Judgments on wicked A. M. 3397. OI, XLIII. 2. JEREMIAH. 25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and Tarquinii Prisci, all the kings of the Medes, R. Roman., 10. 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. t S 29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the eity which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall 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. z a kings and magistrates. C -A. M. 3397. B. C. 607. OL. XLII. 2. Anno the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will Tarquinii Prisci, give them that are wicked to the R. Roman., 10. sword, saith the LORD. 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and d 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 flamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. 34 h 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 a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of of his fierce anger. Chap. xlix. 34. W u Heb. Ezek. Chap. 1. 9.—4 Chap. li. 41.- Hab. ii. 16. Isa. li. 21; lxiii. 6. Prov. xi. 31; chap. xlix. 12; Ezek. ix. 6; Obad. 16; Luke xxiii. 31; 1 Pet. iv. 17. upon which my name is called, Dan. ix, 18, 19xxxviii. 21.- - Isa. xlii. 13, Joel iii. 16; Amos i. 2.; - Psa. xi. 4; chap. xvii. 12.1 Kings ix. 3; Psa. cxxxii. 14. a Isa. xvi. 9; chap. xlviii. 33. Verse 25., Zimri] Descendants of Abraham, by Keturah, Gen. xxv. 2, 6. Elam] Called Elymais by the Greeks, was on the south frontier of Media, to the north of Susiana, not. far from Babylon. Verse 26. The kings of the north, far and near] The first may mean Syria; the latter, the Hyrcanians and Bactrians. And the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.] Sheshach was an ancient king of Babylon, who was deified after his death. Here it means either Babylon, or Nebuchadnezzar the king of it. After it has been `the occasion of ruin to so many other nations, Babylon itself shall be destroyed by the Medo-Persians. Verse 27. Be drunken, and spue] Why did we not use the word vomit, less offensive than the other, and yet of the same signification? 322 b Hos. iv. 1; Mic. vi. 2.-c Isa. lxvi. 16; Joel iii. 2. Chap. xxiii. 19; xxx. 23.-e Isa. lxvi. 16.—Chap. xvi. 4, 6.- - Psa. lxxix. 3; chap. viii. 2; Rev. xi. 9.- Chap. iv. 8; vi. 26. Heb. your days for slaughter. Heb. a vessel of desire.- Heb. flight shall perish from the shepherds, and escaping from, &c.; Amos ii. 14.- - Psa. lxxvi. 2.- Heb. a desolation. Verse 29. The city which is called by my name] Jerusalem, which should be first given up to destruction. Verse 32. Evil shall go forth from nation to nation] One nation after another shall fall before the Chaldeans. Verse 33. From one end of the earth] From one end of the land to the other. All Palestine shall be desolated by it. Verse 34. Howl, ye shepherds] Ye kings and chiefs of the people. Ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.] As a fall will break and utterly ruin a precious vessel of crystal, agate, &c., so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin. Verse 38. As the lion] Leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, and coming with ravening fierceness to the champaign country. ( 21* ) A conspiracy against·· CHAP. XXVI. the life of the prophet. CHAPTER XXVI. Jeremiah, by the command of God, goes into the court of the Lord's house; and foretells the destruction of the temple and city, if not prevented by the speedy repentance of the people, 1-7. By this unwelcome prophecy his life was in great danger; although saved by the influence of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, who makes a masterly defence for the prophet, 8-18. Urijah is condemned, but escapes to Egypt; whence he Ahikam befriends Jeremiah, 24. is brought back by Jehoiakim, and slain, 20-23, 3 d 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 ia 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 Chap. xix. 14. Ezek. iii. 10; Matt. xxviii. 20. Acts xx. 27. d Chap. xxxvi. 3.- Chap. xviii. 8; Jonah iii. 8, 9. fLev. xxvi. 14, &c.; Deut. xxviii. 15.- -8 Chap. vii. 13, 25; xi. 7; xxv. 3, 4.-1 Sam. iv. 10, 11; Psa. lxxviii, 60; chap. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI. Verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] As this prophecy must have been delivered in the first or second year of the reign of Jehoiakim, it is totally out of its place here. Dr. Blayney puts it before chap. xxxvi.; and Dr. Dahler immediately after chap. ix., and before chap. xlvi. Verse 4. If ye will not hearken] This and several of the following verses are nearly the same with those in chap. vii. 13, &c., where see the notes. Verse 8. And all the people] That were in company with the priests and the prophets. 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 prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; m 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. n 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. 14 As for me, behold, "I am in your hand do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. vii. 12, 14.- -i Isa. lxv. 15; chap. xxiv. 9.- k Or, at the door. Heb. The judgment of death is for this man.m Chap. xxxviii. 4.- Chap. vii. 3. Ver. 3, 19.- -P Chap. xxxviii. 5.- - Heb. as it is good and right in your eyes, Verse 10. The princes of Judah] The king's court; his cabinet counsellors. Verse 12. The Lord sent me to prophesy] My commission is from him, and my words are his own. I sought not this painful office. I did not run before I was sent. Verse 13. Therefore now amend your ways] If ye wish to escape the judgment which I have predicted, turn to God, and iniquity shall not be your ruin. Verse 14. As for me, behold, I am in your hand] I am the messenger of God; you may do with me Urijah prophesies against A. M. 3394. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., 7. 15 But know ye for certain, he had pronounced against them? that if ye put me to death, ye shall Thus might we procure great surely bring innocent blood upon evil against our souls. 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, t 18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. what you please; but if you slay me, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves. Verse 16. This man is not worthy to die] The whole court acquitted him. Verse 17. Certain of the elders] This is really a fine defence, and the argument was perfectly conclusive. Some think that it was Ahikam who undertook the prophet's defence. Verse 18. Micah the Morasthite] The same as stands among the prophets. Now all these prophesied as hard things against the land as Jeremiah has done; yet they were not put to death, for the people saw that they were sent of God. Verse 20. Urijah-who prophesied The process against Jeremiah is finished at the nineteenth verse; and the case of Urijah is next brought on, for he was also to be tried for his life; but hearing of it he fled to Egypt. He was however condemned in his absence; and the king sent to Egypt, and brought him A. M. 3394. 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.. W Exod. xxxii. 14; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16. Acts v. 39-y Heb. sons of the people.- -2 Kings xxii. 12, 14; chap. xxxix. 14. thence and slew him, and caused him to have an ignominious burial, ver. 21-23. Verse 24. The hand of. Ahikam—was with Jeremiah] And it was probably by his influence that Jeremiah did not share the same fate with Urijah. The Ahikam mentioned here was probably the father of Gedaliah, who, after the capture of Jerusalem, was appointed governor of the country by Nebuchadnezzar, chap. xl. 5. Of the Prophet Urijah, whether he was true or false, we know nothing but what we learn from this place. That they should not give him into the hand of the people] Though acquitted in the supreme court, he was not out of danger; there was a popular prejudice against him, and it is likely that Ahikam was obliged to conceal him, that they might not put him to death. The genuine ministers of God have no favour to expect from those who are HIS enemies. CHAPTER XXVII. Ambassadors being come from several neighbouring nations to solicit the king of Judah to join in a confederacy against the king of Babylon, Jeremiah is commanded to put bands and yokes upon his neck, (the emblems of subjection and slavery,) and to send them afterwards by those ambassadors to their respective princes; intimating by this significant type that God had decreed their subjection to the Babylonian empire, and that it was their wisdom to submit. It is farther declared that all the conquered nations shall remain m subjection to the Chaldeans during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and those of his son and grandson, A prophecy of Judah's CHAP. XXVII. subjection to Babylon. even till the arrival of that period in which the Babylonians shall have filled up the measure of their iniquitres; and that then the mighty Chaldean monarchy itself, for a certain period the paramount power of the habitable globe, shall be visited with a dreadful storm of Divine wrath, through the violence of which it shall be dashed to pieces like a potter's vessel, the fragments falling into the hands of many nations and great kings, 1-11. Zedekiah, particularly, is admonished not to join in the revolt against Nebuchadnezzar, and warned against trusting to the suggestions of false prophets, 11-18. The chapter concludes with foretelling that what still remained of the sacred vessels of the temple should be carried to Babylon, and not restored till after the destruction of the Chaldean empire, 19–22. A. M. 3409. OL. XLVI. 2.. R. Roman, 22. saying, IN the beginning of the reign 6 And now have I given all A. M. 3409. R. Roman., 22, of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah these lands into the hand of NebuTarquinii Prisci, a king of Judah came this word chadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Tarquinii Prisci, unto Jeremiah from the LORD, 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: m and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him: b 2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same 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 messen- Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that gers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; d 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 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. See ver. 3, 12, 19, 20; chap. xxviii. 1.- bOr, hath the LORD said. Chap. xxviii. 10, 12; so Ezek. iv. 1; xii. 3; xxiv. 3, &c. Or, concerning their masters, saying.- e Psa. cxv. 15; cxlvi. 6; Isa. xlv. 12. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVII. Verse 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] It is most evident that this prophecy was delivered about the fourth year of ZEDEKIAH, and not Jehoiakim, as in the text. See chap. xxviii. 1. Three of Ken- | ́nicott's MSS. (one in the text, a second in the margin, and the third upon a rasure) have Zedekiah; so likewise have the Syriac and the Arabic. Houbigant, Lowth, Blayney, Dahler, and others declare for this reading against that in the present text. And it is clear from the third and twelfth verses, where Zedekiah is expressly mentioned, that this is the true reading. Verse 2. Make thee bonds and yokes] Probably yokes with straps, by which they were attached to the neck. This was a symbolical action, to show that the several kings mentioned below should be brought under the dominion of the Chaldeans. Verse 5. I have made the earth] I am the Creator and Governor of all things, and I dispose of the several kingdoms of the world as seemeth best to me. - Verse 6. And now have I given] These kingdoms are at my sovereign disposal; and at present, for the punishment of their rulers and people, I shall give 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 : fPsa. cxv. 16; Dan. iv. 17, 25, 32. Chap. xxviji. 14, Chap. xxv. 9; xliii. 10; Ezek. xxix. 18, 20.- Chap. xxviii. 14; Dan. ii. 38. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20.- Chap. xxv. 12; 1. 27; Dan. v. 26.- Chap. xxv. 14.- Heb. dreams. them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Verse 7. And all nations shall serve him, (Nebu chadnezzar,) and his son, (Evil-merodach, chap. lii. 31,) and his son's son, (Belshazzar, Dan. v. 11.) All which was literally fulfilled. Verse 9. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets] Who pretend to have a revelation from heaven. Nor to your diviners] op kosemeychem, from Dop kasam, to presage or prognosticate. Persons who guessed at futurity by certain signs in the animate or inanimate creation. Nor to your dreamers] 'n chalomotheychem, from on chalam, to break in pieces; hence chalom, a dream, because it consists of broken fragments. Dream-interpreters, who, from these broken shreds, patch up a meaning by their own interpolations. Nor to your enchanters] Dlly oneneychem, from y anan, a cloud-cloud-mongers. Diviners by the flight, colour, density, rarity, and shape of clouds. Nor to your sorcerers] ` cashshapheychem, from kashaph, to discover; the discoverers, the finders out of hidden things, stolen goods, &c. Persons also who use incantations, and either by spells of JEREMIAH. 10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far Tarquinii Prisci, from your land; and that I R. Roman., 22. 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. 13 r 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. 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. 8 t 15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I may 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 Ver. 14. Chap. xxxii. 31; Deut. xxviii. 25; Ezek. xii. 3. Chap. xxviii. 1; xxxviii. 17. Ezek. xviii. 31. Chap. xiv. 14; xxiii. 21; xxix. 8, 9. Heb. in a lie, or lyingly.2 Chron. xxxvi. 7, 10; chap. xxviii. 3; Dan. trusting in false prophets. A. M. 3400. of the LORD's house shall now 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. i. 2.2 Kings xxv 13, &c.; chap. lii. 17, 20, 21.—2 Kings xxiv. 14, 15; chap. xxiv. 1.2 Kings xxv. 13; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 18.- -2 Chron. xxxvi. 21; chap. xxix. 10; xxxii. 5. Ezra i. 7; vii. 19. drugs pretend to find out mysteries, or produce super-which was after the captivity, when they were sent back natural effects. Every nation in the world had persons by Cyrus, the Lord inclining his heart to do it, Ezra i. who pretended to find out hidden things, or foretell future 7, and vii. 19. events; and such were gladly encouraged by the ignorant multitude; and many of them were mere apes of the prophets of God. Man knows that he is short-sighted, feels pain at the uncertainty of futurity, and wishes to have his doubts resolved by such persons as the above, to put an end to his uncertainty. Verse 13. Why will ye die] If ye resist the king of Babylon, to whom I have given a commission against you, ye shall be destroyed by the sword and by famine; but if ye submit, ye shall escape all these evils. Verse 16. The vessels of the Lord's house] Which had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar under the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 7-10. Shall now shortly be brought again] This is a lie. They shall not be restored till I bring them up, ver. 22, Verse 19. Concerning the pillars] Two brazen columns placed by Solomon in the pronaos or portico of the temple, eighteen cubits high, and twelve in circumference, 1 Kings vii. 15-22; Jer. lii. 11. The sea] The brazen sea, ten cubits in diameter, and thirty in circumference. It contained water for different washings in the Divine worship, and was supported on twelve brazen oxen. Perhaps these are what are called the bases here. See the parallel places in the margin, and the notes on them. Verse 22. They shall be carried to Babylon] Far from those already taken being brought back, those which now remain shall be carried thither, unless ye submit to the Chaldeans. They did not submit, and the prophecy was literally fulfilled; see chap. lii. 17-23; 2 Kings xxv. 13, and the other places in the margin, |