For as we shall afterwards see, no one is deceived by the devil unless he offers himself of his own accord, and entangles himself in his snares on purpose. Of wool and wax the forms were wrought; The woollen was erect and tall, And scourg'd the waxen image small. and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God , "Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt down lives! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save … 17 Ezekiel, son of man, now condemn the women of Israel who preach messages that come from their own imagination. nephesh. Livy says, that the augur stood at the threshold with his head covered, and uttered these words, “O Jupiter, hear;” (23) so that it is probable that veils covered the heads of those who wished to consult God, that they might be as it were separated from the world, and no longer look upon human things, but have only spiritual eyesight. Saphah occurs 1 Samuel 2:36 (put = attach); Ezekiel 26:19 (abiding = cleaving). But then, the trump is not yet to be sounded; I am not expecting to die at present; I hope to live a good while longer; I should like to enjoy the pleasures of life as long as possible, and at some more convenient season I will repent; I will seek Jesus as my Saviour, and I hope through Him to die happily, and ultimately reach heaven.” But what if your sleep become heavier and deeper every day, so that the voice of warning or mercy no longer can reach your heart, and you perish in your sins? Is the King of Tyre prophecy in Ezekiel 28 referring to Satan? head of every stature—"men of every age," old and young, great and small, if only these had pay to offer them. The image of the text is easily understood. Ebr. Symmachus, "veils;" (Septuagint and Kimchi) or "nets" designed "to take" the unwary; as mispachot maybe properly rendered, ver. Then they had veils or coverings which they put over their heads. It could hardly refer merely to the luxurious voluptuousness of these women, as so many of the early commentators believed. They travel to the farthest reaches of the globe on their “soul-saving” missions. [Psalms 19:10]. — These kerchiefs or veils seem to have been thrown over the heads of those who came to consult the soothsayers concerning the future, in order to blindfold them and draw them into the magic circle. At our very doors it is so; in every city of the empire it is so; in distant lands it is so. “To keep alive is to predict life and good fortune and to slay is to predict death.” — Toy. p. 395,565. ; will ye hunt the souls of my people; that cleave to me, and regard my prophets; will ye endeavour to ensnare those, and seek to destroy their peace and comfort, and even their souls? (i) These superstitious women for money would prophecy and tell every man his fortune giving them pillows to lean on, and kerchiefs to cover their heads, to the intent they might the more allure them and bewitch them. FRANCIS. To hunt souls.] Perhaps they made their dupes rest on these cushions in a fancied state of ecstasy, after they made them at first stand (whence the expression, "every stature," is used for, 'men of every age'). To hunt souls - eagerly trying to allure them to the love of yourselves (Proverbs 6:26; 2 Peter 2:14, "beguiling unstable souls"), so as unwarily to become your prey. sew pillows to all armholes = sew together coverings upon all the joints of My hands: i.e. - Like the prophets in Ezekiel 13:2, the prophetesses are here described as prophesying out of their own heart (Ezekiel 13:17); and in Ezekiel 13:18 and Ezekiel 13:19 their offences are more particularly described. Or can you preserve them alive whom you deceive by your promises? There is another direction in which our love of ease and comfort continually shows itself--the manner in which we persistently hide from ourselves the misery of the world around us. Ezekiel 13:19 shows how great their sin had been. Ezekiel 13:20 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Ezekiel 13:20, NIV: "'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds." Let us, then, change the figure, and adapt it to our customs. Ezekiel 28:13-18 “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Will you hunt down the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves? Ever wonder why so many have different interpretations of scripture? It is not impossible that every stature may refer to images of different sizes: Lanea et effigies erat, altera cerea: major Lanea, quae poenis compesceret inferiorem. ), is neither supported by the usage of the language, nor in harmony with על ראשׁ. 2. as phylacteries (Origen's Hexapla) 3. as … And say, thus saith the Lord God, woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes,.... Or, "put pillows to all elbows"F12למתפרות "applicantibus, sive accommodantibus", Gataker; "conjungentibus, vel adunantibus", Gussetius, Ebr. Such charms these female prophets fabricated; and, as appears, attributed to them the power of preserving the life of those who wore them, and of bringing death on their enemies. I trow not. We are adepts at hiding unwelcome facts, and toning down unpleasant truths. Here God reproves one crime, but he will shortly add another, namely, the profanation of his sacred name. implying a doubt whether they really thought that they could carry on such conduct as theirs with perfect impunity (Hvernick). (Calmet) --- We might read the Vulgate, "Did they give?" Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? But now he is treating of the people. A fourth pillow is the hope of escaping detection. 28:7).” (Taylor) ii. Terna tibi haec primum triplici diversa colore Licia circumdo, terque haec altaria circum Effigiem duco. Those you have mentioned may be included in the list; but so, in all probability, are you. HOR. 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;. That sew pillows; a figurative speech, expressing their flatteries and security, which the women promised to every one that came to them to know the fate of themselves and others; in token of which safety and ease, either these women did put them for these inquirers to sleep on; or else to lean on as they lay on their side at meat; or else these gypsies, fortune-tellers, did sleep or pretend to sleep on those pillows, and thereby signify the peace, safety, and ease which this people should have. This then is the reason why men and women who intend to deceive, always heap together a number of ceremonies. If Christ had anything to do with their salvation, they do not see clearly what it is; they may believe He was a good man, more than a man, perhaps, whose words they gladly accept, so far as they are agreeable and comforting, and whose example they cannot but admire, though they make no serious effort to imitate it. It contains a simple statement of what really took place in their catching of souls, namely, "they catch the souls of the people of God, and preserve their own souls;" i.e., they rob the people of God of their lives, and take care of their own (Kliefoth). - Like the prophets in Ezekiel 13:2, the prophetesses are here described as prophesying out of their own heart (Ezekiel 13:17); and in Ezekiel 13:18 and Ezekiel 13:19 their offences are more particularly described. Make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature — These kerchiefs or veils seem to have been thrown over the heads of those who came to consult the soothsayers concerning the future, in order to blindfold them and draw them into the magic circle. No; you would one and all start up, and indignantly seek to be set down, if possible; feeling that for such an end, the ease of the conveyance and the smoothness of the path were no compensation whatever. 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