Jeremiah 17
Commentary from 24 fathers
And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in barren [places], and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.
καὶ ἔσται ὡς ἡ ἀγριομυρίκη ἡ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὐκ ὄψεται ὅταν ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀγαθά, καὶ κατασκηνώσει ἐν ἁλίμοις καὶ ἐν ἐρήμῳ, ἐν γῇ ἁλμυρᾷ, ἥτις οὐ κατοικεῖται.
и҆ бꙋ́детъ ꙗ҆́кѡ ди́вїѧ мѷрі́ка въ пꙋсты́ни и҆ не ᲂу҆́зритъ, є҆гда̀ прїи́дꙋтъ блага̑ѧ, и҆ ѡ҆бита́ти бꙋ́детъ въ сꙋхотѣ̀ и҆ въ пꙋсты́ни, въ землѝ сла́нѣй и҆ неѡбита́емѣй.
6–7A person who relies on himself, however, or even on the person whose duty it is to provide for his needs, and thinks that his own activity or that of his associate is a sufficient resource for his livelihood runs the risk, as he places his hope in humankind, of falling under the curse that reads, “Cursed is the one that trusts in humankind and makes flesh his arm and whose soul departs from the Lord.” Now, by the words “that trusts in humankind” the Scripture forbids a person to place his hope in another, and by the words “and makes flesh his arm” it forbids him to trust in himself. Either course is termed a defection from the Lord. Further, in adding the final issue of both, “He shall be like tamarisk in the desert, and he shall not see when good shall come,” the Scripture declares that for anyone to place his trust either in himself or in anyone else is to alienate himself from the Lord.
The Long Rules 42
6–7One thing you must flee, sin. One refuge from evil must be sought, God. Do not trust in princes. Do not be exalted in the uncertainty of wealth. Do not be proud of bodily strength. Do not pursue the splendor of human glory. None of these things save you. All are transient. All are deceptive. There is one refuge: God. “Cursed is the one who trusts in humankind” or in any human thing.
Homilies on the Psalms 18:1 (ps 45)
6–7One who puts his trust in humankind or is buoyed up by some other concerns of life, such as power or possessions or any of the things considered by the many to be glorious, is not able to say, “O Lord my God, in you have I put my trust.” In fact, there is a command that we should not put our trust in rulers, and “cursed is the one who trusts in humankind.” As it is proper not to worship anything else besides God, so also is it proper not to trust in any other except God the Lord of all things. “The Lord,” it is said, “is my hope and my praise.”
Homilies on the Psalms 11:2 (ps 7)
6–7It is not only the one who puts his hope in humankind that is accursed, but also the one who uses the flesh of his arm, that is, his strength and all that he does, not for the Lord of mercy but so that power will be thought to have come from him. For whoever does this withdraws his heart from the Lord by claiming himself to be capable when he is not capable. He will also be like the tamarisk in the desert, which, in Hebrew, is called an aroher, or, as translated by Symmacus, a fruitless plant, nor will he see goodness when it arrives and is seen by the multitude of nations, but he will live in a wasteland. All this is said about the Jewish people, who live in a desert and do not bear fruit and are located in an uninhabited salt land that produces no fruit and is a host neither to God, nor to the army of angels, nor to the grace of the Holy Spirit nor to the knowledge of teachers.
Six Books on Jeremiah 3:72.4-5
6–7But let us see what kind of fruits a bad tree produces, and let us avoid bearing such fruits. The prophet Jeremiah says, “Cursed is the one who puts his trust in human beings and makes his flesh his support, and whose heart turns away from the Lord; such a person will be like a tamarisk in the desert.”
Homilies on the Gospels 2:25
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord shall be.
καὶ εὐλογημένος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς πέποιθεν ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ ἔσται Κύριος ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ·
И҆ бл҃гослове́нъ человѣ́къ, и҆́же надѣ́етсѧ на гдⷭ҇а, и҆ бꙋ́детъ гдⷭ҇ь ᲂу҆пова́нїе є҆гѡ̀:
7–8For as it says in the psalm, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy,” so also in the gospel, those who sow in laughter, that is, because of joy, shall reap in tears. Long ago did the Creator set these things side by side: Christ, by not changing them but only giving them emphasis, has made them new. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you.” That is what their ancestors used to do to the false prophets. No less does the Creator, by Isaiah, censure those who seek after the blessing and praise of people: “My people, those who call you blessed, lead you astray and upset the paths of your feet.” And in other terms he even forbids them to have any confidence in a person, and consequently not in human praise, as by Jeremiah, “Cursed is the one who trusts in humankind.”
Against Marcion 4.16
7–8Let no one deceive himself. Let none be misled. Only the Lord can grant mercy. Sins committed against him can be cancelled by him alone who bore our sins and suffered for us, by him whom God delivered up for our sins. People cannot be above God, nor can the servant by any indulgence of his own remit or condone the graver sort of crime committed against his Lord, for that would make the apostate liable to this further charge, he knows not the words of the prophet: “Cursed is the one who puts his hope in humankind.” It is our Lord we must pray to, it is our Lord we must win over by our penitence. For he has said he will deny the person who denies him, and he alone has received all power of judgment from his Father.
Treatise III. On the Lapsed 17
7–8If Christ is only man, how is he present wherever he is invoked—since it is not people’s nature but God’s to be able to be present everywhere? If Christ is only man, why is a man called on in prayer as a mediator, when calling on a mortal to grant salvation is considered useless? If Christ is only man, why is hope put in him, when hope in humankind is declared to be accursed? If Christ is only man, why cannot he be denied without ruin to one’s soul, when it is declared that an offense against people can be forgiven? If Christ is only man, how does John the Baptist bear witness of him when he says, “He who comes after me was made before me, for he was before me”? If Christ were only man, then, being born after John, he could not be before John, unless he preceded him as God.
On the Trinity 14:7-11
7–8He said to him, “Yes, sir. The long duration of my illness makes me desire health. But, desire it as I may, I have no one.” Do not lose heart, my good fellow, because you “have no one.” You have God standing by you. One who is at once man and God under different aspects, for both must be confessed. The confession of the humanity without the confession of the divinity is unavailing, or rather earns a curse. For “cursed is one who puts his trust in humankind.”
Sermon on the Paralytic 6
7–8It may be said both of the Jews and of the heretics that they put their hope in humankind, for the messiah whom they believe to be coming is clearly not the Son of God but a mere man. The person of the church, in contrast, who puts faith in the Lord, hears this: “Know that the Lord himself is God.” Because he trusts in the Lord, he will be compared with a tree and will be the one of whom the first psalm sings: “He is like a tree that is planted by flowing waters, bearing its fruit in season; and its leaf does not wither.” Being transplanted on (or by) the waters refers to the various graces of the Holy Spirit. And sending its roots into the water (or by the stream) means that one receives abundance from the Lord. But we can also say that it may be us who were transplanted from the aridity of Judea into the eternal grace of baptism. It goes on to say that he will not fear when the heat comes, meaning either a time of persecution or the day of judgment, and that his leaf will remain green (or that his branches will remain leafy), such that he should never fear aridity, for the grace of all the virtues will germinate. Thus, when a dry spell arrives, when the Lord of wrath commands the clouds not to send any rain on Israel, this person will not fear. And the following line, “nor will he cease to bear fruit,” can help explain the passage in the Gospel of Mark where the Lord comes to a fig tree and finds no fruit on it, since it was not yet the season, and then curses it that it would never bear fruit again. For anyone “who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord” will have no fear in a time of Judaic aridity, but he will always bear fruit who believes in him who died for us and will die no more, in him who said “I am the life.”
Six Books on Jeremiah 3:73.2-5
7–8(Vers. 7, 8.) Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his hope (or confidence): and he will be like a tree, which is transplanted (or fruitful) over the waters, which sends its roots to the moisture, and will not fear when heat comes: and its leaves will be green (or its branches flourishing), and in the time of drought it will not be anxious (or will not fear) nor will it ever cease to bear fruit. Let this be said about the Jews and heretics, who have hope in man, namely in their Christ, whom they think to be not the Son of God, but a pure man who is to come. On the other hand, the man of the Church, who has confidence in the Lord, hears this: 'And know that the Lord himself is God' (Psalm 99:3). He has confidence in the Lord, and he will be compared to that tree, about which it is also sung in the first psalm: 'And he will be like a tree, planted near the streams of water, which will bear its fruit in due season, and its leaves will not wither.' But over the waters, the grace of the Holy Spirit, various gifts. He sends his roots to the moisture: so that he may receive abundance from the Lord. But we can also say in another way, that we have been translated from Jewish dryness into the eternal grace of baptism. And he will not fear, he says, when the heat comes, or the time of persecution, or the day of judgment: And its leaf will be green, or there will be leafy branches in it: so that he may never fear dryness, but may bring forth the grace of all virtues. And when the time, or year, of dryness comes, it will not be afraid, when the Lord, angry, commands the clouds not to rain upon Israel (Isaiah 5). And what follows: it will not cease to bear fruit, that place which is written in Mark, when the Lord comes to the fig tree, and does not find fruit in it, because it was not yet the time, and curses it, so that it does not bear fruit forever, can explain (Mark 11). For whoever trusts in the Lord, the Lord is his confidence, even in times of drought he will not fear; but he will always bring forth fruit, believing in him who once died for us and will never die again (Romans VI), and he says: I am the life (John XIV, 6).
Commentary on Jeremiah
"They shall not be ashamed in the evil time." In the day of trouble, in the day of distress, they shall not be "ashamed," as he is ashamed whose hope deceives him. Who is the man that is "ashamed"? He who saith, "I have not found that which I was in hopes of." Nor undeservedly either; for thou didst hope it from thyself or from man, thy friend. But "cursed is he that putteth his trust in man." Thou art ashamed, because thy hope hath deceived thee; thy hope that was set on a lie. For "every man is a liar." But if thou dost place thy hopes on thy God, thou art not made "ashamed." For He in whom thou hast put thy trust, cannot be deceived. Whence also the man whom we mentioned just above, the now "strengthened" righteous man, when fallen on an evil time, on the day of tribulation, what saith he to show that he was not "ashamed"? "We glory in tribulation; knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; but hope maketh not ashamed." Whence is it that hope "maketh not ashamed"? Because it is placed on God. Therefore follows immediately, "Because the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us." The Holy Spirit hath been given to us already: how should He deceive us, of whom we possess such an "earnest" already?
Expositions of the Psalms, Psalm 37
Nay, I say that either before the law, or in the time of the Old Testament, they were freed from sins,-not by their own power, because "cursed is every one that hath put his hope in man," and without any doubt those are under this curse whom also the sacred Psalm notifies, "who trust in their own strength;" nor by the old covenant which gendereth to bondage, although it was divinely given by the grace of a sure dispensation; nor by that law itself, holy and just and good as it was, where it is written, "Thou shalt not covet," since it was not given as being able to give life, but it was added for the sake of transgression until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; but I say that they were freed by the blood of the Redeemer Himself, who is the one Mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus. But those enemies of the grace of God, which is given to small and great through Jesus Christ our Lord, say that the men of God of old were of a perfect righteousness, lest they should be supposed to have needed the incarnation, the passion, and resurrection of Christ, by belief in whom they were saved.
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians, Book 1
7–8You have begun to love what is outside of yourself. You have gone outside of yourself. When a person’s love goes away from him toward things that are outside of him, he begins to become vain along with useless goods, and somehow to spend his substance like the prodigal son. He is emptied. He is poured forth. He becomes a beggar. However, we must not despair even of such people when they begin to repent. May God grant this to them: “He came to himself.” Now if he came to himself, he had gone outside of himself. Just as he remained in himself when he fell away, so he should not remain in himself when he fell away, so he should not remain in himself when he returns. Therefore, let him keep himself close to God. Let him deny himself so he will not fall again. What does to deny oneself mean? Let him not confide in his own strength, let him realize that he is human, and let him look to the prophetic word: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings.”
Sermon 159:3
And he shall be as a thriving tree by the waters, and he shall cast forth his root toward a moist place: he shall not fear when heat comes, and there shall be upon him shady branches: he shall not fear in a year of drought, and he shall not fail to bear fruit.
καὶ ἔσται ὡς ξύλον εὐθηνοῦν παρ’ ὕδατα, καὶ ἐπὶ ἰκμάδα βαλεῖ ῥίζαν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσεται ὅταν ἔλθῃ καῦμα, καὶ ἔσται ἐπ’ αὐτῷ στελέχη ἀλσώδη, ἐν ἐνιαυτῷ ἀβροχίας οὐ φοβηθήσεται καὶ οὐ διαλείψει ποιῶν καρπόν.
и҆ бꙋ́детъ ꙗ҆́кѡ дре́во насажде́нное при вода́хъ, и҆ во вла́гѣ пꙋ́ститъ коре́нїе своѐ: не ᲂу҆бои́тсѧ, є҆гда̀ прїи́детъ зно́й, и҆ бꙋ́детъ на не́мъ сте́блїе зеле́но, и҆ во вре́мѧ бездо́ждїѧ не ᲂу҆страши́тсѧ и҆ не преста́нетъ твори́ти плода̀.
The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man, and who can know him?
βαθεῖα ἡ καρδία παρά πάντα, καὶ ἄνθρωπός ἐστι· καὶ τίς γνώσεται αὐτόν;
Глꙋбоко̀ се́рдце (человѣ́кꙋ) па́че всѣ́хъ, и҆ человѣ́къ є҆́сть, и҆ кто̀ позна́етъ є҆го̀;
For this reason it is said, “Who shall declare his generation?” since “he is man, and who shall recognize him?” But one to whom the Father who is in heaven has revealed him knows him, so that he understands that he who “was not born either by the will of the flesh or by the will of man” is the Son of man, that is, Christ, the Son of the living God. For I have shown from the Scriptures that no one of the children of Adam is as to everything, and absolutely, called God or named Lord. But that he is himself in his own right, beyond all people who ever lived, God, and Lord, and King eternal and the incarnate Word, proclaimed by all the prophets, the apostles and by the Spirit, may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion of the truth. Now, the Scriptures would not have testified these things of him, if, like others, he had been a mere man. But that he had, beyond all others, in himself that pre-eminent birth that is from the most high Father, and also experienced that pre-eminent generation that is from the Virgin, the divine Scriptures do in both respects testify of him.
Against Heresies 3:19.2
For it is of him that Isaiah writes: “A man of suffering and acquainted with the bearing of weakness.” Jeremiah writes: “He is man, and who has known him?” And Daniel writes: “On the clouds he came as the son of man.” The apostle Paul likewise says: “The man Christ Jesus is the one mediator between God and humankind.”
On the Flesh of Christ 15
The Father, now that he has made him a little lower than the angels, will crown him with glory and honor and will put all things beneath his feet. Then those who pierced him will know who he is and will strike their breasts, tribe to tribe—because in fact they formerly failed to recognize him in the humility of human condition. “And he is man,” says Jeremiah, “and who shall know him?” Because also, Isaiah says, “His nativity, who shall tell of it?”
Against Marcion 3.7
David also said in the forty-fourth psalm, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness. You have hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness.” By this word he also shows his name, since (as I have shown above) he has called Christ from his anointing. Then, that he was also man, Jeremiah teaches, saying, “And he is a man, and who shall know him?” Also Isaiah: “And God shall send to them a man who shall save them, shall save them by judging.”
Divine Institutes 4:13
The apostle says, “For God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” He does not say “in the likeness of flesh,” for Christ took on himself the reality, not the likeness, of flesh. Nor does he say in the likeness of sin, for he did not sin but was made sin for us. Yet he came “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” That is, he took on him the likeness of sinful flesh, the likeness, because it is written, “He is man, and who shall know him?” He was man in the flesh, according to his human nature that he might be recognized, but in power he was above humanity, that he might not be recognized, so he has our flesh but has not the failings of this flesh.
Concerning Repentance 1.3.12
How can they declare the Savior a mere man, conceived of a man’s seed? How will he “not be known,” as Jeremiah says of him, “he is man, but who shall know him?” For the prophet, describing him, said, “Who shall know him?” But if he meant a mere man, surely his father would know him, and his mother, his relatives and neighbors, those who lived with him and his fellow townspeople. But that which came to birth is born of Mary, while the divine Word came from above. He was truly begotten not in time and without a beginning, not of a man’s seed but of the Father on high. But in the last days he consented to enter a virgin’s womb and fashion his flesh from her, patterned after himself. This is why Jeremiah says, “And he is man, but who shall know him?” He came from above as God, the only-begotten, divine Word.
Panarion 30:20.5-7
9–10(Verse 9, 10.) The heart of all is perverse and inscrutable, who can understand it? I am the Lord, searching the heart and testing the kidneys, who gives to each according to their ways and according to the fruit of their inventions. LXX: The heart is deep above all, and man is, who can know him? and so on. The Hebrew word Enos is written with four letters, Aleph and Nun and Vau and Sin. Therefore, if Enos is read, it means 'man', but if Anus, it is inscrutable or desperate, because no human heart can find it. But Symmachus interpreted this passage as follows: Inscrutable is the heart of all: but who is the man that can find it? Some of ours, indeed, with good intentions, but not according to knowledge, use this passage against the Jews, because He is called Lord and Savior, according to the dispensation of the assumed flesh, and no one can know the mystery of His birth, according to what is written: Who shall declare His generation? (Isaiah 53:8) Unless God alone who searches the depths and renders to each according to his works. However, it is better that we simply accept that no one knows the secrets of our thoughts except God alone. For as it was said above: Cursed is the man who has hope in man. And conversely: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. Hence, in order for us not to think that the judgment of men is certain, it was introduced that the hearts of almost all are perverse, as the Psalmist says: Cleanse me from my hidden faults, and spare your servant from the faults of others (Psal. 19:13): undoubtedly referring to thoughts. And in Genesis: But God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that every thought and intent of the heart was inclined towards evil at all times (Gen. 6:5). And again: For the sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from their youth (Gen. 8:21). From this we learn that only God knows our thoughts. But if it is said of the Savior: But Jesus, seeing their thoughts (Luke 9:17); and no one can see their thoughts except God alone; therefore Christ is God, who searches the hearts, and tests the kidneys; and rewards each one according to their works (Ps. 7).
Commentary on Jeremiah
Symmacus translates this passage thus: “The heart of everyone is inscrutable. Yet, who is the man who can find it?” It is customary by our own good wish, therefore, but not according to objective knowledge, to use this passage to argue against the Jews that the man in question is the Lord and Savior, according to the dispensation of the assumed flesh, and that no one shall be able to know the mystery of his nativity, according to what is written: “Who will explain his generation?” except God alone, who probes the secrets and returns to each one according to his works. But it is better that we simply accept that no one knows the secrets of another’s thoughts except God alone, for it says above, “Accursed is the person who trusts in humankind” and, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Hence, lest we think ourselves to be sure of human judgment, the psalmist implies that almost every heart is perverse, saying, “Cleanse me from hidden thoughts, O Lord, and spare your servant from foreigners,” without doubt meaning foreign thoughts. Also in Genesis, it is written, “God saw how great human malice was on the earth and that every thought of the human heart was intent on evil continuously”;8 and again, “The senses and the thoughts of a person’s heart are prone to evil from his adolescence.” Through these texts, we learn that God alone knows a person’s thoughts. Yet, if it is said of the Savior that “Jesus saw what they were thinking,” and if no one is able to see one’s thoughts except God alone, then Christ is God, “who examines hearts and probes the mind and gives to each one according to his works.”
Six Books on Jeremiah 3:74.2-5
The inquirer, then, might say that the prophet says only that Christ is God, without any reference to his human nature. Yet, in our apostolic doctrine, Christ is not only God in whom we may safely trust but also the mediator between God and humankind—the man Jesus. The prophet explains this in the words in which he seems to check himself, and to supply the omission: “The heart,” he says “is inscrutable above all things, and he is man, and who shall know him?” He is man in order that, in the form of a servant, he might heal the hard in heart and that they might acknowledge as God him who became man for their sakes, that their trust might be not in humankind, but in God—man.
Reply to Faustus the Manichaean 13:8
His manhood was much more plainly and readily recognized by strangers, who, indeed, were not wrong in believing him to be man, but they did not understand his being God as well as man. Hence Jeremiah says, “He is man, and who shall know him?” He is a man, for it is made manifest that he is a brother. And who shall know him? For it is concealed that he is a husband [to the church]. This must suffice as a defense of our father Abraham against Faustus’s imprudence and ignorance and malice.
Reply to Faustus the Manichaean 22:40
In his new Utopia he says, for instance, that a chief point of the Utopia will be a disbelief in original sin. If he had begun with the human soul—that is, if he had begun on himself—he would have found original sin almost the first thing to be believed in. He would have found, to put the matter shortly, that a permanent possibility of selfishness arises from the mere fact of having a self, and not from any accidents of education or ill-treatment. And the weakness of all Utopias is this, that they take the greatest difficulty of man and assume it to be overcome, and then give an elaborate account of the overcoming of the smaller ones.
Heretics, Ch. 5: Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants (1905)
Torture is not a relic of barbarism at all. In actuality it is simply a relic of sin; but in comparative history it may well be called a relic of civilisation. It has always been most artistic and elaborate when everything else was most artistic and elaborate. Thus it was detailed exquisite in the late Roman Empire, in the complex and gorgeous sixteenth century, in the centralised French monarchy a hundred years before the Revolution, and in the great Chinese civilisation to this day. This is, first and last, the frightful thing we must remember. In so far as we grow instructed and refined we are not (in any sense whatever) naturally moving away from torture. We may be moving towards torture. We must know what we are doing, if we are to avoid the enormous secret cruelty which has crowned every historic civilisation.
Tremendous Trifles, The Travellers in State (1909)
What assurance have we that our masters will or can keep the promise which induced us to sell ourselves? Let us not be deceived by phrases about 'Man taking charge of his own destiny'. All that can really happen is that some men will take charge of the destiny of the others. They will be simply men; none perfect; some greedy, cruel and dishonest. The more completely we are planned the more powerful they will be. Have we discovered some new reason why, this time, power should not corrupt as it has done before?
Is Progress Possible? Willing Slaves of the Welfare State, from God in the Dock
It had turned from God and become its own idol, so that though it could still turn back to God, it could do so only by painful effort, and its inclination was self-ward. Hence pride and ambition, the desire to be lovely in its own eyes and to depress and humiliate all rivals, envy, and restless search for more, and still more, security, were now the attitudes that came easiest to it. It was not only a weak king over its own nature, but a bad one: it sent down into the psycho-physical organism desires far worse than the organism sent up in to it.
The Problem of Pain, Chapter 5: The Fall of Man
In an instant of time--while your friend hesitates for a word--what things pass through your mind? We have never told the whole truth. We may confess ugly facts--the meanest cowardice or the shabbiest and most prosaic impurity--but the tone is false. The very act of confessing--an infinitesimally hypocritical glance--a dash of humour--all this contrives to dissociate the facts from your very self. No one could guess how familiar and, in a sense, congenial to your soul these things were, how much of a piece with all the rest: down there, in the dreaming inner warmth, they struck no such discordant note, were not nearly so odd and detachable from the rest of you, as they seem when they are turned into words. We imply, and often believe, that habitual vices are exceptional single acts, and make the opposite mistake about our virtues--like the bad tennis player who calls his normal form his "bad days" and mistakes his rare successes for his normal. I do not think it is our fault that we cannot tell the real truth about ourselves; the persistent, life-long, inner murmur of spite, jealousy, prurience, greed and self-complacence, simply will not go into words. But the important thing is that we should not mistake our inevitably limited utterances for a full account of the worst that is inside.
The Problem of Pain, Chapter 4: Human Wickedness
I the Lord try the hearts, and prove the reins, to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his devices.
ἐγὼ Κύριος ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ δοκιμάζων νεφροὺς τοῦ δοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ κατὰ τοὺς καρποὺς τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων αὐτοῦ.
А҆́зъ гдⷭ҇ь и҆спытꙋ́ѧй сердца̀ и҆ и҆скꙋша́ѧй ᲂу҆трѡ́бы, є҆́же возда́ти комꙋ́ждо по пꙋтѝ є҆гѡ̀ и҆ по плодѡ́мъ и҆з̾ѡбрѣ́тенїй є҆гѡ̀.
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. [Jeremiah 17:10] But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
God has promised that Christ will be a light and has declared that he himself is a lantern, searching the hearts and seats of affections.
Against Marcion 5.7
The Pharisees, by justifying themselves before people, were placing in people their hope of reward. His rebuke to them had the same bearing as that of the prophet Jeremiah, “Cursed is the one who trusts in humankind.” He says next, “But God knows your hearts.” This was a reference to the power of that God who declared himself a shining light, “searching the hearts and the seats of emotions.” If he turns with hostility toward their pride, “what is exalted among people is an abomination in the sight of God,” he sets Isaiah in front of their eyes, “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high.”
Against Marcion 4.33
For such things as these serve for exercise and trial, so that, having proved ourselves zealous and chosen servants of Christ, we may be fellow heirs with the saints. For thus Job: “The whole world is a place of trial to people on the earth.” Nevertheless, they are proved in this world by afflictions, labors and sorrows, to the end that each one may receive of God such reward as is appropriate for him, as he said by the prophet, “I am the LORD who tries the hearts and searches the reins, to give to everyone according to his ways.”
Festal Letters 13:1
That it belongs to God alone to know people’s secrets, hear what the prophet says: “You alone know the heart,” and again, “God examines the heart and the seat of emotions,” and Jeremiah, too, says, “The heart is inscrutable above all things, and he is man, and who shall know him?” and, “People shall look on the face but God on the heart.”
Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 29:2
"And Thou shalt direct the righteous, O God, who searcheth the hearts and reins." How then can the righteous be directed but in secret? ...How then is the righteous man directed in so great confusion of pretence, save whilst God searcheth the hearts and reins; seeing all men's thoughts, which are meant by the word heart; and their delights, which are understood by the word reins? ...God then, searching our heart, and perceiving that it is there where our treasure is, that is, in heaven; searching also the reins, and perceiving that we do not assent to flesh and blood, but delight ourselves in the Lord, directs the righteous man in his inward conscience before Him, where no man seeth, but He alone who perceiveth what each man thinketh, and what delighteth each. For delight is the end of care; because to this end does each man strive by care and thought, that he may attain to his delight. He therefore seeth our cares, who searcheth the heart. He seeth too the ends of cares, that is delights, who narrowly searcheth the reins; that when He shall find that our cares incline neither to the lust of the flesh, nor to the lust of the eyes, nor to the pride of life, all which pass away as a shadow, but that they are raised upward to the joys of things eternal, which are spoilt by no change, He may direct the righteous, even He, the God who searcheth the hearts and reins. For our works, which we do in deeds and words, may be known unto men; but with what mind they are done, and to what end we would attain by means of them, He alone knoweth, the God who searcheth the hearts and reins.
Expositions of the Psalms 7.9
The partridge utters her voice, she gathers [eggs] which she did not lay; [so is a man] gaining his wealth unjustly; in the midst of his days [his riches] shall leave him, and at his latter end he will be a fool.
ἐφώνησε πέρδιξ, συνήγαγεν ἃ οὐκ ἔτεκε· ποιῶν πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ οὐ μετὰ κρίσεως, ἐν ἡμίσει ἡμερῶν αὐτοῦ ἐγκαταλείψουσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων αὐτοῦ ἔσται ἄφρων.
Возгласѝ рѧ́бъ, собра̀, и҆́хже не родѝ, творѧ́й бога́тство своѐ не съ сꙋдо́мъ: въ преполове́нїи дні́й свои́хъ ѡ҆ста́витъ є҆̀ и҆ на послѣ́докъ сво́й бꙋ́детъ безꙋ́менъ.
(Verse 11.) The partridge hatches (or gathers) what it did not lay. (And as the Septuagint translated: The partridge cried out, it gathered what it did not lay.) It acquired its riches not with justice. In the middle of its days, it will leave them (or in the middle of its days, they will leave it) and in its last days, it will be foolish. Writers of natural history, both of animals and birds, as well as of trees and plants (of whom the Greek leaders are, Aristotle and Theophrastus, and among us, Pliny the Second), say that this is the nature of the partridge, to steal the eggs of another partridge, that is, to steal from another, and to incubate and care for them: and when the offspring grow up, to fly away from them, and leave behind their adoptive parent. Such are the wealthy who plunder others, and without the consideration of God's judgment, amass riches without judgment, which they leave behind in the midst of time, taken away by sudden death, when it is said to them: Fool, this night they will demand your soul from you, what you have prepared, whose will it be? And nothing is more foolish than not to foresee the last things, and to consider the fleeting as eternal. Others, however, interpret the partridge to be the most aggressive and unclean bird both because of the earlier historical account and because of another reason they state, in that it contaminates the defeated, and they interpret the devil under its name, because it has gathered riches for itself, saying to the Lord: All these things I will give to You, if You fall down and worship me (Matthew 4:9). Those riches that were gathered poorly by him will be abandoned, and they will be converted (or rather, restored) to the Lord through the Apostles; and the one who seemed to be the most prudent to himself will be considered foolish by the judgment of all. And what is said by the LXX: The partridge cried out, is to be referred to the person of the heretics, that this partridge, the devil, cried out through the leaders of the heretics, and gathered what it did not bear, and gathered a multitude of those it deceived, which it will later dismiss; and it will be proven most foolish by the judgment of all.
Commentary on Jeremiah
An exalted throne of glory is our sanctuary.
θρόνος δόξης ὑψωμένος, ἁγίασμα ἡμῶν,
Прⷭ҇то́лъ сла́вы возвыше́нъ ѿ нача́ла, мѣ́сто ст҃ы́ни на́шеѧ.
“The glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.” Again the prophet denounces the wicked who put their hope in their riches. He exhorts them to think about the household of God, he who sits in the sacred place in the Jerusalem temple, the throne of his glory, and from there God penetrates and tests everything around him. Thus, the prophet says, “Let them know that Babylon and all the glorious kings seated on its throne were exalted and raised there by God, who dwells in our sanctuary.” Therefore, kings do not have reason to hope in their own strength, and no one should be afraid of princes, because their treasures will be taken away by the judgment of truth. For the oppression of the oppressed, oppressors will perish as the result of their own oppressive actions.
Commentary on Jeremiah 17:12
He has taken away from the ungodly the Holy Spirit and the prophetic rain and has replenished his church with spiritual grace, as the “river of Egypt in the time of firstfruits,” and has advanced the same as a house on a hill or as a high mountain, as a mountain fruitful for milk and fatness, where God is pleased to dwell. “For the Lord will dwell there to the end.” And he says in Jeremiah: “A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” And he says in Isaiah: “And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious, and the house of the Lord shall be on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills.”
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 6:2.5
12–13(Verse 12, 13.) The throne of glory on high from the beginning, the place of our sanctification. The expectation of Israel, O Lord, all those who forsake you shall be put to shame, those who turn away shall be written (or described) on the earth; for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain (or source) of living waters. Declare them because of their foolishness, the expectation of Israel, that is, the people of God and believers in the Lord, He is the one who made all things; whose throne is glorious and exalted from the beginning, and the place of sanctification for all believers, so that the Lord is not in a place, but that wherever He is, that place may be sanctified. On the other hand, those who forsake the Lord will be confounded with everlasting confusion, and those who depart from Him or turn away from Him will be written on the ground, deleted from the book of the living. Just as it is written of those who dwell in heaven that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3), so those who forsake the Lord or turn away from Him will be written on the earth with those who have earthly desires. And the reason is clear why they are written on the earth: because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of life, or the Lord, the fountain of living waters, as spoken in the Gospel: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink; whoever believes in me, as Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But He said this about the Spirit, whom believers in Him were going to receive (John 7:37, 38).
Commentary on Jeremiah
As if anticipating that the inquirer would ask next by what plain mark a young disciple, not yet able to distinguish the truth among so many errors, might find the true church of Christ, since the clear fulfillment of so many predictions compelled him to believe in Christ, the prophet answers this question in what follows and teaches that the church of Christ, which he describes prophetically, is conspicuously visible. His words are, “A glorious high throne is our sanctuary.” This glorious throne is the church, of which the apostle says, “The temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
Reply to Faustus the Manichaean 13:13
O Lord, the hope of Israel, let all that have left thee be ashamed, let them that have revolted be written on the earth, because they have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord.
ὑπομονὴ ᾿Ισραήλ, Κύριε, πάντες οἱ καταλιπόντες σε καταισχυνθήτωσαν, ἀφεστηκότες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς γραφήτωσαν, ὅτι ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ζωῆς, τὸν Κύριον.
Ча́ѧнїе і҆и҃лево, гдⷭ҇и! всѝ ѡ҆ставлѧ́ющїи тѧ̀ да постыдѧ́тсѧ, ѿстꙋпа́ющїи (ѿ тебє̀) на землѝ да напи́шꙋтсѧ, ꙗ҆́кѡ ѡ҆ста́виша и҆сто́чникъ живы́хъ во́дъ, гдⷭ҇а.
The “endurance of Israel” is our next subject. Just as the Savior is righteousness, truth, sanctification, so is he endurance. And there can be no way to be just without Christ, or to be holy without him or to endure without having Christ, for he is the endurance of Israel. And even if you apply these words to God, you will not in this way be impious.
Homilies on Jeremiah 17:4.2
[Daniel 7:10] "There were millions ministering unto Him, and a billion stood by His side." This was not intended to be a specific number for the servants of God, but only indicates a multitude too great for human computation. These are the thousands and tens of thousands of which we read in the Psalms: "The chariot of God is attended by ten thousands; thousands of them that rejoice. The Lord is among them" (Psalm 68:17). And in another place: "He who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flaming fire" (Psalm 104:4). Now the duty of angels is twofold: the duty of one group is to bestow rewards upon just men; the duty of the other is to have charge over individual calamities.
"...The court was in session, and the books were opened." The consciences of men, and the deeds of individuals which partake of either character, whether good or bad, are disclosed to all. One of the books is the good book of which we often read, namely the book of the living. The other is the evil book which is held in the hand of the accuser, who is the fiend and avenger of whom we read in Revelation: "The accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10). This is the earthly book of which the prophet says: "Let them be written on earth" (Jeremiah 17:13).
St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SEVEN
We must therefore not doubt that at the time when he was chosen by Christ and obtained a place in the apostolate, the name of Judas was written in the book of the living, and then he heard as well as the rest the words, “Rejoice not because the devils are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” But because he was corrupted by the plague of covetousness and had his name struck out from that heavenly list, it is appropriately said of him and of people like him by the prophet: “O Lord, let all those who forsake you be confounded. Let them who depart from you be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters.” And elsewhere, “They shall not be in the counsel of my people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel.”
Conference 2:17.25
And again when all their efforts are exhausted and they have failed to deceive us, they must “be confounded and be ashamed” at the failure of their efforts, “who seek our souls to destroy them. Let them be covered with shame and confusion who desire evil against us.” Jeremiah also says, “Let them be confounded, and let not me be confounded; let them be afraid, and let not me be afraid; bring on them the fury of your wrath, and with a double destruction destroy them.”
Conference 1:7.21
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my boast.
ἴασαί με, Κύριε, καὶ ἰαθήσομαι· σῶσόν με, καὶ σωθήσομαι· ὅτι καύχημά μου σὺ εἶ.
И҆сцѣли́ мѧ, гдⷭ҇и, и҆ и҆сцѣлѣ́ю: сп҃си́ мѧ, и҆ спⷭ҇нъ бꙋ́дꙋ, ꙗ҆́кѡ хвала̀ моѧ̀ ты̀ є҆сѝ.
He says to him who alone is the true physician, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me, and I shall be saved. You are my praise and my hope.”
Against the Pelagians 2.27
(Verse 14) Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. In the Gospel (Matthew 9), many physicians had cured the woman with the issue of blood, who had lost all her substance on them, yet she could not be healed by anyone except by Him who is the true physician, and whose healing is in His wings. Therefore, even now, the Prophet, having suffered reproaches from the people and being constantly surrounded by snares, desires to be healed and saved by Him whose true praise and true medicine He is.
Commentary on Jeremiah
No evil person does good. And if no evil person does good, how could an evil person make himself good? He who is eternally good can make an evil person good. “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed: save me, and I shall be saved.”
Sermon 61:2
So, the reason that we, being bad, have a good Father is in order that we may not always remain bad. No bad person can make a good one. If no bad person can make a good one, how can a bad person make himself good? The only one who can make a good person out of a bad one is the one who is always good. “Heal me, Lord,” he says, “and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved.”
Sermon 61:2
Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come.
ἰδοὺ αὐτοὶ λέγουσι πρός με· ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ λόγος Κυρίου; ἐλθέτω.
Сѐ, ті́и глаго́лютъ ко мнѣ̀: гдѣ̀ є҆́сть сло́во гдⷭ҇не; да прїи́детъ.
(Verse 15) Look, they say to me: Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come. Those who do not believe in the future, speak to the Prophet: Where is the word of the Lord? Let us come: considering the dissimulation of judgment, thinking of delay.
Commentary on Jeremiah
But I have not been weary of following thee, nor have I desired the day of man; thou knowest; the [words] that proceed out of my lips are before thy face.
ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ ἐκοπίασα κατακολουθῶν ὀπίσω σου καὶ ἡμέραν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἐπεθύμησα, σὺ ἐπίστῃ· τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα διὰ τῶν χειλέων μου πρὸ προσώπου σού ἐστι.
А҆́зъ же не ᲂу҆трꙋди́хсѧ, тебѣ̀ (па́стырю) послѣ́дꙋѧй, и҆ днѐ человѣ́ча не пожела́хъ: ты̀ вѣ́си и҆сходѧ̑щаѧ ѿ ᲂу҆сте́нъ мои́хъ, пред̾ лице́мъ твои́мъ сꙋ́ть:
Further, also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, "And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart." And He says in another place, "If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them."
The Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter XV
“Behold, they say to me, ‘Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come.’ But I have not been weary of following you.” Jesus says to you, “Take up your cross, and follow me,” and, “Leave everything, and follow me,” and, “He who does not leave behind father and mother and follow me is not worthy to be my disciple.” If, then, you become such a person so as to follow Jesus in every way, and you will follow, and to the extent you do follow, you will not be weary. “For there is no hardship in Jacob, nor will distress be seen in Israel.” There is no toil in following Jesus. The following itself takes away the toil. In order that we may no longer be weary, since we are weary before beginning to follow him, that is why he says, “Come to me, all who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Homilies on Jeremiah 17:6.1
For I love those presbyters and deacons who when they have performed their mission will not allow themselves to remain absent any longer from their duties. For the prophet says, I have not been weary in following thee. And who can be weary in following Jesus, when He Himself says, Come unto Me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Let us therefore never cease from following Jesus, which if we do we shall never fail, for He gives strength to them that follow Him. The more nearly you approach to the Source of power the stronger you will be. Often, while we are thus following Him, the adversaries say to us, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. But let us not grow weary in following Him, let us not be turned aside by meeting with this crafty question. It was said to the prophet, when he was thrown into prison, when he was cast into the pit of mire, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. But he followed him so much the more, and therefore attained the prize, and received the crown; for following Jesus he was not weary; for there is no weariness in Jacob, neither shall sorrow be in Israel.
Letter 82.2-3
Let us give thanks to God, and let us ask him in his good will to be our shield and crown, that we may never depart from him and that we may follow him and declare with Jeremiah, “I was not weary of following you.” To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Homilies on the Psalms 2 (ps 5)
(Verse 16) But I am not troubled, following you as a shepherd (or not laboring, following you), and I have not desired the day of man: you know. What has come out of my lips has been right in your sight (or before your face). But to those, he says, speaking these things, I am not troubled, nor have I labored following you as a shepherd, either entering your footsteps. Nor was I satisfied with this end, but I did not desire the day of man, either a longer life, or the prosperous things of this age. And he calls himself a witness, whom he also calls a judge: You know. He continues: What has come forth from my lips, was right in your sight; that he has never lied, and never spoke against the will of the Lord.
Commentary on Jeremiah
The Lord has indeed made every day—not only has made but also continues to make. I mean, he makes every day as follows: he makes his sun rise on the good and the bad and sends rain on the just and the unjust. So we are not to imagine that this ordinary kind of day, which is common to good and bad alike, is meant in this place, where we heard, “This is the day that the Lord has made.” What particular sort of day can it be when it says, “Let us exult and be joyful in it”? What sort, but a good one? What sort, but a very choice, lovable, desirable one, the sort about which Jeremiah said, “And I have not yearned for the day of men, you know it well”?
Sermon 229B.2
For it is but little for a monk to have once made his renunciation, that is, in the early days of his conversion to have disregarded the present world, unless he continues to renounce it daily. For to the very end of this life we must with the prophet say this: “And I have not desired the day of man, you know it well.” Wherefore also the Lord says in the Gospel: “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Conference 3:24.2
Be not to me a stranger, [but] spare me in the evil day.
μὴ γενηθῇς μοι εἰς ἀλλοτρίωσιν φειδόμενός μου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πονηρᾷ.
не бꙋ́ди мѝ во ѿчꙋжде́нїе, ᲂу҆пова́нїе моѐ ты̀ въ де́нь лю́тъ.
(Verse 17) Do not be a source of fear to me, you are my hope in the day of affliction (or do not become a stranger to me, sparing me on the worst day). Be not to me, he says, a source of fear, my hope in the day of affliction. Which is clear according to the Hebrew. But according to what the Seventy translated, saying: Do not become a stranger to me, sparing me in the day of evil, the meaning is: Do not spare me in the present age, which is evil; but repay me according to my sins, so that I may have eternal rest. For I know it is written: Whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives (Hebrews XII, 6). But this day is evil, either the entire age, or the day of judgment, for those who suffer because of their sins.
Commentary on Jeremiah
Let them that persecute me be ashamed, but let me not be ashamed: let them be alarmed, but let me not be alarmed: bring upon them the evil day, crush them with double destruction.
καταισχυνθήτωσαν οἱ διώκοντές με, καὶ μὴ καταισχυνθείην ἐγώ· πτοηθείησαν αὐτοί, καὶ μὴ πτοηθείην ἐγώ· ἐπάγαγε ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ἡμέραν πονηράν, δισσὸν σύντριμμα σύντριψον αὐτούς.
Да постыдѧ́тсѧ гонѧ́щїи мѧ̀, а҆́зъ же да не постыждꙋ́сѧ: да ᲂу҆страша́тсѧ ті́и, а҆́зъ же да не ᲂу҆страшꙋ́сѧ: наведѝ на ни́хъ де́нь ѡ҆ѕлобле́нїѧ, сꙋгꙋ́бымъ сокрꙋше́нїемъ сотрѝ и҆̀хъ.
(Verse 18.) Let those who pursue me be put to shame, while I am not put to shame. Let them fear, while I do not fear. Bring upon them the day of affliction, and crush them with double contrition. The Prophet curses against them, who reproach him with the word of the Lord, and say: Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come, that those who pursue him may be put to shame and may be ashamed and may return to salvation, so that they may fear the liars and not the one who predicts the truth. And when the day of vengeance comes, it will crush them with a twofold affliction, hunger and sword.
Commentary on Jeremiah
Thus saith the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of thy people, by which the kings of Juda enter, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem:
Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· βάδισον καὶ στῆθι ἐν ταῖς πύλαις υἱῶν λαοῦ σου, ἐν αἷς εἰσπορεύονται ἐν αὐταῖς βασιλεῖς ᾿Ιούδα καὶ ἐν αἷς ἐκπορεύονται ἐν αὐταῖς, καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πύλαις ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ
Сїѧ̑ гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь ко мнѣ̀: и҆дѝ и҆ ста́ни во вратѣ́хъ сынѡ́въ люді́й твои́хъ, и҆́миже вхо́дѧтъ ца́рїе і҆ꙋ̑дины и҆ и҆схо́дѧтъ, и҆ во всѣ́хъ вратѣ́хъ і҆ерⷭ҇ли́мскихъ и҆ рече́ши къ ни̑мъ:
19–20(Verse 19, 20.) This is what the Lord says to me: Go and stand at the gate (or gates) of the people's children: through which the kings of Judah enter and exit, in all the gates of Jerusalem. And you shall say to them; Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter through these gates. Because, he says, they despise hearing your words, and they do not come to you to seek the wisdom of God, you go to the most famous place, either the gate of the temple or the gate of the city, through which the kings and the entire crowd enter and exit, so that they may be compelled by necessity to hear, and you shall proclaim the word of the Lord continuously, whether convenient or inconvenient (1 Timothy 4): and no excuse shall remain among them, that they did not do it because they did not hear.
Commentary on Jeremiah
and thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, [all] who go in at these gates:
καὶ ἐρεῖς αὐτοῖς· ἀκούσατε τὸν λόγον Κυρίου, βασιλεῖς ᾿Ιούδα, καὶ πᾶσα ᾿Ιουδαία καὶ πᾶσα ῾Ιερουσαλήμ, οἱ εἰσπορευόμενοι ἐν ταῖς πύλαις ταύταις·
слы́шите сло́во гдⷭ҇не, ца́рїе і҆ꙋ̑дины и҆ всѧ̀ і҆ꙋде́а и҆ ве́сь і҆ерⷭ҇ли́мъ, входѧ́щїи во врата̀ сїѧ̑.
20–27(Verse 20 and following) Thus says the Lord: Guard your souls, and do not carry burdens on the Sabbath day, or bring them through the gates of Jerusalem. And do not cast burdens out of your houses on the Sabbath day, and you shall not do any work, and sanctify the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear, and they stiffened their necks (and what is not found in Hebrew, against their fathers), so that they would not listen to me, and would not receive discipline. And it will be, says the Lord, if you listen to me, that you shall not carry burdens through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and if you sanctify the Sabbath day and do not do any work on it, then the kings and princes occupying the throne of David shall enter through the gates of this city. They shall arrive in chariots and on horses, along with their princes, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the surrounding of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plains, and from the mountains, and from the south, bearing burnt offerings and sacrifices (or incense) and grain offerings (or manna) and frankincense, and they shall bring an offering (or praise) into the house of the Lord. But if you will not listen to me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to carry burdens, and not to bring them in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. I decided to disregard the commandment of the Sabbath restored through Jeremiah in vain, so that we may understand all at the same time. He who does not carry the burdens of sins on the day of rest and Sabbath guards his soul: nor does he bring them through the gates of Jerusalem, which virtues we should receive. And do not, he says, cast off burdens from your houses. For they are not to be carried, but to be completely cast away. And do not do any work, either servile or that which is written: 'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,' but God will destroy both this and that (I Cor. VI, 13); but that work must be done, of which the Savior speaks; 'Work for the work that does not perish' (John VI, 27). Sanctify, he says, the Sabbath day, so that we may spend all the time of our life in sanctification, just as our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did. And when God commanded these things, they did not incline their ear, certainly not their mind, nor their flesh; but they hardened their neck, rejecting the yoke of the Law, and having a likeness to untamed animals by metaphor. Let us see what is the reward of those who do not bear the burdens of the Sabbath day and sanctify it. Kings will enter through the gates of this city, whose heart is in the hand of God, and who reign over their bodies (Prov. 21); and princes sitting on the throne of David, in order to imitate the example of Christ, and those who ride in chariots and on horses, of whom it is written: The chariots of God are ten thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place (Psalm 68:17). And elsewhere: Your horses are a salvation (Habakkuk 3:8). Every man who confesses God and dwells in Jerusalem, of which it is said: His place is in Salem (or Jerusalem), that is, in peace, and his dwelling is in Zion (Psalm 75:2), and the Church of God will dwell there forever. They will come from the cities of Judah and from around Jerusalem, of which we have already spoken, and from the land of Benjamin, who is the son of strength and the right hand, and from the plains, which in Hebrew is called Sephela, and it signifies a plain understanding of history, and from the mountains, namely the lofty doctrines, and from the South, of which it is written: God will come from the South (Habbakuk 3:3). Where there is heat and full light, and where all cold is expelled: Carrying, he says, holocausts, consecrating themselves to God, and a victim, or incense, so that they may say: 'A sacrifice of a broken spirit, O Lord' (Psalm 50:19). And, we are a sweet odor of Christ in every place (1 Corinthians 2:15). And elsewhere: 'Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight' (Psalm 140:2). And the sacrifice, for which the 70 translators themselves put down the Hebrew word Manaa, which, by a most wicked custom, indeed the negligence of the scribes, is read as manna in our language. And thus, concerning which it is written: 'Why do you bring me frankincense from Sheba?' (Jeremiah 6:20) And they bring an offering, which in Hebrew is called Thoda, and can be translated into a thanksgiving. And which praise the Septuagint translated. Into the house of David, no doubt into the Church. These are the rewards of those who sanctify the Sabbath and are not burdened with any weight. But if, he says, you do not listen to my commandments, and do what I have not commanded to be done: I will kindle a fire in its gates, that is, in Jerusalem, about which it is said: 'All of them, like a baker's oven, their hearts' (Hosea 7:4): who devour houses or streets of Jerusalem, which the LXX translated as alleys, Aquila and Symmachus as turrets, and are called Armanoth in Hebrew. And this fire will never be extinguished, as the Apostle says: Each one's work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work (1 Cor. 3:13). And again: If anyone's work is burned up, they will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames (ibid., 15). But if our Judaizing opponents reject this figurative interpretation, they will either be compelled to be Jews and observe the Sabbath and circumcise foreskins, or certainly censure the Savior who commanded the paralyzed man on the Sabbath to take up his bed, as the Evangelist says: Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:18).
Commentary on Jeremiah
thus saith the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth [through] the gates of Jerusalem;
τάδε λέγει Κύριος· φυλάσσεσθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν καὶ μὴ αἴρετε βαστάγματα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων καὶ μὴ ἐκπορεύεσθε ταῖς πύλαις ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ
Сїѧ̑ гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь: сохрани́те дꙋ́шы ва́шѧ и҆ не носи́те бреме́нъ въ де́нь сꙋббѡ́тъ, и҆ не и҆сходи́те враты̀ і҆ерⷭ҇ли́ма,
and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and ye shall do no work: sanctify the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers.
καὶ μὴ ἐκφέρετε βαστάγματα ἐξ οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων καὶ πᾶν ἔργον οὐ ποιήσετε· ἁγιάσατε τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν σαββάτων, καθὼς ἐνετειλάμην τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν καὶ οὐκ ἔκλιναν τὸ οὖς αὐτῶν
и҆ не и҆зноси́те бреме́нъ и҆з̾ домѡ́въ ва́шихъ въ де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный, и҆ всѧ́кагѡ дѣ́ла не твори́те: ѡ҆свѧти́те де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный, ꙗ҆́коже заповѣ́дахъ ѻ҆тцє́мъ ва́шымъ:
But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but stiffened their neck more than their fathers [did], so as not to hear me, and not to receive correction.
καὶ ἐσκλήρυναν τὸν τράχηλον αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ ἀκοῦσαί μου καὶ τοῦ μὴ δέξασθαι παιδείαν.
и҆ не ᲂу҆слы́шаша, ни приклони́ша ᲂу҆́ха своегѡ̀, но ѡ҆жесточи́ша вы̑и своѧ̑ па́че ѻ҆тє́цъ свои́хъ, да не ᲂу҆слы́шатъ мѧ̀ и҆ да не прїи́мꙋтъ наказа́нїѧ.
And it shall come to pass, if ye will hearken to me, saith the Lord, to carry in no burdens through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to sanctify the sabbath-day, so as to do no work [upon it],
καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν ἀκοῇ ἀκούσητέ μου, λέγει Κύριος, τοῦ μὴ εἰσφέρειν βαστάγματα διὰ τῶν πυλῶν τῆς πόλεως ταύτης ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων καὶ ἁγιάζειν τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν σαββάτων τοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν πᾶν ἔργον,
И҆ бꙋ́детъ, а҆́ще послꙋ́шаете менѐ, гл҃етъ гдⷭ҇ь, є҆́же не вноси́ти бреме́нъ во врата̀ гра́да сегѡ̀ въ де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный, и҆ свѧти́ти де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный, не твори́ти во́нь всѧ́кагѡ дѣ́ла,
that there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, and riding on their chariots and horses, they, and their princes, the men of Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever.
καὶ εἰσελεύσονται διὰ τῶν πυλῶν τῆς πόλεως ταύτης βασιλεῖς καὶ ἄρχοντες καθήμενοι ἐπὶ θρόνου Δαυὶδ καὶ ἐπιβεβηκότες ἐφ’ ἅρμασι καὶ ἵπποις αὐτῶν, αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν, ἄνδρες ᾿Ιούδα καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν ῾Ιερουσαλήμ, καὶ κατοικισθήσεται ἡ πόλις αὕτη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
и҆ вни́дꙋтъ во врата̀ гра́да сегѡ̀ ца́рїе и҆ нача̑льницы, сѣдѧ́щїи на престо́лѣ даві́довѣ и҆ восходѧ́щїи на колесни́цахъ и҆ ко́нехъ свои́хъ, ті́и и҆ нача̑льницы и҆́хъ, мꙋ́жїе і҆ꙋ̑дины и҆ ѡ҆бита́телїе і҆ерⷭ҇ли́ма: и҆ ѡ҆бита́ти бꙋ́дꙋтъ во гра́дѣ се́мъ во вѣ́ки:
And [men] shall come out of the cities of Juda, and from round about Jerusalem, and out of the land of Benjamin, and out of the plain country, and from the hill country, and from the south [country], bringing whole-burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and incense, and manna, and frankincense, bringing praise to the house of the Lord.
καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐκ τῶν πόλεων ᾿Ιούδα καὶ κυκλόθεν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐκ γῆς Βενιαμὶν καὶ ἐκ γῆς πεδινῆς καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους καὶ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς νότον φέροντες ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ θυσίας καὶ θυμιάματα καὶ μαναὰ καὶ λίβανον, φέροντες αἴνεσιν εἰς οἶκον Κυρίου.
и҆ прїи́дꙋтъ ѿ градѡ́въ і҆ꙋ́диныхъ и҆ ѿ ѡ҆кре́стныхъ і҆ерⷭ҇ли́ма, и҆ ѿ землѝ венїамі́ни и҆ ѿ по́льныхъ, и҆ ѿ го́рнихъ и҆ ѿ ю҆́га, носѧ́ще всесожжє́нїѧ и҆ же́ртвꙋ, и҆ ѳѷмїа́мъ и҆ манаꙋ̀ {да́ръ} и҆ лїва́нъ, носѧ́ще хвалꙋ̀ въ до́мъ гдⷭ҇ень.
But it shall come to pass, if ye will not hearken to me to sanctify the sabbath-day, to bear no burdens, nor go in [with them by] the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the streets of Jerusalem, and shall not be quenched.
καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσητέ μου τοῦ ἁγιάζειν τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν σαββάτων, τοῦ μὴ αἴρειν βαστάγματα καὶ μὴ εἰσπορεύεσθαι ταῖς πύλαις ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων, καὶ ἀνάψω πῦρ ἐν ταῖς πύλαις αὐτῆς, καὶ καταφάγεται ἄμφοδα ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ καὶ οὐ σβεσθήσεται.
И҆ бꙋ́детъ, а҆́ще не послꙋ́шаете менѐ є҆́же свѧти́ти де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный и҆ не носи́ти бреме́нъ, нижѐ входи́ти врата́ми і҆ерⷭ҇ли́ма въ де́нь сꙋббѡ́тный, то̀ зажгꙋ̀ ѻ҆́гнь во вратѣ́хъ є҆гѡ̀, и҆ пожре́тъ до́мы і҆ерⷭ҇ли̑мли и҆ не ᲂу҆га́снетъ.
Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and will lean his arm of flesh upon him, while his heart departs from the Lord.
про́клѧтъ человѣ́къ, и҆́же надѣ́етсѧ на человѣ́ка и҆ ᲂу҆тверди́тъ пло́ть мы́шцы своеѧ̀ на не́мъ, и҆ ѿ гдⷭ҇а ѿстꙋ́питъ се́рдце є҆гѡ̀: