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those from without? But not so. As the Lord lives, who made us this soul, if I will kill you. That is, the Lord of life Himself is my witness that I will do you no evil. When he is in agony and fears for it, then he makes it an oath. And Jeremiah said to him. What then of Jeremiah? He says the good things first, then the burdensome things. And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they hand me over to them, and they mock me. It is stated obscurely in the Greek; for what he wishes to say is this, that I am king, and I cannot go out alone; if therefore I wish to go out, and give myself to the Chaldeans, the very men of the city will be first to kill me. This was a pretext, and an excuse for unbelief. Do you not believe the prophet? For he does not speak from his own reasonings. And Jeremiah said: They will not hand you over. Some have interpreted it thus. But I think this meaning is rather preserved, that all the Jews prophesy peace to me, and that I should not be handed over into the hands of the Chaldeans, nor suffer anything terrible from them. Therefore, what is immediately added by Jeremiah, They will not hand you over, is said ironically; that is, Do not believe them 64.1005 Hear now the word of the Lord, which I speak to you, and it will be better for you, and your soul shall live. That is, It is better for you to be persuaded by me, and not to be deceived by their words, and that this meaning can be better taken from the sayings, one might see from what follows. For it adds immediately: And if you do not wish to go out; this is the word which the Lord showed me: Behold, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah are brought out to the kings of Babylon, and they themselves shall say: They have deceived you, and your men of peace have prevailed against you, and they will not prevail in the slipping of your foot, and they will turn away from you. That is, when the capture has occurred, then they will confess the truth of my words, and they will say to you that those who foretold peace to you deceived you in vain, since you considered their words more powerful than those spoken to you by me. And the phrase, in the slipping of your foot, that is, having perverted your faith in what was truly said. And the phrase, And they will turn away from you, that is, having been taken captive, they will be led away, and you will enjoy none of the things which you now enjoy. And he said to him. And indeed you swore without qualification.

CHAP. 39.

*And they overtook Zedekiah in Raboth of Jericho. That is, in the plain of Jericho. *And they gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and they brought him out to Saphis, and he dwelt in the midst of the people. Saphis is the name of a place. And they sent. And the enemies release the prophet who was bound by his own people, and they let him go as master wherever he wished to go. But those who had enjoyed his voice for forty years, reverencing neither kinship, nor fatherland, nor anything else, have become more savage than wild beasts. And after a little: So that when you see this also happening in the case of Christ, crucified by the Jews, but worshipped by the Gentiles, you may not think it anything strange, nor be disturbed, nor say: And how would it be reasonable, that he who came for salvation and protection, should be treated with so many evils. And I will not give you. For the righteous is not destroyed with the ungodly.

CHAP. 40.

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οἱ τῶν ἔξωθεν; Ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτω. Ζῇ Κύριος ὃς ἐποίησεν ἡμῖν τὴν ψυχὴν ταύτην, εἰ ἀποκτενῶ σε. Τουτέστιν, Ὁ τῆς ζωῆς Κύριος αὐτὸς μάρτυς, ὡς οὐδέν σε διαθήσω πονηρόν. Ὅτε ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἀγωνιᾷ καὶ δέδοικε, τότε αὐτὴν ὅρκον ποιεῖται. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἱερεμίας. Τί οὖν Ἱερεμίας; τὰ χρηστὰ λέγει πρῶτον, εἶτα τὰ φορτικά. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Σεδεκίας τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ· Ἐγὼ λόγον ἔχω τῶν Ἰουδαίων τῶν πεφευγότων πρὸς τοὺς Χαλδαίους μὴ δώσειν με εἰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν, καὶ καταμωκήσονταί μου. Ἀσαφῶς κεῖται παρὰ τῷ Ἑλληνικῷ· ὃ γὰρ βούλεται εἰπεῖν, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι Βασιλεύς εἰμι, καὶ μόνος ἐξελθεῖν οὐ δύναμαι· ἐὰν οὖν θελήσω ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ δοῦναι τοῖς Χαλδαίοις ἐμαυτὸν, αὐτοὶ οἱ τῆς πόλεως φθάνουσιν ἀνελεῖν με. Τούτων πρόφασις ἦν, καὶ σκῆψις ἀπιστίας. Οὐ πιστεύεις τῷ προφήτῃ; Μὴ γὰρ ἀπὸ λογισμῶν φθέγγεται. Καὶ εἶπεν Ἱερεμίας· Οὐ μὴ παραδώσουσί σε. Τινὲς μὲν οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν. Οἶμαι δὲ ταύτην μᾶλλον σώζεσθαι τὴν ἔννοιαν, ὅτι εἰρήνην μοι προφητεύουσιν ἅπαντες Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ μὴ παραδοθῆναί με εἰς χεῖρας τῶν Χαλδαίων, μηδὲ πείσεσθαί μέ τι παρ' αὐτῶν δεινόν. Τὸ οὖν εὐθὺς ἐπαγόμενον παρὰ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου, Οὐ μὴ παραδώσουσί σε, κατ' εἰρωνείαν εἴρηται· τουτέστι, Μὴ πείθου αὐτοῖς 64.1005 Ἄκουσον δὴ τὸν λόγον Κυρίου, ὃν ἐγὼ λαλῶ πρὸς σὲ, καὶ βέλτιον ἔσται σοι, καὶ ζήσεται ἡ ψυχή σου. Τουτέστιν, Ἄμεινόν σοί ἐστι πεισθῆναί μοι, καὶ μὴ ἀπατᾶσθαι τοῖς ἐκείνων λόγοις, ὅτι δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἔννοιαν μᾶλλον ἔστι λαβεῖν ἐκ τῶν ῥητῶν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκολούθων ἄν τις κατίδοι. Ἐπάγει γὰρ εὐθύς· Καὶ εἰ μὴ θέλεις ἐξελθεῖν· οὗτος ὁ λόγος, ὃν ἔδειξέ μοι Κύριος· Ἰδοὺ πᾶσαι αἱ γυναῖκες αἱ καταλελειμμέναι ἐν οἰκίᾳ βασιλέως Ἰούδα ἐξάγονται πρὸς τοὺς βασιλέας Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ αὐταὶ λέξουσιν· Ἠπάτησαν σε, καὶ ἠδυνήθησάν σοι ἄνδρες εἰρηνικοί σου, καὶ οὐ κατισχύσουσιν ἐν ὀλισθήματι ποδός σου, καὶ ἀποστρέψουσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ. Τουτέστιν, Ὑφεστώσης τῆς ἁλώσεως, τότε ὁμολογήσουσι τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ λέξουσι πρὸς σὲ, ὡς οἱ τὴν εἰρήνην σοι προμηνύοντες μάτην ἠπάτησαν, ἰσχυρότερον ἐκείνων τὸν λόγων σοῦ νενομικότος τῶν παρ' ἐμοῦ σοι λεγομένων. Τὸ δὲ, ἐν ὀλισθήματι ποδός σου, τουτέστι, Παρατρέψαντές σου τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀληθῶς λεγομένοις πίστιν. Τὸ δὲ, Καὶ ἀποστρέψουσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ, τουτέστιν, Αἰχμάλωτοι ληφθεῖσαι, ἀπαχθήσονται, καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀπολαύσεις, ὧν νῦν ἀπολαύεις. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ. Καὶ μὴν χωρὶς προσδιορισμοῦ ὤμοσας.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΛΘʹ.

*Καὶ κατέλαβον τὸν Σεδεκίαν ἐν Ῥαβὼθ Ἱεριχώ. Τουτέστιν, ἐν τῇ πεδιάδι τῆς Ἱερουχοῦντος. *Καὶ ἔδωκαν αὐτὸν πρὸς Γοδολίαν υἱὸν Ἀχικὰμ υἱοῦ Σαφὰμ, καὶ ἐξήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς Σαφὶς, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ. Σαφὶς ὄνομα τόπου. Καὶ ἀπέστειλαν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν πολέμιοι δεθέντα τὸν προφήτην ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων λύουσι, καὶ κύριον ἀφιᾶσιν ὅποι βούλοιτο πορευθῆναι. Οἱ δὲ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη ἀπολελαυκότες φωνῆς, οὐ συγγένειαν, οὐ πατρίδα, οὐκ ἄλλο αἰδεσθέντες οὐδὲν, θηρίων ἀγριώτεροι γεγόνασιν. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἵνα ὅταν ἴδῃς καὶ ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ τοῦτο γενόμενον, σταυρούμενον ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων, προσκυνούμενον δὲ ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν, μηδὲν ξένον εἶναι νομίσῃς, μηδὲ θορυβηθῇς, μηδὲ λέγῃς· Καὶ πῶς ἂν ἔχοι λόγον, τὸν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ καὶ προστασίᾳ παραγενόμενον, τοσούτοις διαθεῖναι κακοῖς. Καὶ οὐ μὴ δώσω σε. Οὐ γὰρ συναπόλλυται δίκαιος μετὰ ἀσεβείας.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Μʹ.