Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:1

(Chapter 27 - Verse 1) In the beginning of the reign of Joachim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. This is not found in the Septuagint edition. And many think that the beginning of the following chapter should be joined to the previous one, so that whatever is said and done in the beginning of Joachim's reign is believed to have happened. Hence, he had the power to send to Egypt, as to a friendly king. But it seems to me that they have deliberately omitted this title for the following reason, so that they would not appear to be contradicting themselves. For they had already stated at the beginning: In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord to Jeremiah, saying.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:2

(Verse 2.) This is what the Lord says to me: Make for yourself chains and shackles. Or κλοιοὺς, which are called Mutoth () in Hebrew, and in the common language they are called Boias.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:3-4

(Verse 3, 4.) And you shall put them on your shoulder, and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of messengers who came to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. And you shall command them to speak to their masters: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. You shall say this to your masters. The past vision was given at the beginning to the prophet of the reign of Joachim, son of Josiah, king of Judah. But these things happened under Zedekiah, who was the last ruler of Jerusalem, and under whom the city was captured and destroyed. And Jeremiah was commanded to put chains, or wooden yokes called "Mutoth" in Hebrew, around his neck and send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, through the messengers who had come to Zedekiah. And he was to instruct his messengers to announce that they should serve King Nebuchadnezzar and listen to what the following prophecy says. And so that perhaps the ambassadors and kings of those nations would respond, why do you not command this to your people? It also speaks similar things to King Zedekiah, and to the priests and prophets. This passage is always understood allegorically (by Origen), and fleeing from the truth, it interprets the heavenly Jerusalem, that its inhabitants should willingly take on bodies and descend into Babylon, that is, the confusion of this world which is placed in evil, and serve the Babylonian king, undoubtedly the devil. But if they refuse to do this, they will by no means bear heavy burdens; instead, they will perish by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence; and they will not become men, but demons. He said this so that his defenders do not accuse us of slander. However, let us follow a simple and true history, so that we are not entangled in certain clouds and deceptions.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:5

(Verse 5.) I made the earth and man, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, by my great strength and by my outstretched arm, and I gave it to him whom it pleased in my eyes. Although this Scripture speaks anthropomorphically, how can we humans speak and understand: nevertheless, the strength of God and his arm is the one about whom the Apostle speaks: Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). And Isaiah says: Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1) John the Evangelist also writes: All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. (John 1:3) David also speaks in his song: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:6) And when he says, I have given her to him whom it pleased me, it signifies that all things are given to the human race through the grace of God. I, he says, made the earth, and man, and animals (Psalm 35). The reverse order. In Genesis, indeed, animals are created first, and the last is man (Genesis 1), but here it names man first, and afterwards those things that are subject to man.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:6-7

(Verse 6, 7.) Now therefore I have given all these lands into the hand of my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon: and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son. How then is Israel in a state of misery, when compared to him, Nebuchadnezzar, the servant of God? It is written in the Gospel: The world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (John 1:10). Therefore, the creator rightly hands over his creation to whom he wishes. Moreover, even the devil, in whose likeness Nebuchadnezzar preceded, confesses: all these things have been handed over to me. And what he has brought in: Moreover, I have also given him the beasts of the field to serve him, or rather we should understand all kinds of animals; for indeed, both man and those things that are subject to them are handed over to them; or certainly, let us accept that wild beasts are also savage tribes, in that they also serve, whereas previously they did not know how to serve. But his son, and the son of his son, according to the Hebrew, is called Belshazzar and Evil-Merodach, about whom Daniel writes.

Until the time comes for its land and itself. So that the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar would not be thought to be everlasting, it is said that it will be taken by the Medes and Persians. For this is what it means: Until the time comes for its land and itself. But this is not included in the Septuagint.

And many nations and great kings shall serve him. It is not said, all: for this empire properly belongs to Christ, even though it is not read according to Symmachus: And many nations and great kings shall serve him; but many nations and great kings shall subject themselves to him in servitude, so that he himself may also serve the Medes and Persians, to whom all nations had previously served. This is what we have put from the Hebrew: I have given him that they may serve him, and all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his grandson, until the time of his land and himself come: and in servitude when many nations and great kings shall subject themselves, it is not read in the Septuagint (as we have already said) edition.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:6

We have long felt that God is angry, yet we do not try to appease him. It is our sins that make the barbarians strong. It is our vices that vanquish Rome’s soldiers. As if there were here too little material for carnage, civil wars have made almost greater havoc among us than the swords of foreign foes. Miserable must those Israelites have been compared with whom Nebuchadnezzar was called God’s servant. Unhappy too are we who are so displeasing to God that he uses the fury of the barbarians to execute his wrath against us. Still, when Hezekiah repented, 185, Assyrians were destroyed in one night by a single angel. When Jehosaphat sang the praises of the Lord, the Lord gave his worshiper the victory. Again, when Moses fought against Amalek, it was not with the sword but with prayer that he prevailed. Therefore, if we wish to be lifted up, we must first prostrate ourselves.

Source: LETTER 60.17

[AD 345] Aphrahat the Persian Sage on Jeremiah 27:8

By the mouth of his prophet God called the heathen king Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings. For Jeremiah said, “Every people and kingdom that shall not put his neck into the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings, my servant, with famine and with sword and with pestilence will I visit that people.” Though he is the great King, God does not begrudge the name of kingship to mortals. Though he is the great God, yet he did not grudge the name of godhead to the children of flesh. Though all fatherhood is his, he has called men fathers too. He said to the congregation, “Instead of your fathers shall be your children.” Though authority is his, he has given people authority one over another. While worship is his for honor, he has still allowed in the world for one human being to honor another.… Behold the grace and the love of our good Maker, that he did not begrudge to people the name of godhead and the name of worship, and the name of kingship and the name of authority, because he is the Father of the created things that are over the face of the world, and he has honored and exalted and glorified human beings above all creatures. For with his holy hands he formed them, and with his Spirit he breathed into them, and he became a dwelling place for them from ancient times. He abides in them and walks among them. For he said through the prophet, I will dwell in them and walk in them.

Source: DEMONSTRATIONS 17:6

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:8

(Verse 8) However, the nation and kingdom that will not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and whoever will not bend their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will visit upon that nation with the sword, famine, and plague, declares the Lord, until I have consumed them by his hand. Not only does the Lord subject sinful nations to Nebuchadnezzar, but the Apostle also speaks of sinners: whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:20). And in another place: I have handed over such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved (1 Corinthians 5:5). It also warns to obey the authorities, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience, so that we may not be condemned by them.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Jeremiah 27:8

For Jeremiah also prophesied that the Lord commanded them to go into Babylon. He reproved as false prophets any of the other prophets who told the people not to go to Babylon. Let those who read the Scriptures remember this as we do. Let those who do not, give us credit. Jeremiah, then, on the part of God, threatened those who would not go to Babylon, whereas he promised rest to those who would go and even a kind of contentment in the cultivation of their vines, and planting of their gardens and the abundance of their fruits.

Source: SERMON 51.14

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:9-11

(Verse 9 and following) So do not listen to your prophets, and diviners, and dreamers, and augurs, and sorcerers, who say to you: 'You will not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy lies to you, in order to drive you far from your land and to expel you, and you will perish.' But the nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let it stay in its own land, says the Lord; and it will till it and dwell in it. The allegorical interpreter raves at this place and encourages those placed in heaven to not listen to their prophets, diviners, dreamers, and sorcerers, but rather to serve Nebuchadnezzar and take on the body of humility, the cries of infants, and the cradle of little children. For if they do these things, having completed their servitude and the condition of human mortality, they will return to their own land, live there, and do what they did before. And he says that he suspects those who have despised God's commandments will become burdened with human bodies as future demons and unclean spirits, and they will not regain their former abode. But we will simply explain that there are prophets among the nations who pretend to predict the future by divine inspiration. And there are diviners, of whom the common proverb says: The wise claim to divine. And there are dream interpreters who imitate Joseph and Daniel. And there are soothsayers, who interpret the flight and calls of birds and announce what should or should not be done. And there are sorcerers, whom we can call either poisoners or servants of the phantasms of demons, who are called Kasaph in Hebrew. All these, he says, deceive you and undermine you, so that you do not serve the king of Babylon. For it is much better to willingly embrace servitude, to have a friend whom you serve, and to cultivate one's ancestral land, than to serve as a captive by force and necessity.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:12-13

(Verse 12, 13.) And to King Zedekiah of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: Submit your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and you shall live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you. I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they prophesy falsely in my name, in order to drive you out and make you perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you. After all the nations pass over to King Zedekiah of Judah, he speaks with the same nations he threatened, saying: for the nation of Israel does not deserve the privilege, who has sinned either similar or greater than the other nations. Finally, because the rebellious people refused to listen, they were destroyed by sword, famine, and pestilence. It should be noted in the holy Scripture that it refers to false prophets as prophets who prophesy falsely in the name of the Lord. But they, says he, do this, in order that they may cast you out, and bring destruction upon you, as well as upon the prophets who prophesy to you. And therefore the destruction is alike of those who are deceived and of those who deceive. This is what we have put from the Hebrew: Serve under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and you shall live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, 'In the Septuagint it is not found.' And therefore I advise, so that the intelligent reader may understand how much is lacking in each Greek and Latin codex.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:16-17

(Verse 16, 17.) And I spoke to the priests and to this people, saying: thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying: Behold, the vessels of the Lord will return from Babylon now quickly: for they are prophesying lies to you. This, which we have now set, in the Septuagint is not present: and that which follows, Do not listen to them, but serve the king of Babylon, so that you may live. Why is this city being laid waste? But to the nation and the king, he speaks to the priests and the people, who had already predicted the destruction through the prophets, saying: that I will cast you out and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you. He speaks the same things that he had spoken to the king and the nation, so that they do not hear the words of their own prophets and say that the vessels of the Lord's temple should now be brought back, which had been taken away with Jechoniah and his princes and his mother: and he warns that they should serve the king of Babylon and live, and that the city, which voluntarily submitted, should by no means be handed over to fire. And in this the mercy of the Lord is to hand over to a lighter punishment, so that they do not bear a heavier one. ((Al. wants to hand over))

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:18

(Verse 18) And if there are prophets, and the word of the Lord is in them, let them come forward. And what follows, 'and we shall be subjected to the end of this chapter,' is not found in the Septuagint.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah

[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 27:19-22

(Verse 19 onwards) O Lord of hosts, let the vessels that were left behind in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, and in Babylon, not come back. For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases (which are written as Mechonoth in Hebrew) and concerning the remaining vessels that are in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, did not take when he took Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Because this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says about the vessels that have been left behind in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and Jerusalem: They will be carried to Babylon and there they will remain until the day of their visitation, says the Lord. And I will bring them back and restore them to this place. These things, as we have said, are not found in the Septuagint, but have been translated from the Hebrew truth: for they have added something that was not written, saying, 'Thus says the Lord to me: And the rest of the vessels that the king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah from Jerusalem to Babylon, they will enter, says the Lord,' putting more emphasis on the meaning than on the words, perhaps thinking it irrational that God would speak to columns and to the sea, and to the bases, and to the remaining vessels in Jerusalem, as if we did not read that the Lord rebuked the morning worm and spoke to the sea, saying, 'Be silent and be still.' (Jonah 4). And he says: Let them come to me, whether it be the Lord of armies (Mark 4:39), this shows that a true Prophet can resist the Lord with prayers, just as Moses stood in opposition to the Lord, in order to turn away the anger of his fury. Samuel also did the same (1 Samuel 8). And the Lord said to Moses: Let me alone, he said, that I may strike this people (Exodus 32:10). But when he says, Let me alone, he shows that he can be held back by the prayers of the saints. The prophets, he says, and whatever they predict, should demonstrate their fulfillment through their actions; and then the prophecy will be confirmed by truth. However, we read about the pillars, sea, bases, and other vessels in the book of Malachi and in the final volume of this prophet (2 Kings, chapter 25). And the vessels that were carried away to Babylon are listed, when Zedekiah was captured, the city was burned, and the temple was destroyed.

Source: Commentary on Jeremiah