THEOSISJerome of Stridon
For I have shattered their wayward heart, and their eyes that have strayed after false gods, and they shall loathe themselves for the wickedness they have committed in all their abominations. They shall come to understand that I, the Lord, have not spoken in futility concerning the calamity I intend to bring upon them. A significant portion of this passage is lacking in the translation by the Seventy, where the phrase I have broken their wayward heart is altered to I have sworn to their wayward heart.
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However, He indeed swore and resolved to fulfill that which He indicated through action, or He shattered the wayward heart of those who turned away from God, referred to by the Lord through Hosea, ‘With the spirit of sexual immorality they have committed adultery’ (Hosea 4:12), and the eyes that strayed after idols, through whose entrances death cannot penetrate. Thus, we see in Daniel (Dan. 13) where the two elders demanded that Susanna expose herself to appreciate the beauty of her naked form. The Lord's pronouncement of calamity or distress was not without purpose, for it prompts repentance in those who find themselves under this declaration. Yet, if the heart is hard and unyielding, it remains oblivious to the graces of the one who seeks to correct it; to such, it is declared, ‘I strike your children in vain; you will not heed correction’ (Jeremiah 2:30). It is also essential for heretics that their heart, the most detrimental repository of twisted doctrines, should be broken, as it has estranged itself from God, and their eyes pursue their own inventions. When they remember God, they shall revile themselves for all their abominations, and upon realizing the truth of the genuine faith, they will acknowledge that He is the Lord. He often brings forth calamity, which may appear to the afflicted as harmful and severe, to lead them towards repentance.