Overview
Summary
Jerome translated Jeremiah from the Hebrew, following the longer Masoretic Text rather than the significantly shorter Septuagint version. The LXX Jeremiah is roughly one-eighth shorter than the MT and has a different arrangement of the Oracles against the Nations. Jerome's choice to follow the MT meant the Western church received a longer Jeremiah with a different structure than the Greek-speaking East. Jerome was aware of the discrepancy and defended the Hebrew text's priority.
Notable Renderings
The New Covenant passage (31:31-34) is the most theologically significant text in Vulgate Jeremiah, providing the Latin vocabulary for covenant theology. Jerome's rendering of 'new covenant' (testamentum novum) gave its name to the New Testament itself. The temple sermon (ch. 7), the potter imagery (ch. 18), and the letter to the exiles (ch. 29) also contain significant Latin renderings.
Theological Legacy
Jeremiah in the Vulgate established testamentum novum (new covenant/testament) as the defining term for the Christian scriptures, and foedus/testamentum as the covenant vocabulary of Western theology. The book also provided key texts for the theology of the heart (cor, circumcision of the heart) and divine faithfulness despite human failure.
Source Text
בְּטֶרֶם אֶצָּרְךָ בַבֶּטֶן יְדַעְתִּיךָ
Vulgate (Latin)
priusquam te formarem in utero novi te
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you
TCR Rendering
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you
Theological Legacy
Priusquam te formarem in utero novi te became a foundational text for the theology of divine foreknowledge, predestination, and (later) the sanctity of prenatal life. Novi te (I knew you) with its intimate Latin connotation of personal knowledge shaped Western predestination theology.
Jerome's rendering is faithfully literal. The verse became a proof-text in multiple theological contexts: Augustinian predestination, the prophetic calling, and later Catholic teaching on prenatal personhood.
Source Text
לִנְתוֹשׁ וְלִנְתוֹץ וּלְהַאֲבִיד וְלַהֲרוֹס לִבְנוֹת וְלִנְטוֹעַ
Vulgate (Latin)
ut evellas et destruas et disperdas et dissipes et aedifices et plantes
To uproot and to destroy and to scatter and to overthrow, and to build and to plant
TCR Rendering
to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant
Theological Legacy
The six verbs (four destructive, two constructive) in Latin became a paradigm for prophetic ministry in Western theology: divine judgment precedes restoration. The ratio of destruction to construction shaped penitential theology.
Jerome uses six Latin verbs for the Hebrew's six, preserving the 4:2 ratio of judgment to restoration. The vocabulary of evellas (uproot), destruas (destroy), dissipes (scatter), aedifices (build), plantes (plant) entered homiletical and theological Latin.
Source Text
הֵיכַל יְהוָה הֵיכַל יְהוָה הֵיכַל יְהוָה הֵמָּה
Vulgate (Latin)
templum Domini templum Domini templum Domini est
The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, it is the temple of the Lord
TCR Rendering
The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD — these are they!
Theological Legacy
Templum Domini repeated three times became a warning text against false institutional security in Latin homiletics. The threefold repetition was compared to the Trisagion, but as its dark inverse — false worship versus true holiness.
Jerome's templum (temple) for Hebrew hekhal (temple, palace) is standard. The rhetorical force of the triple repetition — the people's empty chant of confidence — is preserved in the Latin.
Source Text
הַצֳרִי אֵין בְּגִלְעָד אִם־רֹפֵא אֵין שָׁם
Vulgate (Latin)
numquid resina non est in Galaad aut medicus non est ibi
Is there no resin in Gilead, or is there no physician there?
TCR Rendering
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no healer there?
Theological Legacy
Resina in Galaad (resin in Gilead) — though the English 'balm of Gilead' became more famous through the KJV, Jerome's resina (resin) is technically more precise for the Hebrew tsori (balsam/resin). The verse became a metaphor for divine healing and was taken up in African American spirituals ('There is a balm in Gilead').
Hebrew tsori refers to a medicinal resin or balsam. Jerome's resina is accurate; the English 'balm' comes through Old French balsme. The rhetorical questions expecting 'yes' answers make the people's unhealed state all the more tragic.
Source Text
עָקֹב הַלֵּב מִכֹּל וְאָנֻשׁ הוּא מִי יֵדָעֶנּוּ
Vulgate (Latin)
pravum est cor omnium et inscrutabile quis cognoscet illud
The heart of all is perverse and unsearchable; who can know it?
TCR Rendering
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick — who can understand it?
Theological Legacy
Pravum est cor (the heart is perverse/crooked) and inscrutabile (unsearchable) became proof-texts for total depravity and the unknowability of human motivation. Inscrutabile entered theological Latin as a term for what cannot be fully examined or understood.
Hebrew aqov (crooked, deceitful) becomes pravum (crooked, perverse). Anush (desperately sick, incurable) becomes inscrutabile (unsearchable) — a shift from illness to unknowability. Jerome's rendering emphasizes epistemic limitation rather than moral sickness, slightly changing the theological force.
Source Text
וְהָיָה בְלִבִּי כְּאֵשׁ בֹּעֶרֶת עָצֻר בְּעַצְמֹתָי
Vulgate (Latin)
et factus est in corde meo quasi ignis exaestuans claususque in ossibus meis
And it became in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones
TCR Rendering
Then it becomes like a burning fire in my heart, shut up in my bones
Theological Legacy
Quasi ignis exaestuans (like a burning fire) became a classic text for the irresistible compulsion of prophetic calling and, by extension, for the inner fire of divine vocation in Western spirituality.
Jerome's rendering is faithful to the Hebrew. Exaestuans (burning, boiling over) captures the intensity of the Hebrew bo'eret (burning). The image of fire in the bones became a touchstone for mystical and prophetic experience in Latin Christianity.
Source Text
וַהֲקִמֹתִי לְדָוִד צֶמַח צַדִּיק
Vulgate (Latin)
et suscitabo David germen iustum
And I will raise up for David a just branch/shoot
TCR Rendering
I will raise up for David a righteous Branch
Theological Legacy
Germen iustum (just branch/shoot) established the Latin messianic Branch terminology. Germen (sprout, shoot) connects to the Isaian netser/virga tradition and became part of the composite messianic image in Latin theology.
Hebrew tsemach tsaddiq (righteous branch) is a messianic title. Jerome's germen (sprout, shoot) is different from his virga (rod) in Isaiah 11:1, but both feed the same branch/shoot messianic imagery in Latin. The term germen also carries connotations of organic growth and emergence.
Source Text
כִּי אָנֹכִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת־הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי חֹשֵׁב עֲלֵיכֶם...מַחְשְׁבוֹת שָׁלוֹם וְלֹא לְרָעָה
Vulgate (Latin)
ego enim scio cogitationes quas ego cogito super vos...cogitationes pacis et non adflictionis
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...thoughts of peace and not of affliction
TCR Rendering
For I know the plans I am planning for you...plans for wholeness and not for harm
Theological Legacy
Cogitationes pacis (thoughts of peace) became one of the most quoted biblical phrases in Western pastoral theology. The verse's assurance of divine benevolence shaped Latin spirituality's trust in divine providence, though its original context (a letter to exiles facing 70 years in Babylon) is often overlooked.
Hebrew machashavot (thoughts, plans) becomes cogitationes (thoughts, reflections). Jerome's pacis (of peace) for shalom and adflictionis (of affliction) for ra'ah (evil, harm) are adequate renderings. The verse's modern popularity as a comfort text operates through both the Latin and vernacular traditions.
Source Text
קוֹל בְּרָמָה נִשְׁמָע נְהִי בְּכִי תַמְרוּרִים רָחֵל מְבַכָּה עַל־בָּנֶיהָ
Vulgate (Latin)
vox in excelso audita est lamentationis fletus et ululatus Rachel plorantis filios suos
A voice was heard on high, of lamentation, weeping and wailing: Rachel weeping for her children
TCR Rendering
A voice is heard in Ramah — lamentation and bitter weeping — Rachel weeping for her children
Theological Legacy
Rachel plorantis filios suos (Rachel weeping for her children) became a paradigmatic image of maternal grief in Western art and literature. Matthew 2:18 applies it to the Massacre of the Innocents, making it central to Christmas/Epiphany observance.
Jerome renders Hebrew Ramah as 'in excelso' (on high), treating it as the common noun ramah (height) rather than the place name Ramah. This interpretive choice was debated; the place-name reading is more likely contextually. Matthew's quotation preserves the christological application.
Source Text
כִּי־בָרָא יְהוָה חֲדָשָׁה בָּאָרֶץ נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גָּבֶר
Vulgate (Latin)
quia creavit Dominus novum super terram femina circumdabit virum
For the Lord has created a new thing on earth: a woman shall encompass a man
TCR Rendering
For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman will surround a man
Theological Legacy
Femina circumdabit virum (a woman shall encompass/surround a man) was read in the Latin tradition as a prophecy of the Virgin Mary encompassing Christ in her womb. This Mariological reading, while not the original Hebrew sense, became important in Catholic Marian theology.
The Hebrew is one of the most obscure verses in Jeremiah. Neqevah tesovev gaver (a female surrounds/encompasses a strong man) may refer to Israel's return to God, a reversal of gender roles, or something else entirely. Jerome's literal rendering enabled the Mariological interpretation that dominated Western exegesis.
Source Text
הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־יְהוָה וְכָרַתִּי אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל...בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה...נָתַתִּי אֶת־תּוֹרָתִי בְּקִרְבָּם וְעַל־לִבָּם אֶכְתְּבֶנָּה
Vulgate (Latin)
ecce dies venient dicit Dominus et feriam domui Israhel...foedus novum...dabo legem meam in visceribus eorum et in corde eorum scribam eam
Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will make with the house of Israel a new covenant...I will put my law in their inward parts and write it on their hearts
TCR Rendering
Look — days are coming — a declaration of the LORD — when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel...I will put My instruction within them, and on their hearts I will write it
Theological Legacy
Foedus novum (new covenant) is one of the most consequential phrases in the Vulgate. Though testamentum novum became more common, Jerome's foedus novum here preserved the covenant (berith) concept. This passage, quoted at length in Hebrews 8:8-12, defines the relationship between Old and New Covenants and gave the New Testament its name (novum testamentum). The phrase in corde eorum scribam (I will write on their hearts) became foundational to the interiorization of religion in Western theology.
Jerome uses foedus (treaty, covenant) rather than testamentum (testament, will) here, which is arguably closer to the Hebrew berith. The Hebrews quotation uses testamentum. The New Covenant passage is the theological heart of Jeremiah and one of the most important Old Testament texts for Christian theology. Jerome's rendering preserved its force.
Source Text
כִּי אֶסְלַח לַעֲוֺנָם וּלְחַטָּאתָם לֹא אֶזְכָּר־עוֹד
Vulgate (Latin)
quia propitiabor iniquitati eorum et peccati eorum non memorabor amplius
For I will be merciful to their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more
TCR Rendering
For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more
Theological Legacy
Propitiabor (I will be propitious/merciful) introduces propitiation language into the covenant promise. This fed into the Latin theology of propitiation and the connection between covenant renewal and the forgiveness of sins. Non memorabor amplius (I will remember no more) became a key text for the completeness of divine forgiveness.
Hebrew eslach (I will forgive) becomes propitiabor (I will be propitiated/merciful), which introduces sacrificial overtones not present in the Hebrew. The propitiation vocabulary connects to the hilasterion (mercy seat/propitiation) theology of Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 2:17.
Source Text
קְרָא אֵלַי וְאֶעֱנֶךָּ וְאַגִּידָה לְךָ גְּדֹלוֹת וּבְצֻרוֹת לֹא יְדַעְתָּם
Vulgate (Latin)
clama ad me et exaudiam te et adnuntiabo tibi grandia et firma quae nescis
Call to me and I will answer you, and I will declare to you great and firm things which you do not know
TCR Rendering
Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and inaccessible things that you do not know
Theological Legacy
Clama ad me et exaudiam te (call to me and I will hear/answer you) became a classic prayer text in Latin devotional literature. Grandia et firma (great and firm things) for Hebrew gedolot ubetsurot (great and inaccessible/fortified things) shifts from inaccessibility to stability.
Hebrew betsurot means 'fortified, inaccessible, hidden' — things beyond human reach. Jerome's firma (firm, established) shifts the meaning toward certainty and reliability rather than hiddenness. Both capture aspects of divine revelation that exceeds human capacity.
Source Text
צֶמַח צְדָקָה...יְהוָה צִדְקֵנוּ
Vulgate (Latin)
germen iustitiae...Dominus iustus noster
A shoot of justice...The Lord our just one
TCR Rendering
a righteous Branch...The LORD Our Righteousness
Theological Legacy
Dominus iustus noster (the Lord our just one / the Lord our righteousness) became a messianic title in Latin. The connection between germen (branch/shoot) and iustitia (justice/righteousness) reinforced the Western understanding of the Messiah as the source and embodiment of divine justice.
Hebrew YHWH tsidqenu (the LORD our righteousness) is a wordplay on the name of King Zedekiah (Tsidqiyahu). Jerome renders the name-theology faithfully. The title became important in Reformation debates about imputed vs. infused righteousness.
Source Text
אָרוּר הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בָּאָדָם...בָּרוּךְ הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בַּיהוָה
Vulgate (Latin)
maledictus homo qui confidit in homine...benedictus vir qui confidit in Domino
Cursed is the man who trusts in man...blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
TCR Rendering
Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind...Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
Theological Legacy
Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine / benedictus vir qui confidit in Domino established the curse/blessing contrast that became paradigmatic in Western theology for the distinction between carnal trust and spiritual trust. The passage, with its tree-by-waters imagery, influenced both Psalm 1 readings and Western devotional literature on trust.
Jerome's rendering is faithful. The contrast between maledictus (cursed) and benedictus (blessed) mirrors the Deuteronomic blessing-curse framework. The passage was used extensively in Latin homiletics as a warning against reliance on human power and institutions.