George Leo Haydock

He led captivity captive. [1] St. Jerome and others expound these words of Christ’s delivering the pious souls that had died before his ascension, and which were detained in a place of rest which is called Limbus Patrum [i.e. Limbo of the Fathers; sometimes called paradise (Luke xxiii. 43.), Abraham‘ bosom (Luke xvi. 22.), or prison (1 Peter iii. 19.)]. — He gave gifts to men. Having delivered men from the captivity of sin, he bestowed upon them his gifts and graces. (Witham) — Wherefore he, David, in Psalm lxvii., makes use of these words, in order to shew that these gifts were gratuitous, and that no person had a right to complain that another had received more: after this the apostle proceeds to shew that Christ even descended to the lower parts of the earth, in order to teach us humility; whence he concludes that we ought to be humble and live in union with our brethren, which is the chief subject of the present chapter. (Tirinus)