1 Circuite vias Jerusalem, et aspicite, et considerate, et quærite in plateis ejus, an inveniatis virum facientem judicium, et quærentem fidem: et propitius ero ei.
Jerome · AD 420 After the address of the Lord in which he commanded, "go throughout Jerusalem," and so on, the prophet addresses the Lord in return: "Lord, your eyes look for faith," which is ʾemûnā in Hebrew, referring not to the works of the Jews, in which they exulted according to ceremonies of the law, but to the faith of Christians, through which we are saved by faith.
2 Quod si etiam: Vivit Dominus, dixerint, et hoc falso jurabunt.
Cyprian · AD 258 Disasters occur either to discipline the obstinate people or punish evil people. The same God declares in the Holy Scriptures, "I have struck your children in vain. They have not received correction." The prophet devoted and dedicated to God answers these words in the same way and says, "You struck them, but they have not grieved.
Salvian the Presbyter · AD 500 Who among us has amended his life, or what part of the Roman world, no matter how afflicted, is corrected? As we read, "For all have declined, they have become useless at same time." Therefore, the prophet cries out to God and says, "You have struck them, and they have not sorrowed. You have consumed them, and they have refused to accept discipline.
3 Domine, oculi tui respiciunt fidem: percussisti eos, et non doluerunt; attrivisti eos, et renuerunt accipere disciplinam: induraverunt facies suas supra petram, et noluerunt reverti.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 "You consumed them, and they refused to receive instruction." When God, who exercises providence over all things, performs the purifying works for the salvation of a soul, then as far as it depends on him he has consumed it.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 3) Lord, your eyes look upon faith: you struck them, and they did not hurt; you crushed them, and they refused to accept discipline. They hardened their faces like rock, and they refused to turn back.
4 Ego autem dixi: Forsitan pauperes sunt et stulti, ignorantes viam Domini, judicium Dei sui.
Basil of Caesarea · AD 379 Truly, slander humiliates a person, and slander troubles the poor person. The evil of slander is so great that it brings down both the perfect person … from his height, and the poor person, that is, the one who lacks great learning, as it seems to the prophet, who says, "Perhaps they are poor … therefore they will not hear.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 4, 5.) But I said: Perhaps they are poor and foolish (or they were unable) and ignorant of the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. Therefore, I will go to the noble ones, and I will speak to them: for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.
Theodoret of Cyrus · AD 458 "Well-off" refers to the priests and the teachers of the law; "poor" refers to the rest, insofar as they did not possess the wealth of divine knowledge. Yet he accuses both of lawlessness, proceeding in this way, "They all alike broke the yoke, they snapped the bonds." It was not without purpose the prophet said this.
5 Ibo igitur ad optimates, et loquar eis: ipsi enim cognoverunt viam Domini, judicium Dei sui: et ecce magis hi simul confregerunt jugum; ruperunt vincula.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 "I will go to the great ones and speak to them." Those who are great in soul are spoken of in praise. For among the Greeks too "greatness" (to hadron) is continually used to name the grandeur of the rational soul.
Philoxenus of Mabbug · AD 523 And the prophet of God reproacheth severely those who have broken the yoke, and cut the bands of the fear of God. Now Israel became rebels because there was no fear [in them]; and they trod under foot the commandments because they were not mindful of what was threatened; and they despised the law because they remembered not the penalty of Him that ordained it.
6 Idcirco percussit eos leo de silva; lupus ad vesperam vastavit eos: pardus vigilans super civitates eorum: omnis qui egressus fuerit ex eis capietur: quia multiplicatæ sunt prævaricationes eorum; confortatæ sunt aversiones eorum.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 6) And behold, these men have broken the yoke together: they have broken the bonds, therefore the lion from the forest has struck them, the wolf has laid waste to them in the evening, the vigilant leopard is over their cities; everyone who goes out from them will be captured. Because their transgressions have multiplied, their apostasies have become strengthened.
7 Super quo propitius tibi esse potero? filii tui dereliquerunt me, et jurant in his qui non sunt dii. Saturavi eos, et mœchati sunt, et in domo meretricis luxuriabantur.
Didascalia Apostolorum · AD 230 We must conduct our festivals and rejoice with fear and trembling. A faithful Christian, the psalm says, must not sing the songs of the heathen or have anything to do with the principles and doctrines of strange assemblies. It may happen that through their songs, he might make mention of the names of idols, which God forbids the faithful to do.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 7) How can I be propitious to you? Your sons have forsaken me, and they swear by those who are not gods. I have satisfied them, and they have committed adultery, and they have indulged in the house of a prostitute. Catalogue of the sins of Jerusalem: while she says that she does not know God, by whom she can be shown mercy. Your sons have forsaken me, she says.
8 Equi amatores et emissarii facti sunt: unusquisque ad uxorem proximi sui hinniebat.
Irenaeus · AD 202 Those who do indeed reject the Spirit's counsel, and are the slaves of fleshly lusts, and lead lives contrary to reason, and who, without restraint, plunge headlong into their own desires, having no longing after the Divine Spirit, do live after the manner of swine and of dogs; these men does the apostle very properly term "carnal," because they have no thought of anything else…
Cyril of Jerusalem · AD 386 The neighing horse depicts the recklessness of young men.
Salvian the Presbyter · AD 500 Murder is rare among slaves because of their dread and terror of capital punishment, but it is common among the rich because of their hope and trust in impunity. Perhaps we are wrong in putting in the category of sins what the rich people do, because, when they kill their slaves, they think that it is legal and not a crime.
9 Numquid super his non visitabo, dicit Dominus, et in gente tali non ulciscetur anima mea?
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 9) Will I not visit them for these things, says the Lord? Will my soul not avenge itself on such a nation? When you do these things, he says, are you not worthy of punishment? And note that here visitation is used as punishment and torment, according to what is written: I will visit their iniquities with a rod.
10 Ascendite muros ejus, et dissipate: consummationem autem nolite facere: auferte propagines ejus, quia non sunt Domini.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 10, 11.) Ascendite muros ejus (sive propugnacula) et dissipate: consummationem autem nolite facere. Auferte propagines ejus (sive sustentacula) quia non sunt Domini. Praevaricatione enim praevaricata est in me domus Israel, et domus Juda, dicit Dominus.
11 Prævaricatione enim prævaricata est in me domus Israël, et domus Juda, ait Dominus.
Clement of Alexandria · AD 215 Accusation is the censure of wrongdoers. This mode of instruction God employs by David, when he says, "The people whom I did not know served me, and when their ears heard they obeyed me.
12 Negaverunt Dominum, et dixerunt: Non est ipse: neque veniet super nos malum: gladium et famem non videbimus.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 12, 13.) They denied the Lord and said: He is not (or these things are not), and evil will not come upon us. We will not see sword and famine. The prophets spoke in vain and there was no answer (or response) in them. Therefore, these things will happen to them.
13 Prophetæ fuerunt in ventum locuti, et responsum non fuit in eis: hæc ergo evenient illis.
14 Hæc dicit Dominus Deus exercituum: Quia locuti estis verbum istud, ecce ego do verba mea in ore tuo in ignem, et populum istum in ligna, et vorabit eos.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 14) Thus says the Lord God of hosts, because you have spoken these words: behold, I will make my words in your mouth like fire, and this people like wood, and it shall devour them.
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 We say then that the power of the divine message resembles a live coal and fire. And the God of all somewhere said to the prophet Jeremiah, "Behold, I have made my words in your mouth to be fire, and this people to be wood, and it shall devour them." And again, "Are not my words as burning fire, says the Lord?" Rightly, therefore, did our Lord Jesus Christ say to us, "I came to…
15 Ecce ego adducam super vos gentem de longinquo, domus Israël, ait Dominus: gentem robustam, gentem antiquam, gentem cujus ignorabis linguam, nec intelliges quid loquatur.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 15 and following) Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord: a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you will not understand, nor will you know what it speaks. Its quiver is like an open tomb, all mighty warriors.
16 Pharetra ejus quasi sepulchrum patens; universi fortes.
17 Et comedet segetes tuas et panem tuum; devorabit filios tuos et filias tuas; comedet gregem tuum et armenta tua; comedet vineam tuam et ficum tuam: et conteret urbes munitas tuas, in quibus tu habes fiduciam, gladio.
18 Verumtamen in diebus illis, ait Dominus, non faciam vos in consummationem.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 God, who judges "little by little," gives to those being chastised room for repentance, and does not, in punishing at the very moment of sin, bring the full completion of the punishment upon the one who has sinned. For this reason, "judging little by little," he chastises.
19 Quod si dixeritis: Quare fecit nobis Dominus Deus noster hæc omnia? dices ad eos: Sicut dereliquistis me, et servistis deo alieno in terra vestra, sic servietis alienis in terra non vestra.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 "And it shall be, when you say, 'For what reason has the Lord our God done to us all these evils?' — and you shall say to them, 'Because you forsook me and served other gods in your land, so shall you serve in a land not your own.'" Let the letter be understood, and it suffices for the present to set forth the reminder from the letter for those able to hear.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 19) But if you shall say: why has the Lord our God done all these things to us? You shall say to them: Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods (or foreign deities) in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours. It is a great folly not to know why they have suffered, since they have sinned so greatly.
20 Annuntiate hoc domui Jacob, et auditum facite in Juda, dicentes:
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 20, 21.) Announce this to the house of Jacob, and make it heard in Judah, saying: Hear, foolish people, who have no understanding: who have eyes but do not see, and ears but do not hear.
21 Audi, popule stulte, qui non habes cor: qui habentes oculos, non videtis; et aures, et non auditis.
John Cassian · AD 435 One who does not carefully weigh every word of the opinions uttered cannot rightly discover the value of the assertion. For someone like this, who only possesses skill in disputation and ornaments of speech, cannot penetrate to the very heart of Scripture and the mysteries of its spiritual meanings. True knowledge is acquired only by true worshipers of God.
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 Not understanding him who had been anointed and sent and who was the author of such wonderful works, they returned to their usual ways and talked about him in a foolish and vain way. For although they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of his mouth, yet their wish was to treat them as valueless.
Bonaventure · AD 1257 That it is the height of folly not to fear, the Lord says in Jeremiah: "Hear, O foolish people, who have no heart: who having eyes, see not, and ears, and hear not. Will you then not fear me, and will you not be grieved at my presence? I who have set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond." Do you not fear me?
22 Me ergo non timebitis, ait Dominus, et a facie mea non dolebitis? qui posui arenam terminum mari, præceptum sempiternum quod non præteribit: et commovebuntur, et non poterunt; et intumescent fluctus ejus, et non transibunt illud.
Basil of Caesarea · AD 379 Through all the story of waters be mindful of that first word, "Let the waters be gathered." It was necessary for them to flow that they might reach their own place. Then, being in the places appointed, they were to remain by themselves and not to advance further.
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 The vessel was severely tossed by the violence of the tempest and the breaking of the waves. And along with the ship, the faith of the disciples also was tossed, so to speak, by similar agitations. But Christ, whose authority extends over all, immediately arose.
Bonaventure · AD 1257 That it is the height of folly not to fear, the Lord says in Jeremiah: "Hear, O foolish people, who have no heart: who having eyes, see not, and ears, and hear not. Will you then not fear me, and will you not be grieved at my presence? I who have set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an everlasting decree, which it shall not pass beyond." Do you not fear me?
23 Populo autem huic factum est cor incredulum et exasperans: recesserunt, et abierunt.
24 Et non dixerunt in corde suo: Metuamus Dominum Deum nostrum, qui dat nobis pluviam temporaneam et serotinam in tempore suo, plenitudinem annuæ messis custodientem nobis.
25 Iniquitates vestræ declinaverunt hæc, et peccata vestra prohibuerunt bonum a vobis:
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 25) Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withholden good things from you. Therefore, if at any time the sea shall pass its bounds, and the rain shall be kept back, verily the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot do these things: but your sins, being present, have turned away good things from you, that they should not come unto yo…
26 quia inventi sunt in populo meo impii insidiantes quasi aucupes, laqueos ponentes et pedicas ad capiendos viros.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 26.) Because there were found among my people wicked ones plotting like bird catchers, setting snares and traps to capture men; like a net full of birds, so is their house full of deceit. Why did a temporary and late rain deviate from them, and all good things not come? The reasons are given: because there were found among his people wicked ones.
27 Sicut decipula plena avibus, sic domus eorum plenæ dolo: ideo magnificati sunt et ditati.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 27 and following) Therefore they have been magnified and enriched: they have become fat and grown thick, and have passed over my words wickedly: they have not judged the cause, the cause of the orphan, so they did not direct the judgment of the poor (or widow).
28 Incrassati sunt et impinguati, et præterierunt sermones meos pessime. Causam viduæ non judicaverunt, causam pupilli non direxerunt, et judicium pauperum non judicaverunt.
29 Numquid super his non visitabo, dicit Dominus, aut super gentem hujuscemodi non ulciscetur anima mea?
30 Stupor et mirabilia facta sunt in terra:
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 30, 31.) Astonishment and wonders were done on the earth. The prophets were prophesying falsehood (or wickedness) and the priests were applauding with their hands. And my people loved such things. What then will you do in the end? As it was said before: Shall I go to the nobles and speak to them?
31 prophetæ prophetabant mendacium, et sacerdotes applaudebant manibus suis, et populus meus dilexit talia. Quid igitur fiet in novissimo ejus?