TRV
Jerome
Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500
5,299 passages across 63 books of the Bible · Who was this?
On Jeremiah
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Jeremiah 7:34
(Verse 34.) And I will cause the cities of Judah to cease, and I will silence in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land shall become a desolation. And when places of idolatry are turned into tombs, the unburied corpses of those who offended God shall lie there, from the once city of Jerusalem and from the other cities that were under its dominion, all joy and mourning and groaning and desolation shall be removed.
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Jeremiah 8:1-3
(Chapter 8, verses 1 and following) In that time, says the Lord, the bones of the king of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem will be thrown out of their tombs. And they will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they loved and served and after which they walked and which they sought and worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth. And all those who remain from this wicked kinship will choose death over life, in all the places that have been abandoned, to which I have cast them out," says the Lord of Hosts. "We witness in our time that everything that the prophetic word describes has happened: not only to Jerusalem, which suffered these things from the Chaldeans and Romans, but to the whole world, so that tears have dried up, and everything is filled with the bones of the dead. And because they used to bury gold and certain ornaments, either of women or men, in tombs according to the anc…
(Chapter 8, verses 1 and following) In that time, says the Lord, the bones of the king of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem will be thrown out of their tombs. And they will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they loved and served and after which they walked and which they sought and worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth. And all those who remain from this wicked kinship will choose death over life, in all the places that have been abandoned, to which I have cast them out," says the Lord of Hosts. "We witness in our time that everything that the prophetic word describes has happened: not only to Jerusalem, which suffered these things from the Chaldeans and Romans, but to the whole world, so that tears have dried up, and everything is filled with the bones of the dead. And because they used to bury gold and certain ornaments, either of women or men, in tombs according to the ancient custom, greed also broke and dug them up so that they would be exposed to the sky and light. And therefore the bones of the kings of Judah, and its princes, and of the priests and prophets, and of all the people who had been in Jerusalem, were brought forth from the tombs, exposed to the sun and moon, and to the sight of all the stars, so that those whom they had served, abandoning God, would be exposed to their sights, and consumed in dung and ashes. But if anyone were able to escape from the crowd and go to whatever place, he would prefer death to life: and he would think that the destruction of an unfortunate soul is a remedy. -
Jeremiah 8:4
(Verse 4.) And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Shall the one who falls not rise up again? And the one who turns away not return? After so many evils, it provokes those who were able to remain to repentance. Before the things that were threatened come, it exhorts to conversion, and gives place to repentance. But what is written in Hebrew: And the one who turns away not return, it signifies that the one who has turned away from God, if he wishes to turn to better things, can also turn the anger of God to better things and resist the coming and avoid the blows through prayers.
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Jeremiah 8:5
They have all abandoned him. There is no one who speaks well and does penance for his sins. They follow their own wills like a horse ready for battle. They bend their tongue as a bow. They invent everything, and there is no truth in them.
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Jeremiah 8:5
(Verse 5) Therefore, why is this people in Jerusalem turned away with contentious turning away? They have grasped falsehood and did not want to return. As much as I have provoked them to repentance, they have turned away from me, not so much out of a desire to sin, but to overcome me. For they have strongly grasped falsehood, whether idols or every corrupt thing that is contrary to truth and justice, and they did not want to return. It is not said: they were not able; but they have eagerly followed unjust things.
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Jeremiah 8:6
(Verse 6.) I listened and heard: no one speaks what is good. There is no one who repents for his sin, saying: what have I done? All have turned to their own course, like a horse rushing into battle. Called to repentance, they scornfully refuse to listen: and it is not enough for them to have sinned against the Lord and spoken blasphemy, but they all rush like horses, and with fervent speed into battle, not reflecting on their sin, nor saying, what have I done? By these things we understand that either these things are said about the whole human race, because it is prone to vices, or about the time of the Savior, when all together they became useless: there was no one who did good, there was not even one (Psalm 13). Therefore, he himself cries out mystically: Save me, Lord, for the holy one has failed (Psalm 11, 1). But if these things are so, where are those who say that we are free from sin by our own will? No one, he says, speaks what is good (Matt. XI): because we will also be held accountable for idle words on the day of judgment.
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Jeremiah 8:7
(Verse 7) The kite in the sky knows its time: the turtledove and the swallow and the stork keep the time of their arrival. But my people do not know the judgment of the Lord. Regarding the kite, which Symmachus interpreted, the Septuagint and Theodotion used the Hebrew word 'Asida' (). Aquila translated it as 'herodium'. Again, for the swallow, Symmachus translated it as 'cicada', which is called 'Sis' in Hebrew (). But for the stork that we have translated, both Aquila and Symmachus translated it as it is written in Hebrew, 'Agur' (). However, the Septuagint translated it as 'agri passeres'. But it is the same perception, which is also placed at the beginning of Isaiah: The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger; but Israel does not know me, and my people do not understand me (Isaiah 1:3); so even small birds know their seasons, and know when they should avoid the harshness of winter and return to their usual regions in the beginning of spring. But here we should understand "heaven" as the air that is above.
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Jeremiah 8:8
(Verse 8.) How do you say, 'We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us'? Truly, the deceitful pen has worked deceit, scribes who boast knowledge of the Law, and the writers write iniquity. And he says:
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Jeremiah 8:9
(Verse 9) The wise are confused, terrified and captured. For they have rejected the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them. Not because they are wise who do these things; but rather, He calls the wise so that they may be condemned under judgment and their wisdom may be proven foolishness, as the Apostle Paul says: 'You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?' (Romans 2:21). And because they have rejected the word of the Lord, therefore there is no wisdom in them. Therefore, those who destroy doctrine with their actions boast in vain of their knowledge of the law.
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Jeremiah 8:10-11
(Verses 10, 11.) Therefore I will give their women (or wives) to foreigners: their fields to their heirs. Because from the least to the greatest, all are eager for greed; from prophet to priest, all practice falsehood (or iniquity). And they healed the brokenness of my people lightly, saying: Peace, peace, when there is no peace. They received the wages of their works: those who rejected the word of the Lord were rejected by him. Their wives, he says, and possessions I will hand over to the enemy. And so that my opinion may not be considered cruel, let the judge hear the reasons: From the least to the greatest, all are devoted to greed (1 Timothy 6). For greed is the root of all evils. From prophet to priest, who should be preventing others from sinning, the first are guilty of crimes: and all either commit injustice by plundering others, or at least lie, so that there is no truth in their mouths. And after these things, as good physicians, they desired to heal the wounds of others with their words, who themselves were afflicted with wounds of all kinds of crimes. We see this every d…
(Verses 10, 11.) Therefore I will give their women (or wives) to foreigners: their fields to their heirs. Because from the least to the greatest, all are eager for greed; from prophet to priest, all practice falsehood (or iniquity). And they healed the brokenness of my people lightly, saying: Peace, peace, when there is no peace. They received the wages of their works: those who rejected the word of the Lord were rejected by him. Their wives, he says, and possessions I will hand over to the enemy. And so that my opinion may not be considered cruel, let the judge hear the reasons: From the least to the greatest, all are devoted to greed (1 Timothy 6). For greed is the root of all evils. From prophet to priest, who should be preventing others from sinning, the first are guilty of crimes: and all either commit injustice by plundering others, or at least lie, so that there is no truth in their mouths. And after these things, as good physicians, they desired to heal the wounds of others with their words, who themselves were afflicted with wounds of all kinds of crimes. We see this every day also in our own people, with the blessed Apostle Paul saying: 'You who preach against stealing, do you steal?' (Rom. II, 21), and so on. When they see sinners and the wealthy, they desire to heal the contrition of the daughter of the people of God, that is, the Church; to the shame either of those who are deceived or of those who deceive others, so that they may say, with every wicked deed concealed: peace, peace, when there is no peace, and war of sins threatens them. -
Jeremiah 8:11
Do not believe the false prophets who say, “Peace, peace, and there is no peace”; who are always repeating, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” “Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish things; they have not laid bare your iniquity that they might call you to repentance—those who devour God’s people like bread have not called on God.” Jeremiah announced the captivity and was [punished] by the people. Hananiah, the son of Azzur, broke the bars of wood for the present but was preparing bars of iron for the future. False prophets always promise pleasant things, and please for a fee. Truth is bitter, however, and those who preach it are filled with bitterness. For with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth the Lord’s Passover is kept, and it is eaten with bitter herbs.
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Jeremiah 8:11
But what can I do, I who can only wish for peace and have no power to bring it about? Even though the wish may win its reward with God, its futility must still sadden one who cherishes it. When the apostle said, “as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all,” he knew quite well that the realization of peace depends on the consent of two parties. The prophet truly cries, “They say Peace, peace: and yet there is no peace.” To overthrow peace by actions while professing it in words is not hard. To point out its advantages is one thing, and to strive for it another. People’s speeches may be all for unity, but their actions may in fact enforce bondage. I wish for peace as much as any one else; and not only do I wish for it, I ask for it. But the peace that I want is the peace of Christ; a true peace, a peace without rancor, a peace that does not involve war, a peace that will not reduce opponents but will unite friends. How can I term domination peace? I must call things by their right names. Where there is hatred, there let people talk of feuds; and where there is mutual esteem, there…
But what can I do, I who can only wish for peace and have no power to bring it about? Even though the wish may win its reward with God, its futility must still sadden one who cherishes it. When the apostle said, “as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all,” he knew quite well that the realization of peace depends on the consent of two parties. The prophet truly cries, “They say Peace, peace: and yet there is no peace.” To overthrow peace by actions while professing it in words is not hard. To point out its advantages is one thing, and to strive for it another. People’s speeches may be all for unity, but their actions may in fact enforce bondage. I wish for peace as much as any one else; and not only do I wish for it, I ask for it. But the peace that I want is the peace of Christ; a true peace, a peace without rancor, a peace that does not involve war, a peace that will not reduce opponents but will unite friends. How can I term domination peace? I must call things by their right names. Where there is hatred, there let people talk of feuds; and where there is mutual esteem, there only let peace be spoken of. For my part I neither tear the church apart nor separate myself from the communion of the fathers. From my very cradle, I may say, I have been reared on Catholic milk; and no one can be a better churchman than one who has never been a heretic. But I know nothing of a peace that is without love or of a communion that is without peace. In the Gospel I read, “If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” If then we may not offer gifts that are our own unless we are at peace with our brothers; how much less can we receive the body of Christ if we cherish enmity in our hearts? How can I conscientiously approach Christ's Eucharist and answer the Amen if I doubt the charity of him who ministers it? -
Jeremiah 8:12
(Verse 12.) They were confused because they committed abominations. However, they were not confused by their confusion, and they did not blush. Questioningly, is this to be read, so that the meaning would be: Did they blush at their crimes and understand the abominations they had committed? By no means, but they burst forth into such madness that they neither desired to correct their vices through confusion, nor to confess their crimes in the hope of forgiveness.
They will fall among the fallen (or rushing), at the time of their visitation they will fall, says the Lord. These are the rewards of those who have not known how to be ashamed: whose dignity was higher than the peoples, they will be mixed with the ruins of the people. From the least to the greatest, everyone goes after falsehood, from prophet to priest, all practice deceit: but the time of visitation is coming, a near captivity. -
Jeremiah 8:13
(Verse 13) I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig tree; the leaf has fallen off, and I have given them what has passed by. The time of visitation, in which the transgressors will fall, is more clearly shown, saying: I will gather them together. Without a doubt, in Jerusalem, so that they will be besieged by the Chaldeans for a long time, and endure the evils of famine. When, he says, the seasons pass by, and summer turns into autumn, and the leaves of the trees fall in winter, you will see everything from afar, and from these things you will not obtain food. For there is no grape on your vines, from which you do not take the fruit (he will take): and there are no figs on the fig-tree, which the oppressed people sees the fruits of their trees devoured by enemies. The leaves, he says, will fall in the summer and autumn. For I have given them things that they would see passing by; and they would lose the abundance of all things with greater pain than they were not allowed to touch.
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Jeremiah 8:14-15
(Vers. 14, 15.) Why are we sitting? Come together, and let us enter the fortified city or cities, and let us remain silent there or be cast out there, for our Lord has made us silent and has given us the drink of gall water. For we have sinned against the Lord, we have waited for peace, and it was not good: a time of healing, and behold, fear. The voice of the people responding is introduced, and confessing its own vices, and encouraging one another, to enter the fortified cities or walled city, or one city, Jerusalem: for the others had already been captured. And let us be silent there, he says, because our Lord has made us silent: for we do not have confidence in praying, whether we are cast there or expelled like refuse. He himself has given us a drink of bitter water: because we have turned sweet into bitterness against God. And the reason is clear why we drink such waters: For we have sinned against the Lord, and we have expected peace, even though we have done no good works: and we thought that the time of healing had come for us, when everything was filled with fear and terror…
(Vers. 14, 15.) Why are we sitting? Come together, and let us enter the fortified city or cities, and let us remain silent there or be cast out there, for our Lord has made us silent and has given us the drink of gall water. For we have sinned against the Lord, we have waited for peace, and it was not good: a time of healing, and behold, fear. The voice of the people responding is introduced, and confessing its own vices, and encouraging one another, to enter the fortified cities or walled city, or one city, Jerusalem: for the others had already been captured. And let us be silent there, he says, because our Lord has made us silent: for we do not have confidence in praying, whether we are cast there or expelled like refuse. He himself has given us a drink of bitter water: because we have turned sweet into bitterness against God. And the reason is clear why we drink such waters: For we have sinned against the Lord, and we have expected peace, even though we have done no good works: and we thought that the time of healing had come for us, when everything was filled with fear and terror. The change of persons, especially in the Prophets, makes understanding difficult: but if they are restored to their proper places, causes, and times, what seemed obscure will become clear. -
Jeremiah 8:16
(Verse 16.) And a sound of his horses was heard, from the voice of the neighing of his warriors (or cavalry) the whole earth was shaken. And they came and devoured (or they will come and devour) the land and its abundance, the city and its inhabitants. Therefore, as the Septuagint translated above, the people did not say: Let us enter fortified cities, but a fortified city, to signify Jerusalem. Finally, even now he brings forth: the city and its inhabitants. But it is described by Dan, coming through Phoenicia with the army of Nebuchadnezzar, in the place where the river Jordan rises, and it predicts the events that will happen in the future, in Hebrew for the sake of truth.
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Jeremiah 8:17
(Verse 17) Behold, I will send you serpents, rulers (or as the Septuagint translated, deadly ones) with whom there is no enchantment. And they will bite you, says the Lord, incurably, and you will fail with the pain of your heart. Those who come from Dan, whose noise has been heard and who have turned the whole land into a wilderness, are the same ones that the prophetic word indicates under a different figure, calling them deadly serpents or rulers as the Hebrew word Saphphonim (). I do not understand why the second edition of his work, as he says, was intended for spies, unless perhaps because of the similarity of words. To them, he says, there is no enchantment. For they pour out prayers in vain to God against the ancient serpent, the twisted serpent, who have despised the commandments of God. Let us use this passage against those who, by disregarding the words of the Savior, are delivered to hostile powers.
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Jeremiah 8:18
(Verse 18) My sorrow is upon sorrow, my heart is mourning within me. As we have said before, the previous seventy sentences, which were said, were connected in order to establish: 'And they will bite you,' says the Lord, 'incurably: with the pain of your heart, you will faint.' However, in Hebrew, the word for pain, which is translated into Greek as ὀδύνη, is not so much a physical pain as it is a grimace of the mouth, contracted and resembling a laugh. These words must be read emphatically from the perspective of God, mourning the downfall of Jerusalem and not enduring its miseries.
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Jeremiah 8:19
(Verse 19) Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land. She describes weeping and the howling of the city of Jerusalem as the enemies enter.
Is not the Lord in Zion, and is not his king in her? Indeed, the Lord himself is the king. Or certainly the Lord refers to the Father, and the king refers to the Son, according to that which is written under the name of Solomon: 'Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king's son' (Psalm 72:1). But why is there a voice of shouting in Jerusalem, and why does the shout come from a far away land? The clear reason is that the Lord is not in her, and her king has departed from her.
Why, then, have they provoked me to anger with their idols and their foreign vanities? The Lord has departed from them, he said, because they provoked me to anger with the worship of idols, even though I, who am their Lord and king, was the one they should have worshipped. -
Jeremiah 8:20
(Verse 20.) The harvest has passed, the summer is ended: and we are not saved. Once again the people speak, who were besieged in Jerusalem for a long time, because the times have changed, and the cycle of years has come to an end, and all their hope has been in vain, and has passed away.