Ezekiel 7:15

Translation
King James Version
The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
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KJV (with Strong's)
The sword H2719 is without H2351, and the pestilence H1698 and the famine H7458 within H1004: he that is in the field H7704 shall die H4191 with the sword H2719; and he that is in the city H5892, famine H7458 and pestilence H1698 shall devour H398 him.
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Complete Jewish Bible
"'Outside is the sword, inside plague and famine. Those in the country will die by the sword. And as for those in the city, plague and famine will eat them up.
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Berean Standard Bible
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
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American Standard Version
The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
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World English Bible Messianic
The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within: he who is in the field shall die with the sword: and he who is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
The sword is without, and the pestilence, and the famine within: he that is in the field, shall dye with the sword, and he that is in the citie, famine and pestilence shall deuoure him.
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Young's Literal Translation
The sword is without, And the pestilence and the famine within, He who is in a field by sword dieth, And he who is in a city, Famine and pestilence devour him.
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See also
Jeremiah 14:18Ezekiel 5:12Lamentations 1:20Deuteronomy 32:23Deuteronomy 32:25Jeremiah 15:2Jeremiah 15:3
In the KJVVerse 20,593 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Ezekiel 7:15 delivers a chilling and comprehensive prophecy of inescapable divine judgment upon Judah, depicting a land utterly consumed by the instruments of God's wrath. Whether one seeks refuge in the open countryside or within the besieged city walls, death is assured through the sword of invading armies or the ravages of pestilence and famine, underscoring the absolute totality of God's righteous indignation against a persistently rebellious people.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Ezekiel 7 marks a dramatic intensification in the prophet's message, shifting from general warnings of impending doom to an emphatic declaration that "the end" has come for the land of Israel. This chapter is part of a series of pronouncements of judgment (Ezekiel 4-7) that precede the ultimate fall of Jerusalem, intensifying the sense of urgency and inevitability. The preceding verses in Ezekiel 7 speak of God's fury being poured out and His eye having no pity, setting the grim stage for the specific manifestations of judgment detailed in verse 15. This verse serves as a stark summary of the fate awaiting all inhabitants, regardless of their location, powerfully reinforcing the absolute and inescapable nature of the coming destruction.

  • Historical & Cultural Context: The prophet Ezekiel ministered during the Babylonian exile, having been taken captive in 597 BC. His prophecies, including this one, were delivered to the exiles in Babylon while Jerusalem still stood, albeit under severe threat from the Neo-Babylonian Empire led by Nebuchadnezzar. The "sword" in this context refers directly to the formidable Babylonian army, which God used as His instrument of judgment against Judah for their idolatry, covenant breaking, and persistent unfaithfulness. "Pestilence and famine" were tragically common and devastating consequences of ancient siege warfare. As cities were encircled, external supplies were cut off, leading to widespread starvation, while unsanitary conditions within the crowded walls inevitably bred rampant disease. This prophecy vividly portrays the grim reality that would culminate in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, fulfilling the covenant curses for disobedience.

  • Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Ezekiel and the broader prophetic tradition. First, it underscores the theme of Comprehensive Judgment, illustrating that God's wrath leaves no stone unturned and no individual untouched when His patience is exhausted. The stark distinction between "without" (field) and "within" (city) highlights the inescapable nature of the impending doom, signifying that no place offers refuge. Second, it emphasizes Divine Sovereignty in Calamity, demonstrating that these are not random misfortunes but divinely orchestrated judgments. God is actively using the "sword" (the Babylonian army) and the internal suffering of "famine and pestilence" to execute His righteous decrees against a people who had repeatedly turned away from Him. This aligns with the warnings found throughout the Mosaic Covenant regarding the dire consequences of disobedience. Third, the horrific consequences described serve as a powerful testament to the Severity of Sin and its inevitable repercussions. The judgment is proportional to the depth of Israel's idolatry, moral corruption, and rejection of God's laws, revealing God's unwavering holiness and justice.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Sword (Hebrew, chereb', H2719): Meaning a cutting instrument, specifically a sword, emphasizing its destructive effect. In Ezekiel 7:15, "chereb" represents the external, violent force of the invading Babylonian army, God's chosen instrument for executing judgment. It signifies death by combat and military conquest, a direct and brutal consequence for those attempting to flee or resist outside the city walls.
  • Pestilence (Hebrew, deber', H1698): Meaning a plague or murrain. This term refers to widespread disease and epidemic, a common and devastating byproduct of siege warfare, often exacerbated by unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. Here, "deber" signifies an internal, insidious form of judgment that targets those within the confines of the besieged city.
  • Famine (Hebrew, raʻâb', H7458): Meaning hunger or dearth. "Raʻâb" denotes severe scarcity of food, leading to starvation. Like pestilence, famine was an expected and horrific consequence of a prolonged siege, as food supplies would inevitably dwindle. In this verse, "raʻâb" represents another internal, agonizing form of judgment that would "devour" the inhabitants trapped inside Jerusalem.

Verse Breakdown

  • "The sword [is] without": This clause immediately establishes the primary external threat facing Judah. "Without" (Hebrew: chûwts, H2351) refers to the open country, outside the protective city walls. The "sword" (Hebrew: chereb, H2719) represents the Babylonian army, poised to strike down anyone attempting to escape or found in the fields. It signifies the inescapable military assault.
  • "and the pestilence and the famine within": This contrasts the external military threat with internal devastation. "Within" (Hebrew: bayith, H1004, here used in the sense of "inside the house" or "inside the city") indicates the suffering that will consume those trapped inside Jerusalem. "Pestilence" (Hebrew: deber, H1698) and "famine" (Hebrew: raʻâb, H7458) are the agonizing consequences of a prolonged siege: disease spreading rapidly and widespread starvation.
  • "he that [is] in the field shall die with the sword": This specifies the grim fate of those outside the city. Anyone attempting to flee to the countryside or found working their land will be cut down by the invading army, emphasizing that there is no refuge to be found in escape or rural isolation.
  • "and he that [is] in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him": This describes the equally grim end for those who remain within the city walls. They will not escape the judgment but will succumb to the slow, agonizing deaths brought by starvation and disease, with "devour" (Hebrew: ʼâkal, H398) vividly portraying the consuming, destructive power of these calamities.

Literary Devices

Ezekiel 7:15 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of absolute and inescapable judgment. Antithesis and Parallelism are prominent, seen in the stark contrast between "without" and "within," and the corresponding fates of those "in the field" versus "in the city." This structural balance emphasizes the comprehensiveness of the judgment, leaving no place of safety. Merism is also at play, where "field" and "city" together represent the totality of the land and its inhabitants, signifying that judgment will reach everyone, everywhere. The phrase "famine and pestilence shall devour him" uses striking Personification, giving these abstract forces a predatory, active quality, as if they are ravenous beasts consuming their victims. This vivid Imagery of inescapable death by sword, starvation, and disease creates a profound sense of dread and inevitability, making the prophecy's impact visceral and memorable.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Ezekiel 7:15 stands as a stark theological declaration of God's unwavering holiness and His commitment to covenant justice. It underscores the profound principle that persistent sin, particularly idolatry and rebellion against God's revealed will, inevitably leads to severe and comprehensive consequences. This verse is not merely a historical prediction but a timeless testament to God's active involvement in human history, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty over nations and natural forces alike. The triad of sword, famine, and pestilence is a recurring motif in prophetic literature, signifying God's comprehensive instruments of judgment against a rebellious people, serving as a divine response to their unfaithfulness and a means of purification or ultimate reckoning.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Ezekiel 7:15, though describing a historical judgment on ancient Israel, carries profound and timeless spiritual truths for contemporary believers. It serves as a sobering reminder that God's warnings are not idle threats but expressions of His righteous character and His unwavering commitment to justice. Just as there was no physical refuge from the sword, famine, and pestilence for the unrepentant Israelites, so too is there ultimately no spiritual hiding place from the consequences of sin for those who refuse to turn to God. This verse challenges any complacency we might harbor regarding our own spiritual state or the gravity of unaddressed sin in our lives. It compels us to consider the seriousness of God's holiness and the absolute necessity of genuine repentance, urging us to examine where we might be attempting to find "safety" or "escape" outside of God's sovereign will and abundant grace. It calls us to a posture of humility and immediate obedience.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does the severity of God's judgment described in Ezekiel 7:15 challenge or affirm my understanding of His justice and holiness?
  • In what areas of my life might I be ignoring God's warnings or attempting to find "refuge" outside of His will or His Word?
  • What practical steps can I take to cultivate a deeper sense of urgency regarding repentance and obedience, recognizing the inescapable nature of God's truth and the ultimate refuge found in Christ?

FAQ

Why does God use such harsh judgments like famine and pestilence?

Answer: God uses such harsh judgments not out of arbitrary cruelty, but as a direct and just consequence of persistent and unrepentant sin, particularly when His people have repeatedly rejected His covenant and warnings. These calamities serve multiple purposes: to demonstrate the gravity of sin, to fulfill the covenant curses outlined in passages like Deuteronomy 28, and to bring about a purification or a final reckoning. They underscore God's absolute holiness, His justice, and His sovereignty over all creation, including the forces of nature and human empires. Ultimately, they aim to lead people to acknowledge their sin and turn back to Him, or to highlight the just outcome for those who refuse His grace.

Is this prophecy only about ancient Israel, or does it have relevance for today?

Answer: While the immediate historical context of Ezekiel 7:15 is specific to ancient Judah and the Babylonian invasion, the underlying theological principles are timeless and universally relevant. The prophecy serves as a powerful reminder of God's unchanging character: His holiness, His justice, and His unwavering opposition to sin. It illustrates that disobedience has real and often severe consequences, and that there is no escape from God's ultimate judgment for those who remain unrepentant. For believers today, it underscores the importance of heeding God's warnings, living in obedience, and recognizing that while the specific manifestations of judgment may differ, the principle of divine accountability remains. Crucially, it also points us to the ultimate and only true refuge found in Jesus Christ, who bore the judgment we deserved.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Ezekiel 7:15, with its grim depiction of inescapable judgment, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment not in the direct application of physical calamities to believers, but in the profound theological truth of sin and salvation. The "sword" of divine judgment, which was justly due to humanity for its rebellion and idolatry, did not ultimately fall upon us, but upon Jesus Christ on the cross. He became the perfect sacrifice, bearing the full weight of God's wrath, so that those who believe in Him might be spared the spiritual "pestilence and famine" of eternal separation from God (Isaiah 53:5). Just as the prophet spoke of no earthly refuge from the impending doom, Christ offers Himself as the sole and complete refuge from the spiritual death that is the wage of sin (Romans 6:23). He is the true "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), providing spiritual sustenance as the "bread of life" (John 6:35) and "living water" (John 4:14), thereby addressing the ultimate spiritual famine and pestilence of the soul. In Christ, the terrifying pronouncements of judgment are transformed into a glorious promise of salvation and eternal life for all who find their refuge in Him (Romans 8:1).

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Commentary on Ezekiel 7 verses 1–15

We have here fair warning given of the destruction of the land of Israel, which was now hastening on apace. God, by the prophet, not only sends notice of it, but will have it inculcated in the same expressions, to show that the thing is certain, that it is near, that the prophet is himself affected with it and desires they should be so too, but finds them deaf, and stupid, and unaffected. When the town is on fire men do no seek for fine words and quaint expressions in which to give an account of it, but cry about the streets, with a loud and lamentable voice, "Fire! fire!" So the prophet here proclaims, An end! an end! it has come, it has come; behold, it has come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.

I. An end has come, the end has come (Eze 7:2), and again (Eze 7:3, Eze 7:6), Now has the end come upon thee - the end which all their wickedness had a tendency to, and which God had often told them it would come to at last, when by his prophets he had asked them, What will you do in the end hereof? - the end which all the foregoing judgments had been working towards, as means to bring it about (their ruin shall now be completed) - or the end, that is, the period of their state, the final destruction of their nation, as the deluge was the end of all flesh, Gen 6:13. They had flattered themselves with hopes that they should shortly see an end of their troubles. "Yea," says God, "An end has come, but a miserable one, not the expected end" (which is promised to the pious remnant among them, Jer 29:11); "it is the end, that end which you have been so often warned of, that last end which Moses wished you to consider (Deu 32:29), and which, because Jerusalem remembered not, therefore she came down wonderfully," Lam 1:9. This end was long in coming, but now it has come. Though the ruin of sinners comes slowly, it comes surely. "It has come; it watches for thee, ready to receive thee." This perhaps looks further, to the last destruction of that nation by the Romans, which that by the Chaldeans was an earnest of; and still further to the final destruction of the world of the ungodly. The end of all things is at hand; and Jerusalem's last end was a type of the end of the world, Mat 24:3. Oh that we could all see that end of time and days very near, and the end of our own time and days much nearer, that we may secure a happy lot at the end of the days! Dan 12:13. This end comes upon the four corners of the land. The ruin, as it shall be final, so it shall be total; no part of the land shall escape; no, not that which lies most remote. Such will the destruction of the world be; all these things shall be dissolved. Such will the destruction of sinners be; none can avoid it. Oh that the wickedness of the wicked might come to an end, before it bring them to an end!

II. An evil, an only evil, behold, has come, Eze 7:5. Sin is an evil, an only evil, an evil that has no good in it; it is the worst of evils. But this is spoken of the evil of trouble; it is an evil, one evil, and that one shall suffice to affect and complete the ruin of the nation; there needs no more to do its business; this one shall make an utter end, affliction needs not rise up a second time, Nah 1:9. It is an evil without precedent or parallel, an evil that stands alone; you cannot produce such another instance. It is to the impenitent an evil, an only evil; it hardens their hearts and irritates their corruptions, whereas there were those to whom it was sanctified by the grace of God and made a means of much good; they were sent into Babylon for their good, Jer 24:5. The wicked have the dregs of that cup to drink which to the righteous is full of mixtures of mercy, Psa 75:8. The same affliction is to us either a half evil or an only evil according as we conduct ourselves under it and make use of it. But when an end, the end, has come upon the wicked world, then an evil, an only evil, comes upon it, and not till then. The sorest of temporal judgments have their allays, but the torments of the damned are an evil, an only evil.

III. The time has come, the set time, for the inflicting of this only evil and the making of this full end; for to all God's purposes there is a time, a proper time, and that prefixed, in which the purpose shall have its accomplishment; particularly the time of reckoning with wicked people, and rendering to them according to their desserts, is fixed, the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of god; and he sees, whether we see it or no, that his day is coming. This they are here told of again and again (Eze 7:10): Behold, the day that has lingered so long has come at last, behold, it has come. The time has come, the day draws near, the day of trouble is near, Eze 7:7, Eze 7:12. Though threatened judgments may be long deferred, yet they shall not be dropped; the time for executing them will come. Though God's patience may put them off, nothing but man's sincere repentance and reformation will put them by. The morning has come unto thee (Eze 7:7), and again (Eze 7:10), The morning has gone forth; the day of trouble dawns, the day of destruction is already begun. The morning discovers that which was hidden; they thought their secret sins would never come to light, but now they will be brought to light. They used to try and execute malefactors in the morning, and such a morning of judgment and execution is now coming upon them, a day of trouble to sinners, the year of their visitation. See how stupid these people were, that, though the day of their destruction was already begun, yet they were not aware of it, but must be thus told of it again and again. The day of trouble, real trouble, is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains, that is, not a mere echo or report of troubles, as they were willing to think it was, nothing but a groundless surmise; as if the men that came against them were but the shadow of the mountains (as Zebul suggested to Gaal, Jdg 9:36) and the intelligence they received were but an empty sound, reverberated from the mountains. No; the trouble is not a fancy, and so you will soon find.

IV. All this comes from God's wrath, not allayed, as sometimes it has been, with mixtures of mercy. This is the fountain from which all these calamities flow; and this is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery, which make it bitter indeed (Eze 7:3): I will send my anger upon thee. Observe, God is Lord of his anger; it does not break out but when he pleases, nor fasten upon any but as he directs it and gives it commission. The expression rises higher (Eze 7:8): Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee in full vials, and accomplish my anger, all the purposes and all the products of it, upon thee. This wrath does not single out here and there one to be made examples, but it is upon all the multitude thereof (Eze 7:12, Eze 7:14); the whole body of the nation has become a vessel of wrath, fitted for destruction. God does sometimes in wrath remember mercy, but now he says, My eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity, Eze 7:4 and again Eze 7:9. Those shall have judgment without mercy who made light of mercy when it was offered them.

V. All this is the just punishment of their sins, and it is what they have by their own folly brought upon themselves. This is much insisted on here, that they might be brought to justify God in all he had brought upon them. God never sends his anger but in wisdom and justice; and therefore it follows, "I will judge thee according to thy ways, Eze 7:3. I will examine what thy ways have been, compare them with the law, and then deal with thee according to the merit of them, and recompense them to thee," Eze 7:4. Note, In the heaviest judgments God inflicts upon sinners he does but recompense their own ways upon them; they are beaten with their own rod. And, when God comes to reckon with a sinful people, he will bring every provocation to account: "will recompense upon thee all thy abominations (Eze 7:3); and now thy iniquity shall be found to be hateful (Psa 36:2) and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee" (Eze 7:4); that is, the secret wickedness shall now be brought to light, and that shall appear to have been in the midst of thee which before was not suspected; and thy sin shall now become an abomination to thyself. So the abomination of iniquity will be when it comes to be an abomination of desolation, Mat 24:15. Or, Thy abominations (that is, the punishments of them) shall be in the midst of thee; they shall reach to thy heart. See Jer 4:18. Or therefore God will not spare, nor have pity, because, even when he is recompensing their ways upon them, yet in their distress they trespass yet more; their abominations are still in the midst of them, indulged and harboured in their hearts. It is repeated again (Eze 7:8, Eze 7:9), I will judge thee, I will recompense thee. Two sins are particularly specified as provoking God to bring these judgments upon them - pride and oppression. 1. God will humble them by his judgments, for they have magnified themselves. The rod of affliction has blossomed, but it was pride that budded, Eze 7:10. What buds in sin will blossom in some judgment or other. The pride of Judah and Jerusalem appeared among all orders and degrees of men, as buds upon the tree in spring. 2. Their enemies shall deal hardly with them, for they have dealt hardly with one another (Eze 7:11): Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; that is, their injuriousness to one another is protected and patronised by the power of the magistrate. The rod of government had become a rod of wickedness, to such a degree of impudence was violence risen up. I saw the place of judgment, that wickedness was there, Ecc 3:16; Isa 5:7. Whatever are the fruits of God's judgments, it is certain that our sin is the root of them.

VI. There is no escape from these judgments nor fence against them, for they shall be universal and shall bear down all before them, without remedy. 1. Death in its various shapes shall ride triumphantly, both in town and in country, both within the city and without it, Eze 7:15. Men shall be safe nowhere; for he that is in the field shall die by the sword (every field shall be to them a field of battle) and he that is in the city, though it be a holy city, yet it shall not be his protection, but famine and pestilence shall devour him. Sin had abounded both in city and country, Iliacos intra muros peccator et extra - Trojans and Greeks offend alike; and therefore among both desolations are made. 2. None of those that are marked for death shall escape: There shall none of them remain. None of those proud oppressors that did violence to their poor neighbours with the rod of wickedness, none of them shall be left, but they shall be all swept away by the desolation that is coming (Eze 7:11): None of their multitude, that is, of the rabble, whom they set on to do mischief, and to countenance them in doing it, to cry, "Crucify, crucify," when they were resolved on the destruction of any, none of them shall remain, nor any of theirs; their families shall all be destroyed, and neither root nor branch left them. This multitude, this mob, divine vengeance will in a particular manner fasten upon; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof (Eze 7:12, Eze 7:14) and the vision was touching the whole multitude thereof (Eze 7:13), the bulk of the common people. The judgments coming shall carry them away by wholesale, and they shall neither secure themselves nor their masters whose creatures and tools they were. God's judgments, when they come with commission, cannot be overpowered by multitudes. Though hand join in hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished. 3. Those that fall shall not be lamented (Eze 7:11): There shall be no wailing for them, for there shall be none left to bewail them, but such as are hastening apace after them. And the times shall be so bad that men shall rather congratulate than lament the death of their friends, as reckoning those happy that are taken away from seeing these desolations and sharing in them, Jer 16:4, Jer 16:5. 4. They shall not be able to make any resistance. The decree has gone forth, and the vision concerning them shall not return, Eze 7:13. God will not reveal it, and they cannot defeat it; and therefore it shall not return re infecta - without having accomplished any thing, but shall accomplish that for which he sends it. God's word will take place, and then, (1.) Particular persons cannot make their part good against God: No man shall strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life; it will be to no purpose for sinners to set God and his judgments at defiance as they used to do. None ever hardened his heart against God and prospered. Those that strengthen themselves in their wickedness will be found not only to weaken, but to ruin, themselves, Psa 52:7. (2.) The multitude cannot resist the torrent of these judgments, nor make head against them (Eze 7:14): They have blown the trumpet, to call their soldiers together, and to animate and encourage those whom they have got together, and thus they think to make all ready; but all in vain; none enlist themselves, or those that do have not courage to face the enemy. Note, If God be against us, none can be for us to do us any service. 5. They shall have no hope of the return of their prosperity, with which to support themselves in their adversity; they shall have given up all for gone; and therefore, "Let not the buyer rejoice that he is increasing his estate and has become a purchaser; nor let the seller mourn that he is lessening his estate and has become a bankrupt," Eze 7:12. See the vanity of the things of this world, and how worthless they are - that in a time of trouble, when we have most need of them, we may perhaps make least account of them. Those that have sold are the more easy, having the less to lose, and those that have bought have but increased their own cares and fears. Because the fashion of this world passes away, let those that buy be as though they possessed not, because they know not how soon they may be dispossessed, Co1 7:29-31. It is added (Eze 7:13), "The seller shall not return, at the year of jubilee, to that which is sold, according to the law, though he should escape the sword and pestilence, and live till that year comes; for no inheritances shall be enjoyed here till the seventy years be accomplished, and then men shall return to their possessions, shall claim and have their own again." In the belief of this, Jeremiah, about this time, bought his uncle's field, yet, according to the charge, the buyer did not rejoice, but complain, Jer 32:25. 6. God will be glorified in all: "You shall know that I am the Lord (Eze 7:4), that I am the Lord that smiteth, Eze 7:9. You look at second causes, and think it is Nebuchadnezzar that smites you, but you shall be made to know he is but the staff: it is the hand of the Lord that smiteth you, and who knows the weight of his hand?" Those who would not know it was the Lord that did them goo shall be made to know it is the Lord that smiteth them; for, one way or other, he will be owned.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–15. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 15, 16.) The sword is outside, and pestilence and famine are within. Those who are in the field will die by the sword; and those who are in the city will be consumed by pestilence and famine. And those who escape will be saved; they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, trembling. Each one in their own wickedness. The seventy, the doves of the valleys, or as Theodotus translated, the meditators, remained completely silent. And what we have interpreted, trembling: each one in their own wickedness, Theodotus translated it as: all muttering, each one in their own wickedness; so that under the metaphor of meditating doves, it signifies each person in the nation lamenting their own sin, and understanding and feeling why they are suffering these things. But we have already mentioned three classes of people who will die in the city: those who perish from plague and famine; those who are killed by the sword outside; and those who escape captivity. Of these, those who are saved will go to the mountains and, like murmuring doves, will anxiously bewail their sins. In a tropological sense, it should be understood that those in the fields and countryside, outside the borders of the Lord's city, which is called the Church, will be struck by the sword of their adversaries, but those who live negligently in the city and have not prepared food for themselves, of which it is written in Proverbs: 'He who works his land will have his fill of food,' (Prov. XII, 11,) will die from famine and plague. But few, who have avoided the sword of heretics or the hunger of their own sloth, and death, will be saved except in the mountains, and unless they have assumed the wings of a dove, and flown away, and found rest. For as long as doves are in the valleys, they tremble and fear everything: of whom we are commanded to imitate their innocence, and about whom it is written in the psalm: 'If you sleep among the midst of the flock, the wings of the dove that is silvered, and its back parts in the whiteness of gold' (Ps. 67:14): in whose form the Holy Spirit descended, and remained upon the Lord and Savior. Beautifully we will call the dove meditating according to Theodotion (Matthew 3), he who meditates day and night in the law of the Lord, and concerning whom it is written: The mouth of the just will meditate wisdom (Psalm 36:30).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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