” That .is High Prieſt, as ſome have thought, but it appears from 2 Kings 25: 18. that Seraiah was at this time the High Prieſt, and this Zephaniah was the ſecond Prieſt, as he is there tiled 3 as alio chap: 52; 24 nor muſt any think, that the Jehoiada here meant, was the immediat Predeceſſor .of Zephaniah, for beſides that Jehoiade was High Prieſt, which Zephaniab never was ; there were near 200 Years berwixt the death. ot Jehojads, and this time, inthe fiead therefore here ſignifieth, that thou ſhouldiſt be like the good Bigh Prieſt Jehoiada, unleſs ſome other Jeh:iaas was meant, who was ture ned our, and this Zephaniah Put in his room.” 0 That thou mighreſt
ly to be obſerved by us There is no evilin Cities or Nations, which is an evil of puniſhment ; but whoever be the Inſtruments to , bring it, God is the Author of ir. Theie Phralcs alſo ſignified ro | thoſe Fews, that God was likziieit ro know beſt how long they ſhould ſtay there, becauſe he ſent them chither.
2: Thus faich the LORD of hoſts, the God of Ifra- el, of Ahab the ſon of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the {on of Maaſeiah, which propheſie a lie unto you in my name, Behold I will dz liver them into the hand of Ne- buchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he thall flay chem
before your eyes e. ;
e Of theſe two pe: ſons we read no more in holy Writ ; that they preteaded co be Prophets, that they abuſed the Name of God, A, ro reveal tis will, when as what they ſaid was not the
1i] of God, but a falthood, we learn our ofthis Verſe, and that they wer: both of them burnt by the King of Babylon, we find in Per: 22. what the falthods rhey publiſhed were, is not expricſſed, but ir 15 molt probable they were ſome of thole that pretended that God had revealed to them, that within two years, or a ſhoit time, the Caprtives carried away with Jehorakim, ihould return out of Ba- bylon, God here tells thoſe thar were of the captivity, that thoſe two wretches ſhould tiemſeives be {lain by the King of Babylon.
22 * And of them ihal! bs taken up a curle by all the captivicy of Judah, which are in Babylon, laying, the LORD make chee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon rolted in the fire f.
f As falſe teachers are of the higheit fort of Tranſgreſflors, ſpeaking lies in the Name, and unq-r the pretence of the Authority of the
God of Truth : So God in his proviceace o:dinarily makes them the greateſt examples of his vengeance. God thicataech to bring them to an end that thould turn 1nro a Proveib, that when Mea
had amind to curle others, withing them the greateit evils, they ſhould pray to God to make them likz 4446 and Zedekiah, whom the King of Babylon burnt, or roaſted in the fice, the word 077 ligni- fieth voth, Levit: 2: 14. and roaſting ſign. tierh only to butu by de- grees, which probably was the ſpecifical puniihment of theſe two falſe Prophets, for we learn from the inſtance of che three Childien, Dan: 3: 19. that the conſuming of perioasflow!y in a fiery Furnace, was a kind of puniſhment ia uſe amongſt the Chal aeans.
23 Becauſe * they have commitrted villainy in Iſrael g, and have committed adultery with their neighbours
which I have not commanded tiem z, even I know, and-am a witnes, faith the LOKD &.
g The Reaſon here given muſt not be underſtood as the Reaſon of the King of Babylwn's puniſhment of them, bur why God gavethem up into hi, hands, becauſe they had conmirred Villany or folly in 1 racl. þ Which is expounded by the next words, they had commurred adultery with their neighbours wives, All fin is foly, and fo called in Scriprure, uncleanneſs particularly, Gen: 34: 7. here it is called Fillainy, to denote the hainoutneſs ot it, elpecially in thoſe whole Office it was to teach others that they ougit nor to do it, Rom: 2, 22. Falitood in diſcharge of a truſt is ordinarily attended with debauchery of Life, nor indeed can 1t ve realonably imagined, that thoſe, who to humour Men, have debauched their Conlciences, and declaied things as the will of God, which they know are nor ſo, ſhould be more true and hoaeſt in their Converſation towards Men. 5 The ſecond crime of theſe falſe Prophers was, that gave them theirdenomination, teaching Pcople what God never b:d them ſpeak. k Now this faith the Lord, ſow, and am 2 Wirnes to; their Adulteriesare in fec:et, but I ama Witnes to them 5 the poor people do nor kaow that they reach them lies, but I know it. God will deal with Men not according to what Men like themielves know of thzm, and can prove againit them, but according to what heknows, and can witacs againit them.
24 $ Thus ſhalt thou aiſo ſpeak to Shemaiah the |]
Nehelamite, ſaying /. ;
1 We have no guidance from any other Scripture, to teach us who this Shemaiah was, butir is very p:obable thar he was one of thoie who at this time were in the {,uptivity of Ba'-ylo n, and ſo came to the knowledge of Jeremiah's Lerter, mentioned 1A the be- ginning of the chaptes, and wiore w har tolloweth to Z:phaniah, the Son of Maaſciah the Prieſt, and the reſt of the Prieſts; to have Jere- miah puniſhed h but why he is called the N-h-lam:re, 1:not 10 evi,
dent, for that the word is derived from D7\1 1 Dicamer, is nor very probable. weread of no ſuch piacein ju24 as N-veiam or Ha-
Ld
- ſubſtance, but what we on j
Jed the Nehelamite; fo as it 15 10bable that tuere was ſuch a plice | as Nehelam, from whence he was.