Jerome — Commentary on Scripture

Jeremiah 3:3-5

Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

When they go out, they do their best to attract notice and with nods and winks encourage troops of young fellows to follow them. Of each and all of these the prophet’s words are true, “You have a whore’s forehead. You refuse to be ashamed.” Their robes have but a narrow purple stripe, it is true. And their headdress is somewhat loose, so as to leave the hair free.

Jeremiah 3:4-5

Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

(Verse 4, 5.) Therefore, at least from now on, call me, my Father, you are the leader of my virginity: will you be angry forever, or will you persist until the end? Let the heretics be ashamed who do not want to convert to better things, nor return to their Father and Creator, and let them hear: At least from now on, call me, my Father, you are the leader of my virginity. He himself embraces your soul with his affection, and teaches how one should pray and repent. However, the more merciful he who shows the way to salvation after fornication, the more wretched the prostitute who does not want to receive health after wounds.

Behold, you have spoken, and you have done evil, and you have been able. For words of repentance, with words of pride you blasphemed: and you fulfilled your evil intention, and you showed your strength against a man, so that you could do what you discussed in speech.

Jeremiah 3:6-10 · 2 passages

The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

(Verse 6 and following) And the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what the adulteress Israel has done? She went upon every high hill and under every leafy tree and committed adultery there. And I said, after she had done all these things: Return to me, but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw that I had dismissed the adulteress Israel and had given her a bill of divorce. But her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she also went and committed adultery. She defiled the land with her adulterous acts and committed adultery with stone and wood. And in all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in falsehood, says the Lord. The torments of some are the remedies of others. And when a murderer is punished, he receives indeed what he has done, but others are deterred from the crime. Therefore, when the ten tribes, which were called Israel, were captured by the Assyrians and taken to Media, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which should have feared similar things and turned their whole minds toward…

(Verse 6 and following) And the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what the adulteress Israel has done? She went upon every high hill and under every leafy tree and committed adultery there. And I said, after she had done all these things: Return to me, but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw that I had dismissed the adulteress Israel and had given her a bill of divorce. But her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she also went and committed adultery. She defiled the land with her adulterous acts and committed adultery with stone and wood. And in all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in falsehood, says the Lord. The torments of some are the remedies of others. And when a murderer is punished, he receives indeed what he has done, but others are deterred from the crime. Therefore, when the ten tribes, which were called Israel, were captured by the Assyrians and taken to Media, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which should have feared similar things and turned their whole minds towards God, overcame the crimes of the ten tribes. And they followed idols to such an extent that they placed a statue of Baal in the Temple of God, which is called an idol by Ezekiel, set up for zeal and emulation of the Lord. But it speaks under the figure of two sisters, because from one are generated Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the stock, and the former is called the adversary, the latter the rebellious one. For the former completely turned away from God, immediately worshipping golden calves in Dan and Bethel. But the latter, in whose possession was the Temple and the true religion of God, gradually departed from the Lord (3 Kings 12). And for this reason, she is called the rebellious one. According to the spiritual interpretation, prophecy about heretics is this: those who, thinking themselves wise in heretical cunning, ascend the mind of pride with knowledge of a false name; and, defiled by the pleasures of this flesh, expose their fornication under every leafy and pleasant tree. When they are delivered to the devil for the destruction of the flesh, it often happens that the house of Judah, that is, the confession and true faith, is not at all frightened by their example but commits much greater evils. And they contaminate the land of the Church with the ease of their fornication, committing adultery with stone and wood, following the teachings that are against God. But if an ecclesiastical man wishes to correct someone who has gone astray, and to cut away the rotten flesh, and to bring back to repentance those who have followed falsehood: and nonetheless they continue to adhere to the ancient error under the guise of Ecclesiastical truth, it can be said of them: In all these things, her treacherous sister Judah has not turned back to me with her whole heart, but in deceit. But this prophecy was fulfilled during the time of Josiah, a righteous king, under whom Jeremiah began to prophesy.

“And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but feignedly.” It is a smaller sin to follow evil that you think is good than not to venture to defend what you know for certain is good. If we cannot endure threats, injustice and poverty, how shall we overcome the flames of Babylon? Let us not lose by hollow peace what we have preserved by war. I should be sorry to allow my fears to teach me faithlessness when Christ has put the true faith in the power of my choice.

Jeremiah 3:11

And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

(Verse 11.) And the Lord said to me: He has justified his soul, the one who turned away from Israel, by the comparison of the one who acted treacherously in Judah. Israel is more just, he said, in comparison to Judah: because she perished immediately in the beginning, while the other could be corrected by her sufferings. Let us observe that the new heresy is compared to the old, in which Israel is said to be justified in comparison to Judah. And it is not surprising that the name of justice is attributed to one sister of a nation, when even Sodom receives the name of justice in comparison to Jerusalem, as the Lord says through Ezekiel: Sodom has been justified by you (Ezek. 16:55): and the tax collector becomes just by comparison to the Pharisee (Luke 18).

Jeremiah 3:12-13

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

(Verse 12 onwards) Go, and cry out (or read) these words against the North, and say: Return, O backsliding Israel, declares the Lord, and I will not turn away (or strengthen) my face from you (or against you), for I am holy (or merciful), declares the Lord, and I will not be angry forever. However, know your iniquity, for you have transgressed against the Lord your God (or acted wickedly), and have scattered (or poured out) your ways to strangers under every green tree, and have not listened to my voice, says the Lord. The Hebrew word Carath () signifies 'call, shout, and read'. Hence it was translated by Aquila and Symmachus as 'shout: read the Septuagint and Theodotion'. However, it is directed towards the North, against Babylon and the Assyrians, to the twelve tribes: and their return is preached. And I will not turn my face away from you, he says; or I will not set my face against you, so that I will not receive you with the severity of judgment, but with the countenance of mercy. For I am holy and merciful, so that I may not remember your iniquities anymore, nor recall that you…

(Verse 12 onwards) Go, and cry out (or read) these words against the North, and say: Return, O backsliding Israel, declares the Lord, and I will not turn away (or strengthen) my face from you (or against you), for I am holy (or merciful), declares the Lord, and I will not be angry forever. However, know your iniquity, for you have transgressed against the Lord your God (or acted wickedly), and have scattered (or poured out) your ways to strangers under every green tree, and have not listened to my voice, says the Lord. The Hebrew word Carath () signifies 'call, shout, and read'. Hence it was translated by Aquila and Symmachus as 'shout: read the Septuagint and Theodotion'. However, it is directed towards the North, against Babylon and the Assyrians, to the twelve tribes: and their return is preached. And I will not turn my face away from you, he says; or I will not set my face against you, so that I will not receive you with the severity of judgment, but with the countenance of mercy. For I am holy and merciful, so that I may not remember your iniquities anymore, nor recall that you have departed from the Lord and that you have delighted in idols for him, and that you have committed fornication under every shady and leafy tree. Indeed, this can be said about heretics and those negligent in the Church, who are daily called to repentance by ecclesiastical men: and it can properly be applied to them, 'And you did not hear my voice.' But every heretic dwells in the North, and has lost the heat of faith, nor can he hear that of the Apostle: fervent in spirit (Rom. XII, 11). And because he has given himself over to pleasures, he has departed from the Lord, and has scattered his ways with alien doctrines, and has followed pleasure. For no heresy is constructed except for the sake of gluttony and the belly, so as to seduce burdened women with sins, always learning and never coming to the knowledge of truth (II Tim. III), concerning whom it is truly said: who devour my people like bread (Psal. XIII, 8): and those whom Christ points out, devouring the houses of widows (Matth. XII). And when I have mercy on you, do not think that it is just: but remember always your iniquity, and know that you have fornicated against the Lord, and lower the proud neck, so that as you have offended the Lord through arrogance, you may please Him through humility. But what we said above, 'And I will not set My face upon you,' fits with that prophetic saying: 'Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.' (Psalm 50:11).

Jeremiah 3:14-16

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

(V. 14 seqq.) Turn to me, O sons, returning (or wandering and straying), says the Lord: for I am your husband (or master), and I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and bring you to Zion, and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine. And when you have increased and multiplied in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they will no longer say, the ark of the covenant (or testament) of the Lord: neither will it come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will it be visited, nor made anymore. The Jews think that this was fulfilled after the return from Babylon under the rule of Cyrus, king of Persia, and to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel (Isaiah 1). Even if not all returned, this is meant to signify: let one be taken from the city and two from the clan. But it is better understood in the coming of Christ, when the remnant was saved, as the Apostle says and explains: Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us seed, we would have been like Sodom and similar to Gomorrah (Romans 9:29); then they were brought into Zion…

(V. 14 seqq.) Turn to me, O sons, returning (or wandering and straying), says the Lord: for I am your husband (or master), and I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and bring you to Zion, and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine. And when you have increased and multiplied in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they will no longer say, the ark of the covenant (or testament) of the Lord: neither will it come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will it be visited, nor made anymore. The Jews think that this was fulfilled after the return from Babylon under the rule of Cyrus, king of Persia, and to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel (Isaiah 1). Even if not all returned, this is meant to signify: let one be taken from the city and two from the clan. But it is better understood in the coming of Christ, when the remnant was saved, as the Apostle says and explains: Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us seed, we would have been like Sodom and similar to Gomorrah (Romans 9:29); then they were brought into Zion, about which it is written: Glorious things are said of you, O city of God (Psalm 87:2). And there were given shepherds according to his heart, the apostles and apostolic men, and they feed a multitude of believers, not in Jewish ceremonies, but in the knowledge of Christ and doctrine, and by preaching the Gospel spread throughout the whole world, they will not have confidence in the Ark of the Lord, which was the guardian of the Mosaic law, but they themselves will be the temple of God: nor will they follow the wandering Nazarenes, serving abolished sacrifices, but they will follow a spiritual worship. But others interpret this as referring to the end times, when with the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles, all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11).

Jeremiah 3:17

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

(Verse 17) In that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather unto it in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem, and they shall not walk after the stubbornness of their wicked heart. The Lord shall not sit upon the ark of the Covenant and Cherubim, as was previously said to that people: You who sit upon the Cherubim, manifest (Psalm 79:2): but all who truly believe with perfect mind, shall be the throne of God. Or certainly, it is better understood as the whole Church: when all nations gather together in the name of the Lord in Jerusalem, where the vision of peace is found; and they shall not walk after the stubbornness of their wicked heart, to do what they desire, nor follow their own errors; but they shall say with the Prophet: My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:9).

Jeremiah 3:18

In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

(Verse 18.) In those days, the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel, and they shall come together from the land of the North to the land that I gave to your fathers. This is fulfilled specifically in the coming of Christ, when the twelve tribes believed in the Gospel together, abandoning the land of the North, the harshest cold, and leaving behind the dominion of the devil. They then received the promised land, which had been promised to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I recently edited a small book about the promised land.

Jeremiah 3:19

But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

(Verse 19) But I said: How shall I put you among the children, and give you a desirable land, an excellent heritage of the armies of the nations? And I said, you shall call me father, and you shall not cease to follow me. For the excellent heritage of the armies of the nations, which the Seventy translated, Theodotion more significantly translated as the renowned heritage of the strongest nations, signifying Christ, who is the leader and Lord of all nations, to his name and the belief in his passion. He himself said to Israel: 'You shall call me Father.' And: 'Whoever believes in me, believes in the Father' (John II, 19). He himself promised: 'I will make you into sons: in the number, namely, of my sons, who have believed in me from the people of the nations; and to whom I have given the desirable land.' For as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God (John I).

Jeremiah 3:20

Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

(Verse 20) But as a woman may despise her lover, so the house of Israel has despised Me, says the Lord. The voice of Christ is near the people of Judah, to whom He said: I will make you as sons, and I will give you a desirable land. And you shall call Me Father, and you shall not cease to go after Me. Just as a woman, he says, despises not her husband, but her lover, if she has once been united with him, seeing him serving her lust, and the law of nature changed in her, by which she was once subject to her husband, with the Lord saying: And her conversion shall be to you. So the house of Israel, that is, the people of Judah, has despised the Lord the Savior to their own destruction.

Jeremiah 3:21-22

A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

(Verses 21, 22.) A voice was heard in the streets (or on the lips), the weeping and wailing of the children of Israel, for they have done wickedness, they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return, O returning children, and I will heal your turnings (or contritions): for which Symmachus translated as conversions. God willingly receives the penitent, and runs to meet the son who is wasted with want and filth, and immediately clothes him with the former garments, and restores glory to the one who returns: but only if he returns with weeping and wailing. For he has done wrong because of his own fault; and he has forgotten the Lord his God and his Father, to whom he speaks with prophetic words: Return, O returning sons. I call you sons for this reason, because understanding your sins, you return with weeping and wailing to your parent. And when you have returned to the Lord, he will heal all your contritions, whether aversions by which you had gone away from the Lord, or certainly conversions. Although we may return to the Lord of our own volition, yet unless He draws us and strengthens…

(Verses 21, 22.) A voice was heard in the streets (or on the lips), the weeping and wailing of the children of Israel, for they have done wickedness, they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return, O returning children, and I will heal your turnings (or contritions): for which Symmachus translated as conversions. God willingly receives the penitent, and runs to meet the son who is wasted with want and filth, and immediately clothes him with the former garments, and restores glory to the one who returns: but only if he returns with weeping and wailing. For he has done wrong because of his own fault; and he has forgotten the Lord his God and his Father, to whom he speaks with prophetic words: Return, O returning sons. I call you sons for this reason, because understanding your sins, you return with weeping and wailing to your parent. And when you have returned to the Lord, he will heal all your contritions, whether aversions by which you had gone away from the Lord, or certainly conversions. Although we may return to the Lord of our own volition, yet unless He draws us and strengthens our desire with His protection, we cannot be saved. Let us understand this both in relation to the Jewish people returning to the Lord and to the heretics who have forsaken the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:23

Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

(Verse 23.) Behold, we come to you: for you are the Lord our God. Truly the hills were deceitful, and the multitude (or strength) of the mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. Let the penitent say this, forsaking all pride, and the multitude or height of the mountains and hills, by which he exalted himself against God, and being humbled, let him speak: Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

Jeremiah 3:24

For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

(Verse 24.) The confusion devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth: their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. All the labors of the heretics, of which it is written, They have failed in searching examination (Psalm 63:7), from their youth whom they deceived, their sons and daughters who progressed in heresy or were merely held captive by luxury, our confusion has overwhelmed them. From this they conclude:

Jeremiah 3:25

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

(Verse 25) Let us sleep in our confusion, and let our disgrace cover us: for we have sinned against our God, both we and our fathers, from our youth until this day, and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God. Let Israel speak this, who has not listened to his Lord: let every heretic who repents speak this; and yet it is a part of salvation to confess one's own sins and to know them. Say, he says, your iniquities first: that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:26). For indeed Israel rejected Christ their Lord God, and sinned against Him, not only at the time when He was seen in the flesh, but even before His coming. Hence they say, both we and our fathers from our youth until this day have not heard the voice of our God speaking to our fathers: If ye believe Moses, ye would believe me also: for of me he wrote (John 5:46).

Jeremiah 4:1

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

(Chapter IV, Verse 1) If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, return to me. The Septuagint translates it as: If Israel turns back, says the Lord, it will return to me. And the meaning is, if it returns to me, it will be delivered from captivity. Alternatively: when it offers what it has: For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (Matthew 25:29). Furthermore, according to the Hebrew text, the meaning here is: If you return to me, O Israel, and once desiring salvation, you confess to having sinned and not heeded the voice of the Lord your God, fully convert and believe in the one you denied, and then there will be complete conversion.

If you remove your offenses from my face, you will not be disturbed. When we are moved and say, 'But my feet were almost ready to stumble' (Ps. 73:2), we do not suffer this because of the weakness of our nature, but because we place stumbling blocks and idols against the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:2

And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

(Verse 2.) And you shall swear, 'As the Lord lives, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless him, and they themselves shall praise him.' And how does the Gospel forbid us to swear? But here (Matt. 5), to swear is said for confession, and for the condemnation of idols, by which Israel used to swear. Finally, stumbling blocks are removed, and one swears by the Lord. And what is said, 'As the Lord lives,' in the Old Testament it is an oath for the condemnation of the dead, by whom every idol worshiper swears. At the same time, it must be noted that an oath has these companions: truth, judgment, and justice. If these are lacking, the oath will by no means be valid, but rather perjury. And when, he says, Israel does this, and through the Apostles becomes the teacher of the nations, then all nations will bless or be blessed in him, and they will praise him because salvation has come forth from Israel.

Jeremiah 4:3-4

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

(Verse 3 and following.) For thus says the Lord to the man of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your thoughts (or inventions). For we have said, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the foreskins of your hearts. Symmachus adds, Purify yourselves to the Lord, and remove the evil of your hearts: understanding circumcision, purification, and the foreskins to be a vice. But this is commanded to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who follow the true faith and dwell in the Church, that they should not sow upon the thorns which the Gospel speech signifies, which choke the seed of God, but first make the field new and uproot all the brambles, and remove the thistles, so that clean seeds may receive clean fields. This is what is said in another place: Do not cast your pearls before swine, and do not give what is holy to dogs (Matthew 7:6)…

(Verse 3 and following.) For thus says the Lord to the man of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your thoughts (or inventions). For we have said, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the foreskins of your hearts. Symmachus adds, Purify yourselves to the Lord, and remove the evil of your hearts: understanding circumcision, purification, and the foreskins to be a vice. But this is commanded to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who follow the true faith and dwell in the Church, that they should not sow upon the thorns which the Gospel speech signifies, which choke the seed of God, but first make the field new and uproot all the brambles, and remove the thistles, so that clean seeds may receive clean fields. This is what is said in another place: Do not cast your pearls before swine, and do not give what is holy to dogs (Matthew 7:6). For how can someone hear the word of God and conceive seeds and bear fruit, whose soul is full of the tribulations of the world? And what follows: Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your hearts. This is commanded to no one else except the man of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that they may abandon the letter that kills and follow the life-giving spirit. For if you do not do this, my wrath will go forth like fire, and it will be kindled, and there will be no one to extinguish it. Therefore he warns and predicts beforehand so that he is not compelled to act: which we confirm in the case of the Ninevites, to whom the sentence was predicted, so that they would avoid the impending wrath through repentance. However, all these things happen due to the wickedness of your (or our) thoughts or inventions. Where are those who say in their thoughts that there is no sin, when all vices, according to Gospel truth, proceed from the heart (Matthew 15)?

Jeremiah 4:4

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

What we translate as “be circumcised to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your hearts,” Symmacus renders as “be purified to the Lord and remove the malice from your hearts,” understanding circumcision as purification and the foreskin as vice. But this was commanded to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who followed the true faith and lived in the church, that they not sow among thorns, meaning that they should not spread the word of the gospel among those who would suffocate God’s planting, but that they should first sow on fallow ground and remove every thorn bush and briar patch, so that pure seeds may be received by pure soil. In other words, as it is said elsewhere, “Do not cast your pearls before swine, and do not give holy things to dogs.” For how is it possible for anyone to hear the word of God and to conceive and to bear fruit, whose soul is full of the hardness of the world? Hence, “be circumcised to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your hearts,” is commanded to none other than the men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, that they might forsake the letter that kills and…

What we translate as “be circumcised to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your hearts,” Symmacus renders as “be purified to the Lord and remove the malice from your hearts,” understanding circumcision as purification and the foreskin as vice. But this was commanded to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who followed the true faith and lived in the church, that they not sow among thorns, meaning that they should not spread the word of the gospel among those who would suffocate God’s planting, but that they should first sow on fallow ground and remove every thorn bush and briar patch, so that pure seeds may be received by pure soil. In other words, as it is said elsewhere, “Do not cast your pearls before swine, and do not give holy things to dogs.” For how is it possible for anyone to hear the word of God and to conceive and to bear fruit, whose soul is full of the hardness of the world? Hence, “be circumcised to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your hearts,” is commanded to none other than the men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, that they might forsake the letter that kills and follow the vivifying Spirit instead. “If you fail to do this,” he adds, “my wrath will go forth like fire and burn, and there will be no one to extinguish it.” Therefore, he warns and cautions beforehand, lest he be compelled to do this, as we also observe among the Ninevites, to whom a warning was issued that they repent to avoid his imminent wrath. But all of this evil occurs because of our malicious thoughts or intentions. Where are those who say that sin is not located in one’s thoughts, when every wickedness, according to the truth of the Gospel, proceeds from the heart?

Jeremiah 4:5-6

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

(Verse 5, 6.) Announce in Judah, and make it heard in Jerusalem, speak: blow the trumpet in the land, cry aloud, and say: Gather together, and let us enter the fortified cities. Let Judah hear this, let Jerusalem hear this, in which the confession of faith is, and in which the peace of Christ dwells, and to which it was said through Isaiah: Ascend to the high mountain, you who proclaim good news to Zion. Raise your voice, you who proclaim good news to Jerusalem (Isa. 40:9): cry aloud, and thus command: Let us enter the fortified cities. The wars of the heretics are rising: hold fast to the protection of Christ. Raise the sign of the cross on the watchtower, in the loftiness of the Church. Take courage, you who are afraid, do not stand still, but run to the aid of Christ. Evil, he says, I bring from the North and great destruction, truly it is Nebuchadnezzar, who is allowed by me to be in this world, so that your strength and victory may be proven.