at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests,

10 Heb. for a removing.

and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their "dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

Verse 5. With the burnings of thy fathers.'-See the note on 1 Sam. xxxi. 12, where the reader will find that a question has been raised on the present and other texts of Scripture (as 2 Chron. xvi. 14; xxi. 19; Amos vi. 10), whether the body itself was burnt or only the odours. The Talmudists are strongly for the latter alternative, apparently regarding the other as a heathen practice, which they were not willing to have supposed had ever prevailed in their nation. It, however, remains difficult to explain Amos vi. 10, so as to mean anything but the burning of the body; and this, as the most distinct text, may be taken to explain the others. The body of Saul certainly was burned; but there are circumstances in that case which might be said to except it from the support of a general conclusion, if it stood alone. In the present verse it is not said that any odours' were burned, that word being supplied in our version. The only one of Zedekiah's royal ancestors in connection with whose funeral the burning is mentioned is Asa; but that it was customary among the later kings of Judah appears from the present text, which intimates that the omission would have been a dishonour to the royal remains; and, in like manner, Jehoram having been a wicked king, we are told that 'his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.' As the text which refers to Asa is that which may be quoted to decide the less distinct passages to the alternative for the burning of odours only, in about the same degree that the text in Amos might determine such passages to mean the burning of the body, it becomes necessary to see whether it admits of an explanation compatible with the more obvious meaning of the latter passage. The verse is,They buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours, and divers kind (of spices) prepared by the apothecaries' art; and they made a very great buruing for him.' Here it is not said what the burning was: no odours are mentioned as being burned, but only that he was laid upon a bed of odours and aromatics, and besides these no others are noticed. If, therefore, the burning refers to anything in the text itself, it would intimate that the body was burned together with the odours on which it was laid, which was in fact an ancient custom, and is a still subsisting custom in India. Then the only remaining difficulty is in the first clause, which says that he was buried. But this does not imply anything of itself, further than to state where his remains were deposited: and burying is compatible with burning; for it was and is usual to collect the

12 Chap. 7. 33, and 16. 4.

bones and ashes, and dispose of or preserve them after various fashions, of which burying was one. Therefore, although we should not like to be very positive on the point, the resulting conclusion seems to be, that since the burning of odours alone on such occasions is nowhere mentioned in Scripture, whereas the burning of bodies is distinctly mentioned in 1 Sam. xxxi. 12 and Amos vi. 10, it is easier to explain 2 Chron. xvi. 14 to refer to the burning of the body, than to conclude that all the passages of Scripture in which funeral burning is noticed, refer to the burning of odours only. See further under Amos vi. 10.

It appears from the present prophecy, that although after Zedekiah had seen Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, he was blinded and sent as a captive to Babylon, he there received an honourable funeral at his death, whenever that happened. Josephus says that Nebuchadnezzar kept him in prison till he died, and then bestowed a magnificent funeral on his remains (Antiq. i. 10, c. 8). He probably bore the expenses and supplied the means of rendering the honours of royalty to the remains of the captive king; but the Jews were probably allowed to make his funeral conformable to their own rites and customs, as the present text seems to intimate.

8. This is the word,' etc.--The prophecy which occupies the preceding portion of this chapter is obviously dated when Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in carrying on the siege of Jerusalem and of the cities Lachish and Azekah, that is, most probably, towards the end of the ninth year of Zedekiah, the siege having been commenced in the tenth month of that year. The time of the second prophecy, which begins here and occupies the remainder of the chapter, is not so clearly indicated in the text; but it appears to have been soon after the above, when the Chaldæans had broken off the siege, and marched against the Egyptian army, which made a show of coming to the relief of Jerusalem. The prospect of this relief led the persons of substance to rescind that wise and just measure, of liberating their bond-servants, which they had taken and confirmed by oath, under the immediate pressure of danger and alarm. Whether this liberating measure had been taken out of professed regard to the law of Moses, by which it was imperatively commanded, or merely from prudential considerations, is not very clear; but, viewing the result, the latter seems the most probable supposition. 18. They cut the calf in twain,' etc.-See the note on Gen. xv. 9.

appears from the instance of Heber the Kenite (Judges iv. 11), living in tents and following pastoral occupations. As Jonadab lived at a much later date-if we suppose him to be, as is generally conceived, the same person to whom Jehu was anxious to shew his zeal for the Lord (2 Kings x.)-it follows that he did not found a mode of life entirely new; but took measures to preserve and confirm in the family of Rechab the ancient usages-adding some new regulations calculated to give perpetuity to old practices. It is possible that the Kenites, about that time, were becoming disposed to exchange their mode of life for the more settled, and, as it might seem to them, more comfortable one of the Hebrews; and that Jonadab opposed this change, by his patriarchal authority, in the Rechabite branch of the family. In these regulations it is not necessary to suppose that he had any religious objects in view, as a merely prudential one is assigned for them in v. 7,that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers and for this purpose these rules were well calculated, since, from the manner in which the land was lotted out among the Hebrews, it does not appear how they could have acquired land, or applied themselves to cultivation, without giving umbrage to the Jews; who also might have disliked their engaging and succeeding in the principal business in which they were themselves employed; and by the circumstances of unpleasant collision thence arising, be at last incited to expel them from the country, by which they would have been deprived of the religious advantages they then enjoyed. Under this view, the prohibition of wine may possibly have been intended to take away from them one inducement to plant and cultivate vineyards.

It seems that the Rechabites, being taken in Jerusalem, were sent into captivity with the Hebrews, with whom it is generally supposed that at least a portion of them returned to Palestine when the seventy years had expired. But on this subject the Scripture affords no certain information; as they are not mentioned subsequently to the captivity, unless in the difficult verse 1 Chron. ii. 55, which is thought by some to refer to their condition after their return. Some, however, suppose they were the same as the sect known in later times by the name of Essenes, Ebionites, Assideans, etc.; but, although this sect was distinguished by many peculiarities from those of the mass of the Jews, seems difficult to identify their usages with those of the Rechabites as stated in the present chapter.

Bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers.'-This was probably to the place where the wine for the drink offerings was preserved. It will be

recollected that Jeremiah was a priest, and in that character had doubtless free access to the temple and its offices. 19. Jonadab.....shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.'-This has been very variously explained. Some suppose that Jonadab's descendants were actually introduced, in some subordinate capacity, into the service of the temple; but it seems better to understand, by 'standing before God,' that they, or at least some of them, should ever be found among those who feared and worshipped God. Then, the 'for ever' is explained by some to mean only a long time-for ages to come; while others extend it to the end of time. The promise is of course involved, that the posterity of Jonadab should not fail 'for ever. But it does not necessarily follow that they should for ever keep the rules of their ancestor, or that they should for ever be recognized as his descendants: and yet, if his posterity should now be found existing, and acting on his rules, this would form an interesting example of the literal fulfilment of prophecy, while it would furnish a living commentary on the whole chapter. What eventually became of the Rechabites is not known. The probability is, that when they found themselves no longer safe among the Hebrews, they withdrew into the desert from which they at first came, and which was peopled by men of similar habits of life, among whom, in the course of time, they lost their separate existence. The various attempts to identify them with the Assideans, mentioned in the books of Maccabees (1 Macc. ii. 42; vii. 17; 2 Macc. xiv. 6), and with the later Jewish sect of Essenes, will not bear examination. We can as little recognize as Rechabites the body of people in Arabia of whom Benjamin of Tudela (Itinerary, i. 112-114, ed. Asher), Niebuhr, Wolf (Journals, ii. 276, 331, 334; iii. 17), and others, have given hearsay accounts. The details, however, whether correct or not, apply to Talmudical Jews more than to Rechabites. They are described as living in caverns and low houses, not in tents-and this in Arabia, where Bedouin habits would cease to be singular; nor are any of the Rechabite rules observable in them except that of refraining from wine-an abstinence which ceases to be remarkable in Arabia, where no one does drink wine, and where, among the strongholds of Islam, it could probably not be obtained without danger and difficulty. There were large numbers of Talmudical Jews in Arabia in the time of Mohammed, and these supposed Rechabites are probably descended from a body of them. It is to be hoped that some competent traveller will penetrate to the spot which they are said to inhabit, and bring back some more satisfactory accounts than we yet possess.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

1 Jeremiah causeth Baruch to write his prophecy, 5 and publickly to read it. 11 The princes, having intelligence thereof by Michaiah, send Jehudi to fetch the roll, and read it. 19 They will Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves. 20 The king Jehoiakim, being certified thereof, heareth part of it, and burneth the roll. 27 Jeremiah denounceth his judgment. 32 Baruch writeth a new copy.

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,

2 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.

3 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.

4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and 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.

5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:

6 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 fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.

7 It may be 'they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.

8 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.

9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the *entry of the new gate of the LORD's house, in the ears of all the people.

11 ¶ When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD,

12 Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.

13 Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.

18 Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.

19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.

20 And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.

21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.

22 Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.

23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.

24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.

25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.

26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.

27 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.

16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.

17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, how didst thou write all these words at his mouth?

2 Heb. their supplication shall fall.

29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, 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?

30 Therefore thus saith the LORD of 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.

3 Or, door.