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So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, "As the Lord liveth, that made us, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life."
Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'If thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.'"
And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews that deserted to the Chaldeans, lest the Chaldeans deliver me into their hand, and they mock me."
But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me: Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire."
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, "Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die."
So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
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VCONFUSION IN THE LAND
(Jerusalem is taken and Jeremiah is kindly treated by the victors. The people who remain in the land, now a royal colony, take courage, but the assassination of the governor throws everything into confusion.)
And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken, in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it; in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the walls of the city. Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate.
And it came to pass that when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he gave judgment upon him.
Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
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ANATHOTH, THE HOME OF JEREMIAH.From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon, and used by his kind permission.
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And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remainder of the people that stayed in the city, the deserters also, that came to him, and the remainder of the people that stayed.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, "Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee."
So the king's princes sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the royal governor, commanding that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, "Go, and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished before thee in that day. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely save thee, and thou{318}shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.'"
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, "The Lord thy God pronounced this evil upon this place: and the Lord hath brought it, and done according as he spake; because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which are upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will look well unto thee; but if it seem ill unto thee to come to Babylon, forbear. All the land is before thee; whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go."
Again he said: "Go back to Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go."
So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a present, and let him go. Then went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the royal governor to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the{319}king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poorest of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon; then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
And Gedaliah spoke earnestly unto them and to their men, saying, "Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans, which shall come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken."
Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah, they returned out of all places whither they were driven and came to the land of Judah and gathered much wine and summer fruits.
Then Jonathan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, "Dost thou know that Baalis of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take thy life?"
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But Gedaliah the royal governor believed them not. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, "Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he take thy life, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?"
But Gedaliah the royal governor said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael."
Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael, one of the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the royal governor at Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the royal governor, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, even the men of war. And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, that there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with oblations and frankincense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah weeping as he went and it came to pass as he met them he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah."
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When they came into the city Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, "Slay us not: for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey." So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
Now the pit wherein Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, by the side of Gedaliah, (the same was that which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel,) Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled with them that were slain.
Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the royal governor: Ishmael carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of Ammon.
But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael had done, they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
Now it came to pass that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah deserted and returned, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
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But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.
Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the royal governor, even the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon: and they departed, and dwelt in Geruth Chimham, which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt, because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael had slain Gedaliah the royal governor, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.
VITHE FLIGHT TO EGYPT
(The remnant of the people wish to take refuge in Egypt. They consult Jeremiah, who tells them that they must not desert the land.)
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, "Let, we pray thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do{323}behold us: that the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do."
Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, "I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you."
Then they said to Jeremiah, "The Lord be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word wherewith the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God."
And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him: 'If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you up, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy{324}upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.' But if ye say, 'We will not dwell in this land'; so that ye obey not the voice of the Lord your God; saying, 'No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:' now therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah: thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
"'So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.'
"For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; 'As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.'
"The Lord hath spoken concerning you, O remnant of Judah, 'Go ye not into Egypt': know certainly that I have testified unto you this day.
"For ye have dealt deceitfully against your own souls;{325}for ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, 'Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it:' and I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn there."
(The people refuse to heed the warning of Jeremiah. They all journey to Egypt, taking the prophet with them.)
And it came to pass that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, wherewith the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words, then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, "Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, 'Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there': but Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captives to Babylon."
So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations whither they had been driven to sojourn in{326}the land of Judah; the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the royal governor, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah; and they came into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: and they came even to Tahpanhes.
Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, "Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And he shall come, and shall smite the land of Egypt; such as are for death shall be given to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.
"'And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. He shall also break the pillars of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.'"
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the{327}Jews which dwelt in the land of Egypt, which dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein; because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, nor ye, nor your fathers.'
"Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.' But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.
"Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining; in that ye provoke me unto anger with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to sojourn; that ye may be cut off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness{328}of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
"They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
"Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
"'For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: so that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.'"
Then all the men which knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But{329}we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our husbands?"
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, "The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? so that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as it is this day."
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Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, "Bear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: 'Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows.'
"Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord God liveth. Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.
"'And this shall be the sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil': thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.'"
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The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch: 'Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith the Lord: Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.
"'And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.'"
VIITHE LAST PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH
(The last prophecies of Jeremiah in which he predicts the doom of Babylon.)
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
The Doom of Babylon
The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.
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"Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.'
"'For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast. In those days, and in that time,' saith the Lord, 'the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek the Lord their God. They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
"'My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
"'Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks. For, lo, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken:{333}their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied,' saith the Lord.
"'Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder mine heritage, because ye are wanton as an heifer that treadeth out the corn, and neigh as strong horses; your mother shall be sore ashamed; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord. Shout against her round about; she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord; take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.'
"Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.{334}And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days, and in that time,' saith the Lord, 'the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
"'Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them,' saith the Lord, 'and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.'
"The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for the Lord, the Lord of hosts, hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
"Call together the archers against Babylon, all them{335}that bend the bow; camp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. 'Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day,' saith he Lord. "Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one,' saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: 'for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.'
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. Their redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. A sword is upon the Chaldeans,' saith the Lord, 'and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
"'A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
"'A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be{336}dried up: for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.'
"'As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof,' saith the Lord; 'so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein. Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?'
"Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate{337}with them. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.
"Thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind. And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall fan her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not lift himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.'
"For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
"The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields:{338}the Lord hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his device is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness. The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, 'Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the cankerworm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.'
"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens: when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
"'Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I break{339}in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,' saith the Lord.
"'Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain,' saith the Lord, 'which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever,' saith the Lord.
"'Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough cankerworm. Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land trembleth and is in pain: for the purposes of the Lord against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation,{340}without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strong holds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter: and the passages are surprised, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
"For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her. Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his maw with my delicates; he hath cast me out.'
"The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
"Therefore thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and an hissing, without inhabitant. They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps. When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake,' saith the Lord.
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"'I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. And I will do judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.'
"My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of the Lord. And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
"'Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be ashamed; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north,' saith the Lord.
"As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land. Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still;{342}remember the Lord from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.
"'Wherefore, behold, the days come,' saith the Lord, 'that I will do judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her,' saith the Lord.
"The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! for the Lord spoileth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered: for the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces: for the Lord is a God of recompenses, he shall surely requite. 'And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake,' saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.'"
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when{343}he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain. And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words, and say, 'O Lord, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.' And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: and thou shalt say, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary.'"
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EZEKIEL
(The book of Ezekiel differs from every other book of prophecy in the fact that none of it was written in Palestine. It was written in Babylonia, whither Ezekiel had been taken captive while still a youth. The captives knew what was going on in Jerusalem. When the city was first taken, at the occasion when Ezekiel was made captive, the Babylonians were content to carry off ten thousand of the best of the people, with great treasure. The writer of Kings says that "none remained, save the poorest of the people of the land." Over this poor remnant of a wrecked state the Babylonian government set up a king. For nine years he remained loyal to Babylon. Then, with the foolish hope that Egypt would help him when war came, he revolted against the power of Babylon. Soon Babylonian armies appeared before Jerusalem, and, two years after, the city fell. More captives were deported, the city was burned, the walls broken down, no king set up, but only a governor, and the kingdom of Israel, over which only one family had ruled since the time of David, nearly five hundred years before, was forever at an end. The fall of Jerusalem was in 586 B. C.
With every device of vision and picture and pleading Ezekiel tried to keep the captives true to their country and their God. It is good to know that he succeeded in his attempt. The Jews in Babylonia kept their faith, and, in later years, it was from them that these prophetic books went, together with a strong influence for religious reform, back to Palestine.)