1 1This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter. I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath. |
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light; |
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long. |
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has broken my bones. |
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness and hardship. |
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead. |
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has weighed me down with chains. |
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer. |
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked. |
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding, |
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help. |
12 He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows. |
13 He pierced my heart
with arrows from his quiver. |
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long. |
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated me with gall. |
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust. |
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is. |
18 So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD ." |
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall. |
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me. |
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope: |
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. |
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. |
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him." |
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him; |
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD . |
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young. |
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him. |
29 Let him bury his face in the dust-
there may yet be hope. |
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace. |
31 For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever. |
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love. |
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men. |
34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land, |
35 to deny a man his rights
before the Most High, |
36 to deprive a man of justice-
would not the Lord see such things? |
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it? |
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come? |
39 Why should any living man complain
when punished for his sins? |
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the LORD . |
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven, and say: |
42 "We have sinned and rebelled
and you have not forgiven. |
43 "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;
you have slain without pity. |
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can get through. |
45 You have made us scum and refuse
among the nations. |
46 "All our enemies have opened their mouths
wide against us. |
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
ruin and destruction." |
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes
because my people are destroyed. |
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without relief, |
50 until the LORD looks down
from heaven and sees. |
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
because of all the women of my city. |
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
hunted me like a bird. |
53 They tried to end my life in a pit
and threw stones at me; |
54 the waters closed over my head,
and I thought I was about to be cut off. |
55 I called on your name, O LORD ,
from the depths of the pit. |
56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief." |
57 You came near when I called you,
and you said, "Do not fear." |
58 O Lord, you took up my case;
you redeemed my life. |
59 You have seen, O LORD , the wrong done to me.
Uphold my cause! |
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their plots against me. |
61 O LORD , you have heard their insults,
all their plots against me- |
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
against me all day long. |
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
they mock me in their songs. |
64 Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD ,
for what their hands have done. |
65 Put a veil over their hearts,
and may your curse be on them! |
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them
from under the heavens of the LORD . |
1. Неподлинность послания. Послание Иеремии, написанное на греческом языке, на самом деле не принадлежит великому иудейскому пророку. Это доказывается, во-первых, тем, что его совсем нет в еврейской Библии, в сирийском переводе Пешито и даже в некоторых списках LXX-ти; во-вторых, самое содержание послания не имеет почти ничего общего с содержанием книги пророка Иеремии, и в-третьих, наконец, язык послания далеко не похож на блестящий язык книги пророка Иеремии. Кроме того, в послании своем Иеремия не мог употребить таких неточных выражений как семь родов вместо семидесяти лет (для обозначения периода вавилонского плена) и т. п.
Неизвестный автор послания, по-видимому, иудей-еллинист — составил его и назвал Иеремииным, вероятно, чтобы придать ему больше значения в глазах читателей. Вероятнее всего, что послание написано во Фригии — в нем находятся довольно ясные следы знакомства автора с фригиийским языческим культом.
2. Содержание послания. Автор послания хочет предостеречь своих единоплеменников, иудеев, от увлечения идолослужением. Для этого он изображает идолов как простых бесчувственных истуканов, которые ничего не видят и не слышат и с которыми можно сделать что угодно. Неправильно потому называются они богами: их даже сами халдеи не чтут как следует. Они не в состоянии даже спасти от опасности себя самих, и даже дикие звери лучше их, потому что у них есть инстинкт самосохранения.
Все послание состоит из 72-х стихов и может быть разделено на 4 части: 1) надписание (1 ст.); 2) вступление (2-6 ст.); 3) главная часть послания — рассуждение о ничтожестве идолов и суетности идолослужения (7-71) и 4) заключение (72-й ст.).
3. Достоинство послания. У наших православных богословов иногда высказывается мысль, что послание Иеремии — каноническое (митр. Макарий — во «Введении в прав. Богословие», Смарагдов, Афанасьев). Это, несомненно, отражение католического воззрения, по которому это послание действительно является произведением Иеремии. Но большинство толкователей наших совершенно справедливо считают это послание неканоническим (митр. Филарет моск., митр. Арсений киев. и др).
4. Источники и пособия. Кроме указанных в предисловии к книге Иеремии общих трудов о пророке Иеремии, здесь можно указать на пробную лекцию проф. Жданова «О послании Иеремии» (Прибавл. к Твор. Св. Отцов. 1888, IV, 441-466).