Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 23:33-40

"And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? then shalt thou say unto them, What burden! I will cast you off, saith Jehovah. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What hath Jehovah answered? and, What hath Jehovah spoken? And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more: for every man`s own word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath Jehovah answered thee? and, What hath Jehovah spoken? But if ye say, The burden of Jehovah; therefore thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah; therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave unto you and to your fathers, away from my presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten." — Jeremiah 23:33-40 (ASV)

1. Here, the prophet threatens those who mock the prophets. Just as they ridiculed Isaiah in his day, saying, “Command, command again, expect, expect again” (Isaiah 28:10), so also they mocked the phrase Jeremiah had devised to signify the severity of the punishment: the burden of the Lord.

For this reason, he makes three points concerning this.

1. First, he rebukes the people who mock him. Concerning those who ask mockingly, if this people asks, he says, you will say to them, ‘You are the burden.’ For the very things by which a person sins are also those by which they are tormented . As it is also written, They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them (Isaiah 1:14). And concerning those who speak together, and the prophet, he says, I will punish their iniquities with the rod, and their sins with stripes (Psalms 88:32).

2. Second, he forbids the mockery of his words.

   First, the command is given, which shows the manner of speaking: these things you will say.

   Then, mockery is forbidden: and the burden of the Lord . . . a person’s own word will be a burden. That is, for their words they will be held liable for severe punishment. By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37). He gives the reason for their mockery: and you have corrupted. It is as if he were saying, “Because you have twisted my words into something to ridicule.”

   He concludes: thus you shall say. They hear your words, but they do not do them, because they turn them into a song in their mouth (Ezekiel 33:31).

3. Third, he threatens punishment:

   1. First is the punishment of captivity: behold, I will take you. He speaks like someone carrying a heavy weight to a high place, so that he can make it fall more forcefully. A mighty angel took up a stone, like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: with this blow Babylon will be cast down, and will no longer be found (Revelation 18:21).
   2. Second is the punishment of shame: and I will make you a reproach. This may refer to the punishment of burning or to the shame with which they were carried away into captivity. The reproach is called sin, or the reproach is unspeakable. As it says above: they will be greatly ashamed, for they have not understood the eternal reproach, which will never be blotted out (Jeremiah 20:11).

A note on the verse: behold, the days are coming (Jeremiah 23:5, 7). The time of grace is called “day” for several reasons:

• Because of the appearance of light: the night is far spent, the day has drawn near; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12).
• Because of the heat of the sun: tomorrowI.e., when the sun becomes hot. there will be salvation for you (1 Samuel 11:9).
• Because of the security of the journey: If anyone walks in the day, they do not stumble, because they see the light of this world; but if they walk at night, they stumble, because the light is not in them (John 11:9–10).
• Because of vigilance and sobriety: for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, are drunk at night (1 Thessalonians 5:7).