Мысли при чтении Книги пророка Иеремии

Chapter 1, Article 4. And the word of the Lord came to me: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I sanctified you: I made you a prophet to the nations. I revere Your words, O my Creator. These words apply to Jeremiah as much as to me, Your unworthy servant. Before He created me in my mother’s womb, He already knew me, and before I came out of her womb, He had already sanctified me and made me a priest of His people. How majestically God speaks His word! These words can only be applied to the true God. He can only say that. 6 tbsp. And I said: Oh, Lord God! I don’t know how to speak, for I am still young [church glory: as a child I am]. 7 tbsp. But the Lord told me: do not say: “I am young”; For to everyone to whom I send you you will go, and whatever I command you you will say. 8. Do not be afraid of them; For I am with you to deliver you, said the Lord. The Lord God knows our strengths better than us, therefore, when He sends us to a certain task, we must go unconditionally. The prophet Jeremiah says that he is still a boy and cannot speak well. But the Omniscient sees how he will follow His word and be able to say everything: you will go and you will say everything. And in what danger is the prophet from his corrupt compatriots! This could not help but frighten him. But the Almighty consoles him with the hope of His strong help: do not be afraid of them; for I am with you. 9. And the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10. See, I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and destroy, to destroy and destroy, to build and to plant. The touch of the Lord's hand on Jeremiah's lips was a visible sign of the communication of the gift of speech and prophecy to Jeremiah. One man, not strong in society, is appointed by the Lord over nations and kingdoms, to waste and destroy them, and again to create and plant them! Such is the honor of the prophet of God and such is the power of God! 2 chapters, 5 tbsp. and the next Thus says the Lord: What unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me, that they departed from Me and followed vanity, and became futile, and did not say: “Where is the Lord, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land empty and uninhabited, through a dry land, through the land of the shadow of death, where no one walked and where no man dwelt?” The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?” and the teachers of the law did not know Me, and the shepherds fell away from Me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and walked after those who do not help. We must constantly remember God’s great and countless blessings, thank the Lord for them and not abandon Him through slavery to passions and the devil. 12[ – 13] art. Marvel at this, O heavens, and shudder and be horrified, says the Lord (and the words of the Lord are not an exaggeration). For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water. [Articles 14 – 17]. Is Israel a slave? or is he a household member? why did he become a prey? The young lions (a people with the properties of a lion) roared at him, raised their voices and made his land desolate; its cities were burned, without inhabitants. And the sons of Memphis and Taphna have eaten up your crown. Have you not done this to yourself by forsaking the Lord your God at the time when He was guiding you? O Divine, O dear, O Thy sweetest voice, Holy Soul, and in the wrath of meek and quiet justice! Man, be ashamed and afraid to offend the Spirit of God with your untruths. 27 art. ...Saying to the tree: “You are my father,” and to the stone: “You gave birth to me.” How does it feel for the Heavenly Father to see such delusion of His intelligent creatures?! What blindness of a person who idolizes soulless things! 31 [–32] art. Hear ye the word of the Lord: Was I a desolation to Israel? Was I a land of darkness? Why do My people say: “We are our own masters; we will no longer come to You"? Does a maiden forget her jewelry and a bride her outfit? but My people have forgotten Me; the days are without number. What a language of love! How can you not admit that a person has absolutely nothing to say against this word of love, but, with downcast eyes, groans about his sins and asks for forgiveness for them. Why don’t we want to work for the Lord and turn to Him? Is He for us a barren desert, a barren land? ABOUT! Let the tongue stick to the larynx if he is able to pronounce it. The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord [Ps. 32:5], and His tenderness in all His works [Ps. 144, 9]. Our wickedness, our sinful darkness removes us from the Lord. 34[ – 37] art. Even on the hem of your clothes there is the blood of poor, innocent people whom you did not find during the break-in, and, despite all this, you say: “since I am innocent, then surely His anger will turn away from me.” Behold, I will sue you because you say, “I have not sinned.” Why do you wander around so much, changing your path? You will also be put to shame by Egypt, just as you were put to shame by Assyria; and you will leave him with your hands on your head, because the Lord has rejected your hopes, and you will not have success with them [church glory: in your hands you will find the blood of innocent souls: you did not find them in every grove, but in every oak grove. (What terrible corruption!) And you said: I am innocent, but let your wrath turn away from me. Behold, I am in judgment with you, always saying to you: I have not sinned: since you have greatly despised you to repeat (and repeated) your ways: and from Egypt you have been ashamed, as you were ashamed from Assur (from the Assyrians): for you came from there, and your hand is on your head: for the Lord will cast away your hope, and it will not prosper you in it]. With the corruption of the Jews, what terrible bitterness. The Lord found the blood of innocent souls in every oak grove, and meanwhile the Jews said that they were innocent, may the Lord not be angry with us. That is why the Lord says: at the very time when you tell Me that you have not sinned, I am already judging with you, that is, My judgment against you is already ready, since I have known everything for a long time. Chapter 3, 12th century Return, O apostate daughter of Israel, says the Lord. I will not pour out My wrath on you; For I am merciful, says the Lord, and I will not be angry forever. Only admit your guilt: for you have departed from the Lord your God and have gone whoring with strangers under every branching tree (speaking of the idolatry of the Israelites), and you have not listened to My voice, says the Lord. My God! How merciful You are! You just need to turn to You from iniquities - and You will stop striking us for our sins, changing Your righteous anger to mercy towards us. But although You are merciful to our iniquities when we turn to You, for all this we must not forget our iniquity, our guilt before You; We must remember that we transgressed in You and worked for strangers (that is, passions, the devil), and did not serve You, the greatest Benefactor and Creator, as faithful slaves. Look, man, God Himself testifies to Himself that He is merciful and is not angry with us forever if we turn to Him. Will you begin to despair of His mercy when the atoning Sacrifice was offered for you on Calvary? Shouldn’t you believe (in Divine mercy) rather than trust in hope? 14[ – 15] art. Return, you apostate children, says the Lord, for I have joined myself with you, and I will take you one from a city, two from a tribe, and bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds after My heart, who will shepherd you with knowledge and prudence. Look: the voice of Heavenly Love is calling you to Himself so that you are not controlled by violent, fierce passions and that God, Who has every right to own you as a slave who has received from Him life and breath and everything, will again prevail over you. The Lord's visible possession of you will consist in the power of shepherds after God's heart, who will shepherd you wisely and with experience. It’s time for you, man, to completely turn to God from slavery to your passions and the devil; turn and enter into the freedom of the children of God. 17th century At that time Jerusalem will be called the throne of the Lord; and all nations for the sake of the name of the Lord will gather to Jerusalem and will no longer act according to the stubbornness of their evil heart. This came true exactly. Our Lord in the days of His flesh spoke more in Jerusalem and within its borders. He suffered in it, died and was resurrected. Therefore, it is right to call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord. Further, in Jerusalem, on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit after the Ascension of the Lord, many peoples gathered and very many turned to Christ, leaving their former depraved life. There were many nations afterward whom the faith of Christ transformed from children of sin and destruction into children of grace and salvation. [Art.] 19 et seq. I will make you one of the children and give you the desired land, the most beautiful inheritance of many nations. And he said: You will call Me your father and will not depart from Me. But truly, just as a woman betrays her friend treacherously, so you, O house of Israel, have dealt treacherously with Me, says the Lord. God attracts us to Himself with good deeds. When He sends down to you some good that is important to you, He seems to say to you: call Me your father and do not turn away from Me. But - incomprehensible ingratitude and self-will: often, the more God benefits us, the sooner we reject Him and forget Him. Heavenly Father, Father of love and generosity! How many people insult Your goodness and Your greatness! 21 Art. and further. A voice is heard on the heights, the plaintive cry of the children of Israel that they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God. When good deeds do not admonish us to turn to God with all our hearts, when they even cause us to move away from God, then God admonishes us with the opposite means - with a fatherly rod, visiting us with disaster, so that when we did not know how to gratefully rest in the bosom of fatherly love, we would remember the happiness of being in His love in moments of grave adversity. Often the voice of weeping and prayer is heard from our lips after we have forgotten ourselves in our happiness, committed lawlessness in our ways and forgotten the Lord our Holy God. Human! This is what your life should consist of: constantly remembering God. Whom should you remember more? 22[–23]st. Return, rebellious children: I will heal your rebellion. - Behold, we come to You, for You are the Lord our God. Truly, we hoped in vain for hills and many mountains; Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel [church-glory: Return, you returning sons (irony in the word: returning), and I will heal your grievances. Behold, we will be Your servants, for You are the Lord our God. Truly the hills and many mountains were a lie, except through the Lord our God the salvation of Israel! God calls us, sinners, to Himself and promises to heal our contrition, the disease of our hearts, which inevitably depresses every sinner. We, for our part, must promise the Lord perfect obedience as the creation of His hands: behold, we will be Your servants, for You are the Lord our God. Turning to God, Who is Light, we learn that our former life, the former persons and objects with which we were occupied before forgetting God, the former passions to which we enslaved ourselves are truly false, that our salvation lies only in the Lord our God. The hills and many mountains that the prophet speaks of are the places where the Israelites made sacrifices to idols. Ch.4, [v.1 – 2]. If you want to turn, Israel... turn to Me; and if you remove your abominations from before Me, you will not wander. And you will swear: “As the Lord lives!” in truth, judgment and righteousness. How often the Lord calls to us, to our conscience and to our heart about our turning to Him: If you want to turn... turn to Me. But to whom, if not to You, should we turn from our iniquity, our Lord and Judge! Only You have purification [Ps. 129, 4]. Let us take away abominations from our lips, and above all, from our hearts, let us fear from His presence and swear for the fidelity of our intentions and actions: “As the Lord lives!” in truth, judgment and righteousness. You wicked people, who brazenly insult God, forget this truth and therefore act as if there is no Lord at all, living in truth, judgment and righteousness. Art.3. This says the Lord... renew [Russian: plow] your fields (of your hearts) and do not sow on thorns. 4. Circumcise yourselves for the Lord [Church Glorious: circumcise your hardness of heart] ... and remove the foreskin from your heart ... so that My anger does not open like fire and burn unquenchable because of your evil inclinations. Uproot sin from your heart with heartfelt contrition and repentance for your sins, and then sow acts of virtue on it. 6[ – 7] art. Set up a banner to Zion [Church Glorious: Having erected a sign (of faith), flee to Zion], run, do not stop, for I will bring disaster and great destruction from the north. A lion comes out of his thicket, and the destroyer of nations comes out: he comes out of his place to make your land desolate; your cities will be devastated and left without inhabitants. How majestic and formidable is the word of the Lord. How clearly you see the insignificance of man when God pronounces His judgment on him. Now Israel is awaiting the disaster of a cruel and bloody war. The Lord forewarns His people as much as He deems necessary to warn them according to the judgment of His righteousness, and at the same time clearly predicts what awaits them ahead: having taken a sign, He says, flee to Zion: hurry up, do not stand still, because I am bringing disaster from the north and great destruction. Now the lion has already risen from his bed; the destroyer of nations has moved and left his place to make your land desolate, to lay waste your cities and leave them without inhabitants. How powerful and picturesque! If this is applied to us, then instead of words 1) a sign - put the sign of your faith - the Cross; 2) Zion, where the Temple of Jerusalem was, are the churches of the Lord, to offer there a heartfelt, unanimous prayer for mercy and deep repentance for sins. 8, 9. Because of such sorrowful circumstances, gird yourself with sackcloth, weep and howl, for the wrath of the wrath of the Lord is not turned away from you. On that day, says the Lord, the heart of the king and the hearts of the rulers will perish, the priests will be horrified and the prophets will be amazed. 10. And I said: Sovereign Lord! Have You deceived these people and Jerusalem, saying: Peace be with you, while behold, the sword has pierced their souls? The Lord visits unexpectedly and strongly: how can one not be horrified! 14. Wash your heart from wickedness... so that you may be saved. A wicked heart is a great barrier to salvation. Therefore, in more than one prayer, the Church prays to the Lord: do not turn our hearts into words or thoughts of evil. And David: do not turn my heart into words of wickedness, do not forgive the guilt of sins [Russian: for the apology of sinful deeds] [Ps. 140, 4]. 18[ – 26]. Your ways and your deeds have caused this to you; your wickedness makes you so bitter that it reaches your heart. My womb! my womb! I grieve in the depths of my heart, my heart is agitated within me, I cannot remain silent; for you hear, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of battle. Trouble after disaster: the whole earth is devastated, suddenly my tents are destroyed, instantly my tents are destroyed. How long will it take me to see the banner and listen to the sound of the trumpet? This is because My people are stupid and do not know Me: they are foolish children, and they have no sense; They are smart for evil, but do not know how to do good. I look at the earth, and behold, it is ruined and empty; I look at the heavens, and there is no light in them. I look at the mountains, and behold, they tremble, and all the hills shake. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had flown away. I look, and behold, Carmel 52 is a wilderness, and all its cities are destroyed from the presence of the Lord, from the fury of His wrath. How touchingly the prophet describes the disaster of Jerusalem and how pitiful is his speech! How all nature trembled and sighed in the eyes of the prophet about the disaster of Jerusalem! Yes, when the Creator of the world is angry with us, then, for sure, all of nature is somehow gloomy and gloomy, as if crying with us. How strongly the prophet further expresses himself: Thus said the Lord: the whole earth will be devastated, but I will not make complete destruction. The earth will mourn over this, and the heavens above will be darkened, because I have spoken, I have determined, and I will not repent of it, and I will not depart from it. From the noise of horsemen and archers, all the cities will scatter (terribly): they will go into dense forests and climb onto rocks; all cities will be abandoned, and there will not be a single inhabitant in them. (The misfortune was so severe!) And you, devastated, what will you do? “Oh, woe is me! my soul languishes before the murderers.” So the long-suffering but righteous Lord strikes down our iniquities with His rod! Chapter 5, [Article 1]. Walk the streets of Jerusalem... and look in its squares, will you find a person who observes the truth, who seeks the truth? I would spare Jerusalem. All the wrath of the Lord occurs for unbelief and debauchery. 3 tbsp. Oh my God! Are not Your eyes turned to the truth? You strike them (us) and they feel no pain; You destroy them (us), but they do not want to accept admonition; They have made their faces stronger than stone, they do not want to turn. – This can also be said about us. I said: Is it because they are weak and feeble-minded that they could not know the ways of the Lord and the judgment of their God! So I will go to the rulers and tell them my word: they know the way of the Lord and the judgment of His God. But they too unanimously broke the yoke of God’s law and broke the bonds of obedience to God. That is why the lion from the oak forest (the king who lives with his people in wooded places) will strike them, and the wolf will destroy their very houses, and the lynx will guard their cities: everyone who comes out of them will be captured, since they have become too wicked and strengthened in their disgust. Why should I be merciful to you after this: your sons have forsaken Me... I fed them, but they committed adultery... Will I not visit them with punishment for this? Says the Lord: Shall not My soul take vengeance on such a people? 12 tbsp. The Israelites boldly and falsely said to the Lord their God: this is not true, disaster will not come to us, we will not see war or famine; our prophets spoke into the wind, the Lord did not speak through them - will this happen to us? Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty: Because ye say these things, behold, my words shall be fire in thy mouth, and these people shall be trees; and this fire will eat them strongly, like God! Behold, I will bring to you a people from afar, a strong and ancient people, whose language you will not understand. [The sound] of him is like an open tomb; everyone in it is strong; They will devour your harvest and your corn, even your sons and your daughters, your sheep and your bulls, they will eat your grapes and your figs and your olives, and they will destroy with the sword your established cities in which you trust. However, in these days, says the Lord, I will not destroy you. 22 art. Do you not fear Me, says the Lord, do you not tremble before Me? I have set the sand as the border of the sea, an eternal limit that cannot be crossed; and although its waves rush, they cannot overcome it; although they rage, they cannot cross it. Whoever has seen the sea and been in it has seen the power of the Lord on it: he has seen how it is terribly agitated and, so to speak, threatening to flood and drown the whole earth. Meanwhile, for such a huge pool of water, for such a liquid, turbulent element, sand serves as the limit, so that the sea will never pass through it, no matter how indignant it is and no matter what waves it raises! But what a contrast there is between the obedience of a formidable, majestic, vast element to the laws of the Creator and the disobedience of a weak, insignificant creature - man! He set the sand as the border of the sea, an eternal limit, and it will not cross it, but this people has a violent and rebellious heart [Church glory: These people have a heart that is disobedient and disobedient (to the law of God)]; they retreated and walked; and they did not say in their hearts: “Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives us the early and late rain in its season, who keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.” Your iniquities have turned this away, and your sins have removed this good thing from you [vv. 23 – 25]. Ch.6, [v.]8. Take heed, O Jerusalem, lest My soul depart from you, lest I make you a desert, an uninhabited land. If the Lord visits us with disaster, glory to God: it means that He still loves us and His soul has not departed from us. He will punish and have mercy on us. [Verse.] 10. To whom shall I speak, and to whom shall I exhort that they will listen? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hear; Behold, the word of the Lord is mocked among them; it is unpleasant for them. You never know there are still uncircumcised ears that cannot indifferently listen to the holy and righteous word of the Lord! 16th century Thus says the Lord: stop in your ways and consider, and ask about the ancient ways, where is the good way [Church glory: about the eternal paths of the Lord and see which is the good way], and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said: “We won’t go.” How necessary it is in our time to admonish people to take the path, because many people even now walk not on the path, but in impassable places. How few are curious to know about the eternal paths of the Lord or about the path that from this fleeting, corruptible world leads to the eternal abodes in heaven! That is why they do not see which way is good and do not walk along it, but remain in their uncleanness. [Verse] 19. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring destruction upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for they did not listen to My words and rejected My law. Why do I need the incense that comes from Sheba, and the fragrant reeds from a distant country? Your burnt offerings are displeasing, and your sacrifices are displeasing to Me. Wars, illnesses and other misfortunes are healed in the hands of the all-good Heavenly Father. When a people is corrupted, their sacrifices are not pleasing to God. He is pleased only with the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart. 22 art. Thus says the Lord: Behold, a people is coming from the land of the north, and a great nation is rising up from the ends of the earth; holding a bow and a spear in their hands; they are cruel and unmerciful, their voice roars like the sea, and they rush on horses, arrayed as one man to fight with you, daughter of Zion. We heard the news about them, and our hands dropped, grief overwhelmed us, torment, like a woman in childbirth. Do not go out into the field or walk along the road, for the sword of the enemy is terror on all sides. How clearly and picturesquely the scourge of war is presented! 28 Art. All of them are stubborn apostates, living by slander; these are copper and iron - they are all corrupters. Apparently, people are always the same people, the same sons of sinful Adam, both then and now: tough as metal. 30 tbsp. They will be called rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them. People are like a piece of noble land when the Lord rejects them. A soul without God is dead and cold. Chapter 7, 3 [ – 7] art. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and your doings, and I will let you live in this place. Do not rely on deceptive words: “here is the church of the Lord, the church of the Lord, the church of the Lord.” But if you completely correct your ways and your deeds... then I will leave you to live in this place, in this land, which I gave to your fathers throughout the generations. The whole earth and everything on it belongs to the Lord as its Creator; we live on it as slaves sent by the Master into His house in order to do what is pleasing to Him, that is, we must atone for our residence with good deeds, which the Lord of heaven and earth requires of us. If we do only evil, not caring to please our Lord, then, naturally, we are unworthy to live on His earth. 8 tbsp. and further. Behold, you trust in deceptive words that will not benefit you. How! you steal, kill and commit adultery, and swear lies... and then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, “We are saved,” so that you can do all these abominations from now on. Has not this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I have seen it, says the Lord. The wicked, who neglect their correction, are not worthy to enter the house of the Lord: has not this house become a den of thieves in your eyes? It should include sinners to purify themselves and righteous people to improve themselves in virtue. 16. Do not ask for this people and do not offer prayers and petitions for them, and do not intercede before Me, for I will not hear you. There are sinners for whom intercession is inappropriate. 23. He gave them this commandment: “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people, and walk in every way that I command you, that it may go well with you.” God is most pleased with our obedience to His will. External sacrifices are pleasant with internal sacrifice. God showed us a certain path that we should follow - for our own good. 25 Art. I sent all My servants the prophets to you, I sent them every day from early morning; but they did not obey Me and did not bow their ear, but hardened their neck and did worse than their fathers. What fatherly care of the Lord for the conversion of Israel and what bitterness on the part of the Israelites! 28 Art. Then tell them: here is a people that does not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and does not accept instruction! The truth is gone from them; it is taken out of their mouth. The same can be said about us. We do not listen to God admonishing us, we do not accept His instructions, and faith in us has perished, so that we cannot hear it on our lips. We are busy only with vanity. Chapter 8, [v.] 4 et seq. Thus says the Lord: When they fall, do they not get up, and when they turn aside from the way, do they not return? Why is this people, Jerusalem, in stubborn apostasy? they hold fast to the deception and are unwilling to convert. It is human nature to fall, but remaining in a state of fall is unnatural and unforgivable, especially when the voice of the loving Lord calls for rebellion. 6 tbsp. No one repents of his wickedness, no one says: “What have I done?”; everyone turns to his own path, like a horse rushing into battle. And the stork under the sky knows its definite times, and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the crane watch the time when they will fly; but my people do not know the decree of the Lord. How do you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us”? How meekly, compassionately, and fatherly the Lord denounces His people who have sinned and do not want to repent of their sins. By pointing out the order of nature, He exposes their hardness of heart. 17th century For behold, I will send serpents against you, basilisks, against whom there is no conspiracy, and they will hurt you, says the Lord. In the hands of the Lord, every creature can serve as a punishment for us: God commands the snake to bite us - and it will sting incurably. Chapter 9, [Article 1]. Who will give my head water and comb out the source of my tears? What paternal meekness of Jehovah here in exposing the iniquities of Israel! 4 tbsp. Every man beware of his friend, and trust not one of his brothers; For every brother causes another to stumble, and every friend spreads slander. Everyone deceives his friend, and they do not tell the truth: they have trained their tongue to speak lies, they deceive until they are tired. Everywhere and at all times you see man as fickle, evil, prone to lies and untruth and to all kinds of sin. Now people are the same. And now you often need to beware of your sincere and not even rely on your brother; everyone is ready to put a comma on us and attack us with vile flattery. [Verse] 6. ... You do not want to lead Me away, says the Lord. Just as now there are many people about whom the Lord complains that they do not want to know Him. These are the most Christians. [Verse] 8. Their tongue is a deadly arrow, it speaks deceitfully; With their lips they speak kindly to their neighbor, but in their hearts they build feats for him. How disgusting this is in the eyes of God! Malice and double-mindedness are the properties of the devil, who is capable of turning into an Angel of light and at the same time being a dark demon. 16th century I will send the sword after them until I destroy them. War is God's punishment for the iniquities of men (because they forsook My law... and did not listen to My voice and did not act on it; but walked according to the stubbornness of their hearts [vv. 13 – 14]). 22 art. Thus says the Lord: And the carcasses of men will be thrown down like dung on a field and like sheaves behind the reaper, and there will be no one to gather them. Terrible example! Who would not, it seems, come to their senses? Meanwhile, in fact, it is difficult for the people of the great people to understand with these examples: how many people fell in the field of our land in the last war, like sheaves behind the reaper? Have we come to our senses after this war? Are we now more zealous for keeping the Law of the Lord? [23 – ]24 art. Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty boast in his strength, let not the rich man boast in his riches. But he who boasts, boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who works mercy, justice and righteousness on earth; for this is the only thing that pleases Me, says the Lord. So know, people, what you can truly boast about: the knowledge of God and His works. Chapter 10, 2 art. and further. Do not learn the ways of the pagans and do not fear the signs of heaven, which the pagans fear. For the statutes of nations are emptiness... Orthodox Russia! This speech can be addressed to you as well. You are God's beloved country. Walk along the paths that God and the Sovereign show you, but do not walk along the paths of other peoples: do not adopt harmful rules and customs from them. The following describes the vanity and deceit of idols, to which the true God is opposed. The Prophet says: There is no one like You, Lord! You are great, and Your name is great in power. Who will not fear You, King of nations? for to You alone it belongs; because among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like You [vv. 6 – 7]. With what sense of truth, with what self-confidence the prophet speaks about the greatness of the Living God! No worshiper of false gods can ever speak like that. 10 tbsp. The Lord God is the truth; He is the living God and the eternal King. The earth trembles because of His wrath, and the nations cannot withstand His indignation. 12[ – 13]. He created the earth by His power, established the world with His wisdom, and spread out the heavens with His understanding. At His voice the waters in the heavens roar, and He raises up the clouds from the ends of the earth, creates lightning in the midst of the rain, and brings forth the wind from His storehouses. Lord God of Powers! Grant me to love and fear You with all my heart! The holy prophet sings of the greatness of God, like a child in the bosom of his father! What patriarchal simplicity of concepts about nature, or about the natural actions of God in nature. The Lord, he says, who created the earth in His power, who organized the universe with His wisdom, sends behind His voice many waters in the sky (that is, after His thunder); He brings up the clouds from the ends of the earth, makes them shine when it rains, and brings out the wind from His storehouses. This is the real babble of a child on the breast of its own mother - artless, simple, heartfelt. 20. My tent is devastated, and all my ropes are torn [Church glory: my tabernacle is empty, destroyed, and all my skin is torn to pieces (the skin on the houses)]. 24. Punish me, Lord, but in truth, not in Your anger, so as not to belittle me. Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the nations that do not call on Your name. Judge us, but do not consume us in Your wrath, O Lord. Chapter 11, v. 11 et seq. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will bring upon them a calamity from which they cannot escape, and when they call upon Me, I will not hear them. The Lord is terrible in His threats, because His threats are true and He is able to fulfill them with all accuracy. 14[ – 17] art. Do not ask for this people and do not offer prayers and petitions for them; for I will not hear when they cry to Me in their distress. What is My beloved in My house when many indecent things are committed in it? and sacred meats will not help you when, while doing evil, you rejoice. The Lord called you a green olive tree, boasting pleasant fruits. And now, at the sound of great confusion, He kindled a fire around her, and her branches were broken. The Lord of hosts, who planted you, spoke evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they caused to themselves by inciting Me to anger by burning incense to Baal. There is a measure for God's patience. When it is filled, then wickedness is punished by the righteous judgment of God, and the prayer of the righteous for the wicked then does not succeed. The house of God must be a clean, holy place, just as the Lord, its Lord, is pure and holy. Therefore, people extremely insult the holiness and goodness of God, desecrating the church of God with the abominations of idolatry and other vices. Our external sacrifices do not cleanse us if we ourselves do not try to cleanse the inner part of our being - the soul. The Lord, with fatherly love, called the circumcised race, or the Jewish people, a shady olive tree, beautiful to look at. But alas! The destructive fire of passions flared up in this olive tree: its branches became unusable, and the Lord Almighty, who planted it (the whole earth is the garden of God), has already pronounced upon it the sentence of His judgment - to add disaster to disaster according to their wickedness. [Verse.] 21. “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die at our hands.” Now there are no or extremely few people who would say these words to the shepherd of the flock of Christ, but now there are no such zealous heralds of the will of God as the prophet of God was. Chapter 12, [Art.] 1[ – 2]. Why is the path of the wicked prosperous, and all the treacherous prosper? You planted them, and they took root, grew and bear fruit. You are near in their mouth, but far from their heart. And the righteous man was perplexed, seeing the well-being of the wicked: the destinies of God are unsearchable. There must have always been people who approached God only with their lips, but were far from Him in their hearts. [Art.] 7 and 8. I left My house; I have left My inheritance; He gave the most dear thing to My soul into the hands of his enemies. My destiny has become for Me like a lion in the forest; He lifted up his voice against Me; therefore I hated him. [Vv.10 – 11] Many shepherds have spoiled My vineyard, they have trampled My plot with their feet; They made My beloved area an empty steppe; They made it a desert, and in desolation it cries before Me... What a tender voice is heard from the Heavenly Father, angry with His children! What a meek and at the same time righteous reproof of the shepherds! ABOUT! The shepherd must certainly stand on the candlestick and give light to everyone. Chapter 13, [v.] 11. For as a belt lies close to the loins of a man, so have I brought all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah close to Me, says the Lord, that they may be My people and My glory, praise and adornment; but they did not listen. Christians are the new Israel. These words now apply to them. How good it is to be in union with God, the Creator of everything, and, on the contrary, how bad it is to be away from Him. Only God is the source and completeness of being; outside of Him there is moral insignificance for rational creatures, eternal torment. 20 – 21. Lift up your eyes and look at those coming from the north: where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? What do you say, daughter of Zion, when He visits you... will you not be seized by pains, like a woman in labor? How pathetic! 23. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, and a leopard his spots? So can you do good if you are accustomed to doing evil? Without the grace of God it is impossible for a person to become virtuous. Ch.14, [v.3 – 9]. The nobles send their servants for water; they come to wells and find no water; return with empty vessels; ashamed and embarrassed, they cover their heads. Since the soil is cracked because there was no rain on the ground, the farmers are embarrassed and cover their heads. Even a doe gives birth in the field and leaves her children because there is no grass. And wild asses stand on high places and swallow air, like jackals; their eyes are dim because there is no grass. Although our iniquities testify against us, yet You, Lord, work with us for Your name’s sake; Our apostasy is great; we have sinned before You. The Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of trouble! Why are you like a stranger in this land, like a passerby who came to spend the night? Why are You as an astonished man, as a strong man, not having the power to save? And yet You, Lord, are among us, and Your name is called upon us; don't leave us. This is how the prophet touchingly describes the calamity of Israel that was sent to him. Oh, punishment for sins! Thus, the Creator and righteous Judge punishes not only people for wickedness, but also the dumb! (In the teaching about God the Creator.) 22. Are there any among the vain gods of the pagans who make rain? or can the sky itself give a shower? Is it not You, O Lord our God? We trust in You; for You do all these things (the prophet had previously spoken of a severe drought). God, as the Creator of the world, often punishes us with the very nature that surrounds us. Here we can develop the idea of ​​the insignificance of man, limited on all sides - both from life and from all means of life. This chapter is worth frequent reading. Ch.15, [v.1 – 3]. And the Lord said to me: Even though Moses and Samuel appear before Me, My soul will not bow down to this people; drive them away from My presence, let them go away. If they say to you: “Where should we go?”, then say to them: Thus says the Lord: whoever is doomed to death, go to death; and whoever is under the sword, under the sword; and whoever is in hunger, in hunger; and whoever is taken captive is taken into captivity. How terrible is the wrath of the Almighty Creator and Judge of the world! And I will send upon them four kinds of plagues, says the Lord: a sword to kill, and dogs to tear, and birds of the air, and wild beasts to devour and destroy. .. Yes, Lord! You created everything, and everything obeys You. 15 ff. Oh my God! You know everything; remember me and visit me, and avenge me on my persecutors; Do not destroy me according to Your long-suffering; You know that for Your sake I bear reproach. Thy words were found, and I ate them; and Thy word was to me the joy and gladness of my heart; for Thy name is called upon me, O Lord God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of those laughing and did not rejoice: under Your hand weighing on me, I sat alone, for You filled me with indignation. Why is my illness so persistent, and my wound so incurable that it refuses healing? Will You really be for me like a deceptive source, unfaithful water? 19. If you extract the precious from the worthless, you will be like My mouth. 20 [ff]. And I will make you a strong wall of brass for this people; They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, says the Lord. And I will save you from the hand of the wicked and deliver you from the hand of the oppressors. Ch.16, [v.1 – 4]. And the word of the Lord came to me: Do not take a wife, and you shall have neither sons nor daughters in this place. For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters who will be born in this place, and about their mothers who will give birth to them, and about their fathers who will bring them forth in this land: they will die heavy deaths and will neither be mourned nor buried; will be like manure on the surface of the earth; They will be destroyed by sword and famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. How great, formidable and strong the Lord is in His anger and how insignificant man is before God when I see that his corpse serves as food for birds and animals. The whole chapter is worth special attention. Chapter 17, [v.] 5. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes the flesh his support, and whose heart moves away from the Lord. 7 [–8]. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the waters and spreading its roots by the stream; it does not know when the heat comes; its leaf is green, and in times of drought it is not afraid and does not stop bearing fruit. 13. You, O Lord, are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame... because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. 14. Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved; for You are my praise. 17. Do not be terrible to me, You are my hope in the day of disaster. 18. Let my persecutors be ashamed, but I will not be ashamed; let them tremble, but I will be fearless; bring upon them a day of disaster and crush them with extreme contrition. (In the teaching about Providence.) 27. I will kindle a fire in its gates (Jerusalem), and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and will not be quenched. Fires are God's work and punishment. Chapter 18 The Lord God says to Jeremiah: Arise and go into the potter’s house, there you will hear My words. And I went, says the prophet of God, into the potter’s house - and he was working clay vessels on the stones. And then one vessel, which he was making out of clay with his own hands, broke, and he again made another vessel from the broken pieces, as he was pleased to do. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Am I also, as a potter, able to make you Israelites, says the Lord. Look: like clay is in the hands of a potter, so you Israelites are in My hand. When the measure of My long-suffering is fulfilled, I will say My decree for the people and the kingdom - to uproot them, ruin them and waste them. And if the people turn again from all their wickedness (untruths), then I will change My judgment about them and say a new definition for that people and kingdom - so that they will be recreated and planted like ruined grapes. Proud man! Always remember that you are no more in the hands of God than clay in the hands of a potter. If you are sick or otherwise unhappy, trust in the Lord: He can restore you, just as a potter restores a broken vessel. Chapter 19. The Lord commands the prophet to take a baked clay vessel... and break it in the eyes of the people with the words: Thus says the Lord Almighty: So I will break these people and this city, as an earthen vessel is broken, which can no longer be repaired. Chapter 20, [v.] 9. Embittered by his prophecies from the people, and especially from the priest Paschor, the prophet gave his word not to remember the name of the Lord: I will no longer speak in His name. And now in his heart it becomes like a burning fire, scorching in his bones; he weakened everywhere and could not bear it. Further the prophet complains [v.10]: I heard the rumors of many: threats around; “Report,” they said, “and we will make a denunciation.” Everyone who lived with me in the world is watching over me to see if I stumble: “perhaps, they say, he will get caught, and we will defeat him and take revenge on him.” Then he consoles himself with the thought of God. [Vv.11 – 13] But the Lord is with me as a mighty warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail; they will be greatly disgraced, because they acted foolishly; the shame will be eternal and will never be forgotten. Lord of strength! You test the righteous and see the inside and the heart. May I see Your vengeance on them, for I have entrusted my work to You. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He saves the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers. Then the prophet speaks in bitter terms about his misfortune [vv. 14 – 18]: Cursed is the day on which I was born! May the day on which my mother gave birth to me not be blessed! Cursed is the man who brought the news to my father and said: “You have a son,” and thereby made him very happy. And let it be with that man as with the cities which the Lord destroyed and did not spare; may he hear a cry in the morning and a sob at noon because he did not kill me in the womb itself - so that my mother would be my coffin, and her womb would remain forever pregnant. Why did I come out of the womb, to see labor and sorrow, and for my days to disappear in disgrace? Chapter 22, Article 29. Oh, earth, earth, earth! listen to the word of the Lord... Powerful speech! Ch.23, [v.1 – 4]. Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel to the shepherds who feed my people: Ye have scattered my sheep, and scattered them, and have not looked after them; Behold, I will punish you for your evil deeds, says the Lord. And I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them back to their folds; and they will be fruitful and multiply. And I will appoint shepherds over them who will feed them, and they will no longer be afraid and afraid, and will not be lost, says the Lord. Shepherds of Christ's flock! Each sheep of this flock is worth the priceless Blood of the Lord: watch, be afraid to tempt or otherwise destroy it in some way. 17 and 18[ – 24]. They constantly say to those who despise Me: “The Lord has said: peace will be with you.” And everyone who acts according to the stubbornness of his heart is told: “No harm will come to you.” For who stood in the council of the Lord and saw and heard His word?.. Behold, the storm of the Lord is coming with fury, a terrible storm, and will fall on the head of the wicked. The wrath of the Lord will not be turned away until He has accomplished and fulfilled the purposes of His heart; in the days to come you will understand this clearly. I did not send these prophets, but they... Am I God only near, says the Lord, and not God far away? Can a person hide in a secret place where I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? says the Lord. 29. Is not My word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer breaking a rock? 31. Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who act with their tongues and say, “He said.” 33, 36. If the parishioners ask the preacher: “What burden is from the Lord?” (that is, what do you want to burden our hearing with), then tell them: “What is the burden? I will leave you, says the Lord...” You pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of Hosts our God. 38[ – 40]. Because you say this word: “a burden is from the Lord,” whereas I sent to tell you: “Do not say: a burden is from the Lord,” - therefore, behold, I will forget you completely and leave you, and this city, which I gave to you and to your fathers, I will cast away from My presence and put on you eternal reproach and eternal disgrace... If the parishioners are burdened by our preaching, we must turn to them these words of the prophet. Chapter 25, [v.] 33. How can you not think about human insignificance when reading the following words of Jeremiah, the prophet of God: they will not be mourned and will not be cleaned up and buried, they will be dung on the face of the earth. Chapter 26, 2[ – 3] art. Stand in the courtyard of the house of the Lord (the words of the Lord to Jeremiah) and speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship at the house of the Lord, all those words that I command you to say to them; don't mince a word. Perhaps they will listen and each turn from their evil ways, and then I will cancel the disaster that I think to do to them for their evil deeds. These words of the Lord should be close to your heart. Apply them to yourself and fulfill them. Further about the malicious intent on the life of Jeremiah, about his protection; An example was given that the prophet Micah also prophesied about the destruction of Zion, but he was not killed. Chapter 27. The Lord commands Jeremiah to make bonds and wooden treasures 53 and put them on his neck and send them to the kings: Judah, Moab, Ammon, Tire and Sidon through their ambassadors who went to Jerusalem to meet Zedekiah king of Judah, with the following words: Thus says the Lord God of Israel, thus say to your masters: I created the earth and man and the animals that are. on the earth with My great power and My high arm, and I will give it to whomever it pleases Me. And now I have given all this land into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, that the inhabitants thereof may work for him, and I have given him the beasts of the field to cultivate it. And all nations will serve him, both his son and his son’s son, until the time comes for both his land and himself. Many nations and great kings will serve him. And the country and kingdom that do not want to work for the king of Babylon and do not put their neck into the jug of the king of Babylon will be cut off with sword and hunger, says the Lord, until they die from them. Great is the true God: with what powerful, majestic, divine authority He speaks! In His words you see and feel the Living, Almighty God. Glory to Thee, great and true God! Chapter 28. About the false prophet Hanani, the son of Azor. Chapter 30, [v.] 15. Why do you cry about your wounds, about the cruelty of your illness? Because of the multitude of your iniquities I have done this to you, because your sins have multiplied. You yourself are to blame for your misfortune: why do you complain and moan? Be silent and be patient. Ch.31, [v.] 3 ff. I loved you with eternal love and therefore extended favor to you. I will build you again (after the captivity and destruction), and you will be built, O virgin of Israel, you will again be adorned with your timbrels and go out in a round dance of those having fun... (How comforting this is for the captives in Babylon.) “Arise, and let us ascend to Zion to the Lord our God.” For thus says the Lord: Sing joyfully about Jacob and shout before the head of the nations: proclaim, glorify and say: “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel!” 8 – 10. Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth... They went with tears, but I will lead them with consolation... “He who scattered Israel will also gather them and will guard them as a shepherd over his flock.” 12 – 13. And they will come and triumph on the heights of Zion; and they will flock to the goodness of the Lord, to the wheat and wine and oil, to lambs and oxen; and their soul will be like a watered garden, and they will no longer languish. Then the maiden will have fun in a round dance, and the young men and old men together; and I will change their sorrow into joy and comfort them and make them glad after their sorrow. - The Lord is not completely angry, and is not indignant forever [Ps. 102, 9 ]: punished and has mercy, struck and heals. He loves His people like children, He spares everyone, because everyone is His creation. 18. “You punished me, and I am punished like an untamed calf; Convert me, and I will be converted, for You are the Lord my God.” 27 and 28. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And just as I watched over them, uprooting and crushing, and destroying and destroying, and damaging, so I will watch over them, building and planting, says the Lord. The Lord is our Creator, He will consume us, but He can also create and plant us again: everything is in His will and power. 35[ – 36]. Thus says the Lord, who gave the sun for illumination by day, statutes to the moon and stars for illumination at night, who troubles the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of Hosts is His name. If these statutes (the course of the planets) cease to operate before Me, says the Lord, then the tribe of Israel will cease to be a people before Me forever. Our Judge and Creator! Don't completely reject us. Chapter 32. In the 18th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, his army besieged Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was guarded in the prison court, which was in the palace of the king of Judah, where the king imprisoned him, saying: why do you prophesy and say: thus says the Lord: Behold, I have given this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will take it, and Zedekiah the king of Judah will not He will be saved from the hands of the Chaldeans, because he will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon and will speak to him face to face and eye to eye, and will enter Babylon and remain there until My visitation, says the Lord; if he begins to fight against the Chaldeans, he will not achieve anything. 17th century and further. The prophet prays: “Oh, Lord God! You created the heavens and the earth with Your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is impossible for You; You show mercy to thousands and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts! Great in counsel and mighty in deeds, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each according to his ways and according to the fruits of his deeds...” Only a worshiper of the true God can appeal to his God in this way, imbued with a sense of His unapologetically greatness. 39[ – 40] Art. And I will give them one heart and one way, so that they may fear Me all the days of their lives, for their own good and the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, according to which I will not turn away from them to do them good, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me. God! I accept these words to myself: give me one way to fear You all the days of my life, for my good. And if you deign to make offspring from me, then my children will follow me. Do not turn away from me Your covenant, concluded with me in Your Most Pure Body and in Your Most Pure Blood, put Your fear into my heart so that I will never, never depart from You. – With this prayer you can pray to God and for your flock, using the imperative mood, the second person singular, instead of future tenses and the first person. Chapter 33, 7[ – 9th century]. And I will restore the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel and build them up as at the beginning, and I will cleanse them from all their wickedness which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their iniquities which they have sinned against Me and fallen away from Me. And Jerusalem will be for me a joyful name, praise and honor before all the nations of the earth, who will hear about all the benefits that I will do for it, and will be amazed and tremble (out of envy) at all the benefits and all the prosperity that I will bring to it. So, Lord, You can do everything, because everything is Yours. You will punish, You will again shed currents of Your mercies. 14. Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, that I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days I will cause David to make a branch of righteousness grow, which will do justice and righteousness on earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will be in hope; the name by which it will be called is this: Our Lord is righteous. This is a prophecy about Christ. Art.20[ – 22]. Thus says the Lord: If you can break My covenant regarding the day and My covenant regarding the night, so that day and night do not come in their season, then My covenant with My servant David can also be broken, so that he will not have a son reigning on his throne, and also with the Levite priests, My servants. Just as the army of heaven is innumerable and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who serve Me. The Lord appears to be making a covenant with day and night as animate, although He, as the Creator, commanded it to be so - and it happens. This personification is for greater expressiveness and clarity. So tangibly the Lord is faithful: the Levites, or spiritual ones, are now multiplied like the stars of the sky. 25 Art. Thus says the Lord: if I have not established My covenant about day and night and the statutes of heaven and earth... Only the true, omnipotent God can speak in this way with the consciousness and feeling of His actual omnipotence. Chapter 34, chapter 35. The children of Jonadab, son of Rechabel, are presented as an example of loyalty and obedience to their parents. This example is contrasted with the infidelity and disobedience of the Jews to the God of Heaven. [Vv.13 – 17] Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not take this as instruction for yourselves to obey My words? says the Lord. The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, who commanded (Richav) his sons not to drink wine, are fulfilled, and they do not drink to this day, because they obey the will of their father; But I spoke to you continually, I spoke from early in the morning, and you did not listen to Me. I sent all My servants, the prophets, to you early in the morning, and said: “Turn every one of you from your evil way and correct your behavior...”, but you did not incline your ear and did not listen to Me... The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab fulfill the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people does not listen to Me... Therefore Jeremiah said this to the house of Rechabel [vv. 18 – 19]: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and have kept all his commandments and done in everything as he commanded you, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The man who stands before Me will not be taken away from Jonadab the son of Rechab all the days. It often happens among people that children strictly follow the order or commandment of their father; meanwhile, there are so few who would accurately fulfill the commandments of the Heavenly Father. Chapter 36 Baruch writes down the words of the prophecy from the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, who was sitting in prison, and reads them on the eve of the new gates of the house of the Lord in the hearing of all people. A certain Micah reports to the king about the prophecies recorded by Baruch - about the conquest of the land of Israel by the king of Babylon. Baruch is called and asked where he got these words from. He answered that Jeremiah the prophet sent him all the words from his mouth. Joachim, king of Judah, burned the sheets on which the words of the prophecy were written. The Lord was angry at this and pronounced a deplorable fate on Joachim, ordering him to write again on a new scroll the same thing that was before. Chapter 37. Wonderful are the works of the Lord: the Heavenly Judge, God, uses insects, hunger, or fire as tools to punish people (without, however, restricting the freedom of the same people) or insects, or hunger, or fire - everyone and everything with the same power and strength. Everything is submissive to Him as the Lord. Jeremiah sits in prison, which was made in the house of Jonathan the scribe. The prophet asked the king not to throw him into it, so that he would not die; there was probably a very bad feeling about her. But they did not listen to him and threw him into it, giving him from the outside one loaf of bread for the day. Chapter 38. Some of the noble Jews heard what Jeremiah prophesied, namely: that the one who remained in the city would die from the sword, hunger and pestilence, but the one who fled to the Chaldeans would live and that the city would be handed over by God to the king of Babylon. The king was told that this man must die because he weakens the hands of the people fighting remaining in the city, and does not predict peace, but only misfortunes. The king said: he is in your hands, because he had no power against them. They took Jeremiah and threw him into the ditch of Melchi, the king's servant, who was in the prison courtyard, hanging him with ropes; there was no water in the ditch, but only mud, and the prophet of God was in the mud. Ebedmelech the Murin 54, who was in the king's courtyard, heard about this and said to the king, who was sitting at that time in the gates of Benjamin: you have done evil by starving this man to death, since there is no longer bread in the city. The king ordered Ebedmelech to take 30 men with him in order to extract Jeremiah from the pit so that he would not die. Ebedmelech took the people, went into the king's basement and, taking from there old clothes and ropes, threw them into the ditch to Jeremiah, saying: put these clothes under the ropes. Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him out of the pit with ropes, and he sat down in the prison courtyard. The king called Jeremiah to him and asked him to tell him the power of prophecy. The prophet, having taken the king’s word that he would not kill him and would listen to him, repeated to him what he had said before about the fate of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The king after this said: let no one know about this, so as not to kill you. If the princes hear that I have spoken to you, and come to you and ask you: tell us what the king told you, then you tell them: I have submitted my request to the king, so that he does not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there. The princes actually came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had ordered, that is, he used deception; and they were silent, because the word of the Lord remained unknown to them. Chapter 39. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem, beats Zedekiah’s children and blinds him, and resettles many of them to Babylon. Meanwhile, Ebedmelech the Murin, who defended Jeremiah, is declared mercy from the Lord [vv. 17 – 18]: but I will deliver you on that day (the day of captivity and death), says the Lord, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the people whom you fear. I will deliver you, and you will not fall by the sword, and your life will remain with you as a spoil, because you have placed your trust in Me, said the Lord. This is how good it is to hope in the Lord God! Chapter 40, chapter 41. About the villainy of Ishmael, a man of the royal family, who killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon placed over the land of Judah. Belisa, king of the Ammonites, sent Ishmael to commit this crime. Chapter 42. As everywhere else, the word of Jehovah is majestic and powerful. The Lord, through the prophet, said to the remaining Jews in Mizpah [vv. 10 - 18]: if you remain in this land, then I will build you and will not destroy you, I will plant you and will not uproot you, for I regret the disaster that I have done to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon... says the Lord, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. And I will show you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and bring you back to your land. But if you say, “We do not want to live in this land,” and do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, saying, “No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, and we will not hear the sound of a trumpet, and we will not starve, and we will live there”; then hear now the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you turn your faces resolutely to go to Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine that you fear will always follow you there in Egypt, and there you will die... Just as my wrath and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. How can you not say with the Psalmist: Where will I go from Your Spirit, and where will I flee from Your presence?.. [Ps. 138, 7]. Nowhere, nowhere! Your hand will find me everywhere. Chapter 43. Despite the prophet’s admonitions to the Jews to stay in Jerusalem and not enter Egypt, they nevertheless went there, taking Jeremiah and Baruch there. The settlers settled in Tafnas. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tathnas as follows: Take for yourself great stones and hide them before the gates of Pharaoh's palace in Tathnas, in the sight of the Jews, and say to them, Thus says the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar my servant king of Babylon, and he will set up his throne on these stones that you have hidden and raise up to the Jews with their weapons and, having entered, will smite the Egyptians, delivering some to death - to death, some to migration - to migration, and some to the sword - to the sword. And he will burn their churches with fire, burn the gods and deport the Egyptians and cover the land of Egypt as a shepherd covers himself with his cloak, and will come out of it in peace. What magnificent speech, completely worthy of God and befitting only Him alone! What power and strict justice! Chapter 44, 26[ – 28] art. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all Jews who live in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the Lord, that in all the land of Egypt My name will no longer be spoken by the mouth of any Jew, saying: “As the Lord God lives!” Behold, I will watch over you for destruction and not for good; and all the Jews who are in the land of Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are completely destroyed. Only a small number of those who escaped the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, and all the remaining Jews who came to the land of Egypt to live there will know whose word will come true: Mine or theirs. It is difficult to go against the pricks [Acts. 9, 5]: if the Lord does not want something, then it is true that it will not happen. People often do not have the name of the Lord in their tongues, not only in their hearts. Who here leaves and despises whom? It is not these people, but God who despises these people for their corruption: I have sworn by My great name, says the Lord, that it shall no longer be... My name shall be pronounced by their mouth, [saying]: “As the Lord God lives!” Chapter 45, [Article 3]. Baruch said: “Woe is me! for the Lord added sorrow to my illness”: I slept groaning and found no rest. Through Jeremiah God says this to him: Behold, what I myself have built I am destroying, and what I myself have planted I am uprooting, and all my land. And will you seek much for yourself (in the face of general distress)? Do you want to be calm and happy with everything? Don't look. Behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, and your soul will be saved wherever you go. Don’t complain, man, in the face of a general disaster, that it’s bad for you: if everyone is suffering, will you really want to be at peace? Chapter 46, [v.] 28. I will not destroy you, but I will only punish you to the extent; I will not leave you unpunished. For your iniquities I will punish you according to My righteousness, but I will not forgive you, because I am just. Chapter 47, 6[ – 7th century]. How long will you cut, O sword of the Lord! How long will you not calm down? return to your scabbard, stop and calm down. But how can you calm down when the Lord has given a command against Ascalon 55 and against the shore of the sea? The scope of the sword of God is terrible! People are dying from it mercilessly. The sword of the enemy is the sword of God. Chapter 48, [v.10]. Cursed is he who does the Lord's work carelessly. This applies mainly to us shepherds. 11th century God Himself often resettles peoples according to His wise plans, as if pouring water from vessel to vessel in order, through resettlement, to change their bad morals for better ones. Moab 56 was at peace from his youth, he sat on his yeast, and was not overfilled from vessel to vessel, and did not go into captivity; That is why its taste remained in it, and its smell did not change. Supreme Manager of Nations! I revere Your good providence for the mortal race! 29[ – 30]. We have heard about the pride of Moab, excessive pride, about his arrogance and his arrogance, and his arrogance and the exaltation of his heart. I know his insolence, says the Lord, but it is unreliable [church glory: I hear the pride of Moab, he is proud: his contempt and his arrogance, the exaltation and exaltation of his heart. But I am aware of his works, says the Lord: will not this please him? ] . Happiness and contentment spoil people's morals in everything. Be careful that you don't get spoiled either. Always thank God for your blessings and do not forget. 33. Joy and gladness were taken away from Carmel and from the land of Moab. I will put an end to wine in the winepress; They will no longer trample on them with songs. While expelling the wine berries, the happy inhabitants of the lands flowing with honey and milk usually sang songs. God predicts that due to the captivity of Moab they will no longer see this happiness. Take advantage, people, of the gifts of happiness with thanksgiving to the Lord. 37 and 38. Every one's head is bare, and every one's beard is shortened; they all have scratches on their hands and sackcloth on their loins. There is a general cry on all the roofs of Moab and in its streets, for I have crushed Moab like an obscene vessel, says the Lord. All nations, all the kingdoms of the earth are in the hands of the Lord, like vessels that He spares and breaks, depending on their suitability in His great house. What woeful signs of the sorrow of the Moabites! Chapter 49, [v.16]. Even if you build your nest high like an eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord. The nobles and rich men of this age! Do not be proud of yourself and do not be proud of your nobility and wealth, your magnificent, high chambers. No matter how high and rich you are, the Lord can easily overthrow you from the heights of your greatness and happiness. Chapter 50, 6[ – 11] art. My people were like lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray and scattered them into the mountains; They wandered from mountain to hill and forgot their bed. All who found them devoured them, and their oppressors said: “We are not to blame, for they have sinned before the Lord...” Flee from the midst of Babylon, and leave the land of the Chaldeans, and be like goats before a flock of sheep. For behold, I will raise up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north, and they will set themselves against it, and it will be taken; Their arrows, like those of a skilled warrior, do not return in vain. And Chaldea will become their prey; and the desolators thereof shall be satisfied, says the Lord. For you rejoiced, you rejoiced, you plunderers of My heritage (Israel); They jumped for joy like a heifer on the grass and neighed like war horses. 14[ – 15] art. Form your battle formation around Babylon; everyone who draws the bow, shoot at him, spare no arrows... as he did, so do you with him. 17 [– 19]. Israel is a scattered flock; the lions dispersed him; first the king of Assyria devoured him, and this last one, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, crushed his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, as I visited the king of Assyria. And I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will feed... and his soul will be satisfied... With what power and authority does the Lord deal with kingdoms and nations! When you hear how the Judge of the universe pronounces His judgment on the peoples of the earth, then every thought about the strength and celebrity of the people disappears and they seem like ants on an anthill, which a passer-by digs with his stick. And we, just like ants on an anthill on our earth, are insignificant, immeasurably insignificant before the Lord of the universe. Our earth is an inconspicuous point in the universe, and there are millions of such, and much more than such, points in the universe. (These boundless spaces of the sky, dotted with worlds, also have their own inhabitants. The Heavenly Forces live there, above.) Art. 31 Behold, I am against you, O pride, says the Lord God of hosts. 41 art. and further. Behold, a people is coming from the north (according to the word of the Lord), and a great nation, and many kings are rising up from the ends of the earth; holding a bow and a spear in their hands; they are cruel and unmerciful; their voice is noisy like the sea; rushing on horses, arrayed as one man to fight with you, daughter of Babylon. With what force does the Lord use the peoples of the earth as an instrument of His wrath, without restricting their freedom! 44. Only the almighty, true God can say this: who is like Me? and who will demand an answer from Me? And what shepherd will resist Me? 45. Hear the Lord’s decree against Babylon: I will certainly pluck out the lambs of the sheep and mark out their pasture with them. What strength and magnificence in speech. The people are likened to sheep, and their land is like pasture. And indeed, we are sheep of God’s pasture. Chapter 51, [v.] 9. We healed... but he was not healed; leave him, and let us each go to his own land (to his own house), because the judgment about him has reached to heaven and risen to the clouds. If the Lord punished with an incurable disease, then it cannot be healed by any art. 15. He created the earth by His power, established the world with His wisdom, and spread out the heavens with His understanding. The earth, and in general the entire universe, clearly proclaim the power and wisdom of the Creator God. 20 tbsp. and further. You are My hammer, a weapon of war; by you [Babylon] I struck down nations and by you I destroyed kingdoms (subjects); with you you smote the horse and its rider, and with you you smote the chariot and its driver; with you you struck husband and wife, with you you struck both old and young, with you you struck both young man and girl; and with you he smote the shepherd and his flock, with you he smote the farmer and his working cattle, with you he smote the regional governors and city rulers. And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all the evil that they did in Zion in your sight, says the Lord. God uses a certain people as an instrument of His holy will - to punish some people, but then the time of judgment comes for himself, that is, for the people who served as God’s instrument to punish another people. So His judgments are just. With what feeling of perfect omnipotence does God speak about the punishment of the Babylonians: I, he says, will do this and that to you. How undeniable is the truth that God is vigilantly vigilant on guard over the government of the people. 25 Art. Behold, I am against you, a deadly mountain, says the Lord, who defiles the whole earth, and I will stretch out My hand against you, casting you out of your very rocks and turning you into a burned mountain. They will not take from you a corner stone or a foundation stone, for you will be destroyed forever. Raise a banner on the earth, blow a trumpet among the nations... Tell the kingdoms of Ararat and the Ashanazees about Babylon from Me: establish archers over it, bring out horses against it, like so many locusts 57 . Bring against him the peoples of the king of Media and all the land, the generals and all his army. The earth was shaken and confused, because the Lord’s intention against Babylon was being fulfilled - to make the land of Babylon empty and uninhabited. The mighty in Babylon are weakened: they cannot fight; They sit there in the fence, their courage has disappeared, they have become like women; villages were burned, their fences were torn down. The messenger will catch up with the runner and the messenger will meet the ambassador - to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been taken. The inhabitants were taken from the ends of the streets of Babylon; his strongholds are set on fire, and his warriors go out. Thus says the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel: The houses of the king of Babylon will be threshed like a ripe threshing floor: a little more and his harvest will be ripe. He ate me, crushed me (a thin darkness covered me) Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, devoured me like a serpent, filled his belly with my sweetness and cast me out (from my land)... 36. The Jews complain about Babylon and bring their labors and disasters upon her. But the Lord says: Behold, I myself will judge your adversary and will avenge your vengeance, and will empty his sea and dry up his streams. And Babylon will come into desolation, will become a habitation for snakes, will be a miracle and an object of edification, because there will be no one living in it. In their ardor I will give them drink and make them drunk, so that they may fall asleep and sleep eternal sleep and not rise up, says the Lord. And I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams and goats for sacrificial animals. How is Sheshach 58 taken, the glory of the whole earth taken, how did Babylon become an object of wonder among the nations? The sea rose against Babylon with the sound of its waves and covered it. Its cities fell into desolation; the land became waterless and desolate, a land in which no one would live anymore, and the son of man would no longer dwell in it... 49. Just as many who were wounded in Israel fell by the hand of the Babylonians, so in Babylon the wounded from all the earth will fall... 53. If Babylon had ascended into heaven and established her power on high, and then I would have sent My destroyers against her, says the Lord... 55. The Lord destroyed Babylon, and as if with his hand he removed this strong city noise, roaring like many waters: he completely destroyed this noise (in St. Petersburg this comparison of city noise with the noise from many waters is justified when you listen to it a little in the evening). 56. A predator came to Babylon; his mighty ones are captured; their bow is weakened, because God rewards them, the Lord rewards him: and he will make his princes, and his wise men, and his captains, and his army, and his mighty men, drunk, and they will sleep an everlasting sleep and not awaken, says the King, the Lord Almighty is His name. 58. Thus says the Lord Almighty: This very high wall of Babylon will be undermined, and these high gates will be burned with fire; people will defend themselves in vain: they will die at the very beginning. This is the judgment of the Lord Almighty on the people who have fulfilled the measure of God’s long-suffering. Great and terrible is our God, God the Holy Spirit in the holy prophets; but He is also merciful and loving towards those who are worthy of His love and mercy. Carmel is a mountain in Palestine, considered the seat of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, as well as the place of the sacrifice of the prophet Elijah. Treasure, deck, block (Church Slav.) - yoke. Ascolon is a Philistine city. Moab is the name of the Moabites, descendants of Moab (son of Lot), who lived east of the Jordan. Akrida, akrid (Greek) – a genus of locust. The locust, according to the Law of Moses, was considered a clean animal and belonged to the category of winged reptiles that walk on four legs (Lev. 11:21). Seshah is the name of a Babylonian goddess; Sometimes the prophet Jeremiah Sesach calls Babylon itself by the name of this goddess. You might be interested in: