(Verse 8.) Behold, I have surrounded you with chains, and you will not turn from one side to the other, until the days of your siege (or conclusion) are completed. The left side, because it was without a temple and knowledge of God, is assigned to the Israelites; the right side, to the Jews, in whom (or where) the worship and religion of God reside. And it should be noted that in one side there is punishment for sinners, and in the other, exercise of virtue. He does not turn from one side to the other, so that no respite from torment is indicated, until the perfect conclusion of the aforementioned days is reached. The day of the prophets is like a year for those who are patient (Gen. XXIX). And the years that Laban thought were few days for Jacob. Not only in punishments is there diversity according to the variety of merits, but also in the retribution of good things, the lambs are on the right, and the kids are on the left. Therefore, it is also written in another place: The heart of the wise is on the right, but the heart of the fool is on the left (Ecclus. X, 1). There are other bonds of the Lord by which we are bound for salvation; there are also the devil's bonds, by which he had bound the woman for eighteen years in the Gospel (Luke XIII). Wherefore each one is bound with the cords of his own sins (Prov. V, 22). Which the Lord looses through the raising of Lazarus, who lay bound with bandages and graveclothes in the tomb (John XI).
[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 4:8