Глава 15

The Lord answers this again: Jer.15:1. If Moses and Samuel stand before Me, My soul will not him. And this consoles the Prophet. Don’t think, he says, that while I despise you, I don’t accept your intercession. I would not have heeded the prayers of those who performed so many miracles. He mentioned them both as the most ancient, and as those who often pleaded with Him on behalf of the people. For the great Moses, when God, after the merging of the calf, said: “Leave Me, and being angry with me, I will consume them” (Ex. 32:10), offered the most fervent prayer, and propitiated the Master towards those who had sinned. Samuel did the same, and during the harvest he brought down abundant rain. Then God commands the Prophet to let the coming people go, and says: Jer.15:2. If they say to You: Where shall we go? Speak unto them: This saith the Lord: As unto death, unto death: And as unto the sword, unto sword: And as unto famine, unto famine, And as unto captivity, unto captivity. I will subject them to these four disasters. Moreover, the dead will become food for animals and birds. Jer.15:4. And I will deliver them over as oppression to all the kingdoms of the earth. He also predicts what will happen upon his return, the events under the Macedonian kings, the final destruction that the Romans will inflict on them. Then he makes it clear that the first disaster will befall them for the wickedness that Manasseh dared to commit. But not as an unrighteous judge, he does not punish for the guilt of others, but subjects them to the predicted disasters, as those who participated in this wickedness and voluntarily assisted the evil king. Jer.15:5. Who will have mercy on you, O Jerusalem? and who will grieve for you, or who will go to pray for peace for you? that is, every person will see that you suffered justly. For among people, when they see someone living extremely viciously being punished, it is their custom not only not to grieve for him, but even to rejoice with those who suffered insults from him and were delivered from his wickedness. Jer.15:6. You have forsaken Me, says the Lord: You have gone back. What you have done is what you will endure. And the Prophet said this “you went back” in the sense of: you will be humiliated. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, and I will kill you, and I will not spare anyone.” I will no longer show the same long-suffering. Then, showing that he was forced to punish against his will, he said with compassion: Jer.15:7. In the gates of My people you are deprived of children; you destroy My people with your malice, and do not turn back. They brought destruction upon themselves by not wanting to abandon wickedness. He says that because of the beating of their husbands, widows multiplied, and again for the same reason mothers lost their children. For he says: Jer.15:8. I brought poverty to the mother of the young men about noon, and suddenly struck fear and trembling. (Jer.15:9). “Idle was she who gave birth to seven, her soul was poor.” He portrays disaster in various ways in order to enlighten the hard-hearted and convince them to abandon their former wickedness. “The sun will set for her while it’s still midday.” Those who cry also call light darkness. Having said this and similar things, the Prophet laments and cries. (Jer.15:10). Woe to me, mother, who bore me a handsome man, judged throughout the whole earth? And I did no good, and no one did it to me. “My strength is diminished by those who slander me.” Instead of: I did not do any good, the Syriac interpreter translated: “I did not know” 7. Therefore, the Prophet says, I did not borrow from anyone and did not lend money to anyone; however, he acquired many enemies who constantly slander and curse; because advice usually gives rise to perseverance. According to the Greek translation, it should be understood as follows: I am worthy of crying, having been born into this life in vain, because I was not useful to anyone, and I myself did not benefit from anything from others, I accept only oaths from those who hear these prophecies. Jeremiah 15:11. Be, O Lord, correcting them: if they did not come to You during their bitterness, and during their tribulation for good against the enemy, that is, hear how they curse; I often sent prayers to You for them. Then the Prophet again speaks on behalf of God. Jeremiah 15:12. Does food know iron? and a robe of copper, Thy strength. (Jer.15:13). “And I will give your treasures for plunder, betrayal for all your sins, throughout all your borders.” Do not rely on either copper or iron armor; because I will give all your wealth to your enemies, and this will be retribution for your sins. Added to this is captivity. The Prophet, having predicted this, is in danger from those who hear this with displeasure and attempt to put him to death; Therefore he begs all God and says: Jeremiah 15:15. Remember me, Lord, and visit me, and protect me from those who persecute me,” i.e. do not hand me over to my persecutors, for the innocent are set free. “Take me not into Thy longsuffering;” and according to some lists: overthrow me, i.e. driven by forgetfulness of malice, postponing the punishment of offenders, You sadden us who are offended. “For Your sake I have accepted reproach from those who reject Your words.” For You, Lord, I fell into real sorrows; Having proclaimed your words, I became hostile. Jeremiah 15:16. Finish them, and Your word will be my joy and the joy of my heart, as I am called to bear Your name. Because they think that I predict falsely, they listen to the promise of false prophets as true; then confirm my words with deeds, and thereby comfort me. Then the Prophet says that he did not participate in their meals or in their laughter, but preferred the fear of God to everything, and did not cease to grieve over their wickedness and the punishment that threatened them. But the Lord consoles him and immediately says: Jeremiah 15:19. If you are converted, I will raise you up and stand before my face; and if you bring forth honest things from the unworthy, you will become like My mouth. A considerable reward is stored with Me for you, who undertook this work. For if you convert any of those who are mistaken, you will have great boldness before Me. This is what the words mean: “You will stand before Me.” And if you correct one of the wicked and convince them to choose the best for themselves, then you will become like My mouth. For just as I created all things with a word, so you too will turn the workers of sin to virtue with a word. And again God promises the Prophet invincibility and insurmountability, and reminds him of the promises given at the beginning. This is how it reads in the Slavic translation.