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Promises of mercy.

JEREMIAH, IV.

15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD; neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they visit it, neither shall & that be done any more.

17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD: and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the Simagination of their evil heart.

18 In those days the house of Judah' shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

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Is. 22. 12. 8 or, it be magnified. Ro. 6. 14. or, stubbornness.

Is. 11. 13. Eze.37.16..22 Is. 37. 35. anor, to. La. 2. 21. eor, caused your fu thers to possess.

19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, Mym father; and shalt not turn away from me. П

20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye land of dealt treacherously "with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

desire. λ an heritage of glory, or, of beauty. fuller

21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping? and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have for-or, gotten the LORD their God.

22 Return, ye backsliding, children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth: their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

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wind than
those.

vutter judg

ments.

m Ro. 8. 15. from after.

pfriend.

" Is. 48. 8. o Ja. 4. 8.

P2 Co. 7. 10. a Pr. 19. 3. r Ho. 6. 1. • Ho. 13. 4.

Ps. 121.1, 2.

Is. 63. 16. u Ne.9.26,30. La. 1. 8.

Da. 9.7, &c. ch. 2. 17, 19. Is. 50. 1.

w Ezr. 9. 6,7. Ro. 6. 21.

the walls of my heart.

* Ps. 42. 7. Eze. 7. 26.

* Is. 48. 1.

2 And thou shalt swear," The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in De. 10. 20. righteousness; and the nations" shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Breakd up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

a Ge. 22. 18.

Ps. 72. 17. b Is. 45. 25.

1 Co. 1. 31.

c Mi. 2. 1.

Ro. 16. 19.
Ho. 10. 12.

e Mat.13.7,22

Ro.2.28, 29.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jeru-De. 10. 16. salem; lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

6 Set up the standard toward Zion: Tre

Is. 24. 19.
Is. 5. 25.

Eze. 38. 20.
Hab. 3. 6.

Zep. 1. 3.
Ps. 76. 7.
Tor, streng-

then.

Judgment denounced. tire, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great & destruction.

7 The lion is come upd from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate: and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant.

8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword' reacheth unto the soul. 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I "give sentence against them.

13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved: how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make ye mention to the nations:

behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of

Judah.

17 As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because" she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee: this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me: I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

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20 Destruction upon destruction is cried for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate: yet will I not make a full end.

Punishment predicted.

JEREMIAH, VI.

28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

B. C. 612.

a Ho. 4. 3.

ch. 14. 13, 15 ech. 20.9,11. De. 28.49. 39.3, 6. Eze. 23. 40.

Is. 5. 26.

Beyes.
Sch. 22. 20..
22.
La. 1. 2, 19.
Le. 26. 16.
De.28.31,33.

30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair: thy lovers i verse 10. will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

CHAPTER V.

RUN ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if? ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

2 And though they say," The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

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h Is. 1. 15. La. 1. 17.

k De. 29. 24,

&c.

1 Ki. 9. 8, 9. Ge. 18. 23,

&c. Eze. 22. 30.

m De. 28. 48. a Tit. 1. 16. y heart,

Ho. 7. 11.

Is. 9.

2 Ch. 16. 9.
thap. 128.
Zep. 3. 1, 2.
Is. 6. 9.
Eze. 12. 2.
John 12. 40.
Ro. 11. 8.

r He. 12. 9. chap. 10. 7. Re. 15. 4.

t Ps. 99. 1.

Expostulation with Israel. 13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

15 Lo, I will bring a nationd upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. 19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore* doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land; som shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

21 Hear now this, O'foolish people, and withouty understanding; which have u Job 38. 11. eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

Pr. 8. 29.

v Mat. 11. 5. w Mi. 3. 1.

* Ho. 4. 8.

4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know y Is. 31. 6. not the way of the LORD, nor the judg-Ps. 2. 3. ment of their God.

a Ho. 13. 7. Am.5.18,19.

De.11.13, 14

5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them: for they have c Eze. 22. 27. known the way of the LORD, and the Zep. 3. 3. judgment of their God: but these haved Ge. 8. 22. altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

even

6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolfe of the ings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.

8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.

9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.

12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he, neither' shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword nor famine:

e

chap. 3. 3. 8 or, deserts.

S strong.

s fowlers lie

in wait.

Jos. 23. 7.
Zep. 1. 5.

e or, coop. gchap. 13.27. Mi. 6. 12. De. 32. 15. ch.22.15..19 'verse 29. chap. 9. 9. m chap. 4. 27. 30.11.

Kor, Asto

nishment
and filthi-

ness.

n Ho. 6. 10.
• Eze. 13. 6.
A or, take

into their
hands.

Mi. 2. 11.
De. 32. 29.

La. 1. 9.

r2 Ch. 36. 16. Is. 28. 15.

22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremblet at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound" of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it ?

23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth_rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reservethd unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

26 For among my people are found wicked men : they lay wait, as he that setteth snares: they set a trap, they catch men.

27 As a 0 cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit : therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper: and the right of the needy do they not judge.

29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

30 A wonderful and horrible" thing is committed in the land;

31 The prophets prophesy falsely," and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people lover to have it so: and what will ye do in the ends thereof? CHAPTER VI.

OYE children of Benjamin, gather

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yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.

3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her: they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.

4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

6 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye_down trees, and Y cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.

7 Ask a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.

8 Be thou instructed," O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.

10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised," and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach;" they have no delight in it.

11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children * abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the habitants of the land, saith the LORD.

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Eze. 3. 20.

Ro. 11. 9.

Bor, woman
dwelling
at home.

d2 Ki. 25. 1.

e verse 1.

chap. 8. 20.

g Ca. 2. 17.

Is. 5. 30.

Yor, pour

out the engine of shot.

i chap. 13. 21. Pr. 1.27,28. La. 1. 12.

k Is. 57. 20.

chap. 4. 10. Is. 1. 20. m Eze.7.11,23

n Pr. 4. 13. Zep. 3. 7. chap. 25.34.

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Mi. 1. 10.

Eze. 23. 18. & be loosed,

or, disjointed. La. 1. 16.

r Is. 53. 1. & chap. 9. 4. t Is. 1. 22, 25. u Ac. 7. 51.

v ch. 20. 8, 9. Sor, refuse. w Mat. 5. 13. chap. 9. 21. chap. 8. 10. De. 28. 30. Is. 1. 16, 17. Mat. 3. 8.

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a

Mi. 3. 11.
Mi. 3. 5, 11.

Mat. 3.9,10.
in-ech. 8. 11, 12.

13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace: whend there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamede when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

n bruise, or, breach.

d La. 2. 14.
e chap. 3. 3.
ƒ Pr. 29. 1.

De.6.14,15.
De. 4. 40.

i chap. 50. 5. k chap. 18.15. Mal. 4. 4. 1 Ca. 1. 7.

m Col. 2. 6. n Mat. 11. 29. Ho. 4. 1, 2. Ro. 2. 2, 17, &c.

Hab. 2. 1. q Zec. 7. 11. r Eze. 23. 39.

16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, Eze. 3.17. where is the good way,' and walkm therein, and ye shall find rest" for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen" over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruits of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

20 To what purpose" cometh there to

Calls to repentance.

me incense from Sheba, and the sweet I cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

e

22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way for the sword' of the enemy and fear is on every side.

26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they aret brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. 30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them. CHAPTER VII. THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit whereupon adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

my name
is called.

2 Ch. 6. 33.

8 Pr. 1. 31.

this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these Ps. 50.7..9. abominations ?

10 And comer and stand before me in

u Mat. 21. 13. v Pr. 28. 9.

Is. 1. 11.

Am.5.21,22. Mi. 6. 6..8.

11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den" of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.

Predictions of the punishment

JEREMIAH, VIII.

12 But go ye now unto my place " which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

B. C. 600.

a Jos. 18. 1.

De. 12. 11. 2 Ki. 23. 10. d chap. 26. 6. 1 Sa.4.11,&c Ps.78.60,61.

13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, buthe Ps. 106. 38. ye answered not; B upon.

14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

15 And I will cast' you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.m

this

16 Therefore pray not thou for people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for? I will not hear thee.

17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem ? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Y queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put" your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that brought them out of the land of Egypt, 8 concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

12 Ch.36.15. g Ne.9.29,30. k Is. 65. 12. 66.4.

i ch. 19.6,11. Eze. 6.5,&c. k De. 28. 26. Ps. 79. 2.

12 Ki. 17. 23.

m Ps. 78. 67. Ho. 9. 3.

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Is. 24. 7, 8.

Ho. 2. 11.

1 Jno. 5. 16. P chap. 15.1. Le. 26. 33.

Is. 3. 26.

> Eze. 37. 1.

yor, frame,

or, workmanship. 1 Co. 10. 22. 2 Ki. 23. 5. u 2 Ki. 9. 37.

v Re. 9. 6. w Am. 5. 21. * 1 Sa. 15. 22. Ps. 40. 6. Ho. 6. 6.

24 But they hearkened not, nor inclinedd their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward,d and not forward.

25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early, and sending them:

26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.

28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth "correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

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Ho. 4. 16.
John 9.41.

e Ca. 2. 12.

Ro.2.17,&c. g Ne.9.17,29. e or, the

false pen of

the scribes

worketh for falsehood, Is. 10. 1, 2. Mat. 15. 6. i chap. 16.12.

or, Have they been ashamed. λ the wisdom of what thing.

k Is. 8. 20.

chap.32.33.

μ or, instruction.

m Is. 56. 11.

29 Cut off" thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 30 For the children of Judah have doneo evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.

Job 1. 20.

Mi. 1. 16. Eze. 13. 10. P2 Ki. 21.4,7. Eze.8.5,&c.

and desolation of Judah.

31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor, The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place.

33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.

34 Then will I cause to cease" from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for the land shall be desolate." CHAPTER VIII.

At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones" of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:

2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung" upon the face of the earth.

3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

4 Moreover, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and time of their coming: but my people the crane, and the swallow, observe the know not the judgment of the LORD.

8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?

10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; m from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely.

11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them

The prophet's lamentation.

JEREMIAH, IX. that fall; in the time of their visitation B. C. 600. they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

138I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there; for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. 17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

19 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion?r is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

a De. 32. 35.

Ho. 5. 9.

ẞ the midst
of him.
yor, wait for
him.
8 or, in ga-
thering I
will con-

sume.

b Ho. 2. 8, 9.

or, pas

tures.
n desolate.
from the
fowl even to.
chap. 23.15.
K or, poison.
a La. 2.2,7,8.
e chap. 14.19.
a desolation.
Ho. 14. 9.
chap. 4. 15.
h Ju. 5. 22.

the fulness
thereof.

iDe.29.24..28

Ps. 58.4, 5.

vor, stub-
bornness,
chap.7.24.
La. 1.16, 17.
upon.

P

m

the coun

try of them

that are
Ps. 80. 5.
afar off.
Is. 39. 3.
La.3.15, 19.
r chap. 31.6.

21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black;" astonish-n ment hath taken hold on me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician" there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

CHAPTER IX.

OH that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Ps. 135. 21.
Re. 2. 1.

Sins and punishment.

mouth, but in 8 heart he layeth y his wait.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things?
saith the LORD: shall not my soul be
avenged on such a nation as this?

10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the Shabitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle: both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps,d and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah Adesolate, without an inhabitant.

12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed m them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 I will scatter" them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:

18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids Le. 26. 33. gush out with waters.

q Is. 33. 22.

De. 28. 64.

• De. 32. 21.

tMat.25.1..12
u Joel 2. 6.
chap.46.11.
Ge. 37. 25.
w Mat. 9. 11,

2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an as-σgone up. sembly of treacherous men." T who will give my head.

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12.

* Is. 22. 4.
La. 2. 11.
3.48.

y Is. 32.9..13.

3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies; but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. 4 Take ye heed every one of his neigh-chap. 5.7, 8. bour, and trust ye not in any brother: a Mi. 7. 2..5. for every brother will utterly supplant, Is. 59. 3, 4. and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

5 And they will x deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

7 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

8 Their tongue is as an arrowk shot out; it speaketh deceit one' speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his

c Jude 3.

d 2 Ti. 3. 13.
e Ho. 4. 1..3.
por, friend.
X mock.
1 Co. 1. 31.
Mi. 7. 18.
h Is. 1. 25.
visit upon.
i Ro. 2. 8, 9.

k Ps. 64. 3, 4.
Ps. 28.3.

Bout off into

corners, or,

having the

corners of their hair polled.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.

20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation:

21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

22 Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.

23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

25 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;

26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that

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