# Commentary on Jeremiah - Author: [Jerome](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/jerome/) - Latin title: *Commentarii in Hieremiam prophetam libri VI* - Date: ca. 414-419 (approximate) - Source: Sebastian Reiter, ed., S. Eusebii Hieronymi in Hieremiam libros VI, CSEL 59 (Vienna: Tempsky, 1913). Text taken from an Internet Archive OCR of the printing (Latin text: Reiter, CSEL 59 (1913), Internet Archive scan (public domain)) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Sebastian Reiter, ed., CCSL 74 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1960) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/ - Passages: 386 ## Commentary on Jeremiah 0.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-0-1 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:4 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome dedicates the commentary to Eusebius, explains its brief method and his omission of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah, and answers critics of his earlier commentaries and of his books against Jovinian. ### Latin text Post explanationes dnodecim prophetaruni, Isaiae, Danihelis et Hiezechiel ad extrernam in Hieremiam manum mittimus tibi, frater Eusebi, eiusdem commentariolos dedicantes, nt euangelicum uirum Mattheo euangelistae copules, quem ante annos plurimos strictis sensibns te hortante disserui. et quia uolumen lougissimuni est et in plerisque manifesta historia teiitur, iilud prudentiam tuam ammoneo, ne quaeras in hoc latam explanationem, super his maiime. quae iam et in pro- io phetis aliis dicta snnt et per se patent intellegentiae. sicque conabor notariorum manu scribere, ut nihil desit in sensibus. cum multum desit in uerbis. stamina tibi atque subtegmina et licia praeparabo. tu pulcherrimam uestem ipse conficito. ut non solum nos audire. sed et alios docere possis. libellum antem Baruch. qui uulgo editioni Septuaginta copulatur nec habetur apud Hebraeos, et i^pfcriipay»» epistulam Hieremiae nequaquam censui disserendam, sed magis Hieremiae ordinem librariorum errore confusum multaque, quae desunt, ex Hebraeis fontibus digerere ac conplere, ut nouum ex ueteri uerumque pro corrupto atque falsato prophetam teneas, paruipendens obtrectatorum rabiem, qui non solum uerba, sed syllaba: quoque nostrorum uerborum caluniniantur in eo se scire ah- quid arbitrantes. si de alienis operibus detrahant. ut nuper indoctua calumniator erupit, qui commentarios meos in epi- stulam Pauli ad Ephesios reprehendendos putat nec intellegit nimia stertens uaecordia leges commentariorum, in quibus multae diuersorum ponuntur opiniones uel tacitis uel expressis i auctorum nominibus, ut lectoris arbitrium sit, quid potissimum eligere debeat, decernere, quamquam et in piimo eiusdem operis libro praefatus sim me uel propria uel aliena dicturum et ipsos commentarios tam ueterum seriptorum esse quam nostros. quod non uidens praecursor eius Grunnius olim nisus i est carpere, cui duobus respondi libris. quae iste quasi sua profert, et alio iam calumniante purgata sunt, ut praeteream contra Iouinianum uolumina, in quibus dolet uirginitatem nuptiis et nuptias digamiae et digamiam polygamiae esse praelatam. nec recordatur stolidissimus et Scottorum pultibus praegrauatus nos in ipso dixisse opere: non damno digamos. immo nec trigamos et, si fieri potest, octogamos; plus aliquid inferara, etiam scortatorem recipio paenitentem; quidquid aequaliter licet, aequali lance pensandum est legat elusdem operis apologian, quam ante annos plurimos aduersum raagistrum eius gaudens Roma suscepit, et tunc aniraaduertet alienis se nocibus blasphemare et in tantum esse imperitum, ut ne maledicta quidem habeat propria, sed inimicorum etiam olim » sepultorum contra nos utatur rabie. sed iam propositum opus aggrediendum est. ### English translation (Claude) After the explanations of the twelve prophets, Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel, I am putting the final hand to Jeremiah, and I send you, brother Eusebius, short commentaries on him, dedicating them to you so that you may join the evangelical man to Matthew the evangelist, whom I expounded many years ago in condensed form at your urging. And because the volume is very long, and in most places the history it holds is plain, I warn your prudence not to look here for a broad explanation, especially of things that have already been said in the other prophets and are clear to the understanding of themselves. So I shall try to write by the hand of secretaries in such a way that nothing is lacking in the sense, though much is lacking in the words. I will prepare for you the warp and the woof and the threads; you yourself must make the most beautiful garment, so that you may be able not only to hear us but also to teach others. The little book of Baruch, however, which is commonly joined to the edition of the Septuagint and is not found among the Hebrews, and the pseudepigraphal Letter of Jeremiah, I have decided not to expound at all. Rather, I have decided to set in order from the Hebrew sources the order of Jeremiah, confused by the error of copyists, and to fill in the many things that are missing, so that you may hold a new prophet made from the old one, and a true one in place of one corrupted and falsified, making light of the rage of detractors who slander not only the words but even the syllables of our words, thinking they know something if they disparage other people's works. So recently an unlearned slanderer has burst out who thinks my commentaries on Paul's letter to the Ephesians should be censured, and, snoring in his excessive madness, does not understand the laws of commentaries, in which many opinions of different people are set down, with their authors' names either suppressed or stated, so that it is the reader's judgment to decide what he ought chiefly to choose; though in the first book of that same work I said in a preface that I would state either my own views or others', and that the commentaries themselves belong as much to the ancient writers as to us. Not seeing this, his forerunner Grunnius once tried to pick it to pieces, and I answered him in two books. What this man brings out as if it were his own has also already been cleared, when another made the charge; to say nothing of the volumes against Jovinian, in which he is pained that virginity is preferred to marriage, marriage to a second marriage, and a second marriage to many marriages. Nor does this most stupid man, weighed down with the porridge of the Scots, remember that we said in that very work: “I do not condemn those twice married, nor even those thrice married, and, if it can be, those married eight times; I will add something more: I receive even a fornicator who repents. Whatever is equally permitted must be weighed in an equal balance.” Let him read the apology for that same work, which Rome gladly received many years ago against his master, and then he will notice that he blasphemes with other people's voices, and is so unskilled that he does not even have curses of his own, but uses against us the rage of enemies long since buried. But now the work set before us must be undertaken. ### Extrabiblical texts - Jerome, Jov. 1.15 (Against Jovinian): quotation, high confidence - Jerome, Eph. (Commentary on Ephesians): allusion, high confidence - Jerome, Ruf. (Apology against Rufinus): allusion, medium confidence - Bar (Baruch): allusion, high confidence - Ep Jer (Letter of Jeremiah): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Greek word printed is garbled in the OCR; the sense (“pseudepigraphal”, ψευδεπίγραφον) is given from context. The “unlearned slanderer” is usually identified as Pelagius, and “Grunnius” (“the Grunter”) as Rufinus, answered in Jerome's two books of the Apology against Rufinus. The quotation is from Against Jovinian 1.15. The apology received at Rome is Jerome's letter to Pammachius defending the books against Jovinian; “his master” is taken to be Jovinian. “Second marriage” renders digamia (marriage after a spouse's death) and “many marriages” polygamia (successive marriages). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 0.1 (Reiter CSEL 59:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-1 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:4 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome sets Jeremiah's ministry in its historical frame, from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fall of Jerusalem, and notes the Septuagint's differences. ### Latin text I. Uerba Hieremiae, filii Helchiae, de sacerdotibus, qui fuerunt in Anaihoth. in lerra Beniamiii. ,/uod K faetum est uerbum domini ad eum in diebns Iosiae, filii Amon, regis luda, in tertio decimo anno regni eius. et factum est in diebus Ioiacim, filii Iosiae, regts Iuda, usque ad consiiminationem iindccimi anni Sedeciae, filii Iosiae, regis Iuda. usque ad transmi- « gratiuiiem Hierusalem in mense quinto. Ceteri prophetae, ut Isaias, Osee, Iohel, fuerunt ante captinitatem decem tribuum Israhel siue duarum tribuum Iudae et Beniamin: alii post captiuitajtem, ut Danihel, Aggeus et Zacharias; Hieremias nero et Hiezechiel inminente captiuitate uaticininm teruernnt, sed *J alter eorum in terra Iuda, alter in Babylone. Hieremias cum esset adhuc puer, prophetare eoepit anno tertio decimo Iosiae. filii Amon, regis Iudae, prophetauitque in imperio eius annis decera et nouem et postea sab Ioiacim filio eius annis undecim et sub Sedecia, qui ultimus fuit regum Tuda. annis undecim U3que ad quintum mensem, quando a Babyloniis capta est Hieruaalem. Ioachaz uero et Iechoniae terni menses — quorum alter in Aegyptum, al|ter cum matre ductus est in Baby- lonem — in supradictis annis conputantur. ac per hoc ab exordio prophetiae suae usque ad captiuitatem Hiernsalem. in qua et ipse captus est, prophetauit annis quadraginta et uno praeter illud tempus, quando ductus e3t in Aegyptum. ibique prophetauit in Taphnis, ut hoc ipso uolumine continetur. pro 'uerbis Hiereraiae'Septuagintaposuerunt: uerbum dei quod factum est ad Hieremiam, hoc uidelicet sensu, quod 'uerba Hieremiae' uerbum sit domini. fuit autem de genere sacerdotum. qui habitabant contra septentrionem Hierusalem in tertio miliano et uiculo Auathoth. simulque adniirabilis clementia domim. quod iam captiuitate uicina et Babylonio exercitu uallante Hierusalem nihilominus populum ad paenitentiam prouocat malens saluare conuersos quam perdere delinquentes. pr<> 'transniigratione', quod omnes alii uoce consona transtulerunt, LXX posuere 'captiuitatem'. post exordium autem uaticinationis Hieremiae, tticesimo quinto prophetiae eius anno, Hiezechiel in Babylone his, qui cum eo capti fuerant, exorsus est prophetare. ### English translation (Claude) [1] “The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin; to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign; and it came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem in the fifth month.” The other prophets, such as Isaiah, Hosea and Joel, were before the captivity of the ten tribes of Israel or of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; others after the captivity, such as Daniel, Haggai and Zechariah; but Jeremiah and Ezekiel wove their prophecy while the captivity was impending, one of them in the land of Judah, the other in Babylon. Jeremiah began to prophesy while still a boy, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, and he prophesied under his rule for nineteen years, and afterwards under Jehoiakim his son for eleven years, and under Zedekiah, who was the last of the kings of Judah, for eleven years, until the fifth month, when Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians. The three months each of Jehoahaz and Jeconiah, one of whom was led into Egypt and the other with his mother into Babylon, are counted in the years mentioned above. And so from the beginning of his prophecy to the captivity of Jerusalem, in which he too was taken captive, he prophesied for forty-one years, besides the time when he was led into Egypt and prophesied there in Tahpanhes, as this very volume contains. For “the words of Jeremiah” the Septuagint put “the word of God which came to Jeremiah”, with this sense, namely, that “the words of Jeremiah” are the word of the Lord. He was of the race of priests who lived north of Jerusalem, at the third milestone, in the little village of Anathoth. And at the same time there is the wonderful mercy of the Lord: when captivity was already near and the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, he nonetheless calls the people to repentance, preferring to save those who turn rather than to destroy those who offend. For “carrying away”, which all the others translated with one voice, the Septuagint put “captivity”. After the beginning of Jeremiah's prophesying, in the thirty-fifth year of his prophecy, Ezekiel began to prophesy in Babylon to those who had been taken captive with him. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:1–3: quotation, high confidence - Jer 43:7–9: allusion, medium confidence - Ezek 1:1–3: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:1–3. Jerome's arithmetic (19 + 11 + 11 = 41 years) is given as he states it. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.1 (Reiter CSEL 59:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-1). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-2 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:7 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jeremiah was known and set apart before birth by God's foreknowledge, not by pre-existence of the soul; some apply the verse to Christ. ### Latin text II. Et factum est ucrbum domini ud me dircns. priusquam te forrnurem in utero, notii te; et antequam exires de uuliut, siinctificaui tr, (prophctum gentibus dedi te). Non qao ante conceptionem, ut heresis i suspicatur, fuerit Hieremias, sed quo praescierit eum futurum dominus, cui necdum facta iam facta sunt, secundum illud quod apostolus loquitur: qui uocauit ea quae non erant quasi ea quae essent. quod autem sanctificatur in utero, iuxta illud apostoli debemus accipere: postquam autem wplacuit ei, qui me segregauitde utero matris meae et uocauit per gratiam suam, ut reuelaret filium suum in me, ut euangelizarem eum in gentibus. Iohannes quoque Baptista sanctificatur in utero et spiritum sanctnm accipit et mouetur in uulua et per os matris loquitur. » quod autem dixit: prophetam gentibus dedi te, illud uult I mtellegi, quod in ipso postea propheta lecturi sumus, quod non solum Hierasalem, sed et multis in circuitu gentibus propbetarit. quidam hunc locum super saluatore intellegunt, qui proprie propheta gentium fuit et per apostolos uocanit oranes » nationes. iste enim uere priusquam in utero uirginali formaretur et antequam eiiret de uulua matris, sanctificatus in utero est p- »3.3 et notus | patri, quippe qui semper in patre et in quo semper pater. ### English translation (Claude) [2] “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you, (I gave you as a prophet to the nations).” Not that Jeremiah existed before his conception, as heresy suspects, but that the Lord, for whom things not yet done are already done, foreknew that he would exist, according to what the apostle says: “who calls the things that were not as though they were.” That he is sanctified in the womb we must take according to that saying of the apostle: “But when it pleased him who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the nations.” John the Baptist too is sanctified in the womb, receives the Holy Spirit, is moved in the womb, and speaks through his mother's mouth. And when he said, “I gave you as a prophet to the nations”, he means us to understand what we shall read later in this prophet: that he prophesied not only to Jerusalem but also to many nations round about. Some understand this place of the Saviour, who was properly the prophet of the nations and through the apostles called all nations. For he truly, before he was formed in the virgin's womb and before he came out of his mother's womb, was sanctified in the womb and known to the Father, since he is always in the Father and the Father always in him. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:4–5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 4:17: quotation, high confidence - Gal 1:15–16: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:41–44: allusion, high confidence - John 14:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:5. “As heresy suspects” refers to the teaching that souls exist before conception, which Jerome elsewhere attributes to Origen. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.2 (Reiter CSEL 59:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-2). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-3 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:7 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jeremiah's protest that he is only a boy is modesty, like Moses' protest, and is forgiven because of his youth. ### Latin text III. Et dixi: ah, ah, ah, domine deus, ecce nesrio tlloqui, quia puer ego siim. LXX: et dixi, o domine deus, nescio loqtti,quia iuuenis sum. Detestatur offioium. quod pro aetate non potest sustinere, eadem uerecundia, qua et Moses tenuis et gracilis uocis esse se dicit, sed ille quasi magnae robustaeque aetatis corripitur, huic pueritiae datur uenio. quae uerecundia et pudore decoratur. ### English translation (Claude) [3] “And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a boy.” The Septuagint: “And I said, O Lord God, I do not know how to speak, for I am young.” He shrinks from an office which on account of his age he cannot bear, with the same modesty with which Moses too says that he is of thin and feeble voice. But Moses, as a man of great and robust age, is rebuked; to this one pardon is given for his boyhood, which is adorned with modesty and shame. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Exod 4:10–14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:6; compare Exod 4:10–14. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.3 (Reiter CSEL 59:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-3). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-4 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God tells Jeremiah not to consider his age but God's presence; deliverance means endurance through persecution, not freedom from it. ### Latin text IV. F.t dixit domiiuis ud me: noli dicere: pner sum, qiioniiim ad omnia, quae mittam te, ibis et itniuersa, qnuiciiimiiie mandanero tibi. loqueris. ne timeas a facie eoruj/i, quia teeum sum, ut eruam te, dirit domiuiis. 'Ne aetatem', inquit, 'consideres — alio enim propheta loquente didicisti: cani liominis sapientia eius — ,tuaesit tantum uoluntatis. ut pergas; me habebis comitem, quo cuncta adiuuante conplebis: aperi 08 tuum, et implebo il lud. nec considere3 multitudinem eorum, ad quos et contra qnos locuturus es, sed me qui tecum sum, ut eruam te, dicit dorninus'. liberat autem dominus, non quo propheta persecutionibus et angustiis careat, quippe cum legamns eum multa perpessum, is sed ut patiens omnia superet nec cedat angustiae. ### English translation (Claude) [4] “And the Lord said to me: Do not say, I am a boy; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” “Do not consider your age,” he says, “for you have learned through another prophet: ‘a man's grey hair is his wisdom’; only let there be will in you to go; you will have me as companion, and with my help you will accomplish everything: ‘open your mouth, and I will fill it.’ And do not consider the multitude of those to whom and against whom you are to speak, but me, who am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Now the Lord delivers, not so that the prophet is free of persecutions and distresses, since we read that he suffered much, but so that by enduring he may overcome everything and not give way to distress. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:7–8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 81:10 (80:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 4:8-9 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:7–8. “A man's grey hair is his wisdom” resembles Wis 4:8–9; “open your mouth, and I will fill it” is Ps 81:10 (LXX 80:11). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.4 (Reiter CSEL 59:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-4). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-5 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome contrasts God's hand touching Jeremiah's mouth to give speech with the seraph's coal cleansing Isaiah's sins and with Ezekiel eating the scroll. ### Latin text V. Et misit dominus manum suam et tetigit meum et dirit dominus ad me: eece ego dedi uerba uiea in ore tuo. Notandum quod hic manus mittatur dei, quae tangat os propbetae, et dicatur ei: ecce dedi uerbaM mea in ore tuo, in Isaia autem scriptum sit: et missus est unns ad me de seraphim et in manu habebat carbonem, quem forcipe tulerat de altari, et tetigit os meum et dixit: ecce tetigit iste labia tua et auferet iniqnitates et peccata tua mundabit. ibi enim, quia solidae et perfectae aetatis erat et ipse simpliciter confitetur, qnod inmunda labia habeat et habitet in medio populi inmunda labia babentis, mittitur unus de seraphim, qui non manu. sed forcipe et carbone tangat os eius et iniquitates auferat et mundet peccata. hic autem ipsius dei manus mittitur, per quara cuncta operatus est, et quae in alio loco bracchium dicitur, non ut peccata auferat, quae per pueritiam multa non fecerat, sed ut loquendi gratiam tribuat. porro Hieze- • chiel librum deuorat et intus et foris scriptum, tam sacramenta diuina quam simplicem historiam continentem. Hieremiae os io tan|gitur et domini uerba tribuuntur, ut confidentiam accipiat praedicandi. pulchreque iuxta litteram manus mittitur, ut humanorum artuum uidens similitudinem tactum manus non reformidet. ### English translation (Claude) [5] “And the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: Behold, I have given my words in your mouth.” It is to be noted that here the hand of God is sent to touch the prophet's mouth, and it is said to him: “Behold, I have given my words in your mouth”, whereas in Isaiah it is written: “And one of the seraphim was sent to me, and in his hand he had a coal, which he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said: Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away your iniquities and cleanse your sins.” For there, because he was of firm and mature age and himself simply confesses that he has unclean lips and dwells in the midst of a people having unclean lips, one of the seraphim is sent, to touch his mouth not with a hand but with tongs and a coal, and to take away iniquities and cleanse sins. Here, however, the very hand of God is sent, through which he made all things, and which in another place is called his arm, not to take away sins, which in his boyhood he had not committed many of, but to give the grace of speaking. Ezekiel, again, devours a book written inside and out, containing both divine mysteries and plain history. Jeremiah's mouth is touched and the words of the Lord are given, so that he may receive confidence in preaching. And fittingly, according to the letter, a hand is sent, so that, seeing the likeness of human limbs, he may not dread the touch of the hand. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Isa 6:5–7: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 2:9–3:3: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:9; Isa 6:5–7; Ezek 2:9–3:3. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.5 (Reiter CSEL 59:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-5). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-6 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jeremiah's commission to uproot and to build is read of the destruction of false doctrine and the building of the church, and by some of Christ. ### Latin text VI. Ecce cgo constitui te hodie super yvntrs ct asuper reijna, nt euellas et desiruas et disperdas et dissipes et aedifices et plantes. Hoc, quod nos de Hebraico addidimus 'dissipes' siue 'deponas', in LXX non habetur. et considerandum quod quattuor tristibus duo laeta succedanL neque enim poterant aedificari bona, nisi destructa essent «omala, nec plantari optima, nisi eradicarentur pessima. oranis enim plantatio, quam non plantauit caelestis pater, eradicabitur, et aediticatio, quae super petram non habet fundamentum, sed in harena exstructa est, sermone dei suffoditur atque destruitur. illam autem, quam consumet lesus spiritu oris sui et destruet aduentu praeseutiae suae, omneni scilicet sacrilegam peruersamque doctrinam, disperdet in per- petuum. porro ea quae eleuantur contra scientiam dei et in sua confidunt sapientia, quae apud deum stultitia est, dissipabit atque deponet, ut aedificentur pro his humilia, et in » locum superiorum, quae destructa sunt et euulsa, eistruantur atque plantentur, quae ecclesiasticae conueniunt ueritati, et impleatur illnd quod dicit apostolus: dei aedificatio, dei agricultura estis. multi hunc locum super persona Christi intellegunt. 'Hieremias' enim interpretatur 'excelsus domini', qui destnixit regna diaboli, quae sibi in eicelso montis ostenderat, aduersarias perdidit potestates delens chirographum errornm in cruce. de quibus et in psalmo post historiae ueritatem cjHHgisK; loquitur: quare fremuerunt gentes et populi meditati sunt inania? adstiterunt reges is terrae et principes conuenerunt in unum. pro his euulsis, destrnctis, perditis et in inferiora detractis aedificatur atque plantatur ecclesia dei. super Hieremiae autem persona nulla dubitatio est; legimus enim in consequentibus. quod in manu accipiat calicem meri plenum et propinare iubeatur »> cunetis in circnitu nationibus. ### English translation (Claude) [6] “Behold, I have set you today over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to pull down and to destroy and to scatter, and to build and to plant.” This, which we have added from the Hebrew, “scatter” or “put down”, is not found in the Septuagint. And it should be considered that two glad things follow four sad ones. For good things could not be built unless evil things had been pulled down, nor the best planted unless the worst had been rooted up. For “every plant which the heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up”, and the building which has no foundation on the rock but is built on sand is undermined and pulled down by the word of God. That which Jesus will consume by the breath of his mouth and destroy by the coming of his presence, namely every sacrilegious and perverse doctrine, he will destroy for ever. Further, the things that are raised up against the knowledge of God and trust in their own wisdom, which with God is foolishness, he will scatter and put down, so that in their place humble things may be built, and in place of the higher things which have been pulled down and rooted up, there may be built and planted the things that befit the truth of the church; and so that what the apostle says may be fulfilled: “You are God's building, God's field.” Many understand this place of the person of Christ. For “Jeremiah” is interpreted “exalted of the Lord”, who pulled down the kingdoms of the devil, which the devil had shown him on a high mountain, and destroyed the hostile powers, blotting out the handwriting of errors on the cross. Of these the psalm too speaks, after the historical sense: “Why have the nations raged, and the peoples devised vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together.” In place of these, rooted up, pulled down, destroyed and dragged down to lower things, the church of God is built and planted. But about the person of Jeremiah there is no doubt; for we read in what follows that he receives in his hand a cup full of wine and is ordered to give it to drink to all the nations round about. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 15:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:24–27: allusion, high confidence - 2 Thess 2:8: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:5: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:19: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:9: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:8: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:14: allusion, high confidence - Ps 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Jer 25:15–17: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:10. A garbled word in the OCR after “historiae ueritatem” is left untranslated; it does not affect the sense. The cup is Jer 25:15–17. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.6 (Reiter CSEL 59:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-6). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-7 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:10 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome explains the Hebrew word-play between “almond” and “watching” in Jeremiah's vision of the rod and applies the rod to God's corrective discipline and to Christ. ### Latin text VII. Et factu/n est iierbum domini ad me dicens: quid tn uides, Hienmiai et dixi: uirgam nigifantem ego uidco. et dixit do.miiuig ad me: hene uidisti, qiiin uigit/ibn ego sttper uerbo meo, itt fuciam illu/t. Pro 'uirga uigilante* LXX 'baculum nucenm' transtulerunt. laborandum igitur nobis est, ut breuiter Hebraeani srju/Ao-ritfv Latinus lector intellegat. 'saced' 'nux' dicitur, 'uigilia' autem s uel 'nigil' siue 'nigilare' appellatur 'soced'. unde et in posterioribus pardus uigilans hoc nomine ponitur. ab eo igitur quod dicitur 'nux', propter uerbi similitudinem ad 'uigilis' intellegentiam nomen adlusit. quod quidem et in Danihel inxta Theodotionem scriptuni est, ut ab arboribns schinu et o prinu, ilice uidelicet et lentisco, scissio atque serratio adulteris presbyteris decernatur. alioquin et in principio Geneseos a 'uiro', qui dicitur 'is\ appellatur mulier 'issa', quasi quaedam uirago, eo quod de uiro sumta sit. pro 'baculo nuceo" 'nirgam uigilantem' Aquila et Synimachus, Theodotio uero »5 'amTgdalinam' transtulerunt. uigilat autem uirga cuncta populi peccata considerans, ut percutiat et corripiat delinquentes. unde et apostolus scribit peccantibus: quid uultis? in niiga ueniam ad uos, an in caritate et spiritu inansuetudinis? ista est uirga uel baculus, de qua et Dauid >'Ioquitur: uirga tua et baculus tuus, ipsa me consolata sunt. pulchreque posuit 'consolata sunf: ad hoc enim dominus corripit, at emendet. et quomodo nux siue «imygdalum amarissimam habet corticem et testa durissima cingitur, ut detractis austerioribus et duris fructus dulcissimus repperiatur. sic omnis correptio et labor continentiae amara quidem uidetur ad praesens, sed fructus parit dulcissimos. unde et uetus illa & sententia est: litterarura radices amarae, fructus dulces. quidam uirgam uigilantem atque nuceam intellegunt dominum, de quo dicit Isaias; exiet uirga de radice Iessae. unde et uirga Aaron. quae putabatur emortua, in resurrectione domini floruisse narratur. 1£> ### English translation (Claude) [7] “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said: I see a watching rod. And the Lord said to me: You have seen well, for I will watch over my word to perform it.” For “watching rod” the Septuagint translated “a rod of nut wood”. We must therefore take pains that the Latin reader may briefly understand the Hebrew word-play. “Saced” means “nut”, while “watch” or “watchful” or “to watch” is called “soced”. Hence in later passages too the watching leopard is put with this name. So from what is called “nut” the name played, through the likeness of the word, on the meaning of “watchful”. This indeed is also written in Daniel according to Theodotion, where from the trees schinos and prinos, that is, the holm-oak and the mastic, splitting and sawing asunder is decreed for the adulterous elders. Otherwise too, at the beginning of Genesis, from “man”, which is said “is”, woman is called “issa”, as it were a “virago”, because she was taken from man. For “rod of nut wood” Aquila and Symmachus translated “watching rod”, but Theodotion “of almond”. The rod watches, observing all the people's sins, to strike and rebuke offenders. Hence the apostle too writes to those who sin: “What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” This is the rod or staff of which David too speaks: “Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me.” And he fittingly put “have comforted”: for the Lord rebukes in order to amend. And just as the nut or almond has a very bitter rind and is enclosed in a very hard shell, so that when the harsher and hard parts are removed the sweetest fruit is found, so all rebuke and the labour of self-control seems bitter for the present, but bears the sweetest fruits. Hence too that old saying: “the roots of learning are bitter, the fruits sweet.” Some understand the watching rod, the rod of nut wood, of the Lord, of whom Isaiah says: “A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse.” Hence also Aaron's rod, which was thought dead, is related to have blossomed, at the resurrection of the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:11–12: quotation, high confidence - Jer 5:6: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 2:23: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:21: quotation, high confidence - Ps 23:4 (22:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:11: echo, medium confidence - Isa 11:1: quotation, high confidence - Num 17:8: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sus 54-59 (Susanna): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:11–12. Jerome's Hebrew forms (saced, soced) are as printed; the Hebrew is šāqēd (almond) and šōqēd (watching). The “watching leopard” is Jer 5:6. The tree puns are in Susanna 54–59 (Theodotion). “Is”/“issa” is Gen 2:23. The saying about the roots of learning is a proverb ascribed variously (e.g. to Isocrates or Cato); source uncertain. The last sentence is printed as it stands; Aaron's rod (Num 17:8) is read as a figure of the resurrection. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.7 (Reiter CSEL 59:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-7). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-8 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:12 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The boiling pot from the north is Babylon's judgment on Jerusalem; the saints are not “inhabitants of the earth” but sojourners. ### Latin text VIII. Et factum est uerbuiu domiui secundo ad me dicens: quid tu uides? ct dixi: ollam suecensam ego nideo et faciem eius a facie uqnilonis. e.t dixit dominus ad me: ab aquilone aperientu r — siue exarde- scent — mahi super onines bnbitatores trrrae. Quibus- i& dam gradibus peccantibus tormenta tribuuntur, ut paulatim ueniant ad salujtem: qui noluerint percutiente uirga emendari, mittuntur in ollam aeream atque succensam, de qua plenius scribit Hiezechiel. quae a facie aquilonis accenditur, Babylonium regem significans et urbem Hierusalem. pulchreque infertur: » ab aquilono eiardescent mala super omnes habitatoresterrae — uel terrae Iudaeae uel certe uniuersae terrae — . de quibus et in Apocalypsi scriptum est: uae super omnes habitatores terrae. sancti enim non sunt habitatores terrae, sed aduenae atque peregrini, quorum unus dicit: aduena ego sum super terram et peregrinus sicut omnes patres mei, et alius: parui sunt et pessimi dies mei, ftquibus ego peregrinor in terra. unde et Petros catholicam epistulam scribit aduenis atque peregrinis Ponti, Galatiae et Cappadociae. et iuxta mysticos intellectus Salomon loquitur: aquilo durus uentus. nomine autem dexter uocatur, ab his uidelicet, qui eius obriguere frigore et calorem fidei perio diderunt. ### English translation (Claude) [8] “And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying: What do you see? And I said: I see a boiling pot, and its face is from the face of the north. And the Lord said to me: From the north evils will be opened (or: will blaze up) upon all the inhabitants of the earth.” Torments are given to sinners by certain steps, so that little by little they may come to salvation: those who would not be amended by the striking rod are put into a bronze, boiling pot, of which Ezekiel writes more fully. It is kindled from the face of the north, signifying the Babylonian king and the city of Jerusalem. And it is fittingly added: “from the north evils will blaze up upon all the inhabitants of the earth”, either of the land of Judea or certainly of the whole earth. Of these it is also written in the Apocalypse: “Woe upon all the inhabitants of the earth.” For the saints are not inhabitants of the earth but strangers and sojourners, one of whom says: “I am a stranger on the earth and a sojourner, like all my fathers”, and another: “My days are few and evil, in which I sojourn on the earth.” Hence Peter too writes his catholic letter to the strangers and sojourners of Pontus, Galatia and Cappadocia. And according to the mystical senses Solomon says: “The north wind is a hard wind, but by name it is called favourable”, namely by those who have grown stiff with its cold and lost the warmth of faith. ### Scripture references - Jer 1:13–14: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 24:3–5: allusion, high confidence - Rev 8:13: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 39:12 (38:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 47:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:1: allusion, high confidence - Prov 27:16: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 1:13–14; the pot in Ezek 24:3–5. “Woe upon all the inhabitants of the earth”: Rev 8:13. “Stranger … sojourner”: Ps 39:12 (LXX 38:13); “few and evil”: Gen 47:9. The saying of Solomon is Prov 27:16 in the Septuagint form. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.8 (Reiter CSEL 59:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-8). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-9 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:13 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The northern kings besiege Jerusalem as God's judgment for idolatry; the prophet must gird himself and speak without fear, trusting God's help. ### Latin text IX. Qnia ecce ego conuocabo oimies cognationes regnoruni aquilonis, aii dominus. et uenienf et ponet unusquisque solinni suum in introitu portartim Bierusalem et super omnes muros eius in circuitu <•/ iisuper unitiersas urbcs Indae. et loquar iudicia mea cum eis sitprr omni malitia eortim, qui drreliqucrn itt me et libauernnt dis alienis et adoraucrnitt opns manuum suarum. Nulli dubium multas gentes et singularum gentium reges Babylonio regi fuisse subiectas; qui obsessa Hieru- so salem posuerunt in circuitu, et maxime in exitibus portarum, thronum suum atqne tentoria, ne quis eorum qui olausi erant posset erumpere, et non solum Hierusalem, sed omnes urbes Iudaeae simili obsidione uallatas. 'cumque', ait. 'capta fuerit ciuitas. tunc loquar ad eos recta mea fuisse iudicia et rece- » Pisse singulos quod merebantur, non pro ceteris uitiis, qui- bus sabiacet humana condicio, sed maxime pro idololatria, per quam deserentes me adoiauerunt opera mannum suarum'. quidam huuc locum in bonam partem accipiunt, quod uidelicet hi, qui in olla aenea excocti fuerint per cruciatus atque purgati. postea principes sint Hierusalem et, postquam misertus l fuerit eorum dominus, tunc exprobret eis, quia se deserto simulacra uenerati sunt. sed haec uiolenta et praua interpretatio est: ne calumniam faciat tractator indoctus. 1, 17 a X. Tu erijo accimje liunbos tuos tt surge et loquere ndeos omnia.quae eijo praecipio tibi. | Etlob praecipitur. i ut accingat lumbos suos, et apostolia, ut accinctis lumbis, quos Helias et lohannes Baptista zonis mortificauere pelliciis. lucernas teneant in manibus suis, praedicationis uidelicet euangelicae. quicumqne igitur locuturus est sermones dei, debet accingere lumbos suos sciens. quod diaboli omnis uirtus in i lumbis sit et iustus dicat in psalmis: lumbi mei impleti sunt inlusionibus. cumque accinxerit lumbos, audiat illud quod scriptuni est: surge, qui dormis, et eleuare, et inluminabit te Christus, ut semper uigilans et de somno consurgens loquatur, quae sibi praeceperit deus. I, I7b XI. -Ye tiirieas a facie eorriin; nec cnim timere te faciam iuiltiiin eorum, siue ut Septuaginta et ceteri habent interpretes: rte fortc timere / LXX non habetur, sed sub asteriscis de Theodotionis editione additum est, qui uerbnm Hebraicum 'carath', pro quo nos diximus 'clama' siue 'praedica', interpretatus est 'lege'. et Iectionem enim et clamorem et praedicationem pro sui ambiguitate significat aures autem Hierusalem pro auribus habita- « torum eius debemus accipere. ### English translation (Claude) [13] “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying.” This is not found in the Septuagint, but was added under asterisks from Theodotion's edition. He interpreted the Hebrew word “carath”, for which we said “cry” or “proclaim”, as “read”; for because of its ambiguity it signifies reading and crying out and proclaiming. The ears of Jerusalem we should take as the ears of its inhabitants. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:1–2a. Jerome's “carath” is the Hebrew qārāʾ, “call, read”. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.13 (Reiter CSEL 59:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-13). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-14 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:17 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God recalls Israel's youthful love in the wilderness as a betrothal, which he credits to his mercy, not her merit. ### Latin text XIV. Haec dicil dominus: recordatus sum tui miserans adulescentiain tiiani et curitntcm desponsionis tuae, quando seenta me es in deserto, in terra, qnae non seminatttr. LXX: liaec diril /lominus: recor/hitus isuiu m/scrirordiae (idiilcsccnfiae tuac it dilectiou is perfcct ionis tuae. Plenitis hoc in Hiezecuiele dicituv, quando sibi Hierusalem in matrimonio dorainus copulat et snb persona nxoris suis iungtt araplexibus siue, ut ardentiorem raonstret affectum, puellam eam et adnlescentulam et desponsatam uoeat: quo enim necdum potiti sumus, magis, ut potiamur. adpetimus. 'quando', inquit, 'secuta me es in solitudine et instar sponsaliorum et dotis legis tibi ornamenta et uerborum distribui monilia'. totumque hoc non ad meritum eius refert, sed ad suatn misericordiam, per quam et caritas consecuta est. hoc ?■ "+» u qnoqne, quod posuimus: in | deserto, in terra, quae non serainatur. in LXX non habetur. ### English translation (Claude) [14] “Thus says the Lord: I have remembered you, pitying your youth and the love of your betrothal, when you followed me in the wilderness, in a land that is not sown.” The Septuagint: “Thus says the Lord: I have remembered the mercy of your youth and the love of your perfection.” This is said more fully in Ezekiel, when the Lord joins Jerusalem to himself in marriage and, in the figure of a wife, unites her to his embraces; or, to show a more ardent affection, he calls her a girl, a young maiden, and betrothed: for what we have not yet possessed we desire the more, in order to possess it. “When”, he says, “you followed me in the wilderness, and, like betrothal gifts and a dowry, I distributed to you the ornaments of the law and the necklaces of words.” And he refers all this not to her merit but to his own mercy, through which love also followed. This too, which we have set down, “in the wilderness, in a land that is not sown”, is not found in the Septuagint. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:8–14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:2; compare Ezek 16:8–14. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.14 (Reiter CSEL 59:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-14). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-15 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:17 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel is God's first-fruits; those who devour it, even as instruments of God's judgment, will be punished. ### Latin text XV. Sanetus Israhcl domino, pri/nitiae frugnm eius; omnes, qui deuorant eiim, dclinqnent: inala nient super eos. dicit dominus. Quando Israhul dicit pri- * raitias frugum domini, ostendit populum de gentibus cougregatum esse post priraitias iuxta illud, quod in alio Ioco scriptum est: memoresto congregationis tuae, quampossedisti ab initio. primitiae autern debcntur sacerdotibus et non hostibus. quod sequitur: oranes, qui dettorant eum, delinqueut; mala uenient super eos, dicit dominus, hunc habet sensum: quomodo, qui primitias deuoraut nequaquam de genere sacerdotali. sceleris rei sunt, sic. qui contamiuant Israhel, malis subicientur iuxta illud, qnod in uicesimo seito psalmo sanctus loquitur: dum adpropinquant super me nocentes. ut edant carnes meas, qui tribulant me, et inimici mei ipsi infirmati suut et ceciderunt. neque enim ex eo. quod dei eisequuntur sententiam, inmunes erunt a supplicio, malaqne uenient super eos; oportet enim uenire scandala. uerum uae ei, i* per quem ueniunt scandala! ### English translation (Claude) [15] “Israel is holy to the Lord, the first-fruits of his harvest; all who devour him will offend; evils will come upon them, says the Lord.” When he calls Israel the first-fruits of the Lord's harvest, he shows that the people gathered from the nations came after the first-fruits, according to what is written in another place: “Remember your congregation, which you possessed from the beginning.” First-fruits are owed to the priests and not to enemies. What follows, “all who devour him will offend; evils will come upon them, says the Lord”, has this sense: as those who devour the first-fruits, not being of priestly stock, are guilty of a crime, so those who defile Israel will be subjected to evils, according to what the holy man says in the twenty-sixth psalm: “While the wicked draw near against me to eat my flesh, those who afflict me, my enemies themselves have been weakened and have fallen.” For they will not be immune from punishment just because they carry out God's sentence, and evils will come upon them; “for it must be that offences come, but woe to him through whom the offences come!” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 74:2 (73:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 27:2 (26:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 18:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:3. Ps 74:2 (LXX 73:2); Ps 27:2 (LXX 26:2; Jerome cites it by its Septuagint number as the twenty-sixth psalm); Matt 18:7. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.15 (Reiter CSEL 59:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-15). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-16 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:18 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God asks what wrong Israel's fathers found in him; sons who imitate their fathers' idolatry share their punishment and become like the idols they worship. ### Latin text XVI. Audite uerbum domini, domus Iuiob et omnes cognationes domus Israhel. haec dicit dominus: qiiid inuenerunt patrett uestri in me iniquitatis, qniii elontjniii i uiit o nic rt umbulaiivrunt jiost uanitatcm et is uuni facti sunl? Hunc sensum et alius propheta testatur: populus meus, quid feci tibi et quid molestus fui tibi?respondemihi; quia eduxitede terraAegypti ■2 et de domo seruientium liberaui te. utrumque autem nomen — et Israhel — ponitur, non secunduui duas et *> decem tribus, sed inxta oranem populum. cum et ipse Iacob postea uppellatus sit Israhel. offensam autem ducit a patribus. non quo peccata patrum filiis inputentur, sed quo et filii habentes patrum similitudiuem et suo et parentum scelere puuiantur. saepe legimus, quod propter sanctos patves riliorum niisereatur deus. dereliquerunt autem patres populi peceatoris deum — et non breuiter. sed longo tempore — et pro deo secuti sunt uanitatem, idola uidelicet, quae nihil prosunt cultoribus suis, et ipsis similes facti sunt secundum illurl, quod seriptum s est: similes illis fiant, qui faciunt ea, et omnes, qui confi»dunt in eis. ### English translation (Claude) [16] “Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: What iniquity did your fathers find in me, that they went far from me and walked after vanity and became vain?” Another prophet too bears witness to this sense: “My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer me; for I brought you out of the land of Egypt and freed you from the house of slaves.” Both names, Jacob and Israel, are put, not according to the two and the ten tribes, but for the whole people, since Jacob himself was afterwards called Israel. He traces the offence from the fathers, not that the sins of the fathers are imputed to the sons, but that the sons, bearing the likeness of their fathers, are punished both for their own and for their parents' crime. We often read that God has mercy on sons for the sake of holy fathers. The fathers of the sinful people forsook God, and not briefly but for a long time, and in place of God followed vanity, namely idols, which profit their worshippers nothing, and became like them, according to what is written: “Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:4–5: quotation, high confidence - Mic 6:3–4: quotation, high confidence - Ps 115:8 (113:16 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:4–5; Mic 6:3–4; Ps 115:8 (LXX 113:16; also Ps 135:18). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.16 (Reiter CSEL 59:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-16). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-17 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's journey through the wilderness figures the Christian's ascent through this life; perfection belongs to the end of the way, not to this life, against the “new heresy”. ### Latin text XVII. Et non dircmnt: ubi est dominu.% qui asc ndere nos fccit ilr terra Aeijijpti, ijiii t ru nsd ujit nos per dcsvrtum, ptr tcrrnm i u hnbi tabi lc m et iuuiutn, io per terram sitis ct\imagi nem mortis. per terram, in qua non iiinbuliinit uir ncqne habitnuit liotnof Pro 'homine' LXX 'lilium bominis' iuterpretati sunt et pro 'irnagine inortis" de Theodotione additum est 'umbra mortis'. quod cum mxta historiam manifestum sit, illud considerandum secundum Kvayteyfy, quod, quamdiu in isto saeculo sumus et de Aegypto educimur, paulatim ascendimus et primum deserta transimus «t terram inhabitabilem, quara sanctus inhabitare non debet, et inuiam, ut diflicultatem monstret itineris; per terram sitis, ubi semper maiora cupimus nec praesentibus contenti s« sumus, et imaginem siue umbram mortis — semper enim in periculo consistimus et ubique diabolus tendit laqueos suos — , per terram. in qna non ambulauit uir. qui perfeetae in Christo aetatis est — oraues eniin resurgemus in "irum perfectum. inmensuramaetatisplenitudinis *s Christi — : neque uraquam in ea habifcit, qui homo dei est siue filius hominis, sed semper ad niaiora festinat. ex quo perspicuura est non esse in uia perfectionem, sed in fine uiae et in mansioue, quae sanctis in caelestibus praeparatur et quibus dicitur: qui statis in domo domini, in atriis domus dei nostri. frustra igitur noua ex ueteri heresis suspicatur b hic perfectam esse uictoriam. ubi pugna est atque certamen et incertus exitus fnturorum. ### English translation (Claude) [17] “And they did not say: Where is the Lord, who made us go up from the land of Egypt, who led us across through the wilderness, through a land uninhabitable and pathless, through a land of thirst and the image of death, through a land in which no man walked nor any human being dwelt?” For “human being” the Septuagint rendered “son of man”, and for “image of death” “shadow of death” was added from Theodotion. Since this is clear according to the historical sense, we must consider according to the higher sense that, as long as we are in this world and are being led out of Egypt, we go up little by little: first we pass through deserts and an uninhabitable land, which the saint ought not to inhabit, and a pathless one, to show the difficulty of the journey; through a land of thirst, where we always desire greater things and are not content with what is present; and the image or shadow of death, for we are always in danger, and everywhere the devil lays his snares; through a land in which no man walked, he who is of the perfect age in Christ (for we shall all rise “to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ”); and in it the one who is a man of God, or son of man, never dwells, but always hastens to greater things. From this it is clear that perfection is not on the way but at the end of the way, and in the dwelling prepared for the saints in the heavens, to whom it is said: “You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.” In vain, therefore, does the new heresy, sprung from the old, suppose that there is perfect victory here, where there is battle and contest and the outcome of things to come is uncertain. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:6: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:13: quotation, high confidence - Ps 135:2 (134:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:6. The Greek word for “higher sense” (anagogē) is garbled in the OCR. Eph 4:13; Ps 135:2 (LXX 134:2). “The new heresy, sprung from the old” is taken to be Pelagianism, which Jerome links with earlier errors. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.17 (Reiter CSEL 59:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-17). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-18 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:20 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God brought Israel into a fertile land which it defiled; Christians who receive the knowledge of true circumcision can likewise defile God's inheritance by negligence. ### Latin text XVIII. Et induxi uos in terrum Carmeli, ut comedcrrtis fructitm eius et bonn illius, et ingresst contatninastis terram nicam et heieditatcm meatn posuistti m in abomiiiationem. 'Pro labore durissimi itineris dedi uobis omnium rerum abundantiam'; hoc quippe significat 'Carmelus. qui Hebraice appellatur 'Chermel' et in lingua nostra sonat 'cognitionem circumcisionis'. quomodo autem ille populus terram sanctam et oranium reram fertilem idololatria polluit atque i* uiolauit, sic nos uerae circumcisionis accipientes scientiam comedimus fructnm eius et, si neglegentia subrepserit, contaniinamus terram dei et hereditatem illius abominabilem facimus. ### English translation (Claude) [18] “And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat its fruit and its good things; and you entered and defiled my land and made my inheritance an abomination.” “For the labour of a very hard journey I gave you abundance of all things”; for this is what “Carmel” means, which in Hebrew is called “Chermel” and in our language sounds “knowledge of circumcision”. And as that people polluted and violated the holy land, fertile in all things, by idolatry, so we, receiving the knowledge of true circumcision, eat its fruit, and, if negligence creeps in, we defile God's land and make his inheritance abominable. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:7. Jerome's etymology of Carmel is given as he states it. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.18 (Reiter CSEL 59:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-18). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-19 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:20 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's priests, teachers, shepherds and prophets turned from God; the rebuke applies to unworthy teachers in the church. ### Latin text XIX. Sacerdotes non dixerunl: ubi cst dominusf t&* tencntes tcijcin nescierunt me, et pastores jiraeiiancati siint iii me, et prophetae piophetaiieriint w *46 Bahal et iilola se\ruli sunt. Post tanta beneticia uerterunt in conteintuin priuilegia dignitatis, nt sacerdotes dominuiu non quaererent, at doctores legis iguorarent eum. qui alios docere debebant, et pastores per neglegentiam praeuaricatores fierent et prophetae, qui in populis disputant, non deo loquantur, sed idolo. et sua figraenta uenerentur. his autem uerbis utendum est aduersum nostri ordinis magistros, qui deuoraut populum dei uelut cibum panis et per mala opera non inuocant dominum. ### English translation (Claude) [19] “The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? And those who held the law did not know me, and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed idols.” After such great benefits they turned the privileges of their dignity into contempt, so that the priests did not seek the Lord, and the teachers of the law, who ought to teach others, did not know him, and the shepherds through negligence became transgressors, and the prophets, who discourse among the peoples, spoke not for God but for an idol, and venerated their own fictions. These words must be used against the teachers of our own order, who devour the people of God like a meal of bread and by their evil works do not call upon the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:8: quotation, high confidence - Ps 14:4 (13:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:8; Ps 14:4 (LXX 13:4; also Ps 53:4). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.19 (Reiter CSEL 59:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-19). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-20 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God argues with Israel as with equals rather than simply striking, and foresees the same obstinacy in their descendants at Christ's coming. ### Latin text XX. Proplrrru inlliur iudirio roiitciidam uobiscum. tnl domiitns. r/ riiin filiis nrsh is il i srr ptaho. Ne uideatur percutere per potentium, quasi cum paribus ratione contendit iuita illud, quod Dauid canit et usurpat apostolus: n t mstificeris in sermonibus tuis et uincas, cum indicaris. quodque posnit 'adhuc', saepe se fecisse testatur. et quod iutulit 'cum filiis uestris'. similem ostendit etiam in filiis malornra pertinaciam. occulte autem significat, quod antiquam io deuin negationem etiam filii eonim in aduentn domini sint secuti. ### English translation (Claude) [20] “Therefore I will still contend with you in judgment, says the Lord, and I will dispute with your sons.” So as not to seem to strike by power, he contends by reason as with equals, according to what David sings and the apostle takes up: “that you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.” And by putting “still” he testifies that he has often done it. And by adding “with your sons” he shows a like obstinacy in the sons of the wicked. He secretly signifies that their sons too, at the Lord's coming, followed the ancient denial of God. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:4 (50:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:9; Ps 51:4 (LXX 50:6); Rom 3:4. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.20 (Reiter CSEL 59:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-20). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/0-1/#p-1-21 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: No pagan nation abandons its false gods, yet Israel abandoned the true God for idols; so too people pursue vice more zealously than virtue. ### Latin text XXI. Transitr ad insulas Cltcttiiu <•/ uidctc cl iu ('cdar ntittitr rl co nsid cral c iir/irmr nter ct nidrtr, si fiictnm est huiuscemodi: si ntutauit i/rns drns siue dcos sttos — .- ct certe ijisi non snul di. popnlns nero meits iitutauil f/loriam siiam in idolum siue, dc qun ti "Hiil prodrrit. Conparationem facit eius rei, quae ineonparabDis est, et uerum deum confert mendacibus. 'ite*. inquit. 'ad insulas Chettim", quas uel Italiae uel occidentalium partium debemus accipere ab eo. quod terrae Iudaeae Cyprus insula, in qua urbs lioc uocabnlo nuncupatur. uicina sit, de qua et Zeno, princeps Stoicoruru, fait; Cedar autem regio est solitudinis et Ismahelitarum, qnos nunc Saracenos uocant. contra quam huius ipsius prophetae in extremis partibus texitur uatieinium et cuius merninit Dauid dicens: habitaui cum habitantibus Cedar; multuni peregrinata est '■a anima mea. et est sensus: 'uel ad occidentem pergite uel in solitudineni mittite et uidete. si qua gens hoc fecerit, quod uos fecistis. nulla enim earum spreuit deos suos uec ligneos et lapideos aureorum conparatione mutauit, sed antiquum erro- w M7 rem secuta tenuit. quod a maioribus |acceperat; et certe lioc. cum nullus eorum deus sit, sed simulacra hominnm ficta manu. populus uero meus mutauit mendacio ueritatem et idolum mihi praetulit, quod eis necessitatis tempore prode esse \ non poterit'. possumus hoc dicere et contra eos, qui maiore >5 studio sequuntur uitia quam uirtutes, quos monet apostolus dicens: humanum loquor propter infirmitatem carnis uestrae. sicut exhibuistis meiubra uestra seruientia inniunditiae et iniquitati ad iniquitatem. ita nunc exhibete membra uestra seruientia iusti- * tiae in sanctificationem. ### English translation (Claude) [21] “Cross over to the islands of Kittim and see, and send to Kedar and consider carefully, and see whether such a thing has been done: whether a nation has changed its gods (or: its gods), and they indeed are not gods; but my people has changed its glory for an idol (or: for that which will not profit).” He makes a comparison of something that cannot be compared, and sets the true God beside false ones. “Go”, he says, “to the islands of Kittim”, which we should take to be those of Italy or of the western parts, from the fact that the island of Cyprus, in which a city is called by this name, is near the land of Judea; Zeno, the chief of the Stoics, also came from it. Kedar is a region of the wilderness and of the Ishmaelites, whom they now call Saracens; against it a prophecy of this very prophet is woven in the last parts, and David mentions it, saying: “I have dwelt with those who dwell in Kedar; my soul has long been a sojourner.” And the sense is: “Go either to the west, or send into the wilderness, and see whether any nation has done what you have done. For none of them has despised its gods or exchanged wooden and stone ones for golden ones in comparison, but each has followed and kept the ancient error which it received from its ancestors; and this certainly though none of them is a god, but images of men made by hand. But my people has changed the truth for a lie and has preferred an idol to me, which will not be able to profit them in the time of need.” We can say this also against those who follow vices with greater zeal than virtues, whom the apostle admonishes, saying: “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. As you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and to iniquity for iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:10–11: quotation, high confidence - Ps 120:5 (119:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jer 49:28–33: allusion, high confidence - Rom 1:25: echo, medium confidence - Rom 6:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:10–11. Ps 120:5 (LXX 119:5); the prophecy against Kedar is Jer 49:28–33; Rom 6:19; “changed the truth for a lie” echoes Rom 1:25. The Cypriot city meant is Citium. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.21 (Reiter CSEL 59:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-21). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-22 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The heavens are appalled that Israel forsook God, the fountain of living water, for the broken cisterns of demons. ### Latin text XXII. tlbstu pisi ■ile,rneli,su 5 carnibu8, ut nulli parcerent membro. sed omnia constnprarent. mxta litteram refer ad idola Aegyptiorum, iuita intellegentiam spiritalem ad magistros peruersi dogmatis. qui ecclesiae puritatem sua polluunt turpitudine. huec autem idcirco euenient ei. quia dereliquit dominum deum suum, et illo maxinit1 tem- 2» pore, quo ipsum ductorem sequi debuit. ### English translation (Claude) [25] “The sons also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have defiled you even to the crown of the head. Has not this been done to you because you forsook the Lord your God at the time when he was leading you on the way?” This, which we said, “at the time when he was leading you on the way”, is not found in the Septuagint. He names two very great cities of Egypt, Memphis and Tahpanhes, and says that their sons defiled Israel even to the crown of the head, in the sense in which Isaiah put it: “From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness in him.” Such was the lust of the Egyptians, who are “great of flesh”, that they spared no member but defiled everything. According to the letter, refer it to the idols of the Egyptians; according to the spiritual understanding, to the teachers of perverse doctrine, who pollute the purity of the church with their own foulness. These things will happen to her because she forsook the Lord her God, and above all at the time when she ought to have followed him as her guide. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:16–17: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:26: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:16–17; Isa 1:6; “great of flesh” is Ezek 16:26. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.25 (Reiter CSEL 59:24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-25). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-26 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:24 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's turning to Egypt and Assyria for help is like abandoning Christ, the fountain of life, for the muddy waters of heresy. ### Latin text XXVI. Et 11 11 111- quid lihi UU tn » nidv, guia malnm et amarum est relufuiase te iioii<>~ iium ileum tnttm et non esse limorem nu i apud '<"> iticit dominus deus exerciluum. Notandum, quod et malitia siue praeuaricatio, postqnam satiauerit praeuaricanteni et instar coturnicum usque ad nausiam uenerit, erudiat agentem paenitentiam: cui imperatur, ut uideat, quid reliqnerit. quid secutus sit et quomodo spernens bona et dnlcia mala et amara elegerit. hoc antem totum factum est, quia reliquit dominum deum suum et timor illius non est apud eum. principium enim sapientiae timor domini, quein quia non r-habuit, malo et amaritudini traditur. ### English translation (Claude) [27] “Your own wickedness will rebuke you (or: your transgression will teach you), and your turning away will reprove you. Know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and that the fear of me is not with you, says the Lord God of hosts.” It is to be noted that wickedness or transgression, after it has glutted the transgressor and, like the quails, has come even to nausea, teaches the one who does penance; he is commanded to see what he has left, what he has followed, and how, despising good and sweet things, he has chosen evil and bitter ones. All this happened because he forsook the Lord his God, and the fear of him is not with him. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; because he did not have it, he is handed over to evil and bitterness. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:19: quotation, high confidence - Num 11:19–20: allusion, high confidence - Prov 9:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:19; the quails, Num 11:19–20; Prov 9:10 (also Ps 111:10). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.27 (Reiter CSEL 59:26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-27). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-28 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel, like an unfaithful wife, broke the covenant and gave herself to idols; so a Christian can be seduced from Scripture by the allure of worldly learning. ### Latin text XXVIII. A saeculo confregisti iugum meum — siue tuum — ,rnjiisti ninrula men — siue tua — et dixisti: tton seruirim. inoiuni euim eolle sublimi et sub omni ligno frondoso tu prnsterneburis merrtrix siue ibi difio funde/i/iris in forn ieafione. Quasi ad meretricem loquitur lsrahel, quod coniugalia foedera ruperit et diierit: non seruiam — subauditur 'domino' uel 'marito' — , sed in omni colle sublimi et sub omni ligno frondoso prostrata fuerit idololahiae; amoena enim semper et excelsa loca idolis dedicantur. potest i5 hoc et ad eum dici. qui ab initio Cbristdanus et sacris ex parte litteris eruditus postea desiderio saecularis litteraturae, qnae signiticatnr iu collibus, et in amoena eloquentiae, quae in frondosis monstratur arboribus, prosternat se daemonibus. qui sub occasione eruditionis et sublimis scientiae polluunt cre- !'• B50 jo dentium animas et | diuaricare faciunt pedes suos omni transeunti. ### English translation (Claude) [28] “From of old you have broken my yoke (or: your yoke), you have burst my bonds (or: your bonds), and you said: I will not serve. For on every high hill and under every leafy tree you prostrated yourself as a harlot (or: there you will be poured out in fornication).” He speaks to Israel as to a harlot, because she broke the marriage covenant and said, “I will not serve” (understood: the Lord, or her husband), but on every high hill and under every leafy tree she prostrated herself to idolatry; for pleasant and lofty places are always dedicated to idols. This can also be said of the one who from the beginning was a Christian and partly trained in the sacred writings, but afterwards, from desire for worldly literature, which is signified by the hills, and for the pleasant things of eloquence, which are shown in the leafy trees, prostrates himself to demons, who, under pretext of learning and lofty knowledge, pollute the souls of believers and make them spread their feet to everyone who passes by. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:20: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:20; “spread their feet” recalls Ezek 16:25. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.28 (Reiter CSEL 59:27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-28). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-29 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel, planted as the choicest vine, degenerated by its own fault; no one should feel secure, though Christ, the true vine, lets believers be true vines if they persevere. ### Latin text XXIX. Ego autem plantaui te itineam rlertam, owiir srmr/i urritm; ijiiomoi/o conttcrsa es milii in pranum ninen „lirnu? LXX: Ego autem plantani te nineam * fftigiferam, omnem ueram; qimmodo comtersa es in umurihtilinrm nilis nticnu? Pro uinea 'electa* shie 'frugifera' in Hebraeo 'sorec' habet, quae in Isaiae cantico ponitur. est autem genus nitis optimae, quo snrculo et Israhel dominns plantasse se dicit et miratur, quomodo semen uerum electaque uinea conuersa sit in amaritudinem et ideo facta sit uinea aliena. nallusque securus sit, si et plantatio doraini et semen uernm et uinea sorec in tantnm suo uitio coramntatur, nt per amaritudinem recedat a domino et fiat uitis aliena. et in hoc consideranda clementia creatoris, quod, qui in euangelio dixit: ego sum uitis uera, discipulis quoque suis dederit et credenti in se populo, ut uitis electa uel uera sit, si uoluerit in eo, quod plantata est, pertnanere. ### English translation (Claude) [29] “But I planted you a choice vine, wholly a true seed; how then have you turned into a degenerate, strange vine?” The Septuagint: “But I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true; how have you turned into bitterness, a strange vine?” For “choice” or “fruitful” vine the Hebrew has “sorec”, which is put in the song of Isaiah. It is a kind of the best vine, with whose shoot the Lord says he planted Israel too, and he marvels how the true seed and the choice vine has turned into bitterness and so become a strange vine. And let no one be secure, if even the Lord's planting, the true seed, the sorec vine, is so changed by its own fault that through bitterness it departs from the Lord and becomes a strange vine. And in this the mercy of the Creator is to be considered: that he who said in the gospel, “I am the true vine”, granted also to his disciples and to the people believing in him to be a choice or true vine, if it is willing to remain in what it was planted. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:21: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:2: allusion, high confidence - John 15:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:21; the song of the vineyard, Isa 5:2; John 15:1. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.29 (Reiter CSEL 59:27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-29). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-30 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Repentance and the church's rebuke wash away light sins, but grave sins need heavier purging; God sees the stain even when men do not. ### Latin text XXX. Si Inuerin te nitro et multiplicaueris libi lierbnm borith. muinhihi r.. i u i,/ n i hi h- tito cnrnm me, ilicil ilominns rlcns. Pro 'herba borith', quam nos, ut in is Hebraico posita est, uertimus, LXX transtulerunt r.ovi, ut significarent herbam fullonum, quae iuxta ritum prouinciae Palestinae in nirentibus et umectis nascitur locis et ad lauandas sordes eandem nim habet, quam et nitrum; 'nitrum' autem no8trum et 'herba fullonis' paenitentia est. ecclesiasticus quoque sermo, qui argnit et increpat et corripit delinquentem, mor- •2 dacioris nitri habet similitudinem. qni uero leui peccatornni sorde niaculatus est, leuioribus purgatur niouitis. porro peccata grauia, quae ad mortem trahunt, nec nitro nec lierba borith dilui possunt, sed grauioribns tormentis indigent. uniuscuiusque enim opus. quale sit, ignis probabit et in igne reuelabitur. pulchreque addidit: maculata es iniquitate tua in conspectu meo, quod, etiamsi horuinibus munda uidearis. mihi munda non sis, qui noui conscientias singulorum. unde et in alio loco dicitur: non iustificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis uiuens. huiuscemodi enim horuines non ambulaut in arta et in angusta uia, quae ducit ad uitam, sed in lata et spatiosa, per quam ingrediuntur plurimi, quae ducit ad mortem. unde et significanter xaXtKhAfXM! nominata est siue iusta historiam, quod ibi interfecta et perdita sit idololatriae malo populi multitudo. ### English translation (Claude) [30] “Though you wash yourself with nitre and multiply for yourself the herb borith, you are stained in your iniquity before me, says the Lord God.” For “herb borith”, which we rendered as it stands in the Hebrew, the Septuagint translated poa, to signify the fullers' herb, which, according to the custom of the province of Palestine, grows in green and moist places and has the same power for washing dirt as nitre. Our “nitre” and “fullers' herb” is repentance. The church's word too, which rebukes and reproves and corrects the offender, resembles a more biting nitre. One who is stained with the light dirt of sins is cleansed by lighter admonitions. But grave sins, which drag to death, cannot be washed away either by nitre or by the herb borith, but need heavier torments. “For the fire will test what sort of work each one's is, and it will be revealed in fire.” And he fittingly added, “you are stained in your iniquity before me”: even if you seem clean to men, you are not clean to me, who know the consciences of each. Hence in another place too it is said: “No one living shall be justified in your sight.” For such men do not walk on the narrow and strait way that leads to life, but on the broad and spacious one, by which very many enter, which leads to death. Hence it is also significantly named “the common burial-ground”, or according to the historical sense, because there a multitude of the people was slain and perished by the evil of idolatry. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:22–23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:13: quotation, high confidence - Ps 143:2 (142:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:13–14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:22. The Greek word is garbled in the OCR; the Septuagint has πόα. 1 Cor 3:13; Ps 143:2 (LXX 142:2); Matt 7:13–14. The closing sentences comment on “the valley” of Jer 2:23, which the Septuagint calls πολυάνδριον (“common burial-ground”; the word is garbled in the OCR); the lemma of that verse seems to be lost from the digital text here. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.30 (Reiter CSEL 59:27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-30). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-32 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:30 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's eager pursuit of idols is pictured as a roe or wild ass in heat, or, in the Septuagint, as a harlot calling her lovers at evening. ### Latin text XXXII. Cursor lcuis es/ilicuu.- uius suas, onaaer adsuetus solitudine, in desidcrio aniinae 8UG6 adtruxit itentum amorit sui; nulius uuerlet eam, otmies, tjui quacrunt eatn, uon deficient; in mrusliuis e*Ut 111 inuenient eatn. LXX: ud iiesperani UOX cins ululauit, uias sttas dilatauit snper atjuas solitudiriis, in drsiderio animac sttac spiritu jiortabatvr, ttadita est. quis conuertet eamf oinnes, qui tjuaerniil illum, tton Inbornbiiut; i ' u Iruiiiititutr illius nppcr ieiit eum. Mul- " tum in hoc loco Septuaginta editio ab Hebraica ueritate discordat; tamen utraqae habet sensum snum. quia supra dixit: non sum polluta, et quasi ad mulierem, quae turpiter se gesserat, loquebatur, describit fornicationem eias. 'quotuodo', inquit, 'caprea leuis' — quam nos genere communi 'cursorem' diximus significantiusque Aquila, Symmachus et Theodotio uertere 5&ou.a; y.o>j;T, — 'explicat uias suas et uelox fertur ad pabula, et sicuti onager adsuetus in solitudine trahit in desiderio animae suae uentura uel spiritum amoris sui' — uuo enim apud Hebraeos nomine 'ruha' et 'uentus* appellatur et 'spiritus' — , 'sic et Israliel siue Hierusalem toto impetu ad desiderium libidinis ferebatnr et orani idolorum amore feraebat, nullusque est. qui eam suis possit monitis ab hoc impetu auertere, non quo inpossibilitas hoc fecerit prophetaram, sed malitia peruersa cupientis'. quicumque eam. ait, quaesierint, non magnopere laborabunt: in menstruis et in inmunditia eius inuenient eam, pro qno Aquila vMu,7(ylav, hoc est 'Kalendas', Symmacbus 'raensem\ LXX | et w Theodotio 'humilitatem> interpretati sunt. porro iuita Septuaginta liic sensus est: meretrix Hierusalem iuxta illam mulierem, quae in Prouerbiis describitur, ad uesperam ululabat uoce sua et amatores ad libidinem prouocabat, aperiebat uias turpitudinis suae et diuaricabat pedes omni tranaeunti. erat ij autem locus amoenitatem habens aquarum fiuentinm, qui delectabilior fit, quando in circuitu solitudo est. nt nullus uideat tornicantera. in desiderio, inquit, animae suae srcvs»jiaiorjfj psito siue peruerso spiritu ducebatur sine trahebat amoris refrigerium uel certe canebat turpi- » tudinis suae carmina. tradita est, inquit, uitiis suis et libidini, nnllus eam conuertere poterit, omnes, qui uoluerint eam inuenire, in turpitudinis humilitate repperient. ut numquam possit uoluptatis amore satiari. ### English translation (Claude) [32] “A swift runner, tangling her ways; a wild ass used to the wilderness, in the desire of her soul she snuffed up the wind of her love; no one will turn her away; all who seek her will not tire; in her months they will find her.” The Septuagint: “At evening her voice howled; she widened her ways over the waters of the wilderness; in the desire of her soul she was carried by the wind; she was handed over. Who will turn her back? All who seek her will not labour; in her humiliation they will find her.” In this place the Septuagint edition differs much from the Hebrew truth; yet each has its own sense. Because he said above, “I am not defiled”, and spoke as to a woman who had behaved shamefully, he describes her fornication. “As a light roe”, he says (which we called by the common term “runner”, and Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion more expressively translated dromas, “running”), “unfolds her ways and is carried swiftly to pasture, and as a wild ass used to the wilderness draws in, in the desire of her soul, the winds or the breath of her love” (for among the Hebrews both “wind” and “spirit” are called by one name, “ruha”), “so too Israel or Jerusalem was carried with all her force to the desire of lust and burned with every love of idols; and there is no one who can turn her from this rush by his warnings, not that the prophets' inability caused this, but the perverse wickedness of her who desires.” Whoever seeks her, he says, will not labour greatly: “in her months” and in her uncleanness they will find her; for which Aquila interpreted neomēnia, that is, “the Kalends”, Symmachus “month”, the Septuagint and Theodotion “humiliation”. Further, according to the Septuagint the sense is this: the harlot Jerusalem, like that woman described in Proverbs, howled with her voice at evening and called lovers to lust, opened the ways of her foulness and spread her feet to everyone who passed by. And the place had the pleasantness of flowing waters, which becomes more delightful when there is wilderness all around, so that no one sees the woman committing fornication. “In the desire of her soul”, he says, she was led by a … or perverse spirit, or drew in the coolness of love, or certainly sang the songs of her foulness. “She was handed over”, he says, to her vices and to lust; no one will be able to turn her back; all who wish to find her will find her in the abasement of foulness, so that she can never be sated with the love of pleasure. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:23–24: quotation, high confidence - Prov 7:9–12: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 16:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:23b–24. Several Greek words are garbled in the OCR: δρομάς (“runner”), νεομηνία (“new moon”, rendered by Jerome “the Kalends”), and an adjective describing the spirit (a word is lost; shown “…”). The woman of Proverbs is Prov 7:9–12; “spread her feet” recalls Ezek 16:25. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.32 (Reiter CSEL 59:30; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-32). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-34 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:32 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel refuses to turn back and loves foreign gods, as those who follow heretics do; when caught, the people and its leaders are shamed like a thief. ### Latin text XXXIU. Prohibc pcdem tuum a nuditate et guttur tuum a siti. et dixisti: desperatti, ncquaqttam faciam; adamaiii i/uippr ulicuos ct pust eos am bitlabu. LXX: conucrte pedcm tuuiu u uia aspcra et yuttur iuum siti. quac itixit: uii iliter agant, quouium ililrxit ulic- f> nos et post cos ainbula u i t. Pascba facturi calciamenta habere iubentur in pedibus. et apostolus calciatos praedicat pedes eorum, qui euangelio praeparantur, ne, dum per saeculi huius solitudinem gradiuntur, uenenatis pateant animantibus. quae debent euangelico pede calcari et conteri. guttur probi- i bemus a siti. quando saluatoris praecepta suscipimus dicentis: qui sitit, ueniat ad me et bibat. quae desperatione meliorum negauit se facturam, quod dominus iniperauit, causamque exposuit dicens: adamaui alienos et illos sequar. inpudenti confessione putans se crimina deuitare. porro iuxta is Septuaginta uia peccatorum aspera est, quae a domino conuertitur in uiam planam. quicuraque hereticos sequitur, horum uersuum notetur elogio, quod dixerit: desperaui — siue in malo proposito agam uiriliter — et in meo coufortabor errore. necesse autem est. ut, qui alienam ecclesiastico doctri- » nam sequitur, alienos diligat et eorum sequatur uestigia, uel daemonas uel hereticorum principes, qui a deo alicni sunt. . i« XXXIV. Quomodo confunditur fnr, qnando deprchruiitur, sic confnsi snnt domus Isruhcl. ipsi el rraes a> corum, principcs et sacerdotcs et prnphetae corum. Quamuis sit inpudens et proeax uultus furantiuni. tamen eru-| bescit, cum in furto fuerit deprehensus. et Israhel ergo dicen.- - -' a liynu: pater meiis es t.n, ef lupirti: I n me ijrnuisti. ut eos uocaret parentes, quos ipse fabricatus est. confunditur, s cum in sua idololatria fuerit deprehensus. et ne putemus eum hoc de plebe dicere, reges ponit et principes et sacerdotes et prophetas eorum. utamur hoc testimonio, si quando principes nostri et hi, qui in ecclesia putantur duces. in peccatis turpibus fueriut deprehensi. ### English translation (Claude) [33] “Keep your foot from going bare and your throat from thirst. And you said: I have despaired, I will by no means do it; for I have loved strangers and after them I will walk.” The Septuagint: “Turn back your foot from the rough way, and your throat from thirst. But she said: I will act manfully, for she loved strangers and walked after them.” Those who are to keep the Passover are ordered to have shoes on their feet, and the apostle proclaims shod the feet of those who are made ready for the gospel, so that, while they walk through the wilderness of this world, they may not lie open to venomous creatures, which must be trodden and crushed by the gospel foot. We keep our throat from thirst when we receive the commands of the Saviour, who says: “Whoever thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” She, in despair of better things, refused to do what the Lord commanded, and set out the reason, saying, “I have loved strangers and I will follow them”, thinking by a shameless confession to escape her crimes. Further, according to the Septuagint, the way of sinners is rough, and it is turned by the Lord into a level way. Whoever follows heretics is marked by the description of these verses, because he said: “I have despaired” (or: I will act manfully in my evil purpose) and I will be strengthened in my error. And it must be that one who follows a doctrine foreign to the church's loves strangers and follows their footsteps, either demons or the leaders of heretics, who are strangers to God. [34] “As a thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, princes and priests and their prophets.” Although the face of thieves is shameless and brazen, yet it blushes when caught in theft. So Israel too, saying to a log, “You are my father”, and to a stone, “You have begotten me”, so as to call those his parents whom he himself made, is ashamed when caught in his idolatry. And lest we think he says this of the common people, he puts their kings and princes and priests and prophets. Let us use this testimony whenever our rulers, and those who are thought leaders in the church, are caught in shameful sins. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:25–27: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:11: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:15: allusion, high confidence - John 7:37: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 33 is garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [33] and [34]. Jer 2:25–27a. Exod 12:11; Eph 6:15; John 7:37. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.34 (Reiter CSEL 59:32; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-34). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-35 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Turning one's back to God is the gesture of contempt for his word. ### Latin text XXXV. Uerferunt ad un tergum ct non factem. Qui proiciunt sermones dei retrorsum, ipsi uertuut contra eum terguin suum et non faciem. quando magister enim praecipit, oboedientis indicium est, si demisso contra andiat capite; sin autem uertat tergum. signum est coutemnentis, ut in alio loco scriptum est: et uerterunt ad me scapulam recedentem. 'in tantum," inquit deus. 'mea contemsere praecepta, ut ne aodire quidem uoluerint. sed tumorem animi gestu corpori* indicarint'. ### English translation (Claude) [35] “They have turned their back to me and not their face.” Those who cast the words of God behind them turn their back against him and not their face. For when a master gives a command, it is a sign of obedience if one hears with head bowed toward him; but if one turns his back, it is a sign of contempt, as it is written in another place: “And they turned to me a shoulder that drew away.” “So far”, says God, “have they despised my commands that they did not even wish to hear them, but showed the swelling of their mind by the gesture of their body.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:27: quotation, high confidence - Zech 7:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:27b; Zech 7:11. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.35 (Reiter CSEL 59:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-35). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-36 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Those who ignore God in prosperity call on him in affliction. ### Latin text XXXVI. Et in temporc artflictioms .-uae diretit: » surge et libera nos. Qui per beneficia non senserunt, per tormenta sentiant deum. ### English translation (Claude) [36] “And in the time of their affliction they will say: Arise and deliver us.” Those who did not perceive God through benefits, let them perceive him through torments. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:27: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:27c. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.36 (Reiter CSEL 59:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-36). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-37 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God taunts Israel to call on the gods it made, so that need may expose their powerlessness. ### Latin text XXXVII. Ubi svnt di tni, qnos fecisti titrif surguut et liberent /«• i u tempore ndflictioms tuac Inpudens postulatio tempore necessitatis et angustiae ab eo quaerere et auxilium, quem in pace conternserint. legendumque increpantis affectu: 'liherent te di tui, quos fecisti tibi, ut, cum deus creator sit hominum, homo fecerit deum, probet neeessitas. quid possint, quos securus ante coluisti.' ### English translation (Claude) [37] “Where are your gods which you made for yourself? Let them arise and deliver you in the time of your affliction.” It is a shameless request, in the time of need and distress, to seek help from him whom they despised in peace. And it should be read with the feeling of one rebuking: “Let your gods which you made for yourself deliver you, so that, since God is the creator of men and man has made a god, necessity may prove what those can do whom you worshipped before when you were secure.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:28: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:28a. Marginal references printed in the OCR (to Ps 49 and Zech 7) are apparatus and are not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.37 (Reiter CSEL 59:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-37). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-38 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:34 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Each city of Judah had its own gods, so that idolatry was divided even against itself. ### Latin text XXXVIII. S.rttndum n it incrtt nt rntitttl it nt tuttrum efctni di tui, Iuda. Uel eosdera uel singulos atque diuersos singulae ciuitates colebant deos. ut nec iu impietate uiderentur habere consensum. sed pugnans contra se superstitio diuersum sequeretur errorem. quodque sequitur: et iuxta numerum uiarum Hierusalem immolabant Balial, a Septuaginta additum est. ### English translation (Claude) [38] “For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah.” The individual cities worshipped either the same or separate and different gods, so that they did not seem to agree even in impiety, but superstition, fighting against itself, followed different errors. And what follows, “and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal”, was added by the Septuagint. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:28: quotation, high confidence - Jer 11:13: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:28b; the addition is in the Septuagint (compare Jer 11:13). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.38 (Reiter CSEL 59:34; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-38). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-39 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:34 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Sinners blame God's justice for what their own impiety has brought on them. ### Latin text XXXIX. IJuid nii.ltis mrriim iitdino t;<> n tr inlr rr ? tunitrs derrliqtiistis nie, diril domiittts. Prona est ad excusationem sui humana peruersitas, ut. quicquid merito sustinent, iniuste sustinere uideantur et propriam culpaiu referant ad iudicium dei. 'frustra', igitur ait, 'obtenditis querimonias et iniquum causamini iudicem, cum impietatis uestrae sit, quod «54 patimini.' | quodque sequitur: et omnes inique egistis in me. similiter et a Septuaginta additum est. ### English translation (Claude) [39] “Why do you wish to contend with me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.” Human perversity is prone to excuse itself, so that whatever men suffer deservedly they seem to suffer unjustly, and they refer their own fault to God's judgment. “In vain, therefore,” he says, “do you put forward complaints and accuse the judge as unjust, since what you suffer comes from your impiety.” And what follows, “and you have all acted wickedly against me”, was likewise added by the Septuagint. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:29: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:29. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.39 (Reiter CSEL 59:34; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-39). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-40 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:34 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God's chastisements of Israel and the slaughter of its false prophets failed to bring the people to repentance. ### Latin text XL. Sine causa percussi filios ueslros; disciph- *> nam nou rrccjji runl, pro quo posuere Septuaginta: non reeepistis. Sensusqne est in Hebraico: 'ipsi, qui percussi sunt, disciplinam recipere nolueruut.' in LXX uero: 'ideo percussi tilios uestros, ut illorum nece uos erudiremini. et ne forsitan diceretis: peccantes corripere uolnisti, plagis discite filiorum uestrorum, quod austeriore uos cupierira curare medicamine.' i, »th XLI. Denoranit gladins uester propheta» nestros. I 'Non meos, sed uestros proplietas, nequaquam meus. sed uester gladius deuorauit. quem sustinuistis peccatis nestris'. porro Septuaginta non habent 'uester', sed simpliciter interpretati sunt: deuorauit gladius proplietas uestros. 'ut ostendatur uel hostilis gladius uel gladius raens, per quem uestra «> peccata confodi/ ''lO,'"1* Quasi Iro nastator i/rnrratio iirstra. LXX: i/nasi leo nastator. et non timuistit. 'Gladius'. inquit. 'qui deuorauit prophetas uestros' — hau diibiura, quin Bahal et idolorum ariolos siguificet — . 'instar leonis uniuersa na- '5 stauit, et tamen uestra generatio. quae paucorum interfectione debuerat emendari, omnis perseueraiiit in scelere'. iuxta Septnaginta uero hic sensus est: 'sic gladius domini, qui adtiersariorum gladium demonstranit, deaorauit atque lacerauit pseudoprophetas uestros quasi leo, qui auidissimus repertam ■ praedam lacerat, et tamen nec prophetariim uestrorum supplicio potuistis ad meliora conuerti.' ### English translation (Claude) [40] “In vain have I struck your sons; they did not receive discipline”; for which the Septuagint put: “you did not receive.” And the sense in the Hebrew is: “Those very ones who were struck would not receive discipline”; but in the Septuagint: “I struck your sons so that by their death you might be taught; and lest perhaps you should say, You wished to correct sinners, learn by the blows on your sons that I desired to cure you with a harsher remedy.” [41] “Your sword has devoured your prophets.” “Not my prophets but yours; not my sword but yours, which you have suffered for your sins, has devoured them.” Further, the Septuagint do not have “your”, but simply translated: “The sword has devoured your prophets”, to show either the enemy's sword or my sword, by which your sins are pierced. [42] “Like a ravaging lion is your generation.” The Septuagint: “like a ravaging lion, and you did not fear.” “The sword”, he says, “which devoured your prophets” (no doubt he means the soothsayers of Baal and of the idols) “ravaged everything like a lion; and yet your generation, which ought to have been amended by the slaughter of a few, all persevered in crime.” But according to the Septuagint the sense is this: “So the sword of the Lord, which showed the sword of the enemies, devoured and tore your false prophets like a lion, which most greedily tears the prey it has found; and yet not even by the punishment of your prophets could you be turned to better things.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:30: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds three of Reiter's chapters (the numerals of chapters 41 and 42 were not recognised in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [40], [41] and [42]. Jer 2:30. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.40 (Reiter CSEL 59:34; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-40). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.43 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-43 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel treated God as a barren wilderness and refused to return to him, a graver offence than the first offence itself. ### Latin text XLIII. fiiiete iurbuin domini: numi/uid solilndo fnetus tum Isralie.li aut terra scrotina? i/uarr enjo dixit popitlns inens: recvssimus, noit ueiiivmttf nltrn ad te? LXX: atidite tterbam domini: kaee dicit doimnus: numqiiid solitiido favtns sum Isrolivli unt terra plena sentium, qiiia dixit populus mvus: non seruiemus nw iivniemits ad ler Et Moses uidebat uocem dei, et lohaunes apostolus uerbum dei uidisse et adtrectasse se dicit. miratur autem. quomodo populus Israhel deum babuerit quasi solitudinem, curn idola quasi celebritatem urbium sit secutus. terra serotina est, quae imbres non recipit doetrinaiuru nec enangelii disciplinam. plenaque sentium, quia exculta non fuerat. populus ergo quondam dei in eo sceleratior, quod boo recessit a domino et non uult ultva re|uerti ad deum suum. grandis oflensa nolle placare. quem offenderis. ### English translation (Claude) [43] “See the word of the Lord: Have I become a wilderness to Israel, or a late-yielding land? Why then has my people said: We have withdrawn, we will no longer come to you?” The Septuagint: “Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord: Have I become a wilderness to Israel, or a land full of thorns? For my people has said: We will not serve, and we will not come to you.” Moses too saw the voice of God, and John the apostle says that he saw and handled the Word of God. He marvels how the people of Israel regarded God as a wilderness, while they followed idols as if they were the crowds of cities. A late-yielding land is one that does not receive the rains of doctrines nor the discipline of the gospel; and full of thorns, because it had not been cultivated. The people, then, once God's, is the more wicked in this, that it withdrew from the Lord and will no longer return to its God. It is a great offence to refuse to appease one whom you have offended. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:31: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:18: allusion, high confidence - 1 John 1:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:31. Exod 20:18 (“all the people saw the voices”); 1 John 1:1. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.43 (Reiter CSEL 59:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-43). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.44 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-44 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:36 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Christ is the bridegroom of the virgin church; one who forgets God loses the ornament of understanding. ### Latin text XLIV. Ntimijiiid obliuisettwr nirtjo oriiniinnli sm. sponsa fasciue pectoralis snavf popiilus uero invas oblitus est mei dielnis i n n n mvris. Per baec discimus sponsum esse Cbristum uirginis ecclesiae. quae non habet maculam neque rugam. si autem ipse est sponsus, ipsius uerba sunt, de quo loquitur et Iohannes Baptista: qui habet 2sponsam, sponsus est. ornamentum ergo sunm perdit, qui recedit a domino. et amittit intellegentiam doctrinarum. quae significatur in pectore. unde et Iohannes euangelista recumbit super pectus domini, et sacerdotibus inter cetera separatnr pectusculum uictimarum. qnanto autem maior est numerus temporum, quibus obliuiscimur deum, tanto maior poena Peccati' Qno«l nec longitudine saeculorum potuerit edomari. ### English translation (Claude) [44] “Will a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride the sash of her breast? But my people has forgotten me days without number.” Through these words we learn that Christ is the bridegroom of the virgin church, which has no spot or wrinkle. And if he is the bridegroom, these are his words, of whom John the Baptist too says: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” So he who withdraws from the Lord loses his ornament and lets go the understanding of doctrines, which is signified by the breast. Hence John the evangelist too reclines on the Lord's breast, and among other things the breast of the victims is set apart for the priests. And the greater the number of times in which we forget God, the greater the punishment of the sin, which could not be tamed even by the length of ages. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:32: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:27: allusion, high confidence - John 3:29: quotation, high confidence - John 13:25: allusion, high confidence - Lev 7:31: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:32; Eph 5:27; John 3:29; John 13:25; the priests' portion, Lev 7:31. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.44 (Reiter CSEL 59:36; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-44). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.45 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-45 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel cannot justify itself, since it taught others its wickedness and shed innocent blood in idolatrous rites. ### Latin text XLV. Quid niteris haitam ostrnt/rrr nittui limm vd quaerendam diUctien*M? quae insuper et mali- & ttns tuas dficuisti nias tmis, et in alis — siue iu manibus — i,us innrntns est sani/uis animariint.pan /icrum »t mnoe»ntium.non in fbueis i nueni eos,sed in omnibus istis aa.6»ub omni qucrcu. 'Frustra', inquit, 'te cupis uerborum arte defeudere et quasi bona ostendere opera tna, ut werearis dilectionem. quae insuper etiam alios docuisti uias tuas et exemplo fuisti omnibus malorum operum. et in alis quippe — siue inmanibns — tuisinuentusestsanguis innocentium. quos idolis immolasti siue quorum animas perdidisti sacrificiorum similitudine'. 'pauperes* de Hebraico «» posuimus, qui in LXX non habentur. 'hos autem,' inquit. 'pauperes et innocentes non inueni in foueis interfectos' — quoJ solet plerumqueacciderelatronum insidiis — ,'sedin oiunil'us, quae snpra memoraui, siue sub quercu* — quae Hebraice dieitur 'ella,' quae quidem et 'ista' signiticat. ut sit » sensus: 5n omnibus istis siue sub quercu atque terebintho' — . 'sub cnitis umbra et frondibus quasi in amoeuis locis idololatriae sceleribus fruebaris'. ### English translation (Claude) [45] “Why do you strive to show your way good, to seek love? You who have even taught your wickednesses to your ways, and on your wings (or: in your hands) has been found the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent; I did not find them in pits, but in all these, under every oak.” “In vain”, he says, “you wish to defend yourself with the art of words and to show your works as good, so as to earn love; you who have even taught others your ways and been an example of evil works to all. And indeed on your wings, or in your hands, has been found the blood of the innocent, whom you sacrificed to idols, or whose souls you destroyed by the likeness of sacrifices.” “The poor” we put from the Hebrew; they are not found in the Septuagint. “These poor and innocent”, he says, “I did not find slain in pits”, which commonly happens through the ambushes of robbers, “but in all the things I mentioned above, or under the oak”, which in Hebrew is called “ella”, which also means “these”, so that the sense is “in all these, or under oak and terebinth”; “under whose shade and leaves, as in pleasant places, you enjoyed the crimes of idolatry.” ### Scripture references - Jer 2:33–34: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:33–34. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.45 (Reiter CSEL 59:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-45). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.46 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-46 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Claiming to be without sin provokes God's anger more than the sin itself; Jerome turns the verse against the “new heresy” that boasts of righteousness. ### Latin text XLVI. Et di.risti: absque peccato et innoeens eya "">n, rt proptrrea anertatur fnror tuns a mr. rrrr » ei/o iudicio contendmn teciim eo. i/nod dixeri*: non peeeaui, quam uilis e» faeta nimis — siue quoniam s.ifi contcitisisti ititnis — j iteruns itias ttias! His utendum est aduersum eos, qui nolunt sua peccata cognoscere, sed in tempore adflictionis et angustiae dicnnt se iniuste sustinere, quae sustinent, magisque prouocant iram dei, dum alteruni maiusque peccatum sit non lugere. quod fecerint, sed uanas ■2 excusationes obteudere peccatorum. iudicio, inquit, contendam tecum pro eo, quod dixeris: non peccaui, quasi maius quippiam sit hoc peccato aliud habere in conscientia. aliud 9ermone proferre. audiat noua ei ueteri heresis iram dei esse uel maximam nolle peccatum liumiliter contiteri, sed inipudentem iactare iustitiam. ### English translation (Claude) [46] “And you said: I am without sin and innocent, and therefore let your anger be turned from me. Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you said: I have not sinned. How exceedingly vile you have become (or: since you have despised exceedingly), repeating your ways!” These words must be used against those who will not acknowledge their sins, but in the time of affliction and distress say that they suffer unjustly what they suffer, and provoke God's anger the more, since it is another and greater sin not to mourn what they have done but to put forward vain excuses for sins. “I will contend with you in judgment”, he says, “because you said: I have not sinned”, as if there were anything greater than this sin: to have one thing in the conscience and to bring out another in speech. Let the new heresy, sprung from the old, hear that God's anger is greatest at refusing to confess sin humbly and boasting shamelessly of righteousness. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:35–36: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:35–36a. The “new heresy” is taken to be Pelagianism. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.46 (Reiter CSEL 59:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-46). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.47 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-47 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Judah's reliance on Egypt and Assyria instead of God will end in shame and mourning. ### Latin text XLVII. Et ab Acyypto cnnfiinderis, sicut eonfuta ^ es nb Assur: nam et ab ista eyredieris, et manut tuai eriint euper eaput tuum, nuortiam eontriuit dom*nu$ eonfideutiam — siue spem — tuuin, et nihil in ea habehis prospcrnrn. Ut Aegyptiorum impetum declinarent, coufugiebant ad Assyrios, quorum cassum fuit praesidium; uictos enim eos ab Aegyptiis legimus. rursum ut iram Assyrii fugerent, Aegyptiorum adiutorio nitebantur, quos ab Assyriis superatos narrat historia. increpantur ergo, quod omissa spe m denm houiinum nitantur auxilio, quod omne contritum est et ita subuersuiu. ut nihil in eo utilitatis ualeant repperire. unde ait: et ab ista egredieris, hoc est ab Aegypto. 3li sicut egressa es ab Assyriis. et manus tuae erunt super caput tuum, lugebisque te frustra ab Aegyptiis exspectasse praesidium. recordemur historiae, quando ab Amnon, fratre sceleratissimo. corrupta et uiolata Thamar supra sparsum s caput cinere manus posuerit et ita reuersa sit in domnm suam. ### English translation (Claude) [47] “And you will be put to shame by Egypt, as you were put to shame by Assyria; for from her too you will go out, and your hands will be upon your head; for the Lord has crushed your confidence (or: hope), and you will have nothing prosperous in it.” To avoid the onslaught of the Egyptians they fled to the Assyrians, whose protection was vain; for we read that they were defeated by the Egyptians. Again, to flee the wrath of the Assyrian, they relied on the help of the Egyptians, whom history relates were overcome by the Assyrians. So they are rebuked because, abandoning hope in God, they relied on the help of men, which was all crushed and so overthrown that they could find nothing useful in it. Hence he says: “and from her too you will go out”, that is, from Egypt, as you went out from the Assyrians; “and your hands will be upon your head”, and you will mourn that you looked in vain to the Egyptians for protection. Let us recall the history, when Tamar, corrupted and violated by Amnon, her most wicked brother, put her hands on her head sprinkled with ashes and so returned to her house. ### Scripture references - Jer 2:36–37: quotation, high confidence - 2 Sam 13:19: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 2:36b–37; 2 Sam 13:19. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.47 (Reiter CSEL 59:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-47). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.48 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-48 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome gives Jer 3:1 on the divorced wife who has married another, and explains the Hebrew word that can mean “lovers” or “shepherds”. ### Latin text XLVIII. JJulgo dicitur — pro quo LXX tantum dieitur transtuleiunt — : si dimiserit uir uxorem suuin et recrdens ab eo duzerit uirum alterum, numquiil rrunio tetur adeam ultrar numquid uuii pollnta et inutaminutu erii mulier illa — siue terra illa — ? et lu fornieala cs cii iii uuiutoribu.s multis siue pastoribut. Uerbum enim 'rehim', quod quattuor litteris scribitur 'res, ain, iotb. mem', et 'amatores' et 'pastores' utrumque signifioat et, si legamus 'rehim\ 'amatores' sonat. si 'rohim', 'pastores*. ### English translation (Claude) [48] “It is commonly said” (for which the Septuagint translated only “it is said”): “If a man dismisses his wife, and she, departing from him, marries another man, will he return to her any more? Will not that woman (or: that land) be polluted and defiled? But you have committed fornication with many lovers (or: shepherds).” For the word “rehim”, which is written with four letters, resh, ayin, yod, mem, signifies both “lovers” and “shepherds”: if we read “rehim”, it sounds “lovers”; if “rohim”, “shepherds”. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:1: quotation, high confidence - Deut 24:1–4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:1a, which echoes the law of Deut 24:1–4. Jerome's text has “woman” where the Hebrew has “land” (he discusses this in the next section). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.48 (Reiter CSEL 59:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-48). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.49 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-49 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: In the Hebrew God invites the unfaithful wife to return after her fornication; in the Septuagint he rebukes her for daring to return; Jerome applies the text to insincere heretics. ### Latin text XLIX. Tamrn rr.urrtcrr ad mc. dicit dominus | siue tt rcurrtebaris ud m<\ dicit dominus. In Hebraeo etiam post fornicationem suscipit paenitentem et hortatur, ut reuertatur ad se; in Septuaginta uero non prouocat ad paeniteu- *> tiam, sed arguit inpudentiam meretricis, quod post adulterium reuerti audeat ad maritum. quodque ait: et contaminata _■ erit mulier illa, pro quo in Hebraico 'terram' legimus. relinquit exempluni et nianifestius de terra loquitur Israliel. 'l»ae adulterae mulieri conparatur. utamur hoc testimonio aduersum eos. qui fidem domini relinquentes et hereticorum erroribus praepediti post raultas fornicationes et deceptionem animarum simulant se reuerti ad pristinam ueritatem. non ut deponant uenena pectoris. sed ut ceteris insinuent. ### English translation (Claude) [49] “Yet return to me, says the Lord” (or: and you were returning to me, says the Lord). In the Hebrew he receives her even after fornication, when she repents, and urges her to return to him; but in the Septuagint he does not call her to repentance, but rebukes the shamelessness of the harlot, in that after adultery she dares to return to her husband. And where he says, “and that woman will be defiled”, for which we read “land” in the Hebrew, he leaves the example and speaks more plainly of the land of Israel, which is compared to an adulterous woman. Let us use this testimony against those who, abandoning the faith of the Lord and entangled in the errors of the heretics, after many fornications and the deceiving of souls, pretend to return to the original truth, not in order to lay aside the poison of their heart, but to insinuate it into others. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:1b. Jerome reads the Hebrew as an invitation (“yet return to me”) and the Septuagint as a reproach. The comparison is between God and Israel, figured as an adulterous wife; Jerome draws no rule for human marriage here. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.49 (Reiter CSEL 59:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-49). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.50 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-50 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem lay in wait for lovers like a desert robber; converts from heresy must look straight ahead to condemn their former error. ### Latin text L. Lena oeuins tuos in directnm et nide, nbi non prnst rn tn sis; in niis sedebas exspectans eos quasi hitru in .-oli fttdinc siue quasi cnmis deserta. Pro 'latrone' et 'cornice' in Hebraeo 'arabe' scriptum est, quod potest et 'Arabas' significare, quae gens larrociniis dedita usque hodie incursat terminos Palestinae et descendentibus de Hie- io rusalem Hierichum obsidet uias, cuius rei ot dominus in euangelio recordatur. "eleua igitur oculos tuos, o Hierusalem, et hue illucque circumspice et uide, ubi non fornicatioue prostrata sis. qiiomodo enim solent latrones ad uesperam et in desertis locis uiatoribus insidias tendere. sic U tu iuxta fornicariam Prouerbioruni sedebas in uiis ad uesperam, ut concubitu tuo aniroas interticeres fornicantium: propter S quod nniuersa terra polluta est in fornicationibus tuis'. 9ignificanterque iuxta ajBftfttyfri his, qui hereticos errores deserere se promittunt, praecipitur. ut leuent oculos in direetum. «tf enini recta uidere coeperint, prauitatem pristiuain damnare non possnnt. ### English translation (Claude) [50] “Lift up your eyes straight ahead and see where you have not been prostituted; you sat in the ways waiting for them like a robber in the wilderness (or: like a crow of the desert).” For “robber” and “crow” the Hebrew has “arabe”, which can also mean “Arabs”, a nation given to robbery which to this day raids the borders of Palestine and besieges the roads of those going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; the Lord too recalls this in the gospel. “Lift up your eyes, then, O Jerusalem, and look round here and there, and see where you have not lain prostrate in fornication. For as robbers are accustomed at evening and in desert places to lay ambushes for travellers, so you, like the harlot of Proverbs, sat in the ways at evening, to kill with your embrace the souls of those committing fornication; because of which the whole land is polluted in your fornications.” And significantly, according to the higher sense, those who promise to abandon heretical errors are commanded to lift their eyes straight ahead; for unless they begin to see what is right, they cannot condemn their former crookedness. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:2: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:30: allusion, high confidence - Prov 7:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:2a; Luke 10:30; Prov 7:12. The Greek word for “higher sense” is garbled in the OCR. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.50 (Reiter CSEL 59:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-50). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.51 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-51 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's idolatry brought drought, and she has a harlot's brazen face; the rebuke fits heretics who glory in their errors. ### Latin text LI. Et pulhnsli — siue inlcrfetisti — terram fornirn tioiiilni.i tuis c t in motis I nis. quamolircin II prohibitac s,,nt stillac pluuiarum el Strdti imber non fuit siue et liabnisti pastores multo, i* Offensionem tui. Interfecta est terra siue polluta propter luterfectionem eorum. qui idololatriae fornicatione perierunt: s unde ablata est omnium rerum benedictio. ut paterentur siccitatem sermonis dei. siue babuit pastores, per quos offenderet P- «8 deum, ut, qui magistri esse debuerant, ut alios ab | errore pro hiberent. auctores impietatis exstiteiiut. UI. Frons mulieris mefetrieie fac/a est tibi, w>i" hiisti ernbeseere. LXX: faeiee merctrieis facta est lil-i. 9*ne rubore facta es ad OOHteg. Quia supra dixerat: non peecaui et magis peccauerat sua seelera denegando, idcirco nunc arguit quasi nmlierem procacem et nimiae inpudentiae. "t non ad unum et alterum procaci uultu feratnr, sed nult> lum erubescat. utamur boc sermone aduersum hereticorum 'Oneiliabulum. qui in suis erroribus gloriantur. ### English translation (Claude) [51] “And you have polluted (or: slain) the land with your fornications and your wickedness; therefore the showers of rain have been withheld, and there has been no late rain (or: and you had many shepherds for your stumbling).” The land was slain or polluted because of the slaughter of those who perished by the fornication of idolatry; hence the blessing of all things was taken away, so that they suffered drought of the word of God. Or it had shepherds through whom it offended God, so that those who ought to have been teachers, to keep others from error, became authors of impiety. [52] “The forehead of a harlot has become yours; you would not blush.” The Septuagint: “The face of a harlot became yours; you became shameless toward all.” Because above she had said, “I have not sinned”, and had sinned the more by denying her crimes, he therefore now rebukes her as a brazen woman of excessive shamelessness, who is carried with brazen face not to one or another, but blushes before no one. Let us use this word against the gathering of the heretics, who glory in their errors. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:2–3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 52 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [51] and [52]. Jer 3:2b–3. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.51 (Reiter CSEL 59:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-51). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.53 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-53 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God invites unfaithful Israel, and heretics, to call him Father and return; refusing such mercy is the greater misery. ### Latin text LIII. Eryo aaltim dmodc xtceo w. jrater meui, diu Mtrginitalis mcac cs tii; ninin/iiid irasccris in perpetunm aut perteuerabit m finriiir Erubescant heretiei, » qui uolnnt ad meliora conuerti nec regredi ad patrem creatoreiti suuni, et audiant: saltim amodo uoca m»: pater meus, dux uirginitatis meae es tu. ipse despondit animam uestram amplexibus suis et docet. quomodo orare debo-ut ^ agere paenitentiam. quanto autem ille clementior, qui salutin » Post fornicationeui ostendit uiam, tanto miserior meretrix, quae «on uult post uulnera recipere sanitatem. ### English translation (Claude) [53] “Therefore at least from now on call me: My father, you are the guide of my virginity. Will you be angry for ever, or will you keep it to the end?” Let the heretics blush who will not be converted to better things nor return to their Father and Creator, and let them hear: “at least from now on call me: My father, you are the guide of my virginity.” He himself betrothed your soul to his embraces and teaches how you ought to pray and do penance. And the more merciful he is, who shows the way of salvation after fornication, the more wretched is the harlot who will not receive health after her wounds. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:4–5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:4–5a. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.53 (Reiter CSEL 59:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-53). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.54 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-22/#p-1-54 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Instead of repenting, Israel spoke proudly and carried out her evil designs against her husband. ### Latin text LIV. Ecce locuta ee d feeitti mala et ftotaietl 'Pro Uerbis paenitentiae uerbis superbiae blasphemasti et inplesti malam eogitationem tuam et ostendisti contra uirum fortitudinem tuam, ut possis facere. quod sermone tractasti.' ### English translation (Claude) [54] “Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, and you were able.” “In place of words of repentance you blasphemed with words of pride, and you fulfilled your evil thought and showed your strength against your husband, so that you could do what you had handled in speech.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:5b. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.54 (Reiter CSEL 59:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-54). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.55 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-55 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:42 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Judah saw God divorce faithless Israel for her idolatry yet did not fear but sinned worse; Jerome applies the warning to heretics and to insincere returns to the church. ### Latin text LV. Et dixit tlominns ad iw in ditbus losiat regisi uumqnid uidisti. quac ftcerii aucrsatrix jtraheli abiit sibimet super omne.in tnontem exeelsum el snbter * omuc liyiiinn ( rnndosu 111 et for iiical n rst H". ,,lX'i eutn fecissrt buec omuia: ad nu cnnnerterc, et non est reuersa. et Uldit piariiarirut rix soror tiut luda, quia pro co, qitod moecbala est ancrsatrix L-rnhi l. dimisissem cum el dedissrm e.i libr/him repnAH; <"'"•' non timuit praeiiaricatrix Inda, soror eius, et abi*i et fornicatu rst ctiam ipsu et fiitililah fornicationi" suae conitiiiiiiiauit terram ct moechatu cst evM '"" pide et liano. > l i n omnibiis liis non cst retterna ad me priieiitiriedtrir soror eiits hulti in hilo cordc siio. 1& :? sed in iiiriidacio, uit tlomiiius. Aliorum tornienta alioniin remedia sunt. cumque punitur homicida, recipit quidem ipse« qnod fecit, sed alii deterrentur a scelere. decem igitur tribubus, quae aplpellabantur Israhel, captis ab Assyriis ilediaui- Abraham et Isaac et Iacob stirpe generatae. et prioreru auersatricem, sequentem praeuarieatriceni uocat. illa enim deum penitns auersata est statim adoratis in Dan et Bethel uitulis aureis, ista autem, apud quam erat templum et ueri dei res Ugio, imitatioue germanae paulatim recessit a domino et id circo praeuaricatrix dicitur. seeundum otvarcvrijv autem de hereticis prophetia est, qui, falsi nominis scientiam dum se arbitrantur heretica subtilitate sectari, ascendunt montem superbiae et carnis huius uoluptatibus deliniti sub omni ligno frondoso et amoeno eiponunt fornicatiouem suam. qui cum tradantur diabolo in interitum carnis, frequenter euenit, ut domus Iuda, id est confessionis et uerae ridei. nequaquam terreatur exemplo, sed multo maiora committat et faciiitate fornicationis suae contaminet terram ecclesiae et moeciietur cum lapide et cum ligno ea seqnens dogmata, quae aduersaria deo sunt. sin autem ecclesiastieus uir corrigere uoluerit errantem et putridas resecare carnes et ad paenitentiam retrahere eos, qui secuti fuerant falsitatem, ac uihilominus illi sub specie ecclesiasticae ueritatis antiquum sequantur errorein, *iici potest de eis: in omnibus his non est reuersa aii irasrar iti perpetnnin. iiermntamrii seiti, iniquitatem tuam, quia iti dominnm deutn praeuaricata i& rs — siue itnpie njisti — tt dispc rsix/i — siue effudisti — nias tmiK alieuis snh ontni liijno frottdoso f / noeein i,,,,i,„ mon attdisti^ ait domiiius. Uerbum Hebraicum 'carath' et 'uoca' sine 'clama' et 'lege' intellegitar, unde Aquila et Syrumachus 'clamita'. LXX et Theodotio 'lege' interpretnti sunt. ad aquilonem autem et contra Babylonem utqne Assyrios sermo dirigitur, ad decem et ad duas tribus, et earuiu reuersio praedicatur. 'et non auertam', inqnit. 'faciem meam a uobis siue non firmabo faciem meam contra uos, ut nequaquam uos austeritate iudicis, sed m :: unltu misericordiae suscipiam. sanctus enim et misericors snm, ut non recorder ultra iniquitatis uestrae nec meminerim, quod a domino recessistis et pro illo uos idola delectarint et fornicatae sitis sub onini ligno umbroso atque frondoso'. quod quidem et ad hereticos uel in ecclesia neglegentes dici s conuenit, qui cotidie per ecclesiasticos uiros ad paenitentiam prouocantur et quibus proprie aptari potest: 'et uocem meam non audistis.' omnis autem hereticus habitat in aquilone et caloreni fidei perdidit nec audire potest illud apostoli: spiritu feruentes et, quia se uoluptatibus tradidit. io recessit a doiuino et dispersit uias suas ahenis dogmatibus et uoluptatem secutus est. nulla enim heresis nisi propter gulam uentremque construitur. ut seducat mulierculas oneratas peccatis semper discentes et nnmquam ad scientiam ueritatis peruenientes,dequibus uere dicitur: qui deuorant ispopulum meum uelut escam panis, et quos Christus notat deuorantes domos uiduarum. 'cumque,' iuquit, 'misertus tui fuero. ue iustum esse te putes. sed semper memento iniquitatis tuae et scito, quia in dominum fornicatus sis, et 8uperbiae colla demitte, nt, qui offendisti per adrogantiam, a> places deum per humilitatem'. illi autem. quod supra dui- «nus: et non firmabo faciem meam super uos. 'ilud propheticum conuenit: auerte faciem tuam a pec- «atis meis et omues iniquitates meas dele. ### English translation (Claude) [56] “And the Lord said to me: Faithless Israel has justified her soul in comparison with treacherous Judah.” “Israel”, he says, “is more righteous in comparison with Judah, because she perished immediately at the beginning, while this one could have been amended by her torments.” Let the new heresy, sprung from the old, note that Israel is said to be justified in comparison with one who is worse. Nor is this surprising of sisters of one nation, since Sodom too receives the name of righteousness by comparison with Jerusalem, as the Lord says through Ezekiel, “Sodom has been justified by you”, and the tax collector becomes righteous in comparison with the Pharisee. [57] “Go and proclaim (or: read) these words toward the north, and say: Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord, and I will not turn away (or: I will not set) my face from you (or: against you), for I am holy (or: merciful), says the Lord, and I will not be angry for ever. Yet know your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God (or: acted impiously), and you have scattered (or: poured out) your ways to strangers under every leafy tree, and you have not heard my voice, says the Lord.” The Hebrew word “carath” is understood both as “call” or “cry” and as “read”; hence Aquila and Symmachus interpreted “cry out”, the Septuagint and Theodotion “read”. The word is directed to the north, against Babylon and the Assyrians, to the ten and to the two tribes, and their return is foretold. “And I will not turn away my face from you”, he says, “or, I will not set my face against you, so as to receive you not with a judge's severity but with a look of mercy. For I am holy and merciful, so that I no longer remember your iniquity nor recall that you withdrew from the Lord, and that idols delighted you in his place, and that you committed fornication under every shady and leafy tree.” This may fittingly be said also to the heretics, or to the negligent in the church, who are daily called to repentance by men of the church, and to whom it can properly be applied: “and you have not heard my voice.” Every heretic lives in the north and has lost the warmth of faith, and cannot hear that saying of the apostle, “fervent in spirit”; and because he has given himself to pleasures, he has withdrawn from the Lord and scattered his ways in foreign doctrines and followed pleasure. For no heresy is built except for the sake of gullet and belly, to lead astray silly women laden with sins, always learning and never arriving at the knowledge of the truth; of whom it is truly said, “who devour my people like a meal of bread”, and whom Christ marks as devouring widows' houses. “And when”, he says, “I have had mercy on you, do not think yourself righteous, but always remember your iniquity, and know that you committed fornication against the Lord, and bow the neck of pride, so that you who offended through arrogance may appease God through humility.” And to what we said above, “and I will not set my face upon you”, the prophetic word fits: “Turn your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:11–13: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:52: quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:14: allusion, high confidence - Rom 12:11: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:6–7: quotation, high confidence - Ps 14:4 (13:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mark 12:40: allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:9 (50:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 57 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [56] and [57]. Jer 3:11–13. Ezek 16:52; Luke 18:14; Rom 12:11; 2 Tim 3:6–7; Ps 14:4; Mark 12:40; Ps 51:9 (LXX 50:11). The “new heresy” is taken to be Pelagianism. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.56 (Reiter CSEL 59:42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-56). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.58 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-58 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:46 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The promise of a remnant brought to Zion, with new shepherds and no more need of the ark, is fulfilled in Christ's coming and the apostles, or at the end in Israel's salvation. ### Latin text LVIII. Conuertimini, filii reuerlcnles — siue UGjfi I-. 861 et recedentcs — . dicit dominus, qnia ei/o uir nester — sine dominabor ucstri — , ct adsumaui UOB, unum de cinitate rt iluns de cogiiatione, rt int rodnea m uo.iii Sion et dabo uobis pastores iurta cor meum, et & paseent uns seientia et dne.trina. cumqne mult iplicdtt fueritisct creueritis in terra in diebns illis, uit dominus, noi, iln i ii I i/ltra: arca /lacti — uel testamrnti — domiiii. nri/iie nseendct supcr rnr. nn/ue rerordabu ntur illius, nec nisitabitiir nec fiet nttra. Iudaei impletum hoc io putant post reuersionera ex Babylone sub Cyro, rege Persanim. et Zorobabel, filio Salatliiel. etiamsi non omnes reuersi sint: hoc significari: adsnmam unnm de ciuitate et duos de cognatione. sed melius in aduentu Christi. quando reliquiae saluae factae sunt dicente et exponente apostolo: is nisi dominus sabaoth nobis reliquisset semen, quasi Sodoma essemus et similes Gomorrae fnissemus. tunc introducti sunt in Sion. de qua scriptum est: gloriosa dicta sunt de te. ciuitas dei. et dati sunt pastores iuxta cor eius. apostoli et apostolici uiri, et pauernnt su credentium multitudinera non in Indaicis caeriuioniis. sed in scientia Christi atque doctrina et in toto orbe praedicatione euangelii seminata. nequaquam in arca domini. quae custos fuit legis Mosaicae, babebunt tiiliiciam, sed ipsi erunt templum dei nec iuxta errantes Nazareos abolitis sacriiiciis inseruient. sed spiritalem cultum sectabuntur. alii uerohocinfineteniporum tBteUegunt, quando subintrante plenitudine gentium omnis Israliel saluus tiet. ### English translation (Claude) [58] “Turn, returning sons (or: and departing), says the Lord, for I am your husband (or: I will rule over you), and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you into Zion; and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the Lord, they will no longer say: The ark of the covenant (or: of the testament) of the Lord; nor will it come up upon the heart, nor will they remember it, nor will it be visited, nor will it be made any more.” The Jews think this was fulfilled after the return from Babylon under Cyrus, king of the Persians, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel; and since not all returned, that this is what is signified by “I will take one from a city and two from a family.” But it is better taken of the coming of Christ, when a remnant was saved, as the apostle says and explains: “Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.” Then they were brought into Zion, of which it is written, “Glorious things are spoken of you, city of God”, and shepherds after his heart were given, the apostles and apostolic men, and they fed the multitude of believers, not in Jewish ceremonies but in the knowledge and doctrine of Christ, sown through the whole world by the preaching of the gospel. They will have no confidence in the ark of the Lord, which was the keeper of the law of Moses, but they themselves will be the temple of God; nor will they, like the erring Nazarenes, serve sacrifices that have been abolished, but will pursue spiritual worship. Others understand this of the end of times, when, after the fullness of the nations has come in, all Israel will be saved. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:14–16: quotation, high confidence - Rom 9:29: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Ps 87:3 (86:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Rom 11:25–26: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:14–16. Rom 9:29 (Isa 1:9); Ps 87:3 (LXX 86:3); 1 Cor 3:16; Rom 11:25–26. The Nazarenes are Jewish Christians who kept the law; Jerome's polemical description is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.58 (Reiter CSEL 59:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-58). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.59 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-59 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem as the Lord's throne is the church gathering all nations; the reunion of Judah and Israel is fulfilled when Jews of all the tribes believe the gospel. ### Latin text LIX. Tn tempore i/lo uocabant Eiertisnlcni »6litim dotnini, /•/ roHtjrctjiilnuttnr arl eam omnes gente* in ttomine domini in Bieruialem et non ambuUibnnt po»i fruuitate.ni rordis sni pessimi. Nequaquam dominus sedehit super arcam testamenti et cherubim, cui prius ab ilk I0popuIo dicebatur: qni sedes super cherubim, manifestare, sed omnes perfecta uiente credentes emnt thronus dei. uel certe melius totum de ecclesia intellegendum, quando i eongregantur onines gentes in nomine domini in Hierusalem. iii quu est uisio pacis, et neqiiaquam ambulant post prauitacordis sui pessimi, ut faciant, quae desiderant, nec suos sequuntui- errores, sed dicunt cum propheta: adhaesit aniraa Is lnea P08* *e. snscepit m« deitera tua. «X, In diebus itiis il/it rlonui- Imla ad domuin ^ ^ Ixrahrl, , / n, nicnl siimil dc tcrrn aijnilonis oil ler- - *• ram, quam dedi patribus nestri*. Hoc | proprie in Christi conpletur aduentu. quando de duodecim simul tribiibus euangelio crediderunt relinquentes terram aquilonis diirissimi Wgoris et a diaboli imperio recedentes tunc recepenint terram repromissionis, quam pollicitus fuerat patribus eorum, rj Abraham. Isaac et lacob. edidi nuper pariium libellum de terra 'epromissionis. ### English translation (Claude) [59] “At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all the nations will be gathered to it in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem, and they will no longer walk after the depravity of their most wicked heart.” The Lord will no longer sit upon the ark of the covenant and the cherubim, to whom it was formerly said by that people, “You who sit upon the cherubim, appear”, but all who believe with a perfect mind will be the throne of God. Or certainly, better, the whole is to be understood of the church, when all nations are gathered in the name of the Lord in Jerusalem, in which is the vision of peace, and they no longer walk after the depravity of their most wicked heart, to do what they desire, nor follow their own errors, but say with the prophet: “My soul has clung after you; your right hand has upheld me.” [60] “In those days the house of Judah will go to the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers.” This is properly fulfilled in the coming of Christ, when men of the twelve tribes together believed the gospel, leaving the land of the north and of the hardest cold, and withdrawing from the devil's rule; then they received the land of promise, which he had promised to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I recently published a little book on the land of promise. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:17–18: quotation, high confidence - Ps 80:1 (79:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Jerome, Ep. 129 (Letters): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 60 is garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [59] and [60]. Jer 3:17–18. Ps 80:1 (LXX 79:2); Ps 63:8 (LXX 62:9). The “little book” is Jerome's Letter 129, to Dardanus, on the land of promise. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.59 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-59). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.61 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-61 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God's promise to make Israel his sons and give them a glorious inheritance is fulfilled in Christ, who gives believers from all nations power to become God's children. ### Latin text LXI. Etjo aiilcm i/iui: quomodo siue iionnm lc in filiia et tribiiaui tibi lerrum dfsidcralii lein, hereditatem praecla rum exercit nunt tjeitlin m! el di.ri: trem uoeahis me et post me inijrcdi iion resstilii*. Pro 'hereilitate praeclara exercituum gentium', quam Septua- & ginta transtulerunt: hereditatem nominatam dei omnipotentis gentium. Theodotion significantius transtulit: hereditatem inclytam fortitudinis robustissimi gentium Christum signiticans. qui ductor et dominus est uniuersarum gentium suo nomini passionique credentium. ipse io dixit ad Israhel: patrem uocabis me, et: qui credit in me, credit in patrem. ipse pollicitus est: 'ponam te in filii3, in numero scilicet tiliorum meorum, qui mihi de gentium populo crediderunt et quibus dedi terram desiderabilem'. quotquot enim receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem, ut filii dei fiant. ### English translation (Claude) [61] “But I said: How (or: Let it be) I will set you among the sons and give you a desirable land, the glorious inheritance of the hosts of the nations! And I said: You will call me Father, and you will not cease to walk after me.” For “the glorious inheritance of the hosts of the nations”, which the Septuagint translated “the named inheritance of God almighty of the nations”, Theodotion translated more expressively “the renowned inheritance of the mightiest strength of the nations”, signifying Christ, who is the leader and Lord of all the nations that believe in his name and passion. He himself said to Israel, “You will call me Father”, and, “Whoever believes in me believes in the Father.” He himself promised: “I will set you among the sons”, that is, in the number of my sons who have believed in me from the people of the nations, “and to whom I have given a desirable land.” “For as many as received him, he gave them power to become children of God.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:19: quotation, high confidence - John 12:44: quotation, high confidence - John 1:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:19; John 12:44; John 1:12. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.61 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-61). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.62 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-62 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel despised the Lord as a woman despises a lover who has become the slave of her lust. ### Latin text LXII. Sed quomodn si rmitemnrit iiiulier timutorem auum. tie rontrmsit mc domn.s Isnihcl. dicil t/omiiitts. Christi uox est iuxta populum Iudaeorum, cui dixerat: ponam te in filios et dabo tibi terram desiderabileiu, et patrem uocabis me et post me ingredi non ces- •j sabis. 'quomodo,' inquit, 'raulier contemnit uon uirum. sed amatorem, si semel commiita fuerit cernens illum suae libidini seruientem et in se niutatam legern esse naturae, per quam uiro quondam subiecta fuerat dicente doiuino: et ad U! te conuersio eius. sic domus Israhel, hoc est populus Iudaeorum, contemsit dominum saluatorem in perniciem snam. ### English translation (Claude) [62] “But as a woman despises her lover, so the house of Israel has despised me, says the Lord.” This is the voice of Christ concerning the people of the Jews, to whom he had said: “I will set you among the sons and give you a desirable land, and you will call me Father, and you will not cease to walk after me.” “As”, he says, “a woman despises not her husband but her lover, once she has been joined to him, seeing him enslaved to her lust and the law of nature reversed in her favour, by which she had once been subject to her husband, as the Lord says: ‘and your turning shall be to him’; so the house of Israel, that is, the people of the Jews, despised the Lord the Saviour, to its own ruin.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:20: quotation, high confidence - Gen 3:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:20; Gen 3:16. The reading of the verse as Christ's voice against “the people of the Jews” is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.62 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-62). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.63 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-63 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God gladly receives the penitent like the prodigal's father, though our return, while willed by us, needs his drawing and help to save us. ### Latin text LXIII. TJox in uiis — siue in lnbiis — auilitu rsl. t plnratiis rt uiulatiis fiiiorum Isrulirl, 1/1101110111 iniouam feeerunt niam suam, obliti sunt ilouiini dei sui. conuertimini, filii reuertentes, et sanaho auersiones — siue contritionea — uestras, pro quo Symmachus transtnlit conuersioncs. Libenter deus suscipit paenitentes et occurrit filio inopia et sqnalore confecto statimque induit pristinis uestibus et reddit gloriam reuertenti ita dumtaxat, ut reuertatur in ploratu et ululatn. suo enim nitio fecit I'. 863 ini|quam uiam suam et oblitus est doniini dei et patris sui. ad quos prophetalis sermo nunc loquitur: conuertimini. filii reuertentes. 'quos idcirco filios uoco. quia intellectis peccatis uestris in ploratu atque ululatu reuertimini ad parentem. cumque uos'. ait. 'reuersi fueritis ad doniinura. sanabit omnes contritiones uestras siue auersiones, quibus a domino recesseratis. uel certe conuersiones'. quamuis enim propiia »J uoluutate ad dominum reueitamur. tamen. nisi ille nos traxerit et cupiditatem nostram suo roborauerit proesidio, salui esse non poterimus. intelle<*amus hoc et de Iiidaeorum populo ad dominum reuertent* et de hereticis. qtii dominum reliquerunt. ### English translation (Claude) [63] “A voice was heard on the ways (or: on the lips), the weeping and wailing of the sons of Israel, because they have made their way wicked; they have forgotten the Lord their God. Turn, returning sons, and I will heal your turnings away (or: your breakings)”; for which Symmachus translated “your turnings back”. God gladly receives those who repent, runs to meet the son worn out with want and filth, at once clothes him in his former garments and restores glory to the one who returns, provided only that he returns with weeping and wailing. For by his own fault he made his way wicked and forgot the Lord his God and Father. To them the prophetic word now speaks: “Turn, returning sons.” “I call you sons because, having understood your sins, you return to your parent with weeping and wailing. And when”, he says, “you have returned to the Lord, he will heal all your breakings, or your turnings away, by which you had withdrawn from the Lord, or indeed your turnings back.” For although we return to the Lord by our own will, yet unless he draws us and strengthens our desire with his help, we will not be able to be saved. Let us understand this both of the people of the Jews returning to the Lord and of the heretics who have left the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 3:21–22: quotation, high confidence - Luke 15:20–22: allusion, high confidence - John 6:44: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:21–22a; Luke 15:20–22; John 6:44. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.63 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-63). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.64 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-64 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The penitent abandons the proud high places and confesses that salvation is in God alone. ### Latin text LXIV. F.rrr nos iienimus ati tr; tn rnim rs •lominus ift deus noster. uere mendaces crant roltr.i et muliitudo — siue fnrt itmlo — nnintiii m. uere i n iloinino dto noslro salns Jsrahrl. Dicut hoc paenitens et omnem supeibiam deielinquens et multitndinem siue altitudinem inontinm et collium, per quam superbiebat contra detim, et humilitate prostratus loquatur: tiere in domino deo nostro salus Israhel. ### English translation (Claude) [64] “Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Truly the hills were lies, and the multitude (or: strength) of the mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” Let the penitent say this, abandoning all pride and the multitude or height of the mountains and hills by which he was proud against God, and laid low in humility let him say: “truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:22–23: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:22b–23. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.64 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-64). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.65 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-65 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The shame of repentance overwhelms all the labours of heretics and those they deceived. ### Latin text LXV. Ganfuato comedit labartm patrum nosirirum ab aditlescent ia ntistro, oreyes eormit et aimentn eo- s rum, filios et filias eorinn. Oiunes hereticoruni labores. de quibns scriptum est: defecerunt scrutantes scrutinio. ab adulescentia eorum. quos deceperant. tilios et 61ias eorum, qui in heresi profecerant uel tantum luxuria tenehautiu. oppressit nostra confusio. unde inferunt: ### English translation (Claude) [65] “Shame has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.” Our shame has overwhelmed all the labours of the heretics, of which it is written, “they failed searching with searching”, from the youth of those whom they had deceived, their sons and daughters, who had advanced in heresy or were held only by luxury. Hence they add: ### Scripture references - Jer 3:24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 64:6 (63:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 3:24; Ps 64:6 (LXX 63:7). The sentence runs on into the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.65 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-65). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.66 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-66 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Confessing sin is part of salvation; Israel's full return means believing in the Christ it rejected. ### Latin text LXVI. Dormiemtis in confnsinne nostra et opernl nos iffaotninia no.stra, onniiiam deo nosiro pcciainmus nos et palres Hoatri ol> aduiescentia hostra »•"•*ijnr. nil hanr di«m et non atidi nimtts ttocem domini dr/ nnsiri. Hoc loquatur Israhel. qni suum dominum non awdiait. hoc omnis hereticus. qui agit paenitentiam ; et tamen pars salutis est sua eonfiteri et nosse peccata. 'dic' inquit, 'tn prius iniquitates tuas, ut iustif iceris'. uere enim lsrahel dimisit Cliristum dominum deum suum et in eo peccauit non soluni illo tempore. quando est uisus in carne, sed et ante aduenturu » illius. unde dicuut: 'no s e t pat res n os tr i ab adulesc enti nostrausquead hancdiemetnon audinimnsuocem dei nostri, qui nostris patribus loquebatur: si crederetis Mosi, crederetis et mihi: de me enim ille scripstt- •*» 1» LXVIL Si reuerteris. Itrahel, ait dominus, ad me,9 connertere. pro quo Septuaginta traustule|rnnt: $1 ronntr- MW fnerit Israhcl, dir.it domiuus, ud mc, coniiertctn r. Et est sensus: 'si ad me fuerit reuersus, reuertetur de captiuitate'. Biue aliter: 'cum optulerit. quod habet*. qui eniru l>abet. dabitur ei; qui autem non liabet, etiam id. squod habere uidetur, auferetur ab eo. porro iuita Hebraicum hic sensus est: «si reuerteris ad me. Israhel. et seniel salutem desideras et peccasse te dicis et uocem domini tm nou audisse, plene couuertere; crede, quem negasti, et tuuc erit plena conuersio'. ### English translation (Claude) [66] “We shall sleep in our shame, and our disgrace will cover us, because we have sinned against our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not heard the voice of the Lord our God.” Let Israel say this, which did not hear its Lord; let every heretic who does penance say this; and yet it is part of salvation to confess and know one's sins. “Tell your iniquities first”, he says, “that you may be justified.” For Israel truly sent away Christ, the Lord its God, and sinned against him, not only at that time when he was seen in the flesh, but also before his coming. Hence they say: “we and our fathers from our youth even to this day, and we have not heard the voice of our God”, who spoke to our fathers: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me also; for he wrote of me.” [67] “If you return, Israel, says the Lord, to me, return”; for which the Septuagint translated: “If Israel returns, says the Lord, to me, he shall return.” And the sense is: “If he returns to me, he will return from captivity”; or otherwise: “when he offers what he has.” For to him who has it will be given; but from him who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away. Further, according to the Hebrew the sense is this: “If you return to me, Israel, and once desire salvation, and say that you have sinned and have not heard the voice of your Lord, turn fully: believe in him whom you denied, and then there will be full conversion.” ### Scripture references - Jer 3:25–4:1: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:26: quotation, high confidence - John 5:46: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 67 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [66] and [67]. Jer 3:25–4:1a. “Tell your iniquities first”: Isa 43:26 in the Septuagint form; John 5:46; Matt 13:12 (also 25:29). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.66 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-66). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.68 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-68 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: When we waver, it is not from weakness of nature but because we set up idols against God. ### Latin text LXVIII. 5» abatuleris off.ndiealn tua q faefo ,„,„, Hon commoueberis. Quaudo ergo mouemur et dicimus: ™ei autem paeue moti sunt pedes. non imbecillitate naturae hoc patimur, sed quia ponimus offendicula et idola ^ nostra contra dominum. ### English translation (Claude) [68] “If you take away your stumbling-blocks from my face, you will not be moved.” So when we are moved and say, “But my feet were almost moved”, we suffer this not by weakness of nature, but because we set up our stumbling-blocks and idols against the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:1b; Ps 73:2 (LXX 72:2). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.68 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-68). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.69 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-69 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Swearing by the living Lord here means confessing him against idols; a true oath needs truth, judgment and righteousness. ### Latin text LXIX. Li iur-abis: uiuit dotttinua in ueritate vt in io et iu institiii, et /iciicdieeut einii ijentes ipsiiin- >i"' liiudiilin nt. Et quomodo euangelium iurare nos prohibetr' sed hic 'iurabis' pro confessione dicitur et ad condemuationem idolorum, per quae iurabat Israbel. denique auferuiitur *' otleiidicula et iurat per domiiiuui. quodque dicitur: uiuit doruiniis. ia testamento ueteri iusiurandum est ad condemnationem mortuorum, per quos iurat omnis idololatria simulque animaduertendum, quod iusiuraiiiiurn hos habeat couites: ueritatem. iudicium atque iustitiaiu; si ista deftierint. nequaquam erit iurameutum, sed periurinm. 'cumque,' ait, 'et "oc fecerit Israhel et per apostolos rnagister fuerit gentium, tuiic benedicent siue benedicentur in eo omnes gentes et ipsum laudabunt, quod salus processerit es Israhel'. ### English translation (Claude) [69] “And you will swear: The Lord lives, in truth and in judgment and in righteousness; and the nations will bless him and will praise him.” And how does the gospel forbid us to swear? But here “you will swear” is said for confession and for the condemnation of the idols by which Israel swore. In short, the stumbling-blocks are taken away and he swears by the Lord. And as for the saying “the Lord lives”: in the Old Testament the oath serves to condemn the dead, by whom all idolatry swears. At the same time it should be noted that an oath has these companions: truth, judgment and righteousness; if these are lacking, it will not be an oath but perjury. “And when”, he says, “Israel has done this too, and through the apostles has been the teacher of the nations, then all the nations will bless, or be blessed, in him and will praise him, because salvation has come forth from Israel.” ### Scripture references - Jer 4:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:34: allusion, high confidence - John 4:22: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:2; Matt 5:34; John 4:22. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.69 (Reiter CSEL 59:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-69). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.70 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-70 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:52 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Judah must clear the thorns from its heart and be circumcised inwardly; the church must take refuge in Christ against the heretics, and the lion from the north is the devil. ### Latin text LXX. Hner euiu/ diiil dnminn* nir» Iuda et Hir- rttittlem: noitate uohis ttffUafe et nolite sercre super spii/a.<; ci n- U m ei il li m ini doniino et nuferte. prae putia cordiitni ucstroru u>. itiri Iudn et habitatores Hier iisalem. ne fortc egrediatitr >i I ///'/> iudignatio mea et siteceiidut nr ei non sit, qui extiniiuat projiter fnalitiam cogitationii m — siu* adinuentioniiin — nestraruni. Pro eo, quod nos diximus: circumcidimini domino et aufertepraeputium cordium uestrorum, Symmachus posuit: purificamini u domino et auferte malitias cordium uestrornm circumcisionem emundationem et praeputia uitium intellegens. hoc autem praecipitur uiris Iuda et Hierusalem, qui ueram gectantur fidem et habitant in ecclesia, ut non seminent super spinas. quas euangelicus sermo significat. quae suffoceut se- i !• >(•■' mentem | dei, sed prius nouale faciant et omnes suflodiant uepres sentesque auferant. ut munda semina munda arua s suscipiant. hoc est. quod in alio loco dicitur: ne miseritis margaritas uestras ante porcos et ne detis sanetum canibus. quoraodo enim potest dei audire sermonem ! et concipere semina et fructum facere, cuius animus aernnmis mundi plenus est? quodque sequitur: circumcidimini doniino et auferte praeputia cordium uestrornro, nulli »Iii praecipitur nisi uiro luda et hubitatori Hieru«alem. ut deserant occidentem litteram et sequantur spiritum uiuiticantem. "si enim hoc', inquit, 'non feceritis, egredietur ut ignis indignatio mea et succendetur et non erit qui exstinguat. ideo autem monet et ante praedicit, ne facere conpellatur: quod et in Nineuitis probamus, quibus praedicta sententia est, ut inminentem furorem paenitentia declinarent. omnia autem haec mala uenient propter malitiam cogitationum siue adinuentionum uestrarum. ubi sunt, qui in cogitationibus dicunt non esse peccatum, cum omnia uitia iuxta euangelicam ueritatem de corde procedant? LXXI. Adnuntiate in Iuda et auditum facite, loquimini: canite tuba in terra, clamate fortiter et dicite: congregamini et ingrediamur ciuitates munitas. Hoc audiat Iuda, hoc Hierusalem, in qua confessio fidei est et in qua pax Christi habitat et cui per Isaiam dictum est: in montem excelsum ascende, tu qui euangelizas Sion; eleua uocem tuam, qui euangelizas Hierusalem. clamet fortiter et ita praecipiat: ingrediamur ciuitates munitas. hereticorum bella consurgunt: Christi munimenta nos teneant. leuate crucis signum in specula, sublimitate ecclesiae. confortamini, qui timetis, nolite stare, sed ad Christi auxilium currite. malum, inquit, ego adduco ab aquilone et contritionem magnam, uerum Nabuchodonosor, qui idcirco in mundo isto a me esse permittitur, ut uestra fortitudo et uictoria conprobetur. LXXII. Asevndit teo (lv •■ithili sno ei prae&o »timn sc lenanit; rijressns est ite loco sno. nt ponut terrnm (riam insoHtwdinem' ciuitates tuaetiasfn* httittnr l ema nen tvs- absqne hrtbi tatore. Iste est. Ul .liximus, nems Nabuchodonosor, de qno et Petros loquitur. » aduersarius noster diabolns quasi leo rugiens eir- : ■?<;■■• 2 .-umit. ascendit antem nel de abyssis, in qnofl relijfanoiis est et, ne mittatur, exorat. et praedo siue lrastator gentiuni se leuauit, de quo dicturn est: omnium inimicorum suorum dominabitur, et qui gloriatur in conspectu domini: circumini omnem terram et conculcaui eam. quis est enim, quem diaboli nenena non tangant oiSi ille soltis, qul potest dicere: ecce uenit princeps mundi istins et inuenit in me nihil? iste crobro ponit omnem terrani eeclesiae in solitndinem. ut egressi de ecclesia pugnent eontm eccleaiam, de qnibus loqnitur et Iobannes euangeKsta: ex nobis exierunt. sed non fuerunt ex nobis; si enini fuissent ex nobis, niansissent utique nobiscumciuitates uastantur terrae Indaeae et hereticorum rlorent conciliabula: si quis er^o fantor est auctonim peruersorum dogma- * tnm, de hoc dici potest: ascendit leo de cnbili suo et praedo gentinm se leuauit. et reliqua. ### English translation (Claude) [70] “For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow upon thorns. Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest perhaps my indignation go forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts (or: devices).” For what we said, “Be circumcised to the Lord and take away the foreskin of your hearts”, Symmachus put: “Be purified to the Lord and take away the wickednesses of your hearts”, understanding circumcision as cleansing and foreskins as vice. This is commanded to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, who follow the true faith and dwell in the church: not to sow upon thorns, which the gospel word signifies, which choke God's seed, but first to break up the fallow ground, dig up all the briars and remove the thorns, so that clean fields may receive clean seed. This is what is said in another place: “Do not throw your pearls before swine, and do not give what is holy to dogs.” For how can one hear God's word, conceive the seed and bear fruit whose mind is full of the cares of the world? And what follows, “Be circumcised to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your hearts”, is commanded to no one except the man of Judah and the inhabitant of Jerusalem, that they should abandon the letter that kills and follow the Spirit that gives life. “For if you do not do this”, he says, “my indignation will go forth like fire and will burn, and there will be none to quench it.” He warns and foretells for this reason, so that he may not be compelled to act; which we see proved in the Ninevites too, to whom the sentence was foretold so that by repentance they might turn aside the impending wrath. All these evils will come because of the wickedness of your thoughts, or devices. Where are those who say that there is no sin in thoughts, since, according to the gospel truth, all vices proceed from the heart? [71] “Announce in Judah and make it heard; speak: Sound the trumpet in the land, cry aloud, and say: Gather together, and let us go into the fortified cities.” Let Judah hear this, let Jerusalem hear it, in which is the confession of faith and in which the peace of Christ dwells, and to which it was said through Isaiah: “Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice, you who bring good news to Jerusalem.” Let him cry aloud and command thus: “Let us go into the fortified cities.” The wars of the heretics are rising: let the fortifications of Christ hold us. Raise the sign of the cross on the watchtower, on the height of the church. Take courage, you who fear; do not stand still, but run to Christ's help. “I bring evil”, he says, “from the north, and great destruction”, the true Nebuchadnezzar, who is permitted by me to be in this world for this reason, that your strength and victory may be proved. [72] “The lion has gone up from his lair, and the plunderer of the nations has raised himself up; he has gone out from his place to make your land a wilderness; your cities will be laid waste, left without inhabitant.” This, as we said, is the true Nebuchadnezzar, of whom Peter too speaks: “Our adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion.” He goes up either from the abyss, in which he is bound and begs not to be sent; and the plunderer or ravager of the nations has raised himself up, of whom it was said: “He will rule over all his enemies”, and who boasts in the sight of the Lord: “I have gone round all the earth and trodden it down.” For who is there whom the devil's poisons do not touch, except him alone who can say, “Behold, the prince of this world comes and finds nothing in me”? He often makes the whole land of the church a wilderness, so that those who have gone out from the church fight against the church; of whom John the evangelist too speaks: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would surely have remained with us.” The cities of the land of Judea are laid waste and the gatherings of the heretics flourish. If anyone, then, is a supporter of the authors of perverse doctrines, it can be said of him: “The lion has gone up from his lair, and the plunderer of the nations has raised himself up”, and the rest. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:3–7: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:7: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:22: allusion, high confidence - Matt 7:6: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:6: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 3:4–10: allusion, high confidence - Matt 15:19: allusion, high confidence - Isa 40:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Luke 8:31: allusion, high confidence - Ps 10:5 (9:26 Vulg.): quotation, medium confidence - Job 1:7: quotation, high confidence - Job 2:2: quotation, high confidence - John 14:30: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds three of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [70], [71] and [72]. The OCR loses the text from the end of the comment on Jer 4:4 through chapter 71 (Jer 4:5–6); it is supplied from PL 24 (Vallarsi) as a logged correction. Jer 4:3–7. Matt 13:7, 22; Matt 7:6; 2 Cor 3:6; the Ninevites, Jonah 3; Matt 15:19; Isa 40:9; 1 Pet 5:8; Luke 8:31; Ps 10:5 (Vulgate 9:26); Job 1:7 and 2:2; John 14:30; 1 John 2:19. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.70 (Reiter CSEL 59:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-70). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.73 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-73 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:52 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Only penance in mind and deed can protect the church from the lion that ravages it. ### Latin text LXXIH. Super hoc accingife hos eilieii». plavgiU et nhttate, <\itia non est anersa ira fvrorf* •lowini n tCobi* siue, ut LXX tianstulerunt, a * Aliter leonem et saeuissimaui bestiam uitare non pos*um»i*. nisi agamus paenitentiam et ad dominum conuertiimur non solum mente. sed et opere. qnamdiu enim ille uastat eoelesiam et terram luda, Hierusalem qnoque populatur. dei ira perspicua est. ### English translation (Claude) [73] “For this gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us” (or, as the Septuagint translated, “from you”). Otherwise we cannot escape the lion and most savage beast, unless we do penance and turn to the Lord not only in mind but also in deed. For as long as he lays waste the church and the land of Judah, and ravages Jerusalem too, God's anger is evident. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:8. The words “from you” at the end of the lemma are damaged in the OCR; read from PL 24. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.73 (Reiter CSEL 59:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-73). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.74 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-74 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: When God's anger remains on a ravaged church, king, princes, priests and prophets alike are struck helpless. ### Latin text LXXIV. Et erit in di* il/n. dirit dominto*: peribit cor retfis ct eor pri ncipnm rt obstupcscent sacerdotes et prophetat ronsli rnnbiiiittt r. Uastante praedone ecclesiam domini et ira contra nos domini permanente omne auxilium inutile erit. peribit cor regis. cuius debet esse cor in manu dei, et cor principum. qui putabantur esse sapientes: stultam enim fecit deus sapientiam nmndi, quia per illam non cognouerunt deum. ipsi qnoque sacerdotes. qni legem domini docere deberent et subiectos sibi populos a Ieonis furore defeudere. quodam stupore '4 infatuati uertentnr in amentiam — sic enim Septuaginta transtulerunt pro 'stupore' 'excessum mentis' exprimentes et prophetae consternabuntnr siue. ut Aquila transtulit uerbnm Hebraicum "iethmau\ ameutes erunt. lois enim uon insaniat. non perdat COK, quundo principes et ffi reges et sacerdotes et prophetas qiiomiain suos sub leoue •-'onspexerit? ### English translation (Claude) [74] “And it will be in that day, says the Lord, the heart of the king will perish, and the heart of the princes, and the priests will be astonished, and the prophets will be dismayed.” When the plunderer lays waste the Lord's church and the Lord's anger against us remains, all help will be useless. The heart of the king will perish, whose heart ought to be in the hand of God, and the heart of the princes, who were thought to be wise; for God has made foolish the wisdom of the world, because through it they did not know God. The priests too, who ought to teach the Lord's law and defend the peoples subject to them from the lion's fury, will be made foolish by a kind of stupor and turned to madness (for so the Septuagint translated, expressing “stupor” as “ecstasy of mind”), and the prophets will be dismayed, or, as Aquila translated the Hebrew word “iethmau”, will be out of their minds. For who would not go mad, would not lose heart, when he sees his princes and kings and priests and the prophets of former times under the lion? ### Scripture references - Jer 4:9: quotation, high confidence - Prov 21:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:20–21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:9; Prov 21:1; 1 Cor 1:20–21. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.74 (Reiter CSEL 59:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-74). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.75 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-75 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jeremiah is perplexed that God promised peace yet sends the sword; the burning wind and the swift Babylonian army stand for judgment on Judah and for the devil's attacks on the church. ### Latin text LXXV. Et dixi: hni, hen. >/ o m i n <■■ deus — pro quo LXX transtulerunt: o domine deus — , ergone decepisti populum istum et Hierusalem dicens: pax erit uobis? et ecce peruenit gladius usque ad animam. Quia supra dixerat: in illo tempore uocabunt Hierusalem solium dei et congregabuntur ad eara omnes gentes in nomine domini in Hierusalem. et nunc dicit: peribit cor regis et cor principnm et obstupescent sacerdotes et prophetae consternabuntur, turbatur proplieta et in se deum putat esse mentitum nec intellegit illud multa po3t tempora repromissum. lioc autera uicino futurum tempore. iuita quod et apostolus loquitur: numquid reppnlit deus populum suum? absit. peruenit autem usque ad animam gladius. quando nihil uitale in anima reseruatur. simnlque et lioc ostendit, u quod nisi gladius praecesserit, qui desecet et purget aniraae uitia. pax et proraissio non sequatur. 4.11. lia LXXVI. In tempore illo dicetnr populo huic et Hiernnalem: neutun urcns — siue (er)rori* — *M uiis. i/ufir tiiint in dcscrto, uine filiae pupiih >»e' non ad uentiln ndntn el pu rtja ndn m. tpirilns plenus ex hi.i uriiiet mihi. Quando peruenerit gladius usque ad aniraam et fueiit area consummata, tunc uentus urens neniet de deserto. qui non eam purget et uentilet. ut paleis huc illucque dispersis frumentum in horrea recondatur. sed spiritus plenus nequaquam populo, sed mihi ueniet. ut meum triticum dissipetur. 'uentus' et 'spiritus* eodem apud Hebraeos appellantur nomine 'ruha' et pro locorum qualitate uel 'uentum' uel 'spiritum' debemu3 accipere. alii hunc locum sic edisserunt, ut, postquam purgata fuerit area, reliquiae saluae fiant. unde et scriptum sit: spiritus plenitudinis ueniet mihi, dicente euangelista: omnes ex plenitudine eius accepimus, et spiritus sancti gratiam sortiemur. uentum autem urentem iuxta historiam accipe Nabuchodonosor, qui uniuersa consumat, iuxta tropologiam aduersariam potestatem, quae ueniens de deserto et de solitudine, ubi nullum hospitium dei est, ecclesiam eius conetur euertere. LXXVII. Et nunc ego loquar iudicia mea cum eis. ἀποσιώπησις est iuxta illud Uergilianum: quos ego — sed motos praestat conponere fluctus. dicturus itaque prospera retinet se et tristibus iungit tristia. haec enim sunt iudicia, quae cum populo quondam suo loquitur deus, ut sciant se iuste sustinere quae sustinent. LXXVIII. Ecce quasi nubes ascendet et quasi tempestas currus eius; uelociores aquilis equi illius. uae nobis, quoniam uastati sumus. Uentura cernit praesentia et Babylonium describit exercitum, cuius curruum rotarumque strepitus tempestati saeuissimae conparatur et equorum uelocitas aquilis iungitur. quod cum propheta dixisset et quasi uenientes hostes digito demonstrasset, populus ingemescit et nequaquam futura, sed facta iam sentit dicens: uae nobis, quoniam uastati sumus. haec idem refertur ad ecclesiam, quod cotidie ueri Nabuchodonosor nos inpugnet exercitus et currus Pharaonis omnisque eius equitatu* aquilarum impetum superet. quod si intellegat uir ecclesiasticus credens illi sententiae: 'cuin conuersus ingennieris. tunc saluus eris', dicet: uae nobis. quoniam uastati snmus! ### English translation (Claude) [75] “And I said: Alas, alas, alas, Lord God” (for which the Septuagint translated: “O Lord God”), “have you then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You will have peace? And behold, the sword has reached even to the soul.” Because he had said above, “At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of God, and all nations will be gathered to it in the name of the Lord in Jerusalem”, and now he says, “the heart of the king will perish, and the heart of the princes, and the priests will be astonished and the prophets dismayed”, the prophet is troubled and thinks that God has lied to him, and does not understand that the one thing was promised for many ages later, while this would come in the near future, according to what the apostle too says: “Has God rejected his people? By no means.” The sword reaches to the soul when nothing living is preserved in the soul. And at the same time he shows this too: that unless the sword goes first, to cut away and purge the vices of the soul, peace and the promise do not follow. [76] “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A burning wind (or: of error) in the ways that are in the desert, of the daughter of my people, not for winnowing and not for cleansing; a full wind will come to me from these.” When the sword has reached to the soul and the threshing floor has been finished, then a burning wind will come from the desert, not to cleanse and winnow it, so that, the chaff being scattered here and there, the wheat may be stored in the barns; but a full wind will come, not to the people but to me, so that my wheat may be scattered. “Wind” and “spirit” are called by the same name among the Hebrews, “ruha”, and according to the nature of the passage we should take it as either “wind” or “spirit”. Others expound this place thus: that after the threshing floor has been cleansed, a remnant is saved; hence it is also written, “a spirit of fullness will come to me”, as the evangelist says, “From his fullness we have all received”, and we shall obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit. According to the historical sense, take the burning wind to be Nebuchadnezzar, who consumes everything; according to the figurative sense, the hostile power, which, coming from the desert and the wilderness, where there is no lodging of God, tries to overthrow his church. [77] “And now I will speak my judgments with them.” This is an aposiopesis, like the line of Virgil: “Whom I … but it is better to calm the troubled waves.” So, about to speak of prosperous things, he checks himself and joins sad things to sad. For these are the judgments which God speaks with his former people, so that they may know that they justly suffer what they suffer. [78] “Behold, he will come up like clouds, and his chariots like a tempest; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are laid waste.” He sees things to come as present, and describes the Babylonian army, the noise of whose chariots and wheels is compared to a most savage tempest, and the swiftness of whose horses is joined to eagles. When the prophet had said this and, as it were, pointed with his finger at the enemies coming, the people groans and feels the things not as future but as already done, saying: “Woe to us, for we are laid waste.” The same is referred to the church: that daily the army of the true Nebuchadnezzar attacks us, and the chariots of Pharaoh and all his cavalry outrun the onrush of eagles. If the man of the church understands this, believing that saying, “When you have turned and groaned, then you will be saved”, he will say: “Woe to us, for we are laid waste.” ### Scripture references - Jer 4:10–13: quotation, high confidence - Jer 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:1: quotation, high confidence - John 1:16: quotation, high confidence - Isa 30:15: quotation, medium confidence - Exod 14:9: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Aen. 1.135 (Virgil): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds four of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [75] to [78]. The OCR has lost part of the lemma of chapter 75 and the text from the end of chapter 76 through most of chapter 78; both are supplied from PL 24 (Vallarsi) as logged corrections. Jer 4:10–13; Jer 3:17; Rom 11:1; John 1:16. The Virgil line is Aeneid 1.135. “When you have turned and groaned, then you will be saved” is Isa 30:15 in the Septuagint form. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.75 (Reiter CSEL 59:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-75). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.79 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-79 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God calls Jerusalem to wash its heart with the water of baptism and repentance and to be rid of wicked thoughts. ### Latin text LXXIX. Laua n malilia ror tnnm, II ir f " *«lr "'■ "' salna fins: n sqaequ o morabn /*/ ur in tr coijitatione» noxine? Diceuti populo: uae nobis, nastati sumus. respondet proplieta. iramo per prophetam deus: laua a nialitia cor tuum, Hierusalem, illa aqna, de qna et Isaias "» loquitur: lauamini. mundi estote, aqua baptismi salutans. aqua paenitentiae. ad metropolim antem loquitur Iudaeorum. nt per urbem intellegantur popnli: 'usquequo iniquis cogitationibus subiaces, quae procedunt de corde tuo?' cor antem in scripturis sanctis pro anima et sensn debemns accipeie. ### English translation (Claude) [79] “Wash your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts linger in you?” To the people saying, “Woe to us, we are laid waste”, the prophet answers, or rather God through the prophet: “Wash your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem”, with that water of which Isaiah too speaks, “Wash yourselves, be clean”: the saving water of baptism, the water of repentance. He speaks to the capital of the Jews, so that by the city the peoples may be understood: “How long are you subject to wicked thoughts, which proceed from your heart?” In the holy Scriptures we should take “heart” for the soul and the mind. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:14: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:14; Isa 1:16. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.79 (Reiter CSEL 59:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-79). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.80 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-80 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The invasion is announced from Dan in the north through Ephraim, signifying God's judgment coming in full measure. ### Latin text LXXX. Uor etiim ndnnntia nt is a Dan et notum fw ,'. nti$ ido/nm — uel dolorem — de monte Ep)'ra~ im. luxta gitum terrae Iudaeae diuinus sermo nunc loqnitur. Dan enim tribus iusta montem Libannm et urbem. qu«e nunc dicitnr Paneas, aquilonem respicit. unde nenturus est »» Xabuchodonosor. idolum antem uel Bel uel dolorem uel iniquitatem de monte Ephraiin uenire describit. post tribnm qnippe Dan succedit terra Ephraim. per quam uenitur llierusalem. 'Dan' interpretatiir 'iudicinm'. 'Ephraini' •iibertas'. ueniet igitur iudidum doniini in terram domino delinquentem cum omni uhertate snpplicii. ### English translation (Claude) [80] “For a voice announcing from Dan, and making known the idol (or: the pain) from Mount Ephraim.” The divine word now speaks according to the position of the land of Judea. For the tribe of Dan, near Mount Lebanon and the city now called Paneas, faces the north, from which Nebuchadnezzar is to come. He describes the idol, either Bel, or pain, or iniquity, as coming from Mount Ephraim; for after the tribe of Dan comes the land of Ephraim, through which one comes to Jerusalem. “Dan” is interpreted “judgment”, “Ephraim” “abundance”. So the Lord's judgment will come upon the land that offends the Lord, with every abundance of punishment. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:15. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.80 (Reiter CSEL 59:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-80). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.81 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-81 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's besiegers prevail not by their own strength but because she provoked God. ### Latin text LXXXI. Jjicite gentibus: eci c aiiditum ext in !!<•rn»alem custodes uenire de t«rra Imigi n*>9 sed culpa Hierusalem, quia deum ad iracundiam jprouocauit'. si enira in porcos non habent potestatem aduersariae fortitudines. qaanto magis in homines et bomines quondam ciuitatis dei! ### English translation (Claude) [81] “Tell the nations: Behold, it has been heard in Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a far land and have given their voice against the cities of Judah; like keepers of fields they have been set against her round about, because she provoked me to anger, says the Lord.” It is useful for all the nations round about to know God's sentence, and when Jerusalem is scourged, for all to receive discipline. “It is told”, he says, “by common report in Jerusalem, that enemies are coming from a far land and that the roar of a howling army is rising against her, who will besiege the city so diligently and shut it in with siege works that you would think them not enemies so much as keepers of fields and vineyards. But all this happened not by the strength of the enemies, but by the fault of Jerusalem, because she provoked God to anger.” For if the hostile powers have no power over swine, how much more over men, and men who were once of the city of God! ### Scripture references - Jer 4:16–17: quotation, high confidence - Matt 8:31–32: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:16–17; the swine, Matt 8:31–32. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.81 (Reiter CSEL 59:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-81). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.82 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-82 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's own ways brought its ruin; whatever befalls us comes by our own fault. ### Latin text LXXXII. l'iae tuae et cogitat innen tuae feeernnt hncc tibi; ista mnlitia lua, quia uiikiiii, tetigit cor tuutn. Facit apostropharu ad urbem Hienisuleni, quod uiae illius et cogitationes, quibus et opere et sennone pawwif, feceriut ei uenire oinnia. quae uenerunt, ir.alitiamque iJliua^. quae per se amara sit. tetigisse cor illius et aniiuae interna penetr:i>-e. quicqnid ergo nobis accidit, nostro accidit uitio, qui dulcem deum in araaritudinem uertimus et cojrimaa sneuire nolentein. ### English translation (Claude) [82] “Your ways and your thoughts have done these things to you; this is your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it has touched your heart.” He turns to address the city of Jerusalem: that its ways and thoughts, by which it sinned in deed and in word, made all that came upon it come, and that its wickedness, which is bitter in itself, touched its heart and penetrated the inner parts of its soul. Whatever happens to us, then, happens by our own fault, who turn the sweet God to bitterness and force him to be severe against his will. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:18. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.82 (Reiter CSEL 59:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-82). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.83 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-83 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophet, voicing God's own grief, mourns the destruction of the land, as Christ wept over Lazarus and Jerusalem; God grieves likewise at strife in the church. ### Latin text LXXXIII. Ventrcm ineum, uentrem meum doteo, » sensns cordis mei turbdti sunt. non tacrbo, quo- niam nocem bueinae audiiiit anima mea, clamorem proelii. cnntritio super cont ri t ionem UOCata e.st tt nustala esl nmiiix tirru; repente nastata gunt tabcrnacula wea, subito peiles meac. Ubi nos iuxta Syinmaihum posuimus 'turbiiti sunt' et in Hebraico & scriptum est 'taomae', LXX et Theodotio posneiunt \uuphX*h quod uerbutn usque in praesentiarum. quid signifieet, ignoro. Aquila autem posuit o/XiCst, quod et ipsum 'tumultum' sonaL •2 hoc de uerbo dictum sit, super quo scio apud plerosque magnum esse certamen. uox autem prophetae et per prophe- w tam dei Ioquentis inducitur, quod doleat super contritione populi sni et instar hominis uiscera eius interna lacerentur, quomodo et salnator super Lazari morte doluit et planxit Hierusaleui, ne celaret dolorem silentio; omnisque clangor bucinae et fremitus proeliorum illius turbat atlectum, dum B mala cumulantur malis et uniuersa duarum tribuum terra | nastatnr. 'dum non putabara.' inquil. 'tabernacula quondam et j>elles meae Babylonio furente populata sunt et in praedam hostium niea quondam cessere hospitia*. loquitur autem hoc idem deus, quando seditionis turbas atque discordias cernit in ecclesia et in conuenticulis suis clamnre perdicem et dei reqniem in bella conuerti. unde sequitur: ### English translation (Claude) [83] “My belly, my belly, I am in pain; the senses of my heart are troubled; I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle. Destruction upon destruction has been called, and the whole land has been laid waste; suddenly my tents have been laid waste, in a moment my curtains.” Where we, following Symmachus, put “are troubled”, and the Hebrew has “homa”, the Septuagint and Theodotion put maimassei, a word whose meaning I do not know to this day. Aquila put ochlazei, which itself means “tumult”. Let this be said about the word, over which I know there is great dispute among many. The voice is that of the prophet, and through the prophet of God speaking: he grieves over the destruction of his people and, like a man, his inner parts are torn, as the Saviour too grieved over the death of Lazarus and wept over Jerusalem, so as not to hide his grief in silence. And every blast of the trumpet and roar of battle troubles his feeling, while evils are heaped upon evils and the whole land of the two tribes is laid waste. “When I did not expect it”, he says, “my tents and curtains of old were plundered by the raging Babylonian, and my former lodgings fell as prey to the enemy.” God says this same thing when he sees the turmoil of sedition and discord in the church, and the partridge crying in its gatherings, and God's rest turned into wars. Hence it follows: ### Scripture references - Jer 4:19–20: quotation, high confidence - John 11:35: allusion, high confidence - Luke 19:41: allusion, high confidence - Jer 17:11: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:19–20. The Greek words (μαιμάσσει, ὀχλάζει) are garbled in the OCR and given from the sense; Jerome's Hebrew form is printed corruptly (“taomae”). John 11:35; Luke 19:41; the partridge, Jer 17:11. The sentence runs on into the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.83 (Reiter CSEL 59:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-83). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.84 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-55/#p-1-84 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:60 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The fugitives are those fleeing Babylon or those fleeing God's service. ### Latin text LXXXIV. Usijneiiito uidebo fngienlcs. aitdiam -11 uoeem bucinae* Uel fugientes regem Babylonium uel fugientes me et a rneo seruitio recedentes. ### English translation (Claude) [84] “How long shall I see those who flee, and hear the sound of the trumpet?” Either those fleeing the Babylonian king, or those fleeing me and withdrawing from my service. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:21; the lemma is damaged in the OCR. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.84 (Reiter CSEL 59:60; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-84). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.85 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-85 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:60 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's folly is willed, not natural; wisdom for evil is mere cunning, true wisdom being joined to the fear of God. ### Latin text LXXXV. tjnia stnltns populns ua ns mc, non coi/nonit. filii insipientes sunt et uaecordes: sapientes sunt, ut faciant tna/a. bene antem farrre nescie- P- 370 riinf. Causa contritionis, uajstitatis, fugae, bucinae, quia stultus factus est populus non natura, sed studio uolantatis. ipsaque stultitia hinc probatur. quod non cognouerint deum: et pro filiis sapientibus stulti tilii facti sunt et uaecordes. io quae enim maior potest esse stultitia quam cognoscente boue possessorem suum et asino praesepe domini sui Israhel dominum nou cognoscere et praesentem contemnere. quem semper uidere cupiebat? quodque infertur: sapientes sunt, ut faciant mala, bene autem facere nescierunt, hic J5 sapientia pro malitia accipienda est, iuxta quod et filii saeculi huius sapientiores sunt fiiiis lucis et uilicus iniquitatis quaedam sapienter fecisse narratur et serpens in paradiso prudentior cunctis bestiis legitur. illa est ergo uera sapientia I quae dei timori iungitur: alioquin, ubi insidiae sunt St tergiuer- »' satio. non sapientia. sed uersutia et callidiLis appellanda est. pro eo, quod nos diximus: quia stultus populus meus me non cognouit. LXX traustulerunt: quin principes populi mei me non cognouerunt, ut magistroium sit magis culpa quam populi dei scientiam non habentis. s. ### English translation (Claude) [85] “For my foolish people has not known me; they are foolish and senseless children; they are wise to do evil, but they have not known how to do good.” The cause of the destruction, the devastation, the flight and the trumpet is that the people became foolish, not by nature but by the bent of its will. And this very foolishness is proved by the fact that they did not know God; and instead of wise sons they became foolish and senseless sons. For what greater foolishness can there be than that, when the ox knows its owner and the ass its master's crib, Israel did not know the Lord, and despised him when present whom it always longed to see? And as for what is added, “they are wise to do evil, but they have not known how to do good”, here wisdom is to be taken for wickedness, as the sons of this world are wiser than the sons of light, and the unjust steward is said to have done certain things wisely, and the serpent in paradise is read to have been more prudent than all the beasts. That, then, is true wisdom which is joined to the fear of God; otherwise, where there are snares and evasion, it should be called not wisdom but cunning and craftiness. For what we said, “for my foolish people has not known me”, the Septuagint translated, “for the princes of my people have not known me”, so that the fault is rather the teachers' than that of a people without knowledge of God. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:22: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:8: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:22; Isa 1:3; Luke 16:8; Gen 3:1. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.85 (Reiter CSEL 59:60; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.86 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-86 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophet sees the land returned to emptiness under God's anger, a warning meant to bring repentance; God's “repenting” means withdrawing a threatened sentence, as at Nineveh. ### Latin text LXXXVI. Asp-ezi terram, et eae uaeua erai «< uiliili, et caelos. rt non rrttt lux in eis. tiitli montcs, vt ccrr iii oii rhaitl tii- ct omnes colles contnrbati snut. intiiitns snin, et iion rrnt lioino et nolatih tucli reeessit. aspexi, ct ecce Carntelus destrttts rt ownes url,rs tins dcstrnetae $nnt a facie doniini et a faeie irac furoris eius. Propheta ceruit in spiritu, quae uentnra sunt. ut audiens populus terreatur et acta paenitentia nequaquani sustineat, quae formidat. tincua terra est habitatore deleto, caeli non habent lumen terroris io magnitudine populo non uidente. ipsi montes et colles intuta liabent latibula et per •j-=;.£oXtiv raoueri uidentur atque turbari. intuitus est et huc illucque circumspexit et ne auis quidem potuit inueniri: iram enim dei et muta sentiunt ele- menta et inrationalia pertiniescunt animantia. hoc uenim esse » uunc totus orbis ostendit, ut caesa hominum multudine uo-' latilia qnoque. quae solent habitatores sequi, abierint et penerint. ip3e quoque Carmelus. qui niari imminet magno. oleis consitus et arbustis uineisque condensns ad tantam neniet solitudinem. nt heremi habeat uastitatem; omnes quoque urbes » i desertae fient. et uniuersorum malorum haec causa e3t, quod r.. *7l "itio popnli delinquentis ira domini concitata sit. qnid!qui» I. XXXVII. Bo«C <■„',, i, dicit dom i n us ; desertti cril omnt» ttrro. std tumcn lonsnmmat ionc in non fa- IL t;.; oiam; lugebit terra rt maerebnnt caeli ilesttptr eo, t/tiod loiiitns sim, roi/itiiiii rt itnit paenitiiit me ttec auersus snm nb eo. Mixta irae misericordia dei omnis terra deseritur, sed non fit consummatio, ut sint, qui -6 intellegant clementiam eius. caelum quoqne triste uidebitur desuper et ipsa terra lngebit eo, quod domini sententia ad finem usque peruenerit nec paenituerit enm super his, quae cogitauerit et locutus siL paenitentia auteiu dei dicitur, quando aufertur praedicta sententia et ira sacuiens ad tinem usque io non peruenit. minatus est per Ionam et inpendentem gladiuin lacrimnrum et gemitiium multitndo superauit. ### English translation (Claude) [86] “I looked at the earth, and behold, it was empty and nothing; and at the heavens, and there was no light in them. I saw the mountains, and behold, they were moving, and all the hills were shaken. I looked, and there was no man, and every bird of the sky had gone away. I looked, and behold, Carmel was a desert, and all its cities were destroyed before the face of the Lord and before the face of his fierce anger.” The prophet sees in the spirit what is to come, so that the people, hearing it, may be terrified and, having done penance, may not suffer what it fears. The earth is empty, its inhabitant destroyed; the heavens have no light, since the people sees nothing for the greatness of its terror. The mountains and hills themselves have unsafe hiding places, and by hyperbole they seem to be moved and shaken. He looked and gazed round here and there, and not even a bird could be found: for even the dumb elements feel God's anger, and irrational creatures are terrified. That this is true the whole world now shows: when a multitude of men has been slain, the birds too, which usually follow the inhabitants, have gone away and perished. Carmel itself, which overlooks the great sea, planted with olives and thick with shrubs and vines, will come to such desolation that it has the waste of a wilderness; and all the cities will become deserted. And the cause of all the evils is that the Lord's anger was roused by the fault of the sinning people. Whatever we have said of Jerusalem and Judea according to the historical sense, let us refer to the church of God, when it has offended God and has been laid waste either by vices or by persecution, so that where there was once a choir of virtues and joy, there a multitude of sins and sorrows dwells. [87] “For thus says the Lord: The whole land will be desolate, but I will not make a full end. The earth will mourn, and the heavens above will grieve, because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, nor have I turned back from it.” With God's mercy mixed with his anger, the whole land is forsaken, but not utterly ended, so that there may be some who understand his mercy. The heaven too will seem sad above, and the earth itself will mourn, because the Lord's sentence has come to its end and he has not repented of what he purposed and spoke. God is said to repent when a foretold sentence is taken away and raging anger does not come to its end. He threatened through Jonah, and a multitude of tears and groans overcame the impending sword. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:23–28: quotation, high confidence - Jonah 3:4–10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 87 is garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [86] and [87]. Jer 4:23–28; Jonah 3. “By hyperbole” renders a garbled Greek word (ὑπερβολή). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.86 (Reiter CSEL 59:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-86). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.88 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-88 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The people flee the Babylonian army to the hills in vain; the same befalls a church that offends God. ### Latin text LXXXVIII. A uoee ttauitis ti mittentis sugittam — siiie iiitriiileiitis nreum — fugit omttis rinitiis — siue regio — ; ingressi snnt niilna et asrendenriint rupes — quodque sequitur: et ingrcssi *>tnt saltits siue spehtncas a LXX additum est — , nniiiersae ttrbes de rel ietae snnt et noii httbitnt M <"'* homo. Describit antem serrao diuinus Babylonii furentis eier- » citum, quod a tremore eius cunctus populus dereliquerit ciui- » tatem et ardua quaeqne conscenderit et tamen iram doinini nou potuerit declinare. quidquid autem. ut supra diximus. is historia intellegitur contra Hierusalem, refer ad ecclesiam, cum offenderit deum et tradita fueritaduersariis uel perseciitionU tempore uel certe uitiis ntque peccatis. ### English translation (Claude) [88] “At the sound of the horseman and the one shooting the arrow (or: bending the bow) the whole city (or: region) has fled; they have gone into the woods and climbed the rocks” (what follows, “and they have gone into the glens” or “caves”, was added by the Septuagint); “all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.” The divine word describes the army of the raging Babylonian: from fear of it the whole people left the city and climbed every height, and yet could not escape the Lord's anger. Whatever, as we said above, is understood historically against Jerusalem, refer to the church, when it has offended God and been handed over to enemies, either in a time of persecution or certainly by vices and sins. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:29: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:29. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.88 (Reiter CSEL 59:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-88). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.89 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-89 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem is “laid waste” or “wretched” through her own fault. ### Latin text LXXXIX. Tu atitrm udsfaU u""1 /"""' Pl" «tata*. quod Hebraice dicitur 'sadud*. quod solus interprotatus est Aquila, alii transtulerunt 'miseram' atqne 'miserabilem' culpa sui, quae clementem offenderit deum. denique sequitur: ### English translation (Claude) [89] “But you, laid waste, what will you do?” “Laid waste”, which in Hebrew is said “sadud”, only Aquila interpreted so; the others translated “wretched” and “pitiable”, by her own fault, since she offended a merciful God. Accordingly it follows: ### Scripture references - Jer 4:30: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:30a; the lemma is damaged in the OCR. The sentence runs on into the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.89 (Reiter CSEL 59:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-89). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.90 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-90 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem, like an adulteress, adorns herself in vain; spiritual ornaments do not please God from one who also courts other lovers. ### Latin text XC. Oum uestieris te coccino et ornata fueri» monili aureo et pinxeris stibio ocnlos tuos. frustra conponeris: c onle mser u u t te ainatores /'"• < animiiin tuam quaerent. Sub figura mulieris adulterae loquitur: 'cum semel offenderis deum et quasi uirum tuum reliqueris creatorem, frustra ornamenta perquiris: contemserunt te daemones amatores tui et nequaquam stnpri inmunditiani. se«l animae tuae quaerent in|teritum'. hoc idem intellegendura spi- tt ritaliter contra eos. qui coniugales affectus et uerae fidei pudicitiam perdiderunt. 'si te,' inquit. 'uestieris coccino — sanguinis Christi adsumseris fidem — . si monili ornaueris aureo — meditationem habueris sensus et intellegentiae spiritalis — et pinxens oeulos tuos stibio — habueris studium mysteriorum et dei secreta H noscendi — . frustra conponeris. haec enim etiam tuis amatoribus praepararasetidcirco lectus angustus utrumque capero non potest nec recipit ornamenta deus, quibns amatoribus tuis ante placnisti' ### English translation (Claude) [90] “When you clothe yourself in scarlet and adorn yourself with a golden necklace and paint your eyes with antimony, in vain will you make yourself fair; your lovers have despised you; they will seek your life.” He speaks under the figure of an adulterous woman: “Once you have offended God and left your Creator as if he were your husband, in vain do you seek ornaments: the demons, your lovers, have despised you, and they will seek not the uncleanness of fornication but the destruction of your soul.” The same is to be understood spiritually against those who have lost conjugal affection and the chastity of the true faith. “If”, he says, “you clothe yourself in scarlet” (take up faith in Christ's blood), “if you adorn yourself with a golden necklace” (practise meditation of spiritual sense and understanding), “and paint your eyes with antimony” (have zeal for the mysteries and for knowing God's secrets), “in vain will you make yourself fair. For you had prepared these things for your lovers too, and therefore the narrow bed cannot hold both, and God does not accept the ornaments by which you formerly pleased your lovers.” ### Scripture references - Jer 4:30: quotation, high confidence - Isa 28:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:30; “the narrow bed” is Isa 28:20. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.90 (Reiter CSEL 59:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-90). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.91 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-91 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's anguish at the slaughter of her people is like that of a woman in her first labour and of a mother mourning her children. ### Latin text XCI. Uocem eiiim quasi pa rtu rie nt i» audiui, angustias — siue getnitua — ut pnerperue; uox * fi l i 'i < .*>' / 1) n i n t e i- iii o r i r n t i .« r r p u n d e n t is q u e m u " " siuis: uue mihi. i/uin defecit aniina mea propter interfectos.' Ad similitudinem mulieris puerperae.id est quae primos parit fetus. describit urbem Hierusaleni lieiulanteni atque clamantem. quomodo enim mulier pariens et necduin dolorem parturitionis experta intermoritur — angustias sustinet. uix potest respirare sparsisque manibus conlabitur — , sic et tilia Sion. cum suos uiderit liberos interfectos. in liaec uerba prornmpit et dicit: uae mihi, quia defecit anima mea propter interfectos! duo autem exempla in nno capitulo conparata sunt: parturientis filios et lugeutis, ut, quidquid mrilier patitur in fetu uel mortibus filioruin, Hierusalem patiatur in populis. ### English translation (Claude) [91] “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labour, anguish (or: groans) as of one bearing her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion gasping and spreading out her hands: Woe is me, for my soul has fainted because of the slain.” In the likeness of a woman in childbirth, that is, one bearing her first child, he describes the city of Jerusalem wailing and crying out. For as a woman giving birth, who has not yet experienced the pain of labour, half dies, suffers anguish, can scarcely breathe and collapses with hands spread out, so the daughter of Zion too, when she sees her children slain, breaks out in these words and says: “Woe is me, for my soul has fainted because of the slain!” Two examples are compared in one chapter, of one giving birth to children and of one mourning them, so that whatever a woman suffers in childbirth or in the deaths of her children, Jerusalem suffers in her peoples. ### Scripture references - Jer 4:31: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 4:31. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.91 (Reiter CSEL 59:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-91). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.92 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-92 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God would spare Jerusalem for a single just man, but he values sincere faith, not oaths sworn in his name falsely. ### Latin text XCII. Circn mite uias Hiern sa lem et uspicitc et considerate rt qnacrite in platcis eiits, an imtcniati.s ii i ru ni. qui faeiat indicium et qnarrat fidem, et propitiut ero eius. qitodsi ctiam: miul (I 'i iii i n it s, dixe ri n t.ethoc fa ls o i ttrab u n t. Grandis amor iustitiae, ut nequaquam iuxta interrogationem Abrahae et responsionem dei pro deeem uiris iustis deus liberet ciuitatem. sed si unum inuenerit iam iamque peritura Hierusalem, qni faciat iudicium et quaerat fidem — siue, ut Symmachutranstulit. ueritatem — . tamen deus misereatur Hierusalem. ■*> et quia poterat fieri, ut aliqui inuenirentur in populo. qui simularent cultum dei et iurarent per dominum, hoc praeuenit, qnod nequaquam deus uanis sermonibus. sed ueritate fidei delectetur, et dicit: 'non eos diligo, quia iurant per me it iurant in mendacio, sed quorum corda labiaqne consentiunt . ### English translation (Claude) [92] “Go about the streets of Jerusalem, and look and consider, and seek in her squares whether you can find a man who does justice and seeks faith, and I will be merciful to her. But if they say, The Lord lives, this too they will swear falsely.” Great is the love of justice: not that God, as in Abraham's question and God's answer, would free the city for ten righteous men, but if, when Jerusalem is on the very point of perishing, he finds one who does justice and seeks faith (or, as Symmachus translated, truth), God will still have mercy on Jerusalem. And because it could happen that some might be found in the people who feigned the worship of God and swore by the Lord, he forestalls this: God takes no delight in empty words but in the truth of faith, and he says: “I do not love them because they swear by me, for they swear falsely, but those whose hearts and lips agree.” ### Scripture references - Jer 5:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Gen 18:32: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:1–2; Gen 18:32. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.92 (Reiter CSEL 59:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-92). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.93 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-93 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God looks for faith, not works of the law; punishments are meant to correct, yet Jerusalem hardened itself against them. ### Latin text XCIII. Domins, oculi tui reopieiuui fidem. per\- •73 cnssisti eos et non doluerunt; attriuisti Hlo* et renuerunt nt accipere disi -i pl i mt m : i nd u rti ineru nl facies suas super petrum et nolnerit nl leuerti. Post uerba domiui, quibus iniperauerat dicens: circunnte uiasHierusalem et cetera, propheta loquitur ad dominum: domine, oculi tui respiciunt fidem, quae Hebraiee dicitur 'emuna'. non opera Iudaeoruro, in quibus iuxta legi» caerimonias exultabant, sed fidem Christianoreim. per quam gratia salui facti sumus. hoc autem capitulo diseimns idcirco inferri supplicia, ut uitia corrigantur. denique ait: percussisti eos et non doluerunt; attriuisti eos et rennuerunt accipere disciplinam. per omnia enim tormenta atque flagella emendatur Hierusalem : et super baec uniuersa ne uereeundiam quidem suorum habuere uitiorum. sed instar petrae indnrantes frontis impudentiam noluerunt ad meliora conuerti. 15 ### English translation (Claude) [93] “Lord, your eyes look upon faith. You struck them, and they did not grieve; you crushed them, and they refused to receive discipline. They have made their faces harder than rock and would not return.” After the words of the Lord in which he had commanded, “Go about the streets of Jerusalem”, and so on, the prophet speaks to the Lord: “Lord, your eyes look upon faith”, which in Hebrew is called “emuna”: not upon the works of the Jews, in which they exulted according to the ceremonies of the law, but upon the faith of Christians, through which we have been saved by grace. In this chapter we learn that punishments are inflicted for this purpose: that vices may be corrected. In short he says: “You struck them, and they did not grieve; you crushed them, and they refused to receive discipline.” For Jerusalem is amended by all torments and scourges; and on top of all these they did not even feel shame for their vices, but hardening their shameless brow like rock, they would not be turned to better things. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:3: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:3; Eph 2:8. Marginal references printed in the OCR are apparatus and are not translated. The contrast of the works of the Jews with the faith of Christians is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.93 (Reiter CSEL 59:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-93). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.94 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-94 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:66 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophet wonders whether the common people sin from ignorance and turns to the leaders, who know God's will; the tentative wording shows human free will. ### Latin text XCIV. Ego autein dixi: forsitan puit pc rcs sti n I et stulti — giue non potiierunt — ig nora ntes uiam ilomini, indicimn dei sui. ibo iyitur ad nptimates et lotjiinr eit; ipsi enitn i-ugno ae r n nt itiam domini. iin/iciuin dei sni. Pauperes hic et optimates non inopia » dicit et diuitiis. sed populum principibus conparat. et est sensus: 'cernens iiifidelis populi pertinaciam et, quod indurata faeie noluerit recipere disciplinam. hoc mecum ratione tractabanr. forsitan uulgus ignobile non potest dei nosse doctrinam et idcirco excusabile est, quia propter imperitiam dei non ss ualet seire mandata. pergam igitur ad sacerdotes et ad eos. qui praesunt populo. et loquar eis: ipsi enim uolnntatem doniini cognouerunt et sciunt iudiciura dei sui\ boc autem dieit sermone dubitantis iuxta illud enangelicum: mittam filiuni meum, forsitan ipsum reuerebuntur, utei ambiguitate s sententiae et suspensione uerborum liberum hominis monstietm arbitrium. ### English translation (Claude) [94] “But I said: Perhaps these are poor and foolish (or: they were not able), not knowing the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. I will go, then, to the great men and speak to them; for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.” Here he speaks of the poor and the great not in terms of want and riches, but compares the people with its leaders. And the sense is: “Seeing the obstinacy of the faithless people, and that with hardened face it would not receive discipline, I reasoned this out with myself: perhaps the common crowd cannot know God's teaching and is therefore excusable, because through inexperience it cannot know God's commands. I will go, then, to the priests and to those who preside over the people and speak to them; for they have known the will of the Lord and know the judgment of their God.” He says this in the language of one in doubt, as in that saying of the gospel, “I will send my son; perhaps they will respect him”, so that by the uncertainty of the statement and the suspense of the words he may show the free will of man. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:4–5: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:4–5a; Luke 20:13. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.94 (Reiter CSEL 59:66; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-94). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.95 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-95 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's leaders broke God's yoke, so the lion, wolf and leopard, that is Babylon, Persia and Alexander, will devour them; so too faithless leaders in the church are handed over to their passions. ### Latin text XCV. Et ecce inngis h i s i »1 u l r.o n f rcijer u u t iiu/um, "ipernnt niiiriihi.i,lriico percussiteos leodesiluu. lupus inl uesperum uastauit eos, pardus niijilnns Wsuper Ciuitates coriini. muiiis. q u i eij ress n s f «r i/ exeis, capietnr, quia nuiltiplicatat • sunt praeuari- ''itioncs i ornni. con fortatae snnt a uursiones eornui. 'Quos magistros putabam, inuenti sunt peiores esse discipulis, et quanto in diuitibus maior auctoritas. tauto raaior ,n8°Ientia peccatorum'. confregerunt euim iugum legis dicente apostolo: nunc ergo quid temptatis deum inponere iugum super ceriuicem discipulorum. quoil neque patres nostri neqae nos portare potuimus? sed per gratiam domini Iesu oredimus salunri. ^quemadmodum et illi, ruperuntque uincula praeceptoruiu dei et non Pharisaeorum, de quibus in secundo psalrno dicitur: disrurapamus uincula eorum et proiciarnus ;» nobis iugum ipsorura. quia igitur ista fecerint, percussit eos leo de silua. regnum uidelicet Babjlonium; a Inpus ad uesperam uastauit eos Medos Persasque signi- ficans, pro quo in uisione Danihelis 'ursa' ponitur, cuius in ore tres erant ordines: pardus uigilans super ciuitates eorum Alexandri impetum praefigurans et uelocem de occidente usque ad Indiam percursionem. pardum autem uocat ob uarietatem et. quia plurimis sibi subditis gentibus contra Medos i dimicauit et Persas. et quattuor, inquit, erant capita in bestia et potestas data est ei. et quia non de futuro uaticinatur, sed de praeterito uel iam iamque nenturis teiit historiam, idcirco autem de Romano tacet imperio, de quo forsitan dicitur: omnis, qui egressus fuerit ei eis, capietur. causaaque reddit, cur ista perpessi sint: quia multiplicatae sunt praeuaricationes eorum et perseuerauerunt in transgressionibus. unde dicitur: et confortatae sunt auersiones eorum. illud, quod in principio posuimus uerbum Hebraicum 'sacad' sonare 'uigiliam', in praesenti loeo is ostenditur: ubi enim nos diximns 'pardus uigilans", in Hebraico scriptum est 'nemer sacad'. iuxta tropologiam: qui magni putantur in ecclesia, quia confringunt iugum et rumpunt uiacula, idcirco traduntur in ignominiam passionum, nt faciant, qnae non conueniunt. ### English translation (Claude) [95] “And behold, these have together broken the yoke more, they have burst the bonds. Therefore a lion from the forest has struck them, a wolf at evening has laid them waste, a leopard watches over their cities; everyone who goes out from them will be taken, because their transgressions are multiplied, their turnings away have grown strong.” “Those I thought teachers were found to be worse than the disciples, and the greater the authority among the rich, the greater the insolence of sins.” For they broke the yoke of the law (as the apostle says, “Now therefore why do you tempt God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are”), and they burst the bonds of the commands of God, not of the Pharisees, of whom it is said in the second psalm: “Let us burst their bonds and cast their yoke from us.” Because, then, they did these things, the lion from the forest struck them, that is, the Babylonian kingdom; the wolf at evening laid them waste, signifying the Medes and Persians, for which in Daniel's vision a bear is put, in whose mouth were three rows; the leopard watching over their cities prefigures the onrush of Alexander and his swift course from the west to India. He calls him a leopard because of his variety, and because he fought against the Medes and Persians with very many nations subject to him; “and the beast had four heads”, he says, “and dominion was given to it.” And because he is not prophesying of the distant future but is weaving the history of things past or soon to come, he is therefore silent about the Roman Empire, of which perhaps it is said: “everyone who goes out from them will be taken.” And he gives the reasons why they suffered these things: because their transgressions were multiplied and they persevered in their transgressions; hence it is said, “and their turnings away have grown strong.” What we put at the beginning, that the Hebrew word “sacad” means “watching”, is shown in the present place: for where we said “a watching leopard”, the Hebrew has “nemer sacad”. According to the figurative sense: those who are thought great in the church, because they break the yoke and burst the bonds, are therefore handed over to dishonourable passions, to do what is not fitting. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:5–6: quotation, high confidence - Acts 15:10–11: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:3: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:5–6: allusion, high confidence - Rom 1:26–28: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:5b–6. Acts 15:10–11; Ps 2:3; Dan 7:5–6; Rom 1:26, 28. The earlier discussion of “sacad” is at 1.7 (Jer 1:11). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.95 (Reiter CSEL 59:67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-95). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.96 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-96 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Israel's idolatry and adultery, like stallions neighing after their neighbours' wives, leave God no ground for mercy. ### Latin text XCVI. Suprr qao propitins tibi csse potero? f>l" tni dereliquerant me et iirrant in his,qni nonsunt di. satnraui eos et moechati snnt e.t in domo meretricis lu zn l ialm ntv r. equi a mato rcs in et ndmissarii facti snnt mihi; iinusquisquc ad V> iixorem proxiini sni hi iinichnt. nvmquid lus non niaitabo? dicit dotitiitux, et in gente tali iunt ttlct.st rtur ttnimn nnaf KaToXo-,'o? peccatorum Hierusalem, durn dicit se ignorare deus, qua possit eius occasione misereri. 'filii', inquit, 'tui dereliqueruntme: nequaquara i mei. sed tui, quia iurant in his, qui non sunt di. saturaui eos et moechati sunf. audiant hoc, qui acceptis a domino diuitiis incubantes luxuriae seruiunt. equi amatores in f- •-<•> femi|nas facti sunt. pro 'admissariis' in Hebraico seriptum est 'mosechim'. quod omnes uoce consona Btanlnc transtulenint, id est 'trahentes', ut ostendatur magnitudo genitalium mita illud Hiezechielis: quasi asinorum carnes carnes eorum. hoc est, quod in alio loco scriplum est: adsimulati sunt iumentis insipientibus et similes facti sunt eis. simulque tantam ostendit insaniam libidinis, ut aon adpetitum uoluptatis. sed y^iv.a^vt, id est 'hinnitum' uocet et seruet equorum furentium ad libidinem jtitarpopav. cum haec', inquit, 'feceris, nuniquid non uisitatione condigna es?' et nota, quod hic 'uisitatio' pro poena ponatur atqne suppliciis iusta illud, quod scriptum est: uisitabo in uirga * l"iquitates eorum. et in gente tali non ulciscetur aninia mea? postquam peccatis obligata est. nequaquam uocatur populus dei, sed gens, a qua recessit aniuia dei se- cundura illad, quod scriptum est: numeuias uestraset sabbata et dies festos odit anima mea. qnod autem in Ueteri Testamento dicitur pro affectn. in Nouo scriptnm est pro ueritate saluatore dicente: potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam et potestatem habeo sumendi illaru. ### English translation (Claude) [96] “For what can I be merciful to you? Your sons have forsaken me and swear by those who are not gods. I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery and thronged in the harlot's house. They have become to me horses in love and stallions; each one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not punish these things, says the Lord, and on such a nation shall my soul not be avenged?” A catalogue of the sins of Jerusalem, while God says he does not know on what occasion he can have mercy on her. “Your sons”, he says, “have forsaken me: not mine, but yours, because they swear by those who are not gods. I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery.” Let those hear this who, having received riches from the Lord, brood over them and serve luxury. They became horses in love with females. For “stallions” the Hebrew has “mosechim”, which all with one voice translated helkontes, that is, “drawing”, to show the size of the genitals, according to that saying of Ezekiel: “Their flesh is like the flesh of asses.” This is what is written in another place: “They have been compared to senseless beasts and have become like them.” And at the same time he shows such madness of lust that he does not call it the desire of pleasure but chremetismos, that is, “neighing”, and keeps the metaphor of horses raging for lust. “When you have done these things”, he says, “are you not worthy of a fitting visitation?” And note that here “visitation” is put for penalty and punishments, according to what is written: “I will visit their iniquities with the rod.” “And on such a nation shall my soul not be avenged?” After it was bound by sins, it is no longer called the people of God but a nation, from which God's soul has withdrawn, according to what is written: “Your new moons and sabbaths and feast days my soul hates.” What in the Old Testament is said of feeling is written in the New of a reality, as the Saviour says: “I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it up.” ### Scripture references - Jer 5:7–9: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 23:20: quotation, high confidence - Ps 49:12 (48:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 89:32 (88:33 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:14: quotation, high confidence - John 10:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:7–9. The Greek words (ἕλκοντες, χρεμετισμός, μεταφορά) are garbled in the OCR and are given from the sense. Ezek 23:20; Ps 49:12 (LXX 48:13); Ps 89:32 (LXX 88:33); Isa 1:14; John 10:18. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.96 (Reiter CSEL 59:68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-96). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.97 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-97 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God allows the enemy to break Judah's defences but not to make a full end; the people who mock the prophets as wind will be burned by God's word as fire. ### Latin text XCVIl. Ascenditc muros eins — siue propugnai-uln — rt dissipttte, consii m mntioiirm ntilcm »'lite farere! an frrlc propniji nes eius — siue stistrnlacnla —,qttiii non sn nt dom i ni .' prae nfi ricnti'"" «nim praeuaricata est in tne domns Israhel et « doiiuis Inda, ait dowiinis. Imperat gentibus, de quibus sapra dixerat: percussit eos leo de silua, lupus uastauit eos et pardus in ciuitatibus eorum, ut ascendant muros Hierusalem siue propugnacnla et dissipent eam. consummationem autem non faciant, nt saluentur reliquiae et u sit, qui adnuntiet in gentibus gloriam dei: seneritatique miscet clementiam. quodque intulit: auferte propagines eiu? siue sustentacula. omnia tolli auxilia iubet, quae suo UltW perdidit eo. quod praeuaricata sit in deum domus Israhel et domns Iuda decem tribus et duas significans. audiat hoc » ecclesia. quod cito muri et propugnaeula dissipentur eorum. qui non habent spem in domino et praeuaricentur in eum, se«l tamen non liat consummatio propter clementiam iudicis et non propter merita delinquentium. .1» XCVHL Neganerunt dominnm et dixertint: »»" iti ipf'0 — siue non snnt hner — • m >r mtper ite\iiiet 9Uper nos mahim; glailium et fnmcm non niilehi- 1H1I8. prophetae fuerunf in ueiitiini el rcspunsn m — siue serino — non fnit in eis. /inec ergo eiienient illis. Quia negauerunt dominum — siue mentiti sunt s domino — et dixerunt: 'non est ipse, cuius iudicio fient omnia. sed fortuito liaec oninia aeciderunt neque euenient. quae nobis prophetarum uoces minantur, nec uidebimus gladium nec famem sustinebimus obsidionis et, quidquid locuti sunt prophetae. in uentum locuti sunt et irrita omnia transierunt nec habnerunt responsum, hoc est oracnlum, siue sermo dei non fuit in eis', ideo sustinebunt, quae sequens sermo describit. audiat hoc ecclesia neglegens et prouidentiam dei refutans, quod et gladinm et famem snstineat, nisi uentura crediderit. quae dicuntur. M W XOIX. Haec diril iio m i n its dens erer.HfHU*Hts }«»0 loeuti estis iierbui/i istnd, ecce ego do uerba mea ore tuo in ignein et populam iitUm i n Mglta ct denorabit eos. 'Dixistis: prophetae fuerunt in uentura nec nentnra sunt, quae minantur; propterea, o propheta. «>do uerba mea in ore tuo. quae ignis habeant potestatem et populnm istum in ligna conuertant, ut sermone tuo et prophetia increduli concrementur' sic deus ignis eonsuraens dicitur, ut consnmat in nobis. si super fundamentmn Christi aedificauerimns faenum. ligna, stipulam. ### English translation (Claude) [97] “Go up on her walls (or: ramparts) and destroy, but do not make a full end; take away her branches (or: supports), for they are not the Lord's. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have utterly transgressed against me, says the Lord.” He commands the nations of which he had said above, “a lion from the forest has struck them, a wolf has laid them waste, and a leopard in their cities”, to go up on the walls or ramparts of Jerusalem and destroy her; but not to make a full end, so that a remnant may be saved and there may be someone to announce the glory of God among the nations: he mingles mercy with severity. And by adding “take away her branches” or supports, he orders all the helps to be removed which she lost by her own fault, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah, signifying the ten and the two tribes, transgressed against God. Let the church hear this: that the walls and ramparts of those who have no hope in the Lord and transgress against him are quickly destroyed; but yet no full end is made, because of the mercy of the judge and not because of the merits of the offenders. [98] “They have denied the Lord and said: It is not he (or: these things are not so); no evil will come upon us; we shall not see sword or famine. The prophets were wind, and the answer (or: the word) was not in them. These things therefore will happen to them.” Because they denied the Lord, or lied to the Lord, and said: “It is not he by whose judgment all things will happen, but all these things happened by chance; and the things that the voices of the prophets threaten us with will not come; we shall not see the sword nor suffer the famine of a siege; and whatever the prophets spoke, they spoke into the wind, and all passed away void, and they had no answer, that is, oracle, or the word of God was not in them”; therefore they will suffer what the following word describes. Let the negligent church that rejects God's providence hear this: that it will suffer both sword and famine unless it believes that what is foretold will come. [99] “Thus says the Lord God of hosts: Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it will devour them.” “You said: The prophets were wind, and what they threaten will not come; therefore, O prophet, I make my words in your mouth such as have the power of fire, and turn this people into wood, so that by your word and prophecy the unbelievers may be burned up together.” So God is called a consuming fire, to consume in us whatever hay, wood and stubble we have built on the foundation of Christ. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:10–14: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:29: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds three of Reiter's chapters (the numerals of chapters 98 and 99 were not recognised as divisions in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [97], [98] and [99]. Jer 5:10–14; Heb 12:29; 1 Cor 3:12. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.97 (Reiter CSEL 59:70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-97). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.100 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-100 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God will bring the ancient, strong Babylonian nation upon Judah, yet will not destroy it utterly but preserve a remnant. ### Latin text C. Ecce, ego adducam siiucr nos gcntem de lon- ginqito, domtii Israhel. uit dominus, geutem rnhn- stam, tjentvm nutigunni, ijen/riii, <■ u i u s ig no ra h i s linguami nee i ntelleges, qnid loquatur. phurrtra . ins ijiuis i sepnlehrum patcns; uniiiersi fortes. < t tomedet segetcs tuus et punem tiiuin, deuornbil filio* ttins et filias tuas, eomedet ijregem Ittniii ct ii r iii e n t ii tiiu, roinedet ninenm tmiui et fieum tunm rt conteret nrhes innnittis tuas, in ijuibus tn hnhes I iiliieium, gludio. nerniutnmeii indiebus illis, nit, non faeiuiu u os in consumtionem. 'Xequaquant luulto w post teinpore nec, ut falso creditis, prophetae uobis loquentur in tientnm, sed iam nunc addueam super uos gentem Babyloniorum, quae ueniet de longinquo, gentem robustam' — pro quo in Hebraeo scriptum est 'ethan' — ,'gentemantiquam' — cuius quondam dominatus est Nebrod gigans — , 'cuius n ignorabis linguam siue' — ut iu Hebraeo scriptum est — 'nec t -'■' intelleges. quid loquatur: est enim nialorurn | solacium. si illos hostes habeas, quos possis rogare et qui tuas intellegant :t preces'. quodqne sequitur: pharetra eius quasi sepulchrum patens et in LXX editione non dieitur. Babyloniam *> significat armaturam. nec dubium, quin regnum Assyriorum. Babyloniorum. Medorum atque Persarum sagittandi peritissimum sit. 9imulque describit uastitatem terrae Iudaeae intet- fectionemque multorum, abactiooem peconim, subuersionein "rbium atque murorum, quod gladio hostili cuncta capiantur tamen in tantis malis non eos perdat usque ad internecionem. sed reliquios saluas faciat uel eornm, qui in Babylonem 'ducti sunt dimissique ad culturam agrorum terrae Iudaeae, nel eorum, qui post persecutionis ardorem nel fuga uel confes- ^ sione fidem domini seruauenint. ### English translation (Claude) [100] “Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, house of Israel, says the Lord, a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you will not know, nor will you understand what it says. Its quiver is like an open tomb; all are mighty men. And it will eat your harvests and your bread; it will devour your sons and your daughters; it will eat your flocks and your herds; it will eat your vine and your fig tree; and it will crush your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword. But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a full end of you.” “Not long hence, nor, as you falsely believe, will the prophets speak to you into the wind, but even now I will bring upon you the nation of the Babylonians, which will come from afar, a strong nation” (for which the Hebrew has “ethan”), “an ancient nation” (over which the giant Nimrod once ruled), “whose language you will not know” (as the Hebrew has it), “nor will you understand what it says. For it is a consolation in evils to have enemies whom you can entreat and who understand your prayers.” And what follows, “its quiver is like an open tomb”, which is not said in the Septuagint edition, signifies the Babylonian armour; and no doubt the kingdom of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians is most skilled in archery. At the same time he describes the devastation of the land of Judea, the slaughter of many, the driving off of flocks, the overthrow of cities and walls, that all things are taken by the enemy's sword; yet in such great evils he does not destroy them to extermination, but saves a remnant: either of those who were led into Babylon and of those left to till the fields of the land of Judea, or of those who after the heat of persecution kept the Lord's faith either by flight or by confession. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:15–18: quotation, high confidence - Gen 10:8–10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:15–18; Nimrod, Gen 10:8–10. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.100 (Reiter CSEL 59:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-100). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 1.101 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-1-101 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Judah served foreign gods at home and so will serve foreigners abroad; likewise God casts heretics out of the church. ### Latin text CI. Quodsi dixerilia: quare fecit ° liquistis me rt seruistis deo alie\no — ue) dis altents in terra uestra, sie seruietis alienis in itrra non uestra. Grandis stultitia uescire, cur passi sint, cnm tanta peccauerint, breuisque ad ambigentes responsio: sicutseruistis deo alieno— id est Bahal — uel dis alienis cunctarum gentium in terra Iudaea, sic seruietis dis alienis in terra non uestra, hau dubium quin Babyioniis atque Chaldaeae. 'si enim uos peregrina religio delectat, quid "ecesse est longinqnum errorem suscipere? habitate cum talibns. immo seruite his, quorum deos colitis.' potest hoc et snper hereticis accipi, de quibus scriptum est: ex nobis e*ierunt, sed non fuerunt exnobis; sienimfuissent e* uobi.s, mansissent utique nobiscuni, quod proiciat «* ecclesia hereticos dominus, qui multo tempore sub nomine eins ruendacionim suorum simulacra uenerati sunt, ut foris ### English translation (Claude) [101] “And if you say: Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us? you shall say to them: As you have forsaken me and served a foreign god (or: foreign gods) in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land not yours.” It is great folly not to know why they suffered, when they sinned so greatly; and the answer to the doubters is brief: as you served a foreign god, namely Baal, or the foreign gods of all the nations, in the land of Judea, so you shall serve foreign gods in a land not yours, no doubt Babylon and Chaldea. “For if a foreign religion delights you, what need is there to take up a distant error? Live with such people, or rather serve those whose gods you worship.” This can also be taken of the heretics, of whom it is written, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would surely have remained with us”: that the Lord casts out of the church the heretics, who for a long time under his name worshipped the images of their own lies, so that outside they may worship … ### Scripture references - Jer 5:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:19; 1 John 2:19. The sentence breaks off at the end of this ref; its conclusion (“what they formerly worshipped inside, and the chaff may be separated from the wheat”) stands at the head of 2.3. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 1.101 (Reiter CSEL 59:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-101). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-2-3 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome opens Book 2 with a complaint against those who claim equality with God, then shows Judah blind and deaf like its idols, and ungrateful to the God who restrains the sea and gives the rains. ### Latin text eolant. qnod intus prius uenerabantur. et paleae separentur a tritico. LIBER SECONDUS. I>. 877— 878 t, ISecundum. frater Eusebi, in Hiereraiam librum celeri sermone dictamus auertentes parumper aures, ne audiamus indicium sanguini3 et interfectorum animas deploremus, qui opinione uirtutum cotidie corruunt in superbiam et deo se similes arbitrantur, ut aequalitatera, quara impia Arrianornm beresis in hlio ncgat. cunctis hominibus tribuant et ponant m caelum os suum et nibil futurae sanctorum beatitudini amplius derelinqnant. quoruni furori respondimus, ut potuimus. et si dominns uitam dederit, plenius responsuri sumus. nunc coepta carpenda est uia et dictandi commentarioli nec nimia longitndine exteudentes opus nec inrnoderata breuitate auferentes intellegentiam, quorum alterum onerat sensus legentium, alterum praecidit stndiosornm desideriuni. 3,20.21 IF. ( Adit nnlinte hoc domui Iricoh et audituiU faeitt in Judn dieehtes: nndi, popujt stulte, « transibnnt illnd. po/iu/o a„te,„ /i„i,- fartuin eSt COr tncred ii I ii iii ef rxasperrt n* rl i rresserttnt •* a/jiernn/ ef non d i ., r r n itt in eorde suo: iiietna- ,ii„* dotui ii ii ,„ denm nostrum, ,/,,,' dnt nobis /,/„ii t ii iii temjioia nea ih ct serotiitaiii i n fempnre suo. pltnit ii di n r ni aiiilltae mr ss is c n stod i r nt e m nohis.' Narrat benehcia. ut ingratos arguat. 'me\ inquit, 'non tim#bitis, qui tanta uobis praestiti? non dilectionem desidero perfeetorum. sed timorem incipientium, qui posui harenam terniinuiu mari, qni tam potens eleuientum et immensos ■ gurgitum moles meo praecepto litoribus refrenaui iiuta illud. qnod scriptuoi est: praeceptum posuit et non praeter- ibit. amlitint me et sentiunt, quae sensuni non babent audiendi; et populus quondam meus suo uitio stultus effectus non solum contemnit, sed et duleem exasperat deum. recesserunt', ait, 'a me et rnihi terga uprterunt et concito abierunt gradu nec tacita eos retraxit eonscientia, ut dicerent in cor- & dibus suis: metuamus eum, qui dat nobis pluuiam temporaneam et serotinam! per quae omnia ostendi bona plenitudinem annuae messis'. pro quo Aquilae prima editio et Symmachus 'ebdomadas' interpretati sunt: in Hebraeo enim scriptum est 'sabaoth'. quod pro ambiguitate uerbi et 'septimanas' significat et 'plenitudinem'. ### English translation (Claude) … what they formerly worshipped inside, and the chaff may be separated from the wheat. [Book 2, preface] The second book on Jeremiah, brother Eusebius, I am dictating in rapid speech, turning away my ears for a while, so as not to hear the report of blood and lament the souls of the slain: those who by the reputation of virtues fall daily into pride and think themselves like God, so that they attribute to all men the equality which the impious heresy of the Arians denies to the Son, and set their mouth against heaven, and leave nothing more for the future blessedness of the saints. We have answered their fury as well as we could, and, if the Lord gives life, we shall answer more fully. Now the way we have begun must be taken, and the short commentaries dictated, neither stretching the work out to excessive length nor taking away understanding by immoderate brevity; the one burdens the minds of readers, the other cuts off the desire of the studious. [2] “Announce this to the house of Jacob and make it heard in Judah, saying: Hear, foolish people that has no heart, who having eyes do not see, and ears, and do not hear!” In many ways he draws sinners back to salvation, and calls the people foolish which has forsaken the author of wisdom, and compares them to the images of which it is written: “They have eyes and do not see; they have ears and do not hear. Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them.” He addresses Judah and the house of Jacob properly, for Israel had for a long time been in exile among the Assyrians; and at the same time he gives us to understand that even without a command we ought to understand what is right by natural sense. [3] “Will you not fear me, says the Lord, and will you not grieve (or: tremble) before my face? I who have set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting command which it will not pass; and its waves will toss, and cannot prevail (or: it will be troubled and cannot), and they will roar (or: will sound) and will not pass over it. But this people has a heart unbelieving and provoking; they have withdrawn and gone away, and have not said in their heart: Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives us the early and the late rain in its season, who keeps for us the fullness of the yearly harvest.” He recounts his benefits in order to convict the ungrateful. “Will you not fear me”, he says, “I who have given you so much? I do not desire the love of the perfect but the fear of beginners: I who have set the sand as a boundary for the sea, who by my command have restrained so powerful an element and the measureless masses of its depths at the shores, according to what is written: ‘He set a command, and it will not pass away.’ Things that have no sense of hearing hear and perceive me; and the people that was once mine, made foolish by its own fault, not only despises but provokes its sweet God. They have withdrawn from me”, he says, “and turned their backs on me and gone off with hurried step, nor did silent conscience draw them back, so that they should say in their hearts: Let us fear him who gives us the early and the late rain! Through all these things I showed the good fullness of the yearly harvest.” For this, the first edition of Aquila and Symmachus interpreted “weeks”; for in the Hebrew is written “sabaoth”, which, because of the ambiguity of the word, signifies both “weeks” and “fullness”. ### Scripture references - Matt 3:12: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 73:9 (72:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jer 5:20–24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 115:5–8 (113:13-16 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 148:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The first sentence is the end of the last comment of Book 1 (see 1.101). The preface of Book 2 and two chapters follow; the beginnings are marked. Those who “think themselves like God” are the Pelagians; the answer already given is perhaps Jerome's Letter 133 to Ctesiphon, and the fuller answer his Dialogue against the Pelagians (identification uncertain). “Set their mouth against heaven”: Ps 73:9 (LXX 72:9). Matt 3:12; Jer 5:20–24; Ps 115:5–8 (also Ps 135:16–18); Ps 148:6. Jerome's “sabaoth” is the Hebrew šābuʿôt (“weeks”), confused in his discussion with a word meaning “fullness”. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.3 (Reiter CSEL 59:74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-3). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-2-4 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:76 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Sin, not any weakness in God, withholds his blessings; the impious who prey on others like fowlers are found even in the church, ruled by avarice. ### Latin text IV. Iniqu itates nostrne decl i iia u e r itnt linee et peceatn noxtra prohibverunl bdnuta a nobis. Ergo si quando et mare transcendit terminos suos et plunia re- !'. trahitur, nequa|quam adbreuiata est manus domini, ut ista i* non faciat, sed peccata nostra haec ad nos nenientia declinarunt, ut a>l alios pergerent, qui non peecauerunt. 'et prohihuerunf, inquit, 'iam ueniens ad nos bonum iuxta illud, quod secundnm litteram scriptum est: mandabo nubibus, ne pluant super eam imbrem'. possumus autem iinbrem »> temporaneuin et serotinnm Iegem accipere et euangelium et diuersas uocationes a prima hora usque ad undecimam. in quibus operariis uineae unum uitae aeteniae praemium pollieetur. V. Quia inuenti sunt in populo meo impii insidiantes quasi aucupes, laqueos ponentes et pedicas ad capiendos uiros! sicut deripula pleiui auibus, sic domus roruni plenae dolo. Ut declinaret ab eis imber temporaneus et serotinus et bona omnia non uenirent, causae subiciuntur. quia inuenti sunt in populo eius 'impii'. non dixit 'iniquos' et 'peccatores', ut noua uult heresis, sed 'impios'. impietas aperte negat deum; iniquitas atque peccatum. si confiteatur errorem, facile ad raisericordiam flectit deum. quodque nos diximus: insidiantes quasi aucupes et in LXX non habetur, Aquila et Symmaclius transtulerunt nerbnm io 'iasir' quasi rete aucupis, quod etiam, qui bonus inter eos uidetur et rectus, instar aucupis tendat insidias. dum inuicem se uenantur ad mortem et aliorum damnis atque dispendiis suas conplent domos, ut impleatur philosophorura illa sententia: omnis diues aut iniquus aut heres iniqui. u atque utinam ab his tantum tiant, qui uidentur foris esse et quos dominus iudicat, et non in nostris conuenticulis impleantur. quos possidet radix omnium malorum auaritia, ita ut uenieutiuin ad nos non ora contemplemur. sed manus! ### English translation (Claude) [4] “Your iniquities have turned these things aside, and your sins have kept good things from you.” So if ever the sea passes its bounds and the rain is withheld, it is by no means that the hand of the Lord is shortened so that he does not do these things, but our sins have turned aside these things that were coming to us, so that they went to others who had not sinned. “And they have kept back”, he says, “the good that was already coming to us”, according to what is written in the literal sense: “I will command the clouds not to rain rain upon it.” We can also take the early and the late rain as the law and the gospel, and the various callings from the first hour to the eleventh, in which one reward of eternal life is promised to the workers in the vineyard. [5] “For wicked men are found among my people, lying in wait like fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men. Like a fowler's trap full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit.” The reasons are given why the early and late rain turned away from them and all good things did not come: because impious men were found among his people. He did not say “unrighteous” and “sinners”, as the new heresy would have it, but “impious”. Impiety openly denies God; unrighteousness and sin, if they confess their error, easily bend God to mercy. And what we said, “lying in wait like fowlers”, is not found in the Septuagint; Aquila and Symmachus translated the word “iasir” as “like a fowler's net”: that even the one who seems good and upright among them lays snares like a fowler, while they hunt one another to death and fill their houses with the losses and ruin of others, so that that saying of the philosophers is fulfilled: “Every rich man is either unjust or the heir of an unjust man.” And would that these things were done only by those who seem to be outside, whom the Lord judges, and were not fulfilled in our own gatherings, which avarice, the root of all evils, possesses, so that we look not at the faces of those who come to us but at their hands! ### Scripture references - Jer 5:25–27: quotation, high confidence - Isa 59:1: allusion, high confidence - Isa 5:6: quotation, high confidence - Matt 20:1–16: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:12–13: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 5 was lost); the beginnings are marked [4] and [5]. The lemma of chapter 5, mostly lost in the OCR, is supplied from PL 24 (Vallarsi) as a logged correction. Jer 5:25–27. Isa 59:1; Isa 5:6; Matt 20:1–16; 1 Cor 5:12–13; 1 Tim 6:10. The saying about the rich man is proverbial; source unidentified. The “new heresy” is taken to be Pelagianism. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.4 (Reiter CSEL 59:76; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-4). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-2-6 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:77 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Those grown rich by preying on others neglect justice for the orphan and the poor and will be punished. ### Latin text VI. Ideo magnificati siint et ditnti. inrrnssati »s«Mf et iiipingnati »1 praelerieni ut xermows meo$ pessime. rausam non i n d icanernnt, eausam — giue iiidicium — pnpilli non di rrm n n I et iudicium paupernm — siue uidnae — iudicauerinit. niimi,uid super his non »isi\tabof dirit dnminns. nnt sn per. gentcm h u i n scrm odi non ii lcisretu r anima meu? Si uoluero annotare per siugula, quae iu Septuaginta editioue praetermissa sant, longum fiet. 'qui tendunt,' ait. 'insidias et aliorum nuditate laetantur, ideo maguificati sunt et ditati.' quia superiora fecerunt, inerassati sunt et inpinguati iuxta illnd. quod scriptuni est: incrassatus est et inpinguatus et recalcitrauit dilectus. et praeterierunt sermones meos. quia diuitiarum conscientia illud dixerunt de euangelio: anima, liabes multa bona posita in annos plurimos: requiesce, u comede, bibe, epulare! praeterierunt autem in malum sui cunctosque homines despieientes non posuerunt dei iudicium ante oculos suos. pupillum et pauperes contemserunt. pro quo Septuaginta dixerunt 'uiduas', qnod in Hebraico non habetur; 'hebionim' quippe proprie 'pauperes', non 'uiduas' sonat. i quod autem sequitur: numquid super his non uisitabo? dicit doniinus, aut super gentem huiuscemodi aon nlciscetar anima mea? iam supra dissertum est ### English translation (Claude) [6] “Therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek, and they have passed over my words most wickedly. They have not judged the cause, the cause (or: judgment) of the orphan, they have not directed it, and they have not judged the judgment of the poor (or: of the widow). Shall I not punish these things, says the Lord, or on such a nation shall my soul not be avenged?” If I wish to note one by one the things left out in the Septuagint edition, it will take long. “Those who lay snares”, he says, “and rejoice in the stripping of others, have therefore become great and rich.” Because they did the things above, they grew fat and sleek, according to what is written: “The beloved grew fat and sleek and kicked.” “And they passed over my words”, because in the awareness of their riches they said that saying from the gospel: “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, feast!” They passed over to their own harm, and despising all men they did not set God's judgment before their eyes. They despised the orphan and the poor; for which the Septuagint said “widows”, which is not in the Hebrew; for “hebionim” properly means “poor”, not “widows”. As for what follows, “Shall I not punish these things, says the Lord, or on such a nation shall my soul not be avenged?”, it has already been discussed above. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:28–29: quotation, high confidence - Deut 32:15: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 5:28–29; Deut 32:15; Luke 12:19. The earlier discussion is at 1.96 (Jer 5:9). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.6 (Reiter CSEL 59:77; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-6). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/1-85/#p-2-7 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:78 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophets lie, the priests applaud, and the people love it; leaders and people alike are guilty. ### Latin text VII. Stupor et iiiirahilia facta 8uni iu terrn: prophctae prophetabant mendaciiim — siue /« i alii obsidere et subuertere ciuitatem. in pastoribus et gregibus eorum principes sentiamus et exercitum Chaldaeorum. tigent antem tentoria sua in circuitu in obsidione urbis et pascet unusquisque eos, qui sub manu su» sunt. suas uidelicet turmas et numeros. qui principes siue n Bl pastores dicent gregibus suis: sanctificate super Hierusalem bellum; domini enim imperium est. consurgite et ascendamus in meridie, non per noctem et insidias. - 8ed.P,ena ,nce pagneiuus; nullus enim nobis potest resistere'. ### English translation (Claude) [9] “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman. Shepherds and their flocks will come to her; they have pitched (or: will pitch) their tents against her round about; each will feed those who are under his hand. Sanctify (or: prepare) war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon!” The beauty of Jerusalem, which is Zion itself, is described, so that the one name means the whole city and the other the citadel of the city. For Zion is interpreted “citadel”, that is, watchtower, and it is compared to a beautiful woman; and as lovers come to her, so shepherds are said to come to it. And quite elegantly, in the Hebrew, the word written with four letters, resh, ayin, yod, mem, if read “reim”, signifies “lovers”, if “roim”, “shepherds”, so that either, according to the metaphor of a beautiful woman, lovers are understood, or, according to the overthrow of the city, shepherds; some of whom hasten to defile a harlot, others to besiege and overthrow a city. In the shepherds and their flocks let us understand the princes and the army of the Chaldeans. They will pitch their tents round about in the siege of the city, and each will feed those who are under his hand, namely his squadrons and companies. These princes, or shepherds, will say to their flocks: “Sanctify war against Jerusalem, for it is the Lord's command. Arise and let us go up at noon, not by night and ambush, but let us fight in full light; for no one can resist us.” ### Scripture references - Jer 6:2–4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:2–4a. The Greek word for “metaphor” is garbled in the OCR; the Hebrew word play is discussed also at 1.48. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.9 (Reiter CSEL 59:80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-9). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-10 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:80 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The besieged lament the coming night, while the besiegers resolve to attack by night as well, to show their strength. ### Latin text x. Uae nobis, quia fiecliiiauit dies, qUia loftfiores faetae suut — siue defeceru nt — umbrae ue- •perae. aurgile et asci-ndam us in nocie et dissipc- Mus domos — siae fundumenta — cius/ Illi dicunt: snrgite et ascendamus in meridie et clara luce pngnel" mus': isti respondent: uae nobis. quia longiores fa- «tae suut umbrae uesperae, secundum illud Uerpilianum: |et iam suniraa procul uillarum cnlmina fumant maioresque cadunt altis de montibus umbrae. et est sensus: 'si per diem liaec patimnr, quid patiemur in nocte?' rursiimque, qui supra dbcerant: 'sanctificate super eam bellum atqne eonsurgite'. nunc ipsi se prouocant ad bellan.luni dicentes: 'surgite et ascendamns in nocte, ut sciant aduersarii non temporis uictoriani esse, sed uiriuni, w et dissipemiiH douios, quae frnstra niurorum lirmitnte uallantur'. ### English translation (Claude) [10] “Woe to us, for the day has declined, for the evening shadows have grown longer (or: have failed). Arise, and let us go up by night and destroy her houses (or: foundations)!” Those say: “Arise and let us go up at noon and fight in clear light”; these answer: “Woe to us, for the evening shadows have grown longer”, according to that line of Virgil: “And now the rooftops of the farms smoke in the distance, and longer shadows fall from the high mountains.” And the sense is: “If we suffer these things by day, what shall we suffer by night?” And again those who had said above, “Sanctify war against her and arise”, now urge themselves to fight, saying: “Arise and let us go up by night, so that the enemies may know that victory depends not on the time but on strength, and let us destroy the houses which are fortified in vain by the strength of walls.” ### Scripture references - Jer 6:4–5: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Ecl. 1.82-83 (Virgil): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:4b–5. The Virgil lines are Eclogues 1.82–83. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.10 (Reiter CSEL 59:80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-10). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-11 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:80 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The besiegers are confident because God himself orders the siege of Jerusalem, which will be long. ### Latin text XI. Qn ia litir, dii it dominii* cxrrrituu m: cacdif r hgnnm — siue ligna — eius, effnuditr — sine nam te desertam terram i nha/i i I -i b i lc •m .' LXX: i m- *• pietas et miseriu audietur in ea contra faciem p . $84 eius. per om\nem dolorem et flagellnm erndieris, Hicrn salem, nc forte reccdat anima inea n le. iu facinm te iiiuiam terram, qnae iioii hnhitctur. Per s baec discimus, quod flagellet dominus omneiu filium. quem recipit; et idcirco plagis atque tormentis ennlitnr Hierusalem, ut corrigatur et non recedat anima dei ab ea et redigatur in solitudinem. si qnando igitur crebris angustiis subiacemus. recordemur in consolationem nostri istiusuersiculi: per omnem 'odolorem et flagellum erudieris. Hierusalem. ### English translation (Claude) [13] “Iniquity and destruction will be heard in her; before me continually are sickness and wounds. Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you, lest I make you a desert, a land not inhabited!” The Septuagint: “Impiety and misery will be heard in her, before her face. By every pain and scourge you will be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you, lest I make you a pathless land that is not inhabited.” Through these words we learn that the Lord scourges every son whom he receives; and therefore Jerusalem is taught by blows and torments, so that she may be corrected and the soul of God not depart from her and she be reduced to a wilderness. If ever, then, we lie under frequent distresses, let us remember for our consolation this little verse: “By every pain and scourge you will be instructed, Jerusalem.” ### Scripture references - Jer 6:7–8: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:7b–8; Heb 12:6. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.13 (Reiter CSEL 59:80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-13). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-14 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The gleaning of Israel's remnant is read either as the saving of a remnant or as the complete removal of the people to Babylon. ### Latin text XIV. Haec dic.it i/ominus exercitunm: nsqne "d ineemiim colliijent quasi i n iiinea reliquias Isrnhel; conuerte manum tuam qnasi " i inlem iator ail Cartalln m ! LXX :qni n li a e c.dicit d o m i u " s uirtut u m : u racemale, rncemntc quasi i n uinea reliqn ias Isral'fl; reiiertimini quasi iti ndemiator i n cartallnm saam! Alii in bonam partem, alii in malam haec dicta suscipiunt. in bonam partem: 'cum uastata fuerit Hierusalem, reliquiae saluae fianf. in malam sic: 'ne unus quidem racemus et paruus botrus remaneat in uinea, omnia colligantur; et qiiodcumque inueneris. instar uindemiatoris in cartallum conice. nt, qoomodo ille racemos ad torcular, sic tu captiuos pertrahas in Babvlonem'. ### English translation (Claude) [14] “Thus says the Lord of hosts: They will glean the remnant of Israel thoroughly, as in a vineyard; turn back your hand, like a grape-gatherer, to the basket!” The Septuagint: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Glean, glean as in a vineyard the remnant of Israel; return like a grape-gatherer to his basket!” Some take these words in a good sense, others in a bad. In a good sense: “When Jerusalem has been laid waste, a remnant will be saved.” In a bad sense thus: “Let not even one cluster or small bunch remain in the vineyard; let everything be gathered; and whatever you find, throw it into the basket like a grape-gatherer, so that, as he carries the clusters to the winepress, so you may drag the captives to Babylon.” ### Scripture references - Jer 6:9: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:9. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.14 (Reiter CSEL 59:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-14). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-15 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The people cannot hear because they would not circumcise their ears; this willed inability turns God's saving word into their condemnation. ### Latin text XV. Cui loquar et contestabor, a t audiot? » ecce inc.ircii nicisae anres earnm — siue tiestrni1 — ct ttutlire ii 011 possuiit.' (ecce iterbitm ttomini factum est eis in opprobrinm et non s « scipient iliudl) Non possunt audire, nuia aures circunicidere noluerunt; nec tamen uacat inpossibilitas supplicio. quae de contemtu et infidelitate descendit. si quis ergo dei uerba non suscipit nec habet praeceptornm eius intellegentiani, incircnmcisis auribus est. simulque notandum, qnod circumcisio in scnpturis tribus generibus appellatur: in praeputio, in corde et m auribus: unde dicit et dominus: quihabet aures andiendi. audiat. uoluntate ergo nostra uerbnm dei non suscipimus: et idcirco fit nobis in opprobrium. ut, quod datum fuerat ad salutem. nostro uitio uertatur in poenam. ### English translation (Claude) [15] “To whom shall I speak and testify, that he may hear? Behold, their ears (or: your ears) are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them, and they will not receive it!” They cannot hear because they would not circumcise their ears; nor yet is the inability free from punishment, which comes from contempt and unbelief. If anyone, then, does not receive the words of God and has no understanding of his commands, he is of uncircumcised ears. At the same time it should be noted that circumcision in the Scriptures is spoken of in three kinds: in the foreskin, in the heart, and in the ears. Hence the Lord too says: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It is by our will, then, that we do not receive the word of God, and therefore it becomes a reproach to us, so that what had been given for salvation is turned by our fault into punishment. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:15: quotation, high confidence - Acts 7:51: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:10; Matt 11:15; compare Acts 7:51. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.15 (Reiter CSEL 59:88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-15). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-16 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: In the Hebrew the prophet is filled with God's wrath; in the Septuagint God speaks of restraining his fury, a reading Jerome finds self-contradictory. ### Latin text XVI. Ideireo furorc domi n i ple n n s su ni. hiboram t ii */ i neits. LXX: et fnrorent inettm im/ileni et 89" xtimti, et non consuinsi eitm. Iuxta Hebraicuni ei persona prophetae dicitur. quod ueuientem iram dei ante prospiciat et plenus sit furoris domini et iracundiae et ultra sustinere non possit nec pro peceatoribus andeat dominnm deprecari. iuxta LXX autem nonus sensus ponitur, quod ipse loquatur dominus et dicat: furorem meum | conpleui feriendo populum peecatorem. et tauien retinuerit illum et non totum effuderit, ut reliquiae saluae fiant. quod mihi uidetur sibi esae contranum: si enim conpleuit furorem suum, quoinodo sustinuit, ne conpleret? ### English translation (Claude) [16] “Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I have laboured in holding it in.” The Septuagint: “And I have filled up my fury and held it back, and I have not consumed them.” According to the Hebrew it is said in the person of the prophet: that he foresees the coming wrath of God, is full of the Lord's fury and anger, can no longer bear it, and dares not intercede with the Lord for the sinners. But according to the Septuagint a new sense is set down: that the Lord himself speaks and says, “I have filled up my fury by striking the sinful people”, and yet he held it back and did not pour it all out, so that a remnant may be saved. This seems to me to contradict itself: for if he filled up his fury, how did he hold it back from filling it up? ### Scripture references - Jer 6:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:11a. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.16 (Reiter CSEL 59:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-16). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-17 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God's fury will fall on all ages and on husbands and wives together, and homes, fields and wives will pass to the conquerors. ### Latin text XVII. Effnudc — siue effudii — super paritul"»> fl S.i fori» el super coucilinm iuiienum simitl; >/i> »»im eum uxore capietnr. senex cum pleno dierum. et traiisibnnt domns eoriim a d alteros, aori et nxores pariter. Uel propheta praecipit in spiritu uenienti s Chaldaeo, ut effundat furoiem domini super paruulos et innoxiae quoque non parcat aetati, uel certe narrat, quid factum sit super concilium iuuenum simul, qui ad repugnamium arma cornpuerant. uir enim cura uiore capietur. dulcissima inter se nomina pariter sentient captiuitatem. senex cum icpleno dierum. ergo seueetus non est aetas ultima. sed eonim, qui sunt 'pleni dierum'. quos nostro sermone appellamus 'depositos' siue 'decrepitos'. sequitur: et transibunt domus eorum ad alteros captiuitatis nialo, agri et uxores si- 'nul. ut et coniux ad hostes transeat et possessio. quidquid »& mxta litteram intellegimus super Hierusalem, iuxta intellegentiam spiritalem referamus ad ecclesiam, si offenderit deum. ### English translation (Claude) [17] “Pour it out (or: I will pour it out) upon the child in the street and upon the gathering of young men together; for the husband will be taken with the wife, the old man with the one full of days. And their houses will pass to others, fields and wives together.” Either the prophet in the spirit commands the coming Chaldean to pour out the Lord's fury upon the children and not to spare even the innocent age, or he certainly tells what was done to the gathering of young men together, who had taken up arms to resist. For the husband will be taken with the wife: the sweetest names will suffer captivity together. The old man with the one full of days: so old age is not the last age, but that of those who are “full of days”, whom in our language we call “past it” or “decrepit”. It follows: “and their houses will pass to others” by the evil of captivity, “fields and wives together”, so that both the wife and the property pass to the enemies. Whatever we understand of Jerusalem according to the letter, let us refer according to the spiritual understanding to the church, if it has offended God. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:11–12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:11b–12a. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.17 (Reiter CSEL 59:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-17). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-18 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Prophets and priests, given to avarice, promise false peace to the powerful and feel no shame at their abominations. ### Latin text XVIII. Qnia extendam manu m meam »u per habitantes terrant. dicit dominus. a minore qnippr » nsqite ad maiorem omnes auaritiae stitdrnt et a 1'iophefa iisqnc atl sacerdotrm citncti facinnt do- '*•"». et curabant con I ri t innem filine popnli mei '■»m itjnominia dieentes: pax, pax! et non < rnt WMfc Qaod in Hebraico dicitur: extendam manum meam «super peccatores siue habitatores terrae, apud LXX aemper 'eleuabo' scribitur, qui uterque percutientis est habitus «uxta illud, quod scriptum est: et adhuc manus domini extenta siue excelsa. habitatores autem terrae semper in uitio sunt; unde <$ in Apocalypsi frequentius dicitur: uae habitatoribus terrae! a minore usque ad maiorem omnes student auaritiae secundum illud apostoiicum: radix omnium maloruni auaritia. et a propheta usque ad sacerdotem cuncti faciunt dolum, alii in prophetando mendacium, alii peruerse interpretando legem dei: dicit enim et in alio loco propheta: quaerite legem a sai c er dotib u s. 'et cum\ inquit, 'tanta facerent, prospera quaeque meo popuio nuntiabant et quasi curare cupiebant uulnus et ignominiam filiae meae dicentes: pai, pax. cum pax omnino non esset'. hoc | proprie de sacerdotibus et doctoribus intellegendum, qui diuitibus et eis, quos uident in honore maxirao constitutos, repromittunt prospera et clementeru praedicant denm magis illos supplicio et iracundiae praeparantes. K. 15a XIX.C'o/< fusi sunt,i{itia ubomi nationcm fecerttiit'* » ij ii i ii jtntiu* i o ii fttsione no n xunt confusi et erubescere ncscie r u u t. Pressius hoc legendum est iuxta Hebraicum. 'et cum,' inqnit. 'tanta fecerint. numquid confusi sunt? numquid erubuerunt in sceleribus suis? quin potius auxere contemtum et erubescere nescierunt" — 'nescierunt' autem hic posuit pro 'noluerunt' — 'sine nimio contemtu et uitio inoliti mali ue intellegere quidera potuerunt'. ### English translation (Claude) [18] “For I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. For from the least to the greatest all are given to avarice, and from the prophet to the priest all practise deceit. And they healed the wound of the daughter of my people with disgrace, saying: Peace, peace! and there was no peace.” Where the Hebrew says, “I will stretch out my hand over the sinners” or “the inhabitants of the land”, the Septuagint always writes “I will lift up”; both are the posture of one who strikes, according to what is written: “and still the hand of the Lord is stretched out” or “lifted up”. The inhabitants of the earth are always in fault; hence in the Apocalypse it is often said: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth!” From the least to the greatest all are given to avarice, according to the apostle's saying: “The root of all evils is avarice.” And from the prophet to the priest all practise deceit, some by prophesying a lie, others by perversely interpreting God's law; for the prophet says in another place too: “Seek the law from the priests.” “And while they did such things”, he says, “they announced every prosperity to my people, and, as if wishing to heal the wound and disgrace of my daughter, said: Peace, peace, when there was no peace at all.” This is properly to be understood of the priests and teachers who promise prosperity to the rich and to those they see set in the highest honour, and proclaim God as merciful, while rather preparing them for punishment and wrath. [19] “They were confounded, because they committed abomination; rather, they were not confounded with confusion, and they did not know how to blush.” This must be read more closely according to the Hebrew. “And when they had done such things,” he says, “were they confounded? Did they blush in their crimes? Rather they increased their contempt and did not know how to blush” (he put “did not know” here for “would not”), “or, through excessive contempt and the habit of ingrained evil, they could not even understand it.” ### Scripture references - Jer 6:12–15: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:25: quotation, high confidence - Rev 8:13: quotation, medium confidence - 1 Tim 6:10: quotation, high confidence - Hag 2:11: quotation, medium confidence - Mal 2:7: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 19 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [18] and [19]. Jer 6:12b–15a. Isa 5:25; Rev 8:13; 1 Tim 6:10; “Seek the law from the priests”: Hag 2:11 (compare Mal 2:7). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.18 (Reiter CSEL 59:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-18). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-20 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:86 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Those who refuse even to recognize their sins will fall with all who fall at the time of punishment. ### Latin text XX. Qniimnbrcm caitcut intcr rwntes, tempore nisitationis suae corrucnl, dicit tlo m i n " yuomain', a.t, 'erubeseere nescierunt et non solum opus. sed ne scient.am qmdem habuere et sensnm paenitentiae. propterea cadent, qu, pnus stabant inter eos; qui uitiis suis corruent et, cum u.sitationis et poenae eorura tempus aduenerit, cunctis ruentibus sociabuntur'. grandis autem impietas non solum non cauere. sed nec intellegere uelle peccata et nullara habere Hstantiam bonorum malorumque operum. ### English translation (Claude) [20] “Therefore they will fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they will collapse, says the Lord.” “Because”, he says, “they did not know how to blush, and had not only no work but not even knowledge and a sense of repentance, therefore those who formerly stood will fall among them; they will collapse by their vices, and when the time of their visitation and punishment comes, they will be joined to all who are falling.” It is a great impiety not only not to guard against sins but not even to want to understand them, and to have no discernment between good and bad works. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:15b. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.20 (Reiter CSEL 59:86; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-20). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-21 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The ancient paths of the prophets lead to Christ the way; when Israel refused to hear the apostles, the gospel was turned to the nations. ### Latin text XXI. Haec dieit dominua; state super „,„., ,/ ui. a cum inuenta fuerit, praebet refrigerium siue puriticationem V- S?T animabus credentium. at illi e | contrario responderunt: non ambnlabimns per uiam euangelii proprie lioc propheta dicente de perfidia ludaeorum. statinique infert: 'et constitui super uos speculatores' — hau dnbinm. quin apostolorum indicetur chorus iuita Hiezechiel: fili hominis, speculatorem te dedi domui israhel — 'et praecepi, ut audiretis uocem tubae uel mandata euangelii uel doctrinam apostoloruui iuxta illud Isaiae: in montem excelsum ascende, qui euangelizas Sion: exalta sicut tuba uocem tuam. -5 qni adnuntias Hierusalem'. qni dixerunt: non audie- I mns et iunitati ad cenam noluerant uenire; propterea dicitur: audite, gentes! quod secuti sunt et apostoli, quando Ioquuntur in Lycaonii: uobis quidem oportebat primum loqui uerbum dei; sed quoniam repellitis illud et indignos uos iudicatis aeterna uita, ecce conuer- ; timur ad gentes. et cognosee, congregatio, nequaquam Iudaica. sed omnium nationum siue. qui pascitis greges, episcopi et presbyteri et omnis ordo ecclesiasticus, uel cognoscitete8timonitim, quodin e i s e s t : t e s t i m o n i Itt enim dei fidele, sapientiam praestans paruulis. quibus loquitur et dominus: noli timere, grex paruule. et: T ecce ego et pueri mei, quoa tnihi dedit deus. 'cognoscite ergo, quanta faciam populo non credenti.' quodque infertur: 8l> ifcdi, terra, totus orbis ad audiendum uocatur, sicut et in principio Isaiae legimus: audi, caelum, et auribus percipe, terra, quae scilicet doininus facturus sit populo Iudaeornm. ### English translation (Claude) [21] “Thus says the Lord: Stand on the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it; and you will find refreshment (or: purification) for your souls. And they said: We will not walk (or: we will not go). And I set watchmen over you: Hear the sound of the trumpet! And they said: We will not hear. Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation (or: you who feed flocks; or, according to Symmachus: and know the testimony that is in them), how great things I will do to them! Hear, O earth!” The gospel parable, if it is understood, will give the understanding of this place: in it the good merchant is said to sell all his pearls, so that with their price he may buy one most precious pearl; that is, that through the patriarchs and prophets we come to him who says, “I am the way.” We must therefore stand in the prophets, and contemplate most diligently, and ask about the ancient or everlasting paths (which are worn by the footsteps of many saints, and which in Greek are more expressively called tribous) which is the good way in the gospel, and walk in it; and when that way has been found, it gives refreshment or purification to the souls of believers. But they answered on the contrary: “We will not walk on the way of the gospel”, the prophet saying this properly of the faithlessness of the Jews. And at once he adds: “And I set watchmen over you” (no doubt the choir of the apostles is meant, according to Ezekiel: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel”), “and I commanded you to hear the sound of the trumpet”, either the commands of the gospel or the teaching of the apostles, according to Isaiah: “Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice like a trumpet, you who bring good news to Jerusalem.” They said, “We will not hear”, and when invited to the supper would not come. Therefore it is said: “Hear, you nations!” The apostles too followed this, when they spoke in Lycaonia: “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the nations.” “And know, O congregation”, not the Jewish one but that of all nations; or, “you who feed flocks”, bishops and presbyters and every rank of the church; or, “know the testimony that is in them”: for the testimony of God is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones, to whom the Lord too says, “Do not fear, little flock”, and, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me.” “Know, then, how great things I will do to the people that does not believe.” And as for what is added, “Hear, O earth”, the whole world is called to hear, as we read also at the beginning of Isaiah, “Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth”, what the Lord will do to the people of the Jews. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:16–18: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:45–46: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 14:16–24: allusion, high confidence - Acts 13:46: quotation, high confidence - Ps 19:7 (18:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:32: quotation, high confidence - Isa 8:18: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:16–18; the lemma is badly damaged in the OCR and is translated by sense. The Greek word (τρίβους) is garbled. Matt 13:45–46; John 14:6; Ezek 3:17; Isa 40:9; Luke 14:16–24; Acts 13:46; Ps 19:7 (LXX 18:8); Luke 12:32; Isa 8:18 (Heb 2:13); Isa 1:2. The reading of the verse against “the faithlessness of the Jews” is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.21 (Reiter CSEL 59:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-21). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-22 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The people that refused to hear will reap the fruit of its own thoughts. ### Latin text XXII. Eccc ego adducam mala super populum istutn, fructum couitationttm — siue uuersionis — eius, quia uerba niea non audierunt ct bcjem meam proieccrunt. Mala' appellat supplicia poenasque patientiuui nou super geotes. quae uocantur ad euangelii ueritatem, sed super populum, qui 'o respondit: non audiemus. et receptnrus est iructum cogitationum siue auersiouis suae dicente Dauid: labores mannum tuarum nianducabis. causaque perspicua, quia uerba domini uon audierint et legem eius abiecerink. ### English translation (Claude) [22] “Behold, I will bring evils upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts (or: of their turning away), because they have not heard my words and have rejected my law.” He calls “evils” the punishments and penalties of those who suffer them, not upon the nations, who are called to the truth of the gospel, but upon the people which answered, “We will not hear.” And it is to receive the fruit of its thoughts or turning away, as David says: “You will eat the labours of your hands.” And the cause is evident: because they did not hear the Lord's words and cast away his law. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 128:2 (127:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:19; Ps 128:2 (LXX 127:2). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.22 (Reiter CSEL 59:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-22). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-23 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Costly offerings are worthless from those who disobey God's law, as are alms given from the spoils of injustice. ### Latin text XXIII. l't i/nifi mihi ttis de Saba adfertis et eala- Mitm sufitte olentem de terra loHtjinqna? holocnusta uestra non sttnt accepta et uictimae uestrae nun plaenerunt mihi. Quod tura de Saba ueniant, nemo dubitat; unde et illud Uergilianum e3t: centumque Sabaeo tnre calent arae. 'calamum' autem, quod Hebraice dicitur 'cane', s^ » pro quo LXX et Theodotio | 'cinnamam' transtulerunt. de terra uenire longinqua propheticus sermo demonstrat, ut intellegamux Iudiam, de qua per Mare Rubrum plura ueniunt aromata. hoc genns pigmenti medici xasswxv aoprno^ appellant. et est «en- sus: 'frustra rnihi in unguenta conticienda, quae lege praecepta sunt, suauissimi odoris pigmenta confertis et holocausta succenditis, qui meam in lege non facitis uoluntatem', iuxta quod supra dictum est: uerba mea non audierunt et legem meam proiecernnt. hoc autem proprie conuenit his, qui » de rapinis et nudatione miserorum offerunt sacririeia et elemosynis ei iniquitate se putant redimere peccata dicente scriptura: redemtio animae uiri propriae dinitiae, quae non de iniquitate, sed de labore et iustitia congregantur. ### English translation (Claude) [23] “To what purpose do you bring me incense from Sheba and sweet-smelling cane from a far land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not pleased me.” No one doubts that incense comes from Sheba; hence too that line of Virgil: “and a hundred altars burn with Sabaean incense.” As for the “cane”, which in Hebrew is called “cane” and for which the Septuagint and Theodotion translated “cinnamon”, the prophetic word shows that it comes from a far land, so that we may understand India, from which many spices come across the Red Sea. Physicians call this kind of spice kassia arōmatikē. And the sense is: “In vain you bring me spices of sweetest odour for making the ointments commanded in the law, and kindle burnt offerings, you who do not do my will in the law”, according to what was said above: “they have not heard my words and have rejected my law.” This fits properly those who offer sacrifices from robbery and the stripping of the wretched, and think they redeem their sins by alms out of iniquity, though Scripture says: “The ransom of a man's soul is his own riches”, which are gathered not from iniquity but from labour and justice. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:20: quotation, high confidence - Jer 6:19: quotation, high confidence - Prov 13:8: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Aen. 1.416-417 (Virgil): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:20. The Virgil line is Aeneid 1.416–417. The Greek phrase (κασία ἀρωματική?) is garbled in the OCR and uncertain. “The ransom of a man's soul is his own riches”: Prov 13:8. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.23 (Reiter CSEL 59:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-23). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-24 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:90 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome sees the threatened stumbling fulfilled in the Jews of his day who reject Christ and read the law only by the letter. ### Latin text XXIV. Propterea haec tUrit doiiiimis: ecce ego dabo u> in popitlum istum ruinas et ruent in eis — siue iit* firviitatem et infirmabuntiir in eu — patres et ftlu siiiiul, uicinus uc proximns et peribnnt. Impleta uidemus omnia. quae dominus illi populo comminatus est: cotidie enim ruunt in blasphemiis suis nihilqne in se habent forte, i* sed omnis apud eos infirmitas est. filii patrum sequuntur blaspbeniias et cotidie recipiunt illam inprecationem: sanguis eius snper nos et super filios nostros; et non solum ipsi. sed et uicini et proiinri eorum, omnes, qui legem et prophetas sequuntur iuxta occidentem litteram et non iuita » spiritum uiuiticantem. et omnes pariter peribunt, quia pariter peccauerunt. ### English translation (Claude) [24] “Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks (or: weakness) before this people, and they will stumble on them (or: be weakened in it), fathers and sons together, neighbour and friend, and they will perish.” We see fulfilled all that the Lord threatened that people with: for daily they stumble in their blasphemies and have nothing strong in them, but all is weakness among them. The sons follow the blasphemies of the fathers and daily receive that imprecation: “His blood be upon us and upon our children”; and not only they, but their neighbours and friends, all who follow the law and the prophets according to the letter that kills and not according to the Spirit that gives life. And all will perish together, because they sinned together. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:21: quotation, high confidence - Matt 27:25: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:6: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 6:21; Matt 27:25; 2 Cor 3:6. The polemic against the Jews of Jerome's day is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.24 (Reiter CSEL 59:90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-24). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-25 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:90 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The fierce northern army is described to move Judah to penance; the passage fits the church in times of persecution. ### Latin text XXV. Haec ilirit dominus: ecce populus iienit de terrn ui/uilonis et grits miujna consiuget u fiiiibus terrae. sngittam et scutum — sine xibijnnam — arrt- * piet: eiudelix est — uel inpudens — et non misere- hitur; uoz eius quasi mare sonabit ct sitper equus Oteendent praeparati quasi uir ad proelittm uduer- '"'« te, filia Sion. Proprie hoc de Babyloniis prophetatur, qm ueoturi sunt eontra populum Hierusalem, et omnis armai turae ordo describitur et impetus proeliantium, ut uocis terrore concussi agant paenitentiam et clementissimum placent quoniam ijladius inimiri, pttuor in eircttitti.' Docet euangelium non esse exeundum in agrum nec de tectorura altitudine descendendum, sed audiendum illud: in raont* saluum te fac, ad quem in Isaia et Michea iubemur ttttr«?re atque conscendere. praecipitur autem iuxta litteiaro, ne foras exeant, ne deserant rauros, sed ut tueantur se firmis mnnitionibus. XXVUI. Fiiia pop**H met, accingere cilicio et conspergere cinere; luctum unigeniti — siue ililccti — fae tibi, planptum amarum — siue misembilcin —. * ijiiiii repentc ueiiiet uastator — siue miseriii — SUPtf, nos — siue snper uos — .' Quia supra dixerat: Dolite esire ad agros et in nia ne ambuletis, quoniam gladius inimici, pauorin circuitu, et fugam quoque prohibuerat, docet, quid facere debeant, ut conuertantur scilicet ad paeni- to tentiam et hanc firmissimam et securam habeant armaturani. ■2 ubi nos diiimus: luctum unigeniti fac tibi, pro 'unigenito' in Hebraico scribitur 'iaid', quod magis •solitarium' quani 'unigenitum' sonat. si enim esset 'dilectus' siue 'amabilis', ut LXX transtulerunt, 'ididia' poneretur, quod et Salomoni deus « nomen inposuit. nihil autern dolentius quam unum uel solum perdere filium. illudque, quod nos interpretati sumus: quia repenteueniet nastator siue miseria auper uob, LXX super uos posueruut. cum multo deus misericordius diierit, nt, quidquid super suum uenturum est populum, super se *> quoque uenire testetur. 'uastatorem' autem proprie uelNabuchodonosor uel diaboluin significat. ### English translation (Claude) [27] “Do not go out into the fields, and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side!” The gospel teaches that one must not go out into the field nor come down from the height of the housetops, but hear that saying, “Save yourself on the mountain”, to which in Isaiah and Micah we are told to go and ascend. But according to the letter it is commanded that they should not go outside nor desert the walls, but protect themselves with strong fortifications. [28] “Daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ash; make mourning for an only son (or: a beloved one), bitter (or: pitiable) lamentation; for suddenly the destroyer (or: misery) will come upon us (or: upon you).” Because he had said above, “Do not go out into the fields and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side”, and had forbidden flight too, he teaches what they should do: namely, turn to repentance and have this as their firmest and safest armour. Where we said, “make mourning for an only son”, for “only son” the Hebrew writes “iaid”, which means “solitary” rather than “only-begotten”. For if it were “beloved” or “lovable”, as the Septuagint translated, “ididia” would be put, which is also the name God gave to Solomon. Nothing is more painful than to lose one son, or an only son. And for what we interpreted, “for suddenly the destroyer or misery will come upon us”, the Septuagint put “upon you”, though God spoke much more mercifully in testifying that whatever was to come upon his people would come upon himself too. “Destroyer” properly signifies either Nebuchadnezzar or the devil. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:25–26: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:16–18: allusion, high confidence - Gen 19:17: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 2:3: allusion, high confidence - Mic 4:2: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 12:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 28 is garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [27] and [28]. Jer 6:25–26. Matt 24:16–18; Gen 19:17; Isa 2:3; Mic 4:2; Jedidiah, 2 Sam 12:25. Jerome's Hebrew forms are given as printed (yāḥîd, yĕdîdyāh). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.27 (Reiter CSEL 59:1; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-27). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-29 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:92 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophet tests the people like an assayer and finds them rejected silver that no smelting can purify; then he is sent to preach at the temple gate where the crowds must hear. ### Latin text XXIX. Probatorem dedi tc in populo meo robustm» ct nciex ft prohobia iiiiiiu rorum. oinncs isti priniipcs dc.clinnntc* — siue i nnboedientes — , ambulantes frau- *» dulenler — siue peruerse — aes et ferrniii; miiuersi tprrupti sunt. defeeit sufflatorium in igne — quem *M significantius Graeci fvnja^ appellant — . eonsn m\tnm cst plnmbum, frnstra eonflauit eonflator — siue nrtjeutarius — ; malitiae enim eorum non sunt eonlUmtar. nrgentum rejirobnm itnente cos, tjnia tlomiiuis froiecit illos! Datur propbeta popnlo incredulo probator 'robustus'. quod Hebraice dicitur 'mabsar', quod uel 'munitum' iuxta Aquilam uel 'clausnm' atque 'eircumdatum' iuita Srmio machum et LXX sonat instar urbis firmissimae, ut nullas populi pertimescat insidias. 'ut, cum probaueris', ait. *et scieris uiam populi delinqneutis, tunc intellegas argentum aere corarautum nulla posse ratione purgari'. quomodo enim plurabum miscetur metallis. quae adultera sunt atque uiolata. ut materia u separetur aliena. et, si forsitan purgata non fuerit, plurabum omne consumitur et in nihilum redigitur. ita orane eloquium doctrinarum et sermo propheticns perit in his, qui uudire contemnunt. dicamus et super his. qui sicut aspides surdae obturant aures suas. ne andiant uoces incantantium. frustra io enim conflauit argentarins siue conflator: malitiae enim eorum non sunt eonsumtae. unde nequaqoam argentnm', sed 'argentum reprobum' sunt uocati. quia dominus abiecit eos. principe.* antem sunt a domino recodentes siue inoboedientes, qui pernerse ambulant et fraudu- » lenter. mino dicens: sta in porta domus doinini el praedn/i — uel lege — ibi uerbum istud et dic: audite uerbum domini, omnis Inda, i/ni ingredi mini per portat has. n t adoretis dominiim! Hoc in editione LXX non habetur, sed de Theodotione ex Hebvaieo additum est imperatur auteni i prophetae, ut stet in porta domini, per quam ad orandum dominum ingreditur populi multitudo, ut per hanc occasionem possint audire, quae dominus praecipit. per quod intellegimus duritiam popnli Iudaeorum. quod quasi mendaces atque uaesanos habuerint prophetas, dum per occasionem et celebritatem loci audire coguntur uerba domini et non propter hoc. quod nerha sint domini. ### English translation (Claude) [29] “I have made you an assayer among my people, a strong one, and you will know and test their way. All these princes are turning aside (or: disobedient), walking deceitfully (or: perversely); bronze and iron; they are all corrupted. The bellows has failed in the fire” (which the Greeks more expressively call physētēr), “the lead is consumed; in vain has the founder (or: silversmith) smelted, for their wickednesses are not consumed. Call them rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them!” The prophet is given to the unbelieving people as an assayer, “strong”, which in Hebrew is called “mabsar”, which sounds either “fortified”, according to Aquila, or “shut in” and “surrounded”, according to Symmachus and the Septuagint, like a very strong city, so that he may fear no plots of the people. “So that, when you have tested”, he says, “and known the way of the sinning people, you may then understand that silver mixed with bronze can by no means be purified.” For as lead is mixed with metals that are adulterated and corrupted, so that the foreign matter may be separated, and, if perhaps it has not been purified, all the lead is consumed and reduced to nothing, so every eloquence of doctrine and every prophetic word perishes in those who despise to hear. Let us say this also of those who, like deaf asps, stop their ears so as not to hear the voices of the charmers. For in vain did the silversmith or founder smelt: for their wickednesses were not consumed. Hence they are called not “silver” but “rejected silver”, because the Lord has cast them away. The princes are those who withdraw from the Lord, or are disobedient, who walk perversely and deceitfully. [30] “… saying: Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim (or: read) there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah, you who enter through these gates to worship the Lord!” This is not in the Septuagint edition, but was added from the Hebrew out of Theodotion. The prophet is commanded to stand in the gate of the Lord, through which the multitude of the people enters to worship the Lord, so that by this occasion they may be able to hear what the Lord commands. By this we understand the hardness of the people of the Jews: that they regarded the prophets as liars and madmen, since they are compelled to hear the words of the Lord because of the occasion and the crowds of the place, and not because they are the words of the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 6:27–30: quotation, high confidence - Ps 58:4–5 (57:5-6 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Jer 7:1–2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 30 and the opening of its lemma, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord”, are lost in the OCR; shown “…”); the beginnings are marked [29] and [30]. Jer 6:27–7:2. The Greek word (φυσητήρ) is garbled. Ps 58:4–5 (LXX 57:5–6). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.29 (Reiter CSEL 59:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-29). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-31 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God, like a merciful physician, calls Judah to amend its ways and promises a secure dwelling in the land. ### Latin text XXXI. Haee dirit dmninus erercitiium, dcus Israfiel: bonas facite — siue dirigitc — nias uestras et studia ucstra — siue adi mtentiones uestras — el habitabo UObiaeum in Inco isto siue habilarc nos faciam in loro islo. | Clementissimus medicus omni uulneratos cupit sanare medicamine. quando autem dicit: bonas facite siue corrigite uias uestras. ostendit eas esse peruersas et nihil in se habere boni. et quia naturale est. ut unusquisque genitale I diligat solum et nihil dukius habeat patria. pollicetur praemia oboedientibus. 'habitaho,' inquit. 'nobiscum, ut securos de habitatione uos faciam, siue uos ipsos' — iuxta Symmachum — 'firma habitatione fnndabo'. qui ait: et confirmabo uos in loco isto. ### English translation (Claude) [31] “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Make good (or: direct) your ways and your pursuits (or: your devices), and I will dwell with you in this place (or: I will make you dwell in this place).” The most merciful physician wishes to heal the wounded with every remedy. When he says, “make good” or “correct your ways”, he shows that they are perverse and have nothing good in them. And because it is natural that each one loves his native soil and holds nothing sweeter than his homeland, he promises rewards to the obedient. “I will dwell”, he says, “with you, so as to make you secure in your dwelling; or, I will establish you yourselves” (according to Symmachus) “in a firm dwelling”; he who says: “and I will establish you in this place.” ### Scripture references - Jer 7:3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:3. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.31 (Reiter CSEL 59:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-31). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-32 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Confidence in the temple, or in splendid churches, is vain without justice and true faith; likewise bodily virginity without purity of mind. ### Latin text XXXII. Nolite eonfidcrr in urrbis niend ar i bu s dire»- fes: ttmplum domini, templum domini, templum domim est! quoniam, si bene direreritis — siue direzeri- Its — uias uestras el studin uestra, si feceritis iudieium inter uirum et proximnm snum. aduenae et puspillo et uidiiae non feceritis calumniam — siue non oppresseritis eos — nec sanijui ncm innocentem effudentis n/ /OCo hoc el pnst deos a/ienos non ambulaueritts m malurrr uobismet ipsis, habitabo uobisciim — siue habitiire uos faciam — in loco isto, in terra. quam dcdi patribus uestris a saeculo usque in saeeulum. Hoc, i]uoJ LXX in huius capituli addidere principio: in uerbis mendacii. quae uobis omnino non proderunt. in Hebraico non habetur. praecipit autem et tunc populo Iudaeorum et hodie nobis. qui uidemur in ecclesia constituti. ne » fiduciam habeamus in aedificiorum splendore auratisque I*quearibus et uestitis parietibus marmorum crustis et dicamns: templum domini, templum domini. teinplum doraini est. illud enim templum domini est. in quo habitat uera fides, sancta conuersatio omniumque uirtutum chorus. denique infert: *o'si rectas feceritis uias uestras et cogitatio uestra non abierit post errorem et secuti fueritis iustitiam et malum non effeceritis neque effuderitis sangninem innocentem simplices quosque scandalizantes et post deos alienos non ambulaue ritis peruersa adorantes dogmata. quae de « nestro corde simulastis in malum uobismet ipsis, uel habi- tabo uobiscum in loco isto, quem uocatis templum dei. et in terra, quam dedi patribus uestris, apostolis uidelicet et apostolicis uiris, uel certe firma statione habitare U08 faciam a principio usque ad fineni.' potest hoc et illis uirginibus conuenire, quae iactant pudicitiam et inpudenti uultu praefernnt castitatem, cum aliud habeat conscientia, etnesciuut . S92 illam definitionem apostoli uirginalem, nt|sitsanctacorpore et spiritu. quid enim prode est corporis pudieitia animo constuprato. si ceteras uirtutes. quas propheticus sermo descripsit. non habuerit? 1 ### English translation (Claude) [32] “Do not trust in lying words, saying: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is it! For if you make good (or: direct) your ways and your pursuits, if you do justice between a man and his neighbour, do not oppress (or: wrong) the stranger, the orphan and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own harm, I will dwell with you (or: make you dwell) in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers from age to age.” What the Septuagint added at the beginning of this chapter, “in lying words, which will not profit you at all”, is not in the Hebrew. He commands both the people of the Jews then and us today, who seem to be established in the church, not to trust in the splendour of buildings, gilded ceilings and walls clothed with marble veneer, and say: “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is it.” For that is the temple of the Lord in which true faith dwells, holy conduct and the choir of all virtues. In short he adds: “If you make your ways straight and your thought does not go after error, and you follow justice and do no evil, nor shed innocent blood by causing simple people to stumble, and do not walk after other gods by worshipping perverse doctrines which you have feigned from your own heart to your own harm, I will either dwell with you in this place, which you call the temple of God, and in the land which I gave to your fathers, namely the apostles and apostolic men, or certainly make you dwell in a firm station from the beginning to the end.” This can also fit those virgins who boast of their chastity and parade it with a shameless face, when their conscience holds something else, and who do not know that apostolic definition of a virgin, that she be holy in body and spirit. For what profit is the chastity of the body when the mind is defiled, if she does not have the other virtues which the prophetic word has described? ### Scripture references - Jer 7:4–7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:34: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:4–7; 1 Cor 7:34. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.32 (Reiter CSEL 59:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-32). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-33 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:96 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Standing in the temple is useless for those who steal, kill, commit adultery and worship idols, as it is for sinners in the church who think delay means impunity. ### Latin text XXXIII. Erce uos confiditis uobis iu uerbis mendacii — nel mendacibus — , qnae nou proderunt uobis: furari, occiderc. adu Iterare, iurare mendaciter, libare Bahalim et ire post dros alicnos, qiiOi ignoratis. et nenistis et stetistis coram me in domo hac, in qt'« inuocatum est nomen mcum, rt dixistis: libcratt sumus — giue desiuimus — eo, quod feceriwtis omnes •2 abominatione.s istas. Frustra eos in templo habere fidueiam sequentia peccata denionsrrant. qnid enim prode est audaeter ingredi limen domus dei. erecta stare ceruice et non solum cor sed et manus habere pollutas furto, homicidio, adulterio. perinrio, sacrilegio et cultn eorum deoruiu. quos nescias? haec spiritaliter accideie in ecclesia nemo dubitat, quando praesenti* teruporis considerautes felicitatem sua peccata non reputant et latere arbitrantur deurn, quia non statira uindicta consequitur: quin potius in tantam prorumpum umentiam, ut liberatos H se putent. quia post mala opera etiam a cultu domiui recesserunt. ### English translation (Claude) [33] “Behold, you trust for yourselves in lying words, which will not profit you: to steal, to kill, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to pour libations to the Baals and to go after other gods whom you do not know; and you came and stood before me in this house, in which my name is called upon, and said: We are delivered (or: we have ceased), because we have done all these abominations.” The sins that follow show that they trust in the temple in vain. For what profit is it boldly to enter the threshold of God's house, to stand with neck erect, and to have not only the heart but the hands polluted by theft, murder, adultery, perjury, sacrilege, and the worship of gods one does not know? No one doubts that these things happen spiritually in the church, when people, considering the prosperity of the present time, do not reckon their sins, and think that God does not see because punishment does not follow at once; rather they burst out into such madness that they think themselves delivered, because after evil works they have even withdrawn from the worship of the Lord. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:8–10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:8–10. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.33 (Reiter CSEL 59:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-33). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-34 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:96 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The church becomes a den of robbers when crimes and the greed of its leaders fill it; Christ, made poor for us, is shamed by our riches. ### Latin text XXXIV. Numquidspelunca latronum faela est domns ista — giue mea —, in qua inuocatum est nomen mriun. »«• eeulie ucstris? ego, eyo sum. eijo nidi. ilicit dominus. De uoe loco io euangelio adsunitum puto: scriptuin est: domus patris mei domus orationis uocabitur; uos antem fecistis eam speluncam latronum siue. ut in alio euangelio scriptum est. doraum negotiationis. icecclesia dei uertitur in speluncam latronum, quando furta. I nomicidia, adulteria, periuria, sacrilegium, hereseos adinuentio et orunia in ea scelera uersantur, quando auaritiae facibu* pnncipes ioardescunt et regum quondani opes uile aut certe noo uile palliolum possidet. uude infert: 'ego. ego sum. ego I* uidi. dicit domious; mei oculi conteraplati sunt, quod uos putatis occultura. tenebrae tliesaurorum meam non fngiunt conscientiam'. qui. cum diues esset, pro nobis pauper factus **> nunc io nostris diuitiis erubescit et dicit: uae uobis diuitibus. qui habetis consolatiouem uestram! ### English translation (Claude) [34] “Has this house (or: my house), in which my name is called upon, become a den of robbers in your eyes? I, I am he, I have seen it, says the Lord.” I think this place is taken up in the gospel: “It is written: My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers”, or, as is written in another gospel, “a house of trade”. The church of God is turned into a den of robbers when thefts, murders, adulteries, perjuries, sacrilege, the invention of heresy and all crimes are found in it; when its leaders burn with the torches of avarice, and a cheap, or certainly not cheap, little cloak possesses the wealth of former kings. Hence he adds: “I, I am he, I have seen it, says the Lord: my eyes have looked on what you think hidden; the darkness of treasures does not escape my knowledge.” He who, though he was rich, became poor for us, now blushes at our riches and says: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have your consolation!” ### Scripture references - Jer 7:11: quotation, high confidence - Matt 21:13: quotation, high confidence - John 2:16: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 8:9: allusion, high confidence - Luke 6:24: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:11; Matt 21:13; John 2:16; 2 Cor 8:9; Luke 6:24. The “little cloak” is the dress of monks or clergy who have grown rich. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.34 (Reiter CSEL 59:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-34). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-8/#p-2-35 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:96 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: As Shiloh was destroyed for Israel's sin, so the temple, and the church, can be rejected. ### Latin text XXXV. Ite ad loeum meiim in Silo, ubi hubitauit "owen menm a principio, et uidete, quae feeerim ei f opter maliliatn populi mei Israhelf Ei praeteriti» docet Praeseutia et diceutibus: templum doniini. tempiuiu domini. tenipluin domini et pretiosae do|mus fulgore gaudentibus Silo, ubi primum fuit tabernaculuni dei, recordatur historiae, de qua in psalmo scriptum est: et reppulit tabernaculum Silo, ut, quomodo ille locus in ruinas cineresque conlapsus est, ita et templum corruat, cum similinm habitatio & fuerit peccatorum. sicut igitnr Silo templi exernplum est, ita templum nobis. quando tempus aduenerit illius testimonii: putas, ueniens filius hominis inueniet fidem super terram? ### English translation (Claude) [35] “Go to my place in Shiloh, where my name dwelt at the beginning, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.” He teaches the present from the past, and to those who say, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord”, and rejoice in the splendour of a precious house, he recalls the history of Shiloh, where the tabernacle of God first was, of which it is written in the psalm, “And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh”: so that, as that place collapsed into ruins and ashes, so the temple too would fall when it became the dwelling of like sins. As Shiloh, then, is an example to the temple, so the temple is to us, when the time of that testimony comes: “When the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find faith on the earth?” ### Scripture references - Jer 7:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 78:60 (77:60 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 18:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:12; Ps 78:60 (LXX 77:60); Luke 18:8. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.35 (Reiter CSEL 59:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-35). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-36 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:98 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God, who called early and often, will destroy the temple as he did Shiloh and cast out Judah as he cast out Ephraim; the warning applies to us. ### Latin text XXXVI. Et nunc, quia fecistis omnia opera haec, dicit dominus, et locutus sum ad uos mane consuryents et loquens et non uudistis ct uocnui uos et n"» respondistis, fac.iam domui huic, in qna inuocntum est nomcn rneum ct in qita nos hahctis fiduriam, et loco, quem dedi uobis et patribus nestris, sicut feci u Silo, et proiciam uos a facic niea, sirnt proieci omnes •2 fratres uestros, uniuersum semen Ephraim. Hoc. quod posuimus: mane consurgens et loquens, in LXX non habetur. mane antem consurgit deus, non quod aliquod ei tempus absque diluculo sit, sed quo post noctis quieteni ao uiribus corporis instauratis anima hominum uegetior sit et nequaquam uoluptatibus occupata cibique desiderio audire et facere ualeat. quae dicuntur. unde et illud in psalmo legimus: mane eiaudies uocem meam. mane adstabo tibi et uidebo:et tn Isaia: de nocte — siue dilucnlo — consur- ss get spiritus meus ad te, deus. quoniam lux prae- eepta tua super terram. uude et filios Iucis Paulus apostolus appeliat et non noctis neque tenebraruni nec dormientes. sicut et ceteri dormierunt, qui dei raandata non sentiunt. qnia igitur deus uocauit eos de nocte consurgens, ut et ipsos de & tenebris liberaret. comniinatur eis siniilia se esse factumm templo in Hierosolymis, quae fecit loco Silo, ubi primum fuit tabemaculum, ut peccata similia pari sententia feriantur. et quomodo proiecit domiuus semen Ephraim, id est decem tribus. quae uocabantur Israbel et habebant principes. propter Hierolu boaro, filiuni Nabat de tribu Epbraim. quae eadem appellabatur tribua Ioseph. sic etiam Hierusalem et tribum Iuda cum Beniamin se abiecturum esse testatur. abiecit igitur Silo, abiecturus et templum; abiecit decem tribus. abiecturus et duas. quidquid illi populo dicitur, intellegamus et nobis, si similia fecerimus. ### English translation (Claude) [36] “And now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke to you, rising early and speaking, and you did not hear, and I called you, and you did not answer, I will do to this house, in which my name is called upon and in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh; and I will cast you out from my face, as I cast out all your brothers, the whole seed of Ephraim.” What we put, “rising early and speaking”, is not in the Septuagint. God rises early, not because any time is for him without dawn, but because after the rest of the night, with the strength of the body restored, the soul of men is livelier and, not occupied with pleasures and the desire for food, is able to hear and do what is said. Hence we read in the psalm too, “In the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before you and see”, and in Isaiah, “By night (or: at dawn) my spirit rises to you, O God, for your commands are light upon the earth.” Hence the apostle Paul too calls them sons of light and not of night or of darkness, nor sleeping, as the others sleep, who do not perceive God's commands. Because, then, God called them, rising by night, so as to free them too from darkness, he threatens to do to the temple in Jerusalem what he did to the place Shiloh, where the tabernacle first was, so that like sins might be struck with a like sentence. And as the Lord cast out the seed of Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, which were called Israel and had princes because of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, of the tribe of Ephraim, which was also called the tribe of Joseph, so he testifies that he will cast out Jerusalem and the tribe of Judah with Benjamin. He cast away Shiloh, he will cast away the temple too; he cast away the ten tribes, he will cast away the two too. Whatever is said to that people, let us understand it of ourselves too, if we do the like. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:13–15: quotation, high confidence - Ps 5:3 (5:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 26:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:5–6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 12:20: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:13–15. Ps 5:3 (LXX 5:4); Isa 26:9; 1 Thess 5:5–6; Jeroboam, 1 Kgs 11:26; 12:20. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.36 (Reiter CSEL 59:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-37 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:98 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God forbids Jeremiah to intercede for an unrepentant people, which shows that the saints' prayers can otherwise withstand his anger. ### Latin text XXXVII. Tn ergo noli orare pro populo hoc tiec ndsinnas pru eis laudem et orationem — siue tM6 * roges, ut misericordiam cotisequantur, —\et non oli- "istas mihi, quia non exaitdiam te. Ne uideatur rogans * propheta non inpetrare. quod postulat, praecipit deus. ne pro populo peccatore et nullam agente paenitentiam deprecetur. qnod autem dicit: et non resistas mihi. illud ostendil. quod sanctorum preces irae dei possint resistere. undo et t doniiuus loquitur ad Mosen: dirnitte me. ut pereutiani populum istum. et faciam te in gentem magnam; et in Psalmis scribitur: et stetit Finees et placauit et cessauit quassatio et reputatum est ei ad iustitiam. Aaron quoque arrepto turibulo inter ignem arsurnmque populum medius stetit et ilei ira cessauit. ac ne putemus crudelitatem dei. qui ne rogari quidem se permittat, reddit causas. cur non exaudiat. dicens: ### English translation (Claude) [37] “You, therefore, do not pray for this people, nor lift up praise and prayer for them (or: ask that they may obtain mercy), and do not withstand me, for I will not hear you.” So that the prophet may not seem to ask and fail to obtain what he requests, God commands him not to intercede for a sinful people that does no penance. And when he says, “and do not withstand me”, he shows that the prayers of the saints can withstand the anger of God. Hence the Lord also says to Moses: “Let me alone, that I may strike this people, and I will make you a great nation”; and in the Psalms it is written: “And Phinehas stood up and appeased him, and the plague ceased, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Aaron too, taking the censer, stood between the fire and the people about to burn, and God's anger ceased. And lest we think God cruel in not even allowing himself to be entreated, he gives the reasons why he will not hear, saying: ### Scripture references - Jer 7:16: quotation, high confidence - Exod 32:10: quotation, high confidence - Ps 106:30–31 (105:30-31 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Num 16:46–48: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:16; Exod 32:10; Ps 106:30–31 (LXX 105:30–31); Num 16:46–48. The sentence runs on into the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.37 (Reiter CSEL 59:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-37). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-38 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:98 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Whole families worship the queen of heaven; such idolatry harms not the changeless God but the idolaters themselves. ### Latin text XXXVIII. Nonne uides, quid isti faciant in ciuita- tibits Iuda et in plateis Hierusalem? filii colligunl ligna et patres succendnnt ignem et miilieres conspergunt adipem, ut faciant placentas — siue chanoiins — reginae — siue tnilitiue — caeii et libent dis ulienis et mt nd iracundiam prouocent. {»«*/''"' me ad iracundiam proitocant? dicit dominus,) nonne ■2 setnet ipsos in coitfiisioneni itttlttts siti? 'Uis.' inquit. 'audire, propheta. cur tibi dixerim: noli orare pro populo VfOi haec faciunt. quae sequuntur: et intus et foris et in plateis et in exitibus Hierusalem filii ligna couportant et patres succendunt ignem et mulieres consper-» gunt adipem cum farina. ut faciant chauonini" — quas nos 'placentas' interpretati sumus siue 'praeparationes'. ut omne genus ostendat sacrificii reginae caeli, quam luoam debemus accipere, uel certe militiae caeli, ut omnes Btellas intellegamus. — 'et post haec libent dis alienis, aon qno sint, sed quo sub nominibns eorum daemonibus tnra succendant et me ad iracundiam prouocentista facientes. nec intellegunt miseri, quod ista contentio non me laedat. quem s numquam ira commutat, sed semet ipsos in confusionem unltus sui et in ignominiam sempiternam.' quidquid igitur facimus, non deurn laedimus, qui laedi numquam potest. sed nobis interitum praeparamns thesaurizantes iram in die irae. ideo autem diuersa oflicia filiorum patrumque et matrum n posnit uel uiorum, ut nulla aetas sit, quae ab inipietate dissenserit. ### English translation (Claude) [38] “Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the fat to make cakes (or: chavvonim) for the queen (or: the host) of heaven, and they pour libations to other gods to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke to anger? says the Lord. Is it not themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?” “Do you wish to hear, prophet,” he says, “why I told you, Do not pray for this people? They do the things that follow: inside and outside, in the streets and at the gates of Jerusalem, the sons carry wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead fat with flour to make chavvonim” (which we interpreted “cakes”, or “preparations”, to show every kind of sacrifice) “for the queen of heaven”, which we should take to be the moon, or certainly “the host of heaven”, so that we understand all the stars; “and after this they pour libations to other gods, not that they are gods, but because they burn incense to demons under their names, and by doing these things they provoke me to anger. Nor do the wretches understand that this contention does not hurt me, whom anger never changes, but themselves, to the confusion of their faces and to everlasting disgrace.” Whatever we do, then, we do not hurt God, who can never be hurt, but prepare destruction for ourselves, treasuring up wrath for the day of wrath. And he set down the different tasks of sons, fathers and mothers or wives, so that there might be no age which dissented from impiety. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:17–19: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:17–19; Rom 2:5. Jerome's “chavvonim” is the Hebrew kawwānîm, “cakes”. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.38 (Reiter CSEL 59:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-38). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-39 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:101 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God, not angry by nature, lets his fury fall on Jerusalem only drop by drop, yet even that is terrible; the people does nothing to quench it. ### Latin text XXXIX. Ide.o hacc dicit dominns deus: ecce furor meus et indignatio inen conflata est — siue stilln- >i it — sttper loettm ialum, snper uiros ef sitper iumenta u et super lignitm regionis et siiper fruges terrae tt *uccendetur et nun >\iti nguetur. Qui supra diierat: * num|quid me ad iracundiam prouocant? quomodo nunc dicit: ecce furor meus et indignatio mea a t i 1lauit super locnm istum? et est sensus: 'ego quidem * natnraliter non irascor, sed illi ita agunt. ut me ad iracundiam prouocent et meam uidear mutare naturam. sentiant igitiir iratum, quod, quantum in se est. fiicere conantur.' pulchreque non ait: 'effusus est' furor meus super locum istum. sed: stillauit. ut moderatam poenam significet. sin auteru in » stilla furoris tanta duritia est. quid fiet. si oranis iinber fuerit effusus? sed et 'conflatio' sic intellegi potest, ut. quod diu facere noluit, peccatorura multitudine facere conpellatur. cuiu autem deus iratus fuerit. et homines et ea. quae hominum sunt, similem interitum sentient. 'et succendetur'. inquit — hau dubium quin furor domini — , 'et non extinguetur, quia s non agit populus, per quae possit extingui.' ### English translation (Claude) [39] “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my fury and my indignation are kindled (or: drip) upon this place, upon men and upon beasts and upon the trees of the field and upon the fruits of the earth, and it will burn and not be quenched.” He who had said above, “Is it I whom they provoke to anger?”, how does he now say, “Behold, my fury and my indignation drip upon this place”? And the sense is: “I indeed by nature am not angry, but they act so as to provoke me to anger, and I seem to change my nature. Let them then feel me angry, as far as they try to make me so.” And fittingly he does not say, “my fury has been poured out upon this place”, but “drips”, to signify a moderate punishment. But if in a drop of fury there is such hardness, what will happen if the whole shower is poured out? And “kindling” too can be understood thus: that what he long refused to do he is compelled to do by the multitude of sins. And when God is angry, both men and what belongs to men will suffer a like destruction. “And it will burn”, he says (no doubt the fury of the Lord), “and will not be quenched, because the people does nothing by which it could be quenched.” ### Scripture references - Jer 7:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:20. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.39 (Reiter CSEL 59:101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-39). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-40 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:102 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God commanded obedience, not sacrifices, at the Exodus; sacrifice was granted only after the golden calf, so that offerings would go to him rather than to demons. ### Latin text XL. Haec dicit dominus cxercituu m, deus Jsrahel: holocaustomala uestra. addite nictimis uestris cl roiiieiiite canies, i/iiiu inui suin locutus cum putiibns ues/ris et nou praecepi eis in die, qua eduxi cos de w teria Aegypti, de uerbo holocaustoinatum et uictimarnm. scd hoc uerbum praecepi eis dicens: auditeuolem incam et er<> unbis deus et uos cri/is uiihi popiilns et ambulate in onuii nin, 1/1111111 manduui in>l>"-. 11I bene sit uobis. Quorum reprobauit templum. consequentei '* reprobat et sacrificia et oblique arguit eos, quod non ueneratione sui. sed epularum desiderio immolent uictimas. quod autem ait: non sum locutus cum patribus uestris et uon praecepi eis in die. qua eduxi eos de terra Aegypti, super uerbo holocausti et uictimaruru. manifeste intellegitur, quod primum decalogum dederit in tabulis lapideis scriptum digito dei et post offensam idololatriae caputque uituli postea iusserit sibi magis tieri quam daemonibus auferens puram religionem mandatorum dei et concedens sanguinem uictimarum carniumque desiderium. a ### English translation (Claude) [40] “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh. For I did not speak with your fathers, nor command them on the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this word I commanded them, saying: Hear my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.” He rejects the sacrifices of those whose temple he rejected, and obliquely reproves them for offering victims not out of reverence for him but from desire for feasting. And when he says, “I did not speak with your fathers nor command them on the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offering and sacrifices”, it is clearly understood that he first gave the Decalogue, written on tablets of stone by the finger of God, and that after the offence of idolatry and the head of the calf he afterwards ordered sacrifices to be made to himself rather than to demons, taking away the pure religion of God's commandments and granting the blood of victims and the desire for flesh. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:21–23: quotation, high confidence - Exod 31:18: allusion, high confidence - Exod 32:1–6: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:21–23; the tablets, Exod 31:18; the calf, Exod 32. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.40 (Reiter CSEL 59:102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-40). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.41 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-41 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:103 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: From the Exodus on Israel went backward, not forward, so that the grace of the gospel was needed. ### Latin text XLI. Et non andierunt nec inclinauentnt aurcm suam, sed abicrunt in uoluntalibiis — siue desideri- »» et prauitaie cordis sui mali faclique sunt retrorsttin et non inante a die, qua egressi sunt patres ieorum de terra Aeggpti, usque ad hunc dicm. 'Me dicente: audite uocem meam et ero uobisdeus et reliqua, non andierunt nec inclinauerunt aurem suam, P- 896 sed sui cordis fecere desideria et contra apostoli sententiam, , qui praeteritorum obliuiscebatur et in priora se eitendebat. w fecere contraria, ut praeterita cuperent et futura conteranerent." quodque dicit: a die, qua egressi sunt patres eorum de terra Aegypti, usque ad diem hanc, omne tempus in medio dicit eos per otfensam domini transegisse. unde et uecessaria fuit euangelii gratia, quae illos non suo merito, sed '5 domini misericordia conseruauir. ### English translation (Claude) [41] “And they did not hear nor incline their ear, but went away in their own wills (or: desires) and the depravity of their evil heart, and they went backward and not forward, from the day when their fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day.” “When I said, Hear my voice and I will be your God, and so on, they did not hear nor incline their ear, but did the desires of their own heart; and against the saying of the apostle, who forgot what lay behind and stretched forward to what lay ahead, they did the contrary, desiring the past and despising the future.” And when he says, “from the day when their fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day”, he says that they spent all the time in between offending the Lord. Hence the grace of the gospel was necessary, which preserved them not by their own merit but by the Lord's mercy. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:24–25: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:24–25a; Phil 3:13. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.41 (Reiter CSEL 59:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-41). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.42 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-42 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:103 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Despite prophets sent early and often, the people hardened its neck, so God's anger is just. ### Latin text XLII. Et misi ad uos seruos meos, prophetas, per diem consurgens dilueulo et mittens; rt noit uudierunt me nec inclinaueru nl aurem sitam, sed induranerunt ceruicem ct peius operati sunt quam patres * eorum. Iusta ergo ira domini. quae contlata est et stillauit super populum contemtorem duraeque ceruicis et dei uerba audire nolentem. quomodo autem deus uel de uocte uel diluculo et in die mittat prophetas. supra diximiis. ### English translation (Claude) [42] “And I sent to you my servants the prophets, day by day rising early and sending; and they did not hear me nor incline their ear, but hardened their neck and did worse than their fathers.” Just, then, is the anger of the Lord, which was kindled and dripped upon a people that was contemptuous, stiff-necked and unwilling to hear God's words. How God sends prophets by night or at dawn and by day we have said above. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:25–26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:25b–26; the earlier discussion is at 2.36. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.42 (Reiter CSEL 59:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-42). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.43 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-43 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:103 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God foretells that Judah will not listen and calls it a nation, not his people; Jerome sees this fulfilled when Christ was rejected. ### Latin text XLIII. Et loqueris ad eos omnia ncrba haec el non audient te et nocabis eos et non respuiu/ehunt tibi. et dices ad eos.- haec est gens, qxtae non aitdiuii uoeem domini dei stii nec recepit disciplinam; periit fides et ablata est de ore eoritm. 'Ne dubites'. inquit. *eos indurasse ceruicem et peiora patribus suis operatos, ecce do & locum paenitentiae nec ideo loquor, ut fiant. sed quia futura sunt. idcirco praedico. saltim nunc loquere eis uerbis meis et tamen non audient te et uocabis eos et non respondebunt tibi; tantae enim erunt superbiae, ut, cum uocaueris eos ad audiendum, nullus respondere dignetur. etio dices ad eos: haec est gens, quae non-audiuit uocem domini dei suinec recepit disciplinam'. pulchre. at ante iam dixi, nequaquam populum suum, sed gentem uocat. quod lieet et in tempore prophetarum ex parte sit factum et in umbra praecesserit et in imagine, tamen plenius i» completur in Christo, quando noluerunt recipere disciplinam et uocem sui domini contemserunt. unde eleganter infertur: periit fides, quae proprie Christianorum est, et ablata est de ore eorum omnis uidelicet filii dei fideique confessio. * ### English translation (Claude) [43] “And you will speak all these words to them, and they will not hear you; and you will call them, and they will not answer you. And you will say to them: This is the nation that has not heard the voice of the Lord its God nor received discipline; faith has perished and been taken away from their mouth.” “Do not doubt”, he says, “that they have hardened their neck and done worse than their fathers. See, I give room for repentance; nor do I speak in order that these things may happen, but I foretell them because they are going to happen. At least now speak to them with my words; and yet they will not hear you, and you will call them and they will not answer you; for they will be of such pride that when you call them to hear, no one will deign to answer. And you will say to them: This is the nation that has not heard the voice of the Lord its God nor received discipline.” Fittingly, as I said before, he calls them not his people but a nation. And although this was partly done in the time of the prophets and went before in shadow and image, yet it is more fully fulfilled in Christ, when they would not receive discipline and despised the voice of their Lord. Hence it is elegantly added: “faith has perished”, the faith which belongs properly to Christians, “and has been taken away from their mouth”, namely every confession of the Son of God and of faith. ### Scripture references - Jer 7:27–28: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 7:27–28. The application to the Jews' rejection of Christ is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.43 (Reiter CSEL 59:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-43). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.44 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-44 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:104 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Judah must mourn, for God has rejected it; Topheth in the valley of Hinnom, where children were burned to idols, will become the valley of slaughter, a place of countless unburied dead. ### Latin text XLIV. Tondn rapillum tiium et proice ct suuie in dirtctum — srue super labia — planctum, quia proiecit dominus tl rcliijitit grnerationein furoris siii' Et lob andita filiorum et filiarum morte capillos legimus totondisse et apud ueteres haec erat omnium consuetudo » lugentium tondere caesariem: at nunc e contrario comam de- IM t- 1*' raittere luctus indicium est. oninis autem planctus et lamentatio prophetalis idcirco adsumitur, quia proiecit dominus et reliquit generationem furoris eni: hau dubium, qnin popuJum significet ludaeorum. et proprie hoc s ad Christi tempora referendum. quando periit fides et I a,)^ata est P^P^' dominum blaspheraantis. XLY. Quiu feccrunt filii Iuda maluin 111 conspectu »ieot dicit dominus; posuerttnt offendicitla sua in domo, in qua inuocatum cst nomett inenm, ul polluew rent eam, et aedificauerunt excelsa — sine arnm — Tofelh, quae est in ualle fitii Ennom, ut incenderent filtos suos ct filias suas igne; qttae non praecepi ner ogitaui in eorde meo. Quod in templo dei filii Iuda statuam Bahal posuerint, in Hiezechielis principio discimas. *exa celsa' autem, quae Hebraice appellantur 'bamath'. siue 'aram' Tofeth, quae est in ualle filiorum Ennom, illum locum significat. qui Siloae fontibus inrigatur et est araoenus atque nemorosus hodieque hortorum praebet delicias. hic autem gentilitatis error omnes prouincias occupauit. ut ad capita fontium * lucosque amoenissimos uictimas immolarent et omnis pranao «nperstitionis religio seruaretur. Tofeth' linijua Hebraea inter- Pretatnr 'latitudo' scriptumque fertur in libro Iosue. filii Nun, de hoc loco, qui est in ualle filiorum Ennom et Hebraice dicitur 'gehennom'; 'ge' quippe ^apaff*. hoc est 'uallem', et 'hennom' uel hominis nomen uel 'gratiam' sonat. traduntque Hebraei ex hoc loco appellatam 'gehennam', quod scilicet omnis populus Indaeorum ibi perierit offendens deum, in quo loco etiam filios suos in igne idolis consecrarint siue holocaustum optulerint, quae non praeceperit eis nec ulla legis iusserit sanctione. quodsi Iepthae optnlit filiam suam uirginero deo, non sacrificium placet, sed animus offerentis; neque enim, canis aut asinus aut inmundum quodlibet animal primum io occurrisset patri a caede hostium reuertenti. deo illud offerre debuerat ;. :li. :c; XLVI. Ideo ccce dics ncnient, dirit domiitns, et non dicrtur nmplius Tofeth rt iinliis filii Ennom, scd inillis interfectionis et sepelieni in Tofeth • <>. '/'""' ,s /""i sit locus. et erit inort icinum populi huitts in i ibum uoliicrihus cnrli et hestiis terrae et non ertt. t/ui ubignt. Tempus obsidionis significat, quod ab anuo nono i>. 89;- regis Sedeciae usque ad annum undecimum perpessi sunt. et| quod nequaquam uocetur uallis ipsa 'gehennom', hoc est 'ualiis * hennom', siue 'filionim Ennom', sed ob interfectionem pluri- inorum 'uallis oecisionis". tanta autem caedes erit, ut in loco priiis religionis sepulchra sint inuumerabilia et, quos sepelirtuon potuerint, lacerentur ab auibus et a bestiis deuorentur uullusque sit. qui abigat similia metuens et humandi nictus * officiis. manifesta tianscurrimus, ut, sicubi locus fuerit, in obscurig moremur. ipsius enim libri magnitudo fastidium potest tacere legentibus; quanto magis, si a nobis latius disseratur! ### English translation (Claude) [44] “Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lament on the heights (or: on the lips), for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his fury.” We read that Job too, when he heard of the death of his sons and daughters, cut off his hair; and among the ancients it was the custom of all who mourned to cut their hair; but now, on the contrary, to let the hair grow is the sign of mourning. All the prophetic lamenting and wailing is taken up for this reason, that the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his fury: no doubt he means the people of the Jews. And this is properly to be referred to the times of Christ, when faith perished and was taken away from the mouth of a people that blasphemed the Lord. [45] “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord; they have set their abominations in the house in which my name is called upon, to defile it; and they have built the high places (or: the altar) of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command nor think of in my heart.” That the sons of Judah set up a statue of Baal in God's temple we learn at the beginning of Ezekiel. The “high places”, which in Hebrew are called “bamoth”, or the “altar” of Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, signify that place which is watered by the springs of Siloam and is pleasant and wooded, and today still offers the delights of gardens. This error of the Gentiles had taken hold of all the provinces: to sacrifice victims at the heads of springs and in the most pleasant groves, and to keep up every religion of depraved superstition. “Topheth” in the Hebrew language is interpreted “breadth”; and it is said to be written in the book of Joshua son of Nun concerning this place, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom and in Hebrew is called “gehennom”: for “ge” means pharanx, that is, “valley”, and “hennom” sounds either a man's name or “grace”. And the Hebrews relate that “Gehenna” was named from this place, because the whole people of the Jews perished there by offending God; in this place they also consecrated their sons in the fire to idols, or offered them as a burnt offering, which he did not command them nor order by any sanction of the law. And if Jephthah offered his virgin daughter to God, it is not the sacrifice that pleases, but the mind of the offerer; for otherwise, if a dog or an ass or any unclean animal had first met the father as he returned from slaying the enemy, he would have had to offer that to God. [46] “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it will no longer be called Topheth and the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; and they will bury in Topheth, because there is no other place. And the corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, and there will be none to drive them away.” He signifies the time of the siege, which they endured from the ninth year of King Zedekiah to the eleventh. And the valley itself will no longer be called “gehennom”, that is, “valley of Hinnom” or “of the sons of Hinnom”, but, because of the slaughter of very many, “valley of killing”. So great will the slaughter be that in the place of the former religion there will be countless tombs, and those whom they could not bury will be torn by birds and devoured by beasts, and there will be no one to drive them away, fearing the like and overcome by the duties of burial. We pass over what is plain, so as to linger in obscure places wherever there is occasion; for the very size of the book can cause weariness to readers, how much more if it were discussed by us at greater length! ### Scripture references - Jer 7:29–33: quotation, high confidence - Job 1:20: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 8:3–5: allusion, high confidence - Josh 15:8: allusion, high confidence - Judg 11:30–39: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds three of Reiter's chapters (the numerals of chapters 45 and 46 are garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [44], [45] and [46]. Jer 7:29–33. Job 1:20; Ezek 8:3–5; Josh 15:8; Jephthah, Judg 11:30–39. The Greek word φάραγξ (“valley”) is garbled. The application of “the generation of his fury” to the Jews of Christ's time is translated as written; Jerome's remark on Jephthah is given as he states it. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.44 (Reiter CSEL 59:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-44). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.47 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-47 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:107 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Joy will cease in Judah, and the bones of its kings, priests and people will be exposed before the stars they worshipped; Jerome sees the like in the calamities of his own day. ### Latin text XLVII. Et quiescere faciam de urbibns Itida cl
  • l causas auditor agnoscat: a minimo usque ad maii|mum omnes aUaritiae s tudent — radix est enim omnium malorum auuritia — . a propheta usque ad sacerdotem. qoi alios peccantes prohibere deberent, primi sceleribus subia- » cent et cuncti uel tniqua faciunt, dum aliena diripiunt. uel certe mendacium, ut non sit ueritas in ore eorum. et post i3ta quasi boui niedici aliena uulnera uerbis sanare cupiebant. •3 qui ipsi erant omniuin flagitiorum contbssi aulneribus'. haec cotidie in nostro quoque populo cernimus dicente apostolo: qui praedicas non furandnm, furaris et reliqua. qui cum peccatores et diuites uiderint, sanare cupiunt contritionem tiliae populi dei. hoc est ecclesiae, in ignominiam uel eorura, qui decipiuntur. uel eorum. qui alios decipiunt. ut dicant omni facinoie coopertis: pax, pax, cuni nulla sit pax, et belluni eis imniineat peccatonuu. ### English translation (Claude) [54] “The wise are put to shame, they are terrified and taken”: not that those who do these things are wise, but he calls them wise so that they may be condemned by their own judgment, and on the contrary their wisdom may be convicted of folly, as Paul says: “You who teach another, do you not teach yourself?” And because they have cast away the word of the Lord, there is therefore no wisdom in them. In vain, then, do they boast of knowledge of the law who destroy its teaching by their works. [55] “Therefore I will give their women (or: wives) to strangers, their fields to heirs; for from the least to the greatest all are given to avarice; from the prophet to the priest all practise falsehood (or: iniquity). And they healed the wound of the daughter of my people to disgrace, saying: Peace, peace, when there was no peace.” They received the wages of their works, so that those who cast away the word of the Lord were themselves cast away by him. “Their wives”, he says, “and their possessions I will hand over to the enemies. And lest my sentence be thought cruel, let the hearer recognize the causes: from the least to the greatest all are given to avarice” (for avarice is the root of all evils); “from the prophet to the priest, who ought to keep others from sinning, they are the first to be subject to crimes, and all either do wicked things, by plundering what belongs to others, or certainly falsehood, so that there is no truth in their mouth. And after this, like good physicians, they wished to heal others' wounds with words, though they themselves were pierced with the wounds of every outrage.” We see this daily among our own people too, as the apostle says: “You who preach that one must not steal, do you steal?”, and the rest. When they see sinners and rich men, they wish to heal the wound of the daughter of God's people, that is, of the church, to the disgrace either of those who are deceived or of those who deceive others, so as to say to those covered with every crime, “Peace, peace”, when there is no peace, and the war of sins hangs over them. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:9–11: quotation, high confidence - Rom 2:21: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 55 is garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [54] and [55]. Jer 8:9–11; Rom 2:21; 1 Tim 6:10. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.54 (Reiter CSEL 59:111; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-54). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.56 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-56 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:112 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The people felt no shame for their abominations and would neither amend nor confess. ### Latin text LVI. Confusi sunt, quia abominationem fecerunt? » quin immo conf iisione non snnt eonfusi et ernbescere nescierunt. 'Epcarr/xaxtxu; hoc est legenduin, ut sit sensus: 'erubuerunt in sceleribus suis, intellexerunt abominatioues quas operati sunt?' 'nequaquam, sed in tantam proruperunt amentiaro, nt nec confusione cuperent emendare uitia nec spe ueniae sua is scelera confiteri'. ### English translation (Claude) [56] “Were they ashamed because they committed abomination? Rather, they were not ashamed with shame, and they did not know how to blush.” This is to be read as a question, so that the sense is: “Did they blush at their crimes? Did they understand the abominations they had worked?” “By no means; but they burst out into such madness that they would neither amend their vices through shame nor confess their crimes in hope of pardon.” ### Scripture references - Jer 8:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:12a. The Greek word (ἐρωτηματικῶς, “as a question”) is garbled in the OCR. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.56 (Reiter CSEL 59:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-56). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.57 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-57 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:112 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The shameless leaders will fall together with the people at the coming captivity. ### Latin text LVII. Idcirco cadent inter corrnentes; 111 tempore uisilntionis suae corruent, dicit domiiins. Haec sunt praemia eoruni, qui erubescere nescierunt, ut, quorum dignitas erat excelsior populis, ruinis populi miscerentur. a rnininio *> enim u»que ad maximum omnes auaritiae student et a propheta usque ad sacerdotem cuucti faciunt inendacium: uisitationis autem tempus propinqua captiuitas est. ### English translation (Claude) [57] “Therefore they will fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they will collapse, says the Lord.” These are the rewards of those who did not know how to blush: that those whose dignity was higher than the people's should be mixed with the people's ruins. For from the least to the greatest all are given to avarice, and from the prophet to the priest all practise falsehood. The time of visitation is the approaching captivity. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:12: quotation, high confidence - Jer 8:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:12b; Jer 8:10. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.57 (Reiter CSEL 59:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-57). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.58 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-58 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:112 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Shut up in besieged Jerusalem, the people will watch the seasons and harvests pass without tasting them. ### Latin text LVIII. Conyreyuns ronyrcijabo eos, tlicit dominus: » uon e*t uua in uitibns et non snnt ficus in firulnea; ftfliutH deflttrit et dedi eis, qnae praetergressa sunl. Quod sit tempus uisitationis, in quo corruent deliiiqiientes, numifestius docet dicens: 'congregans congregabo eos' — hau dubiurn quin in Hierusalem — , 'ut obsideantur a Chaldaeis = longo tempore et famis sustineant inala. cum'. inquit. 'tempora praetereant et aestati succedat autumnus et hieine arboruni cadant folia, uidebitis cuncta de longe et ex his non capietis cibum. non est enim uua in uitibus uobis. qui fructus uitium non sumitis. et non sunt ficus in ficnlnea ob- - 902 m sesso populo. qui suarum | arborum poma cernit ab hostibus diripi. folia', inquit. 'deliuent aestate autumnoqne transartis. dedi enim eis, quae praeterire cernerent et maiore dolore amittprent rerum omnium abundantiam. quam eis tangere non licebat*. ### English translation (Claude) [58] “Gathering I will gather them, says the Lord: there is no grape on the vines and there are no figs on the fig tree; the leaf has fallen, and I have given them things that have passed away.” He teaches more plainly what the time of visitation is, in which the sinners will fall, saying: “Gathering I will gather them” (no doubt into Jerusalem), “so that they may be besieged by the Chaldeans for a long time and suffer the evils of famine. When”, he says, “the seasons pass, and autumn follows summer, and in winter the leaves fall from the trees, you will see everything from afar and take no food from them. For there is no grape on the vines for you, who do not gather the fruit of the vines; and there are no figs on the fig tree for the besieged people, which sees the fruits of its trees seized by the enemies. The leaves”, he says, “will fall when summer and autumn have passed. For I have given them things which they would see pass away, so that with greater grief they would lose an abundance of all things which they were not allowed to touch.” ### Scripture references - Jer 8:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:13. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.58 (Reiter CSEL 59:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-58). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.59 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-59 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:118 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The people, confessing its sin, retreats into Jerusalem in silent despair, having drunk the gall of God's judgment instead of the peace it expected. ### Latin text LIX. Qttare sedemus? connenite et intjrrdiutnur rii5 uitatem munitam — siue oiuitates munita» — ei #•> leainus ilti — siue proiciatmir ibi — , qitia domintis nottter abinit ( — siue silrre fecit — > nos et potiini dedit nobis aqttani frllis: perrauiinns enim dotnino. trsprctanitnus pacetn et non erat bontiin. trtnpns medelae m et eece formido. Uox populi responJentis indtieitur et *ua uitia contitentis et cohortantis se mutuo. Ot ciiiitates ingrodiantur muratas siue nnam ciuitatem Hierusalem: iam #nim ceterae captae fuerant. 'et sileamus', inqnit, 'ibi, quia dominos noster silere nos fecit — non enim habemus fiduciam deprecandi — . siue abieiamur ibi siue proiciamur instar stercoris. ipse potauit nos aquas fellis. quia dulcem in amaritudiuem conuertimus deum. et ut tales biberemus aquas, & causa perspicua est: peccauimus enim domino et exspectauimus pacem, qui nihil boni operis feceramus putabamu8que nobis tempus adesse medicinae, cum formidine atque terrore omnia conplerentur'. personarum mutatio, et maxime in prophetis, difficilem intellectum facit; quae si suis locis et causis temporibusque reddantur. plana fient. quae uidebanrur obscura. ### English translation (Claude) [59] “Why do we sit still? Assemble, and let us go into the fortified city (or: cities) and be silent there (or: be cast away there), for the Lord our God has silenced us (or: cast us away) and given us water of gall to drink; for we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace, and there was no good; for a time of healing, and behold, terror.” The voice of the people is brought in, answering, confessing its vices and urging one another to enter the walled cities, or the one city of Jerusalem, for the others had already been taken. “And let us be silent there,” they say, “because our Lord has made us silent (for we have no confidence to entreat), or let us be cast away there, or thrown out like dung. He himself gave us waters of gall to drink, because we turned the sweet God to bitterness. And the reason why we drank such waters is plain: for we sinned against the Lord and looked for peace, we who had done no good work; and we thought the time of healing had come for us, when everything was filled with dread and terror.” A change of persons, especially in the prophets, makes understanding difficult; if these are assigned to their proper places, causes and times, what seemed obscure will become plain. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:14–15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:14–15. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.59 (Reiter CSEL 59:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-59). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.60 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-60 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:114 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Nebuchadnezzar's cavalry is heard from Dan in the north, about to devour Jerusalem and its people. ### Latin text LX. A Dan audilus est fremitus equorum eiits, a uoce hinnituum pittjnatoriim — siue et/ititattt8 — eius commota est omnis terra; et tienerunt et deuorau ernnl u» — siue et nenient et deuorabunt — terravi et plcnitudinem eitis, ttrbem rt habitatores cius. Son igitnr. ut supra LXX transtulerunt, diiit populus: ingrediamur ciuitatea munitas, sed: ciuitatem munitam, ut significet Hierusalem. denique et nunc infert: urbem et habitatores eius. describitur autem a Dan per Phoenicem ueniens curu exercitu Nabuchodonosor. in quo loco Iordanes fluuius oritur. «t quae LXX futura, Hebraicum pro ueritate rei iam facta commemorat. ### English translation (Claude) [60] “From Dan the snorting of his horses is heard; at the sound of the neighing of his fighters (or: horsemen) the whole land shook; and they came and devoured (or: they will come and devour) the land and its fullness, the city and its inhabitants.” So the people did not say, as the Septuagint translated above, “let us go into the fortified cities”, but “into the fortified city”, to signify Jerusalem; in short, he now adds, “the city and its inhabitants”. The army of Nebuchadnezzar is described as coming from Dan through Phoenicia, in which place the river Jordan rises. And what the Septuagint puts as future, the Hebrew records as already done, for the certainty of the event. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:16. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.60 (Reiter CSEL 59:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-60). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.61 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-61 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:114 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The invaders are deadly serpents against which no charm avails; God himself grieves over Jerusalem's ruin. ### Latin text LXI. Q ii id ccce ego miltuin nobia serpcHlex rrgti- los — sine pessimos aut. utSeptnaginta transtuleruilf, morliferos — , qiiibns non est incantatio; et mordebunt uos, ait dominus, inaanabiliu , ettm dolore rordis p-903 6 nestri ilefieientis. Qui sint illi, qui ueniunt a|I)an et quorum auditus est fremitus et qui terraui oroneni ad solitidineni redegerunt. sub alia figura idem prophetalis sermo d(monstrat 'serpentes' eos appellans 'pessimos' siue 'mortiferos' et, nt Aquila transtulit. 'regulos'. qui appellantur Hebraice io 'sapphonim': pro quo, quid sibi uoluerit secunda eius editi". ut 'speculatores' diceret, non intellego. nisi forte ob uerbi similitudinem. quibns non est, ait. incantatio. fmstra I enim ad denm preces fundunt aduersum serpenteni antiquum. colubrum tortuosum, qni dei praecepta contemserint. utamur is hoc loco aduersum eos, qui saluatoris eloquia conternnentes tradnntnr aduersariis potestatibu*. N >•* LXU. Dolor nirnx super dolorem, in me cor HttfVIN inaerens. I'ro quo, ut supra diximus, LXX superiori sententine, quue dicta sunt, eopularunt. ut ponerent: et mordebimt » uos, ait dominns, insanabiliter cum dolore cordi.« upstri deficientis. in Hebraico autrni non tam Molor' est. qui «iraece dieitur ooovr,. quam pitfopo, quoil nos infyrpretari possumu.i •rictum' oris dolore contracti et fctJMMMH n»u« similitudinem. k[tcaTo«ui autem liaec er persona dei legenda sunt plangentis euersionem Hierusalem et eius miserias non ferentis. ### English translation (Claude) [61] “For behold, I will send among you serpents, basilisks (or: most evil ones, or, as the Septuagint translated, deadly ones), against which there is no charm; and they will bite you, says the Lord, incurably, with the pain of your fainting heart.” Who those are who come from Dan, whose snorting was heard and who reduced the whole land to a wilderness, the prophetic word shows under another figure, calling them “serpents”, “most evil” or “deadly”, and, as Aquila translated, “basilisks”, which in Hebrew are called “sapphonim”; for which I do not understand what his second edition meant in saying “watchmen”, unless perhaps because of the likeness of the word. “Against which”, he says, “there is no charm”: for in vain do those pour out prayers to God against the ancient serpent, the twisting snake, who have despised God's commands. Let us use this place against those who, despising the Saviour's words, are handed over to the hostile powers. [62] “My pain is above pain; my heart within me grieves.” For this, as we said above, the Septuagint joined these words to the preceding sentence, so as to put: “and they will bite you, says the Lord, incurably, with the pain of your fainting heart.” In the Hebrew it is not so much “pain”, which in Greek is called odynē, as …, which we can interpret as the “grimace” of a mouth contracted by pain, and the likeness of one weeping. These words are to be read pathetically, in the person of God lamenting the overthrow of Jerusalem and unable to bear its miseries. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:17–18: quotation, high confidence - Isa 27:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 62 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [61] and [62]. Jer 8:17–18; Isa 27:1. Several Greek words are garbled in the OCR; one (Jerome's Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word, glossed “grimace”) cannot be recovered and is shown “…”. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.61 (Reiter CSEL 59:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-61). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.63 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-63 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:116 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem cries out as the enemy enters. ### Latin text LXIII. Ecce uox clanioris filiae populi mei de lerra longinnna! Fletum describit et ulalatum urbis Hierusalem ingressis hostibus. ### English translation (Claude) [63] “Behold, the voice of the crying of the daughter of my people from a far land!” He describes the weeping and wailing of the city of Jerusalem when the enemies have entered. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:19a. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.63 (Reiter CSEL 59:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-63). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.64 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-64 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:116 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem cries because the Lord, her King, has left her; Lord and King may be Father and Son. ### Latin text LXIV. Xninqiiid dominus non est in Sion aut rex eius non est in ea? Siue dominus ipse est rex aut ceite dominus ad patrera, rex refertur ad filium iuxta illud, quod sub nomine Salomonis scribitur: deus, iudicium tuum io regi da et iustitiam tuam filio regis. nt autem uox clamoris sit in Hierusalem et clamor ipse ueniat de terra longinqua, causa manifesta est. quod domiuus non sit in ea et rex illius recesserit ab illa. ### English translation (Claude) [64] “Is the Lord not in Zion, or is her king not in her?” Either the Lord himself is the king, or certainly “Lord” refers to the Father and “king” to the Son, according to what is written under the name of Solomon: “O God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son.” And the reason why there is a voice of crying in Jerusalem, and the crying itself comes from a far land, is plain: because the Lord is not in her and her king has withdrawn from her. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:19b; Ps 72:1 (LXX 71:1–2). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.64 (Reiter CSEL 59:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-64). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.65 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-65 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:116 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God withdrew because idolatry provoked him. ### Latin text LXV. Qtiaic eryo m.e ad iracu ndiam concitauerunl is in sculptilibus suis et in uanitatibns alienis? 'Recessit autem'. inquit, 'ab eis dominus. qnia me, qui doimnus et rex eorum eram. idolomm cultu ad iracundiam prouocarunt'. ### English translation (Claude) [65] “Why then have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with foreign vanities?” “The Lord has withdrawn from them”, he says, “because by the worship of idols they provoked me, who was their Lord and King, to anger.” ### Scripture references - Jer 8:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:19c. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.65 (Reiter CSEL 59:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-65). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.66 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-66 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:116 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The besieged lament that a whole year has passed without deliverance. ### Latin text LXVI. Tiausiit inessis, finita est aestas; et ttos saluati non suinus. Rursum populus loquitur, qui in Hieru- « salem diuturna obsidione conclusus est, quod mutata sint tempora et anni circulus euolutus sit et omnis eorum spes irrita fuerit atque transierit. ### English translation (Claude) [66] “The harvest has passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Again the people speaks, shut in Jerusalem by a long siege: that the seasons have changed and the circle of the year has rolled round, and all their hope has been made void and has passed away. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:20. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.66 (Reiter CSEL 59:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-66). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.67 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-67 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:116 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God shares Jerusalem's affliction and, in human likeness, is stunned by it. ### Latin text LXVII. Super contritione filiae populi mei conln- f. 904 tus siim et rontristatns, stupor ohtinuit me. Respondet » deus, quod in adflictione Hiemsalem ipse uideatur adflietns, et in humanam siinilitudinem stupore conteritur. ### English translation (Claude) [67] “For the wound of the daughter of my people I am crushed and saddened; astonishment has seized me.” God answers that in the affliction of Jerusalem he himself seems afflicted, and in human likeness is crushed with astonishment. ### Scripture references - Jer 8:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 8:21. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.67 (Reiter CSEL 59:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-67). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.68 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-36/#p-2-68 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:117 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The balm of Gilead is repentance; Jerusalem's wounds stay open because it lacks true prophets and priests to heal them. ### Latin text LXVIH. Numqnid resina non est in Ualaad et neritatem non toquentur; didicit enim linyna eorum lot/ui mendaciii m — siue docuerunt enim /»»ijnnm suam loqui mendacium — . inique ayerent, liiboitiuerniit — siue inique eyeiunt ei non inter- miserunt, ut conuerterent ur — . hnhitatio tua m medio doli; in dolo — siue nsura super ueuram «I dolus in dolo: — rennuerunt — siue nolurrunt — tcire me, dicit dominus. Hoc loco utenduni est in terapore per- I * secutionis et angustiae, quando aut rara ant nulla tides, quando nec fratri nec proiimo credenduru est et inirnici eius domestici eius, quando iuxta euangelium tradet pater filium et filius patrem et diuiduntur duo in tres et tres in duo. quodque infert: docaerunt linguam suam toloqui mendacium siue didicit lingua eorum loqui mendacium, ostendit consuetudinem mentiendi quodammodo in naturam uerti studioseque eos agere. ut agant iniqua. quodque sequitur: habitatio tua in medio doli, i in dolo, proprie ad prophetam sermo dirigitur, quod habitet 1* in medio populi mentientis — siue. ut LXX transtulerunt: u s u ra 9uper usuram et dolus super dolutu — et quod cotidie augeant scelera et nequaquam n ea inuenitur substantiae dei nec auditur uoi domini eccle- V siam possidentis per sauctos et apostolicos uiros et a uolucre caeli usque ad pecora, ab his uidelicet, qui possunt in sublime asceudere, usque ad irrationales et simpliciores quosque, recesserint a conciliahulo dei. ### English translation (Claude) [75] “On the mountains I will take up (or: take up) weeping and lamentation, and over the beautiful places (or: the paths) of the wilderness a lament, because they are burned (or: have failed), so that no man (or: person) passes through; and they have not heard the voice of the owner (or: of possessions); from the bird of the sky to the cattle they have fled and gone away.” When the Babylonian comes and lays everything waste, the desolation of the province is prophesied: that there is lamentation on the mountains, weeping in the wilderness or on the paths of the wasteland, that everything has failed and been burned, and that there is no one to walk through the land, all having been slain, and nothing has remained that can breathe and live. Hence for “owner” the Septuagint translated “of possessions”, which in Hebrew is called “macne”; and “substance” here is taken not for ousia, that is, “essence”, but for wealth and riches. And by adding, “from the bird of the sky to the cattle they have fled and gone away”, he shows what we have often said: that the whole creation feels the anger of God, and not only the birds of the air but also the fish of the water fail. According to the figurative sense, weeping is taken up on the mountains and lamentation over the beautiful places of the wilderness when the leaders of the church sin and nothing of God's substance is found in it, nor is the voice of the Lord who owns the church heard through holy and apostolic men; and from the bird of the sky to the cattle, that is, from those who can rise on high to the irrational and simpler sort, they have withdrawn from the assembly of God. ### Scripture references - Jer 9:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 9:10. The Greek word οὐσία is garbled in the OCR. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.75 (Reiter CSEL 59:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-75). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.76 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-76 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:121 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: When the church's teachers fail, it becomes a den of heretical dragons and God no longer dwells in it. ### Latin text LXXVI. Et dabo Hierutalem in aceruoa harcnue — * siue in tranainiyrationem — et IM eubilia drueonuw et ciuitates Inda dabo in dexolutioncm eo, i/nod non *»l habitntor. Cum ecclesiastici uiri et «loctoren quique defecerint, tunc datur Hierusalem iu transmignitioneni siue in 'icenn.s harenae. ut hereticus in ea tseruio praeualeat et efft- ciatnr cubile draconum et ciuitates illius redigantur in solitudinem nec sit in ea diuini sermonis habitatio et ille. qui dicit: inhabitabo et inambulabo in eis et ero deus eorum. ### English translation (Claude) [76] “And I will make Jerusalem heaps of sand (or: a deportation) and dens of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, because there is no inhabitant.” When the men of the church and all the teachers have failed, then Jerusalem is given over to deportation or to heaps of sand, so that the heretical word prevails in her and she becomes a den of dragons, and her cities are reduced to a wilderness, and there is no dwelling of the divine word in her, nor he who says: “I will dwell and walk among them and will be their God.” ### Scripture references - Jer 9:11: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 9:11; 2 Cor 6:16. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.76 (Reiter CSEL 59:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-76). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.77 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-77 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:122 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The land perished because the people forsook God's law for their own will and their fathers' Baals; their dispersion among the nations is still being fulfilled. ### Latin text LXXVII. Quis est uir sapiens, qui intellegat hoc et s ad quem uerbum oris domini fiat et annuntiet istud: qiiaie pcriit terra et exustA tti fUWti deSBTtun ttf, " quod non sif. qni iiertrans\eat? et dixit dominus:quia ilerel iqm ruiit leyein meam. iju.am ile.di eis, et non audierunt uocem meam et non ambiilaueru nt in ea et abicrunt post pranitatem cordis 8Ut et post Bahaliin, quos didiceruiit a palribus suis. Interrogat propheta, si quem sapientium in Hierusalem ualeat repperire et eorum. ad quos tiat sermo dei et qui possint annuntiare domini uoluntatem et causas reddere, cur Iudaea redacta sit in solitudinem et omnibus interfectis nullus remanserit, qui per eam transeat. et inducit dominum respondentem causasque reddentem. quia dereliquerint legem eius, quam dederat eis. nec audierint uocem illius nec fecerint, quae praecepta sint, sed abierint post prauitatem cordis sui. ergo non in nostra uoluntate, sed in domino conlidendum e9t: prauum enim cor in horuinibus et de corde nostro exeunt pessimae cogitationes. et post Bahalim, inquit, abierunt, quos didicerunt a patribus suis. Bahal idolum Sidoniorum et est 12.1 "umeri singularis, Bahalim uero pluralis numeri. ergo nec parentum nec maiorura error sequendus est, sed auetoritas ^ s ripturarum et dei docentis imperium. LXX\ III. Idcirco haec dirit dominus crcrritu um deus s hrahel: eccc ego cihabo eos, populum istnm, absintkio — siue angustiis — et potum dabo eis aqiiam fcllis et dispergam eos in gentibus, quas non uouerunt ipsi et patrm eorum, et mittam post eos gladium. ilonec consumantur. Potest et de uicino tempore prophetari. M quando capti sunt a Cualdaeis. et proprie de hoc tempore, quaudo dispersi sunt in gentibus. quas non nouerant ipsi et patres eorum. et in toto orbe diuisi cibatique suut absintliio siue necessitatibus et angustiis. et acceperunt potum aquam fellis, quod aut malorum siguiticat magnitudinem et sempiteruum captinitatis iugum, aut certe per ignorantiam legis dei pro Christo Antichristum suscepturi sunt. mittitur autem gladius post eos, ut usque ad interitum consumantur. nel certe gladius, qui eos diuidat et non patiatur in malum > liabere couseusum. ut dispereant in eo, quod mali «iint ### English translation (Claude) [77] “Who is the wise man who may understand this, and to whom the word of the Lord's mouth may come, that he may declare it: Why has the land perished and been burned like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the Lord said: Because they have forsaken my law, which I gave them, and have not heard my voice nor walked in it, but have gone after the depravity of their heart and after the Baals, which they learned from their fathers.” The prophet asks whether he can find any of the wise in Jerusalem, and of those to whom the word of God comes and who can declare the Lord's will and give the reasons why Judea has been reduced to a wilderness and, all having been slain, no one is left to pass through it. And he brings in the Lord answering and giving the reasons: because they forsook his law, which he had given them, and did not hear his voice nor do what was commanded, but went after the depravity of their heart. So we must trust not in our own will but in the Lord; for the heart in men is depraved, and from our heart come forth evil thoughts. “And after the Baals”, he says, “they went, which they learned from their fathers.” Baal is the idol of the Sidonians and is singular in number; Baalim is plural. So neither the error of parents nor that of ancestors is to be followed, but the authority of the Scriptures and the command of God who teaches. [78] “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood (or: with distresses), and give them water of gall to drink, and I will scatter them among the nations which neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until they are consumed.” This can be prophesied of the near time, when they were taken captive by the Chaldeans; and properly of this present time, when they have been scattered among nations which neither they nor their fathers knew, and, divided over the whole world, they have been fed with wormwood, that is, with necessities and distresses, and received water of gall to drink; which signifies either the greatness of their evils and the everlasting yoke of captivity, or certainly that through ignorance of God's law they are to receive Antichrist instead of Christ. The sword is sent after them so that they may be consumed to destruction; or certainly a sword that divides them and does not allow them to agree in evil, so that they may perish in being evil. ### Scripture references - Jer 9:12–16: quotation, high confidence - Matt 15:19: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [77] and [78]. Jer 9:12–16; Matt 15:19. The application to the dispersion of the Jews in Jerome's day and to their receiving Antichrist is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.77 (Reiter CSEL 59:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-77). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.79 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-79 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:122 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God calls for the professional mourners to lament Jerusalem's fall, and shares the people's suffering. ### Latin text LXXIX. Haec dicit dnminus rxercilnnm: routemplamini — siue intellegite — et uorulr lamentalrices ft urniant et ad eas, qmie sapirnlex xtint, mittite et pruprrent — siiie lnquantitr — , frstiurnl rl asxumanl snper nos — siup super uos — lamentum rt dedu-anl !•• !*0S o \nculi uostri — siue uestri — lacrimas el jmlpebrae nostrae — siue nestrue — defluant aqnis, qiioniam iiox lamentntionis aitdilu est de Sion siue in Sion. Propter futuram captiuitatem et euersionem Hierusalem lamentatrices uocari . iubet. quae solent in luctu uoce flebili et lacertos manibus uerberantes ad lacrimas populum prouocare: bic enim mos usque hodie permanet in Iudaea. ut mulieres sparsis crinibus nudatisque pectoribus, uoce modulatii omnes ad fletum coneitent. se autem iungit deus conpatientis affectu siue propheta, ut, quicquid populus sustinet, ipsum sustinere et sentire se dicat. quod autem infert: quia uox lamenta- w tionis audita est de Sion, statim sequitur, quae ista sit nox. ### English translation (Claude) [79] “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider (or: understand), and call the mourning women, and let them come; and send to those who are wise, and let them hasten (or: speak), and let them make haste and take up a lament over us (or: over you), and let our (or: your) eyes run down with tears, and our (or: your) eyelids flow with waters; for a voice of lamentation has been heard from Zion (or: in Zion).” Because of the coming captivity and overthrow of Jerusalem he orders the mourning women to be called, who in time of grief are accustomed, with tearful voice and beating their arms with their hands, to move the people to tears; for this custom remains in Judea to this day, that women with hair loosened and breasts bared stir all to weeping with a measured chant. God joins himself, with the feeling of one who suffers with them, or the prophet does, so as to say that whatever the people suffers he himself suffers and feels. And because he adds, “for a voice of lamentation has been heard from Zion”, there follows at once what that voice is. ### Scripture references - Jer 9:17–19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 9:17–19a. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.79 (Reiter CSEL 59:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-79). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.80 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-80 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:124 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Zion laments its devastation and confesses it is the result of its own sin. ### Latin text LXXX. (Juomodo unstati sumus et eonfusi tiehemcitter? quia dereliqu imus terram, quoniatn deieeta sunt — siue abierimits — tuber narula nostra. Uox ista est lamentantium Sion: quomodo uastati sumus et confusi uehemt-nter? statimqne sibi ipsi respondent et eausas uastatiouis exponunt dicentes: quia dereliquiuius terram nostro uitio atque peccato et deiecta sunt tabernacula nostra, quae quasi praetereuntes quondam possidebant. dicant hoc et in persecutione quondam credentium tuvbae. quoniani idcirco ua*tatae sint atque coufusae, quia dereliquerint terram domini et deseruerint tabernacula sua. ### English translation (Claude) [80] “How are we laid waste and greatly confounded? For we have left the land, for our tents have been cast down (or: we have gone away).” This is the voice of those lamenting Zion: “How are we laid waste and greatly confounded?” And at once they answer themselves and set out the causes of the devastation, saying: “Because we have left the land by our own fault and sin, and our tents have been cast down”, which they once possessed as if passing through. Let the crowds of believers too say this, once in persecution: that they were laid waste and confounded because they left the land of the Lord and deserted their tents. ### Scripture references - Jer 9:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 9:19b. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.80 (Reiter CSEL 59:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-80). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.81 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-81 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:124 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: With the men silent, the women must teach lament, for death has entered the houses, by the enemy's assault or, spiritually, through the senses. ### Latin text LXXXI. Audite ergo, muliercs. uerbum domini et assumat auris uestra sermouem oris eius et docete ** filiax uestras luinentitm et iinaquaeqite proxi mam suam plumtiim, quia nscendit mors per fcnestras no$tras, ingressa est domos nostras disperden pnruulos de foris, inuenes de plnteis! In superiore capitulo diierat: uocate lanientatri ces et ueniant et ad eas, quae sapientes sunt, mittite et properent; nunc s quasi praesentibus loquitur in condemnationem sacerdotum atque doctorum et uirornm omnium. ut illis cessantibus a doctrina istae audiant uerbnm domini et assumant sermones ons eius doceantque filias et proiimas suas planctum catisasque lacrimarum, quia ascendit, inquit. mors per fenestras «onostras, ingressa est domos nostras. quod quamquam «t spiritaliter possit intellegi eo. quod per omnes sensus ad auimae interitum mors introeat peccatorum. tamen et de Babyloniorum impetu intellegi potest. quod tanta sit fortitudo et uelocitas proeliandi, ut non ex|spectent reserare fores. sed '5 per fenestras et tecta conscendant. ut domos uastent Hierusalera. pereunt autem paruuli. qui foris sunt et egrediuntur de Hierusalem. et iuuenes. ad quos scribit et Iohannes. qui non ingrediuntur per artam et angustam uiam. quae ducit ud uitam. sed anibulant per plateas, de quibus scriptum est: quam *> latu et spatiosa uia, quae ducit ad tnortem! ### English translation (Claude) [81] “Hear, then, O women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters lament, and each her neighbour mourning; for death has come up through our windows, it has entered our houses, to destroy the little ones from outside and the young men from the streets!” In the preceding chapter he had said, “Call the mourning women and let them come, and send to those who are wise and let them hasten”; now he speaks as to those present, to the condemnation of the priests and teachers and of all the men, so that, since they have ceased from teaching, these women may hear the word of the Lord and receive the words of his mouth and teach their daughters and neighbours lament and the causes of their tears: “for death”, he says, “has come up through our windows, it has entered our houses.” Although this can also be understood spiritually, in that the death of sins enters through all the senses to the destruction of the soul, it can also be understood of the onslaught of the Babylonians: that such is their strength and speed in fighting that they do not wait to unbar the doors, but climb through windows and roofs to lay waste the houses of Jerusalem. And the little ones perish who are outside and go out of Jerusalem, and the young men, to whom John too writes, who do not enter by the strait and narrow way that leads to life, but walk through the streets, of which it is written: “How broad and spacious is the way that leads to death!” ### Scripture references - Jer 9:20–21: quotation, high confidence - Jer 9:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:13–14: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 7:13–14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 9:20–21; Jer 9:17; 1 John 2:13–14; Matt 7:13–14. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.81 (Reiter CSEL 59:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-81). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.82 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-82 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:124 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's dead will lie unburied; true glory is only in knowing the Lord, whose providence governs all; circumcision of the flesh profits nothing without circumcision of the heart. ### Latin text LXXXII. Loquere: haec dieit dominns: et cadel mortteinttm hominia — siue rndaiicrn homiinuii — i/iinsi *tcrcns super fnciem ngionis — siue campi — tt quasi faeuum post tergum meteiilis ct uon esl, tftli colligat. Uerbura Hebraicum. quod tribus litteris scribitur 'daleth, beth, res' — uocales enim in raedio non liabet — , pro oonsequentia et legentis arbitrio si legatur 'dabar\ 'sermonem' significat. si 'deber', "mortem', si 'dabber'. 'loquere'. unde et » Septuaginta et Theodotio iunxere illud praeterito capitulo, ut dicerent: disperdere paruulos de foris, iuuenes de plateis morte. Aquila uero et Symmachus transtulerunt XcO.r^ov, 'loquere', ut imperet deus prophetae loqui, quae sequuntnr: haec dicit dominus et reliqua. et est sensus: w cum ascenderit mors per fenestras nostras et ingressa fuerit domos Hierusalem et parnuli iuuenesque de foris perierint et plateis. tunc erit morticinum eorum siue cadanera mortuoruni quasi in sterquilinium super faciem terrae et quasi stipula, qnae post tergum metentium dimittitur et ut inutilis non n colligitur. per qnae ostendere uult tantam in Hierusalem et circa urbem caedem futoram. ut nullus sit, qui sepeliat corruentes. 9,2:1.24 LXSXIII. Hnrr dir.it doiiiiiuts: nnu ijloiirtnr supirn* iu sapirutin snu rt noii glorictur fortis i n forfitu- » dine sua et no» ijlarietur diues in dinitiis sttix. aed in hoc glorietur, qui gloriatur, srire — siue intrllegcre — el nosse me, qiiiu cgo sttm domiiius, qui facio misericordiaiii et iitdiritim rt iustitiam iu trrm! Imer enim placent mihi — aiue quiu iu istis est uoluntas ,nt" — ■ dicit domiuus. Omnis bominum aufertur superbia, dum et sapientia et fortitudo et opes eorum reputantur in nihilum et ista est sola gloriatio, ut sciat et intellegat, quod ipse sit dominus, qui facit misericordiam et iudicium et iostitiam super terram, qnod omnia dei prouidentia et iustitia gubernentur et, quae nobis uidentur non babere rationem, ' iastitiae plena sint atqne ra|tionis. haec enim sola placent deo et in his uoluntas illius est. ubi sunt ergo. qui dicunt proprio hominem regi arbitrio et sic datam liberi arbitrii potestatem, ut dei misericordia tolleretur atque iustitia? unde et u apostolus assumens hoc testimonium ponit exeinpluni: qni gloriatnr, in domino glorietnr. * LXXXIY. Eece dies tieuimit. dii it dominus,et uisitabo snper omnem, qui circuiin isum liabcnl praeputium, ntper Acggptttm et super Iiidum et sttpcr EdotH et wsu/i,) filios Ammon et supcr Monb it sttper omnes, ii nttousi simt in cumitm. liubHuiites in destrto. qitiu omiujs geutes habent pracpittium, omnis 'intem domus Isruhel incircumcisi sttnt cordr. Multannii ex parU- I quadam geutium et raaxime. quae Iudaeae Palestiuaeque connnes sunt. usque hodie populi circumciduntur et praecipue Aegyptii et Idumaei, Ammanitae et Moabitae et omnis regio Saracenorum. quae habitat in solitudine et de quibus dicitur: super omnes, qui attonsi sunt in comaro. habitantes in deserto. non igitur debet gloriari Iuda. qui mixtus est cum gentibus supra scriptis, eo, quod praeputium non habeat. sed ei lege dei circumcisus sit, cum et alii liaec faciant. qui s legis mandata non seruant et ignorant deum Israhel. nec prode est circumcisio, quae in signuni data est, nisi praecepta domini conpleantur: sicnt et comae, quae gentem significant. non robora corporum et fortitudinem pugnatorum. quodque sequitur: omnes gentes habent praeputium, omnis autem domus Israhel incircumcisi sunt corde, hunc habet sensum: cum praeter Aegyptios. Idumaeos, Ammanitas et Moabitas. Isniaelitas in solitudine commorantes, quorum plerumque pars circumcisa est. omnes aliae nationes in toto orbe incircumcisae sint carne, omnis domus Israhel incircumcisa est i& corde. non carne. quae incircumcisio dncit ad mortem: illa enim carnis, haec spiritus est. ### English translation (Claude) [82] “Speak: Thus says the Lord: And the carcass of man (or: the corpses of men) will fall like dung on the face of the field (or: the plain), and like hay behind the reaper, and there is none to gather it.” The Hebrew word written with three letters, daleth, beth, resh (for it has no vowels in the middle), according to the context and the reader's judgment, if read “dabar”, signifies “word”; if “deber”, “death”; if “dabber”, “speak”. Hence the Septuagint and Theodotion joined it to the preceding chapter, so as to say: “to destroy the little ones from outside and the young men from the streets by death.” But Aquila and Symmachus translated lalēson, “speak”, so that God commands the prophet to speak what follows: “Thus says the Lord”, and the rest. And the sense is: when death has come up through our windows and entered the houses of Jerusalem, and the little ones and young men have perished outside and in the streets, then their carcasses, or the corpses of the dead, will be like dung on the face of the earth, and like stubble, which is left behind the reapers and, being useless, is not gathered. By this he wishes to show that there will be such slaughter in and around Jerusalem that there will be no one to bury those who fall. [83] “Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he knows (or: understands) and knows me, that I am the Lord, who practise mercy and judgment and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight (or: for in these is my will), says the Lord.” All the pride of men is taken away, while their wisdom and strength and wealth are reckoned as nothing; and this is the only glorying: to know and understand that he is the Lord, who practises mercy and judgment and righteousness on the earth; that all things are governed by God's providence and justice, and that the things which seem to us to have no reason are full of justice and reason. For these alone please God, and in these is his will. Where, then, are those who say that man is ruled by his own choice, and that the power of free choice was so given that God's mercy and justice were taken away? Hence the apostle too, taking up this testimony, sets it as an example: “Let him who glories glory in the Lord.” [84] “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will punish all who have the foreskin circumcised: Egypt and Judah and Edom and the sons of Ammon and Moab and all who are cut short in the hair, dwelling in the desert; for all the nations have a foreskin, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.” Many peoples, from some part of the nations, and especially those that border on Judea and Palestine, are circumcised to this day, and above all the Egyptians and Idumeans, the Ammonites and Moabites, and the whole region of the Saracens which dwells in the wilderness, of whom it is said, “upon all who are cut short in the hair, dwelling in the desert.” So Judah, which is mixed with the nations named above, ought not to glory in not having a foreskin but being circumcised by the law of God, since others too do this, who do not keep the commandments of the law and do not know the God of Israel. Nor is circumcision, which was given as a sign, of any profit unless the Lord's commands are fulfilled; just as their hair signifies the nation, not the strength of bodies and the bravery of fighters. And what follows, “all the nations have a foreskin, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart”, has this sense: while, apart from the Egyptians, Idumeans, Ammonites and Moabites, and the Ishmaelites dwelling in the wilderness, of whom a large part is circumcised, all the other nations in the whole world are uncircumcised in the flesh, all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart, not in flesh; and this uncircumcision leads to death: for that one is of the flesh, this of the spirit. ### Scripture references - Jer 9:22–26: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:31: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds three of Reiter's chapters (the numerals of chapters 83 and 84 are garbled in the OCR); the beginnings are marked [82], [83] and [84]. Jer 9:22–26; 1 Cor 1:31 (2 Cor 10:17). The Greek λάλησον is garbled. Those who say man is ruled by his own choice so as to exclude God's mercy are the Pelagians. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.82 (Reiter CSEL 59:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-82). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.85 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-85 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:127 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God forbids Israel to fear the heavenly signs as the nations do, as if the stars ruled human affairs. ### Latin text LXXXV. Audile uerbum, quod locutus est domimis super uos. domus Israhel! huee dieit ilumi iius: iuxta uias tjeiitinm nolite discere et u siynis eaeli iniHtt metiieie. i/ime timenl geutes. qnia leyes popii1»ru»i iianae sunt! Proprie aduersnm eos loquitur, qui uenerantur caelestia et, qoae in signa sunt posita annorum. temporum. mensuum et dierum, ab his aestimant regi humanum genus f. 911 et ex causis caelestium terrena moderari. | quodque ait: leges » siue legitima populorum uana sunt, omnem humanam sapientiara futilem esse demonstrat et nullam in se liabere ntilitatem. ### English translation (Claude) [85] “Hear the word which the Lord has spoken concerning you, house of Israel! Thus says the Lord: Do not learn according to the ways of the nations, and do not fear the signs of heaven, which the nations fear; for the laws of the peoples are vain!” He speaks properly against those who venerate the heavenly bodies, and think that the human race is ruled by those things which were set as signs of years, seasons, months and days, and that earthly things are governed by the causes of heavenly ones. And when he says, “the laws” or “ordinances of the peoples are vain”, he shows that all human wisdom is futile and has no usefulness in itself. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:1–3: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:1–3a; Gen 1:14. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.85 (Reiter CSEL 59:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-85). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.86 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-86 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:127 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Idols are lifeless wood decked with metal that can do neither good nor harm; so too are false doctrines adorned with eloquence. ### Latin text LXXXVI. Quia lignvm de salhi praeridit opns s manuum artificis in ascia; argento et anro decoram/ illud, clanis ct malUis conpegit, ut non dissoluatur — siue non moueatur—. in sim ilitndiiicm palinac fabrieata sunt et non loquentur; portata tollentur, ijuia vneedere non ualcnt. nolite ergo iimere cn, quta ritc io male facere possunt nec bene, Descriptio idoJorum, quae uenerantur gentes. lignnm, inquit, de saltu praecidit — materia ergo idolornm uilis et corrnptibilis — opusmanuum nrtificis — cum artifex mortalis sit, mortalia ergo et illa, quae fabricatur — ; argento et auro decorauit illud, ut fnlgore u otriusque materiae decipiat simplices. qui quidem error ad nos usque transiuit, ut religionem in diuitiis arbitremur. clauis et malleis conpegit, nt non dissoluatur siue ot non moueatur. quanta idolorum potentia, quae stare per se nequeunt, nisi clauis et malleis conpingantur? in simili- 2utudinem palmae fabricata habent pulcliritudinem metal- Iornm et picturae arte decorata sunt, sed utilitatem non possident, quae praebeant aliquos fructus artifici. et non lo- * qnentur — nihil enim in se uitale habent, de quibus scriptum est: os habent et non loquentur: aures habent et * non audient— : portata tollentur. fortior ille, qiiiportar, quam illa, quae portantur; immo in illo sensus est, in hoc tigura sine sensu. nolite ergo timere ea, quia nec bene possunt facere nec male. solent enim pleriqne gentilium daemones colere, ne noceant, et alios exorare, ut praestent beneficia; unde et illud Uergilianum est: nigram Hiemi pecudem, Zephyris felicibus albam. quidquid de idolis diximus, ad omnia dogmata, quae sunt con- traria ueritati, referri potest. et ipsi enim ingentia pollicentnr et simulacrum uani cultus de suo corde confingunt; iactant grandia et ad decipiendos simplices quosque quasi aureis sen- io sibus et eloquiis argenti splendore fulgentibus inperitorum obstringunt aciem et a suis inuentoribus sublimantur. in quibus nulla est utilitas et quorum cultura proprie gentium est et eorum, qui ignorant deum. ### English translation (Claude) [86] “For a tree from the forest is cut down, the work of the hands of a craftsman with the axe; he adorns it with silver and gold; he fastens it with nails and hammers so that it does not come apart (or: does not move). They are made in the likeness of a palm tree, and they will not speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, then, for they can do neither evil nor good.” A description of the idols which the nations worship. “A tree from the forest is cut down”: the material of idols, then, is cheap and corruptible. “The work of the hands of a craftsman”: since the craftsman is mortal, so too is what he makes. “He adorns it with silver and gold”, so as to deceive the simple by the gleam of both metals; an error which has come down even to us, so that we think religion lies in riches. “He fastens it with nails and hammers so that it does not come apart”, or does not move: how great is the power of idols, which cannot stand by themselves unless they are fastened with nails and hammers! “Made in the likeness of a palm tree”, they have the beauty of the metals and are adorned by the art of painting, but they have no usefulness to offer any fruits to the craftsman. “And they will not speak”: for they have nothing living in them, of which it is written: “They have mouths and will not speak; they have ears and will not hear.” “They must be carried”: stronger is he who carries than they who are carried; rather, in him there is sense, in this a figure without sense. “Do not fear them, then, for they can do neither good nor evil.” For many of the Gentiles worship demons so that they may not harm them, and entreat others to grant them benefits; hence too that line of Virgil: “A black sheep to Winter, a white one to the favouring Zephyrs.” Whatever we have said of idols can be referred to all doctrines contrary to the truth. For they too promise huge things and fashion from their own heart the image of a vain worship; they boast of great things, and, to deceive all the simple, they dazzle the eyes of the unskilled with senses as of gold and words gleaming with the splendour of silver, and are exalted by their inventors; yet there is no usefulness in them, and their worship belongs properly to the nations and to those who do not know God. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:3–5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 115:5–6 (113:13-14 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Aen. 3.120 (Virgil): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:3b–5; Ps 115:5–6 (LXX 113:13–14). The Virgil line is Aeneid 3.120. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.86 (Reiter CSEL 59:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-86). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.87 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-87 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:130 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: No idol, or heretical doctrine, compares with the true and living God; its eloquence, like gilded wood, deceives only for a time. ### Latin text LXXXVII. Non est aimilis tui, domine; magnua tn i& *™ et magnum nomen tuuni in fortitndi W: quis non timcbil tv, o rcx gentiumY Itiiim \ esf enim decus; inter cunctos sapicntes geiitiiiin ct in itniiiersis regms eorum nnlhis est similis tui. pariter sapicntes cl fittuiprobabuutur; dortrina utiii itutis eorum lujnum so est; argentiim inuolutiim — siue productum — &' Tharsil affertur ct aurum tle Ophax, opus artificis et manus aerarii; kuaeinthus ct piirpurn intliuncntum eorum; opus artificnm — siue sapientium — uniuersa haee. dominus autem detts ncrus est; iste deus s» uiuens et rex sempiternits. ah i ntlignatione '"'s cotnmouebitiir terra et non tustinabuni gentes com- minationem eiue. Haec in LXX non habentur, sed de Theodotionis editione in plerisque addita sunt et, cum iuita litteram nideantur perspicua, iuxta vii^fT^ magnara liabent difticultatem. nullus enim similis est deo uero eorum deorum, qui s heretica arte finguntur. omnes timebunt eum. qui rex gentiuni est; principium enim sapientiae timor domini et de eo proficimus ad caritatem. tunm est. inquit, decus: in ueritate decor, in mendacio turpitudo. quamuis heretici iuxta sapientiam mundi, quae destruitur, sibi sapientes esse uideantur, 'o tamen in omnibus regnis, quibus lacerant ecclesiam. nullus est similis tui dicente sermone diuino: perdam sapientiam sapientium etprudentiam prudentiumreprobabo. simul sapientes et fatui sunt: doctrina eorum pro qualitate ingenii uel uilis est et ligno conparatur uel similis argento propter eloquii uenustatem; affertur de Tharsis — uel Indiae regio est, ut uult Iosephus, uel certe omne pelagus Tharsis appellatur et caeli habet siiuilitudinem — et tamen inuoluta est uerborum artificio; si enim patuorit. decipere non poterit. et aurum de Ophaz. septem nomiuibus apud He- <■ braeos appellatur aurum, quorum unum 'ophaz' dicitur, quod nos dicere possumns 'obryzum'. ut splendeat in superficie idolorum, quod intrinsecus lignum est uilisque materiae. hyacintho operiuntur et purpura. ut superficie sui oculos decipiant. dnm caelomm sibi colorem et regna caelestia pollicentur; et tamen opera sapientnm sunt uniuersa haec, qui in saeculo sapientes putantur, ceterum apud deum stulti sunt. dominns autem deus noster deus uerus est — illa ergo uniuersa mendacia — et ipse deus uiuens — igitur illa mortna, quae ringuntur, — et rex sempiternus — hereticorum umbrae ad tempus praeualent, sed longo tempore io i. 013 corrumpuntur — ;abindignatione|eiuscommouebitur terra — hi, qui terrena habent opera et terrena simulacra confingunt, — et non sustinebnnt gentes, nequaquam populus domini, sed gentiura multitudo, quae dei comminationem ferre non praeualent. ### English translation (Claude) [87] “There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who will not fear you, O King of the nations? For yours is the glory; among all the wise of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They will be proved alike wise and foolish; their teaching of vanity is wood. Silver wrapped (or: beaten out) is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hand of the smith; blue and purple are their clothing; all these are the work of craftsmen (or: of wise men). But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his anger the earth will be shaken, and the nations will not endure his threat.” These words are not in the Septuagint, but in most copies have been added from Theodotion's edition; and though according to the letter they seem clear, according to the higher sense they have great difficulty. For none of those gods which are fashioned by heretical art is like the true God. All will fear him, who is King of the nations; for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, and from it we advance to love. “Yours is the glory”, he says: in truth there is beauty, in falsehood foulness. Although the heretics, according to the wisdom of the world, which is being destroyed, seem to themselves to be wise, yet in all the kingdoms in which they tear the church none is like you, as the divine word says: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject.” They are at once wise and foolish: their teaching, according to the quality of their talent, is either cheap and compared to wood, or like silver for the charm of its eloquence. It is brought from Tarshish (either a region of India, as Josephus would have it, or certainly the whole sea is called Tarshish and has the likeness of the sky), and yet it is wrapped in the artifice of words; for if it lay open, it could not deceive. “And gold from Uphaz”: gold is called by seven names among the Hebrews, one of which is “ophaz”, which we can call “refined gold”, so that it may shine on the surface of the idols, which inside is wood and cheap material. They are covered with blue and purple, so as to deceive the eyes with their surface, while they promise themselves the colour of the heavens and the heavenly kingdoms. And yet all these are the works of the wise, who are thought wise in the world, but before God are foolish. “But the Lord our God is the true God”: all those, then, are lies. “And he is the living God”: so those things which are fashioned are dead. “And the everlasting King”: the shadows of the heretics prevail for a time, but in a long time they decay. “At his anger the earth will be shaken”: those who have earthly works and fashion earthly images; “and the nations will not endure”, not the people of the Lord but the multitude of the nations, who cannot bear the threat of God. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:6–10: quotation, high confidence - Prov 9:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:19: quotation, high confidence - Isa 29:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:19: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Josephus (Josephus (works)): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:6–10. The Greek word for “higher sense” is garbled in the OCR. Prov 9:10; 1 Cor 1:19 (Isa 29:14); 1 Cor 3:19. For Josephus on Tarshish compare Ant. 8.181 (locator uncertain). ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.87 (Reiter CSEL 59:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-87). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.88 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-88 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:132 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The gods who did not make heaven and earth must perish. ### Latin text LXXXVIII. Sir rrgo dieetis eis: di, qui caelos et terram no» fercrttiit, pereant de terrn et de his. qnae sub eaelo sunt! Falsis dis et, qui artificio reconpositi sunt, ista dicenda sunt — illi enim nec caelos fecere nec terram — . quae(que) cooperatores Christi. qui dei uocantur et doniini, per » doctrinam ecclesiasticam magna ei parte fabricantur. ### English translation (Claude) [88] “Thus, then, you shall say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth, let them perish from the earth and from those things that are under heaven!” This must be said to the false gods and to those that are put together by artifice, for they made neither the heavens nor the earth; things which the fellow-workers of Christ, who are called gods and lords, fashion in great part through the church's teaching. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:9: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:11 (in the original, the one verse of Jeremiah in Aramaic). The last clause is obscure in the OCR (“quae(que) cooperatores Christi …”) and is translated by sense; it may refer to the church's teachers (1 Cor 3:9) building through doctrine. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.88 (Reiter CSEL 59:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-88). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.89 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-89 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:132 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God, Creator through his Son, his power and wisdom, stands against idols and heresies that will perish; Jerusalem must gather its goods for the siege, for God will hurl out its people. ### Latin text LXXXIX. Dominus. ijtii facit — siue fecit — terram in fortitudine sua, prucpaial orbcm in .sajiiciilia saa itprudentia »«n exUndit patlps. ad udetm wam dat toultitudinem aquarutn iu caelo et eleuat — siue cducit — nebulas ub cxlrcmis terrae, futgura i" jiiuuiaw fecit et cducit uenfum — siue ueutos — de thcsunris suis. stulttts factus est omuis homo a seientiu, roitfnsus cst omnts arfifex in scttlptili. i/itouiam fulsum foris substantiam suam, quae hahitat in munilione, quia haer dirit domiitu*: eece ego supplnntabu habitatores lerrue hniiis tt tribnlaho eos, ul inurniantiir. 1'raecipitur Hiernsalem, nt. quicqtiid habet foris ftubntantiae, in urbem munitissimam congreget et longae obsidioni paret alimenta; se enim nequaquam ut pvius de futuro et longo tempore comminari, | sed iam de uicina captiuitate, quae iam iamque uentura sit. 'congrega', inquit, 'et de foris et de terra, hoc est ex agris, substantiam tuam in confusionem. quidquid enim habes, confusione dignum est; quae licet praepares, haec super his domiui dicta coguosce: ecce ego in hac uice, in isto tempore, proiciam siue instar fuudae iaciam longe habitatores terrae huius'. pro quo Septuaginta interpretati sunt: supplantabo et cadere faciam, pro quo uerbo Hebraico, id est 'cole', Aquila et Sraimachus interpretati sunt ofsySovuMt et est sensus: 'instar fundae cum onini irnpetu abiciam et sic eos obsideri faciam sicque tribulabo et coangustabo, ut omnes in urbe repperiantur et effugere nequeant malum'. ### English translation (Claude) [89] “The Lord, who makes (or: made) the earth by his strength, prepares the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretches out the heavens. At his voice he gives a multitude of waters in the heaven, and raises (or: brings up) the clouds from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind (or: winds) from his storehouses. Every man has become foolish from knowledge; every craftsman is put to shame by his carved image, for what he has cast is false, and there is no breath in them. They are vain, a work worthy of laughter; in the time of their visitation they will perish. Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for he who formed all things is he, and Israel is the rod of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.” He who makes the earth by his strength is God the Father; and he makes it by his strength, the Lord the Saviour; for Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, who is himself also the understanding, in whom he stretches out the heaven. For he spoke and they were made; he commanded and they were created, speaking to the Son: “Let us make man in our image and likeness!” “At his voice he gives a multitude of waters in the heaven”: for all the Lord's teaching flows from heavenly places, as David says: “A willing rain you will set apart, O God, for your inheritance, and it was weakened; but you perfected it.” “And raises” (or “brings up”) “clouds from the ends of the earth”: the clouds or mists, which the Lord commanded not to rain rain upon Israel, are brought up from the ends of the earth; one of which clouds said: “For I think God has displayed us apostles last of all, as men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men.” “He makes lightnings for the rain”: for when the rain of doctrines has come from heaven and satisfied the dry hearts of men, then you will find flashes and clear lightnings of wisdom. “And brings out the winds from his storehouses”, in which are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. “Every man has become foolish from knowledge”: though it be Paul, though Peter, though Moses and Abraham, in comparison with God all their wisdom will be reckoned as nothing; hence also “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” “Every craftsman is put to shame by his carved image”, who has fashioned images from his own heart, and what he has cast is false. If every man is foolish from knowledge, everything he has made is foolish and false. “And there is no breath in them”: it should be noted that in this chapter too “wind” and “spirit” are called by one name among the Hebrews, “ruha”; and he means the spirit of sanctification, which cannot be found in the minds of heretics. “They are vain, a work worthy of laughter”: for who would not laugh on seeing the images of the heretics? For either what they say is rustic, and it is wood; or it is composed in fine speech, and silver is found; or certainly it is feigned from their own mind, and they promise the image of gold in vain. “In the time of their visitation they will perish”: heresy prevails for a time, so that the elect may be made manifest and proved; but when God's visitation comes and his eye has looked on foolish things, all fall silent. “Not like these is the portion of Jacob”, of those who supplanted the Jews and daily destroy the heretics. The portion of the saints is God, of whom the prophet says: “My portion is the Lord.” “For he who formed all things is he” who made and fashioned all things, in soul as well as in body; “and Israel is the rod of his inheritance”: everyone who is upright in God, or sees God with his mind, is the sceptre of his inheritance, whose name is “the Lord almighty”, or “of powers”; for this is what “Lord of hosts” means, which in the Hebrew is written “Lord sabaoth”. [90] “Gather up your shame from the land, you who dwell under siege; for thus says the Lord: Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will distress them, so that they may be found.” The Septuagint: “She has gathered from outside her substance, she who dwells in a fortress; for thus says the Lord: Behold, I will trip up the inhabitants of this land and distress them, so that they may be found.” Jerusalem is commanded to gather into the most fortified city whatever substance she has outside, and to prepare provisions for a long siege; for he is no longer threatening, as before, of a distant future, but of the near captivity, which is about to come at any moment. “Gather”, he says, “from outside and from the land, that is, from the fields, your substance to your shame. For whatever you have is worthy of shame; though you prepare these things, know the words of the Lord concerning them: Behold, at this turn, at this time, I will cast out, or hurl far like a sling, the inhabitants of this land.” For this the Septuagint interpreted “I will trip up and make to fall”; for the Hebrew word, that is “cole”, Aquila and Symmachus interpreted sphendonēsō. And the sense is: “Like a sling I will throw them away with all force, and so cause them to be besieged, and so distress and confine them, that all are found in the city and cannot escape the evil.” ### Scripture references - Jer 10:12–18: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence - Ps 33:9 (32:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Ps 68:9 (67:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:9: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:25: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:19: allusion, high confidence - Ps 119:57 (118:57 LXX): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [89] and [90]. A block of marginal references printed in the OCR after the first words of the lemma is removed by a logged correction. Jer 10:12–18. 1 Cor 1:24; Ps 33:9 (LXX 32:9); Gen 1:26; Ps 68:9 (LXX 67:10); Isa 5:6; 1 Cor 4:9; Col 2:3; 1 Cor 1:25; 1 Cor 11:19; Ps 119:57 (LXX 118:57). The Greek σφενδονήσω is garbled. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.89 (Reiter CSEL 59:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-89). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.91 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-70/#p-2-91 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:185 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem laments its incurable wound and confesses that it suffers by its own fault. ### Latin text XCI. Vne mihi super contritione mea, pessima plaija i» mea! LXX: uae super contritione. tua, pessima plaga tua! Iuita Hebraicum ipsa Hierusalem loquitur, quod uehemeoter afflicta sit et plagam sustineat insanabilem : iuxta LXX uero propheta loquitur ad Hiemsalem et plangit eam super contritione et plaga sui. *» 10, l»l> XCn. Eyo autem disi: plane haec infirmitas mea tst — siue uulnue meum — et pnrtnbo illam siue apprehendit mt. lpsa loquitur Hierusalem: 'quicquid patior, mea culpa patior; intellego uuluus meum, quod apprehendit me. siue iram doinini sustinebo, quoniam peccaui ei'. as ### English translation (Claude) [91] “Woe is me for my breaking, my grievous wound!” The Septuagint: “Woe for your breaking, your grievous wound!” According to the Hebrew, Jerusalem herself speaks, saying that she is grievously afflicted and bears an incurable wound; but according to the Septuagint the prophet speaks to Jerusalem and laments her for her breaking and her wound. [92] “But I said: Surely this is my sickness (or: my wound), and I will bear it (or: it has seized me).” Jerusalem herself speaks: “Whatever I suffer, I suffer by my own fault; I understand my wound, which has seized me; or, I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him.” ### Scripture references - Jer 10:19: quotation, high confidence - Mic 7:9: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters (the numeral of chapter 92 was not recognised as a division in the digital text); the beginnings are marked [91] and [92]. Jer 10:19; compare Mic 7:9. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.91 (Reiter CSEL 59:185; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-91). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.93 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-93 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:137 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerusalem's fall is pictured as the striking of a tent; her children are slain and there is no one to rebuild her. ### Latin text XCIII. Tabernaeulum meum statulum esl, omnes funiculi mei dirrupti sunt — siue omnes pelles meae conscissae sunt — , /»/»» mei exieruut a me — siue 9ue* mcae — el non sunt,- non est, gui extendat ul/ra J tentorium meum — siue non est locus ultra tabernaculo meo — et qui erigat pclles meas. Subuersionera urbis suae tam facilem plangit HierusaJem, ut nequaquam muros et omnia moenia funditus eruta, sed taberuaculi atque tentorii ablationem putes. tabernacuJum,, inquit, *hoc est habitatio mea, "repente sublata est. omnes funiculi mei dirrupti sunt seruat tabernaculi [JL=tasopav — siue omnes pelles meae conscissae sunt. filii mei exierunt a me siue ! pecora mea\ quod a LXX additum non stat iuxta historiam; m longa enini obsidione quomodo oues et pecora auferri u poterant de Hierusalem. quae, etianisi fuissent, fames consumserat? 'et non', inquit, 'subsistunt siue non suut'; neque enim translati sunt in Cbaldaeani, sed magna purs eorum interfecta penitusque deleta est 'aon est, qui exten dat ultra ten|torium meum. non est, qui me instaur^t * et murorum meorura iaciat fundaraeuta. qui ad solum usque Prostrati sunf. ### English translation (Claude) [93] “My tent is destroyed, all my cords are broken (or: all my curtains are torn); my sons have gone out from me (or: my sheep), and they are not; there is no one to stretch out my tent any more (or: there is no more place for my tent) and to set up my curtains.” Jerusalem laments the overthrow of her city as so easy that you would think it not the uprooting of walls and all fortifications, but the taking down of a tabernacle and a tent. “My tabernacle,” she says, “that is, my dwelling, has been suddenly taken away; all my cords are broken” (he keeps the metaphor of the tabernacle), or “all my curtains are torn. My sons have gone out from me”, or “my flocks”, which the Septuagint added; it does not stand according to the history, for in a long siege how could sheep and cattle be taken out of Jerusalem, when, even if there had been any, famine would have consumed them? “And they do not remain”, she says, “or are not”; for they were not carried off into Chaldea, but a great part of them was slain and utterly destroyed. “There is no one to stretch out my tent any more, no one to restore me and lay the foundations of my walls, which have been thrown to the ground.” ### Scripture references - Jer 10:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:20. The Greek word for “metaphor” is garbled in the OCR. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.93 (Reiter CSEL 59:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.94 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-94 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:137 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The leaders' folly and failure to seek God caused the scattering of the people. ### Latin text XCIV. Quia sliilte eijerniit pasturrs ct dominum non quaesicrunt, propterea non intellexerunl et omnis grex eorum disperstts cst. Per translationera p»- storam atque ouium principum culpa et dispersio populi describitur. quia enim principes stulte egerunt nec quaesierunt dominum, quem toto debuerant corde perquirere, idcirco et mala uenientia non uiderunt siue non intelleserunt dominum et omnis multitudo Hierusalem huc illucque dispersa est. » ### English translation (Claude) [94] “For the shepherds have acted foolishly and have not sought the Lord; therefore they have not understood, and all their flock has been scattered.” By the metaphor of shepherds and sheep, the fault of the leaders and the scattering of the people are described. Because the leaders acted foolishly and did not seek the Lord, whom they ought to have sought with their whole heart, they therefore did not see the evils that were coming, or did not understand the Lord, and the whole multitude of Jerusalem was scattered here and there. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:21. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.94 (Reiter CSEL 59:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-94). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.95 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-95 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:138 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The roar of the Babylonian army will leave Judah's cities to wild creatures; in persecution the church suffers so through its shepherds' fault. ### Latin text XCV. Uox anditionis eeer uenit vt eoinmotio inagnn de terra ttquildnis, ut ponat eiuitiites Iuda in solituilinem et huliitiieiilii m draeonum — siue eubile struthioiuim et, ut Symmachus interpretatus est. sirenarum . pro quo in Hebraico 'thannim' positum est. TJerba prophetae: 'ecce', inquit, 'sonitus et fremitus Babylonii uenientis auditur niagnaque, commotio siue terrae motus de terra aquilonis, ut omnes urbes Iudaeae habitatoribus interfectis redigat in solitudinem et faciat pro hominibus dracones babitare et cuncta uenenata animantia siue struthiones'. quod et ipsum animal is solitudinis familiare est et in desertis nascitur ac nutritur; aut certe sirenas. monstra quaedam et daemonum phantasmata, possumus intellegere. haec omnia, quae et praeteritus et praesens sermo descripsit, ad persecutionis ecclesiae referamus tenipora. quando tabernacula domini subuertuntur et omnis ■ habitatio ecclesiae redigitur in solitudinem. et ut ista uniuersa eueniant, culpa pastonim est, qui stulte egerunt et dominum non quaesierunt nec intellexerunt eum: •» idcirco grex omnis dispersus est. 13i> ### English translation (Claude) [95] “Behold, the sound of a report comes, and a great commotion from the land of the north, to make the cities of Judah a desolation and a dwelling of dragons” (or: a lair of ostriches, and, as Symmachus interpreted, of sirens), for which in the Hebrew “thannim” is put. The words of the prophet: “Behold,” he says, “the sound and roar of the coming Babylonian is heard, and a great commotion or earthquake from the land of the north, to reduce all the cities of Judea to a wilderness, their inhabitants slain, and to make dragons dwell there instead of men, and all venomous creatures, or ostriches”; for this animal too is at home in the wilderness and is born and reared in deserts; or certainly we can understand sirens, certain monsters and phantoms of demons. All these things, which both the previous and the present word have described, let us refer to the times of the church's persecution, when the tabernacles of the Lord are overthrown and every dwelling of the church is reduced to a wilderness. And the fault that all these things happen belongs to the shepherds, who acted foolishly and did not seek the Lord nor understand him; therefore the whole flock was scattered. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:22: quotation, high confidence - Jer 10:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:22; Jer 10:21. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.95 (Reiter CSEL 59:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-95). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.96 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-96 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:138 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: A man's way is not in his own power but directed by God, against those who say each is ruled by his own choice. ### Latin text XCVI. Scio, dominc. i/niti non sit /lominis uia eins, nec triri est, ul anibnlel et dirigul grrssnx tUOt, Erubescant noui praedicatores. qui aiuut ununiquemque suo arbitrio regi, cnm et hic propheta dicat: non 69t hominis & uia eius, et Dauid in lyrico canat carmine: a domino gressus hominis dirigentur et uiam eius uolet nimis. siue hic sensus est: 'quod a Babyloniis sustinemus, non est eorum formidinis, sed nostri meriti et indignationis tune'. ### English translation (Claude) [96] “I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not his own, nor is it in a man to walk and direct his steps.” Let the new preachers blush who say that each one is ruled by his own choice, when this prophet too says, “a man's way is not his own”, and David sings in a lyric song: “The steps of a man are directed by the Lord, and he will greatly desire his way.” Or the sense is this: “What we suffer from the Babylonians is not due to their power to terrify, but to our desert and your indignation.” ### Scripture references - Jer 10:23: quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:23 (36:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 10:23; Ps 37:23 (LXX 36:23). The “new preachers” are the Pelagians. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.96 (Reiter CSEL 59:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-96). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.97 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-97 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:138 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The prophet asks God to correct Judah as a father, not destroy it, and to pour out his wrath on the nations that devour it; a new oracle begins on the covenant. ### Latin text XCVII. Corripe me, dominc; uerumtamen in iudicio P- 917 et non in ftirore tuo, ne forte ad nihi Inm redigas mef effunde indignationem tuam super gentes, quae non cognouerunt te, rt super pronincias — siue gene~ rationes — , quac nomen liium non i nuocauerunt, quia denornuerunl Iacob et loctim eius consumseruiit et decus cius — uel pascua — dissipauerunt siue ad xiilitiidinem mlrijrrunt. Hunc loctim in F.«almo legimus: domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me neque in ira tua corripias me! et est sensus: 'uieremur quidem omnia, :o quae «ustinemus, et multo meremur maiora quam patimur. uertuiitaiiien hor obsecro, ut quasi pater me corripias, non quasi aduersarius, ut me emrndrs qua»i filium et non ptiniaa qiiasi inimictim: OttflgM enim oninem ftlitim. qm-m rccipi», et per omnem dolorem ac flagellum enienda* Hienmalem. honte* :» ts autem. qui non nouerunt te. et proninciae «iue regione*. quae non inuocaueruut nomen tuuui. nequaquam tuum debent sentire iudicium, sed indignationem. tradidisti enim nos, ut emendaremur. illi autem aggrauauerunt iugum suum; seni non pepercerunt et paruulos adflixerunt. comederunt nos et penitus deuoiarunt et in tantam solitudinem redegerunt Hiemsalem, ut et publicarum et priuatarum aedium omnia dissipaieut et populum tuum interficerent'. 11, 1-3 a XCVM. Uerbum, quod faetum est ad Hieremiam a domino diceus: audite ucrba paeti — siue testamenti—huius et loqu im i ni nd uiros Iuda efhabitatore» Hierusalem et dices ad eo-t: haec dieil doininus r/eus Israhel. Non quidem est positum in titulo, sub quo tempore uel sub quo rege et quoto anno eius haec prophetia facta sit; sed intellegimus uel priori prophetiae et tempori haec esse iungenda uel certe post aliquod temporis interuallum prioris prophetiae hunc domini ad prophetam factum esse sermonem. notandum est autem. quod uerbum 'berith' Aquila et Symmachus semper 'pactum', LXX et Tueodotio 'testamentum interpretati sint. proprie autem nunc ad Hierusalem et ad uiros tribus Iudae sermo dirigitur. ### English translation (Claude) [97] “Correct me, O Lord, but in judgment and not in your fury, lest perhaps you bring me to nothing. Pour out your indignation on the nations that have not known you, and on the provinces (or: generations) that have not called on your name; for they have devoured Jacob and consumed his place and scattered his glory (or: pastures), or: reduced it to a wilderness.” We read this place in the psalm: “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor correct me in your anger!” And the sense is: “We indeed deserve all that we suffer, and we deserve much more than we endure. Yet I beg this, that you correct me as a father, not as an adversary, so that you may amend me as a son and not punish me as an enemy; for you scourge every son whom you receive, and through every pain and scourge you amend Jerusalem. But the nations which have not known you, and the provinces or regions which have not called on your name, ought to feel not your judgment but your indignation. For you handed us over to be amended, but they made their yoke heavy; they did not spare the old and afflicted the little ones. They have eaten us and devoured us completely, and reduced Jerusalem to such a wilderness that they have scattered all the public and private buildings and slain your people.” [98] “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Hear the words of this covenant (or: testament), and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel.” It is not stated in the title under what time, or under what king and in which year of his, this prophecy was made; but we understand either that it is to be joined to the former prophecy and time, or certainly that this word of the Lord came to the prophet after some interval of time following the former prophecy. It should be noted that Aquila and Symmachus always interpreted the word “berith” as “pact”, the Septuagint and Theodotion as “testament”. And now the word is properly directed to Jerusalem and to the men of the tribe of Judah. ### Scripture references - Jer 10:24–25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 6:1 (6:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: quotation, high confidence - Jer 6:8: allusion, high confidence - Isa 47:6: allusion, high confidence - Jer 11:1–3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [97] and [98]. Jer 10:24–11:2. Ps 6:1 (LXX 6:2); Heb 12:6; Jer 6:8; Isa 47:6. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.97 (Reiter CSEL 59:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-97). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.99 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-99 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:140 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God's covenant rests on obedience, not race or circumcision; Christ makes servants friends and sons; the promised land flowing with milk and honey figures the church, and the prophet assents with “Amen”. ### Latin text XCIX. Maledirtns itir, qui non uudierit uerba pacti huius,qnod praecepi patribus uestris in d". qua eduxi eos d>- terra Aei/i/j/ti, mcam. Omuium ecclesiarum iste consensus est, ut sub persona Hiereniiae a Christo haec dici intellegant, quod pater ei moDstrauerit, quomodo eum oporteat loqni, et ostenderit illi studia Iudaeorum et ipse quasi agnus ductus ad uictimam non aperuerit os suum et non cognouerit — subauditur 'pec- io catum' iuxta illud. qnod ab apostolo dicitur: qui, cum non cognouisset peccatum, pro nobis peccatum factus est — , et dixerint: mittamus lignum in panem eius — crucem uidelicet in corpus saluatoris; ipse est enim, qui ait: ego sum panis. quidecaelo descendi, — eteradice-i& mns — siue conteramus — eum de terra uiuentium! hoc enim scelus animo cogitarunt, ut nomen eius delerent in perpetuum. sed e contrario iuxta assumti corporis sacramentum loquitur filius ad patrem et inprecatur iudicium eius. dum laudat iustitiam et inspectorem renis et cordis inuocat deum. *> ut ipse reddat populo, quod meretur, et dicit: uideam ultionem tuatn ex eis — eorum uidelicet, qui in scelere per- 8euerant. et non eorum, qui uertuntur ad paenitentiam; de illis ait in cruce: pater, ignosce eis: quod enim faciunt. nesciunt — , reuelatque patri et aperit causam suam, quia nullo suo merito. sed scelere populi crucifiius est dicens: ecce uenit princeps mundi huius et inuenit in me nihil. Iudaei et nostri iudaizantes haec ex persona Hieremiae dici intellegunt. qui propter uaticinium futurorum et ingruentia capthiitatis mala haec eum a populo sustinuisse confirmant. sed nescio, quomodo possint approbare crucifixum esse Hieremiam. cum hoc scriptura non memoret. nisi forte cogitauerint et non fecerint. ### English translation (Claude) [110] “But you, O Lord, have shown me, and I knew; then you showed me their doings. And I was like a gentle lamb that is carried to be a victim, and I did not know that they had devised plans against me: Let us put wood into his bread and crush him from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more. But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge justly and test the reins and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them; for to you I have revealed my cause.” The consensus of all the churches is this: they understand these things as said by Christ under the person of Jeremiah: that the Father showed him how he must speak, and showed him the doings of the Jews, and he himself, like a lamb led to the slaughter, did not open his mouth, and did not know (understood: sin, according to what the apostle says, “who, though he knew no sin, was made sin for us”); and that they said, “Let us put wood into his bread”, namely the cross into the Saviour's body (for it is he who says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven”), “and let us root out” or “crush him from the land of the living!” For they planned this crime in their mind, to blot out his name for ever. But on the contrary, according to the mystery of the body he assumed, the Son speaks to the Father and invokes his judgment, while he praises his justice and calls on God, the searcher of reins and heart, to repay the people what it deserves; and he says, “let me see your vengeance on them”, namely on those who persevere in crime, and not on those who turn to repentance; of these he says on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And he reveals to the Father and opens his cause: that he was crucified for no fault of his own but by the crime of the people, saying: “Behold, the prince of this world comes and finds nothing in me.” The Jews and our judaizers understand these things as said in the person of Jeremiah, who, they affirm, suffered these things from the people because of his prophecy of the future and the evils of captivity that were rushing on. But I do not know how they can prove that Jeremiah was crucified, since Scripture does not record it; unless perhaps they planned it and did not do it. ### Scripture references - Jer 11:18–20: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:7: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:21: quotation, high confidence - John 6:41: quotation, high confidence - Luke 23:34: quotation, high confidence - John 14:30: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 11:18–20. “Wood into his bread” is Jerome's (and the Septuagint's) reading of the Hebrew. Isa 53:7; 2 Cor 5:21; John 6:41; Luke 23:34; John 14:30. “Our judaizers” are Christian interpreters who follow the Jewish literal reading. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.110 (Reiter CSEL 59:146; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-110). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 2.111 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-2-111 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:149 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The men of Anathoth (“obedience”) stand for the Jews who once obeyed God; the prophets' experiences are types of Christ. ### Latin text CXI. Propterra liarr ilirit dominus ad airos Ana- io thoth, ijiii quaerunt animain tnam et dicunt: non prophetabis in nomine doniini rt non moriens i n manibus nostris. propterea haec dicit dominus exercituum: ecce ego uisitabo snper eos; iuucncs morientur in \ gladio, filii eorum et filiat eorum moricntur in fame ct reliquiae non erunt ex eis: inducam enim nialum super uirosAnathoth.aiinum uisitationis eoram. Uidetur hoc superiori sententiae contraire, qua uolumus approbare ex persona Christi dicta esse. quae dicta sunt. et non ex Hieremiae, qui proprie habitabat in uiculo Anathoth. qni ab Hierosolymis tribus distat milibus. sed si intelleierimus in^Avsia oppidi Anathoth, quod inter- P- 924 pretatur 'oboedientia'. liquido demonstrabitur| uiros Anathoth. qui quondam praeceptis domini obtemperarunt. omnes dici Iudaeos, et maiime habitatores urbis Hierusalem. in qnos n uenit extrema sententia, ut obsidionis malis, gladio, fame et peste interirent. ut autem nos omni interpretationis molestia liberemus, illam sequamur regulam, quod omnes prophetae in typum domini saluatoris pleraque gesserint et, quidquid iuxta praesens tempus conpletum sit in Hieremia, hoc in futurum de domino prophetari. ### English translation (Claude) [111] “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life and say: You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, and you shall not die by our hands. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will punish them; the young men will die by the sword, their sons and their daughters will die by famine, and there will be no remnant of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their visitation.” This seems to contradict the preceding opinion, by which we wished to prove that what was said was said in the person of Christ and not of Jeremiah, who properly lived in the village of Anathoth, three miles from Jerusalem. But if we understand the etymology of the town Anathoth, which is interpreted “obedience”, it will clearly be shown that the men of Anathoth, who once obeyed the Lord's commandments, means all the Jews, and especially the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem, upon whom came the final sentence, to perish by the evils of the siege, by sword, famine and pestilence. But to free ourselves from all trouble of interpretation, let us follow this rule: that all the prophets did most things as a type of the Lord the Saviour, and whatever was fulfilled in Jeremiah according to the present time is prophesied of the Lord for the future. ### Scripture references - Jer 11:21–23: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 11:21–23. The end of the comment is lost in the OCR and is supplied from PL 24 (Vallarsi) as a logged correction. The Greek ἐτυμολογίαν is garbled. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 2.111 (Reiter CSEL 59:149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-111). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-3-3 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:151 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Jerome opens Book 3 complaining of the devil's attacks through heretical opponents; then he reads Jeremiah's question why the wicked prosper as aimed at heretics, whose apparent success leads to their destruction by the church's sword. ### Latin text Lernaeum anguem fabulae ferunt multis ex medio capite pullulasse serpentibus et Scyllam, Siculi monstrum freti, facie quidem uirginali, sed succinctam canibus, miserorum lacerare naufragia iuncto in eodem litore Sirenarum mortifero carmine, quae ut uitaret Ulixes Homericus, clausisse aures dicitur et malum inexsuperabile prudenti uitasse consilio. hoc ego cum facere cuperem et hereticorum rabiem declinare et iuxta Ismeniam mihi canens et Musis illud quoque propheticum reuoluerem: cum consisteret aduersum me peccator, obmutui et silui a bonis, non est passus diabolus me optata quiete contentum scripturarum sanctarnm explanationi insistere et hominibus linguae meae Hebraeorum Graecorumque eruditionem tradere, sed id agit diebus et noctibns et aperte et per insidias ueris falsa miscendo, immo uninersa mendacia subdolo melle circumlinens. ut, qui audit nerborum dulcedinem, uenena pectoris non formidet; pacera pollicetur, ut grauiora bella exerceat; ridet, ut mordeat; manum ofFert, ut ex inprouiso simplicem interficiat Abenner. nimirum hoc illud est, quod et apostolusloquebatur: non enim eius ignoramtis astntias. iu bic tacet, alibi criminatur, mittit in uninersum orbem epistulas byblinas, prius auriferas, nunc maledicas, et patientiam nostram de Cliristi humilitate uenientem malae conscientiae signum interpretatur. ipseque mutus latrat per AJpinum canem, gran- >■ 925-326 dem et corpulen|tum et, qui calcibus magis possit saeuire i& quam dentibus. habet enim progeniem Scotticae gentis de Brittannorum uicinia, qui iuxta fabulas poetarum instar Cerberi spiritali percutiendus est claua. ut aeterno cum sno magistro Plutone silentio conticescar. uerum haec alias. nunc in Hieremiara tertium aggrediar librnm, in quo conabor, frater Eusebi. » latissimos explanationis campos angusta commentariorum semita coartare. 12,1.2 U.\Iiistus qitidem es, ilomine, si disputem tep' 925 cum — siue quiu satisfaciam tibi—: iterumtamen iudicia loquar ad te: quid cst, quod Uta impiornm l>rosperatur,beneest oinnibus,qui praenaricaniur et inique agunt? plantasti eos et radieem mise- s rnnl, proficiunt — siue generaiicrit n t filios — *i faciunt fructuui; prope es tu ori eoruiii et longe a renibus corum. Contra omnes quidera inique agentes ista disputatio est et septnagesimi secundi psalmi breuiter sententia conprelienditur, in qua propbeta ait: quam bonusio deus Israhel his, qui recto sunt corde! mei autem paene moti sunt pedes. paene effusi sunt gressus mei, quia zelaui in peccatoribus pacempeccatorum uidens et cetera. sed proprie contra hereticos dicitur. qui cum sint impii, uia eorum prosperatur generantque filios eos, » quos in heresi deceperunt, et praeuaricantur et inique agunt, ita ut ecclesiam spolient et. dum in prauitate sententiae perseuerant. iactent se a deo esse plantatos et radicem misisse, generasse filios et attulisse frnctum: qui. cum Christi nomen saepius replicent, habitatorem sui non habent deum iuxta '.m illud Isaiae: populus hic labiis me honorat, cor uero eius longe est a me. HI. Et tu, domine, nosti me, uidisti me et probasti cor mcnm tecnm. congrega cos qnasi gregem ud uictimam rt sanctifita eos in die occisionis.' & 'NuUum'. inquit. 'scandalnm est, quod irapii siue oinnes heretici pro ternpore floreant: tu enim, domine, nosti me et uidisti me et probasti cor meum tecum'. quem ita nouit pater deus quomodo filium suum? nemo enim cognoscit filium nisi pater et nemo cognoscit patrem nisi filius et, cui uoluerit filius reuelare. 'licef, inquit, 'proficiant, licet filios generent et faciant fructum heretici et prope sis tu ori eorum et longe a renibus eorum, id est con8cientia, tamen non parua est consolatio, quod quasi pecora saginantur ad uictiuiam. congregas eos in urbem P- 926 Hierusalem siue in sua conciliabula. ut | quasi uictimae cae- io dantur in mortem et tunc sanctificentur, cura ecclesiastico fuerint mucrone iugulati; interfectio enim hereticorum salus eorum est, qui decepti fuerant'. ### English translation (Claude) [Book 3, preface] Fables tell that the Lernaean serpent sprouted many snakes from the middle of its head, and that Scylla, the monster of the Sicilian strait, with a maiden's face but girt about with dogs, tore apart the shipwrecks of the wretched, while on the same shore was joined the deadly song of the Sirens, which Homer's Ulysses is said to have avoided by stopping his ears, escaping an insuperable evil by prudent counsel. When I wished to do this, and to avoid the rage of the heretics, and, like Ismenias, singing to myself and the Muses, to ponder that prophetic word, “When the sinner stood against me, I was dumb and kept silent from good things”, the devil did not allow me, content with the rest I longed for, to apply myself to the explanation of the holy Scriptures and to hand on to the men of my language the learning of the Hebrews and Greeks; but he works at this day and night, openly and by snares, mixing falsehood with truth, or rather smearing all lies with treacherous honey, so that one who hears the sweetness of the words does not dread the poison of the heart. He promises peace in order to wage worse wars; he smiles in order to bite; he offers his hand in order to kill the simple Abner unexpectedly. This, no doubt, is what the apostle too said: “For we are not ignorant of his wiles.” Here he is silent, elsewhere he accuses; he sends letters of papyrus throughout the whole world, once gold-bearing, now abusive, and interprets our patience, which comes from Christ's humility, as the sign of a bad conscience. And he, dumb himself, barks through an Alpine dog, huge and fat, who can rage more with his heels than with his teeth. For he has his descent from the Scottish race, from the neighbourhood of the Britons, and, like Cerberus in the poets' fables, he must be struck with a spiritual club, so that he may fall silent in eternal silence with his master Pluto. But more of this elsewhere. Now I shall begin the third book on Jeremiah, in which, brother Eusebius, I shall try to confine the broadest fields of explanation to the narrow path of commentaries. [2] “You are just, O Lord, if I dispute with you (or: for I will satisfy you); yet I will speak judgments to you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why is it well with all who transgress and act wickedly? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they prosper (or: they beget sons) and bear fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their reins.” This dispute is against all who act wickedly, and the meaning of the seventy-second psalm is briefly summed up in it, in which the prophet says: “How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright in heart! But my feet were almost moved, my steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious of sinners, seeing the peace of sinners”, and the rest. But it is said properly against the heretics, whose way prospers though they are impious, and who beget as sons those whom they have deceived in heresy, and transgress and act wickedly so as to despoil the church, and, while persevering in the perversity of their opinion, boast that they have been planted by God and have taken root, begotten sons and borne fruit; who, though they repeat the name of Christ often, do not have God dwelling in them, according to that saying of Isaiah: “This people honours me with its lips, but its heart is far from me.” [3] “And you, O Lord, know me; you have seen me and tested my heart with you. Gather them like a flock for the slaughter, and sanctify them for the day of killing.” “It is no stumbling-block”, he says, “that the wicked, or all the heretics, flourish for a time: for you, O Lord, know me, have seen me and tested my heart with you.” Whom does God the Father know so as he knows his Son? “For no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” “Although”, he says, “the heretics prosper, beget sons and bear fruit, and you are near in their mouth and far from their reins, that is, their conscience, yet it is no small consolation that they are fattened like cattle for the slaughter. You gather them into the city of Jerusalem, or into their own assemblies, so that they may be slain like victims for death, and then be sanctified, when they have been slaughtered by the sword of the church; for the killing of the heretics is the salvation of those who had been deceived.” ### Scripture references - Ps 39:1–2 (38:2-3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:11: quotation, high confidence - 2 Sam 3:27: allusion, high confidence - Jer 12:1–3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:1–3 (72:1-3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 29:13: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:27: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Od. 12.39-200 (Homer, Odyssey): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The opening of the preface is lost in the OCR and is supplied from PL 24 (Vallarsi) as a logged correction; a block of marginal references is also removed by a logged correction. The preface and two chapters follow; the beginnings are marked. The identification of Jerome's opponents in the preface is uncertain: the “Alpine dog” of Scottish descent is usually taken to be Pelagius (some read Caelestius), and the one who barks through him is not certainly identified. “Singing to myself and the Muses” is a proverb attached to the musician Ismenias. Ps 39:1–2 (LXX 38:2–3); 2 Cor 2:11; Abner, 2 Sam 3:27; Jer 12:1–3; Ps 73:1–3 (LXX 72:1–3; Jerome cites it as the seventy-second psalm); Isa 29:13; Matt 11:27. The “sword of the church” is figurative (refutation); the closing sentence is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 3.3 (Reiter CSEL 59:151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-3). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-3-4 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:153 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Drought and the death of animals come not by chance but by God's judgment on human wickedness and the denial of his providence. ### Latin text IV. Usijiivt/uo lugebit terra et herba omnis regionis siccabi tur prnpter malitiam hahitautium » in ea? consumtii m est animn I rt uolncre. ijiioniam tlixerunt: nnn uidehit nouissi ma nostra siue non uidebit dens uias nostras. Quicquid in mundo uel bonorum accidit uel malorum. non absque prouidentia et fortuito casu accidit, sed iudicio dei. terra nunc sterilis est, herba siccatur: uis nosse rationera? malitiae habitatorum eius hoc faciunt, ita ut et animalia snper tenam et caeli uolatilia consumantur. quia in usus hominum haec creata sunt omnia. qui in tantam consurreiere blasphemiam, nt dicerent deum ignorare uias suas et nescire, quid unusquis- is que passurus sit. quod autem dicit 'usquequo', illud signi- ficat permanere iram dei, quia aniraus peccantium non mutetur. ### English translation (Claude) [4] “How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? Beast and bird are consumed, because they said: He will not see our last end (or: God will not see our ways).” Whatever happens in the world, whether good or evil, happens not without providence and by chance, but by the judgment of God. The land is now barren, the grass withers: do you wish to know the reason? The wickedness of its inhabitants does this, so that even the animals on the earth and the birds of the sky are consumed, because all these things were created for the use of men; who rose up to such blasphemy as to say that God does not know their ways and does not know what each will suffer. And when he says “how long”, it signifies that God's anger remains because the mind of sinners is not changed. ### Scripture references - Jer 12:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 12:4. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 3.4 (Reiter CSEL 59:153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-4). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/2-93/#p-3-5 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:154 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: If Judah was worn out by raids from small neighbouring nations, how will it endure the Babylonian cavalry and the long captivity? ### Latin text V. Si cnm p• 929 25 pere; sapien tia enim car|nis inimica est deo et, qui iu carne sunt, deo placere non possunt. porro iuxta Hebraicum ideo Iudaea omnis est desolata, quia nullus est, qui corde recogitet deum, nec residuus, qui possit euadere. per omnes enim uias solitudinis uenerant uastatores, id est hostilis eiercitus, et gladius domini deuorauit a termino usque ad tenninum nec requies ulla fuit de urbe fugientibus. unde dicitur: non est pax uniuersae carni. ### English translation (Claude) [10] “And it has mourned over me; the whole land is made desolate with desolation, because there is no one who considers in his heart. Over all the ways of the desert the destroyers have come, for the sword of the Lord has devoured from one end of the land to the other end of it; there is no peace for all flesh.” The Septuagint: “Because of me the land is scattered with scattering”, and the rest. What we put, “and it has mourned over me”, according to the Hebrew is joined to the preceding verse, so that it reads: “They have made it a scattering”, that is, my inheritance, “and it has mourned over me”, deprived of my help. But according to the Septuagint God says that because of him the land is scattered and reduced to a wilderness, because there is no one who considers in his heart, and no peace for all flesh. For the flesh cannot receive the peace of God; for the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Further, according to the Hebrew, all Judea is desolate for this reason, that there is no one who considers God in his heart, nor any remnant able to escape. For the destroyers, that is, the enemy army, had come over all the ways of the wilderness, and the sword of the Lord devoured from border to border, and there was no rest for those fleeing from the city. Hence it is said: “There is no peace for all flesh.” ### Scripture references - Jer 12:11–12: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:7–8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 12:11b–12; Rom 8:7–8. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 3.10 (Reiter CSEL 59:156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-10). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-8/#p-3-11 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:158 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: Those who sowed wheat reap thorns; their clerical rank will not help clergy whose lives belie the Lord's teaching, for more is required of those entrusted with more. ### Latin text XI. Seminauerun I triticum etspinas messttern nt; hereditatem aeceper unt et non eis proderit. LXX: seminastis triticum et spinas messnistis; cleri eorum non proderu ut eis. 'Meliora'. inquit.'exspectauerunt et ueuerunt pessima, sperabant prospera et aduersa perpessi sunt, acceperunt a domino rerum omnium abundantiam, quae eis non proderit'. iuita LXX uero omnes heretici quasi triticum seminant et spinas metunt eispectante domino. ut facerent fructum; et non fecerunt iudicium. sed clamorem. dicitur autem hoc et ecclesiasticis. qui uerba domini et doctrinam eius mala conuersatione disperdunt. de quibus infertur: cleri eorum non proderunt eis: quid enim eos iuuare poterit episcopi nomen et presbyteri uel reliquus ordo ecclesiasticus. cum magis grauentur dignitatibus suis et potentes potenter ■ tormenta patiantur et. quauto amplius eis creditum fuerit, tanto plus requiratnr ab eis? ### English translation (Claude) [11] “They have sown wheat and reaped thorns; they have received an inheritance, and it will not profit them.” The Septuagint: “You have sown wheat and reaped thorns; their lots (or: clergy) will not profit them.” “They expected better things”, he says, “and the worst came; they hoped for prosperity and suffered adversity; they received from the Lord an abundance of all things, which will not profit them.” But according to the Septuagint all the heretics sow as if wheat and reap thorns, while the Lord expects them to bear fruit; and they did not do justice, but a cry. This is said also to men of the church who destroy the Lord's words and teaching by evil conduct, of whom it is added: “their clergy will not profit them.” For what can the name of bishop and presbyter, or the rest of the church's ranks, help them, since they are rather weighed down by their dignities, and the mighty suffer torments mightily, and the more has been entrusted to them, the more is required of them? ### Scripture references - Jer 12:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 5:7: allusion, high confidence - Luke 12:48: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 6:6 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jer 12:13a. The Septuagint's κλῆροι (“lots, inheritances”) is read by Jerome in the sense of “clergy”. Isa 5:7; Wis 6:6; Luke 12:48. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 3.11 (Reiter CSEL 59:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-11). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-8/#p-3-12 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:158 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: God will uproot the hostile neighbours, figuratively the heretics, and rescue Judah; converts from heresy who learn God's ways will be built up, but those who keep their errors will be uprooted. ### Latin text XII. Confundimini a fructibus — siue a glorialione nestra — propter iram furoris domini — siue ab opprobrio i,i conspectn >h,mini —. haee dicit dominus aduersum omnes uieinos meos pessimos, ,tui tangunt hereditatem, qnam distrihni populo meo Israhel: ecce ego euellam eos de terra isua et domxaii Iuda enellam — siue eiciam — de medio eornm. et ciim eueJlero eos, conuertar — siue reuertar — et miserebor eorttm et redueam eos — siue habitare faciam — . uirum i n hereditate ttta et uirum in terra sua. Dicitur ad eos, quibus cleri sui et ecclesiasticus ordo non proderit, ut confundantur a gloriatione sua et ab opprobrio coram domino. quodque infert: aduersum onines uicinos nieos pessimo3, iuita litteram uicini terrae sauctae Idumaei sunt, Philistiim, Moab et Ammon. luxta tropologiam uero omnes heretici, qui sub nomine Christi censentur et uicini magis sunt quam hahitatores terrae sanctae. qui tangnnt hereditatem dei et deuastaut eam: diciturque de eis, quod auferantur de medio terrae et domus Iuda tollatur p- 930 de medio eorum. qui, | cum euulsi fuerint et de hereticomm faucibus liberati, consequentur misericordiam dei et reducentur ») in hereditatem et in terram^suam. -•16.1" XIII. Et (trit, si erndili didirerint uias popnli mei, ut iurent in nomine meo: uiuit domiiiit», eieut docneru nl populnm meum inrare i n Bahal. «rdifir.abnnlnr in medio populi mei; ,{nodsi non nudierint, cuellnm gentem iliatn eunlsione et pe.rditione, ait domiiius. Si translati de heresi in ecclesiam didicerint uias populi dei et iurauerint in nomine domini et oon in nomine idolonmi. quae de suo corde finserunt, aedificabuntur a domino et erunt pars populi eius. quodsi translati in ecelesiam peruersorum dogmatum reliquias tenuerint et non audierint uerba domini. euelletnr gens illa de medio populi dei euulsione et perditione perpetua, ut nequaquam eis nllus locus paenitentiae relinquatur. haec cotidie cernimus et rebus probamus, quod ideo heretici fidei simulent ueritatem, ut simplices quosqne decipiant et non ipsi conuertantur ad fidem. sed fideles trahant ad infidelitatem. ### English translation (Claude) [12] “Be ashamed of your fruits (or: of your boasting) because of the fierce anger of the Lord (or: from reproach before the Lord). Thus says the Lord against all my evil neighbours who touch the inheritance which I distributed to my people Israel: Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up (or: cast out) the house of Judah from the midst of them. And after I have plucked them up, I will turn (or: return) and have mercy on them, and bring them back (or: make them dwell), each to his inheritance and each to his land.” It is said to those whom their clergy and the church's order will not profit, that they should be ashamed of their boasting and of reproach before the Lord. And as for what he adds, “against all my evil neighbours”: according to the letter, the neighbours of the holy land are the Idumeans, Philistines, Moab and Ammon; but according to the figurative sense, all the heretics, who are counted under the name of Christ and are neighbours rather than inhabitants of the holy land, who touch God's inheritance and lay it waste. And it is said of them that they will be removed from the midst of the land, and the house of Judah taken from their midst; who, when they have been plucked out and freed from the jaws of the heretics, will obtain God's mercy and be brought back to their inheritance and their land. [13] “And it will be, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord lives, as they taught my people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of my people; but if they will not listen, I will pluck up that nation with plucking up and destruction, says the Lord.” If those who have passed over from heresy into the church learn the ways of God's people and swear in the name of the Lord, and not in the name of the idols which they fashioned from their own heart, they will be built up by the Lord and be part of his people. But if, having passed over into the church, they keep the remnants of perverse doctrines and do not hear the words of the Lord, that nation will be plucked out of the midst of God's people with everlasting plucking up and destruction, so that no room for repentance is left to them. We see this daily and prove it by facts: that heretics feign the truth of the faith in order to deceive all the simple, and not to be converted to the faith themselves, but to draw the faithful to unbelief. ### Scripture references - Jer 12:13–17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - This ref holds two of Reiter's chapters; the beginnings are marked [12] and [13]. Jer 12:13b–17. ### Citation (SBL) Jerome, Comm. Jer. 3.12 (Reiter CSEL 59:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-12). ## Commentary on Jeremiah 3.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/jerome-in-ieremiam/3-8/#p-3-14 - Source: Reiter CSEL 59:160 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-22 Summary: The rotted loincloth hidden by the Euphrates figures Israel, which clung to God but was ruined by idolatry and exile; every believer who clings to God must beware of falling away into heresy. ### Latin text XIV. Maec dicit domiuus ad ine: unde et posside libi htmhare — siue ci iictorium — lineum et pones illud snper luinbos tuos et in aquam non infcres illud — siue pcr aquam noit transibit — / et possedi litmbare iux/a iterbitin doiniiii rt posui circu lumbos ineos. et faetus est sermo domiiii ad me scriiudo dicens: tol/r lnmharc — siue ci iictorium — , quod posscdisti, qnod cst circn. litmbos tuos, et snrgcns uade ad Eufraten