Jerusalem’s Final Warning 1 O you children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appears out of the north, and great destruction.
Jerome · AD 420 (Chapter 6, Verse 1) Take courage, sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem; and in Thecua sound the trumpet; and on Bethacherem raise a sign (or banner), for evil has been seen (or appeared) from the North and great destruction. No one is ignorant of Jerusalem situated in the tribe of Benjamin.
2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 2, 3.) I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman. And the shepherds and their flocks shall come to her. They have pitched their tents around her and each one shall feed those under his hand. Prepare for battle against her. Arise and let us go up at noon.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 Prepare war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 4, 5.) Woe to us, because the day has declined, because the shadows in the evening have become longer (or have failed). Arise and let us ascend in the night, and let us scatter its houses (or its foundations). They say: Arise, and let us ascend at noon, and let us fight in the clear light. Those respond: Woe to us, because the shadows in the evening have become longer.
5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 For thus has the LORD of hosts said, Hew you down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 6.) Because thus says the Lord of hosts: Cut down the wood (or its woods) and pour out (or carry) it around Jerusalem as a mound. Therefore, they say, we are confident of victory, because it is the command of the Lord who orders the Chaldeans: cut down the trees and carry them to build fortifications.
7 As a fountain casts out her waters, so she casts out her wickedness: violence and plunder is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you; lest I make you desolate, a land not inhabited.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 Behold the mercy and piety of the good God. When he wishes to be merciful, he says that he is displeased and angry. As he says through Jeremiah, "You will be chastised, Jerusalem, with pain and a scourge, lest my soul depart from you." If you understand these words, it is the voice of God having compassion when he is angry, when he is jealous, when he brings pains and beatings.…
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 It was that thou mayest learn that God silently and noiselessly observes the affairs of men, and watches the course of each one's life; and so it is written, "The paths of a man are before the eyes of God; and He looks at all his tracks." And as He is good, and willeth that all men should be saved, He often purifies those who are entangled in sins by inflicting sickness upon th…
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back your hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
Theophilus of Antioch · AD 185 And another prophet, Jeremiah, says, "Turn to the Lord your God, as a grape gatherer to his basket, and you shall find mercy." The sayings in the Holy Scriptures regarding repentance are many, yes, countless. God always desires that the human race turn from all its sins.
Clement of Alexandria · AD 215 God invites us to knowledge also, when he says by Jeremiah, "If you had walked in the way of God, you would have dwelled forever in peace." … God grants pardon to those who have erred. He says, "Turn, turn, as a grape gatherer returns to his basket." Do you see the goodness of justice in that it advises us to repent?
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? look, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot listen: look, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 The prophet Jeremiah also blamed the Jewish multitudes with their rulers because of their excessive arrogance, saying, "To whom shall I speak and testify, and he will hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. Behold, the Word of the Lord has become to them a derision.
11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
12 And their houses shall be turned to others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
13 For from the least of them even to the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest every one deals falsely.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jerome · AD 420 Idol temples had fallen before the standard of the cross and the severity of the gospel. Now, on the contrary, lust and gluttony endeavor to overthrow the solid structure of the cross.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? no, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, says the LORD.
Jerome · AD 420 (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?
16 Thus says the LORD, Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Clement of Alexandria · AD 215 And through Jeremiah, he provides further enlightenment in the truth for those who have erred: "Thus says the Lord, stand in the roads, and look. Ask for the eternal paths of the Lord. Look for the good path, and walk in it, and you shall find purification for your souls." He leads us to repentance in order to promote our salvation.
Jerome · AD 420 What are the marks of the person who fears the Lord? What is the stamp of those "who walk in his ways." There are many ways, and the many ways lead to the one way. Wherefore it says in Jeremiah: "Stand beside the ways of the Lord, and ask for the eternal pathways.
Theodoret of Cyrus · AD 458 The holy prophets might themselves be considered as "many ways"; our Lord, however, is the truly good way. In fact, listen to his words, "I am the way, the truth and the life." But each of the prophetic ways leads to this way, Moses the lawgiver hinting at this in his words, "The Lord our God will raise up for you from among your brothers a prophet like me." David, king and pro…
17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not listen.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 17) And I appointed watchmen over you, listen to the sound of the trumpet. And they said, we will not listen. 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).
Theodoret of Cyrus · AD 458 Jeremiah refers to their guides by the term "shepherds," not simply those accorded spiritual guidance but also kings and rulers who have accepted the divine message. This is the way the divine apostles Barnabas and Paul also behaved. When they entered a certain synagogue, they principally engaged the Jews in discussion.
18 Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jerome · AD 420 (Vers. 18) 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. Therefore it is said: Hear, O nations.
19 Hear, O earth: look, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
20 To what purpose comes there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
Irenaeus · AD 202 For it was not because He was angry, like a man, as many venture to say, that He rejected their sacrifices; but out of compassion to their blindness, and with the view of suggesting to them the true sacrifice, by offering which they shall appease God, that they may receive life from Him.
Jerome · AD 420 (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).
Cyril of Alexandria · AD 444 The legal manner of service is not what he requires. This is a thing in no respect difficult to see from the prophetic and apostolic writings. For by the word of Jeremiah he says, "Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba and cinnamon from a far country?
21 Therefore thus says the LORD, Look, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
Jerome · AD 420 (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.
An Invasion from the North 22 Thus says the LORD, Look, a people comes from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 22, 23.) Thus says the Lord: Behold, a people comes from the land of the north, and a great nation will rise from the ends of the earth. They will take hold of the bow and shield (or javelin); they are cruel (or shameless) and will not show mercy.
23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against you, O daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard its fame: our hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 24.) We have heard his fame: our hands are weak; distress has seized us, like the pain of childbirth. The people responded to the Prophet, or rather, through the Prophet, the Lord has threatened the Babylonians: before they come, they will be overcome with fear, unable to lift their hands, and distress will grip them like the pain of childbirth; in this pain, they affirm…
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 25.) Do not go out to the fields, and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy is all around. The Gospel teaches (Matthew 24) that we should not go out into the field or descend from the height of roofs, but rather listen to this: 'Escape to the mountain to be saved' (Genesis 19:17).
26 O daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes: make you mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 26) Daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes, mourn for the only begotten (or beloved), make for yourself a bitter lament (or miserable), because the devastator (or misery) will come suddenly upon us (or upon you).
27 I have set you for a tower and a fortress among my people, that you may know and try their way.
Jerome · AD 420 (Verse 27 and following) I have appointed you as a strong tester among my people, and you will know and prove their ways. All these leaders are turning away (or disobedient), walking deceitfully (or perversely).
28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are bronze and iron; they are all corrupters.
Gregory of Nazianzus · AD 390 Perhaps he will say to me, who am not reformed even by blows, I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, the heedless is heedless, and the lawless person acts lawlessly, naught is the heavenly correction, naught the scourges.
29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melts in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD has rejected them.
Irenaeus · AD 202 And again in like manner does Jeremiah speak: "I set watchmen over you; hearken to the sound of the trumpet; and they said, We will not hearken.
Aphrahat the Persian Sage · AD 345 Daniel said, "The saints of the most High shall receive the kingdom." What shall we say concerning this? Have the children of Israel received the kingdom of the most High? God forbid. Or has that people come on the clouds of heaven? This has passed away from them.