Jerusalem is besieged. Before CHRIST 590. a Jer. 39. 1. & 52. 4. 588. b Jer. 52. 6. CHAP. XXV. II. KINGS. 1 Jerusalem is besieged. 4 Zedekiah taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out. 8 Nebuzar-adan defaceth the city, carrieth the remnant, except a few poor labourers, into captivity, 13 spoileth and carrieth away the treasures. 18 The nobles are slain at Riblah. 22 Gedaliah, who was set over them that remained, being slain, the rest flee into Egypt. 27 Evil-merodach advanceth Jehoiachin in his court. Nebuzar-adan defaceth the city, him in the plains of Jericho and all Before CHRIST 588. 6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they † gave judg- + Heb. spake him. ment upon judgment with him. blind. 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out Heb. made the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. 8 And in the fifth month, on AND it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth the seventh day of the month, which month, in the tenth day of the month, is the nineteenth year of king Nebuthat Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby-chadnezzar king of Babylon, came lon came, he, and all his host, against Nebuzar-adan, || captain of the guard, Or, chief Jerusalem, and pitched against it; a servant of the king of Babylon, and they built forts against it round about. 2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 3 And on the ninth day of the bfourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook in a falsehood, by predicting his death that very year, which accordingly fell out, ver. 5. 16, 17. But they still persisted in their vain hopes, as there were other deceivers, who "prophesied falsely in God's name," Jer. xxix. 8, 9. Bp. Patrick. Chap. XXV. This chapter is to be compared with several chapters of Jeremiah, particularly with xxxii, xxxiv, xxxvii, to xlii, lii; and with 2 Chron. xxxvi. Ver. 4. - by the way of the gate between two walls,] In the relation of the same event in Jeremiah, it is said, "They went by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls." It appears that the besieged made their escape by some way between the wall and the outworks, which the enemy did not suspect. It is probable that the king's garden faced the country, and that there was some private and imperceptible gate, in a part where the besiegers kept a less strict watch, for the very reason of its leading towards the plain, where their complete escape was the less practicable. Stackhouse. See the note on Jer. xxxix. 4. 6.- they gave judgment upon him.] A great council, it is probable, was called, who passed a solemn sentence upon him, in condemning him as a rebellious subject. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah, that he should see the king of Babylon and speak with him, Jer. xxxii. 4; xxxiv. 3. Bp. Patrick. 7.- and put out the eyes of Zedekiah,] Thus were consistently fulfilled the two seemingly different and contrary predictions of Jeremiah and Ezekiel concerning unto Jerusalem: 9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. marshal. away. 11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the + fugi- + Heb. fallen tives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away. 12 But the captain of the guard him; the one, that he should be carried to Babylon, Jer. xxxii. 5; the other, that he should not see Babylon, Ezek. xii. 13,-for he was carried thither blind. Pyle. On this event Josephus thus remarks: This may serve to convince even the ignorant, of the power and wisdom of God, and of the constancy of his counsels through all the various ways of his operations. It may likewise shew us, that God's foreknowledge of things is certain, and his providence regular in the ordering of events. The example of Zedekiah, besides, holds forth to us a most instructive proof of the danger of our giving way to the notions of sin and infidelity, which deprive us of the means of discerning God's judgments, even though ready to fall upon us. 9. And he burnt the house of the Lord,] What pity it was to see the Holy of Holies, into which none might enter but the high priest once a year, now thronged with Pagans, the vails rent, the sacred ark of God violated and defaced, the tables overturned, the altars broken down, the pillars demolished, the pavements digged up, yea, the very ground where that famous pile stood, deformed! Four hundred and thirty-six years had that temple stood and beautified the earth and honoured Heaven: now it is turned into rude heaps. There is no prescription to be pleaded for the favour of the Almighty. Only that temple, not made with hands, is eternal in the heavens. Thither will He graciously bring his faithful servants, for the sake of that glorious High Priest, who has once for all entered into that Holy of Holies. Bp. Hall. and spoileth the temple. Before CHRIST 588. c Chap. 20. 17. Jer. 27. 22. + Heb. the one sea. d1 Kings 7. 15. Jer. 52. 21. + Heb. threshold. + Heb. saw the king's face. left of the poor of the land to be vine- | them to the king of Babylon to Ribdressers and husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. 14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, † one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the † door: + 19 And out of the city he took an Or, eunuch. || officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were Or, scribe found in the city, and the || principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city: of the captain of the host. 20 And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought 13. And the pillars of brass &c.] It appears that Nebuchadnezzar carried away the riches and furniture of the temple at three different times: first, in the third year of Jehoiakim, Dan. i. 2, these were the vessels which his son Belshazzar profaned, (Dan. v. 2,) and which Cyrus restored to the Jews (Ezra i. 7) to be set up in the temple when rebuilt; secondly, in the reign of Jehoiachin he again took the city, and cut in pieces a great part of the vessels of gold which Solomon had made, 2 Kings xxiv. 13; thirdly, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, as is here related, he pillaged the temple once more. It is somewhat strange that, among the other furniture, we find no mention made of the ark of the covenant, which of all other things was held most sacred; but it was probably burnt together with the temple in this last desolation. Stackhouse. 18.—the second priest,] Whom the Jews call Sagan, lah: 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was car ried away out of their land. e Before CHRIST 588. 5, 9. 22 And as for the people that e Jer. 40. remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. 23 And when all the captains of f Jer. 40. 7. the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. 588. 25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed + royal, came, and ten men + Heb. of the with him, and 8 smote Gedaliah, that g Jer. 41. 2. he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees. cap 27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the tivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that kingdom. 562. who was the deputy of the high priest in the case of sickness, or any thing which made him incapable of officiating. Bp. Patrick. 21.-smote them, and slew them] He probably did this because he looked upon them as the king's principal counsellors, who had advised him to rebel against him. Bp. Patrick. 25.and smote Gedaliah, &c.] See these events more fully related in Jer. xl, xli, xlii, xliii. 27. And it came to pass &c.] As a conclusion of the history of the two kingdoms of the Israelitish nation, there is here added what befell Jehoiachin, the first captive king in Babylon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. That great prince was no sooner dead, than his son and successor, Evil-merodach, "lifted up the head of Jehoiachin;" that is, released him out of prison, after a melancholy confinement of thirty-seven years. Pyle. Evil-merodach] His proper name was Merodach; he seems to have been called Evil-merodach, that is, "foolish Merodach," because he was a very profligate and vicious prince. Dean Prideaux. 30.all the days of his life.] Evil-merodach made himself so intolerable in his government, that at length his own relations conspired against him, and put him to death. Dean Prideaux. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the wonder of all times, the paragon of nations, the glory of the earth, the favourite of Heaven; how art thou now become an heap of ashes, a spectacle of desolation, a monument of ruin! Thou hast drunk that bitter cup of God's vengeance, if less early, yet no less deeply, than thy sister city, Samaria. How carefully had thy God forewarned thee: and lo, judgments, the fruits of thy iniquities, have now overtaken thee! Both cities lie together in the dust; both are made a curse to all posterity. What place will the justice of God spare, if Jerusalem, his delight, perished and was cut off for her wickedness! Bp. Hall. We have now seen the end of that glorious kingdom, and of the entire Israelitish monarchy, after it had stood 468 years from the time when David began to reign, 388 years from the revolt of the ten tribes, and 134 years from the destruction of the divided kingdom of Israel; advanceth Jehoiachin. 29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. 30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life. Before CHRIST 562. and after it had long continued under the sunshine of the Divine protection, which nothing could have eclipsed but their almost constant and horrid ingratitude, and their invincible propensity to imitate the idolatries and witcheries of other nations; crimes which, though as abominable to God as they were universally practised by mankind, yet seemed to have flowed from a purer source, though corrupted by degrees to this vast height by the amazing degeneracy of mankind. Univ. Hist. The most remarkable circumstance of all these events is, that the holy temple itself was involved in this destruction; and that God suffered the Babylonians to profane and burn that house, which was dedicated to Him, after they had spoiled it of its most precious things. In this manner God was pleased to punish the Jews, who had profaned the temple and his service; and to shew at the same time that the legal service which was there established, was not always to subsist; and that the worship which was then abolished for a time, should be for ever abolished at the coming of the Messiah, by the last destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and by the dispersion of the Jews. Thus were at last accomplished the threatenings which God had denounced against his people; a great example of his tremendous judgments on those who abuse his patience and mercy, and obstinately persist in their sins. Ostervald. The following Chapters from the second Book of Kings are appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holydays: THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. INTRODUCTION. THE two books of Chronicles formed but one in the Hebrew canon, which was called the book of Diaries or Journals. In the Septuagint version they were called, the books of "things omitted;" and they were first named the books of Chronicles by St. Jerome. They are supposed to be designed as a kind of supplement to the preceding books of Scripture, to supply such important particulars as had been omitted, because inconsistent with the plan of former books. They are generally, and with much probability, attributed to Ezra, whose book which bears his name is written with a similar style of expression, and appears to be a continuation of them. Ezra may have compiled these books, by the assistance of Haggai and Nehemiah, from historical records, and the accounts of contemporary Prophets. The former part of the first book of Chronicles contains a great variety of genealogical tables, beginning with Adam, and in particular gives a circumstantial account of the twelve tribes, which must have been very valuable to the Jews after their return from captivity. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, from all of whom it was predicted that the Saviour of the world should be born, are here marked with precision. These genealogies occupy the first nine chapters, and in the tenth is recorded the death of Saul. From the eleventh chapter to the end of the book, we have a history of the reign of David, with a detailed statement of his preparations for the building of the temple, of his regulations respecting the priests and Levites, and his appointment of musicians for the publick service of religion. The books of Chronicles, though they contain many particulars related in preceding books, and supply several circumstances omitted in preceding accounts, are not to be considered merely as an abridgment of former histories, with some supplementary additions, but as books written with a particular view; in consistency with which, the author sometimes disregards important particulars in those accounts from which he might have compiled his work, and adheres to the design proposed, which seems to have been to furnish a genealogical sketch of the twelve tribes, deduced from the earliest times: in order to point out those distinctions which were necessary to discriminate the mixed multitude that returned from Babylon; to ascertain the lineage of Judah; and to re-establish on their ancient footing the pretensions and functions of each individual tribe. The authority of the books is established by the accommodation of a prophetick passage selected from it to the character of our Saviour by St. Paul, 1 Chron. xvii. 13; xxii. 10; Heb. i. 5; and by a positive prophecy of the eternity of Christ's kingdom, 1 Chron. xvii. 14, as well as by other occasional predictions, chap. xxii. 9, 10. Dr. Gray, Bp. Tomline. I That is, Division. f Gen. 10. 26. g Luke 3. 24. h Gen. 11. 15. i Gen. 17. 5. 18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. 19 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was || Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan. 20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 21 Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, 22 And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 23 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. The sons of Keturah, &c. Isaac, 28 The sons of Abraham; and 1 Ishmael. Before CHRIST 4004, &c. 29 The then These are their generations: k Gen. 21. 2, firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; 3. Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mib-m Gen. 25. 1 Gen. 16. 11. sam, 30 Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, || Hadad, and Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael. 32 Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. 33 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah. n 13 to 17. about 1853. | Or, Hadar, Gen. 25. 14. 34 And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel. 35¶The sons of " Esau; Eliphaz, n Gen. 36. 9, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. 10. Gen. 36. 12. 36 The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, || Zephi, and Gatam, I Or, Zepho, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek. 37 The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. 38 And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezar, and Dishan. 39 And the sons of Lotan; Hori, and Homam: and Timna was Lo- Or, Heman, tan's sister. 40 The sons of Shobal; || Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, || Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah, and Anah. 27 i Abram; the same is Abra- ran. ham. by their dispersion during the Babylonish captivity; it was thought proper to begin this book with giving an entire view of all that is necessary, in the descent of mankind in general, and of the Israelite families in particular. Pyle. The author mentions only their names briefly; but, as it is to be understood at the beginning that Adam begat Sheth, Sheth begat Enosh, &c. so of those which follow. Adam, it is known from Genesis, had two sons before he had Sheth; but, as one of them was murdered without issue, and the other accursed so that all his descendants perished in the flood, therefore Sheth only, and those who came from him, are mentioned. Bp. Patrick. 17.- and Uz, and Hul, &c.] These were not the sons of Shem, but his grandsons, by Aram his young 42 The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Hemdan, 24. Shem, Arphaxad, &c.] These are repeated from ver. 17, 18, for the purpose of shewing how Abraham was descended from Shem, who was the most eminent of the sons of Noah, and whom he solemnly blessed, as the Messiah was to spring from him, Gen. ix. 26. This promise of the Messiah was transferred from Adam to Sheth, from Sheth to Shem, from Shem to Eber, from whom, as some think, the Hebrew nation derived their name, and who, above all nations in the world, had this gracious promise committed to their trust. Bp. Patrick. 36.— Timna, and Amalek.] Rather Timna-Amalek, |