to despise», see if it is not truly for this reason, since they did not think they were deceived, they stored up for themselves «wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God», which they would not have stored up if they had been deceived. These things because of the deceit from God, since the prophet said: «You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived». But let us proceed separately also <to> the «I was deceived». Why did he not only say, «You deceived me, Lord», but also added the «I was deceived»? It is possible sometimes to conceive of someone perpetrating the deceit, but another guarding himself from being deceived and not being deceived. But when one perpetrates the deceiving, and the other does not guard against being deceived but falls into the deceit, he might say: «You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived». But I, coming to this passage, would <say> something like this: whatever the serpent says to me, whether it tells me the truth or wants to deceive me, I am suspicious of its words, being persuaded that, whether it deceives me or tells the truth, it harms me. For even its truth harms; nothing beneficial comes from the serpent, since «a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit». But whatever God says to me, and I am persuaded that it is God who is speaking, I am ready to offer myself. He speaks truth, I accept it; he wishes to deceive me, I am willingly deceived, let God alone deceive me. And since I offer myself, persuaded that it is God who is speaking, to be deceived, and I am not inquisitive, wishing when I am deceived to be deceived not by another, but by God, for this reason I say that not only have you effected the deceit, but that I also have suffered being deceived by you, and on this account I say, «You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived». And what follows from God being the one who deceives and a man being the one who is deceived? «You have overpowered <and> prevailed». Then he overpowers me, if he deceives me in the beginning when I am still an infant in Christ, and having overpowered me, he is able. But if he does not overpower me, then I have need of toils. «You have overpowered and prevailed». 20.5 Next to these things he says: «I have become a laughingstock, all day long I have continued to be mocked». And concerning this passage I used to hear these things, that Jeremiah lived in the times of the most sinful people (for the captivity happened in his time), and they were so sinful that they would mock and laugh and jeer, whenever the prophet would speak the prophetic preface, the «thus says the Lord». Those who heard would laugh and would mock the things being said. He was careful not to say «thus says the Lord,» he who was deceived and benefited from being deceived. Wherefore he himself, wishing to deceive for the sake of being benefited from the deceit, would say: that I speak my own words to you, since you do not listen to the words of the Lord. Then they would give ear as to the words of Jeremiah and they would hear the words of God. And these things were told to me by the one who transmitted the passage to me, examining the prefaces and the beginnings of the prophecies. So there is also the beginning of the prophecy of Jeremiah among us, as the Seventy have handed it down, I do not know with what intention: «The word of God which came to Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah of the priests», but in the Hebrew and the other editions: «The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah», and all have agreed in saying: «The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah». Why then «the words of Jeremiah»? Since his preface, in speaking to those not willing to hear, was: Listen to my words. And we sometimes do such things, whenever it appears advantageous to us. Sometimes we bring words <to> those from the nations, wishing to bring them to the faith, and if we see that they are prejudiced against Christianity and detest the name and hate to hear that this word is from Christians, we do not profess to speak a beneficial word of Christians. But when that word has been constructed by us according to our ability, and we seem to capture the hearer, who has not just casually heard what was said, then we confess that this praiseworthy word was a word of Christians. And we do something similar to the one who no longer said «thus says the Lord» but: listen to the words of me, Jeremiah. These things because of the «I have become a laughingstock». And we are indignant, if ever while speaking we are laughed at, whereas such a one as Jeremiah says: «I have become a
καταφρονεῖν», ὅρα εἰ μὴ ἀληθῶς διὰ τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἔδοξαν ἠπατῆσθαι, ἐθησαύρισαν αὑτοῖς «ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ», οὐκ ἂν θησαυρίσαντες εἰ ἠπατήθησαν. ταῦτα διὰ τὴν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἀπάτην, ἐπεὶ εἶπεν ὁ προφήτης· «ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε, καὶ ἠπατήθην». Παρέλθωμεν δὲ ἰδίᾳ καὶ <εἰς> τὸ «ἠπατήθην». διὰ τί οὐκ εἶπε μόνον τὸ «ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε», ἀλλὰ προσέθηκε καὶ τὸ «ἠπατήθην»; ἔστιν ἐνίοτε ἐπινοῆσαι [τι] ἐνεργοῦντά τινα τὴν ἀπάτην, ἄλλον δὲ φυλασσόμενον ἀπατηθῆναι καὶ οὐκ ἀπατώμενον. ὅταν δὲ ὁ μὲν ἐνεργήσῃ τὸ ἀπατᾶν, ὁ δὲ μὴ φυλάξηται τὸ ἀπατηθῆναι ἀλλ' ἐμπέσῃ εἰς τὴν ἀπάτην, εἴποι ἄν· «ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε, καὶ ἠπατήθην». ἐγὼ δὲ γενόμενος κατὰ τὸν τόπον καὶ τοιαῦτά τινα εἴποιμι <ἄν>· ὃ ἐὰν λέγῃ μοι ὁ ὄφις, κἂν ἀληθῆ μοι λέγῃ κἂν ἀπατᾶν με θέλῃ, ὑφορῶμαι αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους πειθόμενος ὅτι, εἴτε ἀπατᾷ με εἴτε ἀληθεύει, βλάπτει με. καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια γὰρ αὐτοῦ βλάπτει· οὐδὲν ὠφέλιμον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄφεως γίνεται, ἐπεὶ «μὴ δύναται δένδρον πονηρὸν καρποὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἐνεγκεῖν». ὃ ἐὰν δὲ λέγῃ μοι ὁ θεὸς καὶ πείθωμαι ὅτι θεός ἐστιν ὁ λέγων, ἕτοιμός εἰμι παρέχειν ἐμαυτόν. ἀληθεύει, δέχομαι· ἀπατᾶν με βού λεται, ἑκὼν ἀπατῶμαι, θεός με μόνος ἀπατάτω. καὶ ἐπεὶ παρέχω ἐμαυτόν, πειθόμενος θεὸν εἶναι τὸν λέγοντα, καὶ ἀπατᾶσθαι, καὶ οὐ περιεργάζομαι, θέλων ἀπατώμενος μὴ ὑπ' ἄλλου, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπατηθῆναι, διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὅτι οὐ μόνον σὺ ἐνήργησας τὸ ἀπατᾶν, ἀλλ' ὅτι κἀγὼ πέπονθα τὸ ὑπὸ σοῦ ἀπατᾶσθαι, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὅτι «ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε, καὶ ἠπατήθην». τί δὲ ἀκολουθεῖ τῷ τὸν θεὸν εἶναι ἀπατῶντα καὶ ἄνθρωπον εἶναι τὸν ἀπατώμενον; «ἐκράτησας <καὶ> ἠδυνάσθης». τότε με κρατεῖ, ἐάν με κατ' ἀρχὰς ἔτι νήπιον ἐν Χριστῷ ἀπατήσῃ, καὶ κρατήσας δύναται. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ κρατήσῃ, τότε μοι χρεία πόνων. «ἐκράτησας καὶ ἠδυνάσθης». 20.5 Ἑξῆς τούτοις λέγει· «ἐγενόμην εἰς γέλωτα, πᾶσαν ἡμέραν διετέλεσα μυκτηριζόμενος». καὶ εἰς τοῦτον τὸν τόπον ταῦτα ἤκουον, ὅτι Ἱερεμίας γέγονε κατὰ χρόνους ἁμαρτωλοτάτων (ἐπ' αὐτοῦ γοῦν γέγονεν ἡ αἰχμαλωσία), καὶ οὕτως ἦσαν ἁμαρτωλοὶ ὥστε μυκτηρίζειν καὶ γελᾶν καὶ χλευάζειν, εἴ ποτε ὁ προφήτης τὸ προοίμιον ἔλεγε τὸ προφητικόν, τὸ «τάδε λέγει κύριος». ἐγέλων οἱ ἀκούοντες καὶ ἐμυκτήριζον τὰ λεγόμενα. ἐφυλάξατο εἰπεῖν τὸ «τάδε λέγει κύριος» ὁ ἀπατηθεὶς καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ ἀπατᾶσθαι. διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς βουλόμενος ἀπατᾶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὠφελεῖσθαι ἐκ τοῦ ἀπατᾶν ἔλεγεν· ὅτι ἐμοὺς ὑμῖν λαλῶ, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἀκούετε τοὺς τοῦ κυρίου λόγους. εἶτα ἐκεῖνοι παρεῖχον τὰς ἀκοὰς ὡς λόγοις Ἱερεμίου καὶ ἤκουον λόγων θεοῦ. ταῦτα δέ μοι ἔλεγεν ὁ παραδιδούς μοι τὸν τόπον, ἐξετάζων τὰ προοίμια καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς τῶν προφητειῶν. ἔστι τοίνυν καὶ ἀρχὴ τῆς προφητείας Ἱερεμίου παρὰ μὲν ἡμῖν, ὡς οἱ Ἑβδομήκοντα παραδεδώκασιν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅ, τι σκοπήσαντες· «τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ θεοῦ ὃ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Ἱερεμίαν τὸν τοῦ Χελκίου ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων», ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἐκδόσεσι· «λόγοι Ἱερεμίου υἱοῦ Χελκίου», καὶ πάντες συνεφώνησαν τῷ εἰπεῖν· «λόγοι Ἱερεμίου υἱοῦ Χελκίου». διὰ τί οὖν «λόγοι Ἱερεμίου»; ἐπειδήπερ τὸ προοίμιον αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ λέγειν πρὸς τοὺς μὴ βουλομένους ἀκοῦσαι ἦν· ἀκούσατέ μου τοὺς λόγους. Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔσθ' ὅτε τοιαῦτα, ὅταν λυσιτελὲς ἡμῖν φανῇ, ποιοῦμεν. ἐνίοτε λόγους <τοῖς> ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν προσάγομεν βουλόμενοι αὐτοὺς προσαγαγεῖν τῇ πίστει, καὶ ἐὰν ἴδωμεν ὅτι διαβεβλημένοι εἰσὶ πρὸς Χριστιανισμὸν καὶ βδελύσσονται τὸ ὄνομα καὶ μισοῦσι τὸ ἀκοῦσαι, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ λόγος Χριστιανῶν ἐστιν, οὐ προσποιούμεθα Χριστιανῶν λέγειν λόγον ὠφέλιμον. ἀλλ' ὅταν ὁ λόγος ἐκεῖνος κατασκευασθῇ κατὰ δύναμιν ὑφ' ἡμῶν, καὶ δοκῶμεν αἱρεῖν τὸν ἀκροατὴν οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχε τοῦ λεγομένου ἀκούσαντα, τότε ὁμολογοῦμεν ὅτι οὗτος ὁ ἐπαινετὸς λόγος Χριστιανῶν λόγος ἦν. καὶ ποιοῦμέν τι παραπλήσιον τῷ εἰπόντι οὐκέτι «τάδε λέγει κύριος» ἀλλά· ἀκούσατε λόγους ἐμοῦ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου. ταῦτα διὰ τὸ «ἐγενόμην εἰς γέλωτα». Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀγανακτοῦμεν, ἐάν ποτε λαλοῦντες γελασθῶμεν, ὅπου Ἱερεμίας ὁ τοιοῦτός φησιν· «ἐγενόμην εἰς