Глава 18

So, at the end of this word, the Prophet is given the command to enter (Jer. 18:1) “into the poor man’s house.” The prophet fulfills the command and sees that the poor man is making some kind of vessel; then, when the vessel has fallen and broken, he begins to make it again. For he says: Jeremiah 18:4. And when the vessel fell and broke, he created it from clay with his own hands: and again, create another vessel out of it, as you would like to create it with your own eyes. Having thus shown that the crafter has power over the clay and gives it the appearance he pleases, God says to the Prophet: tell them: Jeremiah 18:6. Food like this poor man, I will not be able to create for you in the house of Israel? The Lord said: Behold, as clay is in the hand of the poor, so you are, O house of Israel, in My hand. Just as a poor person can mix clay and give it the appearance he wants, so it is not difficult for Me to inflict punishment, and grant salvation, and subject the prosperous to disasters, and again grant prosperity to the needy. For this is shown by the following words. Jer.18:7. Finally I will speak against the tongue and against the kingdom, that I will uproot them, and destroy them, and waste them. (Jer.18:8). “And if that tongue turns back from all its wickedness, then I will repent of the evil I thought to do to them.” Do not despair of salvation says God; for even if I pronounce judgment on the people and threaten decisive punishment, but I see their repentance, I will not impose punishment, but will show mercy. And also, if I promise an abundance of blessings, but they neglect and love wickedness, then I will not fulfill the promise to bestow blessings. Therefore, knowing this, says God, do not despair of a better fate, but bring repentance, and you will gain salvation. Jeremiah 18:11. Behold, I am working evil against you, and I am thinking thoughts against you: let everyone turn from his evil way, and correct your thoughts and your ways. The humane God offered such cures; but they did not accept the doctor's advice. Jeremiah 18:12. Rekosha, says the Prophet, “let us strengthen ourselves: for we will follow our corruptions, and we will do whatever pleases our hearts. “Corruptions” the Prophet calls the path of the worst. Jeremiah 18:13. For this reason the Lord says: Ask the tongues, who has heard the terrible calico that the virgin of Israel (the daughter of Jerusalem) did? He calls Jerusalem “Virgin” not because it is not given over to lasciviousness, but because it is adorned and boasts of beauty. Jeremiah 18:14. Food will become scarce from the stones, or snow from Lebanon! Food will be evaded by water carried by the wind! The springs, says God, continually flow forth; Lebanon always has snow on it; rushing water flows along the paved path; But the Jews have forsaken the path of the law, and they have no remembrance of My commandments. For this is what the following words mean: Jeremiah 18:15. My people have forgotten Me, hoping in vain, and they are exhausted on their eternal paths, even if they do not have a way to walk. They invented paths not laid out from the beginning, and made them paths eternal; that is, they always continue to walk with them. For this reason I will abandon their land to desolation. For this is what God added: Jeremiah 18:16. He must lay his land in desolation and in everlasting restoration. Vizzdaniem means the desolation of the city: for those who saw the city in its prosperity, then seeing it deserted, had the custom of whistling, and thereby showing its distress. Jeremiah 18:17. Like a scorching wind I will scatter them before their enemies; that is, they will not see mercy from those who are hostile, but will hate them, just as someone turns away from the scorching wind. “It is the backbone, and not the face, that I will show them in the day of their destruction.” Captives and slaves tend to lower their faces to the ground, which is why you can see more of their backbone than their face. But we can understand this differently. In those who turn away we see not the face, but the spine; therefore this word means God’s turning away from them. Such were the threats against the Jews; and let their suffering serve as a medicine for us, so that when we are disciplined by the punishments of others and live according to the divine laws, we will have the Lawgiver merciful to us forever. Amen! Jeremiah 18:18. And he said: Come, and let us contrive counsel against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor the counsel from the wise, nor the word from the Prophet.” The Prophet has three great witnesses about himself - priesthood, prophecy, wisdom: and the Jews know the power and truthfulness of each gift; but when it was necessary to listen to what the Prophet says, they not only contradict, but even prepare his death. For they say: “Come, let us smite him with our tongue, and let us not take heed of all his words.” The very words of God are so unbearable for them. What was said: “we will strike him with our tongue” means: we will slander him. Feeling this, the Prophet begs God to be the judge, and reminds Him that he has offered prayers for them many times. Then he gives his speech the appearance of a spell, and predicts future death from hunger, future beating from enemies, and everything else that happens in wartime.