John Chrysostom, Fragments on Jeremiah

And he took him. The whole army therefore learns the power of the prophecy.

But Zedekiah fled; for he expected to circumvent the prophecy. But he was caught, and he sees a terrible suffering; he became a witness of the slaughter of his children. He allowed his eyes to be opened only enough to learn of his own misfortunes. And a little after; —And he gave Jeremiah to Gedaliah. And see 64.1008 God's economy; while all are watching, and all are bound, this one is loosed; the spectacle becomes brilliant for him; the experience of the events bears witness; he who granted the favor also bears witness. You did not listen to Jeremiah, O Jew; listen to the Barbarian saying: The Lord your God has proclaimed upon this place all these evils, and the Lord has done it, because you sinned against him, and did not listen to his voice. You disbelieved the words of God, you will see these others who believe; have them as teachers from now on. Behold, I have loosed you. See who he waited for to loose the prophet. If it is good in your sight to come with me. He gives him something greater than if he had given him his homeland. He opens the whole world to him, which he did not have when he was in his homeland. But when he wanted to go out for bread, they bound him. See how much honor from the Barbarian. From where has this come? It is evident from the grace of Christ. *And before I depart, you run away, and return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, and the rest. While the army was still gathered, that being sent from the king he sent away the prophet, so that they might not, finding him a foreigner, destroy him. For what reason is this? so that no one may have power to do harm to my favor after my departure. Or so that this might happen while all are watching. And he came to Gedaliah. Behold for me the economy of God, and having much providence for them after the punishment; he did not allow Jeremiah to reach Babylon. For since the affairs of the people were divided into two parts, and some were led away to Babylon, while these were about to be taken captive to Egypt, he kept this one for them. Those had Daniel and Ezekiel. He does not, therefore, wish to gather the physicians for the entire suffering body into one place, so that one part might not receive more than is needed, and the other nothing at all, but each according to its proportion. But what happened in the case of the apostles, being scattered everywhere, so that the stars might not come together in one place, this also happens especially in the case of the prophets at that time.

CHAPTER 41.

And Ishmael arose. For what reason did God permit the man to be killed, being good and gentle, and imparting so much protection to the Jews, and the rest of what they write above?

*But the well, into which Ishmael cast all the bodies of the men whom he killed with Gedaliah, is a great well, which king Asa made for fear of king Ishmael, when Baasha wished to build Ramah. But by an alliance with the Syrian he turned him from the work; Asa, having built a city there, since there was a lack 64.1009 of water, dug a very great well, so that for the inhabitants the collection of waters would be a comfort. Therefore he speaks now about that. All the evils that Ishmael did, and they went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and they found him by the hostile water in Gibeon. That is, having passed the flood of the waters, so that he could not even be caught; for being delayed about the passage of the waters, they gave him space for a complete escape; therefore, considering it pointless to pursue further the one who would not be captured, he returned to Judea.

Καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτόν. Μανθάνει λοιπὸν πᾶσα ἡ στρατιὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς προφητείας.

Ὁ δὲ Σεδεκίας ἔφυγε· προσεδόκησε γὰρ παραγράψειν τὴν προφητείαν. Ἀλλ' ἑάλω, καὶ δεινὸν ὁρᾷ πάθος· μάρτυς ἐγένετο τῆς σφαγῆς τῶν παίδων. Τοσοῦτον εἴασεν ἀνοιγῆναι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὅσον μαθεῖν τὰς οἰκείας συμφοράς. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· -Καὶ ἔδωκε τῷ Γοδολίᾳ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν. Καὶ ὅρα 64.1008 τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν οἰκονομίαν· πάντων ὁρώντων, καὶ δεδεμένων ἁπάντων, οὗτος λύεται· λαμπρὸν αὐτῷ τὸ θέατρον γίνεται· μαρτυρεῖ τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ πεῖρα· μαρτυρεῖ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ χαρισάμενος. Οὐκ ἤκουσας Ἱερεμίου, Ἰουδαῖε· ἄκουσον τοῦ Βαρβάρου λέγοντος· Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ἐχρημάτισεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον πάντα τὰ κακὰ ταῦτα, καὶ ἐποίησε Κύριος, ὅτι ἡμάρτετε αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐκ ἠκούσατε αὐτοῦ τῆς φωνῆς. Ἠπίστησας τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγοις, ὄψει τούτους ἄλλ. τοὺς πιστεύοντας· ἐκείνους ἔχε διδασκάλους λοιπόν. Ἰδοὺ ἔλυσά σε. Ὅρα, τίνας ἀνέμεινε λῦσαι τὸν προφήτην. Εἰ καλὸν ἐναντίον σου ἐλθεῖν μετ' ἐμοῦ. Μεῖζον αὐτῷ δίδωσιν, ἢ εἰ τὴν πατρίδα δέδωκεν αὐτῷ. Πᾶσαν αὐτῷ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀνοίγνυσιν, ὅπερ οὐκ εἶχεν ὅτε ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἦν. Ἀλλὰ βουλόμενον δι' ἄρτους ἐξελθεῖν, ἔδησαν. Ὅρα, πόση τιμὴ παρὰ τῷ Βαρβάρῳ Πόθεν τοῦτο γεγένηται; εὔδηλον ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ χάριτος. *Καὶ πρὶν ἀπαλλαγῶ ἐγὼ, ἀπότρεχε σὺ, καὶ ἀνάστρεψον πρὸ τὸν Γοδολίαν υἱὸν Ἀχικὰμ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἔτι τοῦ στρατοῦ συνηγμένου, ὅτι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποσταλεὶς ἀπέπεμψε τὸν προφήτην, ὡς ἂν μὴ μόνον αὐτὸν εὑρηκότες ἀλλότριον ἀνέλωσι. Τοῦτο τίνος ἕνεκεν; ἵνα μηδὲν ἕξῃ κακουργῆσαι τὴν ἐμὴν χάριν μετὰ τὴν ἀναχώρησιν. Ἢ ὥστε πάντων ὁρώντων, τοῦτο γένηται. Καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς Γοδολίαν. Θέα μοι οἰκονομίαν Θεοῦ, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τιμωρίαν πολλὴν ἔχοντα αὐτῶν τὴν πρόνοιαν· οὐ συνεχώρησε τὴν Βαβυλῶνα καταλαβεῖν τὸν Ἱερεμίαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰς δύο διῄρητο μέρη τὰ τοῦ λαοῦ πράγματα, καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἀπήχθησαν, οὗτοι δὲ εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἔμελλον αἰχμαλωτίζεσθαι, τούτοις ἐτήρησε τοῦτον. Εἶχον ἐκεῖνοι τὸν ∆ανιὴλ καὶ τὸν Ἰεζεκιήλ. Οὐ βούλεται τοίνυν παντὸς τοῦ σώματος τοῦ κάμνοντος, εἰς ἓν συναγαγεῖν τοὺς ἰατροὺς, ἵνα μὴ τὸ μὲν πλέον τοῦ δέοντος ἀπολάβῃ, τὸ δὲ μηδὲ ὅλως, ἀλλ' ἕκαστον κατὰ τὴν συμμετρίαν. Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐγένετο, πανταχοῦ διασπειρομένων αὐτῶν, ὥστε μὴ εἰς ἓν συνελθεῖν τοὺς ἀστέρας, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν προφητῶν τότε μάλιστα γίνεται.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΜΑʹ.

Καὶ ἀνέστη Ἰσμαήλ. Τίνος ἕνεκεν συνεχώρησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀναιρεθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, χρηστὸν ὄντα καὶ ἐπιεικῆ, καὶ τοσαύτης Ἰουδαίοις προστασίας μεταδιδόντα, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ὅσα γράφουσιν ἄνωθεν; *Τὸ δὲ φρέαρ, εἰς ὃ ἔῤῥιψεν Ἰσμαὴλ πάντα τὰ σώματα τῶν ἀνδρῶν ὧν ἀπέκτεινε μετὰ Γοδολίου, φρέαρ μέγα ἐστὶν, ὃ ἐποίησε βασιλεὺς Ἀσὰν ἀπὸ προσώπου βασιλέως Ἰσμαὴλ, ἡνίκα τὴν Ῥαμὰ κτίσαι ἠβουλήθη ὁ Βαασά. Ἐπὶ δὲ συμμαχίαν τοῦ Σύρου ἀπέστησεν αὐτὸν τοῦ ἔργου· Ἀσὰν αὐτόθι πόλιν κτίσας, ἐπειδὴ ἔνδεια 64.1009 ὕδατος ἦν, ὤρυξε μέγιστον φρέαρ, ὥστε τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν εἶναι παραμυθίαν τῶν ὑδάτων τὴν συναγωγήν. Περὶ ἐκείνου τοίνυν λέγει νῦν. Πάντα τὰ κακὰ ἃ ἐποίησεν Ἰσμαὴλ, καὶ ᾤχοντο πολεμεῖν μετὰ Ἰσμαὴλ υἱὸν Ἀθαναίου, καὶ εὗρον αὐτὸν ἐφ' ὕδατος πολεμίου ἐν Γαβαών. Τουτέστι, τῶν ὑδάτων τὴν πλημμύραν παρεληλυθότα, ὥστε μηδὲ ἁλῶναι δύνασθαι· τριβόμενοι γὰρ περὶ τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων δίοδον, χώραν ἐκείνῳ ἐδίδοσαν εἰς παντελῆ φυγήν· περιττὸν τοίνυν ἡγησάμενος ἔτι διώκειν τὸν οὐ συλληφθησόμενον, ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν.