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But even of those very ones of whom he speaks, so that seeing the outcome they might be persuaded, God is the Lord of all. And he prophesies the recalling of the people, and he sets the number of years of the captivity. Finally he also composes Laments, and gives exhortation through a letter to those who happen to be in the colony; in which he refutes the vanity of idols, and shows God to be the Lord of all. The word of God which came to Jeremiah. His name was Jeremiah, as the Bible says, his tribe was Levite, his homeland Anathothite, and he dwelt in the land of Benjamin, from the priestly lineage. Of the priests. Of the just and wonderful one. Since others also received their beginning from there, they made their prophecies in the time of the just. See; even though God foresaw that they would not be helped at all, he sent the prophets; for we reap no small fruit from this. For so that no one might say: And what is the benefit? as if someone might blame a physician who, foreseeing the man’s death, stays with him until his last breath; for he did not fail to exhort and advise in all things. But for what reason did they suffer these things under the just and pious man? because they were paying the penalty for the sin of the things done by Manasseh in forty years. The word of God. This is the preface of the book; it indicates whose son he was, that he was of Hilkiah; and of what rank, that he was a priest, and where he dwelt, that it was in Anathoth, and of what tribe, that he was from Benjamin. A saying, and a word, and a vision, and an oracle are the same thing. And a word came not through a voice, but because it was a vision speaking more clearly, as if a vision had occurred. What does this word mean? What does it prepare? The people were murderous. Isaiah had been sawn in two, Amos driven out, Zechariah buried alive; being trained in prophetic blood, just as dogs tasting blood, they henceforth thirsted for such food; transforming themselves into rages, they did not yet desist. There was need 64.748 for the prophet of great and lofty spirit, leaping into such a people. As the word of God came. This too is part of the preface. And it indicates under which king he began the prophecy, and at what time. For since Josiah was just, and had a right mind concerning piety, but was not able from himself to know the good, since all his ancestors had turned aside to impiety, and especially since he had been brought to the kingship when very young; from the thirteenth year of his reign God ordained for Jeremiah to prophesy, so that from the reproofs of the prophet the king might show his own zeal for what is good. At any rate, not five years having passed, he took extraordinary care for the temple. And it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. This too is part of the preface. And it indicates the kings in whose time he prophesied. And the phrase; And it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, indicates that he was indeed shown to be a prophet and was deemed worthy of spiritual grace in the time of Josiah. But he made all these words beginning from Jehoiakim. For then they were especially in need of exhortation. For if he only wished to indicate the time in which he began to prophesy, the mention of Josiah would have been sufficient; but if he also wanted to name the others in whose time he prophesied, he ought to have also set down those who were left out. So it is clear that this indicates that he began in the time of Josiah, but he did not need many or strong words at that time, since the ruler was pious and the multitude followed the king. And the word of the Lord came to him, saying. This is the beginning of the book, but this is not the beginning of the prophecy. For since all had strayed into impiety, and there were no longer prophets; he wished to send the just man to change the people’s zeal for impiety with his own words. Before you came forth. Thus also Paul; He who set me apart from my mother’s womb, so that; I might preach him among the Gentiles. —And after a little; I am the one who formed you from the womb. It is not the work of nature, nor of

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ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων καθ' ὧν λέγει, ἵνα ὁρῶντες τὴν ἔκβασιν πείθοιντο, ὁ ∆εσπότης ἁπάντων ἐστὶν ὁ Θεός. Προφητεύει δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀνάκλησιν τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ ἀριθμὸν ἐτῶν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τίθησι. Τέλος δὲ καὶ Θρήνους ποιεῖται, καὶ παραίνεσιν δι' ἐπιστολῆς τίθησι πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀποικίᾳ τυγχάνοντας· ἐν ᾗ ἐλέγχει καὶ τῶν εἰδώλων τὸ μάταιον, καὶ ∆εσπότην τῶν ἁπάντων δεικνύει τὸν Θεόν. Τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ὃ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Ἱερεμίαν. Τὸ μὲν ὄνομα Ἱερεμίας, ὡς καὶ ἡ Βίβλος φησὶ, τὴν δὲ φυλὴν Λευΐτης, τὴν δὲ πατρίδα Ἀναθωθίτης, τὴν δὲ χώραν ἐν Βενιαμεὶμ κατῴκει, ἐκ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ γένους. Ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων. Τοῦ δικαίου καὶ θαυμαστοῦ. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄλλοι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἔλαβον, ἐπὶ δικαίων τὰς προφητείας ἐποιοῦντο. Ὅρα· καὶ προειδὼς ὁ Θεὸς μηδὲν ὠφελουμένους αὐτοὺς, τοὺς προφήτας ἔπεμπεν· οὐ μικρὸν γὰρ ἐκ τούτου καρπούμεθα. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ λέγοι τις· Καὶ τί τὸ ὄφελος; ὡσανεὶ καὶ ἰατρῷ προειδότι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, μέμφοιτό τις παραμένοντι μέχρις ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς· οὐ γὰρ ἐνέλιπε πάντα παραινῶν καὶ συμβουλεύων. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐπὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ εὐσεβοῦς ταῦτα ἔπασχον; ὅτι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐτίννυον δίκην τῶν Μανασσῇ πεπραγμένων ἐν τεσσαράκοντα ἔτεσιν. Τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοῦτό ἐστι προγραφὴ τοῦ βιβλίου· μηνύει δὲ, τίνος παῖς, ὅτι Χελκίου· καὶ ποίας ἀξίας, ὅτι ἱερεὺς, καὶ ποῦ κατοικῶν, ὅτι ἐν Ἀναθὼθ, καὶ ποίας φυλῆς, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς Βενιαμίν. Ῥῆσις δὲ, καὶ λόγος, καὶ ὅρασις, καὶ λῆμμα ταυτόν ἐστι. Ῥῆμα δὲ ἐγένετο οὐ διὰ φωνῆς, ἀλλ' ὅτι σαφέστερον λέγουσα ὅρασις, ὡς ὁράματος γεγονότος. Τί βούλεται τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο; Τί κατασκευάζει; Ὁ δῆμος φονῶν ἦν. Ἡσαΐας πρισθεὶς ἦν, ἐλαθεὶς Ἀμὼς, Ζαχαρίας καταχωσθείς· ἐγγυμναζόμενοι τοῖς αἵμασι τοῖς προφητικοῖς, καθάπερ κύνες αἱμάτων γευόμενοι, λοιπὸν τῆς τοιαύτης ἐδίψων τροφῆς· εἰς θυμοὺς ἑαυτοὺς μεταβάλλοντες, οὔπω οὐκ ἀπέστησαν. Ἔδει 64.748 πολλοῦ τῷ προφήτῃ καὶ μεγάλου φρονήματος εἰς τοιοῦτον ἐμπηδῶντι δῆμον. Ὡς ἐγενήθη λόγος Θεοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο τῆς προγραφῆς. Μηνύει δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ ποίου βασιλέως ἤρξατο τῆς προφητείας, καὶ κατὰ ποῖον καιρόν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δίκαιος ἦν Ἰωσίας, καὶ ὀρθὴν εἶχε τὴν γνώμην περὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν, οὐκ ἠδύνατο δὲ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ γνῶναι τὸ καλὸν πάντων εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐκκλινόντων τῶν αὐτοῦ προγόνων, καὶ μάλιστα κομιδῇ νέος παραχθεὶς τὴν βασιλείαν· ἀπὸ τρισκαιδεκάτου ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ᾠκονόμησεν ὁ Θεὸς προφητεύειν τὸν Ἱερεμίαν, ἵνα ἐκ τῶν ἐλέγχων τοῦ προφήτου τὴν περὶ τὸ καλὸν σπουδὴν δείξῃ ἑαυτοῦ ὁ βασιλεύς. Οὐ διεληλυθότων γοῦν πέντε ἐνιαυτῶν περιττὴν τοῦ ναοῦ σπουδὴν ἔσχεν. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἰωακὶμ υἱοῦ Ἰωσία. Καὶ τοῦτο τῆς προγραφῆς. Μηνύει δὲ τοὺς βασιλεῖς, ἐν οἷς προεφήτευσε. Τὸ δέ· Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἰωακεὶμ υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου, μηνύει, ὅτι ἐδείχθη μὲν προφήτης, καὶ πνευματικῆς ἠξιώθη χάριτος ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωσίου. Τοὺς δὲ πάντας τούτους λόγους ἀπὸ Ἰωακεὶμ ἀρξάμενος ἐποιήσατο. Τότε γὰρ μάλιστα ἐδέοντο παραινέσεως. Εἰ γὰρ τὸν χρόνον μόνον, καθ' ὃν ἤρξατο προφητεύειν, σημᾶναι ἐβούλετο, ἤρκει τοῦ Ἰωσίου ἡ μνήμη· εἰ δὲ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς εἰπεῖν ἠθέλησεν, ἐφ' ὧν προεφήτευσεν, ἔδει καὶ τοὺς ὑπολειφθέντας θεῖναι. Ὥστε δῆλον ὡς τοῦτο μηνύει, ὡς ἤρξατο μὲν ἐπὶ Ἰωσίου, οὐ πολλῶν δὲ λόγων, οὐδὲ σφοδρῶν ἐδεήθη τὸ τηνικαῦτα, τοῦ τε κρατοῦντος ὄντος εὐσεβοῦς, καὶ τοῦ πλήθους ἑπομένου τῷ βασιλεῖ. Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγων. Αὕτη μὲν ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ βιβλίου, οὐχ αὕτη δὲ τῆς προφητείας ἡ ἀρχή. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἅπαντες ἐξώκειλαν εἰς ἀσέβειαν, καὶ προφῆται λοιπὸν οὐκ ἦσαν· ἠβούλετο δὲ τὸν δίκαιον ἀποστεῖλαι ἐπὶ τὸ τοῖς οἰκείοις λόγοις μεταβαλεῖν τοῦ λαοῦ τὴν περὶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν σπουδήν. Πρὸ τοῦ σε ἐξελθεῖν. Οὕτω καὶ Παῦλος· Ὁ ἀφορίσας με ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου, ἵνα· εὐαγγελίζωμαι αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι. -Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἐγὼ ὁ πλάσας σε ἐκ κοιλίας. Οὐ τῆς φύσεως τὸ ἔργον ἐστὶν, οὐ τῶν