Ezekiel 12

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a provoking house, who have eyes to see and do not see, and ears to hear and do not hear, for it is a provoking house. (Where we have rendered: You dwell in the midst of a provoking house, the Seventy put: You dwell in the midst of their iniquities; but from what follows: For it is a provoking house, we understand that the former clause too fits this little verse.) We have often shown, too, that 'bitterness' is said in place of 'provocation', so that the sense is: 'You dwell in the midst of a house that turns God to bitterness, which, by the bitterness of its vices, makes God, who is by nature sweet and merciful, bitter and cruel'; otherwise we read of God: Taste and see that gracious (or sweet) is the Lord. The prophet, then, dwells in the midst of a people provoking God to bitterness, which has eyes and does not see, ears and does not hear, not through a defect of the senses but through the obstinacy of depravity; whence the Lord also says to the Jews: If you were blind, he says, you would not have sin, censuring and condemning in them a voluntary blindness. 'Since, therefore, they have eyes to see and do not see, ears to hear and do not hear, and they despise your words, teach them through an image and a picture, and show them by bodily figures, so that they may recognize the coming captivity not only by hearing but also with their eyes'.

You therefore, son of man, make yourself vessels of exile, and you shall migrate by day before them; and you shall migrate from your place to another place in their sight, if perhaps they may look, for it is a provoking house. (LXX: "And you, son of man, make yourself vessels of captivity, and be taken captive by day before them; and be taken captive from your place to another place in their sight, that they may see, for it is a provoking house.") No one doubts that the whole content of this passage points to the future captivity of King Zedekiah of the tribe of Judah, who was taken together with Jerusalem. But since some would have the captivity of Zedekiah, which means 'righteous Lord', go before as a type of the Savior, who, descending from heavenly things to earthly, took on a human body, and would have these be the vessels of captivity, I therefore think the prudent and cautious reader must be forewarned: that we set these things down, lest we seem to pass over anything, but do not approve them; for a wicked king cannot go before as a figure of him who is the example of all piety. That Zedekiah was taken by the Babylonians and Chaldeans both Jeremiah the prophet and the history of Kings relate, and that he was led from place to place, that is, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and the rest of what Ezekiel says in what follows. But those who refer it to the Lord Jesus Christ think that his captivity and exile from place to place signify the descent from heavenly things to earthly.

And you shall carry out your vessels like the vessels of one going into exile by day in their sight, and you shall go out in the evening before them, as one migrating goes out. Before their eyes dig through the wall for yourself, and you shall go out through it; in their sight you shall carry on your shoulders, in the darkness you shall flee: you shall veil your face, and you shall not see the land, for I have given you as a portent to the house of Israel. (LXX: "And you shall bring forth your vessels, vessels of captivity, by day in their eyes, and you shall go out in the evening in their sight, as a captive goes out. Dig for yourself in the wall, and you shall pass through it; in their sight you shall be carried on shoulders, and you shall go out hidden: you shall cover your face, and you shall not see the land, for I have given you as a portent to the house of Israel.") The prophet is commanded to do in figure what Zedekiah is going to do in truth: 'Gather,' he says, 'your baggage — for these are the vessels of one going into exile — while they watch, and after they have seen what you are going to do, you shall go out in the evening in the likeness of one going into exile'; we read that Zedekiah fled by night, the wall having been dug under, to the deserts of the Jordan, and was there seized by the Babylonians, and that this is what the wall dug through signifies; and as for his saying: You shall carry on your shoulders, there is understood: your baggage and whatever those who flee are accustomed to carry for the comfort of the road; in the darkness you shall carry out: so that you may not be seen by anyone; you shall veil your face: either by the blindness that befell him, when his eyes were put out by Nebuchadnezzar, or so that it might not be recognized that he himself was the king and the vigilance of his guards become greater; and what follows: And you shall not see the land, signifies this: that he was led blind into Babylon and did not see it; for I have given you, he says, as a portent to the house of Israel: for both the words and the deeds of the prophets are for a sign and a figure — whence in Zechariah too they are called 'men of portent', because they portend figures; and in Hosea God says: By the hands of the prophets I have been likened —. Those, however, who want Christ to be understood in the person of Ezekiel take the vessels of captivity as the human body; and the wall dug through as that by which he broke through the bars of the underworld and, rising again, was seen by believers alone; and his being carried on shoulders as when he ascended as victor to heaven with the angelic powers; and that he goes out hidden and veils his face, so that the divine majesty may not be seen in mortal flesh; and that he does not see the land, lest that land be illumined by his eyes which does not deserve his gaze: for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and he turns his face away from the wicked. 'And all these things,' they say, 'he is related to have done so that, through the likeness of a man, he might turn the hard hearts of the Israelite people to faith; and he is given as a portent to the house of Israel, according to what is written: Behold, this one is set for the resurrection and for the ruin of many, and for a sign that will be spoken against'.

So I did as he had commanded me: I brought out my vessels like the vessels of one migrating by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall for myself with my hand; in the darkness I went out, and I carried on my shoulders in their sight. (LXX: "And I did so according to all that he had commanded me: and I brought out vessels like vessels of captivity by day, and toward evening I dug through the wall for myself with my hand, and I went out hidden, I was taken up upon shoulders in their sight.") What he was commanded above to do, he testifies that he accomplished in deed, and it needs no interpretation, according to either sense, since it was expounded above. But this must be noted: that at one and the same time Jeremiah was prophesying in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Babylon, and the prophecy of the former was sent to the captives, and that of the latter to those who dwelt in Jerusalem, so that the providence of the one God in different regions might be proven, and the hearers might understand that whatever befell the people came about by no means through the power of idols but by the command of the Lord.

And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying: Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to you: What are you doing? Say to them: Thus says the Lord God. 'If the provoking house asks you: Why are you doing these things? — or, according to the Seventy, even if they do not ask, you thrust it upon them, so that they may know why you have done these things —, say to them: Thus says the Lord God.'

This burden is upon the prince who is in Jerusalem, and upon all the house of Israel which is in their midst. Say: I am your portent; as I have done, so shall it be done to them: into exile and into captivity they shall go; and the prince who is in their midst shall be carried on shoulders, he shall go out in the darkness; they shall dig through the wall to lead him out: his face shall be covered, so that he may not see the land with his eyes. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my dragnet; and I will bring him to Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans, and he shall not see it; there he shall die. And all who are around him, his guard and his troops, I will scatter to every wind; and I will draw the sword after them. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have scattered them among the nations and sown them in the lands. And I will leave of them a few men from the sword and famine and pestilence, that they may tell all their crimes among the nations to which they shall enter; and they shall know that I am the Lord. First let us expound the history: 'Say,' he says, 'O son of man, to those who either ask or do not ask what you are doing, this: that this burden and vision is upon the leader who is in Jerusalem — by the leader signifying Zedekiah —. And say: I am your portent (or, as the Seventy translated: I who make portents, so that future things may be known from present ones), as I have done, so shall it be done to them, to the leader and to all who are in the leader's retinue: they shall be led captive into the Babylonian exile, and the leader who is in their midst shall be carried on the shoulders either of beasts of burden or of those who had fled with him, and he shall go out in the darkness and in the shadows of night; and his companions shall dig under the wall to lead him out: his face shall be veiled, either by the fear of one fleeing or by the injury of blindness, so that, blind, he may not see the land of Babylon. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my dragnet — for it was with the Lord's permission that he was taken by the Babylonians, and what he suffered to be done by the enemy, he testifies that he himself did — ; and, led into Babylon, he shall not see the land of the Chaldeans, and there he shall die a captive. And all his companions and helpers and the comrades of his flight, once he has been seized, I will scatter hither and thither, nor will I allow them to get away safe, but I will draw my sword in the hands of the enemy. And when they have been scattered among the nations, let them understand that I am the Lord and that all things were done by my will. And I will leave,' he says, 'of his companions who fled with him and were able to escape, a few who escaped the sword and the famine and the pestilence, so that, when by flight or by captivity they have come to diverse regions, they may tell all their crimes, either by word or by example, on account of which they deserved such great evils; and let them understand that I myself am the Lord'. But he who tries to expound the tropology and the explanation begun concerning the Savior interprets the leader who is in the midst of Jerusalem as him who went before as a portent and a sign, in that both he himself and his companions are captives of this world, and, ascending as victor from the underworld, he was carried on the shoulders of angels, went out in the darkness, unknown to unbelievers, and, the middle wall having been destroyed, made both one; his face is covered, so that he may not look upon the land of the Jews — nor is it a wonder if the Lord has hidden his face, since to this day a veil is placed before the face of Moses for the people that does not believe —. And the Lord spread his net over him — that which the bride says of him in the Song of Songs: Behold, he is behind our wall, looking out through the windows, appearing through the nets; of whom Jeremiah too says: The Spirit of our face, Christ the Lord, was taken in our sins; and: Though he had not done sin, he was made sin for us — ; and he will be brought, he says, into Babylon, the confusion of this world, into the land of the Chaldeans, which means 'as it were demons' — or else, that he might draw back to salvation those who had been enslaved to demons and lead captive the former captivity —, and that very land of the Chaldeans, he says, he will not see, and there he will die, so that by his death he may give life to us all. And all his helpers and companions, the apostles and apostolic men, he scattered into the whole world; and he drew his sword after them, so that they might be crowned with various martyrdoms. And then they might understand, either they themselves or those who had believed through them, that he himself is the Lord, and that he had scattered them among the nations and sown them in the lands for this reason, that they might bear much fruit. And he left of them a few men, such as John the apostle and the others, delivered from sword and famine and pestilence and escaping the onslaught of persecutions, so that they might tell the crimes of the Jews and the iniquities of all the nations to which they had entered, so that, having done penance, they might know that he himself was the Lord. We have said these things leaving the judgment to the reader's discretion; for the rest, there is no doubt that it is dangerous to compare the captivity and death of a wicked king with the mystery of the Lord.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Eat your bread in disturbance, and drink your water in haste and grief. And say to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord God to those who dwell in Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread in anxiety, and drink their water in desolation, so that the land may be made desolate of its multitude because of the iniquity of all who dwell in it; and the cities that are now inhabited shall be desolate, and the land deserted, and you shall know that I am the Lord. (LXX: "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, you shall eat your bread with pain, and you shall drink your water with torment and distress. And you shall say to the people of the land: Thus says Adonai the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the land of Israel: They shall eat their loaves with want, and drink their water with devastation, so that the land and its fullness may be devastated; for in impiety are all who dwell in it, and their cities which are inhabited shall be in desolation, and the land shall be devastated, and you shall know that I am the Lord.") After the prophecy about the prince and his companions, which was shown under a bodily image, he comes to the people, and whatever is said to the prophet is referred through the prophet to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: that in the evil of the siege they will eat their bread in want and distress, and drink their water by no means in abundance, but with torment and tribulation. 'These things,' he says, 'O prophet, are said to you, so that you may speak to the people of your land and say: Thus says the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which is in the land of Israel: Besieged by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, you shall endure the evil of hunger and thirst, so that the whole land with its fullness may be destroyed', signifying the inhabitants by that which is inhabited. And lest they think this comes upon them without cause: 'Tell them,' he says, 'that because of their crimes and impieties all the cities of Judea are to be reduced to solitude, and the cultivation of the whole land is to perish, so that they may come to know as raging the God whom they would not know as merciful'. According to the ἀναγωγὴν [anagogy, the higher sense], we can call the inhabitants of Jerusalem those believing in Christ who dwell in the church; and if through sins they have deserved his displeasure, let them eat bread with want and drink water with grief and distress, enduring not a lack of the food of bread or of the drink of water, but a famine of the word and teaching of God. For when, either through the fault of the princes who are to be captured and handed over to the Babylonians or through our own hardness, we have lost the word of God and have not deserved to have useful waters, then we shall take our food in pain and penury, and the land will lose the multitude of believers, and the cities, which are understood as the churches throughout the whole world, will be made desolate, and the land will be deserted, so that all may know that this is the Lord's displeasure. This indeed we can also understand of the time of persecution.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, what is this proverb of yours in the land of Israel, of those saying: The days shall be put off far, and every vision shall perish? Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will make this proverb cease, nor shall it be commonly said any longer in Israel; and speak to them that the days have drawn near, and the word of every vision. For no longer shall any vision be empty, nor divination ambiguous, in the midst of the sons of Israel; for I the Lord will speak, whatever word I speak, and it shall be done; it shall not be prolonged any more: but in your days, provoking house, I will speak the word and do it, says the Lord God. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, behold the house of Israel, of those saying: The vision that this man sees is for many days, and for distant times he prophesies; therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: None of my words shall be prolonged any longer; the word that I speak shall be fulfilled, says the Lord God. What we, following Symmachus, have called 'proverb', all the other translators translated 'parable', which in Hebrew is called 'masal'. (Again, where we have published: Nor will there be ambiguous divination, the Seventy rendered: Nor one divining according to favor, for which all translated 'slippery', what we have called 'ambiguous', so that we may recognize the words of the prophets that deceive their hearers.) And this is the sense of the whole chapter: above he had prophesied against the prince who was in Jerusalem, then he had announced to the people that famine and the burning of thirst were to come; and as the multitude did not believe it, an old and well-worn proverb is taken up: The threat of the prophets is put off for a long time, and every vision will perish, for in vain is it 'seen' — or, according to Symmachus, διαπνεύσει, that is, 'it will be dissolved into wind and a thin breeze' —. 'Tell them, therefore,' he says, 'that my threat is by no means put off, nor is a false and ambiguous divination put forth among the peoples, one with an uncertain end, so that it is spoken at one time and fulfilled at another; but now, while you who speak and those who hear are alive, the word that I have spoken will be fulfilled'. He signifies the impending captivity of the city of Jerusalem, and Zedekiah, with the people of Judah, about to be taken at any moment. Not only at that time, however, but to this day the unbelieving crowd and the hard hearts of mortals do not receive the prophecy of God, but all that the prophets threaten, that the Gospel proclaims, they reckon is to be put off to another time. Let us note that here 'parable', which is used by the Seventy, is taken for 'proverb', according to what we read in the psalm: And I became a parable to them, and in this same prophet: What is this parable to you among the people of Israel, of those saying: The fathers have eaten the sour grape, and the teeth of the sons have been set on edge. We have touched briefly on the obvious things, so that we may linger over the more obscure.