(Verse 19, 20.) This is what the Lord says to me: Go and stand at the gate (or gates) of the people's children: through which the kings of Judah enter and exit, in all the gates of Jerusalem. And you shall say to them; Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter through these gates. Because, he says, they despise hearing your words, and they do not come to you to seek the wisdom of God, you go to the most famous place, either the gate of the temple or the gate of the city, through which the kings and the entire crowd enter and exit, so that they may be compelled by necessity to hear, and you shall proclaim the word of the Lord continuously, whether convenient or inconvenient (1 Timothy 4): and no excuse shall remain among them, that they did not do it because they did not hear.
17:20-27
(Verse 20 and following) Thus says the Lord: Guard your souls, and do not carry burdens on the Sabbath day, or bring them through the gates of Jerusalem. And do not cast burdens out of your houses on the Sabbath day, and you shall not do any work, and sanctify the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear, and they stiffened their necks (and what is not found in Hebrew, against their fathers), so that they would not listen to me, and would not receive discipline. And it will be, says the Lord, if you listen to me, that you shall not carry burdens through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and if you sanctify the Sabbath day and do not do any work on it, then the kings and princes occupying the throne of David shall enter through the gates of this city. They shall arrive in chariots and on horses, along with their princes, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the surrounding of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plains, and from the mountains, and from the south, bearing burnt offerings and sacrifices (or incense) and grain offerings (or manna) and frankincense, and they shall bring an offering (or praise) into the house of the Lord. But if you will not listen to me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to carry burdens, and not to bring them in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. I decided to disregard the commandment of the Sabbath restored through Jeremiah in vain, so that we may understand all at the same time. He who does not carry the burdens of sins on the day of rest and Sabbath guards his soul: nor does he bring them through the gates of Jerusalem, which virtues we should receive. And do not, he says, cast off burdens from your houses. For they are not to be carried, but to be completely cast away. And do not do any work, either servile or that which is written: 'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,' but God will destroy both this and that (I Cor. VI, 13); but that work must be done, of which the Savior speaks; 'Work for the work that does not perish' (John VI, 27). Sanctify, he says, the Sabbath day, so that we may spend all the time of our life in sanctification, just as our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did. And when God commanded these things, they did not incline their ear, certainly not their mind, nor their flesh; but they hardened their neck, rejecting the yoke of the Law, and having a likeness to untamed animals by metaphor. Let us see what is the reward of those who do not bear the burdens of the Sabbath day and sanctify it. Kings will enter through the gates of this city, whose heart is in the hand of God, and who reign over their bodies (Prov. 21); and princes sitting on the throne of David, in order to imitate the example of Christ, and those who ride in chariots and on horses, of whom it is written: The chariots of God are ten thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place (Psalm 68:17). And elsewhere: Your horses are a salvation (Habakkuk 3:8). Every man who confesses God and dwells in Jerusalem, of which it is said: His place is in Salem (or Jerusalem), that is, in peace, and his dwelling is in Zion (Psalm 75:2), and the Church of God will dwell there forever. They will come from the cities of Judah and from around Jerusalem, of which we have already spoken, and from the land of Benjamin, who is the son of strength and the right hand, and from the plains, which in Hebrew is called Sephela, and it signifies a plain understanding of history, and from the mountains, namely the lofty doctrines, and from the South, of which it is written: God will come from the South (Habbakuk 3:3). Where there is heat and full light, and where all cold is expelled: Carrying, he says, holocausts, consecrating themselves to God, and a victim, or incense, so that they may say: 'A sacrifice of a broken spirit, O Lord' (Psalm 50:19). And, we are a sweet odor of Christ in every place (1 Corinthians 2:15). And elsewhere: 'Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight' (Psalm 140:2). And the sacrifice, for which the 70 translators themselves put down the Hebrew word Manaa, which, by a most wicked custom, indeed the negligence of the scribes, is read as manna in our language. And thus, concerning which it is written: 'Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba?' (Jeremiah 6:20) And they bring an offering, which in Hebrew is called Thoda, and can be translated into a thanksgiving. And which praise the Septuagint translated. Into the house of David, no doubt into the Church. These are the rewards of those who sanctify the Sabbath and are not burdened with any weight. But if, he says, you do not listen to my commandments, and do what I have not commanded to be done: I will kindle a fire in its gates, that is, in Jerusalem, about which it is said: 'All of them, like a baker's oven, their hearts' (Hosea 7:4): who devour houses or streets of Jerusalem, which the LXX translated as alleys, Aquila and Symmachus as turrets, and are called Armanoth in Hebrew. And this fire will never be extinguished, as the Apostle says: Each one's work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work (1 Cor. 3:13). And again: If anyone's work is burned up, they will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames (ibid., 15). But if our Judaizing opponents reject this figurative interpretation, they will either be compelled to be Jews and observe the Sabbath and circumcise foreskins, or certainly censure the Savior who commanded the paralyzed man on the Sabbath to take up his bed, as the Evangelist says: Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:18).
Book Four
Book Four
The devil always threatens good work ((Perhaps he envies it)) and sets traps for those who walk everywhere, as the Prophet narrates about his minions' snares: 'They set a stumbling block for me beside the path' (Psalm 139:6), and the Gospel (Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8) provides a more complete instruction, explaining that birds of the air snatch and scatter seeds thrown along the way. Brother Eusebius, the following discourse will reveal why I have used this principle. Being occupied with the cares of the multitude converging from all over the globe, as well as with the duties of the Holy Brothers and the monastery, I was dictating commentaries on Jeremiah at intervals, so that what was lacking in leisure might be made up for by industry. However, suddenly the heresy of Pythagoras and Zeno, the apathy and sinlessness, that is, impassibility and impeccability, which was once crushed in Origen and then in his disciples Grunnius, Evagrius Ponticus, and Jovinian, began to revive and not only hissed in the Western, but also in the Eastern parts, and stained many people in certain islands, especially Sicily and Rhodes, and increased day by day, while they teach in secret and deny publicly. Remaining silent for a long time, he swallowed his grief in silence, compelled by his brothers' reproach: yet I have not yet broken out to name the authors, preferring them to be corrected rather than disgraced (or imitated, as Alexander reads). For I am an enemy not of men, but of error: who, to exact retribution on me and to inflict their genuine pain (or sweat, as Alexander reads), concocted slanders against the ancient masters, they were so tongue-tied (or double-tongued) and pitiable that they were not even able to speak ill in their own words. At that time, with the publication of books against them, the nonsense was refuted, which those who wish to read will see clearly that they are like dogs, as Isaiah says, who do not know how to bark: they have the will and rage to lie, but they do not have the skill of pretending and barking (Isa. 56). In brief, I will say this to them: Either the things you teach are good, or they are bad. If they are good, defend them freely; if they are bad, why do you secretly kill the miserable ones with deception, and openly expose those who are simple-minded to deceive them? If it is true, why is it hidden? If it is false, why is it written? I ask, what is this madness? The apostle commands (1 Peter 3) that we be prepared to give a reason to everyone who asks us about the hope that we have within us, and the Prophet declares: I spoke of your testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed (Psalm 119:46). These people flee from public view and whisper in the corners of the wicked, grieving as if for their own sins, which they fear to confess. And when we have spoken generally against vices and heretics, they complain that they are being attacked; and with hidden malice they pronounce long-lasting indignation. But if we must beware of harming our long-standing relationship, if we cut off the most arrogant heresy with the spiritual sword, then we must endure the crosses of faith that have been handed down to us, and say with the Prophet: I am surrounded by misery, while the thorn is being pierced into me (Psalm 31:4). Rather, let them listen to that Apostolic saying: It is necessary to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29; Gal. 1). And again: If I were pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ. However, we will carry out these things more fully in practice, unless they keep silent. Now let us proceed with the work begun on Jeremiah, and briefly pass over the fourth volume on him, focusing only on those things that were obscure.
18:1-10
(Chapter XVIII — Verses 1 and following) The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there you shall hear my words. So I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was working on a wheel (or stones). And the vessel that he was making of clay with his hands was spoiled in his hands; so he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to him to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Can I not do with you, house of Israel, as this potter does? (Vulgate: Can I not, according to the Hebrew?) The Lord says, behold, as clay in the hand of a potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Suddenly (or at the highest point), I will speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to uproot (or remove) and to destroy, and to utterly destroy it. If that nation turns away from the evil that I have spoken against it, I will relent and not carry out the harm that I planned to do to it. And suddenly (or at the highest point), I will speak about a nation and a kingdom, to build and to plant it. If he does evil in my eyes, so that he does not hear my voice, I will repent of the good that I have spoken to do to him. It is through all the senses that one arrives at the judgment and understanding of the mind, through hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, but it is retained more by the mind, which is seen by the eyes. Hence, the Prophet is commanded to go to the house of the potter and there to hear the commandments of the Lord. And when, he says, I had gone and descended into the house of the potter, he himself was working on the wheel, which, enticed by the ambiguity of the seventy-word, the stones were moved. For by Abanim, that is, the wheel of the potter, is meant the quality and diversity of the place and the pronunciation, and the instrument, that is, the wheel of the potter, and the stones. And when, he said, I saw a vessel being made of clay, suddenly it was dissipated, by the providence of God acting, so that the hand of the craftsman, while unaware, would shape a parable by its own mistake. And that potter, who had lost the vessel made of clay, with the wheel spinning, made another for himself as he saw fit. And immediately the Lord said to the Prophet: If the potter, he said, has the power to make again from the same clay what had been dissipated: I, in you, who as far as is possible in you, seem to have perished, will I not be able to do this? And in order to signify free will, he says that he both announces evil to a nation and kingdom, or to that one, and again good things: yet not that this will actually happen that he himself has predicted; but rather the opposite will occur, so that good things happen to evil people if they have repented, and bad things happen to good people if they have turned to sin after making promises. And we say this, not because God is unaware that this or that nation or kingdom will come into existence, but because he allows a person to follow their own will, so that they may receive rewards or punishments according to their own choice and their own merit. Not immediately will everything that happens be the accomplishment of man, but of his grace who has bestowed all things: so that the freedom of choice must be reserved, in such a way that the grace of the bestower excels in all things, according to that prophetic saying: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, he watches in vain who guards it (Psalm 126:1-2). For it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God who shows mercy (Romans 9).
18:11-13
(Vers. 11-13.) Now therefore say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am devising evil against you and devising a plan against you. Return everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds. But they say, That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore, thus says the Lord: Inquire of the nations, who has heard such dreadful things, which the virgin of Israel has done exceedingly? The Lord fulfills the parable which He had taught by both His words and His appearance, and He says: Behold, I am devising evil against you, like a potter shaping clay. But the evil mentioned by Isaiah, who says, 'Making peace and creating evil' (Isa. 45:7), is not evil in itself, but appears as evil to those who suffer it. And I am pondering a plan against you, that is, to pass judgment according to your deserts. Change your ways, and direct your paths, so that punishment may be changed to prosperity. Those, he said, who have spoken otherwise: We will be strengthened, namely in evil works, or according to Aquila, we have despaired, and according to Symmachus, we have fallen away, both of which offend God; so that either he thinks he cannot be saved at all, or he has fallen away in his mind to appease God. And after our thoughts, he said, we will go. Where then is there free will without the grace of God, and judgment of one's own will, when it is a great offense to follow one's own thoughts and to do the will of an evil heart? Therefore he brings this forward, saying: Inquire of the nations, and all the nations around, who has done this, who has heard of serving idols, what great things the virgin Israel has done? And he calls her a virgin because she has served only one God, as the Prophet says: God is known in Judah, his name is great in Israel (Psalm 75:2).
18:14
(Verse 14.) Will the snow of Lebanon's mountain fail from the rock of the field? Or can the rushing, cold waters be removed? Septuagint: Will the breasts fail from the rock, or the snow from Lebanon, or will the violently lifted water decline? It sounds like something similar to Virgil's (Eclogue I, 60 seq.)
Therefore, the gentle deer will feed in the sky, and the naked fish will leave the straits on the shore, before her face glides in our breast. And in another place (Aeneid. I, 611 seqq.)
While the rivers flow in the seas, while the shadows traverse the mountains, while the vaulted sky feeds the stars, your honor, name, and praises shall always remain. Just as, he says, the snow cannot fail from the summits of Lebanon; nor can it be overcome by any amount of sunlight so as to melt entirely; and the flowing streams from the mountains, by no means dry up in the fountains: so my name, which is steadfast of its own accord and everlasting, cannot be changed, and yet when all the other things of nature observe their order, my people have forgotten me. Sequitur enim:
18:15
(Verse 15) Because my people have forgotten me, offering sacrifices in vain and stumbling in their ways, in the paths of the world (or eternal) in order to walk through them on an untrodden journey. Whoever forgets God and forsakes him, who says: 'I am the way' (John 14:6); offers sacrifices to foreign gods, stumbles in his own ways, not God's, and forsakes the ancient and eternal paths, which are trodden by the footsteps of all who worship God. But these truly have walked on an untrodden path, and having abandoned the worship of God, they have revered idols, for which the punishment that follows is inflicted.
18:16
(Verse 16.) So that their land became a desolation and an eternal hissing, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and shake his head. And because they have forsaken the worship of God and followed the wicked paths of idolatry, therefore their land has been reduced to a wilderness and a wonder of all hissing, so that those who once saw the land and the flourishing city now see it as a desert and a heap of ashes, and they marvel and are astonished, and show the confusion of their souls by the movement of their bodies; for this is to shake the head and demonstrate the astonishment of the mind in silence. That which we understand to be more fully and accurately fulfilled after the coming of the Lord, when no Jew is allowed to enter the land and the holy City by law; but when they come to the earth, they marvel and weep over the prophecies of the Prophets, fulfilled by their deeds.
18:17
(Verse 17) Like a burning wind, I will scatter them before the enemy (or enemies); I will show them my back, not my face, on the day of their destruction. Until this day, God's judgment remains on the Jews. They were scattered before the enemy devil or enemy demons throughout the entire world; and as they invoke the name of God in the synagogues of Satan day and night, God shows them his back, not his face, so that they may understand that he is constantly withdrawing and never coming to them. But this is the time of the destruction of the Jews, from the passion of the Savior until the end of the age: so that after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel may be saved (Rom. 11).
18:18
(Verse 18) And they said: Come, let us devise schemes against Jeremiah, for the law will not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to all his words. These are the thoughts of the Jews against Jeremiah, or the Lord Savior, then and today, of the heretics against his servants, to construct calumnies and preempt the holy men with accusations, not considering what they speak of truth, but what they fabricate in lies. For they boast in their priests, and in their wise men, and in their false prophets, that the law and counsel of God, and the word, will remain, as the Scripture says: Wisdom will not enter a malicious soul.
18:19-21
(Verse 19 and following) Attend, O Lord, to me: and hear the voice of my adversaries. Is evil repaid for good, because they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember that I stood in your presence, to speak good for them, and to turn away your wrath from them. Therefore, let their children become a byword, and let them be led into the hands of the sword. May their wives be without children and widows, and may their husbands be killed by death, may their young men be pierced by the sword in battle, may the cry be heard from their houses. Indeed, these things were suffered by the people of Judah under the type of the Savior, which were subsequently fulfilled more fully and perfectly in Christ. And after the coming of the Babylonians, they were devastated. But they were completely fulfilled in Christ, and after the city was destroyed by the Roman sword, they were put to death, not because of idolatry, which was not present at that time, but because of the killing of the Son of God, when the whole people cried out together: Take him away, take him away; we have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). And their curse is a complete eternal damnation; His blood is upon us, and upon our children (Matthew 27:25). For they dug a pit for Christ, and said: Let us remove him from the land of the living (Isaiah 53:8). He showed them such great mercy, that while standing in the presence of the Father, he spoke good things for them, to turn away his anger from them, even saying on the cross: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). We hasten through the obscure, in order to dwell in the clearer things, by no means interpreting the delusions of certain individuals or the captivity of the celestial Jerusalem, but rather pursuing a clear history and a most evident prophecy, with every confidence in words and meanings.
18:22-23