Jeremias

Jeremiah, says St. Jerome in chapter 1, he, with captivity imminent, is sent by God's clemency to the people, that he might stir them to repentance, and thus he himself might escape the Babylonian captivity now at hand. At the same time Ezekiel prophesied: but Jeremiah, as it were a pillar of the falling city and kingdom, as appears in chapter 1, verse 18, prophesied before in Judah, Ezekiel after Jeremiah, in the 35th year, captured in Babylon, uttered prophecies.

Question I: In what year did Jeremiah begin to prophesy, and in what year did he cease?

Question I. You will ask first, in what year did Jeremiah begin to prophesy, and in what year did he cease? I answer first, from chapter 1, 2, it is clear that he began in the 13th year of King Josiah, when he was still a boy, as St. Jerome and others say, and this is clear from chapter 1, 7. He therefore began to prophesy being about 14 or 15 years old, when the Medes, according to Eusebius, were ruled by Phraortes, the Romans by Ancus Martius, the Egyptians by Psammetichus the Elder, in the 36th Olympiad, in the year of the world 3318; for into this year of the world fell the 13th year of Josiah, which was the year 632 before the birth of Christ. From this it follows that Jeremiah began to prophesy 165 years after Isaiah; 34 years before Ezekiel (who began in the 5th year of the transmigration of Jehoiachin, Ezekiel 1, 2); 54 years before Daniel (who began in the 5th year from the destruction of Jerusalem).

Second, Jeremiah prophesied under five kings, namely under Josiah for 19 years, under Jehoahaz son of Josiah for three months: under Jehoiakim brother of Jehoahaz, and son of Josiah, for 11 years, under Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim for three months: under Zedekiah brother of Jehoahaz and son of Josiah for 11 years, until the 5th month of that eleventh year, in which Jerusalem was captured by the Chaldeans, in which also Jeremiah was captured, but was treated generously by Nebuchadnezzar; because he had foretold his victory against the Jews, and had persuaded them to surrender to him, chapter xxxix, 11. He therefore prophesied for 41 years in Judah: in which, destroyed by the Chaldeans, he remained, that he might be a consolation to the remnant of the people.

Third, from Judah, fleeing with the Jews from the Chaldeans against the command of the Lord into Egypt, Jeremiah was carried away by them, and there in Taphnis (a royal city, where Moses performed miracles before Pharaoh) he prophesied, as appears in chapter XLIII and XLIV, for 4 years, namely until the 4th year of the captivity and destruction of Jerusalem, which was the 23rd of Nebuchadnezzar, in which Jeremiah foretold that Pharaoh, who was called Ephree, or Vaphre, king of Egypt, would be conquered and killed by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened in the following year, according to Josephus, X Antiq. xi. Wherefore universally Jeremiah prophesied for 45 years, and since he began as a boy of about 15 years, it follows that he was killed at about sixty years of age, in the year of the world 3363.

Fourth, when in Taphnis Jeremiah threatened disaster to his Hebrews and all Egypt, which soon came to pass through Nebuchadnezzar, he was overwhelmed with stones by his fellow citizens and died a martyr. Thus St. Jerome, Tertullian, Dorotheus, Epiphanius, On the Lives of the Prophets; Isidore, On the Life and Death of the Saints. Therefore R. Solomon errs, from chapter xxiv, 28, in thinking that Jeremiah with Baruch returned from Egypt to Judah.

Dorotheus, Epiphanius and Isidore add, with whom credibility rests, that Jeremiah was buried in Taphnis, and his tomb was held in great honor by the Egyptians: because he himself by his prayers had driven out from there asps, crocodiles and monstrous beasts, and would drive them out daily with dust taken from his tomb. Moreover, John Moschus in the Spiritual Meadow, chapter LXXVII, relates that the bones of Jeremiah were transferred from there by Alexander the Great to Alexandria, a city founded by him, and there were venerated in the Tetrapylon.

The ancient Alexandrian Chronicle adds, but recently published by our Rader, that Alexander erected an illustrious monument to Jeremiah's ashes: just as Nicephorus, book VIII, chapter xxx, relates that a tomb was erected for him by St. Helena, mother of Constantine.

Finally, Dorotheus and Epiphanius add that Jeremiah in Egypt foretold to the Egyptian priests that all their idols would fall, when the Virgin Mother would enter Egypt with her infant, and this happened thus, when the Mother of God leading the boy Jesus entered Egypt; of which more in chapter XLIV, at the end. Jeremiah is inscribed in the catalogue of Saints in the Martyrology

on the 4th of May. For thus on that day we read in the Roman Martyrology: "In Egypt of St. Jeremiah the Prophet, who was overwhelmed with stones by the people, and died at Taphnis, and was buried there: at whose tomb the faithful (as St. Epiphanius relates) were accustomed to pray, and taking dust from there, they heal the bites of asps."

Question II: Who and what manner of man was Jeremiah?

I answer first, he was the son of Hilkiah: whether that celebrated High Priest under Josiah, I shall say in chapter 1, 1. He was descended from Anathoth, which was a city in the tribe of Benjamin, three miles distant from Jerusalem, and was assigned to the priests, as appears in Joshua XXI, 18.

Second, Jeremiah was sanctified and consecrated as a Prophet in his mother's womb, as is evident from chapter 1, verse 5; hence throughout his entire life he remained a virgin, as testified by St. Ignatius, in his epistle to the Philadelphians, and by Isidore, On the Life and Death of the Prophets, chapter thirty-eight, and this is sufficiently clear from chapter 16, verse 2, although the Chaldean Interpreter, chapter 37, verse 12, thinks that he had children. For this reason St. Jerome, in the prologue to Jeremiah, speaks of him thus: "Dedicating to the Church of Christ an evangelical man through his virginity." The same author, in book 1 Against Jovinian, attributes to the merit of virginity that, when all were led into Babylon and all others, even the temple, were equally destroyed, Jeremiah alone was not only preserved but was rewarded with the spoils of the victors. And "when Nebuchadnezzar," he says, "did not command Nabuzardan concerning the Holy of Holies, he nevertheless commanded concerning the preservation of Jeremiah." Again, Jeremiah was free from all sin throughout his entire life, says St. Athanasius, sermon 4 Against the Arians. Sin is a mortal crime, not a venial one.

Third, Jeremiah was a priest, teacher, prophet and apostle sent immediately by God, who surpassed all the Prophets in humanity and compassion toward his neighbour, and, as Nazianzen says, oration 17 to the Citizens of Nazianzus, at the beginning, "He was the most inclined of all the Prophets to compassion." For he alone, relying solely on God, in the greatest disturbance of the commonwealth, in the siege and destruction of the city, most ardently procured the salvation of his brethren, like another Paul, and did the same after his death, II Maccabees 15, 14, where Onias said to Judas Maccabeus: "This is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremiah the prophet of God."

He was also an illustrious hagiographic writer: for he wrote or dictated many things, namely this prophecy, also the Lamentations, the book of Baruch, and the books III and IV of Kings. For Procopius of Gaza, Isidore and Moses Kimchi, whom Sixtus Senensis cites in book 1, teach that Jeremiah collected these from public diaries and chronicles up to the destruction of Jerusalem. This is confirmed by the fact that the last chapter of Jeremiah is also the last of the book IV of Kings. Abulensis hears in the book of Judges, chapter 17, verse 4, that Jeremiah also composed the first two books of Kings.

Others add that Psalm 64: "A hymn becometh thee," and Psalm 136: "Upon the rivers of Babylon," were written by Jeremiah, and many other things, which Sixtus Senensis gathers in book II of the Bibliography, under the word Jeremiah, and by Castro here. In the Vatican library, I saw the Paralipomena of Jeremiah in the Greek language, in which were the letters of Baruch and Abdemelech the Ethiopian to Jeremiah, and conversely the responsive letters of Jeremiah to them. But since the ancients made no mention of these, nor does the Vatican codex cite Epiphanius, Dorotheus, or any of the ancients who transmitted or approved these Paralipomena to posterity; therefore I preferred to omit them, rather than to mix uncertain things with certain ones.

Finally, it is evident that Jeremiah wrote many more things which were lost through the injury of time, from the Descriptions of Jeremiah, which are cited in II Maccabees, chapter 2, verse 1, and are now found nowhere.

Fourth, Jeremiah threatened the rebellious Jews with the destruction of the city, and therefore suffered most dreadful things from them, namely reproaches, blows, beatings, hunger, imprisonment; he was often proclaimed guilty of death by the whole people, and finally was killed with constancy; thus he was the most express type of Christ afflicted and crucified by the Jews; hence concerning him, just as concerning Christ, the Jews say, chapter 11, verse 19: "Let us put wood in his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living." Hence Jeremiah is aptly called in Hebrew ירמיהו Iirmiahu, that is, the Most High, or the sublimity of the Lord, says Jerome, or one who exalts the Lord, from the root רום rum, that is, high. Again, Jeremiah is the same as the casting forth of the Lord, if you derive this name from the root רמה rama, that is, he cast forth, and מ'יה mi'ia, which is an abbreviation of Iehova, that is, the Lord: for Jeremiah was (as Isidore of Pelusium, disciple of St. Chrysostom, says in book 1, epistle 298), πολυπαθέστατος, that is, most afflicted, and in the greatest and longest calamity he showed great constancy and elevation of mind, and by his example taught us that saying of Antony in the Melissa, part II, sermon 89: "When you are beaten, stand firm like an anvil; it is the part of a noble athlete to be beaten and to conquer, but especially all things must be endured by us for God's sake, so that he himself may endure us." Ecclesiasticus adds in chapter 49, verse 8, that Jerusalem was burned by the Chaldeans on account of the ill treatment of Jeremiah: "They burned," it says, "the chosen city of holiness and made desolate the ways thereof in the hand of Jeremiah. For they dealt ill with him, who was consecrated from the womb to be a Prophet, to destroy, and to pluck up,

and to destroy, and to build again, and to renew."

Fifth, Jeremiah, as I have said, was a martyr. Whence Tertullian in the Scorpiace, chapter viii: "Jeremiah," he says, "is stoned, Isaiah is sawn asunder, Zacharias is slain between the temple and the altar, assigning the perpetual stains of his blood to stones, and certainly those who were moved by the Spirit were directed by him himself into martyrdoms, while suffering what they had also foretold." Whence that passage in Hebrews xi, 37: "They were stoned," many interpreters refer to Jeremiah. Deservedly therefore Jeremiah, having departed and existing in limbo, appeared to Judas Maccabaeus, "surrounded with admirable age and glory, and great dignity of appearance," II Maccabees xv, 13.

Sixth, Victorinus the Martyr held that Jeremiah lives in paradise, and will come with Elijah, so that he may prophesy and oppose himself to the Antichrist: whose opinion St. Hilary also mentions, Canon XX in Matthew. They prove this from chapter i, 15. But the sense of that passage is different, as I shall say there; for from what has been said it is clear that Jeremiah did not live, but was slain in Taphnis.

Question III: What is the subject matter of Jeremiah?

I answer, first, he partly predicts future things, especially the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, the destruction of the city and of other nations; partly he exhorts to repentance and amendment of life; partly he rebukes sins, especially idolatry; he threatens, and often laments, and is wholly pathetic. Second, he consoles his people, and predicts that after 70 years they will be freed from captivity. Third, he narrates in order the deeds of his time, both of kings, and of the people, and his own words and deeds. Fourth, he prophesies concerning the Church of Christ, the calling of the Gentiles, the grace and happiness of the New Testament. The same subject matter is treated by Ezekiel and Obadiah. Whence a great part of Obadiah is contained in Jeremiah, says St. Jerome in Obadiah, near the end.

Second, Jeremiah dictated these things by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; but he wrote them, with Baruch his scribe dictating, as is evident from chapter xxxvi, verse 4, who also collected the prophecies of Jeremiah, published at different times, into this volume, neglecting however the order, whence he often postpones the earlier ones: for which reason the order here in Jeremiah is often preposterous and confused, see Canon II.

Add also that the final chapter was added by Baruch from the last chapter of the fourth book of Kings. This is also the reason why the Septuagint sometimes changed the order of chapters which is in the Hebrew and Latin, so that chapter xxiii in ours is xxxvi in the Septuagint: in the Septuagint chapter xxx is our xxxvii; in the Septuagint chapter xxviii is our xxxi, in the Septuagint, etc.

Third, as to style, Jeremiah "appears as simple and easy in words as he is profoundly majestic in the meaning of his thoughts," says St. Jerome in the Preface to the sixth book of his Commentary on Jeremiah: and in the Hebrew manner, through various similitudes and parables he sets things before the eyes, as Christ also does. His Hebrew idiom is pure, and not mixed with Chaldaism. For Jeremiah wrote before the Babylonian captivity, and consequently before the corruption of the Hebrew language, which took place in Babylon: for there the captive Jews began to speak Chaldean with the Chaldeans.

I, in my manner in the explanation of Jeremiah, have had two things especially before my eyes, truth and brevity: I know that I have followed the former, the latter I have achieved.

The Hebrews relate that Jeremiah prophesied together with Zephaniah and Huldah: but Jeremiah in the streets and squares, Zephaniah in the synagogues, Huldah in the assembly of women. Ribera laughs at this. For it sounds like a Rabbinic fable: for such things are wont to be the keen observations and commentaries of the Rabbis.

and so pleasant.

St. Ambrose, and from him St. Augustine, book II On Christian Doctrine, chapter xxviii, assert that Plato was in Egypt in the time of Jeremiah, and learned from him what he wrote: "Did not," he says, "the aforementioned Bishop (Ambrose), having considered the history of the nations, when he found that Plato had journeyed to Egypt in the time of Jeremiah, where that Prophet was then, show it to be more probable that Plato was rather imbued with our letters through Jeremiah, so that he could teach or write those things which are justly praised?" Wherefore Genebrardus in the Chronology, and from him Antonius Fernandius, book On the Visions of Holy Scripture, vision 11, in the Preface: "Jeremiah," they say, "laid the foundations of philosophy in Taphnis, imbuing the Hierophants with secret wisdom. The Greeks, stirred by his fame, undertook journeys to Egypt, and after about seventy years derived philosophy into Greece." Which things are to be received with a grain of salt: for, as concerning Thales, who flourished under Cyrus, let us grant that he could have been able as a young man to see and hear Jeremiah in Egypt; certainly Plato, who was two hundred years later than Jeremiah (for he lived in the time of Alexander the Great), could not have seen and heard him: yet he journeyed to Egypt, so that he might learn the wisdom which the Egyptians had drawn from Jeremiah and the Hebrews. Wherefore St. Augustine thus candidly retracts his statement, book I of Retractions, chapter iv: "In that," he says, "which I said about the history of times, as if Plato and Jeremiah had been contemporaries, my memory deceived me."

St. Jerome wrote a commentary on Jeremiah up to chapter 32. Some have doubted whether this commentary is by St. Jerome, because it does not reflect his vigor and genius. But Rabanus, Cassiodorus, Marianus, Trithemius, Sixtus Senensis, the Louvain Censors and others everywhere attribute it to St. Jerome. Indeed, Rabanus himself confesses that he drew his Commentary on Jeremiah up to chapter 32 from this Commentary of St. Jerome, with many additions from his own work, and from Origen and St. Gregory. Wherefore the Commentary of Rabanus is not the same as the Commentary of St. Jerome, but is drawn from it, and is more extensive, as is evident to anyone comparing both. Moreover, it is not surprising that St. Jerome is less sharp here; for he was worn out by

illnesses, labors and age; for this was his final work on the Prophets, as he himself confesses in the Preface, when he begins thus: "After the explanation of the twelve Prophets, and of Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel, we finally turn our hand to Jeremiah." Add that this commentary of his is shorter than the others, and incomplete: for it ends at chapter 32.

Moreover, Theodoret, Rupertus, St. Thomas, Hugo, Lyranus, Dionysius, Vatablus, and Andreas Capella wrote on the whole of Jeremiah; and most recently and most carefully Christopher a Castro, John Maldonatus and Gaspar Sanchez, all of our Society.

Origen wrote fourteen homilies on the sentences of Jeremiah, which are extant in volume I of Origen, which St. Jerome translated into Latin. He also wrote

A Chronological Arrangement of the Oracles, or the Order of the Chapters and Deeds of Jeremiah

Because the order of chapters and oracles in Jeremiah is greatly disturbed, as I have said, I shall therefore arrange them in their proper order, and distribute them serially into four parts. I shall follow Abulensis at the end of book IV of Kings, Torniellus, and especially Christopher a Castro, who has an exact chronological arrangement in his Preface.

The first part therefore comprises those things which Jeremiah prophesied under King Josiah, in which he censures the idolatry and vices of the people, and threatens destruction by the Chaldeans. This begins at chapter 1, and extends to chapter 17, exclusive, except chapter 10, which pertains to Zedekiah, and chapter 13, which pertains to Joiakim, and from verse 18, to the times of Zedekiah, as I shall shortly say.

The second part is of those things which he prophesied under Joiakim son of Josiah, and Jehoiachin, or Jechoniah son of Joiakim: after Josiah died and Shallum son of Josiah was removed, while the funeral lamentation was still continuing, Jeremiah is sent to Joiakim, and admonishes him not to weep for Josiah, but rather for Shallum who will not return from Egypt, and for himself, because he is to be buried with the burial of an ass. Therefore chapter 22, from verse 1 to verse 24, pertains to this, as is evident from verse 10 there.

At the same time, prophesying in the court of the temple concerning the destruction of the city and temple, he is seized and tried for death; but he is freed by Ahikam, as is narrated in chapter 26: therefore chapter 26 is to be placed here.

At the same time, he is commanded to take chains, which are later to be sent under Zedekiah to neighboring nations, as is evident from chapter 27, verses 1 to 4.

At the same time, he prophesies those things which are contained in chapter 17, namely that the sin of Judah is indelible, because trusting in the aid of Egypt, it would not subject itself to the Babylonian who was already preparing for war.

In the 4th year of Joiakim he prophesies those things which are contained in chapter 25, concerning the cup, that is the active calamity of the Chaldeans, and that nations will serve them for 70 years.

In the same year occurred those things which are said in chapter 46, from verse 2 to 12, concerning Pharaoh Necho being defeated, and shortly after being slain by Nebuchadnezzar near Carchemish, and on that occasion he soon proceeds to prophesy that Egypt is to be subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar, there, from verse 3 to the end of the chapter.

In the same year occurred those things which are said in chapter 36, concerning the oracles and threats of Jeremiah being written, and being read by Baruch to the people from the book which Joiakim burned, but Jeremiah restored, and those things which are said in chapter 45 concerning Baruch being afraid and comforted by God.

Around the 7th year of Joiakim occurred those things which are narrated in chapter 35, concerning the Rechabites, and those things which are said in chapter 13, from verse 1 to 18, concerning the linen girdle, which he took to the Euphrates, and concerning the broken flask as a sign of future calamity.

Soon followed the words spoken under Jehoiachin, or Jechoniah son of Joiakim. Namely, chapter 22, from verse 24 to the end, he prophesies that Jechoniah is to be led into Babylon, and will never return from there.

Chapter 23, he inveighs against the negligence of kings, in that this was the cause of the destruction and captivity of the people, and promises a new form of the commonwealth through Christ and the Apostles.

The third part contains the oracles spoken under Zedekiah, who succeeded Jechoniah, up to and including the destruction of the city:

In the 1st year of Zedekiah were spoken those things which are contained in chapter 24, concerning the two baskets of figs, which signified the good fortune of Jechoniah and the others who were carried away; but the miserable fortune of Zedekiah and the others remaining in Jerusalem, and rebelling against the Chaldeans.

And those things which are written in chapter 29 to Jechoniah and the others in Babylon, that they are to remain there for 70 years.

And those things which chapter 30 and 31 predict concerning the captivity being released, both temporal through Cyrus, and spiritual through Christ.

And those things which are contained in chapter 18 concerning the potter, after whose manner God is able to form and reform the people, and restore it to freedom.

And the epistle which is contained in chapter 10 by which he admonishes those carried away not to worship the signs of heaven and the idols of the Chaldeans.

which are found in chapter XXVII, 3, up to the end, concerning chains sent to neighboring kings; and which are found in chapter XXVIII concerning their breaking by Hananiah, and their exchange for iron ones.

At the same time, those things which he prophesies in chapters XLVIII and XLIX against neighboring kings and nations seem to be spoken, namely against Moab, Ammon, Idumaea, Damascus, Cedar and Elam.

Chapter XIX, he broke a small vessel in the court of the temple, to show that the people would thus be broken.

Chapter XX, imprisoned by Pashhur, he threatens him with destruction; and from weariness of life and the bitterness of afflictions, he curses the day of his birth.

Soon in chapters L and LI, he prophesies the destruction of Babylon through Cyrus and Darius: for that this happened in the fourth year of Zedekiah is evident from Jeremiah LI, 59.

Chapter XIII, 18, Jeremiah is sent to Zedekiah the king reigning under Nebuchadnezzar, and to the queen, to predict to them the overthrow of the kingdom. This is evident from IV Kings XXIV, 20, and chapter XV, 1, and from Josephus, book X of Antiquities, chapter X.

Chapter XXXIV, Jerusalem now besieged, when the Jews had renewed their covenant with God (and therefore the Chaldeans had withdrawn to fight against the Egyptians), but soon violated it, he predicts the return of the Chaldeans.

Chapter XXXVII, he signifies the same to Zedekiah; and when he seemed to go out to Anathoth, he was seized by Jeriah, thrust into prison.

Chapter XLVII, he prophesies the Palestinians to be laid waste by the Chaldeans: for that this happened in the ninth year of Zedekiah will be evident from chapter XLVII, 1.

Nebuchadnezzar invaded and occupied Coele-Syria, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and other nations, as Jeremiah had predicted. Thus Josephus, book X of Antiquities, XI.

Chapter XXI, when Nebuchadnezzar had returned to the siege of Jerusalem, Zedekiah sending to him to pray for the withdrawal of the enemy, Jeremiah answered that he would not withdraw, but if he wished to be safe, he should surrender to him.

Chapter XXXII, Jeremiah in prison is ordered to buy the field of his cousin, so that by this he might signify that the captives would return from Babylon to their fields.

Chapter XXXIII, he promises happiness after the time of captivity.

Chapter XXXVIII, he is cast into a pit, when he was predicting salvation to those deserting to the Chaldeans, and destruction to those remaining, but drawn out by Abdemelech and having spoken with the king, he remained in the vestibule of the prison.

Chapter XXXIX, from verse 15 to the end, he promises Abdemelech safety in the destruction of the city.

Soon in chapter XXXIX, from verse 1 to verse 15, Jerusalem is captured, Zedekiah is blinded, his sons and princes are killed.

Fourth Part: After the Destruction of Jerusalem

Chapter XL, Nebuzaradan commends Jeremiah to Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor of Judaea.

The book now seems to have been written by Jeremiah as a letter concerning not worshipping idols, which is found in chapter VI of Baruch.

The city having been destroyed, he seems to have composed the Lamentations.

Chapter XLI, Ishmael in the seventh month kills Gedaliah; and Johanan brings back and gathers the remnants of the people, and thinks of flight into Egypt.

Chapter XLII, the princes consult Jeremiah, he forbids flight, and says if they flee into Egypt, they will be laid waste there by Nebuchadnezzar.

Chapter XLIII, the princes not believing Jeremiah, and forcing Jeremiah and all the Jews to flee with them into Egypt, they arrive in Tahpanhes, where Jeremiah prophesies the destruction of Egypt through the Chaldeans.

Chapter XLIV, to the Jews in Egypt, and to Pharaoh Hophra he threatens captivity: whence for this reason he seems to have been stoned by the Jews shortly after before the destruction of Egypt: for here his prophecy ends, and thereafter no mention is made of Jeremiah.

In the same year he occupied Egypt, killed Pharaoh Hophra, appointed Amasis as king, and led 743 Jews captive to Babylon, as is evident from Jeremiah LII, 30, and from Josephus. Among them was led Baruch; for Jeremiah was already dead. Thus from Castro and others. But it seems more true that Egypt was subdued by Nebuchadnezzar after 12 years, namely in the 35th year of his reign, as I shall say on Ezekiel XXIX, 17.

In the sixth year, which was the fifth of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the 26th of Nebuchadnezzar, on the 17th day of the fifth month, Baruch read the book written by him in Babylon before Jeconiah, and all the people, Baruch 1.

I. God says to Jeremiah, chapter I, 5: "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee."

In How Many and What Things Jeremiah Was a Type or Prophet of Christ

Thus of Christ St. Matthew says, chapter I, 18: "(The Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus) was found to have in the womb of the Holy Ghost." And the Angel, verse 20: "For that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost." Likewise the Angel, Luke chapter I, 35: "And therefore also the Holy One that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." Finally Isaiah, chapter XLIX, 1, says of Christ: "The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name."

II. God says to Jeremiah, chapter I, 5: "I have made thee a prophet unto the nations;" and verse 9: "Behold I have put my words in thy mouth: behold I have set thee this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant."

Thus concerning Christ Isaiah says, chapter LI, 16: "I have put my words in thy mouth... that thou mayest plant the heavens, and found the earth, and say to Sion: Thou art my people;" and David, Psalm II, 6: "But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, preaching his commandment;" and verse 8: "Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Isaiah, chapter XLIX, 6: "Behold, I have given thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth."

III. God says to Jeremiah, chapter I, 18: "Be not afraid: for I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass over all the land."

Thus Christ says of himself: "The Lord hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow," Isaiah XLIX, 2.

IV. Jeremiah says, chapter I, 11: "I see a rod watching."

Concerning Christ it is said, Psalm II, 9: "Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel." And Psalm XLIV, 7: "The rod of thy direction, the rod of thy kingdom."

V. Jeremiah says, chapter I, 13: "I see a seething pot."

Concerning Christ the judge it is said, Psalm XCVI, 3: "Fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about;" and Luke III, 17: "He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire."

VI. To Jeremiah, chapter I, 16, God says: "I will speak my judgments with them (the Gentiles) upon all their wickedness."

Christ is appointed judge of the living and the dead, and on the day of judgment he will say to the Saints: "Come, ye blessed of my Father," but to the wicked: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," Matthew chapter XXV, 34 and 41.

VII. Chapter II, 21, God says through Jeremiah to the Synagogue: "I planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true seed: how then art thou turned to me into that which is good for nothing, a wild vine?"

Thus Christ says to the same: "A certain householder planted a vineyard, etc., and let it out to husbandmen:" but they killed his servants, and even his son; he therefore "will destroy those evil men," Matthew XXI, 33, 41.

VIII. Chapter III, God cries out through Jeremiah: "Turn, O backsliding Israel, and rebellious Juda, return to me, and I will heal your backslidings."

Christ cries out, Matthew XI, 28: "Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you."

IX. Chapter VI, 6, Jeremiah says to Jerusalem: "This is the city of visitation;" that is, of punishment and destruction, "all deceit is in the midst of her."

Christ, seeing Jerusalem, wept over it, saying: "If thou also hadst known, etc., that days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, etc., and shall beat thee flat to the ground, etc., because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation," Luke XIX.

X. Chapter VII, 11, Jeremiah says: "Is this house, in which my name is called upon, become a den of robbers in your eyes?"

Christ says, Matthew XXI, 13: "It is written: My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers."

(1) What the relations of similitude between Jeremiah and Christ have been, Bossuet expounds clearly and piously in that golden work entitled: Meditations on the Gospel, in the last week of Christ from day 98 to 109.

XI. Chapter IX, 23, the Lord says through Jeremiah: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, because I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment, and justice in the earth."

Christ says through Paul, I Corinthians I, 27: "The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong; and the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his sight. But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption; that, as it is written: He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."

XII. Chapter XI, 19, Jeremiah says: "And I was as a meek lamb, that is carried to the slaughter: and I knew it not."

Concerning Christ Isaiah says, chapter LIII, 7: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be silent as a lamb before his shearer, and shall not open his mouth."

XIII. In the same place Jeremiah says: "They devised counsels against me, saying: Come, and let us put wood in his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living."

The Jews devised to crucify Christ, and cried out to Pilate: "Crucify him, crucify him," John XIX, 6.

XIV. Chapter XIV, 8, Jeremiah says to God: "O the expectation of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble; why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfarer turning aside to tarry?"

Such a wayfarer was Christ, who travelled throughout all Judaea preaching the gospel, and after three years of preaching, leaving the land as if it were a lodging, returned to his heaven.

XV. Chapter XV, 10, Jeremiah says: "Woe is me, my mother! why didst thou bear me a man of strife, a man of contention to all the earth? all curse me."

Concerning Christ Simeon says: "Behold, this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted," Luke chapter II, verse 34.

XVI. Chapter XVI, 16, God says to Jeremiah: "Behold, I will send many fishers; and they shall fish them."

Christ called Peter and Andrew, fishermen, saying: "Come after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men," Matt. IV, 19.

XVII. Cap. XVIII, 6 and 11, God says: "As clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Behold, I frame evil against you."

Thus Christ from the same clay and mass of the human race makes "one vessel unto honour, another unto dishonour," Rom. IX, 21 and 22.

XVIII. Cap. XVIII, 18, the Jews said: "Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah: and let us smite him with the tongue."

Thus the Jews took counsel against Jesus, that they might catch him in his speech, and that they might hold him by deceit; indeed they sought out and suborned false witnesses against him, Matt. cap. XXII, 15, and Matt. cap. XXVI, 59.

XIX. Cap. XX, 2, Pashur struck Jeremiah the prophet.

Thus "one of the servants gave Jesus a blow, saying: Dost thou so answer the high priest?" John cap. XVIII, vers. 22.

XX. Cap. XX, 7, Jeremiah says: "I am become a derision all the day, all mock me."

Thus Christ says, Psalm. XXI, 7: "But I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people; all they that saw me have derided me: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head."

XXI. Cap. XXVI, 11, Jeremiah, because he prophesies the destruction of the city and temple, hears: "This man is worthy of death."

Christ, because he was said to have said: "I am able to destroy the temple of God," etc., hears from Caiaphas and the whole council: "He is guilty of death," Matt. XXVI, 61 and 66.

XXII. Cap. XXVI, 15, Jeremiah says: "If you kill me, you will shed innocent blood against yourselves and against this city."

The Jews crying out against Christ: "Crucify him," say to Pilate, who wished to release the innocent Christ: "His blood be upon us, and upon our children," Matt. XXVII, 25.

XXIII. Cap. XXXI, 15, Jeremiah says: "A voice was heard on high, lamentation, and mourning, and weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted for them, because they are not."

Matt. II, 17, in the infanticide of Herod, it says: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: A voice was heard in Rama, much weeping and wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

XXIV. Cap. XXXI, 22, Jeremiah says: "The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth: A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A-

Isaiah, cap. VII, 14, and from him Matt. I, 23, concerning Christ and the virgin mother say: "Behold a Virgin shall con-

ceive and shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, that is, God with us."

XXV. Cap. XXXI, 31, the Lord says to Jeremiah: "Behold the days come, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Juda."

Christ instituted this covenant and testament, Hebr. VIII; Matt. XXVI, 28.

XXVI. Cap. XXXVI, 26: "King Joakim commanded that they should take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the Prophet; but the Lord hid them."

Thus the Jews often sought to seize Jesus: "But he hid himself, and going through the midst of them went his way," and at the end of his life, he withdrew into the city of Ephrem, John XI, 54.

XXVII. Cap. XXXVII, 14, the Princes smote Jeremiah, and sent him into prison.

Thus the Jews seized Christ, buffeted him and scourged him.

XXVIII. Cap. XXXIX, Jeremiah, destined for death by his own people, was received with honour by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans.

Thus Christ "came unto his own, and his own received him not:" namely the Jews killed him, but the Gentiles received and worshipped him.

XXIX. Cap. XLIII, 5, Johanan, fearing Nebuchadnezzar, fled, and took Jeremiah with him into Egypt.

Thus Joseph, fearing Herod the infanticide, took the child Jesus into Egypt, Matt. II, 14.

Finally hear Ezra, or whoever is the author, lib. IV Esdrae, cap. II, 18: "I will send thee for help my servants: Isaiah and Jeremiah, by whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees, laden with various fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven immense mountains, having the rose and the lily, in which I will fill thy children with joy." By the twelve trees and fountains, the twelve Apostles, and the twelve articles of their Creed seem to be signified; by the seven mountains, the seven Sacraments of the Church; which Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold would adorn the new Church of Christ. For although this book of Ezra is not in the canon of Sacred Scripture, it nevertheless has its weight of authority, and greater than the books of other Doctors: wherefore the Church also places it next to the canonical books.

Title Page

From the Books of Hemeterius Valverde Tellez, Bishop of Leon

Commentaries on Sacred Scripture by R. P. Cornelius a Lapide

Commentaries on Sacred Scripture

By R. P. Cornelius a Lapide, of the Society of Jesus, formerly Professor of Sacred Scripture at Louvain, afterwards at Rome, carefully revised and illustrated with notes by Jos. Max. Peronne, Honorary Canon and Parochial Dean of the Diocese of Soissons, formerly Professor of Sacred Scripture.

New edition, carefully purged of the errors which had crept into the former.

Volume Twelve: On Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch and Ezekiel.

Paris, at the house of Ludovicus Vives, Bookseller and Publisher, 13, Street commonly called Delambre, 13. MDCCCXCI.

Prolegomena on the Prophet Jeremiah

XXV. Cap. xxxi, 31, the Lord says to Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Juda."

Christ instituted this covenant and testament, Hebr. viii; Matth. xxvi, 28.

XXVI. Cap. xxxvi, 26: "The king Joakim commanded that they should seize Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the Prophet; but the Lord hid them."

Thus the Jews often sought to seize Jesus: "But he hid himself, and going through the midst of them went his way," and at the end of his life, he withdrew into the city of Ephrem, Joan. xi, 54.

XXVII. Cap. xxxvii, 14, the Princes seized Jeremiah, and sent him into prison.

Thus the Jews seized Christ, buffeted him and scourged him.

XXVIII. Cap. xxxix, Jeremiah, destined for death by his own people, was received with honor by Nabuchodonosor and the Chaldeans.

Thus Christ "came unto his own, and his own received him not:" namely, the Jews killed him, but the Gentiles received and worshipped him.

XXIX. Cap. xliii, 5, Johanan, fearing Nabuchodonosor, fled, and led Jeremiah with him into Egypt.

Thus Joseph, fearing Herod the infanticide, led the child into Egypt, Matth. ii, 14.

Finally hear Esdras, or whoever is the author, lib. IV Esdrae, cap. ii, 18: "I will send thee for help my servants: Isaias and Jeremiah, by whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees, laden with various fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven immense mountains, having the rose and the lily, in which I will fill thy sons with joy." By the twelve trees and fountains, the twelve Apostles, and the twelve articles of their Creed; by the seven mountains, the seven Sacraments of the Church seem to be signified, by which Isaias and Jeremiah foretold that the new Church of Christ was to be adorned. For although this book of Esdras is not in the canon of Sacred Scripture, it nevertheless has its weight of authority, and greater than that of the books of other Doctors: wherefore the Church also places it next to the canonical books.

I. Hear Jeremiah, hear priest, hear prophet of the Lord. Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations. Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. I have made thee a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land. What seest thou, Jeremiah? I see a rod watching. Thou hast seen well, for I will watch over my word to perform it. What seest thou? I see a seething pot, and the face thereof from the face of the north. From the north shall evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

II. Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase. What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this: and ye gates thereof, be ye desolate exceedingly. For my people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Know ye, and see that it is evil and bitter for thee to have forsaken the Lord thy God. From of old thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve.

III. Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers: yet return to me, saith the Lord: at least now call upon me: thou art my father, the guide of my virginity. Treacherous Juda, and thou hast turned away, O Israel, thou hast committed fornication with stone and wood. Return, and I will give you pastors according to my heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine. In that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall be gathered unto it in the name of the Lord. How shall I set thee among the children, and give thee a desirable land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the Gentiles? Turn again, ye children that return, and I will heal your backslidings.

IV. If thou wilt take away thy stumbling blocks out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved. And thou shalt swear: The Lord liveth in truth, and in judgment, and in justice. Break up your fallow ground: be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. Cry out: The lion is come up from his den, and the spoiler of the nations is risen up. Behold, he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste. My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at the very heart: my heart maketh a noise in me, I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is called: for the whole earth is laid waste. All the wise men are become fools, and they have not known the way of the Lord. Hear ye the voice as of one in travail, the anguish as of a woman in labour. The voice of the daughter of Sion dying away, spreading forth her hands: Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted because of the slain.

V. Go about the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that executeth judgment, and seeketh faith: and I will be merciful unto him. Therefore the lion out of the wood hath slain them, and the wolf in the evening hath spoiled them: the leopard watcheth for their cities. Every one that goeth out thence shall be taken: because they have multiplied their transgressions, and their backslidings are increased. Wonderful and horrible things are done in the land: the prophets prophesied lies, and the priests clapped their hands, and my people loved such things.