Christ The King

Willem Hessels van Est (Guilielmus Estius, 1542–1613) was a celebrated Flemish Catholic theologian and exegete, professor at the University of Douai, and one of the greatest Scripture commentators of the post-Tridentine era. His monumental Commentarii in omnes D. Pauli Epistolas — together with commentaries on the Catholic Epistles — remain a standard of traditional Catholic biblical scholarship. The following selections are drawn from his Latin commentaries and rendered into English. They represent his exegesis of passages bearing on the Jewish people: their rejection of Christ, their blindness and hardening, their enmity to the Gospel, the supersession of the Mosaic Law, and related themes.

On Jewish Stubbornness and Pertinacity (Romans 2:7–8)

Latin:

Quales ut plurimum erant Judaei, quorum ingenium hac voce perstringere videtur.

English Translation:

Such as these, for the most part, were the Jews, whose character [the Apostle] seems to touch upon with this word [i.e., “contentiousness”].

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 7–8 (Vol. I)

On God’s Judgment Against the Jews (Romans 2:1–3)

Latin:

Vehementer falleris, o Judaee, si existimes aut speres te evasurum justum Dei adversus te judicium, qui alios peccantes tanquam aut doctor aut peritus legis judicas, cum ipse eadem facias. Imo sic judicando gravius tibi ipsi judicium accersis. Ostendis enim te non ex ignorantia peccare, sicut plerique gentilium, sed scientem prudentemque praevaricari legem.

English Translation:

You are gravely deceived, O Jew, if you think or hope to escape God’s just judgment against you — you who judge others who sin, as though you were a teacher or expert in the law, when you yourself do the same things. Indeed, by judging thus, you bring upon yourself a still heavier judgment. For you show that you sin not out of ignorance, as do most of the Gentiles, but that you transgress the law knowingly and deliberately.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 3 (Vol. I)

On the Jews as Inexcusable (Romans 2:1)

Latin (Summary):

Judaeos ethnicorum reprehensores ostendit inexcusabiles, ac Dei judicio reddentis unicuique secundum opera condemnandos, quod legem a Deo acceptam, in qua gloriabantur, non servarent.

English Translation:

[The Apostle] shows the Jews, who were accusers of the Gentiles, to be inexcusable and subject to condemnation by the judgment of God who renders to each man according to his works — because they did not observe the Law received from God, in which they gloried.

— Summary of Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2 (Vol. I)

On the Blasphemy of God’s Name Among the Gentiles Through Jewish Conduct (Romans 2:24)

Latin:

Propter vos, id est vestra culpa, qui legem a Deo traditam palam violatis, male de Deo vestro gentes loquuntur, detrahentes honori et majestati ejus, qui habeat tam malos cultores, quasi eos vel negligat punire, vel non possit, vel etiam scelera approbet.

English Translation:

Because of you — that is, through your fault, who openly violate the Law given by God — the Gentiles speak ill of your God, detracting from His honor and majesty, as though He had such wicked worshippers and either neglected to punish them, or could not, or even approved of their crimes.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 24 (Vol. I)

On Jewish Boasting and the Name “Jew” (Romans 2:17)

Latin:

Hic jam aperte et expresso nomine sermonem ad Judaeum convertit, ac gravi accusatione eum urget, quod cum legem a Deo accepisset, eoque nomine sibi placeret, non tamen id praestaret lege instructus, quod gentes sine lege.

English Translation:

Here [the Apostle] now openly and by express name turns his address to the Jew, and presses him with a grave accusation: that although he had received the Law from God and took pride in this fact, yet, armed with the Law, he did not accomplish what the Gentiles accomplished without the Law.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 17 (Vol. I)

On Circumcision Profiting Nothing Without Obedience (Romans 2:25)

Latin:

Aliud nunc removet, in quo gloriabantur Judaei, nempe circumcisionem, docetque eam nihilo magis quam superiora, si legem non observent, ipsis profuturam ad salutem.

English Translation:

He now removes another thing in which the Jews gloried, namely circumcision, and teaches that it will profit them no more toward salvation than the things previously discussed, if they do not observe the Law.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 25 (Vol. I)

On the Jews Turning Circumcision into Uncircumcision (Romans 2:25)

Latin:

Sin autem, inquit, legem non observes, sed transgredias, nihil tibi conferet tua circumcisio, nec omnino proderit Judaeum esse genere ac professione: sed eris tanquam non circumcisus, id est praeputiatus, gentilis.

English Translation:

But if, he says, you do not observe the Law but transgress it, your circumcision will profit you nothing, nor will it avail you at all to be a Jew by race and profession; rather, you will be as the uncircumcised — that is, as one with a foreskin, a Gentile.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 25 (Vol. I)

On Who Is Truly a Jew (Romans 2:28–29)

Latin:

Qui autem in abscondito Judaeus est. Id est, qui Judaeus est in abscondito, hoc est ex interiori legis observatione ex corde profecta Judaeus est: ille demum verus est Judaeus.

English Translation:

He who is a Jew in secret — that is, who is a Jew inwardly, through the interior observance of the Law proceeding from the heart — he is the true Jew.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 2, v. 29 (Vol. I)

On the Reprobation of the Jews and the Election of the Gentiles (Romans 9, Summary)

Latin:

Deum pro sua voluntate, et non ex operibus, alios eligere ad ostensionem suae bonitatis, alios reprobare ad manifestationem justitiae. Quo proinde referendum, quod gentes electae sint ad fidem, Judaeis reprobatis.

English Translation:

God, according to His own will and not based on works, elects some for the manifestation of His goodness, and reprobates others for the manifestation of His justice. To this, therefore, is to be referred the fact that the Gentiles have been chosen for the faith, the Jews having been reprobated.

— Summary of Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 9 (Vol. I)

On the Reprobation of the Jewish People and the Call of the Gentiles (Romans 9:1)

Latin:

Nunc vero propius ad detegendum profundum Dei consilium accedens, de rejectione Judaeorum et vocatione gentium agere incipit, eaque occasione mox altissimam ingreditur disputationem de causis electionis ac reprobationis divinae.

English Translation:

Now, approaching more closely to uncover the deep counsel of God, [the Apostle] begins to treat of the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, and on that occasion he enters immediately into the most profound disputation on the causes of divine election and reprobation.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 9, v. 1 (Vol. I)

On the Remnant Saved and the Mass of Israel Perishing (Romans 9:27–28)

Latin:

Sensus igitur prophetiae est: Etsi populus, secundum carnem ex Israel genitus, juxta promissionem Abrahae factam, usque adeo multiplicetur, ut comparari posse videatur cum arena, quae est in littore maris, solae tamen ex eo reliquiae, id est, paucissimi salvi erunt. Ex quo intelligendum relinquit Apostolus, ipsam multitudinem populi perituram esse.

English Translation:

The sense of the prophecy is therefore: Although the people born according to the flesh from Israel, in accordance with the promise made to Abraham, shall be multiplied so greatly as to seem comparable to the sand on the seashore, yet from them only the remnant — that is, a very few — will be saved. From this the Apostle leaves us to understand that the multitude of the people itself will perish.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 9, v. 27–28 (Vol. I)

On the Nation of Israel Rejecting the Justice of Faith (Romans 9:31–32)

Latin:

Judaei justitiam, quam quaerunt et sectabantur, et adhuc quaerunt, non sunt assecuti, quia non eam quaesiverunt, nec quaerunt, quemadmodum oportet. Quaerunt enim ex operibus, cum illa solum habeatur ex gratia.

English Translation:

The Jews have not attained the justice which they sought and pursued, and still seek, because they neither sought it nor seek it in the manner required. For they seek it from works, whereas it is obtained only through grace.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 7 (Vol. I)

On the Hardening of the Rest of Israel (Romans 11:7–8)

Latin:

Exceptis reliquiis, caeteri Judaei non solum deserti sunt, verum etiam sua malitia excaecati, ut clarum lumen veritatis Evangelii non videant, imo et indurati, ut videre nolint.

English Translation:

Excepting the remnant, the rest of the Jews were not only abandoned, but were also blinded through their own malice, so that they do not see the clear light of Evangelical truth — indeed, they were also hardened, so that they are unwilling to see it.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 7–8 (Vol. I)

On the Jews‘ Infamy for Avarice and Usury (Romans 11:11)

Latin:

Quam vere autem hoc in Judaeorum gentem competat, avaritia et usuris exercendis infamem, etiam vulgo notum est.

English Translation:

How truly this applies to the Jewish people, made infamous for avarice and the practice of usury, is known even to the common man.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 11 (Vol. I)

On the Blindness of Israel (Romans 11:25)

Latin:

Israelem, id est, populum Israeliticum non totum excaecatum et obduratum esse, sed partem ejus tantum. Contigit autem Israeli caecitas ex parte non exigua, vel mediocri, sed multo maxima.

English Translation:

Israel — that is, the Israelite people — has not been entirely blinded and hardened, but only a part of it. Yet the blindness that has befallen Israel is not a small or moderate part, but by far the greatest part.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 25 (Vol. I)

On Jerome’s Testimony Regarding the Jews‘ Blindness and Its Cause (Romans 11:25)

Latin:

Praeter interfectionem Salvatoris aliam non valent invenire.

English Translation:

Beyond the slaying of the Savior, they [i.e., the Church Fathers] are unable to find any other cause [for so great and prolonged a rejection].

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 25, citing St. Jerome (Vol. I)

On the Duration of Israel‘s Blindness and Its Persistence to the Present (Romans 11:25)

Latin:

Certe non magis hodie dici potest, Judaicam nationem converti ad Christum, quam id dici potuit Apostolorum tempore; imo vero minus. Si igitur tunc populus ipse, licet paucis ex eo credentibus, erat incredulus et excaecatus, quanto magis exinde toto decursu temporis usque ad nos?

English Translation:

Certainly it cannot be said today that the Jewish nation is being converted to Christ any more than it could be said in the time of the Apostles — indeed even less so. If, therefore, at that time the people itself, though a few from among them believed, was unbelieving and blinded, how much more so throughout the entire course of time from then until us?

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 25 (Vol. I)

On the Jews as Enemies According to the Gospel (Romans 11:28)

Latin:

Qui Judaei, sive Israelitae, quantum attinet ad causam Evangelii, cui pertinaciter adversantur, exosi sunt Deo; idque propter vos, id est, occasione ejusdem Evangelii vobis gentilibus praedicati; quae res eos magis a fide alienavit.

English Translation:

The Jews — or Israelites — insofar as it concerns the cause of the Gospel, which they stubbornly resist, are hateful to God; and this on your account, that is, by reason of the same Gospel preached to you Gentiles — a thing which has alienated them further from the faith.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Ch. 11, v. 28 (Vol. I)

On the Calling of the Gentiles and the Reprobation of the Jews as a Mystery Preached by St. Paul (1 Corinthians 12)

Latin:

De vocatione gentium et reprobatione Judaeorum etc., sicuti fecisse videmus Apostolum in epist. ad Romanos et Ephesios.

English Translation:

Concerning the calling of the Gentiles and the reprobation of the Jews, etc. — as we see the Apostle to have done in the Epistle to the Romans and to the Ephesians.

— Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 12 (Vol. I)

On Those Who Killed Christ Punished in This World (1 Corinthians 11:30)

Latin:

Quemadmodum qui Christum occiderunt, severe in hoc saeculo puniti leguntur, subversa civitate eorum et interfectis plurimis; sic et eos, qui corpus Christi in eucharistia male tractarunt, temporaliter punitos fuisse morbis et morte.

English Translation:

Just as those who killed Christ are read to have been severely punished in this world — their city overthrown and very many of them slain — so also those who treated the Body of Christ unworthily in the Eucharist were punished in time by sickness and death.

— Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 11, v. 30 (Vol. I)

On the Veil Remaining Over the Hearts of the Jews (2 Corinthians 3:14–15)

Latin:

Idem illud velamen, quod olim, super faciem Moysi positum, prohibebat ejus intuitum, remanet in praesens usque tempus non retectum sive non ablatum a cordibus Judaeorum, quoties libros veteris testamenti legunt.

English Translation:

That same veil which of old, placed over the face of Moses, prevented his sight, remains up to the present time unveiléd and unremoved from the hearts of the Jews, whenever they read the books of the Old Testament.

— Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 3, v. 14 (Vol. II)

On the Veil of Hardness and Unbelief Over the Hearts of the Jews (2 Corinthians 3:15)

Latin:

Sed usque in hodiernum diem, cum legitur Moyses, velamen positum est super cor eorum. Ubi significatur, velamen istud esse aliquid inhaerens animis Judaeorum. Quocirca non obscuritas librorum legis et Prophetarum, ut quidam volunt, mystice per velamen significata videtur, sed mentis, uti diximus, hebetudo, quam parit affectio carnalis ac terrena, qua nimirum mens impeditur, ne Scripturas intelligat, et veritati, quae loquuntur, acquiescat; quod est nolle credere.

English Translation:

But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed over their hearts. By this is signified that this veil is something inherent in the souls of the Jews. Wherefore it is not, as some would have it, the obscurity of the books of the Law and the Prophets that is mystically signified by the veil, but rather — as we have said — the dullness of mind which is produced by a carnal and earthly affection, by which the mind is indeed impeded from understanding the Scriptures and from acquiescing in the truth they proclaim; which is simply the refusal to believe.

— Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 3, v. 15 (Vol. II)

On the Veil Removed Only in Christ, Whom the Jews Have Not Received (2 Corinthians 3:14)

Latin:

Velamen illud aufertur et aboletur in Christo, id est, non nisi per Christum, qui finis legis est, fide receptum. Quem cum Judaei non receperint, sequitur, nondum esse remotum ab eorum oculis, id est mentibus, velamen.

English Translation:

That veil is taken away and abolished in Christ — that is, only through Christ, who is the end of the Law, received by faith. Since the Jews have not received Him, it follows that the veil has not yet been removed from their eyes — that is, from their minds.

— Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 3, v. 14 (Vol. II)

On Old Things Having Passed Away: The Old Covenant Superseded (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Latin:

Vetera dicit, quaecumque ad veterem hominem pertinent, ut peccatum erroresque gentilium, et omnis carnalis affectus; item vetus testamentum cum suis legalibus, ipsaque praecipue veteris testamenti servitus; denique corruptio mortalitatis. Haec autem praeterierunt et abolita sunt per Christum in iis, qui Christi sunt.

English Translation:

By “old things” he means whatever belongs to the old man: sin and the errors of the Gentiles, every carnal affection; likewise the Old Testament with its legal observances, and especially the servitude of the Old Testament; and finally the corruption of mortality. These have passed away and been abolished through Christ in those who belong to Christ.

— Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Ch. 5, v. 17 (Vol. II)

On the Carnal Jews Persecuting the Children of the Church (Galatians 4:29)

Latin:

Sane utroque modo carnales Judaei filios Ecclesiae persecuti sunt. Corporaliter quidem; nam ut ait Apostolus 1 Thess. 2. Et Dominum occiderunt Jesum et Prophetas, et nos persecuti sunt, et omnibus hominibus adversantur; adeo ut testetur Hieronymus, multo majores persecutiones a Judaeis in Christianos, quam a gentibus concitatas fuisse. Spiritualiter autem, in quantum fideles a Christo revocare, et ad legem suam traducere summo studio conati sunt.

English Translation:

Indeed the carnal Jews have persecuted the children of the Church in both ways. Bodily — for as the Apostle says in 1 Thessalonians 2: They killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets, and have persecuted us, and are contrary to all men — so much so that Jerome testifies that far greater persecutions were stirred up against Christians by the Jews than by the Gentiles. And spiritually, insofar as they strove with the utmost zeal to draw the faithful away from Christ and to bring them under their own Law.

— Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, Ch. 4, v. 29 (Vol. II)

On the Jews as Killers of the Lord Jesus and the Prophets, and Enemies of All Men (1 Thessalonians 2:15–16)

Latin:

Qui et Dominum occiderunt Jesum et Prophetas. Quae lectio vehementior est, magisque facit ad exaggerandam Judaeorum persequentium malitiam.

English Translation:

Who both killed the Lord Jesus and the Prophets. This reading is the more forceful, and the better serves to emphasize the malice of the persecuting Jews.