The prayer of Ieremie the Prophet.
1Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider and behold our reproach.ORAZIONE DI GEREMIA PROFETA. Ricorditi, o Signore, di quel, che è a noi avvenuto: mira, e considera la nostra ignominia.REmember ô Lord what is fallen to vs: behold, and regard our reproch.Recordare, Domine, quid acciderit nobis; / intuere et respice opprobrium nostrum. 2Our inheritance is turned to aliens: our houses to strangers.La nostra eredità è andata in mano a' forestieri; le nostre case ad estranei.Our inheritance is turned to aliens: our houses to strangers.Hæreditas nostra versa est ad alienos, / domus nostræ ad extraneos. 3We are become orphans without a father: our mothers are as widows.Siam divenuti pupilli privi di padre: le madri nostre son come vedove.We are made pupils without father:Pupilli facti sumus absque patre, / matres nostræ quasi viduæ. 4We have drunk our water for money: we have bought our wood.A prezzo di denaro abbiam bevuta la nostra acqua, col denaro abbiam comperate le nostre legna.our mothersAquam nostram pecunia bibimus; / ligna nostra pretio comparavimus. 5We were dragged by the necks, we were weary and no rest was given us.Eravamo condotti presi pel nostro collo: requie non concedevasi agli stanchi.are as it were widowes. Our water we haue drunke for money: our wood we haue bought for a price. We were led by our neckes, no rest was geuen to the wearie.Cervicibus nostris minabamur, / lassis non dabatur requies. 6We have given our hand to Egypt, and to the Assyrians, that we might be satisfied with bread.Agli Egiziani, ed agli Assiri porgemmo le mani, per essere satollati di pane.We haue geuen our hand to Aegypt, and to the Assyrians, that we might be filled with bread.Ægypto dedimus manum et Assyriis, / ut saturaremur pane. 7Our fathers have sinned, and are not: and we have borne their iniquities.I padri nostri peccarono, e più non sono: e noi abbiam portate le loro iniquità.Our fathers haue sinned, and they are not: & we haue borne their iniquities.Patres nostri peccaverunt, et non sunt: / et nos iniquitates eorum portavimus. 8Servants have ruled over us: there was none to redeem us out of their hand.I servi nostri ci han dominati: non v'ebbe chi dalle mani loro ci riscattasse.Seruantes haue ruled ouer vs: there was none that would redeme vs out of their hand.Servi dominati sunt nostri: / non fuit qui redimeret de manu eorum. 9We fetched our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the desert.Con pericolo di nostra vita i luoghi deserti andavamo a provvederci di sostentamento, temendo sempre la spada.In peril of our liues did we fetch vs bread, at the face of the sword in the desert.In animabus nostris afferebamus panem nobis, / a facie gladii in deserto.
10Our skin was burnt as an oven, by reason of the violence of the famine.La nostra pelle è arsa come un forno per l'atrocità della fame.Our skinne was burnt as an ouen, by reason of the tempests of famine.Pellis nostra quasi clibanus exusta est, / a facie tempestatum famis. 11They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Juda.Svergognavano in Sion le donne, e le vergini nella città di Giuda.They humbled the wemen in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Iuda.Mulieres in Sion humiliaverunt, / et virgines in civitatibus Juda. 12The princes were hanged up by their hand: they did not respect the persons of the ancients.I principi sono stati appiccati per la mano, non hanno avuto rispetto alle facce de' vecchi.The princes were hanged vp by the hand: they did not reuerence the faces of the ancients.Principes manu suspensi sunt; / facies senum non erubuerunt. 13They abused the young men indecently: and the children fell under the wood.Hanno disonorati i giovanetti, e i fanciulli son venuti meno sotto il bastone.Yongmen they abused vnchastly: and the children fel in wood.Adolescentibus impudice abusi sunt, / et pueri in ligno corruerunt. 14The ancients have ceased from the gates: the young men from the choir of the singers.Mancano alle porte i seniori, i giovani al coro de' suonatori.The ancients decayed out of the gates: the yongmen out of the quier of the singers.Senes defecerunt de portis, / juvenes de choro psallentium. 15The joy of our heart is ceased, our dancing is turned into mourning.E estinta nel nostro cuor l'allegrezza: le nostre armonie sono cangiate in lutto.The ioy of our hart hath fayled, our quyre is turned into mourning.Defecit gaudium cordis nostri; / versus est in luctum chorus noster. 16The crown is fallen from our head: woe to us, because we have sinned.E caduta la corona dal nostro capo: guai a noi, che abbiamo peccato.The crowne of our head is fallen: wo to vs, because we haue sinned.Cecidit corona capitis nostri: / væ nobis, quia peccavimus ! 17Therefore is our heart sorrowful, therefore are our eyes become dim.Per questo il cuor nostro è addolorato; per questo han perduto il lume gli occhi nostri.Therfore is our hart made sorowful, therfore are our eyes darkned.Propterea mœstum factum est cor nostrum; / ideo contenebrati sunt oculi nostri, 18For mount Sion, because it is destroyed, foxes have walked upon it.Perchè desolato è il monte di Sion, le volpi per esso camminano.For mount Sion, because it is perished, foxes haue walked on it.propter montem Sion quia disperiit; / vulpes ambulaverunt in eo.
19But thou, O Lord, shalt remain for ever, thy throne from generation to generation.Ma tu, o Signore, sarai in eterno, il tuo trono per tutte quante le generazioni.But thou ô Lord shalt remaine for euer, thy throne in generation and to generation.Tu autem, Domine, in æternum permanebis, / solium tuum in generationem et generationem. 20Why wilt thou forget us for ever? why wilt thou forsake us for a long time?Perchè ti scorderai tu per sempre di noi? ci abbandonerai tu per la lunghezza de' giorni?Why wilt thou for euer be forgetful of vs? wilt thou forsake vs in length of daies?Quare in perpetuum oblivisceris nostri, / derelinques nos in longitudine dierum ? 21Convert us, O Lord, to thee, and we shall be converted: renew our days, as from the beginning.Convertici a te, o Signore, e noi ci convertiremo, rinnovella tu i nostri giorni, come da principio.Conuert vs ô Lord to thee, and we shal be conuerted: renew our dayes, as from the beginning.Converte nos, Domine, ad te, et convertemur; / innova dies nostros, sicut a principio. 22But thou hast utterly rejected us, thou art exceedingly angry with us.Ma tu ci hai rigettati terribilmente: tu se' sdegnato grandemente contro di noi.But reiecting thou hast reiected vs, thou art angrie against vs excedingly.Sed projiciens repulisti nos: / iratus es contra nos vehementer.
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Calmet
The prayer, etc. This title is not in Hebrew, Septuagint, etc. Theodoret has passed over the chapter, as if he doubted of its authenticity. It does not follow the order of Hebrew letters like the preceding, and seems to be a form of prayer for those who retired into Egypt. (Calmet)
Worthington
Jeremias foresees what would happen, and prays as the people would do. (Worthington)
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Aliens. The Idumeans seized and kept possession of the southern parts.
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Worthington
Father. Many had none surviving, and all had lost their king. (Worthington)
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Water. Even this was not given for nothing.
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Worthington
Hand; engaged to serve Egyptians, Babylonians, (Calmet) or other nations, to procure sustenance. (Worthington)
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Iniquities. This was the usual complaint of the Jews, (chap. 31:29.) as if they had committed no offence themselves. If any virtuous people were involved in the common ruin, they bore it with resignation, and acknowledged that they had deserved it, 1 Esdras 9:6., and 2 Esdras 1:6., and Esther 14:6., and Daniel 3:29.
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Calmet
Servants. One had command over another, Matthew 24:45. The Chaldeans were like slaves, and the race of Cham was condemned to servitude, Genesis 9:26. (Calmet)
Lyranus
The Jews had formerly dominion over Edom, etc., who now treated them so cruelly. (Menochius) (Lyranus)
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Sword. Any one might kill us.
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Calmet
Oppressed. Hebrew, "afflicted." Brutal insolence prevailed. (Calmet)
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Hand. Thus Leonidas was treated, after his head was cut off, by Xerxes. (Herodotus 7:238.)
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Amama
Indecently, like the Sodomites. Hebrew, "they made the young men grind" at the mill, in their prison, (Haydock) as Samson (Judges 16:21.) and Sedecias (according to the Septuagint, Lamentations 52:11.) were forced to do. To grind is often used in a bad sense; but it is not necessary to adopt it here. (Calmet) (Amama)
Haydock
The Chaldeans treated their captives without pity or shame. (Haydock)
Calmet
Wood; burdens, or stumbling-blocks, unless they were crucified; or, "roasted," if we admit a small alteration in the Hebrew, Lamentations 4:10. (Calmet)
Worthington
They were forced to grind naked, and were beaten with staves. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Gates, where sentence was usually passed. (Haydock)
The Jews had judges at Babylon, (Daniel 13:5.) but not at first, nor everywhere.
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Worthington
Crown, used at feasts; (Calmet) or, we have lost the sovereign power. (Worthington)
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Dim, the natural consequence of extreme want, 1 Kings 14:27.
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Foxes, which were very common, Judges 15:4. Thus, Horace says: Agros atque lares patrios, habitandaque fana Apris relinquet et edacibus lupis. (Epod. 16.)
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Grotius
Convert. Thy grace must work upon our hearts, (Calmet) before we can expect redress, (Haydock) and an end of our banishment. (Tirinus) (Grotius)
Worthington
Beginning, when our fathers observed the law. (St. Thomas Aquinas) (Menochius) See Lamentations 31:18.; St. Augustine, City of God ii., and 4:(Worthington)
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Calmet
Thou hast. We might read with an interrogation, (Haydock) in Hebrew, "Hast thou?" etc. The Jews superstitiously repeat the last verse, for fear of ending the book in an ominous manner, as they do at the end of Isaias and Malachias. (Calmet)
Worthington
Having treated us so severely, stop thy hand. (Worthington)
Menochius
But I perceive it will be in vain to beg for redress till the seventy years be expired. (Menochius)
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THE PROPHECY OF BARUCH
BARUCH was a man of noble extraction, and learned in the law, secretary and disciple to the prophet JEREMIAS, and a sharer in his labours and persecutions: which is the reason why the ancient fathers have considered this book as a part of the prophecy of JEREMIAS, and have usually quoted it under his name.
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Manie were orphanes with out fathers, & al were depriued of their king who was as a father of al the people.
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VVe haue put ourselues to worke and trauel in strange countries to gette bread to eate.
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in danger of thy svvord.
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They were made to grind linked in the •ille:
And beaten with staues.
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They lost the glorie of a kingdom, and were subiect to strange and barbarous nations.
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As Iere 31. v. 18. and S. Augustin li, de Gratia. & lib. arb. c. 2. 4. &c.
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Hauing so seuerly punished vs, we beseech thee now to cease from more.
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.9
… And if any one should say that this word is spoken concerning Christ, let him receive that which I write for him without disputation, and thus he will be persuaded that it was said with reference to the king. For Jeremiah said in behalf of the people:— Woe unto us, for the crown of our head has fallen !
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1. RECORDARE. — These words recordare, intuere, contain emphasis; for they signify not a bare and idle intuition and remembrance, but a practical, affectionate and efficacious one, namely an affection joined with effect. God therefore is said to remember and to behold, when he has mercy, grants pardon, frees from punishments, favors, confers benefits, etc. For the remembrance of God, as also his beholding, is operative and efficacious, whereas that of man is idle and inefficacious. On the other hand, to forget and not to behold is the same as to neglect, not to care.
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2. HÆREDITAS NOSTRA. — Judea which we possessed by hereditary right, has now become the Chaldeans', and is tributary to them. He recounts from verse 1 to 19 the same number of evils and disasters (namely one in each verse), that is 18, which befell them through destruction. All and each of these happened literally to Christians, when on account of their sins they lost the same holy land, Greece, Asia and other provinces, which are occupied by Turks or heretics. Let these therefore usurp them. Tropologically, all these things are easily adapted to the sinner, who incurs the same, indeed more losses through sin. See Dionysius the Carthusian.
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3. PUPILLI FACTI SUMUS ABSQUE PATRE, — because fathers have been slain or taken captive by the Chaldeans; whence wives remain solitary and desolate like widows, and sons orphaned. So Hugo, Lyra, the Chaldean Paraphrase. Secondly, Rabanus and St. Thomas, as if to say: We have been deprived of paternal protection by God, who was the husband of the Synagogue, and the father of each one in it. Thirdly, Maldonatus, as if to say: We have been deprived of King Josiah and Zedekiah; for a king is to the commonwealth and country as a father. But the first sense is most plain. For it follows: "Our mothers are as widows."
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4. AQUAM NOSTRAM PECUNIA BIBIMUS: LIGNA, etc. — as if to say: Even common and vile things, such as water, we had to buy. Secondly, water and wood which were formerly ours, now occupied by the Chaldeans, we had to and still have to redeem with money or tribute. Thirdly, Sanchez, as if to say: In Babylon, water common to all Babylonians, we Jews captives had to buy from them with money, which is hard and inhuman. For, as Cicero teaches in book 1 of the Offices, all things which nature has produced for the common use of men, such as water, air, fire, etc., are by natural law the property of all and each.
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5. UPON OUR NECKS WE SUFFERED PERSECUTION. — In Hebrew: Upon our necks we suffered persecution, namely because they were led into Babylon with ropes bound to their necks. Thus Rabanus and St. Thomas, and the Chaldeans imposed their burdens upon them, say the Chaldean and Hugo: but those who remained in Judea were driven like beasts to work and agriculture. Whence Sanchez understands by oppressed necks, namely by the yoke of servitude, any hard and vile service. The servants carried burdens, he says, either imposed on shoulders and necks, like beasts on their backs; or with necks put into the yoke of the wagon, which is the way of oxen, so that they drew the wagon, and in it a burden, namely dung, stones, sand, etc. But they are said to threaten their own necks because from yesterday's work they conjectured what burden would be carried on the morrow; wherefore they indicated this to themselves, and said: O neck once noble and free, how many burdens await you unworthy even of servile necks! O arms, what labor will exercise you, what services will break you! O my head, now devoted to insults and dire curses! Thus we see the Jews now treated with the vilest works: "Whose basket and hay are their furniture," says Juvenal, Satire 3, who therefore calls them Verpos, and mocks them. Otherwise Maldonatus: The voice, he says, we threatened, is taken passively, as if to say: Our necks the enemies threatened with grave evil, namely, as Lyra and Dionysius say, they threatened that they would cut off our necks unless we immediately did whatever they wished. Whence some read for minabamur, minabantur. But the Roman codices and other most correct ones have minabamur, which here does not signify to threaten; for when it signifies this, it is always taken actively, never passively; but it signifies to be driven and led like cattle, for this is what the Hebrew נרדף nirdaph denotes: whence the etymological verse thus distinguishes these two: The shepherd threatens the sheep with a staff, the wolf threatens with its mouth. TO THE WEARY NO REST WAS GIVEN. — Otherwise from the Hebrew R. Solomon and R. Joseph translate: labor is not left to us, that is, we labor and build to gain something; but immediately all the gain we received is taken from us by inhuman masters whom we serve. Thus the demon drives witches to crimes, and wearies them, and gives them no rest; thus drinking bouts, feasts, games, and even nocturnal lusts weary, and give no rest to the wretched and exhausted man; whence the impious say, Wisdom 5:7: "We are wearied in the way of iniquity;" for neither the demon, nor concupiscence, nor the world gives any rest to the sinner who serves them like a slave. On the contrary, to serve God is to rest, indeed to reign.
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6. WE GAVE OUR HAND TO EGYPT, — that is, we made a covenant with the Egyptians, says R. Abraham. Secondly and better, as if to say: We sought aid and provisions from the Egyptians, and became suppliants to them, and like beggars stretched out our hands to them to ask for alms. Thus Vatable, Lyra, Rabanus, Hugo, St. Thomas. Thirdly, "we gave our hand," that is, we surrendered and subjected ourselves, and served the Egyptians and Assyrians like slaves, so that we might earn bread by which to live, and drag out a wretched life: thus the Chaldean; and this sense seems most fitting. Fourthly, the Septuagint translates otherwise: Egypt gave its hand to Assur for their satiety, that is, the Egyptians and Assyrians supplied provisions to the Jews, so that they might be satisfied with bread. Thirdly, the Chaldean translates: When we went into exile, Nebuchadnezzar saw the princes of Israel going empty, that is, without burden; he therefore ordered the books of the law to be sewn together, and from them to make skins, and they filled them with pebbles which were on the bank of the Euphrates, and imposed them upon their necks. Thus the Jews relate or fabricate. Or, if this is true, they deservedly suffered this, so that the membranes of the law converted into sacks filled with pebbles and sand they might carry, they who had the law in membranes so dry and sterile, not written in the heart, and therefore idle and useless, which therefore brought upon them this weight of exile, and weighed them down and oppressed them, so that in that in which they had sinned, in that also they might be punished.
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8. SERVANTS. — The Ammonites and Edomites, who previously served us as tributaries, have now together with the Chaldeans stormed Jerusalem. Thus Hugo, St. Thomas (1), Lyranus. Secondly, as if to say: The Chaldeans, who are descended from Ham, Cush and Nimrod (who first reigned in Babylon, Genesis cap. X, 10) are condemned by Noah to be servants of Shem and his descendants, that is, of us, Genesis IX, 27, or, as Rabanus says, because of their impiety and idolatry they are servants; whereas the Jews are free-born: these now rule over us; hence the Jews called the Gentiles servants, but themselves free. From this the Jews say to Christ, wishing to free them from the servitude of sin, John VIII, 35: "We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never served any man." Thirdly, Sanchez: It is probable, he says, that the Jews were given as part of the spoils to the servants of the Chaldeans, who namely had served them in the Jewish war and worked in the camps: or rather, the Chaldeans placed their servants over the Jews, so that they might severely exact from them the hard daily task of work, as the servants of Pharaoh did to the Hebrews in Egypt, Exodus I, 11 and 14. Great is this sorrow, equally ignominy and reproach, which wonderfully pierces and oppresses the mind. For the same plague inflicted by a superior or equal causes far less torment than if it is inflicted by a subordinate, and especially by a servant. Thus the Emperor Maximian, in order to greatly afflict St. Sergius his primicerius, who openly professed himself a Christian, sent him to be judged and severely punished by Antiochus, prefect of the East, who had been the servant of St. Sergius and had obtained that dignity through his favor; who, to satisfy Maximian, ordered St. Sergius to be shod with spiked shoes, and thus clothed to run before his chariot like a slave; and so he led him through three leagues with sharp shame, equally with pain; for the spikes drew streams of blood from his feet. This torment he then ordered to be repeated. But when he saw that St. Sergius could not be overcome by any shame or pain, he ordered him to be executed by the sword in the year of the Lord 309, on the 7th of October, on which day the Church honors his triumph with the annual memorial of his martyrdom.
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9. IN OUR SOULS, — that is, with peril of our souls, that is, of our lives, on account of the Chaldeans everywhere roaming about and lying in wait and raging in desert places (as even now Arabs rage in Judea and Syria), both during the siege and after the city was captured we went out to gather food, so that we might bring grain and provisions from the fields into the city: thus Hugo, Lyranus, Dionysius, Vatablus and R. Joseph, who adds: The small amount of bread, he says, which we obtained from the Assyrians and brought out, was seized on the way, nor was there anyone to free us from their violence.
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10. SKIN, — as if to say: Just as a furnace is burned by frequent fire, dried up, blackened: so our skins on account of hunger are burned by natural heat, dried up, blackened. BEFORE THE FACE OF THE STORMS OF FAMINE, — that is, on account of the great famine which rushed upon us, like a mighty storm. In Hebrew it is on account of the burnings of famine, that is, by famine burning, or on account of the burnings of the fields bringing famine.
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12. PRINCES BY HAND (in Hebrew, by the hand of their, namely, enemies) WERE HUNG UP (1).
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13. THE YOUNG MEN THEY ABUSED SHAMEFULLY. — In Hebrew, Young men they took for grinding, as if to say: To the basest task, that is, to turning the mills, they applied young men, as if they were strong in vigor. Thus the Chaldean Paraphrase, Vatablus, Pagninus (2). Secondly, Our translator renders it better: The young men they abused shamefully; for this signifies metaphorically to grind among the Hebrews, as is evident in Job XXXI, 10, in the Hebrew, and also among Horace and other Latins, whose words in an obscene matter I willingly refrain from. Thus also the Greeks μύλλων, that is, to grind, take for to fornicate; hence μυλλάς is called a harlot. CHILDREN FELL UNDER THE WOOD, — that is, they were hung on a wooden gallows. Thus the Chaldean Paraphrase, Hugo, Lyranus. Or rather, as Vatablus, under the wooden handle by which they turned the mill, they fell from exhaustion. Or, as Lyranus, under the burden of wood, which they were forced to carry beyond their strength for the Chaldeans, they fell. Fourthly, Maldonatus and Sanchez explain it, as if to say: Children were beaten with rods and sticks even unto blood and death.
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14. THE ELDERS (judges) FAILED FROM THE GATES (of the cities, in which they were accustomed to sit while they exercised judgment, or dealt with the causes of the city or citizens); THE YOUNG MEN FROM THE CHOIR OF THOSE SINGING. — For the glory of a flourishing city consists in two things, namely in the gravity, prudence and equity of the elders; and in the vigor, joy and pleasure of the young men; who were accustomed to lead choirs, and in them to sing and dance. Both failed in afflicted Jerusalem. For choir in Hebrew it is נגינה negina, which was a kind of musical instrument; but because they were accustomed to lead choirs and dances to it, hence by metonymy it is taken for them.
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16. THE CROWN OF OUR HEAD HAS FALLEN. — That is, the diadem of the kingdom, namely our kingdom has been transferred to the Chaldeans: thus Hugo, St. Thomas, Lyranus; secondly, Maldonatus understands by crown glory; thirdly, Rabanus, Vatablus and Isidorus take crown to mean the temple; fourthly and properly, the Jews were accustomed to place crowns upon their heads in festivals and more joyful gatherings, as if to say, Those days have failed, and the delights, in which we were accustomed to rejoice and to crown our heads. Thus Sanchez. Let all these things be used by the penitent, and let them imitate the voices and wailings of the penitent here, and similar ones in Climacus, in the step On Penance.
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17. OUR EYES ARE DARKENED, — by constant and excessive weeping, as Job complains happened to him. cap. XVI, 17; secondly, "darkened," as if to say, So struck down by this calamity, prostrate and stunned were we, that our eyes seemed to be turned inward and darkened: thirdly, Sanchez: The eyes are darkened, he says, because the sorrowful flee from light and men, and seek darkness, as Dido in Virgil: She longs for death, weary of beholding the vault of heaven.
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18. FOXES HAVE WALKED IN IT. — as if to say, The temple and mount Sion are so deserted, that foxes freely and fearlessly move about in it.
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20. WHY FOREVER. — In Hebrew, why for the length of days, why for so long a time do you abandon us, as if we do not belong to you? especially since, as verse 19 preceded, you remain forever, and have an eternal kingdom and throne among us, against which no force of enemies can prevail.
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21. CONVERT US, — as if to say, Because the origin of our evils was to depart from you, O Lord; hence you who are immutable and firm in your promises, equally as in eternal kingdom, as I said verse 19; you, I say, according to your promises in Levit. XXVI, 23, do not utterly cast us away, and your covenant with us; and because this requires that we pray for our sins, so that their pardon accepted from you, we may be reconciled to you through grace, I beseech you, Lord, convert us to you through true and serious penance, by which we may obtain this pardon and grace. Thus the Chaldean, Olympiodorus, Rabanus, Lyranus and others. Hence consequently the Prophet prays, that the people be brought back to that time and age, in which converted to God in faith and mind, they worshipped him piously and religiously: and by him in turn converting himself to his people, they were blessed with peace and all good things (1). Thus Rabanus and St. Thomas. For if he himself should wish to convert his exiled people to their place and homeland, equally as to himself, they will be converted thereby, and at the same time will return to their former dignity and glory, just as if they were rising from the dead. Whence he adds: "Renew our days as from the beginning." A twofold conversion is therefore signified here, the first and principal to God's grace and friendship; the second consequent, so that from exile to freedom, homeland, and former good things the Jews may be converted and return. Hugo takes only the second. Hence the Council of Trent, sess. VI, cap. V, and the Theologians teach, that grace is necessary for the conversion of the sinner, and free will cooperating with grace, and this Zacharias wishes when he says cap. I, 3: "Turn to me, and I will turn to you;" but grace ought to precede and stir up free will, as if oppressed and dulled by sin; and this Jeremiah wishes here, and thus he is to be reconciled with Zacharias. RENEW OUR DAYS, AS FROM THE BEGINNING, — so that we may worship you piously and religiously, as we began under Moses in Sinai, when you gave us the law; and you in turn keep us and our days in peace. Thus the Chaldean, Rabanus, St. Thomas. Secondly, Olympiodorus, Dionysius, Hugo, Lyranus, as if to say, Free us from Babylon, as once you led us out of Egypt into the promised land. Similar to this petition is that in Job XXIX, 2: "Who would grant me that I might be according to the months past, according to the days in which God kept me? as I was in the days of my youth, when God was secretly in my tabernacle," etc.
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22. BUT CASTING AWAY. — This is another reason on account of which He ought to be heard, which the Septuagint, the Chaldean paraphrase, and Vatablus express more clearly; for they translate: Because Thou hast cast us off sufficiently, namely, by exercising the utmost vengeance and captivity upon us, as if to say: We have already suffered enough punishment, and we have satisfied Thy wrath; restore therefore Thy clemency to us, and turn us back to Thee. For this petition he passes over in silence out of shame and affliction. For the same reason the Hebrew and our version add the word but, as if to say: I have prayed saying: Turn us back; but behold I do not obtain it, and we are far removed from this conversion, because behold Thou, casting us away, hast hitherto repelled us; wherefore, being silent and confused, I groan, and by this groaning of mine I implore Thy mercy silently and with reverence, that at length Thou mayest spare Thy wrath, restrain Thy scourges, and have mercy upon me. This sense is most fitting. For it is an aposiopesis for pathos, such as is wont to be in those greatly afflicted beseeching for pardon; for in these cases pain and shame suppress much. Secondly, Maldonatus thinks that these words respond to verse 20, and ought to be joined with it, as if to say: "Why dost Thou forget us forever? but," that is, and indeed, "casting us away Thou hast repelled us." Thirdly, others translate: Although Thou hast cast us away, yet we have already suffered punishment enough from Thy wrath poured out upon us. Fourthly, Sanchez explains it thus, as if to say: But why do I persist in vows, why do I urge prayers, that Thou mayest restore the Jewish matter speedily, when Thou, being greatly angered, hast cast off the people even unto the seventieth year, and hast delivered them to the Babylonian captivity? This sense also is fitting (2).
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
5:2
Hic propheta, post multiplicia lamenta, convertit se ad orationis remedium; et primo exponit populi miseriam: secundo petit misericordiam, ibi, tu autem, domine, et cetera. Prima in duas. Primo exponit miseriam populi, quantum ad mala quae incurrerunt; secundo quantum ad bona, quae amiserunt, ibi, senes defecerunt de portis. Circa primum duo. Primo excitat attentionem, recordare, attende ad miserias meas. Supra 3: recordare paupertatis, et transgressionis meae. Recordare, quasi dicat, in notitia tene, intuere, idest, notitia recondita considerationem defige, respice, cogitando, et discutiendo. Secundo ibi, hereditas nostra versa est ad alienos, ponit populi afflictionem: et primo in generali; secundo descendendo ad speciales personas, ibi, mulieres in Sion humiliaverunt. Circa primum duo. Primo excludit ea quibus contra miserias sustentabantur, scilicet proprias possessiones, quae in potestate hostium transierunt, hereditas nostra versa est ad alienos. Supra 1: manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia ejus. Jer. 6: et transibunt domus eorum ad alteros, et agri, et uxores pariter.
5:3
Et divinam protectionem: pupilli facti sumus, quia destituti divina, quasi paterna consolatione. Matres nostrae, synagogae, quasi viduae, quarum acus sponsus dicebatur. Isa. 9: pupillorum et viduarum ejus non miserebitur: quia omnis hypocrita est et nequam. Secundo ibi, aquam nostram pecunia bibimus, prosequitur speciales miserias quas patiebantur: et primo servitutem; secundo afflictionem, ibi, in animabus nostris afferebamus panem nobis. Circa primum duo. Primo ponit populi servitutem; secundo exaggerat ipsam, ibi, patres nostri peccaverunt, et non sunt. Circa primum duo.
5:4
Primo ponit servitutem quam patiebantur quantum ad bona ipsorum: aquam nostram pecunia bibimus hostibus tyrannice nos opprimentibus. Deut. 2: aquam emptam haurietis, et bibetis.
5:5
Secundo ponit servitutem quantum ad proprias personas: et primo coactam: cervicibus nostris minabamur; quasi, in percussione cervicum persistere in via nolebamus; vel ligati cervicibus. Deut. 28: in gentibus quoque illis non quiesces, nec erit requies tibi. Secundo ponit servitutem personalem voluntariam, quia inopia compulsi se aliis in servos vendebant, vel simpliciter, vel ad tempus; et hoc est, Aegypto dedimus manum, quasi eis nos subjugantes. 1 Reg. 2: repleti prius, pro panibus se locaverunt.
5:6
Vel dedimus manum, auxilium postulantes. Jer. 2: quid tibi in via Aegypti, ut bibas aquam turbidam?
5:7
Patres nostri peccaverunt. Hic exaggerat servitutem: et primo ex conditione servientium, quia pro peccatis aliorum puniuntur, et non sunt, quia sunt mortui. Portavimus, poenam eorum sustinentes. Sed contra. Ezech. 18: quid est quod inter vos vertitis parabolam in proverbium dicentes: patres nostri comederunt uvas acerbas, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt? Solutio. Exod. 20: ego sum Deus Zelotes, visitans iniquitatem patrum in filios, in tertiam et quartam generationem. (Deut. 32): his qui oderunt me retribuam. Secundo exaggerat ex conditione dominantium servi dominati sunt, sicut Moabitae, et Idumaei, et alii vicini, quorum prius dominati fuerant. Prov. 30: per tria mala movetur terra (...) per servum, cum regnaverit, per stultum, cum saturatus fuerit cibo; per odiosam mulierem, cum in matrimonio fuerit assumpta. In animabus.
5:9
Hic ponit afflictionem famis: et ostendit primo penuriam, in animabus, idest in periculo animarum nostrarum, scilicet vitae nostrae, fugientes in deserto a facie gladii Babylonis: vel quod onerantes se victualibus, periculis se exponebant, ut hostes insequentes in deserto effugerent: vel quia nimio labore ad conquirendum cibum corpus suum consumebant. Isa. 21: qui habitatis in terra Austri cum panibus occurrite fugienti.
5:10
Secundo ponit famis effectum: pellis nostra exusta, fame desiccata, tempestatum, quia obsessi et fugientes famem passi sunt diu. Oseae 7: omnes adulterantes quasi clibanus succensus a coquente. Job 9: pelli meae, consumptis carnibus, adhaesit os meum. Mulieres. Hic descendit ad speciales personas: et primo ad mulieres, humiliaverunt, corrumpendo eas. Deut. 28: uxorem accipies, et alius dormiet cum ea: filiae tuae tradentur alteri populo, videntibus oculis tuis.
5:12
Secundo quantum ad principes: principes manu suspensi sunt, quasi in eculeo ad manifestandum divitias suas. Deut. 28: adducet super te gentem de longinquo, et de extremis finibus terrae, in similitudinem aquilae cum impetu, cujus intelligere linguam non possis, gentem procacissimam quae non deferat seni, nec misereatur parvuli.
5:13
Tertio quantum ad juvenes: adolescentibus impudice abusi sunt. Joel 3: posuerunt puerum in prostibulo, et puellam vendiderunt pro vino, ut biberent.
5:14
Senes defecerunt de portis. Hic ponit miseriam quantum ad bona quae defecerunt: et primo quantum ad officia personarum: de portis defecerunt, quasi ad exercendum judicia in portis; de choro, quasi non choreizant: quod erat officium dominorum. 1 Mach. 2: trucidati sunt senes ejus in platea et juvenes ejus ceciderunt gladio.
5:15
Secundo quantum ad exercitium gaudiorum, defecit gaudium. Amos 8: convertam festivitatem vestram in luctum, et omnia cantica vestra in planctum.
5:16
Tertio quantum ad gloriam dignitatum: et primo quantum ad gloriam regni, cecidit corona. Job 19: spoliavit me gloria mea, et abstulit coronam de capite meo. Secundo quantum ad gloriam templi, ponens super hoc tristitiam.
5:17
Propterea maestum factum est in dolore cor nostrum; ideo contenebrati sunt oculi nostri, prae multitudine lacrymarum. Jer. 8: dolor meus super dolorem.
5:18
Et tristitiae causam: propter montem Sion, ubi templum, vulpes ambulaverunt, quasi in locis desertis. Mich. 3: Sion quasi ager arabitur, et Jerusalem quasi acervus lapidum erit, et mons templi in excelsa sylvarum. Tu autem, domine. Hic jam convertit se ad petendum.
5:19
Et primo confitetur ipsam majestatem quantum ad aeternitatem substantiae: in aeternum permanebis: et quantum ad durationem regalis gloriae: solium tuum in generationem et generationem. Ps. 101: tu autem, domine, in aeternum permanebis, memoriale tuum in generatione et generationem.
5:20
Secundo miratur indignationem: quare in perpetuum oblivisceris nostri? Isa. 49: numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui?
5:21
Tertio porrigit petitionem: converte nos, domine. Jer. 31: converte me, domine, et convertar, quia tu es dominus Deus meus. Sed contra. Zach. 1: convertimini ad me. Et dicendum, quod utrumque est verum propter hoc quod ad opus meritorium exigitur liberi arbitrii praeparatio, et gratiae infusio. Innova dies nostros. Job 29: quis tribuat ut sim juxta menses pristinos, secundum dies quando Deus custodiebat me?
5:22
Quarto ponit petendi necessitatem: sed projiciens repulisti nos. Jer. 14: numquid projiciens abjecisti Judam, aut Sion abominata est anima tua? Quare ergo percussisti nos, ut nulla sit sanitas?
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.