"See. I have put my words in your mouth, and I have appointed you this
day over the nations and kingdoms, to tear up and break down, to destroy
and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
Again this message came from Jehovah, "What do you see?" I answered, "A
great kettle brewing hot, and it faces from the north." Then Jehovah
said to me: "From the north trouble is brewing for all the people of the
land. For I am about to call all the kingdoms of the north, and they
shall come and each set up his throne at the entrance to the gates of
Jerusalem and around its walls and against all the cities of Judah. And
I will pass judgment upon Jerusalem and these cities for all their
wickedness, for they have been disloyal to me and offered sacrifices to
other gods and have worshipped that which their own hands have made.
"Therefore make ready, rise, speak to them all that I command you. Do
not be afraid of them, for see, I myself will make you this day like a
fortified city, and like a bronze wall against the rulers of Judah, its
leaders, its priests, and the common people. Though they fight against
you, they will not overcome you, for I am with you to protect you."
THE YOUNG JOSIAH AND THE BOOK OF THE LAW
Josiah was eight years old when he began to rule, and he ruled
thirty-one years in Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of his rule he
sent Shaphan, the scribe, to the temple of Jehovah with the command, "Go
up to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and see that, when he has taken the
money that is brought into the temple of Jehovah and that which the
doorkeepers have gathered from the people, they give it to the workmen
who have charge of the temple of Jehovah. Then let them give it to the
carpenters, the builders, and the masons who are in the temple of
Jehovah, to repair the breaks in it and to buy timber and cut stone to
restore it." But no account was asked of them for the money that was
given to them, for they dealt honestly.
Then Hilkiah, the chief priest, said to Shaphan, the scribe, "I have
found the book of the law in the temple of Jehovah." And Hilkiah gave
the book to Shaphan, and he read it. Then Shaphan went to Josiah and
told him, "Your servants have taken the money that was found in the
temple and have turned it over to the workmen who have charge of the
temple of Jehovah." Shaphan, the scribe, also said to Josiah, "Hilkiah,
the priest, has given me a book." And Shaphan read it to him.
When Josiah had heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his
clothes. Then he gave this command to Hilkiah, the priest, to Ahikam,
the son of Shaphan, to Achbor, the son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the
scribe, and to Asaiah, his servant, "Go, ask of Jehovah for me and for
the people and for all Judah about the words of this book that has been
found; for Jehovah must be very angry with us, because our fathers have
not listened to the words of this book nor done all that we are there
commanded to do."
So Hilkiah, the priest, and Ahikam and Achbor went to Huldah, the
prophetess, who lived in Jerusalem and talked with her. She said to
them, "This is the message of Jehovah, the God of Israel: 'Tell the man
who sent you to me, Jehovah says, I am now about to bring evil upon this
place and upon its people even all that is written in the book which the
ruler of Judah has read. But you shall say to him who sent you to ask of
Jehovah, Jehovah the God of Israel declares, Because you listened and
humbled yourself before Jehovah and have wept before me, I also have
heard you,'" So they brought back word to Josiah.
Then at his command they got together all the leaders of Judah and of
Jerusalem. And Josiah went up to the temple of Jehovah, and with him all
the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem, as well as the priests
and the prophets and all the people, including the children. And he read
to them all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the
temple of Jehovah. And Josiah stood by the pillar and made a solemn
promise before Jehovah to obey all the commands and carry out the rules
written in this book. And all the people also agreed to do so.
Then Josiah commanded Hilkiah, the chief priest, and the second priest
and the doorkeepers to bring out from the temple of Jehovah all the
things that were made for Baal and for the Canaanite goddess of fortune,
and for the Babylonian star gods. And he burned them outside Jerusalem
in the lime-kilns by the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He
also put away the idolatrous priests, whom the rulers of Judah had
appointed to offer sacrifice at the temples on the heights in the towns
of Judah and in the places about Jerusalem; those also who offered
sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, and the planets and all the
starry host.
He also destroyed Topheth, which is in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so that
no man could ever make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to
Molech. He removed the horses at the entrance of the temple of Jehovah,
which the rulers of Judah had given to the sun, and burned the chariots
of the sun. Josiah broke down and crushed in pieces the altars that were
on the roof, which the rulers of Judah had made.
Josiah also tore down the altar and the old temple at Bethel, broke its
stones in pieces, and beat it to dust.
Then he gave this command to all the people: "Keep the passover to
Jehovah your God, as is commanded in this book of the covenant." Such a
passover as this had not been kept from the days of the judges who ruled
Israel and during the period of the rulers of Israel and of Judah; but
this passover was kept in Jehovah's honor in Jerusalem for the first
time in the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule.
Josiah put away all the mediums, the wizards, the idols and all the evil
things that were discovered in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that
he might carry out the words of the law which were written in the book
that Hilkiah, the priest, found in the temple of Jehovah. Josiah was the
first ruler who turned to Jehovah with all his heart, with all his soul,
and with all his strength in exact accord with the law of Moses, nor
were any of the rulers that followed like him.
THE WRITING OF AN ANCIENT BOOK
When Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, had been ruler for four years, this
message came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, "Take a parchment roll and write
on it all the words that I have spoken to you about Jerusalem and Judah
and all the nations from the time of Josiah to the present. Perhaps the
people of Judah will pay attention to all the evil which I intend to
bring upon them, so that they will turn each from his evil way, that I
may forgive their guilt and sin."
Then Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a
parchment roll as Jeremiah told him all the words which Jehovah had
spoken to him. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am not
permitted to go to the temple of Jehovah. Therefore you go and read in
the temple on the fast day the words of Jehovah from the roll which you
have written at my command. You shall read them to all the people of
Judah who have come from their towns. Perhaps they will pray to Jehovah
and each turn from his evil way; for great is the anger and wrath of
Jehovah against this people." So Baruch did as Jeremiah, the prophet,
commanded him, reading in the temple from the writing the words of
Jehovah.
The next year, when all the people who had come to Jerusalem from the
cities of Judah were observing a fast in the temple courts, Baruch read
to them all from the writing the words of Jeremiah.
When Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan, had heard all the words of
Jehovah, he went down to the palace, where all the court officials were
sitting, and told them all that he had heard when Baruch read the book
to the people.
Then all the nobles sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, to Baruch to say:
"Take the roll from which you have read to all the people and come
here." So Baruch took the roll in his hand and went to them. And they
said to him, "Sit down now and read it to us." So Baruch read it to
them. But when they had heard all, they turned in fear to one another
and said to Baruch, "We must surely tell Jehoiakim all this." So they
asked Baruch, "Tell us now: how did you write all this?" Baruch
answered, "Jeremiah told it all to me and I wrote it down in ink." Then
the nobles said to Baruch, "Go, hide both yourself and Jeremiah, and let
no one know where you are."
But after they had put the roll in the room of Elishama, the chancellor,
they went to Jehoiakim's room, and told all these things to him. Then he
sent Jehudi to bring the roll, and he brought it out of the room of
Elishama, the chancellor. And Jehudi read it to him and to all the
leaders who were with him.
Now Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter house with a brazier burning
before him. When Jehudi had read three or four double columns, Jehoiakim
cut it with a paper-knife and threw it into the fire that was on the
brazier, and the entire roll was burned up. But neither he nor any of
his servants who were present, were disturbed or tore their garments.
Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah begged Jehoiakim not to burn the roll,
but he would not listen to them. He also ordered Jerahmeel, his son, and
Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to seize
Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah, the prophet, but Jehovah kept them
hidden.
Then Jeremiah took another roll and gave it to Baruch, the scribe, who
wrote on it as Jeremiah spoke to him, all the words of the book which
Jehoiakim, the ruler of Judah, had burned in the fire; and many other
similar words were added.
A PROPHET WHO SAVED A GREAT CITY
Once the king of Assyria sent a high official with a great army to
Jerusalem. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they called for Hezekiah the
ruler of Judah, Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, the scribe, and
Joah, the son of Asaph, and they came out to them. And the high official
said to them, "Why are you so confident? To whom do you look for help
that you have rebelled against me? You count on Egypt to help you.
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is as weak as a broken reed. But if you say, 'We
trust in Jehovah our God,' is not he the one whose high places and
altars Hezekiah has destroyed? Now therefore make a bargain with my
master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if
you are able on your part to set riders upon them. How then can you
conquer one of the least of my master's servants? Have I now come up
against this place to destroy it without Jehovah's approval? Jehovah it
was who said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.'"
Then Eliakim and Shebnah and Joah said to the high official, "Speak, I
pray you, to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand
it; but do not speak with us in the Jewish language in the hearing of
the people who are on the wall." But the high official said to them,
"Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words?
Is it not rather to the men who sit on the wall, who will suffer most
from the siege?"
Then the high official stood and cried with a loud voice, in the Jewish
language, saying, "Hear the message of the great king, the king of
Assyria. 'Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will
not be able to save you from my hand. Neither let Hezekiah make you
trust in Jehovah by saying, Jehovah will surely save us, and this city
shall not be given into the power of the king of Assyria.'"
"Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, 'Make
your peace with me and come over to me; then each one of you shall eat
from his own vine and his own fig-tree and drink the waters of his own
cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a
land full of grain and new wine, a land full of bread and vineyards, a
land full of olive-trees and honey, that you may live and not die. But
do not listen to Hezekiah, when he deceives you by saying, Jehovah will
save us. Has any of the gods of the nations ever saved his land from the
power of the king of Assyria? Have the gods of the land of Samaria saved
Samaria from my power? Who are they among all the gods of the countries,
that have saved their country from my power, that Jehovah should save
Jerusalem from my power?'"
Then the people were silent and made no answer; for the ruler's command
was, "Do not answer him." But Eliakim, the steward of the palace, and
Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, came to Hezekiah with
torn clothes and told him the words of the high official. And as soon as
Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with
sackcloth and went into the temple of Jehovah. And he sent Eliakim, who
was in charge of the palace, and Shebnah, the scribe and the oldest of
the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the prophet. And they
said to him, Hezekiah says, "This is a day of trouble, of discipline and
of shame. It may be Jehovah your God will hear all the words of the high
official, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to defy the
living God, and will punish him for them; therefore lift up your prayer
for the people."
When the servants of Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, "Take
back this answer to your master: Jehovah says, 'Do not be afraid of the
words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of
Assyria have insulted me. I will put a spirit in him, so that he will
hear bad news and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall
by the sword in his own land.'"
So the high official returned and found the king of Assyria making war
against Libnah, for he had heard that he had gone from Lachish. But the
king of Assyria had heard that Tirkakah, king of Ethiopia, had come out
to fight against him. Now that very night the angel of Jehovah went out
and struck down in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five
thousand. And when men arose early the next morning, these were all
dead.
Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went away and returned to Nineveh.
While he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god, his sons
struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of
Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, became king in his place.
JEREMIAH'S COURAGE IN DANGER
The command came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, "Stand in the door of the
temple and speak this message: 'Hear the word of Jehovah, all you people
of Judah who enter these gates to worship him. Jehovah, the God of
Israel, says: Change your ways and your deeds and I will let you live in
this place. Trust not in misleading words, thinking, this is the temple
of Jehovah. For if you really change your ways and your deeds, if you
faithfully see that justice is done between a man and his neighbor, if
you do no wrong to the foreigners who live among you, to the fatherless
nor to the widow, and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this
place nor follow other gods to your hurt, then I will let you stay in
this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.
"'But now you are trusting in misleading words that are useless. Will
you steal, murder, tell lies and offer sacrifice to Baal, and follow
other gods whom you have not known, and then come and stand before me in
this house which bears my name and say, We are free to do all these
shameful deeds? Is this my house, which bears my name, in your eyes a
den of robbers? I myself have seen these shameful deeds,' says Jehovah.
"'Then go to my temple which was at Shiloh, where people used to worship
me at first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my
people Israel. Now because you have done all these deeds, and have paid
no attention, although I spoke to you earnestly and often; and have not
answered, although I called you, I will destroy the temple which bears
my name, in which you trust, and the place which I gave to you and to
your fathers, as I did at Shiloh. I will also send you from my sight, as
I have sent away your relatives, even all the Northern Israelites.'"
When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him
to say, the priests and prophets seized him and said, "You must die. Why
have you said in the name of Jehovah that this temple shall be like
Shiloh and this city shall be deserted, with no one living in it?" And
all the people were gathered about Jeremiah in the temple of Jehovah.
But when the public officials of Judah heard of these things, they came
up from the palace to the temple of Jehovah and held court at the
entrance, at the new gate of the temple. Then the priests and the
prophets said to the officials and to the people, "This man should be
put to death, for he has prophesied against this city as you have heard
with your own ears." But Jeremiah answered the officials and all the
people, "It was Jehovah who sent me to prophesy against this temple and
city all that you have heard. Now therefore change your ways and your
deeds and listen to Jehovah your God; and he will not do the evil things
that he has threatened to do to you. But as for me, see, I am in your
power; do to me as you think right and proper. Only remember that, if
you put me to death, you will bring upon yourselves and upon this city
and upon its inhabitants guilt for shedding innocent blood, for Jehovah
has indeed sent me to you to tell you all these things."
Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to the
prophets, "This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in
the name of Jehovah our God." Certain of the elders of the land rose and
said to the assembly of the people, "Micah prophesied in the days when
Hezekiah ruled over Judah, and said to the people of Judah, 'Jehovah of
hosts says:
"Zion shall be ploughed as a field,
Jerusalem shall become a ruin,
The temple-mount an overgrown hill."'
"Did Hezekiah and the people of Judah put him to death? Did they not
rather fear Jehovah and ask him to forgive them, so that he did not do
the evil things that he had threatened to do to them? But we are in
danger of doing great harm to ourselves?"
THE SAD FATE OF A GUILTY NATION
Jerusalem was taken in the eleventh year of the rule of Zedekiah, on the
ninth day of the fourth month. An opening was made through the walls,
and all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle
gate. When Zedekiah, the ruler of Judah, and all the warriors saw them,
they fled and left the city by night by the way of the royal garden,
through the gate between the two walls, and went out toward the Arabah.
But the army of the Chaldeans followed them and captured Zedekiah on
the plains of Jericho. Then they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar, king
of Babylon, who was then at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And the king
of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And the king of
Babylon put to death all the nobles of Judah. Moreover, he put out
Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in chains to carry him to Babylon.
In the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon,
Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard, an officer of the king of
Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the temple of Jehovah and the
royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem. All the soldiers of the
Chaldeans, who were with the commander of the body-guard, broke down the
walls around Jerusalem. The rest of the people who were left in the city
and the deserters who had gone over to the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan
carried away captive. But he left some of the poorest of the people to
take care of the vineyards and farms.
The pillars of brass that were in the temple of Jehovah, and the stands
and the bronze sea that were in the temple of Jehovah the Chaldeans
broke in pieces and carried the brass from them to Babylon. Also the
pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, and all the vessels of
brass, with which sacrifices were offered in the temple, they took away.
The fire-pans and the basins of silver and of gold, the commander of the
body-guard also melted and took away.
The commander of the body-guard carried away Seraiah, the chief priest
and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three doorkeepers and brought
them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And the king of Babylon put them
to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So the people of Judah were
carried away captive from their own homeland.
Nebuchadrezzar made Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, governor over the
people he had left in the land of Judah.
Now Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, had given this command about
Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard, "Take good
care of him, and do him no harm; but do to him as he shall tell you." So
Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard, said to him, "See, I
release you this day from the chains which are upon your hand. If it
seems best to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look out
for you. But if you do not wish to come with me to Babylon, do not come;
go back to Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the
cities of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go wherever it
seems right for you to go." So the commander of the body-guard gave
Jeremiah food and a present, and sent him away. Then Jeremiah went to
Gedaliah, who was at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who
were left in the land.
THE COURAGE OF FOUR CAPTIVES
Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, commanded Ashpenaz, the chief of
his servants, to bring to him certain of the Israelites and some of
their princes and nobles. They were to be young men who were strong and
handsome, well taught and quick to learn and able to serve in the king's
palace. And they were to be taught the learning and the language of the
Chaldeans. The king gave to them each day some of his rich food and some
of the wine which he drank. He also commanded that they should be taught
for three years, and that at the end of that time they should enter the
royal service.
Among these young men were: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; but
the chief of the king's servants gave other names to them. To Daniel he
gave the name Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah, Shadrach, and to Mishael,
Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego.
But Daniel made up his mind not to injure himself with the rich food of
the king nor with the wine which he drank. So he asked the chief of the
king's servants not to make him injure himself. And God helped Daniel to
win the kindness and favor of the chief of the king's servants.
But the chief of the king's servants said to Daniel, "I fear that my
lord, the king, who has given you your food and your drink will see that
your faces are sadder than those of young men who are your own age, and
so you will endanger my head with the king."
Daniel said to the guardian whom the chief of the king's servants had
put over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Try your servants ten
days; and let us have vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare
the way we look with that of the young men who eat of the king's rich
food. Then do to us as seems best." So he did as they asked and tried
them ten days. At the end of ten days they looked better and they were
fatter than all the young men who ate of the king's rich food. So the
guardian took away their rich food and the wine and gave them
vegetables.
To these four young men God gave knowledge, learning, and wisdom; and
Daniel understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
At the end of the days which the king had fixed for bringing them in,
the chief of his servants brought them in to Nebuchadrezzar, and the
king talked with them. But not one of all the young men was found equal
to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve the
king. On every subject which called for wisdom and understanding and
about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better
than all the wise men and magicians who were in his entire kingdom.
A KING'S STRANGE DREAM
Nebuchadrezzar in the second year of his reign had dreams, and his mind
was so troubled that he could not sleep. Then the king sent for the
magicians and the wise men, and those who studied the stars to tell him
what his dreams meant. So they came in before the king, and he said to
them, "I have had a dream and my mind is troubled, for I want to know
what the dream means."