*H At that time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Ver. 1. Israel. The ten tribes returned as well as Juda, &c. C. — They were more ready to receive Christ than the other two tribes. Mat. xiii. &c. W.
*H Thus saith the Lord: The people that were left and escaped from the sword, found grace in the desert: Israel shall go to his rest.
Ver. 2. Desert. From which the former inhabitants had been driven, (4 K. xvii. 6. 24. C.) or, as those under Moses were favoured, (H.) so shall the captives. Grot. — Sept. "I found him warm," ( θερμον, means also a lupin, which has misled the old Latin interpreters. S. Jer.) murdered "in the desert, with those slain by the sword. Go, and destroy not Israel." H.
*H The Lord hath appeared from afar to me. Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.
Ver. 3. Afar. He has seemed to despise me, (S. Jer.) or he has spoken to my ancestors. C. — Chal. He has "manifested himself long ago to our fathers. Prophet, tell them I have," &c. Ps. xxxv. 11. and cviii. 11. C.
*H Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and they shall not gather the vintage before the time.
Ver. 5. Samaria. Its wine was famous. Judg. ix. 27. Jos. Bel. iii. 2. — Time, three years being elapsed. Lev. xix. 35. C. — Prot. "plant, and shall eat (marg. profane) them as common things." They shall not be too greedy, (H.) but shall have leisure to enjoy the fruits of their labour. C.
*H For there shall be a day, in which the watchmen on mount Ephraim, shall cry: Arise, and let us go up to Sion to the Lord our God.
Ver. 6. Watchmen. Some were stationed on eminences to observe the first appearances of the moon, (C.) which was a sort of festival. H.
* Footnote * Isaias 2 : 3
And many people shall go, and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall come forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.* Footnote * Micheas 4 : 2
And many nations shall come in haste, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth out of Sion, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.*H For thus saith the Lord: Rejoice ye in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles: shout ye, and sing, and say: Save, O Lord, thy people, the remnant of Israel.
Ver. 7. Head. Rejoice over Babylon. — Save. Heb. Hoshang, "I beg," was usually added; and this acclamation is used by the Church.
*H Behold I will bring them from the north country, and will gather them from the ends of the earth and among them shall be the blind, and the lame, the woman with child, and she that is bringing forth, together, a great company of them returning hither.
Ver. 8. Together. All shall hasten, and there shall be no impediment. Is. xxxv. 5.
*H They shall come with weeping: and I will bring them back in mercy: and I will bring them through the torrents of waters in a right way, and they shall not stumble in it: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Ver. 9. Shall, or "came" into captivity. Bar. vi. 6. Ps. cxxv. 6. Is. lxvi. 20. — Way. They shall find every accommodation, and plenty of water. Is. xxxv. 7. and xlix. 10. — Born. Chal. "beloved." I will treat the ten tribes as well as Juda. Christ inebriates his disciples with his graces. C. — Ephraim shall be treated with all the love and attention shewn to the first-born. W.
*H And they shall come, and shall give praise in mount Sion: and they shall flow together to the good things of the Lord, for the corn, and wine, and oil, and the increase of cattle and herds, and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall be hungry no more.
Ver. 12. Sion. There shall be no farther schism or idolatry among them. — No more, if they prove faithful. This was not the case.
*H And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness: and my people shall be filled with my good things, saith the Lord.
Ver. 14. Fatness. Abundant crops secured them more plentiful tythes, as long as the people preserved their religion. H. — No nation had more priests, or better provided for. C.
*H Thus saith the Lord: 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.
Ver. 15. High. Lit. "high places." Heb. Rama. H. — There was a city of this name near Bethlehem, where Rachel was buried. Benjamin was her son, and was conducted by this road to Babylon. Chal. Grot. T. — Ephraim and Manasses were also her grandchildren, and she may bewail their captivity by personification. S. Mat. (ii. 18.) shews that this prediction was more fully accomplished when the innocents were slain. The same passage may allude to different events. C. — All the people of God, both of the ten and of the two tribes, bewailed their captivity, and the mothers lamented for those slain near Bethlehem. W.
* Footnote * Matthew 2 : 18
A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.*H Thus saith the Lord: Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord: and they shall return out of the land of the enemy.
Ver. 16. Reward. A time fixed for thy tears being dried up. Is. xvi. 14. and xl. 10.
*H Hearing I heard Ephraim when he went into captivity: thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed, as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert me, and I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God.
Ver. 18. I was. Chal. Theodoret, and S. Chrys. have "not." But chastisement produced a salutary effect upon the ten tribes. Osee vi. 1. and xiv. 3. — Convert. Bring me back from captivity and from my evil ways. This must be attributed to grace. C. — We cannot repent without it. S. Jer. — Da quod jubes. S. Aug. Conf. x. 19. and 31. and 37. — God's grace is the principal cause of justification. Man's co-operation is the secondary cause. W.
*H For after thou didst convert me, I did penance: and after thou didst shew unto me, I struck my thigh: I am confounded and ashamed, because I have borne the reproach of my youth.
Ver. 19. Thigh, through grief. Femur mœrenti plangere dextrâ. Metam. xi. — Cyrus struck his thigh, mounted his horse, and went to attend the funeral of Abradates. Xen. vii. — So did Achilles for Patroclus. Il. xvi. — Youth, being seduced by Jeroboam.
*H Surely Ephraim is an honourable son to me, surely he is a tender child: for since I spoke of him, I will still remember him. Therefore are my bowels troubled for him: pitying I will pity him, saith the Lord.
Ver. 20. I spoke. Heb. "my word is in him," and he is docile to my instructions.
*H Set thee up a watchtower, make to thee bitterness: direct thy heart into the right way, wherein thou hast walked: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities.
Ver. 21. Tower, to bewail thy past follies; or signals to know the way, or tombs for thy beloved.
*H How long wilt thou be dissolute in deliciousness, O wandering daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth: A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A MAN.
Ver. 22. Daughter. Bury thy dead, and delay thy return no longer. The Israelites did not soon make use of the leave granted by Cyrus. C. — Man. Heb. "a hero." T. — The fathers generally explain this of the incarnation. C. — Christ had the perfect use of reason in the virgin's womb. H. — He was the brightness of his Father's glory. Heb. i. 3. Even some ancient Jews apply this to the Messias. Galatin. vii. 14. But the moderns understand that women would offer themselves in marriage; the times would be so happy. This was not so unusual in countries where polygamy prevailed. Ruth iii. 9. Is. iv. 1. Cant. viii. 1. C. — Hence this is hardly the meaning; for God promises something new. H. — "The Lord hath created a new thing in a woman." Aquila. — Symmachus agrees nearly with the Sept. "because the Lord has created thee by salvation a new plantation. Men shall go about in thy salvation." This "might be explained, if it were not sacrilegious to argue respecting God's word by human sense," says S. Jerom; though this censure of "the Vulgate" (Sept.) seems rather harsh. He complains here of his copy. Theodoret explains it of the apostles going through the world to spread the gospel. H. — Behold whence thy happiness must come, (M.) O thou who hast so long proved faithless, going astray after many lovers. H. — Christ, in his mother's womb, was in stature small, but a perfect man (W.) in the use of reason, &c. H.
*H Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As yet shall they say this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring back their captivity: The Lord bless thee, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.
Ver. 23. Bless thee. Thus the captives speak in rapture at their return.
*H And Juda and all his cities shall dwell therein together: the husbandman and they that drive the flocks.
Ver. 24. Together. Jerusalem shall be large enough to contain all, at the great festivals.
*H Upon this I was as it were awaked out of a sleep, and I saw, and my sleep was sweet to me.
Ver. 26. To me. Thus Jeremias concludes his prediction with joy. C.
*H Behold the days come, saith the Lord: and I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Juda with the seed of men, and with the seed of beasts.
Ver. 27. Men. They shall increase exceedingly by my blessing. H. — Beasts were the source of their riches. Hence pecunia is derived from pecus. W.
*H In those days they shall say no more: The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.
Ver. 29. Edge. Such observations had been too often made. Ezec. xviii. 12. H. — Henceforward you shall not suffer for the faults of Achab, Manasses, &c. Each one shall bear his own burden. The captivity has been like a deluge, cleaning all away. C.
* Footnote * Ezechiel 18 : 2
That you use among you this parable as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.*H Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:
Ver. 31. Covenant. That made with the captives was not such. Their covenant is grown old, and at an end, as S. Paul shews. Heb. viii. 8. They were not indeed divided, as they had been. Ezec. xxxvii. 16.
* Footnote * Hebrews 8 : 8
For, finding fault with them, he saith: Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord: and I will perfect, unto the house of Israel and unto the house of Juda, a new testament:*H Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over them, saith the Lord.
Ver. 32. Dominion. As a husband, (Heb. C.) or "Lord." H. — "I despised them." Sept. Heb. viii.
*H But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ver. 33. Heart. They were more docile after their return: yet still their service was very imperfect and forced. How many false traditions were received, at the coming of Christ! This of course, regards his disciples.
* Footnote * Hebrews 10 : 16
And this is the testament which I will make unto them after those days, saith the Lord. I will give my laws in their hearts and on their minds will I write them:*H And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Ver. 34. Lord. Christ himself came to instruct mankind. The true God was better known than ever, even by the illiterate. Yet God requires us to have recourse to men, in order to know his truths, as S. Paul was sent to Hananias, and the eunuch to Philip. H. — The apostles were enlightened by the Holy Ghost, (Jo. vi. 45. S. Aug. de Spir. C.) who still guides the flock by his pastors. The private spirit is too fanatical and delusive. H. — The most ignorant shall easily become acquainted with the truths of salvation. External preaching is requisite, though of little use unless grace touch the mind and the heart. T. — All will hear successively, (H.) or embrace the gospel at the same time, for several years before the last day. Houbig. pref. in Prop. 356. Is. xi. 9. and xlv. 23. Soph. iii. 9. &c. H.
* Footnote * Acts 10 : 43
To him all the prophets give testimony, that by his name all receive remission of sins, who believe in him.*H If these ordinances shall fail before me, saith the Lord: then also the seed of Israel shall fail, so as not to be a nation before me for ever.
Ver. 36. Ever. Like the Chanaanites and Ephraim during the captivity. Is. vii. 8. God restored the latter. Yet they are again dispersed from above 17 centuries, so that this perpetuity, which shall equal the world's duration, belongs to the Church. C. — Israel remains, not in the incredulous Jews, but in those who with the apostles embraced and propagated the faith of Christ. S. Jer. W.
*H Thus saith the Lord: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I also will cast away all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
Ver. 37. Out, experimentally, and not by philosophical hypotheses, which were little known in the days of Jeremias. C. — Sept. "if it be made lower." H. — This is impossible; so it is that I should abandon Israel. Theodor. — All was not faithless. C. — The Israel of God embraced the gospel. H.
*H Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hanameel even to the gate of the corner.
Ver. 38. Come, is only in the margin of the Heb. but is found properly in some MSS. Kennicott. — Corner. On the south, opposite to the former. 2 Esd. iii. 1.
*H And the whole valley of dead bodies, and of ashes, and all the country of death, even to the torrent Cedron, and to the corner of the horse gate towards the east, the Holy of the Lord: it shall not be plucked up, and it shall not be destroyed any more for ever.
Ver. 40. Valley of Hinnom, or Topheth, (C. vii. 32. and xix. 6.) where Cedron flowed. Zac. xiv. 4. C. — The city was much enlarged on this side, under the Machabees. Jos. Bel. vi. 6. — Ever. Yet the temple was utterly destroyed by the Romans, so that we must explain this of the Catholic Church, founded on a rock, and proof against the gates of hell, and all the malice of heretics and persecutors. Mat. xvi. 18. C.