And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning: afterward you shall be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
Read Chapter 1
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Judges. The Jews explain this of the judges, and priests, who governed after the captivity; though it refer rather to the apostles (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
[This concerns] the faithful city of Zion, which later became a harlot. In place of the righteous, or righteousness, murderers dwelled within her. The Lord, therefore, turned his hand and purged her of impurities and removed all her alloy and restored her judges as at the beginning, and her counselors as of old. The prior judges were Moses and Joshua the son of Nun, and others from whom a book of sacred Scripture received its name. Later, David and other righteous kings were added. He will restore, therefore, a judge like them, or after the Babylonian captivity, as the Jews desire, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah and other leaders who presided over the people until Hyrcanus, whom Herod succeeded as king. In any event, the apostles and those who believed through the apostles were established as more trustworthy and upright leaders of the church, in keeping with what we said at the beginning of this vision, namely, that both the threat and the promise pertain to the time of the Lord’s passion...
This occurs for the sake of cleansing, however, when he humbles his righteous ones for their small and as it were insignificant sins or because of their proud purity, giving them over to various trials in order to purge away now all the unclean thoughts … which he sees have collected in their inmost being, and in order to submit them like pure gold to the judgment to come, permitting nothing to remain in them that the searching fire of judgment might afterwards find to purge with penal torment. - "Conference 6.11.2"
For we will not mimic the false prophets who say that most things have been done by them. This is the meaning of “to corrupt,” when someone dilutes the wine, or when someone sells something which ought to be given away freely. He seems to me to be both taunting them regarding money and hinting at the fact that they have mingled the things of God with their own things, as I have said. This is the accusation of Isaiah, who says, “Your wine merchants mingle wine with water.” Even if this statement were about wine, one would not sin to say it of doctrine as well. He says, “We do not do this, but we offer to you what we have been given, pouring out the undiluted word.” - "Homilies on 2 Corinthians 5.3"
