Jeremiah 26

2–3

The Novatians bring up a question from the words of the apostle Peter. Because he said, “if perhaps,” they think that he did not imply that forgiveness would be granted on repentance. But let them consider concerning to whom the words were spoken—of Simon, who did not believe through faith but was contemplating trickery. So, too, the Lord, to him who said, “Lord, I will follow you wherever you go,” replied, “Foxes have holes.” For he knew that the man was not being fully sincere. If, then, the Lord refused to him who was not baptized permission to follow him, because he saw that he was not sincere, do you wonder that the apostle did not absolve him who after baptism was guilty of deceit and whom he declared to be still in the bond of iniquity? But let this be my answer to them. As to myself, I say that Peter did not doubt, and I do not think that so great a question can be so easily disposed of by the questionable interpretation of a single word. For if they think that Peter doubted, did God doubt, who said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and you shall give an answer to all Judah, to those who have come to worship in the Lord’s house, even all the words that I have appointed for you to answer to them. Do not omit a word, perhaps they will listen and be converted.” Let them say, then, that God also did not know what would happen. But ignorance is not implied in that word, but the common custom of Holy Scripture is observed to be taken in its simplest sense. Inasmuch as the Lord says also to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I will send you to the house of Israel, to those who have angered me, both themselves and their ancestors, this very day, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, if perhaps they will hear and be afraid.” Did God not know that they could or could not be converted? So, then, that expression is not always a proof of doubt.

Concerning Repentance 2.5.29-31

2–3

Jeremiah is also instructed to speak to all the cities of Judah, although the Septuagint does not translate the word cities, lest it seem indecorous to speak to cities from the court of the house of the Lord, to which they are not present. Yet, when he addresses the people and the citizens, he speaks to the cities themselves. And he stands beautifully in the court and the vestibule of the temple of the Lord, that the people may be brought together to hear the words of the prophet through the occasion of praying to the Lord and adoring him. “Do not remove a word,” he is told, even though it may be sorrowful, even though your audience may be incited to rage against you, nevertheless speak what you have been commanded to say, not yielding to the fear that they will persecute you but only to the rule of the Lord! “Perhaps,” he thinks, “they will listen and be converted.” However, an ambiguous word like “perhaps” cannot be reconciled with the majesty of the Lord but speaks instead of our desire that human free will be served and that it not be compelled from the Lord’s foreknowledge, as though of necessity, either to act or to refrain from acting. For it is not because God knows the future that the future comes about, but it is because of what will happen that God knows it before it occurs. Nevertheless, Jeremiah knew that if the Lord warned of bad consequences and the people did penance, they would be repenting for the sake of what the Lord threatened to do to them. Likewise, if the Lord had promised prosperity and the people then acted with negligence, God would exchange the favorable outcome for a bad one. Such is what is also found in the Gospel: “I will send my son; perhaps they will respect him,” spoken indeed from the person of the omnipotent God. Furthermore, in the present passage, he says, “If, perhaps, they listen and are converted each one from his wicked way, then after they repent, I will change my punishment and not do to them what I had planned to do because of their evil, but only if they change first.” We should also read the story of Jonah and Nineveh.

Six Books on Jeremiah 5:36.3-7

(Verse 2) Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the house of the Lord, and speak to all the cities of Judah, from which they come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not withhold a word. But whoever is going to speak the word of the Lord, must stand with Moses (Deut. V), and listen with the Psalmist: Those who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalm CXXXIV, 2). And it is commanded that he speaks to all the cities of Judah: although the seventy cities did not translate, lest it should appear unseemly to speak in the court of the house of the Lord to cities that were not present: but when he speaks to the people and to the citizens, he speaks to those cities. But it stands beautifully in the atrium and vestibule of the Temple of the Lord, so that by the opportunity of the Lord's prayer and adoration, they are compelled to hear the words of the Prophet. Do not, he says, withhold the word: though it may be sad, though the rage of the listeners may be stirred up against you, nevertheless say what has been commanded to you: not fearing the persecutions of those who are stirred up against you, but the command of the Lord who orders it.

Commentary on Jeremiah

2–3

But if one says that God revoked that severe sentence in consideration of their penitence, according to what he says by Ezekiel, “If I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die’ and he becomes penitent for his sin and does judgment and justice … he shall surely live; he shall not die,” we are similarly taught that we should not be obstinate in our resolve, but that we should with gentle pity soften down the threats that necessity called forth. That we may not conclude that the Lord granted this specially to the Ninevites, he continually affirms by Jeremiah that he will do the same in general toward all and promises that without delay he will change his sentence in accordance with what we deserve, saying, “I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom to root out and to pull down and to destroy it. If that nation repents of the evil which I have spoken against it, I also will repent of the evil which I thought to do to them. And I will suddenly speak of a nation and a kingdom, to build up and to plant it. If it shall do evil in My sight, that it obey not my voice: I will repent of the good that I thought to do to it.” To Ezekiel also: “Leave out not a word, if so they will hearken and be converted every one from his evil way that I may repent of the evil that I thought to do to them for the wickedness of their doings.” And by these passages it is declared that we ought not obstinately to stick to our decisions but to modify them with reason and judgment, and that better courses should always be adopted and preferred and that we should turn without any delay to that course that is considered the more profitable. For this above all that invaluable sentence teaches us, because though each person’s end is known beforehand to God before his birth, yet somehow God so orders all things by a plan and method for all, and with regard to human disposition, that he decides on everything not by the mere exercise of his power or according to the indescribable knowledge that his foreknowledge possesses but according to the people’s present actions, and he rejects or draws to himself each one, and daily he either grants or withholds his grace.

Conference 2:17.25

2–3

He did not use the word perhaps out of ignorance, aware as he was of their disobedience. Instead, he expressed such uncertainty to avoid their taking note of the divine sentence and despairing of salvation. It resembles also what was said by Ezekiel, “If then they hear, if then they see.” In other words, it was not a result of ignorance. It was, rather, to prevent their saying, He foretold our disobedience, and he is trustworthy, so how is it possible for us to be changed? Thus, in the present words he emphasizes that it is possible to undergo a change in behavior, if they are willing.

On Jeremiah 6:26.3

(Verse 3) lest they listen and each one turn away from their evil way. And I may repent of the evil (or remain silent about the evil) that I intend to do to them because of the wickedness of their deeds. Perhaps, he says, they may hear and be converted. An ambiguous word, perhaps, cannot befit the majesty of the Lord, but it speaks to our affection: that man's free will be preserved, so that he is not compelled to do or not to do anything by its foreknowledge, as if by necessity. For it is not because God knows something will happen that it will therefore happen, but because it will happen, God knows it, as if he were prescient of future events. And yet it is to be understood, according to this same Jeremiah: if the Lord predicts evil and the people repent, he will also repent of the punishment he threatened to carry out. And if he has promised prosperity and the people act negligently, God may change his judgement and bring misfortunes instead of blessings. Such a thing is also mentioned in the Gospel: 'I will send my son, perhaps they will respect him' (Luke 20:13). This is indeed spoken from the perspective of almighty God. In fact, he also says this in the present: 'Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways, so that when they have repented and I have relented of the disaster I had planned to bring on them, I will not carry out my plan.' But I think to do [it] because of the wickedness of their studies, which if they are changed, my opinion will be changed. Let us read the story of Jonah and Nineveh.

Commentary on Jeremiah

(Verse 4) And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you do not listen to me and walk in my law, which I have given you. Therefore, it is within our power to do or not to do: provided that whatever good work we desire, strive for, and accomplish, we attribute it to the grace of God, who has given us both the will and the ability to do (Phil. 2).

Commentary on Jeremiah

5–6

To us, therefore, the power has been given to act or not to act, with the consequence that whatever good work we desire, will and accomplish, we should refer to the grace of God, who, according to the apostle, enables us to will and to work. If, however, it suffices to walk just once in the law that was given to us through Moses, as foolish heretics suspect, why did he add “and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets,” who were sent after the law and not just once but repeatedly, nor leisurely and apathetically but continuously and carefully? He says, in effect, “I sent my servant to you daily, even throughout the night, but if you refuse to hear him, I will make this house (i.e., the temple of God) like Shiloh,” where the tabernacle was located. And when the temple is destroyed, the city as well will then be “a curse to all the peoples of the earth,” from which curse the Lord liberated us, as the apostle says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf.”

Six Books on Jeremiah 5:37.2-4

(Verse 5) and listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I have sent to you, rising up early and sending them, and you have not listened. But if it sufficed to walk once in the law, which was given to us by Moses, as a foolish sect suspects, how did he add: 'That you may hear the words of my servants the prophets.' Who, indeed, were sent after the law, and not once, but frequently: not leisurely and without care, but always and with concern. 'I have sent,' he says, 'to you my servants the prophets daily, and rising by night.'

Commentary on Jeremiah

(Verse 6) I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. If you will not listen to them, I will give this house, that is, the temple of God, as Shiloh, where the tabernacle was. And when the temple will have been destroyed, consequently the city will be cursed by all the nations of the earth. Just as when the temple was built in the area of Ornan, and on Mount Moriah, that is, the place of vision, where it is narrated that Abraham offered his son Isaac, the religion of Shiloh ceased, and no sacrifices were celebrated there afterwards: so when the Church was built, and the spiritual victims were offered in it, the ceremonies of the Law ceased (2 Chronicles 3); and the city of the Jews was given over to curse by all the nations of the earth: from which the Lord has delivered us, as the Apostle says: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

Commentary on Jeremiah

7–9

(Verses 7-9.) And the priests and prophets (or false prophets) and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and prophets (or false prophets) and all the people seized him, saying, 'You shall surely die! Because you have prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant.' The priests and prophets, whom the LXX have more clearly translated as false prophets, are angry with Jeremiah because he preaches the truth, that the religion will perish with the Temple and the deserted city, and the profits that come from religion; therefore they seize him and, with the consent of the people, condemn him to death. Thus he says in the name of the Lord, just as Shiloh will be this house and the city will be desolate, because there is no inhabitant. Therefore, if at any time the priests, or false prophets, or the deceived people become angry with us because of the commands of the Lord and the truth of faith, let us not care greatly, but let us carry out God's will, considering not present evils but future goods in our minds.

Commentary on Jeremiah

(Verse 10) And all the people gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, and the leaders of Judah heard these words and came from the king's house to the house of the Lord, and sat at the entrance of the Lord's gate (Vulgate: house of the Lord) new. Jeremiah was prophesying in the temple of the Lord, and he had said: I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. And immediately, a sedition arose among the priests and prophets and the people, and the entire crowd gathered against the Prophet in the Temple, where the Prophet and the priests and prophets and the people were held by force. When the leaders of the city, who were staying in the royal house, heard this, they crossed over or went up from the king's house to the house of the Lord. And it should be noted that going to the house of the Lord was always an ascent. And they sat at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord. For it was the duty of the princes to sit at the gate of the house of the Lord, and there to discern the truth of matters and seditions. And the gate was called new because those who sat in it and presided over judgment resisted the slander of the priests and false prophets.

Commentary on Jeremiah

(Verse 11) And the priests and prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying: This man deserves the punishment of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears. But the leading men of the city, who had come from the king's palace to the temple, sat in the gateway of the temple and in the new gateway, in order to calm the people and gather them for a meeting. The priests and false prophets accused Jeremiah, and the prophet would have perished if the accusers themselves had the power of judgment. From this, we understand that those who were devoted to religion were seen as more cruel towards the Prophet due to envy of his holiness than those who were in charge of public affairs.

Commentary on Jeremiah

12–15

(Verse 12 and following) And Jeremiah said to all the leaders and to all the people, saying: The Lord has sent me to prophesy to this house (or over this house) and to this city (or over this city) all the words that you have heard. Therefore, now make your ways and your pursuits good, and listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent of the evil that He has spoken against you (or the Lord will cease from the evils that He has spoken against you). But behold, I am in your hands: do to me what is good and right in your eyes (or what is expedient for you). However, know and understand that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants. Truly, the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears. While the people were present, the princes sat in the gate of the city and accused Jeremiah the prophet to the priests and the prophets, and they conspired to bring about his death. Jeremiah spoke to the princes and to all the people, whom the faction of priests and false prophets had incited, wisely and humbly, yet steadfastly. Prudently, because he said that he had been sent by the Lord to speak against the temple and the city, and to give advice, that if they would listen to his advice and repent, the Lord would also change His decision. Yet humbly, in what he said: Behold, I am in your hands: do to me what is good and right in your eyes. Furthermore, firmly: The Lord has sent me to you in truth, to speak all these words in your ears. And he speaks in other statements: If you are angry because I have spoken against the temple and the city of the Lord, and you are concerned about the salvation of the city and the temple: why do you increase sins with sins, and make the city and its inhabitants guilty of my blood? Therefore, if and when we need humility due to the constraints of necessity, let us accept it in such a way that we do not abandon truth and steadfastness. For it is one thing to arrogantly insult the judge, which is a sign of foolishness; it is another thing to avoid impending danger in such a way that you do not subtract anything from the truth.

Commentary on Jeremiah

(Verse 16) And the leaders and all the people said to the priests and prophets: This man does not deserve death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. The people, who had previously been deceived by the priests and false prophets, join forces with the city's leaders and speak up for Jeremiah, stating that he is not guilty of deserving death, but rather that he has prophesied in the name of the Lord and according to His word. For the uneducated masses easily change their opinion when given a valid reason. But the pain of the accusers, especially of the priests and false prophets, cannot be changed. And therefore, with them accusing and persevering in their accusation, the people are changed: which the Lord had given them hope of mercy, if they would do good in their ways and listen to the voice of the Lord their God, so that the Lord would change his judgment.

Commentary on Jeremiah

17–19

(Verse 17 onwards) And the men of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to the whole assembly of the people, saying: Micaiah of Moresheth was a prophet in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house like the high places of a forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did they not fear the Lord and pray to the face of the Lord? And the Lord repented of the evil that he had spoken against them. Therefore, we are doing great evil against our own souls. The leaders of the city and the people understand the truth of judgment. However, the elders, whose duty it was to know the ancient things, recount the history - and the prophecy of Micah from Moresheth, who prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah, they compare it with the prophecies of Jeremiah, for which he is being threatened with death; and they show that he said more serious things, and yet suffered nothing from the righteous king Hezekiah: but that those who turned to repentance, the sentence of the Lord turned into a good one. For Micah said: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height (Micah 3:12). And Jeremiah further said: I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth (Jeremiah 26:9). And they devised a plan, thinking that what Micah had prophesied would not come to pass, because a long time had passed without it happening due to the people's repentance. And this also, that Jeremiah spoke, it will by no means happen if they follow his counsel in their good ways and pursuits, and listen to the voice of the Lord their God, so that the Lord does not bring upon them the evil that he had threatened. At the same time, they break the fury of the accusers and join with them saying: Therefore, we commit great evil against our own souls: not that they should do so, but because if they do, they will not harm the accused, but their own souls, which they can free through a change of sentence.

Commentary on Jeremiah

20–24

(Verse 20 onwards) There was also a prophet man in the name of the Lord, Uriah, the son of Shemai from Kiriath-Jearim, and he prophesied against this city and against this land, according to all the words of Jeremiah. And King Jehoiakim and all his powerful men and officials heard these words, and the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard about it and was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt. And what follows: King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, and his men with him, but it is not found in the Septuagint. Your question: And they brought Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to King Joakim, and he struck him with a sword, and cast his body in the graves of the common people. However, the great Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he would not be handed over to the people to be killed. It is asked why Uriah the son of Shimei from the town of Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied the same things as Jeremiah, was terrified and fled to Egypt, and when he returned, he was killed; and yet Jeremiah was able to escape, even though he certainly did not flee, but boldly persisted in his previous judgment, and was freed from the judgment of both the common people and the rulers, as well as the advice of the elders, against the accusers, the priests, and the false prophets. To briefly respond to this: it is not at all possible to know the judgment of God, since the same cause and the same opinion result in one person being punished and another being set free. Unless, perhaps, we can respond by saying that Uriah was condemned and killed by the accusers and the people, while Jeremiah was reserved for the judgment of God in order to preach to the rest of the unfortunate people and bring them to repentance. This is indeed also read in the Acts of the Apostles, where we learn that the Apostle James (Acts 12) immediately endured the sentence of Herod and was rewarded with martyrdom, while blessed Peter and the other Apostles were reserved for the teaching of the Lord. And the steadfastness of the prophet Uriah is worth noting, as he did not change his opinion even when he was brought back from Egypt, but rather, seeing that death was being planned against him, he still spoke the words that the Lord had commanded. And his fear and flight and entry into Egypt are not signs of unfaithfulness, but rather of prudence: so that we do not offer ourselves to dangers in vain. Otherwise, we also read of the Lord and Savior falling into the hands of those who pursued him (Luke 4, John 8); and he commanded the Apostles: 'When they persecute you in this city, flee to another' (Matthew 10, 23). It is also asked how Joacim, the king of Judah, of small and weakened empire, and already on the verge of perishing, had the power to send to Egypt and bring back Uriah. This is easily solved if we consider that he was appointed a ruler by the king of Egypt, Nechao, and this prophecy was made at the beginning of his reign. Although Jeremiah was freed by the help of the Lord, it is also attributed to Uriah as the one through whom the Lord freed his prophet. This Uriah is, of course, the son of Stephan, as we will read later, when Jeremiah is freed from the danger of death by the advice and assistance of Abdelech the Ethiopian eunuch (Jeremiah 38).

Commentary on Jeremiah

Jeremiah needed the help of Ahikam. How much more do we need that of God.

Against the Pelagians 2.27