Jeremiah 29

And these are the words of the book which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remnant of the elders of the exile, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried over from Jerusalem into Babylon, after Jeconiah the king went out, and the lady — or the queen — and the eunuchs and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem — or from Jerusalem or the nobles — and the craftsmen from Jerusalem, by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and of Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into Babylon, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exile which I carried over from Jerusalem into Babylon: Build houses and dwell, and plant gardens — or orchards — and eat their fruit! Take wives and beget sons and daughters; give wives to your sons and give your daughters to husbands, and let them bear sons and daughters; and multiply, and do not be few in number! And seek the peace of the city — or of the land —, to which I have carried you over, and pray for it to the Lord, for in its peace there will be peace for you! This letter, nay rather little book, of Jeremiah the prophet is sent into Babylon through Zedekiah's envoys, Elasah and Gemariah, to those who had been carried over by Nebuchadnezzar with Jeconiah and his mother, so that, taking the occasion of the royal embassy, the prophet might also accomplish his own work and admonish the exiled people of the things that had been commanded him by the Lord. And he said finely: Jeconiah the king went out, and the lady, the eunuchs and the princes of Judah and the rest, and: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exile which I carried over from Jerusalem into Babylon, so that they may be seen to have been carried over not by the power of the king of Babylon but by the will of the Lord. And the word of God is directed first to the elders, then to the priests, third to the prophets, fourth to all the people, so that the prophet's letter too might reach those who were being admonished according to the order of age.

But he admonishes them not with his own words but with the Lord's, that they should build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens or orchards and eat their fruit, take wives and beget sons and daughters, and multiply in the place of exile and not be few in number, and seek the peace of the city or land to which the Lord had carried them over, and pray for it to the Lord. And giving the reasons he says: 'for in the peace of that land there will be peace for you'. To Jeremiah, because captivity was to overtake Jerusalem after a short time, it is commanded that he not take a wife, that he not beget sons. Hence to us also it is said through the Apostle: the time has been shortened; it remains that those who have wives be as though they had none. But if, because of the narrowness of the time, the use of wives is taken away from those who have them, how much more is it commanded to those who do not have them that they not take them! Now the prophet's prophecy commands all this so that they may not give in to the false prophets, who were promising them a return to Jerusalem after a short time, but that they may know that they will stay a long time in Babylon, so that they ought to take wives, plant orchards and sow gardens, build houses and beget sons. And in what he added: seek the peace of the city or of the land, and again: for in its peace there will be peace for you, that saying of the Apostle is confirmed in which he enjoins: I beseech therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high station, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and chastity. Further, according to the mystical senses: after we have been cast out of Jerusalem, that is, the Church, because of our sins, and handed over to Nebuchadnezzar — of whom the same Apostle says: 'I have handed over such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord' and again: whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme —, we ought not to be secure, nor, sluggish with idleness, to despair utterly of salvation, but first to build houses — not upon sand, but upon rock — and such houses as the midwives too built in Exodus, because they feared the Lord; Then to plant gardens or orchards, such a paradise as the Lord too planted in Eden, and set in it the tree of life, of which it is written: it is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; and he who holds her fast, blessed; third, to take wives, of whom one is wisdom, of whom Solomon writes: love her, and she will keep you; encircle her, and she will exalt you, and in another place: her I sought to take as a bride for myself, and I became a lover of her beauty. Nor does one spouse, wisdom, suffice us, unless we have the rest also: fortitude, temperance and righteousness, so that from them we may beget more sons. Let us also give our daughters to husbands, so that the truth of faith, which is understood in the sons, may be coupled with good works, which are referred to the daughters, and good works may be joined to the soundness of faith. And begetting such sons and daughters, let us be multiplied in number, so that, putting away the things of a little child and growing up to the perfect man, we may deserve to hear: I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning, and may say with the Apostle to our children: for in Christ Jesus through the Gospel I have begotten you. Let us also seek peace for the Church, our city and our land, so that we may deserve to return to it, from which by the Lord's judgment we have been carried over to dwell in the error of 'confusion'; for if it receives us, we shall have peace. And at the same time the clemency of the Lord is to be considered: he commands us to pray for our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us, so that we may not be content with our own salvation only, but may seek the salvation of our enemies also.

Because the life of the flesh is the soul, so the blessed life of humankind is God, of whom the sacred writings of the Hebrews say, "Blessed are people whose God is the Lord." Miserable, therefore, are people who are alienated from God. Yet even this people has a peace of its own that is not to be lightly esteemed, though, indeed, it shall not in the end enjoy it, because it makes no good use of it before the end. But it is our interest that it enjoys this peace meanwhile in this life. As long as the two cities are combined, we enjoy the peace of Babylon. For from Babylon the people of God is so freed that it meanwhile travels in its company. Therefore the apostle also admonished the church to pray for kings and those in authority, assigning as the reason "that we may live a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and love." And the prophet Jeremiah, when predicting the captivity that was to befall the ancient people of God and giving them the divine command to go obediently to Babylonia and thus serve their God, counseled them also to pray for Babylonia, saying, "In its peace you will have peace"—the temporal peace that the good and the wicked together enjoy.

Remember then, that Jeconiah, rejected without any fault of his own, ceased to reign and passed into the custody of the Gentiles when the exile to Babylon took place. Now observe the symbol of things to come in the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in advance. For the Jews did not want our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over them, yet they found no fault in him. He was rejected in his own person and in that of his servants also, and so they passed into the custody of the Gentiles as into Babylon symbolically.… How then do the people of Israel, not now in symbol but in truth, pass into the custody of Babylon? Where did the apostles come from? Were they not from the nation of the Jews? Where did Paul come from? He said, "I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." Many of the Jews then believed in the Lord. From these were the apostles chosen. From these were the more than five hundred brothers, who were allowed to see the Lord after his resurrection. From these were the 120 in the house when the Holy Spirit came down.But what does the apostle in the Acts of the Apostles say, when the Jews refused the word of truth? "We were sent to you, but seeing you have rejected the word of God, see, we turn to the Gentiles." The true passing over into Babylon, which was prefigured in the time of Jeremiah, took place in the spiritual dispensation of the time of the Lord's incarnation. But what does Jeremiah say about these Babylonians to those who were passing into their custody? "For in their peace shall be your peace." When Israel then went into exile in Babylon by Christ and the apostles, that is, when the gospel came to the Gentiles, what did the apostle say, as though by the mouth of Jeremiah in ancient times? "I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all people. For kings, and for all that are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." For they were not Christian kings, yet he prayed for them. Israel then praying in Babylon has been heard. The prayers of the church have been heard, and the kings have become Christian, and you see now fulfilled what was then spoken in symbol: "In their peace shall be your peace," for they have received the peace of Christ and have ceased persecuting Christians, that now in the secure quiet of peace, the churches might be built up and peoples planted in the garden of God, and that all nations might bring forth fruit in faith and hope and love, which is in Christ.

[Daniel 4:27] "'Wherefore, O king, let my counsel meet with thy favor, and make up for thy sins by deeds of charity, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps God will forgive thy transgressions.'" Since he had previously pronounced the sentence of God, which of course cannot be altered, how could he exhort the king to deeds of charity and acts of mercy towards the poor? This difficulty is easily solved by reference to the example of King Hezekiah, who Isaiah had said was going to die (Isaiah 38:1); and again, to the example of the Ninevites, to whom it was said: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed" (Jonah 3:4). And yet the sentence of God was changed in response to the prayers of Hezekiah and the city of Nineveh, not by any means because of the ineffectualness of the judgment itself but because of the conversion of those who merited pardon. Morever in Jeremiah God states that He threatens evil for the nation (Jeremiah 18:7-8), but if it does that which is good, He will alter His threats to bestow mercy. Again, He affirms that He directs His promises to the man who does good; and if the same man thereafter works evil, He says that He changes His decision, not with regard to the men themselves, but with regard to their works which have thus changed in character. For after all, God is not angered at men but at their sins; and when no sins inhere in a man, God by no means inflicts a punishment which has been commuted. In other words, let us say that Nebuchadnezzar performed deeds of mercy toward the poor in accordance with Daniel's advice, and for that reason the sentence against him was delayed of execution for twelve months. But because he afterwards while walking about in his palace at Babylon said boastingly: "Is this not the great Babylon which I myself have built up as a home for the king by the might of my power and the glory of my name?" therefore he lost the virtue of his charitableness by reason of the wickedness of his pride.

"It may be that God will forgive thy sins." In view of the fact that the blessed Daniel, foreknowing the future as he did, had doubts concerning God's decision, it is very rash on the part of those who boldly promise pardon to sinners. And yet it should be recognized that indulgence was promised to Nebuchadnezzar in return, as long as he wrought good works. Much more, then, is it promised to other men who have committed less grievous sins than he. We read in Jeremiah also of God's direction to the people of the Jews, that they should pray for the Babylonians, inasmuch as the peace of the captives was bound up with the peace of the captors themselves (Jeremiah 29:7).

Because the life of the flesh is the soul, so the blessed life of humankind is God, of whom the sacred writings of the Hebrews say, "Blessed are people whose God is the Lord." Miserable, therefore, are people who are alienated from God. Yet even this people has a peace of its own that is not to be lightly esteemed, though, indeed, it shall not in the end enjoy it, because it makes no good use of it before the end. But it is our interest that it enjoys this peace meanwhile in this life. As long as the two cities are combined, we enjoy the peace of Babylon. For from Babylon the people of God is so freed that it meanwhile travels in its company. Therefore the apostle also admonished the church to pray for kings and those in authority, assigning as the reason "that we may live a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and love." And the prophet Jeremiah, when predicting the captivity that was to befall the ancient people of God and giving them the divine command to go obediently to Babylonia and thus serve their God, counseled them also to pray for Babylonia, saying, "In its peace you will have peace"—the temporal peace that the good and the wicked together enjoy.

Remember then, that Jeconiah, rejected without any fault of his own, ceased to reign and passed into the custody of the Gentiles when the exile to Babylon took place. Now observe the symbol of things to come in the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in advance. For the Jews did not want our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over them, yet they found no fault in him. He was rejected in his own person and in that of his servants also, and so they passed into the custody of the Gentiles as into Babylon symbolically.… How then do the people of Israel, not now in symbol but in truth, pass into the custody of Babylon? Where did the apostles come from? Were they not from the nation of the Jews? Where did Paul come from? He said, "I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." Many of the Jews then believed in the Lord. From these were the apostles chosen. From these were the more than five hundred brothers, who were allowed to see the Lord after his resurrection. From these were the 120 in the house when the Holy Spirit came down.But what does the apostle in the Acts of the Apostles say, when the Jews refused the word of truth? "We were sent to you, but seeing you have rejected the word of God, see, we turn to the Gentiles." The true passing over into Babylon, which was prefigured in the time of Jeremiah, took place in the spiritual dispensation of the time of the Lord's incarnation. But what does Jeremiah say about these Babylonians to those who were passing into their custody? "For in their peace shall be your peace." When Israel then went into exile in Babylon by Christ and the apostles, that is, when the gospel came to the Gentiles, what did the apostle say, as though by the mouth of Jeremiah in ancient times? "I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all people. For kings, and for all that are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." For they were not Christian kings, yet he prayed for them. Israel then praying in Babylon has been heard. The prayers of the church have been heard, and the kings have become Christian, and you see now fulfilled what was then spoken in symbol: "In their peace shall be your peace," for they have received the peace of Christ and have ceased persecuting Christians, that now in the secure quiet of peace, the churches might be built up and peoples planted in the garden of God, and that all nations might bring forth fruit in faith and hope and love, which is in Christ.

[Daniel 4:27] "'Wherefore, O king, let my counsel meet with thy favor, and make up for thy sins by deeds of charity, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps God will forgive thy transgressions.'" Since he had previously pronounced the sentence of God, which of course cannot be altered, how could he exhort the king to deeds of charity and acts of mercy towards the poor? This difficulty is easily solved by reference to the example of King Hezekiah, who Isaiah had said was going to die (Isaiah 38:1); and again, to the example of the Ninevites, to whom it was said: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed" (Jonah 3:4). And yet the sentence of God was changed in response to the prayers of Hezekiah and the city of Nineveh, not by any means because of the ineffectualness of the judgment itself but because of the conversion of those who merited pardon. Morever in Jeremiah God states that He threatens evil for the nation (Jeremiah 18:7-8), but if it does that which is good, He will alter His threats to bestow mercy. Again, He affirms that He directs His promises to the man who does good; and if the same man thereafter works evil, He says that He changes His decision, not with regard to the men themselves, but with regard to their works which have thus changed in character. For after all, God is not angered at men but at their sins; and when no sins inhere in a man, God by no means inflicts a punishment which has been commuted. In other words, let us say that Nebuchadnezzar performed deeds of mercy toward the poor in accordance with Daniel's advice, and for that reason the sentence against him was delayed of execution for twelve months. But because he afterwards while walking about in his palace at Babylon said boastingly: "Is this not the great Babylon which I myself have built up as a home for the king by the might of my power and the glory of my name?" therefore he lost the virtue of his charitableness by reason of the wickedness of his pride.

"It may be that God will forgive thy sins." In view of the fact that the blessed Daniel, foreknowing the future as he did, had doubts concerning God's decision, it is very rash on the part of those who boldly promise pardon to sinners. And yet it should be recognized that indulgence was promised to Nebuchadnezzar in return, as long as he wrought good works. Much more, then, is it promised to other men who have committed less grievous sins than he. We read in Jeremiah also of God's direction to the people of the Jews, that they should pray for the Babylonians, inasmuch as the peace of the captives was bound up with the peace of the captors themselves (Jeremiah 29:7).

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, lead you astray, and do not attend to your dreams which you dream, for these prophesy falsehoods to you in my name, and I did not send them, says the Lord. That there were prophets, nay rather false prophets, and diviners and dreamers in Babylon among those whom Nebuchadnezzar had led away with Jeconiah and his mother, the prophet Ezekiel testifies, writing against those whom Jeremiah too commands are not to be believed. But at the time when this letter was being sent, Ezekiel had not yet begun to prophesy in Babylon; for this word is sent at the beginning of King Zedekiah, while Ezekiel began to prophesy in the fifth year of the exile of Jeconiah, which was the same year of Zedekiah's reign. Further, according to tropology, we ought to take as false prophets those who take the words of the Scriptures otherwise than the Holy Spirit sounds them, and as diviners those who pronounce the conjectures of their own mind and the uncertainties of things to come as though true, without the authority of the divine words; and as dreamers, those who do not hear that which is written: give no sleep to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids, of whom Jude the Apostle too speaks: likewise these also, dreaming, defile the flesh, but despise dominion, whose mind is by no means awake, but, weighed down by the slumber of arrogance and error, is surrounded by the horror of night; to whom the Apostle Paul also speaks: rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you.

[Daniel 9:2] "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Jeremiah, that seventy years would be accomplished for the desolation of Jerusalem." Jeremiah had predicted seventy years for the desolation of the Temple (Jeremiah 29:1-10), at the end of which the people would again return to Judaea and build the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. But this fact did not render Daniel careless, but rather encouraged him to pray that God might through his supplications fulfil that which He had graciously promised. Thus he avoided the danger that carelessness might result in pride, and pride cause offense to the Lord. Accordingly we read in Genesis that prior to the Deluge one hundred and twenty years were appointed for men to come to repentance (Genesis 6:3); and inasmuch as they refused to repent even within so long an interval of time as a hundred years, God did not wait for the remaining twenty years to be fulfilled, but brought on the punishment earlier which He had threatened for a later time. So also Jeremiah is told, on account of the hardness of the heart of the Jewish people: "Pray not for this people, for I will not hearken unto thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Samuel also was told: "How long wilt thou mourn over Saul? I also have rejected him" (1 Samuel 16:1). And so it was with sackcloth and ashes that Daniel besought the Lord to fulfil what He had promised, not that Daniel lacked faith concerning the future, but rather he would avoid the danger that a feeling of security might produce carelessness, and carelessness produce an offense to God.

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years begin to be fulfilled in Babylon, I will visit you, and I will raise up over you my good word, to bring you back to this place. For I know the thoughts which I think over you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of affliction, to give you an end and patience — or hope —. And you will call upon me and you will go — or, according to Symmachus, you will find — and you will pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and you will find, when you seek me with your whole heart, and I will be found by you or I will appear to you. 'Do not,' he says, 'believe your false prophets, diviners and dreamers, who promise you a near return to Jerusalem! For unless the seventy years have been completed — Cyrus, king of the Persians, releasing the captives —, you will by no means return to your fatherland; and then I will fulfill my promises, to bring you back to this place; for I know the thoughts which I think over you, says the Lord'. He says that he knows what he thinks, but that they, with their prophets, diviners and dreamers, do not know; the knowledge of things to come therefore belongs to God alone. 'To give you,' he says, 'an end and patience: an end of the captivity and patience in the present labors, or hope of things to come. Then you will call upon me and you will go to Jerusalem and you will pray, and I will hear you.' Certainly the Lord could have fulfilled what he had promised without the invocation and prayer of the captives, but he exhorts them to prayers, so that they may deserve to receive what has been promised.

According to anagōgēn [the higher, spiritual sense], we dwell in the 'confusion' of this world for as long as it takes until we deserve to receive the 'rest' of the number seven, and, repentance having been received, God fulfills what he promised, and we are brought back to our place, the Church; for this is why the Lord seemed to strike, that he might heal, and he will give us an end of our labor and of our patience. And we shall call upon him and shall return to the Church and shall pray, and we shall be heard. We shall seek and shall find him, when we have sought him with our whole heart, and then he will appear to us. A certain one interprets the 'seventy years' according to that which is written: the days of our years, in them seventy years; and when these have been completed, then we may return to the Lord with our whole heart and be heard, and there may be an end of our labor and patience; for now we possess all things in shadow and image.

You will seek and you will find me, when you seek with your whole heart, in accordance with that saying of the Gospel: ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

※ And I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring back your captivity and gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I drove you out, says the Lord, and I will make you return from the place to which I made you go into exile, because you have said: The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon. For thus says the Lord to the king who sits upon the throne of David, and to all the people, the inhabitant of this city, and to your brothers who did not go out with you into exile; thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, famine and plague, and I will make them like bad figs, which cannot be eaten because they are very bad. And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence, and I will give them over to vexation to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a curse and for astonishment and for hissing and for a reproach to all the nations to which I am casting them out, because they did not hear my words, says the Lord, which I sent to them through my servants, the prophets, rising up by night and sending; and you did not hear, says the Lord. You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all the exile, which I sent out from Jerusalem into Babylon! ※ Up to this point, what I have marked beforehand with asterisks is not found in the Seventy; for the rest, in which either single verses or a few words have been passed over by them, I was unwilling, overcome by weariness, to note them, lest I should cause the reader disgust. Now the Lord promises those who were in exile that after seventy years of captivity he will make them return from all the nations and from all the places to which he had driven them out, and that, the captivity being released, they would recover their former state and fatherland.

And in this place a delirious interpreter dreams of the ruin of the heavenly Jerusalem and supposes that the prophecy is directed to those who dwell in the Babylonian region of this world, that they did well to descend of their own accord into these bodies and in the land of the Chaldeans to build houses, plant orchards, take wives, beget sons, and by good works to be restored after seventy years to their former place and to the heavenly Jerusalem; but that those who were unwilling by their own will to descend to earthly things would suffer these things which the Lord threatens against Zedekiah and his people, who were unwilling to imitate their brothers or to come into Babylon: that he sends upon them the sword and famine and plague, that is, the want of all things, and makes them like very bad figs, which utterly cannot be eaten, and pursues them with an everlasting sword and gives them over to vexation to all the kingdoms of the earth, so that, namely, they become not men at all but demons, aerial powers, and are, before all the angels who preside over the several provinces, for a curse and for astonishment and for hissing and for a reproach to all the nations. And that they would suffer this for the reason that they were unwilling to hear, in the heavenly Jerusalem, the words of the prophets, who exhorted them to descend to earthly things and take up the body of humiliation, and, having done penance, after the true sabbath-rest to possess their former place. So much he may say; and when his disciples and the dung of the Grunnian household hear it, they think they are hearing divine mysteries, and us, who despise these things, they hold as brute animals and call pēlousiōtas [men of mud], because, set in the mud of this body, we cannot perceive heavenly things.

'And since I,' he says, 'am going to do these things of my own accord and to restore you at a fixed time, you are deceived in vain and think that you have prophets in Babylon who promise you false things; so know, then, that you ought by no means to hope for a return now, but to build houses, plant orchards, take wives and beget sons and multiply in number and await the promised time. Hear what the Lord says to Zedekiah, who now reigns in Jerusalem, and to all the inhabitants of his city, that is, to your brothers, who were unwilling to obey my sentence and to migrate to Babylon with you: that they can by no means escape captivity, but will die by sword and famine and plague, and that he will make them like bad figs', which Theodotion and Aquila's first edition translated 'sudrinas', the second 'very bad', Symmachus 'last'; in Hebrew they are called 'suarim' [vile], but by the fault of copyists, in place of the middle syllable or letter 'alpha', the Greek 'delta' has crept in, so that 'sudrim' is read in place of 'suarim'. And just as the basket or hamper which had good figs is said to have had 'first-ripe' ones, so the other basket, which had bad figs, is written to have had 'last' figs.

'And I will pursue,' he says, 'them, who now dwell in the city of Jerusalem, with sword, famine and pestilence, so that, first by the siege, and then at once, those who have been able to remain and escape may be scattered into all lands and be an example of curse, astonishment and hissing and reproach to all among whom I shall cast them out, because they did not hear my words, says the Lord, which I spoke to them through my servants, rising up by night and sending, and I never ceased admonishing them to imitate you, who now in exile enjoy a secure leisure until the Lord's promise is fulfilled. But you, who obeyed my sentence and handed yourselves over to the Babylonian king, hear what I am about to say'.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to Ahab son of Kolaiah and to Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who prophesy to you in my name falsely: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your eyes. And from them a curse will be taken up by all the exile of Judah that is in Babylon, saying: May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire, because they did folly — or iniquity — in Israel and committed adultery with the wives of their friends — or fellow citizens — and spoke a word in my name falsely, which I did not command them; I am judge and witness, says the Lord. The Hebrews say that these are the elders who did folly in Israel and committed adultery with the wives of their fellow citizens, to one of whom Daniel says: you who have grown old in evil days and to the other: seed of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you and lust has perverted your heart! Thus you did to the daughters of Israel, and they in fear spoke with you; but a daughter of Judah did not endure your iniquity. And what the prophet now says: and they spoke a word in my name falsely, which I did not command them, they think signifies this: that they so deceived wretched silly women, who are carried about by every wind of doctrine, as to tell them that, since they were of the tribe of Judah, Christ was to be begotten of their seed; and these women, enticed by desire, offered their bodies as if they would be the mothers of Christ. But what is said in the present passage: whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire, seems to contradict the history of Daniel. For that asserts that they were stoned by the people at Daniel's sentence; but here it is written that the king of Babylon fried them in the fire. Hence by many, indeed by almost all the Hebrews, that very story is not received, being taken as a fable, nor is it read in their synagogues. 'For how,' he says, 'could it be that captives had the power of stoning their princes and prophets?' And they affirm that this is rather the truth, which Jeremiah writes: that the elders were indeed convicted by Daniel, but that sentence was pronounced against them by the king of Babylon, who as victor and lord had authority over the captives. How many from our own flock too, like Ahab and Zedekiah, prophesy falsehood in the name of the Lord and do folly in Israel and commit adultery with the wives of their fellow citizens, who were begotten in the same city of the Church! These the true Nebuchadnezzar fries in the fire of sin, as the prophet Hosea says: all who commit adultery are like an oven kindled by the one who bakes. Happy he who takes up the yoke from his youth and sits alone, because he is filled with bitterness, and can say with David: I have not sat in the council of the malignant, and with those who do iniquity I will not go in! And what the prophet has now added: I am judge and witness, says the Lord, has this sense: 'these things which I say about the two false prophets, who speak a word in my name falsely which I did not command them, I have by no means come to know by opinion, but I myself know them to be true, I from whom no one can hide nor escape the truth of my judgment'.

Not everyone who prophesies is holy, nor is everyone who casts out devils religious. Even Balaam the son of Beor the prophet did prophesy, though he was himself ungodly, as also did Caiaphas, the falsely named high priest. No, the devil foretells many things, and the demons, about Christ. Yet for all that, there is not a spark of piety in them. They are oppressed with ignorance, by reason of their voluntary wickedness. It is clear, therefore, that the ungodly, although they prophesy, do not by their prophesying cover their own impiety. Nor will those who cast out demons be sanctified by the demons being made subject to them. They only mock one another, as they do who play childish tricks for mirth, and destroy those who give heed to them. For neither is a wicked king any longer a king but a tyrant. Nor is a bishop oppressed with ignorance or an evil disposition a bishop, but he is called so falsely. He is not one sent out by God but by people, as Ananiah and Samoeah in Jerusalem, and Zedekiah and Achiah the false prophets in Babylon. Indeed, Balaam the prophet, when he had corrupted Israel by Baalpeor, suffered punishment. Caiaphas at last was his own murderer. The sons of Sceva, endeavoring to cast out demons, were wounded by them and fled away in an undignified way. The kings of Israel and of Judah, when they became impious, suffered all sorts of punishments. It is therefore evident how bishops and elders, also called so falsely, will not escape the judgment of God. For it will be said to them even now, "O priests that despise my name, I will deliver you up to the slaughter, as I did Zedekiah and Achiah, whom the king of Babylon fried in a frying pan," as says Jeremiah the prophet. We say these things, not in contempt of true prophecies, for we know that they are wrought in holy people by the inspiration of God, but to put a stop to the boldness of conceited people, and add this, that from such as these God takes away his grace. "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble."

[Daniel 13:60] "And the whole congregration (Vulgate: assembly) cried out with a great voice and blessed God, who saveth those who trust in Him..." If the whole congregation put them to death, the view which we mentioned earlier is apparently refuted, namely that these were the elders Ahab and Zedekiah, in conformity with Jeremiah's statement (Jeremiah 29:22). The only other possibility is that instead of taking the statement, "They killed them," literally, we interpret it as meaning that they gave them over to the king of Babylon to be put to death. That would be just like when we say that the Jews put the Savior to death; not that they smote Him themselves, but they gave Him over to be slain and cried out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (John 19:15).

So long as we are held down by this frail body, so long as we have our treasure in earthen vessels, so long as the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, there can be no sure victory. "Our adversary the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." "You make darkness," David says, "and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." The devil does not look for unbelievers, for those who are outside, whose flesh the Assyrian king roasted in the furnace. It is the church of Christ that he "hurries to spoil." According to Habakkuk, "His food is the choicest." Job is the victim of his scheming, and after devouring Judas he seeks power to sift the other apostles. The Savior came not to send peace on the earth but a sword. Lucifer fell, Lucifer who used to rise at dawn, and he who was raised in a paradise of delight had the well-earned sentence passed on him, "Though you exalt yourself as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord." For he had said in his heart, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God," and "I will be like the most High." Therefore God says every day to the angels, as they descend the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream, "I have said you are gods, and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die like mortals and fall like one of the princes." The devil fell first, and since "God stands in the congregation of the gods and judged among the gods," the apostle writes to those who are ceasing to be gods, "Since there is among you envy and strife, are you not carnal and walk as humans?"

[Daniel 13:5] "And there were two of the elders of the people (the Vulgate omits: of the people) who were appointed judges that year." There was a Jew who used to allege that these men were Ahab and Zedekiah (variant: Alchias and Zedekiah), of whom Jeremiah wrote: "The Lord do to thee as Ahab and Zedekiah, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire because of the iniquity they had wrought in Israel and because they had committed adultery (variant: were committing adultery) with the wives of their citizens" (Jeremiah 29:22-23).

"It was concerning them that the Lord said that iniquity came forth from Babylon on the part of the ancient judges who appeared to govern the people. They used to frequent the house of Joakim..." Very appropriately it is not said of these sinful elders, "They governed the people," but rather, "They appeared to govern." For those who furnish good leadership to the people are the ones who govern them, but those who merely have the title of judge and lead the people unjustly only appear to govern the people rather than actually doing so.