Ezekiel 9:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And lo, the father-in-law of the men approached, holding the instruments of retribution. The Lord, having revealed the iniquities of the people of Jerusalem to the Prophet, summoned the angels with a mighty voice and instructed them to draw near, indicating to the Prophet that the city would face destruction due to the transgressions of its people, and not by the might of their adversaries.

And I cried out with a loud voice, saying, The visits of the city are imminent. Instead of visitation, the Septuagint interprets it as vengeance. For the Lord declares, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay (Rom. 12:19), and every act of vengeance serves as a visitation to the afflicted, to those with wounds, to those awaiting the healing touch, as articulated in another passage: I will visit upon them with the rod of their iniquity and with the wounds of their unrighteousness; yet My mercy shall not be taken from them (Ps. 88:33-34). It is therefore appropriately stated, as noted earlier, that in light of the impending captivity, the visitation or vengeance approaches. Everyone holds a destructive instrument in their hands. It does not say: had, as the Septuagint renders. The focus is on the present and future, not the past. Hence, the one who punishes the wicked, who are wicked indeed, wielding a lethal instrument against the most malicious, acts as a servant of the Lord.