wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.

46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

a land wherein] The pronoun is fem. pl., and refers to the cities. Lit. it means a land-no man shall dwell in them, i.e. its cities, and no buman being shall pass through them.

44. I will bring forth...] This means not only that the sacred vessels plundered from Jerusalem, and laid up in the very temple of Bel, shall be restored, but as Bel is the tutelary deity of Babylon, that all the men and women dragged from other lands to people the city, and the wealth gained by its wars, shall be torn away from it. By its wall falling is shewn the insignificance to which it shall be reduced; for as long as there was anything inside worth plundering, its fortifications would still be maintained.

45. the fierce anger of the LORD] i.e. against Babylon. The people of God are to flee away that they may not be involved in the long series of miseries which will end in making Babylon utterly desolate. For proof that the Israelites needed this advice, and that many neglected it, see note on ch. 1. 8.

46. And lest your heart...] This must either be translated let not, or the verb beware must be supplied. The latter is the more regular construction. Lit. it is And beware lest your heart faint, and ye be afraid because of the rumour that is heard in the land: for in one year shall one rumour come, and afterwards in another year another rumour; and violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler. The fall of Babylon was to be preceded by a state of unquiet, men's minds being unsettled partly by rumours of the warlike preparations of the Medes, and of actual invasions, in repelling one of which Neriglissar fell in battle: partly

by intestine feuds, in which Evil-Merodach and Laborosoarchod were murdered. So before the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans the Church had similar warnings, Matt. xxiv. 6, 7.

47. Therefore] These intestine feuds were signs of Babylon's decay, and proved that she was ripe for judgment, just as similar feuds and murders and usurpations had preceded the punishment of Samaria. The word therefore implies that the exiles were to note them as signs of the near approach of God's visitation. shall be confounded] Or, ashamed.

49. Many translations have been offered for this verse, which because of its brevity is obscure. It probably should be rendered As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so because of Babylon have fallen the slain of the whole earth. The particles lit. are also—also, and signify that Babylon has not only to answer for the slaughter of the Israelites, but also for the general carnage caused by its wars.

50. remember the LORD afar off] Or, from afar, from Chaldæa, far away from Jehovah's dwelling in Jerusalem. See note on ch. xxxi. 3. The verse is a renewed entreaty homewards, as soon as the conqueror Cyrus to the Jews to leave Babylon and journey grants them permission to return.

51. We are confounded] Or, ashamed. The exiles in this verse do not mean "We are unwilling to return: for Jerusalem has brought upon us nothing but humiliation." It is rather a statement of the wrong done to them by Babylon, and so leads naturally to Babylon's punishment in v. 52. “We lead here a life of shame. Daily the reproach is cast in our

we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her

teeth that Bel has proved more mighty than Jehovah, and, as the possession of the sacred vessels seems to prove this, we are unable to answer the vaunt, and shame therefore covers our faces: for it is true that strangers have gone into the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah, which only our high-priests were permitted to enter."

52. In this verse God comforts His people, The Babylonians shall soon see their idols vanquished, and as they lie groaning upon the lost battle-field shall be forced to acknowledge that Bel is powerless to help them.

53. the height of her strength] There is in this an allusion to the vast height of the walls of Babylon, though what their actual measurement was is very uncertain. Herodotus gives it as 335 English feet, Pliny 235, Q Curtius 150, and Strabo 75; see Rawlinson, 'Anc. Mon.' II. 518. As there was an outer and an inner enclosure, they may not all have been speaking of the same walls.

54. A sound of a cry] i.e. the war-cry; cp. ch. 1. 22.

55. hath spoiled] Lit. is spoiling. It explains why the war-cry is now heard. The whole verse should be rendered, For Jehovah wasteth Babylon, and will make to cease from ber the loud noise [of busy life]: and their waves [the surging masses of the enemy] roar like many waters: the noise of their shouting is given forth, i. e. resounds. On the meaning of the word rendered noise, see note on ch. xxv. 31.

56. every one] These words do not exist in the Hebr., but have been inserted because the verb is sing.; but as it precedes the noun,

the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

of broad

58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; 10r, 'The broad walls of Babylon shall be The wall utterly 'broken, and her high gates Babylon. shall be burned with fire; and the naked.

this change of numbers is a thing of common occurrence, and the words should be rendered Their bows are broken; for Jehovah is a God of recompences; He will certainly requite. The translation are broken, which has been much attacked, is justified by the parallel place, I S. ii. 4.

57. her wise men] For an enumeration of them, see Dan. ii. 2.

her captains, and her rulers] See notes on v. 23, and cp. with the verse generally, v. 39.

58. The broad walls] Herodotus makes the breadth of the walls 85 English feet, Strabo and Q. Curtius, 32, 'Anc. Mon.' II. 518.

shall be utterly broken] Shall be utterly made shall be laid bare by their demolition. naked (marg.), i.e. the ground beneath them

her high gates] Oppert ('Expéd. en Mésop.' I. 230) quotes an inscription in which Nebuchadnezzar says "In the thresholds of the great gates I inserted folding-doors of brass, with very strong railings and gratings (?).' It appears also from an inscription which he quotes, p. 227, from a cylinder now at Aberdeen, that Esar-haddon was the real builder of the walls of Babylon, and that Nebuchadnezzar only completed them. See Nägelsb. in loc.

the people...] Jeremiah concludes his prophecy with a quotation from Hab. ii. 13, (though six MSS. make the two prophets ver transposing however the words fire and vanity bally agree). In Habakkuk the words refer labours of the Chaldæans, but Jeremiah apgenerally to the final failure of the great plies them with great power to the stupendous works intended to make Babylon an eternal city, but which were to end in such early and utter disappointment. In the Epilogue, v. 64,

Or, made

1 Or, on the be

half of.

I Or, prince of Menucha, or, chief

chamberlain.

people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a 'quiet prince.

60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and

it is noteworthy that Jeremiah returns to the quotation again.

59-64. Historical appendix. In his fourth year Zedekiah journeyed to Babylon, either to obtain some favour from Nebuchadnezzar, or more probably because he was summoned to be present on some state occasion, So Esar-haddon assembled twenty-two kings of Syria, and among them Manasseh king of Judah, to be present at the commencement of his great palace in Nineveh, 'Records of Past,' III. 107, 120. It is even possible that Nebuchadnezzar may have suspected the fidelity of Zedekiah, and have demanded an explanation of the presence of ambassadors that year at Jerusalem from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites and Phoenicia, ch. xxvii. 3. Jeremiah took the opportunity of sending to the exiles at Babylon this prophecy, having previously shewn his respect and affection for them in chs. xxiv. 5-7, xxix. 1-32.

59. Seraiah] He was brother to Baruch, cp. ch. xxxii. 12.

with Zedekiah] The rendering suggested in the marg. on behalf of Zedekiah is untenable. a quiet prince] Lit. prince of the restingplace, i.e. quartermaster. It was his business to ride forward each day, and select the place where the king would halt and pass the night. As Zedekiah probably took the direct route across the desert, much would depend upon the skill and local knowledge of the person Ichosen for this office. The versions do not seem to have had our present reading. Thus

shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

+ Heb.

desola

63 And it shall be, when thou hast tions. made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

the LXX. and Targ. render prince of the present, i.e. they read minchah for menuchah: while the Syr. had Mahanah, and render campmaster. The Vulg. renders prince of prophecy, which is at present inexplicable. The word menuchab occurs in Isai. xxxii. 18 in the pl. for resting-places.

60. in a book] Lit. in one book, on one roll of parchment, doubtless for the purpose mentioned in v. 63.

61. and shalt see, and shalt read] i.e., according to the Hebrew idiom, when thou read.... comest to Babylon, then see that thou

62-64. The sinking of the roll was not for the purpose of destroying it, but was a symbolical act, imitated in Rev. xviii. 21 of the apocalyptic Babylon; and the binding of a stone to it signified the certainty of the hasty ruin of the city. As it sank Seraiah was slowly to intone the last words of the prophecy, and they shall be weary, see v. 58, that so the verdict declaring the vanity of the mighty labours of Nebuchadnezzar in fortifying Babylon might be heard simultaneously with the splash, which symbolized her sinking into

oblivion.

64. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah] Whoever it was that added ch. lii., he evidently felt that it was his duty to point out that it was not written by Jeremiah. It is an instance of the scrupulous care taken by the Jews of the sacred writings committed to their keeping.

The word as punctuated by the Masorites means strangers, but all the versions agree in giving it the same sense as the verb which follows they shall winnow her. The LXX. however render insulters shall insult ber; but the Syr. and Targ. plunderers shall

plunder her, i.e. they took the word in a metaphorical sense, while the Vulg. translates literally winnowers shall winnow her. As the authority of the versions combined is far greater than that of the Masorites, we must reject their vowels, and read " for "

@2 Kin. 24. 18. + Heb.

reigned.

CHAPTER LII.

and taken. 8 Zedekiah's sons killed, and his own eyes put out. 12 Nebuzar-adan burneth and spoileth the city. 24 He carrieth away the captives. 31 Evil-merodach advanceth Jehoiachin.

EDEKIAH was a one and twenty

and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

3 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem

THE HISTORICAL APPENDIX TO THE

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. CHAP. LII. This chapter forms a historical appendix to the Book of Jeremiah, giving

additional details to those contained in ch. xxxix. of the capture of Babylon, which is the central point of his predictions. The last words of the foregoing chapter affirm that Jeremiah was not the author, and this assertion is supported by the style and by the date of the facts recorded about Jehoiachin, whose name, moreover, is spelt differently from the form employed in every one of the seven places in which Jeremiah has mentioned him (chs. xxii. 24, 28, xxiv. 1, xxvii. 20, xxviii. 4, xxix. 2, xxxvii. 1). Kimchi, Abravanel, and others, nevertheless, assert that Jeremiah was the author, while Seb. Schmidt considers that the men of the great synagogue took the chapter from the Book of Kings, and added it here. Among modern commentators, Hävernick supposes that Jeremiah wrote the histories of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, just as Isaiah wrote that of Hezekiah, and that he also compiled the Books of Kings from the records kept by the prophets, and that consequently the chapter is virtually his work, and though no part of the book of his prophecy was affixed to it by himself. He does not, however, ascribe to Jeremiah the account of Jehoiachin's deliverance from prison, vv. 31— 34, but supposes that this was added at a later time. For a full discussion of this point see Introd. to Books of Kings, Vol. II. p. 470. From the more antique spelling, especially of the name of Nebuchadrezzar, and from the various notices not found in the Book of Kings, Keil denies the identity of the two narratives, but considers them both taken from some fuller account of the history of the later Jewish kings than has come down to us.

Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.

5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

7

Then the city was broken up,

The more probable view, however, and that adopted by most commentators, is that given by Nägelsbach, who says that this chapter is taken from the 2nd Book of Kings, but that the person who added it here had access to other valuable documents, and made several modifications in it, the principal being the substitution of the account of those led captive by Nebuchadnezzar, in vv. 28-30, for the narrative given in 2 K. xxv. 22—26.

I.

For the general commentary see 2 K. xxv. A comparison, however, of the readings in the two chapters is of considerable value, as it gives us an opportunity of gauging the correctness of the Hebrew text, which, owing to the modern date of Hebrew MSS., can only be done elsewhere by laborious and often unsatisfactory deductions drawn from the readings represented by the Ancient Versions.

1=2 K. xxiv. 18. Hamutal] The C'tib in both places has Hamital, Vulg. Amital, LXX. 'Auraλ in 2 K., 'Apeirάal here, but Syr. in both places Hamtul. The C'tib is thus plainly to be preferred to the Kri.

4=2 K. xxv. 1. in the ninth year] In 2 K. year is in the construct state, here in the absolute. Grammarians say this is the more correct, but Jeremiah himself uses the constr. state in chs. li. 59 and xxxix. 1, where the Kri ventures to correct his grammar.

Nebuchadrezzar] A more ancient and correct form than Nebuchadnezzar in 2 K.

here, agreeing better with they built which folpitched] He pitched in 2 K., they pitched lows. The Vulg. is plu. in both texts, the LXX. and Syr. make both verbs sing. in 2 K., but plu. here.

6. And in the fourth month] Omitted in 2 K., though necessary for the sense, Cp. ch. xxxix. 2.