32:31
(Verse 31.) In my fury and indignation, this city has become a ruin from the day it was built until this day when it is taken away from my sight. From the time when the foundations of the city were laid until this day, when it was captured, burned, and taken away from the Lord's presence, it has always been in fault and has provoked the Lord's indignation against itself. Where is the peace of sinners (as we have often said)?
32:32
(Verse 32.) He says, because of the wickedness of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done, provoking me to anger, they themselves, and their kings, and their leaders, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Because he had said before: In my fury and in my indignation this city has been made for me, from the day when they built it until this day, when it is taken away from my sight; and he had shown that there was no one without sin in general, now he enumerates them individually, and includes kings, and leaders, and priests, and prophets, comprehending everything in one statement: The men of Judah, he says, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And he did not say it beautifully: Their kings, and their rulers, and their priests, and their prophets, but because their kings, and their rulers, and their priests, and their prophets have sinned.
And they turned their backs to me, and not their faces. According to what is written elsewhere: And they turned against me the shoulder that was turning away (Zech. 7:11). For the one who prays, bowing down with a bent neck is cast down to the ground; but the one who turns his back, by that bodily gesture indicates his disregard for the one threatening him. And, he says, they were doing this.
32:33
(Verse 33.) When I was teaching them early in the morning, and instructing them, and they were unwilling to listen, in order to receive discipline. When the darkness of errors and all worship of idols had been driven away, my opinion being refuted, I desired daily to illuminate their hearts and teach what is right. And in order to preserve their free will, he adds and says: And they were unwilling to listen in order to receive discipline. It follows:
32:34
(Verse 34) And they placed their idols in the house where my name is invoked, to defile it. Not only in that time did Judas place in the Temple of God the statue of the idol, which we read about in the beginning of Ezekiel (Ezek. VIII): but even today in the house of God, which is interpreted as the Church, or in the hearts and souls of believers, an idol is placed when a new doctrine is established, and according to Deuteronomy it is worshipped in secret (Deut. IV): Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you (1 Cor. III, 16).
32:35
(Verse 35.) And they built high places (or altars) to Baal, which are in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters as offerings to the idol Moloch. The word 'initiate' is written in Hebrew as 'Ebir', which Aquila and Symmachus translated as 'offer'. The Seventy and Theodotion interpreted it as 'sacrifice'. We have already spoken more fully about the valley of the sons of Hinnom, which in Hebrew is called Ge-Hinnom, that it lies below the fountains of Siloam and has its own charm, because it is a watered place, which has led the people (some manuscripts add 'of Israel') to indulge in luxury, following the worship of idols. It should also be noted that altars and high places are called Bamoth in Hebrew, because there are doubts among those who read the books of Samuel and Kings about the meaning of this word. Moloch is the idol of the Ammonites, which is turned into a king. The divine Scripture signifies that the people not only served the idol Baal, but also Moloch and all the other demons in that place.
Which I did not command them, neither did it come into my heart that they should do this abomination, and lead Judah into sin. Specifically, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin worshipped the idols of Baal and Molech in the temple (3 Kings 12). It is clear that the golden calves in Bethel and Dan, as well as the ten tribes known as Samaria, Joseph and Ephraim, also indulged in this (Alt. wanted). So much evil was done by the people that God testifies He never even considered or thought of the things they did. But all these things are humanly.
And now because of these things, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to this city, of which you say, 'It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.' As those who hope for aid and trust in the strength of the walls, it is prophesied that Jerusalem will be overthrown and the people will soon be captured, and will perish by the sword, famine, and pestilence before captivity. So to those who despair and expect no salvation after the destruction of the city, He promises His aid, so that both confidence and pride may merit just judgment, and despair and humility may merit God's aid.
32:37-40
(Verse 37 and following) Behold, I will gather them from all the lands to which I have driven them in my anger, in my wrath, and in great indignation, and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell securely. They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. And I will rejoice over them, when I have done good to them (or when I have visited them, to do good to them). And I will plant them in this land in truth (or in faith), with all my heart and with all my soul. Many thought this at the time of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jozadak, the high priest, when Haggai and Zechariah prophesied during the time of the completion of the Temple under the priest Ezra, and the walls were rebuilt under Nehemiah, that those whom He had cast out in anger, wrath, and great indignation from Jerusalem, and had scattered throughout the whole world, He had afterwards made them dwell confidently and be a people of God; and that the Lord had been their God, and the other things that the Scripture contains. But how can this be adapted to that time: That I will make them dwell confidently, and I will strike for them an everlasting covenant, or I will establish for them an eternal testament, cannot be thoroughly approved: indeed, those whom we have read and holy history narrates were often taken captive not only by neighboring nations, but also by the Persians and Macedonians, and by the Egyptians and Romans, and until now they serve. Therefore, all things must be referred to the advent of the Savior: which we see fulfilled in our time of faith, and the election of the remnant has been preserved according to the Apostle (Romans 9). And those who confidently dwell in Christ have been given one heart, according to what is written: Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul (Acts IV, 32). And he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John XIV, 6). And let them fear me all the days. For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs IX). To all he said: if it does not fit with the Jews, it must be taken from our people: to whom it was, is, and will be good, not only to themselves, but also to their children after them. For He made an everlasting covenant with us and will not cease to show us kindness. And what follows: “And I will put my fear into their hearts, that they shall not depart from me,” (Jeremiah 32:40) He grants free will to choose, yet the fear that is given remains as a grace from the giver. And when I do good to them, I will rejoice. For He rejoices because He sees His creation saved. Hence, there is joy in heaven among the angels over one sinner doing penance. (Luke 15) And I will plant them, says [the Lord], in this land in truth, or (as the Septuagint translated it) in faith, so that it properly signifies the Christian people whose religion is faith. With all my heart, and with all my soul. If the words of the Savior are true, it is rightly believed that his heart and soul say, in the Gospel: I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it up again (John 10:18). But if we understand it from the perspective of God the Father, it is to be understood according to that saying: My soul hates your new moons and your sabbaths, and your festivals.
32:41-44
(Verse 41 onwards) What does the Lord say about this: just as I brought upon this people all this great evil, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise to them. And the fields in this land, of which you say it is deserted because no man, nor animal, remains, will be possessed. The fields will be bought with money, and recorded in a book, and sealed with a seal, and witnesses will be present in the land of Benjamin, and around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, and in the mountainous cities, and in the cities of the plain (or Shephelah), and in the cities of the Negev (which are to the south). For I will restore their captivity, says the Lord. These things, although they may have happened literally after the return from the Chaldeans, when the people returned to Judaea under the reign of Cyrus the king, are more truly and fully fulfilled spiritually in Christ and the Apostles. Then both men and animals were brought into the Church, according to what is written: 'You will save men and animals, O Lord, both rational and simple.' Then fields were bought with money, so that we could make friends for ourselves with the unjust mammon, who would receive us into eternal tabernacles (Luke 16). And it is written in the book, without doubt concerning the living. And it is imprinted with the sign of the banner of the Cross of the Lord and of Victory; and witnesses have been called, the Martyrs, and the chorus of all the saints. In the land of Benjamin, where the strength of the Lord exists, and in the vicinity of Jerusalem, where the vision of peace and eternal security resides: in the cities of Judah, where the true confession of Christ is found. And in the mountainous cities, of which there is one, about which it is said: a city cannot be hidden, when it is situated on a mountain (Matthew 5). And in the countryside cities, which are called Sephela in Hebrew, so that from the depths and depressions through the equality of the fields we may rise to the highest point. And in the cities that are to the south, which the LXX translated as Nageb, where the noon and the full light of truth are. But when all these things are accomplished, what is written will be fulfilled: I will turn their captivity, says the Lord, of whom it is written: ascending on high, he led captivity captive (Psalm 67:19). He received, or (as the Apostle says) he gave gifts to men (Ephesians 4:8).