2 Esdras (Ezra) 1

[Synopsis on Ezra] These two books were written by the man whose name they bear as a title. This Ezra, being a priest and a scribe, recounted the return of the children of Israel from Persia to Jerusalem. In the first book, he relates how the charge of organizing the return was in the hand of Josue the son of Josedec, and of Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, a Jewish eunuch. The return was occasioned as follows: three soldiers who guarded the king, one of whom was Zerubbabel, were engaged in a competition regarding a certain question, and a promise had been made that the winner should ask the king for whatever he wanted. When the first soldier had said that wine was stronger, and the second that the king was stronger, Zerubbabel contended that women were stronger, and that truth excelled over all things. Because Zerubbabel spoke these things, he won. When he was told to ask what he wanted, he asked for the captives to be released and for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. And it was done as he asked, and the captives were let go. For at that time sixty years of wrath had been completed. The people of the tribes of Juda and Benjamin, together with the Levites, who went up from the captivity to Jerusalem, were in all forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty in number. Their menservants and womenservants were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-four. Their singing men were two hundred and forty-five. Their camels four hundred and thirty-five. Their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. The builders were Zerubbabel, Josue the son of Josedec, and Nehemiah. As for Ezra, being skilled in the knowledge of the law, he brought forth the law and read it, and arranged everything pertaining to the temple, and he also it was who used to designate the Levites according to the law. Moreover, he also made sure that strange wives should be cast out by such as had married them during the time of the captivity. They all cast them out indeed, and they cleansed themselves, and, as is written, they observed the phase and a fast according to the law.

Whether it may be more difficult to do or not to do what you have requested, I have not yet established. For it is also not my desire to refuse your commands, and the greatness of weight imposed thus press upon the neck, so that before a falling under the bundle, there might rather be a lightening (of the load). The efforts of the envious agree with this, who consider all that I write reproof, with conscience occasionally fighting against them, publicly tearing apart what they read secretly, to such a degree that I am compelled to cry out and to say: "O Lord, free my soul from crooked lips and a false tongue" (Ps 119.2). It is the third year that you always write and write again, that I might translate the book of Ezra for you from Hebrew, as though you do not have the Greek and Latin scrolls, or whatever it is which is translated by us might not be something immediately spat upon by all. As a certain person says, "For to strive without effort, and not to seek anything by wearying except hatred, is extreme insanity" (Sallust, Jugurtha 3). Therefore, I implore you, my dearest Domnius and Rogatian, that, keeping the reading private, you will not bring the book forth into the public, nor throw food to the fastidious, and you will avoid the pride of them who know only (how) to judge others, and themselves (know how) to do nothing. And if there are any of the brothers whom we do not displease, give the text to them, admonishing that they transcribe the Hebrew names, of which there is a great abundance in this book, separately and with intermediate spaces. For it will profit nothing to correct the book, without diligence being preserved in the correction of the copiers. Neither should it disturb anyone that the book edited by us is one, nor should they be delighted by the dreams of the third and fourth books (which are) of the apocrypha, both because among the Hebrews the discourses of Ezra and Nehemiah are confined to one scroll, and those things which are not found among them, nor are of the twenty-four elders, are for throwing away. And if anyone sets the (version of the) Seventy interpreters before you, the variety of the texts of which shows them torn and perverted, nor indeed can it be asserted truth is diverse, send him to the Gospels, in which are set down many things as though from the Old Testament, things which are not found among the Seventy interpreters, like this: "He will be called a Nazarene," and "From Egypt I have called my son," and "They will look on him whom they have pierced" and many other things which we are saving for a more extensive work, and ask of him where they might be written, and when he has not been able to reveal (where), you must read from these texts which recently were edited by us, daily pierced by the tongues of the slanderous. But so that I might come to a shortcut, certainly what I will introduce is the most reasonable. I have given, in what is translated by me, anything that is not found in the Greek or is found otherwise (than there). Which interpreter do they mangle? They may ask the Hebrews and their authors, whether they accept or reject the sense of my translation. Furthermore, it is another thing if, as is said, with eyes closed they want to slander me and not imitate the study and goodwill of the Greeks, who, after the Seventy translators, with the Gospel of Christ now shining, they both attentively read the Jewish and Ebionite interpreters of the Old Law, namely Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, and have also dedicated (them) to the churches, through the labor of Origen in the Hexapla. How much more should Latins be grateful, having understood that the joy of Greece is to borrow anything from itself (?). For firstly, it is of great expense and of infinite difficulty to be able to have all of the texts; then also, those who have (them) and are ignorant of the Hebrew words will err more, not knowing which ones of the many will have said the truth. Which thing also happened recently to a certain very wise man among the Greeks, so that occasionally leaving the sense of the Scriptures, the error of some particular translator was followed. And we, who at least have a little knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, and our Latin does not lack style in any way, are both better able than others to judge, and to express those things of them which we understand in our language. Therefore, even if a serpent hisses, "and the victor Sinon throws burning torches," with Christ helping, my speech will never be silenced, for (even my) severed tongue will stutter (something). Those who will, may read; those who won’t, may throw away. They may scatter (?) the writings; they may slander the letters. Much more by your love will I be provoked toward study, rather than be deterred by their detraction and hatred.

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, etc. Ancient histories, which likewise agree with the writings of the prophet Daniel, recount that Cyrus, king of Persia, with the assistance of Darius, king of the Medes, destroyed the empire of the Babylonians, killing their last king Balthasar, and devastating and destroying the city itself. Cyrus, knowing that the kingdom had been given to him by the God of Israel, immediately after he conquered the kingdom that had oppressed and enslaved the people of Israel, granted the people the ability to return to their homeland and to rebuild the house of their God, which had been burnt down in that place. He proclaimed this decree of liberation not only verbally to those present but also sent letters to those far-off throughout his provinces, declaring publicly that the God of Israel is the true Lord and God of heaven and the author of all kingdoms. All these events were openly predicted by the holy prophets, and Jeremiah foretold the number of years they would serve in Babylon and when they would be called back to their homeland. Isaiah even revealed the name of King Cyrus, through whom the liberation from servitude and the permission to restore the temple would occur, without any prophetic enigmas. Thus, Jeremiah says: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them, etc." And later: "When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good word toward you and bring you back to this place" (Jer. 25, 29). Moreover, Isaiah says: "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord who makes all things." And shortly after: "Who says to the deep: Be dry! and I will dry up your rivers. Who says to Cyrus: He is my shepherd, and he will fulfill all my pleasure. Who speaks to Jerusalem: You shall be built, and to the temple: Your foundation shall be laid" (Isa. 44). "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name: I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me" (Isa. 45). From Isaiah's prophecy, it is believed that King Cyrus greatly loved the children of Israel, released them from captivity, and commanded the rebuilding of the Lord's temple because he had heard their prophets speak by the Spirit of God of his kingdom and the destruction of Babylon. The very manner of the conquest by which Babylon began to be overthrown was explicitly expressed by the same prophets; Isaiah said: "Who says to the deep: Be dry! and I will dry up your rivers." And Jeremiah added: "The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire." Histories narrate that, by diverting and drying up the Euphrates river that flowed through the middle of Babylon, the enemy entered the city through its dried-up channels. These few points have been mentioned about history. Yet, according to mystical meanings, King Cyrus is a type of the Lord and Savior both in name and deed, which we state not from our conjecture but from the very clear words of Isaiah, where Isaiah says in the person of the Lord: "I have likened you, and you have not known Me" (Isa. 45). God likened him to His Son, although he did not recognize God who likened him; first, in that he dignified him by calling him His anointed; secondly, in designating him Cyrus, meaning 'heir,' long before he was born; for the name fittingly applies to Him to whom the same God the Father said: "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance" (Ps. 2). The Apostle says: "He appointed Him heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. 1). And even while He appeared in the flesh, the enemies who persecuted Him said: "This is the heir. Come, let us kill Him, and seize His inheritance" (Matt. 21; Mark 12). But also because God the Father subjected nations before the face of Cyrus, turned the back of kings, broke the gates of bronze, and shattered the bars of iron, that is, of Babylon and other cities taken by him, these treasures of hidden riches and secrets of various unknown provinces likened him to our Lord and Savior, who subjoined not only all gentile nations but even the very rulers and authors of secular wisdom to His dominion through the preaching of the apostles across the world; who overthrew the gates of Hell to bring His elect, taken thence, into the liberty of the heavenly homeland; who destroyed the errors of the nations and by the mouths of humble apostles overturned doctrines fortified by human reasoning, so that, having corrected them, He might reveal the light of His faith and truth, in which are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. These treasures our Lord eternally possessed in the nature of His Divinity from the Father, but in assumed humanity, He received them in time, from the moment He began to be man. So He likened Cyrus to His only begotten Son, our God and Lord Jesus Christ, for just as he, by destroying the Chaldean empire, liberated God's people, sent them back to their homeland, and ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, manifesting this in letters to fulfill the words of Jeremiah, who predicted this would happen. Thus, the Mediator between God and men, by destroying the kingdom of the devil throughout the world, rescues His dispersed elect from tyranny and gathers them into His Church, justifying them by faith in the present and hastening them toward the vision of perpetual peace in the future, for Jerusalem is called the vision of peace. He also causes the restoration of the temple that had been set on fire, bringing back those who had lost faith through the snares of the ancient enemy to salvation, making them worthy of His habitation. Moreover, He sent the holy Scriptures into the whole world, by which he preached the faith in His name and the hope of salvation to all who belong to His kingdom, that is, to all the elect. Not only Jeremiah but all the prophets, in common sense, foretold this. As He Himself said to His disciples: "It is necessary that all things written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me be fulfilled" (Luke 24). The Lord also stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that, recognizing the power and providence of the God of Israel, he would do what Scripture narrates of him. And the Lord says in the Gospel to the Jews: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things" (John 8). When Cyrus in his written declaration says: "The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth," he rightly confesses the God of Israel to be the Lord God of heaven, who also has control of all the kingdoms of the earth and can give them to whomever He wills. Yet it seems less true that he declares all the kingdoms of the earth were given to him unless it is understood that at the time he wrote this, no adversary of his reign existed; or that, having conquered, destroyed, and emptied the ancient and strong empire of the Chaldeans, he believed none could resist his kingdom in the whole world. This statement, however, truly applies to His majesty who said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28). The same Scripture of Cyrus follows:

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

Who among you of all His people, let his God be with him, etc. Great is the faith of the king in these words, great shines his piety. Faith indeed, that he understood the people of Israel to be the people of God above all other nations. Piety, that he allowed all who wished without exception to return to their country as free men. Faith, that he confessed that the same Lord God both dwells in heaven and is in Jerusalem and can go up with each of those returning from Babylon to Jerusalem. Is it not clearer than light that he believed this one to be not corporeal and confined to one place, but a Spirit present everywhere? He confessed that he has a place in Jerusalem and in the temple such that he did not doubt that He presides in the kingdom of heaven; he believed so much that He reigns in the heavens, while nonetheless He is with His faithful on earth and directs their minds and hands to do what is salutary. Moreover, all the words of this Scripture exude a spiritual sense. For whom is it not easily evident that only those with whom God is, from the confusion of sins, to the works of virtues, as if from Babylonian captivity, can pass to Jerusalem to freedom? Because without Him we can do nothing (John XV). Who does not see rightly that ascension is named in the same sentence? Because surely all who sin, and who serve the cares of this world, are in the lowest place. But those who desire to please God must necessarily lift their minds to higher things, yearn for heavenly things, surpass all the pomp and enticements of the world with the love of eternal things. Jerusalem is also mentioned to be in Judah, that is in confession, so that we who deserved to be captivated by Chaldeans through forgetfulness of God, who are interpreted as demons, that is, by malignant spirits, may return through confession of divine piety to the vision of free peace and light; and there we build a house for the Lord God of Israel, that is in the unity of catholic peace, confessing either our iniquity or divine mercy and grace. Let us prepare our hearts in which the Lord Himself may deign to dwell graciously and illuminate with His presence. And let us also care to kindle the hearts of our neighbors to praise their Creator and perform works of piety. For in both ways we build a house for the Lord, either by exercising ourselves in works of justice or by encouraging those whom we can to follow the path of justice, both by examples and words. The rest of the writing of King Cyrus follows:

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

And all the rest, wherever they live, should help him, etc. The distinction of words is to be noted, because to all those released from the injury of captivity, the king gave the permission that whoever wished to go up and build the temple of the Lord might go up with the leader. However, he did not command everyone to go up there. For if there were any from the same people of God, who preferred to enjoy the liberty given more than others in the various places, he commanded them to assist those who were ascending from their own places, providing them with money or livestock for the necessity of such a long journey. He also desired them to give and present other gifts, which, upon arriving there, they should offer in the temple of the Lord as a memorial for those who remained. Therefore, all were freed from the Babylonian captivity. All were devoted to acts of piety; but the more perfect went up to build the temple of the Lord, while the rest helped those who ascended. For although all the chosen, having been delivered from the power of darkness, pertain to the liberty of the glory of the sons of God, and all rejoice to be numbered among the society of the holy city, that is, the Church; yet it is not the task of all, but only of the more perfect, to labor in building the same Church also by preaching to others. Hence, such as these, before other believers, are deemed worthy of double honor by the Apostle (1 Tim. V); just as the angel said to Daniel, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who instruct many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever" (Dan. XII). And certainly, the more these instructors of many teach their helpers to seek and love heavenly things, the less they themselves care for acquiring or possessing earthly things, and indeed, very often, whatever temporal things they have acquired, they leave all for the hope of eternal things. Therefore, it is necessary for their poverty to be supported by the generosity of the wealthier, who cannot preach, so that even the rich may be partners in the same preaching. On their behalf, John says to Gaius: "For they went forth for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles" (John III). Therefore, we ought to support people like these, so that we may become co-workers for the truth. Consequently, it is now said that those who were going up to build the house of the Lord should be aided by the generosity of money from their friends wherever they lived, that is, whether in Chaldea or other places to which they had fled in fear of the Chaldeans: except, he says, that whatever they voluntarily offer to the temple of God, which is in Jerusalem; for it is fitting for those who abound in temporal riches not only to supply the necessary things to the poor of Christ from these, but also to freely perform good works themselves, so that by the merit of these, as if by spontaneous offering, they also may earn a share in the temple of God, which is the Church. Let this brief mention of the writing of King Cyrus suffice. Nor will anyone doubt that his words overflow with spiritual sacraments since it is foretold that God raised his Spirit so that he might understand these things to be written and commanded; since, as the prophet Ezra admonished, he commanded these things to the people to fulfill the words of the prophets. For how could it be that a king, inspired by divine instinct, would not be able to write about heavenly mysteries, who is proven to have known, confessed, and loved the true glory of God’s house and to have restored it? When the very governor, a treacherous man, enemy, and murderer of our Redeemer, wrote the greatest sacrament of true faith, to set over His cross: “This is Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” In the intention of this title, he remained so fixed that he could not be persuaded by the Jews to alter it, although they asked persistently. He also wrote it in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin in the grace of a certain mystery for us; because surely all divine law, which the Hebrews had, all worldly wisdom in which the Greeks boasted, and all earthly kingdom, in which the Romans then preeminent, attest that Christ is the King, the Lord of all the holy and confessing ones. If, therefore, the writing of a prince hostile to God is so full of significant sacraments, how much more could a king, a lover and doer of divine worship, inspired or raised by the Lord, as the prophet says, both declare and spread in writing the mysteries of the Lord? The subsequent text of holy Scripture shows what effect his edicts and writings had.

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

And the leaders of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin rose up, etc. Cyrus indeed, having proclaimed his voice, and having sent letters throughout his kingdom, permitted, nay commanded, from the whole people of Israel, which consisted of twelve tribes, those with whom God was, to go up to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord. Nevertheless, of the entire people, only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the priestly and Levitical tribe, to whom Jerusalem itself and the temple of the Lord previously belonged, wanted to ascend. For the other ten tribes had long since under King Jeroboam been alienated from the temple of the Lord and the worship of piety, and for the merit of such a great transgression had been taken captive by the kings of Assyria, and deported beyond the mountains of the Medes, and are not said to have ever been collectively returned to their homeland. Moreover, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who held Jerusalem and the surrounding regions of Judah, together with the priests and Levites to whom the ministry of the temple belonged, although they had imitated the sins of the ten tribes, never abandoned the habitation of the city of Jerusalem and the ceremonies of the temple. Hence they were the last to be captured by the Chaldeans and the first, under Persian rule, to be permitted to return home; and rightly so, because our Lord arose from the tribe of Judah, and his mother Mary was also connected by consanguinity to the tribe of Levi. Hence Elizabeth, the wife of the priest Zechariah, is called her cousin by the angel (Luke 1). The tribe of Benjamin also joined them in devout faith, particularly because the city of Jerusalem was within its lot, and therefore it deserved to share in the mercy granted to them. It is beautifully said that the leaders of the fathers from the aforementioned tribes rose to go up to build the temple of the Lord. For it is the duty of the leaders and fathers, that is, of the teachers, by work and doctrine of preaching, to take on the laborious task of exhorting, reproving, correcting, and striving in the pursuit of good works, to build the mind of the erring. They are said to rise well to go up to Jerusalem, because they seem to lie down with a weak and inert mind who shirk the care of their own or their brother's salvation. But they rise when they hear the king's edict, and indeed, the Lord stirring their spirit, so they ascend to build the house of the Lord when, admonished by the words of the holy Scriptures, and kindled by the grace of their Creator, they shake off the sloth of their previous negligence; and having taken up the intention of a better way of life, by daily advancements in good works, like certain steps of ascent, they strive to reach the highest virtues, which are in the vision of eternal peace. In these steps, the first are those who restrain their own life from vices by living well. The second are those who, by well teaching, convert their neighbors from their errors or negligences. The highest are those who, after good works and teaching, await the joys of perpetual reward. But that those who thus ascended to build the house of the Lord were helped by all who were around them with silver and gold, substance and cattle; we have briefly previously discussed how it is mystically to be understood; namely, that the abundance of believing rich should support the poverty of preachers. This can also justly be taken thus; that the hands of the builders of the temple should be aided by their companions who cannot build, by giving money; when secular men entrust their children or family to holy preachers to be brought up for the Lord; so that what they themselves cannot do, they offer to the Lord through those who can complete it. They give silver vessels, when they present men brilliant in eloquence; they give gold ones, when they present those illustrious in natural talent; they give beasts of burden, when they present those slower in mind but meek and accommodating to carry the light and gentle yoke of the Gospel; they give cattle, when they present those humble in spirit and mild, who usually give freely to the poor from their substance, as from milk or wool. They also give substance and various utensils when they commend men or women distinguished by the manifold flowers of good works to the holy teachers of the Lord, by whom they are consecrated to the Lord and progress in the building of His house. For there are many who are naturally chaste, patient, modest, liberal, abstinent, kind, spurning worldly honors and pleasures alike, lovers of justice no less than of wisdom, and perhaps like Cornelius, devoted to prayers and alms-giving; of whom the Apostle says: “For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law” (Romans 2). These are offered to holy preachers to be reborn in Christ, or to be more firmly confirmed in the faith, as varied utensils to be contributed to the building of the house of the Lord, given to the leaders of the fathers.

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

King Cyrus also brought forth the vessels of the temple of the Lord, etc. Nebuchadnezzar took the vessels of the Lord from Jerusalem, as any unclean spirit, snatching certain of the faithful from the Church, deprives them of the joy of internal peace. Moreover, he places them in the temple of his god, when he joins them to the company of the reprobates, who are the temple and city of the devil, namely the head of all evils, both angels and men. But King Cyrus brings them forth and numbers them for the prince of Judah to be returned to Jerusalem, when our Lord, who is the heir of all things, rescues those whom He has predestined to eternal salvation from the power of Satan, and offers them to the priests of the Church to be reconciled through repentance. And well does he say that the vessels are numbered for the prince of Judah; for the Lord knows the number of His elect, nor does any of His sheep perish who confess His great and terrible name; for Judah means confession.

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

And this is their number: thirty golden bowls, etc. Different types of vessels signify different persons or operations of the faithful. Finally, we read in the Apocalypse that the twenty-four elders had golden bowls full of incense (Rev. 5); and the Scripture explains: These are the prayers of the saints. Therefore, the bowls, which are open, bright vessels, signify the hearts of the simple, who know not how to conceal any deceitful thought within them, but are accustomed to express with a pure tongue what they hold in their mind. Wherefore it is rightly said that such aromatic substances, that is, prayers acceptable to God, are found in them. On the other hand, the impure hearts of the reprobate are deservedly compared to sponges, which are dark and convoluted within. Hence also the Jews, when the Lord was crucified, offered Him a sponge full of vinegar (Matt. 27; Mark 15; John 19); so that by such a service they might signify that to their Creator, coming to them in the flesh, they offered from a deceitful heart thoughts and bitter words, deviating far from the pure taste of their forefathers. The knives, however, which they used for cutting and dividing the limbs of the sacrifices according to the proper order, so that with everything properly distinguished, a part would be consumed on the sacred altar by fire, a part would be for the use of priests, a part for Levites, and a part for the offerers; these surely demonstrate in the Church those who are distinguished by the grace of discernment, who perfectly know how to discern from the saving sacrifice, which is Christ, what should be said to all, what to the more perfect, what exceeds the measure of human thought and should be attributed to the fire of the Holy Spirit; likewise, because all who are dedicated to Him in faithful service are victims of God. The knives by which the limbs of the sacrifice are divided into pieces are typologically understood to be the scribes educated in the kingdom of heaven; who, carefully examining the merits and thoughts of their hearers, know well how to judge with whom they should advance in the rank of ecclesiastical ministry. The cups, which are vessels for drinking, figuratively express those who are accustomed to be inflamed with the fervent ardor of inner charity. As for the fact that some vessels were gold, some silver; the golden ones signify those who shine with a greater splendor of spiritual wisdom; the silver ones, those who are clear in the beauty of speech and know how to expound eloquently what they know; whom the Apostle distinguishing from one another, says: To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12). And the fact that the number of vessels, both individually and collectively in total, is mentioned, reminds us that the Lord contains the sum of His elect, not only those who persevere in the purity of the received faith, but also those who, after they have strayed, return to faith by repentance, written in the book of eternal memory. In whose figure it is aptly added:

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

Sasabasar took everything, etc. Because surely none of those who are predestined to life can perish forever; but all who belong to the Lord, although they may seem to be led into Babylon, that is, the confusion of sins, for a time, are brought back by divine provision through association with the just also by whichever means to the peace of the Church. Moreover, the vessels which the army of the Chaldeans is said to have captured from Jerusalem and smashed, and the broken ones taken to Babylon, express the type of those who are so captured by the victorious devil, that before they can be saved by repenting, they are taken away from human affairs to be seized for eternal punishment.

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah