*

A.C. 980

20 ¶ Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air to 975. shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell b Exod. xxii. the matter.

ECCLESIASTES XI.

I Directions for charity. 7 Death in life, 9 and the day of judgment in the days of youth, are to be thought on.

1 Cast thy bread +upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

28.

Or, consci

ence.

+ Heb. upon

the face of the
waters.
c Deut. xv.

10. Prov. xix.

17. Matt. x. 42.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall t Heb. shall be prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be right. alike good.

7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun :

8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

10 Therefore remove & sorrow from thy heart, and put sor, anger. away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

ECCLESIASTES XII.

1 The Creator is to be remembered in due time. 8 The preacher's care to edify. 13

The fear of God is the chief antidote of vanity.

1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, aProv. xxii. 6. while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when

thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

A. C. 980 to 975.

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the grinders fail, windows be darkened,

* Or, the

because they

grind little.

e Gen. iii. 19.

f ch. i. 2.

+ Or, the more wise the

preacher was, g1 Kings iv.

&c.

32.

+ Heb. words of delight.

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

e

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8¶Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. 9 And + moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of ◊ Or, reading. making many books there is no end; and much § study is a weariness of the flesh.

|| Or, The end of the matter,

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: even all that Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

hath been

heard, is.

h Rom. ii. 16. & xiv. 10.

2 Cor. v.10.

975.

h

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

CHAPTER VIII.

Death of Solomon.

1 KINGS XI. 41, 42, 43.

41 ¶ And the rest of the * acts of Solomon, and all that *words, he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

or, things.

i 2 Chron. ix.

30.

42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem +Heb days. Over all Israel was forty years.

k Matt. i. 7,

called Ro

boam.

43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried

in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son A.C. 975. reigned in his stead.

2 CHRONICLES IX. 29, 30, 31.

41.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, 11 Kings xi. are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, * Heb. word. and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

FROM THE ELEVATION OF REHOBOAM TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY.

Chapter

1.-REIGN OF REHOBOAM, KING OF JUDAH, 17 YEARS, AND CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. II.-REIGN OF ABIJAM, SECOND King of Judah, with the CONTEMPORARY Events in the Kingdom of Israel, 3 YEARS.

III.-Reign of Asa, third King, &c. &c., 41 YEARS.
IV.—Reign of JEHOSHAPHAT, fourth King, &c. &c., 25
YEARS.

V.-REIGN OF Jehoram, fifth KING, &c. &c., 4 YEARS. VI.-REIGN OF AHAZIAH, SIXTH KING, &c. &c., 1 Year. VII.-REIGN OF ATHALIAH, QUEEN, &c. &c., 6 YEARS. VIII.-REIGN of Joash, eighth KING, &c. &c., 40 YEARS. IX.-REIGN OF Amaziah, ninth KING, &c. &c., 29 Years. X.-REIGN OF Uzziah, tenth KING, &c. &c., 51 YEARS. XI.—REIGN OF Jotham, eleveNTH KING, &c. &c., 16 YEARS. XII.—Reign of Ahaz, twelfth King, &c. &c., 16 YEARS. XIII.-REIGN of Hezekiah, thirteenth KinG, &c. &c., 29 YEARS.

XIV.-REIGN OF MANASSEH, FOURTEENTH KING, &c. &c., 55 YEARS.

XV.-Reign of Amon, fifteenth King, 2 YEARS. XVI. REIGN OF JOSIAH, SIXTteenth King, 31 Years. XVII.—Reign of Jehoahaz, seventeenth KiNG, 3 MONTHS. XVIII.-REIGN of Jehoiakim, eighteenth King, 11 Years. In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Daniel was taken captive; from which event are computed the seventy years of the Babylonish captivity.

Note. From the difficulty of arranging the events in this Period, it has been thought most advisable to divide each chapter into two parts. The first part contains the reign of a king of Judah; the second, the events in the kingdom of Israel, contemporary with his reign. The Books of Kings and Chronicles are harmonized throughout in this Period, and the Prophecies are arranged as they were delivered in the reigns of their respective kings, so far, at least, as can be ascertained from the testimony of various authors.