19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, PlSam.31.4. and they mock me.

2 Heb. Men of thy peace.

q ch. 39. 6. & 41. 10. r ver. 18.

20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:

22 And, 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 those women shall say, "Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: 8 Heb. thou and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

shalt burn,

&c.

8 ch.37.20.

t ch. 37. 15.

4 Heb. they were silent from him.

u ch. 37. 21. & 39. 14.

590.

a 2 Kings

25. 1-4.

3

24 ¶ Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:

26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

4

28 So "Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

CHAPTER XXXIX. 1 Jerusalem is taken. 4 Zedekiah is made blind,

and sent to Babylon. 8 The city ruinated, 9 the people captivated. 11 Nebuchadrezzar's charge for the good usage of Jeremiah. 15 God's promise to Ebed-melech.

N the ninth year of Zedekiah king

ch. 52.4, 7. came Nebuchadrezzar king of Baby

Zedekiah sent to Babylon.

lon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

BEFORE CHRIST 588.

3 And all the princes of the king bch. 38. 17. of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

m ch. 38. 7, 12.

15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

n

16 Go and speak to "Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; n Dan. 9.12. Behold, "I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

17 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.

18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, och. 21.9.& but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: Pbecause thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

45.5.

p1 Chr.5.20. Ps. 37. 40.

588.

a ch. 39. 14.

2 Or. manicles.

b ch.50.7.

c Deut. 29. 24, 25. Dan. 9. 11.

8 Or, are upon thine hand.

d ch. 39. 12.

set mine

CHAPTER XL.

1 Jeremiah, being set free by Nebuzar-adan, goeth to Gedaliah. 7 The dispersed Jews repair unto him. 13 Johanan revealing Ishmael's conspiracy is not believed.

THE
HE word that came to Jeremiah

from the LORD, "after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in 2 chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon.

2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.

3

3 Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into 4 Heb. I will Babylon, come; and 'I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, foreGen. 20.15. bear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, 2Kings 25. whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the

eye upon thee.

22, &c.

and goeth to Gedaliah.

people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.

BEFORE CHRIST 588.

6 Then went Jeremiah unto 8 ch. 89. 14. Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to h Miz-Judg.20.1. pah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

23, &c.

7¶ Now when all the captains of 12 Kings 25. the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them k ch. 39. 10. that were not carried away captive to Babylon;

1

8 Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of 1ch. 41. 1. 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 a Maachathite, they and their men.

9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not 2 to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the Chaldeans, which will 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.

11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, 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 the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;

12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.

13 ¶ Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,

14 And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that "Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah 3to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.

15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah

Johanan and the captives'

BEFORE CHRIST 588.

a ch. 40. 8, 13. & 41. 11.

2 Or, Let our suppli

2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, 2 Let, we beseech thee, our cation fall 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 behold us:)

before thee. b 1 Sam. 7. 8. & 12. 19. Is. 37. 4.

Jam. 5. 16.

Lev.26.22.

a Ezra 8.21.

d

3 That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

4 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 Acts 20. 20. nothing back from you.

e 1 Kings 22.14.

f 1 Sam. 3. 18.

8 Gen. 31. 50.

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee

i ch. 24. 6. & 31. 28. & 33.7.

k Deut. 32. 36. ch. 18. 8.

1 Is. 43. 5. Rom. 8.31.

h

7 ¶ And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

8 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,

9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, 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

m

hypocrisy is reproved.

12 And I will shew mercies unto

you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

BEFORE CHRIST

588.

m Ps. 106. 45, 46.

13 ¶ But if "ye say, We will notch. 44. 16. dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,

14 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:

15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set P your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;

16 Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, 2 shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

17 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.

18 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth t ch. 7. 20. 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.

ch. 1. & 2.

& 24.9. 6. & 29. 18, 22. & 44. 12.

Zech.8.13.

20 For 'ye dissembled in hearts, when ye sent me unto the against 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.

21 And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.

22 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 and to sojourn.

zver. 17.

Ezek. 6. 11.

Or, to go

to sojourn.

The conquest of

BEFORE CHRIST 588.

ach. 42. 1.

CHAPTER XLIII. 1 Johanan, discrediting Jeremiah's prophecy, carrieth Jeremiah and others into Egypt. 8 Jeremiah prophesieth by a type the conquest of Egypt by the Babylonians.

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, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

a

2 & Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there :

3 But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.

4 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.

5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, bch. 40. 11, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;

12.

d ch. 39. 10. & 40.7.

6 Even men, and women, and chilch. 41. 10. dren, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even ch. 2. 16. & to Tahpanhes.

44. 1. called Hanes.

Is. 30. 4.

588. ending.

ch. 25.9. & 27.6. See Ezek. 29. 18, 20.

8 ch.44. 13. & 46. 13.

b ch. 15. 2. Zech. 11.9.

8 ¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

9 Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah ;

10 And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar 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.

11 & And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and

Egypt is foretold.

houses of 'the gods of Egypt; and hech. 46. 25. 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.

13 He shall break also the 2 images of 3 Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.

CHAPTER XLIV.

1 Jeremiah expresseth the desolation of Judah for their idolatry. 11 He prophesieth their destruction, who commit idolatry in Egypt. 15 The obstinacy of the Jews, 20 Jeremiah threateneth them for the same, 29 and for a sign prophesieth the destruction of Egypt.

THE word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

C

2 Heb. standing

statues, or,

images. 3 Or,

The house

of the sun.