Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 5:7-19

"How can I pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the harlots` houses. They were as fed horses roaming at large; every one neighed after his neighbor`s wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her branches; for they are not Jehovah`s. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah. They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, [which] thy sons and thy daughters should eat; they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword. But even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours." — Jeremiah 5:7-19 (ASV)

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).