The prophet is forbid to marry. The Jews shall be utterly ruined for their idolatry: but shall at length be released from their captivity, and the Gentiles shall be converted.
The prophet is forbid to marie, trublesome times not suffering the cares of familie: 5. He must neither goe to places of feasting, nor mourning, more dying then can be mourned or buried. 10. Al which is for their idolatrie. 15. but after captiuitie the people shal be released. 16. And both Iewes and Gentiles conuerted to Christ.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:Il Signore parlommi, dicendo:AND the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens: 2Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons and daughters in this place.Tu non prenderai moglie, e non avrai figliuoli, né figlie in questo luogo;Thou shalt not take a wife, and thou shalt not haue sonnes, and daughters in this place.Non accipies uxorem, / et non erunt tibi filii et filiæ in loco isto. 3For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and daughters, that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bore them: and concerning their fathers, of whom they were born in this land:Imperocché queste cose dice il Signore sopra i figliuoli, e le figliuole, che verranno alla luce in questo luogo, e sopra le madri, che gli avran partoriti, e sopra i padri, da' quali saranno nati in questa terra,Because thus saith our Lord concerning sonnes and daughters, that are begotten in this place, and concerning their mothers, which beare them: and concerning their fathers, of whose stocke they were borne in this land:Quia hæc dicit Dominus / super filios et filias qui generantur in loco isto, / et super matres eorum, quæ genuerunt eos, / et super patres eorum, de quorum stirpe sunt nati in terra hac: 4They shall die by the death of grievous illnesses: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be buried, they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed with the sword, and with famine: and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and for the beasts of the earth.Morranno di varj mali; e non saranno pianti, né seppelliti, saran come sterco sopra la terra, e saran consunti dalla spada, e dalla fame; e i loro cadaveri saran pasto degli uccelli dell'aria, e delle bestie della terra.by the deathes of diseases they shal die: they shal not be mourned, and they shal not be buried, they shal be as a dunghil vpon the face of the earth: they shal be consumed, both with sword, and famine: and their carcasse shal be meate for the foules of the ayre, and beastes of the earth.Mortibus ægrotationum morientur: / non plangentur, et non sepelientur: / in sterquilinium super faciem terræ erunt, / et gladio et fame consumentur: / et erit cadaver eorum in escam volatilibus cæli et bestiis terræ. 5For thus saith the Lord: Enter not into the house of feasting, neither go thou to mourn, nor to comfort them: because I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, my mercy and commiserations.Imperocché queste cose dice il Signore: Tu non entrerai nella casa, dov'è convito, né anderai a piangere, e a far l'ufficio di consolazione: perocché io ho, tolta da questo popolo la mia pace, (dice il Signore) la misericordia, e la clemenza.For thus saith our Lord: Enter not into the house of feasting, neither goe thou to mourne, nor comfort them: because I haue taken away my peace from this people, saith our Lord, mercie and commiserations.Hæc enim dicit Dominus: / Ne ingrediaris domum convivii, / neque vadas ad plangendum, / neque consoleris eos, / quia abstuli pacem meam a populo isto, dicit Dominus, / misericordiam et miserationes.
6Both the great and the little shall die in this land: they shall not be buried nor lamented, and men shall not cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.E moranno i grandi, e i piccoli in questa terra: non saranno seppelliti, né pianti, e niuno si farà incisioni, né si toserà i capelli per loro.And great and litle shal die in this land: they shal not be buried nor mourned, and they shal not cut them selues, neither shal baldnes be made for them.Et morientur grandes et parvi in terra ista: / non sepelientur, neque plangentur, / et non se incident, / neque calvitium fiet pro eis. 7And they shall not break bread among them to him that mourneth, to comfort him for the dead: neither shall they give them to drink of the cup, to comfort them for their father and mother.Né alcuno tra loro spezzerà il pane per consolare colui, che piange un morto, e non gli daranno da bere per consolarlo della perdita del padre suo, e della madre.And they shal not breake bread among them to him that mourneth to comfort him vpon the dead: and they shal not geue them drinke of the cuppe to comfort them vpon their father and mother.Et non frangent inter eos lugenti panem / ad consolandum super mortuo, / et non dabunt eis potum calicis / ad consolandum super patre suo et matre. 8And do not thou go into the house of feasting, to sit with them, and to eat and drink:E non entrerai nella casa, dove si banchetta per sedere in compagnia, e mangiare, e bere;And enter not into the house of feasting, to sitte with them, and to eate and drinke:Et domum convivii non ingrediaris, / ut sedeas cum eis, et comedas, et bibas. 9For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will take away out of this place in your sight, and in your days the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.Imperocché queste cose dice il Signore degli eserciti, il Dio d'Israele: Ecco che io da questo luogo, veggenti voi, e ne' vostri giorni torrò la voce di gaudio, la voce di letizia, i canti dello sposo, e i canti della sposa.because thus saith our Lord of hostes the God of Israel: Behold I wil take away out of this place in your eies, and in your daies the voice of ioy, and the voice of gladnes, the voice of the bridegrome, and the voice of the bride.Quia hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël: / Ecce ego auferam de loco isto, / in oculis vestris, et in diebus vestris, / vocem gaudii et vocem lætitiæ, / vocem sponsi et vocem sponsæ.
10And when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they shall say to thee: Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced against us all this great evil? what is our iniquity? and what is our sin, that we have sinned against the Lord our God?E quando tu avrai annunziate a questo popolo tutte queste parole, ed ei ti diranno: Per qual motivo il Signore annunzia a noi tutto questo gran male? qual è mai la nostra iniquità? e qual è il nostro peccato, che abbiam commesso contro il Signore Dio nostro?And when thou shalt tel this people al these wordes, and they shal say to thee: Wherefore hath our Lord spoken vpon vs al this greate euil? what is our iniquitie? and what is our sinne, that we haue sinned to the Lord our God?Et cum annuntiaveris populo huic omnia verba hæc, / et dixerint tibi: / Quare locutus est Dominus super nos omne malum grande istud ? / quæ iniquitas nostra, / et quod peccatum nostrum, / quod peccavimus Domino Deo nostro ? 11Thou shalt say to them: Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord: and went after strange gods, and served them, and adored them: and they forsook me, and kept not my law.Tu dirai loro: Perchè i padri vostri mi abbandonarono: dice il Signore; e andaron dietro a dei stranieri, e li servirono, e gli adorarono abbandonaron me, e non osservarono la mia legge.Thou shalt say to them: Because your fathers haue forsaken me, saith our Lord: and gone after strange goddes, and serued them, and adored them: and me they haue forsaken, & my law they haue not kept.dices ad eos: / Quia dereliquerunt me patres vestri, ait Dominus, / et abierunt post deos alienos, / et servierunt eis, et adoraverunt eos, / et me dereliquerunt, et legem meam non custodierunt. 12And you also have done worse than your fathers: for behold every one of you walketh after the perverseness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken to me.Ma voi ancora avete fatto peggio, che i padri vostri: imperocché ecco, che ognun di voi va dietro alla corruzione del cattivo suo cuore, per non dar retta a me.But you also haue wrought worse then your fathers: for behold euerie one walketh after the peruersitie of his euil hart, that he heare me not.Sed et vos pejus operati estis quam patres vestri: / ecce enim ambulat unusquisque post pravitatem cordis sui mali, / ut me non audiat. 13So I will cast you forth out of this land, into a land which you know not, nor your fathers: and there you shall serve strange gods day and night, which shall not give you any rest.Ed io vi caccerò da questa terra ad un'altra non conosciuta da voi, né da' padri vostri: ed ivi servirete dì, e notte a' dei stranieri, i quali non vi daranno requie.And I wil cast you forth out of this land, into a land, which you and your fathers knew not: and there you shal serue strange goddes day and night, which shal not geue you anie rest.Et ejiciam vos de terra hac / in terram quam ignoratis, / vos et patres vestri: / et servietis ibi diis alienis, die ac nocte, / qui non dabunt vobis requiem.
14Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, when it shall be said no more: The Lord liveth, that brought forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.Per questo ecco, che viene il tempo, dice il Signore, quando non si dirà più: Vive il Signore, che trasse i figliuoli d'Israele dalla terra d'Egitto,Therefore behold the daies come, saith our Lord, & it shal be said no more: The Lord liueth, that brought forth the children of Israel out of the Land of Aegypt,Propterea ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, / et non dicetur ultra: / Vivit Dominus qui eduxit filios Israël de terra Ægypti, 15But, The Lord liveth, that brought the children of Israel out of the land of the north, and out of all the lands to which I cast them out: and I will bring them again into their land, which I gave to their fathers.Ma: Vive il Signore, che ha tratti i figliuoli d'Israele dalla terra di settentrione, e da tutti i paesi, pe' quali io gli avrò dispersi, e li ricondurrò nella loro terra data da me a' loro padri.But, The Lord liueth, that brought the children of Israel out of the Land of the North, and out of al the landes to the which I did cast them out: and I wil bring them againe into their land, which I gaue to their fathers.sed: Vivit Dominus qui eduxit filios Israël de terra aquilonis, / et de universis terris ad quas ejeci eos: / et reducam eos in terram suam, / quam dedi patribus eorum. 16Behold I will send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them: and after this I will send them many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks.Ecco, che io manderò molti pescatori, dice il Signore, i quali li pescheranno; e dipoi manderò loro molti cacciatori, i quali anderanno a caccia di essi per tutti i monti, e per tutti i colli, e nelle tane de' massi;Behold I wil send manie fishers saith our Lord, & they shal fishe them: and after this I wil send them manie hunters, & they shal hunt them from euerie mountaine, and from euerie litle hil, and out of the caues of rockes.Ecce ego mittam piscatores multos, dicit Dominus, / et piscabuntur eos: / et post hæc mittam eis multos venatores, / et venabuntur eos de omni monte, / et de omni colle, et de cavernis petrarum. 17For my eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, and their iniquity hath not been hid from my eyes.Imperocché gli occhi miei osservano tutti i loro passi; e nulla n'è ascoso a' miei sguardi, come non fu ascosa agli occhi miei la loro iniquità.Because mine eies are vpon al their waies: they are not hid from my face, and their iniquitie hath not bene hid from mine eies.Quia oculi mei super omnes vias eorum: / non sunt absconditæ a facie mea, / et non fuit occultata iniquitas eorum ab oculis meis.
18And I will repay first their double iniquities, and their sins: because they have defiled my land with the carcasses of their idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.E prima io renderò il contraccambio alle duplicate iniquità, e peccati loro: perocché hanno contaminato la mia terra co' corpi de' morti sagrificati a' loro idoli, e han ripiena delle loro abbominazioni la mia eredità.And I wil repay first their duble iniquities, and their sinnes: because they haue contaminated my land with the carcasses of their idols, and with their abominations they haue filled mine inheritance.Et reddam primum duplices iniquitates et peccata eorum, / quia contaminaverunt terram meam in morticinis idolorum suorum, / et abominationibus suis impleverunt hæreditatem meam. 19O Lord, my might, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: to thee the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: Surely our fathers have possessed lies, a vanity which hath not profited them.Signore mia fortezza, mio sostegno, e mio rifugio nel giorno della tribolazione: a te verranno le genti da' confini ultimi della terra, e diranno: Veramente i padri nostri ereditarono la menzogna, e la vanità, che nulla ad essi giovò.O Lord my force, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: to thee the Gentiles shal come from the endes of the earth, and shal say: In very deede our fathers haue possessed lying, vanitie which hath not profited them.Domine, fortitudo mea, et robur meum, / et refugium meum in die tribulationis, / ad te gentes venient ab extremis terræ, et dicent: / Vere mendacium possederunt patres nostri, / vanitatem quæ eis non profuit. 20Shall a man make gods unto himself and they are no gods?Forse l'uomo potrà fare i suoi dei? Ed egli stesso non è un dio.Why, shal a man make goddes vnto himself, and they are not goddes?Numquid faciet sibi homo deos, / et ipsi non sunt dii ? 21Therefore behold I will this once cause them to know, I will shew them my hand and my power: and they shall know that my name is the Lord.Per questo ecco, che io mostrerò loro questa volta, mostrerò loro la mia possanza, e la mia virtù, e conosceranno, che io ho nome il Signore.Therefore behold I wil shew them at this time, I wil shew them my hand, and my powre: and they shal know that my name is the Lord.Idcirco ecce ego ostendam eis per vicem hanc, / ostendam eis manum meam, et virtutem meam, / et scient quia nomen mihi Dominus.
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Calmet
Place. It was going to be destroyed, and the cares of a family might interrupt the prophet. The Fathers believe that Jeremias never married, (see St. Jerome in Jeremias 23. Isidor.) which was then a rare example. (Calmet)
Worthington
He always lived a single life, and not only in time of tribulation. (St. Jerome, contra Jov. 1.) (Worthington)
Haydock
The Church enforces this law of God for her sacred ministers, in subdeacons and the higher orders. St. Paul shews the propriety of such a regulation, (1 Corinthians vii.) which innovators deem unnatural and tyrannical. How then could God enforce it once? With his grace we may observe celibacy like Jeremias. (Haydock)
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St. Jerome
Illnesses, denoting God's wrath. (St. Jerome)
Earth. The privation of sepulture was accounted one of the greatest evils.
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Calmet
Feasting: usual at burials for all relations. (Calmet)
Josephus
This custom reduced many to poverty. (Josephus, Jewish Wars 2:1.)
Pers. vi
Sed caenam funerishaeres Negliget iratus quod rem curtaverit. (Pers. vi.)
Mourn, if thou shouldst meet a funeral, Luke 7:32.
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Feasting. Hebrew, "of drinking," in times of joy.
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Calmet
Fathers. Hence you are justly partakers of their punishment, Matthew 23:32. (Calmet)
Worthington
A continuance in sin brings on severe punishments; after which, God again shews mercy. (Worthington)
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Gods. Elohim, "masters," etc., Jeremias 17:4. Chaldean, "idolatrous nations."
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Fathers. He joins consolation with distressing predictions, and alludes to the redemption of mankind, of which the return of the Jews was the most striking pledge.
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Calmet
Rocks. They shall be found in all their lurking places, Ezechiel 12:12., and Habacuc 1:4. (Calmet)
Calmet
The Medes and Persians shall grant them liberty; or rather Nabuchodonosor shall fish at first, and afterwards hunt or destroy more of the Jews. (Calmet)
Apostolical men (Worthington) shall be like rocks, (St. Jerome) for the protection of their hearers.
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Double: enormous. (Haydock) (Chap. 17:18.)
I will punish them doubly.
Carcasses. So he styles the victims, or idols, the representations of dead men.
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Calmet
Make gods. This consideration alone suffices to shew their absurdity. (Calmet)
Tertullian
"Man must now be merciful to god!" (Tertullian, Apol.)
Worthington
No one can make even a man, much less a god. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
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Power, in taking vengeance on idolatry.
Haydock
Lord. "He who is;" (Calmet) Jehova. (Haydock)
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Ieremie not only liued single in the time of tribulation, but also rema•ned a virgin al his li•e. S. Ierom li. 1. aduer Iouian. post medium.
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After long expectation of amendment, & generation after generation adding more sinnes, at last cometh great punishment.
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But againe after punishment God sheweth his mercie.
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The Apostles.
Other Apostolical men.
Not only Christ is a rock, but he hath also geuen to his Apostle Peter to be called a rocke. In whose iudgements they that rest are rightly sayde to be translated from the rocke. S. Iero. in hunc locum.
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To make men is the worke of God, and therfore it is very absurde, that a man can make goddes. S. Iero. ibidem.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.21
… But gradually the crop grew up and then the reaper was sent forth with his sickle. Elijah lived a virgin life, so also did Elisha and many of the sons of the prophets. To Jeremiah the command came: “Thou shalt not take thee a wife.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.13
… There is “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.” Owing to the near approach of the captivity Jeremiah is forbidden to take a wife.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.20
… let the Bridegroom go forth of His chamber, and the bride out of her closet.” Also in Jeremiah: “And I will take away from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of the joyous, and the voice of the glad; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 8.23
… But his sorrow was as impudently expressed as his knowledge was imprudently obtained; for it was not the Holy Spirit who revealed these things to him, as He had done to the holy prophets, who, foreseeing these things, said with exultation, “If a man shall make gods, lo, they are no gods;”
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.9
… from henceforth thou shalt catch men?” By saying this, He suggested to them the meaning of the fulfilled prophecy, that it was even He who by Jeremiah had foretold, “Behold, I will send many fishers; and they shall fish them,”
Anonymous The Teaching of Simon Cephas in the City of Rome 1
Moreover, because we were catchers of fish,
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Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 5.33
… children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those whom our fathers followed, among whom we were “strangers to the covenant,” and having received a law, for which we give thanks to Him that rescued us from the error (of our ways), saying, “Our fathers honoured lying idols, and there is not among them one that causeth it to rain.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 18.33
… “O Lord my God, and my refuge in the day of evils, to Thee shall the nations come from the utmost end of the earth, saying, Truly our fathers have worshipped lying images, wherein there is no profit.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen 7
… and I rose again, for the Lord will uphold Me.” But this ye saw not, but ye see His Church, concerning whom it is written in like manner, and fulfilled, “O Lord My God, the nations shall come unto Thee from the extremity of the earth and shall say, Truly our fathers worshipped lying images, and there is not in them any profit.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 13.7
… Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will at that time cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that I am the Lord."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 1.26
… “O Lord my God, and my refuge in the day of evil, the Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have worshipped mendacious idols, and there is no profit in them.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 65.6
… Therefore nations that are converted to Christ afterwards, and taking to heart the impieties of their parents, and saying now what the prophet Jeremias himself said, “Truly a lie our fathers have worshipped, vanity which hath not profited them”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 95.11
… yet as ye were born of them, they were your fathers. And if the heathen who came from the ends of the earth, in the words of Jeremias, “The Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our forefathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit:”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 8.24
… For true is the saying of the prophet, “If a man make gods, lo, they are no gods.”
… Abgar the king also, who was older than this Abgar, who himself worshippeth idols as well as thou, he too believed in the King Christ, the Son of Him whom thou callest Lord of all the gods. For it is forbidden to Christians to worship anything that is made, and is a creature, and in its nature is not God: even as ye worship idols made by men,
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2. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE A WIFE, etc., IN THIS PLACE, — in Anathoth, says Vatablus. Better Lyran, in Judaea, because it will soon be laid waste: lest upon thy own sorrow, thou be tormented by the miseries of a wife and children, says St. Jerome. Hence it is evident that Jeremiah remained celibate and a virgin: nor is there any doubt that he himself obeyed God, commanding this here. AND THEY SHALL NOT BE, — let them not be, that is, do not beget offspring. The future is put for the imperative.
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4. THEY SHALL DIE OF GRIEVOUS DEATHS. — That is, they shall die of various sicknesses and diseases, arising from famine, war, and every hardship. Thus the Chaldee and Vatablus. Whence the Septuagint translates, they shall die of a sickly death, or one arising from disease. THEY SHALL NOT BE LAMENTED, — because there will be no one to lament, so that from continual funerals the survivors will learn not to care for the dead, nor to lament them, as is wont to happen in great pestilence: for then men are accustomed to cease grieving, and to lose all sense of plague, death, funeral, and burial. Hence the dead, on account of their multitude, will remain unburied, and in the streets and lanes will lie as in a dunghill and putrefy.
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5. ENTER NOT INTO THE HOUSE OF FEASTING, — namely, of mourning at a funeral: for in Hebrew it is marseach, which word signifies a funeral feast, prepared at the obsequies of the dead to console the relatives of the deceased, which the Greeks call perideipna, the Latins parentalia, as if through them funeral rites are celebrated for parents, says St. Jerome. Christians imitate this, who give a feast not only to relatives, but also to the poor, which the Spanish call charity, as the ancients formerly called it agape. The pagan Romans and Greeks did the same, as Alexander ab Alexandro teaches, lib. III Genial. cap. VII. It is commanded therefore to Jeremiah, say St. Jerome and Lyran, that he console no one of the people, that he not mingle with the feasts of the enemies of God, that he not celebrate funeral rites over the graves of the dead, who justly on account of their crimes have been smitten by God. For it is not fitting that men of God, especially Prophets, should honor their obsequies, and thus praise and approve the life of those whose deeds and morals God execrates and condemns. Others think that here Jeremiah is commanded to preach that there will be such a slaughter and common perturbation, that in the funeral of their own, relatives will neglect those things which are customarily employed everywhere, such as public and lawful lamentation, shorn hair, lacerated cheeks, funeral feasts, and all the pomp of funeral. Thus Sanchez. The imperatives therefore here, as elsewhere in the Psalms and Prophets, are to be expounded by the future: 'Enter not,' that is, thou shalt not enter, 'into the house of feasting' for a funeral, inasmuch as it will not be; for neither will relatives give it, or care for it: 'nor go,' that is, thou shalt not go, or any other 'to lament;' for there will be no customary lamentation of funerals: 'nor comfort,' that is, thou shalt not comfort, 'them,' as is wont to happen at the death of friends. For all these things will cease, as I have said. But the former sense is clearer and truer: for these words plainly sound a precept given by God to Jeremiah, and it is repeated, verse 8; the end however of the precept is that which the second exposition assigned; but the precept is one thing, the end of the precept another: for God gives the precept here, but explains the end of the precept in verses 6 and 9.
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6. THEY SHALL NOT CUT THEMSELVES, — with no funeral honor, whether customary among Jews or Gentiles, will they attend to the dead, as if to say: The Jews will be so oppressed by such great and sudden miseries and calamities, that those few who remain will lose all sense of the dead, and will count the dead more fortunate than the living. Thus Lyran. St. Jerome notes that it was the custom among the ancients, and even to this day, he says, it is the custom among some Jews, that in mourning they cut their arms with knives, and make themselves bald, as Job did, cap. I, 20; which, although it was forbidden to the Jews as savoring of paganism and diminishing hope in the resurrection by excessive grief, Deuter. XIV, 1; many Jews nevertheless, imitating the nations, did this. The Prophet therefore now says that it will come to pass that what they were unwilling to do willingly according to the law of God, they will do by necessity: for so great will be the multitude of the dying, that there will be no one to cut himself or make himself bald for the dead.
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7. AND THEY SHALL NOT BREAK BREAD FOR THEM IN MOURNING, — as if to say: So great will be the slaughter of the Jews, that they will not care to console one another in the death of their dearest; indeed, scarcely will any survive who will give food and wine to sons mourning the death of their parents, after the manner, to mitigate their sorrow. That not only Jews, but also Christians from of old, did this, is taught by St. Clement, lib. VIII Constit. cap. XXIV, and St. Chrysostom, homil. 37 in Matth.
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8. AND THOU SHALT NOT GO INTO THE HOUSE OF FEASTING. — Understand by feasting here not a funeral feast, as before, but a festival and joyful one, such as is customarily given at weddings, feasts, victories, etc. This is evident from what follows: for God wishes Jeremiah to abstain from the feasts of his fellow citizens, so that by this very thing he might signify that it is a time of mourning, not of joy, and so that he might actually portend that all banquets and joys will soon cease when the Chaldean enemy arrives.
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9. THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM, AND THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE, — nuptial and joyful songs, such as were the hymenaei among the gentiles.
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13. AND (that is, for this reason) I WILL CAST YOU OUT OF THIS LAND, INTO A LAND WHICH YOU KNOW NOT, — into Chaldea. For the common people of the Jews had not seen this land, and were ignorant of its situation, conditions and customs. AND YOU SHALL SERVE STRANGE GODS THERE. — It is a concession, as if to say: You will be able there to serve idols to your heart's content, after which you so eagerly pant, nay, rage; or, the Chaldeans will compel you to serve their gods, but they WILL NOT GIVE YOU REST. — as if to say: The gods of the Chaldeans will not free you from captivity and other evils, nor will their worshippers; but they will treat you slavishly and cruelly, and will drive you from one labor and servitude as much as from sin and idolatry into another. Thus the demon does to the sinner, as Pharao did to the Hebrews. Whence in Hebrew it is: I will not give you clemency or mercy, namely to find it among strange gods and the Chaldeans your enemies. "Whatever we sin," says St. Jerome, "whatever evil works we do day and night, is the dominion of demons, who never give us rest, but always impel us to increase sins by sins, and to make a heap of transgressions."
16:14
14. IT SHALL NOT BE SAID ANYMORE. — When the Jews swore, for the sake of honor and gratitude, they were accustomed to add to the name of God the epithet of Liberator from Egypt: but here Jeremiah predicts that after the Babylonian captivity, it will come to pass that they swear by God the liberator not from Egypt, but from Babylon; so as to signify that the Babylonian captivity will be more grievous than the Egyptian was; so that the Jews, by the bitterness of the present captivity, will forget the old one, and consequently that God will bestow upon them a greater benefit by freeing them from Babylon than He bestowed of old by freeing them from Egypt.
16:15
15. I WILL BRING THEM BACK INTO THEIR OWN LAND, — namely from Babylon into Judea. Thus Theodoret and St. Thomas. Secondly and rather, from Babylon, that is from the confusion of sin, into the spiritual land of grace and the Church, which was promised and given to Abraham and the patriarchs inchoatively and typically; but it was truly and fully delivered through Christ. Thus St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo, Sanchez and others.
16:16
16. BEHOLD I WILL SEND FISHERS, etc., AND HUNTERS. — Theodoret, Hugo, Lyran, Vatablus, Capella and a Castro, by fishers and hunters, understand the Chaldaeans, who surrounded the Jews like fish in a net (as Habacuc says in cap. I, 14) with the siege and captured them: then Sedeciah with his men fleeing to the mountains, hunted and pursued like beasts, they dragged out from their hiding places and took captive. Or, as St. Thomas and the Hebrews say, 'fishers' are the Chaldaeans, 'hunters' are Titus and the Romans. Thus tropologically, 'fishers and hunters' of souls are demons. Others by both understand Cyrus and Darius, who sent the Jews from Babylon back to their homeland. But our orthodox, says St. Jerome, more rightly understand these things of the future, namely of the Church of Christ: for the Prophet flies to Christ, according to Canon IV; yet so that, as witnesses St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo, he touches upon the present matter, namely the liberation from Babylon through Zorobabel, Jesus and Esdras, who gathered and brought back the Jews as fugitives and scattered, like fishers and hunters. 'Fishers' therefore, says St. Jerome, properly are the Apostles, Matt. IV, 19, who fished both the Gentiles and the Jews for Christ. Whence in verse 19, he says: 'To thee shall the Gentiles come from the ends of the earth.' After these shall follow 'hunters,' that is Ecclesiastical and Religious men, who hunt men, that they may make them holy, from the mountains of lofty doctrines, and from the hills of good works, and from the caves of rocks, that is from the institution of the Apostles and Apostolic men, that they may imitate them. Or rather and more according to the letter, who hunt all men even wild ones, such as the Indians, Uros, Brazilians, etc., dwelling in mountains and caves like beasts, that they may tame them for Christ, as St. Xavier and his followers did. Thus Origen, St. Jerome, Rabanus, Tertullian, lib. IV Against Marcion IX, Ambrose, serm. 6 in Psalm CXV, III, Augustine, tract. 10 On the Utility of Fasting, cap. IX. Such heavenly hunters I have seen in various colleges, namely in the Liège one, who hunt the charcoal-workers and Ardennese in the mines and furnaces of copper and iron like Cyclopes and Brontes; and in the Ötztal one, who hunt the mountain-dwellers in the Alps like hermits, nay like beasts scattered in their lairs, through frost and heat, through hunger and thirst, with great labour and sweat, and equally with zeal they track, capture, instruct, and teach the way to heaven, and make the Alpine-dwellers Heavenly-dwellers, nay God-dwellers. Anagogically, 'fishers and hunters' are angels, who at the end of the world, from all sides from sepulchres and caves shall gather the ashes and bones of the Saints, that they may be animated by God and rise again. Tropologically, 'mountains and hills' are pride and pusillanimity, and other vices; 'caves' are evil habits, etc., from these the beasts, that is impious and impure men, the shepherds and others who are devoted to the gain of souls ought to lead out. Let them themselves hear the sharp exhortation of St. Basil on that passage of Deuteronomy XV: Take heed to thyself, according to the Septuagint: 'The house of God, which is the Church of the living God, has, he says, travellers, architects, builders, farmers, shepherds, athletes, soldiers, hunters sent by God thus commanding: Behold I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt many. Take heed therefore with much diligence, lest perchance the prey escape thee, that thou mayest offer to the Saviour those made tame through wickedness, convicted by the word of truth. Thou art a traveller, like unto him who prayed: Direct my steps. Take heed to thyself lest thou go astray, nor turn to the right hand or to the left; go forward in the royal way. Thou art an architect, lay and place the foundation of faith in a solid and safe place, which is Jesus Christ. Thou art a builder, see how thou buildest, that thou buildest not wood, nor hay, nor stubble; but gold, silver, precious stones. Art thou a shepherd? turn the wandering and erring flock; that which is broken and bruised, gather it together; that which is sick, heal it. Art thou a farmer? dig about the fig tree, if it be unfruitful; and cast upon it what thou knowest will conduce to bringing forth fruit. Art thou a soldier? labour for the Gospel, fight the good fight against the spirits of wickedness, against the vicious affections of the flesh put on the whole armour of God. Art thou an athlete? imitate Paul both running in the race, and wrestling in the arena, and fighting in the boxing match: fix thy gaze upon thy adversary, unmoved and more steadfast; let thy mind be not supine, but upright and ever watchful.'
16:17
17. For my eyes are upon all their ways, — that is to say, Their ways by which they shall flee from the Chaldaeans their enemies are not hidden from me, just as their iniquities were not hidden from me; and therefore I shall be able to draw them out through my hunters from all their hiding places as well as from their iniquities. Note: The Prophets are wont to speak of the conversion of the Gentiles and the impious, as of vengeance, captivity, fishing and hunting; because God in them avenges, fishes, hunts and captures crimes and impious ways, that he may tame them, and transform them into other ways and men. See Canon XLVI.
16:18
18. AND I WILL REPAY, — that is to say, First, yet before I send fishermen, I will punish their iniquities twofold, that is manifold, according to their merits, so that thus afflicted they may return to me and implore my aid. Thus God punished the Jews through Antiochus Epiphanes and his successors, and through Pompey, Caesar and other Romans. Thus likewise he punished the gentiles, while he exhausted and destroyed each of their kingdoms and monarchies before Christ through wars: for thus he punished and devastated the Persians through the Greeks, the Greeks through the Romans, the Romans through themselves mutually, and through civil wars. Note on twofold, that is of fathers and sons, says Isidore. Secondly, St. Jerome: 'Twofold,' he says, because the iniquities of the Jews knowing God's law were doubly more grave than those of the gentiles ignorant of it. Thirdly and most rightly, 'twofold,' that is manifold. See what is said in I Timothy V, 17. IN DEAD BODIES. — He calls dead bodies the carcasses of sons and animals which they sacrificed to idols. Thus Theodoret.
16:19
19. TO THEE SHALL THE GENTILES COME. — By gentiles the Chaldean and Vatablus understand the Jews returning from Chaldea to Jerusalem. Secondly, St. Thomas and Lyran understand gentiles converted to Judaism, and returning with the Jews from Babylon to Judea. For it is evident that many such existed, I Esdras VI, 21, and Esther VIII, 17. Thirdly and most rightly, St. Jerome, Rabanus, Theodoret, a Castro, Eusebius, V Demonstr. XXX, St. Thomas, Lyran and St. Augustine, lib. I De Consens. Evang. XXVI, understand gentiles converted to Christ and the Church, to whom God will show his 'hand and virtue,' that is Christ who is God's virtue and power, and his most mighty signs and miracles, especially in that through poor and vile fishermen he would convert the whole world; these will say: 'Truly a lie,' that is false gods and idols, 'have our fathers possessed,' or, as it is in Hebrew, inherited, because they received and worshipped them from their fathers as it were by hereditary right.
16:20
20. SHALL HE DO? — Is it fitting or proper to do? not at all, that is to say, What madness is it to make for oneself gods, which one sees are not true; but false, dumb and stones? These things the gentiles say when they are converted to God.
16:21
21. I WILL SHOW THEM MY HAND, — my power, in so wonderful and efficacious a conversion of them, in so many miracles, graces, virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Jerome.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
16:2
Hic interdicit dominus prophetae, damnati populi consortium: et primo ponit sententiam; secundo assignat causam, ibi, et cum annuntiaveritis et cetera. Circa primum duo. Primo interdicit sibi consortium matrimonialis conjugii, ponens jussionem: non accipies uxorem. 1 Cor. 7: solutus est ab uxore? Noli quaerere uxorem.
16:3
Et assignans rationem ex universitate punitorum, quia nulli aetati, nulli parcetur sexui: quia haec dicit dominus super filios et filias. Infra 51: collidam in te virum, et mulierem, et collidam in te senem, et puerum, et collidam in te juvenem, et virginem. Ex diversitate poenarum, comminans mortem ex causa interiori, mortibus aegrotationum, pestilentia scilicet, et diuturnis languoribus. Et adjungit congruam sepulturam: non plangentur. 1 Cor. 11: ideo inter vos multi infirmi et imbecilles, et dormiunt multi. Infra 25: non plangentur, et non colligentur, neque sepelientur; in sterquilinium super faciem terrae jacebunt. Ex causa exteriori: et gladio, ex insultu hostium, fame, ex defectu necessariorum.
16:4
Et adjungit congruam sepulturam: et erit cadaver eorum in escam volatilibus caeli. Supra 14: erunt projecti in viis prae fame, et gladio, et non erit qui sepeliat eos, ipsi, et uxores eorum, filii, et filiae eorum. Secundo interdicit consortium socialis convivii: haec enim dicit dominus. Et primo interdicit convivium tristitiae, quod in consolationem pro mortuis fieri solet: ubi ponitur prohibitio, ne ingrediaris, neque plangens, neque sicut consolans.
16:5
Secundo assignatur ratio ex ablatione pacis: quia abstuli pacem meam, quam scilicet ad eos habebam, indignatus eis: vel quam, me auctore, ad invicem, et ad alios habebant. Isa. 57: non est pax impiis, dicit dominus. Ex comminatione mortis, morientur. Job 3: parvus et magnus ibi sunt: et servus liber a domino suo. Ex cessatione officiosi funeris, quia carebunt obsequio sepulturae, non sepelientur. Supra 8: non colligentur, et non sepelientur; in sterquilinium super faciem terrae erunt. Planctum etiam familiae: neque plangentur neque se incident, vulnerantes, quod Judaeis prohibitum est. Deuter. 14: non vos incidetis, nec facietis calvitium super mortuo. Sed Job tonso capite cadens in terram etc. (Job 1) non peccavit, quia gentilis erat. Carebunt etiam convivio parentelae, quod a consanguineis lugentibus fieri solet: et non frangent. Prov. ult.: date siceram moerentibus, et vinum his qui amaro sunt animo. Bibant, et obliviscantur egestatis suae, et doloris sui non recordentur amplius. Secundo interdicit convivium laetitiae.
16:8
Et primo ponitur prohibitio: et domum convivii non ingrediaris, neque propter societatem, neque propter comestionem. 1 Cor. 5: si is qui frater nominatur inter vos, est fornicator, avarus, aut idolis serviens, aut maledicus, aut rapax; cum hujusmodi nec cibum sumere. Secundo ponitur ratio: quia haec dicit dominus. Thren. ult.: defecit gaudium cordis nostri, versus est in luctum chorus noster. Infra 25, idem.
16:10
Hic assignatur causa praedictae poenae: et primo ponitur quaestio: quare locutus est dominus super nos omne malum grande istud? Prover. 30: talis est via mulieris adulterae, quae comedit, et tergens os suum dicit: non sum operata malum.
16:11
Secundo ponitur domini responsio: dices ad eos. Et primo ponit culpam in transgressione patrum: quia dereliquerunt. Supra 2: me dereliquerunt fontem, aquae vivae, et foderunt sibi cisternas dissipatas, quae continere non valent aquas. In imitatione filiorum, ne possent se excusare per id quod dicitur Ezech. 18: patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt.
16:12
Sed et vos pejus operati estis. Matth. 23: implete mensuram patrum vestrorum. Secundo comminatur poenam: et primo ponit poenae comminationem quantum ad captivitatem: et ejiciam vos; et quantum ad servitutem: et servietis diis, serviendo eorum cultoribus. Thren. 1: migravit Judas propter afflictionem, et multitudinem servitutis; habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requiem. Deut. 28: in gentibus quoque illis non quiesces, neque erit requies vestigio pedis tui.
16:14
Secundo promittit consolationem, ponens juramentum quasi signum: propterea ecce dies; quasi dicat: hoc majus beneficium reputabitis, quam quod liberati estis de Aegypto; et illius quasi obliti, hoc semper in memoriam habebitis. Isa. 43: ne memineritis priorum, et antiqua ne intueamini. Infra 23, idem. Et explicans beneficium, et reducam. Ezech. 36: tollam quippe vos de gentibus, et congregabo vos de universis terris; et reducam vos in terram vestram. Tertio ponit captivitatis conditionem, ecce ego: et primo describit captivitatem Babyloniorum, piscatores, scilicet Chaldaeos, qui quasi in mari prosperitatis, et voluptatis viventes, eos ceperunt. Habac. 1: facies homines quasi pisces maris, et quasi reptilia non habentia ducem.
16:16
Et Romanorum: et post haec mittam venatores, scilicet Romanos, qui eos quasi bestias pro crudelitate homicidii venati sunt. Thren. 3: venatione ceperunt me quasi avem inimici mei gratis.
16:17
Secundo assignat captivitatis rationem, ponens cognitionem culpae: quia oculi mei super omnes vias eorum. Prov. 16: omnes viae hominum patent oculis ejus, spirituum ponderator est dominus. Et comminationem poenae.
16:18
Et reddam primum, idest ante dictam consolationem, duplices, scilicet quantum ad cultum idolorum; propter quod sequitur: quia contaminaverunt: et quantum ad perversitatem morum, et abominationibus suis impleverunt hereditatem meam. Psal. 105: infecta est terra in sanguinibus, et contaminata est in operibus eorum. Tertio ponit captivitatis utilitatem, scilicet conversionem gentium; vel eorum qui cum Judaeis sub Zorobabel in Jerusalem reversi sunt; vel eorum qui ad fidem Christi sunt conversi: quia caecitas ex parte contingit in Israel, donec plenitudo gentium intraret, et sic omnis Israel salvus fieret: Rom. 11. Circa quod tria facit. Primo ponitur prophetae exultatio, designata in confessione divinae laudis: domine fortitudo mea, ad alios debellandum, robur, ad perseverandum, refugium, si deficiam. Psal. 17: diligam te, domine fortitudo mea, dominus firmamentum meum, et refugium meum. Secundo ponitur gentium conversio.
16:19
Ad te gentes venient. Isa. 42: cantate domino canticum novum, laus ejus ab extremis terrae. Peccati confusio: vere mendacium, scilicet idolum, quod divinitatem, et auxilium mentitur. Supra 3: vere mendaces erant colles, et multitudo montium.
16:20
Et pristini erroris confutatio: numquid faciet sibi homo deos? Et ipsi non sunt dii, scilicet homines facientes. Sapien. 15: quomodo enim sibi similem homo poterit Deum fingere?
16:21
Tertio assignat conversionis bonum: idcirco, idest ut gentes convertantur, eis, Judaeis, per vicem hanc; quasi dicat, ulterius non parcam, manum, correctionis. Vel eis, gentibus, manum, Christum. Psalm. 9: cognoscetur dominus judicia faciens, in operibus manuum suarum comprehensus est peccator. Item Psal. 143: emitte manum tuam de alto, eripe me, et libera me de aquis multis, de manu filiorum alienorum. Notandum, quod quaedam est manus divinae dispositionis. Sap. 7: in manu ejus et nos, et sermones nostri, et omnis sapientia, et operum scientiae disciplina. Divinae liberalitatis. Psal. 103: aperiente te manum tuam, omnia implebuntur bonitate. Divinae protectionis. Isa. 49: sub tegumento manus suae protexit me. Divinae correctionis. Psal. 38: a fortitudine manus tuae ego defeci in increpationibus. Divinae liberationis. Job 5: percutit, et manus ejus sanabunt. Divinae operationis. Eccli. 36: glorifica manum, et brachium dexterum. Et divinae condemnationis. Ad Hebr. 10: horrendum est incidere in manus Dei viventis.
16:5
Agape (Ἀγάπη "love, charity" in the New Testament)
A certain dependence of the a. on Jewish funerary banquets may be admitted (II Sam. 3, 32; Jer. 16, 5, 7; Tob. 4, 17-18; cf. Hos. 9, 4 and Ezek. 24, 17, 22; for New Testament times: Flavius Josephus, Ant. …
16:6
Breaking of Bread (Ἐλᾶσις τοῦ δρῦσου)
Similar expressions are found in the Old Testament (Is. 58, 7; Jer. 16, 6-7; Lam. 4, 4; Ez. 18, 7, 16) and in part reflect the thought of the Jews, among whom the rite of breaking bread, performed by the father of the family at the beginning of a common meal, …
16:9
Jeremias (Hebrew Yirmeyāh[â] = "Yahweh Exalts or Establishes")
… Pathetic allusions to the beauty of family life (cf. Jer. 6, 11; 9, 20; 16, 9; 25, 10; 31, 4-5, 20; 48, 33) and the psychological struggle provoked in him by the prophetic vocation give us a glimpse of his gentle soul, averse to easy enthusiasms. …
Although allusions to accessory or ceremonial elements are not lacking (cf. Gen. 29:22, 27; Ecclus. 14:10; Ps. 18:6; Is. 61:10; Jer. 7:34; 16:9; Cant. 3:11; I Mach. 9:37; Mt. 25:1 etc.), in the Bible only in Tob. 8:24 is there mention of a written document drawn up at the time of the marriage.
16:10
… The prophets therefore, combating these deviations, set forth the essence of the Sinaitic covenant, announce its consequences, and give its ultimate purpose: a) Judah, for the honor and the justice of Yahweh, must be destroyed (Ez. 7; 14, 12-21; 15; 16; etc.; Jer. 8, 4-12; 11, 9-17; 16, 10-17; etc.); b) in order to realize his designs (Is. 48, 9 ff.; Ez. 20, 22-44; 36, 21-32), Yahweh however does not annihilate it; he reserves a "remnant," which he will purify in the long …
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.