THEOSISJerome of Stridon
You distort the message of the living God, the Almighty, our Lord. Therefore, instruct the prophet to ask: ‘What did the Lord respond to you?’ and ‘What did the Lord communicate?’ Should you respond with, ‘The burden is from the Lord,’ know that up to now the Septuagint has not endorsed this. Thus, the Lord proclaims: because you have declared, ‘A burden from the Lord,’ while I sent to convey this message: do not declare, ‘A burden from the Lord.’ For this reason, behold, I will remove you, elevate you, and cast you and the city I entrusted to you and your ancestors away from My presence, delivering you to eternal disgrace and lasting ignominy, which shall forever remain unforgotten.
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The Lord commands that the term ‘burden’ or 'heaviness’ of the Lord should not be mentioned among the people; rather, they should speak of ‘the response’ or ‘the word of God.’ And since the people have failed to heed this, they now receive a stern interpretation of this term, as He states: despite my frequent sending of prophets with the directive not to use this term, you have chosen to ignore it, saying, “We will not,” therefore, I will actualize the term burden in reality. I will elevate you and subsequently bring you down, casting you down to the earth from on high, not only you but also your city, which was granted to your forebears. He declares He will deliver you to disgrace and everlasting infamy, which will never fade from memory. We recognize this was realized during the Babylonian exile; however, it finds a fuller and more complete fulfillment after the suffering and resurrection of the Savior, when the Lord stated, ‘Your house is left to you desolate’ (Luke 13:35). We may interpret this differently, relying solely on the translation of the Septuagint. The term λήμμα signifies not only acceptance but also gift or present. Therefore, as the people had perpetually expected good outcomes, it suggests they should refrain from speaking them henceforth; for they would not only be undeserving of God's blessings and gifts but would also be abandoned and entirely deprived of His assistance. Often, the very words and meanings of names convey insights into the matters themselves; for example, the altered names of Abraham, Sarah, Peter, and the sons of Zebedee signify a transformation of circumstances, as seen in the prophet Phasur (Jer. 20), which means terror, migration, sojourner, or wanderer. It is also noteworthy that the phrases, The living God, the Lord of Hosts, our God, do not appear in the Latin and Greek manuscripts; the Hebrews, in their texts, read these words against themselves, as they aptly point to the mystery of the Trinity.