Preface of St. Jerome

Jeremiah the prophet, for whom this prologue is written, seems, in comparison with the Hebrews Isaiah, Hosea and certain others, to have been more rustic in his speech, though equal to them in sense, inasmuch as he prophesied by the same Spirit.

Further, the simplicity of his speech results from the place in which he was born, for he was from Anathoth, which to this day is a small village some three miles distant from Jerusalem. He was a priest, the son of priests, and sanctified in his mother’s womb, dedicating by his virginity the evangelical man to the Church of Christ.

He began to prophesy when still a boy, and he saw the captivity of Judah not only in the Spirit, but also with the eyes of the flesh. The Assyrians had already taken the ten tribes away to Media, and gentile colonists were now in possession of their land.

For this reason, he prophesied only against Judah and Benjamin, and composed an acrostic elegy consisting of four-verse strophes mourning the destruction of his city, which we have rendered with verses in a measured meter.

Moreover, we have corrected the order of the visions, which among the Greeks and the Latins has been entirely confused, (In this matter, Jerome is probably mistaken. Manuscript evidence from the Judean desert corroborates the order of the visions in the Septuagint and Old Latin versions as being the more ancient.) back to their original exactness.

We have passed over the book of Baruch, which among the Hebrews is neither read, nor held to be canonical, standing ready because of these things for the curses of my adversaries, to whom it is necessary for me to respond for every little work I undertake. These things I suffer because you force me.

As for the rest, it was better that by my silence I should impose a limit on their fury, rather than provoke them to insane envy by writing some new thing every day.

St. Thomas’s Commentary on St. Jerome’s Preface

He who translated the book from Hebrew to Latin attached an introduction to the book of Jeremiah by which, in the oratorical manner, he accomplishes three things.

First, he renders his readers attentive;

second, he makes them docile to instruction, as it says, he began to prophesy when still a boy;

third, he makes them kindly disposed, as it says, which we have rendered with verses in a measured meter.

He renders them attentive in two ways:

first, from the profundity of the Scripture;

second, from the authority of the writer, where it says, a priest, the son of priests.

Concerning the first, he makes two observations.

First, he commends the profundity of the mystery, in which he equates himself to the other prophets, as he says, though equal to them in sense. And he shows the cause, namely the unity of the inspiring Spirit, as he says, inasmuch as he prophesied by the same Spirit. It is the spirit who speaks mysteries (1 Cor 14:2). The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding (Job 32:8).

Second, he apologizes for his rustic speech when he says, further, the simplicity of his speech results from the place in which he was born. And therefore he himself confesses below: I do not know how to speak, for I am a boy (Jer 1:6).

The authority, however, of the writer is shown from three things.

First, from his ancestry and dignity: a priest, the son of priests: from which we learn that it was his duty to teach the law. The lips of the priest guard knowledge, and they seek the law from his mouth (Mal 2:7).

Second, from the privilege of sanctity: and sanctified in his mother’s womb. For this reason, it is said, before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you (Jer 1:5).

Third, from the integrity of the flesh, virginity, which is proven from what is said below: you shall not take a wife in this place, and you shall have no sons (Jer 16:2).

He began to prophesy when still a boy. Here he renders them docile to instruction both by marking out the time—he saw the captivity of the city not only in the Spirit, referring to the future, but also with the eyes of the flesh, which speaks of the present—and by determining the subject, namely, because he did not prophecy concerning the ten tribes, but only the two.

The Assyrians had already taken the ten tribes away to Media. For 2 Kings 17 makes clear that the ten tribes were taken captive by the king of the Assyrians in the time of Ahaz, king of Judah.

Colonists, that is, foreign-born settlers, were brought to cultivate the land.

His elegy, in Lamentations.

We have rendered with verses in a measured meter. (From Jerome’s introduction to Lamentations, which renders the Hebrew qinah with metered verses.) Here, he makes them well-disposed to his person by three devices.

First, from the good things he has done without arrogance, saying, which we have rendered with verses in measured meter, that is, writing letters in order before each series of verses for Lamentations, (Here Jerome is speaking of the fact that four out of the five chapters of Lamentations are acrostic compositions with each verse in each four-verse strophe beginning with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 119 is another example of Hebrew acrostic poetry.) and for the book of Jeremiah.

Second, he softens the reproach he has given, by excusing himself for his treatment of Baruch, whom he has omitted. We have passed over the book of Baruch, which among the Hebrews is neither read nor held to be canonical.

Third, he shows what difficulties press upon him from the objections of his rivals.

For this reason, he first shows their envy at this entire undertaking;

and second, he shows the cause of his having taken up this work, these things I suffer because you force me.

As for the rest—it is as though he were saying, “If it were not for your entreaties I would have been able to slip away bearing none of their fury.”