Jerome

(Chapter 19, verses 1 onwards) And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say: Why did your mother, a lioness, lie down among lions? In the midst of young lions she raised her cubs. And one of her cubs grew up, he became a lion and learned to catch prey and devour men. The nations heard about him and captured him in their own traps, and they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt. When she saw that she had been frustrated and her hope was lost, she took one of her cubs and made him a lion. He who walked among lions, became a lion. He learned to capture prey and devour men. He learned to make widows and turn their cities into deserts, and the land was laid waste, and its fullness, by the roar of his voice. And nations from all provinces gathered against him and spread their nets over him; he was captured in their wounds. And they put him in a cage, they led him in chains to the king of Babylon, and they sent him to prison so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. LXX: And you shall take up a lamentation for the prince of Israel, and you shall say: What was your mother's lioness? She has grown up among lions and has brought up her cubs among lions. And one of her cubs has come up: he has become a lion, and he has learned to catch the prey. He devours people, and the nations have heard of him. He has been trapped in their pits, and they have brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. And when she saw that she was taken captive and her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a lion. And he went about among lions. He became a lion, and learned to seize prey. He devoured men, and fed on their audacity. He brought their cities to desolation, and laid waste to the land and its abundance with the sound of his roaring. Nations from all around set traps for him, and spread their nets over him. He was captured in their corruption, and they put him in a cage. He was brought to the king of Babylon in chains, and they brought him into prison, so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. I know that in this place I have read a multitude of explanations, and hindered by such obscurities, that it has not so much revealed as enveloped the reading, while all the writings refer to opposing strengths, and in heavenly Jerusalem describes lions and battles: how one of them is captured, and another is placed in his stead, and he provides many testimonies: that the devil and his companions are often called lions, as in that passage about the apostle Peter: Our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8); and in the Psalms: Do not give the soul of your confession to wild beasts (Psalm 73:19). Certainly, when it comes to history, it is said that Johanan, the son of Carea, was taken to Egypt: how he was called a lion while fleeing with a few, I do not know; and the other lion, Zedekiah, who was also taken to Babylon. However, leaving such explanations to the judgment of the reader, let us say that the prophet predicts not so much the future as he narrates the past. For after the sixth year of Zedekiah (for immediately afterwards we read: And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day) a lamentation is made over the princes, or over the prince of Israel, and it is said: Why has your mother the lioness lain among the lions? Therefore, the lamentation is over the princes, namely all those who are descended from the line of Josiah. The mother of the princes of Jerusalem is called a lioness, who gave birth to and nursed little lions: and she brought up one of her little lions, and made him a lion, signifying Joachaz the son of Josiah, whom Pharaoh Neco took to Egypt, and in his place made Joakim. After his death, Jechoniah his son was made king, and he was carried off to Babylon with his mother and the nobles of the city by Nebuchadnezzar: and from him is born Salathiel, the father of Zerubbabel, who received his name because he was born in Babylon (2 Kings 23). And it is clear that under the metaphor of the lioness, lion cubs, and lion, and again of another lion, those things which had already happened at that time when this prophet was speaking are described. For after he had taken Jerusalem from the royal lineage of Joachaz son of Josiah and made him king, he became so cruel in a short time that he is said to have metaphorically seized prey and devoured men. When an Egyptian came to him, he captured him not without wounds, either in a pit, as is specifically stated in Hebrew, in order to preserve the metaphorical capture of lions, which are always caught in pits. And he brought him in chains or shackles to the land of Egypt, and there he died. When his mother, who had borne him, who had raised him, who had established him as king, saw this, her hope was destroyed. She took one of the other kings, Jechoniah, son of Jehoiakim, and made him king. He, imitating the cruelty of his predecessor, is described as savage like a lion, as he devoured men, made many widows, led cities to ruin; and at the sound of his roar, the whole province was terrified, so that nations gathered around him, spread their nets over him, captured him in a pit, put him in a cage and in chains. Not that Jechoniah experienced this, for he himself surrendered to the king of Babylon and was carried off to Chaldea; but this translation is kept like that of a lion, who is caught in pits, bound in chains, and kept in cages. Furthermore, according to history: we read this about Zedekiah, who was appointed king of Jerusalem after Jehoiachin. And this is the reason why, because chains are mentioned, and a cage, and a prison is named, most people understand it to refer to Zedekiah rather than Jehoiachin. Therefore, he was saved in prison, not killed, and only removed from the kingdom. However, the history tells us that Zedekiah, being blind, was taken to Babylon, and there he was immediately killed.

(Verse 10 and following) Your mother is like a vine planted over the water, your blood. Its fruits and branches grew abundantly from many waters. And solid rods became scepters of rulers for it, and its stature was elevated in its branches. And it saw its height in the multitude of its palm trees. And in anger, it was uprooted and thrown to the ground, and a scorching wind dried up its fruit. Its strong rods withered and dried up, and fire consumed it. And now she has been transplanted into a desert in an impassable land and thirsty. And fire went out from the rod of its branches, which consumed its fruit, and there was no strong branch in it, the scepter of rulers. It lamented, and it will be mourned. Your mother is like a vineyard, like a flower in a pomegranate tree planted in water. Its fruit and offspring came from much water. And a branch of strength was made for it among the tribes of leaders: and it was exalted in its greatness among its branches. And he saw his greatness in the multitude of his palm trees, and it was broken in fury: it was thrown to the ground, and a burning wind dried up its chosen ones. They were avenged, and the rod of his strength was dried up. Fire consumed it, and now they have planted it in a desert, in a land without water, and fire has come out from the rod of its chosen ones, and devoured it, and there was no rod of strength in it. It is a lamentation in three parts, and it will be a mourning. In different speeches, the same thing is said. And just as in previous readings we read that Jerusalem is compared to a beautiful woman, and again a lioness who nursed lions in her lair, now the vine or vineyard is compared to the most beautiful one, which was planted over the waters and therefore the branches, nourished by the moisture, have grown so much that one branch, which Scripture calls a very strong or mighty rod, has become the ruler's scepter. In order to translate the Septuagint into the language of the three leaders, so that kings would be made from it. But the vineyard itself was of such beauty that the splendor of its strength was equal to the flowers of the pomegranate, which in Hebrew is called a vineyard in your blood, compared to the redness of the flowers. Therefore, the lofty and upright vineyard was exalted. For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). It was uprooted in the anger of the Lord and thrown down to the ground, so that the ruins of Jerusalem would preserve the elegant translation of the vine. However beautiful the vineyard may be, and however far its branches extend, if you take away the poles and stakes, joined to the earth, it withers from the heat, especially if the burning wind, which the Greeks call καύσωμα, dries up its fruit, so that it withers and is consumed as if by the heat of fire. As for the addition in the Septuagint: They have been avenged, instead of what is written in Hebrew, they have withered, I cannot determine what significance it may have. Therefore, how is that vineyard of such fertility and abundance, and of such beauty, now transplanted into a desert, into a rough and thirsty land? However, it signifies the land of Babylon to which they were transplanted, or Egypt to which they fled, or the land of Judah itself, in which a few poor remained, of whom Godolias (also called Gotholias) was appointed governor to gather and govern the remnants of the people (2 Kings 25). Against whom he rose up from the royal stock, and from the branch of the vineyard of Ishmael, who slew him in Maspha (also called Masepha), and ate up all the fruit of the vineyard, and from thence was no strong rod to be left, nor a sceptre of great power (Jeremiah 40 and 41). For no king remained that might govern the people, but they all fled with Johanan the son of Careah into Egypt. Therefore bewail we and lament that the royal race which in Judea hath ceased no more till he come that is to be laid upon it: and he shall be the desire of nations (Genesis 49:10). From this it is clear, both from the previous passage, in which it is said: Why did your mother, a lioness, lie down among lions? and from this passage, in which it is written: Your mother, like a vine planted by the water, belonged to Jerusalem, which lost its lions and its branches, and the rod that would rise among the tribes or the scepter of those in power did not remain in it. For it begins with mourning and ends in mourning. Assume mourning over the leaders of Israel. This is, in the beginning and now at the end, a lamentation; and with lamentation and mourning, the royal line is to be pursued like a parable. Furthermore, according to the allegory, which others refer to heavenly Jerusalem, they say that from it many have fallen into this valley of tears, and kings have ceased to be, and the once beautiful vine has been dried up by the burning wind, so that no green shoots remain in it, which later Jeremiah laments under the form of the city; we understand (Matthew 24) this concerning the Church, because in the last times, with multiplied iniquity, the love of many will grow cold, so that even the chosen ones of God may be tested, and its princes may be caught in the snares of the devil, who is not content with capturing only one king, but hastens to capture kings and princes daily, according to what is written: His chosen food (Habakkuk 1:16). The branches of the Church, which not long ago were equal to flowers and the redness of blood, are now withered by the wind. This interpretation also corresponds to the parable of the Gospel, in which, when the sun rises, what had sprouted withers and dries up suddenly (Mk 4). So that hardly any of the branches remain that can rise up as a rod and become a worthy leader of the people. In other words, this is what Amos speaks of: 'I will send a famine upon the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of God' (Amos 8:11). Where should we mourn and lament over the princes of Israel, through whose fault and pride Judaea was deserted and Jerusalem captured.

(Chapter 20, Verse 1) And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth, in the tenth month, men came from the elders of Israel to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. After eleven months and five days of the previous vision, again the word of the Lord came to the prophet, after men came from the elders of the house of Israel to inquire of the Lord and sat before him. However, many examples testify that it was the custom of the people of Israel to seek whatever they desired to know from the Lord through the prophets. Saul, looking for donkeys, goes to Samuel and receives advice from a young boy to offer a quarter shekel to the prophet. When Jeroboam's son is sick, he is sent to Shiloh to the prophet Achiam (also known as Abiam), bringing gifts of bread, cakes, grapes, and a jar of honey, to learn about the illness of his son. David also consults the prophet Nathan, asking whether he should build a temple for the Lord. And Ahab inquires whether he should go up to Ramoth Gilead or not (3 Kings 22). In Isaiah (Isa. 37) and in the book of Kings (4 Kings 19), it is announced what will happen with Sennacherib. It is not surprising that in the Old Testament the prophets announce everything that is going to happen, since we have read that Agabus prophesied to Paul what was going to happen (Acts 21). It is written in Deuteronomy: The nations that the Lord is going to destroy before you, they will listen to dreams and divinations, but the Lord your God has not given you this (Deut. 18:14). For it is the practice of the Gentiles to consult the Chaldeans, augurs, diviners, soothsayers, and oracles of demons, by which their error is mocked. Therefore, even now the elders of Israel approach a prophet to inquire of the Lord through him, and yet they are silent about their inquiry, with the one who was to be questioned knowing what they were asking, so that a miracle occurred in him, knowing why they had come and answering the unspoken thoughts in their minds.

(Verse 4) If you judge them: if you judge, O son of man. LXX: if I avenge them with vengeance, O son of man: They have indeed come to interrogate me, desiring to know about those things about which they are in doubt, and the future; but you, O son of man, judge them, so that the prophet's response may not be, but rather the sentence of the judge for the injustices they have committed, and for following the crimes of their fathers. Or certainly, if I avenge them with vengeance, it can be understood in this sense: They are so covered in wickedness that they are not even worthy of correction and reproof, according to what is said by the prophet: I will no longer visit your daughters, and your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery (Hosea 4). Wherefore sinners, who have descended into the depths of sin, are forgiven to fulfill the desires of their hearts (Prov. XVIII).

Show them the abominations of their fathers, and you shall say to them: 'LXX: Rebuke them for the iniquities of their fathers, and you shall say to them: If the sins of the fathers do not flow over to their children, why are the abominations and iniquities of the fathers now placed upon the elders? Clearly it is for this reason, that similar actions may be shown to be done by their parents, and that they may drag the longest rope of inherited evils, so that they may fear the punishments of those whose vices they imitate.'

(Verses 5, 6.) Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I chose Israel, and raised my hand for the offspring of the house of Jacob, and appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and raised my hand for them, saying: I am the Lord your God. In that day I raised my hand for them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I provided for them, flowing with milk and honey: which is excellent among all lands. LXX: Thus says the Lord God: From the day that I chose the house of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was recognized by them in the land of Egypt, and received them, saying: I am the Lord your God: in that day I took hold of them by my hand, saying: to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey: a Paradise beyond all lands. For what the Seventy said, 'honeycomb' is beyond all lands, for which we have interpreted it, 'excellent' is among all lands. The first edition of Aquila placed 'firmament'; the second, 'illustrious'; Symmachus, 'region'; Theodotion, 'strength'; that is to say, this is the foundation of all lands, that in it there is the religion of God, and temple, and ceremonies, and knowledge of God; and to such an extent did the people of Israel, established in Egypt, not know God, that when Moses was sent to them, he said, 'If they ask me, who sent you?' What should I say to them? Say, he said, to them: 'I AM has sent me' (Exodus 3:13, 14). He became known to the people in Egypt and to the offspring of the house of Jacob when he raised his hand against the Egyptians for them, and said, 'I am the Lord your God,' and he chose them to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. For they were not yet able to eat solid food, but like infants and nursing babies, they were in need of milk and honey. Indeed, whoever considers the land of Judea, letter by letter, from Rhinocorura to Mount Taurus, and the entire land along the Euphrates River, will not be able to doubt that it is famous and more fertile than all other lands, and the power and beauty of the cities and the pleasantness of the regions - namely Palestine and Phoenicia, Arabia, Syria Coele, Cilicia, and the other regions which the Lord promised to the Israelites if they had kept God's commandments, but because they did not receive them, it was a fault of their disbelief. For even in Palestine and the province of Judea, many people remained who were not expelled. For the sponsor is not at fault if the one to whom the promise is made proves himself unworthy of the pledge, especially when the option of the promisor is presented: 'If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.' Therefore, choices are made in the present; and the one who is chosen is not immediately capable of being tempted or destroyed, because both Saul, who was chosen as king, and Judas, who was chosen as an Apostle, later fell due to their own fault. The raising of the hand, or extension, indicates the posture of a striker: to strike against the Egyptians, and to free the people of Israel from Egypt.

(Version 7) And I said to them: Let each one cast away the offenses of their eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. LXX: And I said to them: Let each one cast away the abominations of their eyes, and do not be polluted with the inventions of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Regarding the offenses, which are called 'Secuse' in Hebrew, Symmachus interpreted them as nausea, the second edition of Aquila as excisions, to signify that they should be cast away like the blemishes that hinder vision and create a sense of vomiting for those who see them. The word 'gelule' is also a Hebrew term, which the LXX invented. The first edition of Aquila was defiled; the second edition of Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as idols, whom we also follow at present. However, he commands those who are leaving Egypt to forget the idols they have served for a long time, and indeed to cast them away from their eyes so that they do not even regard them with their sight. And those who have been defiled for a long time should no longer consent to them. I, he says, am the Lord your God; not the Egyptian portents, not the figments of various monsters. But even to us, when we come out of Egypt, it is commanded that we cast off the offenses of our eyes: lest we be delighted by those things with which we were previously delighted in the world, lest we be polluted by the idols of Egypt, namely, the inventions of philosophers and heretics, which are rightly called idols. Let us also remove our eyes from the spectacles, or rather offenses, of Egypt: the arenas, the circuses, the theaters, and all things that contaminate the purity of the soul and enter through the senses into the mind; and let what is written be fulfilled: Death has entered through your windows (Jeremiah 9:21).

(Verse 8) And they have provoked me. LXX: And they have departed from me. Or as Symmachus interpreted: They have not found rest with me. And immediately when called, they depart from God, so that there is no space between the calling and the departure. And it should be noted that no one departs from God unless they were with Him before. Hence, the dragon in the book of Job is called an apostate, a transgressor, and a deserter (Job XXXIV).

And they did not want to listen to me. Each one did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, nor did they leave the idols of Egypt. LXX: And they did not want to listen to me. They did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, and they did not leave the inventions of Egypt. Therefore, they have provoked me, says the Lord, and they have turned away from me, because they did not want to listen to me while the free will of man is preserved; and they have done all the things that I commanded them not to do according to the law. Immediately, despairing of salvation, they murmur against Moses and distrust the promises of God. Unde sequitur:

And I said that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and execute my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Because they had not yet gone out of Egypt. For it follows below: I have cast them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the desert. From which it is shown that they had not yet gone out of Egypt, when he wanted to pour out his indignation, and fill his anger upon them, and strike them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

(Verse 10 and following) Therefore I expelled them from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the desert, and gave them my commandments, and showed them my judgments, which a man should do and live by them. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert. They did not walk in my commandments and they cast away my judgments, which a man should do and live by them, and they greatly violated my Sabbaths. Therefore, I said that I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness and consume them, and I did so for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations, from whom I had brought them out. These things are said to those who were brought out of Egypt into the wilderness: that, having been freed from the vices of the Egyptians, they might more easily fulfill the commandments of God in the solitude and observe his judgments and keep the Sabbath. These things were given as a sign between the one who gave them and those to whom they were given, as the Scripture says: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: And you, command the Israelites, saying: See, and keep my Sabbaths, which is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you, and keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Whosoever violates it shall be put to death. Everyone who works on it shall have that soul cut off from among his people (Exod. XXXI, 13, 14). Therefore, the Sabbath and circumcision are given as a sign of the true Sabbath and true circumcision: so that we may know that we must rest from the works of the world and circumcise not the flesh, but the heart. Thus, by working for six days, we rest on the seventh day, doing nothing else day and night except acknowledging that everything we live is owed to the Lord, and at the return of the week, we consecrate ourselves entirely to His name, so that through the sanctification of the day, we may remember the Lord who sanctifies us. The Lord gave these commandments and statutes and the observance of the Sabbath in the desert, so that those who did them would live by them and not go beyond them, as promised in the Gospel. They violated them, not once or a little, but greatly, so that the extent of the violation would be shown. Therefore, he said and decided in his mind to pour out his anger upon them in the desert and consume them, as he spoke to Moses: 'Leave me, and in my anger, I will destroy them.' (Exodus 32:10). But he did not want to do it, sparing the Egyptians and the other nations, so that they would not be scandalized, and waiting for the repentance of those he had mercy on. And it should be noted that when he spoke to the Israelites after the offense that he said, 'I did it for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated in the presence of the nations from which I expelled them.' At that time, they were still in the midst of those nations, as they had not yet left. But now, after they have left, it is said, 'From the nations from which I expelled them.'

(Verse 15) Therefore I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, to not bring them into the land that I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the most excellent of all lands, because they had rejected my judgments and had not walked in my commandments, and had violated my sabbaths. After idols their heart went, and my eye spared them so as not to kill them, nor did I consume them in the wilderness. LXX: And I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, so as to not bring them into the land that I had given them: a land flowing with milk and honey: a hive beyond all lands: because they rejected my justifications, and had not walked in my commandments, and had violated my sabbaths, and had walked after the thoughts of their own hearts. And my eye spared them, so that I would not destroy them, and I did not kill them in the wilderness. Indeed I resolved to pour out my fury on them and to destroy them, but I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned among the nations, namely the Amalekites and the others who fought against them in the wilderness. I did not allow them to enter the land that I had promised to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the most excellent of all lands, like a honeycomb. The cause of this punishment and sentence is that they rejected my judgments, did not walk in my statutes, and violated my Sabbaths. The cause of this cause is that they did not do these things because their heart followed the idols of Egypt. However, my eye spared them, saying that I would not kill them and destroy them completely. But it is asked, how did I spare them when their corpses fell in the wilderness, and no one entered the promised land except Joshua and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. From which we understand that they are not kept for eternal punishments, nor erased from the book of the living, nor consumed in the presence of the Lord. For if it is believed that they perished because they were not admitted into the land of promise, then Moses also perished, who only saw the land of promise and did not enter it. This is mentioned in the book of the Lord Jesus: My servant Moses has died (Deut. XXXIV, 5). And in Malachi: Remember the Law of Moses my servant (Malachi 4:4). And in Jeremiah, as if speaking to a friend and familiar, God says: If Moses and Samuel stood before me (Jeremiah 15:1). Otherwise, it must be believed that the prayers of Moses were heard, when he interceded for the people, saying: If you forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written (Exodus 32:32, 33). But so that we may know that God's intention towards his sons and servants is for their improvement, not their destruction, let us listen to the testimonies of the Scriptures. My son, do not be saddened by the discipline of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him (Prov. III, 11). For whom the Lord loves, He corrects; and He chastises every son whom He receives (Heb. XII, 6). And in another place: When He killed them, then they sought Him (Ps. LXXVI, 34). And in the Song of Deuteronomy it says: I will kill, and I will give life (Deut. 32:39). We can also say this literally, that He did not destroy them, nor did He consume them with their offspring and descendants, but after killing the fathers, He spared the sons, whom He brought into the Promised Land.

(Verse 18 onwards) But I said to their children in the wilderness: Do not follow the commands (or laws) of your fathers, nor keep their judgments, nor be defiled by their idols (or thoughts). I am the Lord your God. Walk in my commands, and keep my judgments, and do them, and sanctify my Sabbaths, that it may be a sign between me and you, and that it may be known (or that you may know) that I am the Lord your God. After the killing of the fathers who fell in the desert, he gives commands to his sons, in whose salvation he had mercy on the fathers. And he said, 'The eye of the Lord should not entirely destroy them and wipe them out, but should preserve the fathers in their sons.' And he testifies to the same things that he spoke to the fathers: that after they have walked in his commandments and kept his judgments and preserved the sanctification of the Sabbath, which is a sign given, then they shall know that he is their Lord God. However, the precepts and legitimate laws of the fathers, and their judgments, signify an unusual error: that they may not imitate the sins of those whose torments they witness.

(Ver. 23, 24 onwards) Again, I raised my hand against them in the wilderness, to scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the lands, because they had not performed my judgments, and had rejected my commandments, and had violated my Sabbaths, and their eyes had been after the idols (or thoughts) of their fathers. Therefore, I also gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they would not live, and I defiled them in their offerings (or transgressions), as they offered (or led astray) everything that opens the womb because of their sins (for which the Septuagint translated, to destroy them and what they had overlooked): and they will know that I am the Lord. Where in the Old Testament, against their children, who fell in the wilderness, the Lord lifted up His hand to scatter them among the nations, Scripture does not say; but it is to be believed that this was done in accordance with what is reported here. Or he signifies by this, that after they entered the promised land, they were given over at various times, for many sins, to different nations and kings, and at that time the commandments of the Lord, which were good according to their nature, and the judgments by which believers could live, were made not good for them, since they were in no way able to keep the precepts of the law in captivity, and to do what the divine word commanded. He did not say, 'I gave them evil commandments,' but, 'not good commandments.' For it does not immediately follow that what is not good is evil, as the Apostle teaches, it is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of incontinence, let each possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (I Cor. VII). And if he does not do this, it is neither good nor evil. Therefore, God gave them, dispersed among the nations, not good commandments, that is, he allowed them to follow their own thoughts and desires, to do what is not appropriate. And he defiled them in his gifts: just as a Priest separates lepers from the people, and shows that they are defiled; while they offer to idols what they should offer to God. And they pass everything that opens the womb through the fire of Baal, that is, the firstborn; so that after they have deserted God and been handed over to the worship of idols, then they may understand that He is the Lord whom they have provoked to anger by their own fault. Symmachus interpreted this passage more explicitly, treating the future as past. Therefore, I will also give them bad precepts and judgments for which they will not live, and I will defile them because of their gifts, as they consecrate and offer everything that opens the womb, so that I may destroy them, and they will know that I am the Lord. And the meaning is this: because I have seen the sons of the fathers equaling the wickedness of their ancestors and doing the same things for which they offended God, I wanted to divide them into nations and disperse them throughout the whole world, and give them bad precepts and judgments in which they would not live, so that I may defile them with their gifts, for they consecrated everything that opens the womb to idols, and I may destroy them forever, and they will know that I am the Lord. Through which he showed that he had not given them good commandments who dwelt in the wilderness, but to those whom he wanted to scatter among the nations, and to make foreigners in the whole world, he gave them a desire for things that he did not give: so that there they would do good commandments of God, not good because of their own fault, while they exhibited to idols what God had commanded to be exhibited. This can also be said, that before the offense, they received only the Ten Commandments; but after idolatry and blasphemy, they received multiple ceremonies of the law, so that they would offer victims to God rather than to demons, and by comparison with sacrilege, what was not good in itself became lighter, and by no means evil, because it was offered to God, and yet not good, because they offended the author of good.

(Verse 27, 29 onwards) Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: Moreover, your fathers have blasphemed against me and have treated me with contempt, even as they spurned me. And I brought them into the land that I had lifted my hand to give them ((Vulgate adds: that land)): they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices and presented there the irritation of their offerings, and they placed there the fragrance of their sweetness, and they poured out their ((Vulgate is silent on this)) libations there. And I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you are going?' And its name was called the High Place until this day. Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: As for your fathers, they have provoked Me to anger by their iniquities, by the fact that they have fallen away from Me. So I brought them into the land that I had lifted My hand in an oath to give them.' They saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. They also presented there the provocation of their gifts, and they set there their pleasing aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings. And I said to them: What is abbana, because you enter there? And they called its name abbana until this day. I wanted, he said, to scatter them in the wilderness, and to give them not good precepts, so that they would sacrifice to idols what they should have offered to me, and consecrate all their first-fruits to them by fire, so that I might kill them and destroy them. But when he says, I wanted, he shows that he did not do what he wanted. And that which follows: 'And they shall know that I am the Lord,' is not found in the Septuagint. For it did not seem fitting to them to know after their destruction that he himself is the Lord. But you, son of man, speak again to them, that is, to the elders of the house of Israel, who have come to inquire of you: Your fathers, from whom you have descended, have also blasphemed against me and held me in contempt; after I brought them into the land which I had given them to possess, they turned against me to provoke me. For when they saw every high hill and leafy tree, they would sacrifice on the mountains and in the groves and thickets, and offer victims to the idols, and pour out libations. And when I saw this, I said to them: What is this, Bama? for it is called high: or why do you enter into such a place which you have chosen for yourselves in all the hills, so that even today these places are called Bamoth, and the ancient error retains its original name? Regarding Bama, which we translate as excelsum, there is an error in the Septuagint edition, where it is written as ἀββανὰ, which does not resonate in the Hebrew language. Bama can mean 'in which' if the two syllables are divided into two words, but in the present context, that sense does not fit. However, wherever it is written in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: 'The people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places,' Bama in the singular and Bamoth in the plural mean 'high places.'

(Verse 32, 33.) And the thought of your minds shall not be, of those saying: We shall be like the nations, and like the kindreds of the earth, to worship wood and stones. As I live, saith the Lord God: With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will reign over you. This has this meaning: Do not think that your thoughts, with which you blaspheme against me, can be fulfilled. For I say: We do not want to be under the Lord, nor to be called His people. But as all nations are in the whole world, and each people lives according to its own will, to worship wood and stones, and to serve idols, even we shall be one people among many. To which God responds and swears by Himself, saying: I will not abandon you nor despise you, as negligent runaway servants often despise their masters, but I will draw you back to my reign, and with outstretched arm, striking and pouring out fury, I will restore you to your former slavery, and I will reign over you: whether you want it or not, you will have me as your king, and you will experience the wrath of a king, whose kindness you have neglected.