Punishment of the people.

B. C. about 590.

Or, hath sold himself.

o Ex. 21. 2. & 23. 10. Deut. 15. 12.

+ Heb. to day.

p So 2 Kings 23. 3. Neh. 10. 29.

4 ch. 7. 10.

Heb. where

upon my
name is
called.

I Ex. 20. 7.
Lev. 19. 12.

• Matt. 7. 2. Gal. 6. 7.

James 2. 13.

+ Heb. for a removing.

out of the house of bondmen, say

ing,

14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother a Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

r

15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house + which is called by my name : 16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty 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

THE

The Rechabites' obedience.

CHAPTER XXXV.

The obedience of the Rechabites commended. 12 The disobedience of Judah condemned. 18 Blessings promised to the house of the Rechabites. THE word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

B. C. about 607.

a 2 Kings 10. 15. 1 Chr. 2

55.

2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and b 1 Kings 6. 5. give them wine to drink.

b

3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, © the keeper of the † door :

с

5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

© 2 Kings 12 9. & 25. 18. 1 Chr. 9. 18, 19.

+ Heb. threakold, or, vessel.

15.

t ch. 32. 24, 36. sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you † to be " removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

u Deut. 28. 25,

61. ch. 29. 18.

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 bex See Gen. 15. fore me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

10, 17.

y ch. 7. 33. & 16. 4. & 19. 7.

z See ch. 37. 5, 11.

a ch. 37. 8, 10.

b ch. 38. 3. & 39. 1, 2, 8. & 52. 7, 18.

e ch. 9. 11. & 41. 2, 6.

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

7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

e

8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;

9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians : so we dwell at Jerusalem.

12 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

e Ex. 20. 12 Eph. 6. 2, 3

13 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive in- fch. 32. 33. struction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.

The king burneth the roll.

B. C. about 606.

m See Am. 3. 15.

n 2 Kings 22. 11. Is. 36. 22. & 57. 1.

Or, of the king.

about 605.

Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, 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.

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?

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 winter house 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

Baruch writeth a new one.

which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

28 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.

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 P cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

31 And I will † punish him and his seed 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; but they hearkened not.

32 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.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

The prophet's warning slighted. 5 The Chaldeans, through fear of the Egyptians, raise the siege of Jerusalem. 6 The prophet foretelleth their return and victory. 11 He is imprisoned as a deserter. 16 Zedekiah's kindness to him.

a

AND king Zedekiah the son of about 500.

17. 2 Chr. 96. 10. ch. 22. 24

Josiah reigned instead of Coniah 2 Kings A. the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

b

b2 Chr. 36. 12,

14

2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which Heb, by the he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

с

3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.

4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

hand of the prophet. 500.

e ch. 21. 1, 2 & 29. 25. & 52. 24.

d See 2 Kings 24.7. Ez. 17. 15.

• ver. 11. ch. 34. 21.

The prophet apprehended,

B. C. about 5.9.

! ch. 21. 2.

ch. 34. 22.

t Heb, souls.

à ch. 21. 4, 5.

+ Heb. thrust tough.

.ver. 5.

+ Heb. made 1. ascend.

¡Or, to slip way from Once in the midst of the people.

Heb. false ed, or, a

be

ch. $8. 26.

ch. 33, 6. Or, celle. 389.

6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

7 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.

8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

10 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.

11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was + broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

14 Then said Jeremiah, It is † false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

15 Wherefore 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.

16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the || cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out; and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying,

and cast into a dungeon.

B. C. 589.

The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my sup- Heb. let my plication, 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.

m

supplication full.

m ch. 32. 2. & 38. 13, 28.

21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, "until all the bread in the ch. 38. 9. & city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The prophet is accused, and cast into a dungeon. 7 At the request of Ebed-melech, he is taken out and confined in the court of the prison. 14 The king's conference with the prophet. 24 He is commanded by the king to conceal it from the princes. THEN Shephatiah the son of Mat

52. 6.

tan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shele-a ch. 37. 3. miah, and Pashur the son of Malchi-b ch. 21. 1. ah, heard the words that Jeremiah ch. 21. 8. had spoken unto all the people, saying,

2 Thus saith the LORD, He that d ch. 21. 9. remaineth 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; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

3 Thus saith the LORD, eThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.

e ch. 24. 10. & 32. 3.

11.

4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, 'let this See ch. 26. man be put to death: for thus 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 peo-† Heb. peace. ple, but the hurt.

5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

king.

6 Then took they Jeremiah, and ch. 37, 21. cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that Or, of the was in the court of the prison and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

7 ThNow when Ebed-melech the h ch. 39. 16. Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ;