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but nevertheless they were ignorant. For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the houses of the city, and so on. Since Jeremiah was bound as a blasphemer, and threatening the king with capture, but he foretold the restoration by the command of God, and by the possession of the field he confirmed the word, but no one any longer paid attention to what was said, thinking that the prophet was saying these things more out of flattery than from an accurate knowledge of the future, as it were falling into distress and doubt he continued. Therefore God says to him, "Consider my power, and just as I brought forth creation, and imposed order upon it providing for men, so now I have hearkened to you when you called, and I foretell the future, and the coming prosperity, in which things it is least of all fitting for you to disbelieve; but to be of good courage, as nothing of what is said by you will be proven false; and persuading them that the things of the captivity are not done in vain, but for the chastening of those being punished, he adds after having announced the restoration. *And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Has this people not been ashamed? He spoke, saying: The two families, which the Lord chose among them, and behold He has cast them off, and has provoked my people to be no longer a nation before me. Do not think this, He says, that I am bringing complete capture upon the city, but consider how from partial misfortunes the Jews have least of all become more sober-minded. For the false prophets, He says, going about slander me, as one who has acted contrary to my own promise, 64.992 and as having chosen the two families, that is the two kingdoms, both that of Judah and that of Ephraim, having cared little for my own promise I cast off the multitude; from which things they led the people both to contempt for me, and to a complete change of piety; so that it is just for them to pay the penalty for this impiety as well, so that having become more sober-minded, they may inhabit with propriety the land which I promised to their fathers. Thus says the Lord: If I have not appointed my covenant of day and night, the ordinances of heaven and earth. Then I will also reject the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so as not to take rulers from his seed. So then, the meaning is this, that just as I who promised men not to let the order in creation cease, but that there will always be winter and summer, spring and autumn, have continued until now keeping my promise; so having promised David that one from his seed would always reign, I will not be false. But some have interpreted the phrase, 'of day and night, I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,' thus, that I would not have made heaven and earth, if I had not wished for day and night to exist; but just as from the beginning proposing for there to be a succession of day and night, I brought forth the nature of heaven and earth, and I did not dissolve the purpose for creation, so too I will not dissolve the promise to David. Then God, having persuaded the prophet in these things, commands him to announce the capture of the city to king Zedekiah, and to add the reason, that they are sinning without repentance, and transgressing the covenants made before God; and he reproves them, because those whom they had released to freedom according to the law to which they had sworn, these they called back again, and he adds.

CHAPTER 34.

You will not die. So that at least in this way he might breathe again; for this happened when he was carried away to Babylon; and he obtained much peace, so that he might learn the philanthropy of God, so that the grievous things might become acceptable, they will weep for you. The word which came. There was an old law, for a Hebrew to serve for six years. For he wanted the Jews to be philanthropic towards all men. But since they were not willing, for the time being them from the

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ἀλλ' ὅμως ἠγνόουν. Ὅτι οὕτως εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ περὶ οἰκιῶν τῆς πόλεως, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἐπειδὴ ἐδέδετο ὁ Ἱερεμίας ὡς δύσφημος, καὶ βασιλεῖ ἅλωσιν ἀπειλῶν, προεῖπε δὲ τὴν ἀνάκλησιν κατὰ πρόσταγμα Θεοῦ, καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἀγροῦ νομῇ ἐβεβαίωσε τὸν λόγον, οὐδεὶς δὲ ἔτι προσεῖχε τοῖς λεγομένοις, οἰόμενοι κολακίᾳ μᾶλλον, ἢ ἀκριβεῖ γνώσει τῶν μελλόντων λέγειν τὸν προφήτην ταῦτα, ὥσπερ εἰς ἀδημονίαν, καὶ ἀμφιβολίαν ἐκπεσὼν διετέλει. Λέγει τοίνυν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι Σκόπησον τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐμὴν, καὶ ὥσπερ παρήγαγον τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ τάξιν ἐπέθηκα αὐτῇ προσνοῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ νῦν σοι καλέσαντι ὑπήκουσα, καὶ προλέγω τὰ μέλλοντα, καὶ τὴν ἐσομένην εὐθηνίαν, οἷς ἥκιστα ἀπιστεῖν σε προσήκει· θαῤῥεῖν δὲ, ὡς οὐδὲν τῶν παρὰ σοῦ λεγομένων ψευσθήσεται· καὶ πείθων αὐτῶν ὡς οὐδὲ τὰ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας μάτην ποιεῖται, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ σωφρονισμῷ τῶν κολαζομένων, ἐπάγει μετὰ τὸ τὴν ἀνάκλησιν μηνύσαι. *Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν λέγων, Ἆράγε οὐκ ᾐδέσθη ὁ λαὸς οὗτος; Ἐλάλησε λέγων· Αἱ δύο πατριαὶ, ἃς ἐξελέξατο Κύριος ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀπώσατο αὐτοὺς, καὶ παρώξυνα τὸν λαόν μου τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἔτι ἔθνος ἐνώπιόν μου. Μὴ τοῦτο, φησὶ, λογίσῃ, ὅτι τελείαν ἅλωσιν ἐπάγω τῇ πόλει, ἀλλὰ σκόπησον ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν μερικῶν συμφορῶν σωφρονέστεροι ἥκιστα γεγόνασιν Ἰουδαῖοι. Οἱ γοῦν ψευδοπροφῆται, φησὶ, περιόντες διαβάλλουσί με, ὡς ἐναντίον τῇ ἐμαυτοῦ πεποιηκότα ὑποσχέσει, 64.992 καὶ ὡς ἐκλεξάμενος τὰς δύο πατριὰς, τουτέστι τὰς δύο βασιλείας, τήν τε τοῦ Ἰούδα, καὶ τοῦ Ἐφραὶμ, μικρὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ὑποσχέσεως φροντίσας ἀπωσάμην τὸ πλῆθος· ἀφ' ὧν εἴς τε ἐμὴν καταφρόνησιν, καὶ παντελῆ τῆς εὐσεβείας μεταβολὴν ἤγαγον τὸν λαόν· ὥστε δίκαιόν ἐστιν, αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑπὲρ ταύτης τῆς ἀσεβείας δοῦναι δίκην, ὡς ἂν σωφρονέστεροι γενόμενοι, μετὰ τοῦ προσήκοντος τὴν γῆν οἰκῷεν ἣν τοῖς πατράσιν ἐπηγγειλάμην. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Εἰ μὴ τὴν διαθήκην μου ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, ἀκριβάσματα οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς οὐκ ἔταξα. Καίγε τὸ σπέρμα Ἰακὼβ, καὶ ∆αβὶδ τοῦ δούλου μου, ἀποδοκιμῶ τοῦ μὴ λαβεῖν ἄρχοντας ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ. Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἔννοια αὕτη, ὅτι Ὥσπερ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, μὴ διαλείπειν τὴν ἐν τῇ κτίσει τάξιν, ἀλλ' εἰσαεὶ ἔσεσθαι χειμῶνα καὶ θέρος, ἔαρ καὶ μετόπωρον μέχρι τοῦ νῦν διετέλεσα φυλάττων τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ὑπόσχεσιν· οὕτως ἐπαγγειλάμενος τῷ ∆αβὶδ ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ εἰσαεὶ βασιλεύειν, οὐ διαψεύσομαι. Τινὲς δὲ τὸ, ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, ἀκριβάσμαστα οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς οὐκ ἔταξα, οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἂν ἐποίησα οὐρανὸν καὶ γῆν, εἰ μὴ ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα ἐβουλόμην εἶναι· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς προθέμενος διαδοχὴν εἶναι ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς τὴν φυσὶν παρήγαγον, καὶ οὐ διέλυσα τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ κτίσει πρόθεσιν, οὕτως οὐδὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τὴν πρὸς ∆αβὶδ διαλύσω. Εἶτα ἐν τούτοις πείσας τὸν προφήτην ὁ Θεὸς, παρακελεύεται αὐτῷ τὴν ἅλωσιν τῆς πόλεως μηνῦσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ Σεδεκίᾳ, καὶ αἰτίαν προσθεῖναι, ὡς ἀμεταμέλητα πταίουσι, καὶ παραβαίνουσι τὰς ἐπὶ Θεοῦ συνθήκας γενομένας· καὶ ἐλέγχει αὐτοὺς, ἐξ ὧν ἀπήλαυσαν ἐλευθερίας κατὰ νόμον ὀμωμόκοτας, τούτους πάλιν ἀνεκαλέσαντο, καὶ ἐπάγει.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Λ∆ʹ.

Οὐκ ἀποθανῇ. Ἵνα κἂν οὕτως ἀναπνεύσῃ· τοῦτο γὰρ γέγονεν ἀπενεχθέντος εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αὐτοῦ· καὶ εἰρήνης ἔτυχε πολλῆς, ἵνα μάθῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, ἵνα εὐπαράδεκτα γένηται τὰ λυπηρὰ, κλαύσονταί σε. Ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος. Νόμος ἦν παλαιὸς, τὸν Ἑβραῖον ἓξ ἔτη δουλεύειν. Ἐβούλετο γὰρ πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους φιλανθρώπους εἶναι τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ μὴ ἤθελον, τέως αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν