First to Israel, then to the nations
Acts says it plainly: the apostles went first into the synagogues of the Jews. They announced to them, as kin through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, what Scripture had written about the coming of Jesus Christ.
When those hearers would not receive what was said, others had to hear it. So the apostles made their defense and left them. Scripture records: 'It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look—we turn to the Gentiles.'
What Acts states with force in many places the prophets also said. The Holy Spirit speaks first through the holy prophets to that people. But when much has been spoken and not heard, the Spirit prophesies the word that will be preached to the nations.
The same turn happens at the start of today's reading. Before this, Israel heard: 'Even if you call me Father and do not turn away from me, yet as a woman deals treacherously with her companion, so the house of Israel has dealt treacherously with me,' says the Lord. And they heard that they had done wrong in their ways and forgotten their holy God. Then the Holy Spirit shifts the word to us who come from the nations and says: 'Return, you turning children, and I will heal your broken places.'
We are the ones filled with broken places. Each of us could say, even if now cleansed and healed: 'We too were once foolish, led astray, enslaved to many and varied desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he poured out his mercy on us through the washing of rebirth.'
Paul, an apostle from Israel—blameless according to the righteousness in the law—does not say only that the nations were once foolish. He says, 'We also were once disobedient and foolish.' Not only those from the nations were foolish, not only they were disobedient and sinful. We who were taught the law were the same before Christ's coming. So after the words addressed to Israel, the word turns to us from the nations: 'Return, you turning children, and I will heal your broken places.'
Greek
Σαφῶς μὲν ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀποστόλων γέγραπται Πράξεσιν, ὅτι οἱ ἀπόστολοι εἰσῄεσαν πρῶτον εἰς τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων συναγωγὴν καταγγέλλοντες αὐτοῖς, ὡς συγγενέσι διὰ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰν καὶ Ἰακώβ, τῶν γεγραμμένων τὰ περὶ τῆς παρουσίας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
ὅτε δὲ ἐκείνων τὰ λεγόμενα μὴ δεχομένων ἔδει ἑτέρους εἶναι τοὺς ἀκροατὰς τῶν λεγομένων, τότε ἀπολογησάμενοι ἐκείνοις κατελίμπανον αὐτούς· γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι «ὑμῖν ἔδει καταγγελθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἀξίους κρίνετε ἑαυτούς, ἰδοὺ στρεφόμεθα εἰς τὰ ἔθην. τοῦτο δὲ σαφῶς εἰρημένον έν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων δυνάμει πολλαχοῦ καὶ τῶν προφητῶν λέλεκται· καὶ γὰρ προηγουμένως μὲν λαλεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἅγιον τῶν προφητῶν τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκείνου, εἰ δέ ποτε μετὰ τὸ πολλὰ εἰρηκέναι οὐκ ἠκούσθη, προφητεύει τὸν λόγον τὸν κηρυσσόμενον τοῖς ἔθνεσι.
Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ σήμερον ἀναγνώσματος γεγένηται, ἐπειδήπερ πρὸ μὲν [τοῦ] αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ λέγεται τὸ «εἰ καὶ πατέρα με καλέσεις, καὶ ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἀποστραφήσῃ. πλὴν ὡς ἀθετεῖ γυνὴ εἰς τὸν συνόντα αὐτῇ, οὕτως ἠθέτησεν εἰς ἐμὲ ὁ οἶκος Ἰσραήλ, λέγει κύριος. καὶ ὅτε προηγουμένως ταῦτα εἴρηται τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ· «ὅτι ἠδίκησαν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπελάθοντο θεοῦ ἁγίου αὐτῶν«, ἑξῆς [καὶ] τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον μετατίησι τὸν λόγον ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν καί φησιν· «ἐπιστράφητε, υἱοὶ ἐπιστρέφοτες, καὶ ἰάσομαι τὰ συντρίμματα ὑμῶν.
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐσμεν οἱ πεπληρωμένοι συντριμμάτων, ἕκαστος εἴποι ἄν, εἰ καὶ νῦν κεκαθάρισται καὶ ἴαται ἀπὸ τῶν συντριμμάτων· «ἦμεν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνόητοι, ἀνόητοι, πλανώμενοι, δουλεύοντες ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ ἡδοναῖς πολλαῖς καὶ ποικίλαις, ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φθόνῳ διά- γοντες, στυγητοί, μισοῦντες ἀλλήλους· ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ, διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας ἐπέχεε τὸν ἔλεον αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς( καίτοιγε κἀκεῖνο τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἅπαξ μνησθεὶς σαφέστερον πειράσομαι παραστῆσαι. οὐ γὰρ εἴρηκεν· ἦμεν γάρ ποτε ἀνόητοι, ἀπειθεῖς· ἀλλὰ Παῦλος, ὁ ἀπόστολος, ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ὁ «κατὰ τὴν ἐν νόμῳ διακαιοσύνην γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος« λέγει· «ἠμεν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ποτε (οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ) ἀπειθεῖς, ἀνόητοι«· ἀλλ’ οὐ μόνον οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀνόητοι ἦσαν οὐδὲ μόνοι οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν Μνῶν ἀπειθεῖς οὐδὲ μόνοι ἐκεῖνοι ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ τὸν νόμον δεδιδαγμένοι τοιοῦτοι ἐτυγχάνομεν πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ. λέγεται οὖν μετὰ τὰ εἰρημένα τῷ Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Μνῶν· «ἐπιστράφητε, υἱοὶ ἐπιστρέφοντες, καὶ ἰάσομαι τὰ συντρίμματα ὑμῶν.
About this text
Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page publishes the Pass B English for Homilies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Homily 8 remains a machine draft and is not shipped yet. The rest of the volume is still being translated.
English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
- Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
- Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)
Where the prints differ
- Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
- Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
- Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
- Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.