And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off in thee the just, and the wicked.
וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ לְיַ֣עַר הַנֶּ֔גֶב שְׁמַ֖ע דְּבַר־יְהוָ֑ה כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֡ה הִנְנִ֣י מַֽצִּית־בְּךָ֣ ׀ אֵ֡שׁ וְאָכְלָ֣ה בְךָ֣ כָל־עֵֽץ־לַח֩ וְכָל־עֵ֨ץ יָבֵ֤שׁ לֹֽא־תִכְבֶּה֙ לַהֶ֣בֶת שַׁלְהֶ֔בֶת וְנִצְרְבוּ־בָ֥הּ כָּל־פָּנִ֖ים מִנֶּ֥גֶב צָפֽוֹנָה׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Son of man, direct your gaze toward Jerusalem and proclaim to the land of Israel, Look, I am against you, and I will unsheathe my sword, representing my relentless anger, which cannot be softened by mercy. I will hold you accountable, both the just and the unjust. The just refers either to the law or to those Jews who viewed themselves as righteous, while the unjust pertains to the remainder of the people.
It is clear that he refers to punishment as the sword and identifies the sheath, or the covering of the sword, as patience, during which time the punishment is ultimately imposed on those deserving of it. Demonstrating the righteousness of this discipline, he continues, and I will remove the wicked and the lawless from among you. He then indicates that this would also occur concurrently with the other nations inhabiting the surrounding areas.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS