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is drawn away from relatives and is brought on. What then happens? Coming together they made oaths, and made libations in the presence of the priests, in the presence of the rulers, in the presence of all the others, all of them, with Zedekiah being among those present, so that this would happen, and that each one would release his male and female slave. Then they repented of what had happened, and let them remain as male and female servants. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. First having established them as debtors, thus I made a law; I freed them from slavery, and 64.993 I commanded them to do the same things; I was demanding payment for my benefactions. For did I do this for free? When they had well experienced slavery, then I moved them towards release. What then would one say? The Jews are wiser than we are. And after a little: For there he permitted seven years, but here he has abolished slavery altogether. There is not slave, there is not free. -And after a little: So that this may not make the slaves more indolent, 'Do not despise them,' he says, 'because they who receive the benefit are brothers.' And you have turned back. I am avenging not only the injustice done to them, but also the transgression of the law. You have not listened to me. Everything for us is at stake concerning piety. What then, he says? The punishment is harsh, death instead of slavery, and for what reason is it recompensed thus? oaths were transgressed, libations were trampled upon, the great name of God itself was insulted, so that when you see them scattered, you may not think only of the injustice done to the slaves, but also add the God who was insulted through them, and you will see them enduring not even a fitting penalty. Behold, I call a release for you, says the Lord. Then after a short while. And I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not kept my words of my covenant, which they made before my face, the calf which they made into two, and passed through the midst of its divided parts, the rulers of Judah, and the rulers of Jerusalem, and the rest. The prophet has set forth the form of the agreement, making the refutation clearer; for having sacrificed a calf to God and dividing it in two, they passed through the middle, and having brought forward the divided parts, they agreed to release the servants as free men to God according to the law, promising to do this, as if propitiating the Divine in the face of the impending wrath. Then, due to the cause of the false prophets, transcribing that God was not angry, they recalled those who had been released. Therefore God, being angry and making the refutation, threatens them with capture. And one might justly say that God also promised those words of recall at the time when they seemed to have become better; whence also the prophet, seeing them changed, was at a loss, as the city was being besieged. For this reason God, persuading him, both foretold the capture and refuted the opinion of those who were feigning piety. Nothing else caused the city to be under siege, but the failure to keep the agreements, and those made with the Barbarians by Zedekiah. What could be more senseless than these things? Perjury took the city, and again the same disease occurs; they did these things, all but quarreling with God. As many of you as use oaths and transgress them, see the punishments. 64.996

CHAP. 35.

*Which I brought into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan. That is, into the exedra assigned to Hanan. And this is near the house of the rulers above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, who keeps the

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συγγενῶν ἀφέλκεται καὶ ἐπάγεται. Τί οὖν γίνεται; συνελθόντες ὅρκους ἔθεντο, καὶ σπονδὰς ἐποιήσαντο ἐπὶ τῶν ἱερέων, ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων, ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἅπαντες, τοῦ Σεδεκίου μεταξὺ τῶν γιγνομένων ὄντος, ὥστε γενήσεσθαι τοῦτο, καὶ ἕκαστον, ἀφεῖναι τὸν δοῦλον καὶ τὴν δούλην. Εἶτα μετενόησαν ἐπὶ τοῖς γιγνομένοις, καὶ εἴασαν αὐτοὺς εἰς παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας. Καὶ ἐγενήθη λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν. Πρῶτον ὀφειλέτας καταστήσας, οὕτως ἐνομοθέτησα· δουλείας ἀπήλλαξα, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ποιεῖν ἐκέ 64.993 λευον· μισθὸν ἀπῄτουν τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν. Μὴ γὰρ δωρεὰν τοῦτο ἔπραξα; Ὅτε καλῶς ἔλαβον τῆς δουλείας τὴν πεῖραν, τότε αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὴν ἄφεσιν ὥρμησα. Τί οὖν εἴποι τις ἄν; φιλοσοφώτεροι Ἰουδαῖοι ἡμῶν. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἑπτὰ συνεχώρησεν ἔτη, ἐνταῦθα δὲ καθόλου τὴν δουλείαν ἀνεῖλεν. Οὐκ ἔστι δοῦλος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλεύθερος. -Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἵνα μὴ ῥᾳθυμοτέρους τοῦτο τοὺς δούλους ἐργάσηται, Μὴ καταφρονεῖτε αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἀδελφοί εἰσιν οἱ τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἀντιλαμβανόμενοι, φησίν. Καὶ ὑπεστρέψατε. Οὐχὶ τὴν εἰς ἐκείνους ἀδικίαν ἐκδικῶ γενομένην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν τοῦ νόμου παράβασιν. Ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἠκούσατέ μου. Τὸ πᾶν ἡμῖν περὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας κινδυνεύεται. Τί οὖν, φησί; χαλεπὴ ἡ τιμωρία, θάνατος ἀντὶ δουλείας, καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὕτως ἀμείβεται; ὅρκοι παρεβάθησαν, σπονδαὶ κατεπατήθησαν, αὐτὸ τὸ μέγα καθυβρίσθη ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥστε ὅταν ἴδῃς αὐτοὺς διασπειρομένους, μὴ τὴν εἰς τοὺς δούλους γενομένην ἀδικίαν ἐννοήσῃς μόνον, ἀλλὰ προστίθει καὶ τὸν ὑβρισμένον Θεὸν δι' ἐκείνων, καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν ἀξίαν ὄψει δίκην ὑπομένοντας. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καλῶ ὑμῖν ἄφεσιν, φησὶ Κύριος. Εἶτα μετὰ βραχέα. Καὶ δώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς παρεληλυθότας τὴν διαθήκην μου, τοὺς μὴ στήσαντας τοὺς λόγους μου τῆς διαθήκης μου, ἧς ἐποίησαν κατὰ πρόσωπόν μου τὸν μόσχον, ὃν ἐποίησαν εἰς δύο, καὶ διῆλθον διὰ μέσου τῶν διχοτομημάτων αὐτῶν, τοὺς ἄρχοντας Ἰούδα, καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τῆς συνθήκης τὸ εἶδος τέθεικεν ὁ προφήτης, ἐναργέστερον τὸν ἔλεγχον ποιούμενος· μόσχον γὰρ θύσαντες τῷ Θεῷ καὶ διχῆ διελόντες, διῆλθον διὰ μέσου, καὶ προσκεκομικότες τὰ διχοτομήματα, συνέθεντο ἀπολύσειν κατὰ τὸν νόμον τοὺς παῖδας ἐλευθέρους τῷ Θεῷ, ὑποσχόμενος τοῦτο ποιήσειν, ὡς δὴ ἐξιλευόμενοι τὸ Θεῖον ἐπὶ τῇ προκειμένῃ ὀργῇ. Εἶτα ἐκ τῆς τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν αἰτίας, ὡς οὐκ ὀργιζομένου Θεοῦ μεταγράφοντες ἀνεκαλέσαντο τοὺς ἀπολυθέντας. Ὀργισθεὶς τοίνυν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἔλεγχον ποιησάμενος, ἀπειλεῖ αὐτοῖς τὴν ἅλωσιν. Εἴπῃ δ' ἄν τις δικαίως, ὡς κἀκεῖνα τὰ τῆς ἀνακλήσεως ῥήματα καθ' ὃν καιρὸν ἀμείνους ἔδοξαν γενέσθαι, ὑπέσχετο ὁ Θεός· ὅθεν καὶ ὁ προφήτης ὡς ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς μεταβεβλημένους, εἰς ἀπορίαν κατέστη, πολιορκουμένης τῆς πόλεως. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς πείθων αὐτὸν, καὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν προεῖπε, καὶ ἤλεγξε τὴν γνώμην τῶν σχηματιζομένων τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Τὴν πόλιν οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐποίησεν ἐν πολιορκίᾳ εἶναι, ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ μὴ μεῖναι τὰς συνθήκας, καὶ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Βαρβάρους τῷ Σεδεκίᾳ γεγενημένας. Τί τούτων γένοιτ' ἂν ἀναισθητότερον; Ἐπιορκία τὴν πόλιν εἷλε, καὶ πάλιν τὸ αὐτὸ νόσημα γίνεται, μονονουχὶ φιλονεικοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. Ὅσοι κέχρησθε τοῖς ὅρκοις, καὶ παραβαίνετε τούτους, ὁρᾶτε τὰς τιμωρίας. 64.996

ΚΕΦ. ΛΕʹ.

*Ἣν εἰσήγαγον εἰς τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου, εἰς τὸ παστοφόριον υἱῶν Ἀννάν. Τουτέστιν, εἰς τὴν ἐξέδραν τὴν ἀπονενεμημένην τῷ Ἀννάν. Αὐτὸς δέ ἐστιν ἐγγὺς οἴκου τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐπάνω τοῦ παστοφορίου Μαασαίου υἱοῦ Σαλμὼν, τοῦ φυλάσσοντος τὸν