Cyril of Alexandria — Commentary on Scripture

Jeremiah 2:35

Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

Let us, therefore, pray without ceasing, according to the expression of the blessed Paul. Let us be careful to do so aright.… Remember him who says by the voice of Isaiah, Declare your sins first, that you may be justified; remember too that he rebukes those who will not do so and says, Behold, I have a judgment against you, because you say I have not sinned. Examine the words of the saints, for one says, “The righteous is the accuser of himself in the beginning of his words,” and another says, “I said, I will confess against myself my transgression to the Lord; and you forgave the iniquity of my heart.”

Jeremiah 5:14

Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

We say then that the power of the divine message resembles a live coal and fire. And the God of all somewhere said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Behold, I have made my words in your mouth to be fire, and this people to be wood, and it shall devour them.” And again, “Are not my words as burning fire, says the Lord?” Rightly, therefore, did our Lord Jesus Christ say to us, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled.” For already some of the Jewish crowd believed on him, whose firstfruits were the divine disciples. The fire, being once kindled, was soon to seize on the whole world immediately after the whole dispensation had attained to its completion.… He had borne his precious passion on the cross and had commanded the bonds of death to cease. He rose on the third day from the dead.

Jeremiah 5:21

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

Not understanding him who had been anointed and sent and who was the author of such wonderful works, they returned to their usual ways and talked about him in a foolish and vain way. For although they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of his mouth, yet their wish was to treat them as valueless. They said, “Is not this the son of Joseph?” But what does this diminish from the glory of the worker of the miracles? What prevents him from being both venerated and admired, even had he been, as was supposed, the son of Joseph? Didn’t you see the miracles? Satan fallen, the herds of devils vanquished, multitudes set free from various kinds of maladies? You praise the grace that was present in his teaching. Then do you, in Jewish fashion, think lightly of him because he considered Joseph for his father? How ignorant can you be! It is true what they say about them: “Lo! A people foolish and without understanding, they have eyes and see not, ears, and hear not.”

Jeremiah 5:22

Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

The vessel was severely tossed by the violence of the tempest and the breaking of the waves. And along with the ship, the faith of the disciples also was tossed, so to speak, by similar agitations. But Christ, whose authority extends over all, immediately arose. He at once appeased the storm, restrained the blasts of wind, quieted their fear and yet further proved by his actions that he is God at whom all created things tremble and quake and to whose nods is subject the very nature of the elements. He rebuked the tempest, and Matthew says that the manner of the rebuke was with God-like authority. He tells us that our Lord said to the sea: “Peace! Be still!” What can there be more grand than this in majesty? Or what can equal its sublimity? Appropriately worthy of God is the word and the might of the commandment, so that we too may utter the praise written in the book of Psalms: “You rule the power of the sea. You still the turbulence of its waves.” He too has himself said somewhere by one of the holy prophets, “Why do you not fear me,” says the Lord, “nor tremble at my presence? I wh…

The vessel was severely tossed by the violence of the tempest and the breaking of the waves. And along with the ship, the faith of the disciples also was tossed, so to speak, by similar agitations. But Christ, whose authority extends over all, immediately arose. He at once appeased the storm, restrained the blasts of wind, quieted their fear and yet further proved by his actions that he is God at whom all created things tremble and quake and to whose nods is subject the very nature of the elements. He rebuked the tempest, and Matthew says that the manner of the rebuke was with God-like authority. He tells us that our Lord said to the sea: “Peace! Be still!” What can there be more grand than this in majesty? Or what can equal its sublimity? Appropriately worthy of God is the word and the might of the commandment, so that we too may utter the praise written in the book of Psalms: “You rule the power of the sea. You still the turbulence of its waves.” He too has himself said somewhere by one of the holy prophets, “Why do you not fear me,” says the Lord, “nor tremble at my presence? I who have set the sand as the bound of the sea, a commandment forever, and it has not passed it.” For the sea is subject to the will of him who made all creation and is, as it were, placed under the Creator’s feet, varying its motions at all times according to his good pleasure and yielding submission to his lordly will.

Jeremiah 6:8

Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

It was that you may learn that God silently and noiselessly observes the affairs of people and watches the course of each one's life, and so it is written, "The paths of a person are before the eyes of God, and God looks at all his tracks." And as he is good and wills that all people should be saved, he often purifies those who are entangled in sins by inflicting sickness on their body. He somewhere says by the voice of Jeremiah, "You shall be taught, O Jerusalem, by labor and the scourge."

Jeremiah 6:10

To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

The prophet Jeremiah also blamed the Jewish multitudes with their rulers because of their excessive arrogance, saying, “To whom shall I speak and testify, and he will hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. Behold, the Word of the Lord has become to them a derision. They will not hear it.” And in another place he spoke of Jerusalem: “We healed Babel, and she was not healed. Let us leave her and depart every one to his land, because her judgment has reached to the heavens.”

Jeremiah 6:20

To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

The legal manner of service is not what he requires. This is a thing in no respect difficult to see from the prophetic and apostolic writings. For by the word of Jeremiah he says, “Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba and cinnamon from a far country? Your whole burnt offering is not acceptable, and your sacrifices do not please me.” … The will of God, therefore, that will that we pray may be done on earth, is not that we should conform to the law and live according to the grossness of its letter. But we should endeavor to live by the gospel. And this is effected by a faith correct and free from error. By a holy life possessed of the sweet savor of every virtue and proved by the testimony of good and noble conduct in every thing that is excellent.… And he also said of them by the word of Jeremiah, “Hear, O earth, behold, I bring on this people evils, the fruit of their turning aside, because they have not regarded my word and have rejected my law.”

Jeremiah 8:4

Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

It is worth our while observing, in what way his sin was forgiven, and how he put away his fault. The event may prove of no slight benefit to us. He did not then defer his repentance. Nor was he careless about it, for as rapid as was his decent into sin, so quick were his tears because of it. Nor did he merely weep, but he wept bitterly. As one who had fallen, so bravely did he spring up again. He knew that the merciful God somewhere says by one of the prophets, “Shall not he that falls arise? And he that backslides, shall he not return?” In returning, therefore, he did not miss the mark, for he continued to be what he had been before, a true disciple.

Jeremiah 8:8-9

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

The blessed prophet Jeremiah loudly condemned both the ignorance and pride of the [unfaithful] Jews. He rebukes them in these words, "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise people shall be put to shame. They shall be dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the Word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?" For being neither wise nor acquainted with the sacred Scriptures, though the scribes and Pharisees falsely assumed to themselves the reputation of being learned in the law, they rejected the Word of God. For when the Only-begotten had become man, they did not receive him or yield their neck obediently to the summons that he addressed to them by the gospel. Because, therefore, by their wicked conduct they rejected the Word of God, they were themselves rejected, being condemned by God's just decree. He said, by the voice of Jeremiah, "Call them rejected silver because the Lord has rejected them." And again, "Shave your head, and cast it away, and take lamentation on your lips…

The blessed prophet Jeremiah loudly condemned both the ignorance and pride of the [unfaithful] Jews. He rebukes them in these words, "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise people shall be put to shame. They shall be dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the Word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?" For being neither wise nor acquainted with the sacred Scriptures, though the scribes and Pharisees falsely assumed to themselves the reputation of being learned in the law, they rejected the Word of God. For when the Only-begotten had become man, they did not receive him or yield their neck obediently to the summons that he addressed to them by the gospel. Because, therefore, by their wicked conduct they rejected the Word of God, they were themselves rejected, being condemned by God's just decree. He said, by the voice of Jeremiah, "Call them rejected silver because the Lord has rejected them." And again, "Shave your head, and cast it away, and take lamentation on your lips because the Lord has rejected and thrust away the generation that has done these things." And what these things are the God of all has declared to us, saying, "Hear, O earth: behold! I am bringing on this people evils, the fruit of their turning away, because they regarded not my word and have rejected my law."

Jeremiah 9:8 · 2 passages

Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.

Matthew says that when the traitor drew near to Christ, our common Savior, he kissed him and added, "Hail, Master." How can you say "Hail" to him who by means of your word and deed is made the prey of death? How could such a word possibly be true? We thus see that, inasmuch as that false one, Satan, was within him, he used falsehood even in saying "Hail." Because of deeds like this, the prophet says, "Their tongue is a piercing spearhead. The words of their mouth are deceitful. To his neighbor he speaks things of peace, but in his soul there is enmity."

A most base pest, my beloved, is double dealing and hypocrisy in our actions and conduct, by which a person uses the pretense of pleasant-spoken words and of a tongue anointed, so to speak, with the honey of deception, while the heart is full of utter bitterness. Of such we say, in the words of one of the holy prophets, "Their tongue is a piercing arrow; the words of their mouth are deceitful. He speaks peacefully to his neighbor, and enmity is in his heart." And again, "Their words are smoother than oil, yet are they arrows." By which is meant that they have the force of darts falling violently and shot forth from bows.

Jeremiah 10:21

For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

The Lord protested against their wickedness through the voice of the prophet, saying, “Alas for the shepherds, who destroy and scatter the sheep of my inheritance,” and again, “The shepherds have become foolish and have not sought the Lord. Therefore did none of the flock understand and were scattered.” Such, then, was their state. But we are under the rule of the chief Shepherd of all, even Christ, by whom and with whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

Jeremiah 11:16

The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

It is probable, therefore, that Jesus compares the synagogue of the Jews with a fig tree, for the sacred Scripture also compares them with various plants: the vine, for instance, and the olive, and even a forest. … Jeremiah says, “The Lord called you a beautiful olive tree, well shaded in appearance. At its pruning time, a fire was kindled in it. Great tribulation came to it. Its branches were destroyed.” And another of the holy prophets, comparing it with Mount Lebanon, thus speaks: “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and the fire shall devour your cedars.” For the forest that was in Jerusalem, even the people there, many as they were and innumerable, were destroyed as by fire.

Jeremiah 16:19

O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Having been brought near, they make Christ their glorying. For again, God the Father has said of them, “And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in his name shall they glory, says the Lord.” This also the blessed psalmist teaches, speaking as it were to Christ the Savior of all and saying, “Lord, they shall walk in the light of your countenance, and in your name shall they exult all the day, and in your righteousness shall they be exalted. For you are the glorying of their strength.” We shall find also the prophet Jeremiah calling out to God, “Lord, my strength and my help, and my refuge in the day of my evils, to You shall the heathen come from the ends of the earth, and say, ‘Our fathers took for themselves false idols, in which there is no help.’ ”

Jeremiah 23:16 · 2 passages

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

God gives the promise, "I will deliver them from the hand of the grave, and from death I will redeem them." So the blessed prophets are in harmony with the decrees from on high. They speak to us not of their own heart or of the will of people but from the mouth of God, as it is written. It is the Holy Spirit speaking within them that declares in every matter what is the sentence of God and his almighty and unalterable will. The prophet Isaiah has said to us, "Your dead shall arise. Those in the graves shall be raised. They who are in the earth shall rejoice. For the dew from you is healing to them." And by the dew I imagine he means the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, and that influence that abolishes death as being that of God and of life.

The guilt decreed against the wicked heretics is inevitable. They reject the words of the holy apostles and evangelists and pervert them to that meaning that seems to them to be right without due examination. They fall from the straight way and wander from the doctrines of piety, deceiving and being deceived. For while, so to speak, they have bidden farewell to the sacred Scriptures, they speak from their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord, as Scripture says. Even though the blessed Evangelist John wrote to us, that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, they drag to the exact opposite both the tenet concerning him and the quotation that proves it, saying that the only-begotten Word of God was not in the beginning, nor true God, and he was not even with God, that is in union with him by nature; God, who has no body, cannot be imagined to be confined to in any one place.

Jeremiah 23:21

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

We must, however, examine such things carefully. For there assuredly are people who have not been counted worthy of Christ's grace but make the reputation of being saints and honorable an opportunity for gain. Of such one may say that they are bold and shameless hypocrites, who seize honors for themselves, even though God has not called them to it. They praise themselves and imitate the bold doings of the false prophets of old, of whom God said, "I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." And so, too, may he say of these, "I have not sanctified them, but they falsely assume the gift for themselves. They have not been counted worthy of my grace, but they wickedly seize those things that I bestow only on those who are worthy to receive them." These, making a show of fasting, walk sadly with downcast looks, while full of fraud and baseness. And often they pride themselves on letting their nails grow long. They are especially fond of their jaundiced complexion. Though no one compels them, they delight in enduring such misery as people hav…

We must, however, examine such things carefully. For there assuredly are people who have not been counted worthy of Christ's grace but make the reputation of being saints and honorable an opportunity for gain. Of such one may say that they are bold and shameless hypocrites, who seize honors for themselves, even though God has not called them to it. They praise themselves and imitate the bold doings of the false prophets of old, of whom God said, "I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." And so, too, may he say of these, "I have not sanctified them, but they falsely assume the gift for themselves. They have not been counted worthy of my grace, but they wickedly seize those things that I bestow only on those who are worthy to receive them." These, making a show of fasting, walk sadly with downcast looks, while full of fraud and baseness. And often they pride themselves on letting their nails grow long. They are especially fond of their jaundiced complexion. Though no one compels them, they delight in enduring such misery as people have to bear in prison, hanging collars on their necks and even putting shackles on their hands and feet. The Savior has commanded us to avoid such persons, saying, "Beware of those who come to you in sheep's clothing but within are ravening wolves."

Jeremiah 23:29

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

“Fire” is called “the Gospel” and “salvation” is called “preaching,” or “fire” could also refer to participation in the Holy Spirit, which is similar to experiencing fire. And indeed, this is also why the most wise John the Baptist concerning himself and all of us said, “I baptize you with water for repentance” etc., [looking ahead] to our Savior Jesus Christ [who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire]. Rightly, therefore, did Christ say, “I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and I wish that it were already kindled.”

Jeremiah 31:33

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

It was probable, however, that the holy apostles would perhaps think these things difficult to put into practice. Therefore he who knows all things takes the natural law of self-love as the arbiter of what any one would wish to obtain from another. Treat others, he says, such as you wish them to treat you. If you would have them harsh and unfeeling, fierce and wrathful, revengeful and ill-disposed, treat them this way. But if, on the contrary, you would have them kind and forgiving, do not think it a thing intolerable to be so yourselves. And in the case of those so disposed, the law is perhaps unnecessary, because God writes on our hearts the knowledge of his will. “For in those days,” says the Lord, “I will surely give my laws into their minds and will write them on their hearts.”

Jeremiah 44:14

So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

When God inflicts the punishment, no one can save those in harm’s way. Wherever they go, his wrath will follow.