Study Desk

The voyce of ioy and the voyce of gladnes, the voyce of the bridegrome, and the voyce of the bride, the voyce of them that shall say, Prayse the Lord of hostes, because the Lord is good: for his mercy endureth for euer, and of them that offer the sacrifice of prayse in the House of the Lord, for I will cause to returne the captiuitie of the land, as at the first, sayth the Lord.

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.

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.

The worde which came vnto Ieremiah from the Lord (when Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, and all his hoste, and all the kingdomes of the earth, that were vnder the power of his hand, and all people fought against Ierusalem, and against all the cites thereof) saying,

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, & he shal speake with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babel.

That euery man should let his seruant go free, and euery man his handmayde, which was an Ebrue or an Ebruesse, and that none should serue himselfe of them, to wit, of a Iewe his brother.

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, & euery one his handmaide, and that none should serue them selues of them any more, they obeyed and let them go.

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.

And ye were nowe turned, and had done right in my sight in proclayming libertie, euery man to his neighbour, and ye had made a couenant before mee in the house, whereupon my Name is called.

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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Ye haue not obeyed mee, in proclayming freedome euery man to his brother, and euery man to his neighbour: beholde, I proclaime a libertie for you, saith the Lorde, to the sworde, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you a terrour to all the kingdomes of the earth.

And Zedekiah King of Iudah, and his princes will I giue into the hand of their enemies, and into the hande of them that seeke their life, and into the hande of the King of Babels hoste, which are gone vp from you.

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,

The commandement of Ionadab the sonne of Rechab that hee commaunded his sonnes, that they should drinke no wine, is surely kept: for vnto this day they drinke none, but obey their fathers commaundement: notwithstanding I haue spoken vnto you, rising earely, and speaking, but ye would not obey me.

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.

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,

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.

It may be that they will pray before the Lorde, and euery one returne from his euill way, for great is the anger and the wrath, that the Lord hath declared against this people.

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.

And they examined Baruch, saying, Tell vs nowe, howe diddest thou write all these wordes at his mouth?