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8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow.

10 For this is the day of the Lord GoD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord GoD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.

13 The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.

14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.

15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not because the LORD did drive them.

16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, A

[against Egypt.

rise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.

17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

18 As I live, saith the king, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he

come.

19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.

22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

NOTES.

Ver. 9. The Ethiopians and the Libyans-Heb. "Cush and Pul;" the former, probably, referring to the Arabians on the borders of the Red Sea. See No'e on 2 Kings xix. 9; Isa. xviii. 1, &c.

Ver. 11. Go up unto Gilead. — See Note on chap. viii 22.

Ver. 16. Made many to fall-Heb. "Multiplied them that fall."

Ver. 17. Pharaoh....is but a noise-that is, He kas made a great noise of what he will do; but it is noise only. But Blayney renders this verse, “They cried there, O Pharaoh a tumult has frustrated the appointed meeting;" i. e. he disappointed his allies.

26 And I will deliver them into the

Ver. 22. Like a serpent-Blayney, “Like that of an enchanter;" e." low, and inarticula'e, through fear." So Durell; but Boothroyd adheres to the common version. See Isa. xxix. 4. and Note.

Ver. 25. I will punish the multitude of No-Heb. "I will visit upon Ammon of No;" i. e. the Theban Jupiter. When an idolatrous nation is doomed to destruction, God is said to execute vengeance upos its idols. See chap. xliii. 12, 13.

Ver. 26. Afterward it shall be inhabited. — See Ezek. xxix. 11-13.—And into-Blayney, “ Eves into," &c.

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hand of those that seek their lives; and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his

servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.

27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, Ŏ Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall nake him afraid.

28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my serrant, saith the LORD: for I am with hee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of hee, but correct thee in measure; yet vill I not leave thee wholly unpunishd. (C)

CHAP. XLVI.

[against Egypt.

CHAP. XLVII.

THE word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.

2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell. therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.

3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

4 Because of the day that cometh

EXPOSITION.

(C) Two distinct prophecies of Judgment pon Egypt.-The difference between the 2 preceding chapters in prose, and the six ollowing in sublime poetic numbers, in oint of composition, is very striking. The irst verse of this chapter forms a general itle to the whole. This chapter itself conains two distinct prophecies relative to Egypt. The first was delivered previous o au engagement between the king of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babyon, near Carchemish, in which the Egypiaus were routed with great slaughter, as here predicted.-Jeremiah sees the mighty preparations; but they are all to no purpose, since God had doomed their fall. The king of Egypt, however, is here represented as marching with all the confidence of victory, and his army is compared to the mighty Nile overflowing its banks, and threatening all the country around with inundation. He is heard animating his troops to battle; but the Prophet states that this is the time destined for their fall; and this prophecy "concludes with an apostrophe to the virgin daughter (meaning the inhabitants)

of Egypt, whose wound is pronounced incurable, and her disgrace universally known; forasmuch as the number of her warriors have only served to augment the general disorder, and more effectually to destroy each other."-Bligney.

At verse 13 begins the second prophecy respecting Egypt. "There appears no ground," says Dr. Blayney, "for fixing the date when this second prophecy was de livered; but the desolation foretold in it is undoubtedly the same which Ezekiel has predicted, (chapters xxix. to xxxii.) and came to pass in the 27th year of Jehoiakim's captivity, (in the 16th after the destruction of Jerusalem) as may be collected from Ezekiel xxix. 17. where Nebuchadnezzar's army is spoken of as having at that time suffered a great deal in the siege of Tyre; on which account the spoils of Egypt are promised for their wages, or indemnification; and the promise was accordingly made good that same year,"related by Josephus. (Antiq. lib. x. chap. 9.)

-as

The two last verses respect Israel, and are a repetition of the comfortable promises we have already seen in chap. xxx. ver. 10, 11.

NOTES.

It

CHAP. XLVII. Ver. 1. Gaza, on the division of Canaan, was given to the tribe of Judah, and wrested from them by the Philistines; but after many changes, finally conquered by Hezekiah, 2 Kings xviii. 8. was also called Aza, as in Deut. ii. 23, above quoted (the Heb. Gnain being sometimes pronounced as an A, and sometimes as G, or Gn.)

Ver. 4. The remnant of the country of Caphtor.The Caphtorim, as well as the Philistim, (or Phi

listines) were descended from Mizraim, the father of the Egyptians. Gen. x. 13, 14,

Ver. 5. The remnant of their valley. Sandys, (the celebrated traveller) describes the valley in which stood Ashkelon and Gaza, (about 12 miles apart) as the most "pleasant that ever eye beheld." Travels, lib. iii. p. 150.

Ver. 6. O sword of the Lord.-Sp is the Assyrian called "the rod of bis anger," Isa. x. 5.

Jeremiah goes]

JEREMIAH.

upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, for bear: behold, all the land is before thee whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.

5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals, and reward, and let

him go.

6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

7 Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;

8 Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them, and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in

CHAP. XL.

[to Gedaliah. the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken.

11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;

12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.

13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah.

14 And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.

15 Then Johanan, the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?

16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael. (U)

EXPOSITION.

(U) Jeremiah being liberated, goes to Gedaliah the Governor, and the dispersed

Jews resort to hin. This and the four fal lowing chapters contain a distinct account of what passed in the land of Judah from

NOTES.

CHAP. XL. Ver. 4. Which were-Marg. "are." There is no verb in the original-I will look, &c.Heb. "Set mine eyes." See ch. xxxix. 12.

Ver. 9. To serve-Heb. "To stand before." Ver. 15. To slay thee-Heb. "To strike thee to the soul."

Ishmael murders]

CHAP. XLI.

CHAP. XLI.

NOW it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.

2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,

5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went : and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

7 And it was so, when they came

[Gedaliah and others.

into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit; he, and the men that were with him.

8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with them, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

13 Now it came to pass, that when

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CHAP. XLII.

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