"shalt be buried ;" and this verse thus, "and Hans-
" niah the false prophet died this year, and was buried
"in the seventh month :" but there was no occasion
to raise such a difficulty, since it would have been
enough to have verified the prediction, that he died
any time within the twelve months from the date of
it; and, besides, the solution makes the difficulty
greater, and contradicts the very text, which says, he
died in the seventh month.

C H A P. XXIX.

Thus chapter contains a letter of Jeremiah to the
captives in Babylon; and gives an account of another
sent from thence'by Shemaiah to the people at Jeru-
salem; and is closed with threatening him with pu-
nishment for so doing. Jeremiah's letter concerns
both the captives at Babylon, and the people left at Je-
rusalem, The persons towhorn and 5y whom it was
sent, and the time of writing and sending it, are men-
tioned in yet. 1, 2, 3. and though the prophet was the
amanuensis, God was the author of it, as well as of
their captivity, yet. 4. the contents of ,it, respecting
the captives, are advices to them to provide for their
comfortable settlement in Babylon, and not think of
returning quickly, by building houses, planting gar-
ddns, marrying, and giving in marriage, vet. 5, 6.
anti to seek and pray for the prosperity of the place
where they were; in which their own was concerned,
yet. 7. to give no heed to .their false prophets and di-
viners, ver. 8, 9. and to expect a return to Jerusalem at
the end of seventy years; which they might be assured
of, since God had resolved upon it in his own mind,
yet. 10, 11. and especially if they called upon him,
prayed to him, and sought him heartily, vet. I2, 13,
14. the other part of the letter respects the Jews in
Jerusalem; concerning whom_ the captives are di-
rected to observe, that both the king and people should
suffer much by sword, famine, pestilence, and capti-
vity, with the reason of it, ver. 15, 16, 17, 1S, 19.- par-
ticularly it is foretold, that Ahab and Zedekiah, two
lying prophets, should be made an example of venge-
ance; and a proverbial curse should be taken of them,
because of their viiiany, lewdness, and lies, vet. 20,
21, 22, 23. next follows some account of Shemaiah's
letter from Babylon, to the people and priests at Jeru-
salem, stirring them up against Jeremiah the prophet;
which came to be known, by the priests reading it to
him, yet. 24, 25, 26, 27' 28, -ø9. upon which Shemaiah
is threatened with punishment, and his seed after him,
yet. 30, 31, 32.
Vet. 1. Now these are_ the words of the letter that
Jeremiah the prophet sent .from Jerusalem, &c.] The
argument and tenour, the sum and substance, Of an
epistle, which the Prophet Jeremiah, being at Jerusa-
tern, wrote, under the inspiratioo of God, to his coun-
trymen abroad, afterwards described; so the prophets
under tbe Old Testament instructed the people, some-
times by their sermons and discourses delivered by
word of mouth. to them, and sometimes by letters and
epistles; as did the apostles of the New Testament;
and they were both ways useful and profitable to men:
unto the residue .of the elders which were carried atvay
captive; some perhaps dying by the way,-and others
quickly after they came to Babylon; some were left,
who had been rulers or civil magistrates in Judea, and
perhaps of the great sanhedrim: and to the priests,
and to the prophets: false prophets, as the Syriac
version; for we read only of one true prophet that
was carried captive, and that was Ezekiel; but of
false prophets several: and to all the people, whom
Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusa-
lem to Babylon; which was eleven or twelve years
before their last captivity thither. This was a catholic
epistle, common to all the captives of every rank and
class, age or sex.
Ver. 2. After that Jeconiah the king, &c.] Of JU-
dab; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried cap-
tive into Babylon when he had reigned but three
months: and the queen; not Jeconiah's wife, for he
had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta,
and who was carried captive with him, 2 Kings xxiv.
8, 12 : a,d the eunuchs ; or chamberlains to the queen;
the Targum calls them princes; these were of the
king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have
been everywhere, and in all ages, court-fitvourites:
and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem; the noblemen
and grandees of the nation: and the carpenters, and
the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem; whom Ne-
buchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use
in his own country; and partly that the Jews might
be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in for-
tifylug. their city, and providing them with military
weapons; see the note ouch. xxiv. 1.
Vet. 3. By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan,
&c.] Perhaps the brother of Ahikam, ann of Jaaza-
niah, ch. xxvi. 24. Ezek. viii. 11: and Gemariah the
son of Hilkiah; to distinguish him from Gemariah the
sou of Shaphan the scribe, cb. xxxvi. 10: whom Ze-
dekiah king of .ludah sent unto Babylon, to Nebuchad-
nezzar king of Babylor, ; as his ambassadors, on what
account it is not certain; perhaps to pay the tribute-
money to him; or to treat with him about the resto-
ration of some of the captives; or to cultivate friend-
ship, and promise submission, and that he would faith-
fully keep the covenant he had made with him: and per-
hai-;s he might be jealous of Jeconiah using his interest
with the king of Babylon for his restoration, which
could not be acceptable to Zedekiah; and this might
be one reason why he admitted his messengers to carry
Jeremiah's letter to the captives, if he knew of it, or
saw it; since it exhorted them not to think of a returns,
but provide for a long continuance where they were;
however, by the hand of these messengers Jeremiah
.sent his letter to them: saying; as follows:
Ver. 4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel, &c.] For the Letter was written by the order
of the Lord, was endited by him, and was sent in his
name, the prophet was only his amanuensis; and the
titles which the Lord here takes are worthy of notice: