Divine Judgment and Mercy
The one judging the condemned grants place and does not immediately bear the end of punishment upon the transgressor. Therefore, 'judging briefly, he punishes.' This is exemplified in Leviticus, where prior punishments are recorded before subsequent penalties. The Lord says, 'If you do not turn back, I will add seven more plagues.' Another punishment is again described: 'If you do not turn back, but go astray, I will go with you in a sideways manner.' You will find God measuring punishments with mercy, as He desires to lead the transgressor to repentance, not wholly destroying them.
Thus, as much as occurred regarding the people through speech, the word threatens them and says they will be convinced after these things. 'In those days, the Lord your God will not strike you to destruction,' if these things especially reach even the future punishments, unless one who has power from things occurring in life regarding the people turns to them. For I would say, as 'they worship heavenly things by example and shadow,' so the people were punished by example and shadow of true punishments for their sins, as all punishment under the law and prophets contains the shadow of true punishments.
Therefore, since their end upon sins did not occur but at a final time, there will never be punishment upon the transgressors after the exodus. The end upon Jerusalem was when the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar occurred. Although someone might say that even then there was no end, nor upon the Maccabees. But the end of the people is upon the presence of my Lord Jesus Christ. For the Savior did not say to them, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' as He did not forgive them. When He wept over Jerusalem, saying, 'Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I desired to gather your children as a bird gathers its brood under its wings, and you would not!' 'Behold, your house is left to you desolate.' The house is left, surrounded by armies of Jerusalem, as the desolation of it has drawn near. Then after their transgression, salvation came to us. They were punished, but the end did not come upon them as the presence of my Lord Jesus.
Greek
Ὁ κρίνων κατὰ >θεὸς τοὺς κολαξομένους δίδωσι τόπον καὶ οὐχ ἅμα τῷ ἁμαρτῆσαι κολάζων φέρει τὴν συντέλειαν τῆς κολάσεως ἐπὶ τὸν ἡμαρτηκότα. διὰ τοῦτο «κατὰ βραχὺ κρίνων« κολάζει. καὶ τούτου τὸ παράδειγμα έστιν] ἐν τῷ Λευιτικῷ ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς τῶν παραβαινόντων τὸν νόμον ἀραῖς ἀναγέγραπται μετὰ τὰς κολάσεις τὰς προτέρας· «καὶ ἔσται, ἐὰν μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἐπιστραφῆτε, λέγει κύριος, προσθήσω ὑμῖν κἀγὼ πληγὰς ἑπτά. καὶ πάλιν διηγεῖται ἄλλην κόλασιν· «καὶ ἔσται, ἐὰν μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἐπιστραφῆτε, ἀλλὰ πορεύσησθε πρός με πλάγιοι, κἀγὼ πορεύσομαι μεθ' ὑμῶν θυμῷ πλαγίῳ‘. καὶ εὑρήσεις τὸν θεὸν ἐπιμετροῦντα κολάσεις μετὰ φειδοῦς, ἐπεὶ Ι βούλεται εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν ἀγαγεῖν τὸν ἡμαρτηκότα, καὶ οὐκ ἀθρόως πάσας ἀποδιδόντα. τοιαῦτα οὖν ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ ῥητῷ ἐγεγόνει περὶ τὸν λαόν, καὶ ἀπειλῶν αὐτοῖς ὁ λόγος ἃ πείσονται μετ' ἐκεῖνά φησιν· «καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου, οὐ μὴ πατάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς συντέλειαν« εἰ δὲ ταῦτα μάλιστα φθάνει καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς μελλούσας κολάσεις † εἰ μή, ὁ δυνάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ συμβεβηκότων περὶ τὸν λαὸν μεταβάτω καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνας· ἐγὼ γὰρ πειθόμενος ἂν ειποιμι, ὅτι ὡς «ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ λατρεύουσιν ἐπουρανίων‘ « οὕτως ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ τῶν ἀληθινῶν κολάσεων ἐκολάσθη ὁ λαὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν ἑαυτῶν, ὡς εἶναι πᾶσαν κόλασιν τὴν κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας περὶ τὸν λαὸν περιέχουσαν σκιὰν κολάσεων ἀληθινων.
Εἵπερ οὖν ἐκείνοις συντέλεια ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις οὐ γέγονεν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τέλει ποτέ. οὕτε μήποτε ἔσται καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας κόλασις. συντέλεια δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὅτε ἡ αἰχμαλωσία ἐστὶν ἡ Ναβουχοδονόσορ. καίτοιγε ἐρεῖ τις ὅτι οὐδὲ τότε συντέλεια, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐπὶ τοῖς Μακκαβαΐκοῖς. ἀλλὰ συντέλεια τῷ λαῷ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου μου Ἱησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας. ὅσον γάρ οὐκ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ σωτήρ· «ἰδοὺ ἁφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ ὑμῶν«, ὑμῶν‘, οὐκ ἠφίετο. ὅτε δὲ ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ λέγων. «Ἱερουσαλήμ.
Ιερουσαλήμ, ὴ τοὺς προφήτας ἀποκτείνουσα καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἡθέλησα ἑπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, ὅν τρόπον ὄρνις ἐπισυνάγει τὰ νοσσία ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας τῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἡθελήσατε; ἱδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος«, ἀφεῖται ὁ οἶκος, κεκύκλωται ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἱερουσλήμ« ὡς ἀφεθέντος τοῦ οἴκου καὶ «ἥγγισεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς‘. εἶτα μετὰ τὸ ἐκείνων παράπτωμα ἦλθεν ἡ σωτηρία ἡμῖν τοῖς . ἐκολάζοντο οὑν ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ συντέλεια οὐκ ἔφθανεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἴως τῆς τοῦ κυρίου Ἱησοῦ μου ἐπιδημίας.
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.