Father Noel Alexandre's Literal Commentary on 1 Peter 1:3-9

 Translated by Qwen. The brief biography was generated by ChatGPT.

Augustin Calmet's Commentary on Jeremiah 20:18-20

Brief Biography of Augustin Calmet 

Antoine Augustin Calmet (26 February 1672 – 25 October 1757) was a French Benedictine monk of the Order of Saint Benedict, renowned as one of the leading biblical scholars of the early modern period.

Born in Ménil-la-Horgne, he entered the Benedictine congregation of Congregation of Saint-Vanne and Saint-Hydulphe and devoted his life to study, teaching, and monastic leadership. He eventually became abbot of Senones Abbey, where he continued his scholarly work.

Calmet is best known for his extensive commentaries on Scripture, especially his Commentaire littéral sur tous les livres de l’Ancien et du Nouveau Testament, which combined careful attention to the literal sense of the biblical text with insights from the Church Fathers and historical sources. He also compiled influential biblical dictionaries and treatises, including works on ancient customs and even discussions of phenomena such as apparitions and vampires, reflecting the wide curiosity of his scholarship.

His writings were widely respected in Catholic Europe and contributed significantly to the development of historical-critical awareness within a firmly traditional theological framework.

Jer 11:18: "But you, O Lord, have shown me..." 

Latin Vulgate: Tu autem, Domine, demonstrasti mihi...
French: Mais vous, Seigneur, vous m'avez fait voir quelles sont leurs pensées.
English: "But you, O Lord, have shown me what their thoughts are."

Calmet's Commentary:
All the Churches agree, says Saint Jerome, that these words and those that follow concern Jesus Christ and His Passion. It is against Him that designs of death are formed; He is the true Lamb, full of gentleness; He is the One finally attached to the wood of the Cross.

Here, Jeremiah is a figure of this divine Savior; it is here that he begins to suffer at the hands of his brethren and to represent in his own person that divine Original who called Himself "the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3).

The Septuagint reading: "O Lord, make me know, and I shall know; then I saw their devices."
This prayer, following Theodoret's observation, proves that the passage concerns something beyond Jeremiah's own sufferings. For what need did he have of revelation to know what was currently being done against him? His vision therefore looked higher: he contemplated the sufferings of the Messiah, of which his own were only a figure; he penetrated the evil designs of the Jews against Him, and at the same time expressed what Jesus Christ was to suffer at their hands.

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Jer 11:19: "I was like a gentle lamb..." 

Latin Vulgate: Ego quasi agnus mansuetus, qui portatur ad victimam...
French: J'étais comme un agneau plein de douceur qu'on porte pour en faire une victime.
English: "I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the sacrifice."

Calmet's Commentary:
Hebrew literal sense: "I am like a tame lamb," or "like a trained lamb," or "a lamb that leads others," that is carried to the slaughter.

Even today among the Arabs, one sees such tame lambs in households: they caress their masters, follow them, eat from their hands, and are like children of the family. Nathan alluded to this custom when he said that a rich man had taken from a poor man his domestic ewe lamb, which lay in his bosom, ate at his table, and drank from his cup (2 Samuel 12:3).

A lamb accustomed to being handled, caressed, and carried will allow itself to be quietly led to the slaughter without the least resistance.

Latin Vulgate continuation: Mittamus lignum in panem ejus, et eradamus eum de terra viventium.
French: Mettons du bois dans son pain, exterminons-le de la terre des vivants.
English: "Let us put wood in his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living."

Interpretive Options Calmet Discusses:

1. Literal-poison interpretation: "Let us put in Jeremiah's food a piece of wood or a poisonous root to make him die."
   Hebrew literally: "Let us corrupt wood in his bread" — i.e., grind or scrape deadly wood or plant into his bread to kill him. Alternatively, staying with the lamb imagery: "Let us make him eat a poisonous plant; let us mix some deadly herb into his food to destroy him."

2. Figurative-beating interpretation: "Let us give him blows of the staff instead of bread." One sometimes says, "I will make him taste my staff"; "they gave him a feast of blows." "Wood" naturally signifies a staff, a spear-shaft, or pike. Louis de Dieu translates similarly: "Let us break wood upon his flesh." He notes that the Hebrew word for "bread" or "food" can also mean "flesh."

3. Textual-emendation interpretation: By changing the vocalization of the Hebrew, one could read: "Let us break for him bread of affliction." It is well known that "to break bread" is a familiar Jewish expression for eating or serving bread. "Bread of affliction" is also a familiar expression among them for sorrows and afflictions. David said that God fed him with "bread of tears" (Psalm 80:5); the King of Israel ordered that the prophet Micaiah be fed with "bread of tribulation and water of anguish" (1 Kings 22:27).

4. Glassius's interpretation: "Let us corrupt wood in his bread" = "Let us corrupt his bread in his wooden vessel," i.e., in the trough or kneading-trough where he prepares his bread. In Arabia, bread is kneaded daily in a portable trough-like vessel. The apparent inversion in the phrase—"corrupt his bread in his wooden vessel" instead of "corrupt wood in his bread"—should not surprise us; Scripture contains many similar inversions.

5. Patristic-Christological interpretation: The Fathers explained this passage of Jesus Christ crucified: The Jews said, "Let us put the wood in His bread"—i.e., attach His Body (of which He said, "This is the bread that came down from heaven") to the wood of the Cross, and cut Him off from the land of the living. However, Calmet notes this is not presented as the literal sense.

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Jer 11:20: "Let me see Your vengeance..." 

Latin Vulgate: Videam ultionem tuam ex eis...
French: Faites-moi voir la vengeance que vous devez prendre d'eux.
English: "Let me see the vengeance You will take upon them."

Calmet's Commentary:
"Punish them in my presence; let me see the iniquity, hardness, and impenitence of the Jews punished, and Your justice vindicated."

Calmet clarifies: Jeremiah speaks only against those who would persist in their hardness of heart, as Saint Jerome notes. He does not wish misfortune upon his brethren; rather, he desires that God chastise them to compel their conversion—or he simply predicts what must befall them.

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Key Theological Themes in This Passage

1. Typological Exegesis: Calmet follows the traditional Catholic method of reading Jeremiah as a type (prefiguration) of Christ, especially in his innocent suffering and gentleness before accusers.

2. Literal-Historical Priority: While acknowledging Christological readings, Calmet carefully distinguishes them from the literal-historical sense, reflecting his scholarly commitment to textual precision.

3. Linguistic Scholarship: He engages Hebrew, Greek (Septuagint), and Latin textual variants, citing rabbinic, patristic, and contemporary interpreters.

4. Pastoral Restraint: On verse 20, he emphasizes that Jeremiah's imprecations are not personal vengeance but prophetic foreknowledge and a desire for corrective justice.

This passage exemplifies Calmet's balanced approach: deeply rooted in Catholic tradition, yet rigorous in philological and historical method—a hallmark of his enduring contribution to biblical scholarship.