Jeremiah 29:22

[Daniel 13:60] "And the whole congregration (Vulgate: assembly) cried out with a great voice and blessed God, who saveth those who trust in Him..." If the whole congregation put them to death, the view which we mentioned earlier is apparently refuted, namely that these were the elders Ahab and Zedekiah, in conformity with Jeremiah's statement (Jeremiah 29:22). The only other possibility is that instead of taking the statement, "They killed them," literally, we interpret it as meaning that they gave them over to the king of Babylon to be put to death. That would be just like when we say that the Jews put the Savior to death; not that they smote Him themselves, but they gave Him over to be slain and cried out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (John 19:15).

[Daniel 13:5] "And there were two of the elders of the people (the Vulgate omits: of the people) who were appointed judges that year." There was a Jew who used to allege that these men were Ahab and Zedekiah (variant: Alchias and Zedekiah), of whom Jeremiah wrote: "The Lord do to thee as Ahab and Zedekiah, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire because of the iniquity they had wrought in Israel and because they had committed adultery (variant: were committing adultery) with the wives of their citizens" (Jeremiah 29:22-23). "It was concerning them that the Lord said that iniquity came forth from Babylon on the part of the ancient judges who appeared to govern the people. They used to frequent the house of Joakim..." Very appropriately it is not said of these sinful elders, "They governed the people," but rather, "They appeared to govern." For those who furnish good leadership to the people are the ones who govern them, but those who merely have the title of judge and lead the people unjustly only appear to govern the people rather than actually doing so.

So long as we are held down by this frail body, so long as we have our treasure in earthen vessels, so long as the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, there can be no sure victory. "Our adversary the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." "You make darkness," David says, "and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God." The devil does not look for unbelievers, for those who are outside, whose flesh the Assyrian king roasted in the furnace. It is the church of Christ that he "hurries to spoil." According to Habakkuk, "His food is the choicest." Job is the victim of his scheming, and after devouring Judas he seeks power to sift the other apostles. The Savior came not to send peace on the earth but a sword. Lucifer fell, Lucifer who used to rise at dawn, and he who was raised in a paradise of delight had the well-earned sentence passed on him, "Though you exalt yourself as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord." For he had said in his heart, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God," and "I will be like the most High." Therefore God says every day to the angels, as they descend the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream, "I have said you are gods, and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die like mortals and fall like one of the princes." The devil fell first, and since "God stands in the congregation of the gods and judged among the gods," the apostle writes to those who are ceasing to be gods, "Since there is among you envy and strife, are you not carnal and walk as humans?"