CLXXII. Jeremias prophesies during the last siege of Jerusalem 449 CLXXIII. Lamentations of Jeremias CLXXV. Ezekiel's vision of the four living creatures CLXXVI. Ezekiel's commission to the children of the captivity. 462 companious CLXXXI. Nabuchodonosor's dream. Daniel's interpretation of it 471 CLXXXII. The history of Nabuchodonosor's golden image and the CLXXXIII. Nabuchodonosor's fall foretold to him by a dream CLXXXIV. Baltassar's banquet. His sin and its punishment CLXXXVII. Cyrus proclaims his permission to the Jews to return. The rebuilding of the temple is begun, but hin- CLXXXVIII. The prophets stir up the people to renew the rebuild- CXCI. Assuerus' feast. Queen Vasthi refuses to attend, and CXCIII. Esther goes before the king. Mardochai's elevation CXCVI. Nehemias rebuilds the city, notwithstanding great opposition, and reforms many abuses CXCVII. Malachias reproaches the Jews for their sins, and pro- phesies of the Holy Sacrifice and of the fore- CXCVIII. Heliodorus is sent to take away the treasures of the PART III. THE KINGS. THIS Third Part contains the history of the Israelites under their kings from the Accession of the first king, Saul, B.C. 1075, to the Babylonian Captivity under the last king, Sedecias, B.C. 586, nearly 500 years. This period may be divided into three. During the first 100 years the three first kings ruled over the twelve tribes. Then the kingdom was divided, and for the next 255 years ten tribes were governed by the kings of Israel. After the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel the kingdom of Juda went on for another 135 years. To make the history of this period more easy, the plan has been adopted of so arranging the readings as to give a continuous history of the kings of Juda from Saul to Sedecias. The reigns of the kings of Israel, if we except Jeroboam, Achab, and Jehu, are unimportant, and a clear view of the history is more easily obtained by describing the events of the kingdom of Israel in the account of the reign of the king of Juda for the time being. The history of this period is contained in the Books of the Kings and the first and second Books of Paralipomenon. Of the four Books of Kings, the two first are attributed to Samuel, and the two last were probably written by the Prophet Jeremiah. The Books of Paralipomenon, or things left out,' are also called the Books of Chronicles. They were probably written by Esdras the Scribe, and are supplementary to the Books of Kings. The readings in this Part are therefore taken from the Books of Kings or Paralipomenon, according as the events are more fully narrated, or more easily understood in the one or the other. SECT. LVIII. THE PEOPLE DESIRE A KING. SAUL IS ANOINTED. VIII. 1-22. The People desire a King. And it came to pass when 1 Kings Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Now the name of his first born son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abia: judges in Bersabce. And his sons walked not in his ways: but they turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled, came to Samuel to Ramatha. And they said to him: Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: make us a king, to judge us, as all nations have. And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say: Give us a king, to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but Me, that I should not reign over them.* According to all their works, they have done from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day: as they have forsaken Me, and served strange gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken to their voice: but yet testify to them, and foretell them the right of the king, that shall reign over them. Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had desired a king of him, and said: This will be the rightf of the king, that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen, and his running footmen to run before his chariots, and he will appoint of them to be his tribunes, and centurions, and to plough his fields, and to reap his corn, and to make him arms and chariots. Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks, and bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your best olive-yards, and give them to his servants. Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give to his officers and servants. Your servants also and handmaids, and your goodliest young men, and your asses he will take away, and put them to his work. Your flocks also he will tithe, and you shall be his servants. And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom you have chosen to yourselves: *The government of Israel hitherto had been a Theocracy; in which God Himself immediately ruled, by laws which He had enacted, and by judges extraordinarily raised up by Himself: and therefore He complains that His people rejected Him in desiring a change of government. ti.e. the rights he will claim, the manner of his rule. |