John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 16:53

"And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;" — Ezekiel 16:53 (ASV)

He here confirms again what we recently saw: that the Jews were doomed and devoted to final destruction, and it was not possible for them to escape any more than for Sodom to rise again and Samaria to be restored to its original dignity. The Jews foolishly corrupt this passage, because they think that restoration is promised to Israel and Sodom.

But by "Sodomites" they mean the Moabites and Ammonites, the descendants of Lot who live at Sodom; but even a child can see that this is trivial. There is no doubt that the Prophet here deprives the Jews of all hope of safety by arguing from an impossibility, as if he had said, "You will be safe when Sodom and Samaria are."

We now understand the Prophet’s meaning. But the question arises: How can he pronounce that none of the Israelites are safe, when their return home is so often promised? We must bear in mind what we have seen elsewhere, and what it is often necessary to repeat, because many passages in the prophets would otherwise cause doubts.

Therefore, we have sometimes said that the prophets speak of the people in two ways, for they sometimes regard the whole body of the nation indiscriminately. The Israelites were already alienated from God; later, the Jews also cut themselves off from Him. Therefore, since each people, considered as a whole body or, to speak plainly, as a mass, was outcast, it is not surprising if the prophets use this language: that no hope of mercy remained, because they had excluded themselves from God’s mercy.

But later, they change their discourse to address the remnant, for God always preserves a hidden seed, so that the Church will not be utterly extinguished. For there must always be a Church in the world, but sometimes it is preserved in a pitiful state, as if in a tomb, because it is nowhere apparent.

God, therefore, when He pronounces final vengeance on the Jews, is referring to the body of the people; but then He promises that there will be a small seed which He wishes to remain safe. Hence it is said in Isaiah (Isaiah 8:16), Seal my law, bind up my testimony among my disciples. That is, address my disciples as if you were reading in a hidden corner some writing that you did not wish to be made public.

Therefore, gather my disciples together, so that you may deliver to them my law and my testimony like a sealed letter.

But now God summons to His tribunal those degenerate Jews who had nothing in common with Abraham, because they had made void and utterly abolished His covenant. Now, therefore, we see how the Jews perished together with Sodom and Samaria and were never restored—that is, as far as it relates to that filth and those dregs which were utterly unworthy of the honor of which they boasted.

He says, I will restore, therefore , their captivities; namely, the captivity of Sodom and of its cities, and the captivity of Samaria and its cities, and the captivity of thy captivities—that is, the captivity of all your land. "I will restore you," He says, "altogether." But He speaks ironically and, as I have said, shows that God’s taking pity on the Jews was impossible.