Глава IV

Jer. 4:2. And swearing: The Lord lives in truth. Let no one find in this a justification for an oath, but remember (what was said) in the Gospel: you have heard, as it was said to the ancients: do not swear to a lie. I tell you not to swear in any way (Matthew 5:33–34). Was this said before the Gospel to the foolish, brought from idols, who did not know how to be wise, who did not touch heaven? underage. Jer. 4:3. This (τάδε) says the Lord to the man of Judah and the inhabitant of Jerusalem. The security of the city is not the strength of the building, not the size of the stones, but the virtue of the inhabitants; Likewise, the betrayal of the city (depends) not on the weakness of the buildings, but on the depravity of the citizens. Jer. 4:3. Renew your fields and do not sow on thorns. The Prophet urges to do with souls what is done in agricultural work: souls, due to negligence in the past, producing evil and fruitless deeds, commands them to cultivate the plow of teaching, since (the soul) cannot simply accept the divine seed without throwing out thorns in front. Therefore it is said: turn away from evil and do good (Ps. 37:27). Cultivate, he says, your souls, completely destroy the memory of idols - this is precisely what he calls thorns - that is, remove the idols and then turn to God and come to the church. He said this metaphorically, borrowing an expression from what farmers do. Do not sow on thorns means: having rejected the service of idols, come to the church. Jer. 4:4. Be circumcised to your God and circumcise your hardness of heart, you men of Judah and you who dwell in Jerusalem. Does he talk about this circumcision? No, but about circumcision in the soul, since it is not circumcision to God, (why) I would not say: be circumcised to God. And another would say that we are circumcised - how is he not (αὐτοῦ) 34? I do not want circumcision performed by others, but one that is performed by ourselves, of which everyone is his own master. That is produced by another, produced on the body; but this is not like that. Do you see that the ancient (circumcision) (established) was by indulgence? I would not say: to your God, if I did not want to show that it was not for God, since what benefit does it have for virtue? What will the Jew say here? Do you see that the law implies something else? Is it sufficient for salvation if this is what circumcision is? As soon as the New (Testament) began to open its doors little by little, the Old itself lost its meaning. It was not Paul who spoke about this, the Jew; it was not Peter who made the law. Jeremiah, whom you still honor, said this. I am not bringing this to you from our books; (however), rather in ours than in yours; and the New Testament (books) are no more ours than yours, and the Old Testament are no less alien to you: just as you do not believe in these, so do you not believe in these. So the Jew fell away from both, but we hold on to both, since in both (Scriptures) there is the Spirit (of God). Then he teaches what kind of circumcision pleases God. And circumcise your hardness of heart; (by saying this) he clearly showed that visible circumcision serves as an image of the hidden and that with internal circumcision, the physical is superfluous. With this in mind, the divine apostle wrote to the Romans: “There is not circumcision, which is openly a Jew, nor one who is in the flesh, circumcision, but one who is a Jew in secret, and the circumcision of the heart is in the spirit, (but) not in the scriptures: and his praise is not from man, but from God. I heard the command of God speaking through the prophet: Be circumcised to your God, you men of Judah and you who dwell in Jerusalem. Jer. 4:4. May my wrath not come out like fire, and be kindled, and not be quenched, for the sake of the wickedness of your undertakings. He speaks humanly, wanting to reason with them. Therefore, he repeatedly brings fear to them (he uses the expression) that there will be no one who can extinguish this disaster. Since they repeatedly placed their hopes in His love for mankind, this therefore destroys such hope. And what makes the naughty is the threat. May my wrath not come out like fire. You alone can extinguish (this fire) with your repentance; and if you do not repent, then no one can free you from punishment. Jer. 4:5. Proclaim in Judea. What is this? Above he said: Let not My anger burn like fire, but (from these words it is clear that) I have already kindled it, which brings disasters upon them and, having brought them to the very doors, does not allow disasters to enter them. He does not give up cities for plunder, but leads enemies to cities and, like an excellent teacher, takes the belt, but does not beat him. And, frightening them, he commands to announce to Jerusalem and the entire tribe of Judah, so that they sound the trumpet and let everyone know about the attack of the enemies, so that they go to the fortified cities, and especially to Zion, as it is more fortified. Jer. 4:6. Having raised 35, flee to Zion. (In this) there is some contradiction, since this is (the business of) someone who cares, worries in advance and tries to ensure that nothing happens unexpectedly, otherwise it is someone who wants to give, betray and subject them to the gravest disasters. If you are causing disaster from the north, then why are you in a hurry? These are His words (as) those who wage war, and these (as) those who protect them from enemies. Do you see that (these are the words) correcting, caring and striving to awaken faith in the future? Since the words did not bring them any benefit, he presents to them what, as it were, had already happened. He threatens with the invasion of the Babylonian (king) and announces the first captivity, pointing to the complete destruction of those remaining outside (the city), - he says: flee to Zion, rush, do not stand, as (represents) the city as being saved. Jer. 4:7. The lion rises from his bed. He speaks in detail: he calls Nebuchadnezzar a lion, and Babylon, from where he came out to burn cities and devastate countries; therefore (he says) gird yourself, etc. Jer. 4:8. For these gird yourselves in sackcloth and weep, lest you turn away. That is, because of what Josiah did, God did not stop (His) wrath; (on the contrary) since after his death you again turned to wickedness, showing that what happened (under Josiah) was done by you without sincere disposition, then God pronounced judgment on you. Not because of disasters, but because wrath was not turned away; absolutely truly, it is not for the sake of Gehenna that one only needs to lament, but because God is angry; (and) not because he was angry, but because he was disgusted. Jer. 4:9. The king's heart will perish. This is the property of grave disasters (that they) deprive (a person) of the reason given by nature. When there is extraordinary fear, nothing stays the same. Jer. 4:9. And the prophets will be surprised. That is, false prophets. Why? Because events did not happen as they hoped, but turned out and happened contrary to hopes. Jer. 4:10. And he said: O Master Lord. Food is seductive. The prophets say many things to God, as in some field (σκηνῇ), performing the correction of the people. This is what fathers and friends of fathers do, mutually correcting their children. Where did he say: peace will be with you? Above, depicting happy events, he said: and the house of Israel and Judah will go together (Jer. 3:18), when they destroy the abominations. Why does the prophet say this? After all, if he doesn’t know, it won’t happen! - The one who knows everything for sure. But what I said at the beginning, that is, that he tells God what they should have said in order to give God a reason to answer. Jer. 4:11. The spirit of error in the desert. The spirit of error 36 accordingly calls the enemies. Just as the wind, capturing dust, carries it everywhere, depositing it in inappropriate places, so did they; like a strong wind falling, this cruel war scattered the earth everywhere; This dispersion is difficult and it is unspeakably difficult to endure it in complete disorder. This is the answer to the words: By deceiving you have deceived this people: it was not I who deceived, but they themselves became the culprits (of this). Since the prophet said: You have deceived this people with deceitful food, and Jerusalem, the river: peace be with you, and behold, a sword has passed through their souls, then God says that when disasters come, they will see the truth of your words, and that the prophets have led them astray through the action of demons. This is similar to the words of Micah to Ahab that a lying spirit came out and served in (the mouths of) all the false prophets to deceive the king (1 Kings 22:22). And the words: errors in the desert (said) because they served idols on the mountains. The path of the daughter of my people is instead of: deeds. Not for purification, but lower for the holy: by doing so, he says, they will learn during misfortunes that it was the spirit of delusion who spoke through false prophets. Jer. 4:12. The Spirit of fulfillment 37 will come to me. That is, I stop repaying them with disasters and executing punishment on them 38 . Jer. 4:12. The spirit of fulfillment from these will come to me. He says that they are subject to this error because those who serve idols are unclean and full of abominations and do not belong to My spirit. From these it will come to me, that is, not to receive mercy from Me, because they came to the church with such uncleanness. Jer. 4:12. And now I will proclaim my judgments against them. That is, I will punish them. since he said: he will come again, so that the delay in the future does not make people careless, he destroys the carelessness that comes from prolonging time, saying: and now I will pronounce judgments. Jer. 4:13. It rises up like a cloud and like a whirlwind. Look how he brings out various, most terrible, images. To amaze their thoughts, to frighten them, he describes an army. And what's the use? Talks about coming soon; but none of it touched; such is corruption. However, God foretold, although they did not listen. Jer. 4:14. Washed from wickedness. How long will the thoughts of your troubles remain in you? Nothing can completely compare to such a disaster. This is the expression we usually use when we see someone who has fallen into a long-term illness and cannot get rid of this evil. Just as a body weakened by fever can hardly be washed, so can a soul burdened with sins. In the Church of the Lord, words and mere self-complaints are not enough. Don't cry with tears, but join in with your deeds. And then: wash your heart from wickedness. What does it mean if you came like a lion, rose like a cloud, if disaster is at the door? What is the deadline for change? And is there time left for a change? Look at humanity; spoke about the present in order to destroy neglect of her 39, again spoke about the future so as not to fall into despair. Those words belong to the one giving the instruction, and these belong to the one giving time for correction. No one simultaneously inflicts punishment and gives instructions, since one is the opposite of the other: if you give advice, leave the punishment; If you punish, how (can you) admonish those being punished? But he speaks at the same time about punishment, so that they are not careless, then about liberation, so that they reform. Do you see? Here lies what Christ also says, since evil thoughts come from the heart. How long will they last? You see God's patience. How long? When it was necessary to avoid (lawlessness) by nature and time, then what (can there be) leniency, what justification? If you did not depart from lawlessness by nature itself, then should you not (do this) due to the (coming) time? Jer. 4:16. Shout with your tongue: behold, come. Shows that those who heard it many times forgot. He speaks of fearlessness and great arrogance, since they will not come according to the custom of enemies, but as if they were entering conquered regions. Jer. 4:17. Like the guards of the village of Bysh, all around him. So they couldn’t run away if they wanted to. He also indicated the cause of the disaster. Jer. 4:17. Because you have despised me, says the Lord. “You have neglected the Lord” is said in order to bring awareness (of guilt) and inspire confidence. Isn't this enough punishment? Isn't this worse than any punishment? Even if there had been no war, even if there had been no conquest of cities, what kind of punishment would the very hearing of these words entail? That is, just as those guarding the fruit, having found a thief, raise a cry, which puts him in fear and with all haste strives to seize the daring one, so these only scream, and you, as being in someone else’s (possessions), put you to flight. Because you have despised me, says the Lord. You will suffer a fitting (punishment) for what you dared to do, and you will reap what you sow. Jer. 4:18. Create your paths and your undertakings. What hope then remains for healing when the head and most importantly the beginning are damaged? There are offenses and not serious ones; There are offenses due to simplicity, which can be treated with leniency. But this deceit, he says, is unbearable - both because it has taken root and because it has penetrated, he says, to the very heart. Jer. 4:19. My stomach hurts me. Having predicted this, the prophet grieves for them and cries, saying: my belly, my belly hurts me, and the feelings of my heart. I used this expression metaphorically (borrowing) from my wife’s pain (at birth). My soul is troubled, that is, anxious, experiencing torment. My heart is tormented, that is, it beats with fear, as if wanting to jump out (from my chest); (saying this) imitates a mother who is deeply tormented by the death of her children. Jer. 4:19. Like my soul heard the sound of a trumpet. The prophet was inspired by God. Not now, but a little before he said this; with prophetic eyes he sees (as if) in reality wars, ranks of troops, battles, the sound of trumpets, the trampling of horses, the attack of enemies, all the disasters of the Jews. Look at God's patience: he threatened with words; the word did not sting them; (therefore) the prediction becomes more reliable, making the petitioner himself a contemplator of the predicted events. Jer. 4:20. The destruction is called (συντριμμὸν ἐπικαλεῖται 40), the whole earth is suddenly empty (ἡ σκηνή ) 42, my skin has been destroyed. Speaking of a dwelling (or tent - σκηνὴν), indicates conquest; however, there will be no error if anyone understands by this name the entire state, every dwelling, since real life is a tent. The enemies will not require any labor or any time; Destroying like a tent, they take possession of the walls. Pay attention to the love of the prophet: he considers the entire state to be his own, and calls Jerusalem his city. My skin is crumbling. He speaks of other cities, using a metaphor taken from the custom of kings and others to build tents in camps. And some called the palace the tent, and the other houses of the city the skins. Jer. 4:21. How long will the Imam see those running, hearing the sound of trumpets? Why the sounds of trumpets, war and battle that do not reach us? But he added: the whole earth became deserted. It is well said: empty (or - “fell into trouble”); tries in every possible way to point out to his people this war, (as) flaring up according to the will of God - this means: falling into trouble (τὸ ταλαιπορῆσαι). Indeed, they took possession of them not through war and battle, but by coming suddenly, contrary to expectations and unexpectedly. He makes him a spectator and a listener, in order to bring them into fear through both. The Prophet saw so that the Jews could not see. Jeremiah was grieved at heart to keep them safe; (for this) often sends (ἐκδίδωσι) slaves. Jer. 4:22. The leaders of my people have never known me. It is a great accusation when those who are supposed to teach others do not themselves acquire knowledge in advance. After the prophet, in agreement with this (ἀκολούθως τούτοις) 43, said: until the imam sees those fleeing, God answers: because the leaders of my people did not know me, that is, they endure this because of their wickedness, when before one alone drove away thousands; you also know what happened in Egypt; He also points to the multitude of those running and on behalf of God says: The leaders of my people have not known me; they are sons of violence and foolishness. And so that they would not consider themselves worthy of forgiveness, like the boos, he added: you are wise to do evil. What is especially terrible is that they did not take advantage of anything, (but acted) madly, like those drunk with wine and murderers with the sword. Jer. 4:23. I looked at the earth, and this nothing, and at the sky. How nothing? No sheep, he says, no oxen, no buildings, no walls - he saw that the war had destroyed all this. Jer. 4:23. And into heaven, and there was no light thereof. Expresses the viewer's thoughts, not the essence of the matter. He doesn’t just say, but “saw” (εῖδον) and without his light. The darkness of the night covered the light as usual; indicates the moon along with the stars. The night of sadness, which is much heavier than it 44, covers all the stars, not in essence, but from the gaze of the viewer, so that its light did not appear, which is why it seemed non-existent to the audience; but it seemed to be naked and deprived of light 45 . This is what the darkened soul endures. And to many who come out from the sea (to the shore), the earth seems to be rising and spinning. All this is usually produced by nature. Just as fear, which has taken possession of the senses, instead of clear and stagnant water, sees in the depths of the turbulent earth, confuses the upper with the lower and imagines everything in a distorted form, so it happens here: it hears something else and sees something else, and nothing stands in its place. How I found myself in darkness out of fear due to the devastation of the city. Jer. 4:24. Videh burn and behold (ἰδού) 46 trembling. That is, even those on the mountains cannot be saved. Jer. 4:25. I looked up, and behold, there was no man and all the birds of the air were horrified. And we don’t think of seeing those standing nearby - how does he talk about the birds that were terrified? This (happened) also from the prophet’s state of mind. As a result of the devastation, the birds also left their place, because many of the animals are in the habit of moving to distant places. Jer. 4:27. The whole earth will be empty. What are you saying? Do you resolve (ἐκλόεις) the Jewish fear? What didn't stay with the same threat? It was enough to say: the whole earth will be empty. But he immediately changed his anger, bringing good things 47 For what? To make us better through this. If in speech we depict some misfortunes followed by others, then the soul (of the listener) often falls into despair; and having good, albeit short-lived, hopes, she can sooner be encouraged. Jer. 4:28. Let the earth weep for these. It well calls on the earth to feel what is about to happen when people remain insensitive. Jer. 4:28. I won’t repent of too many words. Let no one consider this as one threat; the real deal will undoubtedly follow. Since, having predicted many times, out of love for mankind, he did not bring (the prophecies) into fulfillment, (that is why he says that) now it will not be so, but as I said, so I will do. Jer. 4:30. Even if you put on scarlet. What do these words mean? The expression is metaphorical. The prophet constantly refers to the city as a dishonest, dissolute woman. Since he said above: I saw your path in the place of many graves (Jer. 2:28), that is, the place where you, captive of women, acted wickedly, then he says: if you want to deceive your enemies in the same way, you will not be able to (do it). And in the words: if you apply stevia, he talks about the black paint that women usually cover their eyes. (Speaks) like a harlot hoping to deceive lovers with the beauty of her face, as Jezebel (acted), as the daughters of the Jews (acted). But now, regarding the city, imagine all kinds of misfortunes, when lovers reject the mistress who adorns themselves, and not only reject, but also want to kill. Jer. 4:31. I heard the voice of a mother giving birth. And he will lower his hands. Can't do anything for this war. Again the prophet saw the future. He does not indicate the multitude of those affected; is amazed and exhausted. If vision is difficult, then how much more so is its execution? At first he saw those running, then crying, and then being struck; Finally, he says that they won’t let you cry. This αὐτοῦ can only be washed off for circumcision (κεριτομὴ), why instead of αὐτοῦ it is obviously necessary to read: αὐτῆς. Read in Slav. Bib. the sign is not found in the text of Patrology, as in the ancient. sp. translation of 70; it was brought from Hebrew. text or Latin. translation of the blessed Jerome. Read here in Slav. B. words: from these there are no corresponding ones - in this place of Patrology, as well as in the Vatican. and Alexander. sp. But further in the interpretation this place is given with the addition: from these ἀπὸ τούτων, which is also found in some of the ancient scriptures, such as the Marshallian. From this it is clear, by the way, that in this place of interpretation the explanations of two persons who used different Greek texts are combined. The words immediately follow: τὰ παρώντα κακά, which literally mean: “instead of the non-replenishment of the Trinity, from which real disaster came to me.” The meaning of these words in their composition and their relationship to the text of the prophetic book are incomprehensible, which could have happened either because they were not correctly conveyed in the Patrology, or do not actually belong to the interpretation, but constitute a note that was originally located in the field of the Greek list of the latter. In view of this, the above words are not included in the text of this interpretation. That is, about change or correction. In the words of Slav. B.: (to note) there are no corresponding ones here; ἐπὶ συντριμμῷ is read from the ancient. sp. in Marshallian, respectively Heb. text. Τεταλαικ ώ ρηκε literally means: “was subjected to misfortune, fell into trouble.” Read further in Slav. B. the word: mine does not correspond here, as in ancient times. sp. translation of 70; it was introduced under the influence of Heb. text or translation of the blessed. Jerome. That is, in accordance with what he contemplated in the prophetic vision. That is, an ordinary night. ἰδού in ancient. sp. Greek translation is not readable, but in Hebrew. t. are located. At the same time, of course, you need to think about the further words of the verse: I will not create the ending.