Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Introduction
Jeremiah, says St. Jerome on chapter 1, was sent here by God's mercy to the people as captivity loomed, in order to rouse them to repentance, and thus to escape the Babylonian captivity already at hand. Around the same time Ezekiel prophesied: but Jeremiah, as a pillar of the collapsing city and kingdom, as is clear from chapter 1, verse 18, prophesied first in Judah, while Ezekiel, after Jeremiah, in the 35th year, prophesied as a captive in Babylon.
Question I: When Did Jeremiah Begin and Cease to Prophesy?
Question I. You ask first, in what year did Jeremiah begin to prophesy, and when did he cease? I answer first, from chapter 1, verse 2, it is clear that he began in the 13th year of King Josiah, when he was still a boy, as St. Jerome and others say, and this is evident from chapter 1, verse 7. He therefore began to prophesy at about 14 or 15 years of age, when, according to Eusebius, Phraortes ruled over the Medes, Ancus Martius over the Romans, and Psammetichus the Elder over the Egyptians, in the 36th Olympiad, in the year of the world 3318; for the 13th year of Josiah falls in this year of the world, which was the year 632 before the birth of Christ. From this it follows that Jeremiah began to prophesy 165 years after Isaiah; 34 years before Ezekiel (who began in the 5th year of the captivity of Joachin, Ezekiel 1:2); and 54 years before Daniel (who began in the 5th year after the destruction of Jerusalem).
Second, Jeremiah prophesied under five kings, namely: under Josiah for 19 years; under Jehoahaz son of Josiah for three months; under Jehoiakim brother of Jehoahaz and son of Josiah for 11 years; under Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim for three months; and under Zedekiah brother of Jehoahaz and son of Josiah for 11 years, up to the 5th month of his 11th year, when Jerusalem was captured by the Chaldeans, in which Jeremiah too was taken captive, but was treated generously by Nebuchadnezzar, because he had predicted his victory against the Jews and had urged them to surrender to him (chapter 39, verse 11). He therefore prophesied for 41 years in Judea, and when it was destroyed by the Chaldeans he remained, to be a consolation to the remnants of the people.
Third, from Judea, when the Jews were fleeing from the Chaldeans contrary to the Lord's command, Jeremiah was carried off by them into Egypt, and there in Tahpanhes (the royal city where Moses performed miracles before Pharaoh) he prophesied, as is clear from chapters 43 and 44, for 4 years, that is, up to the 4th year of the captivity and destruction of Jerusalem, which was Nebuchadnezzar's 23rd year, when Jeremiah predicted that Pharaoh, called Hophra or Vaphre, king of Egypt, would be conquered and killed by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened the following year, according to Josephus, Antiquities X.xi. Therefore in total Jeremiah prophesied for 45 years, and since he began as a boy of about 15, it follows that he was killed at about sixty years of age, in the year of the world 3363.
Fourth, when in Tahpanhes Jeremiah was threatening his fellow Hebrews and all Egypt with the calamity that soon came through Nebuchadnezzar, he was stoned to death by his own countrymen and died a martyr. So say St. Jerome, Tertullian, Dorotheus, Epiphanius in On the Life of the Prophets, and Isidore in On the Life and Death of the Saints. Rabbi Solomon therefore errs when, from chapter 24, verse 28, he supposes that Jeremiah returned from Egypt to Judea with Baruch.
Dorotheus, Epiphanius, and Isidore add (for what their testimony is worth) that Jeremiah was buried in Tahpanhes, and that his tomb was held in great honor by the Egyptians, because by his prayers he had driven away asps, crocodiles, and fierce beasts from the area, and continued to drive them away daily by means of dust taken from his tomb. Furthermore, John Moschus in the Spiritual Meadow, chapter 77, relates that the bones of Jeremiah were transferred from there by Alexander the Great to Alexandria, the city he had founded, and were venerated there in the Tetrapylon.
The ancient Alexandrian Chronicle, recently published by our Father Rader, adds that Alexander raised an illustrious monument over Jeremiah's ashes; just as Nicephorus, book 8, chapter 30, relates that a tomb was erected for him by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine.
Finally, Dorotheus and Epiphanius add that Jeremiah in Egypt foretold to the Egyptian priests that all their idols would fall when a Virgin Mother entered Egypt with her Infant, and that this indeed came to pass when the Mother of God, leading the child Jesus, entered Egypt; on which see more at chapter 44, at the end. Jeremiah is inscribed in the catalogue of Saints in the Martyrology
on the 4th of May. For on that day we read in the Roman Martyrology: 'In Egypt, St. Jeremiah the Prophet, who, stoned by the people, died at Tahpanhes, and was buried there; at whose tomb the faithful (as St. Epiphanius reports) were accustomed to pray, and taking dust from there, they cure the bites of asps.'
Question II: Who and What Kind of Person Was Jeremiah?
I answer first, he was the son of Hilkiah: whether this was the famous High Priest under Josiah, I shall discuss at chapter 1, verse 1. He was a native of Anathoth, which was a city in the tribe of Benjamin, three miles distant from Jerusalem, and was assigned to the priests, as is clear from Joshua 21:18.
Second, Jeremiah was sanctified in his mother's womb and consecrated as a Prophet, as is clear from chapter 1, verse 5; hence he remained a virgin his entire life, according to St. Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians, and Isidore, On the Life and Death of the Prophets, chapter 38, and this is sufficiently evident from chapter 16, verse 2, although the Chaldean Interpreter, at chapter 37, verse 12, thinks he had sons. Therefore St. Jerome, in the prologue to Jeremiah, says of him: 'By his virginity dedicating an evangelical man to the Church of Christ.' The same Jerome, in Book 1 Against Jovinian, attributes to the merit of his virginity the fact that when all were led to Babylon, and everything else, including the temple, was leveled to the ground, Jeremiah alone was not only preserved but was rewarded with a gift from the conquerors. And 'although Nebuchadnezzar,' he says, 'gave no command to Nebuzaradan regarding the Holy of Holies, he did give a command about preserving Jeremiah.' Furthermore, Jeremiah was free from all crime throughout his entire life, says St. Athanasius, Sermon 4 Against the Arians. By 'crime' is meant mortal sin, not venial sin.
Third, Jeremiah was a priest, teacher, prophet, and apostle sent directly by God, who in compassion and fellow-feeling for his neighbors surpassed all the Prophets, and, as Nazianzen says in Oration 17 to the Citizens of Nazianzus, at the beginning, 'of all the Prophets he was the most inclined to compassion.' For he alone, relying solely on God, amid the utmost turmoil of the state, the siege and destruction of the city, most ardently sought the salvation of his brethren, like another Paul, and he did the same after death, as in 2 Maccabees 15:14, where Onias said to Judas Maccabeus: 'This is he who prays much for the people and for the whole holy city, Jeremiah the prophet of God.'
He was also an illustrious sacred writer: for he wrote or dictated many works, namely this prophecy, also the Lamentations, the Book of Baruch, and the Books of 3 and 4 Kings. For Procopius of Gaza, Isidore, and Moses Kimchi, cited by Sixtus of Siena, Book 1, teach that Jeremiah compiled these from public records and chronicles down to the destruction of Jerusalem. This is confirmed by the fact that the last chapter of Jeremiah is also the last chapter of 4 Kings. Abulensis, in his commentary on the Book of Judges, chapter 17, verse 4, holds that Jeremiah also composed the first two Books of Kings.
Others add that Psalm 64 ('A hymn befits you') and Psalm 136 ('By the rivers of Babylon') were composed by Jeremiah, along with many other works gathered by Sixtus of Siena, Book 2 of his Library, under the entry 'Jeremiah,' and by a Castro here. In the Vatican library, I saw a Paralipomena of Jeremiah in Greek, containing letters of Baruch and Abdemelech the Ethiopian to Jeremiah, and in turn Jeremiah's replies to them. But since the ancients made no mention of these, and the Vatican codex cites neither Epiphanius, Dorotheus, nor any ancient writer who recorded or approved these Paralipomena for posterity, I preferred to omit them rather than mix uncertain things with certain ones.
Finally, that Jeremiah wrote many other things that have perished through the ravages of time is clear from the Descriptions of Jeremiah, which are cited in 2 Maccabees chapter 2, verse 1, and are now nowhere to be found.
Fourth, because Jeremiah threatened the rebellious Jews with the destruction of the city, he suffered the most terrible things from them: insults, slaps, blows, hunger, and imprisonment. He was repeatedly proclaimed worthy of death by the whole people, yet remained steadfast, and was finally killed. Thus he was the most vivid type of Christ, who was afflicted and crucified by the Jews. Hence of Jeremiah, just as of Christ, the Jews say in chapter 11, verse 19: 'Let us put wood in his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living.' Accordingly, Jeremiah is aptly called in Hebrew ירמיהו (Yirmiyahu), meaning 'exalted' or 'the sublimity of the Lord,' says Jerome, or 'exalting the Lord,' from the root רום (rum), meaning 'he was high.' Again, Jeremiah means 'the casting forth of the Lord,' if the name is derived from the root רמה (ramah), meaning 'he cast,' and מ'יה (mi'yah), which is an abbreviation of Jehovah, meaning 'the Lord.' For Jeremiah was (as Isidore of Pelusium, a disciple of St. Chrysostom, says in Book 1, Epistle 298) πολυπαθέστατος, that is, 'most afflicted,' and in the midst of great and prolonged calamity he displayed immense steadfastness and loftiness of soul, and by his example taught us the saying of Antonius in the Melissa, Part 2, Sermon 89: 'When you are struck, stand firm like an anvil; it is the mark of a noble athlete to be struck and to conquer, and especially for God's sake we must endure all things, so that He Himself may endure us.' Sirach chapter 49, verse 8, adds that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Chaldeans because of the mistreatment of Jeremiah: 'They burned,' he says, 'the chosen city of holiness, and made its streets desolate through Jeremiah. For they mistreated him who from his mother's womb was consecrated a Prophet, to overthrow and uproot,
and to destroy, and again to build and to renew.'
Fifth, Jeremiah, as I have said, was a martyr. Hence Tertullian in the Scorpiace, chapter 8: 'Jeremiah,' he says, 'is stoned, Isaiah is sawn asunder, Zechariah is killed between the temple and the altar, imprinting the lasting stains of his blood upon the stones; and those who were driven by the Spirit were directed by that same Spirit to martyrdom, by suffering the very things they had foretold.' Hence the passage in Hebrews 11:37, 'they were stoned,' many interpreters refer to Jeremiah. Rightly, therefore, Jeremiah, after death and while in Limbo, appeared to Judas Maccabeus, 'wonderful in age and glory, and surrounded by great majesty,' 2 Maccabees 15:13.
Sixth, Victorinus the Martyr held that Jeremiah was alive in paradise and would come with Elijah to prophesy and oppose the Antichrist; St. Hilary also mentions this opinion, Canon 20 on Matthew. They prove it from chapter 1, verse 15. But the meaning of that passage is different, as I shall explain there; for from what has been said, it is clear that Jeremiah is not alive but was killed in Tahpanhes.
Question III: What Is the Subject Matter of Jeremiah?
I answer: first, he partly foretells the future, especially the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, the destruction of the city and of other nations; partly he exhorts to repentance and amendment of life; partly he denounces sins, especially idolatry; he threatens and often laments, and is throughout deeply moving. Second, he consoles his people and predicts liberation from captivity after 70 years. Third, he narrates in order the events of his own time: the deeds of kings, of the people, and his own words and actions. Fourth, he prophesies about the Church of Christ, the calling of the Gentiles, the grace and happiness of the New Testament. Ezekiel and Obadiah treat the same subject matter. Hence a large part of Obadiah is contained in Jeremiah, says St. Jerome on Obadiah, near the end.
Second, Jeremiah dictated these things under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; but Baruch his scribe wrote them down, as he dictated, as is clear from chapter 36, verse 4. Baruch also collected the prophecies of Jeremiah, delivered at various times, into this volume, but without preserving their order, often placing earlier ones later; for this reason the order in Jeremiah is often inverted and confused — see Canon 2.
Moreover, the last chapter was added by Baruch from the final chapter of 4 Kings. This is also the reason why the Septuagint sometimes changed the order of chapters from what is found in the Hebrew and Latin, so that their chapter 23 is our 36; their chapter 30 is our 37; their chapter 28 is our 31, and so on.
Third, as to his style, Jeremiah 'appears as simple and easy in his words as he is profoundly deep in the majesty of his meaning,' says St. Jerome in the Proem to Book 6 of his Commentary on Jeremiah; and in the Hebrew manner, he sets things before the eyes through various similes and parables, just as Christ did. His Hebrew idiom is pure, not mixed with Chaldaisms. For Jeremiah wrote before the Babylonian captivity, and consequently before the corruption of the Hebrew language that occurred in Babylon: for there the captive Jews began to speak Chaldean with the Chaldeans.
In my explanation of Jeremiah, following my usual practice, I kept two things chiefly before my eyes: truth and brevity. The former I know I have followed; the latter I have also attained.
The Hebrews relate that Jeremiah prophesied together with Zephaniah and Huldah: but that Jeremiah prophesied in the streets and lanes, Zephaniah in the synagogues, and Huldah in assemblies of women. Ribera laughs at this. For it smacks of a Rabbinic fable: for such charming
inventions are the usual stock-in-trade of the Rabbis.
St. Ambrose, and following him St. Augustine in Book 2 of On Christian Doctrine, chapter 28, assert that Plato was in Egypt in the time of Jeremiah and learned from him what he wrote: 'Did not the aforementioned Bishop (Ambrose),' he says, 'after studying the history of nations, when he found that Plato had traveled to Egypt in the time of Jeremiah, when that Prophet was there, show it more probable that Plato was imbued with our scriptures through Jeremiah, so that he could teach or write those things which are justly praised?' Accordingly, Genebrardus in his Chronology, and following him Antonius Fernandius in On the Visions of Sacred Scripture, Vision 11, in the Proem, say: 'Jeremiah in Tahpanhes laid the foundations of philosophy, imbuing the Hierophants with more secret wisdom. Aroused by his fame, the Greeks undertook journeys to Egypt, and about seventy years later brought philosophy to Greece.' These claims must be taken with a grain of salt: for while we may grant that Thales, who flourished under Cyrus, could as a young man have seen and heard Jeremiah in Egypt, Plato certainly, who lived two hundred years after Jeremiah (for he lived in the time of Alexander the Great), could not have seen or heard him. Nevertheless, Plato did travel to Egypt to learn the wisdom that the Egyptians had derived from Jeremiah and the Hebrews. Hence St. Augustine candidly retracts his statement, in Book 1 of his Retractationes, chapter 4: 'In what I said about the history of the times, as if Plato and Jeremiah were contemporaries, my memory deceived me.'
St. Jerome wrote a commentary on Jeremiah up to chapter 32. Some have doubted whether this commentary is by St. Jerome, on the grounds that it does not display his characteristic vigor and genius. But Rabanus, Cassiodorus, Marianus, Trithemius, Sixtus of Siena, the Louvain Censors, and others generally attribute it to St. Jerome. Indeed, Rabanus acknowledges that he drew his own commentary on Jeremiah up to chapter 32 from this commentary of St. Jerome, with many additions of his own and from Origen and St. Gregory. Therefore Rabanus's commentary is not the same as St. Jerome's, but is derived from it and more extensive, as is clear to anyone who compares the two. That St. Jerome is less vigorous here is not surprising, for when he was writing this he was
worn out by illness, labors, and age; for this was his last work on the Prophets, as he himself admits in the Proem, where he begins thus: 'After the explanation of the twelve Prophets, and of Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, we finally turn our hand to Jeremiah.' Moreover, this commentary of his is shorter than the rest and incomplete: for it ends at chapter 32.
In addition, Theodoret, Rupert, St. Thomas, Hugh, Lyranus, Dionysius, Vatablus, and Andreas Capella wrote on all of Jeremiah; and most recently and most thoroughly, Christopher a Castro, John Maldonatus, and Gaspar Sanchez, all from our Society.
Origen wrote 14 homilies of maxims on Jeremiah, which are extant in Volume 1 of Origen's works, translated into Latin by St. Jerome. He also wrote
Chronological Arrangement of the Oracles
Because the order of chapters and oracles in Jeremiah is greatly confused, as I have said, I shall arrange them in their proper order and distribute them in sequence into four parts. I shall follow Abulensis at the end of 4 Kings, Torniellus, and especially Christopher a Castro, who has a precise chronological arrangement in his Proem.
The first part therefore embraces what Jeremiah prophesied under King Josiah, in which he attacks idolatry and the vices of the people, and threatens destruction through the Chaldeans. This begins at chapter 1 and extends to chapter 17, exclusive, except chapter 10, which pertains to the time of Zedekiah, and chapter 13, which pertains to Jehoiakim, and from verse 18 onward to the time of Zedekiah, as I shall shortly say.
The second part consists of what he prophesied under Jehoiakim son of Josiah, and Jehoiachin or Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim. After the death of Josiah, and after the removal of his son Jehoahaz, while the funeral mourning was still continuing, Jeremiah is sent to Jehoiakim and warns him not to weep for Josiah, but rather for Jehoahaz who will not return from Egypt, and for himself, because he will be buried with the burial of a donkey. To this, therefore, pertains chapter 22, from verse 1 to verse 24, as is clear from verse 10 there.
Around the same time, while prophesying in the court of the temple the destruction of the city and temple, he is seized and put on trial for his life; but he is freed by Ahikam, as is narrated in chapter 26: this chapter therefore belongs here.
Around the same time, he is commanded to take chains, to be sent later under Zedekiah to neighboring nations, as is clear from chapter 27, from verse 1 to 4.
Around the same time, he prophesies what is found in chapter 17, namely that the sin of Judah is indelible, because trusting in the aid of Egypt, it refused to submit to the Babylonian who was already preparing for war.
In the 4th year of Jehoiakim he prophesies what is found in chapter 25, about the cup, that is, the active destruction by the Chaldeans, and that the nations will serve them for 70 years.
In the same year occurred what is recounted in chapter 46, from verse 2 to 12, about Pharaoh Necho being defeated, and shortly after being routed by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, and on that occasion he goes on to prophesy that Egypt would be subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar, in the same chapter, from verse 3 to the end.
In the same year occurred what is recounted in chapter 36, about the oracles and threats of Jeremiah being written down and read by Baruch to the people from the book that Jehoiakim burned but Jeremiah restored, and what is said in chapter 45 about Baruch being afraid and comforted by God.
Around the 7th year of Jehoiakim occurred what is narrated in chapter 35, about the Rechabites, and what is said in chapter 13, from verse 1 to 18, about the linen girdle which he carried to the Euphrates, and about the jug that was broken as a sign of the coming disaster.
Next followed what was spoken under Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim. Namely, in chapter 22, from verse 24 to the end, he prophesies that Jeconiah will be led to Babylon and will never return from there.
In chapter 23, he inveighs against the negligence of the kings, because this was the cause of the destruction and captivity of the people, and he promises a new form of commonwealth through Christ and the Apostles.
The third part contains the oracles spoken under Zedekiah, who succeeded Jeconiah, up to and including the destruction of the city:
In the 1st year of Zedekiah were spoken the things found in chapter 24, about the two baskets of figs, which signified the good fortune of Jeconiah and the other exiles, but the miserable lot of Zedekiah and the others remaining in Jerusalem and rebelling against the Chaldeans.
And what is written in chapter 29 to Jeconiah and the others in Babylon, that they would remain there for 70 years.
And what he predicts in chapters 30 and 31 about the release from captivity, both temporal through Cyrus and spiritual through Christ.
And what is found in chapter 18 about the potter, in whose manner God can shape and reshape the people, and restore them to freedom.
And the letter found in chapter 10, in which he warns the exiles not to worship the signs of heaven and the idols of the Chaldeans.
what is found in chapter 27, verse 3, to the end, about the chains sent to neighboring kings; and what is found in chapter 28 about their being broken by Hananiah and replaced with iron ones.
Around the same time seem to have been spoken the things he prophesies in chapters 48 and 49 against neighboring kings and nations, namely against Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Elam.
In chapter 19, he broke the flask in the court of the temple, to show that the people would be similarly shattered.
In chapter 20, imprisoned by Pashhur, he threatens him with destruction; and from weariness of life and the bitterness of his sufferings, he curses the day of his birth.
Then in chapters 50 and 51, he prophesies the destruction of Babylon by Cyrus and Darius: that this was done in the 4th year of Zedekiah is clear from Jeremiah 51:59.
In chapter 13, verse 18, Jeremiah is sent to King Zedekiah, who was subject to Nebuchadnezzar, and to the queen, to foretell them the overthrow of the kingdom. This is clear from 4 Kings 24:20, and chapter 15, verse 1, and from Josephus, Antiquities 10, chapter 10.
In chapter 34, when Jerusalem was already besieged, after the Jews had renewed their covenant with God (and therefore the Chaldeans had withdrawn to fight against the Egyptians), but soon violated it, he foretells the return of the Chaldeans.
In chapter 37, he communicates the same message to Zedekiah; and when he appeared to be going out to Anathoth, he was seized by Irijah and thrown into prison.
In chapter 47, he prophesies that the Philistines will be devastated by the Chaldeans: that this occurred in the 9th year of Zedekiah will be clear from chapter 47, verse 1.
Nebuchadnezzar invaded and occupied Coele-Syria, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and other nations, as Jeremiah had foretold. So says Josephus, Antiquities 10.11.
In chapter 21, when Nebuchadnezzar returned to the siege of Jerusalem, and Zedekiah sent to him asking him to pray for the enemy's withdrawal, Jeremiah answered that the enemy would not withdraw, but that if he wished to be saved, he should surrender to him.
In chapter 32, Jeremiah in prison is commanded to buy the field of his cousin, to signify by this that the captives would return from Babylon to their own fields.
In chapter 33, he promises happiness after the time of captivity.
In chapter 38, he is cast into a cistern because he was predicting safety for those who deserted to the Chaldeans and destruction for those who remained, but he was pulled out by Ebed-melech and, after speaking with the king, remained in the vestibule of the prison.
In chapter 39, from verse 15 to the end, he promises Ebed-melech safety in the destruction of the city.
Then in chapter 39, from verse 1 to verse 15, Jerusalem is captured, Zedekiah is blinded, and his sons and princes are killed.
Fourth Part: After the Destruction of Jerusalem
The fourth part embraces the oracles and events after the destruction of Jerusalem.
In chapter 40, Nebuzaradan commends Jeremiah to Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor of Judea.
At this point Jeremiah seems to have written the letter about not worshipping idols, which is found in Baruch chapter 6.
After the city was destroyed, he seems to have composed the Lamentations.
In chapter 41, Ishmael in the seventh month kills Gedaliah; and Johanan recovers and gathers the remnants of the people, and considers flight to Egypt.
In chapter 42, the princes consult Jeremiah; he forbids the flight and says that if they flee to Egypt, they will be destroyed there by Nebuchadnezzar.
In chapter 43, the princes, not believing Jeremiah and forcing Jeremiah and all the Jews to flee with them to Egypt, arrive at Tahpanhes, where Jeremiah prophesies the destruction of Egypt by the Chaldeans.
In chapter 44, he threatens the Jews in Egypt and Pharaoh Hophra with captivity. For this reason he seems to have been stoned by the Jews shortly after, before the destruction of Egypt: for here his prophecy ends, and no further mention is made of Jeremiah.
In the same year Nebuchadnezzar occupied Egypt, killed Pharaoh Hophra, installed Amasis as king, and led 743 captive Jews to Babylon, as is clear from Jeremiah 52:30 and from Josephus. Among them Baruch was led away; for Jeremiah had already been killed. So say a Castro and others. But it seems more likely that Egypt was subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar 12 years later, namely in the 35th year of his reign, as I shall discuss at Ezekiel 29:17.
In the 6th year, which was the 5th year after the destruction of Jerusalem and the 26th of Nebuchadnezzar, on the 17th day of the 5th month, Baruch read the book he had written before Jeconiah and all the people in Babylon, Baruch 1.
In How Many and In What Matters Jeremiah Was a Type or Prophet of Christ
I. God says to Jeremiah, ch. I, 5: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you: and before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you."
So concerning Christ, St. Matthew says, ch. I, 18: "She (the Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus) was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit." And the Angel, verse 20: "For that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." Likewise the Angel, Luke ch. I, 35: "And therefore also the Holy One that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God." Finally Isaiah, ch. XLIX, 1, says of Christ: "The Lord called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother He remembered my name."
II. God says to Jeremiah, ch. I, 5: "I have given you as a prophet to the nations;" and verse 9: "Behold, I have given my words in your mouth: behold, I have set you this day over nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant."
So concerning Christ, Isaiah says, ch. LI, 16: "I have put my words in your mouth... that you may plant the heavens, and found the earth, and say to Zion: You are my people;" and David, Psalm II, 6: "But I am appointed king by Him over Zion His holy mountain, preaching His commandment;" and verse 8: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession." Isaiah, ch. XLIX, 6: "Behold, I have given you to be a light of the nations, that you may be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth."
III. God says to Jeremiah, ch. I, 18: "Do not fear: for I indeed have made you this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass over all the land."
So Christ says of Himself: "He (the Lord) has made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of His hand He has protected me, and has made me as a chosen arrow," Isaiah XLIX, 2.
IV. Jeremiah says, ch. I, 11: "I see a rod that watches."
Concerning Christ it is said, Psalm II, 9: "You shall rule them with a rod of iron, and shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel." And Psalm XLIV, 7: "The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness."
V. Jeremiah says, ch. I, 13: "I see a boiling pot."
Concerning Christ as judge it is said, Psalm XCVI, 3: "A fire shall go before Him, and shall burn His enemies round about;" and Luke III, 17: "The chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."
VI. God says to Jeremiah, ch. I, 16: "I will pronounce my judgments against them (the nations) concerning all their wickedness."
Christ has been appointed judge of the living and the dead, and on the day of judgment He will say to the saints: "Come, blessed of my Father," but to the wicked: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire," Matthew ch. XXV, 34 and 41.
VII. Ch. II, 21, God says through Jeremiah to the Synagogue: "I planted you a chosen vineyard, all true seed: how then are you turned unto me into that which is depraved, O strange vineyard?"
So Christ says to the same: "There was a householder who planted a vineyard, etc., and let it out to husbandmen:" but they killed the servants, and even the son of the master; therefore he "will bring those wicked men to a wretched end," Matthew XXI, 33, 41.
VIII. Ch. III, God cries out through Jeremiah: "Rebellious Israel, and faithless Judah, return to me, I will heal your backslidings."
Christ cries out, Matthew XI, 28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you."
IX. Ch. VI, 6, Jeremiah says to Jerusalem: "This is the city of visitation;" that is, of punishment and destruction, "all oppression is in the midst of her."
Christ, seeing Jerusalem, wept over it, saying: "If you had known, etc., for the days shall come upon you: and your enemies shall surround you, etc., and dash you to the ground, etc., because you did not know the time of your visitation," Luke XIX.
X. Ch. VII, 11, Jeremiah says: "Is this house, in which my name has been invoked, become a den of robbers?"
Christ says, Matthew XXI, 13: "It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves."
(1) What the points of resemblance between Jeremiah and Christ were is clearly and devoutly set forth by Bossuet in his golden work entitled: Méditations sur l'Évangile, in the last week of Christ from day 98 to 109.
XI. Ch. IX, 23, the Lord says through Jeremiah: "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 that glories glory in this, that he knows and understands me, for I am the Lord, who exercises mercy and judgment and justice in the earth."
Christ says through Paul, I Corinthians I, 27: "The foolish things of the world has God chosen, that He may confound the wise: and the weak things of the world has God chosen, that He may confound the strong: and the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, has God chosen, and things that are not, that He might bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in His sight. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption; that, as it is written: He that glories, may glory in the Lord."
XII. Ch. XI, 19, Jeremiah says: "And I was as a meek lamb, that is carried to be a victim: and I knew not."
Concerning Christ, Isaiah says, ch. LIII, 7: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and He shall not open His mouth."
XIII. In the same place Jeremiah says: "They devised counsels against me, saying: Let us put wood into his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living."
The Jews plotted to crucify Christ, and cried out to Pilate: "Crucify Him, crucify Him," John XIX, 6.
XIV. Ch. XIV, 8, Jeremiah says to God: "O Expectation of Israel, its Savior in time of trouble; why will You be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man turning aside to lodge?"
Such a wayfarer was Christ, who traveled through all Judea evangelizing, and after three years of preaching, having left the earth as though it were a lodging, He returned to His heaven.
XV. Ch. XV, 10, Jeremiah says: "Woe is me, my mother! why did you bear me a man of strife, a man of contention to all the earth? all curse me."
Concerning Christ, Simeon says: "Behold, this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted," Luke ch. II, verse 34.
XVI. Ch. XVI, 16, God says to Jeremiah: "Behold, I will send many fishers; and they shall fish them."
Christ called Peter and Andrew, fishermen, saying: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men," Matthew IV, 19.
XVII. Ch. XVIII, 6 and 11, God says: "As the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Behold, I am forming evil against you."
So Christ, from the same clay and mass of the human race, makes "one vessel unto honor, another unto dishonor," Romans IX, 21 and 22.
XVIII. Ch. XVIII, 18, the Jews had said: "Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah: and let us strike him with the tongue."
So the Jews entered into a council against Jesus, to catch Him in His speech, and to lay hold of Him by craft; indeed they sought and suborned false witnesses against Him, Matthew ch. XXII, 15, and Matthew ch. XXVI, 59.
XIX. Ch. XX, 2, Phassur struck Jeremiah the prophet.
So "one of the officers struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying: Is it so You answer the high priest?" John ch. XVIII, verse 22.
XX. Ch. XX, 7, Jeremiah says: "I am made a derision all the day, all scoff at me."
So Christ says, Psalm XXI, 7: "But I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people; all they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head."
XXI. Ch. XXVI, 11, Jeremiah, because he prophesied the destruction of the city and the temple, hears: "The judgment of death is for this man."
Christ, because it was reported that He had said: "I am able to destroy the temple of God," etc., hears from Caiaphas and the whole council: "He is guilty of death," Matthew XXVI, 61 and 66.
XXII. Ch. XXVI, 15, Jeremiah says: "If you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city."
The Jews, crying out against Christ: "Crucify Him," say to Pilate who wished to release the innocent Christ: "His blood be upon us, and upon our children," Matthew XXVII, 25.
XXIII. Ch. XXXI, 15, Jeremiah says: "A voice was heard on high of lamentation, of mourning and weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted for them, because they are not."
Matthew II, 17, in the infanticide of Herod says: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: A voice in Rama was heard, much weeping and mourning, Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
XXIV. Ch. XXXI, 22, Jeremiah says: "The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS
Isaiah, ch. VII, 14, and from it Matthew I, 23, concerning Christ and His virgin mother say: "Behold, a Virgin shall con-
A MAN."
ceive and shall bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel, that is, God with us."
XXV. Ch. XXXI, 31, the Lord says to Jeremiah: "Behold the days shall come, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."
Christ established this covenant and testament, Hebrews VIII; Matthew XXVI, 28.
XXVI. Ch. XXXVI, 26: "King Joakim commanded that they should apprehend Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the Prophet; but the Lord hid them."
So the Jews often sought to seize Jesus: "But He hid Himself, and passing through the midst of them, went His way," and toward the end of His life, He withdrew into the city of Ephrem, John XI, 54.
XXVII. Ch. XXXVII, 14, The princes struck Jeremiah and cast him into prison.
So the Jews seized Christ, struck Him with fists, and scourged Him.
XXVIII. Ch. XXXIX, Jeremiah, destined for death by his own people, was honorably received by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans.
So Christ "came unto His own, and His own received Him not:" namely, the Jews killed Him, but the Gentiles received and worshiped Him.
XXIX. Ch. XLIII, 5, Johanan, fearing Nebuchadnezzar, fled and took Jeremiah with him into Egypt.
So Joseph, fearing Herod the child-killer, took the child Jesus into Egypt, Matthew II, 14.
Finally, hear Ezra, or whoever is the author, Book IV of Ezra, ch. II, 18: "I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah, by whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for you twelve trees, laden with various fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven immense mountains, having the rose and the lily, in which I will fill your children with joy." By the twelve trees and fountains, the twelve Apostles and the twelve articles of their Creed seem to be signified; by the seven mountains, the seven Sacraments of the Church, with which Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold that the new Church of Christ would be adorned. For even though this book of Ezra is not in the canon of Sacred Scripture, it nevertheless has its own weight of authority, and a greater one than the books of other Doctors: whence the Church also places it next after the canonical books.