Say: I am a sign of things to come to you: as I have done, so
shall it be done to them: they shall be removed from their dwellings,
and go into captivity.

12:12. And the prince that is in the midst of them, shall be carried on
shoulders, he shall go forth in the dark: they shall dig through the
wall to bring him out: his face shall be covered, that he may not see
the ground with his eyes.

12:13. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my
net: and I will bring him into Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans,
and he shall not see it, and there he shall die.

He shall not see it. . .Because his eyes shall be put out by
Nabuchodonosor.

12:14. And all that are about him, his guards, and his troops I will
scatter into every wind: and I will draw out the sword after them.

12:15. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have
dispersed them among the nations, and scattered them in the countries.

12:16. And I will leave a few men of them from the sword, and from the
famine, and from the pestilence: that they may declare all their wicked
deeds among the nations whither they shall go: and they shall know that
I am the Lord.

12:17. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

12:18. Son of man, eat thy bread in trouble and drink thy water in
hurry and sorrow.

12:19. And say to the people of the land: Thus saith the Lord God to
them that dwell in Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat
their bread in care, and drink their water in desolation: that the land
may become desolate from the multitude that is therein, for the
iniquity of all that dwell therein.

12:20. And the cities that are now inhabited shall be laid waste, and
the land shall be desolate: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

12:21. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

12:22. Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of
Israel? saying: The days shall be prolonged, and every vision shall
fail.

12:23. Say to them therefore: Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this
proverb to cease, neither shall it be any more a common saying in
Israel: and tell them that the days are at hand, and the effect of
every vision.

12:24. For there shall be no more any vain visions, nor doubtful
divination in the midst of the children of Israel.

12:25. For I the Lord will speak: and what word soever I shall speak,
it shall come to pass, and shall not be prolonged any more: but in your
days, ye provoking house, I will speak the word, and will do it, saith
the Lord God.

12:26. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

12:27. Son of man, behold the house of Israel, they that say: The
visions that this man seeth, is for many days to come: and this man
prophesieth of times afar off.

12:28. Therefore say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: not one word of
mine shall be prolonged any more: the word that I shall speak shall be
accomplished, saith the Lord God.



Ezechiel Chapter 13


God declares against false prophets and prophetesses, that deceive the
people with lies.

13:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

13:2. Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel that
prophesy: and thou shalt say to them that prophesy out of their own
heart: Hear ye the word of the Lord:

13:3. Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets that follow
their own spirit, and see nothing.

13:4. Thy prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts.

13:5. You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a
wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the
Lord.

13:6. They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying: The Lord
saith: whereas the Lord hath not sent them: and they have persisted to
confirm what they have said.

13:7. Have you not seen a vain vision and spoken a lying divination:
and you say: The Lord saith: whereas I have not spoken.

13:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have spoken vain
things, and have seen lies: therefore behold I come against you, saith
the Lord God.

13:9. And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see vain things, and
that divine lies: they shall not be in the council of my people, nor
shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither
shall they enter into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am
the Lord God.

13:10. Because they have deceived my people, saying: Peace, and there
is no peace: and the people built up a wall, and they daubed it with
dirt without straw.

13:11. Say to them that daub without tempering, that it shall fall: for
there shall be an overflowing shower, and I will cause great hailstones
to fall violently from above, and a stormy wind to throw it down.

13:12. Behold, when the wall is fallen: shall it not be said to you:
Where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed it?

13:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Lo, I will cause a stormy
wind to break forth in my indignation, and there shall be an
overflowing shower in my anger: and great hailstones in my wrath to
consume.

13:14. And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with
untempered mortar: and I will make it even with the ground, and the
foundation thereof shall be laid bare: and it shall fall, and shall be
consumed in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

13:15. And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that
daub it without tempering the mortar, and I will say to you: The wall
is no more, and they that daub it are no more.

13:16. Even the prophets of Israel that prophesy to Jerusalem, and that
see visions of peace for her: and there is no peace, saith the Lord
God.

13:17. And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy
people that prophesy out of their own heart: and do thou prophesy
against them,

13:18. And say: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to them that sew cushions
under every elbow: and make pillows for the heads of persons of every
age to catch souls: and when they caught the souls of my people, they
gave life to their souls.

Sew cushions, etc. . .Viz., by making people easy in their sins, and
promising them impunity.--Ibid. They gave life to their souls. . .That
is, they flattered them with promises of life, peace, and security.

13:19. And they violated me among my people, for a handful of barley,
and a piece of bread, to kill souls which should not die, and to save
souls alive which should not live, telling lies to my people that
believe lies.

Violated me. . .That is, dishonoured and discredited me. Ibid. To kill
souls, etc. . .That is, to sentence souls to death, which are not to
die; and to promise life to them who are not to live.

13:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I declare against your
cushions, wherewith you catch flying souls: and I will tear them off
from your arms: and I will let go the soul that you catch, the souls
that should fly.

13:21. And I will tear your pillows, and will deliver my people out of
your hand, neither shall they be any more in your hands to be a prey:
and you shall know that I am the Lord.

13:22. Because with lies you have made the heart of the just to mourn,
whom I have not made sorrowful: and have strengthened the hands of the
wicked, that he should not return from his evil way, and live.

13:23. Therefore you shall not see vain things, nor divine divinations
any more, and I will deliver my people out of your hand: and you shall
know that I am the Lord.



Ezechiel Chapter 14


God suffers the wicked to be deceived in punishment of their
wickedness. The evils that shall come upon them for their sins: for
which they shall not be delivered by the prayers of Noe, Daniel, and
Job. But a remnant shall be preserved.

14:1. And some of the ancients of Israel came to me, and sat before me.

14:2. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

14:3. Son of man, these men have placed their uncleannesses in their
hearts, and have set up before their face the stumblingblock of their
iniquity: and shall I answer when they inquire of me?

Uncleanness. . .That is, their filthy idols, upon which they have set
their hearts: and which are a stumblingblock to their souls.

14:4. Therefore speak to them, and say to them: Thus saith the Lord
God: Man, man of the house of Israel that shall place his uncleannesses
in his heart, and set up the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face, and shall come to the prophet inquiring of me by him: I the Lord
will answer him according to the multitude of his uncleannesses:

Man, man. . .That is, every man, an Hebrew expression.

14:5. That the house of Israel may be caught in their own heart, with
which they have departed from me through all their idols.

14:6. Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Be
converted, and depart from your idols, and turn away your faces from
all your abominations.

14:7. For every man of the house of Israel, and every stranger among
the proselytes in Israel, if he separate himself from me, and place his
idols in his heart, and set the stumblingblock of his iniquity before
his face, and come to the prophet to inquire of me by him: I the Lord
will answer him by myself.

14:8. And I will set my face against that man, and will make him an
example, and a proverb, and will cut him off from the midst of my
people: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

14:9. And when the prophet shall err, and speak a word: I the Lord have
deceived that prophet: and I will stretch forth my hand upon him, and
will cut him off from the midst of my people Israel.

The prophet shall err, etc. . .He speaks of false prophets, answering
out of their own heads and according to their own corrupt
inclinations.--Ibid. I have deceived that prophet. . .God Almighty
deceives false prophets, partly by withdrawing his light from them; and
abandoning them to their own corrupt inclinations, which push them on
to prophesy such things as are agreeable to those who consult them: and
partly by disappointing them, and causing all thing to happen contrary
to what they have said.

14:10. And they shall bear their iniquity: according to the iniquity of
him that inquireth, so shall the iniquity of the prophet be.

14:11. That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, nor be
polluted with all their transgressions: but may be my people, and I may
be their God, saith the Lord of hosts.

14:12. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

14:13. Son of man, when a land shall sin against me, so as to
transgress grievously, I will stretch forth my hand upon it, and will
break the staff of the bread thereof: and I will send famine upon it,
and will destroy man and beast out of it.

14:14. And if these three men, Noe, Daniel, and Job, shall be in it:
they shall deliver their own souls by their justice, saith the Lord of
hosts.

14:15. And if I shall bring mischievous beasts also upon the land to
waste it, and it be desolate, so that there is none that can pass
because of the beasts:

14:16. If these three men shall be in it, as I live, saith the Lord,
they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters: but they only shall be
delivered, and the land shall be made desolate.

14:17. Or if I bring the sword upon that land, and say to the sword:
Pass through the land: and I destroy man and beast out of it:

14:18. And these three men be in the midst thereof: as I live, saith
the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they
themselves alone shall be delivered.

14:19. Or if I also send the pestilence upon that land, and pour out my
indignation upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:

14:20. And Noe, and Daniel, and Job be in the midst thereof: as I live,
saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter: but
they shall only deliver their own souls by their justice.

14:21. For thus saith the Lord: Although I shall send in upon Jerusalem
my four grievous judgments, the sword, and the famine, and the
mischievous beasts, and the pestilence, to destroy out of it man and
beast,

14:22. Yet there shall be left in it some that shall be saved, who
shall bring away their sons and daughters: behold they shall come among
you, and you shall see their way, and their doings: and you shall be
comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, in
all things that I have brought upon it.

14:23. And they shall comfort you, when you shall see their ways, and
their doings: and you shall know that I have not done without cause all
that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.



Ezechiel Chapter 15


As a vine cut down is fit for nothing but the fire; so it shall be with
Jerusalem, for her sins.

15:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

15:2. Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of
all the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?

15:3. Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made
of it for any vessel to hang thereon?

15:4. Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire hath consumed
both ends thereof, and the midst thereof is reduced to ashes: shall it
be useful for any work?

15:5. Even when it was whole it was not fit for work: how much less,
when the fire hath devoured and consumed it, shall any work be made of
it?

15:6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the
trees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so
will I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15:7. And I will set my face against them: they shall go out from fire,
and fire shall consume them: and you shall know that I am the Lord,
when I shall have set my face against them.

15:8. And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate,
because they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.



Ezechiel Chapter 16


Under the figure of an unfaithful wife, God upbraids Jerusalem with her
ingratitude and manifold disloyalties: but promiseth mercy by a new
covenant.

16:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

16:2. Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.

Make known to Jerusalem. . .That is, by letters, for the prophet was
then in Babylon.

16:3. And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem: Thy
root, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an
Amorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite.

16:4. And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel was
not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted
with salt, nor swaddled with clouts.

16:5. No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out
of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out upon the face of the
earth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born.

16:6. And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in
thy own blood: and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood: Live: I
have said to thee: Live in thy blood.

16:7. I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field: and thou didst
increase and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman's
ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou was
naked, and full of confusion.

16:8. And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the
time of lovers: and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy
ignominy. and I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee,
saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine.

16:9. And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from
thee: and I anointed thee with oil.

16:10. And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet
coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed
thee with fine garments.

16:11. I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy
hands, and a chain about thy neck.

I decked thee also with ornaments, etc. . .That is, with spiritual
benefits, giving you a law with sacrifices, sacraments, and other holy
rites.

16:12. And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears,
and a beautiful crown upon thy head.

16:13. And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed
with fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours: thou didst eat
fine flour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and
wast advanced to be a queen.

16:14. And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for
thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord God.

16:15. But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of
thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be
his.

16:16. And taking of thy garments thou hast made thee high places sewed
together on each side: and hast played the harlot upon them, as hath
not been done before, nor shall be hereafter.

16:17. And thou tookest thy beautiful vessels, of my gold, and my
silver, which I gave thee, and thou madest thee images of men, and hast
committed fornication with them.

16:18. And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst
them: and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.

16:19. And my bread which I gave thee, the fine flour, and oil, and
honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set before them for a sweet
odour; and it was done, saith the Lord God.

16:20. And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast
borne to me: and hast sacrificed the same to them to be devoured. Is
thy fornication small?

16:21. Thou hast sacrificed and given my children to them, consecrating
them by fire.

Thou hast sacrificed, etc. . .As there is nothing more base and
abominable than the crimes mentioned throughout this chapter; so the
infidelities of the Israelites in forsaking God, and sacrificing even
their children to idols, are strongly figured by these allegories.

16:22. And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not
remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of
confusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.

16:23. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe to thee,
saith the Lord God)

16:24. That thou didst also build thee a common stew, and madest thee a
brothel house in every street.

16:25. At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy
prostitution: and hast made thy beauty to be abominable: and hast
prostituted thyself to every one that passed by, and hast multiplied
thy fornications.

16:26. And thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy
neighbours, men of large bodies, and hast multiplied thy fornications
to provoke me.

16:27. Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will take away
thy justification: and I will deliver thee up to the will of the
daughters of the Philistines that hate thee, that are ashamed of thy
wicked way.

16:28. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Assyrians, because
thou wast not yet satisfied: and after thou hadst played the harlot
with them, even so thou wast not contented.

16:29. Thou hast also multiplied thy fornications in the land of
Chanaan with the Chaldeans: and neither so wast thou satisfied.

16:30. Wherein shall I cleanse thy heart, saith Lord God: seeing thou
dost all these the works of a shameless prostitute?

16:31. Because thou hast built thy brothel house at the head of every
way, and thou hast made thy high place in every street: and wast not as
a harlot that by disdain enhanceth her price,

16:32. But is an adulteress, that bringeth in strangers over her
husband.

16:33. Gifts are given to all harlots: but thou hast given hire to all
thy lovers, and thou hast given them gifts to come to thee from every
side, to commit fornication with thee.

16:34. And it hath happened in thee contrary to the custom of women in
thy fornications, and after thee there shall be no such fornication,
for in that thou gavest rewards, and didst not take rewards, the
contrary hath been done in thee.

16:35. Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.

16:36. Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy money hath been poured out,
and thy shame discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and
with the idols of thy abominations, by the blood of thy children whom
thou gavest them:

16:37. Behold, I will gather together all thy lovers with whom thou
hast taken pleasure, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou
hast hated: and I will gather them together against thee on every side,
and will discover thy shame in their sight, and they shall see all thy
nakedness.

16:38. And I will judge thee as adulteresses, and they that shed blood
are judged: and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

16:39. And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall destroy
thy brothel house, and throw down thy stews: and they shall strip thee
of thy garments, and shall take away the vessels of thy beauty: and
leave thee naked, and full of disgrace.

16:40. And they shall bring upon thee a multitude, and they shall stone
thee with stones, and shall slay thee with their swords.

16:41. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute
judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and thou shalt cease
from fornication, and shalt give no hire any more.

16:42. And my indignation shall rest in thee: and my jealousy shall
depart from thee, and I will cease and be angry no more.

16:43. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast
provoked me in all these things: wherefore I also have turned all thy
ways upon thy head, saith the Lord God, and I have not done according
to thy wicked deeds in all thy abominations.

16:44. Behold every one that useth a common proverb, shall use this
against thee, saying: As the mother was, so also is her daughter.

16:45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that cast off her husband, and
her children: and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who cast off
their husbands, and their children: your mother was a Cethite, and your
father an Amorrhite.

16:46. And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that
dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister that dwelleth at thy
right hand is Sodom, and her daughters.

16:47. But neither hast thou walked in their ways, nor hast thou done a
little less than they according to their wickednesses: thou hast done
almost more wicked things than they in all thy ways.

16:48. As I live, saith the Lord God, thy sister Sodom herself, and her
daughters, have not done as thou hast done, and thy daughters.

16:49. Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fulness
of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her daughters:
and they did not put forth their hand to the needy, and the poor.

This was the iniquity of Sodom, etc. . .That is, these were the steps by
which the Sodomites came to fall into those abominations for which they
were destroyed. For pride, gluttony, and idleness are the highroad to
all kinds of lust; especially when they are accompanied with a neglect
of the works of mercy.

16:50. And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me:
and I took them away as thou hast seen.

16:51. And Samaria committed not half thy sins: but thou hast surpassed
them with thy crimes, and hast justified thy sisters by all thy
abominations which thou hast done.

16:52. Therefore do thou also bear thy confusion, thou that hast
surpassed thy sisters with thy sins, doing more wickedly than they: for
they are justified above thee, therefore be thou also confounded, and
bear thy shame, thou that hast justified thy sisters.

16:53. And I will bring back and restore them by bringing back Sodom,
with her daughters, and by bringing back Samaria, and her daughters:
and I will bring those that return of thee in the midst of them.

I will bring back, etc. . .This relates to the conversion of the
Gentiles out of all nations, and of many of the Jews, to the church of
Christ.

16:54. That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all
that thou hast done, comforting them.

16:55. And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their
ancient state: and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their
ancient state: and thou and thy daughters shall return to your ancient
state.

Ancient state. . .That is, to their former state of liberty, and their
ancient possessions. In the spiritual sense, to the true liberty, and
the happy inheritance of the children of God, through faith in Christ.

16:56. And Sodom thy sister was not heard of in thy mouth, in the day
of thy pride,

16:57. Before thy malice was laid open: as it is at this time, making
thee a reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all the daughters of
Palestine round about thee, that encompass thee on all sides.

16:58. Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord
God.

16:59. For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast
despised the oath, in breaking the covenant:

16:60. And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy
youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.

16:61. And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou
shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give
them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

16:62. And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know
that I am the Lord,

16:63. That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more
open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified
toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.



Ezechiel Chapter 17


The parable of the two eagles and the vine. A promise of the cedar of
Christ and his church.

17:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

17:2. Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house
of Israel,

17:3. And say: Thus saith the Lord God; A large eagle with great wings,
long-limbed, full of feathers, and of variety, came to Libanus, and
took away the marrow of the cedar.

A large eagle. . .Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon.--Ibid. Came to
Libanus. . .That is, to Jerusalem.--Ibid. Took away the marrow of the
cedar. . .King Jechonias.

17:4. He cropped off the top of the twigs thereof: and carried it away
into the land of Chanaan, and he set it in a city of merchants.

Chanaan. . .This name, which signifies traffic, is not taken here for
Palestine, but for Chaldea: and the city of merchants here mentioned is
Babylon.

17:5. And he took of the seed of the land, and put it in the ground for
seed, that it might take a firm root over many waters: he planted it on
the surface of the earth.



 


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