The interpretation timeline

Ezek 5:16

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

Ezek 5:16 · Douay-Rheims
“I the Lord have spoken it: When I shall send upon them the grievous arrows of famine, which shall bring death, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will gather together famine against you: and I will break among you the staff of bread.”
Patristic before A.D. 750
420
A.D.
Jerome Patristic
c. A.D. 347–420
“(Verse 16.) When I send the most destructive arrows of famine (the Vulgate adds 'against them'), which will be deadly, and I will send them to destroy you, and I will gather famine upon you, and I will break the staff (or rod) of bread. Famine and pestilence, and the most terrible beasts, and whatever other evils we endure in this world, it is clear that they come because of our sins. Thus, that famine which is mentioned in the book of Ruth (Ruth 1) and in the book of Kings under Elijah (3 Kings 17), when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, and under Elisha (4 Kings 6), whose incredible scarcity was compensated by sudden abundance by God's judgment, was sent. Not only was this done in Jerusalem at that time, but it also happens in our Jerusalem, where, because of the magnitude of sins, hunger is first sent to hear the word of God. Then hunger is followed by death, so that those who have not heard may experience: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet (Psalm 33:9), and afterwards let us feel: The death of sinners is most bitter (Psalm 22). We have already spoken about the firmament and the staff of bread (above, IV).”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.