A.C. 624. made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to servé the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not Heb.from from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

after.

623. g 2 Kings xxiii. 21, 22. h Ex. xii. 6.

11 Chron. ix. 10.

k 1 Chron.

xxiii. & xxiv.

SECTION VI.

Celebration of the Passover.

2 CHRONICLES XXXV. VER. 1-20.

h

1 Moreover & Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,

3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel.

k

4 And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king & XXV. &xxvi. of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.

1 ch. viii. 14.

+ Heb. the

house of the fathers.

Heb. the sons of the people.

Heb. offered.

Heb. affered.

6 So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

7 And Josiah § gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks these were of the king's substance.

8 And his princes || gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.

9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the *Heb.qfered. Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.

m See ch. xxix. 84.

*

10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandinent.

11 And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.

m

12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might A.C. 623. give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.

n

13 And they roasted the passover with fire according to n Ex. xii. 9,9. the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots,

and in caldrons, and in pans, and * divided them speedily + Heb. made among all the people.

14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.

them run.

ol Chron.

15 And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their + place, according to the commandment of David, and +Heb. station. Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the xxv. 1, &c. porters Pwaited at every gate; they might not depart from p1 Chron. ix. their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for 14, &c.

them.

16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

17, 18. & xxvi

17 And the children of Israel that were present kept the Heb. found. passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.

SECTION VII.

Jeremiah reproaches the People for their Backsliding, after the
Reformation by Josiah.

JEREMIAH III. VER. 6, TO THE END 9.

6¶ The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath

59 Here begins an entire and distinct prophecy, which is continued to the end of the sixth chapter. The first part contains a complaint against Judah, for having exceeded the guilt of her sister Israel; whom God had already cast off for her idolatrous apostacy. The second is an exhortation to the people of Judah

612.

A.C.612. done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

q ch. ii. 20.

* Or, fame.

+ Heb. in falshood.

7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but +feignedly, saith the LORD.

11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

12¶ Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and r Ps. lxxxvi. I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

15. & ciii. 8, 9.

s ch. xxiii. 4.

Heb. come upon the heart. Or, it be magnified.

13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

15 And I will give you $ pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall § that be done any more.

17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they Or, stubborn- walk any more after the || imagination of their evil heart.

ness.

* Or, to.

18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk *with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the

and Jerusalem to prevent, by repentance, the divine judgments. The Babylonian invasion is clearly and fully foretold, with all its attendant miseries; and the shameless adulteries of the people are represented as the cause of this national ruin.-Dr. Blayney.

land of the north to the land that I have heritance unto your fathers.

given for an in- A. C. 612.

* Or, caused your fathers to possess.

+Heb. land of

19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; 1 Heh. an he and shalt not turn away § from me.

20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

desire.

ritage of glory, or, beauty.

after me.

Heb. from
Heb. friend.

22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your t Hos. xiv. 1. backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

SECTION VIII.

Jeremiah describes, in prophetic Anticipation, the Sorrows of the approaching Captivity.

JEREMIAH IV.

1 God calleth Israel by his promise. 3 He exhorteth Judah to repentance by fear

ful judgments. 19 A grievous lamentation for the miseries of Judah.

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, "return u Joel ii. 12. unto me and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out

of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of

x Is. xlv. 25.

1 Cor. i. 31.

A.C. 612. Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

* Or, strengthen.

5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

6 Set up the standard toward Zion: * retire, stay not: y ch. 1. 13, 14, for I will bring evil from the north, and a great † destrucHeb. break- tion.

15. & vi. 1, 22.

ing.

z ch. ví. 26.

Or, a fuller wind than those.

Heb. ulter judgments.

a ls, i. 16.

b ch. viii, 16.

c Ps. cvii. 17. Is. 1. 1.

d ls. xxii. 4.

ch. ix. 1, 10. Il Heb. the

walls of my heart.

7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I § give sentence against them.

13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

14 O Jerusalem, a wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

с

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

19 Myd bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my