(Verse 7) This is a city of visitation (or falsehood); all slander (or oppression) is in its midst. Just as a well or a lake makes its water cold, so it has made its evil cold. The Lord has commanded that trees be cut down, and that mounds be built all around. For the time of its visitation has come, to receive payment for its sins, the greatest of which is false accusation, to oppress the innocent through slander. Just as a well or a cold pond makes its water cold, so in the midst of Jerusalem, the malice that is in it has lost all the warmth of life. And it should be noted that those who are kindled by the Holy Spirit are called fervent, but evil things are cold. Hence it is written (Matthew 24) that in the last days, when iniquity shall be multiplied, the charity of many shall grow cold. I believe this also sounds like that: I am made like those who go down into the pit (Psalm 28:1). However, let the Latin reader understand, as we have said once, that lacus does not sound like stagnum among the Greeks, but like cisterna, which is called Gubba in the Syriac and Hebrew languages. However, in the present place, instead of lacus, which everyone has similarly translated, it is called Bor in Hebrew.
6:8
(Verse 8) Iniquity and devastation will be heard in it before me always, weakness and affliction. Learn, Jerusalem, lest my soul may depart from you, lest I make you deserted, an uninhabitable land. LXX: Impiety and misery will be heard in it before its face. Through every pain and scourge you will be taught, Jerusalem, lest my soul may depart from you: lest I make you an impassable land, a land that is not inhabited. Through these things we learn that the Lord chastises every son whom he receives. And for this reason Jerusalem is chastised with blows and torments, so that it may be corrected, and the soul of God does not depart from it, and it is brought into solitude. Therefore, if at any time we are subjected to frequent trials, let us remember for our consolation this verse: Through all pain and scourge you shall be taught, O Jerusalem.
6:9
(Verse 9) Thus says the Lord of hosts, they will gather the remnants of Israel like grapes in a vineyard. Turn your hand like a grape harvester into the basket. LXX: For thus says the Lord of hosts: Gather, gather the remnants of Israel like grapes in a vineyard. Return like a grape harvester to your basket. Some interpret these words in a positive way, others in a negative way. In a positive way, when Jerusalem has been devastated, the remnants will be saved. In such an evil way, not even a single cluster, and a small bunch remains in the vineyard, everything will be gathered: and whatever you find, gather it like a harvester in a basket; so that as he presses the grapes in the winepress: you may likewise drag captives into Babylon.
6:10
(Verse 10.) To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I answer, that he may hear? Behold, their (or your) ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. They cannot hear because they have refused to circumcise their ears; yet the impossibility that comes from contempt and unbelief is not without punishment. Therefore, if anyone does not receive the words of God, neither does he have the understanding of His commandments, he has uncircumcised ears. It should also be noted that circumcision is called by three names in the Scriptures: in the foreskin, in the heart, and in the ears. Hence the Lord says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:15). Therefore, by our own will, we do not accept the word of God; and thus it becomes a reproach to us, that what was given to us for salvation, is turned by our fault into punishment.
6:11
(Verse 11) Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord, I have labored holding it. LXX: And I have fulfilled my wrath, and have endured: and I have not consumed it. According to the Hebrew, it is spoken from the perspective of the Prophet, who foresees the coming wrath of God, and is full of the fury and anger of the Lord, and cannot bear it anymore: nor does he dare to intercede with the Lord for sinners. According to the LXX, however, a new meaning is given, that the Lord himself has fulfilled it by striking the sinful people: and yet he has restrained it, and has not poured it all out, so that the remnants may be saved: which seems to me to be contradictory to itself. For if he completed his fury, how did he manage not to complete it?
6:12
(Verse 12) Pour (or he pours) on the little one outside, and on the assembly of young men together: for a man will be captured with a woman, an elder with one full of days. And their houses will pass on to others, fields and wives alike. Perhaps the Prophet commands, by the Spirit coming to the Chaldeans, to pour out the fury of the Lord on the little ones, and not spare even the innocent age: or certainly, he narrates what happened to the assembly of young men together, who had taken up arms to resist. For when a man is captured with a wife, they together will feel the sweetest names of captivity: an old man with full days. Therefore, old age is not the final age, but of those who are full of days, whom we call in our language the deposited or the decrepit. It follows, And their houses will pass on to others, with the evil of captivity, along with fields and wives: so that the spouse passes over to the enemies and possession. Whatever we understand literally about Jerusalem, let us refer spiritually to the Church, if it has offended God.
6:13-14
(Vers. 13 seqq.) For I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, declares the Lord. From the least of them to the greatest, they all pursue greed, and from prophet to priest, they all practice deceit. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. In Hebrew, it is said, 'I will stretch out my hand against sinners or the inhabitants of the earth,' but in the Septuagint it is always written, 'I will continuously raise up,' which signifies both the one who strikes and the one who is struck. According to what is written: 'Yet his hand is still stretched out, or lifted up' (Isaiah 5:25). But the inhabitants of the earth are always in sin. Therefore, it is frequently said in the Apocalypse: 'Woe to the inhabitant of the earth' (Revelation 8:13). From the least to the greatest, all strive for greed, according to the saying of the Apostle: 'For the love of money is the root of all evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). And from the prophet to the priest, all practice deceit. Some prophesy lies, others perversely interpret the law of God. For in another place the Prophet says: 'Inquire of the priests for the law' (Jeremiah 18). And they would declare all the good things they did for my people and pretended to care for the wounds and dishonor of my daughter saying: 'Peace, peace' when there was no peace at all. This should be understood specifically of the priests and teachers who promise prosperity to the wealthy and those they see in the highest honor, and proclaim a merciful God, preparing them more for punishment and anger.
6:15
(Verse 15.) They are confused because they have committed an abomination; rather, they have not been confused by their confusion, and they have not known how to blush. This should be read with greater precision according to the Hebrew. And when, he says, they have done so much, are they confused? Have they blushed for their sins? Rather, they have increased sin through contempt, and they have not known how to blush. However, here 'nescierunt' is used in place of 'noluerunt': either due to excessive contempt and the vice of accustomed evil, they were not even able to understand.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen: at the time of their visitation they will stumble, says the Lord. For, they say, they have not learned to be ashamed, and they have not only lacked work, but even knowledge and the sense of repentance. Therefore, those who once stood among them will fall, along with those who will fall into their vices, and when the time of their visitation and punishment comes, they will join all the fallen. However, it is a great wickedness, not only not to beware, but also not to want to understand sins, and to have no distinction between good and evil deeds.
6:16-18
(Versed 16 and following) Thus says the Lord: Stand on the roads and see, and inquire about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it, and you will find refreshment (or purification) for your souls. And they said: we will not walk (or we will not go). And I appointed watchmen over you, listen to the sound of the trumpet. And they said, we will not listen. Therefore hear (or they have heard) O nations: and know (or know) the congregation (or those who feed the flocks): or according to Symmachus, and know (the testimony that is in them) how much I will do to them. Listen, O earth. If the parable of the Gospel is understood, it will provide understanding of this place: in which a good merchant is said to sell all pearls, in order to buy the most precious pearl for its price (Matth. XIII); which, indeed, through the Patriarchs and Prophets, we come to him who says: I am the way (John XIV). Therefore, we must stand in the prophets, and contemplate and inquire diligently about the ancient or eternal paths, which have been trodden by many holy ones, which are more significantly called 'trails' in Greek, which is the good way in the Gospel (Matth. VII), and we must walk in it: and when this way is found, it provides refreshment or purification for the souls of believers. But they replied in opposition, we will not walk in the way of the Gospel: as the Prophet specifically says about the perfidy of the Jews. And immediately he brings forth: And I have set watchmen over you. No doubt that the chorus of the Apostles is indicated, according to Ezekiel: Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel (Ezek. III, 17). And I have commanded you to listen to the sound of the trumpet, or the commandments of the Gospel, or the teachings of the Apostles, according to Isaiah: Go up to the high mountain, herald of good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news (Isai. XL, 9). They said: We will not listen; and when invited to the dinner, they did not want to come: therefore it is said: Hear, O nations. This is what the Apostles followed, when they spoke in Lycaonia: It was necessary for you to speak the word of God first: but because you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life: behold, we turn to the nations (Acts 13:46). And know, congregation, not at all Jewish, but of all nations: whether you who shepherd the flocks, bishops and priests and all the ecclesiastical order: or you know the testimony that is in them. For the testimony of God is faithful, providing wisdom to the little ones (Psalm 18:8). To whom the Lord speaks: Do not be afraid, little flock (Luke 12:31). And: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me (Isaiah 8:18). Therefore, know the great things I will do for the unbelieving people. And it is added: Hear, O earth, the whole world is called to listen: just as we read in the beginning of Isaiah: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth (ibid., 1); what the Lord will do for the people of Judah.
6:19
(Verse 19). Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts (or turning away): because they have not listened to my words, and have cast aside my law. The evil refers to the punishments and sufferings of those who endure, not upon the nations that are called to the truth of the Gospel, but upon the people who have responded: We will not listen. And they will receive the fruit of their thoughts, or their turning away, as David says: You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands (Psalm 127:2). And it is clear because they did not listen to the words of the Lord and rejected His law.
6:20
(Verse 20) Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not accepted, and your sacrifices do not please me. That frankincense from Sheba should come is beyond doubt, as Virgil also says: And a hundred altars glow with Sabean incense (Aeneid, Book I). The cane, which is called "Cane" in Hebrew, is translated as "cinnamon" by the Septuagint and Theodotion and the prophetic speech testifies that it comes from a distant land, so that we understand it to be India, from which many spices come by way of the Red Sea. This type of medicinal pigment is called κασία. And the meaning is this: In vain do you mix sweet-smelling pigments in making ointments, as the Law commands, and burn sacrifices, who do not do my will in the Law, as it is written: They have not heard my words, and have cast away my law. But this properly applies to those who offer sacrifices from the spoils and plundering of the poor, and think they can redeem their sins with unjust alms, as the Scripture says: The ransom of a man's soul are his own riches (Prov. 13:8), which are gathered not from injustice, but from labor and righteousness.
6:21
(Verse 21) Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will bring destruction upon this people, and they shall fall into it (whether weakness, and they shall be weakened by it), fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend, and they shall perish. We see all the things that the Lord has threatened against this people come to pass: for every day they fall into their blasphemies, and they have no strength within them, but every weakness is found among them. The sons follow in their fathers' blasphemies; and every day they receive that imprecation: His blood be upon us and upon our children (Matthew 27:25); and not only they themselves, but also their neighbors and friends, and all who follow the Law and the Prophets according to the letter, and not according to the life-giving spirit, shall likewise perish, for all have sinned together.
6:22-23