the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. 4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, 'rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, "Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. me 7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye ye might provoke to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the 'voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, 'when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall 'serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: 18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, 21 Edom, and "Moab, and the children of "Ammon, 22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the "sea, 23 "Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, 24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the "mingled people that dwell in the desert, 25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of 18Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, 26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall 6 Heb, visit upon. 18 Chap. 47. 4. hair polled, chap. 9. 26. 1 Chap 29 19. 22 Kings 17. 13. Chap. 18. 11, and 35. 15. Jonah 3. 8. 3 Heb. I will cause to perish from them. Chap. 7. 34, and 16. 9. Ezek. 26. 13. Hos. 2. 11. 52 Chron. 36. 21, 22. Ezra 1.1. Chap 29. 10. Dan 9. 2. 7 Chap. 27. 7. 8 Job 21. 20. Psal. 75.8. Isa. 51. 17. 9 Chap. 49. 7, &c. 10 Chap 48. 11 Chap 49 1. 13 Or, region by the sea side. 14 Chap. 49. 23. 15 Chap. 49. 28. 16 Heb. cut off into corners, or having the corners of the 17 Chap. 49. 31. 18 Chap. 49. 34. 19 1 Pet. 4. 17. 20 Heb, upon which my name is called. not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. 30 Therefore prophesy thou against them - all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be **lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. 34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for "the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like "a pleasant vessel. 35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. 37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is "desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger. 25 Heb. a vessel of desire. Joel 3. 16. Amos 1. 2. Chap 16. 4. 23 Chap. 4 8, and 6. 26. 24 Heb. your days for slaughter. Verse 10. "The sound of the millstones."-Major Skinner, when resting at night on the journey from Bagdad to Babylon, in a poor Arab encampment, says, "the women in the neighbouring tents were grinding corn, and the dull sound of the stones was neither disagreeable nor unsuited to the scene. They accompanied the labour with the most plaintive song I ever heard: it was almost a moan; and it seemed as if they sung in concert, they kept so admirably together." Journey Overland, vol. ii. p. 153. As the women usually grind corn every day, and sing at their labour, the sound of the stones and of their voices are among the characteristic noises of an Eastern city, and the absence of which does therefore mark in the strongest manner its desolate condition. 12. "Seventy years." This is a very remarkable prophecy, fixing, as it does, a date for the restoration of the Hebrews to their own land, and for the overthrow of the Babylonian monarchy. It is to be regretted that there has been no small portion of dispute as to the time when this period of seventy years should begin, and when it should terminate. The conclusion has, however, been less disputed than the commencement, since Ezra i. 1, seems sufficiently clear in fixing it to the first year of Cyrus, when the decree was issued for the restoration of the Jews. The circumstance which has occasioned so much inquiry with respect to the commencement of the period, is, chiefly, that the subjection of the Hebrew nation to the Babylonians is marked by three distinct dates. The first occurred in the same year with the delivery of the present prophecy, when Jerusalem, then under the superiority of the Egyptian king, surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar after a short siege; and when the Babylonian confirmed Jehoiakim in his throne as a vassal sovereign, but took away a part of the ornaments of the Temple, and also the sons of some of the principal nobles to answer as hostages, and to be employed in the service of his court. Among these was Daniel and his three friends. Compare Dan. i. 1. That this was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim appears from verse 1 of the present prophecy, and also from ch. xlvi. 2. Daniel calls it the third year: but the apparent discrepancy only arises from a different mode of computation: thus, Jehoiakim ascended the throne at the end of the year which Jeremiah reckons as the first-a mode of reckoning by no means unusual in Scripture-whereas Daniel, neglecting the incomplete year, numbers one less. The second was soon after Jeconiah ascended the throne-when the Babylonians again besieged the revolted city, and the king, having surrendered, was kept as a prisoner, and his crown given to his uncle Zedekiah. On this occasion the royal treasures, and the rich utensils of the Temple were seized, and the king, with the chief families and most useful members of the nation, were carried captive to Chaldea. Among these captives was the prophet Ezekiel. This was seven years after the first subjection of the land to the Babylonians (2 Kings xxiv. 8-18; 2 Chron. xxvi. 9, 10; Jer. lii. 28; and compare Isaiah xxxix. 3-6). In the ninth year of his reign, the ill-advised Zedekiah renounced his allegiance to the Babylonians. This brought on another siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army, and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign the city was taken, and, together with the Temple, destroyed by fire (2 Kings xxiv. 18-20; xxv. 1-21; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 11-21; Jer. xxxvii. 3-10; lii. 12, &c.). This was eighteen years after the first date of the Babylonian dominion over the Hebrews. Here, then, the question is, from which of these transactions the period of seventy years takes its date. We must not only consider which is the most probable commencement, but must count off seventy years, and find a marked historical event for the conclusion. In the first place we must take a few dates on which to base any calculations that may be formed. The following will suffice: a 1. The first subjection of the Jews to the Babylonians a 2. The second, when Jehoiachin was king a 3. The destruction of the city and Temple 51. The edict of Cyrus, in the first year of his reign at Babylon 62. The completion of the Temple, after long interruption в. с. 605 597 586 536 516 One of the three first dates must be taken for the beginning of the seventy years, and one of the two last for its conclusión; and, from the difference of current and complete years, we need not mind the defect or surplus of a year in proceeding upon these dates. Now to apply, if we take the dates a 1 and 6 1. we find the difference between them to be 69 years, which, allowing for the difference just stated, we may call seventy years. Here we have then the required number of years; and if any one were to judge concerning the period of seventy years, without any reference to the dates, he would most probably regard, as the commencing and concluding events, those to which these dates refer. This therefore is the period which the seventy years are supposed to embrace by Prideaux, Newton, Blayney, Hales, Jahn, and many other distinguished writers, with whom, after so distinct a corroboration, we cannot hesitate to concur, The second date (a 2) has been chosen for the commencement by some writers, chiefly, as it seems, because Ezekiel (ch. xl. i.) makes the twenty-fifth year of the captivity correspond to the fourteenth year from the destruction of the city. This of course dates the first year of the captivity eleven years anterior to the ruin of Jerusalem, and which cor responds exactly to the date a 2; when the flower of the nation were carried captive, and the prophet himself along with them. But if we count seventy years from this date, we are carried ten years beyond the first year of Cyrus, on the one hand, while on the other we are ten years short of the date (62) of the Temple's completion. It therefore appears that the commencement of the period would be fixed here without a due regard to its conclusion; and that Ezekiel speaks without any allusion to the seventy years, but with a sole reference to the time when he and the people with whom he came, and among whom he resided, were carried into captivity. It only remains to consider the third hypothesis, which dates the seventy years from (a 3) the desolation of the city and Temple. If we take this for the commencement, we cannot have the edict of Cyrus for the conclusion, the interval being but fifty years; but we obtain just seventy years if we carry on the account to the time when Darius issued his edict for the completion of the Temple, and after which that structure was soon completed; and which might well, considering the importance which was attached to the Temple, be regarded as completing the restoration of the Hebrews from their captive condition It is clear indeed that Zechariah (ch. i. 12) thus computes seventy years, whether with or without a reference to the prophecy of Jeremiah; and it is equally certain that Daniel takes the earliest date, when he was himself carried into captivity, for the commencement of Jeremiah's seventy years. The result is, that under different hypotheses we certainly arrive at one (all that is required), and may arrive at two completions of the divine prediction; for from the entrance of the Hebrews into a captive condition, under Jehoiakim, to their entrance into a condition of freedom, under Cyrus, was seventy years; and from the completion of their captivity, by the destruction of the city and Temple, to the completion of their restoration, by the rebuilding of the Temple, was also seventy years. Thus, by various evidence, and under different hypotheses, we equally arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. 17. "Then took I the cup... and made all the nations to drink." - We may give the usual explanation in the words of Dr. Blayney:-" It is not to be imagined that Jeremiah went round in person to all the nations and kings here enume"ated; but either that he did so in a vision, or else that he actually did what is figuratively designed-that is, he publicly announced the judgments of God severally against them." Archbishop Secker also points to the corresponding circumstance that, in ch. i. 10, Jeremiah is said to be set over nations, to root out, &c.; when the meaning was only to foretell that they should be rooted out. 26. "Sheshach." That Babylon is intended appears very clearly from ch. li. 41; but why this name is given to it remains very uncertain, after all the ingemous conjectures which have been offered. CHAPTER XXVI. 1 Jeremiah by promises and threatenings exhorteth to repentance. 8 He is therefore apprehended, 10 and arraigned. 11 His apology. 16 He is quit in judgment, by the example of Micah, 20 and of Urijah, 24 and by the care of Ahikam. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; 'diminish not a word: 3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. 4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; 6 Then will I make this house like *Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all | the nations of the earth. 7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. 9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house. 11 Then spake the priests and the pro 1 Acts 20. 27. Chap. 18.8. 31 Sam. 4. 12. Psal. 78.60. Chap. 7. 12, 14. 4 Or, at the door. phets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, "This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. 12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. 13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will 'repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. 15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. 16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. 17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 'Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Heb. The judgment of death is for this man. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought "the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. 20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; 22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. 23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. Chap. 7. 3. 8 Heb. as it is good and right in your eyes. Mic. 1. 1. 12 Heb, sons of the people. Verse 18. "Micah the Morasthite "So called, it would seem, and as the Targum understands, from being a native of Mareshah, a town of the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 44). From this description, as well as from the quoted prophecy, the prophet here referred to is doubtless the same whose writings are preserved among those of the twelve minor prophets. Compare the passages indicated by the marginal references, and see the note on Mic. iii. 12. 20. "Urijah." Of this prophet, and the interesting circumstance here recorded, we have no other information than that which thus incidentally transpires. CHAPTER XXVII. 11 Under the type of bonds and yokes he prophesieth the subduing of the neighbour kings unto Nebuchadnezzar. 8 He exhorteth them to yield, and not to believe the false prophets. 12 The like he doeth to Zedekiah. 19 He foretelleth, the remnant of the vessels shall be carried to Babylon, and there continue until the day of visitation. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; 4 And command them 'to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; 5 1 have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, 1 Or, concerning their masters, saying. and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. 8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : 10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy 'a lie unto you. 15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away "captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah! from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the | God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I' visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place. Dan. 4. 17, 25. 3 Chap. 25, 9, and 43. 10. Heb. dreams. 5 Chap. 14. 14, and 23. 21. and 29. 8. • Heb. in a lie, or lying. 72 Kings 24. 14, 15. 88 Kings 25. 13. 2 Chron. 36. 18. 92 Chron. 36. 22. Chap. 29.10. Verse 2. Make thee bonds and yokes." The yokes seem to have taken their name from those borne by labouring But they were probably not the same, but rather such as slaves employed in carrying their burdens, and which therefore formed the badge of They consisted of a pole, which rested horizontally upon neck and shoulders, and from the ends of which the burdens were suspended-precisely on the same principle as the beam by which the milkmen carry their pails through our streets, and which, remarkably enough, are also called "yokes." How these were used by the ancient Egyptians may be seen by the cuts under Neh. ix., which show men carrying bricks in this manner, and an inspection of which will suggest that the "bonds" were the cords or thongs by which the burdens were suspended from the yoke. oxen. " enslaved condition. an the |