Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 5

Here, he excludes the remedies in which they might have been able to trust:

1. The holiness of men.

   Concerning this, there are two points:

   1. He shows their wickedness in general.

      Concerning this, there are two points:

      1. He shows their guilt.

         Concerning this, there are two points:

         1. He shows the wickedness of the rulers.

            Concerning this, there are two points:

            1. The Lord sets forth the universal wickedness of the people regarding the depravity of their actions: a man, even one, who carries out judgment, that is, one who deals justly with his neighbor according to the rule of just judgment; who seeks faith, that is, to act faithfully; and I will be gracious to her, not only on account of ten, as is said to Abraham concerning the inhabitants of Sodom in Genesis 18. But it could have been said, there is none who does good, no not even one (Psalms 13:3).

               And with regard to the perversity of their actions in these things, if they should somehow appear to be good: even if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ they swear falsely, because in their heart they do not worship the Lord as they pretend with their mouth, or because they literally perjure themselves. As it says above, you shall swear: as the Lord lives, in truth, and in judgment, and in justice (Jeremiah 4:2). This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13).

            2. The prophet confirms the judgment of the Lord.

               First, he discusses the truth of the sentence: Lord, your eyes behold faith, that is, what is right; as if to say, “You have judged rightly.” Every way of a man lies open to his eyes, the Lord is a weigher of spirits (Proverbs 16:2). Your eyes are clean lest they should see evil, and to look upon iniquity you will not be able (Habakkuk 1:13).

               Second, he adds the incorrigibility of the people, for they are not corrected even by being struck: you have struck them, with light chastisements, and they have not been sorry for their sins; you have crushed them, with death and captivity. As it says above, in vain have I struck your children; they have not received correction (Jeremiah 2:30). I have struck you with a burning wind, and I have struck all the works of your hands with mildewIn this quotation of the passage from Haggai, the Parma edition has aerugine, “rust,” instead of aurugine, “mildew.” But perhaps this is how Thomas Aquinas read the passage; see notes in ch. 30, lect. 2, below. and hail; and there was none among you who would turn back to me, says the Lord (Haggai 2:18). Nor because of shame: they have hardened; as if to say, “They are not changed by the feeling of shame.” Indeed, the whole house of Israel has a hard forehead, and a stiff heart (Ezekiel 3:7).

         2. Of their subjects, at but I said (Jeremiah 5:4).

      2. He threatens them with punishment, at therefore, the lion of the forest struck them (Jeremiah 5:6).

   2. He discusses their vices in particular, at for what shall I be able to be gracious to you? (Jeremiah 5:7).

2. The strength of the royal city, at be strengthened (Jeremiah 6:1).

3. Exactness in the worship of God, at the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying (Jeremiah 7:1).

Here, he shows the malice of the rulers against the judgment of the prophet.

1. He discusses the ignorance of the people, as if making an excuse for them: perhaps they are poor, those whom I found to be wicked in the public squares; ignorant of the way they should walk; and the judgment they should fear. Knowledge is not in everyone (1 Corinthians 8:7).

2. He discusses the knowledge of the rulers, which removes the excuse of ignorance: I will go to the nobles, and I will speak to them, for they have known the way they should walk, and the judgment by which they should also judge others. To you, O kings, are these words given, that you may learn wisdom, that you perish not .

3. He speaks of their guilt: and behold, even more—that is, more than the people, because they are more bold and less fearful—and at the same time, with the people. The kings of the earth have stood together, and the princes gathered together as one against the Lord (Psalms 2:2). They cast off the yoke of the law and the bonds of the commandments, as the psalmist continues: Let us burst their bands asunder, and cast their yoke from us (Psalms 2:3).

1. Here, punishment is threatened.

   First, he specifies the punishment concerning the killing of people: the lion of the forest, representing a fierce one—that is, Nebuchadnezzar, because of his ferocity. This lion signifies the kingdom of the Chaldeans. Concerning the devastation of the countryside, he mentions the wolf at sunset. This represents swiftness, for wolves are faster in the evening when they are empty of food and crave prey at night. Alternatively, the wolf signifies the kingdom of the Persians. Concerning the siege of the city, he says the leopard keeps watch. This refers to Nebuchadnezzar because of his deceitfulness, or it refers to the kingdom of the Greeks because of the variety of its kings who had been subjected to him. However, the author is silent about the kingdom of the Romans, because that was still a long way off. Or perhaps he refers to it when he says, any who goes out—that is, anyone who escaped from the hands of the previous invaders—shall be captured. The bear lying in wait has become to me as a lion in hiding (Lamentations 3:10). Their horses are lighter than leopards, and swifter than a wolf at evening (Habakkuk 1:8).

2. He then returns to the cause of their judgment: their sins have multiplied in number and have been strengthened by habitual practice, resulting in their backslidings from God. Our iniquities have been multiplied before you, and our sins have answered us (Isaiah 59:12).

1. Here, he discusses their sins specifically:

• First, the sins of the subjects.
• Second, the sins of the rulers, mentioned in the verse, wicked men are found in my people, lying in wait (Jeremiah 5:26).

Regarding the first topic, there are two points.

• First, he shows the guilt of the people.
• Second, the foolishness of those who sin, mentioned at the word tell (Jeremiah 5:20).

Regarding the guilt of the people, there are three points.

1. He accuses the people of the crime of idolatry: For what reason could I be gracious to you? That is, what reasonable cause could I find to spare you? They have sworn by them, offering them divine honor. They have provoked me with what was not God; and incited me with their vanities; I also will provoke them with what is not a people (Deuteronomy 32:21).

2. He accuses them of the sin of lewdness, speaking of the commission of sin or the occasion for it: I have filled them by bestowing on them a wealth of temporal goods. From the Gloss: without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus has nothing to do; for the stomach and the genitals are friends.In the Summa theologiae II-II, q. 147, a. 1, Thomas Aquinas cites Jerome for the same quotation. Jerome, in turn, cites a comicus, a comic poet. Cf. Adversus Jovinianum 2.7 (PL 23) and Epistulae 54.9 . They have been adulterous, committing adultery in the house of the harlot. The vileness of the sin is magnified by the place itself. This was the sin of Sodom, your sister: pride and fullness of bread, abundance and leisure for herself, and for her daughters; and she did not stretch out her hand for the needy; they became haughty, and committed abominations before me, and I took them away as you have seen (Ezekiel 16:49).

   He also speaks of the intensity of their lust: they are as amorous horses, that is, during their mating season, which are sent out to pasture for this purpose. They were neighing, like one driven mad with lust. Do not be as a horse or mule, in whom there is no understanding (Psalms 31:9).

   He also speaks of the retribution for their sin when he threatens vengeance: Shall I not visit you for these things, by correcting their sins with punishments? He says, my soul, referring to his affections. I will visit the men settled in their lees (Zephaniah 1:12).

   He specifies their punishment, first regarding the destruction of the walls—Go upon her walls, he says to the Chaldeans—and second, regarding the destruction of the people: Take away her shoots, that is, the sons who are propagated from these people, as shoots from a vine. Your strong and lofty walls, in which you put your trust, will be torn down throughout all your land (Deuteronomy 28:52). He then returns to the cause of their punishment: because they are not of the Lord—for they have been estranged from him by sin. The prevaricators have prevaricated, and with the prevarication of transgressors they have prevaricated (Isaiah 24:16).The Hebrew has a somewhat different sense here: בֹּגְדִים בָּגָדוּ וּבֶגֶד בּוֹגְדִים בָּגָדוּ: the treacherous have acted treacherously, and with the treachery of the treacherous, they have been treacherous. While the Hebrew connotes betrayal, the Latin praevaricatio denotes more of a failure in duty, a violation of law, apostasy.

3. He accuses them of the sin of blasphemy.

   First, he speaks of their guilt regarding blasphemy against God: They have denied the Lord, denying His providence over earthly matters. They say that He, by whose command all things are made, is not, and that neither shall evil come upon us, no matter how much we have sinned against Him. Who is this who spoke and it came to be, when the Lord has not commanded it? (Lamentations 3:37). And they said, the Lord has left the earth, and the Lord will not see (Ezekiel 9:9).

   Regarding blasphemy against the prophets, they say their words are into the wind, that is, in vain, and that there is no response from God. You make fine speeches only to rebuke; you bring forth words to the wind (Job 6:26).

   Second, he threatens punishment. First, for blasphemy against the prophets: Therefore, these things that follow will happen. He says their words will be as fire, meaning, “I will give power to your words, so that your words themselves will burn like fire.” As it says below: Are not my words like fire, says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:29).

   As punishment for blasphemy against God, he describes the nature of the enemy. They are powerful: Behold, I will bring upon them a nation from afar off, that is, from Chaldea. It is a strong nation, with strong men, and an ancient nation, because Nimrod the giant was their leader; for this reason, they have been trained in the use of weapons since ancient times. He also shows them to be a people who cannot be moved by pleas: a nation whose language you do not know.

   They are equipped with weapons—his quiver is mentioned because from it they draw arrows quickly, and because the arrows there appear blood-stained, like corpses in tombs. As it says below: Behold, a people will come from the north, and a great people, and many kings will arise from the ends of the earth (Jeremiah 50:41).

   Now he discusses the infliction of the punishment: And he shall eat your harvest. The Lord will bring upon you a people from afar, and from the farthest ends of the earth like an eagle flying as to attack, whose language you cannot understand (Deuteronomy 28:49).

   Yet, this is mixed with mercy: Nevertheless, in those days, says the Lord, I will not make an end of you. As it says above: I will not make an end (Jeremiah 4:27).

   Second, he returns to the cause of their punishment: And if you shall say… As it says below: I also shall drive you out from this land to a land which you know not, neither you nor your fathers (Jeremiah 16:13).

1. Here, he shows the folly of a sinful people.

1. He describes the foolishness itself: hear, O foolish people, who have no heart; who have eyes, externally, but do not see with the heart. Blind the heart of this people (Isaiah 6:10).
2. He proves it in two ways:
   1. Through a comparison with unthinking creatures, noting their obedience: therefore, will you not fear me? Sand (the shore); they shall be moved (that is, the waves, no matter how much they are stirred up). I have set my boundaries about it (Job 38:10). In contrast is the disobedience of the people: But this people has an unbelieving heart. Do not be rebellious as the rebellious house is (Ezekiel 2:8).
   2. By showing their ingratitude for the kindness they have received, stating that they have turned back.

      He defines the terms of this kindness: the early rain comes at the beginning of the growing season after sowing, and the latter rain comes at the time the fruits ripen. It is the LORD who is guarding these appointed times.

      He then notes the cessation of this kindness, which was caused by your iniquities. Your sins have made a division between you and your God (Isaiah 59:2).