11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 5:11
(Verse 11.) Therefore, I am alive, says the Lord God: unless for the reason that you have violated my sanctuary in all your offenses, and in all your abominations: I also will shatter (or, according to the LXX, cast away) you, and my eye will not spare, and I will not have mercy. This is specifically said to Jerusalem, because you have violated my sanctuary by forsaking me, and you have worshipped idols in my temple. I also will shatter all your idols, and I will break and overthrow them, or cast you away, because you have cast me away first. And my eye will not spare when I see you hungry, with a sword, submitting your neck to servitude, nor will I have mercy; because you do not deserve my mercy. For it is written: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7). This same thing must be understood in the Church, that God can say daily to teachers and priests who have acted negligently: Because you have violated my holy things in all your offenses, and in all the abominations you have committed, I will also crush and break you, and I will repay through me what you have perpetrated against my people. About whom the same Prophet speaks more fully against the shepherds here (Infra, XXXIV), that they cover themselves with the wool of the sheep and feed on milk and cheese, and do not seek the broken and sick.