lived in heathenism and indifference, "them that are turned back from Jehovah," ie., those who have relapsed into idolatry, and "those that have not sought Jehovah, nor enquired of (A. V. for) Him.” "Seeking Jehovah" means to worship Him, to turn to Him especially with prayer and supplication. Cf. Ex. xxxiii. 7; II. Chron. xx. 4; Ps. xl. 17, lxix. 7, cv. 3; Is. li. 1. 17' 8 77, which should here be rendered " enquire of Jehovah," not "enquire for," is a very common expression, and means simply to seek Jehovah, to go to Him, and have recourse to Him for aid. Cf. II. Chron. xvi. 12; Deut. iv. 29; Ps. xxxiv. 5, lxxxviii. 34; Lam. iii. 25, et al. It is often used to denote the habitually pious, and is then equivalent to worship or adore. V. Ps. xiv. 2, ix. 11, xxii. 7, xxxiv. 11; Is. lviii. 2, et al.

In face of an opposition, that was evidently murmuring loudly, if not actually complaining, in regard to customs which, from their standpoint, were innovations, the prophet continues: "Hold thy peace at the presence of Adonai Jehovah, for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath bid His guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish (8) the princes and (9) the king's children, and (10) all such as are clothed with strange apparel."

He foretells, in other words, that when the day of vengeance comes, these, who are at present escaping punishment, will receive their deserts. (8) First among these come the princes (D). These were the high officials of the kingdom, men of station and influence, and generally connected with the court. Cf. II. Sam. xviii. 5; I. Kings iv. 2; Job xxix. 9, xxxiv. 19; Is. xxx. 4; Jer. xxvi. 11 sq., xxxvii. 14 sq., et al. They seem to have formed a hereditary aristocracy in Judah and Jerusalem, and to have been divided upon the subject of religion. In the accounts given in Kings and Chronicles of reformation, we have no mention of any opposition. It is said the people "stood to the covenant," ie., "consented to it." Nothing in regard to the attitude of the nobles is thus recorded. From this passage, however, we learn that there was a powerful, if not an active opposition, and may understand how easily the good work became undone after the influence of the royal favor was removed. In the reign of Jehoiakim we find the "Sarim" preserving Jeremiah from the ignorant rage of the priests and people. This, however, does not show that they were upon the side of Jehovah, but rather the contrary, as the priests and people were, on that occasion, attacking Jeremiah because they considered him a traitor to Jehovah. On the other hand, when Urijah, the son of Shemaiah, of Kirjath Jearim (possibly one of their own

number), repeated Jeremiah's prophecy, we find the princes co-operating with the king to put him to death, and also learn that it was only by the kind offices of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that Jeremiah escaped a similar fate (Jer. xxvi.). In Jer. xxxvi. the princes seem to have formed a council for the transaction of public business, and to have met in the "scribe's chamber" in the king's house, and to have considered that they were obliged to take cognizance of Jeremiah's book, which had been read by Barach. The majority of the princes, on this occasion, were against Jehovah ; only Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah (perhaps brother to the dead Urijah), and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan (the brother of the Ahikam, who had, four years before, befriended Jeremiah), and Elnathan, the son of Achbor (who, on the former occasion, had been the instrument of the purposes of the impious king), only these three seem to have been touched in their consciences by the words of the prophet speaking in Jehovah's name. All the princes, however, seem, as in the previous case, to have had some personal regard for Jeremiah, and sent him warning to hide himself from the king's anger.

In the reign of Zedekiah, the princes appear to have deteriorated in character. This may be explained by the fact that the best of them had been carried captive with Jehoiachin (Jer. xxiv. 1-7). We read that they beat and imprisoned Jeremiah on suspicion of being about to desert to the Chaldeans (Jer. xxxvii. 13-15). When Zedekiah had given him some degree of liberty, they persuaded him to give orders for his death; and when the weak king yielded to their demands, they cast the prophet into the dungeon of Malchiah, into the mire (Jer. xxxviii.).

When Zedekiah proclaimed the emancipation of all Jewish slaves, the princes only pretended compliance, and afterwards re-enslaved all their former bondmen and bondwomen (Jer. xxxiv.). Finally, Ishmael, of the seed royal, and ten of the princes of the king with him, assassinated Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor over the land (Jer. xli.). We may notice that Shaphan,the scribe in Josiah's reign, and most of his descendants, seem to have been faithful adherents of Jehovah (see, for a probable exception, Ezekiel viii. 11).

Shaphan, it will be remembered, was the person to whom Hilkiah the priest first communicated the news of the discovery of the Book of the Law (II. Kings xxii.), and he was, undoubtedly, among the leading reformers. The majority of the princes, however, appear to have been irreligious, not caring very much either for Jehovah or Baal,

so long as they could enjoy their own wealth and privileges. Isaiah describes the princes of his time as "rebellious, and companions of thieves" (Is. i. 23). Jeremiah says of them, in a prophecy uttered in the reign of Josiah, "that they have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds" (v. 5); that, “as a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit; therefore, they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxed fat, they shine; yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and the right of the needy do they not judge " (Jer. v. 27, 28). Ezekiel bears the same testimony in similar words (Ezek. xxii. 6, 27). From our author we learn that they were opposed to the reformation, and that they were violent and oppressive (Zeph. iii. 3). (9) The “King's Children" are further mentioned as objects for the divine vengeance. The fate of Jehoahaz (Shallum), Jehoiakim, and Jedekiah affords the commentary upon this prophecy. They re-established evil customs as soon as their father was dead, and though, in the day of vengeance, they called upon Jehovah, it was too late.

(10) "All such as are clothed in strange apparel" refers to those who put on the sacred robes or vestments used in the worship of the foreign divinities. Cf. Ezek. xiii. 18-21; II. Kings x. 22. Keil considers the expression to refer simply to those who adopted foreign fashions, but the supposition is hardly probable at this period of the people's history. The strong opposition between Jew and Gentile was of later date. The sin which is denounced by Zephaniah in his whole prophecy is apostasy from Jehovah, or hostility towards His worship, and it is for some form of this that we are to look in this passage.

In II. Kings x. 22, referred to above, the word here translated "apparel" is used of the sacred vestments worn by the worshippers of Baal.

(11) The next class denounced is made up of "those who leap upon the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit." This phrase may be rendered "leap above" or "over the threshold," and in this case may refer to the worshippers of the Philistine divinity, Dagon, who, we learn from I. Sam. x. 5, had this peculiar custom. The second clause, "they that fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit," is hard to explain. At first sight it would seem simply to refer to slaves who committed frauds and robberies for their masters' benefit. But the whole connection is with forms of religious error, and the words evidently describe some further characteristics of "those who leap upon the threshold." It may be that the

worshippers of Dagon, or of some other of the heathen divinities, practised these crimes as a religious ceremony, as the Thugs in India used to murder as an offering to their goddess. An allusion to some such practice as this is probably contained in Jer. vii. 8-10, where stealing and murder and adultery are mentioned in connection with the worship of false gods, and excused by the performers upon the ground that "they were delivered" to do these things; ie., either that these ceremonies formed their ground of hope for deliverance from danger, or that they had been delivered from danger in order that they might show their gratitude by these acts. The verb used,

cannot be understood as it is frequently by expounders of this passage, permitted or given over to perform these actions, but means here, as elsewhere, deliverance from danger. Should we translate as a plural of excellence, and understand it as corresponding to Baalim as a title, the sense suggested is still more apparent. That the word, Adon, was used as a divine appellation by heathen as well as Hebrew, is clear from the Phoenician Adonis. Chapter ii. 4-7

evil in the land.

shows us that the Philistines were still a powerful On these grounds it seems best to consider the entire passage as referring to the worshippers of Dagon and the evil customs connected with the cultus of that divinity.

In vv. 10, 11, there is probably some special connection between the places mentioned, as singled out for distinction, and idolatrous practices by which they had been defiled, but our information is too scanty to determine what it is. The "Fish Gate," which is mentioned in II. Chron. xxxiii. 14 ; Neh. iii. 3, xii. 39, was a gate on the southern side of the city near the western wall. From II. Kings xxiii. 8 we learn that it was not unusual for city gates to have "high places" upon them or near them.

The "second" does not mean the second gate, but the second ward or quarter of the city. It is the same word that is used in II. Kings xxii. 14 to describe the dwelling-place of Huldah the prophetess, and is there translated "college." The "hills" refer, probably, to the city of David and the Temple hills, so that the three places cited really include nearly the whole city. Maktesh was a valley near the city, so called from its mortar-like shape. Nothing is known of it; its inhabitants, from this passage, seem to have been traders, perhaps sellers of supplies to those sacrificing to the various. divinities.

To all these places doom is announced, "crying" and "howling" and "a great crashing"; "the merchant people are cut down, all they that bear silver are cut off."

Thus far the prophet has denounced the active foes of Jehovah, who openly served other gods and opposed the reformation. In v. 12 he comes to the class of the neutral and indifferent,-those whose care was for themselves, and who regretted the stir and turmoil of the new movement, and had no confidence in its success. His language is striking and most forcible: "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil." The phrase, "settled upon their lees,” means, “have lived a quiet, undisturbed life, of indifference and sloth.” Cf. Jer. xlviii. 11. The figure is taken from wine that has been allowed to stand a long while without disturbance, and which has deposited a good deal of sediment. This needs to be kept quiet and undisturbed, to be clear; if agitated, the sediment rises, and the wine becomes turbid, and its quality is impaired.

From the prophet's words we may gather that the well-to-do class of Jerusalem, who were prosperous and comfortable, and who did not seriously trouble themselves about religion of any kind, resented, or at least opposed a passive resistance to the new laws, as they undoubtedly seemed to them, and to the new notions about righteousness and moral qualifications being necessary for worshippers of Jehovah. "Who is Jehovah," they would enquire, "that he should make such claims upon us, claims that have never been made before? We have lived in this state for centuries, and only began to be troubled when Hezekiah began to stir up dissension and dissatisfaction by removing the high places to which the people were accustomed." They would argue with a specious force that the worship of Jehovah and the casting out of Baal had not profited the neighboring kingdom, although since the days of Jehu, Jehovah had been the God of Samaria, He had not saved it from the Assyrian. "Why all this commotion and excitement, this overstrained repentance, this impossible covenant, this exaggerated Passover? Jehovah has never done and will never do us any good, nor has he done, nor will he do, any evil. There is no reason for fear, no cause for terror." These were the Epicureans of the day, who did not believe that the gods trouble themselves about the world. They were the quiet, conservative, moneyed interest, whose motto then as in all ages of the world was, "Quieta non movere." And for this they are here denounced by the singlehearted and devoted prophet, as the foes of Jehovah.

From chap. iii. we find that besides these obstacles to reformation, the moral condition of Jerusalem was such that punishment was sure