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mocking him they always said: Let it come. But I, he says, did not grow weary even when reproached. *You know the things that proceed from my lips before your face. That is, You know that I speak the truth. *Do not become an estrangement to me, you being my refuge in an evil day. That is, May I not be seen as a liar, lest they make away with me. 64.920 *Let those who persecute me be ashamed, but let me not be ashamed. He does not say these things here seeking his own interest; but because the prophecy shared in his shame, for this reason he says it; for if, by persisting in their terrible deeds, they were not going to pay the penalty, the prophet would have been put to shame. *That is, Let these men pay the penalty, and let me not be seen as a liar. A double destruction. What ever is this? Since he nowhere said: I will repay double for her sins; this is a word for correction. *Thus says the Lord: Take care for your souls, and do not carry burdens on the day of the Sabbath, and so forth. They were commanded to be idle on the Sabbath, in order to atone for sins. But they made the day a pretext for commerce, and conducted transactions. He therefore forbids them this practice.

CHAPTER 18.

Arise. For what reason does he bring him down to the potter's house? Because they were saying, Where is the word of God? Let it come, and they thought he was not able, he brings him down there. For what reason then was the sight also needed? For was it not possible to say as the potter, Shall I not be able? But the sight made the word more credible and more vivid. And he went down. What does the rest—Forte remolding—mean? That even when you have fallen I will be able to renew you. Thus it is easy for me to do all things. Behold, as the clay. You too have fallen apart, I will be able to set you right. I will speak an end. For because I have spoken once, must it come to pass? There is for you a hope of salvation, if you pay attention to yourselves and change. Therefore, neither be confident in the good things regarding your fathers, nor despair at the evil things said concerning you. For what reason do I still form? do I still consider? giving to you yourselves a time for repentance. And they said, etc. What could be worse than this? Which the virgin Israel has done exceedingly. Just as it is necessary for those things to be, so also for you it is a necessity; and much more than natural things, this was more necessary, and not possible to fail. Will breasts fail from the rock, or snow from Lebanon? Or will water turn aside that is carried violently by the wind? There was a certain mountain ridge, a rock called Breasts. He says, therefore, that just as it is not possible for water to fail from there, or the snow of Lebanon, and just as no one could ever divert water carried violently, from being carried in a straight 64.921 line, so the people both sinned unceasingly, and clung vehemently to their lawlessness. Because they have forgotten me. Not as those things, perhaps. Not so much... it is wonderful if it transgressed as these things. For when there is no profit from apostasy, how is it not astonishing? *And they will be weak in their ways, with everlasting ropes, to stand on paths having no road. By ropes, that is, the inheritance of the land; having become weak, therefore, from this, he says, they will go out, so that he travels, and a foreign road; so that he may speak of that of the captivity. For this reason it also happened to them physically; they traveled such an impassable and rough road, as to make everyone shake their heads. For when the terrible things are great, we do not represent them with speech, but with hissing and a shaking of the head. *As a scorching wind I will scatter them before the face of their enemies. That is, as in a heatwave a hot wind knows how to burn vehemently the brittle things; so I will consume the Jews. *And they said: Come, and let us devise a plot against Jeremiah

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σκώπτοντες εἰς αὐτὸν ἀεὶ ἔλεγον· Ἐλθέτω. Ἀλλ' ἐγὼ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἀπέκαμον καὶ ὀνειδιζόμενος. *Σὺ ἐπίστασαι τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τῶν χειλέων μου πρὸ προσώπου σου. Τουτέστι, Σὺ οἶδας, ὅτι ἀληθεύω. *Μὴ γένῃ μοι εἰς ἀλλοτρίωσιν φειδόμενός μου σὺ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πονηρᾷ. Τουτέστι, Μὴ ὀφθείην ψευδόμενος, μή ποτε διαχειρίσωνταί με. 64.920 *Καταισχυνθήτωσαν οἱ διώκοντές με, καὶ μὴ καταισχυνθείην ἐγώ. Οὐχὶ τὸ αὑτοῦ ζητῶν ἐνταῦθα ταῦτά φησιν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐκοινώνει αὐτοῦ τῇ αἰσχύνῃ ἡ προφητεία διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· εἰ γὰρ ἐπιμένοντες τοῖς δεινοῖς ἔμελλον μὴ δώσειν δίκην, κατῃσχύνθη ἂν ὁ προφήτης. *Τουτέστι, ∆ίκην δότωσαν οὗτοι, καὶ μὴ ὀφθείην ἐγὼ ψευδόμενος. ∆ισσὸν σύντριμμα. Τί ποτε τοῦτό ἐστιν; Ἐπειδὴ οὐδαμοῦ εἶπε· ∆ιπλᾶ ἀνταποδώσω τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ταύτης· οὗτος σωφρονιστικὸς ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. *Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Φυλάσσεσθε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν, καὶ μὴ αἴρετε βαστάγματα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν Σαββάτων, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Προσετάχθησαν ἀργεῖν τὸ Σάββατον, ἐπὶ τῷ ἐξιλεοῦσθαι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. Οἱ δὲ ἐμπορίας πρόφασιν ἐποιοῦντο τὴν ἡμέραν, καὶ συναλλάγματα εἰργάζοντο. Κωλύει τοίνυν αὐτοὺς ταύτης τῆς πράξεως.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΗʹ.

Ἀνάστηθι. Τίνος ἕνεκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ κεραμεῖον κατάγει; ἐπειδὴ ἔλεγον, Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ἐλθέτω, καὶ ἐνόμιζον αὐτὸν μὴ δύνασθαι, κατάγει αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν καὶ τῆς θεωρίας ἐδέησεν; Οὐ γὰρ ἐνῆν εἰπεῖν καθὼς ὁ κεραμεὺς, Οὐ δυνήσομαι; Ἀλλὰ πιστικώτερον καὶ ἐναργέστερον ἐποίει τὸν λόγον ἡ ὄψις. Καὶ κατέβη. Τί βούλεται ἡ ἀνάπαυσις Forte ἀνάπλασις; Ὅτι καὶ πεσόντας ὑμᾶς ἀνανεῶσαι δυνήσομαι. Οὕτως εὔκολον ἐμοὶ πάντα ποιεῖν. Ἰδοὺ ὡς ὁ πηλός. ∆ιεπέσατε καὶ ὑμεῖς, δυνήσομαι διορθώσασθαι ὑμᾶς. Πέρας λαλήσω. Μὴ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ εἶπον ἅπαξ, ἐκβῆναι δεῖ; Ἔστιν ὑμῖν σωτηρίας ἐλπὶς, ἐὰν προσέχητε ἑαυτοῖς καὶ μεταβάλησθε. Μήτε γοῦν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας θαῤῥήσητε, μήτε ἐπὶ τοῖς κακοῖς τοῖς περὶ ὑμῶν λεγομένοις ἀπογνῶτε. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἔτι πλάσω; ἔτι λογίζομαι; διδοὺς ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς προθεσμίαν μετανοίας. Καὶ εἶπαν, κ. τ. λ. Τί τούτου γένοιτο ἂν χεῖρον; Ἃ ἐποίησε σφόδρα παρθένος Ἰσραήλ. Ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα ἀνάγκη εἶναι, οὕτω καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀνάγκη· καὶ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τῶν φυσικῶν, τοῦτο ἀναγκαιότερον ἦν, καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε διαπεσεῖν. Μὴ ἐκλείψουσιν ἀπὸ πέτρας μαστοὶ, ἢ χιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιβάνου; Ἢ ἐκλινεῖ ὕδωρ βιαίως ἀνέμῳ φερόμενον; Ἀκρώρειά τις ἦν πέτρα καλουμένη Μαστοί. Λέγει τοίνυν, ὅτι ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔνεστιν ἐκεῖθεν ἐκλείπειν ὕδωρ, ἢ χιόνα τοῦ Λιβάνου, καὶ ὕδωρ φερόμενον βιαίως οὐκ ἄν, ποτέ τις παρατρέψειε, μὴ κατ' εὐ 64.921 θεῖαν φέρεσθαι, οὕτως ὁ λαὸς καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως ἥμαρτε, καὶ σφοδρῶς εἴχετο τῆς παρανομίας. Ὅτι ἐπελάθοντό μου. Οὐχ ὡς ἐκεῖνα ἴσ. οὐ τόσον ἐκ. θαυμαστὰ εἰ παρέβη ὡς ταῦτα. Ὅταν γὰρ μηδὲν κέρδος ᾖ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀποστάσεως, πῶς οὐ θαυμαστόν; *Καὶ ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν σχοινίοις αἰωνίοις, τοῦ ἐπιστῆναι τρίβους οὐκ ἐχούσας ὁδόν. Σχοινίοις, τουτέστι, τῆς γῆς τὴν κληρονομίαν· ἀσθενήσαντες τοίνυν ἐντεῦθεν, φησὶν, ἐξελεύσονται, ὥστε αὐτὸν πορευθῆναι, καὶ ξένην ὁδόν· ἵνα εἴπῃ τὴν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ σωματικῶς αὐτοῖς συνέβη· τοιαύτην ὥδευσαν ὁδὸν ἄβατον καὶ τραχεῖαν, ὡς πάντας κινεῖν κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν. Ὅταν γὰρ μεγάλα ᾖ τὰ δεινὰ, οὐδὲ λόγῳ παριστῶμεν αὐτὰ, ἀλλὰ συριγμῷ καὶ κινήσει κεφαλῆς. *Ὡς ἄνεμος καύσωνα διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς κατὰ πρόσωπον τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν. Τουτέστιν, ὡς ἐν καύσωνι ἄνεμος θερμὸς σφοδρῶς φλέγειν οἶδε τὰ εὔθρυπτα· οὕτω καταναλώσω τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. *Καὶ εἶπον· ∆εῦτε, καὶ λογισώμεθα ἐπὶ Ἱερεμίαν