My beloved is gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices,

To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine:

He feedeth his flock among the lilies.

I am my beloved's,

And his desire is toward me.

Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field;

Let us lodge in the villages.

Let us get up early to the vineyards;

Let us see whether the vine hath budded, and its blossom be open,

And the pomegranates be in flower:

There will I give thee my love.

The mandrakes give forth fragrance,

And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old,

Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

{239}

LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm:

For love is strong as death;

Jealousy is cruel as the grave:

The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,

A very flame of the Lord.

Many waters cannot quench love,

Neither can the floods drown it:

If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,

He would utterly be contemned.

{240}

{241}

SELECTIONS FROM ECCLESIASTES

{242}

ECCLESIASTES

This is, in some respects, the most curious book in the Bible. It has

puzzled many people. Like Proverbs, it is put together without very

much order, but that does not make the greatest puzzle of the book.

The question has been, "What does the author intend to teach?" The

book seems to take a very dark view of life. It almost seems as though

the author thought nothing was worth living for. Over and over he says

that all is vanity; that is, emptiness, nothingness. He questions

whether there is a life after death. It seems to the careless reader

that this book is only gloomy, dark, and hopeless. But that is a

superficial view. If one reads with more care, one finds another

strain in the book. It is good for a man to enjoy his labor. This is

the gift of God. Let a man eat and drink and enjoy his labor. This is

his portion, or wages, from God. Such thoughts as these occur again

and again in the book. One begins to see that all is not darkness. On

the contrary, there is, so far as it goes, a very excellent way of

living put forward in the book. The author's question is, What are the

wages of life? What ought one to think of as making life worth living?

His answer is, The work of life itself, with the ordinary pleasures

that come with it, are the wages. It is these things that make life

worth living. Now this author does not see all the truth. He does not

even sum up the whole of life. It is a great lack that in his

pictures, in the first few chapters, of the things that may be

expected to yield pleasure, he says nothing about the unselfish life.

The life he describes is all getting, getting, getting, and never

giving. Now the life that simply spends itself in trying to get things

and never tries to help others is sure not to be a very happy life.

"Vanity of vanities" is its very proper conclusion. This picture of

life is too narrow. It needs to be enlarged by the rich and beautiful

New Testament ideal of the life of unselfish love.

{243}

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

To everything there is a season,

And a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to cast away;

A time to rend,

And a time to sew; {244}

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time for war,

And a time for peace.

{245}

REMEMBER ALSO THY CREATOR

Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth:

Or ever the evil days come,

And the years draw nigh,

When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

Or ever the sun, and the light,

And the moon and the stars,

Be darkened

And the clouds return after the rain.

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,

And the strong men shall bow themselves,

And the grinders cease because they are few,

And those that look out of the windows be darkened,

And the doors be shut in the street.

When the sound of the grinding is low,

And one shall rise up at the voice of a bird,

And all the daughters of music shall be brought low:

Yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high,

And terror shall be in the way;

And the almond tree shall blossom,

And the grasshopper shall be a burden,

And desire shall fail:

Because man goeth to his long home.

And the mourners go about the streets: {246}

Or ever the silver cord be loosed,

Or the golden bowl broken,

Or the pitcher broken at the fountain

Or the wheel broken at the cistern:

And the dust return to the earth, as it was;

And the spirit return unto God who gave it.

{247}

SELECTIONS FROM THE PROVERBS

{248}

PROVERBS

Proverbs is a collection of sayings of wise men, coming from many

sources and gathered by many men. It is a little library of smaller

books. The poetry is more uniform than any other in the Bible. The

subjects, on the contrary, are the most various. All sides of life are

represented. But chiefly the proverbs are concerned with showing the

wisdom of living a good, honest, industrious life, and the foolishness

of being lazy, immoral, greedy for money, and evil in thought and

conduct. A great deal is said about the fool. He is the one who is

shortsighted and careless of consequences; who talks slander and so

hurts his friends; who forgets that the laws of God punish evil doing,

and so hurts himself. The idea is that the wicked man acts as though

he had not common sense.

{249}

THE PRAISES OF WISDOM

WISDOM CRIETH ALOUD IN THE STREET

Wisdom crieth aloud in the street;

She uttereth her voice in the broad places;

She crieth in the chief place of meeting;

At the entering in of the gates,

In the city, she uttereth her words:

"How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?

And scorners delight in scorning,

And fools hate knowledge?

Turn you at my reproof:

Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,

I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye refused;

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

But ye have set at nought all my counsel,

And would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh in the day of your calamity;

I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your fear cometh as a storm,

And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind;

When distress and anguish come upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; {250}

They shall seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:

For that they hated knowledge,

And did not choose the fear of the Lord:

They would not have my counsel;

They despised all my reproof:

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,

And be filled with their own devices.

For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them,

And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely,

And shall be quiet without fear of evil."

WISDOM IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES

My son, forget not my law;

But let thine heart keep my commandments:

For length of days, and years of life,

And peace, shall they add to thee.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee:

Bind them about thy neck;

Write them upon the table of thine heart:

So shalt thou find favour and good understanding

In the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,

And lean not upon thine own understanding:

In all thy ways acknowledge him,

And he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes;

Fear the Lord, and depart from evil;

It shall be health to thy navel, {251}

And marrow to thy bones.

Honour the Lord with thy substance,

And with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty

And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;

Neither be weary of his reproof:

For whom the Lord loveth he reproveth;

Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And the man that getteth understanding.

For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

And the gain thereof than fine gold.

She is more precious than rubies:

And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.

Length of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and honour.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:

And happy is everyone that retaineth her.

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding he established the heavens.

By his knowledge the depths were broken up,

And the skies drop down the dew.

{252}

THE GLORY OF WISDOM

Doth not wisdom cry,

And understanding put forth her voice?

In the top of high places by the way,

Where the paths meet, she standeth;

Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,

At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:

Unto you, O men, I call;

And my voice is to the sons of men.

O ye simple, understand subtilty;

And, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

Hear, for I will speak excellent things;

And the opening of my lips shall be right things.

For my mouth shall utter truth;

And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;

There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

They are all plain to him that understandeth,

And right to them that find knowledge.

Receive my instruction, and not silver;

And knowledge rather than choice gold.

For wisdom is better than rubies;

And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto her.

I, Wisdom, have made subtilty my dwelling,

And find out knowledge and discretion.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:

Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, {253}

And the froward mouth, do I hate.

Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge:

I am understanding; I have might.

By me kings reign,

And princes decree justice.

By me princes rule,

And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

I love them that love me;

And those that seek me diligently shall find me.

Riches and honour are with me;

Yea, durable riches and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold;

And my revenue than choice silver.

I walk in the way of righteousness,

In the midst of the paths of judgment:

That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance,

And that I may fill their treasuries.

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,

Before his works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,

Or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth;

When there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled,

Before the hills was I brought forth:

While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields,

Nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

When he established the heavens, I was there:

When he set a circle upon the face of the deep: {254}

When he made firm the skies above:

When the fountains of the deep became strong:

When he gave to the sea its bound,

That the waters should not transgress his commandment:

When he marked out the foundations of the earth;

Then I was by him, as a master workman:

And I was daily his delight,

Rejoicing always before him;

Rejoicing in his habitable earth;

And my delight was with the sons of men.

Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me:

For blessed are they that keep my ways.

Hear instruction, and be wise,

And refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at the posts of my doors.

For whoso findeth me findeth life,

And shall obtain favour of the Lord.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:

All they that hate me love death.

{255}

ENTER NOT INTO THE PATH OF THE WICKED

Enter not into the path of the wicked,

And walk not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it;

Turn from it, and pass on.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

The way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not at what they stumble.

But the path of the righteous is as the light of dawn,

That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Go to the ant, thou sluggard,

Consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer,

And gathereth her food in the harvest.

{256}

PRAISE OF THE WISE AND VIRTUOUS WOMAN

A virtuous woman who can find?

For her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband trusteth in her,

And he shall have no lack of gain.

She doeth him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

She seeketh wool and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchant-ships;

She bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night,

And giveth meat to her household,

And their task to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it:

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable:

Her lamp goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the distaff,

And her hands hold the spindle.

She spreadeth out her hand to the poor;

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household;

For all her household are clothed with scarlet. {257}

She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sitteth among the elders of the land.

She maketh linen garments and selleth them;

And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and dignity are her clothing;

And she laugheth at the time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom;

And the law of kindness is on her tongue.

She looketh well to the ways of her household,

And eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up, and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:

"Many daughters have done virtuously,

But thou excellest them all."

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her works praise her in the gates.

{258}

{259}

SELECTIONS FROM THE PROPHETS

{260}

The Roll of the Prophets

Isaiah.

Jeremiah.

Daniel.

Ezekiel.

Amos.

Hosea.

Micah.

Obadiah.

Joel.

Jonah.

Zephaniah.

Nahum.

Habakkuk.

Haggai.

Zechariah.

Malachi.

{261}{262}

[Illustration]

"THE PROPHETS"

From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Public Library

at Boston.

The prophets here represented are Jeremiah, Jonah, Isaiah, Habakkuk.

[End illustration]

{263}

THE PROPHETS

There are two groups of prophetic books in the Old Testament: the

longer books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, in one group,

and what are known as the books of the "Twelve Minor Prophets," in

another group. These books, especially those of the "Minor Prophets."

are often neglected by readers of the Bible. "Minor Prophets" is a

very unfortunate name for that group of great souls whose messages

have come down to us from the ages. The word came into use because

these books; smaller in size than some others, were grouped together

in the Bible. The writers themselves were not minor or inferior in any

sense of the word. The word "prophet" is also, in itself, somewhat

misleading. The men who are called prophets did not simply predict

future events. They were really what we would call reformers. They

cried out against the evils of the times in which they lived, and

tried to turn the nation back to God when it had sinned.

It must be admitted that it is not very easy, especially for young

people, to read these books, and yet they are intensely interesting if

one can only realize that these words were spoken by living men, each

blazing with indignation against wrong, men of heroic character, who

were ready, if necessary, to look in the face of death, in their

speaking of the truth.

Little or nothing can be told of the personal history of many of these

men. Striking passages have been chosen from each of the prophets to

show the character of the message which they spoke.

{264}

ISAIAH

THE GREATEST PROPHET OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

(David and Solomon had long been dead. The kingdom of Judah was not so

strong as the old kingdom over which they had ruled. It was constantly

quarreling with the kingdom at the North, which had been separated by

rebellion. It was often in danger of being overcome by the greater

kingdoms about it. The kings were not always wise rulers. Many of the

people did not care to serve Jehovah alone. They wanted to serve other

gods as well. The rich were often cruel to the poor. Good men saw

these things with sorrow. They knew that God must punish such a

nation. One of these good men was Isaiah the Prophet, a citizen of

Jerusalem, and a friend of the kings of Judah. When he was a young man

he had a vision of the holiness of God and the sin of the people. This

vision made him a prophet, for it called him to the task of showing to

the people the holiness of God, which he himself had seen, and to the

necessity of turning away from sin.

This is how he tells of the vision which he saw:)--

I

THE CALL OF ISAIAH

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a

throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled {265} the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he

covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain

he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,--

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts:

the whole earth is full of his Glory."

And the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him

who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, "Woe is

me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell

in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the

King, the Lord of hosts."

Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand,

which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched

my mouth with it, and said, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine

iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven."

And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who

will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I; send me."

And he said, "Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand

not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this

people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they

see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with

their heart, and turn again, and be healed."

Then said I, "Lord, how long?"

{266}

And he answered, "Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses

without man, and the land become utterly waste, and the Lord have

removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of

the land."

II

ISAIAH'S FIRST PUBLIC SERVICE

(Soon after, two kings from the North threatened to make war against

Judah. The king of Judah was frightened. Isaiah tried to encourage

him, and persuade him to trust God, but in vain. The king was a

coward, and dared neither fight nor trust God, but instead he sent to

the far-away land of Assyria for help.

This is the way in which Isaiah tried to encourage the timid king:)--

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of

Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son

of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it;

but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David,

saying, "Syria is confederate with Ephraim."

And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of

the forest are moved with the wind.

Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, "Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and

Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in

the high way of the fuller's field; and say unto him, Take heed, and

be quiet; fear not, neither let thine heart be faint, because of these

two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and

Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria hath {267} counselled

evil against thee, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying, Let

us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein

for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel:

thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to

pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is

Rezin: and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is

Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be

established."

(But the effort of the prophet was wholly without effect.)

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I

am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of

the king of Syria and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which

rise up against me."

And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the

Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a

present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto

him: and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it,

and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

(Many years passed away. The prophet tried to make his people better,

but often without success. He tried to get the rulers to trust in

Jehovah rather than in armies and the aid of foreign kings. Sometimes

he succeeded, but more often he failed. The land was still subject to

Assyria, and had paid heavy tribute ever since Ahaz had hired the king

of Assyria to help him against the Northern kings. Other lands were

also under the yoke of Assyria, and all of them wanted to win their

freedom. At last the king of Babylon sent messengers to these other

countries to see if he could not get {268} their kings to join in

revolt against Assyria. But Isaiah did not favor this alliance, for

this also was trusting, not to Jehovah, but to armies and foreign

kings.)

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon,

sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he heard that he had been

sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed

them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and

the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armour, and

all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house,

nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came

Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and said unto him, "What said

these men? and from whence came they unto thee?"

And Hezekiah said, "They are come from a far country unto me, even

from Babylon."

Then said he, "What have they seen in thine house?"

And Hezekiah answered, "All that is in mine house have they seen:

there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them."

Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord of hosts.

Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which

thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to

Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And thy sons shall

they take away; they shall be servants in the palace of the king of

Babylon."

Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, "Good is the word of the Lord which

thou hast spoken."

{269}{270}

[Illustration]

ON THE ROAD FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO.

From a photograph in the possession of Rev. Louis F. Giroux of the

American International College, Springfield, Mass., and used by his

kind permission.

[End illustration]

{271}

He said moreover, "For there shall be peace and truth in my days."

(This king of Babylon was soon after defeated by the king of Assyria

and driven out of Babylon. For some time he hid himself among the

swamps in the southern part of his kingdom, but later was captured and

killed.)

III

DELIVERANCE FROM THE ASSYRIANS

(About ten years after the king of Babylon had sent his messengers to

Hezekiah there was a revolt against Assyria in Palestine. Hezekiah, in

spite of the opposition of Isaiah, was deep in the plot. When

Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, heard of the revolt, he sent his

armies to Palestine to punish the kings who had dared to defy him.

Judah and the other small kingdoms were not able to meet the Assyrian

armies. The whole land was in terror, and Hezekiah, the king, who had

been so eager for war, was glad enough, now that it had actually come,

to seek the wise counsel of the prophet.)

Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, that

Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities

of Judah and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from

Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood

by the conduit of the upper pool in the high way of the fuller's

field. Then came forth to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over

the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the

recorder. And Rabshakeh said unto them, "Say ye now to Hezekiah, 'Thus

saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this

wherein thou trustest? I say, thy counsel and {272} strength for the

war are but vain words: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast

rebelled against me? Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this

bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into

his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust

on him. But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not

that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away,

and hath said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this

altar? Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king

of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able

on thy part to set riders upon them. How then canst thou turn away the

face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy

trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? And am I now come up

without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said unto

me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.'"

Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, "Speak, I pray

thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it:

and speak not to us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people

that are on the wall."

But Rabshakeh said, "Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to

thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit

upon the wall?"

Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews'

language, and said, "Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of

Assyria. Thus saith the king, 'Let {273} not Hezekiah deceive you; for

he shall not be able to deliver you: neither let Hezekiah make you

trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city

shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.' Hearken not

to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, 'Make your peace with

me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and everyone

of his fig tree, and drink ye everyone the waters of his own cistern:

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of

corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah

persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods

of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of

Assyria? Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have

delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver

Jerusalem out of my hand?'"

But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's

commandment was, "Answer him not."

Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and

Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah

with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his

clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house

of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and

Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with

sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto

him, "Thus saith Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of trouble, {274} and of

rebuke, and of confusion. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the

words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to

defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord thy God

hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is

left.'"

So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto

them, "Thus shall ye say to your master, 'Thus saith the Lord, Be not

afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of

the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in

him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return unto his own land;

and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.'"

So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against

Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And he

heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "He is come out to fight

against thee." And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah,

saying, "Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, 'Let

not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem

shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou

hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by

destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?'"

And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and

read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread

it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, "O Lord

of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest upon the cherubim, thou art

{275} the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou

hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open

thine eyes, O Lord, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib,

which hath sent to defy the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of

Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their land, and have

cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of

men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. Now

therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the

kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou

only."

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, "Thus saith

the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Whereas thou hast prayed to me against

Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which the Lord hath

spoken concerning him: The daughter of Zion hath despised thee and

laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head

at thee. Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast

thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against

the Holy One of Israel. By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and

hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the

height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will

cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof:

and I will enter into his farthest height, the forest of his fruitful

field. Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it

of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest

lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their {276}

inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded;

they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, and as a

field of corn before it be grown up. But I know thy sitting down, and

thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me. Because

of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogancy is come up into

mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in

thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.'"

"Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, 'He

shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall

he come before it with shield, nor cast up siege works against it. By

the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not

come unto this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city to

save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'"

And the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the

Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when men

arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead. So

Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went back and dwelt at

Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of

Nisroch his god, two of his sons smote him with the sword: and they

escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his

stead.

[Footnote: Other stories of the reigns of Hezekiah and the kings of

Judah and Israel may be found in Volume III. ]

{277}

[Footnote: The following are selections from the great poems of

Isaiah. For majesty of utterance, for lofty and inspired thought,

these are unmatched in literature.]

GOD IS MY SALVATION

I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord,

For though thou wast angry with me,

Thine anger is turned away,

And thou comfortest me.

Behold God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid:

For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song;

And he is become my salvation.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water

Out of the wells of salvation.

Give thanks unto the Lord,

Call upon his name,

Declare his doings among the peoples,

Make mention that his name is exalted.

Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things:

Let this be known in all the earth.

Cry aloud, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:

For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

{278}

THE COMING MESSIAH

For unto us a child is born,

Unto us a son is given;

And the government shall be upon his shoulder;

And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government

And of peace there shall be no end

Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom;

To establish it with judgment,

And with righteousness, from henceforward even for ever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

{279}

A SONG OF TRIUMPH

Sing unto the Lord a new song,

And his praise from the end of the earth;

Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein,

The isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,

The villages that Kedar doth inhabit;

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,

Let them shout from the top of the mountains.

Let them give glory unto the Lord,

And declare his praise in the islands.

The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man;

He shall stir up zeal like a man of war:

He shall cry, yea, he shall shout aloud;

He shall do mightily against his enemies.

{280}

PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD

Let me sing of my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.

My wellbeloved had a vineyard

In a very fruitful hill:

And he made a trench about it,

And gathered out the stones thereof,

And planted it with the choicest vine,

And built a tower in the midst of it,

And also hewed out a winepress therein:

And he looked that it should bring forth grapes--

And it brought forth wild grapes.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray

you, betwixt me and my vineyard.

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in

it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes,

brought it forth wild grapes? And now come, I will tell you what I

will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it

shall be eaten up; I will break down the fence thereof, and it shall

be trodden down: and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor

hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command

the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the

Lord of hosts is the {281} house of Israel, and the men of Judah his

pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for

righteousness, but behold a cry.

THE CONDEMNATION UPON UNFRUITFULNESS

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till

there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the

land! In mine ears saith the Lord of hosts, "Of a truth many houses

shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. For ten

acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall

yield but an ephah."

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow

strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them!

And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine are in

their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither have

they considered the operation of his hands. Therefore my people are

gone into captivity, for lack of knowledge: and their honourable men

are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst. Therefore

hell hath enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure:

and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that

rejoiceth among them, descend into it. And the mean man is bowed down

and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled:

but the Lord of hosts is exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One is

sanctified in righteousness. {282} Then shall the lambs feed as in

their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers

eat.

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it

were with a cart rope: that say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten

his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of

Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!"

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness

for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and

sweet for bitter!

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their

own sight!

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to

mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for a reward, and take

away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the

tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the dry grass sinketh

down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their

blossom shall go up as dust: because they have rejected the law of the

Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

{283}

[Footnote: The prophet threatens Judah with invasion by the dreaded

Assyrian army.]

THE DOOM OF THE UNFRUITFUL NATION

For all this his anger is not turned away,

But his hand is stretched forth still.

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar,

And he will hiss for them from the end of the earth:

And, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly;

None shall be weary nor stumble among them;

None shall slumber nor sleep;

Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed,

Nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Whose arrows are sharp,

And all their bows bent;

Their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint,

And their wheels like a whirlwind:

Their roaring shall be like a lion,

They shall roar like young lions:

Yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey,

And carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver.

And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea;

And if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and distress,

And the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.

{284}

COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,

Saith your God.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,

And cry unto her,

That her warfare is accomplished,

That her iniquity is pardoned;

That she hath received of the Lord's hand

Double for all her sin.

Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted,

And every mountain and hill shall be made low:

And the crooked shall be made straight,

And the rough places plain:

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

And all flesh shall see it together:

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The voice of one saying, "Cry."

And one said, "What shall I cry?"

All flesh is grass,

And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

The grass withereth,

The flower fadeth, {285}

Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it:

Surely the people is grass.

The grass withereth,

The flower fadeth:

But the word of our God shall stand forever.

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion,

Get thee up into the high mountain;

O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,

Lift up thy voice with strength;

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say unto the cities of Judah, "Behold your God."

Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one,

And his arm shall rule for him:

Behold his reward is with him,

And his recompense before him.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,

He shall gather the lambs in his arms,

And carry them in his bosom,

And shall gently lead those that give suck.

{286}

AWAKE, O ZION!

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion;

Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city;

For henceforth there shall no more come into thee

the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake thyself from the dust;

Arise, sit thee down, O Jerusalem:

Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him

That bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace,

That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation;

That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.

The voice of the watchmen! they lift up the voice,

Together do they sing,

For they shall see, eye to eye,

When the Lord returneth to Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together,

Ye waste places of Jerusalem:

For the Lord hath comforted his people,

He hath redeemed Jerusalem. {287}

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm

In the eyes of the nations;

And all the ends of the earth

Shall see the salvation of our God.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence,

Touch no unclean thing:

Go ye out of the midst of her;

Be ye clean ye that bear the vessels of the Lord.

For ye shall not go out in haste,

Neither shall ye go by flight;

For the Lord will go before you,

And the God of Israel will be your rearguard.

{288}

THE TRIUMPH OF THE MAN OF SORROWS

Who hath believed that which we have heard?

And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he grew up before him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of a dry ground:

He hath no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him;

Nor beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected of men;

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief:

And as one from whom men hide their face he was despised,

And we esteemed him not.

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.

{290}

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.

{291}

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.

{293}

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.

{297}

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.)

{298}

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."

{299}{300}

[Illustration]

A STREET IN JERUSALEM, WITH THE HOUSES BUILT OVER THE STREET.

[End illustration]

{301}

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.

{309}

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."

{313}

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.

{314}

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.

{315}{316}

[Illustration]

ANATHOTH, THE HOME OF JEREMIAH.

From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon, and used by his kind

permission.

[End illustration]

{317}

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?"

{320}

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."

{321}

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.

{322}

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.'

"Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early

and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not this abominable thing that I

hate.' But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from

their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my

fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of

Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and

desolate, as it is this day.

"Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of

Israel: 'Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your own souls,

to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the

midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining; in that ye provoke me

unto anger with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other

gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to sojourn; that ye may

be cut off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the

nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your

fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness

{328} of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of

your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the

streets of Jerusalem?

"They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared,

nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and

before your fathers.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I

will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. And

I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into

the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in

the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword

and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the

greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an

execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

"'For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have

punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the

pestilence: so that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into

the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they

should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire

to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall

escape.'"

Then all the men which knew that their wives burned incense unto other

gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the

people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah,

saying, "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of

the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But {329} we will certainly

perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn

incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto

her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes,

in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had

we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we

left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink

offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed

by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the

queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make

her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her,

without our husbands?"

Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women,

even to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, "The

incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of

Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the

people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not

into his mind? so that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the

evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have

committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an

astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the

Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his

law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil

is happened unto you, as it is this day."

{330}

Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women,

"Bear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: 'Ye and your

wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have

fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have

vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink

offerings unto her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows.'

"Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the

land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord,

that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah

in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord God liveth. Behold, I

watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah

that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by

the famine, until there be an end of them. And they that escape the

sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah,

few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the

land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand,

mine, or theirs.

"'And this shall be the sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will

punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely

stand against you for evil': thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will give

Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into

the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah

into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that

sought his life.'"

{331}

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of

Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah,

in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,

saying, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch:

'Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added sorrow to my

pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou

say unto him, Thus saith the Lord: Behold, that which I have built

will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and

this in the whole land.

"'And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for,

behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life

will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.'"

VII

THE LAST PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH

(The last prophecies of Jeremiah in which he predicts the doom of

Babylon.)

The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the

nations.

_The Doom of Babylon_

The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land

of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

{332}

"Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard;

publish, and conceal not: say, 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame,

Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are

dismayed.'

"'For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which

shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are

fled, they are gone, both man and beast. In those days, and in that

time,' saith the Lord, 'the children of Israel shall come, they and

the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping,

and shall seek the Lord their God. They shall inquire concerning Zion

with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to

the Lord in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.

"'My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to

go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone

from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. All

that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We

offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation

of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.

"'Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of

the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks. For, lo, I

will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great

nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array

against her; from thence she shall be taken: {333} their arrows shall

be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea

shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied,' saith the

Lord.

"'Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder mine

heritage, because ye are wanton as an heifer that treadeth out the

corn, and neigh as strong horses; your mother shall be sore ashamed;

she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the

hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it

shall be wholly desolate: everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be

astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Set yourselves in array

against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her,

spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord. Shout against

her round about; she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen,

her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord; take

vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower

from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest:

for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his

people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.'

"Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first

the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar

king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord

of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will punish the king of

Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. {334}

And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on

Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of

Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days, and in that time,' saith the

Lord, 'the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be

none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will

pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

"'Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against

the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them,' saith

the Lord, 'and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound

of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer

of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a

desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou

art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found,

and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.'

"The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons

of his indignation: for the Lord, the Lord of hosts, hath a work to do

in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the utmost border,

open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly:

let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to

the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their

visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of

Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the

vengeance of his temple.

"Call together the archers against Babylon, all them {335} that bend

the bow; camp against her round about; let none thereof escape:

recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath

done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against

the Holy One of Israel. 'Therefore shall her young men fall in her

streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that

day,' saith he Lord. "Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one,'

saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: 'for thy day is come, the time that

I will visit thee. And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none

shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it

shall devour all that are round about him.'

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'The children of Israel and the

children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them

captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. Their redeemer is

strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their

cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the

inhabitants of Babylon. A sword is upon the Chaldeans,' saith the

Lord, 'and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and

upon her wise men. A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall dote:

a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

"'A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all

the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become

as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

"'A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be {336} dried up: for

it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon idols. Therefore

the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and

the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited

for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.'

"'As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities

thereof,' saith the Lord; 'so shall no man dwell there, neither shall

any son of man sojourn therein. Behold, a people cometh from the

north; and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the

uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are

cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they

ride upon horses; every one set in array, as a man to the battle,

against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard

the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of

him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like

a lion from the pride of Jordan against the strong habitation: but I

will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoso is chosen, him

will I appoint over her: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a

time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?'

"Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against

Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of

the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones

of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate {337}

with them. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth,

and the cry is heard among the nations.

"Thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and

against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind. And I will

send unto Babylon strangers, that shall fan her; and they shall empty

her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round

about. Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not lift himself

up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye

utterly all her host. And they shall fall down slain in the land of

the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.'

"For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of the Lord of

hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of

Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life;

be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of the Lord's

vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon hath been a

golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the

nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon

is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her

pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but

she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own

country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even

to the skies.

"The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us

declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. Make sharp the arrows;

hold firm the shields: {338} the Lord hath stirred up the spirit of

the kings of the Medes; because his device is against Babylon, to

destroy it: for it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his

temple. Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch

strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both

devised and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of

Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures,

thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness. The Lord of hosts

hath sworn by himself, saying, 'Surely I will fill thee with men, as

with the cankerworm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.'

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by

his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the

heavens: when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in

the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the

earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind

out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish and is without

knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image: for

his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They

are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they

shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the

former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: the

Lord of hosts is his name.

"'Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I

break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

and with thee will I break {339} in pieces the horse and his rider;

and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth

therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with

thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee

will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; and with thee will

I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I

break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee

will I break in pieces governors and deputies. And I will render unto

Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they

have done in Zion in your sight,' saith the Lord.

"'Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain,' saith the Lord,

'which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon

thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt

mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a

stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever,' saith the

Lord.

"'Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the

nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her

the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against

her; cause the horses to come up as the rough cankerworm. Prepare

against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors

thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of his

dominion. And the land trembleth and is in pain: for the purposes of

the Lord against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a

desolation, {340} without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have

forborne to fight, they remain in their strong holds; their might hath

failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire;

her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one

messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city

is taken on every quarter: and the passages are surprised, and the

reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

"For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'The daughter of

Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet

a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed

me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a

dragon, he hath filled his maw with my delicates; he hath cast me

out.'

"The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the

inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of

Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, I will plead thy cause, and

take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her

fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for

jackals, an astonishment, and an hissing, without inhabitant. They

shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions'

whelps. When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make

them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and

not wake,' saith the Lord.

{341}

"'I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with

he-goats. How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth

surprised! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! The

sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the

waves thereof. Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a

desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man

pass thereby. And I will do judgment upon 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.'

"My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every

man from the fierce anger of the Lord. And let not your heart faint,

neither fear ye for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a

rumour shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come

a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

"'Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the

graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be ashamed; and all

her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heaven and the

earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for

the spoilers shall come unto her from the north,' saith the Lord.

"As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon

shall fall the slain of all the land. Ye that have escaped the sword,

go ye, stand not still; {342} remember the Lord from afar, and let

Jerusalem come into your mind. We are ashamed, because we have heard

reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come

into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.

"'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. 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.

"The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the

land of the Chaldeans! for the Lord spoileth Babylon, and destroyeth

out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters, the

noise of their voice is uttered: for the spoiler is come upon her,

even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken

in pieces: for the Lord is a God of recompenses, he shall surely

requite. 'And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her

governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a

perpetual sleep, and not wake,' saith the King, whose name is the Lord

of hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'The broad walls of Babylon

shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with

fire; and the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the

fire; and they shall be weary.'"

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of

Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when {343} he went with Zedekiah the king

of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was

chief chamberlain. And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that

should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written

concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When thou comest to

Babylon, then see that thou read all these words, and say, 'O Lord,

thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall

dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate

for ever.' And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this

book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst

of Euphrates: and thou shalt say, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall

not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her: and

they shall be weary.'"

{344}

EZEKIEL

(The book of Ezekiel differs from every other book of prophecy in the

fact that none of it was written in Palestine. It was written in

Babylonia, whither Ezekiel had been taken captive while still a youth.

The captives knew what was going on in Jerusalem. When the city was

first taken, at the occasion when Ezekiel was made captive, the

Babylonians were content to carry off ten thousand of the best of the

people, with great treasure. The writer of Kings says that "none

remained, save the poorest of the people of the land." Over this poor

remnant of a wrecked state the Babylonian government set up a king.

For nine years he remained loyal to Babylon. Then, with the foolish

hope that Egypt would help him when war came, he revolted against the

power of Babylon. Soon Babylonian armies appeared before Jerusalem,

and, two years after, the city fell. More captives were deported, the

city was burned, the walls broken down, no king set up, but only a

governor, and the kingdom of Israel, over which only one family had

ruled since the time of David, nearly five hundred years before, was

forever at an end. The fall of Jerusalem was in 586 B. C.

With every device of vision and picture and pleading Ezekiel tried to

keep the captives true to their country and their God. It is good to

know that he succeeded in his attempt. The Jews in Babylonia kept

their faith, and, in later years, it was from them that these

prophetic books went, together with a strong influence for religious

reform, back to Palestine.)

I

A LAMENTATION FOR THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL

Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the princes

of Israel, and say, "What was thy mother?

"A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the {345} young

lions she nourished her whelps. And she brought up one of her whelps;

he became a young lion: and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured

men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit: and

they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw

that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of

her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among

the lions, he became a young lion: and he learned to catch the prey,

he devoured men. And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their

cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of

the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every

side from the provinces: and they spread their net over him; he was

taken in their pit. And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought

him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strong holds, that

his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

"Thy mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: she

was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she

had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their

stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in

their height with the multitude of their branches. But she was plucked

up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried

up her fruit: her strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire

consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and

thirsty land. And fire is gone out of the rods of her branches, it

hath {346} devoured her fruit, so that there is in her no strong rod

to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a

lamentation."

II

THE DOOM OF TYRE

(The description of Tyre is particularly valuable, because it gives

such a vivid picture of the commercial activity of a great city in

ancient times.)

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the

month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Son of man,

because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, 'Aha, she is broken

that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me: I shall be

replenished, now that she is laid waste:' therefore thus saith the

Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many

nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come

up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her

towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare

rock. She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of

the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and she shall

become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the

field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am the

Lord." For thus saith the Lord God: "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with

horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and much

people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the {347} field:

and he shall make forts against thee, and cast up a mount against

thee, and raise up the buckler against thee. And he shall set his

battering engines against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break

down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust

shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen,

and of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy

gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the

hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay

thy people with the sword, and the pillars of thy strength shall go

down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and

make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls,

and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy

timber and thy dust in the midst of the waters. And I will cause the

noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no

more heard. And I will make thee a bare rock: thou shalt be a place

for the spreading of nets; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord

have spoken it, saith the Lord God."

Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre: "Shall not the isles shake at the

sound of thy fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made

in the midst of thee? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down

from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their

broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they

shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be

astonished at thee. And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and

say to thee, 'How art thou {348} destroyed, that wast inhabited of

seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she

and her inhabitants, which caused their terror to be on all that haunt

it!' Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the

isles that are in the sea shall be dismayed at thy departure."

For thus saith the Lord God: "When I shall make thee a desolate city,

like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep

upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee; then will I bring

thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of old

time, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth, in

the places that are desolate of old, with them that go down to the

pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of

the living: I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more:

though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again," saith

the Lord God.

(The prophet here draws a striking picture of Eastern commerce. He

pictures Tyre as a ship, trading in the commodities of all the nations

of the world, but wrecked at last and destroyed by the storm.)

The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, And thou, son of man,

take up a lamentation for Tyre; and say unto Tyre, O thou that

dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the merchant of the

peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord God: Thou, O Tyre, hast

said, "I am perfect in beauty."

Thy borders are in the heart of the seas, thy builders have perfected

thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir trees from Senir:

they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make a mast for thee.

{349}

Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy

benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the isles of Kittim.

Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it

might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of

Elishah was thine awning.

The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy rowers: thy wise men, O

Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots.

The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy

calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to

occupy thy merchandise.

Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hung

the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and

the Gammadim were in thy towers: they hung their shields upon thy

walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty.

Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of

riches; with silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded for thy wares.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers: they traded the

persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise.

They of the house of Togarmah traded for thy wares with horses and

war-horses and mules.

The men of Dedan were thy traffickers: many isles were the mart of

thine hand: they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.

{350}

Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy handiworks:

they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work,

and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers: they traded

for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil,

and balm.

[Footnote: Pannag--Perhaps a kind of confection.]

Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy handiworks, by

reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with the wine of

Helbon, and white wool.

Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia,

and calamus, were among thy merchandise.

Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding. Arabia, and

all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in

lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.

The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers: they

traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with all precious

stones, and gold.

Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur and

Chilmad, were thy traffickers. These were thy traffickers in choice

wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and in chests of rich

apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise: and thou

wast replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.

{351}

Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath

broken thee in the heart of the seas.

Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy

pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy

men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the

midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy

ruin.

At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the suburbs shall shake. And all

that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea,

shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land, and

shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly,

and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves

in the ashes: and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird

them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of

soul with bitter mourning.

And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and

lament over thee, saying, "Who is there like Tyre, like her that is

brought to silence in the midst of the sea?" When thy wares went forth

out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the

kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy

merchandise.

In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the

waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall in the midst of

thee.

All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their

kings are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance.

{352}

The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a

terror, and thou shalt never be any more.

III

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

(This is a strong picture of the reviving power of God's

spirit in a repentant nation.)

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit

of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was

full of bones; and he caused me to pass by them round about: and

behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were

very dry.

And he said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I

answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest."

Again he said unto me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them,

'O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'"

Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: "Behold, I will cause breath

to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you,

and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put

breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the

Lord."

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a

noise, and behold an earthquake, and the bones came together, bone to

his bone. And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh

came up, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in {353}

them. Then said he unto me, "Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of

man, and say to the wind, 'Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four

winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'"

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and

they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Then he said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of

Israel: behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is

lost; we are clean cut off.'

"Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God:

Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your

graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And

ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and

caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put

my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own

land: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed

it, saith the Lord.'"

{354}

AMOS

(Amos, one of the earliest of the prophets, was a poor herdsman of the

village of Tekoa, which was about twelve miles southeast of Jerusalem,

on the edge of the great wilderness or pasture land, which stretches

from the crest of the hills to the Dead Sea. The call of God came to

him to leave his herds and speak against the immorality, the

oppression of the poor, the injustice of the people in the northern

kingdom of Israel. He appeared at one of the great feasts and spoke

his message boldly. The priest of Bethel, where the feast was held,

was very angry with him, and tried to frighten him by sending to the

king the report that he was a traitor. This is)

I

THE MESSAGE OF AMOS AT THE FEAST

This the Lord Jehovah caused me to see: behold, he formed locusts at

the beginning of the coming up of the spring crops, and behold, it was

after the king's mowings. It came to pass when they had made an end of

devouring the verdure of the earth, that I said,

"O Lord Jehovah, pardon, I pray Thee! How shall Jacob rise again? He

is so small!"

Jehovah repented for this. "It shall not be," saith Jehovah.

This the Lord Jehovah caused me to see: and behold, the Lord Jehovah

was calling fire into the contest; and it devoured the Great Deep,

yea, it was about to devour the land.

{355}

"O Lord Jehovah, pardon, I pray thee! How shall Jacob rise again? He

is so small!"

Jehovah repented for this. "It also shall not come to pass," saith the

Lord Jehovah.

This he showed me, and behold the Lord has taken his station upon a

city wall, a wall built with a plumbline.

And Jehovah said to me, "What art thou seeing?" And I said, "A

plumbline." And the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumbline in

the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass them over. The

high places of Israel shall be desolate and the sanctuaries of Isaac

laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the

sword."

II

AMOS DEFIES THE PRIEST

("As Savonarola at the Duomo in Florence, as Luther at the Diet of

Worms, as our Lord Himself at the feast in Jerusalem, so was Amos at

the feast in Bethel."--_Smith_.)

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel,

saying, "Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of

Israel. The land is not able to hold his words." For thus hath Amos

said, "By the sword shall Jeroboam die, and Israel going shall go into

captivity from off his own land."

And Amaziah Said unto Amos, "Visionary, be gone! Get thee off to the

land of Judah; and eat thy bread there, and there play the prophet.

But at Bethel thou shalt not {356} again prophesy. The king's

sanctuary it is, and the house of the kingdom."

But Amos answered and said unto Amaziah, "No prophet I, nor prophet's

son. But a herdsman I, and a dresser of sycamores; and Jehovah took me

from behind the flock and Jehovah said unto me, 'Go, prophesy unto my

people Israel.'

"Now therefore hearken to the word of Jehovah, thou that sayest,

prophesy not against Israel, nor let drop thy words against the house

of Israel; therefore thus saith Jehovah. Thy wife in the city shall

become an outcast; and thy sons and thy daughters by the sword--shall

fall; and thy land--by the measuring rope shall be divided; and thou

in an unclean land shalt die. And Israel shall be driven from his land

into captivity."

III

THE DOOM OF A CORRUPT CIVILIZATION

Hear this word which Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of

Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of

Egypt. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth,

therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities." Can two walk

together except they have an appointment? Doth a lion roar in the

jungle and have no prey? Doth a young lion let forth his voice from

his den if he hath taken nothing?

Doth a little bird fall on the snare earthwards and there be no noose

about her? Doth the snare itself rise up from the ground, except it be

capturing something?

{357}{358}

[Illustration]

CONVENT OF MAR-SARBA IN THE HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA.

It is on the edge of this "wilderness of Judea" that the towns of

Bethlehem, and Tekoa, the home of Amos, are situated, and in this

region both David and Amos pastured their sheep.

[End illustration]

{359}

Is the alarm trumpet blown in a city and do the people not tremble?

Shall calamity happen in a city and Jehovah not have done it? Yea, the

Lord Jehovah doeth nothing but he has revealed his purpose to his

servants the prophets. The lion has roared, who shall not fear?

Jehovah hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Make proclamation over the palaces in Ashdod, and over the palaces in

the land of Egypt, and say, "Gather upon the Mount of Samaria and see!

Confusions manifold in the midst of her; violence to her very core!"

Yea they know not how to do uprightness, saith Jehovah, who store up

wrong and violence in their palaces. Therefore saith the Lord, "Siege

and investment of the land! And they shall bring down thy fortresses

and plundered shall be thy palaces." Thus saith Jehovah: "As the

shepherd saveth from the mouth of the lion, a pair of shin bones or a

bit of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be saved--they who sit

in Samaria in the corner of the divan and on a Damascus couch."

"Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob"--saith the Lord God

of Hosts. "For on the days when I visit the crimes of Israel upon him,

I shall there make visitation upon the altars of Bethel, and the horns

of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. And I will smite

the winter house, and the summer house, and the ivory houses shall

perish, yea, swept away shall be houses many"-- oracle of Jehovah.

Hear this word, women of Israel, kine of Bashan that are in the mount

of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say to

their lords, "Bring, and let us {360} drink." Sworn hath the Lord

Jehovah by his holiness, lo! days are coming when there shall be a

taking away of you with hooks, and of the last of you with fish-hooks.

Yea, by the breaches (in the wall of the stormed city) shall ye go

out, everyone headlong, and ye shall fling yourselves out on the

mountains as a refuge.

IV

FALSE WORSHIP. THE CHASTISEMENT OF THE LORD

Come away to Bethel and transgress!

At Gilgal exaggerate your transgressions!

And bring every morning your sacrifices.

Every three days your tithes!

And send up the savour of leavened bread as a thank-offering.

And call out your charities--make them to be heard!

For so ye loved to do, a children of Israel--saith the Lord.

But I on my side withheld from you the winter rain, while it was still

three months to the harvest, and I let it rain repeatedly on one city,

and upon one city I did not let it rain: one piece was rained upon,

and the piece that was not rained upon withered: and two or three

cities kept struggling to one city for water, and were not

satisfied--yet ye did not return to me--saith the Lord.

I smote you with blasting and with mildew: many of your gardens and

your vineyards and your figs and your olives the locust devoured--yet

ye did not return to me--saith the Lord.

{361}

I overturned among you, like God's own overturning of Sodom and

Gomorrah, till ye became as a brand plucked from the burning--yet ye

did not return to me--saith the Lord.

Therefore, thus shall I do to thee, O Israel: because I am going to do

this to thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that

formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth to man

what his thought is, that maketh the morning, darkness, and marcheth

on the high places of the earth, the Lord God of Hosts his name.

V

THE OPPRESSION OF THE POOR

Seek ye Jehovah and live, lest he break forth like fire, O house of

Joseph, and it consume and there be none to quench at Bethel. He that

made the Pleiades and Orion, that turneth the deep shadow into

morning, and day he darkeneth to night, that calleth for the waters of

the sea and poureth them out on the face of the earth--Jehovah, his

name. He it is that flasheth out ruin on strength, and bringeth down

destruction on the fortified.

They that turn justice to wormwood, and abase righteousness to the

earth! They hate him that reproveth in the gate and him that speaketh

sincerely they abhor. Wherefore, because ye trample on the weak, and

take from him a present of corn, ye shall have houses built of hewn

stone, but ye shall not dwell in them: vineyards for pleasure have ye

planted, but ye shall not drink of their wine. For I know how many are

your crimes and how forceful your sins--ye that browbeat the

righteous, take bribes and {362} turn aside the poor in the gate.

Therefore the prudent in such a time is dumb, for an evil time it is.

Seek good and not evil, that ye may live, and Jehovah God of Hosts be

with you as ye say he is. Hate evil and love good: and in the gate set

justice on her feet again --it may be that Jehovah God of Hosts may

have pity on the remnant of Joseph.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah, God of Hosts, Lord: On all the open

ways, lamentation, and in all streets they shall be saying, "Ah woe!

Ah woe!" And in all vineyards, lamentation, and they shall call the

ploughman to wailing, and to lamentation them that are skilful in

dirges, for I shall pass through their midst, saith Jehovah.

Woe unto you that long for the day of the Lord!

Wherefore would ye have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not

light. As when a man fleeth from the face of a lion and a bear falls

upon him: and he comes unto the house and leans his hand upon the wall

and a serpent bites him. Is it not darkness, the day of Jehovah, and

not light? storm-darkness, and not a ray of light upon it?

I hate, I loathe your feasts, and I will not smell the savour of your

gatherings to sacrifice. Though ye bring to me your burnt-offering,

and your meal-offerings, I will not be pleased, or your

thank-offerings of fatted calves, I will not look at them. Let cease

from me the noise of thy songs: to the playing of thy viols I will not

listen. But let justice roll on like water, and righteousness like an

unfailing stream.

[Footnote: This translation is in the main that of George Adam Smith

in the "Expositor's Bible."]

{363}

HOSEA

(Hosea belonged to the same generation as Amos, and meets the same

social sins and oppressions of the poor by the rich. He emphasizes the

religious side of the difficulties. Sin is treachery against God, and

peculiarly mean treachery; for God loves his people. Hosea's emphasis

on the love of God is almost the beginning of the greatest idea about

God that man ever conceived. It grew out of a very sad part of his own

life. His wife had left him, and yet he could not forget her. He still

loved her, and could not cease loving her. This experience showed him

what God must be like. God loved Israel. When Israel sinned, God was

hurt and saddened. Could God cease to love Israel? Never! If he, a

man, still loved his wife, could Jehovah, being God, love less? Must

not his love be greater than man's? So it comes about that Hosea gives

a very vivid and wonderful picture of the sad and terrible results of

sin, and of the tender, compassionate love of God. The book is more

disconnected than many of the prophecies. It is a series of

independent sections, nearly all of which express, in different

language, much the same ideas of Israel's sin and God's love.)

I

SOWING THE WIND; REAPING THE WHIRLWIND