He is arrested by the priests and false prophets.-(v. 8) "Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. (v. 9) Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord."

The accusation against him.—(v. 10) When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. (v. 11) Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears."

His defence.-(v. 12) "Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. (v. 13) Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. (v. 14) As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. (v. 15) But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. (v. 16) Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God."

The Princes' judgment in his favour from Micah's case.— (v. 17) "Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, (v. 18) Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. (v. 19) Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord,

and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls."

The death of Urijah.-(v. 20) "And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah, the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah (v. 21) And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt. (v. 22) And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. (v. 23) And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. (v. 24) Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death."

The

"The beginning of the reign," v. 1.-Jehoiakim began to reign in 610, after the defeat of the Chaldeans at Carchemish. The events of this chapter occurred in the following year (609), the second of his reign. Egyptians were the masters of Palestine for the four years between 610 and 606, when the second battle of Carchemish was fought. See Sketches, and "Order of Events."

"Stand in the court of the Lord's house," v. 2.-The largest court, where large numbers of people were assembled. See also ch. xix. 14, and notes. He was to make the prophecy known to all.

"Diminish not a word," v. 2.-Lest he should be intimidated by the Egyptian party in the state, or by the king, who had not long before put the prophet Urijah to death (v. 20-23) for a similar prediction against alliance with Egypt, at this time (see note, v. 1) apparently powerful. "That I may repent me," v. 3.—With the Lord is no repentance; the words mean only that as his face always shines on the righteous, if they abandon their sins and cleave to him they shall experience the favour which he shows to the righteous; James i. 13, 14, 17; Ps. cvi. 4, 5.

66

Rising up early, and sending," v. 5.-One of Jeremiah's oft-recurring sentences. See Appendix K, and vii. 13, 25;

xi. 7.

"Make this house like Shiloh," v. 6.-It was this prophecy proclaimed by Jeremiah (ch. vii. 12, 14) which irritated so much the priests and people; for it warned them that as the Ark had passed away from Shiloh (1 Sam. iv. 10, 11; Ps. lxxviii. 60), so should it pass from Jerusalem also, leaving it as desolate, because of disobedience-v. 9, 12-14. See for history of the Ark and Tabernacle, Appendix E.

"A curse to all the nations," v. 6.-As in xxiv. 9, and Isa. lxv. 15, as bearing the penalty of their sins and unbeliefs.

"The priests and the prophets," v. 7.—The priests had charge of the Temple, and, as in ch. xx. 1, were irritated at the repetition of this prophecy, threatening them with the fate of Shiloh, in the court of the Lord's house, v. 2. The "prophets" were most probably false prophets, such as Ahab and Zedekiah, ch. xxix, or Hananiah, ch. xxviii. ; they may have been, however, prophets in the ordinary sense of the word-belonging to the prophetic college, -sons of the prophets, 2 Ks. ii. 3.

"Thou shalt surely die," v. 8.-The charge brought against him was for uttering false prophecies in the name of the Lord (see Deut. xviii. 20), punishable with death. His prophecy against the Temple might be said to contradict God's words in Psalm cxxxii. 14. It was on a similar charge Stephen was condemned, Acts vi. 13, 14.

"The princes of Judah," v. 10.—The priests were against Jeremiah, the princes were on his side. The priests had power to apprehend and scourge, but only the Sanhedrim could punish with death. The princes belonged to this council.

"Of

"Came up from the king's house," v. 10.-The Temple stood on higher ground than the king's house, ch. xxii. 1. They sat.. the new gate," v. 10.-Sat to judge. the new gate." In the gate justice usually was administered, ch. xxxix. 3. The new gate was that built by Jotham, 2 Ks. xv. 35.

"The Lord sent me," v. 12.-This is his only answer to the charge. He does not attempt to show that his counsel was based on sound political reasoning, but, as one inspired, simply asserts his divine authority, ch. xx. 9.

"Amend your ways," v. 13.-That the Lord may not bring the evil to pass, v. 3-6.

"Bring innocent blood," v. 15.—They may add to their crimes by impenitence, but cannot escape the consequences of their actions; Mat. xxiii. 35.

"Not worthy to die," v. 16.-The people were, with the priests, a little before (verses 7 and 8) requiring his death. Now they are with the princes, saying, he is not worthy to die. Matt. xxi. 9-11, and xxvii. 20-25.

"Of the elders of the land," v. 17.-Most probably the heads of the congregation, by whom the people were represented. They spoke after the princes (see 1 Ks. xx. 7). So does God work by the minds of men for the preservation of His people when in danger, ch. i. 18, and 8. See also Acts v. 34, &c.

"Micah the Morasthite," v. 18.-A native of Moresheth, a village in the tribe of Judah. Mic. i. 1.

"Zion shall be plowed," v. 18.-The prophecy is found in Mic. iii. 12, and was literally fulfilled by the Romans under Titus. Mat, xxiv. 2.

"The Lord repented him," v. 19.-This was a mistake on the part of these elders. Because Micah's prophecy had not been fulfilled in their own days, they thought the Lord had repented of the evil; but it was fulfilled afterwards. See note, v. 18.

"Urijah the son of Shemaiah," v. 20.-These are not the words of the elders, v. 18. This paragraph (20-23) is most probably a note inserted by Jeremiah subsequently, when recording the history of his trial before the princes, priests. and people in the great court, v. 2-10. Urijah "prophesied. according to all the words of Jeremiah," v. 20; and evidently some time must have been taken up by his flight into Egypt, his subsequent capture, his returu under arrest to Judea, and his death. Jeremiah refers to this incident to show how great had been his own danger, and that only the Lord could have delivered him, v. 24.

"Sent men into Egypt," v. 22.-Jehoiakim was placed on the throne by the king of Egypt-2 Ks. xxiii. 34, 35— and, as his vassal, was able to arrest Urijah in that country. At an earlier or later period (before 610, or after 606) this would have been impossible, as-except within these four years-the kings of Judah were more or less subject

to the Chaldeans. Jeroboam fled to Egypt (1 Ks. xi. 17, 40); but Solomon could not touch him there!

"Slew him with the sword," v. 23.—The Lord may have permitted the death of Urijah, because, though faithful, he had not trusted His power, but fled to Egypt for protection.

“Graves of the common people,” v. 23.—The prophets may have had a separate burial place, Matt. xxiii. 29. The graves of the common people-the children of the people-are referred to in ch. xvii. 19, and 2 Ks. xxiii. 6.

"The hand of Ahikam ... with Jeremiah," v. 24.Ahikam was son of Shaphan the scribe, chief minister of state under Josiah, 2 Ks. xxii. 8-14. He was brother to Gemariah, ch. xxxvi. 10; to Elasah, xxix. 3; and father of Gedaliah, who was made governor of the land under the Chaldeans, 2 Ks. xxv. 22.

B.C. 606.]

CHAPTER XLVI. [4th of Jehoiakim.

Defeat of Egyptian Army at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans.

(v. 1) "The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; (v. 2) Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates, in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.”

"Came to Jeremiah," v. 1.-" In the fourth year of Jehoiakim,” v. 2.—The Order of Events should be referred to, to understand the connection between the predictions and the political events of the day. In this year (B.c. 606) the second battle at Carchemish was fought, when the short-lived triumph of Pharaoh Necho and the Egyptians was to terminate in disaster, and the Chaldean power to rise and flourish under the young King Nebuchadnezzar.

"Against the Gentiles," v. 1.-This prediction is against one of the Gentile nations-Egypt-whose overthrow he foretells in decisive language; v. 13, 14, 17, 20, 24, &c. See Part II.

"Pharaoh Necho," v. 2.—See " Sketch of Chaldean Em