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but he throws it into the fire; great is the dullness of those standing by. But some opposed, he says. And after a little: See the demonic madness; he was hostilely disposed not only to the prophet, but also to these words, and to the matters, the letters. *And the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of the king to arrest Baruch the scribe, that is, the swift-writer, and Jeremiah the prophet, and they were hidden by the Lord. And he says above, that when God had commanded him to write all the words which he spoke to the people from the times of Josiah until the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, in which he wrote these things, that having summoned Baruch, he said: *I am under guard, and cannot enter the house of the Lord, and you shall go in, and you shall read in this scroll, in which you have written from my mouth the words of the Lord in the ears of the people on a fast day. If, then, he was under guard, how was he hidden? It is clear, then, that as in the case of Elisha, those of the Syrians who came to seize him were struck with blindness. This happened now also, with God having made them unseen by some invisible power, so that they stood before everyone, but were not seen. 64.1000 Take it again. See the philanthropy of God, counseling them again after so much disobedience. But we, often suspecting resistance, do not even exhort from the beginning, or how, having once failed, we consider the matter an insult, and do not endure to speak again, when God endured such an insult concerning the burning of the book, and the plot against the prophets. All seek the future, but they do not endure to obey things that are not to their pleasure. But the word of the prophet is always one, and unflattering to those who honor and dishonor him. And he shows that he does no wrong by speaking the truth, nor is he worthy of being guarded, but Elenioth, Aquila rendered as workshops. And more words were added to it. These were trustworthy.

CHAPTER 37.

And the Chaldeans heard. For what reason do the Chaldeans withdraw? so that the Jews might learn from all sides that they did not come upon them and make war by their own power, but with His permission. Because he spoke thus. For whenever God wishes to accomplish something through certain ones, He first shows them to be weak, so that the whole thing might be considered His. Which also happened here. And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldeans had gone up from Jerusalem, from before the army of Pharaoh, Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem, and so forth. Some say that the Babylonians did not withdraw out of weakness, with the Egyptians warring, but because the king was not present; but I think this argument is superfluous; for he was not present even at the final capture. At any rate, Zedekiah was carried away to Deblatha after the final capture of the city. I think, therefore, that they did not have a force fit to fight against the multitude of the enemy, and God defended them as righteous, but He made the people weaker on account of their sins. It is possible, therefore, from this to say that God foretold the things that were going to happen, not bringing the calamities Himself, but threatening the things that would be, and not having threatened to help. And this argument is useful in general. For things do not happen because God foretells them, but because they are going to be, God, foreknowing, proclaims them beforehand; thus, at any rate, it is possible to understand the things spoken about Christ by the prophets, and the prediction concerning Judas made by Christ. And he was in the city of Benjamin, and there was a man there with whom he was staying, whose name was Arouia, and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying: Are you fleeing to the Chaldeans? The phrase, 'With whom he was staying,' instead of, 'With whom'

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ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ πῦρ ῥίπτει· πολλὴ τῶν παρεστηκότων νωθεία. Ἠναντιώθησαν δέ τινες, φησί. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ὅρα δαιμονικὴν μανίαν· οὐχὶ πρὸς τὸν προφήτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, καὶ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα γράμματα ἀπεχθῶς εἶχεν. *Καὶ ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Ἱερεμιὴλ υἱῷ τοῦ βασιλέως συλλαβεῖν τὸν Βαροὺχ τὸν γραμματέα, τουτέστι, τὸν ὀξυγράφον καὶ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν τὸν προφήτην, καὶ κατεκρύβησαν ὑπὸ Κυρίου. Καὶ τὸν ἀνωτέρω λέγει, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ προστάξαντος γράψαι ἅπαντας τοὺς λόγους, οὓς πρὸς τὸν λαὸν ἔφη ἀπὸ τῶν τοῦ Ἰωσίου καιρῶν μέχρι τετάρτου ἔτους τῆς βασιλείας Ἰωακεὶμ, ἐν ᾧ ταῦτα ἔγραψεν, ὅτι μεταπεμψάμενος τὸν Βαροὺχ ἔφη· *Ἐγὼ φυλάσσομαι, καὶ οὐ δύναμαι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς οἶκον Κυρίου, καὶ εἰσελεύσῃ σὺ, καὶ ἀναγνώσῃ ἐν τῇ κεφαλίδι ταύτῃ, ἐν ᾧ ἔγραψας ἐκ στόματός μου τοὺς λόγους Κυρίου εἰς τὰ ὦτα τοῦ λαοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νηστείας. Εἰ τοίνυν ἐφυλάττετο, πῶς ἐκρύβη; Εὔδηλον τοίνυν, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἑλισσαίου ἀορασίᾳ ἐπλήγησαν οἱ ἐλθόντες αὐτὸν κατασχεῖν τῶν Σύρων. Τοῦτο γέγονε καὶ νῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀφανεῖς αὐτοὺς κατά τινα ἀόρατον δύναμιν πεποιηκότος, ὡς ἑστᾶναι μὲν αὐτοὺς πρὸ πάντων, μὴ φαίνεσθαι δέ. 64.1000 Πάλιν λάβε. Ὅρα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, μετὰ τοσαύτην ἀπείθειαν πάλιν αὐτοῖς συμβουλεύοντος. Ἡμεῖς δὲ πολλάκις ἀντίστασιν ὑποπτεύοντες, τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ παραινοῦμεν, ἢ πῶς ἅπαξ ἀποτυχόντες, ὕβριν τὸ χρῆμα νομίζομεν, καὶ πάλιν λέγειν οὐκ ἀνεχόμεθα, Θεοῦ τοσαύτην ὑπομείναντος ὕβριν περὶ τὴν καῦσιν τοῦ βιβλίου, καὶ τῶν προφητῶν τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. Πάντες ζητοῦσι τὸ μέλλον, ὑπακούειν δὲ τοῖς μὴ καθ' ἡδονὴν οὐκ ἀνέχονται. Εἷς δὲ ὁ λόγος ἀεὶ τοῦ προφήτου, καὶ ἀκολάκευτος πρὸς τοὺς τιμῶντας ἀτιμῶντας. ∆είκνυσι δὲ, ὅτι μὴ ἀδικεῖ λέγων τἀληθῆ, μηδὲ ἄξιός ἐστι φυλακῆς, τὸ δὲ Ἐλενιὼθ, Ἀκύλας ἐξέδωκεν ἐργαστήρια. Καὶ προσετέθησαν αὐτῷ λόγοι πλείονες. Οὗτοι ἀξιόπιστοι ἦσαν.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΛΖʹ.

Καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ Χαλδαῖοι. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀναχωροῦσιν οἱ Χαλδαῖοι; ἵνα πάντοθεν μάθωσιν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, ὅτι οὐκ οἰκείᾳ δυνάμει ἐπῆλθον αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐπολέμησαν, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ συγχωρήσαντος. Ὅτι οὕτως εἶπε. Ὅταν γὰρ βούληταί τι διά τινων ὁ Θεὸς ἐργάζεσθαι, πρῶτον αὐτοὺς δείκνυσιν ἀσθενεῖς, ἵνα τὸ πᾶν αὐτοῦ νομισθῇ. Ὃ καὶ ἐνταῦθα γέγονεν. Ἐγένετο δὲ, ὡς ἀνέβη ἡ δύναμις τῶν Χαλδαίων ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς δυνάμεως Φαραὼ, ἐξῆλθεν Ἱερεμίας ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τινές φασιν, ὡς οὐκ ἀσθενείᾳ Βαβυλώνιοι ἀνεχώρησαν, Αἰγυπτίων πολεμούντων, ἀλλ' ὡς τοῦ βασιλέως μὴ παρόντος· οἶμαι δὲ περιττὸν εἶναι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἁλώσει παρῆν. Ἐν γοῦν τῇ ∆εβλαθᾶ ὁ Σεδεκίας ἀπηνέχθη μετὰ τὴν ἐσχάτην ἅλωσιν τῆς πόλεως. Ἡγοῦμαι τοίνυν, ὡς οὐκ ἀξιόμαχον εἶχον δύναμιν πρὸς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων πλῆθος, καὶ Θεὸς δὲ αὐτοῖς ὡς δικαίοις ἐπήμυνεν, ἀσθενέστερον δὲ τὸν λαὸν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας εἰργάσατο. Ἔστι τοίνυν ἐκ τούτου εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τὰ μέλλοντα ἀποβαίνειν προεῖπε Θεὸς, οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐπάγων τὰς συμφορὰς, ἀλλ' ἀπειλῶν τὰ ἐσόμενα, καὶ μὴ τὸ βοηθεῖν ἀπειλήσας. Χρήσιμος δὲ οὗτος ὁ λόγος καθ' ὅλου. Ὅτι οὐκ ἐπειδὴ προλέγει Θεὸς γίνεται τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ εἶναι μέλλει Θεὸς προειδὼς προμηνύει· οὕτω γοῦν καὶ τὰ περὶ Χριστοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν εἰρημένα ἔστιν ἐκλαβεῖν, καὶ τὴν Ἰούδα παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρόῤῥησιν γενομένην. Καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ πόλει Βενιαμὶν, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος παρ' ᾧ κατέλυεν ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἀρουία, καὶ συνέλαβεν Ἱερεμίαν τὸν προφήτην λέγων· Πρὸς τοὺς Χαλδαίους σὺ φεύγεις; Τὸ, Παρ' ᾧ κατέλυεν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Παρ' ᾧ