Jeremiah 6

Be strengthened, sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa sound the trumpet, and over Beth-haccherem raise a signal — or a standard —, for evil has been seen — or has appeared — from the north, and great destruction! No one is unaware that Jerusalem is situated in the tribe of Benjamin. That Tekoa too is a small village situated on a mountain, twelve miles distant from Jerusalem, we see daily with our own eyes. Between these is another village, which in the Syriac and Hebrew tongue is named Bethacarma, and it too is set on a mountain. What he says, therefore, is this: 'Since from the north Nebuchadnezzar is now on the very point of coming and captivity is near and threatening, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, seize your arms and sound the trumpet in Tekoa and in Beth-haccherem raise the standard', he says, 'so that you may be able to resist your enemies!' Beniamin means 'son of the right hand', Thecua 'trumpet', Bethaccarem 'estate of the vineyard'. Let us refer all these things to the Church, so that, if she has transgressed and the onslaught of persecution has come, she may prepare herself to resist.

I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman. To her shepherds will come with their flocks; they have pitched — or they will pitch — their tents against her round about; each one will pasture those who are under his hand. Sanctify — or Prepare — war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon! The beauty of Jerusalem is described, which is Zion itself, so that the one name denotes the whole city, the other the citadel of the city. For Sion means 'citadel', that is, watchtower, and she is compared to a beautiful woman; and as lovers come together to the one, so shepherds are said to come together to the other. And quite elegantly in the Hebrew the word that is written with four letters, 'res, ain, iod, mem', if it is read 'reim', means 'lovers', if 'roim', 'shepherds', so that either, according to the metaphoran [metaphor] of a beautiful woman, lovers are understood, or, according to the overthrow of the city, shepherds: of whom the former hasten to defile a harlot, the latter to besiege and overturn a city. In the shepherds and their flocks let us perceive the princes and the army of the Chaldeans. And they will pitch their tents round about in the siege of the city, and each one will pasture those who are under his hand, that is, his own squadrons and companies.

These princes or shepherds will say to their flocks: 'Sanctify against Jerusalem war, for it is the command of the Lord. Arise, and let us go up at noon: let us fight not by night and by ambush, but in full daylight; for no one can resist us'.

Woe to us, for the day has declined, for longer have grown — or have failed — the shadows of evening. Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy the houses — or foundations — of her! Those say: 'Arise, and let us go up at noon, and let us fight in clear daylight'; these reply: woe to us, for the shadows of evening have grown longer, according to that saying of Vergil: and now far off the rooftops of the farmhouses smoke, and greater shadows fall from the high mountains. And the sense is: 'If we suffer these things by day, what shall we suffer by night?'

And again those who had said above: 'Sanctify war against her and arise', now rouse themselves to battle, saying: 'Arise, and let us go up by night, so that our adversaries may know that the victory belongs not to the time of day but to strength, and let us destroy the houses, which are fenced in vain by the firmness of their walls'.

For thus says the Lord of hosts: Cut down her tree — or her trees —, pour out — or heap up — a mound around Jerusalem! 'Therefore', they say, 'we are secure of victory, because it is the command of the Lord, who orders the Chaldeans: cut down the trees and heap up a mound for the siegeworks to come!' By these words it is shown, before it comes to pass, that the city was not to be taken at once by an encircling ring of troops, but by a long siege, as we read afterwards.

This is the city of visitation — or the lying city —, all false accusation — or oppression — is in her midst. As a cistern makes cold — or a pit — its water, so she has made her wickedness cold. The Lord commands that the trees be cut down, that mounds be cast up round about, because the time of her visitation has come, that she may receive the due for her sins, the greatest of which is sykophantia, that she oppresses the innocent by false accusation.

As, therefore, a cistern or pit makes its water cold, so in the midst of Jerusalem the wickedness that is in her has lost all the warmth of life. And this is to be noted, that the saints are called fervent in spirit, whereas evils are cold; whence that also is written, that in the last days, when iniquity has been multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. I think that this too means the same: I have been likened to those who go down into the pit. And let the Latin reader understand this, so that it may suffice to have said it once: that 'lacus' [pit] does not mean 'pool' according to the Greeks, but 'cistern', which in the Syriac and Hebrew tongue is called 'gubba'. In the present passage, however, for 'lacus', which all translated alike, in the Hebrew it is 'bor'.

Iniquity and devastation will be heard in her; before me continually are sickness and wound. Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest perhaps my soul depart from you, lest perhaps I make you a desert, an uninhabitable land! LXX: Ungodliness and misery will be heard in her before her face. Through every pain and scourge you will be instructed, Jerusalem, lest perhaps my soul depart from you, lest I make you a trackless land, which is not inhabited. Through these words we learn that the Lord scourges every son whom he receives; and for that reason Jerusalem is instructed by blows and torments, that she may be corrected, and that the soul of God may not depart from her and she be reduced to a wilderness. If ever, therefore, we lie under frequent distresses, let us recall for our consolation this little verse: through every pain and scourge you will be instructed, Jerusalem.

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 their body. For so He somewhere says by the voice of Jeremiah, "Thou shalt be taught, O Jerusalem, by labour and the scourge." And the writer of the book of Proverbs also has somewhere said, "My son, despise not thou the teaching of the Lord, nor faint when thou art convicted by Him, for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He accepteth." Well, therefore, does Christ announce that He will cut away the cause of the disease, and the very root, as it were, of the malady, even sin: for if this be removed, necessarily must the disease which sprung from it be also at the same time taken away.

See the mercy and the loving-kindness of the good God. When he wishes to have mercy, he says that he is indignant and angry, as through Jeremiah he says: "with grief and with scourge you shall be chastised, Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you". If you understand these things, it is the voice of a God who has mercy, where he is angry, where he is jealous, where he applies griefs and scourges. "For he scourges every son whom he receives".

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?

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even to the last cluster they will glean, as in a vineyard, the remnant of Israel; turn back your hand like a grape-gatherer to the basket! LXX: For thus says the Lord of powers: Glean, glean as in a vineyard the remnant of Israel; return like a grape-gatherer to his basket! Some take these words in a good sense, others in a bad. In the good sense: 'When Jerusalem has been laid waste, let the remnant be saved'. In the bad, thus: 'Let not even one cluster and small bunch of grapes remain in the vineyard; let everything be gathered; and whatever you find, throw into the basket like a grape-gatherer, so that, as he drags the clusters to the winepress, so you may drag the captives to Babylon'.

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.

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. They will not hear it." And in another place he spoke of Jerusalem: "We healed Babel, and she was not healed. Let us leave her and depart every one to his land, because her judgment has reached to the heavens."

To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I solemnly warn, that he may hear? Behold, their ears — or your ears — are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear! Behold, the word of the Lord has become to them a reproach, and they will not receive it! They cannot hear because they were unwilling to circumcise their ears; yet the inability is not free of punishment, since it comes down from contempt and unbelief. If anyone, therefore, does not receive the words of God and has no understanding of his precepts, he is of uncircumcised ears. And at the same time it is to be noted that circumcision in the Scriptures is spoken of in three kinds: in the foreskin, in the heart, and in the ears; whence the Lord too says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. It is by our own will, therefore, that we do not receive the word of God; and for that reason it becomes to us a reproach, so that what had been given for salvation is turned by our own fault into punishment.

Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I have toiled in holding it in. LXX: And I have filled up my fury and held it in, and I did not consume it. According to the Hebrew it is said in the person of the prophet, that he foresees the wrath of God that is coming, and is full of the fury and anger of the Lord, and can hold it in no longer, nor dares to entreat the Lord for sinners. According to the Seventy, however, a new sense is set down: that the Lord himself speaks and says: I have completed my fury, by striking the sinful people, and yet that he restrained it and did not pour it all out, so that a remnant might be saved. This seems to me to be self-contradictory; for if he completed his fury, how did he hold it in so as not to complete it?

Pour out — or He poured out — upon the little child outside and upon the council of young men together; for man with wife will be taken, the old man with him who is full of days. And their houses will pass to others, their fields and wives alike. Either the prophet in the spirit commands the coming Chaldean to pour out the fury of the Lord upon the little children and to spare not even their innocent age, or else he relates what has been done upon the council of young men together, who had seized their arms to fight back. For man with wife will be taken: names most sweet to one another will alike feel captivity, the old man with him who is full of days. Therefore old age is not the last age, but that of those who are 'full of days', whom in our own speech we call 'depositos' [given up for dead] or 'decrepitos' [decrepit].

There follows: and their houses will pass to others through the evil of captivity, their fields and wives together, so that both wife and possession pass to the enemy. Whatever we understand according to the letter of Jerusalem, let us refer according to the spiritual understanding to the Church, if she has offended God.

For I will stretch out my hand over those who inhabit the earth, says the Lord. For from the least even to the greatest, all are devoted to avarice, and from prophet even to priest all practice deceit. And they were healing the breach of the daughter of my people with disgrace, saying: Peace, peace! And there was no peace. What in the Hebrew is said: I will stretch out my hand over sinners or the inhabitants of the earth, among the Seventy is always written 'I will lift up'; and each is the posture of one who strikes, according to what is written: and still the hand of the Lord is stretched out or lifted high. The inhabitants of the earth, moreover, are always in vice; whence in Revelation too it is said quite frequently: Woe to the inhabitants of the earth!

From the least even to the greatest, all are devoted to avarice, according to that saying of the Apostle: the root of all evils is avarice. And from prophet even to priest all practice deceit: the one by prophesying a lie, the other by perversely interpreting the law of God; for the prophet also says in another place: Seek the law from the priests.

Not all kinds of peace are compatible with all kinds of goodwill, nor do all those who say 'Peace, peace' inherit the blessing promised to the peacemakers. The real pacificus is he who promotes peace, not he who gasses about it. Peace, peace ... we won't be hard on you ... it was only a boyish prank . . . you had a neurosis . . . promise not to do it again . . . out of this in the long run I do not think either goodwill or peace will come. Planting new primroses on the primrose path is no long-term benevolence.

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. And so God says by Isaiah, "O my people, they who bless you cause you to wander and trouble the paths of your feet." Also by Jeremiah, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save everyone his life, and believe not the false prophets who say, 'Peace, peace,' and there is no peace." Who are always repeating, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord." "Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish things. They have not laid bare your iniquity that they might call you to repentance. They devour God's people like bread. They have not called on God." Jeremiah announced the captivity and was stoned by the people. Hananiah, the son of Azzur, broke the bars of wood for the present but was preparing bars of iron for the future. False prophets always promise pleasant things and please for a time.

'And though', he says, 'they were doing such things, they kept announcing prosperity of every kind to my people, and as it were desired to heal the wound and the disgrace of my daughter, saying: Peace, peace, when there was no peace at all'. This is properly to be understood of the priests and teachers who promise prosperity to the rich and to those whom they see set in the highest honor, and proclaim God to be merciful, rather preparing them for punishment and wrath.

Were they confounded because they committed abomination? Nay rather, they were not confounded with confusion, and they knew not how to blush. This is to be read more closely according to the Hebrew. 'And though', he says, 'they have done such things, were they at all confounded? Did they at all blush in their crimes? Nay rather, they increased their contempt, and they knew not how to blush' — and he put 'knew not' here for 'would not' — 'or else, through excessive contempt and the vice of an ingrained evil, they could not even understand'.

Therefore they will fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they will collapse, says the Lord. 'Since', he says, 'they knew not how to blush, and had not only not the deed but not even the knowledge and the sense of repentance, therefore those who formerly stood will fall among them; they will collapse through their own vices and, when the time of their visitation and punishment has come, they will be joined to all who fall'. And it is a great ungodliness not only not to guard against sins but not even to be willing to understand them, and to make no distinction between good and evil works.

What sprinklings shall we now employ while we celebrate the feast? Who will be our guide as we haste to this festival? None can do this, my beloved, but him whom you will name with me, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the Way." For it is he who, according to the blessed John, "takes away the sin of the world." He purifies our souls, as Jeremiah the prophet says in a certain place, "Stand in the ways and see, enquire, and look which is the good path, and you shall find in it cleansing for your souls."

We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.

The Enemy loves platitudes. Of a proposed course of action He wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions; is it righteous? is it prudent? is it possible? Now if we can keep men asking "Is it in accordance with the general movement of our time? Is it progressive or reactionary? Is this the way that History is going?" they will neglect the relevant questions. And the questions they do ask are, of course, unanswerable; for they do not know the future, and what the future will be depends very largely on just those choices which they now invoke the future to help them to make.

Since the soul became too enfeebled for the apprehension of realities, we needed a divine teacher. The Savior is sent down—a teacher and leader in the acquisition of the good, as the secret and sacred token of the great Providence. "Where, then, is the scribe? Where is the searcher of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" it is said. And again, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent," speaks plainly of those who are wise in their own eyes and contentious. Excellently, therefore, Jeremiah says, "Thus says the Lord, 'Stand in the ways, and ask for the eternal paths, what is the good way, and walk in it, and you shall find expiation for your souls.' "

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.

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. Find the one way, and walk it." Notice that it says, "Stand beside the pathways of the Lord, and ask for the eternal paths of the Lord. Find the one way, and then walk it." Through many ways, we find the one way. The same thought occurs in the gospel.

When you eat your meals, remember that you must immediately afterwards pray and read. Have a fixed number of lines of Holy Scripture, and render it as your task to your Lord. On no account resign yourself to sleep until you have filled the basket of your breast with a thread of this weaving. After the Holy Scriptures you should read the writings of learned people, of those at any rate whose faith is well known. You need not go into the mire to seek for gold. You have many pearls. Buy the one pearl with these. Stand, as Jeremiah says, in more ways than one so that you may come on the true way that leads to the Father.

Thus says the Lord: Stand upon the ways and see, and ask 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 set watchmen over you: hear the voice of the trumpet! And they said: We will not hear. Therefore hear — or they heard —, O nations, and know, O congregation — or you who pasture flocks, or according to Symmachus: and know the testimony that is in them —, how great things I will do to them! Hear, O earth! The parable of the Gospel, if it is understood, will furnish the understanding of this passage; in it the good merchant is said to sell all his pearls, so that with their price he may buy the one most precious pearl: namely, that through the patriarchs and prophets we come to him who says: I am the way. We must therefore stand in the prophets, and contemplate most diligently, and ask about the ancient or everlasting paths — which are worn by the footsteps of many saints, which in Greek are more expressively called triboi —, which is the good way in the Gospel, and walk in it; and that way, when it has been found, affords refreshment or purification to the souls of believers. But they, on the contrary, answered: We will not walk in the way of the Gospel, the prophet saying this properly of the faithlessness of the Jews.

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 prophet, and also Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel and each of the prophets give a glimpse of this way. And as there is one way leading to the biggest cities that we are accustomed to call kingly and royal—whereas some paths do conduct people from both town and country to this one way—so there is one way leading to the Father, the only-begotten Son of God, while the blessed prophets lead people to this one way who choose to travel by the particular path they represent. The prophetic word, therefore, bids Jews to search out the prophetic ways and through them to discover the good way and travel in it.

And at once he adds: 'And I set watchmen over you' — no doubt the choir of the apostles is indicated, according to Ezekiel: Son of man, I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel —, 'and I commanded that you hear the voice of the trumpet, either the commands of the Gospel or the teaching of the apostles, according to that saying of Isaiah: Go up onto a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice like a trumpet, you who announce to Jerusalem'.

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. But when they perceived their unbelief, they said, "It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first, but since you resist it and pass judgment on yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we turn to the nations, the Lord having given us this direction. I have placed you as a light for the nations to bring salvation to the ends of the earth." This is where this prophecy finds its fulfillment.

They said: We will not hear, and when invited to the supper they would not come; therefore it is said: Hear, O nations! This the apostles too followed when they speak in Lycaonia: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but since you thrust it away and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. And know, O congregation: by no means the Jewish one, but that of all nations; or, you who pasture flocks: the bishops and presbyters and the whole order of the Church; or, know the testimony that is in them; for the testimony of God is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. To them the Lord also speaks: Fear not, little flock, and: Behold, I and my children, whom God has given me. 'Know, therefore, how great things I will do to the people that does not believe.'

And in what is added: Hear, O earth, the whole world is called to hear, as we also read at the beginning of Isaiah: Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth: that is, what the Lord is going to do to the people of the Jews.

Behold, I will bring evils upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts — or of their turning away —, because they have not heard my words and have cast away my law. He calls 'evils' the punishments and penalties of those who suffer, not upon the Gentiles, who are called to the truth of the Gospel, but upon the people that answered: We will not hear. And it is going to receive the fruit of its thoughts or of its turning away, as David says: You shall eat the labors of your hands. And the cause is plain: because they did not hear the words of the Lord and cast off his law.

Actions not done lawfully and piously are not of advantage, though they may be reputed to be so, but they rather argue hypocrisy in those who venture on them. Therefore, although such persons feign to offer sacrifices, yet they hear from the Father, "Your whole burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices do not please me. Although you bring fine flour, it is vanity. Incense also is an abomination to me." … And by Jeremiah, since they were very bold, he threatens, "Gather together your whole burnt offerings with your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." For they did not act as was right, neither was their zeal according to law. But they rather sought their own pleasure in such days, as the prophet accuses them, beating down their bond servants and gathering themselves together for fights and quarrels. They struck the lowly with the fist and did all things that tended to their own gratification. For this cause, they continue without a feast until the end, although they make a display now of eating flesh, out of place and out of season. For, instead of the legally appointed lamb, they have learned to sacrifice to Baal. Instead of the true unleavened bread, "they collect the wood, and their fathers kindle the fire, and their wives prepare the dough, that they may make cakes to the host of heaven. And they pour out libations to strange gods, that they may provoke me to anger, says the Lord." They have the just reward of such devices, since, although they pretend to keep the Passover, yet joy and gladness is taken from their mouth, as Jeremiah said: "There has been taken away from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the voice of those who are glad, and the voice of those who rejoice, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride."

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? Your whole burnt offering is not acceptable, and your sacrifices do not please me." … The will of God, therefore, that will that we pray may be done on earth, is not that we should conform to the law and live according to the grossness of its letter. But we should endeavor to live by the gospel. And this is effected by a faith correct and free from error. By a holy life possessed of the sweet savor of every virtue and proved by the testimony of good and noble conduct in every thing that is excellent.… And he also said of them by the word of Jeremiah, "Hear, O earth, behold, I bring on this people evils, the fruit of their turning aside, because they have not regarded my word and have rejected my law."

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. As He elsewhere declares: "The sacrifice to God is an afflicted heart: a sweet savour to God is a heart glorifying Him who formed it." For if, when angry, He had repudiated these sacrifices of theirs, as if they were persons unworthy to obtain His compassion, He would not certainly have urged these same things upon them as those by which they might be saved. But inasmuch as God is merciful, He did not cut them off from good counsel. For after He had said by Jeremiah, "To what purpose bring ye Me incense from Saba, and cinnamon from a far country? Your whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices are not acceptable to Me;" He proceeds: "Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah. These things saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Make straight your ways and your doings, and I will establish you in this place. Put not your trust in lying words, for they will not at all profit you, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, it is here."

To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Sheba, and sweet-smelling calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not accepted, and your victims have not pleased me. That frankincense comes from Sheba no one doubts; whence also that line of Vergil: and a hundred altars glow with Sabaean incense. And that 'calamus', which in Hebrew is called 'cane', for which the Seventy and Theodotion translated 'cinnamon', comes from a distant land, the prophetic word shows, so that we may understand India, from which many spices come by way of the Red Sea. This kind of spice physicians call kassian syringos [pipe cassia]. And the sense is: 'In vain do you bring me spices of sweetest odor for compounding the ointments that are prescribed in the law, and kindle burnt offerings, you who do not do my will in the law', according to what was said above: they have not heard my words and have cast away my law. This, moreover, properly fits those who offer sacrifices from robbery and the stripping of the wretched, and think they redeem their sins by alms from iniquity, though Scripture says: The ransom of a man's soul is his own riches, which are gathered not from iniquity but from labor and righteousness.

Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will put ruins into this people, and they will fall in them — or weakness, and they will be weakened in it —, fathers and sons together, neighbor and kinsman, and they will perish. We see fulfilled all the things with which the Lord threatened that people; for daily they fall in their blasphemies, and they have nothing strong in them, but all is weakness among them. The sons follow the blasphemies of their fathers, and daily receive that imprecation: His blood be upon us and upon our children; and not only they themselves, but also their neighbors and kinsmen, all who follow the law and the prophets according to the letter that kills and not according to the spirit that gives life; and all alike will perish, because alike they have sinned.

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. It will seize arrow and shield — or zibynnam [spear] —; it is cruel — or shameless — and will not have mercy; its voice will sound like the sea, and they will mount upon horses, prepared like a man for battle against you, daughter of Zion. This is properly prophesied of the Babylonians, who are to come against the people of Jerusalem; and the whole array of their armor and the onset of the combatants is described, so that, shaken by the terror of the voice, they may do repentance and appease a most merciful God. Finally, he gives occasion for entreaty when he says: against you, daughter of Zion. We may apply this testimony, in a transferred sense, to a time of persecution, when the whole rage of the devil is stirred up against us, and there is no mercy, and like the waves of a most violent sea they overwhelm those who resist.

We have heard the report of it; our hands have grown feeble; tribulation has seized us, pains as of a woman in labor. The people answers, whom the prophet, nay rather the Lord through the prophet, has threatened with the Babylonians: that before they come they have been overcome by fear, and cannot lift up their hands, and anguish has seized them as pain seizes a woman in labor; than which pain those women who have felt it affirm that nothing is more grievous.

Do not go out into the fields, and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy, terror is all around! The Gospel teaches that one must not go out into the field nor come down from the height of the housetops, but must heed that word: Save yourself on the mountain, to which in Isaiah and Micah we are commanded to run and climb. According to the letter, however, it is commanded that they not go outside, that they not desert the walls, but that they protect themselves with strong fortifications.

Daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes; make for yourself the mourning for an only-begotten — or a beloved —, a bitter lament — or a pitiable one —, for suddenly the destroyer will come — or misery — upon us — or upon you — ! Since he had said above: Do not go out into the fields, and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy, terror is all around, and had forbidden flight as well, he teaches what they ought to do: namely, that they be converted to repentance and have this as their firmest and safest armor. Where we have said: make for yourself the mourning for an only-begotten, for 'only-begotten' in the Hebrew is written 'iaid', which means 'solitary' rather than 'only-begotten'. For if it were 'beloved' or 'lovable', as the Seventy translated, 'ididia' would be set down, which is also the name God gave to Solomon. And nothing is more grievous than to lose one son, or an only son. And that which we have translated: for suddenly the destroyer will come or misery upon us, the Seventy rendered upon you, whereas God has spoken far more mercifully, testifying that whatever is to come upon his people comes upon himself as well. 'The destroyer', moreover, properly signifies either Nebuchadnezzar or the devil.

I have given you as a strong assayer among my people, and you will know and test their way. All these are princes turning aside — or disobedient —, walking deceitfully — or perversely —, bronze and iron; all of them are corrupted. The bellows has failed in the fire — which the Greeks more expressively call physētēra —, the lead is consumed, in vain has the smelter smelted — or the silversmith —; for their wickednesses have not been consumed. Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord has cast them away! The prophet is given to the unbelieving people as a 'strong' assayer, which in Hebrew is called 'mabsar', which means either 'fortified', according to Aquila, or 'shut in' and 'surrounded', according to Symmachus and the Seventy, like a most strongly fortified city, so that he may fear no ambushes of the people: 'so that, when you have tested', he says, 'and known the way of the transgressing people, you may then understand that silver mixed with bronze can by no means be purified'.

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. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed, as I once reproached you by the mouth of Jeremiah, the founder melted the silver in vain, your evil deeds are not melted away. Can you abide my wrath? says the Lord. Has not my hand the power to inflict on you other plagues also?

For as lead is mixed with metals that are adulterated and debased, so that the foreign matter may be separated, and, if perhaps it has not been purified, all the lead is consumed and reduced to nothing, so all the eloquence of teaching and the prophetic word perishes in those who scorn to hear. Let us speak also of those who, like deaf asps, stop their ears so as not to hear the voices of the charmers. For in vain has the silversmith smelted or the smelter; for their wickednesses have not been consumed. Hence they are called not 'silver' but 'reprobate silver', for the Lord has cast them off. And the princes are those who withdraw from the Lord, or the disobedient, who walk perversely and deceitfully.

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. For Jeremiah said concerning them, "Call them rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them." Again he said, "He will not again regard them." And Isaiah said concerning them, "Pass by! Pass by! Approach not the defiled."

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. Therefore have the Gentiles heard, and they who feed the flocks in them." It is therefore one and the same Father who planted the vineyard, who led forth the people, who sent the prophets, who sent His own Son, and who gave the vineyard to those other husbandmen that render the fruits in their season.