Introduction

1. Inauthenticity of the Epistle. The Epistle of Jeremiah, written in the Greek language, does not actually belong to the great Jewish prophet. This is proven, first, by the fact that it is entirely absent from the Hebrew Bible, from the Syriac translation of the Peshitta, and even from some manuscripts of the Septuagint; second, the very content of the epistle has almost nothing in common with the content of the book of the prophet Jeremiah, and, third, finally, the language of the epistle is far unlike the brilliant language of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. Furthermore, in his epistle Jeremiah could not have used such imprecise expressions as seven generations instead of seventy years (to denote the period of Babylonian captivity) and so on. The unknown author of the epistle, apparently a Hellenistic Jew, composed it and named it Jeremiah’s, probably to give it greater significance in the eyes of readers. Most likely, the epistle was written in Phrygia – it contains rather clear traces of the author’s acquaintance with the Phrygian pagan cult.

2. Content of the Epistle. The author of the epistle wants to warn his countrymen, the Jews, against being drawn into idolatry. To do this, he depicts idols as mere senseless statues, which see nothing and hear nothing and with which anything can be done. It is therefore incorrect to call them gods: even the Chaldeans themselves do not respect them as they should. They are not able even to save themselves from danger, and even wild beasts are better than them, because they have the instinct of self-preservation. The entire epistle consists of 72 verses and can be divided into 4 parts: 1) the inscription (EpJer 1:1); 2) the introduction (EpJer 1:2-6); 3) the main part of the epistle – a discourse on the nothingness of idols and the futility of idolatry (EpJer 1:7-71) and 4) the conclusion (EpJer 1:72).

3. The Epistle’s Worth. Among our Orthodox theologians, there is sometimes expressed the view that the Epistle of Jeremiah is canonical (Metropolitan Macarius – in the Introduction to Orthodox Theology, Smaragdov, Athanasius). This is undoubtedly a reflection of the Catholic view, according to which this epistle is indeed a work of Jeremiah. But the majority of our interpreters quite justifiably consider this epistle non-canonical (Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, Metropolitan Arsenius of Kiev, and others).

4. Sources and Aids. Besides the works mentioned in the preface to the book of Jeremiah, here we can point to the trial lecture of Professor Zhdanov “On the Epistle of Jeremiah” (Appendix to the Works of the Holy Fathers 1888, IV, 441–466).

EpJer 1:1-72. The Nothingness and Powerlessness of Idols.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:1. A copy of the epistle which Jeremiah sent to those who were captives, being led away to Babylon by the king of Babylon, to declare to them that which God had commanded him. EpJer 1:1-6. This contains the inscription and introduction to the book. 1. It seems strange that Jeremiah addresses an epistle to those Jews with whom he himself was present when they were led into captivity (Jer 40:1), and to whom he could have addressed oral instruction.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:2. For the sins with which you sinned before God, you shall be led captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 3. After you enter Babylon, you shall remain there for many years and a long time, even until seven generations; after that I will bring you out from there in peace. 3. The Hebrews are to remain in Babylon even until seven generations. This expression is very indefinite and is used in various senses. If the prophet Jeremiah were writing about the duration of the captivity, he would certainly have determined this time as he did in his own book, that is, in terms of 70 years (Jer 25:11).

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:4. Now you shall see in Babylon gods of silver and gold and wood, being borne upon the shoulders, causing fear among the heathen. 4. It seems strange again here that the Jews would only see images of pagan gods during captivity. No, these images were well known to them even before they were led into captivity.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:5. Therefore beware lest you become like the foreigners, and let fear of them not possess you. When you see the multitude before and behind them bowing down, say in your heart: “You alone, O Lord, should be worshipped!” 6. For my angel is with you, and he is the guardian of your souls. 6. The Angel – this may perhaps be the archangel Michael, the defender and representative of the Jewish people (Dan 12:1). By mentioning this angel, God indicates that the Jews do not need to seek protection from pagan gods – they have a protector given to them by God.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:7. Their tongue is polished by the craftsman, and they themselves are overlaid with gold and silver; but they are false and cannot speak. EpJer 1:7-15. To show the nothingness of idols, the writer depicts the method of preparation of idols and the complete powerlessness of idols, which cannot make use of either the tongue fashioned for them, or the scepter and sword placed in their hands.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:8. Just as for a girl who loves ornament, they take gold and make crowns for the heads of their gods. 9. It also happens that the priests steal gold and silver from their gods and use it for themselves; 10. and they give some of it to harlots under their roof; they dress the golden and silver and wooden gods with garments, as they do people. 11. But they are not saved from rust and moths, though they are clothed in purple garment. 12. They wipe their faces from the dust in the temple, where there is much of it. 13. He has a scepter, like a human judge of the land, but he cannot put to death one who wrongs him. 14. He has a sword in his right hand and an axe, but cannot protect himself from war and robbers: from this it is known that they are not gods; therefore, do not fear them. 14. According to the opinion of Vigouroux, a statue of the Babylonian god Bel-Merodach is depicted here, but, as can be seen from photographs of this statue, Merodach was not given either a scepter or a sword in his hands.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:15. For as a broken vessel becomes useless to a man, so are their gods. 16. After they are set in their temples, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those entering. EpJer 1:16-53. When an idol is placed in a temple, it stands immobile, having no power to defend itself from the dust that gets in its eyes, from the worms that gnaw its garments, from the smoke of incense, from bats and cats. The idols are carried by priests and suffer all the indignities that the priests and dissolute women inflict upon them. All the more they cannot render any benefit to the land.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:17. Just as the entrances to the house of one who has offended the king are sealed when he is led away to death, so their temples are guarded by their priests with doors, locks, and bars, so that they may not be plundered by robbers; 17. This refers to the custom by which the house of one who offended the majesty of the king was sealed, so that all property might later pass to the royal treasury in full.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:18. they light lamps for them, and more than for themselves, but they cannot see any of them. 19. They are like a beam in a house; the worms in the earth eat away at their hearts, it is said, and consume them and their garments – yet they do not feel it. 20. Their faces are blackened by the smoke in the temples. 21. Bats and swallows and other birds fly upon their bodies and heads, and cats also crawl over them. 22. From this you will understand that they are not gods; therefore, do not fear them. 23. If one does not clean the rust from the gold with which they are covered for beauty, they will not shine; and when they were cast, they did not feel it. 23. The Babylonians had no idols that were merely covered with gold, but almost exclusively stone or clay ones. Apparently, the author was not acquainted with Babylonian worship.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:24. Purchased at great expense, yet there is no breath in them. 25. Legless, they are carried on the shoulders of others, showing by this their worthlessness to men; and those who serve them are put to shame; 25. Babylonian idols had legs.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:26. for if one of them falls to the ground, they cannot rise up by themselves; if one sets them upright, they cannot move by themselves, and if one tilts them, they cannot straighten themselves; but as offerings are placed before the dead, so are offerings placed before them. 27. The priests sell the sacrifices made to them and misuse them; likewise their wives salt parts of them, and give nothing to either the poor or the sick. 28. The sacrifices made to them are touched by women who are unclean and by women in childbirth. Knowing from this that they are not gods, do not fear them. 29. How then can we call them gods? Women bring offerings to these silver and gold and wooden gods. 30. In their temples the priests sit in torn garments, with their heads shaved and their beards shaved, and with uncovered heads: 30. Nothing like this is known about Babylonian priests. This is more likely to be said of Phrygian priests. – The Jews were forbidden to tear their garments (Lev 10:6), to shave their beards (Lev 19:27), all the more so the priests (Lev 21:5).

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:31. they cry out and howl before their gods, as some do at feasts for the dead. 31. They cry out… as at feasts for the dead. The heathen, according to the testimony of Epiphanius (Ancorat.), bringing food to the tomb of the dead, cried out loudly: “Arise, Hector, eat and drink!”

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:32. Some of their garments the priests take for themselves and dress their wives and children with them. 33. If they experience harm or good from anyone, they cannot repay it; they cannot set up a king, nor can they depose one. 34. Likewise they cannot give wealth, nor even a small copper coin. If someone, having made a vow to them, does not fulfill it, they will not demand it. 35. They will not save anyone from death, nor will they rescue the weak from the strong; 36. To a blind man they will not restore sight; to a man in need they will not help; 37. to a widow they will show no mercy, and to an orphan they will do no good. 38. These gods of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, are like stones from the mountains – and those who serve them will be put to shame. 39. How then can one think or say that they are gods? 40. Moreover, the Chaldeans themselves treat them disrespectfully: when they see a mute man unable to speak, they bring him to Baal and ask him to speak, as though he could feel. 41. And they cannot perceive this and abandon them, because they have no sense. 42. Women, girded with a rope of rushes, sit in the streets, burning incense made from olive seeds. 42. Incense made from olive seeds or bran was a sacrifice to the goddess Hecate. By this incense Phrygian women wanted to attract the attention of passing men. – In the streets. Again this is more suited to Phrygia. In Babylon, women who served the goddess Melita through prostitution sat in “groves”.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:43. When one of them, attracted by a man passing by, lies with him, she reproaches her companion that she was not honored as she was, saying that her cord was not broken. 44. Everything that happens with them is false. How then can one think or say that they are gods? 45. They are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths; they become nothing other than what the craftsmen desire them to be. 46. And those who make them do not live long; 47. how then can the things made by them be gods? They have left falsehood and shame to their descendants. 48. When war and disaster befall them, the priests consult with each other about where they should hide with them. 49. How then is it not clear that these are not gods, who cannot save themselves from war or from disaster? 50. Since they are of wood and overlaid with gold and silver, it will be known that they are false; all nations and kings will recognize that they are not gods but the works of human hands, and there is no divine action in them. 51. Who then will not understand that they are not gods? 52. They will not set up a king for the land, nor will they give rain to people; 53. they will not administer justice, nor will they help the oppressed, being powerless, 54. as crows that fly between heaven and earth. For when the temple of the gods of wood or overlaid with gold and silver is consumed by fire, the priests will flee and be saved – but they themselves, like beams in the midst of it, will burn. EpJer 1:54-71. To show the nothingness of idols and express his contempt for them, the writer compares them to priests and robbers. The priests can be saved during a fire, but the idols cannot. The idols cannot protect themselves from robbers, who strip various decorations from them. The idols are far less powerful than a good ruler or any useful household item. The idols are less powerful than the various forces of nature, which fulfill their purpose. Idols can be compared only to a scarecrow or a decomposing corpse. 54. Like crows… this is the end of verse 53. The gods are compared to crows, which are rather large birds but completely powerless and useless.

Epistle of Jeremiah 1:55. Neither to a king nor to enemies can they stand in opposition. How then can one accept or think that they are gods? 56. Neither from thieves nor from robbers can these gods of wood and overlaid with silver and gold protect themselves, 57. exceeding them in strength, they strip the gold and silver and garments from them, and go away with their plunder, while these cannot help themselves. 58. Therefore, a king who displays courage is better, or a useful vessel in a house that the master uses, than false gods; or a door in a house that protects its contents is better than false gods; or a wooden pillar in a royal palace is better than false gods. 59. The sun and moon and stars, being bright and sent forth for the sake of necessity, are obedient. 60. Likewise, lightning each time it appears is clearly visible; likewise, the wind blows in every land. 61. And the clouds, when God commands them to pass over the whole world, carry out the command. 62. Fire too, sent down from above for the destruction of mountains and forests, does what has been appointed; but these are not like them either in appearance or in power. 63. Why then can one think or say that they are gods, when they are powerless either to judge a cause or to do good to people? 64. Therefore, knowing that they are not gods, do not fear them. 65. They will neither curse nor bless kings; 66. they will not show signs in the sky or shine before nations; they will not enlighten like the sun, nor will they shine like the moon. 67. Wild animals are better than they are: they, fleeing to shelter, are able to help themselves. 68. Therefore, nothing shows us that they are gods; for this reason do not fear them. 69. As a scarecrow in a garden preserves nothing, so their wooden gods overlaid with gold and silver preserve nothing. 70. In the same way, their wooden gods overlaid with gold and silver are like a thorn-bush in a garden on which all birds perch, just as also a corpse thrown into darkness. 71. From the purple and scarlet cloth that decays upon them, you can perceive that they are not gods; and they themselves will in the end be eaten away and will be a shame in the land. 72. Therefore, a righteous person who does not have idols is better, for he is far from shame. 72. This conclusion affirms to the readers of the epistle the thought that a righteous person will not honor idols and will not bring shame upon himself.