In Lamentationes Jeremiae

On the Lamentations of Jeremiah. And it came to pass after Israel was led into captivity and Jerusalem was laid waste, that Jeremiah sat weeping and chanted this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said: Aleph. How does the city sit solitary, once full of people? Just as among all the songs of the Old and New Testaments, the Song which Solomon sang in the person of Christ and the Church holds the primacy, to such an extent that on account of its greatness it is called the Song of Songs, so among all the laments of the Old and New Testaments, the Lamentations of Jeremiah hold the primacy, to such an extent that they may rightly be called the Lamentations of Lamentations. Finally, it must be known that these Lamentations, which the Greeks call Threnoi, were composed among the Hebrews according to a metrical scheme: and at the beginning of every sentence, the series of the alphabet is set out in order; but the translator who rendered them from Hebrew into Latin did not wish to insert delays in order to observe this, but only placed the letters of the alphabet at the beginning, because the sense of the sentence depends on the interpretation of the letter. But this also must be known: that these laments can be referred historically to the people of Israel, but spiritually, and also literally, to the holy Church, which is the city and the people of God, and morally to each individual soul.

Aleph. Aleph is interpreted as doctrine. True doctrine is the knowledge of the holy Trinity, and that man may know his growth and increase, that is, in which things he can grow and in which he can decrease. But because the Jews, although they had this knowledge, did not observe it, therefore the people themselves sat then, and now sit alone. How then did the city sit alone, if it was full of people? It can be resolved in two ways: it sat then alone, which was once full of people in the times of David and Solomon. Or the city itself, that is, that people, sat full of people, because there was a very great number of men there, but it was alone in being deprived of God's help. And this is to be understood metonymically, so that by "city" is understood the people placed in captivity. She was made like a widow, the mistress of nations, that is, Jerusalem, which had once ruled over many nations, when she had faith in the omnipotent Lord, led into captivity she was like a widow. But she was not wholly a widow, but like a widow, because her husband took pity on her, and after seventy years joined her to himself, the prince of the provinces, it is understood, of those which the kings of Israel had subjugated, she was made subject to the tribute of the Chaldeans. Similarly, holy Church, and any soul, often on account of its own vices, sits alone, deprived of God's help, and is led by the devil into the confusion of sins, and is said to be desolate by her husband, she who was the mistress of many nations.

And she who was the leader of many provinces among the apostles, concerning whom the Psalmist says: You will set them as princes over all the earth, is reduced under the threshing-sledge of the devil, serving vices. Beth. Beth is interpreted as house. It signifies that house, that is, the Israelite people, whom the prophet Isaiah addresses, saying: House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. That house of the Israelite people, weeping, wept in the night, while it was led into captivity: and her tears were on her cheeks. As far as the literal sense pertains, she wept in the night because she did not dare by day on account of her masters, but in the night she consoled herself by weeping. As for the higher understanding, she wept in the night, that is, in captivity and tribulation. And because it said twice: Weeping, wept, the repetition of the word provides an increase. Her tears were on her cheeks, that is, on her princes; for although all wept, yet those who had knowledge wept most. Princes and the wiser ones are understood by cheeks, because just as food is brought into the body from the cheeks, so doctrine ought to have descended from them into the people. There is no one who condoles with her from among all her dear ones: namely, from the prophets, kings, and priests, after the Lord's ascension. These words pertain properly to the final devastation, after which they had no prince.

In the Babylonian captivity they had Daniel and his companions, Ezekiel and many others. All her friends, that is, the kings of the nations, spurned her, or held her for nothing, and became her enemies. But if we refer this to the Church, all the holy angels, her friends, held her for nothing, seeing her cast down from her Creator; and they seem to be her enemies, while they withdraw their usual help from her. Gimel. Gimel is interpreted as fullness. This is the fullness of sins, of which the Lord said to the Jews: Fill up the measure of your fathers, that is, what they did less by sinning, you complete. And in Genesis: For not yet, it says, are the sins of the Amorites fulfilled. Because therefore Judah had this fullness of sins, she migrated from her land on account of the affliction with which she was afflicted by the Chaldeans at that time, and afterwards by the Romans: And on account of the multitude of servitude with which she served the devil, she dwelt among the nations, and found no rest. All her persecutors, namely the Chaldeans and the Romans, seized her in her straits. Similarly, this can be referred to the holy Church, which often on account of sins is afflicted by pagans, by heretics, and is frequently taken captive both by enemies and by demons.

Daleth. Daleth in the Latin language means "flooring." And the flooring of what? Of the house of the Lord; for the house of the Lord has flooring made of imperishable wood. The ways of Zion mourn, because there is no one who comes to the feast. How can ways mourn? It is said figuratively. "The ways of Zion mourn," he says, that is, those who were once accustomed to direct their steps through the streets of Jerusalem to the house of the Lord, built with flooring, on the principal feast days, now placed in captivity, mourn, that is, as they pass by, none of them will be there who comes to the feast of the Lord. Or otherwise: "The ways of Zion mourn," that is, they themselves, as they pass by, provoke to mourning. Spiritually, however, by the ways of Zion we should understand the princes, who are subsequently designated by the gates and the priests; for the princes and priests, who ought to have provided leadership to the people and to have opened the gates of their life by their preaching, placed in captivity, mourned because they were destroyed and desolate. Her virgins are squalid, and Zion herself is oppressed with bitterness. Not only virgins in body have become squalid, that is, filthy, who were previously most beautiful; but virgins in mind, who had integrity of faith, like Daniel and his companions, were squalid from excessive captivity. Or those who ought to have been virgins, having integrity of faith, have become squalid with the filth of sins.

All these things can similarly be referred to the Church, whose ways and gates are the preachers and prelates. He. He is interpreted "that," and the sense is: Those things that are written here were foretold by the Lord in Deuteronomy, when he commanded Moses to write the curses and blessings: "If," he says, "you do not keep my commandments, I will deliver you to your enemies, and you will be in the tail, and your enemies in the head." Yet these things did not happen because they were foretold by the Lord, but because they were going to happen, they were foretold by him; and because they sinned, therefore these things happened. His enemies became the head, his enemies were enriched, that is, made rich with his riches. Because the Lord spoke against her, as we said a little above, she who was formerly the head, the mistress of other nations, became a servant and tributary. The remaining things that follow, pertaining to the sense of this letter, are sufficiently clear.

Vau. Vau is interpreted as "and," which is a copulative conjunction joining what precedes to what follows; as if to say in other words: And because they sinned, all her beauty departed from the daughter of Zion. What was her beauty? Her kings and her princes, her priests and prophets, the golden altar, and the magnificent temple, the city and all its ornaments. All these things departed from the daughter of Zion when Zedekiah, blinded, was led into Babylon in a cage, her princes were killed like lions, the altar was broken, her temple was burned, the city was destroyed, the gold and silver vessels were taken to Babylon. Her princes became like rams finding no pasture, when they were oppressed by the siege of the Chaldeans for a space of a year and a half. And they went away without strength before the face of the pursuer, that is, the enemy, because none of them was able to resist the Chaldeans. Similarly, these things can be referred to the final captivity and to the Church, both historically and spiritually, whose princes often seek the pastures of the word of God, but do not find them, because the Lord has sent a famine upon the land.

Zai. Zai is interpreted as "this," and the meaning is: This is the vengeance of almighty God upon Jerusalem, that she should fall into the hand of the enemy. Thus the construction of this sentence is as follows: While Jerusalem and her people were falling into the hand of the enemy, she remembered the days of her affliction, with which she was being afflicted; and she remembered the transgression, namely, of God's commandments, recognizing that she was suffering such things because of her sins. And she remembered all her desirable things, that is, all the goods which she had possessed from ancient days, from the time she came out of Egypt. The enemies, the Chaldeans, saw her and mocked her sabbaths, which she wished to observe in captivity, just as now the Jews are mocked by Christians. Jerusalem, which is interpreted as "vision of peace," signifies the holy Church, which, when it is delivered into the hands of heretics and pagans, remembers the transgression of God's commandments; its sabbaths, that is, rest from all works, its enemies, namely the evil spirits, mock; because after they deceive us by their suggestion and make us cease from good work, they insult us and mock us.

Heth. Heth is interpreted as "life": and the interpretation of this letter pertains to that which is said at the end of this sentence, "But she herself groaning, and turned backwards." I take "turned backwards" in this place in a good sense; for God brings affliction upon any man precisely so that he may be turned from error and live; and he who has fallen into death because of sin may be turned from vices to virtues, and through lament and groaning return to eternal life. Teth. Teth is interpreted as "good." The interpretation of this word is similarly referred spiritually to the end of the sentence, where it is said: "See, Lord, my affliction"; for it is good if at any time either the holy Church in general, or spiritually each individual soul, recognizing its own guilt, turns to the mercy of God and says: "See, Lord, my affliction, and have mercy on me, because my enemy, the devil, has risen up in pride against me. The filth of Jerusalem is on her feet," that is, on those by whom she ought to have been carried. "Nor did she remember her end," that is, the evils that could befall her with the imminent end of death, or also with Christ coming into the world: she did not remember Christ, who is the beginning and the end. "She was cast down vehemently," from the throne of kingdom and priesthood; having no comforter. The Holy Spirit, who is called Paraclete, that is, comforter.

Toth. Toth sounds like "beginning" in the Latin language. What follows from here are the beginnings of evils either of Jerusalem, or of the Church, or of each individual soul. Therefore, that was the beginning of the ruin of Jerusalem, because the enemy, Nebuchadnezzar, or the Roman army, put forth his hand and took away all her desirable things, that is, the kingdom, the priesthood, the temple, and the city. Spiritually, our enemy is the devil, who, when he puts forth his hand, that is, his evil operation and suggestion, takes away the virtues and good works, which are signified by the desirable things of Jerusalem, and moreover leads us into Babylon, that is, into confusion; which Israel then suffered, or the Church daily endures, or each individual soul. Caph. Caph is interpreted as "hand." Hand, that is, the operation of God, rendering to each what they deserve. All his people groaning and seeking bread. Therefore, because the hand of the Lord struck the people, they groaned and mourned while being led into captivity.

Lamed. Lamed is interpreted as "discipline of the heart." Discipline of the heart is when a man understands his own evil, and is converted from evil to good, and proclaims the just judgment of almighty God to others, just as Jerusalem said: "O all you who pass by on the road, pay attention and see if there is any grief like my grief; because he has harvested me through the Chaldeans and through the Romans, leading me into captivity, he who once planted me in the land of promise." And this he did as he spoke, through his servants the prophets, on the day of his fury, that is, on the day of vengeance. Mem. Mem is interpreted as "from them." From whom? From the Jews themselves, who, through their faithlessness, bore it; they were the apostles, whom the Church now calls "bones," because they were very strong in enduring adversities; and just as the body is supported by bones, so the Church is supported by their examples, and faith, and teaching. Therefore, upon them he sent fire from heaven, when on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon them in tongues of fire. He spread a net, of his commandments, under my feet; he turned me backwards, that is, from vices to virtues, so that I would not proceed according to the works of the flesh. He placed me desolate, deprived of temporal goods, or of his help, and of his presence, the whole day, that is, for the whole time, consumed by grief. Behold, we have spoken according to the spiritual understanding, first on account of the interpretation of the letter, which properly pertains to the same sense: let us also see it according to the letter.

Therefore Jerusalem says: From his lofty throne he sent fire, of tribulation and captivity, into my bones; and he taught me, through tribulation, whom I refused to be taught through peace and gentleness. The rest is clear in the sense. Nun. Nun is interpreted as "eternal." It should be noted that those things which are said in this sentence pertain properly to the time of the final captivity. That is, to the day of judgment, when all the reprobate will be handed over to eternal punishments. The yoke, or damnation, of my iniquities has kept watch, that is, the time of vengeance has come. In his hand, in the power of almighty God, all my iniquities have been gathered together and placed upon my neck. Who has ever seen a yoke keep watch? By "yoke," as we have said, is understood vengeance and damnation, which is said to keep watch when it punishes the guilty, but to sleep when it ceases from the scourge. Samech. Samech is interpreted as "help." And because the help of almighty God has withdrawn from Jerusalem, the Lord himself has removed all his magnificent ones from her midst.

Ain. Ain means "spring" or "eye." Therefore, the spring of tears is the eye; and because the Lord is the winepress of tribulation for the daughter of Sion, for that reason the prophet was weeping, and his eye was drawing forth the water of tears. Fe. Fe means "mouth," understanding "demonstration." Sion has spread out her hands. By the extension of the hands we must understand the greatest tribulation, which is for the most part shown by the extension of the hands; for women in childbirth, placed in excessive tribulation and anxiety, are accustomed to extend their hands, having death in suspicion, because they wish to give birth and cannot, and because of excessive pain, what they are unable to express by voice, they show by the extension of their hands. So too Jerusalem, placed in the greatest distress, spread out her hands, but there was no one to console her. Sade. Sade sounds like "justice"; and it is just, or justice, that a man placed in tribulation should confess that he suffers such things by the just judgment of God, and that he is worthy of greater punishments, because he has been a transgressor of God's commandments, saying with Jerusalem: "The Lord is just, because I have provoked his mouth to wrath.

Coph. Coph is interpreted as "calling." Therefore the prophet played on the interpretation of the letter and said: I called my friends, and they deceived me, promising me peace. Res. Res is interpreted as "head," that is, understanding, it is implied. By "head," therefore, we must understand the primacy of the mind, where understanding resides; because just as the limbs are ruled by the head, so are the wills and thoughts arranged by the mind. See, Lord, that I am afflicted, my belly is disturbed. What we should understand by "belly," the same prophet shows elsewhere, saying: I grieve my belly, I grieve my belly, that is, the feelings of my heart are disturbed. Sen. Sen is interpreted as "of the teeth." What should we understand by "teeth"? The teeth, which break and grind food and by which it is conveyed into the body, we should understand as the teachers and preachers who ruminate on the commands of God, and who lament their own and others' guilt and falls. Speaking in their person, the prophet says: My enemies heard that I am groaning, and they rejoiced, because you made, that is, you permitted, that I should groan and they should exult. As for what follows, "You brought a day of consolation, and those who afflicted me will become like me," this is to be referred to the final time, and the past tense is used for the future. "You will bring," he says, "the day of my consolation," and the rest that follows. "They will become like me," not in glory, but they will receive such things as they did to me.

Therefore, in this, my companions will be like me, because just as I was grieving and sorrowful while I was afflicted by them, so too will they be sorrowful and groaning, placed in punishments. Tau. Tau is interpreted as "signs" in the plural number. The Jews, just as they have twenty-two letters, in whose order tau is the last, so too do they have twenty-two books in which the full knowledge of the Holy Trinity, which consists in twenty-two books, is contained. And because they observed the commandments of almighty God, which are narrated in those books, the prophet speaks, saying: Let all their evil enter before you, and harvest them, just as you harvested me because of my iniquities. We can also speak otherwise concerning the interpretation of this letter. I want you to know that up to the present day among the Samaritans, the letter tau has the likeness of a cross, although among the Hebrews it has been corrupted; and therefore through tau, which is interpreted as "signs," are understood those who bear the sign of the cross of Christ on their forehead and in their heart, and who believe they can be saved through faith in the passion of Christ. The exposition of one alphabet in order: the remaining three that follow are to be understood in the same sense; and therefore we have deemed it worthy that it is not necessary to repeat the same thing through each individual one.

But I warn you, O reader, that even if you find another interpretation of these letters in other places, you should not for that reason reject this one, because they require their own exposition and meaning in their own contexts, so that they may be joined with what follows: just as in the Psalms it is found to have been expounded by various authors. Therefore, Jeremiah composed his Lamentations with a fourfold alphabet, because he was lamenting those who, consisting of four elements, had aroused the wrath of Almighty God against themselves by transgressing His commandments and following the lust of the flesh. We have established this sufficiently clearly from the indications of the superscriptions, as can be seen from the chronological arguments of the letters from the first to the twelfth. Moreover, if you add another thirty years to these three hundred and seventy-three years, from that prelude of his youthful genius, as he himself says, to this work of mature old age, you will then have the four hundred and third year, to which year we have assigned the book. And we attribute so much to this reasoning that, with this one preserved, the matter stands; if you wish to enter upon other paths, you will turn both the traces of Jerome’s life and the order and age of many of his writings upside down.

As for the remaining Commentaries on Zechariah and Malachi, and the three others on Hosea, Joel, and Amos, the matter is settled by the oft-cited testimony of the holy Father, which left nothing for critical observations to add; and it links them all clearly enough to a single year, which gave its name to the fasti of the sixth consulship of Arcadius Augustus and Anitius Probus. This is the year four hundred and six (not the eighth, as Martianaeus falsely concludes after Victorius), with all the ancient monuments agreeing on this epoch.