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“At that time, says the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah will be cast out... and they will be cast down against the sun and the moon... and against all the host of heaven, before the stars, whom they loved” (Jer. 8:1-2). The bodies of the dead kings of Judah were burned with fire, as can be seen from the history of the kings (2 Chronicles 16:14, 21:19), but the ashes and bones remaining after the burning of the body were buried in the tombs of their ancestors. Thus, the prophet says that the Babylonians will throw the bones of the kings out of their tombs and cast them against the sun, that is, in an open place. With such punishment, Truth takes revenge on those wicked people who, during their lifetime, madly loved the sun, moon and stars, and after their death the heavenly bodies will turn their faces away from them and will abhor them. “I listened and heard, and there are none who speak rightly.” “I watched,” says the Lord, “and listened to see if there was at least one among this people who rightly sought God and repented of his malice, and I did not find it.” “Everyone walks according to his own will, like a horse running to battle” (Jer. 8:6). The Prophet reproaches the Jews for madness and a shameful desire for idolatry and pagan abominations. The same thing was written in the book of Psalms about the entire human race, after all flesh had become corrupted and committed vile deeds on earth. “The Lord came from heaven against the sons of men, see if they understand or seek God” (Ps. 13:2). Therefore, know the long-suffering of God and the riches of God’s mercy. God does not immediately express anger, but delays judgment and postpones torture until the sinner realizes his rebellion, repents of his malice and turns from the path of error. “Erodia (stork) went into heaven, and knew her time, the turtle dove and the village gusset, having preserved the times of their entrances; but these people of Mine did not know the judgments of the Lord” (Jer. 8:7). Moses had previously threatened the Hebrews with such blindness of the heart if they transgressed the law of the Lord (Deut. 28:28), Jeremiah narrates us that the word of Moses has actually been fulfilled, because the wise of the Jews have become more foolish than the foolish birds of the air, who know the changes of times, and before the onset of these do not leave their homes, but change places, look for other countries and rest there at certain times of the year. blind, they do not understand the time of their misfortune, and they do not admonish themselves or the people to turn away from the evil path and turn to the fear of the Lord. “Truly the lying reed of the scribe was in vain” (Jer. 8:8). Either because the wise and knowledgeable in the law have deviated from the truth, perverted the words of Scripture according to their evil mind and are deceiving the people, or because the work of those who write has become in vain, and their reed is of no use to man. In this sense, the prophet Habakkuk says: “the olive tree will lie” (Hab. 3:17), that is, it will not bear the proper fruit. For the spirit of the stubborn people is outraged by the service of idols and lusts, people have despised the law of God, their hearing is heavy, they do not listen to the threats of God, their hearts have become hardened, and they do not understand the heavy judgments prescribed for transgressors of the law. “For this reason, when I destroy, I will destroy them: says the Lord... There is no grape on the vine, and the fig trees are not figs.” The prophet likens those who shunned good deeds to trees devoid of fruit. “There is no grape on the vine,” because the vine has changed its nature, it bears wild grapes. “And the leaves have fallen” ( Jer.8:12–13), because people learned bad things and forgot to say good things. “The neighing of his horses was heard quickly from Dan” (Jer. 8:16), that is, the king of Babylon, who goes to Judea, plotting to destroy the city, the land and everything on it. It was fitting that sorrowful news should come from the city of Dan, contrary to the evil joy. Just as the inhabitants of Dan called for worshipers of the calf placed within the borders of Dan, and from there flowed malicious joy, so it was fitting that righteous punishment should come from the same place, which would admonish the wicked with heavy blows, instead of pleasure and fun. “I will send killing serpents among you, who have no charm, and they will bite you” (Jer. 8:17). The Prophet clearly points to the Babylonians, and, saying that “they have no charm” either in words or in drawings, shows that neither requests nor gifts will be able to dissuade the Babylonians from robbery, and from lest the Jews, who escaped being killed by the sword, be drawn into a shameful and difficult migration. “I am crushed by my sorrow, my heart hurts.” These are the words of Jeremiah, which he soon repeats: “Over the contrition of the daughter of my people, I am broken and sorrowful.” But he also shows the reason for his sorrow, saying: “Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from the earth, saying from afar: is there no food for the Lord in Zion?” (Jer.8:18, 21, 19). This is precisely what the captives of Judah said when they were transported to Babylon along with King Jehoiachin. They mourned and cried, for they knew that their compatriots who remained in the land of inheritance would soon be conquered and, like them, go into captivity, as if there was no longer God in Zion. God forgot Jerusalem and the holy church, and gave them over to the Babylonians for plunder and destruction, after he had destroyed the men of war and deposed the mighty. “Or is there no rhytine (balm) in Gilead? Or is there a doctor there? Why is the daughter of my people harmed?” (Jer.8:22). Jeremiah knows that the people will not turn away from their sins, so he asks: “Or is there any rite in Gilead,” a land abundant in it? Is there really no teaching of the law in Jerusalem, which considered itself the dwelling place of teachers of the law? “Or is there a doctor there?” Is there really no priest where there could not be priests? Or the prophet calls the law itself a doctor, because he heals the sick by observing its commandments. “For what reason was the daughter of my people healed?” These words can be added to those that the prophet spoke earlier and will say later, when he answers the same question and shows that indeed there is no longer a doctor and a rhytina, that is, a prophet and knowledge of the law, and a malignant wound does not accept healing; the reason for this is the stubbornness of the Jews, who rejected saving healing and blocked hearing for the preaching of the commandments of the Lord, although it is known that the Jews, before their fall, had no shortage of supportive medicine and wise doctors, as the Holy Scripture testifies to this in many places, especially at the end of the Second Book of Chronicles, where it says: “And the Lord God their father sent to them by the hand of the prophets His own, who spoke morning and evening, to be kind to His people and His sanctuary: and I reviled the messenger of God, and disgraced their words, and reviled His prophet, until the wrath of the Lord came down on His people, until there was no healing” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). 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