Jeremiah 19:3

(Verse 3) And you shall say: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem. And she wants both the kings of Judah to hear, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, both the royal lineage, and the whole people, so that those who refuse to listen may be without excuse.

Sometimes Holy Scripture may, by an improper use of terms, employ the term "evils" in place of "affliction"—not that these are properly and in their nature evils, but because they are imagined to be evils by those on whom they are brought for their good. For when divine judgment is reasoning with human beings, it must speak with human language and feelings. For when a doctor for the sake of health with good reason either cuts or cauterizes those who are suffering from the inflammation of ulcers, it is considered an evil by those who have to bear it. Nor are the spur and the whip pleasant to a restive horse. Moreover, all chastisement seems at the moment to be a bitter thing to those who are chastised, as the apostle says: "Now all chastisement for the present indeed seems not to bring with it joy but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield the most peaceful fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised by it," and "whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives; for what son is there whom the father does not correct?" And so evils are sometimes used to stand for afflictions, as where we read, "And God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do to them and did it not." And again: "For you, Lord, are gracious and merciful, patient and very merciful and ready to repent of the evil," that is, of the sufferings and losses that you are forced to bring on us as the reward of our sins.And another prophet, knowing that these are profitable to some, and certainly not through any jealousy for their safety but with an eye to their good, prays thus: "Add evils to them, O Lord, add evils to the proud of the earth"; and the Lord says, "See, I will bring evils on them," that is, sorrows and losses, with which they shall for the present be chastened for their soul's health, and so they shall at length be driven to return and hurry back to me who […]

Both princes and people have contributed to the national guilt and must concur in the national repentance, or they will both share in the national ruin. Let them all know that the Lord of hosts, who is therefore able to do what he threatens, though he is the God of Israel, nay, because he is so, will therefore punish them in the first place for their iniquities ( Amos iii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And say, hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah,....

The scene of their guilt is chosen as the scene of the denunciation against them. kings--the king and queen (Jer 13:18); or including the king's counsellors and governors under him. tingle--as if struck by a thunder peal (1Sa 3:11;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens