And thou son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and thou shalt say: O sword, O sword, come out of the scabbard to kill, be furbished to destroy, and to glitter,
וְהָיָ֨ה לָהֶ֤ם כקסום־כִּקְסָם־שָׁוְא֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם שְׁבֻעֵ֥י שְׁבֻע֖וֹת לָהֶ֑ם וְהֽוּא־מַזְכִּ֥יר עָוֺ֖ן לְהִתָּפֵֽשׂ׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Thus speaks the Lord Adonai to the descendants of Ammon: ready yourselves for the sword destined for the end, crafted with cunning and brilliance for the illusion of empty strength, representing the false vision of your hollow might.
And you, son of man, proclaim the word of the Lord God regarding the children of Ammon and their disgrace. Declare, "O sword, unsheathe yourself to kill, prepare yourself to slay and gleam, so that even if empty visions are shown to you and deceitful prophecies are spoken, you will be turned against the necks of the wicked who are wounded, whose day is predetermined in the time of wrongdoing. Return to your sheath, to the place of your creation; I will judge you in the land from which you originated. I will unleash My wrath upon you, breathing the fire of My fury upon you. You will be delivered into the hands of those of weak understanding, who seek destruction.
You shall become fuel for fire, your blood shall stain the earth, and you shall be forgotten, for I, the Lord, have declared it." The sword of the king of Babylon halted at the junction of two roads, one leading to Jerusalem and the other to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and the lot fell to lead toward Jerusalem. Following its conquest and capture, the end of its kingdom and priesthood is foreshadowed forever. The sons of Ammon remained, and the nature of the division required that it be stated concerning the left-hand road. Thus, the prophet is instructed to declare regarding the children of Ammon and their humiliation, that they too will be taken, and he addresses the sword again: "O sword, a sword prepared for slaughter, purified for brilliance and destruction! Although idols may have provided their answers and the responses of demons are false—those that threaten the necks of the wounded and execute that which the Lord threatened long ago—yet, ultimately, after your actions against the children of Ammon, you must return to your sheath, which is Babylon, the place of your origin, where I will judge you and pour out My indignation upon you, allowing you to be at the mercy of the Medes and Persians." This is further expounded in the book of Isaiah in the message regarding Babylon: "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them" and later, "the illustrious Babylon among the kingdoms, renowned for the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah; it will remain uninhabited forever" (Isaiah 13:17-18). Since He speaks through the metaphor of the sword belonging to the king or, more accurately, the kingdom of Babylon, He gradually withdraws the metaphor. The fire of My fury, He says, will be blown upon you, to consume you with flames, delivering you to those of feeble minds and lacking skill in the craft of forging, so that you will no longer be sharpened, purified, or prepared for slaughter but will become fuel for fire. Your blood, which you have spilled before everyone, shall be turned back upon you, consigning you to eternal obscurity and destruction forever; for I, the Lord, declare it, and for Me to say is equivalent to action.
It was not the blade that carried out the sorcery, but rather those who wielded it. Yet God deemed the sorcery and the visions as false, for they were outside the realm of truth. Although the truth had warned against the adversary, the ancient Prophets had already foretold God's judgment; that warning was transmuted and misrepresented as a prediction by the devil. Ensnared by deceitful and destructive spirits, Nebuchadnezzar relied on magicians who claimed insights from the Prophets. Meanwhile, false prophets among the Jews proclaimed messages contrary to the divine word, assuring peace and safety from enemies, despite the fact that their disobedience led to a withdrawal of God's protective care, resulting in their betrayal to their foes. Consequently, their false predictions fell flat. Thus, God, having commanded the sword to strike down those who lived unjustly and unlawfully, declared, saying:
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS