Under the figure of a linen girdle is foretold the destruction of the Jews. Their obstinacy in sin brings all miseries upon them.
By a girdle first vsed and after leaft of, 8. is prefigured the reiection of the Iewes: 12. til Gods mercie recalleth them. 17. The Prophet lamenting their obstinacie, 22. sheweth that their sinne is the cause of their miserie.
1Thus saith the Lord to me: Go, and get thee a linen girdle, and thou shalt put it about thy loins, and shalt not put it into water.Il Signore parlommi in tal guisa: Va, e comprati una cintura di lino, e mettitela a' tuoi fianchi, e non le farai toccar l'acqua.THVS saith our Lord to me: Goe, and get thee a girdle of linnen, and thou shalt put it about thy loynes, & shalt not put it into water.Hæc dicit Dominus ad me: Vade, et posside tibi lumbare lineum, et pones illud super lumbos tuos, et in aquam non inferes illud. 2And I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it about my loins.E comperai la cintura secondo la Parola del Signore, e me la cinsi a' miei fianchiAnd I got a girdle according to the word of our Lord, and put it about my loynes.Et possedi lumbare juxta verbum Domini, et posui circa lumbos meos. 3And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying:E il Signore parlommi di nuovo, dicendo:And the word of our Lord was made to me the second time, saying:Et factus est sermo Domini ad me secundo, dicens: 4Take the girdle which thou hast got, which is about thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.Prendi la cintura, che hai comperata, e porti intorno a' tuoi fianchi, e sorgi, e va all'Eufrate, e nascondila nella buca di una pietra.Take the girdle, which thou hast gotten, which is about thy loynes, and rising goe to Euphrates, and hide it there in an hole of the rocke.Tolle lumbare quod possedisti, quod est circa lumbos tuos: et surgens vade ad Euphraten, et absconde ibi illud in foramine petræ. 5And I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord had commanded me.E andai, e la nascosi vicino all'Eufrate, conforme mi avea ordinato il Signore.And I went, and hidde it in Euphrates, as our Lord had commanded me.Et abii, et abscondi illud in Euphrate, sicut præceperat mihi Dominus. 6And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me: Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.E dopo un gran numero di giorni il Signore mi disse: Sorgi, va all'Eufrate, e prendi la cintura, ch'io ti ordinai di nasconder cola.And it came to passe after manie daies, our Lord said to me: Arise, goe to Euphrates: and take from thence the girdle, which I commanded thee that thou shouldst hide it there.Et factum est post dies plurimos, dixit Dominus ad me: Surge, vade ad Euphraten, et tolle inde lumbare quod præcepi tibi ut absconderes illud ibi. 7And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle out of the place where I had hid it and behold the girdle was rotten, so that it was fit for no use.E andai all'Eufrate, e scopersi la buca, e cavai la cintura dal luogo, dov' io l'avea nascosta: ed ecco, che la cintura era marcita in guisa, che non era più buona a nulla.And I went to Euphrates, and digged, and tooke the girdle out of the place, where I had hid it: and behold the girdle was rotten, so that it was fitte for noe vse.Et abii ad Euphraten, et fodi, et tuli lumbare de loco ubi absconderam illud: et ecce computruerat lumbare, ita ut nulli usui aptum esset.
8And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:E il Signore parlommi, e disse:And the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens: 9Thus saith the Lord: After this manner will I make the pride of Juda, and the great pride of Jerusalem to rot.Queste cose dice il Signore: Così farò io marcire la superbia di Giuda, e la superbia molta di Gerusalemme:Thus saith our Lord: so wil I make the pride of Iuda, & the great pride of Ierusalem.Hæc dicit Dominus: / Sic putrescere faciam superbiam Juda, / et superbiam Jerusalem multam: 10This wicked people, that will not hear my words, and that walk in the perverseness of their heart, and have gone after strange gods to serve them, and to adore them: and they shall be as this girdle, which is fit for no use.Questo cattivissimo popolo, che non vuol udire le mie parole, e segue il pravo suo cuore, ed è andato dietro a dei stranieri per onorargli, e adorarli, sarà come questa cintura, che non è buona a nissun uso;This most wicked people, which wil not heare my wordes, and walke in the peruersitie of their hart: and haue gone after strange goddes to serue them, and to adore them: & they shal be as this girdle, which is fitte for no vse.populum istum pessimum qui nolunt audire verba mea, / et ambulant in pravitate cordis sui, / abieruntque post deos alienos ut servirent eis et adorarent eos: / et erunt sicut lumbare istud, / quod nulli usui aptum est. 11For as the girdle sticketh close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all the house of Israel, and all the house of Juda, saith the Lord: that they might be my people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.Imperocché come una cintura combacia co' fianchi dell'uomo, così io congiunsi meco tutta la casa d'Israele, e tutta la casa di Giuda, dice il Signore, affinchè fosser mio popolo avente nome da me, mia lode, e mia gloria: ed ei non hanno ascoltato.For as the girdle cleaueth to the loynes of a man, so haue I fast ioyned to me al the house of Israel, and al the house of Iuda, saith our Lord: that they might be my people, and name, and prayse, and glorie: and they heard not.Sicut enim adhæret lumbare ad lumbos viri, / sic agglutinavi mihi omnem domum Israël, / et omnem domum Juda, dicit Dominus, / ut essent mihi in populum, / et in nomen, et in laudem, et in gloriam: / et non audierunt. 12Thou shalt speak therefore to them this word: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Every bottle shall be filled with wine. And they shall say to thee: Do we not know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?Tu dirai dunque ad essi queste parole: Il Signore Dio d'Israele parla così: Tutti i vasi saran pieni di vino. Ed eglino diranno a te: E non sappiam noi, che tutti i vasi si empieranno di vino?Thou shalt say therefore vnto them this word: Thus saith our Lord the God of Israel: Euerie bottle shal be filled with wine. And they shal say to thee: Why, are we ignorant that euerie bottle shal be filled with wine?Dices ergo ad eos sermonem istum: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: / Omnis laguncula implebitur vino. Et dicent ad te: Numquid ignoramus quia omnis laguncula implebitur vino ?
13And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings of the race of David that sit upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.E tu dirai loro: Queste cose dice il Signore: Ecco che io riempirò d'ubbriachezza tutti gli abitatori di questo paese, e i regi della stirpe di David, che seggono sul trono di lui, e i sacerdoti, e i profeti, e tutti quelli, che abitano in Gerusalemme:And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith our Lord: Behold I wil fil al the inhabitants of this land, & the kinges that of the stocke of Dauid sitte vpon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and al the inhabitants of Ierusalem, with drunkennes.Et dices ad eos: Hæc dicit Dominus: / Ecce ego implebo omnes habitatores terræ hujus, / et reges qui sedent de stirpe David super thronum ejus, / et sacerdotes, et prophetas, / et omnes habitatores Jerusalem, ebrietate. 14And I will scatter them every man from his brother, and fathers and sons in like manner, saith the Lord: I will not spare, and I will not pardon: nor will I have mercy, but to destroy them.E li spergerò disgiunti il fratello dal fratello, e i padri similmente da' figli, dice il Signore: non perdonerò, e non mi placherò, né avrò misericordia per non ispergergli.And I wil disperse them euerie man from his brother, and the fathers and sonnes together, saith our Lord: I wil not spare, and I wil not yelde: neither wil I haue mercie not to destroy them.Et dispergam eos virum a fratre suo, / et patres et filios pariter, ait Dominus. / Non parcam, et non concedam: / neque miserebor, ut non disperdam eos. 15Hear ye, and give ear: Be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken.Udite, e prestate attente le orecchie: non vi levate in superbia perocchè il Signore ha parlato.Heare ye, and geue eare. Be not eleuated, because our Lord hath spoken.Audite, et auribus percipite: / nolite elevari, quia Dominus locutus est. 16Give ye glory to the Lord your God, before it be dark, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains: you shall look for light, and he will turn it into the shadow of death, and into darkness.Date gloria al Signore Dio vostro, prima che vengan le tenebre, e prima che i vostri piedi urtino nei monti pieni di densa nebbia: voi aspetterete la luce, ed ei la cangerà in ombra di morte, e in caligine.Geue ye glorie to our Lord your God, before it waxe darke, and before your feete stumble at the darke mountaines: you shal looke for light, and he wil turne it into the shadow of death, and into darkenes.Date Domino Deo vestro gloriam / antequam contenebrescat, / et antequam offendant pedes vestri ad montes caliginosos: / exspectabitis lucem, / et ponet eam in umbram mortis, et in caliginem.
17But if you will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride: weeping it shall weep, and my eyes shall run down with tears, because the flock of the Lord is carried away captive.Che se voi non ascolterete queste cose, piangerà in segreto l'anima mia, veggendo la vostra superbia: dirottamente piangerà, e gli occhi miei spanderanno lagrime, perchè è stato preso il gregge del Signore.But if you wil not heare this, in secret my soule shal weepe because of the pride: weeping it shal weepe, and mine eie shal droppe teares, because the flocke of our Lord is taken.Quod si hoc non audieritis, / in abscondito plorabit anima mea a facie superbiæ: / plorans plorabit, / et deducet oculus meus lacrimam, / quia captus est grex Domini. 18Say to the king, and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down: for the crown of your glory is come down from your head.Dì al re, e alla padrona: Umiliatevi, sedete per terra; imperocché la corona di vostra gloria vi cade di testa.Say to the king, and to her that ruleth: Be humbled, sitte downe: because the crowne of your glorie is come downe from your head.Dic regi et dominatrici: / Humiliamini, sedete, / quoniam descendit de capite vestro corona gloriæ vestræ. 19The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open them: all Juda is carried away captive with an entire captivity.Le città di mezzodì sono chiuse, e non v'ha chi le apra: tutta la tribù di Giuda è stata condotta via nella generale trasmigrazione.The cities of the South are shut, and there is none that may open them: al Iuda is transported with a perfect transmigration.Civitates austri clausæ sunt, / et non est qui aperiat: / translata est omnis Juda transmigratione perfecta. 20Lift up your eyes, and see, you that come from the north: where is the flock that is given thee, thy beautiful cattle?Alzate gli occhi vostri, e mirate voi, che venite dalla parte di settentrione: Dov'è quel gregge, che a te fu dato, le insigni tue pecorelle?Lift vp your eies, and see you, that come from the North: where is the flocke that is geuen thee, thy noble cattel?Levate oculos vestros et videte, / qui venitis ab aquilone: / ubi est grex qui datus est tibi, / pecus inclytum tuum ? 21What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee? for thou hast taught them against thee, and instructed them against thy own head: shall not sorrows lay hold on thee, as a woman in labour?Che dirai tu quando Dio ti visiterà? Imperocché tu ad essi fosti maestro contro di te, e li istruisti per tua rovina. Non ti prenderann' eglino dolori simili a quegli d'una donna di parto?what wilt thou say when he shal visite thee? for thou hast taught them against thee, and instructed them against thyne owne head: shal not sorowes apprehend thee, as a woman in trauel?Quid dices cum visitaverit te ? / tu enim docuisti eos adversum te, / et erudisti in caput tuum. / Numquid non dolores apprehendent te, / quasi mulierem parturientem ?
22And if thou shalt say in thy heart: Why are these things come upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity, thy nakedness is discovered, the soles of thy feet are defiled.Che se tu dirai in cuor tuo: Perchè mai sono avvenute a me tali cose? Per la moltitudine di tue iniquità sono state scoperte le parti tue più vergognose, e contaminati i tuoi piedi.And if thou shalt say in thy hart: Why are these thinges come vnto me? For the multitude of thine iniquitie, thy more shamelie partes are discouered, the soles of thy feete are polluted.Quod si dixeris in corde tuo: Quare venerunt mihi hæc ? / propter multitudinem iniquitatis tuæ / revelata sunt verecundiora tua, / pollutæ sunt plantæ tuæ. 23If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots: you also may do well, when you have learned evil.Se può l'Etiope mutar sua pelle, o il pardo la varietà delle sue macchie; potrete voi pure far bene, essendo avvezzi al male.If the Aethiopian can change his skinne, or the leopard his spottes: you also can doe wel, when you haue learned euil.Si mutare potest Æthiops pellem suam, / aut pardus varietates suas, / et vos poteritis benefacere, / cum didiceritis malum. 24And I will scatter them as stubble, which is carried away by the wind in the desert.Io li dispergerò come paglia, cui il vento porta via nel deserto.And I wil scatter them as stubble, which is violently taken with the winde in the desert.Et disseminabo eos quasi stipulam / quæ vento raptatur in deserto. 25This is thy lot, and the portion of thy measure from me, saith the Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and hast trusted in falsehood.Questa è la sorte tua, e la porzione, ch'io ti ho misurata, dice il Signore, perchè ti se' scordata di me, e ti se' affidata alla menzogna.This is thy lot, and portion of thy measure from me, saith our Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and hast trusted in lying.Hæc sors tua, / parsque mensuræ tuæ a me, dicit Dominus, / quia oblita es mei, / et confisa es in mendacio. 26Wherefore I have also bared thy thighs against thy face, and thy shame hath appeared.Per la qual cosa io pure ho scoperti i tuoi fianchi sugli occhi tuoi, e si è veduta la tua ignominia,Wherefore I haue also made bare thy thighes against thy face, and thine ignominie hath appeared,Unde et ego nudavi femora tua contra faciem tuam, / et apparuit ignominia tua: 27I have seen thy adulteries, and thy neighing, the wickedness of thy fornication: and thy abominations, upon the hills in the field. Woe to thee, Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me: how long yet?I tuoi adulterj, la furiosa libidine, e l'empietà di tua fornicazione: sopra dei colli, nella campagna io vidi le tue abbominazioni: guai a te, o Gerusalemme! Non ti monderai tu venendo dietro a me? Fino a quando ancora?thine adulteries, and thy neying the wickednesse of thy fornication: vpon the litle hilles in the field I haue seene thine abominations. Woe to thee Ierusalem, thou wilt not be made cleane after me: how long yet?adulteria tua, et hinnitus tuus, / scelus fornicationis tuæ: / super colles in agro vidi abominationes tuas. / Væ tibi, Jerusalem ! / non mundaberis post me: usquequo adhuc ?
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Calmet
It denoted the Jews, who became more corrupt during the captivity; (ver. 7, 11.) so that God delivered them out of his pure mercy. Thus He explains this prophetical action. (Calmet)
Menochius
Loins. God cherished his people. (Menochius)
St. Jerome
Water. He made choice of them when they were rough and deformed. (St. Jerome)
Haydock
Their sins cause their ruin. (Haydock)
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Calmet
Euphrates, above 150 leagues distant. Some think this was only to be done in spirit: but it is generally supposed that the prophet made this long journey twice. Bochart suggests that Euphrates (Hebrew Peratha) may be put for Ephrata, or Bethlehem, as the first syllable is often cut off. (Calmet)
Haydock
Yet a journey to the Euphrates would represent more strikingly the destination of the people; and it would not be difficult for God to convey Jeremias thither in a short time, if requisite, as he sent Habacuc through the air to carry a dinner to Daniel; (xiv. 32.) though this supposition is not here necessary, as the labour to which Jeremias was repeatedly exposed, might shew the people their manifold transgressions and captivities. (Haydock)
Worthington
Such prophetic actions make a deeper impression than words, Hebrews 1:The ingratitude of the people is here described, to Jeremias 21. (Worthington)
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Menochius
Rot. I will bring them low. (Menochius)
They shall see that all their dependance must be on the divine mercy.
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Glory; that they might serve me for the edification of the world.
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Calmet
Bottle, of earthen ware, Jeremias 25:27. (Calmet)
Haydock
Every man shall suffer, ver. 13. (Haydock)
Worthington
This is another prophetical similitude denoting extreme perplexity. (Worthington)
Menochius
Do. They deride the prophet, as if he said nothing worthy of notice. (Menochius)
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Dark. John 12:35.
Mountains, beyond the Euphrates, resembling clouds.
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Calmet
My soul. Jeremias can do no more. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "your soul,...your eyes," etc. (Haydock)
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Calmet
Queen; Nohesta, mother of Joachim, or to the consort of Sedecias. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "to the princes." (Haydock)
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South, belonging to Juda; (Calmet) or Egypt will afford no protection. (Tournemine) (Chap. 37:3, 10.)
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Haydock
North: ye Chaldeans. (Haydock)
Hebrew and Septuagint, "see those who come."
Calmet
Cattle. O king, what account wilt thou give of the people to the Almighty? (Calmet)
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Head. Achaz called the Assyrians into the country, and Ezechias had shewn his treasures to the Babylonians. Other kings excited God's indignation.
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Defiled. Thou art exposed to the brutality of the soldiers.
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Calmet
Evil. Bad habits are a sort of second nature. I speak in vain. (Calmet)
Worthington
Yet God sometimes converts inveterate sinners, who cannot rise of themselves. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Appeared. Thou art treated as a wretched and vile captive. (Haydock)
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Menochius
Me; to serve me. (Menochius)
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Prophecies vttered in factes haue more force to perswade, then only wordes. And therfore the Prophetes by Gods commandment vse both these wayes. Heb. 1.
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An other prophetical similitude to signifie that the Iewes shal be perplexe, not knowing what to do in extreme disstresse: as sensles men ouercome with much wine.
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•am. 1.
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Custome is as it were an other nature, hard to be altered: yet Gods grace raiseth some inueterate sinners to true repentance, but this is rare And of them selues without grace no sinners can rise nor repent.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 3
… xlix. 15 .) and again, “Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?” ( Isa. xlv. 9 .) and in Hosea, He represents a husband set at nought by his wife. ( Hos. ii. 5 , f) This use of human examples frequently occurs in types also, as when the prophet takes the girdle, (
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 7.3
… whilst I, still lying in the sepulchre of my sins and bound with the chains of my iniquities, wait for the Lord’s command in the Gospel: “Jerome, come forth.” But Bonosus has done more than this. Like the prophet
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 40.1
… Yet such is the order of nature. While truth is always bitter, pleasantness waits upon evil-doing. Isaiah goes naked without blushing as a type of captivity to come. Jeremiah is sent from Jerusalem to the Euphrates (a river in Mesopotamia), and leaves his girdle to be marred in the Chaldæan camp, among the Assyrians hostile to his people.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 30
Seest thou His illustrations, how like the Old Testament? the garment? the wine skins? For Jeremiah too calls the people “a girdle,” and makes mention again of “bottles” and of “wine.”
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St Methodius † AD 311 Concerning Free-Will 1
… For man did not receive such a nature as this. For if it were the case that his nature was such, this would not have come upon him by teaching. Now one says in Holy Writ, that “man has learnt (evil).”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 7
… but I know that the contentious among Christ’s foes will not be disposed to change even after hearing this, but will ever search about for other pretences, and for others again after those. For as the Prophet speaks, ‘If the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots
St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith 3.2
He made disciples and taught, and out of black men he made men white.
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 130
… Afterwards he came to Cilicia, and, on meeting with a certain Gelasius, showed him the creed which only an Arian, or a thorough disciple of Arius, could subscribe. Then, indeed, I was yet more confirmed in my alienation from him. I felt that the Ethiopian will never change his skin, nor the leopard his spots,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
… For to those who are like wild beasts true and sound discourses are stones. If he be a leopard let him die with his spots.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 68
… as when a man saith, “I cannot love this or that person,” calling the force of his will, power. And again, “this or that person cannot be a good man.” And what saith the Prophet? “If the Ethiopian shall change his skin, or the leopard his spots, this people also shall be able to do good, having learned evil.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 53.8
… The first of them seems to compose not a prophecy but a gospel. The second speaks of a rod of an almond tree and of a seething pot with its face toward the north, and of a leopard which has changed its spots.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 69.6
… By the reading of the prophet the eunuch of Candace the queen of Ethiopia is made ready for the baptism of Christ. Though it is against nature the Ethiopian does change his skin and the leopard his spots.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 97.2
… And why do you rail at the lives of men whose faith you cannot resist? Do you cease to be heretics because according to you sundry persons believe us to be sinners? And does impiety cease to disfigure your lips because you can point to scars on our ears? So long as you have a leopard’s spots and an Ethiopian’s skin,
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.11
11. Then immediately quickening her pace she began to move along the old road which leads to Gaza, that is to the ‘power’ or ‘wealth’ of God, silently meditating on that type of the Gentiles, the Ethiopian eunuch, who in spite of the prophet changed his skin
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 2
xiii. 23 . Can the Ethiopian change his skin?
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.6
… Yes, she of whom the prophetic utterance once sang, “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in a vesture of gold wrought about with divers colours,” shall be made naked, and her skirts shall be discovered upon her face.
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1. POSSESS. — Chaldean, buy; for the Hebrew קנה kana signifies both; for the end and terminus of purchase is the possession of the thing bought. A LINEN GIRDLE, — that is a belt, or girdle of linen by which the loins are girded. Thus the Septuagint and Vatablus. And he wishes it to be linen, not woolen, not leather, so that it might indicate it is not to be put on over a garment, but over the flesh: for what we wish to be most closely joined to us and most carefully preserved, we gird about the loins: just as travelers gird money sewn into a linen belt around the loins, says Maldonatus. Whence the Syriac and Arabic versions translate it as a cloth, a veil, a linen cloth; and bind it upon thy loins, or upon thy back. Note first: The girdle or "linen girdle" which is joined to God's loins, St. Jerome and Jeremiah say, verse 11, is Israel, who in the likeness of linen was taken from the earth rough and unwashed, and had neither softness nor whiteness, that is nothing lovable, on account of which he would be chosen by God as a people of God; but by God's grace alone he adhered to God and was most closely joined to him: and when he became soiled by use and dust, that is when he sinned, God rejected him on account of his sins and buried him in a hole by the bank of the Euphrates, that is he led him captive into Babylon, and there exposed him to the fury of the Chaldeans. For Babylon is adjacent to the Euphrates and Tigris, and there the girdle is hidden by Jeremiah, because Israel there captive, almost absorbed by the magnitude of so many nations, and was accounted as nothing. Fifth, mystically every saint is a "girdle" of God; but when he sins, he is led into the Babylonians, that is into the kingdom of the demon, and if he persists in vices, he so rots that he cannot return to the use and girdle of the Lord. Thus St. Jerome. Whence Note second: With Pierius, Hieroglyphics 40 (where in a special paragraph he explains this girdle of Jeremiah in a wonderful symbolic way), the zone was a symbol of virginity, both among the Greeks and Latins, as among the Hebrews. Hence Pausanias teaches that the virgin maidens of Troezen dedicated a zone to Pallas before marriage: thus the first women in childbirth at Athens dedicated to Diana Solvizonia a zone, as if already loosed through matrimony: witness is Apollonius in the Argonautica, and Ovid when he sings: And chaste, girt with a deceptive zone by hand. Hence formerly and even now priests in sacred rites use a linen girdle, so that they may be reminded, says Cyril, to restrain the luxury of flowing lust and the desires of the mind with the girdle of chastity and temperance. Second, the zone was a symbol of fortitude: for it is the habit of a soldier and gladiator. Hence third, the zone was a symbol of glory and pride, especially if the zones were distinguished with golden and jeweled studs, which are called baltei, as if bullated, says Pierius. Whence verse 9: "Thus will I cause to rot, says the Lord, the pride of Judah," just as this girdle of yours rotted. Fourth, the zone, says St. Hilary, is effective for all good preparation, so that we may be girded with the girdle of willing readiness for every ministry of Christ: for those who are girded are more expeditious for work, firmer and more constant. See the sayings at Ephesians vi, 14. All these things are fitting for Israel and for any faithful soul, which ought to be girded with all this zone, so that it may adhere inseparably to God. Note third: In like manner linen was hieroglyphic of the purity of life, of Israel and of a faithful soul: hence the Egyptians in the sacred rites of Isis and Osiris used only linen garments, and it was unlawful to use woolen. Thus from Tertullian, Plutarch, Herodian, Martial, Pierius. Hear Martial: The linen-clad flee, bald ones, and the sistrum-bearing crowd, When Hermogenes stood among those adoring. Second, this linen must be carded and often bleached with the caustic lye of penance and austere life, lest it rot. Second, St. Thomas adds, "the girdle," which adheres to the loins, in which is the first origin of concupiscence and seed, signifies the people assumed into the love of God, Hosea xi, 4, and this verse 1. Again, "the girdle" signifies chastity and conjugal love: hence he says verse 11: "As the girdle adheres to the loins of a man, so have I glued," that is joined in marriage, "to myself all the house of Israel." Thus Prado in chapter xvi of Ezekiel, page 187. Third, after much time Jeremiah reports "the girdle," but rotten; thus God delivers the people from the captivity of Babylon, in which they had almost rotted equally with filth as with sins: after the return they again offended God, and finally killed Christ, and wasted away in eternal perdition. Thus St. Jerome. Fourth, it appears that Jeremiah actually did these things as he narrates, according to Theodoret, Hugo, St. Thomas, Dionysius, Maldonatus, Castrius, Sanchez, and the chief of the Hebrews: for his simple narrative demands this: for the Prophets were given as a portent to Israel. Thus Isaiah, chapter xx, walked naked. Thus Ezekiel, chapter iv, verses 12 and 15, was commanded to eat human dung: but deprecating this, in his stead by God's permission he ate cow dung, so that he might thus prefigure the hunger and hardships of the Babylonian captivity. Although some, such as Vatable, Lyran and St. Jerome, Preface to Hosea, wish these to be only a vision, or that these things were seen and done by Jeremiah in spirit, not however actually accomplished in fact. Third, linen is a symbol of fate or decree and the providence of God, which the poets call the threads and warp of the Fates; for Clotho spins the distaff, Lachesis weaves, and Atropos cuts: thus they decay or are cut down, when the web of human life and happiness is cut down by God; as it was cut down by God in Israel. Tropologically, beautifully Origen and St. Jerome: Just as, he says, linen is born from the earth, sprouts, grows, is measured, combed, washed, rubbed, beaten, carded and worked with great effort, spun, woven, so that from it linen and a white and splendid girdle may be made: thus God the Jews and us Christians, especially Ecclesiastics and Religious, from our generation and corrupt nature equally as from evil institution, or the habit of sinning earthly, black, rude and rough in morals and vices, by his works, care and grace softened and polished, and perfected, so that we are woven as it were into God's girdle, and most closely joined to him, and from thence we obtain his name, praise and glory: for if we are separated from him, and are soaked in the Euphrates of delights, the moisture of pleasure and lust, we shall rot, says Peter Damian, epistle 10 to Peter the Cardinal, and as it were putrid we shall be cast away by Christ, and as it were reduced to nothing, as happened to Solomon, David and Israel. I have said more about this symbol of linen in Exodus xxviii, 38, at the end. Again, piously and aptly St. Jerome to Chromatius, epistle 43: "I," he says, "lying in the filth of my crimes, and bound with the chains of sins, await the Lord's cry from the Gospel: Lazarus, come forth. Bonosus (because according to the Prophet all the power of the devil is in the loins) carried his loincloth as far as the Euphrates, where hiding it in a cleft of rock, and afterwards finding it torn he sang: O Lord, thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast broken my bonds; to thee will I offer the sacrifice of praise. But me Nebuchadnezzar led chained to Babylon, that is to the confusion of my mind, there he imposed upon me the yoke of captivity. Therefore I said: The Lord looseth them that are fettered, the Lord enlighteneth the blind. And that I may briefly end the comparison I have begun: I come begging pardon, he awaits a crown." Allegorically, Christ as Priest assumed a linen tunic, in which was depicted the whole people of Israel, and Christian; a tunic, I say, of our flesh, and it, and in it all of us most closely he joined to himself and inseparably by the girdle of hypostatic union, to himself, I say, that is to his divine loins, where is the seat of love, namely by his most ardent love and affection he bound us. This is the golden girdle, with which I saw him girt about the breasts, John, Apocalypse i, 13. THOU SHALT NOT BRING IT INTO WATER,—lest it appear to have contracted a stain and moisture and rotted, but for another reason, says Lyran. Better Vatable understands by water lye, by which filth is washed from linen, as if to say: Thou shalt not wash the filthy loincloth with lye, so that you may signify that the filth and sins of the people have not been washed away and expiated by penance. Most excellently St. Jerome explains: "Thou shalt not bring it into water," that is thou shalt not soak newly woven linen in water, so that by that means thou mayest whiten and polish it; but leave it rough, harsh and dark, as it was born and woven, so that you may signify that the Jewish people, newly born, was then assumed by God into the Church, when it was rude and unpolished, taught and exercised more in mud and bricks of Egypt in forming, than in the worship of God and good morals, as I said a little before.
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9. THUS WILL I CAUSE THE PRIDE OF JUDA TO ROT.—"Pride," that is glory, magnificence, and, as the Chaldean translates, strength. Second, "pride," that is arrogance. Whence the Septuagint translates, ὕβριν, that is injury. Therefore God here restrains the presumption and pride of his people, while like a rotten loincloth, which is more worthy of a dunghill than a wardrobe, he makes it waste away and rot in Babylon, so that as it were dung it may be trampled by the Chaldeans, according to that in Lamentations iv, 5: "They that were brought up in scarlet have embraced dung."
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11. THAT THEY MAY BE TO ME A PEOPLE, AND A NAME, AND A PRAISE, AND A GLORY, — namely that Israel might be a people named, praised and glorious among all nations. Thus Jerome, Theodoret and Rabanus. For just as a wife is the glory of her husband, so Israel obedient and serving God was the glory of God, and made the name and praise of God celebrated among the nations, say Hugh and Dionysius. Add "a name," because in the name Israel is included and heard the name אל el, that is God: whenever therefore Israel, then El, that is God, was named and celebrated. For El signifies God, as strong and unconquered.
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12. EVERY BOTTLE SHALL BE FILLED WITH WINE. — "Bottle," in Hebrew נכל nebel, that is, as the Chaldean [version has it], a skin; Symmachus, a bowl; Theodotion, a vessel, namely an earthen jug, a clay water-pot. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugh, Lyran, as if to say: Just as a bottle is filled with wine, so I will fill you with drunkenness not of honors and pleasures, as you think, O Jews, but of evils and sorrows. Second, a bottle of wine is a measure of the fury and vengeance which God will give to drink and with which he will make you drunk; the bottle therefore are the Jews themselves, who receive the wine of God's fury. Again, properly and aptly he calls a bottle the head of each Jew; for the head is like a jug: but wine he calls the blindness of mind and lack of counsel in adverse matters. It signifies therefore that when the Chaldeans come, all will be seized with such great terror that, as if drunk and mad, they will wander hither and thither, indeed they will run into the very enemies, fires and precipices. Thus Maldonatus. Third, because, just as a shattered bottle is scattered, so you are scattered. It is clear from verses 13 and 14.
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13. I WILL FILL ALL, etc., WITH DRUNKENNESS, — that is with the greatest tribulation and servitude of the Chaldeans, so that just as a drunkard has no strength to resist, nor counsel, nor use of reason, nor is ruled by his mind but by wine: so also the Jews, as if drunk, shall have neither strength nor counsel to resist the Chaldeans; nor shall they be driven by their own mind, but shall be agitated, impelled and thrust by the command of the Chaldeans into prisons and into Babylon. Thus the Chaldean [version], Origen and Theodoret. Isaiah writes something similar concerning the Egyptians, chapter xix, verse 14, saying: "The Lord hath mingled in the midst thereof the spirit of giddiness: and they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, as a drunkard reeleth and vomiteth;" and concerning Jerusalem, chapter li, verse 21: "Therefore hear this, thou poor one, and drunk, but not with wine." See the same chapter xxix, verse 9. PROPHETS, — false prophets.
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14. I WILL SCATTER THEM. — The Hebrew [reads], I will shatter them, as an earthen bottle shattered against a stone bursts into fragments and is scattered; so the people of the Jews shattered against the Chaldeans, and pressed together by one another in pain and anguish, as if burst into fragments, so that wife [is separated] into one [place], son into another, brother into another city and region is scattered. Thus the Chaldean [version] and Vatablus. Origin gives here, homily 9, the causes why God thus scatters the wicked from one another, namely he says he does this, first, for the increase of punishment, lest they have companions in punishment and comfort one another. Second, so that their wicked thought may be dissolved, when it shall not have the conversation of another more wicked [person], and thus they themselves from their former crimes, by that very solitude and lack of companionship, may be recalled. A MAN FROM HIS BROTHER, — that is each one from his neighbor. I will not spare, — I will not indulge: The Septuagint, reading אחכור echmol as אחכור echmod, translate, οὐκ ἐμποδισθήσομαι, I will not desire, that is I will not be hindered by love and desire of anyone, so as not to allow you to depart and be scattered.
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15. Be not lifted up — with pride, so as to trust proudly in your strength: but
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16. GIVE GLORY TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, — so that you may acknowledge both your weakness and your iniquity, and humbly seek and hope for aid from God alone against the Chaldeans: for humility gives the greatest glory to God, for God is honored by the humble, Ecclesiasticus 20. Hence secondly, "give glory to God," that is, let you repent of your crimes and of the violated divinity, retract your most wicked deeds, change your life. For when the penitent does this, he repairs the injury inflicted upon God, and restores to Him the glory that was taken away. Thus in 1 Kings vi, 4, when the Philistines, struck by plagues on account of the captured ark, and having become penitent, thought about the restoration of the ark and the expiation of the injury done to God, and said: "What is it that we ought to render to Him for the offense?" The priests answered: "You shall make five golden mice, and five golden rats, etc., and you shall give glory to the God of Israel," that is to say, Thus you shall restore His glory to God. Thirdly, Sanchez aptly judges that verse 11 is referred to here: "That they may be to Me for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory," that is to say, Give glory to God, and strive to adorn His name: for to this He has called you, and has chosen you for Himself. Therefore render to God that to which His so singular and exalted calling and election compels you. Glorify God, by believing in Him, hoping in Him, loving Him, fearing Him, invoking Him, not idols. Otherwise this phrase is understood in Joshua vii, 19, and John ix, 24; for there to give glory to God is to confess and speak the truth. For he who does this glorifies God in a wonderful way, Who is the first and uncreated truth, and the cause, guardian and avenger of all truth. BEFORE IT GROW DARK. — In Hebrew יחשיך iachasich, that is, before God causes it to grow dark; before He brings darkness upon you, that is, calamities. BEFORE YOUR FEET STUMBLE UPON THE DARK MOUNTAINS, — namely, of the Chaldeans, into which you will be led captive, which both on account of the neighboring marshes exhaling misty vapors, and on account of their height, and on account of the magnitude of your calamity and confusion, will appear dark to you, and in truth mystically are Babel, that is, are the confusion of sins and idolatry, and therefore are dark. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo and St. Thomas. Thus in Isaiah xiii, 2, it is said of Babylon: "Lift up a standard upon the dark mountain." See the remarks there. Sanchez adds that Babylon is called a dark mountain, because it was captured by Cyrus at night and in a public banquet, when darkness was no less spread over the city by night than over the minds of the citizens by disturbance and drunkenness. But the matter here is not about the destruction, but about the victory and triumph of Babylon, which it achieved over the abducted Jews and other nations: then indeed all things were bright and joyful to Babylon, not dark and sad. Secondly, Lyra and Dionysius understand by these mountains the aid of the Egyptians, which the Jews, besieged by the Chaldeans, vainly expected, and therefore stumbled upon and fell in their hope for it as if upon it. But this is more obscure. Thirdly, Maldonatus says, "before your feet stumble," etc., that is, before you fugitives wander through the mountains, as in darkness, not knowing where to betake yourselves, or what counsel to take. For this reason he said "upon mountains," to signify their flight and exile. This sense, like the first, is apt and genuine. Fourthly, Theodoret, the Chaldean, Lyra and Vatablus also aptly understand these things by hyperbole, so that mountains of darkness, that is, the greatest darkness, signify the gravest calamities, as if dark mountains of tribulations were set before the captive Jews. Whence it follows: "You shall look for light," that is, for consolation, joy, and God will turn it into "the shadow of death," that is, into the deepest darkness, namely into misery, into the prison and captivity of Babylon. A similar phrase is in Ecclesiastes xii, 2. Tropologically, before the day of death and judgment, lest our feet stumble upon the dark mountains, that is, upon adverse powers, namely demons, who are set over torments and infernal tortures, let us do penance here, says St. Jerome; for then no one will give prayer, praise and glory to God, says Origen. For those who put off penance until the time of death, as if about to begin the way of salvation then, do just as those who are destined to travel at night through dark, doubtful, steep, rough places in darkness, and surrounded by robbers. See Ecclesiastes chapter xii. Truly St. Augustine in Sentences, no. 195: "Just as the earth expects rain and light from heaven, so man ought to expect mercy and truth from God." AND HE SHALL PLACE HER IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH. — The shadow of death here and elsewhere is opposed to light. It signifies therefore the densest darkness: for such are the darkness of the sepulchre and of hell, to which death leads man. Where note first: Properly the shadow of death is darkness and a horrible place, or the horror of death and hell: for these accompany death and hell, as a shadow accompanies its body. Whence in Luke i, 79, it is said to the Precursor of Christ the Baptist: "To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death;" namely that he might enlighten sinners sitting in the darkness of sin, and the just sitting in the dark limbo of the Fathers. Indeed Virgil also, in book xii of the Aeneid, sings thus of the same: "Upon him hard rest weighs down his eyes and iron sleep; his eyes are closed in eternal night." Note secondly: By this shadow of death, or by these darkness, is signified the most sorrowful appearance of things, extreme misery, and the time of captivity, imprisonment, infirmity, death and damnation; for nothing is sadder than the shadowy sepulchres of the dead: and on the contrary light, because it is most pleasing, is a symbol of happiness. Again, the shadow of death signifies imminent dangers, and thence the anguish of death, because shadow is near to the body: thus it is understood in Psalm xxii, 4. Thirdly, it signifies long oblivion; whence St. Gregory, in the fourth book of the Morals, book xx: "To sit in the shadow of death," he says, "is to lurk in oblivion from the knowledge of divine love." For God is life and light, which is very far from the shadow of death. Fourthly, the shadow of death is ignorance of God and salvation. Tropologically, in all these ways sin is and is called the shadow of death. First, because it is the source and cause of all misery. Secondly, because sin rules in the death of the soul and in hell as in its own kingdom. Thirdly, because as shadow is near to the body, so sin is near to death and damnation. Fourthly, because it is most dangerous. Fifthly, because it most greatly anguishes and torments the conscience. Sixthly, because it brings about oblivion of God, and conversely causes the sinner to be given over to oblivion by God. Thus St. Jerome in Isaiah ix. Finally, the ancient saints represented the shadow of death through a horrible and squalid place destined for penance, which was called a prison, in which penitents willingly expiated their sins: first, by the horror of the place; secondly, by afflicting their members with chains, hairclothes, thorns and other means. For some lay continually prostrate on the ground. Others always stood bent over. Others always bent their knees, etc. Thirdly, by continual fasting: for they ate only once a day, and that only bread and water: others ate once every two days, others every three days, others every four days. Fourthly, by continual tears and sighs, which would have softened even an iron breast. John Climacus relates these things, grade 5 On Penance. Where now is this ardor of penitents? Where is this deep knowledge and horror of sin? It has vanished from the world: it has migrated to the shadow of death in hell, where sinners now do penance, but late and eternal.
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17. IF YOU WILL NOT HEAR THIS, MY SOUL SHALL WEEP IN SECRET. — These are the words of the Prophet, as if to say: If you reject me admonishing you, I shall withdraw to a hidden place, where I may freely weep without any interrupter your pride and stubbornness, or rather the proud coming of the Chaldeans, by whom, as follows, the people of the Lord were led away. Thus the Chaldean. But the Septuagint translates otherwise, your soul shall weep in secret, namely because you will not dare to weep openly before the Chaldeans.
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18. SAY TO THE KING AND TO THE QUEEN (say to Jeconiah and to his mother Neheshta: for he threatens the same to these, cap. xxii, vers. 26. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo, St. Thomas, Vatablus, or rather, as Lyran, Dionysius and Castrius, say to Sedekiah and to his mother; or more, as the Chaldean, to his wife): BE HUMBLED, — that is, you shall be humbled; for under Sedekiah completely and perfectly, as the following verse says, the city and all Judea were humbled and laid waste. THE CROWN IS FALLEN FROM YOUR HEAD, — the royal crown, because the kingdom shall be taken from you by the Chaldeans. This sense is plain and genuine. Otherwise Sanchez brings two subtle and symbolic explanations. The first is: "Say to the king and to the queen," that is, say to all refined and delicate men equally as to the powerful, in whatever rank they are (for these are sometimes called kings by catachresis, moreover also queens: for by both genders joined together is signified the multitude and universality of persons), that their power and delights shall fall, and the crowns from their head, with which they are accustomed to crown themselves at festivals, games and banquets: indicate therefore to them instead of a crown of glory servitude and bonds, instead of festive days famine, instead of music lamentation and groaning. The second, as if to say: Say the same to any bride and bridegroom. For these are accustomed to be called kings and queens at weddings, and to wear crowns on their head.
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19. THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH (the cities of Judah, which is to the south with respect to Chaldea, or rather the cities of the tribes of Judah and Jerusalem, which were to the south with respect to the other tribes) ARE SHUT UP, — that is, they are desolate, uninhabited, all the citizens have been led away by the Chaldeans. For houses which are not inhabited are accustomed always to be shut up. Thus St. Jerome. For the same reason Lycurgus commanded the Spartans not to wage war often and for a long time with the same enemies, lest namely by fighting they should teach them to handle arms, and thus finally the Spartans should be overcome. Whence Antalcidas said to King Agesilaus by way of sarcasm: "You bring back a fine reward from the Thebans, whom by harassing unwillingly and unknowingly continually, you have taught to fight;" for the Thebans were never more warlike than when the Lacedaemonians harassed them. The same principle even now has and observes the Turk: hence when some province is captured it rests, and after some years he invades and subjugates neighboring peoples torpid and unwarlike from security and idleness. It is remarkable that Christian princes do not notice this, nor take steps to consult for themselves, since in a short time they will be invaded separately by him and subjugated, unless with united forces they conspire against him and wage war with him. The demon observes the same: for when he tempts someone to a vice to which he is inclined by nature or custom; if that person resists strongly and steadfastly, he abandons the temptation and defers it to another time; so that then he may assail and overthrow him when he is off guard and already weakening and growing soft. Thus tropologically, the wicked foster their vices by repeated acts of them as it were their enemies, and accustom them as it were leaders against themselves, so that afterwards they cannot overcome them.
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20. SEE YOU THAT COME FROM THE NORTH (namely you, O Jews, who are northerners with respect to Jerusalem, see the desolation of Judah, and say to Judah and Jerusalem): WHERE IS THE FLOCK (that is, the people) THAT WAS GIVEN TO THEE? — What has become of that innumerable people whom the Lord had multiplied in you? Where has it gone? Where has it vanished? Secondly, some read, who come, or, as it is in Hebrew, coming, namely the enemies the Chaldeans; see, O Judah and Jews, and whither your flock, that is, your people, is to be led away. Thus the Septuagint, St. Jerome, the Chaldean, Theodoret, Rabanus, Hugo, St. Thomas, Lyran and Vatablus.
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21. WHEN HE SHALL VISIT (when he shall punish) THEE — God. FOR THOU HAST TAUGHT THEM AGAINST THEE. — Because you provoked them to your destruction, first by showing them your treasures, as Hezekiah did, say Hugo, St. Thomas, Lyran, Vatablus. Secondly, by excessive familiarity and commerce which you had with the Chaldeans, say St. Jerome and Rabanus. For by these you taught them the way by which they could come to you. Thirdly and properly, when under Achaz and other kings, you called in the Chaldeans and Assyrians to aid against the Syrians and Egyptians, then you exercised them in the art of war, so that they became valiant leaders against you. Thus Theodoret and a Castro.
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22. THY SHAME IS REVEALED — thy shameful parts, that is to say, thou hast fallen into the utmost ignominy, when the Chaldeans violated thee and laid thee waste publicly, like an honest matron who is deeply ashamed when she is violated or exposed naked. Moreover, how shameful it is for women to be stripped naked is evident both from Isaiah chapter 3, verse 17, where he threatens them with nakedness as a most grievous punishment, and from what Plutarch relates in his book On the Virtues of Women: "The Milesian virgins," he says, "were once seized by a terrible disturbance of mind, and a furious impulse drove them to end their lives by hanging: and many of them achieved what they desired. The words and tears of their parents availed nothing, but they surpassed everyone's vigilance and cunning in killing themselves. Until a certain prudent man promulgated a law, which commanded that all who had hanged themselves should be carried naked through the forum. This law entirely abolished that desire for death: for fear of shame overcame the desire for death." This happens tropologically when God allows man to fall into foul lusts on account of sins, Romans 1, 24. THY FEET ARE POLLUTED. — Because namely the Chaldeans, having forcibly removed thy shoes and boots, stripped thy heels naked, as the Hebrew has it, and thus violated and despoiled thee, and afflicted thee with public punishment and ignominy, and compelled thee to go to Babylon with naked feet; so that it might be clear that thou wast a most impure harlot, and that thou didst commit shameful crimes, for which thou art punished with so grave and public an ignominy. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo, St. Thomas. This is what Isaiah says, chapter 47, verse 2: "Take the millstone, and grind meal: uncover thy shame, discover thy shoulder, make bare thy legs, pass over the rivers." Tropologically, Dionysius the Carthusian: when congregations and cloisters once devoted and holy fall away from their former purity, so that the Holy Spirit does not enter into them, nor are they open to heavenly visitations, and there is none to open them except God almighty. For, as St. Thomas notes, the Holy Spirit is called the South Wind: "First on account of heat. Job 37: Are not thy garments warm, when the earth is calm by the south wind? Second, on account of splendor. Habakkuk 3: God will come from the south, and the holy one from mount Pharan: his glory covered the heavens. Third, on account of flight and elevation of mind. Job 39: Dost thou know when the wild goats bring forth, or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Fourth, on account of the multiplication of rains. Psalm 125: Convert our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south. Fifth, on account of the fructification of trees. Canticles 4: Come, thou south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow." ALL JUDAH IS CARRIED AWAY (now shall be carried away) (every nation and tribe).
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23. IF THE ETHIOPIAN CAN CHANGE HIS SKIN, OR THE LEOPARD HIS SPOTS (marks) — that is to say, As this is impossible by nature; so that is very difficult, because your, says St. Jerome, O Judah, habit of sinning has been as it were turned into nature: not that it is altogether impossible for you to act well, but that it is difficult; for in this alone is the likeness, not in the former: because blackness in the Ethiopian and variety in the leopard is natural, and therefore unchangeable; but sin in man is not natural, but voluntary and free: for freedom of choice always remains in man, even the most wicked, for good and evil. Thus Theodoret, Hugh and St. Thomas. For thus we commonly say: This man is hardened like stone, this man is dull as a log; for it is hyperbole. Nazianzen uses this adage, oration 1 against Julian the Apostate, and by it demonstrates that he could not long feign probity and clemency: "Because," he says, "nature did not permit that the leopard put off the marks of distinct spots, or the Ethiopian his dark color, or fire its heat, or the devil, from the beginning of the world, the murderer, his hatred of man, or Julian the dishonesty which stirred him against Christians." Similar is the saying of Antisthenes in Antonius in the Melissa, chapter xxxii: "It is difficult to transplant an old tree." And of Pindar, Olympiad ii: "The red fox and the roaring lions do not change their nature." Moreover, the leopard is noted by its varied spots with the variety of sinners and the inconstancy of mind, which now delights itself in this, now in that, and defiles itself. As therefore the blackness of the Ethiopian designates stubborn malice; so the variety of the leopard constant inconstancy in it. St. Basil adds, and from him Delrio, adage 841, that the hairs of the leopard are neither white nor black, but of mixed color, and therefore signify Religious, who, passing over to angelic dignity, are still stained by human disturbances: for these are neither white nor black; neither pious nor impious. Similarly St. Jerome and Rabanus: It is impossible, they say, absolutely, to change life without the grace of God; but this is true of every sinner; but here Jeremiah asserts it only of the obstinate, such as the Jews were, because for them it is most difficult to abandon and correct their ways. The sense therefore is, that is to say, Jerusalem obstinate in crime will no more put off impiety than the Ethiopian his skin's blackness; or in fact this unhappy Ethiopia retains its native foulness. Thus Diogenes the Cynic said: "To admonish an old man and to heal the dead are the same thing." Again, when he was reproving a wicked man, being asked what he was doing: "I am washing," he said, "an Ethiopian that I may make him white." Thus Antonius relates it in the Melissa, chapter xxxii. Morally, learn here how great is the force and efficacy of habit. St. Chrysostom said, with Antonio and Maximus as witnesses, sermon On Habit: "Nothing is so firm in human affairs as the tyranny of old habit." And this is the chain, these are the ropes by which the sinner is bound and constrained, which are difficult to loose, more difficult to break, says St. Bernard. Truly therefore it was said by one of the Saints: "An act of sin frequently repeated begets habit, habit begets a kind of necessity of acting, necessity begets impossibility (of resisting sin, understand morally, that is, great difficulty), impossibility begets despair, despair begets damnation." For rightly concerning necessity Lucius Florus said: "Most ancient of all things is God, greatest is place, swiftest is mind, strongest is necessity, wisest is time." Hear also St. Augustine, book VIII of the Confessions, chapter v, speaking of himself: "I sighed, bound not by iron of another, but by my iron will. My will held me, and from it had made for me a chain, and had constrained me. For from perverted will was made lust, and while lust is served, habit is made; and while habit is not resisted, necessity is made: by which as by certain links joined to themselves (whence I called it a chain) hard servitude held me bound. But a new will, which had begun to be in me that I might worship you freely, and wish to enjoy you, God alone certain joy, was not yet strong enough to overcome the former strengthened by age. Thus my two wills conflicted: one old, one new; one carnal, one spiritual fought against each other, and by their discord tore my soul apart." It is therefore of great importance to what you accustom yourself from tender years. Lycurgus, as Plutarch testifies, accustomed two puppies of the same mother, one to hunting, the other to gluttony; when they had grown, he brought them forth before the people; and when a hare was released, this one sat down as usual, that one pursued the hare and caught it. Then Lycurgus said: Do you see, citizens, how dissimilar training and habituation makes them dissimilar? and it is not nature, but exercise that forms us to virtue. Let no one, however, who is accustomed to sinning despair, knowing that habit can be overcome, first, through the grace of God, and its continuous and earnest imploration. Thus St. Augustine, accustomed to concubinage, overcame it through God's grace. Let the sinner accustomed to sin therefore say with him: "Lord, give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt;" and he will feel the same thing which he himself says of himself, in book IX of the Confessions: "How sweet it suddenly became to me to be without the sweetness of trifles, which I had feared to lose, now to lose them was a joy! For Thou didst cast them out from me, and in their place Thou didst enter, sweeter than all pleasure." Secondly, through a strong, constant and frequently repeated resolution of the mind, that it wishes to remove this habit: for through this the mind commands itself efficaciously, and the will subdues itself: for the will is in its own hand and power. To this end the constant reflection and particular examination is helpful. Truly Seneca, in book II of On Anger, chapter 12, says: "There is nothing so difficult and arduous that the human mind does not overcome it, and bring it into familiarity through constant meditation, nor are there affections so wild and self-willed that they are not tamed by discipline. Whatever the mind has commanded itself, it has obtained. Some have achieved never laughing. Some have abstained from wine, others from sexual relations, some have forbidden all moisture to their bodies. Others have learned to walk on ropes, to carry enormous burdens, to be submerged in the deep and not breathe." Thirdly, through the exercise of the contrary virtue: for habit is overcome by habit. St. Bernard encountered, as his Life relates, a certain Noble so accustomed to fornication that not even a single day passed without it, and he said he could in no way abstain. To him St. Bernard said: "I beseech you, for the sake of God abstain for three days," he agreed, and behold when three days were completed: "Now," he said, "in honor of the Mother of God do the same for as long," he did; then a third time St. Bernard said: "Once more I ask these respites in honor of all the Saints." He again agreed; until of his own accord drawing near to Bernard, he said: "I wish no longer to make daily, but perpetual truces with God." Thus habit is gradually and gently eradicated.
13:24
24. AND I WILL SCATTER (that is, disperse) THEM (into exile and captivity, as the wind scatters) STUBBLE — and chaff.
13:25
25. THIS IS THY LOT (inheritance), AND THE PORTION OF THY MEASURE. — For as a measurer of fields distributes to each what is owed to him by his measure, which is owed to him from the measure of his sin and guilt: and by this reasoning to thee, O Judah, he will now measure out the lot and measure of destruction and captivity. He had given thee of old a good lot among the other tribes in Chanaan, and had prepared a better one in heaven, if thou hadst stood in his worship, and law and covenants: but because thou didst despise these, now he will change thy lot, and in place of a kingdom will give servitude, in place of glory shame, in place of riches poverty, in place of delights hunger, in place of joy sorrow, in place of liberty imprisonment, in place of fatherland exile, in place of life hardship, squalor, wasting and death. This is the lot of sin and of the sinner. THOU HAST TRUSTED IN LIES, — in the false promises of false prophets and Egyptians; or, as Lyran and Hugh say, in idols, which are false and lying gods. Thirdly, the Chaldean [Targum], in lies, that is in sin. The second sense is best, as is evident from what follows. In a similar way those same impious ones say, in Isaiah xxviii, 15: "We have made a lie our hope and by a lie are we protected."
13:26
26. WHEREFORE I ALSO WILL UNCOVER THY THIGHS (wherefore I also will strip thee naked and captive like a harlot, and expose thee to the mockery of all. See the words of verse 22, and) AGAINST THY FACE, — that is, so that thou thyself seeing thyself naked mayest blush. The Chaldean translates: I will reveal the shame of thy sin. Note: God, when he punishes sins, is said to reveal the turpitude both of sins and of sinners. AND THY SHAME APPEARED, THY ADULTERIES, etc. — It is an apposition, for he calls shame itself the adulteries, and their punishment, namely the spoiling and captivity of the Jews. Moreover "adulteries, neighing, the crime of fornication," he calls idolatry: he therefore says:
13:27
27. AND THY NEIGHING, — as if to say, Just as a horse or rather a mare (for this more aptly signifies the people as it were a harlot) neighing, strives and rages for copulation, and solicits the stallion; so thou, O Judah, rageth for idolatry, and solicits and impels others to the same. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus and Hugo. ABOMINATIONS — idols. WOE TO THEE, JERUSALEM, THOU SHALT NOT BE CLEANSED (thou carest not to cleanse thyself from sins and idols) AFTER ME, — that is, following me and my worship. The Interpreter reads with the Septuagint אחרי acharai, that is after me; now they read אחרי achare, that is after, but with a sense very obscure and involved. HOW LONG YET? — namely, thou shalt be thus, or, shall I wait for thee to amend? how long shall I bear thee and restrain my wrath? as if to say, In vain do I wait, thou shalt not amend, unless by the gravest punishment of captivity and destruction; or, as St. Jerome, Theodoret and Rabanus, as if to say, In vain do I wait, thou hast hardened thyself in wickedness, thy correction is despaired of: therefore I shall utterly overthrow and cast thee away.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
13:1
Hic ostendit populi dignitatem ex divina adhaesione. Et dividitur in duas partes. In prima ponit similitudinem; in secunda similitudinis adaptationem, ibi, et factum est verbum domini ad me. Circa primum tria. Primo significatur populi assumptio ad divinam familiaritatem, ubi ponitur domini jussio: vade, ad litteram ad locum ubi talia venduntur: quia ipse Deus prior ad populum venit. 1 Joan. 4: non quasi nos dilexerimus Deum; sed quoniam ipse prior dilexit nos. Posside, a me, scilicet ut proprio jure possideas sicut dominus hereditatem. Isa. 19: hereditas autem mea Israel. Tibi, in usum tuum, sicut populus in gloriam Dei. Isa. 43: populum istum formavi mihi, laudem meam narrabit. Lumbare, quod lumbis adhaeret, in quibus concupiscentia amoris: sic est populus in amorem divinum assumptus. Oseae 11: in funiculis Adam traham eos, in vinculis caritatis. Lineum, quod rude de terra tollitur, sed cultu humano decoratur: sic ille populus cultu divino. Ezech. 16: transiens autem per te, vidi te conculcari in sanguine tuo et cetera. Et in aquam non inferes illud. Job 38: accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos: interrogabo te, responde mihi. Ubi eras quando ponebam fundamenta terrae? et cetera. Et quia per facta prophetarum, et non solum per verba divina mystice exprimuntur: unde dicitur Oseae 12: in manibus prophetarum assimilatus sum: ponitur etiam praecepti impletio, possedi; in quo notatur prophetae obedientia. Gen. 6: Noe vir justus atque perfectus fuit in generationibus suis, cum Deo ambulavit, et cetera.
13:3
Secundo significatur populi repulsio: et factus est sermo domini ad me secundo dicens. Tolle, a te; sic abjiciam populum a me: vade ad Euphratem, per quem significatur potentia Assyriorum et Chaldaeorum, per quos captivatus est populus. Isa. 8: adducet super eos dominus aquas fluminis fortes et multas, regem Assyriorum, et omnem gloriam ejus. Et ascendet super omnes rivos ejus, et fluet super universas ripas ejus, et ibit per Judam inundans, et transiens usque ad collum veniet. Absconde: sic populus, quasi aquis absconsus, absorbebitur: infra 51: absorbuit me, quasi draco replevit ventrem suum teneritudine mea, et ejecit me, in foramine, ne cum aqua defluat; in quo significatur quod de populo reliquiae futurae essent, et non totus periret. Supra 4: consummationem autem non faciam.
13:6
Tertio significatur populi reductio: ubi primo significatur ipsa reductio: et factum est post dies plurimos, ad significandum quod multis annis in captivitate erunt. Infra 29: cum coeperint impleri in Babylone septuaginta anni, visitabo vos, et suscitabo super vos verbum meum bonum, ut reducam vos ad locum istum. Tolle inde: sic ego reducam populum. Ezech. 36: tollam quippe vos de gentibus, et congregabo vos de universis terris, et adducam vos in terram vestram.
13:7
Secundo significatur populi dispositio: et ecce computruerat: sic populi potentia, et pulchritudo consumpta erat. Ezech. 15: numquid utile erit ad opus? Etiam cum esset integrum non erat aptum ad opus, quanto magis cum illud ignis devoraverit, et combusserit, nihil ex eo fiet operis?
13:9
Hic ponitur similitudinis adaptatio: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo adaptat similitudinem quantum ad poenam: sic putrescere faciam, ut omnis vigor, et decor pertranseat. Joel. 1: computrescent jumenta in stercore suo. Et quantum ad poenae causam, scilicet inobedientiam, populum justum. Exod. 33: dixit dominus ad Moysen: loquere filiis Israel. Populus durae cervicis es et cetera.
13:10
Et erunt sicut lumbare. Isa. 30: comminuetur sicut conteritur lagena figuli contritione pervalida.
13:11
Et quantum ad divinae familiaritatis gratiam: sicut enim adhaeret lumbare ad lumbos viri, sic agglutinavi mihi omnem domum Israel. Deuter. 30: en domini Dei tui caelum est, et caelum caeli, terra, et omnia quae in ea sunt, tamen patribus tuis conglutinatus est dominus, et amavit eos, elegitque semen eorum post eos; idest vos de cunctis gentibus, sicut hodie comprobatur. Secundo prosequitur specialiter poenae ordinem: dices ergo: et circa hoc duo.
13:12
Primo ostendit imminens periculum, ponens exemplum: omnis laguncula, idest quilibet de populo, implebitur vino, tribulationis. Isa. 41: triturabis montes, et comminues, et quasi pulverem tolles. Exempli contemptum, et dicent. Job 12: quis enim haec quae nostis ignorat?
13:13
Et ipsius expositionem: et dices ad eos: quantum ad cordis caecitatem, ebrietate ut quid agant ignorent. Isa. 29: fluctuamini, et vacillate, inebriamini, et non a vino, et cetera. Et quantum ad captivitatem, et dispergam, ne se mutuo consolentur. Oseae 13: consolatio abscondita est ab oculis meis, quia ipse inter fratres dividet.
13:14
Quantum ad sententiae severitatem: non parcam et non concedam, quasi ad movendum eos, quia obstinati vel convincendum, quia aperte mali. Prov. 6: zelus, et furor viri non parcet in die vindictae, nec acquiescet cujusquam precibus, nec suscipiet pro redemptione dona plurima.
13:15
Secundo dat eis utile consilium ad evadendum, ut scilicet humilientur, audite; et primo ad totam plebem proponens consilium contra superbiae vitium: nolite elevari, per superbiam. Locutus est, hoc consilium, vel poenas quas praedixi. Psal. 74: nolite extollere in altum cornu vestrum, nolite loqui adversus Deum iniquitatem: et contra Dei praeceptum: quae sunt initia omnis peccati: date domino Deo vestro gloriam. Deuteronom. 32: date magnificentiam Deo nostro: Dei perfecta sunt opera et omnes viae ejus judicia.
13:16
Resumens imminens periculum caecitatis cordis, antequam contenebrescat, idest, antequam superveniant vobis tribulationes, in quibus nesciatis quid facere. Joan. 12: ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non tenebrae vos comprehendant. Captivitatis: antequam offendant, ducti in captivitatem, ad montes caliginosos, scilicet Babyloniae propter altitudinem, vel ex defectu visus, vel ex multitudine vaporum. Isa. 13: super montem caliginosum levate signum, exaltate vocem et cetera. Et sententiae severitatis: expectabitis lucem, idest divinam consolationem, et non habebitis. Supra 8: expectavimus pacem, et non erat bonum; tempus medelae, et ecce formido. Et designans poenam contra consilii contemptum, ponens prophetae compassionem: quia si non audieritis, in abscondito plorabit anima vestra; quasi, ne offendantur victores. Isa. 22: recedite a me, amare flebo. Nolite incumbere ut consolemini me super vastitate filiae populi mei. Ezech. 24: non plangetis neque flebitis; sed tabescetis in iniquitatibus vestris.
13:17
Et compassionis rationem: plorans plorabit, et deducet oculus meus lacrymas, quia captus est grex domini. Infra 50: grex perditus factus est populus meus, pastores eorum seduxerunt eos, feceruntque vagari in montibus. Secundo dat idem consilium ad regem, invitans ad humilitatem, hic regi, scilicet Jeconiae, et dominatrici, scilicet matri ejus, quia cum matre se tradidit Nabuchodonosor. 4 Reg. penul.: sedete in terra, in signum humilitatis. Isa. 47: descende, sede in pulvere virgo filia Babylon, sede in terra. Et assignat rationem ex regni amissione: quoniam de capite descendit corona. Thren. ult.: cecidit corona capitis nostri.
13:19
Ex urbium obsidione: civitates Austri, quia sors Judae ad Austrum erat. Josue 15: qui aperiat, obsidionem solvens, scilicet Aegyptius. Et ex populi captivitate, translata est. Thren. 1: migravit Judas propter afflictionem, et multitudinem servitutis, habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requiem. Tertio ponit idem consilium ad regiam civitatem: et primo inducit ad humilitatem; secundo miratur obstinationem, ibi, vae tibi Jerusalem. Inducit autem ad humilitatem ex quatuor. Primo ex hostium potestate, proponens hostium potentiam, levate, per considerationem, qui venitis ab Aquilone, contra fortes. Supra 6: ecce populus venit de terra Aquilonis, gens magna consurget a finibus terrae.
13:20
Et excludens subditorum fiduciam: ubi est grex? Quasi multitudo populi quae tibi erat subjecta; quasi dicat: civitas regalis et sacerdotalis non poterit tibi prodesse. Ezech. 34: ecce ego ipse super pastores. Requiram gregem meum de manu eorum, et cessare faciam eos, ut ultra non pascant gregem meum, nec pascant amplius pastores semetipsos; et liberabo gregem meum de ore eorum, et non erit ultra ejs in escam. Et assignans causam quare in manus hostium tradatur, tollens excusationem, quid dices? Ad excusationem tui. Job 9: si voluerit contendere cum eo, non poterit respondere ei. Et assignans rationem, tu enim docuisti, dum eos in auxilium tuum vocans, conditiones tuas eos scire fecisti. Supra 2: insuper malitias tuas docuisti vias tuas. Vel tangit ostensionem thesauri ab Ezechia factam nuntiis regis Babylonis. Isa. 39.
13:21
Secundo ex dolorum afflictione, comminans dolorem: numquid non dolores apprehendent te? Supra 4: vocem quasi parturientis audivi, angustias ut puerperae.
13:22
Et assignans rationem ex peccatorum multitudine: quia si dixeris in corde tuo: quare venerunt mihi haec? In poenam. Verecundiora, turpissima peccata, plantae affectiones. Job 22: propter malitiam tuam plurimam, et infinitas iniquitates tuas. Vel tangit hic quod ducti sunt in captivitatem pedites, et etiam in transitu fluviorum oportebat eos membra turpia denudare, et nudi pedes; et ideo plantae eorum polluebantur luto et pulvere. Isa. 47: denuda turpitudinem tuam, discooperi humerum, revela crura, transi flumina, revelabitur ignominia tua, et videbitur opprobrium tuum. Et ex peccantium obstinatione: si immutare; quasi dicat, difficiliter potestis converti, Aethiops, propter naturalem infectionem peccati, pardus, propter dolositatem, vel diversitatem peccatorum, cum didiceritis, propter consuetudinem. Prov. 22: proverbium est: adolescens juxta viam suam, et cum senuerit non recedat ab ea. Tertio inducit ad humilitatem ex futura captivatione, comminans captivitatis dispersionem: et disseminabo. Psal. 82: Deus meus, pone illos ut rotam, et sicut stipulam ante faciem venti. Et Psal. 58: disperge illos in virtute tua.
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Et assignat rationem: haec sors tua, tibi pro peccatis tuis debita, in mendacio. Isa. 27: in mensura contra mensuram, cum abjecta fuerit judicabit eam; et cetera. Quarto ex peccatorum revelatione.
13:26
Et primo ponit comminationem: et ego nudavi, turpitudinem peccatorum tuorum, contra faciem, ut temetipsam recognosceres. Et apparuit, etiam aliis. Ezech. 16: nudabo ignominiam tuam coram eis, et videbunt omnes turpitudinem tuam.
13:27
Et assignat rationem: super colles in agro vidi abominationes tuas; quasi dicat: quia publice peccasti, publice punieris. Supra 2: in omni colle sublimi, et sub omni ligno frondoso tu prosternebaris meretrix. Ultimo admiratur obstinationem: vae tibi. Usquequo post me, venis vel post me ambulare te jactas? Psal. 4: filii hominum usquequo gravi corde, ut quid diligitis vanitatem, et quaeritis mendacium? Nota, quod vinum mystice aliud est bonum, aliud malum. Est enim bonum vinum sapientiae contemplationis. Prov. 9: bibite vinum quod miscui vobis. Divini amoris. Cant. 8: dabo tibi poculum ex vino condito et mustum malorum granatorum meorum. Compunctionis Psal. 59: potasti nos vino compunctionis. Est autem vinum malum fraudulentae deceptionis. Deut. 32: fel draconum vinum eorum, venenum aspidum insanabile. Carnalis delectationis. Apoc. 18: de vino irae fornicationis ejus biberunt omnes gentes, et reges terrae cum illa fornicati sunt. Divinae indignationis. Apoc. 14: si quis adoraverit bestiam, et imaginem ejus, et acceperit characterem in fronte sua, aut in manu sua; hic bibet de vino irae Dei, quod mixtum est mero in calice irae ipsius. Item notandum, quod spiritus sanctus dicitur Auster propter calorem. Job 37: nonne vestimenta tua calida sunt, cum perflata fuerit terra Austro? Propter splendorem. Habac. 3: Deus ab Austro veniet, et sanctus de monte Pharam. Operuit caelos gloria ejus. Propter volatus elevationem. Job 39: numquid per sapientiam tuam plumescit accipiter, expandens alas suas ad Austrum? Propter pluviarum multiplicationem. Psal. 125: converte domine, captivitatem nostram, sicut torrens in Austro. Propter arborum fructificationem. Cant. 4: veni Auster, perfla in hortum meum, et fluent aromata illius.
13:4
… Sometimes it symbolizes Babylonian power (cf. Jer. 2, 18; 13, 4 ff.; Is. 8, 7; 27, 12). Often the E. is recalled in boundary delimitations. …
13:23
… In Jer. 13:23 the Cushite is described as belonging to the black race; while in Am. 9:7 a certain contempt is shown toward that people, generally employed as slaves (cf. 2 Sam. 18:21 ff.; Jer. 38:7; …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.