Ezekiel 14:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If there are righteous individuals among them, such as Noah, Daniel, and Job, their children will not be spared while I execute four judgments upon them. Neither Noah, who rescued his family, nor Job, who interceded for his friends, nor Daniel, who delivered the wise men and his associates in Babylon, despite being acknowledged at the appointed time, would be able to rescue their sons or daughters.

Abba Pimen remarked that hardship, grief, constraint, and fasting serve as the tools for a faithful servant of Christ. The Holy Scripture states: If these three men... Noah, Daniel, and Job... I live, says the Lord Adonai the Lord... Yet through their righteousness, they shall be rescued... (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). Noah symbolizes a life of celibacy, Job embodies patience, and Daniel exemplifies wisdom. When these three virtues are present in an individual, the Lord resides within them.