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[Footnote: The following are selections from the great poems of Isaiah. For majesty of utterance, for lofty and inspired thought, these are unmatched in literature.]
I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord,For though thou wast angry with me,Thine anger is turned away,And thou comfortest me.Behold God is my salvation;I will trust, and will not be afraid:For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song;And he is become my salvation.Therefore with joy shall ye draw waterOut of the wells of salvation.Give thanks unto the Lord,Call upon his name,Declare his doings among the peoples,Make mention that his name is exalted.Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things:Let this be known in all the earth.Cry aloud, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
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For unto us a child is born,Unto us a son is given;And the government shall be upon his shoulder;And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his governmentAnd of peace there shall be no endUpon the throne of David and upon his kingdom;To establish it with judgment,And with righteousness, from henceforward even for ever.The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.
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Sing unto the Lord a new song,And his praise from the end of the earth;Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein,The isles, and the inhabitants thereof.Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,The villages that Kedar doth inhabit;Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,Let them shout from the top of the mountains.Let them give glory unto the Lord,And declare his praise in the islands.The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man;He shall stir up zeal like a man of war:He shall cry, yea, he shall shout aloud;He shall do mightily against his enemies.
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Let me sing of my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.My wellbeloved had a vineyardIn a very fruitful hill:And he made a trench about it,And gathered out the stones thereof,And planted it with the choicest vine,And built a tower in the midst of it,And also hewed out a winepress therein:And he looked that it should bring forth grapes--And it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now come, I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the fence thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the{281}house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
THE CONDEMNATION UPON UNFRUITFULNESS
Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land! In mine ears saith the Lord of hosts, "Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah."
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them! And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither have they considered the operation of his hands. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, for lack of knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, descend into it. And the mean man is bowed down and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled: but the Lord of hosts is exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.{282}Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: that say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!"
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
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[Footnote: The prophet threatens Judah with invasion by the dreaded Assyrian army.]
For all this his anger is not turned away,But his hand is stretched forth still.And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar,And he will hiss for them from the end of the earth:And, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly;None shall be weary nor stumble among them;None shall slumber nor sleep;Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed,Nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:Whose arrows are sharp,And all their bows bent;Their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint,And their wheels like a whirlwind:Their roaring shall be like a lion,They shall roar like young lions:Yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey,And carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea;And if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and distress,And the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.
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Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,Saith your God.Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,And cry unto her,That her warfare is accomplished,That her iniquity is pardoned;That she hath received of the Lord's handDouble for all her sin.Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.Every valley shall be exalted,And every mountain and hill shall be made low:And the crooked shall be made straight,And the rough places plain:And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,And all flesh shall see it together:For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.The voice of one saying, "Cry."And one said, "What shall I cry?"All flesh is grass,And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:The grass withereth,The flower fadeth,{285}Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it:Surely the people is grass.The grass withereth,The flower fadeth:But the word of our God shall stand forever.O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,Get thee up into the high mountain;O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,Lift up thy voice with strength;Lift it up, be not afraid;Say unto the cities of Judah, "Behold your God."Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one,And his arm shall rule for him:Behold his reward is with him,And his recompense before him.He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,He shall gather the lambs in his arms,And carry them in his bosom,And shall gently lead those that give suck.
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Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion;Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city;For henceforth there shall no more come into theethe uncircumcised and the unclean.Shake thyself from the dust;Arise, sit thee down, O Jerusalem:Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of himThat bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace,That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation;That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.The voice of the watchmen! they lift up the voice,Together do they sing,For they shall see, eye to eye,When the Lord returneth to Zion.Break forth into joy, sing together,Ye waste places of Jerusalem:For the Lord hath comforted his people,He hath redeemed Jerusalem.{287}The Lord hath made bare his holy armIn the eyes of the nations;And all the ends of the earthShall see the salvation of our God.Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence,Touch no unclean thing:Go ye out of the midst of her;Be ye clean ye that bear the vessels of the Lord.For ye shall not go out in haste,Neither shall ye go by flight;For the Lord will go before you,And the God of Israel will be your rearguard.
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Who hath believed that which we have heard?And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?For he grew up before him as a tender plant,And as a root out of a dry ground:He hath no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him;Nor beauty that we should desire him.He was despised and rejected of men;A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief:And as one from whom men hide their face he was despised,And we esteemed him not.Surely he hath borne our griefs,And carried our sorrows:Yet we did esteem him stricken,Smitten of God and afflicted.But he was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities:The chastisement of our peace was upon him,And with his stripes we are healed.All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned everyone to his own way;And the Lord hath laid on himThe iniquity of us all.{289}He was oppressed,Yet he humbled himself,And opened not his mouth;As a lamb is led to the slaughter,And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb;Yea, he opened not his mouth.By oppression and judgment he was taken away;And his life who shall recount?For he was cut off out of the land of the living;For the transgressions of my people was he stricken.And they made his grave with the wicked,And with the rich in his death;Although he had done no violence,Neither was any deceit in his mouth.Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him;He hath put him to grief:When his soul shall make an offering for sin,He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand:He shall see, and be satisfied with the travail of his soul.By his knowledge shall my righteous servant make many righteous:And he shall bear their iniquities.Therefore will I divide with him a portion of the great,And he shall divide the spoil with the strong:Because he poured out his soul unto death,And was numbered with the transgressors:Yet he bare the sin of many,And made intercession for the transgressors.
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O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,Behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors,And lay thy foundations with sapphires.And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies,And thy gates of carbuncles,And all thy borders of precious stones.And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord;And great shall be the peace of thy children:In righteousness shalt thou be established.Thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear;And from terror, for it shall not come nigh thee.Behold I have created the smithThat bloweth the fire of coals,And bringeth forth a weapon for its work;And I have created the waster to destroy.No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;And every tongue that shall rise against theein judgment thou shalt condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,And their righteousness which is of me, saith the Lord.
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Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat;Yea, come, buy wine and milk,Without money and without price.Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?And your labor for that which satisfieth not?Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,And let your soul delight itself in fatness.Incline your ear and come unto me;Hear, and your soul shall live:And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,Even the sure mercies of David.Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples,And a leader and commander to the peoples.Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not,And a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee,Because of the Lord thy God,And for the Holy One of Israel;For he hath glorified thee.Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,Call ye upon him while he is near:Let the wicked forsake his way,And the unrighteous man his thoughts:{292}And let him return unto the Lord,And he will have mercy upon him;And to our God,For he will abundantly pardon.For my thoughts are not your thoughts,Neither are your ways my ways,Saith the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are my ways higher than your ways,And my thoughts than your thoughts.For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven,And returneth not thither, but watereth the earth,And maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to thesower and bread to the eater;So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:It shall not return unto me void,But it shall accomplish that which I please,And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.For ye shall go out with joy,And be led forth with peace:The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,And all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands.Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree:And it shall be to the Lord for a name,For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
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Arise, shine; for thy light is come,And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,And gross darkness the peoples:But the Lord shall arise upon thee,And his glory shall be seen upon thee.And nations shall come to thy light,And kings to the brightness of thy rising.Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:They all gather themselves together, they come to thee:Thy sons shall come from far,And thy daughters shall be carried in the arms.Then thou shalt see and be lightened,And thine heart shall tremble and be enlarged;Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee,The wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.The multitude of camels shall cover thee,The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;They all shall come from Sheba, they shall bring gold and frankincense,And shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.{294}All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered unto thee,The rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee;They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar,And I will beautify the house of my glory.Who are these that fly as a cloud,And as doves to their windows?Surely the isles shall wait for me,And the ships of Tarshish first,To bring thy sons from far,Their silver and their gold with them,For the name of the Lord thy God,And for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.And strangers shall build up thy walls,And their kings shall minister unto thee:For in my wrath I smote thee,But in my favour have I had mercy on thee.Thy gates shall be open continually,They shall not be shut day nor night;That men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations,And their kings led with them:For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish;Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee,The fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together;To beautify the place of my sanctuary,And I will make the place of my feet glorious.{295}And the sons of them that afflict theeShall come bending unto thee;And all they that despised theeShall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet.And they shall call thee the City of the Lord,The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated,So that no man passed through thee,I will make thee an eternal excellency,A joy of many generations.For brass I will bring gold,And for iron I will bring silver,And for wood brass,And for stones iron.I will also make thy officers peace,And thine exactors righteousness;Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,Desolation nor destruction within thy borders;And thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,And thy gates Praise.The sun shall be no more thy light by day,Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee:But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light,And thy God thy glory.{296}Thy sun shall no more go down,Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light,And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.Thy people also shall be all righteous,They shall inherit the land for ever;The branch of my planting,The work of my hands,That I may be glorified.The little one shall become a thousand,And the small one a strong nation:I the Lord will hasten it in its time.
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JEREMIAH
(The life of Jeremiah was a very sad one. He lived in those days just before the captivity when the nation with its splendid history was drifting to certain doom, as a ship drifts upon the rocks. The people were sunk in corruption; they had no ambition and no hope. Jeremiah could not save the nation from the fate which the selfishness and wickedness of the people had brought upon it, but he could cry out with all the strength of his strong soul against the evil. Politically he saw that submission to Egypt or to Babylon was inevitable, and he favored Babylon, because the northern kingdom was much stronger than the southern. The time of the activity of Jeremiah as a prophet was about forty years, from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah until after the beginning of the captivity. When the people of Judah were carried into captivity Jeremiah was allowed to remain behind. He hoped that the little remnant of people which was left in the land by the conquerors might be the seed of a new and better nation, but in this he was bitterly disappointed. The governor of the colony was assassinated, and Jeremiah was dragged off to Egypt by the frightened people. It is said that the prophet met his death by stoning, at the hands of his own countrymen. Jeremiah has been compared to Milton and to Savonarola. His life was one of those which seem to fail in their immediate purpose, but which have very great influence upon the progress of humanity.)
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ITHE CALL OF JEREMIAH
(Jeremiah was not as eager as was Isaiah when God's call first came to him. He was reluctant and slow to obey.)
The word of God came to him saying, "I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations."
Then said I, "Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child."
But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid because of them: for I am with thee to deliver thee."
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said unto me, "Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth: see, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build, and to plant."
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Jeremiah, what seest thou?"
And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree."
Then said the Lord unto me, "Thou hast well seen: for I watch over my word to perform it."
And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, "What seest thou?"
And I said, "I see a boiling caldron; and the face thereof is from the north."
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A STREET IN JERUSALEM, WITH THE HOUSES BUILT OVER THE STREET.
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Then the Lord said unto me, "Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set everyone his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness; because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee."
IITHE POTTER AND HIS CLAY
(The people of the East, where the prophets lived and spoke, understood teaching which was put before them in the form of pictures and images and symbols better than any other way. So the prophets would often use figures of speech and do striking things to attract the attention of the people. One day Jeremiah went to the workshop of the potter, and found him at work with{302}his wheel. This is the way in which he used what he saw to teach the people of God's power over them):--
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words."
Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought his work on the wheels. And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Now therefore go, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.'"
But they say, "There is no hope: for we will walk after{303}our own devices, and we will do everyone after the stubbornness of his evil heart."
Therefore thus saith the Lord, "Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? or shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up? For my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to false gods; and they have caused them to stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, in a way not cast up; to make their land an astonishment, and a perpetual hissing; everyone that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will look upon their back, and not their face, in the day of their calamity."
(At another time he took an earthen vessel which the potter had made and broke it in the sight of the people.)
Thus said the Lord, "Go, and buy a potter's earthen vessel, and take of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests; and go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee: and say, 'Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, at which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom they knew not, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah; and have filled his place with the blood of innocents; and have{304}built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt offerings unto Baal; which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life: and their carcases will I give to be food for the birds of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city an astonishment, and an hissing; everyone that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their life, shall distress them.'
"Then shalt thou break the vessel in the sight of the men that go with thee, and shalt say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury in Topheth, till there lie no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, even making this city as Topheth: and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of{305}heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.'"
Then came Jeremiah from Topheth, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord's house, and said to all the people: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their heart hard, that they might not hear my words.'"
IIITHE KING'S ANGER
(Jeremiah had his prophecies written down by his clerk. But when the king read from the scroll on which they were written, he was so angry that he cut up the scroll, and burned it. This did not prevent the prophecies from being known, for Jeremiah had them written upon a new scroll.)
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin."
Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and{306}Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I cannot go into the house of the Lord: therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the fast day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return everyone from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people."
And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the ears of all the people. And when Micaiah had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there. Then Micaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.
Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi unto Baruch,{307}saying, "Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come."
So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him, "Sit down now, and read it to us." So Baruch read it to them.
Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, "We will surely tell the king of all these words."
And they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?"
Then Baruch answered them, "He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book."
Then said the princes unto Baruch, "Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye are."
And they went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king, and to all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire in the brasier burning before him. And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four sections, that the king cut it with his penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brasier, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the brasier. And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king,{308}nor any of his servants that heard all these words. Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. And the king commanded his officers to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord hid them.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, "Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
"And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah thou shalt say, 'Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
"'Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his family and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, and they hearkened not.'"
Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
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IVJEREMIAH IN PRISON
(Jeremiah continued to rebuke the people for the evil of their lives, and especially to insist that they could find no hope in an alliance with the faithless nation of Egypt. This so enraged some of the princes that the prophet was put into prison, and then into the foulest dungeon of the prison. How he suffered for truth-telling, and how he escaped, is told in the following story):--
And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, hearkened unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
And Zedekiah the king sent his officer to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now unto the Lord our God for us."
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not yet put him into prison. And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they went away from Jerusalem.
Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: 'Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight{310}against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.' Thus saith the Lord: 'Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.'"
And it came to pass that when the army of the Chaldeans went away from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to look after his property. And when he was in the gate of the city, a captain of the guard was there; and he laid hold of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Thou art deserting to the Chaldeans."
Then said Jeremiah, "It is false; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans;" but he hearkened not to him: so the officer laid hold of Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.
When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; then Zedekiah the king sent, and brought him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the Lord?"
And Jeremiah said, "There is. Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
Moreover Jeremiah said unto King Zedekiah, "Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or{311}against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, 'The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land'? And now hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."
Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard, and they gave him daily a loaf of bread from the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
And the king's officers heard the words that Jeremiah spake unto all the people, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, 'He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live.' Thus saith the Lord, 'This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.'"
Then the princes said unto the king, "Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but their hurt."
And Zedekiah the king said, "Behold, he is in your hand: for the king cannot do anything against you."
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon that was in the court of the guard: and they let down{312}Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, he went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine: for there is no more bread in the city."
Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die."
So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the storehouse, and took thence old clothes and old rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, "Put now these old clothes and rags under thine arms under the cords." And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, "I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me."
Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, "If I declare it unto thee wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me."