28 29 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen 30 him. And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the fand took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. 31 Jehoahaz the youngest son of Josiah, called Sħallum, Jer. xxii. 11. [was] twenty and three years old when he began to reign: and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Harutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, ac33 cording to all that his fathers had done. And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hun34 dred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.* And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away and he came to Egypt, and died there, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, chap. xxii. 12. It was the custom of conquerors to change the name of those kings which they set up, to show their absolute power over them. 35 36 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold that he had in his treasures to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh, to make up the whole sum that was demanded he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give [it] unto Pharaohnechoh. Jehoiakim [was] twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of 37 Rumah. And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done; he was very wicked, like his predecessors; some particulars of which are mentioned in Jeremiah, ch. xxii. 13-19, and ch. xxvi. 20, 23, &c., I CHAP. XXIV. In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years then 2 he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Am Pharaoh had no design against Judah when he first came up; but Josiah having attacked him, he bent his forces against his family and kingdon. The people had chosen Jehoahaz king, because he was of an active, warlike spirit, Ezek. xix. 2. like a young lion; therefore Pharaoh deposed him, and made his brother king in his stead ↑ Nebuchadnezzar, having smitten Pharaoh's army, came against the Jews, to make them tributary to him, as they had been to Pharaoh. We find in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6. thar he bound Jehoiakim in chains, and carried him to Babylon; but upon his fair promises and engagements he suffered him to return, till he rebelled against him. mon, all of whom were tributary to him, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets, (ch. xx. 17. xxi. 10. &c. 3 xxii. 16. and Jer. xxv. 9. xxvi. 20.) Surely at the commandment of the LORD came [this] upon Judah, to remove [them] out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that 4 he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon.t 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings 6 of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 7 8 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt. Jehoiachin [was] eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name [was] Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done; he went on in his father's steps, though he had been witness to the calamities he had suffered. 10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, 12 and his servants did besiege it. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers, and surrendered themselves to the king of Babylon: and the king of Babylon 13 took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces* all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of 14 the LORD, as the LORD had said, ch. xx. 17. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, [even] ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained save the poorest sort of the people 15 of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, who continued thirty seven years in captivity, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, Some date the beginning of the captivity here; it was now Daniel and his companions were carried to Babylon. Dan. i. 1, 2. + Manasseh's son in particular is mentioned; but many people concurred with Manasseh in these executions; though, I think, the words may be understood of Jehoiakim, for he shed innocent blood, Jer. xxii. 17. We have only a general account of his death; but it is probable that when the city was besieged he made a sally, was taken prisoner, and slain, and lay unburied, agreeable to the prophecy in Jeremiah xxviii. 18, 19. In 1 Chron. iii. 16. he is called Jeconiah, or in short, Coniah in Jeremiah xxii. 24, 28. the king of Babylon, Dan. x. 2, 3, and were restored by Cyrus, [those] carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the men of might, [even] seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all [that were] strong [and] apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon; all but the poor people of the land. Mordecai was taken at this time, Esther ii. 6. Ezek. xl. 1. and from hence we must date the commencement of the seventy years' captivity. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah; this was 18 Josiah's third son. Zedekiah [was] twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Hamutal, the daughter of 19 Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done; ke persecuted the prophets, Sc. an account of which we have in Je20 remiah's prophecy, chap. xxxvii. For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon; having taken an oath of fidelity, 2 Chron, xxxvi. 13. he broke it, for which he was refiroved by Ezekiel. See Ezekiel, chap. xxvii. 18.* REFLECTION. HIS one reflection may naturally be made on what we have Theen tea ing, that sin brings misery, on a nation; it is a reproach to it; and will finally be the ruin of it. For the iniquity of a land many are the princes thereof. There was a quick succession of them, but all came to an untimely end. These things are written for our admonition, that if we desire the public welfare, the honour and happiness of our king, and the continued tranquillity of the nation, we should ourselves, and should endeavour and pray that others may, lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all godliness and honesty. CHAP. XXV. In 2 Chron. xxxvi. 11-17, we find that their great wickedness, aggravated by God's kindness and compassion, was the cause of their calamities and ruin; in this chapter we have the siege and taking of Jerusalem; the captivity of the people ; and the destruction of the city and temple; an account of their new governor, his cruel murder, and the advancement of Jehoiachin. 'ΑΝ ND it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth [day] of the month, [that] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, I would here particularly recommend the reading of the prophecy of Jeremiah, where many particulars are recorded relating to these reigns, especially the twenty second, twenty sixth, and twenty seventh chapters, on which the account now given will throw great light. against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts 2 against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the 3 eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And on the ninth [day] of the [fourth] month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land; the famine became so 4 terrible, that many from the country fled there for safety. And the city was broken up, a breach was made, at which the enemy entered, and all the men of [war] fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which [is] by the king's garden : (now the Chaldees [were] against the city round about :) and [the king] went the way toward the plain; Jeremiah would have 5 persuaded the king to surrender, but he would not. And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army were scattered from 6 him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; a city between Jerusalem and Babylon, where he lay waiting the issue of the siege; and they gave judg 7 ment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.‡ 8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh [day] of the month, which [is] the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of 9 the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusa10 lem, and every great [man's] house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that [were with] the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about, that it might make no farther resistance. Now the rest of the people [that were] left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Neb12 uzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land [to be] vine dressers and husbandmen; he gave them farms and vineyards : probably he had a particular charge given him concerning Jeremiah, to preserve him safe. See Jeremiah x), 2—6. 13 And the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that [was] in the house of the As soon as Nebuchadnezzar heard of Zedekiah's treachery, he built forts to keep relief from coming to the city, and besieged it. Jeremiah tells us, that the king of Egypt came to help Zedekiah, but the Chaldees went against him, and he fled. Upon this, they returned to the siege, which lasted about two years. See Jer. xxxvii. † It is described in Lam. iv, 1—10. A council was held, and Zedekiah brought to trial, in which he was found guilty of treachery and rebellion; upon which they slew his sons before him, and then put out his eyes, that no other object might thrust the ideas of that bloody scene from his mind. He was then bound in chains, and carried to Babylon, to drag out a miserable existence there. While Jeremiah foretold this at Jerusalem, Ezekiel foretold it at Babylon. Jer. xxxii. 5. Ezek. xii. 13. Jeremiah foretold his going to Babylon, and dying there. Ezekiel foretold that he should die at Babylon, though he should never see it; and so it came to pass, he was brought there, but never beheld it. The burning of the city and temple had often been foretold, by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; the temple was not burnt when the city was taken; but, about a month after, the cruel resolution was taken to burn both. LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of 14 them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snyffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they 15 ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the bowls, [and] such things as [were] of gold, [in] gold, and of silver, [in] 16 silver, the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, ope sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the 17 LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar [was] eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it [was] brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, the high priest's deputy, who was to act in case of his sickness or incapacity, and the three keep19 ers of the door. And out of the city he took an officer, that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and three score men of the people of the land [that were] found in the city; sixty gentlemen of fortune, who had concealed themselves 20 in the city. And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, 21 and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land; all Judah was carried captive about one hundred and thirty years after the captivity of the ten tribes. 22 And [as for] the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler; probably upon the recommendation of Jeremiah, as he had been sav23 ed by his father, and had a great respect for his son. And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethanjah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they 24 and their men.t And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you; he assured them with a solemn oath, that they should be safe, if they would be faithful to the king of 25 Babylon. But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed Probably these men were the chief instruments in persecuting Jeremiah, and in persuadIng Zedekiah, contrary to the prophet's command, not to surrender. These men had fled at the beginning of the siege, and gone to the Moabites and Am. monites; Jer. xl. 7 but now returned, and put themselves under his command; and Jeremiah also pur himself under his protection, though the Chaldean general would have had him gone with him to Babylon, and promised to use him kindly there. Jer. xl. 2, 6. |