Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 12:9-12

"Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her round about? go ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour. Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it a desolation; it mourneth unto me, being desolate; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. Destroyers are come upon all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh hath peace." — Jeremiah 12:9-12 (ASV)

1. Here, he threatens a particular punishment.

   1. First, he threatens the punishment of captivity.
   2. Second, he threatens the punishment of the land’s sterility, as in they have sown wheat, and harvested thorns (Jeremiah 12:13).

   Regarding the first point, there are three aspects.

   1. He specifies the punishment, describing the great number of the slain: to devour, meaning the multitude of dead bodies. Thus says the Lord God: Speak to every fowl and every bird, and to all the beasts of the field: Assemble together and make haste; run together from every side to my sacrifice, which I offer for you—a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the strong and drink the blood of the princes of the earth (Ezekiel 39:17–18).

      He then describes the affliction from the enemy with regard to the slain: many shepherds, that is, the princes of the Chaldeans. Shepherds and their flocks shall come to her (Jeremiah 6:3). The Vineyard is the house of Israel. For the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:7). Alternatively, the shepherds are the princes of the people, who have torn down the vineyard by slaughter. Regarding those oppressed by slavery and captivity, it says, they have trampled. I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed (Isaiah 5:5). And regarding the desolation of the land: they have made my field... and it has mourned for me (Jeremiah 12:10–11), although too late. And she will say: I will go, and return to my first husband, because it was better for me then than now (Hosea 2:7).

   2. Second, he states the cause of their punishment: the whole earth is desolate with desolation, because there is no one who considers the commands and benefits of God. For this my people is led captive, because they had no knowledge (Isaiah 5:13).

   3. Third, he describes the extent of the punishment.

      1. First, he shows the multitude of the enemy: upon every way—it is as if he were saying, “They fill all the roads”—of the desert, which is between Jerusalem and Babylon. A burning wind is on the roads, which are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people, not to winnow, or to cleanse (Jeremiah 4:11).
      2. Second, he shows the multitude of the slain: because the sword, either of illness or of the Chaldeans. My sword shall devour flesh (Deuteronomy 32:42).
      3. Third, he shows the lack of consolation: there is no peace; it is as if he were saying, “No one will be exempt.” There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord God (Isaiah 48:22).