Thomas Aquinas

In all this the fury has not turned away. Here he sets down the common and final punishment, as regards the captivity by the Romans; and concerning this three things are set down. First, the preparation of the army; second, the disposition of the army, at the place, and behold he hastens; third, the infliction of the punishment, at the place, and he will hold the prey.

Concerning the first, three things are set down. First, the indignation of the one gathering, in all this; as if to say: just as you add sins to sins, so he adds punishments to punishments. Below, 9: a man will not spare his brother, and he will turn to the right hand, and will be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and will not be satisfied. Second, the raising of the standard, and he will lift up a sign, that is, a standard. Jer. 4: raise up a sign in Sion, take courage, and do not stand still; for I bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. Third, the summoning of the army, and he will whistle, that is, he will inspire. Below, 7. And it will be in that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assur; and they will come, and all will rest in the torrents of the valleys. And so that it may terrify the more, he sets down the foreignness of the nation, both as to worship, among the nations, so that they might not revere your holy things; and as to language, from afar, lest they be won over by words; and as to customs, from the ends of the earth, lest they be bound in league with them.

Behold he hastens. Here the disposition of the army is set down: and first he shows them ready for coming; second, armed for fighting, his arrows; third, cruel for punishing, his roaring. Concerning the first, two things are set down. First, their swiftness: behold — for certainly — swift. Thren. 4: our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of heaven. Habac. 1: for his horsemen will come from afar; they will fly like an eagle hastening to eat. Jer. 4: behold, he will come up like a cloud, and his chariots like a tempest; his horses are swifter than eagles. Second, the cause of the swiftness according to the removal of a threefold impediment: the first, which could occur from weakness of nature; against which he says: and there is none feeble, who would have to remain behind, nor weary among them, who would have to come late. Below, 40: but they who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will take up wings like eagles; they will run, and not grow weary; they will walk, and not faint. Second, against that which could arise from the will. He says: he will not slumber, through sloth, namely so that he would go sluggishly, nor will he sleep, so that he would not come to himself. Prov. 19: sloth casts one into sleep, and a dissolute soul will be hungry. Third, he removes the impediment arising from the necessity of things: nor will the girdle be loosed. And he sets down those things by which travelers are usually hindered from their journey: as if to say: all things will endure more than usual. Deut. 29: I led you forty years through the desert; your garments were not worn out, nor were the shoes of your feet consumed by age.

His arrows are sharp. Here he shows them to be armed for fighting: and first as to the goodness of their weapons; and he sets down those things which in those lands are most customary. Sharp arrows, in which the goodness of the arrows is noted; bows bent, in which is the preparation of arms, lest they be hindered in preparing. Psal. 119: the sharp arrows of the mighty. Second, he sets down the conveyances: the hooves of his horses like flint, which is not broken easily, and his wheels like the rush of a tempest, making a great sound on account of their multitude and swiftness. Jer. 4: behold, he will come up like a cloud, and his chariots like a tempest.

His roaring. Here he shows them to be cruel for punishing: and first as to fierceness, roaring. Oseae 11: they will walk after the Lord, he will roar like a lion; for he himself will roar, and the sons of the sea will be afraid. Second, as to rapacity: he will roar like the whelps of lions. Ps. 103: the whelps of lions roaring that they may seize. Third, as to cruelty, and he will gnash, which belongs to the boar. Ps. 34: they have gnashed upon me with their teeth. Ps. 79: the boar out of the wood has laid them waste, and a lone wild beast has devoured it.

And he will hold. Here the infliction of the punishment is set down, and finally the despair of those punished, at the place, we will look. Concerning the first he sets down three things. First he threatens the seizure: he will hold the prey; as if to say: he will seize you like prey. Nahum 2: the lion has taken enough for his whelps, and has killed for his lionesses, and has filled his dens with prey, and his lair with spoil. Second, the anxious detention: and he will hold fast, lest you go out through their carelessness; and there will be none to deliver, through their powerlessness. Threnorum 1: the Lord has given me into a hand, from which I will not be able to rise. Third, the rigid domination, and he will make a sound, with threats and terrors. Jer. 6: behold, a people will come from the land of the north, and a great nation will rise up from the ends of the earth; it will seize the arrow and the shield; it is cruel, and will not have mercy; its voice will sound like the sea.

We will look toward the land. Here he sets down their despair: and first as to help from the earth: we will look toward the land, on every side, and behold darkness, because all were pursuing them; second, as to help from heaven: and the light, of the divine hope, has been darkened in its gloom. Jer. 4: I looked upon the earth, and behold it was empty and nothing; and the heavens, and there was no light in them. And the prophet numbers himself among them through compassion.