Jeremiah 18:20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Evil is often returned for kindness. Such profound wrongdoing, a significant level of depravity, represents the depths of moral corruption. If we are instructed to offer kindness in response to harm, rather than seek revenge, then what can be said of those who, despite having received blessings, choose to act unjustly? Their malevolence eclipses natural boundaries, exhibiting wickedness without measure. I have expressed my anguish within and masked my suffering. In other words, having concealed their punishment, they presented themselves as allies. Some claimed they had surreptitiously brought a woman before him, but their efforts were in vain, for the prophet would not have remained silent on such matters. Remember, O Lord. What greater grace is there than the desire to mend the rift with an offended God? Yet, they were unwilling to embrace this reconciliation.

Call upon me, O Lord, and listen to the sound of my vindication. Is wickedness repaid with goodness? They repay with death the one who interceded for the salvation of the Jews from their killers, who sought Your blessings, and urged them towards repentance.

Listen to me, O Lord, and acknowledge the cries of my enemies. Is it right to repay good with evil? They have laid a snare for my life. Remember how I have come before You to advocate for them and to turn Your anger away from them. Therefore, let their children suffer from hunger and be taken by the sword. Let their wives become childless and widows, let their husbands succumb to death, and their young men fall by the sword in combat, with cries echoing from their homes.