# verses

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The way of peace they knowe not, &amp; there is none equitie in their goings: they haue made them crooked paths: whosoeuer goeth therein, shall not knowe peace.


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Therefore is <n>That is, God's vengeance to punish our enemies.</n> judgment far from us, neither doth <n>God's protection to defend us.</n> justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, [but] we walk in darkness.


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We grope for the wall like the <n>We are altogether destitute of counsel, and can find no end to our miseries.</n> blind, and we grope as if [we had] no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; [we are] in desolate places as dead [men].


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We all roar like <n>We express our sorrows by outward signs, some more and some less.</n> bears, and mourn bitterly like doves: we look for judgment, but [there is] none; for salvation, [but] it is far from us.


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For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our <n>This confession is general to the Church to obtain remission of sins, and the prophets did not exempt themselves from the same.</n> sins testify against us: for our transgressions [are] with us; and [as for] our iniquities, we know them;


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In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of <n>That is, against our neighbours.</n> falsehood.


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And <n>There is neither justice nor uprightness among men.</n> judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.


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Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself <n>The wicked will destroy him.</n> a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment.


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And he saw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no intercessor: <n>Meaning, to do justice, and to remedy the things that were so far out of order.</n> therefore his arm brought <n>That is, his Church or his arm helped itself and did not seek aid from any other.</n> salvation to him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.


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For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an <n>Signifying that God has all means at hand to deliver his Church and to punish their enemies.</n> helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.


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According to [their] deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the <n>That is, your enemies who dwell in various places, and beyond the sea.</n> isles he will repay recompence.


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So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall <n>He shows that there will be great affliction in the Church, but God will always deliver his.</n> come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.


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And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to <n>By which he declares that the true deliverance from sin and Satan belongs to none but to the children of God, whom he justifies.</n> them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.


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As for me, this [is] my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that [is] upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, <n>Because the doctrine is made profitable by the virtue of the Spirit, he joins the one with the other, and promises to give them both to his Church for ever.</n> shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.


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Arise, shine; for thy <n>The time of your prosperity and happiness: while speaking of Babylon, he commanded her to go down, (Isa_47:1).</n> light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.


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For, behold, the darkness shall cover the <n>Signifying, that all men are in darkness till God gives them the light of his Spirit, and that this light shines to no one, but to those that are in his Church.</n> earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.


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And the Gentiles shall come to <n>Meaning, that Judea would be as the morning star, and that the Gentiles would receive light from her.</n> thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.


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Lift up thy eyes around, and see: all <n>An infinite number from all countries as in (Isa_49:18).</n> they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at [thy] side.


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Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thy heart shall fear, <n>For joy, as the heart is drawn in for sorrow.</n> and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted to thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come to thee.


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The <n>Meaning, that everyone will honour the Lord with that with which he is able: Signifying that it is no true serving of God unless we offer ourselves to serve his glory, and all that we have.</n> multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.


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All the flocks of <n>That is the Arabians, that have great abundance of cattle.</n> Kedar shall be gathered together to thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to thee: they shall come up with acceptance on my <n>Because the altar was a figure of Christ, (Heb_13:10), he shows that nothing can be acceptable to him, which is not offered to him by this altar, who was both the offering and the altar itself.</n> altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.


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Who [are] these <n>Showing what great number will come to the Church, and with what great diligence and zeal.</n> [that] fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?


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Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships <n>The Gentiles that are now enemies, will become friends and set forth the Church.</n> of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.


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And the sons of foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their <n>Meaning Cyrus and his successors, but chiefly this is accomplished in them that serve Christ, being converted by his gospel.</n> kings shall minister to thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.


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Therefore thy gates shalbe open cotinually: neither day nor night shall they be shutte, that men may bring vnto thee the riches of the Gentiles, and that their Kings may be brought.


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For the nation and <n>He shows that God has given all power and authority here in earth for the use of his Church, and that they who will not serve and profit the same will be destroyed.</n> kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, [those] nations shall be utterly wasted.


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The <n>There is nothing so excellent which will not serve the needs of the Church.</n> glory of Lebanon shall come to thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my <n>Signifying that God's majesty is not included in the temple, which is but the place for his feet, that we may learn to rise to the heavens.</n> feet glorious.


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The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending to thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves <n>To worship their head Christ, by obeying his doctrine.</n> down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.


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Where as thou hast bene forsaken and hated: so that no man went by thee, I will make thee an eternall glorie, and a ioye from generation to generation.


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Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the <n>Both high and low will be ready to help and comfort you.</n> breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.


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For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers <n>Your governors will love you, and seek your wealth and prosperity.</n> peace, and thy exactors righteousness.


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Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt <n>Meaning not an earthly happiness, but spiritual, which is fulfilled in Christ's kingdom.</n> call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.


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The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the <n>Signifying that all worldly means will cease, and that Christ will be all in all, as in (Rev_21:23, Rev_22:5).</n> moon give light to thee: but the LORD shall be to thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.


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Thy sunne shall neuer goe downe, neither shall thy moone be hid: for the Lord shalbe thine euerlasting light, and the dayes of thy sorowe shalbe ended.


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Thy people also [shall be] all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the <n>The children of the Church.</n> branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.


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A little one shall become a <n>Meaning, that the Church would be miraculously multiplied.</n> thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in its time.


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The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] <n>Thus belongs to all the prophets and ministers of God, but chiefly to Christ, of whose abundant graces everyone receives according as it pleases him to distribute.</n> upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the <n>To them that are lively touched with the feeling of their sins.</n> brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the <n>Who are in the bondage of sin.</n> captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;


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To proclaim the <n>The time when it pleased God to show his good favour to man, which Paul calls the fulness of time, (Gal_4:4).</n> acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of <n>For when God delivers his Church, he punishes his enemies.</n> vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;


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To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for <n>Which was the sign of mourning.</n> ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called <n>Trees that bring forth good fruits, as in (Mat_3:8).</n> trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.


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And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many <n>That is, for a long time.</n> generations.


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And foreigners shall <n>They will be ready to serve you in all your needs.</n> stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien [shall be] your plowmen and your vinedressers.


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But ye shall be named the <n>This is accomplished in the time of Christ, by whom all the faithful are made priests and kings, (1Pe_2:9; Rev_1:6, Rev_5:10).</n> Priests of the LORD: [men] shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the <n>Read (Isa_60:11, Isa_60:16).</n> riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.


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For your shame [ye shall have] <n>Abundant recompence as this word is used, (Isa_40:2).</n> double; and [for] confusion <n>That is, the Jews.</n> they shall rejoice in <n>That is, of the Gentiles.</n> their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the <n>While the Gentiles had dominion over the Jews in times past, now they will have double authority over them and possess twice as much.</n> double: everlasting joy shall be to them.


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For I the LORD love judgment, I hate <n>I will not receive their offerings who are extortioners, deceivers, hypocrites or that deprive me of my glory.</n> robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.


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And <n>That is, of the Church.</n> their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they [are] the seed [which] the LORD hath blessed.


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<n>He shows what will be the affection, when they feel their deliverance.</n>I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth [herself] with her jewels.


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For as the earth bringeth foorth her bud, and as the garden causeth to growe that which is sowen in it: so the Lord God will cause righteousnesse to grow and praise before all the heathen.


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For Zion's sake I will not <n>The prophet says that he will never cease to declare to the people the good tidings of their deliverance.</n> hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until its righteousness shall go forth as <n>Till they have full deliverance: and this the prophet speaks to encourage all other ministers to the setting forth of God's mercies toward his Church.</n> brightness, and its salvation as a lamp [that] burneth.


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And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by <n>You will have a more excellent fame than you have had till now.</n> a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.


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Thou shalt also be a <n>He will value you as dear and precious as a king does his crown.</n> crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.


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Thou shalt no more be termed <n>You will no longer be contemned as a woman forsaken by her husband.</n> Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be <n>That it may be replenished with children.</n> married.


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For [as] a young man marrieth a virgin, [so] shall thy sons <n>As they confess one faith and religion with you, they are in the same bond of marriage with you, and they are called the children of the Church, as Christ makes her plentiful to bring forth children to him.</n> marry thee: and [as] the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, [so] shall thy God rejoice over thee.


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I have set <n>Prophets, pastors and ministers.</n> watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: <n>He exhorts the ministers never to cease to call on God by prayer for the deliverance of his Church and to teach others to do the same.</n> ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,


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And give him no rest, till he shall establish, and till he shall make Jerusalem a <n>For the restoration of which all the world will praise him.</n> praise in the earth.


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The Lorde hath sworne by his right hand and by his strong arme, Surely I wil no more giue thy corne to be meate for thine enemies, &amp; surely the sonnes of the strangers shall not drinke thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured.


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But they that haue gathered it, shall eate it, and prayse the Lorde, and the gatherers thereof shal drinke it in the courtes of my Sanctuarie.


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<n>Signifying the great number that would come to the Church, and what means he would prepare for the restitution of the same, as in (Isa_57:14).</n>Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.


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Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed to the end of the world, <n>You prophets and ministers show the people of this their deliverance: which was chiefly meant of our salvation by Christ, (Zec_9:9; Mat_21:5).</n> Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and <n>He will have all power to bring his purpose to pass, as in (Isa_40:10).</n> his work before him.


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And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A <n>That is, one over whom God has had a singular care to recover her when she was lost.</n> city not forsaken.


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Who [is] this that cometh <n>This prophecy is against the Idumeans and enemies who persecuted the Church, on whom God will take vengeance, and is here set forth all bloody after he has destroyed them in Bozrah, the chief city of the Idumeans: for these were their greatest enemies,and under the title of circumcision and the kindred of Abraham.</n> from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this [that is] glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? <n>God answers them that asked this question, «Who is this?» etc. and says «You see now performed in deed the vengeance which my prophets threatened.»</n> I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.


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<n>Another question, to which the Lord answers.</n>Why [art thou] red in thy apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine press?


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I haue troden the wine presse alone, and of all people there was none with mee: for I will treade them in mine anger, and tread them vnder foote in my wrath, and their blood shalbe sprinkled vpon my garments, and I will staine all my raiment.


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For the day of vengeance [is] in my heart, and the <n>Showing that when God punishes his enemies, it is for the profit and deliverance of his Church.</n> year of my redeemed is come.


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And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore my own <n>God shows that he has no need of man's help for the deliverance of his, and though men refuse to do their duty through negligence and ingratitude, yet he himself will deliver his Church, and punish the enemies, (Isa_59:16).</n> arm brought salvation to me; and my fury, it upheld me.


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And I will tread down the people in my anger, and make them <n>I will so astonish them and make them so giddy that they will not know which way to go.</n> drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.


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I will <n>The prophet speaks this to move the people to remember God's benefits in times past, that they may be confirmed in their troubles.</n> mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, [and] the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.


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For he said, Surely they [are] my <n>For I chose them to be mine, that they should be holy, and not deceive my expectation.</n> people, children [that] will not lie: so he was their Saviour.


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In all their affliction he was <n>He bore their afflictions and griefs as though they had been his own.</n> afflicted, and the angel <n>Which was a witness of God's presence, and this may be referred to Christ, to whom belongs the office of salvation.</n> of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.


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But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore was hee turned to be their enemie and he fought against them.


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Then he <n>That is, the people of Israel being afflicted, called to mind God's benefits, which he had bestowed on their fathers in times past.</n> remembered the days of old, Moses, [and] his people, [saying], Where [is] he that brought them out of the sea with the <n>Meaning, Moses.</n> shepherd of his flock? where [is] he that put his Holy Spirit within <n>That is, in Moses that he might well govern the people: some refer this giving of the spirit to the people.</n> him?


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He led them by the right hand of Moses with his owne glorious arme, deuiding the water before them, to make himselfe an euerlasting Name.


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That led them through the deep, as an <n>Peaceably and gentle, as a horse is led to his pasture.</n> horse in the wilderness, [that] they should not stumble?


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As the beast goeth downe into the valley, the Spirite of the Lorde gaue them rest: so diddest thou leade thy people, to make thy selfe a glorious Name.


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<n>Having declared God's benefits showed to their forefathers, he turned himself to God by prayer, desiring him to continue the same graces toward them.</n>Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where [is] thy <n>Your great affection, which you bore for us.</n> zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they <n>Meaning, from the whole body of the Church.</n> restrained?


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Doubtless thou [art] our father, though <n>Though Abraham would refuse us to be his children, yet you will not refuse to be our father.</n> Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, [art] our father, our redeemer; thy name [is] from everlasting.


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O LORD, why hast <n>By taking away the Holy Spirit from us, by whom we were governed, and so for our ingratitude delivered us up to our own concupiscence, and punished sin by sin according to your just judgment.</n> thou made us to err from thy ways, [and] hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy <n>Meaning, for the covenant's sake made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob his servants.</n> servants' sake, the tribes of thy inheritance.


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The people of thy holiness have possessed [it] but a little <n>That is, in respect to the promise, which is perpetual: even though they had now possessed the land of Canaan for 1400 years: and thus they lament, to move God rather to remember his covenant, than to punish their sins.</n> while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.


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O that thou wouldest <n>The prophet continues his prayer, desiring God to declare his love toward his Church by miracles and mighty power, as he did in mount Sinai.</n> rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,


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As [when] the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth <n>Meaning, the rain, hail, fire, thunder and lightning.</n> the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thy adversaries, [that] the nations may tremble at thy presence!


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When thou diddest terrible things, which we looked not for, thou camest downe, and the mountaines melted at thy presence.


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For since the beginning of the world [men] have not <n>Paul uses the same kind of admiration, (1Co_2:9) marvelling at God's great benefit showed to his Church, by the preaching of the gospel.</n> heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.


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Thou meetest him <n>You showed favour toward our fathers, when they trusted in you and walked after your commandments.</n> that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, [those that] remember thee in thy <n>They considered your great mercies.</n> ways: behold, thou art angry; for we have sinned: in <n>That is, in your mercies, which he calls the ways of the Lord.</n> those is continuance, and we <n>You will have pity on us.</n> shall be saved.


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But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our <n>We are justly punished and brought into captivity, because we have provoked you to anger, and though we would excuse ourselves, yet our righteousness, and best virtues are before you as vile cloths, or (as some read) like the menstruous cloths of a woman.</n> righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.


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And there is none that calleth vpon thy Name, neither that stirreth vp himselfe to take holde of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from vs, and hast consumed vs because of our iniquities.


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But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the <n>Even though O Lord by your just judgment you may utterly destroy us as the potter may his pot, yet we appeal to your mercies, by which it has pleased you to adopt us to be your children.</n> clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.


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Be not very angry, O LORD, <n>For so the flesh judges when God does not immediately send comfort.</n> neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we [are] all thy people.


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<n>Who were dedicated to your service, and to call on your Name.</n>Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.


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Our holy and our beautiful house, <n>In which we rejoiced and worshipped you.</n> where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.


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Wilt thou restrain thyself <n>That is, at the contempt of your own glory? Though our sins have deserved this, yet you will not permit your glory thus to be diminished.</n> for these [things], O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and grievously afflict us?


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I am sought by [them that] <n>Meaning, the Gentiles who know not God, would seek him, when he had moved their heart with his Holy Spirit, (Rom_10:20).</n> asked not [for me]; I am found by [them that] sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, to a nation [that] was not called by my name.


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I have <n>He shows the reason for the rejection of the Jews, because they would not obey him or any admonition of his prophets, by whom he called them continually and stretch out his hand to draw them.</n> spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way [that is] not good, after their own <n>He shows that to delight in our own fantasies is the declining from God and the beginning of all superstitions and idolatry.</n> thoughts;


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A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in <n>Which were dedicated to idols.</n> gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of <n>Meaning their altars, which he thus named by contempt.</n> brick;


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Which remain among the <n>To consult with spirits, and to conjure devils, which was forbidden.</n> graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat <n>Which was contrary to God's commandment, (Lev_11:7; Deu_14:8).</n> swine's flesh, and broth of abominable [things is in] their vessels;


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Which say, <n>He shows that hypocrisy is always joined with pride and contempt of others.</n> Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These [are] a smoke in my nose, a fire that <n>Their punishment will never have an end.</n> burneth all the day.


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Behold, [it is] <n>So that the remembrance of it cannot be forgotten.</n> written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,


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Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers <n>Will be both punished together: and this declares how the children are punished for their fathers faults, that is, when the same faults or like are found in them.</n> together, saith the LORD, who have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.


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Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and [one] saith, Destroy it not; for a <n>That is, it is profitable: meaning that God will not destroy the faithful branches of his vineyard, when he destroys the rotten stocks, that is, the hypocrites.</n> blessing [is] in it: so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all.


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But I will bring a seede out of Iaakob, and out of Iudah, that shal inherit my mountaine: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my seruants shall dwell there.


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And <n>Which was a plentiful place in Judea to feed sheep, as Achor was for cattle.</n> Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.


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But ye [are] they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that <n>By the multitude and number he means their innumerable idols of whom they thought they could never have enough.</n> troop, and that furnish the drink offering to that number.


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Therefore will I <n>Seeing you cannot number your gods, I will number you with the sword.</n> number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I <n>By my prophets, whom you would not obey.</n> spoke, ye did not hear; but did evil before my eyes, and did choose [that] in which I delighted not.


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Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall <n>By these words, eat and drink, he means the blessed life of the faithful, who have always had consolation and full contentment of all things in their God, though sometimes they lack these corporal things.</n> eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:


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Beholde, my seruants shal sing for ioye of heart, and ye shal crye for sorow of heart, and shal howle for vexation of minde.


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And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my <n>Meaning, that he would call the Gentiles, who would abhor even the very name of the Jews for their infidelities sake.</n> chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by <n>Than by the name of the Jews.</n> another name:


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That he who blesseth himself in the <n>By blessing, and by swearing is meant the praising of God for his benefits, and the true worshipping of him, who will not be only in Judea, but through all the world.</n> earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former <n>I will no longer permit my Church to be desolate as in times past.</n> troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from my eyes.


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For, behold, I create <n>I will so altar and change the state of my church, that it will seem to dwell in a new world.</n> new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.


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But be you glad and reioyce for euer in the things that I shall create: for beholde, I will create Ierusalem, as a reioycing and her people as a ioye,


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And I wil reioyce in Ierusalem, and ioye in my people, and the voyce of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voyce of crying.


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There shall be no more from there an infant of days, nor an old man that hath <n>Meaning, in this wonderful restoration of the Church there would be no weakness of youth, nor infirmities of age, but all would be fresh and flourishing: and this is accomplished in the heavenly Jerusalem, when all sins will cease, and the tears will be wiped away.</n> not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner [being] <n>By which he shows that the infidels and unrepentant sinners have no part of this benediction.</n> an hundred years old shall be accursed.


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And they shall <n>He proposes to the faithful the blessings which are contained in the law, and so under temporal things comprehends the spiritual promises.</n> build houses, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.


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They shall not build, and another inhabite: they shall not plant, and another eate: for as the dayes of the tree are the dayes of my people, and mine elect shall inioye in olde age the worke of their handes.


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They shall not labour in vaine, nor bring forth in feare: for they are the seede of the blessed of the Lord, and their buds with them.


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The <n>Read (Isa_11:6).</n> wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox: and dust [shall be] the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.


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Thus saith the LORD, The <n>My majesty is so great, that it fills both heaven and earth, and therefore cannot be included in a temple like an idol, condemning by this their main confidence which trusted in the temple and sacrifices.</n> heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that ye build to me? and where [is] the place of my rest?


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For all these [things] hath my hand made, <n>Seeing that both the temple and the things in it, with the sacrifices were made and done by his appointment, he shows that he has no need of it, and that he can be without them, {{See Psa_50:10}}.</n> and all these [things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of <n>To him that is humble and pure in heart, who receives my doctrine with reverence and fear.</n> a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.


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He that killeth an ox [is as if] he <n>Because the Jews thought themselves holy by offering their sacrifices, and in the mean season had neither faith or repentance, God shows that he no less detests these ceremonies than he does the sacrifices of the heathen, who offered men, dogs and swine to their idols, which things were expressly forbidden in the law.</n> slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, [as if] he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, [as if he offered] swine's blood; he that burneth incense, [as if] he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.


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I also will <n>I will discover their wickedness and hypocrisy, with which they think to blind my eyes to all the world.</n> choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before my eyes, and chose [that] in which I delighted not.


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Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his <n>He encourages the faithful by promising to destroy their enemies, who pretended to be as brethren, but were hypocrites, and hated them that feared God.</n> word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.


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<n>The enemies will shortly hear a more terrible voice, even fire and slaughter, seeing they would not hear the gentle voice of the prophets, who called them to repentance.</n>A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.


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Before <n>Meaning, that the restoration of the church would be so sudden and contrary to all men's opinions as when a woman is delivered before she looked for it, and without pain in travail.</n> she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a male child.


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Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one <n>This will pass the capacity of man to see such a multitude that will come up at once, meaning under the preaching of the gospel of which they who came out of Babylon were a sign.</n> day? [or] shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.


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Shall I <n>Declaring by this that as by his power and providence women travailed and delivered so he gives power to bring forth the Church at his appointed time.</n> bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut [the womb]? saith thy God.


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Reioyce ye with Ierusalem, and be gladde with her, all ye that loue her: reioyce for ioy with her, all ye that mourne for her,


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That ye may nurse, <n>That is may rejoice for all the blessings that God bestows on his Church.</n> and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may draw milk, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.


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For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend <n>I will give her happiness and prosperity in great abundance.</n> peace to her like a river, and the glory of the <n>Read (Isa_60:16).</n> Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye be nursed, ye shall be <n>You will be cherished as her dearly beloved children.</n> borne upon [her] sides, and be dandled upon [her] knees.


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And when ye see [this], your heart shall rejoice, and your <n>You will have new strength and new beauty.</n> bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and [his] indignation toward his enemies.


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For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to <n>This vengeance God began to execute at the destruction of Babylon and has always continued it against the enemies of his Church, and will do till the last day, which will be the accomplishment of it.</n> render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.


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For the Lord will iudge with fire, and with his sworde all flesh, and the slaine of the Lorde shall be many.


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They that sanctify <n>Meaning, the hypocrites.</n> themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one [tree] in the midst, eating <n>By which are meant them that maliciously transgressed the law, by eating beasts forbidden, even to the mouse which nature abhors.</n> swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.


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For I [know] their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my <n>The Gentiles will be partakers of that glory, which before I showed to the Jews.</n> glory.


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And I will set a <n>I will make these that I chose, that they perish not with the rest of the infidels: by which he alludes to the marking of the posts of his people, whom he preserved, (Exo_12:7).</n> sign among them, and I will send those that <n>I will scatter the rest of the Jews, who escaped destruction, into various nations.</n> escape of them to the nations, [to] <n>That is, Cecilia.</n> Tarshish, <n>Meaning Africa.</n> Pul, and <n>That is Lydia, or Asia minor.</n> Lud, that draw the <n>Signifying the Parthians.</n> bow, [to] <n>Italy.</n> Tubal, and <n>Greece.</n> Javan, [to] the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and <n>Meaning, the apostles, disciples and others who he first chose of the Jews to preach to the Gentiles.</n> they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.


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And they shall bring all your <n>That is the Gentiles, who by faith will be made the children of Abraham as you are.</n> brethren [for] an offering to the LORD out of all nations upon <n>By which he means that no necessary means will want, when God will call the Gentiles to the knowledge of the gospel.</n> horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.


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And I will also take of them for <n>That is, of the Gentiles, as he did Luke, Timothy and Titus first, and others after to preach his word.</n> priests [and] for Levites, saith the LORD.


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For as the new <n>By this he signifies the kingdom of Christ in which his Church will be renewed, and where before there were appointed seasons to sacrifice in this there will be one continual Sabbath, so that all times and seasons will be meet.</n> heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.


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And from moneth to moneth, and from Sabbath to Sabbath shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.


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And they shall go forth, and look upon the <n>As he who declared the happiness that will be within the Church for the comfort of the godly, so does he show what horrible calamity will come to the wicked, that are out of the Church.</n> carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their <n>Meaning, a continual torment of conscience, which will always gnaw them, and never permit them to be at rest, (Mar_9:44).</n> worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence <n>This is the just recompense for the wicked, who contemning God and his word, will be by God's just judgments abhorred by all his creatures.</n> to all flesh.


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The <n>That is, the sermons and prophecies.</n> words of Jeremiah the son of <n>Who is thought to be he that found the book of the law under king Josiah, (2Ki_22:8).</n> Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in <n>This was a city about three miles from Jerusalem and belonged to the priests, the sons of Aaron, (Jos_21:18).</n> Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: <n>The Argument - The prophet Jeremiah born in the city of Anathoth in the country of Benjamin, was the son of Hilkiah, whom some think to be he that found the book of the law and gave it to Josiah. This prophet had excellent gifts from God, and most evident revelations of prophecy, so that by the commandment of the Lord he began very young to prophecy, that is, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, and continued eighteen years under the king, three months under Jehoahaz and under Jehoiakim eleven years, three months under Jehoiachin, and under Zedekiah eleven years to the time that they were carried away into Babylon. So that this time amounts to above forty years, besides the time that he prophesied after the captivity. In this book he declares with tears and lamentations, the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people, for their idolatry, covetousness, deceit, cruelty, excess, rebellion and contempt of God's word, and for the consolation of the Church reveals the just time of their deliverance. Here chiefly are to be considered three things. First the rebellion of the wicked, who wax more stubborn and obstinate, when the prophets admonish them most plainly of their destruction. Next how the prophets and ministers of God should not be discouraged in their vocation, though they are persecuted and rigorously handled by the wicked, for God's cause. Thirdly though God shows his just judgment against the wicked, yet will he ever show himself a preserver of his Church, and when all means seem to men's judgment to be abolished, then will he declare himself victorious in preserving his.</n>


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To whom the <n>This is spoken to confirm his calling and office, as he did not presume of himself to preach and prophecy, but was called to it by God.</n> word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.


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It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the <n>Meaning the nephew of Josiah: for Jehoahaz was his father, who reigned but three months, and therefore is not mentioned, nor is Jehoiakim that reigned no longer.</n> son of Josiah king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth <n>Of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, who was also called Mattaniah, and at this time the Jews were carried away into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.</n> month.


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Before I <n>The scripture uses this manner of speech to declare that God has appointed his minsters to their offices before they were born, as in (Isa_49:1; Gal_1:15).</n> formed thee in the womb I knew thee; and before thou wast born I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet to the <n>For Jeremiah did not only prophecy against the Jews, but also against the Egyptians, Babylonians, Moabites and other nations.</n> nations.


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Then said I, <n>Considering the great judgments of God which according to his threatening would come on the world, he was moved with a certain compassion on the one hand to pity them that would thus perish, and on the other hand by the infirmity of man's nature, knowing how hard a thing it was to enterprise such a charge, as in (Isa_6:11; Exo_3:21, Exo_4:1).</n> Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I [am] a child.


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But the Lord said vnto me, Say not, I am a childe: for thou shalt goe to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoeuer I command thee, shalt thou speake.


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Then the LORD put forth his hand, and <n>Which declares that God makes them meet and assures them, whom he calls to set forth his glory, giving them all means necessary for the same, (Exo_4:12; Isa_6:7).</n> touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.


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See, I have this day set thee over the <n>He shows what is the authority of God's true ministers, who by his word have power to bear down whatever lifts itself up against God: and to plant and assure the humble and such as give themselves to the obedience of God's word, (2Co_10:4-5; Heb_4:12), and these are the keys which Christ has left to loose and bind, (Mat_18:18).</n> nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.


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Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a <n>He joins the sign with the word, for a more ample confirmation: signifying by the rod of the almond tree, which first buds, the hasty coming of the Babylonians against the Jews.</n> rod of an almond tree.


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And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling <n>Signifying that the Chaldeans and Assyrians would be as a pot to seethe the Jews who boiled in their pleasures and lust.</n> pot; and its face [is] toward the north.


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Then the LORD said to me, Out of the <n>Syria and Assyria were northward in respect to Jerusalem, which was the Chaldeans dominion.</n> north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.


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For loe, I will call all the families of the kingdomes of the North, saith the Lord, and they shall come, and euery one shall set his throne in the entring of the gates of Ierusalem, and on all the walles thereof rounde about, and in all the cities of Iudah.


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And I will utter my <n>I will give them charge and power to execute my vengeance against the idolaters who have forsaken me for their idols.</n> judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.


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Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I <n>Which declares that God's vengeance is prepared against them who do not execute their duty faithfully, either for fear of man, or for any other reason, (1Co_9:16).</n> confound thee before them.


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For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an <n>Signifying on the one hand that the more that Satan and the world rage against God's ministers, the more present will he be to help them, (Jos_1:5; Heb_13:5) and on the other hand, that they are utterly unfit to serve God in his Church, who are afraid and do not resist wickedness, whatever danger depend on it, (Isa_50:7; Eze_3:8).</n> iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against her princes, against her priests, and against the people of the land.


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For they shall fight against thee, but they shall not preuaile against thee: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, sayth the Lord.


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Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the <n>According to that grace and favour which I showed you from the beginning, when I first chose you to be my people, and married you to myself, (Eze_16:8).</n> kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, <n>When I had delivered you out of Egypt.</n> in a land [that was] not sown.


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Israel [was] <n>Chosen above all others to serve the Lord only and the first offered to the Lord of all other nations.</n> holiness to the LORD, [and] the firstfruits of his increase: all <n>Whoever challenged this people, or else annoyed them, was punished.</n> that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.


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Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone <n>That is, fallen to vile idolatry.</n> far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have become <n>Altogether given to vanity, and are become blind and insensible as the idols that they serve.</n> vain?


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Neither said they, Where [is] the LORD that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of <n>Where for lack of all things needed for life, you could look for nothing every hour but present death.</n> the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?


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And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit of it and the goodness of it but when ye entered, ye defiled <n>By your idolatry and wicked manners, (Psa_78:58, Psa_106:38).</n> my land, and made my heritage an abomination.


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The priests said not, <n>They did not teach the people to seek after God.</n> Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the <n>As the scribes, who would have expounded the law to the people.</n> law knew me not: the <n>Meaning, the princes and ministers: signifying, that all estates were corrupt.</n> rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by <n>That is, spoke vain things, and brought the people from the true worship of God to serve idols: for by Baal, which was the chief idol of the Moabites, are meant all idols.</n> Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.


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Wherefore I will yet <n>Signifying that he would not as he might, straightway condemn them, but shows them by evident examples their great ingratitude that they might be ashamed and repent.</n> plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.


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For pass over the isles of <n>Meaning, the Grecians and Italians.</n> Chittim, and see; and send to <n>To Arabia.</n> Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there is such a thing.


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Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no gods? but my people have changed their <n>That is, God who is their glory, and who makes them glorious above all other people, reproving the Jews that they were less diligent to serve the true God, than were the idolaters to honour their vanities.</n> glory for [that which] doth not <n>Meaning the idols who were their destruction, (Psa_106:36).</n> profit.


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Be astonished, O ye <n>He shows that the insensible creatures abhor this vile ingratitude, and as it were tremble for fear of God's great judgments against the same.</n> heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.


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For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me <n>Signifying that when men forsake God's word, which is the fountain of life, they reject God himself, and so fall to their own inventions, and vain confidence, and procure to themselves destruction, (Jon_2:8; Zec_10:2).</n> the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.


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[Is] Israel a <n>Have I ordered them like servants and not like dearly beloved children? (Exo_4:22) therefore it is their fault only, if the enemy spoil them.</n> servant? [is] he a homeborn [slave]? why is he laid waste?


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The young <n>The Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians.</n> lions roared upon him, [and] yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without <n>Not one will be left to dwell there.</n> inhabitant.


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Also the children of <n>That is, the Egyptians, for these were two great cities in Egypt.</n> Noph and Tahapanes have <n>Have grievously vexed you at various times.</n> broken the crown of thy head.


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Hast thou not procured this to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he <n>Showing that God would have still led them correctly, if they would have followed him.</n> led thee by the way?


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And now what hast thou to do in the way of <n>To seek help from man, as though God was not able enough to defend you, which is to drink from the puddles and to leave the fountain, (Isa_31:1).</n> Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the <n>That is, Euphrates.</n> river?


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Thy own wickedness shall <n>Meaning, that the wicked are insensible, till the punishment for their sin waken them as in (Jer_2:26; Isa_3:9).</n> correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that [it is] an evil [thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear [is] not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.


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For of old time I have broken thy yoke, [and] burst thy bands; and thou saidst, <n>When I delivered you out of Egypt, (Exo_19:8; Deu_5:27; Jos_24:16; Ezr_10:12; Heb_8:6).</n> I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.


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Yet I had planted thee, a noble vine, whose plants were all natural: howe then art thou turned vnto me into the plants of a strange vine?


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For though thou shalt wash thee with <n>Though you use all the purifications and ceremonies of the law, you cannot escape punishment.</n> lye, and take thee much soap, [yet] thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.


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How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not <n>Meaning that hypocrites deny that they worship the idols, but that they honour God in them, and therefore they call their doings God's service.</n> gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift <n>He compares the idolaters to these beasts, because they never cease running to and fro: for both valleys and hills are full of their idolatry.</n> dromedary traversing her ways;


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A wild <n>He compares the idolaters to a wild ass: for she can never be tamed nor yet wearied: for as she runs she can take her wind at every opportunity.</n> donkey used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her <n>That is, when she is with foal, and therefore the hunters wait their time: so though you cannot be turned back now from your idolatry, yet when your iniquity will be at the fall, God will meet with you.</n> month they shall find her.


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Withhold thy foot from <n>By this he warns them that they should not go into strange countries to seek help: for they should but spend their labour, and hurt themselves, which is here meant by the bare foot and thirst, (Isa_57:10).</n> being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.


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As the <n>As a thief will not acknowledge his fault, till he is taken with the deed, and ready to be punished, so they will not confess their idolatry, till the plagues due to the same light on them.</n> thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,


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Saying to a tree, Thou [art] my <n>Meaning, that idolaters rob God of his honour: and where as he has taught to call him the father of all flesh, they attribute this title to their idols.</n> father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned [their] back to me, and not [their] face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.


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But where [are] thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for [according <n>You thought that your gods of blocks and stones could have helped you, because they were many in number and present in every place: but now let us see whether either the multitude or their presence can deliver you from my plague, (Jer_11:13).</n> to] the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.


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Why will <n>As though I did you injury in punishing you, seeing that your faults are so evident.</n> ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.


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In vain have I smitten your children; they have received no correction: your <n>That is, you have killed your prophets, that exhorted you to repentance, as Zechariah, Isaiah, etc.</n> own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.


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O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a <n>Have I not given them abundance of all things?</n> wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; <n>But will trust in our own power and policy.</n> we will come no more to thee?


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Can a maid forget her ornament, or a bride her attire? yet my people haue forgotten me, daies without number.


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Why trimmest thou thy way to <n>With strangers.</n> seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.


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Also in thy <n>The prophets and the faithful are slain in every corner of your country.</n> skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.


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Yet thou saiest, Because I am giltles, surely his wrath shall turne from mee: beholde, I will enter with thee into iudgement, because thou saiest, I haue not sinned.


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Why dost thou go about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, <n>For the Assyrians had taken away the ten tribes out of Israel and destroyed Judah even to Jerusalem: and the Egyptians slew Josiah, and vexed the Jews in various ways.</n> as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.


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Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands upon <n>In sign of lamentation, as in (2Sa_13:19).</n> thy head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.


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They <n>According as it is written, (Deu_24:4).</n> say, If a man shall put away his wife, and she shall go from him, and become another man's, shall he return to her again? shall not that land <n>If he take such a one to wife again.</n> be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many <n>That is, with idols, and with them whom you have put your confidence in.</n> lovers; yet <n>And I will not cast you off, but receive you, according to my mercy.</n> return again to me, saith the LORD.


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Lift up thy eyes to the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the <n>Who dwells in tent and waits for them that pass by to rob them.</n> Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy harlotry and with thy wickedness.


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Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there hath been no <n>As God threatened by his law, (Deu_28:24).</n> latter rain; and thou hadst an <n>You would never be ashamed of your acts and repent: and this impudency is common to idolaters, who will not cease, though they are openly convicted.</n> harlot's forehead, thou didst refuse to be ashamed.


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Wilt thou not from this time cry <n>He shows that the wicked in their miseries will cry to God and use outward prayer as the godly do, but because they do not turn from their evil, they are not heard, (Isa_58:3-4).</n> to me, My father, thou [art] the guide of my youth?


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Wil he keepe his anger for euer? Will he reserue it to the ende? Thus hast thou spoken, but thou doest euill, euen more and more.


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The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which backsliding <n>Meaning the ten tribes.</n> Israel hath done? she hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.


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And I sayde, when shee had done all this, Turne thou vnto me: but she returned not, as her rebellious sister Iudah sawe.


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And I saw, when for all the causes by which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put <n>And gave her into the hands of the Assyrians.</n> her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.


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And it came to pass through the <n>The Hebrew word may either signify lightness and wantonness, or noise and brute.</n> lightness of her harlotry, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with trees.


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And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to me with <n>Judah pretended for a time that she returned, as under Josiah and other good kings, but she was never truly touched, or wholly reformed, as appeared when opportunity was offered by any wicked prince.</n> her whole heart, but deceitfully, saith the LORD.


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And the LORD said to me, The backsliding Israel hath <n>Israel has not declared herself as wicked as Judah, who yet has had more admonitions and examples to call her to repentance.</n> justified herself more than treacherous Judah.


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Go and proclaim these words toward <n>While the Israelites were now kept in captivity by the Assyrians, to whom he promises mercy, if they will repent.</n> the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; [and] I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the LORD, [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever.


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Only acknowledge thy iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast <n>There was no way which you did not hunt to seek after the idols, and to go on a pilgrimage.</n> scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.


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O yee disobedient children, turne againe, sayeth the Lorde, for I am your Lorde, and I will take you one of a citie, and two of a tribe and wil bring you to Zion,


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And I will giue you pastours according to mine heart, which shal feede you with knowledge and vnderstanding.


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And it shall come to pass, when ye shall be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The <n>This is to be understood of the coming of Christ: for then they will not seek the Lord by ceremonies, and all figures will cease.</n> ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss [it]; neither shall [that] be done any more.


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At that time they shall call Jerusalem <n>Meaning, the Church, where the Lord will be present to the world's end, (Mat_28:20).</n> the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.


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In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together from the land of the <n>Where they are now in captivity.</n> north to the land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers.


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But I sayde, Howe did I take thee for children and giue thee a pleasant lande, euen the glorious heritage of the armies of the heathen, and saide, Thou shalt call mee, saying, My father, and shalt not turne from me?


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Surely [as] a wife treacherously departeth from her <n>The Hebrew word signifies a friend or companion, and here may be taken for a husband, as it is used also in (Hos_3:1).</n> husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.


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<n>Signifying, that God, whom they had forsaken, would bring their enemies to them, who would lead them captive, and make them to cry and lament.</n>A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping [and] supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, [and] they have forgotten the LORD their God.


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Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. <n>This is spoken in the person of Israel to the shame of Judah, who stayed so long to turn to God.</n> Behold, we come to thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.


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Truly the hope of the hilles is but vaine, nor the multitude of mountaines: but in the Lorde our God is the health of Israel.


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For shame hath devoured the labour of our <n>For their idolatry God's vengeance has light on them and theirs.</n> fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.


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We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: <n>They justify not themselves, or say that they would follow their fathers, but condemn their wicked doings and desire forgiveness for the same, as in (Ezr_9:7; Psa_106:6; Isa_64:6).</n> for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.


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If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, <n>That is, wholly and without hypocrisy, not dissembling to turn and serve God as they do who serve him by halves, (Hos_7:16).</n> return to me: and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed.


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And thou shalt <n>You will detest the name of idols, (Psa_16:4) and will with reverence swear by the living God, when your oath may advance God's glory, and profit others: and here by swearing he means the true religion of God.</n> swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.


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For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up <n>He wills them to pluck up the impiety and wicked affection and worldly respects out of their heart, that the true seed of God's word may be sown in it, (Hos_10:12) and this is the true circumcision of the heart, (Deu_10:16; Rom_2:29; Col_2:11).</n> your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.


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Breake vp your fallowe ground, and sowe not among the thornes: be circumcised to the Lord, &amp; take away the foreskinnes of your hearts, ye men of Iudah, and inhabitants of Ierusalem, lest my wrath come foorth like fire, and burne, that none can quenche it, because of the wickednesse of your inuentions.


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<n>He warns them of the great dangers that will come on them by the Chaldeans, unless they repent and turn to the Lord.</n>Declare ye in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, confirm, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.


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Set up the standard toward Zion: <n>He speaks this to admonish them of the great danger when every man will prepare to save himself, but it will be too late, (2Ki_25:4).</n> retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.


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The <n>Meaning Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (2Ki_24:1).</n> lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.


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Wherefore girde you with sackecloth: lament, and howle, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is not turned backe from vs.


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And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the <n>That is, the false prophets who still prophesied peace and security.</n> prophets shall wonder.


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Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly <n>By the false prophets who promised peace and tranquillity: and thus you have punished their rebellious stubbornness by causing them to hearken to lies who would not believe your truth, (1Ki_22:23; Eze_14:9; 2Th_2:11).</n> deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; though the sword reacheth to the soul.


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At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry <n>The north wind by which he means Nebuchadnezzar.</n> wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not <n>But to carry away both corn and chaff.</n> to fan, nor to cleanse,


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Behold, he shall come up as <n>Meaning that Nebuchadnezzar would come as suddenly as a cloud that is carried with the wind.</n> clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. <n>This is spoken in the person of all the people, who in their affliction would cry thus.</n> Woe to us! for we are laid waste.


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O Ierusalem, wash thine heart from wickednes, that thou maiest be saued: how long shall thy wicked thoughtes remaine within thee?


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For a voice declareth from <n>Which was a city in the utmost border of Israel north toward Babylon.</n> Dan, and proclaimeth affliction from mount <n>Which was in the middle between Dan and Jerusalem.</n> Ephraim.


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Make ye mention of the heathen, and publish in Ierusalem, Beholde, the skoutes come from a farre countrey, and crie out against the cities of Iudah.


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As keepers of a <n>Who keep the fruits so straitly, that nothing can come in or out so would the Babylonians compass Judah.,</n> field, they are against her on all sides; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.


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Thy wayes and thine inuentions haue procured thee these things, such is thy wickednesse: therefore it shall be bitter, therefore it shall perce vnto thine heart.


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My distress, my <n>He shows that the true ministers are lively touched with the calamities of the Church, so that all the parts of their body feel the grief of their heart, even though with zeal to God's glory they pronounce his judgments against the people.</n> distress! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.


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Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my <n>Meaning, the cities which were as easily cast down as a tent.</n> tents ruined, [and] my curtains in a moment.


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For my people [are] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] silly children, and they have no understanding: <n>Their wisdom and policy tend to their own destruction and pulls them from God.</n> they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.


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I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and <n>By this manner of speech he shows the horrible destruction that would come on the land and also condemns the obstinacy of the people who do not repent at the fear of these terrible kings, seeing that the insensible creatures are moved therewith, as if the order of nature would be changed, (Isa_13:10, Isa_24:23; Eze_32:7; Joe_2:31, Joe_3:15).</n> void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light.


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I behelde, and loe, the fruitfull place was a wildernesse, and all the cities thereof were broken downe at the presence of the Lorde, and by his fierce wrath.


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For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I <n>But for his mercies sake, he will reserve himself a residue to be his Church, and to praise him in earth, (Jer_5:18).</n> not make a full end.


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Therefore shall the earth mourne, and the heauens aboue shall be darkened, because I haue pronounced it: I haue thought it, and will not repent, neither will I turne backe from it.


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The whole citie shall flee, for the noyse of the horsemen and bowemen: they shall goe into thickets, and clime vp vpon the rockes: euery citie shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.


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And [when] thou [art] laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou <n>Neither your ceremonies nor rich gifts will deliver you.</n> clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlarge thy eyes with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.


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For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her hands, [saying], <n>As the prophets were moved to pity the destruction of their people, so they declared it to the people to move them to repentance, (Isa_22:4; Jer_9:1).</n> Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.


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Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its broad places, if ye can find a man, if there is [any] that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon <n>That is, the city.</n> it.


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And though they say, The <n>Though they pretend religion and holiness, yet all is but hypocrisy: for under this kind of swearing is contained the true religion.</n> LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.


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O LORD, [are] not thy eyes upon the <n>Do you not love uprightness and faithful dealing?</n> truth? thou hast <n>You have often punished them, but all is in vain, (Isa_9:13).</n> stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.


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Therefore I saide, Surely they are poore, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the iudgement of their God.


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I will go to the <n>He speaks this to the reproach of them who would govern and teach others, and yet are farther out of the way than the simple people.</n> great men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the LORD, [and] the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, [and] burst the bonds.


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Wherefore a <n>Meaning, Nebuchadnezzar and his army.</n> lion from the forest shall slay them, [and] a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out from there shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, [and] their backslidings are increased.


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How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and <n>He shows that to swear by anything other than by God is to forsake him.</n> sworn by [them that are] no gods: when I had fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.


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Shall I not visite for these things, saith the Lorde? Shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?


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<n>He commands the Babylonians and enemies to destroy them.</n>Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: <n>Read (Jer_4:27).</n> take away her battlements; for they [are] not the LORD'S.


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For the house of Israel, and the house of Iudah haue grieuously trespassed against me, saith the Lord.


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They have <n>Because they gave no credit to the words of his prophets, as in (Isa_28:15).</n> lied about the LORD, and said, [It is] not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:


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And the prophets shall become <n>Their words will be of no effect, but vain.</n> wind, and the word [is] <n>They are not sent from the Lord, and therefore that which they threaten to us will come on them.</n> not in them: thus shall it be done to them.


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Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in <n>Meaning, Jeremiah.</n> thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.


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Lo, I will bring a nation upon you <n>That is, the Babylonians and Chaldeans.</n> from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it [is] a mighty nation, it [is] an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.


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Their quiver [is] as an <n>Who will kill many with their arrows.</n> open sepulchre, they [are] all mighty men.


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And they shall eate thine haruest and thy bread: they shall deuoure thy sonnes and thy daughters: they shall eate vp thy sheepe and thy bullocks: they shall eate thy vines and thy figge trees: they shall destroy with the sworde thy fensed cities, wherein thou didest trust.


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Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with <n>Here the Lord declares his unspeakable favour toward his Church, as in (Jer_4:27).</n> you.


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And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth the LORD our God all these [things] to us? then shalt <n>Meaning, the prophet Jeremiah.</n> thou answer them, As ye have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land [that is] not yours.


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Heare nowe this, O foolish people, and without vnderstanding, which haue eyes and see not, which haue eares and heare not.


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Feare ye not me, saith the Lord? Or will ye not be afraide at my presence, which haue placed the sand for the bounds of the sea by the perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it, and though the waues thereof rage, yet can they not preuaile, though they roare, yet can they not passe ouer it?


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For they say not in their heart, Let vs nowe feare the Lorde our God, that giueth raine both early and late in due season: hee reserueth vnto vs the appointed weekes of the haruest.


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Your <n>If there is any stay, that we receive not God's blessings in abundance, we must consider that it is for our own iniquities, (Isa_59:1-2).</n> iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withheld good [things] from you.


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For among my people are founde wicked persons, that lay waite as hee that setteth snares: they haue made a pit, to catch men.


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As a cage is full of birdes, so are their houses full of deceite: thereby they are become great and waxen riche.


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They have become fat, they shine: yea, they exceed the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they <n>They feel not the plague of God for it.</n> prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.


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Shall I not visite for these things, sayth the Lord? or shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?


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The <n>Meaning that there could be nothing but disorder, where the ministers were wicked and corrupt.</n> prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in its end?


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O ye children of <n>He speaks to them chiefly because they should take heed by the example of their brethren the other half of their tribe, who were now carried away prisoners.</n> Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in <n>Which was a city in Judah, six miles from Bethlehem, (2Ch_11:6).</n> Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in <n>Read (Neh_3:14).</n> Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.


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I have likened the daughter of Zion to <n>I have intreated her gently, and given her abundance of all things.</n> a comely and delicate [woman].


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The shepherds with their flocks <n>She will be so destroyed that the sheep may be fed in her.</n> shall come to her; they shall pitch [their] tents against her on every side; they shall feed every one in his place.


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<n>He speaks this in the person of the Babylonians, who complain that the time fails them before they have brought their enterprises to pass.</n>Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day departeth, for the shadows of the evening are lengthened.


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For thus hath the Lord of hostes said, Hewe downe wood, and cast a mounte against Ierusalem: this citie must be visited: all oppression is in the middes of it.


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As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: <n>He shows the reason why it would be destroyed, and how it comes from themselves.</n> violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually [are] grief and wounds.


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Be thou instructed, O <n>He warns them to amend by his correction, and turn to him by repentance.</n> Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn <n>He exhorts the Babylonians to be diligent to search out all and to leave none.</n> back thy hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.


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To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear [is] <n>They delight to hear vain things, and to shut up their ears to true doctrine.</n> uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.


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Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: <n>As the Lord had given him his word to be as a fire of his indignation to burn the wicked, (Jer_5:14) so he kindles it now when he sees that all remedies are past.</n> I will pour it out upon the <n>No one will be spared.</n> children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with [him that is] full of days.


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And their houses with their landes, &amp; wiues also shalbe turned vnto strangers: for I will stretch out mine hande vpon the inhabitants of the land, sayeth the Lord.


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For from the least of them, euen vnto the greatest of them, euery one is giuen vnto couetousnesse, and from the Prophet euen vnto the Priest, they all deale falsely.


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They have healed also the hurt [of the daughter] of my people slightly, saying, <n>When the people began to fear God's judgments, the false prophets comforted them by flatterings, showing that God would send peace and not war.</n> Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.


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Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not ashamed, no neither coulde they haue any shame: therefore they shall fall among the slaine: when I shall visite them, they shall be cast downe, sayth the Lorde.


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Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the <n>In which the patriarchs and prophets walked, directed by the word of God: signifying that there is no true way, but that which God prescribes.</n> old paths, where [is] the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [in it].


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Also I set <n>Prophets who would warn you of the dangers that were at hand.</n> watchmen over you, [saying], Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.


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Therefore hear, ye <n>God takes all the world to witness and the insensible creatures of the ingratitude of the Jews.</n> nations, and know, O congregation, what [is] among them.


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Heare, O earth, beholde, I will cause a plague to come vpon this people, euen the fruite of their owne imaginations: because they haue not taken heede vnto my woordes, nor to my Lawe, but cast it off.


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To what purpose cometh there to me <n>Read (Isa_1:11; Amo_5:21).</n> incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt offerings [are] not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.


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Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde, Beholde, I will laie stumbling blockes before this people, and the fathers and the sonnes together shall fall vpon them: the neighbour and his friende shall perish.


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Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the <n>From Babylon by Dan, which was north of Jerusalem.</n> north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.


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With bowe and shield shal they be weaponed: they are cruell and will haue no compassion: their voyce roareth like the sea, and they ride vpon horses, well appointed, like men of warre against thee, O daughter Zion.


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We have heard the report of it: our hands become <n>For fear of the enemy: he speaks this in the person of the Jews.</n> feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pain, as of a woman in travail.


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Goe not foorth into the fielde, nor walke by the way: for the sword of the enemie and feare is on euery side.


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O daughter of my people, girde thee with sackecloth, and wallowe thy selfe in the ashes: make lamentation, and bitter mourning as for thine onely sonne: for the destroier shall suddenly come vpon vs.


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I have set <n>Meaning, Jeremiah, whom God had appointed to try out the godly from the wicked, as a founder does the pure metal from the dross.</n> thee [for] a tower [and] a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.


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They are all rebellious traitours, walking craftily: they are brasse, and yron, they all are destroyers.


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The <n>All the pain and labour that has been taken with them is lost.</n> bellows is burned, the lead is consumed by the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.


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Stand in the gate of the Lordes house and crie this woorde there, and say, Heare the woorde of the Lord, all yee of Iudah that enter in at these gates to worship the Lorde.


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Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Amend your waies and your woorkes, and I will let you dwell in this place.


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Trust ye not in <n>Believe not the false prophets, who say that for the temple's sake, and the sacrifices there the Lord will preserve you, and so nourish you in your sin, and vain confidence.</n> lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.


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For if you amende and redresse your waies and your woorkes: if you execute iudgement betweene a man and his neighbour,


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And oppresse not the stranger, the fatherlesse and the widow and shed no innocent blood in this place, neither walke after other gods to your destruction,


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Then <n>God shows on what condition he made his promise to this temple that they would be a holy people to him, as he would be a faithful God to them.</n> will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.


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Will you steale, murder, and commit adulterie, and sweare falsely and burne incense vnto Baal, and walke after other gods whome yee knowe not?


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And come and stande before mee in this House, whereupon my Name is called, and saye, We are deliuered, though we haue done all these abominations?


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Is this house, which is called by my name, become <n>As thieves hidden in holes and dens think themselves safe, so when you are in my temple, you think to be covered with the holiness of it, and that I cannot see your wickedness, (Mat_21:13).</n> a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen [it], saith the LORD.


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But go ye now to my place which [was] in Shiloh, <n>Because they depended so much on the temple, which was for his promise, that he would be present and defend them where the ark was, he sends them to God's judgments against Shiloh, where the ark had remained about 300 years, and after was taken, the priests slain, and the people miserably discomfited, (1Sa_4:11; Jer_26:6).</n> where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.


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And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spoke to you, <n>That is, I never ceased to warn you, as in (Isa_65:2; Pro_1:23).</n> rising early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but <n>He shows the only remedy to redress our faults: to allow God to lead us in the way, and to obey his calling, (Isa_66:4).</n> ye answered not;


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Therefore will I do vnto this House, wherupon my Name is called, wherein also yee trust, euen vnto the place that I gaue to you &amp; to your fathers, as I haue done vnto Shilo.


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And I will cast <n>I will send you into captivity as I have done Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes.</n> you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, [even] the whole seed of Ephraim.


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Therefore <n>To assure them that God had determined with himself to punish their wickedness, he shows the prayer of the godly cannot help them, while they remain in their obstinacy against God, and will not use the means that he uses to call them to repentance, (Jer_11:14, Jer_14:11).</n> pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.


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The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes to <n>That is, they sacrifice to the sun, moon and stars, which they called the queen of heaven, (Jer_44:17; 2Ki_23:5).</n> the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.


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Doe they prouoke me to anger, sayeth the Lorde, and not themselues to the confusion of their owne faces?


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Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Beholde, mine anger and my wrath shall be powred vpon this place, vpon man and vpon beast, and vpon the tree of the fielde, and vpon the fruite of the grounde, and it shall burne and not bee quenched.


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Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Put your burnt offerings vnto your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.


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For <n>Showing that it was not his chief purpose and intent, that they should offer sacrifices, but that they should regard, why they were ordained: that is, to be joined to the word as seals and confirmations of remissions of sins in Christ: for without the word they were vain and unprofitable.</n> I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:


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But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voyce, and I will be your God, and yee shalbe my people: and walke yee in all the wayes which I haue commaunded you, that it may be well vnto you.


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But they would not obey, nor incline their eare, but went after the counsels and the stubbernesse of their wicked heart, and went backewarde and not forwarde.


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Since the day that your fathers came forth from the land of Egypt to <n>Which was about fourteen hundred years.</n> this day I have even sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily <n>Read (Jer_7:13).</n> rising early and sending [them]:


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Yet would they not heare me nor encline their eare, but hardened their necke &amp; did worse then their fathers.


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Therefore thou shalt speak all these words to them; but they <n>By which he shows that the pastors should not leave their flocks in their obstinacy, for the Lord will use the means of his servants to make the wicked more faulty and to prove his.</n> will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call to them; but they will not answer thee.


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But thou shalt say vnto them, This is a nation that heareth not the voice of the Lorde their God, nor receiueth discipline: trueth is perished, and is cleane gone out of their mouth.


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Cut off thy <n>In sign of mourning, as in (Job_1:20).</n> hair, [O Jerusalem], and cast [it] away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his <n>Against whom he had just opportunity to pour out his wrath (Mic_1:6).</n> wrath.


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For the children of Iudah haue done euill in my sight, sayth the Lorde: they haue set their abominations in the House, whereupon my Name is called, to pollute it.


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And they have built the high places of <n>Of Topheth, read (2Ki_23:10).</n> Tophet, which [is] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I <n>But commanded the opposite, as in (Lev_18:21, Lev_20:3; Deu_18:10).</n> commanded [them] not, neither came it into my heart.


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Therefore beholde, the dayes come, sayeth the Lord, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall burie in Topheth til there be no place.


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And ye carkeises of this people shalbe meat for the foules of the heauen and for the beastes of the earth, and none shall fraie them away.


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Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Iudah and from the streetes of Ierusalem the voice of mirth &amp; the voice of gladnesse, the voice of the bridegrom &amp; the voice of the bride: for the lande shalbe desolate.


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At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their <n>The enemy for greediness will rifle your graves and lay you before those idols, who in your life you worshipped, to see if they can help you.</n> graves:


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And they shal spread them before the sunne and the moone, and all the host of heauen, whom they haue loued, and whome they haue serued, and whome they haue followed, and whome they haue sought, and whome they haue worshipped: they shall not be gathered nor be buried, but shall be as doung vpon the earth.


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And death shall be chosen <n>Because of the afflictions that they will feel through God's judgments.</n> rather than life by all the remnant of them that remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.


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Moreover thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they <n>Is there no hope that they will return?</n> fall, and not rise? shall he turn away, and not return?


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Wherefore is this people of Ierusalem turned backe by a perpetuall rebellion? they gaue themselues to deceit, and would not returne.


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I hearkened and heard, [but] they spoke not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every <n>They are full of hypocrisy, and everyone follows his own fantasy without any consideration.</n> one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth to the battle.


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Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the <n>He accuses them in that they are more ignorant of God's judgments, than these birds are of their appointed seasons to discern the cold and heat.</n> judgment of the LORD.


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How do ye say, We [are] wise, and the law of the LORD [is] with us? Lo, certainly in vain he hath made [it]; <n>The law does not profit you neither need it to have been written for all that you have learned by it.</n> the pen of the scribes [is] in vain.


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The <n>They who seem wise may be ashamed of their ignorance for all wisdom consists in God's word.</n> wise [men] are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom [is] in them?


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Therefore will I giue their wiues vnto others, and their fieldes to them that shall possesse them: for euery one from the least euen vnto the greatest is giuen to couetousnesse, and from the Prophet euen vnto the Priest, euery one dealeth falsely.


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For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, <n>{{See Jer_6:14}}</n> Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.


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Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not ashamed, neither coulde they haue any shame: therefore shall they fall among the slaine: when I shall visite them, they shall be cast downe, sayeth the Lorde.


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I wil surely consume them, sayth the Lord: there shalbe no grapes on the vine, nor figges on the figtree, and the leafe shall fade, and the things that I haue giuen them, shal depart from them.


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Why do we sit still? <n>He speaks in the person of the people, who when the enemy comes will turn about to hide themselves and acknowledge that it is God's hand.</n> assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of <n>That is, has brought us into extreme affliction, and thus they will not attribute this plague to fortune, but to God's just judgment, (Jer_9:15, Jer_23:15).</n> gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.


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The snorting of his horses was heard from <n>{{See Jer_4:15}}</n> Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they have come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell in it.


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For, behold, I will <n>God threatens to send the Babylonians among them who will utterly destroy them in such sort, as by no means they will escape.</n> send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which [will] not [be] charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.


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Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a distant country: [Is] not the LORD in Zion? [is] not her king in her? Why <n>Thus the Lord speaks.</n> have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, [and] with foreign vanities?


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The <n>The people wonder that they have for so long a time looked for comfort in vain.</n> harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.


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For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I <n>The prophet speaks this.</n> hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.


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[Is there] no balm <n>Meaning,that no man's help or means could save them: for in Gilead was precious balm, (Jer_46:11) or else deriding the vain confidence of the people, who looked to their priests for help, who would have been the physicians of their soul, and dwelt at Gilead, (Hos_6:8).</n> in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?


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O that my head were <n>The prophet shows the great compassion that he had toward this people, seeing that he could never sufficiently lament the destruction that he saw to hang over them, which is a special note to discern the true pastors from the hirelings. {{See Jer_4:19}}</n> waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!


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O that I had in the wilderness a <n>He shows that there was more peace and greater safety for him to dwell among the wild beasts than among this wicked people except that God has given him this charge.</n> lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they [are] all <n>Utterly turned from God.</n> adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.


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And they bend their tongues [like] their bow [for] <n>To belie and slander their neighbours.</n> lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.


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Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any <n>Meaning, that all were corrupt, and none could find an honest man.</n> brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.


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And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they <n>They have so practised deceit, that they cannot forsake it.</n> have taught their tongue to speak lies, [and] weary themselves to commit iniquity.


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Thy habitation [is] in the midst of deceit; <n>They would rather have forsaken God than left their wicked trade.</n> through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will <n>With the fire of affliction.</n> melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?


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Their tongue is as an arow shot out, and speaketh deceite: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart hee layeth waite for him.


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Shal I not visit them for these things, saith the Lorde? Or shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?


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For the <n>Signifying that all the places about Jerusalem would be destroyed.</n> mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through [them]; neither can [men] hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast have fled; they are gone.


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And I wil make Ierusalem an heape, and a den of dragons, &amp; I will make the cities of Iudah waste, without an inhabitant.


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Who [is] the <n>Meaning that they are all without sense and understanding and that God has taken his spirit from them.</n> wise man, that may understand this? and [who is he] to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth [and] is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?


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And the Lorde sayeth, Because they haue forsaken my Lawe, which I set before them, and haue not obeyed my voice, neither walked thereafter,


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But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which <n>He shows that the children cannot excuse themselves by their fathers: for both father and child if they are wicked will perish.</n> their fathers taught them:


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Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, [even] this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall <n>Read (Jer_8:14).</n> to drink.


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I wil scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers haue knowen, and I will send a sworde after them, til I haue consumed them.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for <n>Seeing you cannot lament your own sins, call for those foolish women, whom of a superstition you have to lament for the dead, that they by their feigned tears may provoke you to some sorrow.</n> the skilful women, that they may come; and send for skilful [women], that they may come:


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And let them make haste, &amp; let them take vp a lamentation for vs, that our eyes may cast out teares &amp; our eye liddes gush out of water.


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For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we laid waste! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings <n>As though they were weary of us, because of our iniquities, (Lev_18:28, Lev_20:22).</n> have cast [us] out.


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Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and <n>He derides the superstition of the women who made an art of mourning, and taught to weep with feigned tears.</n> teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.


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For death hath come up into our <n>Signifying that there is no means to deliver the wicked from God's judgments: but when they think to be most sure, and most far off, then they are soonest taken.</n> windows, [and] hath entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from outside, [and] the young men from the streets.


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Speake, thus sayth the Lorde, The carkeises of men shall lye, euen as the doung vpon the fielde, and as the handfull after the mower, and none shal gather them.


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Thus saith the LORD, Let not the <n>As none can save himself by his own labour, or any worldly means, he shows that it is vain to put our trust in it, but that we trust in the Lord, and rejoice in him, who only can deliver.</n> wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches:


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But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD who <n>These three points are necessary to know correctly his mercy, in which consists our salvation: his judgment, which he executes continually against the wicked, and his justice, by which he defends and maintains the faithful.</n> exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.


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Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all [them who are] <n>Meaning, both Jews and Gentiles, as in this next verse he shows the cause, (Jer_4:4).</n> circumcised with the uncircumcised;


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Egypt and Iudah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all the vtmost corners of them that dwell in the wildernesse: for all these nations are vncircumcised, &amp; al the house of Israel are vncircumcised in the heart.


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Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the <n>God forbids his people to give credit or fear the constellations and conjunctions of stars and planets which have no power of themselves but are governed by him, and their secret motions and influences are not known to man and therefore there can be no certain judgment of it, (Deu_18:9).</n> signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.


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For the <n>Meaning not only in the observation of the stars, but their laws and ceremonies by which they confirm their idolatry, which is forbidden, (Deu_12:30).</n> customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.


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They deck it <n>The prophets use thus plainly and simply to set forth the vile absurdity of the idolaters that men might learn to be ashamed of that to which their corrupt nature is most subject, (Isa_44:12).</n> with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it may not move.


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The idoles stande vp as the palme tree, but speake not: they are borne because they cannot go feare them not, for they cannot do euill, neither can they do good.


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Forasmuch as [there is] none like thee, O LORD; <n>He teaches the people to lift up their eyes to God, who has all power and therefore ought only to be feared: and in this he shows them not only the evil that they ought to hate: but the good which they ought to follow, (Rev_15:4).</n> thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.


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Who would not feare thee, O King of nations? For to thee appertaineth the dominion: for among all the wise men of the Gentiles, and in al their kingdomes there is none like thee.


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But they are altogether senseless and foolish: the stock [is] a <n>Because the people thought that to have images was a means to serve God, and to bring them to the knowledge of him, he shows that nothing more displeases God, nor brings man into greater errors and ignorance of God: and therefore he calls them the doctrine of vanity, the work of errors, (Jer_10:15). (Hab_2:18) calls them the teachers of lies: contrary to that wicked opinion, that they are the books of the lay people.</n> doctrine of vanities.


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Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold <n>Where they found the best gold; showing that they thought nothing too dear for their idols, some read Ophir as in (1Ki_9:28).</n> from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of skilful [men].


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But the Lord is the God of trueth: he is the liuing God, and an euerlasting King: at his anger the earth shal tremble, and the nations cannot abide his wrath.


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Thus shall ye say to them, The gods <n>This declares that all that has been spoken of idols in this chapter, was to arm the Jews when they would be in Chaldea among the idolaters, and now with one sentence he instructs them both how to protest their own religion against the idolaters and how to answer them to their shame who would exhort them to idolatry, and therefore he writes this sentence in the Chaldean tongue for a memorial while all the rest of his writing is in Hebrew.</n> that have not made the heavens and the earth, [even] they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.


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He hath made the earth by his power, and established the worlde by his wisedome, and hath stretched out the heauen by his discretion.


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Hee giueth by his voyce the multitude of waters in the heauen, and he causeth the cloudes to ascend from the endes of the earth: he turneth lightnings to rayne, and bringeth forth the winde out of his treasures.


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Every man is <n>The more man thinks to do anything well by his own wisdom, and not as God instructs him, the more he proves himself to be a vile beast.</n> senseless in [his] knowledge: every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.


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The <n>By these words, portion and rod, he signifies their inheritance, meaning that God would be all sufficient for them: and that their happiness consisted in him alone, and therefore they ought to renounce all other help and comfort as of idols, etc. (Deu_32:9; Psa_16:5).</n> portion of Jacob [is] not like them: for he [is] the former of all [things]; and Israel [is] the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts [is] his name.


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<n>The prophet wills the Jews to prepare themselves for this captivity, showing that it was now at hand that they would feel the things of which he had told them.</n>Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.


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For thus sayth the Lorde, Beholde, at this time I will throwe as with a sling the inhabitants of the lande, and will trouble them, and they shal finde it so.


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Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this <n>It is my just plague, and therefore I will take it patiently: by which he teaches the people how to behave themselves toward God.</n> [is] a grief, and I must bear it.


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<n>He shows how Jerusalem will lament.</n>My tabernacle is laid waste, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone from me, and they [are] not: [there is] none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.


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For the shepherds <n>The governors and ministers.</n> have become senseless, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.


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Behold, the sound of a rumour is come, and a great commotion from the <n>Read (Jer_4:15).</n> north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, [and] a den of dragons.


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O LORD, I know that <n>He speaks this because Nebuchadnezzar purposed to have made war against the Moabites and Ammonites, but hearing of Zedekiah's rebellion he turned his power to go against Jerusalem, (Eze_21:21) therefore the prophet says that this was the Lord's direction.</n> the way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct his steps.


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O LORD, correct me, but with <n>Considering that God had revealed to him the certainty of their captivity (Jer_7:16) he only prays that he would punish them with mercy which Isaiah calls in measure, (Isa_27:8) measuring his rods by their infirmity (1Co_10:13) for here by judgment is meant not only the punishment but also the merciful moderation of the same as in (Jer_30:11).</n> judgment; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.


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Pour out <n>As God cannot only be known and glorified by his mercy that he uses toward his Church, but also by his justice in punishing his enemies, he prays that this glory may fully appear both in the one and the other, (Psa_79:6).</n> thy fury upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.


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Heare ye the wordes of this couenant, and speake vnto the men of Iudah, and to the inhabitants of Ierusalem,


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And say thou to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; <n>He calls the Jews to the consideration of God's mercy, who freely chose them, made a covenant of eternal happiness with them and how he ever performed it on his behalf and how they ever showed themselves rebellious and ingrate toward him, and broke it on their part, and so are subject to the curse of the law, (Deu_27:26).</n> Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,


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Which I commaunded vnto your fathers, when I brought them out of the lande of Egypt, from the yron fornace, saying, Obey my voyce, and doe according to all these things, which I commande you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God,


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That I may perform the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered <n>Thus he speaks in the person of the people, who agreed to the covenant.</n> I, and said, So be it, O LORD.


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Then the Lord saide vnto me, Cry all these words in the cities of Iudah, and in the streetes of Ierusalem, saying, Heare yee the words of this couenant, and doe them.


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For I earnestly protested to your fathers in the day [that] I brought them out of the land of Egypt, [even] to this day, <n>Read (Jer_7:13).</n> rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.


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Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their <n>According to his own fantasy, and not as my word appointed him.</n> evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the <n>Meaning, the menaces and curses contained in the law, (Lev_26:14; Deu_28:16).</n> words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not.


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And the LORD said to me, A <n>That is, general consent to rebel against me.</n> conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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They are turned backe to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to heare my wordes: and they went after other gods to serue them: thus the house of Israel, &amp; the house of Iudah haue broken my couenant, which I made with their fathers.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry to me, <n>Because they will not pray with true faith and repentance, but for the pain and grief which they feel, (Pro_1:28).</n> I will not hearken to them.


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Then shall the cities of Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem goe, and crie vnto the gods vnto whome they offer incense, but they shall not bee able to helpe them in time of their trouble.


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<n>Read (Jer_2:28).</n>For [according to] the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and [according to] the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to [that] shameful thing, [even] altars to burn incense to Baal.


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Therefore <n>Read (Jer_7:16, Jer_14:11).</n> pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear [them] in the time when they cry to me for their trouble.


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What hath my <n>My people of Israel whom I have greatly loved till now.</n> beloved to do in my house, [seeing] she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh <n>Meaning, that they offer not in the temple to God, but on the altars of Baal and the idols and so rejoiced in their wickedness.</n> is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.


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The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, [and] of goodly fruit: with the <n>Of the Babylonians and Chaldeans.</n> noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.


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For the Lorde of hostes that planted thee, hath pronounced a plague against thee, for the wickednes of the house of Israel, and of the house of Iudah, which they haue done against themselues to prouoke me to anger in offering incense vnto Baal.


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And the LORD hath given me knowledge [of it], and I know [it]: then thou didst show me <n>Who went about secretly to conspire my death.</n> their doings.


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But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised plots against me, [saying], Let us <n>Let us destroy the prophet and his doctrine. Some read «Let us corrupt his meat with wood», meaning poison.</n> destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.


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But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy <n>Thus he spoke not out of hatred, but being moved with the Spirit of God, he desires the advancement of God's glory, and the verifying of his word, which is by the destruction of his enemies.</n> vengeance on them: for to thee have I revealed my cause.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the men of <n>That is, both the priests and the rest of the people: for this town was the priests, and they dwelt in it, (Jer_1:1).</n> Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, <n>Not that they could not abide to hear God named; (for in this they would show themselves most holy) but because they could not abide to be sharply reproved, and therefore desired to be flattered (Isa_30:10), to be maintained in their pleasures (Mic_2:11) and not to hear vice condemned (Amo_7:12).</n> Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:


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Thus therefore sayth the Lorde of hostes, Beholde, I will visite them: the yong men shall die by the sword: their sonnes and their daughters shall die by famine,


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And none of them shall remaine: for I will bring a plague vpon the men of Anathoth, euen the yeere of their visitation.


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<n>The prophet confesses God to be just in all his doings, although man is not able to give a reason for all his actions.</n>Righteous [art] thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me speak with thee of [thy] judgments: Why doth the way of the wicked <n>This question has been always a great temptation to the godly, to see the wicked enemies of God in prosperity, and his dear children in adversity, as in (Job_21:7; Psa_37:1, Psa_73:3; Hab_1:3).</n> prosper? [why] are they all happy that deal very treacherously?


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Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou [art] near in their mouth, and far from their <n>They profess God in mouth, but deny him in heart, which is here meant by the reins, (Isa_29:13; Mat_15:8).</n> reins.


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But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and <n>The Hebrew word is «sanctify them», meaning that God would be sanctified in the destruction of the wicked to whom God for a while gives prosperity, that afterward they would the more feel his heavy judgment when they lack their riches which were a sign of his mercy.</n> prepare them for the day of slaughter.


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How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell in it? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, <n>Abusing God's leniency and his promises, they flattered themselves as though God would ever be merciful and not utterly destroy them therefore they hardened themselves in sin, till at length the beasts and insensible creatures felt the punishment of their stubborn rebellion against God.</n> He shall not see our last end.


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If thou hast run with the <n>Some think that God reproves Jeremiah, in that he would reason with him, saying that if he was not able to march with men, then he was far unable to dispute with God. Others, by the footmen mean them of Anathoth: and by the horsemen, them of Jerusalem who would trouble the prophet worse than his own countrymen did.</n> footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and [if] in the land of peace, [in which] thou didst trust, [they wearied thee], then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?


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For euen thy brethren, and the house of thy father, euen they haue delt vnfaithfully with thee, and they haue cryed out altogether vpon thee: but beleeue them not, though they speake faire to thee.


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I have forsaken <n>God wills the prophet to denounce his judgments against Jerusalem, even though they will both by threatenings and flatteries labour to silence him.</n> my house, I have left my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.


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My heritage is to me as a <n>Ever ranting and raging against me and my prophets.</n> lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.


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My heritage [is] to me [as] a <n>Instead of bearing my livery and wearing only my colours, they have change and diversity of colours of their idols and superstitions therefore their enemies as thick as the fowls of the air will come about them to destroy them.</n> speckled bird, the birds around [are] against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.


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Many shepherds have destroyed my <n>He prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem, by the captain of Nebuchadnezzar, whom he calls pastors.</n> vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.


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They have made it desolate, [and being] desolate it mourneth to me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth <n>Because no man regards my word, or the plagues that I have sent on the land.</n> [it] to heart.


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The destroyers are come vpon all the high places in the wildernesse: for the sworde of the Lord shal deuoure from the one end of the land, euen to the other ende of the lande: no flesh shall haue peace.


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<n>That is, the prophets.</n>They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they <n>They lamented the sins of the people.</n> have put themselves to pain, [but] shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of <n>For instead of amendment, you grew worse and worse, as God's plagues testified.</n> your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.


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Thus saith the LORD against all my evil <n>Meaning the wicked enemies of his Church who blasphemed his Name, and whom he would punish after he had delivered his people.</n> neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.


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And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them out I <n>After I have punished the Gentiles I will have mercy on them.</n> will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.


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And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the <n>The true doctrine and manner to serve God.</n> ways of my people, to swear by my name, The <n>Read (Jer_4:2).</n> LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built <n>They will be of the number of the faithful, and have a place in my Church.</n> in the midst of my people.


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Thus sayth the Lorde vnto mee, Goe, and buy thee a linen girdle, &amp; put it vpon thy loynes, and put it not in water.


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Take the sash that thou hast bought, which [is] upon thy loins, and arise, go to <n>Because this river was far from Jerusalem, it is evident that this was a vision, by which it was signified that the Jews would pass over the Euphrates to be captives in Babylon, and there for length of time would seem to be rotten, although they were joined to the Lord before as a girdle about a man.</n> Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.


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And after many dayes, the Lorde sayde vnto mee, Arise, goe towarde Perath, and take the girdle from thence, which I commaunded thee to hide there.


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Then went I to Perath, and digged, &amp; tooke the girdle from the place where I had hid it, and behold, the girdle was corrupt, and was profitable for nothing.


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Thus sayth the Lord, After this maner will I destroy the pride of Iudah, and the great pride of Ierusalem.


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This wicked people haue refused to heare my word, and walke after ye stubbernesse of their owne heart, and walke after other gods to serue them, and to worship them: therefore they shalbe as this girdle, which is profitable to nothing.


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For as the girdle cleaueth to the loynes of a man, so haue I tied to me the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Iudah, saith the Lorde, that they might bee my people: that they might haue a name and prayse, and glory, but they would not heare.


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Therefore thou shalt speak to them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every <n>Every one of you will be filled with spiritual drunkenness, and be without all knowledge to seek how to help yourselves.</n> skin shall be filled with wine: and they shall say to thee, Do we not certainly know that every skin shall be filled with wine?


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Then shalt thou say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, euen the Kings that sit vpon the throne of Dauid, and the Priestes and the Prophets and all the inhabitantes of Ierusalem with drunkennesse.


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And I will <n>It will be as easy for me to destroy the greatest and the strongest as it is for a man to break earthen bottles.</n> dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.


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Give glory to the LORD your God, before he shall cause <n>That is, affliction and misery by the Babylonians, (Isa_8:22).</n> darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for <n>Meaning, for help and support of the Egyptians.</n> light, he shall turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness.


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But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall <n>You will surely be led away captive and I, according to my affection toward you, will weep and lament for your stubbornness.</n> weep in secret places for [your] pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.


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Say to the <n>For Jehoiachin and his mother rendered themselves by Jeremiah's counsel to the king of Babylon, (2Ki_24:12).</n> king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.


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The cities of <n>That is, of Judah, which lies south of Babylon.</n> the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.


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Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the <n>He asks the king, where his people is become.</n> flock [that] was given thee, thy beautiful flock?


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What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast <n>By seeking to strangers for help, you have made them skilful to fight against you.</n> taught them [to be] captains, [and] as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?


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And if thou shalt say in thy heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts <n>The cloak of hypocrisy will be pulled off, and your shame seen.</n> uncovered, [and] thy heels made bare.


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Can the blacke More change his skin? or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do euill.


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This is thy portion, and ye part of thy measures from me, sayth the Lorde, because thou hast forgotten me and trusted in lyes.


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Therefore will I uncover thy skirts upon thy face, <n>As your iniquities have been revealed to all the world, so shall your shame and punishment.</n> that thy shame may appear.


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I have seen thy adulteries, and thy <n>He compares idolaters to horses inflamed after mares.</n> neighings, the lewdness of thy harlotry, [and] thy abominations on the hills in <n>There is no place so high nor low, where the marks and signs of your idolatry do not appear.</n> the fields. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when [shall it] once [be]?


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The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the <n>Which came for lack of rain as in (Jer_14:4).</n> dearth.


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Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they are <n>The word signifies extreme sorrow.</n> black to the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.


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And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, [and] found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and <n>That is, with ashes in token of sorrow.</n> covered their heads.


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For the grounde was destroyed, because there was no rayne in the earth: the plowmen were ashamed, and couered their heads.


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Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook <n>Meaning, that the brute beasts for drought were compelled to forsake their young, contrary to nature, and to go seek water which they could not find.</n> [it], because there was no grass.


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And the wild donkeys stood in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like <n>Who are so hot by nature, that they cannot be cooled by drinking water, but still gasp for the air to refresh them.</n> dragons; their eyes failed, because [there was] no grass.


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<n>He shows the only way to remedy God's plagues, which is by true confession of our sins, and returning to him by repentance.</n>O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou [it] for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.


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O the hope of Israel, his saviour in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a <n>That takes no care for us.</n> stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man [that] turneth aside to tarry for a night?


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Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as <n>That takes no care for us.</n> a mighty man [that] cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, [art] in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.


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Thus saith the Lord vnto this people, Thus haue they delited to wander: they haue not refrained their feete, therefore the Lorde hath no delight in them: but he will now remember their iniquitie, and visite their sinnes.


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Then said the LORD to me, <n>Read (Jer_7:16, Jer_11:14).</n> Pray not for this people for [their] good.


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When they fast, I will not heare their cry, and when they offer burnt offering, and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sworde, and by the famine and by the pestilence.


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Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the <n>He pities the people, and accuses the false prophets who deceived them: but the Lord answered that both the prophets who deceived and the people who permitted themselves to be seduced, will perish, (Jer_23:15, Jer_27:8-9, Jer_29:8).</n> prophets say to them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.


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Then the Lord said vnto me, The prophets prophecie lyes in my Name: I haue not sent them, neither did I command them, neither spake I vnto them, but they prophecie vnto you a false vision, and diuination, and vanitie, and deceitfulnes of their owne heart.


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Therefore thus saith the Lord, Concerning the prophets that prophecie in my Name, whom I haue not sent, yet they say, Sworde and famine shal not be in this land, by sword and famine shal those prophets be consumed.


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And the people to whome these prophets doe prophecie, shalbe cast out in the streetes of Ierusalem, because of the famine, &amp; the sword, &amp; there shall be none to bury them, both they, and their wiues, and their sonnes, and their daughters: for I wil powre their wickednes vpon them.


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Therefore thou shalt say this word to them; Let my eyes run down with <n>The false prophets promised peace and assurance, but Jeremiah calls to tears, and repentance for their affliction, which is at hand, as in (Jer_9:1; Lam_1:16, Lam_2:18).</n> tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.


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If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about <n>Both high and low will be led captive into Babylon.</n> into a land that they know not.


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Hast thou utterly rejected <n>Though the prophet knew that God had cast off the multitude, who were hypocrites and bastard children, yet he was assured that for his promise sake he would still have a Church, for which he prays.</n> Judah? hath thy soul abhorred Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and [there is] no healing for us? we looked for peace, and [there is] no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!


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We <n>He teaches the Church a form of prayer to humble themselves to God by true repentance, which is the only way to avoid this famine, which was the beginning of God's plagues.</n> acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, [and] the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.


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Doe not abhorre vs: for thy Names sake cast not downe the throne of thy glory: remember and breake not thy couenant with vs.


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Are there [any] among the <n>Meaning their idols, read (Jer_10:15).</n> vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? [art] not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these [things].


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Then said the LORD to me, <n>Meaning that if there were any man living moved with so great zeal toward the people as were these two, yet he would not grant this request, as he had determined the contrary, (Eze_14:14).</n> Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, [yet] my mind [could] not [be] toward this people: cast [them] out of my sight, and let them go forth.


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And if they say vnto thee, Whither shal we depart? Then tell them, Thus saith the Lord, Such as are appointed to death, vnto death: and such as are for the sworde, to the sworde: and such as are for the famine, to the famine: and such as are for the captiuitie, to the captiuitie.


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And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the <n>The dogs, birds and beasts would devour them that were slain.</n> dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.


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And I will <n>The word signifies to run to and fro for fear and unquietness of conscience as Cain did.</n> cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, <n>Not that the people were punished for the king's sin only, but for their own sins also, because they consented to his wickedness.</n> because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for [that] which he did in Jerusalem.


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Who shal then haue pitie vpon thee, O Ierusalem? Or who shalbe sorie for thee? Or who shal go to pray for thy peace?


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Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am <n>That is, I will not call back my plagues or spare you any more.</n> weary with repenting.


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And I will fan them with a fan <n>Meaning, the cities.</n> in the gates of the land; I will bereave [them] of children, I will destroy my people, [since] they return not from their ways.


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Their widows <n>Because I had slain their husbands.</n> are multiplied to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused [him] to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.


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She that hath borne <n>She who had many lost all her children.</n> seven languisheth: she hath breathed her last; her sun is <n>She was destroyed in the midst of her prosperity.</n> gone down while [it was] yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the remnant of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.


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<n>By these are the prophet's words, complaining of the obstinacy of the people and that he was reserved to so wicked a time: in which also he shows what is the condition of God's ministers, that is, to have all the world against them, though they give no opportunity.</n>Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither <n>Which is an opportunity for contention and hatred.</n> lent on interest, nor have men lent to me on interest; [yet] every one of them doth curse me.


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The LORD said, <n>In this perplexity the Lord comforted me, and said that my last days would be quiet: and by the enemy he means here Nebuzaradan the captain of Nebuchadnezzar, who gave Jeremiah the choice either to remain in his country or to go where he would; or by the enemy he means the Jews, who would later know Jeremiah's faithfulness, and therefore favour him.</n> Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee [well] in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.


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Shall <n>As for the people, though they seemed strong as iron, yet they would not be able to resist the hard iron of Babylon, but would be led captives.</n> iron break the northern iron and the steel?


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Thy substance and thy treasures wil I giue to be spoyled without gaine, and that for all thy sinnes euen in all thy borders.


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And I wil make thee to go with thine enemies into a land that thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shal burne you.


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O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my <n>He does not speak this out of a desire for revenge, but wishing that God would deliver his Church from them who he knew to be hardened and incorrigible.</n> persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.


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Thy words were found, and I <n>I received them with a great joy, as he that is famished eats meat.</n> ate them; and thy word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.


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I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone <n>I had nothing to do with the wicked contemners of your word, but lamented bitterly for your plagues: showing what the faithful should do when they see tokens of God's anger.</n> because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.


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Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, [which] refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether to me <n>And have not assisted me according to the promise? In which it appears that in the saints of God is imperfection of faith, which through impatience is often assailed as in (Jer_20:7).</n> as a liar, [and as] waters [that] fail?


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Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou shalt <n>If you forget these carnal considerations and faithfully execute your charge.</n> return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand before me: and if thou shalt separate the <n>That is, seek to win the good from the bad.</n> precious from the vile, thou shalt be <n>That is, as my mouth has pronounced, (Jer_1:18) and as here follows in (Jer_15:20).</n> as my mouth: let them return <n>Do not conform yourself to their wickedness, but let them follow your godly example.</n> to thee; but return not thou to them.


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And I will make thee to this people a fortified brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not <n>I will teach you with an invincible strength and constancy, so that all the powers of the world will not overcome you.</n> prevail against thee: for I [am] with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.


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And I will deliuer thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeeme thee out of the hand of the tyrants.


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Thou shalt not take <n>Meaning that the affliction would be so horrible in Jerusalem that a wife and children would only increase his sorrow.</n> thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons nor daughters in this place.


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For thus sayeth the Lorde concerning the sonnes, and concerning the daughters that are borne in this place, &amp; concerning their mothers that beare them, &amp; concerning their fathers, that beget them in this land,


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They shal die of deathes and diseases: they shal not be lamented, neither shal they be buried, but they shalbe as dung vpon the earth, and they shalbe consumed by the sword, &amp; by famine, and their carkeises shall be meate for the foules of the heauen, and for the beasts of the earth.


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For thus saith the LORD, <n>Signifying that the affliction would be so great that one would not have leisure to comfort another.</n> Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, [even] lovingkindness and mercies.


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Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall [men] lament for them, <n>That is, should not tear their clothes in sign of mourning.</n> nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:


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Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men] give them the <n>For in these great extremities all consolation and comfort will be in vain.</n> cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.


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For thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Beholde, I wil cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, euen in your dayes the voyce of myrth, and the voyce of gladnes, the voyce of the bridegrome and the voyce of the bride.


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And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say to thee, Why hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] <n>Because the wicked are always rebellious and conceal their own sins and murmur against God's judgments, as though he had no just cause to punish them, he shows him what to answer.</n> our iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?


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Then shalt thou say vnto them, Because your fathers haue forsaken me, sayth the Lord, &amp; haue walked after other gods, and haue serued them, and worshipped them, &amp; haue forsaken me, and haue not kept my Law,


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( And ye haue done worse then your fathers: for beholde, you walke euery one after the stubbernesse of his wicked heart, and will not heare me)


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Therefore will I driue you out of this land into a lande that ye knowe not, neither you, nor your fathers, &amp; there shal ye serue other gods day and night: for I will shew you no grace.


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Behold therfore, saith the Lord, the dayes come that it shal no more be sayde, The Lord liueth, which brought vp the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,


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But, The LORD liveth, that brought the children of Israel from the land of the north, and <n>Signifying that the blessing of their deliverance out of Babylon would be so great that it would abolish the remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt: but he has here chiefly respect to the spiritual deliverance under Christ.</n> from all the lands where he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.


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Behold, I will send for many <n>By the fishers and hunters are meant the Babylonians and Chaldeans who would destroy them in such sort, that if they escaped the one, the other would take them.</n> fishermen, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and afterwards will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.


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For mine eyes are vpon al their wayes: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquitie hid from mine eyes.


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And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled my inheritance with the <n>That is, their sons and daughters, who they offered to Molech.</n> carcases of their detestable and abominable things.


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O LORD, my <n>He wonders at the great mercy of God in this deliverance which will not only extend to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.</n> strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited <n>Our fathers were most vile idolaters therefore it comes only of God's mercy that he performs his promise and has not utterly cast us off.</n> lies, vanity, and [things] in which [there is] no profit.


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Therefore, behold, I will this once <n>They will once again feel my power and mercy for their deliverance that they may learn to worship me.</n> cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name [is] JEHOVAH.


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The sin of Judah [is] <n>The remembrance of their contempt of God cannot pass, although for a time he defers the punishment, for it will be revealed to men and angels.</n> written with a pen of iron, [and] with the point of a diamond: [it is] graven upon the <n>Instead of the law of God, they have written idolatry and all abomination in their heart.</n> tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your <n>Your sins appear in all the altars that you have erected to idols.</n> altars;


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<n>Some read, «So that their children remember their altars», that is, follow their father's wickedness.</n>While their children remember their altars and their idols by the green trees upon the high hills.


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<n>Zion that was my mountain, will now be left as a waste field.</n>O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance [and] all thy treasures to the spoil, [and] thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.


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And thou, even <n>Because you would not give the land rest, at such times, days and years as I appointed, you will after this be carried away and it will rest for lack of labourers.</n> thyself, shall discontinue from thy heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in my anger, [which] shall burn for ever.


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Thus saith the LORD; <n>The Jews were given to worldly policies and thought to make themselves strong by the friendship of the Egyptians, (Isa_31:3) and strangers and in the mean time did not depend on God, and therefore he denounces God's plagues against them, showing that they prefer corruptible man to God, who is immortal, (Isa_2:22; Jer_48:6-7).</n> Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.


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For he shall be like the heath in the wildernesse, and shall not see when any good commeth, but shall inhabite the parched places in the wildernesse, in a salt land, and not inhabited.


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<n>Read (Psa_1:3).</n>For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.


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<n>Because the wicked always have some excuse to defend their doings he shows that their own lewd imaginations deceive them and bring them to these hardships: but God will examine their deeds by the malice of their hearts, (1Sa_16:7, 1Ch_28:9, Psa_7:10, Jer_11:20, Jer_10:12, Rev_2:13).</n>The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?


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I the Lord search the heart, and try ye reines, euen to giue euery man according to his wayes, and according to the fruite of his workes.


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<n>As the patriarch by calling gathered others who forsake her when they see she is not their mother: so the covetous man is forsaken of his riches because he comes by them falsely.</n>[As] the partridge sitteth [on eggs], and hatcheth [them] not; [so] he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.


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A glorious <n>Showing that the godly ought to glory in nothing, but in God who exalts his, and has left a sign of his favour in his temple.</n> high throne from the beginning [is] the place of our sanctuary.


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O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, [and] they that depart from me shall be written <n>Their names will not be registered in the book of life.</n> in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.


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Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; <n>He desires God to preserve him that he fall not into temptation, considering the great contempt of God's word, and the multitude that fall from God.</n> save me, and I shall be saved: for thou [art] my praise.


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Behold, <n>The wicked say that my prophecy will not come to pass, because you deferred the time of your vengeance.</n> they say to me, Where [is] the word of the LORD? let it come now.


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As for me, <n>I am assured of my calling, and therefore know that the thing which you speak by me will come to pass, and that I speak not of any worldly affection.</n> I have not hastened from [being] a shepherd to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which was uttered by my lips was [right] before thee.


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Be not <n>However the wicked deal rigorously with me, yet let me find comfort in you.</n> a terror to me: thou [art] my hope in the day of evil.


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Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, <n>Read (Jer_11:20).</n> and destroy them with double destruction.


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Thus said the LORD to me; Go and stand in the <n>While your doctrine may best be understood both by high and low.</n> gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;


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And say vnto them, Heare the word of the Lord, ye Kings of Iudah, and al Iudah, and all the inhabitants of Ierusale, that enter in by these gates.


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Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the <n>By naming the Sabbath day, he comprehends the thing that is signified by it, for if they transgressed in the ceremony, they must be guilty of the rest, read (Exo_20:8) and by the breaking of this one commandment, he makes them transgressors of the whole law, as the first and second table are contained in it.</n> sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;


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Neither cary foorth burdens out of your houses in the Sabbath day: neither doe yee any worke, but sanctifie the Sabbath, as I commanded your fathers.


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But they obeied not, neither inclined their eares, but made their neckes stiffe and would not heare, nor receiue correction.


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Neuerthelesse if ye will heare me, sayth the Lorde, and beare no burden through the gates of the citie in the Sabbath day, but sanctifie ye Sabbath day, so that ye do no worke therein,


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Then shall the Kings and the princes enter in at the gates of this citie, and shal sit vpon the throne of Dauid, and shall ride vpon charets, and vpon horses, both they and their princes, the men of Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem: and this citie shall remaine for euer.


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And they shall come from the cities of Iudah, and from about Ierusalem, and from the land of Beniamin, and from the plaine, and from the mountaines, and fro the South, which shall bring burnt offrings, and sacrifices, and meate offrings, and incense, and shall bring sacrifice of prayse into the house of the Lord.


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But if ye will not heare me to sanctifie the Sabbath day, and not to beare a burden nor to go through the gates of Ierusalem in the Sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall deuoure the palaces of Ierusalem, and it shall not be quenched.


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And the vessel that he made of <n>As the potter has power over the clay to make what pot he will, or to break them, when he has made them: so have I power over you to do with you as seems good to me, (Isa_45:9; Rom_9:20-21).</n> clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make [it].


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O house of Israel, cannot I doe with you as this potter, sayth the Lord? beholde, as the clay is in the potters hande, so are you in mine hande, O house of Israel.


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I will speake suddenly against a nation or against a kingdome to plucke it vp, and to roote it out and to destroy it.


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If that nation, against which I have pronounced, shall turn from their evil, I will <n>When the Scripture attributes repentance to God, it is not that he does contrary to that which he has ordained in his secret counsel: but when he threatens it is a calling to repentance, and when he gives man grace to repent, the threatening (which ever contains a condition in it) takes no place: and this the scripture calls repentance in God, because it so appears to man's judgment.</n> repent of the evil that I thought to do to them.


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And I wil speake suddenly concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdome to builde it and to plant it.


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But if it do euill in my sight and heare not my voyce, I will repent of ye good that I thought to do for them.


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Speake thou nowe therefore vnto the men of Iudah, and to the inhabitants of Ierusalem, saying, Thus saith ye Lord, Behold, I prepare a plague for you, and purpose a thing against you: returne you therefore euery one from his euill way, and make your wayes and your workes good.


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And they said, <n>As men who had no remorse but were altogether bent to rebellion and to their own selfwill.</n> There is no hope: but we will walk after our own plots, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.


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Therefore thus saith the Lord, Aske now among the heathen, who hath heard such thinges? the virgin of Israel hath done very filthily.


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Will [a man] leave the snow of Lebanon [which cometh] from the rock of the field? <n>As no man that has thirst refuses fresh waters which he has at home, to go and seek waters abroad to quench his thirst: so they should not seek help and comfort from strangers and leave God who was present with them.</n> [or] shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?


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Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways [from] the <n>That is, the way of truth which God had taught by his law, (Jer_6:16).</n> ancient paths, to walk in paths, [in] a way not cast up;


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To make their land desolate and a perpetual derision, so that euery one that passeth thereby, shalbe astonished and wagge his head,


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I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and <n>I will show my anger and not my favour toward them.</n> not the face, in the day of their calamity.


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Then said they, Come, and let us devise plots against Jeremiah; for the law <n>This argument the wicked have always used against the servants of God. The church cannot err: we are the Church, and therefore whoever speaks against us, they ought to die, (1Ki_22:24; Jer_7:4, Jer_20:2; Mal_2:4) and thus the false Church persecutes the true Church, which stands not in outward pomp, and in multitude, but is known by the graces of the Holy Spirit.</n> shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the <n>Let us slander him and accuse him: for we will be believed.</n> tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.


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Shall euill be recompensed for good? for they haue digged a pit for my soule: remember that I stood before thee, to speake good for the, and to turne away thy wrath from them.


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Therefore <n>Seeing the obstinate malice of the adversaries, who grew daily more and more, the prophet being moved with God's Spirit, without any carnal affection prays for their destruction because he knew that it would be to God's glory, and profit of his Church.</n> deliver their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put to death; [let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle.


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Let the crye bee heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring an hoste suddenly vpon them: for they haue digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feete.


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Yet Lord thou knowest al their counsel against me tendeth to death: forgiue not their iniquitie, neither put out their sinne from thy sight, but let them be ouerthrowen before thee: deale thus with them in the time of thine anger.


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Thus sayth the Lord, Goe, and buy an earthen bottel of a potter, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the Priests,


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And goe forth vnto the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrie of the East gate: and thou shalt preache there the wordes, that I shall tell thee,


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And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O <n>By kings here and in other places are meant counsellors and governors of the people; who he calls the ancients, (Jer_19:1).</n> kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, which whoever heareth, his ears shall <n>Read of this phrase in (1Sa_3:11).</n> tingle.


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Because they haue forsaken me, and prophaned this place, and haue burnt incense in it vnto other gods, whome neyther they, nor their fathers haue knowen, nor the Kings of Iudah (they haue filled this place also with the blood of innocents,


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They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire [for] burnt offerings to Baal, which I <n>By which is declared that whatever is not commanded by God's word concerning is service is against his word.</n> commanded not, nor spoke [it], neither came [it] into my mind:


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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called <n>Read (Jer_7:31; 2Ki_23:10; Isa_30:33).</n> Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.


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And I will bring the counsell of Iudah and Ierusalem to nought in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, &amp; by the hand of them that seeke their liues: and their carkeises will I giue to be meate for ye foules of the heauen, and to the beastes of the fielde.


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And I will make this citie desolate and an hissing, so that euery one that passeth thereby, shalbe astonished &amp; hisse because of all ye plagues thereof.


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And I will feede the with the flesh of their sonnes and with the flesh of their daughters, and euery one shall eate the flesh of his friende in the siege and straitnes, wherewith their enemies that seeke their liues, shall hold them strait.


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And shalt say to them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as [one] breaketh a <n>This visible sign was to confirm them concerning the assurance of this plague, which the Lord threatened by his prophet.</n> potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury [them] in Tophet, till [there be] no place to bury.


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Thus will I doe vnto this place, sayth the Lorde, and to the inhabitantes thereof, and I will make this citie like Topheth.


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And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the <n>He notes the great rage of the idolaters who left no place free from their abominations, in that they polluted their own houses with it, as we see yet among the papists.</n> houses upon whose <n>Read (Deu_22:8).</n> roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings to other gods.


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Then came Ieremiah fro Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophecie, and he stood in the court of the Lordes house, and sayde to all the people,


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Thus saith the Lorde of hostes, the God of Israel, Beholde, I will bring vpon this citie, and vpon all her townes, all the plagues that I haue pronounced against it, because they haue hardened their neckes, &amp; would not heare my wordes.


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When Pashur, the sonne of Immer, the Priest, which was appointed gouernour in the house of the Lorde, heard that Ieremiah prophecied these things,


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Then Pashur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the <n>Thus we see that the thing which neither the king nor the princes nor the people dared to undertake against the prophet of God, this priest as a chief instrument of Satan first attempted, read (Jer_18:18).</n> stocks that [were] in the high gate of Benjamin, which [was] by the house of the LORD.


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And on the morning, Pashur brought Ieremiah out of the stockes. Then said Ieremiah vnto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.


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For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee to be a terrour to thy self, &amp; to al thy friends, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall beholde it, and I will giue all Iudah into the hande of the King of Babel, and he shall cary them captiue into Babel, and shall slay them with the sworde.


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Moreouer, I will deliuer all the substance of this citie, and all the labours thereof, and al the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the Kings of Iudah will I giue into the hande of their enemies, which shall spoyle them, and take them away and cary them to Babel.


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And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy <n>Who have allowed themselves to be abused by your false prophecies.</n> friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.


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O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was <n>In this appears the impatiency which often overcomes the servants of God when they do not see their labours profit, and also feel their own weakness. {{See Jer_15:18}}</n> deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast <n>You thrust me forth to this work against my will.</n> prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.


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For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and <n>He shows that he did his office in that he reproved the people of their vices and threatened them with God's judgments: but because he was derided and persecuted for this, he was discouraged, and would have stopped preaching, except that God's spirit forced him to it.</n> spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach to me, and a derision, daily.


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Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speake any more in his Name. But his worde was in mine heart as a burning fire shut vp in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.


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For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. <n>Thus the enemies conferred together to know what they had heard him say, that they might accuse him of it, read (Isa_29:21).</n> Report, [say they], and we will report it. All my friends watched for my fall, [saying], Perhaps he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.


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<n>Here he shows how his faith strove against temptation and sought the Lord for strength.</n>But the LORD [is] with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: [their] everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.


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But, O Lorde of hostes, that tryest the righteous, and seest the reines and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for vnto thee haue I opened my cause.


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Sing vnto the Lorde, praise ye the Lorde: for he hath deliuered the soule of the poore fro the hande of the wicked.


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<n>How the children of God are overcome in this battle of the flesh and the Spirit, and into what inconveniences they fall till God raises them up again: read (Job_3:1; Jer_15:10).</n>Cursed [be] the day in which I was born: let not the day in which my mother bore me be blessed.


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Cursed be the man, that shewed my father, saying, A man child is borne vnto thee, and comforted him.


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And let that man be as the <n>Alluding to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, (Gen_19:25).</n> cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noon;


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Because he slew me not at my birth; or that my mother might have been my grave, and she had not been <n>Meaning that the fruit of it might never come to profit.</n> delivered.


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How is it, that I came forth of the wombe, to see labour and sorowe, that my dayes shoulde be consumed with shame?


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The worde which came vnto Ieremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent vnto him Pashur, the sonne of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the sonne of Maaseiah the Priest, saying,


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<n>Not that the king was touched with repentance of his sins and so sought God, as did Hezekiah when he sent for Isaiah, (2Ki_19:1; Isa_37:2) but because the prophet might pray to God to take this present plague away, as Pharaoh sought Moses (Exo_9:28).</n>Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; it may be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.


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Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will <n>That is, from your enemies to destroy yourselves.</n> turn back the weapons of war that [are] in your hands, with which ye fight against the king of Babylon, and [against] the Chaldeans, who besiege you outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.


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And I my selfe will fight against you with an outstretched hand, &amp; with a mighty arme, eue in anger and in wrath, and in great indignation.


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And I will smite the inhabitants of this citie, both man, and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.


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And after this, sayeth the Lorde, I will deliuer Zedekiah the King of Iudah, and his seruants, and the people, and such as are left in this citie, from the pestilence, from the sworde and from the famine into the hande of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, and into the hande of their enemies, and into the hande of those that seeke their liues, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sworde: he shall not spare them, neither haue pitie nor compassion.


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And to this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the <n>By yielding yourselves to Nebuchadnezzar.</n> way of life, and the way of <n>By resisting him.</n> death.


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He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a <n>As a thing recovered from extreme danger, (Jer_37:2, Jer_39:18, Jer_45:5).</n> prize.


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For I haue set my face against this citie, for euill and not for good, saith the Lorde: it shalbe giuen into the hande of the King of Babel, and he shall burne it with fire.


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O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment <n>Be diligent to do justice.</n> in the morning, and deliver [him that is] made desolate out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.


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Behold, I [am] against thee, <n>Meaning, Jerusalem which was built part on the hill and part in the valley and was compassed about with mountains.</n> O inhabitant of the valley, [and] rock of the plain, saith the LORD; who say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?


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But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire <n>That is, in the houses of it, which stood as thick as trees in the forest.</n> in its forest, and it shall devour all things around it.


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And say, Heare the worde of the Lorde, O King of Iudah, that sittest vpon the throne of Dauid, thou and thy seruants, and thy people that enter in by these gates.


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Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and <n>This was his ordinary manner of preaching before the kings from Josiah to Zedekiah which was about forty years.</n> righteousness, and deliver him that is laid waste out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.


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For if ye do this thing, then shall the kings sitting vpon the throne of Dauid enter in by the gates of this House, and ride vpon charets, and vpon horses, both he and his seruants and his people.


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But if ye will not hear these words, I <n>Showing that there is no one greater than he is, (Heb_6:13) and that he will most certainly perform his oath.</n> swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.


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For thus saith the LORD to the king's house of Judah; Thou [art] <n>He compares Jerusalem to Gilead which was beyond Jordan and the beauty of Judea to Lebanon.</n> Gilead to me, [and] the head of Lebanon: [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities [which] are not inhabited.


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And I will <n>The Hebrew word signifies to sanctify because the Lord dedicates to his use and purpose such as he prepares to execute his work, (Isa_13:3; Jer_6:4, Jer_12:3).</n> prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice <n>Your buildings made from cedar trees.</n> cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.


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<n>As they who wonder at a thing which they thought would never have come to pass, (Deu_29:24; 1Ki_9:8).</n>And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Why hath the LORD done thus to this great city?


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Then shall they answere, Because they haue forsaken the couenant of the Lorde their God, &amp; worshipped other gods, and serued them.


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Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: [but] weep bitterly for him <n>Signifying that they would lose their king: for Jehoiachin went forth to meet Nebuchadnezzar and yielded himself, and was carried into Babylon, (2Ki_24:12).</n> that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.


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For thus saith the LORD concerning <n>Whom some think to be Jehoiachin and that Josiah was his grandfather: but it seems this was Jehoiakim, as in (Jer_22:18).</n> Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place; He shall not return there any more:


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But he shall die in the place, whither they haue ledde him captiue, and shall see this lande no more.


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Woe to him that buildeth his house by <n>By bribes and extortion.</n> unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that] useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;


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He saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers: so he will make him selfe large windowes, and feeling with cedar, and paint them with vermilion.


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Shalt thou reign, because thou closest [thyself] in cedar? did not thy <n>Meaning Josiah, who was not given to ambition and superfluity, but was content with mediocrity, and only delighted in setting forth God's glory, and to do justice to all.</n> father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, [and] then [it was] well with him?


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When he iudged the cause of the afflicted and the poore, he prospered: was not this because he knewe me, saith the Lorde?


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But thine eyes and thine heart are but only for thy couetousnesse, and for to sheade innocent blood, and for oppression, and for destruction, euen to doe this.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for <n>For everyone will have enough to lament for himself.</n> him, [saying], Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!


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He shall be <n>Not honourably among his fathers, but as carrion are cast in a hole, because their stink should not infect, read (1Ki_14:10). Josephus writes that the enemy slew him in the city and commanded him to be cast before the walls unburied, see (Jer_36:30).</n> buried with the burial of a donkey, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.


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Go up to <n>To call to the Assyrians for help.</n> Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in <n>For this was the way out of India to Assyria, by which is meant that all help would fail: for the Chaldeans have subdued both them and the Egyptians.</n> Bashan, and cry from the passes: for all thy lovers are destroyed.


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I spake vnto thee when thou wast in prosperitie: but thou saidest, I will not heare: this hath bene thy maner from thy youth, that thou wouldest not obey my voyce.


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The wind shall eat up all thy shepherds, <n>Both your governors and they that would help you will vanish away as wind.</n> and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.


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O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the <n>You that are built of the fair cedar trees of Lebanon.</n> cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!


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[As] I live, saith the LORD, though <n>Who was called Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, whom he calls here Coniah in contempt who thought his kingdom could never depart from him, because he came of the stock of David, and therefore for the promise sake could not be taken from his house, but he abused God's promise and therefore was justly deprived of the kingdom.</n> Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee from there;


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And I will giue thee into the hande of them that seeke thy life, and into the hande of them, whose face thou fearest, euen into the hand of Nebuchad-nezzar king of Babel, and into the hande of the Caldeans.


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And I will cause them to cary thee away, and thy mother that bare thee, into another countrey, where ye were not borne, and there shall ye die.


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Is not this man Coniah as a despised and broken idole? or as a vessell, wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they caryed away, hee and his seede, and cast out into a lande that they knowe not?


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O <n>He shows that all posterity will be witnesses of his just plague, as though it were registered for perpetual memory.</n> earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.


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Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this <n>Not that he had no children (for later he begat Salathiel in the captivity, (Mat_1:12)) but that none would reign after him as king.</n> man childless, a man [that] shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.


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Woe be to <n>Meaning the prince's governors and false prophets as in (Eze_34:2).</n> the shepherds that destroy and scatter the <n>For which I have special care, and have prepared good pastures for them.</n> sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds that <n>Whose charge is to feed the flock but they eat the fruit of it, (Eze_34:3).</n> feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.


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And I will gather the <n>Thus the prophets always used to mix the promises with the threatenings lest the godly should be too much beaten down and therefore he shows how God will gather his Church after this dispersion.</n> remnant of my flock from all countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.


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And I will set vp shepheardes ouer them, which shall feede them: and they shall dread no more nor be afraide, neither shall any of them be lacking, saith the Lorde.


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Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous <n>This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church in the time of Jesus Christ, who is the true branch, read (Isa_11:1, Isa_45:8; Jer_35:15; Dan_9:24).</n> Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth.


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In his dayes Iudah shalbe saued, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is the Name wherby they shall call him, The Lorde our righteousnesse.


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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The <n>Read (Jer_16:14).</n> LORD liveth, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;


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But the Lord liueth, which brought vp &amp; led the seede of the house of Israel out of the North countrey and from all countryes where I had scattered them, and they shall dwell in their owne lande.


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My heart within me is broken because of the <n>Meaning, the false prophets who deceive the people: in which appears his great love toward his nation, read (Jer_14:13).</n> prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.


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For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their <n>They run headlong to wickedness and seek vain help.</n> course is evil, and their force [is] not right.


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For both prophet and priest are profane; even, in my <n>My temple is full of their idolatry and superstitions.</n> house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.


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Wherefore their way shalbe vnto them as slipperie wayes in the darknesse: they shalbe driuen foorth and fall therein: for I will bring a plague vpon them, euen the yeere of their visitation, saith the Lorde.


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And I haue seene foolishnesse in the prophets of Samaria, that prophecied in Baal, &amp; caused my people Israel to erre.


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I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem <n>They who should have profited by my rods against Samaria, are become worse than they.</n> an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them <n>Though to the world they seem holy fathers, yet I detest them as I did these abominable cities.</n> to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants of it as Gomorrah.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with <n>Read (Jer_8:14).</n> wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own <n>Which they have invented of their own brain.</n> heart, [and] not from the mouth of the LORD.


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They say still to them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye <n>Read (Jer_6:14, Jer_8:11).</n> shall have peace; and they say to every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.


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For <n>Thus they derided Jeremiah as though the word of God was not revealed to him, so also spoke Zedekiah to Micaiah, (1Ki_22:24).</n> who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard [it]?


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Beholde, the tempest of the Lorde goeth forth in his wrath, and a violent whirlewinde shal fall downe vpon the head of the wicked.


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The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he shall have executed, and till he shall have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye <n>Both that God has sent me, and that my words will be true.</n> shall consider it perfectly.


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I haue not sent these prophets, sayth the Lord, yet they ranne; I haue not spoken to them, and yet they prophecied.


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But if they had stood in my counsel, and <n>He shows the difference between the true prophets and the false, between the hireling and the true minister.</n> had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.


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[Am] I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God <n>Do I not see your falsehood, however you cloak it, and wherever you commit it?</n> afar off?


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Can any hide him selfe in secrete places, that I shall not see him, sayth the Lorde? Do not I fill heauen and earth, saieth the Lord?


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I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I <n>I have a prophecy revealed to me as in (Num_12:6).</n> have dreamed, I have dreamed.


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Howe long? Doe the prophets delite to prophecie lies, euen prophecying the deceit of their owne heart?


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Who think to cause <n>He shows that Satan raises up false prophets to bring the people from God.</n> my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.


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The prophet that hath a dream, let him <n>Let the false prophet declare that it is his own fantasy, and not slander my word as though it were a cloak to cover his lies.</n> tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. <n>Meaning, that it is not enough for God's ministers to abstain from lies and to speak the word of God but that there is judgment in alleging it, and that it may appear to be applied to the same purpose that it was spoken, (Eze_3:27; 1Co_2:13, 1Co_4:2; 2Ti_2:25).</n> What [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.


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Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that <n>Who set forth in my Name that which I have not commanded.</n> steal my words every one from his neighbour.


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Behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, <n>That is, the Lord.</n> He saith.


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Beholde, I will come against them that prophecie false dreames, saith the Lorde, and doe tell them, and cause my people to erre by their lies, and by their flatteries, and I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they bring no profite vnto this people, saith the Lord.


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And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What [is] the <n>The prophets called their threatenings God's burden, which the sinners were not able to sustain, therefore the wicked in deriding the word, would ask of the prophets, what was the burden as though they would say, «You seek nothing else, but to lay burdens on our shoulders» and thus they rejected the word of God as a grievous burden.</n> burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say to them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.


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And [as for] the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The <n>Because this word was brought to contempt and derision, he will teach them another manner of speech, and will cause this word burden to cease and teach them to ask with reverence, «What says the Lord?»</n> burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.


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Thus shall yee say euery one to his neighbour, and euerie one to his brother, What hath the Lorde answered? and what hath the Lorde spoken?


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And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's <n>The thing which they mock and contemn will come on them.</n> word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.


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Thus shalt thou say to the Prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and what hath the Lorde spoken?


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And if you say, The burden of the Lorde, Then thus saith the Lorde, Because yee say this word, The burden of the Lorde, and I haue sent vnto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lorde,


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Therefore beholde, I, euen I will vtterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the citie that I gaue you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence,


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And will bring an euerlasting reproche vpon you, and a perpetual shame which shall neuer be forgotten.


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The LORD showed me, and, behold, two <n>The good figs signified them that were gone into captivity and so saved their life, as in (Jer_21:8), and the bad figs them that remained, who were yet subject to the sword, famine and pestilence.</n> baskets of figs [were] set before the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.


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One basket had verie good figges, euen like the figges that are first ripe: and the other basket had verie naughtie figges, which could not be eaten, they were so euill.


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Then saide the Lorde vnto mee, What seest thou, Ieremiah? And I said, Figges: ye good figges verie good, &amp; the naughtie verie naughtie, which cannot be eaten, they are so euill.


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Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this <n>By which he approves the yielding of Jeconiah and his company because they obeyed the prophet, who exhorted them to it.</n> place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good.


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For I wil set mine eyes vpon them for good, and I will bring them againe to this lande, and I will build them, and not destroy them, &amp; I will plant them, and not roote them out,


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And I will give them <n>Which declares that man of himself can know nothing till God gives the heart and understanding.</n> an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return to me with their whole heart.


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And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell <n>Who fled there for comfort.</n> in the land of Egypt:


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I will euen giue them for a terrible plague to all the kingdomes of the earth, and for a reproche, and for a prouerbe, for a common talke, and for a curse, in all places where I shall cast them.


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And I will sende the sworde, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they bee consumed out of the land, that I gaue vnto them and to their fathers.


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The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the <n>That is, in the third year accomplished and in the beginning of the fourth: for though Nebuchadnezzar began to reign in the end of the third year of Jehoiakim's reign yet that year is not counted here because it was almost over, (Dan_1:1).</n> fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that [was] the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon;


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The which Ieremiah the Prophet spake vnto all the people of Iudah, and to all the inhabitants of Ierusalem, saying,


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From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even to <n>Which was the fifth year and the ninth month of Jehoiakim's reign.</n> this day, that [is] the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come to me, and I have spoken to you, <n>That is, I have spared no diligence or labour, (Jer_7:13).</n> rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.


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And the Lord hath sent vnto you all his seruantes the Prophets, rising early &amp; sending them, but yee would not heare, nor encline your eares to obey.


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They <n>He shows that the prophets, wholly with one consent laboured to pull the people from those vices, which then reigned, that is, from idolatry and the vain confidence of men: for under these two all others were contained, (2Ki_17:13; Jer_18:11, Jer_35:15; Jon_3:8).</n> said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given to you and to your fathers for ever and ever:


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And go not after other gods to serue them and to worshippe them, and prouoke me not to anger with the workes of your hands, and I will not punish you.


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Neuerthelesse ye would not heare me, saith the Lord, but haue prouoked mee to anger with the workes of your hands to your owne hurt.


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Behold, I will send and take all the <n>The Chaldeans and all their power.</n> families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my <n>So the wicked and Satan himself are God's servants, because he makes them serve him by constraint and turns that which they do out of malice to his honour and glory.</n> servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations <n>As the Philistines, Ammonites, Egyptians and others.</n> around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an horror, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.


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Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the <n>Meaning that bread and all things that would serve to their feasts would be taken away.</n> millstones, and the light of the candle.


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And this whole land shalbe desolate, and an astonishment, and these nations shall serue the King of Babel seuentie yeeres.


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And it shall come to pass, when <n>This revelation was for the confirmation of his prophecy because he told them of the time that they would enter and remain in captivity, (2Ch_36:22; Ezr_1:1; Jer_29:10; Dan_9:2).</n> seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish <n>For seeing the judgment began at his own house, the enemies must be punished most grievously, (Eze_9:6; 1Pe_4:17).</n> the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.


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And I will bring vpon that lande all my wordes which I haue pronounced against it, euen all that is written in this booke, which Ieremiah hath prophecied against all nations.


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For many nations and great kings shall be <n>That is of the Babylonians as in (Jer_27:7).</n> served by them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.


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For thus saith the LORD God of Israel to me; <n>Signifying the extreme affliction that God had appointed for everyone, (Psa_75:8; Isa_51:17) and this cup which the wicked drink, is more bitter than that which he gives to his children, for he measures the one by mercy, and the other by justice.</n> Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.


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Then tooke I the cup at the Lordes hand, and made all people to drinke, vnto whome the Lorde had sent me:


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[That is], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and her kings, and her princes, to make them a desolation, an horror, an hissing, and a curse; <n>For now it begins and will so continue till it is accomplished.</n> as [it is] this day;


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And all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land <n>Read (Job_1:1).</n> of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and <n>Which were cities of the Philistines.</n> Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,


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<n>Edom is here taken for the whole country and Uz for a part of it.</n>Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,


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And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the <n>As Greece, Italy and the rest of those countries.</n> isles which [are] beyond the sea,


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<n>These were people of Arabia which came of Dedan the son of Abraham and Keturah.</n>Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all [that are] in the utmost corners,


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And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed people that dwell in the <n>For there were two countries so named, the one called plentiful and the other barren, or desert.</n> desert,


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And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which [are] upon the face of the earth: and the king of <n>That is of Babylon, as in (Jer_51:41).</n> Sheshach shall drink after them.


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Therefore say thou vnto them, Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Drinke and bee drunken, and spewe and fall, and rise no more, because of the sworde, which I will sende among you.


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But if they refuse to take the cuppe at thine hande to drinke, then tell them, Thus saith the Lorde of hostes, Ye shall certainely drinke.


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For, lo, <n>That is Jerusalem, read (Jer_25:12).</n> I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.


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Therefore prophecie thou against them al these words, and say vnto them, The Lord shall roare from aboue, and thrust out his voyce from his holy habitation: he shall roare vpon his habitation, and crie aloude, as they that presse the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.


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The sounde shall come to the endes of the earth: for the Lord hath a controuersie with the nations, and will enter into iudgement with all flesh, and he will giue them that are wicked, to the sworde, saith the Lord.


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Thus saith the Lorde of hostes, Behold, a plague shall goe foorth from nation to nation, and a great whirlewinde shalbe raised vp from the coastes of the earth,


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And <n>They who are slain at the Lord's appointment.</n> the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from [one] end of the earth even to the [other] end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be refuse upon the ground.


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Howl, <n>You that are chief rulers, and governors.</n> ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves [in the ashes], ye chief of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a <n>Which are most easily broken.</n> pleasant vessel.


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And the <n>It will not help them to seek to flee.</n> shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the chief of the flock to escape.


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A voyce of the crye of the shepherdes, and an howling of the principall of the flocke shalbe heard: for the Lord hath destroyed their pasture.


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He hath forsaken his couert, as the lyon: for their land is waste, because of the wrath of the oppressor, &amp; because of ye wrath of his indignatio.


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In the beginning of the reigne of Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah King of Iudah, came this worde from the Lorde, saying,


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Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the <n>That is, in that place of the temple to which the people resort out of all Judah to sacrifice.</n> court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak to them; diminish not a word: <n>To the intent that they should pretend no ignorance, as in (Act_20:27).</n>


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It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may <n>{{See Jer_7:12}}</n> repent of the evil, which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings.


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And thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not heare me to walke in my Lawes, which I haue set before you,


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And to heare ye wordes of my seruants the Prophets, whome I sent vnto you, both rising vp earely, and sending them, and will not obey them,


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Then will I make this house like <n>{{See Jer_7:12}}</n> Shiloh, and will make this city <n>So that when they would curse any, they will say, «God do to you as to Jerusalem.»</n> a curse to all the nations of the earth.


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So the Priestes, and the Prophets, and all the people heard Ieremiah speaking these wordes in the House of the Lorde.


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Nowe when Ieremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speake vnto all the people, then the Priestes, and the prophets, and all the people tooke him, and saide, Thou shalt die the death.


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Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, <n>Because of God's promises to the temple, (Psa_132:14) that he would forever remain there, hypocrites thought this temple could never perish and therefore thought it blasphemy to speak against it, (Mat_26:61; Act_6:13) not considering that this was meant of the Church where God will remain forever.</n> This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.


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When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entrance of the <n>So called, because it was repaired by Jotham, (2Ki_15:35).</n> new gate of the LORD'S [house].


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Then spake the Priestes, and the prophets vnto the princes, and to all the people, saying, This man is worthie to die: for he hath prophecied against this citie, as ye haue heard with your eares.


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Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD <n>He both shows the cause of his doings plainly and also threatens them that nothing would help, though they should put him to death, but heap greater vengeance on their heads.</n> sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.


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Therefore nowe amende your wayes and your workes, and heare the voyce of the Lorde your God, that the Lorde may repent him of the plague, that he hath pronounced against you.


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But knowe ye for certaine, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood vpon your selues, and vpon this citie, and vpon the inhabitants thereof: for of a trueth the Lord hath sent me vnto you, to speake all these words in your eares.


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Then saide the princes and all the people vnto the Priestes, and to the prophets, This man is not worthie to die: for he hath spoken vnto vs in the Name of the Lorde our God.


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Then rose vp certaine of the Elders of the lande, and spake to all the assemblie of the people, saying,


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Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed [like] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the <n>That is, of the House of the Lord, that is, Zion, and these examples the godly alleged to deliver Jeremiah out of the priests hands, whose rage else would not have been satisfied but by his death.</n> house as the high places of the forest.


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Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear the LORD, and beseech the LORD, and the LORD repented of the <n>So that the city was not destroyed, but by a miracle was delivered out of the hands of Sennacherib.</n> evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.


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And there was also a man that prophecied in the Name of the Lord, one Vriiah the sonne of Shemaiah, of Kiriath-iarem, who prophecied against this citie, and against this lande, according to all the wordes of Ieremiah.


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Nowe when Iehoiakim the King with all his men of power, and all the princes heard his wordes, the King sought to slay him. But when Vriiah heard it, he was afraide and fled, and went into Egypt.


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And Jehoiakim the king <n>Here is declared the fury of tyrants who cannot stand to hear God's word declared but persecute the ministers of it, and yet in the end they prevail nothing but provoke God' judgments so much more.</n> sent men into Egypt, [namely], Elnathan the son of Achbor, and [certain] men with him into Egypt.


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And they brought forth Urijah from Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and <n>As in the first Hezekiah's example is to be followed, so in this other Jehoiakim's act it to be abhorred: for God's plague descended on him and his household.</n> cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people.


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Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam <n>Which declares that nothing could have appeased their fury if God had not moved this noble man to stand valiantly in his defense.</n> the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.


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In the beginning of the reign of <n>Concerning the disposition of these prophecies, they who gathered them into a book, did not altogether observe the order of times, but saw some before, which should be after, and contrary wise which if the reader mark well it will avoid many doubts and make the reading much easier.</n> Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,


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Thus saith the LORD to me; Make for thee <n>By such signs the prophets used sometimes to confirm their prophecies which they could not do of themselves but in as much as they had a revelation for the same, (Isa_20:2) and therefore the false prophets to get more credit, used also such visible signs but they had no revelation, (1Ki_22:12).</n> bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,


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And send them to the King of Edom, and to the King of Moab, &amp; to the King of the Ammonites, and to the King of Tyrus, &amp; to the king of Zidon, by the hande of the messengers which come to Ierusale vnto Zedekiah ye king of Iudah,


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And commande them to saye vnto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say vnto your masters,


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I haue made the earth, the ma, and the beast that are vpon the groud, by my great power, and by my outstreched arme, and haue giuen it vnto whom it pleased me.


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And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my <n>Read (Jer_25:9).</n> servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.


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And all nations shall serve him, and his <n>Meaning, Evilmerodach and his son Belshazzar.</n> son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land shall come: and then many nations and great kings shall <n>They will bring him and his kingdom in subjection as in (Jer_25:14).</n> bring him into subjection.


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And the nation and kingdome which will not serue the same Nebuchad-nezzar king of Babel, and that will not put their necke vnder the yoke of the King of Babel, the same nation will I visite, saith the Lord, with the sworde, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, vntill I haue wholy giuen them into his hands.


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Therefore heare not your prophets nor your southsayers, nor your dreamers, nor your inchanters, nor your sorcerers, which say vnto you thus, Ye shall not serue the King of Babel.


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For they prophecie a lie vnto you to cause you to goe farre from your lande, and that I should cast you out, and you should perish.


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But the nation that put their neckes vnder the yoke of the King of Babel, &amp; serue him, those wil I let remaine stil in their owne land, saith the Lord, and they shall occupie it, and dwel therein.


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I spake also to Zedekiah king of Iudah according to all these wordes, saying, Put your neckes vnder the yoke of the King of Babel, and serue him and his people, that ye may liue.


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Why will ye dye, thou, and thy people by the sworde, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lorde hath spoken against the nation, that will not serue the King of Babel?


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Therefore heare not the words of the prophets, that speake vnto you, saying, Ye shall not serue the King of Babel: for they prophecie a lie vnto you.


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For I haue not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophecie a lie in my name, that I might cast you out, and that ye might perish, both you, and the prophets that prophecie vnto you.


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Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be <n>Which were taken when Jeconiah was led captive into Babel.</n> brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie to you.


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Heare them not, but serue the King of Babel, that ye may liue: wherefore shoulde this citie be desolate?


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But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now <n>For it was not only the prophet's office to show the word of God, but also to pray for the sins of the people, (Gen_20:7) which these could not do because they had no express word: for God had pronounced the contrary.</n> make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.


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For thus saith the Lord of hostes, concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remaine in this citie,


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Which Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel tooke not, when he caryed away captiue Ieconiah the sonne of Iehoiakim King of Iudah from Ierusalem to Babel, with all the nobles of Iudah and Ierusalem.


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For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remaine in the House of the Lorde, and in the house of the King of Iudah, and at Ierusalem,


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They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit <n>That is, for the space of seventy years till I have caused the Medes and Persians to overcome the Chaldeans.</n> them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.


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And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the <n>When Jeremiah began to bear these bonds and yokes.</n> reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the <n>After the land had rested, as in (Lev_25:2).</n> fourth year, [and] in the fifth month, [that] Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, who [was] of <n>This was a city in Benjamin belonging to the sons of Aaron, (Jos_21:17).</n> Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,


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Thus speaketh the Lorde of hostes, the God of Israel, saying, I haue broken the yoke of the King of Babel.


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Within two yeeres space I will bring into this place all the vessels of the Lords House, that Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel tooke away from this place, and caried them into Babel.


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And I will bring againe to this place Ieconiah the sonne of Iehoiakim King of Iudah, with all them that were caried away captiue of Iudah, and went into Babel, saith the Lorde: for I will breake the yoke of the King of Babel.


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Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the <n>He was so esteemed though he was a false prophet.</n> prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD,


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Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the <n>That is, I would wish the same for God's honour and wealth of my people but he has appointed the contrary.</n> LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD'S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.


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The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old <n>Meaning, that the prophets that denounced war or peace were tried either true or false by the success of their prophecies, even though God makes to come to pass sometimes that which the false prophet speaks to try the faith of his, (Deu_13:3).</n> prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.


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And the Prophet which prophecieth of peace, when the word of the Prophet shall come to passe, then shall the Prophet be knowen that the Lorde hath truely sent him.


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Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and <n>This declares the impudency of the wicked hirelings who have no zeal to the truth but are led with ambition to get the favour of men and therefore cannot abide any that might discredit them but burst forth into rages and contrary to their own conscience, pass not what lies they report or how wickedly they do so that they may maintain their estimation.</n> broke it.


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And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lorde, Euen so will I breake the yoke of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, from the necke of al nations within the space of two yeres: and the Prophet Ieremiah went his way.


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Then the word of the Lorde came vnto Ieremiah the Prophet, (after that Hananiah the Prophet had broken the yoke from the necke of the Prophet Ieremiah) saying,


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Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus sayth the Lord, Thou hast broken the yokes of wood, but thou shalt make for them yokes of yron.


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For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a <n>That is, a hard and cruel servitude.</n> 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 <n>Signifying that all would be his as in (Dan_2:38).</n> beasts of the field also.


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Then sayd the Prophet Ieremiah vnto the Prophet Hananiah, Heare nowe Hananiah, the Lorde hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lye.


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Therefore thus saith the Lorde, Beholde, I will cast thee from of the earth: this yeere thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebelliously against the Lord.


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So Hananiah the prophet <n>Seeing this thing was evident in the eyes of the people and yet they returned not to the Lord, it is manifest that miracles cannot move us, neither the word itself, unless God touch the heart.</n> died the same year in the seventh month.


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Now these [are] the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to <n>For some died in the way.</n> the rest of the elders who were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;


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(After Jeconiah the king, and the <n>Meaning Jeconiah's mother.</n> queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem;)


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By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah <n>To entreat of some equal condition.</n> sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all that are carried away captives, whom I have <n>That is, the Lord whose work this was.</n> caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon;


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Take you wiues, and beget sonnes and daughters, and take wiues for your sonnes, and giue your daughters to husbands, that they may beare sonnes and daughters, that ye may bee increased there, and not diminished.


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And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captives, and <n>The prophet does not speak this for the affection that he bore to the tyrant, but that they should pray for the common rest and quietness that their troubles might not be increased, and that they might with more patience and less grief wait for the time of their deliverance, which God had appointed most certain: for not only the Israelites but all the world yea and the insensible creatures would rejoice when these tyrants would be destroyed, as in (Isa_24:4).</n> pray to the LORD for it: for in the peace of it ye shall have peace.


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For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, Let not your prophets, and your southsayers that bee among you, deceiue you, neither giue eare to your dreames, which you dreame.


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But thus saith the Lorde, That after seuentie yeeres be accomplished at Babel, I will visite you, and performe my good promes toward you, and cause you to returne to this place.


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For I knowe the thoughtes, that I haue thought towards you, saith the Lorde, euen the thoughtes of peace, and not of trouble, to giue you an ende, and your hope.


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And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all <n>When your oppression will be great, and your afflictions cause you to repent your disobedience and also when the seventy years of your captivity will be expired, (2Ch_36:22; Ezr_1:1; Jer_25:12; Dan_9:2).</n> your heart.


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And I wil be found of you, saith the Lord, and I will turne away your captiuitie, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places, whither I haue cast you, saith the Lord, and will bring you againe vnto the place, whence I caused you to be caryed away captiue.


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Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised up for us <n>As Ahab, Zedekiah and Shemaiah.</n> prophets in Babylon;


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Therefore thus saith the Lorde of the King, that sitteth vpon the throne of Dauid, and of all the people, that dwell in this citie, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captiuitie:


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the <n>By which he assures them that there will be no hope of returning before the appointed time.</n> sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile <n>According to the comparison, (Jer_24:1-2).</n> figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.


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And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be <n>Read (Jer_26:6).</n> a curse, and an horror, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them:


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Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent to them by my servants the prophets, <n>Read (Jer_7:13, Jer_25:3, Jer_26:5).</n> rising early and sending [them]; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.


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Heare ye therefore the word of the Lord all ye of the captiuitie, whome I haue sent from Ierusalem to Babel.


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Thus saith the Lorde of hostes, the God of Israel, of Ahab the sonne of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the sonne of Maaseiah, which prophecie lyes vnto you in my Name, Beholde, I will deliuer them into the hande of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, and he shall slay them before your eyes.


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And concerning them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who [are] in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted <n>Because they gave the people hope of speedy returning.</n> in the fire;


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Because they have committed <n>Which was adultery and falsifying the word of God.</n> villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbour's wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and [am] a witness, saith the LORD.


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Thus speaketh the Lorde of hostes, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy Name vnto all the people, that are at Ierusalem, and to Zephaniah the sonne of Maaseiah the Priest, and to all the Priests, saying,


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The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of <n>Shemaiah the false prophet flatters Zephaniah the chief priest as though God had given him the spirit and zeal of Jehoiada to punish whoever trespassed against the word of God, of that he would have made Jeremiah one, calling him a raver and a false prophet.</n> Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man [that is] mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.


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For, for this cause hee sent vnto vs in Babel, saying, This captiuitie is long: buyld houses to dwell in, and plant gardens, and eate the fruites of them.


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Send to all them of the captiuitie, saying, Thus saith the Lorde of Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah hath prophecied vnto you, and I sent him not, and hee caused you to trust in a lye,


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Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man <n>He and his seed will be destroyed so that none of them would see the blessing of this deliverance.</n> to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.


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Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write for thee all the words that I have spoken to thee in a <n>Because they would be assured and their posterity confirmed in the hope of this deliverance promised.</n> book.


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For loe, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I wil bring againe the captiuitie of my people Israel and Iudah, saith the Lord: for I will restore them vnto the lande, that I gaue to their fathers, and they shall possesse it.


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For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a <n>He shows that before this deliverance will come, the Chaldeans would be extremely afflicted by their enemies, and that they would be in such perplexity and sorrow as a woman in her travail as (Isa_13:8).</n> voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.


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Demand now and beholde, if man trauayle with childe? wherefore doe I beholde euery man with his hands on his loynes as a woman in trauaile, and all faces are turned into a palenesse?


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Alas! for that <n>Meaning that the time of their captivity would be grievous.</n> day [is] great, so that none [is] like it: it [is] even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.


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<n>When I will visit Babylon.</n>For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will break <n>Of the king of Babylon.</n> his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more <n>That is, of Jacob.</n> bring him into subjection:


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But they shall serve the LORD their God, and <n>That is, Messiah who would come of the stock of David according to the flesh and would be the true pastor, (Eze_34:23) who is set forth and his kingdom would be everlasting in the person of David, (Hos_3:5).</n> David their king, whom I will raise up to them.


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Therefore feare not, O my seruant Iaakob, saith the Lorde, neither be afrayde, O Israel: for loe, I will deliuer thee from a farre countrey, and thy seede from the lande of their captiuitie, and Iaakob shall turne againe, and shalbe in rest and prosperitie and none shall make him afraide.


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For I [am] with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not <n>In this is commanded God's great mercy toward his, who does not destroy them for their sins, but corrects and chastises them till he has purged and pardoned them and so burns the rods by which he punished them, (Isa_33:1).</n> leave thee altogether unpunished.


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All thy louers haue forgotten thee: they seeke thee not: for I haue striken thee with the wound of an enemie, and with a sharpe chastisement for ye multitude of thine iniquities, because thy sinnes were increased.


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Why cryest thou for thine affliction? thy sorowe is incurable, for the multitude of thine iniquities: because thy sinnes were increased, I haue done these things vnto thee.


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Therefore all they that deuoure thee, shal be deuoured, &amp; all thine enemies euery one shall goe into captiuitie: and they that spoyle thee, shalbe spoyled, and all they that robbe thee, wil I giue to be robbed.


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For I will restore health vnto thee, and I will heale thee of thy woundes, saith the Lord, because they called thee, The cast away, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.


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Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captives of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be built upon her own heap, and the <n>Meaning that the city and the temple would be restored to their former estate.</n> palace shall remain after its manner.


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And out of them shall proceed <n>He shows how the people will with praise and thanksgiving acknowledge this blessing.</n> thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.


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Their children also shall be as afore time, and their congregation shall be established before me: and I will visite all that vexe them.


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And their <n>Meaning, Zerubbabel, who was the figure of Christ in whom this was accomplished.</n> nobles shall be from themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me: for who [is] this that engaged his <n>Signifying that Christ willingly submits himself to the obedience of God his father.</n> heart to approach to me? saith the LORD.


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Behold, <n>Lest the wicked hypocrites should flatter themselves with these promises the prophet shows what will be their portion.</n> the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.


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The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he hath done [it], and until he hath performed the intents of his heart: in the <n>When this Messiah and deliverer is sent.</n> latter days ye shall consider it.


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At the <n>When this noble governor will come, meaning Christ, not only Judah and Israel, but the rest of the world will be called.</n> same time, saith the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.


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Thus saith the LORD, The people [who were] <n>Who were delivered from the cruelty of Pharaoh.</n> left by the sword found grace in the wilderness; <n>That is, God.</n> [even] Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.


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The LORD appeared <n>The people thus reason as though he were not so beneficial to them now as he had been of old.</n> of old to me, [saying], <n>Thus the Lord answers that his love is not changeable.</n> I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.


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Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again <n>You will still have opportunity to rejoice which is meant by tabrets and dancing as their custom was after notable victories, (Exo_15:20; Jdg_11:34).</n> be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.


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Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of <n>Because the Israelites who were the ten tribes never returned to Samaria, therefore this must be spiritually understood under the kingdom of Christ, which was the restoration of the true Israel.</n> Samaria: the planters shall plant, and <n>That is, will eat the fruit of it, as in (Lev_19:23-25; Deu_20:6).</n> shall eat [them] as common things.


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For there shall be a day, [that] the <n>The ministers of the word.</n> watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to <n>They will exhort all to the embracing of the gospel, as in (Isa_2:3).</n> Zion to the LORD our God.


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<n>He shows what will be the concord and love of all under the gospel when none will be refused for their infirmities: and everyone will exhort one another to embrace it.</n>For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: proclaim ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.


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Beholde, I will bring them from the North countrey, and gather them from the coastes of the world, with the blinde &amp; the lame among them, with the woman with childe, and her that is deliuered also: a great companie shall returne hither.


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They shall come with <n>That is, lamenting their sins which had not given ear to the prophets and therefore it follows that God received them to mercy, (Jer_50:4). Some take it that they should weep for joy.</n> weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of <n>Where they found no impediments, but abundance of all things.</n> waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim [is] <n>That is, my dearly beloved as the first child is to the father.</n> my firstborn.


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Heare the worde of the Lord, O ye Gentiles, and declare in the yles afarre off, and say, Hee that scattered Israel, wil gather him and wil keepe him, as a shepheard doeth his flocke.


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For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand <n>That is, from the Babylonians and other enemies.</n> of [him that was] stronger than he.


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Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for <n>By these temporal benefits he means the spiritual graces which are in the Church, and of which there would ever be plenty, (Isa_58:11-12).</n> grain, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.


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Then shall the virgin rejoice in the <n>In the company of the faithful, who ever praise God for his benefits.</n> dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.


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And I will abundantly satisfy the soul of the priests with <n>Meaning, the spirit of wisdom, knowledge and zeal.</n> fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.


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Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; <n>To declare the greatness of God's mercy in delivering the Jews, he shows them that they were like the Benjamites of the Israelites, that is, utterly destroyed and carried away, so much so that if Rachel the mother of Benjamin could have risen again to seek her children she would have found none remaining.</n> Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.


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Thus saith the Lorde, Refraine thy voyce from weeping, and thine eyes from teares: for thy worke shalbe rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come againe from the land of the enemie:


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And there is hope in thine ende, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come againe to their owne borders.


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I have surely heard <n>That is, the people who were led captive.</n> Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a <n>Which was wanton and could not be subject to the yoke.</n> bull unaccustomed [to the yoke]: <n>He shows how the faithful used to pray, that is, desire God to tame them as they cannot turn of themselves.</n> turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou [art] the LORD my God.


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Surely after I was turned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote upon [my] <n>In sign of repentance and detestation of my sin.</n> thigh: I was ashamed, and even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth.


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[Is] Ephraim <n>As though he would say no for by his iniquity he did what lay in him to cast me off.</n> my dear son? [is he] a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly <n>That is, in piety of him for my promise’s sake.</n> remember him still: therefore my heart is troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.


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Set thee up <n>Mark by what way you went into captivity and you will turn again by the same.</n> waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thy heart toward the highway, [even] the way [which] thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.


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How long wilt thou wander about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created <n>Because their deliverance from Babylon was a figure of their deliverance from sin, he shows how this would be procured that is, by Jesus Christ, whom a woman would conceive and bear in her womb. Which is a strange thing in earth, because he would be born of a virgin without man or he means that Jerusalem which was like a barren woman in her captivity would be fruitful as she that is joined in marriage and whom God blesses with children.</n> a new thing in the earth, A woman shall encompass a man.


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Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Yet shall they say this thing in the land of Iudah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring againe their captiuitie, The Lorde blesse thee, O habitation of iustice and holy mountaine.


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And Iudah shall dwell in it, and all the cities thereof together, the husbandmen and they that goe foorth with the flocke.


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Upon this I awoke, and beheld; and my sleep <n>Having understood this vision of the Messiah to come, in whom the two houses of Israel and Judah would be joined, I rejoiced.</n> was sweet to me.


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Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah <n>I will multiply and enrich them with people and cattle.</n> with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.


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And like as I haue watched vpon them, to plucke vp and to roote out, and to throw downe, and to destroy, and to plague them, so wil I watch ouer them, to build &amp; to plant them, saith ye Lord.


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In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have <n>The wicked used this proverb when they murmured against God's judgments pronounced by the prophets, saying that their fathers had committed the fault and that the children were punished, (Eze_18:2-3).</n> eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.


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But euery one shall die for his owne iniquitie: euery man that eateth the sowre grape, his teeth shalbe set on edge.


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Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a <n>Though the covenant of redemption made to the fathers and this which was given later seemed varied, yet they are all one and grounded on Jesus Christ, save that this is called new, because of the manifestation of Christ and the abundant graces of the Holy Spirit given to his Church under the gospel.</n> new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:


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Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they <n>And so were the opportunity of their own divorcement through their infidelity, (Isa_50:1).</n> broke, although I was an husband to them, saith the LORD:


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But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After <n>In the time of Christ, my law will instead of tables of stone be written in their hearts by my Holy Spirit, (Heb_8:10).</n> those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.


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And they shall <n>Under the kingdom of Christ there will be no one blinded with ignorance, but I will give them faith, and acknowledge God for remission of their sins and daily increase the same: so that it will not seem to come so much by the preaching of my ministers as by the instruction of my Holy Spirit, (Isa_54:13) but the full accomplishing of it is referred to the kingdom of Christ, when we will be joined with our head.</n> teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.


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Thus saith the LORD, who giveth <n>If the sun, moon and stars cannot but glue light according to my ordinance, so long as this world lasts, so shall my church never fail, neither shall anything hinder it: and as sure as I will have a people, so certain is it, that I will leave them my word forever to govern them with.</n> the sun for a light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who divideth the sea when its waves roar; The LORD of hosts [is] his name:


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If these ordinances depart out of my sight, saith the Lorde, then shall the seede of Israel cease from being a nation before me, for euer.


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Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, <n>The one and the other is impossible.</n> and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.


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Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the <n>As it was performed, (Neh_3:1). By this description he shows that the city would be as ample and beautiful as it ever was: but he alludes to the spiritual Jerusalem whose beauty would be incomparable.</n> city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel to the gate of the corner.


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And the line of the measure shal go foorth in his presence vpon the hil Gareb, and shall compasse about to Goath.


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And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, &amp; all the fields vnto the brooke of Kidron, and vnto the corner of the horsegate toward the East, shalbe holy vnto the Lorde, neither shal it be plucked vp nor destroyed any more for euer.


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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the <n>So that Jeremiah had now prophesied from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the last year save one of Zedekiah's reign, which was almost forty years.</n> tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which [was] the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.


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For then the King of Babels hoste besieged Ierusalem: And Ieremiah the Prophet was shutte vp in the court of the prison, which was in the King of Iudahs house.


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For Zedekiah King of Iudah had shut him vp, saying, Wherefore doest thou prophesie, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I will giue this citie into the handes of the King of Babel, and he shall take it?


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And Zedekiah the King of Iudah shall not escape out of the hande of the Caldeans, but shall surely be deliuered into the handes of the King of Babel, and shal speake with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall beholde his face,


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And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until <n>Till I take Zedekiah away by death: for he will not die by the sword as in (Jer_34:4).</n> I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.


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Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thy uncle shall come to thee, saying, <n>By which was meant that the people would return again out of captivity and enjoy their possessions and vineyards as in (Jer_32:15, Jer_32:44).</n> Buy for thee my field that [is] in Anathoth: for the right of redemption [is] thine <n>Because he was next of the kindred, as in (Rth_4:4).</n> to buy [it].


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So Hanameel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, Buy my <n>Of the possession of the Levites, read (Lev_25:32).</n> field, I pray thee, that [is] in Anathoth, which [is] in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance [is] thine, and the redemption [is] thine; buy [it] for thyself. Then I knew that this [was] the word of the LORD.


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And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that [was] in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, [even] seventeen <n>Which amounts to about ten shillings six pence in our money if this shekel were the common shekel, {{See Gen_23:15}}, for the shekel of the temple was of double value, and ten pieces of silver were half a shekel, for twenty made the shekel.</n> shekels of silver.


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And I writ it in the booke and signed it, and tooke witnesses, and weighed him the siluer in the balances.


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So I took the deed of the purchase, [both] that which was sealed <n>According to the custom the instrument or evidence was sealed up with the common seal and a copy of it remained which contained the same in effect but was left open to be seen if anything should be called into doubt.</n> [according] to the law and custom, and that which was open:


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And I gaue the booke of the possession vnto Baruch the sonne of Neriah, the sonne of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine vncles sonne, and in the presence of the witnesses, written in the booke of the possession, before al the Iewes that sate in the court of the prison.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, both that which is sealed, and this deed which is open; and put them in an earthen <n>And so to hide them in the ground, that they might be reserved as a token of their deliverance.</n> vessel, that they may continue many days.


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For the Lorde of hostes, the God of Israel saith thus, Houses and fieldes, and vineyardes shall be possessed againe in this land.


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Now when I had deliuered the booke of the possession vnto Baruch, the sonne of Neriah, I prayed vnto the Lord, saying,


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Ah Lord God, beholde, thou hast made the heauen and the earth by thy great power, and by thy stretched out arme, &amp; there is nothing hard vnto thee.


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Thou shewest lovingkindness to thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their <n>Because the wicked are subject to the curse of God, he shows that their posterity who by nature are under this malediction will be punished both for their own wickedness and that the iniquity of their fathers which is likewise in them, will be also avenged on their head.</n> children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, JEHOVAH of hosts, [is] his name,


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Great in counsell, &amp; mightie in worke, (for thine eyes are open vpon all the wayes of ye sonnes of men, to giue to euery one according to his wayes, and according to the fruite of his workes)


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<n>Meaning that his miracles in delivering his people would never be forgotten.</n>Who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, [even] to this day, and in Israel, and among [other] men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;


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And hast brought thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signes, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, with a stretched out arme, and with great terrour,


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And hast giuen them this land, which thou diddest sweare to their fathers to giue them, euen a land, that floweth with milke and hony,


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And they came in, and possessed it, but they obeyed not thy voyce, neither walked in thy Law: all that thou commaundedst them to doe, they haue not done: therefore thou hast caused this whole plague to come vpon them.


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Behold the <n>The word signifies anything that is cast up, as a mount or rampart, and is also used for engines of war, which were laid on a high place to shoot into a city before guns were in use.</n> mounts, they are come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest [it].


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And thou hast sayd vnto me, O Lord God, Bye vnto thee the fielde for siluer, and take witnesses: for the citie shall be giuen into the hand of the Caldeans.


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Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all <n>That is, of every creature: who as they are his work, so does he govern and guide them as pleases him, by which he shows that as he is the author of their captivity for their sins, so will he for his mercies be their redeemer to restore them again to liberty.</n> flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?


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Therefore thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I wil giue this citie into the hand of the Caldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchad-nezzar, King of Babel, and he shall take it.


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And the Caldeans shall come and fight against this citie, and set fire on this citie and burne it, with the houses, vpon whose rouses they haue offred incense vnto Baal, and powred drinke offrings vnto other gods, to prouoke me vnto anger.


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For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done evil only before me from their <n>From the time that I brought them out of Egypt and made them my people and called them my firstborn.</n> youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.


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Therefore this citie hath bene vnto me as a prouocation of mine anger, and of my wrath, from the day, that they built it, euen vnto this day, that I should remoue it out of my sight,


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Because of all the euill of the children of Israel, and of the children of Iudah, which they haue done to prouoke mee to anger, euen they, their Kings, their Princes, their Priests, and their Prophets, and the men of Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem.


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And they have turned to me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, <n>(2Ch_36:15; Isa_65:2; Jer_7:13, Jer_13:3, Jer_26:5, Jer_29:19, Jer_35:14, Jer_44:4).</n> rising early and teaching [them], yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.


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And they built the high <n>That is, the altars which were made to offer sacrifices to their idols on.</n> places of Baal, which [are] in the valley of the <n>Read (Jer_7:31; 2Ki_21:4, 2Ki_21:6).</n> son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to <n>Read (2Ki_16:3).</n> pass through [the fire] to Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.


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And now <n>Read (Jer_30:16).</n> therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, of which ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;


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Beholde, I will gather them out of all countreys, wherein I haue scattered them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation, and I wil bring them againe vnto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.


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And I will give them <n>One consent and one religion, as in (Eze_11:19, Eze_36:26).</n> one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:


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And I will make an everlasting <n>Read (Jeremiah 31:1-33:26).</n> covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.


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Yea, I wil delite in them to do them good, and I wil plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart, and with all my soule.


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For thus sayth the Lorde, Like as I haue brought all this great plague vpon this people, so wil I bring vpon them all the good that I haue promised them.


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And the fields shalbe possessed in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without ma or beast, and shalbe giuen into the hand of the Caldeans.


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Men shall buy <n>This is the declaration of that which was spoken of in (Jer_32:8).</n> fields for money, and signed deeds, and seal [them], and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captives to return, saith the LORD.


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Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the <n>Which was in the king's house at Jerusalem, as in (Jer_32:1-2).</n> court of the prison, saying,


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Thus saith the LORD the <n>That is, of Jerusalem, who as he made it, so will he preserve it, read (Isa_37:26).</n> maker of this, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name;


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Call vnto me, and I will answere thee, and shewe thee great and mightie things, which thou knowest not.


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For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the <n>Read (Jer_32:24).</n> mounts, and by the sword;


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They come to <n>The Jews think to overcome the Chaldeans, but they seek their own destruction.</n> fight with the Chaldeans, but [it is] to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in my anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my <n>He shows that God's favour is cause of all prosperity, as his anger is of all adversity.</n> face from this city.


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Behold, I <n>In the midst of his threatenings God remembers his, and comforts them.</n> will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.


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And I wil cause the captiuitie of Iudah and the captiuitie of Israel to returne, and will build them as at the first.


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And I will <n>Declaring that there is no deliverance nor joy, but where we feel remission of sins.</n> cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned, and by which they have transgressed against me.


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And it shall be to me a name of <n>By which he shows that the Church in which is remission of sins, is God's honour and glory, so that whoever is enemy to it, labours to dishonour God.</n> joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure to it.


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Thus sayth the Lord, Againe there shalbe heard in this place (which ye say shalbe desolate, without man, and without beast, euen in the cities of Iudah, and in the streetes of Ierusalem, that are desolate without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast)


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The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, <n>Which was a song appointed for the Levites to praise God by, (1Ch_16:8; Psa_105:1; Psa_106:1; Psa_107:1; Psa_118:1; Psa_136:1; Isa_12:4)</n> Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captives of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.


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Thus sayth the Lorde of hostes, Againe in this place, which is desolate, without man, &amp; without beast, and in all the cities thereof there shall be dwelling for shepheards to rest their flockes.


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In the cities of the <n>Meaning that all the country of Judah will be inhabited again.</n> mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that counteth [them], saith the LORD.


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Beholde, the dayes come, sayth the Lorde, that I wil performe that good thing, which I haue promised vnto the house of Israel, &amp; to the house of Iudah.


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In those days, and at that time, will I cause <n>That is, I will send the Messiah, who will come of the house of David, of whom this prophecy is meant, as testify all the Jews and that which is written, (Jer_23:5).</n> the Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.


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In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety: and this [is the name] by which <n>That is, Christ that will call his Church.</n> she shall be called, The LORD our <n>That is, Christ is our Lord God, our righteousness, sanctification and redemption, (1Co_1:30).</n> righteousness.


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For thus sayth the Lord, Dauid shall neuer want a man to sit vpon the throne of the house of Israel.


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Neither shall the priests the Levites lack a man before me to offer <n>That is, chiefly meant of the spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving which is left to the Church in the time of Christ, who was the everlasting priest and the everlasting sacrifice figured by the sacrifices of the law.</n> burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.


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Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the <n>Read (Jer_31:35).</n> day, and my covenant of the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season;


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Then may my couenant be broken with Dauid my seruant, that he should not haue a sonne to reigne vpon his throne, and with the Leuites, and Priests my ministers.


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As the army of heauen can not be nombred, neither the sand of the sea measured: so wil I multiplie the seede of Dauid my seruant, and the Leuites, that minister vnto me.


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Considerest thou not what <n>Meaning, the Chaldeans and other infidels who thought God had utterly cast off Judah and Israel or Benjamin, because he corrected them for a time for their amendment.</n> this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.


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Thus sayth the Lorde, If my couenant be not with day and night, and if I haue not appointed the order of heauen and earth,


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Then will I cast away the seede of Iaakob and Dauid my seruant, and not take of his seede to be rulers ouer the seede of Abraham, Izhak, and Iaakob: for I wil cause their captiuitie to returne, and haue compassion on them.


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The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when <n>Who commonly by Jeremiah was called Nebuchadrezzar and by others Nebuchadnezzar.</n> Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all its cities, saying,


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Thus sayth the Lorde God of Israel, Goe, and speake to Zedekiah King of Iudah, and tell him, Thus sayth the Lord, Beholde, I will giue this citie into the hand of the King of Babel, and he shall burne it with fire,


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And thou shall not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and deliuered into his hand, and thine eyes shal beholde the face of the King of Babel, &amp; he shal speake with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babel.


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Yet heare the worde of the Lord, O Zedekiah, King of Iudah: thus sayth the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not dye by the sword,


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[But] thou shalt die in <n>Not of any violent death.</n> peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they burn [incense] for thee; and they will lament thee, [saying], Ah <n>The Jews will lament for you their lord and king.</n> lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.


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(When the King of Babels hoste fought against Ierusalem, and against all the cities of Iudah, that were left, euen against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these strong cities remained of the cities of Iudah)


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[This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who [were] at Jerusalem, <n>When the enemy was at hand and they saw themselves in danger, they would seem holy, and so began some kind of reformation: but soon after they uttered their hypocrisy.</n> to proclaim liberty to them;


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That every man should release his male <n>According to the law, (Exo_21:2; Deu_15:12).</n> servant, and every man his female servant, [being] a Hebrew man or woman; that none should retain them in service, [that is], a Jew his brother.


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Now when all the princes, and all the people which had agreed to the couenant, heard that euery one should let his seruant go free, &amp; euery one his handmaide, and that none should serue them selues of them any more, they obeyed and let them go.


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But afterwarde they repented and caused the seruants and the handmayds, whom they had let go free, to returne, and helde them in subiection as seruants and handmayds.


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Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I made a couenant with your fathers, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of seruants, saying,


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At the terme of seuen yeres let ye go, euery man his brother an Ebrewe which hath bene solde vnto thee: and when he hath serued the sixe yeres, thou shalt let him go free fro thee: but your fathers obeyed me not, neither inclined their eares.


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And ye had now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in <n>Meaning in the temple to declare that it was a most solemn and straight covenant made in the name of the Lord.</n> the house which is called by my name:


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But ye repented, and polluted my Name: for ye haue caused euery man his seruant, and euery man his handmayde, whom ye had set at libertie at their pleasure, to returne, and holde them in subiection to bee vnto you as seruantes and as handmaydes.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened to me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to <n>That is, I give the sword liberty to destroy you.</n> the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.


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And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they <n>Concerning the manner of solemn covenant which the ancients used by passing between the two parts of a beast, to signify that the transgressor of the same covenant should be so divided in pieces, read (Gen_15:10).</n> cut the calf in two, and passed between the parts of it,


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The princes of Iudah, and the princes of Ierusalem, the Eunuches, and the Priestes, and all the people of the lande, which passed betweene the partes of the calfe,


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I wil euen giue them into the hand of their enemies, and into the handes of them that seeke their life: and their dead bodies shalbe for meate vnto the foules of the heauen, and to the beastes of the earth.


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And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which <n>To fight against the Egyptians, as in (Jer_37:11).</n> are gone up from you.


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Beholde, I will commande, saith the Lord, and cause them to returne to this citie, and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burne it with fire: and I will make the cities of Iudah desolate without an inhabitant.


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The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days <n>For the disposition and order of these prophecies. {{See Jer_27:1}}</n> of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,


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Go to the house of the <n>They came from Hobab, Moses father-in-law, who was no Israelite, but later joined with them in the service of God.</n> Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.


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Then tooke I Iaazaniah, the sonne of Ieremiah the sonne of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sonnes, and the whole house of the Rechabites,


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And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man <n>That is, a prophet.</n> of God, who [was] by the chamber of the princes, which [was] above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:


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And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I <n>The prophet says not. The Lord says thus, for then they ought to have obeyed, but he tends to another end: that is, to declare their obedience to man, seeing the Jews would not obey God himself.</n> said to them, Drink ye wine.


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But they said, We will drink no wine: for <n>Whom the king of Israel favoured for his zeal, (2Ki_10:15).</n> Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, <n>Teaching them by this to flee all opportunity for intemperancy, ambition and greed and that they might know that they were strangers in the earth, and be ready to depart at all opportunity.</n> Ye shall drink no wine, [neither ye], nor your sons for ever:


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Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seede, nor plant vineyarde, nor haue any, but all your dayes ye shall dwell in tentes, that ye may liue a long time in the land where ye be strangers.


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Thus haue wee obeyed the voyce of Ionadab the sonne of Rechab our father, in all that he hath charged vs, and wee drinke no wine all our dayes, neither wee, our wiues, our sonnes, nor our daughters.


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But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to <n>Which was now for the span of three hundred years from Jehu to Jehoiakim.</n> all that Jonadab our father commanded us.


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But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we <n>Which declares that they were not so bound to their vow that it could not be broken for any need, for where they were commanded to dwell in tents, they dwell now at Jerusalem for fear of the wars.</n> dwell at Jerusalem.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will <n>Whom I have chosen to be my children seeing these who were the children of a heathen, obeyed the commandment of their father.</n> ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.


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The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: however I have spoken to you, <n>I have most diligently exhorted and warned you both by myself and my prophet.</n> rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not to me.


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I haue sent also vnto you all my seruants the Prophetes, rising vp earely, and sending, them, saying, Returne nowe euery man from his euill way, and amende your workes, and goe not after other gods to serue them, and ye shall dwel in the lande which I haue giuen vnto you, and to your fathers, but ye would not encline your eare, nor obey mee.


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Surely the sonnes of Ionadab the sonne of Rechab, haue kept the commaundement of their father, which he gaue them, but this people hath not obeyed me.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have <n>That is, by his prophets and ministers which shows that it is as much, as though he would speak to us himself when he sends his ministers to speak in his Name.</n> spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.


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And Ieremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lorde of hostes the God of Israel, Because ye haue obeyed the commandement of Ionadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according vnto all that hee hath commaunded you,


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Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall <n>His posterity will continue and be in my favour for ever.</n> not lack a man to stand before me for ever.


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And it came to pass in the fourth <n>{{See Jer_25:1}}</n> year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, [that] this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,


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Take thee a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words that I have spoken to thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to thee, <n>Which were twenty and three years, as in (Jer_25:3) counting from the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign.</n> from the days of Josiah, even to this day.


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It may bee that the House of Iudah will heare of all the euill, which I determined to doe vnto them that they may returne euery man from his euil way, that I may forgiue their iniquitie and their sinnes.


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Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote <n>As he indicted.</n> from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken to him, upon a roll of a book.


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And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I [am] <n>Meaning, in prison through the malice of the priests.</n> shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:


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Therefore go thou, and read in the scroll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the <n>Which was proclaimed for fear of the Babylonians, as their custom was when they feared war, or any great plague of God.</n> day of fasting: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.


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It may be they will <n>He shows that fasting without prayer and repentance does nothing but is mere hypocrisy.</n> present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great [is] the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.


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So Baruch the sonne of Neriah did according vnto all, that Ieremiah the Prophet commanded him, reading in the booke the wordes of the Lord in the Lords House.


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And it came to pass in the fifth <n>The fast was then proclaimed and Baruch read this rule which was a little before Jerusalem was first taken, and then Jehoiakim and Daniel and his companions were led away captive.</n> year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, [that] they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.


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Then Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entrance of the <n>Which is the East gate of the temple.</n> new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people.


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When Michaiah the sonne of Gemariah, the sonne of Shaphan had heard out of the booke all the wordes of the Lord,


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Then hee went downe to the Kings house into the Chancellours chamber, and loe, all the princes sate there, euen Elishama the Chancellour, and Delaiah the sonne of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the sonne of Achbor, and Gemariah the sonne of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the sonne of Hananiah, and all the princes.


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Then Michaiah declared vnto them all the wordes that he had heard when Baruch read in the booke in the audience of the people.


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Therefore all the princes sent Iehudi the sonne of Nethaniah, the sonne of Shelemiah, the sonne of Chushi, vnto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hande the roule, wherein thou hast read in the audience of the people, and come. So Baruch the sonne of Neriah, tooke the roule in his hand, and came vnto them.


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And they saide vnto him, Sit downe now, and reade it, that we may heare. So Baruch read it in their audience.


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Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were <n>The godly were afraid, seeing God so offended, and the wicked were astonished for the horror of the punishment.</n> afraid both one and another, and said to Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.


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And they examined Baruch, saying, Tell vs nowe, howe diddest thou write all these wordes at his mouth?


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Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these wordes vnto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ynke in the booke.


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Then said the princes to Baruch, Go, <n>They who were godly among the princes gave this counsel by whose means it is like that Jeremiah was delivered for they knew the rage of the king and of the wicked to be such that they could not escape without danger of their lives.</n> hide thyself, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye are.


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And they went in to the King to the court, but they layde vp the roule in the chamber of Elishama the Chancellour and tolde the King all the wordes, that he might heare.


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So the King sent Iehudi to fet the roule, and he tooke it out of Elishama the Chancellours chamber, and Iehudi read it in the audience of the King, and in the audience of all the princes, which stoode beside the King.


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Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the <n>Which contained part of November and part of December.</n> ninth month: and [there was a fire] on the hearth burning before him.


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And when Iehudi had read three, or foure sides, hee cut it with the penknife and cast it into the fire, that was on the hearth vntil all the roule was consumed in the fire, that was on the hearth.


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Yet they were not afraid, nor tore <n>Showing that the wicked instead of repenting when they hear God's judgments, grow into further malice against him and his word.</n> their garments, [neither] the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.


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Neuerthelesse, Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah had besought the King, that he would not burne ye roule: but he would not heare them.


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But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD <n>Thus we see the continual care that God has over his to preserve them from the rage of the wicked.</n> hid them.


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Then the word of the Lord came to Ieremiah (after that the King had burnt the roule and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Ieremiah) saying,


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Take thee again <n>Though the wicked think to have abolished the word of God when they have burnt the book of it, yet this declares that God will not only raise it up again but also increase it in greater abundance to their condemnation as in (Jer_36:32).</n> another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burned.


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And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this scroll, saying, <n>These are Jehoiakim's words.</n> Why hast thou written in it, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from there man and beast?


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Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have <n>Though Jehoiachin his son succeeded him, yet because he reigned but three months, it was esteemed as no reign.</n> none to sit upon the throne of David: and his <n>{{See Jer_22:19}}</n> dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.


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And I will visite him and his seede, and his seruants for their iniquitie, and I will bring vpon them, and vpon the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and vpo the men of Iudah all the euil that I haue pronounced against them: but they would not heare.


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Then tooke Ieremiah another roule, and gaue it Baruch the scribe the sonne of Neriah, which wrote therein at the mouth of Ieremiah all the wordes of the booke which Iehoiakim King of Iudah had burnt in the fire, and there were added besides them many like wordes.


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And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of <n>Who was called Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah.</n> Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon <n>And called him Zedekiah, while before his name was Mattaniah, (2Ki_24:17).</n> made king in the land of Judah.


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But neither he, nor his seruants, nor the people of the land would obey the wordes of the Lorde, which he spake by the ministerie of the Prophet Ieremiah.


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And Zedekiah the king <n>Because he was afraid of the Chaldeans who came against him.</n> sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now to the LORD our God for us.


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Now Jeremiah came <n>That is, was out of prison and free.</n> in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.


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Then Pharaoh's army had <n>To help the Jews.</n> come from Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.


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Thus sayth the Lorde God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the King of Iudah, that sent you vnto me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaohs hoste, which is come forth to helpe you, shall returne to Egypt into their owne land.


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And the Caldeans shall come againe, and fight against this citie, and take it and burne it with fire.


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Thus sayth the Lorde, Deceiue not your selues, saying, The Caldeans shall surely depart from vs: for they shal not depart.


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For though ye had smitten the whole hoste of the Caldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should euery man rise vp in his tent, and burne this citie with fire.


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Then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the <n>As some think, to go to Anathoth his own town.</n> land of Benjamin, to separate himself from there in the midst of the people.


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And when he was in the <n>By which men went into the country of Benjamin.</n> gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard [was] there, whose name [was] Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.


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Then sayde Ieremiah, That is false, I flee not to the Caldeans: but he would not heare him: so Iriiah tooke Ieremiah, and brought him to the princes.


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Wherefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and beat him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the <n>Because it was a vile and straight prison.</n> prison.


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When Ieremiah was entred into the dungeon, and into the prisons, &amp; had remained there a long time,


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Then Zedekiah the King sent, and tooke him out, and the King asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any worde from the Lord? And Ieremiah sayd, Yea: for, sayd he, thou shalt be deliuered into the hand of the King of Babel.


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Moreouer, Ieremiah sayd vnto King Zedekiah, What haue I offended against thee, or against thy seruants, or against this people, that ye haue put me in prison?


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Where are nowe your prophets, which prophecied vnto you, saying, The King of Babel shall not come against you, nor against this land?


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Therefore heare nowe, I pray thee, O my lorde the King: let my prayer be accepted before thee, that thou cause mee not to returne to the house of Iehonathan the scribe, least I die there.


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Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the baker's street, until all the <n>That is, so long as there was any bread in the city: thus God provides for his, that he will cause their enemies to preserve them to that end to which he has appointed them.</n> bread in the city should be consumed. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.


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Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of <n>For Zedekiah had sent these to Jeremiah to enquire at the Lord for the state of the country how when Nebuchadnezzar came, as in (Jer_21:1).</n> Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,


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Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for <n>Read (Jer_21:9, Jer_45:5).</n> a prize, and shall live.


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Thus sayth the Lord, This citie shall surely be giuen into the hand of the King of Babels armie, which shall take it.


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Therefore the princes said to the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war <n>Thus we see how the wicked when they cannot abide to hear the truth of God's word, seek to put the ministers to death, as transgressors of policies.</n> that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the harm.


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Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he [is] in your hand: for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any] <n>In which he grievously offended in that not only would he not hear the truth spoken by the prophet, but also gave him to the lusts of the wicked to be cruelly treated.</n> thing against you.


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Then tooke they Ieremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the sonne of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let downe Ieremiah with coards: and in the dungeon there was no water but myre: so Ieremiah stacke fast in the myre.


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Now when Ebedmelech the Cushite, one of the eunuchs who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the <n>To hear matters and give sentence.</n> gate of Benjamin;


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My lord the king, <n>By this is declared that the prophet found more favour at this strangers hands, than he did by all them of his country, which was to their great condemnation.</n> these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is certain to die from hunger in the place where he is: for [there is] no more bread in the city.


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Then the King commaunded Ebed-melech the blacke More, saying, Take from hence thirtie men with thee, and take Ieremiah the Prophet out of the dungeon before he dye.


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So Ebed-melech tooke the men with him and went to the house of the King vnder the treasurie, and tooke there olde rotten ragges, and olde worne cloutes, and let them downe by coards into the dungeon to Ieremiah.


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And Ebed-melech the blacke More sayde vnto Ieremiah, Put now these olde rotten ragges and worne, vnder thine arme holes, betweene the coards; Ieremiah did so.


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So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the <n>Where the king had set him before to be at more liberty, as in (Jer_37:21).</n> court of the prison.


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Then Zedekiah the King sent, and tooke Ieremiah the Prophet vnto him, into the thirde entrie that is in the House of the Lorde, and the King sayd vnto Ieremiah, I wil aske thee a thing: hide nothing from me.


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Then Ieremiah sayd to Zedekiah, If I declare it vnto thee, wilt not thou slay me? and if I giue thee counsell, thou wilt not heare me.


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So the King sware secretly vnto Ieremiah, saying, As the Lorde liueth that made vs these soules, I will not slay thee, nor giue thee into the hands of those men that seeke thy life.


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Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth to the king of Babylon's <n>And yield yourself to them.</n> princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house:


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But if thou wilt not go forth to the King of Babels princes, then shall this citie be giuen into the hand of ye Caldeans, &amp; they shal burne it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hands.


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And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they <n>Which declares that he more feared the reproach of men than the threatenings of God.</n> mock me.


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But Ieremiah sayd, They shall not deliuer thee: hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, I beseech thee, which I speake vnto thee: so shal it be well vnto thee, and thy soule shall liue.


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And, behold, all the women that are <n>When Jeconiah and his mother with others were carried away, these women of the king's house were left: who will be taken, says the prophet and tell the king of Babel how Zedekiah has been seduced by his familiar friends and false prophets who have left him in the mire.</n> left in the king of Judah's house [shall be] brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those [women] shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, [and] they are turned away back.


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So they shall bring out all thy wiues, &amp; thy children to the Caldeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hands, but shalt be taken by the hand of the King of Babel: and this citie shalt thou cause to be burnt with fire.


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But if ye princes vnderstand that I haue talked with thee, &amp; they come vnto thee, &amp; say vnto thee, Declare vnto vs nowe, what thou hast sayde vnto the King, hide it not from vs, &amp; we will not slay thee: also what the King sayd vnto thee,


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Then thou shalt say to them, I <n>In this appears the infirmity of the prophet, who dissembled to save his life even though it was not to the denial of his doctrine or to the hurt of any.</n> presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.


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Then came all the princes vnto Ieremiah and asked him; he tolde them according to all these wordes that the King had commaunded: so they left off speaking with him, for the matter was not perceiued.


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So Ieremiah abode still in the court of the prison, vntill the day that Ierusalem was taken: and he was there, when Ierusalem was taken.


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In the ninth yeere of Zedekiah King of Iudah in the tenth moneth, came Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel and all his hoste against Ierusalem, and they besieged it.


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[And] in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth [day] of the month, the city was broken <n>The gates and walls were broken down.</n> up.


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And all the princes of the King of Babel came in, and sate in the middle gate, euen Neregal, Sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Neregal, Sharezer, Rab-mag with all the residue of the princes of the King of Babel.


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And it came to pass, when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the <n>Which was a postern door, read (2Ki_25:4).</n> gate between the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.


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But the Chaldeans' army pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to <n>Which is called Antioch in Syria.</n> Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.


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Then the King of Babel slewe the sonnes of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the King of Babel slewe all the nobles of Iudah.


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And the Caldeans burnt the Kings house, and the houses of the people with fire, and brake downe the walles of Ierusalem.


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Then Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde caried away captiue into Babel the remnant of the people, that remained in the citie, and those that were fled and fallen vnto him, with the rest of the people that remained.


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But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the <n>For the rich and the mighty who put their trust in their shifts and means, were by God's just judgments most rigorously handled.</n> poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.


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Nowe Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel gaue charge concerning Ieremiah vnto Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde, saying,


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Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do to him <n>Thus God preserved his prophet by his means, whom he made the scourge to punish the king, and them that were his enemies.</n> even as he shall say to thee.


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So Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward sent, and Nebushazban, Rabsaris, and Neregal, Sharezar, Rab-mag, and all the King of Babels princes:


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Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him to <n>Whom the king of Babel had now appointed governor over the rest of the Jews that he left behind.</n> Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.


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Now the worde of the Lord came vnto Ieremiah, while he was shut vp in the court of the prison, saying,


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Go and speake to Ebed-melech the blacke More, saying, Thus saith the Lorde of hostes the God of Israel, Beholde, I wil bring my wordes vpon this citie for euill, and not for good, and they shalbe accomplished in that day before thee.


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But I wil deliuer thee in that day, saith the Lorde, and thou shalt not be giuen into the hand of the men whome thou fearest.


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For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prize to thee: because thou <n>Thus God recompensed his zeal and favour which he showed to his prophet in his troubles.</n> hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.


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The worde which came to Ieremiah from the Lorde after that Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde had let him goe from Ramath, when hee had taken him being bound in chaines among all that were caried away captiue of Ierusalem &amp; Iudah, which were caried away captiue vnto Babel.


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<n>From (Jeremiah 40:2-42:7) it seems to be as a parenthesis and separated matter and there this story begins again and this vision is declared what it was.</n>And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.


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Now the LORD hath brought [it], and done according as he hath said: because ye have <n>God moved this infidel to speak this to declare the great blindness and obstinacy of the Jews who could not feel that which this heathen man confessed.</n> sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.


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And nowe beholde, I loose thee this day from the chaines which were on thine handes, if it please thee to come with me into Babel, come, and I will looke well vnto thee: but if it please thee not to come with mee into Babel, tarie still: beholde, all the lande is before thee: whither it seemeth good, and conuenient for thee to goe, thither goe.


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For yet he was not returned: therefore he said, Returne to Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, the sonne of Shaphan, whom the King of Babel hath made gouernour ouer all the cities of Iudah, and dwell with him among the people, or goe wheresoeuer it pleaseth thee to goe. So the chiefe stewarde gaue him vitailes and a rewarde, and let him goe.


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Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to <n>Which was a city of Judah.</n> Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.


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Now when all the captains of the forces <n>Which were scattered abroad for fear of the Chaldeans.</n> who [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 to him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;


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Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even <n>Who was of the king's blood and later slew him, (Jer_41:2).</n> 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.


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And Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, the sonne of Shaphan sware vnto them, and to their men, saying, Feare not to serue the Caldeans: dwell in the lande, and serue the King of Babel, and it shall be well with you.


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As for me, Beholde, I will dwell at Mizpah to serue the Caldeans, which will come vnto vs: but you, gather you wine, and sommer fruites, and oyle, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities, that ye haue taken.


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Likewise when all the Jews that [were] in <n>Which were fed also for fear of the Chaldeans.</n> 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;


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Euen all the Iewes returned out of all places where they were driuen, and came to the land of Iudah to Gedaliah vnto Mizpah, and gathered wine and sommer fruites, very much.


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Moreouer Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, that were in the fieldes, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,


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And said to him, Dost thou certainly know that <n>For under the colour of entertaining Ishmael, he sought only to make them destroy one another.</n> 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.


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Then Iohanan the sonne of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me goe, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it. Wherefore should he kill thee, that all the Iewes, which are gathered vnto thee, shoulde be scattered, and the remnant in Iudah perish?


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But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt <n>Thus the godly who think no harm to others are soonest deceived and never lack such as conspire their destruction.</n> not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.


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Now it came to pass in the <n>The city was destroyed in the fourth month and in the seventh month, which contained part of September and part of October, the governor Gedaliah was slain.</n> seventh month, [that] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the <n>Meaning, Zedekiah.</n> king, even ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they <n>They ate together as familiar friends.</n> ate bread together in Mizpah.


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Then arose Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah with these tenne men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam the sonne of Shaphan with the sword, and slewe him, whom the King of Babel had made gouernour ouer the lande.


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Ishmael also slewe all the Iewes that were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and all the Caldeans that were found there, and the men of warre.


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That there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, [even] eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with <n>For they thought that the temple had not been destroyed and therefore came up to the feast of tabernacles but hearing of the burning of it in the way, they showed these signs of sorrow.</n> offerings and incense in their hand, to bring [them] to the house of the LORD.


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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 to them, Come <n>For his death was kept secret, and he pretended that he lamented for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple but later slew them when they seemed to favour Gedaliah.</n> to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.


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And when they came into the middes of the citie, Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah slewe them, and cast them into the middes of the pit, he and the men that were with him.


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But tenne men were founde among them, that saide vnto Ishmael, Slay vs not: for we haue treasures in the fielde, of wheate, and of barley, and of oyle, and of honie: so he stayed, and slew them not among their brethren.


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Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, [was] that which Asa the king had <n>Asa fortified Mizpah for fear of the enemy, and dug ditches and trenches, (1Ki_15:22).</n> made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: [and] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [them that were] slain.


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Then Ishmael caryed away captiue all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, euen the Kings daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward had committed to Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, and Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah caried them away captiue, and departed to goe ouer to the Ammonites.


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But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the <n>Who had been captains under Zedekiah.</n> captains of the forces that [were] with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,


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Then they all tooke their men, and went to fight with Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah, &amp; founde him by ye great waters that are in Gibeon.


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Nowe when all the people whom Ishmael caryed away captiue, sawe Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, that were with him, they were glad.


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So all the people, that Ishmael had caryed away captiue from Mizpah, returned and came againe, &amp; went vnto Iohanan the sonne of Kareah.


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But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the <n>For Baalis the king of the Ammonites was the cause of this murder.</n> Ammonites.


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Then tooke Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste that were with him, all the remnant of the people, whom Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah had caried away captiue from Mizpah, (after that he had slaine Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam) euen the strong men of warre, and the women, and the children, and the eunuches, whom hee had brought againe from Gibeon:


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And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of <n>Which place David of old had given to Chimham the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, (2Sa_19:38).</n> Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,


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Because of the Caldeans: for they feared them, because Ishmael ye sonne of Nethaniah had slaine Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, whom the King of Babel made gouernour in the land.


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Then all the captaines of the hoste, and Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and Iezaniah the sonne of Hoshaaiah, and all the people from the least vnto the most came,


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And saide vnto Ieremiah the Prophete, Heare our prayer, we beseeche thee, and pray for vs vnto the Lorde thy God, euen for all this remnant (for we are left, but a fewe of many, as thine eyes doe beholde)


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That the LORD thy God may show us the way in which we may walk, and the thing that we may <n>This declares the nature of hypocrites who would know of God's word what they should do, but will not follow it, unless it agrees with that thing which they have purposed to do.</n> do.


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Then Ieremiah the Prophet said vnto them, I haue heard you: behold, I will pray vnto ye Lord your God according to your wordes, and whatsoeuer thing the Lord shall answere you, I will declare it vnto you: I will keepe nothing backe from you.


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Then they said to Jeremiah, <n>There are as ready to abuse the Name of God and take it in vain as the hypocrites who colour their falsehood, use it without all reverence and make it a means for them to deceive the simple and the godly.</n> The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.


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Whether it be good or euill, we will obey the voyce of the Lorde God, to whom we sende thee that it may be well with vs, when wee obey the voyce of the Lord our God.


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<n>Here is declared the vision and the opportunity of it, of which mention was made, (Jer_40:1).</n>And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.


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Then called he Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, which were with him, &amp; all ye people from ye least to the most,


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And saide vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God of Israel, vnto whom ye sent me to present your prayers before him,


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If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull [you] down, and I will plant you, and not pluck [you] up: for I <n>{{See Jer_18:8}}</n> repent of the evil that I have done to you.


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Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I [am] with you to save you, and to deliver you <n>Because all king's hearts and ways are in his hands, he can turn them and dispose them as it pleases him, and therefore they need not fear man, but only obey God, (Pro_21:1).</n> from his hand.


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And I will graunt you mercie that he may haue compassion vpon you, and he shall cause you to dwell in your owne land.


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Saying, Nay, but we will goe into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no warre, nor heare the sounde of the trumpet, nor haue hunger of bread, and there will we dwell,


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(And nowe therefore heare the worde of the Lorde, ye remnant of Iudah: thus sayeth the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, If ye set your faces to enter into Egypt, and goe to dwell there)


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Then it shall come to pass, [that] the sword, which ye feared, <n>Thus God turns the policy of the wicked to their own destruction: for they thought themselves sure in Egypt, and there Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them and the Egyptians, (Jer_46:25).</n> shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.


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And all the men that set their faces to enter into Egypt to dwell there, shall die by ye sword, by the famine and by the pestilence, and none of them shall remaine nor escape from the plague, that I will bring vpon them.


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For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As my anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an horror, and a <n>Read (Jer_26:6) showing that this would come on them for their infidelity and stubbornness.</n> curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.


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O ye remnant of Iudah, the Lorde hath said concerning you, Goe not into Egypt: knowe certeinely that I haue admonished you this day.


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For ye were <n>For you were fully intending to go into Egypt, whatever God spoke to the contrary.</n> hypocrites in your hearts, when ye sent me to the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us to the LORD our God; and according to all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do [it].


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Therefore I haue this day declared it you, but you haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lorde your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me vnto you.


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Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, <n>That is, in Egypt.</n> in the place where ye desire to go [and] to sojourn.


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Nowe when Ieremiah had made an ende of speaking vnto ye whole people all the wordes of the Lorde their God, for the which the Lorde their God had sent him to them, euen all these wordes,


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Then spoke <n>Who was also called Jezaniah, (Jer_42:1).</n> Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the <n>This declares that pride is the cause of rebellion and contempt of God's ministers.</n> proud men, saying to Jeremiah, <n>When the hypocrisy of the wicked is discovered, they burst forth into open rage: for they can abide nothing but flattery, read (Isa_30:10).</n> Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath <n>He shows what is the nature of the hypocrites: that is, to pretend that they would obey God and embrace his word, if they were assured that his messenger spoke the truth: though indeed they are most far from all obedience.</n> not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:


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But Baruch the son of Neriah <n>Thus the wicked not only contemn and hurt the messengers of God, but slander and speak wickedly of all them that support or favour the godly.</n> setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.


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So Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, and all the people obeied not the voyce of the Lorde, to dwell in the lande of Iudah.


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But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that had returned from all <n>As from the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites, (Jer_40:11).</n> nations, where they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;


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[Even] men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the <n>When these wicked lead away by force.</n> prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.


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So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus they came [even] to <n>A city in Egypt near to Nilus.</n> Tahpanhes.


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Take great stones in thy hand, and <n>Which signified that Nebuchadnezzar would come even to the gates of Pharaoh, where his brick kilns for his buildings were.</n> hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which [is] at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;


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And say to them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, <n>Read (Jer_25:9).</n> my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.


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And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, [and deliver] <n>Everyone will be slain by the means that God has appointed, (Jer_15:2).</n> such [as are] for death to death; and such [as are] for captivity to captivity; and such [as are] for the sword to the sword.


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And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a <n>Meaning most easily and suddenly will he carry the Egyptians away.</n> shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.


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He shal breake also ye images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the lande of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shal he burne with fire.


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The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and at <n>These were all famous and strange cities in Egypt, where the Jews that fled dwelt for their safety but the prophet declares that there is no hold so strong that can preserve them from God's vengeance.</n> Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,


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Thus sayeth the Lorde of hostes the God of Israel, Yee haue seene all the euill that I haue brought vpon Ierusalem, and vpon all the cities of Iudah: and beholde, this day they are desolate, and no man dwelleth therein,


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Because of their wickednes which they haue comitted, to prouoke me to anger in that they went to burne incense, &amp; to serue other gods, who they knew not, neither they nor you nor your fathers.


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Yet I sent to you all my servants the prophets, <n>Read (Jer_7:25, Jer_25:3, Jer_29:19, Jer_32:33).</n> rising early and sending [them], saying, O, do not this abominable thing that I hate.


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But they would not heare nor incline their eare to turne from their wickednes, and to burne no more incense vnto other gods.


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Wherefore <n>He sets before their eyes God's judgments against Judah and Jerusalem for their idolatry that they might beware by their example, and not with the same wickedness provoke the Lord: for then they would be double punished.</n> my fury and my anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted [and] desolate, as at this day.


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Therefore now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Wherfore commit ye this great euill against your soules, to cut off from you man and woman, childe and suckling out of Iudah, and leaue you none to remaine?


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In that yee prouoke mee vnto wrath with the woorkes of your hands, burning incense vnto other Gods in the lande of Egypt whither yee be gone to dwell: that yee might bring destruction vnto your selues, and that ye might be a curse and a reproch among all nations of the earth.


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Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the <n>He shows that we ought to keep in memory God's plagues from the beginning that considering them, we might live in his fear, and know if he did not spare our fathers, yea kings, princes, rulers and also whole countries and nations for their sins that we vile worms cannot look to escape punishment for ours.</n> kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?


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They are not humbled vnto this day, neither haue they feared nor walked in my lawe nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.


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Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde of hostes the God of Israel, Beholde, I will set my face against you to euill and to destroy all Iudah,


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And I will take the remnant of Judah, that <n>Which have fully set their minds and are gone there on purpose. By which he excepts the innocents as Jeremiah and Baruch that were forces: therefore the Lord shows that he will set his face against them: that is, purposely destroy them.</n> have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, [and] fall in the land of Egypt; they shall [even] be consumed by the sword [and] by the famine: they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, [and] an horror, and a <n>Read (Jer_26:6, Jer_41:18).</n> curse, and a reproach.


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For I will visite them that dwel in the land of Egypt, as I haue visited Ierusalem, by ye sworde, by the famine, and by the pestilence,


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So that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but <n>Meaning but a few.</n> such as shall escape.


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Then all the men which knewe that their wiues had burnt incense vnto other gods and all the wome that stoode by, a great multitude, euen all the people that dwelt in the lande of Egypt in Pathros, answered Ieremiah, saying,


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[As for] the word that thou hast spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will <n>This declares how dangerous a thing it is to decline once from God and to follow our own fantasies: for Satan ever solicits such and does not leave them till he has brought them to extreme impudency and madness, even to justify their wickedness against God and his prophets.</n> not hearken to thee.


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But we will certainly do whatever thing proceedeth from our own mouth, to burn incense to <n>Read (Jer_7:18) it seems that the papists gathered of this place «Salbe Regina» and «Regina caeli latare» calling the virgin Mary Queen of heaven and so out of the blessed virgin and mother of our saviour Christ, made an idol; for here the prophet condemns their idolatry.</n> the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for [then] we had <n>This is still the argument of idolaters who esteem religion by the belly and instead of acknowledging God's works who sends both plenty and famine, health and sickness. They attribute it to their idols and so dishonour God.</n> plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.


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But since wee left off to burne incense to the Queene of heauen, and to powre out drinke offerings vnto her, we haue had scarcenesse of all things, and haue beene consumed by the sworde and by the famine.


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And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make for her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without <n>This teaches us what a great danger it is for the husbands to permit their wives anything of which they are not assured by God's word: for by it they take an opportunity to justify their doings and their husbands will give an account of it before God.</n> our husbands?


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Then said Ieremiah vnto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had giuen him that answere, saying,


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Did not the Lorde remember the incense, that yee burnt in the cities of Iudah, and in the streetes of Ierusalem, both you, and your fathers, your Kinges, and your princes, and the people of the land, and hath he not considered it?


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So that the Lord could no longer forbeare, because of the wickednes of your inuentions, and because of the abominations, which ye haue committed: therefore is your lande desolate and an astonishment, and a curse and without inhabitant, as appeareth this day.


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Because ye haue burnt incense and because ye haue sinned against the Lorde, and haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lorde, nor walked in his Lawe, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies, therefore this plague is come vpon you, as appeareth this day.


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Moreouer Ieremiah saide vnto all the people and to all the women, Heare the word of the Lord, all Iudah that are in the land of Egypt.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your <n>You have committed double evil in making wicked vows, and in performing the same.</n> hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.


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Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name <n>This declares a horrible plague toward idolaters, seeing that God will not vouchsafe to have his Name mentioned by such as have polluted it.</n> shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.


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Behold, I wil watch ouer them for euil and not for good, and all men of Iudah that are in the land of Egypt, shalbe consumed by the sword, and by the famine, vntill they be vtterly destroied.


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Yet a small number that escape the sword <n>We see therefore that God has a perpetual care over his, wherever they are scattered: for though they are but two or three, yet he will deliver them when he destroys his enemies.</n> shall return from the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.


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And this shal be a signe vnto you, saith the Lord, whe I visit you in this place, that ye may know that my words shal surely stand against you for euill.


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Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will <n>He shows the means by which they would be destroyed to assure them of the certainty of the plague and yet they remain still in their obstinacy till they perish: for Josephus writes that five years after the taking of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar the younger having overcome the Moabites and the Ammonites went against Egypt and slew the king and so brought these Jews and others into Babylon.</n> give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.


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The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to <n>Who was Jeremiah's disciple, and wrote his prophecies under him.</n> Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these <n>Of which read (Jer_36:9-10).</n> words in a book from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,


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Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I <n>Baruch moved with an inconsiderate zeal for Jeremiah's imprisonment, but chiefly for the destruction of the people and the temple makes this lamentation, as in (Psa_6:6).</n> fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.


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Thus shalt thou say to him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, [that] which I have built I will <n>Meaning that God could destroy this people, because he had planted them.</n> break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.


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And seekest <n>«Do you think to have honour and credit?» in which he shows his infirmity.</n> thou great things for thyself? seek [them] not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give to thee for <n>Read (Jer_21:9).</n> a prize in all places where thou goest.


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The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the <n>That is, nine nations which are around the land of Egypt.</n> Gentiles;


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Against Egypt, against the army of <n>Read (2Ki_23:29, 2Ki_24:7; 2Ch_35:20).</n> Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, who was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.


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<n>He warns the Egyptians to prepare themselves for war.</n>Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.


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Make readie the horses, and let the horsemen get vp, and stande vp with your sallets, fourbish the speares, and put on the brigandines.


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<n>The prophet had this vision of the Egyptians who would be put to flight by the Babylonians at Carchemish.</n>Why have I seen them dismayed [and] turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and have fled apace, and look not back: [for] fear [was] on all sides, saith the LORD.


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Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the <n>The Babylonians will discomfit them at the river Euphrates.</n> north by the river Euphrates.


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Who [is] this [that] cometh up as <n>He derides the boastings of the Egyptians, who thought by their riches and power to have overcome all the world, alluding to the Nile river, which at certain times overflows the country of Egypt.</n> a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?


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Egypt riseth vp like the flood, &amp; his waters are mooued like the riuers, and he sayth, I wil goe vp, and will couer the earth: I wil destroy the citie with them that dwell therein.


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Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; <n>For these nations took part with the Egyptians.</n> the Cushites and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle [and] bend the bow.


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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 satisfied and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath <n>He calls the slaughter of God's enemies a sacrifice, because it is a thing that pleases him, (Isa_34:6).</n> a sacrifice in the north country <n>That is, at Carchemish.</n> by the river Euphrates.


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Go up into Gilead, <n>For at Gilead there grew a most sovereign balm for wounds.</n> and take balm, O virgin, the <n>So called, because Egypt had not yet been overcome by the enemy.</n> daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many <n>He sows that no salve or medicine can prevail where God gives the wound.</n> medicines; [for] thou shalt not be cured.


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The nations haue heard of thy shame, and thy crie hath filled the lande: for the strong hath stumbled against the strong and they are fallen both together.


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The woorde that the Lord spake to Ieremiah the Prophet, howe Nebuchad-nezzar king of Babel shoulde come and smite the lande of Egypt.


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Publish in Egypt and declare in Migdol, and proclaime in Noph, and in Tahpanhes, &amp; say, Stand still, and prepare thee: for the sworde shall deuoure rounde about thee.


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He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our <n>As they who would repent that they helped the Egyptians.</n> own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.


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They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt [is but] a noise; he <n>He derides them who blame their overthrow on lack of counsel and policy, or to fortune and not observing of time: not considering that it is God's just judgment.</n> hath passed the time appointed.


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[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 <n>That is, that the Egyptians will be destroyed.</n> he come.


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O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, make thee geare to goe into captiuitie: for Noph shall be waste and desolate, without an inhabitant.


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Egypt [is like] a very <n>They have abundance of all things, and therefore are disobedient and proud.</n> fair heifer, [but] destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.


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Also her hired men <n>As in (Jer_46:9).</n> [are] in the midst of her like fatted bulls; for they also have turned back, [and] have fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity had come upon them, [and] the time of their judgment.


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Its voice shall go like a <n>They will be scarcely able to speak for fear of the Chaldeans.</n> serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against <n>Meaning Egypt.</n> her with axes, as hewers of wood.


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They shall cut down <n>That is, they will slay the great and mighty men of power.</n> her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the <n>That is, Nebuchadnezzar's army.</n> grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.


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The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded: she shall be deliuered into the handes of the people of the North.


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The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the <n>Some take the Hebrew word Amon for the kings name of No, that is, of Alexandria.</n> multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and [all] them that trust in him:


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And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as <n>Meaning, that after forty years Egypt would be restored, (Isa_19:23; Eze_29:13).</n> in the days of old, saith the LORD.


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<n>God comforts all his that were in captivity but especially the small Church of the Jews, of which were Jeremiah and Baruch, who remained among the Egyptians: for the Lord never forsakes his, (Isa_44:2; Jer_30:10).</n>But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make [him] afraid.


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Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct <n>{{See Jer_20:14}}</n> thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.


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The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote <n>Or Azzah, a city of the Philistines.</n> Gaza.


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Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise out of the <n>He means the army of the Chaldeans, (Isa_8:7,8).</n> north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is in it; the city, and them that dwell in it: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.


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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, <n>The great fear will take away their natural affection.</n> the fathers shall not look back to [their] children for feebleness of <n>Their heart will so fail them.</n> hands;


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Because of the day that cometh to lay waste all the Philistines, [and] to cut off from Tyre and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will lay waste the Philistines, the remnant of the country of <n>For the Caphtorims had destroyed in old time the Philistines, and dwelt in their land even to Gaza, (Deu_2:23).</n> Caphtor.


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<n>They who shaved their heads for sorrow and heaviness.</n>Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off [with] the remnant of their valley: how long wilt <n>As the heathen used in their mourning, which the Lord forbade his people to do, (Deu_14:1).</n> thou cut thyself?


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O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be or thou cease! turne againe into thy scaberd, rest and be still.


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How can it be <n>Meaning, that it is not profitable that the wicked should by any means escape or hinder the Lord when he will take vengeance.</n> quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.


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Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe to <n>These were cities of the Moabites, which Nebuchadnezzar took before he went to fight against Nebo King of Egypt.</n> Nebo! for it is laid waste: Kiriathaim is confounded [and] taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.


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[There shall be] no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; <n>Thus shall the Babylonians encourage one another.</n> come, and let us cut it off from [being] a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, <n>Read (Isa_25:10).</n> O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.


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For in the ascent of <n>Horonaim and Luhith were two places by which the Moabites would flee, (Isa_15:5).</n> Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.


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Flee, save your lives, and be like the <n>Hide yourselves in barren places, where the enemy will not pursue after you, (Jer_17:6).</n> bush in the wilderness.


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For because thou hast trusted in thy <n>That is, the idols which are the works your hands. Some read, in your possessions, for so the word may signify as in (1Sa_25:2).</n> works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and <n>Both your great idol and his maintainers will be led away captives so that they will then know that it is in vain to look for help at idols, (Isa_15:2).</n> Chemosh shall go forth into captivity [with] his priests and his princes together.


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And the destroyer shall come vpon all cities, and no citie shall escape: the valley also shall perish and the plaine shalbe destroyed as the Lord hath spoken.


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Giue wings vnto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shalbe desolate, without any to dwell therein.


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<n>He shows that God would punish the Chaldeans if they did not destroy the Egyptians, and that with a courage, and calls this executing of his vengeance against his enemies, his work though the Chaldeans sought another end, (Isa_10:11).</n>Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed [be] he that keepeth back his sword from blood.


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Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been <n>Has not been removed as the Jews have, but have lived at ease, and as a wine that feeds itself on his lees.</n> emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.


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Therefore beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will send vnto him such as shall carie him away, and shall emptie his vessels, and breake their bottels.


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And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of <n>As the calf of Bethel was not able to deliver the Israelites no more will Chemosh deliver the Moabites.</n> Bethel their confidence.


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Moab is destroyed, &amp; his cities burnt vp, &amp; his chose yong men are gone downe to slaughter, saith ye King, whose name is ye Lord of hostes.


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All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, <n>How are they destroyed that put their trust in their strength and riches?</n> How is the strong staff broken, [and] the beautiful rod!


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Thou daughter that doest inhabite Dibon, come downe from thy glory, and sit in thirst: for the destroyer of Moab shall come vpon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holdes.


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Thou that dwellest in Aroer, stand by the way, and beholde: aske him that fleeth and that escapeth, and say, What is done?


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<n>Thus they who flee will answer.</n>Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste,


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The <n>That is, his power and strength.</n> horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.


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Make ye him <n>He willed the Chaldeans to lay afflictions enough on them till they are like drunken men that fall down to their shame and are derided by all.</n> drunk: for he magnified [himself] against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.


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For was not Israel a derision to thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou hast spoken of him, thou didst <n>You rejoiced to hear of his misery, (Isa_16:6).</n> leap for joy.


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O ye that dwell in Moab, leaue the cities, and dwell in the rockes, and be like the doue, that maketh her nest in the sides of the holes mouth.


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We haue heard the pride of Moab (hee is exceeding proude) his stoutnesse, and his arrogancie, and his pride, and the hautinesse of his heart.


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I know his wrath, saith the LORD; <n>He will not execute his malice against his neighbours.</n> but [it shall] not [be] so; his lies shall not so effect [it].


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<n>Read (Isa_16:7).</n>Therefore will I wail for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; [my heart] shall mourn for the men of Kirheres.


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O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants have gone over the sea, they reach [even] to the sea <n>Which city was in the utmost border of Moab: and by this he signifies that the whole land would be destroyed and the people carried away.</n> of Jazer: the spoiler hath fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage.


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And ioye, and gladnesse is taken from the plentifull fielde, and from the land of Moab: and I haue caused wine to faile from the winepresse: none shall treade with shouting: their shouting shall be no shouting.


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From the cry of Heshbon [even] to Elealeh, [and even] to Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar [even] to Horonaim, [as] an <n>{{See Isa_15:5}}</n> heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.


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Moreouer, I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offered in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.


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Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like <n>Their custom was to play on flutes or instruments, heavy and grave tunes at burials and in the time of mourning, as in (Mat_9:23).</n> pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because the riches [that] he hath gotten have perished.


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For euery head shalbe balde, and euery beard plucked: vpon all the handes shall be cuttings, and vpon the loynes sackecloth.


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And mourning shall be vpon all the house toppes of Moab and in all the streetes thereof: for I haue broken Moab like a vessell wherein is no pleasure, sayeth the Lord.


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They shal howle, saying, How is he destroyed? howe hath Moab turned the backe with shame? so shall Moab be a derision, and a feare to all them about him.


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For thus saith the LORD; Behold, <n>That is, Nebuchadnezzar, as in (Jer_49:22).</n> he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.


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The cities are taken, and the strong holdes are wonne, and ye mightie mens hearts in Moab at that day shalbe as ye heart of a woman in trauaile.


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<n>He that escapes one danger will be taken by another, (Isa_24:17).</n>Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [shall be] upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.


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He that escapeth from the feare, shall fall in the pit, and he that getteth vp out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring vpon it, euen vpon Moab, the yeere of their visitation, sayeth the Lord.


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They that fled stood under the shadow <n>They fled there thinking to have comfort from the Amorites.</n> of Heshbon because of the force: but <n>The Amorites had destroyed the Moabites in times past, and now because of their power the Moabites will seek them for help.</n> a fire shall come out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.


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Woe be to thee, O Moab! the people of <n>Who vaunted themselves of their idol as though he could have defended them.</n> Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.


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Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the <n>That is, they will be restored by the Messiah.</n> latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far [is] the judgment of Moab.


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Concerning the <n>They were separated from the Moabites by the river Arnon, and after the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, they invaded the country of Gad.</n> Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why [then] doth their king <n>That is, of the Ammonites.</n> inherit Gad, and his people dwell in <n>Meaning, of the Israelites.</n> his cities?


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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in <n>Which was one of the chief cities of the Ammonites, as were Heshbon and Ai: there was also a city called Heshbon among the Moabites.</n> Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir to them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.


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Howle, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: crie ye daughters of Rabbah: girde you with sackecloth: mourne and runne to and fro by the hedges: for their King shall goe into captiuitie; and his Priestes, and his princes likewise.


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Why gloriest thou in the <n>In your plentiful country.</n> valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, [saying], Who shall come to me?


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Behold, I will bring <n>Signifying that power and riches cannot prevail when God will execute his judgments.</n> a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.


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And <n>In the time of Christ, when the Gentiles will be called.</n> afterward I will bring again the captives of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.


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Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in <n>Which was a city of Edom, called by the name of Teman Eliphaz's son, who came from Esau.</n> Teman? hath counsel perished from the prudent? hath their wisdom vanished?


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Flee ye, <n>The enemies that pretend to flee, will turn back and invade your land, and possess it.</n> turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time [that] I will punish him.


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If <n>Meaning that God would utterly destroy them and not spare one, though the grape gatherers leave some grapes, and thieves seek but till they have enough, (Oba_1:5).</n> grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.


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For I haue discouered Esau: I haue vncouered his secrets, and he shall not be able to hide himselfe: his seede is wasted, and his brethren and his neighbours, and there shall be none to say,


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Leave thy <n>The destruction will be so great that there will be none left to take care of the widows and the fatherless.</n> fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.


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For thus saith the LORD; <n>I have not spared my own people and how should I pity you?</n> Behold, they whose judgment [was] not to drink of the cup have assuredly drank; and [art] thou he [that] shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink [of it].


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For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that <n>Which was a chief city of Edom.</n> Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.


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I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent to the nations, [saying], Gather ye together, and come against <n>That is, Bozrah.</n> her, and rise up to the battle.


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Thy feare, and ye pride of thine heart hath deceiued thee, thou that dwellest in the cleftes of the rocke, and keepest the height of ye hil: though thou shouldest make thy nest as hie as the egle, I wil bring thee downe from thece, sayth the Lord.


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Also Edom shall be desolate: euery one that goeth by it, shall be astonished, and shal hisse at all the plagues thereof,


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As in the ouerthrowe of Sodom, and of Gomorah, and the places thereof neere about, saieth the Lord: no man shall dwell there, neither shall the sonnes of men remaine in it.


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Behold, <n>That is, Nebuchadnezzar after he has overcome Judah, which is meant by the swelling of Jordan, will come against mount Seir and Edom.</n> he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make <n>That is, the Israelites whom the Edomites kept as prisoners to hast away from there.</n> him run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that <n>The captain and governor of the army meaning Nebuchadnezzar.</n> shepherd that will stand before me?


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Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least <n>They will not be able to resist his petty captains.</n> of the flock shall draw them out: surely <n>To visit the enemy.</n> he shall make their habitations desolate with them.


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Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, <n>As (Jer_48:40) was said of Moab.</n> and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.


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Concerning <n>Which was the chief city of Syria, by which he means the whole country.</n> Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; [there is] sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.


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Damascus hath become feeble, [and] turneth herself to flee, <n>When she heard the sudden coming of the enemy.</n> and fear hath seized on [her]: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.


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How is the <n>He speaks this in the person of the king and of them of the country who will wonder to see Damascus the chief city destroyed.</n> city of praise not left, the city of my joy!


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Therefore her yong men shall fall in her streetes, and all her men of warre shall be cut off in that day, sayeth the Lord of hostes.


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And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of <n>Who was king of Syria, (1Ki_20:26) and had built these palaces which were still called the palaces of Benhadad.</n> Benhadad.


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Concerning <n>Meaning the Arabians, and their borders.</n> Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and lay waste the men of the east.


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Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their <n>Because they used to dwell in tents, he names the things that belong to it.</n> curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, Fear [is] on every side.


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Flee, go far off, <n>The enemies will dwell in your places.</n> dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.


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<n>He shows that they of Hazor will flee to the Arabians for comfort but that will not help them.</n>Arise, go up to the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, [which] dwell alone.


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And their camels shall be a bootie, and the multitude of their cattel a spoile, and I will scatter them into all windes, and to the vtmost corners, and I will bring their destruction from al the sides thereof, sayeth the Lord.


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And Hazor shal be a dwelling for dragons, and desolation for euer: there shall no man dwell there, nor the sonnes of men remaine in it.


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The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against <n>That is Persia, so called for Elam the son of Shem.</n> Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the <n>Because the Persians were good archers, he shows that the thing in which they put their trust would not profit them.</n> bow of Elam, the chief of their might.


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And vpon Elam I will bring the foure windes from the foure quarters of heauen, and will scatter them towardes all these windes, and there shall bee no nation, whither the fugitiues of Elam shall not come.


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For I will cause Elam to be afraied before their enemies, and before them that seeke their liues, and will bring vpon them a plague, euen the indignation of my wrath, saieth the Lord, &amp; I wil sende the sworde after them till I haue consumed them.


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And I will set my <n>I will place Nebuchadnezzar there, and in these prophecies Jeremiah speaks of those countries which would be subdued under the first of those four monarchies of which Daniel makes mention.</n> throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes, saith the LORD.


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But it shall come to pass <n>This may be referred to the empire of the Persians and Medes after the Chaldeans or to the time of Christ, as in (Jer_48:47).</n> in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captives of Elam, saith the LORD.


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The word that the Lord spake, concerning Babel, and cocerning the land of the Caldeans by the ministerie of Ieremiah the Prophet.


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Declare ye among the nations, and proclaim, and set up a standard; proclaim, [and] conceal not: say, <n>After God had used the Babylonian's service to punish other nations, this shows that their turn will come to be punished.</n> Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, <n>These were two of their chief idols.</n> Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.


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For out of the north <n>That is, the Medes and the Persians.</n> there cometh a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell in it: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.


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In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall <n>When Cyrus will take Babel.</n> come, they and the children of Judah together, going and <n>Read (Jer_31:9).</n> weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.


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They shal aske the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let vs cleaue to the Lorde in a perpetuall couenant that shall not be forgotten.


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My people have been lost sheep: their <n>Their governors and ministers by their examples have provoked them to idolatry.</n> shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away [on] the mountains: they have gone from <n>They have committed idolatry in every place.</n> mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.


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All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, <n>For the Lord dwelt among them in his temple and would have maintained them by his justice against their enemies.</n> the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.


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<n>When God will deliver you by Cyrus.</n>Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth from the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats <n>That is, most forward and without fear.</n> before the flocks.


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For loe, I will raise, and cause to come vp against Babel a multitude of mightie natios from the North countrey, and they shall set themselues in aray against her, whereby shee shall be taken: their arrowes shall be as of a strong man, which is expert, for none shall returne in vaine.


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And Chaldea shall be a prey: all that spoil her <n>Shall be made rich by it.</n> shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.


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Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of my heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, <n>For joy of the victory that you had against my people.</n> and bellow as bulls;


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Therefore your mother shall bee sore confounded, and she that bare you, shall be ashamed: beholde, the vttermost of the nations shalbe a desert, a drie land, and a wildernes.


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Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, <n>In sign of contempt and disdain.</n> and hiss at all her plagues.


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<n>He speaks to the enemies the Medes and Persians.</n>Put yourselves in array against Babylon on every side: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath <n>Though the Lord called the Babylonians his servants and their work his work in punishing his people, yet because they did it not to glorify God, but for their own malice and to profit themselves, it is here called sin.</n> sinned against the LORD.


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Crie against her round about: she hath giuen her hand: her foundations are fallen, and her walles are destroyed: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance vpon her: as she hath done, doe vnto her.


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Cut off the <n>Destroy her so that no one is left to work the ground or to take the fruit of it.</n> sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.


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Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of <n>Meaning Tiglath-pilesar who carried away the ten tribes.</n> Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his <n>He carried away the rest, that is Judah and Benjamin.</n> bones.


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Therefore thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, Behold, I wil visit ye King of Babel, and his land, as I haue visited the King of Asshur.


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And I will bring Israel againe to his habitation: hee shall feede on Carmel and Bashan, and his soule shall be satisfied vpon the mount Ephraim and Gilead.


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In those daies, and at that time, sayeth the Lorde, the iniquitie of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none: and the sinnes of Iudah, and they shall not be founde: for I will be mercifull vnto them, whome I reserue.


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Go up against the land of <n>That is, Babylon: thus the Lord raised up Cyrus.</n> Merathaim, [even] against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.


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How is the <n>Nebuchadnezzar, who had smitten down all the princes and people of the world.</n> hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!


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I haue snared thee, and thou art taken, O Babel, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striuen against the Lorde.


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The Lord hath opened his treasure, &amp; hath brought foorth the weapons of his wrath: for this is the woorke of the Lorde God of hostes in the lande of the Caldeans.


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Come against her from the vtmost border: open her store houses: treade on her as on sheaues, and destroy her vtterly: let nothing of her be left.


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Slay all her <n>Her princes and mighty men.</n> bulls; let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their judgment.


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The voice of them that <n>Of the Jews who would be delivered by Cyrus.</n> flee and escape from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.


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Call vp the archers against Babel: al ye that bend the bow, besiege it rounde about: let none thereof escape: recompence her according to her worke, &amp; according to all that she hath done, doe vnto her: for she hath bene proud against the Lord, euen against the holy one of Israel.


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Therefore shall her yong men fall in the streetes, and al her men of warre shalbe destroied in that day, sayeth the Lord.


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Beholde, I come vnto thee, O proude man, saith the Lord God of hostes: for thy day is come, euen the time that I will visite thee.


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And the proude shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him vp: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, &amp; it shall deuoure all round about him.


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Thus saieth the Lord of hosts, The children of Israel, and the children of Iudah were oppressed together: and all that tooke them captiues, held them, and would not let them goe.


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Their Redeemer [is] strong; the LORD of hosts [is] his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, <n>He shows that when God executes his judgments against his enemies, that his Church will then have rest.</n> and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.


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A sworde is vpon the Caldeans, sayeth the Lord, and vpon the inhabitants of Babel, and vpon her princes, and vpon her wise men.


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A sworde is vpon the soothsaiers, and they shall dote: a sword is vpon her strong men, &amp; they shalbe afraide.


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A sworde is vpon their horses &amp; vpon their charets, and vpon all the multitude that are in the middes of her, and they shall be like women: a sworde is vpon her treasures, and they shall be spoyled.


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A <n>For Cyrus cut the river Euphrates and divided the course of it into many streams, so that it might be passed over as though there had been no water: which he did by the counsel of two of Belshazzar's captains, who conspired against their king, because he had gelded one of them in spite and slain the son of the other.</n> drought [is] upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it [is] the land of graven images, and they are mad over [their] idols.


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Therefore the <n>Read (Isa_13:21).</n> wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the isles shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell in it: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.


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As God destroied Sodom and Gomorah with the places thereof neere about, sayeth the Lord: so shal no man dwell theere, neither shal the sonne of man remaine therein.


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Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from <n>Meaning, that the Persians would gather their army from many nations.</n> the ends of the earth.


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They shall holde the bowe and the buckeler: they are cruell and vnmercifull: their voyce shall roare like the sea, and they shall ride vpon horses, and be put in aray like men to the battell against thee, O daughter of Babel.


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The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands <n>Which is meant of Belshazzar, (Dan_5:6).</n> became feeble: anguish took hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.


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Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan to the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that <n>{{See Jer_49:19}}</n> shepherd that will stand before me?


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Therefore heare the counsell of the Lorde that hee hath deuised against Babel, and his purpose that hee hath conceiued against the lande of the Caldeans: surely the least of the flocke shall drawe them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.


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Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise against me, a destroying <n>The Medes and Persians who will destroy them as the wind does the chaff.</n> wind;


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And wil send vnto Babel fanners that shal fanne her, &amp; shal empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shalbe against her on euery side.


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Also to the bender that bendeth his bowe, and to him that lifteth himselfe vp in his brigandine, will I say, Spare not her yong men, but destroy all her hoste.


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Thus the slaine shal fall in the lande of the Caldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streetes.


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For Israel [hath] not [been] <n>Though they were forsaken for a time, yet they were not utterly cast off as though their husbands were dead.</n> forsaken, nor Judah by his God, by the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.


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<n>He shows that there remains nothing for them that abide in Babylon but destruction, (Jer_17:6, Jer_48:6).</n>Flee from the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this [is] the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render to her a recompence.


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Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the <n>By whom the Lord poured out the drink of his vengeance, to whom it pleased him.</n> LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are <n>For the great afflictions that they have felt by the Babylonians.</n> mad.


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Babel is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howle for her, bring balme for her sore, if she may be healed.


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We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let <n>Thus the people of God exhort one another to go to Zion and praise God.</n> us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth to heaven, and is lifted [even] to the skies.


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The LORD hath brought forth our <n>In approving our cause and punishing our enemies.</n> righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.


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Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his purpose [is] against Babylon, to destroy it; because it [is] the vengeance of the LORD, the <n>For the wrong done to his people and to his temple, (Jer_50:28).</n> vengeance of his temple.


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Set vp the standart vpon the walles of Babel, make the watch strong: set vp the watchmen: prepare the skoutes: for the Lord hath both deuised, and done that which he spake against the inhabitantes of Babel.


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O thou that dwellest upon many <n>For the land of Chaldea was full of rivers which ran into the Euphrates.</n> waters, abundant in treasures, thy end is come, [and] the measure of thy covetousness.


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The Lord of hostes hath sworne by him selfe, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers, and they shall cry and shoute against thee.


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He hath made the earth by his power, &amp; established the world by his wisedome, and hath stretched out the heauen by his discretion.


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Hee giueth by his voyce the multitude of waters in the heauen, and he causeth the cloudes to ascend from the endes of the earth: he turneth lightnings to raine, and bringeth forth the winde out of his treasures.


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Every man is senseless by [his] <n>(Jer_10:14).</n> knowledge; every goldsmith is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.


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They [are] vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their <n>When God will execute his vengeance.</n> judgment they shall perish.


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The <n>That is, the true God of Israel is not like these idols: for he can help when all things are desperate.</n> portion of Jacob [is] not like them; for he [is] the one who formed of all things: and [Israel is] the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts [is] his name.


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Thou [art] my <n>He means the Medes and Persians, as before he called the Babylonians his hammer, (Jer_50:23).</n> battle axe [and] weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;


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And by thee wil I breake horse and horseman, and by thee will I breake the charet &amp; him that rideth therein.


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By thee also will I breake man &amp; woman, and by thee wil I breake olde &amp; yong, &amp; by thee wil I breake the yong man and the mayde.


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I wil also breake by thee the shepheard &amp; his flocke, and by thee will I breake the husband man &amp; his yoke of oxen, &amp; by thee will I breake the dukes and princes.


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And I will render vnto Babel, and to all the inhabitants of the Caldeans all their euil, that they haue done in Zion, euen in your sight, sayth the Lorde.


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Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying <n>Not that Babylon stood on a mountain but because it was strong and seemed invincible.</n> mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the <n>From your strongholds and fortresses.</n> rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.


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They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for euer, sayth the Lord.


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Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of <n>By these three nations he means Armenia the higher, Armenia the lower and Scythia; for Cyrus had gathered an army of various nations.</n> Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.


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Prepare against her the nations with the Kings of the Medes, the dukes thereof, and the princes thereof, &amp; all the land of his dominion.


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And the land shall tremble and sorow: for the deuise of the Lorde shalbe performed against Babel, to make the lande of Babel waste without an inhabitant.


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The strong men of Babel haue ceased to fight: they haue remayned in their holdes: their strength hath fayled, and they were like women: they haue burnt her dwelling places, and her barres are broken.


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One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at <n>By turning the course of the river one side was made open and the reeds that grew in the water were destroyed which Cyrus did by the counsel of Gobria and Gabatha Belshazzar's captains.</n> [one] end,


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For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshingfloor, [it is] time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest <n>When she will be cut up and threshed.</n> shall come.


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Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath <n>This is spoken in the person of the Jews bewailing their state and the cruelty of the Babylonians.</n> devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicacies, he hath cast me out.


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The spoyle of me, and that which was left of me, is brought vnto Babel, shall the inhabitant of Zion say: and my blood vnto the inhabitantes of Caldea, shal Ierusalem say.


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Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy <n>Thus the Lord esteemed the injury done to his Church as done to himself because their cause is his.</n> cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.


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And Babel shall be as heapes, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, &amp; an hissing, without an inhabitant.


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In their <n>When they are inflamed with surfeiting and drinking, I will feast with them, alluding to Belshazzar's banquet, (Dan_5:2).</n> heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunk, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.


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How is <n>Meaning Babel as in (Jer_25:26).</n> Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an horror among the nations!


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The <n>The great army of the Medes and Persians.</n> sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.


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Her cities are desolate: the land is dry and a wildernes, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth the sonne of man passe thereby.


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And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which <n>That is, his gifts and presents which he had received as part of the spoil of other nations, and which the idolaters brought to him from all countries.</n> he hath swallowed: and the nations shall not flow together any more to him: even the wall of Babylon shall fall.


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My people, go out of the middes of her, &amp; deliuer yee euery man his soule from the fierce wrath of the Lord,


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And lest your heart should faint, and ye should fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come [one] <n>Meaning that Babylon would not be destroyed all at once but little by little would be brought to nothing for the first year came the tidings, the next year the siege and in the third year it was taken: yet this is not that horrible destruction which the prophets threatened in many places: for that was after this when they rebelled and Darius over came them by the policy of Zopyrus, and hanged three thousand gentlemen beside the common people.</n> year, and after that in [another] year [shall come] a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.


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Therefore beholde, the dayes come, that I will visite the images of Babel, &amp; the whole land shalbe confounded, and all her slayne shal fall in the middes of her.


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Then the heaven and <n>All creatures in heaven and earth will rejoice and praise God for the destruction of Babylon the great enemy of his Church.</n> the earth, and all that [is] in them, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the LORD.


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As Babylon [hath caused] the <n>Babylon not only destroyed Israel, but many other nations.</n> slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.


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Ye that <n>Yet that are now captives in Babylon.</n> have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.


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We are <n>He shows how they would remember Jerusalem by lamenting the miserable affliction of it.</n> confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for foreigners are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.


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Wherefore behold, the dayes come, sayth the Lord, that I will visite her grauen images, and through all her land the wounded shal grone.


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Though Babylon should mount up to <n>For the walls were two hundred feet high.</n> heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, [yet] from me shall spoilers come to her, saith the LORD.


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Because the Lorde hath layde Babel waste and destroyed from her the great voyce, and her waues shall roare like great waters, and a sounde was made by their noyse:


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Because the destroyer is come vpon her, euen vpon Babel, and her strong men are taken, their bowes are broken: for the Lorde God that recompenceth, shal surely recompence.


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And I will <n>I will so astonish them by affliction that they will not know which way to turn themselves.</n> make drunk her princes, and her wise [men], her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts.


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Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The <n>The thickness of the wall was fifty feet.</n> broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the people in the fire, and they shall be weary.


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The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the <n>This was not in the time of his captivity but seven years before, when he went either to congratulate Nebuchadnezzar or to intreat of some matters.</n> fourth year of his reign. And [this] Seraiah [was] a quiet prince.


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So Ieremiah wrote in a booke all the euill that should come vpo Babel: euen al these things, that are written against Babel.


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And Ieremiah sayd to Sheraiah, Whe thou commest vnto Babel, and shalt see, &amp; shalt reade all these wordes,


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Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to destroy it, that none should remaine in it, neither man nor beast, but that it should be desolate for euer.


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And it shall be, when thou hast finished reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a <n>John in his Revelation alludes to this place when he says that the angel took a millstone and cast it into the sea: signifying by it the destruction of Babylon, (Rev_18:21).</n> stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:


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And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall <n>They will not be able to resist but will labour in vain.</n> be weary. Thus far [are] the words of Jeremiah.


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Zedekiah was one and twentie yeere olde when he began to reigne, and he reigned eleuen yeeres in Ierusalem, &amp; his mothers name was Hamutal, the daughter of Ieremiah of Libnah.


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<n>So the Lord punished sin by sin and gave him up to his rebellious heart, till he had brought the enemy on him to lead him away and his people.</n>For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.


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But in the ninth yeere of his reigne, in the tenth moneth the tenth day of the moneth came Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, he and all his hoste against Ierusalem, and pitched against it, &amp; buylt fortes against it round about.


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Now in the fourth moneth, the ninth day of the moneth, the famine was sore in ye citie, so that there was no more bread for ye people of the land.


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Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth from the city by night by the <n>Read (Jer_39:4).</n> way of the gate between the two walls, which [was] by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans [were] by the city on all sides:) and they went by the way of the plain.


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But the army of the Caldeans pursued after the king, and tooke Zedekiah in the desert of Iericho, and all his host was scattered from him.


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Then they took the king, and carried him to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; <n>Read (2Ki_25:6; Jer_39:5).</n> where he gave judgment upon him.


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And the king of Babel slewe the sonnes of Zedekiah, before his eyes he slew also al ye princes of Iudah in Riblah.


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Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babel bound him in chaines, and caried him to Babel, and put him in pryson till the day of his death.


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Now in the fifth month, in the <n>In (2Ki_25:8) is it called the seventh day, because the fire began then and so continued to the tenth.</n> tenth [day] of the month, which [was] the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, [who] <n>That is, who was his servant, as in (2Ki_25:8).</n> served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,


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And burnt the House of the Lord, and the Kings house, and all the houses of Ierusalem, and all the great houses burnt he with fire.


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And al the armie of the Caldeans that were with the chiefe steward, brake downe all ye walles of Ierusalem round about.


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Then Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward caried away captiue certaine of the poore of the people, and the residue of the people that remayned in the citie, and those that were fled, and fallen to the king of Babel, with the rest of the multitude.


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But Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward left certaine of the poore of the lande, to dresse the vines, and to till the land.


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Also the <n>Of these pillars read (1Ki_7:15).</n> pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that [was] in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.


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The caldrons also, and the <n>Which were also made of brass, as in (1Ki_7:45).</n> shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, they took away.


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And the bowles, and the ashpannes, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlestickes, and the incense dishes, and the cuppes, and all that was of golde, and that was of siluer, tooke the chiefe steward away,


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The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that [were] under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without <n>It was so much in quantity.</n> weight.


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And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteene cubites, and a threede of twelue cubites did compasse it, and the thickenes thereof was foure fingers: it was holowe.


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And a chapiter of brasse was vpon it, and the height of one chapiter was fiue cubites with networke, and pomegranates vpon the chapiters round about, all of brasse: the seconde pillar also, and the pomegranates were like vnto these.


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And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; [and] all the pomegranates upon the network [were] an <n>But because of the roundness, no more could be seen but ninety-six.</n> hundred on all sides.


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And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah <n>Which served in the high priests stead, if he had any necessary impediment.</n> the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:


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He took also out of the city an eunuch, who had the charge of the men of war; and <n>In (2Ki_25:19) is read but of five: those were the most excellent and the other two, which were not so noble are not there mentioned with them.</n> seven men of them that were near the king's person, who were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.


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And the king of Babel smote them, and slewe them in Riblah, in the lande of Hamath: thus Iudah was caried away captiue out of his owne land.


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This [is] the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the <n>Which was the latter end of the seventh year of his reign and the beginning of the eighth.</n> seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:


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In the <n>To the latter end also of that year, and the beginning of the nineteenth.</n> eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:


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In the three and twentieth yeere of Nebuchad-nezzar, Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde caried away captiue of the Iewes seuen hundreth fourtie and fiue persons: all the persons were foure thousand and sixe hundreth.


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And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the [first] year of his reign <n>That is, restored him to liberty and honour.</n> lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him out of prison,


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And spake kindly vnto him, and set his throne aboue the throne of the Kings, that were with him in Babel,


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And changed his prison <n>And gave him princely apparel.</n> garments: and he continually ate bread before him all the days of his life.


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And [for] his food, there was a <n>That is he had allowance in the court, and thus at length he had rest and quietness because he obeyed Jeremiah the Prophet, while the others were cruelly ordered that would not obey him.</n> continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.


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How doth <n>The prophet wonders at the great judgment of God, seeing Jerusalem, which was so strong and so full of people, to be now destroyed and desolate.</n> the city sit desolate, [that was] full of people! [how] is she become as a widow! she [that was] great among the nations, <n>Who had chief rule over many provinces and countries.</n> [and] princess among the provinces, [how] is she become a slave!


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She weepeth bitterly in the <n>So that she takes no rest.</n> night, and her tears [are] on her cheeks: among all her <n>Meaning the Egyptians and Assyrians who promised help.</n> lovers she hath none to comfort [her]: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.


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Judah is gone into captivity because <n>For her cruelty toward the poor and oppression of servants, (Jer_34:11).</n> of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her in the midst of distress.


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The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come <n>As they used to come up with mirth and joy, (Psa_42:4).</n> to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she [is] in bitterness.


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Her adversaries <n>That is, have rule over her, (Deu_28:41).</n> are the head, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.


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And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty hath departed: her princes are become <n>As men pined away with sorrow and that have no courage.</n> like harts [that] find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.


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Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people <n>In her misery she considered the great benefits and commodities that she had lost.</n> fell into the hand of the enemy, and none helped her: the adversaries saw her, [and] mocked at her <n>At her religion and serving of God, which was the greatest grief to the godly.</n> sabbaths.


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Ierusalem hath grieuously sinned, therefore shee is in derision: all that honoured her, despise her, because they haue seene her filthinesse: yea, she sigheth and turneth backeward.


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<n>She is not ashamed of her sin, although it is revealed.</n>Her filthiness [is] in her skirts; she remembereth not her latter end; therefore she hath been wonderfully abased: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified [himself].


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The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen [that] the nations entered into her sanctuary, whom <n>God forbids the Ammonites and Moabites to enter into the congregation of the Lord, and under them he comprehends all enemies, (Deu_23:3).</n> thou didst command [that] they should not enter into thy congregation.


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All her people sigh and seeke their bread: they haue giuen their pleasant thinges for meate to refresh the soule: see, O Lorde, and consider: for I am become vile.


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[Is it] nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there is any <n>Thus Jerusalem laments moving others to pity her and to learn by her example.</n> sorrow like my sorrow, which hath fallen upon me, with which the LORD hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.


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From above hath <n>This declares that we should acknowledge God to be the author of all our afflictions to the intent that we might seek him for remedy.</n> he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate [and] faint all the day.


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The <n>My heavy sins are continually before his eyes as he that ties a thing to his hand for a reminder.</n> yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are knit together, [and] come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into [their] hands, [from whom] I am not able to rise.


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The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty [men] in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, [as] in a <n>He has trodden them underfoot as they tread grapes in the winepress.</n> winepress.


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For these things I weepe: mine eye, euen mine eye casteth out water, because the comforter that should refresh my soule, is farre from me: my children are desolate, because the enemie preuailed.


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Zion spreadeth forth her hands, [and there is] none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, [that] his adversaries [should be] around him: Jerusalem is <n>Who because of her pollution was separate from her husband, (Lev_15:19) and was abhorred for the time.</n> as a menstruous woman among them.


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The Lorde is righteous: for I haue rebelled against his commandement: heare, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorowe: my virgins and my yong men are gone into captiuitie.


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I called for my lovers, [but] they deceived me: my priests and my elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they <n>That is, they died for hunger.</n> sought their food to relieve their souls.


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Behold, O Lorde, howe I am troubled: my bowels swell: mine heart is turned within me, for I am ful of heauinesse: the sword spoyleth abroad, as death doeth at home.


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They haue heard that I mourne, but there is none to comfort mee: all mine enemies haue heard of my trouble, and are glad, that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day, that thou hast pronounced, and they shalbe like vnto me.


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<n>Of desiring vengeance against the enemy, {{See Jer_11:20}} and {{See Jer_18:21}}</n>Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do to them, as thou hast done to me for all my transgressions: for my sighs [are] many, and my heart [is] faint.


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How hath the Lord <n>That is, brought her from prosperity to adversity.</n> covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, [and] cast down from <n>Has given her a most sore fall.</n> heaven to the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his <n>Alluding to the temple, or to the ark of the covenant, which was called the footstool of the Lord, because they would not set their minds so low, but lift up their heart toward the heavens.</n> footstool in the day of his anger!


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The Lord hath destroyed al the habitations of Iaakob, &amp; not spared: he hath throwen downe in his wrath ye strong holds of the daughter of Iudah: he hath cast the downe to ye ground: he hath polluted the kingdome and the princes thereof.


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He hath cut off in [his] fierce anger all the <n>Meaning the glory and strength, as in (1Sa_2:1).</n> horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his <n>That is, his comfort which he was wont to send us, when our enemies oppressed us.</n> right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, [which] devoureth on every side.


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He <n>Showing that there is no remedy but destruction where God is the enemy.</n> hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all [that were] pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.


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The Lord was as an enemie: he hath deuoured Israel, and consumed all his palaces: hee hath destroyed his strong holdes, and hath increased in the daughter of Iudah lamentation and mourning.


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For hee hath destroyed his Tabernacle, as a garden, hee hath destroyed his Congregation: the Lorde hath caused the feastes and Sabbathes to bee forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his wrath the King and the Priest.


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The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a <n>As the people were accustomed to praising God to the solemn feasts with a loud voice, so now the enemies blaspheme him with shouting and cry.</n> noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast.


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The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart <n>This is a figurative speech as that was, when he said the ways lamented, (Lam_1:4) meaning that this sorrow was so great that the insensible things had their part of it.</n> and the wall to lament; they languished together.


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Her gates are sunke to the grounde: he hath destroyed and broken her barres: her King and her princes are among the Gentiles: the Lawe is no more, neither can her Prophets receiue any vision from the Lord.


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The Elders of the daughter of Zion sit vpon the grounde, and keepe silence: they haue cast vp dust vpon their heades: they haue girded them selues with sackecloth: the virgines of Ierusalem hang downe their heades to the ground.


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Mine eyes doe saile with teares: my bowels swell: my liuer is powred vpon the earth, for the destructio of the daughter of my people, because the children and sucklings swoone in the streetes of the citie.


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They haue sayd to their mothers, Where is bread and drinke? when they swooned as the wounded in the streetes of the citie, and whe they gaue vp the ghost in their mothers bosome.


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<n>Meaning that her calamity was so evident that it needed no witnesses.</n>What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach [is] great like the sea: who can heal thee?


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Thy prophets have <n>Because the false prophets called themselves seers, as the others were called, therefore he shows that they saw amiss because they did not reprove the people's faults, but flattered them in their sins, which was the cause of their destruction.</n> seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not revealed thy iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.


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All that passe by the way, clap their hands at thee: they hisse and wagge their head vpon the daughter Ierusalem, saying, Is this the citie that men call, The perfection of beautie, and the ioye of the whole earth?


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All thine enemies haue opened their mouth against thee: they hisse and gnashe the teeth, saying, Let vs deuoure it: certainely this is the day that we looked for: we haue founde and seene it.


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The Lorde hath done that which he had purposed: he hath fulfilled his worde that he had determined of old time: he hath throwen downe, and not spared: hee hath caused thine enemie to reioyce ouer thee, and set vp the horne of thine aduersaries.


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Their heart cryed vnto the Lord, O wall of the daughter Zion, let teares runne downe like a riuer, day and night: take thee no rest, neither let the apple of thine eye cease.


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Arise, cry in the night: in the beginning of the watches powre out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift vp thine handes towarde him for the life of thy yong children, that faint for hunger in the corners of all the streetes.


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Beholde, O Lord, and consider to whome thou hast done thus: shall the women eate their fruite, and children of a spanne long? shall the Priest and the Prophet be slaine in the Sanctuarie of the Lord?


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The yong and the olde lie on the ground in the streetes: my virgins and my yong men are fallen by the sworde: thou hast slaine them in the day of thy wrath: thou hast killed and not spared.


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Thou hast called as in a solemne daye my terrours rounde about, so that in the day of the Lordes wrath none escaped nor remained: those that I haue nourished and brought vp, hath mine enemie consumed.


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I [am] the man [that] hath seen <n>The prophet complains of the punishments and afflictions that he endured by the false prophets and hypocrites when he declared the destruction of Jerusalem, as in (Jer_20:1-2).</n> affliction by the rod of his wrath.


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He hath <n>He speaks this as one that felt God's heavy judgment, which he greatly feared, and therefore sets them out with this diversity of words.</n> built against me, and surrounded [me] with gall and labour.


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Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my <n>This is a great temptation for the godly when they do not see the fruit of their prayers and causes them to think that they are not heard, which thing God uses so that they might pray more earnestly and often.</n> prayer.


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He hath <n>And keeps me in hold as a prisoner.</n> inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.


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<n>He has no pity on me.</n>He [was] to me [as] a bear lying in wait, [and as] a lion in secret places.


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He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunk with <n>With great anguish and sorrow he has made me lose my sense.</n> wormwood.


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And I said, My strength and my <n>Thus with pain he was driven to and fro between hope and despair, as the godly often are, yet in the end the spirit gets the victory.</n> hope hath perished from the LORD:


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My soul hath [them] still in remembrance, and is humbled <n>He shows that God thus uses to exercise his, to the intent that by this they may know themselves, and feel his mercies.</n> in me.


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[It is of] the LORD'S <n>Considering the wickedness of man it is a marvel that any remains alive: but only that God for his own mercies sake and for his promise will ever have his Church remain, though they are never so few in number, (Isa_1:9).</n> mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.


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The LORD [is] my <n>The godly put their whole confidence in God, and therefore look for no other inheritance, as (Psa_16:5).</n> portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.


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[It is] good for a man that he should bear the yoke in his <n>He shows that we can never begin too soon to be exercised under the cross, that when the afflictions grow greater, our patience also by experience may be stronger.</n> youth.


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He sitteth alone <n>He murmurs not against God, but is patient.</n> and keepeth silence, because he hath borne [it] upon him.


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He putteth his <n>He humbles himself as they who fall down with their face to the ground, and so with patience waits for comfort.</n> mouth in the dust; if there may be hope.


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But though he sende affliction, yet will he haue compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.


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For he doth not <n>He takes no pleasure in it, but does it of necessity for our amendment, when he permits the wicked to oppress the poor.</n> afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.


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Who [is] he [that] saith, and it cometh to pass, [when] the Lord <n>He shows that nothing is done without God's providence.</n> commandeth [it] not?


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Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not <n>That is, adversity and prosperity, (Amo_3:6).</n> evil and good?


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Let us lift up <n>That is, both hearts and hands: for else to lift up the hands is but hypocrisy.</n> our heart with [our] hands to God in the heavens.


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My eye <n>I am overcome with sore weeping for all my people.</n> affecteth my heart because of all the daughters of my city.


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They have cut off my life <n>Read (Jer_37:16) how he was in the miry dungeon.</n> in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.


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O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my <n>Meaning, the reason his life was in danger.</n> soul; thou hast redeemed my life.


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How is the <n>By the gold he means the princes, as by the stones he understands the priests.</n> gold become dim! [how] is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.


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The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen <n>Which are of small value and have no honour.</n> pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!


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Even the sea monsters <n>Though the dragons are cruel, yet they pity their young, and nourish them, which Jerusalem does not do.</n> draw out the breast, they nurse their young ones: the daughter of my people [is become] cruel, like the <n>The women forsake their children as the ostrich does her eggs, (Job_39:17).</n> ostriches in the wilderness.


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The tongue of the sucking childe cleaueth to the roofe of his mouth for thirst: the yong children aske bread, but no man breaketh it vnto them.


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They that did feede delicately, perish in the streetes: they that were brought vp in skarlet, embrace the dongue.


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For the iniquitie of the daughter of my people is become greater then the sinne of Sodom, that was destroyed as in a moment, &amp; none pitched campes against her.


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Her Nazarites were purer then the snowe, &amp; whiter then ye milke: they were more ruddie in bodie, then the redde precious stones; they were like polished saphir.


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Their <n>They who were before most in God's favour are now in greatest abomination to him.</n> visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.


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[They that are] slain with the sword are better than [they that are] slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for [lack of] the <n>For lack of food they pine away and consume.</n> fruits of the field.


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The hands of the pitifull women haue sodden their owne children, which were their meate in the destruction of the daughter of my people.


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The Lord hath accomplished his indignation: he hath powred out his fierce wrath, he hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath deuoured the foundations thereof.


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The Kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world would not haue beleeued that the aduersarie and the enemie should haue entred into the gates of Ierusalem:


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For the sins of her prophets, [and] the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of <n>He means that these things are come to pass therefore, contrary to all men's expectations.</n> her,


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They have wandered [as] blind [men] <n>Some refer this to the blind men who as they went, stumbled on the blood, of which the city was full.</n> in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that <n>Meaning the heathen who came to destroy them could not abide them.</n> men could not touch their garments.


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But they cried vnto them, Depart, ye polluted, depart, depart, touch not: therefore they fled away, and wandered: they haue sayd among the heathen, They shal no more dwell there.


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The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no longer regard them: <n>That is, the enemies.</n> they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.


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As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for <n>He shows two principal causes for their destruction: their cruelty and their vain confidence in man: for they trusted in the help of the Egyptians.</n> a nation [that] could not save [us].


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They hunt our steppes that we cannot goe in our streetes: our ende is neere, our dayes are fulfilled, for our ende is come.


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Our persecuters are swifter then the egles of the heauen: they pursued vs vpon the mountaines, and layed waite for vs in the wildernes.


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The <n>Our king Josiah, in whom stood our hope of God's favour and on whom depended our state and life was slain, whom he calls anointed, because he was a figure of Christ.</n> breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.


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Rejoice and be glad, <n>This is spoken by derision.</n> O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through to thee: thou shalt be drunk, and shalt make thyself naked.


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The punishment of thy iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he <n>He comforts the Church because after seventy years their sorrows will have an end while the wicked would be tormented for ever.</n> will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thy iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will disclose thy sins.


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Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: <n>This prayer as is thought, was made when some of the people were carried away captive, others such as the poorest remained, and some went into Egypt and other places for comfort, though it seems that the prophet foreseeing their miseries to come, thus prayed.</n> consider, and behold our reproach.


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We have drank our <n>Meaning their extreme servitude and bondage.</n> water for money; our wood is sold to us.


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We have given the <n>We are joined in league and amity with them, or have submitted ourselves to them.</n> hand [to] the Egyptians, [and to] the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.


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Our fathers have sinned, [and are] not; and we have borne <n>As our fathers have been punished for their sins: so we that are guilty of the same sins are punished.</n> their iniquities.


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We procured our bread with [the peril of] our lives because of the sword <n>Because of the enemy that came from the wilderness and would not suffer us to go and seek our necessary food.</n> of the wilderness.


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Princes were hung up by <n>That is, by the enemies hand.</n> their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.


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They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under <n>Their slavery was so great, that they were not able to abide it.</n> the wood.


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The elders have ceased from the <n>There were no more laws nor form of commonwealth.</n> gate, the young men from their music.


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Thou, O LORD, remainest for <n>And therefore your covenant and mercies can never fail.</n> ever; thy throne from generation to generation.


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<n>By which is declared that it is not in man's power to turn to God, but is only his work to convert us, and thus God works in us before we can turn to him, (Jer_31:18).</n>Turn thou us to thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.


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Now it came to pass in the <n>After that the book of the Law as found, which was the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, so that twenty-five years after this book was found, Jeconiah was led away captive with Ezekiel and many of the people, who the first year later saw these visions.</n> thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of <n>Which was a part of Euphrates so called.</n> Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of <n>That is, notable and excellent visions, so that it might be known, it was no natural dream but came from God.</n> God. <n>The Argument - After Jehoiachin by the counsel of Jeremiah and Ezekiel had yielded himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and so went into captivity with his mother and various of his princes and of the people, some began to repent and murmur that they had obeyed the prophet's counsel, as though the things which they had prophesied would not come to pass, and therefore their estate would still be miserable under the Chaldeans. By reason of which he confirms his former prophecies, declaring by new visions and revelations shown to him, that the city would most certainly be destroyed, and the people grievously tormented by God's plagues, in so much that they who remained would be brought into cruel bondage. Lest the godly despair in these great troubles, he assures them that God will deliver his church at his appointed time and also destroy their enemies, who either afflicted them, or rejoiced in their miseries. The effect of the one and the other would be chiefly performed under Christ, of whom in this book are many notable promises, and in whom the glory of the new temple would perfectly be restored. He prophesied these things in Chaldea, at the same time that Jeremiah prophesied in Judah, and there began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity.</n>


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The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the <n>That is, the spirit of prophecy, as in (Eze_3:22, Eze_37:1).</n> hand of the LORD was there upon him.


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And I looked, and, behold, a <n>By this diversity of words he signifies the fearful judgment of God and the great afflictions that would come on Jerusalem.</n> whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and from the midst of it as the colour of amber, from the midst of the fire.


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Also from the midst of it [came] the likeness of <n>Which were the four Cherubims that represented the glory of God, as in (Eze_11:22).</n> four living beings. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.


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And their feete were streight feete, and the sole of their feete was like the sole of a calues foote, and they sparkled like the appearance of bright brasse.


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And the handes of a man came out from vnder their wings in the foure parts of them, &amp; they foure had their faces, and their wings.


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Their wings [were] <n>The wing of the one touched the wing of the other.</n> joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.


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As for the likeness of their faces, they four had <n>Every cherubim had four faces, the face of a man, and of a lion on the right side, and the face of a bullock and of an eagle on the left side.</n> the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.


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Thus were their faces: but their wings were spred out aboue: two wings of euery one were ioined one to another, &amp; two couered their bodies.


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And euery one went streight forward: they went whither their spirit led them, and they returned not when they went forth.


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The similitude also of the beasts, and their appearance was like burning coles of fire, &amp; like the appearance of lampes: for the fire ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning.


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And the living beings ran and <n>That is, when they had executed God's will: for before they returned not till God had changed the state of things.</n> returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.


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Nowe as I behelde the beastes, beholde, a wheele appeared vpon the earth by the beastes, hauing foure faces.


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The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like the colour of a <n>The Hebrew word is tarshish meaning that the colour was like the Cilician Sea, or a precious stone so called.</n> beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work [was] as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.


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They had also rings, and height, and were fearefull to beholde, and their rings were full of eyes, round about them foure.


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And when the beastes went, the wheeles went with them: and when the beasts were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lift vp.


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Whither the spirit led them, they went, &amp; thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles.


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When the beastes went, they went, &amp; when they stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirite of the beastes was in the wheeles.


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And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heads of the beasts was wonderfull, like vnto chrystall, spred ouer their heads aboue.


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And vnder the firmament were their wings streight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which couered the, and euery one had two, which couered their bodies.


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And when they went, I heard the noise of their <n>Which declared the swiftness and the fearfulness of God's judgments.</n> wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they <n>Which signified that they had no power of themselves, but only waited to execute God's commandment.</n> let down their wings.


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And there was a voyce fro the firmament, that was ouer their heads, when they stoode, and had let downe their wings.


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And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heads, was the facion of a throne like vnto a saphir stone, and vpon the similitude of the throne was by appearance, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it.


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And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire <n>By which was signified a terrible judgment toward the earth.</n> around within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness on all sides.


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As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness around. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell <n>Considering the majesty of God, and the weakness of flesh.</n> upon my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking.


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And <n>That is, the Lord.</n> he said to me, <n>Meaning, man who is but earth and ashes, which was to humble him, and cause him to consider his own state, and God's grace.</n> Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee.


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<n>So that he could not abide God's presence, till God's Spirit entered into him.</n>And the spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spoke to me.


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And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: for they and their fathers haue rebelled against me, euen vnto this very day.


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For they are impudent children, and stiffe hearted: I do send thee vnto them, &amp; thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God.


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And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that <n>This declares on the one part God's great affection toward his people, that despite their rebellion, yet he will send his prophets among them, and admonishes his ministers on the other part that they cease not to do their duty, though the people are never so obstinate: for the word of God will be either to their salvation or greater condemnation.</n> there hath been a prophet among them.


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And thou, son of man, <n>Read (Jer_1:17). He shows that for no afflictions they would cease to do their duties.</n> be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [are] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [are] a rebellious house.


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Therefore thou shalt speake my words vnto them: but surely they will not heare, neither will they in deede cease: for they are rebellious.


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But thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and <n>He not only exhorts him to his duty but also gives him the means with which he may be able to execute it.</n> eat that which I give thee.


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And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written in it <n>He shows what were the contents of this book: that is, God's judgments against the wicked.</n> lamentations, and mourning, and woe.


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Moreover he said to me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; <n>By which is meant that no one is fit to be God's messenger before he has received the word of God in his heart, as in (Eze_3:10) and has a zeal to it, and delight in it, as in (Jer_15:16; Rev_10:10).</n> eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.


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And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, cause thy belly to eate, and fill thy bowels with this roule that I giue thee. Then did I eate it, and it was in my mouth as sweete as honie.


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And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, goe, and enter into the house of Israel, and declare them my wordes.


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For thou art not sent to a people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an hard language, but to the house of Israel,


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Not to many people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an harde language, whose wordes thou canst not vnderstand: yet if I should sende thee to them, they would obey thee.


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But the house of Israel will not obey thee: for they will not obey me: yea, all the house of Israel are impudent and stiffe hearted.


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Behold, I have made thy <n>God promises his assistance to his ministers, and that he will give them boldness and constancy in their calling, (Isa_50:7; Jer_1:18; Mic_3:8).</n> face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.


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I haue made thy forehead as the adamant, and harder then the flint: feare them not therefore, neither be afraid at their lookes: for they are a rebellious house.


