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Evangelical predictions.

ZECHARIAH, XIV.

a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 6 The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

B. C. 518.

a Mat. 21. 44.

¿ Eze. 38. 4.

c Phi. 2. 6.

d Mat. 26. 31.

Bor, There is strength to me and to the inhabitants, Joel 3. 16. eJob 23. 10. 1 Pe. 1. 6,7. yfallen, or, abject, Mi. 7. 8.

ƒ He. 11. 34. g John17.21..

6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: Mat. 23.37, and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again 38. in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

i

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn" for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon." 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.t CHAPTER XIII.

IN that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more" be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shally thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that

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23.

i Is. 54. 17.
Je. 31. 9.
Ps. 51. 12.
Ro. 8. 26.
Mat. 24. 30.

John 19.34. Re. 1. 7. • Ac. 2. 37.

P2 Ch.35.22.. 25.

&or, my. families, families. nor, when

he shall touch the valley of the mountains to the place he separated. 2 Sa. 5. 14. rIs. 29. 6.

Am. 1. 1.

Jude 14, 15. or, Simeon,

as LXX. < That is, it shall not be

clear in

Encouraging prospects.

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth..

6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smited the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off, and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The LORD is my God. CHAPTER XIV. BEHOLD, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye some places shall flee, like as ye fled from before the and dark in earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king other places of Judah; and the LORD my God shall oftheworld. come, and all the saints with thee. 6 And shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor μ dark:

precious.
thickness.

t Pr. 9. 12. vor, the day shall be one.

u He. 9. 14. Re. 1. 5.

7.13,14.

separation for uncleanness. por, eastern, Joel 2. 20. Ex. 23. 13.

Ps. 16. 4.

w Is. 2. 18, 20.

*Lu. 11. 20. or, compassed. Tor, shall abide.

De. 13. 6,

* Re. 21. 4.

a Mi. 3. 6, 7. por, abide.

day, that the prophets shall be ashamed X garment
every one of his vision, when he hath of hair.
prophesied; neither shall they wear aylie.
X rough garment to deceive:

9.

V

7 But it shall be one day, which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem half of them toward the P former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

10 All the land shall be

turned as a

plain, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and Tinhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that

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have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14 And Judah also shall fight Sat Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep

CHAPTER I.

B. C. 587.

a Le.23.33,&c
Ne.8.14,&c.

Is. 60. 12.
e1 Sa. 14. 15,

20.

Bupon whom
there is not.
d De. 11. 10.
Eze. 38. 21.

yor, sin.

Sor,thou also,

O Judah.

or, against.
fEze. 39. 10,

17.
nor, bridles.
Is. 23. 18.
Is. 66. 23.
i Is. 4. 3.
35.8.
Joel 3. 17.
Re. 21. 27.

Encouraging prospects.

the feast of tabernacles."

17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19 This shall be the Y punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no 1Co.6.9..11. more the Canaanite in the house' of the Ep.2.19..22. LORD of hosts.

22. 15.

MALACHI.

THE burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

2 I have loved you, saith the LORD: yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

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a Is. 60. 3, 5. and in every place incense shall be ofBby the fered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

hand of. 6Jno. 4.21,23

his

d

3 And I hated Esau, and laid mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

c Re. 8. 3.

De. 7. 7, 8.

Je. 31. 3.

e Is. 66.19,20.

ƒ Ro. 9. 13.

Eze. 35. 3, &c.

4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impover-Je.49.17,18. ished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

Ob. 10, &c.

yor, whereas
ye might
have blown
it away.
8 or, in whose
flock is.
from upon,

6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a mash

ter, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

7 Yen offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

or, upon.
Lu. 6. 36.

ich.3.7,8,13.
De.28.15,&c
nor, bring

unto.

1 Co. 10. 21. Le.22.20..22 De. 15. 21.

e to.

kor, reprove
scatter.

8 And if 'ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy go-μor, it shall vernor will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: willm he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.

10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

11 For from the rising of the sun even

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12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! Yand ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts: and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

14 But cursed be the deceiver, & which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

CHAPTER II.

AND now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it.

4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

5 My covenant" was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity," and did turn many away from iniquity.

7 For the priest's lips should keep

The sins of the people.

MALACHI, IV.

knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have y been partial in the law.

B. C. 397.

a Ac. 16. 17.
2 Co. 5. 20.
b Ps.78.38,57.
La. 3. 22.

c1 Sa.2.17,30!

Lu. 11. 45,

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10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treach-y erously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel

and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath pro

faned the holiness of the LORD which he Sloved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that of fereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.

e Zec. 1. 3. Mat. 23. 27. accepted faces, or, lifted up the face against.

g1 Co. 8. 6.

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Ne. 13.10..

12.

or, ought

to love.

Ezr. 9.1, 2.
empty out.
2 Ch.31. 10.

Jos.23.12,13

or, him that

waketh, and him that answereth.

O corrupt. m Ps. 78. 34..

13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. 14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thoun hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words: yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

CHAPTER III.

37.

Ps. 73.11,12 Zep. 1. 12. K observation.

• Mat.19.4,5. A in black. μor, excel

lency. v seed of God. π built.

p1 Co. 7. 14. q Ps. 95. 9.

Por, un-
faithfully.
Ep. 5. 19.

8 De. 24. 1.
t Re. 20. 12.

or, if he hate
her, put

her away, Mat. 19. 8. T to put away.

Encouraging promises.

6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the windows of heaven, and pour you the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the ne cast her fruit before the time in the fruits of your ground; neither shall your field, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

13 Your words" have been stout against me, saith the LORD: yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked Amournfully before the LORD of hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are "set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the LORD spaker often one to another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine," saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

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18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.

CHAPTER IV.

BEHOLD, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and Tit. 2. 14. FOR, behold, the day cometh, that shall

1 Pe. 2. 9. v Is. 43. 24. Am. 2. 13.

treasure.

the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: be-or, special hold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap.

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and pu

rifier of silver; and he shall purify the

sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

w Is. 62. 3. Ps. 58. 11. v Lu. 1. 76.

7.27.

#2 Pe. 3. 10. Mat. 3. 12.

a Lu. 2. 27.

c Mat. 25. 10. Re. 6. 17. d chap. 3. 16. 1Co.3.13..15 Lu. 1. 78. g Ho.14.5..7. Pe. 2. 5. xor, ancient. iMat. 11. 14. 17.10..13. He. 13. 4. or, defraud. Ja. 5. 4.

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in x former years. 5 And I will come near to you to judg-1 ment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers,* and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling' in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But unto youd that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grows up as calves of the stall. for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

3 And ye shall tread down the wicked;

4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah' the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

A SUMMARY VIEW

OF THE

PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE PERIOD

FROM THE CLOSE OF THE

SACRED CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT,

UNTIL THE

TIMES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS, king of Persia, who in his twentieth year had commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, being dead, was succeeded,

after the short reigns of Xerxes the second B. C. 423. and Sogdianus, by his son Darius Nothus. In the eleventh year of this prince's reign died Eliashib the high priest, after having filled the sacred office for thirty-four or forty years; and was succeeded by his son Jehoiada, or Joiada, the father of that Manasseh whom Nehemiah forced to retire to Samaria, on account of his attachment to his idolatrous wife. It is uncertain how long Nehemiah lived at Jerusalem after his important reformations; but after his death Judea seems to have been added to the prefecture of Syria, and became wholly subject to the

B. C. 405.

governor of that province. Darius Nothus was succeeded by Artaxerxes Mnemon; in the thirty-fourth year of whose reign, Jeshua being appointed by the Persian governor of Syria to supersede his brother Johanan, or Jonathan, who had succeeded his father Joiada in the high priesthood, was slain by him in the inner court of the temple. For this atrocious act, the governor imposed a fine of fifty drachmas on every lamb that should be offered in sacrifice; the total amount of which has been calculated at somewhat more than 1700l. per annum. The payment of this fine, however, continued only till the death of Artaxerxes Mnemon, which hapB. C. 359. pened seven years after. But the Jews were not long allowed to enjoy a state of peace and prosperity, for Ochus, who succeeded Artaxerxes, having subdued the greater part of Phoenicia, with which Lesser Asia and Syria had revolted on his accession to the throne, marched into Judea, took Jericlio, and carried away a great number of captives; part of whom he sent into Egypt, and settled the rest

in Hyrcania, along the shores of the Caspian B. C. 341. Sea. After an interval of ten years, died Johanan the high priest, and was succeeded by his son Jaddua. About three years after this event, the Persian monarch was poisoned, and the late king's youngest son, Arsaces, or Arses, was placed on the Persian throne; but, being also poisoned about three years afterwards, he was succeeded by the unfortunate Darius Codomannus. He had not long ascended the throne, before the infamous Bagoas, finding he was not one who would answer his purpose, resolved to remove him by the same means he had used to destroy his two predecessors. But Darius, being apprised of his design, made him drink the poisonous draught himself, and thereby became firmly settled in the kingdom, without farther difficulty.

At this eventful period, Alexander the Great, at the

age of twenty, succeeded to the throne of Macedon, and caused himself to be appointed general of the Grecian forces against the Persians. With a comparatively small army he crossed the Hellespont, and passed into Asia; and having B. C. 334. defeated the immense army of Darius at the river Granicus, he speedily made himself master of all Asia Minor. The next year Darius advanced to meet him with an army of 600,000 men; but, near Issus, he was again utterly defeated by Alexander. The battle of Issus was followed by the reduction of all Syria and Phoenicia; and Alexander marched into Judea, to punish the Jews for granting the Tyrians supplies of provisions, and refusing them to him, during the siege of Tyre. While he was rapidly advancing to the metropolis, the high priest Jaddua, as well as the great body of the people, by sacrifices, oblations, and prayers, humbly besought God to avert the threatened danger. It being communicated to Jaddua in a dream, that he should go and meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, at the head of all the priests in their proper habits, attended by a numerous body of the people dressed in white, he ordered the gates of the city to be thrown open, and marched in solemn procession to an eminence called Sapha, which commanded a prospect of the temple and of the whole city. As soon as the king approached the venerable pontiff, he was struck with profound awe at the spectacle, and hastening forward, saluted him with a religious veneration. While all stood amazed at this behaviour, Parmenio asked the reason of such unexpected homage; to which Alexander replied, that it was not offered to the priest, but to his God, in grateful acknowledgment for a vision with which he had been favoured at Dio, in Macedonia; in which this very person, and in this very habit, appeared to him, promising him the empire of Persia. Having kindly embraced Jaddua, he entered Jerusalem, and offered up sacrifices to God in the temple; where the high priest having shewn him the prophecies of Daniel, which predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian king, he went thence with greater assurance of success, not doubting but he was the person meant in the prophecies. At his departure, he granted the Jews the free exercise of their religion and laws, and exemption from the payment of tribute every seventh year. Egypt having quickly submitted to the conqueror, the following year he marched against Darius; and coming to a decisive battle at Arbela, he routed his immense army of about 1,100,000 men; and Darius being forced to fly for his life, was soon after assassinated by the treachery of Bessus. Having thus, according to the prophecies of Daniel, completely subverted the Persian empire, he rapidly extended his

CONNECTION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

conquests from the Euphrates to the Indus, and from the Caspian Sea to the Southern Ocean. About six years afterwards, in the thirty-second year of his age,

and the twelfth of his reign, he died at B. C. 323. Babylon, either in consequence of excessive drinking, or from having been poisoned. After the death of Alexander, his empire was divided among his four remaining generals. Cassander had Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus had Thrace, Bithynia, &c.; Seleucus Nicator had Syria, Armenia, and other eastern countries; and Ptolemy Lagus had Egypt, Libya, &c. In the first partition of the empire, Palestine, with Cole-Syria and Phoenicia, had been given to Laomedon, one of Alexander's generals; but having been deprived of the two latter by Ptolemy, the Jews, over whom Onias son of Jaddua was then high priest, refused to submit to this new master, from their religious sense of the oath of allegiance which they had taken. In consequence of this, Ptolemy marched into Judea, took

Jerusalem, and carried 100,000 of them capB. C. 320. tive to Egypt; but there, considering their loyalty to their former conquerors, he used them so kindly, even promoting them to places of trust and power, that many followed them of their B. c. 314. own accord. About six years afterwards, he was deprived of Judea, Cole-Syria, and Phoenicia, by Antigonus; and having again made himself master of these provinces, he immediately

afterwards lost them by the defeat of Cilles, B. C. 312. one of his generals. They continued in the possession of Antigonus till his defeat and death at the battle of Ipsus, by the confederated forces of Ptolemy, Cassander, Lysimachus, and B. C. 301. Seleucus; after which they were assigned to Ptolemy, along with Egypt, Libya, and Arabia. Some time after the recovery of Judea by Ptolemy, died Simon the Just, son of Onias, and high

priest of the Jews, in the ninth year of his B. C. 292. pontificate; and was succeeded by his brother Eleazar. He was distinguished for his wisdom and virtues; and is said to have completed the sacred canon of the Old Testament. Ptolemy Philadelphus having succeeded his father on B. C. 284. the throne of Egypt, the Jews found in him as generous a protector as they had experienced in Ptolemy Soter. During his reign was made the important translation of the Old Testament into Greek, afterwards called the Septuagint version; which event has tended more to disseminate the knowledge, and confirm the authenticity of the sacred Scriptures, than any other which happened from the time of their completion to the commencement of the Christian æra. Antiochus Theos having succeeded his father Antio

chus Soter, son of Seleucus, on the throne of B. C. 261. Syria, maintained a long and sanguinary war with Ptolemy Philadelphus, which they at last agreed to terminate by a treaty of marriage; in which it was stipulated, that Antiochus was to divorce

his wife Laodice, and marry Berenice, B. C. 249. Ptolemy's daughter. But on the death of Philadelphus, about two years afterwards, Antiochus put away Berenice, and recalled Laodice; who, fearing another change, caused him to be poisoned, cut off Berenice, her son, and all her Egyptian attendants, and placed her own son Callinicus on the throne. Ptolemy Euergetes, who had succeeded his father on the throne of Egypt, in revenge for his sister's death, slew Laodice, and subdued all Syria and Cilicia. Callinicus, two years afterwards, in attempting to recover his dominions from Ptolemy, was overthrown

in battle; but Ptolemy, hearing that his brother
Antiochus was preparing to join Seleucus against
him, came to an agreement with Callinicus; and
peace was concluded between them for ten
years. The Jews at this time were subject to B. C. 243.
Ptolemy, and Judea was taxed at the annual
tribute of twenty talents. Not long after, Antiochus
the Great, taking advantage of the accession of the
profligate prince Ptolemy Philopater, seized
upon Cœle-Syria. In the following year, B. C. 218.
Ptolemy forced Antiochus to retreat to
Antioch. Ptolemy then made a progress through
Syria; and coming to Jerusalem, he offered victims,
and made many valuable presents to the temple.
But having been hindered from entering the Holy of
Holies by Simon the high priest, who had succeeded
his father Onias II., Ptolemy departed to Egypt full
of rage against the Jews; where he deprived them of
the privileges they enjoyed, and acted with great
cruelty towards them. Ptolemy, having made peace
with Antiochus, died soon after, worn out by in-
temperance and debauchery, and was suc-
ceeded by his infant son Ptolemy Epiphanes. B. C. 204.
Antiochus thinking this a favourable oppor-
tunity, entered into a league with Philip, king of
Macedon, to divide the dominions of the king of Egypt
between them; and Antiochus having marched with
an immense army into Cœle-Syria and Palestine, he
speedily subdued those provinces. Soon afterwards,
however, the Egyptians took advantage of Antiochus
being engaged in war with Attalus, king of Pergamos,
and sent Scopas with an army into Palestine and
Cole-Syria; where he was so successful, that he took
several cities, reduced all Judea, and put a
garrison in Jerusalem. But the following B. C. 199.
year Antiochus marched againstScopas, and
soon rendered himself again master of all Cole-Syria
and Palestine. Among others, the Jews willingly
submitted to him; and rendered him such essential
services, that he gave orders that their city should be
repaired, and that those who had been dispersed should
return and inhabit it; and, among other important
favours, confirmed them in all the privileges which
had been granted by Alexander the Great. After this,
being intent on his war with the Romans, he married
his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes, and
gave in dowry with her the provinces of Cœle-Syria
and Palestine. But not long afterwards, Antiochus
having attempted to seize upon Egypt, was totally
defeated by the Romans, and condemned to
pay 12,000 talents for defraying the expenses B. c. 188.
of the war. Covered with shame, he retired
to Antioch; and being unable to raise the money
which he had stipulated to pay the Romans, he
marched into his eastern provinces to collect tribute,
and amass what treasure he could; and attempting to
rob the rich temple at Elymais, he was as-
saulted and slain by the inhabitants of the B. C. 187.
country.

Antiochus was succeeded on the Syrian throne by his son Seleucus Philopater, who was remarkable for little else than raising of taxes, to defray the tribute which the Romans had exacted from his father. Being informed that great treasures were deposited in the temple, he sent to seize them; but, when on the point of entering the sacred temple, the Syrians were struck with awe, and desisted. Soon afterwards, Seleucus was destroyed, and B. c. 176. Antiochus, his brother, having heard of

his death, and the attempt of Heliodorus, his murderer, to usurp the throne; and finding that there

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