Глава 9

Therefore, the divine Prophet asks for such a source of tears that would be sufficient in his suffering, so that he could mourn the misfortunes of his fellow tribesmen night and day. He asks for some kind of secluded refuge in the extreme reaches of the desert, where he wants to live and not hear about the evil deeds that the people have dared to do. For he says that everyone is seeking to violate marital fidelity over each other, they form a congregation that dares to commit all kinds of lawlessness. And he expresses this in words: Jer.9:2. A gathering of criminals. (Jer.9:3) And your tongue is clotted like an onion" inventing intrigues, weaving slander, plotting against one’s neighbor, which he expresses when he says: “Lies and unbelief have taken hold on the earth, for from the wicked they have come into evil.” She made us see the immutability of wickedness; because one bad deed is followed by another, and the reason for this is negligence about the divine. For this is what he added: “And you did not know Me, says the Lord.” And showing more clearly the wickedness that has taken root among them, he advises not to rely on either a friend or a brother; because both use deception and deceit, and there is no truth in them. It also adds to the accusation that they are taking interest in violation of the law. Jer.9:6. Interest for interest, and flattery for flattery. And again he mentions their contempt: “You do not want to lead Me away, says the Lord.” (Jer.9:7). “For this reason says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will kindle them and tempt them. Here he called the war and its consequences “disintegration” and “temptation”. So the divine David, on behalf of the captives in Babylon, says: “For thou hast tempted us, God, thou hast set us on fire, as silver is liquified” (Ps. 65:10). But David said this to a host of pious people, because those who were ignorant turned out to be skillful. And here the kindling exposes the mixture. The Prophet lists the types of wickedness, and likens the tongue to an arrow; says that the words are full of deception, for he says: (Jer.9:8) “They speak peaceful things,” but they plot intrigues. Jer.9:9. I won’t visit the food these days, says, “Lord, or will not My soul take vengeance on such people?” It is incongruous for such a Judge to leave such a great deceit unpunished. For he called punishment “visitation”; and I used the expression: “My soul” in a human form, because the Divinity is not composed of body and soul, but is uncomplicated, simple, and indescribable. And here it says how we are used to hearing about people. Then the Prophet commands the Jews themselves to mourn the desolation of the roads and mountains. For he says that not only are there no people on them, but also cattle and birds; because birds love to live in inhabited places, but in desert places they are rarely seen. The Prophet threatens with captivity and desolation of the city, and says that it will turn (Jer. 9:11) “into the habitation of the serpent:” for such animals, where there are people, are destroyed in large numbers, and where there are no people, there they grow and multiply. Jer.9:12. Who is a wise man and understands this? And to him the word of the mouth of the Lord will tell you that the earth is destroyed because it is burned like a desert where no one passes through. He commands those worthy of divine grace to denounce and explain the reasons for desolation. But He Himself does this, and says that they abandoned the law given for salvation, but they are led by vain thoughts and preferred serving idols. Jer.9:15. For this sake I will feed this people bread of poverty, and “I will give them gall water to drink.” And this depicted a bitter and sorrowful life. Jer.9:16. And I will scatter them among the tongues that they and their fathers did not know, and I will send a sword against them until I will destroy them with it. Sim expressed the double punishment of beating in war, and life in captivity; because those who escaped the battle were taken into slavery. Bringing them into greater fear, he commands (Jer.9:17) to call on the “weepers” and shed streams of tears. He also orders the wives, since there is no longer room for fun, (Jer. 9:20) to teach their daughters to “weep.” It also shows the reason for crying: “Even before death came through your windows,” “he came down into your land, to destroy the children from without, and the young men from the hundred. “Windows” calls the creation of errors, because through them they accepted errors and the punishment suffered for them. It is not a mistake to call the bodily senses the windows of the soul: sight, taste, smell, hearing, touch; because through them both life and death can enter. He who looks chastely reaps life as a fruit, but he who looks disgracefully reaps death. And the tongue that speaks the truth arranges the salvation of the soul, and the tongue that speaks lies prepares destruction. Similarly, it is not difficult to find out other things. Jer.9:22. “This is what the Lord says: And dead men will be on the face of the fields of your land, like hay behind one who reaps, and there will be no one who gathers.” What happens to you will be a reason for great benefit. For this is expressed by the Prophet with the word: “as an example.” What is said: “like hay behind him who reaps” means an innumerable multitude of dead. since some of them were magnified in wealth, others in wisdom, and others in bodily strength; then he advises to boast not of this, but of knowledge of God and righteous deeds. And since they thought highly of their circumcision; then, humbling their pride, it shows that very many other nations are being circumcised, and speaks of their future calling and salvation. Jer.9:25. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord: And I will visit all who are circumcised and have their flesh: Jer.9:26. “against Egypt, and against Judah, and against Edom, and against the children of Ammon, and against the children of Moab, and against all those who cut off the hair of their faces and dwell in the wilderness.” The Edomites, descending from Esau, were circumcised according to the law given to Abraham; The Ammonites and Moabites, as living in the neighborhood of the Israelites, competed with them in kinship; and those who were descended from Ishmael and Keturah were circumcised according to the law of their ancestors. It is them who the Prophet calls “those who cut off the hair of their faces;” because they had the custom of plucking the hair on their cheeks. The Egyptians were taught circumcision by the presence of the people of God among them. The Prophet placed Judah alongside them, humbling their arrogance. And in subsequent words he brings even greater accusations against them: “For though the Gentiles were not circumcised in the flesh, yet all the house of Israel were uncircumcised in their hearts.” Therefore, the Old Testament scriptures indicate both the benefits of spiritual circumcision and the undignity of physical circumcision; because the Prophet did not accuse the uncircumcised nations, but the Jews, who were physically circumcised and had an uncircumcised heart.