tv. 11; Job xx. 15; and elsewhere. This enumeration is of great importance, as showing that under such deportations as have been mentioned, the land was by no means depopulated; the flower of the population only being carried into captivity. Reason indeed might show this, as a depopulated country could be of little value to its conqueror. Those only were taken whose influence or wealth might enable them to organize a revolt or opposition; or whose property or skill rendered their presence an important acquisition to the dominant country. CHAPTER XXV. 1 Jerusalem is besieged. 4 Zedekiah taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out. 8 Nebuzar-adan defaceth the city, carrieth the remnant, except a few poor labourers, into captivity, 13 spoileth and carrieth away the treasures. 18 The nobles are slain at Riblah. 22 Gedaliah, who was set over them that remained, being slain, the rest flee into Egypt. 27 Evil-merodach advanceth Jehoiachin in his court. AND it came to pass 'in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. 8 And in the fifth month, on the scventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, 'captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. 1 Jer. 39. 1, and 52. 4. 7 Chap 20. 17. 2 Jer. 52 6. Jer. 27. 22. Heb. spake judgment with him. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away. 12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. 13 And the 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, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. 14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 17 "The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraial the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the 1door: 19 And out of the city he took an "officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city: 20 And Nebuzar-adan captain of the Heb. made blind. 5 Or, chief marshall. Ich. fallen away 8 Heb. the one sea. 9i Kings 7. 15. Jer 52. 21. 10 Heb. threshold. 11 Or, cunuch. 12 Heb. saw the king's face. 1 Or, scribe of the captain of the host. guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land. 22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. 23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. 25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed "royal, came, and ten men with him, and "smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees. 27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; 28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; 29 And changed his prison garments: and he did cat bread contínually before him all the days of his life. 30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life. 17 Jer. 41. 2. 18 Heb. good things with him. 14 Jer. 40. 5, 9. 15 Jer. 40. 7. 16 Heb. of the kingdom. CHAP. XXV.-A very brief summary of the leading facts of this chapter is given in five verses (17-21) of the last chapter of 2 Chron. But the whole chapter is repeated, almost identically, in the last chapter of Jeremiah, to which we may refer for some illustrative notes. The passage, however, contained in verses 26--26 is not in that chapter; but these verses are found in other parts of Jeremiah, to which the margin refers, with other particulars not found in this place, and for which therefore we reserve such elucidatory statements as may be necessary. 27. “Evil-merodach."-This prince succeeded Nebuchadnezzar in the year 561 B.C., and reigned three years. We have not mentioned the events of his father's reign so particularly as those of some inferior sovereigns, wishing to reserve the details to be stated in connection with the prophecies which refer to them. The kindness of the new king to the captive monarch of Judah is thus accounted for by a Jewish tradition:-It is said that this prince. during that distraction of Nebuchadnezzar which the book of Daniel records, behaved so ill in provoking a war with the Medes, that, on his recovery, the king cast him into prison, where he contracted an intimacy with Jehoiachin, whom he failed not to release on his accession to the throne. This account, so far as refers to the imprudent provocation of the Medes by the king of Babylon's son, is sanctioned by Xenophon; but he places the event at an earlier period of Nebuchadnezzar's reign than the present account supposes. Upon the whole, there is nothing very improbable in the story. After his succession, Evil-merodach resumed his designs on the Medes, whose growing power he dreaded, and formed a powerful confederacy against them. His army was however routed, and himself slain by Cyrus, who acted (by appointment of his uncle and father-in-law Cyaxares-the Darius of Scripture) as the general of the combined forces of the Medes and Persiens. He was succeeded by the Belshazzar of Scripture, in whose reign Babylon was taken by the same parties who had defeated and slain his father. OF THE CHRONICLE S. CHAPTER I. 8 32. 1 Adam's line to Noah. 5 The sons of Japheth. 14 The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, 15 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 16 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. 17 The sons of "Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, DA M, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Me'Sheth, shech. Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 3 Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah, Shem, Ham, gog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 6 And the sons of Gomer: Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 7 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and 'Dodanim. 18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. 19 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was 'Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided. and his brother's name was Joktan. 20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and 24 "Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah, 13 27 1 Abram; the same is Abraham. 28 The sons of Abraham; Isaac, and 15Ishmael. 29 These are their generations: The 16firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Ke 8 The sons of Ham; Cush, and Miz- dar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, raim, Put, and Canaan. 9 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 10 And Cush 'begat Nimrod: he began o be mighty upon the earth. 11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 12 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and 'Caphtho rim. 13 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, 1 Gen. 5. 3.9. Deut. 2. 23. 30 Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, "Hadad, and Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael. 32 Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. 33 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah. 34 And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel. 2 Gen. 10. 2. 8.Or, Diphath, as it is in some copies. 12 Gen. 11. 15. 35 The sons of "Esau, Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. 36 The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek. 37 The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. 38 And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezar, and Dishan. 39 And the sons of Lotan; Hori, and eHomam: and Timna was Lotan's sister. 40 The sons of Shobal; "Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah, and Anah. 41 The sons of Anah; "Dishon. And the sons of Dishon; "Amram, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. 42 The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Zavan, and Jakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz, and Aran. 43 Now these are the "kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44 And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. 45 And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. 46 And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, which smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. 47 And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. 48 7And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. 49 And when Shaul was dead, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 50 And when Baal-hanan was dead, 28Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was "Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. 51 ¶ Hadad died also. And the "dukes of Edom were; duke Timnah, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth, 52 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, 53 Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mib zar, 54 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom. 25 Gen. 36. 31. 22 Or, Shepho, Gen. 36. 23. 27 Gen. 36. 37. 18 Gen. 36. 9, 10. 19 Or, Zepho, Gen. 36. 11. 20 Or, Heman, Gen. 36. 22. 21 Or, Alvan, Gen. 36. 23. I. and II. CHRON.-These two books formed but one in the original copies of the Hebrew Scripture, although in the present Hebrew Bibles they are divided in the usual manner. In Hebrew they are entitled 'P 27 (dibre ha-yamim), "words of days "—that is, journals or annals; of which our title "Chronicles" is a fair translation. The Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate, calls them IIAPAAEIПOMENA (Paraleipomena), or "things passed over or omitted," on account of the various anecdotes and details found in them, which are omitted in the two books of Samuel and the two of Kings. The Arabic agrees with our title, being "The book of annals;" the Targum, with a particular reference to the commencing genealogies, has "The book of genealogies, the words of days which were from the days of the world ;” and the Syriac, with reference to the fact that a great part of the whole is occupied with the affairs of the kings of Judah, gives the title as "the book of the things that were done in the times of the kings of Judah." In the largest sense, the Chronicles may be taken as an abstract of the whole sacred history from the creation of the world: that is to say, the genealogies are first given, interspersed with historical anecdotes, from Adam to the captivity. This occupies the nine first chapters; after which, the narrative is taken up abruptly with the death of Saul and the election of David, the history of whose reign, and of the reigns of his descendants, is continued throughout, more in detail than in the books of Samuel and Kings, and with no other notice of the kingdom of Israel than the occasional connection of its affairs with those of Judah renders necessary. This book (to speak of the two as one) is not supposed to be "the book of Chronicles" so often referred to in the preceding books, since we do not find in it the particulars which such references would lead us to expect. That probably contained the original documents and registers from which the present books of Kings and Chronicles were compiled. It is quite evident that the present Chronicles" were drawn up, after the captivity, from records left by contemporary annalists and prophets. It is generally concluded that this sacred work was executed by Ezra, after the return from the captivity; and the Jews suppose that he was assisted by Haggai and Zechariah, who were then living; and some add, that the work was left unfinished by Ezra, and completed by Nehemiah. We do not see any more probable conclusion than that which assigns the authorship to Ezra-at least in a general sense. At the end of chap. iii., the genealogy of Zerubbabel is extended to twelve or thirteen generations after the captivity, whence some think that the book must have been written in its present form much later than the time of Ezra. But as only this genealogy is thus extended, and as this was the genealogy of the royal house of David, the difference between t and the others seems to furnish a very palpable indication that the generations of this important line, from Zerubbabel, were successively added in order to preserve, in the most authentic form, the means of identifying that "Son of David" whose advent the prophets had foretold. CHAP. I.-The first nine chapters being occupied chiefly with proper names, the examination of which would only be interesting to the critical student of the sacred books, we shall limit our observations to such of the interspersed histo rical facts as may seem to require remark. Verse 51. "Dukes."--" Duke" is rather an awkward title to assign to the chiefs of Edom. The original word is (aluph), from (alaph), which would perhaps be best rendered by the general and indefinite title "prince." In its proper signification, as derived from a comparison of texts, it seems to denote the head of a tribe, or of the sub division of a tribe. We are very much disposed to suspect that the names before us are those of the denominating founders of so many tribes or clans into which the descendants of Esau, like those of Ishmael and Jacob, seem to have been ultimately divided. CHAPTER II. 1 The sons of Israel. 3 The posterity of Judah by Tamar. 13 The children of Jesse. 18 The posterity of Caleb the son of Hezron. 21 Hezron's posterity by the daughter of Machir. 25 Jerahmeel's posterity. 34 Sheshan's posterity. 42 Another branch of Caleb's posterity. 50 The posterity of Caleb the son of Hur. THESE are the sons of 'Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 3 The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of 'Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him. 4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. 5 The sons of 'Pharcz; Hezron, and Hamul. 6 And the sons of Zerah; "Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and 'Dara: five of them in all. 7 And the sons of Carmi; 10 Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing "accursed. 8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah. 9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and 12Ram, and 13 Chelubai. 10 And Ram "begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; 11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, 12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, 15 13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shim- | ma the third, 14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: 16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abi Ruth 4. 18. gail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. 17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite. 18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. 19 And when Azubah was dead, Calcb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur. 20. And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat 17 Bezaleel. 21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. 18 22 And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. 19 23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. 24 And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa. 25¶ And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmcel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. 28 And the sons of Onam, were Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. 29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare hin Ahban, and Molid. 30 And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. 31 And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the chil| dren of Sheshan; Ahlai. 1Or, Jacob. 2 Gen. 29. 32, and 30. 5, and 35. 18, 22, and 46. 8. &c. 5 Gen. 38. 29, 30. Matth. 1.3. 7 Or. Zabdi, Josh. 7. 1. 11 Josh 6. 19, and 7. 1. 12 Or, Aram, Matth 1.3. 13 Or, Caleb, 16 Or, Shammah, 1 Sam. 16. 9. 17 Exod. 31. 2. 18 lleb, took. 3 Gen. 38, 3, and 46. 12. 4 Gen. 38. 2. 81 Kings 4. 31. 9 Or, Darda. 10 Or, Achon. verse 18. 14 Ruth 4. 19. 15 | Sam. 16, 6, 19 Num. 32. 41. Deut. 3. 14. Josh. 13. 30. |