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On Jeremiah

When Jeremiah began to prophesy and under which kings he prophesied, and in succession what was spoken to him by the Lord.

Homily 1. 1.1 God is ready to do good, but slow to punish those worthy of punishment. For although He is able to bring punishment upon those condemned by him in silence, without giving a prior warning, He in no way does this; but even if He condemns, He speaks, with the purpose of His speaking being to turn the one about to be condemned from the condemnation. Indeed, it is possible to take many examples of these things from the scriptures, but a few that come to mind at present are <sufficient>, so that we may come also to the purpose of the proposed readings. For the Ninevites had become sinners and were condemned by God; "yet three days and Nineveh was about to be overthrown"; God did not wish to condemn it in silence, but "giving them a place for repentance" and turning, He sent a Hebrew prophet, so that when he said, "Yet three days and Nineveh shall be overthrown," those who had been condemned might not be condemned, but by repenting might obtain the mercy of God. Those in Sodom and Gomorrah had been condemned, as is clear from the words of God to Abraham; but nevertheless the angels did their part, wishing to save those who did not wish to be saved, saying to Lot: "Are there any sons-in-law or sons or daughters of yours here?" not ignorant that those people would not follow Lot, but doing the things of the "goodness and loving-kindness" of the one who sent them. 1.2 You will find the same also in the case of Jeremiah. The time of his prophecy has been recorded, when he began and until when he prophesied. Then the reader, if he does not pay attention to the reading nor examine the will of the written readings, will say that it is a history and has been recorded, when Jeremiah began to prophesy and after prophesying for how long he ceased prophesying. What then is this history to me? I have read, I have learned that he began to prophesy "in the days of Josiah the son of Amos, king of Judah, until the thirteenth year of his reign"; then it happened "in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah" prophesying "until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah," and I learned that his prophecy extended through three kings "until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month"; what then are we taught through these things, if we pay attention to the reading? 1.3 God condemned Jerusalem because of its sins, and they were judged to be abandoned to captivity. Nevertheless, the loving God, with the time at hand, sends this prophet even before the third reign, the one at the time of the captivity, so that those who wished, upon understanding, might repent because of the prophetic words. He sent forth a prophet to prophesy also during the reign of the second king after the first and during the third, up to the times of the captivity itself. For the long-suffering God gave forbearance even one day, so to speak, before the captivity, urging the hearers to repent, so that the sorrows of captivity might cease. Wherefore it is written that "Jeremiah prophesied until the captivity of Jerusalem, until the fifth month"; the captivity began, and still he was prophesying, as if to say: you have become captives, even so, repent. For if you repent, the matters of the captivity will not proceed, but the mercy of God will come upon you. We have, therefore, something useful from the record containing the times of the prophecy, that it urges according to

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In Jeremiam

Πότε ἤρξατο προφητεύειν Ἱερεμίας καὶ ἐπὶ τίνων προεφήτευσε βασιλέων καὶ ἑξῆς τίνα ἐρρέθη αὐτῷ παρὰ κυρίου.

̔Ομιλία αʹ. 1.1 Ὁ θεὸς εἰς ἀγαθοποιίαν πρόχειρός ἐστιν, εἰς δὲ τὸ κολά σαι τοὺς ἀξίους κολάσεως μελλητής. ∆υνάμενος γοῦν ἐπαγαγεῖν τὴν κόλασιν τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ καταδικαζομένοις μετὰ σιωπῆς, μετὰ τοῦ μὴ προδιαμαρτύρασθαι, οὐδαμῶς τοῦτο ποιεῖ· ἀλλὰ κἂν καταδικάζῃ λέγει, τοῦ λέγειν αὐτῷ προκειμένου ἐπὶ τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ τῆς καταδίκης τὸν καταδικασθησόμενον. Τούτων μὲν παραδείγματα ἔστιν ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν λαβεῖν πολλά, ὀλίγα δὲ <ἀρκεῖ> τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ὑποπίπτοντα, ἵνα ἔλθωμεν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν σκοπὸν τῶν προκειμένων ἀναγνωσμάτων. Οἱ Νινευῖται γὰρ ἁμαρ τωλοὶ ἐγεγόνεισαν καὶ κατεδικάσθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ· «ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι καὶ ἔμελλε Νινευὴ κατασκάπτεσθαι»· οὐκ ἠθέ λησε σιωπῶν ὁ θεὸς καταδικάσαι αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ «διδοὺς αὐτοῖς τόπον μετανοίας» καὶ ἐπιστροφῆς ἔπεμψεν Ἑβραῖον προφήτην, ἵνα εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ· «Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι καὶ Νινευὴ καταστραφήσεται», οἱ καταδεδικασμένοι μὴ κατα δικασθῶσιν, ἀλλὰ μετανοήσαντες τύχωσι τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ θεοῦ. Οἱ ἐν Σοδόμοις καὶ Γομόρροις ἦσαν καταδεδικα σμένοι, ὡς δῆλον ἐκ τῶν λόγων τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραάμ· ἀλλ' ὅμως τὰ αὐτῶν πεποιήκασιν οἱ ἄγγελοι, θέλοντες σῴζεσθαι τοὺς μὴ θέλοντας σῴζεσθαι, λέγοντες τῷ Λώτ· «Εἰσί τινές σοι ὧδε γαμβροὶ ἢ υἱοὶ ἢ θυγα τέρες;» οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι οὐχ ἕπονται ἐκεῖνοι τῷ Λώτ, ἀλλὰ ποιοῦντες τὰ τῆς τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτοὺς «χρηστό τητος καὶ φιλανθρωπίας». 1.2 Τὸ ὅμοιον εὑρήσετε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν. Ἀναγέγραπται ὁ χρόνος τῆς προφητείας αὐτοῦ, πότε ἤρξατο καὶ μέχρι πότε προεφήτευσεν· εἶτα ὁ ἐντυγχάνων, ἐὰν μὴ προσέχῃ τῇ ἀναγνώσει μηδὲ ἐξετάζῃ τὸ βούλημα τῶν γεγραμμένων ἀναγνωσμάτων, ἐρεῖ ὅτι ἱστορία ἐστὶν καὶ ἀνα γέγραπται, πότε ἤρξατο προφητεύειν Ἱερεμίας καὶ μέχρι πόσου προφητεύσας χρόνου κατέληξε προφητεύων· τί οὖν πρὸς ἐμὲ αὕτη ἡ ἱστορία; ἀνέγνων, ἔμαθον ὅτι ἤρξατο προφη τεύειν «ἐν ἡμέραις Ἰωσίου τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἀμὼς βασιλέως Ἰούδα ἕως ἔτους τρισκαιδεκάτου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ»· εἶτα «ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἰωακεὶμ υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα» προφητεύων «ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου ἔτους Σεδεκίου υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα», καὶ ἔμαθον ὅτι κατὰ τρεῖς βασιλεῖς ἡ προφητεία αὐτοῦ συνεξέτεινεν «ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ μηνί»· τί οὖν διὰ τούτων διδασκόμεθα, ἐὰν προσέχωμεν τῇ ἀναγνώσει; 1.3 Κατεδίκασεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ διὰ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῆς, καὶ ἦσαν κριθέντες εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐγκαταλειφθῆ ναι· ὅμως ὁ φιλάνθρωπος θεὸς ἐνεστηκότος τοῦ καιροῦ πέμπει καὶ τοῦτον τὸν προφήτην ἀνωτέρω τρίτης βασι λείας τῆς ἐπὶ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας, ἵν' οἱ βουλόμενοι κατα νοήσαντες μετανοήσωσι διὰ τοὺς προφητικοὺς λόγους· ἐξαπέσταλκε προφήτην προφητεύειν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ δευτέ ρου μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον βασιλέα καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τρίτου μέχρι τῶν χρόνων αὐτῆς τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας· ἐδίδου γὰρ ἀνοχὴν ὁ μακρόθυμος θεὸς καὶ πρὸ μιᾶς ἡμέρας, ὡς ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας, προτρέπων μετανοεῖν τοὺς ἀκούοντας, ἵνα παύσηται τὰ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας σκυθρωπά. Ὅθεν γέγραπται ὅτι «ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας Ἱερουσαλὴμ προεφήτευσεν Ἱερεμίας ἕως τοῦ πέμπτου μηνός»· ἤρξατο ἡ αἰχμαλωσία, καὶ ἔτι προεφήτευεν οἱονεὶ λέγων· αἰχμάλωτοι γεγόνατε, κἂν οὕτω μετανοήσατε· μετανοησάντων γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐ προκόψει τὰ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπισταθήσεται ὑμῖν. Ἔχομεν οὖν χρήσιμον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀναγραφῆς ἐχούσης τοὺς χρό νους τῆς προφητείας, ὅτι προτρέπει κατὰ