9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the A.C. 588. king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. 10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ed. 11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king Heb. blindof Babylon bound him in † chains, and carried him to Ba-tor, fetters. bylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. JEREMIAH XXXIX. VER. 11-15. 11 ¶ Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah § to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, 12 Take him, and || look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. 13 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people. JEREMIAH LII. VER. 24-28. 24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door : * + Heb. house of the wards. Heb, by the hand of. Heb. set thine eyes upon him. Heb. threshold. face of the 25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that +were near the king's person, which were found in the city; + Heb. saw the and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the king. people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the the captain of land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. SECTION XX. The Burning of the Temple of Jerusalem. JEREMIAH LII. VER. 12-15. 12 ¶ Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar + Or, scribe of the host. * Or, chief marshal. A.C. 588. king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, + captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13 And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's Heb. chief of house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses ers,or, laugh of the great men, burned he with fire: the execution termen. And + Heb. stood so ver. 14, &c. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. before. m ch. xxvii. 19. Or, instruments to re JEREMIAH LII. VER. 17—24. 17 m Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18 The caldrons also, and the § shovels, and the snuffers, move the ashes, and the || bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. || Or, basons. * Or, censers. 19 And the basons, and the *firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. 20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the + Heb. their house of the LORD: + the brass of all these vessels was without weight. brass. n1 Kings vii.. 15. 2 Kings XXV. 17. 2 Chron. iii. 15. + Heb. thread. n 21 And concerning the " pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did comand the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was it; pass 22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these. 23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about. JEREMIAH LII. VER. 15, 16. 15 Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. 16 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. JEREMIAH XXXIX. VER. 10. 10 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the A. C. 588. poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. PSALM LXXIX 20. 1 The psalmist complaineth of the desolation of Jerusalem. 8 He prayeth for deliverance, 13 and promiseth thankfulness. ¶A Psalm of Asaph. 1 O GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. 2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. Heb. in that day. + Or, for Asaph. 4° We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn o Ps. xliv. 13. and derision to them that are round about us. 46. 5 P How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall p Ps lxxxix. thy jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not a Jer. x. 25. known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. 20 Psalm lxxix. In this Psalm Asaph complains that the Babylonians had destroyed the city and temple at Jerusalem, and beseeches God to be reconciled to his people, and to punish the blasphemies and cruelties of their idolatrous enemies.-Green; Dr. Wells. Psalm lxxiv.-This Psalm was occasioned by the desolation of Jerusalem and the temple, and the rest of the country of Judea, made by Nebuchadnezzar, or the Babylonish forces.-Vide ver. 5, 6, 7.; Dr. Wells; Pole's Synopsis, &c. Psalm lxxxiii.-In this Psalm are enumerated the various nations who were leagued against Jerusalem, at the time it was written. In the eighth verse, Assur or Assyria is mentioned among them. This fixes the date of the composition of the Psalm to the latter period of the Jewish monarchy, and as all the surrounding tribes were about the time of Zedekiah, and his immediate predecessor, united against Jerusalem, it was most probably written about this time. -Dr. Wall. Psalm xciv.-This Psalm is enumerated by Dr. Gray, from Calmet, among those which were written during some of the captivities and distresses of the church. Its precise date is not known. It is not improbable that it was written on the destruction of the city and temple. On comparing the fifth verse with the fourteenth, it appears that it was written to console the church of God in its distress; and that distress was apparently a total ruin of the church, which God however would not cast off; neither would he forsake his inheritance. A.C. 588. r Is. lxiv. 9. 7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. 8 O remember not against us* former iniquities : let thy quities of them tender mercies speedily prevent us for we are brought very * Or, the ini that were be ore us. + Heb. vengeance. + Heb. thine low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. 10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the † revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. 11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power § preserve thou those Heb. reserve that are appointed to die; arm. the children of death. 12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O LORD. 13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give Heb. to gene- thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise | to all generations. ration and ge neration. *Or, A Psalm for Asaph to give instruc tion. + Or, tribe. + Heb. They have sent thy PSALM LXXIV. 1 The prophet complaineth of the desolation of the sanctuary. 10 He moveth God to help in consideration of his power, 18 of his reproachful enemies, of his children, and of his covenant. 1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. 5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes the thick trees. upon 6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. 7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have desanctuary into filed by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. the fire. Heh. break. 8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. 9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet : neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. 10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall A.C. 588. the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? 11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. 12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou Ex. xiv. 21. brakest the heads of the † dragons in the waters. 14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilder ness. * Heb. break, + Or, whales. 15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: "thout Ex. xvii. 5. driedst up mighty rivers. Num. xx. 11. u Josh. iii. 13. Heb. rivers 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast of strength. prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast § made summer and winter. 18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. 22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee || increaseth continually. PSALM LXXXIII. 14 complaint to God of the enemies' conspiracies. 9 A prayer against them that oppress the church. A Song or Psalm of Asaph. 1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. Heb. made them. Heb. ascendeth. * Or, for Asaph. |