Chapter LVI: Epilogue (2)

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 him
The 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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BEAUTIFUL ZION

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 smith
That 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 thee
in 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, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH

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 the
sower 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

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 thee
Shall come bending unto thee;
And all they that despised thee
Shall 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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I

THE 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.
[End illustration]

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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."

II

THE 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.'"

III

THE 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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IV

JEREMIAH 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."

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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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V

CONFUSION 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.
[End illustration]

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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.

VI

THE 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.'