Ezechiel 28:14
Thou a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Tu cherub extentus, et protegens, et posui te in monte sancto Dei : in medio lapidum ignitorum ambulasti,
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἡμέρας ἐκτίσθης σὺ μετὰ τοῦ χερούβ, ἔθηκά σε ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ θεοῦ, ἐγενήθης ἐν μέσῳ λίθων πυρίνων,
- Hebrew (WLC)
- אַ֨תְּ כְּר֔וּב מִמְשַׁ֖ח הַסּוֹכֵ֑ךְ וּנְתַתִּ֗יךָ בְּהַ֨ר קֹ֤דֶשׁ אֱלֹהִים֙ הָיִ֔יתָ בְּת֥וֹךְ אַבְנֵי אֵ֖שׁ הִתְהַלָּֽכְתָּ
Haydock's commentary
Stretched out. That is, thy wings extended. This alludes to the figure of the cherubims in the sanctuary, which with stretched out wings covered the ark, (Challoner) on the holy mountain. (St. Jerome, &c.)
Fire. That is, bright and precious stones, which sparkle like fire. (Challoner)
With these the king's robes glittered, or he walked upon them, Esther i. 6. (Calmet)
Calcacabatur onyx. (Lucan x.)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
Origen Origen De Principiis, Chapter V
4. But that we may not appear to build our assertions on subjects of such importance and difficulty on the ground of inference alone, or to require the assent of our hearers to what is only conjectural, let us see whether we can obtain any declarations from holy Scripture, by the authority of which these positions may be more credibly maintained. And, firstly, we shall adduce what holy Scripture contains regarding wicked powers; we shall next continue our investigation with regard to the others, as the Lord shall be pleased to enlighten us, that in matters of such difficulty we may ascertain what is nearest to the truth, or what ought to be our opinions agreeably to the standard of religion. …
St John Cassian The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X, Chapter VIII. Of the fall of the devil and the angels
And so we are clearly shown that out of that number of them some of the leaders fell, by the lamentations of Ezekiel and Isaiah, in which we know that the prince of Tyre or that Lucifer who rose in the morning is lamented with a doleful plaint: and of him the Lord speaks as follows to Ezekiel: “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the prince of Tyre, and say to him: Thus saith the Lord God: Thou wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, the topaz and the jasper, the chrysolyte and the onyx and the beryl, the sapphire and the carbuncle and the emerald: gold the work of thy beauty, and thy pipes were prepared in the day that thou wast created. …
Aphrahat Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations, Of Wars
7. Be quiet, O thou that dost exalt thyself; vaunt not thyself! For if thy wealth has lifted up thy heart, it is not more abundant than that of Hezekiah, who went in and boasted of it before the Babylonians, (yet) it was all of it carried away and went to Babylon. And if thou gloriest in thy children, they shall be led away from thee to the Beast, as the children of King Hezekiah were led away, and became eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon. …
Aphrahat Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations, Of Wars
9. And again (God) said to him: Thou wast with the Cherub who was anointed and overshadowing . For the king, who was anointed with the holy oil, was called a Cherub. And he was overshadowing all his people, as Jeremiah said: The anointed of the Lord is the breath of our nostrils, he of whom we said that in his shadow shall we live amongst the Gentiles . For they were sitting in the shadow of the king, while he was standing at their head. And when the crown of their head fell, they were without shade. And if any one should say that this word is spoken concerning Christ, let him receive that which I write for him without disputation, and thus he will be persuaded that it was said with reference to the king. For Jeremiah said in behalf of the people: Woe unto us, for the crown of our head has fallen ! But Christ has not fallen, because He rose again the third day. …