will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore, hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah, yet they prophesy a lie in my name: that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

Also, I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah; hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, behold, the vessels of Jehovah's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be prophets, and if the word of Jehovah be with them, let them now make intercession to Jehovah of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

For thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took not when he carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem: yea, thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and of Jerusalem; they shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith Jehovah: then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.*

* Jer. xxvii, 12-22.

Hananiah, a wicked prophet, having taunted Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel; Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the house of Jehovah, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon; and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith Jehovah: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon ;* the man of God replied, with a hearty Amen, Jehovah do so: Jehovah, perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Jehovah's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place! Nevertheless, hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; the prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied both against many countries and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that Jehovah hath truly sent him.†

Then Hananiah, the prophet, took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah ; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of

* Jer. xxviii. 1-4.

"That is, You say that Nebuchadnezzar shall not overthrow this city; and that, in two years from this time, not only the sacred vessels already taken away shall be restored, but also that Jeconiah, and all the Jewish captives, shall be restored, and the Babylonish yoke broken, see v. 2-4. Now I say, that Nebuchadnezzar will come this year, and destroy this city, and lead away the rest of the people into captivity, and the rest of the sacred vessels; and that there will be no restoration of any kind till seventy years from this time." A. CLARKE.

Babylon, from the neck of all nations, within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

Then the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, the prophet, after that Hananiah, the prophet, had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; and they shall serve him and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah, the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; Jehovah hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore, thus saith Jehovah; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against Jehovah. So Hananiah, the prophet, died the same year, in the seventh month.* And the probability is, that this solemn judgment of God, upon the lying prophet, restrained the rebellious feeling of Zedekiah for that period.†

In the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiakim, and consequently of the reign of Zedekiah, the vision of the four cherubims and the four wheels was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel at Babylon; and the recapitulation of his forbearance with the houses of Israel and Judah ;§ and the chambers of imagery; concluding, however, with an encouraging

Jer. xxviii. 5-17. That is, within two months; and the death of Hananiah thus predicted, was God's seal to the words of his prophet, and ought to have gained great credit to that prophet's prediction among the people." A. CLARKE. BP. WILSON.

+ Prid. i. 101.

§ Ezek. iv. v. vi. vii.

Ezek. i. ii. iii.
Ezek. viii. ix. x. xi.

promise: Thus saith Jehovah, God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, thus saith Jehovah, God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the destestable things thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith Jehovah, God. Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of Jehovah went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. Then I spake unto them of the captivity, of all the things that Jehovah had shewed me.

In the seventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, God still revealed his further purposes of judgment and mercy to the same prophet.†

Through the anger of Jehovah, it came to pass that this prince rebelled against the king of Babylon: upon which a further denunciation against him was revealed to Ezekiel; Say now to the rebellious house; know ye not what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon is

come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; and hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. But he rebelled against him, in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith Jehovah, God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, God; as I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass, that he hath trespassed against me. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken it.*

But not only did Zedekiah stiffen his neck and harden his heart from turning unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, but all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much, after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the

Ezek. xvii. 12-21.