Jerome
Patristic
c. A.D. 347–420
“(Verse 6.) And he said to me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here, to make me go far away from my sanctuary? Yet again, you will see even greater abominations. Do not think, he said, that I am unjustly abandoning the temple and leaving the city to be destroyed. Look at what they are doing in the temple. And when you see that, do not think that their wickedness will end, you will still see even greater things. Indeed, this can also be understood about our Jerusalem and our temple, when we commit the crimes of idols in the house of God, following the example of Ophni and Phinees (2 Kings 2); and we fornicate with those who have vowed themselves to the service and ministry of God; and we seize the choice offerings of His sacrifices, giving them to clients and servants for their own use, and we do everything for the sake of profit. But if these things that we see are so great, how much greater must be the things that escape human conscience?”