himfeltas King ; or the one might reckon frem the Day tlat Evil- Meroagch deciced the thing, the other from tte Day when he pur it in Ex-cution) t Lifred up the head, which ſignifies in Scriptue the alrering of ones E::ate that is in Milery, Gen. 40. 20 which is all that 1S here meant, for his bringing FEim cut of Priſon is menti= oned mn the next werds. The Reaſon of this favour is variouſly gueiſ:d at. The Reverend Author of cur Engliſh Aunttations fanſieth that Evil-Merodach, mighr be much of the ſame Age with him, and thar Jeh:jachin got jnto the Acquaintance cf this Evil-Meredach, du- ring his Thirty Years Captivity, who confidering his long Impriſon- ment, and that now there was no danger cf his heading the Jews ( whoſe Ciry had now been Deſtoyed Twenty five Years and up- wa'd ) this Piince out cf his Humanity might ſhew him this Fa-
Princes and Counſellors. 32 And ſpake Þ kindly unto him, and fet his throne
Baylon «.
u The King of Babylon might have o-her Kings kis Priſoners, his Father having been ſo great a Conqucrour, or he might have other Kings his Subjetts, that might reſice at his Curr; and either our of a particular kindneſs he had ro Jeh:j1c//n, or in revard of the Fame of David and Solomen, from whom j:/-1j :£/1 lincally deſcended, he might do him this Honour. : | ;
&c. he thar was ſent by Zedekiah to the Prophet, Chap. 21, 1. and whom Shemaiah chode by his Letters Chap. 29+ 25. for not ſer- ting Jeremiah in theStocks.It is probable there were more Keepers of the Door, but the Captain of the Guard took only three of the Prin-
25 He took alſo out of the city, an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war, and ſeven men of
found in the city, and the || principal ſcribe of the hoſt,
midſt of the city ».
n See 2 Kings 25. 19. only there is mention but of five men, here there is mention of ſeven, but probably two of them were of leſs ncte. | | :
26 So Nebutzar-adan the captain of the guard took thenj, and brovight them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. | Roe:
27 And -the king of Babylon ſmote them, and put themes death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. "Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own Jand 0.
0 See 2 Kings 25. 20, 21. ;
28 Thbis is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive; in the ſeventh year, three thouſand Jews and three and twenty p. Þ That is in the time of Jehoiachm, 2 Kings 24. 12,13, I. here It is ſaid to be in the ſeventh year, there in the cighth year, it might be in part of borh. Burt there is a difference in the number of the captives which are here ſaid to be 3023, and 2 Kings 24+ 144 16. ſeven thouſand, or eight. It is thought by ſome that rhe number here mentioned were ſuch as properly belonged to Judah, and the number mentioned 2 Kings 24+ were the number of the Captives of Judah and Benjamin. See the Engliſh Annotations. |
29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he car- ried away captive from Jeruſalem eight hundred thirty and two t perſons 4.
q That was the Year when the City was broken up.
30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrez- zar, Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews ſeven hundred, fourty and five perſons's all the perſons were four thouſand and ſix hundred 7.
r Ofthis we read nothing more in HolyWrit,ſome judge it to have bzen upon occaſion of Jbmae!'s killing Gedaliah, but this was four
33 And changed his priſon-garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. | 34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the King of Babylon, + every day a por- —_ until the day of. his death, all the days of his ife 2y.
w He treated him like a Prince with a reſpe& becoming his for= mer State. took care both for his Habit = Dier, for his wes that ir ſhould be decent, ſuch as became a Perſon of his Quality, though a Caprive: for his Diet, that he ſhouJd have it in his Court, thereby learning others that Humanity which becometh all Men to treat others witty that are fallen under their power ; that Decency which becometh them as Men, and as Men whole Circumſtances have been betrer; doing to others,as we would they ſhould do unto us Thus Jehoiachin's Lot was different from that of bis Father Je- hniachim, whoſe Bcdy was caſt out as we heard beſcre: As alſo from that of his Uncle Zedekiah who did not only die in Babylon, but died a Priſoner; his Nephew Jehoiachim died there, and a Captive, but not in durance. Theſe four Jaſt Verſes are found alſo 2 Kings 25s 27, 28, 29, 30. and being found here in a Narrative form, Telated as 2 piece of Hiſtory relating a thing done r.ct in a Prophetical ſtile,are an Argument ( as was ſaid before) tht this whole Chapter isno part of the Prophecy of Jeremiah, and probably not wrote by him for he beginniyg his Prophecy in tte thirteen Year of Joſiah who reigned thirty one Years, and continuing it three Moneths during the Reign of Jehoachaz, and eleven Years during the Reign of Jehoi= acoim, and three Moneth during the Reign of Jehoiachin ( cr Jeconia | ah ) and eleven Years during the Reign of Zedtkiah; and Fehoiachin outliving the Reign of Zed:kiah Twenty five Years, it muſt needs be ſixty five Years and an half after the word of the Lord firſt came to Jeremiah before the Death of Jeboiachin; ſo as the Prophet if he lived ro that time muſt be near an hundred Years o!d, which is not pro- bable. Here now endeth the Hiſtory of the Kingdom of Judah. I ſhal only note the ſevere Judgement of God upon this People, whoſe Kingdom was made up of the two Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and halfrhe Tribe of Manaſth, In the numbring of the Perſons belong= ingto theſe two Tribes, Numbe 1: ( counting half of the number of the Tribe of Manaſth) we find One hundred twenty 6x thouſand one kundred, Numb. 26. we ſind of them One hundred fourty eight thouſand feur hundred and fifry. Here Verſe 30. we find no more of them car« ried into Captivity, than four theuſand and ſix hundred, From whence we may judge what a multitude of them were ſlain by the Sword or killed by the Famine and the PeſtiJence, though we make a great allowance for ſuch as were left in the Land to dreſs Vineyards, and to till the Ground. Ir is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, to mock his meſſengers, d-ſpiſe kis words, and miſuſe his a prey rid there be 16 remedy, as Chis People did, a Chronicks
Years after the taking of the City, and we are not certain what at